I don't own How to train your Dragon, but I own this story.

Please tell me what you think about this story.

The Dragon Pirate.

Walking among the vendors of Nadder's Point, Hiccup effortlessly sidestepped the massive hulks of the Vikings around him as he looked around the stalls to see if there was anything else he needed to take with him on his journeys while he was on a lunch break at the forge while he avoided Bignose and his friends. Hiccup had caught the three teenagers following him around, though he didn't know what they were trying to achieve, he hoped they were just trying to distract themselves because the war with the dragons was over. They hadn't spoken to him yet, but he knew it was only a matter of time before they did.

Too bad for them he had plans of his own. He was only looking through the stalls for anything he could use. He'd already stolen a few tools from various forges whenever he liberated the dragons from the various Kill Rings to help him set up a forge of his own, and he'd already gotten himself the type of string needed to make a bow or a crossbow for archery, but he was still looking through the stalls for anything interesting that he could use.

He planned to leave Nadder's Point in another few days. In the meantime he was just killing time by working at the forge, flying and spending time with Toothless, and learning all he knew.

The problem with living on any small, single island like Berk, surrounded by tribes living on equally small islands, and living and working with an old traveller like Gobber who had seen what was beyond the waters of the archipelago made you see the world in just two ways, and when you flew a dragon, those ways became more tangible. On Berk, Hiccup had been isolated with the tribe. It was alright for the chief and the warriors who had frequently left on their hunts for the dragon nest, and for the fishermen who had left the island for days, even weeks at a time, but Hiccup remembered feeling envious of them. Whenever he had gone out with his father as the heir of the tribe, Hiccup had been overjoyed since he was getting away from Berk and seeing what was out there, though he'd always been disappointed whenever he'd gone to another Viking island - he was just leaving one Viking island for another.

But ever since he had left Berk and he'd begun his travels, and his crusade to free the dragons from the various Kill Rings, Hiccup had travelled as far and as wide as he could before he got down to business. Sometimes it would take Toothless what seemed like days blended into one, though it was just a few hours, to reach another island. Hiccup had told Toothless to show him what was beyond the nest at Helheim's and the dragon had shown him places that the Vikings had simply not reached in all the time they'd lived in these waters.

That made sense. The Vikings had come to these waters specifically to colonise it and to find the dragon nest and destroy it. While they'd found islands with the right resources in land for farming and forests to cut down to provide the basic materials for building houses and ships to help them in their quest to destroy the dragons once and for all, plants for healing and animals for hunting, and ores for blacksmiths, and so exploration was not at the forefront of their minds. The only people who carried out exploration missions were mostly merchants - they were always looking for new trade routes to sell their wares, and Thor alone knew what they'd found during their travels. Hiccup knew from some of the merchants he'd encountered since he'd left Berk and had visited Nadder's Point that some of the merchants had gone much further east, though the trip was long and difficult for them, especially if they travelled by ship.

Others included fishermen. Sometimes they had gotten lost during the frequent storms whenever Thor had been exercising his power, and they'd strayed off course and they'd sometimes found new lands. Some of them had been colonised, though it meant nothing to the tribes. That type of news wasn't considered relevant.

Likewise, more than a few ships sent out to hunt down the nest during the dragon war had gotten lost. Hiccup had heard rumours about that over the years, but nothing definite. He had heard some of the tribe mocking them for not being good sailors, though Stoick and Gobber had put them down; Stoick because he believed they were putting a lot of effort into contributing to destroy the nest and finally rid the Viking race of the threat of the dragons once and for all, and Gobber because, as a sailor himself, he knew only too well what could happen if you were blown off course.

But when he'd left, he'd heard dozens of stories of various tribes who'd lost ships over the years.

But Hiccup had also heard something else he hadn't heard back on Berk, though he was not sure why it had been suppressed or hidden, though he could guess. Dozens of Viking tribes had actually been close to the nest, but the dragons had either destroyed them or had driven them off. Hiccup had a good idea why he'd never heard of them, but truthfully Stoick's motives meant nothing to him anymore. He had better things to do.

Hiccup pushed those thoughts of annoyance he had the Vikings had not really bothered to explore the archipelago so then they'd broaden their horizons instead of focusing all of their thoughts on the war.

"Let's see," he thought to himself as he went over his current supplies, "I've got some tools, a couple of journals and charcoals. I've forged a couple of daggers and some arrowheads I plan to use, and I'm starting to make design plans for a crossbow which is quicker to reload. I've got a few other bits to get."

