The wrong way.

I was flying in the wrong direction. The bang to my head, it must have been that; for the past ten or so minutes, I had been flying over the sea. How, in all the worlds, did I not work this out earlier?

Still, all was not lost - I genuinely cannot remember when I last enjoyed flight this much, bar when Hiccup and I managed to evade a field of rocks after trying out the new prosthetic - but then that little... "event" nearly killed us. Despite the fact that Hiccup had already made a B-line straight for our new 'home' in the forest, I couldn't resist pulling a few (rather unsteady, I will admit) acrobatics, to make up for lost joy, even if it prolonged my arrival.

However, I couldn't escape the inevitable question; why were my fins back? The gods said they would deny me my unconditional freedom... I'm not complaining.

As I approached the gathering of our friends, the sounds of overjoyed and proud parents was already filling my ears...

'I'm just glad you're ok'
'Do you want anything to eat?'
'Tuffnut, I've told you before, Vikings do NOT mother, so shut up and eat your fish'
'I saw him crash, but...', so someone had seen me fall.
'It looked pretty bad', well, I feel fine now.

Although I'd bet a week's worth of fish that none of it would be coming from Stoick. Naaa, he wouldn't even crack a smile, I reckon. But then, a much more distressed voice rose above all the rest...

'Should have waited, but he said not to', someone said not to help me? Who?

::HICCUP!:: I shouted, the humans below only hearing a screech, but to my human it was more than that...
'TOOTHLESS!' came the reply, along with a swift blur of black motion from within the crowd, followed by a dragon barrelling towards me like his tail was on fire. The dragon in question quickly reached me, and I barely managed to barrel-roll to my right to avoid being hit.
::Careful!:: I scolded – I was going to take better care of my new fin. ::I could really use a break right now, it wasn't easy getting away::
'Yes, Sorry, but how did you get away?'
::Long story Hiccup, but I really need to take a break, and sleep for a millennia:: I replied, he chuckled, and we both swooped downwards towards the clearing where I landed with an unsteady thump.
'He's back!' came a voice from somewhere in front of us - Fishlegs's - and the chubby boy strode forward with a beaming smile on his face. 'I told you he would be – it'd take more than a small bash in the ground to finish this guy off. Night Fury's have +8 bone strength ov-'
'Give it a rest Fishy' exclaimed Tuffnut, striding over to the now human and dressing Hiccup, and I. 'They're going to want to sl- oh what the Hel, Hiccup, get over here and translate... What happened?'

Darn. I was hoping for some peace, but to be honest, what was I expecting?

'Leave the guy alone, he could TOTALLY drop your ass' hollered the female nut, smacking her brother from behind and rendering him face down in the mud.
'NO FAIR! You can't attack from behind, coward... OWOWOW GET OFF!'

Is it wrong of me to laugh at this?

I think not.

'Guys, give it a break' uttered Hiccup from the bushes, who emerged from the undergrowth seconds later. 'We're all tired, me especially – lose some weight Dad! – and I really don't want to bother right now. We'll talk about it in the morning, alright?'
'Fine, jacka-' mumbled Tuffnut, trying to rub the dried dirt from his hair, but he was silenced by another kick from his sister. 'Arrgh, watch your back, frog-face'.
::Thank you:: I said, walking some small distance away before burning myself a bed for the night. I quickly got comfortable and laid my head on my paws, listening to the odd pop of sap from a burning stick, where I tried to welcome the darkness that was sleep. But no, Stoick had to go and talk to Hiccup... I doubted some eavesdropping would hurt, besides, it was nice to listen to a prideful man apologise.

'Hiccup, I just wanted to say –'
'Dad, really, don't worry about it. I'm sure you would have done the same for me.'
' No no, not this time Hiccup. I'm sure I don't say this often enough, so this time you can't stop me. I... I just... oh Thor, how does it go?' I heard a stifled laugh from Hiccup, and I can't blame him. The helplessness in Stoick's tone of voice was enough to make a statue break up! 'I just want to say, thank you. You risked your and your dragon's lives to come and get us, not to mention the lives of the rest of you young'ens. And... and I am, not matter what anyone says, proud of you son. The way you led everyone, you're going to make a fine chief.'
'Th... Thanks Dad!' beamed Hiccup, and I can say with absolute certainty I had never seen Hiccup so happy, ever. The way his smile reached across his face, only to be buried in this father's face-hair as they embraced each other, it was magical. 'It means a lot to me, it really does.'
'And I should have said it all a long time ago. Now, off to bed. We all want to know the stories you have to tell, and you can't do it with baggy eyes. No, Hiccup, bed. Goodnight.'
'Night Dad' replied Hiccup, turning back towards me and yawning, no doubt realising how tired he actually was, 'see you in the morning'.
::I never thought he had it in him. To apologise, I mean::
'Neither did I, but within all the Viking-ness of even the strongest Viking, there is a sense of what's right, granted, it's hard to find.'
::If you ever go all philosophical on me again, I will set you on fire::
'Gods, and I'd deserve it. That felt so wrong!' we laughed together for the next minute or so, until a shout came from the other part of our camp to keep it down. What can I say? My deep 'voice' travels far.

