Hello guys! It has been a while; I know... But the truth is that I haven't been writing for this story at all lately. I still have future chapters done but I kinda wanted to have all of them and then start posting consistently. Well, I guess that's not gonna be. Maybe by the end of the year this will be complete? I don't know, I have another huge project that I'm working on that I also want to post by the end of the year.

It's a 'How to Train Your Dragon'/'Game of Thrones' crossover, but not a fic. It's kinda like the stories dump that I also have but much, MUCH bigger and it's mostly all the information, worldbuilding, history required TO build a proper AU story. I think I have about 20k words so far and that's only the timeline for less than 200 years. Beside that I have many files and lists detailing other aspects of Viking society in the world of 'A Song of Ice and Fire'. This is one of the best things I've ever come up with and I can't wait to publish it.

In any case, there are still about 5 chapter that are mostly done before reaching the climax of the story (which I haven't even started on). I'm going to push myself to just write them already (because editing is so much easier) and... hopefully, by the end of the year this fic will be finished.

Thank you very much for your response so far! I'm so happy you're enjoying this series.


Chapter 5: See You Tomorrow

He was soaked to the bone by the time he reached the great hall. The heavens split open while he was still in the woods and by the time Hiccup reached the Meade Hall, the streets were empty and he was left trudging alone down the path. He wished he would have gone to his home instead. The fatigue that he stubbornly ignored earlier came back twice as strong, especially in such horrid weather. Even so, Hiccup was in a good mood.

It wasn't much progress with Toothless, in his opinion, but considering his blunder he thanked the Gods for the dragon's curiosity. If they would continue like this, meeting every day and getting to know each other better, there was only a matter of time before they would figure out what was really going on with the war and then… he wasn't sure how his father would take it. No, that wasn't it! Hiccup had no idea how they would go about convincing his father to give the dragons a chance. He definitely wouldn't be in any listening mood if he showed up on dragon back.

Maybe his mother could do something about it…

Hiccup pursed his lips as his thoughts derailed more and more on that particular matter. Should he do somethings about that? Him and Toothless were barely on the tolerating-each-other's-presence stage, could he entertain the idea of flying off who-knows-where in search of her just yet? The only thing he knew was that she was North. Much further North than the Archipelago and he hadn't even been flying on a dragon yet. His pace slowed as he got absorbed in his mind, the pouring rain barely even noticed.

He could… The moment his bond with the Night Fury strengthened he could hop on and go away. He could travel away in search of his mother and when he'd reunite with her, they could figure something out. His chest ached and his eyes burned despite the drops of salty water falling from above.

He shook his head and the cold suddenly came back to his senses. It was raining, he was exhausted and he was dragging his feet through mud up to his thighs while thinking of 'what-if's'. Yeah, he could. He could leave once he got Toothless on his side.

Didn't mean he should though.

The Hall was warm and dry. Hiccup sighed, shaking away the thoughts as he pushed the doors open with some difficulty. So late in the evening, there weren't many people left hanging around. He spotted the group of his peers and Gobber around a table in a corner and trudged up to them.

"Oh, ye finally decided ta join us?" Gobber smirked when he caught his approach. He was leaning on the table next to theirs, brandishing the Book of Dragons in one hand. "So, where did Hiccup go wrong taday?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes, reasoning the smith probably though the workload he shoved on him in the morning was to blame for his lateness. He wasn't going to disappoint him.

"You mean, before or after he hid for half of the fight?" Taunted Snotlout.

The heir ignored him and sat next to Astrid when she shifted to make some space. She pushed an untouched bowl of porridge and chicken in front of him and he forced his arms to take it. He was pretty hungry but the appetite just wasn't there. He tried to at least pretend he was thankful.

"He never thinks before acting."

He had a feeling Astrid meant that in more than one way. Chancing a glance at the shield maiden and yep, she was watching him in a very stern manner. Hiccup felt suddenly ashamed and guilty. He should apologize for earlier. Maybe, actually talk to her about it and try to get her to understand.

