So it has been awhile, for which I apologize. My excuse is that I just finished my finals week for first semester. But that's over and I have a new chapter. As always I don't own anything.

4. Dragons and Sensibility

"We have nothing left," complained Mulch.

"But what if he finds us?" bucket questioned back.

"But we can't live, I can't live under Spitelout's whims forever."

Bucket sighed, he could not ignore the point that his friend was making. They had lived under the tutelage of spitelout for six progressively worse years. People usually didn't think of him or his friend as smart but even he wasn't blind to what was happening. With Spitelout as the chief, he had marvel at the fact that they had made it through each winter. He had watched and experienced Spitelout take away just as much as the former chief had given, all for his personal gain. He was not a leader, he was not a chief, he was a thief who was slowly robbing the people of berks rights, resources and happiness.

Mulch looked at bucket expectantly. Bucket smiled tiredly, "Your right, old friend, what do we have here that is worth living in hell for?"

Mulch smiled, "Should we leave than?"

"Yeah let's go find ourselves a chief," Bucket said.

Mulched frowned, "How do we leave,"

Bucket also frowned, "That will not be so easy, I think we'll need a boat and supplies."

"Then let's get started!" Mulch said excitedly.

Toothless was tired, tired of having to put up with humans and their indirectness. His human was afraid of talking to that girl and she was afraid he was dangerous. If they had just said what they felt out loud and skipped the whole 'I'm not sure' thing, he wouldn't have to listen to them. His human had just given her the herbs to help her pain. He could feel her pain easing. But his human had just brought her food, which meant they were together, which meant that they were sitting there awkwardly. It was unbearable to him, he needed sleep.

Hiccup was seated at his desk alcove and feeling the weird awkwardness that he remembered from being a kid. The feeling he always got around people, especially when they were judging him. But as he had aged alone he had always wondered how to get rid of this 'feeling'. He had never really come up with an answer, and he had figured that the only way to know was to try. It was really scary, the only feeling he had know for any of his life. It really did hurt to know that no matter what you had done or what you tried to do people were disappointed in you. He never gave up though, he had always thought that you shouldn't give up on people even if they give up on you. But it wasn't that alone that would have compelled him to speak. It was where he was that seem to pull at his conscience, begging for release. The fire was crackling at a perfect medium, casting a warm, comforting glow about the room. It made him feel warm and safe, like you've had a good warm meal and your troubles start to melt away. It was intoxicating and it seem like a shame to waste it by being afraid. So he spoke.

"Where do you come from," he asked.

She looked at him, his voice surprised her with slight nasal quality. She hadn't noticed before. "Berk," she said simply.

He nodded, "Been there once,"

She looked into the fire, "It's not what it used to be,"

"Yeah," He said, "the chief lost his heir, right?"

"No not really," She thought, "I guess the former chief did, but he wasn't much of an heir."

"Really," he said, it was interesting to know she remembered the former heir.

"Yeah," she turned from the fire, "When was the last time you visited berk anyway?"

He looked into the fire, "Six maybe seven years ago."

"That was about when the old chief left."

"Why did he leave?" He questioned, his interest showing.

She looked curiously at him, "His son ran away and he went looking for him. He left Berk to search several times, and for some reason on his last quest he never returned. He is thought to be dead based an account of an empty berkian ship found in the north sea by traders."

The man could not help raising his brows at this report. "So who is chief now?" he asked, his voice strained slightly.

"The former chief's brother became chief by default, but I think he is more of an incompetent tyrant. He does not care for his people."

"I'll bet," the man said.

"Do you know him?" she asked.

"To well," the man said.

Bucket and Mulch had spent the whole of the early morning collecting food and water, without being noticed. They each had a small bundle of the small thing that they had not wanted to part with and some necessities. They had just grabbed the last few things as the sun had started to rise. They made their way quietly to the docks and chose a small vessel to load there bundles on. The boat was untied and they pushed off heading for some place besides where they had spent their entire lives and they only felt sorry for the people they were leaving behind.

Astrid watched the man stand up and walk out of the room, she heard a door open followed by a chill from the outside. "The suns up," she heard him say. He closed the door and walked back in and turned to her. "How are you feeling," he asked, genuine concern in his face.

"I feel better than I did 30 minutes ago," she replied.

"Good," he said, "let's go somewhere."

She looked at him confused, what exactly did he mean. He looked back at her and she noticed his bright emerald eyes. He smiled and his eyes seemed to shine.

"Don't worry, I'm a friend, remember," he said reassuringly.

He started to leave the room and Astrid couldn't help herself, "What is your name?" she asked in complete honest curiosity.

He turned and looked back down at her again. "Promise you won't laugh?"

She nodded, it couldn't be that bad, could it?

"My name is," he paused, "Hiccup."

She didn't laugh. A former form of her might have laughed or even made fun of him for it on the spot. But she felt that it wasn't what was supposed to happen. He smiled again, "Thank you."

He turned and left to go get some item. She heard him muttering to himself; 'where is it' and 'thought it was here'. Then he gave an 'ah ha' of triumph. He returned to the room a moment later and held out a fur coat to her. She accepted it but did not put it on. He put on another fur coat that looked much older than the one she had.

"You might want to put that on," he said, then he slapped his forehead and hastened from the room. Astrid put he coat on, and was enveloped in the strong and slightly burnt smell of the coat. It was more enjoyable than she would have liked to admit. Just then Hiccup entered the room with a crutch in hand. He walked over and leaned it against the bed.

"I'm sorry, I haven't washed that coat in a while and it probably smells bad," he said.

She just nodded numbly. He looked at her oddly, she was trying to mentally catch up. Finally she grabbed the crutch and hoisted her self up.

"Let's go," she had no idea where to, but she needed fresh air.

He placed his hands on her shoulders, "I have something to show you, but you may not like it."

This caught her attention, it not exactly being the best way to broach a subject. She nodded slowly and he smiled weakly. She made her way out of the room into a small entryway, which had doors to several rooms. He opened the only door, and immediately the sun light blinded her. He guided her out into the berkian snow and closed the door. She squinted in the light in an attempt to see. He moved next to her, "Ready?" he asked. She nodded quickly, it wasn't like he was going to show her something impossible or dangerous, like a dragon.

She heard him inhale, and then he let loose a long, whistling trill, send a thrill down her spine. The sound he was making seemed to climb by s third and then jump back to the original note set measures. It gave the sound a mysterious quality, that seemed reserved for something of immense natural beauty. Then the call ended in a two tone quality crescendo, send chills back up her spine. They stood there in the snow, waiting. Then came the reply, in a much more powerful volume. It was of the same type, but this one started as a chest felt rumble. It climbed through the notes by half steps, faster and faster it climbed, ending in a high pitched scream.

Some fly object briefly blocked the sun, and the screaming followed it. It circled and landed very close and stilled giving her a good look at it. It was a black, sleek dragon. Her eyes widened, so this is where she would die. Next to a boy she didn't know, with a broken leg and arm and a village who hated her. She couldn't wait.

You just made it through another you guys who read this and give all the support, it really means a lot to me. Always feel free to comment, suggest ideas or give constructive criticism. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great day.

nerdT14