Chapter 14

Fishlegs couldn't sleep; he'd gotten maybe a day worth of sleep in the last two weeks since he'd seen Ryder in the dragon arena petting the Deadly Nadder kept there like it was a trained animal. The large Viking teen still had a hard time wrapping his mind around it, he remembers the Nadder tilting its head so the stranger could scratch under the chin and the way it's wings fluttered slightly while he did was kin t enjoyment. Fishlegs had never seen a dragon act that way, not since Hiccup had begun rising to the top of dragon training back before the scrawny boy was found to be harboring a dragon, Fishlegs wondered if Hiccup had taught Ryder how to approach a dragon in order to do something like petting it, and if it was possible for others to learn it as well. He didn't even realize that in his haze of thinking about the phenomenon he'd witnessed that he'd wandered to the dragon arena and was currently standing near the chief's chair in the darkest area at this time of night.

He was snapped back to his surroundings when he heard something, a voice. It was coming from inside the ring and Fishlegs wonders how he hadn't heard them entering it. Moving quietly as he could, Fishlegs inched to the metal fencing and looked over the stone edge to see if he could make out who was there and possibly why. He could just make out two people standing near the dragon pens and the one that was talking used a hushed voice that seemed familiar but he couldn't place. He could only make out a few words, something about life as a warrior, another about enemies and dragons were the most prominent, Fishlegs was trying to place the voice, where had he heard it before? Then he heard the second figure speak, he immediately recognized the voice as Astrid, what he wasn't expecting was what she said.

"Hiccup…" she took a steady breathe and Fishlegs' eyes widened and stifled a gasp. Hiccup was on Berk? He heard Astrid continue before more questions could come forward in his head, "Anywhere you're gonna be, that's where I want to be right now." The silence between the two made Fishlegs feel like he was intruding on something private, which he realized he was, but Hiccup was a traitor and outcast who shouldn't be on Berk to begin with. How did he return? When? And why was Astrid with him? And why did she want to go with him when she was leaving in the morning with Ryder? He wanted to demand answers but he noticed a figure just outside the gate, unmistakably a dragon, and it was keeping a look out for people coming towards the gate. Fishlegs didn't recognize the type of dragon, so he wasn't going to risk anything that could get him killed, he instead chose to continue watching what was happening in the ring as the Deadly Nadder pen began to open.

The Nadder squawked in surprise, not used to her pen being opened in the dead of night. She peered out and could see two people standing just beyond it, neither was poised to attack but she brandished the quills on her tail for good measure, time had told her they weren't above playing tricks. Then she caught the scents of the two standing before her in the darkness, one was from many years ago, a female who carried an axe and shouted a lot. The other was one that had been there several days earlier and around the same time the loud female had been around, he was a male, she remembered him scratching her chin fondly and felt herself calm slightly, just enough to retract the spikes and tilt her head questioningly. The male held his hand out an approached her slowly, she knew he meant her no harm, and was hoping he might scratch her scales again where she couldn't reach, she paced towards him and he stepped back just enough to keep his hand from touching her. She moved forward again and he moved back once more, moving to the female who was watching and appeared slightly apprehensive, the dragon caught on as she followed his hand until the two were standing before her and his hand finally met her snout. Letting out a kind crooning as she saw his other hand reach for the females before taking hold and gently placing it on next to his and baking away, leaving just the two standing there, connected.

Hiccup watched as the two stood there is silence, merely keeping an eye out for any reason he might need to step in if the Nadder suddenly became hostile. He smiled when he heard the affectionate crooning and Astrid's hand started rubbing the dragon's snout seemingly of its own accord, knowing they were beginning to form the bond that will only grow stronger with time. The sudden realization that Astrid now has a dragon of her own and will most likely be outcast and branded a traitor like him made his stomach drop, but a small part of him was guiltily happy that he would have company now. As he swallowed in an attempt to moisten his dry throat Hiccup turned to one of the boxes that were against the wall and rummaged through it to find some rope, the next step was to make a saddle for her to ride on and walking the Nadder through the village wasn't an option. He checked over his shoulder again just to make sure Astrid wasn't doing anything that could push the dragon away, he found her cradling the Nadder's head in her arms in a friendly hug, and it was a strange sight since Astrid usually isn't the friendly hug type as far as he could remember. The day of the duel flashed in his head but that was different, she hadn't known it was him and she cried while he held her, the entire time asking himself why he was doing it dreading he knew the answer deep down.