"Thank ye, Astrid. Ye need ta live and breathe this stuff. The Dragon Manual." Gobber tossed the book in the middle of the table. "Everything we know about every dragon we know of."

He took a moment to watch them, from Fishlegs' quiet excitement, to the twins' horror and Snotlout's displeasure. Hiccup got the weird feeling Gobber was searching for something. He knew that the blacksmith was suspicious; Gobber already tried to interrogate him before but the conversation got derailed by Astrid talk and, as embarrassing as it was, it helped divert the main topic. And now, he was sitting with the others, something that he hasn't done in forever. In fact, if it wasn't for Astrid motioning for him to come, he would have sat down at the next table. Snotlout was still a mocking jerk but it was far tamer than before, and the twins only laughed a little.

The man nodded, finally looking up when it thundered outside. "No attacks tonight. Study up."

"Wait, you mean, actually read?" Tuffnut said.

"While we're still alive?" Ruffnut groaned right after.

Gobber sighed and walked away. Hiccup agreed, there was only so much he could stomach everyone at the same time.

"Hah, we've been over this." Snotlout sauntered away. "Have fun, nerds!"

"Not so quick, Snotlout!"

He halted when Astrid called, taken aback. He recovered, shooting a smug grin at Hiccup. "Don't worry, babe, I didn't mean you. But since you insist, we can go now to my place and work out, what do you say?"

The blonde stood up, her face darkening with violence. Hiccup instinctively touched her arm. He recoiled when she directed her glare at him. Totally not forgiven.

"So what? You want us to read it?" Tuffnut held the corner of the book between two fingers as if it would leap at his face and attack him any time soon.

"While it would surely be good for you, no. That's not what I meant. We need to talk about what we're gonna do." She crossed her arms over her chest and regarded everyone with too haughty of an expression. "Unless you've all forgotten about the centuries old war between Vikings and dragons."

Hiccup stifled his yawn. He really believed the girl was correct and that they should actually sit down and come up with a strategy. But, on the other hand, he was about ready to collapse, everyone was tired and irritated by their first day in Dragon Training, and she was talking to the twins and Snotlout. Not the best combination. As predicted, the two blonde disasters were already glassy eyed and Snotlout was holding himself back from grumbling in her face.

Fishlegs dragged the book to him, his fingers gliding over the dragon sigil on the front. "We're still pretty much stuck on that though. Short of bonding with the dragons outside of Dragon Training, I don't know how we'll get them to trust us."

His words sparked attention in the twins.

"You mean…" Begun Tuffnut.

"Release the dragons and let them blow stuff up?" Finished Ruffnut.

Fishlegs and Astrid stared at them nonplussed.

"Would you just let that go?" Groused Snotlout exasperated. "Jeez…"

"I'm not sure if we can do that…" Astrid spoke, answering Fishleg's proposal. "There are guards posted at the Ring after training is done, so going in and releasing the dragons would certainly make them notice what we're up to."

"What if we let them go and then train them in the forest secretly?" Said Snotlout, a hint of surprising cheerfulness in his voice at the idea.

Fishlegs was quick to shoot that down. "What makes you think the dragons won't just fly away when they are free?"

He gritted his teeth. "Shut up, Fishlegs."

A loud yawn broke through the conversation. Hiccup blushed when everyone turned to look at him. "Ah, sorry about that… I had a long day…"

"I think we all are a bit nervous about this." Mumbled Fishlegs, still fingering the spine of the book. "I think we should discuss this at a later date." He added after another thunder clap.

Astrid stood up, her palms slapping on the table. "And when exactly do you think we should? After we're done with Dragon Training?"

"How about when we don't drop from exhaustion?" Fishlegs said just as fired up.

His sudden nerve had Hiccup blinking owlishly at him. "Come on, guys. There's no point in fighting amongst ourselves. I do agree with Fishlegs though… maybe we should get some sleep and calm down after today…"

Astrid's glare didn't diminish but when she looked him in the eyes, he caught the flash of hurt and disappointment. 'Gods, Astrid, please don't do that… I don't always have to agree with you.' She picked up her axe and spun on her heels towards the door without a word.

