Her head felt like it was miles away from her body, resting on a cloud with the way that it spun lazily. Slowly, Astrid grimaced, pushing herself up gingerly and setting herself upright. She was lying down beside a tree, and immediately, she leaned back against it for support. It took a moment for her dizzy spell to subside, but as soon as it did, she stiffened, eyes widening with alarm as she looked around quicker than she should have. It caused her head to spin all over again, and she grunted, one hand going up to hold the side of her temple gingerly. She realized that it was raining, her clothes weighted down wit the disgusting combination of mud and water. She made a face, planting her hands down on either side of her in the squishy ground. But right when she was about to try and boost herself up, a voice piped up from beside her.

"You might want to slow down before racing around." The comment was dry and sarcastic, Astrid immediately knowing who it was on the spot. She turned, biting her lower lip at the Elder, who was bent over a small child, who was sniffling on the ground. "You got a nasty claw scratch on your side. I did the best I could with it, but those blasted dragons burned down my whole stock of herbs." The last words were spat out angrily, the Elder's eyes narrowing as she said them. The child leaned away from her, fright gleaming in its eyes. The Elder looked to be inspecting a scrape on the palm of the little boy's hand. After a moment, she straightened, giving a nod of affirmation. "It'll be fine. Too small to get infected."

"But it hurts!" The boy wailed, tears beading on the edges of his eyes.

His mother rushed up from behind, looking frazzled as she reached down, scooping him up in her arms and holding him tightly to her chest. She shushed him fervently, looking back over her shoulder frantically. "Let's go back to the others, sweetie." She said, the child's sobs turning into small little hiccups. "We have to be quiet, little one. Don't you want to be safe?" The Elder shooed them back, the two disappearing behind a screen of lichen. Astrid blinked, craning her neck to the side with confusion as she could hear other muffled talking from behind the screen.

"What's going on?" She asked when the Elder finally turned back to her. She turned, spotting her axe a few feet away from her, looking to have been thrown aside on the ground. She bit back her defiant snap at the thought of the poor treatment, reaching over with a pained look and taking hold of the handle, dragging it back so that it was closer to her. She kept her grip on it tightly, just in case. With her waking up somewhere in the forest, with a bunch of people around her hiding, she had no idea what to think. The Elder seemed to have anticipated the question, though.

"We're towards the center of Berk." She said, nodding back to the place were the others were screened behind the ferns and undergrowth. "The people that had to take refuge, who were too old to fight against the dragons, or who had to take care of others. I'm a little bit of both, I guess you could say." Astrid did not laugh at the joke, the situation rushing back to her as she narrowed her eyes slowly, hands balling into fists. The Elder went on, though, not paying attention to the teen's reaction. "The dragons spotted us all, flew us far enough away so that the fire wouldn't catch up to us for a while." She hesitated a moment, eyeing the storm booming around them. "But I suppose the fire must have been dashed away by now. This storm has been going on for a while."

Astrid remembered the last few minutes that she had been conscious, jaw locking backwards. "Where's Mistyeyes?" She asked, looking back over the way that she had come. Or at least she thought she had come from. She remembered the Night Fury picking her up and flying her back here, she was out of it from the loss of blood. Riding a Night Fury was different from riding a Nadder, it seemed. It was smoother, much more controlled. Night Furies were considered the most dangerous dragons out there that they knew of, after all. And now there were millions swarming the island.

"Back to the fight, I'd suppose." The Elder sighed tiredly. Astrid glanced over at her, blinking. There was a certain longing hidden in her voice when she said the words, and her eyes shone with a strange light. She wanted to be out there, knowing what was happening. Well, so did Astrid. The girl pushed herself up to her feet, standing up straight. A dull pain was sparking in her side where the claw marks were etched into her skin, but she pushed it away. It was tolerable, she could live with it. The Elder eyed her, but did not object her moving. It would be a losing battle, and she seemed to be aware of that fact.

"Well then I should go back too." Astrid said firmly, grunting slightly as she hoisted her axe behind her, resting it on her shoulder neatly. Having her axe with her sent a rush of comfort through her, and it almost made her forget about her injury. There had to be people out there worse off than she was right now, she could put on a brave face and get through it easily. She was about to call out for Stormfly, but hesitated at the last moment, turning around to face the Elder with a small wince. "How long was I out?" She asked. There might not even be a village to get back to.

