Soaring over the rolling hills of Berk upon Toothless' back, Hiccup follows behind Astrid as she guides Stormfly towards the northernmost part of the island. The Hooligan heir glances back to see their friends following behind, all of them watching the couple with concerned looks.

With a sigh, the lad turns forward and clenches his jaw, wondering what mood Astrid will be in when they land. Something tells him she'll be more than a little upset with him.

He doesn't need to wait long to find out. Just a few moments later, Astrid and Stormfly lead the group down into a gentle, spiraling descent as they reach the northernmost beach. Much of the craggy, rocky stretch of shoreline is fairly inhospitable, but the open stretch of land between the forest and the sea does provide for good visibility. They won't have to worry much about being ambushed here.

Toothless touches down just a couple of moments after Stormfly does in the middle of a fairly flat stretch of rocks, though Hiccup is already unlatching his safety harness and jumping down even before his best freind's wings have finished beating. Likewise, Astrid has already dismounted and is now seeing to her gear on the back of her saddle.

"Astrid," the boy calls as he hurries over to her with a severe limp, conscious that their friends are likewise landing behind him and watching. The last thing he wants to do is make a scene in front of them, but he knows that he and Astrid need to talk.

"What?" his girlfriend answers sharply, only giving him a fleeting glance over her shoulder before returning her attention to her task. Hiccup halts in his tracks at her fierceness, pausing to consider his answer.

"We had to run. Staying and fighting wasn't a choice," he asserts, daring to take a step closer to her.

Turning to face him suddenly, Astrid spits, "and why not, Hiccup?" Her gaze is as accusatory as her tone as she glares at him. "We had the advantage. All six of us, on our dragons, and my father had only a handful of men with him."

Hesitating for a moment, he chooses his words carefully. "Because even if we won, it wouldn't have solved anything." Blinking in surprise at his answer, she hesitates, so he continues. "We need to wait for my Dad and your Mom to do what they're going to do on Sunday to get us betrothed." His girlfriend scowls at his words, but he adds anyway, "Attacking your Dad and the Meatheads could have only made things worse."

"They attacked us, Hiccup," she replies bitterly, crossing her arms.

"Because you ran away from your Father," he reminds her gently, watching her with a concerned gaze.

"Because your Father told me to," she snarks, narrowing her gaze at him.

"Actually, my Dad told you to leave the island." Hiccup hadn't thought her frown could get any worse, but she now proves him wrong. "Which, we still haven't done yet…" he points out with a leading tone.

"I told you, Hiccup…" she begins loudly, clearly winding up to let him have it, but he cuts her off.

"I know, I know," he tells her with a reassuring voice, holding up his hands in a slightly defensive posture, "you don't want to leave your mother alone on Berk with your father." She hesitates and even seems to relax slightly, but still she continues to glare at him. He goes on.

"I understand that, and I'm okay with it." Astrid blinks in surprise at his acquiescence. He keeps talking, using his hands more and more as he gets animated with his explanation. "But if we're going to stay on Berk, then we have to keep on the move, keep running." She furrows her brow, partly in confusion, partly in anger. "The law is on their side. If we fight them and lose, it's over. You'll be married of to Thuggory by sundown and on the next boat to Meathead Island."

To his relief, he sees her anger start to diminish at his reasoning. "If we win, then we anger the Meatheads, possibly inciting a war between our two tribes." Astrid's shoulders slump at his words, her expression softening. "Not to mention the case your father would have against mine for interfering with his legal right to marry you off…" His girlfriend can no longer maintain eye contact, looking down at the ground as her cheeks start to burn. "He could get his followers pretty riled with that one, maybe even turn more over to his side-"

"Enough, Hiccup," she says abruptly, cutting him off. His hands drop to his sides as he stops talking. A difficult silence settles over the two, allowing Hiccup to hear the subtle sounds of the other dragons and their friends fidgeting as they look on. He knows everyone is watching them intently, but right now, he just doesn't care.

Drawing in a deep breath, she closes her eyes. "I get it," she says softly, sounding defeated.

Taking a step forward, Hiccup daringly puts his hand on her shoulder. At his touch, Astrid opens her eyes and lifts her gaze to meet his. She watches him with a guarded, pensive stare.

"At least we got away this time, right?" he asks her quietly while smiling gently at her, lifting his brows invitingly. She considers his words for a moment, looking into his eyes.

