We land back at Berk as the sun begins to settle around the horizon, all of us weary and on edge from the trap we just sprung and nearly lost too. It was a good trap but luckily, we were better. The twins hadn't stopped asking Snotlout about his flaming gel jar idea which had us amused most of the way back, though Astrid was notably quiet and flying close to me.
"Okay, okay, how about, MonMare Gel Bombs. Ya now, Monstrous. Nightmare. Gel. Bombs. That has a nice ring, right?" Tuffnut suggests.
"If only we could think of something to put in there with it to make it explode AND leave a gellacious fire!" Ruffnut adds
"Excellent idea, Sister Nut. Snotlout, we require the use of one Hookfang for our experiments!" Tuffnut continues and I shake my head with a smile. These guys were insane but had random strokes of brilliance it was hard to keep track which was which.
"Uh, no. Hookfang's Gel is mine. Go get Gustov!" Snotlout exclaims and the twins' shrug.
"Sure, if you want Gustov to have the credit then fine." Ruff suggests as Snotlout shakes his head with bewildered eyes.
"No way, this was my idea! Fine. I want dinner first." Snotlout resigns and the twins high five.
"Academy after dinner, Brother Snot!" Tuff exclaims and he audibly groans and flies towards his hut. The twins follow suit to theirs.
The rest of us land at the academy initially anyways to offload our gear and no sooner did I get off Toothless did I feel Astrid in a near crushing embrace; her head buried in my shoulder as I wrap my arms around her waist and gently hold her there. I glance up to Heather and Dagur who nod and Heather ushers everyone else out quietly, leaving us alone in the academy.
"We're okay." I whisper to her and she nods.
"This time. I should've been there. I-I was scared. It really felt like I could've lost you if we were any slower." She admits softly and I smile, holding her tightly.
"So was I. We're always okay, we have each other. It's you and me." I reply and she pulls back and smiles.
"Always." She teases and adds with a shrug. "Corny?" And I laugh lightly.
"Good callback. Reassuring though." I reply, pulling her in and kissing her softly on the lips for a long drawn, tender kiss with our embrace. Pulling slowly apart, she rests her head back on my chest as we stand there for a moment. I feel her sigh.
"I never thought I'd be the one to say this, but why is a time of peace so much to ask for? It's not fair, to enjoy each other's presence in the night and fear for each other's lives during the day. One crisis after another… it's just… exhausting." She says softly and I nod slowly.
"This time is different than before, they aren't just after dragons, they're making decisive efforts to remove us from the field." I add and she shakes her head.
"Not us, you. The Chief of Berk, the Dragonmaster. Your choices have led to their humiliation and defeat countless times over the years, Krogan specifically." She states.
"Krogan very nearly killed me with Johann when Viggo tricked me into helping him. It was Viggo that actually stopped him. The whole thing may have been a ruse, but had Viggo been unable to stop Krogan then…" I say, my voice dropping as I feel Astrid shaking her head.
"Can we just not. I can't, and don't want to imagine a world without you in it. What they don't realize is attacking you is attacking all of us. Everyone on Berk has your back, Hiccup." She says softly. "And I'll always be by your side." She finishes and I smile.
"That's what keeps me confident, you are what keeps me going, I couldn't do this without you, Astrid." I respond and her embrace tightens.
"Good, because I was not confident, I was making the right decision to attack their alcove… I'm glad we did, glad I followed my instincts. At the time, I was worried I was letting personal feeling interfere with my reasoning." She admits and I nod slowly.
"Those are what set us apart from men like Krogan. We care for each other, as a group, as a people. No one is expendable. Is it a weakness that can be exploited, sure, sometimes. But it is also a strength, as you proved. Berk is lucky to have you, and so am I." I say, kissing her lightly on the forehead as I see her smile.
"Can we just stay like this for a while?" She asks softly, tightening her embrace and I chuckle softly and nod.
"No place I'd rather be." I answer with a smile, running my hands slowly up her back as she just sighs. She was more shaken by Krogan's attempt than she was letting on, not that I minded, any excuse to just be with her and hold her was enough for me to be at peace. We stayed like that for what felt like an hour but was closer to half that, both our dragons nestled around is. It was long after that when people started filtering back to the Academy. We had not even gone to eat yet, but some things were more important, and this was one of those things. When we heard the first pair of dragons flying in, we broke our embrace slowly and smiled. Dagur and Heather were the first to return.
