Come Darkness, Come Light

Chapter 15 - Mission: Fun

A/N: Hello, everyone! Thanks for the views, follows, favorites, and reviews! You are all so awesome! P.S.— I'm so close to a 40,000 word count! That's been my goal from the start, so I'm super excited I'm almost there. I'll be honest—I thought I'd spit out five chapters and get bored. As it turns out, though, I've developed an unhealthy addiction to writing this story.

joeyjumper94 - I actually have a very specific storyline already planned out for those two. *wink wink* Plus, in my world, Night Furies can't be controlled by other dragons so I don't think Jade or Shadow would do anything for her. Very interesting idea, though.

CHSHiccstrid - I don't want to spoil anything that happens in the story's future, but Astrid will be a major character eventually...

Disclaimer: ┻━┻ ︵ヽ('▭')ﾉ︵ ┻━┻

HICCUP'S POV

*What do you think? Accurate?* I asked the Tiny-wing on my shoulder, showing him my drawing so far. I was working on the page in the Book of Dragons dedicated to his species, and he was acting as a model so I could be sure to get all the details right. If it wasn't a perfect representation, it was a failure.

Perch licked his eyeball and tilted his head to look at my artwork. *Very good looks like me just like me so smart you are young human I like it very much yes yes!* He answered, bobbing his head up and down. I smiled with satisfaction and set the book back on my lap, reaching up to give him a scratch underneath the chin. He melted into my touch, leaning against my neck for support.

This was the same Tiny-wing I'd found on the human ship almost a year ago. He'd disappeared without a trace for a long time after that, which Tiny-wings were easily able to do considering their size. It wasn't until a couple months ago that he showed up again. It only took me a second to recognize him—how could I ever forget? I liked to consider him my first dragon rescue, even though all I really did was make a big mess that my mom had to clean up...Still, he remembered that I at least had some part in his freedom. He expressed his gratitude by bringing me fish every day, which I tried desperately to decline, but once Tiny-wings get in a routine, it's difficult to break them from it. His name was well-earned—he used me as a perch whenever he could. I didn't mind the extra company, but Toothless was not a fan of my new shadow. After a few weeks of chasing the small dragon away, he'd managed to give Perch a pretty nasty bite that sent him into hiding again for a couple days. I'd scolded Toothless for being mean (he'd simply rolled his eyes, completely indifferent), but I had to admit his actions had been beneficial. Perch came back around, but he stopped bringing me fish. Mostly because Toothless ate whatever he caught, anyways. Things settled down after that, and Toothless became a little more accepting of Perch's presence, though he still thought of the little dragon as a pest more than anything else.

Perch was happy to pose while I drew him. The book was now about halfway full, and there was still a lot more to put in. My mom and I had been adding more sections to it steadily over the last six months. It was a slow process. My mom said she wanted it to be way more detailed than the original one on Berk. Our progress stalled when she went on missions, or when I was too tired from lessons and training. Plus, there were just so many dragons. Alpha had even told us of species that lived in hot climates on the other side of the world, or Tidal Class dragons that lived deep in the ocean that humans didn't even know about. My sketches of those dragons were experimental, just based off of whatever information Alpha could give me. If I'd known how long making this book would take, I might've not been as excited about it when my mom first introduced the idea.

I glanced up to where my dragon was crouched on a rock nearby overhanging the lake by a few inches. His sharp gaze was trained on the water, waiting for an oblivious fish to swim beneath his nose. So far, his luck had been pretty sour. Perhaps the fish could sense the danger somehow. "Toothless, come check out my drawing!" I called out. His opinion meant more to me than anyone else's, and he liked when I showed him my artwork. He had attempted to draw in the sand with a large branch once...It was good...for a dragon with no opposable thumbs.