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Chapter Text

The island of Berk hadn't changed much— physically, at least— in the last couple of months. It was still an old town with lots of new buildings, filled with stubborn Vikings and with a wonderfully balmy climate. The most noticeable change was its new lack of ferocious battles between Vikings and dragons. Three hundred years of history had gone down the drain in a matter of days and now, instead of fighting dragons, Berkians spend their time riding them. This was all due to the efforts of one boy, a girl, and their dragons. Together, they were able to show their friends and family that they can befriend them, live with them, and even train them.

That last one was the best part— dragon were amazingly receptive to being taught new tricks, which was the Viking teenagers' favorite pastime. Although the days of training to hunt dragons were long gone, the competitive spirit was still strong in this particular group of friends. Their different personalities often led to clashes and bickering in the group as it was difficult for such opinionated people to agree on anything. Snotlout was known for his obnoxiousness, the twins were always eager to cause trouble, Astrid had her. . . anger problems (don't let her hear that), Fishlegs was working on advocating for himself and Dany's firm belief in right and wrong meant that each day presented new challenges. However, no matter what, they would always have each other's backs.

As usual, the group was positioned on the edge of a cliff, faced out at the sea. Below them was a cluster of sea-stacks that they used to show off their skills. Hiccup landed next to Dany and faced the group. "Okay, guys. Best trick competition. Who's up first?"

"Uh—" Fishlegs began, but he was cut off by Snotlout. (He did say that his confidence was a work-in-progress, right?)

"Me!"

"Actually, I think it's—"

The boy turned and pointed at himself. "Me!"

Astrid, ever the impatient one, rolled her eyes. "Sweet baby Thor in a thunderstorm! Go!"

"Oh don't worry, we'll go. And when we go, Hookfang and I are gonna light the sky on—FIRE!" Before he could finish, Snotlout's Monstrous Nightmare shot from the cliff in a steep nosedive towards the ocean.

Dany grinned at the dragon's response to his rider's boasting. Snotlout was probably her least favorite person out of the entire group as not a day went by that he didn't try to flirt with her (which always made her intensely uncomfortable.) She didn't know much about him besides the fact that he was an annoying, cocky bastard and she didn't feel like she needed to get to know him anymore than that.

The teenaged Viking didn't stop yelling throughout the whole course. Hookfang headed straight for the sea-stacks and wove in a complicated pattern through the rocky pillars. His relationship with Snotlout was. . . interesting, but dragons often behaved like their owners. Hookfang hardly ever listened to his rider and usually took off before anyone could say anything.

Their ride didn't look much like tricks of any kind (except maybe for Snotlout struggling to stay alive) as the dragon shot towards the water with a quick spin. When they shot out of the waves, Hookfang arced above them and returned to his place in the middle of the group. Snotlout gasped and fell forward with relief as he patted himself frantically.

"I'm alive? I'm alive!" When the rest of the group appeared unimpressed, he collected himself. "I mean, of course I am."

"It's my turn!" Fishlegs exclaimed happily. "Ready Meatlug? Here we go!" She gently lifted off the ground and circled once, then landed on the overlook. "Yes! New personal best."

The Targaryen had a much improved opinion of Fishlegs than Snotlout; the chubby boy was smarter than most people gave him credit for and knew quite a bit about dragons. Along with Hiccup, he was the only other person who would willingly listen to her 'dragon-talk' without growing bored or complaining. Dany tried to help encourage him as much as she could— since she also had confidence issues, but in a different sense— and leaned forward on Drogon to catch the boy's attention. When he looked over at her, she gave him a small smile and a thumbs-up. He seemed to sit up a bit straighter on Meatlug after that.

"My turn!" Ruffnut announced.

"No, my turn!" Tuffnut shot back.

Hiccup sighed. "Guys? Same dragon."

"Oh, right."

While the group had its arguments, the twins were known for never agreeing on anything. When one said left, the other said right. This became problematic when they flew on their Zippleback as their dragon's long necks frequently got tangled as they gave contradictory orders. In this case, they wound up slamming against one of the spires before they could even get started. It only went downhill from there as the twins barely managed to stay on their dragon throughout their flight.

Dany shook her head at their uncoordinated maneuvers; she was certain that they could pull off neat tricks if only they learned how to work together. On the whole, though, she remained wary of them as, when they did come up with a scheme that they both took part in, it tended to have catastrophic consequences. She still found them less annoying than Snotlout since some of their pranks could be funny— when she wasn't caught in the crosshairs, that is.

"We almost died," Ruffnut said elatedly when they landed.

"I know. . ." her brother agreed, awed. "Go again?"

"Hey, it's my turn," Astrid announced, clearly ready for a chance to prove herself as more competent than the previous riders. She turned to Hiccup and smirked. "You might want to take notes. Let's go."

Like the others, she shot off the cliff, but much more purposefully. Stormfly circled down to the water and dragged her tail through the waves, sending up a light spray. They then wove around the sea-stacks in an neat pattern that finished with an upwards spiral. When she returned, the group— minus Snotlout— applauded.

The dark-haired boy crossed his arms and muttered, "yeah, but can you do that without the dragon?" (This earned him a punch on the shoulder.)

Hiccup glanced at the girl with silvery-blonde hair, who had waited patiently next to him. "Dany, your go."

Her violet eyes narrowed in determination as Drogon ran forward to launch himself off the cliff. His great wings spread out and cast a shadow over the water below. But, unlike their friends, they didn't bother with the sea-stacks; Drogon was far too big a dragon to do the complicated turns that the others could do. Instead, they shot upwards, high into the sky until the other Vikings were mere specks on the grassy green cliff.

The spiked dragon leveled out, hovering in the air just below the clouds. Dany took her bow from where it was slung across her shoulders and pulled her first arrow out of her sheath. Since she'd known about the trick competition beforehand, she'd had time to coat them in Hookfang's green gel. (And she'd only sacrificed a little of her dignity to get it.)

Although she rarely used her bow and arrows for anything but practice, she enjoyed the art of perfecting her shot. There was a certain stillness, a calm that settled over her as she drew her arrow. She could feel the tension on the string beneath her fingers, the way the shaft settled on the wood, the brush of the feathers against her cheek. And then there was the satisfaction of watching her arrow go exactly where she intended it, which felt almost as good as the adrenaline rush that she got from flying.

Dany released two, three, four arrows in a row, waiting only a couple of seconds between each. Then, she patted Drogon between the shoulder blades and announced: "Drogon, aldrnari."

Her dragon opened his mouth to let out a stream of orange fire, which he breathed in the direction of her arrows. As the flames hit each one, there was a loud bang! of an explosion. The smoke began to clear, leaving four mostly perfect circles behind. The large dragon folded his leathery wings and fell into a controlled dive, angling his body to fall easily through the smoke rings, adding a spin for extra flair.

They continued their descent, heading straight for the water unflinchingly. Just as it looked like they were about to go for an unintended swim, Drogon spread out his wings to level off his dive. His claws only barely touched the waves as they sailed parallel to the base of the cliff. Still preening from her successful stunt, they landed in between Astrid and Hiccup, the latter of whom gave her a bright smile. "Not bad. It looks like we've got our work cut out for us, bud"

The Night Fury shot off the platform without further ado and dove towards the sea below. Similarly to Dany and Drogon, they pulled up and flew straight at the last moment. Then, they wove in and out of spires with graceful ease before it was time for the grand finale. Hiccup jumped off Toothless and ran along a small land bridge before he jumped back onto his dragon. Toothless shot off four plasma blasts in celebration, leaving the rest of the group to cheer them on.

"They're still the best," Astrid admitted.

--

Dany was proud of the changes that Berk had made to accommodate their new friends. In fact, many of the townspeople would agree that life was better than it had ever been. Unfortunately, every good thing had its ups and downs, as often happened whenever there was an adjustment to get used to. No matter how much the Vikings cared for the dragons, they still had their. . . animal instincts.

Drogon, Viserion and Rhaegal were the only dragons that Dany had been around for a long period of time and they were usually well-behaved, save for the odd fight over food. This many dragons, however, certainly had its consequences. They chased cattle through town, ate more than their fair share, accidentally damaged houses and— their worst offence— pooped. Every. Single. Day. (At least it helped Vikings tell time, right?)

Thankfully, her life away from the disasters in town allowed her a respite from the fray. Her parents still lived in their cottage in the woods on the other side of the archipelago. Although she'd told them of how different Berk was, they were wary of the Vikings that they'd once called friends— and, well, she couldn't blame them; she just hoped that one day, they'd be able to see the new way of life for themselves.

Dany had always been an early riser, so her day began with the sun. Her parents also woke up with her and they took a morning ride together— she preferred to fly in the evening (it brought back happy memories of the time when it had just been her and Hiccup.) Being the youngest of the dragons, Viserion and Rhaegal were more prone to antics then Drogon. The two brothers were currently involved in a tug-of-war between a yak, causing the girl to roll her eyes. She had long ago learned to not get in between fighting dragons (thanks to Drogon snapping at her when she was little) and let them be.

Instead, she busied herself with getting breakfast together. Her mother stood next to her at the table, already working on the stew for the day. "So, Dany, anything new in town?"

The girl shook her head. "Not really. The Vikings still don't know how to live with dragons and Hiccup won the trick competition again."

Ingrid smiled at the mention of the boy; she had a better opinion of him now than when Dany had first met him. "And how are things with Hiccup?"

She busied herself by stirring the pot of porridge that sat cooking over the hearth, grateful that the heat of the flame could be the cause of her pink face. "Mom," she groaned, embarrassed. "We're just friends— seriously. You know that I like dragons more than people."

"That's true," her mother agreed— a little too easily. "But you once said that you liked Hiccup as much as you liked dragons."

The blonde sighed, regretting her moment of weakness in which she'd admitted that after he'd kissed her on the cheek at Snoggletog. "I like Hiccup as much as any of my other friends, okay? Besides, we're too young for that sort of thing. There's too much going on, anyway."

"Uh-uh," the older woman said, before she added teasingly: "you know, I was about your age when I realized that I liked your father. It wouldn't be too far-fetched—"

"Mom!" Dany protested. "Can we please talk about something else? Anything else?"

Ingrid chuckled. "Alright, alright. Are we ever going to meet him? It's almost been a year and you know your father thinks that you've made him up."

"Not if you keep saying things like that," she grumbled.

--

There was one person in town who was even less popular than the Targaryens used to be: Mildew. He certainly lived up to his name with his decrepit appearance and terrible stench. Luckily, he only visited town when he was bothered by something. . . which was more often than anyone would like. Drogon especially didn't like him and bared his teeth at the sight of the old man. Dany placed a reassuring hand on his neck as she watched him approach Stoick and Gobber at the storehouse.

"Ah, here's Mildew with the complaint of the day," Gobber sighed, commenting loudly enough for most people to hear him.

"You picked a bad time, Mildew," Chief Stock snapped, barely offering Mildew his attention. "I'm in the middle of storing food. The freeze is coming."

The old man scoffed. "It's the dragons again. Those demons are not fit to live amongst civilized men."

Dany didn't bother to hide her eye-roll; it was always the dragons. Drogon bared his teeth in a snarl, but seemed slightly appeased when Hiccup and Toothless appeared. They moved closer to the chief as they sensed the impending argument.

"Neither are you, Mildew," Gobber shot back, causing the girl to nod in agreement. "Why do you think we built your house so far outside of town?"

He clearly didn't appreciate being talked down to as his eyes narrowed in response. "Oh, very well, make your jokes. Meanwhile, these dragons upend our village carts, turn peoples' houses into piles of rubble."

"Aye, Mildew's right," someone called out.

The blonde whipped around to see who it was, but the crowd that had gathered appeared to share the same view. Mildew, however, wasn't finished. "They even disturb an old man's rest! Can't you see these bags under me eyes?"

As usual, the blacksmith remained unperturbed. "He's right. He's hideous."

Villagers added their voices to the Viking's complaints, giving him a surprising amount of support despite their great dislike of him.

"These are wild and unpredictable beasts!"

"Right you are!"

"They even cracked this man's skull." Mildew hit is cane against Bucket's helmet. "Like an egg."

"Eggs? I like eggs. Scrambled, over-easy, poached. . ." Bucket added in his trademark off-topic opinion.

As the Vikings' voices grew louder, Hiccup stepped forward to try and calm them "They don't mean any harm; they're just dragons being dragons."

Stoick put a reassuring hand on his son's shoulder as he addressed the crowd— and the old man in particular. "Look, Mildew, if there's a problem, I'll deal with it."

"Oh, there is a problem, Stoick. And I think I speak for everyone when I say you better do something about it." With that, Mildew hobbled away.

--

Dany paced around the watchtower agitatedly in front of the group (minus Hiccup.) Her gaze was focused on the ground in front of her and her hands were balled into fists. "We have to do something about the dragons— and not what Mildew's proposing. The Vikings were all gung-ho about dragons living with them at Snoggletog, why is now any different? Sure, things are a bit chaotic, but that just comes with the territory! Nothing is gonna be solved if we. . . get rid of the dragons. People like him will just find something else to complain about."

"Well. . . we could always get rid of people like him," Snotlout suggested. "Then there wouldn't be anyone to complain."

For once, she didn't completely disagree with something he said. "I'm not totally against that," she admitted. "But I don't think Hiccup would like it. You know how diplomatic he tries to be."

The dark-haired Viking grinned at her. "Now you're speaking my language, babe."

She grimaced at him, instantly regretting her previous words. "There's got to be a way for dragons and Vikings to coexist. I mean, I've lived with Drogon my entire life and I've never had a problem with. . . well, his instincts, I suppose."

Astrid, at least, had a voice of reason. "Dany, that's one— er, three— dragons, not hundreds."

Movement from below caught the boys' attention and Snotlout turned to look at what was going on. Hiccup seemed to be caught in the middle of the commotion as he turned around helplessly. "What is he doing?"

The brunet only seemed to be making things worse as he ran after a blazing sheep. Vikings shouted angrily at him as he toppled their barrels and overturned their carts. Tuffnut leaned forward curiously. "Uh, I think he's helping the dragons break stuff."

His sister grinned excitedly. "Cool."

As Hiccup got knocked out by the flaming sheep, Dany felt guilty about their safe place above the turmoil. "I think. . . we should go help him."

The twins, however, were in no hurry. "We'll get to it."

"In a minute."

--

After seeing the boy's disastrous first attempt at regaining control of the town, Dany felt the need to go cheer him up. She felt the closest to him out of all their friends and she wanted to make sure that he was okay even if being alone with him made her stomach do somersaults. It was a little easier than it had been before she'd given him the carving, but not as natural as it had been in the cove. As she approached the house, she put one hand in the pocket of her fur vest where her latest rock sat, waiting to be presented to her best friend.

She was relieved that Stoick didn't seem to be home; although he wasn't as suspicious of Targaryens as he used to be, she didn't think he'd ever like her. The first floor was dark, but the loft above glowed with a soft light. "Hiccup?"

As she climbed up the last few steps, he spun around as if she'd caught him doing something that he wasn't supposed to. "Hey, Dany! What a nice surprise!"

"Uh, yeah," she replied, her gaze falling to the floor. "I. . . thought I'd come by and see how you were feeling."

"I'm great!" he said quickly. "Why wouldn't I be? I had a perfectly normal day, nothing strange happened, just hung around the plaza. . ."

She gave him a wry smile. "We saw you out there, you know. It looked awful."

Trust Dany to give her honest opinion, he thought, embarrassed that she'd seen that disaster. Seeing as how he couldn't hide it from her, he slumped with defeat and fell back on his bed. "I'm gonna be seeing flaming sheep for the next month!"

"Hiccup! Hiccup, what's going on out there?" Chief Stoick burst into the room. The girl drew closer to the wall as his angry gaze landed on his son. "The plaza looks like a war zone."

"I know it looks bad—"

"Really bad," she couldn't help but add.

"—but this is only, uh, phase one of my master plan." He smiled nervously in the hope of convincing his father, but Stoick wasn't easily appeased.

"Oh, so you do have a plan?" His father challenged.

"I do. Of course I do. It's very complex, lots of drawings, several moving parts. Yeah, it's pretty wild."

"Uh-huh. Well, this better be real, because Mildew stirred up the whole island. And if you don't get those dragons under control, they'll be calling for their heads."

The chief barely glanced in her direction as he stormed out. Hiccup released the breath he'd been holding and reached over to his dragon. "Don't worry, bud." He scratched Toothless' ear. "Your head's not going anywhere."

Dany frowned, thinking that maybe her parents were right to stay out of the village. Maybe things in Berk weren't as improved as she'd thought. Shaking her head, she pulled out the rock from her pocket and played with it as she spoke. "So, uh, you know there's, like, a bazillion dragons out there, right? But. . . you're not alone, you know. I'm-I'm here to help, if you want me to."

The boy's nervous demeanor relaxed at her offer. "Thanks, Dany. I'll definitely take you up on that."

She gave him a shy smile as she reached forward to grasp his wrist. Pointedly oblivious to his confused look, she turned his hand over so that it was palm-side up before she dropped the rock in it, saying simply: "for you."

Hiccup's expression brightened at the gesture. Although he'd never been a collector, his rock assortment had started during his recovery post the battle with the Red Death. He'd woken to his once-bare shelf now a home to interesting stones. Since then, whenever Dany could tell that he needed to be cheered up or for no reason at all, she would find the brunet and give him a rock in the same way every time. It was something he'd grown to associate their friendship with and it made his heart skip a beat in his chest. (After all, she never gave the other teens rocks, at least to his knowledge.)

Although she left quickly after that, refusing to look him in the eye even more so than usual, he smiled dopily at the striated rock in his hand. Toothless let out a rumbling chuckle at his friend's expression, causing the boy to pull his gaze from the gift to glare at him. "Stop it. She's just a friend, bud. You know that."

--

"That's your master plan? Train dragons?" Ruffnut's loud voice was full of disbelief when the teens met in the dragon training ring the next day.

"Here? Where we used to kill them?" her brother added incredulously.

"Right," Hiccup said as he lugged over a basket of fish to where Toothless was watching them curiously. "Because we don't do that anymore. That's why it's available."

"Actually, the dragons do seem a little nervous," Astrid chimed in.

She wasn't wrong; with the exception of Toothless and Drogon— neither of whom had been subjected to the Vikings' rigorous training program— they shifted uncomfortably due to their surroundings. Their pupils were narrow slits and their wings fluttered with anxiety.

"That's because they're very sensitive," Fishlegs stated. "Meatlug especially." His voice dropped and he whispered: "she lost a cousin here. We try not to talk about it."

Dany looked around at the foreboding stone enclosure. She could see why the dragons wouldn't want to return to a place that held such bad memories, even if she'd only been there once— that had been enough for her. She leaned against Drogon's spiked neck and took comfort in his strong, reassuring presence. The big dragon let out a deep sigh that fluttered the ends of her silvery-blonde hair as his head dipped towards the ground.

"I can't believe you used to train here," she admitted. "It seems kind of. . . depressing. And your dad is letting you use it?" The blonde directed her question to Hiccup, as Stoick had always seemed rather stern and unforgiving to her.

The boy shifted in a similar nervous manner to the dragons as he avoided the groups' eyes. "Well. . . it would be if he did, yeah. But he didn't so that's another thing we should try not to talk about."

Astrid's eyes narrowed. "Wait, so we're going behind your father's back?"

"There you go, talking about it." He quickly changed the subject. "Uh, alright. Everybody, here's the thing. The dragons are out of control, we want them to live in our world without destroying it, but they can't without our help. They've been blowing things up in the village. We've gotta do something about that."

As usual, the result was not quite unanimous agreement, even if everyone shared Hiccup's spirit. The twins were prone to putting their own spin on things, as evidenced by Tuffnut's reply: "Got it. Help dragons blow things up. We can totally do that."

"No, I believe I said—"

They began to speak over each other as they cottoned on to the idea: "here's how we're gonna do it. First, we make them really, really angry."

"— no problem. We anger everybody—"

"Guys!" Dany's abnormally loud interruption caught their attention for the moment. On the whole, she tended to be quiet and indifferent compared to the rest of the group; when dragons were involved, however, she was always ready to be the leader. Her hands were curled into fists as her violet eyes blazed with determination. "This is serious. We can't let someone like Mildew win— he won't just stop at putting our dragons in cages; he'll want them shipped off the island entirely! And I don't know about you, but I'm not going to give up my dragon that easily; we have to work together and fight back."

For once, the twins seemed subdued at the thought. There was a pause, and then Tuffnut finally said: "you're right. She's sorry." His sister shoved him in response.

Hiccup gave the Targaryen an appreciative nod for her attempt at corralling the siblings before he moved on. "Okay, then, next problem. The dragons are eating everything in sight." The boy pulled some bread from the basket, causing Toothless to lick his lips at the sight of it. "Now, when a dragon grabs something it's not supposed to have, you can get him to drop it by giving him a little scratch just below the chin."

The brunet demonstrated with his Night Fury, and Snotlout approached, snatching the bread from him.

"Maybe that works with you and Toothless, but Hookfang and me, we do things a little different." Snotlout tossed the bread into his dragon's mouth and prepared to demonstrate. "When I want this big boy to do something I just get right in his face and— drop that right now!" he yelled. "You hear me?" Hookfang did as told, but picked up Snotlout instead. The short Viking let out a muffled: "See? He dropped it."

Dany's lips curled up slightly at the teen's misfortune and she felt no inclination to go help him.

"All right, we've got a lot of training to do, but together, we can keep these dragons under control." Hiccup handed loaves of bread to the others for their dragons.

When he got to the blonde, she shook her head. "We have our own methods, thanks."

He couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed that he couldn't teach her something after everything she'd taught him. He held out the bread again. "Maybe you want to try on another dragon?"

"I'm good," Daenerys said, although she still accepted it from him. "But I am hungry, so I'll take it."

Hiccup shook his head with fond exasperation as Snotlout's voice echoed from inside his dragon: "Uh, can somebody do that chin-scratchy thing?" Snotlout called. "Hello? You guys still there?"

--

The village was unusually silent when they arrived later that day. The sun was shining in the sky, a cool breeze swept through the plaza and it was so still that they could hear birds chirping nearby for the first time since the dragons had arrived. Each member of the group wore their own variation of a confused or concerned expression as they surveyed the area.

"Huh. No dragons," Fishlegs observed.

"Well that was easy."

"Lunch?" Snotlout suggested.

"That's weird," Hiccup murmured as he scanned the village. "If the dragons aren't here, where are they?"

Boom!

A woman's scream followed the sound of the explosion. A plume of smoke burst into the air. Astrid put her hands on her hips as the group turned their attention in that direction. "Something tells me that way."

As they ran towards the commotion, Dany couldn't help but worry that whatever they would find would prove Mildew's fears true. The town would be up in arms, no matter how much damage the dragons caused this time. She tried to reassure herself that they would find a way— that by working together, a solution would present itself, but she could feel that their time was running out. Stoick was not exactly known for his patience, after all. The small comfort that she did have was that Drogon would never be the cause of the Vikings' difficulties; he was trained to hunt away from Berk and knew how to survive without human aid.

"Stormfly?" was the horrified gasp that came out of the Hofferson's mouth when they arrived on the scene. Her Deadly Nadder barely glanced up from where she was eating from a crate of spilled food.

"Hookfang!"

Since she didn't have a dragon to scold, the blonde followed Hiccup into the dark storehouse. Crates and baskets were toppled over and small fires blazed on the floor. The chief stood in the middle of the mess with a pillar in his hands, which he threw bodily to the side.

He walked over to the pair when he caught sight of them. "They've eaten everything. We've got nothing left for the freeze."

"I warned you, Stoick." The girl's eyes narrowed with dislike at the decrepit old man, but he was too proud of himself to notice her. "But did you listen to me? No. You put a bunch of teenagers—" He gestured to Hiccup and Dany with his staff. "—in charge. Now look what the dragons have done. Caging is too good for those beasts."

She bared her teeth in the same feral smile that she'd once given Astrid. One of her hands grasped the front of her bow as she fought the urge to strike Mildew right in the heart, because how dare he threaten her dragons?

Dany startled out of her hate-filled thoughts when she felt a hand tighten firmly on her shoulder. She glanced back and Hiccup shook his head, albeit a bit regretfully. The blonde allowed her hand to drop back to her side in defeat.

"Dad, I swear I can fix this. We- we were just starting to—"

"Enough, Hiccup," Stoick snapped, his rage visible to all those around him. "How can I trust you to control all the dragons, when you couldn't even control your own?" He gestured to the Night Fury, who was eating a fish from a barrel.

The boy's expression faltered at the sight of his dragon. "Oh, Toothless. . ."

"Bucket, Mulch, man the boats. We need another catch."

"It's too late, Stoick," Bucket sighed. "It took us six months to catch all that fish."

"Don't tell me it's too late! You've got to try!"

"Of course we do. Don't tell the chief it's too late," Mulch scolded as he turned to Bucket, acting as if the taller man had said so. "You're always so negative."

"I don't know what it is with me." Stoick rolled his eyes and carried a barrel out to put in the waiting wagon .

"Dad, please, you've got to listen to me. I know dragons better than—"

"Not now, Hiccup. I have a village to feed. The dragons have done enough damage. By tonight, I want every one of them caged. Understand?"

Mildew, as always, was determined to have the last word. He hobbled along to catch up with his chief. "Bah! You can't just cage these dragons. You need to send them away now!"

The words I told you so didn't even cross Dany's mind as the surrounding Vikings gave a roar of approval. She whirled around to glare at crowd, wishing that Hiccup would just let her set Drogon them. The didn't deserve the dragons' companionship if they were going to be such fair-weather friends. It had only been months ago that Toothless had saved their heir from certain death and this was how they repaid them?

It only got worse as the chief caved. "You're right, Mildew. We'll cage them tonight, and in the morning, Hiccup will send them off the island." He sighed. "I'm sorry, son."

--

Daenerys' parents noticed her somber mood and lack of appetite at dinner that night. They exchanged worried glances as they watched her push her stew around with a spoon, but she stayed quiet. Finally, Randolf broke the pressing silence. "What's wrong, my little dragon?"

Although the nickname was usually used teasingly to make her feel better, she slumped as it only made her guilt worse. "I— nothing."

As much as she wanted to confide in her parents, she would certainly disappoint them with her inability to carry on with their mission. She'd made Berk out to be a haven for dragons, after all, and she didn't want to tell them how far from the truth that was.

Ingrid set her own spoon down to watch her daughter with soft eyes. "Dany, you know you can tell us about whatever's bothering you. We can help, you know."

"I don't know if you can," she said miserably as she kept her gaze on her soup. "I just. . . How can I protect dragons when I'm only a teenager? How can I protect them from a whole village?"

The adults shared another look, this time filled with concern. Her father reached out a hand to place it on the table before her. "Dany, we never intended to burden you with such a task. While we love that you care about dragons as much as we do, this isn't something that you should carry alone, especially this young. But, you have been learning about them and their ways since you were little. You understand them better than anyone else in the village.

Think about Drogon, for example. He's a wild dragon— you've never really trained him, but he's also never caused the same problems that Berk is experiencing right now. Why do you think that is?"

The girl frowned thoughtfully, some of her gloomy mood lifting as she recalled some of the times that Drogon had helped her, like when she'd used his long neck to lift her high enough to decorate the house for Snoggletog. Or during the long, cold nights of Berk's winters that the dragons had kept them warm. Or even the rare days that her father had gone out fishing, using the dragons to scare them up to the net.

Her expression brightened. "Because we work with them, not against them!" Dany jumped up from her chair and raced for the door. "Thanks, dad!"

--

She met Hiccup in the sky as they flew in the same direction towards the dragon training ring. Raising her voice above the wind, she called over to him: "we have to stop them! I know what we have to do!"

"Really? So do I!" he answered back.

"Work with them!" they said at the same time, causing them to share a smile.

Dany felt her heart skip a beat at the fact that they'd come to the same conclusion. If she was someone who believed in fate (she wasn't), this would have definitely meant more to her than it did. (Really, it was just a coincidence!) "Great minds think alike, you know!"

"Don't close it!" the boy yelled as soon as they could reasonably be heard. The cranking of the gates continued, causing him to jump off the Night Fury as soon as they landed to prop the doors open in time.

The Targaryen landed quickly after and she climbed down her dragon to join the group. She stood in front of the gates with her arms crossed. "We are not locking them up."

Astrid stepped forward with a hopeful expression. "What happened? Did you change the chief's mind? Or are we going behind his back again?"

Hiccup came to stand next to her as he admitted sheepishly, "uh, one of those. Look, the dragons are gonna do what they're gonna do. It's in their nature. We just need to learn how to use it!"

Certain that they were of the same mind, Dany nodded in agreement. "Yes, and I already have a few ideas of what we could do. . ."

--

The next morning, the gang divided and conquered. Snotlout and Hookfang dive-bombed the fish to bring the catch up to the surface. Astrid used Stormfly's spiked tail to till Mildew's ground in time for the three o'clock flyover— natural fertilizer— which was led by Fishlegs and Meatlug. Drogon and Daenerys lifted heavy planks onto the storehouse roof to help the villagers repair it from the damage that the dragons had done. The twins on Barf and Belch chased the boars out of the forest and into the town— but in a controlled way, rather than a disruptive one. The plan seemed to be working and the Vikings became more receptive to the dragons' presence. At least, that was true until Mildew's complaints (as the man could always find fault with something) brought Stoick to them.

"There they are, Chief Stoick." Mildew pointed an accusatory finger in the group's direction. "Those dragons don't look like they're in cages to me."

The chief's bushy brows furrowed with disapproval. "No. This is not what I asked for."

While the unbridled anger that she felt at the sight of the decrepit man couldn't be hidden, Dany swallowed her unease at standing up to Stoick— a reaction she knew she'd always have after the way he'd let the town treat her parents. Still, she didn't think that the group should take the fall for what was essentially her idea, and she would be the one least affected by whatever punishment he came up with. So, she stepped forward, her hands curled into fists by her side to keep herself from fidgeting.

"This was my idea," she began firmly, her eyes lowered to the ground. "I'm the one to blame for going against what you said."

She vaguely heard Hiccup hiss: "Dany, no!" but she ignored his protest.

Since the blonde avoided the chief's gaze, she missed the look he cast between them before he spoke again. "Even if that is true, you worked together with this plan. All of you to the arena. Now."

--

They reconvened in the dragon-training ring shortly after. Dany coiled a piece of her silvery-blonde hair around her finger again and again as they waited for the chief's decision. Astrid looked completely unbothered— maybe even a little angry. The twins were frowning— an unusual expression for them, but it was due to their concern for their dragon. Fishlegs trembled in the back, his worry clear in his voice as he wondered, "what's Stoick gonna do to us?"

"I'm too pretty for jail," Ruffnut complained.

Her brother scoffed. "Heh. Where'd you hear that?"

"You all disobeyed my orders, and there will be consequences," the chief barked as he entered the ring, his steely glare pinning them all in place. Gobber followed close behind him.

"I told you we were gonna get in trouble," Astrid murmured as she sighed with annoyance. "You never listen to me."

Before the Targaryen could come to their defense again, Hiccup stepped forward. "Dad, if anyone's going to get in trouble, it should be me— Dany only came up with the same idea after I did."

The girl in question let out a disgruntled huff at his stubbornness to take the fall for himself, but she didn't let that deter her from joining him. "Fine. If you're going to be such a knucklehead about it, it was our idea, then. But we convinced the others—"

"Nope," the chief cut her off without hesitation. "You all had a hand in this. You took over this place without permission, you released the dragons against my wishes. Things are going to change around here. That's why—"

"We're getting a Dragon Training Academy," Gobber interrupted his friend. A grin formed on his face, erasing his previously stern expression.

The watching Vikings gasped at the unexpected news. Dany startled, certain that they'd get at least a month-long punishment, and shared a wide-eyed, excited look with the boy next to her.

"Gobber! I wanted to tell them!" Stoick complained.

"I'm sorry. You're right, go ahead."

"Well, you told most of it."

"You can tell them the part about how proud you are of them."

"Gobber!" Chief Stoick groaned before he turned back to the group. "Hiccup, well, what he said. You've all made me proud. This dragon training academy is for you." Chief Stoick flipped the switch that released the dragons from the cage they had just been put in.

"Hookfang!"

"Hey, Stormfly!"

"Hey, bud."

Each dragon rider greeted their friend happily as they were reunited. Dany had sent Drogon home, not wanting to rub it in her friends' faces that her dragon was the only one to roam free, so she watched the scene with a happy smile. Stoick walked over to his son and placed a warm hand on his shoulder. "Now all you have to do is train them."

"Not a problem, dad," Hiccup said easily. "After all, I have him."

"Ahem," Daenerys coughed pointedly.

"And Dany," he corrected himself quickly, only to add, "and them, too."

Chapter Text

"Every dragon has his own unique abilities that give it its special place in the world," Hiccup said. "Which dragon makes the best welding torch?"

The group was currently in the newly christened Berk Dragon Training Academy. They were split into two teams, with Astrid, Dany and Fishlegs on one, while the twins and Snotlout were on the other. There had been a long argument about whose team the Targaryen would be on before the quizzing had started, considering that she was one of the most well-versed among them in dragon knowledge. In the end, Astrid had forcefully shoved the smaller girl over to her side, thus cutting off all discussion. (Dany was relieved that her friend's strong personality had kept her from being stuck with the twins.) Hiccup stood in the middle as he asked them questions and kept score on the stone behind him.

"Oh! Deadly Nadder." Astrid answered quickly.

"It's magnesium flame burns with the heat of the sun," Fishlegs added.

Dany summed up their response: "and thus gives it the hottest firepower out of all the known dragons."

"Correct! Point to team Astrid," the boy declared. The trio fist-bumped each other in celebration as he gave them another tally mark. "The score is now one hundred to ten."

"And you started with ten," Astrid teased them.

"Oh yeah? Well the game's not over," Tuffnut retorted, then he paused. "Wait, what team am I on?"

Snotlout leaned one arm on his barrel. "You can't blame us for falling behind when the competition is so, well, distracting."

He gave the girls a charming grin, causing both of them to roll their eyes. Dany's darted towards the scoreboard uncomfortably, silently pleading with their moderator to ask the next question. The brunet caught her glance and gave her a sympathetic smile before he changed the subject: "next question: what is the shot limit of a Hideous Zippleback? Team Snotlout."

"I don't think they can count that high," Astrid mocked the other team. The three of them laughed as the smug look on Snotlout's face was wiped off.

"Oh really? Let's find out. Barf, Belch!"

The Zippleback sat up and fired at the wall until it ran out of blasts. The opposing team ducked in surprise as the shots sailed overhead. Drogon let out a furious roar as he was startled from his resting position. His head snapped around so that his orange eyes fixed on the two-headed dragon irritably as he bared his teeth in a snarl, furious at the Zippleback's carelessness.

"Looks like it's about three," Tuffnut guessed as he held up two fingers. (He was wrong on all accounts— it was six.)

His sister cheered as she was (incorrectly) proven right. "Told you we could count that high."

"It's six," he corrected them. "You're half right. Five points."

"Yes! We're up to thirty!" The trio high-fived at their supposed victory.

"All right, it's our turn. What happens when you shoot fire at the owner of a Deadly Nadder?" Astrid whistled, causing Stormfly to shoot out some of her spines. The opposing team was pinned to the wall as a result.

"Follow up question," Dany continued, crossing her arms. "What happens when you wake a sleeping dragon?"

Drogon stood to his full height and lumbered over to where Snotlout and the twins hung from the other dragon's spikes. The group squeezed their eyes shut unanimously, expecting the worst, but he only let out a gust of hot air that was strong enough to blow the horned helmets off their heads and ruffle their clothes. Then, the large dragon snootily turned his back on them and went to the other side of the ring where he promptly resumed his nap.

"And that's him holding back," the Targaryen finished proudly.

"No fair!" Tuffnut grumbled. "They didn't give us time to answer!"

Snotlout jumped down from the wall and went over to pick up his helmet before he marched towards them. "I've got a question: what happens when I sic Hookfang on you?"

Hiccup snapped the book he was holding closed as he interjected quickly to try and prevent the situation from escalating. "Okay, guys, that's enough training! So, we did some really good work here today."

Unfortunately, he was ignored as the other teen continued: "prepare to face my Monstrous Nightmare!"

Snotlout had gone to stand over his dragon, who he tapped twice on the side of the face to wake him up. However, instead of retaliating like he'd hoped, Hookfang startled and his entire body erupted in flames. With a burning bottom, the boy leapt off his dragon and raced to the nearest source of water, which happened to by the trough a few feet away. He jumped in with a sigh of relief and an exasperated, "that's the third time this week!"

Hiccup walked over to him with a concerned frown at the Monstrous Nightmare's add behavior. "Hookfang never flames up when you're riding him."

"Maybe he just realized who his owner is," Astrid said with a smirk.

"There's room in here for three," he replied, unfazed by the blonde's jab.

The Hofferson immediately dunked the boy by the horn of his helmet while Dany called out: "Drogon!"

Her dragon opened slowly his eyes to watch her curiously. Panic rushed through him at the thought of the large beast bearing down on him and Snotlout raised his hands in defeat. "Alright, alright. I'm done."

--

Sometimes, Dany had to escape her new life. Yes, she liked having friends. Yes, she loved how receptive the village was to dragons now, but so much change could leave her feeling wrung out, like clothes on wash day. While she would never yearn for solitude like she had for relationships with people her age, there were times when the pressure to just escape built up inside of her as if she were a volcano waiting to explode. This tension would ease as soon as Drogon rose into the air, leaving the thatched roofs of the village behind.

Occasionally the Targaryen would wonder about what it would be like to just. . . keep going. Past the Highest Point, over the Huge Hill and out above Campfire Beach. They would then reach the endless expanse of cerulean water as they left the last traces of land behind. The wind would toss her silvery-blonde hair into knots, she would feel the sharpness of Drogon's scales against her bare feet and the sun would glare into her eyes, making her squint into the unknown. The thrill of adventure would fill her and take the place of the overwhelming emotions she'd previously felt.

But then she would remember the friends she'd made in Berk and how she might never see them again if they did go past the known lands. She had spent so many years alone that she knew she wouldn't want to live like that ever again, no matter how annoying Snotlout could be, or how nervous the twins made her. Dany and Drogon would pause as they looked out to sea, the great dragon's leathery wings flapping slowly to keep them in place. Then, they would turn around and slowly make their way back home.

Other days were less intense, and these were the ones that Dany used to practice her tricks. Although Drogon could never hope to become as lithe and agile as Toothless, they worked to become more coordinated, more in tune with each other. During these times, they would use Berk's mountainous landscape to their advantage. The spiked dragon would follow the slope of the Highest Point up to the top where snow lay thickly all year. Her breath would appear in the freezing air and her fingers and toes would quickly grow cold, which always prompted them into an immediate dive.

Drogon would fold in his wings until they were tucked into his body and angle himself downward to follow the rocky incline back to the foothills. They would go as long as they could without actually flying as the dragon maneuvered through the natural obstacles in a snake-like fashion. The sight of the ground rushing underneath them at death-defying speeds was something that Dany reveled in, and she always peered as far over her dragon's body as possible to watch the earth below flash by them.

When the slope levelled out, Drogon would spread his wings as their speed lifted them above the ground before they slowed. While more reserved than most of her friends, this was one of the few times that Dany would whoop and holler like the rest of them— when she was alone and her only company was the sound her own voice echoing off the cliffs. She would return to Berk with a flushed face and tangled hair, but always in high spirits, ready to face whatever the village decided to throw at them that day. Which. . . happened to be finding a new place for Gobber in village— a task that was easier said than done.

--

Dany couldn't help but frown as Hiccup broke the news to the group in the dragon training ring. Her flower crown had gotten swept off her head during her flight, but there were still bits of greenery stuck in her hair, which she focused on pulling out as she thought about the village's blacksmith. She liked him alright; he had never outwardly spoken against the Targaryens, certainly, and he even had trouble with social cues like she did. However, he didn't seem to have the patience or skill that was required to deal with or even be near dragons, so she couldn't see this going well.

The other teens had similar uncertainties as Fishlegs hesitantly asked, "you're bringing Gobber. . . here?"

His wary expression was mirrored throughout the group at the thought of such a. . . domineering force dealing with sensitive creatures. Hiccup gave them a nervous smile. "He's gonna be. . . great. Nobody knows dragons like old Gobber. He's spent a lifetime, you know. . . studying them."

"I wouldn't necessarily put it that way," Dany commented.

The brunet huffed. "Well, that's the way we're gonna have to look at it if we intend to tap into that, which I do. With his. . . expertise, we'll all be better dragon trainers."

They didn't have time to say anything else about the situation as the gate flew open to reveal the man in question. Gobber was lugging a wagon full of weapons behind him as he greeted them with a large grin. "I'm back! Did'ja miss me?"

The dragons who had a history with the arena jerked at the sound of his voice, emitting snarls and growls as they saw the cart. Their eyes narrowed in fear at the reminder of their past.

Hiccup walked beside the larger man as they entered the ring. "First of all, welcome. Uh. . . and second, tiny question— why did you bring your, you know. . ."

"Killing things?" He tapped his hook against the metal and then began to pull a few weapons out. "I thought maybe we could train them by threatening to kill them. That's how my daddy taught me to swim."

The second ring of metal caused the dragons to screech with discomfort or jerk backwards. Oblivious, Gobber returned the tiered battle-axe he'd been holding to the wagon and pulled out a mace, which he slammed into the ground. "School's in session!" The loud noises caused the already tense dragons to fly off. The blacksmith gave an unbothered shrug. "Eh. I never liked school either."

Dany shielded her gaze to look up at the sky, but it was no use— the dragons had already disappeared, leaving just Drogon and Toothless behind. The girl dropped her hand and glanced over at the irritated teens. "Alright, all aboard, I guess."

Her dragon let out a snort of complaint at the thought of having to carry so many passengers, so she patted his neck reassuringly in response.

--

They returned to the arena much later that day. They slid off their respective dragons and— except for Dany— made noises of complaint as they each stretched from the long ride. At their return (and the admittedly strange show, even for them), Hiccup stood to join the group with a confused expression on his face. "What's wrong with you guys?"

"We've been riding the dragons for four hours. It took forever—" She paused to glare at Stormfly. "—to chase them down after Gobber scared them away," Astrid finished with a groan as she cracked her back.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I just don't know what to do with him," he admitted guiltily. He turned at the sound of Ruffnut's grunt, which had been caused by her kicking her twin in the back. "Do you guys always have to fight?"

"It's okay. I asked her to do that." His sister kicked him once again. "I'm just trying to get the feeling back."

Ruffnut turned around and mirrored his position. "You going to return the favor or what?"

The boy continued to watch them with bewilderment, but this time it was to wonder about the root of the issue. "I've flown for hours on Toothless and we've never had a problem— not to mention Dany's never complained about Drogon. You're fine with flying him, right?"

Dany sent him an almost offended look as she replied (admittedly with a slight hint of haughtiness), "of course. But I've been riding Drogon bareback since before I could walk. I don't need an aid to feel comfortable with him."

Hiccup's expression brightened at her words as the answer to his friends' problems hit him. "That's it! Saddles! Dany, you're amazing!"

He rushed out of the arena without further explanation, leaving the teens to stare after him. The blonde felt her face heat up at the unexpected compliment and she turned her gaze to where her bare toes wiggled in the dirt.

--

The next morning, the gang gathered in the dragon training ring, not without some apprehension. Today was a slight improvement, however, as Gobber's presence didn't scare off the dragons this time. His wagon sat behind him, covered with a cloth as Hiccup addressed the group. "All right. This is an exciting day for all of us. Gobber has been working hard to—"

The larger man pushed stepped in front of the boy and cut him off. "I think they might want to hear from the artist himself." Unlike the previous day, the teens' expressions were various mixtures of excitement rather than annoyance as he continued: "I've made a lot of saddles in my day— horse, donkey, and now, dragon. But these saddles are special. They're like my children. That is, if you strapped your child to a flaming reptile and rode it. So, without further ado. . ."

He pulled away the tarp to reveal. . . well, saddles— as he'd said— but not any saddle that would normally be found on an animal. They were elaborate, certainly, but not in the way that indicated royalty or someone of high rank. Their crude but well-made designs were decorated with all types of weapons (from the collection in the cart the previous day, Dany would guess.) However, they appealed to their Viking audience well enough.

"Wow!"

"Whoa. . ."

And then Hiccup spoke again, more hesitantly: "wow, Gobber. This is certainly. . . not what I imagined."

"How could it be? I'm Gobber! Nobody knows what it's like to live in here." He tapped his head with the mallet attachment on his hook.

As they peered closer, the brunet's attention was caught by something particularly unusual. "Is that—"

"Yup. Flamethrower." The older Viking turned the knob on the device, causing it to shoot out fire. The teens flinched, startled, as the flame shot out close to them. "Didn't see that one coming, did ya?"

"Uh, no. Not-not for dragons. They come with one built in, actually." Hiccup glanced at Dany, whose gaze had not left the contraptions in front of her. He was surprised by the look of obvious disdain on her face.

"I know," Gobber said happily as he stroked the wood fondly. "But can you really ever have too much firepower?"

The twins— with their usual disregard for caution— had already put their saddles on their dragon. Barf and Belch raised their heads, as if to take flight and try out the new saddles. Unfortunately, theirs was equipped with catapults, which Ruffnut and Tuffnut used excitedly before they even took off. Gobber had misjudged the clearance of the dragon's heads, which resulted in the stones hitting them in the back of the skull and knocking them out.

"Uh, catapults for the twins? Not such a good idea. . ." Hiccup observed dryly.

Fishlegs was having similar (read: no) luck with his own saddle, which had several maces tied to it as if they were weights. "Come on, girl," he encouraged her. "You can do it! Think light."

This did nothing to ease her burden and she collapsed after hovering only a few inches off the ground.

"Come on!" Gobber protested. "You can't tell me my saddle is heavier than Fishlegs."

This caused the boy's eyes to widen with hurt as he patted his stomach self-consciously. "My mom says I'm just husky. . ."

Snotlout struggled to even put his saddle on Hookfang, who reacted negatively to it immediately. He shot a blast of fire and roared in response to the unfamiliar weight. "Come on, Hookfang. What's wrong with you?"

Dany frowned at the Monstrous Nightmare's protests. While she could understand why he wouldn't want to wear a saddle, this. . . aggressive behavior was unusual, even for him. Sure, he and Snotlout had their fair share of arguments, but they usually always reconciled in the end. She was more than a little certain that there was something deeper bothering the dragon as he continued to put up a fight.

Astrid was the only one who managed to get her saddle on and use it. After a couple of laps around the ring, she landed Stormfly where they'd started. "This saddle's actually pretty good."

"Wait 'till you try the horn!" Gobber exclaimed brightly.

The blonde did as he suggested and put her lips to the mouthpiece. The second she blew through it, the horn extended so a loud blast emitted from it, which could probably have been heard from the other side of the island. It scared Stormfly so badly that her tail spiked up and her spines embedded themselves in the wall, pinning Snotlout to it. "Really?"

As a last resort, Hiccup turned to the girl next to him, who had yet to try her saddle. "C'mon, Dany. Yours has to be better than theirs, right?"

He hoped that even if just one worked, Gobber would go with that design rather than the. . . others. The remaining saddle was simple enough and had two crossbows on either side. However, the Targaryen was having none of it and she turned her nose up at the thought. "Absolutely not."

The brunet reached out a hand to rest it pleadingly on her arm before he stopped short as he remembered her preference for distance. He let his hand hover between them for a second before he dropped it back down to his side in defeat. "Please, Dany? For me?"

Although he knew that her scornful expression was aimed more at the saddle than him, he still couldn't help but feel a bit hurt at the sight of it as she replied (this time with obvious arrogance), "Drogon is a wild dragon, Hiccup. You cannot chain the wind."

--

Dany admittedly felt guilty later on for snapping at Hiccup. It wasn't his fault that he didn't understand her family's insistence on letting their dragons roam free; he'd just been trying to help a family friend. So, she spent the next several hours walking, half-bent, along Berk's rocky shorelines to find the perfect token that would express her apology. Drogon, as always, stayed close by and kept a watchful eye on their surroundings for any signs of danger.

When it became too dark to see, she settled on giving him a dusky-lavender one that she'd found. She then returned to the village in search of the brunet, whom she located easily thanks to her dragon's tracking skills. Dany only saw him from a distance at first and, before she called out to him, she could see that his head was bowed and his shoulders were slumped as he walked next to Toothless. Their pace was slow and ambling, and it seemed as if he were scuffing his feet. She frowned and gripped her rock tighter, wondering if her words had been too harsh earlier. She was still getting used to this whole 'friend' thing, after all.

Drogon's solid warmth next to her was comforting and gave her the confidence to call out the boy's name. "Hiccup!"

He looked up, surprised. "Dany? What are you doing here this late?" He made his way over to her with the Night Fury following behind. Toothless let out a warbling rumble as he greeted the larger dragon, who dipped his head in response.

They met halfway and stood facing each other at an impasse that was only slightly uncomfortable. Her hand holding the rock was down by her side, so he didn't notice how she rolled it between her fingers uncomfortably. The girl's gaze was focused on the dragon rather than the boy himself as she answered, "um, I was. . . looking for you, actually."

"Oh!" Hiccup wasn't quite sure whether he was supposed to feel as happy as he did that she wanted to see him— she was clearly on edge about something, so he didn't know if it was a good reason that she'd come looking for him. "Okay. Is something wrong?" (Anything to take his mind off the Gobber fiasco would be a welcome distraction.)

Dany hesitated, uncertain about how to properly express her apology, seeing as she'd never really needed to do so before. Next to her, Drogon shifted his weight as if to reassure her of his presence. He let out a huff of air while Toothless watched the pair with bright, curious eyes. Finally, when the silence seemed to stretch out to an almost unbearable awkwardness, she reached forward and grasped his wrist in a familiar gesture— one that always made his heart skip a beat, considering how rarely she physically interacted with anyone (and the one person she'd chosen to do so the most was him.)

Hiccup anticipated the moment when she flipped his hand over, his fingers already stretched out flat so that she could put the rock in his palm, which she did with her habitual, "for you."

Like with a majority of the stones she'd given him, this one was smooth, its edges worn from years of tumbling amongst the waves. He couldn't make out the color in the dim light, but it felt nice in his hand as he ran his thumb over the surface. "Thanks."

Although she claimed to not have the best grasp on determining others' emotions, Dany somehow always knew when he was feeling down and her presents came at the perfect time, when he needed them most. However, there was some truth to her words as she had never asked him to elaborate on what was bothering him, but he thought the fact that she gave him the freedom of choice— to share with her or not— was more meaningful than if she had asked.

So, after another long pause where neither said anything, he decided to say, in a dejected tone, "I just told Gobber that he was off the saddle project. I'd almost rather lose my other leg than tell him that. . ."

The Targaryen responded with her usual bluntness: "I think that's for the best. Even if I did approve of saddling dragons, they weren't very good ones."

"I know," he admitted with a sigh. Similarly to the girl, his eyes were focused elsewhere as he stared down at his feet. "I just wish there was an easier way to go about it. He's like family. . . I didn't want to hurt his feelings."

She shrugged. "Of course you didn't, but usually what is right isn't always easy. Gobber will understand that— eventually. People appreciate honesty, even if it hurts at first. Besides, it's not as if he's a completely lost cause. We'll find a place for him."

We'll. Hiccup picked up on the plurality in her last sentence, one that made his remorseful mood lift. While they were very different with how they interacted with the villagers, he found her straightforward nature oddly comforting. At least he would always be able to tell what she was thinking without having to puzzle over it, as he sometimes did when Astrid got angry with him for seemingly no reason. Because of this, he knew that she meant her promise of working together to find a solution— a thought that brought him an unexpected amount of comfort.

Before they could say anything else, a distressed shout drew their attention, which was followed by a sudden illumination as fire shot into the sky. Screams of panicked villagers added to the noise. Snotlout ran up to them, out of breath as he panted: ""I never. . . thought. . . I'd say this. . . but Hiccup. . . help!" Some of his anxiety eased as he laid eyes on the girl, though his next words weren't as smooth as he usually tried to make them. "Oh, good, you're here, Daenerys. I could use a dragon expert right now."

Hiccup sent the shorter teen an exasperated 'really' look while the Targaryen ignored him completely, and instead chose to set off quickly in the direction of the commotion.

"I don't know what happened," Snotlout explained as they ran. "I was just trying to pat his head. He usually loves that. But this time, he went crazy. My dragon hates me!"

The boys followed close behind her as they arrived on the scene. It was reminiscent of the old days during the dragon raids: fire and chaos everywhere, with houses burning and villagers trying to escape without getting hurt. They joined the other riders, who stood a good distance away from the out-of-control dragon. The Monstrous Nightmare landed in front of them and let out an agitated roar. Dany watched Hookfang carefully and saw that he was repeatedly rubbing his head on the ground.

Something must be irritating him there, she thought, the other teens' conversation falling into the background. She recalled other dragons that her parents had helped heal; it wasn't unheard of for a dragon's scales to become irritated— while they were immune to fire, particles of dirt could find its way between the grooves of their scales. But it seemed to be more than just trying to find relief for an itch— none of the other dragons had reacted so volatilely, so it must be a greater pain than that, but it was clearly centered around his mouth.

The girl was pulled from her observation when Hiccup took a few, hesitant steps forward. She put a hand out to stop him from getting any closer. "I've got this."

He turned to her, ready to reject her offer. "Dany—"

"I'm the one who's immune to dragon fire, remember?" she said firmly. "I'll be fine."

Hiccup had to admit that she had a point. He only hesitated for another second before he took a step back and gestured to Hookfang. "All yours."

She gave him an appreciative smile, which made some of his concerned misgivings for her safety vanish. As she approached Hookfang slowly but confidently, she called back to the group, specifically Snotlout: "when was the last time he ate?"

"Not for days," Snotlout answered, his tone, for once, serious.

Dany glanced at the barrel nearby, which held fish from the day's catch. Normally, Hookfang would be all over that barrel in a second— or at least eyeing it longingly, thanks to their training project. Instead, he seemed to be too concerned about the pain in his mouth to even give food a second thought. She moved closer to the Monstrous Nightmare with her hand outstretched, meeting its eyes easily. (After all, she'd always been more comfortable around dragons than people.)

Hookfang stilled under her touch as her hand came to rest upon his snout, just as she and Hiccup had done with Toothless all those months ago. When she spoke, she used the same peaceful, lilting voice that had soothed every unruly dragon she'd come across in the past: "there you go. It's gonna be okay."

The dragon relaxed (as they all did) at her reassurance. The narrow slits of his eyes widened back to their normal size and his breathing eased. Then, to test out her theory, she set her other hand on the side of his jaw. The reaction was instantaneous: Hookfang pulled back as his pupils shrank seconds before he set himself on fire. She thought that she heard a Hiccup shout "Dany, run!" but she had no intentions of doing so.

Instead, she let the heat of the fire engulf her as she strained to see through the sudden glare. She felt the scorch of the flame on her skin— a death sentence for most, but not even a mere discomfort for her. Dany tried to follow the Monstrous Nightmare's movements to see if there was something specific for her to see to determine what was bothering him. All she managed to see, however, was the dragon thrashing himself against the ground.

Then, Drogon was there and barring her from Hookfang. His hulking shape even dwarfed the Monstrous Nightmare, who scrambled away from the girl as best he could. Drogon didn't even need to use force to protect her; he simply stretched out his wings and bared his teeth to scare the other dragon off— not that she'd been in danger in the first place, but everyone seemed to forget that.

Dany ran to her dragon's side and placed a gentle hand on the side of his face to keep him from reacting further. Stoick had watched all this in silence, but he now stepped forward to address their efforts. "I'm sorry. I've seen enough. We tried it your way."

After he ran off to go with his plan, she made her way over to the group with Drogon following her, acting as if he hadn't just put on a display of strength. Hiccup met her halfway and he drew up short when they met— just as they'd done earlier that night. He raised his arms to pull her into a relieved hug, hesitated for a moment, and then dropped them back by his sides as he once again remembered her preference for personal space. This all went unnoticed by the blonde, whose gaze was focused on her bare feet.

"Are you okay?" the brunet settled for asking instead, unable to keep the worry out of his voice. He didn't think that he'd ever get used to watching her walk through fire.

"I'm fine," she assured him. "It's Hookfang we have to worry about. Have you noticed that—"

"—he keeps rubbing his face against the ground?" he finished as they returned to the other teens. The Monstrous Nightmare continued to let out pained roars as he urged, "come on, guys. Hurry up, think. What haven't we tried?"

"There's something wrong with his mouth," the Targaryen said. Snotlout turned suddenly away from them, and, thinking that he was reacting to her explanation, she added, "Snotlout, do you have an idea?"

The boy's only response was to point a slightly trembling finger in the direction that he was looking. "Gobber!"

They turned to see the chief returning with the blacksmith by his side, who was fully armed. He was pulling the weapon wagon behind him as he swung his mace, wearing an unforgiving expression. The attachment in his prosthetic hand was a sharp, double-bladed axe while he wore a bola around his waist.

"Stand back!" he warned. "I came here to do what I do best."

Dany curled her hands into fists at the sight of the loathsome weapons. While it was true that she didn't like Snotlout very much, there was an ache in her heart as he lamented, "he's gonna kill my dragon. . ."

"He's not," she said firmly. "He wouldn't. There's still a way that we can help—"

"Uh, no, there isn't," Tuffnut argued.

Ruffnut crossed her arms as she agreed, "yeah. Even you failed."

She shot them an irritated look as Hiccup made a last-ditch effort to change his father's mind. "Dad, you can't be serious. Hookfang is Snotlout's dragon."

"I'm sorry, Hiccup, but sometimes you have to fall back on the old ways," Gobber sighed.

"But he's a good dragon."

"He's a good dragon!" Snotlout echoed, sounding uncharacteristically close to tears.

"There's probably just something wrong with him."

"There's definitely something wrong with him."

"We have to try to help him. We can't just get rid of him because he's having a bad day."

Stoick refused to be moved by their protests. "A bad day for a dragon can be a disaster for us. That's not a risk I'm willing to take. Gobber?"

The blacksmith moved forward with determined purpose. He reached for his bola and began to swing it with practiced ease above his head. When it had gained enough momentum, he released it so that it could latch the dragon's wings together, while a second one secured its feet. Hookfang let out hoarse coughs as he spat out fire in an attempt to defend himself.

"Ha. You're all out of fire." Gobber unsheathed his sword and advanced.

Hiccup ran to his side and grabbed his arm in a futile attempt to stop him. "I can't let you do this."

Dany understood her parent's feelings, then— their disgust at the Vikings' now-old ways. She knew that there was a simple solution to the 'Hookfang problem'— one that didn't end in death. But, true to their stubborn nature, they wouldn't consider any other option. She wouldn't consider herself to be a people-person of any sort, but, in that moment, she truly felt for Snotlout. After all, how would she feel if Drogon was in Hookfang's place? So, she did what she'd hoped someone would do for her: she reached out and put a tentative but supportive hand on the boy's shoulder, despite her discomfort about touch.

In any other situation, Snotlout would have revealed this interaction. He would boast about it for months and bring it up every chance he could until people were sick of it. He most definitely would have rubbed it in Hiccup's face, considering how close he was to the Targaryen. However, with his dragon's— his friend's— life on the line, all he could do was appreciate her camaraderie as they watched the scene before them.

The Monstrous Nightmare set himself on fire once more, enough to burn away the ropes of the bolas that trapped him. He roared directly in Gobber's face, but the Viking stood his ground. However, the defensive action proved useful as both the blacksmith and Hiccup saw the cause of Hookfang's discomfort.

"Do you see that?"

"I do."

Gobber put away his sword, much to the confusion of the teens who hadn't heard their conversation. He flexed his arms in preparation of his next step. "Time to put this beast out of its misery."

Fueled by anger at the boy's apparent support, Astrid marched forward to question him furiously. "Hiccup! What are you doing?"

He lifted a hand to quiet her loud voice— something that might agitate Hookfang and put Gobber in danger. They watched as he jumped on the dragon and wrestled with him as the Monstrous Nightmare tried to dislodge him. His prosthetic axe-hand caught on the side of the dragon's jaw, which allowed him to open it enough to yank out the problematic tooth. He was tossed bodily in the air as a result and he landed at the teens' feet.

"You didn't kill him!" Snotlout cried in relief.

The older man sat up and showed them the dark, rotted fang that had been bothering Hookfang the whole time. "For a toothache? What kind of lunatic are you?"

The Monstrous Nightmare quickly returned to his old self. Snotlout to pulled away from Dany's hand and raced towards him with a shout of happiness as he threw his arms around his dragon. Realizing that the other teens were watching them, he hastily straightened to preserve his reputation.

"I don't know where that came from. Can you train that out of him?"

The group broke up after that, not wanting to put up with the boy's attitude after such a trying night. Hiccup approached Gobber to show his appreciation. "Thank you, Gobber. A bad tooth. . . I can't believe I didn't think of that."

"I knew it!" Dany exclaimed, having lingered to wait for the boy. "I just never got close enough to confirm that for myself."

The brunet gave her a half-exasperated, half-fond look. "I think getting set on fire is certainly close enough!"

Chapter Text

Hiccup had not been intending to make a stop on his way to snow-sliding with Toothless, but here he was, landing in the middle of the clearing that had caught his eye. He'd seen it from the sky; the lack of trees in an otherwise forested area had caught his attention, and the smoke rising from the chimney of the lone house had made him curious enough to land. He didn't usually travel this far from Berk and he supposed that the summer months provided enough leaf coverage so the lack of trees was far less noticeable. Now, as they headed full-tilt towards the 'devastating winter' time period, the stark branches allowed a birds' eye view to the cottage below.

He knew that Dany lived far from the village proper and that her home was in a forest, but other than that he had no landmarks to find out where she lived. Considering that the archipelago wasn't that big, he had a decent hunch that this was where she went at the end of the day. Toothless circled the clearing a few times as he came to this conclusion, and suddenly the thought of snow-sliding with someone else— specifically a certain blonde-haired Targaryen— made the prospect even more enjoyable. So, he guided his Night Fury to the open ground below.

Here, the snow was trampled and a bit muddy underfoot from the three dragons who inhabited the outdoor space. At his arrival, the two he didn't recognize stopped their playfighting to stare at him, while Drogon only lifted his head to blink at him slowly, clearly recognizing him. He went over to the large dragon and, after extending his hand to let Drogon bump his snout against it, gave Dany's dragon a few pats.

The unfamiliar dragons pinned him with equally curious stares as the smaller of the two moved closer and sniffed at him. He knew that the green-and-bronze dragon was Rhaegal, from Dany's description, and the other was Viserion. He greeted them in the same way, though the gold-and-white dragon was more receptive than his brother. Toothless hung back cautiously, but he gave Drogon a welcoming rumble in the back of his throat. When the dragon dipped his head in acknowledgement, the Night Fury came up to bounce around him, annoying him in a way reminiscent of a younger brother to his older sibling.

Seeing that his dragon was welcome, Hiccup turned his attention to the cottage before him. It was a very modest, rectangle-shaped building with a thatched roof. The outside was undecorated as far as he could tell, though it was impossible to tell what the yard in front looked like underneath all the snow. Nearby, there was a setup of a firepit with a pot hanging over it, propped up by sturdy branches.

He felt the stares of Rhaegal and Viserion still on him as he knocked on the door, though they didn't feel threatening, merely curious. He was relieved when it was Dany who opened it and felt rather pleased by the look of surprise on her face. "Hiccup? What. . . How did you find me?"

"Oh. Well, you know. . . I was just flying overhead when I saw the house. I, uh, remembered that you lived in the woods and the three big dragons kind of give you away," he explained, stumbling a bit over his words.

She glanced over at them as if she'd forgotten that they were there. "Oh. Right. Um, do you want to come in? It's freezing out here."

Hiccup shook his head. "No thanks. I was— I actually was going to ask if you wanted to come snow-sliding with Toothless and me."

"Snow-sliding?" she repeated with interest. "What's that?"

"Well, mostly just how it sounds, while we ride our dragons. It's more fun if we race," he added with a grin.

He couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed when Dany didn't seem to be too keen on the idea. "I don't know. . . Drogon's not very fast and the cold doesn't agree with me much. You know. . . because of the walking-through-fire thing."

Having been looking forward to the idea of her joining them, Hiccup refused to give up so easily. "Well, we could ride Toothless together, if you want. Like old times."

After another moment of consideration, the blonde gave in. She turned away from the door to call into the house: "Mom! I'm going snow-sliding with Hiccup!"

"Hiccup?" a voice echoed from inside. The door opened wider to reveal a woman who looked so similar to Dany that she could have been her older sister. They had the same silvery-blonde hair, the same violet eyes and the same full, pink lips (not that Hiccup spent a lot of time looking at Dany's lips, that is.) A friendly smile appeared on her face as she laid eyes on him. "So you're Hiccup. I feel as if I know you already from how often Dany's talked about you."

He felt his cheeks heat up at the idea of Dany even thinking about him when they weren't together. "Really?"

"Oh, yes," her mother said as a mischievous twinkle entered her eyes. "You and dragons are her two favorite subjects to talk about. I'm Ingrid, by the way. It's nice to finally meet you. Randolf— my husband— had his doubts about your existence, but now I can finally put them to rest."

Dany's gaze was focused firmly on her boots, though she made no effort to refute her mother's words— they were true, after all, and although she was embarrassed that Hiccup found out, she saw no reason to deny them. Hiccup's face warmed further at the older woman's words. He fidgeted on the threshold, glancing back at where Toothless was watching them.

His dragon was sitting perfectly upright, with his ears perked towards the sky and his emerald eyes focused on him, though he knew that smug look in the Night Fury's gaze. (Toothless had been privy to more than few of his rants about how much he liked Dany; he was just grateful that dragons couldn't talk.) He quickly turned back to the two women, but that scene was no less awkward; Ingrid wore an expression so similar to his dragon's that it was almost eerie, while Dany still couldn't look at him. Her only movement was her fingers knotting the end of her fur vest as an outlet for the obvious discomfort she felt.

Feeling trapped, Hiccup decided that the situation was dire enough that Dany wouldn't mind the broach of her personal space, so he reached for her wrist and began to step away from the door. "O-Okay! We have to get going now! It was nice to meet you!"

He pulled her quickly towards where Toothless was waiting for them, and he staunchly ignored his dragon's downright amused expression as he climbed on. Dany paused to pat Drogon and apologize for not taking him with them before she got on behind him. They couldn't quite escape fast enough as Ingrid called after them: "have fun! Be safe!"

--

Her burning embarrassment eased as they lifted into the air as the breeze helped to cool her heated face. The frosty wind whipped around them, causing her to wrap her arms around the boy in front of her tightly. Although a part of her reasoning for her reluctance to be out in the cold was true, she hadn't told Hiccup the whole story; being alone with him made her. . . uncomfortable, and not in the way that she was familiar with. This discomfort didn't come with the skin-crawling sensation close proximity or the unease of meeting someone's eyes; no— instead, it caused her stomach to flutter when he smiled and the inexplicable desire to try and impress him, because Hiccup's opinion suddenly mattered more than anyone else's. So, she decided to actively avoid being alone with him.

Now, here she was, with just the Toothless and the brunet for company— the very one she was trying to evade. It was just that he'd looked so disappointed when she'd tried to get out of going snow-sliding (even though it had sounded fun) that it had made her cave in spite of herself. But, any nervousness that she did feel was mostly worth it after being cooped up in the house all day. Although a little too cold for comfort, the fresh air against her face and the rush of adrenaline that always came from soaring in the sky was a welcome change from her otherwise boring day.

And then there was the special treat of riding a Night Fury, because while her dragon had his own rapid speeds, there was Drogon fast, and then there was Toothless fast— and they certainly weren't the same. Riding Hiccup's dragon made her feel like she'd harnessed a lightning bolt; even his leisurely pace as they made their way to their destination was like a bolt from the blue. Don't get her wrong; she loved Drogon— she always would, and she would never trade him for the world— but she did have to admit that she was slightly jealous of her best friend's impressive dragon.

When they got to the top of the Highest Point, Hiccup twisted around to grin at her. "Ready?"

Caught off-guard by how close the position made their faces, Dany's gaze darted away from his and towards the slopes in front of them. She tightened her grip around his middle and nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

Used to her reserved personality, the boy faced forward again. When he was certain that she couldn't see his expression, he allowed a shy but bright smile to appear on his face at her willingness to be so close to him despite her general reluctance. He urged his dragon forward to tilt off the flat rock to begin their descent.

The change from stillness to a rush of speed was immediate.

Although she'd been hesitant about facing the cold, the sting of the bitter chill that seeped into her silver dress only enhanced Dany's excitement as they went barreling down the slope. Trees whizzed past them in a blur of green and brown while the rest of the landscape became an indiscernible white. The wide, clear area that they were sliding down allowed them to reach max speeds without having to worry about crashing into anything, so they were able to just enjoy the thrill of the moment.

Hiccup let out an instinctive, excited whoop! that made the Targaryen grin. She let go of his waist to stick her hands in the air, wanting to feel the rush of wind against her palms as she would on Drogon. Unused to the Night Fury's speed, she instantly wrapped her arms around the boy again as her heart pounded in her chest, though even the unexpected startle wasn't enough to wipe the smile from her face.

When Toothless lifted into the air on a particularly steep outcropping of rock, Dany finally let out an enthusiastic shout of her own, taking Hiccup by surprise. The sound only encouraged him to guide his dragon on a more daring course with the hope that the girl would allow herself to enjoy the ride a little more. Even Toothless seemed to delight in their immense speed; as they came up on a snowdrift, he let out a plasma blast that made it explode over them in a flurry of white flakes.

They continued their descent downwards, shaking the snow out of their hair. Their joy was short-lived, however, when not long after, a rumbling noise sounded from behind them. Dany turned around to look and the wall of white made her eyes widen with panic. "Hiccup!"

When she caught his attention, he followed the direction of her pointing finger and felt a similar sense of dawning dread. He tried to veer Toothless out of the way of the oncoming avalanche, but it was too big to escape. His metal foot worked on the stirrup of his saddle to try and launch them into the air, but the mechanism refused to budge. A glance backwards confirmed his fear. "His tail's frozen!"

Thinking fast, the blonde struggled to get to the end of the Night Fury's tail. She yanked on the fabric of the prosthetic to try and free it from the ice that coated it, but it was no use. The wall of snow was almost on top of them, thundering downwards towards them unimpeded.

Hiccup, who was trying to guide his dragon to safety, was the one to notice the cliff that they were rapidly approaching. His heart jumped into his throat as he realized that the girl was still clinging to Toothless' tail. "Dany! Let it go! You'll never—"

His words were cut off as the avalanche slammed into them. They were sent tumbling into the ravine in a tangle of rider, dragon and snow. They both grunted as they hit the ground, hard enough to knock the wind out of them. It was completely dark; even when she put a hand to her face, Dany couldn't see anything. Nervously, she called out: "Hiccup?"

"Over here," he said, and she felt reassured that at least she wasn't alone. "Are you okay?"

"Just cold," she replied. "Freezing, actually."

Since there was no point in trying to make out anything, she wrapped her arms around herself to try and reduce her shivering.

"Come here," Hiccup invited her.

Using the sound of his voice, she was able to guess where he was, and she felt around the area until she found him. Her hand landed on his arm, which she gripped tightly so she wouldn't lose him in the dark. Although she normally didn't want anyone to. . . encroach this much on her personal space, she curled up willingly next to the boy.

He jerked a bit in shock as she pressed close to him for the first time. "Oh! You're hot!" He was immediately grateful for the fact that she couldn't see how red his face became as he blushed furiously. "I-I didn't mean— Well, you are— but not like that— I swear—" His words trailed off in a groan of embarrassment. "I'm not making things any better, am I?"

Despite their situation, Dany giggled at his awkwardness, relieved that she wasn't the only one who felt so off-put by their being alone together. "It's okay, I get it. I've always run hot; my mother says it's because I have the blood of the dragon— why fire doesn't hurt me."

The brunet relaxed, glad that she understood what he'd meant. In fact, the warmth that seeped off her and sank into him was comforting and eased the stiffness that the icy air had caused. Even if the girl herself felt colder more quickly because of her warm temperature, the heat that she shared allowed him to think straight. "Where's Toothless?"

A plasma blast lit up above them, revealing that they were trapped under a thick layer of ice and snow. The Night Fury continued to blast at the ice until a hole melted through the top. The darkness receded around them, allowing them to see that Toothless was standing over the pair protectively, with his wings outstretched as he freed them from the ravine.

"I see daylight!" the boy exclaimed.

"We're gonna get out of here," Dany added happily.

Hiccup glanced proudly at his dragon. "Look at what he did!"

"He saved our lives," she agreed breathlessly. They turned to face each other at the same moment. For a brief second, Hiccup was staring directly into Dany's violet eyes— an action that was so rare that he found himself mesmerized by the unusual color of her deep purple irises. The Targaryen felt her face heat up as she realized their faces were even nearer than when he'd turned around on Toothless' back an hour ago; the tip of his nose brushed against hers as his emerald eyes stayed trained on her face unblinkingly.

She yanked herself away from him as soon as she realized this and put a few feet between them. "Too close!"

"S-sorry," the brunet apologized, fuzzily remembering how she didn't like to be touched. He cleared his throat as the awkward tension rose between them. "Uh— um— that was. . . so— um. . ."

Dany refused to look at him anymore. She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs so that she could keep her gaze on her booted feet, where inside her shoes, she wriggled her toes out of habit even though she couldn't see them. Her voice was quiet as she asked, "so. . . we're good now?"

"Good as new." He paused as he thought of a way to ease their awkwardness— and then he sent her an almost Snotlout smile. "Hey— do you really talk about me that much?"

Although Dany didn't look up from her boots, she punched him in the shoulder with surprising accuracy. Thankfully, the strength of her hit was far gentler than Astrid's had ever been, though he still pretended like it hurt as he exaggeratedly clutched his arm. 

--

Although she dreaded the trip back— being in such close proximity with Hiccup again made her feel that same weird, nervous fluttering in her stomach— Daenerys was glad to return to their friends; at least then there would be other people around. The group sat on top of the watchtower, which had become their usual hangout spot. The Targaryen sat next to the boy as he filled the other teens on what had just happened.

She remained quiet as she took out a block of wood from her vest pocket and her whittling knife. Averting her eyes from the group, she focused on shaving long, even strands of wood with practiced motions. With pieces that were of less quality— such as this one— she didn't bother to make anything with them. Instead, she found satisfaction in watching the wood shrink in her palm as she took layers off one by one, something that she did when her nerves were particularly jumbled.

". . .and then Toothless used his wings to block the snow," Hiccup finished. He'd jumped to his feet due to his excitement of telling the story and, as he typically did, had moved his hands around while he talked to better demonstrate what he was saying.

"I've never heard of anything like that," Fishlegs commented with awe. "Not even in the Book of Dragons!"

"It was incredible," the brunet agreed brightly. "It's as if his protective instincts just kicked in. Who'd believe it? The dragons we'd fought for years came to our rescue."

Dany spoke up in a soft voice as she added, "if it wasn't for Toothless, we would have frozen to death."

"You know what? You could've used your own bodies to keep each other warm," Fishlegs pointed out.

The pair instantly became uncomfortable as they stumbled over their responses, jumping away from each other as if someone had set the place between them on fire. "Um. . ."

"Who would do that?" Hiccup chuckled nervously.

Dany shifted in her seat as she drew her boot through the golden shavings at her feet. "You guys know I don't like to be close to people."

Snotlout seemed to not have heard her as he extended his arms and blew her a kiss. "Hey, Daenerys, if you're still cold. . ."

She sent him an uneasy look and tightened her grip on the hilt of her blade. Although there was no aggression in her tone, it was still vaguely threatening as she replied mildly, "you do know that I'm holding a knife, right?"

The other Viking was not intimidated in the least as he scoffed, "what, that old butter knife?"

Astrid came to her aid and knocked her elbow into the pillar that she was standing next to. The snow fell from the catapult and covered Snotlout completely, causing him to let out an irritated, "hey!"

Too focused on carving her wood to a stub, Dany missed Hiccup's relieved look as she— once again— denied Snotlout's advances. Although she'd made it abundantly clear over the months that he was the last person she'd ever spend time with, it was reassuring to hear her actually deny him. Hiccup himself wasn't certain of what his feelings were for the blonde-haired Targaryen (they definitely leaned towards fond— he could admit that much, at least), but he knew that it would suck if she'd suddenly stopped hanging out with him in favor of Snotlout.

The twins made an unusually well-timed appearance to shake him from that particularly disturbing train of thought. "Hey, Hiccup. Your father's looking for you."

"He looked angry," Ruffnut added.

"He's looked angry since the day I was born— but I'm sure there's no connection." Hiccup climbed onto Toothless and flew back toward his home.

As the group broke up for the time being, Astrid pulled Dany aside. She didn't like the smirk that her friend was wearing, which was only proven true as the Hofferson asked (more like demanded), "so. . . what was all that about?"

"Nothing," she replied immediately, though she knew that wouldn't appease her friend.

"Right. I'm not a muttonhead like Snotlout, you know. I saw how you and Hiccup reacted at Fishlegs' question."

Daenerys felt her face flush against her will as she kept her gaze on Stormfly, who shifted impatiently, ready to take off. "I don't like being close to people, Astrid. Why would Hiccup be any different?"

"Yeah, that's the response you gave to the guys," the blonde said as she crossed her arms. "I'm your best girl-friend; aren't you going to tell me the truth? I could help, you know."

"There's nothing to help with. Hiccup and I are just friends, I swear. How about this: if anything does change between us, you'll be the first to know."

Astrid considered her offer before she relented with a sigh. "Alright. You promise?"

The Targaryen gave her a small smile. "I promise."

--

They regrouped in the dragon training ring with the villages' livestock. Their next problem to deal with was figuring out how the farm animals could live comfortably with the dragons— but the catch was that they only had so many hours to do so before the winter storm set in. Not only that, but the animals seemed to be unaware of the time constraint and refused to cooperate with the Vikings. Hiccup was currently trying to encourage a yak to get closer to the dragon, but the creature was having none of it.

"Come on, big boy. You can do it," the brunet persuaded him. "Ah, come on," he continued when the animal didn't move. "You'll really like them if you get to know them."

Astrid, who was pushing the yak from behind, added her own support. "The dragons look scary, but they're just big, scaly reptiles."

"Just like Snotlout," Tuffnut quipped. Snotlout grabbed his shirt and readied a fist, then hesitated.

"You're the guy, right?" he asked.

The other Viking froze. When he spoke next, he pitched his voice higher in the hopes of sounding like his sister. "No."

The Monstrous Nightmare snapped impatiently at the Deadly Nadder, who were both growing tired of this exercise. The yak let out a bellow of fear and all of the progress that Hiccup and Astrid had been making (which wasn't much) reversed as the animal ran away from the dragons. This resulted in the chicken and sheep to scatter as well, leaving the teens to gather them up again.

"Wait, what if we looked at this from an animal's perspective?" Fishlegs got down on all fours and began to crawl around on the floor. "Oh hello, Mr. Dragon. I'm just a little sheep here, walking, doing sheep things. Baa, baa." Fishlegs turned to look back at them. "You know, he doesn't really seem so big and—" He faced the Nightmare again, who roared in his face. Fishlegs scrambled underneath Meatlug in terror. "Sorry, but I'm siding with the sheep on this one."

"What about you?" Tuffnut demanded as he turned to Daenerys. "You're supposed to be even better with dragons than Hiccup is! You could. . . use your Targaryen voodoo magic to make them less scary?"

The girl sighed; she'd had more than a dozen conversations with the twins to convince them that she wasn't magical, and they seemed to forget that every single day. "It's not magic! And the only animal that does listen to me are dragons, and they don't have any problem with the livestock— it's the other way around."

He threw up his arms with mock exasperation. His tone was lighthearted as he replied, "well, you're just useless then, aren't you?"

Dany rolled her eyes as Hiccup brainstormed another idea in the hopes of keeping the group on track. "Look, I've learned that once you've had a positive experience with something you're afraid of, it isn't so scary anymore."

Hiccup picked up one of the younger sheep and put it back with the others. "Okay, there you go, boys. Over here." He herded them right in front of the dragons. "And that's what we have to do with these sheep. We gotta prove to them that they have nothing to fear."

Unfortunately, while sound reasoning, his proposal wasn't well-received as the Monstrous Nightmare accidently set the sheep's wool aflame. Astrid reacted quickly and put out the fire. The brunet slumped with defeat as nothing seemed to work. "And at this rate we'll never get any milk or eggs."

--

The dark clouds rolled closer Berk and the wind picked up, whipping around in the small, sort-of enclosed space. The dragons became even more antsy, which was certainly not helping their efforts. Dany made the most of her gift as she tried to keep them calm with soothing words and an endless number of pats. However, she couldn't do anything for the terrified animals, who kept running around the arena to try and get away from the dragons.

At this point, they had tried several more of Hiccup's idea, but had made no progress. They were clearly losing time as the sky darkened steadily; snowflakes were starting to fall, though few noticed as they were too busy trying to corral the livestock. Dany wrapped her arms around herself as she stood next to the Monstrous Nightmare, grateful for the heat of its warm scales against the bitter chill.

Their efforts were finally put to a stop by Gobber's arrival. "Everybody out! The storm is here!

"Ah— wait! We haven't made any progress with the animals," Hiccup insisted.

The blacksmith remained unmoved as he pushed a yak towards the entrance. "Your father wants everyone in the Great Hall."

The boy shook his head and stood his ground. "Take the others. I need to stay and keep working with the animals. They're still afraid."

"That's crazy!" Dany couldn't help but exclaim. The thought of Hiccup staying out in this weather sent a chill down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold air. "What do you expect to change between now and when you've frozen to death?"

Thankfully, Gobber agreed with her as he demanded, "ya can't get eggs from a frozen chicken! We've got to get the animals in the barn."

--

The barn, however, did not seem to be brought up to speed on this plan and its entrance had been blocked by a large, impassable snowdrift. Daenerys wrapped her arms around herself as the chill sank into her fingers and crept through the toes of her boots. As they stood amidst the howling wind, she found herself longing for her cottage, far away in the forest. Her parents must be worried sick about her, but there was would be no way for her to reach them until the storm had passed. At least they knew that she wasn't completely alone, so she hoped that would ease some of their concern.

"So much for the barn. . ."

"There's no other place to hold them!" Mulch exclaimed.

The Targaryen pressed closer to the Monstrous Nightmare, whose ability to set its full body on fire allowed it to give off more heat than a Deadly Nadder's. As if sensing her discomfort, the dragon stretched out a wing to help block some of the wind from cutting through her clothes. It sank to a crouching position to keep the cold from circling her legs to become a wall of scales and warmth. Despite this kindness, the Monstrous Nightmare wasn't her dragon; she still found herself wishing for Drogon, who was probably huddled with his brothers back home. She longed for his familiar, quiet strength and ability to guess what she needed most.

The noise of the storm almost whipped away Hiccup's response, which he called loudly over the gale: "the Great Hall!"

"So, we're gonna have the dragons and the animals under the same roof. . ." Mulch chuckled nervously. "We know that won't work."

"We have no choice. Let's go."

The Monstrous Nightmare continued to shield her from the worst of the wind as they turned back down the mountain. It became too hard to see as the storm worsened, so Dany focused her gaze on her boots, not even bothering to look where she was going. Watching one foot move in front of the other helped her stay alert and she tightened her hands in the tucked position underneath her arms. Her hair tangled in long strands and occasionally got in her face, causing her to spit out the ones that landed in her mouth. This became harder as the strands dampened, though her hair was so light that the snowflakes that landed on her were impossible to see. 

Their surroundings were suddenly lit up as lighting struck a nearby tree. The dragons startled and Dany squinted against the brightness as the Monstrous Nightmare beside her ignited its body. It reared back with its wings spread, spooked from the unexpected event. The bolt of flame that shot out of its mouth caused the animals to scatter and they— especially the sheep— soon became lost in the world of white.

Snotlout was the unfortunate victim of their panicked scramble as he became trampled by the yaks. "Ow! Okay, everything hurts!"

Fishlegs became unbalanced as the sheep ran around his legs and he fell face first into the snow. Ruffnut, too focused on the animals, didn't see him until it was too late and she ran right over the other Viking— only to get a chicken to the face. Seeing the resulting chaos, Hiccup ran back to Toothless, which prompted Gobber's irritated question of, "where are you going?"

He wasted no time as he climbed onto the Night Fury's back. "I'm going after them!"

"Forget it, Hiccup! You'll never get them rounded up in this storm!" the blacksmith shouted.

"With Toothless, we can. I have to try. If I don't, we starve to death."

"No! Your father would kill me if I left you out here!"

He ignored Gobber's warning and took off with a barely-heard, "sorry, Gobber!"

"Hiccup, come back here!" the older Viking yelled. Aware of the other teens behind him, he first went with the Targaryen as he pleaded, "Daenerys, can you—"

But the girl didn't wait for him to finish; she climbed easily onto the Monstrous Nightmare who'd helped her out and took off after the brunet. Gobber continued to be ignored as the other teens got on their dragons, who had joined them in their efforts to round up the livestock. "Hey! You— get back here! All of you! Get back here!"

--

If she thought that walking through the snow had been hard, than flying was even more difficult. The flakes obscured her vision until she could barely see the other riders; she had to trust that her borrowed Monstrous Nightmare would know what he was doing. Dany never thought that she'd say this, but she wished that she had a saddle; holding onto a dragon's scales in the bitter cold with frozen fingers was not ideal.

Toothless lit up their surroundings with a plasma blast, allowing them to see past the flurries for a few, brief seconds. Unfortunately they couldn't have him continuously shoot light into the sky since they had to keep his shot limit in mind. None of the other dragon's fire-breathing abilities would be similarly helpful, so it was all on the Night Fury to keep their vision clear.

Hiccup called back to the group: "find as many as you can! We'll herd them back to the Great Hall."

"Can we swing by my house?" Fishlegs yelled. "I'd like to get my heavy coat."

The twins, as usual, found a unique take on their situation. Tuffnut turned to his sister. "Check this out!" He punched himself across the face, and laughed. "I'm so cold I can't feel my face!"

Ruffnut took this as an invitation to repeat his action, only for him to grin at her triumphantly. "Didn't feel it!"

She crossed her arms with annoyance. "That takes all the fun out of it!"

Dany shivered even more as they broke free from the protective surrounding of the forest. Although the trees had been bare, they'd at least provided some shelter; now the open, rolling hills allowed the wind to blast across the snow unimpeded. But, on the plus side, it was easier to see where the cattle might be, which Hiccup noticed a short while later.

"There they are! Come on!" Everyone dove and began to chase the animals, but their advances only made them run faster.

"Yaks on the left!" Fishlegs called out to them.

Snotlout— always wanting to add his opinion— quickly followed with, "chickens to the right!" The larger Viking spun around on his Gronckle as the other boy barreled past him. "Hey! I'm flyin' here!"

Not wanting to get in between the two boys, Dany turned her attention to the yaks, whom everyone seemed to have forgotten about in the chaos. They lumbered along the mountain at the fastest pace they could go, which luckily wasn't very fast. The girl leaned over the neck of her Monstrous Nightmare as she tried to ignore the settling cold. "Come on, boy! Ald—" She realized that she couldn't use her word to ignite Drogon's fire, so instead she simply shouted, "now!"

The dragon veered towards the ground and let out a stream of fire, which herded the stray yak closer to the others. Dany planned the dragon's shots carefully so that she could keep the yaks together while guiding them to where the other riders were wrestling with the sheep. The fire was startling enough for the large animals to move, but she only aimed for the snow so that they wouldn't be hurt.

Somehow, she heard Hiccup's shout over the wind: "stray yaks, twelve o'clock!"

More? She thought, having been certain that she'd rounded up all the ones that had scattered.

The twins were closer and flew in the direction of the bulky shapes. "I see them, and they are huge!"

Their dragon caught a 'yak' in each claw as their riders cheered with their success. However, their happiness was short lived as they realized that they'd actually picked up their chief and the blacksmith. "Put me down! Right now!"

The teens landed their dragons to approach the two men. Stoick frowned at his son, who mistook his expression as disappointment. "You shouldn't be out here, Hiccup!"

Hiccup lowered his head guiltily at the look on his father's face. "Dad. . . I'm sorry I let you down."

"It's not your fault, son. I'm taking you back."

Gobber looked around at the whirling white with obvious confusion. "Which way?"

"Follow our tracks." Chief Stoick pointed in the direction they'd come from, but there were none to be found. They'd already been covered by fresh snow.

His friend was not impressed. "So much for that idea."

"Sir? What are we gonna do now?" Fishlegs asked timidly.

Stoick looked around at the group, who, except for him and Gobber, were only teens. Even the twins, who could be counted on for finding the humor in the worst of situations, seemed subdued because of the cold. If he and Gobber had been mistaken for yaks, then their shivering, scared faces made them appear like lost sheep. Even his son, who was always stubborn, and the Targaryen girl, who had made quite the first impression on him, didn't seem to know what to do. She merely stood in the freezing wind with her head bent and her arms wrapped around herself.

Being the chief, he took control of the situation as best he could and extended his arms out to them. "Everyone, come together."

Although Dany felt trepidation at the thought of so many people crowding close to her, the desire for warmth was stronger than her discomfort. She made sure to get a spot close to Hiccup, though, since she felt most at ease with him. Astrid crowded in on her other side, making the tight space even more tolerable. Soon, they formed a small circle with their backs against the cold, which helped.

Seeing their discomfort, the dragons took action as well. It wasn't long before they made a larger ring around the humans with their wings spread out to block the wind. Their warm breath began to heat them up and Stoick looked around at them with awe. "What are they doing?"

"They're protecting us," Hiccup explained with a proud smile.

"It's their natural instinct," Astrid added.

The dragons let out bursts of fire around the group to keep the heat trapped inside. The distressed sounds of animals prompted the Vikings to bring their livestock into the circle despite the animals' misgivings. They spent the night encircled by their dragons, and were able to survive because of the warmth that they provided. It seemed that Hiccup had been right: one positive experience was enough to change their minds about dragons, once and for all.

Chapter Text

A dragon's instinct is, perhaps, better than a human's. When flying at top speeds, they have to make split-second decisions that can affect the course of their route. Unexpected trees, sudden drop-offs or rising hills, even the threat of foul weather are all taken into account throughout the dragon's flight. Trusting this impulse is extremely important for their safety, and doubly so when they are carrying a rider. Likewise, it's important for the rider to rely on— and even blindly follow— their dragon's reflexes.

Of course, some rider-and-dragon pairs are more in sync than others. Take Snotlout and Hookfang, for example: while their bond was as strong as any other, their conflicting personalities often led to. . . interesting results, today's being an uncontrolled path through the forest. The Monstrous Nightmare crashed through the trees relentlessly, forcing his rider to take several limbs to the face.

Astrid, on the other hand, had a much better relationship with Stormfly. However, the headstrong Viking often tried to be in control and call the shots. This lead to her dragon making her own decisions, which often startled her rider. In this case, the Deadly Nadder chose to go down, rather than up as Astrid had instructed. Although the blonde let out a startled scream as she was flung into the air, she landed safely on her dragon's back on the other side of the broken tree. Astrid had come a long way from her early dragon training days, and she could willingly admit— to her dragon, at least— that she was wrong. She let out a relieved breath as she conceded, "you were right, Stormfly. It was down. I almost died!"

Snotlout's indignant reply was lost amongst the trees as a third type of pair sailed over the forest without the chaos of the group below. Daenerys had known her dragon the longest, considering she was the one who'd hatched him. She trusted Drogon with her entire being and would willingly put her life in danger if he thought he knew better. Up in the sky, she only heard the loudest of her friends' bickering as faint shouts. She enjoyed the peace and quiet with just the sound of the wind for company.

Spring had finally arrived on Berk and she couldn't be happier; the flowers were blooming again, the chill had receded, and it was perfect flying weather. Dany closed her eyes and flung her arms out on either side as Drogon sped them forward with slow, purposeful flaps of his wings. The sun was warm on her face as were her dragon's scales beneath her.

Her first flower crown of the season was perched on her head in a bright burst of purple and green— her favorite color pairing. The leaves fluttered dangerously in the breeze, but ultimately stayed put due to the hairpin that held them in place. Every year, as soon as she could, she ditched her heavy winter boots to run barefoot. Her freed feet curled on Drogon's scales to help keep herself in place, which she found was easier when she didn't wear shoes.

Her peace didn't last as long as she would have liked it to as Astrid and Stormfly suddenly appeared in front of her, bringing Drogon to an abrupt stop that left them hovering in midair. The blonde gave her an amused look. "Enjoying yourself while we're out here training, are you?"

Dany's expression became guilty as she completely missed her friend's joking tone. "Sorry. It's just. . . you know Drogon doesn't do small spaces—"

"Relax," the other Viking said lightly. "I'm only messing with you. Hiccup's going to look for Fishlegs but he said he'd meet us back at the Academy. Want to fly back together?"

Dany smiled happily and nodded as she and Drogon turned around to go back the way they came. Even after more than a year of knowing everyone, she was still getting used to having so many friends— especially ones like Astrid, who actually asked her to hang out. Stormfly looped around Drogon playfully as the girls ribbed about Snotlout and the twins' carelessness.

--

When everyone had regrouped at the arena, the last thing they expected— which, really, should have been the first thing, considering Hiccup's affinity for them— was the introduction of a seemingly brand-new dragon species. The tiny dragon was almost bat-like, with wings longer than its body and a sharp, pointed snout. Its horns curled above its ears, whose deadly points matched its talons. Its scales shimmered with red and gold as if the dragon itself was made out of fire.

Fishlegs was clearly the most enthusiastic about the discovery as he exclaimed, "this is so exciting! It's a whole new species!"

Tuffnut leaned closer to the dragon as he examined it critically. "Doesn't look like a flaming squirrel to me."

However, the boy seemed to not have heard him as he carried on brightly, "we have no idea what it's capable of! There's no telling what it might do."

The tiny dragon, curious about its new surroundings, made chittering sounds as it crawled around on the ground. Tuffnut crouched down to look the creature in the eye. "Flame. Do it!"

Like most beings, the dragon chose not to listen to him and lunged forward instead. His sharp teeth latched onto the teen's nose, causing him to yelp in pain. "Ah! Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!"

His sister laughed at his reaction— at least until he managed to free himself of the dragon, who landed on her face next. He chuckled as Ruffnut flailed around. "Hey, that is funny."

Hiccup sent the twins an annoyed look at their antics. The dragon grew tired of terrorizing the siblings and returned to the brunet's arms as he insisted, "come on, you guys. This is serious. We have to figure out what to do with him. He's hurt."

"He's hurt?" Tuffnut demanded as he pointed to his red nose.

"He's just really scared," Hiccup said, scratching the dragon between his horns. "He'll settle down."

Fishlegs wasn't so easily convinced as he reminded them, "um, new species, remember? We actually don't know what he'll do."

Astrid looked around at the group as she pointed out, "well, somebody's gotta take him home."

Almost all at once, they turned to look at Dany, who had the most experience with dragons. She felt her skin prickle as their gazes landed on her, their expressions varying from hopeful (Fishlegs) to indifferent (the twins.) Since she was so new to having friends, she was still concerned about them liking her. She didn't want to say no and disappoint them, even though she thought that keeping an unknown dragon was a bad idea. So, she let out a sigh of defeat and held out her arms. "Oh, alright."

The group dispersed, leaving just her and Hiccup in the ring as he transferred the dragon into her hold. Her eyes stayed trained on the creature as she spoke up hesitantly. "Um, Hiccup?"

"Yeah?"

"You. . . you know that this is probably a baby dragon, right? And its mother will be out looking for it? I mean. . . wouldn't it be better if we just. . . put it back?"

Hiccup gave her a reassuring smile. "Maybe, but shouldn't we at least study it? And besides, we can't leave an injured dragon out by itself." His tone became pleading as he added, "come on, Dany. It's just for the night! We'll figure it out in the morning."

The girl let out another sigh as her gaze lifted to look at him for a second before it fell back to the animal in her arms. His hopeful, earnest expression was one that she knew she couldn't say no to, no matter how much she disagreed with the idea. Out of all their friends, the last person that she wanted to let down was Hiccup; she'd be crushed if she was the cause of his disappointment.

"As long as it's just for the night," she agreed reluctantly.

He beamed at her and stepped forward as if to give her a quick hug, only to stop short and settle for offering the dragon a last scratch instead. "Thanks, Dany. You're the best!"

As she watched him fly off on Toothless, she felt the bubble of warmth expand in her chest as she replayed his last words in her head: thanks, Dany— you're the best! 

She decided that, whatever happened that night would be worth it. Drogon, however, had other ideas. When she climbed onto his back, he refused to even lift off the ground. His wings stayed folded by his sides and he remained in a comfortable position with his feet tucked underneath him. Dany understood why he was reluctant to bring a baby with them; if— when— the mother came looking for it, they'd certainly be in danger, but she'd made a promise! She couldn't just. . . abandon it now.

The blonde placed a gentle hand between her dragon's shoulder blades as she spoke to him: "I know this isn't ideal, bud, but it's just for the night. I couldn't say no— you saw how happy Hiccup was! Come on, don't be like this."

The large dragon remained unmoved. She could've sworn that he'd fallen asleep— or perhaps turned to stone— if he had not started a tantrum, which he rarely did. He relaxed his neck into a slump, causing her to fall face-first onto his scales. The baby dug its claws into her shoulders and squawked indignantly.

Dany winced as she sat up straight again and shot her dragon an irritated look. "Really? I thought you were more mature than this, Drogon."

He merely shifted unevenly so that she became unbalanced on his back. Her tumble to the ground was only painful in the moment and thankfully there was no lasting damage. Her tiny charge was even more displeased with this and let his annoyance be known by the burst of flame that licked at her neck. She grumbled with her own frustration. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm not happy about it either."

Drogon now faced away from them with his great head resting on the ground. She could just picture his eyes being closed as he pretended to be asleep so he could ignore her scolding. She crossed her arms and glared at her impertinent dragon. "Fine. If you're going to be like that, then we'll just walk."

The girl turned away from him and made her way towards the entrance of the dragon training ring. The long way back home was daunting and unpleasant, but she didn't have any other choice. At least the baby pulled his weight as he occasionally flapped his wings to speed them on their way, but even like that they didn't get very far— Dany felt herself being lifted into the air without warning.

Drogon had changed his mind once more and had swooped down to pick her up carefully with his talons. It seemed that, as much as he disagreed with her about keeping the baby, he was still unwilling to desert her entirely. Still, after all of his insolence, she certainly wasn't pleased and kicked her bare feet in the empty air with an exasperated, "really?"

--

When she got home, Rhaegal and Viserion were equally cautious around the newcomer. Even the latter— who was the friendliest of the three— only sniffed at the baby curiously before he moved as far away from the dragon as possible. Dany let out another sigh (the second of what she was sure would be many of that night) as she put him down.

Although she was against naming dragons that she wasn't going to keep, she decided that she had to call him something besides referring to him as 'the baby.' She tried to think of a name for him as he explored the area, though her brainstorming session was interrupted by the arrival of her father as he stepped out of the cottage.

Randolf had clearly just finished his most recent project as he was still wearing his apron, which was similar to the one that blacksmiths wore. Despite this precaution, sawdust still clung to his rolled-up sleeves and other bits of exposed fabric. His shoulder-length light blond hair was pulled back into a low ponytail to keep it out of his face while he worked. One of Dany's favorite things about her father was that he always smelled nice due to the wood he worked with; it could be oak or maple or hickory, but there was always a mixture of lingering scents from whatever was in his shop that day.

His expression softened upon seeing his daughter and he shifted the tray of raw meat— which he had brought outside to cook— into one hand so that he could take out a block of wood from his pocket with the other. He gave it to her when he reached her by way of greeting, earning a smile of thanks in response. "The dragons are still here?" he remarked with surprise. "They're usually out hunting by this time."

Dany tucked the wood into the pocket of her vest as her smile became sheepish. "Well. . . I might have. . . brought home a friend."

"The mysterious Hiccup boy that your mother is now convinced exists?" he guessed with amusement.

The girl shook her head, still confused as to why her father thought she'd made him up. "No. A dragon friend."

She pointed to the baby, who was steadily encroaching on Rhaegal's space. It was a rather amusing sight as the he kept backing away from the much smaller creature, as if it were an eel rather than a dragon. Randolf's lips pressed into a thin line. "You do know that's a baby dragon, right? Why isn't it with its mother?"

(Sigh count: three)

"Hiccup found him in the woods and thought he was injured. Since he's a new species we wanted to study him before we put him back" she explained.

"Ah, I knew this Hiccup was involved," the older man said, though his tone had become serious. "Dany, if you wanted to learn more about the dragon, you should have just observed him in the woods. You know it's not a good idea to separate the baby from its mother."

Her gaze fell to her feet guiltily. "I know, and I tried to tell him that— believe me. But everyone wanted to keep him safe and he needed to stay with someone. . . I couldn't say no to all of them. It's only for the night," she added imploringly.

Randolf was still wary, knowing that this situation could result in disaster, but he conceded. "If it's just one night— but he's staying outside, I won't have him in the house." His voice softened as he added, "and I know this is hard, but you can say no, my little dragon. If they're true friends, they'll respect your opinion, even if you disagree with them."

"Thanks, dad," the girl said gratefully. She'd known that her parents would come around; they could never turn away a dragon in need— she just had to convince them first.

Her father went over to set up the fire to prepare their dinner and leaned back on his heels as he looked around for Drogon, who was usually responsible for starting it, if he was around. "Drogon! Come on, boy. Let's—"

He was cut off when a burst of fire shot into the hearth and ignited the tinder. The baby dragon had gotten there first, which earned him a few words of praise from the blond man. "Looks like he beat you to the punch, although that's not a very good dragon name. What about Ignis, since you were so quick to ignite our fire?"

The newly-christened Ignis chittered happily, apparently approving his name. He scuttled over to where the blond man was still crouching and butted his head against Randolf's leg. He chuckled in response and scratched the dragon's head. "I'm not against dragons, you know," he told the baby. "I just want you to be with your mother. She's bound to be worried sick about you."

--

Feeding time proved to be another interesting event for their guest. Since the brothers usually did hunt for themselves, Dany wasn't sure how much fish to give them, but she placed a basketful in front of each of them. Although such a large amount would cut into their stores, it seemed as if their dragons refused to give up on their protective watch and wouldn't be leaving the house anytime soon.

Curious about how the new dragon would feed, she placed a fish in front of him and stood back with her notebook at the ready. Before her dragons could even start on their meals, the baby leapt onto the first basket and, in the blink of an eye, devoured all of it except for a few bones.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed, before jotting down the event in her notes. "You certainly eat a lot more than what it looks like you can!"

Rhaegal growled with annoyance as Ignis stole his meal. Before he could move onto the next one, however, Drogon bared his teeth and snarled furiously at the baby, who yelped and ran to hide behind Dany's legs. If she hadn't been watching the dragons as closely as she had been, she would've been convinced that Drogon had scared Ignis unprompted.

--

Dany was exhausted the next morning as she and Drogon flew to the dragon training ring. She was certain that everyone was already there and waiting for them, but after staying up all night monitor the baby, she'd gotten a late start. Ignis clung to her back as usual, so she'd shifted her bow and arrows to her front as she'd done the day before. A newly carved dragon statue rested in her pocket while she'd tucked her journal against her side, underneath her belt. She hadn't even had time to craft herself a flower crown for the day; she'd sped out the door with only a few bites of breakfast once she'd woken.

Sure enough, the group turned their half-expectant, half-impatient gazes on her as soon as Drogon landed on the stone-covered ground. Hiccup's face brightened at their arrival, though she chalked that up to being around the baby dragon again, rather than her. "Oh, good, you're here!"

He made his way over to them, only to rush the last steps as Dany uncharacteristically stumbled on her dismount. He steadied her gently before he immediately pulled his hands away. "Whoa. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she managed to get out before her face split into a wide yawn. Unfortunately, the brisk air from their flight had done nothing to wake her up. "I was just on baby watch the whole night— the dragons didn't like him." The blonde paused to bring out her statue. "But I did use the time to make this."

He took the tiny, carved replica of their newest species from her and admired it with awe. The face had excellent detail, with the horns curving exactly as the baby's did in real life, and the narrow snout was similarly proportioned to the body. The tail, however, was a bit too fat and clunky to be a perfect copy. She seemed to notice that his attention stayed on that area and smiled self-consciously.

"I was falling asleep by the time I got there," Dany explained.

"It's still incredible, though," the boy said with admiration. "I certainly couldn't do this. Hey— did you draw him?"

Fighting back another yawn, she took out her notebook and handed it to him, allowing him to flip through her numerous dragon sketches to the most recent one.

"Hey, that's not fair! Why is Hiccup the only one who gets presents?"

The Targaryen startled when the worst morning breath imaginable wafted across her face. She only needed to turn slightly to know that Tuffnut had unceremoniously invaded her space to rest an arm on her shoulder while he looked at what she'd brought. Dany grimaced at his unwelcome close proximity and sent Hiccup a pleading look of help me!, but the boy was too enthralled by the dragon designs to notice. The baby dragon on her back squawked with annoyance and dropped to the ground to scuttle away from the noisy intrusion— not that she could blame him.

Tuffnut took the statue from the brunet to examine it carefully. "What's this? Is it some sort of-of Targaryen relic? It seems to be an animal of some kind. If you were going for yak, you're waay off. You've got the horns, but yaks don't have wings. Is it a diseased yak? Oh, wait! I know! It's a raven-yak hybrid—"

Daenerys gingerly removed her creation from the blond's grasp. "It's neither, actually. It's supposed to be—"

Before she could correct the boy, Snotlout decided to take the figurine from her hands and hold it up as if to admire it. "Whatever it is, babe, I think it's great. It's the best. . . thing anyone's ever made!" He turned to show it off to Astrid, who was the only one to notice the girl's discomfort, as Dany was simply too tired to bother with standing up for herself this morning. "Would you look at this? It's—"

It was now the Hofferson's turn to hold the statue as she plucked it from his fingers. "Oh, just let it go, Snotlout. And you—" She went over to Tuffnut and shoved him so that he stumbled several feet away. "—you know Dany likes her personal space, so back up."

The blonde gave her a grateful look as the dragon statue was returned to her possession. Her fingers traced over the edges of the carving as she mumbled, "thanks, Astrid."

"No problem," she replied brightly, though her eyes flashed angrily towards the two offenders. "Someone has to keep these boys in line. And the statue is clearly of the baby dragon. Good work, Dany."

Tuffnut compared the carving to the dragon itself. "Well, I don't see it— I still think that it's clearly a terrible rendition of a raven-yak hybrid."

Snotlout looked extremely put out as he huffed, "she doesn't seem to mind it when Hiccup gets all up in her business."

Dany felt her face warm at his unintentionally astute observation and she set her eyes firmly on the ground. Thankfully, the boy in question had been too interested in her notes on the dragon to pay attention to the antics of the rest of the group. Hiccup scooped up the baby and placed him on the table that had been set up in the middle of the arena. "All right, let's figure out what you are."

Fishlegs, who tended to keep out of the more chaotic moments, moved forward eagerly to be closer to the dragon. "Oh, this is so exciting!" He extended a hand to the blonde, who was still holding her figurine. "May I?"

She handed it to him while she used her other hand to cover her yawn, but afterwards she sent him a grateful smile for his consideration. (This, of course, prompted exclamations along the lines of "hey, no fair!" from the boys who had first been interested in her work.) He marveled at the similarities between the art and its subject. "Such intricate detail around the face. And the horns— they're really well done, Daenerys. The wings make it look as if he really can fly. This will be really helpful for documenting the new species and learning all about it."

Tuffnut frowned and crossed his arms. "Nope, still don't see it."

His sister punched him on the arm. "You're missing the worst part of what he said, bro! We have to learn."

He immediately made a disgusted face as the realization set in. "Wait, learning?"

Ruffnut let out a sigh of relief that turned into a scoff, as if she'd been worried that her brother had gone against their pact of avoiding everything that would be beneficial to them. "No, thanks," she added smugly.

"There's nothing in the Book of Dragons that looks anything like him," Hiccup commented as he flipped through the pages of the book he was holding.

Normally, Dany would be just as excited as Fishlegs to add information to their source of knowledge, but she merely closed her eyes and allowed the warmth of Drogon's scales to seep into her back. At least the baby would be gone tonight, she told herself. She'd never looked forward to resting more.

"We even get to determine what it's called. . ." Fishlegs said nervously. "That is. . . that is a really big responsibility. I don't know if I'm ready for that."

"I am!" Snotlout bragged as he jabbed a thumb towards himself. Astrid ignored his boasting and began to take measurements. "I'm gonna name the snot out of it."

"Great," Daenerys murmured to her dragon. "At this rate, it'll be called something like Snorty McSnotface."

Drogon let out a huff of amusement that made his sides expand as he puffed out the warm air. She was relieved that none of the other teens had heard her snide remark as they continued to take notes. Snotlout practically danced around them as he shouted out nonsensical names based on whatever they were measuring at the time.

"Twenty inches for the wings."

"That's a big wing span. . ." Hiccup commented brightly.

Snotlout barged in with: "Bigwing! Bigspan? Bigwingspan!"

In a formal tone, Fishlegs asked, "may I have the honor of administering the claw test?" He pulled out the scroll he kept with him and unrolled it. Ignis sliced through it easily. "Look at these talons. They're razor-like."

And again, Snotlout added: "Sharpclaw! Razorfeet! Razor-sharp-claw-talon-feet!"

Even Tuffnut wasn't impressed by the boy's suggestions. "Hold on. Is he serious?"

Hiccup wrote this new information down on the next clean page in the Book of dragons. Dany's journal was open on the table in front of him and he'd left enough space to add her drawing above the words he was writing down. Fishlegs' warm arm settled on his shoulders as he continued eagerly, "you know what's next, don't you?"

"No, not really. . ."

"Only the single-most important test to determine a dragon's reaction to eels!" The blond didn't wait for him to respond. "The eel reaction test."

Fishlegs reached into the basket of eels, which caused all the other dragons— except for Drogon— to scatter. Ignis backed up for a second, then gently inched forward and sniffed the eel before he took its head in his mouth and swallowed it. The boy couldn't contain his excitement as he exclaimed, "he ate it! He ate the eel!"

Snotlout pushed his way between them. "Eeleater! Come on, that's perfect."

Hiccup ignored him as he approached the larger boy. "Fishlegs, has there ever been a dragon who wasn't afraid of—"

He shook his head. "Only Drogon, but not even Daenerys knows what species he is. We're in uncharted waters, my friend."

The brunet grinned at the large, spiked dragon who was lying especially still due to the girl who was resting against him. "Hear that, Drogon? You've got competition now!"

Drogon was not pleased with this information and shifted his head to face away from the group with an indignant huff. The movement caused Dany's eyes to open as Ignis let out a happy, chittering noise as Hiccup pet him between the horns.

"Now we need to get it to fly," Fishlegs said thoughtfully.

"Maybe if Torch saw Toothless fly." Hiccup turned to where his dragon had elected to perch himself on a nearby rock outcropping as he stared off into the distance. He'd been acting strange ever since they'd found the baby dragon, but had mostly returned to normal after last night. It seemed as if he were back to being agitated by the baby's presence, though. Still, he called to the Night Fury despite his odd moodiness. "Toothless! Let's take a ride, bud!"

His dragon's ears flicked in response, but he refused to move from his guard position. They could hear him give low, rumbling growl in protest. Even Drogon's presence— which would usually make the smaller dragon all but beg for the calmer one's attention— wouldn't make him come down to the arena.

Snotlout laughed at the Night Fury's unusual disobedience. "So much for the dragon trainer. We've got this." He hopped onto Hookfang. Ignis' attention focused on them, causing the boy to grin smugly. "Watch and learn."

The Monstrous Nightmare suddenly took off at high speeds, taking his rider through an uncontrolled route that had Snotlout screaming the whole time before they looped back around and landed in the academy once again. "Okay. . . your turn. . . But don't think you have to live up to that."

He hopped off his saddle as Ignis warily made his way to the end of the table. The baby flew in a little circle before he landed. Then he patted his wings on the ground in a strange pattern. Since all the dragons she knew could fly easily, Dany pushed off Drogon and took a few steps towards the group curiously.

"What's he doing?" Ruffnut sounded extremely unimpressed by the dragon's efforts to follow Hookfang's example.

"I think something's wrong. . ."

"Oh, man!" Tuffnut exclaimed. "We broke him."

"Maybe he can't fly," Hiccup offered.

Daenerys frowned as she watched the baby. "I've never heard of a dragon that couldn't."

She felt the weight of several eyes on her at one as her gaze stayed trained on the dragon in front of her. Before anyone could contest her statement, sparks began to fly out of the dragon's mouth. Most of the teens lifted their hands to protect their faces from the heat and they squinted against the bright light. Ignis began to spin around, faster and faster, until the pressure from his sparks lifted him into the air. He used his wings to stay in flight as he circled the entire arena. When he got to the top of the dome, he spun around in a blaze of light until he whirled to the ground. A spiraled burn mark— just like his flight pattern— was left on the stone below them.

"You. . . are one incredible little dragon," Hiccup breathed out as he jumped into the boy's arms.

"Whoa. . . look at that burn mark." Ruffnut pointed to the design under their boots (or bare feet, in Dany's case.)

"Huh. . . and look at this burn mark." Tuffnut shoved his smoldering arm in his sister's face.

"Did you see how it flew?" Fishlegs asked eagerly. "It spun like. . . like a typhoon."

"And he came back just like a boomerang!" Astrid added.

Snotlout returned to his previous role of spitting out names: "Hotspinner! Flaming-Comebacker!"

"No. Typhoomerang."

"Typhoomerang? Nah, I don't get it."

As the group split up for the day, Dany scooped Ignis up into her arms. Hiccup watched her curiously. "What are you doing?"

"I'm. . . going to put him back," the blonde answered slowly. "You promised that it was just for the night, remember?"

He gave her a pleading look. "Come on, Dany. Now that we know more about him, don't you want to keep him for a little longer?"

She pressed her lips into a thin line as the desire to cave rose within her. But, her father's words echoed in her mind: if they're true friends, they'll respect your opinion, even if you disagree with them. And she was quite sure that Hiccup was a true friend, or at least, she hoped that he was. So, she replied, with a firm shake of her head: "No. One night, that was supposed to be it. He's making Drogon uneasy and he really shouldn't be away from his mother."

"Okay," the brunet agreed with surprising readiness. Then, he added: "he can stay one night with you, and one night with me."

Dany sighed at the boy's insistence, but she knew how stubborn he could be. And besides, she was still practicing saying no to her friends. "Fine. But tomorrow he really should go home. We don't know what kind of havoc his mother is causing right now."

She gently transferred Ignis into Hiccup's hold. Their arms accidentally brushed as she freed her hands from the baby, and she pulled back abruptly. Her face warmed, though the boy didn't seem to notice the unintentional contact. He scratched the dragon's head affectionately before they parted with their traditional goodbye:

"See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. See you."

--

Dany found out the next day that Hiccup had a similarly difficult night with his watch over Ignis. Toothless had been unusually misbehaving in a way that he couldn't understand, which lead him to a decision that he hadn't wanted to make: Hiccup had felt forced to put the Night Fury in the cove due to his unpredictable behavior.

She frowned at him from where she sat perched on Drogon's back. "I don't know if that was the right move," she said finally. Perhaps a person with more tact would have tried to cheer the boy up as he was obviously feeling down about the whole situation, but Dany had never backed down from stating her opinion, especially when she believed in it strongly. "It. . . kinda sounds like he was just trying to protect you, like Drogon was with me."

The brunet avoided their eyes as he focused on petting the dragon he was holding. As much as the girl's words made sense, he would feel terrible if he'd come to the wrong conclusion and had penned Toothless up for nothing. Luckily he was saved from giving her a response as Snotlout cut in with his typical obnoxious perspective. "Yeah, but what if he doesn't? Then you won't have a dragon to ride. And if you don't have a dragon to ride, then you can't be the leader of the Dragon Academy! Ha!"

