Hello! I'm back and I will continue to be back for the next two months at least. As I've said, I've got most of this story figured out, I just need to finish the last two chapters and luckily for me, NaNoWriMo is coming up!

So, this chapter and the next one kinda go hand in hand. This is finally the moment when Hiccup and the rest of the Berk kids reunite and they start to exchange stories. This is Hiccup's side and next will be Astrid. And sprinkled in will be plot and character progression.

I'm very grateful for the people who commented and gave this story some love and attention. I understand it cannot be easy to be thrown into a crossover so unprepared like I did to you. Now that I've reread the first chapter, it was a bit confusing and had little explanations of the 'Fairy Tail' universe. I'm thinking of going back and revising it at some point. But not right now…

I don't own either of those two franchises! I'm just an obsessed nut after all!

EDIT: 5/10/2020 – Added narration; smoothed transitions.

Chapter 5: Reminiscence ~Sorrowful Soul~

They didn't speak during the flight. Hiccup tried to keep his eyes on the sky, aware of any odd movement that might indicate an attack. That, and he didn't want to look at the other Vikings. It was awkward enough having to sit next to Astrid when he could smell the resentment rolling off of her and feel the stiffness in her shoulders. He was actually surprised that the twins were quiet.

The constant flap of wings and slicing air, the waves of the ocean bellow and the screeching of the birds was a symphony that Hiccup missed more than he realized. The group continued like that for a few more minutes and he started to relax and get lost in that familiar feeling. It was so nostalgic, and for those few moments, Hiccup forgot about everything. There was only the sky, the sea and the open horizon calling for him.

When the Nadder angled into a dive, Hiccup blinked away the daze. He felt an uncharacteristic loss before he buried it as everyone descended on a small forested island. Or rather, a mass of earth rising among the waves that happened to have some trees on it. The area was big enough to house four dragons and a couple of humans as well as a sharp rock jutting upwards that shaded half of the outcropping.

The riders jumped on the shingle beach, letting their dragons stretch and wander in search of fish on their own. Hiccup took a deep breath of salty air. Mystogan and Rein stepped by his side taking in the place, but at attention just in case.

Hiccup finally turned to look at his former peers. And quickly stepped back when the blade of an axe almost chopped off his arm.

"You son of a half-troll, rat-eating munge bucket - RAGHH!" Astrid charged again.

Mystogan was ready to intercept, staff half-drawn when Hiccup held out his hand. Rein was covering her mouth with her hands in shock but they both stayed put as the angry woman continued her assault. Hiccup kept dodging her, mindful of the slippery pebbles underfoot.

"Stop running and at least pretend to fight like a man!" She stopped, took a stance and readjusted her grip.

"Is that really what you want?" Hiccup asked, shoving down the Viking related frustration trying to resurface.

"Yes, otherwise, stand still so I can cut your head off and present it to the Chief as proof of your cowardliness."

Someone whimpered on the sidelines. Probably Fishlegs.

"That's harsh, Astrid!" Snotlout mumbled.

"Who cares? There'll be blood!" Ruffnut cheered.

"Wanna make bets? How about a left foot?" Snotlout choked and shuffled away from the twins. Mystogan did the same even if he was already the furthest.

"I think you're exaggerating a bit." Hiccup ignored them and instead focused on the lethal shield maiden in front of him.

"You're alive and clearly on friendly terms with people who enslaved dragons!"

"Did you miss the part where Drago tried to kill me?"

"AND SO WILL I!" She sprang forward, swinging her weapon.

Hiccup almost rolled his eyes. Of course Astrid's first instinct was to attack the problem. Since Drago or Eret weren't around, he supposed he was the next best thing she had. With a flash of light, he had Raven in his hand, the sword rising to meet the axe. There was a brief flicker of disbelief on the woman's face before it disappeared and she pushed against him.

"You're alive and yet you let everyone believe you were dead!"

"I did no such thing! It's not my fault you assumed that!"

She huffed. Her blade skated over the sword, sparks flying. Hiccup back-pedaled. He took Raven with both hands and deflected another angry strike.

