Greetings, my friends.

Getting past that oddly formal welcome, I had originally planned to do a long foreword here about why I chose to take the story in this direction, but instead I figured my big mouth and I would probably end up spoiling what I have in mind for the story, and so I've decided to hold off, at least for now. I'll probably explain some in the next chapter, or at the end of this one, depending on how things go.

So overall, that paragraph was absolutely pointless, and I have no idea why I wrote it. I suppose just to keep those of you who are likely having some doubts about this tuned in, to establish where exactly this story might go, and hopefully keep it interesting.

This chapter is probably going to be a bit shorter than the last few, and I'm going to consider it a 'part one' of two, as I've been terrible about uploading on time lately, and wanted to pay it back to all of you loyal readers, somehow. Finals are also a thing right now, so I have to get through those before I can think about anything else. Anyways, be sure to comment, follow, favorite and enjoy this chapter! (Don't be cynical like me - it sucks and distracts you from the important things in life!)

How to Train Your Dragon is the property of Dreamworks Animation SKG, Inc.

"NO! No, no, no NO!" Syl crossed her arms over her chest defiantly, turning her nose up to the sky.

Hiccup stared at her, almost amused. "I… I haven't even explained yet…"

"I already know what you're thinking," Syl cut off his attempts at speech off with a wave of her hand. "And I refuse to do it. There is no way I'm impersonating your dragon-riding, crazy, warrior girlfriend - that is way out of my comfort zone."

"She's not…" Hiccup began, then saw both Toothless and Astrid raise an eyebrow. He sighed. "You said you wanted to 'join our side', didn't you? You said that you thought dragons-"

"I LIED!" She yelled at him, calming down only a moment later. "I… I lied. I didn't run away from my tribe, alright? They… They sent me to spy on your Chief - your father, I mean - and I overheard you talking when you came out of the Great Hall. I… I thought that maybe, if I… If I... Killed you, If I took down the mighty 'dragon conqueror', maybe I would start to get noticed in my tribe, maybe I'd be important… But I was wrong. My mother had Bjarke, who was supposed to be on my side, abandon me when I reported back to them. I… I tried, but… Well, I guess my Mom just hated me. She must've hated me a lot… Anyways, I'm stuck here, and, well, let's just say I'm pretty sure nobody's coming back for me, alright? That's the whole truth - you've heard it, now. I don't like either of you, and I especially HATE dragons, alright?!" She pointed at Toothless, accusingly, before moving her finger to Stormfly. "Your kind killed my brother, and drove my father insane! And now your tribe goes flying around on them like they never did anything wrong! Don't you have any common sense?! These… Beasts, they kill people! They might seem nice now, but someday you'll see, when it comes down to the line, they'll turn on you, on us!" She wheezed out the last line.

Hiccup stared at her for a moment, astonished, but Astrid smiled slyly, a gleam in her eye as though she had just proven something. "You… Your mother just… Left you here?" He asked carefully.

"Well…" Syl started, "It wasn't actually my mother. It was just who she sent over here with me. Apparently she and the rest of my island had been planning to abandon me here from the start, so…"

Hiccup continued to stare at her, his mouth agape. "She didn't even do it herself? That's… That's cold, and… Dishonorable! I can't believe she would do that - it doesn't seem like… Like…" His voice trailed off, and he frowned.

Syl rolled her eyes. "Well, you don't know my mother. I thought I did, but…" She looked away.

They all stood there in silence for a moment, each waiting for another to speak up. Eventually, it was Hiccup who did. "So… That's it? You're just stuck here, now? That's why you've followed us so far?" Syl continued to stare down at the village, not answering.

Hiccup sighed, and followed her gaze. Though it was hard to make out details hundreds of feet in the air, it was quite obvious that the village was alive and bustling, even after dusk. After the storm from the night before, many families had likely spent the day either rebuilding their houses in the village, or helping with others - something they had become more or less accustomed to, after years of dragon raids. Though even then, it was obvious that the village had undergone some major in the past few years - a nadder was jumping on a roof with a pile of wood in its mouth, a nightmare was carrying two large stones on its back up near the Great hall, along with a few others next to it. A few years before then, that many dragons in the village would no doubt mean a raid was taking place - and a fierce one, at that - but now it was just as normal as anything else.

From the East, Hiccup noticed a large company descending from the hills, carrying torches and swords in their hands. Leading them were two husky men, whom, even from Gothi's house, Hiccup could tell were weary beyond hope. He knew they must've been out searching for them and any others who went missing all day, and it pained him to think about it, as he knew exactly who it was. Dad… Hiccup thought to himself. I'll be back soon, I just… I need to do this first. I know you'll hate me for this if you find out, and I know I should probably just tell you right now - if Gothi can't find a solution, you might be the only other person on this island who can… But I need to try. I want to fix this, without conflict, without Mildew, or Dagur, or… I just need to try.

