Had some issues with Mircosoft word, so this chapter is coming up a bit later than usual. Hope you all enjoy it though!

There were three other dragons there, hovering above the smoke-filled trapper camp, across from where Stormfly was hovering, carrying Astrid. Mira and Balder were sitting on top of Balder's dragon, a great blue, older looking Thunderdrum. The other two riders, however, where what caught Astrid's attention most.

One of the riders was on a dragon that was several times larger than Stormfly, and far more intimidating. Though Astrid had never seen adragon of the particular species, Valka had told her plenty about it.

It was a boneknapper. Large and raptor-like, the dragon sported a coat of bones taken from the corpses of other dragons, forming a sort of macabre suit of armor that covered it's entire body. What was strange about this boneknapper, however, was the fact that it's armor coat was not bleach white.

Every bone covering it's body was glossy black, as if it were wearing a coat of carved obsidian.

The rider on its back was cut from the same cloth. Large, imposing, and covered in a suit of some dark, jagged metal Astrid did not recognize. A sword was strapped across his back, a sword that was nearly as long as Astrid was tall, with a crosspiece almost as long as her entire arm.

The other rider, in comparison, seemed exceptionally lean and thin, much different from the brawnier and tougher built men who lived in the northern reaches of the Archipelago. His outfit consisted of a suit of tight leather that covered him from neck to toe, and the color was a mixture of black, lick brown, and green. A ridged, black mask covered his face, rather than a more traditional helmet.

And that rider's dragon was of a kind that Astrid had never seen. Sleek and dark, it resembled a gigantic hunting cat with wings, as well as two sets of smaller fins that ran down its tail. Of the two fins at the end of the tail, one was black like the rest of the dragon, but the other was dark green, obviously artificially made.

The riders seemed to be conversing among themselves, too quietly for Astrid to hear, for she was keeping Stormfly back from them at a good distance, just in case one of them tried something.

It wasn't long for them to apparently came to some conclusion.

"It isn't safe here" The masked boy said, now speaking loudly enough to be heard over the crackle of flame. His voice was high and nasally, but filled with confidence.

"Come with us, and we'll talk when we get back to the camp."

It took the group about under an hour to get back to the camp that belonged to the other dragon riders., situated on an island not so far from Odin's Fist. Astrid and Stormfly followed diligently, though gave a wider berth to the other dragons thanthey did to each other. After all, one couldn't be too careful.

The small camp was hidden under a canopy of high reaching trees, making it almost invisible to see from above, though large enough for all of the dragons to fit comfortably, even the giant boneknapper. The riders wandered in one by one, sliding down off their dragons, then began unbuckling the saddles from them, with the exception of Astrid, as Stormfly had no saddle.

All in all, the camp was little more than a group of bedrolls circling a fire. There were pieces of travelling equipment strewn around all over the place, as well so much parchment that it was difficult to walk without stepping on any.

The thin, scrawny boy, evidently the leader, pulled off of his maks and ran a hand through his shaggy mask of rust colored hair. He then turned back to look at Astrid as the others continued to move about the camp.

"Well, here we are. It's not much, but it's home."

But Astrid had little patience for pleasantries.

"I want to know who you are." She blurted. "Where you come from, and why you are all here."

The boy who was riding the boneknapper, his face still hidden behind the dark metal of his helmet, seemed none too pleased.

"Who's asking?" He replied, his voice almost a snarl.

The leader kept talking like he hadn't heard the other boy.

"My name is Hiccup. I guess you have already met Mira and Balder. And he's Blade." Hiccup gestured to the armored boy, who made a faint noise of disgust. "Don't mind him, he doesn't like strangers. What's your name?"

Astrid stiffened.

"Among most people, I am called the Valkyrie. But my friends call me something else."

"What's that?"

"I don't need to tell you. I don't think I can call you a friend just yet."

Hiccup looked slightly miffed, but nodded after a few seconds.

"Fair enough, I guess. Well, if you join us for dinner, maybe we can change that."

And so, the five teens settled around the fire with their dragons. Balder set up a large pot that began to stew and steam, letting out a wonderful, crisp aroma.

Hiccup was happy to introduce each of the teens dragons to Astrid. Balder's dragon, the thunderdrum, was named Tempest, and was rather old and quite docile, though ultimately deadly. The boneknapper, covered in his armor of glossy black plates, was Shade, as much a fighter as his rider, Blade. Mira's dragon, the only one Astrid hadn't seen, was Dusk- a changewing- who was supposedly off hunting and due to be back soon.

And then there was Hiccup's dragon Toothless. A Night Fury, he explained. A Night Fury! Astrid might have been more impressed if she was not so intent on studying each of the riders

"Toothless?" Astrid asked , for the black dragon displayed a formidable row of needle –sharp teeth.

"Ya, long story. Name kinda stuck when I first met him." Hiccup said, rubbing his dragon briskly on the head, drawing out a croon of contentment.

Hiccup.

