"What in the name of Thor are we gonna tell mom?" Hiccup asked. "We've been gone almost twenty four hours!"
"We'll think of something," Hanna told him as the sanctuary came into view.
"Right, well, when she's questioning you don't look to me for help."
Soon, they reached their icy home. They swooped into one of the many tunnels and flew towards the sanctuary. When they entered, they found most of the dragons basking in the moonlight, asleep. Only the nocturnal dragons were awake, playing. Except for one Terrible Terror, who waddled up to them.
"Hi, Bronzeblaze," Hanna greeted the golden Terror.
"Hi."
"Where's mom?"
Hiccup expected him to say: Sleeping, duh! But instead...
"She went out, said she might be gone a couple of days. She told me to tell you guys this when you got back. By the way, you guys took forever! I've been up all night!" The little dragon staggered. Hiccup thought he might even just fall asleep mid talk. He had to admit, he was tired too, and he figured Toothless was even more exhausted.
"Sorry, Bronzy," Hanna apologized, "We'll be quicker next time."
"That's what you always say," he mumbled as he took flight. That plan didn't exactly work though. Half way to the other side of the cavern, he dropped out of the air, and landed, snoring, on the king's back.
"This has happened before?" Hiccup asked as they walked towards the kitchen.
Hanna answered, "Yeah, pretty often, actually. We use Bronzeblaze as our message leaver. I'd of used him this morning if I could've found him."
They arrived in the kitchen, and Stonescale lit the stove. Hiccup realized how hungry he was as his sister picked a pot off the wall.
"So, when ever one of you leaves while the other isn't available, you just leave a message with Bronzeblaze?"
"Pretty much."
They ate a small meal (fish and greens) before going to their separate rooms and almost instantly falling asleep.
Hiccup woke up around noon the next day. Getting out of his bed, he went to the slab of charred rock that was Toothless' bed. The black dragon was sound asleep, his chest rising and falling as he breathed.
Hiccup suddenly remembered when he had gone into the forest, hoping to kill this dragon. He thanked Thor everyday for his decision not to.
Bending down, he picked up what looked like a small, round plate of obsidian. A Night Fury scale. He walked to his desk, took a bucket off one of the shelves beneath the table, and dropped the scale in.
The bucket was full. Hiccup knew now was the time to act on his blueprints for the new tail.
He walked towards the kitchen, bucket in hand. He started up the coals, and called Blade over.
"Is it time, boss?"
"Sure is, Blade. Come on, this Gronkle Iron won't make itself!" Hiccup filled a stone bowl with the ingredients, and placed it at Blade's feet. The Gronkle eagerly licked his lips before burying his head in the bowl.
Hiccup got to work, measuring the proper weights for the new tail, thinning out the leather outline, and shaping the iron Blade was making him.
After about ten minutes, the green Gronkle spoke, "There you go, boss. I think that's all of it!" He nosed the bowl back over to him, some of the molten iron sloshing onto the ground.
"Thanks."
"Hey, Hiccup!"
Hiccup jumped before turning around.
"Hanna! You startled me!" His sister was leaning on one of the many tables in the forge, her dragon trailing groggily out of one of the tunnels.
Hanna laughed. "What are you making?"
"I finally got enough scales to make Toothless' new tail," he explained as he scooped some iron out of the bowl. "But I can't find any fabric thin enough and strong enough for it."
"Well, you'll have to worry about that later. It's feeding time."
"Oh, gods, I completely forgot!" Hiccup exclaimed, "I'll go wake Toothless. Come on, Blade."
Hiccup dashed back into a tunnel, his forge Gronkle galloping behind him.
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"I didn't know you had a staff," Hiccup said as they soared over the water, an entire pack of dragons following them.
"Yeah, well, I don't like flying with it. Since my dragon is too small for me to stand on, it's very uncomfortable."
"I'm right here, ya' know," Stonescale grumbled. Toothless laughed.
Hanna was holding a long, wooden staff. It had multi-colored fabric wrapped around it, and a bulge at one end. The other end looked a lot like their mom's staff. It was shaped like a hook and had rattles in it. The only difference was Hanna's had a blue feather tied to it.
They reached a part of the sea that was wide open, and Hanna stopped. She twirled her staff in a professional manner, and it made a swishing sound.
The water swirled beneath them and the king's head rose majestically out of the water. He roared before tossing his head back, sending thousands of fish flying into the air.
The herd following them suddenly burst forward in a frenzy, grabbing all the fish they could get in their mouths.
"Heyyyy, do you think I could..." Toothless warbled questioningly.
"Go for it, bud!"
"Sweet!" Toothless roared as he dived. "All you fishies are mine!"
Soon, when the dragons had their fill, they flew to a deserted island nearby. It was small and rocky, but the winds on the cliffs offered the perfect updrafts for effortless flying.
"Whoohoo! This is amazing!" Hiccup roared. Toothless roared in agreement.
"Watch this!" Hanna cried. She pulled Stonescale up closer to the rocky edge, but they were still about six feet out. Hanna stood up slowly on her dragons back. Gracefully, she leapt off and Hiccup watched as the wind carried her to the edge of the cliff and set her down lightly. It looked like she was flying.
"Wow, that's cool! Can I try?"
"Sure," Hanna responded, "Just let the wind carry you."
Hiccup pulled Toothless closer to the cliff. He locked the tail piece so they wouldn't fall. Toothless was able to stay up easily, because of the updrafts.
Hiccup stood up onto his dragon's back, and looked at the cliff. It was too far away to jump to, what if he fell?
Toothless will just catch me, he thought.
Closing his eyes, and taking a deep breath, Hiccup jumped off his dragon. The air was there instantly. It cushioned him and carried him to the land. When he had landed, he was so amazed he didn't know what to say.
"Again?" Hanna asked.
Hiccup nodded.
They spent the next couple of hours playing around. Most of it jumping back and forth between their dragons.
A couple of hours before the sun set, they decided to go back.
"I wonder if mom's home," Hanna wondered.
"I don't know. Maybe we'll run into her on the way back."
They flew back to the sanctuary, their massive herd of dragons dispersing into cracks in the ice when they reached home.
"I'm going to go and prep dinner," Hanna told her brother.
"Alright, I think Toothless and I will go exploring."
"What? I want to go! Please, please, please!" Stonescale begged.
"No, you're my dragon, you have to stay with me," Hanna told the annoying Hobblegrunt.
"But I don't want to cook with you..."
The two flew towards a tunnel in the rock and disappeared.
"C'mon, bud. Let's go!"
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Soon, the sun was setting. Valka still wasn't back yet, so it was just the twins and their dragons for dinner.
Hiccup was in his room, brainstorming what type of fabric to use for Toothless' new tail.
"Have you figured it out yet?" Toothless nudged his rider.
Hiccup let his hand fall on his dragon's snout. "Not yet. Most of our fabrics are thick and strong, but for us to get the most out of this new tail, it has to be thin and strong."
"You're tired, you can figure it out in the morning," Toothless warbled.
"You're right, bud. Maybe I should sleep on it." Hiccup slipped into his bed. He blew out the candle on his nightstand, and the room was plunged into darkness. It lit up with purple light as Toothless heated his rock slab. After the room went dark again, Hiccup fell asleep.