Nina and Hiccup shared a smile before he stood, picking Herby up as he rose.

"I should probably head home," he said. "Dad would be expecting me to be at home, not out here on, as he would put it, 'some foolhardy search for a dragon that was at most nicked.'" They both laughed at his accuracy. He began to leave, then realized he still had a dragon in his hands. He set the Terror on the corner of the desk. Then he left.

Nina smiled after him and sat down, sighing happily. She began doodling in her journal before being interrupted by Herby speaking. "Neena like Heecup."

"What?" she asked, both confused and worried. He flipped her journal to the first page and as she thumbed back to the page she had been on, her eyes widened and her stomach dropped. Scattered here and there were little doodles of Hiccup and her together. Oh, gods! This one even had little hearts around it! Oh, Thor, you have got to be kidding me! she thought in both frustration and exasperation. She looked at Herby. "Herby, I, I think I fell in love or at least have a massive crush on Hiccup."

"Not likey?" he asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"No, I don't. I promised myself that I wouldn't let anyone get that close to me because I can't do anything to keep them safe," she said.

"Not gonna be able to keep safe all the time. Sometimes gotta let flockmates try so someday they can fly," Herby said. He pounced on the journal as she found her page again, forcing her to meet his disconcerting, intelligent, and unwavering eyes. "Heecup gonna fall down, and you can encourage. But you can't keep holding hands and picking him up. He gotta learn to stand on his own, and someday fly." He nodded and smiled at her, looking proud. She couldn't help but grin back and scratch him under the chin.

"You're right, Herby. I should let Hiccup learn for himself sometimes," she said. "I just wish I knew how to stop liking him this much, or in this way."

"In time," he said putting a paw on her cheek in a gentle, caressing manner. "It happen in time."

She nodded, giving a gentle, hopeful smile. "Let's go sailing. I need to clear my head," she said. He purred and hopped in the pouch she wound around herself. She turned to the rest of her flock.

"Stay here, guys. Herby and I are going sailing. Stay low, and out of sight," she said.

Then she and Herby whisked up and out of the bunker. They made their way through town, him as tense as can be, and her anxious, but otherwise okay. They cast off the ship and he relaxed. Nina didn't let him out of the bag, however, until they were far enough off shore that the only noticeable detail was large shapes, and spots of color. As a precaution, Nina had made a hole just big enough for Herby to fit through into the cargo box she had in the stern. It doubled as seating. She had found that as long as his head could fit through, his body could shrink just enough to squeeze into almost anything, just like a cat could.