Hiccup was just walking around the harbour when he stopped in horror when he took a look at the ships in the harbour. One of the newest ships just arriving had the crest of the Hairy Hooligan tribe on the sail. "Oh no," he whispered before he turned around and ran back into the crowd, weighted down by some of his purchases, but he had to escape. He rushed into his little flat and looked at the things he had on his bed. There were a few journals, some rolls of fresh and hard leather for use for the tail-fin, and a few maps. Hiccup sighed as his mind tried to think of a way he could get to the island without the Hooligans spotting him. He needed to go now because the longer he was here in this apartment on the largest island in Nadder's Point, the easier it would be for his former tribe to find him, or more likely someone telling them when their council was given a description of what he looked like where he could be found.

Hiccup looked at his things on the bed and he closed his eyes in frustration when he realised what he would need to do. He would need to leave some of this stuff behind. Growling and grinding his teeth with irritation, he chucked everything he was carrying on the bed so he could sort them all out into what he needed most. So much for being self-sufficient for a while, he thought to himself as he got down to work.

It took Hiccup slightly longer than he'd originally intended, but when he was finished he had a small satchel now stuffed full of what he wanted to take - he had deliberately left behind some of the leather rolls for weight, some of the journals he'd bought on a whim, and a few other things though he was grateful he had gotten the more essential bits out first to the island like the blankets he'd purchased for himself and Toothless to keep the Night Fury warm when the dragon had captured enough heat, and the prosthetic parts.

Hiccup took the satchel to the window and he went back to the bed and took out the rope ladder he'd fashioned for himself just in case something happened on Nadder's Point to make him escape in a hurry - he had started to never feel comfortable in a place surrounded by other human beings, not unless he happened to have some pre-determined route of escape.

Meanwhile, in the Council chamber of Nadder's Point, the chief of the island was currently in conference with the delegation from Berk, who were led by one of Stoick the Vast's trusted men, Gobber. The chief of the island knew, of course, Gobber's reputation for being a level-headed dragon killer, sailor and storyteller who told some truly weird tales, but he knew the man standing before him was being completely serious.

For the last six months, the chief had spoken to a number of other chiefs on various islands as the news from Berk leaked about the end of the dragon war.

The chief of the island had fought the dragons himself many times over his lifetime, so he wasn't particularly sorry to see the war over. He had once been part of an expedition to find and destroy the nest himself, but that was when he'd gone out with a band of dragon slayers who'd taken a rag-tag bunch of Vikings, pirates, mercenaries and they'd gone out in a massive fleet to track down the nest.

But it had failed. He had been one of the few survivors.

The problem with the nest was as soon as you pass through the mists, you have no visibility and the dragons themselves had it in spades. They had aerial supremacy and a knowledge of where the rocks behind the fog barriers were, which was an even bigger help since they could use the rocks to their advantage as hiding spots.

The chief remembered all those long days floating on what was left of the ships along with a handful of over survivors. The dragons had hit the fleet harder than they'd ever done to a some of the ships sent out by the various tribes. The chief of Nadder's Point had a theory they'd the large fleet he'd attacked in droves; the Vikings had sent such a large fleet they'd needed to be more destructive. It made sense. The chief of Nadder's Point had heard and trained against rare breeds throughout his childhood, breeds like the Timberjacks, the Scauldrons, and even a Skrill. The fleet hadn't stood a chance.

The chief shuddered as he remembered the feeling of scolding water being spewed over him and some of his friends, the water was so hot that he had felt as though his skin was melting off of the bones.

It was the first and the last time the chief of Nadder's Point had contributed to a hunt. He didn't really care if other Vikings had deemed him to be a coward. He had the scars to prove he wasn't, and besides, it had been extremely rare whenever the dragons had travelled far enough to raid his island since they'd always preferred the islands closest to the nest. When he and others had heard the story of a truly big monstrous dragon in the nest who dwelt inside, he had no idea what to think since the Hooligans hadn't really had the time to get an idea of what the dragon did.

"Do you think this boy, Hiccup, is here?"

The question was asked by one of his councillors while the chief was silent so then he could observe the Hooligans. Interestingly enough Gobber was escorted by a handful of teens. Two girls, two boys. The rest of the Hooligans' little crew was still on their ship. Gobber and the others were only here to share some news and to find out if their lost lad was here, or if he had dropped in, though truthfully the chief of Nadder's Point thought Stoick was being optimistic as he'd heard the chief of the Hooligan tribe was currently out there on a ship himself to find his lost son, but as he listened to the Hooligan's blacksmith regale them with the tale of Stoick's now disowned son riding a Night Fury, he couldn't help but wonder if his island had in fact been hiding the boy for a while.

