When Berk was attacked by dragons for the first time following her training, Astrid was eager to jump into battle. She had been unable to prove her worth as a Viking earlier, due to the dragons missing from the arena, but now, in a real battle, she could show the village what she was capable of.
No longer did she have to be on fire patrol – as admirable of a job as it was, helping the village, Astrid wanted to help in other ways, to be a warrior and fight for her people. She grabbed her favorite axe, charging toward the nearest dragon and chasing it away from the fish it was trying to grab.
Chaos surrounded her, the first of the dragons landing on Berk as the Vikings charged forth, always ready for battle. Astrid saw her fellow teens pick up their weapons for their first ever raid as warriors and frowned as Hiccup ran past her, no weapon in sight other than the small dagger that was always at his belt. The small fool was going to get himself killed and Astrid almost followed after him to protect him. A dragon distracted her though and she jumped back into battle, the village runt temporarily forgotten.
Surprisingly, the legendary Night Fury made an appearance that night – not that anyone actually saw it – and once Astrid even had to dodge its purple lightening, right when she was about to behead a Nadder. Other than the appearance of the most dangerous dragon in Berk the raid went surprisingly well. No Viking lost life or limb that night, though one had been badly burned, and surprisingly less food was taken than normal. Though she hadn't managed to kill a dragon either, Astrid would have to be foolish to put her desires above those of the village. This raid was a success.
With the end of the onslaught of dragons, however, Astrid's thoughts were able to return to Hiccup, and his lack of weaponry at the beginning of the raid. 'He wasn't still working in the forge, was he?' she wondered.
As Astrid began to put her considerable strength toward helping the village recover she looked for the small Viking, wondering where he had been running to.
She did find him later that night, also helping with the cleanup recovery, but her curiosity wasn't sated. Where had he gone? And did it have anything to do with his disappearances during dragon training and his sudden success as a Viking Warrior in the arena? She didn't know, but she vowed to find out.
The next day Astrid followed behind Hiccup as he walked through the forest, surprised at how silent he was. If he hadn't been engrossed in that stupid little notebook of his she would have been worried that he would notice her comparatively loud footsteps. She winced when she stepped on a branch with a particularly loud crack, ducking behind a tree as he paused. She peeked out to find him standing where he had stopped, head cocked as though he was listening hard, and was again surprised as she remained perfectly still, barely even daring to breath. Why was she so worried that Hiccup would find her? What did she care about being confronted for following him? She shrugged off her concerns, watching as Hiccup muttered to himself - sounding more like growls than actual words, though she wasn't close enough to hear him that well - and then set off, once again engrossed in his notebook.
She followed once more, watching as he ducked behind some rocks, and walked slowly, unsure of what would await her on the other side. Once she had made her way through however, it took considerable effort for her to hold back a gasp, ducking behind a large rock as she surveyed the cove Hiccup had wandered into. A Hideous Zippleback was fishing in the lake, one head distracting the fish while the other grabbed it and vice versa. A Gronckle was snoring against the cavern wall, resting in the sunlight. Two Deadly Nadders were preening themselves, perched on a rock next to the lake as they used its reflection. A third Nadder was next to a Monstrous Nightmare that was almost directly in front of the entrance to the cove, curled up opposite a medium sized black dragon. Both of them had their eyes open while the Nadder slept and were staring at something behind a rock that she couldn't see. Fear for Hiccup suddenly flooded her. Had he known this place was filled with dragons? Had he already been eaten?
She scanned the cove quickly, looking for evidence of an attack, before watching, shocked, as Hiccup walked out from behind the rock that several of the dragons were staring at. He was carrying some herbs and an empty pot but that wasn't what astonished her. What astonished her was the Terrible Terror perched on Hiccup's shoulders like a small pet. Its eyes were closed as it rested and Hiccup didn't even react as its tail curled up, wrapping lightly around his neck.
Hiccup set the herbs down next to the Monstrous Nightmare and continued on to the lake. Astrid couldn't understand it; he had walked calmly between the three dragons and didn't react at all to any of the others in the cove. She wanted to shout for him to get out of there but he didn't seem to be in any danger and she wasn't about to alert the dragons of her presence. He calmly filled the pot, taking it back to between the three dragons where a fire pit was set up. He hung the pot above it easily, the Night Fury - for what other dragon could it be? - lighting the fire without prompting. Hiccup reached his hand out to the dragon and Astrid tensed, just waiting for him to get his hand taken off.
