CB73: I agree, but Astrid never has been one to slow down her dragons. Lol

DeathBerryHime: Gothi is my favourite ever! She's so good! I'm glad you picked up on the dynamics change, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. As for Snotlout, he won't always be a POS, but I think he's going to have to get knocked off his high horse first...lol. We will get to meet more heirs, but not until the second story as this one was just getting too crowded with all of them. They are not forgotten though.

Guest: Thank you, I'm glad you like it. Gothi has got to be one of my favourite characters in this and she is even more interwoven into the story than it first seems. I wonder if anyone will figure it out...

Rainnnn: Yep, definitely some foreshadowing there :) I'm glad that you also enjoy Gothi as a developed character as much as I do. I, myself, come from a long line of witches/medicine women on my mother's side, so I feel a sort of kinship with her. She reminds me of my grandmother. Lol

As for the FFNet questions, I have no idea why they would be doing that to this story. I honestly didn't even know that was happening. I will try to find out though. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.

_

Hiccup had been avoiding Astrid. He knew that she noticed, and he knew that she was furious about it. It couldn't be helped though. The distance was necessary. He seemed to be stuck in a perpetual cycle of self destruction that he was powerless to escape. That he didn't even want to escape.

The undeniable truth was that she was his mate and he needed her. Even if it was horrible and wrong. He was stealing her chances at a happy family just because the night fury in him couldn't let her go. He was even beginning to lose some of his careful control over his darker nature. Leading him to cross hard lines he had drawn both for himself and for her safety. It was a risk that he knew he shouldn't be taking.

Astrid would sneak away to visit him in the cove in the evenings. When she offered herself, he took her without hesitation. Soaking up her undeserved love and affection as he allowed his hands and mouth to explore her greedily. Claiming her body, as if it belonged to him. The beast within completely comfortable in the belief that she was his. Taking everything she was willing to give him and knowing that it was wrong. It was killing him slowly.

She loved so hard, he could feel the strength of it washing over him every time he lay her down. Getting deeper and stronger with each caress. Knowing that his natural magic was wrapping her up so tightly that she couldn't escape his web if she'd tried. Like the dark creature that he was, he found pleasure in this. He would bask in her love for the moment, lying to her with every breath, then watch her leave. Spending the rest of the night in his sleepless torment, knowing that he was a monster. He was taking her body as his comfort and offering her only imminent and excruciating pain in return.

Every day Hiccup would look at his witless cousin during the training and wonder how Snot didn't see it. Here he was, playing the polite stranger with Snotlout while spending his evenings ruining the man's future wife. Granted that Snot would not get to marry her anyways. The fact that the contract was solid and politically perfect just meant that it was more likely than ever that Snot would have to die. It was a shame really. Hiccup knew full well that Astrid would be upset with him, but it was what had to be done.

Every time he had watched Snot try to touch Astrid during the lessons it had set his teeth on edge. No matter how innocent the touch, or how quickly Astrid chased him off. Hiccup still had the same inappropriate urge to remove the stalky man's grabbing hands from the ends of his overly clingy arms. Vicious snarls ripping from his throat before he was able to rein them back in. Always uncomfortably close to committing public murder.

Even worse was the leer that Snot would send in his direction before touching Astrid. As if he knew that the sight would bother the dark Rider. Too many times he had been on the verge of putting one of his throwing stilettos through the man's throat. It would be so easy to do. His own hands twitching towards his blades before he was able to regain control of himself.

Gods, would he ever really be prepared to tear his own heart out again at the end of all this? It didn't matter that he had accepted the fact that he would return to her as often as he could. To protect her from Odin, he would still have to leave her in the first place. Alone and relatively unprotected too, just to avert suspicion, and he knew it would break them both for him to do it. Like the soulless and masochistic creature he was, he had let himself get too close to her. He knew that it was wrong and cruel, but he just couldn't seem to shake the selfish beast that he had become. Not when he knew that she was the only one for him. Not when her every look and touch displayed just how much she wanted him too.

