"You know you're going to have to kill a... kill a dragon."

Those words were still ringing in Hiccup's head when Toothless landed back in the glade after their short flight. Astrid stepped quietly off Toothless' back onto the soft grassy dirt the surrounded the water, her foot sinking slightly into the soil. Hiccup followed suit after a second or two and they found themselves looking at each other for the first time since Astrid had agreed to let Hiccup show her the true side of dragons. Toothless slunk off away from them to the other side of the glade before warming the ground up with his plasma and laying down for a quick nap. He still kept one eye open though, surveying the interaction between his new brother and the strange girl he had brought with him who had been dangerous at first, but he was starting to like now.

"What are you going to do? Astrid asked, her voice almost a whisper as she stared at him.

"I don't know," was Hiccup's response as he rubbed the back of his neck in his classic awkward pose, "I can't kill the dragon." It was less of an argument and more of a fact. He knew now that there was no way he could ever kill a dragon not after all Toothless had taught him. "But they will never understand," he carried on gesturing in the direction of the village. "And my dad will probably disown me. I can't put him through having to do that. And I can't put Toothless in the way of danger either. I just don't know what to do." It sounded less convincing this time as if Hiccup had a plan but not one he was willing to share with Astrid. She caught the change in his voice almost immediately, however.

"You do know what to do," she stated bluntly, "and you know you will do it. You just won't tell me cus you don't want me to follow."

"Astrid, I honestly don't know what to d…" he blurted out but was cut short by the fiery blond.

"Cut the fish guts, Haddock. You and I both know that you have to leave." Hiccup gulped as she stated this, he had hoped to avoid her finding out what he planned to do but it was too late now. "And I'm coming with you Hiccup."

"Astrid you can't you have a whole life ahead of you here. I… I… I only have Toothless. The village won't miss me if I leave but they will miss you. They need you, Astrid." Hiccup desperately tried to plead with her, he didn't want to throw someone else's future into uncertainty as he had done with his own. Especially not Astrid's

"Hiccup, I am coming with you." Her voice was softer now though she was still not asking for permission to come with him, she was telling him. "How can you expect me to stay now? How can you expect me to kill more dragons? When you have shown me what they are really like. I can't be happy killing these creatures when I know that they are more than just mindless killing machines Hiccup. I can't stay here."

"Okay," Hiccup mumbled softly recognising that if Astrid wanted to join him there was no way he could stop her from doing as such. "But you'll need a dragon, there is no way that Toothless will be able to carry both of us and our stuff for long enough to get away from Berk. And you will be safer with a friend of your own to look after you rather than us both having to rely on Toothless."

"I can look after myself Hiccup," Astrid protested.

"I know, I know," He backpedalled hastily, "But it never hurt to have more people watching your back." Hiccup smiled lightly at her trying to break the sombre mood of what they were discussing and she smiled in return although she didn't look happy. "There will still be guards on the Arena, so we can't go there yet. So we should probably head home, gather whatever we want to take, write a letter to our parents to explain as much as we can and then we will meet up with Toothless at the Arena at sundown."

"Sounds like a plan," Astrid replied, impressed that Hiccup (who she had always thought of as a clutz) could be so decisive. She turned around to head off back to the village before she paused "Oh and Haddock."

"Yeah?" Hiccup replied as Astrid turned around to face him and punched him hard on the shoulder.

"That's for kidnapping me."

2 hours later

Hiccup had just finished up the last of his packing when he noticed the sun was beginning to dim in the sky. "Crap!" He thought as he quickly grabbed a nearby piece of parchment paper from his desk and scribbled down a note to his father, leaving it folded up, on his pillow. He felt bad that he had not put more time into it but he knew that Stoick would be home any time soon and this was his only chance to sneak out unseen. Hiccup doused the fire in his room then quietly made his way over to the window, picking up his pack on the way, and squeezed out through it, sliding down the side of the roof and hitting the ground with a thud. He winced as he felt a stab of pain shoot up his arm but it was nothing serious and he was quickly back up on his feet, heading off towards the Arena.

Hiccup snuck through the village, dipping in and out of alleys to avoid catching the eyes of anyone and bringing up questions about where he was going with a fully loaded pack at this time of day. As a result, it took him longer than expected to reach the Arena but when he finally arrived about thirty minutes later he found that Astrid was already there with her small pack of clothes. Toothless also made a quick appearance to inform Hiccup of his presence but quickly slunk away back into the treeline to avoid the possibility of being spotted. Hiccup said a quick hello to Astrid before heading over to where Toothless had just been and leaning his pack against the side of a tree; quietly he whispered into the dark asking Toothless to look after it whilst he went to help Astrid out before he turned around and headed back to the blonde girl who was starting to get impatient by now.

