Hello, everyone!

I hope all of you are doing well! I had such a fun time reading the reviews from last chapter. I'd especially like to thank Echolotal, MysteryWriter175, Vognar-The Legendkeep, CallMeUrmo, temporary0username, NomexGlove, Samateus-Taal, Vigogrimborne, Athnay, TheFuriousNightFury, and Zerac for all of your wonderful reviews!

Additionally, I'd like to thank Crysist, kwizjunior, ReclusiveShadows, Anticept, and Dragon-Crusader for all of their help beta-reading!

Next update should be in 2 weeks. Until then, have a great day, and I hope you all enjoy! Comments are always greatly appreciated!

Chapter 5

Hiccup

"Wake up! It's time to work!"

Toothless and I groaned. Haugaeldr didn't care.

"Come on, you two! The sun will rise in approximately thirty-two minutes. I've already allowed you to sleep in enough!"

"Sleeping in is fine every now and then," Toothless moaned. I rolled over, grabbed my pillow, and put it over my head.

A pair of talons grabbed it, wrestled it out of my grasp, and then set it carefully on my bedrest. "You have slept the required eight hours that humans need, by my turning of our hourglass. And considering a dragon's periodic sleeping patterns, you should feel far more rested, Toothless." He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Unless you didn't sleep when you were supposed to."

That was a conversation I didn't want. "Nope, we totally slept the whole time," I said, easing myself up and reaching for my prosthetic, which rested on my bedside table. Toothless, who had been lying beside me, arched his back and stretched his legs out.

Haugaeldr broke out into a bright grin. "Excellent! I'm eager to begin our task. I've planned our schedule for the rest of the day. First, wake up before sunrise. At sunrise, breakfast for thirty minutes. Afterwards, going over our day's plan for thirty minutes. Next, working on—"

"Woah, woah, woah," I interrupted, holding my hands up. I glanced at Toothless, who looked horrified to have his day so micromanaged, and had to struggle not to laugh. "You do realize we have other things to do, right?"

Haugaeldr thumped his tail irritably. "You can socialize on our built-in break day!"

"Oh? And when is that?" Toothless said.

"Once a month!" he groaned, as if it were obvious.

"Okay," I said, fighting down a smile. "Haugaeldr, I really appreciate your very extreme...passion with this. But our other tasks can't just wait."

"Why not?" he asked. "The elders will take on any Kingly duties you ask of them."

"Well, I still have a job at the smithy, for one," I said. "Which is where I build things like the sandbox and writing tools you love so much." When his eyes widened, I finally did smile. "And besides that, there are plenty of things we do. Managing other tribe's dragons with Terror mail, helping Astrid and the others teach humans how to fly with dragons, keeping the fires down, fishing and hunting for winter…"

"And, yes, socializing," Toothless said, overtone chastising. "That is important, too. Hiccup and I would like to see the King and our nestmates sometimes. Don't you miss Stormfly and Hookfang?"

Haugaeldr drooped. "I must admit I do," he said. His eyes widened and he stiffened. "Oh! I just realized, I was so excited about our task yesterday, I never even said hello!"

"Haugaeldr," I scolded. "How would you feel if you were gone away for so long and they didn't welcome you home?"

He stood very, very still, tailtip twitching. His wide eyes fixated on nothing. Then he burst out, "I've made a mistake!" and scampered out of the room, down the stairs, and knocked the door right off its hinges with a huge BANG!

I'd barely stood up from my bed when the sound of rapid wingbeats rose and fell just outside.

Toothless yawned, stretched again, plodded around in a circle, and eased himself back down. "Well, that fixes that problem."

"Toothless! It's way too early for him to go waking people up!"

"Well, since he won't learn that from us," Toothless grumbled, "then maybe someone else can drive it through his thick skull. I, for one, plan on getting the rest of my sleep."

I sighed, sitting back on the bed and setting to dislocating my prosthetic. "You know," I clucked, "I remember when you were happy to spend a whole day being woken up by him."

"That was when he was small. And cuddly. And actually went back to sleep when we told him to."

I shrugged, unable to argue against that. "He's just in his...always-awake stage."

"That doesn't exist and you know it!"

The door burst open.