"Nothing you did led us to believe anything else!"

Hiccup pivoted on his foot, guiding Astrid's axe to swipe at empty air. He switched his grip on the hilt and aimed the pommel at one of her wrists. She winced at her slacking grasp. She tightened her other hand on the axe and drew it back. It wasn't as balanced as it could have been but Hiccup had to jump out of her space to avoid a severe wound to his side.

"Why would you even care if I was alive or dead?"

This time, it was him that rushed in. His vertical slash was blocked by the flat of the axe, both of them glowering at each other over the clashing steel.

"Because you're the Heir, the Pride of Berk!"

There was an odd hitch in her voice. Hiccup gritted his teeth and pushed.

"Yakshit! None of you believed that!"

Her eyes widened when the pressure shoved her back. Astrid let herself fall back into a roll, dodging the falling sword. She bounced on her toes, stretching her leg in a wide sweep. Hiccup saw it coming and stepped to the side, bringing the flat of his weapon in an upward hit. Astrid blocked with the wooden handle. She pushed against the ground and increased the power of her leap, coming down on Hiccup with more force than he expected.

"Your father did!"

What she didn't expect was for him to also fall back. With a lurch, Astrid was on top of him. Hiccup grabbed her weapon, pushed against her stomach with his knee and the shield maiden was flying over his head to land on her back. Both of them immediately rolled on their stomach and came face to face.

"When I was five! After that he tried his best to ignore my existence!"

Astrid punched him in the face. Hiccup couldn't say he saw that coming. He seized her wrist, claws digging into the leather bracer. She aimed a quick jab at his throat but he was already on his knees and dragging her with him. And then she head-butted him. He turned his head so that she didn't break his nose but it distracted him enough. Astrid punched him again in the gut, rising on her feet and standing above him. She twisted her arm that was caught in his grip to the side to keep it away, and she kicked him in the chest.

"That. Is. Not. An. Excuse!"

She stomped on him with every word, enjoying every wheeze of pain as he was pushed on his back. She hesitated when his body went limp. That was a mistake.

Hiccup's leg shot up, nailing her across the back of her leg and hip. She stumbled forward just as he drew his legs to his chest and kicked her in the stomach. She crashed on the ground with an 'oomph' and he flipped on his feet.

"I tried so hard to meet up to his standards but nothing was good except that image he had in his head. And I never measured up to that! Never had, never will!"

It became a brawl from then on. Astrid rose only to deflect a punch with her bracer. Hiccup rained blows on her, not giving her a window to retaliate. She quickly learned that blocking was ill-advised. With the added gauntlets, Hiccup's strikes hurt even through the leather coverings. She settled for evasion, ducking and weaving between his arms as she backed away more and more. She had to get the upper hand.

"That's your problem? Oh, boohoo! You're not the only one who had to go through that! Grow up, you baby!"

She saw him get angry. Angry meant sloppy. She exhaled, minding her feet over the gravel. She saw her chance when he went for an overhand punch. She stepped inside his guard, blocking his arm as she did. Her foot snapped at his knee. He cried but didn't go down, so she followed it with a sweep kick. He caught himself on his other leg. Astrid ducked under his arm to get away. She choked. The metal ring that held her shoulder pads and her hood was pressing in her throat.

He growled. Low and animalistic. Like Drago. Astrid blindly threw her elbow back. It connected with his shoulder and the grip loosened. She noticed a quick flash of black and her arm was up on instinct. Three tears on her bracers appeared as Hiccup flexed his fingers. None punctured skin but Astrid had half a second to realize that angry didn't always mean defeated.

"There was no point! Nothing I did was ever enough. Or good, or worthy!" She was putting distance between them right away. "So for once in my life I decided to do what I wanted!"

He launched himself with a roar. Astrid's chest was moving fast with exhausted breaths. Her eyes roved over the beach. She saw her axe to the side, out of her reach but she had to get to it. As the claws came down, she rolled and then turned it into a somersault. She watched with large eyes as Hiccup's gauntlets demolished the rocks where she was and almost forgot to pick up her weapon.

