Astrid frowned as she picked up a stick. "Do you think you can train more dragons?"

Hiccup blinked, pausing his progress on making a torch. "What do you mean?"

"As in, can you train more than just the night fury?"

"His name is Toothless." 

Astrid sighed. "Look, do you think you could stop the dragon attacks?"

Hiccup paused. "I hope so. Toothless isn't the only dragon I've befriended. Maybe... maybe we can train all the dragons on Berk? To not attack us at least." 

"That might just work."

They smiled at each other for a moment too long. Toothless glanced between the two and cooed, asking for attention. Rolling his eyes, Hiccup petted him.

A scratching sound echoed along the cave. Toothless growled, letting out an odd purple beam. His ears perked up and he inspected the darkness. With a plasma blast, he illuminated the cave, but Hiccup didn't see anything.

"What is it, bud?" Hiccup asked, adjusting his grip on the torch. "What was that?"

"Whatever it is, it's inside the caves." Astrid held her torch down to Toothless, who lit it. Without hesitation, she strode into the darkness.

Following her lead, Hiccup got Toothless to light his torch and started walking. The grey stone walls glowed orange, the flames shivering on the torches. 

"I haven't heard the sound again," Hiccup stated, glancing at Astrid.

"Neither have I."

Toothless sniffed at the still cave air. Growling, he led the pair across the caverns and crossing caves. 

An awkward silence stretched across the pair. Occassionally, Astrid would stop by the wall or path, using the torch to inspect the area.  Hiccup used this time to drop the bucket and relax his arm, but wouldn't ask the others to carry it.

"This cave is huge," Astrid observed, turning to Hiccup. "It could make up the entire mountain, and we've only been walking for a short while."

Hiccup nodded. "Exactly. Makes it an ideal nesting site. Hard to navigate, easy to defend. Well, the nesting caverns are anyway. Say, bud," Hiccup patted Toothless, "have you even been in the entire thing?"

Toothless raised his wings and dropped them. 

Hiccup's face was blank. "I have no idea what that means."

Toothless grumbled, smoke coming out of his nostrils. 

"A no then?"

Shaking out his scales, Toothless gently whacked Hiccup with his tail.

"That is becoming a unfortunately common occurance," Hiccup muttered. Astrid laughed, continuing to walk. 

Eventually, they reached the nesting caverns. Several other adult dragons watched them pass, including a green zippleback and blue deadly nadder. Hiccup chuckled nervously.

"They won't think we're a threat, right?" Astrid asked, avoiding eye contact with the dragons.

Hiccup tried to keep his voice level. "We're with Toothless and I've brought fish before, so I think so. As long as we don't approach the babies or eggs too quickly, we should be alright."

Hiccup gave Astrid his torch and held the bucket with both hands. Squawking, the deadly nadder approached, spines raised. Astrid's breath hitched. 

"Easy girl," Hiccup soothed, holding the bucket forwards. The dragon sniffed at it, deeming it safe. One of the zippleback's heads took the bucket and placed it by the wall of the cavern. 

Astrid watched closely. Quiet squawking distracted her, and she turned towards the nest. Hiccup took his torch back and approached the baby nadders. Recognising his scent, they waddled up to him. Smiling, Hiccup stroked them.

"They're adorable," Astrid commented, allowing a curious one to sniff her hand. It stretched out its wings and pushed its nose against her. With cautious movements, Astrid began petting it, well aware of the deadly nadder standing directly behind her.

"What else is in these caves?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup shrugged. "I don't know. I've only been here a couple times so far. But if that odd scratching noise was coming from the caves, then something less than friendly might be hiding."

Astrid nodded. "We should try to find it."

"What? Go towards the unfriendly thing?"

"Yes! It's either we find it, or wait for it to find us."

Hiccup sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Astrid grinned smugly. "Alright Toothless, you need to lead us towards the sound."

Nose twitching, Toothless let out odd beams down each passageway as they walked. His ears were perked up and eyes alert. After a while, Hiccup began to relax, ready to dismiss the sound as a draft or terrible terror.

But then there was a scuffling sound.

"There!" Astrid pointed down a cavern. "That's where the noise is coming from. Come on!" She grabbed Hiccup's arm and ran down the path, Toothless at their heels. 

Hiccup hobbled along, trying to keep his torch upright.

Another scuffling sound.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes. "Maybe some more light, Toothless."

Toothless fired down the passageway, the blast hitting the back wall. Several smallt tunnels lines the edges of the cavern. Splodges of a glass-like substance littered the area.

"What is this stuff?" Hiccup breathed, crouching and placing his hand on a piece. It was cold and he snatched his hand back.

"Almost like gronkle-lava," Astrid stated.

Hiccup stood up. "This was a dragon. One we've never seen before." 

Astrid paled slightly at the concept, but Hiccup's face was bright.

A new dragon species! Right here!

"That's a bad thing," Astrid said, voice flat. "We don't know what we're up against."

"It's a dragon," Hiccup reiterated, petting Toothless. "I'm sure we could train it."

Something moved in one of the tunnels. Toothless growled, preparing a blast. There was blur of movement agaisnt the cave walls. Toothless fired, revealing a pale dragon. It shot at them and vanished into tunnels.

Hiccup dived to the side, narrowly avoiding the blast. It bounced off the walls, ricocheting. Toothless roared, covering Astrid and Hiccup with his wings. After a moment, the blast stopped. 

Hiccup stood up. "Thanks, bud." The blast had cooled into the glass-like substance. "Seems like a sandbuster, making glass like that."

The scuffling sound was back, echoing along the tunnels. 

"Stay alive now, name dragons later," Astrid snapped, twisting her torch like an axe.

"Right, right," Hiccup mumbled sheepishly. He raised his torch in what he hoped mimicked the proper form for a spear.

The sandbuster leapt from a tunnel and fired. The blast bounced off the wall and hit at Astrid's feet. She was forced back, the torch falling from her grasp.

The sandbuster fired again. Hiccup rolled out of the way as Toothless blasted. Roaring, it clambered over the walls. Toothless stood still, struggling between protecting Hiccup and attacking. Mounting Toothless, Hiccup made the decision for him.

Toothless took off, hovering at the top of the cavern. They twisted, dodging a blast, and fired thrice. The sandbuster squawked, clambering down a tunnel.

Astrid grabbed her torch. "After it!"

***

Hiya! Thanks for reading as always.

What do you think they'll find when they follow the sandbuster? 

Slightly unrelated, but what would you name your baby dragon? I think I'd stick with Swiftstrike hehe

Next part soon!