Chapter 2: One week ago

THUMP, THUD, CRACK

Hiccup looked out through bleary eyes and tried to fathom where he was. I was not like there was much comfort to be had as it was little more than a few wooden slates with a head board, although after a night of violent shivering in the dark ,the blanket which had covered the skinny teen was finally warm.

THUD CRUNCH

"Alright bud, I'm coming." He groaned in a voice that was probably too quiet for the dragon to hear. He swung his legs over one side of his bed and emitted a mighty stretch and a yawn before stumbling down the stairs and out the front door. Hiccup did not even make it all the way to the side of the house before he was assaulted by a tremendous lick from his best friend. "What?! EWE!" he cried and tried to reclaim some of his lost dignity while Toothless looked immensely pleased at this friend's reaction. Once he had recovered sufficiently from the drenching affection of the Night fury, he was able to focus on applying the flight rigging to the dragon so as to go on their morning excursion. Hiccup just managed to get a single foot into the stirrups before he got his second surprise of the morning.

"There you are son! Good, you haven't left yet." Stoic the Vast seemed overly cheerful to see him and Hiccup could feel himself groaning inwardly. His father had been trusting him to go on missions for the benefit of the tribe and while Hiccup knew that they were fairly necessary most of the time and great practice for being chief which he surely would become one day, the missions were getting further and further away from the island and more and more frequent. It felt like the more responsibility he received for the running of what would in essence be 'his village', Hiccup was seeing very little of it in recent months. "I need you to go on an errand for me."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "I knew it." He thought but instead of vocalizing he instead asked, "How far?" He immediately regretted bothering to ask when his father answered with a tone that almost conveyed pride. "Auroros Isle."

"AUROROS?!" Hiccup choked on his own saliva, "Why?!" Auroros was at least a week away on Toothless if they managed to go most of the way hardly stopping to eat or sleep and kept a breakneck pace the whole way.

"We're out of Ardala leaves." Stoic explained simply, as if this statement settled everything and it was a perfectly reasonable thing to ask of his son. "With full winter approaching we'll need them. We have a lot of older Vikings and children here."

Ardala leaves were known for making a tea which would allow the drinker to recover faster from ailments that commonly occur in the harsh climate of winter, but that winter would be upon them in roughly a month. Also there was the property of the plant itself. While the leaves were beneficial if properly handled, the pollen of the plant was supposedly dangerous. Specially trained farmers knew how to harvest the plant without harming themselves and passed the secret on to their children who were told otherwise to never go near the adult plants. Hiccup then thought about leaving Astrid for that long. He loved her with all his heart but he seriously doubted that their mild relationship status was solid enough to weather that kind of prolonged absence and if something were to happen to delay his returning…

All of these things played on Hiccup's face as the accompanying thoughts jumbled themselves in his brain as all the while, Stoic stood awaiting the only answer he wished to hear. Instead of the desired response, Hiccup instead asked, "Wouldn't this be cutting it pretty close? I mean, devastating winter is coming soon isn't it?"

Stoic stood grim and firm in his resolve. He seemed to have no wish to spare the boy, "That's why I'm sending you, son. You're the most experienced rider on the fastest dragon on the island. If you leave today or tomorrow you'll miss the storms in plenty of time."

Hiccup approached his father pleadingly, who in turn had already done him the subtle dishonor of walking slowly in the opposite direction. He could hear Toothless waiting impatiently behind him but he chose to ignore the shuffling sounds of the dragon. "Dad, what if I don't want to go?"

Stoic turned around and stared at Hiccup disapprovingly. "It's not a matter of want. I need you to take your duties to the village seriously. I won't be chief forever."

"There's a scary thought." Hiccup mumbled under his breath.

"Don't I know it!" Stoic caught the remark and added truthfully without malice, "But that's the way of it. You need to learn to do what's best for your people." He continued thereby interrupting his son before the first syllable of protest could be uttered, "They WILL be your people. You need to start realizing that." Stoic again started to walk away. He called over his shoulder, "I recommend you leave at first light tomorrow."

Hiccup kicked at the snow next to his house and was rewarded by loosening a small avalanche which happily buried him as it fell off the roof. Toothless rumbled in dragon laughter while Hiccup unburied himself and then mounted the waiting dragon in a huff. He swore under his breath as he nudged Toothless with his boot and took to the skies.

After a few hours of maneuvering Toothless through craggy rocks, wavy seas and over clouds, Hiccup had calmed down enough to think and the dragon had enough exercise to satisfy for the time being. Hiccup felt hunger start to gently gnaw at his insides and he realized finally that he had been in such a rush to get away from his father and his responsibilities that he had neglected to eat breakfast or lunch as it had also passed. He steered Toothless into the privacy of the cove and once on the ground, stacked wood for a cooking fire then found a stick which would be suitable for a half decent spit. Hiccup took a fish from his bag and tossed it to Toothless who was happy for the treat and quickly swallowed the little morsel.

