Chapter Fourteen

"I heard the roar of the lion of Judah, I heard the voice that calms the raging sea He came to me, came to me, When I needed the Lord I heard the roar of the lion of Judah..." The Roar, Chris Tomlin

A blanket of darkness wrapped itself around me. I tried to get some comfort from the fact that I was under a roof with good shelter. But I couldn't shake off the fact that something was off. Spikes was curled up next to me, but he kept fidgeting in his sleep. A nightmare, most likely.

Snowfire was sleeping on a stone tablet she along with the help of Toothless had dragged in. During the night when she was ready to sleep she would breath fire on the tablet and curl up. Hiccup had explained to me that Night Fury's were known to do the same thing. Given the fact that Snowfire was similar to Night Fury's, I shouldn't be so surprised by her behavior.

Finally I stood up, causing Spikes to wake up seconds later. I hated sleeping alone. Not in the way where someone would sleep in the bed beside me. But it felt wrong that mom wasn't around to check on me, or make sure I got up in time for school. It was strange considering I had been sleeping alone for the last few weeks.

With a sigh of frustration I changed into my clothes and opened the door slightly. Spikes was quick to follow as I peered outside. To my surprise it was still dark as night out. The only source of light were the stars and moon. I looked at Spikes one last time before leaving the hut, careful not to alert anyone. The last thing I wanted was to be responsible for waking everyone up.

Spikes jumped on to my shoulder as I made my way towards the forest. Going out so late probably wasn't my smartest move. I was hoping a walk would help calm my nerves.

"So, how long do you think it's going to take for them to realize I'm gone?" I wondered out loud to no one in particular. Spikes just looked at me with those wide eyes, than suddenly hopped forward through the undergrowth. I tried not to smirk at the sight as I walked towards the nearest cliff.

It was good to be out here. Despite the cold air I felt freer than ever. The sound of the ocean crashing against the cliff was soothing. And watching the moon reflect against the water's surface was even more so. Spikes lay beside me as I sat down with my legs dangling over the cliff.

This was one of those moments I wished mom could be with me. She would know what to do in situations like these. My heart was torn between whether or not I would stay. I had no reason to, other than the fact that Hiccup was my only friend. He had Astrid to keep him company now.

'You were not in your nest,' a new voice suddenly spoke up, causing me to nearly jump off the cliff. Fortunately I was able to catch myself in time to see Snowfire sitting next to me. 'Something troubles you, hatchling,' she crooned softly.

"I don't know what to do," I admitted. I looked off in the distance as wariness settled over my shoulders. All my life I didn't need to know what I would do next. Mom always had something planned for me. Now it was like the world was suddenly thrown at me in full force.

'Perhaps leaving would be best,' Snowfire said thoughtfully. 'You do not fit in with these people. There may be other islands out there.' I couldn't help but look at her doubtfully. Would anyone ever take me in if I found another island? I wasn't sure if that was a good idea either.

"Leaving wouldn't be a bad thing," I sighed while tossing a pebble into the ocean. "Actually it would be fun to explore the other islands and see what's out there. Maybe we'd find more dragons like you or Toothless!" Sudden hope flared within me until Snowfire snorted in amusement.

'There are no other dragons like me,' she chided. She brushed her tail over my hair playfully. I had a feeling that she was right. But that didn't mean I couldn't hope. Besides, it wasn't any fun knowing that you were the last of your kind.

I held back another sigh and stood up, leaning against Snowfire for support. "Let's go back," I murmured. Snowfire looked at me in surprise before I continued, "I'll make up my mind tomorrow." Snowfire only rolled her eyes and let out a puff of smoke, covering my face with it.

'You humans are so queer,' Snowfire huffed. I only rolled my eyes and headed back to the village. Spikes climbed back on to my shoulder, thankful to have a ride. 'One moment you are upset, and the next you want to return to the village.'

Much as I hated to admit it, she did have a good point. My mind was always changing at the last minute. And sooner or later my mind would change again. I just hoped I made the right decision when that time came.

...

Morning had arrived all too quickly. I was still half asleep when I heard a knocking on my door. Snowfire had barely stirred from her nest when I got out of the bed. Spikes jumped off and clawed at the door as another knock followed.

"Calm down already," I grumbled crossly. I was not the kindest person when it came to not getting enough sleep. Mom had learned that the hard way when she woke me up too early. My eyes widened in disbelief when I saw Snotlout standing at the door. He was rubbing the back of his hair sheepishly as he looked at me with his mouth hanging open. "Uh, what?" I eyed him with the slightest hint of annoyance.

"Hey Alex, I was kind of hoping that we could maybe hang out today," he explained without missing a beat. "You know, just the two of us." All that kept me from falling over was the fact that he was waiting for an answer. Snotlout just looked at me hopefully, and I suddenly wished a hole would open up to swallow me.

"Snotlout," I began with a sigh. This was not going to be easy. The last thing I wanted was to hurt his feelings. But there was no way in hell I could ever be interested in someone like him. "You're a nice guy and all, but…." I paused as I tried looking for an excuse. Luckily for me Hiccup happened to be walking past at that time, glancing at us in confusion. "I promised Hiccup I would help him with a few projects today," I suddenly announced.

