Hi thanks for taking a peek at my fanfiction :) Beware tho, there will be magic, and cursing. I also have to inform that Hiccup likely wont be in this story after this chapter. We might see some of Toothless. But this fan-fiction is based on Astrid and what actions she will take after Hiccup escapes his responsibilities. It will also be about what secrets Astrid hides underneath those arm wrappings, don't tell me you aren't curious.

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I Never Ever Want to be Useless

To be fair, Hiccup had done well since he learned those tricks in the ring. Don't think I didn't watch him, and understand what he did. Like the one time with the eel, or when he hit a certain spot on the dragons and they collapsed as if someone had struck them down by axe. I had originally thought that someone on the island had trained him, given him hints on how to take dragons down without bloodshed. Something Hiccup seemed excellent at, I mean he even got the honor to kill the nightmare tomorrow. But when it would come to real bloodshed tomorrow, how would he fare? Would he be able to kill the dragon?

I had gotten a few vikings drunk at the celebration after the failed attempt at finding the dragon nest, and asked them for any hidden tricks to try and reveal who had trained him. Due to everyone being off to the dragon nest, well almost everyone, the list of possible trainers wasn't that long and trying to lure a secret out of someone who is full enough… well it was easy. But no one had ever heard of the eel trick, the weak spot or the grass I had picked up after him. Which only left about Stoic to ask, but he had seemed too surprised when he returned and discovered what "dragon slayer" Hiccup had turned out to be. Gobber would surely not hold secrets like that back when he was the one in control of training us. So that only left one person. A person I had never met before, someone who didn't live on Berk. Or Hiccup had learned it all on his own. Which was unlikely considering it was, well… him. But I had one hint, I knew he snuck off into the forest, I had seen him enough times and followed him enough times to know there was somewhere he went. Somewhere he didn't want anyone to see. Well, to be honest I had tried to follow him and I had thought it would be easy too, but for all his clumsiness, he was actually quite good to disappear in the forest. But this time, this time for sure, I would finally find out who had trained him.

This time the noise he made was impossible to overhear. I followed behind trees and kept myself hidden from him. He spoke to himself and it was obvious that he had tried to chew off a bit too much with all the stuff he was "trying" to carry. What had slightly baffled me was that the biggest sack of them contained what must be, based on the smell, fish. I stepped around and followed almost every time he had to stop and put down his sacks and take a break. What a whimp, well for being the best dragon slayer Berk had seen since ages he sure couldn't do lifting. I stalked him and watched as he stumbled onto a path. If this was the old me, or perhaps even me from a few days ago I would probably had taken the chance to find my own way and appear at his destination before him, but today I didn't take that chance. I felt, perhaps he had something up his sleeve, and that something would probably be another viking waiting for him somewhere secluded. Showing up first might not be a wise idea. So I stalked him and when it was obvious, even more so than a little while ago, where he was headed I gave him a little time before following through the small gap in the rock wall.

It was tight and I could understand it if Hiccup had struggled with pulling the casket full of fish through here. After I got past an especially tight spot I noticed light, but it was blocked by something shaped like a shield. Had Hiccup built something to keep intruders away? I got closer to the thing and heard a voice from outside. Definitively Hiccup. "Leaving. We're leaving. Let's pack up. Looks like you and me are taking a vacation, forever." His sarcastic voice boomed into the little cave and I took a few moments to scramble forward to the round thing. It was a shield, and I carefully looked over it. I could see Hiccup doing something with something out of my field of vision. Well, I could wait a little, I had the surprise on my side and Hiccup wasn't going anywhere, this surely must be the only way in. I felt content with myself as I stood behind the shield. While I watched Hiccup do something my thoughts wandered to how this shield could have gotten stuck, when I heard an odd sound. I looked up to see Hiccup gradually easing onto a DRAGON! I was struck with surprise for a second before my foot, on its own accord, punched through the shield to get out and take on that dragon. But the second my foot smashed through the shield, dislodging it from the stonewall, they were off.

I didn't scream after him, I was just standing there, coming to the realization that Hiccup had ridden a dragon. And that it hadn't seemed to want to kill Hiccup. How? And was it the dragon that had shown Hiccup how to take dragons down without bloodshed? Anyway, those thoughts didn't matter as I felt the rage boil through my blood and the few seconds I had stood there looking after Hiccup turned violent as a nearby tree got a piece, or, well a lot of my anger as I killed it violently over and over again with my well trusted axe. All the time while some whispers in the back of my head told me "there is a reason for all of this. There must be."

I stopped the violent "killing" of the tree and looked over to the shield on the ground. The twins had gotten the blame for taking that; I remembered vaguely, also all that metal from the blacksmith and the raided skin hut, it had all been Hiccup. Well being the chief's son he always got away with everything. When we were little I had always been so angry about that. While I, if I accidentally knocked over a weapon stack at home would get jelled at so much, Hiccup could practically burn down half of the village and get away with it. And now he had fucked up, well no one would know, because I wouldn't tell anyone. If I told them, there was a risk they wouldn't believe me and would think me crazy. I was not willing to take that risk. While going back to the village or even train sounded wonderful to my mind, I couldn't just let go of this. I put my hand in my little pouch and took up the grass I had collected after Hiccup had taken down that gronckle in the ring today. I took a deep breath of the grass as the familiar sent tingled in my nostrils. I knew the place perfectly. I had thought he had been given the grass from the viking that trained him, because I couldn't picture Hiccup climbing to get there on his own. Perhaps he was up there now? If he was I could probably take him on, and demand him tell me the truth.

