"She's got eyes of the bluest sky that if they thought of rain,

I'd hate to look into those eyes and see an ounce of pain.

Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place where as a child I'd hide

And pray for the thunder and the rain to quiet and pass me by."

-Guns N' Roses, "Sweet Child O' Mine"


A thousand apologies, O Patient Ones! (Yeah, I use lines from other movies. So sue me.)

Author's Notes: Hey, everyone! Sorry this update is so late. I was having technical difficulties (aka my laptop decided to be an a-hole for the past several weeks, and I've had to work on my tablet) but right now, I'm good! Anyways, it's the first chapter of 2016! YAY! Woman has triumphed over machine! You see, I found OpenOffice Writer on my family's computer, which means I can write it there, transfer it to a hard drive (since the computer isn't connected to the Internet), and take it somewhere that has Internet! Joy of joys!

Okay, people, we're gonna have a little bit of fluff, some good ol' holiday fun, and a bit of foreshadowing. By the way, I was originally planning on posting this some time around New Year's Eve, but as you can see, that didn't happen. Darn it! I wanted to share with you the holiday love! For those of you wondering, I'm putting this before I start Riders because of some basic Fishlegs-Meatlug stuff. In Riders, he knows Meatlug is a girl. However, in Gift of the Night Fury, he only finds out when they find the eggs. That means I needed to put this first, or else it would drive me crazy. But soon I will get to Riders! Soon!

LE3 101 – Thanks! I try my best.

MMM – You'll see ;) Astrid will talk to him in due time. Also, I wasn't intending to make you wait this long, but I was going to make you wait. I'm evil that way :3

taco tiger – Thank ye kindly! Judging by the number of people that have looked at it so far, and the people that have favorited and followed it, I'll agree with your statement.

Phantomwa1ker – It's nice to know you're still reading the AN's, and that you love this story, too. Skrills are pretty awesome, aren't they? That would be the dragon I'd want to ride, if I were in this universe. Why? 'Cause lightning is INCREDIBLE!

I'm sorry for updating without a new chapter. I just wanted to get rid of the "apology" chapter, but it's nice to know you weren't the only one looking forward to this chapter.

MMM (again) – Well, judging by the title of this chapter, I'd say so. And seeing as this is Hiccup and Addie's story, I think they'll be there. As for what's coming next, you'll just have to read :3

Undifindable – I have not seen your name in the reviews before, so welcome! As you can see, I'm doing my best to oblige your desire for more chapters, and I'll keep your suggestions in mind ;) But I don't know how much fluff I can give you beyond what I have planned in this chapter. Well... heh, heh, heh. Just you wait and see.

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Disclaimer: Alas, thou shalt never see my name upon the How To Train Your Dragon franchise. Only mine original characters are graced with mine appellation.


Time passes...

Hiccup, narrating

This is Berk, boasting the kind of balmy, fun-in-the-sun climate that will give you frostbite on your spleen. The one upside is our annual holiday. We call it Snoggletog. Why we chose such a stupid name remains a mystery. But with the war long over, dragons living amongst us, and Addie and Frostwave here, this year's Snoggletog promises to be one to remember.

Adeline's POV

I woke up to hear banging on the roof of the house. Stoick had decided to situate me in the guest room on the ground floor, probably because he wanted a way to keep an eye on me without having to keep someone with me at all times, but it wasn't that bad. I got to see Toothless and Hiccup on a regular basis, and it was definitely better than sleeping in a cell. Besides, I had gotten used to Toothless waking Hiccup up that way. Of course, that didn't mean I had to like it.

"What do you people have against a good night's sleep?" I shouted to no one in particular. Winter meant sleeping in, not being woken at ungodly hours by antsy dragons. It also meant something else, something that twitched at the back of my mind, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Oh well. Time to remember later. Like after another hour of sleep.

"Are you still tired, Addie? I will not understand you humans," Frostwave crooned hopelessly. I glared at her and pulled the blanket over the rest of me, making the hammock swing slightly.

"I just don't understand why some people think getting up at five in the morning on a winter day is a good idea," I answered grumpily, my voice muffled by the thick wool. At least I got a blanket here. On Blackstone, healers slept in hammocks while their patients got the beds and covers.

I heard Hiccup's footsteps above me and on the stairs, and peeked out a bit. I guess he was going flying with Toothless today, before coming back to help with the preparations for this... Snoggletog thing. Before that, I had to ask him something. Like, what in Thor's name was Snoggletog? I managed to sit up and looked at Frostwave. She had a smug look on her face as she looked back at me.

"What are you looking at?" I asked her. She huffed a cloud of mist into my face.

"Go, Addie. I will not blame you," my dragon hummed with amusement. I took some of the ice that had formed in my hair and threw it at her face playfully.

"Oh, shut up."

I got out of the hammock effortlessly and went out the door. Hiccup had nearly left by the time I arrived in the living room.

"Wait, Hiccup! I have a few questions for you!" I shouted just before the door swung shut. I waited a few minutes, standing there awkwardly, until it reopened to reveal Hiccup looking at me curiously. He had his helmet on, which was interesting. Usually he didn't go out with it on.

"What is it, Addie?" he asked. I sighed and walked out to join him.

"Okay, first of all, what in the world is Snoggletog?" I said bluntly. He raised an eyebrow, but answered my question.

"Well, it's the annual winter holiday on Berk. Right now, we're preparing for the actual holiday, which is in a week. How about you? Did Blackstone do anything like this?" he asked as we walked down the stairs. I shrugged.

"Kind of. We had the Vaycd uv Ynnejym, the Feast of Arrival, and it celebrates the day the vunapaync arrived on the island. It should be in about a week. There's usually a big feast, and the different Households exchange gifts with each other," I replied casually. That made the feeling I was forgetting something stronger. Gods, what was it? We stopped at the bottom of the stairs, sitting down on the last two to continue our conversation.

"That sounds interesting. Did you like it?" Hiccup said, looking at me. I grimaced.

"Well, it definitely wasn't the worst celebration on Blackstone. I think that's reserved for Initiation," my answer came out bitterly. He put an arm around me.

"Hey, don't worry. Snoggletog isn't as bad as that, I think," he said comfortingly. I smiled at him. Hiccup was the sweetest guy here. Fishlegs was a close second, but he was a bit too close to his dragon for my liking.

"No, it's a lot better than Initiation. Speaking of which, why is it called Snoggletog? That is the most incredibly idiotic name I've ever heard, and I've heard some pretty crazy things," I asked him. Hiccup pulled back his arm and flung them out.

"I have no idea!" he declared. I chuckled at that, and that's when the banging began again. I winced and looked behind us and up. Toothless apparently thought Hiccup was still asleep. We stood up, and Hiccup went around the house.

"Well, good morning, Mr. Bossy!" he said to the Night Fury. The dragon laughed at him, and the human mimicked him.

"Do you always have to wake me up so early to go flying-?" he began, but his left foot – the metal one – slipped on some ice and he nearly fell on his back. Thankfully, Toothless was faster than I was, and caught him with his head. I breathed out a sigh of relief and looked at them.

"You okay, Hiccup?" I asked, joining them. He stood up and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Stupid leg," he said, kicking the snow. I smirked, but didn't say anything. He stumbled a bit, but managed to not fall again.

"Thanks, buddy. I'm okay," Hiccup said to the Night Fury. Toothless seemed pleased and gave him an expectant look. Hiccup went closer and put a hand to his dragon's head.

"Yeah, we can go flying now." Right after he finished, the dragon burped into his face, and he pulled back with a look of disgust. I was barely holding in my laughter.

"Eww, eww, what? Eww! Argh! Toothless," he groaned. His dragon bumped his head against his rider's arm innocently. That did it. I burst out laughing at the sight, wrapping my arms around my stomach. My sides hurt from it, and I was nearly in tears.

"Having fun?" he asked dryly. I nodded. That was all I could do.

"Do you wanna go flying with us? Toothless doesn't mind, right, bud?" he offered, looking at the Night Fury. The look on the dragon's face was adorable, but I had to decline. I needed to think things out right now, and while I wanted to go flying with him, that would not have helped with the whole braining-thingy. Besides, I had to get some special things ready.

"Hiccup, I would love to, but I need to take care of a few things before I can even think of having fun. I know it's weird, but it's important to me," I replied apologetically. The disappointment on both their faces made my chest hurt, and I almost considered taking them up on the offer. But no, I had to finish up what I had planned before I could do anything fun.

"Well, we'll see you later. Let's go, bud," he said, climbing into Toothless' saddle. The two of them flew off, while internally I slapped myself. Stupid, stupid, stupid! I could have gone on the flight with them and been back in time to finish the gifts. But, oh well. Next time I wouldn't be so dumb.