Now he had one more thing to add to his pile of worries. The disgusting man that he had kicked out of training. From the moment that Stormheart had laid eyes on Astrid at the academy that day, he had been set on taking her. The raping bastard wanted her like he had never wanted another before her. Hiccup had known this would happen when he had gotten his first read on the man. Astrid was just too beautifully tempting and desirable for her own good. Not that this excused Stormheart's urges, but few men could deny the power she had over their body.

Still, lustful desire and rape were two very different beasts. Hiccup had chosen to ignore most of the men panting after his mate. Knowing that she would kill them herself if they tried to touch her. The wicked thoughts and horrifying images in Stormheart's mind were a another matter. He had almost run the disgusting man through with Guruthos right there in the arena. Unfortunately it would have been very hard to explain at the time. It also would have created a divide in the tribes that they just couldn't afford right now.

The fact that he had to let the man live for political reasons was like a constant nagging itch in the back of Hiccup's mind. Making him stress and worry about Astrid every moment that she was not near him. In response, he began sneaking around the village like an overly protective wraith during the evenings. Hiding from his mate, while at the same time maintaining a near constant vigil over her too. Ilweran and Eret both gladly offering to keep an eye on her as well. None of them letting the girls wander too far out of their sight these days.

At least Astrid had listened to him and started carrying her axe again. More than once Hiccup had felt the alarm bells in his mind as the protection runes on it were activated. Watching in relief as the misdirection ward diverted the pig before he could pose any real danger to the quartet of beautiful women. While Hiccup longed for Stormheart to say or do something that would justify action, he wasn't really willing to let the man get close enough to touch Astrid just so that he could finally kill him. Despite his fears for her though, he was still staying away. Hoping to avoid having more awkward conversations with her that would only serve to make her angry and confused.

There were so many things Hiccup knew he needed to explain to her, but he just didn't know where to begin. How do you tell the love of your life that you were never going to age and never going to die? She may have responded favourably to the fact that he was an elf, but immortality was a whole other dimension of crazy. He couldn't tell her about magic, he didn't want to tell her that he was a ruthless killer, and he had no desire to see the pain in her eyes when she realized how impossible their love was.

To top it all off, somehow she and Fish had seen Guruthos glowing despite his best efforts. Thankfully they hadn't told anyone else yet. The rest of the Vikings already assumed that Scáth was a monster in disguise. Though they were more right than they could possibly know, he was still not actually a draugr. The fact that he could use magic would unfortunately be seen as proof for their beliefs, however. They would likely try to hunt him down and burn him alive in a superstitious attempt to chase him out of their village and return him to Helheim.

Not that Hiccup couldn't really blame the people for their unease. After all, he honestly displayed quite a few characteristics of the supernatural creatures that he had been raised to fear. The inhuman levels of speed and strength were only the tip of the iceberg. Just the unnatural grace with which he moved would likely raise instinctual alarm bells in the humans. His own natural aura simply intensifying the general sense of danger surrounding him, even with Hiccup toning it down as much as he could. Sometimes he really hated his magic and its unwanted side effects.

The fact that he had not reacted violently to anything did not seem to ease their discomfort either. The reality that he was helping them instead of attacking them, not really seeming to register in the collective mindset. Admittedly, the mysterious cloak and mask combination gave him the overall appearance of a demon soldier too, but clothes did not a monster make. Still, if they did decide to try and kill him, the unfortunate fools would finally see him fight like a draugr. He really hoped it wouldn't come to that though, as Hiccup truly had no desire to destroy any of his old tribesmen. Well, maybe Snotlout...

Growing tired of trying to explain away impossible things by lying to those he cared about, Hiccup had gone back to his old routine of hiding from them instead. Though he had to admit that this had been a lot easier to do as a child here. Back then he could simply hide in the smithy until nightfall and then pass the rest of the lonely hours in the blissful oblivion of sleep. Now he didn't need to sleep. Along with Ilweran giving him the space required to make it look as if Scáth had left the island at night, it left Hiccup with a lot of pointless free time on his hands.

