"Alright, who can tell me some of the basics about Zipplebacks?" Hiccup asked, looking around the group in front of him. A few hands shot into the air, others just skipped straight to shouting out answers. The man raised his hands to calm things down, trying not to laugh.

"Okay, one at a time, guys." He pointed to a boy who was about ten, sitting directly in front of him.

"They have two heads, which they need both of to make fire."

"Okay, and why is that?" He pointed to a teen to his left, "Go ahead."

"One breathes the gas required to fuel it, the other lights a spark to ignite it."

"Good. Anything else? Go ahead."

"Zipplebacks are harder to pair with because both heads need to agree, so it may take longer."

"Not exactly. They just have something of a split mind. They think the same, they just have a slightly different take on things. So, it may take longer, yes. But they don't have to debate the subject; they'll come to roughly the same conclusion."

"So, it doesn't make it harder to pair with one?"

"Not really, no," He held out a hand, "Freya, c'mere."

The five-year-old scrambled off her mother's lap, but came to a dead halt as Astrid's grip on her short braid didn't falter.

"Let me finish tying it off." The woman said patiently, smiling at the chuckles from the crowd around her. Once she had, she gave the girl a light push towards her father. Freya ran, colliding with Hiccup's leg, and grinned up at him, green eyes alight. Her grin widened as she saw her father's mouth turn up in a small smile.

Hiccup crouched down and the little girl could smell smoke on his clothes, likely from the large group of dragons he had managed to round up. Today, he had planned on introducing a new group of the reptiles that had found their way to Berk, and this was probably her third or fourth time helping a group acclimatize.

"So, feel like helping out?"

"Of course!" Freya exclaimed, excitement rising in her chest. She loved helping her father; she adored him and was always willing to assist him with everything. Anything, just so she could spend time with him. Not that she ever felt ignored or unloved.

"Do you want to get a Zippleback and bring it here for everyone?"

"Okay!" The girl ran forward two steps then stopped and turned back around, "Which one do you want?"

"Whichever one you want, kiddo," Hiccup gave her a lopsided smile, "But be careful. They're a lot bigger than you."

"I will." Freya declared, then turned back to the group in front of her. She looked them over for a moment before moving to walk among the large reptiles. She politely left the ones that were eating alone, as she was sure they were more interested in food than getting to know the other inhabitants of the small island. There was a snort to her left and she turned, scrunching up her face as a breath of hot air cascaded over it. She heard Astrid's exasperated sigh as she shook the strands of her hair that had come loose away from her eyes.

"Hello," She grinned at the offending Gronkle and offered a hand, "Nice to meet you."

She heard chuckles ripple through the crowd of Vikings nearby, but focused her attention on the dragon that was sniffing her with enthusiasm. When it bumped its nose against her hand, she scratched the end of it, happy to hear a contented hum coming from the creature. Finally, she stepped back.

"Sorry," She said regretfully, "I promise I'll come back later, but I have to find a different one of you."

The dragon gave her an indignant snort, but waddled away to allow her to continue her search for a willing Zippleback.

It took her a few minutes longer, as most of the dragons around her seemed disinterested in the small girl wandering among them. Undeterred, she finally located a lone Zippleback, a bit off to the side from its brethren, and slowly approached.

"Hullo." She said quietly, staying just out of range of the dragon and politely waiting for it to notice her. One of the creature's heads turned towards her and croaked a greeting, the other staring off in another direction with unfocused eyes.

Taking that as an invitation, she held out her hands and waited, letting it take its time to approach her. Her small face lit up as it took one step towards her, then another. The head that had acknowledged her lowered until it reached her level and sniffed her, making her giggle at the tickling feeling of air rushing over her. She extended her hands upwards and rubbed the sides of its face, feeling the smooth scales under her fingers. There was a rusty wheezing sound and Freya looked to her right. The second head had finally noticed her and was staring at her with its hazy eyes. Hands still gently rubbing the first head, Freya frowned, a troubled knot tightening in her chest. Even in her inexperienced mind, she could tell something was very wrong.

