I knew I looked ridiculous with my mud covered face, but I figured since the man's face was covered with a mask, mine should be covered too. In case I somehow got caught, it's only fair that he doesn't know what I look like, like how I don't know what he looks likes. I followed him with ease, making sure to keep enough distance between us, and the more I followed the more I noticed.

On his shoulder is a red Night Fury silhouette, which made my stomach twist and nearly got me caught when I stumbled and accidentally snapped a twig at the sight of it. His left foot is missing, replaced with a metal prosthetic. He's left handed, which I only know because as he walked he wrote things down in his journal at the same time. Even through his armor, I could tell that he's not very muscular, but he's not exactly a twig either. He's perfectly in the middle. I can totally beat him in a fight, which I hope it doesn't come to, but if it does I won't complain.

I also noticed that we were walking closer and closer to the volcano.

And sure enough, the volcano is where he took us. We stood on a hill, and what I was not expecting to see at the bottom of it, near the beginning of the volcano, was Cloudjumper and Valka. What are they doing here? At least I found them or rather...the man found them. The man stops when he sees them and I visibly see his body freeze. I quickly hide behind a tree as he does this, and watched as he stared down at my motherly figure. Valka was talking to Cloudjumper a long distance away, both hers and her dragon's back turned, facing the volcano, not aware of the man behind her that suddenly started to move. He took off in a run and so did I.

It all happened so fast that it's a blur. My feet moved on their own accord and before I could even register what it was that I was exactly doing, I'm tackling the man. As I ran after him down the hill, I had reached out and practically jumped on him like a Deadly Nadder would with her prey. I wrapped my arms around his neck like a Nadder would sink her talons into her prey, and the two of us go rolling. The man made a sound of surprise, followed by pained grunts as we rolled. I remained silent as we tumbled, ignoring the pain of his body repeatedly rolling on mine. He wouldn't have had to roll on me if I had simply let go and let us tumble individually, but I wasn't going to let him go. What hunter would ever release her prey? So roll as one we did.

When our rolling finally came to an end, we landed at the bottom of the hill with him face down on the ground and me on top of his back. I ignored the dizziness in my head and moved quickly, twisting his left arm behind him with my own left arm, which causes him to cry out in pain, and as he grunts and struggles against me, I reached for the dagger I noticed earlier on his belt. I reached for it with my right hand and pressed the tip of it against the side of his armored neck. This causes him to instantly stop moving, but it also makes him finally speak. "W-Who are you? What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I snapped as I pressed the tip of his dagger further into him. If it was against his skin he'd already be bleeding. "I'm going to hurt you before you hurt my friend."

"Your friend?" The man questioned, surprised. He goes to say more, but I cut him off.

"Yes, my friend," I clarify, and look up just in time to see Valka running towards us. Even through the long distance, I could see the worry on her face. I turned my gaze back down at the man. "I saw you running after her and I'll not have another person I care about be taken from me. Now I'm going to ask you what you asked me: Who are you? What dragon did you make your suit out of? A Night Fury? Were you planning on doing the same with the Light Fury? How do you know of this place? Are there others with you-"

"I only asked you the first question," the man interrupts. "And if you let me go I promise I'll answer every question you have, along with causing you no harm."

I couldn't help but smirk. "You? Causing harm to me? Are you even aware of the knife that I have pressed against your neck? And believe me when I tell you this," I brought my lips lower to his ears, which were hidden behind his mask. "I don't believe in the promises of strangers."

Valka suddenly appears then, on Cloudjumper's back, meaning that she flew the rest of the distance, and for the first time since I've met her I see her jump off from Cloudjumper's back rather than him helping her down or her using her staff. "Let him go, Astrid!" She demanded, surprising me.

"What?!" I say, but my voice had an echo. That was when I realized that the man said the same thing I did at the same time. I'd be shocked too to be honest.

"Let him go? He tried to attack you!" I continued, but the man did too.

"No I didn't, but that doesn't matter. Mom, did you seriously just say 'Astrid'?" He asked, breathlessly as he moved his head to the side, which I let him. "As in...my Astrid?!"

That's when I became breathless, but not because he declared me his. It was because of the three letter word he said before. My body stiffens and my eyes widen in shock. "Did you just say 'mom'?!" I snapped my gaze over to Valka. "Did he just call you his mother?!"

Valka sighs as she shakes her head. "This was not at all how I thought you two would meet again."

"Valka," I urged, feeling my hands start to shake and my heart beat rapidly. I readjusted the dagger in my hand even though it was unnecessary. "Is this…is he…" But I couldn't find the strength to finish my sentence, afraid that if I did I would wake up. That it was a dream.

