"... leaving. We are leaving."

Hiccup had brought a bag full of what he considered, essential supplies. Extra materials for the tail fin, some food, basic tools and at least 3 books on the study of dragons. This isn't mentioning the compilation of notes he had on Toothless after their extensive time together.

Said Night Fury had landed just two metres away from Hiccup, curious as to where they could possibly be going. "Yeah, I know but... they want me to KILL a dragon! I couldn't kill you," an indignant snort came from Toothless, "what makes them think I can kill a different Dragon!"

Toothless stopped a moment to stare at Hiccup, as if he was saying Of course you couldn't kill a dragon, before nodding. "Good, now just let me..."

Hiccup attached a clip to the saddle and mounted his bag of things onto Toothless. "There. Now, lets go buddy."

Astrid was boiling a shade of red that was hard to describe. Furious wouldn't even get her started. Hiccup went from being the worst one out of the entire training group to being able to single handedly take down almost any dragon put in front of him. It boggled her mind.

She was angry, embarrassed, jealous, basically any negative emotion at current moment.

So, in a concerted effort to vent her frustrations, she tried to follow him. She knew he went into the woods each day, so she intended to corner him there.

So two shocking things when she arrived at the clearing. One, Hiccup was there first. She had been convinced the celebrations of him being chosen would have lasted just a little bit longer. Two, he was tying a bag to a dragon.

And then he started to climb on top of it.

She was so shocked at what she was seeing. The boy who was away to kill a dragon was mounting one, with no fear of death. Eventually she worked up the ability to speak with a shout, "Hiccup!"

The dragon immediately locked on to her, its eyes dilating. Hiccup glanced around a little bit before eventually spotting her, his eyes wide with fear. It was an odd contrast between the two.

"What are you doing!?"

Hiccup just stroked the side of the dragons head. "E-easy buddy, it's okay."

The dragon noticeably calmed. Hiccup turned to Astrid, "So, uh, is there any chance you forget this...?" He had a nervous smile and threw his arms up, as if he knew the answer already.

Astrid wasn't going top be so easily calmed. "J-Just explain!"

"It's- It's quite simple actually." The dragon spread it's wings as Hiccup adjusted his foot. "I'm not killing a dragon tomorrow."

A quick gust of wind from the dragons wings flapping and they were gone, soaring upwards and away from Berk. Astrid had come for answers, and although she got no explanation, this was a big answer.

"Hiccup has a pet dragon!"

She ran into the grand hall, where her fellow recruits and the majority of the village were currently tucking in. None really paid her any attention; they were making too much noise for her to be heard. She decided to rush to the table fo recruits, currently graced by the presence of chief Stoick. And Gobber, of course.

"Ah Astrid," Gobber was the first one to notice her presence, "Glad you could join us, sorry about tomorrow, but it was the Elder's choice not mine so..."

"And would have expected that eh?" Stoick was beaming, "My son... In a few short weeks, he's become a bonafide dragon killer!"

Everyone was celebrating hiccup's selection. To be expected, it would have been the same if she was picked. BU that wasn't important,"Listen, I saw Hiccup, with a DRAGON."

Stoick grew even more animated, "Couldn't wait 'till tomorrow huh? Already out slaying a dragon!" He raised his drink in celebration. He cheered, and everyone else chimed in.

"No, no!" Astrid began waving her arms frantically, "I mean he was hanging out with a dargon, RIDING.. a dragon."

Stoick, Gobber and the rest of the recruits looked at her in disbelief. Stoick lowered his drink before staring coldly at Astrid.

He then burst out laughing, slapping his large hands on his thighs. "A fine joke lass, a Viking, RIDING a dragon!"

Everyone around her burst out laughing, as if the thought of Hiccup riding a dragon was the most far-fetched idea.

But if you thought about it, it explained almost everything. How he was able to pacify the dragons in the arena without fighting, where he went every afternoon after training and why he was eternally working on something; he was trasining a dragon. It explained all the oddities that started up over the last few weeks.

"I'm serious!" she tried to explain, "It was pitch black, green eyes and purple breath... I think it was a Night Fury!"
The laughing just continued, as if Astrid were the greatest stand up comedian to exist.

Again though, if it was a Night Fury, that made sense! Hiccup had said that he shot down a Night Fury, so of course that would be the dragon he had bonded with.

"Astrid," Gobber interjected, "I get that you're upset, I really do, but Hiccup is going to kill a dragon tomorrow. Lets be happy for him!"

Astrid couldn't believe how blind they were to the truth, "I can't believe this..." she ran out of the hall as fast as she could.

Astrid stood in the same clearing where both Hiccup and the Dragon had been just hours earlier. Searching for some kind of sign, a clue as to what Hiccup had been doing. Why he would choose to bond with a dragon. "Why..."

She looked down, defeated. Hopeless. No one believed her and Hiccup wasn't around to ask questions.

She heard paper flapping in the breeze. She looked around to find it's source; a small notebook, stuck under a rock. It must have fallen when Hiccup flew away. The notebook had a word on the front, "Toothless."

Astrid decided to take the notebook home and read it, hoping desperately it would give her any inkling as to what had happened. She opened the first page to have a look at what was held inside. It was a drawing of a dragon with the title "Toothless - the Night Fury."

Toothless was flying as fast as his wings would carry him. It didn't make much difference, Hiccup had been knocked unconscious by the giant dragon in the volcano, he had almost no control over where he was going. The swarm of dragons following them would soon catch up, they would both be fed to the Queen.

"Toothless, stop there..."

Hiccup had woken, and was weakly pointing at a cave on an island. Toothless nodded, and tried his best to aim for the perch on the cave. The dragon landed with only his front two legs over the cliff side. After a few seconds, he scrambled his way up and into the cave, and lowered Hiccup onto the floor.

"There we go..." Hiccup was weak, but he started to mess around with the tail fin he'd built.

"...There..." he tied off the wire between the tail fin and the foot hold to the harness on the nape of Toothless' neck. "It won't work for long but... it should get you away." He pulled his dragon in by the head and looked into his eyes. "Get out of here. Get help, I'll be fine, I'll just slow you down..."

Toothless hesitated, pressed his head against Hiccup's, and then turned around and jumped into the air. It took him a few moments to work out that his tail fin was now tied to his neck movements. He crashed into a couple of pillars before getting the hang of it and flying away as fast as he could. Toothless only knew one place to go; Berk. And there was only one other person who didn't immediately try and kill him.

The girl who had seem him and Hiccup earlier that day.