AN: So here is chapter 2, I had thought that I'd get further along, but you have to let things flow on their own way. I view the dragons as part Dolphin, part individual animal unique to each dragon:

Toothless, is like a big dolphin/kitten.

Stormfly is like a dolphin/peacock.

Hookfang is like a dolphin/Grizzly.

Barf and Belch are like a dolphin/lama/push-me-pull-you.

Meatlug is like a dolphin/pot-bellied pig.

I've made it so they can communicate on three levels. 1. The normal gestures and sounds we see and hear. 2. Sounds too high for humans to hear, and sounds too low for humans to hear. 3. Empathic communication. As the story continues, I'll develop the third in more detail. Okay, on with the show, and thanks for the support.

Astrid allowed Stormfly to rush back to her babies as fast as she wanted. She didn't know how she had ever lived without Stormfly in her life. How had she ever viewed Hiccup as someone who couldn't protect his people, and understand how to be a true Viking? Without Stormfly, how much innocent blood would fill hands? Without Hiccup, would she have become? Her heart raced with terror at the possibilities. She loved him with her whole heart. Their relationship, while still relatively undefined and awkward on both their parts, but she knew without a doubt that he cared as deeply for her, as she did him. The squawking of Stormfly's new hatchlings as she fed them stunned Astrid from her thoughts. Watching the tenderness and care Stormfly used with her young, amazed Astrid. Stormfly's mate hunted every day at dawn and sunset for materials for the nest and extra food. The magnificent Nadder accepted her presence and showed her respect, but although tamed, he'd rejected bonding with a specific rider. She named him Eindride, after she discovered he'd mated with Stormfly. Hiccup convinced him to help train beginning riders who wanted to be bonded with Nadders in the future. At first, Stormfly's choice of a mate surprised her, because Eindride behaved very differently than most Nadder's. He kept to himself or stayed with Stormfly and their hatchlings. He didn't have a playful demeanor, nor did he have a need to compete with other dragons. He appeared to be incompatible with her fun-loving, vain, and competitive Stormfly. Then Astrid saw how they worked together for the little family and it began to make sense.

They balanced each other perfectly. Where one faced weakness, the other added their strength. During the times Astrid and Stormfly had to train or defend Berk, Einride took over the nest. He continued teaching the hatchlings how to behave around people, while honing their natural abilities to take care of themselves. Occasionally, when Astrid and Stormfly trained them, the babies would act out. Einride immediately put a stop to their antics so the lesson could continue. As she watched the parents wrangle their young into the nest, she felt an overwhelming ache, as if one of Stormfly's spikes had been shot straight through her heart. She knew her uncle and friends felt worried for her; but how could she talk to them about it when she didn't understand the cause of her agony?

Realizing that sitting up all night thinking wouldn't help, she crept quietly into her small bedroom. She quickly doffed her armor, changed her woolen leggings, and donned her warmest woolen tunic. The cold felt as sharp as her beloved axe as she unbound her hair and took out the one thing she remembered her mother had used every day. The smooth oak handle of the boar-bristle brush fit as comfortably in her hand as her beloved two-headed axe. The bristles attacked the tangles without breaking the fragile strands. "One and two, I love you. Three and four, Papa thinks he loves us more…"

The tune slipped from her mouth unconsciously. Hazy images filled her mind of her mother's hands, brushing her golden childhood curls. Her mother would sing the tune all the way up to one thousand, and then both her parents would tuck her into bed. Throughout her life, Astrid followed the ritual no matter where she was on her adventures with Hiccup and the other Dragon riders. Once she finished the final stroke, she tied the silky, glossy tresses up into a bun, and climbed into her bed, burrowing under the soft furs. As the sounds of a happy, safe Nadder family drifted into her room, a single, scorching tear trickled down her cheek. "I can't even remember my parents' faces," she whispered. As she lay in the silent, icy dark she searched for her memories of her parents until sleep overtook her.

Outside Stormfly and Eindride purred over their peaceful hatchlings. 'I can't ever remember being so happy!' Stormfly twittered, being careful not to wake her human sister.

