Anstred Goes For a Ride

"Great," she said, waving her fist in the air sadly. "Wonderful. I'm so-"

"-leaving." She entered the cove and adjusted the enormous pack on her back. She looked around for Toothless. "We're leaving. It looks like you and I are taking a little vacation." No dragon was in sight. He must have been playing hide-and-seek or something. "Forever," she sighed.

She sat down in the shade of a giant rock and started to sort through the pack, making sure she had everything she needed. Sure her dad would be worried sick but this would honestly be the best thing for the two of them. She wouldn't shatter his world and he wouldn't shatter hers. They could both stay happy in their little bubbles, well as happy as Stoic could be knowing his only daughter had vanished just when he was proud of her for once.

The silence of her thoughts was suddenly broken by the sound of scraping metal against rock. She looked up only to nearly jump out of her skin. Anstred had followed her and was now seated on the rock. And he was sharpening an axe. Please let Toothless still play hide-and-seek. She let out a cry at the image of that axe somehow harming her best friend, but Anstred took it as him scaring her.

She leapt back and pulled herself together, crossing her arms and trying to look annoyed. "What are you doing here? If you kill me now everyone will figure it out, you know. My dad will not be very happy."

Anstred merely ignored her as he threw the stone over his shoulder and planted the hilt of the axe firmly on the rock beside him. "I wanna' know what's going on," he said simply, finally looking at her. Hiccup started to backpedal as he jumped of the rock and started towards her, holding his axe out firmly beside him. "Nobody just gets as good as you. Especially you. Start talking."

Hiccup was terrified in that moment but refused to show Anstred that. She stopped in her tracks and stared at him. "Why should I tell you anything? If I recall properly you held an axe to my neck only a few hours ago."

"Are you training with someone?" he continued badgering. "It better not involve this!" He grabbed the front of my harness and almost lifted her off the ground. She pushed him away, or at least tried to. She was scrawny compared to him. But she had to get him out of here before he saw anything. The last thing she needed was to be ratted out by Anstred before she could escape. Maybe she should play along. No, that wasn't happening.

"Go home Anstred! I'm not up to anything! I just come here to draw and think up new ways to kill dragons." And then she heard the snort from somewhere behind her. Toothless. Anstred heard him too.

He let go of her and started in the direction of the noise. She would have to play along. Sure, it would forsake her pride, but at least it would keep Toothless safe. She leapt in front of him. "Alright, I'm through with the lies! I've been making outfits! So there, you know-"She grabbed his hand and placed it on the shoulder of her harness. "-drag me back, take me home, tell my dad, kill the dragon tomorrow-"He then grabbed her hand and twisted it back words. "-and why would you do that?" she cried in pain, falling over. "That is no way to treat a lady!"

"I'm not dealing with a lady, and I'm certainly not dealing with a Viking. I'm dealing with a liar. So-"he kicked her feet out from under as she started to rise, sending her toppling to the ground. "That's for the lies," Anstred said coldly."And this is for everything else." He then dropped his axe hilt on her stomach, hilt first. She cried out in pain.

"Okay, that was crossing a line!" she choked. Apparently someone else thought so too, because a growl echoed through the cove. She was on her feet in a moment as Toothless finally appeared, growling menacingly at Anstred. Hiccup couldn't help but be touched. Here she was spending all this time protecting him and he didn't even hesitate to return the favor to her.

Then she realized that Anstred was there. Probably the second to last person she ever wanted to see her friend. Toothless continued growling and then charged at the person who was hurting his friend.

Anstred readied himself. "Get down!" he shouted, grabbing Hiccup and forcing her down. He picked up his axe and prepared to swing at Toothless. Just before the axe could make contact, Hiccup dove at Anstred and knocked him to the ground.

"NO!" She grabbed the axe, wringing it out of his iron grasp. She sent it skidding across the ground and rushed between the two forces about to collide. Toothless immediately ground to a halt, but continued growling as Anstred gaped at him.

"It's okay," she said as Toothless hunched down and glared at Anstred. "He's not going to hurt me anymore. Trust me."

I turned to Anstred and felt Toothless nudge me in the back, still growling. "He's very protective of me I guess. You startled him." He rose, well scrambled to his feet, as she continued to hold Toothless back.

"I startled him?" Anstred screeched. He took a deep, ragged breath.
Who is him?"

She took a step back and Toothless dropped his defensive stance now that his human was safely next to him. But the look of pure hatred was still on his face, eyes silted in a glare. "Anstred, Toothless. Toothless, Anstred." Toothless barred his teeth and growled.

Anstred merely shook his head in disbelief. Then he turned and started bolting. Well, that went better than she was expecting. At least he hadn't tried to hurt Toothless. But they couldn't just let him leave. "We've got to stop him."

