This was a different sort of attack; they had targeted me personally and got the drop on us in the lull of the morning when the fog bank was still strong around the islands. We didn't notice them as they were hiding behind a grouping of sea stacks amid the fog, but they had perfect line of sight on us and nearly got Toothless and I. Now, we'd make sure they couldn't get anyone else. These trappers, for all their ego, were less of a threat than the Hunters were. At least Viggo dragon-proofed his ships near the end, these guys did nothing of the sort. Blowing holes in the ships was an easy task, and Skullcrusher walloped several masts that came crashing down. They were counting on the element of surprise to win the day, then they'd only need to focus fire one dragon, not two. Fortunately for us, Eret was on the top of his game where I was obviously far too distracted. I'd do Astrid no favors by ending up captured or worse, dead. Thor knows she'd never forgive me. Thinking of her, of being with her, fueled me.

Another barrel roll down and Skullcrusher's angry roar sunk the remaining ships as the trappers escaped to dinghies and drifted at sea. I had an urge, a deep-seated thought to open fire on their dinghies, to let them be lost at sea but I knew it was wrong and dishonorable. I'd be no better than them if I succumbed to such tactics. One of the things that separated us from the trappers, the hunters or the flyers over the years is our ability to maintain our moral and ethical code even in the heat of battle. Even when we were faced with life altering choices, we never faltered on our way of life. The closest we ever came was when I took Krogan's life; but in that moment, it was him or I. This was different, it was a choice, and it wasn't a choice. I knew what the answer was as I looked to Eret and waved him upwards. We weren't going to be like them.

"You sure it's a smart idea to let them be, Chief?" Eret asks and I sigh. He was one of the few who called me Chief almost all the time, even alone. It was like a jab every time to me though, even though he meant it with the utmost respect.

"Yeah, not really. It's the right thing to do. We aren't like them; this gives them time to hopefully think about their choices and change." I respond as I fly up. "Come on, we'll head to the Edge and camp there before visiting the Defenders, Wingmaidens and Mongrel Tribes." I state

"Think we aught to invite the Shivering Shores as well?" Eret asks and I turn my head nodding.

"I'll be honest, I hadn't even thought of them since my father mentioned them a few years back; took his first dragon there on a meeting. Supposedly they had yearly meetings, but that stopped or at least, he stopped mentioning it. May as well. From what I remember, my father said their Chief was someone who expected a gift." I explain while altering course to the Shivering Shores. It was out of the way and still nearly a day's flight even on Toothless. "It's a bit out of the way." I add as he nods.

"I've made port there before; I know their leader. He'll act like a dominant, but it's a façade. He'll try to intimidate, but he is all roar and no blast. They call him Audun the Intimidating." Eret explains and I scoff with a light smile while shaking my head.

"Anything else I should know?" I ask and he nods.

"It's cold there, but mentioning the weather is akin to insulting them. Audun is likely going to go for the summit, they don't kill dragons there. He respects authority." Eret adds as I nod. So, a typical viking in these parts. In recent years, the number of dragons that had grown to accept Vikings had grown dramatically since Berk and the Hooligan Tribe became a dominant power in the Archipelago. We had survived the Outcasts and Berserkers, befriended both. We had bested the Hunters and Riders which had the Great Beyond on its heels; ending the malicious machinations of Johann. We bested Drago where no one else could. Yes, we had come a long way indeed. I hope my father rests peacefully in Valhalla knowing we won.

"Noted" I respond as we continue flying. The weather thing was weird but who am I to judge.

Together, we flew straight for the Shivering Shores as the skies and seas were relatively clear along our path. We saw patches of ships here and there, from traders to suspected trappers but we know that wasn't our mission. We'd oust them entirely soon enough. All in all, the flight was relatively peaceful, Eret and I exchanged stories as he told me about his travels, and I told him about life on the Edge. It was a welcome distraction until we saw the Shivering Shores on the horizon, and we put on our serious faces.