But the old woman brushed it off quickly. "Not long enough, in my opinion. The gray dragon has been back a few times, bringing me more wounded people. They're all moved behind the screen, I have to get to them if you're going to leave. I would have pulled you back there as well, I just didn't know whether it would reopen your wound." She eyed the girl for a moment, grouchily. "I suppose my worrying was for nothing, then." The words were slightly sour than her others, but Astrid wasn't listening.

She wrung her hands together nervously a moment, a trait that not too many saw for the girl. She was hardly ever nervous, and when she was, the others knew not to touch her. She had a mixed look of fury and anxiousness usually, as if she couldn't believe that she was feeling like this. But this time, she looked at the Elder with a sad sort of look, and the Elder had only seen that look two other times. Both having to do with the same person. So when Astrid opened her mouth, the Elder was more than sure of the oncoming question. "And…where's Hiccup?" She prompted.

The Elder shrugged, trying to look unimpressed. "Out in the fight, probably." She said, turning back over to the screen of lichen. "You'd best be getting back there." She added, pacing back to where her other patients were probably writhing in pain. Astrid frowned a moment, wondering why she had changed her judgment so fast. But the Elder vanished behind the foliage, and Astrid knew that no matter what she called out for, she wouldn't reappear.

The frown stayed on her face, but she turned quickly, jogging forward until the makeshift Elder's hut was far behind her. She did not want to go back. Skidding to a stop, Astrid cupped her hands over her mouth, sucking in a deep breath before yelling out as loud as she could for her dragon. She hoped that she would be able to hear her like Toothless could hear Hiccup's cries for help. Or used to be able to, Astrid revised quickly. "STORMFLY!" She hollered, voice cracking at the sudden increase of volume for her. She repeated the calls for a moment before letting her hands swing down to her sides with a smack.

She waited a minute…two minutes. Three. Astrid was beginning to wonder, with a sudden nauseated feeling, whether her dragon was even alive still, with all the fighting going on with Berk. But there was a sudden whooshing noise of wings through the air, and Stormfly landed neatly beside her, chirping loudly in greeting to her human. Astrid grinned, letting out her breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. Darting forward, she paused a moment to nuzzle her dragon fondly, before turning and hoisting herself up onto the dragon's back with a grunt. Her side tingled with pain at the sharp movement, but Astrid shoved it aside.

"Let's go back to the village, Stormfly." Astrid said breathlessly. "We gotta go back and help the others." The Nadder jerked with surprise, turning back to look in the direction that the girl had come from, looking a little torn somehow. Astrid's eyes hardened, and she repeated her instructions, more forcefully this time. "Come on, Stormfly! We HAVE to help the others! And we have to find Hiccup!" The desperation must have finally reached the Nadder, she jerked, as if being roused from a thought she was mulling over. Turning wildly, the dragon arched her wings a moment before shooting off into the sky, shooting as fast as a rocket towards the island.

Astrid narrowed her eyes against the wind and rain, having to cling tightly to her dragon in order to stay upright. The higher they got into the sky, the more the rain felt like little needles piercing her skin, but she paid no heed to the fact. She looked down into the island, surveying the land as Stormfly neared the village. It seemed almost the same as she had left it. The girl tried to hold back her wail of anguish that bubbled up in her throat. She thought at least that they would have gained more ground than it seemed they did, she had been out for a while. The number of dragons had increased, but not by much. And while she could see some Night Furies fleeing from the island, the number was still higher than she liked. The hopeful part of her mind had pictured the island nearly empty by now, almost all the Night Furies giving up and retreating. But it seemed like only half of them followed her wishes.

Swallowing back a lump in her throat, Astrid clung to her axe tightly, as if reassuring herself. "Alright, down, girl." She said softly, the dragon letting out a low cooing noise in reply. Swooping down, Stormfly angled herself down towards the ground, landing with a small plopping noise as mud squelched over and between her claws. Astrid turned, sliding off the dragon's back and staggering to an uneven halt, panting as she gritted her teeth against the sharp slice in her side. That dragon did a number on her. She tried to shake it off, adjusting her grip on her axe as she started back from the edge of the island towards where most of the fighting was taking place.

Stormfly let out a harsh yelp, making Astrid stop in her tracks, turning around and looking back to her dragon. The Nadder looked both ways a moment, still looking unsure. But she trotted after her human, leaning down and nuzzling the side of her face. She wasn't about to be left behind. A rush of affection swamped through Astrid, and she grinned, holding tight to her Nadder for a moment before turning with a small nod. "You ready, girl?" She asked. The Nadder huffed out a reply, giving a tense nod of her head in response to her. Astrid's sharp eyes immediately located a Night Fury, its head raised as it looked over the crowd carefully, eyes narrowed as it did so. Raising her axe, she let out a loud Viking War Cry, picking her feet up and rushing at the dragon with all she had.

