Chapter 2:

Sorry if I took so long, I have other stories that I have been trying to keep track of. But, it's not as hard as I thought it would be, since I'm doing a pretty decent job keeping track of them.

It didn't take long for everyone to get over the fact that the dragons had left for the breeding season. They all knew that the dragons would be back for the holidays. But the Haddocks' focus was mainly on their youngest son. This would be his very first Snoggletog, and they wanted it to be special.

Hic hadn't changed much over the past few months. He was a bit bigger than he had been, but not by much. The blond streaks in his hair were more visible, giving him a visual difference from his father (besides the obvious). He was still too young to be walking, however, and he still couldn't talk yet. But that didn't bother his parents. They loved him just the same.

Draco and Camicazi, however, had matured quite a bit. They both had obtained a lot of knowledge in training dragons, and Camicazi almost never left the house without her axe. She was careful with it, like Astrid had told her to, and she often practiced out in the clearing where Astrid practiced with her own axe. But, like Astrid had suggested, Camicazi had decided to take it easy for a while. She wanted to be a Valkyrie like her mother, but she didn't want to hurt anyone, especially one of her family members. She had to learn when she had to be tough, and why. Draco, on the other hand, was a dragon enthusiast. It was always dragons this, dragons that, dragons EVERYTHING. Camicazi often complained about his constant lectures on dragons. She even asked her parents now and then if Draco had been adopted. Either way, however, Draco was there to stay, no matter how much Camicazi complained.

With Mortem and Feral gone, Camicazi and Draco seemed to have nothing else to do but what they did best. For Draco, that was filling the Dragon Manuel, (mostly on the sections about the Red Death and Bewilderbeast) and for Camicazi, it was practicing with weapons. Junior and his siblings often practiced their flying skills, as well as aiming with their plasma blasts. A Night Fury's accuracy didn't always come naturally. Especially when it came to Starflight. Being the youngest by far, he had the most trouble with his fire. He was told by his parents that he was a good dragon, and that he was just a late bloomer. He often spent more time with Junior than any of his other siblings, due to the fact that they were very much alike. They were both smaller than usual, and they had the same interests, as well as similar opinions. They often met up in Raven Point, enjoying the view, and letting their thoughts wander.

As for Hic, he got most of the attention from everyone else. The dragons were used to it, since it was the same when Draco and Camicazi were infants. But for the twins, it was new. They weren't used to someone else being the center of attention, despite countless discussions with their parents about what it would be like to have a younger sibling.

Hic was taking a nap when Hiccup realized how much Astrid had needed him while he was gone. With raising twins, and having another child on the way, it had to be really tough. If only he could have been there for her...

Astrid noticed that Hiccup was sitting on their bed, deep in thought, and wondered if something was wrong. "Are you okay?" she asked him. Hiccup said nothing, he only shrugged. Astrid sighed. "If there's something that's bothering you, you can tell me what it is, Hiccup." There was no response at first, but then Hiccup sighed. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you when you needed me," he said quietly, "I never wanted to hurt you in any way." Astrid shook her head. "You never hurt me, Hiccup, and I know that you never meant to." She sat down next to him. "And you were there for me, even if I didn't realize it at first." She took off the bracelet that she still wore around her wrist. She handed it to him, and he looked at it. "You were always there with me," Astrid said. Hiccup looked up at her and smiled. He gave her the bracelet, and she put it back on her wrist. "I thought you'd figure it out," Hiccup said.

Astrid's eyes widened in surprise. She realized what he had meant when he promised that he would be there for her when she needed him. "Then why did you apologize?" she asked. Hiccup shrugged. "I just wanted to see if you figured it out yet," he said. Astrid frowned and punched him in the arm. Hiccup rubbed the spot where she had punched him. "You know that still hurts, right?" he asked. "I know," Astrid said. She then grabbed him by the front of his shirt. "But this doesn't." She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Hiccup let go of his arm and kissed her back, taking her hand in his own. He could never get tired of her kisses.

They pulled away just as Heather passed their room. She was going to check on Hic, when she noticed her two friends comforting each other. She continued to Hic's room, pretending that she didn't notice what had been going on.

"Heather?"