Then, to his relief, she smiles slightly at him.

"Yeah," she answers. Unfolding her arms, she reaches out to slip her arm half around his waist. Without hesitating, Hiccup slides his arm from her one shoulder to rub across her back to hold the other, stepping nearer to close the gap between them.

She leans in against him and explains quietly, "I was just so…terrified when I saw my father fire that arrow at you." As she speaks, she rests her head against his and slides her arm the rest of the way around his waist, squeezing him to her. Hiccup grips her shoulder firmly as she adds in a hushed whisper, "seeing him try to hurt you made me want to kill him, Hiccup…"

The boy wraps his other arm around her waist, hugging her to him tightly. Astrid likewise squeezes him in her arms, burying her face in the crook of his shoulder and neck.

"Well, he didn't get me, we're still together, and now we're free from him again," he whispers against her cheek, which he then kisses tenderly. He can feel her smile more. "That's the best victory we can have against him right now, Astrid." With a heavy sigh, she nods against his head and squeezes him tightly, saying nothing more.

"Ya know," Snotlout calls over in a loud, brash voice, "that's gratitude for ya. We bust our butts to save yours, and not even a word of thanks."

Astrid and Hiccup groan together at his words, the girl lifting her head to meet her boyfriend's gaze. The two smirk wearily and knowingly at each other, then turn to face their friends.

Snotlout glares at the two of them, an annoyed expression upon his face as he leans back against Hookfang with his arms crossed. The twins are likewise lingering with their dragon, as is Fishlegs, though the three look as annoyed with the larger teen as the young couple is.

"Thank you," Hiccup says, unable to keep a straight face as he looks at Snotlout, then turns his gaze to the rest of their friends.

"We really do appreciate it," Astrid adds, smiling at them though she doesn't stray from Hiccup's arms. "If it hadn't been for you, my father would have captured us."

"Well, it was all my idea," Snotlout says in a haughty voice, giving the couple a smug look. "Guess you owe me now…"

"BULLSHIT!" The twins yell at him in unison, causing their dragon to hiss threateningly at Snotlout. The larger boy jumps and cries out in surprise, half hiding behind his dragon. Hookfang only rolls his eyes and seems to act as though he wants to pretend the boy isn't there and he doesn't know him.

"Ruffnutt's the one that said we should help them," Fishlegs snaps in a rebuking tone, "she's the one that found out they were in trouble!"

Astrid and Hiccup exchange glances at this, looking both surprised and impressed. The girl turns her gaze to the twin, smiling warmly at her. "You did that for us, Ruff?" she asks.

The other girl shrugs, blushing a little as she crosses her arms. "I got lucky and was there when your Dad was talking to Thuggory," she answers. "I heard they planned to hunt you down and capture you, so what else could I do?" Again she shrugs. "I went to try and find you first," she gestures at Hiccup, "but Gobber said you were missing. I figured I shouldn't tell him or Stoic, since they'd be mad that you two ran off together. So, us helping you was the only choice left."

Astrid glances at her boyfriend and the two share a brief smile before she slips out of his arms. Walking over to her best friend, she wraps her up in a big hug. As they embrace, the twin smiles awkwardly when she hears her friend whisper, "thank you."

"Hey, you'd have done the same for me," Ruffnutt answers quietly, squeezing the other girl tightly. After a few moments, the two step apart, smiling at each other. Hiccup limps over to join the group, and Astrid takes a couple of steps away to stand with her lover, their hands finding each other's as the teens all look at each other hesitantly.

"So what now?" Fishlegs asks as an awkward silence settles over the group.


Thuggory and his men walk through the forest, back towards where they left their wounded before they broke off to chase after Astrid and her illicit lover. Nobody dares speak to their heir, not after Thorsten walked off and apparently left them on their own in the endeavor. The men exchange uncertain glances, wondering about what their leader will do next and how he will answer the challenge from their new and difficult ally.

When they reach the clearing where the other men were left behind, Thuggory and his smaller group find those and rest of their party that accompanied them before they had split up to search for Astrid. The Heir surveys the scene before him. The injured have been cared for and appear in good enough spirits, considering their wounds. All of the men look to him, waiting expectantly for his direction as he comes to stand before them.

