Hey, everyone!

To start off, thank you all for your follows, favorites and reviews. To TheGoldenGroups in particular - thank you for your feedback! I'm doing my best to develop this story's characters, and it's always great to know the readers' opinions and ideas for that to build off of. To Pietersielie, if you're still reading this, I implore that you continue! I promise, there are many more twists and turns still to come.

A quick little side note - as far as the place where Astrid is/Toothless was, I'm going to start referring to it as "The Cove," because that's what the Wiki says, what the OST movie track called it, and jumping between ravine, sinkhole, canyon, etc. is getting kind of ridiculous. I'll probably go back and correct the other names I used for it at some point, but for the time being… There it is.

Also, I've decided to stop posting new chapters on Wattpad. In truth, I stopped updating this story on there a long time ago, but I've decided I may as well make it official here. I'll keep updating the story here on FFN, of course, but that'll probably be it. If you were reading it on Wattpad, I'm sorry, but it didn't seem to serve many purposes there anymore, if it ever did at all.

Without further ado, here is Chapter 20! I hope you all enjoy and, like always, be sure to follow for updates and review!

All the best,

~RS

I don't own How to Train Your Dragon.

WRONG

Syl groaned in frustration as she read Astrid's message scribbled in the dirt. "What? What is it?"

YOU'RE STILL PUTTING TOO MUCH WEIGHT

INTO THE SWING

IT'S THROWING YOU OFF BALANCE

"So? I still hit the tree," she gestured at the small indent on the bark, then down at the axe.

Astrid frowned as she looked up at her, taking a note of her bloodshot eyes and quivering lip. Syl hasn't been the best pupil to work with, but she hadn't been the worst, either. At least, not when it came to their training sessions. She would moan and complain, but she was willing to try until she either succeeded or became too tired to go on. Astrid could respect that. But still, it was usually at least an hour before Syl's weariness started to show through in her performance. It hadn't even been ten minutes.

YOU LOOK TIRED

WHY?

"I…" She blinked, rubbing her eyes. "I didn't get much sleep last night. Why do you care, anyway? 'Sleep is for the weak,' isn't it?"

She shook her head.

DON'T EVER LET

ANYONE TELL YOU THAT

YOU NEED SLEEP TO LIVE

"Really?" She asked, "Because I'm pretty sure I've heard you say the exact opposite quite often-"

NO

TOO MUCH SLEEP

MAKES YOU LAZY

CARELESS

VULNERABLE

BUT THE WELL-RESTED MIND

CAN OVERCOME THE TOUGHEST OF OPPONENTS

"I'd be even more 'well-rested' if I didn't have to come out here at dawn every morning," Syl muttered.

Astrid ignored her.

TAKE A BREAK

IF YOU MUST

BUT I EXPECT YOU TO BE

BRIGHT-EYED AND

READY TO SAIL OUT TO

WAR TOMORROW,

THOUGH

Syl quickly obliged, flinging herself down on a fallen log that looked comfortable enough to make Astrid at least a little bit jealous. She didn't let it get to her, though; she was a warrior, a Viking. Vikings didn't need comfort, and neither did dragons.

Besides, she was glad that she had gotten Syl relaxed. She had some questions to ask her.

WHAT HAPPENED WITH YOU AND HICCUP?

"Ugh, this again, Astrid?" she groaned. "I told you, your weird relationship is perfectly safe-"

She growled

NOT THAT

YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN

WHAT DID YOU FIND LAST NIGHT?

"Nothing," she shrugged. "She couldn't translate it in a night, is all. Pretty sure Hiccup's up there working on it with her right now, actually. Your boyfriend wouldn't stop drooling over the thing yesterday, and he couldn't even read it 'till this morning."

She snarled.

WHAT ARE YOU HIDING?

DON'T PRETEND THAT

YOU COULD CARE LESS

YOU GOT THAT BOOK FOR US

ONE WAY OR ANOTHER

SOME PART OF YOU

HOWEVER SMALL

MUST CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO IT

"Don't flatter yourself by thinking you understand my intentions," she countered. "I got that book because I could. If you still don't get that, then you should have the common sense to understand there's a lot of other things you don't know about me, as well."

THIS ISN'T JUST FOR ME, REMEMBER

TOOTHLESS IS SICK

THIS BOOK IS TO HELP US BOTH

"And that's supposed to make me cry? If you hadn't noticed, I hate dragons. You want me to ball over your Night Fury, the dragon that killed hundreds of my kin? Of your kin? And yet you say you're the honorable one. Get over yourself."

She growled again, this time letting it recede to a low gurgle in her throat.

THESE DRAGONS

HAVE SAVED MY LIFE

MORE TIMES THAN YOU CAN COUNT

BUT IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE OF ANY USE

YOU MAY AS WELL LEAVE

SO GO

BEFORE I DECIDE TO TEACH YOU

A REAL LESSON

"And your common sense is gone now, too!" She cried. "The moment you don't want to deal with someone, you whisk them away, like some kind of mad god, corrupted by power. This place - this ravine you and dragon-boy love so much is driving you mad, sick. If it could make a Night Fury reluctant to kill a human, who's to say it couldn't do the opposite for you?"