Yeah, I was making gifts for everyone. It had taken me a while to figure out what to make each of my friends, but after a few weeks of thinking and learning about everyone, I had done it. What was I making? None of your business!

But they wouldn't get their presents until the Vaycd uv Ynnejym, and I had one more thing I needed to finish. Hiccup's present. For it, I would need a certain plant that grew in the forest. One tradition of Blackstone that wasn't all bad. One that I was glad to carry on.


When I got back from the forest with Frostwave, my special gift safely hidden under a cloth in my room, the entire village had gotten into the swing of things. They had put up a giant wooden tree in the main plaza and were decorating it with shields. Gobber was directing a woman on a Gronckle on where to place one thing that looked like it was made from an axe.

"Yes, yes... No, no, no! That one a wee bit higher!" he commanded, pointing at the spot he wanted.

"Here?" she asked, moving it up a bit.

"There! Ah, that's the spot!" he decided. Stoick walked up to see how it went, while I watched everything curiously. A kid in a dragon costume growled at Meatlug, and Meatlug roared back playfully. The kid giggled and ran off, the Gronckle right behind. Fishlegs saw this from on top of a ladder and smiled.

"Attaboy, Meatlug!" he said cheerfully. I grinned at this. Poor guy didn't even know his dragon was a girl. I hadn't even known until Frostwave pointed out the subtle differences in male and female dragons. Females are smaller and lighter, and males have longer horns. Usually.

Over by the "tree", I saw Astrid and Stormfly. The girl had some shields in her hands, and I realized she was going to put them on the tree.

"Are you ready, girl?" she asked the dragon. In response, her Nadder readied its spines. She threw the shields into the air, and Stormfly pinned them to the "tree". It was pretty impressive. Not that I'd ever tell her that. Some things you just don't say out loud to your rival.

I saw Stoick and Gobber walk by, and I decided to join them.

"By Odin's beard, Gobber, Vikings spending the winter holiday with dragons!" he exclaimed proudly. Gobber chuckled.

"Not to mention our resident ex-pirate, eh, Addie?" he added, winking at me. Gobber would always be my favorite adult here, even if he did have some... interesting ideas. He always had a joke ready, too.

"What would our fathers say?" the chief continued.

"They'd think we'd lost our minds!" the blacksmith answered. Stoick laughed deeply, and both Gobber and I smiled. Frostwave simply huffed out a cloud of smoke.

"Is it really that strange? That is what the creator intended," she hummed bemusedly. I shrugged again.

"Frostwave, most of these people don't know the things you do. Assume that, and your life will be easier," I whispered back. She growled in acknowledgment and settled onto her haunches. We had stopped in front of most of the village, including the reptilian inhabitants.

"Well done! Well done, all of you! I never thought I'd live to see this day: peace on the island of Berk. This will surely be the greatest holiday we've ever seen," the chief said, making sure everyone in the crowd of Vikings and dragons could hear him. I nodded. Already, this looked a lot better than the Vaycd uv Ynnejym.

The entire village cheered, humans and dragons alike, and my smile widened. It was so nice to see all these people happy, out in the open with giant flying reptiles instead of in a huge cavern with people you barely tolerated. The Vaycd uv Ynnejym had always been a more solemn affair, even during the actual feast part of the celebration.

My happy thoughts were cut short by an eerie cry above us all. I looked up with the rest and gasped. It was a mass dragon exodus, huge flights soaring through the sky in the same direction.

"What the...?!" Stoick exclaimed. So I wasn't the only one seeing this. The good news was I wasn't hallucinating. The bad news was this was all too real. Dragons all over the village were starting to stiffen up, their pupils becoming slits, and join the wild dragons above us. Even Frostwave seemed to feel a sort of call, and I looked at her.

"Frostwave? What's going on?" I asked her, my voice a bit smaller than usual. Her pupils were as thin as paper when she looked at me.

"I must go," was all she said before shooting up into the sky when Hookfang roared.

"What in Thor's name?!" Gobber said loudly, his accent getting a bit thicker. I saw Hookfang fly off, Snotlout crying out, "Come back! Where are you going?"

Fishlegs yelled his dragon's name while Astrid came up to me.

"Where's Hiccup?" she asked. The blood drained from my face, and I'm sure that didn't reassure her. The last time I saw him, he and Toothless were going flying. If Toothless decided to fly off with Hiccup on his back... there was no telling when I'd see him again. I was about to tell her that when Stormfly started acting like the other dragons and took off.

"No no no! Don't leave, Stormfly, don't go! Please?" her rider said, trying to grab onto her dragon. I wanted to help, but a part of me was reacting badly to this. It was like everything I cared about was leaving me again, for the second time. That was when I heard Hiccup's voice. I had never felt so relieved to hear him, even if it sounded confused and scared.

"Addie!" he shouted as he and Toothless landed, jumping off and running up to me. I looked at him worriedly, the flapping of massive wings making a buzz in the background. Nothing that was happening made sense to me. I may have spent three years with only a dragon for a companion, but that was in a prison cell, where she couldn't really fly off without some serious effort. Like, say, fighting off an entire island's worth of cutthroat pirates who hated dragons, not to mention actually getting out of the cell.

"Hiccup! What's going on? Where are they going?" I asked him, my voice coming out barely a whisper. All this terrified me. I felt like I was losing my family all over again, and I hated it. This feeling of being helpless as the only member of my family went away without telling me why, I hated it so much.

Vikings swarmed us, well, Hiccup, asking him frantic questions.

"Why did they leave?"

"What's happening?"

"Will they ever come back?"

"Stop! Wait!" he said, trying to get some breathing room. I was tempted to use some of my training to clear a space, but it wasn't necessary. Stoick came to the rescue.

"Calm down! Give him a chance to speak! Hiccup, where are all our dragons going?" he asked seriously, pushing aside the Vikings that were too close for comfort (in other words, most of them). Hiccup tried to find the words, and I put a hand on his shoulder to help him. That was all I could do for him. He glanced at me briefly, then looked back at his father.

"Dad... I don't know," he replied softly. I heard a familiar growl and looked through the crowd to see Frostwave growling at Toothless. She was using her regular dragonspeak, so I didn't know what they were talking about, but she soon flew off, Toothless staring after her longingly. It wasn't hard to tell he wanted to fly off as well.

Later...

We all gathered in the Great Hall later for a village meeting, with me and the other teens near the edge of the room. It was better than standing in that crowd of Vikings. I didn't like being surrounded by people bigger than me and likely to attack. It was an old habit from Blackstone that I had picked up quickly. Tuffnut was slouching in a chair the wrong way, with his sister standing behind him and Fishlegs to his right. Hiccup leaned against a pillar between me and Astrid, while Snotlout was on one side near the other girl. All of us were watching the crowd curiously.

"Where'd they go? Snoggletog is ruined!" a Viking shouted from the crowd. Bjorn, if I'm not mistaken. For the time I've known him, he's been a bit fatalistic when it comes to things. That was when Stoick jumped up on the edge of the firepit.

"It's not ruined! We're Vikings! We've been perfectly happy celebrating without dragons for generations! And there's no reason we can't do it again! Now we don't know where they've gone off to, but we have to have faith that they'll be back soon. Am I right?" Stoick shouted back, throwing his arms wide to illustrate his point. I nodded. He made a lot of sense, to me at least.

"You're right, we are Vikings! We are tough!" Gobber agreed, holding up his left arm for emphasis. I almost laughed when I saw what he was wearing, even if it had been very inappropriate. His left hand was now a stick with a bunch of tinkling bells attached, and his helmet had antlers with colorful baubles strewn among the branches. In his right hand were a few colorful lamps, red, green, and orange, probably for decorating.

"Not right now," I muttered under my breath. Hiccup glanced in my direction, but didn't say anything. Maybe teaching him Benydeyh had been a good idea at first, but now I would have to be careful what I said around him. The people of Blackstone had some pretty salty language, and they hadn't been afraid to use it in front of kids. I had picked up quite a few things that would make paint peel.

The blacksmith must have realized what he was wearing and lowered his arm.

"Most of the time..." he allowed, looking around sheepishly.

"Let's sing some Snoggletog songs!" Gobber suggested cheerfully. At this, Snotlout rolled his eyes and began to walk away, and one by one we followed him. I was kinda interested in hearing the songs, but going by what I already knew about the villagers, it was probably best we didn't stick around. We left the Hall and started walking through the empty village in a line, with Fishlegs on the far right, then Tuffnut, Astrid, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Hiccup, and finally me. It was actually kind of nice walking through the snow. There hadn't been much on Blackstone, thanks to its strangely warm climate, so this was a refreshing sight. The lack of dragons was not.

