A/N: Did you all miss me! :D

Well…I missed you all~ And I really am sorry for the slow updates, it might have to stay like this, with not-as-quick updates for you all. : ( I feel bad, but life slammed into me ONCE more. (Band being my life) Soooo, I don't really have a choice in that. I wish I did though, I don't like band very much at all, trust me XD

And thank you to the person who stood up for me, I'm not sure who it was ^^

Made me want to update~! :D

…SHOULD Hiccup be able to hear Ludi….?

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The blacksmith's was almost all the way rebuilt, even though it had only been a short time since the attack. After all, with generations of house making, it wasn't all that surprising, really. The other houses proved to be more difficult, but the Blacksmith's didn't really need much in it. So far, most of the equipment was inside already, the order for more weapons and shields proving more important than the need for houses. With the threat of an impending attack once more, houses could wait. A few of the homes went a little less touched than the others, maybe wood crumbling off the side, but that was it. The families in need were staying there for the time being. Everyone else was tending to the village.

Having had practice staying quiet and observing, Hiccup watched the village go through these actions as he did his best to make decent swords as quickly as he could manage. Gobber was helping crafting the houses, something that Hiccup didn't even bother to try and help out with. He knew that it wouldn't turn out very pretty if he attempting to make a house. He was much better at swords, in the middle of blowing air among the burning coals to make the sword easier to bend. Forehead slightly wrinkled with concentration, Hiccup tried to block out the thing that was distracting him the most right now.

But still, Hiccup could see Toothless out of the corner of his eye, the Night Fury sitting at the entrance of the Blacksmith's with a quizzical expression on his face. It was obvious that the dragon was confused, and yet the thought only made irritation spark inside Hiccup, something that was slightly out of character for him. If the dragon thought he was confused, then he should think about what Hiccup felt, huh? Picking up the sword carefully and putting it out on the table, Hiccup turned his back pointedly to Toothless, trying to get the message across that he wanted to be alone right now. But not sound was made, which meant that Toothless was still refusing to leave.

Eye twitching, Hiccup shook his head in attempt to clear it, blowing out his cheeks as he looked back down at the sword. It was all that mattered right now. Tongue sticking out slightly in concentration, Hiccup took a hammer and started to rain blows down on the sword, putting all the force he could manage into his swings. He needed to get it flat, otherwise the other villagers would have his head. It was one time, and it would certainly be his last.

He couldn't concentrate at all. Hammering in the wrong place, Hiccup winced at the small dent that the hammer had caused, cursing himself mentally. Bending down low, Hiccup blinked, trying to figure out how he was going to fix his error. But a voice on the other side of the village made him perk up, straightening as he peered out the small thing that was supposed to be a window. It had to be worked on before Hiccup would dare try and call it a window.

Forgetting the burning sword for a moment, Hiccup pressed his face against the wall, trying to see out of the small gap in the wall. He could have built a better window. A group of kids were standing near the Blacksmith's stall, complaining quite loudly to each other, being obnoxious and making the adults roll their eyes to one another as they passed the group. "I'm bored!" One little boy complained, stomping his foot down on the ground with a thump. "There's nothing to do!"

"We could play tag." One girl suggested with a smile on her face.

"They already told us we can't get in each other's way." The boy said with a scowl. Glaring down at the ground, he added bitterly. "And you guys never play that right anyway. You guys think there's a base." Blinking, he looked back up at the others, who were all looking at him oddly. "Well, there isn't one." He added childishly.

"We could play hide and seek." Another tried.

"Where?" The first boy demanded, crossing his arms. "The whole village is destroyed."

"You're just a downer."

"Am not!"

"Why don't you guys go and help somebody out?" Another person spoke. The other started at the new voice, turning and looking back. Craning his head to the side, Hiccup caught sight of a girl with long brown hair and green eyes. The Viking was carrying an infant, helping out the mother in watching the thing, who was walking a few steps ahead of her. Glancing around, at the houses being built and the pathways torn up to be built once more. "…Why not go help Hiccup?" She asked, a smile on her face. "I'm sure you could help him put together some new furniture or maybe even make a few toys."

