Character Info updates:
Harry: Male, 6 ft 2', White skin, short brown hair with a wave at the front, slightly muscular body build, black shirt with blue stripes, light blue pants, armour plated sleeve on his left arm. Brown fur boots. Weapon of choice: Batons
Astrid began to get nervous, 'is he about to confess his love' was a thought rushing through Astrid's head.
"Hiccup has secretly been tracking down members of my tribe and mapping their locations" Said Harry
Astrid was shocked and a little bit disappointed, "What are you talking about"
Harry stood up in the waist high water and pointed towards the smithy hut. "Earlier today when I was making my batons, I stumbled across some of Hiccup's maps. He had been doing recon flights for week's at all the Islands that surrounded Titan and mapping locations of any settlements"
Astrid only gave half of her attention to listening to what Harry was saying, the other half was spent looking at his body.
"Is that a bad thing?" Asked Astrid As she stood up and walked over to the edge with Harry
"I don't know, It'd be nice if he told me that he's been spying on my people" Said Harry
"You're people? Hahahaha can't imagine you as a chief" Laughed Astrid
"Oh is that so?" Chuckled Harry as he playfully splashed some water in Astrid's face.
Astrid wiped the water off her face and gave him a death stare. It was at that point Harry knew he was about to enter Valhalla. He quickly started backing away from Astrid, but that wasn't going to work. Astrid quickly jumped on him causing the two to begin wrestling with eachother.
After a minute of tussling Astrid eventually gained the upperhand, shoving him underwater. Harry used his size to his advantage, finding his footing and then lifting Astrid as she stood back up. The two once again locked eyes, their bare skin touching.
For the 3rd time in 2 days the two vikings found themselves in another awkward situation. After a few seconds past Harry thought it best to break the silence.
"So... I think dinner would probably be ready"
"Uh- Uh, Ye-yea probably" Said Astrid.
Harry let go of Astrid as the two climbed out of the hotsprings and redressed themselves, climbed on Stormfly and returned to the clubhouse for dinner.
5 days later and Hiccup once again flew out for a scouting mission, this time it was in the middle of the night. After a few hours of flying Hiccup arrived at an uncharted island that he hoped to find more survivors of Titan.
"Alright bud, set us down quietly" Said Hiccup
Hiccup and Toothless landed in a large field well away from the Island's village.
"Alright bud, you stay here. I'm just going for a quick look" Said Hiccup as he walked off
As Hiccup came closer to the town a few sights drew his attention. A few houses were built and a few were in construction. He continued making his way around the outskirts of the village to keep his business there secretive.
Once Hiccup arrived at the beach he noticed a large ship was docked there. It's insignia was very old, he knew he'd seen it before but he couldn't recognise it right away, so he went closer to inspect. The ship was heavily damaged, a few holes and arrows still sticking out
"What in the name of Thor happened to you?" Said Hiccup to himself
As Hiccup turned to walk toward the village he was stopped. A girl holding a mace was in between him and the village.
"Who are you, and what is your business being here?" Asked the girl
Hiccup didn't particularly want to disclose any information about himself when he didn't know who he was talking to.
"You first" He quipped back
"You don't seem to understand the situation. I'm the one with the weapon, and you're the one trespassing" replied the girl as she pointed her mace at him.
"Yes... But, I'm not alone" Said Hiccup as Toothless jumped in by his side
"Wh-Whaat? A dragon? Is that a NIGHT FURY!" Exclaimed the girl
"Alright bud, time to go" whispered Hiccup as he climbed on Toothless and the two disappeared in the night sky.
Hiccup arrived back on the Edge at the break of dawn. As he landed on the stables he was ambused by Astrid who was waiting for him
"Busy night?" She Asked
"Astridddd. Toothless and I were just out for a early morning flight" He quickly replied
"Hiccup, I know you took off in the middle of the night. Without telling anyone. So the question is, what are you up to?" Asked Astrid again
Hiccup was insistent on keeping his activities a secret. With news of Viggo increasing his hunting activities all of his attention had been on doing what he can to end Viggo's rule.
"Yea, I lost track of time" Said Hiccup as he and toothless walked off to his hut.
Astrid was beyond frustrated with Hiccup. He wasn't including the other riders in his missions, he was being secretive and avoiding everyone else.
"Hey Astrid" Said Fishlegs as he came into the stables.
"Oh hey Fishlegs. What brings you here at this hour?" Asked Astrid
"Well, Meatlug needs her rub down and then we're going for a nice calm flight. It's been like 2 weeks since we've all gone out for a mission. Meatlug was going crazy" Replied Fishlegs
"Fishlegs, have you noticed that Hiccup has been very different lately?"
