A small black paw the size of a blackberry poked through the center of the crack, wiggling around to widen the hole. Then the egg rolled to one side, and a wing broke through the shimmering shell.

Everyone gathered around to watch as a tiny dragonet tumbled out tail first onto the grass, sprawled on its stomach with its back legs still inside the broken black husk.

It yanked its feet out, which sent it rolling further away from the momentum, to where it landed in an upright position and promptly sneezed.

Kinkajou was the first to make a remark.

"AWWWWW!! Look at its little nose and little feet and tiny wings! It's so cute! Tsk, if only I could be its mother oh look at those big eyes." She continued to coddle the baby Night Fury as the others stared at her.

Zuri looked rather amused and took it upon herself to pick up the child and place it safely in her bundled-up cloak. Kinkajou came over and peered over her shoulder to get a better look.

"What should we name it?" Toothless asked, and Winter took a few steps back.

Changed or not, he was uninterested in becoming a caretaker of this little guy. He knew it was just a matter of time before "cute" and "sweet" turned into "loud" and "obnoxious".

"Her," Qibli corrected him. Qibli had studied and read about many topics, one of them being genetics and the make-up of different dragons and genders. He could tell this dragonet was female despite being a different type of dragon due to the more narrow look of her tail.

This wasn't guaranteed, as Toothless was the only other Night Fury he'd met, but it was a solid estimate given what he had to work with. On Pyrrhia, most dragon types don't have a distinct difference besides females generally being larger than males, although some tribes have some subtle differences between the two genders.

Most of the time, dragons can tell another dragon's gender by the way they smell, as males give off a slightly different scent than females which most dragons never even knew about. They just believed it to be instinctual, which was in part true.

But this dragonet was not from Pyrrhia, so he had to assume it was female; given the different tail shape, thinner snout, and longer eyelashes.

"You are quite correct, Qibli. This young lady is the first female to be born in over 7 years. Humans are quite barbaric," Zuri said sadly, in a hushed voice.

Toothless took a few steps closer to her. "So why didn't you do anything? We were dying out and you did nothing! You have all this power and yet, before today I was the last Night Fury alive."

He looked hurt and betrayed, shocked that a dragon with such power would do nothing to help those she supposedly favored.

"That is not true." She said, looking at him with hard yet sincere eyes. "You are not the last of your kind. And I did not abandon your kin."

She took a deep breath as if gathering her thoughts before she plowed forward; suddenly a commanding and large presence in the small clearing. "When I first arrived on this island, I was lonely. I was mad at the dragons who drove me away from my friends and entire life. So I built a world around me. A world where there were so many different kinds of dragons that I didn't feel like such a freak.

"Humans came from Pyrrhia, looking for land. And somehow, they found it. I ignored them, letting them grow in size and make a living for themselves. A mistake, it turned out. Night Furies were the first dragons I created, a more peaceful and beautiful version of Nightwings. I started keeping track of the hatchings after a few mutations created a whole other species of albino Night Furies, which were dubbed Light Furies by the humans and dragon community alike.

"It was only then I realized what was happening, how few were left. Humans saw Night Furies as unique, powerful, and beast-like creatures. Not to be worshiped themselves, but rather by those who managed to kill them. In their eyes, their greatest purpose; sitting on a wall as a show of absolute power."

Silence followed her speech. No one dared move as her words sunk into the heads of those around her. She had seemed fairly normal, young even. But in her story laid the underlying truth.

She was thousands of years old, seen so much, and had been too late to stop even more. Despite her appearance and attitude, she was ancient. Wise. And wield terrifying amounts of power.

Surprising everyone, Turtle was the first to speak.

"That's horrible." His voice sounded strained, but without the usual tremor it held when talking to strange dragons. As if her words were more important than his fear.

Zuri looked at him curiously, but he kept her gaze, sadness etched into the scales around his eyes. He wanted her to know that he understood. Maybe not as well or as deeply as her, but he knew what it was like; to want to help and hide at the same time. To know you can do more than you are, could have done more than you did, yet have and are doing nothing at all. However much you try, you'll never be good enough; for yourself, for others, and for history.