"The hunt is not over, lads," he announces confidently as he looks at each of them in turn. "Our quarry has proven smart and elusive, but I say all the better." He gives a devilish smile, explaining, "I would want nothing less from my future wife." His men start to grin with him, nudging each other as he adds, "she'll make a fine bride, once we have caught her."

"So how will we do that?" one man asks in the crowd. "There's five of them now, and they all ride dragons!"

The murmuring agreement turns Thuggory's smile into a frown. "Are we not Meatheads?" He asks, looking swiftly from one to the other of his men, seeing slightly guilty looks as they start to fall silent. "Have we not defended our island from the dragon scourge for generations?" Some start to mutter in agreement, looking to each other.

"We know what to do with dragons, don't we, men?" he asks with a wicked smile while unsheathing his sword, the ringing sound accentuating his comment. The muttering agreement becomes more pronounced as they start to nod with his words.

"I have a plan," he explains to them. His men look at him with interest. "They've fled, but they won't leave Berk." The men look at each other in confusion, wondering how he has this insight.

Turning to a group on his left, he says, "You three. Head to the northern part of the island and find them. After you have, send one of your number back to let us know where they are, while the other two stay and keep a watch on them."

They nod as he turns back to the broader group to address them. "The rest of you will come with me. We're going back to the village before we continue our pursuit."

"Why?" One of his men asks.

Grinning, Thuggory explains, "because something is there that we will need…"


Hiccup is somewhat surprised when everyone turns to him at Fishleg's question of what they should do next. He hesitates under the scrutiny of five sets of eyes watching him for a decision, taking a few moments before answering.

"Well," he says, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand, "I guess we should go ahead and set up camp." Astrid looks at him with a measure of surprise, so he explains, "it's a bit of a hike from where we left your Dad and his men, so we should be safe until nightfall, maybe until tomorrow. Given this is such an open area and we've all got our dragons, I figure we probably have the advantage here." After a moment's thought, she nods approvingly, as do the other teens.

"Besides," he adds, "we can easily take off from here and fly to somewhere else in Berk if we have to." The other share considering glances at this as he elaborates, "all we need to do is keep from getting caught by Astrid's Dad or the Meatheads until the Harvest's End Fesitval on Sunday. Then, my Dad and her Mom will get us betrothed…somehow…"

"Why not just leave the island?" Fishlegs asks innocently, causing Hiccup to cringe as he watches Astrid glower at the point being brought up again. "I mean, if we want to avoid getting caught, that's the best way…"

"Because," the scrawny teen quickly jumps in, even as his girlfriend is drawing in a breath to respond, "Astrid's mother is still with her father, and…" He cuts himself off, realizing he almost shared her dark secret with everyone. He winces as her hand squeezes his painfully, and he can feel her stare daggers at him.

"And…?" Fishlegs prompts, looking genuinely confused, as do Tuffnutt and Snotlout. Hiccup glances at his lover, who's expression is a mixture of fury, panic, and mortification.

"…aaand," Ruffnutt suddenly interjects, "she needs Astrid and Hiccup to stay on Berk for her plan with Stoic to work." Everyone suddenly looks to her with surprise and confusion, including Hiccup and Astrid. "At least, that's what she told me…" the twin lies with a disinterested shrug.

Hiccup breathes a sigh of relief at the twin's attempted save, doubly so when Astrid's grip on his hand loosens. But he starts to worry as Ruffnutt's brother and the two other boys exchange confused glances at her glib explanation.

"Hang on a second," Tuffnutt says suspiciously, "Hiccup was just saying before that Astrid doesn't want to leave her mother alone with her father."

"When did I say that?" Hiccup asks nervously, his anxiety increased as he feels Astrid's grip on his hand intensify again. "I never said that…"

"Actually, you did," Fishlegs corrects him with certainty, "when you two were fighting just now, after we landed…"

"That's not what he said," Ruffnutt suddenly interjects in a chiding tone, "he just said Astrid doesn't want to leave Berk or her mother…"

"No," Tuffnutt interrupts, "I distinctly remember him talking about not leaving her mother alone with her father." He glances over at Hiccup, asking "Which is it? Astrid's mother doesn't want her to leave, or Astrid doesn't want to leave her mother?"

"No, it's…" Hiccup starts to protest, when suddenly Snoutlout cuts him off.

"I remember him saying that Stoic said Astrid should leave the island," the larger boy says suspiciously, looking to Ruffnutt. "How can Freja say it's part of their plan for them to stay on Berk if Stoic told her to leave?"

