The storm raged outside, pelting snow and ice against the massive rock.

"We never have snow storms this big back at home," Lightening said as he and the others ate the warm meal.

"Hmm, there's an area on Valka's map that is warmer.  Remember, Hiccup?  We visited part of it when we were with Willow!" Toothless said.

"Yeah.  After lunch, we can look at the map and see if we can figure out where your home island is!" Hiccup told Lightening and Thomas.

"That would be really helpful!" the two spoke in unison.

"Ugh, I don't know what we're going to do in this weather!" Hanna exclaimed, "Normally, I'd go for a flight, but with this storm happening, I have no idea what I could -"

"Drawing time!" Stonescale exclaimed.

"You draw?" Lightening asked Hanna.

"Yeah.  You?"

"No, but I guess I've never really tried."

"Oh.  I -"

"Hanna, I have an awesome idea!  You could draw a master portrait of me, Hiccup, Toothless, Stormfly, Hookfang, Meatlug, and Barf and Belch in the sanctuary.  Then, you can add yourself in!" Stonescale interupted her.

Hanna thought.  "Hmm, that's actually a good idea.  I don't think I've ever done something that big before!"

"Well, while you prepare for that, I'm going to take our guests to the map room," Hiccup said as he finished his lunch.  He shivered.  "And perhaps we'll take Hookfang with us," he added. 

"Alright, let's go." Lightening got up from his seat and beckoned to Thomas, who stood up and brought up the rear as they disappeared into the tunnel.

Hiccup and Lightening walked together, with Hookfang in front of them, lighting and warming the way.  Toothless and Thomas followed them, chatting idley.

"What was your home like?" Hiccup asked as they walked over rocks in the tunnel.

"Well, it's a lot warmer than here, that's for sure," Lightening answered.  "There were also some dragons that you guys don't seem to have here."

"Could you describe them?"

"Oh, yeah.  Sure.  They come in reds, browns, and oranges.  I think they might be from the Sharp Class.  They had small heads and large, lithe bodies."

"I think I know what you're talking about.  We do have them, but they're migratory species.  And, we just happen to know where they go during the winter!"

The small group arrived in the map room.  It was truely a sight to behold.  A large stone cave, covered in small paper maps.  On the largest side, there was a massive map of the world they had explored, burned onto the stone.  There were pictures pinned to places on the map, drawings of migration patterns, and major dragon nests marked out.  The other dragon riders that they knew existed were also pinned to the map, so they knew where to find them if in need.

"Right, see any landmarks you recognize?" Hiccup asked.  Lightening moved closer to the torch-lit map.  After about a minute of study, he called his dragon over.

"Thomas, do you recognize this island?" he pointed to a mountainess island a few days South of the Sanctuary.

"Yeah, and if that's there, then our island-"

"Is here!" Lightening pointed to a small island east of the mountained one.  "Thanks, Hiccup.  Say, you don't happen to have a smaller map of this, do you?"

"I don't think so, but I can whip one up for you!"

"Cool!  I'd love that!"

Hiccup pulled out a sheet of map paper from a stack in a nearby drawer, and began to sketch out the part of the map the two needed.  He plotted their fastest course home before rolling it up and handing it to Lightening.

"Thanks," he said, looking at it, Thomas peering over his shoulder.  "We'll leave as soon as this storm clears up."

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Hanna looked out over a calm sea.  The storm had moved out the day before, and now they had just finished sending Lightening and Thomas off.  He had thanked them graciously for their hospitality, and they had promised they'd tell Willow about them, so they could trade.

Hanna flew back inside, Hiccup and Toothless decided to go for a fly.

She and Stonescale were greeted by a massive picture that hung on the wall opposite of the forge.  It showed all of the gang standing together in the Sanctuary.  Hiccup had the idea to get paints from Willow so they could color the drawing.

Hanna dismounted and ran to the kitchen cabinets.  For her, the cleared skies only meant one thing.  She got go and see Darius.

He knew she existed know, so there was no avoiding it.  At least, that's how Hanna saw it.  She would just have to ignore her haunting dreams.

She filled her satchel with snacks, before mounting Stonescale again.

"Ugh, are we doing what I think we're doing?"

"You're not doing anything except dropping me off.  Literally.  There's bound to be snow on the ground, and we can't have my footprints leading to yours.  I'll slide off, and then you can go enjoy yourself in the forest until I call for you."

"Fine," was all the Hobblegrunt said as they took flight into the crisp sky.

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"Right here is good.  Steady..." Hanna slid off her dragon's back and landed a little ungracfully in the carpet of snow.  "Alright," she said, whipping snow off her leggings, "Thanks, Stonester.  You can go play in the snow now."

"Cool.  Bye!"  and with a flap of his wings, he disapeared.

"Right," Hanna muttered to herself as she began to walk towards the edge of the forest.  The snow wasn't too deep here because the pines had stopped most of it from reaching the ground, but there was still a good two inches. 

She reached the edge of the forest, her boots protecting her feet from the cold.  She walked out into Darius's back yard.  It looked as if he and his father had finished their work on the fence, and connected to it a stable of some sort.

