Hi, friends :) I listened, and agree that updating on Fridays is best. So I'll be doing that from now on.

Truthfully, I've been having some trouble with health issues so I haven't been doing much writing. Pretty much none at all, actually. As of last night I've been trying to focus my efforts on continuing the story, but I'm just worn out and drained all the time. Don't worry, you'll get your chapters, but don't expect any more magical daily update fun times.

HOWEVER I'm pretty psyched on some things that are coming up ;) so stay tuned for those.

Now, reviews!

Sag1ttar1us

canadasam101

Vvarden

ShiNe

QuiteARandomFan x2 (Not this chapter, but just wait for next week's installment. It's all dragons.)

Colinou

Spartan10007

MoonbornWalker (check my profile for a character list)

Thunderbird 22

The Lightning Phoenix

After she and her father had taken the refugees by the Academy, Aeri had told them that they were welcome to wander as they pleased.

"I'm sure your dragons will be looking for you soon, but feel free to stay and watch the classes here. The students are used to having a small audience, so they won't mind having you around. This class consists of thirteen to fifteen year olds. They're learning the basic knowledge of flight mechanics and starting to do trust exercises with their dragons. After they finish this portion of the lesson, they'll go for a flight to put what they've learned into practice. Later, there will be a class on proper staff technique, led by my grandmother, Valka. Generally that's for the more advanced students, but again, you are free to watch."

"My father gave me the Academy to run when I was just a teenager," Hiccup informed the gathered crowd. "With a lot of hard work, and trial-and-error, my fellow dragon riders and I were able to turn a killing arena into a place of learning for the whole tribe. Now, Fishlegs Ingerman is the Headmaster. He teaches many classes here, educating each generation of new students with the knowledge we have acquired over the years spent living with dragons. When students are older, they start learning survival skills, and my cousin Snotlout and I take them out to Dragon Island to test them on those and their dragon training abilities. I also teach some of the graduated students stunt flying, much to the dismay of some of their parents," he laughed. "Astrid is responsible for the weapons classes, although I occasionally teach sword-fighting. Actually, in a couple of days, my son Erik and I will be doing a sword-fighting demonstration for the class. It should be good fun, for any of you who wants to join."

"Don't worry if you don't have a weapon, or if yours needs repair," Aeri said. "Gobber and I have a wide selection of suitable weaponry for temporary use, and we can fix yours up or get you a new one in no time. I'm sure Vasara is itching to get her hands on some metal anyways." They all laughed, and Aeri was privately very pleased that the tour seemed to have shaken off some of the overwhelming melancholy radiating from the refugees. The sun was shining, the Terrible Terrors were singing, and things seemed hopeful for the first time in a long time.

As the crowd dispersed in various directions, Aeri turned to Haku, who had been rather quiet all day. "So… if anyone wants to take classes, they and their dragons will be trained far better here than they were by me."

"You are an excellent teacher."

"Hardly. You haven't seen any of the real teachers here. Like my father, for instance. I think Maara will really enjoy that sword-fighting demonstration… Say, where is Maara?"

He frowned. "I… don't actually know. She was next to me for a while, then I thought she simply fell back in the crowd. Is she not here?" he looked around, seeing Vasara conversing with Hiccup, but his youngest sister was nowhere to be found.

"Don't worry, she's safe so long as she doesn't wander too far from the village," Aeri placed a comforting hand on his arm. "I'm sure she's with Mika somewhere."

Haku looked down to where her slender fingers pressed against his arm, then back up to her green eyes. But there was nothing in her gaze to indicate that she was feeling anything that he was feeling. She didn't know what she did to him. He wanted to kiss her again, to tell her how he felt, but he definitely couldn't do that in front of her father.

"Aeri—" he was cut off by the arrival of Luvia, who looked rather forlorn without her Horrible Horror. Ima wasn't far behind, and she caught up with her daughter, gently taking the little girl's hand. The woman had lost her husband in the attack, but she had been steadfast and calm during their entire voyage, not shedding a single tear. Haku couldn't imagine her pain, but was thankful that Luvia was safe, to ease her mother's hurt.

"Hi, there," Aeri removed her hand from his arm and crouched in front of the little girl.

"Hi," Luvia replied.

"Luvia wanted to ask you a question, Rádgatá," Ima spoke up. "It's actually something that all of the women have been wondering."

"Of course, what is it?"

"My dress has holes in it," Luvia explained. "So does Mommy's."