A heavy mist was slowly settling over the island, concealing the village's features - but the light from the houses still shone up through the fog, giving the homes an oddly frosted look. As he watched, Hiccup's father, along with the rest of the group, slowly descended down into the village, fading into just another part of the smog.

He turned back to Syl.

"So…" He began carefully. "Do… Do you really hate me, and Toothless? I mean, I know you guys like your ways and all, but-"

"They killed my brother!" She yelled, startling him. "These… Dragons, these beasts, these things you call pets, they… They murdered him, they drove my father completely mad, until one day he sailed off into the ocean, and…" Her voice trailed off, and she settled for staring accusingly at Toothless. "Maybe I shouldn't hate you - maybe you're alright, I guess. You don't seem evil, and… Well, you haven't turned me over to your father… Not that I'm saying 'yes' to your stupid plan, but…" She ground her teeth together and squeezed her eyes shut, before opening them again. "I… You can't trust those things - they're going to turn on us, I know it - someday… Someday you'll realize. Maybe I don't want to kill you, alright? But these dragons that you devote yourself to protecting? That's sick - you need to realize that, along with the rest of your barbaric tribe."

Hiccup stared at her. He had fought in arguments with people like this before - many had lost their relatives in the war, after all - but this case was obviously different; Hiccup could not afford to lose. If he did, and Syl refused to help them - they obviously couldn't force her to, and Hiccup would never resort to that - they would have to confront his father, who would have no choice but to reveal the truth to the rest of the Village. From there, he didn't know what would happen - it was likely that they would accept Astrid and help her live as normal a life in the village as she could until they could change her back, but it seemed even more likely that conflict would arise thanks to the wonderful morale-boosters in the Village, like Mildew and his cronies. He could already see their argument - a boy who's become obsessed with his pet Night Fury lures his innocent girlfriend out into the forest just before the largest storm Berk has ever seen, and returns two days later with her fully transformed into their worst enemy. Of course, some of those facts seemed stretched, but Hiccup knew that by just pulling a few strings, someone like Mildew could throw the island into a war, even with the tribal situations as tense as they already were.

There was always the option to just keep Astrid hidden somewhere and pretend she went missing, of course, but that would no doubt have its consequences, eventually: if he said she was dead, they would ask where her body was, if he said she was missing, they would send out search parties to find her - it was a miracle they hadn't found any of them that day already, leading Hiccup to wonder where exactly they were looking.

He thought about what he was about to do for a moment - it was something he hadn't wanted to bring up, and hadn't in a very long time, but it was essential to not only him, but the entire village, as well. Everyone in the village knew Astrid, and every day they were missing, Hiccup knew his father would send out more and more people to find them, and become more and more suspicious of neighboring tribes - after all, how could two teens with dragons be so hard to find? And that was why he needed to do this right away.

"Syl?" Still glaring, she raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?"

"Can I, uh, talk to you? Just give me five minutes - that's all I'm asking. We can leave the dragons out here, alright? And, uh, Astrid, too. If I can't convince you, you're… Well, you're free to go. I don't know where, but… Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out. Just meet me out in front of the house when you're ready." Hiccup spun around and walked back into the hut, but managed to hear her mumble behind him, "... More of a command than a question…"

After a few minutes, Astrid watched Syl finally walk into the hut and out of the front door, sullen, leaving the three of them out on the platform.

She turned to the Night Fury.

"Toothless?"

"Hm?"

She thought for a moment, before asking, "Why do you think she's helping us?"

"Well," He responded, "we don't know if she's helping us YET. She could just decide to run off-"

Rolling her eyes, Astrid cut him off. "You know what I mean! Why is she still here - what made her come here with Hiccup, anyways? I know she doesn't really have anywhere to go right now, but… Well, it seems like she probably could have survived pretty well on the island for a little while, maybe even gotten somewhere that'll accept her - so why did she come with us? I don't think she feels guilty about anything - she HATES us, and she's probably glad that all this happened, so… Why is she still here if she DOESN'T want to help us? I don't think she lied, either, but… I can't think of any other explanation."

Toothless stared down at the village and didn't respond, as though he hadn't even noticed her reply.

"... Toothless?" She asked after a moment, worried.