Be he there or not, it was something to set my mind on as I began walking. Soon the sun would set and it would be impossible to find my way either up or down to the grass, I eased into a quicker tempo and walked with my shoulders tense, just in case. Hiccup had probably gotten a hold of the grass after he rode the mysterious black dragon up there. And by the way what was up with that dragon? I had read the dragon manual many times, not as many as Fishlegs though, but still there was no mention of it in the book? Yes I had read it more than once. I didn't want to fall behind on anything, I was, err… had been, the best young viking Berk had seen in ages. Well, until Hiccup had stolen the spotlight. I bet he could barely even track or take down a dragon in the heath of a fight. He was so selfish. It was always as if the world revolved around him, and even though he had been seen as the screw up, useless heir to the village, he had been kind of loved. I had no one. Never had had any one but my uncle Finn, and he was from my father's side and a little bit on the crazy side too. My aunt had been banished to the end of the sea and my parents had been killed. Not by the flightmare, because a death like that would at least been something to be proud of, celebrate that they had died in a battle to fight for our village. No they had been doing magic. And no not the kind of magic we hear about around the campfires in the evening, about lovely fairies and strength potions, no, it was blood magic. And I knew about it because, well I had seen them do it, and with dragons. They had done it to me, and themselves. And they had died doing it. No one knew the truth, or at least I don't think anyone knew the truth, but I still bear the scars from that time they used it on me… Anyway, I gripped my axe tighter; it wasn't my intended purpose to get lost in my own thoughts. I looked at the pillar of rock. No other place on Berk, which I knew off, had grass like the one I had found after Hiccup. It was time to climb.

I put my axe in the leather straps on my back and started to climb. My hands and feet easily found places to support my weight. I had after all climbed this pile of rocks more times than I can remember. I was reminded of happier thoughts when I smelled the fragrant smell of a flower Gothi had once asked me to get for her. I refused to be useless in any situation and had taken to learn about some healing arts from Gothi when I was younger. I had taken the axe after my parents, well… you know. Anyway I knew what to eat to get better and what to never ever eat, in most occasions. I never ever wanted to be useless.

The climb was quickly over and I lifted myself of the edge and looked towards the grass. It had been a while since I last was here, and now I checked for danger. As I didn't sense the presence of anyone or anything remotely close I started walking into the grass. It had been the perfect training spot due to the grass itself. It was so secluded that no one ever would invade on my training, especially Hiccup, and after I walked around a little I got a clearing in the grass in which I could train. The grass provided a soft ground if I should be so unlucky as to fall when I trained. The only downside to this was that after a while the scent from the grass would be too much, especially if I had stomped on it too much, and it would make me disoriented and confused. Which was bad if I had to hurry and climb down before the sun set for the day. As I now walked around in the tall grass I didn't notice anything off about this place, until… there! Someone had stomped the grass down in a big circle and some of the grass had also been chewed off. Well then Hiccup had been here on his black dragon.

I sat down in the field I don't know why, perhaps I was waiting for Hiccup or something. I looked up at the sky. I also liked this place because it was closer to the sky than, well a lot of Berk. Even thought there was the never ending threat from dragons and many vikings feared the sky, I had always loved it. In secret of course. Perhaps that was why I hadn't wanted to get the rest of the village involved with Hiccup's dragon thingy. He probably wouldn't return. And if he did, it probably would be on his black dragon. Black dragon.

It was something about that dragon, besides the fact that it wasn't in the dragon manual. What could it be? It had looked different from how many dragons look. Most of them look either sharp, or bulky, some fiery, but never so black. And it had very large wings. It was probably quite the quiet dragon. And I certainly had never seen anyone like it, and never heard anything like it either. I recalled the odd sound from the cove in which I had seen them. And then there was the fact that it was black. Perhaps I had seen it before… I stood up because I didn't want to think more about it. I swung my axe, keeping an eye on the sky to see when the sun would set, not to see if I could spot the black dragon. Shh. Stop thinking about that. It would be impossible to spot after the sun set though, just like the dragons my parents used. STOP. No more now. I planted the axe solidly in the ground a few meters from me. It was now in the middle of some grass. I walked angrily over to it. NO MORE THOUGHTS NOW OK!? I said loudly in my head. As I did so the so familiar itching started along my arms. I breathed angrily through my nose. Ok, I'll deal with all of this, just have to get my axe. Then climb down before the sun sets. Black scales. Stop. Ok... I picked up my axe from the grass, getting a good whiff of it in my face. It calmed my nerves. Perhaps I should gather some for myself? Why not? I took a deep breath and picked enough to fill my pouch. I wouldn't tell anyone about what I had seen today. For all the village knew, I had been off to training. Yes, that was it, training. I walked out of the grassfield and took a last glance at the sky before I started to climb down the rocky pillar.

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