And now time for the time-skip! Yay! I've skipped about four years, so bear with. There is a plan :P

"Ow!" Hiccup exclaimed, dancing away and shaking his burning hand. Astrid laughed, alerting him to her presence. "Oh, now you've ruined the surprise, I was trying to do something nice." He sulked. Astrid shook her head, moving closer to peer around him. "It's all burnt up now, but it was something nice." He muttered. Astrid saw a pile of charred yellow material and glowing wires, not sure what her husband had been attempting to make. She scrutinised him from the corner of her eye, huffing irritably.

"I told you to shave that off."

"No."

"We've been over this a billion times, a beard doesn't suit you."

"You're the only one that ever said that."

"That's because I have to live with you."

"The kids didn't think it uglified me."

"Probably because that's not a word." Astrid dragged a hand over her face tiresomely. "Just shave." He grinned wickedly. Astrid went back to inspecting the mess on his desk. "What is this anyway?"

"Oh. Well, I figured with, uh, a certain anniversary coming up, maybe we could do something special and… well, it was one of a hundred lanterns, but now I've got ninety-nine."

"If you've made ninety-nine others, how come you screwed up with this one?"

"Um…" He hummed. "Monotony?" Hiccup hunched his shoulders. "I don't know, I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention or something. I'll make another, it's fine. But I was thinking we could light them and send them off, you know, that night, as a tribute for, um, for your dad."

"Hiccup, it's been four years, you don't have to treat it like a sensitive topic."

"It kind of is though, him being your dad and all…"

"As much as I miss and would love to have him back, I'm OK." She narrowed her eyes. "I'd kiss you, but that makes me itch, so…" She shook her head. "Nope." Hiccup ran a hand over his jaw, biting his bottom lip contemplatively.

"Fine." He decided. "But only because I'm in a nice mood." Astrid stared at him. "And because you're my ever-loving, ever-amazing wife who I should know to listen to by now."

"And?" She prompted.

"I'm an idiot?"

"Why are you asking me? We all know it's true." Astrid smiled as he pouted childishly, squeezing his hand. "Thank you. I really do appreciate it. But, um… where are the ninety-nine lanterns you didn't destroy?"

"I… gave them to Gobber? I think… no, wait… I gave them to Bjorn to give to Gobber to give to your mum so she should have them by now. I think." He repeated. Astrid sighed. "I'm an idiot." She hummed, nodding slowly. "But you love me for it." He grinned. "Hey, don't pull that face, that's just rude. I'm vewy upset now."

"Vewy? What are you, five?"

"Technically, I'm eight, so," He stuck his tongue, "to you. Nine soon though, yay!"

"You're not nine soon, that's months away. We've got Snoggletog first and-" He shushed her, pressing a finger to her lips.

"I know you're trying to distract me so I won't question you about my big birthday party." Her brow furrowed. Hiccup decided to head home and shave. "And I'd like some balloons." He added just before he left. Astrid sighed. She would have thought she would be over the fact she was married to an idiot, but the older he got- biologically, at least- the more idiotic he became, something she was still trying to get her mind around. He may have a big head, but there was definitely not that much room for idiocy.

It snowed quite heavily overnight, something Aloe was delighted about. She loved the snow, she got to build all her favourite snow-dragons and have snowball fights with the other village kids. For such a sweet child, she was very competitive. And also now officially older than her father. Her brother was thirteen now and her sister fifteen, so Hiccup was once again the youngest Haddock.

Aloe woke first that morning, charging straight out after a quick pit stop to dress warm and eat a couple of sausages. She had grown out of her non-meat diet about two years ago. She made as many snowballs as she could and hid supplies of them all around the plaza then did a lap of the village, rounding up her friends. Her best friend was the first up and out of them all, Hanson Usence. Aloe got him straight in the face with a fresh snowball, flattening him into a snowdrift. "Ha! I win!"