They remained locked like that for a few seconds. Panting and dirty from mud and water, the two stared at each other. Fear, confusion and betrayal swam in light blue eyes. Bitterness, hostility, hurt was mirrored in forest green.

"So what did you want?" She grated, fingers twitching on her axe.

Hiccup sighed. His eyes flickered to her arm. The slash that she barely dodged. The one that could have cut through skin and bone in the blink of an eye. His body deflated and the anger faded, replaced by shame. He didn't answer as he turned and walked away.

/\\\

After Hiccup and Astrid had all their frustrations released and out in the open, the rest of the group – at Fishlegs' insistence – went to start building a camp. They didn't talk, even though Hiccup saw Fishlegs holding himself back and glancing to Rein and Mystogan every few seconds. The twins were also very interested in the new faces and as much as Snotlout tried to act aloof, his eyes were betraying his curiosity. Astrid… She ignored him the entire time. But she watched Mystogan and Rein with suspicion.

They retreated at the base of the giant rock, around the flickering of a small fire. The dragons helped drag a few logs around the pit for everyone to lean on, and then stretched around them, shielding them from the winds. The stress level was high and nobody wanted to be the one to break the ice.

Hiccup, Mystogan and Rein were staying right in front of the stone wall, with the Vikings spread out towards the beach and next to their respective dragons. Some fish were slowly cooking over the fire.

The former heir was straining to breath steadily. After the adrenaline wore off, his body was all too insistent on reminding him of its injuries. Figures that he didn't get a scratch from Drago but at the hands of a Berkian instead. The Gods loved to play him for a fool, as always. He didn't bother to check beyond a mental scan but his chest especially must be all kinds of colorful shades. And the right side of his face as well. He took satisfaction in the fact that Astrid was just as messed up as him. Plus, if the Moon was shining on him he could absorb enough magic to speed up the healing. Being a Dragon Slayer had its perks.

With a seemingly half-awake gaze, he watched the others. The twins were keeping a close eye on the food. Probably had a bet going on among themselves or something. Fishlegs was twiddling his fingers and alternated between petting his Gronckle, shooting worried glances at Astrid and then inquiring ones at the purple cat. Snotlout was staring at him. He had a curious look on his face and Hiccup couldn't figure out if he was happy about his return or if he was planning his death. In contrast, Astrid was avoiding him. She was huddled up close to her Nadder, eyes lost in the flames and fingers trailing the rips in her right bracer.

The contentment abruptly transformed into guilt. He could have seriously injured her. He hadn't found a material that his claws couldn't scratch or outright cut yet. If he had been any more upset, she probably would have cradled a stump. His jaw worked to form an apology but he couldn't make it go past his lips. The sour taste of failure forced him to close his eyes.

He focused on his breathing again. With each inhale, his chest burned and he welcomed it. In a way he did deserve that beating. Astrid had a right to be furious with him. Despite his status as a runt and useless heir, he was still the Heir of a tribe. His decision to leave was abrupt, a spur of the moment thing caused by fear of his father's disappointment. He chose to be selfish and sacrificed his own people to his desires. It didn't matter if they hated him before. His choice proved that he failed his father. All the lectures, all the lessons that Stoick tried to pass on to him, to teach him, to mold him into his successor, he spat on it and threw it all back in his face. Astrid's assessment was fair and he had to give her that.

"You're right. I am a coward."

Mystogan's head jerked in his direction.

"Glad we got that out of the way." Astrid's voice rang in the stillness.

"That being said…" He continued. "I'm not coward enough to let Drago Bludvist turn the archipelago into a sea of blood. Home or not home. If you want our help, we're gonna have to know more about the situation."

"What makes you think we want your help?" Snotlout mocked. "We've got plenty of things done, just the five of us."

"Did you not see the size of his army?" Fishlegs hissed in disbelief.

"Or how he whipped out a storm inside?"

"Or how he could snap you in two with one arm?"

"Or how he threw those ice spikes with one swing?"

"Or how he made the ceiling collapse with his booming voice?"

"The last one did not happen!" Snotlout scowled at Tuffnut.