::So, what happened? While I was unconscious, I mean::
'Hold on, you were unconscious? You hit the ground and then were up again in seconds; how did you manage that?' replied Hiccup, in thought-speech, which is of course silent to the outside world.

And so began the first retelling of my meeting with the Gods.

It didn't, surprisingly, take too long, and Hiccup was awed by my story – to be fair, I had just met his Gods.

'And you think Freya gave you your fins back?'
::I can't find any other explanation... it just seems to be the only possibility::
'Thank you Freya' said Hiccup, looking to the stars for a moment, before closing his eyes once more and sighing, long and deep.
::Seems like that flight took more out of you than you thought::, I joked, giving him a playful nudge, but the boy didn't respond. He just, sat there. ::What's wrong?::
'Yeah, I didn't think you knew... Well, I don't know how to soften it so I'll just come right out... People died last night Toothless, bu-'
::I know, I saw it happen:: I replied, curious as to Hiccup's sudden heavy heart – we both knew this would happen.
'BUT, more dragons died. Any one of them that tried to help us was shot down and gutted. I tried to tell them to stay back, to leave us alone, but I don't know any damned dragonese. I did manage to take out a few catapults and protect 'our' dragons, and eventually the others got the message, but so many died. It was worse than before – eel blood was poured onto swords and hammers, and, well, a few died from poisoning too. So many.'

I just sat there, dumbfounded. What can you say to that? What can you say when you've just been told a vast amount of your brethren have been slaughtered? Only because of the past few hours did I know.

::It's ok::
'What?'
::They'll be ok. Believe me, I know. I met your Gods, and if those dragons and Vikings died in battle, then they'll go to that hall you believe in, and be happy. The ones that were only out for blood for the sake of blood, well... I don't know about that. Thor, and that other guy can decide what happens to them. But Hiccup- no, Hiccup, open your eyes and look at me. They will do the right thing, and everyone will be looked after::
'You... You sure?'
::Positive. If those guys were good enough to give me back my fin, they will make sure each person is seen to::
'Thanks, Toothless.'
::No problem::
'And you said I was too philosophical!'

I was woken in the morning by a certain shuffling human underneath my wing, which, might I add, had been pulled by Hiccup into a rather unnatural position in order for him to cover himself and keep warm. All this meant I had a slightly stiff wing.

::OHHHHHH IT HURTS!:: I yelled, instantly rousing every other person, dragon and animal for at least a mile around.
'Whoa, Toothless, keep it down!' said Hiccup, pulling his hands to his ears from the volume of my roar, 'I was still asleep'.That cheeky little...
::Oh I'm sorry sire; please forgive me for expressing the pain you brought upon me!::
'What?'
::My wing! Using it as one of your animal furs... it's not supposed to lie like that. I would have thought you would know that by now!::
'Ah. Sorry Toothless. I woke up cold in the night and grabbed the nearest thing to a quilt and... Yeah, sorry.'
::I will personally see to your demise, evil one:: I joked, but with pain still obviously present on my face.
'What in Thor's name is wrong with you?' asked Stoick, looking slightly out-of-it from his unceremonious waking.
'My fault, Dad. Gave him wing ache.'
'Blasted dragon. I was dreaming about mead, too!' I have him a rough grumble in return.

'Morning Hiccup, Morning Toothless!' came a call from nearby.

Oh no.

'Morning Fish', replied Hiccup, and I flicked my ear, acting uninterested. Which I was; you can only ask so many questions!
'So, ready to tell us all what happened?' he asked, seemingly full to breaking point with excitement. 'Everyone's waiting for you, hurry up'. I decided to turn my head and to my surprise, he was right. Fallen tree trunks had been arranged in a poor seating plan, with a space to one side, presumably for Hiccup and I, with Vikings sat down muttering to each other and dragons filling in the spaces. Oh well, you can't fight fate, may as well get this over and done with.
::Come on:: I said, nudging Hiccup away from me so I had room to stretch, ::the sooner we're finished, the sooner we can have breakfast and decide what we're going to do::
'I'm still tired!' complained Hiccup.
::Why? We just slept for a good ten hours::
'I was thinking'
::And it will be your downfall, now don't make me carry you over there!::
'Fine, ungrateful, useless...' the rest of his monologue I ignored, padding over to my allocated space and settling in for the long one. Hiccup walked over to our river and splashed his face with the freezing water before returning to my side, looking marginally more awake. 'Alright, everyone, quiet please, hey, we're... oh the hell with it' snapped Hiccup, closing his eyes for a second and looking rather tranquil, but then releasing a large but weak fireball into the air, which exploded some five meters over everyone's heads which immediately got their attention. 'Thank you. Now, I only want to go over this once, so listen up.

