A/N: This might be a little short considering the fact that I have to go see my friends' choir concert! That should be fun, right? ;)
I'M LISTENING TO A SAD SONG AND I JUST GOT AN IDEA FOR THE STORY, AND THAT MEANS TROUBLE! D:
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"Hiccup? Hiccup? Hiccup? Hiccup? Hiccup? HICCUP WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Hiccup jerked, letting out a startled yell as he fell to the side, flying out of his chair and slamming into the ground. Astrid blinked, taking a small step back as he looked up, eyes narrowed as he glared at her.
"What was that for?" He snapped, pushing himself back up and brushing himself off.
Ludi sat on Astrid's shoulder, head tilted to the side cutely as she stared down at Hiccup. To make fun, Astrid did the same, smiling as she did so. "I waited for you to follow me, but you were staring at the wall. I poked you, but apparently you didn't notice." She huffed out the last words, looking at Hiccup expectantly.
But her smile faded as his frown stayed. The boy turned, blinking as he looked out the nearby window. In the sky, dragons and birds flitted by, his stomach twisting in a complicated knot as he watched them. Astrid followed his gaze, rubbing her arm as she realized what was on his mind. "Here, why don't we go and do something?" She suggested, reaching out for his hand. "We can go down to the ocean and skate. It's thick enough."
Hiccup looked over at her in silence, green eyes sharp and clouded with thought. Astrid let her hand slap down to her side, looking at Hiccup questioningly. The only sound for a while was the soft rustling of Ludi as she shifted, trying to get comfortable on Astrid's shoulder. Astrid was sort of afraid to breathe even as she looked at Hiccup, and she was slightly relieved as he broke the tense silence.
"I have to go."
Astrid's relief flew out the window. "Wait…what?" She asked, shuffling backwards as Hiccup marched back to his room. "Go where? What?" She spluttered confused noises as Hiccup rounded the corner, and she ran after him up the stairs. Ludi mewled where she sat, digging her claws into Astrid's shoulder armor, clinging on for dear life. "Hiccup, what's going on?" Astrid turned and marched into Hiccup's room, pushing her way inside and looking critically at the boy. "Where are you going?"
Hiccup was putting clothes and blankets down on the bed, reaching over and getting a rather large cloth bag from his closet. "After Toothless." He snapped, not even turning to look at her as he shoved the stuff into the cloth bag. Astrid blinked, eyes widening as she looked at him with disbelief.
"What do you mean? Toothless has been gone for weeks! He could be anywhere, Hiccup! You just got over him, don't fall back now. You don't need him, he changed." Eyes softening slightly, she paced forward to place a comforting hand on his shoulder, giving him a gentle smile. "You don't need him anymore."
Hiccup looked over at her steadily, eyes narrowing. "But he needs me." He said clearly, turning and slinging the bag over his shoulder. Astrid blinked, giving him a weird look as he brushed by her.
"Hiccup, why would he possibly need you?" Astrid asked, folding her arms over her chest as she spoke sharper than she meant to. At once, Hiccup stopped in the hall, going rigid. The blonde sighed softly, pacing forward to stand behind him once again. "Think this through, alright?" She asked gently. "You don't even know where he is. And the last time you tried to help him, he only tried to attack you. Wherever he is, I'm sure he's happy. And I'm sure that he would want you to be happy where you are, if he could. The fact is, he probably wasn't meant to stay here. No other Night Furies did."
She paused for a moment, pursing her lips. "And you have Ludi now." She said bracingly, grabbing the cat and putting her on Hiccup's shoulder in turn. Meowing loudly, the cat scrambled up, puffing as she did so. Her fur was bushed out, and she looked frazzled to say the least. Getting tossed around by Astrid seemed not to be something she enjoyed. That figures.
"You don't understand. He didn't want to leave, I don't think." Hiccup said quietly, turning around slowly to face the blonde. "I don't think he did, I think he wanted to stay. He never showed one sign of wanting to leave. He only did when the female showed up." When Astrid's face still remained blank, he pressed on. "What you said just now back in the kitchen about Ludi's stare made me remember something odd that happened between them. The female always used to give this weird-looking stare to Toothless, and then he would get all weird. That was right before he started to hate me. And I don't think it's a coincidence."
Astrid was quiet for a moment, and Hiccup was about to turn around and go back down the stairs before she spoke up. "But what if it IS a coincidence?" Astrid pressed. Hiccup sighed, turning back to her. "I mean- are you suggesting that she did something to put Toothless under some sort of…spell?" She scoffed out the last word, and Hiccup's grip tightened on the bag as he gritted his teeth together tightly. "Don't get me wrong, Hiccup, but don't you think that's a little far-fetched? Can dragons even do that?"
"We have never seen interaction before between two Night Furies." Hiccup spat, glaring at her so sharply that she took a small step backwards. "And before this, I thought that it was something I did to make him hate me so badly. But now I know he didn't even mean it. There's still something there, and I am going to find it once I find Toothless. I don't care how long it takes me to find him, I wont stop until I do."
