They flew high above the clouds, feeling the coolness on their skin and scales. "Hey, bud. Land for a moment, will ya?" Toothless obliged, flying to the nearest bit of dirt. The rider climbed off, and took his map out of his satchel. He unfolded it, and began to study it.

"Ok, we're here," He pointed to a spot near the center of the map. "And we've been here, here, and here in the past week," He pointed to three islands in a rough triangle shape to the east of where they were. "So where do we go now? We could go back to Fog Isle, with the Smothering Smokebreaths, or maybe Flame Storm, with the packs of Monstrous Nightmares. Hmm, we haven't been to Berk in a while."

"Dragon Soul-"

"I know, Toothless. It's where I was born, but the people there are kin-killers, and would hate me, too. But the smithy there has such great stuff! Gobber is great at what he does, even if he leaves a mess everywhere." He sighed, an almost sad sigh.

"Look, bud," He said, much more sober. "I don't really want to go. What if we get caught?" "Exactly-" "But, I need more nails to fix the building. You want to get out of that cave, don't you? Besides, it might be nice to see how my birth family is doing. Last time we went back, it had only been five years since I had left. They were still mourning, taking out their anger on the dragons. But the raids have been over for five years. Maybe they changed. I miss my mother, and father, and Gobber. I just want to see them."

Toothless listened silently. His brother sounded so tired. Maybe a visit would do him good. But for now, they would fly.

"Fine. But there are rules! One, no talking to the humans."

"I can't very well anyway." "Two, don't let them see you."

"I'm not stupid." "Three-"

"Don't talk to strangers, yes mom!" "Would you stop that? And Three, no staring at that girl."

Toothless smirked when he saw how flustered he had made the boy. "I-I don't stare at Astrid!" "You want her as your mate." "I d-do not!" "Then why are you so red?" "This isn't love red, this is anger red!" "Keep telling yourself that." "Why you-"

Dragon Soul jumped on the dragon, who gladly wrestled with him. Finally, Dragon Soul was laying on top of the dragon, his arms around the creature's neck. "Gotchya!" "Really?" Toothless just stood on his hind legs, and walked over to the edge of a cliff.

"C'mon, you wouldn't hurt a one legged- oh! Woah, woah! Toothless!" The dragon laughed as he fell back, both landing on the ground worn out. They sat and stared at the sky.

"The clouds look so different from down here." the boy noted. "It must be horrible, not being able to fly." "Hmm." Dragon Soul sat up, and turned to Toothless. "C'mon, let's go. I want to be home by dawn tomorrow. Spitfire is still sick, and we need to check on her."

They flew for an hour or so, doing flips and tricks, until the island of Berk was in view. They flew into the woods, to a cove they had found the last time they visited. "You rest here, Toothless. I'll be back in less than an hour." "Dragon Soul, remember-"

"The rules. Got it. Don't come unless you hear screaming." Toothless sighed, knowing that there was a high chance of this going very wrong. Why did he have to be the responsible brother? He was only two months older!

In the forest, Dragon soul crept from shadow to shadow. He made his way silently to the village, where he snuck into the smithy, and took a few nails and bits of iron ore. He went next to the mead hall, and took a peice of bread and meat. 'Lunch' he thought.

Then he went back to the forest, climbed a tall tree, and watched the village. His father walked through, talking to many people, seeming sorrowful. His mother sat in the shade of another tree, eating an apple slowly. Gobber was silent, staring off into sea. In fact, everyone seemed sad. Why?

He took out his calendar. Oh, that's why.

It was his hatch-day, the day he became a dragon, the day he left.

He watched as Stoick went to a large oak, and nailed a picture to it. Then he threw his axe at it, over and over. After a while, he left, joining Valka. Dragon Soul went to the picture. Putting it back together, he gasped.

It was a drawing of Toothless. That little boy who had seen the dragon last time must have told them what he looked like. And a bounty was on his head. A large bounty.

They had to go. Now.

A twig snapped behind him and he swiveled around, thankful for the full face helmet he wore with his flight suit. Because there, standing not six feet from him, was his mother.

He stood there, pale and silent, as she did, too. Finally, she spoke. "Who are you?" He took a moment to try to switch to Norse, before he answered. "Name Drage Sjel" "'Dragon Soul'? Why would you be named that in a world that hates dragons?" "Reasons."

He was getting scared. He had broken both of Toothless' rules, and he was afraid she would find out who he was. "Must go." "Wait!" He stood frozen. What could he do? It would be wrong to just leave, but he was in danger staying here, and he was putting Toothless in danger.

That thought was the final straw. He had to go. He turned and ran, trying to ignore the calls of the woman behind him, until he realized she was following him. "Drage Sjel! Wait! Please!"

He tried desperately to lose her in the dense woods, to no avail. Finally, he realized that he would never be able to keep her away and get to Toothless. So he ran into a cave and hid, until she followed him in.

She slowly walked in, having to duck her head to fit. It was too dark to see. After a moment, she sighed, and walked back out. She looked all around. No sign of the mysterious person. Confused and curious, she walked back to the village.

Unwrapping the cloak of scales from around himself, Dragon Soul let out a tense breath. "That was too close." he said to himself. Making sure he hadn't dropped anything, he stood. It only took a moment for him to reach the area where he had left his brother.

"C'mon, Toothless." he said, out of breath. "We have to go. That little boy spilled. You've got a bounty on your head." "I told you it was too dangerous." "Yeah yeah. Let's just go."

He climbed onto the dragon's back. "Who was that woman calling your name?" Dragon Soul froze. "Dragon Soul? Brother? Are you ok?" "I-I'm fine, Toothless. I just didn't think I'd see my mother again." "Your mother?" "Yeah. Let's go."

Toothless knew that his little brother would need some time. Even after 10 years, seeing his family still hit him like a lava blast. Maybe...

"Dragon Soul, do you think your mother would accept us?" "What?" "Do you think your mother would accept us?" "I-I, uh, I don't know. I mean, she never hurts dragons, so..." "In two moons, we'll come back. We'll stay for a few days, watching." "You mean spying?" "Do you want to talk to her again or not?"

Dragon Soul was silent. In truth, he did. He missed his mother and Gobber. Maybe...

"Ok. Two moons."