"Or did it?" He was suddenly in Snotlout's face and eye balling him weirdly. The short young man pushed him away with one hand.

"Stop that, you moron!"

The twins cackled, sharing the grilled fish.

"What was that anyway?" Fishlegs pulled everyone back to the matter at hand. "Also, there was something under the ship when they took us there. Large diameter bubbles, I'd say massive lungs. Cold water, deep dweller… I'm thinking class 5 leviathan, maybe 6. It started going crazy when Drago did uh, w-whatever he did."

Astrid's face tightened at that. Hiccup wasn't sure what he was talking about.

"What Drago did was magic. More precisely, he was using ice magic." He decided to tackle what he knew and that was informing them of exactly the amount of trouble they were in. "The three of us can also use magic, though different types." He wanted to smirk at their awed and skeptic expression.

"I've never heard of anything like that." Jeered Snotlout because, why not? "There's no way I'll buy something as ridiculous as – "

A dull purple flame like energy ignited in Hiccup's palm. Snotlout's mouth clicked shut. Fishlegs forgot all about his reservations and crawled near him to watch the wisp. The twins dropped their food and gawked. Astrid hid her reaction far better and settled to only stare thoughtfully.

"Whoa! Is this fire? Why is it cold?" Fishlegs stretched his finger over it, feeling the missing warmth he expected.

"I am keeping it cooler so it doesn't hurt you."

Fishlegs looked at him with a tiny, grateful smile, which Hiccup returned. "Can you regulate its temperature?"

"Of course. I can make it hot enough to melt skin just by proximity." The blonde gulped but the wonder in his eyes deepened to an urge to know. Hiccup chuckled. "This is Aurvandil's Fire, basically."

He caught Mystogan lifting a questioning eyebrow. Astrid scowled. And if the twins didn't stop their eyes from widening they would come out of their sockets any second.

Tuffnut suddenly stood up, shoved the giddy Fishlegs out of the way and dropped on his knees in front of Hiccup. "Teach me your ways!"

Ruffnut joined him. "Bestow upon us the chaos of Loki!"

"Guys, this has nothing to do with Loki!" Hiccup cut off the magic flow, rolling his eyes at their antics.

Ruffnut sprang up to look at Mystogan. "Can you do stuff like that?"

Hiccup saw the taller wizard fight to not lean back. "My magic is more illusion based. And Rein can fly." He added when she turned to the little cat, cowering behind his shoulder.

"Wow, that's lame." Laughed Tuffnut. "Though there's pranking potential." Hiccup almost strained a muscle holding back his amusement. If only they knew.

"How did you learn magic? Where did you go? Can you show me more? Where are you guys from? And, I don't mean to sound rude, but what are you?" Fishlegs was dying for more information. With the dam of silence now broken, he could barely contain himself. Hiccup pushed all three of them back.

"I will explain everything." He specifically looked into Astrid's eyes, conveying without words his previous unspoken apology. "Everything."

She barked at Fishlegs and the twins to get back to their places and nodded at Hiccup. "Go ahead."

"Ok." Hiccup took a deep breath. He wasn't going to make this long, he also had his own questions to ask. "So, you remember before we started Dragon Training? There was a raid and I said I shot down a Nigh Fury?" Fishlegs and Astrid gave tentative nods, Snotlout's scowl deepened and the twins shrugged. "Well, I shot down a Nigh Fury. I found him in the woods, injured and while he stayed there we became friends."

The dawning realization on Astrid's face was priceless. "That's why you got good in the Ring?"

As much as he wanted to admit it, he didn't want to start another brawl. "When I was chosen to kill the Nightmare," Snotlout winced for some reason, "I didn't know what else to do. There was no way I would have killed the dragon and I couldn't put Toothless in danger any longer so we left. Released the rest of the dragons that night too."

"Toothless?" Astrid narrowed her eyes playfully. Hiccup would say she was as playful as a venomous viper.

Hiccup grinned. "Retractable teeth."

"You released the dragons?" Snotlout asked, serious for a change.

"That's what I said."

He stared at him conflicted. "Thanks." Hiccup blinked.

