CHAPTER 3

Astrid's POV

I dove, my blood red wings folded tightly to my back. People in Berk thought that I was reckless, even crazy, but I didn't care. The cliffs of Berk were high, and high things are meant to be fallen from. The ocean below was white capped, and I grinned as the brisk air whipped my braid out behind me. My arms stretched out in front of me as I fell further and further, just seconds away from the blue-green sea below.

My feathers flared out as I pulled up, the wind catching the great limbs and propelling my over the water, gliding with strength and confidence. I let my fingertips graze the white foam of the wave caps, allowing myself just one small moment before flapping and soaring upwards.

I closed my eyes and grinned as I sped upwards, my wings curving elegantly, steering me over Berk's thick forest. I looked down over the vast expanse of evergreen trees, dotted occasionally by the gleam of a pond hidden deep within their depths. The glare made them impossible to look at for more than a couple seconds, so I tried to avoid seeing them directly.

When one tries, however, one does not always succeed. Squinting against the glow, I caught sight of a small movement, barely visible by one of the more hidden ponds. Huh. Interesting.

I contemplated for a moment circling back to investigate, but eventually decided against it. It was probably just a large elk, or a dragon that wandering the woods.

Pulling even higher up, I made my way back to Berk.

oOo

Hakan's POV

"Hic- nope! Not saying it!" I called out as the lanky boy fell from the sky. After hitting the ground, he rolled over with a groan.

"What?" he made out.

"I'm not using your peasant name," I answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world (which it was. I did say it loud and clear). "You need a new one."

The Half-Fury was still lying on the ground, breathing heavily. "My peasant name?"he asked incredulous, before speaking again. "And tell me again why you can't just use my actual name."

"I told you! Because it was disgraceful!" I exclaimed, then started pacing. "'Hiccup' by definition means 'the weak one, the one who doesn't belong.' Such a horrid name for one of my kin! You need something stronger, something more worthy of the king of the skies, a more appropriate name for a Night Fury,"I said proudly, but was met with only the confused and quite unamused look on Hic-no! On the boy's face.

"Me? King of the skies? ...seriously?"

"You may not be now, but you'll grow into the title. I'll make sure of it,"I guaranteed him. He sighed and attempted to stand, but only succeeded in wobbling a bit on his one leg and falling again. I moved forward and caught him before he hit the floor.

"Ugh, thanks,"he groaned as I set him down gently.

"No problem,"I replied, waiting a moment before adding: "Hey, what happened up there? Can't you fly?"

"I used to be able to, but then this," he gestured to his stump, which was scabbed over quite nicely. I couldn't quite make the connection. What did a leg have to do with flight? "Happened."

The hybrid child, clearly seeing the blank expression on my face, threw his hands up in exasperation. "It throws off my balance, you useless reptile! Do you think that you could fly with, I don't know, one tail fin?!"

Oh...I hadn't thought of that. Hmm… how could I fix this…?

"What about one of those fake leg thingies?"I suggested.

"You mean a-"he paused for a moment, his face scrunching up, and then said a word in Norse that sounded kind of like pross-thet-ick.

"That's weird…"he said, switching to Dragonese again. "Why can't I say that in your language?"

"Probably because the word doesn't exist in my language,"I told him. "We don't have a word for it because we have no need for one. You don't see many false limbs in the dragon community."

He nodded slightly in silent agreement, then spoke. "Yeah. I'd have to get the weight just right, but that might work."

I brightened. "Excellent! What do you need?"

He thought for a moment. "I just need to get back to the village. I'll try to tell them what happened, and-"

"Out of the question,"I cut him off.

"W-what?"

"Kid,"I started. Still not saying it! "Tell me if this makes any sense to you: You have all and none of my trust." Now he was the one wearing the blank look.

"Hakan, how could you possibly expect to that to make any sense to me?"

"It's really simple actually. As one of my kin, I know I should trust you, and I do, but you've also spent the majority of your life growing up with the enemy."

