Vikings of Berk – Race to The Edge

Eye of The Beholder

Part One – The Search Must Go On

Three years since the events of 'Defenders of The Skies';

Hiccup and Toothless started their day as they always did; with their usual morning flight. As they swooped over the village of Berk, Hiccup looked down to see the villagers going about their daily activities. They were, of course, noticed; people would call up to them, and wave. But Toothless would already be out of hearing distance, rising into the sky.
It had been three years since their 'war' with the Berserkers came to an end, and Berk had changed… A lot.
Snotlout worked in the armory, now, as the 'Official Weapons Tester'.

The Twins, Ruff and Tuff, have, to no-one's surprise, have decided to "devote their lives to Loki"… Which 'basically' meant that they went around pulling pranks on people, and causing general disruption wherever they went.

And no one could argue that Fishlegs had found his calling: teaching the children of Berk, the History of Dragons.

A moment later, Hiccup heard his girlfriend, Astrid, calling his name. He glanced back, grinning, "Hey, there you are!"

Astrid, who was sitting on her Deadly- Nadder, Stormfly's, back, rolled her eyes; "Hiccup, we've been chasing you since the armory!"

Toothless slowed, so that Stormfly could pull up alongside them. Hiccup smiled at them, "Well, I thought we'd try out the far north today."

Astrid hesitated for a moment, "Can we talk about something, first?"

Hiccup nodded, "Yeah, sure… If you can catch me!" Toothless shot forwards, and Stormfly surged after them.

A moment later, Stormfly reached out to Hiccup's mind, and, speaking so that only he would hear her, the Nadder said, 'Astrid has something she needs to talk to you about … Its important, and she's worried that you might take it the wrong way; could you at least slow down?"

Hiccup frowned, slightly, and signaled for Toothless to slow to a more 'sustainable' pace. Not wanting to reveal that Stormfly had tipped him off, Hiccup spoke first; "You know, I've got a really good feeling about today!"

"Hiccup, you say that every day," Astrid said, as Stormfly drew up alongside Toothless.

For the next few minutes, the two dragons flew in silence. When they reached the next sea stack; the dragons set down, and the riders slid down from their backs.

A few minutes passed in silence, than Astrid sighed, "Look… I … I don't know how else to say it, but… We've visited every island, every sea- stack, and every rock in the Archipelago twice … and we haven't found any new dragons in a long time."

"This can't be all there is…" Hiccup shrugged, "There has to be something more out there."

Astrid took a deep breath, as though gathering her courage, than said, "What if there isn't, Hiccup … What if we're done? What if… the search is over?"

"It can't be." Hiccup repeated, his eyes on the horizon before them.

"Well… It's over for me." Astrid's words immediately caught Hiccup's attention, and he turned to look at her. "I… I've been trying to tell you: Stormfly and I… We're … we're joining the Berk Guard."

"Oh," Hiccup said, trying to keep his voice casual. "That's … That's great… I'm… I'm happy for you guys." For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Finally, Astrid said, "Look; maybe you should give some thought to … what's next for you and Toothless?"

"What's next …" Hiccup sighed, "My dad's the Chief, Astrid, and I'm next in line…" he turned to face her. "This is the only part of my life when I'll be able to leave Berk on a moments' notice, or to be gone for more than a few days at a time … to find out what's … what's out there." As he spoke, he gestured out, towards the horizon.

Toothless spoke up, then, 'It's the bond we share, too, I think … After I was first separated from my colony; part of me wanted to fly, and keep flying; to see if maybe there were Night- Furies somewhere else … At the same time, I had the feeling that I couldn't leave; that I wasn't meant to leave, then...' He turned to Astrid, 'If I felt the urge to travel, others must have too… We need to know.'

