Toothless, finally having lost Pixie somewhere in the tunnels, nearly ran into Sky at the entrance of the caves. He bristled defiantly, but flattened himself to the ground respectfully nonetheless. "Sky eyed him, "Toothless," He greeted, surprising the dragon by using this name, "That human is something special. You'd best keep him close if you don't want to lose him." Toothless opened his mouth to ask what the other meant by this, but Sky simply smirked and brushed past him, "Remember your place, Toothless. Even if he thinks you're something special, you're still just a traitorous Pixie to us Night Furies."

Toothless glared after Sky before charging off into the night to find Hiccup, right where he left him. "Hiccup!" He sang out in greeting, rushing over and nuzzling his human without even realizing he was doing it.

"Toothless! Hey buddy!" Hiccup gently hugged the Night Fury. When the pair had calmed down some, Hiccup enthused, "Apparently Sky was eavesdropping earlier. He said he'll talk to Flamewing about coming to Berk... Isn't that great?"

The dragon's ears slicked back against his head as he rested his chin in Hiccup's lap, "Yeah, great!" He replied, trying to sound excited about it, "Pixie would be happy to hear that."

Hiccup caught the subtle changes in Toothless and asked softly, "What's wrong? You don't want the other Night Furies around?"

"No, it's not that," Toothless mumbled, closing his eyes, "It's nothing important, I'm just a little... Overwhelmed, I suppose."

The teen wasn't buying this. "Toothless, don't lie to me..." A silence fell between them, allowing Hiccup enough time to think. "Are you still worried I'm going to choose another Night Fury over you?" He asked finally. The dragon met his gaze, but said nothing. "Fine, you know what?" Hiccup moved suddenly, knocking Toothless' head out of his lap. He made quick work of unscrewing his false leg before throwing it out into the ocean. Toothless moved to go after it, but Hiccup placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him dead in his tracks.

"Hiccup, what are you doing? You can't walk without your leg!" Toothless whimpered, still considering going after the object.

"You can't fly without your tailfin." Hiccup countered, "The day you threw your automatic fin away, what were you thinking?"

Toothless took a moment to recall, "I didn't like being away from you for so long. I don't want to fly again if you're not with me."

The boy gave a lopsided smile, "In other words, symbolically, that tail fin is me." Toothless averted his gaze, but nodded slightly. "Then, Hiccup pushed himself up to his... Well, foot, and almost immediately lost his balance, falling onto Toothless' head. "Then, let my leg, symbolically, be you."

Toothless' eyes widened, "Hiccup, I can still get around without my tail, you... you can't walk without your leg!"

"I can crawl." Hiccup countered, "And that's enough. Because if I were in trouble, even if I could get away, I know you'd come for me. I know I can always count on you, that you'll always be there for me... And you're the only one I want in that position. Can you imagine how weird it would be if I started calling for Meatlug when I was in trouble?" Toothless looked like he'd tasted something extremely bitter at the thought of this. "You support me, Toothless, just like you are now, every day, in everything you do, you support me, and I do my best to return that favor. I know I'm not always the best at it, but I try to support you, to allow the wind to fill your wings." He rubbed his cheek against the top of the dragon's head before slowly standing upright, still leaning on Toothless a bit. The way you feel about not wanting to fly without me... I'm the same way. I only ride other dragons when I have to, you know that. I'd much rather be with you, buddy... Other Night Furies are no exception. Nobody's going to replace you, ever."

Toothless' expression softened a bit as he eased Hiccup back down onto the sand before wading out to retrieve the leg, which, thanks to Hiccup's lack of strength, wasn't too far from shore. He set the hunk of metal down at Hiccup's side before sitting down himself, "I understand... But you don't have to cripple yourself to prove your point. Besides, that leg is the one that works with my tail, right? We still need to fly home..."

Hiccup's eyes narrowed questioningly, "Do you really understand, Toothless?" The dragon nodded solemnly and Hiccup's expression brightened, "Good... Because I never want to see you make that face again." Toothless smiled a bit and curled up around Hiccup protectively.

"You don't seem as warm now," He commented in a soft purr.

