HOLA! Happy Monday. I felt like being nice and giving you this one last update before I stop this every day business.

Sorry, btw, for the new chapter on Of the Night. Although you wouldn't guess it by the number of reviews, there are significantly less of you reading CCF than the first story. Like, a fifth of you are left from the original crowd. So I thought I'd offer a little encouragement for those of them who didn't bother with the sequel. Toothless and Lightning are the best, but you can't tell me that you totally hate everyone else I'm writing about ;) anyways, thought I'd explain myself.

Onward!

Colinou

Sag1ttar1us

Little Did You Know (I die of laughter reading your reviews. Especially on the OtN update last night. Torturing you is so fun, though, so... SEVEN!)

QuiteARandomFan (You get cake, ESPECIALLY for remembering our good friend James. Yes, he does in fact reappear. When, is yet to be seen.)

Spartan10007

canadasam101 (Bravo!)

Vvarden

Harkonnen28 (Yes, Cinder eats fish with faces now hahaha)

And to the anonymous Guest... I have no idea how many chapters there will be. Not even the slightest. Guess we'll all just have to find out, won't we?

"I guess we should be getting back to the village," Toothless sighed, not moving from his position on his back next to Lightning.

"You're probably right." She didn't move either.

A few more minutes passed.

"Toothless?"

"Yes, my love?"

"What are you going to do when you see Shade?"

Something tightened in his chest, and he felt anger begin to seep back into his thoughts. Lightning seemed to sense this, because she rose and placed a calming paw on his chest.

"Toothless. Anger is not going to solve anything."

Why is she always right? "I know, I know. I just really, really, really don't want to deal with him."

"You'll also need to deal with Aeri."

"That… I hadn't thought of. Why?"

"Because she's hurting, Toothless. Whatever happened out there… well, something's not right. I have a feeling that Shade is hurting a bit, too. You're the Alpha. You protect us, and I don't want you to deny them the opportunity to make it up to you. So things can get back to normal."

"Back to normal? I don't think 'normal' is going to be a possibility for a long, long time. A hundred people and their dragons are headed this way, right now! That's not normal. That is significantly outside the norm."

"Even so. Hiccup accepts them, why can't you?"

"I'm not my rider," he said tensely, not looking at her.

"Fine," she replied sadly, turning away.

"No, no, don't be like that," Toothless rolled to his feet and followed her. "I just— I don't— why can't you understand how this makes me feel?"

"I do understand, Toothless," she shot back. "I was there when they left, I've been here, at your side, every day since then. I was there when they came back. I'm affected in the same way, I'm just choosing to translate it differently."

"How are you translating it, then?"

"With concern? With patience? It's so unlike you to be so angry about something that hasn't posed even a minute threat."

"I can't help it! It's too close to home. He's… he's my son. My oldest son. He was supposed to be the Alpha someday. And he just left! And how he's back, acting like nothing has changed—"

"That's where you're wrong," she cut him off. "You haven't spent a single second with him since you shut him down when he got back. I have. He doesn't expect anything to be the same, hasn't acted like that's what he wants. All he's worried about is you. Not even for himself. He was worried that you wouldn't like me talking to him! My son! Worried that his own father might take offense at the fact that his mother wanted to communicate with him."

"Well I don't like it!"

"Well too bad! Don't make me choose between you, Toothless. Don't do that to me. Don't make me turn my back on my firstborn because you're too hardheaded to try and make amends."

"I…" Toothless was stumped. She was right. He needed to figure this out, and not get angry. "You're right. I'm sorry. Just… I need time. Okay? Just give me a few weeks to figure this out. I promise… I promise I'll take care of it before the refugees arrive."

"Thank you." She pressed her forehead against his, taking in his scent. Forest, sea, and sky. It soothed her. "Let's go back."

"Okay."

Ash wandered down the street leading to the square, nodding at passing dragons and Vikings. She was doing her best to not think of Shade, and had managed to almost completely clear him from her mind when the feeding station came into view.