A sound echoed, in the distance, and Astrid got to her feet, reluctantly, "That's the call for the Berk Guard to gather for drills; we've got to go…" She hesitated, again, and Hiccup saw that her eyes were brighter than usual. "Hiccup; Are we... you know... 'good'? You're not–"

Before Astrid could finish, Hiccup stood, hugged her, and kissed her lightly on a cheek. "It's your choice, Astrid; I need to keep looking, and I'd love to have you with us, both of you." He glanced at Stormfly, than back to Astrid. "But its not my place to tell you what you should or shouldn't do, and I will never, " Hiccup looked Astrid in the eye, "hold your choices against you." He was silent for a moment, than continued, "Since the topic has come up, though, I have an idea I've been meaning to…"

The call sounded again, and Hiccup forced a smile, "We'll talk about it later … Go on; you don't want to be late."

Astrid's relief was evident, though she still appeared 'down'. She nodded and climbed back onto Stormfly's back. Before the Deadly- Nadder took off; Astrid said, "Thank you, Hiccup; and, please, be careful… You know how much you mean to me."

Hiccup nodded, and the Deadly- Nadder took off. He watched until they vanished from view; then sighed, and turned to Toothless. "I guess it's just you and me from now on, bud."

Toothless gave a low, sympathetic warble. 'Astrid needs to feel like she's being productive; doing something useful… Despite that, she stayed with us for months after the others gave up. Besides: you saw how hard it was for her to tell you.'

Hiccup nodded, "I know, bud… Well; we might as well get started." Toothless angled back in the direction they'd been heading, and the journey northwards continued.

As they flew, Hiccup turned his gaze skywards; silently, he asked Thor to send him a sign.

A few hours after noon;

Hiccup and Toothless returned to Berk hours earlier than he normally would have, and made a point of avoiding the crowds, as he and Toothless stopped at the Dragon Arena, than returned home.

Hiccup sighed: Their biggest 'accomplishment' today had been a brief skirmish with a Snow Wraith; a known dragon species, and one that, apparently, didn't care for their company.

Hiccup considered the tooth that had been knocked from the dragon's mouth during the encounter, sighed, and put it back in the pouch where it had come from.

When Hiccup got home, Stoick was sitting at the table. "Hiccup; what're you doing home so early?"

Hiccup tried to evade the question, "Oh… uh… I just … wanted to spend some quality time with my dad! Yeah… we never get to talk anymore!"

Stoick raised an eyebrow at him, "Alright; what is it?"

Hiccup sighed, "Did you know that Astrid just joined the Berk Guard?"

Stoick nodded, "I'd heard that; good for her!"

Hiccup nodded, "And the other Riders have got their different things going on…"

Stoick's expression seemed to soften, "What are you saying, son?"

Hiccup shrugged, "I'm saying… I don't know… maybe its time for me…"

Before he could finish, the door burst open: revealing Ruff and Tuff, supporting a limp figure between them!

"Trader Johann!" Stoick leapt to his feet, and rushed forwards. "What happened?"

Trader Johann took a deep breath, "Dagur!"

Hiccup frowned, "What about Dagur?"

In an instant, it all came back: Three years ago, Dagur The Deranged had abducted Stoick from Berk, towards the end of yet another of The Berserkers' failed attacks on Berk. Hiccup had thwarted Dagur's plot; saved his father; and, in the hopes of ending the matter once and for all, had evoked The Three- Strikes Edict against Dagur…
Three Transgressions; Three Warnings… The fourth could be punished by Death, without fear of retaliation from the tribe to which the offender belonged.

Than Outcast Island had been converted into a prison, for Dagur, and all who followed him.

Trader Johann turned to face Hiccup, "He's out … He's more berserk than ever! And, from the way he was talking, Hiccup, you're number- one on his revenge- list!"

Then, before anyone could say another word, Trader Johann lost consciousness.

Part Two – The Ship Graveyard

A short time later, in the Dragon Arena;

"All we got out of Johann before he passed out was this: Dagur escaped from Outcast Island by commandeering his ship; he threw Johann overboard about here," Hiccup pointed at a spot on the map behind him.

Astrid, Fishlegs, the Twins, Snotlout, and their dragons stood before him, listening to his briefing.

