Chapter 7

Astrid forced her tired eyes open and was greeted by bright light. She blinked to clear up her vision and found herself in an unfamiliar room. She was laid out on a comfortable, warm bed. Her head was resting on a fat, fluffy pillow. Her body was covered with a red blanket with decorative yellow stitches of dragons. The window nearby was open, allowing fresh air and the smell of wet grass into the room. The window had two red fabrics hanging from the sides with some dragon stitches at the bottom.

Sitting up, the blanket fell from her chest. The act sent sharp stings into her side. She winced and clutched at it. Lifting her shirt up, she found her midsection wrapped up in white bindings. She sighed and dangled her bare feet at the edge of the bed. Next to the bed was a wooden, square shaped table. On it was a flask of something, and a wooden, black painted statue of a Night Fury sitting on a rock. At the corner of the room was desk with scattered papers everywhere and stacked up books.

Taking a deep breath, Astrid stood up, trying her best to ignore the uncomfortable pinching in her side. She pressed a hand to her side and limped to the desk. Almost all of them where drawings of dragons, the rest were sketches of what looked like swords and some strange looking equipment. The drawing style looked so familiar…

Realization struck her. The dragon drawings looked exactly like the ones in Hiccup's book. She was right, they looked identical.

What was the meaning of this?

She heard a squawk and a few thumps at the door. Could it be? Astrid limped to the door and swung it open. The blue Nadder chirped and wiggled its head in happiness before Astrid released her aching side and open her arms. The Nadder gladly nuzzled its head in her arms as the Viking hugged her. Upon closer inspection, Astrid saw that her dragon's wrappings had been replaced with new ones. Who…?

Just then, everything came rushing back. The war, the Night Fury, the Dragon Rider…

The Dragon Rider! He was the hooded man she saw. He was also the last thing she saw before blacking out. Where was she, anyways? How did she get here? Deciding standing around won't answer anything, she, along with her dragon, abandoned the room in search of an exit. The place was huge. It was almost two stories tall and had multiple large sized rooms. She limped down the curved stairs. Along the way, she noticed the colorful paintings of dragons hung up against the walls. When she reached the bottom of the stair, she found her boots placed next to a door, as if someone was expecting her to come. Leaning against the wall, she slipped her feet into her boots. She heard a small chirp. Her Nadder flinched and tilted her head at the door. The cute chirp was heard again. It was coming from outside? Astrid pulled the door open, and froze at the sight.

Everything was green. The place looked like a grassy meadow, with tall grass and grazing yaks. Where was she? This didn't look like a place on Berk. She heard the chirp again. Her Nadder was looking down. When she followed her gaze, she found a yellow baby chick pecking at her feet. It chirped again and puffed out its tiny little feathers. Astrid kneeled down, ignoring the way her stitches pulled at her skin and threated to tear her flesh, and gently cupped the bird in her hand. It chirped and looked at her with shiny black dotes for eyes, its little pink feet cold against her skin.

Astrid carefully walked into the sunshine. There were empty animal pens nearby, suggesting that the animal were all loose. The sound of sheep brought her attention. She saw sheep huddled in a circular shape as they ran while weird looking, two-legged dragons surrounded them. They had small, clawed hands, long back legs, and a long tail with a stinger at the end. They lead the herd of sheep into a pen, and the biggest dragon of the group pushed the pen door close with its head after the last sheep scampered in.

Astrid blinked repeatedly. What was that? The creepy looking dragons acted like herding dogs instead of dragons!

Something nudged her foot. She turned to look, expecting a random farm animal, but found the black body of the Night Fury, its green eyes staring up at her. She gasped and accidently dropped the chick, but the black dragon quickly caught it with his head. The chick slipped down the dragon's head and disappeared under the long grass. Her fear subsided after she saw the Night Fury's eyes. They weren't slits like before, but wide, curious and friendly. It grumbled as it searched for the bird near its feet. Astrid's eyes widened when the dragon opened its mouth slightly, reveling bright pink gums as it lowered its snout down and gently collected the chirping chick in its still open mouth.

"Huh… You're toothless." As soon as she said that, the dragon looked at her with wide, innocent eyes while purring loudly. Astrid just stood there, not sure what the dragon meant. After it started walking away, Astrid suddenly realized she had been standing next to a Night Fury the whole time. Night Furies were known for being one of the most dangerous of all dragons. Yet, this one carried a baby chick in its mouth and walked away as if it was a normal thing to do.

She had to get answers, and what better way to get them than follow the Night Fury.

With her Nadder walking calmly behind her, she passed a few more farm animals including goats, yaks, and a great number of chickens. She saw the armored man kneeling down with a basket in hand. He had his back to her as he scooped up whatever was in the basket and sprinkled it around as the chickens swarmed around him, pecking at the ground. The Night Fury lowered his head, letting the baby chick go and reunite with the mother hen and the other chicks. The man turned the basket upside down, empting it and stood up.

"You should be in bed, young lady." He said with a hint of amusement in his voice. He turned to face her, showing that he still had his mask on. Astrid crossed her arms in front of her chest, holding a stern look on her face.

"Where am I?" She asked harshly.

"So demanding," The man chuckled slightly, shaking his head. That angered her slightly.

"Who are you?" She asked, still glaring at him.

"My name isn't important," He said, calmly.

The Night Fury yawned and stretched out his body, starting from his front claws to his tail, before he laid down, front legs crossed and back legs resting to the side like a cat as he watched his master with half closed eyes. The man scratched the dragon's head as he walked by. "Sleepy head," The man chuckled.

