A/N: Dang! I should ask for reviews more often! As soon as I did that, there was like this WAVE of feedback! I was so happy XDD

So close to reaching that famous happy end

Almost believing this one's not pretend.

Now you're beside me…and look how far we've come

So far…we are…so close…

So Close - Jon Mclaughlin

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The clearing was dead silent, Shadowclaw's words hanging over into the air like a dead weight. Nightflight was shaking from head to toe, disbelief, guilt, and horror written all over her features as she staggered backwards. Mistyeyes stiffened at the sight of the Night Fury, ears perking as she dashed forward. Right as the black female was looking ready to keel over, the other went to her side, leaning over quickly and acting as a crutch for her. Pressing her shoulder tightly to Nightflight's own, Mistyeyes winced with the effort, muscles aching already as she supported the winded dragon. "Nightflight, calm down." She soothed through clenched teeth. "It's fine, it'll be okay."

"Well, don't lie to her!" Toothless blustered, raging with anger by now as he turned on the two. Mistyeyes's mouth dropped open, indignation shining bright in her blue eyes at the new advancement he was making. Nightflight winced away from his sharp tone, ears slicked flat against her head as she ducked away. But Toothless either didn't see the stress he was putting on her, or he didn't care. Pacing forward quickly, the male glared sternly down at the blinded female. "Fix it." He said at once, tone clipped as he made it clear that this was not a request. When Nightflight didn't respond, he pressed firmer. "Fix. It."

"I don't know how!" Nightflight yelled in response, voice tight and shrill. "I tried telling you all that I wasn't going to be able to do it, but nobody was listening to me!" Toothless flared at the notion that it was their fault, snapping open his mouth for a sharp retort. But Nightflight kept going, frantically tripping over her words by now. "I-I told you that I wouldn't have any idea on what I was doing! I said that something would go wrong but all you did was tell me that it would be fine! It's not fine, I knew this would happen, but none of you would let me try to prevent it!"

"Don't try to pin this on-"

"Toothless!" Mistyeyes roared, effectively snapping his words apart as the Night Fury looked over to her with wide eyes. Mistyeyes was flaring at the sight of him now, glowering at him with a glare as hard as flint. "She's right, you know." She snarled, lip curling. "We were the ones that did this, not her. And you know that as well as I do. Stop yelling at her, or you'll have to deal with me too." Straightening herself to prove her point further, the pale dragoness eyed him warningly.

Toothless blinked, looking caught off-guard by the sudden change that seemed to occur between Mistyeyes and Nightflight. But he didn't linger on the thought for very long, shaking his head firmly as he cleared his head of the wonderings. Instead, he took another step forward, trying to control himself before he spoke. But when he did, his voice was still pinched with held-in rage and anger, and Nightflight still flinched away worriedly.

"Listen to me." He said slowly, claws unsheathing and digging into the ground firmly. "This has already happened once. It cannot happen again, do you hear me? It's…." He broke off, closing his eyes tightly for a minute as he tried to recollect himself. When he finally managed it, his eyes snapped back open, burning like embers as he glared at the pair sorrowfully. "It's not fair." He said in a whisper, the words only meant for the Night Furies sitting around him. He shook his head, ears flattening. "Not to him. Please don't make him go through it again."

"I can't fix it." She croaked. "I've told you already, I don't know how."

Toothless sighed slowly through his nose, disappointment swallowing him up like a tide. Mistyeyes leaned forward slightly, giving him yet another warning look if he decided to yell again. But the Night Fury wasn't looking back at them anymore. He'd turned, green eyes heavy with sadness as he stepped back to look Hiccup's way. The teen was still frozen, having not moved a single muscle after falling to the ground. His green eyes were wide as he stared up blankly at Astrid, and behind the apathetic shock, Toothless could see the unimaginable horror and agony on his features.

The blonde yelled out yet again, distrust and violence in every fiber of her being now. The girl who had laughed and stood by them warmly just a few minutes ago was now replaced with this confused soul. It was a painstaking thought, and yet it only got worse when she started shouting for the second time. Her fist was locked back tightly; Toothless assumed without a doubt that even if she had no memory of herself or what she'd done, she was still the top-notch fighter she always was.

