Chapter 19

Hiccup stood next to Toothless just outside of their cave tunnel, waiting for Barf and Belch and Sharpshot to finish getting ready to leave. 

"Pick up the pace a bit," Hiccup yelled down the tunnel, irritated. "It's already past noon, and we had agreed to be there before sundown." 

"One second," Sharpshot's annoying voice echoed down the tunnel. 

"What are they even doing?" Hiccup asked annoyedly to Toothless. "I think I've seen human girls get ready for parties faster than this." 

Toothless shrugged, "I have no idea. They have absolutely no reason to have to get ready at all." 

Hiccup let out a frustrated growl before yelling down the cave again, "If you guys aren't out of this cave within the next ten seconds, I'm going to shoot a plasma blast down this tunnel, so large that you won't even have time to fly away before the mountaintop gets blown to smithereens." 

There was a small second of silence before the frantic flapping of wings filled the air. The two dragons quickly arrived outside the cave, looking sheepish. Hiccup whirled on them, planning to give them an earful about not making them late to extremely important events, but he stopped dead in his tracks once he saw what coated their scales.

"Why in the Great Sky above are your scales painted?!"

"Oh, do you like it?" Sharpshot asked, brightening as he showed off the dark purple and blue swirls and lines covering his body. 

"Uhh," Hiccup said confusedly, his head whipping from the Singeing Singer to the Vapor Spark as he tried to discern the reason as to why they now looked like rainbow chameleons.

"Look, he's speechless!" Belch exclaimed, the splotches of yellow and sky blue that were scattered over his and Barf's body flashing as he turned his head excitedly. 

Hiccup shook his head, pushing his puzzlement away, "We'll talk about this on the way there. We really need to get going." 

Toothless gave Hiccup a nod as he turned away from his own confusion, and Hiccup took that as the cue to launch himself off the cliff. The other three dragons followed his lead, and soon they were flying up above the clouds, Barf and Belch and Toothless flanking Hiccup on both sides as Sharpshot settled himself on Belch's head. 

They flew for almost a full half hour before Hiccup caved and glanced back at the two ridiculous looking dragons behind him. 

"Okay, what's with the paint?" Hiccup asked, "Where did you get it? And why is it sparkly?" 

"We wanted to do something special for our first Moon Goddess Celebration away from the Queen's nest," Sharpshot explained. 

"So you made yourselves look like flying, glittery geckos?" Hiccup clarified.

"We do not look like flying, glittery geckos!" Belch said indignantly. 

Belch glanced at Belch, looking him up and down, "You know, we kind of do." 

"What?!" Belch exclaimed, horrified, as he looked down and under his belly, as though trying to find the source of what was making him look stupid. 

"Can we go back to the part where you explain where you got glittery paint?" Toothless asked.  

"Oh, I had Barf and Belch steal some from that trader guy the last time you visited," Sharpshot said. 

"You what?!" Hiccup hissed.

"Yeah," Sharpshot said. "Well, the paint wasn't glittery at the time, but it wasn't something a little crushed up crystal couldn't fix." 

"You stole from Johann?" Hiccup growled, "Do you have any idea what happens when a trader finds out someone stole from them?!"

"Um, no?" Sharpshot said, shrinking away from Hiccup. 

A snarl escaped Hiccup's throat, and he was about to roar at the two insolent dragons about their foolishness before Toothless drifted over and gently bumped Hiccup with his head. Hiccup's head snapped towards the other Moon Sweeper, his anger slowly fizzing out as Toothless gave him a look. 

Hiccup took a deep breath, steadying himself before he turned back to the other two dragons, "I apologize, I overreacted. You guys don't know anything about human customs and would have no idea that stealing from a trader is incredibly bad. That being said, if you do steal from a trader and they find out, then they are going to tell all the other traders on the entire planet that you stole from them. And if Johann traced back the missing paint to the day I gave him my last load of weapons, I probably would never be able to trade with any other trader in the entire archipelago again." 

"Oh," Sharpshot said, wincing. "I didn't know that." 