Instead of the gruesome fate Astrid was imagining, Hiccup merely scratched the dragon's head, the beast almost purring in response. Behind Hiccup the Nightmare huffed and Astrid tensed again, watching as the creature nudged Hiccup from behind. Again Hiccup responded in a way she could have never imagined, turning with a laugh and giving the Nightmare a scratch on his chin as well.
As the water began to heat, Hiccup walked around the cove, the Terror on his shoulders not reacting to any of his movements. He stopped in front of the Gronckle, piling up some rocks in front of it, then moved on to the Zippleback, stopping the two heads from fighting over one fish as he broke it in half for them. They both crooned gratefully, again almost purring as he gave each of them a scratch.
It was then, starring at the Zippleback, that Astrid realized that these were the dragons from the arena - even the Terror that had escaped and the Nadder that had attacked Hiccup. And he trusted these beasts! Astrid didn't understand, her mind couldn't process what she saw and she was completely drawing a blank. Hiccup was walking around with dragons, the very dragons that had escaped from the arena, and he wasn't being attacked at all.
Without thinking she shifted to get a better view, her axe scraping up against the rock. Immediately Astrid froze, thoughts of her death racing through her mind. She carefully scanned the Cove but none of the dragons had paid attention to the small sound. When it seemed she was clear Astrid glanced down, hoping to adjust her axe or set it down, only to jump back in surprise at the three small Nadders at her feet.
Again, without thinking, she lifted her axe, prepared to bring it down on the three beasts before her. It was only the shout of "Astrid!" that save the dragons' lives.
Hiccup had seen her the moment she had stood up, raising the axe above her head. She fumbled, the axe hitting the ground in front of the three hatchlings. Collectively they jumped back with a squawk, two flying away to hide behind one of the Nadders that had been preening itself while the third went straight for Hiccup. The light blue dragon flew in a quick circle before landing on Hiccup's head.
Astrid recoiled – the dragon had flown to Hiccup for help! Hiccup, a Viking, was in league with dragons. She could no longer deny the evidence before her eyes. She hefted the axe out of the ground, turning to run, only to come face to face with a fully grown Nadder. The dragon roared and Astrid hesitated, wondering if she had the time to raise her axe.
"Astrid, stop," Hiccup's voice was stronger than she had ever heard before but something about his tone made him sound remarkably tired. "Put the axe down."
She didn't move, neither lifting the axe nor putting it down, as she continued to stare down the dragon. When a growl sounded from behind her the dragon broke their stalemate, lifting its head to stare at something behind her. It growled in return, relaxing its body significantly but not moving from its position in front of the exit.
"Astrid, it's okay. You just scared him." Hiccup's voice attempted to reassure her but Astrid was furious.
"I scared him?!" she half-screamed at him, turning so that she could see both Hiccup and the dragon.
"Just put the axe down and I'll explain everything," he continued in his calm voice, seemingly non-phased by everything that had occurred; Astrid wondered how long he had been in league with dragons.
'I'm not going to win this,' Astrid realized, finally noticing that every single dragon was staring at her. She set down the axe slowly. Someone needed to tell Berk that Hiccup was a traitor and the only way to do that was to live through this. "Alright, what now?" she asked, turning her full gaze onto Hiccup.
"Why don't you come down here?" Hiccup offered.
She eyed the path thoughtfully, nodding in response. As she headed down – every single muscle tense and ready to run – Hiccup mumbled something under his breath. As if in response the Terror shifted, uncoiling from his neck and taking off. The Monstrous Nightmare followed suit, stopping to wake the Gronckle and grab the Zippleback before leaving the Cove. Astrid relaxed slightly, coming face to face with Hiccup; four fewer dragons wasn't the best but it was better than before.
Nevertheless, nothing Hiccup would say could convince her to relax completely, especially not with a dragon on his head. Hiccup seemed to notice her gaze though, reaching up and plucking the dragon off his head as though it was nothing. Astrid watched, astonished, as Hiccup – holding the dragon strongly with both hands – brought it up to his mouth. The village runt whispered in the creature's ear before stretching out his hands and releasing it.
Astrid watched as it flew above her head, straight toward the other Nadders. It squawked slightly and two of the fully grown Nadders, as well as the other two hatchlings, also took flight, herding the young ones away from the Cove. The remaining Nadder flew toward Astrid, stopping at the Nadder on the ground that was still sleeping. She turned her gaze back to Hiccup.
"Explain, now."