He understood. He was a prince, standing in the shadows as he watched his mother and queen struggle, knowing if he hadn't been so scared and selfish he could have helped. Watched his sister live with the burdened life of an animus, because he couldn't.

"You're an animus," Zuri said plainly, clearly not a question. Turtle looked a little surprised, even more so when she continued. "Thank you." As if she had understood all he was thinking. "I didn't see it before... you are different than other animus dragons. You don't try to be seen. Fascinating..." She continued to study Turtle, and after a minute of this, he started to squirm under her intense green eyes.

The moment was broken by the burbling of the little dragonet as Kinkajou picked her up, playing peek-a-boo with her to many unruly giggles. The small black dragon had been doing her best to not laugh, face scrunched up in the effort. But Kinkajou hadn't given up and ultimately had made the Night Fury's resolve disappear.

The sound reminded everyone of the egg that had hatched not minutes ago.

Most of them had no idea how to deal with dragonets, even Toothless, who'd never been present during a hatching and had always been too young to learn how to take care of one.

Moon grew up isolated, Winter's childhood was strict and royal, and Rainwings never learned until they themselves were with egg.

Peril was and will always be scared by the memory of all the eggs she had destroyed for Scarlet, and Turtle had his own bad memories of unborn dragonets.

Zuri went to pick her up, but the dragonet jumped away from her, jumping from dragon to dragon like a monkey, eliciting many squawks of protest as she hit heads and wings alike.

Her rampage stopped when she reached Qibli, who gently and expertly grabbed the dragonet in his front paws, bringing her in close and rocking her carefully in his arms. Around him, eyes blinked in surprise, but he didn't look up as she tried to escape his grasp, to no avail.

After struggling for a while, she gave in and snuggled closer to his scales, settling in for a well-deserved nap. Being a dragonet was exhausting.

"Since when do you know how to take care of a dragonet?" Winter asked finally, looking at Qibli as if he'd never stop surprising him. His friends looked on with similar expressions, save Moon who just smiled.

"Since I grew up in the Scorpion Den. Unlike some entitled princes out there I helped families by taking care of their kids, among other things. Helped deliver some eggs as well, when we were especially shorthanded. I like kids, and Thorn trusted me with them," Qibli said in a low voice, starting to rock the little dragon once again to lure her further into sleep.

"You mean babysitting," Winter said flatly, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

"I don't see you knowing how to take care of kids." Qibli fired back, a smirk on his face as Winter's breath turned frosty.

"Aww, Qibli! I'm sure Winter's just jealous of your skills," Kinkajou said, giggling despite herself. "I bet he secretly wants to take care of Ebony all by himself."

Moon raised an eyebrow. "Ebony?"

"Yeah who said you could name her?" Peril said fiercely.

"Um, I think it suits her," Turtle chimed in, a small smile tugging at his lips as he looked at the dragonet.

"As do I," Zuri said, looking softly at the curled ball of scales snoring in Qibli's arms.

"Ebony it is then," Qibli whispered, smiling down at the newly named dragonet.

Toothless, now without the distraction of Zuri (an actual legend), he had turned his focus to the small dragonet as she became the sole topic of conversation.

He couldn't stop watching everything she did, wondering if what Zuri had said was true. Were there more Night Furies out there? Why hadn't he met them before? Had his new life with Hiccup prevented him from finding his own kind?

"Can I...?" A hushed question, as if scared if he talked too loudly the sandy dragon would say no. Qibli grinned sarcastically, a familiar expression to his friends.

"Of course. Just promise you won't let Winter take care of her. He might teach her to be like him, and that would be traumatic for anyone."

Winter snorted, glaring at Qibli. He'd gotten better but he has his limits. If it hadn't been for the aggravating number of times the Sandwing had saved him Winter would have left him long ago. How he became friends with someone so irking...

"Calm down Frost Breath I'm joking. I'm sure you're capable of holding a newborn. Watch out for your head though, yeah?" He said, gesturing to where Ebony had used Winter's head as a stepping stone. He handed the sleeping dragonet to Toothless, who took her with gentle paws, the small dragon less minuscule looking next to his smaller frame.