The head in her hands croaked inquiringly, wondering why she had stopped petting it; the other slowly opened its mouth, issuing a low hissing sound. Panic spiked in Freya's mind and she tried as hard as she could to remember what her father had taught her about backing away from hostile dragons. The trouble was that she was unsure of how to do so with a dragon that was both friendly and not. Did she call out to her dad for help? Did she retreat?

She swallowed as the hissing grew more intense and slowly lowered her arms, confusing the original head even further. It cocked and tried to gain the girl's attention again, appearing to be unaware of its counterpart. Freya carefully took one step back, then another, trying to keep herself as calm as possible; a serious challenge for a scared five-year-old girl.

As the hissing transitioned into a rolling growl, Freya's eyes widened and she bolted. Before she could get out of range, the second head lashed out and its teeth sunk into her back, drawing blood. Freya screamed in fear and pain as she was slammed against the ground, the Zippleback's teeth sinking deeper into her flesh. She could smell a coppery scent as her blood began to cover the earth around her, and she could feel the dust and small rocks against her face, panic spiking every one of her senses.

She managed to turn her head up at the sound of a furious roar, barely able to focus on the streak of black that was an enraged Night Fury. Toothless collided with the Zippleback, teeth locked around the neck of the offending head and claws tearing at its shoulder. Suddenly noticing what had happened, the head that had been confused about Freya's retreat began sparking angrily at the Night Fury in an attempt to get him to release it. Toothless shook at the creature's neck until it released Freya, then bit down harder and clawed at its throat.

"Freya!"

The girl slowly dragged her gaze away from the dueling dragons, seeing her father running towards her with panic in his eyes. Before he could reach her, she heard thundering footsteps and saw her mother sprint past, axe up and murder in her eyes. Behind her she heard a roar of pain and felt something hot and wet spray across her face, causing her to flinch. She turned in time to see the glimmer of metal in the sunlight as Astrid's axe descended. Toothless' feral growl sounded one more time, then he placed himself between the girl and the carnage behind her. As his tail swept across her vision, she saw a brief flash of red before her world went dark

With an exhausted sigh, Hiccup sat down next to Astrid on the steps to their house, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. The woman's head dropped sideways onto his shoulder and she closed her eyes.

"How is she?"

"Toothless is with her," He answered quietly, "Still hasn't left her side."

"Considering what happened, that's probably a good thing," Astrid hesitated, then continued, "Did you hear what happened at the Elder's?"

"A bit, yeah."

"She was so scared. She couldn't even make a sound. Just crying and clinging to Toothless."

"And Toothless?"

"Let's just say it was a good thing we got those Terrors out of there or they may not have survived the experience. And they hadn't done anything wrong."

Hiccup squeezed his wife's shoulders a little tighter and stared up at the dark sky, a blank expression on his face. Astrid turned until she could see him and frowned, concerned. She didn't want to ask, but she had to know…

"Hiccup….. What happened? Why did that dragon- She didn't do anything wrong."

"There was something wrong with it," Her husband said in a ghost of a whisper, "I should have paid more attention to them when they got here. I wouldn't have let her near them if I'd known there was one that was unbalanced. I should have-" He dropped his head and inhaled sharply, eyes shutting tight.

Astrid turned and slid an arm around his waist, holding him as he tried to regain control of his emotions.

"Hiccup…."

"Astrid, she could have been killed," He took another deep breath, "Our little girl. Because I wasn't careful enough. I should have checked. I should have gone with her. I should have been sure, instead of just expecting everything to be fine!"

"Hiccup, no," Astrid slid out of his grasp and grabbed the front of his shirt, shaking him, "Don't do that to yourself. We have to just be grateful she's alive. Yes, we could have lost her. But we didn't! Don't torture yourself; she's still here! She's safe now, and that's what matters….."

"But-"

"No," Astrid said firmly, "Don't you dare abuse yourself with 'what ifs'. She. Is. Alive."

