"Mother never told me that baby dragon talons were this sharp!" Ash exclaimed let out a yelp as Gothi dabbed at another scratch. "Honestly she should have told me in the first place!"

The old woman shook her head and made some tsking noises at the teen before scribbling something on a board.

'Have you thought of getting something to cover it up?'

"I have been thinking of getting a sort of glove or armband that's big enough to cover my arm and shoulder so Elin's talons wouldn't leave scar marks." Ash replied and rolled down the sleeve of her shirt down before Gothi shook her head and held up some linen bandages. "Oh right, these still might bleed." Ash held still as the healer carefully wrapped her arm up before rolling the sleeve down. Once that was done, she thanked Gothi before leaving the hut.

Elin was waiting outside and cooed happily to greet her. Ash bent down to pick her up and dropped her into the small bag she had slung over one shoulder. The baby dragon stuck her head out from the top and screeched happily as Ash started the long trek down the stairs.

"I seriously got to use Aemon next time I'm going here, it's so tiring!" Ash groaned as she walked down. "And I can't wait for you to get bigger as well, then you'll be able to fly me to places it hurts walking to." Elin cooed and gave a happy screech when a familiar black dragon dropped onto the wooden stairway and greeted them.

"Hey Ash, need a lift home?" Hiccup asked.

"Well sure, I need to get back home anyways." Ash answered and gave Toothless a pat on the head.

"Oh your dad asked me to bring you to the docks, Johan is here." Hiccup added as she climbed on and sat behind him.

"Oh good! I want to see if I could find some leather gloves or something that is like armor, Gothi recommended it since Elin keeps scratching me up when she tries perching on me."

"Well let's hope Johan has what you're looking for." Hiccup said as Toothless took to the sky.

After flying for a while they landed close to the docks where everyone was gathered and were being greeted by trader Johan. Ash smiled remembering how her parents told her that the kind trader had been in port around the time their family had to flee and how kind he had been to sail them all the way to Berk with no charge whatsoever.

"I'll just be browsing if you need me." Ash said when she dismounted Toothless and gave him a scratch under the chin.

"Hope you find what you're looking for!" Hiccup said and gave her a smile. "You'll find it somewhere. If you can't, we can ask Gobber to make you one."

"I'll keep that in mind." Ash replied before making her way to the boat.

"Ah miss Snow! What a pleasure to see you once again aboard my humble ship!" Johan said to Ash with a bow. "What brings you here this fine and glorious morning?"

"I was hoping you could help me find something that involves baby dragon talons." Ash replied and opened her satchel. Elin poked her head out and looked around before looking at Johan before ducking back into the bag. "Her talons have been leaving me some nasty scratches and our healer suggested I get something to cover it up, like a falconry glove or something leather that covers my arm and shoulder."

Johan tapped his chin thoughtfully before snapping his fingers. "I think I have just the thing! Someone traded me a set of leather braces with fur for something I had. It looks quite new but I think it should suffice."

"Then I suppose I should barter for something then." Ash said reaching into her bag. "I think I have something worth trading in here...Elin stop chewing on that, that's not a toy!" Ash soon pulled out a leather cord decorated with shells and white rocks and with a single tooth. "Made it myself with shells I'd collect and the small stones I'd find on the floor. The tooth was a last minute addition from our family dragon."

Johan took the necklace and examined it carefully before nodding in approval. "A fine piece of craftsmanship miss Snow, I think I've seen something like this before but I'm unsure where. Hold onto it while I get the bracers."

Johan disappeared under the deck and came back up moments later with two leather bracers. Ash took one and slipped it onto her arm and examined it. The leather felt nice and thick, a bit stiff as well but it seemed to be in good condition.

"Elin, help me test it out will you?" Elin poked her head out of the bag and let Ash reach in and clung onto the bracer with her sharp talons. Ash could feel the force of her grip but not the talons through it. "Works just fine, what do you think Elin?" The small dragon sniffed the leather bracer and gave a little chirp. Ash handed Johan the necklace and thanked him for the bracers.

"The pleasure was all mine." Johan said with a bow as Ash got off the boat. "Hope to trade with your family again on my next visit!"

"Hope so too!" Ash replied with a wave. "Now, to go see Gobber about the shoulder gear."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ye could have came to ask for an entire leather arm glove instead of having to do some trading." Gobber said as he was measuring Ash's arm.

"I wanted to see if Johan had anything before coming to you." Ash said when he finished measuring her arm and started writing down the measurements.

"Well then, what are you even needing this for?" The smith asked as he got some leather and began drawing out something on it.

