"Whatcha up to today?" A warm throaty voice sounds from behind Astrid.
"Thor!" She gasps, clasping one hand to her chest, pushing herself upright with a fish in her other hand. Astrid doesn't turn around, but stays standing with her waist pressed against a wooden barrel.
Hiccup laughs from behind her.
"Jeez! Be careful before you scare the dragon tricks straight out of her!" Snotlout jeers, his heavy footsteps clomping on the wooden dock.
"Hello, boys." Astrid says, dropping the fish in her other hand into the wicker basket by her feet.
"Hungry today, huh Astrid?" Snotlout chortles, whacking Hiccup with the back of his hand, trying to get the other boy to laugh at his joke. Hiccup just shoots him a sideyed glance and a raised eyebrow, making Astrid the one to grin.
"Breakfast for someone rather scaly?" Hiccup asks, leaning in towards Astrid so Snotlout doesn't hear. She nods, watching Snotlout's smile fade as he tries to hear what the brown haired boy was saying.
"I might need to come with you to see him." He whispers.
"C'mon! Secrets don't make friends!" Snotlout called, throwing up his hands, letting them flop back to his sides.
"Hey, it's okay, Snotman." Hiccup said, slugging Snotlout.
"Don't call me that!" He insisted rubbing his arm.
"O-kay!"
Astrid rolled her eyes at the boys' antics, tossing another few fish into her basket before dropping the heavy wooden top back onto the barrel. Swinging the wicker over her shoulder, she started back up the stairs from the docks.
Hiccup and Snotlout were still messing around, and seemingly didn't notice her start on her way. She glanced over her shoulder, watching Hiccup drop to his knees, scooping up a handful of sea water with a cupped hand. He flicked at Snotlout, shaking the excess from his skin, running backwards.
"If you think that's funny-" Snotlout yelled, pointing a finger at Hiccup, stomping towards him. "I'll just-"
"You'll what? What was that?" Hiccup put a hand to his ear, mocking the shorter boy.
"O-o-oh! You'll be sorry!" He spit out, his face reddening. Hiccup chuckled, running up the steps two at a time until he was walking next to Astrid.
"Hey." He said breezily, tossing cautious looks over his shoulder at Snotlout.
"Hello." Astrid said, shaking her head, trying not to smirk.
"What?"
"You just like to stir up trouble don't you?" She asked, throwing his and easy glance.
"Only with Snotman. And only when he deserves it." He said wryly, nudging a stone off the edge of a step, onto Snotlout who was climbing up the flight of steps below them. It clanked off his metal helmet with a loud noise.
"Hiccup!" He yelled, glaring up at him. He threw his head back so far that the helmet slipped right off, tumbling down the three flights of stairs he already gone up, rolling across the dock, and fell into the foamy water.
"No no no no!" He said, racing back down the stairs and leaping into the water, paddling out to where the helmet had drifted.
The two friends looked over the edge of the steps, giggling. Astrid had to set down the basket she started laughing so hard.
"Oh, that was so mean Hiccup!" Astrid gasped between laughs.
"C'mon." Hiccup said, picking up the basket. "Let's go before he follows us." The two teens hurried up the rest if the steps, their footfalls making hollow thuds on the warped wooden stairs. Astris glanced over at Hiccup from behind a lock of hair that had fallen across her forehead. His strong jaw was set, not in a menacing way, but it a determined, absent sort of way, as if that was were it naturally went to when he wasn't actively using it. His nose was sharply shaped, but the tip was rounded. His brow was prominent, his eyes set in a little way, sparkling in the bright early summer sun. His brown hair fell shaggy over his forehead, covered the tips of his ears and the back of his neck. It gave him a more boyish look. Astrit felt that if he was to trim it up, he would look twenty-some, rather than sixteen.
Almost as if he sensed Astrid's eyes on him, he turned his head towards her and flashed his lopsided smile. Astrid flushed and looked down. They crossed the village wordlessly, and started down the path, make sure to check that no one was following them.
Astrid paused a few paces in, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. The forest always smelled so good. Particularly of decaying wood and Larkspur blooms today. Astrid glanced around for the purple flowers, spotting them growing a few feet from the trail. She stepped off and retrieved a stem, aware of Hiccup watching her.
Astrid help the flower up to him. He raised his brows, but smelled it.
"Nice." He said, taking the blossom from her and spinning it in his hands. Then, with measured, precise movements, he reached out, brushing away the locks of hair from Astrid's face, and tucking the flower behind her ear.
