Hey, guys! Good news: I found that story I was looking for . . . at least I think it's good news. For those who might be interested, it's called The Making Of A Hero.

Also, sorry this update took so long. I was writing a fanfiction of a fanfiction that I'd read for, like, a straight week, and I've been ignoring my precious. Sorry, Toothy.

*snorts*

As always, please, please, please leave a comment. Or vote. Or both. I will always reply back whenever I can, as the comments really help me get a feel for the general opinion of my work.

~~~
Hiccup stared at the Night Fury, his mouth gaping open, wondering if he'd lost his mind. Didn't people always say that hearing voices in your head was a sign that you'd gone crazy? But . . . had the dragon's voice actually been in his head, or was it truly real? He didn't know.

"Did you . . . um . . . say something?" he asked the Night Fury, privately groaning at his stupidity. Of course the dragon hadn't said anything!

Yes, I did. And I believe it would benefit you greatly to stay out of these kinds of situations. Trust me, you'll live longer.

What?

As far as Hiccup knew, dragons did not talk. But, then again, why wouldn't they? They had to have ways of communicating with each other, just like people did.

But why, then, was Hiccup able to understand them so clearly?

He decided that Magnus' last beating had sloshed his brain around a little too much.

So it was Magnus who left you here for dead, the dragon commented again, making Hiccup jump out of his skin. "Yikes! Where did you get that?!" he cried before he could stop himself.

Your thoughts, the dragon said, like reading someone's mind was a common occurrence. Although, who knew? On this island, where dragons who weren't even worried about humans had rage attacks at the mere mention of Magnus, maybe telepathy was normal.

The Night Fury seemed to sense that he was confused. We dragons speak to each other as you would with another human. However, if we wish to speak to a human, we have to do so through the mind, and we must be touching that human. Hiccup looked down and saw one of the dragon's wingtips resting casually on his arm.

How are you guys not worried about me? Hiccup thought. I thought dragons and Vikings hated each other. Don't we all look the same to you?

The dragon snorted. We do see the difference between an adult that can defend himself and a youngling that still needs protection. So, no, you don't all look the same.

The Nadder that had freaked out earlier hissed and squawked at the Night Fury, waving its tail in Hiccup's direction, as if it was warning the other dragon against him.

The Night Fury snorted again. Crimson, the boy was clearly left here to die. I understand your concern, but it is not needed. He is with us now.

"With you?" Hiccup repeated. "What do you mean, 'with you'?"

The Nadder, Crimson, Hiccup figured, moaned and rolled her eyes skyward. She clearly didn't like the fact that Hiccup could understand and communicate with them now. The Night Fury ignored her. Dragons have lived here undisturbed by humans for centuries. Now that you are here, our secrecy is threatened. Should you return to the humans and spread word of our sanctuary here, they will come full force and try to destroy us.

"I wouldn't tell anyone!" Hiccup said, afraid of what this dragon was getting at. His chest began to throb again."I swear, I'll keep it a secret!"

I believe you, but it is too risky, the dragon replied. Even if you could get off this island, which many of these dragons will not allow now that you know of our existence, where else would you go than where you came from? Is that not where Magnus lives?

Hiccup's heart sank. He hadn't thought of that. Berk had no allies because of Magnus, so there was no place else for him to go than back to the lion's den. And if he did end up returning to Berk, Magnus would still be there, and he'd be no better off than he was a few hours ago. He was stuck.

"So what do I do?" he asked the Night Fury. "I can't go home, and I'm not welcome here—where do I go?"

You misunderstand, little one, the dragon replied. You are welcome here.

Crimson snorted harshly, which, if Hiccup had to guess, meant something along the lines of, Speak for yourself.

The Night Fury went on. As the Alpha of this herd, I will allow you to stay here as long as you do not attempt to escape this island or tell other humans about this place.

What happens if I try to escape? Hiccup wondered before he remembered that the Night Fury could still hear him. In answer, the dragon turned and shot a blast of blue-white fire at the ground.

The blood drained from Hiccup's face as he realized what that meant. If he tried to get off the island, or tell anyone about these dragons, despite his solemn promise not to, he'd be dead.

It's not my favorite part of the deal, the Night Fury explained, as if somehow ashamed that a death threat was the darker side of this peace treaty between human and dragon, but I knew you needed help, and that was the only way the herd was going to accept you when they knew you smelled like Magnus.

