Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD

A/N: Hola, amigos! And welcome to the third instalment in what I've decided to call 'The Heart Bind Saga'.

The cover image is courtesy of BestMovieWalls. Check out their website for more - www dot bestmoviewalls dot com.

The structure of this instalment will be…piecemeal, let's say. Rather than an ongoing storyline, the chapters will be a grouped into a series of unrelated arcs. The chapters in the arcs will be related and in chronological order, but the arcs themselves are unrelated and may have time gaps between them.

Arc One

Chapter One

Hiccup and Toothless were up early as usual in the morning, racing up into the sky in the predawn light. They performed a few tricks just for the fun of it, and an appreciative audience of other early rising dragons. Dragons natural instincts compelled them to regularly and routinely patrol their territory, and in any large pack the members would take it in turns to check for threats and trespassers. The Berk Pack territory included Berk itself, the sea stacks, Dragon Island and even Outcast Island.

The most pressing issue was still the matter of where everyone could nest. Almost all of the original Berk dragons were nesting in the stables beneath the village, which only left the mountainside. They could carve out more caves, but with the dragons being all different sizes, there wouldn't be enough room for all of the dragons from the army. By Hiccup's calculations, if they tried to carve out nests in the mountainside for all of the new dragons, they'd end up with a collapsed mountain.

Dragons didn't build nests, like a bird would; they simply claimed a piece of the entire territory, marked it with scent and made it their own. Caves were convenient because there was a usually clear divide between them, but now hundreds of dragons were trying to claim ground that all blended into one, and had a lot of trees in the way. Toothless and Hiccup had to break up at least five arguments and stop even more dragons from inadvertently burning down the whole island trying to make room for their nests, before breakfast.

"Can't some of them just go and live on another island?" Stoick questioned over breakfast, when Hiccup mentioned the dilemma they were in and how it would take a while to get everything sorted out.

"It's not that simple, dad".

"Why not?" demanded the chief.

"The whole point of being an alpha is to keep our pack together, a cohesive whole. Okay, mostly cohesive…the closest places still within the territory are the sea stacks and Dragon Island. I'm gonna relocate some of them to the sea stacks, Toothless and I can patrol there, but Dragon Island and Outcast Island are both too far for us to fly back and forth so regularly" Hiccup explained.

"All the dragons can fly; and surely they can take care of themselves? You can talk to them! Just tell 'em to go live on Dragon Island and only bother you if it's an emergency".

Hiccup opened his mouth to protest that if they expanded the territory that much it would be too hard to patrol...but then Toothless, still gulping down cod as if he'd been starved, declared *That's a good idea, let's do that*. He didn't know why Hiccup was making such a big deal of it. Then again, he sometimes got the feeling that humans made a big deal out of everything.

*How do you think we're gonna lead a pack that's in two different places at once?* Hiccup demanded. Toothless pulled his head out of the bucket of fish again – he was nearly finished anyway – and stared pointedly at Hiccup, narrowing one eye. He was copying an expression that he'd often seen on his humans face, whenever his even-crazier pack-mates said or did something ridiculous. Hiccup made the same face, pursing his lips a bit, and said *Don't look at me like that*.

Oblivious to the mental conversation, Stoick frowned in bewilderment as he looked between the pair. "Hiccup? Hiccup, what's the matter with you?" he demanded, scowling when his son didn't reply, or even look at him. It was as if he and Toothless were having a staring contest.

*You're the one who usually thinks of clever ways to fix problems. Those islands are bigger, they have more caves, and there will be more room there. We should send some of our subjects there*.

"Are you doing that…thought-speak thing?" Stoick asked, "Hiccup, say something!"

*Away from the Nest? We can't do that, Toothless. How are we supposed to keep everyone united and safe if some of them are miles away?* Hiccup questioned, gesturing and frowning. Stoick could hear nothing, and he was feeling more disturbed by the minute.

