Hello, just wanted to let all of you know that this is my first Fan-fic and first time attempting anything like this.

I do NOT own How to Train Your Dragon! I do NOT own anything related to it either!

Just to let you know this story starts during the scene "Not so fireproof" and continues on a different path. Anyways, hope you enjoy.

Truth and Reconciliation

Break Away

"Everything we know about you guys is wrong."

Hiccup was stunned. He had just finished the first real test flight with Toothless and the emotion now pouring out of him was overwhelming. It was amazing, the wind, the cool air rushing past, and the feeling of being free; this was his destiny. They even came away unscathed, well mostly. The aforementioned dragon thought that it would be more thrilling to ride through a massive ball of fire at the finish. Now his hair would probably never smell the same. He had only experienced a few short hours of it with Toothless, but now he understood how incredible the feeling was; the sky was his new home. Nothing could beat the exhilaration or the vitalization that came to him while screeching across the sky.

"Why had the gods not given humans wings?" Hiccup was reminiscing profoundly on the day's events.

There was a pause while Hiccup was looking at the heaving body of the Night Fury. Toothless had just finished his well-deserved afternoon snack, and was purring happily because of it. Seeing as all the fish had been eaten, the Terrors decided to fly away. Hiccup was amazed how little the Vikings knew about dragons. The boy couldn't help but be in shock about how much this particular Night Fury had started to mean to him.

Hiccup was doing everything with the dragon now. He would wake up early and run to the cove just so he could see the awaiting Night Fury. He figured the dragon was just excited for his morning meal, but he wouldn't let that dilute the moment's enthusiasm. The boy would spend all day with the beast, only to leave wishing the day had a few extra hours.

Hiccup stared off into the sunset knowing that he soon he would have to return to the degenerate village. He admired his friend's stature and then it dawned on him.

He sighed. "This isn't going to work anymore."

Toothless cocked his head and eyed him as if asking 'what isn't?'.

"I don't think that we can stay on the island too much longer. Toothless, if we stay, than the other Vikings could potentially find you, and they wouldn't hesitate for one second to executing you."

Toothless snorted and rolled his eyes in response. || They could try. ||

Hiccup chuckled at the thought. "Yeah, I'm not sure if the Vikings could manage to slay 'the unholy off-spring of lightning and death itself'."

Toothless held his head up high and smirked at the statement. The dragon was proud of his menacing reputation.

Hiccup gave a sly smile to the egotistical dragon. "Still though, we can't risk staying on Berk much longer. I can tell that some of the other kids are getting suspicious, especially Astrid. She has really been watching me closely. She said that she could tell that I wasn't even threatening the other dragons in the kill ring." Even while defeating all the dragons thrown at him, the other teens still had no trust or faith in him.

Hiccup looked to Toothless and saw the pity in his eyes. Toothless knew how Hiccup felt about the other Vikings, and how they have treated him over the years. The dragon was furious when Hiccup told him how cruel and hurtful every other person on the island has been to him, and how they tormented the boy his entire life. Hiccup was actually afraid of what Toothless would do to the others if he had the chance.

"I'll start working on getting things together so that we can leave. Maybe after a year or so we can come back and try to show them how dragons are just...misunderstood."

Toothless crooned to him and gave him a reassuring nod.

"Thanks bud. You always listen to me, even when I'm venting and feeling sorry for myself."

Hiccup reached over and gave his friend a seemingly everlasting hug.

Toothless laid his head over his humans back and lowered his wing to completely conceal the boy. || I wouldn't have it any other way. ||

###

###

"Lousy! Cheating! Liar!... I can't believe that Hiccup of all people is going to best me in dragon training."

Astrid was truly infuriated and shouting at the trees as she lodged her axe into them. The tree was scarred to the point that with a few more good hits, the entire hundred-footer would topple to the ground.

Astrid laid on a nearby rock and tried to figure out the reason how Hiccup had be misleading them. She knew that he was a fake. He had to be, there's no way a talking fishbone could beat her. The dragons he fought never even attempted to hurt him and he never attempted to hurt them. She couldn't understand why the dragons would act the way they did around the boy, but she knew he was up to something and she planned on finding out.

"What does he have for the dragons that I don't?"

