A/N: So, it is six years later, and I would like to spruce this story back up into the shape that it should be now. This story meant a lot to me, and it was so nice to write for all you specific people. I would like to have this be a regular thing, if I have a lot of people following me with each redone chapter. Because I would like to change a lot with this story— add things, take unneeded/weird things out, fix some characters, and basically reform it to a story that flows and connects much better. I would love to make these updates quickly and keep up with it, and from the feedback I got on whether or not I should redo this trilogy, I would love to hear what you all think of it, and I'm sure it would help me keep the motivation to speed along.

If you are reading along with me, while I would first like to say thank you so much, I would also like to offer a PM to anyone that wants a sort of 'notification' for edited chapters. I will of course make notes before each one and clearly state it is edited, but it isn't as if an email would be sent out, since I will just replace each chapter accordingly. If anyone wants me to do that, I would be more than happy to. And if you are new to the story, I would really really not recommend reading on, if a chapter does not say it is edited. I plan on changing and fixing a lot of things, so the story might seem even more disjointed, should you throw caution to the wind and head on forward.

Anyway! This is the first edited chapter of these three stories! This takes place after the first movie! Italics will be used in the presence of humans to show that they cannot understand.

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It was freezing. It was the kind of cold that made someone afraid to breathe in too quickly or too deeply, for fear of their insides turning to blocks of ice. Though the sun had risen just a short while ago, it did nothing to offer any sort of protection against the frigid air. All in all, it was probably more accurate to say it was more around below freezing. And that was just being on the ground. Far above, the cold was all the more piercing and unavoidable; in gusts of wind, it slammed into you and took all of the air out of your lungs. It was cold enough to make someone immediately dive back down for shelter, and find the nearest blanket to roll up into.

But Hiccup wasn't about to do anything of the sort. The weather was cold, and it was dreary. He was near frozen to the bone, and would probably earn himself at least some form of hypothermia in the process of stubbornly remaining out. But he was used to the weather; it was a staple of Berk, and he had suffered through many subzero days just like this one. But he wasn't suffering through it, now. It was the complete opposite. Despite the fact that it felt like his blood had frozen over into a solid and he couldn't bend his arms because his muscles were so cold, he was thrilling from head to toe, just like he did every morning.

Because just like every morning, he had set out just when the sun began to peek over the horizon, rushing lightly for fear of waking his father, and burst out his front door to where Toothless had been waiting. It was the routine he went through every morning, but it was hardly routine, at the same time. He loved it— some days, it was the best part of his day, this going out to catch the early morning winds with his dragon. The later it got in the day, the more people went out on their own dragons. When he and Toothless got up early in the morning like this, they had the entire sky to themselves, and it stayed that way for hours. Just like they liked it.

The two of them were currently streaking through the air, Hiccup cheering Toothless on in his dragon's attempts to break their record speed. They were skirting directly over the ocean, waves throwing up ice-cold spray that only served to soak him though and make his teeth chatter even faster. It was trivial detail, and one that he wasn't going to pay much mind to. He just let out a loud whoop, Toothless trilling with resounding excitement before beating his wings even faster. As well-seasoned a rider as Hiccup was, his smile ended up turning a little on the giddier side at the increased speed, his stomach falling out just a bit and causing him to dissolve into a small bout of laughter.

He had to raise his voice into a shout to be heard over the wind. But it didn't matter; he knew that Toothless would hear him regardless. "Alright, bud, here we go!" he whooped, waiting for Toothless' yip of agreement before he did anything. Once he did get the affirmative response, Hiccup grinned and shifted his left foot, into its third position. And at once, Toothless moved and began to pull upwards, his wings beating furiously as he began to scale upwards. He climbed into the air, and Hiccup flattened himself closer, tightening his grip to make sure he stayed level.

They left the ocean down below them, and it only grew colder when they flew higher. And Hiccup's smile, in turn, only grew bigger. They climbed until they started to brush and sweep through the clouds, before Toothless spiraled back down a bit, sweeping in between the large rock spires and formations that were left to spire out of the water below. It was simplistic and easy, after such a long time of finally being free to practice this route. Without the need for secrecy or subtly, it was an effort just to drag these two back to the island and on solid ground. By this point, they could do things like this in their sleep.