Astrid smiled and rolled her eyes, moving to take to flower from its new position. Hiccup caught her hand midway.
"Leave it." He said quietly. " It looks nice." His eyes were intense, his expression weighted.
Astrid turned quickly and continued walking, feeling the now familiar heat in her cheeks creeping back up. Never before had a boy given her cause to blush, but Hiccup had her wrapped around his finger, and Astrid doubted he even knew it.
Upon reaching the clearing, Astrid opened her arms to Toothless, who bounded across the clearing, rumbling warmly in his chest. He pressed his whole head into Astrid's midriff, nuzzling her.
"If missed you too, bud." She chuckled, pushing him back. His sniffed at her face, then carefully plucked the Larkspur from her ear with a motion of his tongue.
Hiccup laughed, drawing the Nightfury's attention to him. Toothless turned towards him, narrowed his eyes, and ignored him, returning to be scratched by Astrid.
"Not to fond of me yet, Toothy?" Hiccup says, letting the wicker to the ground with a thump. That garnered the dragon's focus.
"Why don't you feed him?" Astrid suggested, crouching down to check on the straps of the tailfin.
"Oh, I don't think so!" Hiccup says quickly. "You remember yesterday? When he nearly blasted me to Valhalla?"
Astrid only frowned, wanting all too much to forget yesterday's incident.
Hiccup obliged, eventually, opening the basket and offering one of the fish to Toothless. Toothless just stared at the boy for a long minute. Astrid stood back up, running her hand along the length of the dragon as she walked to stand beside Hiccup.
Large green eyes looked back and forth between the faces of the two people. They seemed to say, I'm not stupid. Offering me food isn't going to make me like you! Astrid smirked, then nodded towards Hiccup, urging Toothless to take the fish. He sat back on his haunches heavily, dropping his ears.
"Go on Toothless." Astrid said, shaking a finger at the insubordinate dragon. He grunted, in four beats, as if to mock Astrid.
"Oh? Really young man? Going to take a tone with me?" Astrid put her hands on her hips. Toothless spread his wings, imitating her.
"You'll be sorry!" She yelled, charging at him. He flipped on his back, then sprung onto his feet, flouncing away. Astrid gave chase, following the darting dragon around the pond, ducking behind bushes and branches, trying to catch him.
Toothless led her on, warbling up a storm, taunting the young Viking. Returning back to the other side of the pond, he snagged the fish from Hiccup hand and gulped it down. He sat back and glared defiantly at Astrid, who had almost forgotten that Hiccup was there.
"What a little-" Astrid shot, breathing heavily as she came to halt by Hiccup. The boy was watching her, a look part way between amazement and questioning on his face.
All he said was; "Astrid, you are such a different person than I thought."
"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, becoming suspicious.
Hiccup only shook his head, a trace of a smile on his mouth as he offered Toothless another fish. The dragon begrudgingly accepted it, then nosed Hiccup aside and tipped over the basket to eat for himself.
Astrid watched him for a bit, then looked up to find Hiccup's eyes on her. She looked away, not wanting to give herself time to redden in the face. Instead, she sat down, her back against a large stone and tucked her heels up to her butt, hugging her knees.
Hiccup came and sat next to her, his movements easy and relaxed. His long legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankle. He sat close enough that their arms brushed. Astrid tried to think nothing of it as she watched Toothless try and swallow a huge Atlantic Cod. He choked on it, coughing abruptly until it came back up.
She scoffed, letting her right leg slide out flat.
"What I meant by that, " Hiccup starts, surprising Astrid by picking up the topic again, "Is that, well, you have this whole other side to your personality that I've never seen before. That no one has ever seen before."
"Hmm." Astrid mused, sliding out her other leg, letting her foot rock over on its heel, so the toe of her boot rested against Hiccup's shin.
"Yeah, I think that without your father here or something…" He trailed off.
"I suppose. But, personally, I think that Toothless has brought it out. He's already taught me so much about myself. And I've only known him, what, a week?"
"Then I guess I'll have to get him to put up with me, because I really like this new Astrid."
The bluntness of Hiccup's words shocked Astrid like plunging into the sea midwinter. In a way though, she couldn't see Hiccup going about it any differently. He was strong and straightforward, not lacking in self-confidence.
"I guess I do, too." Astrid finally answered with a little shrug. Her mind was whirling, part of her wondering if the past week had been too good to be true, or when she was going to something wrong and break the spell.