"Protocol? Where should we land?" I ask Eret as he shrugs.

"Never landed there to be fair, we've had good luck with the docks, let's go with that." Eret answers and I nod. We swoop into the docks, which is bustling with activity from fishers offloading their catches for the day to people offloading other supplies from other boats. To say we surprised them would be an understatement as they clearly weren't expecting aerial visitors. They were all wearing winter gear and burly with pikes and such, most of their armament seemed designed for fishing though as a bundled man approached us as we stay on our dragons.

"Riders! Be ye friend or foe, state yer business or forfeit your lives." He calls out as I glance to Eret who nods.

"I am Chief Haddock of the Hooligan Tribe, this is Eret of the Hooligan Tribe. We come with an invitation to your Chief." I state is the most confident voice I could muster.

"Chief, eh? Last I 'eard, Stoick the Vast was Chief. Yer Hiccup then." The man states as I nod.

"My father fell in battle against Drago earlier this year, so I have taken the responsibilities and seen him avenged." I state, for I truly did not regret Drago meeting his end. The man laughs as he waves us by.

"We had heard Drago died on Berk, good riddance. The Chief'll want to meet you anyways. Stoick spoke rather proudly of his boy." The man continues, walking ahead of us as we follow before pausing and looking at me up and down and nodding. "Though, you've grown out of the hiccup phase, it seems." He says before looking past us and shouting. "Finish offloading before dark!" He barks and there is a sudden bustle behind us as we continue on our way. "And Eret, it's been what, nearly a year? You weren't a Hooligan then, nor on a dragon." He states, glancing back towards Eret as we continue walking.

"Longer, Birger. Drago tried having me killed, The Chief here and his friends saved me and invited me to their island. This big boy was Stoick's dragon. Hiccup passed the reigns to me after… Drago." Eret explains, glancing to me.

"Aye, my condolences. Stoick was probably one of the few outsiders Audun liked. Well, let's go. He's probably at the ring." Birger states as I glance to Eret who sighs.

"The ring is a fighting ring where their warriors do contests against each other." Eret explains as I nod.

"Audun participates on occasion, when he's bored." Birger adds as I hear the clash of steel ahead. We arrive at a large ring, larger than our Dragon Academy without the metal ceiling. Inside is a pair of shirtless vikings going iron in iron against each other. If I didn't know it was training, I'd think they were trying to kill one another. Watching with a mug in his hand was a large man draped in animal pelt with a sword that dwarfed Viggo's on his hip. As soon as he spotted the Night Fury and Rumblehorn, he raised his hand and the fight stopped almost on a dime as he got up to greet us.

"Eret, Son of Eret! It has been too long, care to duel again?" He states, clasping Eret's hand as Eret laughs.

"Only if you want to lose in front of your people, Chief." Eret jests as the man laughs loudly before turning his eye to me.

"Who's this?" He says curtly, his face hardening.

"I am Chief Hiccup Haddock of the Hooligan Tribe, son of Stoick the Vast. I've come with an offer for you." I state as he walks up to me and breathes down on me while his eyes dart to Toothless then to me.

"Stoick's boy, eh?" He mutters, sounding not unlike Alvin. I simply nod as he glances to Eret, then Birger, then back to me. "Why should I care what you offer?" He asks as I narrow my eyes and return his glare. He may have me on height, but I wouldn't show weakness.

"Because I am the one who rid the world of Drago Bludvist. I ended the life of Krogan the Assassin, bested both Viggo and Ryker Grimborn of the Hunters and I trained and befriended the Night Fury, the Alpha. You would be wise to hear me out." I state confidently as I dare not blink. Audun's eyes narrow as his brows furrow and his lips purse. I can hear him crack his knuckles by rolling them, the tension is palpable. That is, until he laughs.

