Moving right along in movie scenes and that brings us to day two of dragon training! Again, nothing more to say, so I'll just skip right ahead to review replies.

Review Replies:

Ferdoos: Well, Astrid has changed a bit. The desire to train hard (and shut out Hiccup) stems from her parents who all but told her that she'd better be at the top of her class when they return. Also, a lot of her thoughts and actions come from observations I have seen as I watch the movie. Some are subtle, but they are there. Astrid's character is going to shift a lot throughout this story because she is dynamic and ever-changing.

Toothless is best: Yes, I noticed so many things in that last scene. Also, I like posting early because writing this story and Wheel is a lot of fun (although, right now, I really like Wheel because it's getting good!)

Avatarlover123: You are welcome. I'm going to have to rewatch this movie in its entirety someday soon. For this story, I'm watching it, but severely chopping it into pieces. I just need to watch the whole movie without chopping out scenes.

lucas andrade.311056: Yep, that's the idea. We saw Hiccup's story already, so this is Astrid's story. The next chapter is here! P.S. Sorry, the site doesn't like when I type your username, so I had to alter it a little to get it to show.

Guest (anonymous): I liked that scene too. It was fun to write because I could definitely imagine something like that happening between Snotlout and Astrid. Also, I will (most likely!) never pair those two together. They just don't fit as a couple…at all. I love Astrid as a character. After Hiccup, she is my second favorite and Heather is my third. I will definitely have other HTTYD stories in the future. In fact, I have several planned. That sounds like a good storyline/segment of a story. I would definitely like to do a story of Hiccup and Heather, but I'll have to think a bit more on that. I hate writing cliché stories and stories with that pairing either turn out really great or really bad. There's no in-between. I'll give it some thought.

Adsdragonlover: It's fine. Thanks for commenting.

Next chapter starts…now!

Chapter 25: Figure Out Which Side You're On!

When Astrid arrived at the arena the next morning, she found that Gobber had already arrived and set up a maze of high wooden fences in the arena's open interior center. This should be fun. Once everyone was present and accounted for, Gobber explained that he would be unleashing the Deadly Nadder for today's class and that he would be guiding them from above. A man of few words, Gobber then left the arena, locking the gate behind him. As soon as he made it to the spectating area, Gobber unlocked the Deadly Nadder's cage and the big blue dragon tore out into the arena. Seeing the high fences and the scrambling armed teens, the dragon immediately jumped up onto the fences, hopping from one to another, instigating the chase.

"Today is all about attack! Nadders are quick and light on their feet. Your job is to be quicker and lighter! Look for its blind spot. Every dragon has one. Find it, hide in it, and strike!"

Though Astrid had wanted to complete today's training exercise alone, sometime after they started Snotlout had begun to follow her. Astrid thought little of it; if he kept quiet and didn't interfere with her ability to effectively complete the exercise, then she did not care. As long as he wouldn't be a distraction. Speaking of distractions, there was Hiccup loudly asking Gobber about Night Furies. Is he still going on about that? Why has he become so interested in Night Furies lately anyway? So he can make up more stories? You know what? It really doesn't matter right now. What does matter is that he is going to get himself killed if he doesn't get down and out of sight! "Hiccup!" she whispered to him, effectively getting his attention. "Get down!" she whispered again, motioning downward with her shield.

Astrid peeked out from her hiding place and saw the Nadder peek out from one nearby. It is close. I know how to get past it! Taking a few deep breaths to calm her nerves, Astrid lead the way, tumbling silently across the opening, using her shield to propel her the rest of the way. Snotlout followed and then Hiccup…well, almost. Looking back, Astrid saw that Hiccup, not as strong as the two before him, had gotten stuck in the middle of the opening and had been quickly spotted by the Nadder. Oh no…

They separated. Astrid and Snotlout continued one way and Hiccup went another. The Nadder, seeking a bigger prize, hopped along the tops of the fences after Astrid and Snotlout. Seeing an opportunity to corner the two, the Nadder jumped down and screeched at the approaching teenagers.

Astrid readied herself to throw her axe in defense, but Snotlout pushed her aside with his side, telling her, "Watch out, babe. I'll take care of this."