He was just beginning to entertain the idea of going out a little bit farther this morning, and maybe flying someplace they hadn't memorized yet, when his attention was suddenly wrenched away from him. There was a sudden flash of movement out of the corner of his eye, and his head wrenched backwards, a little caught off-guard as his eyes narrowed. Usually there was nobody out at all for hours. That was the entire point they had to coming out at the break of dawn. Was someone actually out, this morning? The thought was a little disappointing, but at the same time, if they were to set out and go somewhere else, it wouldn't be much to worry about.

Right as he was about to turn and face front, however, there was another streak of movement. The same type, and the same kind of shape, but it was to his left, now. His forehead creased at this— unless whoever this was was trying to psych him out, he had no idea what they were doing. Paranoia was quick to begin to sting underneath his skin, however much he tried to shake it. He had always been a little easier than most to scare – he blamed it on his father telling him so many ghost stories when he was little – and just because he had a Night Fury with him now didn't exactly make that any better.

He pulled back on Toothless, and his dragon immediately responded, already picking up on his rider's growing distress. His ears pricked, and as he began to hover, cautiously looking from side to side in the effort to pick up on what was going on. Hiccup was doing the same, a frown weighing down his features. "Hello?" he called out, raising his voice to a yell again. He was holding tightly to Toothless now, eyes darting left to right. When there wasn't a reply to his shout, he tried again. "Hello!? Is someone out there?" He felt a little silly; if it was just someone from the island, he didn't know exactly what he would have to say to try and brush it off.

He made a face again when there was no reply. He glanced down at Toothless, and drafted a quick smile on his face. "It's nothing, bud," he sighed instead, shaking his head when his dragon still seemed skeptical. His ears were still twitching back and forth. Hiccup reached down and ran a hand comfortingly over his head, turning now so he could look in the direction they had been heading. "Let's just keep going!" he prompted. "It's still early. We can duck out of here and find someplace cooler, huh? I think that sounds pretty good." He could shake off this weird thing and blame it on some huge bird. In a few hours, he wouldn't even remember getting freaked out over something so small and ridiculous.

Toothless still hesitated, and Hiccup's smile turned affectionately exasperated. "C'mon, bud," he pressed. A small laugh bubbled underneath the words. Apparently he was better at shaking off trepidation than his friend was. "Let's go, before I freeze completely and all that's left of me is some—" He didn't get the chance to finish whatever tease was building on the tip of his tongue. Before he could, the streak came again, a black flash against the sky, and as soon as Hiccup froze to recognize that, he also became aware of a noise. A familiar one that caused him to go rigid, but mostly blank over with shock. It was so familiar, that he was almost certain that he'd mistaken it.

Because it certainly couldn't be what he thought it was.

As soon as Hiccup heard the steadily-rising screech, Toothless did as well. And instantaneously, the Night Fury reacted. He tucked close to himself, and Hiccup was left to scrabble at him in panic as his dragon suddenly dove for the water below. Holding fast to him, Hiccup looked up to see that they had fallen just in time. The moment they lost air, a large purple blast rocketed through the place they had just been; instead of hitting them, it hit the rock tower that had been behind them, and it immediately crumbled and began to break underneath the blast.

Sediment sprayed down on them, and Hiccup cursed under his breath, though Toothless was expertly able to swing and duck through the bigger pieces of boulder that fell as well. Hiccup coordinated without thought, his heart beating wildly in his ears now as he heard a second wind-up, and narrowly avoided yet another blast of purple. Confusion was stumping him and making him too winded to stop and try to think things through. He was mostly saved because of Toothless' quick thinking, and for that, he was grateful. His mind was running a mile a minute, but to catch an actual thought didn't seem to be all that possible. It was mostly scattered and awkward. A rouge dragon…? Not a rouge dragon— not just any rogue dragon. But…but it wasn't possible. This is different, this is wrong. Right? Or is it the opposite?

