Note: I have to give a big thank you to the people who reviewed/watched/faved this story since my last update yesterday. You guys have no idea how much it means to me that you are reading this. For an extended period of time, I was considering not updating this story (I have nine more chapters left to upload) for personal reasons. It had nothing to do with anyone but me but for some reason yesterday I updated. The feedback you gave me in response to that just gave me so much happiness. I want you guys to read what I have written, if you're enjoying it.

So, here's the next chapter, I was going to update it next week but I had to do this tonight because you guys are so awesome. I've gotten some of the best reviews ever from you all and it's just made me so giddy! After this I'm going to update once a week until I'm caught up. So anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and happy Easter to everyone! Much love.

Unnecessary Culture Shock

Act Ten

"Still no sign of her, what do want me to do?"

Hiccup grunted. What else was he supposed to do; he couldn't sleep knowing that Bug was out all by herself. What if a rouge dragon found her? He glanced up to see Astrid sitting on Stormfly's back with a look of concern on her face. They had been looking for hours now! Hea said they would meet up in an hour but she hadn't come back, maybe she was still looking? She was pretty stubborn. Now they were both missing, not to mention he hadn't seen Toothless in a while.

"Can you circle the island again? Maybe she made her way to the beach."

"Sure," Astrid nodded. "Where's Toothless anyway? It'd help if we had two sets of eyes looking from above."

"Your guess is as good as mine." He sighed. "I'm not sure where he wandered off to."

"Well, I'll make another round and meet you back here." She managed to crack a small smile. "Good luck."

"Thanks again."

Astrid pulled back on her large dragon and turned her about. They took off without any kind of reservation, taking to the sky for a second look. As much as he wanted to keep looking for Hea's dog, he couldn't keep the whole village up all night. They had to find her soon or they'd have to call off the search for the night. There was no way his dad was going to let him stay out that long.

Might as well try to find Toothless, Astrid was right if they wanted to double their chances of finding Bug they needed an extra set of aerial eyes. Where did he see that dragon last anyway? As he stepped through the quiet village, he lifted his right hand to his chin and hummed. Last he saw of the Night Fury, he was hanging around the edge of the forest, in the same area as Hea and Rye's house. Was he still over there?

Hiccup picked up the pace in his steps, making his way to the smaller house in no time. Standing in front of the home he saw no sign of Toothless. Maybe he had gone into the forest? Did he pick up on Bug's scent and went looking for her himself? It was possible. Unlikely but possible. Better start heading into the forest anyway, he probably wasn't far off. He almost always came back when called.

He began to turn toward the wooded area when he stopped. He looked over his shoulder and looked at the girl's home. Had anyone checked inside the house for Bug? Maybe in the haste and panic of not finding her no one decided to check all small spaces in the house. It was crazy but worth a shot, right? Toothless could wait a few more minutes, it wouldn't take long, and chances were she wasn't in the home anyway.

With a mental shrug he approached the small house and pushed open the unlocked front door. He stepped into the chilly residence and glanced right and left, nothing out of order yet. He moved deeper inside, looking under the table in the living area and near the open storage area. Nothing still. Hm, should he go in their room? It'd look really awkward if Rye came busting in and caught him looking there. Ugh, better not.

Now in the kitchen he leaned forward on to the stone counter. Placing his elbows on the hard surface and bent inward. What now? What was he going to tell Hea when she came back? That was assuming she came back, what if she stayed out all night looking for her dog? That'd be wonderful. Then again if he thought Toothless was lost and in danger, he wouldn't stop looking. Ugh, better start thinking of what to say.

A sudden rattling sound caused the dragon trainer to flinch. He pushed off the countertop and stood up right, his eyes scanning the room for the source of the noise. Through the open doorway, he saw something shifting beneath one of the girl's beds. What? He leaned in and waited, whatever it was, it was moving. A pair of blonde paws poked out from under the fallen blankets and gripped at the hard floor. Bug?! Hiccup rushed over to the bedside and lifted the set of heavy sheets off the bed to reveal a very sleepy canine. With her eyes half-lidded and lips smacking, the dog moved forward and pulled herself out from under the bed. Once out, she stood on all fours and pushed her front half forward in a long stretch. After that, she extended her back legs and yawned, so that's where she was the whole time?!

"Bug," He dropped to his right knee and moved his hand out to her. "Figures you'd be here the whole time." He rolled his eyes as his hand landed in the space between her ears.

With a set of squinted, almond shaped eyes, Bug looked to him and huffed a round of hot air through her nose.

