-Naming-

The next morning the hatchling was cuddling with Storm. I was thinking of a name for her. Something simple and easy to tell Hiccup. Storm was waking up. ''Maybe Snowshadow. I would like that, but I wouldn't be able to tell Hiccup.'' Storm looked into my eyes when I said that. ''I could tell him'' What! How could she understand me? ''Can you understand me?'' I said. She nodded. A human who could speak dragon! ''Did you know that no one else can understand me? Only you, and the other dragons can.'' She looked sad, but she was also happy that she could understand me anyways. ''Should I tell daddy that you what to name her Snowshadow?'' I nodded. She got up and went to Hiccup's house. I was left alone with soon to be named Snowshadow. I watched her sleep. She was peaceful, like Snowfire. Then Hiccup walked in, followed by Storm. ''Why did you bring me here Stormy?'' Hiccup asked her. ''Toofless says he wants to name her Snowshadow.'' I smiled and Hiccup was a little surprised and confused. ''What do you mean 'he said'?'' Storm looked up at her father. ''I can understand them, and stuff.'' Hiccup hugged his daughter. ''So what did Toothless say about the name?'' he asked. ''He says he wants the name to be Snowshadow.'' Hiccup smiled and knelt down beside his daughter. ''Snowshadow's a nice name.'' Storm hugged Hiccup ''Let's go to bed'' Hiccup said. He was leaving when he turned back to watch his daughter settle down next to me, and and fall asleep. He left with a smile. I picked Snowshadow up and placed her next to Storm. They snuggled into each other and I looked down at them both. I knew that neither of these kids were actually mine, but I treated them as so because they were the kids of the ones I loved. I wrapped my tail and wings around the two children, so nothing could harm them without harming me first. I fell asleep knowing I had something to live for.

The morning was humid and sunny. This was perfect weather for Night Furies. I heard rustling not far from where I was, and I looked up. Starkad was shifting her weight a lot more than usual. This weather wasn't the best for Nadders, because their skin wasn't as tough as mine, and it couldn't prevent the heat from getting onto her body. I knew I wouldn't be able to help, so I instead, looked down to the two children that I was protecting. Neither of them were sleeping. Instead, Storm was trying to talk to Snowshadow. I didn't bother to listen to what they were talking about, so I stood up and yawned. Snowshadow tumbled onto the hay, and looked up at me. I could tell that she didn't want me to get up. I put my nose in front of her, and she sniffed me. I purred with delight at the little white dragon. So similar to Snowfire. Storm was going to get some food when Snowshadow tackled her. Storm squeaked with surprise, and I picked the hatchling up off of her. ''Thanks Toofless.'' After she was gone, I put the white dragon down. She squealed for Storm to come back. ''She'll come back little one. She went to go get food.'' She still moaned and cried, but eventually, Storm came back with a couple of fish. She placed them on the ground. I ate them all and then regurgitated some for Snowshadow. As she was eating, Storm patted her along her spine. She didn't mind her doing it, but she did want a little privacy, so she hissed just a little. Storm stopped and waited patiently waited for her finish eating. Before she was done, Storm stood up and walked over to me. Storm loved me, maybe not as much as she loved Snowshadow, but she may have loved me more than Hiccup because she slept with me instead of him. I was like her adoptive father in some way. Hiccup didn't mind at all. He knew she was safer with me. She hugged me and I purred. Then she went back to Snowshadow. Snowshadow was trying to jump on her, but Storm maintained her balance. Then Storm sat down and Snowshadow licked her face. I walked over to Starkad, who was watching Skylar chase a mouse. ''Won't you miss this.'' I said to her. She turned her head towards me. ''Yeah, I guess I will.'' I lied down next to her and started eating a goat. ''Do you want some?'' I asked her. ''No thanks. I just ate.'' She stood up and walked over to Skylar. Skylar was still chasing the mouse, but Starkad scared it in the other direction. ''I was playing with that!'' Starkad chuckled and motioned to her to get some sleep. My thoughts were interrupted by Snowshadow climbing onto my back. I chuckled and flapped my wings so it was hard to stay on. Storm went onto my back too and they started to squeal with delight. ''Are you three having fun?'' Someone said sarcastically. I looked up and saw Hiccup. He had probably been there the whole time. I stopped flapping my wings so Storm could get off. She ran over to her father and hugged him. He looked up at me and smiled. I stood up, careful not to let Snowshadow fall, and walked up to him. I nuzzled him with my head, and he put one of his hands on my forehead. Snowshadow was still a little bit cautious of new people, but I could feel her moving towards my head. Her curiosity won over fear, so she was on my head now, sniffing Hiccup's hand. Hiccup was careful not to move, so he didn't scare her. Then she licked his hand and Hiccup finally took his hand off my head. Snowshadow wanted to lick his hand again, so she walked towards him. She tripped on one of her wings and fell off of my head, which was about 5 feet off the ground. My quick reflexes caught her. I had to use my mouth, but my teeth were sheathed. I caught her by the tail. Storm inspected her to see if she was hurt. Thankfully, the only thing hurt was a bruise on her tail. Hiccup could see that Snowshadow was curious, so he put his hand in front of her and she licked it again. Snowshadow soon got bored of licking his hand and went back onto my back. I lied down and Snowshadow bit my ear. I growled and she didn't do it again. Storm walked over to cuddle too, but Hiccup stopped her. ''You need to go eat Storm. You can come back when you're done. Ricket's bored with you not home.'' Storm was reluctantly brought back home. Snowshadow still wanted to play, so I got a small fish and threw it to the other side of the nest. She scrambled after it, tripping on her wings. She got the fish and brought it back to me to throw again. I threw it so many times that my neck started to hurt. I got tired and closed my eyes. Snowshadow wasn't tired, but since I wouldn't do anything else, she curled into a ball underneath my chin.