The black shape flew by him again, and Hiccup realized that whatever this was, it was trying its best to knock him clear off of Toothless. The thought had him holding tighter, and pulling down lower, and he tried to ignore the rising burn of panic as he urged Toothless on. His eyes were narrowed into angry and cautious slits, and his teeth were bared in a threatening growl. As the shape began to barrel back around towards them, he sucked in a breath and shot his own blast of fire at it, aiming for the dragon's wings to try and put it out of commission. But the dragon moved far too quickly, and it only looped out of the way. Toothless was forced to duck down again to avoid it ramming directly into Hiccup.

It wasn't a working tactic at all, he knew. They were only getting farther away from Berk with this, and they were also getting too close to the ocean. If Hiccup was knocked down to begin with, they would have an issue on their hands; if he was knocked down into hypothermia-inducing water, then they would have two issues on their hands. They needed to be able to turn the tables, and Hiccup's confused and scattered mind finally caught up with him and begin to kick into gear.

His eyes hardened, and he pulled his foot back again. It only took a moment for Toothless to catch onto what he was thinking, hopefully, and he began to climb into the air again. The blur of whatever was hunting them followed, from where it had swooped down close to the ocean. Toothless looked down at it as well, and his teeth bared again as he tracked it carefully. Hiccup held close when he began to arch to the side, and turn over on his side. It left Hiccup exposed to the thing that was intent on ripping him down, and the teenager eyed it warily. Tension and anxiety was quick to build in the pit of his gut, but it was a controlled sense of apprehension. He just waited, the seconds seeming to stretch out into hours.

The thing barreled straight up for Hiccup, like they had both assumed. And once it got close enough, Toothless jerked out, his claws unsheathing in a flash. They caught on the blur before it could get any closer and actually inflict damage; he sank a deadly grip down into the enemy and flipped the both of them before it could react and free itself. Toothless folded his wings down into his body, and they all fell down onto the nearest rock tower. It wasn't an entirely flat and level landing spot. But it would have to do, and it was definitely preferable to Hiccup than falling down into the water.

Toothless' claws were still deep in the dragon that had attacked them, and both of the dragons were snarling and gnashing furiously. Getting the idea, Hiccup looked down and quickly unfastened himself, slipping off of Toothless and hitting the rock with a bit of a thud. He quickly shot to his feet and scrambled to the side, out of range. Guilt and fear for Toothless' safety was the first thing to occur to him as he was forced to pull away, but the fact was that he didn't have any means of protecting himself. He hadn't even thought of bringing along a weapon. Day in and day out, he had never had a reason to bring one along, so carelessness had been quick to replace caution. Which was, he knew now, entirely stupid on his part.

Toothless and the unknown attacker were a writhing mass on the rock. Snarls and roars had replaced the peaceful quiet they'd had before, hisses of pain and fury interjecting whenever claws raked down scales. Neither of them seemed to be paying attention to where they were rolling and skidding. It wouldn't be a problem for the other dragon, but if Toothless were to have enough of a lapse of judgement to let him fall over, he wasn't sure what would happen. He couldn't fly on his own, and if he wasn't there to distract this dragon, Hiccup wouldn't be very likely to be able to follow him and help.

Worry for his friend began to outweigh whatever sense he had in terms of self-preservation. He usually had the habit of succumbing to such. Before he could stop and rethink, or try and come up with a better plan, Hiccup pushed himself up to his feet on the uneven, slightly rounded, surface of the rock face. Maybe he should have stopped and drafted a plan, because he truly didn't really have a plan to begin with. He just got up to his feet and started forward, his mouth going dry as some half-baked image of possibly getting in the middle of the sparring dragons formulated in the grainy back of his mind.