Snotlout huffed, "So what you're saying is: 'Dagur could be anywhere be now'."

"Technically, yes." Hiccup admitted, "But there's more to it…"

"Well that's just great," Snotlout interrupted. "So that just leaves, let me think, the entire ocean to search! … No, thank you."

"Master Hiccup!" A familiar voice said, a moment before Trader Johann joined them, by the map.

"Trader Johann; you're awake!" Hiccup said, turning to greet the newcomer.

The trader gave Hiccup a half bow, "And feeling much better, thank you for asking!" Than Johann's expression turned serious, "More importantly, I have more than a strong feeling as to where our nefarious foe might be heading."

As he spoke, Trader Johann gestured to the map in a way that prompted Hiccup to ask "Outside the Archipelagos?"

Johann shook his head, "No, just outside the fog bank on our outer group of islands."

Hiccup frowned, "We've never been out that far…"

"When Dagur commandeered my precious ship, he also came into possession of a very important map; one that leads to a graveyard of ships, hidden in that for bank."

"Wow, that's the first place I'd go!" Snotlout said, sarcasm evident in his voice.

"If I may be allowed to finish?" Johann asked, coolly.

Snotlout looked like he was about to say more, but Hiccup cut him off, "Enough, Snotlout!" Turning back to Johann, he asked, "What's so special about the graveyard, and why would he go there?" An instant before Johann could begin, Hiccup added, "The short version, please."

"It's where I keep all of my treasures and wares," Johann replied. For a full ten seconds, no one spoke; it was the shortest statement any of them had ever heard Johann utter. Then Johann himself said, "You know, this reminds me of the time–"

"Johann; focus… Is there anything else we should know?" Hiccup asked.

"As a matter of fact, there is one ship that you must avoid at all cost! It is called," A shudder passed through Johann. "'The 'Reaper'… It's riddled with booby- traps from stem to stern; barely made it out with my life, the only time I ventured aboard!"

"Ok, Toothless; lets go." He turned to the others, "Unless, of course, any of you can take time out of your busy schedules to capture a dangerous manic?"

"You're not going anywhere without me," Astrid said, immediately. Then they were all running to mount their dragons.

Three hours later;

"This is pretty great; huh, bud?" Hiccup called back to the others. "Feels like forever since we all flew as a group! Lets see how rusty you guys are: 'V-formation'!" As he spoke, he moved his arms to form a 'V' in the air. He glanced back, and saw that the other dragons had parted into two lines, one angling to either side.

He smiled, and nodded, "Not bad… Now lets try 'Diamond- formation!'

"Just how rusty does this guy think we are?" Tuff asked.

Hiccup sighed, "I think I'll let Fishlegs answer that one."

Below the Twins, Fishlegs, who was being squished between his dragon and the Twins' Zippleback, coughed, and called "Hey, guys; little tight on the 'diamond', aren't we?"

Hiccup chuckled, but didn't speak; he had a feeling he'd made his point, and didn't see any need to rub it in.

Some time later, the 'graveyard of ships',

"I knew it… I knew there was more!" Hiccup said, as they flew over the dozens of half- sunk boats.

Astrid and Stormfly moved to fly alongside them. Astrid shook her head, "Some of these ships; I've never seen anything like them before…"

'I don't like this place,' Stormfly commented, speaking so only Astrid, Hiccup and Toothless could hear. 'Something doesn't feel right.'

"Ok, everybody fan out; If you see any trace of Dagur, send a signal," Hiccup instructed. They fanned out, and began to search through the wrecks from above.

Astrid;

As Stormfly flew through the ships, Astrid tried to reassure her Nadder that they'd be fine. But the further they went, the more Astrid found herself agreeing with Stormfly: something wasn't right here.