"Tell us if we are asking too much, please. We were just wondering, since autumn is on the way, and winter not long after that, if there was any way we could get some fabric for new clothes. I and many of the other women are competent seamstresses, we just need some material. I don't want the children to be cold, and I'm afraid that we are rather embarrassed of the state of our current apparel." Ima was blushing, and immediately Aeri understood how difficult it must have been for the woman to ask.

"Of course you aren't asking too much. There are traders coming next week, some of them are bound to have enough material to outfit you all. I'm sure plenty of our women would be happy to help you."

"We don't have anything to trade…"

"Have no fear. We have plenty. And most of those traders owe my father a few favors, anyways." Aeri smiled. "We'll get started immediately with clothes for the children. Fur vests and boots, too. And for the adults, we'll get you apparel that is both functional and just stylish enough to be proud of."

"Oh, thank you, Rádgatá!" Ima threw her arms around Aeri, before quickly stepping back, her face completely red. "I'm so sorry, I didn't—"

Aeri held up a hand. "Don't apologize. Why don't you go tell the other women what we've discussed? You should probably start taking measurements now. We can provide you with everything you'll need."

Ima couldn't contain her excitement. "Come on, Luvia. We have to tell everyone that we're getting new clothes!" The two hurried off, leaving Aeri smiling broadly.

"You don't have to do that," Haku said in a low voice. He owed Aeri's people so much already, how could they repay this as well?

"Haku," she said firmly. "I owe you. If it weren't for me, you would still be happily living on Heimme, with all of your families and friends and possessions. The fact that you don't blame me only makes me feel more guilty."

"And if it weren't for you, we'd still be fighting the dragons. You saved us all several times over."

"It doesn't matter what I did. The point is that I am trying to show you my gratitude. Nothing we are offering you is causing us trouble or discomfort. No, Berk is prosperous, and we have more than enough to share."

Haku was frustrated, but he couldn't deny his people simple pleasures and necessities just because he didn't want to feel indebted. "Fine. Have it your way."

"Haku," she said, her eyes imploring. "Please. I know you're hurting, I know your people have suffered. You deserve to feel safe, and welcome, and happy once more. This is a part of that. We will outfit your people with weapons, with clothes and armor. We will train the riders, make saddles for their dragons. You won't feel like outsiders."

"But we are outsiders, Aeri," he emphasized her name, reminding her that she had only revealed her true identity yesterday to his people.

"You don't have to be."

"You can't change that fact."

"I can try."

"For what purpose? We can't stay here forever!" he half-shouted.

"You think I don't already know that?"

"Alright, you two." Hiccup was standing between them, looking stern. Behind him, Vasara was watching them with a concerned expression on her face. "You're disrupting the class. Aeri, why don't you go check on the dragons?" She looked like she wanted to argue, but he just gave her a no-nonsense look that said, Let me handle this. So she turned and strode off, not saying anything else. Vasara immediately followed her, leaving Haku with Hiccup.

"I'm sorry," Haku apologized, a little stiffly.

"Don't apologize. Arguments happen. The important thing is knowing how to resolve them."

"I generally know how to deal with disagreements, but…"

"But Aeri is a handful. Believe me, I know that. I raised her, after all."

Haku felt miserable in the face of the understanding and kindness that the older Chief was showing him. Hiccup seemed to sense this, because he placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Don't trouble yourself, Haku. Your people need shelter, food, clothing… And we can give it to them. We can provide these things while you regroup. You've faced a devastating tragedy, and it takes time to move past something like that. You have time, here. You've been given a shot at survival, and you were smart enough to take it. Now, learn not to simply survive, but to flourish under the conditions you're pretty much stuck with. Look, we have a lot of ships, going to a lot of different places. I don't want you to be worried about this right now, but I can see it is weighing heavily on you. So, we can start discussing potential places for your people to go, once you've had your fill of Berk. This is not a dead end for you, or your people."

"I know it's not, I just feel so… helpless." Haku finally admitted what was troubling him.

"You, and the rest of the survivors, need time to heal, Haku. In a few weeks, we can send men out to investigate possible places for your people to settle. You can go with them, if you want. The Hooligans aren't the only tribe out here. We'll give you a ship and a crew, and you and the people you select to join you can begin your search. In the mean time, just take advantage of the opportunities that are being offered to you."

Haku could only nod.

Alyka kept her eye on the curious refugees that had gathered outside the arena during her class. She could hear her older sister speaking, and her father, but couldn't make out what they were saying. It was distracting. She still wasn't really talking to Aeri, but from what she had heard, these strangers really loved her. Which was hard to swallow. Alyka wanted to be angry at her sister, but Aeri had given her space, and had fixed her axe up better than it had ever been… No. Aeri had done so much for these other people, but what had she ever done for her own tribe? Alyka would stay angry, because it seemed to her that everyone else was willing to forgive her sister so easily for leaving.