"I'm feeling much better," Hiccup agreed, "I'm hoping to go home tomorrow..." There was silence between them as Hiccup put his prosthetic leg back in place. After a time, he asked, "Toothless? What are we gonna do?"

Concerned, Toothless furrowed his brow, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I can understand dragonese now. Everything you and the other dragons say, I'm going to hear, so... What do I do? Should I keep it a secret? What would my father think?" Hiccup sighed and leaned back against his dragon, "I don't regret wishing I could properly converse with dragons, especially you, but... I'm still worried about what the others will say."

"You don't have to tell them," Toothless mused, "If you do, they'll just want to use you to ask their own dragons questions. Be an intermediary." Hiccup nodded slightly at this. Toothless was right, of course, but what if he made a mistake? What if he gave himself away somehow, reacting to something one of the dragons said without thinking? Toothless nudged him back into reality, "Don't worry so much. I'll talk to the other dragons about minding what they say around you, and it'll be fine."

Hiccup relaxed a bit at this and a peaceful silence fell between them. For a time, Toothless thought that Hiccup had fallen asleep and was about to do the same when suddenly the boy asked, "Toothless? Why did your father banish you?"

Toothless shifted uncomfortably, "Do you remember... A while back, there was a Whispering Death, as you called it, who was trying to kill me?"

Hiccup shivered at the memory of Toothless' strange behavior, "How could I forget? There was a grudge between you two, right? There was a scar from a night fury bite on him."

"That... wasn't from me." Toothless mumbled, "That was my father's handiwork. You see, I had, for a long time, been sneaking out in the night to assist the other dragons in their raids, because I knew what would happen to them if they failed, and I pitied them. Of course attacking the humans was wrong, but you had food to spare, and they needed it to stay alive. Well, one night, I followed the other dragons back to the Red Death, and saw an infantile Whispering Death offer her a single fish, much like that Gronckle we saw earlier. I couldn't just sit back and watch the poor child be eaten, so I rushed in and grabbed him just in time. The Red Death was furious-"

"That's why she was so intent on killing you," Hiccup mused, understanding.

"Right. Because I took her meal away. Well, I brought that Whispering Death back to the Isle of Night here and looked after him. As it was, he was orphaned- his mother was eaten by the Red Death, so he was all alone." Toothless looked down at his claws nervously, "But then, my father found out. He was completely enraged. The next thing I knew, my whole pack was after us, chasing us off of the island in opposite directions, my father heading up the chase after that Whispering Death and my mother after me. She clipped my left tailfin in the fight, but I managed to get away. The last thing I heard was my father shouting, "If I ever catch either of you around here again, I'll have both your hides!" Toothless shuddered as every last detail flooded back to him. "My father must have bitten him when he was trying to escape, as my mother did me."

Hiccup was a bit confused, "But if you helped him, why did he want to fight you?"

"He thought I abandoned him." Toothless admitted, "Because I didn't go looking for him. Honestly, I was afraid of what I might find. I never meant to abandon him, I never meant for him to get hurt, I was just trying to help..."

Hiccup reached up and gently rand his hand over Toothless' head, "You did the right thing," He assured his dragon.

Toothless eyed him, "Did I? He tore apart the whole village!"

"Nothing we haven't dealt with before," Hiccup reminded gently, "Besides, it looked like you two made up in the end, right?"

"I think so," Toothless murmured, "I explained my end and he seemed to understand."

"So all's well that ends well," Hiccup curled up against the massive body behind him and closed his eyes, preparing for sleep.

"My father still hasn't forgiven me." Toothless reminded dryly, "Nor has my mother, or the rest of my pack."

"Well then, we'll have to show them how ridiculous they're being. Just like we did with my father." Hiccup said softly, patting the dragon on the head, "Get some sleep, Toothless. We might have a long day ahead of us."

"Mmm," Toothless purred, curling tighter around Hiccup. What had he been so worried about, anyway? There was no way Sky was going to take his Hiccup away.

When the two awoke the next morning, Sky and Pixie were standing in front of them, watching them sleep. Naturally, Hiccup panicked, gasping like a fisho ut of water as he got to his feet all too suddenly, and, once again, fell forward. Thankfully, Sky was there to catch him and help him right himself. "What did I tell you about sneaking up on me?" Hiccup chided, shooting a glare at Sky.