"Wha? Sorry, I was just… Thinking." He shook his head and looked at her, sleepily. "I don't know, Astrid. Maybe she is lying, but… I know what you mean - there's something about her. I don't think she is, either. As to why she's come this far, but doesn't want to help, now? Well, you have to admit - neither of you told her about what you wanted her to do, and it is kind of crazy. The last time you tried-"

"I don't want to talk about it." Astrid cut him off quickly, moving her eyes to her feet - her paws. "To think that she'll have to go through that, with MY parents, with my Village - I'm sure it's just as terrifying a concept for her as it is for me. But Hiccup's right - we're limited on options here, and I can't just hide in the forest, at least not without knowing that I'm not constantly being searched for."

Toothless nodded. While it was still awkward for her to think how much easier it had become to talk to Toothless, and how human-like he sounded, she knew he had always been like that, which made it easier for her to accept it. Still, Syl's voice from earlier - the voice she had heard many, many times from Vikings like Mildew and Brenna, - still resonated in her head. To think that just a few years before, they had been at each other's throats - Astrid would have done anything to kill the Night Fury that had been the demise of hundreds of towers, and even Vikings before the war ended. At a few points in time, even in the past several months, Astrid had found herself having sudden, small bouts of anger towards Hiccup, wishing he had killed it, once and for all. Of course, that had been before - she had no doubt that Hiccup's decision had been the right one. Toothless was just as much of a person as anyone else, and, despite his fresh sarcasm and teasing, he had been nicer to her in the past day than almost anyone else she knew in the Village. The side of herself she had let show that day was weak, and frail - something she hadn't experienced in a very long time. Yet Toothless had been there, supported her, and had helped her adjust at least somewhat to what had happened. He wasn't just a dragon, nor a Night Fury - he was a friend. She only hoped that, in time, Syl would see that, as well.

As he had promised, Hiccup and Syl emerged from the hut just a few minutes later, he looking tired, and she still concerningly bitter. Hiccup went to stand next to Astrid, but Syl still hovered by the door, eyeing them nervously.

"... Well?" Hiccup asked.

Syl looked at Hiccup, then at Stormfly, then back at Hiccup.

"One day," she replied. "I'll… Try this stupid plan of yours for one day. Then, I'll… Well, we'll see, I guess. But just one day - that's it. Don't think this is permanent, or anything - I'm just doing this until I can find a way out of here. Meet me out front when you're ready." With that, she stormed back through the hut, causing Astrid to raise an eyebrow at Hiccup.

He shrugged and sighed. "I'll explain later - it's all we can get from her for now, and honestly, it's a lot more than I expected - I'm surprised we've gotten this far, already - but we still have a lot of work to do."

She bent her head down to the ground and wrote in the dirt.

I HOPE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING

WHAT WE'RE DOING

I STILL DON'T TRUST THIS GIRL

AND I DON'T THINK SHE CAN BE READY TO DO THIS IN TIME

BUT

I'M TRUSTING YOU, HICCUP

DON'T LET ME DOWN

He nodded slowly, before running back out through the door. Suddenly realizing what she would have to do again, Astrid stared up at the roof of the hut, horrified, before turning back to Toothless. He grinned, and gracefully jumped onto the roof of the house, disappearing down over the other side a moment later. Taking a deep breath beforehand, Astrid closed her eyes and leaped as high as she could.

Once she got over to the other side, which wasn't what one might call "graceful", but still less disastrous than the last time, she found Hiccup and Syl talking to each other like they had been friends for years, leading her to wonder just what exactly he had said to her. Toothless and Stormfly had learned to keep their distance by then, and thus settled for wandering around down the main path. Astrid, on the other hand, decided Syl should probably get comfortable with her around, as they would have a lot to go over. Thus, she stuck her head right in between the two of them, startling her, but making Hiccup smile. Astrid expected her to just back away instinctively, but instead, she just folded her arms across her chest and rolled her eyes in disgust.

Well, Astrid thought, It's SOME progress, at least.

"Well, before we get started," Hiccup began, "We're going to need somewhere to, uh, train you, in how Astrid… Is, I guess. Well, not only that, but everyone else in the village, where she goes, uh… This might be harder than I thought." He frowned for a moment, thinking, before shaking his head. "Anyways, like I said, we're going to need somewhere that Astrid can hide, and that we can make sure you're ready for, well, your 'introduction' to the village." He turned to Astrid, and smiled slyly. "And I know just the place."

"It seems kind of ironic, doesn't it?" Hiccup asked Astrid. They had left Gothi's over an hour before, the healer giving Hiccup a bowl of yellow powder for her hair, along with a small vial of a red liquid, whose purpose Astrid had no idea of. They had taken the back way down the mountain, Hiccup still paranoid about being seen, despite the fact that it was nearing midnight. They had just gotten back under the safe canopy of trees in the forest when Hiccup decided it would be a great idea to start talking.