She sat back up the stone and covered her eyes with her palms.

"I will find out his secret and will regain my status of being the best. I will return him to being the mistake of Berk that he always was."

###

###

Hiccup arrived back in the forge and was trying to think of everything he would need to be able to survive on his own with Toothless. He was rolling his pencil up and down his sloped sketching table when his dad stumbled into the room.

"Dad! Wh-what are you doing here?"

Stoick eyed his son and said "I came looking for you, you weren't home, and I wanted to make sure you have held up ok while I was gone."

Hiccup realized that it had already been three weeks since he had seen his father last. Time had flown by ever since he met Toothless. "Right, sorry about that. I've just had a lot on my mind that's all."

Stoick had a proud look on his face. "As I've heard, Gobber says you're the new celebrity in town!"

Hiccup caught on to what his father was implying. "Oh, right." He was only a celebrity to the older Vikings who haven't yet caught on to his 'cheating'.

Stoick still held his head high and exclaimed "This is wonderful! My boy is finally becoming a Viking and with you doing so well in the ring, I can finally show myself in public!".

Hiccup sat in silence as he grew irritated by his father's words. He was stumped and couldn't figure out what to say. It was running through his mind, 'Should I tell him about the Night Fury? Should I tell him I plan on leaving?... No.'

Stoick was pleased with the boy. "It would make your mother very happy to see you succeeding like this."

Hiccup thought about her for a moment. 'What would she think of him, seeing her son riding away on the back of the most reclusive dragon known?' "I hope she would be proud."

His father didn't doubt that she would. "Well, you have a big day tomorrow, so I'll let you get back to whatever is was you were doing and I will see you back at home"

Hiccup was relieved that his father was going as he needed to work out his new adventure. "Alright dad I'll see you back at home and if I don't, then goodnight!"

Stoick felt accomplished for finally speaking more than five words with his son and not arguing. "Goodnight son." He exited the room and then the forge. He paused when he remembered the helmet he wanted to give to his son. "I'll give it to him to once he shows me that he is capable."

###

###

Astrid walked into the great hall where the other kids were eating breakfast.

Snotlout noticed her first. "There you are Astrid! Aren't you pumped for dragon training this afternoon? Gobber said that today's the day that the elder chooses between you and Hiccup."

Astrid smirked at the boys' name and looked around the room. "Where is the village screw-up anyway?"

Fishlegs piped up and clued in Astrid. "We saw him about an hour ago just as the sun was cresting. He said he wanted to practice a little bit before today's training."

The twins had the same idea that Astrid had. "Why is he always training alone, and in the forest?"

Snotlout rubbed his beardless chin as he was thinking. "We should go find him. I want to see it for myself what his 'abilities' are. Maybe he really does have someone else giving him tips and teaching him to fight."

Fishlegs was looking oddly uncomfortable. "Maybe we should just let him be and wait until he gets back to ask him."

The twins seemed to speak at the same time. "That's dumb." Tuffnut continued. "He would never tell us his secrets. We need to go and find him in the act then we'll know what he really is doing."

Astrid still was thinking it over and growing more and more frustrated with the boy at hand. "Well, he's probably in the middle of practice right now so let's hurry up and find the misfit."

The other teens quickly finished the last bite of food they had and immediately rushed out the door. The teens barreled into the woods the way Fishlegs said Hiccup went.

###

###

Hiccup was having a great morning with Toothless. He woke up extra early just so he could have as much time with his best friend as possible. He was up all night really getting excited about being able to go off alone with the dragon and push aside all of his troubles and worries.

"They would never even think twice about me being gone. It will be as if nothing ever happened and I was never even born."

Toothless purred in response of the ecstatic teen. He was eating an abnormally large breakfast that Hiccup had brought for him. Hiccup had said that he didn't want him being malnourished tonight while they would search for their new home.

Hiccup stared at Toothless and smiled. "You know what, let's go for a walk. I want to be able to remember this island, but I don't want you using too much energy in case our flight tonight is a long one." Hiccup decided that leaving after sunset would be best, so that they could use the Night Fury's dark obsidian hide to their advantage.

Toothless huffed at the mention of walking, but gave in as they flew up to the lip of the cove to start their last trek of the island.