Astrid held the Nadder's head closer as she reveled in the strange warmth that seemed to radiate off it in waves as it crooned and tilted its head into her arms to become more comfortable while practically purring to her. She couldn't believe that no Viking before Hiccup had seen this side of dragons, she knew this creature could kill her in an instant if it wanted to, she'd seen the spikes embedded in others around the village and heard there screams of pain, but here she was giving one a hug and scratching it's chin like it was a common house pet, and the dragon was acting like one. She suddenly understood on a new deeper level why Hiccup had defied Stoick and risked everything for Toothless, and was ashamed she hadn't tried to listen back then, the guilt of what she did that day was coming back ten fold, she could have connected with this dragon five years ago and done great things alongside Hiccup and the rest of Berk, if she had only listened. She was vaguely aware of the thump-click of Hiccup approaching from the equipment box he'd been shuffling through for some reason, but she wasn't ready to open her eyes and face him with the guilt in her eyes yet.

"Astrid?" something in the way he asked drew her eyes to his without her permission and she looked at him, "You're going to need something to hang onto until we get to the forge and I can make your saddle. Gobber said he'd leave it unlocked just in case and we need to be gone before sunrise. It should only take about an hour of two to make one." She nodded and he held the rope up to tie around the Nadder for the quick flight to the forge while explaining some basics in dragon riding. She wanted to thank him, wanted to hug him and beg for his forgiveness that she had yet to ask for, but a lump had formed in her throat when she looked at him and her voice refused to work, so she resigned herself to nod and listen to his instructions on flying with her new dragon.

Fishlegs watched the entire scene with wide eyes, Astrid had hugged a dragon, and it was purring in her arms, Hiccup had backed away and returned to her side, talking too softly for him to hear. He figured they were trying to be quiet since it was nearing midnight and they were stealing a dragon, or were they liberating it? Fishlegs shook his head and refocused as they began moving to the main gate where the other dragon still stood watch, when they entered the slop of the gate and the light around them became stronger he could see it was in fact Hiccup standing there, rubbing the black dragon on the nose before mounting it. Astrid jumped on the back of the Nadder as it kneeled for her as if the two had been doing it for years, and in the blink of an eye the two dragons were in the air, the moonlight was strong but they faded from view almost immediately. Fishlegs had to do something, Astrid had just followed in Hiccup's footsteps, she'd be branded a traitor for sure, and what was that line about wanting to be wherever Hiccup was? He had to find someone, tell them what happened, but his legs wouldn't move as the other side of his brain kept asking the same question. If dragon were so dangerous, how did Astrid, with Hiccup's help, pull one out of its pin and fly off on it's back in a matter of minutes? After another few minutes he managed to yank his feet away from the spot they seemed to be stuck to and hurried his way back to the village.

As Fishlegs made it back to the village he was beginning to panic, he had to do something, didn't he? He was so lost in his frantic state of mind he didn't notice where he was going and ran straight into someone. "Hey watch it! Wait Fishlegs?" the person said in a familiar twinge ran through him, it was Ruffnut. He helped her up and attempted to walk around her, if she asked anything about what he was doing he'd spilled everything, and he wasn't entirely sure that was the smart play right now. Unfortunately he wasn't known for being out late and Ruff was smarter then she let on as she moved in his way every time he tried to go around her. "Why are you out this late Fishy? Got a secret girlfriend or something?" Fishlegs bit his tongue as subtly as he could, he was better off with her assuming he was going to a late night meeting with some girl then spilling what he just witnessed to half of the village loudmouth, sometimes he really hated that he had a crush on her. Ruffnut apparently became tired of waiting for his answer as she raised her voice and punched his stomach at the same time, "Spit it out!"

"Hiccup somehow managed to sneak back into the village and Astrid just flew off with him on the back of dragons." He blurted out quickly the moment the moment the girl's fist connected with his gut. The blonde's jaw hung open in disbelief; he could tell she didn't want to believe him but he wasn't one for lying, or keeping secrets, he mentally cursed himself and hung his head so he'd be ready when she punched him again.

"How do you know it was Hiccup?"

Fishlegs' head shot up and he saw her standing there with her arms crossed and a skeptical look on her face, she hadn't asked about anything else which meant she knew he was telling the truth, but wasn't sold on it being Hiccup. "I…I overheard Astrid call him by name before insisting on going with him and somehow taming a dragon… Then I got a good look at him when they were leaving the arena." He lamented, she knew now, there was no point in hiding anything else from her. He dropped his head again; she'd either beat him up now or drag him to Stoick and force him to confess what he'd witnessed again. While Astrid was often angry and violent, she was still his friend and he didn't like the idea of ratting on her to the chief, even if it was what he should do. This made it a complete surprise when Ruffnut sighed loudly before taking his hand in hers and began dragging him towards the Meade hall.