Astrid shot him an annoyed look. "Then Dany or I would take over. Do you really want that?"

The Targaryen hid her smile as she ran her fingers over her dragon's scales, pleased that Astrid had included her in possible leaders. The dark-haired Viking's expression soured at her response. He fell into a grumpy silence as he tried to come up with a reply that would insult the Hofferson but flatter Daenerys. Before they could suffer the misfortune of hearing something that would surely wind up as just flat-out rude, the twins returned from. . . wherever they'd been. (The group had all learned the hard way to not ask questions.)

Tuffnut seemed extremely happy with whatever their outing had resulted in. "You guys will not believe what we just saw."

"Excuse me," Snotlout cut him off, raising his hand to get their attention. "We're having a power struggle."

Hiccup rolled his eyes at the boy's antics. "We're not having a power struggle."

The twins' excitement couldn't be dampened as Tuffnut continued enthusiastically: "The whole forest. . . ultimate destruction."

"It was beautiful," Ruffnut said in awe. Her eyes stared off into the distance as she pictured the scene. "The whole thing was torched."

"Torched. . ." As the final word rang a bell in his head, brunet looked down at the dragon in his arms. Since Dany hadn't mentioned that the baby had a name, his father had renamed him based on the similar trick he'd pulled with Randolf. His expression hardened at the realization. "Show me."

He went over to Drogon as everyone geared up for the ride. The large dragon— who was as picky as Toothless was when it came to riders— crouched down and extended his wing so he could climb up behind Dany. The blonde obligingly shifted her bow and arrows to her front so that he would be more comfortable. She was grateful that, since she was sitting in front, the boy wouldn't be able to see the pink tinge that had rushed to her face as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Like her dragon, Dany was only comfortable— and even that adjective was a little too generous— with certain people being close to her, but if anyone was on that list, it would definitely be Hiccup.

Thankfully, she didn't have much time on the. . . pleasant unease (which was so unlike yesterday, when the boys had crowded around her unexpectedly) as the devastation that the twins had described appeared before them. They weren't kidding when they'd said ultimate destruction— full-grown trees had been felled, just like when Drogon landed in the forest. Except, unlike those times, the trunks of these trees were scorched and black. And, in the very center of the wreckage, was an eerily familiar spiral pattern— just on a much larger scale.

Drogon's nostrils flared at the sight of the burn mark, as if he were saying I told you so. Dany patted him between the shoulder blades with mildly resigned recognition; she couldn't defend her case now, certainly not with the boy (who was her main argument) sitting right behind her. They landed just one the edge of the shape to take it in from ground level.

"Just like we said. Ultimate destruction!" Ruffnut said as they took a few steps towards the design.

"We've seen that burn mark before," Hiccup realized.

Astrid frowned at its size. "Not this big. . ."

Fishlegs was the most nervous out of all of them as he eyed the imprint warily. "You know what this means. Big burn mark. . ."

". . .big Typhoomerang," Dany finished (there was a hard-to-miss smugness in her tone.) "A mother Typhoomerang."

Their gazes lifted to the sky almost in unison. A much larger version of Ignis— or Torch, depending on who you asked— flapped her massive wings above them. Her scales were more of a solid, bright red than her son's and most of the. . . cuteness had been lost (or, at least, from what they could see based on how far away she was.) The jet of fire that streamed from her mouth to aid in her flight was so hot that they could feel its lingering effects from the ground.

While Tuffnut looked ecstatic, Hiccup sent the Targaryen an apprehensive glance. "Save your I-told-you-so for later, okay?"

She gave him an affronted look in return. "Do you really think I'd be that petty?" At his unimpressed silence, she sighed with defeat and allowed, "yeah, okay."

(This also meant that she was right about. . . oh, Gods— Toothless!) "That's what Toothless was trying to tell me!"

Dany couldn't resist crossing her arms and muttering, "really?" to her dragon. (Boys, honestly!)

Fishlegs eyed the baby in his arms anxiously. "Whatever gets between that mother and this baby. . . is gonna get fried!"

He tossed Ignis to Tuffnut, and the baby went down the line as everyone was reluctant to hold him. Hiccup caught him as Snotlout passed him over. The shorter Viking was very much on board with running, which became even more apparent as he exclaimed, "just leave it and let's get out of here!"

For once, Snotlout actually came up with a decent idea. Dany held out her arms to take Ignis. "You guys can go, I'll—"

Her offer was cut off by the dragon giving a loud squawk at the sight of his mother. The larger Typhoomerang's gaze zeroed in on them instantly, and she bared her teeth in what was surely a furious growl. Ignis, unaware of what danger his mother posed to the group, flapped his wings with excitement at the prospect of seeing her again.

Hiccup quickly set the baby on the ground. "Go, uh. . . go home to your mama."

At the sight of the dragon barreling towards them with her mouth aflame, the teens scattered into the forest. Daenerys didn't bother with trying to outrun a dragon, so she hastily climbed onto Drogon's back in the hopes of distracting her from her friends. They pushed upwards into the air with one great sweep of his wings and followed the two Typhoomerangs— and a very stupid boy— towards the cove. She was pleased to see that the new species wasn't the fastest they'd ever encountered, so Drogon could keep up with her rather easily.

When they were hot on the mother's tail, she gave her command for her dragon's fire. "Drogon, aldrnari— but carefully!"

Drogon let out a stream of hot, orange flames that licked at the other dragon's back. The adult Typhoomerang was momentarily distracted, but her main focus was on her baby and she wouldn't be deterred from getting him back.

"We have to get in front of her!" the Targaryen called to him, though how she would do that, she had no idea. If only they could get her up in the sky, then Hiccup would have enough time to get to a safe place. They were too close to the ground for her to even go underneath the mother to get her to notice them.

They were nearing the cove now, and the boy shouted for his dragon as he ran right off the edge. The girl pulled her dragon up short as the Night Fury faced off with the Typhoomerang. Toothless seemed to give Drogon a nod of appreciation for looking out for his rider until he could; at that, the larger dragon promptly turned around and headed back for Berk.

"Drogon!" Dany scolded him. "What are you doing? We have to go back and help them!"

Her dragon let out a soft roar— almost a reassuring sound— but kept on his path. Similarly to a bond between a dragon and rider, there was a certain understanding between dragons themselves. While Drogon understood how much his mother cared for the boy (even if she wouldn't admit it herself), he also respected the other dragons that they flew with, and he trusted Toothless' ability to protect his own rider.

When she saw that her dragon wouldn't be listening to her anytime soon, she sighed and gave her traditional pat between his shoulder blades. "Alright, Drogon. We'll do it your way."

She leaned back against Drogon's warm scales and closed her eyes to enjoy the feeling of the fresh air brushing against her face. While she would have liked to stay and help Hiccup with the Typhoomerang, she understood that Drogon knew his own limitations— he wasn't a dragon made for combat, after all.

Chapter Text

To this day, Dany's dearest wish was to fly unhindered through the sky. For now, Drogon was the closest she would come to that dream— to hold herself aloft with wings (or, in this case, arms) spread and the wind in her hair. Of course, she loved feeling the warmth of her dragon's scales and his reassuring weight underneath her, but to fly on one's own was something else, she imagined, entirely.

Her mother's claims of her being more dragon than girl rang true especially in these moments where there was nothing between her and the clouds. There was no cold, no fear, no discomfort— only freedom. Even when she flew with her friends now, their loud bickering and senseless arguments couldn't take that away from her. In fact, they gave her something in return: the courage to do something that she'd never otherwise dared if she was flying alone.

Hiccup had been the one to encourage what he called "the trust fall," which was where the rider relied on their dragon to catch them before it was. . . well, too late. Not all of them were game for this (most notably Fishlegs), but Dany had been looking forward to trying it ever since he proposed the idea. While it was true that Drogon was not the fastest dragon, the bond between them was unmatched with any of the other riders; she was the only one who had known her dragon since birth. If the twins could coordinate their chaotic mess enough to save themselves from the fall, then surely Drogon could manage to catch her. So, even if her only form of solo flying was plummeting, she was willing to give it a try.

The Targaryen closed her eyes as she fell towards the ocean. Not out of fear, but to enjoy the rush of adrenaline that coursed through her at the thought of the water below. The wind whipped around her, tangling her hair into knots and flapping the skirt of her dress. She was weightless as she kept dropping down, down, down—

And then, just as she felt the coldness of the sea soak the ends of her hair, a sharp claw pinched at her ankle and then she being lifted up, up, up— back into the sky as Drogon huffed with the effort of keeping them airborne. He dropped her onto Toothless' back, where she settled herself behind Hiccup. (Because of his large size, Drogon could not glide underneath her to stop her fall, nor could he flip her onto his back once he'd caught her.) Her dragon looped around the riders in a graceful arc before he returned to his place in their usual flying arrangement.

The brunet turned around in his saddle to give her a pleased grin. "That was a close one— good job, Dany."

She felt her face warm a bit from the praise and focused her gaze on her fingers, which were fiddling with the ends of the fur on her vest. "Thanks, but Drogon's the one who should get the compliment. He's been getting better about his response time."

Now that she'd shown them how it was done, Hiccup indicated for Fishlegs to go next. "It's your turn. Jump."

"I don't wanna jump! I—"

"You have to believe she's gonna catch you. It's a trust exercise."

"I like to do my trusting on the ground, thank you very much."

Snotlout— ever ready to show off his "skills"— scoffed at the boy's trepidation. "Like this, chicken legs."

He let go of Hookfang's horns and allowed himself to fall toward the ocean. To no one's surprise, the Monstrous Nightmare continued to fly as if his rider was still on his back. It seemed as if he hadn't noticed Snotlout's disappearance at all. The twins exchanged a look. "So, should we mention something to Hookfang?"

"Let me sleep on it," Ruffnut replied, unbothered.

Astrid (as usual) was the one to take action as she shouted "hey!" to get the dragon's attention. She pointed in the direction of the falling boy. "Hookfang! Get him!"

Finally, Hookfang's eyes widened with realization and he dove to retrieve his rider. Snotlout continued to tumble in the air, prompting him to exclaim, "not feeling the trust here!"

The Monstrous Nightmare caught him just in time with his snout. Their momentum could not be slowed, however, and the pair crashed right into the roof of a lone house— the last house any of them wanted to be near with their dragons: Mildew's.

"Oh, something tells me we're gonna hear about this. . ." Hiccup groaned with annoyance.

--

"I'm sorry that you had to stay over on boot night," Astrid apologized as she and Dany made their way to the Hofferson's front door.

Sometimes, when she didn't want to go all the way home (especially when there was trouble brewing), the Targaryen would spend the night at her friend's house. The two girls would stay up late and the Hofferson would share town gossip or village tales while Dany would talk about dragons. Right now, they were each holding a pair of boots that came from her parents. The blonde shrugged in response. "It's alright— that just means there's one less pair of boots for you to take out."

"Thanks, Dany," she said gratefully. "You didn't have to, you know."

As Astrid opened the door to toss them out, Daenerys gave her an amused smile. "What are friends for except for helping take out smelly boots? Besides, we don't have boot night at home."

The other girl laughed as she firmly shut the door against the terrible odor. "Really? How do you fight the smell, then?"

Dany gestured to her bare feet and wiggled her toes against the smooth, wood planks that made up the floor. "Well, I don't really wear shoes unless I have to, so that kind of cuts down on the stink factor— and I think we wash our feet more than the average Viking."

"Huh," Astrid said thoughtfully. "Maybe we should be taking notes from you guys— this is definitely my least favorite chore."

"Yours and everyone else's," she agreed.

The blonde wiped her hands on her shirt as they walked away from the entrance. "Right. Now that that's done, what should we do?" Her expression lit up with an idea. "Oooh! I know! We could tell horror stories!" She cast a sly look in Daenerys' direction. "I could tell you about my favorite one— the soul-stealing demons with bone-white hair and haunting, violet eyes."

Dany grimaced at her suggestion. "I don't think I'll like that story very much."

"Oh, come on, it's a Berk classic!" Astrid exclaimed, grabbing her arm to pull her friend towards her room. "Besides, if you let me tell that story, I'll let you talk about dragons and I'll actually listen."

The offer was too good to refuse; usually, the only time Astrid allowed her "dragon-talk" was after dinner as the girls were going to bed so she could fall asleep to Dany's "droning" (Astrid's words, not hers.) "Ugh," she groaned. "Fine."

--

Dany was, by habit, an early riser. Luckily Astrid was too, and the girls planned on going for a morning ride together. The Targaryen found it interesting to fly with different types of dragons to see how Drogon acted around them. To Toothless, he was a big brother. To Viserion and Rhaegal, he was sort of similar, but also acted more playfully with them. She wasn't sure how he'd respond to Stormfly and she was curious to find out. (She was also hoping to cajole the other girl into wearing a flower crown— she thought that Astrid would look very pretty in one, but the Hofferson was usually too fierce when surrounded by others to even broach the subject.)

However, before they could even get to the door, Astrid's parents stood in the entrance, wearing confused expressions. "Girls," her mother, Brenda, began carefully. "What exactly happened when you put our boots out last night?"

The blondes shared a similarly puzzled look as Astrid explained, "we. . . just put them out on the front step, like always. Why?"

"They're not there anymore," her father, Hoefer, answered.

They pushed past the older Vikings to see for themselves, and it was clear that the boots were not where they'd been placed the night before. Dany frowned at the odd circumstance. "Do days in Berk always start this oddly?"

"Some more than others," Astrid allowed with a shake of her head. "But this is strange. Who'd want to steal stinky, smelly boots?"

"Speak for yourself," Hoefer scoffed teasingly. "My boots are top-notch! Handcrafted from the finest leather, they develop a characterful aroma that only true experts appreciate."

Astrid raised an unimpressed eyebrow, considering how they'd smelled the night before. "Oh, really? I suppose it must be an acquired taste then."

Hoefer chuckled. "Exactly! It takes a discerning nose to fully appreciate the essence of a hard week's work."

Dany smiled at her friend's cheerful banter with her father; Astrid was much. . . gentler when she was comfortable in her surroundings. But, she also understood why the Hofferson put on a front— the boys they hung out with (minus Hiccup and Fishlegs) wouldn't take her seriously if she was, well, nice. That was why Tuffnut and Snotlout wouldn't leave her, Dany, alone— she wasn't confident enough to tell them to respect her personal space, but at least they listened when Astrid did.

But, despite the Hofferson's rather jovial response to their discovery, not everyone reacted with such lightheartedness— and no one took it worse than Mildew. His presence was announced by two things before anyone actually saw him: the thump of his walking cane on the ground, and his smell (which was arguably worse than all of Berk's boots combined.) His tone— as usual— was oily and smug at the sight of the concerned Vikings.

"All I know," he began craftily, "is that they left a mighty big footprint—"

He trailed off and pointed his staff towards a heap of snow. Dany watched him suspiciously; he was easily her least favorite person in Berk— she'd even rather hang out with Snotlout or the twins (both, at the same time) than be around him for a second. She found it odd that, for someone who knew the annoyance of travelling long distances, he would do so easily, even without his own shoes. And not only that, but he seemed to know exactly where the clue was to point it out, which would be odd for someone who didn't spend a lot of time in town. She was glad, in any case, that she'd instructed Drogon to stay with Stormfly; she didn't need Mildew getting on her dragon.

"Oh!" Fishlegs exclaimed brightly. He'd moved closer to the print and was now bouncing on his toes with the excitement of recognizing it. "Those are Hideous Zippleback tracks— you can tell by the half-moon shaped arches," he scoffed. "That's dragon 101, guys. I don't gotta fill you in on that."

Hiccup wasn't so easily convinced, but he acknowledged the other boy's input. "So a dragon walked through here— a Zippleback according to my friend, Fishlegs. But that doesn't mean he stole everyone's boots."

"Well," Mildew said evenly, "there's just one way to find out: follow the footprints."

Dany crossed her arms, unable to hold back the scoff that escaped her lips. "Really? You think a Hideous Zippleback— a very large dragon with two heads that can never agree on anything, mind you— would be coordinated enough to take all the boots in the entire village in the course of one night without being heard by anyone? Trust me, they're not subtle."

The old man glared at her with mean, narrowed eyes. "I wouldn't be so sure, girl. The evidence is stacked against you. Dragons are dragons— troublemakers, all of them."

He wouldn't entertain anymore of their arguments and turned to follow the trail, regardless of what they had to say. 

--

Unfortunately, Mildew's words proved to be true as the path led straight to the dragon training academy. Barf and Belch slept peacefully underneath the large pile of boots that had accumulated on top of them— something that Dany thought was strange. Dragons weren't known for sleeping underneath things; this looked to be heaped on top of them by other hands. . . All the dragons she knew slept on things; Toothless used his fire to heat up a patch of ground, Drogon usually slept on a nest of bones from the animals he'd eaten (as gross as that was), Rhaegal gathered leaves. . . She was growing more and more skeptical of how easily all of this was coming together, and Mildew seemed to be leading the chase.

The proof was certainly incriminating for a casual observer, at least. It was evident in Stoick's angry sigh at the sight of the dragon's obvious role in the supposed heist. Hiccup, sensing his father's irritation, was quick to speak up in defense of the dragons. "So there's a bunch of boots piled around a Zippleback? That doesn't mean—"

His efforts were futile as the chief held up a boot with a hole chewed through the toe and a tear across the back, causing the boy's shoulders to slump with defeat. "Okay, fine. He took the boots."

The surrounding Vikings were very displeased with the scene as they uttered complaints along the lines of, "how are we supposed to do any work in this weather without our boots?" and "this is outrageous!"

Mildew, of course, was quick to take advantage of their discontent. "How long until something is done about these creatures, Stoick? How much more can we stand?"

As the villagers raised their voices in agreement, Dany's eyes narrowed furiously at the old man. "We? You're the only one who seems to have a problem here. If you're so worried about the cold, how'd you like burn alive by Drogon's flame?"

"Dany, no," Hiccup said, quietly but firmly. He put an arm out to keep her from advancing on the older Viking— not that she'd want to get anywhere near that rotten stink bag. "That's just going to rile him up more."

Although she would have liked to use her word to command her dragon's fire and watch Mildew burn before she danced on his ashes, she pressed her lips into a thin line. The blonde settled for glaring at him angrily instead, wishing that looks could kill. Gobber stepped forward with a loud scoff that broke the increasing tension. "Listen to yourselves. . . 'My feet are cold!' You're Vikings! Everything is cold! I'll fix your boots for you. You'll be back to work in no time."

"That's it? No consequence for these dragons?"

The Targaryen wasn't surprised by Mildew's insistence; it only made her more confident that he was behind this whole endeavor. Even Stoick's patience was being tested by the man's determination to incriminate the dragons. He could barely hide his exasperated tone as he replied, "they took our boots, Mildew. The world isn't coming to an end."

"Oh, don't be so sure," the old Viking said tauntingly. "Dragons are wild beasts. There's no telling what else they'll do behind our sleeping backs."

Hiccup glared at the older man. "They don't destroy things on purpose!" He relented after a moment as he admitted, "but you do have a point, Mildew."

The brunet winced at Dany's look of. . . betrayal that he would ever side with someone like Mildew. He kept talking, hoping that she would understand what he meant. "They are wild animals, and they need us to keep an eye on them. And rest assured, we will do just that. Will you get out of there?"

The last part was hissed at Barf and Belch, who were still sleeping under the boots. The Zippleback lumbered away, but they left something in their wake— prints that both teens noticed were far deeper than the ones that had been found in town. It was also at this time that Hiccup realized his arm was still held out in front of Dany, and he dropped it quickly as his face turned a bit red. "Uh, s-sorry."

She kept her gaze studiously on her bare feet (which were not because of lost boots) and pretended to not have noticed him even though a faint, shy smile curled on her lips.

--

"We're going on night patrol," Hiccup announced later that afternoon when everything had settled back down again. They'd regrouped at their usual watchtower location to hear the boy's plan. However, none of them were particularly thrilled at the idea— except for Tuffnut, who chimed in with his customary misguided enthusiasm.

"Night patrol? I love it! What is it?"

Dany fiddled with the ends of the fur on her vest as she stood quietly next to Astrid, who was watching the boys with her arms crossed. The brunet stared at the other boy with disbelief as he explained slowly, "it's where we patrol. . . at night. . . to keep an eye on the dragons, to make sure they don't get blamed for anything else."

Fishlegs raised his hand as he asked nervously, "have you cleared this with our parents?" His gaze dropped to where he played with his fingers anxiously. "Because some of us may not be allowed out after a certain hour."

Snotlout sidled up to him with a smirk. "Not allowed, or afraid?"

"Hey, things happen after dark," Fishlegs shot back, glaring at the other boy.

"Guys, we have to do this." Hiccup spoke firmly to prevent one of many possible arguments from breaking out. "You heard Mildew. He wants the dragons banished."

Ruffnut chimed in with, "permission to shoot first and ask questions later?"

For once, Dany was in agreement with Tuffnut, who added, "permission to skip the questions?"

"Yeah," the Targaryen agreed with unexpected venom in her tone, "if I see that horrid old man, he's going down. Who wants to help me hide the body?"

Hiccup sighed at their misplaced excitement. "We're just patrolling! Nobody is shooting anyone."

"I have a question," the blond asked as he raised his hand. "What's fun about that?"

"It's not supposed to be fun," Astrid replied. Her amusement was well disguised in her seriousness. "It's a Hiccup idea."

"Exactly." Hiccup took a moment to think about what she had just said. "What?"

He flushed as Dany giggled at his confused expression and was relieved when the group began to go their separate ways. The girl hesitated for a moment as she considered asking to do their patrol together, but the thought was unusually daunting because it had been awhile since it had been just the two of them. Before she could decide, however, Snotlout jumped in her way and leaned against the catapult's pillar in an attempt to look 'cool,' but his palms must have been sweaty since all he did was stumble, catching his balance just in time.

He gave the blonde another one of his attempts at a 'charming' smile as he said, "you know, babe, we could do night patrol together. That way if you get nervous you can hold my hand."

Dany— who became frozen with temporary, intense discomfort (or repulsion)— missed the way Hiccup stilled at the other boy's question, just as he was about to leave. He paused with one foot on the ladder as he pretended not to eavesdrop. The Targaryen's unease passed and she grimaced. "If I'm going to be holding anyone's hand, I'd rather it be Astrid's."

Since he was turned away from the girls (and yes, Snotlout was included in that), Hiccup allowed a pleased, almost elated to cross his face before he continued down to the ground. Astrid, who'd waited for Dany, looked thoroughly entertained. "I'm flattered, but how about I let you hold on to my axe instead?"

The blonde sent her a grateful smile as the shorter Viking tried to save himself. "O-okay. Well, maybe next time, then?"

--

Night patrol was as uneventful as everyone (except the twins) had expected. The dragons behaved themselves and were all accounted for, as far as everyone knew. In the end, Dany had spent the night alone as she walked through the village with Drogon; no one would mess with her when she had such a large dragon on her side, after all.

The next morning proved to be a different story. Apparently, their watch hadn't been vigilant enough and a dragon— or someone, Dany thought— had gotten into the Great Hall and trashed it. Generations-old tapestries hung in tatters from the ceiling. The huge, wood carvings of past chiefs had been knocked over with claw marks gauged in them. The floors and walls were in no better shape and bore signs of dragon talons as well. Vikings congregated around the destruction and muttered to themselves about the devastation, while Stoick studied the room with angry eyes.

"Who could have done such a thing?" the chief wondered aloud.

Fishlegs— who had been studying the marks on a nearby pillar— joined them with a bright expression on his face. "Well, it looks like a dragon to me."

His words were met with unfriendly glares as his friends tried to signal to him to shut up. Hiccup shot him a similar look as he said, "we don't know that it was a dragon for sure, Fishlegs."

"Sure we do," the blond carried on obliviously— even Dany had more tact in this situation. "These claw marks— it was obviously a Monstrous Nightmare. The spacing of the talons is dead on."

"Once again, thank you, Fishlegs," Hiccup deadpanned.

Fishlegs completely missed the boy's tone as he took it at face value. He merely grinned bashfully as he replied, "oh, thank you. It's just basic stuff."

"But how could this happen?" Astrid asked. "We had every dragon accounted for at all times. Right, guys?"

While the others nodded, Snotlout's expression became apprehensive. Using air quotes, he repeated the girl's words questioningly, "when you say at 'all times,' and 'every dragon,' what exactly do you mean?"

Dany shook her head and wondered if, maybe, she should have gone on patrol with Snotlout last night; at least Drogon would have kept Hookfang in line. Hiccup slapped a hand to his forehead in exasperation at his friend's carelessness. He took a deep breath to keep from exploding at the other boy. "Okay, what happened, Snotlout?"

"Well," he started defiantly, "I was detaining a suspect who wasn't showing sufficient respect to the sash." He jabbed a thumb at himself as he shot the blacksmith a pointed look.

Gobber scoffed. "I think I showed sufficient respect to a sash that says 'dumb.'"

Astrid groaned as their group was subjected to yet another jab. "We gotta change that name. . ."

Dany leaned towards her to murmur, "and that's why I elected not to wear it."

"Anyways," Snotlout continued, pointing a finger in the older man's direction, "as I was questioning said suspect, Hookfang may have— and I'm not saying he did— but it is possible he wandered off for a few. . ."

The twins chimed in with: "Seconds?"

"Minutes?"

". . .hours."

"Oh," Tuffnut grunted. "That's way longer than minutes."

They turned at the sound of the doors slamming open. Dany wasn't sure if the chill that accompanied this movement was from the morning air, or if it was from the man who stood framed by the entrance. As usual, Mildew had impeccable timing— a strange feat for a man who lived on the other side of Berk. He gasped, pretending to be shocked by the wreckage. "Oh, no, it's true. The Great Hall. . . so many memories. My three weddings, their three funerals. Oh, the funerals."

The Targaryen glowered at him from where she leaned against a pillar. Lowering her voice so he wouldn't hear (not that she cared, but Hiccup wouldn't like it), she whispered harshly to Astrid: "they probably killed themselves to get away from him."

The other girl hid a smile behind her hand. "I can't believe he got to marry three times. At least there's hope for Snotlout, right?"

They snickered as Gobber turned to the chief. "The dragons must have gone on a rampage. I hate to say it, Stoick, but—"

The tall man sighed as he agreed, "I know what has to be done."

Dany frowned at the thought of Mildew getting his way again. They had to be able to stop him somehow, to prove that he was the one behind all of this. She shared a glance with the blonde next to her, their previous mirth melting away to concern. Mildew's cane thumped against the ground as he inserted himself between the men. He spoke almost gleefully as he added, "so do I."

"Starting tonight, and every night, I want all the dragons put in the academy under lock-and-key."

Mildew wasn't pleased with this at all. "What? That's it? Look what they did!"

Hiccup frowned at the man's protest. "This just doesn't make any sense. A dragon wouldn't just come in here and destroy the place. I mean, none of the food was even touched."

"Yeah," the blonde agreed, unable to keep the smugness out of her voice. "And if it had been a Monstrous Nightmare, then I think you're forgetting a significant part of their being: when they get angry, they literally burst into flames. Do those walls look scorched to you?"

She flushed as everyone's attention turned to her. Her gaze quickly dropped to her bare feet where she curled her toes against the planks of the Great Hall. She felt Hiccup's eyes brighten when they landed on her as he realized the same thing. But, Stoick— as far as he'd come from the Targaryen-hating days before the Red Death— was reluctant to admit that her words held truth to them, especially when Mildew would keep up the argument until he got his way. So, he let out a long breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't know why dragons do what they do, but I'm not gonna let them do any more damage."

The brunet frowned as his father walked out of the Great Hall. He bowed his head as the other teens surrounded him, but he jerked up a second later at the touch on his arm. Dany had placed her hand briefly on the sleeve of his tunic as a show of support, taking it away before he'd even really registered what had happened. He felt his face heat up at the small, reassuring smile she gave him. Her eyes fell back to the floor and she tangled her fingers together.

A similar grin from the day before curled on his lips as he recalled the words she'd hurled at Snotlout: if I'm going to be holding anyone's hand, I'd rather it be Astrid's! But. . . she'd just broken her personal space rule for him. . . Something told him the differentiation was significant, but he had no idea what it meant.

--

The teens were unusually somber as they flew their dragons to the academy that night. Their dragons were no better as they shifted restlessly; not even Fishlegs' lullaby for Meatlug was enough to calm her.

"That usually works. Her whole bedtime routine is upset. She won't even lick my feet!" he complained as she turned away from him. "Thanks to—"

Snotlout pointed a warning finger in his direction. "Watch it, Fishlegs. At least my dragon doesn't need a lullaby and a blankie."

The twins frowned at him with uncharacteristic seriousness; Tuffnut stood next to his sister with his arms crossed as she glared at the shorter Viking accusingly. "Actually, it's your fault that all our dragons have to sleep in jail."

"Yeah," Tuffnut agreed. "You don't see our dragon going on a rampage and wrecking stuff." Their dragon started to pick a fight with Hookfang, as if sensing their riders' irritation. As the Zippleback took a step forward, its claw smashed the crate it was next to. "Well, not any good stuff."

Dany turned to Drogon, who was watching the other dragons with unreadable, orange eyes. He seemed almost. . . unaffected by the whole ordeal, as if all this drama was only a vexation to him. She lifted her gaze to meet his and smiled at him appreciatively, as she knew that she could always count on her dragon to keep the peace. The blonde offered him a pat on the snout for his good behavior— though she hadn't really expected anything less.

Hiccup, who had been thoughtfully quiet up until this point, finally spoke up: "I don't think a dragon wrecked the Great Hall, or stole the boots."

"I think you're right," the Targaryen said, her gaze still on Drogon as she pet him. "It's all Mildew's doing. Since he hates dragons, he's trying to frame them."

Astrid, however, wasn't so easily convinced. "Guys, none of us want to believe it either, but you saw the proof. And Dany, I know we all hate Mildew, but don't you think you're a little biased against him?"

Her jaw tightened and her shoulders visibly tensed, showing the others how much the other girl's words bothered her. "No, I think I'm as biased as he deserves. He's just doing a crummy job of pinning the blame on the dragons."

Hiccup nodded in agreement. "You saw the footprints, too. They were supposed to be made by a Zippleback but they were no deeper than mine. Look at these." He gestured down to a print Barf and Belch had just made in the snow. "I could lie down in them."

Fishlegs, as usual, tried to be helpful by providing another reason. "Well, there could be a lot of explanations why a dragon made shallow footprints."

"Like, hello?" Ruffnut exclaimed as she waved her arms, "he was trying to be sneaky."

Dany snorted at the adjective that the teen used. "Ruffnut, we've been over this before— Zipplebacks can't be sneaky. It's almost like they're supposed to cause havoc, which is why they're the perfect dragon for you two."

"Hey—!" Tuffnut began to protest, until her words made sense. Then he smiled and gave her a shallow bow. "Why thank you."

"Alright," Astrid allowed. "Well, how do you explain the Great Hall?"

Daenerys crossed her arms as she turned away from Drogon to face the group. "Do any of you know how to listen?" (This earned her a very annoyed look from the blonde.) "I just said—"

Before she could finish, Hookfang had become so irritated with Barf and Belch's hassling that he let out a loud roar of frustration. His body erupted into flames a moment later as he growled at the other dragon. She pointed a finger in the direction of the Monstrous Nightmare's flare up. "That! That's what I was talking about. The Great Hall looked destroyed, but was any of it burnt? No, it wasn't! And it would've been if a Monstrous Nightmare had gotten angry inside of it— enough to tear it up."

Hiccup's eyes went wide at the realization. "That's what you were trying to explain to my father? Dany, you're a genius!" (Her gaze fell to her bare feet at the compliment.) He gave her an apologetic look. "He should have listened to you, but maybe he'll hear it from me. I've gotta tell my dad about this!"

--

Dany was quiet at dinner that night— even more so than usual. Her parents seemed to pick up on this as they gave her looks of concern throughout the meal. As her father stood to do the dishes, Ingrid gave her daughter a soft smile. "Is everything alright, darling? You haven't said much all evening."

The girl sighed as she traced her fingertip along the smooth line of the table's edge. "I was just. . . thinking about what was happening in Berk. I feel terrible that the other riders'— my friends'— dragons are being penned up and Drogon gets to be free just because I don't live in the village. It doesn't seem fair."

"It's not," her mother agreed gently. "And it's one of the reasons why we stay out here in the forest. We don't have to be subjected by the rules of a narrow-minded chief or his stubborn people."

"But it's not even them," she insisted. "Stoick doesn't want to hurt dragons anymore, but this one villager— Mildew (and yes, he's as terrible as his name implies) — will not be placated as long as dragons live in the village. He's doing everything that he can to make sure they're out of Berk for good. If that happens, and I still have Drogon. . . the other riders might not want to talk to me ever again."

Randolf came back to the table at the sound of his daughter's dejected sigh. He stood behind his pushed-in chair as he wiped his wet hands on a clean rag. "As much as I'd like to offer your friends' dragons a place here, I'm not sure if we can take care of that many for an indefinite amount of time. But, you should also do what you feel is right— and what is right isn't always easy. I know that this would be hard, but perhaps another solution could be that Drogon goes with the other dragons, just for a little, while until you can prove this Mildew guy wrong."

Dany stood to leave the room. "I think I'll go do some carving while I think about it."

--

The next morning, Daenerys learned that the worst possible outcome had become a reality: due to Toothless' 'fault' of setting the armory on fire, all of the dragons were to leave Berk until further notice. (She didn't think that the riders— especially Hiccup— would just. . . give up.)

As the others said their goodbyes, Dany stood in front of her dragon, wearing a firm expression on her face. "I want you to stay here, Drogon."

He let out a grunt— either of confusion or protest, she wasn't sure— and she put her hands on her hips. "I'm serious. Toothless will need help keeping the others in line, okay? This is just until we prove that Mildew is behind all this, and then we'll be back together before you know it."

Drogon's nostrils flared as he let out a gust of warm breath that ruffled her clothes. The heavy, comforting weight of his head settled on her hair for a moment, as if he was acknowledging the responsibility that she was giving him. Dany closed her eyes while he did this as she tried to savor the feeling of being close to her dragon. Even though she believed with all her heart that not even Mildew could keep dragons off of Berk, it was still painful for them to part; she'd hardly gone a day without seeing him, and it was almost as if she was a mother being torn away from her child.

As they went to the boat, Hiccup fell into step beside her. "You didn't have to do this, you know. You shouldn't let Mildew win."

She glanced at him briefly before her gaze settled on the ocean in front of them, though he didn't miss the determination flash through her eyes— the same emotion that he was feeling as they left the island. "I'm not letting him win," she said firmly. "I'm only letting him have his way— for now, until we can prove that he's the one behind all this."

After they'd set sail, the brunet joined her in leaning against the mast. The others were lost in their sadness and weren't talking much, but Hiccup wanted to share his suspicions with her. "There's something Mildew said that I can't stop thinking about. He-he said 'see what happens when you leave your dragon to wait outside?' He knew Toothless wasn't with me before the armory fire."

"That is odd," Dany conceded. "I always thought it was strange that he knew the exact worst time to show up. He was always first on the scene— after us, that is— which would be hard for someone who lives so far away. News doesn't really travel that fast."

"Exactly!" he exclaimed— a little too loudly, which earned him glares from the other teens. He lowered his voice as he continued, "why was he in town? And how would he know where we were before the fire?"

She curled a piece of hair around finger thoughtfully as Hiccup acknowledged what they were both suspicious of. "How are you. . . or we, if you want— gonna prove it?"

His expression softened with gratitude as he glanced over at the girl, though she didn't notice as she kept her gaze trained on her silvery-blonde strands as she played with them. "I have an idea."

Chapter Text

Snotlout's groan of frustration broke up the focus that the group had had for the last several minutes. They had all gathered on the beach to look for the props Mildew had used to frame the dragons, but had come up empty so far— and it was getting to some of the more. . . impatient teens. "We've been here for hours and we haven't found anything!"

Hiccup wasn't swayed by his friend's annoyance as he turned to frown at the boy. "We've been here for ten minutes and you've done nothing but build. . . that." He gestured to the pile of rocks and sticks.

"This is Snotlout Manor," Snotlout countered proudly. "And all I need now is a queen." He slid closer to the two blondes as he gave them a 'charming' smile.

Astrid grunted in disgust while Dany took several steps away from him with a quiet, "no, thank you."

Tuffnut let out a battle cry as he began to destroy the shorter Viking's creation. His sister made no move to stop him as she clapped her hands happily at the chaos he was creating. Snotlout let out a gasp of dismay, demanding, "what are you doing?"

"Storming the castle," Tuffnut replied, as if his actions should have been self-explanatory.

"Come on, guys!" Hiccup exclaimed, exasperated by their antics. "I'm telling you, Mildew framed our dragons. I saw dragon feet in Mildew's house and I watched him throw them into the ocean."

Dany sent him a reassuring smile. "And we believe you— or, at least, most of us do— but unless you've got the lungs of a fish, it's going to be hard to find them."

"Daenerys is right," Fishlegs agreed as he shuffled forward, his hands clasped nervously in front of him. "I don't mean to be Norbert the Negative, but the ocean is really, really vast and our chances of finding those dragon feet are about as good as Snotlout and the girls—"

"Don't go there," Astrid warned him fiercely.

He held up his hands placatingly as his voice pitched higher. "Going nowhere."

Astrid— ever the voice of reason—admitted, "look, Fishlegs and Dany are right. I certainly wouldn't put anything like this past him, but even if Mildew did throw them in the ocean, they're not just gonna wash up on shore here."

"I found it!" Snotlout cried. His back was to them as he threw his hands up with excitement, so he really could have found anything.

Hiccup took this to mean what they'd come here to look for, and he sent the blonde a smug look as he brushed past her. "Great! You were saying?"

He stopped short when the other boy turned around to reveal what he'd come across. "I haven't seen this since I was a baby." He hit his helmet a couple of times with the club. "You never forget your first bludgeon."

The brunet sighed as he turned to face them again. "Just keep looking."

--

When evening fell, most of the teens abandoned their search in favor of returning to their warm homes. Dany was reluctant to make the long trek back to her parent's house so she'd told them that she would stay with Astrid for the time being, at least until they got their dragons back.

The Hofferson girl admitted defeat once they were the only three left. "Come on, Dany. My mom and dad'll be waiting for us."

The blonde glanced over at Hiccup, who still walked along the shore with slumped shoulders. "Can I meet you back at the house? I. . . I don't just want to leave him like that."

Astrid sent her a knowing smirk, which caused her to flush and drop her gaze to her bare feet. "Okay. I'm sure he'll be happy to walk you home."

"Astrid!" Dany protested, but thankfully Hiccup was too far away to hear her teasing.

The other girl laughed and waved off her embarrassment. "Go. I'll see you later."

Not wanting to be subjected to any more of her friend's taunting, she made a beeline for the brunet. He was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice she'd joined him until she spoke his name softly. Then, he startled and gave her a confused look. "Dany? What are you still doing here? I thought everyone had gone home."

"I was going to," she allowed. "But you look sad."

Hiccup blanched a little, still sometimes caught off-guard at the girl's bluntness. (Although he was touched that she'd decided to stay.) "I'm not sad."

"You look sad," the blonde insisted. "But then again, I'm not very good at reading other people's emotions."

"I was just thinking," he explained. He glanced over at her, wondering if he should share more. Out of all the teens, she would understand most what it's like to miss being around someone you usually see every day. Deciding that she wouldn't make fun of him for being sentimental, he added, "I miss Toothless."

"Oh," was all she said, and they fell silent as they continued to walk along the shore. But, it was a comfortable kind of silence— the kind where two people were so familiar with each other didn't feel the need to fill the quiet, but just enjoyed being together. Dany's gaze stayed on the sand as they walked, her eyes roaming over the pebbles on the shore that were increasingly harder to see in the fading light. It was a while until she spoke, but when she did, her voice was full of certainty. "You'll see him again."

"I know," the brunet agreed. "It's just. . . Toothless and I have been through so much together, and now that he's not around, it feels like a part of me is missing too."

Daenerys felt the exact same way about Drogon; she'd woken up that day, expecting to see him the second she stepped outside. It had been an unpleasant reminder that he wasn't within a dragon-whistle's reach anymore when she hadn't seen his familiar, large form sleeping outside her door. Her hand slid inside of the pocket of her fur vest where a block of wood rested, waiting to be carved or sliced to shreds. Her fingers pushed the wedge aside to locate the cool smoothness of the rock that she'd found earlier.

She stopped for a moment to pull it out, and reached for the boy's arm to keep him from walking further, as he hadn't noticed her pause. Hiccup turned around with a confused look, though he was relieved that it was dark enough that she couldn't see the steadily-warming blush on his face that was caused by her grip on his arm. The blonde flipped his hand over so that it was palm-side up, and he felt something solid drop into it. She used her hand to curl his fingers around worn rock with her customary, simple, "for you."

He thought that she might be trying to cheer him up (even though he'd sworn that he wasn't sad) — and it was working. A faint smile tugged on his lips as his heart skipped a beat at her familiar gesture. "Thanks."

She kept her head lowered— though she had yet to release her hold on him (not that he was complaining) — as she buried her toes in the sand. "I found it earlier today. I know it's not Mildew's things, but. . ."

"It's better than that," he said— and meant it. His fingers tightened around the smooth surface (Dany always seemed towards the smooth, round stones) as a question that had been bugging him finally broke free. "Dany, why do you give me rocks?"

Her face— already warm from his appreciative words— heated up further and she dragged her foot through the sand, creating a deep line as a way to distract herself. "Oh, um, no reason, really. I just think they're pretty."

Then another thought occurred to him— one that he was surprised by how much he didn't like. "Do. . . do you give them to anyone else?"

To his relief, she shook her head. "No. Just you."

Hiccup uncurled his fingers to reveal the rock she'd given him. Tonight's gift was perfectly white, and it gleamed a little in the growing darkness— as if he were holding a tiny moon. In contrast, it felt like that same, sun-like feeling had settled in his chest at the idea of being the only one to receive Dany's rocks. He cleared his throat, not sure what to say, until he offered, "should we head home, then?"

The blonde agreed, and they began the hike back up to Berk. However, as they rounded the bend, Dany's eyes caught on the glow of candlelight far out from shore. Although she was no maritime expert, the placement of the ship seemed odd, especially for the time of day. "Hiccup?" she asked, causing him to stop. She pointed in the direction of the lights. "Why would one of our ships be anchoring there?"

He frowned as he noticed it too, and he came to stand beside her. He pulled out his spyglass to get a closer look. The boy's expression became one of shock. "It's not one of our ships. . . I've gotta tell Dad. Come on!"

--

The town was in a panic as the news about the Outcast ship spread. Families gathered in the Great Hall to demand answers from their chief, who was doing his best to subdue the clamor. As she hadn't grown up in town, Dany didn't really understand what all the commotion was about; in addition to hearing horror stories about the Targaryens, the other tale that the village kids had been scared with was of Alvin the Outcast. On the other hand, Daenerys had only ever heard about Berk's legendary battles against dragons and how important it was to stay away from other Vikings.

The main problem that they were facing— besides the obvious— was their lack of weapons. Without anything to defend themselves, they were left vulnerable, and Alvin was clearly taking advantage of this news. Besides the teens and Gobber, Stoick was the only other calm person in the room as he bellowed over the noise: "this is no time to panic! That's what the Outcasts are counting on!"

Sven, the sprinter of the village, burst into the Great Hall moments later. He was panting as ran up to the chief to get his attention. "Stoick!"

"Sven!" Stoick replied as he turned to the man. "Did you get a count?"

"I saw thirty men at least. All armed to the teeth."

Gobber wasn't pleased with this information. "Without any weapons we'll never be able to fight them head-on," he grunted.

"No weapons!" came Mildew's unwelcome exclamation, "and Outcasts, on our shores, all thanks to your boy and his dragons!"

Dany's eyes narrowed with dislike at the old man as her hands curled into fists by her sides. "All thanks to you, you mean," she growled under her breath.

Before she could start forward— not that she had been planning to— a warm hand settled firmly on her shoulder. A glance back told her that it was Hiccup, who insisted quietly, "Dany, no."

She huffed with the insinuation that she would start a fight at a time like this. Crossing her arms against her chest, she grumbled, "I wasn't going to do anything."

Stoick, thankfully, had more sense than to entertain the old man's complaints. She was even surprised that he lost his temper entirely as he snapped, "I don't have time for this right now, Mildew. Mulch!" He turned away to address people who would actually help. "You and Bucket gather up the others and the children, get them to Thor's Beach. They'll be safe in the caves there."

Hearing this, Astrid wasted no time arguing, "we can help fight! We've been trained as warriors."

The other teens nodded in assent. Even though they were young and perhaps not as skilled as the adults, they were Vikings. No matter what they knew— or didn't know— about Alvin, they were (for once) all in agreement that they would step up and help defend their home. But, some of them still felt the need to outdo the others, and Snotlout stepped forward, slapping his chest self-importantly. "She may have been trained, but I was born a warrior."

Stoick saw the sense in Astrid's words, and he handed her an axe as he ignored the boy completely. "Take this— it was Alvin's— but go with the others. You can help protect them."

"Dad," Hiccup began, and his father faced him once the other teens had left. "Let me go get the dragons. At least if we have them, we can defend ourselves."

After getting the chief's permission, the brunet turned to leave, only to stop as Dany grabbed his wrist. "Wait! Let me come with you."

He hesitated, knowing that it would be a dangerous task, even as one person. "Dany—" he began.

She cut him off before he could continue. "I know you're going to say no, but that's just stupid. As the only person with actual weapons, I can protect you. And even if you do say no, I'll still come anyway, so you might as well let me."

Hiccup still had half a mind to tell her to go with Astrid, but she did have a point about the weapons— her free hand (that wasn't holding his wrist) curled around the strap of her arrow sheath and the string of her bow. Besides, he also knew that her words were true: she was just as stubborn as every other Viking he knew and she'd come with him regardless; he could see the determination flashing in her violet eyes. So, he swallowed back the instinct to reject her help and simply nodded.

--

Together, Hiccup and Dany ran through the darkened village with the intent of making it to the docks so they could sail to Dragon island. Unfortunately, Alvin's men seemed to pour out of every corner of Berk and each way they went they were forced to double back. The lights of the Outcast ships glittered on the water as they reached the edge of one cliff, causing the boy to gasp as he startled. There weren't many places to hide against the rocky outcrop, so they pressed themselves to the cliff face in the hopes of blending in with the shadows.

Once it was clear, they ran up the stairs they'd just come down to find another way to the sea. The glow of torches that reflected off of Berk's homes and stomp of men's boots warned them of the uninvited visitors up ahead. But, when they made to around again, they found that they were surrounded. Dany's first reaction was to string her bow, holding her arrow aloft as she shifted between the two points of entry.

Hiccup, however, knew that not even his father could face that many men when the odds were so uneven. Instead, his reflex was to grab the girl's hand (despite her preference for personal space) and pull them both under the nearest house. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they rolled in the dirt, the blonde grunting as her drawn bow pressed into her stomach without warning. When they settled on their stomachs, they peered out of the gap to watch as the men passed by.

The sound of someone shuddering made them turn, and he let out a surprised exclamation of, "aah! Fishlegs!"

"A-Alvin's looking for you," he stuttered out. "Both of you."

"Me?" Dany asked, clearly not expecting this.

The boy nodded. "He's looking for 'the Dragon Conqueror' and 'the Mother of Dragons.'"

She felt her face warm at his explanation. "I can't believe they're taking that title seriously," she muttered.

Now that the coast was mostly clear, the trio wiggled free from the house to hide behind a nearby rock. In spite of the situation, Dany couldn't help but notice that Hiccup was still holding her hand from after he'd helped her up. Although the contact was uncomfortable— the heat of his hand in hers made it feel like little ants were crawling up her arm— she didn't mind it as much as, say, if he were Snotlout. She tried to distract herself by the men who were passing by at that moment.

"How many hostages do you think a dragon conqueror is worth?" one of them remarked.

His friend laughed. "I don't know, but it'll be double if you catch both."

"Guys, what do we do now?" Fishlegs whispered.

"Go to the woods, and warn my father. We need to find a way to get ahead of Alvin and warn Mulch and the others."

--

The sound of what Dany guessed was Alvin's laughter told them that they were too late for any warning. The cruelness of it gave her a glimpse of the stories that the teens had been told since they were little— it was rough and cold, which reflected the man it came from. Her stomach turned at the thought of what someone like that might do to the other villagers and her friends, and her grip unintentionally tightened on Hiccup's hand. He glanced at her as warmth rushed to his face (he hadn't realized that he hadn't let go yet), but squeezed her hand back reassuringly. They stayed quiet as the Outcasts clunked by them with Mulch and Bucket as prisoners.

The pair trailed the group as Alvin led them to a cutout in the rocks that allowed him to stand above his prisoners. His voice echoed off the cavern as he spoke: "for those of you who haven't figured it out, I am the one and only Alvin the Treacherous. And let me be clear, that name was earned."

Dany could hear Tuffnut's scoff even from their hiding place. "Alvin? How did he earn that?"

She sighed at how stupid the twins could be; this was the last situation where their specific brand of humor was necessary. Alvin wasn't pleased with this interruption as he carried on pointedly, "your leader has abandoned yah! But Stoick doesn't concern me." He paused to make sure each of the villagers were a recipient of his furious glare. "I'm not here for him. I want the Dragon Conqueror and Mother of Dragons."

In the moment of silence that followed, Daenerys became very tense at the thought of any one of the villagers giving them away. Her parents' stories would tell her that this was when Berkians would sell them out without a second thought. According to her mother and father, they were the ones who deserved the title of 'treacherous' rather than Alvin. There was a brief shout that sounded sickeningly like Mildew's voice before it was quieted with a soft 'oomph.'

Then, Astrid spoke: "my grandfather's frail; he needs his nap."

The blonde let out a relieved breath at the fact that her parents were wrong. She'd always thought so, but she was glad that her belief had been proven correct.

Alvin dismissed the girl and resumed his monologue. "Well, like I said: tell me who the Dragon Conqueror and Mother of Dragons is and you can all go free!"

Snotlout's voice followed, loud and challenging: "Conqueror? Come on! I'll show Alvin who's a conqueror."

He took his baby bludgeon out of his belt and brandished it fiercely. Without giving anyone a chance to stop him, he broke into a run and charged up the rocky steps with the weapon held aloft. His gusto disappeared the second the leader of the Outcasts turned around wearing a menacing grin. He lowered his head and held out the bludgeon. "For you, sir."

Dany unknowingly copied Tuffnut's facepalm at the boy's easy acquiescence. But, the momentary interruption gave Astrid the window she needed. Putting all her might behind her throw, she released the beat-up axe. It sailed through the air with deadly accuracy, turning hilt over blade several times. It would have been a deciding blow had it met its target, but Alvin seemed to have anticipated this action and caught the weapon in midair. He didn't even seem fazed by the attempt on his life as he exclaimed, "would you look at that? My old hatchet! I was wondering when I'd get that back."

One of the Outcast men dragged Astrid to the raised stone area and forced her up onto the platform. Alvin turned to her with a cruel smile as he sneered down at the girl. "Trying to kill Alvin the Treacherous, huh?"

The Hofferson refused to back down, even in the face of such a threat. She glared right back at him without showing a hint of fear. The older man leaned down, encroaching on her personal space (she suddenly related to Dany in this instant) and his foul breath washed over her as he demanded, "tell me: who's your Dragon Conqueror and your Mother of Dragons."

When she declined to answer, he lost his patience and grabbed her hair. Astrid's pained yelp made Dany shoot to her feet, unable to keep listening any longer. She stepped from their hiding place with her bow drawn, an arrow pointing steadily at Alvin's chest. "Leave her alone."

"Dany! What are you doing?" Astrid gasped as she struggled against the man's grip.

Hiccup stood up next to her and glowered at the leader of the Outcasts. "We're the ones you're looking for. I'm the Dragon Conqueror."

"And I'm the Mother of Dragons," the Targaryen added. "And you'll let her go."

Alvin burst into laughter but released his hold on the girl's hair. The rest of his men joined him in their amusement. "You? Stoick's little embarrassment?" He nodded to the blonde. "You, I can understand. The Targaryens have always been mad."

This time, she didn't give her usual protest of "I'm not mad!" because she was mad— furious, even— that he would attack her friends. "You're right," she said instead. "So you'll know that crossing us will lead to consequences you won't like."

The Viking chuckled at her words. "Is that what happened to the dragons, eh? They did something that pissed you off and now they're gone?"

Before Dany could refute his words— as she opened her mouth to do— Hiccup placed a hand on her arm that forced her aim to lower towards their feet and spoke first: "I drove the dragons from Berk. Look around. You don't see any on this island, do you?"

He and Astrid exchanged a nod before she agreed, "i-it's true. All the dragons are afraid of him. He even conquered a Night Fury."

Alvin wasn't convinced, but anyone who's anyone knew how rare Night Furies were. For a Berkian to have even come into contact with one— let alone conquer it— was a claim wild enough to need proof. He scoffed. "You're bluffing."

"No, we're not," Dany chimed in, having caught on to the plan. "I was there when it happened— I taught Hiccup, actually. If you don't believe us, then there's only one way to truly find out: take us to Dragon Island."

--

Dragon Island was misty in the early-morning light. Fog hung thickly around them as it clung to the rocks. It dampened the air so that the usual chill became bone-deep, where not even the thickest coat could ward it off. The stones were slippery underfoot as Alvin and his men guided Hiccup and Dany off the boats and onto the shore. The older Viking quickly grew tired of the teens' slow progress and shoved his weapon against their backs.

The girl stumbled, both from exhaustion of staying up all night and the sudden push. Hiccup helped to steady her by grabbing her hand, glancing over at her as he expected her to pull away, but she either didn't notice or didn't care. He turned to glare at Alvin. "Hey— is the sword really necessary?"

The leader of the Outcasts didn't answer as a low growl sounded from the cave before them. From the blackness within, a dark shape emerged with his wings spread. "Odin's ghost!" Alvin exclaimed at the sight of the dragon. "Is that a—"

"Night Fury? The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself," the brunet agreed.

Alvin's men took aim, but before Hiccup could come to his dragon's defense, they froze as two glowing, orange eyes appeared out of the gloom. Dany heard them murmur questions along the line of "what is that?" and "is that a dragon?" She smirked as Drogon's low rumble came from within, deep enough to shake a few small rocks loose due to the force of the vibration. Even Alvin himself looked interested as the great head of her dragon emerged, his sharp, cruel teeth appearing before the rest of his head.

The surrounding Outcasts gasped at the sight of a dragon that was easily two or three times bigger than their leader. They fared no better when the rest of his body followed— long and muscled, his unfurled wings made Toothless look like a housecat next to the bigger dragon. Hiccup rolled his eyes good-naturedly as he muttered, "show-off."

"Someone has to have the dramatic flair. I don't know where yours is," the Targaryen replied with a faint grin.

Alvin's expression became filled with greed as he eyed Drogon avidly. "Well? What are you waiting for?" he demanded from his men. "I want those dragons!"

The men steeled themselves against their fear of such a large dragon— who only became more intimidating as he opened his mouth to reveal the bright orange of his flame beginning to heat up within his throat. They lifted their crossbows to attempt to shoot at the dragons (though Dany could tell that several had very shaky aim— something that she scoffed at.) But, Hiccup still panicked despite her doubt that any of them could shoot well, and he quickly spun around with his hands held out.

"No, stop!" He froze when he realized that his defense would make his plan backfire, and he came up with: "it, uh. . . it will only make him angrier. Watch and learn."

"By all means, proceed." Alvin laughed and turned to his men. "I hope you're not squeamish. You're about to see a dragon eat a boy and a girl."

As the brunet approached the dragons, Toothless leapt forward to tackle him to the ground. He licked his best friend excitedly, heedless of the plan. As Hiccup quietly filled him in on what to do, Dany went over to Drogon, whose threat of fire immediately vanished. He closed his mouth and lowered his head. She allowed his breath to wash over her as he checked to make sure that she was alright. Daenerys closed her eyes and allowed herself a moment to lean against her dragon's expansive chest, feeling reassured at the familiar roughness of his scales.

"I missed you, too," she murmured, "but that will have to wait. We've got to take care of these guys first, okay?"

He seemed to understand as he lowered himself to the ground, allowing her to climb on.

"You cannot defeat me!" Hiccup was saying in a loudly theatrical voice as he made his way over to where he'd stashed his saddle. "I am the Dragon Conqueror!"

By the time the two were in position, Alvin had caught on— but it was too late. "Hey, what are you two doing with those dragons?"

"By the way," the boy said as the Night Fury slowly turned to face the Outcast, "it's not really 'Dragon Conqueror.' It's Dragon Trainer. Now!" He whispered the last part to Toothless, who took a great leap into the air and they sailed over Alvin's head.

Dany followed suit, and he called out to her: "how's that for dramatic flair?"

"Not bad!" she replied brightly. "But you could do better!"

They heard the Viking exclaim below: "great thunder of Thor! He is the Dragon Conqueror. And the Targaryen— she is the mother! Fire!"

Daenerys flew higher, leaning close to Drogon's back as they tried to maneuver around the boulders that were being flung at them from catapults. Hiccup and Toothless did a little better as the smaller dragon's size worked to his advantage. The Targaryen had to grab onto Drogon's spikes several times as the boulders knocked him off course.

As she straightened him out about the boulders' reach, she saw the arrows that were going straight towards Hiccup. So they do have aim after all, she thought with alarm. "Go, Drogon!"

She urged her dragon back down towards the ships with the purpose of redirecting the arrows, but she knew that they wouldn't get there in time. Her dragon's muscle— while useful in certain situations— was not ideal for executing battle strategies. Thankfully, Stormfly's burst of flame incinerated the arrows and announced Astrid's arrival. (Why hadn't she thought of that? Dany wondered.)

"What took you so long?" Hiccup asked her teasingly.

"Why? Did you miss me?" she retorted.

They dodged a few more boulders as the other riders joined them. "We need to get in closer!"

"Uh, I think I'll stay up here!" Dany said, eyeing the catapults warily. "Drogon's not made for evasive tactics."

She hoped that her friends wouldn't take this the wrong way and view her as a coward, for she certainly wasn't. Daenerys thought that her position with Drogon would be more useful from above, for which a plan was forming in her mind. (Alvin's men weren't the only skilled archers, after all.) The other teens  wasted no time arguing with her as they took advantage of Stoick's attack on the Outcast ship.

As the younger Vikings dive-bombed the men, Dany patted Drogon between the shoulder blades. "Hold us steady, bud."

Her dragon snorted in agreement and eased up on the speed of his wing flaps. She strung her bow and took aim, squinting slightly to get one of the Outcasts in her sight. She targeted their arms— the largest, most exposed part of their body, and the limbs they needed to operate their own crossbows. She loosed one on the men below. It sailed straight and true, its sharp point embedding itself directly in one of the Outcasts' arms.

He faltered as the arrow prevented him from pushing the catapult forward. The growl of pain that he let out made Hiccup look up where he knew that the girl was stringing her bow again, even if he couldn't see her. Brilliant, he thought proudly. They had their own sharpshooter on their side.

She let several more arrows rain down on the men, each of them hitting their mark. Alvin grunted in annoyance at how useless they were and moved the catapult himself. He released the boulder, which caused Astrid to swerve and avoid it— but it cost her balance. As Stormfly rolled out of the way, she fell out of the sky, hitting several of the ship's ropes in the process before she landed on the deck with a painful thud.

At Hiccup's cry of the girl's name, Dany stopped her volley to get as close as she dared. Although she believed in her aim, she would never want to risk one of her friends getting hurt by her arrow. The brunet pulled up next to the other riders. "Hold your fire!"

Snotlout— as usual— misheard him and encouraged Hookfang to blast the boat below them. His aim, however, was poor, and the streak of fire landed in the water, so the only damage was the hiss of steam that followed. The chief's son rounded on him furiously. "What are you doing?"

"You said fire!"

"I said hold your fire!"

"See? You said it again!"

Stoick had other ideas as a strategy formed in his mind. "No, he's right!"

Snotlout was clearly surprised that his actions were supported (for once) but accepted it easily as he gestured to the ship. "Thank you!"

"Fire again, Hiccup! All of you!"

He caught onto his father's train of thought and specified, "everyone, fire into the water!"

The riders worked together to create a steamy fog so thick that no one could see through it. The Outcasts returned to the fearful men they were as their vision was obscured by smoke. Even as the dragons circled them threateningly, Alvin remained undeterred as he shouted, "fire!"

"At what?"

"Everything!"

Dany felt a rush of satisfaction at the men's nervous whimpers and the woosh of arrows that hit nothing. She made sure to fly over the boat several times so that Drogon's large shadow would scare them even more. The Outcasts quickly became confused with what was a real dragon and what wasn't. As the head of one seemingly approached, they shot wildly at it— only to find out that it was the figurehead of the Hooligan ship. Alvin threw his sword at the wooden carving and his eyes widened when he realized his false calculation.

There was a terrific crash as the ships rammed into each other, which knocked Astrid free from Alvin's grasp. The girl grabbed the nearest weapon she could find— which happened to be a broom— and used the handle to sock the Viking in the face and stomach. She ran to the stern of the ship to be picked up by Toothless as he flew past.

When all of Berk's Vikings were safely off the Outcast ship, Stoick called up to his son: "now, Hiccup! Burn the ship!"

Dany grinned at the order as she thought finally— something that Drogon's powerful dragon fire was good for. She called above the wind: "Drogon, aldrnari!"

He poured flame down on the boat with the other dragons, causing the wood to ignite as easily as tinder. If she was being honest with herself, she didn't even care if men were still on the ship; she believed that they were all horrible people and deserved to burn. It might have been the Targaryen madness speaking within her, but she brushed off the thought as she flew home with her friends surrounding her. They all let out cheers at the success of their fight, although they all knew that was only their first encounter with Alvin the Treacherous.

Chapter Text

A fierce wind whipped through Daenerys' silvery-blonde hair as she sat on Drogon's back. Her dragon's powerful wings beat the air as their sailed through the clouds, and she let out a laugh of delight at the feeling of adrenaline rushing through her. She was on one of her usual 'breaks' from her Berkian friends and rather than the weight of being alone as she'd felt when she was younger, all she felt was free. That could also be attributed to the fact that her parents flew near her, with her father on Viserion and her mother on Rhaegal.

It had been awhile since she'd flown with her parents, but they tried to fly together at least once a month. Unbeknownst to the girl— who flew ahead of her parents— her mother gave her a fond smile at the sound of her daughter's delight. She rode Rhaegal regally, just as Dany did Drogon when she was around her friends. Ingrid's posture was perfectly straight as her hands lightly clasped one of the dragon's spikes in front of her. Her own silvery-blonde hair was neatly braided close to her head to keep the strands out of her face, and looked like a natural crown.

Randolf, on the other hand, urged Viserion faster to catch up to his daughter. He leaned close to his dragon's back to increase their speed as he drew up next to Drogon. "Diving competition?" he called to the girl as he smirked at her challengingly.

Normally, Dany was perfectly game for trying to out-fly her father (much to her mother's disapproval— "you're going to get hurt one of these days!" she always scolded them), but today she had something else in mind. Since she'd practiced tricks with Hiccup, she wanted to show off her new skills to her parents. "Sure!" she called back. "But maybe not in the way you're thinking about!"

Her father's blond brows furrowed with confusion. "What other way is there?"

The younger girl grinned. Instead of answering him, she patted Drogon between the shoulder blades. "Ready, bud? Just like we practiced!"

Her dragon let out a concerned rumble, since he didn't particularly like this exercise and preferred to do it only when it was absolutely necessary. Dany ignored his worry in favor of glancing over at her father with a cheerful expression. She allowed her face to drop into one of (pretend) horror— which had her father leaning towards her in an instant— before she slid sideways off of Drogon.

Her mother's panicked cry of "Dany!" was lost to her ears as she fell through the air. The wind buffeted her from all sides, causing the material of her dress to stick close to her body— except for her skirt, which flapped from the force of the gale. She let out an ecstatic "whoo-hoo!" as she tumbled through the abyss.

In what seemed like no time at all, she'd left the chill of the fluffy, white clouds behind and the blue of the ocean appeared beneath her. Some of her loose, long hair got in her eyes, obscuring her vision, but she didn't need to see to feel. Her heart beat double-time in her chest as the sea drew nearer as there was always that what-if. Her stomach flip-flopped the whole way down, but it was the best type of feeling. The rush of blood in her ears was only second to the sound of the wind as she fell; even her own excited whoops seemed to be swallowed up by the air.

Just as the sea was getting dangerously close, there was a pinch on her ankle as Drogon clasped his claws around it. He beat his wings, puffing slightly, as he heaved them upwards again. She cheered with delight at their success. "Yes! Good boy! That's how it's done!"

Her dragon even seemed proud of his accomplishment and shot a burst of flame into the air, which he immediately careened to the side to avoid. Dany remained upside-down in her dragon's grasp as their surroundings grew colder and the clouds returned. As they drew back to her parents' height, the girl swung herself upwards to grab onto Drogon's leg. He let go of her ankle as she clung to his sturdy limb, her only support being her hands gripping his scales. Her bare feet found purchase in the grooves and she began to climb up his leg as if it were the trunk of a tree.

There were several times she had to pause as his wings beat close to her head, but she slowly began to make her way up to his side. Drogon fell into a glide, stilling his wings so that she could heave herself onto them at the joint. From there it was only a quick jump and a swing of her leg to get onto his back again. She'd been practicing this move since Hiccup had introduced it to them a few weeks ago. 

Then, she hadn't been able to make it onto Drogon's back, but she'd realized that put her in a vulnerable position. After trying it several times on the ground, they'd taken the exercise to the air as a fallback plan in case Drogon couldn't drop her onto Toothless or another dragon. Since her dragon's scales were much rougher and more deeply grooved than other species', they made the perfect climbing notches.

Once she'd retaken her seat, her mother came up beside her wearing a deep frown. Dany sighed, feeling the excitement of the freefall fade as she anticipated the scolding that she was about to receive. She really should have known better than to do that in front of her mother. Ingrid drew in a deep breath to begin: "Daenerys—"

But, before she could continue, her father broke into a loud roar of laughter. "Brilliant! Absolutely amazing! Where did you learn to do that?"

The older woman's features drew into an even more severe expression. "Randolf," she added sternly. "You shouldn't condone such unsafe behavior. What if Drogon hadn't caught her in time? Honestly, Daenerys, I don't know where you get your penchant for stunts like that— although your father would be my guess." She pinned her husband with an annoyed look with her violet eyes. "Just because you're invulnerable to dragon fire doesn't mean you're indestructible. What—"

"Mom," Dany groaned. "It's fine. Drogon and I have practiced this dozens of—"

Ingrid's eyes narrowed as she repeated dangerously, "dozens?"

The girl winced, not having thought her words through. "Um. . . I meant. . . once or twice?"

Her mother wasn't fooled, and her expression tightened as her lips pressed into a thin line. "Turn around. We're going home so we can talk about this."

She wheeled Rhaegal around to make her way back to the cottage. As her father did the same, Daenerys caught his gaze as he passed her. "Dad, please. . ."

He gave her a sympathetic look as Viserion held their position for a second, before he nodded. She felt relief swamp her as she watched her parents disappear into the clouds. Her mother's anger would carry her all the way home without looking back, so she'd only notice her daughter's absence once they were miles apart. Then, Ingrid would stew in her irritation for several hours before it petered out to motherly concern. Dany just needed to buy enough time to wait for that to happen, so she decided to go visit Astrid until the evening.

--

Drogon touched down in front of the Hofferson's house not long after. Their arrival caused several people to scramble out of the way and a few chickens to cluck in fright. She heard a few muttered curses of "Targaryen," but chose to ignore them. Although her family was more accepted than they had been since the Battle of the Red Death, not everyone was welcoming. Drogon trailed close behind her as his orange eyes kept a wary watch on the other villagers. If any of them got too close, all he needed to do was bare his teeth to keep them away.

Just as Dany approached her friend's door, Astrid came out with two empty water buckets in her hands. Her expression brightened at the sight of the other girl. "Dany! What are you doing here?"

The Targaryen grimaced. "I might've made my mom angry by showing her one of Hiccup's tricks. Can I hide out here for a while?"

"Sure, as long as you help me do chores." Astrid thrust one of her buckets in the teen's direction.

Dany took it from her willingly. "Deal! Anything to avoid my mom's wrath."

The blonde chuckled at her determination. As they walked towards the well to fill the buckets, she asked, "so, what kind of trick did you try?"

"Hiccup's freefall," the girl admitted. "Probably not the best move since my mom's all about traditional flying. But Drogon and I were practicing it a lot— against his will, actually— and my parents are the only ones who don't know what we get up to. Maybe it was like that for a reason— but my dad was entertained, at least."

As if he were listening in on their conversation, Drogon let out a grunt of agreement at the 'against his will' part. Dany laughed and threw an appreciative glance his way. "His response time has gotten a lot better, and now I'm not stuck in his claws anymore— I figured out a way to climb up to his back. . ."

To Astrid's credit, she listened readily to her friend's enthusiastic 'dragon-talk,' as she thought that Dany's monologue was better than the usual silence she did her chores in. When they got to the well, Fishlegs was there with his own buckets. He was humming a song— probably one that he sang to Meatlug— as he filled his containers, but stopped and jumped at the sight of the girls. His eyes flickered between them nervously as he greeted them, "h-hi Astrid, D-Daenerys."

Used to his shyness, Astrid nodded to him as she dropped her bucket in the well. Dany's brows furrowed as he stuttered over her name and not the other girl's. If anything, she'd understand why he would be afraid of Astrid, who was fierce and tended towards violence. She had no idea why she made him so uneasy, especially when there had been several hours where they'd talked about dragons nonstop. Even with this, though, he never seemed to be entirely comfortable with her.

The moment was soon forgotten about as the teens made their way back to their homes, as a much more. . . disconcerting event occurred not long after. They were stopped in their tracks as a familiar, black dragon swooped over them. However, his usual rider wasn't on his back; rather, the large figure of their chief threw them all for a loop. The Night Fury crashed into several roofs as Stoick tried to control him overhead.

"Uh. . . is that—?" Astrid began uncertainly.

"Unexpected? Disturbing?" Fishlegs finished.

Dany grimaced as her heart sank a little. She always expected Hiccup and Toothless together, so she was a bit disappointed when she saw the chief. "All of the above," she agreed to the boy's guesses.

The blonde brightened as Hiccup burst out from his home due to all of the commotion. "Dad? What are you doing?"

Stoick jumped off the Night Fury to approach his son. "Kicking butt and taking names, that's what!"

The Targaryen saw how Toothless slumped as soon as the larger man got off of him. His eyes closed with exhaustion, and she felt a pang of sympathy for the usually energetic dragon.

The boy looked between his father and his dragon with a bemused expression. "Uh. . . on Toothless?"

Stoick jabbed a thumb in the dragon's direction. "Oh, we've been all over Berk. Chiefing has never been so easy!"

"Yeah, but dad," Hiccup said with a frown, "Toothless is my dragon. . ."

He clapped a large hand on his son's shoulder. "You picked a good one! Just came in to grab my hatchet. We're helping Jorgenson break down his fence."

Hiccup stepped out of his father's way as the older man brushed passed him, still in too much shock to really do anything. He could only weakly protest: "y-yeah, that's great, but you need to understand that Toothless—"

Stoick turned around with a finger lifted in the air. "Oh, you're right! I don't need my hatchet! Toothless can just blast that fence down with a fireball!"

The Night Fury grunted in protest as the chief got back in the saddle, having been roused from his brief nap. Hiccup once again tried to stop his father, but only managed to get out, "uh. . . that's not what I—"

Toothless gave him a pleading look, and he could only reassure him, "don't worry, bud. I'll fix this."

He let out a tired rumble before he hefted himself into the air, the chief's excited laughter a stark contrast to his current mood.

Dany's gaze was drawn to the boy, who stood alone in front of his house as he watched his father take off on his dragon. Astrid caught the girl's longing look and smirked, taking the bucket from her. The blonde startled and yanked her gaze back to her friend. "W-what are you doing?"

"I think I know why you really came to Berk today," she said mischievously. "Go on, I can finish this up."

Her face flushed and she glanced over at Fishlegs, but the boy seemed to be lost in his own world as he stared at some point over her shoulder. "Astrid! That's-that's not at all the reason! It was because my mother—"

"Got angry," the other girl finished with a roll of her eyes. "But admit it, seeing Hiccup had something to do with it too, right?"

"No!" she denied quickly. At the blonde's unimpressed expression, she reluctantly admitted: "okay, maybe a little— but only a little! We're just friends, Astrid. Really. Didn't I tell you that I'd let you know if anything changed?"

Astrid had to give her that, so she dropped her teasing (for the time being, at least.) "Oh, fine. Just go!"

She put down her water buckets to give the girl a playful shove (which was hard enough to make Dany stumble down the hill a bit) in the direction of the chief's house. As she approached him, she saw that the boy's expression was slightly lost, as if he didn't quite know what to do without Toothless.

"Um, hi," she began tentatively.

He jerked out of his thoughts and his expression softened into a smile as he greeted her. "Hi, Dany. I didn't know you were in Berk today."

"Yeah." There was a brief pause of awkward silence. The girl twirled a piece of silvery-blonde hair around her finger as she tried to figure out what to say next. "Well. . . I saw your dad take off. Um, d'you want to ride Drogon with me?"

Hiccup's gaze slid past her to where Drogon was waiting some feet away, his orange eyes fixed watchfully on his mother. "Really?" he asked hopefully.

She shrugged. "Sure. You're the only other person he likes, pretty much."

So, it was decided, and they made their way over to the large dragon. As Dany climbed onto his back, Hiccup stopped in front of him to outstretch his hand, knowing that Drogon could be quite temperamental. His nostrils flared as he huffed warm breath over the boy before he lowered his head to bump his snout against the brunet's palm. Pleased with his acquiescence, Hiccup took his place behind the Targaryen as she shifted her bow and arrows to her front, as usual. She felt her face warm as the boy's arms wrapped around her waist and she distracted herself by guiding Drogon into the air.

They circled the archipelago lazily a few times, and Dany turned around to face the brunet so they could talk (mostly about dragons.) After a while, she directed her dragon towards her favorite field of wildflowers. As they dismounted, he glanced over at her curiously. "What are we doing here?"

"I wanted to make a flower crown," she explained simply. "And these are my favorite." She sent her dragon a pointed look as he turned in three circles before laying on the ground. "As long as someone doesn't crush all of them."

Hiccup chuckled at her lighthearted chiding and sat down as she walked carefully amongst the flowers to gather enough to start a circlet. He took out his journal and some charcoal to start sketching what Dany assumed was her dragon, as that was what she would do. Once she'd gotten enough flowers, she took a seat next to him and began to weave their stalks together with practiced ease.

The brunet appreciated their companionable silence as it was a nice change of pace from their other friends. While Daenerys could certainly be as talkative as some of them when she was in the mood, she was, for the most part, contentedly quiet. He much preferred this compared to the twins' antics and Snotlout's obnoxious comments, both of which were only tolerable in small doses (and sometimes, not even then.) He looked up from the pages of his notebook from time to time under the guise of watching what she was doing— which he was interested in— but also to aid in his drawing.

She caught one of his glances to meet his gaze questioningly, causing him to stumble over an excuse. "Uh. . . I was just. . . I don't know how you do that." He gestured to her half-completed crown.

"Oh," the blonde said. "It's very easy. You have to start with three flowers and braid their stems together. Once you get about halfway down, add another flower and keep going until it's long enough to fit your head. Then you just tuck the end to make a circle, and there you go."

She demonstrated it loosely, since she wasn't done adding to it yet. "My mom says that flowers have their own language," she continued. "White daisies mean purity and innocence while bluebells represent humility, constancy, gratitude and everlasting love." Dany felt her face warm at the last description and busied herself with choosing another flower. "I don't know if I really believe all that, but her side of the family is big on lore."

He remembered that she'd told him how it was her mother's side that had inherited the dragon eggs that had produced Drogon and his brothers. "You have nimble fingers," he observed, and then regretted his choice of words a second later as he blushed. "I mean, I could use your help on some of my inventions— sometimes mine can't even fit in the smaller places."

The girl gave him a shy smile. "I'd be happy to."

They went back to their respective tasks not long after. As Hiccup finished his drawing, he felt a light weight drop on his head. He went a bit cross-eyed as he tried to figure out what it was, only to resort to taking it off in order to see it properly. Dany was watching him with a slightly guarded expression as she waited to see what he would do with her present— a part of her expected him to refuse to wear it. However, she broke into a beaming grin as he placed the blue-and-white flower crown back on his head, albeit at a slightly crooked angle. Her own circlet was made out of her favorite flower, lavender.

--

The next day, the riders were called to the training academy so Stoick could assess their dragons to choose his own since Hiccup had followed Astrid's advice. Dany wasn't too keen on 'selling' Drogon to the chief, but the other riders— mostly Snotlout— were taking this as a competition to show off their dragons. Speaking of, the boy had (unfortunately) caught them returning to Berk yesterday and had seen Hiccup wearing the flower crown, which he wouldn't let them forget easily.

"Don't worry guys," he announced as he dismounted. "The best dragon has arrived— you can all go home, if you want. I'm sure Hiccup's dad— or should I say Princess Hiccup's dad— will recognize greatness when he sees it."

The brunet did his best to ignore the other teen, but Astrid wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of getting away with such a comment. "Shut up, Snotlout," she replied calmly as she ran her fingers over the hilt of her axe.

Snotlout, however, was never one to heed someone's warning as he carried on: "I would never pretend to be a woodland fairy. Are you sure you didn't pick those flowers while you were out looking for trolls?"

"Dany picked them," Hiccup said, with an unexpected amount of smugness in his tone. "She made the crown."

Snotlout's attitude did a one-eighty as he turned to the girl. "Hey, babe, you didn't make me one? I'd make a much better prince charming than the one-legged wonder."

The Targaryen was saved from coming up with what would've been an awkward reply at their chief's arrival. Hiccup hurried forward to greet his dad to keep the other teens from getting them off on the wrong foot. "The finest dragon species on the island. They're all represented right here, at this academy."

The young Vikings— with the exception of Dany, who didn't want the 'win' the unannounced competition— straightened and stood proudly next to their dragons. While the other dragons mimicked the riders (with the exception of Barf and Belch, who snapped at each other), Drogon leaned forward as if to curl around the girl protectively. His orange eyes stayed trained on the leader of Berk as he watched Stoick with something close to a mocking gaze.

Snotlout was quick to jump ahead of his friends as he stepped forward. His tone was boastful as he introduced his dragon, "but the Monstrous Nightmare is the only one with the brawn and prestige for men of our stature. Hop on board. Feel the Monstrous Nightmare difference." He led the older man over to Hookfang to show off his dragon's. . . finer qualities, but Hiccup sighed, knowing that this wouldn't go well. Unaware of the impending disaster, Stoick climbed onto the base of the Monstrous Nightmare's long neck. "Let me warm him up for you."

Hookfang shot him a displeased look as he flicked his dragon on the nose. Still, he began to glow with heat and the chief let out a contented sigh— at least until there was a burning smell, which caused him to yelp and jump off the dragon's back. The chief raced over to the nearest water trough, just like Snotlout did when he annoyed Hookfang to the point of combustion.

The boy tried to save face by beaming brightly at his leader. "Now, should I put you down for one? They come in an assortment of colors."

Stoick grunted in disgust and moved on to Stormfly. Astrid stood in front of her dragon proudly. "Just because she's beautiful, people think she's not tough. But you should never underestimate me." Her eyes widened when she realized what she'd said. "I mean her. . . um, uh. . . us."

She smiled nervously as the chief placed an appreciative hand on Stormfly's snout. "Well, she is a beauty—"

But that was all he managed to say as the Deadly Nadder roared over Astrid's warning and flicked out her tail spikes. She pinned Stoick to the wall in a perfect outline around his body. Snotlout sidled up to the older man with a smirk. "Monstrous Nightmare's looking a little better now, huh, Chief?"

Hiccup's father ignored him in favor of growling, "next!"

The twins— who were always prone to fighting at the worst times— had occupied themselves by shoving at each other. As usual, their dragon(s) copied their riders and their initial snapping at each other increased to a full-on firefight, which led them to slumping to the ground in a dazed heap. Needless to say, the chief wasn't impressed.

Fishlegs was next, and he leaned on his dragon lovingly as he began to speak: "let me tell you, what you're really looking for is loyalty. A dragon who will be there for you, no matter what. The last face you see at night, and the first face you see in the morning. Warm in your bed when it's cold outside. . ." He threw his arms around his beloved dragon as his voice caught. "A shoulder to cry on when the world has turned its back on you. How could you not love a Gronckle?"

Stoick leaned forward as he rejected this offer, but at least his tone was noticeably more apologetic than when he spoke to the other riders. "Sorry, son, but I'm looking for a dragon, not a mother."

Dany was last, and she tensed as the chief approached Drogon. There was clear admiration in his eyes as he gazed up at the large dragon. "Now this is more like it. Look at all that muscle! Saving the best for last, eh, son?" he asked Hiccup, his teasing nudge so forceful that it caused the boy to stumble a bit.

"Dad—" Hiccup began tentatively, sending the girl an apologetic look.

The blonde wasted no time in addressing the chief: "he's strong, yes, but that's about his only good quality. He's very slow for starters— you can't do tricks with him like you can with Toothless. His size also means that you can't fly him around the village easily, or land him anywhere in Berk. He eats a lot, too—"

"But he is impressive," Stoick cut her off, apparently ignoring her explanation of Drogon's setbacks (as opposed to his assets, which the other riders tried to showcase for their dragons.) "Imagine what I'd look like just flying into battle— I'd strike fear into the hearts of our enemies before even landing the first blow!"

"Well," she began, "he's not even that good in battle since he's too big for close combat, which I'm sure as a chief is something you'd chose over long distance fighting. At Alvin's last attack, I had to resort to archery to participate and honestly, I wouldn't attempt anything less—"

The leader of Berk scoffed. "There wouldn't need to be a battle if this dragon was at the head of the charge! What do you say, old boy? How'd you like to be the chief's steed?"

Daenerys didn't know if his outright ignorance was because she was a Targaryen, or if he just didn't care. Luckily, Drogon's actions spoke louder than her words as his eyes narrowed and he lunged forward, snapping his massive teeth at the chief. Stoick promptly lost his balance and fell on his butt, much to the other teens' amusement. (Although they were sure to hide their snickers behind their hands— except for the twins, of course; they laughed at him outright.)

The older man sighed as he got to his feet. "I suppose that's a no, then." He turned to his son. "Except for the lass' dragon, I haven't seen anything that can hold a candle to a Night Fury."

"I haven't either," Hiccup agreed. Toothless approached the boy and nudged his arm to ask for a pet. "But Toothless is the only Night Fury on Berk, and he's mine; and Drogon is very particular about who he lets ride him."

The sound of Gobber's heavy breathing reached their ears as he hustled into the arena. He raised his malleted hand to get their attention as he called: "Stoick! Another boat is being attacked! It's the rogue dragon again."

--

Dany was filled with relief when Stoick decided against any of their dragons; his interest in hers had begun to worry her, but he was more intent on winning over the Thunderdrum that had been the one to upset the fish catches. She had very little experience with the species overall, except for the one that her mother had helped heal when she was younger. Ingrid had accidentally applied the poultice with too much pressure, which set the dragon off and his consequential roar had left her father deaf for almost a year. After that, she made a mental note to only approach the species from behind.

Unfortunately for them, Stoick's newest interest affected the riders as well, since his rough treatment had sent the Thunderdrum flying for the hills. Now they were responsible for helping their chief locate his missing dragon, which led them to flying around Berk at night. That concept alone didn't bother Dany; she just wasn't fond of helping the same chief who'd made outcasts of her parents— she told herself that she was only there for Hiccup's sake.

The Targaryen made a face at the sight of the chief sitting in the driver's position on Toothless' back. She missed Hiccup leading them all at the front, and she wasn't shy in admitting that that was the situation she preferred. She suspected that the boy would have agreed with her if the obvious misery on his face was anything to go by— it was so clear that even she could tell how unhappy he was.

"Alright!" Stoick called to them. "We have to fan out and cover every part of the island."

Used to taking the reigns of leadership, Hiccup followed up with: "Ruffnut, Tuffnut, you take—"

But his father talked over him before he could finish. Pointing to the twins, he ordered: "you! Take the west side."

For once, they didn't argue with their assignment as they agreed in unison, "yes, chief!"

As they departed, Hiccup muttered, "can anyone even see me back here?"

Dany gave him a sympathetic smile, but since she was flying behind him, he didn't see it. Stoick continued: "Fishlegs and the Targaryen, east side!"

The boy's eyes went wide as he glanced nervously back at the large dragon. The fastest protest he could come up with was, "but-but it's allergy season."

"Fishlegs. . ."

"Not me. It's her." He gestured down to Meatlug.

Despite his misgivings, they redirected their dragons to the indicated area. The only sound that broke the silence were the vibrations of the Gronckle's buzzing wings and her great sneezes that made Fishlegs cling on tightly every time her body shuddered with them. Eventually he cleared his throat. "S-so, uh, it's a nice. . . night, right?"

The girl frowned at the return of his stutter. "Fishlegs," she began slowly, "you. . . you know that you don't have to be afraid of me, right?"

"It's not you I'm afraid of," he was quick to reassure her. His eyes darted nervously to her dragon.

"Oh," she said as understanding dawned on her. "You don't have to be afraid of him either, really."

He eyed Drogon's deadly mouth worriedly. "It's just. . . his teeth. . ."

Of all things, the blonde laughed— but not in a mean way, mostly with the knowledge that this was something that could be easily remedied. "Fishlegs, it's okay. Drogon's never hurt me, and he's had plenty of opportunities where he could have. He would only hurt someone else if I was— or one of you guys were—in danger. I promise."

"He's so big," the boy commented. "I think he could eat Meatlug if he really wanted to. . ."

"But he won't," she reassured him fiercely. "If anything, I think he'd go after Hookfang first— either him or the twins' dragon; they annoy him the most. You've seen how he is around Toothless and Stormfly! He's like an older brother to them. I'm sure he'd be the same with Meatlug."

Fishlegs allowed a faint smile to appear at the thought of Drogon taking down the most argumentative dragons in the academy. He questioned her tentatively, "you really think Drogon would protect us like that? I mean, he's so huge and powerful."

"Of course!" she agreed firmly. "Drogon may look scary, but really just a big softy under all these scales. He has a strong bond with me, and I think that he sees all of you guys— except maybe Snotlout and the chief— as his extended family. He would never harm anyone unless it was a matter of protecting us from a real threat."

The boy's smile grew a little more at the thought of what had happened earlier that day. "It was a bit funny when he made the chief fall over. And he doesn't mind flying as slowly as Meatlug does," he added, which was something he'd noticed during their search.

"See? They have something in common," Dany pointed out encouragingly. "He's got a lot of patience since he's built for endurance rather than speed. Unless you try to force yourself on him— like Stoick did earlier— he won't snap at you. In fact, he's a lot less temperamental than Hookfang as long as you respect him."

"I do," he replied. "I think I'll still avoid his teeth, though."

She grinned at him brightly. "So do I!"

Eventually the Thunderdrum was found in one o the rocky caves that lined the cliffs. It turned out that he was stealing the fish in order to feed his injured friend, whom Dany lead to her mother; Randolf was very careful to avoid stepping in the way of the dragon's mouth this time. Stoick had his own dragon at last, and Hiccup was back in his rightful position as (one of) the head of the academy.

Fishlegs was still wary of Drogon, but the next day, he found the Meatlug had curled up against the spiked dragon's side, and he had allowed her to use his wing as a blanket. The sight had warmed him to Daenerys' dragon and he'd smiled happily as he met the girl's 'I-told-you-so' look.

Chapter Text

Daenerys knew that she was quite lucky in the parental department. She could have been stuck with parents who expected her to be worthy of the family name, forcing her to prove herself over and over again, like Astrid. She could have been subjected to critiques of every action she did, resulting in her relying on obnoxious comments to get any attention, like Snotlout. Her parents might deemed her too troublesome to bother with, like the twins. And— perhaps worst of all— she might have been forced to fill shoes that were far too big for her to ever hope to live up to, like Hiccup.

Ingrid and Randolf expected nothing more or less than the best she could do, whatever that may be. She was very grateful for their acceptance as she stared up at the portraits of all the past leaders of Berk. The sons were all well-muscled and stocky as they stood proudly next to their fathers. The chiefs held various deadly weapons, from swords to mallets, while their heirs were usually shown with a shield.

The other teens were standing around her as they admired the paintings as well, and it was Astrid who spoke first: "look at all these great leaders, and tomorrow, your picture's gonna be hanging right next to them."

Snotlout scoffed. "And there goes the neighborhood."

Dany frowned at him but didn't say anything; clearly not everyone thought that Hiccup would be a good chief, but she did. It didn't matter that he wasn't as bulky as the other heirs— she'd bet every last penny that he was smarter than them. She knew he had trouble seeing that himself and a part of her hoped that tomorrow, seeing his portrait with the other leaders, would encourage him to be more confident about looking. . . different than the other Vikings.

The teens walked down the row of painted shields to the blank spot that would soon be filled with the newest image.

"You're part of an elite group now, my friend," Fishlegs commented. "And one of the few who wasn't killed by their successor."

"So far," Tuffnut sneered to his sister.

The Targaryen's gaze narrowed on them. "And he won't be, ever. I'll have Drogon see to that."

That shut them up for a few minutes and she smiled in a self-satisfied sort of way. Hiccup glanced at her a little nervously— he could never tell when she meant her unusually violent words or not. "Um. . . thanks, Dany, but I don't think it will come to that." He quickly returned to the previous subject as he referenced his portrait: "I guess. . . it is a pretty big deal. I mean, it's like being a part of history, right?"

"Yeah," Dany agreed, her expression easing as she looked over at him. "It's a way of preserving your legacy for generations to come. Just think about it— you'll be the first chief to have ever made peace with dragons. That's something worth remembering."

He felt his face heat up at her words and a faint smile curled on his lips. She played with the ends of her fur vest as she avoided his eyes, feeling her own blush the longer he stared at her. Dany winced suddenly as she felt a sharp, pointy elbow dig into her side. She glanced up to take in Astrid's amused expression before she quickly looked away again.

"That's not the only thing he'll be remembered for," Snotlout spoke up. He gestured to the paintings above them. "History of goofballs. He'll be the next in a long line of clowns."

She'd never been so happy for one of the boy's obnoxious comments, which immediately cut through the increasing awkwardness between them like a knife. Fishlegs remained oblivious to whatever. . . that had been as he added his own enthusiastic facts, "that is Hamish the First. He was our richest and most revered leader— and his son, Hamish the Second."

"Ran out of names, did they?" Dany murmured to Astrid, who smirked.

The shorter Viking rolled his eyes and pitched his voice into a nasally tone as he mocked the past leader: "I'm Hamish the First." He stuck his nose in the air and pointed to his feet. "Bow down before me and kiss my pointy shoes."

The twins were always ready to turn any given opportunity into a prank, so they chuckled together as they made a show of doing what the boy said. Tuffnut got on his hands and knees to crawl around Snotlout's legs, while his sister knelt before him— but then pushed him over her brother instead. The teen fell backwards against the wall with a grunt as the siblings laughed. Even Dany smiled with amusement as she couldn't fault the twins for taking Snotlout down a peg.

The force of his fall knocked one of the portraits loose and the shield fell right on top of him. Alarmed, Fishlegs rushed forward to pick up the painting as he glared the trio accusingly. "Wha— look what you did to the Hamishes!"

He reverently kissed the shield and gently placed it back on the wall. Bowing his head, he added, "forgive us, please!"

Almost as if in answer, a piece of parchment fluttered out, falling within Snotlout's grabbing distance. Tuffnut made to grab at it while the boy kept it out of his reach. "What's that? It's probably mine."

"It looks like some sort of map. . . with poetry."

Gobber snatched it away from him before he could get a better look. "I'll take that."

Despite his stern gaze, Snotlout still tried to protest: "hey, that's my poetry map!"

The blacksmith didn't bother to reply as he studied the paper. "Oh. . . these were supposed to be destroyed. . ."

Contrary to what he'd wanted, his words only made the group more interested as Astrid— who usually had better manners than to try and grab it, although not in this instance— asked, "why? What's so special about it?"

The older man kept it away from her as well as he replied, "men lost their limbs, their lives, and their minds trying to find that treasure."

Fishlegs stepped forward, his voice filled with excitement. "Oh, I've heard about this! The treasure of Hamish the First. His son buried him with it and left this map. They say the clues are so complicated, that only a brilliant mind could decipher them."

Dany remembered her thoughts from earlier— about how Hiccup could probably outsmart all of the previous chiefs— and her stomach sank. Something told her that their. . . adventurous group wasn't going to just. . . let this go. Even if it had deathtrap written all over it, even if it might be a wild boar chase, nothing would deter their particular group from something that promised greatness.

"Stoick and I even went after this treasure," Gobber said. The blonde didn't bother to hide her eye-roll; she couldn't imagine that those two Vikings got very far— they probably had one braincell between them, and even that was being generous. "It lured us high up into the mountains and a blinding snowstorm. We fought like badgers over the meaning of the clues. We were lucky to make it back with our lives and our friendship intact. For your own good, kids, forget you ever saw this."

"I bet they never even made it past the first clue," she muttered to Astrid, who was the only person she felt comfortable enough with to share her more. . . contemptuous thoughts. The other girl chuckled, hiding her smile behind her hand.

His wooden peg leg thunked against the wood as he walked away, but he was barely out of earshot as the teens turned to each other with gleeful smiles on their faces— with the exception of Astrid and Dany, who didn't look nearly as thrilled at the prospect of treasure. 

--

The next day, it seemed as if all the Vikings who lived in the village were gathered in the Great Hall. There was a low rumble of voices as they waited for the reveal of the newest portrait. Hiccup, Stoick and Bucket stood facing the crowd next to the cloth-covered shield. The other teens had taken up front row positions to cheer their friend on (or to make scornful remarks, depending on who you asked.)

Dany hugged her arms tightly to herself as she cast a wary gaze over the crowded room; so many people all together made her extremely uncomfortable, especially with how their sweaty skin brushed against hers. The dimness of the Great Hall wasn't helping either as it made the space around her seem even smaller and warmer than it was. Astrid shot her a concerned look. "Are you okay, Dany? Should we go outside? I'm sure Hiccup would understand."

She shot her friend a grateful look, but shook her head. She steeled herself as a particularly sweaty Viking jostled her from behind and she shuddered at the feeling. "I'll be fine," the girl insisted, although the bravery in her tone was mostly a front. It wasn't like she wanted to bolt out of there, or anything. "It shouldn't last very long."

The Hofferson gave her an encouraging smile before she turned to glare at the Viking behind them. Dany felt marginally better as the villager responded to the girl's intense look and went to find another spot to stand.

"Here it comes, son," the chief said, patting the boy on the shoulder. "This is our legacy."

Daenerys focused on where the shield stood, determined to block out the rest of the room so she could be there to support Hiccup. She was excited to see what he'd look like being all 'chiefly,' and she hoped that it would help others see it as well. Bucket took his leader's words as a cue to unveil his work, and he reached forward to pull the cloth off the shield. The Vikings around them gasped in awe, but Dany could only feel her stomach sink with disappointment as her opinion of Stoick became decidedly worse.

Instead of the gangly, fishbone-like boy she'd become fond of, in his place was some sort of. . . well, troll was too nice of a description. The boy on the shield wasn't Hiccup at all, but rather someone who looked like an inbred descendant of Snotlout. Sure, he wore Hiccup's clothes and even had the boy's metal foot, but that was where the similarities ended. However, she seemed to be the only one— besides Hiccup himself— who actively despised the painting. (How she longed for Drogon to be in the Great Hall with her! Maybe there could have been a way where he'd 'accidentally' set it on fire.)

"Whoa!" Tuffnut exclaimed. "What happened to Hiccup?"

The crowd cheered at the reveal, and even Ruffnut and Astrid seemed to fawn over the painting, which did not sit well with Dany. She told herself that it was because they'd never expressed interest in Hiccup before, so they only liked his appearance, which was why she was bothered about it.

"Who cares?" Astrid replied breathlessly.

The Targaryen frowned deeply at her friends and grumbled, "I liked Hiccup better before he was buff."

--

"Unbelievable!" Hiccup exclaimed not long after.

Daenerys had made a quick getaway as soon as she could, and now she walked next to the brunet as he ranted about the portrait. One of her hands was buried in her pocket where her fingers traced over the edges of a jagged rock; it was solid black and the ends were quite brittle. She thought it might be a chunk broken off from an old lava flow that had hardened and cooled into the stone it was today— but she didn't think that even such a neat find would cheer the boy up this time, so she kept it hidden away.

He continued: "my father likes that painting better than the real me. I mean, think about it. E-Even my name! You know it's Viking tradition to call the runt of the litter a hiccup."

With perfect timing, one of the village shepherds was herding his sheep as he passed by them. The littlest one lagged behind, prompting him to encourage it: "come on, little hiccup." It bounded into his arms and when he stood, he caught sight of the pair. "Oh, hey Hiccup."

"See? What do I have to do to get my father to accept me?"

"Hiccup," Dany said, her voice soft but firm, "you shouldn't have to change who you are to win your father's acceptance. I think that true strength lies in being who you really are. And for what it's worth," she added shyly, "I don't like the portrait nearly as much as. . . I like you."

His head jerked up to look at her with surprise as he couldn't help but wonder does she mean. . .? He decided that she couldn't mean it like that, but the familiar warmth still bloomed in his chest. Her words became even more meaningful as he realized she was meeting his eyes. He knew how uncomfortable it was for her to do so, so the fact that she was doing it now— even if she looked away five seconds later— only proved how much she believed in her sentiment. 

The longer Hiccup went without saying anything, the more awkward Daenerys felt. Maybe she'd been too truthful (as she tended to be) and she hadn't conveyed her support properly? Maybe she'd been too harsh in telling him to be himself when all she'd wanted was to encourage him. She looked around for a distraction— anything to save them from this awkwardness— and her eyes landed on Fishlegs; she'd never been happier to see one of their friends.

"Fishlegs!" the blonde exclaimed, pointing at him.

That shook the boy out of whatever stupor he'd been in, enough to stammer: "w-w-what? W-where?" He followed the direction she'd indicated and they made their way over to the forge. "What are you doing out here?"

The blond shuffled his feet nervously, his arms held behind his back innocently. "Nothing!" He leaned towards the door and cupped a hand over his mouth. "Cuckoo! Cuckoo!"

Hiccup sighed at the realization that their friends were up to something. "Oh, gods. Okay. . . Okay, where are they?"

"Who?" Fishlegs asked in a very high-pitched voice. He added, "who-hoo! Who-hoo!"

Dany crossed her arms, not at all impressed. "That definitely means they're plotting something."

They didn't bother to wait for his reply when a loud crash! caught their attention. The twins and— Astrid? — were standing outside the building while Snotlout had apparently been inside. In his attempt to escape quickly, his foot had caught on the window and sent him tumbling to the ground. He sprang back to his feet with a roll of parchment held aloft. "I've got the map— we're finding that treasure. And you are a horrible lookout." The last part was said in Fishlegs' direction.

"Really, Astrid?"

She rolled her eyes. "Someone has to keep them all from dying horribly."

Dany stared at her in surprise. "You heard what Gobber said. The bravest warriors in history have died trying to find that treasure. Only a foolhardy, fishbrained idiot—" Here, she sent the twins and Snotlout a pointed look. "—would want to die for treasure."

"Yeah," Snotlout agreed, pointing to himself proudly, "and I'm next."

"No one is going to die, which is why I'm here," the Hofferson stated, "because I personally would like to live to see my next birthday."

Even Fishlegs— who was usually logical enough to not go with the twins' ideas— seemed eager to join in on the quest. "We'll be legends. They'll sing songs about us."

"What good are songs if you're dead?" Dany asked bluntly. "It's not like you'll be able to hear them in Valhalla. Come on, guys! Not even Stoick could find it."

Unfortunately, her words had the opposite effect of what she'd been hoping for— they made Hiccup's eyes widened as understanding dawned on him. "You're right, he couldn't. . . Give me that map." He took it out of Snotlout's hands before the boy had a chance to protest.

Daenerys let out a breath of relief as she thought that would be the end of that. "Finally, someone is making sense."

She was, however, disappointed when he continued: "alright, where do we start?"

The blonde frowned as their friends crowded around him. "Really? Are you serious?"

"Think about it, Dany. My father couldn't find that treasure. What-What would he say if I did something even Stoick the Vast couldn't do? How great would that be?"

She sighed. "Hiccup, you don't have to prove anything! That's what I was trying to say before!" His expression remained stubborn and determined, causing her to trail off and pinch the bridge of her nose.

"It's more than that," he argued. "This is a chance to prove that I'm more than just what my father sees, that I can follow in his footsteps and maybe even surpass him."

Dany let out another breath. "Fine. You're gonna do this no matter what, aren't you? I suppose that I had nothing better to do today anyway than anticipate my untimely death."

Astrid gave her a reassuring smile. "No one's gonna die, Dany. They've got us now. They'll need all the help they can get with. . . them."

The girls turned to watch Ruffnut hit her brother in the face. "Harder. I said I want to see stars."

This time, his siter's punch was so hard that Tuffnut fell to the ground, his helmet askew. She finally joined the group as they examined the map. "Okay. It looks like the map leads us to this spot."

Fishlegs reached over the brunet to point at the words. "The riddles are clues to what we're supposed to find."

"Blah blah blah," Snotlout scoffed, snatching the map from them. "Where's the treasure? Hmm. . . clue number one: 'where the land meets the sea, in the crook of the master's knee, that's where your search will be. . . gin.'"

"That doesn't sound so brilliant," Ruffnut sneered.

"Okay, think, think, think, think, think. . . think." Tuffnut muttered to himself as he lightly hit his head with his hand. He paused. "I forgot what I was supposed to be thinking about."

"The riddle," Dany reminded him, using a great amount of restrained to not tack on 'idiot' at the end. "About what it means."

Hiccup ignored the twins' commentary as he thought about the clue, a certain phrase reminding him of something. "The master's knee. . . I've seen that before!"

--

The brunet's revelation led them back to the Great Hall where the shield that had hidden the map hung on the wall. One of the tiny figures of the Hamishes had their knee pointing to an outcropping of rock. They took off on their dragons to find the real-life formation, and they landed on the beach with it in view. Hiccup took out the paper again to read the next part aloud: "Okay, listen up, you guys. 'You will see the see that's been sown, where water turns to bone.'"

"Water turns to bone?" Snotlout scoffed. "Hamish isn't even trying to make sense."

Dany rolled her eyes, knowing that the boy wouldn't see her do so as she became exasperated by his lack of thoughtfulness. If he was so gung-ho about going on this quest in the first place, the most he should've done was at least consider the clues— but even that was too much to ask from their friends. Well, if she was going to be stuck on this mission with them, she might as well try to help out. "He doesn't mean that literally, you know. Water turns to bone— well, bone is white and hard, so how does water become similar? Snow? But that only fits the first part. . ."

Hiccup thought the girl's words over before his expression brightened. "He must mean ice! The glacier!"

The blonde let out a quiet groan as she looked up at the glacier before them, not at all looking forward to being colder than absolutely necessary. Her reluctance to be a part of this scavenger hunt was only proven further when they entered the glacier, but Dany knew there was nothing she could say that would convince Hiccup and the others to turn back. Not even the threat of Drogon's fire would be enough if they were able to so easily walk by the frozen bodies of past Vikings who had tried and failed to solve the map's riddles.

She shivered as the air grew colder around them the deeper they walked into the ice and snow; the shifting, creaking ice underneath their feet only made her more uneasy. Dany was glad that she'd kept her shoes on as they provided some traction against the slippery surface as they walked, though her boots still slid enough that she grabbed onto Astrid for support.

The blonde helped to steady her, and as she pulled away, her gaze caught on the dark shapes beneath them. "There's something in there."

Fishlegs, at least, was slightly more cautious than when they'd first arrived as he muttered, "I bet that guy saw it too. . ."

The Targaryen crossed her arms against her chest as she thought, and I bet we'll be next, wishing that Drogon was there, but they'd decided to leave their most of their dragons (with the exception of Toothless) outside since they hadn't known how stable the glacier was.

Hiccup ignored his friends' misgivings as he read the next line of the clue: "'call on Magne, you'll go astray. Freya, though, will show the way.'"

As he had with the first riddle, Snotlout jumped to the answer without stopping to think. "I got it!" he declared, wasting no time in slamming his head against the ice.

Daenerys grimaced at the brute force of his blows, relieved that not all Vikings thought with their fists first; it was a wonder that any of them still had braincells left. The girl's eyes widened as the teen's actions caused a strange rumbling, which resulted in a mace they hadn't noticed before swinging down from above. 

"No!" Hiccup called out, rushing to get the boy out of harm's way. The mace crashed into the ice right in the spot where Snotlout's head had been moments before. "We can't break the ice," he continued as he stood. "That's what Magne means. He's the god of strength."

"That's right!" Fishlegs agreed as Snotlout recovered from his shock. "And Freya. . . is the goddess of fire!"

"And that's exactly what we're going to use." He looked up to where Toothless had remained perched on an icy ledge. "Toothless, you know what to do!" He sprang off and landed next to his rider, his big eyes watching the boy as he waited for permission to start. "Light it up."

The Night Fury's fire melted the ice more gently than Snotlout's technique, and as spiderweb fissures appeared on the surface, an iron object was revealed. Hiccup bent down to pick it up, gasping slightly as it was hot to the touch. Removing the object seemed to trigger something within the ice as the entire glacier shuddered when the brunet freed it from the floor. They froze as they waited for something else to happen, but when nothing did, Ruffnut let out a disappointed sigh. "That's it? This is the treasure?"

"There's still more clues on the map," Dany pointed out.

Hiccup nodded in agreement. "I bet this'll lead us to it."

Tuffnut took the iron object from him and lifted it into the air. "Take us to the treasure."

His sister scoffed as Astrid rolled her eyes. "Let me know if it answers."

"This is just the first piece."

As the brunet spoke, the glacier trembled around them again. The already-present cracks splintered and became wider. He called for the Night Fury and the other dragons appeared, as if sensing the danger. They flew out of the glacier quickly before they could be even more at risk.

--

They stopped not far from the now-collapsed glacier on a pillar of rock that jutted out from the sea. Dany glanced back towards where they'd come from and shot Astrid a pointed look. "See? I told you I was gonna anticipate my untimely death today. That was too close— and it was only the first clue."

The other girl shrugged. "But no one actually died, did they? If this one—" she jerked a thumb in Snotlout's direction. "—hadn't run in headfirst, we probably would have been fine."

"Hey!" the shorter Viking protested as he overheard the girls' conversation. "I'll have you know that headbanging is a very effective method of getting what you want. You were impressed by my strength after all, weren't you, Daenerys?" He straightened proudly and flexed his arms as if to try and show off to her further.

She merely gave him an uncomfortable look and nudged Drogon up to where Hiccup pulled out the map again. Although she was still against dying for treasure, anything was better than being near Snotlout. "What does the next clue say?"

He glanced at her before he looked down at the parchment to read aloud: "'at the edge of the world, amidst the raging sea, in the serpent's mouth lies another key.'"

With his usual lack of thoughtfulness, Tuffnut commented, "serpents? I hate serpents. Those are reptiles, right?"

"You do realize you're sitting on one?" Ruffnut pointed out. He startled and let out a sound of disgust at his sister's words.

Dany sighed and occupied herself with petting Drogon's scales so she wouldn't be tempted to up and leave right there. She admired the light sheen of red that was barely visible against his main black color. His scales were actually much harder than they looked; although the grooves between them were deep and made each one large and distinct, not even the strongest Viking could pry one off. Her dragon rumbled reassuringly underneath her, as if sensing her increasing annoyance. The sound caused Meatlug to skitter away from them a bit, her eyes widening nervously in response.

"Hey, that cloud looks like a snake," Snotlout observed.

Astrid retorted, "yeah, and in five minutes, it'll look like a bunny."

Hiccup, however, didn't mind hearing him out. "Well, wait a minute. He might be onto something. In the mouth lies the key." He lifted the map up to compare it with the serpent-shaped rock that was some distance away. "Look, right there. Toothless, let's go."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. A-Are you crazy?" Fishlegs stuttered. "You can't take a Night Fury with a wingspan of forty-eight feet and expect him to hover in winds like that! You'll be killed!"

The brunet frowned thoughtfully as he took in the sizes of their dragons. His expression brightened when his eyes fell on the Gronckle. "What's the wingspan of Meatlug?"

Daenerys watched anxiously as the boys took off, her hands knotting themselves in the hem of her vest. She wished that there was something she could say to Hiccup that would convince him that he didn't need to do this, but he was as stubborn as they came— her words would only be a waste of breath. Her only consolation was that he'd come close to almost dying several times before, but had always made it through (even it was by sheer dumb luck— emphasis on dumb.)

--

"Look, they fit together. We must be on the right track."

After Hiccup and Fishlegs had returned bearing the second piece of the puzzle, they'd made their way back to the mainland, where the map had indicated they'd find the next place. Their dragons walked through the forest (instead of flying) as they began to feel the weight of the long day of adventuring. Dany had fallen to the back of the group as there was only so much of the twins' arguing and Snotlout's commentary that she could take.

The siblings in question had taken her usual place at the front and Ruffnut gave the brunet a curious look. "Hiccup, what are you going to do with your part of the treasure?"

"I'm not really here for the treasure," he replied carelessly.

Snotlout grinned. "Great. I get his share."

Astrid seemed to understand the Targaryen's need for a break, so she took it upon herself to aid Dany in her campaign. "You know you don't have to do this, right?"

Hiccup cast her a sidelong glance as he recognized the train of thought and gave the same answer he would have to the other girl. "Yeah, try telling that to my dad."

It wasn't long after that when they reached a strange impasse in the woods. The rocky hill was the only natural part as a tall structure built of stone had been imbedded in what appeared to be a cave's entrance. "This must be the spot. Why else would anybody build a wall in the middle of the woods?"

"Uh, duh," Tuffnut interjected with a scoff, "to keep out the other trees."

Dany only let out a long sigh, not even bothering to begin that battle. They were saved from anymore. . . great ideas as Hiccup offered the next clue: "'the world is right when stars align. When not in sync, the danger you'll find.'"

Snotlout once again took the riddle at face value and let out an incredulous huff. "Stars? I'm not waiting around here until night!"

"I don't think he means actual stars. I mean, the water didn't really turn to bone."

"Well, what do you think it means, Hiccup?"

"Why are you asking him?" Snotlout demanded, crossing his arms petulantly. "Maybe I know." When he received disbelieving looks from three members of the group, he added on (a bit grumpily), "I said maybe. Turns out, I don't."

Fishlegs, as their resident historian, was the first to approach the wall and study it. "Huh. There's shapes carved into each of these bricks."

The rest of the teens got off their dragons to join him. Hiccup glanced at the map for reference. "Keep a look out for anything that looks like a star."

Snotlout enthusiastically joined the search, his expression brightening as he found what they were looking for. He pulled it out of the wall without thinking, exclaiming, "got one!" as he did so. At once, the wall gave a tremendous shudder— much like the glacier had.

Fishlegs broke into a panic as he chanted, "put it back, put it back!"

The shorter Viking struggled to do as his friend urged, his boots sliding against the smooth stone underneath his feet. "Hookfang!" he called desperately. His dragon was paying more attention to a floating leaf than his rider, so it took a second shout for him to leap into action. With an alarmed screech, he used his snout to push the brick back.

"Okay. . . it says 'in sync.' That means there must be another star."

"Over here!" Astrid said, pointing to the spot on the wall that she had noticed.

"I think we're supposed to pull them out at the same time. Ruff, Tuff?"

For once working together, the siblings gestured to the symbols so their dragons would know what to do. Barf and Belch pulled out both bricks with their teeth and this time, there was no earth-shaking rumbling. Instead, the sound of turning gears caused them to look at the wall— which wasn't really a wall, but a door— with interest. It split in two with a great grating noise to reveal a dark corridor beyond.

"I hope no one's claustrophobic," Dany mumbled.

Thankfully, no one was and they all stepped forward eagerly with awed breaths. It was lucky that none of them had lingered outside for, once they'd all stepped into the hall, the to halves slammed shut behind them, enclosing them in darkness. Toothless whirled around to growl at the door, while Drogon's orange eyes narrowed distrustfully at it as he let out his own warning rumble. His large head came to rest close to Daenerys and she could feel the warmth of his breath ruffle her hair as a reminder that he was there.

In a rare occurrence, Snotlout summed up their thoughts nicely: "oh, man. . ."

Dany was only wary of cold, not the dark, so after exchanging a quick glance with Hiccup, she joined him at the front as they led the group deeper into the cavern. There were two old torches, probably left behind generations ago, and they lit them easily with their dragon's flame. As they walked, the corridor became so narrow that the Targaryen was afraid that Drogon might not fit, but she needn't have worried as, just as they reached the smallest point, it widened into a chamber.

Although the light of their torches barely penetrated the dense blackness, the echo of their footsteps indicated that it was a large room. The floor glowed with a million tiny stars, which shed some light onto the surrounding pillars. But, whatever admiration they might have felt seeing what looked like a mirror of the night sky, was overshadowed by the intense, sweltering heat that made sweat immediately form on their skin.

"Ugh, it's so hot in here," Snotlout complained as he wiped his hand against his head. "Is anybody else hot, because I'm hot?"

"I know," Tuffnut agreed. "I'm sweating like a dragon at an eel party."

Dany was the only one who was unaffected by the heat due to her 'dragon blood' as her mother called it. Yes, she could feel that it was hot in the cavern, but it wasn't hindering her actions like it was her friends. She moved her torch around to try and see the cavern better, only for its light to fall on the speckled ground beneath her feet. Astrid peered down with her, her eyes widening as the floor seemed to. . . wriggle. "Uh guys? Is it just me, or is the floor moving?"

Hiccup moved his own torch close to the ground, causing the bright spots of light to scuttle out of the way. "Uh, Toothless, can you give me some light?"

The Targaryen let out a gasp as the light reflected off of the creature's tiny, beady eyes. The floor wasn't just moving, it was alive. And not just alive— what looked at first glance to be thousands of worms were actually dragons. "Fireworms!" she exclaimed. "That's why it's so hot in here. I've heard about them but I've never seen them before. . ."

Drogon stretched his wings briefly in a discomfited ruffle as they crowded around his feet. He bared his teeth at the small creatures, causing them to skitter away from him quickly. Intrigued, Tuffnut bent down to pick one up, only to be stopped by the brunet. "Don't! Their skin burns hotter than the sun."

The other boy ignored his warning and continued anyway, even going so far as to hold it close to his face. "Yeah, but how hot can the sun really be?" The little Fireworm ignited itself, causing Tuffnut to scream and drop it. "Ouch! Ow! Aah!"

He flung the Fireworm away from him, causing Dany to drop her torch in an effort to catch the tiny dragon before it hit the ground. The torch's flame was promptly snuffed out as it hit the damp earth, but she paid it no mind as she stretched out her hands. With a little lunge forward, she was able to get the flaming creature to land in her palms before it hit the stone. Next to her, Tuffnut blew on his burned hand to make it feel better.

"You shouldn't throw dragons around like that," she chided him sternly, "even if they're hot. You could've hurt him!"

The Fireworm's orange glow had died down as it seemed to realize that she meant it no harm. Its black, beady eyes glittered up at her in the dim light, as if studying her for a moment. Then, it turned around three times and curled up in her hand, causing her to smile. Tuffnut stared at her in disbelief as he cradled his burned fingers. "Hurt him? He hurt me!"

"He doesn't know any better," she replied with a shrug. She paused, then added, "maybe you don't, either."

The other Viking frowned and turned to his sister. "I feel like she's trying to insult my intelligence, but I don't get it."

Dany rolled her eyes at his comment, but before they could say anything else, all of the Fireworms began to light themselves. Hiccup's brows furrowed at their reaction. "Uh, Dany. . . I don't think they like your mothering tendencies. You might want to set the Fireworm down."