Hiccup grabbed her into a tight hug and squeezed, burying his face in her shoulder. Astrid slid her hands up his back and held him just as tightly, trying to avoid letting him become aware of how scared she was. Two days ago, they had almost lost their only child, and now….. The girl couldn't even be around dragons. With the exception of Toothless, Freya couldn't handle even a mere glimpse of the large reptiles without tears running from her eyes or clutching the Night Fury so tightly that her small hands turned white.

"What if she never gets better?" Hiccup asked Astrid, voice muffled, "What if she can't ever be around them again? How can she live like that?"

"I don't know," She admitted, "But we can't know without trying."

Hiccup mumbled something and Astrid leaned back, trying to hear him clearly.

"What?"

"She didn't last longer than half a minute with Stormfly." He said again, barely louder than a whisper. Astrid felt her stomach drop. Her Nadder had always had a constant fondness for Freya, treating the girl as gently as a newborn, while Toothless spent countless hours roughhousing and play-wrestling with her. And now her child couldn't be around one of the dragons of Berk that loved her so dearly?

"What happened?" She asked in a horrified whisper.

"She fainted. It happened so fast that her fingers were still wrapped around Toothless' harness. I had to pull her loose."

"Oh gods….." Astrid's arms slumped and she sat numbly as Hiccup took her hands, gently rubbing his thumbs across her knuckles.

"I- I don't know what to do," Hiccup finally admitted, "I can't fix this."

"I think the only thing that can is time….." Astrid said quietly, closing her eyes, her mouth in a rigid line.

"I don't know if time is going to be enough."

Hiccup quietly pushed the door to Freya's room open and peered inside. He heard the dry rustling of scales on the wooden floor and his eyes met Toothless' as the dragon raised its head. His daughter was nestled up against the dragon's side in a ball of blankets, his tail wrapped protectively around them. The Night Fury acknowledged him with a gentle hum and Hiccup gave him a weak smile. One slow step after another, he entered the room, trying to keep his replacement foot from creaking too loudly. He crouched down in front of the dragon, rubbing a hand over the top of Toothless' large head. Toothless closed his eyes briefly, humming in contentment as his human friend scratched around his ears.

"Is she okay?" He whispered. The dragon's ears dropped and he crooned sadly, large yellow-green eyes falling to the girl using his left foreleg as a pillow. He bent his neck to sniff at her, ceasing when she stirred at the feeling of his breath. He returned his gaze to Hiccup, regret and fear reflecting Hiccup's own.

"I know, buddy," He sighed, "We should have been faster. We should have been smarter."

The Night Fury whimpered a little and laid his head back down next to Freya's, staring hopelessly at a corner of the room. Hiccup gave him another pat and stood, sure that Toothless would take good care of his daughter. He rested one hand on the end post of the girl's abandoned bed, staring quietly at the pair at his feet. Then he sighed again and turned, heading for the door. He met Astrid there, who had just arrived.

"She's sleeping." Hiccup said, answering his wife's question before she could ask. Her mouth closed and she nodded stiffly, still peeking around him to be sure. Her sky blue eyes dulled at the sight of dragon and girl, and she turned into Hiccup's chest, resting her forehead against it.

"I'm….. I'm scared," She admitted, "I honestly have no clue how to deal with this. Nothing prepared me for this."

"I know….," Hiccup kissed the top of her head and gave her a light squeeze, "I know."

"Gods help us, please let her work her way out of it," Astrid whispered, "Let her work her way through it….."

Even as the years passed, Freya's mental state hadn't improved. She distanced herself more and more from the rest of Berk, relying on Toothless, or isolation, to distract her from the dizzy spells, the blackouts, the panic attacks and the deep-seated dread almost every day brought her. No matter how hard she tried to bury her feelings, she never truly recovered. Just like the scarring from fangs that had torn into her back, the fear had never faded.

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"-ya. Freya!"

