Chapter 1
It was Hiccup's first Snoggletog as Chief; he walked outside his house on the first morning, before anyone else was up, and stared around the village. Quiet and peaceful. Not for long. Soon every person in the village would be running around like a headless chicken; putting up the tree in the centre of the village, decorating their houses, finding presents, wrapping presents etc. And he'd have to organise it all. He heard Toothless land with a soft thump in the snow next to him and nudge him with his head. "Hey, morning bud. You want to go flying, right?" Hiccup turned to his dragon and patted his head. Toothless purred in response and they flew off into the pink and gold sky, where the sun was just rising. Even though he was Chief, he still found time to go flying with his best friend.
They flew high up, right above the clouds, and glided along in the cold, slightly thin air, with the tips of Toothless' wings just brushing the clouds. Hiccup not only did this to spend time with Toothless, but he also often came up here to clear his head. Being Chief was very stressful. The last few days he'd barely been getting any sleep, and his girlfriend Astrid was worrying about him. He kept telling her he was fine, but he wasn't, not really. He was constantly tired, because he kept himself awake all night stressing about what the next day was going to bring. He lay back on Toothless and took in the fresh morning air to calm himself. He also found that talking to Toothless actually helped. Although the dragon couldn't talk, he seemed a good listener. "I don't know, bud, all this Chiefing is really starting to take its toll. What would dad do? He'd tell me to stop being weak and just carry on. But it's hard. I get about two or three hours sleep, four at best. It's hard to work when you're so tired. Maybe I should just tell Astrid. She knows something's up and she will keep going on at me until I tell her. But then she'll tell mum, and then mum will tell Gothi and I will end up on some herbal remedy. Oh well, I guess it's for the best. And I can't even begin to think about Snoggletog..." Toothless listened to his rider and wished he could help. All he could do was purr in a sympathetic way.
"Up here again, are we?" came a voice from behind them. Hiccup raised his head to see Astrid riding her dragon Stormfly alongside him.
"Astrid! You're up early." Hiccup was a little surprised. Oh well, at least he could tell her now.
"So are you."
"Have you been following me every day?" Hiccup wasn't surprised at Astrid at all, but he had to ask.
"No, I've just watched you leave every morning. Until now."
"How long have you been following me?"
"Not long. I caught the part where you said you needed to tell me something. What?"
Hiccup sighed and sat up; he knew that was coming, "Well, you know you keep asking if I'm okay?"
"Yeah? You're not are you? I knew it!"
"No, I'm not. Wait how did you know?"
"Babe, I just know. Tell me. Now."
"Fine. I can't sleep. For the last few days I have been getting two or three hours sleep, four at best. I keep myself awake stressing about the next day. I can't work like this."
Astrid guided Stormfly so she was right next to Toothless, and stepped over their joined wings to join her boyfriend on his dragon. She put her arms around him, put her head on his shoulder and said, "Babe, you should've said something."
"I know. But I didn't want to look weak."
Astrid laughed. "Weak? It doesn't make you look weak at all. If anything, it makes you look the opposite. You had the courage to tell someone. So you're stressing about being Chief?"
"Yeah. It's really hard, Astrid. I don't know how my dad did it."
"Your dad was a great man. But I'm sure for years he was just like you. But he pulled through eventually, didn't he? You will too."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. I love you, and I believe in you. I believe you will be the greatest Chief Berk has ever seen. You will be feared across the archipelago."
Hiccup laughed, "I don't know about that."
"You will. I'm sure of it. Now shall we go down and start with the Snoggletog preparations?"
Hiccup smiled, talking to Astrid always helped. He felt better already. "Okay." And they swooped back down to land again.
I thought I'd do a little Christmas story for you guys! It won't be finished for Christmas day itself, but I will hopefully get it finished by New Year's Eve (in the UK - 31st December). If you have any ideas, please put them in the reviews, I am happy to take them! Remember, nothing M rated, as I only write K through to T rated stories. See you soon! Happy Christmas/Snoggletog!