About 6 months pass. Hiccup invented a new tail that didn't need him to control to let me fly. Snowshadow and Skylar are going to learn how to fly. Starkad let me do the teaching, since I was more experienced. I opened my wings widely, to show them the starting stance to take off. Skylar copied my stance perfectly, while Snowshadow had a little difficulty moving her wings. Night Fury wings were stronger than Nadder wings, so it took longer to learn to control them. I helped her get used to it, and then she finally had the right stance. I tried to explain to them how to move your body in the air, but it only confused them. So I showed them instead. I took off slower than usual, so they could see. Skylar did the same, and she was in the air, but she had no idea how to control it, so she fell to the ground, where Starkad was waiting. Snowshadow was scared, since she didn't even know how to control her wings, let alone fly with them. Storm came up from behind and started talking to her. Then Storm backed away from her, and Snowshadow started to open her wings. She flew off into the air. I watched as she started to fall, but then Storm told her to open her wings. She did so and started to glide across the air. She and Storm started to squeal with joy. I flew over to Snowshadow and I continued the flying lesson. By the end of the day, Snowshadow and Skylar were flying perfectly.

About 7 years pass, and Storm was now 12, but her birthday was tomorrow, so her and Ricket would be 13. Hiccup denied permission for them to fly until they were teenagers. Both of them were exited for their first day of flying. Throughout the years, Storm's 'talent' had grown. She could do it using telepathy. She didn't need to talk. She only needed to close her eyes and concentrate. Something Hiccup didn't know that I did, was that she could 'think' through Snowshadow's mind. Knowing her pain, thoughts, and where she was every second without concentrating. I found this out one day when Snowshadow was hunting in the forest. Storm and I didn't know where she went, so Storm went to go find her. She came back by sunset, and Snowshadow was right behind her. Snowshadow told me the whole story. That they could sense each other, and that was why she could fly better than Skylar. Storm told her what to do to fly better when she was on the ground.

I was in the nest with Snowshadow next to me. She was much bigger than she was when she was a hatchling. She was only slightly smaller than me. Skylar was the same size as Starkad, since Nadders are fully grown within 10 years. Storm slept in the nest every night, next to Snowshadow. Astrid was getting annoyed, but she didn't say anything, because she knew it would break Storm's heart to sleep further away from Snowshadow. During the day, her and Ricket were always together. Whether it was eating with one another, or just walking next to each other. During the day, I showed Skylar and Snowshadow the best hunting spots, sunning places, and how to battle. My thoughts were interrupted by Storm coming into the nest for the night. Snowshadow got up and walked up to her. They hugged each other. Snowshadow settled down next to me and Storm slept next to Snowshadow. Snowshadow wrapped her arms and legs around her. The way she wrapped her legs around her brought back so many memories. Hopefully Snowshadow and Storm wouldn't have to go through that ordeal. I fell asleep unknowingly that a huge part of Snowshadow's life was going to change.