"Well, that's one mystery solved." He managed to break into a small smile. "You're going to be in trouble when Hea gets back."

"Hiccup! Where are you?"

Hm, that was Ruff's voice. He removed his hand from the Pomeranian's head and stood on his feet. "Stay here," He gave the dog a firm stare, "Don't move from this room."

Hiccup turned on his heel and made a beeline for the front door. He removed himself from the girl's small home and shut the door behind him. There was no reason to leave it open, all he needed was for Bug to get out again. After making sure the door was shut tight he looked to see the twins making their way toward him. Good, now he could go find Toothless!

"Can we get Hea a different kind of pet?" Ruff said once within earshot. "You know, like a dragon or something?"

"No, she's scared of dragons. Duh." Tuff rolled his eyes.

"Guys," Ignoring what the two had just said, Hiccup extended his arms out to them. "I found Bug, she's in the house. But Hea and Toothless are missing; I'm going to go look for them." He turned to the female, "Ruff, can you stay at the house and make sure Bug stays inside?"

"I guess." She shrugged.

"Tuff," He turned to the male sibling. "Can you go get Rye and tell her Bug is all right?"

"Fine."

"Thanks."

The trainer spun on his heel and took off running into the forest. But where would Hea go? She wouldn't have arranged a meet up after an hour of searching if she didn't intend on coming back, would she? Did that mean she was hurt? He sped through the thick brush as much as possible, pushing aside thick tree limbs and high grass in the process. Where could she be? If she was hurt, wouldn't someone have heard her calling and if she was lost, wouldn't Astrid have seen her during her patrol? Hm, if she wasn't hurt or lost, maybe she was stuck. And if she was stuck somewhere…

"I'm pretty sure I won't be lifting myself back up that wall."

The cove!

And if Toothless was with her, he wouldn't be able to scale the wall either, not without Hea riding him. And after the whole airsickness thing earlier, it was pretty unlikely that she would get on his back. He had to check there first. Picking up the pace in his sprint, he ran down the path he had taken so many times in the past. Even in the dark he knew how to get there, it was just a matter of seconds before he could verify if they were there or not. After cutting through the dense forest, he came to the cove where he found the Night Fury.

In the moonlight the image of his dragon came into view. Toothless was laying on the grass with his wing extended at a weird angle. Was he hurt? "Toothless!"

No movement.

Not wasting another second, Hiccup slid down the muddy embankment. Once he was firmly planted on the ground, he broke into another sprint. The sound of his heavy breathing and metal leg must have caught the dragon's attention because he lifted both ears and glanced in the trainer's direction. But he still refused to move out of his laying position.

"Toothless, what's wrong?" He asked once within distance. "Are you hurt?" He had to be, why else would he refuse to move? His dragon always came back. Always. "Do I need to go back and get Astrid?"

Before any other question could roll of his tongue, Toothless' eyes moved away from him and lowered to his extended wing. Following in his partner's direction, Hiccup looked down to see the Night Fury's wing beginning to retract. As he slowly pulled his wing back toward his back he revealed a sleeping female. With her knees pulled up to her chest and laying on her side, Hea snored away. Was she that tired? Then again she did have a hard day with the 'dragon basics' and losing Bug.

"Good job, buddy." Hiccup looked to his dragon with a smile.

He must have come looking for her and found her stuck down here. With them both trapped in the cove, it was no wonder they were missing for hours! But at least Toothless kept her safe. He didn't expect any less from the one dragon he trusted above everyone else.

Eh, time to wake her up. Leaning over the black dragon, Hiccup reached down to the girl who rested on her left side, the direction closet to Toothless. She had really gotten that close to him? Did that mean the 'training' he gave her earlier really worked? She had to trust the Night Fury to a certain degree otherwise she wouldn't be so close. Perhaps they had bonded over something?

"Hea. Hea? Wake up." He moved his left arm out to the slumbering chef and gave her a gentle nudge. "Come on, Hea."

Her brow twitched the moment his hand landed on her shoulder. He could see her body begin to stiffen while her eyes began to flutter open. He felt a small smile grow on his features as she moaned in a soft tone. Dare he think she actually looked cute laying there with Toothless? Almost like she was never scared of him to begin with. Why did it make him feel good to see them getting along? Then again, it always made him feel good to see a Viking and dragon on good terms.

But…she wasn't a Viking. So what did that mean?

As she continued to stir, her right hand came upward in a swinging, stretching motion. The back of her hand came up and caught the side of his face and sent him back a few inches. Ugh! Both his hands shot up to his struck cheek as he grunted and caught his balance. Did she really just hit him…in the face? Still rubbing his swelling face, he looked down to see the sleeping female with her eyes half open. Where had he seen this before? Ah, just a half hour or so ago when he woke up that Pomeranian of hers.