"Do I really?" Hiccup asked, sniffing his sleeve tentatively. He didn't smell anything.

The Night Fury wrinkled his nose. Quite strongly, in fact. Which means that you might want to do what you can to avoid the other dragons until you can get yourself a bath. A lot of them are here because they just barely managed to get away from him. Myself included. He swung his tail around into view, and Hiccup was appalled to see that one of the tail fins at the end was entirely missing. The other had a long, ugly scar running across it. The Night Fury opened his wings and Hiccup's eyes widened—they were so freaking huge—before he saw what the dragon was showing him. Several more scars made slash marks across the sensitive membranes. Another scar on the dragon's right shoulder proved that not only had this dragon survived Magnus, the two had been in fierce combat. Hiccup could almost feel the pain that must have caused the dragon.

He almost killed me, the Night Fury said, and he would have if it weren't for Stormfly. She found me just before Magnus came back, and hid me until it was safe to get away. Unfortunately, she did so at the price of her own freedom. Now the humans will use her to train their young how to kill. I had hoped to rescue her before leaving Berk, but . . . He glanced down at his unbalanced tail and sighed. The task proved too much for me at the time.

"So this Stormfly is your friend?" Hiccup asked, and the Night Fury nodded. Yes. We've known each other since we were fledglings. He would have said more, but one of the other dragons, a red and green one that was built like a rhino, growled quietly, almost like it was clearing its throat, and warbled something to the Night Fury, who nodded after a moment, then looked at Hiccup. Can you walk?

"I don't think so," Hiccup started, glancing at his bad ankle. Now that the shock of talking dragons had worn off, the pain was coming back, and with a vengeance. The rhino-dragon, as Hiccup dubbed him in his head since he didn't recognize the breed, came forward and conversed with the Night Fury in a sort of "I think I have a good idea but you're the boss and what you say goes" kind of way. The Night Fury sidestepped away from Hiccup and the two dragons mumbled at each other for a moment. The rhino-dragon was at least twice the Night Fury's size, yet it bowed its head to the storm dragon like it was the other way around.

Maybe being the offspring of lightning and death has some perks, Hiccup thought while the two had a mostly silent conversation. Were all Strike Class dragons this highly revered among their own kind? But he saw what looked like a Skrill in the back of the group that, for some reason, kept seeming to get run over, so obviously it wasn't very high on the totem pole. He'd have to ask about that later.

There was also something about this dragon that seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. After all, he'd seen two Night Furies in his lifetime, which was pretty incredible considering they had a reputation for not letting anyone even see them and live to tell the tale, and the first one died.

He still found himself wishing he could have seen the nest, though. That would have been an amazing sight to behold.

The conversation over, the rhino-dragon plodded over to Hiccup and crouched down beside him, gesturing with its huge head at something over its shoulder. Hiccup hesitated, unsure of what it wanted.

A Rumblehorn, the Night Fury told him. So that was what the dragon was called. He wants you to get on his back. He'll carry you to our healer.

Wait a minute. Hiccup was supposed to ride a dragon? Especially this mountain with wings; how on earth did they expect him to even get on?

The Night Fury had the answer. When Hiccup managed to struggle to his feet, the storm dragon placed his wide head against his backside, pushing forward and up. But even with the Rumblehorn crouched down, it was still a long way to go, considering the fact that only two of Hiccup's four limbs were in good working order. Between the dragon's effort and Hiccup's good arm and leg, he managed to hook his bad leg over the Rumblehorn's wing bones—the elbow, in a sense—and from there pushed himself up and over until he was situated firmly between the dragon's wings. He had to sit still for a minute and just try to breathe because the exertion wasn't doing good things for his collarbone. When he'd recovered, the Rumblehorn stood up and followed the Night Fury out of the clearing and into the forest. The Terrible Terror squeaked and flapped after them, landing behind Hiccup and hopping up to perch on his good shoulder, its tail curled loosely around his neck without touching the wound on his shoulder blade. Crimson brought up the rear, glaring at Hiccup suspiciously.

As he avoided the Nadder's burning gaze, Hiccup peered at the Night Fury's tail, the left fin missing entirely. His mind drifted and he remembered the tail fin that Magnus had brought home. Was it possible that the Fury on Berk and the one walking in front of him were the same dragon? After all, this one had mentioned a near-death experience with Magnus. But not a family. Magnus might have lied, just to be horrible. He didn't consider it beneath him; he'd done it before, and he'd do it again.