Toothless caught sight of his approach, and immediately, he flared all over again. The Night Fury made a quick resolve and turned back on the dragon. He jerked forward and delivered a nasty bite to his opponent's shoulder, to which the dragon let out a screech of pain. He followed up the attack by raking his claws down its side, and turning so that he could flip the other dragon off of him, sending it skidding back almost to the edge of the rock. Hiccup stopped short, his eyes widening at the sudden acts of violence. His eyes went from the other dragon, which was hunched over in pain now, to his friend, his eyes flickering over him for injuries as well, and hoping that any he had weren't nearly as serious as the ones he had just delivered.

However, the moment that the dragon had been put out of commission, for however long it would stay that way, Toothless leapt to his feet. He turned and rushed back to Hiccup, planting himself in front of his human aggressively. His wings splayed out at his sides, and his eyes were practically burning with rage as he hissed out a threat to the dragon that was currently picking itself up to his feet. As it did, and as it straightened and shook its head to clear it, Hiccup paled and straightened up slowly. Confusion was quick to dull whatever else he might have felt.

It was a Night Fury. It was another Night Fury. Somehow, and some way, he was standing behind Toothless and looking at almost an exact carbon copy. It was smaller and slenderer than Toothless was, though its eyes were just as green, though flecked with a couple different colors. With the way it was built, it looked like it was a female— it wasn't nearly as muscular as Toothless was, and its body composition was wildly different. Though at the same time, as soon as the thought crossed his mind, it also occurred to Hiccup that he couldn't be sure. Because nobody had ever seen a female Night Fury. Nobody had ever seen a Night Fury at all, before Hiccup had seen Toothless.

Now, he was seeing another, and his mind was near numb with shock.

Toothless didn't bend to the familiarity. Not at first. All he felt was anger and hostility towards the fact that this dragon had been trying to attack Hiccup. He stood stiffly, prepared to leap at her again, just in case she gave it another try. He was practically daring the attempt. "Stay back!" he screeched, his wings flaring out again with the command, as he dug his claws into the rock underneath him. The dragon looked up sharply at his voice, and her eyes flashed. He still did not relax, though, making sure that Hiccup was effectively hidden and protected. "If you know what's good for you, you'll turn and you'll run!"

Hiccup stiffened at Toothless' furious roars, his hands clenching tightly at his sides.

The unknown dragon slowly stood, crumbling down in pain as her shoulder began to give way under her. Toothless was unsurprised and unforgiving at the injury; he just continued to glare her down. He watched in silence as she shifted to support herself on her other side, hunched terribly to the left in the process. An indignant scowl was plastered over her face as she glowered at him, and her voice was taut and bristling with anger when she snapped out a reply. "I was just trying to help you!" She turned, her sharp gaze going to Hiccup and flashing over with distaste. It only made Toothless growl again, and shift closer to his human. "I was getting him off! I was freeing you!"

"I don't need to be freed!" he snapped.

She scowled, her ears flattening to her head as she looked from him to the human. "What does that mean!?" she demanded. Toothless may as well have told her that stars were pieces of fruit in the sky, for all she was taken aback. "You willingly let an insolent human onto your back?" She took a step forward, and Hiccup eyed her with just the faintest trace of nervousness when she screeched in his direction. The back-and-forth Toothless seemed to be having with her made him feel useless and confused, but he stood stiffly anyway, waiting to see whether or not whatever Toothless was doing would work. His mind was still buzzing over the fact that they were currently standing in front of another Night Fury. One that was very clearly angry and not at all a fan of them, but…

Toothless drew himself up taller, in a silent warning not to go any further. His eyes stayed narrowed and guarded, however his voice was more controlled when he went on. Which was an accomplishment in itself, given that she was remaining hostile. "Humans are not insolent." He said this slowly and with heavy purpose, as if he was teaching a subject to a child. If she noticed the fact, though, she gave no heed; she just continued to look from him to Hiccup, her gaze harder whenever it reverted back to the human. "The island where I come from— those humans have changed. We live with them in peace. They're our friends."

"'Friends?'" she repeated this as though she had never heard such a word. Her nose twitched, like she'd smelled something foul. "Dragons and humans have never been friends. We've never needed to stoop so low. They are not capable of change, and even if they were, there would be no need for it. Why would dragons ever need humans? It's ridiculous." Despite her harsh words, Toothless was quick to notice that she no longer sounded as fired up. By this point, she was more just irritated, which he would take, if it meant she would not attack again.