"But you don't…you…Hiccup, this is stupid." Astrid said, her voice taking an almost whiney tone. Controlling herself, she tried again. "How are you even going to get there?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "You don't have a dragon. And I'm sure that your father wouldn't give you a new one. Not when you tell him what harebrained scheme you're coming up with."
"…Give me Stormfly."
"Under no circumstances!" Astrid flared, immediately stomping one foot on the ground.
"Please, Astrid!" Hiccup begged. "I KNOW that this is the right thing to do! I know that Toothless would never do something like this! I have known it for a long time, I just didn't see how it would make sense. Now it does, and I know that Toothless isn't coming back on his own. He needs me. And I need him a lot more than he needs me. I need him back here, I can't live without him."
"You don't know what you're going up against." Astrid snapped. "Hiccup, anything could be waiting for you there. Wherever you think you are going, that is. I realize that you might miss him, so do I. And I have to admit, your theory kind of makes sense…but I wouldn't be able to let you go off alone like your planning to."
Hiccup turned abruptly and marched downstairs to the kitchen, Astrid huffing loudly as she ran after him. Hiccup was taking meals of food from the cabinets and pantry, putting them inside the bag encased in their own. He refused to look at her as he did so, and Astrid leaned against the doorframe awkwardly, watching him with a small grimace.
"I can see I can't stop you." She sighed softly.
"No." Hiccup replied flatly, shooting her a look from the corner of his eye.
"…And if I don't give you Stormfly, then you'll just steal her."
"That's about it." Hiccup huffed, slinging the bag over his shoulder as he found a few days worth of food. "So you might as well just let me go." He blinked, stopping in his tracks as he looked at her blankly.
Astrid paused for a moment. "Not alone."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm going with you."
"No."
"…What?"
"You were right about one thing, Astrid, I don't know where they are or what will be waiting for me. I know which direction they went, and that's the best I can do. But when I get there, I think that it'd be best if I was alone. That way I would draw more attention away from myself, and it would be a lot easier."
"What if something happens?" Astrid asked icily, deadpanning. "What if you get into trouble? You could not come back, Hiccup, you realize this, right? If I come, I can help you with the fighting, things that you aren't exactly excelling in." She ignored Hiccup's glare. "I could help you, I helped you once, right?"
"Astrid, I need you here to look after Ludi." Hiccup said, pushing his way past her and making for the door. "She's a handful, and she's more of a handful than she looks. And I can't leave her with somebody she doesn't know. She'll freak out, and then the village will never hear the end of it. And neither will I."
"Hiccup…" Astrid sighed, watching him go with a sad look. "You can't just leave me here with the all-important job of looking after the cat. Come on. Hiccup? Hiccup! Hiccup, come back! Wait!"
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Hiccup was boarded on Stormfly, the bags of supplies tied onto the dragon, and he was ready to go. There was a slight tremor in his stomach, he could literally feel it doing flips and summersaults inside of him. But determination stilled the feeling as he narrowed his eyes slowly. He had to do this, he had to get toothless. The Night Fury was stuck, he was sure. He knew that if he didn't get him, nobody else would.
Astrid watched him carefully, hugging herself tightly from the cold as she eyed him. "When will you be back?"
"I dunno. You can expect a Night Fury in tow." Hiccup mumbled.
"…Good luck then. I hope you aren't making a stupid mistake like I know this is."
"Goodbye to you too, Astrid." Hiccup snorted. He paused for a moment or two before turning back and looking at Berk carefully. He would just be gone a while, it wasn't going to be anything major. He would find Toothless and find some way to bring him back. He remembered the startled look Toothless had the time when he met eyes with Hiccup, and the boy tightened his grip on Stormfly, whipping back around. "Alright, let's go!" He shouted to the Nadder.
The dragon perked up immediately, pushing off of the ground with wings spread open. They caught the air, and soon they were soaring forward, Astrid watching as they became just a dot on the horizon. She stayed in silence for a moment, looking slightly saddened as she stared at the spot where they disappeared.
Then she whirled around and dashed away.
Hiccup looked out into the sea, making sure that they were going the direction that Toothless and the female had left. He knew in the back of his mind that he would be able to find them. He hoped they would. He prayed they would.
They flew for the rest of the day, and when it started to get dark, Hiccup had the idea of sleeping down on the ice. It wasn't like the ice would crack, it was too late into winter for that to happen. Since dragons couldn't feel the cold of the ice or snow, Stormfly fell asleep as soon as she hit the frozen water.
Eyeing it carefully, Hiccup slid off of her back and onto the slippery surface. Finding it more than difficult to walk on it with his prosthetic leg, Hiccup scooted over and grabbed the large bag of blankets and clothes from Stormfly. Opening up the bag, Hiccup thrust his hand in to get out as many blankets as he could.
But he stiffened as he felt something. Slowly, he looked down. And let out a loud yell.
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A/N: BAD ENDING IS BAD.
Can you tell I have to leave now? I have to.
Sorry I cut it so short so bad, I'll make it up tomorrow hopefully! D:
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