He looked at her and smiled. "Ebony..." He muttered to himself slowly, as if trying it out. She yawned in her sleep and turned over, tiny wings brushing against the older dragon's scales.

"Now what do we do?" Moon asked looking to Zuri for an answer. Six other heads turned to the elder dragon as well.

"Now we get you guys back home. My world may be far from perfect, but by coming here you've disrupted the natural order of things. Humans are not meant to be talked to, even in your case." Zuri nodded her head towards where Hiccup was leaning against Toothless's side. They shared a glance.

"I know where your missing dragons are if you'll reverse the spell and return home. You are not allowed to speak of this place, even to a dragon you trust. After you swear by my terms, you are free to go." Zuri sounded compliant as if this was the best offer they'd get. Qibli took the opportunity.

"Of course. Let's get back to the island first. Then we'll leave," Qibli said agreeably, hoping the flight back would allow for some time to talk to Toothless and Hiccup.

"Well? Why are we waiting let's go!" Peril said, launching into the sky impatiently. She skillfully ignored the looks from her friends on the ground below.

~~~

By the time they'd landed on the island next to the gathered crowd of humans and dragons alike, Qibli had managed to pry as much information out of Hiccup as was both humanly and dragonly possible.

The excitement of talking dragons still hadn't worn away from Hiccup's mind, even as the giant sandy dragon talked his ear off about everything in his life, and the lives of the average human.

He'd miss the Jade winglet; they reminded him of his friends in a way. Six different personalities, all working together effortlessly as a group. Well, at first they seemed quite the opposite, what with all their bickering and arguments. But after spending some time with them Hiccup decided they were okay in his books.

"So... we're never going to see you again then?" Astrid asked, crossing her arms as usual as she looked at the line of dragons in front of her.

Snotlout was trying to seem indifferent about the goodbye but struggled as Kinkajou tried to play with him. Peril was laughing with the twins as they threw stuff in the air and she whacked it with her tail, which to Hiccup could only end in disaster what with the flaming sheep now flying through the base.

"No, no you probably won't," Moon said sadly, dipping her head so Astrid could reach her snout. Moon found it a respectable way to say goodbye, similar to entwining one's tails or the scavenger's intertwining one's hands and shaking them up and down.

"It was nice to meet you," Qibli said, smiling down at Astrid and Hiccup, the latter of the two who was looking concernedly at his friends.

Snotlout was now being pinned by a giggling Ebony as Kinkajou and Toothless watched on. Winter was poking through a bin of tools, knocking over numerous boxes in the process.

Fishlegs was preoccupied studying Turtle excitedly and sketching the markings on his arms and tail. He looked about ready to pass out when Turtle told him that they used their glowing scales to speak an underwater language.

The other island dragons crowded around Zuri, who was trying to deflect their attention without much success.

"Alright, listen up!" She finally called, silence falling upon the space within seconds. The only sound being the bleating of flaming sheep and the banging of Winters's head as he tried to remove it from a doorway. His spikes kept getting in the way, and after a few painful thumps, Astrid went to go help him.

Zuri told them that she'd turned the missing patrol of dragons around, sending them back with the same oath the group of six had made to her. This was both a relief and an embarrassing discovery.

"You all should be leaving now. You made a promise, and by staying here any longer it will just be harder to leave," Zuri said seriously. The six dragonets nodded in silent agreement and stalked to the edge of the cliffs, turning to look back at everyone.

"By Odin's will, may our paths cross again," Fishlegs said, wiping a tear from his eyes.

Winter rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "Three moons, let's get on with it already."

He took off first, sharp scales gleaming in the setting sun. It had taken longer than expected to fly back. Peril followed, whooping, with Kinkajou and Turtle close behind her. Qibli gave a respectful nod of his head, and took off, Moon smiling before following him.

The dragons and their riders watched as the six strangers flew away; the sight not any less strange as when they'd first arrived, but considerably more glum as their new friends disappeared into the light of the sun.

~~~

Last Chapter! Hope you enjoyed, and thank you to everyone who's stuck with me despite my terrible updating schedule (which at this point is non-existent).

I'm still not sure how a short one-chapter story turned into six, but I'm glad it did. This was a blast to write, and I'm glad others liked it.

See you later alligators :)