I woke up unable to see hardly anything. Confused, I looked down at the weight resting on my lap.

'Oh, that's right, Tesla and I took a nap together.' I gently started to pet his head, not wanting to wake him up just yet. I leaned my head back against his side, listening to his heart beat and breathing. 'He puts on the tough guy act to protect himself…He's self-preserving, cautious about getting close to people to keep from getting hurt. We're more alike than I thought.' There were very few people I let fully into my life. I had few very close friends growing up, and most of them had either moved away or moved on. Then there were the friends that had unfortunately passed.

'Now I don't get to see any of my friends. Well, not my old ones anyway…' I must have rubbed Tesla's head too hard because he woke up with a drowsy look on his face. When he remembered where he was, he greeted me with a low chitter. I smiled.

"Hey buddy, how was your nap?" He reached up and nudged my head with his, then shifted his wing out of the way. I started to stand up, then remembered two things. One, my muscles had decided to go on strike because I had been knocked out for 9 straight days, and two…I just slept sitting on the hard ground while leaning against hard dragon muscle.

"Ah my back." I hunched over and took a few deep breaths. Tesla had gotten up and shook himself. When he saw my hunched position, he walked up beside me with an unsympathetic look on his face. I caught the look. "You know…gah, this is your fault. You didn't have to do that whole lightning bomb thing. They were impressed enough with the jumps." Tesla rolled his eyes and walked towards the hall.

"Hey! You just gonna leave me here?! Tesla?!"

*CRACK*

"CAUGH!" My back arched and I shouted in surprise and pain. I landed on my knee and it took a second for me to realize Tesla just cracked my back with his tail. I saw a small rock within arm's reach and threw it at him. It nailed him in the back of the head and he spun around, growling. I smirked as I gently stood up, stretching my back, testing it.

"Oh, what are you gonna do, huh? You wouldn't hurt a weak person like me, right?" He dropped low to the ground and let just me say, he got the serpentine movement down to the T. I grew nervous and slowly backed up as he got closer. I quickly found myself backed against a tree.

"H-hey Tesla, it's a good thing we're friends, right? You don't hurt friends. I mean, we saved each other's lives right? …Tesla…!" I ducked as he pounced. I heard and felt two solid thuds on the tree trunk above me. Then I felt him grab the back of my coat, and next thing I knew, I was looking like a limp lion cub being carried by its mother.

"Tesla! This is not what I meant by help!" He simply snorted, ruffling my hair a bit. I tried wiggling out of his grasp, but he had an iron lock on my coat, and I was in a position I couldn't just slip out of it. I gave up and folded my arms, pretending to pout like a kid.

"Fine…just don't rip my coat…" Tesla decided he was going to carry me like that all the way to the hall. And as my dumb luck would have it, Hiccup and Astrid were there. They both turned when they heard Tesla's footfalls, and they both cracked up laughing at the look of mortification on my face.

"Alright, you've had your fun humiliating me Tesla. Now please put me down. They don't need any more ammunition against me." He simply walked over to a bench and set me down, sitting behind me. "Thank you." We both rolled our eyes at each other, then looked over at the others.

"If you're quite finished?" They both straightened up and tried, and failed, to hide their laughter.

"Sorry Rai, it-heh, it was that look on your face when you two came in. We couldn't help ourselves." Hiccup said, while Astrid was still holding back her laughter. I gave her a venomous look, then turned it to Hiccup.

"Either of you say anything about this, and they'll never know you even lived on the Edge…" That shut them up rather quickly, and we moved onto a different topic.

"Aaaanyways, how are you feeling?"

"Better, and although that nap on the ground didn't help, Tesla's tail did."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Astrid asked, both eyebrows raised.

"After we got up, my back was killing me because I was sitting on the ground, and it was hard for me to stand, much less walk." Hiccup smacked his forehead with the butt of his hand.

"Aaaah, I knew it was a bad idea to leave you out there!"

"No it's okay, really. Tesla started walking away, seemingly leaving me behind, when a something hit me in the back. I felt my spin crack, and I fell to my knees." They both looked worried for a second, but I waved them off. "Next thing I know, my back feels better than it has in a long time, and Tesla is carrying me over here." They both looked at the dragon, who had at a small amount of self pride showing on his face. I noticed and reached up, gently whacking him on the nose. He jerked back and looked at me. I pointed a condescending finger at him.

"Hey now, you may have helped, but don't you dare let it go to your head. I don't need an egotistical dragon by my side." He simply licked me in the face. I pulled back in disgust. "Gah! Oh that's just gross! Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?!" He threw his head back and laughed, along with the others. I simply flicked his drool back at him, which landed on his face. He flinched and started wiping it off with a wing. We all settled down after a moment, and Astrid looked at me with a thoughtful look on her face

"So him hitting your back actually helped?"

"Yeah, I have no idea how, but I feel better now. I still need to work to get back to my original shape, as my muscles have weakened over the past few days, but I'm more relaxed."