She whipped around, marching back to where Stormfly lay, resting. "But fine. I don't need this. I don't need you or anyone else to tell me how I feel. Try not to lose your mind down here. I'm sure it gets very, very lonely with no one else around. Just make sure Hiccup looks more like a human than a meal the next time he comes around to tell you how sorry he is for this mess you got yourself wrapped up in."

Stormfly woke up as she climbed onto her saddle, opening a sleepy eye to look back at Syl. She barked for her to fly, and eventually, she did so, though not without stretching her wings first, nor letting out a yawn to wake up every animal in the forest. Astrid had to allow herself a small bit of satisfaction - Syl's love of dramatic exits had been systematically dismantled by the Nadder's mid-morning lethargy, and the girl grew more and more frustrated as she refused to take off without preening herself. She looked about ready to tear her hair out when she finally lifted off.

Still, her mood darkened again once they were gone. As much as she wanted to rip Syl - or anything - to shreds, she had to admit, yet again, that she had a point; she was going crazy in that ravine.

It was nice enough. Perhaps even beautiful, though Astrid never had the opportunity to see it that way. The surroundings she had memorized; the small woods she had scouted out in its entirety, the trees she had counted over and over again in boredom. A dragon's eye view of the place was pressed into her brain, or at least how she imagined it might look.

It was a cell. Each morning, a sense of dread and fear overtook her as she regained consciousness, to the point where she had to pace around the edges of the cove to prove to herself the walls hadn't moved any closer overnight.

She needed to get out. That much was clear. But the question remained - how? She certainly wasn't about to try flying, and she wasn't about to ask for help, either; she was a Viking, and Vikings didn't ask for help unless they absolutely needed it. She didn't need it. On top of that, the unspoken agreement between the three of them still stood: Syl would continue pretending to be her, Hiccup would help her keep up her appearance, as well as search for a cure for her, and she, Astrid, would stay in the cove. So, it was probably better that they didn't know she was going to try anything… Risky. At least, that was what she told herself.

But still, she had mulled over the question for several days, waiting for an answer, until it came to her. Like all the best plans, it was dangerous, and she had to plan and think it out before she even considered trying it. But more importantly, she needed the willpower, the motivation to do it. She had expected one day she would be tipped over the edge but hadn't expected it would be very soon, either. Yet Syl had unwittingly just given her a reason - and she wouldn't be deterred. That day was the day, and there was no going back on it.

She was going to climb the wall.

Of course, she had considered it before. An escape plan was one of the first things she had considered when she accepted the cove as her new - if temporary - home. It was just basic survival skills, after all. And in the first few days, there had been no reason to do so. But as the nights stretched on and the cove started to seem frighteningly small, she felt a growling restlessness brewing in her stomach. Perhaps it was just her instincts, she reasoned. She had never been a fan of small spaces, after all. But a thought had lodged itself in her mind, as well, one that she couldn't get rid of as much as she tried to beat it away. Perhaps her want to escape wasn't from the human half… Perhaps it was the untamed wanderlust of a dragon calling to her. She knew staying in the cove was her safest option - she had certainly thought about that plenty. Yet, as if compelling her, pulling at her very soul, the thought tugged at her…

It didn't matter, anyway. She needed to get out of that cove. And one morning, the idea had just popped back into her mind, like a fish onto a bank. She could just… Climb up. Get out. She wouldn't go anywhere - or not very far, anyway. She understood that the cove was the safest place for her to be, but she just… Needed some fresh air. At least, that was what she repeated over and over in her mind as she stalked in front of the near-vertical cliff face.

Despite its height and angle, it was what she had decided would be the easiest to climb, counting the amount of footholds and probability of rocks falling out from under her. Although a mudslide from the storm that already seemed to have occurred ages ago had caused a large section of the cliff to collapse, creating somewhat of a slope, she had dismissed that option almost immediately. The ground still looked muddy and unstable, and she had seen enough Vikings and dragons alike pulled down in sudden floods of earth and dirt to know better than to test her luck.

Besides, she told herself, it's better this way. It's more of a… Challenge.

A challenge. She wasn't doing this to escape - no, of course not. She didn't need to escape anything but her boredom, really. She was just doing this to prove that she could do it. What use was an escape route if she didn't even know if she could use it?

A rumble came from deep in her throat as her eyes travelled up the haphazard stone wall. Memories of Hiccup's retelling of his second encounter with Toothless came back to her: the Night Fury stuck in the cove, trying desperately to dig his claws into the stone as he raced around, searching for a means of freedom, screeching and clawing wherever and whenever he could, to no avail...