The girl groaned and opened her eyes, trying to ignore the pounding in her head. The world around her was blurry, like a dreamscape, colors all winding together. She blinked rapidly to try to clear her vision. When all that did was make her head spin, she kept her eyes closed, truly regretting her decision.

"Freya?"

"Hey, Dad." She croaked out, trying not to grimace at the sound of her own voice. There was a relieved sigh from somewhere beside her, causing her previous stifled cringe to return; she'd scared him.

"Care to explain?" Hiccup asked, "Because getting bit multiple times to hurry me here has not made me any less concerned."

Freya opened her eyes more slowly this time, grateful that everything was clearer. She could see the leaves in the trees above her and the breeze rustling the branches. She looked to her right and yelped, sitting up abruptly and scrambling backwards at the sight of the Night Fury next to her father. After a moment of brief inspection, she exhaled and dropped her head. It was just Toothless.

"Um….." Hiccup looked between her and the dragon quizzically. Freya shook her head and held up a finger, asking for a moment. Once her heart rate worked its way back down, she looked up again, squinting against the sunlight.

"So, um, Dad," She started, "You may have been right."

"It was following you?"

"Well, yeah, kinda-"

"Great," Hiccup muttered darkly, "Okay, we're going home." He started to reach for her to help her up.

"It was a Night Fury."

"Excuse me?" The man hesitated, eyebrows knitted as he stared at her. Freya winced a little at the intensity of his gaze.

"Yeah, only it was all weird looking….." She frowned as she dropped off, thinking a little harder about what she remembered.

"How so?"

"Well….. Its left side was all scarred and discolored, like someone had splashed a bucket of grey paint down it… And its wing was dragging. Like it was hurt."

She was unaware of the hard stare that her father was giving her while he attempted to patiently await the rest of her story.

"And it was just like it wanted to… Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"When someone touches a dragon, is there ever this weird shock that kind of….. jolts through you?" Freya looked up and noticed Hiccup studying her closely, like she'd said something particularly intriguing. She raised an eyebrow and frowned a little, which got her father's attention.

"Sometimes," He admitted, "Why?"

"Well, it kind of….. decided to get in my space. And I touched it. And it felt weird. Then I passed out."

"Did you now?" There was just the smallest of twitches at the corner of Hiccup's mouth, so fast that Freya almost hadn't noticed it. The girl's frown deepened and her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"What?"

"Nothing," He shook his head, "What else?"

She muttered darkly, only a few words actually audible.

"I got 'arrow' and 'stupid reptile'," Hiccup said mildly, ignoring his daughter's sour expression, "What were you saying?"

"The stupid thing… It brought back the arrow I shot at it."

The look of absolute shock on Hiccup's face caused Freya to go back to grumbling with vehemence, staring at her knees and trying not to acknowledge the painful throbbing in her head. When he started to laugh, she looked up with a bewildered stare of her own.

"What is so funny?" She growled, eyes narrowing as the man braced his hands on his knees and leaned towards her with a huge grin.

"It likes you," He explained, "So, it may be following you, but it doesn't want to hurt you. It wants to play."

"It….. what?"

"I think you have an admirer." Hiccup shrugged, "I think I have less to be worried about now."

"Dad… I don't do dragons. I can't. I've tried," She looked up at him mournfully, "I can barely handle Amber, and she's tiny."

There was an indignant snort that made Freya sigh and let her head fall back, even though she was smiling; of course the small Terror was there. Hiccup chuckled and stood, shaking his head.

"To be honest, as much as you don't handle dragons well, I'm not overly concerned about this one."

"Why not?" Freya sputtered, "I spent, like, ten seconds within arms reach and I fainted like- like a child!"

Hiccup held out a hand and his daughter grabbed it, grumbling fiercely as he pulled her to her feet. Once she was balanced, he braced his hands on her shoulders and bent to meet her eyes.

"Be that as it may, if it wants to play, it wants a friend. And if its just been following you around, I'm guessing it has a preference."

"And this doesn't worry you…. why?"