She huffed in reply. "All day it's been about you— even though I've already told you that you don't have to prove yourself to anyone. When we get to the one thing I'm good at, I can't actually contribute anything?" Despite her grumbling (which she didn't really mean), she gently set the Fireworm back on the ground.

It seemed as if her actions wasn't enough to appease the Fireworm's kin, and they moved closer to the Vikings, causing the teens to tighten their small circle to back away from them. Dany wished that she could have a chance to try and calm them— to prove herself, just as Hiccup was doing— but she'd never worked with so many dragons at once, and none of her friends appeared to be willing to stand the heat any longer than necessary. She moved closer to Drogon for reassurance and she could feel the rumble, which warned the Fireworms to stay away, emanating from his throat.

Hiccup startled as they started to climb up his pant leg and he hastily shook them off. Toothless and the other dragons shot blasts of fire in an effort to keep them away. Their actions revealed the final key, and Hookfang blew out a flame that created a wall around the stone pit and kept the Fireworms at bay, which allowed Hiccup to jump down and retrieve the last piece of the puzzle.

"Grab 'em, and let's go!" Snotlout shouted over the crackling fire.

"No, it's a choice. Listen to this, guys. 'Something pure, and something strong. Look first to yourself, and you won't go wrong,'" he looked around at each of the keys on the pedestal.

"Strong. . ." Fishlegs repeated, though the heat made it hard to keep track of his thoughts. "That must be the one made of iron."

Astrid shook her head. "But iron's not pure. Take the gold."

Although the other teens were visibly getting worn out from the heat and smoke— evidenced by Fishlegs' slow thinking, the sweat that dampened Astrid's blonde hair, and Snotlout's shiny face— Dany felt perfectly calm as she peered through the flickering light to the pedestals beyond. It was getting easier to see as the dragons ran out of fire, but that also meant that the Fireworms were getting braver.

As she repeated the clue in her head, her thoughts caught on the second sentence: look first to yourself. While Dany knew that she wasn't as physically strong as some of her friends, she hoped that they viewed her as emotionally strong— full of iron will. And while it might be self-centered to think of oneself as pure, she always tried to have her actions be selfless— golden hearted. Her eyes widened as the answer to the riddle hit her.

"It's getting really hard to breathe," Astrid gasped.

Fishlegs' voice cracked with panic as he called back: "that's what happens when you're getting roasted alive. You might want to make a decision soon, Hiccup, we don't have much time."

Dany glanced at him in concern and raised her voice to speak quickly over the fire. "Hiccup—it's about you!"

He turned at the sound of her shout, his brows furrowing as he considered her words. As the Fireworms got nearer, he backed into Toothless for support and waited for his dragon to blast them away. Then, he stepped towards the pedestals. "'look to yourself.'"

However, he misinterpreted the blonde's advice. The flickering of the fire allowed him enough light to see his reflection— at least in one of the metals. He hesitated long enough for Astrid to shout a warning before his fingers grasped the iron key. Suddenly, they didn't need their dragons' flames anymore as the Fireworms backed away on their own. A great cracking sound followed, and all at once, the floor split open under his feet.

Dany raced forward, ignoring the fact that she hadn't done so for Snotlout hours ago— this was more dire, she told herself as he stretched out her hand. Hiccup reached out in return, but his fingers had barely brushed hers before he tumbled into the pit with Toothless and the loose rocks.

"No!" she cried, lurching forward to follow him to. . . wherever the black void went. "Hiccup!" There was a sharp tug on her hair that made her whip around, snarling at whoever dared stop her.

Astrid had grabbed onto the easiest thing that she could reach, which were Dany's loose curls, and had held fast. Her blue eyes were sympathetic— apologetic, even, as she knew how much it hurt to have one's hair pulled— but unrelenting. "You may be impervious to fire, but you're not invulnerable— you'll get hurt, or worse, with all those rocks."

"We've got to get out of here!" Tuffnut exclaimed.

Unfortunately, the only time he'd had a bright idea, the Targaryen disagreed with him. "No! We can't go! Hiccup and Toothless—"

"Will make it," Astrid finished firmly. "But we won't if we don't leave now!" She cautiously let go of the blonde to race over to her dragon, calling over her shoulder: "we can help them from outside!"

Dany glanced at the pit, taking no notice of the falling rocks around her as she considered disregarding her friend's advice and jumping in anyway. Before she could act, however, there was a strong gust of wind and suddenly she was being lifted into the air. The girl struggled in her dragon's claws for a moment before she yielded as Drogon navigated around the falling boulders. Although admitting defeat sat like a stone in her stomach, and just leaving Hiccup and Toothless behind felt like a great betrayal, she had to concede that Astrid was right.

--

Hiccup managed to save himself— but of course he did; he was Hiccup, after all (although his entrance had been quite. . . dramatic.) They'd spent the rest of the evening trying to dig him out, only for the boy to reappear behind them as the mountain fell literally at his touch. He emerged from the dust with a feather in his fingers, grinning triumphantly as Toothless stood beside him.

Dany's shoulders slumped with relief at the sight, the worried knot inside of her finally untying itself. As much as she'd claimed that someone was going to die on this particular adventure, she'd never wanted it to happen, much less to Hiccup of all people— the boy she. . . cared a great deal about. While she was trying to decide whether she wanted to scold him or not, his father hastened forward to pick up his son and wrap him in a big hug that lifted the brunet's feet off the ground.

"Uh, Dad, I can't breathe," he wheezed. The other teens ran forward as well with various concerned exclamations, but Dany hung back, never one for crowds.

"What happened?" Fishlegs asked eagerly.

Snotlout's voice cut above everyone else's. "Blah, blah, blah, who cares? Where's the treasure?"

Hiccup unfurled the scroll that he was holding to show them. The portrait was quite different from the one in the Great Hall; here, the figure was of a small, blonde boy not unlike the one who was holding the image. "This is Hamish's real son."

"That's not treasure," Snotlout whined.

Stoick placed a large hand on his son's shoulder. "To a father, it is." He knelt down and turned the boy to face him. "I never meant to make you feel like you had to do something like this."

"I know that. . . but I had to do it. For myself."

Dany's expression softened as she heard his words; it didn't matter how many times she told him that he was great on his own, he needed to be the one to believe it.

As the others got on their dragons to head back to Berk, the Targaryen tentatively called after the brunet: "Hiccup— wait."

He paused in mounting Toothless to give her a curious look. She wasn't really sure what she wanted to say or even what sentiment she was trying to convey, but it felt like something had to be expressed about the events of the day. A more socially conventional person might have kissed the boy on the cheek, or even given him a hug, but those actions were a little too foreign for Dany, who did the next best thing that she could come up with: she stuck out her hand in the open air between them. Her eyes remained cast downward on her shoes as she mumbled out: "um— good. . . er. . . job?"

Hiccup watched her with bemusement before it eased into fondness. He reached out and clasped her hand with his to shake it, holding on as long as she would let him. Although his father's words of encouragement had comforted him, Dany's more awkward praise meant equally as much— perhaps just in a different way. He ignored Toothless' downright smirk as they went into the air, preferring instead to smile foolishly at the surrounding clouds as her words replayed in his mind. If anyone had been there to see, they wouldn't have been able to tell if the blush that had appeared on his face had been from the chill of the wind or the memory of a pretty, silver-haired girl.

Chapter Text

After the group's most recent adventures, Dany was taking some time to herself. Her daily flights with Drogon helped to refresh her mind and helped her appreciate her friends more than being around them every day would have. She decided that today's route would go along Berk's coastline so her dragon could practice his agility. While he would never be able to navigate the sea-stacks like Toothless could, it was always better to have some experience if they were ever in a pinch.

The cool ocean air whipped at her face as they sailed close to the waves. Drogon's wings were stretched as out as far his wingspan would allow, which was a considerable amount. Salty sea spray splashed in her face and stung her eyes while the wind tangled up her silvery-blonde hair into knots. Dany flung her arms wide as she laughed, enjoying the freedom of soaring across the relatively flat surface of the water as they made their way to the cliffs.

As they neared, she threw herself forward to sit lower on Drogon's back. The dragon, too, seemed to prepare himself for the practice run and she could feel his muscles shift from where her legs hugged his sides. Raising her voice slightly, she patted him encouragingly between the shoulder blades. "Come on, buddy! You can do this!"

Drogon's flame-orange eyes narrowed with determination at the sight of the approaching pillars. He gave one last push of air before he folded in his wings to send them shooting forward. Although his body was more muscular than any of her friends' dragons, it was still longer than it was wide. Using the momentum he'd gained from the last gust of air, he angled himself through the opening, weaving between the sea-stacks like a snake.

Once they were through the first one, he opened his wings a little to give himself a slight push to the next. This opening was a bit smaller and Dany's legs tightened to keep herself on his back as he all but turned sideways to make it. She let out an ecstatic 'whoop!' when they were through, though she resisted the urge to punch the air in triumph as the next one was soon upon them.

They spent several hours weaving through the pillars as best they could, though they still had to fly over the smallest ones rather than through them. Sometimes Drogon misjudged the spaces between the sea-stacks and his wings would clip on the rocks, causing them to spiral until they got their balance back. Dany always made sure to encourage him when this happened since she knew he was doing his best.

When their practice time ended, they always did something that they— well, at least she— liked. Once they'd cleared (or sort of cleared, depending on how well they made it through) the last rock formation, Drogon could finally open his wings to their full extent once again. Glad to be free of the restraining landscape, he shot upwards towards the clouds until the ocean fell away below them. The sun glinted in her eyes, burning away the chill that came with the high altitude. Dany took a moment to admire their surroundings, one that few people got to see: the rolling hills of fluffy whiteness that could shift and move like the tide beneath them, the clear, azure blue of the sky and even the tiny, far-away specks of other dragons as they flew at the same height as Dany and Drogon did.

Then, with another cry of excitement, the Targaryen would slide sideways off her dragon. Ever since Hiccup had introduced this move to her, she'd tried to do as often as she could. While it still wasn't truly flying, it was the next best thing. She enjoyed the weightlessness that came with her freefall, and even the rush of air that made her dress flap harshly against her legs. Once again, the girl stretched out her arms in an imitation of her dragon's wings, even though they did little to actually aid her in her descent. She closed her eyes, picturing herself soaring as a dragon rather than a human who was rapidly falling towards the earth.

As the crashing of waves began to break through the gusts of wind, the blonde felt a tug around her middle and suddenly she was jerked up, out of her freefall. Drogon's claws secured gently but firmly around her waist and she heard the powerful flaps of his wings as he brought them up to a normal flying elevation. Once his flight had levelled out, he loosened his grip on her, enough so she could wriggle free. Grasping his scales firmly, she navigated her way back up to her regular seat. Her face was flushed from the wind and her violet eyes were bright with happiness as she began to guide Drogon towards Berk.

"Great job today, buddy," she told him, giving her customary pat. "Let's go hang out with Toothless and Hiccup, huh?"

He gave an answering, proud rumble of agreement. 

--

They were still some ways from shore when Dany noticed a ship on the horizon. It was a dark splotch against an otherwise perfectly blue background and she shielded her eyes to get a better look at it. It was a Viking ship, though not like any Berk had. Its plain sail denoted no tribe and its deck was crowded with goods. She thought that it might belong to Trader Johann, a man she'd never met but had heard stories of from her father. According to Randolf, Johann was a bit slimy but being forced to listen to his most likely made up stories was worth it for the goods he brought.

Curious about the trader, she directed her dragon towards the docks to meet him when he landed on shore. Drogon had noticed the ship as well, but he wasn't interested in the approaching vessel like his rider. Instead, his orange eyes narrowed as his nostrils flared, his good sense of smell picking up the scents that came from the boat. With a roar, he wheeled around in a sharp about-face that sent Dany scrambling to hold onto one of his spikes.

"Drogon!" she chided him reproachfully, her heart pounding in her chest from the sudden change. He paid her no mind as he began to go back the way they came. "No, Drogon. We have to go to Berk—"

She tried to turn him around, but to no avail; he ignored her instructions and continued towards their home. No matter how she pleaded or scolded him, he pretended not to hear her words as they flew further away from the village. The Targaryen was left grumbling (and yes, maybe a little pouty) over her dragon's stubbornness. 

When they landed in the clearing in front of the cottage, Dany didn't slide off her dragon's back like she usually would have. Instead, she crossed her arms and scowled at the top of his head. "Come on, Drogon. The last time you were this obstinate, I brought Ignis home with us. Surely nothing could be worse than that?"

Drogon let out an irritated growl, shifting his weight slightly underneath her. She was hardly given any warning when his back sloped just as it had in the Academy when she'd tried to bring Ignis back to her parents. The blonde fell forward, painfully bumping her head on his rough scales. She let out a grunt of her own annoyance as she pushed herself up.

"Drogon, you're being a jerk. I thought you wanted to see Toothless—?" she began, but was cut off when he shook his neck, causing his scales to move underneath her. Her legs lost their grip on his sides and she would have slid off completely, but she grasped one of his spikes just in time so that her feet dangled above the ground. "Seriously," she complained. "I know you're a teenager but I thought you were above the rebellious stereotype. You're acting almost worse than Hookfang!"

He was certainly not pleased by this comparison. Drogon let his back cave again and this time, the jolt was enough for Dany's hands to slip off his spike. But, even if he was peeved at his mother, Drogon still cared about her, so he extended his wing enough for her to tumble safely to the ground. She landed on her butt with her arms behind her for support and stared up at him with frustration for a moment.

"Really!" she exclaimed in a huff, pushing herself up and dusting her palms off.

In response to her comment, Drogon leaned forward and bared his teeth, so close that some of his saliva dripped off his fangs and onto her hair, which only made her more incensed. And to top it all off, he snapped at her— something he hadn't done since he was little. His teeth shut dangerously close to her person, though she knew he would never hurt her and she remained unfazed by his aggression.

Dany crossed her arms again and glared at him. "Fine. Since you've decided to be a baby for some reason, I'll just walk to Berk. You may not want to see Toothless, but you're not going to keep me from hanging out with Hiccup."

--

To her surprise, Drogon had tried to keep her from even leaving the cottage premises, but once her parents had returned from their flight, he became distracted with his brothers' arrival, allowing her to give him the slip. Walking to Berk was not nearly as much fun as flying was and it took longer. The one good thing about being on foot was that it allowed her to gather materials to make a flower crown, which she didn't usually bother with when she flew as it would fall out of her hair. She spent a bit of time finding the best greenery to weave together into a circlet. Once she had made the shape of her crown, she added different colored flowers that grew along the path in various places, like jewels, to bring color to the wreath.

Because of her slight distraction, it was late afternoon by the time she arrived and she'd only become more aggravated with Drogon's behavior as she stewed on her way there. As it turned out, she'd missed Johann's stay completely and the Vikings had already made their trades. However, some of the teens had brought their finds to the Academy, the most notable being the twins' statue. They'd placed it in the center of the arena and were admiring it when she got there.

"Oh, wow. How does that look?"

"Beautiful," Ruffnut breathed out.

Surprised by their unexpected gesture, Hiccup looked over at them curiously. "You guys got these for the academy?"

"Yeah. We got them from Trader Johann. We had to give him our great-grandfather's skull. We got to keep his clavicle."

Dany grinned slightly and stepped out into the sunlight area. "You know, some might say that was very Targaryen of you," she said teasingly, referencing the horror story of her family keeping human teeth as trophies. While she'd at first been offended by the dirt thrown on her family's name, she was much better at taking it in stride now thanks to actually having friends.

Hiccup's expression brightened at her arrival. "Dany! You missed Trader Johann's arrival this morning." Then he frowned when he noticed her usual shadow wasn't close by. "Where's Drogon?"

She scowled. "He's being a butt."

A bit taken aback by her unusually negative words towards her dragon, he asked with concern, "is everything alright?"

"Yeah. I saw Johann's ship while we were flying and I tried to get him to go to the docks, but he just wouldn't listen to me. Then when we got home, he all but dumped me off his back. He's never refused to come to town before," she explained.

Before the brunet could say anything else, Snotlout cut in: "you know, it sounds like you might be losing your touch as the Mother of Dragons, Daenerys. But you don't need to worry— I'm happy to be gracious enough to let you ride Hookfang with me. I won't even make a big deal about it when you put your arms around me."

The girl offered him a tense smile and a grimace, not quite confident to tell the boy no, but certainly not wanting to either. Thankfully, Hiccup was quick to offer another solution. "You're welcome to ride Toothless with me, Dany. I'm sure he'd love to have you."

Her smile became much more genuine as she nodded gratefully. "Thanks, Hiccup." Snotlout's 'aw, man' was quite audible even as she turned back to the twins. "You know, taking pride in the Academy is very uncharacteristic for you guys. What's your motive?"

Tuffnut pretended to be offended as he placed a hand over the right side of his chest (unaware that his heart was on his other side.) "We can't just be doing something for the good of the Academy?" He turned to his sister as he asked seriously, "why are they so suspicious when we're just trying to expand our horizons outside of our label as genius pranksters?"

Ruffnut gave him a deadpan look. "Uh, maybe because we aren't doing that?"

He let out a huff of a laugh. "Oh, right. Wait a second— what does motive mean again?"

He shook off the question, not caring to know the actual definition. Barf and Belch readied themselves, gearing up their gas and sparks respectively. Unaware of their intentions, Hiccup continued to study the statue appreciatively. Tuffnut's warning came not a second too soon. "Duck!"

"What?"

The Zippleback's blast sent the sculpture rocking backwards. Snotlout cheered enthusiastically at the result. "That was awesome! I wanna take a shot!" He ran to his dragon and climbed on quickly, shouting 'fire!' before he was barely seated.

Hookfang's shot of flame forced Hiccup back to the ground after only having just gotten up. The Monstrous Nightmare's blast sent it further towards the wall and caused it to teeter even more dangerously. Excited to participate, Stormfly wasted no time in sending a spine shot towards the wooden statue. Meatlug joined in after her with her own ball of fire. Toothless was last to go, though his aim turned into a sneeze that sent his plasma blast around the ring.

Even the Night Fury seemed to be confused by this development as he lifted each of his paws, bewildered. A second sneeze came on suddenly, but this time they weren't so lucky and Snotlout would've gotten decapitated if he had not moved out of the way in time. Hiccup rose carefully to his feet. "Well, that's strange. . ."

"Hey! Could you have your dragon cover his mouth when he sneezes?" Snotlout demanded.

"I-I'm sorry. But that's never happened before." He sneezed again and looked at his rider with sad eyes. The brunet turned to the Targaryen hopefully. "Dany? Do you know what's wrong with him?"

The girl walked over to the black dragon and placed her hand gently on his snout. Toothless looked up with the same pitiful expression, clearly as confused as the rest of them. It seemed that her touch to his nose triggered something, though, and she took her hand away to let him sneeze freely, the third plasma blast scorching the ground underneath her feet.

"I've never seen a sneezing dragon," she admitted. "Maybe he has allergies or something? His nose seems especially sensitive right now."

--

As Hiccup had offered, Dany flew back to the village with him. With her arms wrapped around his waist, she couldn't help but feel immense relief that it wasn't Snotlout in front of her. Astrid was flying with them and she angled Stormfly towards the ground when a bright shade of blue caught her eye. Pointing in their direction, she exclaimed, "look at those flowers! They're beautiful!"

The blonde followed her friend's direction to where she pointed at the vibrant, purple blooms that dotted the hillside, and she tensed as her eyes widened with recognition. Speaking into Hiccup's ear so that her words wouldn't be snatched away by the wind, she said, "hey— can we go down there?"

He shifted slightly to glance back at her curiously. "Alright, why—?" Before he could finish the question, Toothless sneezed again and began to fly unsteadily. Dany's grip tightened on the brunet as their ride became out of control.

They narrowly avoided running into Astrid, who veered out of the way just in time with an indignant shout: "hey! What are you doing?"

"It's not me!" The Night Fury began to buck and sneeze wildly. "Whoa! I think we're going down anyway whether we want to or not!"

For the second time that day, Daenerys was dumped off the back of a dragon, though this time on accident. Luckily they were close to the ground when Toothless crashed, but it was still quite a tumble. Hiccup recovered first as the blonde lay winded, causing him to glance over at her. "You okay, Dany?"

"Fine," she gasped out, finally pushing herself to her feet as she rolled her shoulders.

He turned his attention to the Night Fury, who hadn't moved from where he'd crashed and was occasionally letting out pained sounds. "Toothless. You okay, bud? Toothless?" He lifted his dragon's head to examine his face. "Maybe he's got a cold. . . or something. Do dragons get colds?"

Although she was concerned about the Night Fury, the Targaryen focused on the flowers that Astrid had spotted from the sky. She approached the bush cautiously to study the soft petals. They were organized in a set of five around the yellow center, which contrasted strongly with the vivid indigo-blue. There were two things that she recalled learning from her parents as they cared for injured dragons: the first being that shades of blue usually indicated poison, and the second was that this particular flower was. . . She gasped at the realization.

Hearing the sound, Hiccup turned away from his dragon to join her by the bush, looking concerned. "What is it?"

"These flowers," she explained. "My parents told me about them. I've only ever seen them in illustrations, but I think this is what's causing Toothless to sneeze." The blonde's expression was troubled as she ran her fingers along one of the petals. "I'm not an expert, but I think if we leave these flowers in, the sickness might spread to other dragons."

Seeing how genuinely worried she looked, the brunet only needed a second to come to a conclusion as he glanced between the flowers and the girl. "Okay, so we'll take them out."

Astrid joined them since they were lingering so long at the bush, but she observed the pretty flowers dubiously as she listened to them. "Do you really think that these flowers are behind all this? I mean, we don't have any proof that they could be."

Dany frowned, wondering if maybe she was wrong about her guess. After all, like she'd said, she'd never seen them in person and drawings could be incorrect. But she did know that a shade of blue this vibrant was something to be cautious of. She began to play with the ends of her silvery-blonde hair as she started to doubt herself. "I. . . don't know. I'm pretty certain, I guess. After all, these flowers are newly planted." (Here, she pointed to the fresh, turned dirt.) "And Toothless only started sneezing today. It has to be something new that he's allergic to."

Hiccup came to stand beside her, looking far more confident than she felt. "If Dany says that this is what's causing the illness, then we should do something about it; if it's not the answer then we can just think of something else. But," he added, glancing at the girl encouragingly, "it is pretty sound reasoning. I trust your judgement, Dany."

The blonde felt herself flush at his words, extremely pleased and flattered that he held her opinion so highly. Still, she shouldn't have been so surprised, since this was usually how it went with them: one backing up the other when faced with one (or more) disbelieving comment from the rest of the gang. No questions were asked, it was simply an understanding that they were there for each other when a second opinion was needed.

Astrid huffed. "I didn't mean it like that," she retorted. "Of course I trust Dany, too. I'm just concerned that if this isn't the solution, whatever this is might get worse."

"Drogon didn't want to come to the island today," Daenerys pointed out, sounding more certain than she had a minute ago. "He must've caught the smell of the flower while we were out at sea." Suddenly she felt guilty for calling him a baby.

The brunet nodded as if this final point helped everything make sense. "Alright. Dany and I will take Toothless to Gobber to see if there's a quick fix for what he has. Astrid, can you get the gang together so we can dig up these bushes?"

At the blonde's confirmation, they split up for a bit.

--

Although Dany didn't mind Gobber, it was much harder to be around him when he was surrounded by putrid fumes. A pot of. . . something was boiling on the open fire and she was quite certain that she was happier not knowing what its ingredients were. However, he seemed to not notice the smell as he hummed cheerfully while he stirred the brew, which he claimed was the cure for the dragons' illness.

"This'll fix him right up," Gobber declared, removing the cauldron from the fire.

Hiccup seemed equally disgusted by the scent and he leaned away from the pot as the blacksmith drew closer. "What is that?"

"It's best not to ask."

"I wasn't gonna," the Targaryen mumbled, giving into the urge to plug her nose. Breathing through her mouth barely helped to mitigate the smell.

"Whatever you do, don't touch it." At that moment, Toothless let out another sneeze and splattered some of the suspicious liquid onto Gobber's shirt.

Gobber groaned with disappointment. "Ah! Well, that's ruined. I'll never get that yak-dung vomit again."

Before either of them could comment on that particular sentence, the door flew open to reveal an out-of-breath, clearly panicked Astrid. Her voice was rushed as she said: "Hiccup, Dany, you have to see this."

The pair looked at each other for a second before shooting up and following her out the door. The Hofferson girl explained, "I was gathering everyone together but I think we took too long to get those flowers out. It's spreading to the other dragons now."

"What's this about illness spreading to dragons?" Gobber had joined them on the doorstep. He followed their gazes up to where their friends struggled to stay on their mounts while Hookfang, Meatlug and Barf and Belch all gracelessly fell to the ground.

"Help her, guys!" Fishlegs called to them in distress as his Gronckle flew around in rocky circles. "She's sick!"

"Dany thinks that it's the new flowers that were planted just outside of town," Hiccup replied. "We were going to pull them up before, well, things got. . . worse."

The blacksmith's response was similar to Astrid's, though for a different reason as he looked at Daenerys uncertainly. "Flowers, eh? An' you're sure?" He directed his second question in the boy's direction, who nodded. "Still, I'd rather get a second opinion from the higher-up." He pointed literally upward, towards Gothi's hut. "No offence, lass."

Despite his reassurance, she couldn't help but feel a little (okay, more than a little) disappointed at his doubt. She felt her shoulders slump at his lack of belief and began to fiddle with her hair again. 

Noticing this, Hiccup stepped closer to the girl and moved to put a comforting hand on her shoulder before he remembered how she felt about touch, and let his hand drop back to his side. "Don't worry, Dany," he said with a reassuring smile. "Gobber's just being cautious. We'll go see Gothi, and she'll confirm what you suspect about the flowers."

She nodded, though the blacksmith's doubt still stung, as she thought she'd moved past the time when her family name incited people's disbelief.

--

Toothless was their somewhat-willing 'victim' as he stood still so that Gothi could open his mouth. The teens stood away from her work area and observed her with varying degrees of awed reverence (Fishlegs) to apathy with some resentment (Dany.) After a few minutes of silence, the wise woman picked up a pile of bones, shaking them in her hands before tossing them onto the stone.

"I've heard Gothi can tell you when you're gonna die just by looking at your fingernails," Astrid declared. True to form, the mere suggestion of the superstition made Fishlegs glance at his own fingernails.

"That's just an old wives' tale," Gobber scoffed. "She looks at your tongue."

Dany rolled her eyes and muttered, "this village does love its horror stories."

Hearing her comment, Hiccup sent her a sympathetic glance that the girl didn't see. Coming to her decision, Gothi began to write in the dirt on her floor with her walking stick. Gobber leaned over to translate as she went along, since he was the only one who could interpret her drawings. "She says they're reacting to something. Like they're allergic."

"Allergic? To flowers?" the brunet asked as he gave Toothless a comforting hug.

The old woman continued to draw and Gobber translated her next picture: "looks like. . . to the sun falling from the sky. I think we'd all be a little more than allergic to that." He winced as Gothi hit him with her stick. "Oh, no, now I see it. It's a flower. Still looks like the sun, though." He received another whack from the silent wise woman.

The blacksmith turned to give a confirming nod in Dany's direction. "You were right, lass."

The blonde looked away, muttering, "I told you so."

"We have to get rid of them immediately, otherwise it's just going to get worse," he finished, not having heard her grumbling.

--

"So these are the culprits causing our dragons to get sick?" Tuffnut asked, crouching next to the bush of pretty, blue flowers. He put his nose directly on the flower itself and took in a deep, loud sniff of the bud. When he pulled away there was a bit of yellow pollen on his nose, but nobody told him that. "They don't smell deadly."

"Well maybe you didn't breathe in hard enough," Ruffnut suggested, watching with amusement as her brother tried again.

Fishlegs studied the flowers carefully from a safe distance away. "It looks an awful lot like the Blue Oleander. I recognize it from my botany book, chapter eight." He waved the little book around that he'd gotten from Trader Johann before he opened it to the right page. Running a finger down the description, he listed off: "they're very beautiful, very soft, perennial. . ." His eyes widened. "And poisonous to reptiles!"

"Which makes them dangerous for dragons," Dany finished, with some impatience. "Like I said. We need to dig them up and dispose of them."

Hiccup frowned as he remembered how sick Toothless had been earlier that day— too ill to even enjoy an evening flight. "This is serious. We'll definitely dig them up to keep the sickness from spreading, but what about a cure? Uh, does your book say anything about that?"

"Not in here," he replied. "But I think I remember reading about it in the Book of Dragons."

"Well, go look for the answer!" Astrid cut in sharply. "We'll take care of the flowers."

The Targaryen was still standing by the bush, twirling the stem of the flower she'd picked between her fingers. "I just don't understand. Where did they even come from? We're all in the village twenty-four seven. Surely someone would have noticed—?"

"Mildew," Tuffnut said, having heard her question. Everyone turned to look at him as he added casually, "I saw him plant them the other night!"

"And you didn't think that was strange?" Astrid growled.

"No. Well, maybe. I don't know, quit pressuring me!"

"My dad will be back tomorrow," Hiccup announced. "We'll go talk to Mildew then. Maybe he'll listen to a chief instead of just some kids."

The group shared unconvinced glances, knowing that Mildew didn't really listen to anyone, especially those who supported dragons. Dany wasn't surprised that he was behind all this and the realization only made her hate him more.

--

It had been a relatively easy task to pull up the flowers and store them safely so that the dragons wouldn't be affected by them anymore. When Stoick had come back the next day, Hiccup explained everything to him, including Tuffnut seeing Mildew planting the flowers. Daenerys was gratified to see the older man's eyes narrow with dislike as he rumbled, "let's go pay the old man a visit."

She didn't even bother keeping the sneer off her face as they stared down the older man. He was holding his sheep like a security blanket, unflinching as he faced three angry villagers.

"So what if I planted some flowers? The town square's never looked better," the old man protested. "I was merely trying to spread some beauty and happiness."

The blonde stepped forward aggressively, her hands curling into fists by her sides, her usual protectiveness of dragons making an appearance even in the face of someone who made her very uncomfortable. "Since when have you cared about beauty or happiness, you miserable, old—"

"Dany!" Hiccup said quickly, gently tugging on her arm to keep her from insulting a man who could use her words to his advantage. She fell in line beside him, but kept her furious expression.

"She's right, though," the brunet continued fiercely, pointing a finger at him. "You did this."

Mildew stuttered, pretending to be shocked by the accusation. "What? Me? Well, I had no inkling, Stoick, that these flowers had special properties. Which, true, I'm no friend of the dragon, but in this case, on my life, I was not trying to harm them."

Stoick sighed, knowing a lost cause when he saw one. He placed a gentle hand on his son's back to usher the pair towards the door. "Let's go."

Dany cast an angry glare back in the direction of Mildew's hut. "I hate him. I really, really do. I don't think I've ever disliked anyone more in my life."

"I know," Hiccup agreed quietly. "He's awful, but we still don't have any proof. Trust me, I wish we could do something about him."

They shared a hopeless, pained look at the thought of what else their dragons might have to suffer through because of him. The boy was tempted to reach out and grab her hand, or offer some form of physical comfort so they wouldn't be alone in this struggle, but he was all too aware of her preference for space. He'd held her back once already today and he didn't want to push her so much that she'd declare 'too close!' like she had several times before.

Hearing the tone of their conversation, Stoick put on his best 'chief' voice: reassuring and confident, even if he didn't exactly feel it. "We'll get him, but we can't convict someone without evidence. Dragons are villagers too, and they deserve to be safe and comfortable just like the rest of us. We'll make sure that happens when the moment is right."

Although his words helped, both teens still wondered if the moment would ever be right.

--

When they got back to town, everyone was gathered around Fishlegs, who was crying.

"Fishlegs, what's wrong?" Hiccup asked with alarm.

"Well, I was looking for the cure in the Book of Dragons, and. . . I found it," he began, sniffling.

"That's great!" the brunet frowned when the other boy didn't share his enthusiasm. "What did it say?"

He pulled out the book to show the page he'd found. "There's a dragon that feeds on the Blue Oleander. It's called the Scauldron. In a perfect world, if it eats the flowers, maybe its venom can be used as an antidote, like snakes and spiders. But alas, we do not live in a perfect world. Look, the Scauldron has no venom."

"No, but it looks cool," Tuffnut commented, as usual a few seconds behind.

Fishlegs stared at him in horror. "Don't you understand? The book says no venom!"

The blond held up his hands defensively. "Okay, got it. No venom. Golly, write it on your forehead."

"That book is wrong." They all turned to see Gobber emerging from his hut. "I've dealt with a Scauldron before. They're sixty feet long, razor sharp teeth. It'll shoot boiling water that melts the flesh off your bones. The Scauldron has no fear, no conscious, but what Scauldron does have is venom, and lots of it."

Dany, being only familiar with land dragons, was grateful for his input so the inevitable questions never came. She would have hated to say I don't know to something as important as this. (And it made her kind of forgive him for second-guessing her earlier. . . but only kind of.)

"I'm out," Tuffnut declared.

"I'm with him." His sister followed him away.

Hiccup shrugged, unsurprised. "All right. You guys stay here and take care of the dragons."

"What are you going to do?" Fishlegs asked.

"Dad, Gobber, let's go find ourselves a Scauldron."

"I thought you'd never ask."

--

Although he'd kind of expected it, his stomach still did a pleasant flip at the sight of Dany waiting for them by the boat. Hiccup let his father get on first with Gobber and Mildew, lingering by the dock to see what she had to say.

"I want to come with you."

Used to her bluntness, he was only a little caught off guard by her request since their other friends had bailed. "Dany, no—"

"Please," she insisted, widening her eyes hopefully. "You're going to need backup. I can go get Drogon and—"

He shook his head. "There's no time. This will help the dragons feel better and we need it as soon as possible."

She frowned at his rejection. "But you know how good I am with dragons. I mean, I haven't really experienced a water-based one before, but I can make it work." Her gaze stayed on her bare feet as she watched her toes curl slightly against the wood of the dock. "I just. . . don't like the thought of you facing a sixty-foot dragon by yourself."

"I won't be alone. You forget who I'm taking with me," Hiccup reminded her, trying for a joking tone as he jerked his thumb towards the ship.

Dany grimaced slightly, not completely comforted by the thought. "I know, but. . . you can't just expect me to sit around while you go off to save the day."

His expression softened in understanding, knowing that they usually worked as a team. "I need you here, Dany, to take care of our dragons." He told her firmly, bending slightly to try (but fail) to catch her eyes. "You're the only one I would trust with a responsibility like this."

The blonde was only slightly mollified by his request, though her face flushed traitorously from the sentiment. "If you die, I'll kill you," she threatened, for the first of what would be many times.

He chuckled lightly as he turned to board the boat, calling over his shoulder: "it won't get to that! I hope," he added under his breath.

--

Thankfully, everything worked out: the Scauldron came to the ship and, after a brief fight, they were able to get the venom, though not in the original container they'd brought for it, and Hiccup didn't die, just like he'd promised. As it turned out, Mildew became the unwilling victim, and they'd all been subjected to his screams as Gobber extracted the antidote from, well, his butt. (Dany was very glad that she had zero experience being a medical professional.) The dragons were soon on the mend, ready for their next adventure.

Chapter Text

"Here they come!" Astrid called as Hiccup and Toothless rounded the flag marker.

Dany used her hand to shield her eyes against the sun as she looked up to where the pair whizzed past above them. As usual, Fishlegs stood at the sundial to keep their time.

"Yep, that's a new course record!" he announced.

When they landed, Hiccup hopped out of Toothless' saddle, looking at their timekeeper hopefully. "So, how'd we do?"

"Technically, you're still the fastest," Fishlegs said. "But someone— and I won't mention who— is gaining significant ground."

The brunet looked around in confusion, first to the twins, who'd gotten bored and were banging their helmets together. "Don't look at us!"

He then (almost habitually) glanced at Dany, who smiled in a flattered sort of way. "I wish, but it's not us, either. You know Drogon's not built for speed."

The large dragon lowered his head to let out a puff of warm air next to her ear in an affectionate gesture, grateful that his mother understood him for who he was. The boy's gaze then slid to the only remaining candidate— Astrid. She reached up and scratched Stormfly under the chin with a sidelong glance in his direction. Out of options, he turned back to Fishlegs. "How can that be? How can Toothless be getting slower?"

"He's not," the other boy told him. "Stormfly's getting faster."

"Oh really?" he asked the blonde as casually as he could. "Is that so? Anything you'd like to share, Astrid?"

"Let's just say I'm taking some of Dany's advice to experiment with what she eats," she answered smoothly, placing her hands on her hips defiantly. "Apparently, it's working. . . and making you mad."

Hiccup's gaze returned to the other girl, his tone taking on a lilting, teasing note. "Astrid's the one getting free advice? And what about me, milady? Are you trying to make me lose?"

Dany quickly became flustered as all of the attention was suddenly turned on her, and she ducked her head to stare at her bare feet. "I— well, Astrid just asked what was the best way to increase speed naturally, so. . . I told her?" Her reply turned upward at the end, as if she wasn't really sure she had been supposed to (as she wasn't entirely sure if he was joking or not.) "I mean, if I'm not going to win, I might do everything I can in support of girl power."

"That's what I'm talking about!" Astrid cheered, moving closer to the blonde with her palm outstretched for a high-five. Daenerys lightly tapped her hand in response, with far less force than what accompanied the usual gesture.

"Oh, I see how it is," Hiccup continued in the same tone, a faint smile turning his lips upward. "What do I have to do to get you on my side again?"

The Targaryen still refused to look anywhere in his direction, though the telltale sign of her face turning pink was enough to show how pleased she was by his question. "Um. . ." Uncertain as to whether he actually meant to get an answer, she hesitated a second too long before the moment was lost.

His usual obnoxious laugh preceded him as the remaining member of the Dragon Academy came soaring into the arena. Snotlout greeted them all with: "you will not believe what I just found."

"A severed head?" Tuffnut guessed hopefully.

His sister was quick to chime in with, "our cousin, Lars?"

"Our cousin Lars' severed head?"

"Lars died?" Fishlegs gasped.

Tuffnut looked around in confusion. "Who said that?"

Dany could only sigh and bury her face in her hand for a minute. Sometimes she didn't understand how the twins hadn't fallen off the side of a cliff or something. The singular braincell they shared seemed to be running on fumes as it died a slow and painful death inside their heads. Luckily she wasn't given long to ponder on their stupidity (which would have given her a headache) as Snotlout grew impatient with their back-and-forth questioning.

"Ex-cuse me. Do you want to see this or not?"

--

Snotlout's "surprise" turned out to be on a beachy island not far away from Berk's shores. Tuffnut was the most disappointed out of all of them at the apparently uninteresting find. (Dany was just relieved that— this time, at least— Snotlout's "surprise" didn't include (again, at least) one of them risking death or dismemberment.)

"Heh. A wrecked boat on Berk? There's something new," Tuffnut mocked.

The shorter boy's enthusiasm wouldn't be dampened as he approached the pile of splintered wood. He turned to call over his shoulder: "just remember I saw it first, so it's mine."

He ducked underneath the sail and gestured for them to come forward. As the group moved towards the boat, Dany lingered in the back, both to keep herself from being surrounded by too many people and to avoid looking at. . . whatever he'd found, since it was probably something disgusting if he was so excited about it. She did hear Tuffnut's suddenly interested, "whoa. Now I like the boat."

"Remember, I get to keep her."

She made a face at Snotlout's comment (as she initially thought he might have found an animal— and she felt sorry for the poor thing, to suddenly be sentenced to Snotlout's care), which turned into a grimace of disgust when Astrid's retribution followed: "Snotlout, it's a person."

Dany took a careful step away from the teen in question, eyeing him warily as he exclaimed, "right? How lucky is that?"

There was some commotion after that as the girl woke, though the blonde wasn't too keen on getting any closer to a stranger. Toothless got a little eager and tried to run forward to sniff at the entrance. Hiccup gently pushed his friend away while reassuring the girl, "oh, d-don't be afraid. He won't hurt you. Come out. It's okay. Easy, bud."

The brunet held out his hands to carefully guide Toothless away from the opening. It was then that Dany saw the girl for the first time: she had long, dark hair that was braided over one shoulder and bright green eyes. She took in her surroundings warily, clearly (and understandably) uncertain about the Viking teens who'd found her. The Targaryen's eyes narrowed slightly as she took in the stranger who, despite being found in a shipwreck, showed no visible signs of injury except for possible dehydration.

The girl's interest, of course, was taken by Hiccup's interaction with the Night Fury. "How did you do that?" she asked softly.

Dany scoffed a little, earning the newcomer's attention. "That? That's nothing. He learned everything he knows from me." (Which, okay, wasn't the whole truth, but there was something. . . off about this girl and it was setting her on edge.)

The brunette's eyes widened with curiosity. "You can do that to?"

"I did it first," the blonde corrected her haughtily.

"Hey!" Snotlout cut in, "be nice to the new girl, Dany." He turned to the brunette as the Targaryen made another face at him, this time for using the nickname that he wasn't allowed to use. "Watch this. Hookfang, get your butt over here!" His Monstrous Nightmare looked up at him for a moment before he turned around and flew away. "Heh heh heh. He'll be back. Jokester. Oh! Just so you know, I'm the one who rescued you."

Hiccup shot the blonde a 'what are you doing?' look as he quickly changed the subject to introduce himself. "And I would be Hiccup."

"Heather," she answered in a small voice.

Ignoring the boy's reproachful glance, Daenerys crossed her arms against her chest as she glared at the so-called Heather. Thankfully, Astrid seemed to be on her side as she questioned the girl shortly: "so, Heather, what happened to you?"

"Yeah," Dany agreed in a similar tone. "Why did we find you at a shipwreck site but you aren't even hurt? And why are you alone? Where are your parents?"

Heather's expression became downcast and her grip tightened on the clay drinking cup she held. "My family and I were on our way home to our island, but our boat was attacked by pirates."

"I wanna be a pirate," Tuffnut interjected. Everyone turned to stare at him as he continued his usual off-topic opinion. "Or a fish cleaner. I'm still on the fence."

Astrid cleared her throat and gestured for the girl to keep going. "You were saying?"

She sniffled a little. "They attacked our boat and took us back to our island, laying siege to it. I was able to escape, but my mother and father. . . they weren't so lucky."

Now, normally Dany would have felt like a jerk (or at least as inconsiderate as Snotlout) after having questioned someone so callously about their deceased parents, but she couldn't bring herself to feel bad or even apologize. Her features remained as stony as ever as she stared at the girl impassively. Her frown only deepened as the girl's sob-story seemed to touch on the hearts of the surrounding boys.

Even Tuffnut became more sensitive as he burst out: "stupid pirates. I'm definitely gonna be a fish cleaner."

Hiccup reached out to place a comforting hand on Heather's shoulder while he shot Dany a 'why would you say something like that, you should apologize' look. "Hey, everything's gonna be okay. My dad's the chief. We'll figure something out."

In return, the Targaryen squared her shoulders as her violet eyes flashed defiantly, answering him with a clear, 'I WON'T!'

As everyone headed back to their dragons (Dany was gratified to see Heather give Drogon a nervous once-over), the two suspicious blondes checked the wreck site more thoroughly for any clues, but there was nothing to be found. They shared a skeptical look before following the others to their own dragons.

Heather looked surprisingly comfortable on the back of a Night Fury— a little too comfortable as she had her arms wrapped lightly around Hiccup's waist. Dany shot her another irritated glare, suddenly feeling the need to reassert her position in the group. Before she took off, she called over to the brunet: "hey, Hiccup, do you want me to give you tips on how you and Toothless can get through the course faster?"

He looked over at her, a little surprised. "I thought that was a girls' secret sort of thing?"

She shrugged. "I changed my mind. Meet me tomorrow morning?"

"We'll be there," he assured her, which made warmth burst in her stomach.

Wanting to show off (now mostly for Hiccup rather than Heather), she leaned forward on Drogon's back. The shift in her weight signaled to him that she was ready to fly, so he launched into motion. The large dragon took several thundering bounds, and just before they would splash into the sea, he spread his wings wide to let the updraft send them soaring into the sky.

The Targaryen smirked a little as Heather's "whoa!" reached her ears.

--

Later that night, after Stoick had agreed to house Heather for the time being, Hiccup showed the girl up to his room, which was where she'd be staying. "Alright, just this way, watch your step. And, here we are."

She looked around the room gratefully, as if it had been a long time since she'd been able to sleep somewhere safe. It made him feel a bit sorry for her and he wished that he could do more to help. This seemed to be enough for her, as she said, "it was nice of your father to let me stay here."

"Until we can find you a safe place to go, consider Berk your home."

"Wow." She moved over to his desk and stared at the blueprints he had pinned up there. "What are these? They're really cool."

"A new saddle for Toothless," he explained. "We're trying to get some extra speed so we can stay on top of Astrid and Stormfly. Astrid's very competitive."

Her gaze moved up and little to the left of the drawings, to the shelf above his bed. "You collect rocks?"

"No!" he answered, perhaps a little too quickly, and he blushed. "I— well, I don't. Um, they're. . . presents. From Dany," he finished awkwardly. "The blonde girl with the big dragon."

"Oh," Heather replied in her soft voice, her expression becoming a little downcast. "The one who doesn't like me."

"Don't worry about her," Hiccup told her reassuringly. "Dany's suspicious of everyone new that she meets. She almost killed me when we first met, you know?"

The brunette looked a bit startled (and nervous— not that he blamed her.) "Really?"

"I don't think she would have now," he added, "but I wasn't so sure back then."

The dark-haired girl reached to gently pick up the one non-rock thing that was on the shelf, which was the carving that Dany had made for him last Snoggletog. He hastily cupped his hands underneath hers as she held the small statue, half-afraid that Heather might accidentally drop it. "Be careful with that one," he requested, a bit desperately.

She glanced at him curiously. "Another gift from Dany?"

"I— yeah," he admitted, now blushing for a different reason as he recalled how some sort of strange, wild courage had taken hold of him that had allowed him to kiss her on the cheek. (He still didn't know where it had come from, or if it would ever reappear again.) "She worked so hard on it. I didn't even know that she was making it for me."

Still feeling worried about Heather's hold on his most prized possession, he gently freed it from her fingers to return it to its place. "It's my favorite thing that I own."

"I guess I just don't know what you see in her. Isn't she. . . strange?"

"Dany isn't strange!" Hiccup replied, immediately defensive. He shook his head, his tone softening slightly at the girl's wide-eyed look. "At least, don't call her that. There's a lot of good things about her. She's loyal, and she likes dragons more than anyone I know; she's very protective of them. She's. . . sweet— well, sometimes. A lot of the time— and. . . she's Dany," he finished with a shrug, feeling extremely awkward at having to describe his best friend.

The brunette frowned a bit, causing him to study her expression with confusion as she asked hesitantly, "you speak very fondly of her. Is she. . . are you two. . . you know. . . together?"

His face felt even hotter than before. "Oh, no," he (again) said too quickly. "She's just a very good friend." He cleared his throat, suddenly desperate to change the subject. "Uhh. . . Do you need anything? Some warm yak milk, a nice fish stew. . .?"

Her features cleared and she chuckled. "No. Thank you, Hiccup. I'm-I'm really tired. It's been a long day."

"Right." He stood there for a moment, not quite sure what to do. "Okay, come on, Toothless. We're sleeping downstairs." He had started to make my way down, when Heather called out to him.

"Hey, Hiccup?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

He smiled, feeling some of the flush returning to his cheeks. "Sleep well, Heather."

--

That night, Dany decided to stay with Astrid as she felt the need to rant to someone about how irritating Heather's soft voice was, how infuriating her innocent act had caused so many of the boys (Hiccup included) fall at her feet, how annoying it was that she still looked beautiful even after being shipwrecked. She kept up a nonstop stream of hate towards the brunette as she followed Astrid around while her friend did her chores.

"I just don't get why Hiccup is being so nice to her. We don't know anything about her! She could be a spy, or a-a secret agent, or—"

"Wouldn't a spy and a secret agent be the same thing?" Astrid commented mildly as she prepared the chicken for Stormfly's dinner.

Dany shot her an aggravated look. She crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe as she glared into the shadowy recess of the Hofferson's barn, imaging the expression being directed at Heather. "That's not even the point! We just found her in the middle of nowhere—"

"Off of Berk's shores isn't really the middle of nowhere," the blonde cut in again, earning herself another scowl.

"Whatever. I'm just saying that we shouldn't be so gung-ho about inviting a new person into our group when we don't know anything about them. What about the dragons? They've already been targets before. Introducing Heather to them might put them more at risk! Is Hiccup even thinking about that?" She carried on without waiting for her friend to answer, her tone becoming even more sarcastic, "no, of course not, since he drops logic and reasoning at the sight of the first pretty face he sees! Just because Heather looks innocent doesn't mean—"

"—she is," Astrid finished, rolling her eyes as she hefted the chicken bucket onto her hip. "I know, you've said. Are you going to complain the whole evening or do we get to talk about something else?"

The Targaryen huffed and crossed her arms more tightly against her chest as she followed the other girl over to the Deadly Nadder. Drogon was resting outside since the barn would be too confining for him (besides, it was too small, but that was besides the fact.) "Fine. If you have anything interesting to talk about, I'm all ears."

"Eat up, girl," the other teen said to her dragon instead. "When Hiccup realizes that this is Dany's improved dinner, he'll be eating our dust."

Slightly mollified by the fact that Astrid wasn't nearly as taken with the new girl as everyone else was, Dany allowed a small smile to form on her face as she watched Stormfly eat. The companionable silence that followed, broken only by the dragon's chewing, was disturbed by a sudden, loud thud!

Stormfly startled, her pupils narrowing as she looked around with alarm. Drogon raised his head and turning it towards the noise, his flame-orange eyes contracting as he focused on the direction of where the sound came from. Both of the girls stilled for a moment before Astrid murmured, "what is it?" Then, she turned to her dragon to whisper, "you stay here." She gestured for the other girl to follow her.

Dany wasted no time in doing so, keeping close to the other blonde as the Deadly Nadder went back to eating her dinner. They peered around the corner of the building, straining to see anything in the darkness. The outline of a lithe shape moving quickly against the homes across the way caught their attention, and the Hofferson let out a sharp, "hey!"

Although the figure didn't stop, Daenerys squinted at movement of the light brown clothes. With complete certainty, she breathed out, "Heather."

--

The next morning, Dany waited on the shore for Hiccup to arrive. She could feel the different textures of stones underneath her bare feet as the water lapped at her toes, chilling them only slightly. Drogon shifted next to her, his breath steaming in the morning air. After what felt like hours, the sound of someone flying caught her attention— but not in the way she'd hoped.

Instead of the usual whoosh of the Night Fury's sonic blast, a girl's laugh giggled out from above her. She shielded her gaze with her hand against the rising sun only to see a sight that made her stomach drop. Heather. Of course it was Heather. Stupid Heather, who'd taken her place by Hiccup's side. Heather, who was now riding Toothless like she'd been the first one to meet him, the first get him on the road to recovery. Heather, whose arms were wrapped around the brunet's waist as they spun loop-the-loops in the sky in what should've been Dany's position.

Daenerys had never, ever wished to be someone else but for the first time in her entire life, she wished that she was Heather.

"You have got to be kidding me," she grumbled. Her stomach both felt nauseous at the sight of Hiccup-and-Heather and tangled up in knots at the same time.

Angrily, she chose a large stone at random and hurled it as hard as she could into the water. Even its loud kur-plunk! wasn't enough to cheer her up.

--

Forgoing her morning with Hiccup, she decided to arrive at the Academy early, though her mood hadn't improved despite her flight there. While she wasn't typically a grumpy person and she didn't like being angry, there was something about Hiccup-and-Heather (maybe it was the way their names sounded together?) that made her infuriated. Her annoyance was so palpable that even the twins picked up on her feelings.

Astrid, who'd been sharpening her axe, looked up at the girl's arrival. Her cheerful greeting died on her lips at the sight of the blonde's expression. "Heather again?"

"Of course it's Heather again!" Dany exclaimed. "Hiccup was supposed to meet me this morning and he completely bailed to fly Heather around the island!"

"Dany, he's just showing her around—" the Hofferson began, a note of impatience in her tone.

"What, so she can do some more sneaking around? Yeah, that's right," she added as her words caught the others' attention. "We saw her sneaking around the Hofferson's last night! She's up to something."

Astrid sighed. "Not this again. It's all you could talk about before bed yesterday. She probably just couldn't sleep."

"So then why did she run off when we called out to her?" Dany challenged.

"Maybe because you were being aggressive," Snotlout put in. "After all, someone as beautiful as she is needs a gentleman's touch."

The blonde stopped sharpening her axe to grimace at him. "I hope you don't mean yourself."

"I can be gentlemanly! Gentleman-like. Whatever. Are we going to train or not?" he asked impatiently.

"Yeah," Fishlegs agreed from where he was giving Meatlug affection. "Where's Hiccup?"

Dany scoffed, a very un-Dany-like sound that caused everyone to turn to her in surprise. She pointed upwards. "Giving a private lesson."

The boy gasped hopefully. "I didn't know he gave private lessons! Can. . . anybody get in on that?"

The Targaryen's voice was flat as she replied, "apparently, just her."

Astrid glanced at the girl with silvery-blonde hair, a knowing look in her eyes. Although Dany had made her promise not to say anything, she was more tempted than ever to point out how jealous her friend was over Hiccup's change in riding partners. She'd never seen the other girl so openly envious of someone, though to be fair, there wasn't much competition in the village. Ruffnut wasn't exactly. . . interested in romance right now and Astrid, well. . . boys weren't really her preference. So, Heather was the first person their age to be. . . extremely friendly with Hiccup, besides Dany herself. It was definitely interesting to see how her best friend reacted to what was going on.

Ruffnut, unusually for her personality, seemed to pick up on this as well. She gave the other girl a similarly interested look. Having made no such promises to Dany, she taunted the blonde, "uh-oh. Looks like there's a hen in the rooster house."

"Uh-oh," her brother echoed from his position, where he was lying on his back on Belch's neck. "Yeah. Another rooster in the hen house— wait, what?" He sat up, confused.

"Nothing," Dany said quickly, feeling her face flame at Ruffnut's words. She quieted as others became involved in the conversation. "Ruffnut— and I know Astrid agrees with her— thinks I'm jealous, which I'm not. There's nothing to be jealous of. Hiccup and I are just friends."

"Oh," the other teen nodded in agreement, though his next words showed how off-base he really was: "wait, of who? Of me? Wait. . . am I the rooster? Or the hen?"

The Targaryen merely sighed, not wanting to get into a discussion that was totally not worth it. There wasn't even a point to this conversation; she wasn't jealous and the girls were completely wrong. She ignored Astrid's slightly smug look and Ruffnut's mocking one. Thankfully, Hiccup finally decided to grace them with his presence as he landed Toothless neatly in the ring. Dany turned her back on him— literally— and turned to face her dragon. Drogon lowered his great head so she could reach his snout, where she gently scratched at the scales around his nose.

"Top of the morning, class," he greeted them as he and Heather got off Toothless. "How's everyone doing today?"

"Oh, nice of you to show up," Astrid replied dryly. Knowing her best friend's tendency to stew about things but not bring them up to defend herself, she jabbed a finger in the girl's direction. "You know, you were supposed to meet Dany this morning." She ignored the blonde's embarrassed hiss of 'Astrid!'

Hiccup smacked his hand to his forehead at the realization. "Oh! We were supposed to meet up!" He winced, eyeing the girl who had yet to turn back around. "Dany. . . I am so sorry."

Dany's focus remained on Drogon, who chuffed slightly at the attention she was giving him. He nudged her hand as if to say you should forgive him. She narrowed her eyes at him in response. As if!

Sensing the tension, Snotlout couldn't help but chime in with, "awk-ward!"

Then, of course, Tuffnut finally had to have epiphany, where he exclaimed, "oh! Dany is jealous of the pretty one, right? Why talk about hens and roosters?"

The Targaryen stiffened at his comparison of her to Heather. While she had never cared much for Tuffnut's opinion of her, it was kind of a smack in the face that even he preferred the new girl over her.

Tuffnut's comment certainly didn't help the situation, so Astrid changed the subject, asking the brunette pointedly, "so, Heather, sleep well?"

Heather only smiled sweetly, not giving anything away about her evening activities. "Very well. Thank you, Astrid." She turned to stare in awe at the arena. "So, this is it? Your dragon training academy?"

"No, our dragon training academy," Tuffnut corrected her. "Remember, I called you the pretty one."

Ruffnut gave her twin a grossed-out look at his attempt to impress Heather. Dany made a face as well, frustrated by the fact that even someone like Tuffnut wanted Heather to like him. Why were all of her friends suddenly so obsessed with the new girl?

"We've been training the dragons to become part of our everyday lives," Hiccup explained, choosing to ignore the other boy's comment.

"And it all goes right in here." Fishlegs held up the Book of Dragons in front of Heather, trying to show it off as well.

Dany frowned at his efforts, too. When she'd been new, none of them had particularly tried to impress her. In fact, all she'd gotten was an invasion of personal space! They were even affording Heather more respect than they had when they'd met her! Snotlout and Ruffnut had both called her crazy, and certainly no one had called her pretty. The contrast between then and now was so different it was hard to believe that the reactions came from the same group of friends. Feeling peeved by this realization, Dany crossed her arms and glared at her bare toes.

"Really? Everything?"

"Mmm, yep," Fishlegs confirmed. "I'm kind of the Log Keeper. Log Master, really."

"He writes down what Hiccup tells them, too," Snotlout interjected, not wanting to be shown up.

"I add my own spin, thank you."

Obviously interested by this, Heather reached forward eagerly. "Can I see it?"

Dany jerked at the question as she felt the now-familiar white-hot anger flare up within her whenever Heather did something especially annoying. She whirled away from Drogon and strode over to yank the book from Fishlegs' arms. What right did Heather have to see all of their dragon secrets? She knew nothing about them, and could even use the information against them! Over Dany's dead body would she bring harm to any of the dragons that lived on Berk, especially after fighting so hard for peace.

"I'll take that, thank you." She nodded sharply in the direction of one of the old stalls. "Hiccup, a word?" she asked, though it was more of a command as she stalked off.

She clutched the book protectively to her chest as she faced him, her tone urgent but less harsh as she spoke again: "Hiccup, I don't think we should be showing her all our dragon secrets."

He seemed to suddenly understand her wariness about the other girl and gave her a smile that was supposed to be encouraging, but really just angered her more. "Dany, it's fine."

"It's not 'fine!'" she insisted, her fingers curling around the book's edges. "You don't know anything about her! She could put the dragons in danger. Why can't you trust me on this?"

The brunet reached out a hand as if to place it on her arm reassuringly before he decided against it, letting it drop back down by his side. "Dany, you know I would never let anyone hurt our dragons. And I do trust her, so you should trust me."

With that, he turned away to walk back into the ring, leaving the blonde to stare after him, dumbfounded. It was only a few weeks ago that he'd taken her side on the dragon flower without so much as a speck of proof. Now, though, hurt churned through her as he doubted her suspicions, as if her dragon knowledge meant nothing. She'd gotten so used to him taking her side without question that this sudden change was more deeply wounding than she had anticipated.

--

"Where is it? Where is it?" Heather was muttering as Dany made her way up the ladder up to the loft.

She stepped off the rungs as quietly as she could to catch the brunette unawares. "Looking for something in particular?" she asked coolly.

Heather's green eyes widened and she whipped around, startled. Daenerys stood in the entrance of the loft, framed against the darkness of the quiet house behind her. The girl's arms were crossed against her chest and there was a sharp glint in her violet eyes. Her silvery-blonde hair tumbled wildly down her back in untamed curls, though instead of making her look unkempt, it only added to her fierce appearance. The ringlet of violet flowers that decorated the crown of her head did nothing to soften her features, instead helping her to look like an avenging queen. Even her dirt-caked bare feet showed how angry she was as they were spaced shoulder-width apart in an unwavering stance.

When she caught sight of the brunette with the Book of Dragons, her voice held took on an unusually contemptuous tone as she added, "what do you think you're doing?"

Hiccup was called up not long after to keep the peace between the two girls. He gave Dany a what are you doing sort of look (again), which she ignored. "Well, are you gonna say something?"

Heather only hesitated for a moment before she came up with a quick excuse. Her voice was drastically softer than the Targaryen's as she said, "I am so, so sorry, Hiccup. I was cleaning up your room, and I found the book. I couldn't help myself."

"It's okay, Heather."

The brunet's easy allowance of the girl's actions made Dany whirl on him. "It's okay? No it isn't! I caught her with the Book of Dragons! If she wanted to read it so badly, why didn't she just come ask you?"

"Dany, come on. It's not that big a deal," he told her with a sigh. He made the mistake of glancing in her direction, though, just in time to see the hurt on her face. Although it made him feel a bit bad, he was mostly confused; why would she look like that? Had he said something wrong? (He didn't think so.)

"Really? She's been sneaking around! The book's not even the first thing I've caught her doing! Last night Astrid and I saw her sneaking around the Hofferson's."

"That was me," Heather admitted. "I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk. I've been having terrible nightmares."

Oh, boo-hoo, Daenerys wanted to say, but didn't. Hiccup sent the girl a sympathetic look. "I can imagine."

The blonde glanced between them once before all of the fight seemed to drain right out of her. Her shoulders slumped and she nodded, as if in defeat. "Fine," she said wearily. "Fine. Whatever."

She turned and clambered back down the ladder, feeling the sting of something like rejection burning within her. (After everything. After the Red Death, and the Outcasts, and the formation of the Academy, why was the Targaryen name still on the outs? She'd tried so hard to prove her worth and for what? For it to go up in smoke for the first pretty girl with dark hair and green eyes to show that she was better than Dany in every way?)

--

Later that night, Heather put her plan into action. She slipped out the back of the chief's house and skirted around the main pathways where she might run into people. Using the darkness of the night as her cover, she made her way to the Hofferson's barn. Just like the night before, the dragons who belonged to the two blondes were resting near each other. The larger one, Drogon was stretched out so that the entire ground looked like it was just made up of scales and bulky muscle. The Deadly Nadder was just inside the barn's open doors, its eyes flickering about with apparent unease while the larger dragon slept.

The brunette approached both of them nervously, recalling what she had been able to read in the Book of Dragons before the strange girl had caught her. The Targaryen's dragon hadn't been in the Book at all; the Night Fury was the last recorded species. After that, there was nothing but blank pages. Testing the waters to find out the unknown first, Heather moved slowly towards Drogon.

He seemed largely unconcerned by her approach, but his size made her wary; his entire head was bigger than her body, let alone the rest of him. And that wasn't to mention the sharp, saliva-dripping teeth that flashed in the darkness or his great, huffing breaths of hot air. She didn't know how the Targaryen tamed him, let alone got along so well that they seemed to share the same mind and soul— but however it had happened, Heather was determined to override that connection (or, at least, make sure Drogon wouldn't attack her while she was dragon-napping Stormfly. But still— imagine if she showed up to the Outcast camp on the biggest dragon any of them had ever seen!)

She was still several feet away from the Targaryen's dragon, who apparently didn't consider her a threat as he had yet to wake from his slumber. Satisfied that he would stay that way, she turned her attention to the other dragon. She murmured the facts she'd memorized under her breath: "approach the Deadly Nadder slowly. . ."

Unfortunately, it wasn't slow enough as Stormfly reacted aggressively, swinging her tail out to show Heather her spikes. The brunette flinched at the reaction. "Spines! Just like the book said. Stay in the blind spot. . ." She reached into her bag to pull out a chicken drumstick, which she offered to the dragon.

She sniffed at it with interest, her nostrils flaring as she took in the scent. Unbeknownst to Heather, Drogon had sensed the chicken as well, but instead of being enticed by it, he opened one, suspicious flame-orange eye to watch the proceedings skeptically. His head lifted slightly from the ground, though not enough to catch the girl's attention.

"I hear you like that," the brunette said encouragingly to Astrid's dragon. Stormfly made a squawking noise as she retracted her tail spikes.

She took the food eagerly, her teeth crunching loudly on the bones. Trusting that the treat would work, Heather tentatively reached up to pet the Deadly Nadder on the snout. But, she'd forgotten one thing: the ever-watchful presence of a much larger, much more dangerous dragon.

Her palm rose, completely flat, as she went to rest it on between the dragon's nostrils— but that was the last mistake she would make.

Faster than she could have ever guessed, Drogon shot awake to full alertness. He lunged forward, towards her, and his sharp teeth snapped at her outstretched hand.

Heather let out a shriek and jumped back, snatching her hand away as her heart pounded harshly in her chest. The larger dragon growled, a deep, low sound that seemed to shake her right to her bones.

The brunette had never been so terrified in her life. His front fangs glinted in the moonlight. The great bulk of him seemed to grow, taller than the surrounding houses, taller than the trees, taller than a mountain, until the sky and stars were swallowed by red-black scales. Stormfly was merely a speck of blue against a never-ending shadow.

At first Heather thought that maybe Drogon wasn't so vastly frightening— were those the evening stars she was seeing again?

But no— it was his eyes, two pinpricks of bright orange that glared menacingly down at her as his snarl rumbled through the night air.

The Deadly Nadder squawked in protest— probably because she wanted more chicken— but that was the last of Heather's concerns. After all, when she jumped away to avoid losing her hand, something hard and pointy prodded at her back.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" a girl's voice asked, matching her dragon's growl with a different sort of menace in her tone.

Smartly, Heather put her hands up where the Targaryen could see them. "I'm. . . making friends with the dragons." She hated how breathlessly scared she sounded, but perhaps that could aid her in garnering some sympathy from the blonde. (Not likely, but if Hiccup were here. . .)

"At night? Do you have a habit of sneaking around or is that special just for us?"

"You're one to talk," the brunette retorted, still terrified but relieved to have some bite back in her words.

Daenerys sniffed haughtily. "It's not sneaking around when you're trying to protect your yak-dung-for-brains friends from a stranger."

"That's not a very nice way to talk about people that you care about," the other girl commented. Her green eyes stayed trained on Drogon, who had turned into a statue at the sight of his rider. She was still on the alert for any sudden movements, not trusting his stillness after she'd seen him move so quickly.

"Then it's a good thing they're not here— though I would still say it to their faces if I got the chance. Now, turn around, nice and slowly."

Heather did as she said, facing the blonde to find an arrow tip pointed straight at her chest. She smirked slightly. "Is this how you make all your friends?"

Daenerys scowled in response. "This is also how I make enemies. Answer my question. Honestly." She poked the point of her weapon at the brunette's chest, causing her to flinch at its sharpness. "Don't give me any of your 'innocent act,' either."

The brunette smiled sweetly at her, though she was still acutely aware of Drogon breathing down her neck— literally; she could feel his hot gusts of breath on her skin, which made her flesh prickle with unease. "I wouldn't dare it. You're way too smart for that."

The Targaryen's expression didn't change, and she certainly wasn't any more flattered because of the other girl's words. "If you start talking, I might not skewer you with my arrow— but that's a pretty big if. I'm considering doing it just for fun."

To her credit, Heather seemed unphased by her threat and kept that stupid, syrupy-sweet smile on her face. "I don't think Hiccup would like that very much if you murdered one of his guests. And besides, what crime can you convict me of besides making friends with your friends' dragons? I live here now, so I should understand your way of life, right?"

With those words, the girl skirted around Daenerys' arrow and stalked off into the night. Dany frowned after her at Hiccup's name-drop, realizing Heather had found her one weakness. As wild and temerarious as she was, she would never do anything that would put her friendship with the chief's son at risk.

Her bow lowered until her arrow point dragged in the dirt by her bare feet. Her gaze stayed trained on the departing path that brunette took, long after the girl herself was out of sight. There was a shift of movement next to her, reminding her of Drogon's presence. Her dragon lowered his head until his neck curled around her in a dragon-y sort of hug. She leaned against his warm scales and closed her eyes for a moment, taking comfort in her best friend's company. Because, even if the whole world turned their backs on her, even if her human friends abandoned her for a pretty, mysterious brunette, Drogon would always be there for her.

There was nothing in the world that could turn him against his mother— not bribes, or harsh actions, or interloper girls, or even an Alpha's fury, because sometimes, there were bonds that were stronger than any of those things when dragon and rider were One.

--

Dany decided not to stay at Astrid's for the remainder of the night. Instead, Drogon flew her to the forest that was in between her home and the village. There, he curled up around the edge of the clearing, so long that his entire body almost made a complete circle. The blonde sat safe and protected in the shadow of her dragon, in a pool of moonlight that shown between a break in the trees.

Her blonde hair turned even more silvery in the pale light and her skin took on the glow from the moon. She crossed her feet under her dress to keep her toes warm as she sat on the dew-damp earth. Reaching out as far as her position would allow her, she began to pluck flowers to start forming a flower crown. As she wove the stalks between her fingers, she took deep, even breaths to calm the anger that boiled inside of her.

Although she detested it, there was some truth to the myths that 'all Targaryens are mad.' After all, the rumor had to start from somewhere. She did her best to not let her anger rule over her and give in to the stereotype that tainted her family name. Her mother was, in fact, quite level-headed, except for where the protection of dragons was concerned. Dany did her best to emulate her, but that protection now also included her human friends. Her dimwitted, easily swayed human friends— but her friends nonetheless.

If things were to keep up with this pattern, she'd have to figure out other ways to outsource her frustration; flower weaving wouldn't cut it if they kept doing stupid things like showing a stranger the Book of Dragons.

She was putting the finishing touches on her flower crown— whose color remained a mystery thanks to the moonlight that washed everything in the same, pale light— when a twig snapped in the woods.

Immediately, both the girl and her dragon lifted their heads. They stayed motionless otherwise as their breathing slowed to take in the sounds around them.

A faint rustle of branches.

A flicker of a shadow across the moonlit floor.

And, for Drogon, the shift in smell; Dany, as the only human in the vicinity, blended in with their surroundings. Her scent was of the dirt and wind and salty sea. This intruder, he could sense, smelled of secrets and fear.

The Targaryen rose to her feet and motioned for her dragon to stay put, much to his chagrin— though he understood he wasn't necessarily made for flitting through the forest unobserved.

Dany followed the noises of someone unfamiliar with their surroundings, keeping to the shadows and trunks of trees she had grown up with. When the forest began to clear out, she stopped just before the edge where the land sloped to the water. She was hardly surprised to see Heather sitting on a log as she waited for men in a boat to row to shore.

The blonde quickly strung her bow and arrow as the strange men stepped onto the land. While she would never like Heather, the brunette was right; Hiccup wouldn't appreciate it if his guest was murdered and since Dany was the only spectator, it would fall on her to protect her sworn enemy.

She settled comfortably against the fallen trunk and rested her bow against its bark, taking aim at the man who appeared to be the leader. He spoke in a gruff voice as he questioned the girl, "what have you learned about the dragons?"

"I've learned a lot, Savage," the brunette replied quickly. Dany scoffed under her breath and lowered her weapon. Of course Heather was working with them! "But there's something else—" She leaned closer to the man to add conspiratorially, "something that's going to make Alvin very happy."

"I'm listening. . ."

"They have a book," she explained. "A book of dragons! It's got everything in it! Everything Alvin could ever hope to learn about controlling dragons."

This piqued Savage's interest. "Where is this book?"

"I don't have it," she admitted. "B-but I will! I promise! I just— I just need a little more time."

"Alvin isn't known for his patience," Savage warned her, moving closer to intimidate the girl with his size.

Heather stumbled backwards as she pleaded, "please. You have to trust me! When I get back to Outcast Island with that book, the wait will be worth it."

Dany didn't stick around to hear the rest as she turned around to run back to Drogon, and then to find Hiccup.

--

She wasn't exactly in the mood to be kind when she opened the door to the chief's house, so she prodded Hiccup in the side with the butt of her arrow. He woke up with a startled grunt and a protest of, "ow! What— Why would you do that? What are you doing?"

Toothless, whose head had risen at her entry, went back to sleep when he realized that he recognized the intruder. Dany stood above the brunet with her arms crossed, her flower crown slightly askew from her flight. "I'm getting proof so you'll believe me when I say we can't trust Heather. I've totally got her now," she finished smugly.

"Dany, it's the middle of the night—!"

The blonde didn't wait for him to get his complaint out and interrupted his words with: "I saw her. In the forest— she was talking with Savage! She's working with the Outcasts, Hiccup."

The boy frowned, clearly not trusting her story. "What? She's upstairs sleeping."

"Oh, yeah? Let's go find out." She heard him groan behind her, but smiled in a self-satisfied way when his footsteps sounded moments later.

Unfortunately, Dany's claim fell short as, once they stepped into the loft, Heather rolled over in Hiccup's bed and blinked up at them with sleepy eyes. "Oh, hey, guys. Is everything okay?"

The Targaryen scowled at her, furious that somehow, despite being a stranger, she'd beat Dany back to the chief's house. Now the blonde looked like a fool and Hiccup would side with the other girl once again.

"Yes, Heather," he answered quickly. "Everything's fine."

Daenerys turned and clambered back down the ladder before Hiccup could reason with her any more. She wasn't quite fast enough, though, and he caught her just as she got to the door. "Dany, don't you think it's possible you saw something else? I mean, it's pretty dark out there."

"I know what I saw," the blonde retorted fiercely. "Why won't you just believe me?"

"Fine," Hiccup replied. "Then tell me who you think she is. A spy?"

She hated how condescending he sounded, as if he were mocking her suspicions. Still, she refused to back down and agreed vehemently, "yes! A spy for the Outcasts! Why else do you think she wanted to know so much about our dragons?"

"Uh, because we're the only Viking clan who's been able to coexist with them? Or maybe just because they're interesting?"

Dany glared at him. "So, what, you're just going to automatically trust every strange, mysterious girl that shows up on Berk?"

While the girl's voice had gotten angrier with every sentence, the brunet had stayed frustratingly calm. He shrugged, his tone remaining even as he replied, "that's what I did with you, isn't it? And look where we are now."

Rather than feeling reassured by his words, she flinched instead. Her fierce expression faded into shock and hurt and her eyes dropped to the ground. Hiccup wasn't sure what the reason was for her sudden change in demeanor; after all, he'd meant his words in the best way possible— because he'd trusted Dany, he'd gained a best friend (and perhaps, eventually, even more.)

However, Daenerys had been on the receiving end of being called strange— or worse— her whole life. It had never meant anything good; the villagers had used the insults to keep her family on the outskirts of town. She'd never, ever thought that Hiccup would believe what they did. Had he thought she was strange (and not in the mysterious way, like Heather, but in the bad, unsettling way Targaryens were always described) from the beginning?

Hearing those words now, coming from him, was like handing him one of her arrows and allowing him to stab her in the back with its sharp point. She shook her head, defeated, now that she knew the boy she'd thought was her best friend would view her as an outsider like everyone else. "Forget it. Just forget it."

Dany turned away from the brunet and made her way to Drogon, who had been waiting patiently outside the chief's house. He shifted as he sensed his mother's unhappiness, baring his teeth slightly in the direction of the boy. The blonde shook her head again as she climbed onto his back. "It's not worth it, Drogon."

--

The next morning, the door to the chief's house flew open to reveal a fuming Astrid. "She's gone!"

Alarmed, Hiccup asked, "Heather?"

"No, Stormfly! Little Miss Innocent stole my dragon!"

That was all he needed to hear to summon the rest of the gang. They met at the cliffside to group up before they took off after the brunette. As usual, Fishlegs was panicking about the situation, muttering "this is bad, this is bad" under his breath. However, Astrid was the one to notice they were missing the second blonde.

"Where's Dany?" she asked as she settled behind Hiccup.

"Yeah," Snotlout piped up, "where is my favorite blonde? Don't worry, Astrid— I can have more than one favorite."

She grimaced in reply. "Yeah, I wasn't worried."

The boy stiffened at the question, pausing in his take off as guilt settled over him. "I don't think she'll be coming with us."

"Why?"

"We. . . had an argument. I'll tell you later," he explained, choosing to focus on the present issue.

Thankfully, she accepted that as a response and, after a bit more bantering, they took off in pursuit of Heather and the stolen book.

Chapter Text

"I can't believe you said that to her!" Astrid exclaimed when they returned to Berk.

After their failure to retrieve the book, Heather had been secured in a cell. Hiccup hadn't gotten very far when the blonde had demanded he tell her what had happened with Dany. He now stood looking at her in confusion, just as lost as he had been the night before. "I don't get it, what did I say that was so wrong?"

She groaned in response. "Ugh! You can be such a muttonhead sometimes!"

"Hey!"

"It's true," the Hofferson countered unapologetically. "What do you think you meant?"

"Just that I took a chance on Dany even though she did threaten to kill me, but instead we became best friends. Are you telling me there's another way that could've been interpreted?"

Astrid sighed. "You know Dany better than most of us. You know people still view her, her family, as outcasts. And then you go and call her strange while taking the new girl's side? Yeah, I'd be pretty mad, too."

Hiccup's eyes widened. "But I didn't mean it like that! She knows I didn't mean it like that, right?"

"Does she?" she asked archly. "Because you also know that Dany has a hard time understanding tone, especially sarcasm. It wouldn't be a stretch for her to accidentally take what you said the wrong way."

"Oh," he said as the realization dawned on him. That would explain why she'd been so hurt by what he'd said. He felt his heart twist in his chest at the idea that she could possibly think of her in such a negative way. Without wasting any more time, he went over to Toothless to climb onto his dragon.

"Where are you going?" the blonde called after him.

He got himself settled on the Night Fury's back before he replied, "to make things right."

--

Hiccup had to admit that he was a bit nervous when he arrived at the now-familiar cottage in the clearing. The dragons that were usually playfighting nearby were unsettlingly still as he landed. Viserion and Rhaegal were crouched low to the ground, their eyes trained on him as they stood on either side of Drogon. Their brother pinned the boy with his bright, flame-orange eyes as his lips curled back to reveal his sharp teeth.

The brunet winced at their reactions to his presence; he'd never felt threatened by dragons before, but it was clear that he wasn't welcome. They must have somehow sensed Dany's current feelings towards him. As he often was, Toothless was ready to protect him. He curled himself around his rider to face the other three with his ears back and teeth bared. His tail lashed agitatedly as he challenged the other dragons to just try and hurt his rider.

Hiccup laid a careful hand on the Night Fury's back to calm him, not wanting to provoke anything. He met Drogon's eyes and lifted his other hand placatingly. "I know I upset Dany last night; I'm just here to apologize and explain what I meant."

He could see the large dragon hesitate as he clearly thought that Hiccup didn't deserve a second chance. Then, Drogon glanced down at Toothless' fierce expression and he heaved a great sigh. Dany's dragon reluctantly folded his legs underneath him to settle on the ground. There was warning still written clearly on his face but, for his mother's sake, he would allow the boy to pass.

Relieved at the dragons' acceptance, he went over to the door to knock, leaving Toothless in the clearing. He could still feel Drogon's 'you better not screw this up' look on his back, which remained present until the door opened. 

This time, it was neither Dany nor her mother who was on the other side. Instead, a man with very light blonde, shoulder-length hair pulled back into a ponytail greeted him. Like the other two members of his family, he had an unusually youthful face with not a strand of facial hair to speak of. He was tall and willowy with remarkably pale blue eyes; they had the same off-putting factor that his daughter's eyes did whenever Hiccup was able to look into them.

"Uh, hi, sir. I'm Hiccup," he stammered, extending a hand awkwardly.

The man looked him up and down appraisingly before he spoke in a lighthearted tone: "well, well, if it isn't the mythical Hiccup. I was beginning to think my daughter made you up just to avoid family dinners."

Hiccup wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, so he offered, "no, I'm definitely real. I'm friends with Dany."

He chuckled at the boy's unease and finally shook the teen's hand. "I'm Randolf; it's about time we met. I wish it was in better circumstances, though; it seems that you've gone and upset my Dany."

The boy winced at that. "I know, I'm sorry. I'd like to talk to her if. . . if I can."

Randolf studied him for a moment longer before he nodded, deciding that the brunet was being genuine. After all, if Dany had decided that he was her friend, he must be worthy of the title; she didn't make them easily. "Very well— but I will warn you: she's. . . not in the best of moods."

He nodded in acknowledgement of the man's words before he allowed Dany's father to lead him to the girl's room. Hiccup wasn't sure what he'd expected to find behind the closed door, but it certainly wasn't the scene of destruction that greeted him. He let out a quiet, "woah," at the sight of it.

Daenerys' room had always been a cluttered, messy place, but after her burst of anger it was ten times worse. Most of the carving projects that she had been working on (in various states of progress— she could never seem to stick to just one) were smashed to bits. Pieces of dragon statues littered the floor in sharp fragments. Her half-hearted attempts at making furniture were shattered beyond repair. The blonde sat in the middle of all the destruction, eerily calm. The only outward sign of distress about her was that her silvery hair was in even more disarray than usual.

She looked up at her father's footsteps, her questioning expression turning angry at the sight of the boy who lingered behind him. She pushed herself to her feet, not caring that her bare toes were in danger of walking over splinters as she approached them. The Targaryen put her hands on her hips as she glared at the brunet. "What's he doing here?"

Randolf chose his words carefully as he replied, "Dany, he's here to talk. He wants to apologize and sort things out."

The girl scoffed. "He missed that chance when he took her side. I'm done talking."

Although he'd known to expect it, Hiccup was still surprised at how angry she was with him. He knew that he hurt her, but this rage, especially in its physical form, seemed. . . excessive. But still, this was Dany, his best friend, and not even her worst moods would be enough to deter him from abandoning her. He stepped out from the shadow of her father and into her room, despite Randolf's hissed warning not to.

He took a deep breath and began: "Dany, I know you're angry with me, but I just wanted to explain what I meant last night. When I said 'that's what I did with you,' I wasn't referring to the strange part. I meant that I trusted you, and the best part about that decision was that we became friends— best friends. And I gave Heather the benefit of the doubt since I thought the same could be said of her; obviously I was wrong about her. I'm sorry that I made it seem that I would ever think about you like that."

Daenerys's eyes narrowed as she listened to Hiccup's explanation. She kept her hands on her hips, still radiating an air of hostility. "Trust? Really, Hiccup? You trusted her over me. It doesn't matter what you thought she was like. You chose her side when you should've been on mine."

"Dany, I messed up. I see that now. I should've been more careful with my words, and I definitely shouldn't have let Heather get between us. I just want you to understand that I value our friendship more than anything."

The blonde sent him a disbelieving look. "Friendship? Is that what you call it? You know, it's easy to claim friendship after you've betrayed someone. I thought you were different, Hiccup. I thought you understood me."

Hiccup took a step closer, his eyes pleading. "I do understand you, Dany. I know I messed up, but I want to make things right."

Daenerys looked away, her expression softening for a moment before hardening again. "You should've thought about that before. I trusted you, and you let me down. I don't know if I can just forget about it."

Randolf, who treated his daughter much like he did their dragons, spoke up in a quiet, even voice. He was the best at calming her worst outbursts, his tone allowing him to reason with her even at her most stubborn. "Dany, forgiveness is a strength, not a weakness. People change, make errors, and learn from them. True friendship withstands those tests. If you truly valued what you had, perhaps giving him a chance to make amends could be the path to something stronger. But that decision is yours to make."

As she let her father's words sink in, Dany looked around her room, for the first time without the haze of anger hovering over her vision. Regret and shame were equal emotions on her face as she took in the damage she had caused; all of her projects were ruined. All of that work, all of that time, only for it to be destroyed in a bout of her fury.

After what felt like an eternity, Daenerys finally sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I don't know, Hiccup. This is more than just about last night; I trusted you, but when push came to shove, you chose someone we didn't even know."

"Would it help if I said that I could start proving that I'm on your side right now?"

The blonde did her best to not look interested but didn't do a very good job of it. "What did you have in mind?"

He glanced at Randolf, who could tell that his daughter wasn't as volatile as she had been earlier that day. He nodded to the boy and slipped from the room, allowing them to talk more privately. Once he was gone, Hiccup replied, "I made a mistake trusting Heather and she took the Book of Dragons. We tried to go after her and get it back, but weren't able to get there in time. It's in Alvin's hands now and we don't know what he's planning with it. I need your help, Dany. We need to find a way to stop him, and I can't do it alone. Will you help me?"

--

Although a part of her wanted to refuse, Dany agreed and she found herself at the Dragon Academy later that day. The gang was training for a full-on assault from Alvin, should it come to that. She sincerely hoped it wouldn't since they were rather ill prepared; trying to get the twins in sync was like trying to teach a yak to knit— impossible.

Not only that, but her arrival had been lukewarmly received; Snotlout had greeted her with a dry, "oh, now look who shows up."

At least Astrid had been welcoming as ever and had sent her a questioning glance. Dany knew that she wanted to know what happened, but she just jerked her head in a motion that clearly meant later. Now they were watching Snotlout try to aim a catapult at Meatlug.

"Hey! That was a little close, Snotlout!" Fishlegs cried.

"Quit whining, Fishlegs!"

The blond boy gave him an irritated scowl and turned his dragon the teen's direction. In retaliation, he had Meatlug release the lava that had been formed by her swallowing the boulder right where Snotlout had been standing.

"Hey, cut it out!"

"Quit whining, Snotlout!" he echoed mockingly.

Hiccup came over on Toothless to intervene, reminding them: "nice job, guys. But remember, the Outcasts are not going to be coming one at a time."

Dany stayed next to Astrid, still not quite ready to forgive the brunet. Drogon seemed to be in complete agreement with her as his orange eyes stayed trained menacingly on the boy, though his posture remained relaxed as he curled his neck over her shoulder.

Fishlegs didn't appreciate the thought, and he whimpered a bit as he pictured the what-if scenario. "You don't need to remind me. We're under enough stress."

"Remember," he continued, "we're only gonna have one shot at getting the Book of Dragons back."

"Uh, did I not make myself clear about the stress?" Fishlegs asked before he and Meatlug flew out of the way, her wings buzzing as she went.

The twins were next up with Ruffnut leading the way as she urged Barf to let out a cloud of gas. Her brother followed with Belch, who sparked it into flames. Snotlout dove out of the way just in time as their fire washed over Hookfang.

Astrid landed next to them on Stormfly, calling out: "too early, Snotlout! You have to time it perfectly!"

"It wasn't me," he exclaimed, lifting his hands defensively. He pointed an accusing finger in the twins' direction. "It was them."

"Uh, sorry," Ruffnut said, not sounding very apologetic at all.

"Yeah," he brother added, chuckling to himself. "Still working out the kinks."

Dany sighed because that meant the twins had no intention of cooperating; in fact, they were probably planning on making things worse. There wasn't much improvement from anyone else, either, as Hookfang lit up in flames due to the twins aggravating him. Astrid shot a glare at the flaming dragon. "Can you calm him down?"

Drogon bared his teeth in the Monstrous Nightmare's direction. Dany could feel his muscles coiling as he prepared to take matters into his own hands— claws?— and she turned to Snotlout to prompt him: "do it now— just like I showed you."

The boy sighed and cracked his knuckles. "Fine. Whatever."

He ran over to his dragon and grabbed the Monstrous Nightmare's horns to pin them roughly to the ground. Hookfang's flames immediately died down as his head lolled on the arena floor, his tongue hanging out from the side of his mouth. He smirked at his success. "Daenerys taught me that one awhile ago. Thanks, babe."

She grimaced in reply. "Don't. . . mention it."

Meatlug flew closer to them as Fishlegs tried to understand their reasoning. "Wait, wait, wait— he likes having his horns pinned to the ground?"

"Tuffnut does," his sister offered.

He frowned. "I do?"

The question encouraged her to fling herself at him so she could force the horns of his helmet against the ground. He let out a contented sigh. "Oh, yeah. That does feel kind of nice. The dirt's soft. . ."

Astrid rolled her eyes at their antics, her tone short as she demanded: "Can we get on with it? There could be a whole army coming at us."

"Well," Snotlout began, gesturing to her mockingly, "we're waiting. . ."

Astrid directed Stormfly into the air, and as soon as she was ready, Hookfang lit fire to the ground. "Spine shot, Stormfly!"

In response, the Nadder shot out some of her tail spines into it, creating flaming spikes. One of them pinned itself into Tuffnut's helmet, but he just shrugged. "Huh. kinda like that, too. Make a note."

"That's gonna work great," Hiccup decided with a satisfied smile.

"You know, all this training is nice once we have the book, but Alvin's not just gonna hand it over to us," Fishlegs pointed out.

Astrid landed Stormfly next to them and jumped off while Dany left the comfort of Drogon behind to join the group. The Targaryen twirled a piece of silvery-blonde hair around her finger as she shared a glance with the other girl. When Astrid nodded in encouragement, she spoke up hesitantly: "we've been thinking about that, actually. Alvin will probably only hand to someone on his side that he trusts. . . like Heather."

Fishlegs gave her a wary look as he leaned over to whisper (loudly) to Hiccup: "I didn't want to say this before, but I think I'm starting to believe the rumors about the Targaryen madness. . ."

Hearing his words, Astrid elbowed him sharply in the gut as retribution for her best friend. He winced and held his stomach. "Ow! Why is it always violence with you?"

"It's not violence, it's communication," she answered loftily.

Hiccup didn't seem to catch what they were hinting at and he frowned at the idea. "So, you're suggesting that we let Heather go?"

"Sort of," the Hofferson said.

"Oh no, is the madness contagious?" the blond boy asked in alarm. He backed away from the girls, but not quickly enough as Astrid punched him in the stomach again.

Hiccup pulled the two girls away from the rest of the group. "What are you guys planning?"

They shared another glance before Dany responded, "well, obviously we can't risk Heather actually going to Alvin, but. . . there are ways to make it look like she is."

"Blonde hair is very easy to dye black," Astrid finished, her tone smug.

The brunet's eyes widened as the realization sunk in. There was only a faint hit of concern in his gaze as he looked over at the Targaryen. "Okay. And. . . who would be Heather? Dany?"

"Oh, gods no," Daenerys replied quickly. "There's no way that I could pull that off. Plus my eyes would give me away even if my hair was colored. Astrid's going."

Although he wasn't especially happy about that either since he didn't want to put any of his friends in danger, Hiccup still let out a breath of relief that at least Dany would stay near him— er, the group— when they went into enemy territory.

--

Later that night, they waited by the boat they'd prepared for 'Heather's' journey. Apparently not everyone had been filled in on the plan as, once Astrid had come out of the cave, the twins sprinted forward charged at her.

"Heather!"

"Get her!"

"That rhymes!"

They pinned Astrid to the ground, holding her arms out at her sides. Since it was so dark, they didn't see the furious glare she shot at them as she struggled under their combined weight.

"You— must— stay— in— your— cell," Tuffnut grunted. "How many times do we have to tell you?"

The boy made the mistake of lifting one of his hands off her to adjust his helmet. Astrid took her chance and punched him in the face, freeing herself from both blondes. The Hofferson sat up, seething at their idiocy. "It's me, you muttonheads!"

They stood and Tuffnut looked at her critically with one hand on his chin. "Whoa."

"Wow!"

"Sorry, Astrid. Totally unconvincing."

She rolled her eyes as she walked past them. "Oh, yeah. I could tell."

Hiccup and Dany went over to the boat after Astrid had climbed in. The blonde girl placed a hand on its side as the boy watched her worriedly. "You sure about this?"

"No, but it's our only chance," she reasoned.

"We'll be shadowing you from the sky," Dany reminded her.

The other girl scoffed a little. "I don't need shadowing."

"We know," the Targaryen reassured her, "but it's better to be safe than sorry, right?"

"Besides, it'll make us feel better," Hiccup added.

Since the boat put Astrid at a taller height than them, Dany tilted her head up to look at her best friend. "We'll stay out of sight— promise. We won't risk the mission for the sake of being careful."

She nodded in agreement. "I'll get the book and get out of there."

Then it was time to send her off. Fishlegs pushed the boat out to sea and the group watched as she drifted away from them, growing smaller with each passing second. When they could no longer see her, the others turned back to get ready for their phase of the plan, leaving only Dany and Hiccup by the shore for a moment longer.

"She'll be okay, won't she?" the girl asked, her eyes never leaving the horizon.

The brunet didn't seem to hear her at first, his gaze focused on something besides the skyline. His face was turned towards the girl, his expression rather soft, especially for what they were about to do. Although he thought that Dany was pretty on a daily basis, she was particularly striking in the moonlight. The light of the moon turned her hair even more silvery, tumbling down her shoulders like a shimmering waterfall. It played tricks on the shadows of her features, creating an ethereal glow around her. With her bow and arrows strapped to her back, Dany looked nothing short of one of the Valkyries from Valhalla, and Hiccup wondered how he could have ever put Heather above her.

"Of course," he said once he registered her question. "She's strong, and Astrid is one of the best fighters we have. And like we said, we'll be there if things get tricky."

Dany nodded, as appeased as she could be until both their friend and the book were safely returned.

--

"I wanna go on record and say that I'm not so sure about this plan, guys," Fishlegs told them, as nervous as ever.

"If you have another one, I'm open," Hiccup replied, raising his voice over the wind. As part of their strategy, he had a large basket of fish strapped to his back for when they encountered the wild dragons.

"I just think landing in a wild dragon nesting ground is really going to freak Meatlug out." The boy's dragon let out a belch in agreement.

"Really? Well, how does she feel about flaming arrows and catapults?"

Fishlegs grimaced at the other option. "Uh, yeah, she really doesn't like those either."

"It'll be fine, Fishlegs," Dany reassured him, her voice barely reaching their ears from her place above them. Drogon's large shadow was a heartening shield from being bombarded by any errant dragons, so her words were actually encouraging. "We'll make it through, you'll see!"

As usual, Snotlout tried to one-up everyone by boasting, "tell you what, Fishlegs, when we get there, you just lay back, and let the real dragons do the work."

The blond shook his head. "Yeah. . . You really have no idea what a swarm of angry wild dragons are capable of."

The twins came up on either side of him, with Tuffnut stating, "You know what would be awesome?"

His sister answered: "Flaming arrows. . . catapults. . ."

"And wild dragons!" he finished excitedly.

"That makes three of you!"

--

They continued to fly through the darkness, thankfully unbothered by any dragons. With the exception of the sharp rocks that jutted up from the water, their pathway was clear. Growing more comfortable since they hadn't met any adversaries, Hiccup called over to the habitually nervous boy, "you see this, Fishlegs? You got yourself all worked up for nothin'."

Unfortunately, he spoke too soon as the screech of a wild dragon reached their ears. "Umm. . . You were saying?"

The brunet remained calm as he reminded them, "stick to the plan! No matter how crazy it gets."

Snotlout scoffed in reply, seemingly unaffected even as more wild dragons surrounded them. "Crazy? I love crazy! Bring it! Wait! What's the plan again?"

They soared downwards and the group of dragons followed them. When they reached the lowest point of their dive, the changed course so that they were angled sharply upwards. Just as they gained lift, Hiccup shouted: "now! Fire!"

He released the fish in his basket as a bait to distract the dragons, which prompted Dany to fulfill her part of the plan. As the biggest dragon they had, even wild dragons were loath to challenge Drogon. So, she angled him parallel to the other riders where they fell into a graceful arc. His widespread wings allowed a large barrier between them and the swooping dragons so that the others could fly unhindered.

They kept in a tight group as the wild dragons dove below them, Drogon and Dany completing calm spirals around them. The other dragons were easily deterred from picking a fight with any of theirs as any opportunity they had was met with either Drogon's wings or tail. The only flaw in their otherwise perfect execution was (of course) Snotlout— he'd forgotten to release his fish.

"Yes! We did it!" he cheered. "Stupid dragons!"

Stupid boy, the Targaryen thought in response as her eyes caught on what he was holding. She and Drogon were at the high point of their circle, above their friends' heads. Since she was the one to see it first, she shouted: "Snotlout, drop the fish!"

He turned his head upwards to look at her with probably a snarky comment on his lips, but he was cut off by saying anything as a Deadly Nadder dove down to grab it from him. Dany's heart raced as the Nadder swooped down, its sharp talons reaching for the fish in Snotlout's hand. Time seemed to slow as she urged Drogon into as much speed as he could manage, diving towards the oncoming dragon. The larger dragon's wings extended even wider, shielding Snotlout from the impending danger.

Although he was reluctant to let go of his lunch, he was even less enthusiastic about becoming the Nadder's meal— and having Drogon's huge, sharp claws so close to his person. He hastily let go of the bait, allowing it to fall freely. The Nadder, however, was determined, and it continued its descent to snatch the falling treat mid-air.

Drogon twisted in mid-air and snatched the Nadder's tail in his powerful jaws to give the dragon a warning bite. The Deadly Nadder screeched in surprise, dropping the fish as it struggled against Drogon's grip. The Targaryen maintained her composure, directing her dragon to release the Nadder unharmed. While she knew Drogon could take care of any dragon that was a threat to them, her friends were watching and she knew Hiccup wouldn't like it if she hurt a dragon unnecessarily, even one that posed as a danger to the group.

As the Nadder flew off with an irritated screech, she fell back to fly with the group once more. Hiccup glanced over at her with pride and gratitude on his face— an expression she missed since she was busy scolding Snotlout for being so careless. ("Next time, stick to the plan from start to finish!")

When they had recovered from the altercation, the brunet made sure to tell her, "great job, Dany."

Even though she was still mad at him about the whole Heather incident, the blonde felt her face flush despite the cool wind. She knew that she had the tendency to take things a bit too far, especially in the heat of the moment, so she was extra pleased that he approved of her actions.

--

They landed at the waiting place without any more obstacles. While they listened for Astrid's signal, the riders used their own methods to entertain their dragons; Fishlegs scratched Meatlug under her chin, Snotlout leaned against Hookfang in a bored fashion and Drogon lowered his head so that Dany could gently stroke the scales on his snout.

After a while, some of the boys started to get restless; tired of waiting, Snotlout cupped his hands over his mouth to let out a loud, "coo-coo! Coo-coo!"

Hiccup gave him an unimpressed look as Drogon snorted with irritation at the unexpected noise. "What are you doing?"

"Coo-coo! Coo-coo!" he repeated. "Duh, that's our signal!"

The brunet sighed. "Guys, we don't give the signal this time, Astrid does." He sat down on the rocky ledge. "We talked about this."

"I remember that," Dany agreed.

"Kiss up," Snotlout grumbled.

"Like any of this matters anyway," Fishlegs spoke over the other boy's complaint. He wrung his hands together as he worried about their friend. "Astrid's almost an hour late! Oh, we should never have let her go. Alvin must've figured out what was going on and—"

"Fishlegs," the Targaryen cut across him, her tone patient, "it'll be okay. This is Astrid we're talking about, after all. She's strong, and she's one of the best fighters we have."

Hiccup smiled a little as she echoed his words from earlier. He hoped that meant they were on better terms than they had been that morning.

--

Dany had to admit that even she was beginning to get impatient when it was starting to feel like several hours had passed. She turned sharply at the sound of leaves rustling close by, which had also caught Hiccup's attention. He stood and looked in the same direction.

"There's Astrid!" he exclaimed with relief.

"Who's that with her?" Fishlegs asked, as there were two older Vikings— one with blond hair and the other with dark brown— on either side of her.

"I don't know," was the reply. It didn't matter, though, as the girl waved to fingers in the air. "But that's the signal. Okay, let's go, bud," he added to his dragon.

He flew over to where the trio was waiting. Toothless' arrival understandably made the older couple scared and as he moved closer to sniff at them, they held on to each other for support. If this was their reaction to Toothless, he was glad that Dany and Drogon hadn't been in his place.

"Who's this?"

"Heather's parents," Astrid answered. She lowered her voice to add, "she was telling the truth, just go with the plan."

Additional movement from the tree line made him look over in alarm, only to see several Outcasts emerge with spears and shields. Alvin himself emerged, calling, "oi! There they are! Get them!"

As the Vikings enclosed around them, Hiccup placed a calming hand on Toothless' neck to keep him from reacting. Astrid and Heather's parents shuffled closer, tightening their small circle. Alvin laughed at their unease as he approached them. "Well, Hiccup, bet you're surprised to see me."

The boy remained unphased and he shrugged. "Eh, not really. This is where you live, right?" Toothless let out a little roar. "Easy, bud. Looks like he's got us this time."

The leader of the Outcasts smirked with pride, clearly impressed by his own cunning. "You know, Hiccup. . . along with that little girlfriend of yours, your knowledge of dragons is unmatched. With this book and my knowledge of warfare, the three of us could make quite the team. How's that sound?"

If it had been their friends teasing him about his relationship with Dany, his face would've turned a bright shade of red. Now, though, he merely scoffed in response as he replied for both of them, "uh. . . insane, demented, delusional, stupid?"

Alvin let out an annoyed huff at his refusal but quickly moved on. "All right then, we'll just have to agree to disagree. You're a smart boy, Hiccup. You know I can't let you leave the island."

"And you're a smart, murderous barbarian, Alvin. You know I have a better plan than this."

"So do I," the older man replied.

They both cried, "now!" at the same time with very different results.

Alvin's men readied themselves for battle, thrusting their swords out in front of them— but they were not used so much for weapons than as a barrier to keep the oncoming dragon riders from getting any closer. They were easily felled as Hookfang blasted flames directly at their shields, sending the soldiers running for their lives.

Meatlug leapt forward and used her weight to throw a man bodily to the side. She then turned and took out another man with her clubbed tail. Barf and Belch picked soldiers off one by one as they grasped them in their jaws to dangle them in the air before they flung them away.

Dany flew high above the chaos as Drogon circled the clearing almost lazily. She had readied her arrows before they launched into battle and was now picking off Alvin's men who shot crossbows from trees. They were so focused on their ground targets that they never thought to take an aerial one into consideration. She watched with satisfaction as her arrows hit each of their marks, causing the Outcasts to fall from the branches like unwieldy leaves.

But, it still wasn't enough; more soldiers seemed to pour in and overwhelm the riders. Several of them got a net over Meatlug and Fishlegs, who cried out: "help! This wasn't part of the plan, guys!"

Another Viking lassoed a rope around the Hideous Zippleback, tying their heads together. The twins were promptly thrown off and landed harshly against the rocky ground. Toothless backed up as other Outcasts approached them with their swords raised. He shot a plasma blast but, somehow, their shields held.

Astrid commandeered a shield from a careless soldier and knocked him out easily, but a shield could only do so much against swords. Even though Dany took out as many as she could from the sky, it seemed that Alvin had an endless stream of men at his disposal— and she only had so many arrows.

Snotlout retreated back towards Hiccup, insisting, "there's too many of them!"

"We're never getting out of here!" Astrid added, raising her voice above the noise. She'd been forced to take a position near Toothless to keep the fire off herself as much as she could. Dany was the only one to remain unaffected by the swarm of men, though her quiver was definitely starting to feel the strain.

Then, a shadow— smaller, quicker, more agile than Drogon's— darted across the ground. The net was lifted off of Meatlug and Fishlegs. A burst of flame burned away the rope that tied the Zippleback heads together.

"Is that. . .?"

"Heather," Astrid replied, impressed despite herself. She beamed at the sight of her beloved dragon. "Stormfly!"

"What?" Alvin demanded. "Heather?"

As the Deadly Nadder landed next to them, the Hofferson ran forward to greet her dragon happily. To the other girl, she said, "I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

"It's okay. I wouldn't have believed me, either."

"Now let's get your parents." She joined Heather on Stormfly's back and the brunette (the real one) wrapped her arms around Astrid.

The others followed their lead and took off after the Nadder, who grasped them in her claws. Heather reassured them from above by instructing them, "Mom! Dad! Hold on!"

"Alright guys, just like we practiced! Ruffnut, cover fire!"

"It's about time!" she exclaimed gleefully.

She guided her dragon to lay down a thick layer of green gas, which her brother lit with a cheer of, "I love this part!"

As the catapults were destroyed in one fell blow, Hiccup turned his attention to the next target— the oncoming boulder. Quickly, he shouted over to the other boy: "Fishlegs, incoming!"

Meatlug was ready and easily swallowed the large rock. "Oh, nice catch, girl! Lava blast!"

Her shot took care of the final catapult and the nearby men ran for cover. Dany reached an arm back to take an arrow from her quiver, but was only met with empty air. She swooped lower to get level with Stormfly and— addressing just Astrid— she informed the other girl, "I'm out! You're up next."

Stormfly released a set of spine shots, which Hookfang lit aflame. They embedded themselves in the tree trunks and forced the remaining archers to jump to the ground for safety. Snotlout let out a cheer. "You feelin' the heat, boys? 'Cuz I sure am!"

"Great job, guys!" Hiccup told them. "Let's get out of here."

Furious at their success— maybe Dany should teach him some anger-management tips— Alvin made a last-ditch effort to get them. He tossed Savage into a catapult and released it, despite the man's protests. As he flew through the air, Dany thought— prayed— that maybe Alvin had terrible aim. Surely their win was enough, right?

But, it wasn't.

As Savage flew over them, his arc was just right to take Astrid out on his way down. The Hofferson was lucky enough to catch a tree branch before she reached the ground, but it wasn't strong enough to hold her weight. When she did land at its base, Alvin was waiting for her.

He picked her up easily in one of his large, meaty hands and threw her over his shoulder, flailing legs and all. Dany's heart dropped into her stomach as her best friend landed back in the Outcast's clutches— and not on purpose. "Astrid!"

Seeming to read her mind, Drogon turned in mid-air, his wings beating powerfully as they changed direction. He folded them in so they could dive towards the ground like a bullet, hoping, desperately, to reach her in time. As he levelled out feet from the ground, the Targaryen had her dragon shoot small bursts of flame at Alvin's heels in the hope that it would get him to drop Astrid— of course, being careful to not actually set the girl on fire.

The leader of the Outcasts came to a stop at the cliff's edge. Drogon pulled back as much as he could, his weight keeping them from making a clean stop. He finally stilled inches away from Alvin's face, but even having the largest dragon he'd ever seen staring him down wasn't enough to deter him from hanging Astrid over the water.

"Surrender," the older man said with an evil grin on his face. "Or else. . . well, you know the rest."

Unhesitatingly, Dany began, "Drogon, Ald—"

Astrid looked down sudden, her attention caught on something not far below. "Dany, don't shoot!"

Drogon let out a puff of hot steam that ruffled Alvin's beard, but the orange glow in the back of his throat disappeared. He pinned the Hofferson with an 'are you sure about this?' look, as best as a dragon could do.

An unfamiliar Monstrous Nightmare appeared, catching the Outcast leader by surprise. The dragon flicked him backwards with his tail. Astrid landed on the ground as well, but she took the opportunity to get the Book of Dragons back. Then, the Nightmare came back to pick her up, lifting her into the air, back to safety.

"Who is that?" the Targaryen wanted to know as they flew away.

"Just a new friend I made."

Dany smiled at her as she asked teasingly, "are you trying to steal my title as Mother of Dragons?"

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it," she replied in a similar tone.

--

The morning after Heather left found Dany on the rocky shores of Berk. She was usually an early riser, so the gray, pre-dawn light didn't bother her. The wind still held an arctic chill to it, but that wasn't something she really registered, either, as her bare feet carefully carried her over sharp rocks. Since she had only gone for a short flight to get to the beach, her daily flower crown— today's was made up of very pale, light pink flowers— was still resting securely amongst her tumble of wild silver curls. Her bow and arrows (refilled after the battle) had been laid to rest by Drogon's side for safekeeping.

This was one of her favorite times of the day; too early for normal humans to be awake, too late for anything remotely dangerous to bother her (not that anything would with Drogon breathing over her shoulder.) Speaking of the large dragon, he had laid himself out on the rocks in a completely straight line, his wings folded close to his sides. The only sign of life from him was his half-closed eyes as he watched his mother fondly. Dany knew that he was waiting patiently for the sun to rise, when its rays would hit the rocks and warm them to a comfortable heat, which he would soak up like a sponge.

The Targaryen herself wasn't waiting for anything; she was already combing the shore, half-bent as she looked for little presents that were left behind by the sea. If Drogon could talk, he would nag her about her posture ("you'll be bent like a willow tree if you walk like that!") but, thankfully, he couldn't, so he kept his comments to himself.

They had been there for nearly half an hour when Drogon unexpectedly lifted his head, his nostrils flaring as he smelled the breeze. There was more than just salty ocean air on it; something else, something like the night— cool and smokey, with the hint of the static buzz of lightning behind it. Recognizing the scent, Drogon merely laid his head back on the ground.

Moments later, Toothless and Hiccup soared into view. The boy landed close to the cliffs and jumped off his dragon. The sound of his metal leg hitting the rocks alerted Dany, and she looked up at him in surprise. "Hiccup? What are you doing here?"

"Good morning to you too," he said, his tone still a little sleepy, as if he'd just woken up. "I'm not out here for my health, you know."

She frowned. "Then why are you here? And good morning."

"I missed our rock-collecting date, didn't I?" He blushed furiously as he realized the slip of his words. "I-I mean, not date-date. Not like that. Not that I don't enjoy spending time with you, I just mean— uh, that we were supposed to collect rocks together—"

The Targaryen couldn't help but laugh at his awkwardness, the silvery peal of it a pleasant sound in the cool morning air. "It's okay, Hiccup. I get it. Are. . . are you sure you want to. . . do this together?"

"I got up early for you, didn't I?" he asked, not to make her feel bad, only to point out that he was committed to his promise.

"Yes, I suppose you did. Thank you."

After she finished speaking, she turned away and returned to her original task, leaving the boy standing there, feeling a bit confused. He thought she'd be happier that he'd made good on his word, albeit several days later. Instead, she seemed to be entirely unaffected; even Drogon was happier to see Toothless than she had been to see him— and that was saying something, considering that the larger dragon was simply tolerating the smaller one's curious sniffing at him.

His booted and metal feet crunched over the rocks as he went to stand beside her. "Dany, are you still mad at me?"

She straightened to look at him properly. "Not really. Why?"

"Well. . . I thought you'd be more excited that I was here?" His voice raised uncertainly at the end of his question, not even sure if that was what he'd wanted to ask.

"Oh," she replied. "Well, you promised that you'd be here. Now you are. What else do you need?"

He shook his head; even though he thought he knew her very well, Dany was like a puzzle that he'd thought he'd completed, but realized he kept finding another piece.

--

Daenerys decided to call it quits for the day when the sun had risen well above the horizon. The normal, golden light had returned, which made Drogon happy but rock-finding less bearable. To keep track of the treasures she'd found, she took out the arrows in her quiver and dumped the rocks in there instead. It rattled pleasantly as she strapped it on again. She tucked the loose arrows under her arm and made to climb onto her dragon, but Hiccup's request of "wait!" made her stop.

He crunched his way over to her with his arms out by his sides for balance over the shifting rocks. When he was close enough, she waited for him to say whatever it was that he needed to, but he did something that she least expected.

Instead of speaking, he reached forward and gently grasped her arm. Then, like she always did with him, he flipped her hand over so that her palm was facing up. Something cool and solid landed against her skin, contrasting with the warm bush of his fingertips against her palm. She shivered slightly at the difference and felt her stomach flutter with nerves at the thought of looking down.

After curling her fingers around the object, Hiccup pulled his hands away from hers. The only words he offered as an explanation were: "for you."

Dany felt her face heat up at the reverse of the gesture. There was a warmth in her chest, like a small sun had settled there and made it its home. Her heart skipped a beat at the slight, knowing smile he sent her before he turned and went to climb onto Toothless' back. (The Night Fury himself let out a rumbling chirrup, as if he were encouraging the boy for a job well-done. The sound subsequently made the brunet's own face turn red as he grumbled, "shush, you.")

It was only once the dragon and rider had taken off— and Daenerys was alone on the beach again— that she opened up her curled fingers. In her palm lay a smooth, triangular stone with black inlay, but that wasn't what made it special.

The other shade that swirled around the black was purple— or, more accurately violet. The same color as lavender flowers, the same color of amethysts, the exact same color of Dany's eyes.

Chapter Text

10 years ago

When Dany was just a little girl, before she was old enough to take to the skies, before she met Hiccup, before the Battle of the Red Death— but only a few years after her parents' flight from Berk, she took an interest in wood carving. Her father disappeared into the shed out back for many long hours, only to return smelling like birch and cedar and the sweetness of sap. He would have fine golden particles sticking to his clothes, some of it even coating his face as he wiped sweat off his brow with an already-dirty kerchief.

His hands, though long-fingered and fine— like his daughter's— were roughened by callouses due to many years of holding a saw or an axe or a carving knife. Some days they came back stained black, as if he'd put his entire hand in the cooling embers of a fire— he later explained that this was charcoal. Her mother forbade her from entering the shed due to Randolf's obliviousness; he tended to get lost in his craft, which could lead to five-year-old-girls getting up to no good around sharp objects. Because of this rule, Dany was even more curious to what her father did inside.

First, she simply watched him so her mother's observant gaze wouldn't become suspicious. With a cat-sized Drogon beside her, Daenerys took to tending their vegetable garden, which was in the space between their house and the shed. She preferred being outside, anyway, and it allowed her a first-row view of her father's comings and goings.

She watched as he stood out by the chopping block with his tools, cutting down tree trunks even bigger than her to something just large enough to pick up. On nice days, he would sit on the chopping block with his hewn-down wood and begin to smooth it with his rasp. Sometimes— when her mother wasn't looking— Randolf would gesture for her to come over. Dany approached him cautiously, glancing back at the house every so often to keep an eye on Ingrid.

He smiled at her wariness and when she was close enough, he drew her against him. The sensation made her squirm a little, since at that point, her father would be hot and sweaty from cutting the wood— an unpleasant feeling for her. She stilled, though, when he took her smaller hand in his and positioned the rasp into the correct holding position. Together, they would make long, smooth scrapes against the wood to even out the rough surface.

If he had been working with a piece for many days, he would invite her to feel how smooth it was. Dany would run her hand down the panel and marvel at how something that was once so rough could be worn down to a silken texture. She watched those smoothed pieces of wood go into the shed and vanish for long periods of time before they came out, transformed, into a table or chair or shelf. It was that part of the process that she wondered about: how did a tree become furniture?

Her chance to get the answer to that question came when her mother had gone out foraging for the day. As soon as Ingrid was out of sight, Dany slipped from the house— where she was supposed to be working on her mending skills— to the shed.

Randolf hardly noticed when the door opened wide enough to allow a small girl to slide through; it was only the awed gasp that she let out that alerted him of her presence. Since Daenerys had never been inside the shed, she was surprised by the dimly lit interior that was illuminated by the soft glow of flickering torches. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust after the brightness outside but when they did, her gaze fell on a haphazard collection of tools and materials scattered across the worn dirt floor. The uneven wooden shelves were burdened with mix of axes, chisels, saws, and leatherworking implements, their blades stained with the evidence of countless projects.

In one corner where her father sat, a massive wooden workbench dominated the space, its surface marred by nicks, gouges, and stains after years of use. Piles of timber, both seasoned and new, were stacked in precarious arrangements, waiting to be transformed into the next masterpiece.

Amidst the clutter, unfinished projects abound—half-carved dragon figurines, sturdy pieces of furniture and ornate drinking horns with elaborate etchings. A large hearth surrounded by charred logs and ash sat at the opposite end of the shed providing both warmth and a makeshift forge for metalworking.

Although she had seen the outside of the shed many times, Dany's gaze was wide with wonder at what it held within. Randolf looked up from his sketching to take in his daughter's unexpected appearance: her unruly, silvery-blonde curls that tumbled down her back, the flower crown that adorned her hair, the simple dress that wasn't long enough to hide her dirty, bare feet, and he softened. Do not enter the shed had never been his rule, so he did not see it necessary to send her away. Instead, he gestured for her to come see what he was working on.

At five years old, Dany could barely see over the work table. She stood on her toes, gripping at the edge of the wood hard with her hands. Her eyes barely peaked over the surface to see the mess of papers that lay spread out on the wood. Laughing a little, Randolf picked her up easily and set her on his knee so she could see better. Her fingers danced over the different projects he'd drawn throughout the years, lifting some up to look at them better. Some of the paper was soft, the lines faded, worn down by age as it had sat buried on the table. Bits of black sticks littered the area as well, and the girl picked one up to examine it, only for it to leave black stains behind on her hands.