But that wouldn't happen to her. Toothless had been an enraged dragon whose instincts were driving him to get out as soon as possible. She had been studying it for days, practicing her climbing on the largest boulders and rocks she could, slowly improving upon herself until she decided she was ready. She had analyzed the wall, learned its strengths and weaknesses, as a Viking might their greatest enemy. Even if she wasn't human, she still had plenty of experience climbing cliffs, mountains, and otherwise, and…

And I can do this, She affirmed.

With that, she started up the face of the rock, trying not to think about how much it would hurt if she fell.

Syl thought about heading back to the Village, before deciding she didn't want to. She wasn't in the mood to deal with the twins, nor fend off Snotlout's approaches, as much as she felt like punching someone. And Fishlegs… Well, she didn't have the time, and the boy was frightened far too easily.

How was Astrid so meddlesome? The girl simply refused to put her trust in her, even though Syl was already putting her life on the line for her - and for no good reason, at that. The least she could do was show her a little gratitude, rather than question everything she did. Even if she had lied about what happened…

Eventually, she settled on giving Hiccup a visit. He was among the few people she still had a shred of respect for - and that list seemed to be growing longer by the day. Besides, she knew at least he wouldn't argue with her about anything.

"Alright, Stormfly. Let's go find out if this legendary book has been any use at all," she said, leaning down to speak in the dragon's ear.

With a warble, the Nadder picked up speed, and despite herself, Syl flung her arms out to either side, letting the wind run over them. As much as she hated dragons, she had decided that the feeling of flight was one that would never be matched by anything else. To soar up and up, higher and higher, to run her fingers through the clouds… Needless to say, she had gotten over her flight-sickness quickly, thanks to Hiccup's rigorous flying routines in the academy. Eventually, she had to abandon all of her concern and fear to the dragon's ability, but once she did… Free was the only way she could describe it, the way it felt.

And of course, she would die before telling Astrid or Hiccup any of that. Or anyone else, for that matter.

Toothless gave out a coo as they landed on the ledge. As she slipped off the saddle, some small part of her mind told her that was meant to be taken as a greeting, but she brushed it off, marching straight up to the door. Then she pushed on it, planning to give Hiccup the surprise of his life.

It wouldn't budge.

Confused, she shoved harder against it, letting out a long grunt. She heard Toothless rumble deeply from behind her, and cursed. Curling her hand into a fist, she rapped on the door.

"Hiccup? Are you in there?" She growled, before giving another half-hearted shove at the door.

The sound of footsteps came from inside, followed by a sharp "Ow!" Then the door opened a crack, and Hiccup's head popped out.

"Oh! Hey, Syl… What're you doing here?" He smiled awkwardly, as though he were trying to tell her something. She didn't care.

"I'm bored, and your girlf... Astrid's being pretentious."

"Preten…" He frowned. "Well, listen, if you're, uh, bored… Fishlegs is doing some research on dragon illnesses for me. I'm sure he'd love some help on that. Or-"
"Ugh, that sounds even worse," Syl kicked the door frame. "The guy can barely form a sentence when I'm within earshot, never mind say something to me in person. He's worse than you." It was true. She had learned quickly that she held a lot of sway in the village - she raised her voice even the slightest bit and even adults snapped to attention as though she were holding a knife to their throats, which, to keep up appearances, she oftentimes would. It was certainly a change from her previous reputation, but she had caught on quickly. The rush of power she got from it made it that much easier. That didn't mean, of course, that there weren't still problems.

The twins and Snotlout were talkative enough - more than enough - but Fishlegs was a whole different story. She had to speak in the quietest voice she could muster - which was especially hard, given that she still hadn't learned to use 'her' voice - to get so much as a word out of him. And yet, when he started talking - especially if it concerned dragons - it took just as much effort to get him to shut up. For a boy at least three times her size, she was surprised he had the courage to live around dragons at all, never mind train and ride them.

"Well, y'know… We, uh, can't always have what we want, Syl," he said with a cough.

"Yeah, speaking of which," she replied, "What's the deal with you and the witch? Found anything yet?"

"Um… Hang on," he said. Then, with a quick glance back into the house, he stepped outside, closing the door shut behind him.

"Well?"

"See, uh," he swallowed, avoiding her glance. "She- I mean we, haven't really found anything yet. At least, I don't think so, because-"

"She still hasn't let you see it yet?" Syl asked, incredulous. "Unbelievable! Hiccup, you - we - got that book for her. This is your dragon and your girlfriend you're worried about, right?"

"Uh, y-yeah?" He stammered.

"Then why do you keep letting her get away with this stuff?"

He sighed. "She's the Village Elder-"

"To hell with the elders! I'm going in there," she made a move for the door, before Hiccup stepped in front of her.

"I… Don't think you should do that. Gothi said that you're, uh, not allowed in there anymore," he winced, probably expecting her to slap him. She had to admit, she was tempted.

Instead, she closed her mouth and turned away, refusing to look at him. Hiccup, the fearless Dragon Conqueror, could not even stand up to a crazy old woman to read a book, of all things. Not that she cared, but...