With nothing better to do, Hiccup had began using the late hours to work on new weapons for the recruits without the constant audience. Gobber giving him curious looks, but also keeping his silence about Hiccup's presence as long as he kept the noise down while the village was trying to sleep. Relaxing slightly once he was finally alone, Hiccup would cast silencing charms around the place before getting to work. Using magic to help shield the telling light of the forge, as well as to create the new weapons. Even placing minor enchantments on them, similar to his old sword Inferno. Discounting Minden's sword and Astrid's axe, which both went above and beyond what should be reasonable in a non-magical realm, these would still be some of the best in Midgard by the time he was finished.

Making his soundless way through the empty village with his head down to hide his currently unmasked face, Hiccup was fully expecting another lonely night in his self enforced purgatory when he got to the forge. He was therefore surprised to find Gobber still waiting for him. Hiccup had deliberately delayed going into town until even later than usual, as he was getting tired of seeing the disappointed scowl in his mentors eyes. Though Gobber acted completely unbiased most of the time, his disapproval of Hiccup's behaviour towards Astrid was vividly apparent in the old smith's mind. Just as it was right now.

As soon as Hiccup had ducked through the doorway, it shut behind him with an ominous thud. Turning abruptly at the sound as his hands instinctively reached for his stilettos, he paused in surprise when he saw Gothi standing there. Stooped and ancient as always as she leant heavily on her staff and glared at him. Not even a hint of fear to be found on her wizened face at either the speed of his movements, or the fact that he had almost put a blade through her. He hadn't even sensed her presence. Somehow, the old wise woman was able to shield both herself and her mind. It was rare, but not completely unheard of amongst humans, so Hiccup decided to leave it alone. If any mortal would be able to dabble in the arcane, it was Gothi.

"What is this? Some sort of intervention," he asked. Relaxing his defensive stance and crossing his arms instead as he gazed at the other two. Already prepared for this from the uncomfortable direction of Gobber's thoughts.

"Ya could say tha'," Gobber offered with a grimace. Moving to take a seat on one of the stools by the workbench. "We don' like how ya've been treatin' Astrid. Avoidin' her and pretendin' it's for her own good. S'not fair to her an' ya know it!"

"What exactly would you propose that I do about it? The fact that I am with her at all is not fair to her, but it is too late to change that. I do not know what you want from me." He was being shorter with them than usual, but it couldn't be helped. There were just too many stressors compounding on his mind all at once, and even the most expanded consciousness had a breaking point.

"You could tell her the truth," Gothi quietly rasped as he turned his shocked gaze on her again. Wasn't she supposed to be a mute? "Of course there are some things that you cannot tell her, but there are many that you must. It would be better to explain it and have her disbelieve you, then to keep lying to her for real. She loves you, and she will accept you. After all, she does not seem to have a problem with the fact that you are no longer human."

"What?" Hiccup choked at her in surprise. "How in Helheim do you know that?" Even Gobber was staring at Gothi in shocked confusion, though it was more at her words than Hiccup's reaction. After all, Gobber was not yet privy to the fact that Hiccup wasn't human.

"My mother was a very powerful woman gifted with magic and visions of the future," Gothi offered with a shrug. "She fell in love with a mortal man and was cast out of her home for it. Because of her, my life has been a very long one. I am even older than you can imagine and I have gifts that I both enjoy and despise. Her blood in my veins is the reason that I have been able to glimpse flashes of what is to come, as I saw you returning to us before you did. She is also the reason that the illusion you are casting right now has no effect on me, though I am not very gifted in the arcane myself."

Sighing, Hiccup shot her a disgruntled look. "I knew that nothing got past you. I should have somehow guessed that you would see through my illusion as well, you old crone. Is there anything that you do not feel the need to stick your nose in," he asked rudely. "I suppose you have figured out who I work for too, which means that you should understand my reluctance to expose Astrid to my world."