Toothless shook himself and then turned to walk away in a huff. "Hey, where do you think you're going?" she shouted, putting her hands on her hips. "If he tells about us, then it is the end of us. I know I don't want that to happen and I'm pretty sure you don't either."

Seconds later- and she meant seconds- they were flying above the trees, Anstred in Toothless' grasp. "Oh great Odin's ghost!" he shouted as they snatched him off the ground and went the opposite way of the village. "No! This is not it!"

They landed at the very top of the tallest tree in the area, Toothless gladly dropping him on one of the higher branches and settling comfortably at the very top. The tree bent significantly, but the group was still very high in the air.

"Hiccup!" Anstred yelled at her, his face red. He shifted his grip on the tree branch and tried to climb up. It was proving difficult for even him though, and he was left holding on for dear life as his feet dangled below in the air. They had him cornered. "Get me down from here NOW!"

"You're going to let me explain before you ruin everything, okay?" she said, gazing down at him struggling. He had to comply.

"I'm not listening to ANYTHING you say!" he spat, looking at her with venom in his eyes.

"Then let me show you at least!" she shouted, extending a hand out to him.

"Put. Me. Down. NOW! You. Filthy. Little. LIAR! CHEATER! FAILURE!" She was hurt, but she couldn't afford to lose this battle. Toothless looked at her as if asking her to leave him, but she turned her face to stone and extended her hand further.

"Anstred, please, just five minutes. As my friend you owe me at least that."

"We are not friends!" That was it. She had to try a harsher tactic. She had tried to be nice. She pulled her hand back and looked at an expectant Toothless.

"Fine then. Enjoy the tree! Come on Toothless."

"Wait! Wait!" She turned back to him and the two stared at one another for a long time. HE finally grunted and heaved himself up. He blew the hair out of his face and climbed up to where they sat. Hiccup offered her hand again, but he took one look and knocked it away. Fear filled his eyes as he mounted Toothless gingerly, settling himself behind her. She looked at him and he scowled. "Now get me down," he pleaded, his voice cracking.

"Okay then," she said. "Toothless, down. Gently this time." Toothless obediently extended his wings to the side. This could work. They just had to convince Anstred that Toothless was a friendly, kind, fun dragon. "See?" she said cheerfully, "Nothing to worry about."

And Toothless rocketed into the sky. Hiccup had no clue he could go this fast. Anstred was shouting behind her, and she could tell he was bouncing up and down quite a bit. He was going to fall if they didn't slow down. Sure that ended their problem, but there was a nicer way. "Toothless, slow down!" she cried. "Toothless!" Anstred scrambled upright and braced him arms on her shoulders, clinging for dear life. "He's not usually like this," she said. She then felt Toothless roll over underneath her. "Oh no…"

Toothless pulled out all the fanciest and fastest moves that he knew. He rolled, spun, twirled, dove under the waves of the ocean when he could get low enough, and never slowed down.

"Toothless, what are you doing?" she screamed. "I know killing him is an option, but I vote we get him to like us!" He completely ignored her and began to spin rapidly through the air. "And now he's spinning," she said helplessly. Anstred's arms tightened as Toothless suddenly let himself drop straight through the air. "Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile!"

Anstred had his head down. "Okay," he gasped. "I'm sorry." Toothless' head perked up. "I'm sorry," he repeated, his voice cracking again. "I won't tell anyone okay. Just get me down on solid ground. And I take back all the mean things I said about you. And we are friends… I guess. Just please get me down." She could tell he was sincere, and Toothless did too.

He spread his enormous wings and gently brought them higher in the sky, gliding on air currents, hardly moving his wings at all. Slowly, Anstred opened his eyes again. Hiccup couldn't help but be proud. Her dragon was even more protective of her than she was of him. This was going to work. The two of them were going to be okay.

They were in a forest of puffy, pink clouds. She spotted faint patches of night above them. Anstred raised his hand tentatively and ran it through the clouds. He let go of Hiccup and put both arms in the air like he was flying. Toothless slowly angled up again and took them higher, above the clouds.

Hiccup couldn't help but have her breath taken away by the beauty of it all. This was their first time flying at night. Toothless did a loop and soared even higher so they could gaze at the Northern lights, green and blue and purple and amazing. His hand went to her arm and she wondered if it was on accident.

Toothless then flew over Berk, the village looking so small and bright below them. Anstred was completely in awe as Hiccup looked back at him and smiled. She turned back and felt him place his chin on her shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. She couldn't help but feel her stomach do a little flip and she remembered all the feelings she had about him before Viking training. She could almost feel them creeping up again.

He gently patted Toothless and he didn't mind. She only had four words for him as she peeked back at him. "I told you so."