The name rang over and over in Astrid's head. She was sure the name should have had some kind of significance to her, but her mind refused to give up any kind of information of the name. After all, it was a name that came from somewhere in her past, before she had become a dragon rider. A past that she had tried to forget.

Yet the thought stayed with her, sitting annoyingly in the back of her mind.

"Anyways." Hiccup continued "We've all trained dragons, and now we travel the world together…. Mostly looking for other people like us, because we were driven out of our villages. People don't really look kindly on those who sympathize with dragons." He finished the sentence sadly, though Astrid found no pity for him. He was only as reject as she was, after all.

"But enough about us. Who are you?"

"I am called the Valkyrie. And I fight the trappers, pirates, and warlords all over the ocean. That's all you need to know."

Hiccup opened his mouth to speak, but the boy Blade cut him off.

"Really? I don't believe you. I have half a mind to think you are hiding something from us, so spill it. We've told you about us. And you won't even show us your face. What's wrong? Why do you have to hide behind that mask?"

Astrid felt a shot of anger flow through her, felt the Valkyrie side rising, but she savagely suppressed it. Now was not the time. When she answered back, her voice was calm, steady, though carried the faintest tinting of anger in it.

"This mask is the face I choose to show. It's a face I have made men learn to fear. It is the face that those people around me see, because that is what I wish for them to see. Only my friends, who accept me for what I truly am, see my true face."

The only sound was the crackle of the small fire for a long, long time.

"But… what if we want to be your friends?" Mira asked "Then we have to see who you truly are."

Astrid laughed mirthlessly

"Perhaps if you knew who I was, and all of the thing I have done, you would not be so quick to call me a friend."

"Well" Said Hiccup, "I am willing to try. Take off the mask."

Astrid's instinct was to refuse again, but she hesitated. Over the past decade or so, she had had little contact with humans, unless battling and killing counted as contact. The only other human she could call a friend now was Valka. She felt her Stormfly's gaze boring into her from behind, even as she leaned back against the nadder's side.

Perhaps it was time to stop hiding.

Hiding? Was that what it was?

She didn't have time to consider that right now. She pulled off her mask.

Her golden hair spilled out and cascaded down her shoulders in a shining wave, wild and bright. Some days, she would have had Valka braid it for her, but for the most part she preferred to wear it long. She glanced a second longer at the mask than she meant to, then looked back at the assembled riders.

There was a gasp.

"Astrid?"

That one word, spoken by him, and it all came flooding back to her.

Hiccup. Perhaps the least Vikingly Viking Astrid had ever met, at least in some ways. Indeed, it was just those things that were different about him that Astrid remembered. His quirkiness, his sarcastic attitude, and most of all, his habit of being around when accidents happened (not all of them were his fault…)

Astrid could see that boy she once knew, sitting now as an adult in front of her. He was certainly skinner and leaner than an average Viking man. Indeed, he was skinny for a Viking period. His mass of auburn hair was wild and shaggy, slightly longer than it had been in his youth.

And those eyes. Those wide, bright eyes hadn't changed a bit. A younger Astrid had remembered those eyes, those eyes that were the color of fresh leaves, of pine needles, the colo-

The Valkyrie came rising within her, blotting out that face. That wall of anger came, denying her past, though Astrid struggled to control. But it was persistent. Nearly a decade of blotting out her past was now returning to her.

"I… I am not the Astrid you knew" She stood up and turned away. It was so much to take in. She needed time to breathe, to think. It was all coming back to her, and all too fast. The memories surged and blended together like a tidal wave, gaining power and strength as it surged against her mind. The wave clashed with the instinctive wall of rage she had used to battle it for years. But unlike before, those memories had a focal point from which to start from, a focal point the Valkyrie side of her could not crush.

"Wait!" Hiccup called, running up to her from behind as she started to walk away. He grabbed her shoulder.

A critical mistake.

In Astrid's moment of turmoil and vulnerability, the Valkyrie lashed out.

It all happened in a blur, too fast to be followed. The Valkyrie spun around, her foot lashing out to knock Hiccup off of his feet. Her spear came down even as he tumbled, screaming downwards towards his throat.

And there it stopped, resting below his chin. No one in the camp dared move, stunned as they were.

Astrid blinked.

It had only taken only a fraction of a second. A fraction of a second where she lost control, and she had nearly killed Hiccup, all because he was a piece of her past she hadn't been able to accept.

She trembled, stepping back from Hiccup, her spear falling from nervous fingers. Hiccup was starting up at her from the ground, eyes clouded by confusion, but no anger. The other three teens all had their hands on their various weapons, but making no move towards her. Blade in particular looked ready to explode.

But the fight was gone from Astrid. She had lost control for a single moment, and she had almost destroyed him.

Shame brought tears to her eyes. Without even bothering to pick up her spear, she ran to Stormfly, leapt on her back, and they took off together.

Astrid fled from the past, and the pain.

So much Cliffhangerness! Thank you to everyone who reviews, favorites, and follows. You guys are the best.

Anyways, have a good one!