The usual cluster of dragons was gathered around it, chattering loudly. She squeezed in between two Monstrous Nightmares, greeting them with forced cheerfulness, before halfheartedly digging in. Her body was hungry, but she really didn't feel like eating. That and she was starting to get a headache from the sheer noise coming from the throng of dragons. It was about to get a whole lot better, though.

The Nightmare to her right backed away, clearing her view of the rest of the dragons gathered. And her heart sank. Of course.

Shade wasn't sure how he ended up at the feeding station with this talkative female, but here they were nonetheless. He tried listening attentively, he really did, but his mind kept wandering to places it shouldn't be. In particular, to another female. Ash had always known when he didn't feel like talking. Stop. Don't even go there.

Holding back a sigh, he tuned back in to Kiva, realizing with a bit of a start that she was no longer speaking. Feeling guilty, he glanced at her, then realized she wasn't even looking at him at all. Her face was slightly contorted, her eyes locked on…

He followed her gaze, and felt his heart jump a tiny bit at the sight of a miserable-looking Ash. The two friends appeared to be communicating wordlessly, in the way that females always seemed able to do. How was no one else noticing this? It was… intense.

Ash shook her head almost imperceptibly, her eyes imploring, and Shade watched Kiva's gaze harden slightly. He couldn't help but wonder what this was about, and he had a sinking feeling it might have to do with him. Should I say something? Leave?

And just like that, it was over. Ash turned, her sad eyes locking with his for a fraction of a second, before taking off and flying away. Kiva turned her now-relaxed gaze onto him. "Sorry, did you say something, Shade?" she asked, smiling sweetly.

"Uh, nope." Should I even ask?

Kiva started talking about something else, and Shade was left feeling more confused than ever, watching Ash disappear into the distance out of the corner of his eye.

About a week and a half later, Shade had gotten the hang of avoiding Kiva. The trick was constant vigilance. Because when he wasn't paying attention, she would appear out of nowhere and stick to him like glue until he could come up with some reason to escape. It wasn't that she was a horrible dragon or anything, she was actually quite nice and seemed interesting enough. She just didn't make his heart race, or inspire him to acts of greatness, or whatever glorious things love was supposed to do to you.

Well, plenty of dragons mate for convenience, rather than love. It would be convenient, if Shade were actually looking for a mate. Which he wasn't. Not even close. His priority was Aeri. He loved his human partner, as much as he loved his own family. He had to admit that the walls he had put up around his heart so long ago, while effective, weren't entirely necessary anymore. Now that he was back, with his mother and his siblings, and even Aeri's family… he almost felt as though he might be able to let them down completely someday.

Almost.

There was still the nagging issue of a certain silvery-eyed female, who was very bad at disguising her emotions, and would turn tail and basically flee every time he was in her vicinity. Shade was starting to get frustrated with how blatantly Ash was avoiding him.

That's what you wanted, isn't it? It would be perfect, that is, if his father would magically accept him, and he never had to see Ash again. But while the Alpha was never around, Shade and Ash always seemed to run into each other, and though Shade was very good at suppressing his feelings, the look of despair that would creep onto her features the moment she saw him was really quite wretched.

It was getting to the point where he almost wanted to chase her down and shake her. He wanted to ask her why she was so sad, to hear for himself her justification for tormenting him.

Whoa… hold on. Shade shook his head roughly. He was not tormented by anything, especially not her. He growled at himself, thankful he was alone so that no one could see him pacing. Ash no longer had any power over him. He had seen to that. But why, why were they constantly in the same place at the same time? Weren't they both avoiding each other? It was as if the human gods were toying with him, punishing him for some slight.

He wanted to go flying with Aeri, to clear his mind and re-focus on what mattered. But she had been so busy lately with helping Erik in the forge, and she seemed so happy to be there, that he didn't want to interrupt. And he couldn't simply sit outside and watch them, because while he would be more than content to do so, that made it that much easier for Kiva to find him.

"Shade?"

Damn it. But when he turned, it was only his sister, watching him with an amused look on her face.

"Hey, Storm."

"What are you doing out here?" She gestured with her wing at the clearing he had been pacing around in. It was just a random spot he had found, not far from the village. One of many he had discovered in his attempts to avoid being discovered.