"Sorry, Captain," Belch said, looking downcast. 

"But don't worry, there's no way he'll trace it back to us," Barf said assuringly. 

"How?" Hiccup asked sternly.

"We found the paint buried under mountains of those barrel things on the opposite side of the boat than you and the trader were bargaining on," Barf explained. "I bet he had forgotten about it a long time ago." 

Hiccup gave the Vapor Spark a quick nod, before turning his head to glare at the sky. Ever since his so-called instincts had kicked in, every single little mistake one of his Flight members made started sending him into a fit of rage. Toothless had told Hiccup that dragons just acted that way; that the instincts of a Leader would always make them act like a bomb that would begin to ignite the moment something started to pose a threat against their position of power or the well-being of those in their command. 

But it was strange to Hiccup, because he had never before in his life felt the anger and panic that overtook him every time that a dragon in his Flight returned to the cave later than usual or Sharpshot laughed at him for tripping on a rock. He wasn't even forming coherent thoughts, he was just suddenly filled with so much emotion that he acted on it without thinking. 

A nudge to his side pulled Hiccup out of his thoughts. 

"You alright?" Toothless asked Hiccup. 

"Yeah," Hiccup sighed. "Just frustrated with myself." 

Toothless gave him a reassuring smile, "It's okay. Almost all new Leaders act the way you do during the first few months after they gain their position. And they don't have to deal with getting all of their other instincts all at once like you did. It's only natural for you to be feeling this way."

Hiccup nodded, but continued to stare at the horizon. These new instincts had been very hard to deal with in some cases, but they were also helping him destroy every single dragon that stepped up to spar with him. The first time that he had sparred with a dragon from the Nest of Spikes since getting them was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. Instead of having to turn off his thoughts and try to let his instincts guide him as he used to, his instincts took the wheel themselves. By the end of that first day, he had beaten five dragons all at once. 

Not long after, his mother announced that he probably didn't need to spar with other dragons anymore, as he now was able to do it with ease. Instead, he had started more vigorous training with his mother in human form. It didn't come as naturally as fighting as a dragon did, but Hiccup was getting better and better at wielding Inferno every day. His mother even said that if he wanted to, he could join her on her missions raiding dragon trapping ships with her after the Moon Goddess Celebration. And even though he absolutely hated having to ride on Toothless's back in order to keep the secret of Dragonborn safe, he wanted to help as many dragons as he could. He had the first sixteen years of his life trapped on that cage of an island, so he would do his damn hardest to make sure that no dragon would have to spend their entire life in a cage like he did. 

"You excited?" Toothless asked Hiccup as they approached the nest. 

"Nervous, actually," Hiccup replied. "I'm not quite sure how this Celebration is supposed to go." 

Toothless laughed, "No dragon ever does, Hiccup."

Hiccup gave him a confused look, "What do you mean?"

"No two Celebrations are ever the same," Toothless explained. "The Moon Goddess simply guides us as we dance through the sky and sing dragonsong as gratitude for her wondrous gifts."

"Is there at least a basic pattern that the Celebration usually follows?" Hiccup asked, anxiety filling his voice. 

"There is," Toothless said,"The dragon chosen to sing the first Dragonsong always begins the Celebration. All Mated dragons perform their Mating Dances in the air-the only time they are ever capable of doing it in the Great Sky, and the only other time besides their first Mating Dance that they allow other dragons to watch their dance."

"You can't watch dragons doing their Mating dance?" Hiccup asked. 

"Did I not tell you that?" Toothless asked, looking suddenly panicked, "For the love of the stars, please tell me you haven't watched a pair of Mates dance." 

"No, I haven't," Hiccup said quickly, calming him down. "Why is it so important that I haven't?"

"Mating Dances are sacred and personal," Toothless explained. "Mates only ever allow other dragons to see their dance at their Mating Ceremony so that all around them know that they are now Mated, and during Celebrations. The Gods absolutely adore seeing our dances, and they just add to the amount of magic that is made during the Celebrations. I've told you before that the Gods replenish our magic periodically throughout the year, but because of the amount of magic flowing through the air during Celebrations, our magic is replenished tenfold, leaving us feeling like we're on Bliss Grass for weeks." 

