686Chapter 29: Possibility
Possibility
Almost the entire pack was gathered together, and it looked like it would be a very cold night because of the clear skies and the exceptionally strong wind.
Hiccup rested against Toothless's side while waiting for what they both knew was going to happen. Toothless's parents were going to announce to the entire pack who Toothless truly was. After that they were going to propose that Toothless be truly accepted into the pack.
They were all anxious and excited.
Hiccup wondered how such a ceremony would go among dragons. On Berk it involved a very long trial period in which the person looking to be accepted would be at the very bottom of the entire tribe, doing the unwanted tasks like cleaning the latrines, scrubbing the cages, and rebuilding homes. It was no surprise that Berk had very few new immigrants, not even considering how cold it was or the severe pest problem.
Hmm, so today he becomes one of the pack. Hopefully that doesn't mean anything crazy... especially if what he said can also be done. I hope so.
It was not long before Far-Flight and Sky-Dancer got to their paws and bugled softly, getting the full pack's attention.
"Pack! My mate and I must speak!" Far-Flight cried.
Flame-In-The-Night got to his paws while Snowfall lay with Free-Flight under her wing.
"Far-Flight, Sky-Dancer, what would you speak of?"
Sky-Dancer purred deeply and stood on her hind legs as she spoke to the pack.
"You know of our past-story? How we were taken from the nest and lost our young cub?"
"Yes, I remember," Flame-In-The-Night sadly hummed.
"That cub is not lost now. Toothless is our lost cub! He is Burning-Star!" Far-Flight then roared.
Many heads lifted and stared toward Toothless after that pronouncement.
"He is your lost cub! You are sure?" Snowfall barked from where she lay.
"Yes, I know Burning-Star's scent! We wish him to be one of the pack now!" Sky-Dancer answered.
Flame-In-The-Night walked over to Toothless and regarded him, eventually giving him a purr of approval.
"Do you wish that, dark wing? Would you be one of the pack? Would you protect and provide for the pack?"
Toothless stretched out a wing over Hiccup and purred to the Alpha male.
"Yes, I will be one of the pack if..."
"If?" Flame-In-The-Night warbled in surprise.
"If Hiccup is also one of the pack."
Cries and yelps of surprise went through everyone who could hear.
"A human in the pack?" "Twisted!" "Can we trust him?" "What?"
Sky-Dancer roared to get everyone's attention.
"Of all humans he should have our trust! He can do things for us that we cannot do! Our cub also needs him so they can fly," she declared.
Toothless snorted softly.
"Dam, I am not a cub now..." he whispered to himself.
"My mate and I will speak for Hiccup, on our wings and soul-fires!" Far-Flight cried.
Flame-In-The-Night considered this, purred softly, and then addressed the whole pack.
"Do any of the pack object to the Hiccup human being one of the pack with us?"
Hiccup had a general sense that this was some ceremony or process the pack followed. The silence following the request for objections was probably a good thing. He was surprised that none of the Furies were speaking out against him.
Maybe I made enough good impressions...
He distinctly noticed a pair of purple eyes staring at him. Was Moonbeam going to speak up against him? Apparently not, because she said nothing.
Still, he felt like something about all this was unsettling. Toothless found his pack of Night Furies just as they both hoped would happen, and he was about to be accepted by the whole pack. Toothless also found his long-lost father and mother and even learned that he had a brother he had never known about. All of that was good, so what was bothering him?
Dreamcatcher stood up on her hind legs, thus drawing the pack's attention.
"I object and question the flight!"
"Speak your questions!" Flame-In-The-Night answered and then stepped back.
She stepped forward into the circle made by the assembled Furies.
"We do not know Hiccup. He feels warm to us on the outside, but it might be a trick. He might get our trust and then betray us later. I do not know how to trust humans. Someone who was close to my soul-fire... trusted a human once before."
Was that her brother? Gods, I hope not...
"There is enough danger with having him live with us now. Will he ask us to let another human into the pack? We are safest staying on our own."
She sat down and said no more, eventually returning to her mate's side.
Flame-In-The-Night turned to Hiccup and stared expectantly at him, which was an indication that he was to speak in his defense. Hiccup took a deep breath and then stood up, feeling all eyes fixed on him. What the rest of the pack was thinking was unknown.
Go time!
"I did not ask to join the pack, and I know that I'm not a dark wing. Look at me, do I look like a strong, dangerous human? I'm one human in the middle of a pack of dangerous dragons. If I did anything suspicious at all, it wouldn't be good for me. I cannot go anywhere or survive up here without Toothless, without Burning-Star. You know my story, and you should know that he is like a brother to me."
He paused in thought and to let his words sink in.
"I have no other family, no pack, left to me now. I left them all behind. I have nothing else now. I... am nothing without him and you all."
Storm-Chaser, Tail-Hunter, and Free-Flight left their parents' sides and bounded over to him.
"You are good!" "I like playing with you!" "Good human!"
He knelt down and scratched behind each of their ears.
"Thanks, little ones. How about you go back to your parents?"
They grumbled, but obeyed and dashed back to their parents.
Hiccup then stood and looked around at everyone in the pack. He thought that they looked more sympathetic now, though he might just be seeing what he wanted to see.