Valka smiles as she nods. "Why don't you help the poor lad up and ask him yourself? You two have a lot of catching up to do."

The man, who's name I already know, though I'm afraid to admit it yet just in case this is still a dream, says nothing as I hesitantly removed myself from him. I still held on to his dagger, nervously gripping it tightly that it hurt, and watched as he got to his feet, groaning a bit due to the pain that I had caused him. He's about to feel even more pain once I punch the hell out of him. Because if he does end up being who I think he is, or rather know he is, and if this is all really real, then a beat down for all the Hel he has caused me is definitely long overdue.

Every movement he made, every second that ticked, until he removed his helmet caused my heart to beat faster and faster. I didn't realize I was holding my breath until I finally saw his face and sucked in a deep intake of air...which then caused my breathing to stop again.

How is it possible for someone to look exactly as they were years before but to also look entirely different? He's changed, he grew up, he matured into the manly body that puberty and the gods have blessed him with. His face is sharper, more angular, removed of teen baby fat, his eyes appear to be a deeper green, he has more freckles kissed across his face, and his hair is thicker and untamed. He looked...wild. And this is me seeing him in the dark with only the moon's light. He must look even better in the sun's light. In all honesty, I was not expecting him to look like this. And I don't mean handsome. I mean healthy. He looks more healthy than when I last saw him, even if he is still a bit under muscled. I wonder if he would have looked like this if he had stayed in Berk or if he would have been a victim to the sickness.

"It's…" I start, pausing to study him for a brief second more. "It's really you." My eyes pathetically teared up and my lips curled into a smile. "Oh my gods, Hiccup! You're alive!" And once more, my feet are moving with a mind of their own and I'm pouncing on the poor guy again.

This time however, when my arms wrap around his neck, it isn't so I can strangle him to death. It's so I can give him a long awaited hug that is long overdue. I held back a sob, but let my tears silently fall as I buried my face into the crook of his neck.

Hiccup was obviously taken aback, but he was quick to compose himself and return my hug, hugging me tighter. "Hey, Astrid," he says, shyly. "Hi. Hello...um...long time no see."

I scoffed at his reaction, but expected it. This is him after all. "Really?" I asked, incredulously, but not angrily. "Out of everything you could have thought of to say to me it's that?"

He chuckles nervously, which makes me smile. I thought I'd never hear that chuckle again. Or see his face. "I'm sorry. I was not at all prepared to see my mother and especially you. I keep thinking this is a dream. After all, only the Astrids in my dreams would do something weird, such as cover their faces with mud."

Oh my gods, I had completely forgotten. I felt my face heat up in embarrassment and was grateful for the dark night and the mud for hiding my blush. I shrugged it off like it was nothing and said, "You were wearing a mask, so I had to improvise. I couldn't let my face be exposed for you to see."

He and Valka laugh and that's when I remembered that she was still there. How could I have so easily forgotten her? Also how are Hiccup and I still hugging? This is the longest hug I've ever given anyone. I pull away from Hiccup, but to my surprise he held onto my elbows to keep me close. The action made me blush some more, along with Valka's smug look and the mud I saw I had left on Hiccup's neck. Hiccup spoke before I could mention it to him though. "Fair enough, but seriously," he chuckles once more, "next time you want to get a guy's attention, don't throw a rock at him."

"I wasn't trying to get your attention," I explained, grinning. "I was trying to distract you and it worked. The Light Fury got away." That's when I remembered why I was even up to begin with. "Oh my gods, the Light Fury! Valka I Soul Bonded with a Light Fury!"

"What?!" She and Hiccup exclaimed together.

"There's a Light Fury here?" Valka asked.

"You mean the Light Fury I was trying to rescue back in the meadow is your Soul Dragon?" Hiccup asked then laughed. "Oh my gods. This is perfect! You can help us then."

"Us?" I repeat. "And what do you mean by help?"

"By us," Hiccup answers, "I mean Toothless and I, and by help...well…" he rubs his neck nervously. "Toothless and I came across her a while ago. He's smitten with her and we've been tracking her down for months. Now that you've bonded with her you can help her grow comfortable with him to where they'll...uh...become mates."

"Wait what?" I stepped away from his hold, my elbows suddenly feeling very cold without his touch. "I literally just found her; my soul dragon. I haven't gotten to spend any time with her and you definitely scared her off earlier with your scary as Hel rescue attempt. You pulled a knife out on her for the Gods sake. Who knows where she could be now. And here you are asking me to help get your dragon laid? Are you serious?"

It hasn't even been five minutes and already our reunion has turned sour.