The duo hiked up and down hills and playfully rolled across the meadows. Toothless loved the feeling of grass on his scales. It was like lying on a giant pillow.

Hiccup was glancing up at the peaks trying to take in the natural beauty of mountain. "I wonder if everywhere is as beautiful as Berk."

Toothless cooed to Hiccup and gave him the feeling that wherever they go will be fine as long as they were together.

Hiccup grinned at the dragon. "I just hope that wherever we find to live has enough fish to feed your hungry stomach. It took everything I had to bring you your breakfast."

Looking offended, Toothless pushed Hiccup aside and made his way to a large boulder that jutted out of the ground. The enormous rock provided enough shade underneath for the two to rest and gave them an incredible view filled with the field that led to a large mountain on the right and the crashing sea on the left.

Hiccup sat down against the dragon and looked up at the sun seeing that it wasn't even nearing the highest point in the sky, meaning they had plenty of time left before he had to leave. "I think that I can get used to this."

Toothless looked to his human and purred affectionately.

Hiccup gave a slight chuckle to the purring. "I really wish I knew what your side of the conversation was."

Toothless eyed the boy. ||What I would give to be able to carry on a conversation with you. ||

The two sat in silence for a little while longer; taking in the magnificent sight before them and enjoying each-others company.

Suddenly there was some shuffling on the other side of the rock above them.

Hiccup overheard Snotlout. "Where does that boy go? We have been looking forever and we haven't seen a trace of him."

Astrid sounded annoyed and huffed. "We have been looking for an hour and you have done nothing but complain."

Hiccup put his finger over his mouth trying to make sure Toothless would stay quiet and out of sight. The Dragon rolled his eyes but complied by resting his head on Hiccups lap. They saw a pair of legs hang over the edge of the rock above them, then four more sets settle next to them. Hiccup put his face in his palms. They must be taking a break as well.

Tuffnut decided to break the silence. "Why are we looking for Hiccup again? I mean I know we want to see what he's been doing, but why is it so important that we all have to come out here sweating our butts off?"

Astrid eyed him angrily. "It doesn't bother you that Hiccup's been cheating this whole time and making all of us look bad?"

Ruffnut chimed in. "I think that you're just jealous. I know I am."

Hiccup felt good for once as he overheard Ruffnut's statement.

Snotlout immediately laughed at that. "Ha ha. What is there to be jealous of? He's still just as pathetic and weak as ever! All that stuff in the ring has just been luck. It's like the dragons give him mercy by not killing him."

Tuffnut raised his hand and high-fived Snotlout.

Toothless looked up at Hiccup and saw pain in his eyes. He gave a quiet low rumble showing his distaste for the humans above. Hiccup shook off Snotlout's criticism knowing he didn't want Toothless and himself getting spotted.

Ruffnut stared at her feet. "Well I think that Astrid's just upset that the spotlight's not on her anymore."

Astrid's blood was now boiling with rage. "There is nothing I could ever want from that sorry excuse for a Hooligan! Hiccup hasn't given this village anything at all! All he ever does is screw around and put others in danger. He is just a worthless, puny, insignificant blacksmith that is a waste of our precious food and supplies!"

There was a moment of silence while everyone took in Astrid's outburst.

Hiccups heart sank as he absorbed her humiliating words. He wasn't that bad, was he? He never knew that people thought that lowly of him.

Toothless felt a drop of liquid hit his scales, but he didn't need to look to know where it came from. He knew how hard that tantrum hit Hiccup. No one deserved to be ridiculed that badly. He couldn't blame anyone for sobbing after anything like that. He raised himself up and made his way toward the edge of the overhanging stone.

Hiccup stuttered a whisper. "To-Toothless, no!"

Toothless didn't even look back. || No one will treat my Hiccup like that and go unpunished. ||

Toothless lowered himself slightly and leapt over the edge of the rock. He spread his wings wide, shoving the teens to the side, save Astrid, who was pinned to the ground. He growled fiercely into the face of the girl that spoke so vulgarly of his human.

All the other teens were forcefully driven to the side by the blow of the dragon. They were in shock and couldn't believe what was before them.

Fishlegs stuttered under his breath just loud enough for everyone to hear. "Ni-Night Fury."