Hiccup put the fish on the spit and replied, "Hey bud, you mind giving me a hand?" Toothless opened his large mouth and spat lightning fire at the wood, igniting it instantly. "Thanks." Hiccup grinned and placed the spit over the fire.

He woke with a start and realized he must have been napping though it could not have been very long as the fish had not yet burnt to a crisp. Hiccup smiled at his good fortune and taking the fish off the spit, took an eager bite. He nearly choked as a sudden blow from behind just about knocked the piece of fish right down his throat.

"That's for hiding from me." Astrid chuffed as Hiccup recovered and swallowed the remainder of his bite of cod. The lingering dull pain on the back of his head informed him that he was probably going to have a small bruise in honor of the transaction. Astrid pulled him into a rough kiss, his eyes wide in surprise though he had received this treatment numerous times before. "And this is for being easy to find."

He did not like the thought of being completely surprised and thought it would be good to soften the blow that his news of departure were likely to cause and so without really thinking about the possibility of consequences, he grabbed Astrid and pulled her across his lap where he proceeded to kiss her with much more passion than she ever gave him.

"Take that." He thought with a smile.

"Well played!" Astrid breathed, though Hiccup had trouble reading her facial expression as being either surprised or confused by his sudden bold move. It was not the first time he had tried to let her know that he was available to advance if she was, but she never seemed to have the desire to go beyond the comfortable bounds she had set on that first day. Over a year ago Hiccup had awoke from a week long coma from his triumph over the legendary Red Death. In the battle which had nearly killed him and where he lost his foot in the explosion, Astrid had come to realize her feelings for the skinny Viking, or did she? Hiccup had awoke to find his home of Berk changed and the dragon war over and then there was Astrid; SMACK, a punishment for scaring her with his near death. He was almost knocked off his feet. Then she had kissed him in front of the whole village! That was over a year ago and what had changed since? The fact was simply that Astrid never showed him affection in public anymore and very rarely in private.

The questions nagged at him throughout the day as the two Vikings hung out, gathered roots to add to the dry winter stores and with the aid of their two dragons, assisted the fishermen haul in nets full of fresh fish. By twilight the two were walking back towards the village on the main path. Astrid still chattering on about Stormfly and her experimental diet, their practice drills, a new maneuver they were working on. It was small talk, Hiccup knew that. They had had this conversation and countless like it many times before. Finally Hiccup could not take it anymore.

"Astrid." He interrupted her in mid-sentence, making her face contort slightly in irritation. He continued once he knew he had gotten her attention, "What's going on with us?"

"What do you mean Hiccup?" She lied.

"You know full well what I mean." Hiccup put his hands up in the air while Toothless watched on with a small degree of interest. Stormfly still looked straight ahead and tried not to disturb too many low hanging branches in her way. Hiccup took an exasperated breath and continued, "I've loved you since before I could remember and I have no idea what's going on in this relationship!" He looked Astrid right in the eye and waited for a response.

Astrid continued walking but looked down at her boot as she did so, her voice low and solemn, "Neither do I." Hiccup was a little taken aback but giving her one last look and seeing her face brought reality home; he believed her. As close to the village as they were, it suddenly felt miles away in the silence and Hiccup resolved himself to leave at first light. Maybe when he got back things would change, or maybe they could sit down and have a proper discussion about it. She was the only one for him, surely she must have known that, so why all the stalling?

Hiccup had ultimately failed trying to work things out with Astrid. His final indicator was delivered in the form of a halfhearted peck on the cheek and a mumbled goodnight. He had gone to bed feeling angry, tossed and turned all night, then ended up waking feeling like he never slept and with a sore neck to boot. He packed his provisions; the harness got rigged to himself and his beloved dragon even as his father still slept in the predawn gloom. Some minutes later Hiccup kicked up the freshly fallen powdered snow as Toothless soared from the hillside of Berk village and towards the open sea.

Astrid lay in her bed and lay pondering many of the same questions which had plagued Hiccup the night before. She heard the unique sounds of the only Night Fury on Berk as it flew off with Hiccup away from home and she knew that she was one of the reasons he had decided to go. A single tear trailed down her porcelain cheek and turned cold before it ever reached her chin. She knew that she missed him already and wished him safe while she promised herself that when he got back, she would get serious and stop being so damned stubborn as to allow herself to appreciate his advances. Mostly however, she would tell him the words she held silent on her tongue the whole time they had been together. "I love you." She whispered to the empty room. There was no reply, just the ever quieter cry of the dragon getting smaller and smaller in the distance.