"You know, I used to come see Toothless down here every day - we haven't been down in a while, actually. But this is kind of cool because it's a different kind of… Training, I guess. But this time, you're a-"

She growled at him, trying to warn him that he was about to cross a line. Luckily, he received the message, but she still heard him mumble, "Well it is a nice place…" Before shutting up for the rest of the walk.

The sun was just beginning to rise when they finally reached it.

Astrid had to admit something - it was nice. Aside from the beautifully stunning waterfall, lake and river in the gorge, along with its other features, nobody had ever found it - the land sloped up around it, suggesting a small hill on top, where instead there was a deep ravine. The entire place was also surrounded by trees, and the general area in a heavy fog year round, making everything in the area nearly impossible to see on its own. Whilst it did seem rather odd that no one else ever seemed to have been there, it was easy enough to understand why. Astrid herself had only found it by following Hiccup, and even then she had almost gotten lost. In fact, she was surprised he could still find it even then, as it had been years since they had last gone there.

Syl approached the ledge, peering down into the gorge. "So… This is where you're hiding out? Well, have fun down there - looks pretty muddy to me."

Astrid realized she was right - a few of the walls in the ravine had collapsed, letting rainwater seep into the gorge, pulling dirt along with it. The normally dry ground inside looked incredibly muddy, and the opening Hiccup had used to get to the bottom had collapsed inwards, as well.

Hiccup seemed to notice it, as well. "Huh," he began, looking around for another entrance. When he didn't find one, he gestured at Stormfly to walk over to them. "Well, Syl, I think it's time for your first lesson."

The spy's eyes widened as she realized what he was suggesting. "Wha- What?! Why do I have to do this now?! Couldn't we just find somewhere else?" Hiccup looked at her.

"This is the best place on the island for us to hide - at least for a Night Fury. I did it for a few months. There isn't anywhere else on the island we could go, not that we know is safe - believe me, I've checked. It has to be here. Besides, you need to start flying some time - we only have two days to do this."

"Why two days?!" Syl demanded.

"Because I can't-!" Hiccup's voice cut off mid-sentence. He frowned. "I… It's complicated. I know I'm not making a ton of sense, but… This is the most important part - I know you're afraid of dragons, but… Please, it's only down into the ravine. That's all, and I'll be on Stormfly, too. Alright?"

Glaring at him, she slowly walked over to Stormfly, stopping less than ten feet in front of her. Hiccup passed her, and climbed onto the nadder's saddle. He held out a hand to the girl, and Astrid suddenly felt an odd pang of jealousy.

"Hop on," Hiccup said, smiling. Grudgingly, Syl took his hand, and slowly climbed on, keeping her eyes locked on the dragon's head throughout. As she settled onto the saddle, Astrid heard her mutter, "... Least it's a better name than Toothless…"

"Alright, Stormfly," Hiccup told her, "bring us down."

Astrid heard Syl yelp as Stormfly lifted off into the air, her powerful wings pushing huge gusts of air into the ground below. After climbing a few feet into the air, Stormfly gracefully swooped down, and landed on the ground ever-so-gracefully, just in time for Syl to stumble off, kneel down on the ground, and very nearly puke.

That was when Astrid realized - she didn't know how to get down, either.

"Uh, Toothless?"

"Hmm? Oh - right. Well, you could try just, uh…" At that, he suddenly turned to the cliff, spread his wings, jumped over the ledge and glided down easily to the bottom, if not quite as gracefully as Stormfly.

She glared down at him. What did he expect her to do - fly down?

In fact, that was exactly what she expected her to do, though she wasn't willing to admit it.

Cursing to herself, she slowly put a foot over the ledge, searching for a smaller platform to grab on to. Luckily, she found one, and immediately grasped it as hard as she could, her talons extending to the fullest.

There, she thought to herself, reaching her next paw over the ledge. That wasn't so-

Then the entire world flipped upside-down.

She found herself suddenly tumbling down the side of the cliff, feeling as though every rock and branch were out to get her as she slammed against the rock. Halfway down, she was finally able to get herself right-side-up, and her wings flared out instinctively. And then she was airborne. She screeched as she sailed out over the ravine, desperately flapping her wings, and flailing her limbs before finally crashing into the lake. She thought she could make out Hiccup calling her name, but the water was rushing into her ears and mouth too fast for her to focus, and she desperately tried to get her head above water, but she only felt that she was sinking, drowning, and then everything went black.