I wish I knew more about their customs...
Snowfall barked loudly.
"We have seen Hiccup living with us in peace and bonding with our cubs. I agree with Sky-Dancer and Far-Flight that we can trust him. Dreamcatcher's words have some lift; we do not truly know him yet, but we have let fellow dark wings join the pack before also after they show us their soul-fires. Any of us who see him do anything twisted will tell me and my mate. We would then speak as a pack about what to do about him."
"How can he hunt and provide?" someone shouted.
Hiccup turned in the general direction of the speaker.
"I can provide other things than food and hunting. I can tell stories and show you what humans are really like. I can help Burning-Star provide. At least having me around is different; I'm not boring!"
Everyone purred in apparent agreement or acceptance. There were a few who clearly were not happy, but they voiced no further objections.
"Hiccup, step forward," Flame-In-The-Night walked over to him.
He stepped forward and stood in full view of all the Furies.
"Would you be one of the pack? Would you protect and provide for the pack?"
It was an oath: that much was obvious. He did not know what the consequences would be for failure, and he did not want to know. He had no intentions of ever failing them, so it wouldn't matter. He had nothing but the pack's best interests at heart. It just so happened he understood what might be in the best interest of the pack far better than they themselves did.
"Yes, I will."
"Burning-Star, step forward!"
Toothless did so.
"Would you be one of the pack? Would you protect and provide for the pack?"
"I will!" Toothless firmly nodded.
"Welcome to the pack, Toothless-Burning-Star. Welcome to the pack, Hiccup."
Flame-In-The-Night then licked both of them in the face, apparently concluding the welcoming ceremony. There was no fanfare, cheering, or loud purring of approval. It was simply done and finished in front of the entire pack, most of which began to disperse afterwards.
Hiccup settled back down at Toothless's side as Far-Flight, Sky-Dancer, and Breath-Of-Sky gathered around them in a warm, purring pile. All the other families did likewise where they lay, a few indistinct whispering conversations echoing on the breeze.
"What all does that mean? Being part of the pack and all?" Hiccup whispered.
Sky-Dancer gently nudged him.
"Nothing twisted. It means that you are one of this pack instead of another pack."
"Are there any others?" Hiccup eagerly asked.
"No. Well, we do not know of any other packs. There might be some we do not know about," she explained.
"I understand. What else does being part of the pack mean?"
"It means we will help protect you and feed you, and you will help protect and feed us, as much as you can. There are not many pack-rules other than what we all know in our soul-fires."
"What are those pack-rules?" Toothless asked.
Far-Flight and Sky-Dancer glanced at each other and then back to them.
"Rules like no hunting other dark wings or life with soul-fires, how close kin is too close to be a good mate, having mate-pairs or not taking a mate, when to make cubs, sharing hunts so that none go without as long as they do something to help the pack, trusting the Alpha pair as leaders, those kinds of pack- and life-rules," Far-Flight explained.
"What about with the Alphas? What are they to the pack?" Toothless wondered.
There appeared to be nothing bad about how they led the pack, but he wanted to confirm that they did not have any twisted ceremonies or expectations.
"They are part of the pack also. They are leaders who can tell the pack what they would want and do as a pack, but the pack can disagree with them. Flame-In-The-Night and Snowfall are a good Alpha pair. You could challenge them now as part of the pack," Sky-Dancer warily added.
Toothless snorted.
"No. They do look like good Alphas. I do not want to be a pack-leader."
Far-Flight then flicked his tail against Toothless's tail.
"One more part of being in the pack is that you can approach a female as a future mate."
Hiccup chuckled softly.
"Not something I need to think about! That's all on you, bud!"
Toothless chuffed and considered the options for himself.
"There are not many choices. Snowflame and Windripper want to be a pair. I do not know Jumps-At-Fire. Mystery is far too young, and Moonbeam... she... is..."
He fell silent at the thought of her; there was a strange feeling, a wanting that he had never felt before, in his soul-fire. She was a confident, strong female who had seen more from life than one should have. She should not have needed to raise her sister from a cub as if she were the dam. Her scar also marked her as a fighter and survivor of much loss. There was much that he admired about her and felt warmed by.
On the other paw, she would definitely have a problem trusting Hiccup. And that was not even including that she was a different type of dragon. But he was somehow sure that she was not so different that they could not become mates. Her kind smelled very similar to his own.
"She was hurt a lot in the past and might not want to trust me or any humans?" Hiccup whispered, clearly understanding the problem also.
"True," Toothless sighed.
"You might be surprised by her if you can see her soul-fire. She is very warm to cubs. I do wonder how you could catch her," Far-Flight hummed.
Toothless blinked in confusion.
"Catch her? What?"
Far-Flight and Sky-Dancer glanced at each other and then warbled sadly with fallen ears.
"You do not know our ceremonies because we were not there to teach you. The first time that a pair becomes mates is when they fly a sky dance chase up beyond the clouds," Sky-Dancer explained.
Toothless chuckled deeply and turned to his dam after brief thought.
"Dam, is that a reason for your name?"
"Does my first cub truly want to know?" she slyly purred.