"I don't know if I would call them the ene-"

"Silence,"I reprimanded. He obeyed. "There is every chance in the world that you will go back there, tell all of the village what a Night Fury looks like, and maybe even slip out that you can speak to them, which will get both me and you killed. You're not going back to that village alone."

He scoffed. "Well, I can't just stroll in there with you trailing along! That would-"

"You didn't let me finish,"I told him.

"Ha! Because you let me finish all the time!"Great goddess, this kid was a sarcastic little s***.

"I didn't mean that we'd just go in broad daylight! We wait until night, and then-"

"We sneak in?"he suggested.

"Ok!"I shook my head. "If we keep interrupting each other, we're going to have a problem, because I just might kill you before you have the means of escaping!"

His eyes widened and turned to slits, but he shut up! That was a plus...right?

"And to answer your question: no, we're not going to sneak in. I'm gonna show you a Night Fury's job."

The fear on his face amused me, and for the second time that day, I hoped that he would forgive me after this. He wouldn't like it, but the kid was a dragon. I knew it, and somewhere inside, he knew it. It was time he started living like it.

oOo

Hiccup's POV

"I'm not doing this!" I screamed, jumping the other way, taking off again and flapping, only to once again fall, only lying there for a second before the black dragon pounced on me.

"Yes...you...ARE!"he yelled back, wrestling me and pinning me down. "It's just a raid!"

"I'm not a traitor!"

"I'm not asking you to be!"

The fight I put up was, well, a bit feeble. Soon enough, he had his paws on my arms and was staring me in the face with his big, innocent looking green eyes.

"What is wrong with you?!"I asked, struggling against him again. "Just let me go back! You'll never see me again! I promise!"

"That's the issue!"he argued. "I'm not losing the last of my kind! Not...not again."

I stopped struggling. "What?"

I glared. "That's a long story," His face softened slightly. "And not one that I care to share." The Night Fury then proceeded to get off of me, sitting on his haunches, waiting for me to get up. "And I don't think that it would be in your best interest to return either. I know how Viking civilization works. In their eyes, you're scrawny, useless. You're already considered a traitor just for being the way you are," he glanced at my wings. "Don't pretend it isn't true."

I didn't respond. He had hit the nail on the head. Useless. That's what they always called me. Useless. Weak. Cursed. Devil. Demon. So many names. So many blades into my heart.

"Don't you wish that you could change that? Don't you wish that you could be rid of all that hardship?" The option was...seductive, but didn't quite sway me. Quite.

"Yes…" I began. "But this isn't the way to do it! I don't want them to fear me!"

"Yeah, actually, you do," urged Hakan. "That's what Night Furies are. Feared. It's in your blood."

"No…" I said. How could I get it through Hakan's thick skull that I wasn't a dragon? "Let's compromise. I will go on the raid with you, but we just get the metal and get out, no hurting people. Deal?"

Hakan sighed. "Hiccup..." He used my name. This must have been pretty important to him.

"Hakan, you asked me to help you attack my tribe. I realize that going on the raid is the only way to steal the metal, and I understand that, but I won't hurt my family." Obviously disappointed, Hakan sulked away, his wings drooping by his sides. I sighed. "You were right about something, though,"I called out.

His ears perked, and he turned to face me. "About what?"

"I don't want to go back. I don't want to face them again, so at least you won't have to worry about me running off on you." I didn't even bother trying to hide the defeat in my voice. I tried to convince myself that the village didn't want me, that I wasn't turning my back on them.

They were turning their backs on me.

oOo

We used a small vine for a handle as I climbed upon Hakan's back. The Night Fury grumbled.

"I hope you appreciate this, kid," he growled. "A prince does not lower himself to being ridden by just anyone."

"Yeah, yeah. Get off your high horse."

"My what?"

"Nevermind."

With that, he launched into the air, he black wings, larger copies of mine, beating the air with determination. I folded my own wings tightly to my back to eliminate air resistance. He winged above the trees, the last of the orange light fading from the skies as we made our way to the village.