"Hiccup! Toothless!" Dad exclaimed. He sighed with relief at seeing us both there. "What was that sound?"

"Haugaeldr," I sighed. "He woke us up early. Then remembered he had to say 'hi' to Stormfly and Hookfang."

Dad was already leaning over the banister, taking in the damage. He sighed, hands on his hips, and shook his head. "Beard of Thor...that's the fifth door this year he's broken." He rolled his shoulders and glanced out the window. "Well, best we start the day early then, if we're all awake. Come on, boys."

With that, he bundled downstairs to fix breakfast. And the door.

Toothless cast a longing look at our comfy bed with its comfy pillows and comfy blankets. I sighed myself, getting back to tying on my prosthetic.

"Oh! Boys!" Dad called from downstairs.

"Yeah?" I shouted.

"I forgot to tell you!" There was some banging as he forced the door closed, keeping some semblance of warmth indoors. "Trader Johann's Terror came in the dragonery last night. He'll be here by morning."

"Um, okay?" I said, standing up and testing my weight on my prosthetic.

Dad laughed. "I think you'll like his visit this time!" he called. "He said he's heard news of Night Furies!"

o.O.o

Toothless

Shadow-Blenders. News of Shadow-Blenders.

I paced the docks like a dragon-mother watching her hatchlings fly for the first time. The sun was barely risen, a dusky orange disc precariously balanced precariously on the ocean's surface, providing just enough light to see a tiny speck on the horizon: the floating-tree.

"Do you want to fly to him?" Hiccup asked, standing a step behind me so he wouldn't get knocked over by my coming and going. "I still can't see his ship. He's probably an hour or so out, and then he needs to dock and settle in."

The King cleared his throat. He stood next to Hiccup, looking bemused. With his skin taking on a pink hue, Hiccup translated into Norse for him.

"Trader Johann is probably hoping to rest a little," the King said. "The news isn't going anywhere." He slapped his paw on my shoulder, a human gesture of...support, or something. "Come on! Let's put all that anxious energy to good use."

"I…" I began, never taking my eyes off of the floating-tree. Drooping, I said, "Alright. That makes sense."

Hiccup hopped up onto my back, purring. "Look at it this way," he said, "since we're up so early, we can finish our morning faster, and have more time to talk to him."

Blinking, I stood up straighter. Now that was a good point.

"We will see you later, King! Fair winds!" I cried. I leapt into the air, snatching the wind beneath my wings, and flung us straight back up towards Berk.

"Woah!" Hiccup yelped. He laughed and said some sort of teasing comment, but I scarcely heard him.

The last I had seen my kind, my mother lay dying...my older brother, screaming, blaming me, abandoning me...father, I had never been able to say goodbye. We had been the only nest in our little alcove, in those mountains to the south. Mother and father had never mentioned others like us.

A memory sprung forthーa conversation between Hiccup and me, years ago now.

Why not look for your family?

And, hypocrite as I was, I had buried myself in the depths of my sorrows, even as I nudged Hiccup away from his own.

We had scarcely spoken of it since then. Hiccup was kind and patient enough not to press.

But, now…

Did I dare let myself hope?

Even with my mind reeling, I flung us through our morning tasks. Checking the hatchery. Conversing with patrollers. Learning any tidbits of news from the dragonery, where dozens of Little-Biters and other wanderlust-filled dragons perched and waited to send out messages. Taking stock from the humans who cared for the sheep, the humans who somehow made edible plants happen where they wanted, the humans in charge of storing food. All this we did with a speed we had never done before. The errands flew straight over my head, such that if Hiccup would have asked me what happened during the morning, I would have been unable to give an answer.

News of Shadow-Blenders.

o.O.o

By the time the human was well-restedーand after taking his time doing soーnearly half of Berk had flocked to his floating-tree like seagulls spotting a meal. We blustered like a bunch of hatchlings seeing a butterfly for the first time, gathering with wide eyes and excitement in a huge crowd. Some dragons swooped overhead, curious to see such a gathering. The sun had reached mid-morning already, casting its warmth onto all of the docks with crisp clarity.

Hiccup, the King, and I stood at the front of the crowd, near where the floating-tree sat in the water. There were platforms made of wood that lead up to the floating-tree, but we weren't allowed on it just yet. The human 'Johann' bumbled about his floating-tree, constantly 'reassuring' us that he needed just a "few" more moments.