"Hey!" she exclaimed in response, caught off-guard and annoyed by Snotlout's actions.

Without taking time to properly aim his mace, Snotlout released the weapon which hit…the fence next to the Nadder which seem to laugh at the incompetent swing.

That wasn't even close! Astrid glared in disbelief, seething at the boy's lack of skill.

"The sun was in my eyes, Astrid!" came Snotlout's overly-dramatic excuse.

She could hear the churning sound of impending fire, so she took off. Snotlout followed, still going on with his excuse, saying that he could block out the sun but he didn't have time. Astrid didn't really care anymore. The Nadder had chosen now to chase her (as Snotlout had veered off onto another pathway). Maybe this time I can actually do something without Snotlout messing it up! Come on, come on. Keep running. Have to keep running!

The Nadder kept to the ground, bringing the wooden fences down in its pursuit. If it's going to stay on the ground, then the best way to go is…up! Astrid made it to the top, but the Nadder was quick to knock over the fence. Like it or not, it was back down to the ground she would go…and it wasn't going to feel too pleasant.

Down below, Astrid could see someone standing. Why isn't he running? He is going to get himself killed. "Hiccup!" she yelled as the fall brought her down right on top of him. Now this was not the way this was supposed to go! The Nadder ran right past them as Astrid tried to untangle herself from the distracted boy. Why can't you just cooperate, Hiccup? Do you want us both to die?! Nearby, the twins teased this reaction. Annoyed, Astrid made a mental note to punch them both later.

"Let me…why don't you…?" Hiccup tried to reason with her, but Astrid was too preoccupied with trying to get back to defending herself from the Nadder's attack.

Just in time, Astrid wrenched herself to her feet. Nearby, the Nadder had also recovered, digging itself from the fallen debris it had caused. Astrid gasped as she noticed it readying to again attack. She reached for her axe which had become lodged deep into Hiccup's shield when they'd collided. Pulling, she found it to be hopelessly stuck. As she tugged on her axe's handle, Astrid could hear Hiccup's protests of pain. Finally, as time closed in, Astrid just wrenched the entire shield from Hiccup's arm. The boy had gone completely silent and, for a second, Astrid hoped that she had not just broken his scrawny arm in the process. However, she had little time to follow through with the thought as the Nadder approached. Finish the battle and then worry about the safety of others, she knew.

Swinging the axe-shield weapon, Astrid felt it collide with the Nadder's face. The shield shattered upon impact and the Nadder walked away, defeated. It should consider itself lucky, she thought as she gasped for breath from all the running she had just done, if Hiccup's shield had not been stuck on my axe, it would be in a lot more pain now!

"Well done, Astrid," Gobber complimented as he lead the Nadder back to its cage.

Astrid continued to just breathe for a moment and then she felt a rage growing inside of her. Hiccup had been very unfocused during the entire training exercise today and he had, multiple times, almost gotten himself killed. She didn't know why she was so upset, though. Why did she let this get to her? Was it because his lack of effort could have gotten everyone, all of the others teens, killed as it? That had to be it, but it didn't matter. She turned back, rounding on Hiccup who was still cowering on the ground with his head sheltered by his arms. "Is this some kind of a joke to you?" she asked him and he shifted so that his eyes met hers. "Our parents war is about to become ours, she informed him, although Astrid was certain that he already knew this. Bringing her axe down so that it was level with the boy's face, Astrid finished by telling him, "Figure out which side you're on." That said, she walked away, leaving the arena without another glance back at Hiccup who had already begun to process and ponder the words he had just heard. Figure out which side you're on…

Wow…sorry about the ending. It works as a good breaking point in the movie, but…in words…not so much. I still managed to get this up on time, but I had some serious problems writing this. Gods…it was so hard for some reason. Well, it's done now and it's…fairly good, I suppose.

Coming Up Next: The dragon fighting trainees and Gobber have dinner together and Astrid notices Hiccup is starting to act a bit strangely. Has he figured out which side he's on?

Next Chapter: I'll probably try to aim for Wednesday after 8PM US East Coast time. We'll see how well that works out.

Thank you all for reading and supporting Try To Be Brave!

Posted: March 9, 2014