REVIEWS:

Whiskerface: I love the interaction between the characters too. I'm glad you finally got your vote!

Silver Sentinel: They're Vikings, they take what they get. Hiccup's been expecting to do it in the winter ever since he first learnt he was expected to complete this challenge. Similarly, he's already processed most of what the challenge will mean before this ever happened, but knowing what he'll have to do and actually doing it are two very different things. Like exams; you know they're coming, you might even study for them, but when the day comes you'll feel unprepared. Also, flints are just another way of making fire, so Toothless can still use his fire without people feeling like they were cheating.

Chapter 2

"We're here," Stoick announced, and Snotlout rushed to the front of the boat. The pale noon sun shone down, and everyone was stiff from staying in one place. Astrid raised her hands above her head and stretched, yawning. I was alert and ready, too nervous to relax, and I didn't even stumble when the boat ground into the sandy bottom of the beach. Snotlout grabbed at the railing, and Fishlegs almost overbalanced, his arms flailing wildly, before Stoick pushed him upright again.

"So, I guess this is it," I said fearfully. From now on, we'd be completely on our own.

"Make sure you get back soon," Gobber said. "Those weapons won't mend themselves, you know."

Dad clapped his friend on the shoulder. "I'm sure you can cope for a few days." Then he turned to me. "Stay safe." It was the closest he normally got to telling me he loved me, but I knew what was going unsaid.

"Don't worry, sir," Astrid walked over. "I'll look after him."

Dad chuckled when I protested.

"Aye, I know I can trust you."

The laughter broke the tension, and Toothless jumped onto land, spraying us with small clumps of sand.

'Are you coming?'

Colours were already flashing past my eyes as I jumped, pain shooting through my knees momentarily when I landed awkwardly. Fishlegs scrambled over the side of the boat, and fell onto the sand with a thud. Astrid lightly leapt down and landed next to me. She had her familiar axe with her, just like I had my knife. It was unthinkable to separate a Viking from his weapon, and both Fishlegs and Snotlout swung small clubs in their hands. 'Small' meant that they were only as large as my arms, instead of half of my entire body.

When we were all standing on the beach, Fishlegs and Snotlout set their shoulders to the boat and pushed hard. It started sliding back into the water slowly, and Toothless, Astrid, and I joined them. Within seconds, the boat was afloat, and Dad stowed the sail. Gothi held the steering oar steady while Spitelout and Gobber pulled out the oars and started rowing against the wind. Within minutes, they rounded a curve and we were left alone on a small sandy beach, miles from the village and at the base of a small cliff.

"Well, we have a few hours to walk before it gets dark," I said, trying to think like a leader. "Let's get off the beach to begin with."

We looked at the cliff, and Fishlegs gulped. "I don't think I can climb that," he muttered.

It was only about six metres tall, but it was very steep and didn't have many handholds. Snotlout ran at the cliff face and jumped, grabbing a small rock. He hung by one hand for a moment, then his feet found purchase. He reached up, and I watched him methodically climb the cliff, hanging from the most precarious handholds. Astrid wasn't very far behind him, agilely reaching the top in moments, though she almost slipped halfway up.

I braced my prosthetic against the rock, then felt for a handhold. Pulling myself up with my arms, my right foot scrambled for something to rest against. I found a small ledge and pushed hard, reaching for the next handhold. It might be dangerous, but so was everyday life on Berk. I had to learn how to do this by myself, as the future chief. I'd never felt my expected role weighing on me so heavily before. I was about two thirds of the way up when my prosthetic slipped, and, with a small cry, I ended up dangling dangerously from one arm.

"Hiccup!" Astrid cried in alarm, reaching down to try and grab my hand. She couldn't reach. My fingers burned, and my shoulders ached, my heart pounding wildly.

"Uh, a little help?" My voice squeaked on the final word. "Guys?" I started to panic as my fingers slipped halfway off the ledge I was gripping. Thor, if I fell from here then I might break my leg or ankle—my prosthesis would definitely be damaged—which meant I'd never complete the challenge.