Toothless rolled his eyes in annoyance and retorted *There's more room on the other island, and it's still in our territory! If we can have more than one Alpha, why can't we have more than one Nest?*

*So, what, I stay here to lead the dragons on Berk and you go to Dragon Island with-*

*No!* Toothless bared his teeth, head-fins flicking back in irritation, *Of course I'm not going to leave you! Hiccup, why are you being so stubborn?!*

*I'm trying to do my job!* Hiccup snapped, scowling so much he was all but snarling himself. He'd stood up and strode over to where Toothless was eating, the last of the fish now forgotten as the two of them glared at each other. In the back of his mind, Hiccup realised that he was getting too agitated, for no real reason, but before the rest of his consciousness could catch up –

"Stop it!" Stoick shouted, thumping his tankard on the table. They both jumped at least half a foot and whirled to face him with identical shocked expressions. Stoick quickly raised his hands in a placating gesture, apologising, but all the fight drained out of Hiccup, his shoulders slumping. It had happened again. He'd sensed Toothless' irritation, not registered it as different to his own feelings, and let it overcome him. Toothless whined and crept close to nuzzle him in apology; he had been caught up in the loop too.

The door opened, and their mother crept inside, her eyes wide and uncertain. "Stoick?" she asked, looking from him to her sons, keeping her voice low. She'd been around enough arguing dragons to know instinctively not to make loud noises or sudden movements. "I heard you shout, did something happen…?"

"No...sorry, Val" Stoick sighed, gesturing to Hiccup and Toothless, who were comforting one another. "They were glaring at each other, and then they both started… snarling… so I…" he cleared his throat, "Well, no harm done".

Concerned, Valka looked over and asked gently, "Are you two okay?"

Hiccup nodded, and explained what they'd been arguing about. "I know we need more room; I just don't see how we can lead the pack if most of them are so far away" he said helplessly, sliding into a chair and pressing his forehead against his palms. His mother sighed sympathetically, and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her, and she smiled warmly at him. He returned it hesitantly, and Toothless purred softly, nudging closer in hopes of getting petted.

Valka happily obliged, scratching Toothless in just the right places as she spoke to her human son. "Our pack-mates don't all have to live on Berk for you to lead them. If there's a problem, they can come find you. That's how it worked in my old Nest…after all, you've seen the King. He is far too large to move through all those tunnels keeping an eye on everything, isn't he?"

"Aye, son, your mother's right" Stoick nodded, "Let the dragons take care of themselves. You're their chief, or alpha or whatever - not their mother". Perhaps he was not one to talk, given that he had his hands in everything when it came to running the village; then again, he liked to be busy. A thought occurred to him, and he remarked, "Even if you did have to keep going back and forth between Berk and the other islands, I'd have thought you two would love doing so much flying. Thor knows Toothless has the stamina for it".

That was a good point, and his mother made a good point also. Hiccup felt extremely foolish – it seemed obvious now. "I. Am. Stu-Pid" he announced, accentuating each syllable with a thump of his head on the wooden table. I'm supposed to be the smart one he thought, Now I'm missing the obvious. It's official…I've spent too much time around the twins.

"No, you're just thinking too much. You're making the problem worse, see? You just need to use this a little less" Stoick decided, gesturing vaguely at Hiccup's head.

Hiccup gave him a disbelieving look. "You're telling me to not try to figure out how to solve everything?"

"I think what your father means is that you might've been…overthinking things" Valka explained helpfully, "You just need to have a breather".

I suppose it couldn't hurt to clear my head… "Yeah…you're probably right. C'mon, Toothless, let's go to the cove for a bit" he suggested, picking up his plate. Valka took it from him, saying she'd clear up, they should go enjoy themselves. However, the two of them were barely out of the house when a reddish Deadly Nadder landed on the grass nearby.

She ducked her large head in a bow, and then raised it, tipping her head to the side to look at them more clearly. *What's wrong?* Toothless asked her, trying not to sound impatient.

*I need your help, Alphas* she revealed with a distressed croak of concern, *That bully Ferocious kicked me out of my nest!* Agitated, she flicked her wings and scraped at the ground with her fearsome claws.

"Hiccup! Hiccup!" A large chested woman put her lungs to good use, yelling his name as she trudged up the hill towards him, clutching something in her hands. Hiccup left Toothless to sort out the drakaina who'd come to them for help, and hurried to meet his fellow villager. "Uh, good morning, Mrs Bjornson…"

"Never mind that" she shook her head, "You need to tell Ratmuncher here to behave himself!" She thrust towards his face a squirming Terrible Terror; though to judge by the excitable squawking, the little guy seemed to think trying to escape Greta's grasp was a terrific game. "I'm at my wits end, Hiccup! I told Bushy she could have a pet Terror, but I didn't think he'd be so troublesome!"