"Well, that went well." Smirked Snotlout. His infuriating cackling continued on the way out. He was most likely trying to cozy up to Astrid now that Hiccup was stumbling.

The heir slumped, his head crashing on the table. The bowl of porridge and chicken was half eaten but he didn't care. The twins asked for it, so Hiccup waved for them to take it and go. When the doors closed for one last time, Fishlegs took a deep breath.

"You and Astrid don't seem to be… clicking anymore."

"Clicking." His deadpan might have come off as irritated, he wasn't sure.

The bigger teen sputtered. "I – I mean… you guys seemed on the same page at first, and now you're… uh…"

"That would be my fault…" Hiccup sighed dejected. "I need to talk to her, I know. I'll get to that… at some point."

Fishlegs studied him for a beat. "Are you okay? Did you have trouble with your work?"

Hiccup pondered telling him about Toothless. What would that accomplish anyway? Saying it would only remind himself of his failure. He didn't even have the resolve to do what had to be done. Toothless had no reason to stick around. Yes, he was dropping by for a few days but what reassurance did Hiccup had that the dragon wouldn't just leave and never return. They had a good thing going on, but how long would it last. That lingering fear kept him from opening his mouth.

If only Hiccup had hit him on the cliff… If only Toothless was – NO! What was he thinking? Intentionally crippling his best friend for life was no way to forge a relationship with someone. He felt ashamed, disgusted, at even considering doing that. Toothless didn't deserve it. If Toothless didn't stay, then… that meant that the only reason he stayed back then was because he had no other choice. Hiccup scrunched his eyes shut. The moisture gathering was blinked away and Hiccup stood up, managing not to sway.

"Hiccup?"

The concern in the other boy's voice was appreciated but Hiccup really wanted to be alone.

"I'm fine, Fishlegs. Sorry I can't go over the book with you."

The blonde smiled sadly. "It's fine. You should get some rest."

With a nod, the young heir walked away, back in the pouring rain that masked his frustrated tears born from fatigue and pessimism.

/\\\

The next day, the Kill Ring was very noisy.

"Taday is all about attack! Nadders are quick and light on their feet. Yer job it to be quicker and lighter."

Overnight – Hiccup couldn't understand how he did it – Gobber had constructed a maze inside the arena. The walls were tall and hard to miss, and he wondered if those things were always used to train recruits or the blacksmith was a special kind of sadist. The man just left them inside, released the Nadder and was now lounging outside, on one of the chains of the metal net.

And he was being a smartass as well.

"Come on, yer not even trying!"

Well, duh!

The dragon was busy tracking them among the twisting turns of the walls, but the teens weren't making any effort in going after her to begin with. Maybe Astrid wanted to, but for a slew of other reasons than Gobber believed.

"He is crazy!" Snotlout said, holding his shield closer.

"I'm really beginning to question his teaching methods." Fishlegs added.

Hiccup looked at them blankly. "And you've just realize that after years of hearing him sing Snoggletog carols."

The dragon roared and started to hit the walls at random. Astrid hissed at them to move and the group took off. At some point, the collapsing structure separated them. Ruffnut dragged her brother from the path of a falling splintered log, only to turn a corner and find themselves face to face with the Nadder.

"Ugh, do you ever bathe?" Since she ended up behind Tuffnut, the comment was obviously aimed at him and not the stinking breath of the dragon.

"That's it! Look for its blind spot. Find it, hide in it and strike!" Gobber instructed from above.

The twins followed his words, staying right in front of the Nadder's frontal spike and moving at the same time she did.

"If you don't like it, then just get your own blind spot!" He started to push her with his elbows at which the girl responded with a punch to the back of his head.

"How about I give you one!"

Their wrestling distracted them from the dragon, who finally caught sight of the two and growled.

"Blind spot, yes. Deaf spot? Not so much! Hehehe!"

They started running back the way they came, the raging reptile right at their heels. Until Astrid came from a side hallway and threw a piece of wood at her.

"Hey, come this way!"