"Hey!" He protested, struggling to right himself. "That's just cheating, I wasn't ready!" But he was laughing. Hanson was a few weeks older than her with richly auburn hair and deep hazel eyes, a wicked grin beneath a freckle-splashed nose. He was taller too, but that wasn't at all surprising, most people were taller than the Haddocks. Aloe gave an impish grin and ran for cover, readying her prepared ammunition as she crouched behind a stack of barrels. She could hear Hanson crunching through the snow, waiting for her to spring up and launch her next attack. She jumped up just to startle him, ducking back down almost instantly. His snowy missile zoomed harmlessly way above her head, splattering against the house behind her.

"Na-nah, missed me!" She teased, sprinting from her cover and launching a retaliation. It wasn't long until the others joined in, an all-out war raging in the plaza. Anyone trying to pass through kept a tight hold of their helmets with one hand and a shield up in the other.

Alastor and Ingrid loved the snow for different reasons. Ingrid liked to train in the treacherous conditions, dragging Vadik along with her. Alastor liked sledging. He had made his own sledge and started the craze when it snowed earlier this year. Sometimes they could train in mudslides out in the forest, but sledging in the snow was way more fun. Unfortunately, he was still working on steering and stopping. Very important when you forgot to account a younger sibling's eccentricity.

He made it to the top of the hill with the Jorgenson twins and some of the other kids their age. Everyone had sleds and were all eagerly awaiting the departure, waiting for Alastor to set the best course down. The Haddock boy could discern the fastest, most adrenaline-inducing crash course in any set-up; this scored him a few points with kids all over the village- even Arne, Snorre and Rolf begrudgingly accepted it was cool. They had backed off as the years went by, eventually leaving Alastor alone. Mostly. It didn't bother him so much now, he had made friends elsewhere and invented a really cool sport too.

"OK, ladies and gentlemen! And Orrick." Orrick frowned. Alastor grinned. "We want to head straight down the middle this time, go about a hundred feet and straight left if you can, there's a ledge which we'll hopefully jump over and not through, but hey. And there are two other paths as well, left and right, so we don't get crowded. If you're going left, by that boulder. Going right, by that oak tree. If you're going down the middle, follow me." Alastor turned and jumped, falling forward on his sledge. His was very light and streamlined, Gronckle Iron feet withstanding any bumps and crashes. No-one had been able to beat him in a race yet, but they were getting closer.

Hiccup was walking through the village, shield raised to deflect snowballs, with Bjorn Junior, Snotlout, Astrid and his father, trying to arrange the winter tournament of Thawfest. "I mean, look at them." He said, pointing up the hill at the distant sled-racers. "What about that?"

"Well, they'll need standard issue sleds then." Astrid said, hefting her shield as a stray snowball whizzed towards her head. She brushed stray ricocheting snow from her cheek. "Because I've heard Al's is top-notch and totally unfair to anyone else's."

"Good lad." Hiccup smiled proudly. "So, that, axe-throwing… do we have to have the sheep lug? They're tormented enough in the Races."

"Sheep-lugging has been around for generations!" Stoick insisted.

"So have you." Hiccup muttered.

"Was that another crack about my age?"

"Oh gods, dearest father, no!" Hiccup shone an innocent smile his dad's way. Stoick grumbled.

"Dad, look out!" Hiccup turned belatedly, a brownish-blondish blur slamming straight into his legs and knocking him flat on his back. Snotlout and Astrid cracked up, Stoick leaning over to smile at his son.

"Karma." He said.

"Ow." Hiccup replied. He sat up groggily, gaining a snowball in the back of the head. Silence reigned all of a sudden, someone whispering 'you hit the chief!' Alastor was priority though, but he seemed alright. He had crashed into a snowbank against the side of a house, more snow toppling down on his head. Snotlout dug him out, grinning.

"Dad, are you OK?" Alastor asked as his uncle dusted him down. He was shivering, from cold and excitement. "I can't really stop. Or turn. Sorry, Dad." He wrung his hands. "If you're not going to tell me off, can you help me fix that later?"

"I need to fix me first." Astrid helped him to his feet. "I think my legs are broken."

