Gone?

Hiccup sighed and sank back on his bed, then immediately regretted it when he remembered that his makeshift cot wasn't as near as soft as his own bed back at Berk. 'Ow…' he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head at the audible *thump* when his head hit the wood. He closed his eyes, ignoring the exasperating sheet of paper on his chest. He had looked at the rhyme so many times in the past hour that he had it memorized; there was no real need for him to strain his eyes looking at it. And besides, he was exhausted. Physically, and emotionally.

The Riders were packing. While walking too Stormfly's stable, he had a surprise encounter with a very uptight and pacing Snotlout. While he had said he was just ready to "get off this stinking piece of rock, already," Hiccup wasn't sure if he was telling the whole truth. He seemed to be hiding something. However, he didn't notice any signs of mischief, so he had brushed off his doubts and sent Snotlout off to the huts to wake everyone up. He had gratefully scurried away, before Hiccup could notice the small spark of pain in his eyes.

Stormfly was rather more of a problem actually. She seemed very irritable, and squawked loudly when he had entered. She even gave him a nip on the hand when he tried to calm her, and only let Hiccup get close with a leg of chicken. She had scarfed it down, then promptly turned her back and fell asleep, head tucked under her wing. He had sighed, but he knew why the dragon was upset. She hadn't gotten to fly for ages, and Astrid hadn't come to see her yet…

Astrid. He sighed again, and put the exasperating riddle next to him on his distressingly empty bed. While he walked back from the stable, he was rehearsing an abject apology for his harsh words, particularly his parting remark, which he had a creeping suspicion she may have heard. He was internally kicking himself for letting that sarcastic streak that he hated rise up again. He knew exactly what he would say when he saw her—but when he got back to his hut, Astrid was gone. He looked all over the camp, but she was nowhere to be found. Neither was her axe, which wasn't a good sign. Astrid had been known to mutilate trees when she got mad, and we had just impressed on the Slitherwings that we weren't taking over their territory, and that we'll be leaving soon. What would they think of a yelling, axe-wielding woman trying to single-handedly deforest the entire island?

What was he thinking? He was trying to blame this on Astrid—like she was the problem. 'No,' he thought wearily. 'I'm the problem. I'm always the problem. Face it…you'll always be little, skinny Hiccup, a runt and an accident, with a ferocious, amazing, beautiful girlfriend who could probably snap you in half and you definitely don't deserve…though maybe I don't even have her anymore…'

Suddenly, he heard a small gasp. He looked up in alarm…

…straight into the face of a red-eyed Astrid, still clutching an axe and with splinters in her hair. That's when he realized—he had said that out loud…

Did I mention Hoffersons have good hearing?

ASTRID

"AHHHHHHAAH!" My axe slammed into the tree in front of me perfectly, sinking almost the full blade-length before stopping, quivering with the force of my throw. I slumped down on the ground, and put my face in my hands.

This is what I was talking about! There's something about Hiccup…he always makes me feel like I've done something wrong. Which I did! I understand that. But, his reaction…that was horrible! Why would he ever think that I would like…love…him just because of…pity? Is that how low his confidence is? I thought I had drilled that out of him—many, many times…

Wait a minute. I have! I did it again right before we left on this stupid trip! There's no reason he should be doing this to me! I haven't done anything wrong…except for that slip of the tongue. But he should know I would never think something like that! That scrawny…

I leapt up, grabbing my axe, and I start back on the trail of splintered trees I've made. What? I was upset. Anyway, I'm going to go give Hiccup a piece of my mind! Or my axe, if that doesn't work.

I can soon see the camp ahead of me, and I increase my pace. I glimpse Snotlout from behind his hut. He glanced up, his face creased in puzzlement when he saw me. It didn't really matter to me: he always looks like that.