"That Night Furies do it often," Sky recalled with a small smirk over at Toothless, who was now standing beside Hiccup, "I've spoken with Flamewing."

"What did he say?" Hiccup wondered a bit nervously.

"He said, 'I'm only considering this because you are my most trusted adviser, Sky. Very well, you and that young Pixie may go, but you are to report back to me in one moon's time.' Basically, we're the test subjects. If he likes what he hears, he'll consider coming himself. He did warn me, however, that if Pixie and I did not return, he would launch a full-scale attack on Berk."

Hiccup winced at this. Hopefully everyone would get along without any trouble. "Right..." He glanced down at Pixie, who's tail was lashing as she tried to contain her excitement. His face softened at the sight of her, and he scooped her up in his arms, "Won't you miss your mother, Pixie?"

Pixie shook her tiny head, "Not if I'm with Hiccup and Toothless!" She cheered, rubbing against him in a catlike fashion.

Hiccup glanced over his shoulder at Toothless, "What do you say, bud? Ready to go home?"

Toothless, who had been glaring at Sky, redirected his gaze to Hiccup, "That depends, are you well enough to fly, yet?"

"If I'm well enough to be hungry, I'm well enough to fly. I can't wait to get home and have some nice, tasteless mutton." He joked, sliding into the dragon's saddle. He placed Pixie up near the dragon's head so that, when he leaned forward to hold on properly, she was trapped between his arms, reducing the risk of her falling significantly. "Let's go, Toothless, Sky..." He glanced down at the tiny albino in his lap, "Koda."

Pixie blinked, "My name is Pixie," She corrected, sounding somewhat hurt.

Hiccup shrugged, "Pixie doesn't suit you. Pixie is the name of a weakling who gets in the way. You're not a Pixie. You're a Koda- a friend." Pixie- no, Koda, brightened at this. "Do you mind if I call you that?"

"Please do!" She chirped, curling against his chest happily.

It was nearly sunset when the group neared Berk, with Toothless in front of Sky to prevent the Vikings from panicking at the sight of a foreign dragon. Of course, when they landed, they were greeted warmly, starting with Astrid and Fishlegs. "Hiccup!" The moment the teen was off of Toothless' back, Astrid had his arms around him tight. Koda and Sky tensed at this, assuming it was an attack, but Toothless corrected them.

"It's called a hug. It's how humans show affection," He explained simply before introducing the pair to Meatlug and Stormfly.

"Hiccup, we were so worried!" Fishlegs interrupted, coming closer as the two lovebirds pulled apart.

Hiccup rubbed the back of his head, "You had no need to be, you know how I am with dragons..."

"But you were sick," Astrid countered.

"I'm fine now, see? The dragons took good care of me, and I learned an awful lot for the book of dragons. I even made a few new friends," He gestured to Sky, "This is Sky," He said, and, plucking the albino off of Toothless' back, he added, "And this is Koda."

Astrid blinked at the tiny thing in Hiccup's arms, "Is that... a baby Night Fury?"

"A baby and a runt," Hiccup corrected, "But looks can be deceiving. She's very bright, aren't you, Koda?" The youngling chirped proudly, cuddling against Hiccup. "I have a lot to tell you all, but it can wait till morning..." Glancing around he asked, "Where are Snotlout and the twins?"

Astrid's eyes narrowed, "Ugh," She placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder comfortingly, "I don't know how you manage to put up with those idiots on a daily basis, Hiccup, I just don't know how you do it."

"With patience. And repetition. And reinforcement from Toothless when needed." Hiccup replied with a smirk, "Why, what did they get themselves into?"

"They went looking for treasure on the island where Gobber took us when we were looking for the Boneknapper. Snotlout started... Well, being Snotlout, so I left. Fishlegs- and all the dragons- followed me and Stormfly."

Hiccup smacked a hand to his forehead, "And how long ago was this?"

"Yesterday. I got back around this time last night." Astrid replied, looking rather bored.

