One morning, I knelt in the woods, digging up earthworms to use for bait, as the dragons played elsewhere on the island. I reached under a bush, pushing the damp leaves on the ground over.
"You've got quite a reputation back on Berk," a voice behind me said.
I jumped up, whirling around. I clutched my hands to my heart, trying to calm myself.
"Astrid. Don't scare me like that!"
"Sorry." She didn't seem it. "It took me forever to get permission to come here. Especially since I couldn't tell them where 'here' is."
"How long can you stay?" I asked.
"My 'hunting trip' will last about two weeks," she answered. "Look, there's something you should know..."
"I'm so glad you're here," I said. "What did you mean by a 'reputation'?"
"We all know you're behind the strange dragon attacks," she replied. "They aren't like the normal ones. Something's obviously leading them, something like… the Night Fury that's been striking different places in the village."
"Look. It- it wasn't an easy decision to join the Outcasts. But what else could I do? That's what I am; an outcast. I wish there were another way–"
"Astrid! Where'd you go?" a voice called from down near the shore. I looked at Astrid in confusion.
"That's what I was going to tell you," she said. "The condition my parents and the chief set for me coming here was that the others came with me."
"The others?"
"Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut," she explained. "I've gotta go now so they don't find you. I'll make sure we set up camp a long way off. I'll find you again once I can." She started to go down toward the hill. Then she paused and turned around. "Just, Hiccup," she began, "I… I don't think you're an outcast." She turned again and ran down the hill to the others.
I stood there, staring after her. "Thanks," I whispered, feeling a hint of hope for the first time in weeks.