Gobber sighed mentally as he heard the question, and the scepticism not so subtly hidden behind it. When Stoick had told him to venture out into the waters close to Nadder's Point, he had decided to at least visit the place though he'd known that if Hiccup were here then the chances of actually finding him would be close to impossible. Even if the chief and the council of this hub island could do it, they could never actually keep track of any new faces. Not like they could have done on the smaller tribal islands where the communities were so close-knit anyone new would have been easily spotted.

But Hiccup was not stupid. Gobber knew he would avoid being seen on those islands even if he needed them, but he couldn't help but feel Stoick was once more underestimating the odds as he had with the dragon nest. He'd had a lot of time to think since the war ended; without the stresses brought on by dragon raids and training one generation of irritating teenagers after another, Gobber had watched how his long-time friend had driven himself insane trying to find Hiccup, and it had reminded him how he'd continually looked for the nest.

But Hiccup was not a dragon nest. He was a boy with a mind of his own, and while he was weak and frail, he made up for it with his intelligence.

But Berk and many of the other tribes who'd heard the story of what Hiccup had done had also been getting reports and had begun hearing rumours of sightings of a boy riding a dragon, leading away from Berk, lending credence to the story the Hooligans had told. At first, Gobber had wondered what his ex-apprentice was playing at, but then he realised that Hiccup was leading them around so if anyone was hunting him down they'd go one way only to learn he wasn't anywhere near where he'd been spotted.

Gobber only hoped Hiccup knew what he was doing. There were many people out there who would love to possess Hiccup's knowledge of dragons and would use it without any hesitation to destroy what the Vikings had built.

"It's possible," Gobber spoke before any of the teens could offer one of their useless and pathetic opinions. "Hiccup always wanted to travel, and to do that he'd need supplies. Nadder's Point is one of a number of places he'd visit to get 'em. We dunno if he's 'ere or not, but it's a good idea to find out."

"D'you know how hard it is ta keep track of people who come and go from Nadder's Point?" someone scoffed.

Gobber sighed. He'd known this would happen, but he was tired of the never-ending quest to track Hiccup down since he doubted the boy would want to be found by anyone. "Aye, I know," the blacksmith said as diplomatically as he could. "But would it be possible to ask around?"

"We don't want to disturb any of the travellers that come here. We depend on them for everything and we need the money and the goods they bring in," the chief stood up and spoke now.

Gobber sighed under his breath again. He was running out of options, and he had two other suggestions left, but he worked out quickly suggesting one of them was not going to work. In the end, the best he could do was ask something else. "Alright," the blacksmith triple amputee conceded, "I've given yer all a description of the boy. If yer could keep an eye and ear out, the Hairy Hooligan tribe will appreciate it."

The Nadder's Point chief inclined his head, though truthfully he had no idea if it was possible since people of every size came to his island and that description Gobber had given them was hardly likely to do them any real good since a hundred boys would match that picture.

The same thought had occurred to Gobber, and soon the blacksmith gave up. "Thanks anyway for seeing us, chief," the blacksmith said respectfully. "D'yer mind if me and my tribesmen visit your island?" he asked, hoping they could have a look anyway.

The Nadder's Point chief raised his bushy eyebrows at the question, fully aware for what the blacksmith had just asked, though he was astounded he even needed to ask, he knew he couldn't refuse. "Yeah, you can," he replied gruffly knowing he didn't have any right to deny them even if he was worried about what they might do if they found out the boy they were looking for was on his island. With that in mind, the chief stood up and let his massive frame block out a lot of the room's lighting.

The overall effect was designed to silence the tribe and to make the Hooligans realise he was meaning business though he felt deep down it was a tacky form of intimidation. Still, it made them pay attention, that was all that mattered really.

"I know yer want that boy back on yer island," the chief intoned seriously, casting his dark eyes dangerously at the teens to make sure they understood - one of the two boys listened to this seriously, as did one of the girls, a tall blonde with a hard expression as though chipped out of flint - while the other boy and the second girl looked like they were bored to tears, but it was only because of his stance they were not messing around, "but I don't care 'bout that. You mess around, cause problems, start fights when we've got merchants and travellers visiting this island every minute, and yer gonna pay for it. Understood?"