"Um…" Shade wasn't sure how to answer. Oh, just avoiding a lovestruck female. "Wait, what are you doing out here?"

"I followed your scent."

Shade winced. That meant she could follow his scent, as well. Storm noticed his expression change and tilted her head curiously.

"You don't smell bad, if that makes you feel better."

"Uh, thanks. Did you need something?"

"Not really, I've just been keeping an eye on Soren all day. Ash has been mysteriously unavailable for the last week or so, leaving me with hatchling duty." Her eyes narrowed. "What?"

"What, what?" Shade tried to keep his voice level.

"You just got a really funny look on your face. What's up?"

"Nothing is up!"

"Nothing except you're not talking to Ash and Kiva's been following you around."

Shade's jaw dropped. "Is it really that noticeable?"

"Well, everyone is talking about you and Kiva, but I think I might be the only one who's noticed Ash acting so weird. I also might be the only one who actually recalls that you two used to be the best of friends."

He frowned at her. What he really wanted was to tell her that it was none of her business, but he didn't think that would go over well. Plus, Storm was almost an adult, and extremely intelligent. It would be stupid of him to assume that she wouldn't understand. He couldn't exactly talk to Aeri about it all, and it probably wasn't healthy to be pacing around alone in the forest growling at himself all the time.

Before he could say anything, she continued. "I won't ask what happened, but don't try to tell me that nothing is going on. I don't know what possibly could have come between you two, Shade, but I really hope it's not Kiva."

"Definitely not."

"Good. Besides, I don't think she'd make you a good mate anyways."

"What's wrong with Kiva?" he asked her incredulously, even though it was a ridiculous question.

"Kiva? I mean, she's nice and all, but you're pretty intense now, no offense. She just kind of ignores that about you, but I think you need someone who sees it for what it really is," his sister said, unaware of the wisdom she possessed.

"And what is it, really?"

She leveled him with a knowing gaze, very reminiscent of their mother. "You're hiding."

"I am not hiding!" Shade burst out, frustrated.

"Uh…" Storm glanced around the clearing. "Looks like it to me. But that's not what I meant. I think part of the reason you left is that you're hiding from something, or running away, or whatever. I don't know what that thing is, but it exists and it hasn't gone away. I'd say it's gotten even stronger over the past three years. I can see it when you're dealing with anyone outside of our family. It's a barrier."

Shade was speechless. She was right. His little sister had him figured out. For a moment, he struggled to find words. Storm waited patiently for him to say something, her green eyes watching him with just the right amount of intensity.

"I guess… I really don't want to talk about it, at least not right now," he finally managed.

"I understand."

He looked at her appraisingly. "You're a lot like Mom, you know that, right?"

"I… thanks. I suppose there are worse things to become than one's own mother, especially when that mother is as wonderful as ours."

"Yeah, worse things. Like becoming one's father," he tried to joke, but her face fell.

"Shade… Dad will come around. I know he will. He's just… I don't know…"

"Don't make excuses for him, Storm."

"I'm not. I just don't want you to judge him so harshly, I guess. He'll come around, you'll see."

"I suppose I will." Shade was just glad his dad was more successful at avoiding him than Ash was.

For a moment neither of them spoke.

"Want to watch Soren with me? I could use the help, and Kiva won't bother you if you're with us."

Shade had to laugh at her perception. "Fair enough. Sure. I'd love to."

She smiled crookedly at him, spreading her wings. "Race you back to the village?"

"You're on."

"Soren! Get back here!" Storm was shrieking as she and Shade tore down the street after their little brother and the group of young dragons he had taken up with. But while the hatchlings could easily duck beneath obstacles, the larger Night Furies were struggling not to knock over every sheep, cart, and Viking they raced past. Fortunately, most people seemed amused by the scene, and jumped out of the way in time.

A vast shadow fell over them as they ran, and Shade looked up to see Cloudjumper following them in the air. Which was probably for the best, because the large Stormcutter would be even less likely to evade obstacles than Shade and Storm. "What is going on here?" the older dragon rumbled.

"He just took off! I've never seen a hatchling move so fast!" Shade exclaimed, leaping high over a terrified looking sheep while Storm cut around it.

