Eret chewed on his chicken leg while he watched the Chief hold a speech inside the compact, fire-lit cave. Eret had not known Hiccup for long but the young, lanky man had somehow managed to win him over to his side. It was of course not without the help of his faithful human companion and their dragons.

Eret's first impression of Astrid had been of intrigue and fear. She had seemed like a force to reckon with from the get go. He found her relationship with Hiccup therefore a bit.. odd.

Hiccup was such a benign and mellow guy, agreeable to everything and everyone. Astrid in contrast was untamable and hard to get close to. She was much more guarded and cautious. Eret had wondered how they worked.

He didn't have to dwell on it for too long as he slowly discovered more sides to Hiccup and Astrid. It seemed like Hiccup had tumbled down all of Astrid's walls and brought out her playful nature and compassion. He opened her up and freed her. While Astrid acted as Hiccup's backbone and spine. She gave him support and strenght to stand his ground and let him lean on her whenever he felt tired.

Eret envied that bond and closeness. He wanted to experience what it was like to be so devoted to one another.

Ruffnut's earlier words still hung in his mind and he sighed. It would be a lie to deny his attraction to Astrid as he clearly was very taken by her.

Astrid was like fire. Hot. Sizzling. Warm. Blinding. Fiery. Dangerous. She could both burn you and soothe you. She could lit up your path and blind you by her presence.

It was the type of woman most men dreamed of keeping permanently by their side. Much the way Hiccup had accomplished. They were set to marry after all.

Eret would never wish ill upon the young Chief and his wife-to-be, he only admired them from afar.

As soon as Hiccup was done with his speech, he grabbed Astrid by the hand and they left together as everyone readied for the night.

Eret could feel Ruffnut's eyes boring into him and shuddered. He would need settle down on the far opposite wall. He was not taking any chances.

Half-way into the night, Eret was startled awake by a delerious dream. Everyone around him slept peacefully and he tried close his eyes again, only to no prevail.

Eret decided to go for a walk then into an outer part of the cave. He stopped when he saw Hiccup and Astrid sitting at the edge in the moonlight, talking to each other.

He watched them for a moment but then turned to leave and halted midstep when he heard his name uttered.

"I think Ruffnut still wants to get into Eret's pants," Astrid laughed.

Hiccup joined along. "Yeah, she is still not letting the poor guy out of her clutches."

"Remember when she used to have a crush on you?"

"Oh Gods, don't remind me!"

Astrid snickered uncharacteristically.

"Shh! You will wake the others up," Hiccup tried to quiet her down. "I don't see why it's so funny? Snotlout's obsession with you was way worse!"

"That's true," Astrid admitted. "I'm glad that's over."

Hiccup snorted. "Unlikely. It doesn't help that Eret has joined his ranks."

Eret froze up. Had he really been that transparent? Hiccup didn't sound angry, rather a little annoyed if anything.

"I don't think Eret sees me that way," Astrid rejected the idea. "I wasn't exactly the nicest to him."

"But that's the thing!" Hiccup proclaimed loudly and Eret wondered for the first time if the Chief had drunk too much mead. "Some guys find a challenge sexy."

Astrid laughed and shifted closer. "Is that so?" she murmered .

They started kissing and her fingers trailed over Hiccup's many belt buckets. Eret decided it might be best to leave now.

"Ow!" he heard Hiccup hiss. "Can you for once not be covered from head to toe in sharp weapons?" the Chief joked. "I would like to touch you without risk losing my hands."

"You never complained before," she shot back. "Besides, you are the one who made me these knives and they definitely serve their purpose," she whispered erotically.

Hiccup moaned. "Oh I'm not complaining," he assured, bucking his hips and making her gasp. "I just prefer you with minimal clothing that's all." He trailed a finger over her kransen. "And appearantly so does half the male population which makes it a good thing that you are so hard to get near. So yeah, keep the knives, milady."

"You really are drunk," she teased him. They kissed again and this time Eret did remove himself from the scene.

Kransen = Astrid's shieldmaiden headband/purity belt.

I added another chapter and this time from Eret's POV because he is so fun to write. Am I the only one intrigued by Eret? He was inspired by Han Solo and Jon Snow according to Dean DeBlois and I can somehow see the connection. I look forward to seeing Hiccup and Eret become better friends in HTTYD 3.

Guys please be nice to each other in the reviews. I don't think we know enough about Eret to make a real opinion of him yet.