Chapter 29

Hiccup woke slowly, the rising sun glaring through his eyelids and forcing them to open. He lifted his head from the ground, yawning as he surveyed his surroundings. Hookfang and Toothless were still sound asleep. Toothless was laying on his side with his mouth hanging wide open, his tongue lolling out. 

A laugh escaped Hiccup at the sight, and he turned his head, searching for Ignatius. With a frown, he realized the Sun Sweeper wasn't in sight, and climbed to his feet. 

"Natius?" he called out. 

A whistle filled the air, making Hiccup relax as he looked up. Natius was soaring through the sky, his wings tucked to his sides as he dove towards the ground. He had a look on his face of pure contentment, making Hiccup smile at the sight. Just before he was about to hit the trees, Natius snapped his wings open, his tail flicking down before he darted back up towards the sky. 

The sky was blanketed in a thick layer of clouds, and Natius disappeared into the white just as easy as a Moon Sweeper could disappear into the night. Hiccup knew that any dragon could easily hide in the clouds if they were thick enough-he himself had done it several times-but a Sun Sweeper could stay completely hidden even if they were just barely inside the clouds. With his pitch black scales, Hiccup would have to fly deep into the clouds in order to stay completely hidden. 

Hiccup walked towards the lake, planning to let the other Dragonborn fly alone in peace. He stood poised at the bank of the lake, eyes searching for the fish below the surface. In minutes, he had a spread out on the sand, and was munching down on his catch. 

Another whistle sounded from above, making Hiccup look up again as Ignatius dove down towards the lake. Hiccup watched with interest, waiting for the other Dragonborn to snap back upwards, but Natius just kept diving towards the ground. He shot into the depths of the lake, making Hiccup shriek in alarm as the water splashed towards him. 

Hiccup stared at the water, ripples still expanding from where Natius had dived in. 

"Natius?" Hiccup asked after a beat of silence. 

The Sun Sweeper erupted from the water, his wings spread out wide as he shot upwards, looping upside down before landing next to Hiccup. 

"Hi," Natius said to Hiccup.

"What was that?" Hiccup asked, amazed. 

"What?" Natius asked, confused. 

"That water move thingy," Hiccup said, using his head to gesture towards the water. 

"Oh that," Natius said, shaking the water off his body and spraying Hiccup in the process. "A Sea Sweeper friend of mine taught me that."

Hiccup's brows furrowed, "I thought you said the other Sweepers didn't like you?" 

"The Sky Sweepers didn't," Natius shrugged. "But the Sea Sweepers did. The Great Sea does not like being contained, and most of the Sea Sweeper's personalities reflected that. So they got along well with me." 

"Cool," Hiccup said. "Want some fish?" 

Natius glanced towards the pile of fish Hiccup had collected, his pupils narrowing slightly. "I can get my own fish." 

The Sun Sweeper walked past Hiccup, lifting his wings and gliding over to the other side of the lake to fish. 

"I don't think he likes being coddled," Toothless's voice rang behind Hiccup, making his head whip around. 

"I'm not coddling him," Hiccup said defensively as his brother sidled up next to him. "I just offered him some fish." 

"Which is something almost no dragons ever do," Toothless said pointedly. "You know that." 

Hiccup sighed, "I know, I know. I was just trying to help." 

"Which is called coddling," Toothless said, his legs bending as he stared at the water intently. 

"No, it's called helping. Coddling is when you're over-helping. There's a difference." 

Toothless lunged towards the water, coming back up with a large fish that he bit down on until it stopped squirming, before setting it down on the sand next to him. 

"Just let him be," Toothless said, looking for another fish. "And try not to 'over-help' him. You'll scare him away." 

"Away from what?" Hiccup asked, frowning. "It's not like he can fly back to his nest, he told us that last night." 

Toothless glanced at Hiccup amusedly, shaking his head as he turned back towards the water. "Just act normal. You certainly wouldn't treat any of your Flight this way." 

"I would if they had gotten captured by Dragon Hunters," Hiccup countered. 

"Would you?" Toothless challenged.

"Maybe." 

"Hiccup, you would have stopped offering to help them after they said no the first time," Toothless sighed. "Treat him like you would any other dragon." 

Hiccup refrained from responding, and instead walked back towards his pile of fish. The truth was, Ignatius wasn't like ever other dragon. He was a Dragonborn. And on top of that, he was a Sun Sweeper Dragonborn. 