"Come on you look like you could use a pint, or twenty." She said in an oddly kind voice. He was confused to the point of silence, opening and shutting his mouth trying to find the words he needed to ask her why. "Look Astrid can be a bit of a botch sometimes, but she's still my closet friend and I'm not about to let her get outcast or killed because you don't know how to keep a secret if your life depended on it. So if you're right we need to keep it quiet for now until we can find a way to get in touch with her. The chief said she was leaving with Ryder to continue her training and was going to be gone a couple weeks, maybe that's still true." Fishlegs thought this over; he'd remembered the announcement at dinner earlier that night, could Ryder and Hiccup be working together? Maybe Ryder was helping Hiccup and he was dealing with everything in the village since Hiccup would be bond and charge for his past crimes on Berk. He'd come into the village in armor matching Ryder's with Astrid, which supported the theory of them working together, but Stoick said Ryder and Astrid were leaving at first light tomorrow and Hiccup left with Astrid a half hour ago. These did need answers so maybe Ruffnut was right, she was currently mumbling to herself and Fishlegs fought the urge to think is was cute, unsuccessfully. "Anyway, until we know for sure what's going on you'll have to stay close to me so I can cover for you or just plain shut you up. So until Astrid's back home you're gonna have to play the role of my new boyfriend." If it weren't for all that had been happening over the last hour, Fishlegs' would've passed out from pure joy.

*15 hours later, over the ocean

Hiccup and Astrid had been flying for hours, only stopping a few times to eat or take care of other bodily functions (using the bathroom, you pervs), not much had been said between them since he finished her saddle for her Nadder, a female Astrid had dubbed Stormfly. The name cam to her head after they had past a bad looking storm about three hours after leaving Berk and the dragon had been keen on flying through it, despite Hiccup insisting they fly over it so he could avoid the lightening, who knew metal attracted it? Hiccup kind enough to take it easy as far as the flight was concerned, he didn't push her so she could become accustom to the still new sensation of flying. They'd flown by several islands and Astrid had been blown away by the beauty from seeing them in an aerial view, Hiccup had only really pointed them out and commented on what dragons could be found there. She wished she had something they could talk about to pass the time while she looked over to him, but she reminded herself that he used to flying alone with Toothless and most likely in total silence outside the wind in his ears, a creeping feeling of sympathy for him. Five years was a long time, and he probably spent most of his time on Toothless' back flying in the air, this was proven when she noticed Hiccup leaning forward and saying something she couldn't hear while scratching the Night Fury's neck.

"Hey Astrid, keep going straight this way, Toothless and I need to do something real quick." He said turning back to her for the first time since they'd taken off from their lunch stop; she was beginning to think the lean muscle he'd built over the last five years was due to an almost all fish diet. She nodded to him and the pair shot up higher into the clouds, after losing slight of them she leaned forward as well and patted Stormfly's neck, careful not to pat the spot on her neck that causes her to fire a single spike from her tail with deadly accuracy, she'd touched it that morning during one of their stops and pierced a rabbit which they decided to eat for a change. She was snapped from her reminiscing by the sound of excited shouting, she looked up and gasped when she saw Hiccup and Toothless falling head first from the clouds they'd flown above not a minute ago. Hiccup wasn't flailing or anything, in fact his shouting indicating he was enjoying himself, but he was falling extremely fast and Astrid doubted she could pull any rescue maneuvers with Stormfly at this point. Then she noticed they were circling each other, also moving with one mind, they were about to pass by her when Toothless suddenly turned around and Hiccup moved through the air and reattached his prosthetic, opening the tail fin and the two resumed the flight next to her and Stormfly like nothing had happened. Astrid stared at them with a slack jaw and bewilderment in her eyes, "You should probably close your mouth, I had to learn the hard way that's an excellent way to get flies in your throat," He laughs.

"What the Hel was that!?" Hiccup's grin falls from his face and Toothless puts his tongue back in his mouth before lowering his head, even Stormfly wavered a bit at the outburst causing Astrid to grab her saddle to hang on. She gives Hiccup a glare for good measure, waiting to hear his answer. "…Well!?"

Hiccup took a deep breathe and looked at towards an island off in the distance, they'd make it there faster than he'd expected, "I'm sorry Astrid." He said finally, "I had a lot on my mind and nothing seems to clear my head better than a little sky diving, If I worried or upset you in anyway you can punch me as hard as you'd like once we touch down to camp for the night." He explained while pointing to the quickly approaching island. It was still mid afternoon but they'd been flying since before the sun came up after finishing Stormfly's saddle and swinging by the cove to collect their gear, Hiccup could see Astrid getting tired and knew they'd both need sleep if they were going to reach their next stop by the end of the next day. Astrid's eyes softened in some form of understanding before giving him a glare for good measure and nudging Stormfly towards the island.