Gothi promptly hit him over the head with her staff. "Do not take that tone with me, young man. There's more where that came from," she said sternly as she shook her staff menacingly at him. "Yes, I am fully aware of who you work for, and why you are so desperate to keep her safe. You have powerful enemies indeed, Hiccup, but equally powerful friends. The Prince of the Elves is an interesting choice for a travelling companion. Though he is very handsome, I must say. If I was a few hundred years younger..." The surprise on Hiccup's face must have been shockingly obvious, but Gothi just gave a wheezing chuckle.

Peering at him with her clear blue eyes as she added, "I also know that you are immortal, which is the one thing you are most afraid to tell Astrid. I'm not surprised, as that will be a hard reality for her to face. My own husband did not respond overly well to the idea when I explained it to him many years ago. Watching him fade and die without me was one of the hardest things I have ever lived through. Difficult for him as well, mind you. The knowledge that the one you love is nearly eternal when you are not, it is a bitter medicine to swallow. Still, she deserves to know, and then you must let her make her own decisions."

Hiccup stood there glaring at her for a moment longer, before he sank down onto one of the remaining stools. Leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees as he buried his face in his hands. "How is she supposed to believe me about something this insane, when I still have not been able to keep my word about helping her end her engagement," he groaned. "She will think that I am just lying to her because I do not want to face her anger. I just wanted to keep her safe, but I am doing everything wrong and I do not know how I can possibly fix it now."

Hiccup could feel Gobber's desperate confusion beside him, but he just didn't have it in him to explain this shit to the smith right now. Let Gothi do it. Somehow she knew everything already. "You can stop wallowing in self pity for a start," the old woman croaked at him blandly.

It was a fair point, but Hiccup was not in the mood to be a grown-up right now. "What if I want to wallow," he retorted into his palms. "What if I want to sulk and grouch around like an angst ridden teenager? Pouting about how life is never fair and everything sucks." This earned him a chuckle from Gobber, and another hard wallop from Gothi's staff.

"Do not think for a moment that I will not hit you again," she told him gruffly as he growled and glared at her through his fingers. "You got yourself into this mess. Now you need to figure out how to fix it. You have always been a smart boy, Hiccup Haddock. What good is that clever brain of yours if you can't see your way out of a little problem like this?"

"Now come Gobber. Let's leave him to his aching skull and his thoughts. We have done all we can, and it is up to him to do the right thing now. I will make you a cup of tea and explain what I am able." Then the old woman turned and shuffled back towards the door.

Gobber grunted as he got off his stool. Placing his hand on Hiccup's shoulder for a moment as he said, "go an' find her. All she has ever wanted, is you. Tha' girl has carried a spark for ya for as long as she has carried tha' axe. You'd jus' better hope she brought the spark an' left the axe at home when ya talk ta her though. I hear it's dead unlucky ta be murdered by yer own handiwork."

Hiccup's head came up off his hands abruptly. Staring at the smith as he repeated, "her axe... It is my handiwork… And she accepted it five years ago, and has carried it ever since. Gobber, you are a genius!" His voice rising slightly with his excitement.

Grinning at the look of surprised confusion on the smith's face, Hiccup clarified. "That is the solution! The axe is her freedom! Gobber, I could kiss you. I am not going to of course, since you are very nearly my father and it would feel weird on too many levels. Perhaps I could convince Eret or Ilweran to come over and kiss you instead," he added with a sly wink.

Gobber blushed from moustache to eyebrows. "Between you an' tha' old bag of bones," he gestured towards where Gothi had just left, "there ain't no secrets in this dratted place anymore," he grumbled sourly. Then he grinned back at Hiccup before turning away, muttering about nosey busy-bodies. As he stumped out after Gothi, Hiccup heard him shouting, "there better not be any holly berries in tha' tea ya old bat! I've kept ma word!"

Hiccup chuckled after them. Rubbing his hands distractedly over his face now as he thought about Gothi's words. She was right, after all. His immortality really was the most terrifying thing that he had to explain to Astrid. She would probably think that he was lying about everything at first. Unfortunately, the passing years would make it undeniable that he wasn't aging. How would she feel about him then? As she was forced to wither with time while he remained frozen as this beautiful young man forever. She would likely start to hate him for it, eventually.