Aware that Stormfly was keeping a keen eye on their surroundings, Astrid tried to focus her thoughts on something else; just long enough to pull herself together, she promised herself. The first thing that came to mind: what Hiccup had said to her, that morning, before she had to leave for drills with the Berk Guard…
"It's your choice, Astrid; I need to keep looking, and I'd love to have you with us, both of you, but its not my place to tell you what you should or shouldn't do, and I will never hold your choices against you."

Despite his words, Astrid couldn't get the look of surprise she'd seen on his face, when she told him that she and Stormfly were joining the Berk Guard, out of her head. Than there was his last statement, the one he'd never gotten the chance to finish: "Since the topic has come up, though, I have an idea I've been meaning to…"

'What did you want to talk to me about, Hiccup?' Astrid asked herself. There was no way for her to know, though; and, deciding that she'd indulged herself enough, she returned her attention to their surroundings.

Half an hour later;

Approximately thirty minutes after they arrived at the ship graveyard, the six riders and five dragons regrouped on the deck of a relatively intact boat.

"No sign of Dagur," Hiccup commented.

"Looks like we got here first," Astrid agreed. "What's the plan?"

"We wait," Hiccup said, simply.

"Wait, what? … For how long?" Fishlegs looked nervous at the idea. "This fog really gives Meatlug the willies."

Astrid nodded in agreement, "He has a point: We can't wait around here for ever."

Hiccup gestured around them, "Well, we can't just leave Johann's treasures laying around here; Dagur will steal them!"

"… And use the profits to build a new armada," Astrid finished, as she realized what Hiccup was implying.

"Not if we steal them first!" Ruffnut said, smirking.

Tuffnut snorted, "That is the dumbest idea I've ever heard; I hereby disown you!"

Hiccup smiled, "You know, I kind of like it."

Tuffnut turned back to his sister, "Welcome back to the Family!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Here's the plan: we search the ships; gather up Johann's treasures, and bring them back to Berk. But keep an eye out for Dagur; he could show up at any time!"

A sudden noise caught his attention, and Hiccup hurried to the edge of the deck. He glanced overboard, and his eyes widened, "Eels! Get to your dragons before they get spooked and take off!"

The others hurried to do as he said, but they were too late: the dragons had shot into the sky, and into the bellies of the clouds… the sole exception being Toothless. The others called after their dragons, but the only one who replied was Stormfly; 'I'm sorry, Astrid; I'll come back as soon as I can… Its just … eels!'

Toothless remained crouched at the stern of the boat, growling, 'Eels… I hate eels; especially–' Before he could finish, a massive head rose into the air; the head of an eel larger than any they'd ever seen, or heard of before.

Hiccup hurried over to him, and clambered onto Toothless's back, "Easy there, bud; it's only a couple of eels … Really big, screaming, mean, eels."

Toothless snorted, 'Not. Helping.' With Hiccup on his back, the black dragon rose into the sky, circling the boat from above.

Than one of the massive eels coiled around the prow of the boat, and jerked downwards, pulling it into the sea. Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the twins managed to grab on to something, but Astrid slid down the slanting deck, towards the ocean, and the eels.

"HICCUP!" Astrid cried, than she vanished into the water.

Toothless and Hiccup plunged after her, 'In case I haven't said this, already: I hate eels!' An instant later, they plunged into the ocean.

Most girls, most people, would've panicked after falling into an ocean full of massive eels. They found Astrid with her axe in hand, swinging the weapon in an attempt to discourage the three eels that were rising towards her.

The nearest one was less than twenty feet away when something shot past her, and the eels scattered. Glancing up, she saw Hiccup and Toothless, moving towards her. She kicked up to meet them, and settled onto Toothless's back behind Hiccup.

A moment later, the black dragon rose back into the air, and returned them to the deck. The other eels, meanwhile, seemed to have taken the hint, and fell back.

Astrid took several deep breaths, "Thanks, Hiccup… You too, Toothless."

"Pardon me," Snotlout cut in, "but does anyone else think that Johann could've warned us about, oh I don't know, THE GIANT SCREAMING EELS?"