"You would be surprised," he returned fairly. His wings began to return back to his sides, though he stayed protectively in front of Hiccup. "Dragons and humans have needed each other more than we thought. More than we both did." He tilted his head to the side. "Have you not noticed the Queen's sudden disappearance? We—"

"Night Furies have never bent to the will of the Queen," she replied thinly, interrupting whatever he was about to say without regard. He twitched with a bit of annoyance, but she went on anyway. "Night Furies are the strongest breed of dragon in the world; we live separately— we always have. Out of the range of the lowly likes of those who attempt to control others." She looked him up and down, and her tail lashed from side to side. "Or at least…every other Night Fury other than yourself. Here you are, besmirching our name by allowing humans to govern your every move. Ride you like you're some kind of animal of leisure."

He twitched again. His tone turned a bit more judgmental, and shorter. "I am fully aware of the way that Night Furies live and think. It was why I left them to begin with." The female stiffened just a bit with this admission, and her ears perked as she looked at him harder. He ignored her though and shook his head. "You don't understand. A life with humans is much better than any life I have lived before. While Night Furies may not have been affected where they lived, the Queen harmed thousands of other dragons by forcing them to collect her food." He glanced back at Hiccup, who looked back with a questioning stare. "Hiccup befriended me, and when I showed him what was happening, he moved to defeat her. She's dead now, and all of the dragons have been freed because of it. They live on Berk now, my island, and I, along with all of the others, live peacefully with the humans. In friendship. The way it should be."

He turned back to her eagerly, once he was through, his eyes brighter now as he waited for the news to sink in. However, he was left to sag with disappointment and irritation when she only asked a blunt: "Hiccup? What's a 'Hiccup?'"

Nevertheless, he kept himself collected and took in another deep breath. "This is Hiccup." He stepped back just a little bit, though he was poised to move should she suddenly regain her anger and lash out again. Some part of him still only wanted to chase her off; he had half a mind to, thanks to the lingering anger of her sudden attack. But the other part of him knew better. Looking at her now, he reminded himself that he had been the same way, once. He had been confused, and he had attacked, and it had just taken time to learn and understand how and why he should act different. She was just like he was. He could make her understand, couldn't he? If the desire was there.

"Hiccup found me and befriended me. He protected me from his people, when they were still enemies of dragons." Affection warmed his voice at the memories. "He and I took down the Queen together. And he showed and persuaded his island to see that dragons could be their friends. Now his entire island is welcoming of us, when before, all we had done to them was attack. We live in harmony." He hesitated, only briefly, allowing himself one more moment to stop and rethink what he truly wanted. He had his own misgivings— private ones, that stemmed from things he would rather not divulge or make apparent. However, he knew what Hiccup would want. He knew what his friend was thinking right this moment, and so he dipped his head in a small nod. "You could come and see. For yourself. If you'd like."

"See for myself?" Again, it seemed like she could not make sense of the words. "See for myself a bunch of dragons that serve as pets to humans?"

"We're not pets," he denied. "We're partners. Each of us. Together." She weakened in a bit of doubt at the emotion that was behind his words. "We're happy together. I know you see that if you would come back. It's like nothing you've ever seen or experienced before." He shook his head. "I lived with the Night Furies, but I left, because I wanted something more." Again, she perked when he said this. "I left looking for something else, and I found everything I could have ever wanted and more at Berk. With Hiccup. I never even think about my old home anymore. I haven't in ages, and I have absolutely no regrets because of that."

"You left," she rasped, her voice barely audible. "How…how long ago? How long ago did you leave?"

Toothless paused for a moment, having to think. He took in a slow breath and shook his head. "Ages ago," he answered. "It feels like lifetimes. I wasn't satisfied with the life that was there, so I left one night. I said my goodbyes to those who mattered to me. There wasn't many, though. Which was part of the reason I did leave."