"Look," the twin sister answers, "we don't know what their plan is, we only know what they told us to do."

"Yeah, but that doesn't make any sense," Fishlegs argues, "why would one of them tell Astrid one thing while the other tells her the opposite?"

"Maybe they don't know what they're doing," Tuffnutt says in a worried voice with building anxiety as he speaks, "maybe they don't have a plan at all!"

"Well if they don't know what they're doing, why are we getting in the middle of this?" Snotlout asks irritably.

"They still need our help," Fishlegs answers sharply.

"Yeah, but we could be making matters worse!" Tuffnutt answers, looking genuinely concerned.

As the three boys continue to bicker, Ruffnutt and Hiccup share tortured glances, then both look worriedly to Astrid. The blonde watches the others argue with a dark mixture of fear and anger. She grips Hiccup's hand firmly, but stays silent. Closing her eyes, she draws in a deep, shuddering breath. Ruffnutt suddenly gets drawn back into the argument when Tuffnutt says something to her, and soon all four are yelling at each other with questions, accusations, wild guesses, and misinformation.

"ENOUGH!" Astrid finally shouts, silencing everyone. All eyes turn to her, the five other teens watching in shock as she draws a few tortured breaths. Hiccup looks on anxiously, his stomach twisting as he worries what she'll say next.

He knows he messed up. He knows he let slip something he shouldn't have.

What that might mean for their relationship terrifies him. He still remembers her threat to leave him, if he were to ever share her secret.

Drawing in a deep breath, Astrid opens her eyes and looks from one of their friends to the other as she speaks, gripping Hiccup's hand tightly as she does.

"Stoic told me to leave the island so that my father couldn't marry me off to Thuggory," she explains in a measured tone. "I decided to run away, but to stay on the island…because I don't want to leave while my mother is still alone with my father…" She hesitates and closes her eyes. Hiccup's blood runs cold as he briefly shares a tormented gaze with Ruffnutt. By the look on her face, she's just as afraid.

Astrid grips Hiccup's hand all the more tightly as she speaks in halting phrases. "I…don't want to…I don't want leave her…alone with him, because….I'm…scared…that he…might…hurt her." Another pause as she draws in a trembling breath. Hiccup squeezes her hand tightly, causing her to open her eyes and look up at him. He's terrified on the inside, but smiles reassuringly at her anyway. Staring into his eyes, Astrid gives him a fleeting smile, then looks to the others with a serious, somber expression.

"My father…hits us," she says in a trembling voice, reaching across her body with her free hand to nervously grip her own elbow, while still holding onto Hiccup's hand with her other. The three boys look at each other in shock, while Ruffnutt watches her friend with deep concern. "He's…pretty violent, so I'm…afraid for my Mom," she says simply, drawing their gazes back to her. She wavers under their stares, then looks down and closes her eyes again, her cheeks flushing a dark red as she shrinks a little.

As terrified as he is for what this will mean for them, Hiccup takes some comfort that she still grips his hand like her life depends upon it. He squeezes firmly, feeling a little more relief when she squeezes back.

The three boys look at each other in shock, absorbing the news silently.

"Wow," Tuffnutt finally says in an abashed voice, "I…we…had no idea, Astrid…" The blonde opens her eyes to look at him with an anxious, worried gaze.

"I'm sorry he does that, Astrid," Fishlegs tells her with a sympathetic tone, drawing her gaze to him, "but…we're all here for you. We'll do whatever we can to help you and Hiccup…stay together." Astrid draws in a deep breath, smiling faintly at the other teen while clenching her boyfriend's hand firmly.

Nodding resolutely, Tuffnutt answers, drawing the blonde's gaze. "That's right. Anything you need, you just let us know." She smiles all the more in relief at his words.

"We're here for you, Astrid," Snotlout says simply, nodding at her when she looks over at him. The girl smiles widely, gripping Hiccup's hand tightly. She glances excitedly at Ruffnutt, who grins in return, nodding. Drawing in a deep breath, she lets out a contented sigh, closing her eyes again for a moment.

"Thank you," she says, opening her eyes to look intently at each of the three boys in turn. "That means a lot to me." She hesitates for a moment, then adds, "just, please…don't tell anybody else about this, okay?" The three boys look at each other as she explains, "I don't want people to know what…" As she hesitates, Snotlout speaks up.