"Hmm, not really. All I've noticed is that he's been going for his early morning flights and his sunset flights, and working on his new shield. Besides, I wouldn't of thought you've been paying much attention to his activities, given all the time you been spending with Harry"
Astrid scowled at Fishlegs comment but she didn't want to pick a fight. Communication between the rider's was breaking down as a result of their leader never being around to lead. Astrid, Heather and Harry were all very good friends, but Harry didn't really take much interest in getting to know the Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Snotlout. Harry and Fishlegs got along but they weren't close.
Ruff, Tuff and Snotlout spent most of their time causing destruction and chaos on the Edge. Occasionally Hiccup would take notice and tell them to stop, after all he did still live there. Fishlegs had the same daily routine, he'd work on his rock garden, his dragon knowledge and he'd meditate. Sometimes Heather would help him or she'd be off doing training of her own.
"Fishlegs, this team is no longer a team" Complained Astrid
"Astrid it's fine, Viggo doesn't know where the Edge is so he can't attack us. Nobody has heard from Dagur since we saw Ryker try to kill him. So nobody is coming for us" Said Fishlegs
"If we get lazy or complacent then someone will attack us and it'll be a fight we can't win! Ugh! I can't take this, come on Stormfly I need some air"
Astrid took off as Fishlegs continued to give Meatlug a rub down.
After a few hours Astrid landed on a sea stack and sat down to think.
'Everything is falling a part' 'we came here to save dragons' 'are we in danger' these were all thoughts racing through Astrid's head.
Astrid was beginning to panic as she her thoughts were getting the better of her, but then the familiar sound of a dragon approaching calmed her down. It was Windshear. Heather landed and walked over to sit next to Astrid on the edge of the sea stack.
"You look troubled" Said Heather
Astrid remained quiet for a few seconds but eventually let out a sigh, "It's all gone wrong Heather, we aren't a team anymore, everyone's just gone their own ways"
"I take it you're talking about Hiccup?" Asked Heather
"Well- yes, but not just him. Everyone's gotten lazy and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm not the chief or the leader, and our actual leader has seemingly gone solo" Explained Astrid
"I have noticed Hiccup has been secretly going out a lot without telling anyone or explaining anything. What do you think he's up to?" -H
"I don't know, Harry seems to think he's doing recon for any survivors of Viggo's raid on Titan. But I know Hiccup, if he was doing something like that with good intentions, he would of told us" -A
"What gives Harry the idea that he's doing that?" -H
"He saw some of Hiccups maps that had the details of islands on it. Island's that apparently included the survivors of Titan" - A
"Maybe we should try following him next time?" -H
"It wouldn't work, Toothless is too fast and they're too hard to see in the middle of the night" -A
"Should we investigate on our own? Maybe bring Harry with us?" -H
"That's not a bad idea, but I think Hiccup moved the maps after Harry found them" -A
"Speaking of Harry, do you think he's ever going to train a dragon of his own?" -H
"I asked him about that a few days ago, He said he doesn't want to get a dragon because he wants to rely on his own strength" -A
"That's odd. He does realise that in the world we live in now, dragons are necessary" -H
The two sat there for another 20 minutes discussing smaller issues before they decided to return to the Edge. Both Heather and Astrid flew back there own separate ways as Heather had an errand to run.
As Astrid entered the Island she decided to fly lower over the tree's in the forest when something caught her eye. It was Harry training. He had setup up logs of wood to be training dummies and using tree's and boulders as obstacle courses.
Astrid and Stormfly landed nearby as Astrid climbed up a big tree to see how his training was progressing. Harry's strikes were always landing in specific area as was made evident by marks in the logs. His footwork was quicker than ever allowing him to strike more targets in a smaller time frame and on top of all this, he was memorising strike patterns with his batons that would do well in actual fights.
Astrid was impressed with how fast he was progressing after only being on the Edge for month and a bit. However seeing him train annoyed her a little bit. It wasn't because he was training, it was more because he was and her team members weren't.
Astrid sat there observing him for another few hours when it began to get dark. By this point Harry and his gronckle iron batons had destroyed every log of wood and smashed through most of the boulders.
Harry was at his breaking point as he picked up his batons to begin smashing boulders again, his head went fuzzy and he felt his body hit the ground from exhaustion, to make matters worse he began to pass out.
Astrid quickly rushed over to make sure he was ok.
"Harry? Harry? You ok?" She asked
Harry gave no response.