"Well?" She snapped fiercely, holding a fistful of his shirt in her other hand and shaking him to attention. Hiccup blinked rapidly, gasping sharply, as if he were just surfacing out of cold water. But if Astrid cared for his reaction, she didn't show it. "I've already punched you once, and if you think I won't do it again, you're severely mistaken." Already, there was a nasty shading over his eye, the formation of a bruise already stark against his pale skin tone. When Hiccup still couldn't find his voice, Astrid scowled, rearing her hand back for yet another strike.

Unable to stand still any longer, Toothless exploded forward, eyes worried and round with concern as he darted towards the pair. Mistyeyes let out a squawk of alarm, Leafdapple's ears perking anxiously as she ducked behind Shadowclaw. "Astrid!" Toothless shouted, trying to make his voice as gentle as it could be. But he was a dragon, and since Astrid couldn't understand what he was saying, his words only came out a loud roar. At once, the girl snapped backwards, her threatening fist slapping down to the ground as she let out a shrill scream.

"Astrid, wait!" Hiccup yelled at once, watching as the girl scrambled off of him in a sudden burst of panic, as if she had forgotten that the dragons were there in the first place. But the blonde didn't listen, scurrying backwards with a frantic look as she started to hyperventilate at the sight of the Night Fury. "Toothless, stop!" Hiccup shouted, scrambling up to his feet, his shocked look still plastered across his face. "You're scaring her!"

Toothless blinked rapidly, skidding to a clumsy halt. Astrid still ran backwards though, and the Night Fury realized with a stab of alarm that she was getting way too close to the ledge of the island. As soon as the thought flashed through the male's mind, Hiccup let out a sharp call. He shot forward, arms flying out at once as he reached for Astrid. This was the last straw for the girl, Astrid letting out a shrill yelp as he suddenly few at her. She pushed herself backwards in her last attempt to get away from the strange group, suddenly running out of ground as she plunged downwards.

"No!" Hiccup screamed, immediately diving down. Toothless stiffened at once, almost thinking that the boy had thrown himself into the ocean after her like he did with Amber before. But Hiccup only skidded on the grass, coming to a stop on the very edge of the cliff as he stretched himself down. Miraculously, his hand latched tightly onto Astrid's own, the boy's knuckles bleaching white as he grabbed the female's wrist as tightly as he could. Using his free hand to latch himself back onto the island, Hiccup grimaced at the pain tugging at his shoulder. It was the one that Nightflight had torn so long ago, and although it had healed pretty well by now, pain wrapped tightly around the muscles.

Astrid was gasping for air, blue eyes round with terror as she looked down into the ocean, which was still choppy after the bad storm last night. Her shoulders heaved up and down, and the girl clung to Hiccup's arm with both hands, suddenly realizing that even if she didn't know who this was, her life was suddenly dependent on him. But still, the confusion and hectic events around her were pressing enough to sidetrack her mind. "Who are you?" She screamed, shaking from the top of her had to the tips of her feet.

Hiccup groaned sharply, closing his eyes tightly as another wave of pain tugged down at his arm. He slipped for a moment, falling forward with a sickening drop of the stomach. Astrid screamed sharply, but Hiccup managed to catch himself before he could drop off the cliff, breathing heavily as he just barely managed to right himself. "I'm…Hiccup." He gasped, eyes snapping open to be wide with pain as he looked down at her. "Don't you remember me?"

"No!" Astrid yelped, starting to lose grip on the boy's arm. Frantically, she grabbed for a better purchase, eyeing the ocean below with a small whimper. But then she steeled herself, shaking her head as she twisted back around to look back at Hiccup. "And it's a good thing I'm down here!" She added, venom in her voice. "Otherwise you'd be getting an earful of me! Now get me up! Now!"

Taking the hint that Hiccup wasn't able to do it himself, Toothless dashed forward, leaning over and gently sinking his teeth into the back of Hiccup's tunic. Sinking backwards gradually, the Night Fury helped Hiccup to back up, the Viking letting his other hand slip down to wrap around Astrid firmly. Together, the pair of them managed to hoist Astrid back up onto safe land. Once they did, Astrid immediately got to her feet, taking a few paces off to the side and distancing herself a safe way away from the others.

