"If Hiccup were here, He would tell you two mutton heads to stop!" Astrid yelled at the twins. That stopped their actions. It also stopped hers. They looked at each other, worried what she would do. She huffed in a rage and jumped on Stormfly who flew out of the academy instantly.
"That was close. What were you two thinking?" Snotlout demanded out of the two. They shrugged, clearly not knowing themselves what they planed for that prank. "Astrids been like this for over a year. Do you think she'll ever get back to normal?" Snotlout looked at Fishlegs for an answer.
"It's no just Her, Stoics heart is broken too. Whover took Hiccup and Toothless made sure there was no trace to follow. Not even a scrap of paper was in his room." The book worm informed Snotlout for the utmost time. Snotlout sighed and watched Astrid disappear around the mountian. "Snotlout, why don't you go after her. You know, try to calm her down?" Fishlegs suggested.
"Me? You know she hates me as much as those two." Snotlout confessed pointing at the Twins.
"She needs someone. Just do it once. And don't flurt." Fishlegs cautioned the boy. Snotlout groaned.
"Fine, but you know she'll push me away. like every other time." He mumbled as he mounted Hookfang and took off in the direction Astrid went.
"Now, Ruffnut Tuffnut. Because you made Astrid break down again, your on dragon cleaning duty." Fishlegs shot at the Twins with a glare. They made looks of disaproval but nodded their heads and looked at the ground in sorror. "Now I add another mark to your times." Fishlegs added, marking another number down for the times that year those two had made Astrid break down, run away and hid. Twelve times now. Snotlout had done it twice and he had done it once as much as it pained him. In a way, Fishlegs took over the academy. And to think over a year ago Hiccup was racing the team. Fishlegs had learned the hard way the troubles of being a leader and now questioned how Hiccup was able to handle it so easily for three years.
"Fishlegs." Said teen looked up so see Stoic walking in.
"Cheif! What are you doing here?" wondered Fishlegs.
"I've come to find Astrid, where is she." He replied.
"She broke down again. Snotlout went to find her." Fishlegs answered. Stoic sighed.
"When she returns tell her to meet me at my house." Stoic requested.
"Yes sir." He watched the cheif go and was curious as to what he neeeded Astrid for. He was distracted by his thoughts when two gronkles came flying by rather quickly. He ran up to one and patted it. "Woe there. What's wrong?" The dragon looked multiple directions in a worried and paniced way.
"Eels!" Someone screamed
"Oh no!" Fishlegs ran in the direction of the scream with meatlug behind him. They came up to Svens farm where Two more gronkles were despretly trying to get the eels off of them. Fishlegs rushed over and tried helping the poor thrashing animals and soon all the eels were thrown in a basket. He gasped for breath as things calmed down. From the Forest edge four pairs of eyes watched the scene unfold.
"He got the Eels off. Could he be a new recruit?" Said the women of the group. The one that looked like the leader nodded.
"Give it time." They went back into the shadows. But one person stayed behind for a breif moment. Someone with peircing green eyes.
"Come." The women pulled him back into the woods forcfully.
Snotlout jumped off Hookfang and looked around the cove. He heard muffled sobs and he followed the noise. He brushed away some vines from the enterence to a cave and found Astrid, curled up in the fetal position crying. He had never seen her cry this much. It worried him deeply. He stepped in and she heard the tiny movement like a bat. Her head snapped up and she glared at
"What do you want?" She sniffed.
"I just wanted to see if you were ok." He answered carefully.
"Fishlegs sent you." She sneered, putting her head back down and closed her eyes. Her blonde hair hid her face from view as Snotlout walked in and sat down next to her. he frose, not sure what to do. Then out of nowhere she grabbed him and held onto him.
"It's ok." He stuttered patting her back as she sobbed into his shoulder. He never thought she would show this side of her so openly to him.
"I miss Hiccup." She said through the tears. Snotlout finally got up the courage to wrap his arms around the girl.
"We all do." They sat in the embrace for what felt like an hour before her stomach growled. She pried herself out of his arms and stood up. He followed suit. "Feel better?" He dared ask.
"Yes." She answered simply. "Don't EVER tell anyone about this." She growled, starring him down.
"I won't, I promise." He assured her. He hadn't been planing on telling anyone in the first place. They got on their separate dragons and left the cove. Flying back to the academy Fishlegs stopped them in the air on meatlug.