She knew that Soturi was happy to have her brother back. Even Toothless wasn't mad anymore. Her parents had tried talking to her about it, but she would just shut them out. The night she had come home to see Aeri sitting at the table, she had taken her axe and run to her favorite spot in the forest. Erik had found her there, and sat with her while she ranted angrily. She looked up to her big brother. He was a fantastic dragon rider, and fearsome with his sword. And he was always there for her. Since that night, though, he had been spending a lot of time with Aeri, and less with Alyka. It was painful. It felt like a betrayal.

Class ended early, with Fishlegs informing them that they would practice trust falls tomorrow. Alyka realized she hadn't even been paying attention to anything her teacher had said, which was frustrating, because she prided herself on being an excellent student. Slowly the kids and their dragons filed out.

Soturi got up and stretched like a cat, nudging her with her nose. She sensed that something was wrong with her rider.

"I'm fine. Let's just go," she muttered to her dragon, who gave her a look that said, You don't fool me.

They turned and walked through the tunnel leading to the outside of the arena. There were still a lot of people up there, most of them listening to Fishlegs explaining the classes, but a few watched her and Soturi curiously. Alyka just ignored them, but then she saw her father talking to a tall, black-haired man. Who was that? Not that she cared. He was probably one of the refugees. Not wanting to interrupt their conversation, she slipped past them, Soturi on her heels.

She hadn't seen anyone in her family all day. She wondered for a moment if they had remembered what day it was, then shook her head. With all the excitement over the arrival of the refugees, her birthday was of little consequence. Soturi had remembered, of course, but she was a dragon. Alyka didn't want attention for no reason, and a birthday fell under that category. She'd rather be noticed for being good with her axe, or smart in class, or a good dragon rider. And oftentimes she was. She had to admit, though, that it would have been nice to hear a "happy birthday" from her mother or father.

Whatever. It wasn't important.

"Alyka!" For a moment, she wondered hopefully if her father was calling her name. But when Alyka turned around, she saw Rorik running up, holding something behind his back. His purple Monstrous Nightmare, Hrolfdir, was behind him. Immediately Soturi bounded over to the other young dragon. Traitor, Alyka thought.

"What do you want, Rorik?" she asked suspiciously. He was one of the boys in her class. For some reason he would always talk to her after lessons, just asking her questions, or worse, on practice days, complimenting her on whatever she had demonstrated. Most of the boys her age were obsessed with fighting, and getting girlfriends. But Rorik didn't seem interested in all that. He never flirted with her like she saw the other boys doing to girls. Which was good, because it would have earned him a swift punch to the face. Alyka wanted to disregard him, but something stopped her from flat out ignoring him whenever he approached her. He worked hard, she had to admit. He was probably the next best student in the class, after her. Her competitive nature told her that he was a threat, but the small rational voice in her head told her that he was too nice to be a problem.

Which was the most troublesome part of all. If he wasn't flirting with her, or competing with her, what was he doing? He was just being nice. Alyka knew she wasn't exactly a nice person, so why was this boy spending so much time being friendly?

Rorik looked slightly nervous, but he didn't back off at her grumpy tone. "I, uh, have something for you."

"What?" she blurted, completely surprised.

He brought his arms forward, and in his hand was something wrapped in cloth. "It's for you. I heard, well, I mean—-" he was stammering, so she took pity on him and took the thing from his hand. It wasn't really heavy, but it felt solid. Curious, she slowly unwrapped it, revealing a leather sheath with a handle sticking out of it. A knife?

"Happy birthday," Rorik said weakly. Taking hold of the handle, she removed it from its sheath, and stared in awe. The blade was about the length of her hand, and perfectly polished, with intricate designs etched into the metal. On the handle, an "A" was carved into the wood. It was almost too beautiful to be used.

"Did you make this?" she asked, still shocked.

"I mean, I had a lot of help, but…"

Alyka didn't know what to say. She just kept turning it over, until a thought struck her.

"How did you know it was my birthday?"

"I, uh, remembered from last year."

"Why would you give me this?" she pierced him with a look. He had bright hazel eyes, she noticed, and sandy brown hair like the rest of his family.

"Well, you use your axe all the time, but sometimes it comes in handy to have a smaller blade. Right?"

"Yes, but why?"

He wrinkled his nose slightly. It had light freckles on it, from spending time in the sun. "Well, I mean, that's what friends do, right?"