'Indeed, with the Queen's death we can finally live as we were meant to live. We owe the Chieftain's hatchling and our human sister a great deal,' Eindride answered, wrapping his wings around his mate.

'I'm so worried for her. I can't understand where her pain comes from,' Stormfly softly warbled as she spread her tail to envelop their nest. 'Ever since our migration to warmer climes to hatch our eggs, a darkness has fallen over her. When we fly, she feels heavy. When we train she has less spirit. When she plays with our offspring, I can feel her heart breaking! I don't understand why! She loves the, 'babies' as she calls them. Nothing makes sense right now. She even avoids her mate! Worse still, she won't let me in.'

Eindride nuzzled her tenderly, blowing warm breath into her nostrils to sooth her. 'I too have noticed her low spirits. Could she perhaps be mourning? Perhaps she and her mate conceived their own hatching and it died before it grew strong?'

The absurdity of her mate's theory caused her to shudder with amusement. 'Ah, these humans with their words and rituals. They need to do so many things to mate their young. My bonded one has no mated smell.'

Eindride grunted. Then in the stillness of the icy night he heard the choked and broken voice of their human sister in mourning. 'She is grieving for something. We just have to discover who or what it may be.'

The next morning, eight new feet of snow greeted the frozen citizens of Berk. In the past, such snow meant that the entire village would join in and plow a path through the village to the great hall. Now, thanks to Hiccup's ingenuity and the strength of dragons, paths could appear from the most distant farms, and the paths of the village could be cleared in as little as an hour. Hiccup also devised a way to use the heaps of fresh snow and massive amounts of fresh ice to replenish the village's drinking water and store it for later in the year. Fishlegs organized the plowing with Berk's heard of Gronkles, led by his beloved Meatlug. Snotlout and Hookfang oversaw a pack of Monstrous Nightmares in melting snow and ice and storing freshwater. The twins, organized the Zipplebacks to keep the bonfires going in strategic places all over Berk, in case, someone had to be outside for any length of time, or someone got lost. Hiccup and Astrid led the Nadder's on search and rescue missions. Avalanches high in the hills came often, and the snowdrifts in and around the village could accumulate to fifty feet or more a season. With the Nadder's acute sense of smell, speed, and protective instincts, along with Toothless' echolocation, Astrid and Hiccup made an incredible search and rescue team. All these new improvements and initiatives in Berk resulted in a drastic reduction of winter deaths not due to age or sickness. For the first time in nearly three generations Berk's mortality rate had a chance of stabilizing.

Stoick the Vast strolled out of his great long house just as Hiccup and Toothless finished clearing the paths to the road to the village and the paths to the farm. "Good Morning, son!" his cheerful voice boomed. "How are you and our hardworking Night Fury this morning?"

Hiccup smiled. He loved seeing his father happy and cheerful, something that didn't happen often. "We're good, dad. Fishlegs and the Gronkles have cleared just about all the roads and paths to the village. Snoutlout said that he would take Hookfang and the pack over to Bashem and melt the ice blocks there. The twins have most of the bonfires burning, and amazingly are being quite serious about the job. I'm just heading out to meet up with Astrid to go out on our first rescue section this morning. Oh, and before I forget, Ivor needs to talk to you about a sick yak."

A frown passed over the large Chief's face for a moment, then he smiled once more. "Son, I just want you to know how amazed I am at all you've accomplished so quickly. For the first time in generations, the battle of surviving the winter has become a fair fight. You have a lot to take pride in."

Hiccup basked in his father's praise as if enveloped by the warmth of the sun. "Thanks, dad," he answered with a blush.

"Now then, I'll go find Ivor. Hopefully, the yak doesn't have anything more than a bad cold. Try to be home before supper, lad, and we'll talk about that idea you had for the plowing this coming spring," Stoick ordered, giving his son a pat on the back.

"I'll do my best, dad!" Hiccup called back, as he mounted Toothless once more and took off into the sky.