"…" The children looked back and forth at each other, faces blank and apathetic as they met each other's gazes. Silence reigned for a moment, the older girl shifting uneasily as she eyed the mother, who was almost over the ridge already. But she didn't move as she waited for their reply. Then finally, the smaller boy spoke up. "No." He said flatly. Perking up once more, the boy turned back to the others, a grin on his face. "Let's try to find Toothless!" He declared. "I think I saw him over there!"

"Hey." Hiccup lurched forward, slamming his forehead into the wall with a smack, staggering backwards and blinking rapidly as a voice sounded right behind him. Whirling around, Hiccup looked with wide eyes at Astrid, the girl looking at him quizzically where she stood. Eyeing him, the girl gave her the look that said: 'I forgot how odd you could get.' "What were you doing?" She asked, eyebrows raised as she looked at the hollow hole in the wall. "…Is that a window?"

"It's supposed to." Hiccup growled in response, spinning around stiffly and glaring down at the sword as he picked up his hammer once more, raising his arm and ramming it back down on the weapon with a lot more force than he needed. Astrid blinked, glancing behind her to where Toothless had once sat. But she narrowed her eyes in confusion as she realized the dragon was not there anymore.

"Hey, what's the matter?" She asked, pushing away the dragon from her mind as she turned back to Hiccup. Walking forward, the blonde tilted her head, a small frown on her face. "Is there something wrong? You seem angry." She eyed the sloppy-looking sword, knowing without a doubt in her mind that Hiccup had made much better-looking ones than that. Probably in his sleep, he could make better ones. "Is it Snotlout again?"

"No." Hiccup threw back, not even looking back over at her.

"Well there's got to be something wrong." Astrid said thinly, raising an eyebrow at him suspiciously. "If you wont tell me what's wrong, I'll find out anyway. There's really no choice, you know I'll find out anyway." When he didn't reply, she added once more. "And then Toothless will know what's wrong too. Then you'll never get anywhere without him bugging you."

"Astrid, can't you just leave me alone?" Hiccup demanded, dropping his hammer down with a slam as he stopped in his attempts to make the sword. Turning, he faced Astrid with a glare, crossing his arms across his chest angrily. "Can't you see that I just want to be alone? You're with me all the time, why don't you stop and go hang out with people that are worth spending time with, huh?"

"And since when are you not worth it?" Astrid asked, eyes widening.

Was that a flash in her eyes? Was she lying? Was he being paranoid? Hiccup's gaze hardened as he set his jaw back stubbornly. Of course he wasn't overeating. "Never mind. You wouldn't get it anyway." He snapped quickly. At Astrid's look, he huffed angrily. "I mean…just…I don't know. Go away Astrid, it's obvious you-"

"That I WHAT?" Astrid demanded, voice higher than usual as she put her hands in the air.

"That you….that you…" Say it. He didn't want to, it was unfair…wasn't it? Of course it wasn't, he saw what the kids out there did. Who's to say that it wouldn't happen with anybody else in the village? It was probably going through everybody's mind here. He winced once more, before he blurted out the words, unable to keep it back anymore. "That you don't care about ME!" He accused, pointing at her like a child. Astrid started with surprise, mouth hanging open slightly as she glared at him. "You just care about what I DID!"

"What did you do!" Astrid asked, in just as loud a voice as his.

"With the Red Death! You didn't even LOOK at me before I did anything like that, but then when I had Toothless, THEN you decided that you liked me! It's not even me you like! If I didn't do anything like that, then I would still be the worthless person that you criticized every single day! If that didn't happen, you would only talk to me when you were FORCED to!"

"I cannot believe you are accusing me of this!" Astrid shouted, blue eyes wide as two twin moons.

"Why? Because you didn't think I would notice!" Hiccup asked expectantly, looking at Astrid like he had never seen her before. "You thought that I would just love the attention of a girl like you and just think I was the luckiest guy in the world? You thought I would feel so happy I would act like an idiot, right?"

"No!" She shouted. "I thought that you wouldn't stoop so low as the even THINK about it that way! I thought that you understood what happened, I didn't think that you would go all haywire and think something totally different!"