Hiccup smiled slightly. "Dragons aren't what you think they are Astrid. They can be reasoned with, spoken too, negotiated with."
She moved her gaze over the three dragons still in the Cove, the two that were awake were watching her closely. "So you've what … tamed them?" she asked harshly. That she could understand. Maybe. Taming them as pets, using them as guard dogs, that she could understand – even if she didn't like it.
Hiccup shook his head. "Befriended them," he amended.
Astrid turned her hardened gaze back onto him. "You're a traitor," she corrected him, snarling fiercely.
Hiccup's smile seemed to grow sadder. He took his eyes off her, moving over to the two Nadders – the one that was still sleeping and the one that seemed to be standing guard over it. Crouching down Hiccup put his hand lightly on the sleeping Nadder's nose. "Astrid, they're not what you think they are," he repeated. "They think, feel, dream. They're intelligent."
The Night Fury on the ground snorted before growling slightly and Astrid startled, wild thoughts running through her brain.
"Though some are less intelligent than others," Hiccup corrected, laughing slightly.
Astrid's eyes were wide as she stared at him. "Wait, can it understand you?"
Hiccup gave the Nadder a fond pat before standing and nodding at her. "Please Astrid. Try to understand."
But she couldn't. She marched forward, glaring at him, stopping only when the protective Nadder growled. "Hiccup, they kill us for fun," she emphasized, staring in disbelief at him. She had never given the village misfit much thought before but when she had, well, she had never expected this. Astrid had always considered Hiccup to be good-natured. Clumsy, small, and a bit foolish, but she had always thought that he had had the best interests of the village in mind. Apparently not. Hiccup didn't answer.
"I don't know how long this has gone on but it needs to stop! Hiccup, you can't just betray your home like this!" she shouted at him.
Hiccup hesitated slightly before answering. "Berk isn't my home," he said quietly.
Astrid couldn't believe what she had heard and Hiccup's eyes had widened slightly, as though he hadn't meant to say that. Before either of them could react though, the Nadder on the ground shifted. Evidentially her shouting had woken it up. Both of them turned to look at the dragon and the Nadder standing guard crooned slightly, nudging the Nadder on the ground. Hiccup gave Astrid a glance before turning away, kneeling in front of it.
She watched as Hiccup crooned slightly, the Nadder lifting its head to warble in response. Hiccup rubbed its raised head lightly before standing once more, dipping some rags in the heated pot of water and wringing them out. As Hiccup tended to the Nadder's wing – which, now that it was outstretched, Astrid could obviously see was wounded – she contemplated leaving. While Hiccup was distracted would be the perfect time.
The only problem was the Night Fury watching her every move. Despite Hiccup's reassurance that dragons were 'different' – 'Yeah right,' Astrid scoffed inwardly – she was afraid that the beast would lunge if she tried to flee. And her axe was still on the ledge where she had entered the Cove.
Without looking away from her the Night Fury growled slightly. Astrid tensed, confusion flooding her mind as Hiccup absentmindedly growled back. At his response – 'His response? Is he talking to dragons now?' Astrid wondered – the dragon tensed slightly, growling again. Astrid had no trouble realizing that this louder growl was directed at her. She too tensed, refusing to move her eyes away from the dragon's. This time Hiccup looked up, growling sharply at the dragon, and Astrid didn't even care that she was interrupting a conversation with a Night Fury. She was done. She was exhausted from the raid last night and she had followed Hiccup the Useless on a whim only to be promptly terrified for her life by a herd of dragons hanging out with the village runt. And now he was talking their language.
"That's enough Hiccup!" she snarled. "You promised me answers – what are you doing, why are you okay with all these dragons and why in Thor's name does it sound like you're talking to it?!"
When he looked up, surprised, and opened his mouth to speak Astrid interrupted him again. "You know what – never mind. Nothing you say is going to convince me you're not a traitor. You're helping a dragon for Odin's sake."
Hiccup opened his mouth again. "Then I won't speak," he said slowly. "Just let me show you."
Astrid stared at the hand he outstretched to her in contempt and he quickly pulled back.
"Astrid," he said gently, her name a silent plea.
The young Viking warrior looked from the traitor to the dragon that had moved to stand behind him and then back again. She contemplated the exit to the Cove and the Night Fury watching her every move. She thought about running and knew she would never make it back alive. She thought about the dragons that had rested on Hiccup without harming him. She remembered the curious chirps of the young dragons she had almost killed. Her gaze moved once more to the Nadder peeking its head over Hiccup's shoulder.