I clamped down on a scream as my hand slipped, colours blurring in front of my eyes and rocks scraping the skin off my clutching hands. At least I wouldn't embarrass myself like that. Something thick wrapped around my waist and I instinctively curled around it, closing my eyes. My speed decreased suddenly, and I peeled my eyes open to see Toothless holding me, his face scrunched in concentration. Then we landed in a tangle of limbs and wings, and I somehow ended up on top, releasing a breath I hadn't realised I was holding as I pushed myself upright.

"You okay?" Astrid asked worriedly, and I gave her a shaky smile.

"Yeah, thanks to Toothless." I stared at the wall. "I don't think I can climb that thing. It's too steep."

Fishlegs nodded in agreement, walking over to check if I was really alright. "Does anything hurt?"

"No, I'm absolutely fine," I assured him, thinking hard. How on earth could I get both me and Fishlegs up there? Come to think of it, "Bud, how are you planning to get up there?"

He crouched and sprang, beating his wings hard for lift. He floundered in the air for a moment, tail threatening to go out from under him, then hooked his claws into the top of the cliff and hauled himself up. Undignified, but effective—at least for him. I frowned, struggling with the puzzle—if only we had some rope!—until his tail caught my eye.

"If you dangle your tail down like a rope, how far does it reach?"

There was some scuffling on top of the cliff, then his tail sank about halfway down the cliff. I turned to Fishlegs. "Could you climb that high?"

He nodded hesitantly. "I think so?"

"Bud, could you lift Fishlegs up with your tail from there?"

'Of course,' he confidently told me. 'There's no way he's heavier than Stoick, and I managed him alright.'

"Can you just hurry up?" Snotlout said impatiently, stamping his feet. "We're getting cold up here."

Fishlegs gingerly climbed up the cliff, firmly keeping his eyes skyward. "Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down," he muttered to himself.

Then he reached Toothless' tail and wrapped his hand firmly around it, sighing in relief as he clung to something solid. Toothless waited for him to climb a bit higher, practically sitting on his tail fin, then slowly started to draw him up. I didn't wait for Fishlegs to disappear over the top, I simply started climbing the cliff again. This was something I could do, and I wasn't going to wait to be helped. I got halfway up before Fishlegs was secure on the top, and Toothless lowered his tail again for me.

My fingers were numb with cold, which made the climb even harder than before, but I carefully pulled myself upward. Toothless' tail twitched next to me, and I hesitated. I could grab onto him and be pulled up now, or I could go a little farther on my own. I wanted to do this on my own.

I kept one hand on his tail, climbing right next to it, but I hauled myself up, navigating the small handholds and ledges by myself.

My heart leapt into my throat when my legs slipped again and my entire body weight swung from Toothless' tail, but after a few moments of undignified flailing, I regained my footing and made it to the top. Astrid reached down to pull me over the edge, then we were ready to go. I looked up at the sky and called up the various maps of Berk I'd seen.

"The village is to the south, just over that mountain. We should go around."

Snotlout looked where I was pointing. "Why not just go over it? That'll be shorter."

"It'll also be colder," I argued. "Can't you see the snow up there?"

"Pfft! There's snow everywhere at this time of year," Snotlout said, kicking some of the white powder into the air. Toothless sneezed and glared at him, wiping his face with a paw.

"Yeah, but it's deeper up there," Fishlegs chimed in. "Look at that rock formation! On the fifth map made by Angus the Adventurous, one of only three in existence and the most accurate map we have, that rock formation looks like a rabbit. I can barely see its shoulders now."

Snotlout squinted. "It looks like a rabbit to me. See, that's its eyes and mouth, and that funny blob thing is its tail." Toothless suddenly raised his head, alert.

"Actually, that's its nose," Fishlegs said. "And Hiccup's right, we should go around the mountain. It's known to be home to lots of animals. We can't just walk in there like we own the place!"

Snotlout laughed. "Sure we can!"

I frowned. We needed to make a decision quickly, and we were being far too noisy. Anything within half a mile would know where we were. I opened my mouth to interject, but couldn't get a word in edgeways.

Toothless nudged my side. 'Whatever we're doing, can we hurry up, please? There are wild boar on our left, and closing in.'

Snotlout immediately paled. "Fine, let's follow Hiccup. Which way round the mountain?"

I frowned. "We need to go left, but that's where the boars are. How close are they, Toothless?"

He sniffed the air, eyes closed in concentration. Wind brushed past my cheek, moving off to our left—which meant away from the boars. For Toothless to smell them, that meant they were either very smelly, or way too close.