-Everything gone-

Storm was shaking me to get up. I groaned. Storm kept pushing me. I got up and yawned. Come on Toothless! It's my birthday and I don't want you to miss it! I heard in my head. Sometimes she could be so annoying!… like her father. She had already woken Snowshadow up, so the whole nest was empty along with Starkad and Skylar. I staggered towards Hiccup's house. Hiccup walked up to me first and put his hand on my head as we walked along. I noticed that Storm and Ricket were outside playing with each other. Snowshadow watched patiently for Storm to play with her. We walked into the house, and the first thing I saw was Astrid with a large box. Hiccup could see that I was confused, so he said, ''We're going to put two saddles in it. One for Skylar and Ricket, and the other for Storm and Snowshadow.'' I nodded and turned around to leave. ''And Toothless…'' I turned around ''Don't tell Storm what her gift is.'' I snorted at him. Why would I tell her? I backed my way out the door, and found Snowshadow playfully on top of Storm. Ricket wasn't too far away with Skylar. Storm was laughing while Snowshadow pinned her down and licked her. I walked over and snorted. Snowshadow looked up and stopped when she realized it was me. She let Storm get up. ''Hiccup told me to get everyone ready for the party. So try to get everyone calm enough to stop fighting each other.'' I said to both of them. Storm moaned, but soon got everyone settled. Hiccup came out with the box in his arms. He placed it on the table for Ricket and Storm to open. The rest of the humans were sitting at the large table, while the dragons sat behind them. I stood next to Hiccup and Starkad. Snowshadow next to Storm, and Skylar next to Ricket. ''Okay. You can open your present now.'' They tore at the box. Once they got it opened, Storm squealed. She picked her saddle up and started to bounce around. Ricket did the same. Snowshadow and Skylar were confused. They've never seen one. I walked over to them. ''They're saddles for the humans, like mine.'' I turned to my side so they could see the saddle. ''So that's what it's for?'' Snowshadow asked. ''They allow the humans to hold on while you're flying.'' Skylar looked at Ricket who was coming up from behind me. ''Come here Skylar! Let's get this on you!'' Skylar walked up to her and then stood still. Hiccup helped put it on, and soon Ricket was on Skylar. Snowshadow was waiting patiently for Hiccup to put hers on. Storm mounted Snowshadow and soon they were ready to take off together. Hiccup had trained them well before they were ready to ride, so they knew exactly what to do. ''You four have fun okay.'' Hiccup said to them before they flew into the air. ''Follow them to make sure they don't get into trouble.'' He said to me. I nodded and took off. I saw that Ricket was only having slight difficulty keeping balance, while Storm was flying just about perfectly. I dive-bombed between the two and Ricket was unprepared, so Skylar swirved in a different direction than Snowshadow. Ricket soon regained control and went back to her sister. ''This is harder than it looks! How are you doing so good?'' Ricket said to her sister. Ricket hadn't known about her 'ability' yet. Only me, Hiccup, and Snowshadow knew. Astrid kept guessing, but she's not very good at guessing games, so she doesn't know yet either. ''I guess I'm a natural.'' Storm said. Then she looked up and saw me. When she looked up, Snowshadow did too. ''What are you doing here Toothless?'' She asked. Storm asked the same question. ''Your father told me to follow you four.'' Storm sighed. ''I guess dad told him to follow us.'' she said to Ricket. She didn't want Ricket to know yet. "When we get home, I'm giving dad a piece of my….. Storm! Watch out!'' The tree line was in front of us. Snowshadow couldn't stop in time. They plunged into the forest. Ricket managed to get above the trees, but she didn't know where her sister was. I dived into the trees. Quickly, but carefully, I dodged the trees and followed Snowshadow's scent. Hopefully neither of them would be hurt. I soon found them in the trench. Snowshadow was on her side, with Storm clutched between her legs. The scene was too familiar. I landed next to them, and noticed something was wrong. Very wrong. They were both still alive, but Storm's right arm was… different. It was limp and broken. I