Still, he now had a way to give her the freedom she so desired. Gobber had struck on something very important, and Hiccup couldn't believe that he hadn't thought of it before. Hiccup had made Astrid her axe and presented it to her five years ago. Even at the time he had known that it was practically a betrothal gift, but she had willingly accepted it anyways. Right before giving him her own absolutely wonderful gift in return. It was not the traditional way, but for all intents and purposes, they had sealed a contract that night.

Her contract to Snotlout could be nullified by the simple truth that Astrid was already betrothed at the time of the agreement. Of course, this meant that Hiccup would have to reveal his identity to the village. He would also be required to compensate her family for the bride price that he had cheated them out of. That wasn't a concern. The only real concern was that he would have to face his father, which was an extremely unpleasant thought from any angle. Still, he would do it a million times over if it would save Astrid from her unwanted marriage or from dealing with the death of her betrothed.

Getting up from the stool, Hiccup left the forge at a jog and whistled for Toothless. He needed to do some hard thinking and the cold air always helped to clear his head. This would need to be handled delicately if they were to avoid shaming Astrid. Preferably a private meeting with her family to sort everything out before breaking the news to the Jorgensons. He was too distracted to work on the weapons right now anyways, so he might as well go out on a quick patrol instead.

The queen had to be getting her strength back. Unfortunately this meant that at any time she may start sending out raiding parties again. Hiccup and Ilweran both agreed that they would need to head off any raids before they reached the village. The recruits may be looking forward to riding dragons, but the people would still defend their homes and stores at any cost. There were just too many centuries worth of bad blood for it to disappear overnight.

He and Toothless were halfway through another circuit of the surrounding ocean and just beginning to loop back towards Berk when he felt Toothless grumble beneath him. The dragon sensing the presence of something big coming this way. Turning back the way they had come, the brothers peered into the distance until… There it was. A large black mass moving in their direction. Alarmed at first, Hiccup reached out with his mind. Stretching it out farther and farther until he encountered the spark of another guarded mind. One that was instantly familiar.

"Minden," he exclaimed as a smile grew on his face. "Finally!" Then he and Toothless flipped around and shot off back towards Berk. Ilweran would want to go meet up with their new visitor. First he would need to stop at the cove to retrieve his mask before he turned up at the chief's house. Tonight was not really the night to suddenly spring the surprise of his identity on his father.

*

When Astrid finally arrived in the cove, she found it empty as usual. Settling herself on a rock to wait, she once again began to run through what she had witnessed the day of the "Trial By Sword", as her and Fishlegs had started to refer to it. It brought back memories of her glowing axe on Dragon Island and his strange black ring. Clearly, Hiccup could use magical objects. Though she had no idea if he had somehow made them, or just found someone else who could make them for him. Magical objects and mind control were not the same thing.

Sometimes it felt like she barely knew him at all, despite having given him her heart and soul. For goodness sake, she didn't even know where he lived! Hiccup danced around her questions as if her life depended on it and Gothi's words had seemed to support that idea. Still, Astrid couldn't understand why he was so afraid to tell her the truth. Hadn't her reaction to his true appearance and his strange powers been enough to ease his worries? She was not going to run from him, no matter what he told her. She just wanted to know.

Huddled up on the rock, Astrid had her arms wrapped tight around her knees to protect herself from the chill of the night. It may be the middle of summer, but the temperature still dropped a fair bit once the sun had sunk below the horizon. She had stopped shivering a while ago though, and a strange sense of heat was slowly starting to replace the chill in her core. Now she just felt extremely relaxed and tired. Fighting to stay awake, she started to wonder if she might actually freeze to death before Hiccup got back.

Suddenly a huge black shadow blocked out the stars. Looking up, she watched as Toothless spread his wings wide to gently touch down beside the pond. Hiccup jumping off before the dragon's feet were even on the ground and dashing to her side in barely the span of a blink. "Astrid! What are you doing sitting here by yourself," he exclaimed in shock. "Without a coat or anything! Gods, you must be freezing!"

