Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, chief of New Berk has remained stationary at the stern of the boat since it had first set sail. His fingers tapped at the railings impatiently, and his eyes squinted into the darkness of the night. The moon offered little guidance, the clouds having hung thick across it since they had first set sail. A steady breeze had picked up, the sails of the small boat springing to life drawing them nearer and nearer. To what exactly? Hiccup wasn't sure, but he was sure they were going the right way. Astrid had come to stand with him for a while, their children tucked away carefully under layers of furs, the gentle swaying of the boat having long since rocked them to sleep. They stood together for a while, each desperately searching the night sky. Every shadow, every cloud, every gentle whisper of the sea. Once Hiccup had sworn he had seen the looming outline of a Scauldron beneath them, but it had disappeared quicker than he had time to truly registered what he had seen. Perhaps a side affect of so many sleepless nights, perhaps just his wishful thinking.

Night had passed into day, but a thick fog had all but blinded them in the early rays of the morning sun. His small son had stumbled sleepily to him, rubbing his eyes and reaching upwards towards his father's arms. Astrid had fallen asleep sometime during the night, and Hiccup had broken his silent vigil to carry her over to their makeshift bed where she still remained, sleeping soundly with their daughter tucked in her arms. "Are we almost there?", his son had asked in his small voice, his eyelids already growing heavy with sleep. Hiccup hummed in affirmation, holding his child even closer as he stared out into the fog hoping for any sign of his old friend. They had been sailing for three days now- surely they would tip off the edge of the world soon enough. But this was the right direction. It had to be.

There was a subtle change in the sea air- Hiccup couldn't quiet pinpoint it, but he had become increasingly aware of it the further they sailed. Even Astrid and the children had become more restless, pacing along the small deck and climbing the rails to try and see through the now patchy fog. Then all of a sudden, a familiar crooning. A dark outline against the fog in the shape of an old friend. "Toothless?".

A snarling mass of black scales, claws and wings had leapt onto the stern of the ship, bright green eyes narrowed in suspicion. The children had screamed in fright and had run to Astrid's side, pressing their small faces into her as she knelt beside them, half scared herself. It had been over six years since they had said goodbye to their dragons. Six years for them to become wild and distrustful. Hiccup though felt no fear. He held out his hand as an offering, hoping to once again connect with his best friend. A moment passed. And then another. Then suddenly the Night Fury had leapt onto Hiccup. Astrid gave a small scream of terror, but her cries quickly turned to laughter once she saw the ferocious black dragon melt into a puddle at Hiccup's feet, nuzzling and licking him all over.

Hiccup called their children to him, showing to them how to offer their hands in friendship to the dragon. They shook with fear as they offered their tiny hands, but soon their worries flew far away and they began to giggle in joy, stroking Toothless and cooing at the great beast. "These are my children", Hiccup told his old friend, "I wanted them to meet you". Toothless seemed to wiggle in joy at his words, and let out a small roar into the fog. And like they had appeared from nowhere, the Light Fury and three small dragons had appeared, landing neatly on the deck of the boat. The three smallest dragons- two black with white markings and one white with black markings looked with great curiousity at the humans, but soon fell easily into the arms of them, purring in delight as they were tickled and scratched.

Then just as suddenly as he had appeared, Toothless had leapt of deck, his form quickly swallowed into the fog. Hiccup took a few desperate steps after him before halting. His eyes watered and he quickly wiped them away. Astrid came to him, her hands on his shoulders. "Look", she implored, turning him around gently. The Light Fury and her children still remained on deck with them. The children together all playing what seemed to be a game of tag across the deck. "He'll be back" she reassured him.

A few minutes later, a roar echoed across the water, and everyone stilled. Even the children had paused in their game of tag to turn their eyes upwards at the sky. Then the shrill squawks and trill of a Deadly Nadder filled the air, and Astrid let out a gasp. "Stormfly!". The mottled blue dragon dove to land on the deck, her head bobbling and tail wagging in excitement as she spotted her old rider. Astrid raced to her, throwing herself around Stormfly's horn just as she had done so many times before. "That's my girl", she whispered gently. "That's my girl".

Toothless himself had landed back on the now very crowded deck of the ship during the commotion, and had slunk his way over to Hiccup, bumping his side with his nose insistently. He lowered himself slightly, turning his head back to look pointedly at where a saddle once was. "One last flight Bud?". Toothless crooned in agreement at that, crouching down to ready himself for flight. As Hiccup nimbly climbed onto the dragon, he felt the alien feeling of his legs dangling down freely. No longer a tailfin to control, no longer needed to help Toothless. They did truly now stand on their own. He reached down to scoop his son up, and grinned as he noticed Astrid mirroring his actions. "One last race, milady?", he teased, settling his son comfortably in front of him.

And they were off, soaring through the sky for the first time in what had felt like forever. Spiralling and looping. Falling and flying. The Light Fury and her children flew beside them all the while, crowing their enjoyment for the whole affair. Toothless and Stormfly raced around just like they had done years ago, the years of separation melting away as each were now joined once again as dragon and rider.

The day had come to an end all too soon. Tears wet the faces of Hiccup and Astrid as they once again farewelled their friends, holding on tighter and longer to the necks of their dragons than they ever had before. Even the children were sad to depart from their new found friends, and Hiccup's son and daughter each held on to the Night-Lights, crying freely for the friends they could never truly be. Stormfly had departed with a final sorrowful croon, nuzzling Astrid for a final time before taking off into the mist. The Light Fury followed soon after, calling her children to her who each gave a final lick and nuzzle to the human children before winging off after their mother. Toothless stayed a moment longer, pressing his head into Hiccup's palm for a final time. And then he was gone. The small family on the ship came together immediately, holding tightly on to one another as they watched the fading blur of darkness fade to nothingness in the fog.

The dragons would never be seen again. They well and truly disappeared into the depths of the Hidden World, far away from the greed and cruelty of the humans in the world above. Hiccup would always remember his old friend and would often stay awake long into the night to try and catch a glimpse of streak of black in the sky, but to no avail. Perhaps Toothless had only stayed in the world above for as long as he did to say a final goodbye to Hiccup. Perhaps the Hidden World, now sheltering all of the world's dragons had been sealed, to protect the inhabitants within.

The memory of dragons faded into story, then from story to legend then once again from legend to myth. But those who had seen them, who had befriended them would never forget. For there once was a world where there were dragons, and there will be a world filled with their glory once again.