The Night Fury stiffened at the yell, turning around and starting with surprise at the sight of her. Its eyes flew open with surprise, and it seemed shocked all around. Like it didn't know what to do. Stormfly flanked her side, wings splayed out threateningly as she let out a loud roar. The Night Fury didn't even raise a claw for itself, didn't even try to run. And only when she was a few feet away from it did Astrid really start to wonder why that was. But right as she was about to swing her axe down on the creature, something big clutched at the back collar of her shirt, yanking her backwards in the nick of time.

She gasped, feet flying out from underneath her as she was pulled backwards. Stormfly skidded to a halt, eyes wide as she turned to look back at Astrid with a mix of fear and confusion. The Night Fury took its chance, spinning around and vanishing in less than a moment. Astrid flailed for a moment, trying to dislodge herself, when she was suddenly put down on the ground, feet sinking back into the mud. Turning around, the girl sucked in a deep breath, ready to start screaming at the person who stopped her from taking out one of the enemies. But she snapped her mouth closed at the sight of Stoick, all anger rushing out of her to be replaced by confusion.

"What was that for!?" She demanded, forgetting to hold her tongue in the heat of the situation.

"Where have you been?" He demanded, looking unusually cross with her. Astrid fought to scream out loud. A million Night Furies were around her, and the CHIEF of the island that was getting DESTROYED was stopping her from fighting! At her disgusted look, Stoick went on, narrowing his eyes down at her with sudden intensity. "Most of the Night Furies here are helping us." He said, the words making Astrid's jaw go slack. The girl looked around, noticing for the first time that most of the battles around her were Night Fury against Night Fury. Which was which, she had no idea. But most of the pitch-black dragons weren't trying to attack either her or Stoick where they stood, not even glancing temptingly in their direction. They were focused on attacking other Night Furies.

"…How…?" She could only manage that one word. Stormfly crooned worriedly where she sat.

"I have no idea." The chief said, voice entirely flat by now. He looked around the clearing a moment, his voice changing from empty to grateful. "I just know that whatever these dragons are thinking for, they've saved our village. I just hope they wont turn on US as soon as the other Night Furies are taken care of." Astrid eyed him as he spoke, seeing a flash of frustration in his eyes. He still doesn't know how to deal with dragons, still, Astrid realized. They all seemed to be changing trends in front of his eyes. Good like Toothless, then Bad like Nightflight, and now back to Good. It seemed to be taking a toll on the chief, and now he had no idea if he should fight the ones fighting for them now, just so they wont change as well. And Astrid couldn't help but privately agree with him.

"Maybe Hiccup has something to do with this." Stoick mumbled, as if trying to persuade himself.

"So you haven't seen him?" Astrid asked, closing her eyes.

Stoick turned back over to her, eyes widening a fraction. He seemed to be counting a million possible situations that could originated from those five words. Astrid ducked her head a moment, turning stiffly and tightening her hold on the weapon yet again. "I'd better go find him then." She said thickly, refusing to think the same way as Stoick. He was fine, he was just around here somewhere. More determined than before, Astrid turned, jerking her head to Stormfly before rushing back through the crowd, eyes straining for a sight of Hiccup.

"Go carefully!" Stoick called after her, no doubt telling her to watch who she was fighting.

The girl didn't show any signs she had heard, and yet reminded herself to remember that later. For now, though, if Stoick was right and there wasn't as much threat to it, she was going to put everything into finding Hiccup. The boy usually stuck out like a sore thumb, with the way he was so different from any other Viking. But with the way the clearing was packed with dragons, Astrid doubted that it would make a difference. She would try to find Toothless and Mistyeyes first, he would be with them, no doubt. Mistyeyes and Toothless could be spotted easily, right?

"Alright, Girl." Astrid said, turning and stroking Stormfly's snout lovingly. "We gotta find Toothless and Mistyeyes, okay? Can you get me to them?" The Nadder let out a small sneeze, which Astrid took as a yes. Climbing back onto the Nadder, Stormfly lifted into the air with ease, gaining altitude until they were hovering over the island, peering down onto Berk with narrowed eyes. Astrid blinked, thoughtfulness creasing her face as she reached for a glimpse of Mistyeyes's pale scales. She would stand out more than Toothless would, she bet.