Toothless felt his bonded one's joy and immediately began flying in the way he knew made his human brother happiest. Speeding through barrel rolls, and every other maneuver they practiced, he relished the tingle in his ears caused by his rider's laughter. They took the scenic route to Astrid's longhouse atop one of the highest cliffs of Berk. As they landed, Toothless greeted Eindride and the excitable hatchlings riding on their father's back. 'A good day for a hunt,' Toothless remarked.

'Indeed it is. I'm taking the young ones into the woods for tracking lessons. After their mother and our human sister return, I intend to hunt a very dangerous wild boar from up in the cliffs. He's run out of food in his territory and is making his way to the farmland to the west,' Eindride replied, nudging his eldest to sit properly.

Toothless growled in concern. 'Any danger to the humans means a danger to my family. With your permission I would like to hunt with you. You can cover from the air while I cover the ground.'

Einride bowed his head to the younger Night Fury. 'I am honored you would offer to help me.'

Toothless sat shuffled his front legs. 'I will meet you just after the moon fully rises.'

'Agreed,' Eindride affirmed.

Hiccup jumped off Toothless still radiating with joy. "Good morning, Eindride! I hope the kids are behaving," he laughed, patting the giant Nadder on the side. "Come on, you three, say hi to your uncle Hiccup!" he playfully commanded, turning his attention to the brood. They assaulted the young dragon rider with playful licks and nips, their teeth still hadn't completely broken though yet. "Thank you, for being so happy to see me!" Hiccup laughed. "You know, we can't keep calling you just 'the babies' forever. I'll talk to Astrid about it today. Speaking of which, where is your mama and her golden-haired rider?"

"We're here!" Astrid called out as she stumbled out of her door. Fortunately, Stormfly kept her from falling. "I'm sorry, I overslept."

Hiccup immediately tuned away from the hatchlings to look at the girl he-not-so-secretly loved with all his heart. "You overslept!" He laid his gentle hand on her forehead to check for fever. "Are you sick?"

"What? No." Astrid exclaimed, gently shoving him away. "I just had a hard time sleeping. Let's go now."

Hiccup wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into a hug. "Good morning, Milady," he whispered in her ear.

Despite the confusion and sadness she felt herself drowning in, Astrid smiled up at the boy she so cherished. "Good morning, Dragon Boy."

A small groan erupts from Hiccup's throat. "Isn't that name ever going to get old? I mean, are you going to still call me that when you're grey and I'm bald?"

Astrid tensed, startled at Hiccup's bold inference about their future. Then she chuckled. "I can't imagine you bald, Hiccup, you have so much fluffy hair!" she sassed as she pushed his heavy woolen hood off and messing up the shaggy locks.

"HEY! Stop it," Hiccup cried out. He pulled back and quickly grabbed her by the wrists, holding them behind her back. Before Astrid could retaliate, he released her wrists and cupped her face with his hands. In the weak winter sunlight he carefully examined her face. His eyes narrowed in concern as he saw her crystal ice-blue eyes lacked their usual luster, sitting in puddles of raw red instead of bright white. Her fair skin that usually glowed with health like Johan's pearls appeared chalky, and dark, inky rings sat etched under her eyes. "Are you sure you're feeling well enough for rescue patrol today, Astrid?" he asked, gently running a calloused thumb across her high cheekbone.

Ordinarily, anyone questioning her about her abilities to do her duties would mean the questioner's face sustaining repeated impact from her fists. However, Hiccup's tenderness and caring broke through Astrid's thick walls of fierce pride around her fragile heart. She reached up to his hands, taking them away from her face and squeezing them with her own. "I promise, I'll be fine. If you don't believe me ask Stormfly," she answered. A hint of a challenging smirk, twitching at the corners of her lips.

"I will," Hiccup agreed, releasing her and turning to Stormfly. "Well, lovely girl, what do you think? Is our Astrid up to flying out to the mountains today?" He first reached up to place his palm on her snout, then pressed his forehead below the base of her crown of spikes." The dry warmth of her scales felt soothing against his cold skin. He blocked out everything around him and focused solely on the energy Stormfly radiated. He felt a faint undercurrent of tension, but no indications of danger. After a minute he raised his head and scratched the sensitive spot under her left jaw. "Thank you, sweetheart. You know I just want to keep her safe like you do. Toothless and I don't want to go without either of you." He turned back to Astrid with a faint smile. "She is worried about something, but she knows that if she's with you, everything will be fine."

