Hello, friends! I've updated a day early because I have a special request for you all. A good friend of mine, The Lightning Phoenix, is in the midst of writing his own Toothless/OC fanfic, Darker than Night, and I must recommend that you all check it out and (especially important) review it, because it's very good. You are all excellent people and it would be a favor to me if you did so. (Keep in mind, though, that if you review his and not mine, it will make me very sad. So review both and make two people ridiculously happy!) If you do this for me, I can actually promise you another update tomorrow, and two next week as well. Sound good? Get reviewing! :D

Don't forget, I posted that super-creatively titled one-shot, so go read it! (Shade and Ash OS)

So many thanks to my lovely reviewers:

Spartan10007

Vvarden

QuiteARandomFan

InfernoChicken

Thunderbird 22

canadasam101

The Lightning Phoenix

brickmaster2

Colinou

Ciara11

I love you all!

Ash awoke to the door closing behind her brother as he left their shelter. With a groan she rolled over, debating getting up. Cinder had a habit of getting up early, but she preferred to sleep in. She tried to remember her dreams, but they eluded her. After a few minutes, she rolled her eyes and yawned, slowly getting to her feet and stretching out like a cat. The temptation of breakfast was too much to resist.

Pushing open the door, she blinked at the sudden light of the early morning sun. Yawning again, she headed down to the feeding station in the center of town. A number of dragons were already there. Her brother was nowhere in sight, but that didn't perturb her. Toothless had probably put him to work already.

Greeting the other dragons with a nod and a smile, she snagged a fish and started eating. Many of them were speaking to each other in hushed tones, which was somewhat unusual, as dragons tended to be a rather vocal bunch. After a few minutes, she realized that she was the only Night Fury there. Where were Storm and the others?

Then it all came crashing back.

She could have smacked herself. Shade was back. He was… home. A funny feeling washed over her. Her old best friend, returned from what was believed by some to be the grave. For many, the pain had eased with the passing of time. But for her, his face appeared in her dreams more often than not. She had never managed to forget their last conversation, never managed to forget his impassioned words. Ash was convinced that she had not done anything wrong, but that didn't stop her from feeling guilty every time he came up in conversation and everything dropped into a painful silence. Maybe if she had been more understanding, maybe if she hadn't shouted… No. He was back now. That's what mattered.

The sound of wings interrupted her troubled thoughts, and looking up, Ash saw Cinder landing nearby.

"Hey," he said breathlessly as he came up next to her.

"Have you eaten yet?" she asked.

"No, starving." With that he dug into the pile of fish, and Ash couldn't help her small smile.

"Aweeihumeentoday," he mumbled through a large mouthful of fish.

"Uh, what?"

He swallowed. "Holly is coming today."

The Night Furies from the colony. "Who else?"

"Just Holly and Kiva for now, apparently."

Ash grinned at the mention of her close friend. "Kiva? Really? Are you sure?"

Cinder rolled his eyes. "Pretty sure."

She hadn't seen Kiva in ages. The other female was only a little younger than Ash, but they had never really gotten to know each other when they were young and both living in the colony. Instead, they had met when Kiva had accompanied some of the other Night Furies to Berk, and the two females had hit it off immediately.

"I bet it'll be nice to see Holly," Ash said slyly after a while.

"I bet so, too," Cinder said lightly, not looking at her as he finished up his food.

"What are you planning?" she asked, trying to figure out why he wasn't acting more excited.

"None of your business."

It was Ash's turn to roll her eyes. She wasn't going to get anything out of her stubborn brother, so she'd have to ask Holly later. For now, though, the waiting would begin for the colony Night Furies to arrive.

Cinder told her he'd see her later, that he had some things to take care of, and her mind immediately went to Shade. He must have seen something change in her eyes because he looked concerned.

"What is it?" he asked quietly, stepping closer so none of the other dragons could overhear them.

"It's… nothing," she finally said.

"I don't believe you." He held her gaze, and his concern touched her heart.

"Have you seen him?"

"Have I seen— oh."

Her face felt hot all of a sudden, and she mumbled, "Forget it."

"No, no. I haven't spoken to him, not yet, but I saw him take off from outside Valka's house when I left the shelter this morning. I don't know where he went."

"Mhm."

"Look, Ash." Something in his voice made her pause, and she looked to him, stepping out of the way of a Monstrous Nightmare heading for the fish trough.

"What?"

"I know you probably still think of him the same way you did before he left—"

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked sharply.

"Whoa, take it easy," he said softly. "I just think you should give him some space. You remember him, but he's not going to be the same dragon he was when he left. He's changed, probably more than we know, and for reasons we probably cannot even imagine."