"But Toothless-" He starts, but that was all I heard from him before something suddenly tackles me to the ground, knocking the air right out of me. Before I could even catch my breath, I'm being tickled by a large tongue licking me all over, causing me to hysterically laugh.

"Oh my gods!" I said through my laughter. "Stop!" My eyes managed to catch a glimpse if my attacker before they shut again. "Toothless stop!" But my laughter only encouraged him. "I...hahaha...I can't...hahaha...breathe!"

"Toothless," I hear Hiccup scold. "Get off of her bud. You're gonna suffocate her."

Toothless does as his rider says but before doing so he grins down at me, showing me nothing but gums. His name sake...until he retracts his teeth out. When he got off of me, I propped myself up on my elbows and panted. "If you don't put a bell on him," I tell Hiccup, jokingly. "I will."

Toothless, who was still by my side, makes a gurgling noise that I interpreted as a laugh. I couldn't help but giggle at his cuteness and reached forward to scratch under his chin. He closes his eyes and purrs as I do so. "It's good to see you too, you useless reptile." I then realized that the dried mud no longer coated my face. "And thanks for getting the mud off my face. Perhaps you're not useless after all."

I deliberately said those three words, which originally came from Hiccup long ago, to see if he remembered the night that changed my life. Sure enough, when I snuck a glance at him, he was fondly smiling, at had a glazed look in his eyes as though he was watching the memory play out in his mind. I didn't need his words to prove that he remembered that night as clearly as I did. His face said enough. That night changed everything for him too.

"I can say the same as well," Valka speaks up, gaining my attention. Her attention was on her son, however. Her younger genderbent. No test would ever need to be needed to prove that they're mother and son. "What are you doing here, son? How long have you been here?"

"Wait," I interrupt, still on my butt on the ground, "What about you?" I asked as I looked up at her. "What are you doing here near the volcano? Back at our campsite, the Light Fury woke me up and you were nowhere to be found. She smelled your furs and took off after that. I think she tried, or is still trying, to find you."

I start to get to my feet, but Hiccup stops me. "Here," he said as he extends his hand out and leans downward a little, "let me help you."

My mind took me back to when he had tried to help me onto Toothless's back when they had held me captive in a tree nearly five years ago. I had smacked his hand away in anger and annoyance, not needing nor wanting his help, and while I still don't need his help...I want it. Plus, I'm not angry with him. Although, I am a bit annoyed that one of few things he says to me after not seeing me for years is that he wants his dragon to become mates with mine. I need to spend time with her first before any mating happens. Is she even old enough?

"Thanks," I say, softly, almost shyly as I reach up and grasp his hand. My skin touched his suit fabric covered hand and I was taken aback at how much it felt like real dragon skin. I always knew that Hiccup was an intelligent inventor, but he really outdid himself with this suit, which I now know isn't made of a dead dragon. Hiccup wouldn't dare.

He easily pulls me up, and when I was finally on my feet, I had expected an immediate release of our hands, but instead he kept holding them together and stared down at me with a smile. Good Odin when did he get so tall? And...holy shit we're really close. Why are we so close? "You're welcome," he says before finally letting go.

I immediately step back, cleared my throat, ignored the racing of my heart, and turned my attention back to Valka. "Anyway…" I said nothing more and waited for her answers.

She was smirking when she replied. "I left to check on the volcanic activity," she said as she glanced between her son and I. "I always check it late at night whenever I visit because that's when it's usually the most active. Toothless then found me by himself, which is when I told him to find Hiccup and bring him to me. I was not at all expecting to see him rolling down the hill with you glued to his back. And now here we are." She then walks over to Hiccup and pulls him into a tight hug. "And I'm so very glad! I thought I wouldn't see you for years."

Hiccup hugs her back just as tightly as he held me, which made me smile, but it also caused my heart to ache. I wish I could hug my mom one more time.

"I would never have waited that long," he says to his mother, "I had planned to come home sooner, but after encountering the Light Fury the plan change. The new plan was to tame the Light Fury and then bring her back to the Sanctuary. Which can still happen, especially now that she'll have a reason to come."

Toothless made a gurgling noise beside Hiccup, gaining our attention. It made me think that he thought the reason would be him. Hiccup thought the same and when he and his mother pull apart from their hug he scratches the top of Toothless's head and says, "No, not you bud." He then looks over to me. "Her."

Toothless made a noise of disapproval, but I paid him no attention. My focus was on Hiccup and him alone. His nervous smile hasn't changed at all. What else has changed or stayed the same? What has he been up to these last four years? What places has he visited? Did he ever figure out a way to bring peace? I guess I'll have to find out later, which I'm okay with, because I know I'll get my answers.

Because now that we're reunited...I'm not letting him go again.