Chapter 5 Trapping the mind III: Guilt

After dropping Grim to one of the Lures, Hookfang caught up with the rest of the group flying in a V formation, Toothless in lead. The Dragon riders flew above cloud cover towards four approaching vessels in a straight horizontal line, all bearing the Headless crest. Hiccup turned towards his brothers and sisters in arms, an interrogative look in his eyes. They all responded with a nodded, entrusting him the command of this attack.

"Alright," he said "We don't know if the hull is dragon proof, so we have to concentrate our fire on the deck. The goal is to push them back, so try to keep the ships floating. "

"Yeah, we will try," said Tuffnut smugly.

"Tuff" insisted Hiccup "Keep the ship floating."

"Yes, my tyrannical leader" replied the male twin

Hiccup rolled his eyes at the comment and continued "So here is the plan. Fishleg, Tuffnut and Ruffnut, you are going frontal, and draw the first wave of the attack. As soon as they fired, you guys back off.

"Why us?" Complained Ruffnut

"Because Hookfang and Stormfly are much faster dragons and they will flank them from the left. "Hiccup replied.

"And you?" Tuffnut asked.

"I'll be flying over them and as soon as Astrid and Snotout backed off when they are being fired at, and regrouped with you, I'll engage them from the back, while you four come in again. "

"Wooo" Astrid cheered, "Double surprises, nice strategy babe."

"Thank you, Milady" Hiccup replied sweetly "remember gang, you strike, and you back off. Be safe."

They all nodded at the words of their leader, game faces on. Fishleg and the twins leaned forward, charging down on out of the cloud. Astrid and Snotlout drove to the left and Hiccup flew upward.

As soon as the Gronckle and the Zippleback made them known to the enemies' ship. A voice shouted, "Dragon riders, right ahead."

The sentence wasn't even finished when the pair of dragons charged. Meatlug unleashed a fireball, landed precisely on a catapult while Barf and Belch flew along the side of the rightest ship, green gas covering the whole length of the vessel before a spark blew it all up. The explosion severely damaged the ship, destroying two catapults and two ballistae as well as knocking out several crew members. At this time, the other three ships circled around in an attempt of surrounding the two riders.

"Ruff, Tuff, time to go" yelled Fishleg while dodging a boulder.

"But the fun just started" replied the twins, charging on the damaged ship

"Stick to the plan!" But the twins were oblivious to the order, already being ready for another strike. The Zippleback flew low, green gas already leaking out one head when a barrage of boulder and arrows headed towards them from their left. The twins shared a look before pulling on the dragon's horn to evade the incoming projectile. They managed to dodge a few but by strafing left to dodge a ballista shot, they found themselves directly in the path of a boulder.

The massive ball of rock approached quickly, bringing its lethal form towards Ruffnut, when suddenly, its disintegrated in a mist of fire. From it emerged the shape of Fishleg on Meatlug, with a very serious expression.

"Fishleg, you saved us" said Ruffnut

"Yeah, and I still don't know why I did this, so for once, can you two do what we tell you to do?" Fishleg replied sharply. "Our job is to provide a distraction for Snotlout and Astrid. By being complete muttonhead and charging in, you not only put yourselves in danger but also them!"

It was the first time that the husky Viking employed such anger in his tone, and the twins decided best not to argue. Turning the dragons around, the three riders flew away from the battle, while making sure to keep a close eye on their back. Quickly, they were out of range, and soon after, out of sight.

"What? Why are they running away?" said someone operating the ballista on the most left ship.

\/—•—\/

Astrid and Snotlout were flying side by side, flanking the ships from the left. They remained low to the water, trying to stay out of sight as long as possible.

" Astrid, babe" Snotlout said suddenly

"Euh" grunted Astrid " For the last time, I am not your babe"

"Can I ask you a question?" asked Snotlout

"No" she denied the request dryly

" Not even one for the Snot? I know that you can resist all of this" bragged the Viking. The dragon below him snorted, and quickly set his neck on fire. Thankfully, the saddle was fireproof as a courtesy of Hiccup.

"Hookfang!" Yelled the victim of the heat.