"Well, it failed." Hiccup snapped angrily, fuming as he balled his hands together. "I don't want you're company anymore, you didn't like me before, you didn't like me then. Same for everybody else! I was at the bottom of the totem pole, and I'm still hanging down there! So why don't you just go off and be with the other successful Vikings and leave me to wallow in self-pity like you did before!" Astrid blinked, hand flying up to cover her mouth as she took a small step backwards. "Just go, and you wont have to put up with me anymore."

"But-" Astrid gritted her teeth together, holding her hands tightly to her sides. "Hiccup, just-"

"Go away." Hiccup snapped, eyes narrowed. "Can't you see I figured you out?" When Astrid refused to move or say anything, he took a step towards her. "I don't want you around anymore!" He yelled loudly, Astrid jumping slightly at the sudden increase in volume. "Go away! Never talk to me again! I hate you!"

The girl shut her eyes tightly, spinning around and racing back outside into the village. Hiccup watched her go, his scowl still plastered on his face as he stood alone in the Blacksmith's. He saw other people look over at Astrid, eyes wide as they looked at the girl with bewilderment. Astrid never cried, and to see her doing that, it meant something big had to be wrong. For a moment, Hiccup felt a flash of guilt. But a small voice in his head made the feeling go away, to be replaced once more by anger.

"She deserved it."

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Toothless was hiding someplace he hoped nobody would find him. After that group of children wanted to try and ride him, he had to find someplace to stay hidden. The thought of all of them crammed on his back made his lip curl, it wasn't like he handed out free rides all the time. But he straightened from his hiding spot when he heard rapid footsteps come his way, the dragon sitting up with perked ears just in time to see Astrid fly by him.

The girl didn't even glance over at him, and it was only when she had left, did Toothless realize that she had been crying. The dragon blinked, glancing over his shoulder after Astrid quizzically. Astrid crying? She never did that! What was going on? Thoughts immediately flashing to Hiccup, Toothless's eyes widened, the dragon letting out a snort as he turned, bunching himself up and readying for himself to leap forward back to the Blacksmith's.

But when he caught sight of Mistyeyes, Toothless stopped altogether, watching as the light gray Night Fury rushed up to him, blue eyes frantic. "There you are!" She exclaimed. "I've been looking everywhere for you! I-"

"Where's Hiccup?" Toothless demanded at once, cutting her off. "Is he okay?"

"…Y-Yeah." Mistyeyes stammered, confused as he looked back where she had come from. "He was in the Blacksmith's when I ran by, why? Is something wrong?" Toothless blinked, a wave of relief washing over him as he shook his head.

"No. But I need to go after a friend, I think something happened…she's not normally like this. I should go and check on her." Toothless got to his feet, turning and trotting away, giving a swish of his tail to Mistyeyes as a good-bye.

"Wait." Mistyeyes said haltingly.

Toothless blinked, stopping and turning around expectantly.

"This is pointless." Mistyeyes said bluntly. When Toothless didn't move, she lifted her tail, gesturing to the reconstructing village around her. Toothless looked around as well, green eyes confused. "I mean- even if it does get rebuilt in two minutes, it wont stand a chance. Nightflight isn't going to stop at anything, Toothless, she's just going to keep coming back until we're…" She trailed off, not finishing the sentence.

"You mean…you're implying that we would have to leave the island?" Toothless pressed.

"Even that wouldn't make a difference. She would find you even before you got five miles into sea." Mistyeyes said, quieter this time. Her blue eyes were downcast, feet scuffing the ground nervously as she mumbled. "I was going to tell you before this, but…I just couldn't find the right words…what to say."

"So you're telling me there isn't any hope?" Toothless asked, voice sharper now as he glared at her. "You're saying no matter what we do, we're all going to die because of something as stupid as a dragon not thinking right?"

"It's a whole COLONY that's not thinking right." Mistyeyes said, wounded.