"You'll need legs for them to be broken." Astrid retorted without missing a beat. She brushed snow from the back of his head, turning to the assembled children. "Who threw that?" She demanded.

"I did!" Aloe stepped up immediately. "But Hanson made me jump, threw off my aim."

"I think my kids have got it in for me." Hiccup groaned. His youngest two smiled angelically, apologizing again. Hiccup told them to be careful and waved them away. "If we're doing this sledging thing for Thawfest, make sure no-one is standing at the bottom. I fell so hard I think I've swallowed a lung." Astrid snorted.

"Come on, you big drama queen. Let's get you patched up. Again." She marched off with her husband. Snotlout snickered.

"I shall treasure that memory forever." He sighed wistfully. "Gotta tell Waiola." He saluted Stoick and ran off, shield at the ready. Stoick shook his head. His son and his friends were never going to grow up. Not really.

Ingrid rolled quickly from behind the bush to behind the tree, on her feet in a second. Vadik was hiding somewhere in the woods, her turn to be seeker. This was stealth training and she was trying out her grandmother's new batch of winter armoured clothing or armothing as Tuffnut had called it. It was thicker and warmer and also white, blending almost effortlessly with the snow around her. Vadik was dressed in something similar, armed with a sword. Ingrid had her axe and the array of her knives her grandfather had left to her so long ago. The anniversary of his passing was coming up, steeling Ingrid's resolution to be just as great a warrior as he ever was. She clicked her tongue and growled quietly. Snapper materialised for a brief second, scurrying from amongst the trees to white blanketed boulders, vanishing. The dragon could smell Vadik and would root him out, flushing him from his hiding place and straight into one of Ingrid's many traps.

Vadik could see neither Ingrid or her dragons. He couldn't see Snapper for obvious natural camoflauge reasons, but Sneezy was lurking around somewhere, sentry-like. Hiccup had made the scouting Terror armour from Gronckle Iron as well, painting it varying shades of white and very, very pale greys. He was outnumbered, Jetstorm too big to armour, camoflauge or hide. Sometimes Alastor helped him, but with this snowy weather, he was sure to be out sledging.

He crouched low, keeping his back close to the tree trunk, holding his sword low. He had covered it in mud and then snow and ice to try and conceal it in this wintery disaster. Ingrid didn't have any trouble with this, possessing small knives and an axe. Vadik had had no glimpse of that double-headed battleaxe; the longer the training went on, the more the silence dragged out, the more anxious he felt. Ingrid could pounce at any second, he'd lose.

Peering around the tree, he saw a shimmer on the rocks. He squinted at it questioningly, but whatever had caused the shimmer wasn't there. Was it Snapper, the sunlight on the snow, what?

A rustle behind him. Vadik turned quickly, gripping the handle of his weapon. The foliage opposite him trembled, twigs snapping. He caught a whiff of wild boar and headed off away from it as quickly and as quietly as he could. Ingrid would be drawn to the racket. He could use that to his advantage, he realised, doubling back. Sure enough, Ingrid dropped from branches of a tree covering the bush, startling the boar. It ran squealing from the crazy humans. Sneezy alighted on Ingrid's arm, snuffling his owner curiously.

"Find him, Sneezy." She breathed, holding a strip of fabric up. Vadik didn't recognise it at first, but as Sneezy sniffed it, he figured she was using the little dragon to track him by smell. The Terror squawked and sniffed the air. Vadik wiped mud on the concealed parts of his face, splattering snow into the sticky mess.

The Terror flapped to the floor, scuttling across the snow, yapping excitedly upon finding footprints. Ingrid signalled. Snapper appeared, tracking Sneezy. He smelled the fabric too, then dematerialised. Vadik mentally cursed. Ingrid had trained her dragons to be the best of the best in finding and trapping her prey together. Sneezy would find them, Snapper would catch up and then they would both hold their target prisoner.