Gobber spoke for himself and the teens quickly before the young adults could pipe up - the Nadder's Point chief was getting the impression that aside from the teens who seemed more mature and serious, though the massive form of one of the boys was quivering slightly they weren't exactly the best Berk had to offer and he was reminded of the teens on Nadder's Point - "We understand, chief," the blacksmith said agreeably, knowing he didn't have much choice since there were many more of the Vikings here.

The chief grunted and waved a massive scarred arm. "Get outta ma sight!" he said.

The Hooligans walked out of the hall, and the chief beckoned on his council members close. "Release the description of that lad to the rest of the island," he ordered. "And have someone keep an eye on the Hooligans. I don't want any trouble."

"Yes, chief."

Unaware of the Nadder Point's chief's orders to his men, though truthfully had he known then he wouldn't have been completely surprised since their arrival could spell problems down the line for their island businesses, Gobber led his charges away. He stopped suddenly, making them stop in surprise but any protest was silenced by an intense stare directed at them by the elder Viking.

"A'right, listen up now," the blacksmith ordered sternly, his tone making it very clear to them he was only going to say this once. "We're gonna have a look 'round this island in case Hiccup's here. If yer see him, don't let it on. Don't chase 'im through the town. These folks will not realise what you're doing, and they will act accordingly. We don't want to get on their bad side."

Snotlout snorted. "C'mon Gobber, it's only Hiccup. What can he do?"

Gobber closed his eyes and counted to twenty in his mind. He had honestly asked himself if Stoick had finally lost his brain cells by having Snotlout and Ruffnut come with him. Okay, so they were old enough and eligible enough to venture out with other parties, but truthfully the old blacksmith was fed up with all of the teens, especially Snotlout and Ruffnut. Astrid usually kept herself to herself, throwing that stupid axe into the figurehead prow of the ship, and Fishlegs either read or spouted his dragon facts, though what made him read and re-read that book all the time Gobber didn't understand.

Reopening his eyes he sent a searing look at Snotlout. "Look here, boy," he growled, wishing he hadn't started because if he'd just ignored Snotlout then he wouldn't feel as though he were repeating himself, it was all he'd been doing now for a month. "We dunno what Hiccup is capable of, not now, not now he's got a dragon, and don't forget; he was the one who blew up not just our Kill Ring, but dozens more across the archipelago. If he is here, then we might be able to coax him back to Berk."

It amazed Gobber that while he was able to say all that, but he didn't believe it. Hiccup was not coming back to Berk, regardless of whatever stupid excuse Stoick was going to give him. Truthfully while Gobber would love for his apprentice to come back he didn't think it would be too safe. Stoick's protection would only go too far, and there would definitely be repercussions for what he'd done because there were still Vikings out there who believed the war was still going on, though truthfully Gobber had not heard anything about the dragons in the time since the last battle at the nest.

It was almost as though they'd vanished off the face of Midgard, except they were still sighted flying through the air around islands and shipping, though they flew without any interest whatsoever in the ships or the sailors, a far cry from when he was younger; in those days Viking ships would be lucky to even reach their destinations without being attacked from above by Nadders or Monstrous Nightmares, or boiled to death in a surprise attack by a Scauldron.

But he was going to at least try to find his former apprentice regardless of what these idiot teenagers thought.

Gobber looked at the teens, but then he decided that he didn't have anything he really wanted to say to them anymore, so he decided to just get on with it. "C'mon, let's go," he said, "and Thor help your souls if you try anything stupid."

Hiccup walked through the forest surrounding the hub towards the second boat he'd prepared to go out to the island where he'd left Toothless.

When he had arrived on the main island, he had found three ways to get to the tiny island he had hidden his dragon on, and although he usually used the same route, though the harbour, he actually had two other means of getting to Toothless without relying on the same route. He'd had plenty of time here to do it since he hadn't planned on leaving for a while so he could gather the supplies he'd need.

Still, it was better than running into the almost certain death he'd be facing if one of the Hooligans caught up with him. He only hoped that the Hooligans who were on the island already and probably mingling with the crowds didn't get it into their heads to look for him in the forest.

Pushing those thoughts out of his mind for the moment, Hiccup just focused on getting out of the forest and to the boat.

When he finally arrived at the boat, he breathed in a sigh of relief and rushed down to it. The boat was moored on the bank of a fast moving river, moored in place by two ropes.