"That was depressing..." Ruff said quietly. I nodded silently.

"I know! I was looking forward to spending the holiday with Stormfly," Astrid said dejectedly. I had been looking forward to my first Snoggletog with Frostwave, ever. I had been hoping it would be fun, not this gloomy stuff. That was when I noticed the upbeat whistling, so I turned my head and looked at the source. It was Fishlegs, and that was the weirdest thing I'd ever seen today. Even Gobber couldn't top that. It was suspicious, to boot. Fishlegs was the most attached to his dragon, apart from me and Hiccup.

"What are you so happy about? Don't you miss Meatlug?" Tuff asked him bemusedly. Fishlegs stopped and looked at us guiltily.

"Me? Oh! Yeah!" he said in a high-pitched voice. I narrowed my eyes at him slightly as he began to sob in a very fake way. Blackstone kids had always done this sort of thing whenever they didn't want their parents to think they weren't actually hurt and wanted to get away from classes. Sadly, it worked most of the time.

"I miss him so much!" he cried, using one hand to hide his face. The silence from the others told me they weren't buying it, and it told Fishlegs the same thing.

"Well, good night!" he said quickly before running off, peeking back at us just to make sure we weren't following him. I sighed quietly and looked at the rest.

"What will we do now? I don't really know any Snoggletog traditions, but I know a few of the better ones for the Vaycd uv Ynnejym. There's the token in the giant seed cake that makes whoever finds it the Household Head for the day, and the mistletoe thing, and..." I trailed off, seeing them all eyeing me incredulously.

"The what of what?" Tuff asked. I sighed, louder this time, and folded my arms across my chest.

"The Feast of Arrival. It's a celebration around this time of year on Blackstone, and it's actually one I kind of like. Well, the Cajah Hekrdc uv Fiends is also fun, but that won't be for another two years, and in summertime, too," I informed them wearily. Being the new girl isn't fun when no one knows what you're talking about. They all just stared at me in silence some more, until Astrid grinned with inspiration.

"I've got an idea! Let's come up with a bunch of new holiday traditions! You know, to bury the sadness!" she said excitedly. It sounded fun, even though I still thought integrating some of the Vaycd's ideas was still good.

Apparently, the others didn't think so. Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut all groaned. At that moment, I wondered if Astrid came up with ideas like this a lot. Probably, given their reactions.

"Actually, Astrid might be onto something," Hiccup said with interest. The Twins gave him looks that said they thought he was crazy.

"Easy for you to say. Your dragon can't go anywhere without you," Tuff replied, and we all turned to look at the Night Fury. Toothless was sitting on a cliff, staring off into the distance hopefully.

"Must be nice," Ruff added thoughtfully. I rolled my eyes and looked at all of them carefully. Couldn't they see that it wasn't a good idea to bring that up right now? I mean, what if they had brought up how the Blackstone pirates had killed and stolen a lot from the Archipelago? Not me, thankfully. I don't think I could have lived here if that was the case. Sometimes it's nice to not have been on any real raids.

With that pleasant thought in mind, I let out a long breath, more than I thought I had in me.

"Well, I'm going to bed. I think I'll go without dinner tonight in favor of actually getting some sleep around here. Vikings today, with your long hair, and your no getting a decent amount of sleep," I muttered under my breath, peeking at Hiccup through my lashes. It was obvious he was thinking about something. I could practically hear the cogs in his head whirling as a plan formed in his mind. I should know. I do the same thing when I'm coming up with an idea.

"I'll walk you home, Addie," Snotlout offered, holding out his arm. I rolled my eyes and walked past him.

"I think I can find my way back on my own. My sense of direction isn't that bad," I replied, pushing his arm away and walking in the right direction, for once. Oh, gods. How was I going to find my way around without Frostwave? I was doomed.


I went to sleep in my hammock cold that night, wishing that my dragon was here. Frostwave wasn't just my source of warmth on Berk's icy nights. She was a source of comfort, a rich vein of soothing presence that kept me feeling safe in the night. Simon had been the same thing, before I was thrown in jail for conspiring with the "enemy". Both made me feel comfortable wherever I was. Without them, I was a fish out of water.

The next day...

When the beams of sun hit me that morning, I sat up and yawned.

"Good morning, Frostwave..." I began, looking where she would have been. Her slab of stone was cold, had been cold since yesterday morning, when she had last slept in it. Oh yeah... she was gone. My best friend had flown away yesterday, and I didn't even know why.

'This is gonna be a long day,' I thought grimly.


I was walking with Snotlout and the Twins through the village, seeing as there was nothing better to do. A few kids were making a Gronckle out of snow as we passed by, but there was no joy behind their actions. We had reached the village plaza when Astrid popped up with a shield-tray of mugs and a pitcher. Whatever was in that pitcher smelled foul, almost as bad as the underside of a sheep. Don't ask how I know that. You really don't want to know.

"Yaknog! Get your Yaknog! Come on! Get a frothy delicious cup of cheer!" she called out invitingly. I grimaced and stepped behind Ruffnut.

"I think I've had enough cheer for the day," I muttered, trying to avoid inhaling any more Yaknog fumes. If I had to guess, I'd say it was more toxic than some of the plants I deal with for making medicine.

"Hey, you guys! Try this tasty new beverage I made for the holidays," she enthused, shifting the tray in her hands. I eyed it suspiciously and shook my head.

"You couldn't get me to drink that if my life was on the line," I replied, glaring at the offending "beverage". Astrid ignored me.

"Ugh! What's that smell? Is that you?" Tuffnut complained, shoving his sister rudely. The smarter blonde girl (hint, her name begins with an A) showed him the thing she had made.

"It's Yaknog!" she told him brightly. Tuffnut took one look at her pouring out some into a mug and gagged. I did, too. That stuff didn't just smell nasty, it looked nasty, and chances were, it tasted just as bad.

"Ugh! If I drink that, I'm gonna yak nog all over the place!" Tuffnut exclaimed, stepping back a bit.

"Maybe you'd rather taste a punch in the face?" she replied, holding up a fist for added emphasis.

"Astrid, it sounds delightful. I'd love a mug," Snotlout said pleasantly. I smirked at this. Honestly, I think Snotlout would eat shards of glass if Astrid said he would have a chance with her when he did it. But still, his attempts to woo her would always be amusing.

He took one mug and drank it all, a look of revulsion quickly consuming his face. When he didn't show any sign of swallowing, I nearly had to laugh.

"What's the matter, Snotlout? Is it too much for your taste buds?" I asked him laughingly. He shot a glare at me, then gulped it down reluctantly. I've seen a dragon go near an eel more readily than he drank the Yaknog.

"You could really taste the yak!" he coughed out, trying to keep her from seeing the grimace on his face. At that time, Fishlegs joined us and saw what was in her hands.

"Hmmm! Yum! What is that?" he asked curiously. Astrid turned to face him, putting Snotlout at her back, and I could see him trying to hold it in.

"Oh! You wanna try some? It's my new traditional drink," she told the bulky boy. Behind her, Snotlout shook his head, warning him that he really shouldn't touch one drop of it. Fishlegs got the hint.

"Oh... You know... um... I have suddenly, inexplicably changed my mind," he replied quickly, responding to the threat of Yaknog poisoning with admirable speed. It would have been a bit funny if he had drunk it, and gods know, I need something to laugh about. So far, aside from a few minor adventures, nothing particularly amusing had happened yet (though that mishap with the Terrible Terrors had been kinda entertaining)..

Ah, but wait. There was still one person who didn't know about the Yaknog, and slowly an evil grin spread across my face. Well, I might as well have some fun with Hiccup. I doubted Snoggletog was going to be much of a celebration when everyone was so down like this.

"Well, you don't know what you're missing," Astrid said, just a hint of disappointment in her voice. I cautiously crept out from behind Ruffnut and tapped her on the shoulder.

"I bet Hiccup will love it. Can you send him a drink for me?" I asked her maliciously. She eyed me suspiciously, but nodded.

"Sure. Hiccup!" she replied, walking toward the forge. Ruffnut chose this moment to look at Snotlout closely.

"Are you crying?" she asked incredulously. I turned and scrutinized him.

"I think he is. How bad was it, Snotlout?" I said seriously, putting a hand on his shoulder. He just gave us all a pitiful look and stumbled over to a barrel, where he promptly collapsed, groaning softly.