Hiccup held his hands out; Greta was more than happy to dump the wriggling miniature dragon into his palms. Ratmuncher's tongue flicked over his fingers and he tried to scamper up Hiccup's arm. Hiccup pinched the back of his neck, and the Terror blinked those huge eyes at him, confused. *Alpha angry?*

*I'm not angry – but Greta isn't happy. She says you're misbehaving and being troublesome* Hiccup told him, still pinching his fingers on the back of Ratmuncher's neck. It was a dominant gesture amongst dragons, to pin the neck with a paw or jaws. The Terror stayed very still, but he still made an indignant sounding croak as he protested, *Not trouble! Funny! Bushy laugh!*

"He says he's being funny, and making Bushy laugh" Hiccup explained, before asking, "Is she laughing?"

"I suppose, but she's only five. I don't know, maybe she isn't old enough to have a dragon yet…maybe I should get her to let Ratmuncher go..."

*No! Want Bushy! Bushy friend!* the Terror protested with cross screeches, squirming -he wanted to fly off and find his human friend and hide behind her hair.

*Stop that* Hiccup said sternly, pinching a bit harder. Ratmuncher obediently froze and hunkered down on his arm, whimpering.

*Sorry, Alpha-Hiccup!*

Hiccup relaxed his grip in acknowledgement and looked up at Greta. "He doesn't want to leave Bushy; and I somehow doubt that she'd want to give him up either. The dragons aren't just pets; they're friends".

Greta gave a long suffering sigh and demanded, "Well, what am I going to do? He doesn't listen to me!"

"Does he listen to Bushy?" asked Hiccup, "He hasn't hurt her, has he? Even by accident?"

"Well, of course there've been a few incidents – but no, he's usually very gentle with her. I'd never have let her keep him if he wasn't. I just told you, it's me he ignores – and why are you petting him like that?"

Hiccup blinked, realising that he'd started scratching Ratmuncher out of pure habit; and to go by the loud purring, now he was actually paying attention, the Terror was thoroughly enjoying it. He gave Greta an apologetic look, and schooled his features into something more stern as he looked down at the dragon on his arm. *Ratmuncher, you need to listen to Bushy and to her mother. You'll have to find a way to entertain your human that doesn't involve driving Greta crazy* he insisted.

He wasn't sure if Ratmuncher was listening, but then the little drake purred and blinked slowly. *Okay, Alpha-Hiccup* he said obediently, nuzzling against Hiccup's arm. "Good news, he's agreed to listen to you" he told Greta, giving the now much more docile Terror back to her, "Although…maybe you should have a word with Bushy as well, if she's laughing when Ratmuncher is misbehaving".

Greta frowned slightly, but then she realised what he was getting at. "Oh, that sneaky little…" she shook her head in good natured exasperation and wandered off, but remembered to turn and call, "Thanks, Hiccup!" before she left.

"You're welcome!" he called after her, before turning back to the two dragons behind him. "Sorry about that".

*It's okay, Alpha-Hiccup* the Spike-tail said patiently, *Shall I show you my nest, so you can help me reclaim it?*

*Yes, let's do that...sorry, I didn't get your name?*

*My name's Spirika, Alpha-Hiccup*.

*You know, you don't have to call me that* Hiccup told her, but she just tilted her head at him, confused. Why wouldn't she call him by his title?

Hiccup didn't know how he'd be able to memorise all of his new subjects names. He'd already memorised the names of many dragons, but recalling hundreds of them? It was a pretty tall order...he still wanted to try, though; with the respect they were showing him, it seemed the least he could do.

*After we've helped Spirika, I think we should fly to the other islands in our territory. There are already dragons nesting on Dragon Island, and probably on that island with all the angry Vikings as well. Not all of the dragons we freed from the Red Death came to live on Berk. Selena could only persuade the dragons on Berk to follow her and the other Night Furies…there might be dragons in our territory who don't consider themselves part of our pack* Toothless explained.

