Last part in this arc! after this one, it's onto the next one already! Geez... things sure go fast!

Enjoy!

The Adventurous Adventures of Hiccup and Wrenlou

All I Remember, Part VII

Hiccup sat on the bench, Wrenlou next to him. The dark haired boy was rubbing his back, trying to console him and ease his sobs.

"I'm sorry," Hiccup mumbled, wiping his tears on his sleeve, "I don't know why I can't stop."

"It's okay," Wrenlou said, "really. You've been through something terrifying. I don't blame you."

Hiccup sniffed a little, still drying his face on his sleeve. Then he looked up, his emerald green eyes still shining with tears.

"W...where's Toothless...?" he whispered, suddenly remembering the ebony dragon that was his best friend.

"A bit further down the beach," Wrenlou said, "Dale had Broghan take him there, with all the dragons."

"Broghan?" Hiccup mumbled, but as soon as he spoke the name, the face of an older boy popped in his head, with warm brown eyes, short brown hair and a gentle smile, "oh... your brother, right?"

Wrenlou nodded and stood up, extending a hand. "Why don't you go back to your cabin. I'll get Toothless for you."

Taking the hand, Hiccup nodded. He allowed Wrenlou to pull him to his feet and followed him slowly, out of the Hall and into the sun. The sand was warm under his feet and he wriggled his toes a little, before walking after Wrenlou.

When he entered the cabin, new memories started to come back, and he remembered how he slept every night, surrounded by a black dragon that kept him in his wings. He smiled weakly as he clambered onto the bed, pulling his legs to his chest.

"I'll be right back," Wrenlou mumbled, then he quickly left.

Pressing his back against the wall, Hiccup waited. And while he waited, the memories flooded him from all sides. He suddenly remembered the growling he had heard shortly after he had woken up, and now realized that it had been Toothless, or one of the other dragons. He also remembered how he had reacted when Toothless had come in, cowering in the corner of the bed, screaming as his dragon tried to get close.

He didn't know how long he waited, but he looked up when the door opened, his heart jumping up when he saw Wrenlou, and behind him, Toothless' black head. Wrenlou stepped aside and gestured the dragon forward, but Toothless didn't move, probably also remembering how his boy had reacted before.

"T...Toothless..." Hiccup whispered, stretching his arms out to the dragon, unable to stop the tears, "it's... it's okay bud... I remember now.. please Toothless..."

Toothless came into the room, but stayed at the door, his entire posture betraying his anxiety. He had his wings tucked against his side, his tail between his legs and his ear frills were flat against his head. His pupils were big and round and looked at Hiccup with great sadness.

"P...please..." Hiccup sobbed, "please Toothless, it's okay. Don't leave me bud, please..."

Toothless crooned and took a step closer. Then, without warning, he launched forward, landing with his front paws in the bed. He nuzzled Hiccup's chest, crooning and chirping, wriggling in excitement as he pressed his face against his chest. Crying, Hiccup hugged the dragon, burying his face in Toothless' neck. Toothless pushed forward, pushing Hiccup back until he could lay his head down on his chest, and Hiccup took a few shuddering breaths. A deep purr rumbled in Toothless' throat and it vibrated in his chest, and he brought his hand up to rest it on the dragon's nose. He closed his eyes, feeling the dragons smooth scales under his palm.

The door opened again and a man entered, and Hiccup looked at him frowning.

"Dale?" he asked hesitantly, and the man nodded.

He walked further into the room, and sat down on the edge of the bed. Toothless looked at him, then closed his eyes again, purring happily on Hiccup's chest.

"So," Dale started and Hiccup looked up at him, "you remember everything now?"

Hiccup shook his head. "Not everything," he said, "there are still some things I don't remember. But most of it is back."

"Good," Dale smiled, "that is good. You gave us quite a scare. For a moment I thought we lost you. How's your arm?"

Hiccup glanced at his arm, still wrapped tightly, and he shrugged. "It's fine. Doesn't really hurt. it... it will heal, right? I... I mean..."

"It will," Dale said reassuringly, "it was a clean break. The... healer set the bone and he said that with enough rest, it should be good as new in no time. Speaking of which, I should contact him, to let him know you remember. I think he'll be thrilled to hear that."