Her blue eyes were fixed on Toothless with fright, and her shoulders were tensed as she looked him up and down. Stiffening at her expression, the Night Fury opened his mouth to say something. But Mistyeyes went forward to his side at this, having made sure that Nightflight was able to stand alone. "Don't." She said softly, pained expression resting on the space between Hiccup and Astrid. "She won't understand us; we'll have to let Hiccup explain as best he can." Toothless looked at her oddly, but he bit back his words as he saw his own confusion and loss in Mistyeyes herself. Dipping his head a little reluctantly and shooting Hiccup a worried glance, he stepped back with Mistyeyes, standing with the other dragons and keeping a large birth between the two humans.

Panting with the effort that he had just exerted, Hiccup pushed himself up to his feet, staring at Astrid uselessly as he drew a hand thickly through his hair. It mussed up the strands and caused him to look a little silly, but nobody commented on the minor detail. He let his arm slap back down to his side, not speaking for several moments as he just gazed at the girl standing across from him. Astrid met his stare with her own, though her's was more of a distrusting scowl than anything else.

Finally, she was the one who broke the silence. "This is the part where you tell me what's going on." She clarified, blue eyes flashing as she looked Hiccup up and down. "I don't think I've ever met you before, though…Hiccup." She said the name like it was her very first time, the word foreign on her confused tongue. Hiccup seemed to catch this small detail, eyes rounding out slightly with hurt. But Astrid only shook her head angrily. "If all you're going to do is stare at me, I'm going to leave."

"No, don't." Hiccup said quickly, fumbling over himself a little by now as he took a small step forward. But as soon as he advanced, Astrid stepped backwards, righting the space between them before it could shrink any further. Hiccup paused at the duck, but he got over it rather quickly. His green eyes searched her own, and his heart sank at once as he realized that there was nothing in her eyes that he remembered. There was no warmth, no friendliness. It was cold and remote, like she had never seen him before. He'd only known that stare once before, and that was with Toothless. And not even in his worst nightmares did he picture himself having to face this same look a second time.

"…How much do you remember?" He asked softly, voice weak.

Astrid didn't reply, only looking him up and down, as if she were sizing him up.

Hiccup's face cleared a little, more from surprise than anything else. Pity and worry battled in his eyes, and his stomach churned as violent as the ocean down below. "You don't remember anything…do you?" He said, making it more of a statement than a question.

"What are you talking about?" She asked at once, voice hardening quicker than he had expected.

"Look…" Hiccup started, blanching a moment as he tried to organize his thoughts. How could he ever explain everything that was going on? He hardly knew what he was doing already, and yet now he was expected to tell Astrid? The whole reason she wanted to do this in the first place was because she wanted to know more about what was going on. And now, looking at her, he realized that the exact opposite had happened. Now she knew nothing. And all the way out here, away from any kind of healers, family members, or sight of sure safety, how were they ever going to deal with this? The journey was hard enough already, it was already a challenge in the first place. Now, a huge obstacle was standing in front of him, and the problem he had to deal with left him breathless and winded.

He took a slow breath, trying to calm his spinning head and shaking hands. Sorting his thoughts like he would an unorganized room, Hiccup started off the best way he could. Forcing himself to look into those cold, unfamiliar eyes, he bit his lower lip before forcing himself forward. "Your name is Astrid Hofferson." He said, voice cracking a little as he shifted from foot to foot. "You…live on Berk, and you're the greatest fighter on the island." There was no flicker of remembrance in the girl's face, her expression remaining blank and confused. Forcing himself to go on, Hiccup braced himself. "You ride a dragon named Stormfly and she's a Deadly Nadder. You…um…you followed me out here to try and get the Night Furies and bring them back to Berk with us. Berk has every dragon except for Night Furies, so we both figured that we could be the ones to bring them there.

"So far, we managed to get the Pack of dragons to agree to coming back to our island with us. We're in the process of taking them back right now." He paused, blinking rapidly as he realized how terrible this situation was. Turning slowly, like a stiff board, Hiccup gestured numbly to the group gathered behind them, throat starting to burn ominously in the process. "This is Toothless, Mistyeyes, Nightflight, Shadowclaw, and Leafdapple." He said, pointing to each dragon in turn as he said their names. "And…that's Ludi." He added weakly. "We've been traveling together for a long time."