"Charcoal," Randolf explained, taking it from her. He pulled an old project towards them and pressed the lead down. "You can draw with it. See?"

Dany watched as a little stick-bird began to take shape before her eyes. She looked up at her father hopefully. "Can I make birds?"

"Of course, it's easy." Then, like he had with the rasp, he took her hand in his to show her how to form the lines. "You can make lots of things from charcoal, not just birds."

He picked up another one of his drawings. His finger traced the shape of the table. "See how all the legs are the same height and the surface is even? If I didn't draw, someone would get a slanted table."

The blonde giggled at that. "It would be funny to see someone's soup spill in their lap!"

"Yes, I suppose so. But most people like having their food stay put, so drawing the designs first helps me with the dimensions."

"Dimensions?" Dany repeated, testing out the unfamiliar word.

Randolf pointed to the numbers on each side of the drawing. "The measurements. Here. Here. And here."

"How do you make it come off the paper?"

He gave her a bemused look. "What do you mean?"

She waved the drawing around. "This turns into that." She gestured to the myriad of projects in various stages of completion around the room.

"Oh," Randolf answered as he realized what she was asking. "Come and watch."

So she did. Dany spent the whole day in the shed, following her father from one end to the other, outside and inside, as he assembled the piece he was working on. Her violet eyes studied his movements closely as he chose slabs of wood and fitted joints together.

By the end of the day, Daenerys felt, with all the confidence of a five-year old, that she had learned everything there was to know about woodworking. So, as her father cleaned up for dinner, she announced: "I'm going to build a whole house."

The older man burst into laughter at that— not so much at his daughter, or in doubt of her potential skill, but amused by the claim itself. "I'm sure you will, one day. But if you are interested in woodworking, why don't we stick with animals for now?"

--

Present day

Dany finished sweeping up the last of the broken shards from her collection of projects. Her outburst of rage had been fatal for many of the pieces that she had spent so much time working on and, for the first time since she could remember, her room was actually neat.

And she hated it.

The spotlessness of it was a reminder of her lack of control, of the fact that she'd given into the temptation of her inclination for violence. The large pieces of furniture— her bedframe, the trunk where she stored her clothes, her desk and chair— all remained untouched by her anger; it had only been her own projects that had borne the brunt of her wrath. By now, Dany didn't even really remember why she'd been so furious in the first place.

Sure, Heather had pissed her off to no end and she'd felt betrayed by her friends, but had that truly been enough to set her off? Why had she given a stranger such a power over her?

Shaking her head to clear the thoughts that would surely lead to another negative outburst, she went over to her desk. Her father had made it for her when she'd taken a more serious interest in carving, allowing her to have a space to create so that her projects wouldn't get lost in the mess of his shed. It was usually just as chaotically organized as her room— and still was— but now the only items covering the surface were the drawings for her ideas. She shuffled through them to find her current notebook, which her parents had given to her last Snoggletog.

Once she'd located it and a charcoal stick, she discarded the wood splinters she'd swept up. Her mother was in the kitchen making bread for the next day, so Dany informed her, "I'm going to the Academy. I'll be back later."

Ingrid, who'd been informed of the previous events, looked up from her rolling pin to give her daughter a concerned look. "Are you sure you're up for it, sweetie?"

"Yes, mom," the blonde replied with an eye-roll. "I wouldn't go if I wasn't."

"Alright. Just be home in time for dinner."

Once she'd given assent, the girl padded outside to where Drogon was waiting, his head lifted as he watched the entrance to the cottage with his flame-orange eyes. He must have heard that we were going out, she mused as she climbed onto his back. She had always said that dragons understood more than they let on, after all.

--

Almost everyone had already gathered in the arena by the time she arrived. The rest of the gang looked up as Drogon's shadow fell over them and she waved, waiting patiently to properly greet them until he landed. When she walked over to join them, Astrid grinned at her. "Good, you're here. We can finally hear what news Gobber has. I'm sure it's got something to do with Thawfest."

"Thawfest? What's that?"

The other girl stared at her with slight dismay. "What do you mean, 'what's that?' Don't tell me that you've never heard of Thawfest!"

Dany shook her head. "Outcast for fifteen years, remember?"

"Surely your parents had stories about it?" When she shook her head again, the Hofferson quickly filled her in: "Thawfest is an annual event that allows Vikings to show off their strength and bring honor to their family name. Snotlout's won every year in our division and he won't let us hear the end of it. You got to join it with me!"

Before the blonde could respond, Gobber called for their attention. Dany was amused by the flag that stuck out of his prosthetic hand in place of his usual mallet. "Dragons! They are now officially a part of Thawfest. There will be three additional events: The Fly and Shoot: which will require you to fly straight and shoot straighter—" He paused as flames shot over his head, thanks to Barf and Belch. "Hey!"

"Sorry, we were on the wrong head," Tuffnut apologized.

He and his sister changed places. Once they were seated again, they fired another blast, which made Ruffnut nod in satisfaction. "I knew something felt weird."

They fired another shot, burning the blacksmith's flag in the process. Tuffnut sighed with relief. "Ah, much better."

Gobber continued: "the next event will be the Freestyle, where it's up to you to impress the judges with a trick of your choice."

Dany looked up just in time to see Astrid soar overhead— when had she gotten up in the air? — where the blonde balanced carefully on her dragon's back while performing a handstand. "Ah! The Nadder Wing Walk. Impressive, Astrid."

The Targaryen clapped for her best friend, who flipped so that she was on her feet again and bowed exaggeratedly at her from the air. Fishlegs approached the older man tentatively, raising a finger in the air in question. "Um, excuse me? Meatlug and I were wondering if there were going to be any intellectual events. A puzzle perhaps?"

Gobber patted him half-heartedly on the shoulder. "I'll. . . take that under advisement, Fishlegs." He moved on quickly: "and let's not forget the hurdles, where you will be asked to—"

He was once again interrupted, this time by an excited shout of "woohooo!" as Snotlout flew into the ring. Hookfang skidded upon arrival, his claws kicking up dust that went straight into Hiccup's face. When the dust had cleared, Dany could see that the brunet was wearing medals— dozens of them, in fact, and they covered his chest like gold plating.

She frowned at his boastfulness, which was even more obnoxious than usual. He approached Hiccup without much regard for anyone else, immediately starting in with: "you know what I love about the Thawfestival Games? Winning. You wanna touch one of my medals just to see how it feels to be a winner?"

He shoved one of them into the other boy's face, causing him to rear away from it, caught off-guard. "Uh, no. I think I'll pass."

Snotlout remained undeterred as he swung around to address the rest of them. "My family has never lost a Thawfest Games ever."

"Oh, here we go," Astrid sighed, having returned to the group.

"Dragons or no dragons, I'll do what I do every year: bring glory to the Jorgenson clan. And you'll do what you do: embarrass yours." Snotlout laughed in Hiccup's face before he turned to Dany, showing off the medal to her. "So, Daenerys, since I'm shoe-in for first place, what do you say we skip all the nonsense and go celebrate my victory? I know ladies love a winner—" He shot the brunet a smug look. "—not a loser."

"Um. . . no thank you," the Targaryen replied quietly, her gaze dropping down to her bare feet. She clutched her journal a little more tightly to her chest, as if it were a shield against his words.

As always, Astrid had her back. She put her hands on her hips as she retorted: "I think you should focus on practicing for the Games before claiming victory, unless boasting part of your winning strategy, Snotlout?"

He grinned. "Absolutely. You know what they say, 'if you've got it, flaunt it.' And I've got plenty to flaunt." He let his medals shimmer in the light before he turned to climb on Hookfang's back. "Let's go, Hookfang." As they rose out of the arena, he raised his voice to shout: "I WILL CRUSH YOU ALL!"

--

Despite the promise she'd made to her mother, they both knew that she'd be home much later than dinner. Night had fallen by the time she left Astrid's house and she still had another stop to make. Feeling a bit nervous since she knew the chief would be home (and that he didn't like her very much), she hesitated before knocking on the door.

As expected, Stoick answered, and he looked around for a moment before his gaze dropped to her height. "Daenerys," he greeted her coolly. "What can I do for you?"

"Um. . . is Hiccup home?" she asked, before mentally slapping herself. What a stupid question. Of course Hiccup was home. Where would he be at this time of night? "I-I mean, can I see him?"

The chief stared at her for a moment, his green eyes scrutinizing her appearance for what felt like an inordinate amount of time. Dany squirmed a bit under his inspection, her own eyes firmly on his boots. He let out a quiet 'hmph' and turned away. She thought he might close the door in her face— which wouldn't be that much of a shock— but to her relief, he didn't. She made to follow him, but he gestured for her to stay where she was. "I'll bring him out," was his short explanation.

She didn't have to wait long as Hiccup appeared a few seconds later. He looked a little concerned at the sight of her on his doorstep at such an odd time. "Dany? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," she replied, clutching her journal to her chest. Both of her arms were wrapped around the worn leather binding and her fingers clung to each side tightly. "I. . . wanted to tell you that I'm not participating in the festival."

He frowned. "You shouldn't let Snotlout put you off because of his boasting. He's always like that."

"I know," the blonde agreed with a faint smile. "It's just. . . I don't like competing very much and I. . . I don't think I'll even attend the event. At all. I just thought you should know."

"Oh." Hiccup deflated a bit at the thought of not even getting to see Dany in the stands. Her silvery-blonde hair made her easy to spot and his potential victory over Snotlout (finally) would have made it just that much sweeter if she was there. "Can. . . I ask why?"

"It's too loud," was her immediate response. "There's too many people, all of them shouting. Besides, I have to work on drawing new projects since, well. . . you know," she trailed off awkwardly, not wanting to bring up Heather.

"Hmm," the boy said, his gaze suddenly much sharper. Dany felt like she was under observation for the second time that night, but Hiccup's keen look made her feel a lot different than Stoick's did. She felt her cheeks heat up the longer he stared at her and she ducked her head, allowing some of her blonde curls to hide her face.

Remembering the second reason why she was there, Dany quickly reached into her vest pocket to pull out the present that she'd brought with her. Tucking her journal under one arm, she reached for the brunet's wrist, which snapped him out of whatever train of thought her words had prompted. She grasped his wrist and turned his hand over so that his palm was face-up.

Even though she had done this gesture a hundred times by now, even though he knew exactly what was going to happen, his heart still sped up, still skipped a beat as her fingers brushed against his skin. When the blonde took her hand away, something glittered in its wake. Hiccup took the lumpy rock between two fingers and tilted it towards the stars to catch light on it.

"Fools gold," the Targaryen explained softly. "The 'fool' part is for Snotlout, obviously— to remind you that you can beat him, but even if you don't, you shouldn't let him get to you. If you try your best that's all that can ever be asked of you. The 'gold' part is for luck. I'm sure you'll get a real gold medal at the end of this. I thought you should have it since I won't be there to. . . cheer you— er, everyone— on."

Hiccup didn't say anything, too busy staring at both the gift and the girl to remember to even say 'thank you.' She left after a quiet 'good night,' leaving him smiling a bit dopily after her. It was only when he took so long to return that Toothless came out, curious to what was keeping his best friend, that he shook himself from his fond thoughts. The Night Fury let out a knowing rumble and nudged the boy lightly with his snout.

The brunet shot him an annoyed look. "You know I hate it when you do that. Dany is just a friend."

But the warmth in his stomach caused by the piece of the fool's gold rock in his pocket suggested otherwise.

--

Needless to say, the first day of the Thawfest Games were a wash for Hiccup. He lost spectacularly to Snotlout in every event, leaving the shorter Viking with three points, which was more than all of their scores combined— a total that came to a big, fat zero. He decided that a stop at Dany's was in order, both for a pick-me-up and to give her the invention he'd made in the hopes it would encourage her to watch the next day's match.

He landed Toothless in front of the Targaryen's small cottage, where his dragon immediately went over to greet Drogon. The larger dragon ignored him momentarily as he was fighting with his brothers over what looked like the remains of a yak, though Hiccup wasn't particularly inclined to stay long enough to know for sure (that's what he hoped it was, anyway.) He quickly made his way to the door where he knocked to announce himself.

It took a minute for someone to answer, but when it did, Dany was on the other side. His expression became fond as he took in her slightly disheveled state: her silvery-blonde hair— already unruly— was made even messier by flyaways that stuck up haphazardly around her head. There was a dark smudge on her cheek, presumably where she'd pushed away some of her hair. When she removed her hand from the doorknob, he noticed that her fingers were stained a sooty black.

"What are you up to?" he asked curiously.

As usual, the blonde's eyes were focused elsewhere besides his face; she was currently looking past him at their dragons. "Redrawing some of my older designs. I've improved since I first started carving so I thought I should start from scratch instead of copying old models."

He winced a little at the reminder of Heather, unable to keep the guilty feeling from creeping up (because he'd chosen a stranger over his best friend. Who would do that?) Her tone indicated that she wanted to talk about something else, so he offered, "the first Thawfest Games were today."

This caught her interest and her gaze shifted so that she was looking more at his chin than past him. "Oh? How'd they go?"

"Terribly. For me, at least. They went great for Snotlout."

She offered him a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry. He must've been especially. . . obnoxious after that."

Hiccup let out a wry chuckle. "Like you wouldn't believe. Anyway. . . I, um, wanted to see if you had. . . changed your mind about going to the games? I could— er, Toothless could really use some support in the stands. You know, if Drogon was there."

Dany had already begun to shake her head before he'd finished speaking, but she still replied, "I. . . don't think so. I would like go to cheer you— um, Toothless on, but. . ."

"It's still too loud," the brunet finished for her, pretending to sound dejected. The girl made a sound of agreement. "Well, that would be disappointing. . . if I hadn't made these!" From behind his back, he produced his latest invention and held it out to her.

The Targaryen took them with obvious confusion as she studied the construction. It had a flat, thin metal band that was curved into a u-shape. Either side ended with a padding of brown fur that was shaped in an oval. "What is it?"

"I call them earmuffs," Hiccup announced, rather grandly. "You wear them on you ears to muffle the sound. Get it?"

The blonde still looked puzzled (as no, she didn't really 'get it'), but she followed his direction regardless. The padding was soft on her ears and the metal band was lightweight enough that it didn't hurt her head. She jumped a little when Hiccup tapped her on the shoulder and realized he'd been speaking to her. She pulled one of the earmuffs off to question, "sorry, what?"

He grinned broadly. "They work! I mean, I knew they would— I only tested them about a dozen times, but I could be biased to my own creation. I even had Bucket wear them while Mulch hit his, well, bucket to see how they reacted to that sort of noise. And of course I had the Tuffnut put them on— I washed them after, I promise— while Ruffnut screamed in his ear and he complained that it took all the joy out of being deaf. But—"

"Hiccup," Dany interrupted him gently. She was smiling at him now, her lips curling upward in a way that made her violet eyes lighten to lavender. "They're wonderful, thank you. But. . . what are they for?"

"Oh!" he exclaimed, feeling warmth rise to his face as he'd forgotten to explain the most important part of any invention— the reason behind it. "Since you were saying the Thawfest Games were too noisy, I made something that would deaden the sound. They might not block out everything, but it should make things a lot better. And. . ." He paused to clear his throat nervously. "I could really use your encouragement tomorrow during the dragon events. I wanted to make sure you could come."

It was Dany's turn to say 'oh,' hers coming out more softly as she looked at the earmuffs in a new light. There was a pleasant warmth in her stomach at the thought of Hiccup spending hours of his time to create something for her, just so she'd be more comfortable. "O-okay. I suppose I could. . . try and enjoy it. But I can't promise that I will, and I might leave during the middle of it if it's too loud, if that's okay—"

"Of course," the boy agreed hastily. "I completely understand. I just. . . I'm glad you're even considering it. So. . . I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yes," she replied, hugging the earmuffs to her chest. "I'll be there."

--

Although she wasn't exactly looking forward to it, Dany made good on her promise. She arrived early to try and get a good seat, only to be shepherded by Hiccup to where his dad and Gobber would watch the games. "This way there won't be too many people," he explained, remembering her other complaint about the crowds.

She eyed Stoick a little apprehensively, but for once he didn't seem to mind her presence. He gestured for her to sit down on the chair next to him, but instead Dany chose to sit on the wooden platform itself. She crossed her legs under her dress, hiding her bare feet under the silvery fabric. Her earmuffs were firmly on her head, although now the metal band was hidden under a plethora of flowers that had been woven around it. Her journal sat unopened next to her, brought in case the event was boring, or too intense and she needed a distraction.

Mulch was the main commentator for the competition and he sat next to Bucket on their own platform across the arena. He spoke into a large horn to announce: "welcome to day two of the Thawfest Games! Let the dragon events begin!"

"It's a good day for lugging sheep, Mulch," Bucket added.

His friend nodded in agreement before he continued, "first up, the Hurdles!"

Dany smiled with relief as the men's amplified voices only met her ears at normal volume. The cheering from the stands was almost indiscernible and her friends' bantering below was inaudible. While she had trusted that Hiccup's invention would work, it was reassuring to experience the results herself.

Beneath the viewer's stand, Snotlout (as usual) was boasting about his abilities. "Hurdles, Schmurdles. I could make it over those things in my sleep."

Hiccup gestured to the obstacles. "Be my guest."

"You don't go over them, Snotlout," Astrid informed him with an exasperated eye-roll. "You go under them."

Snotlout grabbed the horns of his Monstrous Nightmare and scoffed. "Duh. I knew that."

"And first up is Fishlegs!" Mulch struck the bucket on his friend's head to signal the start of the event.

Meatlug buzzed slowly towards the first one determinedly. The watching Vikings cheered them on, eager for a great show. Unfortunately, the pair didn't even make it past the first hurdle; they got stuck under it and the Gronckle's wings flapped uselessly in place. "Uh, guys? A little help over here!" At the sound of his dragon's unhappy rumble, Fishlegs gently scratched her between the ears. "It's okay, girl. This just isn't our event."

Astrid was next, and Dany expected her to do well— she always did, after all. She was at least more successful than Fishlegs and made it through the first hurdles without trouble. It was only when the spikes on Stormfly's head got caught on the horizontal logs that caused them to be knocked out of the event.

The twins, of course, could not make a decision about how they wanted to steer their dragon. One of the Zippleback's heads went over the hurdle while the other went under, sending both of the dragon's riders flying out of their saddles. Even though they landed upside down in between some audience members, they still let out amused laughs at the result.

"Where's your book, Hiccup?" Snotlout taunted. "You might want to take notes."

Overconfident as always, the dark-haired Viking shot forward on his Monstrous Nightmare. He hit his head on the first hurdle. He looked back to see what had happened, which delayed his reaction time for the second. This caused a domino effect as he hit each one with a loud grunt, but he did technically make it through all of them.

Finally, just Hiccup was left to prove himself. He leaned low on Toothless' back and encouraged him, "let's show 'em how it's done, bud."

The Night Fury let out a roar of agreement. Together, they shot forward. He added an extra spin for flare, earning an excited gasp from the crowd. They stayed upside down for the whole obstacle until they emerged on the other side of the statues. He landed next to the other teens as Mulch declared the winner.

"And Hiccup makes a perfect run!"

Hiccup's eyes widened for a moment as he took in the news before he turned to share his excitement with his friends. "Did you hear what he said? Perfect! I-I believe those are my first Thawfest points ever! I just realized something: I like beating Snotlout. I-I feel taller. Am I taller? Never mind, don't answer that."

Fishlegs frowned, leaning over to whisper to Astrid: "is he. . . gloating?"

"I don't know," the blonde answered, a similar expression on her face. "I've never actually seen Hiccup gloat before."

"Don't get too excited," Snotlout sneered at the brunet, holding up a single finger. "You know what this is? Still the number of wins I need to end this thing. And you know what this is?" He held up a second finger. "The number of chances I have."

"Oh, yeah? Well you know what this is?" Hiccup formed my hand into an 'o' shape. "The size of your brain. No, wait." He made the circle even smaller. "That's much better."

The other boy huffed in reply. "Like you've ever seen my brain. Come on, Hookfang."

--

After getting a perfect run in the next two events, the boys stood on a platform as they waved to the cheering crowd. Mulch ended the day's games by claiming: "and for the first time in Thawfest history, we have a tie! Tomorrow, these two young Vikings will go head-to-head in an event to decide the Thawfest champion."

"Huh. . . I can't believe how lucky you are," the shorter teen snapped. "You don't even belong on this stage with me."

He kept a smile plastered on his face even as he stomped down the stairs. Hiccup remained undeterred as he retorted, "that's it. Keep talking, Snotlout, as your family's winning streak goes up in flames. . . just like your Rings of Deadly Fire."

Dany had come down from the chief's platform to congratulate Hiccup on his wins, proud that her best friend had done so well after such a terrible day yesterday. She froze when she heard the end of his parting words to Snotlout and her brows furrowed at his reaction. The two boys had never gotten along so she was used to their arguing, but it was never like. . . this. This had a layer of cruelty under it that their normal banter didn't have and it made her watch them with unease.

Pleased that Snotlout couldn't come up with a reply, Hiccup couldn't help calling after him: "hey, what's the matter? Yak got your tongue?"

"Hiccup," the blonde said reproachfully.

"Oh, he's crumbling under the pressure, I can feel it!" He slowly turned to face her, only to be greeted by her disapproving look. "What?" 

Shaking off his weirdness, Dany offered him an uncertain smile as they made their way out of the arena. "I. . . I'm glad I came. It was amazing to watch you guys; you did a great job."

Hiccup grinned, but not the usual smile that appeared whenever she arrived at the Academy for the day. There was a prideful air in the curve of his lips and his eyes gleamed at the prospect of tomorrow's challenge. "Well, what can I say? I've got the skills and the brains to back them up. I'll be the Thawfest champion for sure!"

The Targaryen frowned in response at his bright expression. Although she was happy that he was doing so well, she'd never seen this side of him. It reminded her strongly of Snotlout's everyday boasting, and her stomach turned at the thought of her best friend turning into such a person. His humility and selflessness were some of the reasons why she liked him so much.

They were quiet for a minute as they neared where Drogon had chosen to wait for his mother (as the stands weren't necessarily built to accommodate a dragon of his size.) Before she climbed on to her dragon's back, Dany turned to face the boy. Her journal was tucked under her arm, but her hands were occupied with the earmuffs he'd made her, her fingers running through the soft fur thoughtfully.

"Hiccup, I am happy that you won today, but competitions are always more than being just about winning; it's about how you handle victory and defeat. It's just that, well, humility is a virtue too. I've seen the way Snotlout brags about his victories, and. . ." She trailed off to gather enough courage to admit: "I-I've always. . . admired you for being different, for being modest and considerate. I'm not trying to tell you what to do or anything, but I. . . just wanted to give you something to think about. Good luck tomorrow."

With that, she slipped the earmuffs around her neck to free up her hands to climb onto Drogon's back. The large dragon pinned Hiccup with his flame-orange stare, as if he could sense the cause of his mother's discomfort. Then, the brunet was buffeted with a great gust of wind and they were gone.

--

Hiccup had to admit that he was mildly surprised when Dany showed up to watch the final event the next day. Her parting words had stung a bit— she'd compared him to Snotlout, after all— and it seemed like she was upset with him for how he was acting about his winning streak. The fool's gold burned a hole in his pocket at the reminder, the fool part hitting home more than he'd like to admit. He wondered if he'd already gotten his gold medal: the soft expression on Dany's face when he'd given her the earmuffs and the fact that she was attending the games for him was more than enough.

He looked over at Snotlout, whose brows were furrowed with uncharacteristic worry. He watched as the other boy glance up at the stands where his father watched on, the older man's expression already sour with a disappointed frown. However, when Snotlout noticed that Hiccup's attention was on him, he shot the brunet a sneering look, full of false bravado.

Before the chief's son could say anything, Mulch's voice rang out over the crowd: "welcome to the final deciding event of this year's Thawfest Games: The Obstacle Course Race! Take it away, Gobber!"

"The race will start here in the stadium," the blacksmith began, raising his voice over the cheering audience. He gestured with his hook to the stone, where a map had been painted. A red line was drawn in a wobbly circle, indicating the course. "Where, after the Log Dodge and the Cliff Climb, Hiccup and Snotlout will get on their dragons, loop around the flagship anchored around the coast, slam through the sea stack maze, and head back here. The first one to cross that finish line will be the winner!"

Finally getting a chance to speak, Hiccup went over to the dark-haired boy, who was still stretching out his limbs. "Hey, uh, can I talk to you for a second?"

"No," he snapped, unsurprisingly.

"Okay. Uh. . . I just wanted to say have a good race, and may the best Viking win." The boy stuck out his hand in front of the other teen.

Snotlout turned around, smirking. (Again, predictably) he didn't take Hiccup's hand. "Oh, he will. Don't your worry your scrawny little self about that. See you at the finish line, Hiccup, or maybe I won't."

"All right, I tried. If that's how you want it. . ."

The dark-haired Viking had started to stalk past his competitor, but at those words he whirled around to point a finger in Hiccup's face. "That's exactly how I want it."

Mulch's voice sounded once more from above them: "Vikings and dragons, take your positions! On your mark. . ." Both boys crouched down to get into a starting position. "Get set. . . And. . . Go!"

Snotlout wasted no time in shoving Hiccup out of the way as he sprinted forward. He agilely avoided the oncoming logs by leaping over them, ducking under them and rolling to the side. His efficiency cost Hiccup a good amount of time as he got back on his feet. The other boy was already at the cliff face by the time he'd dodged his first log and was a good ways up by the time he ducked around his second and third.

The Vikings on top of the cliff started to throw rocks down to make the climbing more difficult. Snotlout escaped the first two but as he gloated about them, the next one hit him in the face. He merely shook his head to clear it before continuing up the rocky surface. By the time Hiccup had made it to the same place, the other teen was able to wave down at him mockingly before he climbed onto Hookfang's back.

The glance upwards nearly cost him; the Vikings throwing the rocks resumed their job and the distraction allowed one of them to land right where his next hand-hold was. The scare made his fingers slip and he began to fall towards the sea. Hiccup's heart stuttered in his chest at the sight of the approaching water. He struggled to find a new place to grip the stone, but the surface fell away under his fingers. Thankfully, his metal leg caught on the rock and slowed him enough to find a place to hold on to so he could resume his climb.

He wasted no time in running towards Toothless to take to his saddle. "Okay, bud. We've got a lot of ground to make up."

The familiar woosh of the Night Fury's pressure-change takeoff followed them as they shot into the sky. They raced to catch up with Snotlout, who was almost to the flagship. Toothless' wings beat powerfully against the air as they closed the distance between them, becoming neck-and-neck just as they rounded the marker.

Snotlout and Hookfang zipped above them just as they made their own U-turn, the boy laughing as his dragon's wind buffeted Hiccup. "Hey! How's that feel?"

His taunting only made the brunet more determined to win. He hunkered down on his dragon's back with a murmur of, "okay. Let's see what this new tail can really do."

The sea-stacks were where things got tricky; some of the passages were only big enough for one dragon-and-rider pair, and with both boys being so close to each other, it was hard to maneuver. Snotlout was still in the lead, making it impossible for the other boy to get past him. "Move over!"

"Yeah, sure!" was his scathing reply. The Monstrous Nightmare roared his agreement.

That was their mistake: the loss of focus caused them to lose their steady speed. Hookfang's flight became uncontrolled, right up until a pillar reared up before them. Snotlout yelled in fear as Toothless cleared it, but not without their own consequences— now they had to go the long way.

The Monstrous Nightmare's speed was nothing compared to a Night Fury's, and the new tail was only an advantage. Just as they were closing in to take the win for themselves, Hiccup heard the teen's panicked mumbles, barely loud enough over the rushing wind: "no, I can't lose. . . I can't lose. . . Aah, I can't lose!"

That snapped him back to reality. Sure, a win would've been nice— great, even, but his dad was already used to him losing. While he didn't know much about Snotlout's relationship with his father, he knew that the boy's loss would have a much worse impact than his own. The fool's gold burned brighter, but it was gold, his own gold, better than any medal that his father could hand out. Decision made, he adjusted the stirrup of the saddle so that the tail collapsed inward. Toothless' wings flew out and they were buffeted backwards, flying unsteadily until they reached a forested clearing.

They only needed a few seconds to recover before they took off again, but it was too late: Snotlout and Hookfang had crossed the finish line.

But, Hiccup didn't care so much anymore. He could hear the boy's father cheer ecstatically from the stands, shouting their traditional 'Snotlout, Snotlout, oi, oi, oi!' in celebration. Snotlout basked in the attention and praise as the chief placed the medal around his neck— another win for the Jorgenson clan— but Hiccup didn't see any of that.

Instead, his attention was focused on the whirl of silvery-blonde that rushed down from the stands until the girl it belonged to stood in front of him. She was beaming at him, so brilliantly it almost hurt to look directly at her face. Her lips were pulled back in a real smile so that pearly-white teeth could be seen between them. Her violet eyes were lighter, brighter than he'd ever seen them, so purple it rivaled the flowers in the circlet on her head.

"I know what you did," she said without preamble, but with so much obvious joy in her tone.

He pretended to be unaffected by her praise and shook his head in defeat. "Yeah, I lost. As usual."

"No," Dany corrected him firmly. "You threw the race."

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about, Dany," he tried to play it off. "Snotlout was just the better Viking today."

He hadn't noticed before, but she'd kept her hands behind her back as she'd approached him. Now, they came into full view and he saw that she was holding a second crown, one that was made up of all green, leafy fronds— a crown of laurels. She stood on her toes, reaching up to place it gently on his head. "No, Hiccup. No one was a better Viking than you today."

He reached up to touch the crown gently, his heart beating unnaturally fast. There had only been one other time that Dany had given him a flower crown, but it paled in comparison to today. He grinned down at her in response, watching in awe as her cheeks flushed a pretty shade of pink— just like they had at Snoggletog.

However, before he could do anything as wildly courageous as he had that night, the blonde stuck her hand out between them. Although he felt a pang of disappointment that nothing more happened, he accepted the gesture warmly and gently shook her hand in return.

Chapter Text

Dany thought there should be a saying about dragons and wooden houses— something along the lines of how they don't mix. She'd lost track of how many homes had met the same fate of collapsing under the weight of being a dragon's perch. She stood with Hiccup in front of the newest devastation, both of them frowning thoughtfully. Other villagers rushed by them to either put out the small fire that had been created or to start rebuilding, but neither moved as they studied the problem.

The blonde brightened and snapped her fingers as the idea came to her. She turned to the boy beside her with an excited smile on her face. "I've got it! Perches! Dragons need somewhere to land when they get tired of flying—"

"—and we could build perches strong enough to hold their weight!" Hiccup finished, equally as enthusiastic as he caught on. "Dany, you're a genius! It would have to be made out of a material the can withstand many factors. . ."

She watched the boy fondly as he got lost in the details, muttering something to himself about needing supports. She was happy to let him go and get started on the newest project as he usually did, disappearing for days at a time to work. She was the ideas person while he breathed life into the concepts she thought of, coming up with something that was both durable and practical. But, unlike the other times when he'd wandered off to the forge to start on their latest project, he turned back and frowned with confusion as to why she was standing in front of the ruined house. "Aren't you coming?"

"W-what do you mean?" Dany asked, a little surprised that he realized she was still there.

He made his way back to her and held out his hand, allowing her the choice of whether to accept the invasion of her personal space or not. "This is our idea, Dany. You're better at dimensions than I am, anyway. I could use your help with this. Come on."

(The part about dimensions was a complete lie and they both knew it— just look at how many times she had to redo her dragon carvings because something was off about them.) But she only gave him a bright, beaming smile and took his hand. Her heart fluttered at the feeling of their fingers being tangled together as he lead her through town and back to the forge. 

--

It took them many late nights to get their drawings exactly right as Hiccup made scaled-down prototypes of the perches— Vikings always worked better with visualization rather than written instructions. Dany could only miss so many hours of sleeping before they caught up to her and when Hiccup had decided they needed a hot drink to keep them awake, she'd taken his absence and the quiet warmth of the room as an opportunity to (unintentionally) fall asleep. Her fingers still clutched one of the charcoal pencils, held loosely in her grasp, and when she lay her head down she used her arm as a pillow so that her silvery-blonde curls were splayed over their multitude of sketches.

When the brunet returned, carefully holding the two mugs in one hand while he climbed up the ladder, he began to say: "hey, Dany, I think that I figured out our—" but broke off at the sight of her resting figure.

His expression softened and he quietly placed the mugs down on the floor, safely out of the way of a potential spill zone. He went over to the girl and gently took the charcoal pencil from her fingers before he lightly tugged the papers out from underneath her so they wouldn't get wrinkled. He thought about moving her to his bed, happy to sacrifice a night's sleep on the floor for her, but the thought of her waking up mid-transition was enough to make his stomach tie in knots just picturing it, not wanting to have to get into an awkward explanation of why he was holding her.

So, instead, he took out his journal— his personal one, where he only drew his best ideas for his own use (or to develop ideas that he might later give to. . . someone.) After flipping past many used pages, some containing a prototype for a flying machine, others with drawings in various finished conditions of the same blonde girl, he began a new sketch. Occasionally glancing up to the model before him, he replicated her sleeping form. In the image he created, she was no longer just resting awkwardly propped up on his desk, but as a nymph in a forest clearing with wildflowers.

--

It was a rousing success, of course. Why shouldn't they be? In Dany's opinion, anything designed by Hiccup was something worth admiring. Astrid was the first one to try out the new perch. Stormfly hovered in the air, clearly uncertain about the narrow landing, but after a reassuring word from her rider the Deadly Nadder settled in comfortably to the cheers of her Viking audience. The only ones who were disappointed, of course, were the twins. They frowned at each other in dismay.

"So. . . we built these things so stuff wouldn't break?" Tuffnut wondered, disappointment evident in his tone.

His sister scoffed. "I don't understand you people."

They threw their hammers down on the ground in unison as Tuffnut continued, "and they tricked us into helping them build them. I feel so used. And sweaty."

Ignoring the twins, the Targaryen gave the brunet beside her another one of her bright smiles— the kind that always made the warmth expand in his chest and made him stand up a little straighter, more proud of what he'd accomplished than if he'd done it alone. "I think they're great, Hiccup. You did a good job."

"We," he corrected her without hesitation, "we did a good job."

Then, unusually for the blonde, their eyes met. Just like every time it happened before, it was no less startling (in the best way possible) to realize that she was looking back at him, her violet eyes meeting his green ones. He wasn't sure if— just like the rock thing— she did it with anyone else (she didn't), but even if she did, he was still honored to be one of the few people she felt comfortable with to do so.

"Ugh, gross," Snotlout groaned. "They're doing the mushy heart-eyes thing again. Make them stop!" He flung a hand over his own eyes and stumbled backwards, away from them. "It's taking away my manliness!"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "As if you had any manliness to begin with. You can't take away something that was never there."

Although the Hofferson had tried to shut Snotlout down before it had ruined their moment, the damage had already been done. Both teens startled, suddenly only able to look everywhere but at each other as their faces turned red. Hiccup cleared his throat uncomfortably. "S-so, I'll, um, just. . ." He gestured vaguely to the distance. "Get going. . . um, lots to do, so—"

"Y-yeah," the blonde agreed, her fingers fiddling with the fur on her vest.

Before she could go very far, she felt a light tug on her arm before the touch dropped away. She stopped but kept her eyes on her bare feet as Hiccup added, "um, my dad and Gobber are going to be celebrating the perches tonight if you, uh, want to come."

"Sure," she agreed, her lips curling into a faint smile as she gave him one final glance before she chased after Astrid.

--

It was always a little nerve-wracking to go to the chief's house especially when he was actually there. He had little love for Dany due to her Targaryen heritage, though his attitude was lukewarm compared to the first chilly reception he'd given her. Tonight, though, he seemed only to focus on her first name rather than her family one as he welcomed her inside with open arms. One of his large, meaty hands guided her towards the table, the feeling making her shudder but unable to pull away— she didn't want to make things worse, after all. "Here's the woman of the hour!"

Gobber banged his mug on the table in celebration, causing her to wince at the noise. Hiccup quickly launched himself across the surface to put his hands on either side of the mug to still his movements. "Okay. Um, maybe-maybe not so loud—"

His father let out a great, booming laugh and clapped his free hand on his son's back, almost forcing him to face-plant into the table. "We're Vikings, son! We don't know how to do anything but loud!"

The brunet sent her an apologetic, slightly embarrassed smile, but Dany merely shook her head, knowing it wasn't his fault. She took her seat next to him, almost ghost-like with her pale features and quiet personality in the dimly-lit room. Her hands clasped around her own mug, which she raised with them to toast to the occasion. She relaxed a bit as Toothless came beside her to eat the basket of fish they'd left for him next to the table. The Targaryen reached over and scratched him between the ears, which made his tail swish contentedly. Drogon was, of course, outside as he was too big to fit in the house. She suspected that Toothless would join him after he'd eaten.

"Perches for dragons. Some of your best work," Stoick said proudly. He took a sip from his cup only to grimace at the taste. "Although, we may need to move the one over the well."

Dany politely pushed her mug forward, not needing any more encouragement to not drink from it. Hiccup didn't notice his father's words, too excited from the onslaught of his ideas. "And the perches are just the beginning. . ."

As he continued to talk, the blonde carefully removed his cup from his grasp, wanting to save him from the foul taste— just as she'd done with Astrid's yaknogg. "We can build landing areas for them, maybe even stables in the caves underneath the village, and—"

"Easy, son," the chief interrupted him with a warm chuckle. "Remember, Berk is still for people."

Thunder rumbled in the distance, but Dany felt safe and warm in the darkened room surrounded by Hiccup's family. As if sensing her contentment, Toothless paused in his eating to wedge his head between her lap and the table, causing her to smile down at him. She made a more concentrated effort to pet him as Gobber replied, "Vikings before dragons."

A growl of disagreement came from the Night Fury's throat, but the blacksmith remained unphased. "Yeah, I said it. Deal with it."

"I think Toothless likes you more than me," Hiccup huffed jokingly at her. "He's never stopped eating a meal for me to pet him."

"Maybe he just wants to be around a maternal presence," Dany teased him with a grin. "He probably gets tired being around so many men all the time."

She hadn't really been paying attention to her words, but the use of men to describe Stoick, Gobber and Hiccup made the boy's face flush. He sat up a little straighter, as if trying to live up to her inclusion. Before anyone could say anything else, a giant crack! of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a boom of thunder. Both sounds were loud enough to startle Toothless, who jerked away from the Targaryen and raced up to Hiccup's bedroom.

Looking at each other in concern, the quartet went outside to observe the storm. Lightning flashed so brightly it almost appeared to be daylight outside. Each tongue of electricity whipped out to random places in the village, so close that Dany could see it hit the ground— and not just the ground, but the metal perches as well.

"The lightning is hitting everywhere!" Hiccup stated.

"It doesn't usually strike here in the village."

"Thor must be angry," Gobber guessed. "The only other time I can remember lightning ever striking Berk— "

"Barnstat," the older men said at the same time.

The teens shared a look of confusion as the boy wondered, "Barn—who?"

"Jurgen Barnstat, drifter," the chief explained. "Sailed into town, he was stealing from women and old men."

"To punish him, Thor gave him a lightning bolt right to his helmet. He was fixing the mast on his ship to make an escape." Gobber laughed at the memory.

"By the time Thor was finished with him, our whole fleet was on fire."

"We shipped him off the island and Thor hasn't hit the village since."

"You threw him off the island?" Hiccup asked. "Pretty harsh. . ."

The warm feelings from earlier washed away with the cold rain. Dany's eyes narrowed at the chief as she muttered, "that would be a kindness compared to what others have experienced."

--

Things went wrong very quickly, which was only good so Dany wouldn't dwell on her grudge against the village. A large shock of lightning had scared Toothless off, but thankfully Drogon was a lot harder to startle. He remained by her side and even shielded her and Hiccup with his giant wings from the worst of the storm.

"We have to find Toothless," was the first thing the boy said, his tone urgent and worried.

"We will," she reassured him calmly. "You can ride Drogon with me. Come on."

Together, they climbed up onto the large dragon's back. Hiccup wrapped his arms around her waist and she tried to ignore the resulting feelings that come from the gesture to focus on the task at hand. They soared over the village, Drogon steady in his flight even as lightning flashed around them. They saw a group of men including the chief gathered on the steps of the great hall, and—

"There!" Dany shouted above the storm, pointing to a familiar black shape. "Drogon, go to Toothless!"

Her dragon didn't need to be told twice as he sailed down to the large building. The Night Fury was on one of the new perches, looking up anxiously at the sky. The lightning flashed again, causing the dragon to jump to the next perch. Hiccup could only reach out a hand and shout his friend's name helplessly. "Toothless!"

Then, of course, came an unfortunately recognizable, sneering voice. "Did you all see that?" Mildew asked, pointing up at the sky. Each time the lightning struck the perch, Toothless leapt to the next one.

The Vikings drew their own conclusions. "Look! The lightning is following him!"

The Night Fury finally landed on the ground and Hiccup clambered down from Drogon's back to run over to his dragon. He threw his arms around Toothless, checking for any injuries. Sensing trouble, the Targaryen followed him Her own dragon's flame-orange eyes watched Mildew with dislike and suspicion, wanting nothing more than to incinerate the man in front of them— his mother only had to say the word.

"Don't you all understand?!" the old man sneered, gesturing with his staff out to the village. Unfortunately, he had an audience now as other Vikings gathered to see what was going on. "Thor is mad at all of us! And I'll tell you why." He pointed at Toothless. "Because of him! As you all know the Night Fury is the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself! We've let him live among us and now we will all pay the price!"

Dany's hands curled into fists by her sides as she glared at Mildew. She hated him, down to the very marrow of her bones. He was nothing but trouble and he would use any excuse to blame the dragons, especially Toothless. She didn't know why people even listened to him in the first place, since everyone disliked him enough to give him a house as far away from the village as possible. As if sensing his mother's growing irritation, Drogon let out a low growl from behind her. He lifted his head so that it hovered over the girl and bared his fangs at the old man. The nearby Vikings gave the pair a nervous look and backed away quickly.

Mulch— never known for his bright ideas— considered Mildew's point. "W-well, it did seem as though the lightning struck right at the dragon."

"The lightning struck right at the dragon!" Mildew continued with a shake of his staff. "And a lightning storm the likes of which we've never had! There is but one thing for us to do: banish the Night Fury! It's the only way!"

To her disappointment— though she wasn't surprised— the Villagers began to cheer in agreement. Motivated by the listening crowd, he finished with relish: "Thor is angry at us because of the Night Fury. You all saw it."

That was the last straw for Daenerys. She'd had enough of his illogical reasoning, enough of his unconvincing lies. She wished they'd pushed him off a cliff when they had a chance just so they wouldn't have to listen to him anymore. She stalked forward to put herself between Toothless and Mildew.

If only she could truly burst into flames to express how angry she was in that moment, rather than be immune from them. "Shut up! Just shut up, you stupid old man! Thor's wrath is not caused by Toothless, you fool. He's has saved us more times than you could fathom. Do you really believe the gods are so petty that they would strike us for having a dragon? Toothless is not the enemy. He's our protector and I won't allow baseless accusations to jeopardize that."

Although her furious words seemed to have quieted some of the discontented murmurs, Mildew, unfortunately, was not easily silenced. He shook his staff at her. "I would watch your words, girl. You're lucky I don't have you shipped off this island with that demon thanks to your Targaryen madness."

Her eyes blazed with a fiery intensity at his reply. As if sensing her growing rage, Drogon hovered protectively nearby. Dany's tone, initially defensive, became dangerous. "Targaryen madness? You have no idea what true madness is, Mildew. If you think me mad now, you have not seen true wrath—"

"Dany, no," Hiccup warned her, almost desperately. He abandoned Toothless' side to stand next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. The touch seemed to bring her back to herself and she startled a bit. She seemed to forget about the villagers who'd been watching them, who now eyed her with wariness and some fear. The blonde winced, feeling guilty that, once again, she'd lost control of her emotions. She backed down and allowed the boy to continue, who, although much more level-headed, kept her defensive tone.

"You shouldn't talk to her like that," he began fiercely. "Dany wasn't right either to lose her temper like that—" Here, he paused to pin her with a stern look, to which she gave him a sheepish, apologetic one in return (but she was only sorry for his sake. Mildew deserved to be burned to ash, in her opinion.) "—but you know that there's no such thing as the Targaryen madness; it was just a myth made up to scare children. Besides, have you all forgotten what both Dany and Toothless have done for this village?"

"Well, then who do you suppose he's angry at?" Mildew snapped.

Stoick broke in to their standoff, his own voice calm above their volatile feelings. "I don't presume to know Thor's mind, Mildew, but we will find a way to soothe his anger."

--

The storms didn't dissipate by the next day. The clouds were dark, promising more rain and lightning, though thankfully nothing struck until night. When they gathered for the day, the teens cast anxious glances up at the sky.

"Another storm is coming," Hiccup remarked. He'd stayed near Toothless all night, which hadn't changed once morning broke. He kept a reassuring hand on his dragon's head to help keep him calm.

"Thor tore a hole in the Great Hall," Tuffnut said from where he sat on the steps with his sister. He and Ruffnut were the only ones who were pleased by all the chaos. "Maybe he's hungry. I know I am."

"We need to make Thor happy. What do you get the god of thunder and lightning?"

Dany remained quiet, as she usually did after one of her outbursts. She ran a hand down Drogon's red-and-black scales to comfort herself. His strong, solid presence always helped her through the worst storms— both the ones in the clouds and in her head. He dipped his own head down to her level and let out a gentle huff of warm air that fluttered the ends of her silvery curls and ruffled the leaves on her flower crown.

"In the past, I know Thor's enjoyed a sacrifice or two," Fishlegs offered.

Ruffnut perked up at the idea. "Let's sacrifice Tuffnut."

Her brother only needed to think about it for a minute before he shrugged. "Okay. What time should I be there? There better be fire involved."

"We should sacrifice Mildew," the Targaryen offered. "He provides even less to the community than Tuffnut does."

"Nobody's gonna be sacrificed," Hiccup protested, casting the girl a concerned look. He was the only one who had seen her previous burst of rage, which had cost her life's work. She seemed to be faring better this time but that didn't stop him from worrying about her.

"Not yet, anyway," Snotlout said with a grin.

"I had an aunt that was cursed by Odin once," Astrid started. "She had to pay tribute to him by sailing to the end of the Earth."

"Did it work?" Fishlegs asked hopefully.

"I don't know. I guess she couldn't find it because she kept showing up from the opposite direction."

"That's because the world is round," Dany informed her. "There is no 'end of the Earth.'" She put air quotes around the last four words.

Her correction only earned her disbelieving looks from her friends. Tuffnut leaned over to his sister and whispered loudly: "I don't know, maybe Mildew was onto something when he suggested shipping her off Berk. I think she's gotten worse since we met her. That's about the craziest thing I've ever heard— and our cousin married a boar once."

The blonde glared at him. "For your information, my dad learned about the shape of the Earth from a travelling merchant. He was from Greece; they've made a load of discoveries about the world."

Fishlegs cleared his throat, giving the girl an uneasy look as if her talk about the world being round was blasphemy. Wanting to quickly move off the subject in case it upset the gods further, he said, "the gods have never been mad at anyone from our family."

Then, panic crossed his face as he realized that his effort might've been counterproductive. To undo the damage, he hastily went over to rap his fingers against a wooden set of stairs. "Knock on wood, hop on one foot, slap a Jorgenson."

Rather than hitting Snotlout, Fishlegs merely tapped his shoulder. In response, the boy pushed him and turned to the group confidently. "If I were Thor, I would want a giant statue. . ." He mounted onto Hookfang's head and posed proudly. ". . .of myself, Snotlout, as Thor."

Astrid put one hand on her hip as she looked up at him with a deadpan expression. "You do know we're trying to make him happy."

"Exactly." Snotlout began kissing his biceps, causing the rest of group to grimace.

"I think I just threw up in my mouth. . ."

Hiccup wasn't willing to discount the suggestion so quickly as he put in, "actually, that's not a bad idea."

Astrid stared at him incredulously. "It's not an idea, it's a reflex."

"No. What— No. I-I mean the statue."

She put a hand to her mouth for a second time, disgusted by the thought. Dany wasn't happy about it either— the thought of staring at Snotlout's face in god-form almost made her wish to be shipped off the island. "There I go again."

The brunet put a hand out to clarify quickly, "no, not Snotlout!" The boy in question paused in worshiping himself to look at him in shock. "Thor!"

"Hmm," Fishlegs pondered thoughtfully, tapping a finger to his chin. "Berk has never given Thor a statue."

"Well, then it's high time we did."

--

Everyone worked hard to make the best statue possible, even the twins (although their 'help' was them staying out of the way while they hit each other in the head with their mallets.) Hiccup oversaw everything since he knew the most about welding while the dragons were responsible for keeping the fire hot enough for the task. They used Stormfly's spikes for the nails and Drogon helped them by lending them his height as they fit all the pieces together.

The storm clouds still lingered on the horizon, flashing with lightning every so often as they rolled closer to Berk. But, the statue was ready for unveiling and hopefully it would appease the God of Thunder. The crowd that gathered was curious and excited, the mood vastly different from the day before. Hiccup stepped forward to share their masterpiece with the village, clapping his hands to get the audience to quiet down. "Attention! Attention, everyone! Okay, so, I know we're not exactly Thor's favorite people right now, but I am confident that this beautiful statue will go a long way toward getting us back in his good graces. So, without further ado. . ."

He pulled down the tarp with Toothless' help to reveal the statue, which was met with cheers and applause. Even the chief smiled proudly at them, pleased by their efforts. "Well done! Thor will appreciate this tribute, and will smile upon us once again!"

There was, of course, only one person who wouldn't be so easily appeased. Mildew stepped forward and, waving his hands at the statue, sneered, "you really think that this is enough to appease the mighty Thor while you allow a Night Fury in your midst? You're fools! All of ya!"

--

It seemed as though Mildew was right— the storms that had been threatening earlier pounded down on Berk with a vengeance. Lightning flashed in the sky, setting fire to village homes as it met the ground. The teens helped where they could by using their dragons to put out the fires more efficiently, but as fast as they were extinguished, more appeared. The Vikings gathered at the foot of their new statue to ask Thor for mercy, but it was as if nothing could stop him from bringing his vengeance down on their village.

Mildew took advantage of their fear to sow more discord as he shouted, "that's what Thor thinks of the statue! I told you what he wants, and we haven't given it to him! Until we rid this island of that Night Fury, Thor's fire will continue to rain down upon us!"

Dany and Astrid exchanged a worried look as the townspeople took up the old man's crusade. They grabbed pitchforks and torches before they marched up to the chief's house, demanding for Toothless to be handed over. The girls returned to the Hofferson home where their dragons were keeping a low profile so as to not incite the mob's anger further. It wasn't long before Hiccup and Toothless joined them, the boy looking worried— though for himself or his dragon, they couldn't tell.

"We can hide Toothless in the cove for now," Astrid decided. It had been a good enough place to keep a Night Fury before, after all.

The Targaryen placed a hand on the black dragon's snout, her presence helping to keep him calm even as lightning flickered too close for their liking. Hiccup shook his head. "They'll just find him. No. We have to leave."

At his words, Daenerys felt dread twist in her stomach. Toothless nudged his snout against her palm gently, as if reassuring her that it wouldn't be forever. Above her, Drogon let out a comforting rumble deep in his throat. When she spoke, her question was almost lost to the noise of the storm: "we?"

His resolve almost faltered at the hurt in her voice, as if she couldn't believe that he would leave her behind. But then even more lightning landed around them, reminding him of the risk it would be to take her— or stay. "He can't make it on his own. And I wouldn't want him to. I'm going with him, Dany."

The blonde wouldn't meet his eyes, her gaze more downcast than usual as she stared at her bare feet. Her silvery-blonde curls fell over her shoulders, hiding her expression from him. All she could think about was the fact the Hiccup— her first friend, her best friend— was leaving for an unknown amount of time, and it made her heart twist in her chest, as if he'd driven the stake there himself.

"Take me with you," she pleaded. "I can help if he gets hurt or something."

But he was already shaking his head before she'd finished speaking. "No, Dany. I need you to stay here. Toothless is already in danger; I can't risk your safety, too." He forced a smile, though he knew it didn't reach his eyes. "Besides, we'll be back eventually when they all realize this didn't happen because of Toothless."

"O-okay," the Targaryen agreed with obvious reluctance. She glanced towards the chief's house where the mob was far from calming. "You better go. Just. . . be safe, alright?"

"Of course," Hiccup promised. He hesitated for a moment before he stuck his hand out between them, just like she had with him. She didn't take it right away, but after a minute she shook his hand as a more formal goodbye— but hopefully it was just a 'see you later.'

Dany stared after them as the pair took to the skies, only look away when Astrid put a gentle hand on her shoulder as a sign of support. It didn't take long for the crowd to find them and the girls turned to face the angry villagers head-on. Mildew, of course, led the pack and he shook his staff at them. "Where's the boy? And more importantly, where's the dragon?"

The blonde glared at the man as she bit out, "I don't know, Mildew, but you got your wish. Hiccup and Toothless are gone."

Lightning flashed above them as she finished speaking, punctuating her words with a roll of thunder. Drogon loomed above her, his flame-orange eyes pinned on the foul old man. Mildew gave the dragon's fangs— glinting silver in the light, dripping with saliva— an uneasy look and knew when there was a fight he wouldn't win. Turning around to face the villagers, he shouted: "oh, bah! Find the Night Fury, all of you!"

--

Luckily— or unluckily— Hiccup wasn't as gone for as long as they feared he would be. After Toothless' prosthetic tail had caught on fire, the mob caught up with them in the woods and quickly apprehended the Night Fury. Astrid and Dany wasted no time in gathering the rest of their friends for backup before they went to find the chief's son. Rather expectedly, he was at the forge looking at weapons.

Astrid got there first, panting slightly as she said, "Hiccup! They've got Toothless! They're about to float him out to sea!"

"Of course he knows they have Toothless," Dany retorted once she'd joined the other girl. She looked over at the brunet. "The question is, what do you want us to do?"

"Ooh, is this a guessing game?" Tuffnut asked cheerfully. "How many chances do we get? Five?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes and ignored the boy. Taking a large, metal spear in his hands, he directed his next words at the Targaryen. "Dany, fly me to the docks."

She nodded in agreement and he got on Drogon's back once more. This time, the blonde only felt relief when he put his arms around her after having to come to terms with the potential threat of losing him. When they arrived, the large dragon swooped down and knocked most of the opposing Vikings off their feet, some even accidentally (okay, not really) ending up in the water.

"Stop!" Hiccup called out, putting an end to their fight before it had even begun. When Drogon came back around, he extended his wing to create a slide for the boy to dismount. He landed on the dock with a heavy thump and stood between his father and the rest of the villagers. "Stop! You could get rid of Toothless, you could throw him off the edge of the world, but it's not going to stop this lightning from destroying Berk."

The mob continued to voice their disapproval, so he held the spear above his head. "It's the metal. The lightning is hitting the metal. Just think about it. We never had a lightning storm like this until we put up those perches, that statue, right? And they're all made of metal!"

Mildew was once again the voice of unreason: "oh, bah! You ever heard of anything so insane? I wouldn't be surprised if it was something that the Targaryen came up with and she brainwashed the boy!"

Hiccup shot the old man an irritated look for his dig at Dany, but she was safe above the angry crowd, still on Drogon's back. He let the matter rest for the time being in favor of running over to his captured dragon. He held up the burned prosthetic for them to look at. "Y-You see? This is where the lightning struck Toothless. On this connecting rod. . . this metal connecting rod."

He didn't have many ideas left for trying to convince them that Mildew was in the wrong, but desperate times called for desperate measures. "Look, if you don't believe me, I can prove it!"

Dany recognized that look all too well— the Viking stubbornness that ran in him the same as it did in her, the one that said here's a stupid idea! but would eventually change the minds of those around them. She sighed as Astrid swooped in on Stormfly to hoist the boy up on her dragon's back; Drogon was too big to climb onto while in mid-flight, plus he was too heavy to land on the docks without breaking them, so she stayed airborne.

Astrid flew him up to the top of a ship's mast, where he balanced precariously on the crossbar. Dany couldn't hear what he said to the blonde, but his father seemed to know that he was about to pull a crazy stunt and shouted "Hiccup!" in warning.

Undeterred, the brunet raised his voice to be heard above the storm: "you'll all see for yourselves! When I attach this metal rod to the top of this mast, the lightning will be drawn to—"

Except, he never got to demonstrate his point— or, he did, but not in the way he meant to— as a shock of lightning split the sky, aiming straight for him. The chief cried out his name again, this time distressed as he watched his son fall from the mast. Dany screamed his name, louder even than his father had, and Drogon dove after him. The large dragon's wing ripped a hole through the sail, but she didn't care.

They flew low, Drogon's claws catching on the wood of the ship and tearing through it like it was tinder, but there was a limp thump and Hiccup was in her arms. Behind them, the ship sank into the sea, but it was better that than the boy she was holding. The Targaryen cradled him carefully in her arms as they landed on solid ground— not the docks— and used her dragon's wing once more as a slide, landing to sit on the damp grass.

Stoick and Gobber got Toothless' restraints off of him before the trio rushed to join her on land. The Night Fury nosed at both of them worriedly but the boy remained limp on her lap. Dany pressed her ear to Hiccup's chest and let out a relieved breath when she heard the faint but steady beat of his heart. 

--

It was just like the interminable wait after the battle of the Red Death when Dany had sat by Hiccup's side. Except this time, she was there when he woke up. Just as before, she'd pulled a chair over by his bedside and had begun to work on a new carving. The shavings piled up at her bare feet, creating a soft, golden carpet on the floor. Toothless watched her with bright, curious green eyes and occasionally sniffed at the flowers that circled her head, each time being met with a gentle rebuke of 'please don't eat my flower crown, Toothless.'

When Hiccup finally did wake, he came to with a faint groan— understandable since he'd taken on the power of Thor single-handedly. As he sat up, it took him a second to realize that he wasn't alone, and there was a very pretty blonde girl in his room. Toothless was by his side in an instant, sniffing at him to make sure he was okay, but the distraction didn't last long as the Targaryen let out a happy gasp of, "Hiccup! You're awake!"

He didn't have much time to greet her in return. There was a faint clatter as she dropped both her knife and the block of wood before she launched herself at him, tackling him back against the wooden bedframe. He grunted with surprise at the unexpected reaction, but that was his only complaint as he wrapped his arms around her. She pushed herself up suddenly, her violet eyes going wide with guilt as she apologized, "oh, Thor, I'm sorry. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

But Hiccup couldn't have answered her even if she had hurt him; it one of those (many) moments where he was struck by her beauty: the silvery-blonde curls falling around her face, the crown of daisies that circled her head and the warmth that radiated from her smile.

Toothless, sensing the shift in atmosphere, nudged Hiccup's leg as if to say, 'pay attention, buddy.' Shaking off his daze, Hiccup stammered, "no, no, I'm fine. Just caught me off guard, that's all."

The sound of his father's heavy footsteps jerked them out of their bubble and Dany quickly moved to make space between them, her cheeks flushing a light shade of pink. Oblivious to the feelings between the teens, Stoick burst into the room, his booming voice arriving even before he did: "my boy! You're all right!"

Dany made a quiet excuse of I should go, leaving him with his family— even though he wanted to argue that she was his family— but he only stared after her as her light footsteps disappeared under his father's excitement.

In the end, every tall, metal structure was taken down and the lightning storms eased up in their severity. The only thing that remained to deal with was the statue of Thor that they'd built; it was far too nice to just throw away. The chief suggested that they put it on the tallest cliff, away from the villagers but still in a place that they could admire it. Unfortunately, when giving instructions to people like the twins, the devil was in the details— so it was really the chief's fault that it ended up in front of Mildew's house. (By now, he surely should have learned to be more specific with Hiccup's friends.)

Chapter Text

It seemed as if there was always something interesting going on in Berk. Today's noteworthy event was the random appearance of big holes all over the village. Most of the Vikings were gathered around the one in the sheep field. They peered into the empty blackness, wondering what could have created it. When the Viking teens arrived, Toothless reared at the sight of it as a low growl rumbled in his throat.

Hiccup raised his hands to place them gently on the Night Fury's side in an attempt to calm him. "Whoa, hey! It's just a hole, bud."

Dany joined them at the opening at studied it with a thoughtful frown. "It's made by a dragon, that's for sure."

"Really?" Snotlout asked, and she closed her eyes momentarily; it was way to early in the day to deal with his sneering tone. "And what makes you think that?"

He was met by an unamused look from both teens. "Dany's literally called the Mother of Dragons. I think she would know," the brunet retorted.

They were saved from another sarcastic remark by Bucket's voice calling from below: "it's not just a hole! It's like an underground village!"

"Bucket! There you are," Mulch sighed. "I've been looking for you all night!"

"Sorry, Mulch. But I think I finally found it: my happy place!"

The Targaryen tensed as the ground rumbled underneath their feet. Instinctively, she reached out to grasp Hiccup's arm to get his attention. "If that hole was made by a dragon," she began in a low, urgent voice, "we have to get him out of there now."

For his part, the boy glanced down at the unexpected contact, his mind going momentarily blank from surprise. They were too late— the earth beneath their feet shook, emitting a plume of dust from the hole. Bucket screamed as he came flying out of the ground in a cloud of soil and rocks. He landed with a clatter by the water troughs and they raced over to check on him.

"Are you all right, Bucket?" Stoick asked.

Thankfully he was dazed but otherwise unharmed as he stared up at them. Adjusting his bucket, he only whimpered, "not so happy anymore."

"What happened?"

His voice trembled as he replied, "something pushed me out! Something's down there!" He got to his feet, his nerves rattled from the scare. "Something big!"

Toothless' roar brought them back to the hole and they came to see that the Night Fury had jumped inside. His black-as-night scales helped him blend into the darkness around him, obscuring his shape. A shadow fell over Dany as Drogon peered down from above her curiously, an answering rumble in the back of his throat. She could tell by the tenseness of his muscles as they pressed against her back that this intruder didn't mean anything good for them. Her ears strained to listen to the noises in the wake of the shaking earth; there was a faint, whispery noise that followed the shifting of the soil.

"What is that sound?" Astrid wondered.

"Eh, whatever it is, it's giving me the willies!" Gobber admitted, backing away from the source. The rest of the village— minus Dany— followed suit.

The Targaryen remained at the opening, scanning the shadows for any sign of unusual movement. The noise grew louder and louder, and when she still made no effort to move, Drogon swept his tail in front of her to scoop her out of harm's way, just in time for the ground to explode in front of them. The blonde stumbled backwards to land against her dragon's tail as they stared up at the newcomer.

The dragon was unlike anything they'd seen before: a large, round head that was covered in spikes, very little body, and a long tail. It screeched as it hovered in the air, flapping its tiny wings to stay aloft. Its teeth were almost longer than Drogon's— which was a feat in itself, though its entire head seemed to just be made of sharp, pointy objects.

Dany stared up at it in speechless awe while Snotlout summed up their thoughts nicely: "whoa! Look at the size of that thing!"

Fishlegs lowered his eyes and trembled even more than Bucket had. "Do I have to?"

"Dragons, everyone!" Astrid ordered them.

She didn't think that was necessarily a good idea; the new dragon didn't seem particularly aggressive, just annoyed that someone had decided to go in its home. Engaging an unknown dragon in combat was not the wisest move, so she stayed by Hiccup's side instead as they stared up at the creature, trying to figure out what it was. Before the other teens launched themselves into the air, Snotlout mumbled, "uh, I don't like the way it's eyeballing me."

His words caught Dany's attention and her focus turned on the dragon's eyes. Its gaze was flickering between the dragons and their riders, but its eyes were narrowed in concentration— as if it were nearsighted. Additionally, the eyeballs themselves were a round, milky white that was bloodshot through with red veins: the perfect eyes for seeing in the dark, but not so much for above ground combat.

"Hiccup," she started, about to point out her thought process— but she was interrupted when it let out a furious screech that made their ears ring. Apparently not finding a worthy opponent, it dove back into the ground and disappeared from sight.

"What. . . was. . . that?" Astrid breathed out.

Dany wished that she could say she was surprised when Tuffnut chimed in with, "whatever it was, I want one!"

Fishlegs looked worse for wear, paling at the sight of the dragon. "If I had to guess, I'd say that was a Whispering Death." He glanced at the blonde. "I would like to confirm my hypothesis with my esteemed colleague of dragonology."

"Unfortunately," the Targaryen said with a grimace, "you'd be correct."

"Whoa," Tuffnut added, apparently unphased by their uneasy assessment, "great name." He leaned forward to cover Blech's ears as he continued, "so much better than Zippleback."

His dragon let out a disapproving screech, clearly upset that his rider thought so. Bucket was only more frantic than before as he glanced around nervously, holding himself up on shaking legs. "W-Where'd it go? Why's it here? What's it gonna do to us? Why aren't you slapping me to snap me out of this?"

Mulch was no less relaxed as he stood on a nearby barrel, as if being elevated from the ground could keep the Whispering Death from bursting up right between his feet. "Because I'm scared too, Bucket."

It reappeared in another shower of dirt, its head moving back and forth as if searching for a particular target. Gobber leaned towards the chief's son and Dany. "Ah, it looks angry. Why don't you do that thing where you touch its nose and feed it grass? Or the lass can do her own version of that— whatever it is."

"Okay," Hiccup grumbled, casting an annoyed look at the blacksmith. "Uh, Fishlegs, Dany, what do we know about the Whispering Death?"

"Boulder class; razor-sharp teeth, incredibly strong, hunts from underground," he shouted.

Tuffnut covered his dragon's ears again. "Now I really want one."

"It's got poor eyesight above ground," the blonde added. "Since it usually lives in darkness it doesn't really need to see very well."

Apparently not hearing anything useful in their information, Snotlout ground out: "so, how do we deal with this thing?"

"Stand back, everyone!" Stoick called loudly over the noise. He flew towards them on his Thunderdrum. His dragon roared in challenge at the Whispering Death. "Thornado's got something to say to this beast!"

The soundwaves flowed around the opposing dragon, seemingly harmless. It only growled louder as if the blast had made it angrier. Gobber looked disappointed at the lack of effect that had. "I don't think it's got its listening ears on!"

Astrid straightened on Stormfly's back and urged her dragon into the sky. "All right, let's run this thing out of here!"

Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins followed her to hover by the Chief's side. Before their dragons could even fire a single shot, Toothless appeared out of nowhere and jumped on the ground between them. He turned his head to the quartet and snarled at them in warning. The Deadly Nadder flew backwards in response, reeling as if she'd been scolded.

The Whispering Death zeroed in on Toothless. Its spikes flared and its eyes narrowed on its target. Seeing the increased aggression from the unfamiliar dragon, Hiccup stretched out a hand in his friend's direction, calling out, "Toothless!"

The other dragon swooped low, chomping its teeth in towards the Night Fury. Toothless launched himself after it, but couldn't get much height due to his prosthetic tail. Eventually he found purchase on the Whispering Death's spiky flesh and knocked the top-heavy dragon from the sky. The fight was short lived and the spiked dragon quickly freed itself. Its milky eyes seemed to hone in on the Night Fury's prosthetic tail. As if deeming that a weakness, the Whispering Death paid him no more mind, even as Toothless tried to jump up to get it.

Watching the battle with concern, Hiccup noticed this problem as well. "Toothless can't fly without me! He's a sitting duck!"

His father flew down and landed Thornado next to them. "Gobber, man the catapults and when that thing is clear of Toothless, fire!"

But neither Dany nor Hiccup wanted to unnecessarily injure a wild dragon. The Targaryen slipped in front of the chief's dragon and looked up at him pleadingly. "You've already tried to chase him off with your dragon and he wasn't affected by it. Throwing rocks at him will only make him angrier. Just-just let Hiccup try one more time— please?"

Stoick didn't look happy about it, but his son had a similarly imploring expression on his face and he sighed in defeat, waving a hand towards him in a 'go on' sort of way. Dany gave the older man a grateful smile (although he'd mostly just allowed it because of his son) as Hiccup went to his best friend.

"Just let me help you, bud," he began, but even his dragon prowess wasn't a match for. . . whatever was going on, and Toothless shocked them by shaking the boy off. Caught off guard, the motion sent the brunet to the ground as he stared up at the Night Fury helplessly. "What? Toothless, wha-what's wrong?"

Of course, the dragon had no answer for him. He merely roared at the Whispering Death before bounding away, not even looking back at his rider. He only paused a moment to give them an extra growl, as if to warn them 'stay away!' At Hiccup's worried question, Dany went over to help him up. Once he was on his feet, she let go of him as fast as she'd offered her hand.

"You should never get in the middle of a dragon grudge," she told him softly.

"Is that what that was?" Astrid asked, coming over to them.

The blonde didn't have to answer as the Whispering Death shot spikes towards Toothless. One of them landed in the Night Fury's leg, causing him to let out a roar of pain. Seeing as how his son hadn't been able to calm the situation, Stoick went ahead with his original plan of attack. "Gobber!"

The blacksmith yanked the lever and fired. The first hit landed and the spiked dragon turned towards them, opening his teeth-filled mouth to unleash his fury on them. But, before he could, the clouds that had been hovering over Berk since Thor's wrath had subsided suddenly parted. A ray of sunlight shone down on them, including the Whispering Death. It screeched in annoyance and dove back down into the soil. As it tunneled away, raised dirt appeared in its wake, showing them all where it was going.

Hiccup ran over to Toothless as soon as he could and took in the damage. His eyes trained on the spike embedded in his dragon's scales and he let out a concerned gasp. "Oh, no, you're hurt!"

Afraid that the Night Fury would negatively react to his help, he waited for Toothless' eyes to soften in recognition. The black dragon gave a little nod to reassure his rider that he wouldn't attack. As soon as the spike was out, however, Toothless jumped away from them, up the hill towards the Great Hall. "Toothless, wait!"

"Where's he going?" Astrid asked as her eyes followed the dragon's path.

"Probably running away to lick his wounds," Snotlout jeered.

Hiccup's brows furrowed with irritation as he turned to the shorter Viking. "It's not funny. He could've been killed. He can't fly, remember?"

The other boy only sneered at him. "And whose fault is that?"

The brunet started forward, opening his mouth to snap back at him, but Dany went to his side and put a gentle arm out to keep him in place. Her violet eyes flashed with annoyance as she glared at him with an uncharacteristically furious look. Normally she would have let Snotlout's comments slide, but one of their dragons— one of her dragons was potentially in danger, and Dany would always, always be there to make sure they were safe. Besides, it wasn't Hiccup's fault that the Whispering Death was making his dragon act strange.

"Do I have to remind you who gave you a dragon to ride on in the first place?"

"Hey," Snotlout said with a shrug. "I just call it how I see it."

"Well maybe you should get your eyes checked because you seem to be missing the point."

Without realizing it, the Targaryen had taken an aggressive step forward, squaring her shoulders to keep arguing. It was only when Hiccup reached out to place a hand on her arm— and just as quickly take it off again— that she took a moment to take a deep breath. She glanced at the boy who, although he flashed her a grateful look, gave a small shake of his head.

Thankfully, Fishlegs distracted them by returning to the more important issue: "um, does anybody want to talk about what in the name of Thor just happened?"

Tuffnut shrugged, unbothered. "Uh, dragon fight. Just another day on Berk."

Fishlegs shook his head. "Uh, not really. It seemed like there was way more to it than that."

"There was," Dany agreed, her temper cooling the longer Snotlout went without talking. "It was a grudge match. The Whispering Death didn't attack anyone until Toothless appeared— not that I'm blaming him or anything," she added hastily. "But it really seemed like the Whispering Death had it out for him."

"You're right," Astrid chimed in. "Not only did the Whispering Death single Toothless out, but Toothless wanted that dragon all to himself."

"Yeah, he certainly did." Hiccup looked over at his dragon again, who was still waiting on a nearby cliff, as if expecting his rival to appear out of thin air. "But why?"

Tuffnut frowned and scratched his head. He lifted up a finger in protest as he wondered, "uh, are we going to be tested on this? Because I'm completely confused."

"Well, don't look at me," Ruffnut replied as he glanced at her.

--

They gathered at the Dragon Training arena the next morning to somber news: Toothless had gone after the Whispering Death alone. Not everyone was sympathetic, however.

"Maybe Toothless just went for a morning flight? Oh, that's right— he can't," Snotlout taunted.

"Really?" Dany snapped, stalking forward. "Don't you get tired of the same joke? Oh wait— it would have to be funny to be a joke."

It was Hiccup's turn to put an arm out in front of her. As much as he appreciated the blonde's defense of him, he was more worried about Toothless than taking Snotlout down a peg. "Toothless must be looking for the Whispering Death. We find it, we find Toothless."

Fishlegs was less than pleased with that idea as he trembled nervously and clutched the Book of Dragons to his chest. "What do we do if we find the Whispering Death first?"

"Well, we train him," the chief's son replied as if that were the obvious answer. And, well, with them it was.

Surprisingly, Tuffnut was also reluctant for this plan. "You know he's got 'death' in his name, right?"

"It's also got 'Whispering,'" Dany pointed out. "Meaning that it can be gentle."

Hiccup was too focused on getting his dragon back to waste time on semantics, so he ignored them and went straight for the boy holding the book. "Fishlegs, is there anything about the Whispering Death in the Book of Dragons that can help us?"

The blond quickly flipped through the pages, his fingers fumbling slightly when they stuck together. Once he got to the right page, he read aloud: "it can shoot razor-sharp spines from any part of its body."

"And how is that gonna help us?" Astrid asked pointedly.

"Well, it would help if we stayed away from those."

"Or," Tuffnut began, "we could get near them, and use Ruffnut as a human shield." She kicked her twin in the leg in retaliation, causing him to recoil in pain. "Ow! My knee cap!" But his discomfort didn't last very long as he suddenly smiled once the shock wore off. "That's new. . . I like it."

"This dragon must have a weakness," Hiccup cut in, drawing the attention back to the issue at hand.

"Actually. . . no. Yeah, it says right here: 'no known weaknesses.'"

"That's ridiculous," Dany scoffed. She walked over to stand next to the blond to look at the book herself. "All dragons have weaknesses. Didn't you guys see its eyes? There weren't any pupils— it must have weak vision." She tapped the page of the book. "Put that in there."

Fishlegs gave her a nervous look, wary of her earlier aggression. "Um. . . I can't change anything in the book without official proof— or approval from one of the higher-ups. Hiccup, namely." He squeaked as she frowned at him and he held the book up to cover everything but his eyes.

"Okay, great. We'll collect field evidence while we search for Toothless. Can we go, please?" The brunet went over to Drogon, who studied him for a moment with flame-orange eyes before the large dragon knelt to allow him to mount. "We don't know how much time we have."

As she settled in to the familiar crook of Drogon's back, Dany turned around to send the boy behind her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Hiccup. We'll find him."

--

They flew for several hours in search of signs for any damage done by the Whispering Death. The clouds hung heavy and dark above them, blocking out the sun. If it weren't for the warmth of Drogon's scales and Dany's natural heat, both riders would've been uncomfortable temperature-wise long ago. If Hiccup hadn't been so worried about his dragon's wellbeing, he would have happily stayed up there all day with his chest pressed against Dany's back. It was really like she was a human heater, or an even more apt description would be his own, personal sunbeam. But, unfortunately, there continued to be no sign of Toothless so his thoughts were distracted as he scanned the ground below.

As they rounded the cliffs adjacent to the forest, his gaze caught on upturned earth. He tapped the blonde on the shoulder and pointed. "There, down below!"

Hiccup climbed to the ground as quickly as he could once they landed, already searching the area for the Night Fury. The others joined him soon after, though the smaller dragons shifted anxiously at the sense of danger. The brunet's voice echoed as he called his friend's name: "Toothless? Toothless!"

Snotlout was unconvinced as he kicked a loose rock into the abyss. "How do we even know the Whispering Death made these holes?"

"Oh?" Astrid demanded, just as done as the Targaryen was with his smart remarks. "So you think it might be the other twenty-five hundred pound, rock-eating dragon we're following?"

There was a pause as he tried to comprehend her sarcasm, but eventually he came up with nothing. (Dany could swear that there were fumes coming out of his ears as he tried to think.) He ended up simply huffing, "I know what you're— don't try to confuse me."

Noticing something on the ground, Hiccup bent to pick it up. "Look at this. . . He must have lost a tooth."

"It's not like he'll miss it," Dany commented, remembering the gaping hole of his mouth that was filled with teeth.

"Is it sharp?" Tuffnut asked eagerly. "If it is, I want it. I like sharp."

"Yeah," Ruffnut agreed. "Sharp is good."

Despite his nerves, Fishlegs was in awe of the creature's assets as he stood next to them, looking into the darkness. "Think about this: hundreds of those spinning together, ripping through dirt and tree root. Discarding rock like it's not even there."

The smaller dragons began to get even more restless. Stormfly squawked and flapped her wings in protest of her rider being so close to the danger she felt. Drogon glanced at his mother, meeting her eyes for a moment as she sent a silent message to him. He sighed, his sides puffing out from the gust of air he released. Then, he lumbered over to the other dragons and began to nudge them together to form a tighter group.

"Stormfly, what's wrong?" the Hofferson questioned her dragon apprehensively, watching Drogon corral them into a circle. "Dany, what's Drogon doing?"

"Don't worry," Dany reassured her. Her voice had taken on a gentle, lilting tone that she usually used to soothe frightened dragons. "Dragons can sense things we can't. He's just making sure they're settled so he can protect them better."

They watched as the large dragon wrapped himself around the other four, his length long enough to make a full ring. The others seemed calmer at his reassuring presence, just as Dany did when he was near.

"Woah," Tuffnut said, looked down at his dragon in shock. "It's like he's ready for a nap. Actually, I'm ready for a nap. Wake me up when this is over."

He closed his eyes as if to fall asleep, and just as his body slumped forward onto his dragon's head, Ruffnut jabbed him in the side with her elbow. He let out a startled yell and toppled several feet to the ground as she laughed. Hiccup was not amused by their antics and snapped, "Stop! Listen."

Although Dany could hear the whispers that the brunet had heard, the others (especially a certain pair of twins) weren't as attuned to their surroundings. Tuffnut looked around as if he could see what they were talking about. "Listen for what?"

"I don't hear anything," his sister replied. She cupped her hands over her mouth to yell, "what are we listening for?"

Astrid rolled her eyes at their idiocrasy and snapped, "be quiet!"

In a loud stage-whisper, Tuffnut wondered, "how are we supposed to hear anything over her yelling?"

The Hofferson shushed them without further explanation. The shaking underneath their feet increased as the seconds ticked by. The soft whisper grew louder as the rumbling intensified. Fishlegs backed away from the source anxiously, his eyes trained on the earth in case the Whispering Death made an appearance. "The whisper. . ."

Dany stood her ground, though her gaze was also locked on the soil. Snotlout shuffled closer to the girls, unable to hide the unease in his voice as he commented, "looks like we beat Toothless. . ."

"Yeah. We win," Astrid deadpanned.

The Whispering Death exploded up from behind them, causing the group to whirl around in shock. Fishlegs— who was the worst person to be at such close range— trembled at the sight of the dragon bearing down on him. His voice pitched even higher as he stammered out, "I'm not feeling like a winner. . ."

He tried to make himself as small as possible, his fear keeping him frozen in place. The Whispering Death pinned him under its milky glare, as if assessing whether he'd be worthy prey. As the dragon opened his mouth to reveal a myriad of sharp teeth, he squeaked out: "uh, hi, sir. . . um, I like the teeth."

The Whispering Death did not seem to appreciate his completement and it reared back to let out a screech. Its gaze travelled to the other dragons before it met Drogon's flame-orange eyes. The eye contact seemed to freeze the smaller dragon in place and it hesitated as it tried to figure out if the risk was worth provoking Drogon into a fight. Deciding it wasn't worth it, it snapped its teeth closed and dove back into the ground.

"I hate when he does that," Snotlout complained as the dust settled. "Can you at least tell me why he does that?"

"Maybe to hunt? Maybe because it's cooler? Maybe to look for water?" Fishlegs offered possible explanations, but as he spoke, their expectant gazes must have been too much as he exploded: "or maybe because he can't handle the pressure of everyone expecting him to always have the answers? There's another expert in dragons here you know!"

"He's losing it," Tuffnut sang.

"I know. It's awesome," his sister agreed with a grin.

"Sorry," Dany apologized. "I've never actually read the Book of Dragons. I only know things from first-hand experience— which apparently isn't enough for some people," she finished pointedly, reminding the blond of his earlier rejection when she'd pointed out the dragon's weakness.

The spiked dragon then chose that moment to reappear, once again picking a spot closer to Fishlegs than the boy would've liked. He yelled in fright and ran, waving his hands as he fled. Tuffnut's eyes went wide with excitement as he took a step forward. "Can somebody hold it still? I wanna pet it."

For once, his sister had enough sense to grab his arm and pull him back. Hiccup, on the other hand, prepared to do something that would have been more expected of the twins: he began to move towards the dragon rather than away from it. Astrid's eyes narrowed at his advance. "Do you actually have a plan, or are you just trying to get yourself killed?"

He approached the dragon as it barreled through the soil, its spikes just visible about the piles of rock left in its wake. Hiccup glanced back as it drew nearer. "If I can train it, it'll leave Toothless alone."

"Right, so you are trying to get yourself killed," Snotlout said.

Dany took several quick steps to stand by the brunet's side. He glanced at her apprehensively. "Dany. . ."

Her lips set in a firm line as she gave him a 'really, you're gonna do this now?' look. "Don't even start, Hiccup. You said it yourself earlier— I'm the Mother of Dragons. If he doesn't listen to you, you're gonna want backup."

He sighed, knowing that she could be as stubborn as he was when it came to this sort of thing. They faced off the oncoming Whispering Death together, though the Targaryen let Hiccup hold out his hand first rather than doing it herself. The dragon paused inches away from the boy's palm, its nostrils flaring as it took in his scent. Behind them, Drogon shifted into a standing position as his eyes trained on his mother, not trusting a foreign dragon. The silvery-blonde tendrils of Dany's hair flew back from her face at the closeness of the dragon's breath, but otherwise she remained unharmed.

The dragon, unfortunately, did not seem want to be trained, and it turned tail to dive back into the soil. It disappeared with a flick of its barbed appendage and it vanished from sight completely. The pair ran over to the newly-created opening and stared into the darkness. Astrid knew that look on Hiccup's face— on both of their faces— and tried to stop them before it was too late. "Um, I know what you're thinking, and the answer's no."

The brunet ignored her and jumped down after it. The Targaryen lingered for a second to give her friend an remorseful look. "Sorry, Astrid. I'm not about to leave him down there by himself."

She followed him, leaving the Hofferson to grumble, "why do they always do that?"

Dany couldn't see very well in the blackness that surrounded her, but there was still a faint light from the hole above them. She could just barely make out Hiccup's form, and when he turned to see who had joined him, she saw his shoulders relax. "Thanks, Dany. I knew I could count on you."

She was glad that the dim lighting hid the warmth that rushed to her face and she only blushed harder as he held out his hand to her— once again giving her the choice to accept it or not. As she took his hand, she gave him a soft smile even though he couldn't see it. "Of course. You'd do the same for me."

Then Hiccup was grateful for the darkness as his cheeks reddened by her confident response. It was true, of course, but it was still nice— more than nice— that she'd acknowledged it. A growl echoed through the tunnels and they both tensed. His stomach did a funny swooping thing— like what happened when he flew Toothless upside down, but better— as her hand tightened in his. Her voice was much quieter as she commented, "well, at least we know it's home."

They began to take careful steps forward while keeping an eye out for the Whispering Death. The expanse of tunnels seemed to go on forever, sometimes winding back on themselves or connecting in various places. "This thing's been busy."

"Clearly it spends a lot of its time down here," Dany observed. "Maybe there's a lair or a main cavern that has something that will help us."

There was a flash of movement just beyond the tunnel they were in, causing the pair to face towards it. A faint whip sound followed the Whispering Death as its tail turned around a corner. "There it goes. Let's follow it."

The Targaryen walked as soundlessly as she could behind Hiccup, minding how much noise she made so as to not attract the dragon's attention. She was— once again— grateful for her bare feet, which kept her noise level down (unlike the brunet's slightly squeaky metal leg— not that she as blaming him for something he couldn't help.) Things were going fairly well until Dany decided to look up.

She let out a very Fishlegs-sounding squeak of fright and jumped forward, crashing against Hiccup's back. The brunet immediately turned around to look at her in concern. "Dany! What's wrong?"

Her pounding heart began to settle and she took a steadying breath. "Sorry," she began sheepishly. "Um, those roots looked like giant, flesh-eating worms."

He followed her finger that was pointing upwards and had to agree. Above them, they could see where the Whispering Death hadn't quite eaten everything in its path, leaving white, ghost-like tree roots hanging bare against the soil. He squeezed her hand reassuringly as they resumed their trek, though he couldn't help but grumble, "did you have to add the 'flesh-eating part?'"

"Sorry," Dany said again.

Their next scare came not long after at the sight of two green eyes peering at them from the darkness. At first, she thought it might've been Toothless, but they were too small to be dragon eyes. They flinched at the unexpected encounter, only for a sheep to leap out at them with a 'bahh.' It shuffled away and disappeared into the gloom.

Finally, they had a legitimate fright as the Whispering Death appeared in the next tunnel over. Hiccup quickly pulled the blonde into a shallow alcove to get out of its way. It wasn't much protection; just small enough for two skinny teenagers to crowd in if they pressed themselves together. If she hadn't been so on edge already, she would've been embarrassed by their closeness.

Thankfully, the Whispering Death moved past them without noticing their presence. It slithered onward, only pausing when it came across a patch of sunlight that had broken through the ceiling of the cavern. It hissed in dismay and pressed against the wall as much as it could to avoid it. Excitedly, Dany tugged on Hiccup's sleeve and pointed with her other hand, her wide eyes asking 'did you see that?' but unfortunately, he couldn't see her expression very well in the dark.

As quietly as he could, he murmured, "what?"

The spiked dragon had better hearing than they gave it credit for, and at the boy's question, it whipped around to face in their direction. They tensed, waiting for the dragon to strike. While its eyesight was probably better in the dark, its hearing remained average and it seemed to have trouble finding them, sliding right past their hiding place. Letting out a breath of relief, Hiccup mumbled, "let's just hope it keeps going."

Of course, that made the dragon pause right in front of their alcove. Dany scanned the area to see if there was a way for them to slip out around it, the tunnel was too small. Her eyes did catch on an imperfection on the dragon's tail, and she tugged on the boy's sleeve again to get his attention. This time, it was easier to see what she was indicating and he saw what she'd noticed.

The second that the Whispering Death was out of sight again, the blonde asked, "did you see that?"

"Was that a bite mark?"

"Not just any bite mark," she corrected him. "That's a Night Fury bite mark. That's what their grudge is about. They fought one time and Toothless came out on top."

He gave her an worried look. "How long do dragons carry a grudge?"

She sent him a sympathetic smile in return. "Um, to the death. . ."

"Let's get out of here before it comes back."

"Good idea," the Targaryen agreed.

Taking less care this time, the pair ran towards the hole they'd entered from. That didn't last long as the Whispering Death appeared right in front of them. Dany stumbled backwards with a shout but Hiccup caught her before she fell. They got out of the way by staying close to the wall, forcing the spiked dragon to go the long way around a patch of sunlight. That delay was the only thing that allowed them to sprint back up the tunnel instead of being eaten.

"Hiccup! Dany!" Astrid yelled into the passageway, only for them to appear a moment later.

"Yup! Right here!"

Tuffnut leaned over the edge to look down at them. "Did you see the Whispering Death? Was it cool?"

"Did you touch it?" his twin interjected.

He hit his sister in retaliation. "I wanna touch it."

"Yeah, that's great!" Dany called up, her voice straining in urgency. "But if you don't get us out of here right now, you'll be doing a lot more than just touching it!"

Astrid looked up to see the Whispering Death making its way towards them. It knocked down trees in its fury, its rumbling growl growing louder every second. "Uh, yeah, you do."

"Dany, you go first."

The blonde looked at him like he was crazy. "No way. I'm not leaving you alone with this thing!"

He set his jaw, the stubborn look that she was all too familiar with entering his eyes. "You won't be leaving me alone since we're both getting out of here— you're just going first, and arguing is only wasting time."

She frowned, clearly not happy about his insistence, but to his relief, she nodded reluctantly. He bent down and folded his hands together to make a step for her. Using it to gain some height, she took Astrid's hand and the other girl pulled her up, back to safety. Hiccup let out a short breath of relief; at least if things went south, she'd be out of harm's way.

It was his turn to reach for Astrid's hand then, but without the extra height, he was a hair too short. He kept jumping to try and reach the blonde, but their fingers only brushed before he landed again. "I can't reach!"

He made the mistake of glancing back to see the Whispering Death's progress— it was almost on top of him in a cloud of dirt and rock. Dany appeared next to Astrid, her violet eyes dark with worry. His hand caught the Hofferson's for a fleeting moment, but his palms were slick with sweat from fear and they slid apart again. "Hiccup!"

They were too late. As the spiked dragon came closer, the only thing that he could do was yell out a warning: "everyone stand back!"

Astrid tugged on Dany's arm to get her away from the hole just in time. Hiccup was flung up into the air along with the debris from the Whispering Death. The dragon came next— its teeth too close to the boy for their liking. Daenerys clutched at Astrid's hand, her heart sinking in her chest because even if she did send Drogon after Hiccup, her dragon was too big, too slow for rescue missions—

"Stormfly!" Her best friend seemed to read her mind and ordered her dragon to catch the falling Viking.

The Deadly Nadder shot through the air and caught the brunet in her claws. Inches away, the Whispering Death snapped its teeth shut, coming up empty. When the boy was on his feet again, the Targaryen rushed over to him, checking to make sure that he was okay.

He gave her a reassuring look and briefly put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm alright, Dany. Thanks, Astrid," he added to the other blonde.

The dragon emerged again, screeching angrily. Noticing its more agitated state, Tuffnut commented, "I don't think it likes you in its hole."

Hiccup rolled his eyes at the pointless observation. "Yeah, I got that."

Even Snotlout seemed reluctant to boast about his confidence in the situation as he pleaded, "can we get out of here? Please?"

"Maybe it will respond to dragon nip?" Dany suggested. "If we had some, maybe we could—"

Even before she finished speaking, the others pushed bundles of the herb into her hands. She blinked in surprise for a second, startled by their quick action. Then she took a deep breath and then slowly began to approach the Whispering Death. Holding out the dragon nip as an offering, she spoke to it soothingly: "don't be afraid. I'm a friend. Here, you'll love this. Most dragons do."

The spiked dragon was definitely interested in what she had to provide. Its growl eased as it came towards her, sniffing at the grass curiously. Its spikes began to relax back against its body. The Whispering Death's eyes returned to their normal size, no longer narrowed to slits. It was working!

Dany stayed perfectly still, waiting patiently for the dragon to make the first move. She swore it would've worked, had the Whispering Death not sneezed. It did, though, and it sent the dragon nip flying everywhere. All of the riders' dragons— except Drogon— fell to the ground with contented purrs, their eyes half-lidded with happiness.

Only Dany's dragon remained alert, the dragon nip having no effect on him. He zeroed in on the Whispering Death, his lips pulling back into a furious snarl. His long fangs glinted with dripping saliva as he pushed himself to his feet. The glare in his flame-orange eyes promised certain death.

"Oh, great," Snotlout complained. "Now our only line of defense is a dragon who doesn't listen to anybody! I wonder where he gets that from."

The Targaryen glowered at him in response. "You don't see me making any digs about how your dragon lacks a certain number of braincells to be a functional member of the team, just like somebody I know."

"Well that's just— why don't you— ugh, stop speaking so vaguely! I don't even know who you're talking about to be mad at you anymore!" the shorter Viking huffed in frustration.

As if echoing her annoyance, Drogon let out a low, warning growl as he lumbered forward to prepare to take on the Whispering Death himself. The spiked dragon was no match for the much larger one, its size dwarfed in comparison as Drogon stood before it.

"Uh, Dany?" Hiccup began, a little nervously. "Maybe you should. . . intervene? We don't need two dragon grudges on our hands."

But even Daenerys looked reluctant to stand between her dragon and the Whispering Death. "I've only tried to get between Drogon and his prey once. . . I was lucky he cared about me too much to pose any threat. I. . . wouldn't try again."

"Okay, here's an idea," Snotlout spoke up in a quavering voice. "Run!"

A roar louder than any of the group (except Dany) had ever heard shook the ground underneath their feet. Her stomach tightened in knots at the thought of Drogon fighting and possibly (though unlikely) getting hurt. But, there was nothing she could do, so she followed the other teens as they broke into a sprint to get away from the warring dragons. She glanced back out of concern for her Dragon and saw that he was spreading his wings, growing impossibly larger to try and intimidate the other dragon into submission. Feeling a bit more reassured that it wouldn't come to blood, she was about to turn around until a streak of black shot past her vision.

"Toothless!" Astrid cried, recognizing the blurred shape as well. They stopped to watch what would happen next.

The smaller dragon darted between Drogon and the Whispering Death and let out a roar of his own. If it were any other situation, it would have been funny to watch a dragon the size of Drogon be ordered around by a Night Fury that was less than an eighth of his size, but now it was Toothless who was facing off with the Whispering Death as Drogon backed away to give them space. He huffed, as if to say 'where have you been? This was supposed to be your fight' while the black dragon's tail lashed back and forth.

Toothless launched himself at the Whispering Death and the action sent them tumbling across the dirt. The other dragon's spikes dug into the Night Fury's black scales, but it didn't seem to bother him as they grappled together. When they got to the crest of the hill, Toothless released the Whispering Death and sent it rolling down the slope. The other dragons— having woken from their fainting spell— joined their friend. Their combined roars made the Whispering Death admit defeat for the time being, knowing it couldn't take on all of them (much less Drogon alone.)

As it flew away, Hiccup ran to his best friend before Dany could warn him against it. Putting his hands on Toothless' back to get himself into the saddle, he tried to offer his dragon some comfort, "it's okay, bud, it's me. I know what's going on with you and that other dragon. Let me help you."

Toothless, however, was having none of it. He jerked his head to keep the boy from getting on his and darted off. The brunet ran after him despite the clear refusal. "Toothless, come back!"

When he wouldn't leave the Night Fury alone, Toothless turned and shot a plasma blast at his rider's feet to keep him away. Hurt filled Hiccup's face at the violent response and he faltered, allowing his dragon to bound off.

Tuffnut sidled up to him. "Awkward. . ."

--

They were flying on their dragons again to follow Toothless from the sky. Hiccup was sitting behind Dany on Drogon's back; the large dragon had calmed down enough to ride once his pack was no longer in danger. The pair shared with the rest of the group what they'd discovered in the tunnels, leading Snotlout to summarize: "so Toothless has an arch enemy. Kind of like you and me."

Daenerys could hear Hiccup's sigh even over the sound of the wind. "Snotlout! You're not my arch enemy!"

"Well, you're mine," the other boy replied, jabbing two fingers at his eyes and then towards the brunet in an 'I'm watching you' gesture.

"He's just trying to protect you," Dany explained, reaching forward to pat Drogon between the shoulder blades. "Just like how Drogon warned me not to get in the middle of his fights— they're unpredictable."

Snotlout scoffed at her sympathetic reasoning. "That's not it. Toothless doesn't want you around because this is between him and the other guy. He's a fighter, like me." He pounded his chest importantly. "Not. . . whatever you are."

The Targaryen expected him to retort with a quip, but instead Hiccup surprised everyone by saying: "I never thought I'd say this. . . Snotlout, you're right."

Snotlout opened his mouth with a snarky comment at the ready, but at the brunet's words, he did a double-take. "Wait, huh? You guys heard that, right?"

"It's not a fair fight! If Toothless is gonna win, he has to fly, and he fly without me."

"So, what are you saying?" Astrid asked.

"I'm saying we need to find him, and soon."

Drogon put out as much speed as he could muster, his wings pushing great gusts of air behind them as they covered the distance. The teens scanned the tree line for any signs of a distinctive black shape. They finally caught up to him at the edge of the forest, where the copse of trees fell away into a sharp cliff face. "There he is! Let me down there."

Hiccup climbed off of Drogon as quickly as he could to join his dragon on the ground. A warning growl rumbled in Toothless' throat, but at his rider's slow, hesitant steps, he began to relax. His narrowed pupils expanded into the more welcoming ones that they were all familiar with. He even let the boy close enough to put his hand on his snout. Hiccup threw his arms around his dragon with relief.

"Hey, bud! You had me so worried there, for a while," he admitted. "You haven't been yourself lately. Glad to see you're still you."

The earth trembled as the Whispering Death came closer. It shot up from the dirt several feet away from them, right in Toothless' eyesight. The brunet added urgently, "you could just walk away from this, bud."

Toothless, unfortunately, would not walk away from this. The Whispering Death let out a furious screech, which prompted the Night Fury to retaliate with a roar of his own. Hiccup tried to get on his dragon's back, but Toothless threw him off. Astrid and Fishlegs ran over to join him, with the latter exclaiming, "you were so close! I thought you had him!"

The black dragon struggled to get airborne, his wings flapping frantically as he fired a plasma blast at the Whispering Death. He ended up missing and was smacked out of the air, onto his back. He hopped back onto his feet but each time he tried to get some height, the Whispering Death blasted him with a stream of fire.

Dany felt her heart tug with compassion at the clearly unfair fight, but she knew that this was Toothless' battle alone. Still, Hiccup wouldn't give up so easily and made his way back to Drogon. "He needs our help."

But even with their dragons, Toothless refused their aid. He snapped at them in response, stopping them in their tracks.

"Come on, girl," Astrid tried to encourage Stormfly.

"Hookfang won't budge!"

"I think ours is broken. . ."

"They know that this isn't their fight," the Targaryen told the other teens sympathetically.

The Whispering Death back Toothless into the canyon. It used its fire to control the Night Fury's direction, while at the same time burning the earth away from around him. Hiccup sat tensely against Dany's back and she already anticipated his return to the ground. The others followed him.

"Toothless!" the brunet shouted, his arm stretching towards his dragon helplessly. They watched as the Spiked Death used its fire to force the Night Fury back towards the edge of the column of rock. "Buddy. . . It's gonna knock Toothless into the canyon!"

As Toothless' claws scraped against the stone in an effort to keep himself up, an idea formed in Hiccup's mind. It was dangerous, potentially deadly, but it might just work. Without letting anyone else (especially Dany, who would try to stop him) know, he stepped off the cliff and into the open air beneath him. He heard the fear and panic in the Targaryen's voice as she shouted his name, but it was too late.

The sound of her cry, though, caught the Night Fury's attention and his head jerked in the direction of her voice. Toothless ignored the Whispering Death completely in favor of launching himself off the rocks and towards his rider. His wings flapped desperately to catch up to the boy in time, just barely managing to get himself underneath him. Hiccup settled on his dragon's back, clicking his metal leg into the stirrup.

They pulled up, hitting the ground in a cloud of dust but were otherwise unharmed. "You save me, I save you. That's how this works."

Together, they were able to dodge everything that the Whispering Death had to throw at them. They avoided spikes and spewing fire, giving as good as they got in return. During their fight, the clouds parted above them and weak sunlight filtered down from the sky. The spiked dragon hissed in pain and dove back into the ground.

"Hiccup!" Dany called, feeling vindicated by the proof that Fishlegs had required to believe. "Remember what I said about the eyes! That's the weakness!"

"Okay, bud. Let's keep him above ground." The brunet guided his dragon towards the tunnels where Toothless shot plasma blasts into the soil. Bursts of light followed their path, opening the underground caverns to the elements. That did the trick and the Whispering Death was drawn out from its hiding place, screeching with fury.

Toothless took the opportunity to pummel it into the ground. Standing above the spiked dragon, he opened his mouth to prepare a final, deciding blow. "Toothless, no!"

The Night Fury hesitated for a moment before he let out a warning roar that said 'and stay down!' Then he released the Whispering Death, which fled back underground. They returned to the rest of the group who were all in various states of confusion.

"Oh, man. Toothless could have finished him off!" Snotlout said with disappointment.

"I guess all dragon grudges aren't to the death."

"I guess I'll have to change that in the book," Fishlegs agreed. Dany cleared her throat pointedly. "And the part about Whispering Deaths not having a weakness."

"Thank you," she replied with a haughty sniff.

--

When they arrived back at the village and dismounted their dragons, Daenerys went over to Hiccup and punched him very lightly in the shoulder. The boy clutched his arm and staggered in an exaggerated fashion.

"Ow!" he pretended to complain. "Really?"

Dany only grinned at his theatrics. "Oh, come on. I didn't even hit you that hard."

"I could punch him harder, if you'd like," Astrid offered in passing as she hefted her axe over her shoulder.

The blonde shook her head before he expression became serious, and she pointed at the brunet sternly. "Promise me you won't go jumping off any more cliffs."

He gave her a sheepish smile. "I'm afraid I can't promise you that, milady."

She blushed at the nickname, her gaze dropping shyly down to her bare feet. "Well, can you at least promise that you'll give me fair warning next time? I almost had a heart attack."

Hiccup felt that same surge of triumph at the sight of the pretty shade of pink on Dany's cheeks that he had at Snoggletog so many months ago. Just like it had then, it filled him with reckless confidence at the reaction he got from someone who was normally so composed. He resolved to call her milady more often. Sticking his hand out between them to shake on it, he agreed, "fair warning it is, then."

Chapter Text

"How are we supposed to see up here?" Ruffnut whined.

The clouds lay thickly all around them, gray and heavy with the promise of rain. The twins flew on their Zippleback between Hiccup and Dany, though their cooperation could use some work. The quartet (including the Zippleback's two heads) bickered more than any of the riders combined, so they were trying to get them to practice their teamwork. "You're not. That's the whole point," the brunet told them for the umpteenth time.

"Oh. No, I still don't get it."

Dany sighed at how obtuse they were being. "You won't always be able to see," she explained. "You're going to have to trust Barf and Belch to guide you since their eyesight will almost always be better than yours."

"Like this!" Hiccup added, guiding Toothless so that he veered into some of the denser fog on a sharp angle.

"Why do they always have to speak in riddles?"

She had told Hiccup that this could only ever end in disaster, but he had been adamant that the twins should learn some kind of cooperation, even if it was their own style. But, true to form, they reacted as they always had: when one said up, the other said down.

"I say we trust us," Ruffnut declared.

"Yeah, I'm with you, sister."

"Barf, up!"

"Belch, down!"

Their dragon tried to follow their orders, but when one head went in the opposite direction of the other, they were sent spinning through the gray mist. Unfortunately for Fishlegs, this meant that an uncontrollable dragon was heading right his way. His eyes widened but they were going too fast to be avoided; their collision sent all three of them flailing through the air to land on the branches of a tree below.

It cracked under their wait and, once again, the siblings gave opposing directions:

"Belch, get me down!"

"Barf, go for help!"

The Zippleback flapped uncontrollably in the air as he tried to pick a direction to fly n, eventually whirling off and out of sight. Fishlegs whistled for Meatlug, who looked down at him at the noise. He did a series of hand gestures pointing to the twins. The Gronckle hovered over to them so the brother and sister could grab onto each of her legs as she flew them to safety— just in time, too, as the branch finally gave way.

"It worked! I can't believe it actually worked!" the blond exclaimed. He could only celebrate for a second, though, since his branch was about to have a similar fate.

Luckily, he'd stayed up there long enough that Dany and Drogon could swoop underneath him to catch the larger Viking. Fishlegs had become much more comfortable with Drogon over the past several months, though he would probably never be fully trusting around a dragon of his size. (The sharp teeth were a little off-putting.) Still, he was able to ride on Dany's dragon's back without too much fear, which was a huge improvement.

"Thanks, Dany," he said with relief.

"Anytime," was her cheerful response. As they made their way back towards Hiccup, she added, "hey, what was that hand thing you were doing?"

He puffed up slightly as he straightened in his spot behind her. "If you must know, I have been crafting some rudimentary hand signals for Meatlug just in case we get separated and they seem to have been well-received."

Dany twisted around to give him an impressed look. "Hand signals! Why didn't I think of that?"

Fishlegs blushed a little at her praise. "Oh, well, y'know. . . I've got a lot of free time on my hands that I spend with Meatlug, so. . ."

"That's incredible, Fishlegs!" Hiccup agreed.

"Yeah, I know!"

"We need to start working on those right away."

Excited to get started on their new project, Hiccup set them all to figuring out signals for their dragons once they returned to the arena. Drogon stood in front of Dany, watching her with his flame-orange eyes. His expression was one of exasperated amusement— as close as a dragon could get to that, anyway— that clearly asked, 'are we really doing this?'

"Yes, Drogon, we are really doing this," the blonde told him firmly. "You can't deny that it would be good in battle."

Drogon huffed. 'When do you expect do to battle, mother?'

"We're Vikings, buddy. You better get used to it. Now, when I do this—" Daenerys cupped her hands to her mouth and pushed them away, palms out. "—that means aldrnari. Okay?"

She did the gesture again. With a great sigh, as if this entire endeavor was so taxing, Drogon complied and incinerated the wooden target that was next to her. The blonde went over to her dragon and gave him an encouraging pat on the snout. "Great job, bud."

Drogon gave her an impatient look in response. 'I did what you asked. Can we be finished now, mother?'

"Oh, very well. Let's see how the others are doing." The Targaryen wandered over to where Hiccup was standing in front of Toothless. "Can I watch?"

Glancing over at her, Hiccup became a little nervous about the fact that he would have an audience— an audience that he wanted to impress. He coughed to clear his throat. "Oh, um, sure. I mean, I can't promise much. . ." Then, he remembered what he'd promised himself, smiling slightly as he added, "milady. But I'll do my best for you."

As he'd hoped, Dany's face turned a bit pink and her eyes fell to her bare toes. She played with the ends of the fur on her vest as she waited for him to start. Turning back to the Night Fury, he clenched his hand into a fist. "Toothless, battle ready."

Toothless crouched and spread his wings, bearing his teeth. Hiccup pointed to the ground. "Toothless, plasma blast."

The brunet tossed up a wooden shield, which his dragon aimed for. It disintegrated under the force of the hit, and Dany clapped appreciatively. Grinning at her, Hiccup held up his hand for her to pause. "Wait, there's one more. Toothless, smile." He drew his finger across his lips.

His dragon tilted his head and gave them his trademark gummy smile. Daenerys went over to give the Night Fury a scratch under his chin. "Good job, Toothless. You're definitely more willing to learn than somebody I know." She shot a pointed look at her own dragon, who pretended not to notice.

Just as Hiccup opened his mouth to offer his help, another drawling voice got there first: "y'know, babe, I could teach that dragon of yours a thing or two."

Snotlout came over to them with a smarmy grin on his face. Dany gave him an uncomfortable look, as always too polite to tell him off. But then, an idea occurred to her that made her eyes light up. She turned to her dragon— who had always had it out for the shorter Viking— and cupped her hands to her mouth before she pushed them away, palms flat.

Drogon gave his own version of a smile, though it was much more menacing than Toothless'. He didn't need to be told twice to send a wall of flame directly at the dark-haired teen. Snotlout let out a very high-pitched screech and sprang out of the way so that it hit the far side of the arena. Outraged, the boy whirled to face his dragon. He pointed (though it was mostly at Drogon) towards them furious. "Hookfang, annihilate!"

The Monstrous Nightmare, of course, had his own agenda— plus Dany was pretty much the only dragon rider he liked, and Drogon was too big of a threat to rile up. So, he turned to Snotlout and let out a burst of flame towards his rider instead. Tuffnut snickered at his misfortune. "Bullseye!"

"If you guys are finished," Astrid cut in impatiently. "Stormfly and I have actual tricks to show you. Stormfly!" Getting her dragon's attention, she spread her fingers out in front of her. "Spine-shot!"

Her Deadly Nadder whipped her tail out toward Astrid, shooting spines right up to her feet. One of them landed on the edge of her boot, so she had to tug it out. "Well, it's better than last time."

"Meatlug, hug!" Fishlegs wrapped his arms around himself to demonstrate. The Gronckle launched herself towards her owner and tackled him in response. She licked him several times, earning a besotted smile from her rider.

"Hmm. That could actually be useful," Hiccup said thoughtfully. "Ruff, Tuff, your turn."

"Belch, come!"

"Barf, go!"

When he tried to comply, the Zippleback launched his heads in two different directions. The resulting jerk forced them back together again. The impact knocked him unconscious. Ruffnut growled angrily at her brother as she curled her hands into fists. They tried again.

"Barf, sky!"

"Belch, ground!" The Zippleback did another awkward somersault before he crashed back to the earth. Tuffnut cheered. "Ha ha! I win!"

Ruffnut whirled on him, snarling, "what do you think you're doing to my dragon?"

"Your dragon?" her brother scoffed. "Puh-lease. You've been breathing in Barf's gas again."

"Yeah, so?"

Their faces were inches apart by now as they glared at each other. Although they were used to the twins' arguing, this fight seemed a lot more volatile than the ones that usually occurred. Hiccup stepped forward with his arms upheld passively. "Guys, guys. Barf and Belch is one dragon. You have to use one signal at a time."

"Good idea. Barf, tackle Tuffnut!" The right head of their dragon swung forward to knock into the unsuspecting boy, sending him flying. He landed on top of Snotlout, who still hadn't gotten up after his dragon fired at him. "Heh. How was that?"

Fishlegs shuffled forward nervously. "I don't think it's what Hiccup—"

Tuffnut sat up. "Belch, eat Ruffnut."

The other head leaned down to take the girl's entire torso into his mouth. He lifted her up off the ground and gave her a little shake. Even despite all of that, she remained mostly unbothered except for a muffled, "uh. . . ow?"

Hiccup sighed. "Tuff, come on."

He rolled his eyes and let out an irritated huff. "Whatever. Belch, drop Ruffnut."

His sister shuddered once she was released from the dragon's hold, taking only a moment to recover before she was back to glaring at her twin. "I can't work like this."

"Ugh, it's completely unprofessional," Tuffnut agreed, finally rising to his feet.

"I'm taking my dragon, and going home."

He pointed towards the Zippleback heatedly. "You touch that dragon, and I'll—"

"You'll what?"

Tuffnut hesitated, not the best at coming up with threats on the fly. "I'll. . . I. . . I don't know. Don't rush me. Just. . ." His eyes shifted from the dragon to his sister. "Uh. . . uh. . . I'll tell you tomorrow."

They ran to their dragon and each tried to pull his head in a separate direction. A low rumbling started in Drogon's throat as he became displeased with their treatment of the Zippleback. Dany laid a reassuring hand against his cheek, warning him to not do anything and instead intervened herself. She hurried over to the twins and tugged at their hands, which were holding onto each of their dragon's lips.

"Stop, just stop. You can't pull him like that. If you can't agree on who goes with him, then just leave him be. It's over."

"Oh, it's over," Ruffnut growled, freeing her hand from the Targaryen's grasp. She turned her back on her dragon.

"Yeah, it's so over, it's under," Tuffnut retorted, doing the same.

They stormed off, heedless of what their fight did to the Zippleback. Each head tried to follow its respective rider, but of course that meant the body wouldn't move. They faced each other and snapped their teeth ferociously.

--

"Hey, back in line! Back in line!" Snotlout shouted from Hookfang's back. They were flying in formation with the rest of Berk's dragons between them. Some of the smaller Terrible Terrors had escaped from the pack and tried to make their way to the forest, but the Monstrous Nightmare redirected them.

They had been tasked with this duty as the chief didn't want anyone from the visiting Berserker tribe to know about Berk's new friends. He was afraid that their guests might see the dragons' presence as an act of aggression, and that that would make the Berserkers, well. . . mad (but not angry-mad, crazy-mad. Targaryen-mad, which was a whole other concern for Dany entirely.)

"Is Dagur coming?" Snotlout asked eagerly, his dark eyes bright with excitement. "He's so cool!"

Hiccup stared at him in disbelief. "Cool? Last time he was here, he used me for a knife-throwing target."

Dany hunched her shoulders, shrinking closer to Drogon's warmth. She tried to focus on the strong presence of her dragon underneath her and let the wind whip her friends' words away. She wasn't entirely successful.

"That guy should be locked up in a cage," Astrid agreed.

The Targaryen flinched at the blonde's words, the other girl's disgust apparent in her tone. It felt like a stone had been lodged in her stomach as the rest of the gang chimed in with their own reasons why they didn't like the visiting tribe, each crime that the Berserkers had committed more insane than the last. She wished she could drown them all out with the roar of the sea or turn back and fly on her own, but she had decided to help, so she was stuck.

"Hey, Dany!" Hiccup called to her, drawing her from her anxious thoughts. "You weren't here the last time the Berserkers were in town. Be careful around them, especially Dagur, okay?"

"You know," Fishlegs began before she could reply, "maybe the Targaryens have some Berserker in their blood. That would explain why everyone started to call them mad."

The stone moved from her stomach to her throat, sticking in place. She could swallow past it, but no words escaped her mouth. Luckily Astrid laughed at the boy's apparently outlandish suggestion. "That's ridiculous, Fishlegs. Dany's not mad— she's told us so herself! It's just a rumor."

"Rumors have to start from somewhere," the blond mumbled.

Begging the gods to give them a distraction— any distraction— the Targaryen had never been more relieved when an out-of-control Zippleback came spiraling through their group. The Hofferson changed the subject abruptly: "heads up! Incoming Zippleback!"

"Where's Ruffnut and Tuffnut?" Hiccup asked as Barf and Belch shot between him and Snotlout. "Someone get that dragon!"

"On it!" Dany called hastily. Drogon— bless his heart, who always knew what she needed— went as fast as he could after them.

Once they were directly parallel to the Zippleback, she leapt neatly from the back of her dragon onto the saddled one below. Belch's neck was much smaller than she was used to, but she quickly situated herself into position. That still left the other head, though.

"The Zippleback needs two riders!" the chief's son shouted over the wind. "Fishlegs, get in there!"

He laughed nervously. "I'm not sure this is really the best. . ."

Barf didn't give him a chance to finish. The right dragon head nudged Meatlug, sending her rider reeling. He caught the flailing boy, but not before the head emitted a stream of gas. Fishlegs gagged slightly and held a hand to his mouth. "I don't feel so good. . ."

"It's the gas," Daenerys informed him. She tried not to breathe too much, either. "Try breathing in through your mouth."

"I'm not opening my mouth any time soon," the blond grimaced. "My nose is already infected."

"Fishlegs, just hold on tight and focus on staying on. I need your help to keep both heads under control," she instructed.

Despite his protests, Fishlegs nodded and clung to the saddle as best as he could. Meanwhile, Dany focused on coordinating with Hiccup to corral the Zippleback. The wild dragon spiraled unpredictably, separating them more than she would've liked. As they neared, Drogon swooped in from above, roaring and snapping his jaws as he tried to assert dominance and guide the Zippleback towards the group. It seemed to work for a moment, but the Zippleback retaliated by shooting another burst of gas towards Drogon. The black-and-red dragon deftly avoided it, and Daenerys gritted her teeth in frustration.

"Don't you dare—" she started, realizing what her head was about to do. But, for all her dragon prowess, she was neither Ruffnut nor Tuffnut, and Belch opened his mouth.

The resulting explosion sent both riders into unintentional flight. Hookfang caught Fishlegs, much to Snotlout's dismay. "Aw, man! Why'd I have to catch you? I was aiming for Daenerys!"

"Drogon!" the girl in question yelped, still freefalling through the air. While they had practiced this many times by now, the application was much different than the theory. She hadn't accounted for the chaos that would be surrounding them when the recall was needed.

But, as always, a familiar black shape was there to run backup. She saw Toothless dart under her out of the corner of her eye, so she relaxed and allowed herself to enjoy the rest of the fall until she landed with a soft thump. Opening her eyes, she startled slightly to see Hiccup grinning down at her. "Nice of you to drop in, milady."

She blushed as she realized exactly how Hiccup had caught her— bridal style— and struggled to sit up properly. "I could've just landed behind you."