'As you know, when we arrived to... help, the adults,' he started, trying to not make his Dad sound as helpless as he actually was. That would never go down well, 'we were ambushed. I guess they guessed we would be coming for them. Anyway, once the first door had been blown apart by Fishlegs and Horrorcow, they came charging before we had broken all the gates.'
::That's when I tried to follow you and got snared in a bola, again::
'Yes, that's when Toothless got shot down, again. I tried to aim a blast at the ropes, and it worked... sort of. So he crashed and he thinks he got knocked unconscious, where as I saw him hit the ground and get straight back up again, flying away in the other direction to us'.
::Did you really have to go there?::
'Yes, yes I did' he thought-sent to me, a smug tone hidden behind his words. 'But, what happened whilst he was unconscious may shock some of you'.

And so began the second retelling, of my Meeting with the Gods.

With the gasps, endless questions and requests to repeat parts of my story, this 'interview' took much longer than the last. I noticed Fishlegs sat in the far corner, scribbling away as many things as he could, trying to absorb every last detail I could be bothered to spit back out, Hiccup translating of course.
'You actually threatened Thor?' was Stoick's reaction, trying to maintain a not-very-shocked expression on his face, but he was failing miserably.
'Yes, I said that ages ago Dad. Anyway, when Toothless came back around, he flew back to us, taking the scenic route, and well, you know the rest. So, err, thanks for listening I guess.'

Finally, now that Hiccup had finished, the Vikings got up from our low-budget seating and left to their own groups, talking about what they planned to do next. As for Hiccup and I, we had no real options but to-
'Hiccup, son, where are you going' asked Stoick, nearing us, 'we need to talk.'
'Yeah, we do. I know what we can do now dad, but I can promise you that you won't like it.'
'Try me' the large man challenged, puffing out his chest slightly. Both of us waited for Hiccup's suggestion, but it never came.
::Get on with it:: I said, trying to encourage the boy.
'It's not one of my best plans, but here goes...' Hiccup then met his father's eyes, and blurted out rather quickly, 'I think I should leave Berk. Toothless will probably come too-'
::Damn straight::
'And we can tour the surrounding islands a bit - I was thinking maybe teach them about working together with dragons?' he finished, looking between each of us in turn, hoping for a positive response. 'Well?'
'What brought this on?'
::Ditto::
'Well, I was thinking last night – that's why I had troubling sleeping – and if we leave, you can all go back to the village claiming that you've driven us off. That way, you get the village back... they really need you as Chief... and we can stop any more dragon deaths.'
'Hiccup, you have to be joking... You're too young to be going off on your own like that, besides, I won't have the Haddock name tarnished because of some idiot wanting my position. No, it won't happen.'
'Do you have any other ideas?' quipped Hiccup, looking a bit more stern than usual.
'No, but I stand by what I said. Do we have a deal that you won-'
'No Dad, we don't. The last time you wanted a 'deal', everything went wrong, infact, there was no deal in the first place. Just you trying to make the whole situation seem fair to me and saving your own conscience, when I explicitly said I was against the idea. So no deal.'
::Wow. I never thought you had the guts::
'What's that supposed to mean?'
::Oh, nothing::
'How can you be suggesting this Hiccup? With what you're suggesting, we won't be able to see each other again!'
'Dad, last night I kept myself awake thinking about everyone who died yesterday, just because Dragons are still seen as beasts or devils. I could change that,' I snorted at this. 'Sorry, we could change that, but it would involve me leaving anyway, but this way everyone gets back into the village and Tyar gets what he deserves. We both win', said Hiccup, but then more softly, he continued, 'and I'd return in a few years, to see you, once everything has calmed down.' Stoick stood there, barely moving a muscle, before he crumpled into Hiccup.
'You're right, again. I need to trust you more. If this is what you think is best, then I'll go with it' he mumbled, using the very much perfected skill of holding back and hiding tears.
'Thanks Dad. Now let's go and tell everyone else. The sooner you 'drive us off', the more believable it will be. Come on.'