Astrid had her axe held loosely in her hand as he approached her and Hiccup quickly took notice of it.

"You can't take that in there with you," he said gesturing to the axe.

"What if the dragon tries to attack us?" Astrid asked looking at him like he was crazy.

"It won't as long as you don't have any weapons," he replied as Astrid continued to stare at him as if he had just lost his head, "Just trust me... Please."

"Fine," she grumbled, quickly returning her axe to her pack before she turned back to Hiccup, "let's get on with this then."

The scrawny, auburn-haired boy led her into the Arena, making sure to open the large metal gate quietly so that he did not alert anyone as to their intrusion into the area. He stopped in the middle of the Arena and looked around at all of the closed metal doors before turning back to Astrid.

"I need you to think carefully about this Astrid," he stated plainly, "When we were training in here, which dragon did you feel the most connection with?" Astrid pondered it over for a minute before she responded,

"I guess it was the Deadly Nadder. It always seemed to know what I was going to do next and was able to counter my advances. Plus it was the one I felt the most thrill when fighting against."

"Alright," Hiccup replied, obviously content with Astrid's response. He wasn't by far a dragon master but he knew that having some prior connection with the dragons you were trying to befriend and train helped in the process. "Deadly Nadder it is." Hiccup immediately headed over to the cage of the Nadder and opened up the doors as quietly as he could.

"Hiccup!" Astrid almost shouted, "are you crazy?"

"Just trust me, Astrid," he replied, calmer than he usually was around the beautiful, fiery blonde, as he made his way back over to her, and it made her relax slightly. "Just hold your hand out like this," he carried on holding his hand out straight in front of him with his palm flattened and his fingers outstretched, "Let her come to you."

"Whatever you say, Dragonmaster," Astrid replied trying to be mocking and funny but it failed as she was beginning to feel an unusual sense of fear. She was used to facing dragons with her weapon and despite what Toothless and Hiccup had shown her about dragons she was having a hard time fighting her instincts and the Deadly Nadder came cautiously out of its cage. It was very confused at first, normally when humans let it out they were trying to kill it, but these two little humans weren't dangerous at all, they had no weapons and they were stood in very unthreatening poses. It slowly made its way towards the two of them chattering as it moved, in its classic way. Astrid flinched slightly as the Nadder drew near and Hiccup reached out and clutched her hand in his for support. Normally she wouldn't have let him but in this case, it helped her slightly. The Nadder stared at her, less than three foot from Astrid's outstretched arm, and cocked its head slightly, chirping in confusion as it tried to process the situation. This human had tried to hurt her before, but here it was showing her that it meant no harm to her and she did feel a sort of pull towards this particularly human. The Nadder made a split second decision to forgive and trust Astrid and quietly it pressed its snout into the waiting palm of Astrid's hand.

Astrid felt her body relax and she sighed in relief when she realised that the dragon meant her no harm.

"What now?" She asked Hiccup, her hand still pressed firmly against the snout of the dragon.

"Well you will probably need to name her at some point," he replied, "But that can wait for later. Now you need to talk to her and explain that we need her help. With any luck, she will understand and be willing to help us. And try scratching her too, dragons love being scratched. Just avoid under her neck or you will immobilise her like I did in training."

"Okay," Astrid replied quietly to him before she turned back to the Nadder and e=began to speak softly to the dragon, explaining the situation and her need for help, whilst she scratched its snout.

It was almost midnight by the time Astrid wrapped up her story.

"And that is why we can't stay here. And we need your help to leave. So will you help us girl? Will you help me?" The Nadder seemed to think for a moment before she started chirping happily and running circles around the two of them.

"I'll take that as a yes," Hiccup laughed as Astrid also begun laughing next to him. "We should probably get going now," he carried on after a few seconds, to which Astrid agreed.

Hiccup and Astrid made their way back out of the Arena with Astrid's new companion following in tow. Whilst Astrid tried to mount her Deadly Nadder, Hiccup called out for Toothless and he came running over with Hiccup's pack hung loosely in his mouth, dripping with dragon saliva.

"Umm thanks Bud," Hiccup laughed slightly to which Toothless warbled in reply. Hiccup put on the slobbery pack and clambered up onto his best friends back before they headed over to Astrid, who had finally managed to make it onto the Nadder's back.