"Snotlout, focus, we are about to engage them. "She muttered out, mouth sour with bile

"I'll stop calling you babe if you answer me one question"

The blond Viking rolled her eyes at the bargain, but when she gave more thought, it wasn't that bad. She only felt pitiful for the next girl. It can only be a next girl, right? She thought.

"Fine, ask"

"How's Valka?" Snotlout asked

"What? What's the matter with Hiccup's mom? Is she sick?" She said in surprise, totally not expecting that.

"Well, I mean" She looked over and saw she thought was impossible: Snotlout acted hesitant, shy. "Just, like" he trailed off "how she is. You know, what she likes, what's her dragon name, how old is she, where she lives. Is she living in Hiccup's hut?" Andcouldshelikemeback? "The jet haired Viking muttered out the last bit.

And now Astrid couldn't believe her ears. Snotlout was falling for Hiccup's mother. This was just too, weird. Technically, Valka was Snotlout aunt. But again, no blood-relation between them. She thought about how Snotlout acted and how Hiccup would react, and a grin automatically drew on her face. Oh, this was just great. She decided to toy a bit with Snotlout's feeling, just because she can.

"Actually, I don't know her very well" She spoke slowly, voice hesitant. "She is a very mysterious lady, always unexpected. As for her dragon, it is a Stormcutter named Cloudjumper, which is extremely protective of her. The bound she has with him is just as powerful as the one between Hiccup and Toothless. I remember, just after the battle with Drago, I almost got eaten when I walked up on her one time." It was half a lie, but the look on Snotlout face way too enjoyable, shifting between fear and dreamy and she had to bite her inner cheek to prevent laughing. "And no" she continued "Valka lives in the old hut of Mildew that has been rebuild after the battle. But again, I did saw Eret visit her a couple of times." If the dragon part got Snotlout shivering in fear, the fact about the ex-trapper got him furious.

"What does he have, that I don't? With Hiccup as chief, I am currently number two. That's it, she will obviously fall for all this numbertwoness" he scowled low before speaking up again "Thanks babe"

It was indescribable how Astrid wanted to punch Snotlout right now. But with the enemy ships in sight, she controlled herself and said.

"Let's attack the most outer one. Snotlout, you'll pass by the starboard side. I'll go from the other."

As the ships tried to surround Fishleg and the twins, it left the stern of the ship that was on the left completely exposed for Astrid and Snotlout. With their dragon fire, both riders destroyed the weapons settled on deck. Snotlout took courtesy of the sail as Hookfang set himself on fire while Astrid, spine shot after spin shot, took care of the remaining crew. The other two undamaged ships, finally realizing their presence, started firing at them. Caught between two ships, Astrid pondered her options quickly.

"Down girl, into the water" she ordered while orienting her dragon down towards the damaged ships. The Nadder folded her wings and broke the surface with a splash. Below it, dodging a couple arrows, the pair swan below the ship and emerged from the other side, free of the crossfire. They turned graciously in the air and fired a volley of a spine, pining one Viking to the deck.

At this moment, a high pitch whilst grew louder and louder.

"Blast it bud" yelled one voice intense explosion followed an intense purple light as a black form flew by. Out of the two-remaining ship, one got its deck shattered by the plasma blast. In fact, the whole ship almost collapsed on himself.

With the return of Meatlug and Barf and Belch, the six dragon riders quickly took care of the last ship. The group hovered in the air, making sure that the vessels returned where they come from. On the way back to the Lures, Fishleg said

"That was genius Hiccup, one of your best strategy yet." The statement was followed by a series of nods.

"The auburn-haired Viking flip off his visor, accepting the compliments humbly.

"I couldn't have done this without you guys" he said.

"yet, you are the one who came up with this plan. So, what do you want to call it, now that is has been proved that is was Thor dam efficient?" Astrid said.

"I was thinking calling it the cross-sweep. Hiccup answered. The name got no complaints, it stayed.

"One more thing our tyrannical leader, how did you get to blow up one ship. "complained Tuffnut.

"Yeah, why did you get to do all the fun stuff" complained Ruffnut.

"I wasn't trying to, but Toothless did a fired a fully charged plasma blast. I guess his fire got more powerful after he became the Alpha. Didn't you bud?" Hiccup answered, bending down to scratch Toothless 'jaw.