Not-yet-Stormfly switched her targets, going after the shield maiden who was much more agile and quick as she maneuvered through the half broken down maze. She controlled her breathing as she sprinted, slapping the walls to draw the Nadder's attention whenever she picked on something else. Astrid didn't know what to do when she would catch up to her, but she couldn't risk anyone else accidentally hurting her girl.

If there was anyone who would take care of this dragon training session, it had to be her. Stormfly was hers and even if she didn't recognize her, Astrid had to be the one to look after her. The path in front was blocked by a toppled wall. That didn't deter the blonde. She pushed with her legs and leaped over the wood, running on it until she was climbing over the tops.

Not-yet-Stormfly screeched, and she heard her tearing through the panels to follow. Astrid didn't waste a second. She was already jumping over the wood, running on the thickness of the walls just as the Nadder nimbly did behind her. Their actions ended up destroying whatever was left of the maze and for a moment Astrid spared the thought of the others. She hoped they didn't get caught under the structure.

"Astrid!" Hiccup's voice drew her attention to the group gathered next to the edge of the Kill Ring. She turned her direction to go towards them, aware of the infuriated dragon behind her and her poor footing. Her ground broke apart and she floated in the air for a few seconds. Snotlout rushed beneath to catch her and Astrid pondered if breaking a leg was worth seeing the look on his face when he didn't catch her.

She didn't have to worry. Ruffnut pushed him away and with Fishlegs' help, they managed to break her fall. Unfortunately, the dragon had no problem. She flapped her wings once and she was safely on the ground, baring fangs at the teens.

"HEADS UP!" Tuffnut cackled as he threw his shield at not-yet-Stormfly. "Learned that from you!" He threw in Hiccup's direction.

Astrid cringed but it worked to distract her away from the downed trio. Hiccup was behind the male twin, banging his axe against the shield and making a ruckus. Snotlout cried out and run away with Tuffnut when the Nadder gave chase. They split when they reached Hiccup, who was standing in front of a miraculously standing wall.

Astrid made to ran at him but she had no chance of getting there in time. What was that stupid boy doing now?

When the Nadder was almost upon him, Hiccup dropped his weapons and dove sideways. Right in between two collapsed boards that would hopefully protect him when the dragon would ram headfirst into the wall. Which she did. And they did. Gobber was hobbling towards the dazed dragon and using a hook and a shield he marched the confused beast back in her pen.

"Well, that was better than b'fore." He regarded the sweaty, dusty teenagers with a grin. "Allright, fer tonight we'll meet at the Watchtower ta discuss. Get cleaned up till then."

He didn't wait for their agreement as he left the arena. Hiccup was hoping he wouldn't have to help him clean up the place. He was still jazzed up by their session and he needed to take a walk to calm down… maybe go to the cove and see if Toothless was around. He was about to follow when a hand grabbed the back of his best.

"Hold up!" Astrid's grip was unyielding, but her face was gentle. "I need to talk with you."

"Uh… only me?"

He pointed a finger at himself and she rolled her eyes. A direct contrast to the glare that told everyone to scram. Once they retrieved their weapons and shields and were out of the arena, Astrid released his vest. She tucked her bangs behind an ear, hesitating.

"Y'know, I don't think this is a good place to talk." Hiccup muttered.

Astrid nodded and let him lead the way. He wasn't sure what to expect out of this but since they were given this chance, Hiccup figured he might as well explain himself. He didn't want Astrid to be mad at him anymore and from what he noticed, neither did she. Perhaps, he could even break the news about Toothless to her.

He mentally shook himself. He wanted to make peace with her, not give her anymore reason to be cross with him. But if he continued to keep Toothless a secret from the rest, what good would it do for their plan? Not that they had one, but he was starting to feel guilty for hiding this from them. If anyone, his peers would understand best what he was going through.

But he didn't even know what was going on. He had no clue if he was actually making progress with Toothless or not. The dragon refused to be touched and he was incredibly wary of Hiccup getting too close. No! He had to carry on and see how far he could go. Until he would make a breakthrough, he would keep this to himself. There was no point in making them more concerned and on edge than they already were.