"Those who mattered…" It was clear that her attention was off of Hiccup, now. Which Toothless was partway grateful for. But at the same time, he was beginning to itch for a way out of this. It was cold, and Hiccup was shivering, and he really wanted to be getting back to Berk after all of this. "I…I mattered." The two words caught him off-guard, and he looked back up at her, his expression clouding over with confusion at the change in tone. She was looking at him differently, now. Her eyes were round and huge, and she looked at him like she was just seeing him for the first time.

He blinked and found himself looking at her closer now, too. "Excuse me?" he asked.

"I mattered." Her voice was stronger with this. When he still just blanched at her, she wilted. "You said goodbye to me," she reminded. "You said goodbye to me, and I asked you why you were leaving. You wouldn't say, you just left. I tried to follow you, but I lost track…" Toothless was silent now. He wasn't sure what he would say if he even wanted to say anything. "That's…that was you…right? Wasn't it? But you don't…remember me?"

He had to stop and think. It truly had been some time ago. She looked different now— she was taller, and more mature, and so it took a heartbeat or more for him to be able to match the faces. But it clicked after some time, and a pang of bittersweet recognition hit him. His ears swiveled back and forth, and all of the tension melted off of him now. Instead, his face clouded over with doubt. He tilted his head to the side, and he said hesitantly: "You're…Nightflight?"

The name caused her to light up. And this time, he saw that shine in the back of her eyes, and he found familiarity there. "You do remember me!" she gasped. She began to straighten, and liven up. "We were friends when we were young! You left so long ago, and you never came back…we all thought that you died." She tilted her head to the side. "When I first saw you, I thought it might be you, but I didn't want to get my hopes up, just in case. But…but you do remember me!? Is it really you? It's really—?"

"My name is Toothless now," he interrupted, before she could say anything else. Her face fell in confusion at this, but he didn't pay any mind. "I left that life behind me. I don't think about it anymore. I didn't come back for a reason, and that reason is Berk." He paused for a moment before he put forward again: "You can come back and see it. If you'd like."

She seemed uncomfortable. She was disheartened, and she looked back again at Hiccup, who had been waiting the entire conversation in silence, trusting Toothless and figuring he should not interrupt. When she spoke next, her voice was guarded, and withdrawn. "For them to have changed you in such a way…made you dependent on them…" She turned to him searchingly. "What did they do to you? What did they do to change you so much? You're…nothing like the dragon I once knew…"

"They didn't do anything to me," he rejected quickly. He shook his head. "They changed my mind, I mean, but…they changed it for the better. They make me better. Hiccup makes me better. And I know that if you came back with me, then you would be better for it, too." He hesitated then, and when he moved on, his demeanor changed back to that frostier one. "If you do not want to visit Berk and give the humans there a chance, then you have to move on. You can't stay here if you're a threat to who lives here. I won't let you stay, if that's a case." He said this harsher, making sure there was no question of it.

She blanked at him with the subtle threat. Her gaze turned mixed and hesitant, and if Toothless didn't know any better, he would have thought she looked hurt as well. A pang shook him at the suspicion, because he was sure that there was some sense of truth to it. But at the same time, he remained steadfast in his stance. He hadn't been bluffing when he'd said he had left for a reason. He had. And there was a reason he did not go back, and had taken to a life of isolation, instead. Before he'd reached Hiccup, that was. So he kept silent, and just waited to see what she would do in response.

"What would coming along with you entail?" the question was tinged over with distaste and hesitation. She wasn't making an effort to bury it at all. The thought of willingly going to an island populated with humans…along with a horde of other lowly dragons who seemed to be nothing but pets… "If I do choose to go with you, what would that mean?"

"It's not a pact," Toothless replied, and Nightflight was more than aware of how curt his voice was when he said so.