"Oof! That must have been hard. All that honesty." Tuffnut bumped his shoulder. Snotlout shook him off.

"I would do anything for Hookfang."

The Monstrous Nightmare huffed behind him. His glowing, amber eyes stared at Hiccup and that's when he finally took a closer look at them. All four of them seemed familiar now that he could see them better.

"Wait! What do you mean by that…?"

Snotlout smirked.

"Funny how fate works, huh?" Fishlegs laughed scratching the Gronckle lovingly behind the ears. Hiccup caught on to his allusion and couldn't stop the disbelief from showing on his face.

"R-Really? How did you – "

"Come on, keep going." Astrid called, all smug while the Nadder preened.

Hiccup did not want to keep going. He had no idea what happened to the dragons in the ring after he released them, but to see them again, friends with the very people that wanted to learn how to kill them seven years ago? Fate really was funny indeed. He was very curious about that story.

"We spent some days just hopping from island to island. We saw raids and fights between Vikings and dragons and then Toothless showed me the Nest. There was this huge dragon Queen, directing the rest to gather food for her. She saw us and, well, things snowballed from there. We ended up killing her but we crashed into the ocean – "

Fishlegs gagged on a piece of fish.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You can't just casually skip over a bombshell like that!" Screamed Ruffnut.

"Yeah, we like, need to comment and be impressed and stuff!" Tuffnut added.

"We saw the remains of that thing!" Astrid said surprised. "In the spring, when the mist of Helheim's Gate cleared, we sailed straight to the island."

"You stopped the raids?" Snotlout couldn't seem to decide between being uncertain and reverential. "Hiccup stopped the raids, Hookfang!" He settled on uncertain due to the total absurdity of the fact. The dragons raised their heads, now paying more attention to the story.

Hiccup sighed. "As crazy as it is, it's the truth. And if you don't believe that, then there is no point to continue with the next part."

"What? Did you shake hands with Thor next?" Snotlout's high-pitch yell would have been amusing in another situation. Astrid kicked him in the leg, shutting him up.

"I'm not sure how it happened. All I know is that Toothless saved us and I woke up on a beach, far different than anything in the archipelago. Later on I learned that it was an entirely other realm called Earthland."

As he expected, five jaws dropped.

"You traveled to another realm?" From her tight voice, Astrid was fighting to keep her cool.

"I've never heard of Earthland." Muttered Fishlegs.

"I can attest to that." Mystogan interjected. When he had everyone's attention and acknowledged Hiccup's small sigh gratitude, he continued. "Personally, I come from a world called Edolas. I have been living in Earthland for almost seven years and I met Hiccup about three years ago. Earthland is a realm where magic thrives and people can choose to become wizards and help others in exchange of money. Magic is something normal for the people there."

"So there are more than nine worlds?" Fishlegs gasped.

"I'm not sure how many, but for certain there are more than we could ever know."

"And the cat?"

"She's from Earthland."

"Okay, let me get this straight." Snotlout stood up, pacing in front of Hookfang. "You were the first one to train a dragon on Berk, you slew a big-ass dragon queen, you ended up in another world AND you learned magic that can melt skin by proximity? Anything else, oh great one?"

Letting the ridicule slide off, Hiccup smiled. "Toothless is the one who taught me magic."

"WHAT?"

/\\\

"My name is Gildarts Clive. And I'm a wizard of Fairy Tail."

Toothless hated him. The man simply strolled up to their home, looked around as if he owned the place and now he was sitting in the rubble of collapsed, charred trees that was their previous battlefield and smiling at them. This was all Hiccup's fault. That's what he wanted to believe. If his stupid brother hadn't insisted on stalking the man for days, using him as an average mount to travel back and forth from the cove to Wisteria – If Hiccup hadn't followed that random stranger when he ran in the forest because 'instincts' – If Hiccup would have just stayed put and focused on their goals. Ugh, why was he so stubborn and reckless? Stupid human!

"Thanks for not destroying the forest."

The dry tone was grating on the dragon's already short temper. 'It's your fault!' He wanted to shake him, sat him down like a hatchling and keep him away from the evil, evil world.