•—0—•

The fly to the Outpost was uneventful, and after dropping Grim to the ground, the prisoner rubbed his shoulders where Hookfang's claw left a clear mark before asking.

"Did you meet any ships of the Headless tribe?" he said.

"What?" Snotlout said, surprised. The rest of the group gathered around.

"The outcome of the battle is pretty self-explanatory since all of you are unharmed. So, what did the ships looked like?" Grim repeated.

"Small and slim for some, others were bigger, but traditional Viking ships, in all shades of color." Hiccup answered, "But tell me, what does a Headless ship actually look like."

"The deck stands out more, beyond the limit of the hull. They looked sturdier, but they are still very fast, and most of them are reinforced with metal bars, on the inside. And, of course," Grim chuckled, "overloaded with weapons."

The group cooked some lunch, mainly yak jerky, and stream water. As the night started to fall, Fishleg was getting ready to go on his shift.

"Send a signal if you see something, be safe." Hiccup said.

"I will," Fishleg answered, "have some rest."

At this moment, Grim approached them. "If he is going to go and watch out for an incoming attack, then he is wasting his time."

"Explain yourself." Hiccup stiffened.

"After a devastating defeat, they never attack just after, trust me."

"I should get going," Fishleg said

"Really, I mean it, I was an important part of them, I'll even proposed that we should attack just after a lost battle, in past times, because the enemies would lower their guard. But what I got as an answer was a good lecture about the strategy of war: they said the in the case of enemies that would be expecting this kind of plan, by not attacking, they tired themselves for nothing will we can regroup. So, trust me, and don't go."

"But how do you know they didn't change their strategy, since you are captured?" Asked Fishleg suspiciously.

"Once again" the prisoner replied with a slight chuckle, "they believe I'm dead."

Fishleg and Hiccup gave a nod at those words, effectively ending the conversation.

•—0—•

The two riders joined the rest of the group for dinner. Astrid left for a bit, bringing food to the prisoner before coming back. They chatted with low voices; makings sure that Grim couldn't hear them. Fishleg quickly went through their conversation about the presumed plan of attack on the Headless side.

Astrid, with a pensive expression, whispered.

"You know, we can use this opportunity to tell if he is honest with us or not."

"How so?" Fishleg asked,

"By posting someone on the Lures. If there is an attack, then Grim is straight-up lying to us and we can send him back to Berk or kill him. If no one shows up…"

"Then we know that he is somewhat reliable." Fishleg completed excitedly. "Astrid, this is genius."

"Shhhh" hissed she, "lower."

"I should get going," said the husky Viking, hand clasped over his mouth.

"Wait, "said Astrid, "Wait until he is asleep."

"Why?" This time, it was Hiccup who asked. "What's wrong about him needing to be asleep, it's not like he can talk with them, they don't have Terror mails, and it's not like he is going somewhere."

"I… should have told you guys earlier." She said with a slight touch of guilt. "On the way back, just after we captured Grim, I saw something poured from his lap into the sea. At first, I thought that it was nothing important, water sac leaking, or even he was relieving himself. "Her face involuntarily twisted at those words. "But when I was on my shift, last night, I saw some clusters of Flightmare Algae around the Lures, not so spread out, and most in a broken line."

"What?" Hissed Hiccup, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I didn't think it was important." Replied her

"Then why it is now? "Hiccup said, trying to keep his voice neutral.

"What you and Fishleg just told me. I was wondering if they used techniques like this to accomplish long-distance communication, using the Flightmare algae to code a message and use a spyglass to read it, for example. Which can be used to telling them not to attack tonight if there is a scout of our side, or that to attack tonight because no one will be on the lookouts. This is why Fishleg should leave in secret."

Hiccup nodded in understanding and spoke. "Alright, try to sneak off, Fishleg. And if Grim tries to be alone, your theory is then proven Astrid. Just" he sighed, "Next time, tell me if something doesn't feel right."

"But, Hiccup, you work already hard enough, we all seen it." Fishleg nodded at the statement. "I don't want to overwork you with senseless information. Besides, we can take care of ourselves."