"Stormfly, do a lap." She instructed, the dragon immediately pulling forward through the air. The Nadder started to round the island, looking for the two dragons just as much as her human was. Now that Astrid knew what to look for, the girl could see that the number of fighting Night Furies were decreasing altogether. She saw more and more dragons almost copying her, prowling the length of the island and making sure that the targets were preoccupied. She could see that more and more dragons were starting to withdrawal. Whether they were enemy Night Furies, or just the ones that suddenly decided to help, they were all starting to leave. While some fled in panic and urgency (most likely the enemy dragons), some Night Furies were leaving in groups, heading in the same direction. The island was thinning. And Astrid hoped that this would all be over soon.

She voiced her thoughts to her dragon, patting the female's side as she spoke. "It'll all be over soon, it looks like, girl." She said encouragingly. The Nadder trilled in reply, head shaking back and forth with pleasure. She let her shoulders sag out of their tense state, letting out a slow breath as she tried to get herself to calm down. Everything would be fine. She would land on the island and Hiccup would be sitting on the ground. He'd look up at her as she came forward and grin that stupid grin that he always gave her and ask her, "Well, where have YOU been!?" And she'd just smile.

But…she closed her eyes as she remembered the last time they'd seen each other. Guilt and shame filled her to the brim, and her hands clutched across her stomach, as if holding herself together. She had seen the way Hiccup was so…not himself. And yet she just pushed him away because of a fight that didn't even really make sense. She'd let him run off by himself when she knew the danger they were about to be thrown into. And she could have let him run to his own death. Without even trying to follow him, without even trying to stop him to get some actual sense from him.

The way he'd looked at her…pleading for help…

She'd refused him…

Stormfly sliced through her thoughts, letting out a squeal. Astrid opened her eyes, blinking rapidly as she followed Stormfly's eyes. A smile lit up her once-saddened face, and the girl felt a wave of relief at the sight of Mistyeyes and Toothless. The two had just raked nasty claws down a Night Fury's eye, it had been no match for the two of them together. The Night Fury spun around, shooting into the sky and retreating from the island with squeals of pain and shock. It nearly ran straight into Astrid, but Stormfly swerved at the last moment, nearly jostling the girl off from her perch. The girl clung tighter, righting herself she straightened, patting Stormfly once to make it clear she was alright. The Nadder swooped down to the island and landed behind Mistyeyes and Toothless, the dragons turning at the sound of the landing.

Astrid half-slid, half-stumbled off of her dragon, rushing forward to the pair with a grin on her face. Mistyeyes returned the smile, and Toothless did the same after a beat of hesitation. Still grinning, Astrid looked around the two expectantly, waiting for Hiccup to step around them with an annoyed look on his face. But nobody appeared. The girl's expression melted from a grin to something close to a disappointed grimace. Mistyeyes caught the look, ears flattening to the sides of her head as she tilted her head to the side, concern showing in her eyes.

It was only then that Astrid realized what Mistyeyes feared. "I'm alright." She said, giving the gray Night Fury a smile once more. She touched her side, stifling a wince from the movement. "It's just a scratch, no big deal. I've been in worse situations." Toothless flicked his tail at this, and Astrid ducked her head a moment, increasing pressure a little on her wound. "So I guess that we're going to win this, now?" She asked, not expecting an answer from either of them. Toothless remained still, there was something very off about him, Astrid realized. He wasn't angry…but not happy either. Was he sad? He looked like a child who got stranded from their mother in an unfamiliar place, lost and confused. But Mistyeyes got in front of the downcast dragon, beaming suddenly in response.

She seemed to have high hopes.

Astrid turned to look across the island. It seemed so. More and more Night Furies were stopping in their fighting. The island was thinning before their eyes. And so was the rain. As the downpour slowly receded into a drizzle, Astrid could see the way that the faces of the Vikings were changing. From hopeful to outright triumphant. And the girl let a smile cross her face once again. "I guess I missed out on some of it." She said with dry humor. Mistyeyes flicked her tail in response. "Stoick said that the only real reason we won was because of the Night Furies that had a change of heart." She said, turning to look back at the two, who exchanged glances at this. "He said it probably had something to do with Hiccup."

Neither of the two moved. Astrid blinked rapidly a moment, straightening. "It WAS him, right? It couldn't have been anybody else!" She blustered, a sudden sense of urgency entering her tone. Still no answer. They were dragons, of course there would be no answer. And yet she pressed again, stepping closer this time. "Where's Hiccup?" She asked flatly.