The thought was depressing. Ash realized she wanted her best friend back, the carefree, smart-mouthed young male who always managed to liven up her days. Who always seemed to understand. But if what Cinder was saying was true, which she knew in her heart it was, she might never see that side of him again. And, considering the nature of their parting, he might never want to see her again, either. She shivered at the memory of his expressionless gaze finding her own yesterday, and she wondered if he even recognized her.

"Ash?"

She realized she hadn't responded to her brother. "You're right," she forced a smile. "Don't worry, I'll stay out of his way."

"Alright… I'll see you in a little while. Stick around here for Holly and Kiva, they'll probably get here before midday."

"Okay."

"Chin up, sis," he said, nudging her with his wing. "Things are crazy now, but everything balances out sooner or later." With that, he moved back a few steps, spread his wings, and took off.

For her own sake, Ash hoped so. The next few hours passed in a blur of listening to the other dragons and humans gossiping about Shade and Aeri's return. Most were pleased by the development, but a few seemed to hold grudges against them for having left in the first place. Sighing, she flew up to an empty rooftop and kept her eyes trained on the horizon. The sun was nearly at its apex when two specks appeared far out in the distance.

Finally, she thought to herself, setting out to alert Hookfang. The Nightmare sent off two patrols to guide the Night Furies to the village, though it was mostly a formality considering how often the dragons visited from the colony. Ash asked a curious Gronckle to tell Cinder that they were close, assuming that Toothless probably wasn't in the mood to see anyone, and no one knew where he was.

She waited patiently in the town square, soon joined by her brother, who looked suspiciously bored. He was up to something. But she didn't get the chance to pry, as the two patrols flanking Holly and Kiva set down, followed closely by the Night Furies.

Cinder's face broke into a wide grin, and he bounded over to them, immediately going in to nuzzle Holly, who laughed delightedly despite her exhaustion. Ash stood back and waited for Kiva to finish chatting with one of the patrols, a young Nadder. Finally, she turned and met Ash's gaze, a smile spreading on her face.

"Ash!"

"Kiva!"

They ran to each other, bumping their heads together affectionately. Kiva was a bit bigger than Ash, with darker green eyes. Ash thought her friend was quite beautiful, even for a Night Fury, which in her humble opinion was the best-looking dragon anyways.

"It's so good to see you, friend!" Kiva exclaimed. "Where is everyone? Is something going on?" By "everyone" Ash knew she meant the other Night Furies, but she wasn't sure how to explain yesterday's events in a simple way.

"Let's go fishing in the cove," Ash suggested to her friend. "It's within walking distance, I imagine your wings are tired. I'll answer all your questions there."

Kiva agreed with a happy nod, and the two set off walking into the forest. They didn't speak much, simply pleased to be together. As they made their way beneath the trees, Ash found her mind wandering back to the events of the previous day. She couldn't shake the image of Shade, his wings wrapped around his sisters, with his hatchling brother perched on his head. He should have looked ridiculous, but he hadn't. Instead, he had never appeared more serious.

"Who is that?" Kiva whispered, nudging Ash with her wing.

"What? Who?" Distracted, Ash hadn't realized that they had arrived. Oh. Speak of the devil...

Something lurched in her chest at the sight of Shade, flying around in the solitude of the cove. He spun in tight corkscrews, coming around and skimming over the water before soaring back up again, creating wide loops. His aerial acrobatics were stunning to behold. He was large for a Night Fury but still on the smaller side of dragons in general, and he moved with a speed and grace few could claim to possess.

Ash realized her mouth was slightly open and quickly shut it, mumbling, "That's Shade."

"Shade." Kiva's voice sounded odd and Ash glanced over at her. The other Night Fury had a goofy smile on her face, her eyes closely following Shade's movements as he flew.

Something strange welled up in Ash's chest and she bumped her wing against Kiva's shoulder.

"What?" she whispered.

"Snap out of it."

"What? Why?" Kiva turned to look at her curiously.

"He's off limits."

"And why is that?"

Why was that? It's not like Ash had any sort of claim on him. Not anymore.

Desperately she tried to think of a reason. "Because... well..."

"Because..."

"Because he's Toothless's son."

Kiva's jaw dropped, and immediately her gaze swung back over to Shade, who had landed below and was drinking from the lake, back turned to them.

"I thought he had disappeared!" she whispered finally.

"Well... he came back. Yesterday, with his rider. Hiccup's oldest daughter."

Kiva's eyes were wide.

"So: off limits." Ash said quietly but firmly.

"Are you going to stay up there whispering forever or are you going to come down here?" Shade's voice echoed in the cove, and surprised, the two females looked down at him. His back was still turned, but his ears were upright.

