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Shade was exhausted. The refugees had arrived yesterday, and he'd spent all day today with the dragons from Heimme, showing them around a bit. Not to mention Cloudjumper's big story. "How Toothless became Alpha." That had been dramatic, to say the least. Now every dragon from Heimme was enraptured with his father, just as most of Berk's dragons were. And Shade found that he didn't mind so much.

His wing was healing well, but it was definitely tired from all the flying he'd been doing. Hopefully he would be strong enough to fly with Aeri soon. All he wanted now, though, was a couple of fish and a good night's rest. So he left the dragons in the stable and began the trek back up through the village to Valka's house.

He was about halfway there when he heard the unmistakable sound of a dragon in flight approaching. Resisting the overwhelming urge to cringe, he turned to see exactly who he was hoping to avoid.

"Hey, Shade!"

"Hey… Kiva."

She came up next to him, sort of bumping shoulders with him, and he inwardly shuddered at the familiar contact. On the surface, though, he was his usual self. Completely unreadable. Which was fine with Kiva. She immediately started talking.

"So, I hear you played tour guide for the new arrivals today," she began, and he just nodded. "After you left with the two that look like Nadders and the young one that looks like a Monstrous Nightmare but can't fly, I spent some time with some of the others. They were really keen to talk about you," she said, obviously trying to catch his interest.

He wasn't interested. But he took the bait anyways. "I can't imagine why."

"Well, I can. I heard some pretty crazy things."

"Like what?" Shade did not want to be having this conversation. He had told Cinder, Cloudjumper, and his parents in the strictest of confidence the events that had taken place on Heimme, trusting they would not reveal to anyone the things he and Aeri had done. But now? Kiva probably knew he had defeated a Queen, and soon every dragon on Berk would know, and he would get no peace.

Sure enough, "Well, a number of things stood out, but I'm most interested in how you almost singlehandedly took down a Nest Queen."

Shade couldn't help the quiet sigh that escaped him. "It wasn't singlehandedly. There were hundreds of other dragons involved."

"But you dealt the killing blow, as it were. And received a number of dashing scars in the process," she almost purred at him, and he fought his rising annoyance.

"All these scars serve to do is remind me of just one of many times I almost lost my rider. Aeri and I had made a promise to the people of Heimme to end the dragon raids, and we had no choice but to face the Queen in order to do it. Believe me, it was terrifying and gritty and not nearly as heroic as you're trying to make it sound."

For once, she didn't say anything. She just looked at him, then with a surprising amount of tact, spoke softly. "I guess you don't want to talk about it."

"No, I really don't."

"I… I didn't know. I'm sorry." He didn't respond, and she seemed to get the message. "I'll, uh, see you tomorrow. Goodnight." With that, she spread her wings and took off, leaving him alone.

Shade took a deep breath. He was frustrated. But he couldn't stand out here all night. So, after another long exhalation, he started walking again. Silently he let himself into Cloudjumper's side of Valka's house, padding over to the pile of blankets he slept on and curling up. He was dreading the result of word of his exploits spreading. But he had no control over it, so miserably he closed his eyes and drifted into an uneasy sleep.

For the next two days, Shade couldn't go anywhere without someone congratulating him or referencing the Queen in some way or another. It was terribly uncomfortable for him to receive their adoration and praise. He didn't want the attention. At all. He had done it because he had to, not for the glory attached to succeeding. What he really wanted was to talk to Aeri about it, because she was going through the same thing, but again, that wasn't really an option. So he avoided crowded places, disappearing into the forest for hours at a time in order to escape the other dragons.

It was destined to be a week of arrivals, because three days after the refugees landed on Berk, five more Night Furies from the colony arrived, including Holly's younger brother Svar, and his twin Palo. This was very interesting to the people of Heimme. Aeri explained to them that Night Furies weren't native to the region around Berk, and that they actually originated from an island near the mainland to the southwest. Due to a series of events brought on by the mysterious arrival of Toothless's mate-to-be, Night Furies now freely traveled between the two islands.

Shade sat next to her as she spoke, hoping that her presence would deter any unwanted attention. Unfortunately, it was less effective than he had hoped. Kiva hadn't spoken to him yet today, which was cause for profound relief, but she wasn't the only one interested in talking to him.

"Well, well, well; look what we have here."

The snide voice belonged to none other than Svar, a couple of the other Night Furies behind him. Shade gave them a once over, not saying anything.

"Looks like little Shade is back from the grave, and all grown up," Holly's younger brother continued, coming to stand directly in front of him. Realizing that he was significantly larger now than Svar and the others, Shade just got to his feet and looked down at the irritating male.

