I watched Snowy fly away and mumbled to myself, "Bye, Snowy." It was the second time her name had ever passed my lips, and I swore it would be the last.

I would forget about dragons. I would throw away all my notes on them and I would stop blurting out those stupid, random facts about them without thinking.

Astrid was getting suspicious, and that meant the other teens couldn't be far behind.

Tantrum came to stand beside me as I took my dagger out of my belt and began absently playing with it.

The blade slipped and it left a long, thin cut running down my palm.

I winced and used the end of my long-sleeved green shirt to soak up the blood.

Tantrum crossed her arms. "She left quick."

"I don't think she trusted us."

"She trusted you."

"Not really."

Tantrum shrugged and let the matter drop. She looked stunning today in a white dress and letting her blood-red hair flow freely down her back, spilling over her shoulders.

That was what I liked about Tantrum: she was always letting the matter drop if you didn't want to talk about it.

"Hiccup…" she said slowly. "…What really did happen to get you placed in exile?"

I shook my head.

She said quietly, "Only Astrid reckons you murdered somebody."

"Astrid can kiss my butt."

Tantrum chuckled. "You argue with her a lot."

"Because she needs someone to chop down her ego, not stroke it."

"Hiccup…"

"She's aggressive and bloodthirsty—

"She's just a little abrasive."

"—She's so freaking in your face—

"Well, a little."

"—She sticks her nose into people's business—

"Only when she thinks they're hiding something."

"—And she shouldn't."

"Sounds a bit like you like her."

"I hate her."

"You sure about that?"

"Yes."

"Then why do you put up with her?"

"She needs somewhere to go."

There was a silence.

"And she's always decking people! What's up with that?" I demanded.

Tantrum laughed. "Ok, you have a point there."

Astrid came up behind us. "Been talking about me, have you?"

I turned to look at her and raised one eyebrow. "Got better things to do than talk about self-absorbed little rich girls."

"And I bet Tantrum's got better things to do than hang around petty criminals."

"Oh, like your dad?" I knew it was going a bit far.

"Let's talk about YOUR dad," Astrid flared. "He's supposed to be some big chief, right? Well, he sounded like a pretty good chief, but exiling his own son? He really failed in the father department."

I stood there, frozen, my fists clenching and unclenching at my sides.

Then I started running away.

"Yeah, run away, Hiccup!" Astrid called after me. "It's what you do best!"

And I ran. Because she was right. It is what I do best. And it's the only thing I know how to do.