"Well, you might want to catch him," Cloudjumper advised.

"What do you think we're trying to do?!"

"Good point. But while that particular group of hatchlings is for the most part well-behaved, they have a tendency to wander off. So, I'd really do my best to intercept them before they reach the trees. You'll never find them all if they get into the undergrowth."

"You could help, you know!"

Shade could swear he heard the dragon chuckle. "Valka is calling me, so…" With that he banked away.

"Thanks for nothing!" Shade shouted breathlessly, before glancing at Storm. "Sis, we're never going to catch them this way."

"I know," she panted. "I'll go that way, you keep chasing them. Hopefully I'll be able to cut them off…" The cluster of brightly colored hatchlings (with one distinct shadow traveling among them) turned a corner ahead, so Storm leapt skyward and flew off to try her plan. Shade skidded around the house, barely catching a glimpse of a small tail as the group turned into an alley.

"Soren!" he yelled. "Soren! Oh, you better believe you're gonna be sorry when I catch you…" he sprinted into the alley, still in shock that he wasn't gaining on them as they scampered free of the shadows between the houses and turned left.

He came around the corner and promptly collided with Storm, the two of them tumbling end over end before coming to a stop in a cloud of dust. She blinked her large green eyes, her gaze focused over his shoulder, and he turned, expecting to see the hatchlings far off in the distance.

Instead, he saw them sitting in a half-circle, eagerly watching Hiccup slide off of none other than the Alpha's shoulders. The human Chief was laughing, holding a fistful of dragon nip over his head as he crouched in the middle of the young dragons. Shade could hear him saying something about "good manners paying off" before the hatchlings were overcome by their excitement and all piled onto him, knocking him off his feet. "Toothless! Ah! Bud, could ya give me a hand here?"

Toothless, for his part, looked extremely amused, and waited a solid thirty seconds before intervening. "Alright, that's enough," he said, pulling the hatchlings off of Hiccup. "Soren! I could've sworn you were supposed to be with…" he looked up and caught sight of Shade and Storm getting to their feet, and his smile faded.

"What have I told you all about running off? It's not safe, and you could damage the humans' property or hurt someone!" Toothless scowled at the now terrified hatchlings, unable to control his sudden bad mood. The small dragons either stared at him, petrified, or were focused avidly on the dirt beneath their feet. Hiccup, sensing the shift, frowned at his dragon.

"Toothless, what are you telling them?"

The Alpha growled ever so slightly, and Hiccup took a step back. "Whoa. What's going on?" When Toothless didn't look at him, the Chief kneeled in front of the hatchlings. "It's okay, no one got hurt. Go on, now. A little fun is alright now and again, but that's enough for one day. Head on home." Nervously, the hatchlings did as he said, glancing at Toothless's forbidding expression as they scampered away. Then, only Soren was left, and he bravely met his father's dark gaze, although he gulped a little when the Alpha stepped towards him.

"Soren. Time and time again, I've told you, don't run off like that! It's like you never hear a word I'm saying! You're old enough now to know better!"

Shade watched his little brother shrink, and his protective instinct kicked in, despite his abject aversion to facing his father. Apparently Storm had the same reaction, because they moved forward simultaneously.

"Don't be mad at him, we should have been paying closer attention—"

"Yeah, he's just a hatchling—"

Toothless cut them off with a glare. Shade fought the old urge to run, standing tall and facing his father. Storm shrank away, though, clearly unused to being on the receiving end of the Alpha's disappointed scowls.

Before he could lecture them, though, Hiccup intercepted him. "Toothless, hold up. No one got hurt. You need to calm down."

Toothless looked at him with a mixture of disbelief and anger, but Hiccup wouldn't back down. The human glared right back at him. Finally the Night Fury sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, his expression was carefully blank, though his gaze was more than a little cold as he surveyed his children.

He snorted, then shook his wings, a clear sign to his rider that it was time to fly. Hiccup looked apologetically at the three younger dragons as he hopped onto their father's shoulders. Without another word, the Alpha turned took off in the other direction.