"I don't remember any of this." She said accusingly, glaring daggers at Hiccup by the time he turned back around. She seemed to have gotten over the hurdle of being confused, now turning to anger. It was almost like she thought that Hiccup was lying to her. She crossed her arms tightly over her stomach, looking as if she would have wanted to take another step away from the Viking. But, eyeing the ledge, she decided that it was too risky of a thing to keep backing away. She stayed rooted where she was, but she was obviously watching his every move. Going still, and trying not to rub her even farther, Hiccup quieted for a heartbeat, wishing himself a faster thinker.

"Um…Nightflight…is not an ordinary dragon-"

"Is there such thing as a normal dragon?" Astrid demanded, cutting him off as he stared at her despairingly. "What's a Deadly Nadder? What's Berk? You're talking nonsense, can you just admit that?" Hiccup started to say something, but she wasn't about to let him do anything of the sort. "Look, I'm not going to stand here and listen to this. Something happened and I have to-"

"She put a spell on you." Hiccup said, breaking into her speech rudely. Astrid stiffened at this, looking curiously in the direction of the Night Fury. A flicker of unease came over her, and Hiccup knew that she was doubtful now. How could she not be, after all? Here she was, with no recollection of anything she had done or anything she might be. Hiccup was the only other person she'd seen so far. What else was she supposed to do, other than take his words to heart?

"Some dragons have this ability where if they stare at you right, and say all the right words," Nightflight ducked away from this statement guiltily. "they can do powerful things to the person that they're looking at. She did something to me a long time ago, and because of that, I could understand dragons and what they were saying. I could communicate with them on a higher level than most people." Astrid started to ask something, but he guessed her question before she could even manage to ask it. "Usually people can only guess what dragons mean. They sound like roars to anybody else when they try to talk. But instead of hearing them roar, I hear what they're really saying. That's why we were able to bring the group of Night Furies all the way out here: I was able to talk them into it and tell them how being with humans is better than being all alone."

"…Pack…?" She murmured, starting to look frustrated by now.

"It's a group of these kind of dragons." He clarified, indicating the group behind them for the second time. "But last night, after we took shelter here on this island, you came up to me and told me that you were tired of feeling left out. Unlike me, you weren't able to understand what the dragons were saying, and you felt like you were a burden because I had to keep explaining to you what was going on. So today we came out here in hopes of getting Nightflight to get you to understand dragons. But something went wrong, she said the wrong words or something. Because now…" He gestured at her uselessly, looking away with a disappointed sigh. There was no way that he could explain all of this right.

And it was clear in Astrid that the whole ordeal went right over her head. "You expect me to believe that?" She asked finally, looking stunned as she blinked rapidly. "I can't even understand a word you just said!" Hiccup winced away as her voice rose into a yell, sighing slowly through his nose. "It must just be…short-term memory loss!" She said finally, waving her hand dismissively as she brushed Hiccup away. "I must have hit my head or something! Not all this…magic dragon…quest…nonsense!"

"Astrid, you have to listen to me." Hiccup said patiently, swallowing back his cry of despair. Listen to me! Don't you remember anything? You have to remember! The blonde stilled at this, looking condescendingly attentive at the boy as she rose her eyebrows. He shook his head, trying to focus on what was going on in front of him, and not what was going on inside. He remembered the way that Toothless had acted back when this happened to him. He had to learn from his mistakes, not re-do them. He had to patient. No yelling. No getting angry. He had to remind her of who she was. Not force her into coming back. That only made things worse.

Slowly, and making sure that his voice was seriously level, Hiccup looked at her importantly. "You have to listen to me." He said, stressing each word that he spoke. Astrid's expression cleared somewhat at this, her arms falling back to her sides as she tilted her head to the side slightly. But Hiccup went on, frantically trying to figure out what he could try to do to get her to remember everything again. "I know that it might seem really weird right now, and you might think that I'm lying to you. But trust me, Astrid, when I say that I would never lie to you. This is all true, even if it might sound a little weird."

"It does sound a little weird." Astrid scoffed.

"But it's true." He pressed fervently. "You have to believe everything that I say."