It turned her scales, to hear the tone. The last time she had seen him, they had been much younger. Only children. It had been eons, it felt. She had never forgotten, him, though— how could she have? Whenever she had pictured them meeting again, and she had pictured it many times before, it was never like this. He was an entirely different dragon, it seemed. She was trying to discern what exactly the reason for the distance was. Was it because this was a surprise, and he hadn't had the chance to sort it all through? Was it because she hadn't given any warning before attacking? She hadn't known— she had only been trying to help him! Surely the shock of it had passed?

Or…was that it? Was he angry for the human's sake? Her eyes flashed to the human again, at the thought, and her eyes narrowed just slightly at the way he was looking at her. He looked unbelievably small. More like a stick than a human. It barely looked like much at all. Was this the source for Toothless' behavior? Was this thing the reason he had changed— that he was looking at her with caution rather than the welcome he should have had, for reuniting with such an old friend? Her wings twitched with hidden anger at her sides, and it only grew when the human began to bring himself to resolve and take a few steps forward.

Toothless immediately turned and cooed out something of a warning to him, Nightflight watching sourly as the two exchanged a look. There was far too much understanding there, in the small glance. Far too much. The look simply did not belong, between a dragon and a human. But it was there all the same. And after a moment, Toothless turned back and looked at her, going on. "It's not a pact," he repeated. "If you don't like it, you wouldn't be forced to stay— no one in Berk would ever keep a dragon there against its will. You can come, and you can see how things are, and if you don't like it, you would be free to leave."

Leave. He said the word easily; it was clear he would not be disheartened if she was to leave him. The observation stung. Her eyes went once more to the human, who was looking at her with an odd look on his face. His mouth was curled oddly. She didn't understand it. Toothless caught onto her reluctance, and looked between the two of them. His voice was noticeably friendlier, and his ears perked up tall. "He's giving you a smile," he explained, and she cocked her head to the left questioningly when he moved and did the same exact thing with his mouth. He lifted the edges oddly, to reveal his mouth. "It's something humans do. It means they're happy. And it means they like you."

She looked between the two of them, feeling as lost as she would feel should someone have turned off the sun and left her in total darkness. "I…see…" she mumbled a little ungraciously. "That's…odd…" It was truly the best she could offer in response.

He righted himself and took a few paces closer, sticking close to Hiccup's side in turn. "You'll come, then? You'll give the humans a chance?" He looked her up and down, with a bit of scrutiny. "You have to have an open mind. Just like they do. You can't attack them, or be angry with them. As long as you are friendly, you'll be welcomed to Berk with open arms…and open wings." He did that thing with his mouth again, and she stilled with a bit of surprise when his voice turned warmer. "You would really like it…Nightflight, I know you would. It's so much better than anything you've known, and you can take my word for it. It would…well, it might be nice. To have another Night Fury around, too."

She was caught off-guard by the sentiment, as slowly and carefully as it came. It made her mind blank for a heartbeat, with how surreal things felt. How she had found her oldest and dearest friend, completely different and completely changed, wary and closed off, but welcoming all the same. What was she supposed to do? She couldn't bring herself to refuse, like her mind immediately leapt to. If she said no, Toothless would leave with that twig, and she might never see him again. She would lose him over a second time, when she had barely begun to get him back.

She couldn't take that. She had to try to fight it. She had to.

After a moment's agonizing, she ducked her head down low. "Alright," she murmured, her voice hardly audible. Toothless straightened at once with the agreement. He seemed surprised. "I'll go with you," she went on, just as careful and slow. "I suppose if something like this is truly enough to make you change so much…it should be something very big." She shuffled her feet and cleared her throat before looking back up at them. "I'll go. And I'll see what you're talking about."

"Really?" Surprise bordered the edge of his voice. He brightened, and he did that thing with his mouth again. "That's…this is great, then! I'm glad you could change your mind! You won't regret it, either— I promise. You'll be amazed at what you'll see." Nightflight curled her tail around herself a bit tighter when Toothless turned, smiling wide at Hiccup and giving an affirmative bounce around him. His eyes were a smile as well. Toothless wriggled and nodded between Nightflight and Hiccup. Obviously he was just communicating in the way that worked the best. But, watching him, Nightflight began to hunch over miserably, her stomach turning over at the way he was leaping around like a child.