"I was planning on teaching Elin how to hunt, mother said that was how her dragons got to grow so big." Ash explained. "Once she learns she'll be doing it on her own and get stronger and better at it. And when she grows she can catch bigger prey and eventually be big enough to pick up a full grown man off the floor and fly around with ease."

"That doesn't explain why you need this lass." Gobber said tapping the bracer.

"Oh it's so that Elin's talons won't hurt me as much when she lands on my arm. I've already been to Gothi too many times when she caused me to bleed when she digs them in too close." Ash said, rolling up the sleeve of her tunic up to show the smith the bandaged that went all the way up to her shoulder. Gobber frowned at the sight of them and shook his head muttering about something. "So I figured that my mother had some sort of leather sleeve or glove to wear to let her dragons sit on her shoulder and in her arms."

"Well now you know that raising dragons like these is almost like raising a falcon or one of those birds of prey those rich people love to buy to do the hunting for them."

"Oh Elin won't be doing the hunting for me, it's for herself so she can eat. She's already been solving the rat problem at home. I'm going to let her hunt in the woods so that she could get her hunting senses sharpened."

"Let's hope in three or four years she won't be trying to take the sheep or yak." Gobber said and shuddered. "Don't want Silent Sven with Bucket and Mulch and a whole mess of villagers at your door and complaining about your wee dragon's hunger, especially Mildew of all people!"

"Why can't that old fart just fall over and die already?" Ash asked and made already ked face at the mention of the cranky older man.

"Too tough."

"Ugh."

"Gobber! Those stupid dragons have been at my cabbages again!" The two groaned as Mildew came hobbling into view with his sheep Fungus at his side. "And you! You better make sure your little beast stays away from my cabbages as well!"

"I'm quite sure that nasty plant will take a few years off her lifespan." Ash said wrinkling her nose in disgust. Elin made a gagging noise from inside the bag and poked her head out to let out a plume of smoke.

"She's been letting out more smoke than usual, is that normal?" Gobber asked, looking at the baby dragon on concern.

"I highly doubt it, better ask my mother." Ash said scooping Elin out the bag and letting her hang onto her arm. "I'll come by later to see about the armor."

"Again, keep that nasty little monster away from my crops!" Mildew sneered and jabbed a finger in Elin's face. Ash could see the temptation to bit his finger cross her face but turned her head in disgust.

"Don't you worry about her eating your crops Mildew, those dragons are strictly carnivorous." Gobber assured the old man when Ash had walked off. "And I don't think she'd like the taste of Fungus either, that's why Ash is training her to keep her from eating livestock that belongs to someone."

"As if we don't have enough problems with the bigger dragons already! Once that little beast grows who knows if she'll be listening to the commands of that teen!" Mildew said hobbling to the forge. "And what does her mother even know of dragons anyways? Like she ever owned one of those in the first place! Both her and her husband knew nothing on dragons!"

Dany and Jon do know about dragons, but their knowledge on the ones they know doesn't apply to the ones here." Gobber retorted. "And mind your tongue, the Snow family has been quite helpful to Berk since they arrived here. If it weren't for Dany poor Valka would have died in childbirth. And Jon helped drive the Outcasts off Berk sixteen years ago as well. So quit bad mouthing the family, they have enough of their own personal problems to deal with at the moment."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Dracarys." Dany said to Elin. The small dragon tilted her head in confusion and looked down at the small chunk of meat that was set out for her. "Dracarys." The queen repeated.

"Does she even know what it means?" Ash asked.

"You try then." Her mother suggested. "But makes sure she doesn't set the table on fire."

Ash seated herself in front of Elin and pointed at the meat. "Dracarys, means dragon fire. If you want your meat cooked, you'll have to do it yourself. So, dracarys that meat."

"Ash-"

Elin puffed up her little chest angrily and threw her head down close to the meat and started making hacking noises, like a cat with a nasty hairball. A small plume of fire came out and turned the piece of meat brown.

"She did it!" Ash cheered as the hatchling started eating the meat. "Smaller bites Elin!"

Dany chuckled as she watched her daughter dislodge a large piece of meat from her dragon's throat. The memory of her own little ones learning to breathe fire and cook their own food. How she missed those somewhat simple days.

'Oh my little fire breathers, your little sister has grown and accomplished so much since her birth. If only you three could see her for yourselves.' Dany thought to herself wistfully. 'She's grown to be a lot like her father, but I see a bit of my own self rising inside of her. I pray when it's time her her to unleash the dragon inside herself, she won't go mad and end up like my cruel brother and father.'