"Why should I?" She challenged angrily, blush coloring her cheeks by now as she swelled with confused fury and frustration. "I open my eyes, see you, nearly get eaten by that dragon, nearly fall to my death, and I'm supposed to get here and take every word that you throw my way?" Obviously there was a point where she was expecting him to break into her speech, but he didn't. Shoulders drooping low, Hiccup stared at her sadly, unable to reply as he stared at her hopelessly. Blinking rapidly and shifting uneasily as she tried to get him to reply. "…I mean- why should I listen to you?" She asked hesitantly.

"Because it's me." Hiccup said after a moment of silence. Astrid blinked rapidly at this, looking a little mystified as she stared at him. He paused a moment, shaking his head slowly as he took a small step backwards. She looked down at this, rather surprised that he was actually going backwards now instead of forwards. "…But I guess you wouldn't know that." He said softly, voice small as the words passed his lips. "Because you don't remember anything about me."

"Why would you matter?"

The statement was like a punch right in the gut. "Because- you- we…"

Toothless's ears flattened to his head, green eyes going overcast as he looked away. Mistyeyes sighed softly at the scene, ducking her head low and letting her shoulders droop. Shadowclaw and Leafdapple exchanged a swift glance, and Nightflight had closed her eyes as tight as she could. She looked like she wanted to cover her ears, but she had the nerve to remain sitting normally. Toothless looked over at her, torn by now as to what to think towards her. Mistyeyes glanced over at him sharply as she caught him looking Nightflight's way, causing Toothless to bristle with indignation. Where did Mistyeyes get off, ordering everyone around all of a sudden?

Whatever Hiccup was going to say, he obviously thought better of it. He tried his best to shake himself out of his stupor, instead making sure on the facts and details that mattered on hand right now. "You don't have to trust me." He said finally. "And I would…understand…if you didn't." He slowed at the word. "But the truth is, besides all these dragons, who are perfectly safe, I have to add," Astrid glared suspiciously at the ragtag group of Night Furies, looking as if she wanted to disagree. But then again, none of them had made a move towards her, and the only one that did just helped save her from a fall. She couldn't complain about them, not right now anyway. "I'm the only other human around for miles."

"What about my…home?" She asked at once.

"I'll take you there. That's the way we're heading." Hiccup answered at once. "It might be few days' travel with this many dragons on hand, but we'll make it there before the month comes to an end." He didn't mention the fact that Astrid was the one who had concluded such a statement. The boy and girl had sat down off to the side after their talk last night, conversing about the possible defectors or hurdles they would have to dodge around in order to get back to Berk. Astrid had come to the conclusion that it would only take a few days, maybe a little bit longer than it had for the fly to the Cave for them.

"So…I'm stuck with you." She said slowly, the realization dawning on her.

"You don't have to trust me." Hiccup choked out. "But I'm the only person you've got."

Weighing her options, and finding none others what with her blank mind, Astrid once again looked over to the dragons that were clustered behind Hiccup. They all straightened at once at her attention, ears perking and heads tipping to the side quizzically at her stare. "…now I don't remember anything…" She stated in confusion, eyes narrowing with contempt as they swept over the small group. "…because a dragon stared at me for too long…"

"Yeah." Hiccup said softly, wringing his hands tightly in front of him as he looked at her.

She turned her glare back onto him. "I have no idea who I am." She said, Hiccup's shoulders drooping at once. "I'm somewhere I've never seen before. You tell me that we're going home. How do I know where home is?" She left a pocket for Hiccup to interject, but he denied it. Coming to the swift conclusion that he was silent once more, Astrid went on. "Apparently from the way you talk, you expect me to remember you. But I don't. So let's get one thing straight right now." She paced forward stiffly, arm flying out at once and latching onto the front of Hiccup's tunic once more. She pulled him forward, the two of them going nose-to-nose as Astrid looked at him with a silent challenge in her eyes.

When she spoke again, it was through gritted teeth, her words curled backwards with distrust and pent-up irritation. Hiccup met her gaze with his startled one, the only expression that Astrid had seen him wear so far. Was he always this stressed? He looked ready to explode. "If you are lying to me, and you're just feeding me a bunch of lies," She snarled slowly, stressing each word as particularly as she could. "I will personally rip each of your limbs off of you until you're just a torso. And then if you're still goofing off, I'll take it upon myself to ensure that you'll never be able to tell another lie again." She jerked him closer, causing the boy to let out a squawk of alarm. "Got it?" She growled.