He stood up, ruffling Hiccup's hair before walking to the door. He looked back with a smile, then stepped outside, softly closing the door. Hiccup exhaled slowly, staring at his left hand. Now that he had his memory back, he also remembered that his left hand was his dominant hand. Meaning he couldn't draw or write while he was recovering. He looked up when Wrenlou sat down next to him.

"Wren? What exactly happened? Why did we fall?"

"Is that one of the things you don't remember?" Wrenlou asked and when Hiccup nodded, he continued: "the wire you use to control the tailfin with, it snapped in two. Simple wear and tear I think, but because it snapped the fin closed, and that's why it wouldn't open again. I checked the gears and everything, it's all fine. Just the wire. I believe Dale already asked the blacksmith to make a new one for you."

"The wire?" Hiccup asked, puzzled.

When Wrenlou nodded, he frowned. He had always believed that the metal wire he had created was one of the strongest parts of the prosthetic. Never once had the thought that it could break entered his mind. Toothless crooned and nuzzled his neck, breathing warm air through his hair. Wrinkling his nose, Hiccup pushed the dragon away.

"Toothless, your breath smells like rotten fish," he mumbled and Toothless shrunk back, until he could lay his head on Hiccup's feet.

Silence filled the room, only broken by the sound of Toothless' happy purrs. Hiccup had his eyes closed, trying to get a grip on the memories that flooded his mind. They seemed out of order, visions of Berk mixing with memories from Dragoncity. It frustrated him that there seemed to be things that eluded him even now. He didn't have the slightest idea how he ended up here, on the island, but he knew that he had been injured. How or what had happened, he had no idea.

He sighed and sat up, finding that he was alone besides Toothless. While he had been thinking, Wrenlou had left. Before he could ask himself why, the boy came back, and he was bringing food. Not a steaming bowl of soup this time, but something more substantial.

"I thought you might be hungry," he said sitting down, "and you can eat this yourself. I don't think you want me to feed you again..."

Hiccup felt his cheeks get warm, and he shook his head. Silently, he took the bread from Wrenlou, pulling small bit off of it while he carefully held it in his left hand.

"Wren? What happens now?"

"What do you mean?" Wrenlou asked, pulling out a whetstone and a knife.

"Well... do I get back in training?" Hiccup asked, "I mean... I kinda proved I'm a risk while I'm flying... I could drop out of the sky at any time!"

"Only when you don't take care of your equipment," Wrenlou pointed out, "really Hiccup, you think that something like this would get you kicked out? Have I told you Snowflake and I nearly died on our first flight?"

"I... I don't think so..." Hiccup mumbled, "what happened?"

"I got scared," Wrenlou said, "I didn't trust her. And we flew into one of the sea stacks. I broke my leg, got a concussion, Snowflake sprained her wing."

"Really?" Hiccup asked, disbelief clearly audible in his voice.

"Yeah..." Wrenlou said, stretching the word, "Snow and I never were flying prodigies... Look, the point is, any one can fall. We all have. In fact, you won't find a rider in Dragoncity who didn't fall off at one point. All get hurt, some more serious then others. You just had the bad luck of hitting your head. But you got lucky you didn't hit the rocks. Just... promise me you'll take care of the fin..."

"I promise," Hiccup said nodding, "I will check it weekly from now on. I don't want to lose my memory again."

"I don't want you to forget me again," Wrenlou said softly, "it was hard enough to watch you struggle and not be able to tell you what you wanted to know."

They sat in silence for a while, Hiccup slowly eating the bread. When he was left with the hard crust he looked up again. He glanced at Wrenlou.

"Wren?"

"Yes?" Wrenlou replied without looking up from the knife he was sharpening.

"I don't blame you..."

Surprised, the black-haired boy look up. "Blame me? Why would you blame me? For what?"

"For not telling me. I know it was what the healer said, and I know that you wanted to help but couldn't, so I don't blame you."

Wrenlou smiled. "I'm glad. Get some rest, I'll stay here."

Hiccup nodded and leaned back, closing his eyes.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Hiccup sat on the beach, watching the others train in the distance. Toothless lay behind him, purring softly. He had his tail wrapped around Hiccup and they simply rested in the sun together. A shadow passed over them, but the dragon that landed in front of them wasn't any dragon he knew. And then, to his surprise, the blacksmith jumped off the dragon's back and walked towards him with a bundle under his arm.

"Hiccup!" the man greeted him and he sat down on the sand, "I brought you your tailfin back."