'We need to go, right now!'

I glanced at the sun again, mentally calculating angle and distance. "We'll go over the mountain. Let's go!"

I set off at a fast jog, carefully brushing through the trees and placing my feet almost soundlessly on the powdery ground. Toothless had taught me well, though he was far quieter. Astrid followed me, easily keeping pace but making far more noise. Fishlegs scurried after us, terror lending him speed.

I heard Toothless firing a plasma blast and ran a little faster, sacrificing endurance for speed. Fishlegs started to fall behind, but Astrid kept forging ahead. I ducked through a small tunnel after her, narrow enough that only two boars could pass through it at a time, and glanced over my shoulder at the others, relieved when Snotlout was almost on my heels and Toothless was keeping pace with Fishlegs. He ducked into the tunnel just as Astrid emerged on the other side, but Toothless slowed to a stop and spun to confront the boars, firing four shots in quick succession. Four boars down, a lot to go. As the rest bore down on him, he fired his last shot into the ceiling and chased after us, easily outpacing the boars.

Fishlegs stumbled and I grabbed his arm, tugging him along. Astrid fell back to help, and together we kept him in a slow jog, but he was obviously struggling. We were panting hard, but I could still keep going for a while longer. Snotlout ran next to us, in worse shape than me and Astrid, but better than Fishlegs.

"You alright, bud?" I asked breathlessly as Toothless caught up, and he nodded wordlessly.

Fishlegs finally slowed to a stop and bent over, heaving for breath. "I've—got an aw—awful stitch," he panted.

'Get on,' Toothless ordered, nodding to his back. I smiled gratefully at him as Fishlegs scrambled on without a word, and I sprinted after Astrid. We were still going strong, but for all his proud boasting, Snotlout was more of a stand-and-fight guy, not a run-and-regroup guy, and he was starting to struggle. The boars were gaining on us.

"Come on, Snotlout," Astrid panted.

He fell further and further behind, hanging dangerously close to the back of the group and his breaths were laboured. Astrid and I grabbed his hands and tried to pull him along, but we were starting to flag.

"Te—tell Dad—" Snotlout slowed to a stop, gasping for breath. "I died sa—saving you from the boars sin—single handedly."

Muttonhead! I opened my mouth to tell him how idiotic that was, when Toothless grabbed Snotlout by the arm and threw him onto his back as he ran past. His breath was coming heavily, but he didn't complain and didn't slow.

My breath came in heaving gasp, sweat ran into my eyes, and my legs burned with exertion. A sharp pain stabbed through my left leg and I stumbled, staggering, before my legs caught up with my torso. Another pang shot through my stump and I gasped, stumbling again. No, no, no, not now! Tears mixed with the sweat on my face as another sickening bolt of pain shot up my leg, and I lost my footing again. A big black wall suddenly appeared in front of me and I ran into it, slowing to a stop and biting back a cry as my leg throbbed painfully.

'You ca—can't run like this, Hiccup.'

I hated to let Toothless carry me when he was already overburdened and tired, but I didn't have a choice. There was no way I could run like this, and we both knew it. Arguing would only slow us down.

Snotlout bent down and hauled me up, almost yanking my arm out of my socket, and I was sandwiched between him and Fishlegs.

'Fishlegs, help him as much as you can,' Toothless ordered, then chased after the retreating figure of Astrid. I swayed, groggy as the pounding pain flickered up my leg, and thick hands gripped my shoulders, keeping me upright in the saddle.

I was limply tipped off the saddle as we emerged from the forest, Astrid, Snotlout and Toothless protectively circling around me and Fishlegs.

"What is it?" he asked worriedly, lifting me off the ground as I fought back tears.

'Phantom pain,' Toothless helpfully supplied. 'Get his prosthetic off. Physical contact helps.' I wished he was the one helping me, but I knew that Fishlegs was the only one we could spare from fighting. Though he was strong, he was slightly squeamish and didn't like hurting things. That hesitation could be deadly in battle.

"Here they come," Astrid warned, and Toothless' wings rose threateningly. Only five boars had kept up with us, but they were the biggest and the strongest of the pack, huge ugly brutes with wicked tusks. It wouldn't be easy to keep them away, especially since they must be desperately hungry at this time of year.