The two stopped at a clearing on the other side of the bridge. There wasn't a lot of vegetation considering the mountainous area but they were still some distance away from the road and they would be able to see anyone approaching.

"So, what's wrong, Astrid?"

The girl stopped with her hands on her hips. Her blonde fringe was again falling in her eyes and she brushed it aside. Oh, twice in five minutes? She was very nervous.

"I wanted to apologize." She took a deep breath, blue eyes uncharacteristically shy as she looked at him. "I may have been too… forceful with you and the others. I understand this situation is delicate but, I can't – I don't know how… ugh, I'm not making any sense…" She growled, hand pulling on her bangs again. "Look, this is not how I do things. If there is a problem, I'm going to fix it right away. But we can't do that now, there is too much at risk. And I trust you to guide us through this, I do! But it's just so frustrating how everyone just keep going on as if there's nothing wrong! Everything is wrong! And nobody seems to take this seriously except from me.

"The twins are treating this like a joke, Snotlout is more concerned with flirting with me, Fishlegs is all about that stupid book and you? You're just - not here! Ugh! I feel like, even when you're with us, you're a million miles away. It's so annoying having to keep everyone on track, like they have better things to do when we should be focused on the dragons. They're right there and we can't do anything to help them! Stormfly was so angry and, did-did you see her?" She started pacing and gesticulating like mad. Hiccup had never seen Astrid so worked up.

"She was skin and bones but she still came out of her cage like a storm and chased us around! She never used her fire, as weak as she was, she was still holding back on us! Hiccup, please, I need your help. How long are we going to do this? How long are we going to go in there and run around our dragons and watch them suffer? I can't - I can't do this on my own and protect everyone at the same time. If I do, then… might as well free them now and be done with this."

"Astrid…"

"If we're going to continue playing along with Gobber, I don't how long I'll hold on. I'm afraid that I will end up doing something bad…"

Hiccup wasn't sure what to do. The girl was working herself up in a frenzy. The more she talked, the more Hiccup felt his heart shatter at her frustration. But he was wordless. He had never imagined that Astrid Hofferson of all people was capable of such a reaction. She was so calm and collected, always there to straightened out the others. But now she was the one that needed someone's help. She was the one that needed reassuring. Hiccup gulped. What could he do?

An image of them kissing sprouted in his mind. No way! He was going to faint before his lips would be anywhere near her face. He almost slapped himself. Astrid was by herself with worry and he was thinking of how to put the moves on her. Gods, he was just like Snotlout.

What Astrid needed was a friend, and now that he thought about it, he hasn't really been there for her. Whenever they would meet, it was always Astrid that moved the conversation. She was the one stressing how important it was for them to plan; she was the one reminding them how much was at stake… She counted on him to support her but he was keeping secrets from her instead…

Hiccup grabbed her flaying hand to catch her attention. Seeing those blue eyes almost tearing up brought the worst pain imaginable to his soul. It was just as bad as realizing that Toothless forgot him; just as bad as returning to an empty, cold house. He didn't say anything as he hugged her. He didn't have words for how sorry he was, but he hoped that she would be able to understand him nonetheless. He felt her arms coming up behind him and squeeze his furry coat.

"We'll save Stormfly, Astrid! I promise you. You two will be reunited soon." And if her choked breathes against his shoulder drove the knife deeper in his heart, he ignored it. "I'm so sorry for ignoring how you felt…"

He couldn't stop the tears sliding down his cheeks. He pressed his face in her hair and held her. Gods, maybe they both needed this. He was so depressed lately, the only think that could cheer him was the hope that Toothless would be there, waiting at the cove. And even after, when he was going back home alone, and with that constant fear that he wouldn't be there the next time… He didn't realize how much that thought weighted him down. He was used to the burden on his shoulders but, even he had a limit, and he hadn't notice how close he was to that.

He had to tell her. If anything, they would be each other's anchor.