Shade looked at his sister, suppressing feelings of frustration. She was obviously shaken, but they were both concerned for their little brother, who hadn't moved.

"Hey, Soren," Shade said softly, coming around to look at the hatchling's face. The small dragon appeared stunned, and deeply troubled.

"Dad… yelled at me," he finally choked out.

"It's okay, he yells at me all the time," Shade tried to comfort him. "He's mad at me, not you, Soren. Okay? It's going to be alright."

The little dragon slowly got to his feet and shuffled towards him until he could press his face against Shade's foreleg. Storm looked sadly at them both, before coming in to sit close to her big brother. "I didn't think he was that upset at you," she said quietly. "To yell at Soren, and the other hatchlings… he's never looked at me like that before."

"I'm sorry." Shade meant it. "You two probably shouldn't hang around me. It's like my disappointing-ness is contagious."

Storm frowned. "No. He shouldn't be so angry. You haven't done anything wrong."

"I mean, I did just up and disappear—"

"But you're back now!"

"I know, but there was a lot riding on me. I shouldn't have left. It was the epitome of irresponsibility."

"It's not fair. He shouldn't hold it against you. You're all grown up now."

Shade chuckled softly. "I guess I am. Some things never change, though. And Dad being disappointed in me is one of those things."

His sister sighed. "I don't even know what to think. But he's wrong. He's so good at being Alpha, and he was always a good dad to me and Soturi and Skali, I never even saw how messed up your relationship was. He shouldn't…"

"But he does. I've always been reckless, and irresponsible, and in general a pain in his ass. So there's blame to share. I don't know… I can deal with it, but not if it means you get caught up in the crossfire. I'll try to talk to him, I just need to figure out the right thing to say."

"Okay. Good luck, I guess." She paused. "I think we should take Soren to Mom."

"I think you're right. Come on, Soren, we're going to find Mom." Their little brother simply nodded against Shade's leg, so Storm scooped him up and deposited him on Shade's shoulders.

"Let's go."

Lightning was outside the Chief's house, lounging next to Stormfly as they watched Astrid play with Kai in the grass. When she saw Shade and Storm fly over, she smiled, until she took in their grim faces. A very upset Soren appeared on his brother's shoulders, and hopped to the ground, before running straight into her embrace.

"What's going on? What happened?"

Her two oldest children glanced at each other.

"We were watching Soren, then he ran off with a bunch of hatchlings, so we chased them around for a while—" Shade started.

Storm continued. "— then Hiccup and Dad got them to stop, and it was fine, they were all laughing, and the hatchlings piled onto Hiccup so Dad pulled them off, but—"

"Then he saw me, and things sort of went downhill from there." Shade said, feeling uncomfortable.

"Daddy yelled at me," Soren wailed miserably, his voice muffled from his face being pressed against his mother.

"He what?" she said softly.

"He, ah, yelled at all the hatchlings, and was about to set in on us when Hiccup intervened." Shade offered awkwardly.

Lightning took a moment to process this. Her mate wasn't happy with Shade, that she knew. But to yell at a bunch of hatchlings who were barely old enough to know better? That wasn't like him. "He really yelled?"

"Really." Storm confirmed.

Their mother sighed. "Okay. Don't worry too much about it, I'll talk to him. It'll be okay. Soren, sweetheart? Why don't you go eat something with Storm? There's fresh fish in the shelter." Soren perked up at the mention of food, though he still looked rather forlorn. "That's a good dragon. Go on, now. Don't worry about Daddy, Mommy will make it better."

Shade watched his sister and brother walk away, then looked at his mother. "I'd stay, but I think it would be best if I were somewhere else when the Alpha returns tonight."

Lightning looked at him sadly. "You're probably right."

"Love you, Mom," he said quietly, before turning and leaping skyward. With a heavy sigh, Lightning looked over to where Stormfly was watching her carefully.

"Sounds like Toothless is the one who should be yelled at," the Nadder said seriously, and Lightning could only nod. Enough was enough.

Enough is enough!

I compiled a list of the most important OC's in CCF and Silver so check that out, it's on my profile. More characters will be added as time progresses. Let me know if there's someone missing haha.