Grabbing hold of one of the ropes, Hiccup pulled the boat towards him, his muscles straining as he heaved it towards him. Once it was close enough, Hiccup jumped into the boat, and he slipped his dagger out and sliced through the ropes. Grabbing the oars, Hiccup began to row towards the island where Toothless was waiting for him.

It seemed to take forever for Hiccup to row out to the island, but when he arrived, he quickly grabbed his supplies and rushed towards the hiding place where Toothless was resting.

When he arrived he looked around to make sure he was the only human here.

"Toothless!" he called out.

The Night Fury suddenly appeared and rushed towards him. Hiccup held out his hands. "Whoa, calm down there!" he said before the overexcited Night Fury could pounce on him; he still had the bruises from where the dragon's paws had smacked the breath out of his lungs, he didn't want to go through the same thing again today.

The dragon looked like he was on the verge of pouting that his human friend didn't want to play, but Hiccup had to push aside his guilt quickly. "We haven't got any time, bud," he said quickly. "The Hooligans are here, not on this island," he added when the dragon reacted, "but we need to go. Now! Help me dig up the pits."

With Toothless' help, it was quicker for Hiccup to dig up the supplies. When everything was dug up, Hiccup went out and grabbed the saddlebags and he began to pack. The dragon watched his human for a moment and then, proving just how intelligent he was, he used his claws to hook the things he could, and he dragged them over to Hiccup.

The Viking boy was not surprised by his friend's intelligence. He had seen Toothless do things like that before many times, and with Toothless' help Hiccup managed to get everything in the saddlebags, mentally keeping note of the things he had and those he didn't. While the loss of some of the things he had bought and were left behind in his old apartment on Nadder's Point was annoying, he could not do anything about it now. He needed to get away from here before the Hooligans thought to come out to the island. He was just hoping that he could get away.

He had just finished slipping on the prosthetic, and he was just getting on the dragon's back when a growl from Toothless made him freeze and he turned around and found himself looking at the hard face of Astrid Hofferson, her axe was in her hand.

Hiccup chuckled at the irony, but there was no humour in it. "You Hooligans just don't know when to quit, do you Astrid?" he asked, hiding his irritation.

Astrid typically ignored his rhetorical question. "I'm here to take you back to Berk. It's time to stop running around like a child Hiccup."

Toothless growled, particularly when he caught sight of the axe in the blonde girl's hand. The dragon began pawing the ground, flaring his wings out in an aggressive stance, but he held back in case he harmed Hiccup.

Hiccup instantly rested a hand on the Night Fury's scaly back. He knew why the dragon was growling. He was agitated because of the weapon in Astrid's hand, but while he'd like to see just how Astrid's skills which had no doubt been augmented by dragon training and by the last few months where she had been doing Thor knew what could cope against Toothless, he didn't want to risk it.

"That's all you've got to say to me, six months down the line?" Hiccup said with a head shake while he walked slowly to the saddle while he ran a calming. "You know, I did often wonder what happened to you, but you know what I don't care anymore. Goodbye Astrid."

Instantly Astrid went into a combat stance he recognised and he stiffened, knowing one wrong move from either him or from Toothless and she could hurl that axe.

"You're not going anywhere!" Astrid snapped forcefully, a glint in her eyes he recognised from all the times he'd seen her roughhouse with the other teens, only when she had done it she had nearly broken Tuffnut's arm because she didn't realise it was only a game, though the adults in that Thor-be damned village didn't care, instead applauding her strength.

"You're going to come back with us to Berk, and there you will answer for your crimes." But as she said that, Hiccup could see that if things were different then she would love nothing more than to hurl that stupid axe at his head, her so-called duty to Berk be damned. He could see it in her eyes, the desire to kill him, hidden behind that cold facade of duty.

"I see, I must be a master villain," Hiccup tried to smile hoping to relieve the tension a little. It didn't work.

Astrid just glared at him, making him sigh. The problem with Astrid (One of them) was she didn't know when to lighten up.

"You're a traitor, not just to Viking-kind, but to your bloodline, to your father. And your mother. How could you? She was murdered by dragons," Astrid accused him.

Hiccup licked lips to mask his own anger. How dare this arrogant perfectionistic bitch call him a traitor when he hadn't been a Viking in his heart since the day he was born? How dare she bring up a bloodline he had no interest in, and how dare she mention that….. thing thing that had cared more for the tribe than for his own son.

But it was mention of his mother that made him want to snap her neck.