Hiccup laughed warmly, giving Astrid a gentle shove. Toothless finished eating, snuffling his nose in the basket, looking for more. Finding none, he huffed and plodded over to Astrid, exhaling hot fishy breath on her.
"Okay, okay." She said brightly. Hiccup stood and offered her his hand. She accepted, glancing up at his eyes. They were green, but a different shade then Toothless's. They were darker, the color of pine in the late summer. They were eyes made for the ground, while Toothless were wildly green, vibrant and seemed to soar from his dark face.
"I'm sorry Toothless." Hiccup said, still holding Astrid's hand in one of his, placing the other one Toothless's face.
The dragon didn't pull back this time. He sighed, as if accepting that Hiccup was part of his life now.
"Close enough." Hiccup smirked.
Astrid puffed out a breath, rolling her eyes. "I guess Nightfuries hold grudges."
****** How Astrid Trains Your Dragon*****
"Wait, how do you get it to close then?" Hiccup asked, peering over Astrid's shoulder to see the pedal. They had finally gotten into the air and were coasting above the clouds in the sunshine.
"There is a little catch on it." Astrid explained, moving her foot out of the way and using her hand. "So after I push it all the way down, it opens it, it stays in place, so to close it-" Astrid made a noise as she pressed on the trigger with her pointer finger. The tail fin snapped shut, and the three of them plummeted several hundred feet, before Astrid got her foot back on the pedal to re-open the fin.
"I release it, and control it by rocking the pedal up and down." Astrid contines, as if nothing happened. Toothless protested with a noisy growl, pushing down in strong wing strokes to rise back up to where they were. Hiccup cursed and readjusted himself on the back of the saddle.
"Thor, Astrid." He mutters. A few moments later, he added; "But that is really neat. I'm not smart enough to come up with something like that."
"Oh, you don't give yourself enough credit." Astrid pffts.
"It's the truth!" He insists, making a broad gesture with his hands. "People only like me 'cause I can fight dragons. And I'm a smooth talker." He drops his chin onto Astrid's shoulder in a defeated manner.
"Ouch!" She yelps as his hard chin digs into the tender flesh above her clavicle.
"Sorry." Hiccups mutters.
"But!" Astrid hurries to say, "That's not true! See, my dad likes you because of those reasons, and because he thinks you have a good work ethic, you're strong, you contribute to the village, you, you, ya know."
"No, I don't ya know." He says sarcastically.
"Don't you start with me to-" Hiccup cuts Astrid off by clamping a hand over he mouth. She freezes for a moment, then squirms in his strong grip, making muffled sounds beneath Hiccup's palm.
"Shh!" He shushes her, pointing to a shape taking form through the clouds ahead of them. Hiccup removes his hand and Astrid gasps.
"Get down!" She hisses, laying herself flat along Toothless's neck. The dragon seemed to take notice now, a low, apprehensive growl forming in his throat.
"Another one!" Hiccup points.
Suddenly, a Flightmare appears next to them. The huge dragon holds a struggling deer in its claws. Hiccup scoots forward, placing a protective hand on Astrid's back. Toothless growls, his gaze flicking nervously back and forth as more and more dragons appear all around them, Gronkles, Nadders, Monstrous Nightmares, Scauldrons, even a Whispering Death.
They all seem to be flying in the same direction, all are carrying food. Astrid swallowed stiffly, fear racing its way through her blood.
"Get us out of here, bud." She whispered to Toothless. The dragon seemed to be getting more and more agitated by the second. The drone of buzzing wings and the snarls of dragons all around them makes Astrid's head spin. Now completely surrounded by dragons of all shapes and sizes, flying out of the area seemed impossible.
"What is going on?" Hiccup whispers.
"No idea. But Toothless doesn't seem to like it." Toothless shoke his head and growled at a Nadder that swooped too close. It immediately darted out of the way, squawking in alarm.
Then whole group then started to descend from the clouds, the shape of a huge mountain appearing from the mist.
"Where are we?"
"Where no Viking has even been before, that's for sure." Hiccup mused, taking in the landscape. The sea was rough here, and the sun couldn't quite seem to penetrate through the fog, giving the area a dusky, haunted feel. Towers of rock lay in the water, jutting up at odd angles, and white bits were scattered all about.
"What are all those?" Astrid whispered, pointing to a large stack of the white objects. Hiccup followed her finger, squinting.
"No. No." He shook his head.
"What? What is it?" Astrid asked, craning her neck to look at him. His brow was knit in concern, his eyes dark.