"Yeah, bud, how could you ask about that?" Hiccup groaned.
Toothless just snorted in Hiccup's face.
"If you must know," Far-Flight purred, "your dam is the fastest and best flier in the whole pack."
"Really?" Hiccup chuckled.
"Yes, females fly very fast, but she is fastest," Far-Flight grinned.
"I am fast too!" Breath-Of-Sky barked.
"Guess we know where you both get it from! It runs in the family!" Hiccup laughed and nudged Toothless's shoulder.
Everyone in the family laughed with warmth at that. Toothless remained awake long after everything settled down though, silently listening to the purring and eventual snoring of his family around him.
His thoughts kept flying back to what his sire and dam had said about the sky dance. The chasing sounded like a game or a test of some kind to see how deserving each of a possible pair was.
A cold wind swept through his soul-fire when the old problem became clear.
He could not fly without Hiccup.
Hiccup would need to fly with him on such a flight.
Could he ask Hiccup to do that for him? Did he want Hiccup to have to help with such an act?
Would Moonbeam or any other female even accept it, seeing how he was grounded on his own? That was very unlikely, given her past. A male who could not fly on his own could not protect and provide for her or any cubs.
A faint whispering within spoke to him with the painful truth even though he did not want to hear it. This custom the pack had was definitely a problem for him.
But at least he had a pack now.
Toothless shuffled in place as he stared at each of his fellow pack-mates around him. Starlight, Wings-Of-Ice, Growls-At-His-Shadow, and Hunts-In-Deep-Waters stood all around him while considering him.
It was slightly twisting inside to have all these fellow males so close around him. But he knew that he was the largest of the males, if only slightly. They looked a little thinner than they probably should be. A few wingbeats of reflection helped him realize the truth, which he growled softly at when he saw it.
I am stronger than them because I am grounded. With more walking and hunting on the ground I had to get stronger... Twisted...
"He is strong and will be good for the pack!" Starlight declared.
"I agree," Hunts-In-Deep-Waters snorted.
"Yes, he is a good fighter. I know..." Wings-Of-Ice warbled.
Growls-At-His-Shadow grumbled and lashed his tail.
"I am not convinced by him! He does not have the human-hate that he should!"
What! Why would I want that?
"No, Growls, I do not hate humans. Why should I?"
"Humans are bad and hunted us!"
"Humans can be bad, yes. I know that. But not all humans are bad. Some dragons are bad also."
"What?" Starlight barked.
"The thrall-dragons that hunted Moonbeam's family," he pointed out.
"Those were bad because of humans!" Growls-At-His-Shadow countered.
The other three males grumbled to themselves, so Toothless continued.
"I lived in a nest with a Monster-Alpha. That Alpha used the dragons in the nest for hunting humans, and it would eat dragons that brought no food for it."
"Yes, some Alphas are bad, but humans are not life like us. Monster-Alphas were fading from the ranges of the world while humans were spreading," Hunts-In-Deep-Waters observed.
Toothless grumbled.
"I disagree. Humans are life like us; we both have soul-fires. Humans are different in body only."
Growls-At-His-Shadow stepped forward with a soft growl.
"I think you are weak. Show me that you are strong!"
Growls-At-His-Shadow lunged, maw wide in a snap at his neck. He ducked the strike and hopped back in alarm at the suddenness of the strike.
"What is this!"
Twistingly, Starlight, Wings-Of-Ice, and Hunts-In-Deep-Waters sat on their haunches without interfering.
"This is bonding-fighting. Show him that you are strong," Starlight huffed.
I do not need to fight to prove myself...
Growls-At-His-Shadow jumped again, a paw held out to swipe at him, but he hopped back to avoid the strike.
"Are you so afraid of me?" Growls-At-His-Shadow huffed.
"No! I do not need to fight you."
"You do not need to fight? How about you race me in the sky to see who is faster?"
He gave Growls-At-His-Shadow an open snarl with teeth bared. That unanswerable challenge had to have been knowingly made.
"You know I cannot do that."
Growls-At-His-Shadow snorted his direction.
"Do you know what else you cannot do? Impress a female. You probably are not... big enough."
He rolled his eyes.
"I have bigger wings and a longer tail. You think that I am... not big enough? Mine is bigger than yours."
"Maybe so, but I get to use mine!" Growls-At-His-Shadow retorted.
Stay calm...
Growls-At-His-Shadow continued.
"Did you know that I hunted humans before flying here? They taste... like prey. It has been too long since I tasted that prey."
A flash of wrath flared in his soul-fire. Taunting, poking words flown against him and his maleness were nothing to him, but he would not allow even teasing threats to be made against Hiccup without retaliation.
A roar and lunge, a quick tussle, and he found himself with Growls-At-His-Shadow's neck between his teeth as he held him down.
While he did not want to kill a pack-mate and doing so would certainly break this fighting-ceremony's rules, he was not going to let such a cruel and hurting threat go unanswered.
He let go of the other male's neck and held him down with a paw, claws out against his throat.
"Tease me all you want, but if you make a threat against my human brother, I will hurt you so that you cannot... use it anymore... do you understand me?" he snarled.
Growls-At-His-Shadow blinked and drew a breath of alarm.