Hiccup smiled softly "Yes, I know that. But it's my job as leader and chief to keep my own safe."

"You can't keep us sage if you're too exhausted to keep yourself safe." She replied harshly "your flying on Toothless today was sloppy." Again, a nod from Fishleg.

"So, you are just going to nod at everything she says?" Asked the auburn Viking to the husky one. Not getting an answer because he looked away, Hiccup turned back to Astrid. "Alright, I'll make sure to rest. But please "He took her hand in his with a soft smile on his lips, sweetness in his eyes, sincerity on his face, and his sharp jaw making the air hot. How could she say no to that? But again, she called all of her warrior's will to not melt.

"Fine, but I would judge if it is relevant enough to tell you or not." She said with a maintained cold scowl on her face.

"Alright" Hiccup backed off.

The night progressed slightly. When Hiccup realized that Grim was laid on his side, his back turned to them, he gestured Fishleg to get ready. The blond Viking made a hand gesture to Meatlug, and pair ventured into the woods to take off in silence. Little did they know, Grim listened to all the fumbling. Sighing hard, he pulled out quietly his writing pad and circle the word 'stubborn' a few times, as well as marked 'no matter what and who, clings to his own ideas. Why?' as annotations:

Hiccup turned toward Astrid and said

"You should go to rest, milady."

"Not a chance" she answered firmly "at least, not before you do."

"I'm fine Astrid"

Don't you tell me that you actually thought about keeping tonight's watch? "When she saw Hiccup scratch the back of his head awkwardly, she glanced at him with anger and punched him in the shoulder. "Don't you dare Hiccup, what did we just talk about. You need to rest."

"It's fine Astrid. Why do you keep insisting?"

"Because I care about you." She hissed. Maybe he didn't realize himself, but she spotted that he was decaying, eaten by something. Later, when she was alone, she thought that she hasn't contributed much to the relationship. Hiccup was living alone and even if they are not married, they were still betrothed, and it was her duty to take care of him. She frowned hard, thinking about it. This has been going since the end of the battle. she thought. Hiccup noticed her frown and stiffen but was discrete enough to not hint at her. And with him being chief doesn't help very much: a whole island of boar headed Viking to run was tiring for everyone. And yet, he still found time to fly Toothless and spend time with her. So, she took her axe, the axe that he made for her after she left her old one in Drago's base, and tapped it gently in her open head.

"Well, I could get convinced that I'm fine. But you also have to convince her." She continued while eyeing her axe with a smirk. Hiccup face paled and gulped before saying

"Fine, I'll wake Snotlout up, it was supposed to be his turn anyway."

The two barged in the Jorgenson's hut, identifiable by a big S carved on the door. As they stood over their victim, Snotlout let out a high-pitched yelp.

"What are you two doing here?" he said

"You seemed to have forgotten that tonight was your turn to be on the Lures. But Fishleg has taken your spot, so you take night watch." Hiccup informed.

"Why me? I need my beauty sleep." Snotlout complained

"Well, I could get the twins." Hiccup said with a meaning tone. "But do you really want to be sleeping a few steps from them while they are wide awake and alert? "Astrid chuckled lightly, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Euh, no. But what if there is an attack?"

"Fishleg is on the Lures and will send a signal, that you will have to catch. Besides, we have traps all around the camp. If it was triggered, wake me."

"So, you're going to take this shift for it or not? Or should I tell someone about your particular feeling about someone? "Astrid said

Snotlout paled. "No!" he yelped before running out of the hut.

Hiccup and Astrid walked out behind him.

"What did you meant, about Snotlout feeling for someone?"

"Nothing" she answered, well decided to keep it as long as possible. "Go to sleep, now babe."

Hiccup nodded and disappeared into one hut, almost tripping over Toothless, dozing off in front of the door.

•—0—•

The sky was clear, the moon was high, the stars were shining and the brisk was just right. Despite the very definition of a perfect night to stay awake, Snotlout fought over sleepiness, thinking about how his beautiful face would turn out in the morning. The presence of Grim, lying perfectly immobile just a few steps beside him, seemed enough to offer the motivation of staying awake. Every time he darted his tired eyes towards the lying shape, it looked like it has moved. But when he rubbed the tiredness out of them, nothing has changed. Suddenly, he heard a small creak sound. Snotlout looked toward the origin and found one of the levers switched up. He froze, a rush of adrenaline flood through his veins. He knew what this meant: a trap has been set off.

