I want to thank everyone who's reviewed my story, and for those who are giving suggestions you seem to almost be reading my mind. I'm not going to spoil what happens but some of you are close.

Chapter 2, enjoy!

Knife Point Island

Astrid had talked to everyone in the village, and they all said the same thing. The dragon man was missing a leg, he hid his face, and he wasn't a normal Viking. When she tried asking where he went, all the villagers gave different answers. He flew into the ocean on his own pair of wings, he rode the night sky into Valhalla, he disappeared in a blast of smoke, and that he never left but instead shifted into someone else.

After nine days of asking questions and searching for a solid lead, Astrid grew frustrated with the dragon man. No one knew where he went, and the only clues she had were what the villagers told her and the book Heather let her borrow. Astrid was mesmerized by the beautiful artwork, there was so much attention to detail. Whoever this man was, he was a wonderful artist.

Astrid traced her fingers over the page with the drawing of her younger self, trying to imagine the face of the man who drew this. Only one face came to mind, but it was impossible, after all he was dead. In moments like these she let her mind wander, it always went to the same place. Astrid thought about him, and how he might look now. She pictured him a few inches taller, but still as scrawny as before. His green eyes slightly covered by his hazel hair, and a warm smile playing across his face. "I miss you, Hiccup."

"Is Hiccup your boyfriend?" Astrid whipped around gripped her axe firmly, ready to attack the intruder. Heather was standing in the doorway with her son, Nikolai, and a curious look on her face. "I'm putting Niki down for a nap, then you'll answer my questions." Heather winked at Astrid then left to the nursery.

Astrid still held her axe, she slowly relaxed and tried to process what had happened. Heather had heard her when she was vulnerable, Astrid had let her guard down and now someone knew her darkest secret.

Heather returned and sat down next to Astrid, noticing the book on the table. "So, how's Hiccup?" Astrid didn't respond, instead she closed the book and held it on her lap. "Astrid, we're friends, you can tell me about your sweetie back home." Heather nudged her friend and gave her a sincere smile.

Astrid felt scared, which is not something she was used to. She was not big on sharing her emotions and thoughts. Heather had become a close friend, better than anyone at Berk was to Astrid. If she was to tell anyone, it would be Heather. "He's not my boyfriend, but he was special to me. Hiccup was the chief's son, but most people didn't like him. He was scrawny compared to the other Vikings, but he was smarter too." Astrid smiled at the memories of him. "Hiccup tried his best, though most of the time he messed up. I always admired his determination, but I never said anything." She smiled when she remembered all the names people called Hiccup. "Hiccup was picked on, especially by his cousin and the other's our age. I didn't stand up for him, I was afraid of what they'd do if I had stopped them."

Heater thought over Astrid's words, she could tell her friend regretted her actions from the past. "Why do you keep using past tense when you talk about him?" Heather knew the news couldn't be good, but she felt like Astrid needed to talk about it.

Astrid felt tears threaten to fall, but refused to cry in front of anyone. "Hiccup… He died five years ago." Heather placed her hand on Astrid's shoulder. The two girls were very much alike, and Heather knew Astrid wouldn't want anyone to see her cry. Heather hugged her friend before leaving her with the excuse of checking on Nikolai.

Astrid closed the door behind Heather and went to sit on her bed. After five years of forcing her emotions down, they refused to be silenced again. Astrid felt the tears slip down her cheeks and fall, the feeling was unusual. Her body shook and the tears fell heavier, Astrid started sobbing. "I'm sorry Hiccup." She cried until her tears stopped and her body just shook. Astrid knew she should have let this pain out sooner, but only now did she realize how much pain it was. She didn't go to dinner that night, instead she fell asleep clutching the book to her chest.

Knife Point Coast

Chief Ironbull sat next to the black dragon and its rider. "She arrived nine days ago, and she has yet to let up in her search." He informed the dragon rider. "The lass has asked everyone in town about three times at least. Per your request, no one tells her where you went." Hiccup frowned, fearing the name he knew would come. "Astrid Hofferson from the Hairy Hooligan tribe. She's a smart girl, and a great fighter. She beat a few of the lads in town who asked to court her, none of them came close. You should step wisely when dealing with her." Ironbull warned his young friend.

The chief was the only person on the island to know what Hiccup looked like. Hiccup trusted him to keep this secret, and in turn Ironbull gained a strong ally and a good friend. "I know of her, I'll be careful. Toothless and I are going to the cave, we'll leave a trail. If she can reach us, then I'll think about helping her." Though his words were calm, Hiccup was panicking. He didn't know what to do if he had to face Astrid of all people. He cursed his luck. "I hope you'll help me set this up." Ironbull smiled and held out his hand, which Hiccup quickly shook.