"So, want to tell us more about this trap?" Dagur asks and I nod, standing apart from Astrid now but still close enough to feel her arm brush against mine.
"Let's get everyone here, so we can all be briefed. Dagur, I know you aren't with us permanently, but when you go back to Berserk, I'd like to ask you and Heather to do quick flybys of Swallow." I explain and he nods.
"That was my plan, brother. But we have other news." Dagur adds, glancing to Heather.
"I'll be staying with the Riders until Krogan is dealt with permanently, I won't feel at peace knowing he's out there. After that, I plan to train Berserker Islands' own Rider unit." Heather explains and Astrid and I glance between each other and smile.
"Sounds good to us. We're glad to have you." I state and Astrid nods.
"And I feel bad for anyone who goes against a Berserk Dragon Riders. You'll be an excellent leader." Astrid adds and Heather smiles. Shortly thereafter, my mother, the twins, Snotlout and Fishlegs all rejoin us with the twins still suggesting applications for the newly named MonMare Gel Bombs. Eret came shortly after. Gustov and Spitelout joined us as well to listen in.
"Alright gang, now that everyone's here, here is what we've discovered. These trappers are employing the same level of brutality and ruthlessness they did back beyond the Edge after Krogan took over. Krogan had the entire tunnel system rigged to explode and collapse on anyone, trapping inside with several kill zones of nets, arrows, and bolas. The idea was the crossfire would be so immense that it'd take us down if we went any slower than full speed." I begin and glance briefly at Astrid before sighing.
"They are taking more concerted efforts to actually killing me, and, I imagine, any one of us. We've caused them enough grief, it seems. Now, Krogan was down there and very nearly hit Toothless and I with his Bardiche-style axe. The Gronkle-Iron Shield kept us safe." I state and feel Astrid's hand link into mine. I hadn't mentioned that part yet to her.
"We need to come up with strategies Krogan has never seen, he's too familiar with our tactics. I expect every base to have decoys and traps rigged to them, and if Krogan survived the cave in then he'll only be more dangerous." I finish.
"We should go back and investigate Swallow tomorrow, see what changed since our raid." Eret adds and I nod.
"We will. I also want to see if we can find proof of Krogan's body or not. I want everyone's serious mind in action here; ideas, floor is open." I finish and glance to Astrid with a smile as I tighten my grip around her hand to reassure her. We spent much of the next hour bouncing various ideas, many of them horrible, some of them decent and a couple absolutely brilliant. We would be ready for the next time, and these trappers wouldn't know what hit them.
Maybe I was more shaken than I thought I'd be, it could've been the fact they predicted our movements which made me feel insecure about our tactics. Though we were remedying that with our planning now, it could also have been that, as much as I tried, I struggled with keeping it business as usual. Knowing there was a direct desire for his life, knowing that our enemy knew us and was as ruthless as Drago and nearly as cunning as Viggo. Even with his overconfidence, he won nearly as many engagements with us back beyond the Edge as he lost.
I'd not lose Hiccup to that madman, nor anyone. It was selfish, sure, but it was as much for me as it was for our people and dragonkind. Hiccup was changed the lives of his entire people, positively, without force or aggression. He leads by example, never asks anyone to do anything he isn't willing to do himself, never purposefully puts people in harm's way and always finds a better path. He's arguably the best thing to happen to Berk in four centuries, to the dragons, and he certainly is to me. I know he doesn't see himself that way, but there are many of us who do.
"Alright, I like where this is going. Snotlout, Gustov, I need you two to harvest as much gel as safely as possible from your dragons. Everyone will fly with at least two of those. Everyone else, get some rest, we're going to spend an extended period of time at Swallow tomorrow, combing the island. We'll leave in the morning, everyone meet here for one last huddle at first light." Hiccup states and everyone nods as we slowly break, Heather pulls me to the side.
"Hey, Astrid. I know I'm staying with you guys, but if you want, I can make myself scarce; give you two some alone time." She states as I feel my face flush as I shake my head.
"No, what? Why? You're more than welcome at our home." I state and she smiles, nodding but narrowing her eyes.