"We'll take it slowly and try to put at least a few islands distance between us and Berk before sunrise," Hiccup called out to her as she nodded in reply. Toothless suddenly roared and launched himself off the ground, causing the Nadder to do likewise as Astrid clung to her back for dear life. Hiccup forced himself to hold in his laughter at Astrid's state as he didn't want to be punched; but once they levelled out, Astrid seemed to be able to get in a more comfortable position. Toothless warbled sadly beneath Hiccup as he turned to face the island they were leaving behind.

"I know Bud," Hiccup said sombrely, "I'm gonna miss it too. And everyone on it. But we have to do this for the safety of the both of us." Toothless understood this and hummed in response as they flew away from the island of Berk. Where Astrid and Hiccup had spent the first fifteen years of their lives.

They wouldn't return for a while.

Stoick's knuckles were white as he clutched tightly to the corners of the little scrap of paper. He was currently sat hunched over on the edge of his son's bed, reading the letter for the twentieth time since he had arrived up in the room what must have been half an hour ago. His eyes scanned and scrutinized every syllable getting narrower and narrower with each line until he came to the end. Quick as he could Stoick threw the paper across the room where it floated under Hiccup's desk, and then he stormed down the stairs and out of the house. Slamming the door shut with a resounding thud that could be heard all across the village of Berk.

Gobber was the first unfortunate person to cross paths with the chief that morning. He tried to wish him a good morning but was cut short by a harsh, sharp, seemingly uncharacteristic order from his chief.

"Gobber. Clan meet now. Gather the elders and send them straight over. And get someone to summon the rest of the village." Stoick's voice was rough, gritty, and to the point as he doled out his orders. Before Gobber could even ask the reason for the clan meet Stoick was already away, stomping up to the Great Meade Hall, his footsteps thundering like lightning on the stone steps.

He burst open the large doors of the hall, sending shudders through the rocky walls and strode purposefully across the hall to the far end where the stout table that was the meeting point of the elders was located. His heavy footsteps echoed throughout the hole as he walked and the few vikings who were in the hall at this time went silent as their chief passed; they could tell that something was up with Stoick. He walked around the table and sat down in his large oak seat, reserved for the chief of the village, with a thud. Stoick ran his thick fingers through the course hair of his beard as he began to think about what he would do. He had to go looking for Hiccup (that boy would end up getting himself killed on his own) but he had no idea where is son might have gone. First though he had to get the help of the village, it was a bit overkill to call the whole Hooligan clan up to the Meade Hall just to find his son but no one would argue with him. As much of a clutz that Hiccup was, he was still the heir to the chiefship of Berk.

Stoick's attention was brought back the present as he heard the sound of wood tapping on stone and look up to see that the elders had assembled around the table and were staring patiently at their chief. The elders of Berk consisted of Stoick's brother Spitelout; the village healer, Gothi; and the village blacksmith, Gobber. Stoick rose from his chair to address the three of them.

"Hiccup has run away," he said plainly and clearly, his voice clamer now but still stoney. "We need to find him." It was a statement, not a request. And none of them would dare to argue with Stoick regarding his family. "Gobber did you inform the tribe of the meeting?"

"Ya Chief," Gobber replied his voice more serious now that he knew the reality of the situation, "They should be outside about now."

Stoick turned to face the door and shouted out,

"Come in!" The doors creaked open and a steady flow of vikings, both male and female, came pouring through the doors to fill the great hall. Stoick rose to his full height and puffed his chest out preparing to address his kinsmen and women with all the authority he could muster.

"My son has gone missing," he stated loudly so that his voice echoed throughout the hall and could be heard by all. He chose to emit the fact that it was Hiccup's own fault he was missing as he had run away. Muttering and conversations began in the pause on Stoick's speaking but were quickly silenced when his booming voice rang out again. "We need to search for him." The mumblings began in earnest, much louder this time, and Stoick had to slam his hand down on the table to quiet them. "We will split up into search parties. One party will search the east of the island, one will search the west, the rest of you either return to your normal duties or head out on boats and scour the nearby islands and the coastline for any signs of him. I will check the forests and the north of the island. This meeting is over!" Stoick ended rather abruptly and turned back to the elders of the village leaving the other vikings to sort themselves out whilst giving them no chance to argue.

"Spitelout," he said, facing his brother, "I want you to lead the group searching the coastline." It was more of a command than a request and Spitelout nodded simply before he decided to make a comment.

"You know Stoick, if the boy wants to leave it may be for the best. I mean all he ever does is mess up and get the village destroyed. It is only a matter of time before one of the beasts eats him. You know that as well as I do." Stoick looked sharply into the eyes of his brother, his voice dropping a tone till it was back to the gritty tone it had been earlier.