Astrid was speechless. Immobilized on the ground underneath the enraged dragon, she couldn't help but look into its eyes. The thin slit of black showed all the emotion the dragon was feeling: the intent to kill was plain as day.

Her thoughts raced as she struggled to breathe. 'Why was she singled out amongst the group and why was this dragon so pissed at her?'

Snotlout frantically looked around to see if there was anything to use as a weapon. "What do we do!?"

Toothless started to build a fire inside him and was sucking in air to fuel it. Astrid squeezed her eyes shut and prepared for the blast. She was going to die now; there was nothing she could do.

"TOOTHLESS NO!"

The dragon stopped but did not remove its eyes from its prey; it just continued growling deeply. The other teens all looked in the direction from which the scream came. There stood Hiccup breathing heavily with tear stains down his cheek.

Astrid was again filled with rage. "Hiccup, what the hell are you doing, and what do you mean Toothless?!"

Toothless roared into Astrid's face at the mention of his name.

Hiccup didn't want to bother trying to explain. "Come on Toothless, let's get out of here."

Toothless gave another vicious growl, but he aimed it at all the teens then made his way over to the boy. Hiccup leapt on to the saddle and started to buckle himself in.

Astrid spoke up once more. "That's right Hiccup just run away! That's all you ever do is run from your problems." She turned away and faced the other teens. "Wait until Gobber hears this one. I always knew he would end up a traitor."

Hiccup turned towards the other teens. "No, I just gave the enemy a chance, and didn't try to kill it."

Toothless snorted and jumped into the air to head back to the cove.

The teens all stared at the black dragon as it flew off towards Raven Point.

Snotlout was completely puzzled. "What do we do now?"

Tuffnut shared the same face as Snotlout. "I guess we should go tell the village that Hiccup, i-is a traitor."

Astrid quickly replied. "No! We will make him reveal himself to the village the liar he truly is, so that everyone can see for themselves the liar that he really is. I'm sure at the sight of him befriending the enemy he will be killed on sight."

The other teens nodded in agreement and started their trek back to the village.

###

###

Hiccup's mind was racing while he was pacing on the edge of the pond. He wasn't sure what to do. He had to go back to the village. All of his supplies were still there and he couldn't leave the island without them. "But if I go back then the other kids are just going to tell all the Vikings that I betrayed them and I would wind up being banished at best." Hiccup didn't want to think about the worst. There was a pause while Hiccup weighed his options. "I'll just have to risk it; we won't be able to survive unless I have that stuff."

Toothless gave a low rumble in distaste for the plan. Being chased off the island was NOT what the Night Fury had in mind to start their journey.

Hiccup tried to reassure the dragon. "I'll just get the supplies and get out as quick as I can. I won't be long at all, no more than an hour." Hiccup Still felt unsure himself about going back to the village.

Toothless was still upset, but he calmly crooned to Hiccup. He knew they would need his gear in order for Hiccup to endure their journey.

The boy looked to his best friend. "I'll be back as soon as I can Toothless. Then we will get of this island for good."

It all started to set in on Hiccup. This was it, they really were leaving and it was really just the two of them. He felt his heart beat uneasily; He would now have no one else except for Toothless, and he was leaving behind everyone and everything he had ever known.

Hiccup gave the dragon a hug just in case it would be there last. Toothless purred to the teary eyed boy and wrapped his wings around him for comfort.

Hiccup looked out of the top of his cocoon to see the dragon's eyes staring back at him. "Thanks bud." Toothless nodded and held the boy tighter.

With that, Hiccup released his hold from Toothless and slowly made his way away from the dragon. He scaled the wall of the cove, and gave a final wave to his friend and whispered to himself. "Please let nothing go wrong." He then proceeded back to the village of Berk... for the last time.

###

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Hiccup was scrambling around his house trying to get all of his stuff into the sack. "Fishing pole, check. Extra clothes, check. Extra leather, check." He checked off several other items and got his gear all together. He stepped outside ready to walk back to the cove, but he realized he forgot his journal. He set the basket of supplies next to the house and ran back inside. "Stupid notebook!" He tucked it into the pocket in his vest and proceeded out the door again.

"Hiccup!"

Hiccup gasped as he saw Snotlout and Tuffnut running up to him.