Astrid stared at Hiccup awe filling her eyes. "I'll never understand how you're able to communicate with dragons the way you do, but I hope one day I'll at least be able to do that with Stormfly and her family," she gasped.

Hiccup shrugged and pulled up his hood once more. "I've never actually thought about explaining it, but I'll try during lunch. Let's get going, and I can tell you about my very eventful morning."

While the actual village of Berk remained smaller than most Viking settlements, both in the Archipelago, and on the mainland. The island itself held vast areas of open space, forests, and mountains. Now, the two greatest dragons and greatest dragon riders sped to the northwest cliffs, where a hunting party's camp had been reported abandoned. Hiccup gave over total control of the flight to Toothless, only working the gears of his prosthetic tailfin when needed. He kept glancing at Astrid who stared straight ahead, seemingly focused on the job, but he could tell Stormfly controlled the fight. Astrid's mind remained elsewhere. Worry clenched in Hiccup's gut, and Toothless yowled at feeling the tension in his rider. The noise got Astrid's attention. "Did he find something? We won't be at our route for another ten minutes."

Hiccup shook his head with an embarrassed smirk. "No, I tensed up, and he hates that."

Astrid guided Stormfly closer to Toothless' side. "Are you cold, did the metal freeze on your leg? Are you in pain?" she interrogated barely pausing for a breath between questions.

"Whoa! Breath, Astrid, I'm fine," Hiccup laughed. He winked at the death glare she gave him and sighed. "I think we're all a bit cold. This winter has been harsher earlier. Don't worry, my leg and Toothless' tailfin are fine. I've still got some phantom pain at the end of the day, but right now I'm good. If I get any I'll let you know, and we can stop by a bonfire, or the mead hall if we have to."

"Sorry, I really don't understand why I've been so unfocused and jumpy lately," Astrid sighed. "I have noticed that you're all concerned, and thankfully it hasn't affected my work yet. I just can't figure out what's wrong, and until I have some idea I really don't want to try and talk about it."

Hiccup offered her a kind smile. "I won't force you to try to talk. I just want you to know that we're all here for you, and when you're ready, if you want to talk to me, you can tell me anything at all. Nothing could ever, make me think of you as anything less than amazing."

"Thank you, Hiccup," Astrid whispered.

While their humans' rode quietly, mentally preparing themselves for the task at hand, Stormfly and Toothless both focused on the smells and sounds around them, while having their own conversation that human ears could not hear…

'My brother's mate is grieving,' Toothless bluntly informed his dragon sister. 'Don't feel bad about not sensing it clearly. You know, now that you're a mother to a clutch, your senses will be focused on them. It's not a bad thing.'

'WHAT! Stormfly shrieked so high above a human's hearing abilities that Toothless cringed. 'Now, you sound like my mate! The next thing you tell me is that she had a hatchling that died. She's NOT properly mated yet!' Stormfly raged, thankful that her human sister and her (almost) mate, couldn't tell.

'I didn't say they were properly mated or that our human sister carried a hatchling!' Toothless growled so softly the riders could not hear. 'However, if your mate says our human sister is grieving, he is right. His guess about the cause is wrong, but she is definitely grieving.'

Stormfly felt her heart speed up at her dragon brother's tone. When he used his low voice, it meant his anger had sparked. No dragon, sister or not, wanted to make a Night Fury angry. 'Forgive me. I've been so worried about her that my emotions have overrun my reason and my senses.'

Toothless winked at her to let her know he accepted her apology. 'As I said, you're a new mother, it happens to all. I think we should talk to our older dragon sister. She, and her younger human brother are far more perceptive than any others I can think of about these things.'

Stormfly smiled. 'True. For a Gronkle, our sister is surprisingly perceptive when it comes to the emotions of the humans as a whole.'

'Agreed, now we must work,' Toothless answered, ending the conversation. Helping his boy's mate would happen later. Right now they had to focus on saving foolish humans from themselves, again!