"Friends?" Alyka was stunned. No one had tried to be friends with her since she was little. Everyone had started keeping their distance when she started putting training first. That, and she was the Chief's daughter. So no one wanted to get on her bad side. And she supposed that to anyone trying to talk to her, she only had a bad side. Now people just liked to watch her practice. They competed amongst themselves, flirted amongst themselves, had friends amongst themselves, and left her alone. No one had ever called her their friend.

Rorik looked really embarrassed. "We don't have to be friends, if you don't want…"

"No! I mean, yes. I don't know." Alyka was starting to have a hard time breathing. "Um… it's really nice. Thank you." Carefully, she sheathed the dagger, and hooked the sheath to the belt of her skirt. When she looked up, he was smiling at her, and something funny twisted in her stomach. Immediately she felt a flash of terror. What was that? Why is he smiling at me?

So she quickly reached out and punched him in the arm.

"Ouch! What was that for?" he cried, rubbing the spot she had hit.

"Don't get too comfy, Mister. You can be my friend, but I'm not as nice as you are. So don't you forget it," she scowled, hoping he couldn't tell how confused she was and wishing he wasn't so much taller than her.

"Believe me, I won't," he rolled his eyes, and she raised her fist again threateningly. "I mean, don't worry, I won't get in the way."

"Good."

"I'm glad you like it," he added, smiling again.

Unwillingly, the corners of her mouth twitched upwards, and appalled, she quickly spun around, slapping her hand over her lips. "I'll see you later," she choked out, before taking off at a run.

Rorik watched her go, followed closely by her Night Fury. She was incredible. And she hadn't killed him! He grinned delightedly at Hrolfdir. "That went well, wouldn't you say?" The Monstrous Nightmare rolled his eyes with a growl that probably meant "Just don't try to hold her hand, or she'll take yours off at the elbow with the knife you gave her as a present."

Alyka ran all the way back to her house, sprinting past people who greeted her with cheerful waves. Once there, she slammed the door behind Soturi, then hurried up the stairs, breathing heavily. No one was home to witness her lack of composure, for which she was profoundly grateful. She went straight to her room and was about to sit on her bed when she noticed a plain brown bag next to her pillow. "What is that?" she asked her dragon, who was right behind her.

Her curiosity piqued, she lifted the bag, shaking it gently. She heard the sound of metal against metal, and yanked it open.

At first, she didn't understand. When it dawned on her what she was looking at, she carefully pulled them out of the bag one at a time. It was metal shoulder armor, spiked just like hers, but bigger. Then she noticed the piece of paper folded up on her pillow. Her heart pounding, she read the note.

It read simply: These should fit much more comfortably.

There was no signature, but Alyka knew who the gift was from. The one person she would never have expected to remember her birthday. Well, besides Rorik. Shakily, she undid the straps of her current, too-tight shoulder plates, and replaced them with the new ones. Aeri was right. They fit perfectly.

Sadly, she sunk onto her bed. Pulling out the knife, she turned it over and over, memorizing the details on the blade. These were the best presents she had ever gotten. So why did she feel so wretched?

Aeri was in the forge, working on a broken sword. It was late evening, and the square was mostly deserted. Today had been a long day, complete with an argument with Haku, and she was glad to have a moment to herself.

"Knock, knock."

Glancing up, she saw Erik poking his head through the window, and she smiled tiredly at him. "Hey, Erik."

"Hey yourself." He wandered in, leaning over to peer at various objects.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing," he said, thinking for a moment of the girl he had met in the forest earlier. "Have you seen Alyka today?"

"No, why?"

"It's her birthday."

"I know."

"Oh. Well, I was thinking you might want to come up to the house for dinner with us. Mom and Dad are with the refugees, so it's just me, Wren, Alyka, Grandma, and Kai."

Aeri sighed. "I don't know if I should…"

"I think she'd like it if you came. Her shoulder armor is mysteriously larger than it was before, and I don't think it was spontaneous."

"Did she get anything else for her birthday?"

"She showed me this incredible knife, but I don't know who it's from."

"It's from a teenage boy by the name of Rorik, with a purple Monstrous Nightmare called Hrolfdir."

"Hmm. I've heard about this boy from Wren. How do you know it's from him?"

"Because I helped him make it."

"That explains a lot. It didn't look much like Gobber's creations."

"Nope."

"Do I need to talk to this kid?"

"Alyka is fourteen. I think she can speak for herself," Aeri said firmly.

"I know, I know, it's just…"

"She's your little sister and you want to protect her. Don't worry. You should probably be more concerned about Rorik. He's really fond of her, and if she finds out before she starts to feel the same, she might feed him piece by piece to the Terrors."

Erik laughed. "Fair enough. Look, are you going to come to dinner or not?"