"Hiccup? Are you okay?" a familiar voice interrupted them.

"Huh? Oh, well, good morning, milady" he smiled happily, briefly patting Toothless and walking over to where Astrid was standing near Stormfly. *Good morning, Alphas* the Nadder chirped, about to bow when Hiccup shook his head at her.

"Morning, babe" Astrid smiled, striding forwards tugging him closer for a kiss. "You okay? You looked worried" she remarked in concern when she pulled away.

"Nah, I'm fine. It just turns out there might be more dragons in our pack than I thought…well, dragons in our territory. Whether they join our pack or not remains to be seen". Hiccup explained what Toothless had told him, and what they were going to do about the…overcrowding problem.

"Right, so, do you want me to give Eret his first lesson?"

Hiccup had completely forgotten that he'd agreed to give the former trapper flying lessons that day. "Could you? I'd really appreciate it" he said gratefully, "You can give Sky Fire a beginners saddle, if there isn't one there just get Gobber to build one – try to stop him from adding spikes or"-

"I know. Hiccup, I've taught people to fly before" Astrid reminded him, before asking, "D'you have any idea where Sky Fire is? I know Eret's at my place, hiding from Ruffnut".

"Uh, I think he made a nest on the northeastern side of the island. When we're done with Spirika we could go and find him for y"-

*Hiccup!* Toothless croaked urgently and Hiccup spun around, following Toothless' gaze towards the northwest, where a plume of smoke could clearly be seen spiralling up into the air.

*That's where my nest is!* Spirika squawked indignantly, leaping into the air. Hiccup bit back a groan, briefly pecked Astrid on the lips in apology, and vaulted into the saddle. Toothless ran forwards a few paces and launched himself upwards with powerful wingbeats. Behind them, they heard Stormfly taking off, but she didn't follow them – Astrid was probably on her way to get some emergency water.

They swiftly reached the disturbance; a Monstrous Nightmare and a Snifflehunch had apparently been squabbling and the fire-scale had set himself alight, brushing against some tinder-dry trees. Yet another reason they needed to get the overcrowding under control as fast as possible; with all the dragons on Berk now, and with how many of them were more aggressive than not, there was more chance of a fire getting out of control and razing half the island to ashes.

Fortunately, some of the originals had been flying nearby, and rushed to the rescue. They drove the bickering dragons apart, beating their wings hard to try and blow the fire out, just like Hiccup had shown them not long after he first came back from Myrkr. *Don't just sit there, you two! We have to stop the fire!* they screamed impatiently and agitatedly at the bewildered Snifflehunch and stubborn Nightmare.

Toothless' tell-tale shriek sent them scattering; a well aimed plasma blast turned the conflagrating trees to ashes in moments. Only a few flames were left behind, which the other dragons quickly stamped or crushed or blew out. Toothless bounded to a landing in the middle of the patch of devastation, glaring warningly at the dark purple and orange Nightmare. Unlike the others, he hadn't lowered his head submissively as soon as Toothless and Hiccup landed.

Then again, neither had Spirika. *You!* she screeched at the Nightmare, *You're burning my nest!*

*It's my nest now!*

*Quiet!* Toothless roared a warning. Hiccup dismounted and looked around. Then he slowly approached the cowering Snifflehunch, who was hunched down in the cinders, whimpering.

*Sorry, sorry, sorry!* he cried, all but whining in fear, *Sorry, Alpha-Hiccup, sorry for fighting!*

"Whoa, hey" – Hiccup held his empty hands up in a placating, non-threatening gesture, but the poor dragon still flinched away as if he expected to be struck. Behind him, the fire-scale snorted dismissively and retorted *You should've just left me alone, stupid!*

Toothless growled stop-that, snapping his jaws. *Leave him alone* he ordered sternly. The Nightmare looked reluctant. Toothless kept growling and glaring at him through narrowed eyes and pupils. *He was trespassing!* the bigger dragon protested, *He wouldn't leave me alone!*

*This isn't even your nesting place - you stole it from Spirika!*

Hiccup looked between the three agitated dragons, feeling a bit overwhelmed. He turned to the terrified Snifflehunch first, and hummed a bit, trying to mimic a purr or a reassuring croon. *I'm not going to hurt you* he promised, *I'm not angry, there's no harm done…* At least, it could have been worse he thought, glancing around at the newly formed burnt clearing. The trees would grow back eventually, right? *What's your name?*

*Crunch…*The Snifflehunch didn't look entirely convinced. *Our human master-that-was, was always angry…but not you?* he asked uncertainly, shuddering. He must have been talking about Drago, and Hiccup felt disturbed at the thought of any of the dragons fearing him the way they'd feared that madman.