Smart boy, said a cheery, squeaky voice that instantly made Hiccup think of the Terror poised on his shoulder.

Ooh, right again!

Can you stop that, please? Hiccup thought frantically. As friendly as this dragon seemed, the thought of her pawing through his brain all the time was substantially alarming. I don't mean to be rude, but . . .

Oh, I know, I know, she replied, a little sheepish, Sorry. I just get really excited with new faces. My name's Twig, by the way.

You mean Twig as in a stick? Hiccup asked.

Yup. Guess my parents were feeling creative that year. Or . . . not, maybe. She giggled a little, reminding him of a little girl he'd seen a few times running past the smithy, always so upbeat and energized.

Aww, thanks—I mean, dang it! Sorry, I did it again, didn't I?

It's no big deal, he replied. I'm Hiccup. Anyway, the Night Fury, he's . . . interesting.

Twig closed her eyes and looked away from him, but she couldn't help herself. Hiccup still felt her faintly pawing at his brain for clues. Ok, ok, I'm NOT reading your mind, buuuut . . . are you wondering how the Alpha got in a fight with Creepy Face?

Creepy—who? Hiccup asked, befuddled. Was she talking about Magnus?

Sshhh, Twig hissed, apologetically glancing over at Crimson, who was starting to show her teeth again. We can't say his name around her.

Why not?

Twig sighed. So many questions! As I was saying, we can't mention him around her because that's how much she hates him. You ever heard the phrase, 'kill the messenger'?

Uh-oh.

I'll take that as a yes. He destroyed two of her clutches before they were even hatched. The last one he got as they were getting ready to start gliding. Stormfly was the only one to get away. Twig's vivacious personality slowed down, distracted by the tragedy.

Wait. So Stormfly is Crimson's daughter? Her only surviving daughter? No wonder Crimson had a sort of "blast first, ask questions later" mentality.

Twig nodded. It's like that for a lot of the dragons here. So don't say his name anymore. Anyway, back to the Alpha. He was on Berk and Creepy Face was about to kill him, but Stormfly got there first and saved him. She got captured and the Alpha flew—well, swam here, I guess. He still wants to go after her, but as long as he can't fly, neither of them are going anywhere.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. The Alpha can't fly?! Hiccup repeated, aghast. Was there no end to the list of Magnus' crimes against man and beast?

Nope. With that one tail fin missing, he's off balance. And before you ask, I don't think there's any chance of it growing back. Seems like Creepy Face grounded him for good.

That's terrible. I mean, I know that's really obvious, but . . . Hiccup trailed off, letting the sentence die out where it was.

Oh, I know, said Twig. And the Alpha's not happy about it, either. You know, if a dragon stays on the ground long enough, he gets really cranky and moody. Hope that won't happen to the Alpha, though. He's scary enough without a temper!

They sat in silence for a while before Hiccup asked, When the Alpha told you what happened to him, did he, by any chance, mention a tangle with a mountain lion?

Actually, yeah, he did, Twig said, bursting with curiosity once again. I don't know all the details, but, you know, they met, they didn't like each other, they fought, the Alpha kicked butt, the lion ran off . . . She shrugged, pleased with the outcome of the story. Why do you ask?

Because when I was on Berk, I got attacked and almost eaten by a lion. A Night Fury came and fought it off, then healed me and flew away. Mag—I mean, Creepy Face said he found that dragon, tracked him to a mate and a nest, and killed them all.

Twig snorted. A rookie mistake. Wow. Never thought I'd say that about the Destroyer. Berk isn't a nesting site anymore, not since Creepy Face got his reputation settled, not for any dragon.

So the dragon that saved me is the Alpha here?

Seems like it. You might want to ask him, though, just to be sure. Not much worse than a mistaken identity.

Their ride stopped suddenly and Hiccup looked around. They had come to a vast open area, a meadow that was probably beautiful in the daytime, but cloaked in the darkness of night, it felt forbidding and dangerous. Especially with all of the dragons standing around. Odin's beard! Hiccup had never seen so many dragons in one place before. Granted, there were the dragons in the arena that were used for training new recruits, but those only numbered four or five, and they were let out just one at a time.

This was a whole other level. It was almost like dragons had destroyed mankind and were now ruling the earth. There had to be hundreds of dragons here.