I walked straight to Hiccup's hut and was about to open the door when I heard a sigh and a loud thump. Then a slightly whiny 'Ow…'

I couldn't help it. The childish note in his voice caused a small smile to lift my lips. I shook off the slight happy feeling, and hastily composed my face into a menacing scowl. I'm supposed to be mad! I reach my hand up to the handle…but I hear a soft muttering that freezes me up. "Face it…accident…" I strain my ears, and the mumbling gets clearer.

"…with a ferocious, amazing, beautiful girlfriend who could probably snap you in half and you definitely don't deserve…though maybe I don't even have her anymore…" My eyes snapped open, and I gave an involuntarily gasp. One thought formed in my head—oh no you don't.

I pulled his door open, and strode into his small hut. He was lying on his bed, eyes closed, but he looked up at me when I walked in. His mouth formed a perfect O, and he just sat there frozen. I knew what to do.

I practically ran over, scrambled onto his bed, and slammed our lips together.

Mmmm. Much better.

3 days later…

I looked over at Hiccup for what must be the millionth time since we left the island. It made sense. We were flying right next to each other, wings practically touching. He was smiling, which made me smile too. He looked a lot happier than he did leaving Berk…maybe this trip has been good for something…

"Umm…guys?"

The voice of Fishlegs jumped me out of my thoughts. "Yeah?" I called back.

"I think there's a problem."

That got everyone's attention. We all knew what a 'problem' could mean…we've had more than our fair share of them on this mission. I glanced down at Stormy's still-weak wing before calling a halt. All the riders stopped flying forward and started hovering around Fishlegs. Even from where Stormfly was flying, near the front of the formation, I could see Fishlegs' faint blush at all the attention. "What's wrong, Fish?" Hiccup called from beside me.

"I can't seem to find where we're going. We've been flying for a while…and we should be very near the island by now. According to the map, it's almost twice as big as the Edge, so we definitely should be able to see it…but there's no sign of land. You know, seagulls, rocks, anything…" He trailed off. Snotlout finished the thought in my head.

"So you're saying there isn't an island of Ater-cruspy whatever? It was all some sort of trick?"

Fishlegs gulped. "It seems that way." The Riders were silent.

Hiccup broke the silence. "We need to fan out. Maybe we've missed it."

There were nods all around, but Snotlout still looked mad, and Fishlegs nervous.

"Snot—you go with Tuff and Death Ride." Yeah. Tuff was riding his Whispering Death instead of Belch. Said that his sister's back hair smelled, so he needed some space. Whatever that meant. "Ruff, you're with Fishlegs. Astrid—with me." He turned and gave me a small smile.

"My pleasure!" I grinned back. His smile widened, then turned back to the others, who were all looking almost comically uncomfortable at our exchange. My smile impossibly widened. Let them wonder what being in relationship was like.

"…different directions." Hiccup was saying. "We'll meet back at nightfall." I started smiling again. The sun wouldn't go down for hours yet—and that meant time with Hiccup. Alone. With nothing to do. The smile turned into a grin. I'm sure we could find something…

After 4 hours, though, I wasn't really grinning anymore. Nothing. No trace. This is stupid. How can the island be invisible? No one else had found anything. I hated to say it, but I think Snotlout was right. It must be some sort of trick.

Hiccup sighed beside me. The look on his face made me want to crack my axe over the head whoever thought up this prank. And then kick them. Hard. Then lock them up for a billion years. Then kick them again. I was mad, okay?

"I guess we should go back, right?" That was Ruff. Even she was looking sad, and she didn't even want to come on this trip. Tuff looked devastated. He kept touching the back of his neck, like he was in pain. Snot just looked annoyed. Fishlegs was consulting his map, seeing if he missed anything. I already knew he hadn't—he never does.

Hiccup nodded once, then composed his face. He looked over at me, and gave a small smile, though it didn't reach his eyes. "You want to lead the way back home, Milady?"

I tried to smile back, but it didn't really work, so I just turned Stormfly around and started flying back the way we came…

…and that's exactly when the music started.