"Alright," she said shortly, not moving her eyes from the dragon. "What do you want me to do?"
Hiccup gestured for her to move closer, stepping aside so that there was nothing between her and the healthy Nadder that had been standing behind him. Astrid stepped forward reluctantly.
"Hold your hand out," Hiccup said softly, reaching forward and patting the Nadder's neck. The dragon responded by turning slightly to look at him, still keeping Astrid in view. If she didn't know better, Astrid would have said that the dragon almost looked at Hiccup fondly. She took another reluctant step forward and sent her own glance in Hiccup's direction.
'How odd is it,' she wondered, turning to look the dragon in the eyes, 'that me, a Viking, and the Nadder, a dragon, both turn to the same person for reassurance? And how odd is it that that person is Hiccup of all people, the village runt and outcast. Not quite a proper Viking, definitely not a proper dragon.'
And yet, Astrid mused as she raised her hand, slowly placing it on the dragon's head, between its large eyes, he seemed to trust the dragon more than her.
Hiccup was watching them both warily, seemingly ready to intervene, but after a long moment of resting her hand on the dragon Astrid was beginning to relax – and it seemed that the Nadder was too. She had never even contemplated touching a dragon with any intent other than harm - the fact that dragons were her enemy had been drilled into her head for as long as she could remember, there had been no other option but attack. Now though... now she didn't know what to think, but Hiccup was there to lead her on.
He stepped forward, smiling slightly and sending a glance at the Night Fury watching from the side. Some part of Astrid thought it looked kind of like an I-told-you-so glance and she didn't know whether or not it had been her imagination or if the dragon had actually rolled its eyes in response.
"What now?" she asked, surprised to find that she wasn't frightened any more. She wasn't sure that she trusted the Night Fury, but the Nadder wouldn't kill her, of that she was sure.
"How would you like to see Berk?" Hiccup asked.
Astrid swung her head around, moving her gaze from the dragon's eyes to stare at him, but Hiccup was already moving from his previous position. He stepped forward, fluidly lifting himself upward to settle on the Nadder's back. She stared at him, beyond taken aback as he stretched out a hand once more.
"What?!" she found herself asking, mentally denying the break in her voice.
Hiccup just grinned at her and repeated the question. "How would you like to see Berk?"
Astrid shook her head in disbelief, wide eyed at the sight of Hiccup sitting comfortably on the back of a dragon, like he belonged there, and forced herself to take a deep breath.
"Unless you're scared," Hiccup added almost playfully, seemingly elated at his victory of getting Astrid to touch the Nadder.
A scowl was Astrid's only response and she stepped forward, ignoring Hiccup's hand and hoisting herself onto the dragon behind him. Before she could ask any questions Hiccup leaned forward, patting the Nadder's neck, and they were off, flying into the air faster than Astrid had ever gone before. She swallowed back a yelp, refusing to embarrass herself in front of Hiccup - who wasn't at all bothered by the fast speed or the jolt of take-off. Before she knew it they were above the trees, higher than the tallest peak on Berk, and Astrid found herself leaning over hesitantly, gazing down in wonder at the forest below them. The speed of the dragon was incredible but the sights were even more so. Without even realizing it, Astrid found herself clinging tightly to Hiccup as they rose higher and higher into the air. When she glanced back to look at the cove they had just left she noted that the Night Fury was following close behind them - and she hadn't even heard the dragon take off.
Eventually they hit the clouds and rose above them and Astrid found herself gaping in wonder at the sights before her. Unconsciously she loosened her hold on Hiccup; she had never seen anything so beautiful in her whole life.
Astrid didn't know how long she remained behind Hiccup on the Nadder but, as Hiccup took her around the island, showing her the village and other locations she frequented, Astrid admitted to herself that she would never forget that day.
Sometime during the flight Hiccup had grinned at her, slipping both his legs to the same side of the Nadder's neck before he fell casually from the dragon's back. Astrid had barely been able to keep herself from screaming as she threw herself forward, hugging the Nadder's neck and looking down for the fallen teenager. She had nearly screamed again to scold Hiccup for teasing her when she saw him sitting comfortably on the back of the Night Fury, laughing as he gave her a small wave. The black dragon had surged forward at his command, executing a wide loop over the Nadder in mid-air, and Astrid had only been able to shake her head, torn between frustration and wonder as the Night Fury guided them back to the Cove.