"That's the third time he's said that!" I complained, my tail flicking with irritation. "How much longer does he need?"

Hiccup pressed his side against mine. He began to speakーand was cut off by the sudden thump of dragons landing just beside us.

"Hi, Kings!" Stormfly crowed. At her side, Hookfang bobbed his head in greeting.

"There you are!" Haugaeldr said, landing delicately next to his friends. He narrowed his eyes accusingly. "We went looking for you all morning!"

"Hey, Hiccup!" Snotlout shouted from atop Hookfang. "Would you mind not letting him wake us up and drag us all around Berk?" He pointed the human way at Haugaeldr, who scoffed.

Astrid leapt down from Stormfly and landed with a dragon's grace. "I was already getting some early-morning training in," she said. "But it would be nice to have some warning before Stormfly swoops out of nowhere and carries me off."

Hiccup grimaced, lowering his head. "Sorry," he said. "He remembered he forgot to welcome those two home."

Astrid smiled, but Snotlout was less than amused. "Why couldn't it wait until morning?" he grumbled, easing himself down from Hookfang's neck and plopping to his feet on the docks. "I needed to get my beauty rest in after all of that flying yesterday!"

"I assure you, I am almost ready!" the human 'Johann' shouted, again.

"No, he isn't!" I said under my breath. Hiccup snickered.

Astrid looked at me with her eyebrows raised. "Is something wrong?"

The King chuckled, stepping up to our circle and giving me another one of his firm paw-slaps on the shoulder. "We've learned that Trader Johann has heard something of Night Furies," he said. "Toothless has been waiting all morning to hear it."

Astrid's eyes widened. "News of Night Furies?" she said in wonder. She gave me a sympathetic look. "No wonder you're so anxious."

"I'm not anxious," I snorted. "I just want to know!"

Astrid lifted an eyebrow. "I'm assuming that was something sarcastic?" she said to Hiccup.

"More or less," he said with a shrug and a playful grin my way. He perked up. "But that actually reminds meーHaugaeldr is helping out with the Book on Dragonese now! He thinks he can come up with a way that can transcribe it."

Astrid beamed. "That's amazing!" Patting Stormfly, who leaned down to nose her, she asked, "You think it'll be able to help us understand them better?"

"That's what we're hoping," Hiccup said, his eyes flicking to his father.

The King grinned. "And that reminds me," he said. He turned to Astrid. "I'm afraid Haugaeldr won't let Hiccup rest until they get finished. I'd like for you to take over his responsibilities until then."

That was new. I shared a surprised look with Hiccup and Astrid.

"Wait, r-really?" Hiccup spluttered.

"That's wonderful!" Haugaeldr exclaimed. "That means we can use my itinerary!"

Fear shot deep into my core. "Let's reconsider."

Astrid did her best to regain her composure. "IーI'd be happy to, Chief," she said with an excited grin. "I won't let you down."

"Hey! What about me?" Snotlout shouted, waving his paws around for emphasis. "Shouldn't I be the one taking on the Chiefly duties?"

The King turned to him, his expression carefully neutral.

Before he could speak, the human 'Johann' shouted, his voice piercing through the din. "Alright! I am pleased to welcome you all aboard!"

Finally. "Let's go!" I nudged Hiccup, who was looking at his father with a troubled expression. Even Astrid seemed uncomfortable, averting her eyes and shoulders creeping up to her ears.

"Yes, Toothless is right," the King said. "Snotlout, we'll talk later. Come, boys, let's hear this news."

I bustled us off, nipping Hiccup's scruff with sheathed teeth and dragging him forward a few steps until he got moving. The King normally would have chuckled at such a sight, but was silent instead, his expression a mirror of Hiccup's.

I glanced over my shoulder at the others. Haugaeldr was babbling enthusiastically to Stormfly and Hookfang, who were both entranced with his wild imaginings. Astrid had taken up step behind us, biting her lower lip.