Snotlout was ready to say something when I pushed past him. God I hoped this didn't backfire on me. Hiccup's expression was priceless as I pulled him away by the arm, hoping to avoid any accusing questions from Snotlout.

"Do I even want to know what's going on?" he asked when we were far enough away.

"Ugh, Snotlout happened," I muttered under my breath. "How do you tell someone 'no' without hurting their feelings?" Guilt stabbed at my heart when I realized that Snotlout was still standing there at my door. He wasted no time in fleeing though when Snowfire woke up, alerted by the noise.

"That's not exactly my area of expertise." I couldn't help but blush when Hiccup said that. Guess we had a lot in common than. Never once had a boyfriend or even feelings for another guy for that matter. So I guess I was asking the wrong person for that kind of advice.

"Sorry, I'm just not used to having anyone well… interested in me," I admitted. We were already headed for the forge as the day went on. Snowfire had decided to stretch her wings while the two of us talked. I wasn't even sure where Toothless was hiding. "Usually guys don't even know I exist until they sit on me."

I tried not to laugh at one memory of a day in school. I'd been sitting alone at lunch at the time. And of course some random high school jock had to waltz in with his group of friends and nearly sat on me. It wasn't until I spilled my drink all over that he realized I was there. The look on his face at the time had been priceless.

"Really?" Hiccup looked at me in surprise as we reached the forge. Gobber greeted us both with a wave of his free hand while working on a sword that needed repair. "I can't imagine why." Hiccup stopped himself short when he realized what he just said. I only smirked and folded my arms in amusement. "I mean…." He paused and sorted through what looked like a pile of blueprints stacked on a desk.

"Oh just ge' on with it and tell 'er how ya feel!" Gobber shouted over his shoulder. It's a good thing I was leaning on the railing. Gobber didn't notice the fact that I nearly fell over, again.

I glanced over at the blueprints and realized just how detailed they were. Some blueprints were of saddles that Hiccup had been working on over the last few days. Others were of weapons that would make fighting easier. One weapon in particular caught my attention though.

"So this is what you've been working on." I eyed the blueprints curiously as Hiccup put aside one set of blueprints and spread it out across the desk.

"The dragons need a place to rest when they're visiting the island, or if they plan on staying," he explained. "Dad's going to take some convincing but it would be great if we could build stables for them. They need some kind of shelter."

"That would be nice," I murmured. I heard Snowfire complaining about how some of the passing dragons just slept where ever they felt like. Stables would also mean bringing in more dragons for the island. Hopefully Berk was ready for such a task.

We spent the rest of the morning discussing how we could convince Stoick about the stables idea. I'm pretty sure he'd go along with them, so long as it was within reason. But convincing the rest of the village was another issue in itself. There were some who still weren't fond of dragons being here in the first place. And one of those people happened to be a grumpy old man living at the top of a hill.

"Let's just hope Stoick's in a listenin' mood," Gobber reminded us. "You two are askin' for trouble if you keep this up." He smirked as I backed away warily. Seemed like Astrid wasn't the only one who noticed how much time we were spending together.

We didn't spend too much time in the forge after that. Hiccup had gathered most of his blueprints and was already headed to the Great Hall. There was something in his determination that made me wish I had. Back in my own world I would never have that amount of determination.

I shook my head at the thought, realizing that right now it wasn't relevant. At least here I felt like I could amount to something. Even if it wasn't a lot it was better than nothing.

'That human is quite the irritating hatchling.' Snowfire's words stopped us both in our tracks. The other Vikings had made a point to avoid her as she rubbed her muzzle against my hand. 'He will not stop mumbling under his breath.'

"Which one?" Hiccup asked with a smirk. "We have so many." I smirked and rolled my eyes at that.

"I'm assuming she means Snotlout," I sighed.

'Of course that is who I mean,' she retorted with a snort. 'How has he survived all of these years?'

I looked over her shoulder to see that he was still pacing around my place. All the while grumbling under his breath and scowling.

"I really do feel bad for just leaving him like that," I murmured. But I couldn't bring myself to even like someone like him. I hated sounding like a judgmental jerk, but he really was loud and obnoxious.

"I'm sure he'll get over it." We started heading for the Great Hall just as Toothless had joined us. He was crooning in contentment as Snowfire walked beside him, looking more annoyed than anything else. "It wouldn't be the first time someone turned him down."

That was enough to make me grin. When in doubt always feel reassured that you aren't the only one turning him down. At least that was what I hoped for. Hopefully this wouldn't come back and bite me in the butt later on.

AN: So I decided to treat you guys with a double update :) And that little song up there is such a good one. Love Chris Tomlin... so yeah. After these last two chapters I will start following the episodes, seeing as the chapters had been kind of random and boring for the moment.

silverwolvesarecool - I wouldn't say that ;) Sapphira hasn't threatened to bite off people's heads or rip their throats out. Snowfire definitely has a bit of an attitude problem compared to Sapphire :P

69579 - To each their own :) Hopefully all of your walls will remain intact after this is over. And that would be awesome, that's kind of what Snowfire looks like. Only she is twice the size of Toothless and white.

FallenArcAngel16 - You're not the only one ;) I've seen way too many Hiccstrid stories in the fandom... I was actually going to pair Alex with someone else until I realized she and Astrid are like complete opposites.