"It doesn't want to hurt you-"

"Doesn't mean it causes me to react any differently," Freya protested, "And how are you so sure? It could- It could be luring me to my doom!"

Hiccup's eyebrow shot up and he gave his daughter a patient stare. The girl frowned and glared, issuing a silent challenge for him to prove her wrong.

"Okay, tell me this. Did it do anything after you fainted?"

"I….. don't know."

"When it approached you, how did it do so?"

"Really slowly….. With its head low to the ground….."

"Mm-hmm, and when it brought back the arrow, what was it like?"

"….. Patient, and gave me space….."

"Yes, and when you touched it?"

"It held very still….."

"Any more questions?" Hiccup crossed his arms, a smirk pulling the corner of his mouth smugly.

"I thought you were on my side." Freya grumbled irritably, looking away. With a huff of a laugh, Hiccup pulled her into a hug and squeezed, chuckling at her annoyed snort into his shoulder.

"Well, if you don't want it around, just persist in stressing your desire for it to leave."

"Well, I don't."

"Then just do that."

"Maybe I will."

"In the meantime," He released her and held her by the shoulders, looking her in the eyes, "We need to do something about your head."

"It's fine, Dad, rea-"

"There's dried blood in your hair and stains running down your back."

"But- oh…"

"I think we should give it some time."

"I just got back out here!"

"With a hammered head. Because that's the best idea on the Berk. Besides," He crossed his arms, "Why are you so eager to be out here where your friend can follow you around?"

"Not my friend….." Freya muttered crossly, glaring at her toes.

"Then a few days to patch up won't hurt you."

"Arrrghhhhh!"

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Ariela stopped mid-step and backed up, turning her face skyward. Once she realized she wasn't imagining things, she crossed her arms and waited for the person sitting on the roof above her to notice her presence.

"Dare I ask why you're up there?"

"Sulking in my room was getting a bit bothersome," Freya answered, leaning over the edge to look at her, "I figured sulking in some fresh air, in a clear sky, may mix things up a bit."

"Why are you sulking?"

"Because I had a clumsy moment."

"Oh?"

"Yeah….," Freya frowned, "Smacked my head on some rocks and now Dad has me stuck here until I heal up."

"Wait, you fell?"

"Yeah."

"And landed on your head."

"You don't need to make it sound so dramatic." The older girl grimaced.

"You don't land that hard that often," Ariela explained, "So, suffice to say, it's a bit concerning."

"I wasn't looking where I was going."

"How bad?"

"Hopefully not a cracked skull, which I'm sure the Elder will investigate later, but definitely split skin. Apparently it bled a lot longer than I thought."

"It's a head wound," Ariela said patiently, "For someone who's been leaping from rooftops and small cliffs for most of her life, I thought you'd already know that. When are you going to realize your hard head is usually from being stubborn, not from being able to take a hit?"

In spite of herself, she grinned wickedly at Freya's resentful glare. The older girl made a disgusted sound and looked away.

"So, how come you've come back early when you don't usually return until Hiccup goes looking for you?"

"Funny story, that," Freya scooted to the edge of the roof and turned around. Placing her hands on the edge, she slipped back and dropped to the ground, landing in a crouch.

"Easy there," Ariela grabbed her arm as Freya stood, swaying off balance, "We don't want you hitting your head again."

"No kidding," She muttered, "Anyways, fancy a walk? Because I have got quite the tale to tell you….."

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For what had to be the fourteenth time that day, Adrian again resisted the urge to pick at the bandage around his arm. It itched beyond reasoning, but that was to be expected of a healing wound. He was also pretty sure the Elder wouldn't patch up the tender skin again if she found out he had been unable to resist messing with it.

With a frustrated groan, he resorted to clenching and unclenching his fists until his hands went numb.

"You alright?" Ariela asked from the door, a small frown dipping the corners of her mouth.

"If, by 'okay', you mean 'want to shove my arm in there'," He nodded to the forge fire, "Then yes, I'm doing fantastic."