Suffice to say, all the other Vikings reacted the same way Stoick first did.

'B-but Hiccup, you can't go without us!' yelled Ruffnut, rather angrily, 'we're your friends!'
'She's right, Hiccup. Please, reconsider', agreed Fishlegs.
'Look, guys, I'm sorry, but this is just the best option we have. Plus, this is something I've been wanting to do for a while now anyway.'
'Dude, we're totally not letting you go' said Snotlout, pulling a superior face, 'even if we have to tie you down'.
'Snot, we've been there and done that, and Hiccup beat your butt!' shouted Tuffnut from his side. 'People, let the man go.'
'You think this is right?' asked Hiccup, and I perked up curiously too.
'Sure. We get to go home, and you get your adventure-mission-thing, what's not to like?'
'The part where we don't get to see him for a year, dumb ass!'
'Oh give it a rest sis, just because you have a crush on him'
'DO NOT!'
'Complete drag- OW! STOP IT!'

Eventually, we managed to convince the remaining teens and adults that what Hiccup suggested was the only option open to us. But it wasn't easy. And then it was my turn to voice my opinion.
::Hiccup, are you really sure about this?::
'Oh Toothless, not you too; I thought I had made myself clear that I was going to do this?'
::But why?::
'WHY? Because I want to save some dragons' lives, that's why!'
::But it's not, is it? Come on, I know you better than this. What's the real reason?:: Hiccup then sighed heavily, and look me in the eye.
'I should have known that you would guess. I feel bad, awful, about all those dragons that died trying to help us. I kinda figured that if I saved some others, maybe even those dragons' families, then I could go some way to rectifying what happened because of me. If I hadn't... done ANY of this, hadn't got this God-damned ability, then they would still be alive and we would still be all happy in Berk, not outcasts.'
::So what can we do about all the deaths, yesterday?::
'Nothing.'
::Except...::
'Except make sure they didn't die for nothing.'
::Exactly, so how are we going to do that?::
'Hold on, you're for my plan now?'
::I was never against it. You just needed to come to terms with what happened, and how it is NOT your fault::
'... Sometimes I think you're too smart for your own good, ya' know that?'
::Thanks... I think::

'We all set, guys?' shouted Hiccup from the sky, currently in his dragon form. A chorus of 'Yeah!' and 'Let's do it!' surrounded me as I, too, took off from the ground and joined Hiccup in the sky.
::This is, without doubt, the most stupid, yet the best idea you have ever had!:: I yelled, adrenaline pumping through my system. If we could pull this off, we would be home-free, literally. If not, one or both of us could end up killed. As we flew around to the front of the village, several calls of 'Night Fury, GET DOWN' came from the confused Vikings below, and I revelled in the feeling of being feared once again.
'If this doesn't work, it's been nice knowing you, Toothless' called Hiccup, firing a blast into the village, but being careful not to hit anyone, or any building, but still be a threat. Someone in the village obviously had more than the average Viking IQ, because I could see a few rough contraptions that looked like Hiccup's older mangler being wheeled out, and I quickly disposed of them with my own bolt. Only one thing was going to shoot us out the sky that day... although Stoick was running a little late. 'He should be here by now!'
::They'll be hiding behind the trees, waiting for the right momen-::
'Finally!' Hiccup screeched as his father came into view, yelling insults and curses at us along with the other members of the tribe. In the distance, I could see Fishlegs wheel out our own Mangler – Mark II – this one designed to fire spears instead of rope. And boy, was Fishy about to get lucky. I fired another blast near a crowd of Vikings that had assembled on the beach, throwing a few back some three yards, but not seriously hurting anyone.

Behind me, Hiccup executed a perfect backwards loop, the signal we had agreed on, and within seconds Fishlegs fired the Mangler, sending a (blunted) spear hurtling towards us. With lightning-fast reflexes, Hiccup caught the lance between his left elbow and body, making it look like he had been stabbed, but then he began falling, fast. He let out a screech of pain and landed head first in the shallow waters where Berk became ocean. Just as planned, I dove straight down after him, pulling him from the salt water and landing rather ungracefully on a nearby hill, but only then did I notice.

Hiccup's side was covered with blood.