"Yes."
"Good!"
He hopped off his pack-mate and settled down as the other male got to his paws. The other three males calmly stared at him, having not moved throughout the entire disagreement and fight.
"Well fought!" "You are strong!" "Good for the pack."
Even Growls-At-His-Shadow looked impressed as he spoke. The male's ears went back as he shuffled on his paws.
"You do know that I would not hurt Hiccup? He is one of the pack, and killing another in the pack is not allowed."
He snorted and bared his teeth again.
"I would kill for Hiccup whether you were in the pack or not. You would kill to protect Tail-Hunter, true?"
"Yes, true. Is Hiccup like your cub?"
"No, he is as a brother to me."
Growls-At-His-Shadow looked away and appeared very solemn, all his anger and twistedness gone.
"While that is twisted to me, I would not want any dark wing to lose a brother. I know how bad that is."
Starlight stepped forward and spoke.
"Losing our sires and dams, as many of us have, was bad also, but losing one of the same life-order, a brother or sister, is worse."
That reminded him of something he and Hiccup had both heard: that most of the Furies in the pack were without their parents. They had not gotten a good explanation for why.
"Why did that happen to your sires and dams? Did they not fly with you to these skies?"
All the males looked down at their paws and gave soft warbles.
Wings-Of-Ice answered for them.
"Most of us had flown the den or nest and did not see our sire or dam again. Two groups of our sires and dams did make the flight with us, but they have died of age."
"How old were they, the ones who died of age?" he softly asked.
"Almost nine tens of winters," Starlight answered.
So about as long as humans live. I suppose that is good to know.
Then he considered the other males around him. He wanted to bond more with these pack-mates, and he knew a good way to do so.
"Can you tell me about where there is good hunting? I do not know these ranges, and you are the better hunters here."
The four other males purred at his carefully chosen words. Talking to them about how good they were as hunters would definitely help them have more warmth toward him. It was also true that they knew better than he did where to hunt.
Flame-In-The-Night strode toward them around noon, which was simply the warmest part of the day.
"Hiccup, Burning-Star, can you fly with me now?"
"Sure, what's going on?" Hiccup answered, having nothing better to do with the day since both Far-Flight and Sky-Dancer were away with Breath-Of-Sky.
"Now that you are both truly part of the pack, I want to show you a place that we kept hidden. I told you both a small lie when we first spoke," Flame-In-The-Night answered.
"What?" Toothless barked in surprise.
"Yes, I told you that there are no caves, but that was not true. There are caves that the pack uses."
"Really? What for?" Hiccup asked.
"We stay warm inside them when the weather is very cold or when bad storms fly through here. We also used the deepest parts of the caves to hide... our dead."
"Oh..." Hiccup winced.
The caves are both shelter and tombs? That's a little creepy, but practical also.
"Are there many dead?" Toothless asked in a whisper.
"No. We carried into there two pairs of our old sires and dams who passed in peace. There is also one... new cub that did not live long."
No one asked whose it had been.
"So you want us to see the caves?" Hiccup wondered.
"Yes, you should see them because you are part of the pack now. We will not go deep to where the bones are."
"Good." "Good."
They took off and flew east along the mountains until Flame-In-The-Night turned for the north and passed over the mountain range. The empty desolation further north beckoned with a chill wind that bit sharply at Hiccup's extremities despite his winter gear.
Gods, we aren't going out there, are we?
Fortunately not, as Flame-In-The-Night stayed close to the mountains and dove down into a large cave entrance. Toothless followed closely behind him into the massive cavern and wove between the large icicles and spikes of rock.
The cavern system must have been truly enormous from the size of the first chamber alone.
"This might be as big as Erebor!" Toothless warbled in amazement.
"Yeah, Moria of the North?" Hiccup proposed.
Toothless snorted at that as they glided behind the Alpha. The cavern became darker until he could not see anything ahead. At least, he could not see with his eyes.
"Uh, bud, it's too dark... I can't see anything," Hiccup shouted.
"No, it is not!"
"Huh?"
"Trust me and let me lead our flight," Toothless answered.
Hiccup was again reminded that Night Furies could see in the dark by using sound, strange though that was.
"Alright, all you, bud!"
The musty air started feeling warmer as they flew deeper. Flame-In-The-Night eventually dove down onto the ground and landed by a sound of bubbling in the pitch-darkness. Toothless also landed next to the Alpha. Toothless then held a small flame in his mouth to give them all some light and also for Hiccup's sake. They were standing next to a small stream that bubbled. The ground felt very hot under his paws.
Hiccup could barely see the walls of the chamber they were in. The rocky ground had no moss or lichens, which made sense given that there was no light at all underground.
"This is a good place where we sleep in warmth and can drink clean water. This cave, even if this is dark, reminds me some of another good world... but that is gone now; we cannot go back there," Flame-In-The-Night sighed.
Toothless let his fire die away so he could speak. His letting his flame fade made the cave completely dark.
"I like the warmth, but living under the ground is twisted. What would we eat?"
"True, we could not live under this ground a long time; there is no prey to eat. This place is only for warmth and shelter against the coldest cold," Flame-In-The-Night agreed.