The Night Fury, or Alpha, as Hiccup decided to call him in his head until somebody mentioned a name, climbed up onto a tall rock spire and roared to get the other dragons' attention. They all looked up at him in absolute silence.

Climb down.

Hiccup jumped. The voice was not Twig's. It was gruff and low, like rocks tumbling together. He looked down and saw the Rumblehorn staring back at him hard. It gestured forcefully at the ground, and the rocky voice came back, exasperated. Climb down, I said! Hiccup, remembering what Alpha had said about him smelling like Magnus, hurried as much as his ankle would allow. As if on cue, the rest of the herd turned to look at him as he stood beside the Rumblehorn, keeping his weight off of the injury. Twig still sat on his shoulder, hissing at the dragons whose gazes became hostile and ignoring those whose facial expressions were either more welcoming or couldn't be read at all. Hiccup, uncomfortable with all the sudden attention, looked up at Alpha for help. The Night Fury snorted quietly and seemed to nod a little, as if acknowledging the boy's plea. He looked out at the herd and warbled, like he was saying, All right, that's enough. You've had your look-see, now leave him be.

The herd dissipated, most going off to sleep somewhere and muttering to each other, but a few spreading their wings and leaping gracefully into the sky for a short flight before bedtime. Hiccup noticed that Alpha gazed after them from his rocky perch with particular longing.

One dragon remained where it stood, however, continuing to watch Hiccup despite the Night Fury's order to leave. It was hard to see because the sun had sunk below the horizon, but Twig wasn't growling, so it probably didn't mean any harm. The Rumblehorn at Hiccup's side snorted at the staring dragon and plodded off, leaving Hiccup standing—more or less— in the field and suddenly feeling very small and vulnerable.

Then Twig's arrowed tail tickled the back of his neck and he was relieved to remember that at least he wasn't entirely alone.

It's okay, Twig reassured him. That's Softclaws, our healer. She'll fix you up and show you where you'll be staying.

'Where I'll be staying'? I have my own place already? Hiccup could not believe the generosity of these dragons. First of all, he was a human. That alone was credible cause for concern. Second, he smelled like Magnus which, as far as he knew, meant that any of the dragons who lived on this island might try to kill him just for delivering that foul odor to their noses. In short, they had every reason to treat him like an enemy. Instead, here he was in the center of their territory—probably, since this seemed to be the main gathering area—and their healer was walking up to him with nothing but a calm friendliness in her gaze.

Twig giggled. Hiccup, we may be animals, but we know there's a difference between dragons that can stand a little frost on their scales when they have fire to melt it away and a human that will get sick if they stay out at night. Of course there's a place for you to stay.

Where?

Just through the thicket over that way, replied Twig, gesturing over to her left. There's an abandoned village there, a little run down, but plenty of empty buildings for you to choose from. I'm pretty sure it even has a working well, so you won't have to go all the way to the river for water.

Sounds good. Thanks.

The healer dragon reached them and inclined her head in greeting. Twig yawned suddenly and mumbled something about going to her nest, hopping off of his shoulder. Hiccup didn't know whether she was a two-legged dragon or a four-legged one because her front legs were small and skinny, more like arms than legs. Her back legs were the limbs that supported her weight. She had a long neck and tail, curly horns on her head, and fins down the entire length of her back and tail. She didn't immediately try to talk to Hiccup, which made him think she was a little bit shy. Or maybe she knew about his history with Magnus and she was keeping her distance, just to be safe.

His second theory turned out to be false, however, when Softclaws stretched her neck out to him, sniffing at his clothes. After a moment, she found his bad ankle, the harpoon wound, and whatever was wrong with his chest to make him unable to breathe half the time.

And then Softclaws did something unexpected.

Raising her head and planting her feet farther apart, she sucked in a deep breath, the universal sign of getting ready to blast the target to cinders.

~~~
Sorry for the weird cliffhanger. This chapter just kept dragging on and on and I needed to close it up fast. I guess if you wanted an explanation to make it make sense, you could say that Hiccup's Viking instincts are kicking in and he's forgotten that Softclaws is actually trying to help him.

Also, anyone else think Twig is adorable? I mean personality-wise, not the whole "she's cute just because she's a Terrible Terror and they're all renowned for being the lapdogs of the Archipelago". Or, all right, maybe both.