"And until the time comes where Hiccup gets himself in danger and I can't help him or he cannot protect himself. I will continue to protect him. Or have you forgotten that he is the heir to Berk." Stoick's voice was louder now and a few of the other vikings in the hall had turned to face their chief, unused to such an outburst. Spitelout scowled at his brother,

"I'll take charge of the boats looking for your runaway son," he forced out of his mouth between gritted teeth before turning around and stomping out of the Meade Hall.

Stoick turned away from watching his brother back to Gobber.

"Gobber, I need you to keep the village safe and secure whilst I am out searching the forest," he said, his voice calmer than before as he talked to his friend.

"With all do respect Stoick, I'm comin with ya. You'll need more than just urself to search the forest. It's a bloody big place," Gobber replied.

"I need you to look after the village," Stoick stated calmly again, "I am relying on you."

"Old Gothi can look after the village," Gobber returned gesturing to the Elder stood next to him who was scowling at his use of the term "old" to describe her, "She's perfectly qualified Chief." It was more of a statement from the blacksmith and Stoick saw no chance of him talking his old friend out of it.

"Fine Gobber," he relented, "Gothi will look after the village. But I expect to see you at the northern entrance to the village in five minutes, ready to go."

"You got is chiefy," Gobber replied semi-playfully as he hobbled off out of the Meade hall. Stoick followed shortly after, when he had briefed Gothi on the jobs that needed doing, and quickly returned to his home to grab his axe before heading to the northern side of the village of Berk.

2 hours later

"Of all the reckless, irresponsible things that boy could have done. This has to top it. He should know better. He'll end up killing himself out in the wild with noone to look after him."

Stoick had been grumbling on with similar things for the past two hours as he walked around the forests of Berk with Gobber. Stoick's friend had stuck to simple agreements and hums up to this point but finally he decided to voice his opinions.

"Can you blame im Stoick?" he asked rhetorically, "That boy of yours has put up with a lot of grief throughout his time here. He may be tough like you on the inside but eventually everyone cracks. I'd say that he probably thinks he is doing the village a favour by leaving. When was the last time you ever heard the name Hiccup followed by anything but jeers or disappointment." Stoick paused after Gobber had finished talking, prompting Gobber to do the same. Then slowly Stoick turned around to face his old friend; his eyes looked more haggard now and his face was pressed with harsh line.

"Do you think I caused this Gobber?" he asked plainly and simply. Gobber stared at him for a second, his face softening slightly.

"I can't tell ya what caused it Stoick," he replied softly, "Not until we find ur boy."

"You're right," Stoick stated, his facial expression changing to one of determination, "We should be looking for him."

1 week later

The time was up. No one would go out searching anymore. Everyone knew what must have happened and even Stoick had given in now. Seven nights after his son had ran away from the village. Seven nights of the same reports that no one had been found across the whole of Berk. Seven nights of pain and agony for the chief all culminating up to this point. The fire was burning calmly in the hearth of Stoick's hut as he sat in front of it, poking the embers with an iron rod as he had done many year ago with his son. In his other hand the note that he had ready seven days ago, the morning his son had disappeared. His eyes drifted from the soft, orange glow of the embers to the parchment that was clutched in his left hand and his heart dropped.

Slowly, almost as though it took all of his energy, Stoick placed the iron rod into the fire and sat its end down on the cold stone that rimmed the hearth. He raised his other hand and using his meaty fingers, opened out the note. It took him a long while to read it even though he had already studied every inch of it for the last seven nights. Each time it brought his heart to a standstill.

Dad,

I am leaving Berk. I have to leave Berk. As much as I have always wanted to fit in and be a good heir to your people; I cannot. I have discovered something that I know you will never accept, and I can't put you through what it would do to you. So, I have to go. Maybe, hopefully, one day in the future I will see you again but I can't count on that. So just know this, I will always love you dad and I am sorry I let you down for so many years. Please don't come looking for me.

Love Hiccup

Stoick lowered his head as he finished reading. Like all the times before he felt drained and empty. But this time was different in some way. Seven days had passed and now he had to let his son go. With shaking arms and clammy fists, Stoick cast the note into the embers of the fire; watching every speck of paper as it burned up, taking his happiness along with it.

He would live on because Berk needed him to. But he would never be the same again.

Stoick's eyes fell to the floor with shame and he whispered quietly out to the night air,

"I'm sorry Val. I let you down. And now I have lost the last part of you."

And for the first time since Hiccup was a young boy, tears flowed from the eyes of Stoick the Vast.