"I'm gonna take that as meaning pretty damn bad." Voices drifted toward me from the forge, and I turned to see Astrid talking to Hiccup. He didn't seem to be saying anything, and finally Astrid pointed back at me. They both turned, and I waved nervously. What were they talking about?

The girl called something over her shoulder as she took the hazardous drink away, and when she was out of earshot, Hiccup spat out whatever was in his mouth. I grinned evilly before walking up to him.

"So, how was your drink?" my voice came out casually, looking at the blueprints before him. So this was why he hadn't come back last night. He must have been working on this all night long. He glared at me while folding his arms across his chest.

"Oh, it was wonderful, Addie. You don't know what you were missing," he replied sarcastically. I nodded carefully and noticed what was on the work table.

"What's this?" I examined it a bit more closely, and my eyes widened with amazement.

"Hiccup, this is awesome! Won't this help Toothless fly on his own?" I asked him, glancing back at him. He blushed a bit and nodded.

"Yeah. I already explained this to Astrid, but what Tuffnut said last night really got to me. Toothless really can't come and go like all the other dragons, and it's my fault. I thought I could try to make it up to him by doing this," he explained quietly, glancing at the finished product. I nodded.

"Well, I think it's pretty amazing. Not many people could come up with something like this," I told him earnestly. Hiccup was a mechanical genius. I was good at making weapons and armor, and saddles, if necessary, but he could take those and make them something more. To be honest, I was a bit jealous. I wanted to have the creativity to make something as incredible as a replacement tail fin for a dragon. Oh well. At least I had some pretty good medicinal lore. Hiccup may be the inventor, but I was the healer.

Hiccup smiled, then glanced back at his house when the banging started. Toothless must have thought his rider was still asleep. He picked up the tail fin, tucked it under his arm, and tilted his head toward the house; it took me a second to realize he wanted me to come with him. I grinned in reply and walked with him toward the Night Fury on the roof.

Toothless was jumping up and down on the scaled roof a few more times when we got there, but he stopped when he saw the two of us.

"Toothless! Come on down, bud! I got something for ya!" Hiccup called, holding out the fin. The Night Fury quickly leaped down and eyed him. I smiled at how suspicious Toothless sniffed the equipment, but seeing him reminded me of how Frostwave was gone.

"What do you think of that? Yeah." He started to go around to the dragon's tail, but Toothless kept moving away. It would have been funny, if it didn't make me remember my own dragon.

"Would you just settle down? Toothless! Come on, bud! Let me get that on you!" he said exasperatedly as they kept going around in circles. I rolled my eyes and held out a hand.

"Stop, in the name of Addie!" I said loudly. Surprisingly enough, he did stop, and Hiccup started getting the fin attached.

"Yeah! You are going to love this. Okay." With a final click, it slipped into place and Hiccup got off. Toothless flicked his tail, and almost immediately started moaning and jumping around, trying to get it off like it was some sort of pest or invader.

"No no no... To-Toothless! Stop! Please, wait! Toothless, please!" Hiccup cried out, doing his best to calm his dragon down. I ducked as one swing nearly knocked me over, and with a single movement, the fin opened to match the real limb. Just like that, Toothless stopped and his pupils widened, making me smile. Maybe he knew what it was. Dragons are pretty smart, when they try to be.

"Ah... There you go. See? Got it?" the boy said as the dragon tested out the movement of the fin, looking at it in surprise and alarm as it opened like its match without Hiccup's help. The Night Fury's head swiveled as it first looked at Hiccup and me, then the fin, then back to us. His pupils had shrunk again, and that made me nervous. They say that you can tell how a demon feels by looking at its tail. With dragons, it's the eyes.

"Toothless... whoa!" I began, but Toothless leaping into the air cut off what I was about to say. We both stumbled back at the force of his wing beats, and when the wind had died down, Hiccup and I looked up to see Toothless flying away from Berk.

'Oh no,' I thought despairingly. Suddenly, everything seemed a lot grimmer than before.

Three days later...

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

Hiccup woke up to more banging on the ceiling, and hope swelled up inside him. Toothless was back! He rushed downstairs, where Addie was tying her hair back in its little ponytail, and together they went outside.

"Toothless! I knew you'd come back... urgh!" Hiccup said joyfully, grunting when he slipped on that same patch of ice and landed on his back. She helped him up, and they both looked at the roof. Stoick was up there, hammering some decorations into place, and he looked down to see them.

"Morning, son! Addie!" he called from the roof, a ladder near where he stood.

"Oh, hey, Dad..." Hiccup replied, trying to keep his disappointment out of his voice. He had been so hopeful that it was Toothless that seeing his father just wasn't the same.

"Hi, Stoick," Adeline added with a small wave.

"Glad you're up! I was looking for your helmet," the chief said, looking at the top of Hiccup's head. He paled, and his face grew nervous.

"My-my helmet?" Hiccup stammered, fidgeting a bit.

"Odin needs a place to put your goodies. Oh, and don't worry, Adeline. I've asked Gobber to lend you one of the extras he always has," he added, winking at the girl as he came down the ladder. She nodded slowly, unsure how to react, and glanced at Hiccup for guidance.

"Yeah, right... I-I'll get on that. Great..." he muttered, starting to walk away. Stoick must have sensed what was wrong, because he reached the bottom and looked at the two of them.

"Hold on!" he called, coming after them. Hiccup and Addie turned to face him again.

"Hold on. Alright, come one. What's on your mind? Out with it," he asked. A father's intuition was pretty strong when it came to family. Well, most of the time. His son sighed and looked at Addie for reassurance. She put a hand on his shoulder and dipped her head silently, mostly because there was nothing she could really say to help.

"Oh, it's been three days, Dad. I just thought Toothless would be back by now," Hiccup explained sadly. Stoick nodded in understanding.

"I'm sure he's with the other dragons," he replied, doing his best to cheer the two of them up.

"Yeah? We wish we could be that sure," his son replied bitterly. The chief sighed.

"Listen. I know what it's like to miss someone you love this time of year. But what do we do when they can't be here for the holiday? We celebrate them. And I imagine that is exactly what Toothless would want you to do. Right?" he said quietly, putting a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. Hiccup waited a bit before answering.

"You're right," he agreed, and Addie nodded, too. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought there was a sad look in her eyes, something deeper than the scars on her arms. They tried to avoid mentioning them – mostly for survival – but it was clear there was some bad stuff in her past. Maybe this Snoggletog could have helped her make some happy memories, but now...

"Good. Now go get that helmet," the chief said loudly, smacking a hand to his son's shoulder. "We've had enough disappointment around here." At that, he walked away, while Hiccup rubbed his shoulder and moved his left arm in a circle to get it back to normal. When his father was gone, he sighed and looked at Adeline.

"You okay?" he asked, putting a hand to her right shoulder. It hadn't taken long for him to notice that she acted a bit weird whenever he touched her left shoulder, and so he did his best to avoid it. She let out a long breath and glanced at the sunrise.

"Just some old memories resurfacing. I'll be fine," the brunette replied. By the way she set her jaw, it was clear she wasn't going to say anything else, and so Hiccup walked into the village. He was going after his helmet, even if he had to swim to get there.

Okay, maybe not swim – not in that cold water – but you get the picture.


Hiccup was carrying a pair of oars down to the docks when he bumped into Fishlegs, who was passing by with a basket full of fish. He eyed the contents curiously and looked at the older boy.

"Oh, Fishlegs, you hungry? There's enough fish there to feed a dragon!" he joked. Fishlegs chuckled awkwardly, peeking to the sides to make sure no one else was around.

"Oh, a dragon? That's..." he trailed off, scurrying away with the basket. Hiccup stared after him bemusedly, wondering just what he was up to, when he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned to see Addie hanging upside down from a support beam, watching the path Fishlegs had taken.

"Um, Addie, what are you doing?" he asked warily. She curled up, then flipped down and landed on her feet easily.

"I saw Fishlegs carrying that basket, and I thought it was suspicious, so I followed him," she stated bluntly, folding her arms. Hiccup put a hand to his forehead and sighed.

"No, I meant, why were you hanging upside down?" he clarified. At this, the girl shrugged.

"I felt like it. You should try it sometime. Now, let's see what our pal Fishlegs is up to," she answered, taking one of the oars and going after the meaty boy. Hiccup groaned inwardly and chased after her. She held out a hand to stop him from going any farther at one point, peeking around to see Fishlegs leaving a house – without the basket – and locking it up before walking away. The two of them set their oars down and went up to the house.

"Addie, it's locked, and Fishlegs has the key. I don't think he'd like it if we asked him for it," Hiccup said as she bent down a bit and pulled a thin metal rod out of her belt. Addie then looked around carefully before putting a hand to her buckle, and Hiccup was amazed to see it flip up and reveal a small knife. She saw him looking and winked.