/\\\

As Hiccup stepped down from the slope, it was to an unoccupied cove. The sky was bright, but it wasn't long until the sun would set and they would have to gather at the Watchtower to hear how Gobber lost his limbs. The others may not know, but he did. In excruciating detail.

After telling Astrid about everything, and in that he included all his fears and doubts, the young shield maiden had promised not to reveal this to the others until Hiccup was ready. When that would be, he had no idea but it probably involved some flying. And for the purpose of hastening the process, he brought an entire basket of fish. Different types, just to be sure.

He dragged the bag closer to the boulders, where they would be in the shade of the wall and sat down. And waited. At some point, he pulled out his book and started doodling. Some of those sketches even resembled the missing Night Fury, as best as he could, considering it was from memory.

The day went on like that until the sun had crawled all the way behind the trees. Hiccup sighed, throwing his charcoal pen between two pages and then closing the notebook. He wanted to stay some more, just to make sure he wouldn't miss the dragon but it was getting late. He also had to tell Astrid how things progressed. Nothing too long winded about that.

'He didn't come.'

He glanced at the fish and pondered if it was worth carrying the heavy basket all the way back to the village. By the time that thought finished he was already walking away. In case Toothless would come, he would at least know that Hiccup dropped by. That reassurance wasn't as good as he wanted it to feel.

/\\\

At the top of one of Berk's many watch towers were Gobber and his six trainees, each one holding a stick with fish over the glowing fire.

"… and with one twist, he took my hand, and swallowed it whole. And ah saw the look on its face… Ah was delicious. He must have passed the word, 'cause it wasn't a month b'fore another one of them took mah leg."

The smith laughed, taking a bite out of his meal. His brows fell in a frown after not hearing any sort of comments to his story. Hiccup was holding his food lifelessly in front of him, not even caring if it was cooking or not. Astrid was sitting next to him but her eyes were more often than not on the boy, and Gobber would say that, so was her focus. Fishlegs was looking sick but he didn't consider that an unusual reaction. What was interesting was that Snotlout seemed to be in the same boat as him. The twins were the only ones who showed something other than disgust or apathy, but playing with the sticks as if they were swords was still something he didn't expect.

"Something the matter, lads?" They all flinched, as if just realizing they were supposed to be doing something else.

Astrid cleared her throat. "Uh, no, no! That was a very… inspirational story, Gobber." Muted agreements followed her words but none of them meant it, and some didn't even know what they were agreeing on.

"Ye know… I'm not as stupid as ah look." There was a sudden alertness in their postures. "You lot have been acting very suspicious as of late. Care ta tell dear ol' Gobber what yer all hiding?"

He enjoyed seeing them squirm. All six of them were looking at anything but him with wide eyes and pursed lips. It was only a matter of time before someone spilled.

"We don't know what you're talking about!" Ah, so it was Tuffnut. Not surprising. "Nu-uh! No way… Hiding? Pfft! Who's that?"

The male twin half covered his face with one hand and winked at the others. Gobber was not impressed. Astrid and Snotlout looked murderous, Fishlegs seemed like he was going to hyperventilate himself into passing out and Hiccup slumped down in defeat. How did they event think they had a chance?

"Yeah, yer totally fooling me…" He drawled, playing along.

"Of course we are." He froze. "I mean, not that we are, 'cause we're not! Fooling you that is… I mean we are 'are', but not fooling you, oh no! I meant in the sense that we exist, as in we are. So we are 'are'… are?"

Everyone stared at him.

"…What?" Snotlout said confused.

Tuffnut pulled back panicked. "I mean we're not hiding anything! But we would say that if we were, but saying it would also mean that we want you to think that so we would say that we do… and we are… but not hiding… uh that… and… uh-uh…" Tuffnut shot to his feet, hands tugging down his face. "IT'S NOT A TATTOO, IT'S A BIRTHMARK! DON'T TELL MOM!"

"Hah?"

Nobody moved except for Tuffnut's dramatic breathing. Gobber didn't know what to make of it.

"So, the secret is… that you got a tattoo?"

"NO!... maybe…"

"… Alright!" The smith stood up. He was done with them for today. "Class dismissed!"