Kiva looked at Ash, then grinned impishly. "I can still have a little fun." With that, the visiting Night Fury leapt from the bushes and glided down to the floor of the cove. Dismayed, Ash watched her go. She couldn't go down there. But how was she supposed to tell Kiva that?

Nervously she watched as her friend approached her... Her what, exactly? Was he still her friend, after all that had happened? Her anxiety built as Kiva started talking to him. Their voices drifted up to Ash, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. Then, Kiva looked up to where she was crouched in the bushes, gesturing at her with her wing. Horrified, Ash could only watch as Shade's head slowly turned, his expressionless gaze once again seeming to pierce right through her. There's no way he can see me… she thought fervently.

"Ash! Come down here!" Kiva's voice rang clearly through the cove, and Ash winced. Slowly, despite the nervous hammering of her heart, she crept clear of the bushes, refusing to look at him as she spread her wings and hopped from the edge.

She heard Kiva laugh, an unusually high-pitched sound, and it grated on Ash's nerves. As soon as she landed she took a deep breath and looked up, finding Shade's gaze trained on her even as Kiva was talking.

"Hi, Shade," she finally said, awkwardly.

He only nodded, his intense eyes appearing strangely solemn.

"This is Kiva," she added lamely, and she could have sworn she saw a glimmer of amusement in his eyes, but before she could peer closer, it vanished.

"I already told him that, silly," Kiva's oddly sweet voice made Ash's ears twitch, and she turned to look at her friend with no small amount of disbelief. Her friend was flirting with Shade! Had she not expressly said that he was off limits?

Glancing back at Shade, she saw that he was still watching her, and a strange shiver traveled down her spine. Something gave her pause though, and her eyes narrowed as she looked at his muscular chest. There were faint lines across it, almost like—

"Are those scars?" The words escaped her, and she immediately regretted them.

One of his eyebrows rose slightly, but after a moment he nodded again. "They are."

His voice was deeper than she remembered it. Shaking the thought from her mind, Ash was about to ask where he had gotten them, when he looked away from her.

"As much as I would enjoy spending all day in the company of two female Night Furies, I am unfortunately needed elsewhere."

"So soon? We only just got here," Kiva pouted good-naturedly.

"Only just. But I do in fact have an obligation to my rider, and I imagine she will be wondering where I am. It was a pleasure meeting you, Kiva," he added, before stepping back and taking off in the direction of the village.

Ash stared after him with narrowed eyes, and when he disappeared from sight, she turned on her friend, hissing, "What did I tell you?"

Kiva's face was split into a goofy grin. "He's so attractive, Ash. And I didn't even notice the scars! They make him look so… dangerous!" She sighed dramatically. "And you're telling me he's off limits."

"That's exactly what I'm telling you, fish-for-brains!"

"Hey! No need to get unpleasant, I'm just having a little fun. Besides, what's he to you? It's not like you're best friends or anything."

No. Not anymore. Ash resisted the strange sadness welling up inside her.

"Even so. He's the Alpha's son, so watch it."

"Maybe I should watch it, but you're practically family. You could be my in!"

"I wasn't aware you were coming to Berk to look for a mate," Ash rolled her eyes.

"Well, I wasn't. All the males back home are so boring, though. But Shade…" she trailed off, staring off into space with a dreamy expression.

Ash couldn't be mad at her friend. So she softly smacked Kiva's head with her tail, trying to make light of the situation. "If you're going after him, you're going alone. Wasn't he intimidating?"

"You see intimidating, I see strong. Authoritative. Has he always been like this?"

No. "Not really. He used to be a lot more fun."

"A hidden fun side? That's even better!"

Great, Ash thought. There would be no convincing Kiva that she couldn't pursue Shade.

"Clearly I won't be changing your mind anytime soon, so good luck with that. But when it's me and you, can we please refrain from discussing males?"

"Unlikely! Svar won't shut up about you, and he'll be here in a month or so."

Ash almost groaned. She always managed to forget that Svar existed, but every time he visited Berk he tracked her down without fail. Eventually she was going to have to do something about him, but for now…

"Uh, yeah, even more reason to not talk about them. Look, you had questions, didn't you? That's why we came out here, isn't it?"

"Well, I already found the answer to my most pressing questions, didn't I?"

Which raised even more questions. This was going to be a long visit.

Anyone care to take a guess where this might be going? ;) Remember, your name could very easily be on that list up there, and another list just like it (don't forget to check out/review Darker than Night!) It won't take you long AND you'll receive my undying happiness in return. And a happy MathMonkey is a prolific MathMonkey.