The brunet chuckled, the wind tousling his unruly hair as he helped the blonde into a proper sitting position, scooting backwards to allow her to act as driver. "Well, where's the fun in that? A little dramatic rescue never hurt anyone."

Their lighthearted banter didn't last as long as they would've liked as Astrid cut in with the unpleasant reminder of why they were here: "we need the twins to get that Zippleback under control if he wouldn't even listen to Dany."

"Yeah," the chief's son allowed, slumping a little at the thought of trying to get the twins to work together. "Preferably before the Berserkers—"

". . .are here," the Targaryen finished dismally as a horn sounded in the distance.

"Great," he sighed. "Just great."

--

Not even Dany's motherly touch could subdue the out-of-control dragon. She and Astrid worked together to try and get the Zippleback out of sight, but the two-headed dragon must have sensed the Targaryen's lingering agitation from all of the Berserker talk from earlier and he refused to listen to them. Only Barf and Belch's footprints remained as a way to try and track the Zippleback— and even that wasn't good, since they were right on the path of the tour that the Chief and Gobber were giving.

Lingering in the shadows between two houses, the girls waited until they saw Hiccup running past. Astrid reached out to snag the boy's arm, pulling him into the alley. "Hiccup, we have a big problem!"

"Oh, yeah, you're telling me," he retorted. "Dagur's the new chief!"

That earned him similarly shocked, horrified looks from the two blondes. "Okay, yeah," Dany agreed slowly, "you've got the worse end of the deal."

"What happened to his father?" the Hofferson asked.

"Apparently he retired," the brunet said, though he clearly wasn't convinced. He waved his arms around in exasperation as he talked, agitated by the unexpected turn of events. "And he thinks we're hiding dragons!"

"Well, we are," the Targaryen pointed out.

Astrid groaned. "Not helpful, Dany. Although, she's not wrong. That's why we need your help." She pointed at the ground to indicate the prints they'd found.

"Huh?" He looked down and frowned in dismay at the sight that greeted him. "Oh, come on! Barf? Belch? Here?"

A low growl sounded from across the way, causing the trio to look in the direction of the noise. To their horror, the two-headed dragon was happily eating a barrel of fish, completely oblivious to the approaching Vikings. They ran over to the Zippleback and lugged the barrel between the three of them to cajole the dragon to get out of sight. The dragon followed them eagerly, both of its heads focused on the food.

Unfortunately, the distraction didn't last long and the Zippleback shot out into the main clearing just as the chief, Gobber, and Dagur entered the storeroom. They were hot on the dragon's tail— er, tails. Hiccup scolded them in a harsh whisper, "Barf, Belch! Come back here!"

"Where did it go?" Astrid hissed.

"I-I have no idea," the brunet said with a sigh. "You guys keep looking, I'll go warn my dad."

Daenerys did her best to help corral the easily-distracted dragon, but she was hyper-aware of all of the Berserkers moving around the village, Dagur in particular. Although she had never met him, her mother had told her plenty of stories and she was determined to steer clear of him. The other blonde seemed to pick up on her unusual behavior and, during one of their many sprints to catch up to the Zippleback, she asked, "Dany, what's going on with you today? Usually you're great at this stuff!"

"Everyone has off days," the Targaryen offered meekly, refusing to tell her the actual reason— or, at least, all of it. "The Berserkers are unsettling."

Astrid slowed and gave her a reassuring look, her expression softening. "You don't have to worry about them, Dany. The chief will make sure nothing happens."

Daenerys gave her a tense smile. "I know. Why don't we try this. . ."

--

Hiccup stared up at the Zippleback with apprehension, uncertain as to how he would make the dragon leave the exact area where his father, Gobber and Dagur were. "Guys, you can't be here! Oh, come on," he said, exasperated. Dany was right— there was no way they'd listen. "Okay, think like Ruffnut and Tuffnut. I can't believe I just said that," he mumbled.

The brunet waved his arms in the air in an effort to get the two heads out of the line of eyesight. "Barf, Belch, sky!"

The door opened to reveal Dagur, but luckily he was still talking to Stoick and hadn't noticed the Zippleback right in front of him. "Nice weapons, very clean. No blood stains, pity. Ah, Hiccup, there you are."

He'd squeezed his eyes shut with his hands still raised, bracing himself for being caught, but when the Berserker chief made no mention of anything amiss, he opened his eyes slowly. "Dagur! I-I was just thinking about you. Hey, remember that time we went swimming and you tried to drown me?"

Dagur chuckled crazily for an exaggerated period of time, trailing off with, "oh, the laughs we had. Bored again!" He shoved Hiccup out of the way, suddenly stopping in his tracks. "Just a moment. Something. . . is going on here."

"I can explain. . ."

He whirled on the boy. "Where is it?"

"Look, it's just one drag—"

"Your leg," Dagur cut him off. "Never mind, I heard all about it."

Hiccup looked up nervously, but the dragon had great luck and had vanished just in time. Allowing himself a brief sigh of relief, the brunet asked, "you heard all about what?"

"You, the Red Death. Defeated it all on your own."

The chief's son stared at him in disbelief, feeling a bit guilty that Dany wasn't even being included in this rendition— but, knowing her, maybe it was better; she liked her privacy. "I'm sorry, what? Is that what people are saying? Look at me. How is that even possible?"

"Right?" Dagur agreed. "That's what I thought, too. But then, I heard about the trained dragons, and it got me, well, kind of tingly."

"Trained dragons?" Hiccup pretended to be shocked by the notion. "I do-I don't even— how would you train a dragon?"

"I don't know." The Berserker chief got in his face threateningly. "Maybe you got a Targaryen's help."

Now Hiccup didn't even have to pretend to be shocked as he stared at the man in surprise. A fierce sense of protectiveness surged within him, and he took a step forward as he narrowed his eyes at Dagur. "What do you know about Dany?"

The other man laughed, once again too long and mocking to be genuine. "That's what you're calling the Targaryen spawn? You know they're all mad, right?"

"Don't talk about her like that," he snapped, "she's not mad, but even if she was I'd rather have mad than deranged."

Dagur sneered at him, but before he could make any more digs at the Targaryen, Stoick finally joined them on the platform outside the storeroom. "All right, then. The feast is next on the tour, I believe."

--

They decided that they needed to go to the twins to get the dragon issue resolved. On the way over to the Zippleback-headed house, Hiccup fell into step with Dany. She didn't miss the concerned look on his face, so obvious and apparent that even she picked up on it. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied, frowning slightly at the unexpected question.

"Can. . . can we talk after this? Once the Berserkers leave?"

Even more confused, she nodded. "Of course. Am I in trouble?"

"No. I just. . . there's something I wanted to ask you without everyone else around."

That only made her more puzzled, and a knot of dread formed in her stomach. She immediately went to the worst-case scenario, but there was no way he could've found out, right? She'd never shared with anyone about her family heritage, so unless he went directly to her parents (which she didn't think was the case) there he couldn't possibly know. If that wasn't it, though, what was it?

Doing her best to push her worried thoughts aside for the time being, she entered the twins' house with Astrid and Hiccup. At first there was no sign of the twins, but then Tuffnut made an abrupt appearance by swinging down from one of the rafters of his home. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Hey, Tuffnut, feel like talking?" the brunet prompted him.

"Um. . ." Astrid added, bemused by his position, "can you come down?"

"Whatever," he grumbled, and swung down to the floor. He wobbled a bit as the blood rushed from his head. "Whoa. Yeah, I love that part."

"Look," Hiccup said, "about Barf and Belch. We need you and Ruffnut to get your dragon under control."

Tuffnut immediately shook his head. "Uh-uh. No. No, thank you. I am officially out of the dragon business, and the sister business, and the dragon and sister business. The 'disistisderness.'"

Dany squinted at him. "That's not a word."

Easily distracted— and grateful for the change of subject— the boy pointed at her. "Yes. Yes it is, because I just said it. If it wasn't a real word, I couldn't have said it. So there."

"What's going on with you two?" Astrid wondered, not allowing him to get off track.

He sighed and reluctantly reached to the side to grab a wooden utensil, which he held out in front of them. "Simple. Do you know what this is?"

"A spoon?"

"No, it's our spoon." He picked up a plate. "Just like this is our dish." An axe came next. "And this is our axe." He pointed to the animal in the corner of the room. "And our well-groomed stuffed yak. Everything is ours. Just once I want something to be mine." Tuffnut brushed past them. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go pack up my half of the yak."

The brunet's brows furrowed in confusion. "Go? Where?"

"I don't know," came the sad reply. "To my dark, soggy, alone place." He picked up his satchel. "Not to cry . . ." He sniffled and trudged out of the home. "This house. . . it has too many memories."

"Tuff!" Hiccup called after him, but the boy paid him no mind.

"Dark, soggy alone place?" Astrid repeated, uncertain as to what he'd meant. Unfortunately, neither Hiccup nor Dany had an answer for her.

--

Apparently, Tuffnut and Ruffnut were better hiders than anyone had given them credit for. The group had been searching for them for most of the day and they were running out of time. The Zippleback's luck had run out and it had burst into the feast full of Dagur and his men, who had claimed its life upon laying eyes on it. Now, they were racing against the clock to get to the twins' dragon before the Berserkers found him— and they needed the missing siblings for that.

"Hiccup, Dany," Astrid began, not looking forward to pointing out the obvious truth. "You heard Tuffnut. He went to his dark, soggy, alone place. That could be anywhere."

"Not really!" Snotlout chimed in as Hookfang flew level with Stormfly. "That could only be one place."

"What?"

The chief's son gave him an exasperated look. "What didn't you say something?"

"Why didn't you ask?"

Astrid wouldn't let him off so easily and she glared at him. "Snotlout! We've been looking for them all day!"

"And?"

"And if you don't tell us right now, I'm gonna throw you off that dragon!"

Snotlout raised a calming hand— which only made the blonde become more incensed. "No need to get violent. He's probably at the Lost Cavern. They used to play Hide and Go Kill there when they were kids."

Not bothering to argue with the boy further— knowing what good that would do— Hiccup gave the orders: "Astrid, you and Snotlout take the south entrance of the cavern." This did not help the blonde's annoyance and her glare turned on the brunet. "Dany, Fishlegs and I will take the north."

--

When they got to the cave entrance, Dany paused for a moment to give Drogon a pat on the snout before she turned to follow the other two boys into the tunnel since her dragon was too big to follow. Hiccup turned to his dragon and waved his arm through the air. "Alright. Do your thing: search!"

Toothless tilted his head as he came to understand the signal. Then, a plasma blast lit up the dark cavern. The Night Fury lead the way, followed by the humans as the Gronckle took up the position from behind. No one talked as they made their way down the short tunnel. It only took a moment for them to reach the main cave and when they entered it, they were surprised to see—

"Tuffnut?"

The teen squinted against the sudden, bright light from the torch. "Oh, its you guys again. Would you quit following me?"

They could hear Astrid's voice coming from the other side of the rock. "Ruffnut?"

"Would you quit following me?" the girl demanded.

Hiccup held up the torch in the hopes of seeing farther in the cavern. "Did you guys hear that?"

"Duh," Snotlout said as he came around the boulder. "It's called an echo."

Ruffnut poked her head around the rock, prompting her brother to make a face at her. "Ugh. What are you doing in my soggy place?"

"This is my soggy place," she growled, rising to her feet. "And I'm not sharing it with you."

The brunet tossed the torch aside as he stepped forward, allowing it to land on the cold stone and it snuffed out, leaving them in semi-darkness. "Okay, listen, please. We need you guys to get your dragon. It's important."

"I didn't want it to have to come to this," Dany started apologetically, "but Barf and Belch are in real trouble. I did everything I could, but they need you."

Tuffnut crossed his arms importantly. "I'll go, but not with her."

His sister glared back at him. "Yeah! I'm not going anywhere with her either."

"Yeah! Wait, what?"

Hiccup shook his head. "No, you don't understand. You both have to go! Guys, listen— whether you like it or not, you're connected to each other, and the two of you are connected to your dragon. Just like me and Toothless."

"And me with Stormfly," Astrid added, scratching her dragon under the chin.

"Us, too," Fishlegs agreed as he hugged Meatlug.

"And how I am with Drogon," Dany finished, smiling softly at the thought of her dragon waiting loyally outside for her.

"We can get you another spoon, another dish, another stuffed yak," Hiccup insisted, "but what we can't get you is another Barf and Belch." The twins didn't reply for a moment and he leaned over to Daenerys. "You think they got any of that?"

Tuffnut sighed, though his head still hung low. "Fine." Each sibling spat on their hand before they shook on it. After they'd knocked each other with their helmets, Tuff boasted, "you know, I did spit a little more into my hand."

"They got it," the Targaryen confirmed, some fondness tinging her tone. As wary as she would always be around the twins, they were still her friends, and she wanted them to be happy.

Hiccup clapped his hands. "Okay! Let's go. We're out of time."

"So why is this so important anyway?"

Snotlout, who'd been leaning against a rock and picking at his nails, blurted out: "the Berserkers are hunting down your dragon to use its blood for ink."

The group turned to stare at him incredulously. "What? Is that not what's happening?"

--

The teens ran into the Dragon Training Academy arena in a panic, crying out: "help the dragons are attacking!"

They pointed to where Hookfang clung to a giant chain that held up the metal dome of the enclosure. In the chaos, Snotlout pointed sharply at towards the Berserkers. The Monstrous Nightmare poked his head through the gaps in the metal and opened his mouth to release a great gust of flame. The Berserkers were now more focused on protecting themselves than killing the twins' dragon.

"What is going on?" Gobber asked Stoick, not quite caught up on the plan.

His chief pulled him to the side and said pointedly, "Gobber. Dragon attack!"

The blacksmith's eyes widened in realization. Raising his voice, he called out: "dragon attack! Everyone out of here!"

Stormfly and Meatlug came in through the entrance, and while the Nadder shot out spines from her tail, the Gronckle jumped forward into a 'hug.' Drogon whipped his long tail around the circle of stone, knocking some of the Berserkers off their feet.

"We must protect our honored guest." Gobber tried to usher Dagur out of the arena.

Dagur pushed him out of the way. "Run if you want. But Dagur the Deranged will not retreat!"

He turned back to the dragon that he intended to kill, though his men had released their heads so the Zippleback towered over him. A rumble started deep in their throats and only intensified at the sight of the twins. From the ledge above, they signaled for each of the heads to do what they did best: create chaos. Barf spewed gas while Belch lit it, sending Dagur flying backwards.

He hit the solid rock wall and fell face-first on the ground. Astrid circled her finger in the air and Stormfly swept her tail to make the Berserker chief fall once more, his shield and sword clattering out of his hands. The Zippleback was still on the loose, though, and as soon as he recovered, Dagur scrambled to his feet with a spear in hand. He launched it at the two-headed dragon with a determined yell, but a black blur whisked through the entrance to catch it in his mouth.

"A Night Fury! They do exist!" he exclaimed, awed.

Toothless growled and took his battle stance. Hiccup jumped between them with a shield on one arm and a knife in the other. He halfheartedly brandished the weapon at his dragon. "Back, you. . . fiend, you," he ordered. "You'll not harm my friend, Dagur."

He brought his shield back, which hit the man behind him in the nose and sent him reeling. Taking the opportunity, Hiccup pointed down sharply. It only took a second for the Night Fury to warm up his plasma blast, but that was long enough for the brunet to push the Berserker out of the way. The shot hit the wall just where their heads had been.

The chief's son guided Dagur out forcefully. He used his shield to push the man over, calling after him: "please, Dagur, save yourself! You owe it to your people!"

It was then that Toothless tackled Hiccup, which was enough to send Dagur running, even if it was just actually playfighting. Stoick pretended to tug on the Night Fury's tail to get him to release his son. A final shot from Hookfang was enough to get them out of the arena for good.

"Berserkers, to the boats!"

Gobber ran after them as they retreated. "What about the treaty?"

"Consider it signed!"

--

The sun was throwing the last of its colors across the sky in a spectacular show of pinks, purples and golds as Dany and Hiccup settled themselves at the edge of their favorite cliff— the one that overlooked the docks and the sea. They sat side-by-side, comfortably close so that their shoulders brushed occasionally if one of them shifted. Toothless did a couple of laps below them as he skimmed the waves while Drogon sat in a crescent shape behind them, the warmth from his scales keeping the chill of the evening air at bay.

Dany had picked a couple of wildflowers that grew near the edge of the cliff and had begun to weave a flower crown. The brunet's gaze flicked between the girl beside him and the sunset as he wondered how to start the conversation he'd intended to ask about.

"Are you sure I'm not in trouble?" the blonde questioned him, though her tone was mostly teasing. Her lips quirked faintly as she grinned at him.

"No," Hiccup said with a shake of his head. "I . . . I just don't know. . . where to start."

"I find that the beginning is usually the best place," she offered.

"It's just. . . Dagur said something kind of strange while he was here, and Fishlegs speculated about it. . ." he began hesitantly, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

He saw her stiffen and she accidentally crushed the stem of the flower that she was holding. "You want to know where the rumors about the Targaryen madness come from," she sighed, her voice taking on a slightly bitter edge.

Although that was true, Hiccup still frowned at her reluctant words. She seemed to hold herself rigidly, suddenly guarding herself from being as open with him as he was used to. Forgoing the usual caution that he treated her with, the boy reached over to lay his hand gently on top of hers, though Dany still avoided his gaze. "Dany. . . whatever the truth is, you know it won't change anything, right? We'll still be your friends, you'll still be important to m— us."

"I heard how you went on about Dagur," she argued softly, her voice catching as her hands curled into fists under Hiccup's. "Astrid said that he should be locked in a cage."

"That's because Dagur is deranged," the brunet insisted. "You're nothing like him, Dany."

"I appreciate that, Hiccup," she admitted, her fingers slowly unclenching beneath his reassuring touch. "But it's not just about what Astrid said. The rumors about the Targaryen madness have been haunting my family for generations. It's like a ghost we can't escape, and what's worse is that it's not. . . it's not all lies."

Hiccup's brows furrowed in concern as he listened. "What do you mean?"

She took a deep breath and explained, "before Oswald the Agreeable, there was another Berserker chief from a different family. Khal Drogo." When the brunet started at the familiar name, her lips twisted into a wry smile. "Yes, Drogon is named after him. He was the one who made the Berserker name feared among all the clans— at least, that was until he fell in love. He met my grandmother on one of their raids and he spared her life. After that, the tribe became less and less aggressive until Oswald's father decided he'd had enough of Drogo's ways.

"My grandfather left in disgrace and ran to Berk, where he started a family. He took my grandmother's name— Targaryen— to hide from the Berserkers who still sought after him to avenge their clan's downfall. He could never quite escape the madness, though, and that was what tarnished my family's name. Berserker blood still runs in me, and as I get older, I'm afraid. . ." She choked on her words, not wanting to confess one of her deepest fears. "I'm afraid I'll lose control completely one day. Mad Queen of Dragons, that's what they'll call me."

The brunet's expression softened even as determination flashed through his green eyes. "Dany, you are not your ancestors. You've proven time and again that you're nothing like the stories suggest. You've always fought with us for peace, not war."

She nodded slowly, appreciating his support, yet the fear still lingered in her eyes. "I know, Hiccup, but what if it's in my blood? What if there's a darkness inside of me that I can't control?"

"Then we face it together. We've faced countless challenges side by side and I'm not about to abandon you now. If you ever feel that darkness creeping in, lean on me, on our friends. We'll find a way to overcome it, just like we always do."

Dany managed a small smile, touched by his unwavering support. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"You'll never have to find out," he reassured her. "We're in this together, no matter what comes our way. And I won't tell the others, either. I promise. You don't have to say anything until you're ready, if you ever are."

The blonde hesitated for a moment before she flipped her hand around so that her fingers laced through his. Hiccup startled at the unexpected action as he was used to her keeping her distance, but the girl gently squeezed his hand to keep him from pulling away. Then, steeling her courage, she leaned forward and placed her lips briefly on his cheek— so softly that it wasn't any more than the brush of a butterfly's wing. "Thank you, Hiccup."

Chapter Text

The sky was dark above them as the gang flew low across the gray ocean. There was no land in sight, just water as far as the eye could see. Drogon's wings beat steadily against the chilly air and Dany kept low to his back, seeking warmth from his scales. While she would always love flying, this type of weather wasn't ideal even for her. It seemed to be affecting everyone, especially the most well-known complainers who were making their opinions of this outing very clear.

"This is so lame," Snotlout groaned, breaking the focused silence of the formation they had been flying in. "Why are we even out here?"

"Because, this is our first dragon search-and-rescue mission," Hiccup explained for the thousandth time, hoping to cut off his grumbles before they got worse.

"I see a lot of searching, but not much rescuing. Do you even know where we are?"

"My dad said the fishing boat was last seen heading South," the brunet told him, hoping his father's word would be enough. Of course, it wasn't.

The shorter Viking scoffed. "You don't know what you're talking about. There's nothing down there! I say we go North."

From her position underneath them, Dany called up, "Snotlout, if I said 'south,' would you go south?"

He paused for a moment to try and come up with an answer that would insult Hiccup and compliment Dany, but eventually he gave up. "Are you trying to mess with my mind? Because nothing gets in here! Nothing!"

"I'm not surprised," Astrid muttered, just loud enough for Hiccup to hear. That made him feel a little better. She raised her voice to ask, "what does our map say, Fishlegs?"

The blond at the back of the group struggled to hold the parchment against the gale-force winds. When he lost his grip on it, it blew flat against his face. "It's kind of tough to read from this angle."

"You know what, Hiccup? I'm done listening to you! I said North, and North is where I'm going." He yanked on Hookfang's horns to get him to turn around, but the Monstrous Nightmare remained steady in their formation. "Hey! You work for me!" After another yank, Hookfang harshly shot up and turned around.

"Are we just going to let him go?"

"Works for me," Tuffnut said with a shrug.

The Targaryen sighed and nudged Drogon to get him to turn after the boy. "No, we'll go after him. He's probably more likely to listen to me anyway."

Hiccup frowned, torn between wanting to follow— for the Targaryen's sake— but also stay put since Snotlout could handle himself if it came down to it (plus, what favors had the other boy done for him anyway, besides constantly try to humiliate him?) But, Astrid pinned him with a 'what do you think you're doing' look, and he let out a sigh of his own. "Ugh, I'm going, I'm going." He pointed to her. "Lead the others back, we'll get him. Come on, bud."

The wind was strong, even for Drogon's powerful wings, and they struggled to catch up to Snotlout. Water sprayed in Dany's eyes, causing her to squint against the mist. It dampened her blonde hair to a dark silver as it lay flat against her head in straggly curls.

"Dany!"

The shout made her twist around, searching for the source of the noise. She was pleasantly surprised at the black shape that was tailing her— Hiccup was following her on Toothless. She waved to let him know that she saw him, but almost immediately turned back around as another gust nearly knocked her off her seat. She could see Hookfang and his rider up ahead, nearing a vast column of wind and rain.

She let out a low whistle at the sight of it. "We better steer clear of that, bud. I doubt Snotlout will have the same sense, though."

Dany was only brave enough to say that last part allowed because the wind was so strong that the other boy had no chance of hearing her words. The blonde heard Hiccup raise his voice again, to warn Snotlout of the same thing she'd decided on. "That waterspout is way too dangerous!"

"That's why I'm flying around it!" he shouted back at them. "Duh!"

"Snotlout!" she shouted in warning, half-standing on Drogon's back out of instinct, as if that would help her voice reach him. "You're coming too close! Look out!"

The boy looked back at her words, finally taking the situation seriously— but it was too late. A particularly strong gale knocked them off course and sent them spiraling into the vortex. Being the altruistic person she was, Dany urged Drogon closer to the waterspout. Her dragon resisted, unwilling to put his mother in danger.

His wings flapped frantically against the winds, but to no avail. Then, maybe because Dany was lighter than both Hiccup or Snotlout, or her dragon was bigger so she couldn't hold onto him as easily, or she was distracted by trying to save her friend— any number of things, really— she lost her balance for the first time in her entire life.

A particularly ferocious squall yanked her out of her seat and sent her tumbling through the air. She didn't scream— that wouldn't help anything, except make her panic more— and focused on the one benefit that it did have: she could reach Snotlout. Stretching out her hand through the swirling water, the other boy struggled to get close enough to grab her fingers. They latched together as tightly as they could despite the winds buffeting around them.

Dany fought to keep a clear head as she yanked at the leather cord that acted as a belt around her waist. She pulled it free, forcing the flapping fabric into a semblance of order as she started to tie it around their joined hands with her free one. Seeing what she was trying to do, Snotlout used his other hand to hold the opposite end in place until she could tie it off.

There was too much wind for her to be aware of anything else, let alone say something comforting to the obviously terrified boy, so she just focused on keeping their hands together to make sure he knew that he wasn't alone. She had complete faith that Hiccup and Drogon would be able to save them before something terrible happened.

On the outside of the vortex, Hiccup had cried out Dany's name when he saw her become unseated. Drogon roared furiously at the wall of water, but he was too big to breach it. "Go!" Hiccup called to him, uncertain if the dragon would understand. "I'll get her out, I promise! Go after Hookfang!"

His words seemed to register and Drogon turned to follow the Monstrous Nightmare, leaving the brunet to save his friends alone. Without really thinking about it, Hiccup dove straight into the waterspout with Toothless. "We're coming!"

They managed to catch the pair in the Night Fury's claws, which was only made harder by their proximity to the whirlwind. "Toothless, get us out of here!"

That was easier said than done, of course. The dragon's wings moved steadily against the wind, but it slow progress— something that cost them precious time. The gusts ripped the Night Fury's tail prosthetic to shreds, leaving just the bare metal skeleton behind. They were sent spiraling due to his inability to control their flight, prompting more yelling from Snotlout. "Oh, no. Guys, hang on!"

"To what?" came Dany's faint shout from below.

They were barely able to avoid crashing into a thicket of black, barren trees as they tumbled from the sky. Toothless had just enough control left to make sure that they touched down on land rather than water. They weren't even able to get a layout of their new surroundings before everything went dark.

--

"Toothless! Where are you?" Hiccup called as he searched for his dragon.

He'd only regained consciousness a few minutes ago, but he knew that the territory they'd landed in was hostile and forbidding just from the bare, black rocks and equally dark trees. It was best to find his dragon fast, not only because he was worried about his best friend's wellbeing, but also since it probably wasn't safe. On that note, he was also extremely worried about where Dany had gotten to; she hadn't been near him when he'd woken up. (Oh yeah— and Snotlout too, though he included the boy reluctantly.)

"Dany?" he tried again, hoping to see the telltale sign of silvery-blonde hair. Unfortunately, he didn't find her, but he did stumble upon— "Toothless! Are you okay?"

He rushed to the dragon's side and picked his head up to examine the Night Fury for any injuries. He was slow to respond, blinking his green eyes open sluggishly with exhaustion. "Come on, talk to me, bud."

The black dragon regained energy with a surprising amount of speed and he licked his rider in reassurance. Toothless pushed himself to his feet and shook off his fall. "Oh, thank Thor. That wasn't our best landing, was it?"

The next problem Hiccup faced was the damage that had been done to the prosthetic, which he picked up and looked at in dismay. "Great. Your tail is gone, and the connecting rod is a mess. What are we supposed to do now?"

"You could start by getting us out of this stupid tree!"

Hiccup turned at the sound of Snotlout's voice, letting out a breath of relief as he laid eyes on Dany, also in the tree but otherwise unharmed. He went over to stand just below the pair. "You alright, milady?"

Although she was too high up for him to see her face clearly, Dany knew that the pink flush had risen to her cheeks again. "Fine!" Her voice came out higher than she intended, so she coughed and repeated, "fine, though getting us out of this tree would be helpful."

"You got it. Toothless!"

Since she'd freed herself from the leather strap that she'd used to tie their hands together, Snotlout fell mercilessly to the ground while she landed with a slight oomph in a certain boy's arms. Hiccup grinned down at her, which only increased the warmth in her face. "Nice of you to drop in, milady."

Pretending to be unaffected, Dany rolled her eyes and got to her feet with his help. "Are you going to say that every time you catch me? 'Cause I'll make a focused effort to stop falling if you are."

A low groan from Snotlout caught their attention, and they both looked over at him in concern (with the Targaryen's being more genuine.) Hiccup went to stand in the shorter Viking's line of sight and commented, "well, that looked like it hurt. Can you talk?"

"I can't believe this is my life now," the brunet whined.

Dany appeared next to the chief's son, frowning in confusion. "What can't you believe?"

"That I'm stuck with you two lovebirds on this freaking deserted island. It's bad enough third-wheeling back home, but if I have to be around this twenty-four seven, I'm gonna puke."

"Hey, he's back! Lucky us," Hiccup deadpanned, choosing to ignore the subject of the boy's mocking.

The blonde, on the other hand, protested hotly, "for the thousandth time, we're not together!"

Snotlout struggled to his feet, pinning them with a glare that was mostly directed at the brunet. "Have you told yourselves that?"

Desperate for a distraction— any distraction— Dany asked, "where's Hookfang?"

He was immediately worried (even if he went about it weirdly.) Snotlout ran up to a tall outcrop of rocks to shout his dragon's name. "Hookfang? Hookfang! Where are you? Hookfang, you get over here right now!"

The reminder caused Dany to turn to Hiccup. "Hey— where's Drogon?"

"I sent him with Hookfang," the brunet reassured her. "So wherever they are, they're probably together."

She nodded, accepting of his reasoning. Since the Monstrous Nightmare hadn't given any indication of his presence, Hiccup pointed out, "I don't think he's here, Snotlout."

Snotlout rolled his eyes, not wanting to be caught being sentimental about his missing dragon. "Obviously. Big headed dragon. . ."

"He's not alone," Dany added. "Drogon's with him. They'll look out for each other."

The shorter Viking snorted. "Hookfang can look after himself. If anything, he'll keep your dragon safe."

"Don't worry, we'll find him. Both of them," Hiccup said, trying to get back on track. "Now all we have to do is figure out how to get out of here."

Unfortunately, the rod was stronger than he was and the force of pressure he exerted on it only caused the strip of metal to fling back in his face. He let out a cry of pain that had Dany rushing over to him as he clutched at his eye.

"Hiccup! What happened? I mean— never mind, I can see what happened. Um, are you alright?" She winced at that question, too. "Stupid question, never mind again. What can I do?"

"Oh, stop babying him," Snotlout grumbled as he abandoned his search in Hiccup's bag. "Let's focus on the more important problem: there's nothing to eat in here. What kind of search-and-rescue mission is this?"

The pain subsided and the brunet sent her a grateful look. "I'll be fine, thanks, Dany." His expression hardened as he glanced over at the other Viking. "Well, instead of complaining, why don't you try and help us?"

"I am trying to help you," he declared as he swung around a loaf of bread. "I'm trying to teach you about survival. You don't leave home without proper supplies, and at the top of that list is food!"

The Targaryen exchanged an exasperated look with the chief's son before she pointed to what was in Snotlout's hand. "So what you're holding isn't a loaf of bread, then?"

"You mean this day-old biscuit?" Snotlout continued to complain. "It's even got a spot of mold right—"

Losing his patience, Hiccup stalked over to him and snatched the loaf out of his grasp, prompting an annoyed 'hey!' from the boy. "We have bigger problems than a biscuit!"

Tired of their arguing, Toothless lunged forward and gobbled up the bread to solve the problem. Snotlout pointed at the dragon accusingly. "He ate my biscuit! What kind of dragon takes a man's biscuit? You know, his bad manners are a reflection on you and Daenerys."

"He's not my dragon!" the blonde protested, before she gave the Night Fury a conciliatory pat. "Sorry, bud. No offense— I think you have great manners."

"Yeah, but you helped train him, didn't you?" the shorter Viking retorted as Toothless huffed at the girl in thanks. "So he totally is." Their attention was diverted by Hiccup, who was trying to pull the rod free from the boulder.

"Gimme that," Snotlout demanded. "You're doing it all wrong. You need to put some muscle in it." He yanked the rod out and held it in front of them. "Oops, I forgot. You can't." He started to bend the rod in the direction of the curve.

Alarmed, the brunet put out his hands in an attempt to stop him from breaking it. "No, no, be careful with that or it might—" The rod snapped in half in his hands.

"You wanted two of them, right?" he asked cluelessly.

Hiccup sighed and took the separate pieces from him. "Nope. That was our only hope of getting home."

"It's not my fault your dragon has half a tail. Just get another rod!"

Dany stared at him, unable to believe the new levels of stupidity that Snotlout seemed to be reaching. "And how are we supposed to do that?" she snapped. "In case you've forgotten, we don't even know where we are!"

Her voice rose to a shout at the last word, echoing off the rocks. The boys— even Toothless— seemed to be surprised by the anger in her tone. She swallowed guiltily, her eyes flicking between them as an apology rushed to her lips for losing her temper. Before she could say anything, though, the Night Fury began growling in warning. Their confused expressions became alarmed as other, unfamiliar voices reached their ears.

"Shh," Hiccup murmured.

"Didja hear that?" a rough voice asked.

"Over there," came the answering grunt.

Even Snotlout seemed to understand the gravity of the situation and didn't say anything— for a few seconds, at least. The brunet motioned to follow the unknown men and they ran as quietly as they could towards them.

"What do you see?" Snotlout hissed.

"Would you be quiet?" Hiccup whispered harshly. They peered through a gap in the rocks to watch the men pass by. "For all we know, we could be on a hostile island."

"I wish I still had my arrows," Dany mumbled, her hand grasping at the string of her bow. The other half of her weapon, however, had gotten lost in the strong winds of the waterspout.

"Don't be such babies," Snotlout scoffed. "How hostile can it be?"

Dany's heart dropped in her chest as she recognized the harsh voice that spoke next: "those are wild dragon tracks, alright."

She shared another glance with Hiccup, the two of them coming to the same thought as they agreed, "Savage," with dread. The boy continued: "is that hostile enough for you?"

As one of the men passed by their hiding spot, the quartet (including Toothless) ducked out of sight. The Targaryen pressed her back against the cold rock, praying that the Outcasts would be too lazy to check behind it as her heart pounded in her chest. She felt Hiccup's shoulder pressing against hers, warm and reassuring.

The Outcast near their spot grunted as he looked through the opening, but thankfully didn't do more than that as he reported, "nothing there."

She let out a breath of relief once he walked away and gave the boys a tense smile. "Well, that's one mystery solved. At least we know where we are."

"We're on Outcast Island," Hiccup informed Snotlout in case he hadn't caught on. "We have to find a way out of here, now."

--

"I'm sorry for losing my temper earlier," Dany apologized as they walked farther away from where they'd encountered the Outcast men.

"Dany, it's okay," Hiccup reassured her, sending her a comforting smile. Now that she'd told him about her deepest fear, he understood better why she never stood up for herself in regards to Snotlout's advances or the twins' antics. She was worried that even the slightest sign of aggression would send her over the edge, or drive away her friends. But now that he did know, he wanted to encourage her that it was alright to not have it together all the time. "I was getting pretty frustrated, too."

"Yeah," Snotlout chimed in, plucking a berry from the handful he was holding. "You should lose your temper more often. It was hot."

This earned him a glare from the chief's son and the Targaryen looked mildly uncomfortable. The brunet offered her his hand, which she took readily. Despite the circumstances, his heart fluttered in his chest as he remembered how she'd kissed him on the cheek not long ago. He wondered what that meant, if anything; maybe it was just wishful thinking and she had simply been grateful for his understanding. Still, he squeezed her fingers supportively.

It seemed that Dany had recovered from any guilt that she might've (unnecessarily) been feeling, the emotion smoothed away by how easily her apology was accepted. They turned to the more pressing matter at hand, which was their current location. "We've really got to fix this connecting rod and get out of here, otherwise, we are dead men— and women."

The blonde turned to look over her shoulder and frowned at the other boy in concern. "Snotlout, I'm not sure you should be eating those berries."

"You know, normally I might entertain the thought of listening to you, but I kinda want you to yell at me again, so I'm just going to keep eating them." He shot a pointed look at Hiccup. "Especially since someone took my biscuit." Toothless sniffed the berries with great interest, causing the shorter Viking to shove him away. "Hey, back off! These are mine!"

"She's right," Hiccup agreed with the girl. "Those berries could be poisonous."

Snotlout shrugged. "Hey, we're on Outcast Island. We're going into battle; we need our strength: a concept you know nothing about."

The chief's son merely rolled his eyes at the other boy's mocking words. He began to walk again, tugging at Dany's arm to pull her into motion once more. "Battle the Outcasts? Really? The three of us?"

"Abtholutely," he slurred.

At Snotlout's unusual speech pattern, they whipped around again to see that his tongue was now hanging out of his mouth, limp and useless. "What did you just say?"

"I thaid 'abtholutely,'ath in 'of courth.'"

The Targaryen's brows furrowed in annoyance at the boy's impertinence. "I told you not to eat those!"

He straightened, grinning, even as his tongue lolled. "Thethe we go! Yeth at me more."

"I'm not yelling at you," Dany snapped, pointing to a nearby puddle. "Look at yourself!"

"Why? What'th wrong?" He glanced down at the reflective surface and gasped, his hands flying to his face. "Oh, no. I'm hideouth."

Hiccup sighed. "Ugh. Give me my satchel. I may have something that can help with your tongue."

"Thatchel?" Snotlout repeated cluelessly.

"No, no, no, no. . . Do not tell me you just left it there. If someone finds that 'thatchel,'" the brunet mocked him, "we're done. It's got the Berk crest on it."

The shorter Viking waved an airy hand. "Relax, we're thafe. Trutht me. No one's gonna find it."

"Famous last words," Dany muttered.

--

Hiccup leaned against a large rock with his spyglass pressed to his eye. Daenerys was positioned next to him with her hands curled into a tunnel that she could peer through as a makeshift spyglass. Of course, she couldn't really see anything, but there wasn't anything else to do— unless she wanted to look at Snotlout and his deformed tongue. Speaking of which, he currently had it in a mixture of Hiccup's own making to try and get it back to normal.

Suddenly, he spotted the glow of fire that he was looking for and gasped. "Wait, wait. . . there it is! Just need to wait until the blacksmith leaves, then I can sneak in there and make a new rod."

He handed Dany the spyglass so she could see for herself. Positioning it to her eye, she followed Hiccup's pointing finger to focus in on the building some distance away from them. "Maybe someone should stand guard," she suggested, then amended it to: "I'll stand guard."

"Dany—" he began, ready to insist that she stay behind.

The girl sighed and put the spyglass down to pin him with a 'are you really doing this now?' look. "Hiccup," she echoed his tone. "We've been through this before. I'm going to follow you anyway, so you might as well just accept my help to save us the trouble."

He sighed again. "Alright. Thank you."

She gave him a smile. "Anytime."

A pointed cough made them break their gazes away from each other. "And you thay you aren't thogether," Snotlout mumbled, his tongue still sticking out. "How long do I have to do this? It's disguthting. I thaw Toothless thit in it."

The dragon in question cocked his head curiously at them. "He did, indeed." The brunet said, trying to hide his laughter. "But, uh— but Night Fury saliva has incredible healing properties."

Daenerys' violet eyes sparkled with amusement while her expression remained otherwise straight-faced. "Yeah, it's a little-known fact, but my parents have used it to help other injured dragons. It's pretty powerful stuff."

Snotlout groaned but didn't protest further since it had Dany's support behind it. He only complained, "ugh, it tathes like yak pieth."

--

Lightning flashed overhead more frequently than it had before as they walked quickly to the forge. It hadn't taken long for the blacksmith to leave and they were trying to make the most of his absence.

"Hurry," Hiccup said urgently. "We don't know how long the blacksmith is going to be gone."

Snotlout didn't seem to sense the rush and acted like he had all the time in the world as he repeated a tongue twister. "Betty Boda bought a bit of bitter butter. 'And,' said she, 'this butter's bitter. If I bought a bit of bitter butter—'"

"What. . . are. . . you. . . doing?" the brunet asked through gritted teeth, his patience at wit's end.

"Enjoying my tongue again."

"Well, I'm glad someone is."

Dany ignored the boy's constant arguing in favor of being more aware of her surroundings— especially since they were in enemy territory. She held out her arm in front of Hiccup, which he ran into since he wasn't paying attention. In the next moment, a large, dark shape launched out from behind a cluster of rocks directly into their path with a fierce roar. Snotlout's expression brightened at the recognizable growl and he threw his hands up in the air with a happy exclamation of, "Hookfang!"

The Monstrous Nightmare swung its head towards them at the sound, its eyes narrowing into slits. Daenerys pushed Snotlout out of the way just in time as a blast of heat sizzled over her skin from the dragon's flame. It probably would've injured the boy, but to her it was just a hot bath. Even though she knew she was fine, her heart still skipped a beat as Hiccup shouted her name in distress.

"Not Hookfang!" the shorter Viking whimpered.

Once the fire disappeared and the Monstrous Nightmare saw that Dany was unharmed, it settled down enough to sniff at her curiously. Toothless had tensed at the foreign dragon's aggression, but as he watched the Targaryen approach it without fear, he only maintained a wary gaze on it instead. After all, Drogon wasn't here to protect her, and the larger dragon would definitely have his hide if something happened to his mother.

The blonde only held a hand out, palm flat, to let the dragon come to her. There was a low rumble emitting from its chest, but otherwise it willingly bumped her hand with its snout. Everything was going great— until, well, it wasn't.

Outcast arrows shot past them, prompting the Monstrous Nightmare back into a fit of rage. Dany leapt out of the way of the danger zone as Outcasts yelled, "there they are, the Berk intruders!"

"Run!" Hiccup shouted. The girl reached out for his hand so they could stay together and their fingers caught, grasping at each other. As they ran, the brunet called to his dragon, "circle back around, bud!"

The Targaryen glanced back, worried about the wild dragon that was now at the non-existent mercy of the Outcasts. She heard it let out a furious roar, then saw the large shape soar into the air. Relieved, she faced forward again and kept running. Toothless darted off at his rider's order to distract their pursuers. When they got to a steep incline, they helped each other up until they were safely out of the other Vikings' line of sight

"Good, they're gone. Alright, we'll just wait here until Toothless comes back, then head to the blacksmith shop."

"No way!" Snotlout protested. "I'm not going anywhere near that place. You almost got us caught."

He jumped down from the ledge and the other two followed him. Outraged, Hiccup argued, "I almost got— the only reason the Outcasts know we're here is because you—" Here, he pointed accusingly at Snotlout. "—lost the satchel with the Berk crest on it."

"Well, who brought the satchel with the Berk crest on it to Outcast Island?"

"Well, I had no idea we were going to Outcast Island!"

Dany sighed at the continued disagreement. They'd been here for days and all the boys had done was bicker, and she was sick of it. Drawing in a sharp breath, she shouted, "hey!" loud enough to bring their quarrel to a stunned halt.

"We're wasting time arguing," she said firmly, her eyes flashing with determination. "We need to focus on getting off this island before more Outcasts— or worse, Alvin— find us." Snotlout opened his mouth to argue, but Dany held up a hand, cutting him off. "No more excuses, no more blaming each other. We need to work together if we want to survive. If you don't like our ideas, Snotlout, that's fine, but instead of just complaining, offer some of your own so we have other options. We're willing to hear you out."

The shorter Viking opened and closed his mouth a few times, but nothing came out. Grinning smugly, Hiccup scoffed. "Precisely as I suspected." He turned around and smiled at Toothless and the Targaryen. "There you go. Good job, you two. At least someone's pulling their weight around here."

"Oh! You are so smug!" Snotlout retorted, his hands curling into fists by his sides. He rounded on Dany, too, "and you— you think you're so high and mighty, but you're just biased! You always take his side!" He thrust a finger in Hiccup's direction.

"Hey, don't start in on her—" the brunet snapped, stepping between them protectively.

"'Hiccup's so smart, Hiccup's so brave,'" Snotlout mocked him in a high pitched voice that Dany assumed was an unflattering impression of her. "She's a Targaryen. He killed the Red Death. She trained the dragons. He's got the metal leg.'"

"Metal leg? That's what's bothering— that's where you're going? Metal leg?" the chief's son stuttered in disbelief.

The Targaryen only gave Snotlout a hurt look, surprised by the vitriol in his voice. All the times he'd flirted with her— not that she liked it when he did that— he never alluded to anything more than admiration. She wondered what their other friends were hiding, if they all still felt the same distain for her that he did, like she had encroached on their territory as an unwelcome intruder— someone that Hiccup had just forced on them.

"No! It's everything the leg is attached to!"

She stepped forward with her hand outstretched towards him in a calming gesture. "Snotlout, I'm sorry— I can't help what my last name is, and I can't change the skill I have with dragons, but—"

"You don't have to apologize to him, Dany," Hiccup interrupted her. "He's just throwing a fit because he hates the fact that we're literally all he has right now."

"Oh! You think I need you? I don't need you!" the other boy retorted. He whipped his gaze around to pin the girl with a furious glare. "If you're really sorry, then you'll know what choice to make— it's me or him."

The blonde froze, her eyes widening in the face of his anger. As sorry as she was that he had some sort of problem with her— seemingly all of a sudden, but maybe she had just been oblivious— that didn't change the fact that her choice would always be the same. Her hesitation was all the answer he needed, since he scoffed as he waved his arm in the air in an 'I don't need you' way. "Like I said: biased. Fine, I don't need you, either."

He stormed off, leaving the trio behind. They were silent for a minute in the wake of his outburst before Hiccup spoke quietly, sounding almost surprised. "You chose me."

Dany turned to look at him, confused. "Of course I did. It wasn't even a question."

The certainty in her voice made his stomach flip— as if he should have known that she would chose him, every single time. She gave him a little smile and nodded in the direction of the forge. "Come on, let's get going. I think we're running out of time."

He stared after for an awestruck moment until he felt Toothless nudge him into motion. His dragon's green eyes held a hint of amusement, almost as if the Night Fury were laughing at him. Hiccup huffed. "Finding something funny, Toothless?"

Toothless cocked his head, his eyes gleaming mischievously. Then, he bumped Hiccup again, nudging him in Dany's direction with his snout. His cheeks flushed at the Night Fury's insistence. "I told you, we're just friends, bud. And maybe I do care about her a little more than I let on, but that doesn't mean anything. I'm supposed to care about my best friend more than my other friends. That's what 'best' implies."

He followed after the girl without saying anything else, hoping that his dragon (even his dragon was teasing him today— he really couldn't catch a break, could he?) would let it go. 

--

The smithy was a crude hut, built of the same dark rock that the rest of the island was made of. There was a metal door of crisscrossing pieces that were just big enough for a boy to slip through, but kept his dragon from following. Dany pressed a hand to the sturdy bars as she stayed on the other side. "I'll stand guard," she promised, like she had suggested earlier.

He didn't like the thought of her being out there alone, but at least she had Toothless, and he knew his dragon would protect her. He nodded in agreement, not wanting to waste more time in an argument that he'd definitely lose. So, he searched around the forge instead for the piece he was looking for.

Outside, Dany patrolled around the building to cover the most ground. She absentmindedly scratched Toothless' head as she kept her eyes peeled for any signs of Outcast movement. A splash! made her jump back in surprise as a puddle of lava landed right in front of them. Toothless growled in warning. They only had a second to look up as a Gronckle flew at them from above. The Night Fury spent the last, precious seconds to knock the girl out of the way, allowing himself to tumble off the cliff from the force of the impact.

Scrambling to her feet, Dany peered over the edge as she let out a panicked cry of, "Toothless!"

She should've been more careful, though, since she seemed to have forgotten that she was in enemy territory. Her shout had alerted the Outcasts of their presence and a strong arm wrapped around her before she could react, keeping her in place. A voice growled close to her ear: "nice and easy now, girl. Alvin only said he wanted you alive, not unharmed. Now, where's the other one? You're never without Stoick's boy."

Her violet eyes flashed and she spat in his face. "Like I'd ever tell you."

"You're going to regret that," he sneered. Her heart sped up as she saw the flash of a blade and felt the coolness of the metal at her neck.

"Oi!" She'd never been so glad to hear Savage's voice. "Stop wastin' time and find the boy! I won't be makin' excuses for ya if we don't get him to Alvin."

The large man holding her turned to show her to Savage. "I found his little girlfriend. Figured she could tell us where he is."

"And did she?"

"No," the man grumbled, digging the blade a little more into her skin. "I was 'boutta make her, though."

Savage didn't look pleased. "Like I said: stop wastin' time. The Targaryens are all mad— that typa questionin' wouldn't even phase her. Just bring her with us and we'll get the boy to talk. I'd bet in the forge— he wouldn't be far."

Dany tried to think of an excuse as to why Hiccup wouldn't be there, but nothing came to mind as she struggled against the large man's grip. Savage threw the smithy's door open. Too caught up in his frantic attempts to get the rod he'd found in working order, Hiccup didn't notice he had company until Savage had caught his hammer and threw it to the side. The Outcast leered down at him. "And what are we making, Hiccup?"

The boy's eyes widened as he saw Dany in the Outcast's hold, and he immediately put his hands up. "Uh. . . a gift for. . . Alvin. . . to thank him for his hospitality!"

Even as a captive, the blonde still had the sense to pin him with a 'really?' look, and the brunet had to admit she was right; it was a terrible excuse. "Well, you can thank him in person. Grab him!

He didn't put up much of a fight seeing as they already had Daenerys in their grasp and he didn't want to do anything that would make things worse. The rod was flung from his hand as the other men pulled him out of the forge. He was relieved, at least, when the man holding the Targaryen put her down and pushed her to walk next to him.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah," she replied, equally softly. "Apparently I'm a terrible lookout. Toothless—"

"No talking!" Savage barked, and a spear-point prodded them from behind, causing the pair to fall silent.

-

They walked up the stony pathway in a single file line with Alvin's men on either side of them. Dany knew that if they got to the Outcast leader, they'd be in serious trouble, but there wasn't any way to break free from their captivity without an arrow in an unwanted place. They had Snotlout, of course, but she didn't know where he was or even if he would help them if it came down to it. Plus it would be even worse if they put the Outcasts on their friend's tail, thus putting him in danger. It was better if the men thought that they were the only ones on the island. They were bought some time when a thought occurred to Savage, making him turn around.

"Stoick wouldn't have sent you here alone. Where's the rest of your party?" Savage demanded, stopping in his tracks to face them.

Dany resisted the urge to wince at his question. So much for the Outcasts thinking that it was just them. Luckily, Hiccup was on the same wavelength as she was and quickly denied the man's accusation. "Oh, no, no, no. Just us, it's just us. Taking a little vacation, you know? I've heard Outcast Island is beautiful this time of year."

"Well. . . beautiful is a bit of a stretch," the blonde put in with her trademark honesty. "But he's not wrong about the getting away part."

The older man sneered at them. "Alvin will get it out of you. In fact, he'll enjoy it. But trust me, you won't." He turned back around. "Move!"

They resumed walking, unaware that above them, Snotlout and Toothless were observing the group to formulate the best plan of attack. The only sign that something was amiss was when an avalanche of rocks cascaded before them, apparently spontaneously. The Outcasts shouted in alarm, rushing away from the falling rock. Even as she ran with them, Dany scoffed at their cowardice. It was just rocks. Sure, it could kill you, but there wasn't need for so much panic— it's not like they could fight back.

Before they could run very far, there was another fall of stone that blocked their escape. Daenerys could've sworn that she saw the purple light of a plasma blast reflect off the rock surface, and she looked up to scan their surroundings. Nudging the boy next to her, she pointed upwards with a relieved cry of, "Toothless!"

The Night Fury shot another blast right in the middle of the blocked off area, scattering the Outcast men. Rocks exploded all around them, creating confusion as the Vikings dodged the shards. Then Snotlout came sliding down the cliff face with the metal rod in his hand, his feet aimed directly at the Viking that was holding Dany.

He made impact with the man's chest, sending him to the ground with the force of the blow. His grip loosened on the girl, allowing her to pull away with a grateful look at her unexpected savior. Two men charged at them and she swiped the fallen Outcast's helmet off his head. Using it as a sword, she and Snotlout parried their attacker's blows.

One man ran forward and the boy jumped out of the way, causing his opponent to lose his balance and slam face-first into the ground. The other Viking swung forward with his spear, but Dany had Snotlout's back and met it with the hat she was wielding. The spear sparked off the metal and she hefted the horns upward to catch the Outcast in the chin, the sharp point of the bone digging straight into his flesh. He fell quickly and when she pulled her hat free, the tip came away red.

There was still the matter of Hiccup, who remained in the Outcast's hold. Snotlout noticed this, too, and sent his metal rod flying through the air with a yell of the boy's name. "Hiccup!"

It hit his captor directly in the head, knocking him down. The brunet caught it on the rebound and whacked it over the man's head, making him unconscious. Toothless came over to him with a comforting rumble that came from deep ion his chest. He pet his dragon to reassure him that he was alright, earning a few licks in return. "Ah, good to see you, too. Thank you, bud!"

A yell turned the brunet's attention away from Toothless, and he looked up just in time to see Savage running at Snotlout. "Snotlout!" Toothless shot a blast at the final Outcast in their way, knocking him back enough to allow the group to take a defensive stance. Savage stood up with determination, but as soon as he took one look at them, his expression dropped, and Snotlout sprinted at him, yelling wildly to scare him off.

"You better run!" the boy called after him, laughing at his hasty retreat.

Hiccup picked up the fallen rod and quickly attached it to Toothless' tail fin so they could fly away. Dany didn't waste any time climbing on behind him and they took off. Just in time, too— Snotlout had scaled the cliff to chase after Savage, only to be met with Alvin's sneering face at the top. Caught off guard, he reached for a rock to find that it was loose. The Night Fury caught him in the air with his claws holding the boy's arms.

The Outcast leader gave the order to shoot them down, but Toothless deftly dodged the arrows that were flung their way. He spun in the air with Snotlout still between his claws, and the Targaryen's arms tightened around Hiccup's waist as her stomach swooped with the motion. A final plasma blast sent the archers running and they were home free.

Toothless flipped Snotlout onto his back in a skillful move that Drogon could never hope to mimic. He landed with a heavy thump behind Dany, much to his delight. She sighed, allowing him to wrap his arms around her waist even though she could just picture his smug grin. Thankfully, Hiccup's words distracted him from making a flirty comment about it.

"Woo-hoo! Do you realize what we just did?"

"We totally kicked butt, duh! Did you see Daenerys wielding a Viking hat like a sword? It was totally—"

She smiled wryly even though he couldn't see it. "Hot?" she offered begrudgingly.

"Amazing!" he finished, surprising her.

"Yeah, we kicked butt together! Look, Snotlout, I'm—"

"—hungry, right?" the shorter Viking cut in.

The brunet chuckled and shook his head. "Yeah, exactly."

"Me, too."

"Me, three," the Targaryen added.

They were even happier when they came across a group of six riders flying in their direction. Once she recognized a very familiar shape, the blonde shouted, "Drogon!" joyfully.

Her dragon let out an answering roar that made the air around the other riders reverberate from the sound. He shot forward with a few powerful flaps of his wings, circling around them in the most excitement he had ever shown. Once the large dragon was immediately underneath them, Dany fearlessly slid from Toothless' back to Drogon's with only a short, "'bye, guys."

When she was in her rightful place, she threw her arms around Drogon's neck as best she could. "I missed you, buddy."

"What are we?" Snotlout grumbled to Hiccup. "Chopped liver?"

The chief's son only shook his head, mostly in fondness for the blonde girl. "I don't think anyone could hold a candle to Drogon."

Chapter Text

"Dad, do we have any more arrows?" Dany asked her father a few days later. As usual, he was in his woodshed out back working on his latest project. She leaned against the doorframe as she watched him, always keen to observe the older man's skill.

Randolf looked up from his work, wiping the sweat that had gathered on his forehead away with the stained sleeve of his work clothes. He gave his daughter a fond smile as he teased her, "didn't I just give you some? I didn't think Berk was that dangerous."

She flushed and her eyes dropped to her hands, where she played with her fingers. "It's not. I, um, lost them. . . away from Berk."

"And how did you lose this set?" he asked her curiously. "You know the price for weaponry is the tale of how you came to need more."

"Do you promise not to tell mom? I'm pretty sure she would yell at me. . ." the blonde confessed, nervously glancing over her shoulder to make sure Ingrid wasn't around.

Her father patted the three-legged stool next to him. "Of course I won't. I only want to live vicariously through you, my little dragon."

Relieved, Dany took the offered seat while Randolf dragged another over to sit next to her. She regaled him with the story of how she got sucked into a waterspout with Snotlout and Hiccup, being flung all the way to Outcast Island. She told him about the boys' arguments and. . . "and then Snotlout demanded that I choose between him and Hiccup." She scoffed. "As if that's a competition."

"You chose Snotlout?" the blond joked with a mischievous grin.

Dany glared at him, completely missing his playful tone as she responded passionately, "no, of course not! I'm always gonna choose Hiccup. There is no other side."

Randolf chuckled at his daughter's response, but he noticed the defensiveness in her tone. He knew that Daenerys wasn't the best at picking up emotional queues in speech, but the. . . protectiveness in her words was paired with a warmth that he'd noticed was appearing more and more often when she spoke of the boy. He studied her for a moment, knowing that her mother and Astrid had both pressed her on the subject with not much result.

"Dany," he said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder, "do you. . . have feelings for Hiccup?"

Dany's cheeks flushed a deep shade of pink and she looked down at her hands, finding her fingers fascinating once more. "Of course not, we're just friends," she replied, but her words lacked the usual heated protest. "I mean, he's just. . . he's always been there, you know? And he's so. . . brave, and smart, and. . ." She trailed off, unable to find the words to express the way her heart seemed to flutter whenever she was around him.

Randolf smiled softly, the amusement in his eyes tinged with warmth. "Sounds like you've got yourself a crush, my little dragon."

Dany's head snapped up; her eyes wide. "A crush? No, no, it's not like that! I mean, sure, he's. . . he's not the worst person to look at, but it's not like I'm in love with him or anything!" She objected, the words tumbling out in a rush.

He chuckled, the sound of it rich and smooth. She had always found comfort in her father's laugh, one of her earliest memories being the vibration of it against her ear as she rested her head against his chest. The older man held up his hands placatingly. "Alright, alright, I was wrong. Easy, Dany. You can't blame your father for looking forward to when you have your first boyfriend."

She glared at him, though it lacked any true anger. "Yes, yes I can. Aren't you supposed to be against me dating? Not wanting to entrust your precious daughter to a strange man and all that?"

He only shook his head, an impish grin tugging at his lips. "What a rude thing to call your. . . friend, my little dragon. Hiccup isn't strange. Unusual and unique? For sure, but—"

"Oh my gods, dad!" the blonde groaned in embarrassment, burying her face in her hands. "Can I please just get those arrows now?"

"You haven't finished telling me your story," he reminded her, sparing her from any more teasing. Taking the change of subject gratefully, she told him about the rest of her adventures, only altering the near-death experiences to make them sound less dangerous.

--

After suffering through her father's teasing Daenerys made a quick getaway to hide in town for the rest of the day. Her newly-filled quiver and bow were slung over her shoulder so that the straps rested across her chest. Her cheeks were still flushed a bright pink when she landed in the training arena, but by then it could have been a result from the wind. Hiccup was there, unsurprisingly, but with her father's words ringing in her head (it sounds like you've got yourself a crush!) it was even harder to look at him than usual, so her gaze stayed trained on the items that he was packing away.

Unaware of her presence, he spoke aloud to his dragon: "okie dokie. We'll start in the West islands and work our way back."

Dany didn't know how he could be so oblivious to the very large dragon that was right behind him, but Hiccup did have a habit of being lost in his own thoughts more often than not. He didn't even notice when Astrid and Snotlout touched down on their dragons next to her, arriving at the Academy for the day. The Hofferson slid of Stormfly, sending the other blonde a welcoming smile as she asked, "back from where?"

The brunet whipped around to stare at the trio, caught red-handed. "Uh. . . uh— just a quick spin around the island," he lied, stuttering.

No one was fooled for a second and Astrid stalked over to pull a whole fish out of his bag. With a raised eyebrow, she demanded, "uh-huh. Quick spin, huh? With enough food to feed Snotlout's whole family?"

Perking up at the sight of the fish, the boy wasted no time in snatching it from her. "Ooh, do I see a salmon?"

He took a big bite out of it, much to Dany's disgust. He downed the water from the jug in the girl's other hand next, tossing it aside when it was empty. Hiccup sighed in defeat. "Alright, look, if you must know—"

"And we must," Astrid cut in.

"—I'm going to do something for my father," he finished as if the blonde had never spoken.

There was always more to it than that, the Targaryen knew. With Hiccup, it was never that simple, so he was holding back. Gently, she prodded him: "how can we help?"

His eyes flicked to her, but her gaze was focused on her fingers, which were toying with the ends of the fur on her vest. As she often did, she missed the soft, grateful look he sent her whenever she immediately jumped on board with whatever was planned for the day. Astrid noticed, though— because of course she did— and she smirked knowingly. The chief's son cleared his throat and ignored the look that was all too reminiscent of the same one Toothless wore. "Okay, Trader Johann is bringing something for him. Something important, and he should have been here by now, so I'm going to look for him."

"You're not trading this fish, are you?" Snotlout took another bite out of it. "Because it's delicious." Hookfang snatched it from Snotlout's hands and swallowed it down without a second thought. "Hey!" He snapped his fingers twice and Hookfang threw it back up into Snotlout's hands. The Viking shook it off a couple of times, then bit off the meat on the head.

"When do we leave?" Daenerys asked. She had yet to meet Trader Johann since Drogon hadn't allowed her into town the last time he'd visited— with poisonous flowers and all that— so she was looking forward to meeting the famed man.

Hiccup sighed as he shook his head. "I need to go alone. If we all disappear my dad will get suspicious."

"Go alone? You without us?" Snotlout mocked him. "Like you could handle anything if we weren't there to bail you—" Astrid shot him an irritated look as he started to choke on the fish he had swallowed down earlier. "Help. . ." She reached over and socked him in the stomach, dislodging the fish and sending it flying across the academy.

The blonde finally met his eyes with a 'really?' look written so apparently on her face that not even Hiccup could miss it. "You're kidding, right?"

"Alright, fine, you three can come," he caved. "But that's it! Don't even tell the others. Heed my warning, I am serious." 

--

Needless to say, they did not heed his warning. Well, Astrid and Snotlout didn't, telling Fishlegs and the twins, respectively. Dany had been more than happy to leave them behind (at least in terms of a certain pair of siblings), but the damage had been done. Now, a very grumpy Hiccup flew ahead of them, his brows furrowed as he frowned deeply.

"Hey, Hiccup," Tuffnut said in a sing-song voice as the Zippleback pulled up next to Toothless. "Snotlout told us there would be salmon, and I love lox."

He groaned in annoyance. "I'm pretty sure I said 'don't tell the others.'"

"And I'm pretty sure I didn't listen to you," Snotlout scoffed in reply.

From where she was flying at the back of the group with Meatlug and Fishlegs, Dany mumbled, "I did."

The blond boy glanced her way before he spoke up with his trademark encouragement, "Hiccup, aren't you always saying it's better when we work as a team?"

He let out another exasperated sigh and slouched on Toothless' back. "Yeah, next time I say that, just slap me in the face."

Ruffnut brightened at the mention of violence. "I'll do it right now," she volunteered eagerly.

"She will," Tuffnut agreed cheerfully. "And she slaps like a guy. It's awesome, watch." He leaned closer to her, allowing the girl to hit him so hard across the face that his head snapped to the side. Still beaming, he shook out the sting. As if sharing their riders' amusement, Belch gurgled happily while Barf seemed to grin.

"Hey, look!" Astrid called out, pointing to a dark spot on an otherwise perfectly blue ocean.

Ignoring Tuffnut's whine of "I can't see anything through the tears!" Dany followed the other girl's direction.

A man rested on a singular plank in the vast expanse of water. He wore deep purple robes, but that was the extent of the detail that she could see from this height. Peering down at the sea, Hiccup squinted against the glare. "Is that. . . Johann?"

"I thought he had a bigger boat than that," Snotlout commented jokingly.

"That's not even a boat," the Targaryen countered. "How has it kept him afloat for so long?"

No one had an answer, obviously, so Hiccup just nudged Toothless towards the water. "Come on, gang. Let's check it out."

The Night Fury snatched him up between his claws as they flew over to the nearest landmass. They deposited him on the rocky ground to wait for him to wake up. Next to her, Drogon shifted uneasily as his nostrils flared, as if scenting prey. Dany shot him a pointed look and murmured in a low voice, "no, you can't eat him, Drogon. Everyone would be very upset with us if you did."

He responded with an annoyed look of his own that seemed to say 'you really think I'd eat him?" to which she huffed. "Yes, yes I do."

He snorted, conceding her point. You're right, and I'd do it again. Rolling her eyes, she leaned against the warmth of his bulk as salty air blew across the barren sea-stack. Johann was far less impressive than she'd made him out to be, both scrawnier than her imagination and less of a presence than she'd thought would be. All in all, he was rather disappointing in person.

When he did wake up, she was even less impressed. First, the only thing that he seemed to be able to say was 'the fog. . . the fog. . .' Then, his eyes grew impossibly wide as he took in Drogon's size, which made the other dragons look like puny housecats. He trembled at the sight of her dragon, with his limbs thicker and taller than tree trunks, his head eclipsing the sun, his salivating fangs. . . She could see how it was a pretty terrifying picture for someone who'd just woken up.

Hiccup cast her a slightly nervous glance. "Um, Dany. . . do you think you could. . .?"

The brunet seemed reluctant to ask his question, which only concerned her in turn. Luckily, Astrid was never one to mince her words. "Dany, could you take a few laps until we're ready to go? I think Drogon is freaking out Trader Johann."

"No, that's not what I was going to say—" the chief's son started quickly, shaking his head to appease the wrath that was sure to follow.

"How else were you gonna put it?" the Hofferson asked sarcastically. "'Dany, could you make Drogon less intimidating?' I don't think she would even if she could."

Daenerys smiled slightly at her best friend's accurate assumption. She hesitated for a moment and then put her hand briefly on Hiccup's arm— it was there and gone so quickly that he almost missed it. "I don't mind," she promised him gently. "Come get me when it's time to leave."

Then, she took a running start and leapt gracefully onto Drogon's thick forearm. Using her bare feet to let her toes grasp into the grooves of his scales, she climbed up the rest of the way until she could position himself on his back. Several strong gusts of wind from powerful wings later, the girl and her dragon were no longer in sight. In her wake, she left behind two star-struck boys, one in genuine admiration of her compassion for others, the other openly gawking at her—

"I love it when she does that," Snotlout said breathlessly.

Hiccup contented himself with a brief glare before he turned back to the business at hand, gratified when Astrid walloped the shorter Viking in the stomach for his comment.

--

When her friends returned, only Hiccup, Astrid and Fishlegs joined her. She couldn't say that she would miss Snotlout, the twins or Johann. Looking over at the brunet, she wondered, "so, where are we going?"

"Breakneck bog," he replied. Behind them, Fishlegs shivered and let out a whimper at the name. Dany made face.

"Why are we going there? It's even worse than Outcast Island, and that's saying something."

That earned her surprised looks from the other three. "You've been there?"

"Only once. A repeat visit wasn't needed. I went there dragon hunting."

Everyone's expressions became even more shocked. Fishlegs stuttered out, "d-dragon hunting?"

The blonde sighed. "New dragon hunting. Seriously? Do you guys not know me at all? I was looking for an undiscovered species. It was too foggy to see anything, though. Totally wasted trip."

"The fog monster," the blond boy breathed out nervously.

She glanced over at him, unconvinced. "There's no such thing, Fishlegs. It's just the others messing with you. Trust me, I was there."

That seemed to reassure him a little for the time being but knowing his anxious nature, it wouldn't last. She turned back to Hiccup. "So, why are we going there?"

"The thing my dad had that was on Trader Johann's ship. . . it was a gift from my mother," he explained quietly. "We're going to get it."

"Oh," Dany said, her tone taking a one-eighty from a near-whine so that it softened around the word. "Alright. Come on, then." She urged Drogon into a faster speed.

--

Breakneck Bog was just as miserable as Daenerys remembered it being. The fog hung low over the ground, obscuring their vision so that they could only see a few feet in front of them at any given time. The trees around them had bare, broken branches that shot up starkly into the sky. The peaty ground was mushy underfoot, which she knew would squelch unpleasantly between her toes.

After circling the island a few times and finding nothing, Hiccup had elected to search on foot. They sat on their dragons as they moved forward, Drogon huffing in annoyance at the thicket of trees that made up the forest. He occasionally blasted fire before them to break up the worst of the clusters so he could pass through more easily. Dany didn't mind the spurts of flame; they helped to warm up the chilly air.

"I don't get it," the brunet said as they walked. "We flew all around the island. No boat."

Astrid shook her head in disbelief as she held onto Stormfly's head-spikes, leaning forward as if that would help her see through the mist better. "Not even the remains of a boat. . ."

"You know who would take a boat? A fog monster," Fishlegs offered nervously, glancing around as he shifted uneasily on Meatlug's back.

Dany sighed. "There is no fog monster, Fishlegs. Besides, if there was— which there isn't— why would it want a boat? To teach itself how to fish?"

"I don't claim to know the inner workings of the fog monster's mind, Dany," he whimpered. "I just know that I don't want to find out."

A screech echoed through the woods, causing the smaller dragons to become antsy. Drogon lifted his head and sniffed the air, his nostrils flaring as he scented for danger. His flame-orange eyes narrowed as they peered into the mist, straining to see against the dense white.

"Settle down, bud," Hiccup told his dragon in response to the Night Fury's uneasy roar. He patted the black dragon's head reassuringly.

Meatlug growled and flinched from the sound. Fishlegs leaned over her to gently pet her between the ears. "It's okay, Meatlug. It's okay."

"What was that?" Astrid asked, holding onto Stormfly's spikes more tightly as her dragons stomped the ground underneath her.

The brunet's eyes narrowed in determination as he urged Toothless forward. "Only one way to find out."

Fishlegs' eyes widened with fear. "Wait a minute!" he squeaked out, "We don't go towards the weird, scary sound."

"Yeah, we do," Astrid disagreed with a sigh. "We always do."

As she nudged Stormfly to follow Toothless, Dany smiled reassuringly at the blond boy. "Don't worry, Fishlegs. Drogon and I can stay right beside you, if you want. No non-existent fog monster would dare mess with him. Plus I just stocked up on arrows so it's double protection."

He hunched in his saddle, taking on the impossible task of trying to make himself look smaller. "I would like that, thank you."

"'Course," she told him cheerfully. "I could even tell you about the last time I was here, where I didn't meet anything— literally, it was just me and Drogon on this whole island. It's a very short story."

"Okay," he agreed, guiding Meatlug closer to Drogon. Although the large dragon generally liked his space— his size being the main reason— he let the small Gronckle sidle up to him without protest, even slowing down to an ambling walk so she could keep pace with him.

--

Not even Dany's stories could distract them from their next revelation. They'd switched to walking on foot (and she'd been right about the squishy ground, she grimaced with every step) and Fishlegs was the one who stumbled on their first sign of life— or lack of it.

"Ugh, bones," he muttered worriedly. "That's just perfect."

The Targaryen gave the starched, white bones an unsettled look and took a big step over them to avoid walking through them on bare feet. The sight was disconcerting, to say the least, even with her familiarity with death— three big dragons created a lot of carcasses. But there, she'd always known the cause; these bones had no reason to be here, especially since she was certain that the island was deserted.

Not long after that, they experienced another disturbing event: Astrid was walking along like the rest of them, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of Johann's boat, when her dragon suddenly sensed something out of the ordinary. Stormfly squawked in alarm and picked her rider up by the back of her shirt. Just in time, too: an anchor fell from the sky, seemingly out of nowhere to find. . .

"Trader Johann's ship," Astrid gasped after recovering from shock. They all looked upwards, following her gaze to the ship that was nestled in a tree, the trunk going straight through the center.

"Wow," Hiccup said, "he really got off course."

Fishlegs cowered next to them, his hands drawn close to his body protectively. "Fog monster," he squeaked out, causing the other three to give him looks of varying disbelief.

"I never saw anything like this the last time I was here," Dany admitted as she climbed onto Toothless' back behind the brunet. Since the boat looked fragile and there already wasn't much space to land, she had elected to leave Drogon on the ground and borrowed a ride on the Night Fury.

"You don't think it's a fog monster too, do you?" Hiccup asked her wryly.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Of course not. I think it's a different kind of 'monster.'"

He turned to glance at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Dragons," she answered simply. "That's what I came to find here last time. Not much else could lift an entire boat."

He had to admit that she had a point, but whatever it was that had caused the ship to veer off course wasn't as important as his mother's chest. When they became level with the boat, the dragons fluttered around in nervously, not daring to land on such a breakable surface. Of course, Fishlegs took this to mean something else. "They're afraid. . . and they're dragons. So we should ask ourselves: 'what are we doing?'"

Thankfully, Hiccup had his own, more sound logic for their behavior. "The boat's not gonna hold them. We have to jump down and send the dragons below."

"Great," the blond mumbled. "That's just perfect."

No one else complained as the brunet clicked Toothless' tail into a holding position so he could glide down easily. Then, Dany, Hiccup and Astrid all jumped smoothly onto the boat's creaky deck, each landing on their feet in various poses. Fishlegs, unfortunately, was not so adept and his landing was signaled by a dull thump as he hit the wood face-first with a grunt. After directing their dragons back to the ground, the quartet took stock of their surroundings.

"Okay, so let's just find this thing, and get out of here. We're looking for a chest with the Berk crest on it," the chief's son informed them.

Spying the door that lead down to the hold, Dany thought that that might be the best place to look for such a thing. Before she could take a step towards it, though a clatter on the deck made them all turn to look for the source of the sound. She was instantly on alert at the sight of a singular, white bone that had fallen from the sky.

The Targaryen didn't waste any time in drawing arrow to her bow, aiming upwards in case a culprit made an appearance. Fishlegs glanced at the sky nervously. "Care to explain that?"

They startled when more bones began to fall, all at once in a very hair-raising shower. There was still nothing to shoot at so Dany held her fire, but the others covered their heads to shield themselves from the onslaught.

"Below deck!" Astrid instructed them, and they followed her without hesitation. Daenerys was last through the door, casting a final glance skywards.

The pattering of bones slowed until only silence remained. They crouched in the dim light of the hold to see if anything else strange happened, but it seemed as if it was safe. Clearing his throat, Hiccup did an admirable job of taking on a brave tone. "This is just a little. . . bone shower. And it passed."

"Right," Dany said tersely, not wanting to give away how put off she was by the previous events. "Well, we better find that chest and get out of here before another one comes along."

"Bone shower," Fishlegs repeated flatly. "I'm the only one who thinks that's weird?"

Astrid raised her hand and at the other girl's admittance, the Targaryen added her own vote. Hiccup sighed, defeated. "Okay. . . it's a little weird."

They stood, only to freeze once more as a hissing growl sounded from outside. "So is that."

"Okay, let's just start looking for the chest, and quickly. That doesn't sound like friendly scraping."

"What's 'friendly scraping?'" Dany asked the Hofferson, who only gave her a grimace in response. 

They parted ways to search on different sides of the ship. Daenerys peered into baskets and lifted up the lids of the crates, but she didn't see the familiar Berk crest anywhere. There were bolts of rich cloth, drinking horns, swords, everything a Viking could desire, but nothing that could be what the chief was looking for.

Hiccup's exclamation of "found it!" was almost drowned out by Fishlegs' scream. The girls rushed over to them to see what was the matter, but there was nothing obviously wrong. The brunet was holding the chest while the pudgy boy trembled from his fright. "There was a hand. . . no skin. . . all scraped off."

A series of thumps followed his words, causing them to all look up in alarm. Dany tightened her grip on her bow, aiming it for the door before them.

"It's coming after us!" Astrid cried, her eyes wide with panic.

Hiccup swung his gaze around to look for a safe place, his attention landing on a closet at the back of the ship. Gripping the sides of the chest harshly, he nodded towards it. "Hide! In there!"

"You can hide—" Dany began, only to be cut off with a yelp as the brunet tugged her towards the spare room. "Hiccup, seriously! What's hiding going to do—"

Astrid slapped a hand over the blonde's mouth, cutting off her protests as the boys slammed the doors shut. 

"Nobody. . . breathe. . ." the chief's son whispered, his voice tight from holding in his breath.

Daenerys gently pushed the Hofferson's arm away from her mouth, grimacing in disgust from the contact. She didn't speak, though, and instead readied her bow to aim it at the doors should whatever was hunting them come bursting through. (She still fully maintained that a fog monster didn't exist, but she wasn't about to deny that they might be in danger.)

The doors shook threateningly, prompting Fishlegs to murmur, "I just want you to know, I love you guys."

Then, several things happened at once:

The door swung open, and three out of four members of the group screamed.

Dany released her primed arrow, only catching their friends' faces with enough time to send it between their heads rather than at them.

Tuffnut grinned at them, the head of the trio flanked by his sister and Snotlout. He waved a skeletal hand at them, unbothered by Dany's attack. "Hey, guys. Need a hand?"

"Watch where you're shooting those things!" Snotlout scolded the blonde. "You really could've hurt someone."

"You think?" she demanded, sighing as she slung her bow back over her shoulders.

Astrid launched herself forward with a furious yell, smacking right into Tuffnut. She yanked the skeleton out of his grasp and began to hit him with it, earning various forms of ow! ouch! Make her stop! for her efforts. At the encouragement of "Ruffnut, do something!" his sister jumped in and began to hit him with the bone arm as well. It was only Hiccup's halfhearted interference that got them to stop.

"All right, all right, break it up, guys!" Astrid gave the boy a final thwack! as he continued, "so let me get this straight: this was all you? The bones? The scraping?"

Snotlout nodded smugly. "That's right! And this was all you: ooh! Aah! Eek!" He mimicked their screaming.

Dany took an arrow out of her sheaf and pointed it threateningly at him. "Careful, or one of these might just lodge itself in your head."

"Dany," Hiccup said with a sigh. "We're trying de-escalate things, here."

She shrugged and returned it to her quiver. "Just saying."

Fishlegs raised a pointed finger, wincing as he admitted, "actually, most of that was me."

"Okay," the brunet groaned. "Why would you do that? What were you thinking?"

Snotlout pointed his own finger in the other boy's face. "I was gonna make Hiccup pay for sticking me with Trader Johann!"

"Where is he?"

"Don't worry about him. He's fine."

Daenerys had a feeling that Trader Johann was very much not fine. Astrid picked up the bone arm, glancing at the shorter Viking with a glare. "Just so you know, I'm never going to forget this," she threatened, socking him in the stomach with the hand. "And what is with that stupid necklace?"

"You likey?" he asked, showing it off. "Yeah, just a little something I found on deck. I can grab one for you if you want."

His attempt at flirting was thrown off— not that it would have worked in the first place— by the boat beginning to list sideways. They could hear the dragons squawking in alarm below them, sensing their riders being in danger. Unfortunately, said riders didn't have any time to plan an escape before the ship was careening towards the ground. They all lost their footing; Dany was sent rolling across the floor with a grunt as her arrows pressed into her back.

"Everybody okay?" Hiccup asked as they struggled back to their feet. He was met with varying expressions of wariness, no one quite having the strength to say anything.

The scraping started again— this time decidedly not a prank from their friends. A thick, gray mist filtered down from the deck through the opening where the ladder was. They scrambled to the exit, pushing and shoving each other out of the way so they wouldn't get trapped below. As she climbed up the ladder, Dany noticed that this fog was denser than the one that occurred naturally, obscuring her vision so quickly and thoroughly that it was as if she had covered her eyes in a heavy blanket. She could still hear her friends, though: Fishlegs' whimpers, Astrid's growl of anger, and Snotlout's weak protest: "just so you know, this fog? Not us."

"Okay, I'll admit. Starting to come around on the 'Fog Monster' theory," Hiccup allowed, clutching the chest to his body protectively.

Dany drew her bow and arrow again, but there was nothing particularly obvious to shoot at. If she tried, she might accidentally hit one of her friends instead, so she just stayed at the ready. There was no visible enemy even as the fog cleared. It only left behind a lingering sense of fear in its wake, noticeably from Fishlegs, who clung to Snotlout's back, at least until the Jorgenson shoved him off.

"We're alive. Right?" Ruffnut asked in relief. She glanced at her brother to make sure, and he punched her to double-check. "Ow!"

He earned a punch to the stomach as payback.

"Can we please just get out of here?" Astrid begged; even she was shaken from their experience.

Hiccup went to agree before he noticed that the weight in his hands had disappeared. He gasped in alarm. "Wait! The chest! I-I-It's gone! I just had it."

"Too bad, so sad. See you back at Berk." Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Snotlout ran off. They rushed up the stairs with the twins in the lead, all but leaping over the side of the boat to get back to their dragons. Only Dany and Astrid stayed with the brunet as they returned to the deck.

Toothless joined them, springing neatly onto the wooden surface to stand with them. Drogon came closer, too, but he didn't even try to get on the boat— it was a good thing, since he dwarfed it, anyway. He lowered his large head to rest it close to Dany's, his nostrils flaring as he scented her protectively. He was smelling other dragons, she realized with a start; he only ever got protective like this when she had been around other dragons. She couldn't linger too long on that thought, though, since Hiccup was watching their friends leave. There wasn't much emotion on his face to give his feelings away, but she could see the tightness in his jaw from their departure.

"You guys go on," he called after them, his hands gripping the side of the ship. "I have to find that chest."

Snotlout saluted him, already on Hookfang's back. "Do what you gotta do. See you when we see you!"

Never one to speak out to a crowd unless it was strictly necessary, Daenerys lifted her hand to hold it hesitantly over the brunet's shoulder, gathering courage to do something that was very much outside of her comfort zone. With a deep breath, she settled her hand on his shoulder, feeling the soft fur of his vest under her palm. He glanced at her, his disappointed (even hurt) expression softening into gratitude. Astrid, however, was never one to shirk from speaking her mind.

"Hold on, guys. That chest is from his mom."

They still weren't convinced and Tuffnut shook off her words quickly. "Yeah, touching story. Gotta go."

"Put yourself in his shoes," she continued.

"Shoe," Snotlout pointed out unnecessarily.

Well, if they won't listen to sentiment, Dany thought, glancing up at her dragon. "Drogon, aldrnari."

If her dragon could smirk, he certainly would have. He let out a gust of flame above their heads, too high to do any real damage, but enough for their dragons to squawk and flap their wings uneasily at the surge of heat. Snotlout turned around to huff at her. "Okay, okay. We're listening."

The Targaryen did smirk, and she gestured for Astrid to continue. "What if it was your mother?"

She didn't need to say much more than that before the rest of the group was standing before them again. They wore varying displeased expressions and Snotlout pointed at the Hofferson accusingly. "I hate you, and this does not mean we're really friends."

Despite their begrudging agreement (at least, for four out of six of them), the smile on Hiccup's face was undeniable. "Thank you, guys. I mean it. Now let's go find that Fog Monster."

It was hard to discern which patches of fog were the monster (which Dany was still in doubt of its existence, especially with how Drogon had acted at her return) and what was just regular fog. The mist obscured the trees as they flew, forcing them to skim just over the top of the forest.

"There it is!" Astrid cried, pointing to an odd-moving cloudbank up ahead. Unlike the haze around it, this vapor seemed to move with purpose, as if it had a specific destination in mind.

They aimed their dragons towards it. Hiccup squinted against their gray surroundings. "Is it just me, or does fog not move like that at all?"

"It's definitely not just fog," Dany agreed. "I think it may be the dragons that I was looking for on my last trip— Smothering Smokebreaths."

Fishlegs stared at her in shock. "Those are real?"

"Wait, it might have been a dragon and you still went with fog monster?" Astrid demanded, exasperated.

"I didn't think they existed!"

"Well, they're a lot more real than a fog monster," Daenerys confirmed. "Wow, they're fast."

The fog split up in front of a cluster of trees, forcing them to separate as well. Astrid, Snotlout and the twins went after one, while Dany, Fishlegs and Hiccup followed the other. They shot after the cluster— or at least went as fast as Drogon could— but even with their top speed it was hard to keep up with the small dragons. The group vanished just in front of a small canyon, forcing the riders to land at the base of it in defeat. When the other four riders had joined them again, Hiccup admitted, "we lost it."

"So did we," the Hofferson said. They all climbed off their dragons again to resume the search on foot.

As the twins came to stand between their dragon's two heads, Tuffnut pointed a wary finger ahead of them. "Uh. . . it didn't lose us."

The smaller dragons roared in distress, uneasy at the fog that covered their eyes. Drogon, who stood above the circling mist, growled lowly in his throat and bared his teeth at it. Without warning, the dragons— even Drogon and Toothless began to flap their wings to gain height above the smoke.

"What are they doing?" Tuffnut wondered, looking up at their dragons.

"They're leaving us. . ." Ruffnut said in dismay.

"I knew Hookfang never liked me." Snotlout's comment came out in a pitiful whine.

But Dany knew that Drogon would never leave her. Instead, she watched as his large wings beat back the mist that surrounded them. He cleared away a large enough patch on his own that not even the tiny dragons that brought the fog dared to fly near him.

"They're not going anywhere. Look!" Hiccup pointed out, coming to the same conclusion that Daenerys had.

"Look at how tiny they are!" Astrid exclaimed.

"That only means they get angry more easily," Snotlout remarked, eyeing the Smokebreaths' beady eyes and bared teeth.

"Well, look on the bright side, Fishlegs: no Fog Monster," the brunet offered weakly.

The boy in question didn't look very cheered by this as he trembled in place. "I feel so much better."

"So we obviously know where the 'smoke' part of their name comes from," Hiccup began, "but what else do you know, Dany? Or Fishlegs, you can weigh in on this, too."

"They hide themselves in a veil of smoke, they're very territorial, and. . . uh. . ." the blond in question trailed off, glancing over at the Targaryen. "Dany?"

"They like shiny things; it's how they make their nest," she supplied. "Which is probably why they took Hiccup's chest— it had metal edges."

Before they could fully process the information that was provided, the tiny dragons swarmed them in a furious cloud. Hiccup climbed onto Toothless' back so that the Night Fury could aim plasma blasts at the small targets. Astrid had taken her axe out to fight them, but hadn't thought about how the blade was the shiny surface that the Smokebreaths liked. They tried to grab it from her instantly, their tiny claws digging into the wooden handle in an impromptu game of tug-of-war. Stormfly appeared above her just in time and scared them off with a blast of her own.

They came at Dany too, surrounding her as they tried to get to the new arrows that she had just acquired; the sharp, pointy tips of metal attracting them like a beacon. Drogon landed next to her, causing the ground to shudder slightly from his sudden weight. The flapping of his huge wings and gust of flame scared the smaller dragons off, giving the Targaryen enough time to sling her quiver around and turn her arrows point-down to hide the metal shine.

Hookfang breathed fire at their opponents as well, keeping them away from his rider. Tuffnut wasn't so lucky as the sheen of his helmet caused some of the Smokebreaths to try and kidnap him. His sister acted quickly and got Barf and Belch to tug him back down by their teeth, though not without grunts of pain from her brother.

They were forced to retreat as the chief's son realized that it was hopeless to fight the swarm. "There's too many of them! Let's fall back!"

"Uh. . . Fall back where?" Tuffnut asked in a surprisingly necessary question.

"Give us a fire line!"

"Don't have to ask us twice!" Barf and Belch spewed out their gas and lit it on fire to cause an explosion that would push back the Smokebreaths, giving them a chance to retreat.

They were able to withdraw to the cliff's edge but no one made a move to leave, much to Fishlegs' disappointment. "What are we doing? Why are we still here?"

"I can't leave here without that chest," he answered determinedly.

Snotlout narrowed his eyes, throwing his hands up in the air in annoyance. "You don't even know if they have it!"

"Yeah, we do," the Targaryen contradicted him. "They take shiny things. Hiccup had his chest in the ship. The Smokebreaths came into the hold. When they left, it was gone. Ergo, they took the chest."

The shorter Viking glared at her. "You know, using fancy words just to confuse the person you're arguing with doesn't make you right. I choose to end our disagreement."

They looked up to see the Smokebreaths carting the anchor that had almost killed Astrid back to their cave. The blonde crossed her arms and raised a brow. "You were saying?"

"Let's get a closer look." Hiccup decided.

They left their dragons above the canyon for the time being so as to not draw attention to themselves. They took refuge behind some large boulders to watch the Smokebreaths in action. Dozens of the tiny dragons whizzed over their heads as they went about collecting things for their nest. Tuffnut gave the dark cave entrance a thoughtful look. "I wonder if building a nest out of metal would be cozy. It might be."

"It's not supposed to be," Fishlegs countered. "They do it to defend against attacks from bigger dragons."

Hiccup let out a regretful sigh. "I wish I could see in there."

Next to him, Tuffnut remained oblivious of his need as he played with a spy glass he'd found. He held it up to his eye— backwards— and examined his fingers underneath it. "Yeah, you do."

Turning to him, the brunet stared at the other boy in disbelief. "Where did you get that?"

The blond shrugged carelessly, unaffected by his friend's urgent tone. "Duh, the ship. Or whatever that was in the tree."

Hiccup grunted in annoyance and snatched it from him. A glance inside revealed the dragons welding their treasure with little bursts of flame. He scanned the pile to find exactly what he was looking for. "They're melding them all together. The chest! It's in there! We've got to get them away from that pile of loot."

"Maybe we can lure them away," Astrid suggested.

"With what?" Snotlout asked, playing with his new golden necklace. They turned to him in answer, causing him to look up in confusion. "Haha, what?"

--

They sent Snotlout out before them so that he could dangle his necklace from his fingers to tempt the dragons. To get their attention, he called out "here, dragons. I've got something for you. Over here," even though his voice wavered on some of the words (which he staunchly denied later.) Clearly displeased with his role, he hissed "I'm gonna make Hiccup eat that chest" under his breath after his required cries.

As soon as the dragons sensed the new offering, their heads poked up from the mountain of metal. They whizzed out of the cave to collect it, excited by the find. Hiccup watched their approach anxiously as he, Astrid and Dany got ready to infiltrate the cave. "Okay, quickly. Those things will be done with Snotlout any second now."

Daenerys stopped at the entrance and had Drogon turn around so that he backed up into opening, wedging in as much as he could without getting stuck. She hoped that their obstacle— and her dragon's fire— would buy Hiccup enough time to free his chest from the pile. She winced as Snotlout's shouts of pain echoed around the valley as he fended off the Smokebreaths.

They were done quickly, as Hiccup had suspected. The gray cloud swarmed towards Dany and Drogon, causing the large dragon to tense. He waited for his rider's
"aldrnari" before he breathed fire at the oncoming horde. That kept them at by for a little while, enough for the brunet to grab the chest, get back on Toothless and yell, "okay, Dany! We're good!"

Drogon pulled himself free from the gap and took a few thundering steps forward to launch himself into the air. The other riders followed, ready to leave the Smokebreaths in peace. Unfortunately, the small dragons had a different idea— they wanted revenge for their disturbed home. They went for Snotlout's treasure, prompting Hiccup to groan, "Snotlout, would you leave the necklace?"

"No!" he snapped. "It's my shiny!"

Tired of his protests, the brunet said bluntly: "well, it's you or your shiny."

With a glance at the oncoming smoke cloud, the shorter Viking tossed the golden chain into the mist. Even though one of them snatched it out of the air and turned to fly back home, the rest of the group remained in pursuit. Astrid realized what they had to do. "Anything you have that's metal, throw it at them!"

She threw her axe. The twins tossed in their knives and their helmets. Hiccup threw his dagger. Snotlout chucked his helmet and mace. Fishlegs flung an abundance of weapons. Dany thought about her arrows and wondered if the dragons could sense the metal even if they couldn't see it. With a sigh, she began to loose them into the horde, not to harm but just to distract. She aimed them far away from each other so that the fog scattered behind them to collect the shiny-tipped missiles.

Snotlout's triumphant cry of "we did it!" came a moment too soon as one lingering dragon clamped on to Hiccup's metal foot. The brunet fought to keep ahold of his dragon and the chest at the same time, kicking uselessly at the Smokebreath. Toothless' prosthetic tail clicked in without a rider and sent them spiraling towards the ground. Dany wished she had kept at least one arrow to aid the boy, but all she had was her bow.

Luckily Fishlegs was there to catch them as the fell, swooping below them on Meatlug to wait until they were close enough. Then, as the Night Fury continued to spiral towards the ground, he shot upwards to dislodge the smaller dragon, calling after it: "you will not haunt my dreams because I'll never sleep again!"

They returned to their usual formation around Hiccup after the mist departed. Although they were now weaponless (and necklace-less), Hiccup still had his treasure chest, and that was what mattered the most. Even if Dany dreaded the thought of suffering through her father's teasing to get more arrows, she knew that she would endure worse to make sure that her best friend happy.

Chapter Text

Shields clashed together as Ruffnut swung hers towards her brother. Tuffnut blocked her blow with his own defense, grunting under the force of her attack. His sister let out a maniacal laugh as she beat her shield repeatedly against his, forcing the boy to the ground. He landed harshly on his back as the impact of his fall knocked his helmet askew. She punched the air victoriously as he fixed his helmet.

Gobber walked towards them once their bout was finished, nodding approvingly. "As I've said a million times and as Ruffnut has demonstrated so splendidly, the shield can be your most important weapon. Who's next?"

"Hold on!" Tuffnut held up his index finger as he stood. "I don't get to hit her back?"

The blacksmith rolled his eyes at the boy's protest. "On your own time. Hiccup, Astrid."

The blonde looked delighted and smacked her fist to her palm threateningly. Knowing her proficiency for fighting, Hiccup's eyes widened and he tried to stammer out an excuse: "well, I-I don't think it's really fair for me to be fighting—"

Before he could even finish his sentence, Astrid's leg kicked out of nowhere and barely missed his face. Jerking back in shock, he stumbled over his feet to get out the way of her oncoming punches. Ducking under her still-outstretched leg, Hiccup grabbed it and tried to twist it over his shoulder to unbalance her. He glanced back at her, proud that he'd deflected her attack.

Astrid took his momentary distraction as a chance to gain the upper hand. His expression fell into one of horror as she launched herself at him, pinning him to the ground. Putting all of her weight on top of him, the Hofferson grasped his arm and pulled it behind his back until it pinched his shoulder painfully. He groaned in pain, prompting a concerned rumble from Toothless, who'd been watching the fight.

Gobber stepped forward as Astrid kept her position, victorious. "When you're in a situation like this, it's best to remain calm and take deep breaths." He leaned down to address the trapped brunet, who had attempted to follow his suggestion with not much luck. "When that's not an option, I would advise playing dead." He flopped down as directed. "Just like that. Well done, Hiccup. Good form, Astrid."

"You okay?" she asked, turning to offer the boy a hand up.

He rolled his shoulder to try and get it back into place before he accepted her help to stand. "Never been better. Shoulder should pop back into place in no time."

She patted him on the shoulder consolingly— if not a bit patronizingly— as Gobber called the next pair up. "Snotlout, Fishlegs, let's see what you've got."

"Whoo!" Snotlout jumped up, getting himself ready for a fight by punching the air and bouncing on his toes. "I think we all know what I've got! Snotlout, Snotlout, oi, oi, oi!"

However, there was no nervous tremoring voice that spoke up in response, which they were all familiar with. The older man looked around as if he thought the teen was hiding somewhere. "Fishlegs, don't be shy. Vikings can't rely on dragons alone to protect them! Huh. Thoughts on Fishlegs' whereabouts? Anyone?" When there was no answer, he shrugged. "Alright, change of plans. Snotlout and Daenerys."

Dany, who'd been quietly and contentedly observing the matches all morning, startled at the sound of her name. "W-what?"

Her confusion was hidden behind Snotlout's much more verbal protest of: "what? That's not fair! I don't hit girls!"

"Well, that's not going to go very well for you in a fight, now is it?" Gobber said sharply in response. "Girls are still going to hit you."

The Targaryen shot a slightly anxious look at Gobber. "But I'm a distance fighter— I avoid close-up combat at all costs, so I don't really need—"

"You might find yourself in a situation one day where you'll be glad to have the practice," the blacksmith cut across her, not unkindly, his tone far warmer than it had been when he'd spoken to Snotlout. "It's good to have some experience in a friendly arena."

"Can't I fight Hiccup instead, then, if I can't get out of this?" she pleaded, glancing over at the chief's son hopefully.

To her disappointment, Gobber shook his head. "No, lass. We all know that he'd go too easy on you."

Both teens in question flushed at the obvious comment about their strong (friendly— nothing else, really!) feelings for each other. She reluctantly set down her bow and arrows at her feet and took her flower crown from her head to place it next to her other items. After giving Drogon as stern look to not be so overprotective about her safety, she stepped into the middle of the small circle of teens. Snotlout, still grumbling under his breath, reluctantly squared off against her. He tried to maintain his bravado but there was a hint of uncertainty in his eyes as he faced Dany. After all, he'd never seen her combat skills before and didn't know what to expect.

"Yeah, Dany!" Astrid cheered from the sidelines, pumping her fist into the air. "Show him what you're made of."

The blonde sent her best friend an appreciative smile, though the Hofferson's encouraging words did little to ease the nerves that tied her stomach in knots. Snotlout threw a half-hearted punch in her direction, but his fist missed by a mile; even she knew he had more ability than that. Growing a little irritated that he was dragging this out when all she wanted was for it to be over, Daenerys took a deep breath. Remembering all the times that Snotlout had flirted with her uninvited (and even more so unwelcomed), she focused on all the time she'd wished that she could punch him— rather than the fact that he was her friend (however annoyingly) and she didn't want to hurt him.

Then, she struck.

Her fist came flying out of nowhere with a lightning speed that surprised all of them. The shorter Viking's head snapped back. She withdrew immediately, dancing out of striking distance before he'd even come to terms with what had happened. When he did, Snotlout's eyes narrowed as he realized he was going to have to take this seriously. Lifting his hands into the proper position, he made a much more concentrated attempt to hit her.

But, he was like a stone: solid and unmoving, graceless and slow. She flitted easily around his punches, always just out of reach to his increasingly-frustrated expression. Dany, on the other hand, was like water: fluid and shifting, steady and unrelenting.

As the sparring continued, the Targaryen found herself falling into a rhythm, her movements becoming almost instinctual. She dodged Snotlout's clumsy attempts at hitting her, her footwork precise and graceful. With each evasion, she felt a surge of confidence building within her. Snotlout, on the other hand, grew more incensed by the second. He couldn't seem to land a single hit on her, his attacks constantly thwarted by her agility. Despite his initial unwillingness, he was now fully engaged in the fight, determined to prove himself.

With a sudden burst of energy, he lunged forward, his fist aimed directly at the blonde's chest. But she was ready for him. With a swift twist of her body, she sidestepped his attack and countered with a swift jab to his side. He stumbled back, clutching his ribs in pain.

Astrid let out an excited cheer and rushed forward to punch the other blonde in the shoulder— hard. "You did it! I knew you could! Great job, Dany!"

The Targaryen smiled bashfully at her praise while Snotlout glared at them, still holding his side. "She only won because I went easy on her," he wheezed out grouchily.

"That's not what it looks like to me, lad," Gobber said with a faint smirk, clapping his real hand down on the shorter Viking's shoulder, making him wince. Snotlout shoved his hand away in annoyance. "She beat you fair and square. Nicely done, Daenerys."

She was feeling pleasantly warm and appreciated as their friends went their separate ways for the day, but the best exultation had yet to come from a certain brunet, who lingered behind the other teens' departures. Hiccup approached her once the were alone and offered a hand to her. "Congratulations, milady. Out of everyone, I'm glad it was you who got the honor that we've all been wanting to do to Snotlout for years. Trust me, you would not believe how many times I've daydreamed about that exact scenario."

Dany smiled, giggling a little at the thought of Hiccup punching Snotlout— it was certainly a nice image— and shook his hand. "Thanks, Hiccup."

He nodded towards the sky. "Do you have time to do a victory lap with me, milady?"

Blushing slightly at his use of his nickname for her, she drew on the remaining adrenaline and confidence she was feeling to reply, "I have time for several victory laps."

His bright, beaming grin at her response made her heart skip a few beats in her chest. After scooping up her deposited items, she turned back to Drogon and rolled her eyes at the unnecessarily smug look he wore as he eyed the chief's son with his flame-orange eyes.

"Shut up, Drogon," she grumbled as she hoisted herself up his leg.

--

Their 'several victory laps' turned into a picnic lunch, and then a skills race around the island (which Dany only lost because of Hiccup's unfair agility advantage.) Night was falling by the time they returned, and she could tell something was up from the lack of teasing about their prolonged afternoon together on Astrid's part as the blonde's gaze searched the darkening sky.

"I'm starting to get a little worried about Fishlegs," she commented as the pair dismounted from their dragons. "You think he's okay?"

"He looks okay to me." Ruffnut pointed up to the sky where Fishlegs and Meatlug had appeared, the Gronckle's wings buzzing as they descended towards the village.

Her twin squinted at the boy in confusion. "Is Fishlegs. . . glowing?"

For once, Tuffnut's observation wasn't completely off base. Hiccup admitted with some surprise, "Actually, I think he is."

Snotlout announced his approach by pounding his fist into his other palm, then cracking his knuckles menacingly. "Not for long."

"What, being beaten by a girl wasn't enough for you today, Snotlout?" Astrid snarked, smirking at him as she put a hand on her hip.

He glared back at her in response. "I told you already— she only won 'cause I let her. And besides, a good pummeling will prove that I haven't lost my touch."

Ignoring the boy's aggravation, Hiccup regarded the blond curiously. "Uh, Fishlegs, where were you this afternoon?"

"Yeah!" Snotlout agreed heatedly. "You missed hand-to-face combat! My hand to your face!"

Fishlegs took his time in climbing off Meatlug's back, careful of whatever the object was that he'd put in his bag. He didn't let the other teen's comment affect him as he replied evenly, "I prefer to use the part of my body above the neck."

This, of course, led to an open opportunity for the shorter Viking to jeer, "what neck?"

He met his friend's gaze with an unimpressed look. "Oh, amusing. I refuse to encourage your violent tendencies, Snotlout."

"Don't knock it 'till you try it."

The green light that came from Fishlegs' bag caught Ruffnut's attention. She leaned towards her brother to whisper loudly, "he's glowing again."

"I know," he murmured, eyeing the bag warily, "spooky."

"It's not me that's glowing," he explained, reaching into his bag to pull out the mysterious orb. "It's this."

They all let out various awed sounds as they watched the sphere change with shifting colors. Dany's dragon sense was tingling, but she didn't have enough information to say if it was true either way. All she knew was that round, glow-y objects tended to be of dragon origin. 

--

They decided to see Gobber about it. Daenerys didn't think that was their best option— he wasn't known for being the smartest Viking, after all— but she was in the minority, so she went along with it. A crowd had gathered in the Great Hall as the news about Fishlegs' find had spread, so it was with great enthusiasm that the blacksmith announced: "it's a Stone of Good Fortune. My great uncle's wife's brother once told me of its powers."

The villagers were all, naturally, impressed by this, though the Targaryen wasn't so easily convinced. She wouldn't deny that there was a possibility that magic existed— the lived with dragons, after all— but she thought the title was a bit far-fetched.

Mulch, at least, seemed willing to doubt him as he frowned at the other man's story. "I thought he was mute."

"Until he found the stone! Then we couldn't shut him up," Gobber retorted, before he turned his attention back to Fishlegs. "This stone brings good luck to whomever comes in contact with it."

Snotlout gave the orb a considering look. "Stone of Good Fortune. Huh. . ."

That appeared to speak to everyone's interest and all of the gathered Vikings suddenly started shouting on top of each other. Dany immediately covered her ears with her hands as she hoped to block out some of the din. She wished that she had thought to bring Hiccup's ear muffs, had she known that they would be dealing with an unruly mob. Since she didn't have any additional protection, she just backed away from the encroaching crowd in the hopes of lessening the noise, her violet eyes guarded and mistrustful of their unexpected urgency.

Luckily, the chief stepped in before things got any further, his loud voice booming off the Great Hall as he called out: "that's enough! Everyone stand back!" Everyone scattered. "Who found this?"

"Uh, right here, Chief," Fishlegs said as he raised an arm straight up into the air due to his position on the floor. Gobber helped him up and he clutched the sphere tightly to him.

"It's a Stone of Good Fortune." At the mention of its properties, the audience started back up again as they offered their most valuable items. Stoick had to shout over them once more: "listen to me! This belongs to Fishlegs, and what he does with it is up to him."

This time, the crowd wasn't to be tamed and they resumed trying to bargain for the 'stone.' Noticing their desperation, Hiccup quickly placed a hand on Fishlegs' arm and began to guide him towards the doors. "Maybe we should get you out of here. . ."

"Both of you," Astrid added as she glanced at the Targaryen's edgy posture and took the brunet's lead. She placed her hand on Dany's sleeve— being careful to avoid the skin-on-skin contact that the girl disliked— and gently prodded her towards the entrance since, with her hands over her ears, the blonde couldn't hear what their next move was. Daenerys shot her a grateful look as the Hofferson created a wall with her body, providing a buffer against the masses.

--

Fishlegs decided that his newfound 'good fortune' was took more effort to maintain than it was worth, so he thought it was best to return it to the island it had come from. Dany came along both to escape the crowds and to provide muscle in the form of Drogon as no one in their right mind would mess with a dragon of his size. If anyone did disagree with Fishlegs' choice, they would have to face her dragon's teeth first. Thankfully they met no resistance as they flew to the 'secret' island the blond had found.

"You sure you want to do this, Fishlegs?" Hiccup asked as they closed in on the strip of land.

"There's too much stress! You saw that mob; they ran right over me." Daenerys grimaced at the memory, more than grateful that she hadn't found the stone-that-might-not-be-a-stone.

"Like a sack of flour," Astrid agreed.

"I just want to put this thing back where I found it and never think about it again," he declared. "Stone of Good Fortune. . . Yeah, right. . ."

Meatlug took a sharp turn downwards without warning, prompting a startled shout from her rider. Toothless let out an uneasy growl while Drogon bared his teeth, both dragons picking up on the change in their surroundings that their riders could not. Still, Dany and Hiccup could tell when their dragons were acting agitated, and they exchanged a wary glance. The brunet returned his gaze to the island ahead as he mumbled, "they sense something."

"Other dragons," the blonde added, just as quietly. Her own violet eyes were already scanning the treetops as they came into view. She frowned at the sight of the now-familiar glowing that came from up ahead. "Fishlegs, I thought you said you found it buried in the sand?"

"I did."

Hiccup focused on where the Targaryen was looking and pointed towards the strange tree-lights. "Then what's that?"

"Are those. . .?" Astrid began tentatively. They were flying close enough to the trees now to see each stone that was nestled amongst the branches. The 'gems' were resting on clumps of bark and leaves, almost as if they were—

"Dragon nests," Fishlegs and Dany confirmed for her, followed by the girl's muttered, "I knew it!"

"Okay," she allowed, eyeing the glowing lights as they flew by, "but why would a dragon fill its nest with gems?"

"Not gems," Daenerys corrected her, and Fishlegs' eyes widened in realization.

He smacked a hand to his forehead in shock of what he had nearly done. "They're dragon eggs! How did I miss that? The egg I dug up must have fallen out and gotten buried." He hugged his bag protectively against his chest. "I can't believe I almost kept this baby away from its mother."

"But you didn't," the brunet reminded him. "Now, let's put this egg back and get out of here."

The other boy nodded, and as quickly as Meatlugs' wings would allow, he flew to an empty branch and placed the egg gently on it. A growl rumbled low in Drogon's throat as he hovered slightly higher than the others, his flame-orange eyes flicking back and forth to stay alert. Dany patted him between the shoulder blades as she usually did to calm him down, but it barely helped.

Toothless was also similarly restless, prompting Hiccup to remark, "their mothers must be close."

"Yeah, really close." Astrid said as Stormfly's tail stiffened and she stuck out her spines. "Fishlegs, say goodbye, and let's go!"

"Okay, okay" he answered hastily, changing his tone to coo at the orb: "goodbye, little color-changing dragon egg."

He returned it to its rightful place and they wasted no time in leaving the mothers to do their job. But, even though they had done the right thing and returned the baby, apparently the dragon moms weren't too happy that it had been taken in the first place. As they flew away from the forest, the sound of creaking trees made them look back.

The felled trunks cut a swath through the otherwise untouched landscape, allowing them to see the path of. . . whatever was in pursuit of them. "They're following us!"

"Yeah, but what are they?" Astrid asked, glancing behind her to see if any shape was discernible.

Dany wanted to say that it didn't matter what it was that was chasing them, just that they got away from it— but she didn't think that would help anyone be less on edge. Instead she simply urged Drogon faster, guiding him above the tree line so she could use the full wingspan.

"I don't see anything back there!" Fishlegs added.

The invisible force suddenly wasn't so invisible anymore as a long, thin dragon burst into existence for a moment— just long enough to shoot bright green acid at the riders. It missed them, but still startled the group, especially as it melted straight through the bark of a nearby tree.

"Whatever it is, it's shooting some kind of acid at us," Hiccup told them, guiding Toothless out of harm's way just in time.

"Invisible, acid-shooting dragons? Great. . ." Fishlegs complained as Meatlug swung her stocky body back and forth to avoid the projectiles.

"We have to get out of these trees."

Dany hunched low on Drogon's back to give him the least amount of wind resistance possible. He swept his wings down in a great gust of air, pushing them forward and away from their pursuer. She kept an eye on the others down below, but there wasn't much she could do to help, not wanting to risk setting the entire forest on fire with one of Drogon's blasts. Thankfully when they reached the open water, the dragons stopped trailing them.

--

The next morning, they gathered in the Great Hall to look up more information about the dragon they'd encountered yesterday. Dany sat opposite of Fishlegs as Hiccup and Astrid crowded on either side of him. Toothless loomed over the trio as if he, too, were curious about the new species they'd come across. The Targaryen's hands were busy with a whittling knife and block of wood, not making anything specific as they didn't know what the dragon they'd found actually looked like. Instead, she was just letting the golden shavings litter the table in front of her until the entire chunk was shaved away. A crown of Lungwort flowers decorated her silvery-blonde hair and she occasionally blew the purplish-pink petals out of her eyes as she worked, sending the smaller sandy pieces skittering across the table.

"Sprays hot, burning acid. . . here it is! It's called a Changewing, according to the Book of Dragons." Fishlegs announced once he'd found the right page.

"Where are the drawings?" Hiccup asked, leaning closer to get a better look.

"Invisible," Dany reminded him simply.

He nodded in realization. "I guess you can't really draw it if you can't see it."

"Listen to what it says," the blond stated as he began to read aloud: "'this remarkable dragon is able to change the color of its skin to blend in with its surroundings.'"

"Does it say anything about eggs?" Astrid wondered as she scanned the page, too.

Fishlegs' eyes went wide with panic, half-afraid that the aggressive girl was blaming him for the ordeal. "No. Those didn't look like dragon eggs, right? If I had seen that, you know I never would have gone and stolen—"

"Fishlegs!" He snapped out of his spiral and looked at the brunet. "Calm down. None of us knew."

"Well. . ." Dany spoke up quietly, drawing out the word hesitantly as all three pairs of eyes snapped to her. "It was just a hunch. I mean, no one's ever seen a plain, glowing rock before, right?" She shrugged, avoiding their gazes by sweeping some of the sawdust into her hand. "I didn't have enough proof to say anything, though. It just goes to show that no one could have really known, so you don't have to feel guilty about it."

"Exactly," Hiccup agreed. He placed a reassuring hand on the larger boy's arm. "Even Dany wasn't certain. The only thing that matters is that it's a good thing we brought that egg back to its mother. Who knows what they'd do if the eggs were still on Berk?"

Fishlegs was beginning to look marginally reassured— at least until the twins arrived with Tuffnut holding a suspiciously glowing orb in his hand. Hiccup eyed it warily. "Uh, what's that?"

"Uh, I don't know," he answered dryly as he tossed the egg between his hands. "Maybe a lifetime of good luck."

He and Ruffnut banged their helmets together, which caused Ruffnut to fall down from the force of the blow. She popped back on her feet a moment later, grinning, as her brother danced in celebration. Astrid's eyes narrowed and she lunged forward with her hand outstretched. "I'll take that!"

Tuffnut was protective of his good luck, though, and snatched it out of her grasp. "Over my cold, dead body!"

They raced towards the doors as the blonde called after them: "where did you get it?"

"We traded for it!"

"Traded with who?"

--

Since the twins wouldn't rat out their seller, the quartet resorted to finding the source themselves— not that it was hard. They'd only left the Great Hall for a few minutes before they came across a crowd (Dany was seriously considering abandoning the whole thing for the safety of her house in the country. What was with Vikings and mobs, anyway?) This time it was headed by Snotlout and a young boy, Gustav.

"All right! All right! All right!" he called. "Everybody— settle down! Settle down! I got six yaks and three chickens from the woman with a hook on! Do I hear seven and four?"

"Seven and four!" the younger boy echoed, ever Snotlout's mirror. They were even dressed the same, as if he were the brunet's 'mini-me.'

Bucket threw up his hand to claim the price and the short Viking pointed at him. "Seven and four! Gustav, the guy with the bucket on his head!"

Dany grimaced at the smug, taunting smile that Snotlout wore. He seemed even cockier than usual with the success of his auction and a wagonload of weapons behind him. His grin grew even bigger as Bucket lifted up a barrel of yet more weapons. (Well, they were Vikings.) "Oh! And he's throwing in a matching set of battle-axes. How cool!"

"Cool!" Gustav chirped a second later.

"Seven and four— plus the axes." Snotlout addressed the crowd again, "come on, folks! Only one left! Good luck for the rest of your life. . . going once! Going twice. . . and sold! Gustav! Give Bucket his stone of good fortune!"

The older man all but squealed as Gustav gave him the 'stone' and he ran off, presumably to tell Mulch. "Well— that's it, folks. I only have three stones and I'm all sold out. So it's time for me to pack up!" When the crowd lingered, his tone hardened. "Uh, hello? Go away! It's over!"

"Snotlout, what are you doing?" Hiccup demanded as they closed in on the brunet one he was alone, save for Gustav.

Snotlout remained unphased by the urgency in the other boy's question as he counted the weapons in his cart. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm getting rich!"

"But you can't!" Fishlegs protested.

"I already did. Gems are gone."

"Gone," Gustav added brightly.

The four of them exchanged 'what now' looks as Hiccup tried to explain the situation. "They're not gems and they certainly don't bring good luck."

"Puh-lease." Snotlout jumped down and approached them. "They're bringing me good luck. I'm up to my neck in weapons and livestock."

"Snotlout!" Astrid's said sharply. "Those are dragon eggs!"

Fishlegs held up a finger as he specified, "uh, Changewings, to be exact."

"Changewings, schmange-wings I don't care what they are! All I know is I'm rich, and you're not."

"We're rich and you're not," Gustav agreed.

"Snotlout, this is serious," Dany put in, knowing it was probably futile to reason him but thought she should try anyway. He gave her the same, smarmy, 'you know you want it' smile he wore at the auction.

"I know," he conceded with a surprising amount of sincerity. She wanted to believe she'd gotten to him, but previous history told her not to expect so much. This proved to be true as he went on, "I'm serious about us. You and me, tonight. You bring dinner and I'll bring the view." He pointed to himself in case 'the view' wasn't obvious.

The Targaryen stared at him in dismay. "You're mad."

"That's why we'd be so great together," Snotlout said. "Look, if my charming personality alone isn't enough to convince you, how about one date with me and I'll get those stones back for you."

"Can I come?" Gustav piped up hopefully. "And I thought we said no returns?"

The teen waved a hand towards his face until it had found the boy's mouth to cover it. In a quieter voice, Snotlout hissed, "shut up, I'm going for it."

It had been several seconds since he'd suggested the trade and Dany hadn't turned him down, which was making him more confident the longer she went without answering. Her prolonged silence made her other three friends look at her, Hiccup's expression one of mild horror. "You're not seriously considering it, are you?"

Dany shrugged, mumbling tentatively, "well, if it'll get the dragon eggs back. . ."

"No way," the chief's son argued. "You can't go out with him just to get the dragon eggs back!"

