Told you that I'd write more often now! Besides, how could I keep you all waiting when the Romantic Flight is so close? It's not in the chapter, but next chapter I promise that it will finally be here.

Review Replies:

Avatarlover123: I did leave it on a cliffhanger, but that is my specialty…and I haven't used any cliffhangers in a while, so it was about time. Thank you very much! I read your compliments while I was at work and they made me very happy. It's okay that you haven't commented recently. I've been slow with my writing too. So we're even. You bet I'm excited for HTTYD 2! It comes out a week from today here, but I don't know when I'm going to get to see it, so I may have to avoid, like, everywhere until I do.

Toothless is best: Nothing to say about how awesome a writer I am and how my story is, like, the best ever! Okay… (Yeah, I'm exaggerating a lot.) Here's the next chapter.

Guest (anonymous): Thank you very much. Here's the next chapter.

Guest (anonymous): You bet he will. I do hope you enjoy!

BestFrEnemies: Thank you! This sequence is going to have ALL THE CLIFFHANGERS! Just a fair warning. Here's another one!

Next chapter starts…now!

Chapter 38: Toothless

"I want to know what's going on." Jumping down from her place on top of the boulder, Astrid repeatedly cornered Hiccup in attempts to force an answer from him. "No one just gets as good as you do, especially you. Start talking!" Hiccup began to stutter and mumble and Astrid smirked internally. Finally, I've got him right where I want him. "Are you training with someone?" she continued. I will get all the answers I want right now, at this very moment. Can't run this time, can you, Hiccup? "It better not involve this!" she persisted, tightly gripping the leather harness he was wearing.

Astrid paused and Hiccup was able to speak briefly. "I know this looks really bad, but you see this is, ah…"

Hearing a rustling nearby, Astrid gasped and pushed Hiccup to the ground. Sure, just a moment ago, Astrid hated the boy, but she also knew that he would never be able to properly defend himself and she refused to be charged with the crime of letting the Chief's son, the heir of Berk, get torn to shreds. No, I'll defend him but only this once…and only because he's the heir to our tribe. Stepping over him, Astrid peered deeper into the area where she had heard the sounds. Behind her, Hiccup had begun stammering once again, but Astrid was too focused on finding the source of the sound to hear what nonsense Hiccup was spouting. Trying to get a better look, Astrid walked closer and closer to that spot and continued to ignore Hiccup's jumbled attempts at making conversation.

The closer Astrid got to that spot, the more Hiccup, rambling on and on, seemed to get in her way, stepping in front and weakly attempting to steer her away. Is he trying to stop me from approaching that spot and finding out what this noise is? Well, tough luck, Buddy! she thought, sarcastically, as she gripped his hand and twisted his arm until she heard a successful cracking noise. She had to bite back an evil laugh as he dropped to the ground and questioned her motive for attempting to break his arm. Obliging, she kicked him back down to the ground and answered his question. "That's for the lies!" Then, while he was still down, she dropped the handle of her axe onto his stomach, receiving a grunt of pain in response. "And that's for everything else!"

Another noise sounded from the same area. This time, it sounded like a…growl. Looking closer, Astrid finally found its source. It was a black dragon and it was staring right at her. All grudges and anger slipped away as Astrid went into defense mode. She gasped before pulling Hiccup down to the ground. "Get down!" Briefly, she wondered why she was protecting Hiccup from this dragon. Wouldn't it be easier if he were to just get eaten now? Yet, she still felt a need to protect him…or perhaps it was just her own survival instincts taking over.

The dragon charged. "Run! Run!" she ordered Hiccup as she rolled back to her feet and positioned her axe to swing. Her swing was executed perfectly, but it never connected with the dragon's scales. Instead, Hiccup jumped between the axe and the dragon. He threw Astrid to the ground with a force she had never seen or felt before now. While she was downed, he slid the axe from her grasp and pushed it away quickly. Now it was too far for her to reach. Defenseless, all Astrid could do was watch from the ground as Hiccup stepped between her and the dragon. Is he...talking to that dragon? He knows this dragon? What the-?"

Astrid watched as Hiccup told the dragon that she was "a friend". Yeah, I wouldn't go that far. She was grateful, however, when the dragon did seem to calm down enough. It still tried to lunge at her, but Hiccup was finally able to hold it back.

When the dragon was calmed down (for the most part), Hiccup turned back to Astrid and explained, "You just scared him."

"I scared him?! Who is 'him'?" Astrid replied, shortly. The answer she received was not one she had expected as Hiccup stepped forward and introduced her to "Toothless" as if he were acquainting two Vikings for the first time. Shaking her head in disbelief, Astrid took a moment to process all she had just learned. Hiccup is…associating with dragons…even…befriending them! That's it. The Chief's going to want to know about this. Backing up, she turned and ran to the cove's exit, toward the village.

Running through the forest with speed that she never knew she had, Astrid's thoughts raced her legs. How could he do something like this? I can't believe that I was right! You are so busted, Hiccup! When the Chief hears about this, he'll probably banish Hiccup…but he'll also tell Gobber. Hiccup will be exposed as the cheating scum that he is and I'll be declared top student. Gods, maybe this is the lucky break I need. The thought pushed her even faster, each step bringing her closer to the village. Quickly, she looked back to see if she was being followed. Seeing no one pursuing her, Astrid came across a fallen tree blocking the path. Jumping the tree easily, she used the trunk to push herself and gain a few extra steps before dropping back to the ground to run further.

Astrid's feet never touched back onto the ground. Screaming, she looked down, watching the ground grow smaller and smaller below her. No! This is impossible! Vikings can't fly! This frightened her, more than she'd ever been in her entire life, and she continued to scream, knowing that one slip and she would be falling to certain death. "Oh great Odin's ghost! This is it!" she breathed out in a feeble attempt to calm her raging fear. Gods, please have mercy on me!

Again, it's a little shorter than usual, but I'm saving the longer chapter for this next one (which is our favorite Romantic Flight!). It's only about ten words shorter than the minimum I usually aim for, though, so it's all good.

Coming Up Next: Astrid couldn't believe that Hiccup thought he could "explain" all of this. "I am not listening to anything you have to say!" There were two options: join Hiccup on the back of that dragon or fall from the very top of this tree to certain death. "Oh Gods, I definitely made the wrong choice! Get me off of this thing!"

Next Chapter: I said that I'd update faster now and I'll keep to that promise. Tentatively, I'll aim to update next Thursday after 10 PM US East Coast time.

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

Posted: June 8, 2014