I quickly pulled the spear free from the fresh wound that was still seeping blood, and Hiccup screamed in response. Pushing the gash closed, I whispered, 'Hiccup, this is deep - you missed the catch.' I quickly thanked the Gods once more – he was still conscious enough to hear me and think straight. Almost immediately he began changing back into his human form. I quickly pulled some clothes out of the make-shift vine saddle bag and lay them next to him, then turning my attention to the Vikings that were charging towards us – Stoick, Gobber and the Teens included... they didn't know Hiccup was actually hurt! I fired a blast in front of the crowd, halting some but missing the majority. Returning my attention to Hiccup, I was stunned once more; his side was in almost perfect condition, except for some bruising! It was like Night Fury-Hiccup and Human-Hiccup shared two completely different bodies!
::Get on!:: I shouted, but Hiccup just stood there, peering down at his chest. Bloody, blotchy stains expanded from the bruising, and a gash started appearing under his armpit. ::Lie Down!:: I ordered, and he did... sort of. He fell over from the shock, and I only just caught him with my head. As he clutched his side, I glanced back towards the approaching Vikings – they were mere seconds away!

In an act of desperation, I bit down, hard on my own fore-paw drawing a light flow of my own blood. Holding my leg over Hiccup's wound, the red drops fell in and his gasping increased. I fired a few more blasts into the oncoming mob, but it only bought me ten more seconds, tops, and he was still bleeding... the blood didn't work! Roaring out to the heavens, I begged for help... Hiccup could not die here! After all we had done, were going to do, he had to live.

I lowered my head to my dying friend, my snout touching his blood-soaked chest, as he breathed his final breaths. The Vikings were meters away now... and they were going to wish they weren't. Narrowing my eyes, I let loose all my anger, fury and rage in one unholy roar, stopping Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Gobber in their tracks – finally, they noticed something was wrong. Licking my nose clean from Hiccup's blood, I charged at the leading Viking, Tyar, biting down on his left arm. He screamed loudly, initially bashing my head with his free limbs, but instead opting for that damned pressure point all dragons have below our chins... I released the brute to escape his trap, and readied more gas in my throat. However, as I released it, a blur dove into my side, sending my blast off target, harmlessly into the sea next to us. Swinging around to stare at my new opponent, I gaped...

It was Hiccup.

'Come On!' he yelled, taking flight away from the villagers, and I slowly joined him, still astounded by his miracle recovery... my blood didn't work, I doubted the Gods had intervened, yet there he was, right before me. 'I'll explain as soon as we're clear'
::I'm holding you to that!:: I replied, and sped away from the only place I ever had to really call a proper home.

Half an hour's worth of silent flying later, a deserted island finally came into view, and we both decided to land for a rest. I was down first, impacting on some dried leaves which I quickly turned into a nice ash bed, excusing the minor fire I put out when I laid down. Hiccup sat next to me, and I was overjoyed by his company.
'They spoke to me, like they did to you' he said, looking rather deflated.
::And... what did they do?::
'They didn't tell you everything about Fenrir's legend. When I took your blood, it gave me the ability to change, but you took my blood, didn't you?'
::No... Unless you count me cleaning my muzzle from – yes, I did::
'Then by doing this, you completed the last few conditions to this myth, Toothless. You've bound our life forces together. While you live, so do I. Why I live, so do you.' It took me a few seconds to grasp what Hiccup was saying... we were, essentially, two halves of a whole now. You can't kill one of us without killing the other.
::This is great!:: I yelled, voicing my happiness, but Hiccup interrupted me.
'It's not that good. Look...' he said, raising a paw and slamming it against a nearby rock. As soon as it made contact, a short, sharp pain made itself known in my own leg. Oh dear... 'You see now?'
::I can live with this::
'And d'you know what? So can I' he joked, turning over to catch some sleep. 'Goodnight, Toothless'.
Night Hiccup.

I spent a few last minutes going over what had happened... I had flown several hundred miles, taken part in some obscene plan to save ourselves and our friends, almost killed a lot of people, and Hiccup had been stabbed, killed, revived, was now a sort of blood brother to me and we were now free to do as we pleased. All because of our blood.

All because of The Blood of a Night Fury.

CELEBRATE! IT'S OVER!

WOW, I never thought this day would come, what, with all my - I wont cover it up - bone-idled laziness. Im sorry.

So, to end this thrilling story, a few thank you's:

- Thank you to Calico and Victoria62015 for your help with beta'ing - this would NOT be what it is without your help,
- Adam Warren, despite the fact that you're lazy and have an incredibly short attention span, and probably will never finish the film of this, thanks for your sarcastic advice,
- Thank you to EVERYONE for reading this and reviewing and favouriting and subscribing and generally being amazing,
- Additional thanks, added 6th May 2011, for Portgas D. Nikky, for her help in editing my passage of many errors.

Well, here we are, the end of our story. It has been a great adventure and you have all helped me make it possible. So it only seems appropriate to leave on this line...

May Spirit and the winds guide you, dear friends.