The Third Child (HTTYD 4; A HTTYD Fanfiction)

Chapter Seventeen - Zephyr

Zephyr and Nuffink found Dart and Pouncer without any trouble, and they soared back to the house without speaking. After all, they had been basically grounded there.

Once they landed, the two looked at each other. "So what's our next move?" Nuffink finally spoke.

Zephyr liked the way he turned to her for answers, as the older sister, but she didn't like how she had no answers to give. "That was such a waste of time," Zephyr groaned, sliding off of Dart and stroking the Night Light.

"Well, we did get confirmation that we have a sister," Nuffink said optimistically. "And that it has something to do with the, er, bad-guy group."

"But we got more questions than we did answers," Zephyr complained. "And now we have to worry about our sister getting captured by the bad-guy group, on top of us, our parents, and our dragons. The bad-guy group is going to be hungry for us, especially for Toothless and the Light Fury. They're king and queen of the Hidden World. If they get Toothless or his mate under their control, they'll have all the dragons on their side. And they know that we humans and Dart and Pouncer will do anything to save them."

"So are you predicting their next move?" Nuffink asked.

As if they had summoned it by bringing up the topic of Toothless and his mate, the foursome heard a pained whine coming from somewhere nearby.

Dart and Pouncer's ears flicked back. Zephyr and Nuffink looked at each other. Then, all four of them started running full-tilt towards the sound.

Over on the other side of the house, they found Mom, Toothless, and the Light Fury. Mom was crouching on one side of the Light Fury, trying to observe without getting hissed at. Toothless stood on his mate's other side, nudging her comfortingly. The Light Fury herself was lying down on her side.

"Mom!" Zephyr exclaimed. "What happened?" Dart and Pouncer bounded forward.

"Stop, hush," Astrid replied. "Something's going on with the Light Fury."

"Oh no oh no oh no," Nuffink said. "I knew it; I just knew it was going to happen. The Silverbolt attacked her, didn't they?"

Mom stared at him. Zephyr sighed, glaring at Nuffink.

"Who told you about them?" Mom hissed.

Zephyr and Nuffink exchanged glances. "Dad told us just today, but it's a very long story," Zephyr said. "Mom, is it the Silverbolt?"

Mom looked back at the Light Fury, whose flanks were heaving. "No... I think she's about to lay eggs."

"WHAT?" Zephyr cried. "SHE IS GOING TO WHAT?"

"Calm down, Zeph," Nuffink said. Turning to Mom, he said, "I'll ask the reasonable question here. Don't dragons only lay one clutch of eggs... and that was Dart, Pouncer, and #3?"

"No," Mom answered. "Some dragons, like Furies, can lay two or three clutches, about one every decade or two. Toothless and the Light Fury probably planned for this— if things were going normally, their visit would be over and they would be back safe and sound in the Hidden World again. But their flight back has been delayed because they won't leave without their last child— #3. So Light Fury's time is almost up. Unless we find #3, and fast, she'll have to lay her eggs here."

"No, that can't happen," Zephyr said. "The Silverbolt would do anything to get their hands on Night Light eggs. And they would be too precious to risk the long flight back to the Hidden World. They'd have to hatch here! You can't move eggs once they've been laid— they'd get too cold! And the Light Fury would be too weak to move back to the Hidden World, and by the time she'd recovered, the eggs would be too developed and too big and too heavy to risk that long flight back! But we can't let her do it here— the Silverbolt—"

"Zephyr, stop being such a worrywart," Nuffink said. To Mom, he asked, "Can't the dragons just fly back to the Hidden World, Light Fury lays her eggs there, and then they fly back to New Berk to keep looking for #3?"

"No. Like a bird, the Light Fury needs to sit on her eggs for most of the time until they hatch. Leaving them unattended is not an option."

"Then... What if the Light Fury flies back and stays at the Hidden World, while the rest of the dragons stay at New Berk? Once we find #3, they can make the journey home," Zephyr suggested.

Mom shook her head. "Can you imagine what the Silverbolt— and other dragon hunters, too— would do if they saw a rare, elusive, pregnant Light Fury, flying by herself back to the Hidden World? She can't go alone."

Nuffink groaned in exasperation. "And Toothless is the king... he's been gone from the Hidden World for too long anyways. He needs to go back. Hey, what if Toothless and the Light Fury go to the Hidden World— Toothless to do king stuff and the Light Fury to lay her eggs in a safe place— and Dart and Pouncer stay here to look for their brother?"

"Breaking up the dragon family is not a good option right now," Mom said. "With the Silverbolt, we wouldn't be able to know if Toothless and the Light Fury made it back to the Hidden World safely. Plus, that would put both groups of dragons at risk, to be separated from each other. Additionally, do you think Toothless and the Light Fury would really do that? They're very protective of their offspring. It doesn't seem like them to just leave them on a Silverbolt-infested island."

"Dad is trying to find and expel the Silverbolt," Zephyr said hopefully. "Would it just be safer to let the Light Fury do her thing here? All together, we can protect the eggs. Once Dad terminates the Silverbolt, what will be dangerous? Plus, then we can keep looking for #3, and everyone can keep tabs on everyone else."

"I think that's the best option," Mom said. "It'll still be dangerous, though. All it takes is for the news to leak to anyone in the village, and the Silverbolt will be here."

"It won't be a problem," Zephyr said firmly. "We can keep the secret, can't we, Nuffink?"

Nuffink nodded assuredly.

"All right," Mom said, smiling at her children. "Let's get the Light Fury in a safe place. She'll have laid her eggs by tomorrow morning."

Despite the danger of it all, Zephyr couldn't help grinning. "Eee! This is so exciting!" the teenage girl squealed. "New Night Light babies! I can't wait to see what they'll look like. They'll look different than Dart, Pouncer, and #3; that's for sure. Baby Night Lights! Ooh, I can't wait!"

Mom and Nuffink smiled at her. "The eggs won't hatch for several months, Zephyr," Mom said.

"STILL!" Zephyr grinned. "And we'll get to see them!"

"Chances are, the Light Fury will be very protective of her new babies," Nuffink pointed out. "So no cuddling allowed, Zeph." Despite himself, he looked excited.

"Come on," Mom said. "Let's get Light Fury somewhere warm."

A/N: New Night Light babies! I am so excited! I feel like Zephyr right now. This chapter turned the world upside down, that's for sure. I'm taking suggestions for names once they hatch, by the way. Go ahead and comment away.

...

When I had the idea to have the Light Fury lay new eggs, I was SO EXCITED. Not only does it play a role in the story, as you guys can already tell, but it will just be SO FUN.

All right, I'll have a chapter picture up soon!

-Pepper9990