"That's good to hear!" We all got up and went outside to walk around. I had found a strong branch along the way and cut it with my katana, which was hard to do with a wrapped hand, so an extra branch would sit right under my shoulder.

"What's that for?" Astrid looked confused. I placed the branch under my right arm and sheathed my sword.

"To help me walk. While you guys have been flying your dragons, walking and running around, I've been knocked out, unable to do anything. My muscles grew weak during that time, making it feel like I have the strength a five year old child in a 19 year old body." Hiccup and Astrid thought about it for a while. Then Hiccup spoke up.

"You know, that makes sense. It's just like a weapon. If you don't take care of it, it can become weak and brittle over time." Astrid socked him on the shoulder. "Ow-hey! Astrid, what was that for?!"

"For basically calling Rai a hunk of metal."

"I-I didn't mean it like that! *Smack* Ow-would you stop hitting me?!" I laughed at Hiccup's expense.

'Today's been a good day…Why did I say that? I know I just jinxed myself…Oh, speak of the devil, Fishlegs is running at us looking panicked, this should be good…'

"Hiccup! Hiccup, come quick! Wefounditwefounditwefounditwefoundit!"

"What did you find Fishlegs?"

"We found out where Dagur was hiding all of the dragons!" Looks of surprise crossed everyone's faces, and Fishlegs motioned to follow him.

"Come on! Snotlout and the twins are watching it!" They started to take off, but Hiccup stopped and looked back at me. I waved at him to forget about me. I was useless at the moment, and would only serve to get in the way. He hesitated, nodded, and ran to catch up with the others. I turned around and looked at Tesla, who was watching the others go. He looked down to meet my eyes.

"You want to see just how weak I am in this state?" He was obviously worried, but slowly nodded, leaning down so I could hop on. I slid onto his neck and held on tight as he started walking to the field we were in earlier. When we got to the field I slid off of Tesla and would have face-planted if he hadn't caught me with his head.

"Oof! Thanks bud…" He helped me stand up, and I took a few steps away from him to give myself some room. I stood there, still as a tree, listening to the leaves and grass blowing around in the slight breeze. Then I reached up and pulled my sword out slowly, keeping my focus. It was a little more than painful to hold it with my left hand, but I had to go through with it. I brought it forwards, both hands gripping the handle.

Then I slid my left foot back in a half circle, rotating my body halfway to compensate. When my left foot lined up behind my right, I shifted my balance in between them. My left hand shakily pulled my sword back along my body, lining the blade up with my shoulders. I brought my right arm up and crooked my elbow 90 degrees, making a flat L-shape. I rested my sword on my forearm, keeping my left elbow level with my ear.

I slowly moved my center of gravity over my back leg, raising the other one up to balance. I held that stance for about five minutes, then dropped out of it, letting the sword's tip touch the ground. My breathing wasn't labored, but it was heavier, and I almost felt like sweating.

"Okay, I think that confirms where I'm at." I said as I slowly lifted my sword up to sheath it. It slid in with its unique tone. Tesla tilted his head before walking over, letting me lean on him. "It might take me a while to get back into shape bud, I'm far weaker than I thought." He rumbled in concern. "I'll be fine Tesla, it's just going to suck…"

Chapter 17

Astrid decided she would get up early to see if Hiccup needed help with the food. She and Stormfly flew over to the hall, only to find it empty.

"Hiccup…? Did he sleep in again? Ugh, men." She stepped out of the hall and started to head to Hiccup's place, when she went around the corner, she saw Hiccup and myself standing in the field. I was moving as slowly and as steadily as I could, changing between strange poses. Hiccup stood facing me, trying to mirror my movements. Surprisingly he wasn't doing half bad. After a few more complicated poses, I ended the exercise, and walked over to lean against a rock, Hiccup following.

"So how'd I do?"

"For your first time, not bad. I'm surprised by how steady your balance is on your fake foot."

"Well, that's been years of adjusting by now."

"Fair enough. This would help with that a lot. One rule I've stuck with is, 'To train the mind, you must first train the body.' It basically explains itself." Astrid was walking up at that point, interested, confused, and not amused all at the same time. "Um, Hiccup, I think you were on food duty…" He turned to follow my gaze.

"Astrid! Um…I'll be going now…" He quickly slinked past Astrid, keeping his head down. She watched him go, then turned back to me.

"What were you two doing just then?" She walked up and leaned against the rock.

"It's my own version of Tai-Chi. It's a method of martial arts not used in any combat. It's been helping me recover." I stood up and lightly bounced on my toes. "I'm still not back to 100%, but hopefully within the next week or so, I'll be able to complete my regular training regimen without being out of breath."

"Training regimen? I haven't seen you train since you got here, other than now."

"That's because I go out into the woods to do so. I run till I'm out of breath, rest for a moment or two, then start to train. I usually do it in private, as I don't want others distracting me."

"So how did Hiccup find out?"

"Oh, get this. Today, the one day I decide to train back here instead of the woods, Hiccup gets up early. He told me it looked like I was slowly falling over and he got curious. Then he asked me to teach him once I explained what it was."

