Jolt and Toothless recognized each other instantly. Both roaring greetings to the other, they bolted forward, Hiccup excited, Rylan resigned.

Jolt slid smoothly next to Toothless, and Rylan looked over at Hiccup. Now that Hiccup had time to study him, he became less and less worried. Rylan had feathery black hair, partially concealed by his horned helmet. His eyes were a clear, dark blue, and they were without any hint of trickery or lies. 

Also, Toothless's lack of concern was comforting. His dragon had an intuitive sense about who and what to trust. 

"Thanks for coming out,"Hiccup muttered, suddenly uncomfortable now that he was here. 

Rylan looked almost equally nervous, though his dragon was also as relaxed as Toothless. Rylan cast a look over the blank skies.

"Did you bring anyone with you?" he asked. Hiccup shook his head. 

"No. I just... wanted to talk to you." When Rylan looked confused, Hiccup continued,

"If you're telling the truth about everything, I'm interested in your story, and Pyrons. I mean, you could be lying to me, but either way, I'm curious about you and Jolt."

Rylan looked over at him and Toothless, noticing, for the first time, Toothless's red tail fin and Hiccup's prosthetic leg.

"Well, okay," he said, "but I've got a few questions for you too."

They landed on top of a stone column that was fairly flat. Jolt settled himself beside Toothless, and Rylan and Hiccup sat by their respective dragons. 

Hicucp examined Rylan calculatingly. In a way, his sense of unease made him even more convincing. He wasn't supposed to naturally trust him, which actually made Hiccup trust Rylan more, in a strange sense. Either way, the chances that he was an Outcast spy were decreasing by the moment. 

Meanwhile, Rylan was wondering why Hiccup had chosen to come alone. Had he been lying? Were dragon riders watching him right now? But he shook off his worries. One way or the other, he wanted to talk to Hiccup.

They stared at each other. Finally, wanting to start on good terms, Hiccup gestured toward Rylan and said, "You go first."

Rylan took a deep breath, deciding to start with something small. 

"How long have you been riding dragons?" 

Hiccup turned to Toothless, as if wondering if Rylan could take any dangerous information from his answer. Apparently, he decided it was safe to tell him.

"I've been with Toothless for about a year now. Astrid and the others have had a little less time than I have." Rylan knew he was only supposed to ask one question at a time, but couldn't help interjecting,

"So you were the first one on Berk to train a dragon?"

Hiccup nodded, now sizing up Rylan and Jolt. He seemed to be wondering which one to ask about first. Evidently the Outcast won out. 

"How about you? When did you find Jolt?"

Rylan grinned, rubbing Jolt's belly. 

"It was an accident actually. I just wanted to let off some steam in the forest, and I heard him," he paused to smile at Jolt. "He was just a hatchling then, but he got this big after about two months."

Now it was Hiccup that couldn't resist asking an additional question. 

"You were able to keep a dragon secret for two months?" He seemed favorably impressed, and Rylan gathered that Toothless had been discovered earlier than was intended. 

"Well... actually I had to leave the tribe so he wouldn't be found. We lived in the forest until he was big enough to fly."

Hiccup nodded like he understood now, and waved toward Rylan, indicating that he could ask his next question. 

Now Rylan turned his attention to Hiccup's metal leg. He wore it so naturally that Rylan guessed he'd gotten used to it. 

"What happened to... your leg?" he asked, feeling slightly awkward asking. 

Hiccup looked down at his missing foot, as if he'd forgotten that it was gone. Shrugging, he said, 

"Well, I guess it's not a big secret. We found the dragon's nest by mistake, and Berk went there to fight them off." Here his eyes glazed slightly, as if remembering something that he wished he didn't. 

"There was a dragon there, the Green Death. Huge, and I do mean huge! The tribe knew they couldn't fight it off, but the other kids and I rode dragons over here to help out." He rubbed Toothless's head affectionately here.

"The dragon exploded when Toothless fired into it's mouth. I was knocked off, but he saved me." Toothless butted his shoulder playfully. 

"We got back to Berk, and..." he gestured at his missing leg. 

"Toothless had to bite it off to get to me in time. I would have died without him."

Rylan stared at the Night Fury in astonishment, then turned to Jolt. Would he be prepared to do the same for Rylan? But as he stared into Jolt's deep golden eyes, full of trust and devotion, he knew that Jolt would.

Hiccup shrugged, as if to say it hadn't been a big deal, then asked his next question.

"So you say Alvin's dragons still don't obey him?"

Rylan shook his head. 

"No. There's a Whispering Death that he's been working at for weeks, but it just doesn't do what he wants." In a hushed voice, he continued, "I've heard rumors that he hurts it badly. Just loses control when it doesn't behave." 

Hiccup looked outraged. He had no love for Whispering Deaths, but that kind of treatment was cruel to any living creature. 

Now Rylan turned to Toothless's fake limb, rather than Hiccup's. 

"So how did your dragon lose it's tail fin?" he asked. "Was it the Green Death too?"

Hiccup shifted uncomfortably, looking a little guilty. 

"Well, I... kind of shot him down with weighted ropes," he muttered, eyes down. "We still hunted dragons then, and I wanted to do something impressive." 

Rylan was confused. If the dragon had lost it's tail fin, he couldn't have flown away. He would have been totally at Hiccup's mercy. 

"Why didn't you kill him?" Rylan asked quietly, not wanting to sound accusatory. 

Hiccup looked into Toothless's eyes and replied, "I just couldn't. He was as scared as I was. I cut him free, and found him trapped in a cove a few days later." 

Gesturing back at the fake tail, he explained, "I made a replacment tail for him, and figured out how to ride." 

Rylan smiled, knowing how that felt. 

Hiccup now opened his mouth and said, "So, how-," but was quickly cut off by a large, angry dragon landing right in front of them. But the dragon's anger was nothing compared to its rider.