A/N: As promised, here is chapter 3. I'm still just introducing all the characters and what they're doing, and here is the first of one of my favorites, Astrid Hofferson. Enjoy!


"Stormfly! Barrel roll!" yells Astrid, over the wind. With a squawk, the Nadder complies, spinning in tight circles. Astrid tightens her legs around Stormfly and flattens herself against her back. She closes her eyes, feeling the wind in her hair and across her face. Stormfly straightens, sticking her wings out to their full span, then flaps once, twice, and soars upward in a sharp vertical climb. Grinning, Astrid securely grips the spike on Stormfly's neck and slips her feet out of the stirrups, letting gravity pull her down. And she's flying, her body parallel to Stormfly's back, soaring through a cloud, the spike the only thing keeping her from plummeting to her death. It's exhilarating.

Stormfly levels off, giving Astrid only a moment to get her legs back in place, before launching into a nosedive. Astrid presses herself into her back, and lets out a whoop of joy. She receives a squawk in response, just as Stormfly's left wing grazes the ocean, and she settles back into a smooth glide over the water.

"Uh oh." She forgot to be quiet. "Oh gods." Calder would be all over her. If she's lucky, he won't embarrass her in front of the other guardians later when they all meet up after patrols. But knowing Calder, she expects him to.

As if on cue, a giant emerald green Deadly Nadder with golden hued markings, armored in Gronckle iron, flies into her field of vision.

"Easy girl," says Astrid, exasperated; because Stormfly is getting erratic, trying to nip at Forrest's wings. As if getting caught isn't bad enough without her dragon embarrassing her by flirting with the boss's dragon.

Forrest growls at his suitor, and she backs away. Temporarily. Calder, Head of the Berk Guard, fixes Stormfly with a disapproving glare (which she ignores), before turning the look on Astrid. "You're supposed to be patrolling the west end of the Archipelago. This," he looks around pointedly, "is more south… than west." The words themselves are hesitant, but Calder has a way of very politely bringing out remorse in his subordinates.

"I'm sorry, Calder. I got carried away. It's perfect flying weather, and I already checked the west. So I veered off course a little."

"Need I remind you of the consequences of veering?" He speaks in his characteristic alluring drawl.

Astrid sighs. "I know. I know. I'll be more careful next time. But I had already finished my patrols, and there aren't any threats around here. Shouldn't we just be grateful for this peacetime?" She forces herself not to sound combative, because she likes Calder; she really does. But the Berk Guard hasn't had much to do since Drago and his Bewilderbeast were defeated. The only productive thing they've done since Astrid joined is help repair the destruction from the Dragon Army battle, which, granted, is very important work. But it isn't a military operation.

"We show our gratitude for peacetime by keeping it, Astrid. Perhaps a lesson on the history and significance of the Berk Guard will do you and the other guardians some good," says Calder. "Come on, Forrest."

So he definitely will embarrass her in front of the others. With his back to her, she finally allows herself to roll her eyes. Calder is bound to tradition like honey to dragonhide. It's a true honor to be a member of the Guard, but she has ideas on how they can be more useful to Berk during peacetime. But her boss insists on keeping them on as overexalted patrolmen.

Astrid pats Stormfly's shoulder, who lets out a sad squawk at Forrest's departure. "Turn west, girl. We need to go fly in circles." The Nadder shakes her massive head indignantly, as if offended at having her talents wasted on a menial task. But she turns nonetheless.


Astrid lies in the grass, legs and arms stretched out. Her axe and detached spaulders lie a few feet away. Her eyes look up at a brilliant cloudless blue. If she stares hard enough it looks like the sky, and not Stormfly's wing shielding her from the sun. After all day in the saddle, feeling the grass poking into her arms and her dragon's warm breath ruffling her hair give her some much needed relaxation. She breathes in deeply, and lets her eyes drift shut.

"Hi Astrid," comes a soft, nasally voice - hesitant, as if unsure if she's awake.

Hiccup. It's been a good three days since they've spoken. She leaves her eyes closed but let's her lips twitch up at the uneven approach of his footsteps. "Hey, babe. How'd you know I was here?"

"Oh. Um… I didn't."

She opens her eyes to find him a couple of feet to her right, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. Toothless is bounding toward Stormfly, who pulls her wings away from Astrid to go play. "Oh?"

"Yeah, I just felt like I wanted to be alone for a bit. It's been a long day, and this lonely cliff is really relaxing."

She smiles, and some of the tension in his shoulders melts away. Propping herself up on her elbow to peer at him, she says, her voice teasing, "You know, you could have said something romantic. Like, my heart can always find you." Hiccup's raises his eyebrows at her. "Wow that was so cheesy," she says, surprised at herself. "Never mind. I'm glad you didn't say that." She sits up as he settles down beside her, and he puts an arm around her, pulling her close. They sit in companionable silence, her head against his chest and his cheek on her head, looking out at the view of Itchy Armpit.

Astrid breaks the silence. "My mom's been asking me what color to dye the dress." She can feel him stiffen around her, though he doesn't let go. She stops herself from pulling away to search his face.

"Oh. I, uh, I guess blue's always been your color, hasn't it?"

You guess? she thinks. She shrugs. "Yeah. My mom always dressed me in blue, because she said it brought out my eyes." Hiccup makes a noncommittal sound, and they return to silence. But this time, it feels much less comfortable to Astrid.


A/N: Before you get upset about that last bit, keep in mind that we only have Astrid's perspective in this chapter. We don't yet know what is making Hiccup uncomfortable, and neither does Astrid. His state of mind will be revealed in further chapters.

I hope you enjoyed seeing Astrid, and that I did her justice. :)