As he ate, Hookfang awoke, and soon all four of them were rested with full bellies. 

"Alright," Hiccup said, standing to his feet and glancing at the sun. "We've got a whole day of flying ahead of us, so we better get moving." 

Hookfang and Toothless nodded, walking up behind Hiccup as they prepared to take off. 

"Shouldn't we check the perimeter first?" Natius asked, flying over and landing at Hiccup's side. 

"Why?" Hiccup asked, ignoring the fact that the Sun Sweeper wasn't standing behind him in the flight formation. 

"Because I can say with full certainty that the Dragon Hunters are searching for us," Natius said. "And we can't know if they're not surrounding us right now." 

Hiccup considered that, "Did you see anything as you were flying over the island?" 

"No, but they could have moved in while were eating," Natius said. 

"Okay," Hiccup conceded. "If you would feel more comfortable with doing a perimeter check before we leave, you can go right ahead." 

Natius's eyes flashed with surprise, before they narrowed at Hiccup. "That's usually a job for the lesser powerful dragons in the Flight." 

"You're not in my Flight," Hiccup said calmly, trying to ignore the growl that was in the Sun Sweeper's voice, "and you're the only one of us who can easily blend into the clouds. If there are Dragon Hunters, you'd be the only one that wouldn't be spotted." 

Natius tilted his head slightly, considering. 

"Okay," he said after a moment, and took off into the sky. 

Hiccup didn't watch him go, and instead sat lightly down on the ground, his eye twitching slightly. 

"Uh, Captain," Hookfang said. 

"Yes?" Hiccup asked. 

"Should you be letting the Sun Sweeper talk to you like that?" Hookfang asked. 

Hiccup sighed, "Well, he's not in my Flight. And he's a Dragonborn, so I don't think I'm any more powerful than he is." 

"But he disrespected your decision," Hookfang insisted. 

"And he warned me of that last night," Hiccup said. "He's cautious, I can't blame him for that. And truthfully, checking the perimeter was a good idea. I can appreciate his input." 

"Well he could at least give 'input' in a nicer way," Hookfang grumbled. 

Natius appeared from within the clouds, and glided down towards them. 

"All clear," he reported. 

Hiccup nodded, "Thank you. Let's go." 

Natius nodded back in acknowledgement, moving to Hiccup's side as they prepared to take off.

Hiccup blew out a breath, glancing at the Sun Sweeper sharply before launching into the sky. He tilted his wings, turning them in the direction of the nest. Natius made no comment on this, thankfully, and they flew in silence as they soared up and above the clouds. Their fluffy white forms rose from the sky like mountains, and Hiccup gazed at them appreciatively as they bent and swayed in the wind. 

"How far away is the nest?" Natius asked after a moment. 

"We'll probably be flying the whole day," Hiccup responded. "And be prepared for a bit of a commotion once we get there."

"Commotion?" 

"Well, it's not ever day a new Dragonborn show up at the nest," Hiccup laughed. 

Natius's eyes flashed, "You're going to tell them I'm Dragonborn?" 

Hiccup frowned, "Do you not want me to?" 

"No," Natius said sharply. "If I'm going to be living in a different nest for a year, I'd at least like to be treated like a normal dragon while I'm there." 

"Why wouldn't you be treated like a normal dragon?" Toothless asked. 

 Natius glanced back at Toothless with confusion. "Because I'm Dragonborn. Dragonborn don't get treated like normal dragons." 

"Why wouldn't we?" Hiccup asked. "Sure, I've had a couple dragons be mistrusting of me at first, but they got used to me pretty quick." 

Natius looked at Hiccup. "Really?" 

"Yeah," Hiccup said. "Like that Blaze Builder Hookfang's courting right now, she was super untrusting when I first met her, but then was fine with me once she realized that I wasn't threatening her position as Leader."

"The Dragonborn part definitely spooked her," Hookfang added in, looking slightly annoyed at Hiccup for mentioning Gem, "but it wouldn't make her hate him." 

Natius blinked, turning to Hiccup, "So they wouldn't outcast me for being Dragonborn?" 

"Of course not," Hiccup said. "Heck, my mother is the second in command to the King." 

Natius's eyes widened a bit, but he quickly covered up his surprise and turned back to the sky. 

"Okay," he said. 

They flew in silence for the rest of the day, the air getting colder as they flew farther north and the sun began to set. Soon, Natius's whole body was shivering from the cold, and Hiccup kept glancing at him with concern.