"No need to get testy." She gave him a sharp glance, ruffled by his surly response.

"Sorry…..," Adrian muttered, looking away, "It just itches. A lot."

"Mm," Ariela gave him a small half-shrug, "As is standard for all broken skin injuries."

"Yeah, I know."

"Freya's head is going to be screaming in that regard, as well as a rip roaring headache."

"What?" Adrian's head shot up, "What did she do this time?"

"Lost her balance and whacked the back of her head solidly on some rocks. Her equilibrium is off and she's quite sore, but otherwise she's okay."

Adrian's eyes narrowed, and under the grumbling coming from his mouth was an irate growl.

"Don't get mad at her," Ariela said tartly, "Things happen."

"I can't get mad at her," Adrian said sourly, "She won't let me. I have to let other people be frustrated for me."

"Well there's plenty of that abound, so you're in luck," The girl shrugged, "She just about gave Hiccup a heart attack today."

"Dare I ask what happened?"

"Well, between the head injury and the dragon, she's had a full day."

"What dragon?" Suddenly Adrian's arm was no longer of interest to him, his full attention on the topic at hand.

"She had a run in with a Night Fury. Don't ask me," Ariela raised her hands to stop Adrian's questions, "I thought they'd all left as well. But apparently there's one kicking around, and it's taken an interest in her. Not a lethal one, but interest nonetheless."

"What happened? Provided she's not concerned about me knowing….."

"She doesn't care, she's just annoyed," Ariela sighed, "After some thinking, she thinks it's the thing that's been following her around since she started surveying. It finally decided it wanted to make her acquaintance, which wasn't really as thrilling for her as it was for the dragon."

"I can imagine….." Adrian muttered, brows furrowing.

"Anyways, Amber fetched Hiccup, so Freya got brought back with a head injury and flared temper."

"Sounds like such a lovely combination."

"No kidding," Ariela agreed, "But mostly she's just trying to figure out how she's going to finish her surveying once she gets patched up again. She's not exactly keen on scaly tag-alongs. She's having a bad enough time with Amber joining her."

"So that's what the little girl's been up to," Adrian's mouth twisted, "I was wondering why I hadn't seen her around."

"Oh, she started that today. She's mostly been sulking since you've been too busy to play with her."

"Oh….. I see." He looked at his knees, guilt setting in. He hadn't meant to ignore her, he'd just wanted make sure she and everything else on Berk was safe. But it still felt like he was making excuses.

"I'd consider yourself lucky that you haven't been in the middle of it. Today seems to have been quite the day for several people."

"No kidding. Anyone else had a thrilling day?"

"Not sure at the moment," Ariela shrugged, "Mine hasn't been particularly riveting. You?"

"Just been trying to keep from scratching my arm off. Nothing much to report past that," He frowned, "So, where's Freya now?"

"Dropped her off at the Elder's. She needed to get her head checked out, in case she cracked her skull."

"Which I haven't."

Ariela and Adrian both jumped, unprepared for Freya's saucy remark.

"Oh, hi," Ariela greeted her, recovering more quickly than Adrian, "So, you're alright?"

"For the most part," Freya glanced at Adrian cautiously, then back to Ariela, "Stuck here until the skin heals though."

"Does that include that fashionable bandage you have wrapped around your head?"

"And it gets to be changed every day until I'm closed up," The girl said dryly, "As is my usual response, I'm going to find somewhere secluded to sulk and plot my escape."

"Good luck with that." Ariela and Adrian muttered in unison, resulting in a raised eyebrow from Freya.

"Thanks for the overwhelming support," She gave Adrian one more guarded glance before turning away, "Hopefully this doesn't take a million years."

The two waited until Freya was out of sight and earshot before looking back at each other.

"How long does it take for a head wound to heal, again?" Ariela asked, raising a sandy eyebrow.

"Um, a decent amount of time, even if you aren't as… restless….. as some people we know."

"This should be interesting…."