Snotlout stood still. He stared after us, his face drawn, his paws clenched at his side. He met my eye, and for a momentーthough I could hardly believe itーa trace of accusation seeped into his eyes. He snapped his head away, turned, and stalked back into the crowd, shoving his way through the throng of advancing humans and dragons. Within moments, he was swallowed in their midst.

o.O.o

The human took us inside his floating-tree, into a cramped room that all of us could barely squeeze into. There was an odd pelt hanging by two ends swinging against one wall, a small table, and a large object that held other objects inside it. He opened it up and pulled out several pieces of rolled parchment.

"Ask him what it is," I whispered to Hiccup.

"What is it?" Hiccup repeated.

"I'm not surprised this has caught your fancy, young master!" the human chortled. He placed the parchments on the table and began spreading them out. The King, Hiccup, Astrid, and I strained to get closer in the cramped quarters.

"A map?!" Hiccup exclaimed, reaching for one.

"Ask him where!"

"And then some!" the human interrupted, his eyes twinkling. He shuffled some more parchment around. "I've got first-hand accounts, hand-written myself, as well as patrol records! Oh, this one in particular comes with such a story! It all started when I met this odd fellow during one of my southern trade routes. He was simply enamored with his pet parrotーquite a remarkable bird, you see, they can even imitate human speechー"

"Hold on," the King said, holding up a paw. "Let's start from the beginning. Where are these from, and what exactly are they all tracking?"

"Why, Night Furies!" the human said, and my heart swelled.

"Where?!" I demanded, shoving my way even closer to the parchments.

The human held up his paws, his eyes widening but chortling nonetheless. "Forgive me, master Toothless," he said. "I'll do my best not to get carried away with my tales. Although they are very engaging…" he muttered. He opened the paper with the map, spreading it out and smoothing its curled edges.

I looked at Hiccup and the King, who squinted down at it, their faces nearly a mirror of each other. Behind them, Astrid squeezed her way closer. My ears drooped when it became very clear from their expressions that none of them had any idea what they were looking at.

"Yes, this is land you Vikings likely have not seen since your great-great-great-something forefathers escaped the mainland," the human 'Johann' said. "Far to the southwest, skirting around the main islands with their beautiful landscapes and volcanoes, and, oh, you should see the sights there, with the glaciers and the emerald fieldsー!"

"Johann," the King interrupted.

"Right, right!" he said easily. "Well, as you know, the peoples down south are always pitting against each other, fighting wars and dethroning kings and setting up empires just to watch them fall. And they call us savages," he said with a solemn shake of his head. "But it makes for quite good trading, when even truth is in short supply! Which led me to this."

He opened another parchment.

"Now, this is my own copy, of course, translated into Norse at your benefit, masters Toothless and Hiccup. But what this states isー"

Hiccup's eyes had danced across it the moment it was laid in front of him. "Sightings of Night Furies," he breathed. "In the mountains to the south…" he turned to me. Our eyes met.

Our link blossomed between us.

Where I came from, I finished his own thought, and between us slipped the foggy, half-remembered images of the great hulking mountains with their snowy caps, forests nestled within the gaps like sleeping hatchlings. Mother, with her soft gray scales and stripes. Lying dead, wounded, amidst a burning plain, murmuring soft consolments with her dying breath. The shadow-man's cloak, which tore at my heart with savage talons, for it resembled her so. Father, of a black so deep he had no real use of Shadow-Blender magic at night. That last approving smile as we had flown out on my first scouting mission. My older brother, a mixture of the two...his angry, accusing, betrayed amber eyes…

I turned away, breaking the connection.

"The woman I traded this from was well-travelled, all the way from the lands far to the east, where dragons also live," the human said. "Although her description of them makes them seem far more mystical and...snake-like. She was enamored with Night Furies, trying to study them to bring them back to the Dragon Lords, so she called them. She said she sighted a flock of at least ten, though the numbers were hard to count."

Hiccup and I shared a breathless look.

"This," the human said, and his voice was suddenly grim, "is a war report." He pulled out another piece of parchment. "It does not describe any Furies, per say, but it does mention a very specific man. Grimmel the Grisly."

The King stiffened.

"You know him?" I asked him immediately. "Who is he? What does he have to do with this?"

The King needed no translations of my urgent questions. "I once met him, decades ago," he told me. "But everything I have heard from and about him has sounded like fantasies and exaggerations."