Snotlout had an eager look on his face. "Come on. You're going to be late for your final test in the kill ring"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "I'm not going. I'm leaving."

Snotlout grabbed Hiccups arm. "Oh yes you are going. You're going to show everyone how you really fight a dragon."

Hiccup couldn't do anything. He cursed his poor strength as he couldn't budge from Snotlout's grip. All of the protests he made were ignored while he was practically dragged all the way to the kill ring. Most of the village had gathered to see whether it would be Hiccup or Astrid to kill the nightmare. He was harshly pushed into the ring where Astrid stood.

Astrid looked to Hiccup. "Now everyone will see the traitor that you are."

Hiccup's heart sank. He knew that if he tried to befriend this dragon then everyone would find out he was a she was right. He scanned the outside of the arena and spotted his father. Stoick had a proud look on his face and pointed a finger to him as if to say 'don't disappoint me'. Hiccup cringed as the gate to one of the cages began to unlock. He didn't know what to do. He hadn't planned on this and now he was stuck fighting a dragon.

The cage burst opened and out came an enraged Gronckle. Hiccup ran to the side of the arena to avoid one of the blasts from the dragon. The Gronckle had followed and fired again, but luckily it bounced off the weapons rack. He sprinted over to where Astrid was standing hoping that she could just knock out the dragon and get to go on.

Astrid scoffed at Hiccup. "Go on. Go and 'train' the dragon."

Hiccup dodged a blast from the Gronckle and looked confused at Astrid. "What? No."

Astrid gave a slight chuckle and started to walk towards the dragon."Fine. Then I'll just have to kill it!"

Hiccup glanced back at Astrid again shocked. "No!" Astrid ignored him and raised her battle axe then gathered aim. She threw the axe with all the power she could, headed straight at the face of the Gronckle.

"NO! STOP!" ...Hiccup looked up and saw that Astrid had missed the dragon. "What? Why?" Everyone was staring at him with puzzled faces and Astrid was running for her axe again. Hiccup couldn't let her just kill the dragon because of him. He rushed over to the distracted Gronckle and rapidly scratched that special spot under his chin. The dragon almost instantly passed out.

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Toothless was pacing the pond wondering why his human was not back yet. || He said it would be no more than an hour, but it's now going on two! ||

He struggled at what to do and feared the worst for his Hiccup. || What if he was captured? What if they planned on killing him for betraying his tribe? ||

Toothless looked over at the pile of ashes where the campfire they had the night before was. He couldn't stop fearing for his boy. || Why couldn't we have just both gone? We could have flown in and flown out in less than five minutes. This is all my fault; I shouldn't have let him go alone. ||

A scream echoed through the forest "No! Stop!"

Toothless would recognize that voice anywhere. That was Hiccup and it meant that he was in danger. Toothless didn't wait another second. He leapt up the cliff side trying to claw his way to the top. He scrambled on the side of the cove desperately to reach the edge. The dragon came within five feet before falling due to his missing fin.|| Curse this wretched tail! || He scanned the rim of the cove and dashed over to where he saw Hiccup sitting that one day when he dropped his pencil. He gave another try and ricocheted off the rocks to the side. He kept fighting his way up when felt the lip of the cove at the edge of his paw. He immediately unsheathed his claws and forcefully hauled his way over the edge. || I'm coming Hiccup, just a little bit longer. ||

###

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There was silence at the arena. Stoick had leapt down to where the young Vikings stood along with several others. He eyed the boy carefully. "Hiccup, why did you scream for Astrid not to throw the axe? How did you know that the dragon would pass out when scratched?"

Hiccup was lost for words. "Uhh- uh, well…"

Astrid didn't feel like waiting for Hiccup to come up with an excuse. "It's because he's a fake! He has changed sides and now works with the dragons. He even supports a Night Fury!"

Stoick had a puzzled look across his face. He knew his son would make a claim so rash, but Astrid Hofferson? She doesn't seem to care what other people think of her. "Is this true Hiccup?"

Hiccup stared at the ground in shame. He knew that everything Astrid said was true and there would be no use trying to fight against it. There were too many witnesses when Toothless attacked Astrid. He pondered for a moment. "They're not dangerous! We just misunderstand them!"

