Disclaimer: I don't own How To Train Your Dragon, nor any of the characters

"Well, most of 'im."

What did he mean by that? Astrid ran forward, bold legs traversing the foggy ground. Most of him? How can you save most of him? She faltered upon reaching the left side of Stoick the Vast, and looked...

Oh...

Her eyes spied the leg of hiccup, twisted unnaturally and charred through the boot, as she fell to her knees. She couldn't remember the least time she felt tears trickle down her face. Oh hiccup...

"Hey, beast, what'd my son call ye..." Stoick said, turning his eyes towards the tired Night Fury. "Toother, or Toothlie, or Tooth-Toothless?"

"Yes, that's his name," she confirmed as she gently pet the scaly head of the dark dragon, "His name is Toothless..." She remembered her introduction to the fully toothed dragon. Astrid wondered why as she peeked towards the mouth she was resting on, to see no teeth. Looking deeper, the pearly whites were deep inside holes under the gum line.

"Can you move, Toothless?" Stoick asked, removing the boy from the underside of the dragon. The great reptile folded its wings and... couldn't right itself. Looking at Toothless' eye, she saw how worn he was. He was somewhat hurt, the pain was there, but the exhaustion dominated the face... somehow she could tell. It was different than even the other dragons. More emotional, more... intelligent. No wonder it and Hiccup got along so well. She smiled at the thought of the boy, standing up and placing her hand on his forehead, feeling his burns and his ruffled hair.

"Apparently not, eh?" Why don't we take ol Toother o'er to the beach an' see what we can salvage from the ships, Stoick?" Gobber paused and his eyes met her own. "I'm willing to bet your boy is safe in her hands." She smiled at the idea, and wait... was she blushing?

"Can you carry him, Astrid?" Stoick asked, turning to the girl. Of course I can, who do you think I am? Hiccu...

Her response was swift as the wind as the man flinched from her solid punch in his forearm. "All right, here, take him and follow the two of us." Stoick nearly laughed as he handed the poor child over to her. Gobber laughed and said something about old times as the duo moved to the sides of the dragon. She was a bit surprised at just how heavy he was, but the boy was still light to her. His face bore the brunt of the burns, and his hair and cloths were charred. And there was the leg, the mother of all battle-scars to a viking, left from the slaying of the mother of all dragons. She brought his head up and kissed his cheek, and prayed to Thor for him.

"All right, Astrid, lets get going!" Gobber shouted as she looked up. There was her teacher and the chief lifting the behemoth. Stoick led in front, supporting the head and front-side as Gobber trailed his move, and a black tail swished slowly along the ground. Moving out behind them, she noticed the oddity of the tail of the dragon.

Why was there only one wing? She knew he would be grounded forever now, after this battle. How would hiccup take knowing that? Hadn't there been something there before when she looked back, some other kind of tail? Thats how he managed it... Toothless couldn't fly unless he had Hiccup's prosthetic tail. What had taken off the Night Fury's tai...

Hiccup had hit the Night fury that third time, the time when everyone made fun of him for making up stories again. And suddenly she was plagued with guilt, again. They had been making fun of him for years. And she had done one worse... she'd completely ignored him, not even giving him the chance to mess up. He had been the Viking Night Fury, the one who never showed himself to the others, to her. She'd trained every day she could remember, and had risen to the top from dedication and perseverance. His own dedication had made him the fool for years, his perseverance had been in just living. She bowed her head as she passed the surrounding crowd, ashamed of herself.

But Odin had allowed him to live, somehow, and she'd make it up to him, somehow. But what does a viking do, a girl do, to get the guy who's not interested in strength and skill with a sword and an ax? Somehow, she would think of something. She liked him, and while it definitely wouldn't be easy, she'd figure something out. Bang your head on a rock long enough, and it's bound to break after all, wasn't it?

As they came to the beach, Toothless was laid down on the ground before the boats, his eyes shut. She sat down and leaned on his thick neck, the rider of the Night Fury still in her hands. She smiled, taking a moment to dry her face, and rubbed her hand along his soft face.

Yes, she'd find some way to make it up to Hiccup, and if she was lucky she'd snag him up along the way as well. She set him down next to the dragon as some Medicine women came in to look at the boy. While versed in medical technique, she didn't have the supplies nor the experience the women had. With one last glance, and smile, at the boy she walked back over to Gobber and Stoick.

"This isn't good, Gobber... there's no time for jokes. How are we going to get home?"

"Well, we need to start repairing the boats, piece together what we can with what's left. But there probably is only going to be enough pieces for perhaps four boats, six at best." Gobber paused and looked down at the young teen girl as she walked up next to the two. "You think she has a thing for the hiccups?" Blushing hard, she was about to punch him in the arm when he flinched from the other side. Stoick turned and looked at her.

Was he smiling? That beard was getting in the way too much.

"You're a competent young lady, Astrid. I didn't see you struggle with Hiccup physically at all." She beamed back, but before she could thank him he continued. "What do you know about dealing with dragons?"

"Well, Hiccup did most of the taming, but he did talk a little bit to me about it on our second trip, the one on the way here."

"Oh, what was your first?" Gobber asked inquisitively. She smiled at the fond memory before being brought back to reality as another timber fell from one of the ships. "Here, why don't you let me start the salvaging before there's nothing left, Stoick."

"Good idea. Go ahead and get started then." Stoick turned his attention back to her. Was he smiling again? "Anyway, how much do you know about taming the beasts?" running her fingers through her long bangs, she thought for a moment. On her own, she doubted she'd make it. Then again, she hadn't been the only one hiccup taught.

"Well, I'm sure between some of the other riders and myself, we could manage. Why do you..." the winds picked up as the noises of beasts rumbling back towards the nest were heard, and suddenly it clicked in her mind. "You want them to fly home?" a strange look came over his face, one not exactly enthusiastic.

"I don't see us as having much choice. We'd be hard pressed to replace the whole fleet in a single summer back at Berk, let alone here. It might not be the easiest thing in the world to accomplish, but I think it'll work out. Somehow." She didn't know why, but suddenly she punched him again. His head turned back to her, almost laughing. "Though if you're doing the teaching, I'd be hard pressed to say you'll have problems with deviants." That was a definite smile." Now off with you, lass, there's work to be done, and training to do!" She smiled and began back, when Stoick called again. "Don't worry about Hiccup, I'll watch him til you're done at dusk today. You can see him then. Deal?"

Astrid turned her head back, and looked at Stoick the Vast with a wide smile on her face. "Deal."