She frowned in confusion at his unexpectedly heated disagreement. "What's it to you, anyway? I'd do just about anything to make sure dragons are safe."

As Hiccup struggled to come up with a response, Astrid added pointedly, "and Berk. You saw how that acid burned through wood."

The blonde shrugged. "I said what I said."

Unable to come up with a decent answer to Dany's question, Hiccup shook his head to refocus on the issue at hand. "Snotlout, listen to me. We need to get those eggs off of Berk before something really bad happens."

Snotlout looked at the Targaryen with anticipation. "I didn't hear a no—"

"I'll give it to you: no," Astrid answered firmly for her. Dany sighed, both relieved she didn't have to say 'yes' to Snotlout but also a little guilty that she'd given up an easy way to protect the eggs.

"Fine," he said with an unaffected shrug. He turned back to his weapons and prepared to cart them off. "If you want them, then you'll have to take it up with my customers."

"Oh, this is all my fault," Fishlegs sighed as the pair walked away. He turned; his head lowered in shame as he went to seek comfort from Meatlug.

"It's not your fault, Fishlegs."

"Yes it is!" he reasoned, landing with a heavy thud on the stone path as he sat down. "If I hadn't gone to that island and brought that egg back, then Snotlout wouldn't have known where to go get them, and we wouldn't be in danger of imminent attack by mother Changewings!"

"When you put it that way. . . it really is his fault." Astrid put her hands up in self-defense at the annoyed looks that came from both Hiccup and Dany (even she knew that wasn't the thing to say when trying to make someone feel better!). "Just saying."

Hiccup went over to the blond to put a supportive hand on his shoulder. "Look, it doesn't matter whose fault it is. We just have to find those eggs."

--

"So, what you're telling me, is that our village is about to be under siege by a bunch of wild dragons we can't see?" Stoick summarized his son's news, which they had promptly informed him upon their return to the village. He stood before them, pacing in front of the fire as he took in their store.

"Oh!" Tuffnut interjected, lifting a finger to add eagerly, "don't forget the hot, burning acid." When he received incredulous stares in response, he tacked on a defiant, "what? It was awesome!"

"Well, grab your dragons, then. We'll fight them off," the chief said decisively.

Hiccup spoke up, wincing at the additional bad news he had to tell his father. "Dad, I wish it were that easy. No matter what we do, they won't go away until they get what they want."

"They just want their babies. Oh, it's all my fault," Fishlegs cried, burying his face in his hands once more. Dany gave him a sympathetic look, knowing that he cared about the dragons almost as much as she did (but she would argue that she liked them even more.)

The door burst open to reveal a frazzled Gobber, who didn't notice the teens in the chief's company as he exclaimed, "Stoick, I just realized something! It's not a Stone of Good Fortune. It's a Changewing egg! I always get those two confused." Then he noticed the rest of the group and continued casually, "so, what are you all up to?"

If she had been more prone to outbursts of emotion in public settings, Dany would have smacked a hand to her forehead at the blacksmith's carelessness. As it was, she just let out an exasperated sigh while she thought to herself: you couldn't have realized this sooner? I almost had to suffer through a date with Snotlout. Snotlout!

Stoick gave his friend a flat look before he turned back to his son. "Hiccup, what are you suggesting we do?"

"I think we should get everyone off the island until we can get the eggs back with their mothers, and the Changewings are gone," he offered. "Hopefully, it's not too late."

The older man looked exceptionally displeased with this idea and scoffed at the thought. "In all the years I've been chief, we've never turned in fear of anything. I'm not about to start."

He'd barely finished his sentence when a woman's scream pierced the night, causing them all to face the door. The chief ran outside to see what was going on, the teens and Gobber hot on his heels. Various Vikings burst out of their homes as the Changewings tore them apart to look for their eggs. The mother roared in frustration when she came up empty-handed— er, clawed. The Vikings ran off, shouting in fear.

"They're looking for their eggs!" Hiccup announced when they'd reached the crest of the hill, which gave them a view of the chaos in town.

Another Changewing shot acid at a door, which promptly disintegrated upon contact. The Viking that was hiding behind it yelled and threw down the chest he'd been holding so he could flee. The dragon picked it up with its teeth, shook it, then tossed it aside when it realized there weren't any eggs.

Ever one to help out his villagers, Stoick leapt into action and pulled a long pole from the ground with a grunt. He charged fearlessly at the Changewing, who startled with a roar and fled to the nearest natural object— a rock— and camouflaged herself. The chief stumbled to a halt with the post still held aloft, confused by its disappearance. "Where did it go?"

Hiccup joined his father and pointed out, "that would be the 'blending in, can't see it at all' part."

"I see it." Tuffnut stuck out his hand to stop them from getting closer. "I got this, Chief." Doing his best impersonation of Hiccup or Dany— it wasn't a very good impression, clearly— he held out his palm over where he thought the dragon's snout was and said sternly, "stay, dragon! I am now your master." He reached out and set his fingers down on the stone, then turned and gave them a thumbs-up as if he had actually achieved his goal.

Dany sighed again and turned to go fetch Drogon, knowing that getting on their dragons would be the next step. As she left, she overheard the chief ask, "it's gone, isn't it?"

"Oh, long gone," the brunet confirmed.

Daenerys let the other teens deal with getting the eggs back— the villagers were probably more likely to listen to her friends, anyway— and joined Stoick and Gobber in dealing with the Changewings. While they dealt with the problem in a head-on approach, she focused on the root: you couldn't fight what you couldn't see.

So, she went to one of the storage sheds in search of quicklime, a thick, white liquid that they sometimes used to paint their houses. If she was able to pour it somewhere on the dragon, it would be visible in the dark and make it easier to track them. It took her longer than she would've liked to reach the shed due to all the ducking and avoiding acid she had to do, but eventually she got two buckets— as much as she could hold— and made her way back to the Chief's house for Drogon. She hung the handles of the buckets on his spikes as she climbed up his leg, then secured them on his spines before they took off.

The village looked even more destroyed from the sky than it had from the ground, so she felt reassured that a little firepower wouldn't do too much additional damage. Admittedly, Drogon wasn't the best dragon to use for this endeavor since his bulk would make aiming difficult, but she would make do.

The Changewings were visible when they threatened the villagers, so she flew as close to the road as she could. One was noising at some barrels near the town center. She made a beeline for it and, while it was distracted, she tossed the entire bucket in what she hoped was the vicinity of its back. The liquid landed with a splat! that startled the dragon, causing it to become invisible again— but not as much as it usually was. She grinned at her success and urged Drogon to snap his teeth in its direction.

It shot off into the sky in an attempt to shake them, but now that she could see the mother's path, they quickly changed directions to pursue it. The second bucket of white paint sloshed against Drogon's side as they climbed higher, staining some of his red-black scales. The cool night wind whipped her tangle of silvery-blonde curls into messier knots and stung her cheeks, but she didn't care in the exhilaration of the chase.

Drogon and Daenerys wove after it as the lithe dragon twisted and turned, their practice in the sea-stacks around Berk paying off nicely. Her dragon's larger, more powerful wings helped them catch up quickly. Once they were close enough to give warning (but not enough to permanently harm), the Targaryen called out, "Drogon, aldrnari!"

He let loose a gust of flame that singed the Changewing's tail. It squawked in discomfort and changed course, shooting away from the village and back out to the open sea to avoid the dragon's fire. As they flew over the docks, the blonde could see the Vikings who had gathered by the boats, meaning that Stoick had gone through with the evacuation after all— though it seemed to be called off as no one appeared to be in an immediate rush anywhere.

She relented in their chase, allowing the mother to fly off to join the other teens on the ground. "All clear?"

"Yep. Fishlegs is dealing with the last of them now," Hiccup answered, pausing as three consecutive roars sounded from somewhere in the village. "I think they worked it out." He then glanced at Drogon's white-spattered scales. "What's with the paint?"

"Oh— it was for the Changewings, to even the playing field."

Understanding dawned in his expression a moment later and he nodded appreciatively. "Good thinking."

Dany smiled and straightened on Drogon's back, pleased that he approved of her plan. The night only got better when she learned that Fishlegs had scared the yak dung out of Snotlout in order to get the Changewing's egg back— something she definitely wished she had been there to witness.

Chapter Text

For someone who hadn't always had that much of a community, Dany was especially looking forward to celebrating Bork Week with her friends; she had never given it much thought before since it had always just been her parents and her dragons. It was especially noteworthy this year as it was the first celebration where dragons weren't the Vikings' mortal enemies. If it hadn't been for Bork, the Book of Dragons would never have existed, so there was an extra-special meaning to the day this time. Because of this, Stoick wanted to showcase the dragons in a parade that the teens would organize which was. . . going about as well as expected when having to work with Snotlout and the twins. (That is to say, it surprisingly wasn't an immediate disaster.)

After much thought, Hiccup decided that the best way to communicate to the dragons for them to put on a show was through mimicking their calls. He had remembered Dany's dragon-whistle that summoned Drogon when he was too far away for a human voice to reach; if the dragons were within earshot, he wanted to see if they could also use a specific sound to be called. They were all gathered at the edge of a lake in the cove where he'd first found Toothless. As usual, the only ones genuinely paying attention were Dany, Astrid and Fishlegs. The twins' eyes were glazed over as they watched the water lap at the shore and Snotlout picked at his nails lazily.

Cupping his hands around his mouth, the brunet copied the Night Fury's roar, which echoed around the cliff face. When it faded, they were met with silence— at least until Snotlout started complaining (again.) "That's why you brought us out here? To honk into the wind?"

"Just wait, Snotlout," Fishlegs admonished him.

The shorter Viking rolled his eyes and scoffed. "'Dragon calls.' Pfft. Whatever."

Obviously bored, he took out a medal from his pocket and shone the reflective light against a nearby rock. It caught the twins' attention immediately and they zeroed in on the beam. Noticing their suddenly attentive expression, Hiccup arched a brow. "Uh, guys?"

Snotlout laughed to himself as he watched their eyes dart back and forth. "Idiots."

Dany glanced over from where she was leaning against the rock that Astrid was sitting on, a block of willow wood in one hand and her carving knife in the other. A Changewing was slowly taking shape in her hands as she whittled out its slender body from the rest of the base. She was kind of reminded of Toothless in that moment— though the dragon was much smarter than either of the Thorstons— as he also liked to follow the light around.

"Snotlout," Hiccup scolded him.

He only continued to chuckle as he added, "so stupid."

"Seriously?"

"What? It's fun." Hiccup glared at him until he caved, putting the medallion back in his pocket. "Fine."

As if startled out of a trance, the siblings gasped when the light disappeared. Tuffnut let out a sound of frustration. "Ugh! Gone again!"

The Targaryen wondered how they could still manage to function on such few (if any) braincells— surely all life would have ceased to exist with the amount of intelligence that resided in both of them combined? But they still proved to be a miracle each day they showed up at the Academy. (Now, it wasn't that she didn't like the twins; she did, to the extent that anyone could, but she had no reservations about how stupid they could be, either.)

Hiccup knew a lost cause when he saw one, so he didn't bother trying to explain to the twins about Snotlout's medallion. He returned to his previous endeavor of calling Toothless back from where he'd wandered off to. Everyone who was invested in the practice looked up hopefully, only to be met with empty air. Snotlout groaned again. "And, nothing! Can we go now?"

This time, though, another roar responded— and not the echo of the brunet's call, either. Astrid smirked at him triumphantly. "You were saying?"

Toothless landed in front of them with his wings outstretched. He gave them a dragon-y smile, proud of his accomplishment. Snotlout glared at her before he relented, throwing up his arms in exasperation. "Fine. I hate to admit it, but that was pretty cool."

"Not as cool as that disappearing, shiny thing. You can never catch it," Tuffnut said, leaning back against the log he was resting on when he realized the light wouldn't be coming back.

"Fishlegs," Hiccup began, giving his friend an encouraging smile, "want to show us your dragon call?"

"I thought you'd never ask," he replied, always ready to show off in an area he was confident in. "You see, the call of the Gronckle is as unique as the dragon itself: raw, guttural, intense, but with a subtle lilt."

"Blah, blah, blah— just do it already!" Snotlout cut him off impatiently.

The blond ignored the other boy's tone, but did as he suggested. Rolling his shoulders to prepare himself, he reached deep into his chest to produce as growl that sounded like sandpaper on stone. Dany winced at what that had probably done to his vocal cords, and she was very glad that she had whistle instead. But, it worked, and Meatlug came fluttering down to stand beside him.

"Well done, Fishlegs," the chief's son told him.

"Oh, I'm not done. Watch this." He roared again, this time even louder and rougher sound.

Tuffnut made a disturbed face. "I don't want to know what part of his body that came from." He paused, rethinking his comment to add, "or do I. . .?"

Winded, Fishlegs knelt for a moment until the world stopped swaying around him. "I gotta take a knee."

An answering roar came, but not just from one Gronckle— a whole, small herd of dragons soared above them. As Meatlug buzzed off to join her compatriots, her rider called after her: "be home for dinner! You're having granite!" He turned to the teens with a sheepish grin to explain, "that's her favorite."

"Okay, anybody think they can beat that?" Hiccup asked, addressing the group.

Astrid jumped down from the boulder and stepped forward assertively. "I'll give it a shot. Watch this."

She leapt onto a fallen tree and cupped her hands around her mouth. Instead of the rougher sounds the boys had used, her call was smoother, more of a howl than a growl. Stormfly lead her Nadders in a perfectly-executed formation across the cove. "Good job, Astrid. First try. Dany?"

The blonde stowed away her project and brushed her hands free of sawdust, then pulled out her whistle. She gave it a single blow before returning it to her pocket and waited patiently. Of course, Snotlout wasn't patient. "What was that supposed to do? The stupid whistle didn't even work."

Dany only gave him a serene smile in response. "Just because you didn't hear it doesn't mean that Drogon didn't."

There was a heartbeat where nothing happened— and then a massive black shadow sailed above them. Drogon's wings were completely outstretched, throwing the cove into shade as they blocked out the sun. He let out a resounding roar that reverberated the ground they were standing on (as it happened, one of the only loud noises Dany could tolerate.)

She watched fondly as he circled the cove, folding in on himself as he spiraled down towards them to land with a heavy thump next to her. She pushed off the boulder to throw her arms around his neck as best she could, closing her eyes at the solid warmth of his scales.

Hiccup nodded approvingly at the pair; he had already known Drogon would respond to his mother's call and that practice wasn't really necessary. But seeing the bond between them never failed to impress him. It was something he hoped to have with Toothless one day, once they had known each other as long as Dany and Drogon had. "You two did great, as always."

The blonde beamed at the compliment, feeling a rush of warmth at his praise. Astrid huffed teasingly next to her. "You get 'great.' I just get 'good.' I think it's obvious who's the favorite here."

Dany's face turned a little pink and she elbowed the Hofferson lightly. "That's not even what this is about."

"It's always what this is about," she replied, her blue eyes glinting mischievously at her. Daenerys was just glad that Hiccup had turned away to answer Tuffnut's 'question' and didn't hear the other girl's comment.

"You're seeing things, as usual— although I suppose you're hearing them, this time. It's just a compliment."

She was saved from further embarrassment by Fishlegs' sudden interjection in defense of Bork. "Hey! Bork only killed dragons to protect himself. He studied them, wrote about them, lived and breathed them."

"Without him, there would be no Book of Dragons," Hiccup continued.

"And without the Book of Dragons," Fishlegs added importantly, "there would be no—"

"—reason for you to live?" Snotlout taunted him.

"Dragon Academy, actually," the brunet answered over the twins' laughter, annoyed. "And there would be no really cool Dragon Air Show."

"So when we do this 'really cool Dragon Air Show,'" Snotlout echoed mockingly, then gestured to the Night Fury, "who's he going to fly with?"

Hiccup glanced over at Toothless, who let out a reassuring warble. His expression softened regretfully at the reminder. "I'm working on that." Then, he forced brightness into his tone to conclude, "that's it for today. You can all go home."

--

Meatlug and her friends were buzzing overhead when Dany and Drogon landed next to Hiccup. He and Toothless were standing on the cliff watching the group of dragon, and it was all too easy to tell that the brunet was still thinking about Snotlout's words.

She slid down Drogon's wing when he extended it for her and hopped neatly to the ground beside the other pair. "You know. . ." she began without bothering with a greeting. He turned his gaze away from the Gronckles to listen, his brows furrowed as he anticipated her suggestion. "Drogon doesn't have anyone to fly with at the parade. He could use some company."

"He's not going to fly with Rhaegal and Viserion?" Hiccup asked.

"They're my parents' dragons, and you know how they feel about the village. It'll just be him."

"Still," he said with a slight frown, "he's used to being on his own— he's not even in the Book of Dragons. Toothless and the others are, but what sets him apart is that Stormfly has other Nadders, Hookfang has a whole herd of Monstrous Nightmares, and Toothless has. . . Toothless has no one."

The blonde's expression softened at the sadness in his tone. "You don't really believe that, do you? He has you, after all, and all of the dragons that we ride. He looks pretty happy if you ask me."

They looked over to where the black dragon had rolled on his back with his paws stuck up in the air. Drogon cast a large shadow over him as he bent over the Night Fury while the smaller dragon made a valiant attempt to fend him off as he batted Drogon's snout with his paws. Dany's dragon pretended to be knocked backward every time Toothless landed a 'hit' on him until Drogon grew tired of their game and used his snout to roll him back on his feet.

"You know what I mean," he sighed.

She let out a sigh of her own, knowing how stubborn he could be about the things he believed in. "I know," she agreed. "And I also know you won't let this go, so when you do eventually need help you'll ask, right?"

Hiccup gave her a small smile. "Of course. If nothing else, because you would never forgive me if you missed out on seeing a whole herd of Night Furies."

"Good, so you do know me," Dany teased him.

A Nadder's squawk broke into their conversation, alerting them to Astrid's presence. She stayed perched on Stormfly's back to rely the message she had been given by Stoick, not intending to stay long: "oh, great, you're both here. Dany, Hiccup, the chief and Gobber were looking for you. They wanna see you in the Great Hall. They looked serious."

"Yeah, great. Happy Bork Week to me," Hiccup grumbled before he called for Toothless so they could take off back to town.

--

Daenerys wondered what the chief could possibly want with her. Their interactions had been lukewarm at best, so being called specifically to the Great Hall didn't bode well for her, she thought. At least Hiccup was there, so his father probably wouldn't try and banish her again or anything. The creak of the Great Hall's doors only added to the suspense as the teens entered the dimly-lit space to find a group of Vikings gathered there, waiting for them. They glanced at each other with some apprehension and approached the grim-looking assembly.

"Okay. . . this is weird. . ."

"Hiccup, Daenerys, come forward." Stoick's voice boomed in the cavernous space, filled with authority and purpose. Dany wanted to shrink from his penetrating gaze, but she forced herself to stand tall against their scrutinizing gazes. "And hold out your hands."

They both did as they were told, but years of being friends with the twins and Snotlout had conditioned them to being cautious of what 'gifts' might land there. Hiccup quickly tucked his hands behind his back while Dany's busied themselves with twisting the fur on her vest while she studied the chief's boots.

Hastily, half-afraid they were in trouble, the chief's soon added, "uh, Dad, Gobber, other scary-looking Vikings. I'd just like to say, in my own defense, that I cannot control Snotlout or the twins twenty-four hours a day."

"Yeah," the blonde agreed, her words several times softer than Stoick's had been, causing some of the Vikings to strain to hear her. "And it's not Drogon's fault that he's too big for the usual dragon-landing places in town— he's just going through a growth spurt!"

"This isn't about those jokers, Hiccup," Gobber assured him. "And there hasn't been any more destruction than the usual dragon damage, Daenerys. This is about something really good."

She relaxed now that she knew her dragon wasn't under fire for something he had difficulty controlling at the best of times; Drogon often forgot how big he was, especially after spending time with smaller dragons like Toothless.

Stoick glared at the blacksmith to keep him from spilling the surprise like he usually did, and Gobber quickly quieted. "Now then. . . Hiccup, as you know, Bork Week has begun; the first one since we made peace with the dragons. So it has been decided, that from this moment forward, all things dragon related— including Bork's life's work— will be entrusted to you, Daenerys, and the academy.

"The Targaryens have suffered far too long under the misunderstandings of the past. It is our hope that, with this gesture of goodwill, we can begin rebuilding these bridges. It's Bork Week, and nothing says community like making amends from our mistakes. As you will probably be my future daughter-in-law—" Here, Gobber coughed, while Dany's face turned a bright red. Hiccup looked everywhere but at the blonde next to him. The chief hurriedly changed to, "ahem, I mean, as you are a valued member of our village, we would like to formally apologize for the wrongs that have been done to your family and wish to make things right."

Despite the still-present embarrassment, Dany was touched by the sentiment. While she would have liked it to happen a lot sooner, it was better late than never. She gave him a hesitant smile. "Thank you."

"Well, now that that's settled," Gobber began excitedly. He stepped forward again to show them the chest and opened it eagerly with his real hand. "This is where the Book of Dragons started. Everything he ever wrote on the subject is in these notes. Personal thoughts, feelings, fears. Even some delicious recipes."

Stunned by the dragon history before them, the teens shared an awed glance as Hiccup breathed out, "whoa. . ." He removed one of the scrolls from the bundle and looked at it in admiration for a moment, before setting it back down. "I-I don't know what to say. Thank you, Dad. This is—"

"Son, this is a big part of our history. You, and Daenerys, and the dragons are a big part of our future." Stoick put a supportive hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's now up to you to take care of both."

The blacksmith put the notes away and closed the lid of the chest to give it to the pair, but as it was related to his great-great-great grandfather, he was sentimental over parting with it. When Hiccup tried to tug it out of his grasp, he held on to it tightly for a moment until a warning call of his name from the chief prompted him to let go. "Right. They're yours now. . ."

--

They went back to Hiccup's room to study the new information as both teens were excited to get started. By the time they were knee-deep in Bork's notes, night had fallen and they were reading by candlelight. Since they had been working for so long, Dany had moved off the floor— which had been her original spot, by Hiccup's legs as he sat at his desk— to the bed for a softer seat. The brunet came over to join her despite it being harder to read the pages in the more dimly-lit part of his room.

As the hours wore on, Dany became even more comfortable in his presence than she usually was, helped by their solitude and Toothless' gentle rumble as he napped nearby. Once, when she had been particularly curious about one of Bork's dragon diagrams, she leaned in close enough that her shoulder pressed against Hiccup's and her silvery-blonde hair tickled his face. She was so close, in fact, that he could smell the outdoors on her: sunshine and wind and the salty sea. He was only a little ashamed to admit that he really did hold his breath when she neared, both out of fear of startling her and the wish to prolong the contact. To his surprise, when she was finished looking at the diagram, she didn't move as far away as he thought she would. Instead, she curled up contentedly against his side, tucking her bare feet under the folds of her dress.

She seemed to sense his shocked stare as she tilted her head up to look at him, asking a confused, "what?"

"I— uh, i-it's nothing," Hiccup answered quickly— too quickly, perhaps, because she continued to look at him questioningly. He sighed and readied himself for the embarrassment of explaining it. With his cheeks flushing a bit pink, he gestured between them. "You're, uh, closer than I'm used to."

As someone who valued her personal space, Daenerys was always hyper aware of how her presence affected others in return, and would never want to make them feel ill at ease because of something she did unknowingly. She hastily began to pull away, immediately apologizing, "oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable—"

But before she could put too much space between them, the brunet caught her arm to stop her. "No— not like that. I just meant that it was very uncharacteristic of you. I, um, didn't mind, actually."

"Oh," the Targaryen said, suddenly feeling the embarrassment herself as that was a very different response than what she'd anticipated. She returned to her position against him, though more gingerly now that she'd been disturbed. A little self-consciously, she explained, "I know I'm not one much for contact but I do still want it, at least sometimes. From certain people. Rarely."

He smiled a bit then, relieved that he wasn't the only awkward one. In any case, he was glad that the 'certain people, rarely' somehow, amazingly, included him. He wasn't sure if even Astrid, Dany's other best friend, got to see this side of her. (If Daenerys had known he was wondering about this, she would have told him that Astrid didn't— the Hofferson was even less touchy-feely than her, which was saying something.) With the matter resolved, they turned back to Bork's notes— and subsequently turned the page— only for the brunet to let out an awed breath. "Whoa. Toothless, look at all of this, bud. It's amazing."

The Night Fury only let out a bored yawn and shifted on his warmed slab of stone. Dany gave him an amused look. "I guess someone's not too excited to learn about more about dragons— considering he is one."

Hiccup set aside the papers and picked up his journal next. "These are his personal notes. Everything he observed about dragons is right here." He flipped to the next page and made a face. Almost instinctively, his hand not holding the book came up to cover the blonde's eyes. "Along with some. . . rather interesting drawings of his neighbors." He slammed it shut and put it aside. "Can't un-see that."

"Thank you," the Targaryen replied appreciatively, grimacing at the thought.

When he tossed the book aside in disgust, it landed with a heavy thud that made it open to the last page. There, instead of the leather from the book jacket, there was another piece of paper— but it looked glued on rather than being a part of the original book. They shared a curious glance and the boy tugged it back towards them. He peeled away the layer to reveal a folded-up square underneath. Expanding it to make it a full page, they scanned it with interest. Hiccup's eyes widened as he took in the words. "This. . . is all on the Night Fury! It's all about you, bud."

Toothless let out an acknowledging rumble but remained curled up on his bed as his rider continued excitedly, "Bork didn't put any of this in the Book of Dragons. 'My studies lead me to conclude that an entire exists, teeming with mysterious Night Furies. I call this land the Isle of Night.' An island. . . filled with Night Furies!"

Personally, Dany thought it was a little too good to be true but she knew how much Hiccup wanted there to be more Night Furies, so she tried to voice her doubts lightly. "Hiccup. . . Bork's notes are centuries old. Who knows if the island still even exists?"

She winced, thinking that her attempt at softening the blow didn't really work once she spoke the words aloud. But the chief's son didn't look any less disheartened than before; he looked more determined, if anything. "We still have to try! Imagine it, Dany— a whole island." He glanced over at Toothless, who had risen to his feet to pad over to them. "We could find his family!"

The Night Fury warbled supportively, but nudged the notes out of the boy's hands to get his attention. Hiccup held the dragon's face in his hands affectionately. The Targaryen stood and stretched, half-dreading leaving the warm comfort of Hiccup's room to face a cold, dark ride home alone. She decided that she would have an impromptu sleepover at Astrid's since her house was much closer. "Well, I guess I better get going if we're gonna be hunting for answers tomorrow."

Hiccup was almost tempted to insist that she stay the night— for the ease of starting out early in the morning, of course— but he didn't want to press his luck. Quelling the thought, he merely wished her 'good night' instead.

--

"So, let me get this straight: to find this island, we have to find Bork's cave?" Snotlout shouted above the wind as they set out the next day. Hiccup was in the lead, his anticipation spurring him on even more so than the Night Fury's usual speed.

"It's his last known place of residence," Fishlegs informed him.

Astrid made a face at the thought. "Who would live in a cave?"

Tuffnut, of course, found no problems with this. "Who wouldn't?"

"There must be something in there about the Isle of Night and where we can find it," Hiccup reasoned.

"Bork's notes said his cave was cut into the mountains right above Odin's shield," Fishlegs offered as they navigated through a series of sea-stacks. With Drogon's larger wingspan, Dany flew above them and could barely hear their conversation— a blessing, in terms of some of their friends.

A great wall of rock loomed in front of them, giving the group plenty of places to look for where Bork's hiding spot might be. The brunet pointed towards it so they could aim their dragons in that direction. "Right there! That must be it!"

Most of the group landed, except for Drogon who hovered right in front of the cliff as he was too big for such a small ledge. Taking everything in, Tuffnut frowned in confusion. "Um, so, wait. So how do we know what we're looking for?"

Astrid sighed at his ignorance and turned back to give him a sharp glare. "It's a cave! Look for a big hole in the side of a mountain."

The twins answered with their usual misplaced enthusiasm: "hole. Check."

"—mountain. On it."

The Hofferson shook her head, losing her patience with having to explain everything to them. She pinned Hiccup with a 'this is on you' look. "You know, we don't have to bring them every time."

Before he could say anything to explain his life choices that had gotten them to this point— that is, having to put up with the twins on a daily basis— a loud roar made them cover their ears.

"What in the world was that?" Fishlegs asked, hovering close to Snotlout. The shorter Viking lowered his hands, which had been cupped around his mouth to amplify the growl.

He puffed out his chest, obviously proud at his attempt. "That is a Changewing call, my friend. Surprised you didn't know that one."

"I would've if it sounded like one," Fishlegs shot back. "This is a Changewing."

He made a similar sound, only even more terrifying as it bounced off the rocks. Dany clamped her hands more tightly over her ears in the hopes of blocking it out. Snotlout saw this as a challenge since he couldn't stand to be shown up. Grouchily, he muttered, "bet you can't do a Thunderdrum."

"Puh-lease," the blond scoffed, holding up a finger to make his point. "At least challenge me."

He gave a throat-clearing cough, set his hands on his hips, and let out an even rougher roar than before. Dany had had enough, and she was surprised that one of the smarter members of their group would stoop low enough to Snotlout's competitiveness. Her voice came out sharply, cracking like a whip across the silence that had settled after the noise. "Hey! If you two don't cut it out, you're going to call every wild dragon to us, and I don't think you want that."

"Someone's not in a very Bork Week festive mood," Snotlout grumbled.

On the other hand, Fishlegs' expression lit up with pride. "So you're saying the calls actually sounded real? Coming from a dragon master, that's very high praise."

The Targaryen allowed herself a momentary break in her composure to bury her face in her hands in complete frustration. Thankfully, Hiccup was on her side. "Okay, okay, enough, Fishlegs. Dany's right."

They relented, allowing the group to return to their search. It didn't take them long to spot an opening on the cliffside across the canyon. The cave was high up, away from the spray of the water below. Noticing the distance from the ground, Snotlout had to admit, "that Bork was a dweeb, but boy, he could climb like a mountain goat."

The teens made to head towards the crevice, but were stopped in their tracks by another ear-splitting roar. Annoyed, Hiccup turned around to scold the culprit from earlier. "Fishlegs, I thought we agreed to ease up on the dragon calls."

Fishlegs shrank a little in his saddle, his voice coming out as more of a squeak as he replied, "Actually, that wasn't me. Mine's far more authentic."

A purple Thunderdrum came soaring around the other side of the rocky spire behind them, its mouth open enough to show off its rows of tiny, sharp teeth. Astrid glared at the blond. "Wanna tell that to him?"

"Head for the cave!" Hiccup told them.

Dany knew that Drogon would never fit inside the opening; there was no use pretending otherwise. Instead, she tried to think of a plan while the others headed for safety— except, it was gone. Ruffnut pulled up short as she stared at the expanse of solid rock. "Wait, what cave?"

"We just saw it! There was a hole!" Astrid exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yeah. And now the hole's gone," Tuffnut said, pointing out the obvious.

They were forced to duck as the Thunderdrum swooped down to strike again. It roared just over their heads as it sped up the cliffside. "Snotlout, Ruff, and Tuff, you guys look for the cave opening. We'll lure the Thunderdrum away." As the quartet took off, Hiccup added, "Fishlegs, Thunderdrum call!"

"I wish you'd make up your mind!" he complained, but started clearing his throat anyway. It took longer this time, hoarse from all the practicing he'd been doing.

"Fishlegs!" the chief's son called out warningly.

Finally, the bellow came out and distracted the Thunderdrum. It turned in mid-air to chase them. The blond squealed in fright at the sudden change and urged Meatlug faster to avoid the oncoming blow.

Meanwhile, Snotlout had found himself in a very tight spot. After the twins'. . . unique attempts at finding the cave (which consisted of them running at the rock headfirst), the Jorgenson had gotten frustrated and pounded the stone with his fist. But, as he punched the rock, something shimmered into view next to him. He froze at the unfortunately familiar sight of a slender, bright red body and narrow snout that dripped acid.

While he would never admit it, he did let out a scream as he started to run, shouting, "oh no!" as he went. But, he didn't get very far and the Changewing snatched him up as it caught its teeth on the back of his pants. It flew up higher once it got its prize and settled contentedly on its hind legs while Snotlout dangled over the ocean.

"Hey! HEY! Put me down! Hookfang!" he cried out, panicked.

For once, the Monstrous Nightmare immediately came to his aid and launched himself off the rocky pedestal he'd been resting on. He landed in front of the Changewing and engulfed himself in flame to scare it, which only resulted in the dragon stepping backwards with Snotlout still in its grasp. He shot a column of flame at it that narrowly missed his rider, causing the boy to change his approval into a scolding: "ahhh! No! Go away, Hookfang!"

Unbothered, his dragon gave what would have counted for a shrug and flew off once more.

The other riders were still being chased by the Thunderdrum, who was currently hot on Fishlegs' tail. The boy continued to scream as he dodged around sea-stacks, each turn saving him by mere inches. "A little help here!"

Hiccup, Astrid and Dany had drawn away from the dragon to reassess their attack but at their friend's call, the Hofferson waved Hiccup off. "Go see what you can find. We'll keep this guy busy."

"Drogon and I've got this," Daenerys said confidently. She lifted her weight off her dragon so that she was holding on by her toes in the groves of his scales while her hands were still wrapped around one of his spikes. Feeling the shift in her weight, Drogon coiled his muscles to propel them powerfully forward in a gigantic thrust that would catch the Thunderdrum's attention.

"Dany, wait—" Astrid started, intending to plan their attack together, but the Targaryen didn't wait. The gust of wind buffeted the teens as Drogon took off, nearly unseating them from the power of it. Astrid sighed exasperatedly. ". . . aaand she's gone."

"What about Snotlout?" Hiccup asked, looking over at where the boy struggled with the Changewing.

"I guess that's me," the blonde replied, not without some disappointment. They went their separate ways, with the Night Fury's black scales vanishing against the darkness of the cave.

Meanwhile, Drogon and Dany raced after the Thunderdrum. It was now driving Meatlug through the sea-stacks, less avoiding them than simply crashing into them. At least it made their job easier, she thought as they flew over the rubble; it saved them from having to attack from above— or worse, weave around them and slow them down. Drogon already wasn't a fast dragon, but that would make it much harder to catch up.

She took advantage of the new clearing and headed directly after it. Panicked, Fishlegs had forgotten to watch where he was going in favor of just getting away. He ended up being trapped against the cliff face with nowhere left to go and the Thunderdrum bearing down on him. But little did the purple dragon know, he was the prey, being hunted after by a much bigger opponent.

Just as Fishlegs closed his eyes to prepare for the worst, the anticipated hit never came: Drogon adjusted his wings so they acted like breaks, bringing them to nearly a complete stop in midair as he angled his claws towards the wild dragon. His large, sharp talons secured around the Thunderdrum's middle. Now with his opponent in his grasp, he resumed flapping his wings to get away from the rocks.

"YES!" Dany shouted victoriously as adrenaline surged through her. "Good job, buddy!"

The Thunderdrum was helpless in Drogon's claws but still roared, though the sound came out more piteously now. Much like his mother, Drogon was not one for mercy and did not feel sympathy towards the enemy dragon who had come after his pack. He ruthlessly tossed the Thunderdrum against the side of the cliff, almost playing with his quarry. The wild dragon hit the rocks with a thump. Dizzily, it tried to get away only to be found back in Drogon's grasp to repeat the process again.

Little did Dany know, her dragon's repeated forceful throws was causing the cave to become unstable. The map that Hiccup had found began to crumble under the recurring blows. He hastened to copy it all down in his notebook before the entrance collapsed, but to no avail— the rocks were less stable than he'd hoped and cut off his exit.

Outside of the cave, Astrid left the twins to try and save Snotlout while she got the Targaryen's attention. "Dany, make him stop! It's going to trap Hiccup!"

Startled, Daenerys looked over at the cave opening and found that the rocks had indeed loosened over time. Her eyes went wide with alarm and she immediately tried to redirect her dragon. "Drogon, no— stop!"

But Drogon was also a wild dragon; not quite as wild as the one in his claws, but wild nonetheless, and he did not heed his mother's warning. She had never been with him when he hunted for food, after all, and did not know how deep his cruel streak went. He ignored her and threw the purple dragon again. This time, much to her horror, the rocks slid down to close the entrance.

Although the damage had already been done, the blonde thrust her hand into her vest pocket to pull out the dragon whistle, hoping that would be enough to get his attention. She blew on it, hard. Sure enough, it snapped Drogon out of his wrathful attack and on his next throw, he let the Thunderdrum fly unsteadily away. The Targaryen gave her dragon an uneasy glance that he didn't see, but she gently patted him between the shoulder blades as she always did.

"Good boy," she praised him, relieved that he had listened in the end.

Not too long after, the welcome sound of Hiccup's voice reached their ears as he reappeared with Toothless. He looked mildly surprised at the obvious lack of Thunderdrum in their presence. "Wow, you and Drogon really did 'got this.'"

Dany twisted around to look at him and she relaxed now that she knew there was no permanent damage done. "Hiccup! You made it!"

"Please don't ask me how, because I have no idea. Let's go help Snotlout."

--

As it turned out, their hunch had been right and there was a map to the Isle of Night in Bork's cave. Dany still didn't trust the ease with which they had found what was believed to be centuries-old information, so instead of going back home to her parents like she was supposed to (by now, they were used to her being gone for days at a time when events around Berk kept her busy), she watched the Haddock's house like a hawk. Was it a little creepy? Okay, yes, admittedly so— but it wasn't without reason. Hiccup had a history of trying to do things on his own when he forgot there were people who wanted to support him.

It looked like her guess had been right, too, since she saw him and Toothless leave the house in the middle of the night. They didn't get very far, though, since she and Drogon stepped into their path. Hiccup had been busy thinking about the Isle of Night and hadn't noticed the blonde until he'd nearly run into her. "Ah! Dany, what-what are you doing?"

"I should be asking you that," she replied archly, pointedly glancing at his satchel and the notebook clutched in his hand. "Going somewhere?"

He stammered an excuse for a moment, looking everywhere but at her. "Oh, uh. . . we're just, uh, going for a late-night ride."

"Right. . ." Her tone was so dry it would have made a desert seem like a rainforest. She crossed her arms stubbornly. "So you're not going to the Isle of Night— an island full of potentially wild, hostile Night Furies— by yourself like an idiot, right?"

"No! No, of course not," Hiccup protested, but under her steely, violet-eyed stare, he caved, his shoulders slumping. ". . .Yes?"

She let out a long-suffering sigh. "Well, you're not going without me."

Although he relaxed when she didn't try to stop him, he still shook his head. "No, Dany. I have to do this alone. The map we found said that herds of Night Furies could be hostile towards other dragon species. And Drogon. . ." He watched the dragon for a second, who met his gaze with a 'watch your next words carefully' sort of look. "Isn't exactly welcoming."

"Fair enough," she allowed, and the brunet was instantly suspicious of her easy agreement. She waved Drogon off. "Drogon, go home and rest. You've definitely earned it."

The big dragon clearly wasn't happy, but he was dealing with two of the most stubborn Vikings in Berk, so he knew it would a lost cause to insist on staying by his mother's side. He blew a breath of hot air in her face as retribution. Then he pinned Toothless with a glare that said 'protect her, or else' in a language that both human and dragon could understand. A great gust of wind later and his large form slowly receded into the night.

"Dany—" the chief's son began to argue, still obstinately stuck on going alone.

She didn't let him finish as she climbed on Toothless' back (so much easier than the hike up to Drogon's.) "The map only said they were hostile to other dragons. Do I look like a dragon to you?"

Hiccup let out a reluctant breath, though he really was glad that Dany was going with him; he just didn't want to put her in unnecessary danger. But he knew that she could also protect herself— protect them, even— so he merely gestured for her to scoot up. This, of course, was met with a confused look as she had been prepared to be the passenger. He shrugged. "You want to drive, don't you?"

Her eyes lit up at the unexpected offer and she slid forward. Toothless warbled happily under the change in rider as he enjoyed being under Dany's guidance; while Hiccup liked going fast, the Targaryen's preferred speed was on a whole different level.

--

They made it to the Isle of Night in record time as Toothless had anticipated from Dany's zippy hand. Both riders dismounted appearing a little windswept, with pink cheeks and mussed hair but in good spirits. But their cheerful attitudes didn't last long; as the Targaryen had suspected, there were no Night Furies just as there were no maps to the Isle of Night. The rocky island they landed on was a trap set by the Outcasts and— she was, sadly, not surprised— Mildew.

The teens glared up at the older Vikings as they were forced onto the ground, one man holding each of them down. Two soldiers wheeled over the fake Night Fury that had lured Toothless away from them, causing Alvin to smirk down at them proudly. "Amazingly realistic, wouldn't you say?"

Nearby, Toothless was being quickly subdued as other soldiers wrapped him in chains. Hiccup glared at the bearded man who bent before them tauntingly. "Let go of him! What do you want?"

"I want me own dragon trainer. And by the looks of it, I've got 'im." Alvin smiled nastily at the blonde. "In fact, I've got two of 'em. Looks like it's me lucky day."

Daenerys spit at his shoes in response, which only prompted rough laughter from him. While Hiccup shared her sentiment, he used his words to grit out, "we're not going to train your dragons, Alvin."

"Oh, ho, ho, I think you will. And once you 'ave, I'll use 'em to destroy Berk. Take them!"

The men holding the teens lifted them harshly to their feet to guide them towards the waiting boat. "I don't understand. How did you do this?"

They didn't an answer right away as the soldiers forced them into the boat, shoving both of them viciously in. Savage jumped in after them and the motion revealed the person they should've suspected all along: Mildew.

"What are you doing here?" Hiccup asked.

"Aw, look at'cha." He jumped down onto the boat. "The brightest boy on the island and the Mother of Dragons herself, and yet, there you are, trapped by a silly old man and his sheep."

"How could you do this?"

Dany glared at him with nothing but disdain in her violet eyes. "Why am I not surprised? Dragon hater." She spat out the last two words as an insult.

"You did it, Hiccup. You believed the Bork notes, you followed the map we drew, you walked right into our trap. And you, girl, you were mad enough to follow him, though I suppose we should have predicted that from you," he mocked them. "Maybe you'll think twice next time about where you place your loyalties."

Alvin cackled— literally cackled, the rough sound grating on Dany's ears— as he pushed the old man aside. "There won't be a next time. Raise the sails! We're headed home. . . to Outcast Island!"

Chapter Text

`Daenerys glared furiously in Alvin's direction as they walked by cages filled with wild dragons. They were all more aggressive than they were supposed to be, even for being untrained— abuse from the Outcasts had set them consistently on edge. A Deadly Nadder slammed itself against the barricade as they walked past, and her angry scowl softened into sympathy for the creature who could not help its situation. She wondered how many more dragons were in captivity, in terrible circumstances like this, and the thought made her stomach twist in disgust at those who could treat such magnificent beasts this way.

Alvin, of course, paid no mind to the hostility and simply shoved the teens forward. Although he took note of their surroundings, there was only one thing on Hiccup's mind: "where is my dragon, Alvin? Where's Toothless?"

"You'll see him soon enough, don't you worry," the older man replied in a menacing tone that promised they wouldn't like what they saw.

Since the direct approach didn't work, he tried another tactic— flattery. "You know, I have to admit, luring me and Toothless to the Isle of Night, building a fake Night Fury. . . not bad."

The Outcast let out a mocking laugh. "'Not bad. . .' Says the one-legged boy in manacles."

"I'd have to agree with Hiccup," Dany said. Her voice had never sounded less friendly. "That plan almost convinced me that you lot have braincells, but the state you keep your dragons in tells me otherwise."

They were passing by a Whispering Death now, chained on either side to keep it from diving underground— which it was attempting to do. Every time it tried to dig a tunnel, soldiers holding spears would poke at it until it became subdued again. Alvin watched their struggle apathetically before he caught sight of the simmering rage on the blonde's face. "And what would have me do differently, girl?"

Dany wanted to go in there and break the chains herself, but that would hardly be possible with her hands bound and Outcasts all around them. So, she grit her teeth and responded with measured intensity, "you may think you have control over these creatures, but all you're doing is breeding fear and resentment. A Whispering Death is not meant to be chained up like this. Keeping it confined like this will only make it more dangerous when it inevitably breaks loose."

Alvin scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "What do you suggest, then? Letting them roam free to wreak havoc?"

She was surprised that Alvin even knew how to use such advanced vocabulary as the word 'havoc.' The Targaryen eyed the enclosure with obvious distaste. "Well, not spearing it every time it acts on instinct would probably help. There are other ways to keep it from burrowing, you know."

Bored of the 'show,' the leader of the Outcasts shoved them forward again. This time, they were met with a Scauldron. It was drinking out of its water trough but at the sound of their footsteps, it whipped its head up to glare at them with black, beady eyes. The two teens ducked out of the way just in time for it to shoot a blistering hot stream of water at the nearest guard, causing him to fly backwards with a grunt of pain.

Following Dany's lead, Hiccup commented casually, "a Scauldron. . . Impressive. You might wanna cut back its water."

"Write that down," Alvin grunted to Savage.

Did he even know how to write? Daenerys wondered bitterly. Two more soldiers ran across their path to a cage that appeared empty. "It's escaped again!"

"Actually, no, it's right behind you. Changewing." The dragon in question then decided to show itself, clinging to a wall exactly where Hiccup had said. Acid dripped from its mouth and it spat some it towards them. Luckily it just hit the metal bars, which sizzled on the impact. "Wow. . . You guys really don't have a handle on these dragons, do you?"

The bearded man turned to Hiccup and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders. Dany couldn't help but feel relieved that he hadn't done that to her. She imagined the feeling of his big, meaty (and probably sweaty) fingers on her shoulders made her skin crawl just thinking about it. Alvin sounded almost excited as he explained, "well, that's why you're 'ere! Welcome to your new jobs, Hiccup and Daenerys."

They resumed walking now that the tour of the dragons was done. The brunet frowned. "Uh, job? As inviting as that sounds, I have to pass."

"Nothing sounds worse than working for you, actually," the Targaryen added, her characteristic honesty causing Alvin's eyes to narrow in annoyance.

"Girl, one day that tongue of yours is going to get you into trouble that you won't be able to get out of," the Outcast warned her before his tone became more genial as he addressed the boy: "Oh, Hiccup, Hiccup. . . Why do you always have to make things so difficult?"

"That's not the first time I've been asked that question," he admitted. "Or that someone's been put off by Dany's bluntness."

His words earned him a 'did you have to put it like that?' look from the blonde, to which he smiled back sheepishly. It was the first Daenerys was hearing of it, after all, but then again that was part of her difficulty in reading others' emotions— maybe her straightforwardness did put some people off, and she'd just never noticed. Before they could say anything more on the subject, their attention was caught by an achingly familiar black shape in a nearby cell.

"Toothless!" Hiccup cried out, his eyes widening with concern at the sight of his dragon. The Night Fury's own eyes blinked open at his call. Once he saw his rider and friend, he let out a frustrated roar as he thrashed back and forth in his restraints. Despite his efforts, though, he couldn't free himself and he settled back down with a defeated expression on his face. "Hang-hang in there, bud. I'll get you out!"

"He's not going anywhere, neither are you. You two will help me train these dragons."

"And if we don't?" Hiccup demanded challengingly.

"Well, then they're no good to me, none of 'em! Especially yours," Alvin answered with a cruel laugh.

They were, at least, relieved of Alvin's presence as he told Savage to take them to their cell. But that wasn't much better, really, as he enjoyed mocking them on the way there. "Can I get you anything? Food? A cozy blanket? Some warm yak milk?" He chuckled to himself, amused by what he thought passed for humor. "Heh, heh. Yak milk."

"Sons of a half troll, rat eating munge-buckets. . ." Daenerys cursed under her breath, though apparently not quietly enough as Hiccup still heard her.

"Dany!" he exclaimed, a little surprised more by the vehemence rather than the actual sentiment behind her words.

She turned to face him, her violet eyes blazing with the same force as a dragon's flame. "I hate them, Hiccup, I really do."

"So do I, but. . ." he trailed off as she shook her head.

Her expression became slightly gentler as she explained, "I don't think you could truly ever hate anyone. You're. . . you're too noble for that. On the other hand. . . I— if I had Drogon with me, I'd get the other dragons out and then burn this whole place through— with all of the Outcasts still inside it."

The brunet stared at her for a moment as if he had truly never seen her before— and in a way, he hadn't as this was another piece of the Dany-puzzle he had found. He, of course, remembered when she had told him not long ago about her family's proclivity for violence, but except for the rare instances of it during battle (which were perfectly acceptable and she'd never actually killed anyone) he had yet to experience it firsthand. Now, he could see that she fully believed her words as the inferno in her eyes blazed with the desire to right the wrongs done to the species she had sworn to protect.

He didn't know what to say at first, still startled by the intensity of her emotions. Then, hesitantly, he began: "the Outcasts will have what's coming for them, one day. Right now we need to focus on our escape and freeing Toothless so we can get back to Berk. After that, we'll think of a plan that will make them regret ever crossing paths with us. But we'll do it without becoming like them."

Dany closed her eyes and curled one of her hands into a fist, which she placed against her chest— right where she felt the center of that burning anger. She knew Hiccup was right; the answer to violence wasn't more violence. The blonde took a deep breath to calm her emotions. It was only when she felt an unexpected warmth against her skin (not the unwelcome touch of a stranger, but the kind that made her stomach flip pleasantly) that she opened her eyes again.

Hiccup had moved closer when she wasn't looking to stand mere inches away from her. He'd grasped her fist with both of his hands, ready to pull away at a moment's notice if she indicated that she didn't like it (she did.) "We're in this together, remember? No matter what."

Some of the rage melted away— not all of it, since it would always be there, somewhere deep down— enough for her to refocus. Dany straightened and squared her shoulders as determination overtook the anger. "Right. Let's get out of here."

--

Their current plan was to try and pick the lock to spring the cage. Hiccup was working on the latch while Dany kept an eye out for any guards that might come by to stop them.

"Someone's coming," she hissed warningly as footsteps approached, which were quickly followed by the annoying, gravelly voice of Mildew. The brunet hastily stopped his efforts to listen in on the men's conversation.

"Alvin, I gave you what you wanted, we had a deal!" the old Viking protested as Savage pushed him along. They made their way past the teens' cell to another not far from theirs.

"I didn't like that deal, so I changed it," Alvin said with a careless shrug.

Savage glanced at their other captives, a mocking leer on his face. "Oh, I believe you three know each other. Don't get too chummy." The Outcast shoved him into the cell across from ours. "Mildew's hours are numbered, much like yours and the Night Fury."

Then the leader of the Outcasts stalked forward until his menacing shadow loomed over the old man, who leaned away from him with unease. Alvin paid him no mind and snatched the sheep from under his arm. "No! What are you doing with me Fungus?"

Alvin ignored Mildew's distress as he turned his back on the other man to slam the cell door shut. "Preparing your final meal. It's lamb."

Dany gave Mildew a perturbed look at his dramatic display of what she supposed passed for sadness, but it was hard to tell since she didn't think Mildew was capable of such an emotion. He flung himself at the bars in an attempt to get his sheep back, his hands reaching into the empty air even when it was far too late for him to hope to get Fungus back. She felt no sympathy for the man who had tried to banish dragons from Berk more than once. In her opinion, he'd gotten what was coming for him. (It made her a little more confident that what Hiccup had said was right— doing nothing to the Outcasts now would make their fate worse later.)

Alvin scoffed at the man's cries. "Berkians. Still as dumb as the day I left."

"What have I done?"

Glancing over at Hiccup, she could see that brunet was moved by the expression of regret and sighed. Sometimes his noble streak was more trouble than it was worth; she would have been happy to leave Mildew to, well, mildew for the rest of his life down in these dungeons, but now they were going to have to save him, too.

"I know that look," she grumbled to the boy next to her, who turned and gave her a confused one in response.

"What look?"

"You felt bad for that excuse of a pile of dragon dung, so now he's coming with us. Obviously."

Hiccup opened his mouth as if he were going to protest, but then thought better of it. "He just lost his sheep, Dany. That's probably the only friend he had."

"I'd rather rescue the sheep."

He rolled his eyes good-naturedly, though she was hardly joking. "We're still working on a way of getting out of here first, then we'll worry about Mildew, okay?"

"You'll worry about Mildew, you mean," she corrected him blithely. "Personally I think Berk would be better off without him."

The brunet just shook his head before he cast his gaze around the small space to search for a plan B. There were some loose rocks piled off to one side, so he turned his attention to them in the hopes of using it as some sort of trowel. Dany watched him bang it on the ground a few times, unimpressed. "You know you're trying to dig through rock. . . with a rock, right?"

"The girl's right," that irritating voice chimed in from across the hall. Mildew was leaning against the bars of his cage, observing them. "I thought Stoick raised a smarter boy than this. And you'll never save your dragon by sitting in this cell, digging in the dirt. You need to go get him soon."

Daenerys was immediately put off by the old man agreeing with her— she never wanted to have anything in common with him— so she changed her opinion to say defensively, "we weren't talking to you, Mildew." Her tone softened as she addressed the boy: "you're doing great, Hiccup."

"And how would you suggest I do that?" the chief's son demanded.

"By giving Alvin what he wants."

There was a moment of silence as the teens considered his suggestion, then the Targaryen muttered, "damn. It's not the worst idea."

"It's the only one we've got," Hiccup agreed bracingly. 

--

They made it out of the holding area probably faster than they would've if they had been alone, but Dany would never admit that aloud. Now they faced the next step: traversing across the island to free the Night Fury.

"Okay, what's the quickest way to get to Toothless?"

Mildew pointed his cane in the right direction. "Through that lava field."

"Let's go."

Before they could head off, the old man blocked their path with his cane. "Wait! You do realize those are wild dragons down there?"

"Yup," Hiccup stated. He resumed walking, more at a jog so as to get to Toothless that much faster. Dany didn't hesitate to follow, completely at ease with traversing through a potentially dangerous path.

When they crested over the hill, they got a better view of the dragons below. Some were calmly resting in sheltered spots where overhangs jutted above the rock. Others fought for food scraps and free space, roaring occasionally to assert themselves. After taking in the scene, the teens continued forward. "Well, come on, then. Let's go."

"Uh, let's not," Mildew said as he watched the dragons warily. He shrank a little behind the protective rocky barrier and clutched his staff closer to him.

The Targaryen sighed as she reluctantly slowed to reassure him. She hated it when he proved to be an actual human, and being afraid of wild dragons was a perfectly normal response. She let Hiccup do the encouraging, though, since she couldn't bring herself to actually be nice to the man. "We know what we're doing, Mildew. Just stay behind us."

"Oh, perfect. A ninety-pound boy and a crazed loony are me human shields," the old man complained, hobbling uncertainly after them.

Any smidgen of sympathy that she had begun to feel promptly disappeared. Dany whipped around to glare at him furiously, her violet eyes flashing with warning. She stepped up to him— grimacing at the odor that emanated from his body— and snarled, "oh, you want loony? I can give you loony."

"Dany, no," Hiccup scolded her, but she only backed down when she felt the warmth of his hands on her arm to pull her away from the man. She continued to glare at him, though, as he smirked smugly from behind the boy's back.

She felt supremely vindicated when they started moving again, only for Mildew to take one step and fall flat on his back as he tripped over some loose rock. "Oh, perfect."

Mildew shuddered and whimpered as they passed the dragons in the field. He leapt out of the way of one Nadder, only for it to take an interest in them. The dragon jumped to its feat and flared its wings before the group with a loud roar. The man started to swing his cane towards the creature, but Dany wasted no time in yanking it from his grasp— hard enough to make him stumble a little. Hiccup stuck his arm out in front of the old Viking. "No, Mildew! The last thing you want to do is threaten him."

The old man gaped at them with incredulity. "Me? Threaten him?"

"We have to show him he can trust us," the brunet explained as Dany approached the Nadder slowly with her hand outstretched.

Her violet eyes met the Nadder's yellow ones. The riot of emotions that she had been feeling throughout the day calmed, which showed in her posture as her tense muscles relaxed in the presence of her favorite animals. The dragon seemed to sense the lack of fear within her and reacted accordingly, dropping its aggression when she showed that she couldn't be spooked. It watched her for a few more seconds, its nostrils flaring as it sniffed her hand.

"You probably smell Drogon on me, don't you, you pretty thing?" she cooed at it, her tone lilting in a way that soothed it further.

Behind her, she heard Mildew scoff. "Pretty?"

She ignored him and resumed speaking: "don't worry, he's not here. If he was, he'd be your friend. We're your friends, too. We're not here to hurt you."

The Nadder's wide, wild eyes slanted nearly shut with contentment as it finally nudged her hand with its snout, purring in a way that only dragons could. She glanced behind her, smiling triumphantly. She met Hiccup's green eyes briefly before hers darted away in discomfort, but in the moment they met she saw the glint of pride in them, which made her face flush bashfully.

The brunet kept his gaze on her, smiling slightly as he watched the Nadder become even more comfortable with her touch. In a low voice so Dany wouldn't hear, he murmured to Mildew, "and that's why they call her the Mother of Dragons."

"Very impressive," the old Viking said weakly. He watched the dragon warily, not trusting its sudden gentleness for a second.

"Think you'd be willing to help us out, boy?" Daenerys asked the dragon. It— he chittered in response and nudged against the Targaryen's hand again, which Dany assumed was a yes. She waved Hiccup and Mildew forward.

The chief's son went willingly, offering his own hand for the dragon to sniff, and it did happily. Mildew was clearly still tense, which the Nadder sensed. It immediately became jumpy again and launched itself towards him with as a growl. The old man yelped in fright and scrambled backwards to get out of the way.

"No, no, he's just getting to know you. They can sense fear, so. . . be relaxed," Hiccup advised him.

"This is relaxed," he said through clenched teeth. He yelped again as it nosed at him, holding himself stiffly as he clutched at his cane for support.

"See?" the boy asked. "He wants to be friends. Isn't that nice?"

"I've got plenty of friends."

Dany let out a skeptical snort. "I highly doubt that." She pretended not to see Hiccup's reproachful look. "He'll get us past the guards at the dragon pit."

"What?"

As Mildew recovered from this unnerving news, the Nadder gave the Viking a big lick against his. . . well, entire body. The man shuddered in disgust.

"Remember, dragon training begins and ends with trust. Both of yours." Hiccup held out a hand towards the old man to guide it to a good place to rest on the Nadder's snout. The dragon remained calm, which seemed to help Mildew's nerves as he tentatively ran his hand against its hide. "Now, climb on."

"What?" he asked again, the unease returning as he eyed the dragon's back warily.

Dany rolled her eyes and leapt easily onto the Nadder's back before she turned and offered a hand to the brunet. He took it (even though he didn't really need the help) and settled himself behind her to provide a barrier between the girl and Mildew. Since Daenerys was already cautious about people touching her, he wasn't about to force her into more discomfort by having Mildew sit between them.

After watching their successful attempts, the Viking grumbled to himself and followed suit— or, at least, tried to as he wasn't very well practiced with getting on a dragon's back. "Okay, uh. . ."

He looked over the Nadder for a moment before he shoved himself upwards to get the upper half of his body over it. His legs flailed uselessly behind him as he struggled to find purchase, and he slid back down. More determined now than before, he used an impressive amount of force behind his second try, and jumped up with more agility than would usually be found in a man his age.

In an effort to help the older Viking's concerns, Hiccup joked, "wow. Mildew on a dragon. This is gonna take some getting used to."

His stab at humor went unappreciated as the Nadder shifted impatiently beneath them, sending Mildew into another fit of panicked squawks. "Eh, why's it doing that? What's happening?"

Dany patted the Nadder between the shoulder blades as she always did with Drogon, calming the dragon so it wouldn't move around so much. "It's okay. He's just never had people on him before."

Hiccup spit into his hand and then placed it onto the part of the dragon that was nearest to him. He rubbed his saliva onto the Nadder's back in comforting strokes. "A dragon's hide is dry. The moisture from your hands will soothe him."

The Targaryen had never been glad for her Hiccup-barrier as Mildew spit wildly into his hand; she grimaced at the thought of the germs that the brunet had probably been subjected to as a result. The Nadder steadied itself once more and only needed a moment to prepare itself for flight. She winced as the old man screamed again and if she had looked behind her, she would have seen him clinging to Hiccup as if the boy were an anchor.

The brunet laughed nervously as the man gripped him desperately. "Uh, you, uh. . . hey, okay. Uh, you know, there's a lot of dragon here, Mildew. W-Why don't you grab some of that?"

But Mildew wanted what was familiar, if not awkward to hold on to, and his arms remained wrapped around the teen. "H-Huh? Oh, uh, I'm fine."

Dany was used to flying through all kinds of weather, so the patchy cloud cover was hardly a challenge for her. It did make seeing the land below difficult, though, so she guided the Nadder closer to the rocky ground in the hopes of being able to spot where the dragon pit was. It didn't take long for her to identify the shadowy place that stood out against the uneven ground. Pointing to it, she announced "that's where they have Toothless."

They flew down into the hole and for once, she was grateful that Drogon wasn't with them; he never would have fit. The tunnels were small and narrow, just big enough to stay on the Nadder's back rather than search by foot. It was dark, too, both because of its location and the time of day, but shafts of moonlight illuminated the path through cracks in the rock above. She used the patches of light as best she could to navigate to the cavernous opening where Alvin had given them a tour.

Hiccup made for Toothless' cage right away, but Dany looked around at the other dragons that were still locked up. She felt the rage bubble back to the surface at the thought of how Alvin was keeping them, and she wondered if there was a way to free all of them. But then the boy's disappointed words drew her back to the present mission: "Toothless is gone. . ."

Daenerys whirled on Mildew, pointing an accusatory finger in his face. "You led us into a trap! You knew Toothless wasn't going to be here, didn't you? I knew we should've left you—"

"Dany!" the brunet interrupted her, grasping her wrist to pull hand away from the old man, who was stuttering with indignant denial. "You saw Alvin take away his sheep. Why would Mildew want to work with him after that?"

"Exactly!" Mildew exclaimed, his eyes wide as he watched her nervously. "Listen to the boy. I've cut all ties with Alvin!"

But the Targaryen was not so easily convinced, remembering how dramatically the old Viking had clawed after his pet, as if he were putting on some kind of show. And maybe she was being prejudiced against him because of how much she hated him, but she didn't think that was the case. She opened her mouth to provide a rebuttal, only to be interrupted by unfortunately familiar gravelly laughter. Their gazes shot upwards to land on the Outcast leader, but they didn't get a chance to do anything as the cages around them swung open to unleash the rest of the wild dragons.

"Let's see what you can do with some real wild dragons," Alvin taunted the teens.

Dany immediately put aside her hostility towards Mildew in the face of the new threat. She moved closer to the brunet so they formed a tight-knit trio with the Nadder protecting their backs. The blonde glanced over at him and muttered, "you got a plan?"

He shot her a grateful look, always taken by delighted surprise at how easily she trusted him. "Do we have to free the dragons too?"

"It would be nice but not a requirement," she answered.

Hiccup nodded since that made their escape much easier. He addressed the only wildcard they had left: "Mildew, whatever happens in the next minute, do exactly what I tell you."

The dragons roared threateningly before they all made their individual attacks. The Changewing spit acid, forcing them to duck out of the way so it hit the metal bars behind them. They used the following confusion to their advantage and hopped on the Nadder's back just as the Whispering Death launched forward. It snapped its many teeth at them, causing them to jump out of the way, nearly right into the Scauldron's boiling spray.

When a head-on attack proved futile, the Whispering Death dove to burrow under the rock to create an uneven surface. Mildew, who didn't know much about the species, took it as a sign of defeat. "At least that one's gone."

Hiccup winced sympathetically as the ground around them became overturned. "Well, uh, not for long, actually."

"Dragon Lessons one-oh-one," Dany said, raising her voice to be heard above the rumbling rock, "Changewings shoot acid, Scauldrons fire boiling water, and Whispering Deaths hunt from underground."

Hiccup, who was now in control, urged the Nadder into a run to propel their flight to avoid that last category. As the Whispering Death shot up to get them, the other two dragons also made their own charges, causing them to have a head-on collision. They fell into a pile of tangled limbs and wings, leaving the Nadder and its humans to escape unscathed.

--

"Well, you know your dragons. I'll give you that," Mildew said once they were safely out of harm's way. Dawn was just breaking over the horizon, night sky giving way to blue, and they could see the faint outlines of their surroundings.

They didn't need their eyes to recognize the voice that greeted them as the large shapes of the Thunderdrum and the chief he carried came into view. "Hiccup! Daenerys! Thank Thor you're alright."

She was pleased to be included in the relief in his voice, which made her think that the apology really had been genuine. Their friends gathered around them and she was all too glad to hop of the Nadder and fling her arms around Drogon, who had apparently not heeded her wishes to go home and joined the search party instead. He let out a rumbling welcome that was paired with a snort of hot steam as a rebuke for being so careless.

"I know, I know," she mumbled into his warm scales. "But Hiccup was with me, so I knew we'd make it out alright."

Drogon had to concede that point, so the matter was settled. She pulled away from him just as Hiccup was finished greeting his father. "I am, but Toothless is in trouble."

Tuffnut approached the brunet to hiss in a surprisingly quiet whisper (the twins were not known for being subtle), "and Mildew is on the back of your dragon."

"We know."

"Weird," Tuffnut commented, making a face up at the older man.

Mildew was suddenly yanked off the Nadder's back as Gobber grabbed him with his real hand. The blacksmith dragged him across the rocks, then held him up in the air so that his feet dangled beneath him. He held his prosthetic hand— this time adorned with a rock for a mallet— threateningly above the Viking's head. "I should run you through right now!"

Dany very much agreed with him, and she would have happily let Drogon be the firing squad; she still didn't trust the man as far as she could throw him, her suspicions about his continued treachery notwithstanding. Unfortunately, Hiccup was still, well, Hiccup, and he held his hands out to stop the older man from decapitating Mildew. "Whoa, whoa, Gobber! He helped us escape." He turned to his father. "Dad, I owe Mildew my life."

Gobber tossed Mildew to the ground in disgust while everyone stared at Hiccup in disbelief. He glanced over at Dany, clearly expecting her to speak up on the old Viking's behalf. She watched the man stonily and didn't say anything, causing the brunet to sigh in defeat. Tuffnut was the first to accept the truth, though he did so with an uneasy grimace. "Getting weirder. . ."

"I'll explain later. Right now, I have to get to Toothless," the brunet amended hastily, knowing time was of the essence.

"Or bring him to you," Astrid suggested, reminding him of their dragon-call practice.

He nodded to her appreciatively, then went to the opening of one of the canyons and cupped his hands around his mouth to mimic a Night Fury's roar. It echoed, bouncing off the cliffs until it reached Toothless' ears. His head jerked up from where he'd been sniffing the ground to find his rider's scent and let out a roar of his own in response. Hearing the answer, the Vikings quickly climbed on to their respective dragons to follow the sound.

Hiccup spotted his dark shape running along one of the rock crevices and the group followed him to land in front of the Night Fury. The black dragon took a running leap and knocked his friend over. He happily covered Hiccup's face in excited licks as his tail swished back and forth. "Toothless! Are you okay, bud?" He purred in response. "Oh, I am so sorry, Toothless. This was all my fault."

Their reunion was cut short as the Night Fury spun around, the purr changing into a growl as he glared at something past them. Confused, Hiccup turned to follow the direction of his gaze. "Whoa. What's the matter, bud?"

The answer soon came in the form of Alvin's mocking voice, which boomed over their heads as he appeared on the outcropping above: "hey there, boy! You weren't gonna leave before we finished our business, were you?"

Toothless' growl intensified as Hiccup stood up, eyes narrowed. Dany glared at the Outcast as well, feeling Drogon shift underneath her. All it would take was one blast, she thought, tempted by the idea of Alvin being defeated by the very thing he tried to control. But Hiccup had said that they could be better than the Outcasts, and she would try, for his sake. She thought that would be the end of that, but of course the Outcast leader wasn't done trying to provoke them.

"That's what I would expect from Stoick's little runt."

And while she couldn't blame Hiccup's response, she wished he had remembered his own words as he leapt onto his dragon's back. Stoick tried to intervene and keep him from doing something reckless, but the brunet wouldn't listen to anyone as he flew straight towards Alvin.

"Do it, boy! I'm right here!" the bearded man taunted him. He swung his axe in response, preparing for the strike. Then, when Hiccup and Toothless were close enough, the Outcast turned to his soldiers. "Now!"

Bolas came flying out from the men who had been hidden on the rocks below. They caught Toothless' arms and wings, causing dragon and rider to careen towards the ground without control. After several rough bounces that made the Berkians wince in sympathy, the pair came to a stop in enemy territory, too far for their friends to aid them easily. Hiccup glanced over each of his shoulders at the sound of the rebel yells that came from the Outcast soldiers as they poured in from either side. Even if their friends could have come, they'd still be outnumbered.

It was hard to tell what happened from his angle on Toothless' back, but he saw the bright orange of flame as the dragons came to his aid. The Outcasts abruptly let out very different yells as they leapt out of harm's way to avoid the fire. When the soldiers were distracted, Stormfly and Hookfang lifted them by the ropes that bound them together and flew the pair back to the Berkian side of the rock. Gobber and Stoick rushed forward to cut the ropes and free them from their confines.

The other dragons were just returning as he looked towards his friends. "What happened?"

"The dragons saved you on their own," Fishlegs answered with obvious awe in his voice.

Dany patted Drogon on the snout as he curled his neck around her in a sort-of hug, proud of the lengths he had come from just acting on his own to being a part of a team. Astrid smiled delightedly at her own dragon. "Looks like they took their training to a whole new level."

Always one to stay on task, Stoick cut in to their rehashing: "we catch up later. Right now, we need to get out of here."

It was true enough as they could see even more Outcasts running towards them with battle on their minds. They all carried various weapons as they anticipated taking on the Berkian force, but the chief wouldn't let it get to that. Stoick led the group, blasting at the soldiers with one of Thornado's soundwaves to keep them from swarming them.

The others followed quickly— a little too quickly as Mildew had only had enough time to grab onto the Nadder's tail before they took off. His flight was wavy as the tail moved with the wind and his grip on it slickened with sweat from fear. Hiccup turned to take in the older man's state, his eyes widening with alarm at the sight of his tenuous position. "Mildew!"

Gobber rolled his eyes at the man's dramatics. "Oh, for the love of Thor. Mildew, get back up here!" But, as he tried to climb up to the Nadder's back, one of his hands released its hold. The blacksmith's gaze narrowed warningly. "Don't you let go, old man."

But he couldn't hold on any longer and his other hand slipped off as well to let him freefall through the air. Hiccup turned Toothless around with the intent to catch him, shouting the man's name in alarm as he did so. Dany remained indifferent as the brunet went back for the Viking and simply urged Drogon to continue flying home. She felt no remorse for leaving such a horrid person in the hands of Outcasts, though Hiccup clearly did. 

--

Hiccup stared down at the false map of the Isle of Night with disappointment, remembering his previous high of excitement at the thought of finding more Night Furies. He couldn't help but think that maybe, if he had been a little more aware, he wouldn't have been so easily fooled. But he also knew that he would chase down every hint of Night Fury activity for his dragon's sake, regardless of how slim the possibility of their existence actually was.

"I'm sorry this map wasn't the real thing, bud," he said dejectedly. Toothless didn't seem to mind and purred warmly in response as he nudged the boy with his snout affectionately. With one final look at it, he tossed it into the fire and walked over to the Book of Dragons. "But, hey, there's nothing wrong with being one of a kind."

The door swung open to reveal the welcome view of a young girl with wild, silvery-blonde curls as she stood silhouetted in the doorframe. A crown of red flowers interwoven with green fronds sat perched slightly askew on her head, most likely windblown from her flight. Her bow and quiver were strapped across her chest, the shafts of the arrows sticking up over one shoulder. Dany's bare toes rested on the edge of the threshold as she bounced restlessly while she waited for him.

Now there's someone who's one of a kind, he thought fondly, feeling the melancholy emotions melt away at the sight of her like dew under the bright sun. He looked at her expectantly, half-anticipating that she would come inside to study Bork's notes with him.

Instead, she only let out an impatient huff that indicated he'd forgotten something. "Would you come on?" she groaned. He raised an eyebrow at her, asking her to explain. "Bork Week? The parade? Even my parents are here!"

Hiccup grinned then and set aside the Book of Dragons. "Right."

Toothless followed him close behind as they left the chief's house, but apparently he wasn't walking fast enough as— with another annoyed breath— the blonde grabbed his hand to pull him along, not that he was complaining in the slightest.

END PART 1.

Chapter Text

Although it has been many years at this point since Daenerys had been without friends, her family an outcast of their village and feared by those who resided within it, she would always remember the stark loneliness that came from being shut out by the community. She would remember her deepest longing— besides that of unsupported flight— to have peers of her own. And then, when she did finally get them, the fear that they would abandon her because they deemed her unworthy of their friendship.

That was still her greatest fear, because her friends (and one in particular) also acted as her moral compass and helped to keep her from giving into the rage that marred most Targaryens. Without them to guide her, how long would it be until that anger made her snap and she became the Mad Queen of Dragons that she so dreaded? Daenerys was strong, both emotionally and physically, not one to break under pressure, but if put under duress and her captor threatened her with that, she wasn't sure if she could withstand the questioning. For as durable and brave as they were, all Vikings had their own fears, and that was one of hers.

In this present situation, Fishlegs Ingerman was currently facing one of his: the dark. While perhaps not as emotionally taxing, it was still a psychological strain that had him whimpering in the ropes that bound his arms to the chair he was sitting in. He squinted into the thick blackness that came from his rocky surroundings; they were so deep underground that not a sliver of light penetrated from the world above. Somewhere, he could hear the drip, drip, drip of water as it trickled from stalactites (the ones on the ceiling.) Otherwise, it was completely silent— and that was the worst part about it.

"Hello?" he called out into the nothingness. His breathing picked up as he tried to calm himself, rising rapidly almost to the point of hyperventilation. "Is anybody there? You can't— you can't leave me in here!"

When there was no response, it didn't take him long to cave, With a sob of terror, he burst out: "Okay! Okay, Hiccup is the leader of the Berk Dragon Academy! He rides a Night Fury named Toothless. Then there's Daenerys— everyone says she's mad, but she's just standoffish and blunt. She rides. . . well, we don't have a name for the species of her dragon, but he's huge and really scary! Th-then there's Astrid! She's mean, but in a nice way!

"Her dragon is a Deadly Nadder— shoots spine shots and loves chicken." He chuckled nervously as he tried to make the information sound appealing. "Snotlout rides a Monstrous Nightmare. We're not actually sure who's more monstrous: him or the dragon. And then there's the twins. They share a Zippleback. . . actually, they fight over it."

There was the telltale whistle of Toothless' sonic boom as his purple plasma blast shot out of the dark to light the empty torches. The cavern filled with a golden glow, which brought relief to the shaking boy— but also guilt at the sight of his friends' disappointed faces. Fishlegs gave them a sheepish smile as he protested, "what? You know I hate the dark!"

His attempt at beating their practice run had been so weak that he got an unimpressed look from the Night Fury as he padded back to his rider. Even Meatlug, who was normally so supportive of him, wouldn't meet his eyes as she hung her head. Tuffnut scoffed at the blond's excuse. "Great. Fishlegs, more like Guppy Legs. Jeeze. . ."

Hiccup jumped in with more constructive criticism: "Fishlegs, you can't give in. Alvin will do a lot more than turn out the light to get you to talk. He had Dany and me locked in a dungeon, ready to be executed. Toothless was chained and muzzled for days." He took a deep breath and returned to the point he was trying to make. "You need to stick with what we discussed: your name, where you live, and nothing else."

"Alright, I'll work on it," he promised, just as exasperated with himself as they were.

"Mean?" Astrid repeated grumpily as they turned to leave. "I'm not mean."

Dany considered the boy's words, then shrugged. "Well, I am standoffish and blunt. At least he was honest."

Rather expectedly, Snotlout came up behind them and tried to put his arms around both of the girls, though the Targaryen ducked out of his hold before he could touch her. "Don't worry, ladies. I'm not picky when it comes to the personality of my women."

The Hofferson shot him a disgusted look and promptly elbowed the shorter Viking in the stomach— hard. He wheezed and clutched his chest, letting them get several steps away as he recovered. Dany gave her best friend an appreciative look as they resumed making their way out of the cave, only for her to freeze as Astrid suddenly realized something. "Hey— when you said Fishlegs was being honest, were you trying to convey that you think I'm mean, too?"

She very wisely decided not to answer.

When most of the riders had dispersed, the blonde stayed behind as she waited for the chief's son to be ready to leave. He seemed surprised to still see her there (though how he could miss Drogon's large form, she didn't know.) They fell into step as they left the arena, with the Targaryen offering, "want to walk back together?"

"Don't you have to start heading home?" he asked, looking behind them towards the path Dany usually took as she lived in the opposite direction.

She shook her head. "With the ban on flying it would take too long to walk back and forth each day, so I'm staying at Astrid's— plus you'd need me here when the Outcasts arrive, anyway. The chief let me fly one last time to tell my parents, though, so they won't worry."

Her words brought up two very different emotions for him. The first was happiness as she called his father 'chief,' which she had started to do more and more since Bork Week. Before, she just referred to Stoick as 'Stoick' or didn't use any sort of title for him at all, but with his father making active strides to include the Targaryens again, she had been showing him the same respect. The other was guilt at the thought of forcing her to stay away from her parents due to the fact that he couldn't change his father's mind.

While it was true that Dany wasn't very good at reading people's tone or body language, she had some skill when it came to those she was close with. It was easier when the change was more drastic, too. Since their return from Outcast Island, Hiccup had thrown himself into preparing for war against Alvin. He tended to do this with literally any project he encountered: diving headfirst into it, then holding on as fiercely as a dog with a bone.

She knew that he stayed up late at night hyper fixating on their 'Outcast problem,' whether by making inventions or just watching the horizon. He had less patience now than he used to as well, even snapping at Fishlegs when the larger boy couldn't hold up against their practice interrogation. The change in him worried her, and she didn't think that her little rock presents would help this time— though if they had even the slightest chance, she'd give him all the rocks in the world. Instead, she tried to remind him that she was there for him— they all were.

"Hey," Daenerys began, nudging the boy next to her to get his attention. "You know we don't expect you to have all the answers, right?"

He frowned, not following her line of thought. "What answers?"

The blonde gestured vaguely around them. "To everything. All the time. It's okay to not know some things."

Hiccup only jerked his head back towards the arena, indicating their friends as he muttered, "they do."

"Then they can go stuff it," she said with her usual honesty. Her tone lightened as she attempted to tease him, "you're not chief yet, after all."

He sighed, glancing out at the sea for the thousandth time in the last two months. "It feels like I already am."

Dany thought that being chief sounded very lonely; you would always have to be there for your people, but could anyone truly support you in turn? She didn't want her best friend to doubt that even for a second, so she twisted her fingers in the fur of her vest for a moment to gather enough courage. Then— while attempting to do it oh-so-casually, of course— she caught the boy's hand on the next swing of his arm.

The brunet startled a bit, then relaxed as he became used to her touch. It was only when she asked her next question that he realized what she was trying to do— cheer him up by distracting him (and it was working, a little.) "Want to show me what you've made so far?"

--

It took somewhat longer to get to the forge than usual as Toothless kept stopping to look at the sunset with a hopeful gleam in his green eyes. He was used to taking an evening lap around the island with Hiccup, but that habit had obviously been shut down due to the riding ban. It didn't stop the Night Fury from pleading with them as best he could, though, as he bounced around them and excitedly swished his tail. Dany understood the itch, too, because how did you tell something (or someone) it couldn't do what it had been born to do? But they could only appease him with pats and head-scratches, which didn't really seem to work.

He only grew more impatient as they arrived at the forge and Hiccup started taking out his inventions. The moon had risen by this point and, in irritation at their continued denial, Toothless whacked the boy in the head with his tail. Dany hid her smile since she knew she wasn't supposed to support that kind of behavior. It wasn't like Drogon was taking it any easier, either. He kept huffing bursts of hot steam in rebuke for being grounded, not to mention the downright hungry look in his eyes whenever Stoick happened to be in his sight.

At least Drogon was confined to outside the forge, so they only really had to contend with Toothless' annoyance. He bumped into Hiccup purposefully, causing his rider to stumble, already top heavy with the shield he held in his hands. That was the last straw as the brunet told him sternly, "Toothless, you have to relax."

He pointed over to the corner where the black dragon was supposed to lay down. The Night Fury only half-did what he was told before roaring in protest. Then Hiccup gave him the signal to lay all the way down, which he did reluctantly. He turned pointedly away from the teens in grumpy protest.

As the boy let out a breath of relief, Dany turned her attention to the item he'd brought out. "That's not just a shield, is it? Otherwise I'd be very disappointed. Those already exist."

That earned her a little half-smile as he turned to present the shield to her. "You know me too well, Dany. At this rate I won't be able to surprise you anymore."

"I don't know about that," she said brightly. "What does this one do?"

"Well, I'm still working out the kinks, but. . " He triggered some sort of lever that was hidden from her view and rope shot out of the center. Except, he hadn't fully thought the plan through. While he had been intending to show her how it worked, he'd sort of. . . forgotten that he needed to aim it, too.

Since it was pointed directly at the blonde, the rope wound itself around her, making the teen let out a startled yelp. The sound quickly died on her lips as the action brought on a secondary consequence (though certainly not a negative one): as the length of rope was still attached to the shield, which Hiccup was still holding, making the boy travel with it. This resulted in them being pressed together with only the shield between them.

Dany's eyes went very wide, though not in fear— merely in surprise at the sudden change in circumstances. She didn't mind them (this was Hiccup, after all, not someone like Snotlout who would take advantage of the situation), even with her preference for personal space. She stood quite still within the binds, not making an effort to try and free herself both because of how much she trusted her best friend, and the small (very small. Tiny. Miniscule) part of her that enjoyed him being this close.

It sent her heart racing in a way that was like when she was flying on Drogon, but entirely different at the same time. She always felt safe with Hiccup, even now, when another part of her felt like she was free-falling towards the sea whenever she tumbled headfirst off her dragon's back. Her chest even felt a bit tighter, like Fishlegs' had earlier that day, and her breaths began to come a little more shallowly than she was used to. Her face felt warmer, too, though she just chalked that up to the heat of the smithy.

She'd been close to Hiccup before, after all, so this time was no different (really!) But in those previous occurrences, she hadn't noticed just how very green his eyes were, or the way the firelight in the forge made them glimmer a bit more gold. She hadn't noticed the exact pattern of freckles that dotted his nose and cheeks, or that he was just barely taller than her— tall enough that, when she looked directly at him, her eyes met his lips. She quickly jerked her gaze up to meet his as the thought crossed her mind which, in this case, was the lesser of the two evils.

Somewhere in the back of his suddenly fuzzy mind, Hiccup dimly realized that Dany's plan to distract him had worked, though perhaps not in the way she'd intended. The second there was barely an inch of space between them, all thoughts of Alvin, the Outcasts, the flying ban and impending battles disappeared from his thoughts. All he could think about was how she didn't even try to get away. Instead her violet eyes met his gaze and, with a jolt, he realized that she didn't immediately look away. He didn't think he'd ever looked into her eyes directly for so long, mesmerized by the unusual shades of purple that he found there.

His fingers trembled slightly against the shield as he fought to regain his composure but the blonde's proximity made it a futile effort. He swallowed hard, feeling a lump forming in his throat as he struggled to find the right words to break the tension. For as smart as he was, he suddenly could not form a single word in any language known to man. "I, uh. . ."

It felt like the world had narrowed down to just the two of them, cocooned in their own little bubble of warmth and friendship. In that fleeting moment, he found himself captivated by the way the firelight danced across Dany's features, casting shadows and highlights that only served to enhance her beauty. He marveled at the way her lips curved into a smile, the warmth of her presence enveloping him like a comforting embrace. Clearing his throat, he tried again without much success: "I, uh. . ."

The shing of a blade being unsheathed followed by the familiar voice of the blacksmith finally broke them out of their trance: "Hiccup! Nice to have you in the shop again." Gobber came to a stop, realizing for the first time that the brunet wasn't alone. "Oh, and, uh, Daenerys, good to see you too." Then he noticed the position they were in and scratched the back of his neck with the curve of his hook. "Am I, uh, interruptin' somethin'?"

That caused the pair to spring apart as if the fire from the forge had leapt between them. Hiccup was so hasty in putting distance between them that he nearly dropped his shield on his foot, catching it just in time as it slipped from his fingers. "No, no, I was just, um. . ." He gave the rope a little tug, hoping desperately it would draw in. He continued distractedly, "showing Dany the shield I made."

The blonde helpfully disentangled herself, looking much more composed than Hiccup. He hurriedly gathered up the loose cord and held it awkwardly in his hands as the retraction was one of the things he was still working on. The additional space between them helped clear his mind a bit and he added, "if we can't ride dragons we have to be able to defend ourselves somehow."

He turned away from Gobber to balance the shield against the edge of the table, then gave the rope another pull. This time, it wound itself back up neatly and the metal center decoration went back to its place. The blacksmith regarded him sympathetically. "You know, Hiccup, your father is just doing what's best for you. He's trying to keep you safe."

"I know," the brunet allowed. He gestured towards his dragon. "But the safest place for me is on Toothless."

Not quite knowing what else to say, the older man hung up the sword on a nearby peg as he said, "well, I'll leave you to it. I imagine you'll be here quite a while. Too bad, really; have you seen that moon? Can't imagine a more beautiful night for a flight." He looked decidedly uncomfortable at the sullen glares the teens sent him and he beat a hasty retreat. "Well, goodnight!"

"I. . . should get going too," the Targaryen put in quickly, feeling unexpectedly uncomfortable at the thought of being alone with her best friend. "I'll see you later, yeah?"

Already back to the task at hand, he offered a preoccupied, "yeah, see you."

Dany couldn't help but wonder if he really was already lost to his project, or just felt too awkward to say goodbye to her properly. (She definitely didn't like the second option.)

--

"You're awfully quiet tonight," Astrid commented as they went to go feed Stormfly. Drogon still hunted for his own food without the chief knowing, though Dany had instructed him to stay closer to Berk until further notice.

The Targaryen frowned absent-mindedly as she knotted her fingers in her fur vest. "Am I?"

Her friend gave her a concerned look. "Want to talk about it?"

Daenerys shook her head as she leaned against the stable doorframe to watch Astrid go about feeding her dragon. "Not yet. I just. . . I need to think about it first."

"Well, I'm here when you're ready to talk," the blonde offered. She held up a piece of fish for her Nadder. "If it's got anything to do with the flying ban, you don't need to worry— we both know that Hiccup won't stay grounded for long, and then the rest of us will follow. We'll be up in the air before you know it."

Dany's rather anxious expression smoothed into one of gratitude. While Astrid wasn't right, her guess had been pretty good, and Dany appreciated her effort. "Thanks, Astrid—"

Before she could say anything else, Astrid's dragon squawked in alarm as she sensed unexpected movement. Bothe girls tensed as they anticipated a potential threat, the Hofferson asking, "what is it, Stormfly?"

Of course, the dragon couldn't answer, but the whistle that signaled a rise in pressure told them what they needed to know. They both looked out into the night, but against a black sky, a Night Fury was impossible to see. The girls exchanged a meaningful look before Astrid hopped onto her dragon. She met the blonde's gaze expectantly. "Coming?"

Dany shook her head to clear it of the confusing thoughts she was currently experiencing; whatever had happened back in the forge wasn't important right now. While she certainly wanted to encourage Hiccup to take a break, they did have more important things going on than. . . feelings (or whatever it was.) It would be more productive to focus on Alvin and the Outcasts— something that had a clear and simple answer— than anything that would complicate her relationship with Hiccup. Once all of this was over, maybe (maybe) she could take this evening back out again to reexamine it. For now, it was better to keep things exactly as they had always been.

She accepted Astrid's outstretched hand as the blonde hauled her up on the Nadder's back. They took off without any more preamble, riding silently through the night as Hiccup tried to shake them loose. It was obvious that was what he was doing as he dove down towards the sea, then leveled out to weave between the sea-stacks, only to shoot back up towards the sky once more.

If they had been flying on Drogon, they would have lost the pair in seconds; Dany had to give Astrid credit for how far she'd come in her flying skills. The two girls leaned over Stormfly's back to give her as little wind resistance as possible, and the Targaryen heard her friend mutter, "alright Hiccup, what are you up to?"

He circled around one sea-stack, spiraling upwards to take advantage of the cloud cover. Dany could've sworn he glanced back at them just before he disappeared from view, darting to the left and out of their line of sight. Astrid landed Stormfly on one of the pillars jutted out above the water as they searched for the boy. Spotting a patch of red against an otherwise dark surface, Daenerys quietly got her friend's attention and pointed towards it. With a determined nod, the Hofferson guided her Nadder towards the rocky alcove.

They landed just behind him as they heard the brunet say, "nice flying, bud. I think we lost them."

"Think again, Hiccup."

He froze as a guilty smile appeared on his face before he turned to the girls. "Astrid! Dany! We were just. . . talking about you."

"So, I guess this is the part where I ask you if your father changed his mind, and you tell me he didn't, and you're going behind his back. Again," Astrid chided him.

"Actually, no," he started defensively, "this is the part where I tell you my dad is wrong."

The Targaryen's expression brightened hopefully. "So does this mean we can fly whenever we want?"

His gaze dropped, his shoulders slumping as he answered with a lot less confidence, "I didn't. . . say that." Then he straightened to add, "but Dany, you know what we're up against. You were there on Outcast Island with me. You saw what Alvin is capable of."

"Yeah, I do," she agreed, her tone taking on a harder edge, "which is why I think flying around at night by yourself without saying anything is a stupid move. What if something happened to you? No one would know until it was too late." She scoffed at the sheepish expression that crossed his face. "Didn't think about that, did you?"

"No, no, I did," Hiccup replied. "And I thought I didn't want to get anyone else in trouble. I was. . . trying to do the right thing. Sort of."

"Dany's right, Hiccup," Astrid stated, siding with the blonde. "It's great that you wanna do the right thing but not if it gets you killed. So, if we're gonna ride dragons behind your father's back, we all need to ride dragons behind your father's back."

Understanding dawned in his eyes as the defensiveness melted away; that was something he could work with.

--

"Dragon Flight Club," Snotlout repeated. "I like it. What is it?"

It was the next morning; the trio had stayed up most of the night working on an idea that they could present to their friends while also keeping it from Hiccup's father.

"It's a secret dragon flying society. We train at night, under the cover of darkness—" Astrid began.

"—sharpening our skills against possible attacks from Alvin," Hiccup finished.

"But remember," Dany added, "it's secret. Nobody can know."

"As far as you're concerned, it doesn't exist. There is no Dragon Flight Club."

Snotlout exchanged a look with his dragon, who had his head bent towards them as he seemingly listened in on their conversation. "Hey. What do you think?"

Hookfang responded with a blast of fire that was aimed right at his rider's feet. It sent Snotlout flying backwards into a nearby cart. The boy didn't even bother to get back on his feet as he gave them a thumbs-up from where he lay. "He's in!"

One of their final stops were the twins, who were arguably the hardest to make understand. The siblings were hanging upside-down from the rafters of their house when they arrived. Dany and Astrid let Hiccup take the lead with the explanation. "So listen, this is very, very important. The first rule of Dragon Flight Club, is that there is no Dragon Flight Club."

This, of course, did not make any sense to them. "Okay, so, wait a minute." Tuffnut dropped down from the beam he and his sister were hanging from. "Is there a Dragon Flight Club?"

"Yes," Astrid answered pointedly as Ruffnut righted herself to join her brother. "There is a Dragon Flight Club."

Still confused, Ruffnut gestured to Hiccup. "But. . . he just said there is no Dragon Flight Club."

"No," the brunet corrected her. "The first rule of Dragon Flight Club, is that there is no Dragon Flight Club. Get it?"

"Absolutely!" Tuffnut said cheerfully, only to let his face drop into a deadpan expression so obvious that even Dany could tell he was being sarcastic as he added, "not."

Ruffnut shook her head and put a hand to her temple to indicate a headache coming on. "Yeah. I think I need to lie down."

"Me too," her brother agreed, following his sister as they turned away from the trio. "Why don't you guys come back when you've made up your mind, and stop saying 'is' so much."

Seeing the frustrated expressions on Hiccup's and Astrid's faces, Dany nodded to the twins. "Let me try talking to them."

They gave her equally uncertain looks in return. "Handle the twins? By yourself? Dany, are you sure?"

The blonde smiled a little at Astrid's alarm, but she gave them another nod, this time with a glint of determination in her eyes. "I'm sure. You guys go talk to Fishlegs and we'll meet up later, okay?"

They glanced at each other, silently arguing whether they should leave her alone with the siblings, then Hiccup nodded. "Alright. Good luck."

Once they'd left, she went deeper into the Thorstons' house to find where the siblings had gotten off to. She tried not to be too put off by the strange stances they'd gone to 'lie down' in. Tuffnut was resting face-first into his pillow, with his knees pulled up as close to his chest as possible and his arms stretched over his head. It didn't look the least bit comfortable, but his sister didn't look much better. Ruffnut's helmet was sitting on the floor next to her as she lay on her back with her legs stretched straight up and her hands latched together over her head.

"Um. . . what's with the positions?" (Well, she did say 'tried.')

Ruffnut didn't even glance her way as she replied obviously (in a tone that implied the 'duh') "I'm trying to make all the blood go back to my head after I lost it because of Hiccup's terrible explanation."

"O-kay," she said slowly, deciding not to bother with explaining the science of that. "Well, can I talk to you about the Dragon Flight club?"

"You're still on that?" Tuffnut complained, his voice muffled by the pillow. "Fine. But if you say 'is' one time, I'm out."

Dany couldn't tell whether he was joking or not and she didn't have he facial expression to help her, either, so she took him at his word. This is going to be a lot harder than what I signed up for, she thought grimly. "Right. Well, to clarify things, there will be a Dragon Flight Club."

"I wish you guys would make up your minds about that," Ruffnut grumbled. "There is, there isn't— I don't have enough blood in my body to stop my head from hurting if you keep going on like this."

"There i—" The blonde stopped herself abruptly from saying 'is' and changed it to: "there will be. Our first meeting i— will be tonight. They were saying it doesn't exist because it was their convoluted way of keeping it a secret. Stoick's not supposed to know about it."

That got their attention and Ruffnut sat up properly, her eyes gleaming with interest. "You should have lead with that!"

Daenerys shook her head. "Hiccup doesn't want to admit to doing anything behind his dad's back, so this— uh, it's kind of his way of getting around that. It's easier for him to pretend the club doesn't really exist since it's an unauthorized version of the Dragon Academy— y'know, with the flight ban and all. But the important part is that no one, especially not the chief, finds out. Only you guys, Hiccup, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs and I know about it."

Tuffnut straightened as well, pushing himself into a kneeling position to regard her flatly. "You know, if you'd just explained it to us clearly like that in the first place, we would have understood." He sniffed a little haughtily. "We know how to keep a secret."

"Right," she repeated, this time apologetically. "Hiccup definitely has the tendency to overthink things." ('You're telling me,' Ruffnut grumbled.) "So we'll see you tonight?"

"Definitely," the younger twin confirmed. Her eyes sparkled with their trademark sign of mischief. "Do you want us to find a way to keep the chief, ah. . . busy so everyone can get to the arena easily?"

"No!" Dany said quickly, "no. Stoick's not supposed to find out— that's the whole point."

"Well," Tuffnut put in thoughtfully, "some people might say it's more suspicious if we don't plan anything. But have it your boring way, I guess. It won't be our fault if the chief finds out on the first night. Just remember that we offered to do something out of the kindness of our hearts and you're the one who turned us down."

"I'll. . . keep that in mind," the Targaryen answered warily. She began to back towards the door, not quite liking the predatory gleam in the twins' eyes now that they'd recovered from Hiccup's 'riddle.' She was sure they'd cause some kind of trouble before their meeting tonight, anyway, and she certainly didn't want to be anywhere near them when they did. "See you!"

--

They all gathered in the arena as the sun was going down, just after dinner under various excuses for evening activities. At the sight of the twins' presence, both Hiccup and Astrid gave her impressed, mildly curious 'how did you do that?' looks. Dany just smiled at them mysteriously, deciding not to say that the twins needed to be spoken to bluntly— which was her specialty.

The brunet paced in front of them as he gave the group a rundown of what to expect. "Okay, Dragon Flight Club members. You know why you're here."

Tuffnut scoffed. "Yeah, no thanks to you."

Hiccup ignored him and continued, "we need to be ready for riders on any type of dragon: from a Typhoomerang, to a Scauldron, to a Changewing, even a Whispering Death. So, Astrid, Dany and I have put together some training exercises."

"Blah, blah, blah," Snotlout mocked him as he leaned against Hookfang. "Can we go already?"

The Monstrous Nightmare roared as if to accentuate his point, prompting the chief's son to acquiesce. "Let's mount up. First stop, Changewing Island."

Dany had to recall her dragon with her whistle as he had been out hunting, but quickly followed orders once he'd arrived. Drogon was pleased to be back in the air again and he reveled in it by flying at a consistently faster speed than he usually went. He seemed to particularly relish the thought of going behind the chief's back. Daenerys herself was just as pleased, feeling as if a lost limb had been regained (though that analogy might have been in poor taste. . . sorry, Hiccup.) She flew above her friends to let the cool night air surround her. She flung out her arms so they were outstretched by her sides, savoring the freedom of being airborne once more.

They reached the island faster than she would've liked, its bare trees sticking starkly up against the starry sky. Since it wasn't mating season, the entire island was dark, lacking the glowing orbs of the Changewing eggs. She sort of missed the bright colors, though certainly not the disaster that had followed.

Tuffnut, too, recalled the place more fondly than the rest of the group. He let out an almost nostalgic sigh as he remembered, "ah! Stones of Good Fortune. A lifetime of good luck. I can't wait to get my hands on one of those."

Dany sighed; if the twins were ever going to be on the same level as the rest of them were, it was going to take a lot more than just 'clearly explaining' things to them. There was no teacher in the world who had that much patience. Astrid rolled her eyes, similarly exasperated. "Tuffnut, we've been over this. Those are not Stones of Good Fortune. Those are dragon eggs."

"Leave them alone, please," Fishlegs begged, clearly recalling what happened last time. "I really don't want to re-visit the Changewing debacle."

They stayed alert for any signs of rustling leaves that would indicate Changewing movement as they flew as low as they dared over the ground. Drogon's nostrils flared as he caught the scent of something that was distinctly not dragon, and flew towards it. The Targaryen trusted her dragon and let him lead the way, the others following suit as she quietly got their attention. Drogon slowed when they reached a clearing where the sound of snorting and snuffling reached their ears.

Below them was a small herd of boars who were rooting in the dirt as they ambled along. One seemed to sense danger and grunted, alerting the others to keep moving. As the riders watched on, Hiccup narrated for them, "Changewings hunt like wolves. One dragon lures a single boar from the herd—"

"—then the other Changewings surround it," Fishlegs finished.

The dragons did exactly as the boys said. First one closed in on the weakest of the group, then directed it towards the waiting Changewings that were camouflaged against nearby trees. They slithered downwards to form a three-dragon circle around the animal, trapping it in the middle of a barren expanse of ground with no hope of escape. Or, there would have been no hope had Tuffnut suddenly sat up straight in his saddle.

"Hey! Don't we know that boar?" He didn't bother to lower his voice, even in hearing vicinity of wild dragons.

His sister followed his gaze, then confirmed, "yeah, we do. That's Bjorn Boar!"

"Are they serious?" Astrid groaned.

Tuffnut answered her by pointing sternly in the Changewings' direction and scolding them: "you leave Bjorn alone!"

"Clearly they are," Hiccup allowed, only finding the energy to be mildly annoyed by this.

The twins' loud conversation drew the Changewings away from their meal. The dragons stared up at the riders threateningly, focusing on the intruders that that dared enter their territory. Tuffnut's eyes widened with alarm as they growled up at him. "Uh, you're on your own, Bjorn!"

They launched after the riders without further ado, shooting green acid as they went. The group peeled off in different directions in the hopes of splitting up the dragons. It was easy to keep Drogon away from them as they deemed him too big a target to worry about; they went after the easier 'prey' instead. Her friends were still in danger, though. She watched the path of falling trees that the other teens flew just ahead of as she tried to figure out a way to help them.

"Keep your distance!" Hiccup shouted back to the group. "Their acid is only effective at close range."

"Not very comforting when you're on the slowest dragon!" Fishlegs retorted, earning a disgruntled grumble from Meatlug. He hugged her comfortingly in response. "I'm sorry, girl. It had to be said."

Dany saw her chance, then, and instructed her dragon on what to do. He swooped down as close to the trees as he could— though the new clearing that the Changewings were making helped quite a bit— and caught up easily to Meatlug. Fishlegs didn't react until it was too late; only after Drogon's claws secured carefully around the Gronckle's pudgy body to give her a boost along.

The large boy let out a squeak of fright as he felt the talons wrap around him and he squeezed his eyes shut. "Please don't eat me," he whimpered.

Daenerys could only shake her head at the resurgence of his fear of her dragon. She was only trying to help, after all! Meatlug, on the other hand, seemed completely at ease with being Drogon's hitchhiker. Her little wings buzzed along as if they were truly doing any work in the face of the larger dragon's forceful propulsions.

The other riders weren't so lucky and were quickly becoming overwhelmed by the Changewings. One of them swooped over Snotlout's head, causing him to narrowly miss an acid projectile. "There's too many of them and they come out of nowhere!"

Hiccup had the misfortune of flying straight towards two Changewings, which he narrowly avoided by ducking against Toothless' back. He glanced upwards for a clearing— anything to give them the upper hand— and an idea struck. "Wait a minute. If they don't have anything to camouflage against—"

"—then we take away their advantage!" Fishlegs concluded, having partially recovered from his shock of being grabbed out of midair by a very large dragon.

"Up!" Astrid called to them as she angled Stormfly towards the sky. "Up, up, up!"

When they were successfully able to ward off the Changewings— with the Nadder shooting some spine shots and Toothless' plasma blasts— Drogon released Meatlug to let her fly on her own. Her rider at one last complaint as he clutched at his head in dismay: "what did I say about the Changewing Debacle?! Was no one listening?!"

--

Fishlegs Ingerman was pleased to say that he had learned from the interrogation practice a few days ago. When the chief caught him outside of his home, he thought he was surely done for— but he'd held strong, even as a breeze caused all the torches in the Great Hall to become extinguished and engulf them in sudden darkness. He proudly recounted the events during the next Dragon Flight club meeting (and yes, perhaps he embellished a little.)

"He put the screws to me," he recalled. "I-I thought I was gonna crack. Especially when the lights went out but-but I held firm because I know the first rule of Dragon Flight Club, is there is no Dragon Flight Club."

"Oh, great, not that again," Tuffnut groaned.

Hiccup ignored the complaint as he nodded approvingly at the larger boy. "You did great, Fishlegs."

"Yeah," Dany agreed, feeling as if his accomplishment should be recognized; she knew that courage didn't come easily to him. She continued sincerely, "way to really put that practice to use."

He beamed at their praise, made a little more confident that when, if he ever had to do it for real, he might stand as much of a chance as the rest of his friends. The twins were unaffected by the previous evening's events, more focused on what the present night held as Ruffnut changed the subject to ask, "so, what are we doing tonight?"

"Nothing," was the brunet's simple response.

"That doesn't sound fun at all," Tuffnut whined.

"It's not supposed to," the Targaryen scolded him. "With the chief on our tail— literally— we have to lay low for a little while."

Hiccup nodded in confirmation. "Exactly. Until this blows over, we need to be invisible—"

Of course, the universe loved to prove him wrong and at that moment, Hookfang came soaring into the area with a windblown Snotlout on his back. The shorter Viking was no less eye-catching as he shouted, "hey! Guys!"

Before he could say anything else, the chief's son chided him, "Snotlout, what did I tell you?" He slapped his palm to his forehead in exasperation. "No dragons."

"Yeah!" Tuffnut chimed in smugly— for once he wasn't the only one out of the loop. "Even I knew that."

Hiccup knew it was a battle not worth fighting, though, and moved on. "What's so important, anyway?"

Snotlout leaned causally on Hookfang's horns, examining his nails with unhurried carelessness. "Let's just say I may have saved this entire island. Alvin and the Outcasts are attacking as we speak."

They tensed at this admittedly expected— but also still surprising— news. They'd always known the Outcasts would come for Berk, it was just a matter of when. Dany knew that Hiccup had spent so many nights preparing for this moment, but the fact that it was here was a whole different story entirely. Wanting to make sure that he knew she was behind him, she walked over to stand by his side and asked him evenly: "so, what do we do now?"

He met her gaze— something that she was beginning to allow him to do more often rather than just looking away— and seemed surprised at the lack of hesitation in her question. She stood tall next to him, her shoulders squared and her feet spread confidently apart, her bare toes almost rooted steadfastly into the ground— an immovable object when it came to protecting what she loved. The sight of her unwavering resoluteness gave him the boost he needed to start giving out commands as they planned their attack against the Outcasts.

--

After getting the chief up to speed, they set out. Using the cloud cover to their advantage, they flew towards the enemy ships undetected until they were right above them. There were five ships in total, so not impossible odds against the Dragon Academy. Dany unslung her bow from her shoulders and strung it, preparing to take her position as archer to make the rest of the battle easier for the others.

"I'm going to draw their first round of fire," Stoick announced. "While they're reloading, you attack. But not before."

The chief flew downwards to do exactly as he said, easily catching the Outcasts' attention with the size of his dragon. Alvin retaliated by shooting boulders in his direction, forcing him down towards the water to avoid them. Thornado let out a soundwave blast that rocked the boats and had the soldiers scrambling for purchase. A volley of arrows followed next, aimed at the dragon's leathery wings— the weakest part in the otherwise formidable creature. They were met with another sonic burst, spinning the weapons on their heads and back towards the Vikings who'd fired them in the first place.

Some Outcasts jumped overboard to avoid them while others shot another round of boulders. This time, Stoick caught one with his bare hands, grunting with the effort of doing so. "Now, Hiccup!"

The teens let their dragons do the work for them as they shot fire-y blasts down towards the opposing Vikings. Dany stayed aloft as— she often said— Drogon was not made for close combat. She fired her own arrows down at the soldiers, forcing more into the water to avoid her impeccable aim. She heard Hiccup's shout of "Changewings!" but kept course, knowing that the other teens would protect Berk. Her battle was with the Outcasts. The Outcasts, who foolishly assumed that all the Dragon Academy members would go after their bait.

The torrent of firepower ceased for a moment as Alvin mistakenly guessed that they had a break in the fight. It gave Drogon the perfect window to swoop lower than he usually would have, his talons outstretched to secure around the mast of the first ship. There was a great tearing noise as her dragon pulled it free, as easily as sliding a hot knife through butter. Shards of splintered wood flew everywhere, followed by a splash! as Drogon dropped the mast in the water. The action threw waves over the side of the boat, drenching the Outcasts as an added bonus.

Shouts of alarm soon followed as the Vikings began to abandon ship due to the giant hole that had formed right in the middle of it. Dany aimed for the next boat, but Alvin was quick to get his soldiers back to work. They had no choice but to fly higher to avoid the boulders he sent their way.

Hiccup rejoined their battle, having given the task of Changewing herding to Astrid and the others. He flew lower than Drogon dared, speeding right along the ship's side to offset their balance in the water. Stoick came at them with another detonation of sound, clearing the path for Dany's dragon as the Outcasts recovered. With another large rending sound, a second mast was torn from its ship due to Drogon's claws. A following explosion of purple fireworks (made by combining Toothless' and Thornados' shots) convinced them that it was time to turn back.

"They're retreating!" Hiccup exclaimed as they watched the ships leave.

"Well done Hiccup— and Daenerys," his father congratulated them. (Although she didn't want to admit it, it did feel nice to have the chief's praise.)

They also turned around, heading back to Berk after a battle hard-won. But still. . . to both teens, even though they had fought, it felt a little too. . . easy. Stoick noticed the expression on his son's face and frowned in concern. "What is it?"

"I don't know. I just figured Alvin would. . . have a little better plan than this," the brunet remarked.

"He may be an Outcast," the Targaryen conceded, "but he's not stupid— well, as far as Outcasts go, anyway. He should've known that fighting fire-breathing dragons with wooden boats wouldn't go in his favor. . ."

"Let's just be thankful that he didn't," Stoick told them, but neither teen could shake off the feeling that this was only the beginning.

Chapter Text

The teens landed on a sea-stack that jutted up from the ocean below to let their dragons rest after a relentless chase. A strong wind buffeted them from either side and sea spray clung to their skin. Dany's unruly silvery-blonde hair became even more tangled in the strong gusts as she squinted against the glare of the water, hoping in vain to spot the Outcast ship they'd been pursuing.

"We missed it!" Snotlout complained, summing up their thoughts as they failed to locate the boat.

"It was headed this way!" Astrid huffed, frustrated by the lack of results. "It must've outrun us."

Hiccup frowned as he scanned the water again. "How does an Outcast ship outrun our dragons?"

They were all at wits' end trying to keep up with the daily patrols and it was showing in those who were already short tempered. Snotlout didn't even bother to hide his scoff as Fishlegs and Meatlug finally arrived, settling onto the sea-stack with a resounding thud. "That's how."

"Whoo! We were really moving, girl!" Fishlegs patted the back of his dragon, oblivious to the shorter Viking's disgruntlement. "What did we miss?"

"It's not what you missed, it's what we all missed!"

"Snotlout. . ." the brunet began in a warning tone, but the other boy was never one to spare his friends' feelings.

"What? I'm just calling it like I see it," he protested. "If we didn't have slow, and really, really slow holding us back, I don't know— maybe we'd actually have a chance to do what we're supposed to be doing!"

The last word ended in a heated shout as he let his annoyance spill over. Even the twins were the only ones who agreed with this statement, and they glanced at each other with nods of approval. Dany gave the boy a disappointed look, though she couldn't say that it was unexpected; Snotlout had always had the least amount of patience for those he saw as 'weaker.'

"Snotlout, that's not—" Hiccup started to scold him, only to be interrupted by Astrid's rebuke.

"That's a bit harsh."

Fishlegs sighed in defeat. "Guys. . . he does have a point."

"No, he doesn't," the Targaryen argued firmly. "Drogon and I can give you guys a boost whenever you need it."

Although he gave her a grateful look, Fishlegs quickly moved his eyes away again to watch his fingers as he played with them. "Thanks, Dany, but I shouldn't have to rely on you every time." He brightened, though it was obviously forced to anyone who cared to notice. "Meatlug and I will circle back and. . . patrol the cliffs. Shore up the rear!"

Astrid was skeptical about his false enthusiasm and she questioned him uncertainly, "are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely," the blond said, giving them a cheerful grin.

"We'll come with you," Daenerys offered immediately. "If you do find anything, you're going to want back up."

"No, Dany, I—we need you here," Hiccup cut in, causing both teens to turn to him in confusion for his unnecessarily hasty answer. He cleared his throat awkwardly and changed the subject before they could insist otherwise. "Okay, um. . . well, use your dragon call if you spot anything."

"You know I will," Fishlegs promised.

The rest of the group launched off of the sea-stack. Drogon's departure caused it to shudder dangerously under his heavier weight as it hadn't really been made for a dragon of his size. Fishlegs clung to Meatlug as they left, both for comfort and out of fear of being shaken right off the edge.

--

They returned just as the sun was beginning to set. The sky had become a wash of purples, pinks and golds— the only nice thing about their otherwise extremely unsuccessful day. Even after the added hours of searching, they hadn't managed to find the Outcast ship, something that Fishlegs would soon learn as he inquired about their activities.

Snotlout, with his patience already thin, didn't have the tolerance for the blond's question even though it was perfectly valid. He mocked the larger boy, blabbering nonsense before he sneered, "do you see an Outcast ship?"

Hiccup gave the Jorgenson a sidelong, annoyed glance before he answered much more respectfully, "no, we didn't find them."

"Fishlegs!" Gobber's excited call of the boy's name caused them all to turn towards him curiously. He hobbled up to them as fast as he could on his wooden foot. He held the weapon in his hand aloft. "Do you know what this is?"

"Oh, oh!" Tuffnut exclaimed, holding his hand out in a 'wait a minute' gesture. don't tell me! Don't tell me—"

"Uh. . . a sword," Ruffnut chimed in. Dany sighed at the display of stupidity; they literally saw swords every day, how could they even doubt for a second what one was?

Tuffnut elbowed his sister harshly. "I said don't tell me!"

He punched her after each word, forcing her to back up to avoid the blows. "I wasn't telling you, I was telling him!"

As the younger sibling got the upper hand (which she often did), the other teens ignored them in favor of returning their attention to Gobber's discovery. He let the shiny metal glint proudly. Although she wasn't a sword expert, Dany could see that it had an unusual sheen compared to the other swords they often saw around the village. "Not just any sword. Feel it."

The blacksmith tossed it to Fishlegs, but Astrid guessed that he would miss the catch and intercepted it before he had the chance to hurt himself. Gobber continued: "I made it out of that strange lava Meatlug left in the shop."

The Hofferson admired the blade, turning it just as the older man had. She swung it experimentally as Hiccup watched with interest. "This was made from Gronckle lava?"

Pleased by their reactions, Gobber corrected him, "I prefer to call it Gronckle Iron. I got tired of waiting for it to cool. You know what I always say: pound it while it's hot. Next thing you know, bing, bang, boom! And I've created this little beauty."

"It's pretty, but. . ." Astrid admitted as she tapped the blade against her palm a couple times. ". . . too light. It would never hold up in battle."

She tossed it back to the blacksmith, who caught it with ease. "Exactly what I thought. . . until I did this."

He pulled Snotlout closer with his hook and made him hold up his own sword. With an enthusiastic yell, he swooshed the blade downward in a practiced arc. The teens watched with bated breath as they expected the Gronckle sword to meet its end but instead, Snotlout's sword was sliced clean in half. The cut off tip landed point-down in the grass, sinking halfway up the blade from the force of the landing. The riders' eyes went wide with awe at the unexpected strength of the blade.

"Is there any left?" Astrid asked hopefully. "I've been wanting a new dagger."

Daenerys clapped her hands together as her violet eyes gleamed with excitement. "Gronckle Iron arrows! Or even a bow!"

She thought about the weight her bow carried currently and if the sword was really as light as Astrid had said, that would make her even more efficient in battle. Not to mention what the damage a Gronckle Iron arrow tip could do to iron-and-leather armor; it would probably tear through it like parchment.

"New helmets!" the twins cheered, celebrating the idea by clashing their heads together.

As they recovered from the blow, their helmets now tipped askew, Tuffnut chuckled dumbly. "Ours are pretty banged up. . . from banging them." Then, they collapsed on the ground.

Gobber gave the siblings an unimpressed look before he commented, "yep, it'd go pretty nice on that fancy, new shield of yours."

Dany quickly glanced away at the mention of the infamous shield, knowing exactly which one the blacksmith meant— the one that had trapped her just a few nights ago. The one that had made her feel weird things about her best friend. Luckily Hiccup was too focused on this new development to notice her reaction. "Exactly what I was thinking. It could make it stronger and lighter."

"Excuse me," Snotlout began snidely, still holding the hilt end of his now-half weapon. "Why don't you start by making me a new sword?"

Never one to take attitude from his customers, Gobber merely jerked a thumb towards his shop. "Why don't you start by getting in line? They whole town has heard about Meatlug's Gronckle Iron and they all want a piece of the action."

They all looked over at the forge where, sure enough, it seemed like the entire village had gathered right outside as they waited for their new weapons. As Fishlegs and Gobber went to work, the rest of the group began to split up to do their own evening routines. Although she knew that Drogon was waiting for her so they could go home, Dany hesitated briefly before she hurried after Hiccup. When she'd fallen in step beside him, she caught his attention with a small, "hey."