Still nothing.

"Tell me!" She yelled suddenly, both dragons leaping backwards in surprise.

Mistyeyes curled her tail closer over herself, closing her eyes and looking away. Toothless just stared steadily back at her, not moving at all. The two locked eyes a moment, and Astrid's eyes burned. Whether it was from anger, or tears, she wasn't sure at all. Her hands balled into fists, and she felt herself start to tremble. Hiccup's voice rang in her ears, teasing back then. "Third time's the charm!" He had sung. No. Please, Odin, PLEASE no. When was it all going to stop!?

Suddenly, Toothless's eyes dilated, a growl ripping through his throat. Astrid screamed, stumbling backwards, and tripping as she did so. She tumbled, falling into the mud on her back. Her mind flashed back to the time that he had attacked Hiccup, and she found herself foolishly bracing herself for impact. But Toothless leaped clear over her, claws extended as he let out a shrill scream. Mistyeyes followed him, eyes slowly rounding with horror as she streaked after him. A blast of purple light exploded from behind her, and Astrid shot bolt upright, blue eyes wide and scared as she turned to look back at them.

Toothless had skidded to a stop, shooting another fireball at the now-fleeing Night Fury. Astrid thought that it was going home, until the dragon swerved at the last moment. The fireball shot around it, the dragon was unscathed. And after a moment, it disappeared completely. Astrid was panting as she pushed herself up, still not seeing what made Toothless change so radically. But then she saw the real picture. Her eyes widened, her legs turned to jelly. She started shaking so much it looked like she was having a seizure, and she knew that if she tried to walk forward, her legs would refuse to work. She'd just crumple into the ground.

Stormfly had been attacked. Blood gushed freely from a deep wound on her chest, and Astrid let out a strangled scream, more or less falling forward. She rushed forward, dropping like a stone beside her friend, tears already streaming down her face as she looked down at her with horror. Stormfly's wings were tattered, ripped beyond repair, it looked like. Wounds littered her scales, and Astrid choked back a sob. The Night Fury must have went all-out. It had known it had precious seconds. Her dragon whined lowly, twitching with pain and discomfort. Her eyes locked with Astrid's, and the girl reaching up, rubbing her eyes roughly with her wrist.

"Y-You're going to be fine!" Astrid sobbed, trying to get her voice under control. "Stormfly…you'll be fine! Just-Just let me try and stop the bleeding here. Stay still, don't move!" She twisted to the side, trying to spot some kind of moss underneath all the mud and gunk on the ground. The dragon made a move to get up at her movement, trying to follow her with her task. Trying to help her. Astrid immediately sniffled, pushing her back down gently. "I said don't MOVE!" She yelled, the words coming out sharper than she meant them to. The dragon whined, letting her head fall slack against the ground.

Toothless was heaving for air, eyes wide. "Stormfly…" He managed, voice choking as he looked down at his friend, who was writhing in pain on the ground. "I-I was too slow…I saw him pin you down…I- I just couldn't-"

Mistyeyes was up already. She spun around, glaring sharply at Toothless. "I need moss." She said sternly, Toothless looking up at her, fully alert for once, it looked like. "Fly to the highest point of Berk and find whatever you can. We're going to stop the bleeding. Cobwebs would be good too, but they'll probably be too wet to work with, or completely gone from the storm. We need to help her until the Elder gets here, and even she will probably not know as much of what to do." When Toothless didn't move, she pressed again. "HURRY!"

The dragon made a move to turn, when suddenly, a Night Fury streaked through the air, retreating from the island. A strange quietness filled the space, and every single one of them looked in the center. Stoick stood there, surveying the land a moment or two, at the dragons that were still left. It was entirely barren of any more enemy Night Furies. "…We've done it." Stoick murmured softly. After a moment, he raised his voice to yell. "WE'VE DRIVEN OUT THE NIGHT FURIES! WE'VE DONE IT!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd, as loud as the thunder that had been there a moment before. Astrid winced away from the noise, leaning down and sobbing into her dragon's chest. Mistyeyes was crouched over the dragon down, applying pressure in parts that needed it, and murmuring out soft encouragements. Slowly, she raised her head to look over at Toothless, her praises to Stormfly drifting off until she was completely silent. They stared at one another for a moment, but Mistyeyes broke the silence finally.

"We've won." She said quietly.

Slowly, Toothless looked down at Stormfly, still wriggling, trying to get to Astrid even in her severely wounded state. "…Have we?" He asked in a whisper.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS!

….AGAIN