"Don't worry, Astrid, your secret is safe with us." He looks to the other two boys, who readily nod and voice their agreement. Astrid smiles happily at them, squeezing her boyfriend's hand once more.

Hiccup is happy beyond words at the relief he sees on his girlfriend's face, at the support their friends have just shown her in the light of such a difficult and dark revelation. Still, he's terrified about what she'll do now that he was effectively the cause that she had to share her secret with them.

"So, uh…we…should probably set up camp," he suddenly says while rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand and drawing everyone's attention, including Astrid's. "We don't have much food, so somebody is going to need to hunt, and we should set up a fire pit." The others nod.

"Hey Tuff, let's go hunting," Snotlout says to the other boy, who nods with an eager grin. Both turn to their saddles to retrieve their bows and start to ready themselves. Hiccup looks to Ruffnutt with a worried, yet prompting gaze. The girl hesitates for a moment before she suddenly blinks in understanding.

"Hey Fishlegs," she says to the large boy, "let's go get the wood for the firepit."

"Okay," he nods with a smile, oblivious to the unspoken conversation that just took place in front of him.

Hiccup watches all their friends walk off to see to their tasks, leaving him standing next to Astrid. His girlfriend watches the others with a sublime smile and a peaceful, content expression on her face. The boy's gut twists as he fears broaching the topic, but he needs to know where they stand.

"Astrid…?" He asks hesitantly. She looks to him with a curious gaze, her smile still lingering upon her lips. When she sees the worried look on his face, she frowns and grips his hand firmly, turning to face him more directly.

"Hiccup, what's wrong?" she asks anxiously, eyeing him with concern.

Drawing in a deep breath, he tries to look into her eyes, but can only glimpse once or twice, looking down in shame otherwise. "I…I know I messed up," he begins, rubbing the back of his neck again, and causing her to furrow her brow in confusion. "If…if it weren't for me, they…you…you wouldn't have needed to tell them…about…" Understanding starts to dawn on her face as he blurts out in a panic, "I'm sorry I let out your secret, Astrid, please don't break up with me…"

His girlfriend's face contorts with guilt at the fear she sees on his face. "Oh, Gods, no, Hiccup, I'm not breaking up with you," she says quickly. Relief floods through the boy as he lifts his gaze to hers. She pulls her hand out of his, cups his face, then leans in to kiss him full on the lips. Hiccup meets her with a feverish passion, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her lithe body to his. He breathes a sigh of relief as he feels her fingers run up into his hair while her tongue pushes into his mouth, wrestling roughly with his.

As Astrid feels his heart pounding wildly against her chest, she realizes he must have been terrified at the prospect of her leaving him. She feels awful inside for having ever threatened him like that, a sickening feeling of frustration at herself twists inside her gut. The guilt she feels fuels her passion as they kiss, compelling her to caress him lovingly and sweetly with her lips, tongue, hands, and fingers. The whimpers she draws from him makes her smile slightly, but does nothing to assuage her feeling of responsibility.

The two kiss for the space of several breaths before she pulls away, but only enough to look into his eyes. "Hiccup, I could never stop being with you," she whispers huskily, her throat tight with emotion. Stroking his cheek with one hand, with her other she plays with the hair on the back of his neck. He smiles slightly, but then furrows his brow.

"But…you said…" he starts to protest, feeling confused. She closes her eyes and sighs, a shameful expression contorting her features.

"I know what I said," she interrupts him, a little two sharply. Wincing as she realizes how bitter her tone was, she stops, draws in a deep breath and summons up her courage before looking at him. "I was an fool to say it, Hiccup," she amends sincerely, staring deeply into his eyes. He looks back into her eyes with such affection that she hurts inside.

"Hiccup, I couldn't live without you," she whispers to him, stroking his cheeks gently. "I'm sorry I scared you, I should never have threatened you…"

The boy hugs her against him, his arms wrapping tightly around her. Astrid rests her chin on his shoulder, squeezing him just as firmly. He whispers into her ear, "I love you, Astrid."

A genuine smile finally spreads across her lips at the sound of those three little words, and she lets out a heavy sigh, trying to put aside her anger with herself. "I love you too," she answers weakly, sliding one hand up to run through his hair while she rubs his back firmly with the other.

The two hold each other for a quite while, just enjoying each other's nearness.