*No, of course not...* He decided to play the best card he had; he closed his eyes and held his hand out, silently saying trust you-befriend me. The originals nearby purred encouragingly and stretched their necks forward, indicating what Crunch should do.

The roaring man from before was nothing like this…the poor Snifflehunch didn't understand this peculiar human who was an Alpha but didn't act like it, who didn't punish even though they'd been told *No fighting, no burning*. He thought maybe he could trust Hiccup, though.

He pressed the tip of his snout against Hiccup's bare hand and dared to lick it a little, smelling and tasting the charcoal/metal/old-prey-skin/Swift-wing scent of him. Hiccup scratched his scales a bit, and said *There you go…see? I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm not him* he insisted.

The Snifflehunch just began to relax when the Nightmare squawked indignantly, hissing as he twisted to glare past Toothless at Hiccup and Crunch. *You're not punishing him! You're not punishing me. You're not punishing us!* he realised, eyes wide. Toothless snarled and tensed- *Just you wait!* - but before he could leap, Ferocious burst into flame again.

The originals shrieked at him - *You're crazy!* - Toothless roared *SUBMIT!* - and Ferocious spluttered as water poured down out of nowhere, dousing his fire. Eight pairs of eyes looked up to see Stormfly hovering above them, a water-holder dangling from her claws. It was one of Hiccup's simplest but most useful inventions – a watertight leather sling on a swinging bar, with which a dragon could scoop up water and then, with a good strong kick of the hind legs, flip it upside down to let the water pour out.

Distantly, Hiccup heard Astrid shouting down to him, asking if he was okay. He gave her a thumbs up, and when he squinted he saw her return it. Then Ferocious got over his shock and snarled angrily, spreading his wings to fly up and attack the Spike-tail who had just dropped cold water on him. "No!" Hiccup shouted, and Toothless lunged at him, pinning his muzzle to the ground with one paw and biting his neck.

Hiccup strode up to him and crouched down to meet his eyes. *That Spike-tail is a close friend of mine, and her human is my desired* he told Ferocious, *I won't punish you for the fire and the bickering, but if you attack the humans I love…I'll have no choice but to exile you*.

Ferocious stared at this human who was angry and stern, and felt the strong teeth of the Swift-wing pressing against his scales, and could smell the originals nearby ready to defend their Alphas. He sighed, realising he was outmatched, and apologised. *I am sorry, Alphas*. Toothless let him stand up, and firmly told him to give the nesting place back to Spirika. There would be room for more nests soon, he just had to be patient. Ferocious reluctantly agreed, and flew off to find somewhere to sulk.

Hiccup thanked the three originals for their help, reaching up to pet scaled noses; they nuzzled and licked him, renewing the scents of obeisance on his skin and clothes. Chuckling, he dismissed them and they ushered Crunch along with them. *Come with us! We will show you good fishing places!*

Then he mounted up, and Toothless leapt into the air. They flew up to glide alongside Stormfly and Astrid. "Are you two okay?" his fiancé asked, "What did that Nightmare do to get Toothless riled up?"

"It's fine now" Hiccup waved her off; Astrid eyed him suspiciously, but she let it slide for the time being.

Stormfly and Astrid flew off to put the water-holder away. *That Fire-scale is going to be trouble* Toothless grumbled, *I can tell*.

*Hopefully he'll go to one of the other islands once we've made sure they're safe* Hiccup pointed out, affectionately rubbing Toothless' head. *I'm more worried about Crunch…I don't like to think that some of the dragons are afraid of me*.

Toothless snorted dismissively and purred amusement. *Why would dragons be afraid of you?*

*Crunch was. He thought I'd be angry with him like Drago used to be*.