"This boy's got more of his father in him than I thought! Come boy, let's talk." He states, his arm wrapping over my shoulder and leading me to the other side of the ring with Eret and Birger in tow. He was the same size as my father, almost exactly. For the briefest of seconds, it almost felt like my father was moving me. The thought was fleeting, and now this was just another meeting I wanted done with. One more meeting to complete before I could return home, return to her, to Astrid. Each passing moment was just another moment I was away longer. This type of responsibility, it was the type I hated most for it kept me from her. It was worth it in the end, but it was trying.


I was gazing out that morning near the Academy. There was a dense fog that had rolled through the Archipelago overnight and somewhere out there, Hiccup was flying or meeting with people about the summit. I longed to be by his side, even now, even amid a Dragon Race. I cared less and less for these things in his absence, but I had to try. I'd do him a disservice by letting myself get lost in depression or my own longing. There would be time when he returned, and when he finally did, I'd be locking the door and throwing the key out for a week.

This morning felt different, like something was off, the urge to fly to Hiccup was stronger, as though something was wrong. For the briefest of moments, I could swear I heard the scream of a Night Fury and the echo of its plasma blasts out at sea. When I tried listening closer, my heart seemed to skip a beat as I was met with nothing but the sound of wind or the sea crashing to the rocks below. My thought was interrupted by Fishlegs as he walked up behind me.

"I'm sure Hiccup is doing fine, Astrid." He says confidently as I nod. Leaving the passing sounds as little more than gusts on the wind as I turn to him.

"Heather will be here soon, are you ready for that?" I ask as he shifts uncomfortably, poking his fingers together and nodding.

"Yeah, I've been thinking about what you said overnight. Heather was worth waiting for on the Edge, she's worth waiting for here. I think I'm going to stop arguing with Snotlout over Ruffnut." Fishlegs admits and I smile.

"Good answer. I think that's for the best." I admit and he nods as we hear the sound of a Razorwhips call from behind us. We both turn and see Heather leading a Nadder, Nightmare and Gronkle with various Berserkers with them. She lands next to us and hops off, rushing me as we embrace in a hug. I had missed Heather.

"Astrid! I'm glad to see you, and you, Fishlegs!" She says with a heartfelt smile as we release our embrace. "I brought about half of the Berserker riders, left most on the Island since Dagur and Mala left for the Defenders Island a few days ago. They know to send a Terror Mail here if they need anything at all." Heather states as I smile. She glances around and asks. "Where's Hiccup?"

"He decided to personally invite the other tribes after his mother and Eret were ambushed by the trappers. If he sticks with the schedule, he should be heading out towards the Edge right now." I state. "Which means, he'll run into Dagur and Mala when he stops by at the Defenders Island." I add.

"Oh, wow. How are you doing? I know when Dagur is separated from Mala for an extended period of time, he becomes really irritable and, uh" She pauses as Fishlegs chimes in.

"Deranged?" He offers and we all laugh as Heather nods.

"Yeah, when Mala isn't around." Heather finishes and both of them laugh awkwardly as I smile. It was almost like we were back on the Edge. My smile turns into a sigh as I shrug, I miss him, for sure, but know he's doing what's best for all of us.

"I don't think I've been any more irritable than normal." I state, glancing at Fishlegs who holds up his hands.

"I'm not touching that with a ten-foot Zippleback." Fishlegs states as I scoff.

"Okay, maybe a bit more stern than normal." I admit as he rolls his eyes away and Heather laughs, placing her hand on my shoulder.

"It's okay to miss someone, especially with what you two have." Heather says softly as I smile and nod.

"Fishlegs, can you lead Heather's riders to the stables? The race isn't going to start for a few hours." I ask and he nods.

"S-sure. This way, Berserkers!" He says and hops on Meatlug and flies off with them in tow. Heather and I watch them go before she turns back to me.

"So?" I ask and she nods.

"Did you talk to him?" Heather asks and I smile and nod.

"I was getting annoyed with him constantly pandering to Ruffnut to be honest. He told me that with Berserker Island growing, you two had just sort of stopped talking and I basically said that wasn't good enough and to reach back out to you." I state, laughing lightly to myself.

