Alec was still asleep so I tucked my knees to my chest and let the sunrise wash over me. It was beautiful. You couldn't see it this well from Berk unless you were high up because the fog blocked it. Now it was here, it was clear, bright, beautiful. It made me feel like a new person as it washed away all the pain of yesterday and brought on the crazy of today. Even though it was the scariest thing I had ever done, I was still really excited to walk slap bang into a dragon's nest. My thoughts were interrupted by Alec waking. He yawned and bum-shuffled over to me. I felt his arm make its way round my shoulders. It felt nice to be hugged, I needed a hug. I wanted to love him, but I was scared. I was scared that if I gave him the key to my heart he would throw it away or lock the door and leave. I hesitated and turned to him. "Have you ever been...left behind."

He gave me a puzzled look.

"It depends how you mean?"

I sighed and shuffled round on my hands so I was facing him.

"I mean like, like when I lost my Dad. He left me behind and I blamed him for it, I wanted him to stay, or for him to take me with him. He did neither, he just left and I never got to say goodbye....Have you ever been left behind?"

He was silent for a minute or two before he answered.

"Yeah...My sister left me behind. When I was little...I...never got to say goodbye. She was taken by a dragon. My Dad was the only one who saw it happen and no one believed him. He said it was a whistler because it made the noise and then grabbed my sister and flew off with her. We never saw her again...She left me behind that day."

I squeezed his hand and we slowly drew each other near until we were close for a kiss. I made the mistake of opening my eyes. He had his eyes closed and he was going to kiss me. I pulled away and stood.

"It's getting late. We'd better get going."

He nodded and stood brushing the dirt off his clothes.

"Yeah...I guess so."

We started walking through the unknown. The trees were thick and it was hard to know what was right in front of you. It was quiet too, a little too quiet. Or maybe we were just short of Leo's loud lumbering feet and megaphone voice. He had a habit of not thinking about what he was doing. Our destination was another day or two's walk away so we tried to improve our pace.

"I wonder why no other dragons live here?"

Alec shrugged without looking to me.

"Maybe they just like to be left alone. Of maybe they are hostile to other dragons."

A deep rumbling sound came from the nearby bush.

"Please tell me that was your stomach?"

I shook my head slowly staring in the direction it had come from. What we saw was not what we were expecting...