"Are you okay?" Hiccup asked. 

"Cold," Natius responded through a clenched jaw, his teeth chattering. 

"Oh yeah," Toothless said. "It must be so warm at the Sweeper Nest. That is why you guys left, after all. You're probably just not used to the cold." 

"No kidding," Natius responded, his voice breaking in between shivers. 

"We're almost there," Hiccup said, glancing in the direction they were flying. "In fact, I think we're here." 

The Nest of Spikes was looming on the horizon, and Hiccup picked up the pace slightly as they neared it. He was excited to get back to his mother, and tell her that their detour was a success. 

"So are you okay with telling the dragons you're Dragonborn?" Hiccup asked Natius, "You didn't actually say if you were okay with it or not." 

There was a beat of silence before Natius spoke, "No one would treat me any differently?" 

"They might respect you more," Hiccup offered.

Natius's head whipped around, looking slightly incredulous."Respect me more?" 

"Dragonborn are crazy powerful," Hookfang said. "The King even said that Hiccup's magic could rival his own." 

Natius turned to Hiccup. "Really?"  

Hiccup nodded, "We have far more magic than most. The dragons of the archipelago recognize that." 

Natius looked down, a hundred different thoughts and emotions flashing in his eyes.

"Okay, you can tell them," he said after a moment, his voice quiet but firm. 

"Great," Hiccup said, smiling at him. 

The Sun Sweeper didn't smile back, but gave a slight nod of recognition. Hiccup took it as a win, and started guiding them into the tunnels of the nest. They flew out into the heart of the nest, the familiar sight of hundreds of dragons flying through the air making calm wash over Hiccup. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Hiccup saw Natius's jaw slacken at the sight, and his eyes widen. 

"What?" Hiccup asked the Sun Sweeper.

"The dragons," Natius said, "there's so many kinds." 

"Well, yeah," Hiccup said, laughing awkwardly. "Of course there are."

Natius shook his head. "Sure." 

Hiccup frowned, but flew over towards the King's pool. He found his mother standing before the King in her half dragon form, Cloudjumper standing at her side. They were talking tensely to the King, and Hiccup could tell how worried his mother was. 

"Mom," Hiccup roared out in greeting, making her turn in surprise. 

"Son," she cried, running over to him as they landed, "I was starting to get worried." 

Hiccup shifted into his half dragon form when his paws hit the ground, and his mother embraced him immediately. 

"We rescued hundreds of dragons from the ships," she said as she let him go, "but none housed something Viggo could find so special. I hope your search was more fruitful?" 

Hiccup smiled, stepping to the side and glancing back at Natius. He stood there tensely, looking at Hiccup's mother with slight curiosity showing in his eyes. 

"Hi," Natius said. 

She smiled, her eyes widening. "Why, hello-" She stopped abruptly, her expression going from curious to shocked. 

"Are you Dragonborn?" She asked, her voice just barely a whisper. 

"I am," Natius said tersely, his body tense. 

"And you were captured by Dragon Hunters?" she exclaimed, looking both extremely concerned and slightly horrified. 

"I was," Natius replied. 

"Oh, you poor thing," Hiccup's mother said, her tone suddenly changing into a tone Hiccup recognized. 

"Are you okay? How long did they have you captured? When was the last time you ate? What did they do to you?" 

She almost ran over to Ignatius, flitting over him like a mother hen, and making him look extremely uncomfortable and confused. 

"Uh-" he said. 

"Come on, shift," Valka replied. "I need to get a good look at you in your half dragon form." 

"O-Okay," he said, shifting into his half dragon form. 

She gasped, making Hiccup cringe as she commented on how malnourished and dirty he looked. 

"Alright, come," his mother told Natius, grabbing him by his arm and beginning to drag him. "I will get you fed, bathed, and a new pair of clothing." 

"Oh, that's really not necessary-" Natius tried to refuse. 

"Nonsense," she responded, her eyes glowing blue as she decided to carry him on a gust of wind instead of dragging him. 

Natius yelled at the sudden flight, his limbs flapping wildly as Hiccup's mother began flying in the direction of her human quarters, taking him along with her. 

"Cloudjumper, have Hiccup and his Flight wait in my den," Valka yelled back, before picking up her pace and flying away. 

Cloudjumper turned to Hiccup, looking at him expectantly. 

"Uh, yeah, alright," Hiccup said, bewildered.