Now or never, Vadik thought. Ingrid had her back to him, neither dragon was in sight. Vadik hoped that meant it was just her. He dove from the bushes, sword raised. Ingrid heard him thunder forward, axe swinging round to catch his blade in the curve. She yanked it back towards her, unbalancing him, landing a hefty kick to his midriff. Vadik fell back, scrambling away as she flipped her axe and snatched his sword from the air. He unsheathed a smaller sword from inside his jacket, motioning to her, fight me. She grinned devilishly, pouncing, axe in her left and sword in her right, a well-oiled machine. He ducked the axe, narrowly missed the sword, swiped at her only for her to spin away, kicking him from behind. He managed to regain his balance this time, stabbing low, dislodging his sword and winning it back. Ingrid readied her axe in both hands now, twirling it deftly. Vadik squared up to her feet apart. A stand-off ensued, staring the other down, equally obstinate.

"What are you waiting for, Ingrid?"

"You, you muttonhead."

"I thought you had no time for waiting." Vadik stomped forward, trying to throw her off. Ingrid danced back easily, clicking her tongue again. Sneezy flew out of nowhere, knocking Vadik's helmet clean off. He spun midair and spiralled round, swooping between Vadik's legs. Distracted, Vadik didn't see Snapper until he was right on top of him, pinning him under a claw. "That's no fair. Fight me yourself."

"I don't need to." Ingrid smiled, planting her axe in the ground and leaning on the handle.

"What are you going to do if your dragons were captured then? It's a possibility, there could be dragon hunters out there, they'll set a trap and catch these two easy. What then?"

"I'll scout the layout of their base and invade when they set up camp."

"What if they're leaving?"

"Nothing stands between me and my dragons." She said fiercely. She snapped her fingers, her Changewing moving back dutifully. Vadik pushed himself to his feet, kicking his sword up, striking it against the frozen ground to dislodge his attempts at camoflauging it. Ingrid ran at him, hauling her axe from the snow and swinging it up, yelling defiantly. Vadik ducked and parried, exchanging strike for swing, stab for lunge, metal clanging against metal, against leather and wood, the whack of flesh on flesh as she smacked him in the face and kicked his legs from under him. "Dead." She declared, curve of the axehead at his throat. Vadik shook his head slightly, hooking his leg around hers and rolling away, tipping her over. He hopped up, whipping a knife from his belt and pressing the edge to her neck.

"Dead."

"Nope." She spat in his face. Vadik instinctively recoiled, her arm working its way under his and striking his ribs, her knee coming up at the same time. Sometimes he hated being a guy. Ingrid was on her feet in a heartbeat, axe recovered. She threw it above her head and brought it down, the icy metal skimming his cheek narrowly. "I win."

"I thought we agreed to leave certain parts of the male anatomy alone." He groaned, rolling over to rest on his knees and elbow. She just laughed.

"Like a dragon hunter is going to leave that alone. They'll go for what they can hurt."

"Very much hurt." Ingrid smiled lopsidely, offering her hand. Vadik muttered some curses and took it. "Can we go and join the others now? I'll so beat you in a snowball fight."

"Oh please." Ingrid stalked off, whistling for her dragons. Sneezy landed on her head and Snapper edged forward, gradually showing himself. "Hey, you." Ingrid grinned, scratching the Changewing under the chin. Sneezy tapped his claws on her head. "Well done, both of you." Ingrid shook her head, raising her hand to coax her first dragon down. "Yes, you did very nicely, thank you."

"Jetstorm!" Vadik called. His Typhoomarang roared in response. They followed the noise to a large clearing. Jetstorm had clearly been snoozing, the snow around him melted away, the ground simmering and charred. "Jetty!" Vadik beamed, sprinting towards his dragon. "We'll get her next time." He murmured, arms around Jetstorm's snout. The dragon lifted his head off the ground and, therefore, his rider too. Vadik smiled. "Thawfest is coming up, you love that." Jetstorm snorted in agreement, tipping his head back. Vadik slid to the awaiting saddle and strapped in. "Race you back to Berk!" He challenged.

"Loser has to eat nothing but limpets for a week!"

"Ah man, I hate limpets."

This is a sort of re-introduction to the characters, you know, four years later, etc. Hopefully it's OK! :D