gasped in horror at Snowshadow's right wing. It was on the ground, bent the wrong way. Storm's eyes were opening slowly. ''Toothless…. What happened?'' she asked weakly. She tried to get up, but her arm caused enough pain that she lied back down. ''Don't get up. Your arm is broken, and I think Snowshadow's wing is broken too.'' Storm stayed down. ''Snowshadow saved my life….'' she said quietly. I nodded. Snowshadow was still unconscious. ''I'll go get Ricket and Skylar.'' Storm slumped down and started breathing heavily. I flew into the air and looked around for Skylar. I saw them not far away, and I yelled out to Skylar ''Over here! I found them!'' Skylar flew over and we went into the trench. Ricket got off instantly once she saw her sister in pain. Skylar nuzzled Snowshadow's head, but she was still unconscious. ''We've got to get them back to the village.'' Ricket said. I nodded. ''Tell Ricket about your connection with dragons, and Snowshadow. It's time for her to know. I'm going to go get Hiccup and Astrid. Stay here.'' Why would I go anywhere? I rolled my eyes at her, and I flew towards the village. I franticly searched for Hiccup. Starkad was nowhere to be found. I realized that they must be flying together. I flew off again. I searched for them in the air for about an hour, and then I saw them. Starkad was gliding across the air, not knowing what was happening. Hiccup and Astrid were both riding her. I yelled out Starkad's name. Hiccup heard me and turned around. He could easily see the worry in my eyes. ''Where's Ricket and Storm?'' he said anxiously. I turned towards the trench, and he followed. I landed above the trench and pointed over the edge. ''Ricket!'' Hiccup yelled. ''Storm!'' yelled Astrid. They tumbled down the side, Starkad and I following. Ricket was crouching over her sister. Skylar was still trying to wake Snowshadow up. Starkad rushed over to Skylar first. 'Are you hurt!'' she asked. ''No, but Snowshadow is, and so is Storm.'' Starkad walked over to Snowshadow. She knew that Snowshadow was unconscious. I turned my head to Hiccup and Astrid. Astrid was attending to Ricket, while Hiccup was inspecting Storm. ''How did this happen?'' he asked her. ''We were flying together and then there were trees in front of us. Me and Snowshadow couldn't fly up in time, so we flew into the trees. I hit my arm on something, but I don't know what. The next thing I know was Toothless in front of me.'' Hiccup looked at her arm. He gently squeezed it and Storm cried out. ''Astrid….'' She walked over. ''I think she broke her arm.'' Astrid buried her head into his shoulder, and started to cry. I whined with her, but not just for Storm, but also for Snowshadow. I pointed to Snowshadow's wing underneath Storm, and Hiccup looked up. He inspected her wing. He sighed. ''Her wing is broken too…'' I looked down at my paws, and closed my eyes. Why couldn't her life be normal, like Skylar's, or Starkad's. ''Toothless. We've got to get them back to camp, now. You carry Snowshadow while we'll put Storm on Starkad.'' I flew above Snowshadow and grabbed her carefully, and flew back to the village. It reminded me of Snowfire. Except Snowshadow wasn't dead yet, and I wasn't alone. Starkad was next to me, with Storm on her back. Together, we all flew back quickly and carefully. Once we were in the village, Hiccup yelled, ''Gobber! I need help now!'' Gobber ran over ''What do you need this time?'' Hiccup pointed to the limp Storm on Starkad. ''We need to get her to Gilda! I think her arm is broken!'' I watched as they brought her to the nurse. I looked back at Snowshadow. ''She'll be okay Toothless.'' Astrid was next to me. I slumped down onto my stomach. I hope Astrid is right. Ricket came up to me after Astrid went to make sure Storm was okay. ''Storm told me about what she could do. I know that she can talk to you, and she can understand you. I wish I could. Then I'd be able to talk to Skylar. I hope she'll be okay. I think Snowshadow is in better shape than her.'' I licked her softly on the cheek. She hugged me around the neck. ''It's not your fault if anything goes wrong. You did your best.'' I purred and put my head on her lap. Skylar sat down on her other side. We lie there for the rest of the day. I fell asleep when Ricket had to go an eat. Snowfire please. If you're listening, make sure Snowshadow and Storm are okay.