Hiccup heaved a sigh, "Well, it takes over a week to starve, and they can drink snow if they get thirsty... I'm sure they'll be fine if we don't go after them until tomorrow." Astrid smiled a bit, seeming to agree with him. "Have some peace on Berk for just one more night."

Finally, Stoick approached them, "Son!" He greeted, moving to grab his son in a tight embrace. Hiccup, thinking fast, raised his arms above his head just before their bodies collided, holding Koda out of his father's bone-crushing embrace.

"Hi, dad," He managed when the man finally loosened his grip. "I'm home,"

"Welcome home," The chief boomed, patting Hiccup on the shoulder as the boy finally drew his arms back down, holding a rather spooked Koda to his chest. "Sorry, Koda," He whispered softly, stroking her head soothingly. "Koda, Sky, this is my father, Stoick the Vast. He's the chief- alpha... Of our tribe." He explained to the dragons patiently before turning to his father, "Dad, this is Sky, and the little one here is Koda. They wanted to see what life is like on Berk after I told a few stories."

"Well they're welcome guests!" Stoick boomed, looking the two dragons over. "We'll put Sky up in one of our spare stables, and Koda can stay with us if she likes. We don't have room for two adult Night Furies, but the little one should be fine."

Hiccup nodded, "Thank you." Glancing over his shoulder to Sky, he said, "We'll see you in the morning, then. I'm sure you're tired from the flight." The dragon grunted in response and allowed Stoick to lead him away. Turning his gaze to Toothless, he added, "You get some rest too, buddy. I'll be up in a bit." Toothless whined a bit, but eventually lumbered off to his place in Hiccup's room.

Astrid folded her arms over her chest, "You told them stories?"

"They had me in their nursery and all the little ones were watching me, I had to say something. They seemed to like stories." Hiccup said with a shrug, wondering faintly just how long he would be able to keep his secret secret. "Anyway, you guys go rest up. I expect you to come with me on tomorrow's search and rescue."

"Right. Goodnight, Hiccup." Astrid said softly, "And don't run off this time!"

"I'll do my best," Hiccup assured her with a chuckle as the group parted ways. Once in his room, Hiccup set Koda down beside Toothless, "Honestly, I turn my back on those three for a couple days and look what happens." He heaved a sigh and flopped down in bed, "Hopeless."

Toothless, who really was trying to sleep, didn't respond, but Koda did. She padded over to Hiccup's bed and hopped onto it, then onto his chest. "You really care about them, don't you?"

Hiccup smiled slightly, "Well, they're members of our tribe, our pack... Whether I like them or not, it's my job to look after them."

"Because you're going to be alpha one day?"

"No... Because I'm the only one with enough brains and compassion for the job." He chuckled and rubbed the youngling's head, "All they ever do is get themselves into trouble, then get confused when confronted with the challenge of getting out of it. If I don't save them, I'll feel guilty about it. Somebody's got to..." He yawned and closed his eyes before remembering something. "Koda, are you cold?"

"A little," She admitted lamely, looking away. Hiccup gently pushed her off of his chest, then, lying on his side, he pulled the blanket over both of them, curling around her.

"Better?" He asked gently.

"Much." She cooed, curling into his chest happily, feeling lucky to have found someone as generous and caring as Hiccup. She'd already decided, no matter what Flamewing said, she was never going to leave Hiccup's side.

More serious than the last, to be certain. xD I don't really have much to say... OH, Credit goes to HorseHat23 for the naming of Koda. I got a lot of wonderful suggestions, but in the end, Koda just... It just sounds right. It means "friend" in Sioux. Thank you to everyone who gave me ideas, though! I may use some of yours for other dragons, because, quite frankly, if the others come back as well, there are going to be a few more characters in need of names (like Koda's mom) SO, that being said, feel free to bombard me with more names.

I'm also planning on starting another HTTYD fic which would be a crossover between HTTYD and Dragonheart (props for ideas and introducing me to Dragonheart goes to White-Hunter). So... There you have it! Review please! And watch Dragonheart and Dragonheart: A New Beginning if you haven't already, because... It's good. Even the animation is pretty epic win for it's time. That said, I'm going to stop rambling.