"I got it." He gasped.

"Anything you want to revise?" She asked invitingly.

"Of course not!" Hiccup said quickly, eyes widening with hurt at the very mention of keeping something from the blonde. "Everything I've told you is true! No matter how unbelievable it may seem." He added the last part with a rather bland look, thinking back on his brief explanation and starting to realize why the girl was so set with thinking he was lying to her. It was a lot to take in, and with a frantic mind such as the one she found herself in right now, he wasn't about to blame her for getting skeptical. But still, the thought of distrust between them was enough to stab him through the heart. "I'd never do anything like lie to you." He said sincerely, expression falling as he looked at her mournfully.

She blinked rapidly at the new tone of voice, immediately snatching her hand away from him, as if he'd burned her. Stumbling backwards, she eyed him carefully, suddenly looking a lot more baffled than she had been a moment ago. Despite himself, Hiccup let a small hint of hope dash itself across his chest. Was she starting to remember him? But when she spoke, it was only to say: "You said there was a pack of those things?" She jabbed an accusing finger the dragons' way.

Hiccup followed her gesture, catching the awkward looks on his friends' faces at the mention of them. "Yeah, there is." He said, going on quickly before Astrid could start to get any more agitated than she already was. "But they're friendly, you'll see. I'll…introduce you." He said, the promise sounding weird on his tongue considering Astrid was right by his side to meet them the first time around. The blonde was still fuming silently, Hiccup turning and pointing towards the ground, to where Ludi was crouched stiffly at Shadowclaw's feet. "Look." He said. "There's a cat right there by them. If they were tame, don't you think they would have killed that thing by now? It'd make an easy snack, don't you think?" Ludi spat crossly his way, bunching out her fur with a furious growl. "Plus, we've been here alone this whole time with them. They know we're friends."

"They do." She snapped airily.

"So do the others."

A pregnant pause before: "…You'll take me home?"

"To our home, yes."

"And it'll only be for a few days."

"At the very least." He cautioned.

"And the people there will know me? You aren't just bluffing?"

"Your friends and family will be there." Hiccup assured slowly, not at all ready to start into the detail of what went on between them and the villagers before they left. If Astrid got settled with this, he could talk about it more to her. But just explaining the tiniest things was like taking a knife to the chest to him. He didn't even want to sit her down and start to tell her that the people there might not welcome her back. That it might be his fault they would be outcasts in their own island.

"Now, this isn't a rouse?" She asked, for the very last time. "What if you just gave me some kind of weird plant that wiped my memory? What if this is all some weird scandal that you cooked up just to get something from me. Do I have something important? Something that you want?" Quickly, not even knowing what she was pretending to protect, she snapped out again. "Because if that's the case, then I sure as-"

"There's nothing I want from you except-" Hiccup cut himself off before he could finish. Except for you yourself. All I wanted when I brought you along was to have you by my side. To make me laugh when I needed cheering up, or to stand by me in battle so we could watch each other's backs. Now that I can't have any of that… where does that leave us? "Except nothing." He said heavily, shaking his head. "There's no smoke and mirrors in this, take my word or leave it. But you have to travel with me anyways, unless you want to live your life out alone."

Astrid puzzled over this for a moment, looking from Hiccup to the ocean to the dragons. Seconds felt like minutes, and Hiccup could have sworn that a million years had passed before Astrid finally straightened. Letting her hands falls down to her side, she righted herself with a tense nod of affirmation. "Alright." She said, voice clipped and reserved by this time. Hiccup could almost see the walls that she had built around herself, and he wondered dismally if he were ever going to be able to tear them back down again. How had he even managed it the first time around? "I want to go home."

"That's where we'll go, then." He promised.

Another silence.

"Take me home." She said simply.

Hiccup looked up at the sky, blinking at the overcast that hung above them. But judging by the central aura of light, he figured it was near nine or ten. "We needed to leave soon anyway. This uh…this took longer than we thought it would." Astrid opened her mouth, probably a million more questions fizzing on her tongue. But she just shook her head swiftly, biting back her words and taking to watching with a defensive expression as the dragons started to march back the way they'd come. "It's okay." He assured her as he caught sight of the anxious look. "They know where to go. And if you want to get back to Berk, you'll have to ride one of them."