"She obviously knows much more about it than me, and we need to get whatever we need out of it as soon as possible," he explained. "Besides, it's not like I should really be looking at it, anyway. Gods, me alone with a magic book? You'd be better off giving it to the twins. At least they've made some stuff that actually works. I'd probably just manage to blow up the entire town with whatever's in there. Not that I haven't already-"

"Hiccup," she stopped him. Something had caught her eye.

"What?" He asked. "You know, it is kinda rude to keep interrupting me like this-"

"Hiccup, please," she said. "Just shut up for a moment."

She pointed down into the village, just beyond the docks. Hiccup followed her gaze and squinted.

"Were those ships there yesterday?" She asked, gesturing to three larger longships with red sails sitting dormant in the harbor.

"Which… Oh," Hiccup's eyes widened. "Oh, gods, no, they're-" he spun around, and ran back into the hut before he finished. It didn't matter - she already knew what he was about to say.

His father had returned.

She heard a few quick words from inside the hut, and Hiccup reappeared a moment later, holding the book in both hands.

"Come on, get Stormfly. We need to get this back before my Dad sees it's gone… Or at least explain why it is."

She raised an eyebrow, but he didn't respond. It took her a moment to realize why.

He glanced around, searching the ledge. "Where's Toothless?"

Gods, Damn it all! Astrid let loose a roar as she tumbled down the slope, again.

She had been climbing and falling for what felt like ages, even if the sun told her it couldn't have been more than an hour. Her legs and muscles ached in places that hadn't existed when she was a human. Rocks kept falling near and sometimes on her head, and though her natural instinct was to duck around them, she soon learned that not even the sharpest could scratch her, anyway. Still, that didn't make them hurt any less, and she had begun to wonder how badly a dragon's hide could bruise.

On top of that, each time she fell back, her wings and tailfin nearly flung themselves out on their own, and she had to make a conscious effort to keep them closed, to fall to the ground below more naturally. She was already starting to regret it, but if what Toothless had said about breaking a wing was true…

Rolling back over for the umpteenth time, she stood up and paced back and forth in front of the cliff. It was a worthy challenger indeed, she had decided - but she would not be so easily discouraged. She had spent much more time on much harder goals, and she had never been one to quit that easily - or at all. She wasn't about to start today.

Squinting in the sunlight, her eyes swept back over the cliff, looking for a new path. Left, to the smaller foothold, then right, maybe? Or right, then right again, then left? It was a puzzle she was hell-bent on solving, even if it killed her, which, it seemed at the moment, it very well might.

She wasn't just tired - she was exhausted. A few rushed attempts, the result of her anger at the cliff or over-enthusiasm, had left her wincing and panting at the bottom, hot saliva pouring off her tongue as deep breaths wracked her lungs for air. It was an experience she wanted to avoid going through again, though she knew if she had to do this for much longer, she would surely have to.

This will be my last try for today, then, she concluded. Let's make it count.

After a moment, she had decided on a path - a bit more complicated and dangerous than her previous attempts, but it was the last unused option she could see. She would have to be quick, though; on top of being small, the platforms she was aiming for looked unstable, ready to collapse at any moment. And the further up they went, the worse they appeared to be.

Backing up a bit first, she jumped, landing on the boulder that had served as her point of entry for the cliff since she started. Then, once again, she began.

It was a series of jumps, at first - the wall was divided at the bottom, which left a lot of shelves for her to jump between and stand on. As it got higher, however, she had been forced to change her viewpoint on the wall. Ledges and cliffs she could have stood on easily as a human now barely provided footholds to dig her claws into. It was disconcerting, but more than that, annoying. Every step was a reminder of how much she had changed, what she had lost - or more accurately, gained. She had trained to be slim, lithe, flexible. She still had the body for it, even then - but on a much larger scale. She'd have to learn to adapt if she was ever going to get out of that place, she knew, and so, she did.

She took another leap. The ground rumbled beneath her feet as she landed, something she still hadn't gotten used to. It just served as another reminder of how careful she would have to be from then on.

She began to pause more and more frequently between her jumps. The distances were getting longer, the platforms smaller. She had already fallen countless times there at the beginning - she wasn't about to lose there again. Not on her last try.

Letting loose a growl, she made one more leap, nearly falling off the platform with her own momentum, only catching herself at the last moment. This was the last of the jumps. From there, she would have to climb - really climb. The task was daunting, but a quick look down would confirm Astrid's suspicions - she had almost reached the highest point she had been all morning. There was no turning back. At least, none that would end well.

She launched her front legs up onto the cliff. True climbing was both much easier and much harder than jumping. Upright and parallel to the rock, limbs stretched above and below her, her old instincts kicked back in as she scaled the stone. The way she moved her limbs from handhold to handhold then wasn't really very different from how she might've done it before her transformation. It felt natural, and if she ignored the tail and wings, she almost, almost felt like a human again. It was enough to keep her going.