Aeri set down the sword. "I guess I could."

"Perfect."

Alyka was sitting with her grandmother and Kai, holding her new knife again. It glinted in the firelight as she turned it over, and Valka smiled.

"That's a very fine piece of craftsmanship," the older woman said slyly, as she was almost certain the blade had been created by Aeri. Fortunately, Alyka didn't seem to have made the connection, and the young blonde simply nodded.

"Yeah. It was a present."

"Oh? From who?"

"Rorik. He's… a friend."

"A friend, hmm? Well, I hope you thanked him properly."

"Of course I said thank you!"

That wasn't what Valka was hinting at, but she didn't want to make her granddaughter angry at the poor boy. Wren glanced over at them from her seat at the table, where she was sketching in her secret notebook.

"So he finally got some guts, huh?"

"He has guts!" Alyka defended him a little too quickly, and immediately her face began to heat. "I mean, he's a Viking. We all have guts."

"Sure. Whatever you say," Wren said, and Valka resisted the urge to burst out laughing. Her grandchildren were a constant source of entertainment for her. Not just little Kai, who seemed to grow bigger every day. Little Kai, who had his grandfather's red hair and unique green-grey eyes. She had a feeling he was going to look an awful lot like Stoick as he got older, too, and knew Hiccup had the same suspicion.

There was a knock at the door, before it swung open to reveal Erik. "Don't worry, the party can start now!" he proclaimed grandly as he strode in. Behind him, looking a little less sure, Aeri stepped over the threshold.

Valka watched Alyka tense, but the blonde girl didn't say a word, to her surprise. The expression on her face betrayed her warring thoughts.

"Hi Grandma, hi Wren, hi Kai… Hi Alyka." Aeri finished her greetings, and everyone waited expectantly for Alyka's response.

After a moment she swallowed, then managed, "Hi, Aeri."

Her older sister looked taken aback, but then smiled. "Happy Fourteenth Birthday to you. I hope you've had a good day so far."

"It's been… good, I guess. I got some really good presents."

Aeri's smiled broadened. "Glad to hear it," she replied softly.

"Well, now that we know no one is going to die tonight, shall we eat?" Erik asked cheerfully, and they all laughed, dissolving the last of the awkwardness. They had a simple dinner of Alyka's favorite chicken soup, then Valka pulled out a box.

"Your father got these ingredients from the last trade ship that came through, dear. As you know, he's the real chef of the family, and while he couldn't be here tonight, he didn't want you to think he forgot your birthday." Without further ado she lifted the lid off the top, revealing what appeared to be a thick disc of bread.

"What is it?" Alyka asked curiously.

"Try it," Valka cut a piece off and handed it to her.

Hesitantly, she took a bite, chewing thoughtfully. Then she grinned, her cheeks full.

"It's sweet!" she exclaimed, her voice garbled. Together, they all demolished the cake with gusto, leaving only crumbs.

"What a good birthday," Alyka murmured contentedly, her stomach completely full. Kai was asleep in Valka's arms, and Erik yawned widely.

"I think I should probably go check on Shade. I'll see you all tomorrow, though, I'm sure," Aeri said, standing.

She made her way to the door, but before she could leave, her younger sister shouted, "Wait!" The now-fourteen-year-old got up and ran over, embracing her fiercely. Aeri was shocked, but her arms came up and wrapped around Alyka.

"Happy birthday," she said softly.

"Thank you." Alyka released her, looking mildly embarrassed, before stepping back. "See you tomorrow."

"Wouldn't miss it." With that, she left, leaving Erik and Valka gaping.

"What?" Alyka glared at them after the door had closed.

"Nothing. Just… glad you had a good birthday," Erik replied.

The blonde's scowl faded and she smiled, pleased. "Me too."

So we have some tension between Aeri and Haku. (understatement) More on that later.

Don't forget about the clothes. It's not a big deal, but it will come up later.

I won't lie, I really enjoyed writing Alyka. I think she's a lot like Astrid, except even more intimidating (if that's even possible.) The combination of her Night Fury, axe skills, and intelligence are enough to frighten off the usual brand of teenage mischief, but the fact that she's the Dragon Chief's daughter? :D She's pretty much untouchable. Not that Rorik seems to mind. I'll tell you now that not much will come of their blossoming relationship in CCF, at least, I haven't planned on it. After all, they're only 14. That's not to say that I won't be returning to them eventually. Just maybe not in this story.

And Aeri and Alyka made up! One big happy family.

Stay tuned for next week. It's all about Shade. (I wonder who else would possibly be in that chapter?) ;)

Revieeeeeeeew