"Actually, it's yours!"

A scorching bullet of purple-blue light crashed in front of the man. The fact that he didn't dodge, didn't make any move to get out of the way pissed off the Night Fury even more. The intruder coughed, waving the smoke out of his face, his skin and cloak smeared with soot and dirt.

"Just saying. I followed what faint trail you left behind. Gotta hand it to you though, you're one stealthy dragon." Oh, yeah, Toothless wanted nothing more than to make him disappear. The problem was the meddling human next to him.

"What do you want?" He snarled. Hiccup was keeping his hand on his arm, his frame having grown three times his friend's height. He wouldn't be able to stop him if he went to attack but it worked to remind him to keep a cool head.

"Nothing really. I just saw a kid being taken by a moving shadow in the woods at night and I got worried. But now that I see you, I was hoping you could help me find someone." Toothless sniffed. The man, Gildarts, was being honest. There was no irregularity in his heartbeat, no sweat rolling off him.

"Really now?"

"Toothless! Stop!" He looked at the Viking. Hiccup's voice dropped to a whisper. "He doesn't seem too bad. And we need information. I think we should talk to him!"

"Are you crazy? What if he turns on us?"

"I have a good feeling about this. He came here to make sure that you didn't eat me, after all."

Toothless scrunched his nose, which must have looked funny on him. "A feeling is what made you follow a lunatic into the forest after he robbed and ran away from an exploding house."

"And Gildarts saved me. Plus, he said he knew I was following him anyway."

Acid green eyes became round. "Someone forgot to mention that." They looked back at the man. He was still sitting down and was gazing at the sky patiently. "Alright, but he stays there and we stay here."

"Overprotecting much?"

"Shut up, fishbone!"

Hiccup cleared his throat, getting Gildarts' attention. "Okay, if you don't mind, we have some things to ask of you too. My name is Hiccup and this is my best friend, Toothless." The man smiled and nodded. "This may sound weird to you, but where exactly are we?"

Gildarts blinked. "Well, this is the Kingdom of Fiore. We are on the eastern coast, and not far from here is the Town of Wisteria. It's a beach resort and a port town." At their expectant gazes he added. "This is the continent Ishgar… on Earthland?"

Hiccup licked his parched lips. "Have you heard about the Barbaric Archipelago?"

"Can't say I have. Sorry!"

"Oh. Well who did you want to find?" He knew he didn't hide his fading hope well enough from the man but he needed some time to work out his next question without making it seem like they were crazy.

Gildarts brightened at the change. "I wanted to know if you've heard of a dragon called Igneel. A few months back, my guild found his son crying his eyes out in the woods around Magnolia. Poor thing must be around nine years old. Said his dad just disappeared one morning."

Even Toothless' frown softened at that. "I'm sorry to hear that. But we've never heard of Igneel. We haven't even seen another dragon since we got here."

It was the man's turn to be dejected. "Well, it was worth a try. If you find out something, I can give you a lacrima to contact me with. Is that okay?"

"What's a lacrima?" The question slipped before Hiccup even noticed. He was hoping that the wizard wouldn't take note but from his puzzled face he wasn't that lucky.

"It's a magic crystal that is used to communicate with people at distance. How about you guys tell me more on where you're from."

Even with Toothless' insistent disagreements Hiccup still told Gildarts their story. Whether he believed them or not, he had a huge dragon at his side. And he didn't see another way to settle things since the more he heard about this land, the more it didn't match anything Trader Johann has passed on to him and the other children.

It turned out he was right about that. And now, some things that Toothless said in the beginning were making more sense. This place felt different because it was an entire different realm. They were as far from Midgard as they could be. He was joking back then, he never expected that he would accidentally travel to another world. He wanted to get away from his tribe but nothing on that scale. How would they go back? They came from the ocean back then. Was the gate to Midgard somewhere in the depths of the sea? Did it close? Would they even find it again?

"Oh man!" Hiccup sat down, threading his fingers through his hair. "It's all so messed up!"