Hiccup sighed in the total darkness. There was so little light that even the Furies' eyes had no glow at all. It was also a little disorienting how all their spoken voices echoed many times until they faded.
"I don't know how you Furies do it, seeing in the dark. Humans can't do that. I don't think we could live underground like this."
"We would not live here even if there were light-rocks. We only come down here in the worst of the cold," Flame-In-The-Night explained.
"Makes sense. Bud, think your pendant would work down here?" Hiccup wondered.
Toothless hummed while thinking about it. He could not be sure since they had not truly tested it, but his pendant had glowed with a little light when he was within Erebor.
"Yes, it probably would."
Flame-In-The-Night purred from next to them.
"I will not take you deeper. We should let the dead and the fire sleep in peace."
"I agree. I want to see the sky again," Toothless huffed.
"Same here," Hiccup added.
The two Furies took flight and turned back for the entrance to the cavern. As before, Hiccup trusted that Toothless could lead him well through the perfect darkness.
This is amazing. Their having sound-sight or echolocation is a neat ability.
He kept wondering about that ability since something seemed strange about it. Having sound-sight was a useful ability for hunting in the dark. But he wondered if it had any other uses also.
It is a little odd for use in the open skies though...
Hiccup and Toothless stood together at dawn up on the rocky mountain peak covered in snow. A wing extended behind Hiccup blocked most of the chill wind. His furs and Elf-cloak swayed in the breeze.
Their gazes never left the dark shapes resting among the trees or soaring on the wind. They were both content simply to watch the entire pack resting and gradually coming awake to start a new day.
It was their pack now. Not much felt different yet, but they had only just been accepted four days ago.
But Hiccup had gotten impatient at waiting, which was why they were up here.
"Where is your brother? He said he was going to join us this morning," Hiccup wondered.
"He flew off to relieve himself. He should be here soon."
"Alright then, well, I'm not waiting any longer! I need to practice..." Hiccup cracked his knuckles.
"Practice what?"
"My tickle attack!"
He launched himself and grabbed Toothless's neck to try to scratch at his chin. Toothless just stretched his head high out of reach, stood tall on his hind legs, and tauntingly stood there with Hiccup dangling above the ground and unable to do anything except hold on.
Then Toothless yawned widely.
"Come on! Not fair!" Hiccup exclaimed.
"Very fair! I am bigger!"
Toothless then started shaking his head from side to side, making Hiccup sway wildly and struggle to hold on.
"Oh come on, you wouldn't hurt a..."
Then they froze, hearing wings diving for them.
Breath-Of-Sky bugled joyfully as he dove from the sky. He touched down and jumped toward them with a swaying tail. He also looked very amused from how his ears were lifted.
"I am here! Is it a brothers fight?"
"Yes! Help me!" Hiccup shouted.
"No! Help me! I am your brother!" Toothless shouted.
Breath-Of-Sky bounded up to them and paused, ready to pounce. The fledgling looked between them, his eyes wide and ears lifted. Then he toothlessly grinned and pounced on Toothless's back, pulling him over onto his side.
The mountain echoed with joyful cries at the rising of a new sun.
Breath-Of-Sky played like he had limitless reserves of energy. The play had eventually become complete chaos with all three of them turning against each other at random. Hiccup knew and felt that he had gotten a few bruises from flailing tails, but the injuries were totally worth it.
The eager fledgling was eventually defeated by the combination of Toothless holding him down and Hiccup scratching under his chin to render him sleepy.
They were all exhausted by that point and decided to collapse in a pile. Toothless stretched his wings out over the other two, each on one side of him.
"Brother, do you play with Mystery much?" Toothless hummed.
"Yes! She is fun and the only fledgling my age! She likes pin fighting!"
Toothless grinned to himself without purring. His little brother was far too young to be feeling any wanting to claim a mate. Not right now. For them it was only playing and bonding that built trust. His tail still swayed slightly at the thought.
Their playing together means that they trust each other even now before they have wanting. They could be a pair, and it is true that there are no others their age. Breath-Of-Sky maybe gets Mystery and I...
He exhaled and stared at his false-tailfin.
Moonbeam.
His thoughts kept flying back to her. To the bad that had happened to her family. To how she protected her sister and watched over cubs for the pack. To how strong she is, how big her white wings are, how long her tail is, how purple her eyes are...
Then he snorted and settled back down, head on his paws. The cold had settled in his soul-fire.
It was not going to happen.
He did not deserve a female like her. At the very least, a mate should be able to provide and contribute equally to the pairing and to the cubs. He could not do that. He could not fly on his own to catch prey or defend against threats.
It also would not be fair to ask Hiccup to help him fly to catch her or any female either. Doing that, even if Hiccup were willing to help him, would only show that he was less than other males. He was weak and grounded, unable to fly on his own.
It was not something that mattered as long as his life-flight was only him and Hiccup or even his newfound sire, dam, and younger brother. His own needing Hiccup for flight was a part of what they were that helped them bond and gave them regular shared activity.
But now...
"You should play with Moonbeam, brother! Catch her tail! She would like that!"
"Would she? Why do you think that?"
Breath-Of-Sky huffed and flicked his tail.