"Don't tell anyone. It's supposed to be a secret," she whispered, holding it easily and using it and the rod to pick the lock. After a minute or so of wiggling and adjusting, she finally managed to get it into the right angle and unlocked the door.

"That was... pretty impressive. Is that how you got me out of that net?" he asked, eyes wide with admiration. She blushed and did a little half shrug.

"Well, I didn't need to use my knife, but the basic principle is the same. Although, the locks here are easier than those on Blackstone. I guess that's 'cause on that island, you have to be more careful, what with all the treacherous thieves around you," she replied. He rolled his eyes and put a hand on one of the door's metal handles.

"Ready?" he asked. She nodded grimly and grabbed the other door.

"Now!" she shouted, and they both pulled the doors open. Both blinked at the sight of Meatlug chained up inside, and both yelled in shock when the Gronckle came flying toward them. The chain broke with a resounding clang! and they were both slammed into. It took all they had to hold onto the speeding dragon. When Hiccup managed to get a good look at the dragon's face, he shouted, "Meatlug?"

The dragon looked at him in brief surprise, then went back to flying away. She passed low over the village, and Addie managed to pull her leg up just in time to avoid hitting Astrid's head. The blonde girl stared after them in shock.

"Hiccup? Addie? Where are you going?" she shouted. The boy and girl struggled to hang onto the dragon's face.

"I HAVE NO IDEA!" he yelled back, the three of them getting farther and farther away.

3rd Person POV: Astrid

"Meatlug? What about presents? Hey!" Fishlegs shouted from a walkway high above, making Astrid turn around to see him. She groaned and rounded up the remaining teens before heading up to where the young man had imprisoned his dragon.

"I can't believe him," he said sadly, looking at where Meatlug had slept. She gave him an incredulous look (which she is very good at).

"You can't believe him?! You kidnapped your dragon!" she shouted back angrily. He flinched and looked away, even as the twins went up to a pile of hay and moved aside a few stalks. Their eyes widened with surprise. There was something under the hay.

"Hey, guys...?" Tuffnut called at the two arguing people. Snotlout just stood there watching them, and Astrid and Fishlegs were having a one-sided standoff, so no one really paid attention to their discovery.

"He flew away the second he was unleashed!" Astrid yelled, waving her arm at the door. Fishlegs backed up a bit before answering.

"I'm 72 percent sure he wanted to stay," he answered uncertainly. The twins moved aside enough hay to see what was hidden, and they both looked at it in shock. Ruffnut gaped at it while an exasperated look appeared on Tuffnut's face, and because no one was paying attention, he shouted, "Guys!" The others joined them, and they were amazed to see a bunch of bumpy blue rocks.

"Whoa... Meatlug barfed up a pile of rocks," Fishlegs said bemusedly. Ruffnut rolled her eyes. Even to her, it was obvious what they really were.

"You're such an idiot. Those aren't rocks. Your dragon laid eggs!" she replied as Astrid picked up one egg.

"Hey, wait. I bet that's why the dragons left. To lay their eggs," she realized proudly. Fishlegs frowned in confusion.

"But boy dragons don't lay eggs," he said, trying to figure this puzzle out. Ruffnut did her best to break the news to him gently.

"Yeah, your boy dragon is a girl dragon," she said. Okay, maybe not that gently.

"Okay! That actually explains a few things," Fishlegs replied, his voice squeaking a little as his illusions shattered * insert sound of glass breaking *. An idea was coming to Astrid, yet another in a long line of not-so-good concepts (see: Yaknog), and she popped up with a cheerful, "Hey!"

"Everyone's missing their dragons, right?" she asked the others rhetorically. Snotlout groaned.

"Oh, here it comes."

Astrid went over to a box of decorations and supplies, grabbed a red ribbon, and tied it neatly around the egg.

"I've got an idea! It'll be another new Snoggletog tradition," she said, showing them the result of her expert tying skills. They got to work decking more eggs out in pretty ribbons, pine boughs, and other bits of trim, and once they were done, they grabbed a few each and set off into the village.

"Oh, this is gonna be so good!" she said delightedly. The five of them went throughout Berk, going into people's houses and putting eggs into the helmets. Little did they know what was in store for them...


Adeline's POV

I wasn't sure how long we were flying, but eventually we came to a foggy area much like where we had found the Boneknapper. Hiccup had managed to get onto Meatlug's back and helped me up behind him, and I could only watch as we flew over unfamiliar waters. Out of nowhere, a sea stack loomed in front of us, and the Gronckle barely swerved out of the way.

"Whoa!" Hiccup shouted. I just wrapped my arms tighter around his waist. This was getting to be a bit much for my poor self. If Meatlug didn't kill us, I was going to smack Fishlegs for doing this to us, after I found Frostwave and the other dragons. I just hoped that was where we were going.

"Meatlug, where are you taking us?" Hiccup asked the Gronckle. I peeked over his shoulder and saw... more fog and rocks.

"Well, it's probably not anywhere near Blackstone Island. The area around there is nothing like this," I replied with relief. At least the dragons didn't go near that awful place. Really, nothing should go near there.

Hiccup grunted in agreement, and again, something came at us from the fog. He pulled up on the dragon's "ears" and avoided colliding with the figurehead of an old Viking ship. Whoever had used it was long gone, judging by how it had run aground.

We managed to get above the clouds, where visibility was much better. All around us was a sea of fluffy white, with some lighter clouds high above. It was weird how clouds layered themselves. Maybe, like dragons, there were different kinds of clouds. Eventually, we cleared the clouds to see a large, reddish-brown island beneath us, with a lagoon in the center. There was movement on the rocky island, and hope swelled up in me. Were those the dragons?

Meatlug swooped lower, and we shot across the waves to the island. Meatlug skidded to a stop at the edge, and we took the chance to get off before she decided to go on another impromptu flight. She spotted something and began to walk away, but all Hiccup and I could do was stare. Hundreds, no, thousands of dragons must have been here, with tiny versions of them fluttering around. I spotted a Nadder that looked like Stormfly, and it approached a small ring with several baby Nadders inside.

"You guys come here to have babies," Hiccup said in amazement. We both watched the Nadder start regurgitating some fish for the babies, and I smirked.

'So that's why dragons throw up some of their food. They store it for the ones that can't hunt,' I thought amazedly. It made me think of the second time I met Frostwave. She had brought me a fish, too, and had basically coerced me into eating it. If I had refused, she might have done something a little hazardous to my continued existence.

Frostwave...

"Whoa..." he said at the sight. Movement below caught our eyes, and we looked down to see another Gronckle pushing eggs into a hole filled with water. Hiccup and I skidded down to watch what happened. We peered into the depths, and I couldn't help but gasp when the egg exploded at the bottom to let a baby Gronckle out. It swam up quickly and pulled itself out of the water, then tried to fly over to the mother. Its sibling followed quickly.

"Wow," Hiccup and I said in unison. We both glanced at each other, and I blushed. That had been a bit weird. He stood up, helped me rise, and noticed an egg that hadn't made it into the pool.

"Hey, look over here, you missed one," he told the mother, walking over to it. Red cracks appeared in its surface, and I reached out a hand to stop him. It was too late. The egg exploded and knocked Hiccup several feet away.

"WHOA!" I paled and ran over to him. He looked up at what had happened, then at me.

"Hiccup, are you okay?" I asked worriedly, helping him sit up. He nodded, rubbed the back of his head, and stared at the hatchling. It seemed unharmed, even though it had shot up high into the sky and come falling down quite hard.

"Yeah. Man, it's a good thing those don't hatch on Berk," he replied thankfully. I nodded slowly and looked around. If dragon eggs were this explosive, then I was very glad there were none on Berk (A.N. Just keep thinking that, Addie. Just keep thinking that...).


3rd Person POV: Astrid

The teens finished placing the gift-wrapped eggs in helmets and boots and met up in the village plaza. Astrid was grinning widely the whole time.

"Wasn't this a great idea?" she asked eagerly. Fishlegs nodded, just as excited as she was.

"Uh-huh! Everyone's gonna be so surprised!" he replied happily. At that moment, the house she had just come out of exploded, and something flew through the air and hit Fishlegs in the face. He yelped in pain and fell down, and Snotlout took this moment to shout, "Surprise!"

The thing that had hit him fell down and landed on his belly. It was a tiny orange Gronckle! It yawned, and Ruff, Tuff, and Snotlout all cooed with pleasure. Astrid, on the other hand, was stiff with shock.

"The eggs explode?" she asked quietly. Houses everywhere began exploding, every single one a house they had placed eggs inside.

