A/N – Thanks for the positive feedback! I'm glad you all are liking it so far, even if it's been the first chapter.

X

Chapter 2

Hiccup blinked. His mind went to the dried mutton he'd brought, and the wild salmon in the stream not too far from his campsite. These ideas were about to leave his mouth when he understood what she meant by eaten. Vampires didn't eat fish or mutton. They fed off humans – humans just like him, naïve enough to stumble into a vampire's hungry sight.

"Oh," he said. His wrists suddenly felt freakishly bare.

"I don't…" She closed her eyes again, this time for longer, and inhaled when she opened them. "I don't eat people often. Only when I have to, or when it's me or them."

"Oh, that's good to know," Hiccup said, not feeling very reassured. "Would right now qualify as one of those moments?"

Her grin, however small before, faded. "It might have."

Hiccup cuffed his wrist in his palm. His pulse quickened under the touch. "If I…I mean, if you…had just enough to keep you going…"

"I couldn't," she said, a gentle shake of her head. "I would start and not be able to stop. I'd hate to kill you after you showed me kindness. That sort of guilt would follow me for years."

"No self-control?" Hiccup wanted to snatch back those words as soon as he said them.

"Not in starvation," she said. She closed her eyes. "I can…feel it. Each time your heart beats, like a hammer. Blood smells…and you…smell nice."

"Thank you?" Hiccup felt both strange and embarrassed by such a compliment. Although, the same compliment coming from anyone else would have felt much worse. "So you're just going to die? I'd rather not live with that sort of guilt either. I can't just do nothing."

"Even for a wretched creature like me?"

The way she said those two words – wretched creature – told him she had heard them many a time before and never in a light-hearted tone.

Hiccup nodded. "Unless you're going to kill me later."

"I will try my hardest not to," she said. "I do have some self-control."

Hiccup chuckled. He couldn't believe the situation he'd gotten himself into. "Okay, Astrid. What do you need me to do?"

Astrid considered him for a moment longer. "I need blood. It doesn't matter where it comes from…can you catch a boar?"

"Probably," Hiccup said, not wanting to dwell too long on the fate of that boar.

"Catch one and bring it to me, alive."

Hiccup gazed out into the forest. He had seen a number of wild boars roaming before landing. He gathered his healing supplies and dumped them back into the saddlebags. He then climbed onto the saddle. "Okay. Come on, Toothless, let's see if we can't do some hunting."

Toothless gave one last look to the wounded vampire and then pushed hard into the sky. Hiccup glanced over his shoulder as the cave vanished in the trees. He couldn't help but feel like he had jumped head first into something beyond his control.

The trees whisked by underfoot. Hiccup could fly off toward the Edge and never look back. He could fly in any direction and never come back to this island.

X

Hiccup returned to the cave not an hour later. Toothless carried a netted wild boar in his claws. The boar squealed and struggled. Hiccup tried his best to ignore the sounds. Of course, Berk hunted boars, too, and he'd eaten one or two in his lifetime. He had seen sheep about to be slaughtered, but somehow this felt different.

Toothless dropped the netted animal on the ground in front of the cave, not high enough to hurt the beast, only to surprise him, stun him from escaping the netting. Toothless prepared to land, but Hiccup halted him.

Astrid crept out of the cave on her hands and knees. Her stare sent a storm of shivers down his spine, a direct glare, wild and hungry, like a dragon eyes a fish after a long flight. She crawled into the sunlight, a feral hunter with prey in her sights. The light dappled her golden hair, bleached her already pale skin a ghostly white. A dangerous red flashed in her wide eyes.

The boar wiggled through the net, but never made it to freedom.

Astrid pounced on the beast with inhuman speed, fangs lashed and prominent, the red rim of her eyes shining like rubies under a torch. She sank her teeth into the squealing boar's neck, forcing it to the ground like it was stuffed.

Toothless warbled, a low, bothered sound.

Hiccup turned his attention elsewhere. Even in her feeble strength, she could have killed him at any time.

The boar squealed louder, a pitiful death wail against his attacker. Hiccup's blood chilled. He glanced down at the ground on the other side of Toothless. How high could a vampire jump?

He decided that he didn't want to stay and find out. He steered Toothless in the direction of their campsite, away from Astrid and the squealing, struggling prey. As they flew, the squealing grew less intense, less horrified, sadder.

The boar's squealing stopped.

Hiccup dropped onto the ground in a flurry, grabbing his things and stuffing them back into the saddlebags without folding or sorting. He didn't have the time. What would happen when Astrid finished with the boar? Would she be looking for an after-dinner snack? Was the boar the appetizer?

Hiccup fastened the lumpy saddlebags. Toothless growled; his attention snapped from Hiccup to something else.

Hiccup felt his heart stop. He looked over his shoulder. Astrid stood between the trees, wiping a drop of fresh, red blood from the corner of her mouth. She still carried a strangeness about her, unnatural grace and fluidity, a glow of sorts. The red in her eyes had vanished and left only the deep blue. Her pale skin had lost the deathly sick-white. The dark circles underneath her eyes had gone.