He hurried towards Hiccup's huts. Barging in, he woke Toothless first and then shacked his cousin awake.

"What, what. Snotlout tell me." Said Hiccup in a sleepy voice.

"The trap has been set off." Snotlout answered.

The fact acted like cold water. Hiccup stared at his cousin for a split second before coming to his senses.

"Wake the others" he instructed.

Snotlout went outside as Hiccup strapped on his armor and attached Inferno to his hip. When he arrived in the clearing, he saw the twins and Astrid already in armor, weapons drawn. Grim was seated on the ground, a wide and confident grin on his face.

"Alright, gang" Hiccup said slowly. "We have one big advantage, and is that we know he's coming. So, our goal is to capture him. Here's the plan." He paused "Astrid, you are our best fighter, so you will act like you were on watch tonight. When he comes in, you will engage him first, is that fine with you? "

Astrid nodded happily. She's been dying for some good old hand to hand combat.

"Good" Hiccup continued. "He is coming from the north." He spoke after checking the levers. "Snot, you will hide in the wood, west. Ruff, you will be positioned east. And Tuff, you have to circle around to cut his retreat route. You three, do not engage. We don't know how good he is, so be careful Astrid. Your job is to force him towards the south of the island. Use your dragon if necessary."

"What about you Hiccup?" Astrid asked.

"I'm will be intercepting him" Hiccup replied.

Everyone moved into their assigned positions in the forest while Astrid sat down in the middle of the clearing, acting ignorantly. Grim hid in one of the huts, per Hiccup's command.

Hiccup ran into the woods, Toothless on his tails. When he realized that Ruff and Tuff were falling just short behind him, he hissed

"Guys, for the love of Odin, east is that way" pointing to his left. Hiccup then jumped ono Toothless' back and the dragon leaped to hid himself onto a large branch, amidst the foliage.

Astrid was turning her back to the way by which the enemy would arrive. Her eyes were blind, but all her others senses were concentrating on that direction. She closed her eyes to maximize her hearing. A moment later, she heard it: a soft pair of footsteps were creeping on behind her. She smiled but didn't moved brusquely, maintaining the illusion. The light shuffling of herbs indicated the foe was approaching, and in order to capture him, she sent Stormfly hiding and instructed her to attack only if he had a long-range weapon, which, for some reason, he had not.

Ten steps, she tensed her shoulder slightly, before relaxing them.

Five steps, she held her axe tighter, knuckles turning white from the pressure.

Three steps, she tensed her legs. When the grass creaked again, she lunged. Spinning around, her axe chopping down. The opponent raised his sword to parry the blow, two metal blades collided with each other in a 'clank'.

She quickly followed with a left kick to the side, which was block by him raising his right foot. She then twisted her axe, moving the sword out of the way before slamming it back down. The force made the other Viking bent slightly as he hastily repositioned his sword to parry the blow, preventing his head from being split in two. But this time, Astrid slid forward and slammed her knee into his guts. He backed off with a hiss.

"You knew," he said

Astrid didn't answer, taking the split of time to analyze her enemy. He was wearing a full set of brown leather armor that looked old and was torn in various places. His hair was dirty and oily, falling on his shoulder. His face was deformed with a scowl. Furious of being outpowered by a woman smaller, lighter, and seemingly weaker than him. Only if he knew who was standing with an axe in front of him. Only if.

The pride of Berk's warrior looked down at the weapon he was holding in his right hand and Astrid switched up her stance: she knew from years of training that a good warrior doesn't have a favorite side. But the one in front of him clearly had one, leaving his left side vulnerable. Her right hand moved on the handle and she moved her right leg back. Bending down slightly, switching her center down, she spread her weight evenly on her two legs and waited for the moment to strike.

The Viking let out a roar and charged, slashing his sword horizontally. Astrid ducked left under the blade, spun around, and slam the flat of her axe at the back of his head. But the foe reacted at the same time: jamming his foot behind her knee, pushing off balance, and his elbow connected with her right chin. The trade was painful, but she knew she's done more damage.