The two landed near a cave, Astrid noted a spot where a small fire had been at one point and another large blackened spot near the cave wall indicating Hiccup and Toothless had stayed there previously. She took her bed roll and a blanket off the carrying equipment from Stormfly's saddle and found a relatively warm spot for the night, she was cold from flying all day despite her wool lined hood and clothes, Hiccup had said it'll take time to adjust to it. After getting her bedroll set up she noticed that Hiccup had disappeared from the cave, Toothless was playing with Stormfly just before the tree line so he couldn't be far. Not knowing the layout of the island meant going out on her own was probably a bad idea, so she settled for sitting against the cave wall and watching the dragons, who where getting along remarkably well, use a large tree branch to play a game of tug-o-war, smiling to herself as she thought of all the times she'd played and won as a child.

Hiccup returned nearly an hour later, a wooden bowl filled with berries and a stick carrying a few rabbits and freshly caught fish. He sat on the opposite side of the cave and pulled out the dagger on his arm to start skinning the rabbits to eat, whistling loud enough that Toothless fired a small accurate plasma blast that lit a fire in the same spot there had been one before. Astrid's mind was sent back to the day he fled Berk on Toothless, when the Night Fury missed he and the other teens, minus Snotlout whose arm Hiccup managed to sprain when he rammed into the larger boy. She thought about asking, but the look on his face was too focused on skinning the rabbit in his hands, maybe after they ate would be better. She alternated between watching the dragons, who were now playing what looked like tag, and watching Hiccup until he finished skinning the rabbits before collecting a pot and water skin to begin preparing a stew.

After perhaps the most satisfying meal she'd had since a being forced to stay with Hiccup those first few nights, Astrid was stretching out on her bedroll lazily watching as Stormfly preened her scales and situated herself a few feet away in order to sleep, the blonde had taken a relaxing bath in a nearby hot spring Hiccup had directed her towards, he was currently there cleaning himself, and Toothless was heating up his blacken area of rock before nestling in for the night. Her eyes were becoming rather droopy when she heard Hiccup making his way back in the cave, she could just make out that he was shirtless through her blurred vision, she guessed he thought she was asleep since he usually seemed rather careful not to be in any state of undress around her, making the excuse that he didn't want to scare her, she figured he was just the same shy kid he was when he left. Then the light of the fire hit in just the right way of his back where she saw marks, her eyes shot open and she studied them, they appeared to be whip markings, hadn't Hiccup mentioned something about torture when she found him in his camp? She was about to ask when he put his tunic on and Toothless made gave a louder than usual dragonic groan, Hiccup merely laughed quietly and scratch the reptiles belly causing him to kick his hind leg in the air.

Hiccup was still awake nearly half an hour later, the moon was out and Astrid was shivering under her blanket. Toothless and Stormfly were happily dozing in the spots they'd each choosen, Hiccup however was restless, he couldn't help but think about everything that had happened since he'd set foot back on Berk. The duel, Gobber and Gothi discovering his identity, and then Astrid the next day, him having to actually train her to become even more deadly than she already was, her training her own dragon, it all seemed to blur together. Then again he knew the dumbest thing he'd done was letting his own stupid pride get the better of him in his fight with Dagur, he should have never revealed it was him behind the face guard, but the Viking in him, the part he hated the most about himself, was as stubborn as Stoick's at times. Hiccup took a small amount of relief in the knowledge that Dagur knew he never stayed in one village long and his alliance with Alvin was shattered when he and Toothless had managed to make them fire on one another, resulting in both sides losing several ships and several times as many men. Astrid shivered again and he laid his blanket over her in addition to her own, the long flight had likely chilled her to her very bones and it was truly hitting her on that she was lying down and the stew he'd made was no longer warming her up.

Tomorrow would be a pain once they reached the island where he had to fulfill the brotherhood's side request of him, the Grind Axe tribe were not the friendliest of people and what he was going to do would surly leave him with yet another target on his back. That's why Hiccup was planning on taking care of it after Astrid was asleep and wouldn't follow him, on the plus side it would give him a chance to finally test out one of his more recent and probably craziest inventions, but even that didn't mean he would enjoy the task. Astrid was still shivering from the chill beneath her skin, Hiccup sighed and pushed off the wall where he'd been leaning, making his way over to her bedroll. They didn't have anymore blankets and with the cold being internal there was really only one way to help her keep warm, with all the stealth and care he had gained over the years Hiccup laid down behind Astrid and wrapped his arms around her, she stopped shivering almost immediately and relaxed in her sleep. He figured after a few minutes she'd be warm enough and he'd return to his own bedroll to sleep for the night, however this became impossible when Astrid snuggled into Hiccup and came to rest in a position where he couldn't move without waking her. Another heavy sigh left his mouth as he fought the rush of blood to his face and decided to just bite the arrow in the morning and forced himself to relax and fall asleep. Had Astrid turned over at some point, he would've seen the contented smile that made its way on to her face.