"Snotlout, will you relax?" Hiccup asked, exasperatedly, "The dragons will be back, if we can stay quiet long enough for the eels to lose interest … In the meantime, we stick with the plan: we find Johann's treasure – Quietly."

Snotlout huffed, but he, Fishlegs, and the Twins made their way below decks, leaving Hiccup and Astrid up top.
For a few minutes, neither of them spoke, than Astrid realized where Hiccup was looking, "Why are you staring at that ship?"

"Because I'm thinking of checking it out," Hiccup said, casually.

"'The Reaper'; the ship Johann warned us about?"

"Exactly," Hiccup agreed. "'A ship covered with booby- traps from stem to stern'… I've got my Night- Fury armor, and Toothless's scale- armor had grown- in, so I'm thinking: what is on there that they don't want people to find?" As he spoke, Hiccup removed his black helmet from where it hung on Toothless's saddle; pulled it onto his head, and pulled down the faceplate. "We'll meet you back here… Be careful."

Astrid managed a small smile, "Somehow, I feel like I should be saying that to you."

Part Three – The Dragon- Eye

Twenty minutes later, on The Reaper,

Hiccup had lost count of the number of traps he and Toothless had triggered, and … 'mostly' dodged, since they'd arrived on the deck of The Reaper.

At last, Hiccup turned to Toothless, "Ok: nobody goes to this much trouble, unless there's something on this boat that they don't want found." Toothless snorted in agreement.

It took a little while, but, at last, they reached the Captain's Quarters. Cautiously, Hiccup opened the door. When nothing dropped, shot, or thudded, he and Toothless entered the room. The walls were decorated with dragon skulls. Directly in front of them stood a table, and on the table lay…

"What is that?" Hiccup asked, as he made his way forward. The object was long, cylindrical, and intricately decorated. There was no way to know what it was, but Hiccup knew one thing for sure: "If it's on this ship, it's no good for dragons; which means we cant leave it here for Dagur." Cautiously, he reached over, flicked away a random arm bone that lay across the object, and picked it up.

Immediately, a giant axe dropped from the ceiling, and Hiccup heard a series of sounds that told him that now would be a very good time to be somewhere else.

Immediately, he and Toothless raced back the way they'd come.

Mere moments before they emerged on deck, something stopped him in his tracks; a feeling, deep down, that something was wrong. He slid the item they'd retrieved into his satchel, and, by a stroke of luck, found a bag of treasure laying next to a heap of bones. He selected a short 'rod' of gold, encrusted with gems, that was about the same size as the relic they'd retrieved.

Then he and Toothless emerged out of the main hold, and onto the deck, Hiccup careful to hold the golden rod so that he'd see anyone who was in a position that would allow them to see it. They turned around, and saw Dagur and several of his men, standing around a cage at the opposite end of the ship.

"Hiccup; did you miss me?" Dagur asked, in a jovial tone. "Because I sure missed you, every day for three years; I've thought about you!" His smile widened, and he stepped aside.

Hiccup's eyes widened, "Astrid!"

Toothless growled, and Dagur turned to face him, "And you too, Mr. Night- Fury."

"Sorry, Hiccup," Astrid said, miserably. "He got the drop on us while we were searching…"

Dagur rounded on her, "QUIET!" Astrid glared at him, but she fell silent. Dagur nodded in Hiccup's direction, "Can't you see my 'brother' and I are having a moment."

Hiccup scowled, "First of all: you're not my brother; and second: we are not having a moment."

"Oh, well; I was." Dagur shrugged, "But look at you: all grown up!" He winked, "And quite the ladies' man, I'd wager."

Hiccup scowled, "That's hardly your business, Dagur, and, while I can't say that I'm happy to see you, I can think of several hundred Night- Furies who'd love to make your acquaintance, right before they tear you to bloody pieces … But back to the matter at hand: what, exactly, do you want?"

Dagur froze, "Did you say 'several hundred'…" He took a deep breath.

From behind him, Snotlout muttered, "He wants the jewels, duh!"