"On three," Astrid said, holding her axe tightly. "One, two, three!"

I groaned, my hands tugging uselessly at the ropes securing my prosthesis to my leg. Fishlegs gently pulled my hands away and undid the ties, then supportively wrapped a hand around my waist. I leant back against his soft arm and tried to relax, waiting for the fit to pass.

"Does this happen often?" he asked worriedly, protectively pulling me closer to his side.

"Not really," I mumbled. Talking helped; it distracted me from the pain. "Maybe once a month? More in the winter."

"What do you do?"

"If I'm with the riders, I get away as soon as possible," I admitted. I hated showing pain, even to the other riders, but this fit had been completely unexpected. "It's normally slower than this. I usually have about ten minutes before it gets really—AH!" I gasped, clutching my stump as it flared with fire. "—bad."

Fishlegs asked another question. "Then what?"

"Take my leg off and rub where it hurts." My fingers were already rubbing in circles, desperately trying to push the pain away.

"Nothing else?"

I hesitated. There was something else, but I wasn't sure I wanted to—"Behind you!"

Fishlegs looked around and screamed, scrabbling for his club as a boar started its mad thundering charge at us. He found it, dropped it, fumbled it, and dropped it again. I dug into my belt and grabbed the small handle of my knife. A comfortable weight, unlike most weapons I made, and sharpened to perfection. I'd practised with it for hours, not stabbing or thrusting, but throwing. This shot would be difficult, but hopefully doable. If not, Fishlegs had better get his act together.

Bracing myself against the cold ground with my right hand, I weakly raised my left, the hilt of the knife familiar against my fingers. A moment to calculate angle and distance, add in the slight wind and boar's speed, then aim and release forcefully. The knife zipped under Fishlegs' raised arm as he finally calmed enough to use his club effectively, and, to my utter surprise, lodged firmly in the boar's eye. It went utterly berserk, rattling its head and running itself into the ground, squealing at an ear splitting pitch the whole time, until Fishlegs whacked it on the head and it crumpled to the ground.

I raised an eyebrow. "That works too."

Fishlegs turned to stare at me as I crumpled under another wave of fire in my leg. I tensed in anticipation of hitting the hard ground, but was supported by something strong and flexible at my back.

'Did you do that?' Toothless asked, staring at me in amazement. I hadn't needed to use my skill since we met, and though I still practised religiously, he normally took the opportunity to nap or socialise with the other dragons.

I shrugged, feigning nonchalance, but I was just as surprised as him. I'd expected to hit the boar, but I wouldn't have been surprised if I'd got its chest or leg. "I was aiming for its snout." Snotlout pulled the knife out of the boar's eye with a wet squelch, wiped it on the snow, and passed it back to me.

"Remind me not to make you angry."

I laughed, trying to stand up—that was a mistake. My legs collapsed underneath me and I fell back to the ground with a small cry, gritting my teeth against tears.

"Hiccup, you shouldn't be moving," Astrid told me, and Toothless nodded.

"No, those boars are only unconscious. I want to be far away when they wake up," I reminded them, trying to stand up again.

Astrid and Toothless shared a doubtful glance, and I looked across our ragged group. I was unable to walk, Fishlegs and Snotlout were exhausted, and Astrid and Toothless weren't in much better shape. Her hair was a mess and she was favouring her right arm, and he had a shallow gash across his foreleg. It wasn't looking good, but it would look a whole lot worse if the boars woke up. We could just kill them, but it was hard to get through their thick skin with anything, and we had no idea when they would wake up. If they came to as we killed one of their packmates, who knew what they would do.

"He's right, everyone," Astrid said. "Let's get a bit farther today. Hiccup can ride on Toothless' back."

Toothless bent down and let Snotlout set me on his back, before he started walking. I straightened my back with a tired sigh, and eased into the familiar rhythm, my leg throbbing with every step. Astrid led the way, breaking a path through the snow, and we followed in her footsteps as Fishlegs brought up the rear. I glanced up at the sky. We were about a third of the way up the mountain, and if we were going to do this in three days then we had to get about two thirds of the way up by nightfall. It was only an hour after noon, so we should have plenty of time, but there were a few ominous storm clouds in the distance, in the direction of the village, that promised bad weather to come.