"A lot grown up," one of the females behind him said suggestively, and Shade fought a wave of nausea at her tone.

Svar frowned slightly. "Well, are you going to say anything?"

"I have nothing to say to you, Svar, so if you'll excuse me—"

"Oh, but wait just a minute. I've heard an interesting rumor. Some of these new dragons here were telling a couple of Monstrous Nightmares how you took on a Queen to "free them all from their slavery" as they put it."

"What about it?"

"I just have a hard time believing that Prince Shade would willingly do anything for anyone other than himself."

Shade wasn't surprised by Svar's hostility. He'd been dealing with it since he was younger. The dragons behind the smaller male looked acutely uncomfortable with the statement, though.

"Svar," the female said. "That wasn't very—"

"Oh, be quiet, Lila," Svar said derisively, before turning back to Shade. "Well? Do tell us, Shade, of your heroic actions."

"I have less than no interest in telling you anything that I've done. But I think there is something to be learned here."

"And what would that be?"

Shade took a step closer to him, pinning him with his most intense gaze. "That testing the patience of a dragon that took down a Queen is a bad idea. Because if I can kill something that large, you can bet I'd have no problem dealing with a cretin as insignificant as you, Svar. You would be wise to remember that next time you feel like taking out your pathetic aggression on me."

Svar's jaw dropped, and Shade resisted the urge to grin triumphantly. Hopefully that'll shut the bugger up. Before the smaller male could regain his composure, Shade simply spread his wings and took off, hearing the laughter of the other Night Furies as he flew away.

Shade went straight to the cove. Aeri had mentioned to him that she wanted to practice her sword fighting, so he knew he had time to kill. A nap sounded really nice. Wading into the lake, he took a long drink of the cool water, but when he glanced up, he realized he was not alone. On the opposite shore, fast asleep, Ash was curled up in a small ball. How had he not noticed her there flying in? He supposed he had been distracted by his small victory over Svar, and reminded himself that the older male probably wasn't going to be any easier to get along with now that he had stuck up for himself.

For a moment he debated leaving before she woke up, then decided she probably wouldn't mind if he stayed. So he quietly went back up to the beach, turned in a circle, then laid down on the sand, closing his eyes and quickly falling asleep.

A little while later, Ash yawned, blinking sleepily. It was mid-afternoon, and sunlight streamed over the rim of the cove and glittered on the water. Birds and butterflies flitted through the air, casting small shadows as they flew. Then her gaze fixated on the opposite shore of the lake, and her heart skipped a beat.

Shade was curled up on the sand, sleeping. How long had he been there? He must have seen her, so why had he stayed? They weren't avoiding each other, but they weren't exactly friends, either. He'd been very busy with the new dragons over the past few days, and she hadn't really seen him at all. Which was for the best, she reasoned. After a few minutes, she decided to act like he wasn't there. After all, she had been here first.

Across the cove, Shade watched her notice him. He knew she was probably thinking like crazy, wondering as he had if she should leave. He was feigning sleep, his eye barely open enough to see what was going on. She slowly got to her feet, and he found himself hoping that she wouldn't leave. It's not up to you. She can do what she wants. She's not important to you. But when she began to stretch out, he was flooded with relief. Something else quickly replaced that relief, though. Her body was slim and lithe, and the way she was stretching had his heart beating fiercely in his chest. He knew he should look away, but he couldn't take his eyes off her. After a minute or so, she glanced up at him, seemingly satisfied that he was still asleep.

Ash was glad Shade was sleeping. It would be incredibly awkward if he was aware of her watching him, or if he had seen her stretching. It simply wasn't done for a female to move so provocatively in front of a male. She frowned, realizing that he might have seen Kiva stretch out like that, and Ash knew her friend was a lot more attractive than she was. Who cares? None of your business, remember? Either way, he didn't see you, so he won't be comparing you, right?

Shaking her head, she walked to the lake and waded out until her head was only just above the water, then ducked beneath the surface. She loved being underwater. Everything else seemed so far away, like she was unreachable there. For a few minutes she swam around, startling the fish, not going up for air until she absolutely had to.

She burst from the surface, taking a deep breath. When she glanced over, she saw Shade sitting up, watching her intently. "What?" she called out, and watched his ears flatten sheepishly.

"I was wondering if I was going to have to come in after you," he replied, not taking his eyes off her.

"Nope, not today. No need for rescuing here."

"Well, maybe I wanted to." Immediately his eyes widened, as if he couldn't believe what he had just said.

Ash reacted in quite the same way, her thoughts racing. What? What?! Did he just say he wants to come in after me? What is THAT supposed to mean?!