"Well, it's YOUR colony." Toothless said scathingly, Astrid slipping his mind as he looked at Mistyeyes. "Why don't you get up there and take your place from Nightflight? Wouldn't that fix everything? Nobody is stopping you. If it will make her stop, go and take back you're rightful spot!"

"I can't!" Mistyeyes yelled, closing her eyes. "They aren't who they used to be!"

"I don't think you're who you used to be." Toothless retorted.

"You aren't exactly who you used to be either, Toothless." Mistyeyes growled, angry now.

"And I'm glad about that. You on the other hand obviously don't belong here."

"So you're saying that I would never fit into Berk? That I should just leave?"

"Maybe that's what I want you to do." Toothless snarled.

Claws sliding out, Mistyeyes could have had steam shooting out of her ears. "I try to come here to help you, give up my place in the colony-"

"SEE! You can't play two sides, Mistyeyes!" Toothless pointed out. "Get on one side."

"I'm TRYING to be on your's." She growled under her breath.

"That's not working." Toothless laughed, his laughter dry and humorless.

"Can't you give me credit for trying…" Mistyeyes sighed, shoulders sagging.

"Go back to your colony. You're not trying hard enough." Toothless snapped. "In Berk, we don't believe in giving up. You on the other hand, seem to be perfectly okay in the face of death. If you want to give up so bad, just go back to your colony and let them do whatever they want. You're not my problem. I have to take care of Hiccup, I have to figure out what's going on right now, I have to go find Astrid…"

"I don't have what it takes to go back there." Mistyeyes said, voice small. "I lost it. I got scared in the woods from a twig cracking. I got scared of the fire. I got scared of my own dragons, I don't know who they are anymore."

"Well, at least we agree on something." Toothless said shortly, getting back up and turning around.

"You make it sound like Hiccup is a child." Mistyeyes said, suddenly angry. "You don't have to watch him all the time! He can look after himself, you make him sound pathetic!"

"You have no idea what I have been through!" Toothless roared, whirling around to face her. Mistyeyes shrank backwards, eyes growing large at the yell. "You have no idea what it feels like for me to be around him! You have no idea how scared it gets me to look at Hiccup and see him not moving!" Mistyeyes tucked her wings close to her sides, ears lying flat back on her head. "I've seen him close to death two times already, both because I wasn't able to help him! One because I was the one that nearly got him killed! Don't tell me how to handle Hiccup, because you have no idea who he is! You've been with him for a week! That's nothing!"

"You don't have to-"

"But it's your fault too." Mistyeyes closed her eyes tightly at these words. "You were the one that made me do it. You were the one that FORCED me to attack him. You wouldn't take no for an answer. You or any other dragon in that cave."

"I didn't KNOW." Mistyeyes breathed.

"Well not I hope you regret it. I hope that when you do leave, you'll do it without looking back. Because you don't DESERVE to look back. We could make it five miles, and we could make it before you could say 'I was wrong.'" Toothless paused, looking her up and down before he added in a grave tone. "You're no different from Nightflight."

Ignoring the dragon's sharp intake, Toothless swung around, stalking away. His steps made loud thumps on the ground, his tail lashing back and forth in anger. Stalking away, Toothless tried to block out Mistyeyes from his head, focusing instead on Astrid and finding out what was wrong with the girl. But he doubted he would be able to get anywhere, he couldn't think straight now.

"Toothless." Mistyeyes said quietly. The dragon kept on walking. "Why do you still have the automatic tail? Why not the one Hiccup controlled?"

Closing his eyes, Toothless locked his jaw back, breaking into a sprint and leaving Mistyeyes in the dust. He had to think about something else, that didn't matter. It would never matter either, it was tail. It wasn't like it was the end of the world. But still…was his reason selfish?

He didn't know.

All he could think about was Mistyeyes beaming at him, her musical voice ringing in his ears lightly. "We make a pretty good team, huh?"

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A/N: I'm really energized about this story now, so I'll update sooner than last time.

But remember I still have one other story, so I'll juggle that. Thankfully I can juggle two balls at one time. Not three though. No, in gym we had to juggle three balls, and I was like "Can you not."

ANYWAY! Please review! I haven't heard from you all in such a long time~! ^^