"Dragon bones…" Astrid heart skipped a beat as she looked again, this time, making out shapes of skulls amid the rocks.
"Oh Thor." She breathed, stroking Toothless's neck. She looked up when she heard a buzzing, vibrating noise right by her head. The little things below Toothless's ears, were quaking. Astrid had never known the purpose of them, and had never seen them do anything. Until now.
Toothless tossed his head back and forth, grunting and buzzing. He looked incredibly uncomfortable, as if he was fighting with someone inside his own head.
"Easy boy." Astrid murmured, more scared then she had been ever before. Then they started to rise again, gliding up the rough side of the mountain. The teens looked up, seeing a hole, about halfway up, where all the dragons were disappearing into. Astrid heard Hiccup gulp.
"It's okay. Toothless will get us out of here." Astrid insisted, not believing herself though.
"What is here?" For that, she had no answer.
They were helpless on the back of the Nightfury, liable only to his actions. The dragons surrounding them seemed to get hyper aware the closer they got to the hole. They stopped squabbling with each other, their gazes solely focused on the opening in the stone. Toothless continues to fight the urge to hone in like the others, growling and lashing his head back and forth.
Astrid had no idea what to do. She felt responsible for Hiccup, like this was her fault. He wouldn't be here if not for her, but she was glad he was here. He helped her stay calm and in control. He gave her a sense of security, even if it was false. What could he do if all these dragons turned on us?
Then they were swooping into the cliffside, plunging into darkness for several seconds. Then, an eerie red glow lit the walls, revealing hundreds upon hundred of eyes staring blankly out. The dragons that accompanied them began to take shape the further in they went, and the brighter the light got.
"This is the Dragon Nest!" Astrid hissed. Hiccup gasped. He hunkered down lower behind her. They went around around another curve in the broad tunnel and were in a large open area. Astrid spotted a ledge a little ways along the wall the the right, and directed Toothless there. It took him several seconds to respond, flying stiffly up towards the open spot.
Once they landed, Hiccup and Astrid sat up slightly, looking around with wide eyes. Dragons of all shapes and sizes clung to walls, seeming to shrink back from the pit in the middle. Astrid leaned forward, straining to see down into it. The red light glowed up from it, but a mist of sorts blocked her view.
"They just dump all the food down the hole!" Hiccup exclaimed, his voice tight as he struggled to keep it down. Astrid looked, and sure enough, all the dragons flew quickly out to the center, dropped what they were carrying, and hurried away, hiding amongst the rocks. Astrid watched sheep, fish, deer, chickens, even other dead dragons plummet into the pit.
After watching for a few moments, a group of about a half dozen Gronkles buzzed through the tunnel. They seemed rather relaxed compared to the others. The whole group dropped a fish. A single fish. A few seconds passed, and as the group turned to leave, the light flared brightly, and all the dragons began to shriek. Toothless roared, shooting off a blast and cowered back, spitting. A huge dragon's head rose from the pit, parting the mist and fog as a gigantic mouth opened. The sound of the dragons was ear splittingly loud. It echoed off the stone walls, louder and louder as the mouth closed around all six Gronkles silently, dropping back down into the pit with measured speed.
Astrid pressed herself back into Hiccup, who was leaning back into the wall.
"What was that?" He hissed as the fog whirled as the beast receded, disappearing back into the redness.
"Their leader." Astrid whispered, trying to calm Toothless. Chaos ensued. Dragons swooped every which way, screeching and running into each other, some unfortunate ones not able to find their wings again before plummeting into the hole, to their inevitable deaths.
"Go Toothless!" Astrid yelled, urging the Nightfury into the fray. In a mad dash to get out through the tunnel, various dragons slammed into them, crushing Astrid's leg against the wall and impeding Toothless's wings. Every dragon was in a rush to leave, not caring who they ran into.
Finally they broke out into the air, joining the spiral of thousands to get into the sky. Dragons still called out, their cries sounding out into the distance and they all flew straight up, struggling to break through the fog that shrouded the mountain.
Toothless panted with effort at his flew hard, pulling them up higher and higher, until the broke the barrier, into the thin air above the clouds, painted orange with the evening sun. Only then did Toothless's flaps stop quivering, only then did he give one more determined shake of his head, as if the clear away the memory of the incident.
Hiccup fired off a string of curses, causing Astrid to flinch. She stroked Toothless ears until he offered a little purr, letting Astrid know he was alright.
"Do you know what this means!?" Hiccup cried, throwing out his hands.
"What?" Astrid asked, sensing she wouldn't like his answer.