"He did send me a private message, saying he wanted time for us to catch up alone either before or after the race. I agreed. It's hard to find someone as caring and intelligent as him; even these past few years, everyone who wanted to try to court me expected brawn to win me over. I had to teach a couple of my riders-to-be a thing or two about manners, actually." Heather admits and I shake my head.

"They don't know you like they think they do. I hope with everything changing, you two have a chance now. Berk is much closer to Berserker Island than the Edge was. Hardly more than a couple hours there and back." I state as she nods.

"Yeah, so tell me, how are you doing? No skirting the truth this time." Heather states and I sigh.

"I've felt like abandoning my duties here more than once just to fly out to him; but I know that's the wrong answer. I've had a twist in my gut like something bad was going to happen, even this morning I could've sworn I heard the shrill call of the Night Fury and the plasma blasts that follow echo on the wind. All I can do is wait, keep Berk safe and literally lock him in a room with me for a week when he gets back." I say, the last line turning into a sigh as Heather laughs and I blush. "Um." I mutter as she shakes her head.

"Don't fret, girl time is safe time." Heather says.

"Alright, well, enough about that, we've got a race to prep for." I state and she nods. We walk down the Academy and I regale her with the map and details. She would be racing, I wouldn't be.

The next couple of hours flew by as the rest of the village roared to life and the Great Hall filtered between full to empty as people ate and drank their breakfasts before making their way over to the Academy and surrounding stands. I took my place in the chair besides Hiccups, the one where his father sat. He had added another one for me to sit in whenever I wasn't racing with him and we could watch, and as I look at it now; we already acted very much like we were married. At this point, the actual ceremony would serve as more of a formality and title than anything else; I'd officially be his Chiefess and General. Maybe we'd make someone else the General at that time, maybe Gustov just to upset Snotlout. Either way, when I took a seat there, I noticed a lot of eyes in the stands fall on me as I sighed deeply, I wished he was here too, and a large part of me wished we were married already.

Everyone had been briefed on the route, it would be a team race to capture the sheep. Spitelout was our fifth, just to add the Nadder into the mix as I was sitting out and officiating. I could've opted to race, but honestly wasn't feeling it. With a swift draw and spine shot from Stormfly to a bell, the race kicked off with a vengeance.

It was interesting to watch from a distance, and to see the difference in certain people's performance. For one, I noted that Fishlegs wasn't aiming for Ruffnut's affection or acting like her wing whereas Snotlout absolutely was. Fishlegs however was on Heather's tail adamantly, even going so far as to swipe a sheep from her. Heather and Fishlegs actually seemed to be enjoying the competition while Ruffnut was confused why Fishlegs was suddenly ignoring her. It was quite funny to witness with insider knowledge. Maybe there was hope for those two yet, and Ruffnut would have to settle for Snotlout… or was that the other way around. Meanwhile, Tuffnut was apparently more than happy causing chaos without a romantic interest.

The race was close, a lot closer than I expected to be honest. We were in the lead because we knew the lay of the land more than not, though victory was within their reach if they got the Black Sheep. Then, the most interesting thing happened. Something no one saw but me. Fishlegs gave Heather the Black Sheep and threw the race. It honestly made me smile; I didn't care who won after all, this was a friendly team competition not individual. And this close, it could easily be chalked up to luck. Low and behold, the Berserkers won the first round. There'd be at least one more race, if not a third tiebreaker today, though they'd be after lunch.

As we filtered away for lunch, I saw Fishlegs and Heather walking together towards one of the catapult outposts on the island; if memory serves, this was the same one that I first started wondering about Hiccup at. When he left right after Gobber mentioned aiming for wings and tails of a dragon, all those years ago. Fishlegs probably had no idea, but it was only fitting they have their talk there. I can only hope for good things to come from them. That's one union I'd wholeheartedly support. My eyes trace past the outpost onto the horizon, and again my thoughts trace back to Hiccup. It hasn't even been a week, and it feels like it's been a month. I'd make it through this for him.