The two opponents parted again, circling around each other and launching fake attacks. Her jaw and chin were aching from the hit but she ignored the pain, turning around her opponent quicker and quicker. When he looked a bit tipsy, she rushed forward with a war cry, knowing that the previous hit to his head was already dizzying him. The foe made a piercing motion with his sword, only this time, the blow was slower: it allowed Astrid to swap her grip before turning to the left, spinning inside the embrace of him and catching the blade in the curvature of her axe. With a swift movement, she slammed the spike handle into his inner forearm, using the axe head as a pivot and brought to the sword down to the ground, tip of the blade embedded into the dirt. She raised her elbow to hit him in the split of the nose, making it crack. Taking an obscene punch in the vicinity of her rear, she used the momentum to step forward, twisting on her right foot, she used her flexibility to bend sideways to kick him, booted heel met jaw. All happened in a breath of time and concluded by the sound of a broken jaw. While the intruder stumbled backward, she brought her axe up again and chopped down on the sword, just were the blade met the hilt. Her Gronckle iron axe, already more resistant than traditional Viking craft, met the weakest point of the weapon. And the sword shattered.

Pitiful She let this thought cross her mind. Hiccup's sword, even when not made out of Gronckle iron, didn't break that easily.

She looked up and faced a misaligned jaw with fear sprinkled on it. The Viking turned around and ran away, Astrid on his tail. When he entered the wood, he was met with an angry Nadder, a Monstrous Nightmare, and a confident, jet haired boy. He promptly turned away, dodging just on time a flying axe, crossed the clearing, only to find himself face to face with a Zippleback and a blonde Viking girl. He backtracked, jumping over a fallen trunk and went prone, back pressed against it to dodge a volley of spines. When he realized that even the way he came back was cut off, he fumbled bit around his belt and took out a thin leather ball. He lit it up by scraping it on a metal part of his belt and throw it at the ground. Quickly, a light grey but choking smoke that made everyone eyes water filled out the clearing. Stopping his tears, he knew to keep low to avoid the smoke, he sneaked off to the south of the camp.

"Hookfang, wing blast" yelled a voice, and a gush of wind appeared and spread out the smoke.

"There he is" yelled another one.

So much for discretion, the foe though.

He dazed off into the southern wood, stopping by a large tree, he looked back and saw the four Viking and three dragons halting the had yet understood what happened when a black, heavy shape fell ono him. He fell face-first into the ground. A horrible creak resonated in the quiet wood, muffled by all the weight.

Toothless picked him up, and drop him in the middle of the clearing. The riders stood in front of him while the dragons stood guard. The assassin fumbled himself to sit up, but it took Hiccup's help to make kneel correctly.

"Alright, talk" ordered Hiccup. But he was answered by a series of coughs that never seemed to end.

"Is that supposed to happen?" Snotlout asked.

"He doesn't look sick" Astrid added.

The coughing was now accompanied with droplets of blood. Hiccup, not knowing what to do, pushed the assassin down on his back. But now, he was making some sort of gagging sound and was shaking uncontrollably, his hand reaching for his throat.

At this moment, Grim showed up and knelt beside the assassin. He took a good look at the symptoms before tearing his armor apart in a frantic hast. The thick leather was coming off difficulty, especially with bound hands, but Grim managed to expose the tunic underneath. He traveled his hands around the chest of the lying Viking. When he felt a sort of down curvature his eyes widened.

"Oh no," he yelled, before trying to turn him around. "Help me "he yelled but none of the riders moved. The gagging sound faded and shacking went a burst stronger before coming down, and the whole body of the assassin went limp. He let out a last "You?" and raised his hand aggressively, but he couldn't complete the movement before his hand dropped down dead.

"And he's dead." Grim said calmly

"How?" Asked the Berkians in unison, shocked.

"His ribs were cracked inward. My best guess is that it punctured his lungs. He died chocked by his own blood." Hiccup dropped to his knee, opposite of Grim. Anger was on his face. He expired deeply before putting his palm on the dead body's eyes and closing them. he stood up and said.