He startled a bit— probably lost in thought about how to best use the Gronckle Iron for his shield— but then smiled at her as he nodded in greeting. Like it had been since they'd come back from Outcast island, the smile didn't reach his eyes. It was friendly and warm enough, certainly, but there was a distractedness in his gaze that was almost always there now as his mind whirred constantly about plans and inventions to help them in the upcoming war. Her heart gave a little pang of sympathy; he had too much on his plate already— he always tended to be all-or-nothing— but being the chief's son only added extra pressure.

She almost decided against asking him, knowing how busy and stressed he was. But that was why she should— even the chief's son needed to take a break once in a while. "I was thinking. . ." she began, her gaze focused on the path ahead rather than risk looking at him. Her fingers fiddled with the fur on her vest as she tried to work out the best way to phrase her question. "I'm usually the sniper, right? But with Alvin having dragons now, things are changing. I. . . I might need to fight on the ground, even if I do prefer the air. I'm not as good at hand-to-hand combat as Astrid or. . . you are—"

"But you beat Snotlout," Hiccup pointed out, frowning a little in confusion as he wondered how she thought she wasn't skilled enough. (Even with everything that was going on, he couldn't ignore the little flare of warmth that came from her compliment— she thought he was good at fighting.)

"Once," the Targaryen reminded him. "And I have been practicing a bit with Astrid, but I think I could prepare best if I learned from different people. So. . . I know you're really busy and everything, but I was wondering if. . . you'd like to help me train sometime?"

He stopped walking then, taken by surprise at the request. He stared at her even as she avoided his gaze, her eyes on her bare toes instead. "You. . . want me to train you in hand-to-hand combat?" he repeated, still not quite sure that he'd heard right.

Dany bobbed her head. "It's okay if you say no, I understand. I guess I could try beating Snotlout again, but—"

"No!" the brunet said quickly— a little too quickly, but he didn't like the thought of Dany and Snotlout spending time alone together, or the contact that they would exchange that came from fighting, or the idea of Snotlout getting the upper hand and pinning her to the ground— he shook his head to clear it. "I mean, no, it's okay. I'd. . . I'd like that. When did you want to start?"

The smile she gave him (which did reach her eyes) was full of relief (as if he could ever say no to her. He'd probably even agree to shovel dragon dung if she asked him sweetly enough.) "Great! I, um, whenever you have time is good for me."

Hiccup thought fast, wanting to give her an answer that would prevent her from seeking out someone else to help with her combat skills. "Tomorrow?"

Her expression brightened and he knew that had been the right thing to say. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

He nodded. "I'll be there."

--

They'd decided to wait until the line for Gronckle Iron weapons went down at the forge before making their own, so they were filling in the time with the promised training session. The brunet had flown to Dany's house right after breakfast and after the necessary greetings were exchanged with her parents, the two went out to the front where there was a clearing they could practice in. Although he wouldn't say it aloud, he was a little nervous to be 'battling' Dany in view of where her dragons could see. Knowing Drogon, that was grounds for immediate incineration. He could feel the dragon's flame-orange eyes watching his moves carefully, made worse by Viserion's and Rhaegal's attentive gazes as well.

Toothless didn't seem phased by the larger dragon's steely gaze, though, which brought him some comfort— if there was a real threat, he had no doubt that his dragon would be by his side to protect him. As it was, the Night Fury had gone over to greet Drogon familiarly, bumping his snout on the other dragon's leg as that was the only part he could reach without Dany's dragon lowering his head. Then he went over to sniff at Rhaegal and Viserion curiously, since he hadn't interacted as much with them.

Before they began their practice, he nodded to the simple white-flowered crown on the Targaryen's head, made less elaborately than her usual circlets. "You might want to put that somewhere safe so it doesn't get crushed."

"Good point," she allowed, taking it off her head to carefully hold it in her hands.

She glanced around the clearing for a secure place to put it, her gaze stopping first on top of the wood box, then the post of the garden fence. Inspiration struck her as her eyes fell on the dragons nearby, lighting up with an idea as she took in Toothless' size compared to her dragons. When Drogon and his brothers had been little, she'd been too young to make them flower crowns; now, it would probably take a thousand flowers to make a circlet big enough. But Toothless, on the other hand, had stopped growing and the size of his head was much more conducive to flower crowns. (Of course, hers would be a little small for him, but he could hold it for her.)

Her expression brightened as she cottoned on to the idea and Dany covered the clearing in a few, quick steps to move closer to the Night Fury. Hiccup watched the girl curiously, wondering what on earth the placement of her flower crown had to do with dragons— his dragon specifically, it looked like— but stayed quiet to observe her plan. Once she was in front of Toothless, the blonde paused before she put crown on him.

"Hey, buddy. Do you think you could hold this for me while we practice?" Then, after a moment of thought, she added, "please don't eat them."

Toothless met her eyes with his own big green ones, tilting his head slightly as she spoke to him. His attention shifted to the flowers in her hands as if he were considering her question. There was a warning huff from Drogon that said 'don't disrespect my mother,' but his concern wasn't necessary— Toothless liked Dany (and knew how important she was to his rider), so he didn't mind doing something for her. He gave the larger dragon a baleful look in response (one that meant 'I know. I wasn't gonna.') He lowered his head so she could fix the flowers around his spikes.

When she was finished placing it, she stepped back and clasped her hands in front of her, delighted by the sight. She beamed, stating happily, "if you like them, I'll make you a crown that actually fits. I never got to do this for Drogon!"

The Night Fury gave her a gummy smile that he hoped conveyed his agreement to wearing such adornments, while Drogon let out another huff— this one a little put out ('it's not my fault I got so big.') With that done, Dany returned to where Hiccup was waiting for her, his confusion now turned to fond bemusement. "I think you're the only one in the entire world who would think to put a flower crown on a dragon."

Dany waved her hand dismissively as if it weren't a big deal, even as she continued to smile. "The world is big; I'm sure I'm not the only one to think of it. Shall we get started, then?"

Their lighthearted mood became a little more serious as the teens circled each other, holding defensive positions with their hands held up to block their faces and middles. The brunet glanced at the dragons one more time, unable to resist muttering, "it feels like I shouldn't be doing this."

Dany's eyes glinted with amusement at his unusual trepidation in front of the species he'd become so comfortable with. Teasingly, she told him, "don't be afraid. They know it's only for practice and that you'd never really hurt me."

With a final glance at their overprotective audience, Hiccup made the first move, throwing a low punch towards the girl's stomach. She blocked it easily and his fist came in contact with her arm. While she was blocking it, her other arm came up towards his head, which he deflected as well. Their feet made scuffing sounds as they moved back and forth across the dirt— Dany's bare toes narrowly avoiding his booted and metal feet.

They reset their positions after the first round of hits, the blonde bouncing lightly on her toes as she anticipated his next strike. Deciding that he was taking too long, she took another aim at his head and he leaned away to avoid it rather than exert the energy to actively block her. As he straightened, he copied her previous attack and aimed upwards. She easily knocked his fist out of the way and followed through with a jab of her own.

After laying out the basic pattern, Hiccup changed it up to be less predictable, adding in a strike with his leg (his real one— he'd only use his metal foot with an actual enemy.) Daenerys was more talented than she'd given herself credit for and swiftly ducked away from the blow, lurching forward to put her hands on his shoulders while he was unbalanced. Caught off guard, the brunet went down with a harder thud than he'd expected, suddenly winded as his back hit the ground.  

Hiccup grunted at the impact that jolted through his body. He lay there for a moment, blinking up at the sky as he tried to catch his breath. Grinning at her success, Dany dropped down on top of him. She straddled his waist without really thinking about the implications of the position and pinned his arms on either side of his head with her hands. Her fingers curled around his wrists, against his bare skin; all thoughts of her usual preference for contact avoidance forgotten, mostly because this was Hiccup, the person she felt most comfortable with.

She beamed down at him as triumph flickered in her violet eyes. The Targaryen was leaning over him slightly to meet his gaze, which caused her unruly, silvery-blonde hair to tumble in riotous curls around them. Smugly, she crowed, "looks like this round goes to me."

Dany's boastfulness was much more tolerable than Snotlout's (mostly because she didn't do it twenty-four-seven like the Jorgenson), but that wasn't even something that Hiccup paid much attention to. His thoughts were mostly consumed by the fact that Dany's face was all he could see. That, and that being beaten by her was much more preferable than when Astrid yanked his arm behind his back so hard she nearly dislocated it. He would be willing to suffer the humiliation of defeat (which, really, was an exaggeration since he was so used to losing) every time if this was the result.

It was only when she began to look at him expectantly that he realized she was waiting for a response. Clearing his throat (and hoping desperately that she didn't see how flushed his face was— she did, but chalked it up to the exertion of their exercise), he managed to get out the slightly hoarse reply of, "yeah, looks like it does."

The blonde bounced up from their position entirely unphased and stuck out her hand to him. Smirking a little as she misinterpreted his dazed look for one of exhaustion, she playfully taunted him, "want to go again or are you tired already?"

Hiccup accepted her proffered hand and got to his feet. He squared his shoulders as determination flashed in his eyes, becoming set on unbalancing her like she had him— in more ways than one. "Let's go again."

Nothing terribly exciting happened for the next few rounds as they were often met with a draw. In the middle of their current bout, Hiccup struck out with his fist, which was followed quickly by his leg. Daenerys deflected the blow by pushing his foot back towards the ground, then tried to do the same move as before— reaching for his shoulders. Except this time, he was ready for her.

He copied her movements so their arms were locked together, both teens constantly shifting in a tight circle as they tried to make the other lose their stability. The brunet took a risk and glanced down at their feet where he swiped his booted foot underneath both of hers. Startled, Dany was sent reeling downwards, though they still had a hold on each other's shoulders so he was able to let her down more easily than his previous fall had been. He took the position she had claimed not long ago, his legs on either side of her waist as he held her arms by her head.

She looked a little surprised but didn't fight the stance. Her violet eyes watched him curiously and without fear, a little wider than usual— just like how she'd looked at him when his shield had trapped them against each other. And just like that night, he found himself frozen in place as his heart stuttered against his chest in an uneven rhythm.

Kiss her, a snooty voice in his head suddenly said, sounding very much like Snotlout's. It's what I would do.

'What?' he thought wildly, caught off guard and uncertain as to where that idea had even come from— he'd probably been spending way too much time with the Jorgenson. 'No way!'

(His protest wasn't because he thought it would be gross or unpleasant— or even that a small (very, very small) part of him wanted to. It was just that, if it ever did happen (and the idea of kissing Dany was so absurd it was laughable— she was so out of his league), it would have to be absolutely, completely, perfect. And with war on the horizon, Outcast ships spotted nearly every day and Alvin's plans being mostly unknown, right now was far from perfect.)

So caught up in his inner war, he let his focus slip from their training session and was unprepared when Daenerys took advantage of his distraction. She hooked one leg over his and surged upwards, forcing him to tumble with her until she was on top again. The blonde pinned him down with a satisfied grin, her weight comfortably settled on his chest.

"Gotcha," she said, her voice light. "You let your guard down."

Luckily he had his wits about him slightly more than last time and was able to respond, "that move was pretty impressive, especially for someone who claimed to need practice."

"We all need practice," she corrected him. "But thanks. Astrid taught me that one."

"Why am I not surprised?" Hiccup wondered aloud. "Maybe I can use it on her the next time she tries to dislocate my arm."

Dany got up and once more offered her hand, which he took as she said, "I wouldn't count on it. That's pretty par for the course when you guys fight, isn't it?"

The brunet rolled his eyes good-naturedly, used to her bluntness. "Gee, thanks. I really appreciate the faith you have in me."

"You're welcome," the Targaryen replied, completely missing his sarcastic tone as she spoke sincerely. She looked up at the sky, shielding her eyes against the sun's glare. "I think the lines should be down at the forge by now. Want to grab lunch and then head back to the village?"

--

It was just the stress, Hiccup told himself on the flight to the forge. It was just the stress that made him think odd things about Dany— like kissing her (he still didn't know where that had come from.) Sure, she was important to him— that much was obvious, even to him. And when she was around, that was one of the few times that the Outcasts weren't at the forefront of his thoughts. It was perfectly logical that he would have stronger-than-normal feelings for her right now. He appreciated the fact that she forced him to take a break so he wouldn't wear himself out, so he'd probably just projected those feelings into something. . . else.

You did kiss her, though, that snide voice commented. At Snoggletog, remember?

On the cheek! he thought fiercely in response, his face flushing at the memory (not just from the wind.) And yes, there had been that strange surge of courage that had given him enough confidence to do that, but he would almost certainly never experience it again. And that was just because she'd given me a really nice gift.

Right, came the dubious rebuttal. It wasn't at all because she sat by your sickbed while she waited for you to wake up from the Red Death, or that she was the first person to believe in you, or that she showed you how to train your dragon—

He groaned in frustration, glad the sound of the wind was loud enough to keep Dany from hearing it; he was driving himself crazy with all of these arguments and counter-arguments. He'd never been so glad to reach Berk proper, the thud of their dragons landing enough to finally let him escape his circling reflection for good.

Fishlegs and Gobber were hard at work as they produced more Gronckle Iron for the considerably smaller line of Vikings. It didn't take too long for him to make the essential improvements to his invention, or to add the newly fashioned arrow tips to some shafts for Dany. He banged a mallet against the shield to test its durability. "This Gronckle Iron is going to do wonders for my shield."

The Targaryen admired the shininess of her new arrows by twisting them in the light. She pushed her reclaimed flower crown back, more above her eyes so she had a clearer view of their craftsmanship (which, of course, was impeccable since they were made by Hiccup.) "I can't wait to test these out on some Outcasts. Meatlug better have a whole supple of Gronckle Iron at the ready— speaking of, what kind of rocks did you feed her? We've been around her for so long I didn't think anything could change her diet."

The blond looked a little sheepish, but quickly covered it up by paying excessive attention to the mace he was holding. "Well. . . actually, I can't tell. . . you."

Gobber finished pounding the heated metal of the sword he'd been working on and joined them at the window of his shop. "No?"

Fishlegs turned around quickly, feeling cornered by the focus of the others' gazes on him. "It's a trade secret." He snatched up the weapon he'd been studying and held it close to his face, attempting to appear threatening as he nervously joked, "if I told you, I'd have to mace you."

The blacksmith gave him a deadpan, disbelieving look, but the boy was saved from further questioning at Astrid's sudden arrival. She slid off Stormfly before her dragon had fully landed, speaking quickly as she announced: "Hiccup, Dany, the sentries say they saw another boat. We have to go now."

The two of the three teens got back on their dragons, causing Hiccup to glance back at where Fishlegs still lingered in the forge. "You coming, Fishlegs?"

"I would love to, Hiccup, but as you can see, Meatlug and I are pretty busy." He gestured to the remaining Vikings who were still waiting on their orders.

--

They returned to the arena a few hours later, empty-handed as usual. The twins sat on some upturned boxes while Snotlout leaned against the stony wall of the Academy. Hiccup, Dany and Astrid stood by their dragons. The Targaryen rested against Drogon's sturdy leg as a source of comfort, worn out by the twins' extreme stupidity. Although the spikes of his leg dug into her side, she welcomed the discomfort rather than the oncoming headache.

"Well, that was a complete waste of time," Hiccup sighed, looking as defeated as she felt.

"We doubled back over the same area five times," Astrid complained.

Tuffnut seemed genuinely surprised by this as he glanced at his sister in confusion. "Really? That was the same place? It looked so different."

"That's because you were flying upside down, you muttonhead," Snotlout grumbled.

That sparked recognition in the other boy's eyes. "Oh, yeah. . . Fun, though."

"You know, we needed someone to keep track of our position," Astrid said, her hands on her hips as she met Snotlout's gaze pointedly.

"Yeah, we did," Hiccup agreed, "and some low-speed hovering could've helped over that sea stack."

"I know."

The Jorgenson scoffed at their targeted discussion. "Oh, come on! You're not talking about him, are you?"

"No, not him! Are you?" Tuffnut chimed in, but then backtracked, suddenly unsure after his vehement exclamation. He looked over at his sister for confirmation. "Hey, who are we talking about?"

Ruffnut shrugged. "I have no idea but he sounds important, so it definitely can't be you."

"We're talking about Fishlegs," the brunet reminded them.

"We're a team," Dany spoke up quietly, still feeling guilty for abandoning Fishlegs. "We need to look out for each other, no matter what. Fishlegs may not be the fastest or the strongest, but he's loyal and he's got knowledge that's saved us more times than we can count. Just like Drogon is the strongest, there are things that he can't do because of his size— but Meatlug can."

"Dany's right," Hiccup nodded approvingly. "We're all important. When one of us is missing. . . it's just not the same."

Of course, Snotlout didn't like being put under fire, so he used his usual tactic and pointed fingers wherever he could— namely at the chief's son. "This is your fault. You made him quit."

Daenerys saw the moment the Jorgenson's words hit home, watching as Hiccup looked shocked, then guilty as his shoulders slumped at the realization. She felt anger bubble up within at Snotlout's accusation— it couldn't be further from the truth and it was so unfair to place all the blame on Hiccup. Normally, she would have just stood there and let him shoot his mouth off. Normally, she wouldn't have wanted to rock the boat in fear of losing control of her rage in front of her friends.

But this wasn't 'normally'— she had never felt so incensed by his smart remarks before. This was the kind of fury she felt when the Berkians and dragons had been enemies, the senseless killing spurring her to defend something she loved. She only risked losing control over things— or people, she supposed were included now— that she cared about deeply.

As much as she wanted to, in the end, she didn't say anything this time either. She wished she could be like Astrid and speak her mind fiercely without fearing retribution— and she might be able to, one day, but not today. She could not change immediately from how she'd always been, but maybe she could start small— like telling Snotlout to go stuff it whenever he tried to flirt with her. She'd always been polite to him even when he hadn't deserved it, but he might finally get the hint if she changed her response. (She didn't have high hopes seeing how he acted around Astrid, too, but it might shock him enough to lay off for a bit.)

She liked the thought of that— of not having to endure the Jorgenson's lame pickup lines for days at a time. And eventually, if she did it often enough, she might have the courage to stand up for Hiccup one day when he really did need her to stand by his side. Dany could be like Gronckle Iron itself: unassuming on the outside, but stronger than steel when it counted.

--

They found a crowd outside the forge when they arrived. All of the Vikings crowded around the entrance as they yelled in loud voices, causing Dany to fall back to keep her ears from ringing. The teens couldn't reach their friend easily, prompting Astrid to ask, "what are we going to do?"

"I could pound on him until he agrees to come back," Snotlout offered as he struck his fist against his opposite palm.

"Or we could just ask him," Hiccup said, shutting down his friends' more violent tendencies.

"What's wrong with the pounding?" Tuffnut wondered. "I like pounding; I like pound cake, I like measuring my weight in pounds—"

The brunet ignored the boy's rambling list in favor of trying to duck between the Viking arms that blocked their way. They were standing too closely together, though, so Hiccup resorted to calling his name. "Fishlegs!" When that didn't work, he waved his hands as well in the hopes of catching his attention. "Fishlegs!"

Unfortunately, the crowd got the wrong idea about the boy's shouting and began to chant the name along with him. They pounded their fists in the air as they echoed his call. "Fishlegs! Fishlegs! Fishlegs!"

Since he'd been unsuccessful, the chief's son returned to the other teens. Dany had taken another few steps back to avoid the crowd. She watched them warily as she commented, "um, did you mean to start a mob?"

"No," Hiccup replied with a sigh. He'd run out of ideas and they stared hopelessly as the audience continued their enthusiastic yells.

At the entrance of the smithy, Fishlegs had gotten another idea to produce Gronckle Iron and he waved his arms to get the Vikings' attention. "Hold onto your tunics, folks! You want the Gronckle Iron? You've got the Gronckle Iron."

The teens maneuvered around the gathering enough to see through a small window to the forge. Fishlegs was gathering up as many different rocks from the floor as he could and put them one by one into Meatlug's mouth. She ate them happily and once she was done, everyone waited expectantly for her usual lava return. But it never came.

Instead, a soft thrumming began. It buzzed in their ears like the sound of a fly had been magnified. Daenerys clamped her hands over her ears, hating the feeling of the vibration in her mind. The riders watched with surprise as the shovel Gobber had been holding was yanked out of his hand by an unseen force before it attached itself to Meatlug's skin. A pair of clippers that sat on the workbench went next, followed by a set of keys that flew off a hook.

"Her skin is attracting the metal!" Fishlegs exclaimed in alarm. He pried the shovel free with a harsh tug, only for a hammer to take its place.

The forge wasn't the best place for a magnetic dragon to be, and it seemed as if every piece of equipment was being drawn towards the Gronckle. Except, they weren't just flying— the piece of metal were whizzing through the air at speeds that would impale a human. The hard hits and unusual circumstances understandably freaked Meatlug out, even as Fishlegs tried to reassure her, "s-stay calm, girl. Just stay calm. Daddy's here. It's-it's okay—"

The weapons started to rattle on the wall, prompting Gobber to call out a warning: "Fishlegs!"

He let out a squeal of fright and found a shield— just in time, too, as the blades thwacked into the wood. Now laden with metal, the shield found its way to Meatlug's body as well. A final shield was all it took for the Gronckle to flee the forge, much to the dismay of her rider. Other bits of metal lifted up as she passed, chasing her in a dangerous game of tag.

Hiccup didn't waste any time jumping onto Toothless' back and flying after the panicked dragon. Dany would have followed him, but she didn't want to be anywhere near that buzzing sound. It made her feel guilty that she wasn't racing after him like usual, but Drogon seemed relieved that she wasn't charging into danger like he'd become reluctantly used to. He nosed at her reassuringly as— surprisingly— Snotlout got on his dragon to join in. She hadn't expected him to help, especially after everything he'd said about Fishlegs.

Maybe he'd realized there was some merit in teamwork, she thought. It seemed entirely impossible, but there was always hope. Astrid came over to her, her brows furrowed in concern. "Are you alright? It's not like you to not help."

"It's was the metal humming noise," the Targaryen explained, looking down at her bare toes in embarrassment. "It hurts my head."

The blonde smiled sympathetically. "They'll fix it, you know. It's Hiccup and Fishlegs— the two smartest guys in the Academy."

Dany noted how she didn't include Snotlout, which made her grin. "I know. Want to go sit on the cliff while we wait for them to come back?"

It was almost evening by the time the boys returned and, as she'd said, Astrid had been right— they'd figured everything out. The two girls sat on the cliff's edge watching as Hiccup paced back and forth, animatedly reliving every detail— even the part where Meatlug's metallic powers had caused him to become attached to her due to his prosthetic foot. A peal of giggles filled the late afternoon air as Dany laughed at the mental image if him just hanging there, her violet eyes brightening to lavender as she pictured it.

Feeling a bit self-conscious, Hiccup complained, "it's not that funny."

"It is a little," the Targaryen countered cheerfully, still grinning as her chuckles died away.

Even Astrid looked amused, causing the brunet to break from his faux-grumpiness to allow a small smile to appear in its place. "Okay, okay. Maybe it was a bit amusing. But hey, at least it all worked out in the end, right?"

Chapter Text

"Okay, gang, over here," Hiccup said to the group. They were in the arena as usual, with their dragons by their sides. "Tomorrow's training mission was actually Astrid's idea, so I will let her explain it."

This was met with groans of complaint from the surrounding teens except Dany, who had stayed up for most of the night to help Astrid plan it. She was the only one who showed any positive reaction as she clapped once and let out a quiet, "yay!"

"Thank you, Dany, for your support," the Hofferson acknowledged her as she pointedly looked at the rest of the group. "You know, the lot of you could learn from her. What's the problem?"

"Kiss up," Snotlout grumbled audibly, crossing his arms against his chest.

They ignored his insult as Fishlegs answered the blonde's question in a whiny tone: "your training missions are so hard."

"They are not," she protested.

He held up his left hand as proof, which had been wrapped in a bandage a few days previously. "Hand-to-claw combat."

Meatlug licked his palm soothingly, causing him to giggle. The others quickly joined in with their own complaints. "Spine dodging?"

"Hot lava swimming."

Astrid rolled her eyes at Tuffnut's input, her expression far from pleased. "We never did that."

"Yeah, but you should've. It's way better than hand-to-claw combat."

"Well, this mission is easy." She gestured towards the map that was pinned up on one of the wooden barriers. "Dragon Island. You just have to go from this beach on the east side to this cave on the west side."

Dany thought that Astrid probably should have included all the details at once so as to not be misleading, since the riders seemed think that was it. They gathered closer to the map to take in the not-very-far distance. Even Snotlout seemed on board as he admitted, "oh, okay. That's not that bad."

But then the Hofferson kept talking: "at night. With no camping gear. . . and no dragons."

This was met with renewed groans and objections, including: "what? That's crazy! What's the point?"

She waited until their griping died down to explain, "to work on our stealth skills and our wild dragon defense."

"Astrid's right," Hiccup defended her idea. "We all know how strong we are with dragons, but we have to be able to survive and defend ourselves in case we ever get separated from them."

"Trust me, it'll be fun."

--

If she were being honest, Daenerys was actually looking forward to their adventure— that's what she viewed it as, rather than a 'mission.' While she wasn't excited to be away from Drogon for so long, she trusted that her skills would bring her across the island quickly and safely. She had been alone in the woods at night before, after all, so she wasn't afraid of the dark. She wasn't even afraid of the dragons; as long as she didn't meet a Changewing, there was very little harm one could do her. The way she saw it was just as an exciting night out with the only lingering side effect of lack of sleep, which was easily curable.

They touched down on the beach on the east side. It was pitch-black except for the stars and the lanterns they carried. A light breeze blew along the coast as it ruffled their hair. The circle of their dragons kept them warm, but that would soon change.

"Okay, one of us is going to have to skip the drill and take the dragons to the cave on the other side of the island," Hiccup informed them. He held his shield in one hand and a lantern in the other. "That way, they won't try and help us."

That would be the hardest part of the night, at least for Dany. Drogon was about as overprotective as a pseudo-son could get and neither of them liked to be far from the other. Hiccup's point was proven when, moments later, a wild Nadder landed nearby with an antagonistic squawk. Whatever he'd said, the dragons took him at his word. Stormfly and Toothless blasted fire at it while Drogon stretched to his full height, casting the smaller dragon in a menacing shadow. It left hastily after that, screeching as it disappeared against the dark sky.

"Just like that," the brunet commented with a nod. "Okay, so, who's gonna watch the dragons?"

"I think the obvious choice is—" Fishlegs began, but he didn't speak fast enough as Tuffnut cut across him loudly.

"—me! I volunteer."

The larger boy's eyes went wide with apprehension as he thought about having to traverse the island alone. "But-But I have more dragon knowledge!"

"From a book. But I. . . I feel them, in here." Tuffnut patted his chest, first landing correctly over his heart until he decided that wasn't the right area. "Wait, where is it? In here." His hand found his stomach, which growled as if on cue. "Yeah, in my stomach. Besides, I said 'me first!'"

It was Hiccup's turn to groan at the blond's unintentional insight. "I can't believe I'm saying this but, uh, Tuffnut is right. Fishlegs, no one can argue with your dragon knowledge. But if Alvin attacks with wild dragons, we need to be able to face them— anytime, day or night, on our own. Without help."

Fishlegs' shoulders slumped in disappointment. "I hate it when you make sense."

Tuffnut grinned smugly and snickered tauntingly at the other teen. They all turned to say goodbye to their own goodbyes to theirs dragons. Drogon's head dipped to Dany's level when she approached him. She rested her hand on his snout, admiring the way his huge head made her palm appear as small as a doll's. He tilted his head so he could pin her with a look out of one of his flame-orange eyes, conveying that he wasn't happy about this at all.

"I know he's an idiot and you don't want to listen to him," she started, too quietly for anyone but her dragon to hear, "but Toothless will need your help to keep the others in line. And if you sense that something is happening— something bad, then you have my permission to come find us. This is only practice, after all, so it would be stupid if one of us were put in danger because of it. So yeah, unless that happens— behave."

He snorted as if to say 'I always behave.' Drogon gave her an affectionate huff which ruffled her hair more than the breeze had before he turned and lumbered towards Tuffnut, who was reveling in his new position. "That's right! You heard that: boss man! The head honcho. The big. . . boss. . . honcho. . . guy. The honch-boss. Hey, anybody know where this cave is?"

The Thorston faltered under Drogon's very obvious 'say one more stupid thing and I will eat you' look, which included a slight baring of his fangs. He laughed nervously and backed up a few steps to put some space between them, sort of wishing that he hadn't volunteered for the position— he'd forgotten just how dang scary Dany's dragon could be without his rider around. "Just messing with you. Or. . . am I?"

"Remember, this is about stealth, not speed," Hiccup told them as they walked towards the starting point of their training exercise. "It doesn't matter how fast you get there. What's important is how you handle wild dragons if ever you come across one. Understand? Okay. Good luck, everyone. I'll see you back at the cave."

--

It wasn't long before Dany was by herself in the wilderness and she relished the solitude. She loved her friends, of course (most of them, most of the time, anyway), but it had been her idea to do this alone. There was only so much of the twins and Snotlout she could take in a day, after all. The darkness soon enveloped her except for the lantern she carried, which made her look down at the golden glow in her hand. The light might attract unwanted attention, she thought, so it was an easy decision to blow it out.

She could still see; there was starlight and her eyes soon adjusted to her dim surroundings. With that done, Dany continued on her way. She entertained herself by making a game of keeping her steps as silent as possible, to be as one with the woods as she could be. As she walked, she noticed that the bugs and small creatures that had been disturbed by their arrival soon began making noises again. Crickets chirped in nearby bushes while there were skittering sounds underfoot as little animals went about their business.

The path became rocky as she went further towards the island's interior (well, rockier than usual— all of the land Vikings lived on seemed to be made of stones.) She felt the sharp pricks against her bare feet, but remained unphased as she was used to feeling the uneven terrain. Her plan was to go through the middle of the island in as straight of a line as she could. The others would go around the volcano, but she was the only one who could easily withstand the heat. That was, as long as there was an opening, some sort of cavern that she could use as a tunnel. She was pretty sure one existed; the volcano had been long since dormant and dragons had taken up residence within it— which ones, though, she had yet to find out.

Dany was just cresting the steepest slope of the mountain when she heard something strange on the wind. It sounded like. . . howling? Were there wolves on the island? She didn't think anything but dragons could survive here since other species would be quickly turned into food. Her feet came to a halt and she tensed, one hand coming up to grip the bow that was strapped across her back. If there were wolves, they would be one of the few things that did pose a threat to her.

She continued to listen to the sound. The more she paid attention to it, the less convinced she was that it came from an animal. It was too sporadic and. . . passionate, she supposed was the best word to describe it. She'd heard wolves before; her home in the woods let her have contact with many wild animals (though of course, they usually stayed away due to the three very large dragons that lived there.) True howling set her hair on edge and shivers down her spine, but this didn't. The Targaryen relaxed and decided that the noise was inconsequential. As long as whoever was making it stayed away from her, then she'd be fine.

There was still a ways to go and the moon was nearly halfway across the sky by the time she reached the cave opening that lead into the volcano. She thought that a very large dragon must have lived here once— like the Red Death— but moved out when the volcano became dormant. The resulting exit had left a passageway and a cavern that was now home to a new species.

She could already feel the intense heat that came from inside even as she stood several lengths away. It was actually a relief after the chilly nighttime air so she walked forward without hesitation. Curious as to what dragons had taken up residence, her steps became quicker until she stood just inside the opening.

If she'd thought that her evening walk had been dark before, it was nothing like looking into the cave. A few more steps away from the light outside and she wouldn't be able to see so much as a hand in front of her face. It was impossible to tell how big the cavern was or the terrain that lay before her. Dany kind of wished that she'd kept her lantern lit so that it would at least provide a little light. Her next move might've seemed foolish, but she wasn't about to step into the unknown without testing it first. So, she called out into the darkness: "hello?"

Of course, any dragons that did live in the cave wouldn't have been able to answer her, but she hoped the sound of her voice might startle them into being aware of her presence. She thought that she heard a small stone skitter somewhere deeper inside.

It was hot now. So hot that it almost felt like the volcano was active again and Dany was certain that if she could see, there would be heat waves glimmering in the air. It would have made any normal person sweat buckets and stifle their breath until it came in shallow gasps as they tried to take in the thick, boiling air. But for Daenerys, she only felt the warmth as if she were standing in the middle of a fire: unharmed but quite toasty.

Wait a minute, she thought as her eyes went wide with recognition. I know these conditions! She had experienced them only once before in another cave. It had been the same dark heat as what she was feeling now, except with the added pressure of solving a riddle. Hamish's blasted treasure! Of course— these were Fireworms!

Dany breathed a sigh of relief; these dragons did, in fact, like her. She took a cautious step forward, hoping that she wouldn't step on any of the small creatures. When she did, a wave of yellowy-orange rippled out from near her toes to the farthest reaches of the cave, illuminating it in the dragons' glow. She could see the outline of rocks now and the uneven but relatively flat (at least there were no cracks that she could fall into) ground that lay before her.

The Fireworms weren't happy about an intruder in their home, though, and hundreds of tiny eyes turned up to look at her accusingly. That Targaryen put her hands up placatingly as she spoke to them in a soothing, lilting voice: "it's okay, guys. I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to pass through and I'll be on my way. I don't want to accidentally step on anyone, though, so would you mind clearing a path?"

Since she didn't expect an answer, she took a step to show her intentions. The dragons skittered out of her way to let her by. Another step revealed more bare rock, hot under her feet from the multitude of tiny bodies that lingered on the stone. It was slow progress through the cave since the Fireworms didn't trust her much and they only let her walk one step at a time. Dany didn't mind, though, since this wasn't a race and she was doing it more for the practice than anything else.

The farther she walked, the more interested the tiny dragons became. They began to crowd around her feet to sniff at her curiously since she kept her word and didn't pose a threat. A few braver ones scurried over her feet, their sharp talons pricking her skin but otherwise left no damage behind, even with their flaming bodies. When she didn't shake her foot to dislodge them, the creatures became bolder and tried to scramble up her legs by clinging to her skirts. Amused by their efforts, she bent down and let a few of them crawl into her hands before she straightened again.

Like most dragons, they were very cat-like and Daenerys could feel their contented purrs as they vibrated in her fingers. The sound made her smile. Seeing that she didn't mind their presence, they crawled up her arms to gain some height. The blonde bent to gather another handful of willing participants, who also made their curious way over her clothes. Her long sleeves helped keep their talons from pricking her but did end up worse for wear where their steaming bodies singed the material whenever they lingered for too long. She still didn't mind, even then, since clothes were replaceable.

Now that she was practically covered in Fireworms, the rest of their pack weren't bothered by her presence so much. They parted easily before her as she walked, allowing her free passage to the other side of the cave. When she got to the opposite opening, Dany crouched low so that the Fireworms could return to their nest before she left. They streamed off her in a ripple of bright orange as they disappeared back into the mass of their species. Once she was certain that all of them had left, she cast the seething flame-colored pit a fond look before she returned to the chilly night air. Almost at once she missed the oppressing heat of the cave, but there was nothing else to do except carry on. 

--

Hiccup almost wished it had been Snotlout that he'd run into when he'd spotted that fire a few hours ago. It would have been much more preferable than being stuck under Dagur's arm as he enthused about hunting dragons. He was, at least, glad that Dany wasn't there— she would have abhorred his talk of killing them. He did too, of course, but he was better at hiding it. Now they were on the hunt for his Night Fury, whom he hoped was still safely under whatever could be passed as 'Tuffnut's care.'

Their first run-in with a dragon had been with a wild Monstrous Nightmare. They'd narrowly avoided being seen as Dagur yanked him under a rocky outcrop just as the dragon had flown overhead. They continued on their way after that, stopping once more when a faint rustling came from nearby. This time, it had been Snotlout and Hiccup had to come up with a way to convey to the other boy to hide their true purpose for being on the island. Luckily, he caught on soon enough and they were on their way again.

It was their third stop that anything of note happened. At a few points, Hiccup thought he might've seen a flash of silver in the woods, reflected by the light of the lantern he carried. He told himself that he was imagining things; it would definitely be easier if Dany didn't encounter Dagur. But unfortunately, the red-haired man's attention caught onto the movement. His crossbow came up, swinging around as it followed the fleeting motions.

"Night Furies are fast," he said aloud, mostly to himself. "Even less noise this time."

If it was Dany. . . Hiccup's heart squeezed in his chest at the thought of Dagur's suspiciousness being the reason something happened to her. He wouldn't take any chances, even if it wasn't her. He sidled up closer to the Berserker and he lifted his hand, ready to smack the crossbow out of shooting position when the time came.

A slender girl came bursting out of the underbrush the next moment, her silvery-blonde hair almost glowing as it reflected the moonlight. The brunet reacted instantly, leaping forward to shove the point of the weapon towards the ground before Dagur had the chance to fire it. "No! Don't shoot!"

The action caused Dagur's finger to hit the trigger and a bolt was released into the ground. Annoyed, the older man turned to lay into him until his gaze fell on the teen, his eyes taking in her trademark hair color and violet eyes, which were wide with surprise upon her stumble into them. "Targaryen," he identified her, sounding almost. . . pleased. He turned to the chief's son. "Your definition of 'alone' and mine are very different. But perhaps this one can help us—"

"—hunt dragons!" Snotlout cut in loudly. "'Cuz that's what we are doing. Hunting. . ."

Daenerys glanced at Hiccup for help explaining the Jorgenson's odder-than-usual behavior. He sent her a look that asked 'just go along with it, please.' She gave him a displeased frown in response. Just as he was about to step closer to her mutter an appeal, his gaze caught on something that contrasted distinctly to the familiar silver color of her hair.

"Dany," he began in a voice too quiet for Dagur to hear, "you've, uh, got something in your hair." He pointed to the similar place on his head.

The blonde's hand came up to pat around her neck where her fingers caught on something that was quite a bit warmer than her own body heat. She pulled the tiny dragon out of her curls to take a better look at the Fireworm that now sat contentedly in her palm. Hiccup watched the Berserker— who was reloading his crossbow— warily for when his focus returned to them. "How did that happen?"

It was then that he also noticed the state of her clothes, which had been hard to tell until she'd stepped into the circle of light that his lantern provided. There were dark splotches, almost like burn marks, that littered the silvery material. She looked down a little sheepishly. "Oh. I, uh, decided to take the middle of the island. Which also happened to be straight. . . through the volcano. And a Fireworm nest."

Hiccup shook his head, unable to hide the warm look that softened his gaze as he glanced at the girl and then her unintentional hitchhiker. "That does sound like something only you would do," he replied fondly. "Well, you better hide it before—"

"Hey!" the unexpected shout caused the teens to jump, their eyes flashing towards the Berserker as they startled. His own gaze was focused on the glowing light that Dany cupped in her palms.

Great. The brunet's voice trailed off as he finished, ". . . Dagur finds out."

"That's a dragon, isn't it?" Dagur's eyes gleamed with renewed madness at the sight of his targeted species. "It's tiny, but I can still kill it. It'll make a nice. . . ring? I suppose that's all it'd be good for—"

The Targaryen hugged the Fireworm close to her chest as she glared at the red-haired man furiously. Her voice was low in anger when she cut him off; any sane man would have taken her at her word: "you try to hurt this dragon and I'll make sure you're the last of your name."

Hiccup started to laugh nervously, certain that the Berserker wouldn't take the threat well, and quickly tried to smooth things over. "Oh, well, you know Targaryens—"

But Dagur was only confused rather than insulted. "I thought the Targaryens' whole practice was to hunt dragons. That's what you became famous for, wasn't it?"

"You're mistaken," Dany told him coldly before Hiccup could jump in and assert that yes, they were indeed here to hunt dragons once more. "I would never hurt a dragon. I would rather die."

"That can be arranged," the older man responded, hefting his reloaded crossbow into position. The two glared at each other as the blonde stood unwaveringly in front of him. "I wonder what a human head would look like on my wall."

"O-kay," Hiccup said, even more apprehensive than before. He came to stand between them, putting himself firmly in the line of fire. "Let's get back to hunting that Night Fury. And Dany, why don't you let that Fireworm go?"

The Berserker let out a bored sigh as he dropped his weapon once more. "Fine. He's such a killjoy, isn't he?" he asked almost conversationally in the blonde's direction.

She reluctantly set the small dragon on the ground and watched it scamper off before she turned to pin him with a disgusted look. "I happen to like him exactly the way he is."

Hiccup was glad when they resumed walking so that he could fall towards the back of the group for a moment so no one would notice the blush that rose to his cheeks at the blonde's passionate defense of his personality.

--

"You know, you and I are a lot alike, Hiccup," Dagur commented sometime later. They'd fallen silent so he could track the sounds of anything that moved within a shooting distance, but now he broke it with that thought.

The teens had shifted during the walk so Hiccup was in step with the Berserker— to put some much-needed space between him and Dany— while the blonde had taken up the tail which put Snotlout in the middle. The chief's son started at his words, asking carefully, "really? Ho-how's that?"

"Well, we're both born leaders. Sons of chiefs."

"Yeah, that's true," Hiccup allowed, a little surprised by the cohesiveness of the list.

It was Dagur's third item that kept him true to form: ". . .who had to be eliminated so we could take control."

"Yes. . ." Then he realized what the older man said and hastily backtracked, "wait— wait? No. No!" He spun to face the Berserker, bringing the group to a halt with his vehement denial. "My-my dad hasn't been eliminated from anything!"

"But he could," Dagur exclaimed brightly, as if this were a perfectly ordinary offer. "Easily! Just say the word and—"

He swung the crossbow across his body in a careless shot, forcing the teens to duck. The bolt landed in the trunk of a tree. The riders stared at him, alarmed, as Hiccup gave his halfhearted agreement, "yeah. . . that's. . . something to think about."

Some bushes rustled close by, leaving the trio wondering what it could be this time. Luckily, it distracted Dagur from his talk of assassination as he loaded in a new bolt. When he was finished, he raised his hand and slowly closed it in a fist to silently indicate that they should get low to the ground. Unbeknownst to them, Astrid crept up from behind while they were focused on what lay ahead. She placed her hand over Snotlout's closed fist— in a mirror of Dagur's signal— which caught his attention.

He twisted around to look at her as she put a finger to her lips. Smirking antagonistically at her— since he made it a point to never follow directions— he shoved her hand away as he began to exclaim, "wow—!"

The Hofferson punched him in the face with his own hand in response to cut off her sentence, sent Dany a quick smile as the girl's eyes landed on her, then backflipped away into the cover of the forest once more. Dagur had been oblivious to all of this as he sighed in annoyance to the boy next to him: "which one of your friends is it going to be this time?"

"It's. . . hard to say."

It was not, however, one of Hiccup's friends. Or, rather, it was— just not a human one. A purple plasma blast shot out of the bushes in front of the Berserker. They looked through the newly-burning underbrush to see Toothless roar in the gap he had created between the branches. Dagur's eyes gleamed with excitement at the sight of him. "The Night Fury! Hiccup, my brother, you've done it! You led me right to it. Arrow, meet dragon."

He aimed the crossbow steadily at Toothless' neck, unphased by the clearly angry dragon that growled at him. Just like he had when it had been Dany on facing down the weapon— though also an entirely different kind of fear at the same time— Hiccup put his hand out to stop the older man from shooting.

"No, no, Dagur! Wait." He searched for an excuse that would change Dagur's mind. " I. . . would like to do it."

"I saw him first!" he whined like a three-year-old.

The brunet took the crossbow out of the Berserker's hands. "Yes, but I led you to him."

Dagur swiped it back. "But I brought the crossbow. All you brought was that useless, ornate shield. Now, stand aside."

There was a sudden commotion as a trio of Terrible Terrors came swarming from the trees, causing his concentration to shift to them. They flew at his head and he accidentally released an arrow as he tried to shaking them off. It landed in a tree next to Toothless, but the distraction allowed two things to happen: the first was for Hiccup to wave his dragon away with one of the hand motions they'd practiced. The second was that Dany took advantage of the disorder to take her dragon whistle out of her pocket and give it a short blast. If Toothless was here, she had no doubt Drogon was nearby— and she was willing to hedge a bet that not even someone as insane as Dagur would be willing to try his hand at her dragon.

"What's wrong with you?" Astrid demanded as she reappeared, having put her plan in action once she'd assessed the situation and come to her own conclusion. (Unlike Snotlout, she was one of the sharper arrows in the quiver.) "I almost had those Terrible Terrors. They were right in my hands!"

Daenerys stowed her whistle back in her pocket before the Berserker could see it. He turned towards the Hofferson with a scoff. "Terrors, schmerrors. We're hunting a Night Fury here! Did you leave anyone back on Berk?"

The question was directed at Hiccup, who did a quick head count of his visible friends to evaluate who was still missing. He could only chuckle nervously, not wanting to give the man a real answer. ". . . very funny, Dagur."

As the red-haired man wandered off to see where Toothless had gotten to, Astrid leaned in to whisper, "did he say. . . hunting a Night Fury?"

"Yup, that's exactly what he said."

"But Toothless is—"

"I know. And if he's loose, then so are the other dragons. You guys need to find Fishlegs, Ruff, and Tuff, and get out of here," Hiccup told the girls urgently. "Don't worry. Dagur won't hurt me. I'm his. . . brother."

Brother? Daenerys wondered— probably brothers-in-arms rather than a biological brother. Or even brothers as in the same social status. Either way, it wasn't important in that moment as Dagur returned and aggressively looped his arm around the brunet's shoulders. She was really glad that she wasn't in his place.

"Come, Hiccup! While the trail is still fresh."

He stammered out an excuse to dismiss them: "I-I can't hunt with an entourage. Go back to Berk! Leave us to our business!"

"That's just great!" Snotlout complained the second they were alone. "How are we supposed to find our dragons?"

"Way ahead of you on that," Dany replied with a smirk as she pointed behind him.

He turned just in time for Hookfang to blow a breath of hot steam in his face. Meatlug hovered just behind him while Stormfly squawked in greeting. The Targaryen went over to Drogon and threw her arms around his tree trunk-like leg, having missed him greatly during the night they'd been apart. 

It was easy to track down the twins after that— their loud voices alerted the group before anything else. They arrived just as Ruffnut was rolling her eyes at her brother. "Come on, let's find the others!"

"Uh, we're right here," Astrid said in a much quieter tone. "Could you guys any louder?"

Of course, they took her at her word and tried to prove that yes, they could do exactly that. "Sure, yeah, but why would you—" Tuffnut started yelling.

The Hofferson smacked a hand over his mouth to cut him off. Ruffnut continued in an even louder voice: "you didn't learn anything—"

She received the same treatment and Dany grimaced, relieved once again that she wasn't in her friend's place. You couldn't pay her enough to put her hands on the twins' mouths; they probably wouldn't know hygiene if it hit them in the face. Finally, she was able to was able to briefly catch them up on the events that had conspired so far: ". . . and Hiccup went off with Dagur to 'catch' Toothless. He told us to go back to Berk to keep our dragons safe."

"I'm not leaving him here," Dany stated firmly.

"It's Hiccup," Snotlout retorted with his own eye-roll. "He'll be fine. He'll just come back missing another leg, or maybe an arm this time—"

"Not helping," Astrid snapped as she glared at him, noticing the Targaryen's increased concern.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "I wasn't trying to."

"Anyway," Astrid added pointedly. Her tone softened but remained stern as she addressed the blonde. "He told us to go back. That was an order, Dany. We'll only cause Berk more trouble if Dagur finds out that we ride dragons. The treaty, remember?"

Daenerys disregarded her and began to hoist herself up Drogon's leg. "Yeah, but the Targaryens weren't acknowledged by Berk when it was made, so I'm not beholden to it. Besides, he already knows that I won't hurt a dragon. Riding one is just a step past that."

She seated herself between her dragon's spines in the usual place at the dip just before his neck. She didn't wait for a response and shifted her weight forward, letting Drogon know that she was ready for takeoff. They were in the air several powerful wing-beats later, both of them scanning the ground for familiar black scales.

--

"Is that a—" Dagur's eyes were wide as he stared at the Night Fury before him, now in plain sight.

"—saddle?" Hiccup finished for him, a bit smugly as he climbed onto his dragon's back. "Yes, Dagur, that's exactly what it is."

"So I was—"

"—right all along. We do not hunt dragons on Berk." His feet slipped into the stirrups of the saddle and clicked the lever for Toothless' tail to engage. The dragon turned to the Berserker with his wings flared. "We ride them."

His shock rapidly turned into anger as he took furious steps forward, pointing an accusing finger at the pair. "Your father lied to m— You lied to me!"

"He was trying to keep the peace between tribes. So was I," Hiccup replied evenly.

"By making a fool out of me?" Dagur all but wailed as his fury unbalanced his tone.

The brunet regarded him dispassionately. "You don't need a lot of help with that, Dagur." The red-haired man reached for his crossbow only to freeze when Toothless roared at him. "Your move."

"You could've been my brother, Hiccup," Dagur began, sounding almost sad. Then a hard edge entered his tone, filled with dark hatred. "Now, you're my enemy."

"Have it your way. But remember— we have the dragons, and we're not afraid to use them." He patted Toothless on his neck. "Let's get out of here, bud."

They managed to launch themselves into the sky but didn't get much farther than that. Dagur sent bolas spinning after them, which trapped Toothless' wings to his sides and brought them down, hard. Hiccup was thrown from the saddle and rolled across the ground from the force of the landing. The Night Fury roared in protest but the sound was abruptly replaced with the Berserker's. . . well, berserk yell as he threw another bola at the dragon's mouth.

He ran forward with his sword aimed high, but Hiccup was there to intercept him with his Gronckle Iron shield. At least, he was until Dagur became tired of their stalemate and used the dirty tactic of kicking the boy away with his foot. He raised his sword again, but was blocked by another obstacle— this one much harder to kick out of the way.

The thin metal blade hit a shiny tree-trunk-like barrier and bounced off. If that hadn't stopped him, the earth-shaking roar that followed certainly would have, and Dagur slowly looked up. . . and up. . . and up into the biggest dragon he had ever seen. This new dragon dwarfed Toothless so completely that the Night Fury looked like a mere housecat in comparison. The red-and-black scales glinted in the moonlight as a long neck began to curve downward so that the dragon's giant head became eye level with his. The sight was no less unpleasant as he was met with salivating fangs and a mouth big enough to swallow a man whole.

"Do you want Drogon to eat him, Hiccup?" a girl's voice— the Targaryen's— called out from somewhere above him, her actual person lost amongst her dragon's vast size.

The brunet had recovered at this point and stood, staring up with slight awe at the dragon. . . above him. Sure, he'd always known Drogon was big— and still growing— but that had always been from a front view. He'd never actually been. . . underneath him. Those large talons could crush him with one misstep, not to mention Toothless, who was securely within the protection of Drogon's legs. It took him a second to shake off the shock so he could respond: "n-no, that's okay! Just keep him busy."

"With pleasure," the Targaryen answered, and both men could hear the delight in her tone.

While Hiccup quickly worked to free his dragon, Drogon snapped his teeth in the Berserker's direction, forcing him to take several steps back. Even Dagur could tell that his crossbow would be useless against such a creature— he wasn't sure if even his armada could easily take down a dragon of this size. But something could, and once he found it, he wanted to use it; this dragon's head would make an even more impressive trophy than the Night Fury's.

A gust of hot flame followed, swallowing up the space that he could run. Drogon chased him off the cliff with bursts of fire until the Berserker was fleeing with shouts of, "dragon attack!"

Dany watched him go without remorse, wishing she could have actually set him on fire. Hiccup soon cut through all the ropes that bound his dragon and resumed his seat on Toothless' back. He came up to the girl's side, keeping his dragon in a hovering position as he said, "we'd better go now. His men are on the way."

The Targaryen's gaze turned the sea where she guessed the flaming arrows that surrounded them had come from. "Drogon and I could take them."

Hiccup shook his head. "Not today. Dagur will be back. When we do take them, we'll do it together."

Chapter Text

"Cut him off!" Stoick ordered as the teens chased a stinky Gobber through Berk's streets. "Make sure he doesn't escape."

Dany watched from her aloft position in the sky as Toothless scrambled down the wooden steps to close the distance between them. Then he launched himself forward, followed by a tight turn around the nearest buildings. Drogon was only a hinderance in this case as his large wingspan kept him from flying well through the narrow alleyways of town, but the Targaryen had a front-row seat to the chaos below. (Otherwise, she would have helped— she'd had the misfortune of smelling Gobber earlier and his scent had made her gag.)

"Astrid!" Hiccup called up to the girl riding the Deadly Nadder. "He's headed your way!"

"On it!" she replied, then pointed in the direction of the fleeing man. "Stormfly, spine shot!"

Her dragon whipped her tail forwards to cut the blacksmith off in one of the village's open spaces. He stumbled to a halt to avoid the pointed spikes. He turned to face his chief defiantly. "I won't do it, Stoick," Gobber protested. "And you can't make me!" Toothless and Stormfly landed on either side of the chief to back him towards the tub. "None of you can make me!"

"Keep him surrounded!" Stoick said, ignoring the man's complaints.

Daenerys closed in from above, letting Drogon cast a threatening shadow over the man in the hopes of at least alarming him into submission. Gobber glared at them and stamped his peg leg in defiance. "A Viking is supposed to smell this way. It's a badge of honor!"

One of Berk's many Terrible Terrors popped its head over his shoulder playfully, ready to cause some mischief, but one whiff of the blacksmith's scent had it reeling away. It flew dizzily as it put as much space between them as it could, but was so disoriented that it bonked its head into a pole and collapsed in the dirt with its tongue out.

"It's for your own good, Gobber," Stoick tried to reason with him.

Hiccup didn't hesitate to add: "actually, it's for the good of the town."

"Get— in— the tub," his father demanded, pointing to it sternly.

Gobber's scowl only deepened as he refused to move. That prompted more forceful action from Snotlout, who landed behind him on his Monstrous Nightmare. In an authoritative voice, he instructed: "Hookfang, toss him in the tub!"

But he should have been more specific as to which 'him' he meant, for Hookfang took his rider's command literally. The dragon's eyes widened with glee as he flicked his neck to send the boy spiraling into the air. Snotlout yelled in shock as he came down, landing with a loud clatter right in the trough. He glowered first at his dragon. "Every. . . single. . . time! Doesn't this get old for you?" Then he turned his attention to the blonde who was still hovering over them. "You could have caught me!"

"Oops," the Targaryen replied insincerely. Not that he could see around Drogon's bulk (and that was mostly why she felt brave enough to do it), she shrugged and gave him a sarcastic smile.

Hookfang was no more sympathetic and responded to the teen's question with a bored eyeroll. Seeing how this was getting them nowhere, Hiccup took charge by directing Toothless towards Gobber, who was currently distracted by Snotlout's unexpected flight. The Night Fury crept around him as the blacksmith resumed his complaints. "I won't do it, Stoick!"

"Now, Astrid!" the brunet exclaimed.

Stormfly went to hover in the air, causing Gobber to look up at her in confusion. Toothless took the window of opportunity and used his snout to lift the man off the ground. With a startled yell, he was flung backwards into the tub. Stoick ran to use his weight so that his best friend couldn't get away. "Fishlegs, soap and water!"

He came over on Meatlug's back with a bucket clutched in his arms. Tensing in preparation for the apparently unpleasant sensation of being clean, Gobber closed his eyes and expected the worst. The blond tossed the contents of his bucket over the man, but instead of the deluge he was anticipating, it was no more than a light splash.

Stoick frowned at this development. "You're gonna have to do better than that, son."

Fishlegs looked into the bucket just to make sure that more water hadn't magically appeared as he shook his head. "I can't, sir. The well. . . it's run dry."

The group shared an uneasy glance before they went over to check it out themselves. Instead of wasting time trying to land Drogon in such a tight space to see for herself, Dany let them go, knowing that whatever was discovered would be shared at the Academy.

--

Sure enough, everyone gathered at the arena not long after. Hiccup paced in front of them, his brows furrowed as he tried to think of a solution to yet another problem. "Okay. We need to find a way to keep Berk supplied with water until a new well can be dug." He uncrossed his arms and pointed at the twins. "Ruff, Tuff, strap on the washtub and head to Lars Lake to fill it."

The older sibling let out a light scoff. "Okay, but that thing's pretty big. I mean, it's bigger than Ruff's butt." At the insult, his sister checked her backside with an uncharacteristic amount of self-consciousness. "That might take a while. Like, a week or two."

It didn't take long for her to realize the comment was just one of their usual jabs. She glowered at her brother and punched him in the arm, hard, without hesitation. He flailed as he was off balanced by her hit and fell onto the stony ground with a grunt. Used to their antics, Hiccup merely waited for the majority of the noise to be finished before he pointed out: "well, I was assuming you would use your dragon."

Tuffnut jumped to his feet easily, fixing his helmet back in place as he asked with genuine confusion, "why would you think that?"

"Because I—" But the brunet decided it wasn't worth the explanation and cut off his sentence to return to the original topic (though not without an exasperated face-palm.) "Okay, moving on. Astrid, Dany, Snotlout, head to the mountain streams and fill as many canteens as you can."

Daenerys frowned at this grouping. She didn't have a problem with Astrid, of course, but the way Snotlout was smirking surely promised more unwanted attempts at flirting. He wasted no time in trying to put his arm around the Hofferson's shoulders as he said thoughtfully, "the mountain streams. . ."

His effort was met with Astrid violently wrenching his arm behind his back, making him gasp out the lest of his sentence: "romantic."

She threw him to the ground mercilessly, where he landed with a loud 'ow!' Once again, Hiccup was used to their antics and carried on as if nothing had happened. "Fishlegs, Meatlug, you're going to help me figure out what happened inside that well."

This is the part where you stand up for yourself, Dany reminded herself firmly. She had promised herself that she wouldn't take things (most Snotlout-related-things) lying down— this was as good of a time to start as any. Her heart gave a little extra thump as adrenaline began to thrum through her. Not quite sure how to disagree without seeming like a jerk (because she didn't mind being a team player, she just wanted a different position), she decided the best course of action was a very Fishlegs-like-move: she raised her hand so that it hovered next to her head.

Hiccup had been about to go on and wrap up their meeting when he noticed two hands in the air. Caught off guard a bit, his gaze first fell on the blonde as he prompted her, "yes, Dany?"

She dropped her hand and clasped both of them together in front of her, her fingers twisting together nervously. "I, uh," she began, her voice a little quiet so that he had to strain to hear her as her gaze remained on her bare toes. "I'd like to take a look at the well with you instead."

"That's a good idea," Fishlegs chimed in, his hand still raised as Hiccup hadn't called on him. "I was just about to say that Meatlug and I don't do well in tight spaces, but you and Dany definitely can."

The chief's son took this into consideration and nodded. "Okay, then Dany can come with us—"

"Aw, babe," Snotlout whined as he came over to stand next to the blonde. He tried to put an arm around her as he continued, "you don't want to go to a romantic mountain stream—"

Daenerys stepped out of his reach and steeled herself to look him in the eyes. Even just that was enough to startle him into silence (since she had never done it before; she was only comfortable enough to do eye contact with two people: Hiccup and sometimes Astrid.) Her voice was still quiet, but she spoke as definitively as she could manage: "please don't touch me."

A moment of stunned silence rang over the group as they weren't used to her standing up for herself. Her stomach twisted a little as she wondered whether she'd taken it too far— would they all hate her now? But she took a chance and glanced over at Astrid, and the look of pride on the other girl's face made her straighten with a little more confidence. 

"O-okay," Snotlout said, making an effort to laugh off the rejection. "No one saw that coming. C'mon, Astrid. Let's go get that water."

--

This time, Dany did land Drogon in the small square; from head to tail, he stretched through the entire open clearing and then some. He wasn't terribly happy with the lack of space and even less so when the teens looked down into the dark well. He huffed nervously as he tried to tell his mother to stay away from the well— she didn't listen, much to his chagrin.

"Who gets to go down first?" the Targaryen asked as she pulled away from the opening and glanced at the rope they were going to use. It was the same one that held the bucket to pull up the water, so it was quite long.

"Well, I've only got one boot to get wet if the water's just further down than we thought," Hiccup reasoned.

She gave him a deadpan look. "I'm not wearing any boots."

"Ah," he realized, his eyes dropping down to her feet. "Right. So. . ."

"I'll go first," she volunteered. The brunet opened his mouth to protest, but she'd already turned away to start tying the rope around Meatlug. He sighed in defeat and half-wished that he'd still sent her with Astrid instead.

Once everything was sorted, the two teens hung on the line with Dany first and then Hiccup. The Gronckle began to lower them into the deep pit as Fishlegs, Toothless and Drogon watched on. "That's it, girl! Just keep it steady."

The glow of Hiccup's lantern was the only light they had. It cast shadows on the cool stone as it flickered from their movement. "Lower— keep going. Just a little more."

Daenerys was the first one to see the change in color where the waterline had sat during the well's existence. She let the rope go a little lower so it was in Hiccup's line of sight before she called up, "okay! That's good!"

They stopped moving and the brunet switched the lantern to his other hand so he could reach out and touch the rocks. He spoke his observations aloud for Dany:
"The water level was way up here. . . and it's still wet."

Wanting to put in her own help, the blonde tugged a loose stone free and let it drop from her hands. It fell. . . and fell. . . and fell until they heard a dull thunk. There was definitely no water below them. When they established that there was dry ground below them, Hiccup addressed the larger boy: "Fishlegs, get us all the way down!"

"Are you sure? It looks awfully dark and scary down there," he replied, his face and Toothless' visible from the small circle of sky above them.

"Fishlegs!"

"Okay! Take them down, girl."

As they resumed their path downwards, Dany wondered what could cause all of the water to disappear. It would have to be rerouted somehow, have another opening that changed its flow. But a person couldn't make such a big change, especially not this far down. Maybe a lot of people, but surely they'd see a such a large group? Besides, the only large group of people who wished them harm were. . . Outcasts. Her eyes widened as the rope swung; they'd seen a lot of their ships coming and going but had been unable to track any of them for long.

The stone wall suddenly bumped into her, breaking her from her thoughts. She looked up but couldn't see much except for Hiccup's feet (both the real and metal one.) They'd been in the middle of the well so far, which had just been wide enough for their fingertips to brush on either side. Now they were listing towards the right and wavering more wildly than before; something wasn't right. "Hiccup?"

"I think we're caught on something!" he replied, raising his voice to shout: "Fishlegs, wait!"

"Steady, Meatlug!"

But the warning was for naught as the Gronckle was determined to get the snack of rocks she had glimpsed from a nearby wagon. With another pull on the rope, she was free— but so were the teens, who were suddenly falling through the air. Their yells distressed their respective dragons; Toothless let out concerned growl and changed his angle so he could dive straight into the opening. Drogon roared too, but there was little he could do with how big he was.

Daenerys had the misfortune of hitting the ground first. She quickly rolled out of the way as Hiccup came down after her. He'd barely gotten to his feet when a black, missile-like force launched into him and knocked him down again. Once he'd found his footing, he turned first to the girl and checked her over for any visible signs of injury. "Dany, are you okay?"

"Yeah. You?"

He nodded and then asked his dragon the same question. The Night Fury responded by licking him affectionately, showing that he was fine. Stoick's voice echoed down the long tunnel: "Hiccup! Hiccup!"

"We're okay, Dad!"

"Are you flying back up?"

The well had been big enough for Toothless to fly down, obviously, but Hiccup didn't think he'd fit with two riders on his back. "No! It's too narrow!"

"Somebody get me a rope!" the chief ordered, his voice a bit fainter as he turned away to give the command. It returned to normal volume as he told them, "I'm coming down after you two!"

The brunet put his hands up as if that would stop his father. "Dad, don't! Then all four of us will be stuck down here."

"Well, just stay right there until I can think a way to bring you both up."

That certainly didn't sound promising in Dany's opinion. Hiccup was clearly the brains of the Haddocks and he was down here with her, so they'd probably stay in this well unless they found a way out themselves. Luckily he seemed to be on the same page as he decided, "we're fine! The water had to go somewhere. Besides, we have Toothless with us. We'll find a way out."

"Just try to keep Drogon from destroying the well!" Dany added, knowing that her dragon would probably be desperate enough to make the hole bigger himself at this point.

"That'll go well," the brunet muttered, thinking about how big the dragon was compared to his father.

She gave him a slightly insulted look on Drogon's behalf. "I don't expect them to succeed— it'll just keep them from worrying about us for a few hours."

"Oh— that's not a bad idea, actually," he said. They'd explored a bit further into the cavern and came across a tunnel, which they relayed up to the pair waiting above. Hiccup then asked the other two members of his group: "why don't we find out where this leads?" 

--

They hadn't been walking in the semi-darkness for long when Hiccup broke their comfortable silence, his tone a little more self-deprecating than usual. "I bet you wish you'd gone with Snotlout to the romantic mountain stream, huh?" he asked, mimicking the Jorgenson's voice as he said the 'romantic mountain stream' part.

Dany made a face and shook her head. "No way. I would so rather walk through this dark, musty tunnel with you than do anything remotely romantic with Snotlout."

Although it hadn't been a very high bar to beat, Hiccup brightened at her adamant refusal. He couldn't help but feel a bit smug over the fact that Daenerys would choose to spend time with him rather than Snotlout, especially because there had been a point in his life (before that fateful day he'd shot Toothless down) where he'd been everybody's last choice. He still wasn't quite used to the fact that people wanted him around.

Witnessing Snotlout's flirtatious attempts had always soured his mood because that image (Dany-and-Snotlout) was so horrible it kind of did make him have unusually violent daydreams of punching the Jorgenson in the face. Since the blonde had never out rightly rejected Snotlout, there had always been a little misgiving over what direction their relationship was headed. (And no, he didn't care. Not one bit. Dany was just his best friend and he was looking out for her; he just didn't think they were. . . right for each other.)

"Yeah?" he asked with a grin, it faded only slightly as he added, "I mean, you've never really told him off before, so. . ."

"Really?" the Targaryen demanded, a little disgusted. "I thought you knew me better than that. Ugh, gross," she complained, shuddering at the thought of Snotlout touching her.

Hiccup's smile became even more genuine as relief swamped him (just because he'd been worried about her— nothing to do with him at all!!), reassured now that Dany-and-Snotlout would never happen. But then a sobering thought occurred to him, and he was glad that for the darkness of the tunnel so that it would cover up the awkwardness of his question. "Do you mind it when. . . I touch you?"

She gave him a patient look (since they'd been over this before; she knew he only wanted to make sure she was comfortable.) "Hiccup, I would tell you if I did."

"Would you?" he wondered, arching a brow at her.

"Yes," the blonde replied a bit defensively (because okay, maybe he did know her too well.) Under his continued disbelieving stare, she faltered and admitted more sheepishly with each word: "maybe. . . probably. . . not."

Not wanting him to get the wrong idea, she quickly reached forward without thinking about it much and grasped his hand with hers. She held up their joined hands as proof. "See?"

"I— uh— yeah," Hiccup stuttered, feeling his face heat up in response to her unexpected action. (Just because it was a surprise— really!) Desperately wanting to change the subject now that he'd been caught off guard, he began to pay extra attention to their surroundings. Clearing his throat, he commented (in what he hoped was a nonchalant observation), "these caverns must run right under the town."

Suddenly, their feet crunched on something that was very much not rock-like, which successfully drew their attention from their very teenage conversation. The blonde bent (notably still keeping a hold on the boy's hand) and shifted the fragments around with her free one. "Dragon eggs?"

Toothless crowded in next to her to sniff at them and a low growl began to emit from his throat. Hiccup held the lantern higher to shine the light further down the tunnel, illuminating far more than one dragon egg. "Look at these."

The light fell on a nearby crate and the trio went over to check it out. Dany recognized the crest instantly, as did the brunet. She remembered her earlier musings as she announced, "that's the Outcast crest."

She wished that she hadn't been right.

A roar sounded down one of the tunnels and both teens whipped around to stare at the darkness. Hiccup glanced at his dragon as he pointed towards the sound. "Toothless, light up the cave down that way."

The Night Fury shot a plasma blast in the indicated direction, throwing purple light over the rocks as it went. They had begun to carefully walk forward when shadows above them caught their attention. All-too-familiar holes littered the ceiling. Daenerys' stomach sank at the realization of exactly which dragons those belonged to. "Those are Whispering Death tunnels."

Toothless growled again, this time in agitation at the mention of the species. Hiccup had to agree with him. "I know. Not my favorite dragon either, bud." When Dany gave him a reproachful look, he protested, "you can't like all dragons!"

Then, she sighed and admitted, "yeah, I'd be happy if I never saw another one."

"Unfortunately I don 't think you're going to get that wish from the looks of all these holes," he remarked, letting the lantern fall on as many as it could. A particularly large one caught their attention. "I don't even want to know who made that." He tugged on her hand (which, to his delight, she hadn't removed from his.) "Come on, we should keep moving."

Eventually, the route they had taken reached a dead end. A pile of boulders sat in their way, too big for either of them too move. They could have Toothless blast it, but that might cause the whole network to collapse. Besides, there might not even be another side to come out to. They would simply have to retrace their steps. The thought made both of them sigh, the brunet groaning, "oh, great."

Just as they were about to go back the way they came, a stale wind blew against them and caused their lantern to extinguish. "Oh, even greater. Toothless, would you mind?"

The black dragon let out a small burst of fire to re-light their candle. At least they wouldn't be stuck down here in the dark, Dany thought with some comfort. Sure, she wasn't petrified of the darkness like Fishlegs was, but the idea of trying to find their way out in it? They'd be lost for who knew how long.

But maybe the darkness would have been better, since it would've hidden the unexpected intruder that now loomed behind them. It roared furiously (since, okay, technically they were the intruders), startling both teens badly. Toothless was quick to react and aimed a plasma blast in its direction, forcing the Whispering Death back against the wall.

Hiccup scrambled to get on his dragon's back, pulling Dany with him as she slipped into place behind. "Let's get out of here, bud!"

She hastily wrapped her arms around the boy's waist as they took off; she'd never been more grateful that Drogon was still above ground— he would have never been good in a chase like this.

They soared around the sharp bends of the tunnels, carefully flying between them to avoid both the stalactites and stalagmites that jutted up like teeth around them. The Whispering Death was hot on their tail since it knew the tunnels better than they did, its many-toothed mouth only ever inches from them.

Another came at the from the opposite direction, forcing them to barrel roll to avoid it. Dany clung tighter to the brunet as her heart thudded in her chest. Normally, she would have enjoyed the chase, but they didn't even have a way out— there was no escape unless they went back up through the well.

A third dragon shot up from a cavern in the floor and Toothless reeled back to avoid it. The first appeared behind them until they seemed to come from everywhere at once. Hiccup rather unhelpfully (in the Targaryen's opinion) counted each arrival. She would prefer to not know how many dragons wanted to kill her, thank you very much.

The Night Fury ducked under their snapping mouths to race back the way they'd come. The other dragons, however, wouldn't give up on their prey so easily and were back on their tail in seconds. "Oh, come on!" 

There was an unsettling silence not long after, causing them to glance over their shoulders in confusion. When they realized that the dragons had disappeared, Toothless stopped flying and hovered in place as they faced the tunnel. "Uh, that's weird."

"I don't like it," the blonde muttered, glancing behind herself once more. "Why would they just. . . stop?"

Since Hiccup didn't have an answer for her, he guided Toothless forward to see where the Whispering Deaths had gotten off to. A cascade of rocks tumbled down from one of the tunnels overhead, hitting Toothless on the snout and showering the teens with dirt. A light, fresh breeze blew towards them, which could only mean one thing: "they're heading up to the town! We have to stop them!"

The Night Fury folded in his wings and shot upward. The tunnel was dark and twisty so they relied on Toothless' ability to see in the dark as he sent out a signal ahead of them. Not even the light of Hiccup's lantern could penetrate the thick blackness. As they sped along, Dany only got glimpses of the rock walls that they passed.

Finally, there was a patch of natural light up ahead and they burst through the opening into the center of Berk. Even with the overcast clouds, the light was still bright enough to make her eyes hurt after being used to the darkness. The blonde blinked quickly to refocus her gaze as Toothless levelled out above the town. They could see the destruction that the Whispering Deaths had already caused, from the overturned earth to collapsed buildings.

"Hiccup, get me to Drogon," the Targaryen instructed the boy in front of her. She wanted to help and it would do no good to have both of them on the same dragon.

He eyed the Whispering Deaths that whipped their way through town. "How are you gonna do that?"

"Just get me above him, okay?"

Hiccup looked over his shoulder to send her a faintly worried look, but she merely pointed towards the large shape of her dragon. He sighed and acquiesced. Drogon, who had launched into flight to avoid the new tunnels being made by the intruders, saw them coming and levelled out steadily underneath them. Once Toothless was parallel to her dragon, Dany stood cautiously on the Night Fury's back, placing her hands on the brunet's shoulders to steady herself.

Feeling her weight shift behind him, he started to ask, "Dany, what—"

"Shush, I'm concentrating," she interrupted him, and he fell silent as her weight suddenly vanished altogether.

Drogon was a large dragon, so in theory her idea would work. In practice, it also worked, but not quite as well as she'd hoped. Dany aimed her jump very carefully to land between the spikes on her dragon's back— one misstep would send her freefalling (though she had no doubt that Hiccup would have Toothless catch her, but wouldn't that be embarrassing?) She had intended to land near her usual spot on the curve of Drogon's neck but hadn't accounted for the wind resistance.

That placed her closer to his wings as her feet made contact with his scales. She landed hard and started to slip sideways in a way that made her heartrate spike in her chest as adrenaline rushed through her. Her hand flashed out to grab onto one of his spikes and she righted herself just in time. It wasn't as comfortable a position as she was used to since she could feel every movement of Drogon's wing-joints, but at least she hadn't fallen.

After he'd taken a moment to recover from the unexpectedness of her actions, Hiccup nodded to her. "See you out there."

They went their separate ways: him, to the forge to collect his Gronckle Iron shield, while she directed Drogon towards the Whispering Deaths themselves. She saw Ruffnut and Tuffnut hovering in the air as they watched the chaos below, probably moved by so much devastation, if she knew the twins. Astrid flew up in front of them (probably to scold them), but that wasn't the important part— unbeknownst to the trio (though the Hofferson would take notice first) a Whispering Death was fast approaching the stationary siblings.

"Come on, buddy," Dany said. "Let's get some action."

Her dragon beat his powerful wings to shoot them forward just as the Whispering Death opened its many-toothed mouth at the vulnerable trio. Barf let out a stream of thick, green gas and the other dragon reeled away to avoid it— right into Drogon's waiting talons. Its razor-like tail whipped furiously as it tried to free itself, but her dragon's scales were nearly impenetrable. Drogon held on to the other dragon fiercely as it writhed in his grip. To her disappointment, it wasn't much of a fight; mostly just Drogon easily subduing the threat.

Seeing the danger its companion was in, the second Whispering Death quickly dove underground again to avoid meeting the same fate. Fishlegs brought Meatlug to hover over the hole. "We need to flush it out, Snotlout."

"Yeah we do!" he agreed enthusiastically. "That's the one who took my water!"

"I'll just hold this one here while we wait. How does that sound?" Daenerys wondered snarkily.

"That would be great, thanks!" Astrid called back in a similar tone as Hookfang blasted fire in one hole, causing the Whispering Death that occupied it to fly out the other side, partly on fire.

Drogon released the dragon he was holding, which was worse for wear as it followed after its partner crookedly. He chased after them in hot pursuit as the rest of the riders followed them. Hiccup rejoined the group, coming up to fly alongside Astrid as he informed her, "the Whispering Death tunnels drained our water supply."

"Yeah, kind of figured that," she replied sarcastically. "We need to keep them in the sunlight."

"That's why I have this." He showed her the shield.

Using the reflective iron to their advantage, Hiccup shined it in the direction they wanted to corral the Whispering Deaths, getting them out of the village more easily than if they had just used their dragons. Fire quickly trailed in their wake as the Berkian riders pursued them to make sure they stayed away. Feeling emboldened by their seemingly easy success, Snotlout shouted towards their departing figures: "yeah, that's right! You better run!"

Predictably, only the twins were sad to see them go as Tuffnut lamented, "I'm gonna miss those guys. They were dangerous, but cool at the same time. Kind of like me."

They ignored that outrageous comparison. Hiccup frowned as he watched them leave. "I don't think this is over yet. Not by a long shot."

"It was too easy," the Targaryen agreed, recalling how many broken Whispering Death eggs there had been underneath the well. Certainly more than three. Not to mention the giant hole they'd found, bigger than all the others.

Snotlout rolled his eyes at their serious tones. "Stop being so negative! Enjoy the moment. Buy some water."

He wasn't deigned a response; at that moment, the entire earth shuddered below them. It kept shaking without showing signs of stopping as the smaller dragons began to growl nervously. Fishlegs  looked at the ground anxiously as if he expected it to open up and swallow them whole. "What. . . is. . . that?"

It did, in a way. A shower of rock and dirt exploded upwards, forcing them to careen out of the way to avoid being hit. Dany's eyes went wide at the dragon they were now facing down. It was huge— and that was saying something, considering Drogon's size. This was the queen of the Whispering Deaths: pure white, with haunting red eyes. It had matching red-tipped spikes that covered most of its body and a thicker, stronger tail than the hatchlings they'd fought off. The Whispering Death bared down on them with giant fangs, snarling and ready for battle.

"Uh, so that's what I was afraid of!" Hiccup commented weakly. It looked back and forth between the riders and the village as if deciding what would be easier prey. They regrouped, surrounding it in a half circle— not that it did much; they looked like ants against the Whispering Death's size. They were all still staring at it in shock as the brunet prompted them hopefully, "uh, suggestions, anyone?"

"Hide?" Fishlegs offered.

"Run," Snotlout suggested. Even the twins didn't seem keen on facing down the beast.

There was only one rider whose violet eyes gleamed at the sight of this new foe. She straightened on the back of her dragon as determination settled on her features. Her hands tightened around the spine in front of her as she leaned forward, intent on protecting her friends.

"No," the Targaryen corrected them, a hint of eagerness in her tone. "Fight."

Alarmed, the brunet jerked towards her, holding a hand out in the air as if to stop her. "No, Dany, wait—"

But Daenerys didn't wait.

She urged Drogon to charge towards the furious dragon. He let out a stream of fire as close to its eyes as they could get. It jerked away from the wall of heat with a screech but was otherwise unharmed. Once the flames were gone, though, it lunged forward— undeterred by the light, unlike the smaller versions of the species. Its massive jaws came snapping towards Drogon and they wheeled out of reach.

Dany felt Drogon's muscles tense beneath her as they dodged the snapping mouth of the Whispering Death. She could hear the roar of the beast reverberating through the air, its red eyes fixed on them with a deadly resolve. Without hesitation, she urged Drogon on, leading him into a spiral ascent as they sought higher ground. The Whispering Death, however, was not to be outmaneuvered so easily.

Well, at least it's not going after the town, was all she had time to think as they swiftly dodged another lethal attack.

Not far below, the riders kept their eyes on the pair as they tried to figure out how to help the blonde, who was clearly out of her area of expertise even with being the 'Mother of Dragons.' At least, this time, Hiccup would get to scold her for acting so recklessly (rather than with her chiding him, which was usually what happened.) He itched to jump to her aid but he wasn't about to go into a fight without knowing everything he could, so he checked with Fishlegs: "uh, Fishlegs? Is that in the Book of Dragons?" When all he received was incoherent babbling, he couldn't help but snap as he repeated, "is that thing in the Book of Dragons?"

"Uh. . . definitely not," he replied shakily.

"Are you sure?"

"Hiccup, I'm certain I would've remembered an all-white, boulder class, titan wing Whispering Death with bright red eyes that bore a hole right through your very soul," the blond exclaimed.

Since there was nothing that would immediately help him, he let Toothless zip after Drogon to get closer to the pair. The larger dragon wasn't used to being pursued and, knowing his limits, probably couldn't keep up his speed for much longer. Pointing towards the white dragon, he ordered, "Toothless, plasma blast!"

(The carefully was implied. Besides, the Night Fury had impeccable aim.) It hit the intended target and the Whispering Death whipped around to face its assailant. Immediate regret followed as the dragon let out one of the loudest screeches they'd ever heard. Even Drogon shuddered against Dany's legs and she turned to see what caused it. Huffing in annoyance that Hiccup had put himself in danger (which was what she'd been trying to avoid), she clamped her hands over her ears to block out the sound.

For once, the other riders experienced similar discomfort at the noise. Shouting over her covered ears, Astrid pointed out: "it's-it's affecting our dragons!"

"I know," Hiccup remarked. His gaze fell on Drogon, who was still above them some distance away; he could see that not even the large dragon had escaped the effects. "That scream. . . it's disorienting them!"

Despite the situation, Tuffnut brightened at his words. "Screaming Death. . . I love it!" The three Whispering Deaths from earlier returned, passing so closely above them that their tails flicked against his helmet. Straightening, he amended, "okay, maybe love is too strong a word."

"Hiccup, what are we gonna do?" Astrid asked as all four dragons headed for Berk. By this point, Dany had returned to the group, looking a little disgruntled at their interrupted battle (she totally had it under control!)

"You guys focus on the Whispering Death. I'll try to keep the Screaming Death busy."

At this, she felt apprehension shoot through her at the thought of Hiccup facing down that dragon by himself. (Sure, she had just done it, but Drogon was more than it's equal, especially in size.) "Hiccup, my family wrote the book on 'crazy,' so I have it in good authority to say that taking on that dragon by yourself is insane."

He gave her a flat look. "You just did."

The blonde pointed at herself. "Targaryen, remember? Besides, those hatchlings don't need all five of us. I'm coming with you."

Hiccup opened his mouth to argue only to have Snotlout cut in, more than willing to send the two of them off on the more dangerous mission. "Okay, have fun. See ya!"

Sighing, he waved the rest of the riders off with on the tip of, "remember your Flight Club training!"

--

They followed the Whispering Death back to the village where it burst up through the ground near an unsuspecting woman. She tripped on a rock in her haste to get away, leaving her vulnerable as the dragon bared its teeth at her, its red eyes narrowed on its target.

"Drogon, aldrnari!" Dany commanded her dragon, who let out a gust of his white-hot flame. It certainly got the Whispering Death's attention as it whirled to face them. In response, it shot— the blonde's eyes widened as she quickly backpaddled to a safer distance. "Oh Hel it's got fire too? How is that fair?"

A purple plasma blast came soaring in from her left and distracted the white dragon. Its attention went to Toothless, who was much better at speedy evasions. The Night Fury dodged another explosion as the Whispering Death's attack hit one of Berk's catapults instead. He came back around to hit the dragon in the face, but this time they weren't able to avoid the counterattack as easily. The white dragon's tail came sailing out of nowhere and sent Hiccup and Toothless reeling across the roofs of the nearby houses.

Drogon followed immediately with more fire so that the Whispering Death's focus switched back to them while the pair recovered. It whirled on them, snapping its teeth uncomfortably close to Drogon's wings as they tried to encourage it to chase them.

Luckily, a ripple of soundwaves distracted it and the Targaryen nodded appreciatively. "Thanks, chief."

Stoick had joined the battle on Thornado and it seemed like the detonation was enough to ward off the Whispering Death for now. "I don't think I want to know what that thing is, but we need to get it out of here."

"Way ahead of you! We'll try and lead it out of the village," Hiccup said as he returned to Toothless' back with his shield in hand.

They let Stoick take the lead as his sonic blasts in addition to theirs to get the Whispering Death to chase them. It tried to shoot its own fire but they darted out of the way— though Drogon mostly just stayed out of target range— to force it to follow. To further incentivize it to leave, Hiccup employed the tactic he'd used on the other Whispering Deaths by aiming his shield in its direction. "Okay. Let's see how it likes this."

It roared in apparent discomfort before it darted back underground. Figuring it had been affected in the same way, the brunet commented, "just what I thought."

But he soon had to take back his words as the white dragon launched out of the dirt, completely unaffected by the sunlight in its eyes. The three of them split hastily to get out of its way as it charged directly for them. The chief glanced at his son. "Apparently, it doesn't mind."

"It must not have that weakness."

Dany thought of its bright red eyes, which were a more intense version of the smaller species' red-veined white ones. "It's got to be something with sunlight, though."

"Well, we better figure out what it is, and quick," Stoick said. It started the loud screeching sound again, causing their dragons to shudder in response. "What's happening?"

"It's the scream! It affects the dragons' flight."

Toothless fought against the disorientation long enough to shoot a plasma blast at the white dragon. The impact disrupted the noise as the Whispering Death shook its head to clear it. It shot after the Night Fury with renewed vigor while Hiccup did his best to dissuade it with the light from his shield. Except— it's got to be something with light! Dany's words repeated themselves in his mind as the reflection only spurred the white dragon on.

Since they were flying a ways behind Toothless, Drogon and Thornado were caught by one of the smaller Whispering Deaths as it intercepted them. Not wanting to hurt the hatchling (even if it had no regard for them), Daenerys let Stoick take care of it with a sonic blast. The forced caused its lighter body to curve in a graceful arc. It had barely recovered when the twins appeared to give it a taste of their Zippleback's gas.

"I've got this! You go help Hiccup," the chief directed them.

"Where is he?"

"Look for a giant, white, red-eyed beast. That'll be your first clue."

"Okay," Tuffnut agreed. "What's the second clue?"

"Trust me, you won't need one," Dany replied. "Just go!"

As they flew off, Stoick waved a hand in her direction. "That includes you, lass."

She shook her head. "Drogon's not made for sea-stacks or high speeds; he'll just get in the way." She patted her dragon comfortingly so he would know that she didn't mean her words as an insult or criticism.

They kept the trio of smaller Whispering Deaths busy until a roar— even louder than any they'd heard before— redirected their attention. They went to it as if summoned and, as she flew closer, Dany could see that the teens had managed to trap the white dragon's wings under a pile of rocks. While it could still break free, it couldn't fly very well and was in no condition to fight. It couldn't even maintain its flight and landed heavily against a sea-stack, lying limply on the pillar.

The three smaller Whispering Deaths surrounded it. Two went under its wings while the third held up its tail, enabling it to leave for safety— at least for now. But any 'dragon master' worth their salt knew that Whispering Deaths returned to their hatching ground; this wouldn't be the last time the riders would have to chase them out of Berk.

Chapter Text

The teens watched Snotlout whoop with glee as he came careening in on Hookfang. They ducked as he swooped low, nearly brushing their heads with his dragon's tail. Drogon growled a warning in response, his usual overprotective instincts kicking in. Snotlout, of course, paid the threat no mind as he looped back around above them, chanting, "Snotlout, Snotlout, oi, oi, oi!"

"What is with him?" Hiccup asked with some annoyance at the boy's boisterous flying.

Dany didn't mind not knowing; the past few days had been quite nicely Snotlout-free. He'd barely been around at all, even skipping the riders' training sessions to strike out on his own. Apparently, Astrid had kept up on their missing teammate where the Targaryen hadn't, and she informed them conspiratorially, "I heard that ever since Alvin and the Whispering Deaths attacked, he's been training non-stop."

"I heard he's been flying all night for the past week," Fishlegs added.

As usual, the twins chimed in with their own off-beat input. Tuffnut claimed: "yeah? Well I heard Gothi can de-bone a yak just by looking at it."

Not to be out done, Ruffnut chimed in, "I heard if you sit on a Terrible Terror, you can make flames come out of your—"

Astrid quickly cut her off, not wanting to hear whatever the undoubtedly crass ending to the Thorston's sentence was. "Whoa! What does that have to do with Snotlout?"

The siblings gave her a blank look, even appearing to be mildly disappointed as Tuffnut explained, "oh. I thought we were playing the 'I heard' game. And, by the way, Terrible Terror thing? Totally true. I tried it."

Finally Snotlout and Hookfang decided to grace them with their presence. Dany frowned at the sight of how the Monstrous Nightmare slumped in exhaustion on the stone, his tongue lolling out. The Jorgenson was completely oblivious to his dragon's state and proudly boasted about what he'd just 'shown off.' "That's right! You just saw what you just saw."

He kissed his biceps as if he'd done something incredible rather than just fly very fast. They ignored his showoff-y gesture in favor of taking in the condition Hookfang was in. Hiccup studied the dragon with concern. "Snotlout, Hookfang looks pretty tired. You might be pushing him too hard."

Predictably, Snotlout dismissed the brunet's advice with a scoff. "You say pushing, I say challenging. Hookfang doesn't rest— he's a warrior, and we warriors live for the thrill of battle. It's like my dad always says—"

"Take a bath, Snotlout?" Astrid interjected, her mocking question bringing an amused smile to Daenerys' lips.

"Take better care of your dragon, Snotlout?" the Targaryen said, her tone a little more serious than Astrid's had been.

"Rip your tongue out, Snotlout?" Ruffnut suggested, returning to lighthearted banter once more.

Her brother thought for a moment, then brightened as he thought of something to add: "stick your head up a yak's—"

"No! No, none of those!" he snapped, cutting them off with a wave of his hand. "He says 'rest is for the weak.'"

His words were met with silence as they considered this 'advice.' Dany didn't really know Snotlout's father, Spitelout, but if he was anything like his son, well— she wasn't surprised by the saying. It would explain a lot about Snotlout's recent behavior, too. Finally, Hiccup merely sighed and shook his head. "And let's all thank Snotlout for that inspirational speech."

The sarcasm in the comment went right over the Jorgenson's head as he replied sincerely, "you're welcome. Now, let's get on with this exercise." Hookfang lifted his head with great effort and turned around to launch himself in the air, but his movements were slow as if his wings were too heavy. Before they took flight, Snotlout finished by taunting them: "unless you guys are too tired."

As he soared off with another one of his family's chants, Astrid muttered, "I can name something I'm tired of."

They launched into the air shortly after that to begin their training lesson for that day. Hiccup was at the front of their formation as usual and he raised his voice so they could hear what he had planned. "Okay, guys. Alvin wants Berk for himself, and now, he has dragons. If he can train them to fight, we'll have to battle dragon riding Outcast soldiers up here."

"Up where?" Tuffnut asked, glancing around them cluelessly.

He received several looks of disbelief as the other teens wondered whether he could really be that stupid. The chief's son gave a long-suffering sigh. "Here?" he offered exasperatedly. "In the sky? On-on your dragon?"

Snotlout straightened in his saddle, puffing out his chest with confidence. "Well, I say bring it on, Alvin."

Dany frowned at the boy's words; she hadn't thought that he would be brash enough to challenge the leader of the Outcasts, especially after seeing the kind of tricks Alvin could pull. Sure, Snotlout was usually overconfident and annoying but this kind of arrogance spelled trouble. She only needed to glance at Hookfang's dull scales and limp form to see the consequences of his actions beginning to show.

Hiccup brushed off the other teen's comment, though, in favor of continuing: "okay, Astrid, for this training exercise, you and Stormfly will act as our bad dragon."

The Hofferson leaned forward to place her hand between her dragon's shoulder blades. "Stormfly, battle ready."

She pulled back, flying above the group to give them some space. The brunet finished instructing them of their roles. "And the rest of you make sure you don't get caught. If she touches you, you're out."

They split up; Fishlegs and the twins went towards the forest while Hiccup played to his strengths, heading for the cave he spotted in the cliffs. It was hard to hide a big a dragon as Drogon anywhere, so Daenerys didn't bother with either of those options. Instead, she angled her dragon straight up, aiming for the clouds above them. They would give the most solid cover and also inconvenience Astrid.

As the cool mist surrounded them, the blonde knew she had some time to spare as her best friend would probably go after the 'targets' by level of difficulty. Meatlug would be first, then Barf and Belch. She wasn't sure where she ranked between Hiccup and Snotlout, so she supposed that would be a matter of relative closeness to Astrid's location.

There wasn't as much cloud cover as she would've liked, so she decided to use her extra time and make more. Drogon held steady in a particularly thick patch and began to beat his wings rhythmically. The fog began to thicken around them into a white haze. The one drawback to this plan was that it was cold being surrounded by condensed water, particularly for someone like her, who ran warmer than the average person. Dany shivered a little as the dampness soaked into the fabric of her dress.

The minutes ticked by and there was still no Astrid to be seen. She wondered if that was the blonde's game— waiting her out since she knew of Dany's intolerance of cooler temperatures. But the Targaryen refused to let her win that easily and held her position.

She thought that she felt a breeze against her neck from the brush of a dragon's wings but told herself that it was just the air stirred by Drogon's wingbeats. Then a hand flashed out and tapped her on the head, much to her chagrin, and Astrid's slight smug voice called out, "gotcha!"

With a sigh, Dany directed her dragon out of the makeshift cloud. They emerged to see the Hofferson's grinning face as she watched them, proud of herself. "Not a bad idea," she admitted, "but you'd need more cloud cover to be successful. I did find you last, though."

Daenerys brightened hopefully. "So I won?"

"You got second. I lost Hiccup in the caves." She sounded particularly put out by this. Well, she didn't mind losing to Hiccup, so Dany decided to had been a rather successful endeavor. "Anyway, we're putting the training on hold for a moment— we need to have a talk with Snotlout about Hookfang."

Dany nodded, fully in agreement about that.

--

After several unsuccessful attempts to get his Monstrous Nightmare to flame up, Snotlout begrudgingly landed Hookfang on a nearby beach. Dany dismounted from Drogon's back via sliding down his wing and went over to the ailing dragon. His breaths wheezed painfully in his chest, the sound causing her heart to clench in sympathy. When she put her hand to his scales, they weren't the usual warmth of a dragon's but almost. . . cold, not to mention their unnatural pale color. Noticing the concerned looks he was getting, the Jorgenson threw up his hands in annoyance. "What? What's the matter with everyone? Never seen a stubborn dragon before?"

"Snotlout, that wasn't stubbornness," Hiccup corrected him. "There's something wrong with Hookfang. He couldn't flame up."

"No, Hookfang didn't want to flame up," he retorted sharply. "There's a difference. He was bored with your dumb exercise and he can flame up whenever he wants."

Tuffnut watched the dragon for a moment, then asked, "okay. . . how about now?"

There was a pause as if Snotlout was debating on answering truthfully, but then he scoffed and waved the question away. "Nah, he doesn't feel like it now."

Daenerys stood from her crouched position beside Hookfang, brushing her hands against the skirt of her dress as she did so. She came to stand next to the shorter Viking, her expression solemn. "Snotlout, we should really check into Hookfang's health. He's not looking too good."

He scoffed, unwilling to take the gravity of the situation seriously. "Fine. Be my guest. But there's nothing wrong with my dragon."

They returned to the academy quickly after that. Hiccup referred to the Book of Dragons and Dany recalled what she'd learned from shadowing her parents while they cared for wild dragons. After scanning the list of symptoms under the Monstrous Nightmares' section, Hiccup pulled the book against his chest so he could look over the top of it in the blonde's direction. "How's he looking, Dany?"

She ran her hand over the dragon's discolored scales gently, the prominent frown on her face and furrowed brows more of an answer than any verbal one she could've given. The brunet caught her look and his shoulders slumped; he'd come to his own conclusion through the book but had hoped he'd gotten it wrong. Although she had little love for the boy who rode him, she didn't want to give anyone bad news about their dragon; all of the riders' bonds were strong with their respective mounts.

"What is it?" the Jorgenson demanded, seeing their reactions. He came over to his dragon and placed his hands his snout. "You don't need to look like someone's yak died; Hookfang's fine! I told you that already."

"Snotlout," Daenerys began in a tone softer, kinder, than she'd ever addressed the boy with. "He couldn't flame up when you tried to get him to earlier. His scales are discolored, not to mention the chafing. He doesn't even have enough energy to lift his head. Any one of those signs wouldn't be good, but altogether. . ." She trailed off, hoping he could put the pieces together himself.

Hookfang let out a weak, rumbling growl as he shifted his head away from them. Snotlout glared at her; if it had been any other situation, he would have reveled in the way she was talking to him, but now he hated her sympathy. "So what? Let's pretend for a moment that he isn't feeling well. We can get his flame back. What's the cure?"

"That's the thing with Stoker class dragons," Fishlegs spoke up, his hands steepled together anxiously. "Once they lose their flaming ability, they become completely defenseless and. . ."

Once again reluctant to be the bearer of bad news, he let his sentence fade out as well. Snotlout's tone sharpened as he demanded, "what are you saying, Fishlegs?"

"I'm saying Hookfang is in trouble, and we need to do something now."

--

That night, while Hiccup was looking over Bork's notes for a solution, Dany sat at the dinner table with her mother. Her father was out for the week on a trading trip where he exchanged the furniture he made for other goods the needed. She was always excited when he came back, not only because she was happy he was home, but also because he brought the most interesting objects and information with him as well. He'd told her that when she was older, he would take her to market with him— but right now she was busy with the academy and couldn't be gone for long periods of time.

So it was just her and Ingrid as they ate their soup at the small table. But it was by no means a quiet affair as Daenerys was busy informing her mother about everything that was going on— especially regarding Hookfang's illness. ". . . Snotlout's been working him too hard. His skin has become really dry and faded. He can't even flame up anymore. He's— Snotlout, I mean— acting like it doesn't bother him, like he doesn't even care that his dragon is suffering. I know it's the 'Viking way' but I could never act like that if something was wrong with Drogon."

"He probably is worried about Hookfang, sweetheart," Ingrid pointed out gently. "He might just show it so subtly that it's easy to miss. Can you recall anything about how he acted when he found out?"

Dany frowned as she tried to remember, pushing the chunks of lamb around in her stew as she thought. "I dunno. . . he was kind of obnoxious and annoying, like he usually is. I was too focused on Hookfang to care to notice."

"I know you don't like the Jorgenson boy much— and I don't blame you; his father's a piece of work— but it's important to care about people as much as you do dragons, particularly when they're your friends." The older woman paused as she observed her daughter who, like usual, was avoiding her gaze by paying an excessive amount of attention to her food. "What about this? It's not a permanent solution, but I'm sure Hookfang would appreciate any relief. I've got some Monstrous Nightmare gel in our stores. You can go by his house tonight and help him apply it— try and pay attention to his reactions rather than only Hookfang's. It'll be good practice."

The blonde sighed at her suggestion; she cared about Hookfang too much to let him suffer unnecessarily, but wasn't at all pleased to be spending extra time around Snotlout (she'd much rather be going to Hiccup's.) "Alright," she agreed reluctantly.

The bottles of gel clinked pleasantly in her borrowed satchel as she flew Drogon back to town, landing just outside of Berk proper and instructing him to wait until she was done. Then, with another resigned sigh, she made her way through the twisting roads to Snotlout's. She could hear loud voices coming from within even as she was still quite a distance away, his father's rough tone full of levels of arrogance that not even his son had reached yet. "Troubles with the lizard, son?"

"What, him?" Snotlout replied with forced casualness. "Nah—he's fine. Just resting."

Then, sure enough, came his father's saying that he'd shared with them earlier that day: "You know what I say about rest? Rest is—"

"Rest is for the weak!" the boy finished, sounding far less confident now— almost nervous as he chuckled half-heartedly. "It's just a break, y'know, from annihilating stuff all day. Isn't that right, Hookfang?" There was a pause as if he expected his dragon to roar in agreement before he laughed weakly again. "Heh. He's roaring on the inside."

"You know, boyo. . . as Viking warriors, if our swords are not cutting properly, we sharpen them. But, if our sword cannot be sharpened any longer—" Dany couldn't see them from where she was pressed against the doorframe, out of sight, but she hugged her satchel to her chest at the snap! the blade made as Spitelout broke it with his bare hands. "—we get a new sword. Thanks for the bludgeon!"

The Targaryen hoped that the older man wouldn't notice her his way out and— luckily— he was too focused on his destination to pay attention to the flash of silvery-blonde hair that stood out from the shadows. She waited a good few seconds to be sure that he wasn't coming back before she slipped through the still-open door, stopping just over the threshold. She could see the broken sword parts sticking up out of the barrel to her left, a stark, visible reminder of Spitelout's words.

Pay attention to his reactions, her mother's voice reminded her. Snotlout hadn't seen her yet, too caught up in his father's not-so-subtle threats. She could see the fear and shock on his face, a distinct contrast to the usual egotism she was familiar with. In that moment, Dany realized that she had never seen Snotlout as truly human before. Sure, she knew he was, but unlike with her other friends (barring the twins), she had yet to see any form of vulnerability or fear from him. That had been part of the reason why she hadn't liked him from the start— his lack of empathy was so alien to her that it made him even harder for her to read his emotions than the average human already was.

Now, that wasn't to say she would suddenly start liking him, but she could tolerate him a little more knowing that he did, in fact, have some emotions besides brashness. Not quite sure how to break the somber silence, Dany cleared her throat more than a little awkwardly. Snotlout's head jerked up from where it had drooped as he watched his dragon, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"What are you doing here?" Then, almost as if he'd realized the conversation he'd just had with his father, his tone became more hostile. "How much of that did you hear?"

Although she knew that social convention dictated she should lie to help Snotlout save face, Dany had never been good at it. She hesitated, her eyes flicking towards the door and then the Monstrous Nightmare that lay limply on the floor to avoid the boy's gaze. She clutched the bag closer to her chest, half-anticipating that he would lash out at her. "Um. . ."

But rather than being angry like she'd thought he would be, the Jorgenson's shoulders slumped defeatedly. He turned away from her, casting his attention towards his dragon to avoid the judgement he thought he'd see in her gaze. "Go ahead," the shorter Viking said bitterly, sounding very unlike the Snotlout she knew. His hands curled into fists by his sides as he braced himself for her reaction. "You can laugh."

The blonde started at his words, completely thrown off guard from the response she'd been expecting. There was genuine confusion in her tone as she asked, ". . . why would I laugh?"

Surprised by the sincerity in her question, Snotlout looked over at her, some of the fight draining out of him. "The twins would," he muttered harshly. "They'd find it hilarious."

Dany didn't think that even the twins, with all of their humor and hijinks, would find the situation remotely amusing, but she didn't argue the point. Instead, she explained her reaction as if it should've been obvious: "your father just suggested that you should kill your dragon. I don't think there's anything funny about that at all."

She must have shifted the bag in her arms as the faint clink of the bottles caught his attention— an out he took gratefully as they were rapidly approaching the 'touchy-feely stuff' he hated. "What's in there?"

The Targaryen was relieved as well when he changed the subject as she felt that their standoff was becoming more uncomfortable by the second. "Oh! Um, my mom suggested that I should bring some by to help Hookfang. It won't cure him but it should help a little, at least—" She broke off at his confused expression, then realized she hadn't actually said what it was. "Uh, it's Monstrous Nightmare gel. It's to moisturize his scales."

Rather than making a big show of thanking her, she received a curt nod of appreciation in response. She opened the flap of the satchel and took out several of the bottles. As she put them on a nearby table (so she wouldn't have to brush hands with Snotlout as he took them from her), she offered, "Hookfang's a pretty big dragon; it'll take some time to cover all of his scales. Do you. . . want me to stay and help?"

The Jorgenson shrugged unaffectedly as he took a bottle and got started. "Whatever you want to do."

She hesitated for a moment, torn between whether it was an actual dismissal or Snotlout's usual carelessness. Deciding it was the latter— plus he was her friend and she cared about his sick dragon— she picked up her own vial and went to Hookfang's other side. The dragon seemed to relax as they eased the irritation from his scales, working in an unexpected but relieving silence (she didn't know how she'd feel if he tried to flirt with her the whole time.) Daenerys decided to break it a little while later to make sure that Spitelout hadn't dashed his hope.

"Your father is wrong, you know. Hookfang isn't just a weapon, or even a dragon. He's your friend, just like Drogon is my friend, and those rules don't apply to things you care about. You fight to protect them, especially when they can't do it themselves." Snotlout didn't say anything in response— she didn't expect him to— but she wished that he would take the sentiment to heart; she fully believed that they could find a cure for Hookfang.

When they finished a little more than an hour later, Dany wasn't sure if she liked this somber version of the boy. Sure, his constant obnoxiousness was irritating at the best of times, but that was what she was used to. The change put her off a bit and she found herself looking forward to when he'd be back to his normal, annoying self. More than ready to shake off the oddness of the night, Daenerys went to step over the threshold only to be stopped by the brunet asking, "you won't tell the others, right? About what happened?"

Pay attention to his reactions, she reminded herself, and studied his face. It seemed as blasé and overconfident as usual, but behind his main expression, there was a glimmer of trepidation. She thought about what the rest of their friends would say if she told them about what Spitelout had said, how they would hate him or pity his son— something that no strong, stubborn Viking wanted, but especially not Snotlout. She shook her head. "I won't tell them. I promise."

He scoffed slightly at the earnestness in her words, though she didn't miss the relief that flashed across his face. "Heh. I knew that. No one would believe you, anyway."

"Right," she agreed wryly. Her gaze slid past him to where Hookfang lay limply on the floor, his sides heaving with labored breaths.

Snotlout knew that he'd always made it quite clear that he found the Targaryen pretty. Unbeknownst to the Astrid and Daenerys (and Thor help them the day they found out), the two girls were in competition amongst Berk's male teenage population (mostly consisting of non-riders) for who was prettiest. He usually maintained that Dany was the most physically beautiful, never really caring to look past her silvery-blonde hair and unique violet eyes to pay attention to the girl as a person. He thought that's what Hiccup found attractive about her, too— or any boy for that matter.

But as she stood there in his doorway, her expression momentarily sorrowful as she gazed at his Monstrous Nightmare, he saw it suddenly. It was like someone had struck a match behind her eyes as they lit up, flaring brilliantly as the flame caught the wick. Whatever she had thought of, the idea brightened her whole face as if what had come to mind was the best thing she'd ever created. It was more than just surface beauty, then— something that went deeper, that nearly touched her very soul.

He saw, for a moment, the spark of personality that had actually caught the Haddock's interest from the first day. Having always been shallow-minded when it came to girls, the realization was just beyond his grasp of understanding. If he had comprehended it, he would have found himself in a position of growing affection for the Targaryen just like Hiccup was. But, he came to a much more Snotlout-like conclusion: Astrid would be a much easier target for his advances and he should concentrate his efforts on her rather than Daenerys. (Not that he still wouldn't try, of course, but now the position of the girls had switched in his mind.)

Still, she had had an idea, and if it related to Hookfang— "what? What is it?"

Dany only smiled, hastily turning away to make a beeline for home with nothing but a quick 'goodnight' in her wake.

--

Hookfang managed to hold out for another day, but he definitely looked worse for wear. His scales had absorbed the Monstrous Nightmare gel Dany and Snotlout had put on him the previous night, returning his skin to its dry and flakey state. He was barely able to lift his head off the stone floor. Daenerys sat next to him, hoping to soothe his discomfort with a bit more gel as Snotlout and Hiccup crouched nearer to his snout.

"Don't worry, Snotlout. We'll get to the bottom of this," Hiccup assured him. "I promise."

"I'm not worried," he snapped, but his usual hostility was tampered by the concerned look he regarded his dragon with.

Dany was close enough to the boys that she could see the Jorgenson's eyes become unnaturally shiny, his gaze going glassy as he put a comforting hand on the side of Hookfang's face. A trail of liquid escaped the corner of his eye and trailed down his face, making her start with sudden surprise. She'd never seen Snotlout— or any of them, really— cry.

Tuffnut had never seen the other boy cry either, but he was, perhaps, the person least equipped to deal with his emotions. He peered at Snotlout's face with fascination rather than anything close to empathy and let out a stunned breath. "Whoa, are you crying? What's that like?"

The shorter Viking sprang to his feet and swiftly punched the teen away, staunchly denying, "Crying? That's ridiculous!" He stood up, the defensiveness in his voice breaking under the emotion he was feeling. "There's dust. . . in my eyes. . . Can't you see how dusty it is in here, guys?"

Astrid stepped forward, reaching a hand out to him. While Dany was by no means emotionally deficient, she still thought that the other girl would do a better job at helping Snotlout understand his feelings, so she let her take the lead. "Snotlout, there's nothing wrong with being upset. It just means you care."

The Jorgenson froze as she placed her hand on his shoulder. Just as how he'd felt with Dany's sympathy, he was both elated and annoyed by the touch— the latter winning out as he shook off her hand. "All right, um. . . let's just pretend for a minute that I did, well, care. How would I know? How would you know?"

Smiling a little as she was pleased by his question, the blonde replied, "well, you might feel a tightness in your chest, you might get a little shaky, your eyes might get watery. . ."

Unwilling to be sentimental for long, Snotlout avoided their eyes even as he wiped his own. Mustering a brave face, he brushed off her uncomfortably accurate description. "Yeah, I'm gonna go with dust. . . for now."

Dany finished massaging the remaining gel into Hookfang's scales and stood. The Monstrous Nightmare didn't look much better, even with Hiccup patting him comfortingly on the snout. Fishlegs, who had been pacing nearby as he read Bork's papers, suddenly brightened on something that could be potentially helpful. "Hiccup! Here's something from the Bork Papers regarding reigniting a Stoker class dragon's flame."

He shoved the paper in the boy's face, forcing anyone else who was interested (mostly just Daenerys) to crowd in closer to get a better look. The page had a detailed drawing of a Monstrous Nightmare surrounded by wiggly lines, which she took to be dragon flames. The innermost ring were depictions of smaller dragons, these being easily recognizable as Fireworms. Hiccup came to the same conclusion, his eyes widening as he pulled the page closer. "Fireworm dragons."

"Or as Bork referred to them: 'The Flame Eaters.'"

Of course, at the mention of anything dangerous, Tuffnut became immediately interested. "Flame Eaters," he repeated eagerly. "We should be Flame Eaters!"

Then, in her excitement, Ruffnut agreed with him by punching her brother in the arm. Tuffnut promptly fell to the ground with an 'ow,' mostly from shock rather than pain. Their antics went ignored as the other riders focused on the more important revelation at hand.

"Fireworms are Stoker class dragons, too," the chief's son commented. "There must be something in them that can help reignite the Monstrous Nightmare." Hiccup stood, the prospect of a solution giving him renewed energy. "Okay. Dany, Astrid, the twins, and I will gather up as many Fireworms as we can find. Fishlegs, keep reading."

Not wanting to stand still when there was work to be done— at least where his dragon was concerned— Snotlout gestured to himself emphatically. "What about me?"

"You, stay with your dragon," the brunet told him, though his tone was warmer than an order. "He needs you."

"It's part of caring," Astrid added.

For once, Snotlout didn't argue; instead, he straightened his shoulders with purpose and turned back to his dragon to take the role more seriously than anything he usually did.

It was relatively easy for Dany to find the remaining Fireworms on the island— she was like a Fireworm magnet, and the small dragons eagerly climbed up her skirts to rest on her shoulders. She smiled, enjoying the comforting weight of their warmth. The others were more careful when dealing with the flaming creatures and gathered them up in anything they could find, all using their own ways to bring the creatures back to the academy.

It was a bit difficult to get the Fireworms to leave her person and arrange them in the circle that the book described, but the Targaryen delicately plucked them from her shoulders and placed them down next to their companions. Soon, all of the Fireworms they'd found were in the same ring and there was nothing left to do but wait. . . and wait. She frowned when Hookfang showed no signs of improving while the Fireworms only got more impatient from being in one place for a long time.

"Nothing," Hiccup said, disappointed. "Well, that might not have worked, but—"

"Maybe he can drink this," Tuffnut held out the bowl he was holding proudly, causing the liquid inside to slosh towards the edges.

Dany wrinkled her nose, knowing better than to accept any liquid from the twins. "What is that?"

Ruffnut crossed her arms against her chest, obviously pleased with herself. "Fireworm milk."

Astrid, having the same caution that Dany did, repeated dubiously, "Fireworm milk?"

Fishlegs raised a finger hesitantly to point out, "um. . . Tuffnut, I don't think you can actually milk a Fireworm."

"Oh, great. Thanks." He held up a bandaged hand. "Where were you three hours ago?"

Noticing Snotlout's face fall, Daenerys cast around for another idea, watching the Fireworms try to skitter off as they grew tired of their job. "Maybe we need to put the Fireworms on Hookfang so he can absorb their heat directly."

The Jorgenson turned to her, his eyes brightening with her suggestion. He reached out as if to shake her by the shoulders, but then seemed to remember her preference for personal space. He curbed his enthusiasm just enough to settle for punching her lightly on the shoulder instead, enough to jostle her a bit but not painfully. "Yeah, yeah. Good idea, Daenerys! Direct heat. That makes sense." He whirled on the other teens, waving his hand irritably. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

While the others collected tools from the smithy to pick up the small dragons without hurting themselves, Dany got right to work. She scooped up the nearest Fireworm and placed it on the Monstrous Nightmare, hoping that he could get warmer via osmosis. Poor Hookfang didn't even have the strength to be afraid of having dragons running all over his scales; he just lay there and let it happen, his usual contrariness nonexistent.

Once they were done, it seemed to work for a second— the place behind his eyes ignited into a small flame that was accompanied by a column of black smoke. Hookfang's eyes flickered momentarily, then fell shut again.

"It's working!" Snotlout exclaimed. But as quickly as it appeared, the fire was extinguished and the Monstrous Nightmare fell limp again. The boy's hopeful expression faltered, falling into one of panic as he let desperation take hold. "We need more Fireworms now!" He raced towards some nearby barrels and frantically began to chuck the weapons out of them. "Do you hear me? More Fireworms!"

Dany's own expression was downcast as she watched the boy run around anxiously. "Snotlout, I think we've rounded up all the Fireworms on Berk. You know they seem to gravitate towards me; I'm sure if there were any more, they'd be here by now."

Her words, unfortunately, made sense to him and he slumped in defeat. She still wasn't ready to give up yet, though. If there positions were switched, she'd do everything in her power to make sure Drogon got better— Hookfang deserved no less. She was about to suggest that they look at Bork's papers again when bright flashes caught their attention.

It was the twins, of course, fighting with Fireworms caught in their clamps. She marched over to them, annoyed by their treatment of the dragons. "Hey, put them down!"

"Actually," Hiccup began before the siblings could argue with her, "let them keep at it." She turned to him, surprised, but trusted him enough to know there was an idea behind the ridiculous suggestion. He went over to them, still in a state of shock at the unusual development. "I-I don't say this often, but you two are geniuses."

The brunet went off to get a lantern as Tuffnut scoffed, still holding his struggling Fireworm. "Like we don't know that."

Dany winced at its little screeches, wanting more than anything to free it from the twins' grasp. But if it had given Hiccup an idea for how to help Hookfang, she supposed it might be worth it. Luckily, everyone's attention was soon diverted to the lantern that now glowed with non-traumatized Fireworms. Hiccup had put it on a long metal pole so that it dangled out in front of him. "As Ruff and Tuff so astutely discovered, Fireworms get brighter the closer they are to one another."

He demonstrated this by lowering the lantern to the Fireworms hadn't been needed. Just as he'd said, they glowed brighter as they came in contact with each other. Impressed, Astrid commented, "that's pretty cool."

"Whoa," Ruffnut breathed out, surprised by her own brilliance, "we discovered that?"

Hiccup nodded, understanding their disbelief. "Yes, yes you did."

In typical twin fashion, their celebration was punctuated by the clashing of their helmets. Hiccup continued, "so, if I'm right, the closer we get to more Fireworms. . ." He paused, waiting for one of the siblings to finish his sentence in case they had any more brilliant ideas. When none came, he encouraged them, "come on. Come on, Tuff! Lead us home."

But the twins were back to their usual thoughtlessness and Tuffnut only scratched his head in confusion as he tried to think of a suitable answer. Finally, one came in the form of: "we'll all burst into flames!"

They cheered and knocked their heads together again. The brunet merely shook his head and explained, "no, actually, the closer we get, the brighter the Fireworms will glow inside this."

Tuffnut groaned in disappointment. "Oh. Much less fun than bursting into flames."

"Wait a minute," Snotlout cut in. "I thought you said there were no more Fireworms on the island."

"There aren't," Fishlegs agreed cryptically as he flipped through the Book of Dragons. He made everyone wait in suspense until he found the right page. ". . .on this island." He flipped the book around to show them the map. "But there are plenty on Fireworm Island."

--

It was a close call making it to Fireworm Island— with Drogon giving Hookfang an assist— but they did manage to reach it in one piece. The cliff's edge where the landed was smaller than Dany would've liked and their dragons had to crowd in to give hers enough space, but they were all able to fit, if not precariously. As they got off their dragons, Hiccup glanced over at Snotlout. "Snotlout, I think you need to stay behind with Hookfang. Dany and I will bring the Fireworms back."