"She does not have anyone who plays with her. No one her age anyway."
That is certainly true. And it would be twisted for a paired male to play... rough games with her.
"Are there any games she likes to play?" Hiccup teased.
Breath-Of-Sky looked up and then down, warbling sadly.
"Mostly cub games with the cubs. She does not play much with others."
"No? Why not?" Hiccup wondered.
"She says that play is for cubs and that we fledglings should grow up."
Toothless snorted.
Practical, but maybe a nosetip too serious.
"Even adults should play," he huffed.
"Yes, sire and dam play much with me and with each other!"
Breath-Of-Sky then yawned widely and settled down with his head on his paws. They all settled down to rest with him.
His sire and dam eventually flew up to the mountain where they were resting. The two adults dove and landed just downwind from them.
"Burning-Star, Breath-Of-Sky!" Sky-Dancer hummed as she hopped toward them on the rocks.
She bounded straight up to Toothless and nuzzled his nose. He was entirely content to let himself be nuzzled and to hear her warm purring. Doing that still sparked a great warmth in his soul-fire now four days after first learning who she was, and he knew that warmth would not change anytime soon.
"I'm here too!" Hiccup cried while holding up a paw.
"Good! We want to do a nest flight," Far-Flight said.
"What is that?" Hiccup wondered.
"The family-nest flies together for fun. We also want to see more of your together-flying, you and Burning-Star," Sky-Dancer answered.
Hiccup hopped out from under the wing, flew to his feet without any prompting, and worked to put the flying equipment and the false-tailfin back in place. He and Toothless had taken it all off before the playing.
Far-Flight and Sky-Dancer carefully inspected the false-tailfin in renewed amazement, especially after Hiccup got on his back and demonstrated how to move the tailfin.
"That is amazing that you learned together-flying," Sky-Dancer purred.
"It is bad that you are grounded on your own, but you can still fly with him," Far-Flight agreed.
"Alright, bud, ready when you are!" Hiccup shouted.
Toothless roared with joy and jumped from the ledge with a running start. He heard the swish of wings behind him, but he did not look back. Spinning while ascending higher, tilting to the side to catch more of the updraft and face into the wind, and the sun warming them as much as it could.
Then he blinked in surprise when two sets of wings flew up on each side of him.
His sire and dam had caught up to him, somehow.
They are very fast fliers!
Then he barked in alarm at a tickling on the tip of his tail. Breath-Of-Sky had just brushed his tail with his nose.
He bellowed a cry of fun challenge. No words were necessary.
Especially when Breath-Of-Sky stuck out his tongue at him. Hiccup noticed and was very amused by that.
As for himself, he just tucked his limbs and flew faster in pursuit.
Looking back over his tail once he finally tagged his brother, it was probably only because Breath-Of-Sky was already tired flying into the chase that he was able to catch him. Despite being much smaller than him, his brother was somehow just as fast.
They settled into a weary glide at each other's wingtips.
Sky-Dancer arrived and started weaving around them in the air, gently brushing his wings with the tips of hers. She flew so while laughing with clear joy.
So that is why she has that name. Not only that she enjoys... being caught in the sky.
He closed his eyes with a warm hum.
I would be very, very warmed to fly like this with my two cubs also... if I had any...
He opened his eyes again as Far-Flight arrived. His sire glided above him while looking down toward the tailfin. He looked very curious in how it worked because he glided closer and reached out with a paw to carefully nudge it with his ears lifted.
Hiccup noticed.
"Toothless, you thinking what I'm thinking?" Hiccup shouted.
"No! We are not doing that!" Toothless roared back over the wind.
"What about..."
"Not that either! Remember what happened last time?"
"Okay, we could try..."
Toothless nodded and purred after looking toward the ground.
"I like that one!"
He heard the click and took the instant of time to warn his sire, dam, and brother.
"Watch us!" he roared.
Then he tucked his wings and dove. Hiccup stood up from his back and pushed off into freefall.
Weightless.
Falling.
Floating.
Elation.
Admittedly, Hiccup looked very strange with his heavy fur-layer flapping in the wind. Hiccup still had enough control of his falling-flight to spin around a few times just as he did the same.
He needs a fur-thing to cover his head in this falling-flying.
A glance back under his tail showed the other three Furies diving after him in some combination of amazement, dismay, and confusion.
He closed his eyes, letting everything else fall away as they spun and fell from the sky together in a display of great trust. While he could glide to safety from a fall, Hiccup definitely could not without wings. Hiccup totally trusted to be caught as would always happen.
He would always be there to catch Hiccup when doing so was needed.
Then he knew it was time, and he swept his wings out to slide up under Hiccup. The weight reappeared on his back along with a faint click which flicked the tailfin out.
Down along the side of the mountain's slope and then up into the open air with a shared roar of triumph as they settled into a glide.
"Yeah, baby!" Hiccup roared.
"Baby? What baby?"
"It's a figure of speech, you useless reptile!"
Hiccup went silent for a while and then started laughing heavily, so heavily that he even fouled their flight some.
"Hiccup, what is twisting your tail?"
"It's just that I've been teasing you about you being a reptile all this time, but I'm pretty sure that reptiles don't birth their babies!"