Toothless's eyes glazed over, a dreamy smile on his face as he recalled how dragons feel after Celebrations.

Hiccup laughed, "Okay, Toothless. I'll take your word for it." 

The nest was now in sight, and Hiccup started to pick up the pace. He had told his mother and the King that they would be there at least an hour before sundown, but the sky was already starting to turn a bit orange. 

"We need to hurry," Hiccup called back to the Vapor Spark and Sharpshot. "Thanks to you guys, we're late." 

The two dragons gave him sheepish looks, but he payed them no mind as he let his secondary tail fins open wide as he began riding the wind towards the nest. Toothless kept up with him easily, but he could hear Barf and Belch having to flap their wings harder to keep up with them. Hiccup didn't slow down, though. Even if it was wrong for him to yell at the two dragons for risking their relationship with Johann and possibly all other traders, they had still done something behind his back. So Hiccup decided that having them try and keep up with two Moon Sweepers was sufficient enough silent punishment for their actions. Even though Hiccup felt that all three of them could use a good hit to the face. 

Soon they were weaving through the tunnels to get inside the nest, Hiccup and Toothless being able to fly through them at full speed due to their frequent visits, along with the help of their echolocation. They shot out of the tunnel and into the nest, and Hiccup almost slammed straight into his mother. 

"Agh," he cried, doing a barrel roll over her to prevent himself from knocking her to the ground.

She ducked in return, already in her half dragon form and making it easier for Hiccup to avoid running into her. Hiccup skidded to a stop in the air, and was about to apologize to her when Toothless rammed into him. They tumbled to the ground, Hiccup yelping as his back hit something sharp on the ground.

"Owwww," Toothless groaned as they lay in a heap on the ground. 

Barf and Belch landed a few feet away from their Moon Sweeper pile, and Sharpshot snickered as he jumped off of Belch's head. 

"Uhh, Captain why are you on the ground?" Belch asked. 

"For the love of the Moon Goddess, Belch, shut up," Hiccup groaned, pushing Toothless off of him and getting to his feet. Sure, Hiccup had fallen out of the sky a few times due to Toothless hitting him with a plasma blast while they sparred, but he always landed in the safe falling position that Toothless had taught him. But falling out of the sky was nowhere near as painful as getting rammed into by a Moon Sweeper flying at full speed. 

"Well, you two sure seemed to be in a hurry," his mother laughed as she approached them. "I'm assuming that something made you late?" 

Hiccup glared at the two dragons that were covered in glittery paint, "Oh, yes, something very annoying made us late."

"Oh, come on, Captain," Sharpshot said. "We just wanted to make this Celebration special." 

"And you couldn't have painted yourselves in stolen paint this morning?" Hiccup asked, unamused.

 They stared at him. 

"Yeah, why didn't we do it in the morning?" Belch asked, turning to Sharpshot. 

"That would have given us so much more time," Barf agreed. 

"Uh," Sharpshot said, "I wanted the paint to be fresh for the Celebration?" 

Hiccup sighed, turning to his mother, "I apologize for our tardiness. I hope the King hasn't gotten impatient?" 

"No, I think His Majesty will be more than understanding," she replied humorously. "He was getting slightly worried about whether or not something had caused your lateness. I was about to go looking for you before you two came crashing in." 

"Sorry," Hiccup apologized. 

"No need to apologize," his mother said. "I'll take you to him at once." 

She shifted into her dragon form, and they all took off after her. They landed before the King in moments, and Hiccup nodded respectfully to him as the others did their various bows. 

The King nodded back, "Welcome back, young Dragonborn. I would inquire as to what has made your arrival delayed, but I have reason to infer the cause." 

He eyed the two glittering dragons behind Hiccup with laughter in his eyes, and Hiccup smiled with a sigh. 

"Your guess is most likely correct," Hiccup said. 