"First thing in the morning I'll lead the lass here, telling her there's been a sighting, the rest is up to you." Hiccup nodded. He and Toothless said farewell to the old chief and made their way across the beach, making sure to leave a distinct trail up to the cliffs. Then Toothless flew up to a large cave and made fresh claw marks on the opening.

The cave was hard to reach without a dragon, but not impossible. Hiccup hoped Astrid would fail at reaching the cave, and be forced to give up on her search for him. Thinking about her brought back memories he'd rather forget, along with the feelings he thought had died away. Hiccup began to imagine how she may have changed, and what she would think when she met him after all these years.

"This human female, who is she to you?" Toothless was giving him a curious look. "She is important to you, so I do not understand why you play this game instead of going to her." Hiccup felt his face grow warm and turned his back to his scaly friend.

"It's not that simple bud, she's from Berk. She was sent to find us and bring us back there. I can't just walk up to her and say 'Hi Astrid, remember me? I ran away five years ago with my best friend, a Night Fury.' She'd chain me up and drag me back to Berk, then they'd burn me at the stake for treason." So maybe he was exaggerating a little, but Hiccup knew that Astrid would make him go back to Berk one way or another.

"If she's that much of a threat we could just kill her." Toothless could never understand why humans always played games instead of taking action. He could tell Hiccup had mixed feelings about this girl from Berk, but his options were simple: Mate the girl, or kill her.

Hiccup looked over his shoulder and saw Toothless role his eyes. "Things are not that simple, if I kill her I'll have the rest of Berk hunting me down for the rest of my life. Ironbull will be forced to tell them what he knows, nowhere will be safe for us." Hiccup tried explaining it, but Toothless just rolled his eyes and turned away. The dragon heated the ground and laid down, waiting for Hiccup to do the same before drifting off to sleep.

Hiccup stayed awake, watching the fire. In a way Toothless was right, he shouldn't be playing games like this. In truth he knew he should just face Astrid, and that if things went bad he could just leave, but Hiccup was afraid. He was afraid of what would happen if he saw her, afraid of the feelings stirring in his heart, and most of all he was afraid to see the look of betrayal in her eyes when she learned he'd chosen a dragon over Berk. Hiccup knew it would break his heart to see her like that, he'd rather fight the red death alone then see that look on her face. He had a dreamless sleep that night.

Hiccup awoke to the rising sun shining just above the sea. He probably had another few hours until Astrid was put on his trail. So the dragon rider did the one thing he could think of, he took out his journal and drew. He'd lost his old one, but luckily there was nothing in there to reveal who he was, just drawings.

He started drawing the cave opening with the scenery outside of it, and before he could stop himself he drew her sitting at the mouth looking out. He'd drawn her as she was at 15, with her axe on the ground beside her and her braid down her back. Hiccup stared at the drawing for a while, this wasn't the first time he'd drawn her into his work. Though it had been some time since he'd last drawn her, almost two years. He thought that meant he was over her, looks like he was wrong.

A soft growl behind him let him know Toothless was awake and hungry. "We'll have to be quick bud, so make sure you get your breakfast to go." Toothless ignored him and sauntered over to the entrance. "Hey wait for me." Hiccup stood up and walked up to the dragon who was anxiously waiting to go catch breakfast. Once Hiccup was on Toothless the dragon leapt out of the cave and nosedived toward the ocean. This was a normal maneuver for the duo, and they easily swooped down upon their prey. Toothless made sure to grab enough fish to share with his rider before they went back to the cave to eat.

Once they were done breakfast, and the fire was put out, they waited. Toothless grew bored quickly, while Hiccup leaned against him and drew. The dragon looked at the page and saw the familiar image of the girl Hiccup often drew. "Is she the girl who you're playing this silly game with?" Toothless got his answer when Hiccup slammed his journal shut and his face grew flush. "I see, so she is the girl you fancy." The dragon teased his friend.

Hiccup looked for any way to distract his dragon friend, but to no avail. In the end he was forced to answer, "I liked her a long time ago, I don't know what I feel know."

Toothless knew his friend spoke the truth, but before he could ask more the dragon was distracted by the sound of someone approaching. "She's on her way."

Knife Point Island

Astrid had awoken just after sunrise, her stomach complaining. She dressed quickly and redid her intricate braid, then headed to the Meade hall for breakfast. As she entered she noticed a lack of people, this was odd but she let it slide. Her main focus on betting something to quiet her belly. She'd just sat down when someone approached her, looking up she saw the chief. "Good morning Astrid, hope you slept alright. I have new news about the dragon man, he was spotted this morning. Seems he made a stop here last night and is staying in a cave on the cliffs." Astrid nearly dropped the cup of water she'd been holding. She quickly finished her meal and followed Ironbull out to the coast.

