NEW STORY! HORRAH! :) This is the FIRST update on this particular story today. It was requested by the brilliant AnimeAngel, so I would like to thank said user for the idea. I also have a poll on my profile with some more stories to vote for (I added a few a little back). So if you could vote, that'd be great. The story with the most votes WILL be written next. :) Anyways, enjoy chapter 1!

It was like any other normal day on Berk. It started as you would expect; blistering cold, followed by unusual sunshine yet while it's still cold, go to Dragon Training with Hiccup and the others, and then head up to the Great Hall for dinner afterwards.

My name was Astrid Hofferson. I waited inside the Great Hall, listening to Fishlegs as he rambled on like a person who didn't know what the words "Stop talking about Dragons" mean. I smiled as I thought about dragons.

It was about three years ago when we finally made peace with the once dreadful beasts. And it was all because one person stepped up, did what everyone else thought was crazy, and changed our lives for the better.

His name was Hiccup.

Of course, you already know this, as Hiccup just so gracefully pointed out.

[Yes, Hiccup, I wrote it down, see? You happy now?]

I was waiting for Hiccup at the Great Hall. He had promised to meet me here. We had been working on some new training techniques recently, but I was in need of some help with Stormfly, my Deadly Nadder.

Yes, I liked to believe that I was perfectly capable of taking care of my Nadder, but sometimes (like everyone else in the world) I needed a little help. Hard to believe, I know, but hey! Even the great Astrid Hofferson needed a few tips.

[Quit laughing, Hiccup]

I waited, listening to Snotlout and the twins arguing about which stunt they would do the next day. They were going for Dangerous, Daring, and Deadly. The three D's, as they call them.

They were weirdos. I guess everyone here on Berk's a little bit on the strange side, but the twins and Snotlout are more than a little strange. They're abnormally...whacko. That was an underestimate, too.

Don't get me wrong, though. We were friends. Good friends, and I liked them all. I just wished they wouldn't be so...Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut-ish, if you know what I mean.

I was thinking about Hiccup, what we were going to do when he got here. He always had these brilliant ideas he just LOVED to bestow so kindly upon us. Some of them were SO brilliant, I had a hard time getting to sleep at night, while others were so crazy I didn't sleep because I was afraid of them sneaking up on me.

[Now Hiccup's on the floor laughing. You're a great friend, buddy, now GET UP]

I turned to Fishlegs and smiled. At the moment, he was going off about the intensity of Snaptrapper venom, how dangerous it was. I had never seen a Snaptrapper before, but they were dangerous. Four heads. each opening three different ways? Are you KIDDING ME!? I doubted even Hiccup's seen one of them before. They're definitely on the "unusual" side, to be sure.

So...that brought us to today.

"So, Astrid," said Fishlegs, breaking me out of my thoughts, "what do you think about the Smothering Smoke Breath Dragons?"

"I think they're dangerous," I said simply.

"Anyone could have said that, Astrid," said Snotlout in annoyance, leaning back on the bench. "Dangerous, huh?"

"I want to touch it!" shouted Tuffnut.

I rolled my eyes. Typical Tuff. Ruffnut was right behind him.

"I want to ride it!" she shouted, elbowing her brother's side.

"Touch it and ride it!" they both shouted in unison, bashing their heads together in agreement. They did that a lot. It was strange. Sometimes I wondered if it was because they did it that they were so nuts.

"No one's touching the Smoke Breaths, guys," said Fishlegs. "They can really hurt someone."

"He's right," I agreed. "You guys know we don't mess with dragons who could hurt someone, or something like that."

"Well, technically, any dragon could hurt someone," said Fishlegs. "There's a difference between 'can't' and 'won't', Astrid."

I frowned. I knew there was a difference.

"I know, Fishlegs," I groaned. "Fine. Let me reword that last sentence: We do not mess with dragons who would hurt someone. Better?"

"Much," said Fishlegs.

"So...where's Hiccup?" said Tuffnut, balancing one of his spoons on his nose and putting his arms out beside him to keep balance. "I thought he was going to be here soon."

"Me too," I said. "Maybe he got caught up. I mean...you know him. Always racing off to do different stuff, never really able to stay in the same place for long...he's probably writing down a rough blueprint of something."

The spoon fell off Tuffnut's nose and clattered on the floor beside him. "Or..." he said, leaning forward and putting his elbows on the table, "something happened."

"Tuffnut, stop it," I said. "You know Hiccup's pretty safe when it comes to stuff like that. He's not going to do something crazy...or...at least I hope he's not."

"Yeah, but we don't know," said Fishlegs. "He could be hurt or something. Don't you think that's possible?"

I thought the idea was absurd. "Come on, guys," I said. "This is Hiccup we're talking about. I'm sure he'll come through that door at any second now."

As soon as the words left my mouth, the doors to the Great Hall swung open. Hiccup stumbled (quite literally) inside, but something was definitely wrong. His face was covered in scratches, his hair watered down with rainwater and a small bit of dirt. Well, of course, that could have meant anything, but there was one thing that caught my attention.

There was an arrow sticking out of his left shoulder.

"THEY'RE COMING!" he shouted.

Then he crumpled to the floor, unconscious.