Still, the disadvantages of a dragon persisted. Without proper hands, she was forced to use her claws to dig into the hard dirt and stone. Though she had toyed with extending and contracting them into her feet before, coordinating them on all four feet at once was an entirely new challenge. some of the time they would dig in on their own, and she was surprised as she found herself well rooted into certain smaller cracks in the rock, and tiny ledges.

Time slipped away as she climbed, focusing only on the next ledge, then the next, until she grunted, and looked up. Just three more shelves, and she would be free from the cove.

Then she looked down, and instantly regretted it.

A fall from that height wouldn't kill her - that much she knew. As a human, probably, but luckily, the scale was changed in that aspect, as well. With the way she was leaning against the side of the cliff, she would only just have enough time to twist herself around when she fell, before her feet hit the ground. Even then, she would definitely break some, if not all of the bones in her legs, assuming she was able to get them out in front of her in time. If she were to let them, her wings might open in time enough for her to glide to safety - but she wished to avoid that at all costs, of course. After all, the whole point of scaling the wall was to avoid flying, wasn't it?

And so, the only way was up.

Taking a deep breath, she put her left front foot up, then her right back. She was only just able to pull her remaining hind leg up to the next foothold when the ledge it was resting on collapsed. Her claws sunk into the dirt and stone suddenly as she watched the stones tumble down the cliff, then shatter on the rocks at the bottom.

She stood there for a moment. She would have to find another way out of the cove the next time, she realized. Maybe there wouldn't even be a next time…

So I'll just have to make the most of it this time around. She thought.

Eventually, her eyes travelled up to the last two handholds. They were only a few feet below the edge of the grass, but they were, of course, the most treacherous yet - they would barely be big enough for her to sink her claws into, and one seemed likely to collapse if she so much as looked at it the wrong way. On top of that, There would be no place to put her rear feet except against the flat stone face, and so she would be relying entirely on her front legs and claws to hang on. From there, though, she'd jump up to the top, and would be free of the cove, at last.

Steeling herself, she reached up for one ledge with a paw. Then she began to move her other, letting her hind legs leave the surface of their shelves-

"Trying to escape already, huh?"

Astrid screeched. Her claws retracted, and her foot slipped off of the ledge. For a terrifying second, she was in absolute freefall. Then, she felt something pressing around her throat, tight. She figured it must've been the feeling of her neck breaking, or perhaps she had managed to hang herself from a loose, dead vine, but she knew neither could be true. She hadn't been falling long enough, and not even the strongest of vines could support her weight. On top of that, whatever it was felt very wet...

She opened her eyes and saw that the Night Fury's maw was clamped around her neck. She was still hanging limply over the side of the cliff, but somehow, Toothless was holding up the entirety of her body weight, grunting under the pressure. He was slipping, however - he wouldn't be able to hold her for much longer. It was a miracle he had kept his grip for that long at all.

She flailed her legs against the stone, searching for a place to launch off from, until they found the remains of a dead tree bulging stubbornly out of the cliff. She wrapped her feet and claws around it and looked back up at Toothless.

"Ready?" She growled. He didn't respond, though she felt his grip tighten.

With another grunt, she pushed off from the tree with her hind legs. At the same time, he pulled her up, and she scrambled her feet madly on the flat ground above until her claws locked into the dirt. Slowly, tediously, she was pulled up onto the ledge, Toothless's grip so tight around her that she couldn't breathe.

With what little energy she still had, she was able to get one of her back legs onto the cliff, then roll herself over onto the top. Scooting away from the ledge, she felt Toothless maw loosen around her neck. She took a huge gasp of cool air, before collapsing to the ground in absolute exhaustion. Toothless followed soon after, taking a few deep breaths of his own.

They both laid there for a moment, recovering. Then, once she had mustered the energy, she slapped him with her tail.

"What was that for?" He asked, his semi-casual tone infuriating her even more."That ledge was going to collapse, otherwise. I had a feeling you were up to something, and of course, you've already almost killed yourself, or worse, broken one of your wings. I saved your life - you're welcome."

"That," she answered, reeling back around on him with a snarl of her own, "was for jumping me! I would've been fine, otherwise. Do you want me to die?!"

They sat there, each not speaking to the other. Eventually, however, curiosity got the better of Astrid, and she needed to know if she was right. Crawling back over to the side of the cliff, she looked down at her last two footholds, just a few feet below. Slowly, she reached down a paw to test its strength, but as soon as she touched it, it crumbled. The same went for the other. She felt Toothless's presence come up beside her, and they watched together as the rocks plummeted down the cliff to join the rest that had fallen.

He let out a yawn. "Unless I'm wrong, this is usually the part where you would give Hiccup what you humans call a kiss-"

"In your dreams, 'bud,'" she rolled her eyes. "But… Thank you, you useless reptile."

He smirked and looked back out over the cove. She followed his gaze, taking a moment to admire her accomplishment.