"No? What are we then?"
Hiccup settled down and thought about it, suddenly not sure himself.
"Well, the opposite of reptiles are mammals like humans, but I don't think you Furies drink milk."
"What is... milk?" Toothless warbled in confusion.
"It's a drink that... human moms can make for their... cubs, but... it's hard to explain..."
"You can tell me."
Hiccup frowned and groaned.
"Your moms definitely don't make milk for you..."
"How do you know that?"
"I'd know. Don't ask..."
Toothless snorted.
"Thank you for nothing, you useless human..."
Then there were wings all around them.
"That was amazing!" Breath-Of-Sky bellowed as he spun in place.
"You could have been grounded!" Sky-Dancer cried in alarm.
"That was brave of you, Hiccup, Burning-Star!" Far-Flight hummed.
Toothless closed his eyes and glided with his family fully present, both on his back and in the skies around him. Everything was perfect in that moment.
Toothless woke up late in the morning and dashed away into the woods to relieve himself. He fully planned to return to resting with Hiccup and Breath-Of-Sky, except he noticed that Flame-In-The-Night was speaking with another Night Fury slightly away from the rest of the pack. Something about this new Fury looked different.
Then he froze in place, realizing what it was that was surprising. This new Fury was a female he had not met yet in the week he had been with the pack.
They said that they had one more who was flying far away... Jumps... something.
He dashed over to them.
"Alpha, who is this?" he asked in wonder.
"I am Jumps-At-Fire. Who are you?" the female stepped forward in clear surprise.
Flame-In-The-Night looked frustrated at being preempted, but he said nothing about it.
Jumps-At-Fire stared at him with very wide grey eyes with flecks of silver. While she was a little smaller than Moonbeam or his own dam, she was definitely an adult.
She was also excited about meeting him from how her tail swayed and ears were lifted high.
"I am Burning-Star. I am new to the pack."
"So you are. It has been several turns of the seasons since the last new dark wing flew to us," she answered.
"Where were you these last few days?" he wondered.
"I was ranging far from here. I do that much and fly from the pack for moon-cycles at a time."
Flame-In-The-Night stepped forward and huffed to get their attention. His eyes were very slightly narrowed.
"Jumps, you are welcome back here with the pack as always. Remember what I said..."
"Are you sure, Flame? There is no harm in it."
Flame-In-The-Night did not react except for a very faint twitch of an ear. Toothless only noticed it because he was looking right at the Alpha.
"You are wrong about that," Flame-In-The-Night calmly answered.
"That is your opinion," she answered.
"I will say no more about this," he declared and turned tail on her.
They watched as the Alpha departed.
Jumps-At-Fire then stepped over to him and purred deeply in a warm greeting.
"Alright, he is gone now. So, Burning-Star, tell me about yourself. We can talk as we walk to warm rocks."
"I would like that," he agreed.
They began walking together through the forest with the hot springs and warm rocks as their destination. Her purring was encouraging.
"What to say about myself? The first thing you should know is that I have a human who is my kin; he is a brother to me."
She barked in surprise and then shuffled closer to him, even rubbing directly against his side to sniff him. He thought that was twisted, except that it was definitely practical. He also liked the attention.
"That is what I smelled and what Flame told me about! I thought you might have caught a human and eaten it," she snorted.
He wrinkled his nose, but he did not growl at her. It did not sound like she meant what she had said. It might have been a joke or a tease.
"No! Humans are not prey."
"No, they are not. Your human is living here with the pack now, yes?"
"Yes, he is. His name is Hiccup. He is a small human, but his soul-fire is very warm to us dark wings, to all dragons actually."
She blinked and stared at him, slowly blinking her grey eyes flecked with silver.
"That sounds good of him. I should meet him soon."
She does not dislike Hiccup? That is very good!
"There is something else you should know about him. I need him to help me fly."
That definitely surprised her because she stepped back and ruffled her wings.
"What?"
He whipped around his tail, clearly lacking a tailfin without the false-tailfin on him, for her to see.
"Yes, I am grounded without him. He helps me fly with a new false-tailfin that he makes work. I do not have it on me now."
He still winced as she stared down at his broken tail. This was always going to be an issue and something that might stop him from ever impressing a female. If Moonbeam was any indication...
"That is not a problem. You are a very interesting dark wing, Burning-Star."
He purred in approval and surprise.
"And you are also, Jumps-At-Fire. Does your name mean something about you?"
She huffed.
"The pack named me that many winters ago, and I liked the name. They named me that because I am... brave and not afraid to do what I want."
"That is good. You should not have fear of what others think. Unless the others are your kin, your family. Then their words and thoughts have weight."
Her ears fell slightly at that mention of kin and family.
"Is there bad in your past?" he softly asked as they arrived at the warm rocks.
There were no other Night Furies in sight, partly because it was still early but also because this was a more remote shore.
He lay down first with his tail lapping in the water.
Much to his amazement, she lay down at his side without any hesitation.
"I have no kin of my own. I was the only cub my dam had," she explained.
"How many winters do you have?"
"Two tens and six. You?"
"Ten and seven, I think."
She huffed.