"Come on wake up, don't make me have to carry you back to the edge"
After examining his size Astrid considered if she could carry him back to the edge. He was tall, lean but had a bit muscle. She could probably get Stormfly to carry him instead, would be quicker and safer. As Astrid turned around to call Stormfly over she noticed a boulder was hurdling through the air, at first she was confused but then she realised the boulder was headed straight towards the base.
"Oh no!" Said Astrid as she could hear the sound of war horns being blown.
"This is gonna hurt, but we're going to need you for this" Said Astrid to the unconscious Harry.
Astrid slapped Harry very hard across the face.
"Owwww!" Yelled Harry as he sat up and looked at Astrid with confusion.
"No time to explain! The Edge is under attack grab your batons and let's go" Said Astrid as she ran back over to Stormfly.
Harry wasn't it much of a shape to fight. His muscles were fatigued and he had just passed out from exhaustion, but he didn't have much of a choice. He climbed on Stormfly and the two raced back to the base.
The other Rider's were all gathered inside the dome taking shelter. Stormfly flew in through the underground entrance.
"Astrid! Thank Thor you're okay" Said Heather
"What's going on? Who is attacking us?" Asked Astrid to the other riders
"It's the hunters! They got the drop on us! We weren't prepared" Yelled Snotlout
"And do you know why we weren't prepared? Because you've all gotten laz- wait a second, where's Hiccup?" Asked Astrid.
"We don't know" Said Fishlegs
"Well maybe you all dont... But I... I do" Said Tuffnut
"Where's that?" Asked Harry
"With Toothless, duh" Replied Tuffnut
Heather walked over to Harry and whispered in his ear "Yea, we usually don't bother asking the twins much"
"Alright look does anyone know how many ships there are?" Asked Astrid
"About a dozen" quickly replied Fishlegs
"We have 5 dragons and there's 7 of us, we should be able to stop their assault" exclaimed Heather
"They don't have their entire armada here, so they can't be planning on taking over, so they're probably here for two possible reasons. 1, they're trying to get lucky and take one of us out-" Said Harry as he was cut off
"'Us?' Who ever said you were a dragon rider?" Argued Snotlout
"Snotlout... Shut up before I feed to pack of hungry boars" Said Astrid
Harry continued "Either they're here to get lucky or 2, they're here for a distraction. Now I can't think of anything they'd need a distraction for so I think they're only here to try and take someone out"
In the distance everyone could hear the sounds of building's collapsing and dragons being hurt.
"we can't stay in here, so lets get out there and take them down" Said Heather as she climbed aboard Windshear
The other riders except Astrid and Harry all climbed on there dragons and flew through the underground entrance and exit.
"You up for this?" Asked Astrid
"Probably not, but I've got a score to settle with these hunters" Replied Harry as the two of them climbed aboard Stormfly
"You know, if you had your own dragon this would be alot easier" teased Astrid
"Yea, yea. I'll think about it" Said Harry
Stormfly took off and exited the cave.
When Stormfly exited the cave Astrid could see all the other dragon riders engaging the ships. At the very back of the fleet was the flagship.
"If we can take out the flagship, the invasion should be called off" Said Astrid
"Well what are we waiting for?" Laughed Harry
Snotfang and Fishlug made quick work of two ships, sending it sinking. The twins and Heather were taking a bit longer but that was because they were dealing with larger ships. Harry and Astrid charged straight for the flagship. Stormfly began blasting the hull and sides of the ship hoping to sink it quickly, however as the wood of the ship was blasted away, dragon proof metal was able to be seen lining the ships.
"Damn! Doesn't look like we'll be able to sink the ship" Said Astrid
"So, let's get down there and kick some butt" asserted Harry
Stormfly dove down towards the ship avoiding incoming boulders and arrows and blasting the catapults and ballistas. As they landed on the hull all that was left were the hunters with their weapons. The two jumped off Stormfly with Astrid taking her axe off her back and Harry grabbing his batons from his belt and activating them.
"It's go time!" Said Harry
Astrid charged straight into battle fly kicking a hunter to the floor. Harry followed her but was a bit slower due to his exhaustion. A hunter swing his sword at Harry as he blocked it with his left baton and countered with his right one, knocking out the hunter.
Astrid was locked in combat with one of the more skilled hunters, her axe was locked against his as she was beginning to be overpowered, before Stormfly ran in knocking the hunters off the ship with her tail.
Harry had combined his batons into staff mode which made it easier to attack from a longer distance.
After defeating all the hunters on the hull, the two regrouped.
"So, shall we head down stairs?" Asked Astrid
"After you" replied Harry
As the two walked toward the door to the stairs, a man emerged from the captains quarters.