After landing, Astrid slipped from the back of her dragon easily, though with nowhere near the grace Hiccup showed in dismounting from his own dragon. "Hiccup, that ... that was amazing," she told him breathlessly, still wide eyed with wonder.
Hiccup laughed, light and easy, and Astrid was struck with the realization that she couldn't ever remember hearing him laugh like that before. "It's the best feeling in the world," he agreed with her easily, patting his dragon's neck. "Astrid, I don't think you've been properly introduced. This is Toothless, Toothless, this is Astrid."
The Night Fury let out a huff and a small growl, eyeing her thoughtfully, but his gaze wasn't nearly as mistrustful as before. Astrid hesitated before nodding slightly in his direction. If Hiccup was right, and he had been about everything else so far, than the dragons were far more intelligent than the Vikings had realized.
At her actions the dragon seemed to relax slightly, a low rumble emanating from deep in his throat. Hiccup let out another laugh.
Astrid looked between the two of them, surprised by the friendship between the dragon and his boy. Hiccup had trusted Toothless to catch him and Toothless had trusted Hiccup with Astrid. Her gaze moved to the Nadder she had spent the hours with and she realized Hiccup and Toothless weren't the only ones who had taken a leap of faith. The Nadder had trusted Hiccup too, and, to an extent, she had trusted Astrid as well. And Astrid had trusted the Nadder not to throw her off mid-air, she had allowed the dragon to steer their flight, trusting her because she trusted Hiccup.
"Does she have a name?" Astrid found herself asking, reaching up to pat the Nadder's neck as Hiccup had done with Toothless. It all led back to Hiccup she realized. Hiccup was the one who the dragons trusted and Hiccup was the one who she had trusted - he had bridged the gap between dragon and Viking and some distant part of her wondered if he could do it again. The rest of her mind was on the Nadder though. She turned to Hiccup for an answer.
He had moved from beside Toothless to the injured Nadder who had been waiting for them and smiled at her as she turned his way. "Names don't translate well," he admitted lightly. "So, no, she doesn't have a name yet."
Astrid's eyes moved to Hiccup injured shoulder, an injury she was surprised to realize that he had shown no signs of. "And she's the one..." she hesitated but Hiccup answered for her.
"The one from the arena, yeah," he said, nodding. "We staged the fight."
It was those words that pushed Astrid back to reality, that shoved aside her wonder and reminded her of the feud between dragons and Vikings.
"Hiccup, what are we going to do?" she asked suddenly, turning to him in alarm.
Hiccup held her gaze for a short moment, his expression solemn and his eyes seemingly older than he should be. He shook his head slightly and smiled, obviously trying to console her. "There are no more dragons in the arena," he reminded her, speaking strongly, "and there never will be again. I've got a few plans I'm working on to stop the dragon raids, I'll figure it out."
And Astrid - despite the fact that only yesterday she hardly gave Hiccup any thought, despite the years of fighting with dragons, despite her own hatred and fear of dragons only hours before - believed him.
It was only later that Astrid realized what Hiccup had said. After she spent a few hours in the Cove, helping Hiccup tend to the injured Nadder. After she had learnt a few words in Dragonese. After she had assured him that she would keep his secret. After he had told her about the large dragon controlling the others and commanding the raids. After she had admitted that she wanted to ride her dragon again. After Hiccup had finally told her that Fishlegs already knew about the dragons.
"What are we going to do?" she had asked him.
'I've got a few plans,' he had responded. 'I'll figure it out.'
And she realized that, whatever had happened that day, it would take a lot more before he would begin to trust her. Hiccup was so used to being alone that he was determined to solve their problems on his own, probably not even realizing that people would be willing to help him. But Vikings didn't fight their battles alone and Astrid wasn't about to let Hiccup tackle this problem without letting him know that she would be right there with him.
AN: So, another long wait (I'm starting to sense a pattern) but not nearly as long as before. This chapter's a bit different, what with the different point of view, but as of right now this is the only chapter that's going to be that way. The rest of them should be from Hiccup's point of view. Let me know what you thought about the change.
Also, I realize the sheer number of dragons I've started to include might be a bit confusing so ask me if you need some clarification about which dragon is which, I'll be adding even more in the next chapter.
Again, I will never stop thanking all of you for the wonderful reviews - we're almost at 100! - or the many favorites and follows that you see fit to grant me with - almost 200 people are going to get an e-mail alert telling them they can read the next chapter of my story.
Thank you for your patience.