"You mean that's your training? No wonder you don't want anyone to see." I laughed at the look on her face.

"No no no, that's only part of it, the rest is normally faster paced than that. And most of the time I actually use my sword." She put a hand on her hip.

"Really? And how much of an expert would you say you are?" We both raised our eyebrows. A small challenge passed between us and I smirked.

"Get your axe."

««{{¤}}»»

The shot for breakfast had gone off, but no one came in. Eventually, when no one came in for breakfast, Hiccup and Toothless went out to find out where everyone went. Astrid and I were locked blow for blow, neither of us gaining the edge. I parried a strike and spun to gain some distance. Astrid had an advantage right now, and I was barely keeping up. I leaned back to avoid a horizontal swing, and ducked low to kick at her feet. She took the hit, rolled with it, and bounced up into a standing position.

"Wow, even in your weaken state, you're still holding your own against me. But I think that's going to change." She smirked. I returned the gesture. I was breathing a lot harder than she was, and I was almost at my limit. Of course, with us both being warriors, we knew how this fight would end within minutes of starting. I snuck a glance at the crowd that had grown, seeing Hiccup hanging in the back of the crowd, staying out of sight of everyone else. I got an evil idea and a smirk played itself across my face.

"Why, cause your boyfriend is here?" Her eyes shot wide open and she spun to look towards the hall. Everyone had been watching us, looking on in awe. When they heard me say that, the twins cracked up, pointing and laughing at Snotlout's crushed feelings and Astrid's blushing face. Hiccup had walked up next to them, standing with his arms folded, a look of mixed emotions on his face. He obviously hadn't heard what I said. Astrid's embarrassment turned to anger real quick, and she glared at the others.

"Don't you people have patrols to do?!" She stormed past everyone, they moved to make a very big hole, and she went into the hall. The others slowly went to complete their tasks.

'Oops, I pushed a little too far…' I walked up to Hiccup. He looked over in confusion.

"What did you say? I haven't seen her that embarrassed in a while."

"I…we were sparring, and she complemented me for lasting as long as I did, but saying how that was going to change. Then I…may have asked if it's because her boyfriend, meaning you, was there…I'm dead, aren't I…?" Hiccup blushed lightly.

"Ho-how did you know about that…?" I gave him a blank look.

"You two are way too obvious, how could I not see it?"

"We're…really not that good at hiding our feelings, are we?" He rubbed the back of his head, a full on rose spreading across his face.

"And not very good at expressing them either, from what I've seen. Pretty sure everyone else knows it already. Even though Snotlout is in denial." I patted his shoulder. "It's alright Hiccup, it's not a bad thing to fall in love."

"I know it's not a bad thing…but what if I make a bad decision and get someone hurt because of my feelings…?" I whacked him up the back side off the head gently.

"You're a leader, you're supposed to make mistakes. Come on, before breakfast is all gone."

"D-hey! What is it with you and violence?!"

"It's the only way to get through that thick skull of yours."

"What?! What do you mean a thick skull? In comparison to who?" I looked back, a small smile still on my lips.

"My cousins." I had told him and Astrid a few stories about them. The main one was; if you hit them in the head? They'll pop right back up like jack rabbits because their skulls are so thick.

"HEY! That's not fair! I haven't even met your cousins!" We turned the corner to go into the hall.

"You don't need to, because I have." Toothless and Tesla bounced over and nudged their respective riders. Hiccup looked at Tesla for a moment.

"I just remembered, you two never got a saddle." I looked over at Toothless, who perked up and looked at Tesla. One of the straps looked like a leather collar on at this angle. I looked at Tesla, and tried to imagine a saddle on him.

"Well, it is sort of up to you, isn't it bud?" He looked thoughtful for a minute, then simply shrugged his shoulders. "So you couldn't care either way? Well maybe we'll try one, and if you like it, fine. If you don't, we'll figure something out. I mean, I don't think you'd care for a metal bit…at all." Hiccup and I walked over and got our food. Sitting down next to, and across from Astrid respectively. She wouldn't look at me, and Hiccup and I had a nonverbal conservation.

'I need to fix this…don't I?'

'Probably…Be careful, we don't need the hall burnt down…' I rolled my eyes, and looked around the room, pretty much everyone had left, save for Fishlegs, who was editing the Book of Dragons.

"Astrid…?" She simply ignored me. Oh great…she holds grudges… "Astrid, I'm sorry. What I said was out of line. It was uncalled for and it wasn't my place to say it in front of everyone else." She quickly glanced at me, flicking her eyes back down to her bowl, a thoughtful look on her face. Oh, yeah, toy with me. No that's fine, I'm honestly apologizing and you decide to mess with me, I totally deserve that. She looked up at me, meeting my eyes.

"I'll forgive you." I internally sighed.

'Just play along…'

"…But…?"

"Back field, before breakfast, every morning. Deal?" She had a smirk growing on her face, and I felt my own appearing. I reached over the table and held out my hand. She met me half way, and we shook on it.

"Deal."