*You're not Drago* Toothless said firmly, his ear fins folding back and eyes narrowing in distaste. Hiccup stroked his head again and said *I know, but think of it from their point of view. It's as if they've just gone from having one Alpha dragon and human be in charge, to a different Alpha dragon and human be in charge. They might feel like nothing's really changed*.

*But you're not Drago!* Toothless protested, *and I'm not Usurper!*

Hiccup was not making sense. Toothless knew there were like-things – Hiccup said they were called 'similes' because humans gave things silly names – that weren't the same thing but were like each other. Sand and ash were like-things, they were both crumbly and made you sneeze. Seawater and tears were like-things, they both tasted of salt.

Hiccup and Drago were not like-things, and neither were he and Usurper! Toothless refused to even entertain the notion that they might have anything in common. *Let's go to Dragon Island!* he declared, flapping his wings to fly faster, and they surged forwards. Hiccup pulled back on the saddle to slow him.

*Hold on, bud* he said, as Toothless went into a hover, *Let's get some of our pack-mates to come with us; they can help us convince any wild dragons out there that we really are Alphas - y'know, since they didn't see us defeat Usurper* he reasoned. Toothless was sure that the scent-marks all over Hiccup and himself would be enough, but he supposed that what Hiccup said made sense…more or less.

*Okay…should I send out my will?*

*Nah; the willpower thing is more for getting the attention of the whole pack. We'll just confuse them if we tell some of them to come and some to stay. Let's just ask them directly*.

So they flew all over the island, telling their subjects about the much larger island where there would be plenty of room for nests. *Not every dragon in our territory saw Toothless and I defeat Usurper and become the Alphas* Hiccup explained, *So we need your help to convince them that we really are the Alphas of this territory*.

There were plenty of volunteers, and they actually had to persuade a few of the dragons to remain behind. Some of the newer breeds, such as the Shovelhelms, had an instinct to dig up rocks to eat, and could even smash the rocks with their reinforced hammer like skulls. Hiccup could see straightaway how they could be really helpful to the village and the Nest as a whole.

Naturally, the villagers noticed when Hiccup and Toothless started flying around with an increasing number of dragons trailing after them. His mother flew up on Cloud-Jumper and asked if she could tag along – Stoick, who didn't seem to want to let his wife out of his sight, insisted on accompanying them.

"Isn't this great?" he asked with uncharacteristic cheerfulness, "The three of us together, flying out on our dragons…it's a family outing!"

Hiccup groaned a bit. *Oh, great. What a legacy I'll have – how many Alphas have to deal with embarrassing parents?* he complained to Toothless, who chuckled. Deep down, though, he was pleased that his dad was so happy; pleased that his mother was back in his life, after so long.

They arrived at Dragon Island, and searched it from the sky. With the help of the pack-mates who had followed them out there, Hiccup and Toothless found every dragon on the island. Naturally, these dragons weren't entirely happy at having a crowd of strangers and even humans swarming onto what they considered 'their' island. There were a few minor altercations before they all gathered in one place.

Fortunately, as Hiccup had suspected, the dragons there had once been in the Red Death's flock, before the pack scattered after her defeat. Not every dragon knew that Toothless-Hiccup was responsible for that, but the ones who did remember believed the newcomers who insisted that the heart bound pair were their Alphas now, and had taken on a Sea-giant to earn that status.

The others took a bit more convincing, but when they discovered that Hiccup could think-speak, make fire out of thin air (or so it seemed) and even had hidden pretend-wings, they warmed up to him quickly enough. Soon, almost every dragon there had pledged obeisance to both Toothless and Hiccup, and since Dragon Island was twice the size of Berk, there was plenty of room even for all the new dragons.

Hiccup doubted that every problem they'd face would be so easily solved…but he had confidence that they could solve those problems, with a bit of ingenuity and common sense.

Valka was thrilled that the dragons would be able to live more comfortably and naturally, instead of being confined to Berk.

Stoick was proud of his son, stepping up to lead people who were depending on him, even if it wasn't the way the chief had always expected.

They returned to Berk with light hearts, satisfied that things, for once, for now, were going just fine.