He was furious the girl would bring her up. He had known the Hooligans would be bemused by what he was doing, and some of them would be angry on his mothers' behalf he was riding a dragon.

But for Astrid to throw it in his face in her self-righteous manner like she knew how Valka felt, it made him angrier. But what really angered him was how she said it so matter of factly.

"I don't need a lesson in my own history, especially from you," Hiccup said evenly while he controlled his temper, knowing if he lost it nothing good would happen. Astrid was faster, stronger, and more violent than he was. He would not stand a chance even if Toothless was nearby. "But seriously, why are you following me? It's been six months."

Astrid's face was still set in anger. Hiccup had sometimes asked himself why Astrid had trained so hard to become a shield maiden when she could have effortlessly become a berserker instead. She had the temperament for it.

"Your father ordered us to bring you back, now enough of these games Hiccup. You're coming with me, but," Astrid's eyes started to drift away from Hiccup and over to the tense Toothless, and her voice likewise drifted away.

Hiccup stiffened with anger, knowing what she was about to do. But she was not fast enough.

The Night Fury instantly saw the threat and acted accordingly, and before Astrid even knew what was happening the dragon had reared back on his hind legs and fired a plasma burst. Astrid was blown off of her feet when the bust suddenly exploded, and she hit her head on the ground.

Hiccup rushed to the saddle and jumped onto the dragon's back while Astrid was still stunned.

The dragon instantly leapt into the air while Hiccup automatically worked on the tail-fin. When he took off, Hiccup risked a look back down and he groaned in annoyance when he saw the familiar forms of Snotlout and Ruffnut entering the clearing. He could hear them shouting up at him, but because he was so high he couldn't hear what they were saying.

He turned his back on them, and on his former life.

Gobber was furious when he heard what had happened, and he felt little to no pity for Astrid when he found out how she had gotten that ugly mark on her forehead.

He had heard about what had happened. He had listened silently after Ruffnut and Snotlout brought the half-conscious Astrid back to the main island on Nadder's Point. He had heard from the teenagers how they'd grabbed a boat, and they'd taken it out to the smaller islands nearby to see if Hiccup had hidden his dragon on any of them and had simply commuted to and from work each day if he was here.

He had heard a story that seemed too vague for his liking, and it had made him wonder just what the teenagers were leaving out. He wasn't going to pry.

Stoick could get the truth and the answers out of the teenagers and from Astrid. He had just about had enough of the teenagers recently.

But really frustrated and annoyed the old Viking was how the teenagers, instead of trying to contact him to let him know what they were doing instead of making him wait and worry for what seemed like a week, they had gone off on their own.

Okay, he couldn't really see what else they could have done.

He and the others who'd searched the island had quickly realised that Hiccup was not around. They had searched everywhere - they had visited the shops, the stalls, the boats, the halls, the houses, even the bakery. But there had been no sign of the boy, but the blacksmith's forge was the more hopeful sign Hiccup was around. Gobber himself had visited the local blacksmith, knowing more than anybody else just how good Hiccup was with his hands and he had the skills to really impress another blacksmith, and he'd learnt of a boy who answered Hiccup's description, so that was good news.

What made it even better was the boy was still around, so there was some hope, but now thanks to Astrid and the teenagers' impulsive stupidity, the boy was gone.

"I told you. Didn't I tell yer, if yer see Hiccup, call for help and just watch him!"

"He was getting away!"

Gobber closed his eyes, angry with the girl for pointing something out so logically at him. He took refuge at another point. "Why didn't you send Ruffnut or Snotlout to come after me, or one of the others?" he asked.

"There wasn't any time-," the girl tried to say.

But Gobber had a good idea what Astrid had done. "You mean you couldn't be asked?" he snapped, waving his hook attachment around to shut her up. "What made yer go to that island in the first place?"

On surer ground but angry with how she was being disrespected, Astrid stiffened to attention. But Gobber could see the anger in her eyes. Something about that anger made him wary despite having seen it in many a Viking's eyes over the years, and it made him make a mental note to keep an eye on the girl in case she tried to do something insanely stupid.

"It was just a look," she said, "I wasn't expecting to find Hiccup there, but if he was then he'd have hidden that beast on that island."

Gobber groaned mentally, wishing the girl had the sense to tell him what she was planning. Now he would have to go on looking for Hiccup, but the boy would be more vigilant this time. It could be a while before they returned to Berk.

Until next time. I'm going to be busy over the December period with a new job, so I might be able to update around Christmas Eve-Christmas Day. Until then, bye for now.