For once, Snotlout was willing to take accountability for his actions and he shook his head, determination flashing in his eyes. "No. It's my fault, Hiccup. I did this to Hookfang. I'm gonna save him."

He ran towards the cave opening, leaving no further room for argument. They couldn't all go into the cave, so Dany gave the brunet a reassuring smile. "It's okay; we'll stay out here and keep Hookfang company."

The dragon in question groaned as he shifted his head closer to Fishlegs. The boy placed a hand on his snout, concern evident in his tone as he urged them, "but you better hurry!"

Coming to an easy decision, the chief's son nodded, realizing that it would just be him and Snotlout going into the cave. Then he released the Fireworms that he held captive in his lantern, allowing their scramble for freedom to show the way. "Come on."

Snotlout climbed onto Toothless' back behind the brunet, then the boys were off. While they waited, Daenerys stayed by the Monstrous Nightmare's side and gently scratched at his scales in the hopes of comforting him. He grew weaker as each minute passed and she worried over whether he would be able to last long enough for the boys to return.

A blast of golden light, brilliant against the darkness, caught their attention and momentarily distracted them from worrying about Snotlout's dragon. It— or she— was the biggest Fireworm they'd ever seen, rivalling Drogon in size with a flaming yellow-orange body and red eyes. But what was most alarming were the sharp teeth and multiple, clawed talons that were currently blocking Hiccup's and Snotlout's escape.

The Targaryen's eyes widened in recognition at the sight of the huge dragon. "It's the Fireworm queen!"

"I'm on it," Astrid said quickly, jumping onto Stormfly's back and taking off in a gust of wind. A blaze of flame was shot in the Fireworm's direction, distracting her enough to keep her from guarding the entrance.

While the boys took the opportunity to flee the cave, Dany climbed onto Drogon's back with the intention of helping her friend occupy the queen. It was only a little difficult to launch into the air without much room. Patting her dragon between the shoulder blades, she warned him: "engage only, don't hurt."

The large Fireworm let out a blaze of heat from her mouth to keep their dragons back. Undeterred, Drogon and Dany surged forward and retaliated with fire of their own that sent her skittering backwards. Astrid followed behind with another blast. As they looped back around, Drogon let out another burst of flame to keep her in the corner they'd backed her into. Unfortunately, Stormfly's shot limit was reached and what was supposed to be her backup came out in a little cough of sparks.

Dany and Drogon did their best to keep the Fireworm queen contained, but the small space was hard for them to do tight turns in. On one of their follow up loops, she managed to break free from her makeshift enclosure.

"No!" the Targaryen shouted, her eyes widening as she watched the queen head straight for the vulnerable dragon.

Snotlout heard her warning and whirled around, placing himself between Hookfang and the large Fireworm. He straightened, puffing out his chest to appear more threatening even though he had no weapon to defend himself. Still, his words were firm and confident as he declared: "you wanna get to my dragon, you have to go through me!"

Not wanting his rider to get hurt on his behalf, Hookfang refused to eat the Fireworm capsule that Snotlout had brought him. Instead, he tossed it towards the queen in the hopes of protecting the boy. He whirled on his dragon in dismay. "Hookfang, what are you doing? You need to eat that!"

The Monstrous Nightmare just lay there miserably, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. Hiccup's expression softened as he realized the reasoning behind the act. "Snotlout, he's protecting you. He's doing for you what you were willing to do for him."

Snotlout's face fell as he realized that Hookfang refused to get better if it put him at risk. His dragon was willing to die just to keep him safe. They were out of options at this point and it looked like there was nothing they could do to cure Hookfang. Before he could let despair take over, though, a very different emotion— fear— took hold as the Fireworm queen swept her tale forward to encircle his dragon's neck. She held him up so that he dangled limply in front of her, too weak to fight back.

"Hookfang!" he cried out.

The Fireworm queen's tongue flashed out, glowing brightly at the tip as she struck the Monstrous Nightmare between the eyes. They flew open for a second in shock before falling shut again, and she dropped him back to the ground. Snotlout ran to his side and threw his body over his dragon's snout. Even Dany, who was more accustomed to dragon violence than most of them, had to look away— no dragon she'd ever known personally had died. Their only relief was that the Fireworm queen seemed officially done with them as she turned tail, picked up her capsule, and disappeared back into her cave.

"I'm right here with you," Snotlout said in a broken voice. "You're not just another sword, Hookfang."

Just as Dany was beginning to wonder how they'd do a proper funeral for a dragon— putting him in a boat and lighting it with arrows probably wouldn't work thanks to their fire-resistant scales— a miracle happened. Snotlout gasped suddenly, lifting his head in surprise as the temperature of his dragon's body changed. "Huh, that's weird. He's really hot."

He stepped away from his dragon as his scales began to change first from gray, then brown, then their familiar, bright red. Hookfang struggled to his feet, pushing himself off the ground using his wing-tips. Then, he lit up in a blaze of light as fire encased his entire body, roaring triumphantly.

Snotlout let out a delighted laugh as he held his dragon's snout it his hands after the flames had dissipated. "Hookfang, you're back!"

The riders beamed along with him, more relieved than words could say that their friends would be alright.

--

A few days later, Dany had finally finished the idea she'd come up with the night she went to help Snotlout with Hookfang. It sat as a lump in her vest pocket, its shape disguised by the fur of the jacket. Landing Drogon just outside town again, she walked the short distance to the Jorgenson's door. It was flung open unceremoniously with a loud bang!, making her jump at the unexpected noise. Spitelout emerged, tossing his bludgeon between his hands carelessly. She tensed when his gaze fell on her.

He looked her up and down for a moment, as if trying to remember where he'd seen her before, before he asked bluntly: "which one are you?"

She frowned, not quite understanding his question. ". . . what do you mean?"

"My boy's friends. He's got too many of them to keep track of, and all the blondes run together. Are you the pretty one, the crazy one, or the one with the dragon?"

The Targaryen's face scrunched as she became even more confused. The pretty one was probably Astrid, they all had dragons, so she didn't know why that was a descriptor, so that just left— she sighed, admitting reluctantly, "the crazy one."

Spitelout glanced around like he was searching for someone. "Where's your brother, then? He's told me that you're never apart."

"What?" Dany asked, unused to feeling so lost in a conversation.

"Dad!" Snotlout said, chuckling a little nervously as he squeezed out beside the larger man. "This is Daenerys— remember? The one with the big dragon. She came by to, ah—" He turned to her, asking pointedly, "what are you doing here?"

She stared at them for a second, a little speechless. So she hadn't been the crazy one? That made her feel a bit touched that that wasn't Snotlout's impression of her. Her hand went to her pocket where her gift lay. "I, um, brought something for you."

"O-kay," the shorter Viking said, clapping his hands as he looked up at his dad with barely-hidden apprehension. "Well, I'll go talk to Daenerys about that; we don't want to hold you up."

Disregarding of her unspoken 'no-touching' rule, he grabbed her arm and pulled her bodily out of the way of his father and towards the side of his house. Dany glanced behind her as Spitelout strode off, sensing that something was amiss but not quite having the social awareness to know what it was.

Luckily, Snotlout released her once they were out of sight of his dad. In a lowered voice, he hissed, "seriously, what are you doing here?"

Her brows furrowed at how he was acting. "Why are you being so weird? You were fine when I came by the other night."

He brushed her off with a dismissive wave of his hand, his tone returning to normal as he gave that uncomfortable laugh again. "It's nothing. You said you had something to give me?"

"Oh! Yes," she remembered, deciding not to press him on the issue. She pulled out a small package as she'd covered her gift in scrap of cloth to make it more of a surprise. She handed it to him without fanfare. "For you."

He took it from her curiously, pulling the cloth off in a swift motion. Then, his eyes widened at the small statue that now lay on his palm. It was a wooden figurine, intricately carved in vivid detail. He could clearly see that it was him and Hookfang; his dragon's scales were painted a bright, healthy red that seemed to— somehow (and he almost swore it was magic) glitter in the sunlight like his Monstrous Nightmare was ablaze. Hookfang's wings were spread and there was a mischievous, sly look that had been carved into his face— like he was seconds away from tossing his rider up in the air without his knowledge.

Snotlout himself was a tiny, mirror copy as he rode astride on his dragon's back, his hands grasping Hookfang's horns as he usually did. There was a fierce, determined look that Dany had put on his face that made the pair seem unbeatable, ready to take down any foe that came their way. It was him and Hookfang in their best moments, where boy and dragon were one. As she had with her carving of Hiccup and Toothless (not that Snotlout knew about that), she had captured the essence of their relationship and frozen it in time, breathing life into an otherwise inanimate block of wood.

He stared at it for what seemed like an inordinate amount of time, causing her to rock on the balls of her feet anxiously as she waited for his reaction. He knew she made dragon figurines, he had seen them before, but this— this was different when it was personal; she had taken time out of her day (even days) to make this for him, putting thought and care into it. She had carved it with her own two hands with the sole purpose of giving it away.

Then, Snotlout said two words that he'd probably never used before in his life: "I— thank you."

She beamed at him, knowing how rare such appreciation was coming from him, and clasped her hands in front of her happily. "You're welcome."

He glanced over at her, that customary brashness returning to his features. "Does this mean that I get to call you Dany now?"

The question caught her off guard and it took her a moment to respond. When she did, a small, playful smile quirked on her lips. "We'll see."

Chapter Text

Aurvandil's Fire was never a time of fear or panic for the Targaryens as they lived far enough from Berk that the Flightmare didn't trouble them. They spent the time admiring the brilliant green lights that lit up the sky, usually taking to their dragons to fly underneath the dazzling show. It was an event full of awe and wonder for Dany. Unfortunately, her friends— especially Astrid— did not have the same experience.

During the time they had knowing each other, Dany and Astrid had talked about many things, including how the Hofferson name had been tarnished during the last spectacle. She knew how determined her best friend was to bring honor to her family once more. As the date of the Flightmare's arrival approached, Astrid's resolve gave way to fury and anger, which she often took out on the practice targets that the academy had acquired.

Her rage was shown in full force when Dany arrived at the arena that day; the newest batch of targets were already in smithereens and Astrid was breathing heavily from recent exertion. After she dismounted from Drogon's back, she went over to Hiccup's side where he was watching the blonde with the same concern she felt. "Again?"

"Every day this week so far," he agreed with a nod, not taking his eyes off the other girl.

"YOU WANT SOME OF THIS?" She yelled as she swung her axe towards one of the remaining targets. It lodged itself in the wood, cracking it nearly in half from the force of her hit. She yanked out her weapon and just drove it into the next target. "That's right. Who's next?"

The brunet winced at the damage and made a mental note to ask his father for even more marks. "I'm pretty sure that you— yep, I think you got them. All of them."

"Astrid's been killing inanimate objects all day," Fishlegs informed them, though this was nothing new as of the past week.

"She's really wound up about the Flightmare," Hiccup replied.

Dany didn't quite understand what all the fuss was about, having never seen the creature herself, but she felt a tug of sympathy for her best friend and the girl's ingrained desire to prove herself. "It must be really bad if even Astrid is this worked up about it."

"You have no idea," Fishlegs said with a shudder.

"Ha," Snotlout let out a snort of derisive laughter from where he leaned against the wall to casually observe them. "Too bad she's wasting her time. When the Flightmare comes, the Hoffersons freeze. Right, Astrid? I mean, you are a—" She threw her axe just to the left of him, the strength behind the fling so hard that it split the stone. The Jorgenson, who had squeezed his eyes shut at the approach of the weapon, peeked one open as the danger passed. "—Hofferson."

Astrid glared at the shorter Viking as if she desperately wanted to murder him. Although they'd probably all felt that for Snotlout at some point, Hiccup stepped forward to diffuse the tension before they actually came to blows. "Okay, okay, let's take a deep breath. Just because Aurvandil's Fire is coming, doesn't mean the Flightmare is, too."

"Sure it does. Every ten years, the sky lights up with Aurvandil's Fire, and when it does, the Flightmare appears," Fishlegs explained, more oblivious than even Dany could be to the unhelpfulness of this information. "Its spectral glow and banshee like scream are unmistakable."

"You were saying?" Astrid snapped, her hands on her hips only adding to her fierce glower.

"Thank you, Fishlegs," Hiccup sighed. "Your extensive knowledge of the Flightmare is. . . timely, if nothing else."

The blond beamed at the compliment, completely unaware of the sarcasm behind the other boy's tone (which had been so dry that, for once, the Targaryen had known not to take it to heart.) "I do fancy myself to be Berk's leading authority on the subject. Here's a few more fun facts." He opened the Book of Dragons, which he'd been holding tucked under his arm until now. Scanning the page, he read, "legend has it that the Flightmare is so terrifying, it actually freezes its prey in their tracks."

"Yeah," Snotlout chimed in tauntingly, "just ask Frozen Finn Hofferson. Right, Astrid?"

Since they could barely tolerate Snotlout's obnoxiousness on a good day, it was understandable, really, that Astrid snapped. She let out a loud yell and threw the boy bodily to the ground, smashing his face between the stone and her boot. "You think it's funny, Snotlout?" She swung her axe dangerously close to Snotlout's face. "You think it's a joke that my family name was ruined by that dragon?"

Shifting his eyes to look at the much calmer blonde (as that was the only movement he could do), Snotlout pleaded in Dany's direction, "aren't you going to help me? I thought we came to an understanding! What about the dragon statue you gave me?"

Dragon statue? Hiccup wondered, feeling a twinge of unease at the thought that Dany had given Snotlout of all people a similar gift to the one he held so dear. He made no mention of the fact since they had more important things to focus on but tucked away the feeling in the back of his mind. The blonde in question shrugged. "Nah. Astrid is still my favorite. Plus, I don't feel like an axe to the face."

The Hofferson smirked at the girl's support for her actions. Before she could unleash her wrath further on the boy underneath her boot, the twins finally made their appearance. Tuffnut wheeled a cart full of apples, Ruffnut carried an armful of fish and even their Zippleback was helping out with the haul; while none of the riders knew what they would need that much food for, all of them had learned that it was better not to ask. "Have you guys heard? The Flightmare is coming."

Hiccup stepped between them and Astrid quickly in case the blonde decided to attack the siblings instead. He held his hands up in a 'proceed with caution' gesture, which they ignored. "Uh, guys, we're really trying not to talk about that."

Ruffnut didn't get the hint and said loudly, "hate to break it to you, but that's the only thing anyone's talking about."

Her brother nodded, adding on, "well, that and Astrid's uncle."

Still under the Hofferson's boot, Snotlout's voice came out muffled as he protested, "hey! Have a little sensitivity here! Can I get up now?"

The last part was aimed at the blonde who continued to hold him hostage. She let out an annoyed grunt, removing her foot as she rolled her eyes. "Ugh. Whatever."

Astrid stomped over to her dragon and mounted Stormfly in a swift leapt, taking off before they could stop her. Hiccup turned back to pin the twins with a displeased look. "So thanks a lot, guys."

They, like Fishlegs, took the comment at face value. "No problem. If you don't need us anymore, we have to get ready for the end of the world, so, see ya!"

Content with their part in the chaos they'd caused, the twins carted off their goods, headed for the cell that had once contained Hookfang back when they'd been training to kill dragons. Hiccup made a move towards Toothless, presumably to follow after Astrid and calm her down, but he was stopped by warm, slender fingers wrapping around his wrist. He glanced behind him at the unexpected contact, only a little surprised (and mostly pleased) to see that it was Dany who had reached out to halt him. She shook her head. "Don't worry, I've got this."

His brows furrowed in concern as he thought of the girl facing an angry Astrid— not that she hadn't before, but this was deeper, more personal. "Are you sure?"

The blonde smiled at him reassuringly, even giving his arm a slight squeeze in the hopes of instilling him with confidence (which actually did help quite a bit.) "I'm sure. Revenge is the basis of girl talk."

As he watched her scale her dragon's leg to get onto his back, Hiccup thought about all the times he'd wondered what Dany and Astrid had talked about during their sleepovers. Now, he wasn't so sure if he wanted to know.

--

After giving Astrid a bit of time to (hopefully) cool off, Dany found her saddling Stormfly in preparation to hunt down the Flightmare. The Hofferson didn't turn around at the sound of approaching footsteps, instead dismissing the presence she assumed to be the chief's son by saying, "I don't want to hear it, Hiccup. I've waited my entire life for a chance to clear my family's name and you're not going to stop me."

"Would it help if I said I wasn't Hiccup?" Daenerys asked lightly.

The blonde whipped around, surprise momentarily overtaking her features before they hardened into annoyance again. "Don't you try to stop me, too."

"Who said anything about stopping you?" At Astrid's disbelieving look, Dany's teasing tone became more earnest. She approached the other girl to get her to stop using Stormfly as a distraction, standing directly in her way to meet her eyes— a gesture so rare for her that the Hofferson sighed and stilled to listen. "Look, I'm serious. Don't you think that I can understand better than anyone what it's like to have your family name tarnished by something you couldn't help?"

At this point, Astrid softened slightly, loosing some of her anger— but only a little; her features were still hardened with determination, clearly unwilling to be moved despite Daenerys' attempt at sentimentality. "So you're gonna let me go then, right?"

The Targaryen nodded. "With three stipulations."

"And what might those be?" the other girl questioned her, arching a brow skeptically.

Dany held up her hand as she ticked off her list on her fingers. "First— promise me that when you find it, you won't kill the Flightmare. You can scare it, hurt it— not irreparably— fight it, but killing dragons isn't what Berk does anymore, no matter what past wrongs they may have caused us." There was a pause as Astrid considered her request, then offered a reluctant nod. "Second— I'm coming with you."

"What— no—!" the Hofferson protested. "This is my fight—"

"And I won't get in the way of that," Daenerys promised her. "I'll just be running backup."

"Oh, is that it?" Astrid countered. "It's not because you've been dreaming about the Flightmare: going after it, learning about it— training it, is it?"

Dany gave her an affronted look. "You know, Astrid, training dragons isn't the only thing I think about."

"Are you actually saying that to me with a straight face?"

The blonde gave a haughty sniff. "I also happen to think about flying them, which brings me to my third point— we're taking Drogon."

"What's wrong with Stormfly?"

"Nothing. In some ways, Stormfly might be better— she's smaller and can fly faster. But I don't know how big this thing is so I'd rather have a larger dragon on our side. Plus, Drogon's scale pattern is darker and will help us blend in better," she reasoned.

Before Astrid could find a way to argue with her logic, a shout caught the girls' attention as Fishlegs came trotting up to them, waving a piece of rolled-up parchment in his hand. "Dany! I did the research you asked for. I have the path of the Flightmare right here on this map. For generations, it's gone through the northern swamp on the way to the village— same route every time. If I could only figure out why, we might be able to stop it."

"Great! Thanks, Fishlegs," Dany said gratefully, taking the map from him.

As she turned back around to face her best friend, she was met with Astrid's grudgingly impressed look. "Wow, you work fast. You just assumed I'd agree to your terms, then?"

"I didn't have to assume— I knew you would. It wouldn't be wise to go alone and I know you're smarter than that."

She was given a grunt of assent as Astrid realized she wouldn't be able to get out of Dany coming with her. "Fine. When do we leave?"

--

"Okay. We are going to observe the Flightmare, Astrid," Dany instructed the other girl sternly as they flew under the brilliant green lights of Aurvandil's Fire. Astrid sat behind her on Drogon's back, her arms wrapped around Dany's waist as she tried to accustom herself to the dragon's huge size. "It's always good to have information about your opponents before you engage them and since we know nothing about the Flightmare, you shouldn't start fighting it immediately."

"Sure," the Hofferson agreed, in a tone that indicated she would do whatever she wanted anyway.

Daenerys sighed at the blonde's obvious blasé attitude; she only wanted to make sure her best friend had the best chance of bringing honor back to her family name, not completely prevent her from achieving her goals. Since she'd picked up on the other girl's lack of commitment, she insisted, "say the words 'I understand, Dany.'"

"Fine," she grumbled. "I understand, Dany."

The Targaryen let out another sigh, sure to be one of many that night; she wasn't at all convinced of Astrid's cooperation with the dry tone she'd just used. But, there was no reason to press the point further when she knew that there were few people who could change Astrid's mind once it had been made up. So, instead, she scanned the ground for the landmarks she'd memorized from Fishlegs' map. "There's the northern swamp."

A roar echoed over the trees below them, one that she wasn't familiar with. Excitement rushed through her at the thought of seeing a new dragon, and such an infamous one at that. She'd read about the Flightmare in the Book of Dragons, of course, but reading and seeing were to very different things. She felt Astrid stiffen behind her at the sound, her determination unwavering as she breathed out, "I can't wait to see this thing."

"Me too!" Daenerys conceded, but felt the need to remind her: "remember, observe only!"

Drogon's wings beat steadily towards the horizon as a intense blue-white light suddenly shone out of the darkness. There was no distinct shape yet, but the color was in such contrast to their surroundings that it was almost as if the sun were rising early— at least if the sun were cool-colored versus the warm orange-yellow that it actually was. As it surged above the treetops, Drogon wheeled away against the onslaught, causing Astrid's grip to tighten around her as their balance shifted with his sharp movement.

The girls screwed up their eyes to counter the glare. The Flightmare spread its wings to an intimidating size, which made Dany definitely glad that she'd insisted on Drogon coming along. Her dragon recovered, though his flight path had been disrupted and they were closer to the ground than they used to be.

"Wow!" the Targaryen exclaimed, impressed. "Now I understand what all the hype is about!"

But Astrid didn't care to notice the Flightmare's assets; she was only focused on revenge. Although it was a bit of a jump, she didn't hesitate to use Drogon's wing as a ramp and tumbled off the dragon, her feet hitting the ground as she landed. Dany glanced around in alarm at the thump to see her friend drawing her axe. "Astrid, what are you doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing? Defending Berk, and my family honor! We'll see who's a coward!"

So much for observing first, Daenerys thought, letting out a faintly annoyed breath as she guided Drogon in a circle to land. Astrid ran forward, holding her weapon aloft. "Leave Berk now and never come back! Here I am, ungodly beast! Fearless Astrid Hofferson— come and get me if you dare!"

Dany watched as the Flightmare surged forward at the same time the blonde swung her axe. The dragon shot a mist of small, shimmering particles in her direction— not the fire or acid they were used to, but a different substance altogether. It froze the girl solid and circled in a wide loop to come for a second attack.

"Astrid!" the Targaryen shouted. Hiccup is going to kill me if I let Astrid get hurt! (She would never want her friend to be injured, either, but Hiccup had entrusted her with Astrid's safety.)

Drogon swooped in at the same time the Flightmare did, cutting off the opposing dragon from its victim. Its glow intensified once more and they were forced to duck out of the way so they wouldn't end up frozen as well. Dany took the same path Astrid had and used her dragon's wing as a ramp to get to the ground rather than waste time landing. She threw herself towards the blonde, using her body to protect Astrid as the Flightmare flew above them, its tail nearly flicking against her hair.

It roared again, now quite annoyed that Dany kept interfering with its target. She wrapped her arms around Astrid's middle and began to tug the statue-like girl towards Drogon. How she would climb up to Drogon's back with a second person, she didn't know, but at least her dragon would offer some protection from the Flightmare.

Then, her feet were unceremoniously yanked out from under her and both girls were lifted into the air. Drogon's talons gripped her shoulders with only some discomfort as their clawed points dug into her skin. She tightened her grip on the Hofferson, who was still deadweight in her arms.

Dany glanced back to see the blue-white glow still following them as Drogon gained altitude and she hoped her dragon had a plan; fighting the Flightmare from this height and this position definitely wouldn't be fun. It didn't take her long to realize what her dragon was devising as she felt cool mist dampen her hair and clothes: he was using the cloud cover to their advantage.

"Yes! Good boy!" she cheered, proud of him for remembering their flight training, even without her guidance.

By this point, Astrid began to move in her arms and— understandably— began to freak out. "What— where are— Dany!"

"I'm right here," the Targaryen reassured her, ducking her head to speak in the Hofferson's ear to be easily heard over Drogon's wing-beats. "It's okay. The Flightmare sprayed you with some kind of mist. It paralyzed you."

"It. . . froze me," she realized once she'd calmed.

"Luckily it wasn't permanent," Daenerys commented, some of the worry easing now that she wouldn't have to face Hiccup's wrath once they returned. "That must be its defense mechanism— make you so scared you can't move."

That made Astrid's eyes widen as the observation made her come to a conclusion. "I knew my uncle wasn't afraid of that dragon! He was paralyzed by it."

"How good are you at climbing?" Dany asked.

While it seemed to be an odd change of subject, Astrid knew her well enough that there was a point. "I wouldn't consider myself an expert. Why?"

"Think you can manage a dragon's leg?"

The Hofferson glanced up at the dark shape above them, which was the slope of Drogon's chest. Then she looked over at the claws that held Dany by her shoulders, to his tree trunk-like legs. Her expression hardened with resolve and she nodded. "You take the right, I'll take the left?"

Once the girls had returned to their proper positions on Drogon's back, Daenerys steered her dragon back towards the Flightmare. "There's no way we can let that thing get to town. We have to follow it and make sure it doesn't get there."

"Yes!" Astrid let out a quiet cheer.

It was easy to see the glowing dragon against the darkness of night and soon they were on its tail again. This time, though, they kept a careful distance from it so it wouldn't notice them. They flew over a large stack of rocks and the sight on the other side caused their eyes to widen from the unexpectedness of it. The Flightmare wasn't the only light they were following anymore; a river ribboned below them in stark contrast to the landscape, shining so brightly it could have been a beacon.

"Wow," Dany breathed out, awed by the beauty in front of them. She'd been right that this dragon was definitely one worth learning more about. "Glowing algae."

They landed beside the stream to get a better look at the phenomenon. Intrigued, the Targaryen bent to let some of the water run through her fingers. "It must be caused by some sort of reaction to Aurvandil's Fire."

The girls looked up at the shimmering green sky as she said this. Dany glanced over at the blonde. "What was it that Fishlegs said? The Flightmare takes the same route every year?"

"But why would it go through the village?" Astrid wondered.

"You ever try to get between Snotlout and a bowl of mutton?" she offered as an example. Both girls had seen what damage a hungry Snotlout could do— especially when a particular dish was involved.

The blonde grimaced at the memory. "Yeah. That's something you only do once."

At the sound of the Flightmare's hiss, Dany quickly pushed Astrid to hide behind a fallen tree. They peeked over the side of the trunk to watch the glowing dragon as it lowered its head towards the water and lapped up a few mouthfuls. It glowed brighter in response to the intake and stretched its wings, as if satisfied with its meal. Astrid gasped suddenly as the understanding hit her. "Oh, I get it! The Flightmare thinks we want its food."

She nodded. "Unfortunately it doesn't know that we find glowing algae about as appetizing as watching Snotlout inhale yak butter parfait."

Finished with its meal, the dragon took to the skies again with a screech. The light around its body had intensified and the two girls had to squint to make out its shape. Astrid shrank against the tree to try and stay out of its sight. "And speaking of appetizing, we better hope it doesn't see us."

Dany had already turned to head back to her dragon. "Come on, let's get up in the air so we have equal advantage."

The Hofferson happened to glance in Drogon's direction and winced. "Yeah, don't think that's gonna happen."

Daenerys followed her pointing finger to see Drogon rising from the river with small, brilliantly-colored droplets of water dripping from his fangs. "Oh, Drogon."

As he swallowed the last remnants, Drogon's scales began to shimmer a brightly, the algae causing the red accents to become the most prominent color. The outline of each scale was illuminated in scarlet so that he stood out just as much as the Flightmare did. Of course, the dragon in question saw them immediately.

The girls scrambled to get onto Drogon's back and took to the air, hoping to use the clouds to hide them once again. Regrettably, the red glow could still be seen amongst the mist and it didn't take long for the Flightmare to locate them. Before Astrid and Dany saw this, however, the former wondered hopefully, "you think we lost him?"

The Targaryen saw a flash of blue-white out of the corner of her eye that was growing uncomfortably larger. "Nope."

She guided Drogon back the other way, but the Flightmare got in front of them easily and blocked it. They didn't have any time to redirect themselves as its glow became so great that they reeled away from it— but not fast enough. After the fact, Dany realized how incredibly powerful the Flightmare must be if its paralyzing ability was strong enough to freeze a dragon as big as Drogon was in a single blast. But, in the moment, all she felt was a shot of fear as they dropped like a stone— no, a boulder— through the sky.

Dany cried out her dragon's name as they fell, but there was little she could do. The only thing that she could think of to ensure that Drogon wouldn't crush them upon landing was to grab Astrid's wrist and yank her off the dragon entirely. The girls free-fell next to him, tucking and rolling once they hit the ground. Drogon landed with a thunderous crash that shook the earth around them, but luckily no one was injured— just shaken.

The Flightmare was still coming straight for them, though, even as her dragon was shaking off the paralysis. Drogon was mad now, not used to being caught off guard like that. He let out a furious roar that made the leaves rustle on the trees as the vibrations hit them. The Flightmare shot another stream of mist at him, but he was able to avoid it this time and launched himself into the air.

"Drogon, no!" Daenerys cried, but it was too late— her dragon had a grudge now and needed to prove himself.

While the glowing dragon was quick and small, the second descriptor was more of a disadvantage than a help to it. It put up a decent fight against Drogon, darting here and there amongst his claws as it fired streams of mist at him. But Drogon threw his entire weight at the Flightmare and knocked it off balance. It flapped wildly to right itself and launch a counter-attack.

Below, the two girls watched the dragon fight with wide eyes, though Dany was more scared for her dragon. While she believed he could handle himself, it was never easy to see him go full 'wild dragon.'

"Great," Astrid sighed, raising her voice to be heard over the dragons' roars. "Now how are we gonna stop the Flightmare before it reaches the village?"

Dany scanned the area for anything that might distract her dragon from extracting his revenge, but her gaze caught on the bright blast of fire that lit up the sky above them. Drogon was no longer glowing red, which was some relief. Then her attention snagged on something else— three shapes flying towards them, two easier to spot than the other. They were aiming straight for the clearing the girls were in, no doubt having seen two very unusually bright dragons that marked their spot.

"Fishlegs and Hiccup!"

"How are they gonna help?" the Hofferson asked, confused as she hadn't yet spotted the boys.

"By bringing you some reinforcements!" Fishlegs replied cheerfully.

Astrid whipped around at his voice and her expression brightened at the sight of her dragon. "Stormfly!"

She wasted no time in getting on her dragon's back once the Nadder had landed, scratching the place behind her horns happily. "Good to see you, girl."

Hiccup touched down next to Daenerys and he greeted her with a smile. "Need a lift, milady?"

"Yes, thank you," she replied, glad that the darkness worked in her favor to hide the pink flush that rose to her cheeks at the use of his nickname for her. She climbed on behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist comfortably. "How did you even find us out here? I thought the academy was supposed to be on lockdown."

"It was," he acknowledged as they took off again, "but we wanted to see if we could help you with the Flightmare, so while we were looking over the maps—"

"—we figured out a way to stop the Flightmare from reaching town!" Fishlegs finished eagerly. "We cut a new channel for the river. . ."

". . .and divert the flow of glowing algae out to the sea!" Dany exclaimed as she understood what the boys were getting at.

In front of her, Hiccup nodded approvingly. "Exactly. Toothless, Stormfly, Meatlug, it's time to do a little emergency landscaping. Hopefully Drogon can keep the Flightmare distracted long enough."

"Of course he can," was Dany's flippant answer, which made the brunet smile.

"A real, live Flightmare!" Fishlegs breathed out as his gaze caught on the glowing dragon. It was a bit harder to see with Drogon's bulk eclipsing it, but just the fact that they were so close to one impressed him. "It's-it's-it's—"

"It's mine," Astrid declared, urging Stormfly towards the two dragons. By this point, Drogon had pinned the Flightmare down and was growling in its face with his teeth bared. But the Hofferson had her own revenge to extract and swooped in on Drogon's left to fire a blast at the Flightmare's face. The larger dragon's head jerked around, snarling in her direction at who would dare challenge his authority. He must have seen the fire in the girl's eyes, though, because with a final growl, he released the glowing dragon so Astrid could have her turn at it.

"Of all the times he chooses to be chivalrous," Dany grumbled from behind Hiccup as the Flightmare shook out its wings before returning to the sky.

But they could only trust that Drogon would help Astrid keep the Flightmare busy while they worked on their own mission. Toothless and Meatlug worked hard to create the channel, aiming each of their shots at the ground so they made a small explosion of dirt each time. The shimmering water soon forked in another direction, inch by inch as the furrow was lengthened towards the sea. Toothless fired one last blast at the edge of the coast that sent the new river flowing into the sea. The path of the glowing algae widened as it mixed with the salt water, continuing to flow towards the horizon instead of Berk.

Upon seeing that the course of the river had been changed, Astrid fired a final blast at the Flightmare before she and Drogon backed off. The glowing dragon shook its head to clear it, then its attention caught on the new flow of the water that it followed. It decided that Stormfly and Drogon were unnecessary obstacles in its way and shot off towards the sea instead. The riders cheered at their victory as they landed their dragons by the new path of the river that they had cut.

"Did you see it?" Fishlegs enthused as if they hadn't been there with him. "It really did glow like a night of a thousand stars! And what was that mist it was spraying at you, Astrid?"

"It has a mist that temporarily paralyzes you," Dany answered before the Hofferson could, just as excited about the new discovery. "It got Astrid when we first saw it but obviously it wore off. And it doesn't just glow by itself— it uses the algae to generate it!"

Both the Targaryen and Hiccup had dismounted from Toothless' back; while she'd gone to check on Drogon, the brunet went over to examine the water with interest. He bent, just as she had, to let the glowing droplets fall through his fingers. "This is incredible. I wonder if there are other dragons who use this algae as a food source."

"Well, it is safe for other dragons to eat," Dany offered as she ran her hand fondly over her dragon's snout. "Drogon accidentally ate some while we were tracking the Flightmare and he started glowing, too."

"Really?" Fishlegs asked. He glanced at his Gronckle. "I've always thought that Meatlug would be a bright green if she looked anything like the Flightmare."

"You've thought about that?" Hiccup wondered, amused.

"You haven't?"

The brunet held up his hands placatingly. "Fair enough. But Toothless' color would probably compliment his scales."

Still on Stormfly's back, the cough that Astrid let out above them sounded suspiciously like, "nerds." (Though she meant this in an entirely teasing way, unlike Snotlout.)

They ignored her as Dany smiled at them with a hint of mischievousness in her expression. She gestured to the river next to them. "Well, there's only one way to find out. I'm sure our dragons could use a drink before we head back to Berk."

--

As it turned out, Fishlegs was right about Meatlug— she turned a bright green after drinking the water. Stormfly had a yellow glow while Toothless was a deep blue, and Drogon was back to his dark red. The teens hadn't thought things through completely, however, as, when they approached Berk, Gobber (who'd been on watch at the time) mistook them for the Flightmare. They could hear him blowing the horn while they were still some distance away. But luckily they soon realized that their four distinct colors were definitely not their unwelcome visitor and allowed the teens to land safely.

"Hiccup, slap me in the face," Gobber started the moment they touched the ground. "Your dragons are glowing. I must still be dreaming."

"Gobber, you're wide awake," Hiccup reassured him as they dismounted, "and they are glowing. Long story. The good news is we drove the Flightmare away."

Stoick's eyes widened with delight and he reached out to place a meaty hand on his son's shoulder. "You did? Well done, Hiccup. Well done." He raised his voice to address the rest of the village: "everyone, you can come out of your homes! The Flightmare is gone for good."

A crowd gathered quickly as the information spread, the villagers both happy and confused as they heard the teenagers' feat. The chief's son stepped forward to address the audience: "uh, excuse me? I have an announcement to make. We learned a lot about the Flightmare tonight and I'll explain it all to you, but the most important thing we learned was that Fearless Finn Hofferson was indeed fearless." He paused to smile back at Astrid, who was grateful for his endorsement of her uncle. "Just like all the Hoffersons."

"Sounds like you did your uncle proud, lass," Gobber said, smiling warmly at her as he came to stand by the blonde's side.

"Now maybe we can just enjoy Aurvandil's Fire," Stoick suggested, earning cheers from the surrounding villagers.

As was usually her preference, Dany was keen on getting away from the crowd as soon as she could. But her tradition of flying under the glowing green lights with her parents came to mind, as well as the fact that a certain boy never got to have that experience. She stepped over to the brunet, who took his gaze from the lights above to look over at her curiously. "Do. . . do you want to go on a flight with me and Drogon?"

He was momentarily surprised by her question. "What? Right now?" At her nod— where she steadfastly avoided his eyes— he shrugged, giving her a little grin. "Alright."

The brunet began to make his way over to Toothless only to be stopped by Dany's fingers gently wrapping around his wrist once more, tugging him to a halt. Her face was a pretty shade of light pink that was hard to see under Aurvandil's Fire. "Um. . . I was thinking it could be more like our first flight together? You know, where you rode Drogon with me?"

It was his turn to have his face flush a bit red and he was very glad that neither Astrid nor Toothless overheard their conversation to save himself from the teasing that would have surely followed. His acquiesce of "alright," came out much quieter this time.

They settled themselves on Drogon's back with far more ease than they had the first time. Hiccup was only mildly embarrassed (and that was because of how acutely aware he was of the rapid beat of his heart) as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He settled behind her as they took off, even feeling comfortable enough to rest his cheek against her shoulder so he could look up at the shifting lights, all the while oblivious to the small, bashful smile that played on the Targaryen's lips.

Chapter Text

"Yes, Hookfang!" Snotlout cheered as his dragon shot up from the water after they'd successfully retrieved the stuffed scarecrow that served as their rescue dummy. "Victory loop!"

It seemed that since the days of Hookfang's illness, Snotlout had taken his training more seriously. While blunders were still par for the course, the rider-and-dragon team were able to at least complete one aspect of the exercise well. Hiccup noticed this too and remarked, "you know, I hate to admit it but Snotlout actually looks like he worked on his rescue training."

Astrid and Dany looked up, squinting against the brightness of the sun to see the black dot of the dragon in the sky. Both girls refrained from agreeing with him as they watched the Monstrous Nightmare stop suddenly on the arc of his loop. Instead of completing the lap, Hookfang suddenly dove sharply downwards— straight into the water. Amused, Astrid just shook her head. "Uh, let's not get ahead of ourselves."

When the pair returned to the top of the sea-stack, Snotlout was pale with shock as he clutched at the dummy in his hand. Pretending that he'd entirely meant to do that, he smirked at them and held up the stuffed body to announce proudly: "another victim saved."

Just as he said this, the dummy gave way to its rough treatment. There was tearing sound as the head separated from the rest of the body. It fell out of his hands and rolled across the ground, causing the Jorgenson to drop the rest of its body in horror.

"Yeah, you got the victim part right," Fishlegs mocked him.

That earned him a glare from the shorter Viking. "Shut up, Fishlegs. Big deal, so its head fell off. It's not like he's on fire or anything."

Apparently, hearing the word 'fire' was enough to trigger Hookfang into producing some. Unfortunately, his target was the stuffed body that his rider had just saved. To his credit, though, Hookfang did immediately leap forward to stamp it out with his talons— just to stay on the safe side, Dany made a mental note to never rely on Snotlout for a rescue.

As if sensing the judgement from the rest of his friends— and one boy in particular— Snotlout snapped hotly, "shut up Fishlegs," before anyone could make another snide comment.

"Okay, who's up next?" Hiccup asked to get them back on track. "Astrid? Stormfly?"

In response, the duo launched off the sea-stack, blowing wind in everyone's faces from their speed. They craned their necks over the side of the rocky pillar to see where the pair went, which happened to be at the base of the stone. Astrid indicated for Stormfly to start up her spine-shots. Once a few were embedded in the rock, the Hofferson jumped off her dragon and used them as hand-holds. Stormfly hovered in the air next to her as they ascended the vertical slope, producing more spine-shots as needed.

"Great work, Astrid," Hiccup congratulated her once she'd made it to the top.

There was a self-satisfied smile on her face that said she knew how good of a job she'd done. Dany applauded politely from Drogon's back to show her own support, earning a nod of thanks from the blonde.

"Great work?" Snotlout scoffed. "Try lame work. Hello? Flying dragon? Might be a little quicker to get to the top of the sea stack."

Stormfly landed next to Astrid, looking almost as smug as her rider. The Hofferson stared the boy down, her hands resting on her hips defiantly. "What if your victim is trapped on the side of the cliff and your dragon can't get close enough? You ever think of that?"

"Yes." He crossed his arms grumpily. "No." He turned his head away from the rest of the group to cover up his embarrassment. "Shut up, Astrid."

Hiccup inclined his head towards the Targaryen. "Dany? Do you want to show us what you've got?"

"Yeah. This time, I'm going to be the dummy. It's much more realistic that way," the Targaryen said, not noticing any other way her response could be taken until it was too late.

Snotlout snickered. "You could say that again."

"Maybe we could trade places then, Snotlout," she replied sweetly, the sarcasm behind her statement completely going over his head until they were already out of earshot.

"What? No, you—" but by the time he formulated a proper response, all that he could do was grumble, "shut up, Daenerys," in her wake.

Once they were far enough away from the sea-stack, Drogon steadied himself in mid-air, keeping an even height. Just like in all of their practice sessions, Dany calmly slid sideways off his back to freefall through the air. She closed her eyes at the surprisingly comforting sensation, enjoying the way the wind whipped about her and howled in her ears. But she didn't let herself relish it for as long as she normally would have, instead opening her eyes to the sight of her dragon rapidly growing smaller above her. Raising her voice (even though it wasn't strictly necessary since dragons had excellent hearing), she called out: "Drogon, fetch!"

Upon hearing the command, the large dragon swooped downward at a fast pace. He spread his wings to slow his descent once he was close enough. His talons stretched out towards her and there was a sharp pinch on her ankle as he secured his hold. Then her body jerked upwards, reversing its falling motion as they returned to the sea-stack. Drogon deposited her gently on top before looping back around to have a better angle for landing next to her.

"Well done, Dany," Hiccup commented approvingly while Astrid gave her a nod.

Of course, not everyone was so easy to please. Snotlout scoffed, sneering slightly at her effort. "We all know how to do that. You can't just reuse a skill we've already learned!"

"Actually," Daenerys began pointedly, "I can. What if the person you're rescuing has never ridden a dragon before? Or what if you're trying to escape in heavy fire so you can't fly straight? They might accidentally fall off your dragon before you can reach safety. Besides, it is a new skill. Drogon wasn't trained to fetch before; he just caught me out of instinct before I hit the water."

The chief's son smiled proudly at her as Snotlout fell into a sullen silence. Both he and Astrid had noticed that Dany had been making an effort to stand up for herself more, which led to the Jorgenson's annoyance, but that couldn't be helped. They were glad that she was finally comfortable enough to start speaking her mind without being prompted first.

Dany flushed under the positive attention and spoke quickly to change the subject. "Fishlegs, you're up next, aren't you?"

He patted the top of Meatlug's head to catch her attention before he pointed upwards. They rose to a great height above the rocky pillar before Fishlegs explained his trick. "I call this the stop, drop—"

He waved his hand and the Gronckle's wings folded into her body. They fell like a stone through the air. Seeing the oncoming missile, Hookfang panicked and leapt out of the way, leaving Snotlout to slide off his back and hit the ground. The Jorgenson's eyes widened in alarm at the sight of Meatlug's oncoming form. But the impending crash never came; just as they looked like they were about to land on top of the boy, Meatlug's wings sprang out again. Fishlegs finished confidently, "—and hover!"

"I like it, Fishlegs," Hiccup declared.

"Oh, come on," Snotlout argued. "That's not rescuing, that's falling."

"Actually," Fishlegs started in a similar tone that Dany had used, "this is falling."

He let Meatlug drop right on top of the shorter Viking, earning a groan from the boy. Only Snotlout's hand could be seen under the Gronckle's size, and it curled into a fist as he lifted his arm weakly. In a muffled voice, he pleaded, "Hookfang— rescue!"

The Monstrous Nightmare glanced at his rider curiously, then decided that the command wasn't worth the effort of obeying. He turned tail and flew off the sea-stack without looking back.

Hiccup sighed, too used to their behavior to try and corral them into behaving. He turned to the twins instead. "Okay. Guys? You wanna show us your rescue skill now?"

"Sure," Tuffnut agreed, brightening. He and Ruffnut straightened from their causal, slouched position to grip their Zippleback's horns tightly as they stared straight ahead.

Confused, the rest of the riders stared at them, waiting to see if anything was going to happen. The brunet frowned as they continued to do nothing. "So. . . let's see it."

"Uh, you are seeing it," Tuffnut replied carefully, seeming to not even dare to take his eyes off the horizon for a second.

A little more at ease, Ruffnut turned to look at them as she boasted, "pretty cool, huh?"

"Our rescue skill is not falling off this sea stack. That way, no actual rescue is necessary."

"Ta-da!" In her excitement, Ruffnut extended her arms too enthusiastically and punched her brother. He lost his balance on his dragon's back and fell off, letting out a yell as he tumbled towards the water. Mollified, she added, "we're still working out the kinks."

Finally, it was Hiccup's turn. Three targets were set up nearby, evenly spaced apart. Toothless approached them steadily as the telltale whistle of the rise in air pressure sounded around him. Hiccup leaned forward and tightened his grip on the saddle as he shouted, "barrel roll! Multiple blasts!"

The Night Fury spun in a neat corkscrew turn while firing three shots, which all hit the targets dead center. The pair returned to the sea-stack triumphantly to the applause of the other riders— except Snotlout, who of course had something else to say about the demonstration. "Stop 'ooh-ing!' That's not even a rescue skill!"

Fishlegs shook his head at the boy's complaint. "Of course it is. We always need cover fire during a rescue. Everyone knows that. Very impressive, Hiccup."

The Jorgenson scoffed. "Fishlegs, you need some help getting your nose out of Hiccup's—"

"Snotlout!" Hiccup said quickly, cutting him off.

Fishlegs remained calm, replying to Snotlout's mocking tone in a lofty, easygoing tone: "it's okay, Hiccup. He's just mad because he came dead last in the rescue mission. But what else is new?"

Surprised, the brunet looked amongst his friends to gauge their reactions to this statement. "Uh, guys, this isn't a competition."

"Uh, yes it is," Tuffnut protested.

His sister nodded in agreement. "You know, they say competition is the very essence of life itself."

Everyone stared at her in shock for a moment before Astrid conceded, "she's right. Weird that she said it like that, but it's true. It's always a competition."

Dany leaned over to her best friend and muttered, "I'm surprised that she even knew a word like 'essence.'"

This earned her an entertained smirk from the Hofferson as Hiccup tried to change their mindset. "We are a team. Everyone has a role. No one person is better, or more important, than another."

The group broke into loud, raucous laughter at that and even Daenerys gave him a faint, amused quirk of her lips at the fact he thought they were all on the same playing field. Hiccup glanced at his dragon, who looked equally puzzled by their hysterics. Once they'd calmed, Snotlout managed to ask, "you don't really buy that, do you?"

"I do, actually. Yes," the brunet replied, startled by this revelation. "Wait, do you all feel the way Snotlout does?"

"Uh, Hiccup, you ride Toothless, a Night Fury," Fishlegs began, pointing out the obvious. "And Night Furies top the charts for intelligence, speed, accuracy, and, well, everything." Meatlug let out a protesting growl. Patting her head comfortingly, he added, "no offense, girl. And everyone knows that second place is taken by Daenerys since she's been around dragons more than any of us, so it's up to the rest of us to decide the rest of the ranking."

Dany smiled a little, flattered by their automatic placement for her. She didn't care much for competition like the rest of them did, so it was nice that she didn't have to fight for a spot.

"Wanna know what I think?" Snotlout asked as he stood with his arms crossed, his eyes flashing with challenge at the idea he'd come up with.

"No!" Everyone responded in unison and without hesitation.

He continued anyway, "I think we'll never know who the best dragon trainer is because we don't have a level playing field."

Now interested, Fishlegs offered thoughtfully: "hang on a second. What if we did have a level playing field? What if we could prove once and for all who's going the skills and who doesn't?"

The Jorgenson laughed tauntingly. "Trust me, Fishlegs. You don't want that."

His eyes narrowed in response, not backing down from the dare. "Oh, I think I do."

--

They regrouped later that day in the arena. Fishlegs had found enough. . . whatever his idea was for all of them and had told them to meet him before dinner that evening. He now stood proudly in front of a small wooden crate that was loosely covered with a lid. He removed it with a flourish. After a second, a small, green head poked out and the yellow eyes of the Terrible Terror darted around curiously.

Snotlout lifted a brow in disbelief at the tiny dragon. "Terrible Terrors? This is your level playing field?"

Six more heads popped up and the dragons made intrigued squawking sounds. Fishlegs remained confident in his decision, arguing, "as a matter of fact, yes. We'll all choose a Terrible Terror, have a day to train it, and then we'll find out who's best."

The Jorgenson burst into derisive laughter once more, even going so far as to exaggeratingly wipe a tear from his eyes. "Oh, man. I can't keep a straight face."

Fishlegs regarded him evenly. "I fail to see the humor, Snotlout."

Hiccup tried yet again to ease the friendly rivalry before it got out of hand, insisting, "no, you guys the point of all of this is—"

Snotlout ignored the brunet's interjection to boast: "you don't have a chance to win this, Fish-face. And you wanna know why? Because there are readers, and there are doers, and while you've got your nose buried in the Book of Dragons, I'm out there kicking names and taking butt."

Astrid couldn't help but point out his mistake as she corrected him smugly, "I think you meant that the other way around."

"I mean. . ." He waved his arms around while he attempted to figure out what he'd been trying to say before he gave up, grumbling, "shut up, Astrid."

"Guys, come on," Hiccup sighed.

"I'll tell you what, Snotlout," Fishlegs countered, speaking over him. "You're so confident in your dragon training superiority, why don't we make this interesting?"

"All ears."

"Losers clean the winner's stall. . . for a month."

"Done!" Snotlout declared.

The twins came over to stand on either side of Astrid, who crossed her arms, all three of them agreeing with the deal. She ducked as the twins celebrated by banging their helmets together. Dany glanced around at the others before she shrugged. "Alright. I've never actually cleaned a dragon stall before since we let Rhaegal, Drogon and Viserion go wherever they want— away from civilization, obviously."

"Uh, no," Snotlout scoffed, pointing at her. "You're disqualified."

"What?" she asked, a little hurt. "Why?"

"Well, the one point Fish-face did make was that you've already got a leg up on all of us. We're trying to level the playing field, not turn it into a mountain."

Fishlegs was a bit kinder as he added, "you can still compete, Daenerys, but only for boasting rights."

She supposed that did make sense and let out a breath, still disappointed. "Oh, fine."

With that settled, Snotlout stepped forward eagerly to choose the Terror he was going to train. "You better strap on your helmet, because this guy right here is bringing the pain." He reached forward for the yellow one, but the purple dragon was much more enthusiastic. It gripped his arm, sinking its teeth deep into the leather armband he wore. The Jorgenson winced in discomfort, gasping out: "guess I'll take this one. Bringing the pain. . ."

The others walked to the crate and picked up their own dragons. As they went their separate ways, Hiccup called after them in a last, desperate attempt: "remember! Not a competition!" In a quieter voice, he muttered to Dany, who had stayed behind: "this is really gonna go bad in a hurry."

She shrugged. "It is a learning opportunity. We haven't studied Terrors in detail yet so who knows— we could get something useful out of it."

The blonde studied the two remaining dragons; one was a smaller green one who watched them suspiciously. The other was a purple one, though lighter in color and less aggressive than Snotlout's had been. Glancing at each other, Hiccup and Dany picked up the green and purple one, respectively. She felt little pinpricks as the Terror's claws sunk into her arm as it almost immediately crawled its way up to her shoulders. It settled around her neck with its head on one side and tail draped down her chest on the other. The small dragon closed its eyes, letting out a contented, cat-like purr.

"Well, I suppose Snotlout was right to disqualify me from the competition," she remarked wryly.

Hiccup looked up from where he'd been studying his dragon to see the position hers had settled into. He gave her a barely concealed look of admiration that made her blush, her own gaze dropping to her bare toes. Coming over to her side to inspect her dragon, he reached out a hand to let it sniff at it. "How did you get him to bond with you that quickly?"

"Her," Dany corrected him, then shrugged. Before she could answer his question, her dragon— whom she decided to name Rhaenys— decided she'd had enough of Hiccup's intrusiveness. The small creature snapped its teeth at the boy's fingers, making him draw back in shock. She giggled a little at the startled look on his face. "It's not every day that a dragon doesn't take an immediate liking to you, is it?"

"Yeah, I've kinda gotten used to it."

A teasing glint entered her eyes. "You better hope that Drogon doesn't change his mind about you then or you'll definitely be losing more than a finger."

Daenerys grinned at the horrified expression on his face, which didn't change as he glanced at the large dragon anxiously. She reached out to pat him reassuringly on the shoulder— seeing as her Terror wouldn't let him near her— "Don't worry, I'm only joking. Mostly. Bye!"

With that, she bounced cheerfully over to Drogon and clambered up on his back, oblivious to the dismayed state she'd left her best friend in.

--

"Another dragon, my little dragon? Randolf asked his daughter teasingly upon seeing the Terror curled up around her shoulders when she got home. He'd returned a few days ago from his trading ventures, much to the delight of his family. "Isn't three enough?"

"You can never have too many dragons," Dany told him brightly as she scratched at Rhaenys' chin. The little dragon let out another contented purr.

The older man's expression sobered a bit, some seriousness entering his eyes, "I think you'll find that you can have too many dragons, darling— but then again, what's one more?" This was added in a lighter tone so that she brushed off his initial concern.

"It's not forever," she promised. "Fishlegs wants to have a competition to see who's the best dragon trainer, using Terrible Terrors as the skillset. I've been disqualified on the basis that I have too much experience, but can still compete for fun."

He nodded in understanding, reaching out just as Hiccup had to let the dragon sniff at his fingers. "And what's the little guys' name?"

"Little girl," the blonde corrected him. "And it's Rhaenys. Be careful, dad— she almost bit Hiccup's fingers off when he did that earlier."

Randolf's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Master-dragon-trainer Hiccup? Really? I like her already."

She rolled her eyes. "I only know one Hiccup, but yes. You should've seen his face when it happened; it was quite funny."

"I can imagine." Rhaenys did not seem interested at all in the man's offered digits, instead turning her head away and closing her eyes once more. Her only sign of interest— or lack thereof— was to swat her tail in the direction of his hand, some of the barbs catching against his skin.

Small droplets of blood welled up where her tail had hit, but neither Targaryen exclaimed overmuch about it. He calmly went over to the cupboard where they kept healing supplies and took care of the wound. Injuries were par for the course with dragon training, after all. As he washed out the cut, Dany continued, "the only problem is, I'm not quite sure what to teach Rhaenys. I haven't worked with Terrors much so I don't know what their strengths are. Could you give me a suggestion?"

"A suggestion, my little dragon?" Randolf echoed playfully. He finished dabbing at the cut, the cloth coming away clean at last. "Wouldn't that be considered cheating?"

Dany shook her head. "Well, no, since I'm not really competing. I just want her to learn something useful."

"Hmmm," her father considered this thoughtfully, eyeing the light purple dragon with interest. "In my experience, Terrors are quite adept at fetching things. Do with that what you will. Perhaps you'd like to work with her after dinner tonight?"

Once they'd finished eating— and Ingrid had been caught up with the academy's most recent endeavor— Daenerys retired to her room to think about Rhaenys' trick. She watched the little dragon for a while as it scampered about the space, sniffing here and there to learn about its new surroundings. When Rhaenys began to climb up her chair to get to her desk— where her diagrams were strewn about for various carving projects— Dany hastily called out to her dragon without really thinking about it: "Rhaenys, come here."

Almost at once, the purple dragon hopped off the chair and scurried over to her bed, using her wings to gain enough height to sit next to Dany. Impressed, the blonde scratched the dragon's head as a reward. "Good girl, Rhaenys. I didn't know you'd listen that well. What else can you do?"

Of course, Rhaenys did not reply; she merely looked up at the girl with her large, yellow eyes. Her tongue darted out and licked her eyeball before it disappeared back into her mouth. She blinked. Dany cast around her room for another thing to command her dragon to do. Her eyes fell on the multitude of parchment that sat on her desk, then on the crumpled pieces that were in her wastebasket. Standing, she went over and picked up one of the discarded balls, then returned to her seat. She tossed the rolled up paper across the room. "Rhaenys, fetch the paper, please."

The dragon hopped down and trotted over to it, securing her teeth around the ball before she returned to the teen and dropped it in her lap. This was met with more praise, then Dany repeated the action and order. Rhaenys did this several times without fail, growing more excited each time Dany threw the paper. The dragon's eyes grew bright and her tail wagged a bit as she waited for the next toss. Amused, the blonde shook her head. "This isn't a game, Rhaenys. I'm trying to find a special talent for you. I think there's something useful in your fetching ability, but it has to be more than just retrieving used paper."

She contemplated the parchment in her hand. If Rhaenys could bring it to her, then surely she could take it away as well? Turning to the Terror, who was watching her with anticipation, she offered Rhaenys the ball. "Rhaenys, please. . . throw this away."

The purple dragon took it in her mouth, much to Dany's delight, but that was about as far as she got. Instead of returning it to the wastebasket, Rhaenys simply spit it out of her mouth with great force, causing it to roll a few feet from where they sat. "Alright, that one's on me. You probably don't know what 'throw away' means. Here, watch."

Dany instructed her dragon on the definition of the phrase, repeating the words as she put the paper in the wastebasket. After doing for a bit, she offered the paper to Rhaenys again. "Rhaenys, please throw this away."

The Terror blinked at her once, as if processing the request. Then she half-flew, half-jumped off the bed, nearly making it to the wastebasket before she spit out the paper again. It rolled on the floor right to the base of the container, and Daenerys clapped. "Well done! Not quite, but we'll get there. I think an incentive might speed this along. . ."

As excited as she was about training her Terror, she barely slept at all that night. She was determined to see the extent of Rhaenys' abilities. After mastering fetching and retrieving, Dany began to ask her to get things from around the house, like utensils and her mother's knitting needles. This got her thinking about what else Terrors could carry; something that was small, lightweight. Like used parchment— but not in its used state. The idea had hit her probably and she'd gasped in excitement when it had dawned on her. Grabbing a clean piece of parchment and her charcoal, she hastily scribbled out:

Astrid,

This is Rhaenys. I bet you can guess what her trick is for the training competition! I call it Terror mail— but you don't need to be afraid (haha.) See you tomorrow— and good luck!

Dany

The blonde went over to her dragon and attached the small scroll to Rhaenys' leg. Then, she brought out a set of hair ties that Astrid had given to her for Snoggletog (her best friend was always telling her to put her hair up, but Dany never listened.) She let the Terror smell Astrid's scent on them. "Follow the scent, Rhaenys, and deliver this to Astrid, okay?"

She wasn't sure if the Terror understood her instructions, but she took off anyway and disappeared into the night.

--

When Dany arrived at the academy the next day, Astrid was already there with Rhaenys. Pleased that her dragon had found the recipient of her letter, the Targaryen held out her arm and let the purple dragon flap her way over and return to her perch on her shoulders.

"You got my message, then?" she asked excitedly before she glanced around curiously. "Where's your dragon?"

"He's here," Astrid answered vaguely. "But yes. How did you manage to get her to find me?"

"Scent tracking," Dany explained. "I think it would be more useful to train a whole pack of them so you can send many letters at once, but I didn't have enough time for that. It would be a good way to communicate if we ever travelled far from Berk."

Astrid's brows furrowed as she became a bit confused. "Where would we go? Most of the archipelago has been explored already."

The blonde shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm sure we'll find something. One day we'll have discovered all the dragons on Berk and you know how Hiccup gets when there's not something to obsess over."

Her friend made a face at that because boy did they know how listless the chief's son could get when he wasn't focused on a project. "Yeah, I'd say you better train a whole pack of them before that happens."

The others arrived shortly after. Fishlegs had clearly taken the competition seriously, so much so that he ignored Meatlug completely to focus on his new dragon. While Drogon had been unaffected by Rhaenys' presence— he'd barely glanced at her long enough to let out an unimpressed snort before going back to sleep— the Gronckle was taking this change with great difficulty as she followed her rider around with wide, hopeful eyes. She had a sheep clamped gently between her lips (away from her teeth) as she tried to get Fishlegs' attention. The boy, however, only cooed at his Terror. "Oh, Iggy, you can do this. You're the best, most well-trained dragon ever."

Meatlug nudged her rider once more, but he just waved her off with some irritation. "No, Meatlug. I can't right now." Her gaze lowered and she sulked over to the corner, setting the sheep down. "Okay, it's time to show off what we trained our Terrible Terrors to do. Why don't you go first, Snotlout?"

"Why don't you go first?"

Fishlegs shrugged. "Fine. I'll go first."

"Oh no you don't," Snotlout immediately disagreed. "I'll go first."

The larger boy smirked. "First, second, third. . . doesn't matter. 'Cuz in the end, you're gonna come in last."

"Whoa. What got into Fishlegs?" Astrid wondered, surprised by the bitterness of his retort.

"Looks like he finally grew some—" Tuffnut started to say, only to be cut off abruptly by Hiccup.

The brunet came to stand between the arguing boys, gently pushing them apart to ease the tension. "Whoa! How about I go first? Especially since I don't care whether I win or not because this isn't about winning or losing."

"Yeah," Snotlout jeered. "You keep telling us that. Loser."

Hiccup simply rolled his eyes, used to the boy's taunting. He held out his arm where his Terror, Sharpshot, was perched. "Ready, Toothless?" He growled and nodded his head toward three carved ducks balanced on his wing. "Now!" Toothless launched the ducks into the air. "Sharpshot, fire!"

Just like in their rescue mission training the day before, Sharpshot fired off three neat blasts that hit each of the targets square in the center. They were incinerated easily and little bits of ash floated down where the ducks had once been. The Terror returned to his trainer's arm.

"Not bad," Astrid complimented him, stepping forward to go next. "You're starting out the competition with a bang, Hiccup."

"It is not a competition!" he insisted as Snotlout and Fishlegs glared at each other.

"Well, what do you think?" Astrid extended her arms out as if to show off her dragon's trick, but her Terror remained absent. They all stared at her, lost.

"What do we think of what?"

Still with her arms held out, she answered just as ambiguously as she'd responded to Dany earlier, "my dragon's stealth skills."

The Jorgenson scoffed. "Right. His skill's so stupid, he didn't even show up."

"Or did he?" she asked, crossing her arms as she arched a brow at him challengingly.

The boy's eyes narrowed at her in annoyance only to grow wide in the next second as a faint chirping sounded above him. He rolled his gaze skyward to see a flash of green before the Terror was gone again. Tuffnut turned to see him perched upon his sister's head. "Oh, he's good."

Ruffnut laughed in agreement, then frowned. "Wait, who's good?" She startled as the dragon's chirps registered in her ears and a smile grew on her face.

"Sneaky," Tuffnut said approvingly, but added, "then again, he can't do what Butt and Head can do."

At their trainer's words, the two Terrors left their spot by the teens' feet and walked some distance apart. Astrid smirked knowingly as she watched them set up for their trick. "Let me guess: they're gonna run into each other."

Tuffnut made a buzzer sound. He corrected her smugly: "no. Wrong."

He paused as the two dragons lifted off the ground, then flew at each other very quickly. There was a dull thunk as their heads collided and they fell to the ground in a daze. Ruffnut picked up his explanation: "they flew into each other."

"Totally different."

Although Fishlegs was clearly impatient to show off what he'd taught Iggy, he turned to Dany first. "Do you want to go next, Daenerys? Then the real competition can begin."

(This last part was not directed at the blonde; he'd aimed the statement at Snotlout, who bristled at the insult.)

Oblivious to the boys' exchange, Dany gave him an appreciative smile as she stepped forward. She turned to the chief's son. "Hiccup, would you mind helping me demonstrate my trick? You just have to leave the arena— go anywhere nearby. Once you get the signal— and you'll know what it is when you see it— you can return."

He nodded, hopping on Toothless to get some distance between them as Dany addressed the other riders once more. "This is Rhaenys, the first messenger of what I call Terror mail. She will deliver this note to Hiccup without knowing exactly where he went just by following his scent."

She offered the violet stone Hiccup had given her a little while ago, which she hoped carried a faint trace of his scent. The parchment was already tied to Rhaenys' leg, so she just had to sniff the rock and was on her way. It wasn't long before Hiccup returned with Rhaenys perched on Toothless' back; clearly she didn't enjoy being in the brunet's presence any more than she had the day before. Once they were inside the arena, the purple dragon flew over to Dany and retook her spot around the blonde's shoulders.

Hiccup had the parchment clutched in his hand as he got off his dragon. He was grinning at her and opened his mouth, probably to compliment the trick, but Snotlout cut across him, a sour look on his face. "How is that training your dragon?"

"Rhaenys is very good at fetching things!" Dany said defensively. "What if someone saw an Outcast boat on the other side of the island and needed to get a message to town quickly? They could use a Terror to deliver it."

"Yeah, and what if an Outcast intercepted the message so it never got to its recipient? Or they wrote a fake one?" Fishlegs challenged her.

The Targaryen had to admit that he did have a point, even if he didn't have to say it so meanly. She slumped slightly, some of her enthusiasm from her discovery fizzling out. Hiccup frowned at the boys, knowing that his point about how wrong the competition could go had been proven, but not at all happy about it— especially since it had come at Dany's expense. "I think it could still be useful. You did a great job, Dany."

She offered him a small smile, though it wasn't as genuine as it had once been. She hastily retreated from center stage and found comfort in Drogon's looming shadow. He pinned the arguing boys with a disapproving flame-orange stare that would've had them quaking in their boots, had they been paying attention. Instead, Fishlegs happily took the focus away from her as he presented his Terror to the group. "Prepare to be amazed by the smartest little dragon in the archipelago."

Apparently he'd trained him to recognize images that he'd drawn and match them to the correct, real-life object. Even Snotlout's snarky tests couldn't throw Iggy off his game. The only negative thing to come from Fishlegs' efforts of training the Terror were Meatlug's whines of sadness whenever he praised the little dragon. Dany could hear her whimpers from her place just outside of the circle of her friends, and the sounds made her heart give a little tug of sympathy each time. Still, she couldn't help be a little bitter over Fishlegs' dragon's particular skillset.

"That's just fetching," she grumbled to Drogon and Rhaenys, standing with her arms crossed. "That's exactly what you do, Rhaenys! Except Iggy needs pictures, which clearly means you're smarter."

The purple dragon nudged her snout against the girl's cheek reassuringly, causing some of the irritation to drop from her stance. Snotlout was not so easily pacified. "Big deal. So he plays fetch. It's barely a step up from what Daenerys' dragon can do."

Undeterred, Fishlegs asked, "well, what does your Terrible Terror do?"

"This." Snotlout took the lid off the crate he'd kept his dragon in and the moment he was free, the Terrible Terror shot out like an arrow to clamp down on his leg. The boy growled in pain as he hopped on one foot, but still showed off his dragon triumphantly.

"So, wait, let me get this straight," Fishlegs said through his laughter. "You trained him to bite you?"

"Try and pry him loose, I dare you," the Jorgenson said, holding out his leg. "Took Gobber all day yesterday to get him off this leg." He pointed to his dragon-free one.

That was not enough to convince his competitor. The larger boy shook his head in disbelief. "You're ridiculous. Just tell them I won, Hiccup."

"You won?" Snotlout demanded, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Ha! Get real."

"It wasn't even close!"

Dany, who was the only one paying any lick of attention to their surroundings— the others had quickly gotten involved with trying to figure out who won (or, in Hiccup's case, make them forget about the whole thing)— noticed Meatlug perk up suddenly. Her nostrils flared as she caught a scent. She sniffed around the area where Dany was standing with great interest before her nose began to lead her out of the academy. Alarmed, the Targaryen glanced at her friends before she decided to go after the wayward dragon on her own. She still had Rhaenys on her shoulders, after all, and Drogon slunk out of the arena after her.

Toothless gave them a curious look as they passed and the blonde patted his snout soothingly. "It's okay, bud. Stay with the others; I've got this."

The Gronckle continued onward, heedless of the trio that followed behind. She didn't even listen as Dany hissed, "Meatlug! Meatlug, where are you going?"

Meatlug fluttered easily up to the higher level behind the academy that formed part of the sunken pit, causing Dany to scramble after her, boosted by Drogon's snout. The dragon went around the outside of the arena with her nose glued to the ground, occasionally using her wings to leap forward some distance. Luckily, she didn't go far and paused right before a pile of unsuspecting rocks.

Confused, Daenerys waited to see what the Gronckle found so interesting about them. Behind her, Drogon let out a low, warning growl that rumbled from the back of his throat. She turned to look up at him, frowning. "Drogon, what's got you so worked up about—"

But she didn't have to finish her question; Meatlug fired a blast at the pile. It melted away to reveal Alvin, Savage and Mildew. The Targaryen's eyes widened and the four of them stared at each other, trying to process the situation.

"What the Hel?" she wondered, summing up the circumstances nicely.

"This would be a good time to retreat into the tunnel," Mildew murmured to his companions.

"Alvin the Treacherous doesn't retreat!" Alvin barked at him.

Rhaenys squawked threateningly at the men as Meatlug growled, baring her teeth. Drogon stood taller above his mother so that his head cast a shadow over them. The sight was enough to make Mildew and Savage shudder as they cast the dragon suspicious looks before they ran away. The Gronckle sprang forward, causing Alvin to turn tail and follow his companions. The four Berkians gave chase, Drogon's heavy footfalls causing the ground to shake as he thundered after the Outcast leader. Meatlug shot fireballs after him as he fled— or he did, until he suddenly whirled around.

Dany skidded to a halt to avoid getting too close to the Outcast, but the dragons had a harder time stopping. Meatlug flew right into Alvin's readied fist and was knocked out cold. Drogon let out a terrifying roar that echoed around the cliff face. If Alvin had been anything but a Viking, he might have fainted from the ferocity of it. Still, it was enough to convince him to leave the Gronckle behind, much to his irritation, and he made a dash for the tunnels.

When the others finally caught up to them, Dany gave her friends an apologetic look. "I'm sorry; I was able to stop them from taking Meatlug but not from getting away. We'll never catch them at this rate; the tunnels go all over the island."

Fishlegs threw his arms around Meatlug's unconscious form. "Oh, Meatlug! I'm so sorry that I paid more attention to Iggy than you!"

Hiccup came over to stand beside Dany and he briefly put his hand on her shoulder in support; he dropped it before anyone noticed. "It's okay, Dany. I wouldn't want you to go after Alvin by yourself, anyway; it's too dangerous. We'll figure out a way to search the tunnels—"

"Actually," Tuffnut raised a finger as he cut in matter-of-factly, "they don't go 'all over' the island." At the other riders' stares, he shrugged. "Like, six yak farms."

"—a couple of sheep pens—" Ruffnut added.

"—Mildew's cabbage field—"

"—Gobber's outhouse." They both shuddered at what was surely an unpleasant memory.

As everyone continued to stare at them, Tuffnut demanded, "what? We've spent a lot of time in those tunnels. It's a tunnel of fun."

"Okay," Hiccup said at this new revelation. "We'll split up, cover all those places."

"Great!" Tuffnut exclaimed. "Dibs on the beach!"

The brunet froze. He took a deep breath to keep his composure as he turned to face the older twin slowly. "Uh, what beach?"

--

They tracked the Outcast ship just off the sandy shore— they couldn't let their enemies get away unscathed, after all— and rained hellfire down upon them. Their initial attack hadn't gone exactly as planned since Alvin and Savage had retaliated with arrows, but after regrouping to figure out another strategy, they were able to pass the Outcasts' defenses.

It was Savage who noticed the small dragon first. Astrid's sneaky trainee landed itself on top of his leader's head unbeknownst to the man himself. Mildew made to point this out, but the second-in-command punched him solidly in the stomach, knocking him over.

"Alvin, don't move," he warned the other man, pulling his sword out from its sheath. He began to sneak up on Alvin, bringing the weapon down on his head just as the Terror flew away. The blade made a loud clang! as it hit the leader's helmet, causing him to fall over from the unexpectedness of the hit. Savage looked around frantically for the little dragon but ended his search in favor of hiding his sword behind his back as Alvin rose to his feet again. "We-well now, let me explain, Alvin. There was a-a little dragon on your—"

Fishlegs, who was riding with Daenerys on Drogon while Meatlug was out of commission— and looked very uncomfortable with his position— had shown Iggy a picture of a sword. The orange dragon swooped down and took Alvin's as soon as the Outcast leader raised it against his companion. The Terror returned to his trainer with a proud chirp.

Dany showed Rhaenys a crumpled up piece of paper, then launched it at the ship. The purple dragon swooped down after it with an excited squawk. When the ball landed on the deck of the boat, Rhaenys chased it around the Vikings' legs, causing them to stumble and Savage to lose his balance completely. Even Head and Butt chipped in, flying towards each other very quickly— with an unfortunate Mildew between them.

With the Outcasts thoroughly distracted, Hiccup took advantage of the opportunity to fly close enough to fire a plasma blast. Their boat exploded into pieces, leaving the Vikings to gather enough boards to float their way home.

As Berk's teens returned to their own home triumphantly, Tuffnut pointed out smugly: "guess that competition was worth something."

"Oh, for the last time," Hiccup cried, exasperated, "it wasn't a competition!"

Chapter Text

Two unsuspecting Deadly Nadders sat on a rocky outcrop as the sea crashed below them. They screeched at each other in greeting, oblivious to the fate that would soon await them once three Viking teens took notice of the pair. Just as the second Deadly Nadder settled beside its companion, it let out a startled squawk as a splat of yellow paint hit it in the neck. Annoyed, both Nadders flew off to find a more peaceful resting place.

The assailants responsible for this outrageous disruption to the wild dragons' day regrouped once Hiccup had finished demonstrating the procedure. He addressed the two girls once they were within earshot: "okay! These Nadders get tagged yellow! That's how we know they belong on Sorrow Island."

"Are you sure that's yellow?" Dany asked from her place slightly above him on Drogon's back. "It looks more like lemon to me."

He gave her a blank look. "What's the difference?"

She shrugged. "More of a technicality than anything else. Go on."

"Oh, no, I was done. Let's get to tagging."

"Like this?" Astrid offered, flying next to them on Stormfly. She swung two of her ammo bags above her head before she released them in the direction of their next targets. They landed in neat splotches on the Nadders' backs, the impact being met with more grumbles.

Daenerys' eyes lit up as a game presented itself. While she was not normally one for the competition her friends favored, she knew her skills lay in marks(wo)manship. "I bet I can get more than you!"

The Hofferson, of course, was never one to back down from a challenge. "Oh yeah? What do I get when I win?"

"I like your confidence but I think you meant to say when you lose," the blonde said, her tone taking on a little-used mocking edge. "If the impossible does happen, I'll kiss Hiccup on the lips. Bye!"

She shot off— as fast as Drogon could go, anyway— swinging her own paint-filled bags as she went. Hiccup— who had been about to insist that this wasn't a competition for the thousandth time— suddenly went very red in the face as the words died on his lips. Stunned by her friend's uncharacteristic boldness, Astrid muttered, "wow, I never thought I'd get to hear her say those words in that order."

Dany, meanwhile, quickly realized the consequences of her actions. After releasing one of the bags to mark her first target, she groaned and buried her face in her hands. "Oh, Drogon, why on earth did I say that? Maybe he'll know that I was only joking and didn't really mean it. What do you think?"

Her dragon, unfortunately, had nothing helpful to add whatsoever except a growl that could have been interpreted as laughter. "You're no help at all," she scolded him irately.

They flew among the sea-stacks in silence after that while the Targaryen pondered her decision. She was so lost in thought that she didn't consciously notice how many dragons she hit with paint, only kept the number in the back of her mind as she berated herself about her word choice. After a few selfcare hours alone to nurse her embarrassment, Dany returned to her friends who were wrapping up their own mission.

When she met up with Astrid again, Hiccup was (thankfully, in this case) gone. "Where'd Hiccup go?"

"He went to check on the twins." Dany didn't really like the looks of the smile that the Hofferson wore— it was a little too smug, a little too knowing for her comfort. "I bet you're glad that he's not here so you don't have to pay up right away, huh?"

"P-pay up?" she echoed with false obliviousness, shifting uneasily on Drogon's back. "What do you mean?"

The other girl rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Don't try that act on me. I'm trying to play wingwoman here."

Daenerys' face flushed. "There is no wingwoman for you to play, Astrid. I just said that because of the confidence of my ability— not because I actually want to kiss him!"

"Right," Astrid drawled, entirely unconvinced. "And you chose Hiccup specifically, not anyone else. Tell me the truth: if you did have to kiss one of us on the lips, you'd chose him, wouldn't you?"

"I don't want to kiss anyone on the lips!" she exclaimed. Truthfully, she didn't. Sure, she had thought about kissing in general, but it seemed like a nasty concept— pressing your lips against someone else's, having their tongue in your mouth? Yuck! Maybe it was different with someone you actually liked, but she didn't think so. After all, how could something called 'swapping spit' (a term used by the older Berkian teens) be seen as anything other than gross?

"But if you had to," the Hofferson pressed. "If you had to kiss someone or your entire family would be killed—"

Dany scoffed, mostly to hide her awkwardness. "That's never going to be a scenario. Anyway—" Her gaze caught on an a Gronckle's unusual purple splotch as the dragon passed by them, hovering lazily in the direction of the twins' island. "Hey, why is that Gronckle leaving its territory?"

"Don't change the subject on me," her friend said sternly. "I'm getting an answer out of you even if it's—"

"No, I'm serious. That Gronckle's Pistachio. Why is it heading to Sorrow Island?"

Astrid arched a brow. "First of all, you can just say green. Second, why is that important? Just because we tagged them a color doesn't mean that they have to stay there."

The Targaryen shook her head. "Gronckles are extremely territorial; they wouldn't leave their homes without due cause. And if I called Pistachio green, then I would just be plain wrong. C'mon, we better go tell Hiccup."

--

The two girls arrived on Sorrow Island a short time later to find the twins covered in purple paint. Since it wasn't the worst of their antics, they ignored that in favor of pointing out the green-marked dragon to the brunet. "Hey, Hiccup, isn't it supposed to be one dragon color per island?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I see two colors down there." Astrid pointed to the Gronckles. "Have we been using the wrong one?"

"I don't think so," he replied, turning to face the twins, whose responsibility it had been to identify these dragons.

Tuffnut raised his hands defensively. "Don't look at us. If we had green paint, you know where it would be."

"Well, I better ask Fishlegs. This was his idea."

Astrid gave him a disbelieving look. "You're gonna fly all the way back to Berk?"

"Nope. I don't have to." Hiccup glanced over at Daenerys, who pointedly avoided his gaze. "Milady, would you do the honors?"

The memory of her bet with Astrid paired with the use of his nickname that seemed to be only reserved for her made her face burn bright red. She quickly focused on what he was asking her to do instead as a distraction. She took out a new dragon whistle, this one smaller and carved with an impish dragon's face, its large, round eyes seeming to hold a spark of mischief that had been carved into the wood. Dany raised the whistle to her lips to give it a short, soundless blast.

They only had to wait a few minutes before a familiar purple dragon soared into view; Rhaenys had hardly left her side since their initial meeting and often flew nearby on missions. She was a good alert system for danger, though she hadn't warmed up to Hiccup much and sometimes protected Dany from him, entirely unnecessarily. The Targaryen still found it amusing that it was one of the few dragons that the chief's son couldn't seem to tame.

The Terrible Terror settled comfortably on her shoulders as she slid from Drogon's back so Hiccup could tie his note around the dragon's leg. While they'd waited for Rhaenys to arrive, he'd gotten a sheaf of parchment out along with his stick of charcoal, much to the twins' bemusement. They watched him with interest, Tuffnut commenting, "he must have some of that magic paper we've been looking for."

His sister nodded as she crossed her arms against her chest contemplatively. "He always get the good stuff."

Hiccup chuckled at their ridiculous suggestion. "It's not magic paper. I've been helping Dany develop her Terror mail."

He rolled up the parchment and tied it onto Rhaenys' leg. She growled in discontentment at his proximity, snapping her sharp teeth in the direction of his fingers. The brunet quickly jerked his hand away as soon as he'd finished securing the attachment. Dany smiled, unable to hide her approval of the little creature's ferocity.

"Stupid name," Tuffnut sneered.

Ruffnut snickered in agreement. "Right?"

Although she tried not to take the twins' comments to heart— their input was generally useless most of the time— she couldn't help but frown a little at their disbelief. She'd practiced with Hiccup to send Terror mail longer and longer distances so it could be useful to the academy and their efforts were already being doubted. Even Astrid looked like she didn't fully believe them, either.

"Do you really think that Terrible Terror is gonna fly straight to Berk?" She added apologetically, "I know it worked while we were on Berk, Dany, but can we really trust them with such a distance?"

The blonde nodded despite her disappointment that her best friend had her misgivings, too. She scratched Rhaenys reassuringly as the little dragon prepared for her flight. "She'll go straight to the Academy. Like Gronckles, Terrors are extremely territorial. They'll go right home from wherever they're released."

As she left Dany's shoulders, Rhaenys snapped her teeth in Ruffnut's face, which caused her to fall over in shock. Then she clamped her jaws on one of the horns of Tuffnut's helmet, the strength of her wing beats sending the boy careening sideways to keep his balance. The Targaryen only watched on in amusement, ignoring the twins' grumbling as they righted themselves.

Still, Astrid wasn't quite willing to believe that their training would work. "And how will we know if she made it?"

"When Fishlegs and Snotlout meet us at Dragon Island," Hiccup explained confidently.

The Hofferson scoffed. "If that happens, I'll kiss Snotlout on the lips."

Both Dany and Hiccup grew flustered at the girl's statement, her similarly phrased words about kissing Hiccup on the lips too fresh in their minds. She hoped that Astrid had forgotten about their bet and would let it go (or that she, Dany, had lost), but something told her that she wouldn't be that lucky.

--

Daenerys hoped that Astrid was ready to eat her words— or maybe just be prepared for some good blackmail— as both Fishlegs and Snotlout were waiting for them on Dragon Island. Hiccup sent the Hofferson a smug look. "Well, look who it is. Fishlegs and Snotlout. Both right here on Dragon Island. Astrid was just talking about you."

At the mention of his name, Snotlout jerked awake with a start. Astrid glared at the brunet, the expression on her face so intimidating that it would have made anyone else fear for their life. Instead, the chief's son continued to smirk over at her; even Dany was giving her the knowing look that the Targaryen was usually on the receiving end of. Snotlout chuckled, oblivious to the amazing day he would've had, had either of the teens had a death wish. "Of course she was."

Hiccup made kissing sounds in the face of her disgust, thoroughly entertained by how wrong she'd been. Dany giggled a little at his antics and copied him, much to Astrid's annoyance. As they jumped off their dragons, the Hofferson warned them in a low voice, "say it, and those will be the last words you ever speak."

She cracked her neck threateningly as Fishlegs came over to them, waving the parchment excitedly. Rhaenys, who'd taken her rightful place around his shoulders, left the larger boy's side to return to her usual position curled around her mother's neck. "Hiccup, Dany, I got your message! I knew Air Mail would work! So, uh, what's the emergency?"

"We're seeing dragons painted green on Crescent Island."

"That's your emergency?" Snotlout complained, finally sitting upright to pin them with an irritated look. "I was in the middle of something very important."

Fishlegs narrowed his eyes at the boy. "You were sound asleep."

"Beauty rest," he insisted, gesturing to himself. "You think this just happens?"

Dany frowned, studying the shorter Viking for a moment to try and understand his question. In a quiet voice, she murmured to Astrid, "what just happens?"

"Gods only know," the blonde replied with a shrug, rolling her eyes. "I feel sorry for them if they do."

After a heartbeat of silence where Snotlout waited for praise from his friends— which never came— Hiccup continued, "Fishlegs, does it make any sense to you that those dragons would be there?"

"No. . . they shouldn't be." He wandered over to a flat rock, where he'd laid out the color coded map they had made. "Crescent Island is clearly marked as purple."

Hiccup nodded, relieved to be proven correct. "That's what I thought."

Astrid took a look at the map as well, her brows furrowing as she concentrated. "So, what were the green dragons doing there?"

Fishlegs huffed. "First of all, it's not green, it's pistachio. They belong on Tall Tree Island. That's where I tagged them."

"I told you," Dany grumbled to the other blonde. She then addressed the larger boy. "So why would pistachio dragons be on Crescent Island?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. It's weird that they're leaving their territory."

"We need to figure this out. Let's check out Tall Tree Island."

Snotlout, who had been blessedly silent during their discussion, leaned against the boulder casually to put in, "sounds awesome. I was wondering what I was gonna do with the rest of my day."

"Well, now you know," the Targaryen replied, completely missing the sarcasm in the boy's tone.

The others were skeptical of his easy acquiescence, and rightfully so. As soon as they were in the air again, the Jorgenson wheeled Hookfang around before they could stop him, shouting, "see you back on Berk, suckas!" as he went.

He wouldn't be missed, though, and they continued on without protest. Although it was a long way between the two islands, Dany didn't mind the journey. Flying on Drogon always cleared her mind and made her feel free. Sometimes she wished that he didn't have great spikes all the way down his back so she could lean forward and throw her arms around him while they flew, just so he would know how much she loved him. She hoped that he did know, even though his spikes prevented her from doing that.

She also had Rhaenys for company. The little dragon had crawled down from her shoulders to curl up in her lap, very cat-like. She scratched the Terror just behind her head and under her chin, earning contented purrs for her efforts. While it was a very nice way to spend an afternoon, she became aware that it was taking them a little too long to get to Tall Tree Island. Hiccup had begun to notice this too and looked around at the flat expanse of water, which did not have any land mass jutting up from it like it was supposed to.

"I don't understand. We should be there right now."

"Maybe we're off course," Astrid suggested.

"I don't do off course, Astrid." Fishlegs retorted, almost insulted she'd even think that. "According to my map, it should be right. . ." He looked down again, still not seeing an island.

She gestured to the blank expanse of water. "You were saying?"

"Even if we were off course, we'd still be able to see it from here," Hiccup pointed out.

"Well, an island can't just disappear," Astrid argued.

Daenerys looked around for the clearly missing land mass as she wondered about the cause of its vanishing. "Maybe an earthquake?"

"Volcano?"

"Wrath of Thor? Wrath of Odin?" When Fishlegs received incredulous looks from the other three, he shrugged defensively. "What? Just throwing out possible explanations."

"None of that explains this." Astrid pointed forward just as a trio of Monstrous Nightmares came flying towards the group. Hiccup was forced to duck as the wild dragons passed by close to their heads. Dany spied the color that stained their backs just as the other girl did. "Orange?"

"Burnt apricot, actually," Daenerys corrected her. "It's a bit darker than—" At Astrid's glare, she trailed off and held up her hands. "Not a color semantics person. Alright then."

"Thank you," Fishlegs said. "Finally someone who appreciates my fastidious color-coding."

As the Targaryen acknowledged his gratitude with a smile, Astrid ignored their exchange to ask, "what island are they from?"

Hiccup pulled out his own map to reference it. "According to this, they're from Sunstone Island."

Fishlegs let out an wistful sigh. "Ah, Sunstone Island. Pristine beaches, a veritable smorgasbord of mineral deposits for Meatlug." He hugged his dragon lovingly and she let out excited gurgles in response.

"Sunstone Island it is."

--

As it turned out, Sunstone Island left quite a bit to be desired. Three dragons could barely fit on the remaining rock that jutted up above the sea, leaving Drogon to hover next to the shrunken piece of land. Toothless scrabbled at the stone to stay clinging to its side as the quartet looked around them in dismay.

"Huh. I thought it was bigger," Fishlegs stated.

"You think?" Astrid deadpanned. Her angle was awkward as Stormfly gripped her own part of the rock with her talons.

Trying to put a lighter spin on their moods, Hiccup commented, "I-I have to say, the beaches are a bit of a disappointment."

"Yeah, it looks like there's only one type of rock for Meatlug to eat, not a 'smorgasbord,'" Dany added.

Fishlegs frowned thoughtfully, lifting his hand to rub at his chin as he considered the situation. "One island is missing and one island's been sunk. . ."

"I guess an entire island can disappear," Astrid said.

"Well, if-if the islands are gone, then where do the dragons go?"

"Good question," Hiccup allowed, his brows furrowed with concern over what the implication could mean. "Dragons live in specific places for specific reasons."

"The food they eat, where they nest. . ."

As much as she loved dragons, Dany didn't like the sound of hundreds of wild ones on a flight path towards Berk— not all at once, anyway. The island would get overcrowded and the lack of food resources couldn't keep up with such vast numbers. More dragons would probably suffer than the population could recover, which meant— "Such a drastic change in a short amount of time could endanger their whole species," the Targaryen put in worriedly. "They can't adapt as fast as the rates that the island are disappearing."

The brunet nodded, hearing the apprehension in her tone. "We have to figure out what's going on now. Let's head back to Dragon Island."

Astrid let out a derisive huff. "If it's still there."

--

"Look at them all," Hiccup remarked once they'd made it back to their rendezvous point. The number of dragons from before had doubled or more, flying in lost, aimless circles as if they didn't know what to do next. They could see different splotches of color as dragons from the surrounding islands decided to migrate here as their best opportunity for survival.

"Check their colors," Astrid suggested.

"I-I see pistachio, burnt apricot. . ." Fishlegs began to identify them, pointing to each one in turn as his tone grew more nervous with each color.

Daenerys suddenly pointed upwards as well when a bright flash of a different color caught her eye. "Look, a new color! Vermillion."

She received a 'were those specifics really necessary' look from the Hofferson. Oblivious to their ongoing do-technicalities-matter argument, Hiccup came over with his own map, his eyes glued to the parchment in front of him. "Dragons from three different islands, suddenly all here."

He pulled a stick of charcoal from his vest to draw a line as he spoke. "Look, this forms a line, which means there are other islands in danger— Boar Head Island, Thor Rock Island." He stowed the writing utensil away again and made his way over to the Night Fury. "Toothless, we're going back out there."

"I'm coming with you," both girls insisted at the same time, exchanging determined looks as they knew how stubborn the boy could be. Astrid added, "this could get dangerous."

"What makes you think that?" he asked as they climbed onto their dragons as well.

The Hofferson rolled her eyes. "Oh, I don't know— islands disappearing mysteriously, dragons fleeing in terror. Call it a hunch."

Hiccup let out a reluctant sigh. "Fine. Fishlegs, you stay here in case any more dragons show up."

After the larger boy gave them a confirmation, the trio took off. As they got closer to the next island, Rhaenys' purrs due to Daenerys' scratches stopped. She uncurled herself from the blonde's lap and skittered up Drogon's back to look out at the sea. The larger dragon let out a huff of irritation at being used as a lookout, but was otherwise unaffected. Still. . . "Something's wrong," Dany told the other two.

Trusting her warning, the chief's son pulled out his map once more to reference it. "You're right. Boar Head should be down there. It's gone, too."

Glancing over Drogon's wings as best she could, all Dany could see was ocean below her. "What's the next island?"

"Whoa," Astrid breathed out when they arrived at the following spot. "Look at what's left of Thor Rock. You know, maybe Fishlegs' 'wrath of gods' theory isn't so crazy."

All that remained were sharp points of rock, the rest of the island sunken below the water level. Hiccup leaned forward to pet Toothless' head, getting his attention. "Let's get a closer look, bud."

At least there was enough space for all of their dragons to hover on the island this time. They observed the rock carefully, noting that it was riddled with holes. Rhaenys became even more nervous, now running up and down Drogon's spine as she let out cautioning squawks. Dany reached a hand out to her and tried to pet her head so the Terror would settle down, but Rhaenys was too worked up about. . . whatever it was.

"These markings look familiar, but. . . different, somehow," Hiccup mumbled to himself.

"Different how?" Astrid asked.

"Different. . ." He searched for the word he was looking for, then decided on: "bigger."

It was then that Rhaenys' unease finally made sense. An earth-shaking roar rattled their bones, louder than anything Dany had heard from Drogon. Around them, the remaining stony spires of the island began to collapse into the sea. The trio's eyes widened as they finally realized why the marks in the earth looked so familiar.

The Screaming Death burst up from the ground. It had grown larger than the last time they'd seen it, its colossal size dwarfing even Drogon's significant bulk. As it emerged from the dirt, its thin, whiplike tail seemed to go on forever. The dragon pinned its red eyes on them with deadly intent.

"The Screaming Death!" Daenerys shouted in alarm, though they all easily recognized their old opponent. Drogon roared in response to the challenge, likely remembering one of the only times he'd been bested in combat. She could feel the sound vibrate throughout his entire body and she clung to his spike tightly so the shaking wouldn't make her slip.

Tensely, Hiccup muttered, "someone's been eating their vegetables."

"And everything else in sight!" Astrid exclaimed.

When it roared again, their dragons flinched away from the sound. The riders struggled to keep their mounts aloft as the Screaming Death's shrieks reverberated in their ears. Noticing the deeply bent heads of their dragons, Hiccup noted, "its scream disorients the dragons."

"Yeah, no kidding!" the Hofferson snapped; neither girl had forgotten the effect the Screaming Death's cries had on their dragons.

The massive white dragon finally closed its mouth and dove back towards the ground, creating a new hole in the solid dirt. As they watched the dragon do this, the cause of the island's disappearance dawned on them. The brunet spoke their conclusions aloud: "the Screaming Death has been destroying all the islands! It must be tunneling underneath and causing them to collapse in on themselves."

"But why would it do that?"

"I don't know. Let's get a closer look." While Dany had little protest, Astrid narrowed her eyes at him, causing him to point out: "you wanted dangerous."

They rerouted their dragons to fly up and over one of the spires of rock that still remained. Just in time, too— it burst apart behind them as the Screaming Death came barreling through the once sturdy tower. Astrid was ahead of them, safely out of harm's way for now. Dany was close behind, though Drogon was already flying at max speed and the Screaming Death was too close for comfort. Hiccup, however, was nearest to the white dragon's gnashing teeth. Alarmed, the Hofferson cried out his name in warning.

He whirled around to face the beast, wrestling the shot of adrenaline that rushed through him back under control. "Easy, bud. Maybe it wants to be friends." It narrowed its gaze they stared each other down. "Or maybe not."

He flew out of the way not a second too soon as the Screaming Death lobbed several fireballs in his direction. They hit another sea-stack just as Toothless cleared it, leaving an explosion of rubble in his wake. It roared again as they flew ever higher. Hiccup made the mistake of glancing back to see how close it was to their tail and his heart jumped into his throat. He abruptly changed Toothless' course to head back to the sea-stacks, which was their strength.

Now, though, the Screaming Death was big enough to throw itself against the rocky pillars and not be affected by the impact at all. They hardly slowed it down one bit as Hiccup struggled to get some distance between them— but he wasn't fighting alone for long.

Astrid swooped down, armed with green paint. She threw their marking tools at the white dragon's head with as much force as she could muster, aiming for its eyes. "Hope you like pistachio!"

It shook off her attack and roared again, causing Stormfly to falter in her flight. But its scream was sharply turned into a shriek of pain as Drogon clamped his mouth over the Screaming Death's sinewy tail. Rhaenys' talons dug in Dany's shoulders, as she gripped her trainer tightly, but she didn't care. Instead, she focused instead on how the white dragon was whipping around to face them, its huge teeth aimed in their direction.

Luckily, Dany's friends were right behind her. Having recovered quickly from her disorientation, Stormfly shot a furious stream of fire at the Screaming Death's head, which was followed by a plasma blast from Toothless. The counterattack made the larger dragon jerk around to face his other opponents, allowing the Targaryen to get to safety. Drogon's fire soon joined the other dragons', providing such a great wall of flame that the Screaming Death admitted defeat— at least for now.

--

Dragon Island was even more chaotic now than it had been before. Fishlegs was clearly stressed as he tried to keep track of all the new dragons that were showing up, concern written all over his face. The second they landed, he burst out: "Periwinkle blue! There are now periwinkle blue marked dragons here!"

"I know," Hiccup said as he dismounted. "Boar Head Island."

"And-and look! There's eggshell white."

Astrid nodded as the trio approached the Ingerman. "From Thor Rock Island."

"What happened to them?"

The brunet spread out his color-coded map on the rock to show Fishlegs. Taking the charcoal out of his pocket, he began to cross off the islands that had disappeared. "The same thing that happened to all the other islands. The Screaming Death."

Fishlegs let out a horrified gasp. "The Screaming Death is back?"

Hiccup shook his head. "I don't think it ever really left."

"Yeah. It just got bigger. . . and nastier," Astrid agreed.

The larger boy shrank in on himself in fear, holding his arms close to his chest to feel safer. "Uh. . . how much bigger?"

"If it started out like this," Dany began, pinching two of her fingers together, about an inch apart. "It's now like this." She spread her arms as far apart as they could go. Fishlegs whimpered in response.

Hiccup, who was still focused on the map, circled the not-yet-crossed-off-islands. "It's just as I thought. The Screaming Death is following an imaginary line, destroying anything in its path."

"It's coming right at us," Fishlegs realized.

"That's not even the worst part." The chief's son finished drawing his line, which connected the islands together. It stopped right on Berk's shores.

"It's headed straight to Berk. . ." Astrid breathed out once the understanding dawned on her.

Dany studied the map with her friends. Hiccup's reasoning made sense; the Screaming Death definitely made a line out of the chain of islands. But they'd already established that it had a strong tie back to its birthplace— Berk— so why did it want to destroy their island? She played with her fingers as she thought, absentmindedly twirling them through the shaggy fur of her vest. Some of her unruly silvery-blonde hair fell over her shoulder to brush against her face, but she hardly registered the irritation.

Unaware of the blonde's rumination, Fishlegs had come to his own conclusion. "We have to get back to Berk and-and warn Stoick."

"No," Hiccup decided firmly. "We head it off. We make our stand here. There's no other land between here and Berk."

The Targaryen frowned. "I know Drogon's the muscle of the team, but have you seen that thing? Its scream even disorients him. I don't think the lot of us are enough to fight it off."

As if sensing her disquiet, Rhaenys butted her snout against her mother's face in an effort to comfort her. Dany reached up to scratch her absentmindedly, thinking that the Terror was just asking for pets. Hiccup gave her a reassuring smile. "It's not going to be just us. We're sending for reinforcements."

He went over to Toothless and retrieved another blank sheet of parchment to scribble out a quick note. Astrid arched a brow, unconvinced. "Snotlout and the twins? Oh, I feel so much better."

Once he was done writing the message, he went over to Dany to tie the missive around the Terror's leg. "Hey. We're gonna need all the help we can get."

The purple dragon bumped her head against Daenerys' cheek one more time before she flew off, back to Berk. While they waited, the brunet took out his spyglass to scan the horizon. Fishlegs, who had been scanning the dragons flying around them for new arrivals, suddenly called the boy's name. "Hiccup! The yellow marked dragons from Sorrow Island just started showing up."

"Which means the Screaming Death is only one island away," Astrid added.

"Looks like help's not coming," he sighed. "All right. We'll have to set up a defense here on Dragon Island with what we have."

"Maybe we should fall back and head for home," the Hofferson said.

Dany shook her head. "No, we can't. If the Screaming Death destroys Dragon Island, there will be too many dragons for Berk to handle."

"And. . . the Screaming Death won't be far behind."

"Exactly."

"How soon 'till it gets here?" Astrid asked, but then a powerful roar came down from the sky. "Never mind."

There was no time to lose. Hiccup raced for his shield and over to his dragon's side, explaining as he went: "Toothless and I will try to buy us some time. You guys join me when Snotlout and the twins arrive."

"I'm going with you," Daenerys argued, running over to him. "You're going to need size advantage."

His expression softened at the sight of the determination that flashed in her violet eyes. He admired the way she squared her shoulders, even in the face of impossible odds, raising her chin defensively instead of bowing down when a challenge presented itself. In a rare moment, he broke her usual preference for personal space to reach out a hand and place it on her shoulder. He held her gaze for a few seconds before Dany looked away, her face tinting a light pink (though he explained this away as windburn.) Although he wanted more than anything to have her fight by his side, he told her sternly: "no. I need you as I safety net in case it gets past me."

"So you're leaving the two of us alone?" Astrid asked, leaning on the butt of her axe.

"Uh, hello?" Fishlegs and Meatlug trotted over. "Man on a dragon here, right behind you."

She scoffed in response. "You know what I meant, Fishlegs."

He crossed his arms with a faint pout. "I do, and I'd like to go on record as saying we don't appreciate it, do we, girl?" Meatlug growled her agreement.

Daenerys glanced between her friends before her shoulders slumped with defeat. "Fine. Just go." But she said this in a way that indicated she wasn't mad at him, just that she'd be worried about his safety for the entire time they'd be apart.

--

Dany scanned the sky with the spyglass Hiccup had left her, hoping to occupy her anxious thoughts by keeping a lookout for the giant white dragon. Drogon could sense his mother's unease and came over to stand behind her, his own eyes affixed upwards as well. While he couldn't do much for the one-legged boy that his mother seemed to have a fondness for, he could damned well be sure that the white menace wouldn't get within two feet of her.

Astrid busied herself with looking at the sky, too, but in Berk's direction as she searched for the 'support' that was supposed to be coming. After awhile of no action from either side, she let out a frustrated breath and hopped down from the boulder she'd climbed on. "I knew we couldn't rely on that Terror mail. Sorry, Dany. I wanted it to work, but. . ." She gestured to the empty sky.

"Actually, we can," Fishlegs corrected her. "Like all dragons, Terrible Terrors are—"

"Territorial, I know," the Hofferson cut him off.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he spun around to face her, wearing an exuberant grin. "Wait— that's it! Astrid, you're a genius!" He hurried over to her in his excitement, placing his hands on her shoulders to shake her slightly. "I could kiss you on the lips right now!"

She shoved him away with such force that the boy was left wheezing in the aftermath of her punch. Heatedly, she exclaimed: "no one is kissing me on the lips! Ever!" After her alarm faded, she turned to Dany as the echo of the words reminded her of the girl's bet from earlier. "Hey, speaking of kissing on the lips, how many dragons did you tag?"

The Screaming Death roared in the distance, causing the blonde to look towards it as she huffed, "is that really important to talk about right now?"

"Yes. I expect you to pay up, missy. So tell me how many you got," Astrid insisted.

Daenerys let out a reluctant sigh. "Thirty-eight."

Her friend's expression brightened— already not a good sign— and gave her a smug smile. "Do you want to know how many I got?"

"Not particularly," she mumbled, starting to climb up Drogon's leg. (Because even if Hiccup was stubborn enough to deny her help, it would only delay her, not stop her.)

"Forty!" the Hofferson practically gloated. "It would've been forty-one, but it got away from me."

Dany groaned quietly as she hoisted herself onto her dragon's back. She wasn't sure how, exactly, Astrid was going to make her 'pay up,' but she'd have to worry about that later. She trusted her friend enough, at least, to not embarrass her too much— or so she hoped.

Fishlegs looked between the girls with a faintly puzzled expression as they didn't deign to give him any background for what they were talking about. Seeing as how they weren't going to clue him in anytime soon, he decided to focus on the problem at hand. "Why don't you guys go and cover Hiccup's back? I-I've got an idea, but I'll need some time."

"Wait!" Astrid shouted after him, abandoning her banter with Dany for the time being. "Where are you going?"

"Just trust me!" he replied, already on his way to. . . wherever his idea was taking him.

Dany didn't wait for further invitation, launching into the air with a gust of wind. Astrid followed her shortly after and the two girls headed towards where they could see Hiccup doing his best to delay the Screaming Death's arrival. Toothless shot blast after blast but they barely made a dent in the dragon's protective scales. Soon they had to go on the offensive to put some space between them, but the white dragon was in quick pursuit.

Two blasts of fire from Drogon and Stormfly distracted it, and it roared in annoyance at the impact. They split up so that it would have to choose who to follow, Astrid taunting it: "turn around, you overgrown earthworm!"

It shot a round of fireballs at all of them, which the trio deftly avoided by swooping out of the way. Drogon approached the dragon from behind to blast fire along its tail. The whiplike appendage lashed through the air in response, narrowly missing Dany and her dragon. Drogon had to fly nearly vertical to miss being knocked out of the air by the Screaming Death's tail, forcing Dany to hold on tightly to his spikes as he did so.

Fishlegs returned from his mysterious venture. While the girls had known to expect his appearance, Hiccup did a double-take at the sight of him and realized that his presence meant that there was no one left to guard Dragon Island. "Fishlegs! What are you doing? You need backup!"

Unphased, he replied: "oh, I've got back up!"

It was then that they saw the entire army of Gronckles behind him, all painted with different colors. He was leading them determinedly towards the larger dragon, joining the fight with a command of, "Meatlug, spew!"

That started a chain reaction with all the Gronckles shooting balls of fire at the Screaming Death. It tried to shake off the attack but there were too many. The white dragon soared lower, closer to the water to evade them, but the Gronckles gave chase. Then the smaller dragons began to bludgeon it with their tails. It roared in frustration as it became overwhelmed by their attacks.

"Man, it's like Gronckle Fest out here," Astrid said, amazed by the efficiency of Fishlegs' plan. "How'd he do that?"

"Gronkles are territorial, too," Hiccup explained. "They will defend their home at any cost. Great idea, Fishlegs!"

He turned around to grin at them. "I know, right! Who's the safety net now?"

Finally fed up with being hit by Gronckle tails, the Screaming Death dove back underground. Fishlegs guided Meatlug over to hover above the new hole. "You see that? It ran away."

"I don't think it's that easy," Dany told him apologetically. It had been impressive what he'd gotten the Gronckles to do, but she didn't think it was enough to scare away a dragon of that size.

"Dany's right," Hiccup agreed, watching the ground shake below them as the dragon dug deeper. "Astrid, Dany, Fishlegs, get as many wild dragons together as you can. I'll try to force it back to the surface."

The Targaryen's heart skipped a beat as he informed them of his plan, remembering the other times he'd been trapped underground. She wanted to insist on coming along but there was no way Drogon would fit in a hole of that size, even if it was bigger than a Whispering Death's. Since the best way she could help him was to follow his suggestion, she worked with Astrid and Fishlegs to round up more dragons, also encountering— finally— the twins and Snotlout, whom they sent to go help Hiccup. Thankfully, Hiccup didn't get trapped underground this time and shot up through a different hole not far away from the initial one.

"Hey!" Tuffnut greeted him as he and Ruffnut flew beside Toothless. "We got your message."

"Well, one of us did," Snotlout pointed out. Then, the Screaming Death emerged from a new hole in an explosion of dirt and rock. His eyes widened and he tilted his head up to take in the new size of the white dragon. "Did that thing get bigger?"

"Yeah!" Tuffnut cheered; no one was surprised by his excitement of more danger. "And awesomer!"

The Screaming Death whirled around and roared at them; the twins wasted no time in launching their attack. Barf and Belch sprayed gas, then ignited it in the dragon's face. The white dragon sprayed another round of fireballs at them in response. Astrid returned, coming over from one side of the island with a herd of Nadders at her back. "All right, dragons. Let's get territorial!"

She had her wild dragons shoot spine-shots along the Screaming Death's already damaged tail, which was followed by bursts of flame. Fishlegs went next, commanding his Gronckle army. "Meatlug, dive!"

The tail bludgeons returned in quick succession. Finally, it was Daenerys' turn. She had arrived with a pack of Terrible Terrors, Rhaenys back in her proper place around her shoulders. The blonde withdrew one arrow from her quiver and used the shiny metal tip to create a circle of light, which she aimed at the Screaming Death's body. The group of small dragons let out excited squawks and charged towards the light without hesitation. Their sharp talons and even sharper teeth pierced the white dragon's scales, causing it to roar in pain as they skittered up and down its body to chase their target. They weren't even shaken off as the dragon whipped itself back and forth to try and dislodge them.

"It's working!" Hiccup shouted triumphantly. "All the wild dragons are defending their homes!"

Thwarted by such a constant barrage of attacks, the Screaming Death at last gave up. Dany put away her arrow and the Terrors immediately lost interest in clinging to the white dragon's scales, letting it fly off by itself. Astrid beamed at their success. "I don't think the Screaming Death is gonna mess with Dragon Island anymore."

But there was still the shaking ground underneath them to contend with despite the threat having passed. Hiccup looked down in alarm at the sight of the island disappearing. "Oh, man. But it is still sinking!"

Luckily, Fishlegs had a solution for that, too. He directed Meatlug over to one of the holes and ordered, "lava blast!"

His army of Gronckles followed suit, each one pouring their ball of flame into an opening. The water spouts that had begun to form were quickly hardened over by cooling lava. While nothing could be done to raise the island up to its original level, it did, at least, stop sinking further.

"The lava is stabilizing the island!" The brunet smiled over at the Gronckle and her rider. "Fishlegs, Meatlug, you two were the heroes today."

Fishlegs giggled bashfully. "Oh, come on, you're making us blush."

--

They returned to Berk to recuperate after their victory, regrouping later in the day as the sun was beginning to set. Hiccup walked at the head of the gang with his eyes focused on a page from Bork's notes. Snotlout was a few steps behind him, facing the rest of his friends as he boasted, "everybody saw how that Screaming Death turned tail and ran as soon as Hookfang and I showed up, right?"

"Uh-huh. And all those wild dragons had nothing to do with it," Astrid deadpanned.

"Co-rrect," he declared, crossing his arms against his chest arrogantly.

Fishlegs shuddered at the memory of the large, white dragon. "As long as we never have to see the Screaming Death again. It's giving Meatlug gas— I don't have to tell you what that's like."

Dany noticed that Hiccup had stopped at the top of the cliff and was looking out across the water, as if he expected the Screaming Death to show up any second. She went to stand next to him, leaving a few inches of comfortable space between them. "Did you find anything else in there?" she asked, nodding to the page he held.

He finally looked up from it to glance over at her. "The good news is they only hatch one every hundred years or so."

Astrid squinted at him. "That's the good news?"

"What's the bad news?" Snotlout wanted to know, shoving Fishlegs out of the way.

"Let me guess!" Tuffnut interjected. "What's it gonna be? The end of the world?"

Although he was being facetious, it was one of the few times that his far-off speculations was actually on the right track. Hiccup turned to face him, his expression serious. "Close."

"Uh, I was kidding."

"The bad news is it's still out there, and someday, it'll come back to Berk."

With that unsettling notion, they began to part for the day. Dany gave him a small smile, hoping that it would reassure him. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, I guess."

"Yeah, see you."

As she turned to begin her flight home, Astrid snagged her wrist and brought her to a stop. "Uh-uh. You're not getting away that easily, missy."

Her heart sank as she realized that her friend was going to cash in on their bet now, and she became immediately more awkward. She suddenly couldn't meet Hiccup's eyes anymore, though his expression had become confused at Astrid's words. "What's Dany trying to get away from?"

The Hofferson grinned smugly once more, releasing the girl's wrist in favor of wrapping her arm around Hiccup's shoulders. But where the gesture might be treated as platonic or companionable by some, Astrid's version of this was more like a chokehold, one that left the brunet gasping seconds after she'd thrown her arm around him. He bent double as she forced him into what was all but a friendly headlock, which she, of course, took no notice of.

"I've got some more good news for you," she stated brightly.

"Is it that you've finally decided to kill me?" Hiccup wheezed, wasting some of his precious air to be sarcastic.

Astrid ignored his tone as she grinned at Daenerys. "Remember that bet Dany and I made this morning? Where she declared that she could tag more dragons than me, and if she didn't, then she'd kiss you on the lips?"

Suddenly, the brunet was red-faced for a very different reason than a lack of oxygen. The Targaryen was resolutely not looking at either of them, her face just as pink as the boy's from Astrid's teasing.

"Well, the good news is that I won!" the Hofferson informed him. "And now it's time for Dany to pay up. But don't worry—" she continued in the girl's direction. "I don't have to be here to see it; I trust that you're a woman of your word." Then, much like Dany was wont to do, she finished with a short, "bye!"

Hiccup was grateful to be released from her chokehold, but the absence of a third party left a lingering tension between him and Dany. Clearing his throat after Astrid's rough treatment on his windpipe, he offered quietly, "you. . . you don't have to do it. I know you were just joking around." Then, realizing that she might take his words negatively, he added hastily, "it's-it's not that I don't want to kiss you—" he paused, feeling his face burn red as he dug himself a deeper hole. "Or, I mean—"

While Hiccup stuttered his way through a response next to her, Dany was only half paying attention to him. She thought that he had been very brave today (as he always was)— stupid and reckless, but also brave. She admired his leadership abilities and desire to protect Berk. There were a lot of things that she liked about him— too many for a simple list— that made the other boys in the village pale in comparison. She certainly didn't feel the same way about anyone else than when she was with Hiccup; no one made her feel more excited or nervous in equal measure when she talked to them.

And. . . Astrid would surely bug her about not fulfilling their bet if Dany chickened out now. It was just for the sake of argument that she was even considering kissing Hiccup; it didn't mean that their friendship would change, right? Everything would be exactly as it always had been. She nodded firmly, agreeing with her thoughts.

Coming to a decision, she twisted to face him. He was still rambling (which, in the back of her mind, she found adorable, but was too anxious to focus on it right now.) She took his hand in hers, which abruptly brought his words to a halt as he gave her a wide-eyed look. Her heart was thundering in her chest, louder than even Thornado's sonic boom.

A little worried that he would start talking again, Dany swiftly stood on her toes and pressed her lips against his. It was so brief that it was over before either of them truly registered it, but it wasn't as bad as she'd feared it would be. She gave him a small, nervous smile and left hastily before he had a chance to say anything. The only response she'd gotten from him were Hiccup's wider-than-dinner-plate eyes and his mouth hanging ajar.

Chapter Text

Hiccup was over the moon. He'd been Daenerys Targaryen's first kiss!

He wanted to shout the news to the sky, tell anyone who would listen— but Dany would hate all of the attention that would bring, so he didn't say anything. Instead, he thought about it constantly. Though it had been brief, he knew he would never forget the feeling of her lips on his. Daenerys had always been pretty to him; it was obvious to anyone with eyes. But in the days following their kiss, he'd begun to notice how beautiful she truly was.

The brunet would find himself staring at her more than he ever had been before. He was in awe of the way her silvery hair shone under the sun, how her violet eyes became impossibly bright, almost becoming lavender when she was happy. He admired her dedication to their shared interest of dragons and her determination to protect them. Hiccup was suddenly extremely conscious of the way his heart would behave— or, rather, misbehave when she was nearby, always skipping beats and stuttering in his chest when she smiled at him. He came to realize that he'd always felt this way about her but was just paying more attention to it now. And, ever the logical thinker, he came to the obvious conclusion:

He had a crush on Daenerys Targaryen.

A part of him still wanted to deny it so that they could remain forever in the safety of their friendship, but his feelings had become impossible to ignore. He consoled himself that it was just a crush— something that would pass in a few weeks, a month at most. (But who was he kidding? the snide, Snotlout-like voice in his head sneered. You've known Dany for years now and you've always felt this way about her.) This voice, however, he could overlook. He convinced himself that it was okay to acknowledge his feelings for her and by doing so, they would vanish faster.

Dany, on her part, seemingly felt the same as she always had— if not a little more awkward and distant. (Which only reinforced his desire to keep this revelation a secret.) She didn't once bring up their kiss (not that he'd been expecting her too; it had been just a bet, after all— maybe he was taking this too seriously.) In fact, he noticed that she'd been meeting his eyes even less than she already had been and her face often flushed a pretty shade of pink if the silence between them lasted too long.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that she was adopting some of her old habits, the ones she'd had just after the Battle of the Red Death. She tried not to be alone with him for too long. She held herself apart from him; any of that easy camaraderie that had formed between them all but disappeared when they were alone. He didn't know what any of this meant, but it made him wish more and more that things could just have gone back to how they'd been before the kiss. (Though, to be clear, he wouldn't trade the fact that he had kissed her for the world.)