AN: Hey guys! Sorry 'bout the wait. Y'wanna know why? Um... Mum took my iPad, I went away to Sydney for two weeks (YAY my first plane trip!) (had an awesome time btw), Christmas, during which I was looking after my boss' yard and someone's cat (totally adorable as well), spent a lot of time studying, lots of training 'cause all that time in Sydney I got fat, hmm...lot's of time spent on FF, during which I spent a lot of time reading httyd crap and bitching about Mary Sues and half a billion other things. So basically...PROCRASTINATION!

Had a great time in Sydney as well, it was awesome. We went to Luna Park, The Australian Museum, the Power House Museum (saw DC Lego exhibition, fucking amazing! There was a goddamn, life-size, Lego Batmobile! A fucking Batmobile! It was so awesome and you are so jealous. I know you are. I can feel your jealousy.), Sea Life Aquarium, Taronga Zoo, the Botanical Gardens, past the UNSW campus, Opera House and even saw real life Picassos. God damn Picassos. And went to Matilda the Musical.

And now it's school again. Fun times.

Started watching The Flash series, and oh my fucking god; Harrison Wells (wheelchair dude), looks exactly like my Uncle. I am not even kidding. Glasses, face shape, hair colour, goddamn eye colour! Except my uncle smiles different...it's less...evil looking...and he's not in a wheelchair.

AnyHoudini..

OH! I forgot to mention last chapter: I don't actually know how to ride a dragon. Any information regarding the riding of dragons I have taken from my knowledge of riding horses. So if you ever encounter a dragon and wish to ride it...this probably isn't the way you should go about it.

Anyway, enjoy this hard work of mine. I don't own this yadda yaddda ya etc.

Last time: Our heroes discovered the mysterious Death Song dragon, a strange creature that lures its victims to a slow and gruesome demise. With the help of their humans the dragons defeated the Death Song. The mysterious island boy and the dragon riders were then left with the dilemma as to what to do with the fearsome dragon...

Chapter 8

}Acid{

Asmund

I looked down at Astrid as she clasped my forearm firmly, "sorry."

She stared up at me firmly. "I don't apologise. But if I did, this is where I would."

We nodded firmly and broke apart.

"So..." Hiccup began, "we should probably-" he was cut off by the terrified screech of a Changewing.

"What was that?" Astrid demanded, turning to scan the area.

"Changewing." I answered shortly. I removed a short coil of rope from my satchel and dropped it on the ground. "You can use this on the Death Song until you get off the island."

"We're not going anywhere until we free that dragon." Hiccup stood his ground, glaring at Astrid, challenging her to change his mind.

"Not my problem." I waved it off, turning to leave.

"Where do you think you're going?" Astrid demanded.

"Home." I answered shortly. "You can get burned to death, I'm going home."

"You can't just leave us here."

"Yes. Yes, I can actually. Good luck with your dragon rescue."

"They're not dangerous. Dragons aren't dangerous." Hiccup stated passionately.

"Really?" I asked sarcastically, "I think those three dragons there disprove your statement."

He rolled his eyes. "Not to us. Not now we've formed a bond with the dragons. See?"

I paused, looking over my shoulder at him. "Yeah. I see. Now goodbye."

"Don't you want to get off this island?" I froze, memories beating at the wall in my mind. "If you join us, you can leave. You can go wherever you want, be whoever you want, do whatever you want." He paused for breath. "You just have to trust me."

"What if I don't want to leave?"

He shrugged. "Then you don't have to. Just please, learn about dragons. What they really are. You won't have to fear them if they become your friends."

"What does this have to do with the Changewing?" I asked suspiciously.

"A lot. Come and find out." He tied the Death Song's muzzle shut tightly then mounted the black dragon...Toothless, if I recall correctly.

Astrid followed suite and mounted her Nadder, less surely, and a bit clumsier than Hiccup. I approached the black dragon unsure and carefully mounted behind Hiccup.

"C'mon bud, let's find that dragon." Toothless roared at the Death Song beneath him before taking off. We hovered a good distance above the ground scanning the rocky cliff base.

"There!" Astrid pointed down at several amber coloured splodges, nestled behind a stone wall.

"Take us in bud." Toothless warbled and swooped down, a marvellous feeling up in the air.

We landed with a muffled whump and Hiccup dismounted, scanning the trapped dragons. There were several gronkles, a terrible terror or two, several Roman skeletons, littered with bits of amber and a single very angry Changewing. It roared and screeched, whipping its head from side to side and attempting to spit acid. I dismounted Toothless and cautiously moved to the side of the small valley, standing between a skeleton and several pieces of Roman armour.