"What's that?" Hiccup chirped, grinning as Toothless ducked over to nudge against him. He was trying to piece together what he had obviously missed, but going by Toothless' new reaction, whatever it was had gone by easily. He looked back up at Nightflight, a little bit of lingering caution clouding over his expression when they met eyes again. But the female didn't immediately scowl at him, or growl, like she had done before. She just held his gaze levelly, and it was an achievement in itself. The caution fell away, to be replaced instead by another huge grin.

His spirits were quick to rise, and latch onto hope. This was amazing! This was fantastic! If she was already warming up to him, surely she would warm up even more later on? The thought of having another Night Fury on the island was insane— he was sure Toothless would love having someone along with him. All the other dragons had dozens of their same species. If they managed to bring her back with them… "Does she want to come back with us, bud?" he asked, still looking excitedly at the newcomer.

Toothless chuffed with happiness, leaning over and nudging at him again with his head. Nightflight watched him in silence, refusing to say anything now. She just watched Hiccup look from him and then back to her. "Do you think she'll follow us back?" he asked.

Toothless looked at Nightflight expectantly. Waiting for a reply.

She twitched in a bit of discomfort. "I can follow," she gave in. "I'm not completely helpless."

Toothless ignored the comment and turned instead to chuff at Hiccup again, nodding his head up and down vigorously. The look on his face resolved Hiccup into deciding that it was safe to do so. He could bring her back to the island, and maybe from here she would warm up completely. It was hard not to; he had brought so many other wild dragons back to Berk, and they had probably lasted about seven seconds before falling in love. The island was practically a dragon magnet. She would love it.

So he smiled at the female Night Fury and said brightly: "Alright, then! We'd be happy to have you! Aw, everyone is going to be so amazed! You'll fit right in, everyone will love you!" Nightflight stayed silent. A bit of discomfort crawled over her expression now, but she didn't react harshly. She just turned and looked at Toothless, at her old friend, and waited for him to interject. He did so slowly, twitching his ears back and forth as he leaned over and prodded Hiccup's side with his nose. Silently telling him they should hurry.

Hiccup roused, and turned to look at him. He seemed to catch on, and smiled again. "Alright," he repeated, quickly. He offered one last smile to Nightflight, before the doubled back to his dragon. He grabbed hold of the saddle and swung himself up to his normal perch. Nightflight watched this as well, the saddle bringing yet another bad taste up to her mouth. She took in a sharp breath and stood at the same time Toothless did. A small click caught her attention down, and Nightflight watched the human put his metal foot into some kind of contraption on Toothless. Her eyes narrowed in confusion again when it was pushed back into some position, and Toothless wriggled in preparation.

He looked at Nightflight one last time. Giving her one last chance to think about it, because apparently he could not be too sure. "Are you ready?" he asked.

She hesitated. Only for a second, because, despite anything else, and there was a lot of other things, she knew she could not leave her friend. Not just yet. It had been so long. If she would refuse, he would leave, and she would likely never see him again. She hardly believed she was seeing him now. So the hesitation was quick, and she knew she had no choice. She just took in a slow breath and flattened herself to the rock face, her wings stretching out at her sides. There was a certain degree of determination as her eyes met with her friend's. Determination and a light of a bit more.

But all she said was a stiff: "Yes."

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

A/N: Comparing this chapter to what it was, is insane, I have grown worlds. So this is going to be such a load off, to scrape up these stories (especially this one, yikes) to the state it should be. Going through it over again, I realized I have more work cut out for me than I thought. Judging by the amount of favorites and follows I've gotten, and the comments, I really hope that I get a lot of feedback, and people are patient with me and will not read on, haha! Like I said, it could get confusing for one thing, but at the most basic sense: it will not be nearly as good. I promise you. If you don't believe me, peek at the next chapter, haha.

Anyway, I hope you like it! I hope to hear from familiar faces, and from new ones, too!

Side note: I also want to fix my author notes. Yikes. I suppose that's what you get when you write in middle school.