"It doesn't have to end like this," he said before gesturing Toothless to burn the body after pouring some monstrous nightmare gel on it. A controlled plasma blast later and the body went up in a trail of smoke.

"I hope I can earn your trust now, Hiccup, because he died in front and because of you," Grim said before marching towards a log and sat down, under the different glares of the rest of the group.

•—0—•

The next afternoon, Toothless and Stormfly landed in the clearing after switching with Snotlout and the twins. Just after, a green and red Rumblehorn landed, and from his back jumped down Eret. The ex-trapper quickly distributed the supplies he brought from home. When he crossed Grim, Eret stiffened immediately, all his senses on alert. He pulled Hiccup and Astrid aside and after getting the tale of the past few days, he warned them about Grim, about his fighting skills and, under no conditions, to trust him fully. But then Astrid exposed her theory and, it did sound believable. During their chat, Hiccup stayed quiet, looking worn down. Seeing the mood of her lover, Astrid instructed Eret to keep watch of the camp before dragging Hiccup into the deeper woods, out of earshot.

\/—•—\/

They sat down on a flat piece of rock where the foliage of the forest allowed some late sunlight to shine through. Astrid laid her axe down and said.

"Alright Hiccup, what's going on? You are looking dead since this morning."

"It shouldn't have ended like this" Hiccup said out of the blue.

"What? Who? " Astrid responded, surprised.

"last night. The assassin. He just died in front of us, and I did this. "

What do you mean?"

"He died, choked by his own blood. And I didn't saw that his ribs were broken. And I pushed him down. If I didn't do it, he maybe will be still alive. And we will have some more information."

Astrid couldn't believe her ears. Hiccup was grieving over the death of someone that has tried to kill them.

"Hiccup, are you out of your mind?" She shouted, "He was our enemy, Just like Drago Bludvist, like the dragon hunters"

"Yes, but we didn't kill. Or, at least, I didn't." Hiccup interrupted, eyes looking down.

Astrid bit her lips, not knowing what to say. Hiccup wasn't your traditional Viking. He was everything the Viking wasn't: kind, intelligent, sarcastic, and caring.

"yeah," She reluctantly agreed. "But his death wasn't your fault. It was just... circumstances."

"No, it wasn't. I probably cracked his ribs when jumping on him. And pushing him…"

"No, Hiccup, I cracked his ribs when I hit him," Astrid said, taking the 'blame' if it will make Hiccup feel better. "and by pushing him down, you only accelerated what was bound to happen." She knelt down and held Hiccup's hand. "He died, but so what? We all die one day, just on different battlefields. Promise me Hiccup," She tightened her grip "Promise me that you won't grief over it. Don't let what Grim said get to you because it's not true. Promise me that you will forget it."

"I'm not sure I can, no one can do that willingly"

"The promise me that you will push it aside, and talk to me if it bothers you too much."

"I promise Astrid, thank you for being here for me."

Her eyes lit up at his words, and she leaned in and pressed her lips against his. His arms quickly founded their place around her shoulders.

When they parted, short of breath, Astrid said: "Let's get back, who knows what will happen tomorrow."

•—0—•

When Tomorrow came, Toothless woke Hiccup up by literally pulling out of his bed. Rubbing his tired eyes, he saw a slim, blond figure facing back to him, only wearing a skirt. Arms bend backward to tie a knot in the linen that ran across. Hiccup felt his cheek burn at the sight of perfect satin skin, cascade-like blond hair that was braided in a functional braid.

Hiccup eyed his dragon questionably, only for him to return an innocent look. His eyes trailed back to the figure. Astrid was slightly bent forward, but her back was arching up as she pulled her red tunic on. The pose transfigured her. She was a Goddess, not belonging to this world. Hiccup's mind was in ecstasy and when she moved her curves to pull the tunic down, it went blank. Well, blank apart from that personification of Beauty and temptation that was right in front of him. He felt blood leaving his limb to concentrate on his lower core and face. But somehow, watching this felt wrong. I shouldn't be looking at this." He wanted to say to himself, quietly but a choking sound managed to emerge from his throat. Astrid, hearing it, peered over her shoulder, and winked at him.