Though she had seen it from the ground and above plenty of times before, she began to see what Hiccup liked about it so much. To see it from above was like viewing an island from the sea. Even if she knew the same feelings of entrapment would return the moment she went back down… It was a nice view of her home, at least.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Toothless asked, turning to her. "I didn't really know what that word meant before I got stuck here. For those of the blood - dragons - beauty is largely a foreign concept. We… we see so much of the world, it's hard to focus on the smaller parts. But the more time I spent here, the more I learned to appreciate it. It became my new nest. It was… Refreshing. I had spent so much time living in the queen's mountain, under her rule. I… Never knew there could be another place for me. We were made to believe that any land outside of the nest was cursed, evil - no dragons ever returned once they landed. The Queen told us… She was protecting us, even if…"

His voice faded, and he frowned, as did she. The Night Fury was rarely this talkative, especially of the Queen. She could understand why - she had seen what she had done to dragons who didn't serve her. To think that some of them were probably his friends… Hiccup would be dying to hear about this later, she knew. Maybe it had something to do with this illness he was so reluctant to tell them about. She could understand why that, as well - any proud warrior on Berk would likely die before admitting to an injury causing them any pain. But with the way Hiccup made his 'attacks' sound…

He blinked. "But it wasn't like that for the first few weeks. I just needed to get out, escape at all costs. This place wasn't a nest, it was-"

"A cage," she finished. He nodded slowly, looking back down into the cove.

"Even with Hiccup, I woke up with every rising sun wondering if that day would be my last," he paused. "So… What did it for you? What drove you past the edge?"

She sighed. "Syl."

"The girl?" He chuckled a deep, Toothless chuckle. "I suppose I could understand that… But you're lying. What is it, really?"

She shrugged. "I'm serious. Syl was the one who pushed me. If I had to stand one more second knowing that any moment she could swoop down in here on Stormfly and-"

"Alright, fine," he said, rolling his eyes. "Avoid the question, if you like. But I know why."

He stared into her eyes, and she was forced to stare back "There's an ache, isn't there? An ache to roam, to stray to places unknown, to be free. It's in a dragon's blood. We were not born to live and die on the ground, as humans do. That's in your nature now, too, whether you like it or not."

She didn't respond. He sighed, and looked down into the cove, then back up at her.

"You're never going to do this again."

Her eyes flashed as she turned to face him. "What?"

"Don't pretend you haven't considered it, Astrid," he told her. "That was your last way out of the cove - there are no other paths out, not by land. We both know that. The next time you go down in there, you're either coming back out as a human, or not at all. Unless…"

He paused, and stalked around her once, as though inspecting her somehow. He sniffed her wings and tail as he reached them, making her shiver and back away from him.

"Unless you learn how to fly."

She growled. "Never."

He purred, staring straight into her eyes again.

"I've been kind about this, Astrid," he began. "I haven't asked you - not at all. You should be grateful for that. Stormfly won't stop talking about how great it would be for you to fly alongside her. Never mind her excitement over all the other changes you've been through."

Her eyes widened. Did Stormfly really like her better as a… as a Night Fury? It couldn't be, she knew. The bond they shared was one between rider and dragon, not dragon and… other dragon. She was sure of that. Yet the way Toothless had said it...

"But you know how to use your tail about as well as most dragons I know, and you've already learned how to move your wings, as well," he continued. "It takes most newborn dragons months before they can even feel them. The instincts are there - you just need to let them-"

"Take over? No," she cut him off, "the tail was only because I had to - have to. It's constantly getting in the way, and I can't just have it dragging around everywhere. The wings I had to learn because your selfish ass wasn't willing to help me out when I flipped over the other day.

"Besides," she added, as an afterthought. "What use would it have? It's not like I'm leaving the cove, anyway."

He tilted his head curiously. "And yet, here we are."

She was about to respond before she felt something… Strange, like a light tingling inside of her head. Sort of like a headache, though it didn't quite hurt so much. For a moment, she almost thought she could hear a voice, as well…

Toothless seemed to feel it, too, as he narrowed his eyes at nothing in particular, letting out a slow, deep growl.

"Can you feel that, too?" She asked.

He nodded. "It's Hiccup. Something's wrong."

It was her turn to narrow her eyes. "Hiccup? How do you… Oh."

If she focused hard enough, she realized that the voice did sound distinctively nasally, and familiar. But how…

"Is this from the…?" She gestured at her snout with her paw, imitating the bond formed between dragon and rider. He nodded again.

"That's… Terrifying," she decided. To know where their riders were, if they were in pain, or being harmed… Stormfly had known about her, Toothless had always known about Hiccup, and now, she would share in that feeling as well. Trapped in that cove, with nothing she could do about it….

The dragon seemed to read her thoughts, as he replied, "It fades depending on how far away he is, or their fear… If he were in any real danger, this would feel much worse, and we would start seeing red. At least, that's what has happened in the past. This is very new to all of us, as you can imagine. Still, he seems distressed…"

Her eyes widened. "His father..."

