A.N

Sooo. Hi. I kind of struggled with this one. A lot of research was involved. It's a modern A.U and a bit less fluffy to start with, but I promise that it will be fluffier later! Also, first of all, I am not a good authority on 'how to deal with a bear attack'. Neither am I a good authority on 'what to do in an emergency'. And, as this is fanfiction, the characters reaction to events such as injury are not what you should necessarily do. So take the reactions with a pinch of salt. Also, school resumes in a few days so I can't write much - but I promise not to give up on this!

NaddersoftheStar : As ever, thank you for reviewing! I checked out 'Thawfest: a Retake' and really liked it, I hope there's more! I finally watched Thawfest again and really liked it - there is likely to be fanfiction based off it coming...

FuryoftheStar : Cool idea, thanks for reviewing! Having researched a bit, I found out that Valentines Day didn't really come up in their culture. 'Feast of Freya' is, I just realised, mentioned in RTTE but this is my version.

Disclaimer:

HTTYD is a worldwide phenomenon. If therefore, I had been the genius to conceive the idea, you would probably have heard of me (as a person, not a fanfiction writer). Before this series of short stories, I imagine that none of you knew that I exist. So what am I saying? I dunno. I don't own HTTYD.

It was all Toothless's fault, mused Hiccup. Admittedly, he should have known to keep the large black dog away from his father after a trying day in the office. And there was a chance that he really ought to have fixed the fence last weekend when he'd been asked to. But it was definitely Toothless who decided to run off into the woods without Hiccup. Stoick was going to be furious.

"Ugh! Where is that dratted dog?!" he muttered between pants. PE was NOT his strongest subject. And as everyone in Berk knew, skill in sports dictated where you stood in the social pecking order. Hiccup was rock-bottom. The cooler kids - Snotlout, Throk and Astrid - were brilliant at sport, as well as every other lesson and especially, bullying.

Yes, Hiccup thought sarcastically, Society was alive and well in Berk Secondary School.

A paw-print in the soft mud distracted him from his thoughts. It was, he reasoned, unlikely that any other dogs would be running around alone in the forest at 6 a.m, leaving only one option - Toothless had been here, and recently.

Picking up the pace, Hiccup jogged along. Over a small stream with wet paw-marks around it, under a fallen tree and through a patch of trodden-down ferns.

The forest would almost have been beautiful if he wasn't so worried. Clear, cool air brushed against his face; soft, blue light filtered green through the statuesque pine trees. Finally, the tracks led him into a clearing. The sun was properly coming up now, sending a golden glow across the open space.

Hiccup slowed down and looked around. Moss, ferns, brambles - and a large black dog staring intently at something.

"Hey, bud!" he called. The dog twitched an ear but didn't turn around. "What you got there?" The teenager walked over, then gasped. Curled up in a hollow was a brown bear cub. Golden fur surrounded darker legs and a face which stared up at the intruders in alarm.

"Come on, Toothless," said Hiccup, eager to get home. Toothless ignored him, stepping closer to the cub which began to mewl in fear.

Grabbing the dog's collar, Hiccup began to try and pull him away from the terrified cub. A huffing sound behind him make the teenager shiver. He knew what was there. The mother bear had arrived.

0o0o0

Astrid was bored. She'd been awake since half past five that morning but despite her best attempts, she couldn't quite write a 2000 word essay on the impact of the Treaty of Versailles. So now, she was sat on her windowsill watching the birds in the garden. With a loud chattering noise, they all lifted off and flew away in a huge cloud. Odd, Astrid thought. Then a black dog sprinted through the garden and out through the garden gate. It was the dog from next door, Hiccup's pet.

Astrid rolled her eyes. Of course Hiccup had let Toothless escape. The 'runt', as he was known at school, was always getting into scrapes - be it sketching caricatures of their teachers in class then letting that teacher see it by accident or setting tables on fire in the science lessons.

A flash of brown hair caught her eye and she looked up in time to see Hiccup vault over his fence and into the woods. Idiot. He'd probably break his arm or get attacked by a - a bear. Only that evening, her father had warned her to keep out of the forest for a while because a mother brown bear and her cub were in the area. Mothers were notoriously more dangerous than the average lone male. Without a second thought, Astrid sprinted down the stairs, grabbed her phone and followed.

0o0o0

Oh Thor, Hiccup thought then cursed. This wasn't good. A large brown bear stood in front of him while he tried to pull his dog away from the cub. The mother huffed again, then started to charge. Not at him. Not at the cub. At Toothless.

In hindsight, what he did next was stupid. He should have played dead. He shouldn't have jumped in front of his dog. But he didn't remember what happened after that.

0o0o0

Astrid stifled a scream. Hiccup - his leg - the bear -

Her thoughts tumbled around in her head.

Breathe, she told herself. Now, think. Don't charge in. Let it go away. Then stop the bleeding. Call an ambulance. Don't panic.

After what felt like hours, the bear left with the cub and she ran to Hiccup, averting her eyes from the blood. Pulling her jumper off, she folded it in half and gently wrapped it around the injury, applying pressure to try and stop the bleeding. With the other hand, she got out her phone and fumbled with it before finally getting through to the ambulance service.

'What service do you require?'
"Ambulance, please."
'Putting you through.'
Suddenly, Astrid vomited on the ground.
"What is the emergency?"
She wiped her mouth then said, "My - friend has been attacked by a bear. He has a leg injury which is bleeding a lot."
'Where are you?'
"Um - just north of Berk Town, in a large clearing."
'Is your friend breathing?'
Astrid quickly checked.
"Yes."
'Is he conscious?'
"No."
'Ok, what number are you calling from?'
Astrid thought for a moment then recited the number.
'Thank you. A helicopter is on the way.'
The world swam in front of her, and once the large helicopter had come into view, Astrid had fainted.

End Note:

Sorry (not sorry) for the cliffhanger. Once I have written it, the second half of this random HTTYD modern A.U will be posted. And I promise to have more actual Hiccstrid in it. But hey, I had to lay the groundwork! So for now, please review, favourite and follow. Until next time!