Reaching the rock, he pulled her into his embrace. Her body shuddering at the touch of warmth. Making her suddenly realizing just how cold she had gotten. Stupid! She should have lit a fire or something. Or gotten up and moved around even. Huddling into him to suck up his heat, she tried to talk but her jaw wouldn't unclench. Her thoughts feeling strangely sluggish.

Shivering violently with painfully seized muscles, all Astrid could do was wait as every part of her stung as blood slowly began to return to her achy limbs. Then she heard Hiccup murmur something in a strange language and immediately she began to feel a warmth spread through her body. Chasing out the numbing cold as an emerald green shimmer ran across her skin. Though it was likely just a disoriented hallucination, it was still glorious and beautiful just the same. Her tense muscles beginning to relax as her mind instantly cleared.

Allowing herself to sag against him in relief, Astrid looked up into Hiccup's concerned eyes. "Better," he asked gently. She nodded, and he offered her a small smile. Her previous anger must have still been pretty easy to read though, because he quickly started talking again before she could. "I know that you have a million questions for me, and I know you are going to demand that I answer all of them. I promise that I will do my best to be as honest as I can," he spouted in a rush. Making her wonder why he seemed to have suddenly changed his mind, when she hadn't even threatened him yet.

"I had some sense knocked into me tonight," he offered. Once again answering her thoughts. "Quite literally," he added with a chuckle. "Unfortunately there is not much time for talk right this moment, but there are a few things that I need to say before I lose my nerve."

Astrid felt her face twist into a scowl as she gazed up at him. Was he seriously trying to distract her yet again? "Please just listen to me before you hit me," Hiccup soothed. "You wanted to know who I work for, and the truth is, it is Odin Allfather. I know that sounds crazy, but I assure you that it is not. Ilweran and I are members of the elite assassins, bounty hunters, and special forces that make up the Order of Dragon Riders. I do not love it, but it is what I am good at."

"That is not really important though, but I still needed to say it," he stated as he lifted his shoulder in a half shrug. His expression turning grimly serious as he added, "what is important is the fact that I am immortal, Astrid. For real. I will never age, and other than extreme circumstances, I will never die. I will stay frozen like this forever."

Astrid's mind was reeling as she watched him gesture vaguely to himself. He couldn't be serious… Reading the shock on her face now, Hiccup just huffed a sigh. "I am serious. That is the main reason that I kept my distance from you all these years. I was afraid of your reaction, and afraid of the pain that it would cause both of us. I know it is not fair for me to tie you to me when I cannot share in this life with you. I am sure that one day you will come to agree with that sentiment too."

Her surprise at his unexpected words left her completely speechless. She had been expecting him to refuse to answer her again. She had been ready for that. What she was not prepared for, was to have all of her questions answered in one go with a whole pile of crazy that was less of an explanation and more of a hard slap to the face. Was she seriously supposed to believe that he and Ilweran were both immortal elven bounty hunters working for THE Odin Allfather? That sounded like the ridiculously arrogant sort of boast that Snotlout would make up to try and impress the ladies.

Hiccup's eyes were searching hers as he spoke. Pleading for her to believe him, but it was just too much. "I knew that you would not believe me, and that you would likely be furious with me," he finally said. "I will admit that I am afraid you will order me away from you, and I am not sure I can do that. I always have been, and always will be, yours. Even when I am forced to carry on through eternity without you, I will never love another. Though if you truly do not want me, I will do my best to stay away."

There was real desperation in his voice now, and she wanted to believe that he wasn't lying, but it just seemed so impossible! She had never heard of dragon riders in any of the eddas! Surely someone would have mentioned that fun fact! Her mind was revolting against the onslaught of information and it was making her rage rise to the surface again. Maybe that was what he had been hoping for all along though. Say something incredibly crazy and that should distract her from yelling at him about his behaviour. If he thought that would work on her, he had another thing coming…

"I am sorry for dumping this all on you at once Astrid," Hiccup cut across her inner rant before she could start yelling at him for real. "I know that it sounds insane and I do not blame you for thinking that I am trying to play you for a fool. I assure you that I am not. I will sit down with you tomorrow and explain everything, and you can hit me and scream at me all you want. I have stumbled across a way to end your marriage contract without bloodshed though, so even if you never want to see me again after tomorrow, I can still keep that promise at least."