"This is what we've been searching for Astrid! Since the dawn of Vikings! The Nest! Now we can take down the dragons, once and for all!" He yelled sounding absolutely thrilled.
"Are you insane?" Astrid cried, whipping around in the saddle. "Did you even see that thing?"
"Of course I did! That's why I'm so, so excited!" He said, his eyes bright as he took Astrid's shoulders and shook her. "It's immobile. We just have to clear out the rest of dragons, which they just did themselves, and then bam!"
Astrid shoved off Hiccup's hands. "We can't tell anyone about this!" Astrid yelled at him. He raised his eyebrows.
"Astrid, this is-"
"I know what it is! It's the Dragon Nest!" She didn't know how to make him understand. "Only a dragon could find it, so how do you think we will tell Stoick about it? Say we just stumbled into it?"
Hiccup's face fell, but only for a second. "Well, obviously Toothless would have to lead us back here!"
"You are unbelievable Hiccup! Think! Do you know what my Father would do to get his hands on a Nightfury? He'd kill Toothless without a thought."
"Well, not if we just explain what is going on."
"My Father isn't a man that listens to explanations." Astrid drops her head to Toothless's neck, hugging him close.
"Astrid, this is different. He just needs to meet Toothless and then-"
"Do even remember what happened when you met Toothless? He almost killed you!"
"Well, this is different." He insists.
"No, it isn't Hiccup." Astrid replies quietly. "I won't do that Toothless."
Hiccup didn't respond for awhile. He tapped his fingers on the back of the saddle. They flew in silence, the adrenaline burning off, leaving them feeling exhausted. The sun was on the way down, but it's was not sunset yet, only late afternoon.
Astrid felt hopeless, her idea of fleeing with Toothless floating around in her mind. It was beginning to look like the only solution to all of her woes. She wouldn't risk staying on Berk with Toothless. He wasn't safe there.
"If it means that much to you, I won't say anything." Hiccup says as Berk comes into view. Astrid sits up, holding her breath.
"You really mean it?" She asked very quietly, not wanting to make Hiccup retract his statement.
"Yes." He says firmly. "I've been thinking about what you said earlier, about how Toothless has brought out a different side in you, and I can see how much he means to you, and I- I-" He pauses as Astrid turns around in the saddle, switching her legs to the other side and facing him. "Astrid?" He asks, sounding nervous.
Astrid breaks into a grin. "Thank you Hiccup." She beams, feeling the sudden urge to kiss him. The orange light shines warmly on them as their faces met. Hiccup startles, jumping slightly, causing Astrid to draw back slightly.
"Hey." He murmurs. Astrid keeps her eyes closed, hoping she didn't just ruin their newfound friendship. "I didn't know you had it in you." He chuckles.
"What does-" He cuts her off, returning to the kiss. Toothless grumbles, shaking his shoulders.
Astrid didn't know how sweet Hiccup could be. He slid one hand onto her lower back, the other under her chin, tipping her face up slightly. Her heart beat quickly in her throat. Before she could stop herself, both of her hands were on Hiccup's face, cupping his chin. He exhaled heavily through his nose, pulling away slowly.
The two young Vikings blushed at each other. Astrid tucks her chin into her shoulder, squirming in her seat as she turns back around. Hiccup places his hands on her hips to steady her, but suddenly the action feels as if it has a different meaning.
"C'mon Astrid." Hiccup teases, his lips tickling her ear. "I guess that's payment for almost getting me killed."
"Oh, you." She says, whacking him on the arm, shaking her head as her grin returns. She starts closing the tail fin and they swoop lower over the woods, circling the ravine a couple times, before Toothless folds his wings and drops, coming to a running stop on the packed dirt.
Hiccup takes her hand as she slides off the Nightfury's back, not letting go as they start up the trail, back towards the village.
AN_
Whoa! That was a long one! Sorry if it was longer than anyone would have liked, but it couldn't split it up.
This is probably my favorite chapter in the whole story. (Probably because it has the most Hiccstrid, but who's keeping track of that anyways?) I just love it. Ahh.
One thing I want to address though, is that hiccup is not meant to have the same personality as he does in the franchise. This is how his characterwould have been shaped and changed if he had grown up in a Berk where he was accepted and praised by Stoick and everyone else. He still has some of the nervous quirkiness, but he is self-confident now. :)
The same goes for Astrid. She is still her headstrong self, but has that underlying doubt instilled in her by a poor family relationship.
I hoped you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!
-Birch66724