Once in a Nightlight

Chapter 10

The next day Toothless arose at the crack of dawn while the flock were still soundlessly sleeping. The sun sprayed little rays of light through the Hidden World and bathed the floor in it's warmth while the air was still crisp and chilly. Toothless got to his paws and stretched out his aching limbs and grunted with satisfaction when he felt loose again. It was the day he and his new friends were going to collect a few crystals to repair one of the pillars. 

Outside heavy flapping was heard and Wildfang landed on the perch of their den alongside his close friend Thunderhorn. The two males approached the royal den with calm whispers when they saw the Queen was still fast asleep.

"Good morning your majesty." Wildfang whispered softly and dipped his head with Thunderhorn who quietly greeted the King after him.

"Good morning to you both, are you ready?" Toothless respectfully dipped his head back and looked down at Luna who was peacefully  sleeping curled up in a ball. He lowered his head and gave her a soft lick across the cheek and stepped over her coiled body to his friends. "The air seems nice and chilly today."

"Doesn't it just? This morning I checked the entrance and it looks pretty foggy from above." Thunderhorn nodded and sat himself down. "Which is good because we can keep hidden from any hunters that may be lurking around on the seas."

"Then that is good." Toothless nodded and twitched his ears to the sound of birds tweeting around the kingdom. "So where are these crystals located up North?" 

"There is this cavern deep in a mountainside which leads down into endless tunnels of darkness." Wildfang shuddered slightly "I may know the route up to the Cave of Wonders but from there I cannot remember, but I may be able to track the rest of the journey by scent. I have excellent smelling." Wildfang twitched his nose in triumph then his eyes suddenly went dark, and he leaned in towards Toothless. "...But we must be careful. Up North is alarmingly dangerous my King."

"Really?" Toothless looked at him with slight disbelief knowing such a place could be so dangerous. "How so?"

"Savage dragons live up there, it is where they spend their days wasting away with little food and water and little warmth to spare for themselves and others around them." Thunderhorn spoke up. He knew more about up North than Wildfang did seen as he himself use to live among these ruthless beasts. "There is an abandoned Dragon Arena there too where dragons with no homes camp in the cages for limited warmth and safety. Wildfang is right, North is more dangerous than we could imagine."

Toothless listened to what they had to say with round eyes. He had heard a lot about the Northern Beasts back on Berk where stray dragons were brought back and homed, but sadly one of the savages were brutally slaughtered because he lost his mind and went on a killing spree around the island. Toothless himself shuddered violently.

"Yes, I understand now. So we must be careful." He nodded with confidence to his two companions. Toothless had not known these two males for long but he already considered them as his close friends, any close friends of Luna are his too.

"We will keep you safe and guide you through the mountains and hillsides until we get to the Cave of Crystals. We know you can take care of yourself Toothless so you will be fine in case we encounter some danger on the way." Thunderhorn gave him a brief nod then stood on his paws. "Now we should be heading for the North before the sun rises too high, we don't want the Northern Savages to be up and rowdy." 

The trio made their way up a slope and towards the peak of a hill where they flew most of the way back to the entrance of their home. The air was the right temperature for them so they could fly on their journey comfortably, occasionally passing a few dragons who were up early and greeted the trio.