"The eggs explode!"

One house blew up, and a man ran from it screaming, the horns of his helmet on fire. Astrid tried to apologize to everyone running past her, but they weren't listening. Their village was being destroyed by innocent baby dragons! One shot out and hit another, and they both watched as more began pummeling the big tree. The first hit the top, nearly knocking the star off, and more salvos soon followed. The Snoggletog tree went up in flames, all that hard work gone to waste. The other teens weren't too worried about that, though.

"Awesome!" Ruff shouted gleefully, and her brother added a, "Wow!" to prove how amazing this was to them. Snotlout grinned and looked at Astrid.

"This is your best idea yet!" he told her brightly. All she could do was stand there, petrified, as more houses blew up and more of the village was destroyed. The village hadn't been destroyed in months! These were supposed to be peaceful times now.

Stoick joined the rest of the village in gawking at the burning "tree", then looked at the teens.

"What in Thor's name is going on?!" he shouted furiously. Astrid covered her mouth nervously.

"The eggs explode," she repeated. One final house blew up to make her point, and she gave the chief a sheepish smile.


Adeline's POV

Hiccup and I had decided to split up to find our dragons, seeing as we could cover more ground that way. I was having some trouble with not going in circles, Hiccup's cries of Toothless's name fading away into the distance, but eventually I came across a welcome sight. It was Frostwave, curled up around a nest of her own with plenty of space between her and the other dragons.

"Frostwave!" I shouted, happy tears springing to my eyes. They were tears that I had been holding back for the past five days, but now I could let them fall freely. She looked up in surprise as I ran up to her and grabbed her head, burying my face in the space between the two parts of her horn. She let out a soft hum of laughter and managed to wriggle out of my grip.

"Hello, Addie. I see you have found me again," she crooned gently, licking my face to wash away the tears. I smiled, nodded, and looked around with wonder.

"What is this place?" I asked her curiously. She crooned with amusement, then blew a cloud of mist at me. The island was warm, warmer than Berk, so it didn't bother me as much when she did it, but still. I have a reputation to uphold.

"This is the nesting island, a safe place for all dragons to lay their eggs. However, it was not until recently that I felt I was safe enough to lay my egg," she explained serenely. Wait.

Egg?

My mind sputtered over this revelation, trying to regain its footing in a world that until recently had seemed stable. Frostwave... had an egg? What? I'm pretty sure reptiles don't work like that, incredible dragons or not. And yet, there was a tiny white version of Frostwave curled up beside her, only with light gray stripes along the phalanges of its wings, back, and the back of his legs. I knew my dragon had similar lines of a slightly darker silver on the back of her legs, and as far as I knew, she was the only Silver Horror around for miles. Until now, that is.

"I can sense your confusion, and I understand. It is another blessing from She Who Created Us With Her Breath, one that has both helped and hindered my kind. If a female that is bearing eggs feels threatened, the unborn hatchlings go into a temporary stasis until she feels safe again. That is why I was able to hold my egg in until now," Frostwave said, as if this was something she had expected. I blinked, remembering that she had lost her mate several years ago.

"And exactly how long can this last?" I asked weakly. She hummed with amused pleasure.

"Over twenty leaf-cycles, if necessary. I have been holding this precious one for twelve. His name is Starfrost, and he is my first hatchling. Treat him well." My head nodded, dazed from this knowledge. I had spent over three years with Frostwave, yet I still knew so little about her species. It made me feel kind of ashamed. I had been so focused on my own needs, on getting out and being free, that I had never bothered to ask her about herself. What kind of a friend was I?

"Uh, hi there, Starfrost," I said uncertainly, squatting down to get a better look at him. He raised his head, revealing two crimson eyes that watched me curiously, and yawned. His teeth were only just starting to come in, tiny peaks of black bone peeking out of his sable gums. The only reason I could see them was because they didn't glisten with saliva. It was adorable.

"He is only a few days old, but already he can fly and breathe ice. Soon, he will be ready to receive dragon lore," Frostwave commented, lowering her head to his level and nudging his horn with her nose. The two pieces were short compared to hers, but I could tell they would grow larger. He was about the size of a sheep already, and that was at a few days. Starfrost would be huge when he was older.

"Um, okay. That's good to hear... right?" She snorted out a cloud of mist that didn't help with my state of mind.

"Of course it is. Every dragon that knows our history is another way to keep it alive," she replied, as if this were something I should have assumed automatically. I nodded slowly and held out a hand to her baby. Before he could do the whole human-dragon-bonding thing, my dragon started growling in warning, and I pulled back the offending limb. When a Silver Horror growls at you, you back the Hel off and get out of range. A moment later, Frostwave gave me an ashamed look and bumped her head against my arm.

"I apologize, Addie. Motherly instinct made me forget who you were for a few seconds," she crooned, rubbing her horn against the side of my face. I shrugged and placed my hands under her chin.

"Hey, if I was one of the last of my kind, and I had my baby right here, and someone potentially hostile approached him, I'd snarl, too. Well, I'd scream at them to get away from my kid, and then I might resort to drastic measures, but the feeling is the same," I allowed casually, moving to the other side. She hummed with knowing amusement, but didn't say anything. I think she was just glad I had backed off of Starfrost.

"So, um, who's the father?" I tried to ask casually. Frostwave's eyes narrowed with sadness, but she did answer me.

"His name was Cloudstar, and he was a mighty dragon, indeed. I am glad he chose me as his lifemate, even if we could only be together for a few moons," her answer came out a soft growl. My face dropped. So Frostwave only had this little baby left of her mate. I was almost too scared to ask her, but I gritted my teeth and charged ahead.

"What happened?" I asked reluctantly. She snarled wordlessly and spat out a small chunk of ice. It hit the ground and formed thin spikes, which Starfrost started playing with and making little coos of delight.

"Humans, some vile humans of Blackstone, caught him. If I hadn't had Starfrost to worry about, I would have tried to save him, but he told me to protect our hatchling. That was the last time I ever saw him," she snarled, nearly slipping into dragonspeak a few times when she got too angry. The only thing that kept her from biting me was my hand on her neck and Starfrost's presence. An angry Silver Horror was a deadly Silver Horror.

"I... I'm sorry, Frostwave. You didn't have to tell me," I replied quietly. She shook her head, an old habit she had picked up from me, and nudged me with her nose.

"It is all right. You were bound to ask eventually. I am just glad it is when my son is here, and not dead because I tried to save my lifemate. Besides, I believe you have someone looking for you," she crooned laughingly, and I stared at her in confusion. That was when I heard Hiccup faintly calling me.

"Go. Be with the one you love," she encouraged. I stuck my tongue out at her, and I'm pretty sure I was fire red, but I followed the sound of Hiccup's voice to its source. The Viking boy smiled with relief when he saw me.

"Did you find them?" he asked hopefully. I nodded and looked back at my dragon and her baby.

"Well, Frostwave has apparently been pregnant for twelve years, but I haven't seen Toothless anywhere. What about you?" I replied, grimacing at the thought. Do dragons even get pregnant? Is that the right word? He gave me a funny look and pointed at two familiar shapes: a Monstrous Nightmare and a Deadly Nadder.

"I found Hookfang and Stormfly, and it looks like they're all busy with their young. Do you think Frostwave will carry us back to Berk?" he said, glancing over my shoulder at the silver dragon and her baby. When he saw the white child, he raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, Addie, if they're called Silver Horrors, why is the baby white?" he asked. I blinked, then realized he hadn't spent several years with a Silver Horror, like I had.

"Oh, it's how you know their age. Their scales get more silver with every year they're alive, and they also get a lot tougher. They also shed and eat the old scales, which I think is pretty disgusting, but it makes them stronger," I replied easily. He grimaced at the mention of eating the old skin, and I couldn't agree with him more. Eating scales? Yuck.

"I am remaining on the nesting island until Starfrost is old enough to fly without my help, so do not expect me to leave for another day," Frostwave roared, answering his question. I translated quickly, then sighed in defeat.

"Well, I'm hungry. Do you think Stormfly or Hookfang will give us a ride back?" I suggested. Hiccup shrugged.

"It's worth a shot." We walked toward the Monstrous Nightmare ridden by a certain moron.

"Hey, there, Hookfang? Think you can give us a ride back home?" I asked the red dragon, leaning against his side. He growled warmly and let Hiccup climb onto his neck, with me joining him swiftly. Once we were seated and had a good grip on the dragon, he took off and hovered over the island.

"We'll see you all back on Berk when you're good and ready, okay, gang?" Hiccup called to the dragons below. Immediately, other dragons started flying up to join us, and I smacked a hand to my head.