Astrid swallowed before continuing, "That's a Night Fury, isn't it?"

"Toothless? Yeah." The man said as he messed with the bags attached to his dragon's saddle.

Astrid raised an eyebrow at the dragon's name.

"Don't ask, called him that once, and it kind of stuck after that."

"Where am I?" She finally asked, secretly dreading what the man's replay might be.

"Somewhere," He said, simply.

This guy was driving her crazy. "I know that, but where exactly?" She almost yelled this time. Sensing her discomfort, the rider hung the bag over his shoulder and looked her in the eye.

"Let me ask you something," Suddenly turning serious, he stepped closer, maybe a little too close to Astrid. "Do you want to keep killing dragons?"

Her world stopped. Did she want to keep killing dragons? Was there any other way to deal with them besides killing them? After discovering her Nadder, was it even possible for her to hurt another dragon? She was always taught that they were mindless monsters, but she saw proof that that was not true. Her Nadder saved her… and near her was the Night Fury licking its front paw than using it to wipe at its face, acting more like a cat than a dragon.

"I… I don't..." She looked down after realizing that looking directly at his gaze was too much, "No." She finally said, shaking her head, "No. I don't… I can't."

Looking back at him, his eyes turned from determined to calm and relaxed. Why did she feel like she just passed a test?

"I used to be a Viking, you know." He said, looking down with sad eyes. He sat down and leaned his back against Toothless. This new information struck Astrid hard. This man looked nothing like a Viking! Not to mention he has a dragon as a pet.

"My village used to kill dragons, too." He sighed, "I couldn't kill a single dragon. After I met Toothless – yes, I know that's you, bud," He patted the Night Fury's snout when the dragon turned to look at him after hearing his name. "I looked at him, and I saw myself, and I knew… I didn't belong there."

Astrid looked at her Nadder. The dragon sniffed at a chicken on the ground. The bird flapped its wings lightly and landed on the Nadder's head. She remembered how she was so close to killing the beautiful dragon. The way it looked at her...

The man sighed and stood up, "Let's get you back inside." He gently touched her shoulders and guided her back towards the house. She tried to stop, "Wait, I'm not done yet! – Where am I? What's going – "

"Wah, slow down," He laughed slightly, "I'll tell you later, right now, you need to rest or else I'll get an earful from the healer."

He walked her back upstairs, holding her shoulders to support her along the way. She relaxed back down on the bed and the rider covered her with the red blanket. "Stay right there, I'll get you something to eat." He scratched the black dragon's head before leaving, "Keep an eye on her, bud." The dragon shook his head as he watched his friend leave.

Astrid just stared at the ceiling. Even though he looked menacing and powerful, after meeting him, he seemed like a gentle and funny guy. Though still demonic looking with all the armor on, he was friendly to her, and with the way he talked to his dragon, he seemed like a caring person in the inside. The Night Fury hoped onto a piece of rock placed in the corner and burned it as he circled, heating it before he curled up. Her Nadder slept like a bird, curled up in a ball with her beak lowered to her belly. The rider came back with a plat and a cup. He placed the plat on the table next to the bed, removed the flask to make room and replaced the spot with the cup. He had prepared a balanced meal for her. There were slices of fresh cooked cod, a slice of bread topped with an egg, and the rest of the plate was filled with vegetables and sliced pieces of apples. The cup had warm yak milk.

The man walked away and sat in front of his desk. He crossed his leg and unscrewed his prosthetic leg with a deep sigh, and placed it on his desk. He took a book and ripped out a piece of paper. Placing the book back, he brought out a charcoal pen and started scribbling on the paper. Realization struck her and the piece of apple fell from her mouth.

He drew those drawings… Those drawings looked exactly like the ones Hiccup drew… The auburn hair… Those green eyes… That attitude… That voice…

No… it couldn't be…

Her heart started beating faster and her stomach clinched. Her wound itched more than ever and her body seemed a hundred degrees hotter.

"I used to be a Viking, you know."

He gave her a clue. She remembered his words. The way he said it, voice full of sadness as he recalled bad memories.

He was a Viking… but isn't anymore.

Focused on his drawing, he flipped up his mask in order to see better, exposing his face. Gulping, she quietly placed the plate aside and quietly got out of bed. She took carful steps, not wanting the floor to creek under her weight, and snuck up behind him. She stopped when he flinched after seeing her shadow on his desk.

He sighed, "You really want to know, don't you?" his voice was almost a whisper.

Astrid swallowed thickly, "Who are you…?"

He dropped his pen and reached for his helmet, slowly taking it off. "Should have guessed you'd figure it out eventually," He placed his helmet on his desk and faced her. His long, messy auburn hair and the stubble growing under his chin were the same color. His green eyes sadly stared at her. The small scar on his chin was proof of who this man used to be. There was no mistaking it… it was him. Astrid backed up in shock until her back bumped the wall behind her. All her energy left her body and her legs gave out. She dropped to the floor and her eyes watered for reasons she did not know. This was all too much… This couldn't be real…

His eyes looked directly at her as he gave her a gentle smile, "Hey, Astrid."

Wow thank you for all the reviews! You don't know how much I appreciate it :3

Yes, he has farm animals. It's just… flying from one place to another just to get food seemed time consuming, so having a farm makes things a bit easier for him. And yes, he built his own home, with a little Hiccup flare to it XD