"Viggo!" Yelled Astrid as she readied her Axe
"Why hello Astrid. I must admit, I was hoping to see Hiccup" Said Viggo
"You!" Yelled Harry
"I'm sorry, have we met?" Asked Viggo
"You destroyed my entire Island and killed all my people!" Exclaimed Harry
"Ahh I see. You must be Harry, yes I've heard a great deal about you. Last remaining heir to the throne of Titan. Except that is where you are wrong, I only manage to get half of your people thanks to your pesky interruption. I should have expected that really, Robert warned me of what an annoyance you were" Chuckled Viggo
When Harry heard Roberts name get mentioned his blood boiled. He charged in with little thought or consideration for consequences swinging his staff at Viggo. But Viggo simply ducked under the first swing and kicked Harry in the stomach sending him a few feet backwards.
Astrid was the next one to come charging in. Viggo pulled out his sword and blocked Astrid's initial attacked before trading a few more strikes. Neither Viggo nor Astrid had any intention of letting the other land a strike. 1 more minute of duelling was well underway when Viggo decided to use his size and strength by blocking a strike from Astrid, grabbing her and throwing her across the hull. Astrid's axe flew out of her ands as her body was thrown leaving her defenceless. As she looked at Viggo he was charging at her. She couldn't get up to move in time to avoid Viggo's attack. As Viggo got closer he lifted his sword in the air and took a leap before quickly bringing his sword down to kill Astrid. She closed her eyes and accepted her fate.
Astrid's eye sprung open at the sound of metal colliding. Harry had blocking Viggo's sword just before it made contact with her. He disengaged staff mode and used one baton to continue blocking his attack on Astrid whilst using the other to strike him just above the eye. Viggo was sent stumbling back holding his head. Harry held a hand out to help Astrid back to her feet.
"So you wanna give me one of those?" Asked Astrid pointing to the batons.
"We can't beat him, or atleast not right now. The riders have sunk most of the ships, their raid is over." Said Harry
They both turned to look at Viggo, he had a very deep cut above his left eye which had blood flooding out.
Astrid quickly grabbed her axe and signalled for Stormfly to come. They both climbed on and took off.
"Tell Hiccup I shall have my meeting with him" Yelled Viggo to Astrid.
All the ships that were still floating turned to face the ocean and fled. It was very hard to see how many managed to escape as it was still the middle of the night.
The riders regrouped at the club house as it was one of the few buildings that survived.
"So I guess Viggo knows where the Edge is now" Muttered Fishlegs
Astrid gave Fishlegs a scowl, remembering back to their conversation about how they won't be attacked
"Who cares! We showed them who's boss, and we did it without Hiccup" claimed Snotlout.
"Whatever, I'm too tired for this" Complained Heather.
"Yea let's all get some sleep. We've got repairs in the morning" Said Astrid.
As everyone began to leave the clubhouse Astrid noticed Harry never entered, which begged the question, where was he?
Harry went back to the guest Hut to grab a bag. He put some clothes, food and a map inside before exiting the hut and making his way to the beach. He started preparing a ship to set sail, untying it from its mooring, tying up the sheet sails and loading his bag into the boat as he began pushing the boat into the water.
"Leaving?" Asked a voice behind him.
Harry turned around to see Astrid standing a few metres behind him on the beach.
"You heard Viggo, my people are still out there. I need to find them" Explained Harry.
"So you were just going to leave without saying goodbye?" Asked Astrid as she started to feel sad.
"I don't- maybe.." Harry couldn't finish a sentence
"Please don't. I need you, especially now. The dragon riders are in ruins" said Astrid with her eyes beginning to water.
Harry turned to face her, "Astrid I have to. I'd love to stay here but if any of my friend survived the siege then I have to find them and make sure they are ok"
Astrid understood where Harry was coming from and although she didn't want him to leave, she knew he had to.
"But how could you leave without saying goodbye?" Asked Astrid with clear sadness in her voice
Harry once again turned around to face the ocean "I was afraid that if I said goodbye, I wouldn't be able to leave"
Harry took walked back over towards the boat about to continue pushing it, when he felt an arm grab his elbow and turn him around.
Astrid pressed her lips against his and the two engaged in a passionate but tender kiss. After a few seconds their kiss ended.
"Go, find your people and make sure they are safe" Said Astrid with a smile
Harry continued pushing the boat into the ocean and jumped in, pulling out his map and setting sale.
After making it about 50 metres he turned back to yell, "I will see you again, I promise!"
Thanks everyone for reading. I'm going to be focusing a lot on this story, more so than any of my other ones. It'd be awesome to receive any feedback or questions you all might have.
Don't forget to follow All_Things_Dragons on Instagram for updates.