"So much for that idea," I mumbled, placing my forehead against Hiccup's back. The fur felt nice and soft, and his back was warm. I hadn't realized just how cold my body was without Frostwave until now. It was vaguely unsettling.

"Oh, no, no! No, no, no! I... think I just started the return migration," he said to himself. I groaned and watched as more and more dragons joined our growing flight. Baby dragons below started snarling and growling curiously, wondering why their parents were leaving, and Stormfly stopped to growl at them. I wasn't sure what they were saying, but it seemed like she was telling them to fly. They began running toward the edge of a cliff, and my stomach felt like lead.

'Please, gods of Asgard, if you ever had any kindness toward me, please don't let those dragons die,' I prayed silently.

"Well, if you insist," Hiccup said nervously. A few babies fell off the edge and started to fly, rising unsteadily.

"Come on! Come on!" Hiccup cheered. It seemed like they were going to make it, but the wind was too strong for them to get more than a few yards away from the edge, and it blew them back up onto the cliff.

"Ah, boy, this is never gonna work," Hiccup grumbled. The parents were waiting for their babies, but they were simply too weak to make it. We needed some way to carry all of them, but there were too many to load them onto the dragons themselves. They would have all fallen into the sea. Wait...

"Hiccup, wasn't there something we could use to get them off the island?" I asked, trying to remember what it was. He thought about it, too, and a smile came to his face.

"Oh! Hold on. I've got just the thing," he said, and we flew off in the direction we had come from (I think).

3rd Person POV: Stoick

Baby Gronckles were everywhere, lying in barrels of food and amongst the wreckage of houses. Men and women carried supplies to places that needed it, and Stoick walked with Gobber through the warzone.

"Ah, Gobber, this is a disaster," he grumbled. Gobber shrugged.

"Oh, it's not so bad," the blacksmith replied. Stoick gave him an incredulous look as they passed through the wall of a house and under Astrid, who was repairing the roof of said house.

"Oh, not that bad? The village is destroyed, the dragons have gone and left us... Let's face it. This holiday is a complete..." he trailed off as they walked through the open doorway to a place where no one was moving. They all stared at some part of the sky silently, and he pushed his way through to the front.

"What are these people looking at?" Stoick asked. He looked up to see something strange. It was a huge, dark cloud coming toward them, and the top part was moving rapidly. He stared at it in amazement.

"What is that?"

A dragon figurehead moved into view, and he realized that it was the dragons carrying a ship. In front, Hiccup and Adeline were riding Hookfang, and the pirate girl even waved cheekily.

"It's Hiccup and Adeline!" he shouted happily. On the house behind him, Astrid smiled widely.

"And our dragons!" she added. At this, everyone in the village cheered. The ship came in for a rough landing, sliding past two sheep and coming to a stop in front of Stoick. Once it had stopped moving, all the dragons let go of the ropes that held it up, and the ship listed to the side. Vikings crept forward apprehensively, wondering just what was so important about this ship. They soon found out.

Baby dragons came out from the damaged vessel, Nadders and Monstrous Nightmares and Zipplebacks and every other kind of dragon possible. The village smiled at the sight of this new life, and as the babies fluttered down, their parents landed and reunited with their human riders. Hiccup and Addie got off to cheers of "Welcome back, kiddos!" and "Good job!". The other teens rushed forward to greet their dragons.

"Yeah! Whoo-hoo!" Snotlout shouted as he hugged Hookfang's snout. Meatlug flew high overhead, searching for something, and landed where her babies had clustered together. She barfed up several fish for them to feast on, much to their delight, and they dug in.

"Meatlug!" Fishlegs shouted before tackling his dragon and sending them both flying.

"Stormfly! You're back!" Astrid cried out, hugging her Nadder. She gasped when the little hatchlings looked up at her.

"And there are babies!" she said joyfully, kneeling down to look at them. Stoick laughed heartily and picked Hiccup and Addie up in a great bear hug.

"Well done, you two," he chortled, and the girl tensed up. When she realized it was just a friendly move, though, he could feel her relax. What was that all about? Well, no matter. The dragons were back.

"Thanks, Dad," Hiccup said, trying to get some air.

A roar punctuated the air, and they all looked up to see a silver shape flying toward them, illuminated by the moon, and Addie struggled out of his grip to meet the late arrival. At this, Stoick decided to let Hiccup go as well. Of course, he didn't notice his son putting a hand to his waist in mild pain, but that was just because of the infectious joy around them. It made it hard to see the bad things.

"Frostwave! Oh, Frostwave! I thought you said you weren't coming with us?" she asked, holding the head of the dragon tightly. Frostwave huffed out a cloud of mist, moved her head toward her back, and picked something up. It was a tiny white version of the female dragon, with a few differences. The girl gasped and picked up the baby.

"You carried him here? Just so we could all celebrate together? Frostwave, I didn't know you were such a softie!" she said loudly, holding the baby Silver Horror carefully. Stoick grinned and threw his arms wide.

"Everyone! Grab your dragons! To the Great Hall! We finally have something to celebrate!" he shouted, walking forward. The village, humans and dragons alike, cheered.

Adeline's POV

In the Great Hall...

The party in the Great Hall was better than anything Blackstone could produce. Lights hung from cords attached to the pillars - lanterns like the ones Gobber had earlier - and good food was arranged on the tables. But still, there was something missing, and I wasn't the only one who noticed. Hiccup was looking around, searching for Toothless, and so far, he wasn't finding him. Frostwave had said she hadn't seen Toothless on the island, so all I could do was be there for him.

"Hiccup, I know it's hard feeling like the odd man out. But you did do a really wonderful thing. Thank you," I said softly, hugging him tightly. I had a surprise for him, but it could wait.

"Addie, where did Toothless go?" he asked, pulling away. I shook my head slowly.

"I don't know. Frostwave won't tell me anything," I replied sadly. Just then, I heard the doors at the end open, just barely audible over the raucous crowd. I peeked over Hiccup's shoulder to see who it was. As far as I knew, the entire village had gathered here to celebrate. All but one member.

Toothless crept through the doors quietly, looking around for Hiccup, I think. That's when the evil part of my mind decided to tease Hiccup a little. What can I say? I'm a terrible, terrible person.

"Wow, man, I wouldn't wanna be you right now! I mean, you brought back everyone's dragon except yours! That really bites," I said loudly, putting a hand on his shoulder to keep him from turning. He gave me a really uncomfortable look.

"Yeah, you know, this is not helping, at all," he replied dryly. I grinned and spun him around to see the dragon running toward us. Instantly, Hiccup's bad mood went away.

"TOOTHLESS! Hey, bud!" he said joyfully, running forward and hugging the dragon. I grinned at the sight of them, and felt a nudge against my hand. Starfrost, Frostwave's little baby boy, was looking up at me with his big red eyes. I picked him up and held him carefully. He still hadn't learned to keep his claws in, and so I had to be watchful. Frostwave looked over my shoulder at the two of them, while I heard Gobber say Stoick's name. I wasn't sure what he did next, because I was too absorbed in how happy Hiccup was.

"Bad dragon! Very bad dragon!" he scolded, pointing at Toothless. The Night Fury followed his finger distractedly, which made me smile. Everything seemed to be going well, but something was peeking out of the corner of Toothless's mouth, and I wanted to know what it was.

"You scared me to death! Don't ever stay away that long again! And what is in your mouth?" Hiccup finally asked, peering at the thing. Toothless bent over, put his mouth over his head, and opened wide, dumping a certain saliva-coated helmet on his head. Everyone groaned but me. Hey, it was just dragon spit. Frostwave used it to clean me every two days, and I came out just fine. Actually, pretend I didn't say that. I never want Hiccup to know that Frostwave washes me.

Hiccup laughed exasperatedly.

"Yeah, you found my helmet. Wha-hey! You found my helmet! That's where you've been?" he asked incredulously while the Night Fury bumped his head against his rider's body.

"Buddy, thank you. You are amazing." With that, Hiccup hugged his dragon, and Astrid cried out, "Happy Snoggletog!"

The next day...

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

Hiccup woke up to Toothless banging on the roof again, and so he quickly went outside to see him. Before he could get around to the side of the house, Toothless started jumping up and down again.

"I'm coming, Toothless! Alright, bud, come on down. I was just..." he said, then saw that Toothless had pulled out the old saddle and tail fin. They were lying in the snow, the battered leather and scarlet fin standing out against the fresh powder.

"Toothless, what'd you pull this out for? You don't need this anymore. Come on, let's get going," Hiccup said, moving toward the dragon. The Night Fury circled away, making sure to keep the old flight gear between him and his rider. They kept at it until Hiccup finally stopped – right back where he started.