"You are truly grown and mature. I know that, Burning-Star."
There was almost no need to ask, but he wanted to make sure of one important detail. It was hard to keep his thoughts flying straight, given how she was laying right next to him.
"You have... no mate or cubs?" he asked.
"No. None."
"Neither do I."
"Good. You are free like me."
Then she purred softly while looking at him and laying her head on her paws.
This was all very welcome news. Not only was she not opposed to Hiccup, but she had no mate of her own. She also had no objection to openly showing some interest in him, which is more than he imagined he could ever receive. And she did not care about his being grounded on his own.
"Were you off hunting far from the pack?" he asked.
She faintly growled at that, which he found very strange.
"Yes, I find living much with the pack to be... frustrating. They have rules that I do not like and that are like traps. I fly much on my own and search for other dark wings who are not like these ones who do not understand me. Doing that has me alone much," she sadly warbled.
What she was saying was very understandable since he was also frustrated at the pack's customs and what those meant for him.
"I feel that also because I was alone until I flew to this pack."
"You were alone?"
"Yes, I had never seen another dark wing before. But there is some good now. I found my sire and dam again here in the pack!"
"You did? Which ones?"
"Sky-Dancer and Far-Flight," he purred.
"Yes, they were a pair before they flew to the pack. That is good that you found them."
He then told her some of the details about the old nest with the Monster, what he had done on the raids, how he got to know Hiccup, and a little of what happened to him and Hiccup since they left that world. She looked very curious to hear everything he had to tell her.
As enjoyable and warming as it was to sit here with her and talk, there was something else he wanted to do also. Hiccup was sure to be awake by now, and she needed to meet him.
He hopped to his paws and chuffed happily.
"Jumps-At-Fire, you should come meet my human brother now. He would like to meet you also."
She blinked, apparently in thought, and then she gave a grunt of agreement as she too hopped to her paws.
"Lead me to him, Burning-Star. I want to meet him before I rest. I flew into much wind to come back here, but it was worth the flight."
She purred softly to him and then fell in at his side as he led her back to his kin. This was going very well since she was definitely not afraid of Hiccup and seemed to have no fear of humans or objection to his own condition.
It was a very good start.
Hiccup stared deeply into deep green eyes that didn't blink. They had been staring at each other for perhaps five minutes now, and he was determined to win this contest.
The chill wind gusted, but he did not react. His heavy coat that he always wore was very warm and blocked most of the wind, as usual.
Far-Flight and Sky-Dancer had asked him to watch Breath-Of-Sky while they spoke about something in secret. It was also a very good opportunity to spend time with the young Fury who was almost like a little brother.
But not literally little.
"Give up yet?"
"Never! I will win!" Breath-Of-Sky bellowed.
"Really? What is that!" he pointed over Breath-Of-Sky's shoulder.
The fledgling did not flinch or blink.
Great... that didn't work...
It was very hard to not blink. His eyes were becoming scratchy and very dry. The wind didn't help either.
Then he saw a sight that forced him to look away in surprise. Toothless and another Night Fury had emerged from the thick pines.
He blinked in surprise when he realized that the new Fury was definitely a female whom he didn't know. She had grey eyes and...
"I win!" Breath-Of-Sky barked in triumph.
"Ugh, yeah, you win. Good job! Who is that new dark wing?"
Breath-Of-Sky spun in place and looked toward the two approaching Furies.
"She is Jumps-At-Fire. She flies away from the pack much."
Hiccup couldn't help but notice that Toothless and Jumps-At-Fire were walking very close together. That had to mean something, and it was clear what it probably was.
Maybe she will be friendlier than Moonbeam was.
Toothless definitely looked very eager about this meeting. She looked interested, but also tired as she sat down before him.
"Hello Jumps-At-Fire, I am Hiccup."
"Yes, Burning-Star told me about you," she answered.
"Good things, I hope."
"He said that you are as a brother to him and that you fly together. Flame-In-The-Night told me earlier that you are one of the pack now."
"I am. I promised that I will protect the pack and do what is best for all of you."
Breath-Of-Sky butted in by sticking his head under Hiccup's hand for a scratching.
"Hiccup is our kin!"
"I see that," she hummed.
Then she yawned widely, flashing her teeth and shaking her head.
"I am too tired to do anything now. Hiccup, I can hear more from you another day. I should sleep now."
"I understand. Was it a long flight to here from wherever you were?" Hiccup asked.
"Yes, it was a long flight. I found good prey to hunt, but not what I was truly looking for. Burning-Star, I will come find you later to talk more."
Toothless purred in eager agreement.
"I will be here."
Jumps-At-Fire then turned away from them, jumped into the sky, and flew out of sight over the treetops.
Toothless eventually blinked, realizing that she had long since flown off, and looked over at Hiccup.
Hiccup was staring right back at him with a single eyebrow lifted.
"What?" Toothless barked.
Hiccup didn't bother hiding his amusement.
"Nothing, bud. She seems to like you," he teased.
"You think so?"
"Pretty sure about it."
Toothless stared off in the direction she had flown.
"She does not hate humans," he observed.
"Well, that is a good sign," Hiccup agreed.
"Yes, it is."