After hearing a choking sound behind her, Astrid turned peered around her shoulder, knowing full well that it was Hiccup since the beginning, hence all this show. She giggled inwardly when she saw Hiccup with a dumbfounded look, eyes wide, mouth slightly apart. She looked all over him and saw his long limbs shaking, and noticed a bulge in his pants. She bit back laughter and decided to tease him even more. She winked at him before slowly turning around and walked towards him, placing one foot right in front of another that she knew made her hips swing with the motion.

Hiccup couldn't move. Just couldn't. His leg refused to move when the ethereal being that was Astrid walked towards him, her tunic barely passed her chest, leaving a thin line of white linen peering out, which was prolonged with pale skin, covered in pink scars that were stretched over finely toned abdomen and hips. When she was right in front of him, it spoke in a soft tone:

"Like what you see?"He could feel her breath on his mouth, the words ghosting his lips before traveling to his brain. Hiccup bit his inner cheek, the pain sending some more coherent thoughts to his clouded brain. Thankfully, she was a bit shorter than him, so he managed to take his eyes off her by staring right in front of him, past the top of her head.

\/—•—\/

Astrid was laughing inwardly as she was standing right in front of Hiccup. She could feel the heat radiating from his body, knowing that she was the source of it.

"Like what you see?" she whispered against his lips and laughed inwardly as her awkward promised brain shutting down. But somehow, he took his eyes off her, and just before the forest green eyes that she loved so much darted away, she saw cold guilt replacing the fiery gaze.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, Astrid" Hiccup mumbled.

"For what?" she replied, before raising a hand and to put on his cheek, the motion bringing his eyes down.

"For intruding your privacy, I've never seen you like this before, I'm sorry."

A sense of guilt washed over her. It was true that this was Hiccup's first time to see her without her tunic. For the twenty full moons that they have been promised, she never showed Hiccup anything, and their interaction never went past the chin. Well, Hiccup didn't ask, but she didn't initiate anything as well. There was one time where Hiccup got more adventurous. It was the summer after the one they became betrothed to each other. Hiccup brought her to a small island half a day flight away from Berk. It was a beautiful place, a crystal-clear lake that was surrounded by soft, green grass. They spent the late hours of sunlight playing and bathing in the lake and after roasting some meat on a wood fire, they just sit there, within each other's arms, watching the stars. Astrid started to kiss him deeply but when Hiccup mouth trailed down to her neck, she immediately hauled him up again to kiss his mouth. The next day, they returned to Berk and everything that happened between then and now: the war with Drago, the reconstruction of the island, and now, the Headless tribe. Hiccup always managed to squeeze up time for her: he tried one more time, which she stopped again. From then, he didn't initiate anything more, but still remained there for her: gentle, caring, and laughing every time she did, but in the past few moons, she felt more distant of Hiccup. Yes, he was still the same, but that heated gaze, that spark it only just came back now. And it's my fault. Why was I afraid to do anything more? Though her. She felt hypocrite now because she actually liked the burning gaze of Hiccup on her back. That was why she put on all this act, just to feel it more. She decided that she would make up to him when they returned on Berk, but for now, she knew just what to do to convince him that she still wanted him, more than ever.

"Don't be, I don't mind." She said

"Astrid… I" he mumbled, but Astrid was quicker. She wrapped her arms around his neck before wielding her lips to him. Hiccup let out a soft gasp at the contact, gasp that she eagerly drank away, and then her hand trailed off to his hips, before brushing on the middle point of his thigh. The soft gasp turned into a moan.

"Mine" she purred before taking his hand and placing them on her bare waist.

Hiccup tensed again when he felt the soft curve of Astrid's waist against his palm, and even more so when her tunic fell in place, over his hand. She looked up at him with soft blue eyes, filled with care and love, and said.

"Yours."

His heart soared at the words, but by locking his eyes to her, another emotion, one that was always there, but was being amplified by thousands, took everything over. It was a desire to protect her from everything, and he will give everything up to it. He heard shuffling of bushed and immediately spun around, shielding her. He peered back and saw Eret looking at them with an approving look before saying.

"The twins just send a signal."


The fluff was deemed necessary by a coin to set up the following scenes.