"Would you quit fooling around? You have your new tail now. Toothless!" His dragon looked at him, then held up his tail and focused on it. His real fin opened, and the fake did, too, a reminder of just what this meant for the dragon. He turned back to Hiccup and, with a grand gesture, began hitting it against the ground.

"Toothless! Stop! What are you doing?" Hiccup shouted in surprise. The fin broke off and Toothless nudged the saddle with his foot, giving him a very adorable look. That was when Hiccup realized it. Toothless wanted to need him to fly. He slowly smiled at this, and began putting the old gear on. When he was done, he was just about to climb into the saddle when a girl cleared her throat behind him. Hiccup turned to see Addie smirking at him.

"What?" he asked curiously. It was rare for Addie to wake up so early of her own free will. She walked up to the two of them and started stroking Toothless's head, waiting a few seconds before answering.

"Do you think you can come to this cove on the island after your flight? There's something I want you to see," she asked softly, her face flushing deeper and deeper with every word. Hiccup nodded.

"Sure. What is it?" he replied, wondering just what it was. She winked at him, but didn't say a word.

"Remember, come to the cove when you're done. I'll be waiting." With that, she walked away quickly and went back inside the house. The two boys stared after her, but eventually they recovered and flew off.

An hour later...

Adeline's POV

Frostwave had helped me carry the supplies I needed to the cove, and together we had set things up. Some food that was leftover from last night's celebration was set out on a few shields, and Frostwave had helped me put some lanterns up in the big tree at one end of the depression in the earth. Now all that was left was for Hiccup and Toothless to arrive.

"Today is a very happy day, Addie. Are you sure you do not wish to celebrate in the village?" Frostwave asked from her spot by the water. She had amused herself by freezing part of the water and clawing random designs into the ice, but now she was bored and wanted to talk. I rolled my eyes and nodded.

"Frostwave, you're the one who reminded me what today was. I want to celebrate with people who are close to me first. Afterwards, maybe I'll go to the village," I replied calmly. Inside, though, I was really, really nervous. I didn't really know how Hiccup was going to react to what I had planned, and I didn't want him to hate me. It's not easy being a girl in love!

Before I could get too nervous, I heard the familiar cry of a Night Fury, and soon Toothless and Hiccup touched down. The boy dismounted and came up to me, looking around in surprise.

"Addie, what is this? What's the occasion?" he asked, waving a hand at the shields of food. I blushed and shrugged with one shoulder.

"Oh, you know, it's just... my birthday," I mumbled that last bit. His eyes widened and he grinned.

"Addie, that's amazing! Why didn't you tell me sooner?" At this, Frostwave began laughing hoarsely. I shot her a glare and turned back to Hiccup, rubbing the short hair in the back sheepishly.

"Well, I kinda... forgot. Frostwave reminded me this morning, and I wanted to celebrate with you guys first. You're the closest people in my life right now," I replied sincerely. He blushed a bit, and I grinned.

"Now, come on! That food isn't gonna eat itself!" I said brightly, pulling him toward the plates of food. Baskets of fish had been set aside for Frostwave and Toothless, and so we all ate happily.

A few minutes later...

We had eaten, and played a few games, and finally it was time for the final event.

"Okay, Hiccup, close your eyes," I said, doing my best to keep what I had planned out of my voice. He gave me a weird look, and I returned it in kind.

"Come on. I'm claiming birthday girl privileges. Now do it!" I ordered. Hiccup rolled his eyes, but shut them tightly, and I led him over to a root of the tree. It was almost thick enough to be a tree itself, and so it was perfect for what I was doing.

"Okay, now stand here, and no matter what, don't open your eyes." I reached down, grabbed the rope I had placed here for this exact purpose, and started winding it around him and the root.

"Um, Addie, what are you doing?" he asked, fighting the urge to open his eyes. I grinned widely and looked up. Frostwave had helped me tie a bit of mistletoe above this spot. One of the most beloved of all Blackstone traditions: a couple under some mistletoe must kiss, no matter if they're engaged or not.

So I leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. His eyes flashed open, and I blushed a furious shade of red. The heat coming from my face almost rivaled that of Frostwave's scales.

"Wha-" he began, but I cut him off with another kiss on his lips. It wasn't long, and I was nearly burning up by the time it ended, but it was wonderful. Before Hiccup could react any more, I did the little neck pinch and knocked him out. Okay, I had gotten what I wanted. Now I needed to have some fun.

"Frostwave, bring me that bucket of paint, will you?" I called over my shoulder evilly. She let out a long sigh, but brought it over while Toothless watched everything bemusedly. He probably had no idea what I was planning.


Slight Perspective Change!

When Hiccup woke up, he had all sorts of little doodles and pictures painted on his face. The rope had been untied while he was asleep, and Toothless was curled up around him protectively. Adeline and Frostwave, along with any sign of their little party, were gone, and all he could remember was eating and being kissed. So he got up, climbed onto Toothless's back, and flew back to Berk, where a new party was being held at the Great Hall.

If he had looked closely at part of the root, he would have seen a small heart with H+A carved inside it.


Hiccup, narrating

Winter in Berk lasts most of the year. It hangs on with both hands and won't let go. And the only real comforts against the cold are those you keep close to your heart. Turns out, that was the best Snoggletog ever. That year, I gave my best friend a pretty great gift, and Addie gave me something wonderful, too. But you know what? They gave me a better one!


But wait! There's more!

Frostwave's POV

The time for sleep had come. Addie and Starfrost were curled up together on her hammock, while I slept beneath, providing warmth to my strange family. Seeing her reveal her feelings to the Hiccup had brought pleasure into my heart. Perhaps she would take my advice and perform the Silver Horror method of mating, though I doubted it. Humans could be so strange sometimes, with their insistence on odd forms of courting and appropriate times for pre-dating ceremonies.

Anyways, my son was healthy and strong, already able to breathe ice and fly. Yet, there was something to his attitude recently that worried me. I knew what staring off to the horizon pointlessly meant, as well as the purpose behind his insistence on being taught dragon lore so soon. Starfrost was leaving; the Call had summoned him to somewhere far away from me. It saddened me to realize this, but I knew it was necessary. I had felt the Call myself, nine leaf-cycles after I lost Cloudstar, and it had brought me back to Blackstone to find my bondmate, Adeline.

"Starfrost, must you leave so soon?" I growled to him. His pure white scales glistened in the moonlight as he turned solemnly.

"I must, Mother. I have felt the Call. She Who Created Us With Her Breath needs me to do a job for her. That is why I must be taught the lore immediately," he replied, already sounding older than he should. Silver Horrors always aged faster mentally than physically, though humans were far slower than we. Just another way to carry on dragon lore. We could not write it down, and so we had to pass it on in a very special way.

"I understand. Come here, my hatchling," I crooned, lowering my head to his level. He walked over quietly, then lifted his head. We touched horns, and I could feel the history of the dragons pass to my son. Mental transfer was the fastest way to carry on the legacy, though both the recipient and the bestower had to be careful not to move too quickly afterwards. Centuries of dragon lore had just been passed on. Dizziness was often a side effect.

Starfrost stumbled away, then managed to raise his head to meet my warm gaze.

"Thank you, Mother. I will return when the creator wishes it," he growled softly. I dipped my head in reply.

"May the winds support your wings," I hummed out the traditional dragon way to say farewell. He lowered his head in return.

"And may the stars guide you to safe nests," Starfrost answered. My hatchling was ready to face the world, even though he was only six days old. I knew the creator would protect him. She never made a Silver Horror feel the Call without ensuring their safety. And so I watched, helpless to stop it, as my only child flew away to face his destiny alone.


Author's Notes: Snoggletog translations!

Vaycd uv Ynnejym – Feast of Arrival, as translated in the text

vunapaync – forebears

Benydeyh – Piratian

Cajah Hekrdc uv Fiends – Seven Nights of Fiends, a summer holiday that will be explained more in Burnt Ice

So, with that scene with Hiccup and Addie under the mistletoe, I was tempted to make it just a figment of Addie's imagination and have Hiccup make her snap out of it, but I decided against it. What I did was much better, right? Anyways, sorry again for posting so late! I even missed Valentine's Day! What is wrong with me? I missed 2/14! Oh, well. My favorite day is the day after Valentine's, 2/15. Why? Because that is the day all the leftover chocolate goes on sale! Whoo!

Now review! I have done my duty by you readers, so you need to do your duty by me. REVIEW!

And I'll do my best to post more regularly now! Until we meet again!

Wild Cat 214, out!