There was some whispering in the audience, but the only word that got through to Hiccup was 'traitor'. Hiccup lost his breath. On the island on Berk the last thing you wanted to be was a traitor. They were viewed as lowest status possible and were killed on sight.

Stoick gazed down at the boy. "You've thrown your lot in with them." He gestured to the Gronckle that was being forced back into it's cage. "You know what we do with traitors Hiccup! You're not to be treated any different…. Apprehend him!"

###

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Toothless finally made it to the village. Why was it empty? He couldn't find anyone at all let alone his human. He bolted for the forge, but Hiccup was not there. He circled the town square and still found no trace.

He heard some commotion coming from across the bay. It sounded like people were yelling, 'Kill him, kill him!'. This was bad. He knew that Hiccup had to be the cause for this. The kill ring came into sight and he knew Hiccup was inside. He could feel it deep in his chest.

###

###

Hiccup had a fear plastered across his face. He struggled against the pull of Spitelout. This was it; he was going to die here by the hand of his father. "Dad."

Stoick roared at the boy. "You're not a Viking! You're not my son." He raised the sword high above his head ready to strike.

Hiccup looked down to the ground. There was nothing he could do. He silently prepared for the blow of the sword.

There was a high pitched whistle. Everyone, especially Hiccup, knew what that sound entailed and feared the worst.

"NIGHT FURY! GET DOWN!"

A blast impacted on the side of the cage and Toothless dove through the hole. Smoke filled the arena. Toothless lunged at the Vikings that were threatening his boy. He used his tail to swat them away and into the walls of the ring.

As the smoke cleared everyone was in shock to see the enraged Night Fury heaving over Hiccup and growling vigorously at Stoick and Spitelout. Everyone was frozen in fear. No one had ever even seen a Night Fury and now there was one right in front of them, seemingly more pissed than ever.

Hiccup had a stern look on his face as he slowly climbed on the back of the murderous dragon. He raised his head to address the crowd. "It doesn't have to be like this! We don't have to kill them." Everyone was just staring at them in the middle of the ring. "These dragons are not the mindless beasts we once thought they were."

Toothless gave a snort to the statement.

Stoick was in a mix of shock and rage. He was breathing heavily and was not about to let a deranged boy on the back of a dragon tell him that everything that he had lived for was wrong. "I'll never forgive these devils for what they have done to my village!"

Toothless roared at the chief which sent a bone chilling fear down the crowd's spines. Hiccup knew that they needed to go. There was no hope in trying to convince the village like this. They would only resent him more if he tried to force it upon them. "There will be a day when you all realize what these dragons are really like. You will see that they are loving creatures. You will see that when we work together can accomplish far greater tasks that when apart. You will see the greatness they can achieve. You will see the truth behind my words."

Stoick got to his feet and with a loud roar, began to charge the duo. Toothless decided that he had enough of this. He gave another terrifying roar, turned, and leapt through the hole from which he came in. Hiccup quickly adjusted the fin to lead them back to his house. Toothless obeyed and soared over to the village.

Hiccup quickly grabbed the basket he had left out and remounted the Night Fury. With that, the dragon kicked off the ground and soared into the sky. Toothless gave several powerful beats of his wings propelling the two away from the place which they used to call home.

The crowd could do nothing but watch as the Night Fury became nothing but a black speck in the sky. It had happened so fast. None of the Vikings even had time to reach for their weapons. The crowd just stood in awe the most reclusive dragon ever known flew off in the distance.

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AN: Well...What did you think? Should I continue the story? If the story is favored upon, I would like to end up making this about 20- 25 chapters with each being somewhere around the length of this. I really hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. I tried to differentiate this fic from the others I have read. I never read one that had Hiccup leave before the final exam and Astrid meeting Toothless on her own.

Also, sorry for any and all the spelling/ grammatical errors. I'm not very skilled in this field and apparently neither is spell check.

BTW, I found out the hard way that re-reading Star-Struck Inu's "Only Mine" while trying to write your own story makes yours look awful. Kudos to Star-Struck Inu...You really have created a masterpiece, and thank you to all of the writers on here for inspiring me to write this fic.

Anyways, please be nice (remember it's my first fic). I really want to continue this and make it a joy for everyone to read.