As they reached the sandy beach Astrid noticed the trail that was defiantly left by a dragon. The trail headed to the cliffs where it seems to have flown up to a cave above. The cliffs themselves were jagged and dangerous, they jetted out like the end of a knife. These cliffs were what gave the Island its name, and were not easily climbed. Astrid knew if she miss stepped while climbing up, she'd lose her life. That was just a risk she'd have to take in order to save her home.

Ironbull saw the determination in Astrid's eyes, and couldn't help but smile. "It won't be easy, but I'm sure you can do it. Just remember, the man up there has a dragon. Even if you don't see it, that dragon is always watching, be careful." Astrid thanked him for the advice and headed for the cliff. There were a number of caves, and the dragon man could be hiding in any one of them.

Astrid looked at each one until she found her mark. One cave had dragon claw marks around the mouth. Most likely the dragon man knew she was looking for him and wanted to taunt her. The cave happened to be one of the highest ones, and also the hardest to get to. The cliffs jetted out at an angle and the cave was at the section where it jetted out the most.

For Astrid to be able to climb this she'd need to leave her axe behind, it would only weigh her down. She gingerly placed the axe on the sand and began her climb. The first 20 feet were easy, but as she got higher the cliff sloped more. This slowed her down, but she refused to give in. After what felt like eternity she'd reached a small cave, it was about one third of the way to her destination. She let herself rest and inspected her hands. The sharp rock ledges had sliced them up, and she was sure she'd left a trail of blood up to this point. Astrid couldn't give in now, Berk was counting on her. She'd been gone for so long, who knew what could have happened by now.

The thought of her going back and finding Berk burned to the ground reenergized her. She left the cave and continued her journey, it was noon by the time she had reached another cave. This one was large, and had a fresh water stream running out of it and into the ocean. The water had caused the rocks to grow slippery and she'd nearly fallen multiple times. Astrid needed to rest and clean her wounds before she could venture on.

She used the small spring to clean the dirt and rocks from her bloodied hands and inspected the wounds on them. Her left hand had mostly small cuts and scratches while her right hand had a gash across her palm and some cuts on her fingers. Astrid took the small bag Gothi had given her before she left and let its contents spill on the cave floor. She had some bandages and a little container that she guessed was healing herbs. She sent a silent thank you to the old healer and began tending to her more serious wounds. Once they were bandaged and the medical supplies were back in their bag, she exited the cave and continued her climb.

Astrid was tired, her body begged her to stop climbing, but she ignored it. She forced herself to focus on her goal. The cave was so close, just another 30 feet or so and she'd reach it. Her pace was a fraction of what it was when she started, and the sun had begun to set. The air was cool, and the rocks grew slick with dew.

A curious pair of eyes watched her climb, wondering if she'd make it. Toothless was impressed the girl had made it this far, and he could smell her blood mixed with herbs. His rider refused to watch the progress, though Toothless couldn't understand why. Hiccup had decided on this game, the least he could do was see if the girl would pass or fail. "She's almost here." The dragon informed his friend.

In her weary state Astrid slipped, falling a good ten feet before she caught herself. Her body had slammed into the rocks when she grabbed onto the edge, and despite herself she cried out in pain. She could feel the blood running down her wrist from her hand, and more beginning to run down from various wounds she'd just received. The pain however came from her shoulder, which had received the blunt of the blow. There were shooting pains all down her arm and she could barely move it, most likely she'd dislocated it.

She hated the thought of what she'd have to do next, but there was no other choice. Astrid had to pop her arm back into place on her own. She pulled herself up onto the ledge she'd grabbed onto and then shifted so her bad arm faced the wall. She positioned her arm jut right and then slammed herself against the jagged rocks. Her arm snapped into place and the pain sent her to her knees. The arm was bruised and there was blood staining her skin. She knew there were bruises on her legs, as well as some cuts and scratches. Her cheek was wet and sticky from her face hitting the wall when she popped her arm into place. In other words Astrid looked, and felt, like yak shit.

She wanted to give up and go back, but she knew if she turned back now she'd never be able to face her people again. Astrid needed to rest though, she couldn't climb the last 40 feet in her current state. So the stubborn Viking girl hunkered in for the night.

Up above two pairs of eyes watched her drift to sleep, one set filled with relief, the other filled with astonishment. Hiccup had rushed to the cave edge the second he heard Astrid cry out. When he saw her dangling from a ledge he almost jumped out of the cave to help her, but Toothless stopped him. The dragon knew Hiccup would rush to the girl's aid, but wouldn't let him. There was a fire in the girl, and Toothless knew she'd make it to their cave, they just needed to wait. If it looked like she would fall to her death Toothless would jump after her. He liked this human girl, she was rather interesting, and his best friend fancied her. Toothless had to applaud Hiccup's good taste in a mate.

After watching to make sure she was asleep Hiccup and Toothless went out to get their dinner, and then settled in for the night as well. The dragon stayed by the mouth of the cave to watch over the sleeping girl below.

I'm ending things here, hope you enjoyed this chapter.