The sad way he looked at me made my back arch, my spines sticking up. "Who is he?!" I shouted. Hiccup pressed close to me, thrumming with a soft, comforting purr, and I lowered my head apologetically.

"He fancies himself as a Night Fury killer," the King said. "But I never believed it."

The air whooshed out of my lungs. I could believe it. I remembered that day, being hunted like prey, the sharp-claw that had felled Mother, the deathly illness that had swooped upon her, which she had hidden so well that I had not even registered that she was dying, dying in front of me, but she had known, trying so hard to be brave for her fledgling, to comfort meー

"ーin one of the wars," the human 'Johann' was saying. "Apparently, he's still going on about how he got them all."

"When did you get each of these reports?" Hiccup asked, his voice tight as he held on to me. I hadn't even realized he'd pulled me close. "When did your contact see the nest?"

"Some long time ago," the human admitted. "She hadn't seen Night Furies for a few years when I'd spoken to her. The report on Grimmel's work in the wars is far more recent, within the last year. But!" he brightened, holding up a finger. "Fear not! For I have one last piece of news."

He pulled the last piece of parchment. I blinked, because this one, I could understand.

It was a picture.

I craned my neck forward, sniffing at the image, as if I could take in the scent of the dragon depicted. It was very loose, much less detailed and true-to-life than Hiccup's works. The dragon in it was small, like they were far away, and turned toward us, staring out from the paper with an arched back, head low, wings half-opened, tail curled around their body. The human had not cared to place anything more than lines for their eyes, but they didn't need to for me to know their thoughts. Their posture screamed terror and vulnerability.

"Oh," Hiccup said softly, his eyes sympathetic as he studied the image.

"Where and when was this?" the King asked.

"Far to the southwest," the human said. "When, I'm not sure. This one came with quite a story from the locals. They thought it was some sort of spirit or god, come to visit them deep in the night. Apparently it frequented their village for a time, coming from the ocean and disappearing over the horizon when it left. None of them were ever able to get close to it, except for a child who managed to sneak up on it and record this." He tapped the paper. "They said it stopped visiting a few years ago."

"And when did this Grimmel start bragging about killing all the Night Furies?" Astrid spoke up.

The human smiled triumphantly. "He's been known to say it's been well over a decade."

All of it was so much. So uncertain.

"That's...good," said Hiccup. He looked at me. "Although I don't believe it either, Toothless. How can one person wipe out a whole species?"

"If they only live in certain places," I murmured, staring at the parchment. "If they only form very small nests, which means they can't defend each other…"

He lay a reassuring paw on my head. "I don't believe it," he said again, this time with confidence.

"Nor do I," the King said. "Men like these...they're all act. They puff themselves up, but once you strike, you realize how small they are."

"I would advise caution with this particular man," the human said. "He's earned quite a fearsome reputation, even without all this hullabaloo about wiping out a whole race of dragons."

The King nodded. "Thank you for this, Johann," he said. "I might pick your brain on him some more. May we keep these?"

"But of course!" the human cried. "Considering you've been so kind to allow me to dock and dine here in your vibrant home!"

The King lifted an eyebrowーI had a feeling that hadn't been the case when discussing arrangements. "Very well," he said, somewhat bemused. "Once you've finished trading, I'll set you up in Town Hall." He turned to myself, Hiccup, and Astrid. "I'm sure you three finished your morning tasks already. I'll be busy arranging some trading with Johann, but feel free to do as you please."

Astrid straightened. "Right, Chief," she said. She grabbed Hiccup by the arm. "C'mon, let's head outside."

Hiccup yelped as he was dragged away, but still managed to grab the parchments as we left. Astrid guided us all the way off of the floating-tree and into a less-crowded nook on the docks. She fixed us both with an expectant look, paws on her hips. "Well?"

"Well what?" Hiccup asked, rubbing his shoulder with a paw even though it couldn't have possibly hurt that much.

"The Night Furies!" she exclaimed. "I know you must have some stupid idea in that head of yours."

"I want to find them," I blurted, still somewhat in a daze. My eyes widened and ears stuck straight up at my own admission.

Finding them...would mean leaving home.

Hiccup looked at me with much less surprise. "I do, too," he said, his overtone full of longing.

"So," Astrid said, "what are you going to do?"