"Wha?" She squinted at him. "Hiccup?"

"Good morning." He grumbled before allowing his hand to slide off his cheek. "Nice arm you got there."

With her eyes still nearly closed, his lifted her right brow and curled her lip in confusion. She turned her attention away from him and brought the offending hand to chest level. After a moment of staring at her hand she opened her eyes further.

"Never mind." He shook his head before offering his left hand to her. "Come on."

She took a quick second to shake her head before taking his hand. The moment they touched she clenched her palm with his. He pulled the tired female from the cold dirt before releasing her. She remained quiet as she stood up, only stopping to groan and yawn. Did she even know where she was? Or who she was sleeping beside?

"Hea?"

"Yeah," She turned to him. "What's going on?"

"We were looking for Bug, remember?" He said while behind them, Toothless sat up straight and cocked his head to one side.

Almost like she had been slapped back into reality, she stood up straight and stiffened. She moved both hands to the side of her face and gasped. "Bug! What happened?! Did you find her?!" Her arms shot out and took him by the shoulders.

"Relax," He made an extra effort to speak in a calm tone. "We found her, she's fine." He lifted his arms and placed his hands atop of hers.

"She is?!" She released him from her tight grasp and proceeded to pull him into her chest. "Thank you so much!" She wrapped her arms around his back and clung to his pelt like he was going to float away.

He stood while she embraced him, his hands still midair. She was hugging him, what for? When did anyone on Berk every hold each other, outside of serious situations? His father had hugged him on very rare occasions and Astrid had only kissed him twice. Was it because she wasn't a real Viking? Did people where she came from hug and embrace each other like this? He had never seen Rye and Hea hug one another in public but then again, that kind of thing was private. Maybe it was just because all of her worries had come to an end when she heard Bug was safe or maybe it was because she had been found he couldn't be sure. All he could feel was her warmth against his.

How could one person be so warm? It had to be because it was so cold out, that's why she felt like this.

Right?

And just a sudden as her hug came, it ended. The pressure around his upper body subsided and she pulled her nails out of his bear pelt. Her arms vanished from his back and she took a single step backward. Even as she withdrew from him, he could feel his heart slam in his chest. When had anyone, especially a female, ever touched him with such passion? Of course that excluded his father but no one had ever clung to him as if it were life or death in a setting that was anything but deadly. Did she appreciate his effort, even if he said 'we found her' instead of 'I found her'? Maybe she was just excited at the fact her dog was safe but even with that understood, it didn't erase the moment they had just shared.

"Where was she?"

A snap back to the real world made his world spin. "In the most obvious place," He managed to speak beyond all the strange feelings in his chest. "Under your bed."

"Really?" Even through all the stress she was obviously feeling she smiled and released a small giggle. "I'm sorry about making everyone worry. I should have checked the whole house first."

"Don't worry about it."

"Rye must be going nuts." Hea lifted her hand to her forehead and pushed back the strands of hair in front of her eyes.

"I made sure she got the news that Bug is safe and I have my best guard outside your house." A mental flashback of Ruff and Tuff came to mind and made him smirk.

"You did that?"

"We all did." He felt a rush of heat pool in his cheeks.

There was no way he was going to take credit for this, they all helped. Especially Toothless. With his dragon in mind, he looked over her shoulders and made eye contact with the Nigh Fury. He was sitting up with a look of content on his face. He didn't have to protect Hea but he did. After all the things she had said about him and after hitting him, he still helped her out? How could he be prouder of his partner than he was right now?

"We should get going." He cleared his throat before changing the subject. "You've been out here for a while. Rye's probably worried."

"Okay." Her eyes darted away from him. "But how am I going to get out of here?"

"Well," He stepped passed her and toward the black dragon. "I know you said you'd never fly again but I think this time is an exception. Can you do that?"

"Do I have to?"

"I can bring meals down to you every day if you want to stay." He placed both hands to his hips and shot her a grin.

"I've had my fill of the cove, thank you." She was quick to poke out her bottom lip. "Can we just fly up the hill and walk the rest of the way?" She said, giving him a pathetic look.

"I'll find the nearest clearing and land, how's that?" All he needed was her throwing up, or coming close, again. Rye would have his head if something happened to her sister.

She sighed before throwing her arms up in defeat. "Just this once."

"I can do that." He removed his hands from his sides and turned to face his dragon. "Let's get back, the sooner the better."

Act End.