"You know what I mean, Astrid." She retorts and I laugh lightly and shrug.
"You're fine, and yes, I do know what you mean. We, uh, have a few escape spots we can use if we need too." I say rather sheepishly. Heather was different and I didn't mind talking about private things with her as much but still, it was odd to talk about.
"Well, take it from me, you both need to escape tonight. You were both pretty shaken up and only really looked better when you were together. I understand you need to be able to operate independently, but this is a different kind of threat. It's complicated, your situation." She says and I nod, scoffing.
"Tell me about it. We're both supposed to stay business as usual but now that is even harder. I mean, I thought it was tough when we first started with Viggo but.." I say with a sigh and feel her put her hand on my shoulder.
"Trust me, I understand. I honestly expect this to get worse before it gets better, we have to stay on guard or risk everything." She adds and I nod.
"You don't need to tell me that, I'm just hoping our efforts to save the dragons doesn't cost us more. I pray to Thor we all make it through this, we've survived so much, all of us, our dragons. We've done so much good and it's like none of it mattered." I state.
"It did matter, it's when we stop trying, stop fighting that it doesn't." Heather adds and I smile.
"Girl, I'm glad you're here, really." I say and hug her as she smiles and hugs back.
"I've got your back, and Hiccups. Anything you guys need; you were there for me when it really mattered and I'll be there for you. Now, go and get that escape. Who knows what tomorrow will bring and every moment counts." She says and I smile.
"Have you given any more thought to your own suitor?" I tease and she shakes her head and shrugs.
"Not really. I'm sort of content being alone, I'm used to it." She answers and I can hear the sadness in her voice as she says that.
"Hey, you've been afraid to trust people your whole life. That doesn't mean you can't learn too like you did with us, or Dagur. Don't close yourself off to it, just cause Fishlegs isn't open anymore doesn't mean there aren't great people out there for you." I add and she smiles.
"Thanks, Astrid. Now get outta here, he's waiting for you." Heather states and nods her head behind me. It's just the three of us now and Hiccup is meandering and checking things that don't need to be checked on Toothless's saddle while Stormfly sits next to them. The sight honestly makes me laugh lightly with a genuine smile. "You two are a great couple." She adds as I nod and smile. We really are. Walking over to him with his back to me, I wrap my arms around him, so they lock around his chest as he grunts in surprise and tenses before relaxing after realizing it was me, his hands cupping mine.
"Ready to go home?" he asks as I rest my head on his back and close my eyes for a second and shake my head.
"I actually had something else in mind." I whisper as he rotates in my grip and wraps his own arms around me, my head now against his chest.
"And what would that be?" He says softly, moving one of his hands to brush my hair as I bite my lip and look at him and shrug.
"How about you show me more of the forge, I had some ideas about things you could… add to it." I tease and his lips curl into a smile as his hand tips my chin and he leans in, kissing me tenderly, gently, as if our lips could only barely touch. It was enough to make me want more.
"I'd love to hear those ideas, let's go." He answers against my lips as I smile, rolling my eyes playfully as I pull back.
"Might have to skip dinner though." I suggest and he shakes his head.
"I'd rather eat something else anyways." He retorts softly and I couldn't fight the smile that creased my lips as my legs shifted slightly.
"Good, me too. Let's go." I whisper, leaning up and pecking him before breaking the embrace and glancing behind, Heather had since left, and I didn't even notice.
"Problem?" He asks at my pause.
"Just something Heather said, she claims to be content being alone, but she isn't. And I know that now, I couldn't go back to being without you. We should revisit trying to match her later." I suggest and he nods.
"I agree. I don't think anyone should have to be alone, and I certainly couldn't after everything I've come to know with you. You complete me, Astrid. Without you, I don't know where I'd be." Hiccup answers, making me smile.
"And you, me. Let's finish this conversation at the forge." I say, looking back at him and visibly showing him as I lick my lips, causing him to grin and nod.
"Let's. Wanna race?" He suggests and I nod.
"Winner choice?" I suggest and he nods, smiling. With that, we hop on our dragons and take off towards the Forge. Hiccup was totally faster, and we both knew it, and neither of us were surprised when I got there first. I was right, this was quickly becoming my favorite room on Berk.