Dagur chuckled, "Yes, I'll take the jewels," at this, one of Dagur's men elbowed Ruffnut in the stomach, forcing her to spit out the jewels she'd been hiding in her cheeks. "And," Dagur continued, "I'll also take whatever you're hiding behind your back… Come on, hand it over!"

Resisting the urge to smile, Hiccup tossed the gem encrusted golden rod at the Berserker Chief. Dagur caught it, and chuckled, "Now: if you'll excuse me, I've got people to see, an army to build, revenge to plot … Oh; so much to do in so little time! Isn't this exciting, Hiccup?"

"Not as 'exciting' as it will get, Dagur… Not even close," As Hiccup spoke; his voice changed, his eyes changed color, and blue lines began to trace a pattern across his armor. At the same moment, a sense of energy began to radiate from him.

"What the… what's happening?" Dagur stammered.

"An excellent question, Dagur, but not one I can answer, at present." Hiccup sounded like he was smiling, but, with his face hidden behind his helmet, it was impossible to tell. "Three years ago, I couldn't tap into this energy for more than a few moments at a time, but as you can see, it's getting easier… You want 'exciting', Dagur? Give me a few minutes… It's slow going, I know, but as the saying goes: 'good things take time'."

As Hiccup and Dagur spoke, Dagur's men backed away, with their plunder, towards where they moored their boat alongside The Reaper. When all but one of them had boarded, Dagur followed, appearing relieved.

The Berserker boat pulled away, and, once they were a safe distance from The Reaper, Dagur shouted "FIRE!" A boulder was hurled skywards, arcing towards their boat.

Hiccup removed his helmet, his eyes never leaving the boulders' path, and tossed it onto Toothless's saddle. Then he walked towards the end of the boat furthest from the cage, directly to where the boulder was about to impact…

Mere seconds before it would have collided with him, he raised a hand: above, and slightly to one side, of where he stood. A moment later, the boulder landed, squarely, in his hand. He allowed it to push his arm to its natural extent, than he pushed forward.

A moment later, the boulder landed, with a splash, right where Dagur's boat had been, when it had been launched.

This time, they could see Hiccup's smile, and the eyes of a Night- Fury gleaming in his face. "One other thing, Dagur," he reached into his satchel, and pulled out the artifact he and Toothless had retrieved, "That little trinket I gave you? It is nothing!" He held the object up, for Drago to see, "This is the true prize of 'The Reaper'! Once its secrets have been unlocked…" Hiccup's voice fell silent: the blue lines on his armor faded back to black; his eyes returned to normal, and he dropped to one knee.

It took several moments for Hiccup's vision to clear, and the ripples of sound on the fringes of his hearing to resolve into Astrid's voice, calling his name. His movements were clumsy, but Hiccup was able to get an arm around the neck of his black dragon.

With Toothless's support, Hiccup made his way towards where his friends waited.

"Hiccup; are you ok?" Astrid asked, the moment he reached the cage. "The dragon- trance… It's … it's changing, isn't it?"

"I'm … I'm fine," Hiccup said. "I've never tried to go that… 'Deeply' into the trance before; guess it's the trade- off … Extra power, but I'm more tired when I come out of it." He turned to Toothless, "Hey, bud, would you…" Hiccup nodded to the door to the cage.

Toothless inclined his head, and Hiccup motioned for everyone to move to the back of the cage; they did. The familiar blue glow filled Toothless's throat, than he launched his plasma- bolt… Nothing happened. The black dragon tried again; to no affect.

Hiccup's eyes widened, "Dragon- proof steel… Not good; this is not good." He pushed himself to his feet, and unsheathed 'Fury'. To his relief, the black blade cut through the bars as easily as any other surface it had come into contact with; the door clattered to the deck.

Astrid immediately pulled Hiccup into a hug, "We've got to get back to Berk!" Then she frowned at the object he'd retrieved, "What is that thing?"