"What?"

"His father, the Chief," she explained. "He was supposed to get back today. Hiccup needed to get the book back before he returned…"

Toothless nodded. "I should go, then."

"Toothless," she said as he turned to leave. "You said you came down here - all the way from Gothi's hut, if I'm not mistaken - because you thought something was going to happen to me. Did you… Feel that, too?"

"Just a guess," he smiled at her. "We're not so different, Astrid. Both stuck in this cove, both thinking we would never fly - never again, in my case. But here I am," - he held up his tail - "A downed dragon, flying once more. If this cove has taught me anything, it's that things can change even if you think they never will."

She wanted to respond, but Toothless had already turned away. As he sprinted off into the forest, however, he sent her one last thought.

"I envy you, Astrid. A Night Fury, alone in the wilderness, no missing limbs or humans to hold you back. Enjoy your day of freedom, as I have a feeling you'll look back on it fondly for many more days to come."

"Oh, how the gods must hate me," Hiccup moaned, as Stormfly circled down onto the Great Hall.

It had only taken him a few seconds to decide to take the Nadder back to the Village - if Toothless had left, he probably wasn't planning on coming back soon, and he didn't have the time to look for him.

Still, Stormfly was marginally slower than the Night Fury, and it took them a few minutes to get down to Great Hall, even though he pushed her to go faster until she nearly screeched in fear. Syl clung onto him for dear life, and Hiccup had a feeling he would see that her face was greener than dragon nip if he were ever to look back at her. Still, she didn't complain for the duration of the ride, probably because all the air had been sucked out of her lungs after the initial dive.

But it wasn't enough. From the sky, they could see that a throng of Vikings was gathered around the front entrance of the Great Hall. The wooden doors were flung wide open - his father was already inside. He was too late.

"Take this," he said, slipping Syl the book as they landed behind a few startled Vikings. "Hide it. For now, at least. I'd like to at least try to explain this to him before he sees me, uh, walk in with it."

"Wait," she called after him, as he slid off Stormfly's back. "Hiccup! There's something I should tell you!"

He fought back a groan as his mismatched feet carried him to the front doors. "Just, uh, hold that thought, Syl! You can tell me later… assuming my Dad doesn't kill me, that is," he added with a mutter.

His heart sank as he pushed his way through the burly Vikings blocking the entrance. Some of them stared at him as he walked by, and the looks on their faces made him wince. The fact that they dared not even enter the Great Hall showed enough about what his father's temper must have been when he stormed in.

He ran through all the scenarios he could think of in his head. Maybe his father hadn't made it to the back room yet - if so, he could try to stall him, and Syl could sneak around and put the book back in the safe. Of course, he hadn't told her to do that, and the plan was ridiculous - but he had tried even crazier before, and gotten away with it.

But this, of course, was not the case. He could see as soon as he walked into the Hall a faint light coming from a door at the far end. He slowed down to a halt, and his whole body slumped.

Alright, Hiccup, he sighed. Time to own up to it. No more options, no more plans, not this time. Just the truth.

Still, his steps slowed as he reached the back room. Gobber's form was outlined in the doorway, no doubt unable to enter the room - his father was called "Stoick the Vast" for a reason.

"Hiccup!" He said as he reached the door. "Yer father-"

"I know," he cut him off. Gobber just shrugged and moved aside.

Hiccup took a deep breath. "Hey, Dad."

His father stared down at him from inside the room, emotionless. He would've glanced down at the safe if he hadn't been so frozen in place by his glare.

"I can, uh, explain," he squeaked. "I just, y'know… It was Mildew, he, uh… I meant to get it back sooner but I needed it for-"

He stopped. His father showed no signs of having heard him. He took another deep breath, and let it out through a sigh.

"The point is, Dad, I'm really sorry. I needed to do it for… For Toothless. I didn't… Uh…" His voice trailed off as he looked up at his father.

He thought he was just hearing things at first, but after a moment, his suspicions were confirmed.

His father was chuckling.

He closed his eyes, anticipating the worst, but when he opened them, a smile had formed under his thick, braided beard, and his chuckle had turned into an all-out laugh. Gobber joined in a few seconds later, and Hiccup eventually gave a weak snort, letting a smile creep onto his own face as well.

He was dead meat.

In his mind, he ran through all the things he could have done - should have done - before his father got back. At the very least, he could've put a different lock on the safe, or even just the original. That way, it might not have looked so obviously broken. Still, his father would know they had done something to it, and… No matter what, it all came down to one fact - he should have put the book back. If only he had acted sooner…

"Sorry? Sorry?" His father suddenly broke off his laughter.

"Uh, yeah," he quavered. "I'm really, uh, sorry, Dad. I didn't want this to happen, I swear."

His father stared at him for a moment. Then he burst out laughing again.

"Ah, my boy! It's good to be back. Almost forgot how much I love your sarcasm, son. That is what ye' call it, isn't it? Anyways, I'm proud of you! That's what I'm trying to say. You kept your word."