Hiccup sat up, staring at the man, then his eyes went to the wrapped up bundle. The man smiled and reached into his pocket, pulling out a coiled up roll of wire.

"Here. I made a new one. I hope it's strong enough. It's thinner than the one you had, but it's stronger.

I also replaced the gears, and I believe that I did it right, but you might want to check anyway. Here."

The man moved the bundle to Hiccup's lap, who pulled the fabric away curiously. His eyes widened as soon as he saw the fin.

"I... eh.. also replaced the leather... it was wearing out on some places, and this is much lighter and stronger. If you don't like it, I can change it back..."

Hiccup just stared at the prosthetic in his hands. The dark brown leather had been replaced with a light green fabric, the gears shone like new. He looked up, tears in is eyes.

"As I said, you should check if I did it right. And if you don't like the colour... I just figured, you seem to like green a lot."

He gestured to Hiccup's green tunic, and the boy nodded, pulling the fin open.

"Look at it bud," he whispered, "do you like it?"

Toothless looked up and crooned, sniffing the prosthetic. He cooed happily, then licked the side of Hiccup's face. With a scowl he pushed the dragon away and looked at the blacksmith, wiping the spit from his face.

"I love it," he mumbled, "and the dragon approves."

A wide smile spread across the man's face and he stood up, brushing the sand off his clothes. "Glad I could help! And if there's anything you need fixin', ever, don't hesitate to ask."

Hiccup just nodded, still flabbergasted, and the man left. He looked at the prosthetic again, opening and closing it a few times. It moved easily, without hitching and he smiled.

"Come here bud, let's get this on you."

Toothless looked up and crooned again, before presenting his tail to Hiccup so that he could fasten the prosthetic. The hardest part was getting the wire in place, especially with one hand, but after a lot of frustration and starting over, he managed to get it in place again.

"Okay..." he whispered, "here we go."

He got into the saddle and rested his foot on the pedal. Then he took a deep breath, and pressed down. There was no resistance, no sound but when he looked back, the fin had opened. A smile spread across his face, but before he could even think of taking off, a hand grabbed his wrists and when he looked back, he saw Dale next to him.

"I think you should hold off on flying until you're fully healed, don't you think?"

Hiccup nodded and slipped from the saddle again, Dale's strong arms supporting him when he stumbled. The man smiled at him and he looked up, the warm expression on Dale's face suddenly bringing a new wave of tears. He wrapped his arms around the man's waist, pressing his face into his shirt. After a moment, he felt how Dale gently hugged him, hushing him softly.

"What's wrong?" the man asked after a while, "Hiccup, what's wrong?"

Hiccup looked up, his face wet with tears. "I wish you were my dad..." he whispered.

Dale smiled and took his face in his hands, rubbing away the tears with his thumbs. "I can't be your father," he said softly, "but I can be your mentor, your friend. And I want you to know that if there's anything, anything at all, you can tell me about it, okay? You can trust me."

"I know," Hiccup mumbled, drying his tears, "I just wish you were my dad."

"Well..." Dale said, straightening his back, "I care for you, Hiccup, truly I do. You've been through some nasty things, and I really hope I can help you get balance in your life."

Hiccup smiled, hugging the man in front of him again. "I was so scared..." he whispered, "I thought I'd never remember."

"I was scared too," Dale said, hugging him tightly, "you've only just joined us, I didn't want to lose you again. None of us did." He pulled away and put his hands on Hiccup's shoulders. "Rest. Let your arm heal. And when it has, you and I are gonna show em, shall we? We'll prove your former family wrong."

Hiccup's smile widened and he nodded. Toothless gave him a push from behind, so he turned and hugged the dragon. He looked up at Dale, still standing next to him.

"Thanks..." he mumbled, and Dale nodded.

"Get some rest," the man said while he turned around, "oh... and Hiccup? No flying... I don't want another accident."

Hiccup nodded and yelped as Toothless pushed him down on the sand, laying his head on his chest.

"Looks like I have nothing to worry about!" Dale laughed, "Toothless' got you covered."

"Yeah..." Hiccup said stroking the dragon's nose, "don't worry bud, I'll be fine. Really. I'll be fine..."

He stared up to the sky, a few lazy clouds drifting by, the warm wind blowing through his hair, and smiled. He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes, falling asleep before he knew it.