"What," she gasped. Unable to put the right amount of anger into her voice in her surprise. Almost not daring to believe these words either. "How?!"

"Through a convenient political loophole," he offered with a grin. "I need to work out the logistics before we go to your parents of course, as it will involve me revealing my identity to the village. It may also make it more difficult if you order me away from you, but I will try to make it work regardless." He shrugged again, but Astrid simply continued to gaze at him like a fool.

Her whole body was feeling lethargic and numb from shock. Making his words seem fuzzy and jumbled in her mind, but she understood the basis of it. She was free! Suddenly, she wanted to throw her arms around him in delight. She also wanted to hit him or yell at him, but she couldn't find it in her to do any of those things. Her body felt like it was weighted down with some invisible force. Pulling her towards the ground and beckoning her towards sleep.

Seeing her struggles, Hiccup hugged her tighter for a moment as he gazed down at her with worried eyes. "Unfortunately, I really should take you back home so that you can get some rest. I may have gotten rid of your symptoms, but the moderate hypothermia you suffered will still exhaust your body. I need to talk to Ilweran anyways. Toothless and I just got back from a scouting venture and it seems we are going to have some very special visitors arriving tomorrow. Providing all goes well."

With that, he lifted her into his arms and leapt onto Toothless. The feeling was almost like flying as he covered the ridiculous distance with easy grace. She had only ever been held by Hiccup as he dropped from height. It was a completely different sensation in reverse, and it gave her a strong sense of vertigo. He released her to put on his mask, which she was certain he hadn't been holding a moment ago. Then he pulled up his hood before wrapping his arms around her again as he gave Toothless a nod. The night fury taking off with a hard press of wings.

It was only once they were up in the air that Astrid realized Hiccup hadn't been kidding about the hypothermia. She had thought it was just shock numbing her body and fogging her mind, but it wasn't. She felt absolutely exhausted and nearly passed out in his arms. The last of his words to her simply fading from her mind as if they had never been there at all. She just knew that she was mad at him about something. Now she was fighting to stay awake because she knew that she should be yelling at him, but she was too tired to find her voice.

It was fully dark by the time they landed at her house and the village was mostly empty. Hiccup glancing towards the un-shuttered window flickering with golden firelight as he whispered, "play along" into her ear. Then he wrapped his arms around her and jumped down from the saddle. Before he could actually make it to the door though, someone was bursting out of it. Raising her heavy head slightly, she saw that her father was barreling towards them, and he looked frantic. "What's wrong with my daughter? What have you done to her?"

Troel's concern was touching, but unnecessary. She was perfectly safe with Hiccup. Astrid was just about to say this when she felt Hiccup squeeze her tighter for a moment. "I assure you that I have done nothing to harm her sir," he stated smoothly. "I simply found her in the woods, nearly frozen to death. I think she may have gotten lost. I do not think she is hurt, but perhaps you should have someone look her over anyways. Just in case."

Gods, she was so going to hit him later for this. Until her fists bled probably. His chest shook with silent laughter as if he had heard her thoughts. Then he handed her to her father and went back to Toothless. "You may want to get her inside to the warmth," he said before flying off. She had almost frozen to death in that stupid cove so that she could get some answers. Now she just had even more questions. That boy is going to be the death of me, was her last thought before she passed out in her father's arms.

_

Oh Gothi... I love how she calms Astrid, but puts up with zero shit from Hiccup. Treating him like the chief's son and goddess' consort that he is. It's like she's telling him, "buck up and get your shit together boy!" Not a single ounce of fear in that woman.

PS: Here comes Minden!... :D