"Well, then I suppose we must continue business as usual, though perhaps a more swiftly than I had planned," the King replied. "As you know, the Moon Goddess Celebration is tonight, and you are the first guest Flight that we have had in years. Because the Nest of Spikes offers home to any dragon who does not wish harm upon us, most Flights who wish to join our Celebration do not often want to leave. The Leaders usually rather give up their place of leadership in return for living in a nest where safety is guaranteed and food is plentiful. But as a visiting Flight, I wish you to know that during the Celebration, all of you are equal under the Moon Goddess's light. During this sacred time, none are part of my nest, and none are part of your Flight. You are simply all dragons under the care of the Moon Goddess.

"With that being said, it is tradition for the dragon who has received the most magic from the Moon Goddess to begin the Celebration with the first song. Furthermore, because all dragons are of equal status during the Celebration, it does not have to be a dragon from my nest that begins the Celebration. I have been contemplating which dragon I would choose to lead the Moon Goddess Celebration for some time now, but every time I weigh the levels of magic between all the dragons born to the Moon Goddess, you and your second in command keep coming out on top."

"What does that mean?" Hiccup asked, because the King was making it sound suspiciously like he was going to choose him to begin the Celebration. 

"It means that because you both are Moon Sweepers," the King said, "a dragon species especially beloved by the Moon Goddess herself, I would like one of you two to begin the Celebration tonight." 

"I can do it," Toothless said, immediately stepping forward. "Hiccup has never attended a Celebration, so he probably wouldn't know by instinct how to start the Celebration." 

The King nodded, "Those were my thoughts exactly. I simply wished to give the Dragonborn to begin the Celebration if he wished." 

"Thank you for offering," Hiccup said, hiding his surprise that the King would want him to start what he had been told was an incredibly sacred ritual. "But Toothless is absolutely right. I would have no idea where to even start the Celebration." 

"And I've already opened a Celebration before," Toothless added. 

"You have?" Hiccup asked, surprised. 

Toothless nodded, "I have been starting Moon Goddess Celebrations since I was a Youngling. The Queen wanted to ensure that we would be getting as much favor from the Moon Goddess as possible." 

He looked at the ground bitterly, and Hiccup gave him a sympathetic look. 

"Well then I suppose that you are more than qualified to lead this years Moon Sweeper Celebration," the King announced. "And a special one it will be indeed. For all of you." 

He smiled kindly at all of them, making them all stand up straighter with pride. 

"And that's why we made ourselves sparkly and beautiful," Sharpshot said. 

"Yeah, because this will be the first Moon Goddess Celebration we'll have that doesn't have any bad motives behind it," Barf said excitedly. 

"It shall be a momentous occasion," the King agreed. "Now, why don't you all rest up before the sun goes down. You're going to need it." 

"Wait, why?" Hiccup asked, but the King had already turned away, smirking slightly. 

"Why?" Hiccup asked again, to Toothless this time. 

"Well," Toothless said, wincing. "I may have left out the part where most dragons sleep for three days straight due to exhaustion after Celebrations." 

"What?" Hiccup said, alarmed. 

"Yeah, Celebrations take a lot out of you," Sharpshot said, flying up and landing on Toothless's head. 

"The good part is that you don't notice you're tired until the sun rises," Barf told him. "But the bad part is that you have to get yourself to a safe place to nap for three days before you pass out."

"I thought you said that Celebrations give you a lot of magic," Hiccup exclaimed. "Why would they make you tired if you have so much power afterwards?" 

"Two reasons," Toothless said. "One, even if flying and singing Dragonsong that much doesn't deplete all your magic reserves, it still makes your body super sore. Two, that much magic tends to fill up your magical battery too much, leaving you have to take a super long nap in order for your body to acclimate to the high magic levels." 

Hiccup sighed, "Yet another thing I have to be stressed about." 

"Don't worry, son," his mother said, approaching them. "Celebrations are amazing and beautiful. Your instincts will guide you."

"I hope so," Hiccup whispered.

"They will. Now let's rest," she said, shooing them all towards her den, which she'd been letting them use during their visits. "Like the King said, we're going to need it."