Frozen, she didn't move or say anything. Still looking embarrassed, Shade got to his feet, like he was going to take off.

"Wait, don't go!" she blurted, immediately regretting her words. But he just looked at her curiously.

"I wasn't planning on it." He took a step towards the water, then stopped. "I'd really rather not go back to the village."

"Can't walk anywhere without being swarmed by your new fans, huh?"

He tilted his head. "You know?"

Ash laughed softly. "Everyone knows, Shade."

"I really, really wish they didn't." He looked down.

"I know," she said gently, and he raised his head to look at her. Her heart began to beat faster as he came closer to the water.

"Can I?" he asked her, looking meaningfully at the lake, and she realized he was asking her permission to swim with her.

"Of course."

He didn't say anything else, just moved slowly, purposefully through the water in her direction. Part of her wanted to run, but a much, much larger part was intensely curious as to what he was going to do next. Her heart was hammering in her chest as he swam around her in a wide circle, and she turned, following his progress.

"So," he began conversationally. "How do you know?"

"How do I know… what?"

"You said you knew that I wish no one knew about anything I did on Heimme. How do you know?"

Shade could tell the question surprised her. "You hate attention," she replied, as though it were obvious.

"No one else seems to know that, though."

"That's because they don't know you," she said quietly, and it was his turn to be surprised.

"And you think you do?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He could tell she didn't want to look at him as he slowly tightened his circle around her, but she held her ground, and he was secretly very glad.

She waited a moment, before answering slowly. "Not anymore." Her eyes were sad, and suddenly Shade felt sad, too.

"I guess that's on me," he said.

"It's on me, too," she responded.

He was very close now, and he could smell her. Just a hint of sweetness, and his heart began to pound. But this conversation was important. "Why?"

"I don't flatter myself that you left solely because of our conversation," she said bravely.

"Good."

"But I can't help but feel like I am to blame, anyways."

He was right in front of her, and she reached out a paw and rested it on his shoulder. Shade sucked in a breath at the contact, but he stopped, his hind legs long enough to reach the bottom of the lake. Standing completely upright, his chest was out of the water, and Ash looked sorrowfully at the scars marring his hide, the evidence of his heroism. She hesitated for just a moment, before trailing a claw from his shoulder to his chest, tracing the lines there.

Shade knew she could feel his heart pounding, but still she said nothing.

"They're not particularly pretty—" he started, but she cut him off.

"They're beautiful."

Shocked, he stared at her, and slowly she lifted her gaze to meet his. Her silvery green eyes were shining with something that almost scared him. So he reached down below the water, and gently rested his paw on the scar that spanned her entire left side. He felt her breath hitch, but she didn't move away.

"You can't tell me that one is anything other than marring," she said shakily.

"But it isn't marring," Shade replied, his voice barely louder than a whisper. "Nothing could make you less beautiful."

Ash swallowed, unable to believe that this was actually happening. Shade was telling her that she was beautiful. He didn't think her scar was ugly, even though she felt strongly that it was horrible. His paw was on her side, and hers was still on his chest. He was right in front of her, she could feel his steady heartbeat, and all of her resistance to him melted to nothing.

"I missed you," she whispered. "I missed you every day." His eyes seemed to fill with pain, and she worried that she had said something wrong. "I'm sorry—" she moved her paw off his chest, but he stopped her, pulling her back even closer than before.

"Don't be sorry." His gaze was so blue and intense that it took her breath away. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I changed things before I left, and when I got back I couldn't bear to be near you. It was just too hard. I…"

"And now?" she asked softly.

"And now I can't stay away," he smiled ruefully at her.

"Shade," she started. "If I could change it—"

"We can't change the past, Ash."

"I know… but I would do anything to go back and stop you from leaving Berk." From leaving me.

He seemed to understand her meaning, because he tilted his head, then slowly moved his face closer to hers. She could feel his breath on her scales, and she was enveloped in his scent. Like the forest, and the wind. His eyes were full of unspoken words. It was almost too much to bear.

Then he turned his head to the side, and she felt him ever so softly nuzzle her neck. A shiver ran down her entire body, and he pulled back, looking concerned and almost horrified. "Ash— I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't think—" She felt his paw leave her side, and he backed up quickly.

"Shade—" she tried to interrupt him, but he appeared to be on the verge of panic.

"I'm sorry," he said again, and before she knew it he was out of the water, spreading his wings, and blasting out of the cove.

Her jaw dropped. What had just happened?

:O Progress? Maybe?

I hope you enjoyed Svar getting put in his place as much as I did XD

See you next week!