Hakan appeared to have a thought. "Kid, take off your your vest."

"What? Why?"

"We run the risk of someone recognizing you," he told me. "Take it off. The plain fabric will blend in better than the fur."

I shrugged, but did as he said, letting the brown piece of clothing flutter to the ground below.

"Alright," Hakan muttered, more to himself than to me. "It's go time."

Berk was suddenly below us. The darkness was thick, but I could see wings moving around us, scaly, reptilian wings. The dragons were, as Hakan had said, silent during battle, barely making a sound as they soared towards the village.

The first shots were fired, the calm streets of berk coming alive with the blaze. I could hear the calls of the Vikings below.

Dragons! Light the torches! Catapults! To war!

I had always admired the order with which the tribe surged into battle. Well, order was a strong word; there wasn't a formation or anything. It was just that every person seemed to work together perfectly, knowing their fellow warrior's next move before they did. It was awe-inspiring to see them from behind, to be on their side.

To be their target was a bit terrifying.

They charged forward, an army of angels, their rainbow of wings pounding the air.

"Brace yourself," I heard Hakan whisper. "I'm picking it up."

The two forces clashed, and chaos ensued.

Hakan angled his wings and shot straight up. "Ok," he yelled over the whistle of his wings. "I'm going to dive! You're going to grab a weapon from some Viking, and then we're out of there!"

"Uh, I don't think my reflexes are that fast!"

"You're a Night Fury. They are."

I sighed. This dragon was stubborn.

"Ready?!" he asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be!"

"Good."

He folded his wings, and we plummeted downward, the whistle of his wings becoming an eerie shriek.

And then, somehow, time seemed to slow to a trickle. I watched the Vikings faces turn to those of horror as the sound reached their ears. They beat their wings hard, trying to escape, but I knew that they wouldn't be fast enough.

As we passed them, it was child's play to reach out and grab a sword from a fleeing Viking, wrenching it out of his grip with ease.

And with that, we sped past them.

"Hakan, I got it!" called down to him. "We can go back now!"

"Not yet…" he said. Not yet? What was that supposed to mean?

My question was answered when a ball of electric blue plasma collided with an armed catapult, blowing it to pieces. I felt something strange when it happened too, a sort of buzz, a high, one that left my heart pounding in my chest. Shock? No. But could it be...elation? I refused to believe it.

"Hakan, I thought we weren't hurting people," I said, but it was half hearted. That buzz was still pulsing through my veins, and it felt amazing.

"I lied," he said simply, but I didn't take offense. I didn't care. There was a sense of... rightness about this whole thing, a sense of belonging.

"Hakan…"I said again, about to protest, but changed my mind. "Take the North tower," I told him numbly, forgetting my previous values. In that moment, something snapped inside of me. These were the people that had treated me as a monster all my life. These were the people that had thought I was a demon.

Well, today I would be one.

I heard Hakan chuckle. Angling himself towards the Northern part of the village, he spoke.

"You got it, kid."

oOo

Astrid's POV

Technically, children under 18 weren't allowed to fight in the raids, but I didn't care. They couldn't just stick me on fire brigade and keep me away from the battle. I was a warrior, and go to war I would.

My red wings looked to be ablaze as I flew up to aid the North soldiers, my trusty battle axe in hand. A battle cry left my throat as I charged in, raising my weapon above my head.

Just when I was about to attack a group of Nadders that were herding some sheep to be carried off, I scream pierced the air, and the tower burst into blue flames.

There was a swish as the Night Fury pulled out of its dive, and I saw something that I would never forget. There in the silhouette of the flames was just a glimpse of the beast, but that wasn't what caught my attention. There was a small protrusion on its back...a figure. How could that be possible?

Luckily for my, my mind worked quickly, or I never would've been able to take in the whole image. I didn't see a face. I didn't even see wings. The only thing I saw that stuck out was a leg.

Or rather, a lack of one.