Ruffnut had been on her fifth...no, sixth tankard of mead when she heard Astrid scream.

Those screams were followed by several others, a mix of yelps and cries of horror. She half ran, half stumbled out of her house, and thank Odin she left when she did, because her hut was on fire.

Her hut. Was on fire.

As were several others, she noticed in her dazed state. A quick second of panic came and passed by when she thought of Tuffnut, but he hadn't been in their hut, he'd been in the Great Hall. She'd been in their house alone.

So Ruffnut started running, not towards the Great Hall like some people were, but towards where it had seemed Astrid's scream had come from. Tuffnut wasn't in trouble, but Astrid could be.

She nearly fell a few times. People kept knocking into her and each other. But Ruff didn't stop, except to help pick up a little boy. She didn't stick around to hear his father's thanks.

Then she spotted a flash of blond hair making its way towards Hiccup's hut.

Astrid was yelling, or roaring as she ran into his home, and Ruff panted as she followed in. Even from where she was, she heard Astrid's anguished cry of "Hiccup!" and her dull so-far mind seemed to speed up with her legs.

When she ran in, Astrid was fighting a tall man who was holding Hiccup's sword. Their chief was unconcious on the ground, with some...some liquid in his neck. Literally in his neck. The roof was gone. Burned down.

Burn-ing was more accurate, she thought, as she dodged a flaming piece of wood.

Picking up Stoick's axe from the side, she ran into the fray. After years of fighting together, Astrid didn't seem to even flinch at her arrival, only stepping to the side as the axe met Inferno.

"What did you do to him?" Astrid roared.

The man scowled, nearly knocking Ruff off her feet. He moved quickly for someone who looked so old. She gasped when her face nearly caught on fire.

"Your chief is not yours anymore." With his elbow, he knocked Astrid in the face. She grunted, but swung her axe back around the other way. The man blocked it in the knick of time.

Ruff was about to deliver a blowing shot right as a dragon - one with the same liquid in its neck as Hiccup - swooped down and grabbed Grimmel out of thin air. Next to them, another one grabbed Hiccup.

"No!" Astrid shrieked, running towards him.

Their fingers brushed against each other before Hiccup was taken high, high into the sky. The two girls stood watching and gaping.

The alcohol was catching up to her. She was going to throw up soon.

"Stormfly!" Astrid yelled, running out of the house. Ruff ran after, grabbing her arm.

"Who was that guy?"

"I don't know! Stormfly!"

Speaking of Stormfly -

Ruff turned around and ran back in to the damaged hut, taking the blanket off of Toothless. There was an arrow in his leg that she yanked out quickly, but the dragon stayed asleep. She clicked her tongue urgently as Fishlegs burst in.

"Ruffnut! Get out of here!"

"But Toothless!"

He ran over to her and they tried to pull the Night Fury out on their own. Soon enough, Snotlout flew over with Hookfang and pulled him out from above.

As Ruff ran back out, she saw Astrid standing next to Stormfly, with her and Tuffnut in a shouting match with Spitelout and Sven. Valka stood there as well, a silent fury in her eyes.

"- was going to take Toothless!" Astrid was shouting as Ruff got close. "I got there in time but he still - he managed to - he got Hiccup!" she cried out desperately. One of her hands was on her saddle.

"You cannot leave!" Sven yelled in that shrill voice of his. "You're acting chief if Hiccup is gone!"

"We're not married, it should be Gobber -"

"You're the general, Astrid!"

"She has to go after Hiccup!" Tuff butt in, glaring at Sven. "We both do! We need to get a search party -"

"Hiccup has gotten himself out of worse -"

"Enough!" Valka said loudly, making Ruff jump. She looked at Astrid and nodded slightly. "Astrid, they're right, as much I -" She threw a dirty glare at Spitelout. " - hate to say it. You are the general, and you need to stay here in case of another attack. But there will be a search party," she said quickly, when Astrid opened her mouth to protest, "I will go with the riders to find him."

Astrid clenched her fists and her eyes met Ruffnut's, who nodded at her slightly.

"Fine," she let out with gritted teeth. "Go."

Valka turned to Ruff, furrowing her brows. "The others -"

"They were putting Toothless in the Great Hall. He's knocked out completely. When do we leave?" Ruff was desperately pinching herself as she slid in and out of a panicked state. Gods, she shouldn't have opened that barrel of mead tonight.

"Right. Cloudjumper!" Valka ran and used her staff to basically glide on the back of her dragon. Tuff nodded at his sister before going to get Barf and Belch.

"Ruffnut." Astrid grabbed her arm before she could go with him. "Please -"

"We're gonna find him, Ast." She squeezed her friend's hand and willed her mind to clear. "Keep things calm here. We'll be back soon."

Astrid swallowed, but nodded. She turned and ran towards the burning huts to help the fire brigade that they hadn't needed in years.

As she got on her dragon, Ruff felt her brain finally settling down and her vision clearing up.

But behind her, her home was burning, and the gravity of it got her to fly Barf and Belch a little faster.

Things are really heating up now, eh?