"I-I…" Hiccup's hand tightened around the saddlebag's clasp.

"Thank you," she said, her smoky voice no longer dry. A sweet cadence rang through it.

"You look better. I mean, you know, you don't look dead anymore."

She shrugged. She took a step to the side, closer to him but still within the shade.

"I thought vampires couldn't stand the sunlight?" Hiccup asked.

She inched closer. "It's not fun. It won't kill me outright."

She paused in her approach and stretched her hand out into the sunlight. It gleamed on her skin. Hiccup spotted a darker shade of skin at her wrist, a discoloration he hadn't noticed before, subtle bruising.

Astrid pulled her hand back inward. She wobbled, but caught herself on a nearby tree trunk.

Hiccup tensed. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine," she said, breathless. "It's just…"

"Do you need more?" Hiccup tightened his hand around his wrist.

"No," she said. She slid down the tree to the ground. "The sun won't kill me, but it's not nice to me, either. I just need some rest."

He couldn't relate to the sun, but he knew what exhaustion felt like. "Are you going to tell me what happened to you?"

Astrid closed her eyes and opened them again, her stare fixed on Hiccup. Thoughts stirred behind those eyes. At last she spoke, "I will tell you all about it if you'll do one more thing for me."

Hiccup met her stare. "Like what, exactly?"

Astrid shut her eyes and inhaled. She met his eyes again. "I hate to ask more of you, but do you…have somewhere else to go? Somewhere indoors? Out of the sun?"

Hiccup flinched, yanking on the saddlebag. Toothless warbled. The idea of taking a vampire with him back to Dragon's Edge sounded worse than a flock of Fireworms.

"You don't have to," she said in his hesitation. She stood on shaky legs, using the tree for support. "I understand. Vampires and humans don't get along. I'll be alright. There are caves here to hide in until nightfall."

"Where'll you go after that?"

"Home, I expect," Astrid said with a sigh.

"How?" Hiccup asked. He shifted an uneasy stare to Toothless, who kept his eyes on the retreating vampire.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I'll survive out here until someone comes looking. Unless they believe me dead, someone will eventually start looking."

"Will you be alright by yourself?" Hiccup asked.

She shot a sharp glance over her shoulder. "Of course. There's nothing I can't handle."

"Except poisoned arrows," he added.

"Those," she said she a shrug. She turned away. "As long as those hunters don't find me first, I'm golden."

Hiccup felt the knot of dread tightened in his chest. Why did these sort of decisions always sneak up on him? He watched Astrid walk through the trees in her graceful way, not as badly off as when he'd first seen her.

Toothless warbled lowly. He looked between Hiccup and Astrid.

"Oh, come on," Hiccup defended. "It's a terrible decision."

Toothless warbled and whined.

Hiccup let out a long sigh. He jogged the space between him and the trees, and came within distance of Astrid. At his approaching footsteps she turned, pausing with her hand resting on her wounded side.

Under her cool gaze again, words fumbled in his throat. "I-I do, I have a place, but it's a bit of a flight."

"Flight," she repeated. Her stare settled on Toothless, who had followed his rider. "You ride dragons."

Hiccup smiled and gestured toward Toothless' saddle. "Yes, I do, but I'm not the only one. Everyone on Berk rides dragons."

Astrid took a few steps closer to him, to the saddle, and ran her hand over the well-worn leather, with a look of nervous curiosity.

Hiccup stepped up beside her, the closest he'd been. He could smell the blood on her, bittersweet and metallic, and like sea salt and dirt. "Do you want a ride? I can show you what it's all about."

He grabbed the pedal to the tailpiece and swung it out, bright red in the afternoon. Astrid's eyes settled on it and ran up the metal bracing.

"What is this?" he asked, delicate hand motioning to the tailpiece.

Hiccup chuckled, not wanting to relive that story. "I, uh, shot him down, back when we fought dragons. But when I found him I befriended him and here we are."

Astrid reached out to touch the metal brace. "You shot him down with the intention of killing him?"

"I guess you could say that."

"But you didn't."

Hiccup sighed. Toothless nudged him. "When it came down to the actually killing part…I couldn't."

"Is it a habit of yours?" Astrid looked back at him, standing at the tailpiece.

He shrugged.

"Some might call it weakness," she said, making her way around the other side of Toothless. "Others might say it's bravery."

"How so?"

"It could be a weakness that you are unable to kill something even if that something should be killed," Astrid said as she came around to Toothless' snout. She scratched the dragon underneath the chin. "It could be a strength that you make your own decisions not to blindly kill. You think before you swing the blade."

"I hadn't thought of it like that before," Hiccup said, hand on the back of his neck. His thumb absently ran over his pulse. He shivered.

Astrid said nothing, but her unblinking eyes watched Toothless.

Hiccup climbed onto the saddle and held his hand out. "What do you say, Astrid?"