"I'm not sure," Hiccup admitted, "but this notch on the side looks … familiar, but I don't remember…" Then his eyes widened, "Wait a sec." He reached into his belt pouch, and pulled out the Snow Wraith tooth he'd 'won', earlier that afternoon; it was a perfect fit! He turned it to the right, and there was an audible click, but nothing else happened.

Hiccup frowned at it, then had a weird thought, "Hey, Toothless," he held tilted the device so that the narrow end of the cylinder pointed towards Toothless, and the wide end pointed at the inside wall of the boat. "Can you give me a low flame?"

Snotlout frowned, "Why?"

Hiccup raised an eyebrow at him, "Snotlout; I've just come out of my second- longest time in the dragon- trance ever. For some reason, I've got this feeling; I don't know why, or how."

Toothless moved into position, and breathed a low, steady wave of blue fire. The sides of the cylinder glowed the same color, than a beam of light shot out of the other end, projecting spectral blue images onto the inner wall of the boat.

There was a moment of stunned silence, than Hiccup said, "It… It's a map!" He turned his attention to the other rings on the outside of the cylinder, and the image changed to show a dragon. Hiccup turned the ring a few more times, and, with every rotation, an image of a new dragon appeared!

Fishlegs let out a long slow breath, "I've never seen dragons like that before! The map must show where they live!"

Hiccup smiled, his weariness forgotten, "I knew it! I knew there were more! We've got to get this back to Berk!"

Fishlegs hesitated, "Shouldn't we have a look around, though? Whoever owned this boat was clearly studying dragons!"

Hiccup sighed, "Fishlegs; they weren't studying dragons, they were hunting them… The hold below is divided into cells, and each of them holds the skeleton of a dragon; there're even dragon skulls decorating the walls of the captains' quarters … that was where we found this." Silence fell, among them, and then Hiccup said, "Maybe some good can come of it, now, though."

A sudden noise from above them made them look up; and they saw their dragons coming in for a landing. They exchanged a look, silent agreement that it was time to go home.

That night, at a cliff top, on Berk;

That night, Hiccup and Astrid met in one of their usual spots, to talk. They sat there, in silence, for almost five minutes. Finally, Astrid said, "Looks like you were right to think that there were more dragons out there; I just want to say…"

Hiccup smiled, and put a hand on Astrid's shoulder, "Don't worry about it, Astrid; you stayed on longer than anyone else… And it has been a long time since we've had any real lead on new dragons."

Astrid smiled, "You're amazing, you know that?"

Hiccup shrugged, "An you're incredible… probably why we've always made such a good team."

Silence settled between them, and it lasted until Astrid said, "This morning, you said you had 'something you were meaning to talk to me about' … what was it?"

Hiccup was silent for a moment, and then he turned to face her, "You know how, when you suggested I think about what might be next for myself and Toothless, and I was talking about me being next in line to be chief?"

Astrid wasn't sure where Hiccup was going, but she nodded, and Hiccup continued, "Now, ideally, that won't happen for a while yet, but, when it does, I was hoping you'd consider taking over teaching the lessons at the Dragon Academy."

Astrid's jaw dropped, "You mean… but what about you?"

"Oh, I'd still help out whenever I could; but I'd have a lot more to look after; and there'll be a lot of people who'll need instruction. Fishlegs could help, but you're my first choice." Hiccup smiled, "I don't need an answer now, or even soon… just think about it."

Astrid didn't need to think about it, "If you mean it, sure! You do know I only joined the Berk Guard because … I wanted to…" Her voice drifted to silence; she could tell, from his expression, that he understood why she joined the Berk Guard. She cleared her throat, "I can pull out any time, and help you search for those new dragons."

Hiccup's eyes widened, "I never said you needed to pull out; you'd do well in the Berk Guard; anywhere, really."

"Then I can do well in the Academy, until then, too," Astrid held Hiccup's gaze. "There's a new whole world out there, and I can't think of anyone else I'd rather explore it with."

"Something else we have in common," Hiccup said, his usual smile on his face.

To Be Continued…