Gildarts watched him with troubled eyes. "I'm sorry kid. You could come to Fairy Tail. Maybe we can figure out a way to send you to your world. Master Makarov is one of the Ten Wizards Saints. He knows a lot about magic."

Toothless gently nudged him. One wing came around him, not covering but pressing on his back in a reassuring way. "Is this really a bad thing?"

"What?"

The dragon laid down next to him, bringing them eye to eye. "Even if we were to return to Midgard we would be doing the same thing, just wandering aimlessly."

Gildarts seemed conflicted. The pity in his eyes became more obvious and it was starting to irritate Hiccup.

"But we don't know anything about this world… Earthland."

"And how much do you know about Midgard?" Toothless cocked and eye ridged. "You've never ventured outside your tiny island, never mind the archipelago. Unless, of course, you wanted to return to your own someday?"

Hiccup clenched his fists. He refused to think about that ever since he left. Berk was slowly becoming taboo for him. He, honest to Gods, had no idea what to do about his former home. Going back meant putting Toothless in danger. But never seeing the edges of that forsaken rock put a dagger of longing in his heart.

"You didn't really think this through, did you?"

Hiccup groaned. He buried his face in his hands and sighed loudly.

"You could learn some magic in the meantime." Toothless scowled at the man, though it lacked the initial heat. "I'm serious! If he knew some magic he would have been able to defend himself against that guy!"

Toothless' rejection fell, replaced by interest. "How?" Hiccup looked up too.

"Natsu, that's the name of the kid, was taught by Igneel how to use Fire Dragon Slayer magic. The name is a bit misleading but basically, Slayer magic is a Lost type of magic. As in, really old and powerful. So, since wizards who learned Dragon magic were capable of killing dragons back in the past, they came to be known as Dragon Slayers." He grinned at their acute attention. "Toothless can naturally use magic so he can teach you how to use his type of dragon magic making you a uh, I'm not exactly sure what elemental affinity you would have."

"Moon." Toothless stared at Hiccup as if seeing him in a new light. "Moon Dragon Slayer."

/\\\

The day was nearing its end when Hiccup stopped his tale. The starlit sky was covering the dredges of orange-pink light of the sunset and the near full moon glided above their heads. Its astral glow was bathing the tiny island and its occupants and Hiccup tilted his head up to it, soaking all of it in.

Astrid felt the smallest thread of jealousy when the twinges of pain littering her arms flared up. From how relaxed he seemed and his words describing how his 'magic' worked, she could only assume that the moon had a beneficial effect on him. She sulked in Stormfly's chest, letting her warmth seep into her bones and sooth her aches.

Hiccup told them everything. Or at least, what Astrid hoped was everything; she noticed that he glossed over some things. In exchange, they also informed the three of them about Berk's new dragon policy. Watching Hiccup's face fill with confusion and doubt was as entertaining as it was upsetting. She didn't expect the slight hurt that came with his skepticism when she told him how the Chief himself agreed to allowing dragons on Berk.

"That just doesn't sound like him."

"He hasn't been himself since you were gone."

Now, everybody was getting ready to sleep. Tomorrow morning, they would journey back to Berk and tell Stoick about Drago and hopefully break the news of Hiccup's return as gently as possible. The twins were part of the team so that was as likely as Gobber taking a bath.

She leaned on her girl, her body unwinding but refusing to let her forget how hard she pushed herself today. The scuffle with Hiccup came out of nowhere but she couldn't say she hated it. She's always expressed herself better through actions, and the fight helped her get rid of pent up aggression as well as get a feel for Hiccup's new skills. However, if what he said was true he held back a lot. That was purely a physical confrontation. His true talent laid in his magic ability and beside the brief moment when he crushed the rocks, she didn't see any of that.

A small part of her felt insulted, but if she was honest with herself she wasn't sure she could win a battle like that. Just remembering what Drago did at the fort, the force of that typhoon blanketing the ground blinding and cutting all at once, it was kind of scary to think what wizards were capable of.

She huffed. She was thinking about it too much. Tomorrow was going to be another tiring day and she was spent. As humans, dragons and cat drifted to sleep, none noticed the shadow splitting away from the rock and taking flight.