"Feeling better Astrid?" He smiled. She rubbed her red face.
"Sure, never been better." She said, the sarcasm dripping from her words. Snotlout held back the erge to say that sounded like something Hiccup would say, in fear of her reaction.
"Great to hear. Stoic wants you at his house." Fishlegs retold the instructions.
"Really? Huh." She muttered something Fishlegs didn't catch and she flew away, headed for the town. After landing in front of the cheifs house she dismounted and knocked. Stoic opened the door and ushered her in. "What's going on?" She asked.
"Things have been happaning around the village." He replied.
"Like what?"
"Chaos." Astrid stared forward for a moment
"What kind of chaos?" She finally asked.
"I saw Fishlegs just get Eels off of two scared to death Gronkles. eariler today we had a terrible terror attack in the great hall and Ruffnut managed to get them out." He addressed the problems.
"I remember Ruff talking about some 'Awesome terrors' today." Astrid recalled. "What else has happened?"
"Blood thirsty hog attack." Stioc said. "Enough said." Astrid couldn't help but chuckle at that. "But at every event at the very last minute I see four people watching from the shadows. I can't make any of them out but I can see their body outline everytime. one sticks out. when I tried to approch them when the hogs were taken care of they ran away before I saw their faces but one of them seemed to want to linger." Astrid rubbed her chin in thought.
"That's weird. Why did you want me? Why didn't you speak with Spitlout or Gobber?" She didn't want to question his choice of her to talk about this but She never expected him to not go to his brother and Gobber for it.
"They both got attacked by terrors and are at the healers hut." Stoic explained.
"Astrid, we need you!" Fishlegs came running in with a desperate air to him.
"What's wrong?" She and Stoic said in unnison.
"The twins are about to fall off barf and belch. Meatlug won't go and neither will Hookfang!" Astrid pushed past him, determind.
"Stormfly will listen to me. Stormfly-" She gasped. Stormfly was out cold. She raced to her and felt her skin. Still warm.
"Look!" Fishlsgs pointed to a pile of leaves beside the Natter. They weren't just any leaves.
"Dragon nip?" Astrid jumped up and looked to the sky to see Tuffnut lose his grip on Barf. If she didn't save him from the hight he fell, he would die. "NO!" She ran and climbed on the nearest hut. Then did the unthinkable. She backed up, aimed herself. and jumped. In the air she colided with the falling twin. she wrapped her arms around him and got ready for the connection with the ground. Her feet hit the ground first and she rolled. They seperated and she cringed in pain.
"Astrid that was awesome! You were like a superhero!" Fishlegs exclaimed running up. Ruffnut and the Zibble back hit the ground a few feet away. Some vikings checked on them and the others came up to the other two.
"I think my legs broken." Astrid said, clenching her teeth and lightly held onto her right leg. Snotlout scurried over and helped her up. She leaned her wieght against him and he walked as she hopped straight to healers hut. Vikings cheered for her and smiled her way. She was smiling at at little girl when she saw four outlines behind a hut. She squinted her eyes. They saw her looking and disappeared. but one stayed and they locked eyes for a breif second. She felt a lurch in her stomach before that person vanished too. They got to healers hut and she was patched up. Ruff and Tuff came walking in soon after. "So how come you lost control of Barf and Belch?" Astrid stated.
"We lost control as if a speed stinger stung them. It was weird." Ruffnut stammered still in shock at what could have been.
"let's just rest. It's been a long day." Astrid slurred. She was really tired and couldn't wait to get home and in bed. She grabbed the crutch she had to use and they all headed out. After carefully getting in her bed her parents kissed her goodnight.
"Are we ready to do this?" The women asked their leader.
"Yes." He Nodded. The third person handed a paint bucket and brush to the fourth.
"Do I have to?" He asked, voice light and young.
"Yes, you have to. You know you have to." The third person barked.
"Jordon! Calm yourself." scolded the leader. Jordon sighed.
"This isn't very hero like." The greened eyed boy commented. They all glared at him.
"You know we need a fifth hero or we can't call ourselves the grounded five." The women snapped as if it was obvious.
"But this stuff is permanent." He added. When they kept their glare the youngest one left the shelter of the tent and quietly headed to the will known village he knew. Walking up to the Cheifs house He started painting letters. Repeating the same words over, and over again.
"I'm sorry dad."