Hearing her name, Heather froze. She turned to see Astrid standing in the doorway to her room. Heather sighed. "I didn't mean to interrupt anything," she said, "I was just going to..." "You really don't have to apologize," Astrid said, cutting her off, "We both know that you didn't mean it." "You mean you actually saw me?" Heather asked. Astrid shrugged. "At least you weren't trying to steal the Book of Dragons again." "Speaking of which," Heather said, "I'm sorry that I lied to you guys. If I had told you the truth, you could have helped me." Astrid walked up to her friend and put a hand on her shoulder. "We helped each other," she said, "That's all the matters, right?" Heather nodded. "I still can't believe that you put your life on the line for us," she said. Astrid smiled. "That's what friends do."

"But not just friends, right?"

Both girls turned to see Hiccup standing an arm's length away from Astrid. He smiled. "We all look out for each other. That's what you do in a family."

There was a sound of the front door opening, and the voices of Draco and Camicazi filled the house.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I don't want to hear any more lectures?!"

"But think about it, there could be things about Mortem and Feral that we don't already know!"

"You know, you're really starting to sound like Uncle Fishlegs."

"How so?"

"Because you won't shut up!"

There was silence for a few seconds before...

"MOM! DAD!"

Hiccup sighed. "I'll take care of it," he muttered, before he headed down the hallway and to the front door. Draco came running to his dad. "Camicazi said that I won't shut up!" Camicazi scoffed. "It's true, you won't stop talking about dragons! Even when I don't want to hear about it!" Hiccup sighed, and knelt down. "Camicazi, don't yell at your brother. Draco, if your sister doesn't want to hear one of your lectures, then..." "Don't give them," Draco said, "I know." Hiccup nodded. "Exactly. Not everything has to be about dragons." "Then what's the reason why you named me Draco?" Hiccup sighed. "We named you Draco because we knew that if we had a son, he would grow up to love dragons. But that doesn't mean that's all you should ever think about." "I don't think about dragons all the time," Draco protested, "I just want to learn more about them. You're always saying that there's some things we still don't know about dragons, and I thought that I could help you with those things." Hiccup put his hand on Draco's shoulder. "If you want to learn more about dragons, then the best thing you can do is read the Dragon Manuel. If I ever find a new dragon, or something new about a known dragon, I promise that I'll let you help me, okay?" Draco thought for a minute before nodding.

Camicazi had been watching, and she realized that she hadn't treated Draco very nicely. She hung her head and approached her brother. Draco turned to see her walking over to him. Camicazi lifted her head and looked at her brother. "I'm sorry," she said, "About what I said before." Draco gave her a small smile. "That's okay," he said, "I should have known that my lectures were bothering you." "What kind of lectures do you give your sister?" Hiccup asked. Draco said nothing, but Camicazi did. "He usually tells me about Night Furies, Deadly Nadders, the Red Death, and the Bewilderbeast. Those are the only sections of the book he's read so far." "But I'll read more," Draco said quickly, "I promise!" "You don't have to promise anything, Draco," Hiccup said gently, "And your sister doesn't have to either." Draco smiled before hugging his dad tightly. Camicazi soon did the same. Hiccup smiled as he hugged them back. "We love you, Dad," Draco said. Camicazi nodded. "I love you, too," Hiccup said, "Both of you." It wasn't long before all three pulled out of the embrace. "Why don't you guys go and play with the Night Furies," Hiccup suggested. The twins nodded before bolting out the door.

Hiccup sighed, and got up. He made his way toward his room to lay down, when he noticed something in Hic's room. Astrid was in there, holding their son in her arms. The little boy was awake, but calm. Hiccup stayed quiet and watched as Astrid leaned down and kissed Hic's forehead. "I love you," she said softly.

Hiccup smiled as he watched. Astrid then looked up and noticed him standing there. She stood up and walked over to him. Hic stayed quiet, but when he noticed his dad, he started to fuss. Hiccup's eyes widened at what his son was doing. Astrid handed their son to him, and Hic stopped fussing. Astrid smiled. "I guess he just wanted his daddy," she said. Hiccup smiled before kissing her forehead.

"I love you, Astrid."

Astrid looked up at him, her smile widening.

"I love you, too, Hiccup."

They embraced, with Hic snuggled in the middle.

I hope you guys like it. The next chapter will focus on what Mortem and the other dragons are doing on New Birth Island. Review, follow, or favorite.