Hiccup lowered his body a bit, so he appeared smaller and less dangerous. He moved forward slowly, eyes lowered submissively. The Changewing stopped its wild thrashing instead opting to glare and growl at the slowly advancing Hiccup. He murmured softly, gentle, encouraging words flowing over the dragon. The growling softened and Hiccup turned his head, reaching a hand slowly toward the dragon. The dragon paused and sniffed at his hand. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a fascinating thing to watch. This scrawny, hiccup, this...twig of a boy turn a snarling, thrashing beast into a gentle creature, sniffing and nuzzling his hand as if it were a tame animal.

"Asmund, do you know if this amber stuff has any weaknesses?" Hiccup asked over his shoulder.

I frowned. "When someone was caught in the Death Song's amber, my village used to melt it. It's indestructible otherwise."

He nodded. "Astrid, can you get Stormfly to give me a slow burn?"

She nodded in acknowledgement and gave her Nadder, Stormfly, the command. Hiccup stroked the Changewing's head soothingly as Stormfly melted the solid amber. The indestructible amber was soon a shiny puddle on the ground and the Changewing was free. It stretched out it's wings and limbs and roared triumphantly.

"Asmund, come here." Hiccup waved me over. The Changewing hadn't moved from it's spot but instead of looking ready to attack or flee, it seemed it wanted to stay.

I hesitated, but moved forward slowly, in a similar manner to what I'd seen Hiccup do. He took one of my hands and outstretched it to the Changewing, placing it on it's muzzle. The scales were surprisingly warm and soft under my hand, although a little dry.

"What are you doing?" I hissed as Hiccup backed away triumphantly, a smug grin stretching his face.

"Helping you make a friend for life."

I looked back at the Changewing puzzled, it's breath warmed my hand and pushed past my arm, raising goose flesh. I met the dragon's yellow eyes and I almost swore I saw myself reflected in the shining yellow.

"Changewings are pack animals," Hiccup continued his lecture, "much like wolves or people. They feel threatened or scared when separated from their packs and tend to hide or flee. In theory, it would be possible to train a Changewing if you made it feel safe and in a pack that welcomes them. Even if Astrid and I leave, this Changewing is likely to stay with you and protect you as if you were a member of his pack." I nodded beginning to see his point.

"So you're saying, if I treat this Changewing well and protect it, it'll protect me as well?"

Hiccup nodded. "That's how a pack works. It's in his instincts."

I nodded slowly. Astrid and Hiccup watched me curiously, waiting to see what I would do. The Changewing looked at me intelligently, with cunning yellow eyes.

"He'll be Fjalar. The deceiver. And I'll come with you."

Hiccup

I continued to give Astrid flying lessons while Asmund and Fjalar rested by the lake in the shade of a willow tree. They were both fast and attentive learners, catching on quickly and guessing how or when something was needed to be done. Astrid and Stormfly were soon guessing each-other's movements and moving in sync, leaning and spinning and diving eagerly. Asmund seemed to learn best by watching, I guessed that he probably taught himself most of what he knows by watching other people at work.

We glided down to land by the lake and rest.

Astrid slid off Stormfly, stretching her legs and back. "Hiccup, you need to get to work on those saddles soon."

"I know Astrid, I just need more supplies first and then I will get onto those saddles." I answered painfully aware of her pained glare.

"I have some materials you can use." Asmund said.

We looked over at Asmund curiously. "In my cave. There might not be enough for two saddles but enough to make the basics."

I nodded, "Toothless and I will get a couple of things from our cave then we can go get those materials."

Asmund and Astrid nodded in agreement and Toothless and I took off. We circled the mountain and landed in our cave. I slid off Toothless and gathered up my satchel, scavenging through the scraps of metal for makeshift tools, I pushed my notebook into the satchel, piled the tools in on top and gathered Astrid's deer skin and a few soft rabbit skins.

"C'mon bud." We flew back out to meet Astrid and Asmund, hovering over the waterfall.

"This way," Asmund lead us low over the forest, past the hollow corpses of the burnt out village. We landed deep in the forest, beside a stone hill, covered in moss and plant life.

He slid off Fjalar and walked forward to a curtain of ivy and vines. "In here."

Astrid and I shared a look, but we followed anyway, pushing past the vines and heavy skins that covered the entrance and kept the cave warm. It was a fairly large cave, with a low ceiling but it spread back a fair way. Dried herbs dangled from the ceiling, furs and skins were piled over a rickety wooden bed. Cooking utensils and tools were stacked along the walls and there was a fire pit in the center of the floor, the coals still glowed red and a cast iron pot rested slightly off to the side. Several furs and large, thick clothes hung off pegs forced into the wall.

"You've been here a while." Astrid observed.

Asmund frowned but said nothing. He rooted through the skins piled on his bed and pulled out a pair of deer skins.

"Here." He handed them to me and I spread them across the ground, examining them. I pulled out my charcoal pencil and picked one skin up. I lay the skin across Stormfly's back, around where I'd seen Astrid ride. I traced the outline of a simple, streamlined saddle, light and small. I put the skin down and looked at it from several angles. I fished around in my satchel and found a knife that I'd remade, sharper and with a less worn grip.

"Time to get to work."