Hiccup's father seemed to loom over him. Then again, he always did. "I… I did?"

It was then that he was finally able to rip his stare away from his father. As suspected, the safe was wide open. However, the lock on it didn't appear to have been broken off. And in his father's hands was…

"Ah, this?" His father held up the book. "The Compendium you've been so worried about, lately. Just wanted to make sure you hadn't thought about stealing it… But you're better than that, Hiccup. I knew you wouldn't."

He might have responded if he were able to close his jaw. His mind was racing, trying to understand how this could be possible. None of it made any sense. Unless…

"Hey, Chief. Glad to see you're back."

Hiccup snapped his head around. Syl was leaning against the doorframe, looking without a care in the world, arms crossed over her chest. He hadn't even heard her walk up.

"Astrid!" His father continued to chuckle. "Always a pleasure to see you, as well. I assume ye' didn't get into too much trouble while I was away, did ye?"

Hiccup felt himself blush, but Syl only smiled. "Oh, nothing too bad. But you know us…" She stepped out of the doorway and, unbelievably, she slung an arm around his shoulder. More in a friendly way than anything else. Still, Hiccup's senses seemed to reawaken then, as he instinctively shied away from her. Syl only rolled her eyes and crossed her arms again.

Still smiling at them, Stoick raised an eyebrow. "Hiccup, if you'll allow me a word…?" He gestured back out the door, at Gobber.

Wordlessly, he moved aside, as did Syl. Although he had to face it from the side, his father was somehow able to walk through the door. Once Hiccup was sure they were out of earshot, he stared at her, puzzled. Had she done this? It didn't seem akin to her nature at all, especially after the conversation they had the night before… but the glint in her eye suggested otherwise.

"Did… Did you…?" He whispered.

She shrugged. "It was late. I was bored. So, I decided I needed a project."

"You…" He shook his head. "You were outside… My Dad was already here, but you got it back in the safe. How...?"

"I didn't." She smiled again. "I took a gamble, and it seems to have paid off, for your sake. You'll see. The point is, you owe me, big time. Got it?"

Hiccup nodded, swallowing hard. He heard his father and Gobber's voices approaching the doorway, and their conversation was cut short.

"... Never thought my own son would be the one asking for…" His voice trailed off as he saw him.

"Hiccup," he said, his voice becoming stern and direct. Hiccup was relieved, in fact - it was the first normal thing to happen to him in a while.

"Uh, Dad," he replied.

His father opened his mouth, then closed it. Then, he looked past him into the small back room, nodding as his eyes passed over the various armor and rusted weapons lying in it, before finally coming to rest on the safe.

"I suppose you know where it is, now," he said. "The Compendium, that is. We've kept it locked in a safe here for years - long before you were born."

He sighed and held the book out in front of him. For the first time, Hiccup got a chance to look at it since he had gotten there. What he saw confused him - but only for a moment.

It wasn't the real book.

The leather cover and size were roughly the same. The words etched on the front were, as well. But he had held and studied the book long enough to know this was no more than a replica. His eyes flashed up to Syl, and suddenly, he understood her smile. He couldn't help but hold back a grin of his own, as well.

It was a gamble. If his father had known the book any better, he would've instantly recognized it as a fake. But he hadn't picked up the book in years, and probably hadn't ever opened it at all. He had always considered reading to be a waste of time, anyway.

Besides, Hiccup thought with a smirk, two Night Furies, two Astrids… Why not add another duplicate into the mix?

"But it doesn't matter. Because it's time I admit something," Stoick continued. "You're not the same boy you were a few years ago. You're going to be Chief some day. It's time I start treating you like that."

He shoved the book forward. Hiccup's eyes widened.

"I've changed my mind. You can have the book, Hiccup, as much as I wish you wanted otherwise."

His hands shaking, he reached out to take it, gasped slightly as the weight of the duplicate fell into his hands.

"Th-thanks," he stuttered. "I… That's it?"

"Well, you do remember our deal, don't you?" His father questioned. "I expect you to keep up your end of the bargain for me. Can you do that?"

"Our deal..." He said. His breathing grew shaky as he recalled what he had told his father.

I'll do the… The thing, that… That we talked about the other night, in the Great Hall... If you let me have the book… I'll go.

"The deal," he squeaked.

He shouldn't have done this at all. He never thought his father would actually accept it, but in his desperation, it seemed like the only thing he had to offer him, his only leverage. It would take a lot of his time away from him. He didn't want to put Toothless through that much, either, not in the state he was in, and he would have to cut off a lot of his time doing research. But Gothi still needed the book, and if this he couldn't just say no…

What am I getting myself into? He wondered.

"Yeah, the deal," he said. "I'll… I'll do it." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Syl raise an eyebrow, and he winced.

"Good," his father said, resting a hand on his shoulder. "You fly out tomorrow at dawn for your first trip. Be ready."

Then, without another word, he left.