She walked farther into Darius's yard, approaching the underground shed.  Suddenly, an odd sound from the stables made her jump and whip around.  What she saw made her scream in terror.

Two odd creatures were walking out from an open area in the stables.  One was brown, the other was white with brown patches.  They were taller and sleeker than boars, and walked on four long legs with hooves.  They had hairy tails that reached halfway down their back legs, and ears that pointed straight up and flicked.  They were unlike anything she had ever seen before, and when one looked at her and made a high pitched noise, she screamed once again.

The back door to the house flew open and Hanna once again jerked around.  She sighed with relief as Darius ran out, but she tensed slightly as she was instantly reminded of her nightmares.  She pushed the worries out of her head.

"Hanna!" she recognized her name, but the rest was jiberish.  "You survived the Hobblegrunt!  I was so worried!" he spoke as he ran towards her.  She flinched when one of the creatures huffed.

He stopped next to her.  She looked at him, before staring frightfully at the creatures in the small field.

"Have you never seen a horse before?" he asked.  "They're harmless.   Here," he walked towards the gate into the fenced part of the yard and opened it.  He gestured for her to enter it.  She slowly walked towards it, and entered it unsteadily.  He led her to the closest one, the white blochy one, and took her hand.

Hanna felt shivers erupt up her arms, but it had nothing to do with the cold.

He guided her hand to the snout of the creature.  She hesitantly laid it on it.  It was fuzzy and warm, not scaly like a dragon's.  The creature exhaled, blowing warm air on her hand.  Hanna giggled, removing her hand.

"Do you want to ride him?  His name's Sol.  He's really friendly."

Hanna read his body language as he gestured to the creature's back.  The creature was okay, but there was no way she was going to get on its back and ride it.  She had to admit it: She was scared of the creature.

She backed off, shaking her head. 

Darius shrugged, "I understand."  He walked back towards the gate and opened it once more.  He began to talk again, but Hanna had no idea what he was saying.  She wished she could understand him.

They exited the fenced area, and Darius invited Hanna inside his house.  She followed him in.  He was still talking, and she listened.

As she listened to the jiberish, she observed the house.  It was very quiet except for them.  His parents must've been in the village.

Darius led her around the property for almost an hour, talking to her.  She read his tone and body language to get what he was saying, and would answer him the best she could.

After nearly an hour and a half, Hanna looked up at the sky.  She gasped, she had been on the island for almost two hours.

She gained Darius's attention and pointed to the sky with a solemn face.  "You need to leave don't you?" he asked, nodding in the direction of the forest.  She nodded.

He sighed, "Alright."  Before she could take a step though, he grasped her hand and brought it to his lips.  "Until we met again, my fair."

Hanna gasped, wondering why he had kissed her hand.  Having grown up literally under a rock, she knew nothing of the cultured ways, however, she knew it must mean something good.

She pulled her hand back and took off into the forest, leaving Darius with a smile.

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Hanna flew into the kitchen.  Hiccup, who was working in the forge, looked up and set down his tools.

"Did you go out for a fly as well?" He asked.

"Yeah, the air is so crisp during the winter."

"Cool.  Why are you smiling like that?" Hiccup asked, noticing her giddy smile.

"Like what?" she asked innocently.  Her brother didn't need to know that she had just spent two amazing hours with Darius.

"Like... Nevermind," he went back to his work as Hanna busied herself in the kitchen.

"Ah, Hiccup?" Hanna asked hesitantly.

"Yeah," he answered absent-mindedly.

"Could you teach me Norse?"

He looked up at her.  "Sure.  But, why do you need to know?"

Hanna quickly thought up an answer.  "Well, you know how we're always being attacked?  Well, our attackers speak Norse, and I'd like to be able to understand them in case they threaten your life, like that one time when Willow was with us."  She was surprised with how good that sounded, as she had been making it up as she went along.

"Okay, on one condition.  You teach me how to de-code the runes in the Dragon Eye.  You've been running around a lot lately, and when you're out, I can barely do anything with it."

"Deal!"

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"Ugh, give me back my helmet!"

"What are you talking about, this is my helmet!"

The twins tackled each other and ended up faceplanting in the snow.

"Ugh, when is he going to get back?  I swear, that bucket of mutton better get back here soon.  I'm missing out on precious beauty sle-"

"Gobber!  Gobber!" Fishlegs came running into the arena.

"Finally!" Snotlout exclaimed.  "Can we go now?"

"Fishlegs!  What is it?" Gobber asked the out of breath teen.

"It - It's Astrid.  She - she's dying!"

The teens and Gobber rushed to the cove to find Astrid unconcious in her colapsed shelter.  They brought her to Gothi as quickly as they could, and she confirmed that Astrid's temperature was dangerously low, and that she should be returned to her parent's house to recover.

After a few days, Astrid awoke, but she wouldn't leave her bed.  Her determination to avenge Hiccup's death had turned into a deep depression, and Gobber had to admit that he had lost two of his best students.