Astrid took each step with a care that Hiccup couldn't help by admire. She walked around Toothless with a grace unseen by humans. She stood within reach of Hiccup's hand, but held her own at her sides.

A cloud passed under the sun, shading the entire forest.

"There were clouds headed this way," Hiccup said. "You won't be in the direct sunlight for very long."

"Does that worry you?" she asked, looking up.

"Should it?" he asked.

She looked back down at him and shook her head. "I promise that I will not kill you. I told you before I'd rather not have that guilt."

Astrid took his hand. Her fingers fastened around his in a strong grip, cold as ice. She climbed up after him, fitting herself on the saddle behind him. Her legs draped behind his, against him. Her cold arms snaked around his middle, holding him tight against her. She peered over his shoulder, lips dangerously close to his throat.

His pulse quickened; she flinched.

"I won't," she said quietly.

"Alright," Hiccup said to Toothless, "let's head back to the Edge."

Toothless walked back to the clearing and spread his black wings out, free to move without trees, and pushed hard off the ground. They thrust upward into the air. Astrid gasped and held on impossibly tight, pushing a cough out of Hiccup's chest.

"Sorry," she gasped against his shoulder, releasing some of her grip.

"Vampire strength," he said, "I get it."

Toothless rose toward the clouds but Hiccup steered him below them. He'd rather fly on the other side, too, but Astrid wouldn't.

The island shrunk to a green and gray spec behind them, gradually swallowed by the vast steely ocean. Astrid kept her arms around him as they shot south, toward Dragon's Edge. Hiccup's hands trembled. By the time they arrived it would be dark. With any luck they would slip in unnoticed by the other riders. He did not want to explain Astrid's presence.

Astrid buried her face in Hiccup's shoulder. Her cold breath kissed his neck and sent a shiver down his spine, erupting gooseflesh from the source.

Never had he thought, even in his wildest daydream, that he would be so close to a vampire. She could sink her teeth into his neck; it was within easy reach. She wouldn't even have to move. But she hadn't. Hiccup glanced back every once in a while to make sure she didn't eye him with that hungry glare she'd used on the boar. Each time her eyes had been closed, as if sleeping.

Of course, vampires were nocturnal. Daytime was her nighttime, her natural time to rest and sleep. Hiccup felt silly for not thinking of that sooner.

The sun dipped below the cloud cover, into the western horizon, melting into the ocean, spreading pure molten gold along the cracking surface. Stars twinkled in the far east. Darkness slowly encroached and took over the world; Dragon's Edge came into view. Hiccup took the longer way around the island in case someone had stayed up late to watch the seas for dragons or hunters.

Astrid stirred, but did not lift her head from his shoulder.

He landed on the backside of his hut, hidden from the others to avoid unwanted attention. Hiccup slid from the saddle, waking Astrid, who watched Hiccup with a sleepy stare. Hiccup lifted the door to his hut and motioned Toothless inside. Astrid sat on the saddle as they entered. Hiccup peered out to see if anyone watched. They didn't and he shut the door.

The darkness inside of his hut suddenly felt too thick, a vampire's sanctuary.

Astrid slipped from Toothless' saddle, feet tapping on the wooden floor. Her shadowed form reflected in the pale moonlight streaming in from his window. Toothless went to his rock-bed and Astrid walked to the only other bed in the room, Hiccup's, and sat down on the edge. The boards under her feet barely gave indication that someone walked at all.

Hiccup inhaled. He'd made it back without a commotion. He chucked, "First a Night Fury, now a vampire. What's next?"

Astrid cocked her head at him, arms draped over her knees. "Are you the boy who fought the Red Death?"

He shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. "That would be me."

"I knew the story sounded familiar," Astrid said. "So, it's true then, you battled the Red Death and won?"

"I didn't do it alone," Hiccup said. "I had Toothless."

Hiccup was too tired to get into the details of the nest, the dragon fighting, the violence, and all the things leading up to that fateful day at Dragon Island.

Instead he said, "You said you'd tell me how you ended up on that island."

"I did," she said with a sigh. She stood. "I haven't spoken to a human in a while. It's a bit different."

"I haven't spoken to a vampire…ever, so I guess it's a level playing field."

Astrid twisted her fingers together. "Yes…but, you are tired. Rest and I will tell you about it later. Tomorrow morning."

"What are you going to do all night?" Hiccup asked. He didn't like the idea of her wandering Dragon's Edge while he slept.

"Bathe," she said. "I am covered in sweat, blood, and sea water and Thor knows what else. I'd like to feel clean."

Hiccup shifted from foot to metal foot.

"I promise that I will not kill you in your sleep, or anyone else," she said. "I will bathe and return here. I might catch a nap. I didn't sleep well yesterday."

"Okay," Hiccup said. He didn't have much of a choice. If she tried anything, Toothless would protect him, as would the other dragons of their riders.

She nodded. "In the morning, then. Goodnight…I don't know your name."

"Hiccup," he said. "Hiccup Haddock."

"Goodnight, Hiccup," she said.

She turned to retreat down the steps. Hiccup blinked, and she was gone.