"Ride them?" She echoed, eyes wide as if the statement was all-new.

Hiccup hesitated, looking back. He'd started to trek after Toothless, but stopped dead at this new point. How much had she forgotten, exactly? "…Yeah." He said easily, giving her a smile that he hoped looked genuine. "You're really good at it. It'll probably come back easy to you." Hopefully. She might just have to share Toothless. Maybe Mistyeyes could help Nightflight fly; I wouldn't be too fast on ensuring Astrid to guide Nightflight after this. "…Just c'mon." He said finally, jerking his head back into the foliage. "I'll explain on the way."

Astrid scowled, looking as if he just suggested sticking her head into dragon dung. But it was either follow him or get lost. Reluctantly, the female trudged after, waves irritation and frustration slamming off of her a million miles an hour. Hiccup waited for her to catch up, but she never did. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that she was keeping a careful distance between them, enough space that she wouldn't hear him when he spoke, but that she wouldn't lose track of him in the unfamiliar terrain. Whenever he tried to slow his step, she would do the same to keep their separation. And whenever he quickened his stride, she would in turn do the same, albeit slower than his own.

She was fixed on staying away from him for now.

Closing his eyes, Hiccup turned back, giving up hope on walking alongside her as he looked back forward. His shoulders slumped forward with a depressive nature, and his steps turned heavier, as if he were carrying a large burden. His mind was blank and dumb now, the teenager unable to think of what he could do without Astrid there to help him out. And now that she was struck with a sudden case of amnesia, he would have to figure out just how much she missed, and try to fill the gap of knowledge. That, or try desperately to get her back.

And he would do that. No matter what it takes, he wasn't going to let Astrid fall behind like an insignificant piece of information. Because she wasn't insignificant. She was brave, kind, beautiful, caring, clever, and witty; he could list just about a million more traits that applied to the girl and yet he would never be able to do her justice. She was indescribable. So how was he supposed to bring her back if he couldn't even put her into words? How much did she remember of him? Absolutely nothing, that was how much.

Thor, do you just love to watch my heart get ripped out?

First Toothless forgets him, then his father abandons him, and now Astrid thought he was a liar holding her hostage. And even now that Toothless remembers him, they aren't nearly as close as they had been before, with their old unquestionable relationship. Now their bond was cracked and paved with questions of wonderings. Would it be like that with Astrid, if he ever got her to be the same? Was he destined to lose everything that was important to him?

"Hiccup." The boy was roused at the sound of his name, turning around and looking over at Nightflight. The Night Fury had fallen back to join him, her clouded eyes brimming with unquestionable pain and regret. "I am so sorry." She whispered harshly, ears looked as if they were melted to her head, for all they blended into her scales. "I never meant for anything like this to happen, and I promise that I'll try everything I can to try and fix it. Really, Hiccup I will. I know that I said I didn't want to use them anymore, and I know that they're what caused this in the first place, but maybe I could figure out a way to-"

"It's fine, Nightflight." He said, giving her a weak smile that appeared rather pinched. "It's not your fault." He looked away, ducking his head and letting his bangs fall in front of his eyes with a sorrowful sigh. "It's my fault, after all." He added softly, words barely coming out above a whisper. "I told her it would be fine, I promised her. I promised everyone. I was so sure in myself…" He turned back to the Night Fury, blinking slowly. "How can I ever be sure of anything again?" He asked.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

A/N: This of this as a one-part thing of a chapter. More of this whole ordeal will go on next chapter ((of course)) and so…yeah. :3

I hope I can get as many reviews as I did last time for this one! I start school on Thursday, so that'll be fun. I need feedback to cheer me up! But after I upload this chapter, I've been thinking about it and I've decided I'm gonna make a Tumblr! ((wants to fit in desperately)). I dunno what my name will be, I'm thinking Sandfire Kat but idk. Do any of you have a Tumblr?

Sorry if things are a little confusing in this chapter! Express your questions if you have any, but next chapter will probably clear up a lot of your concerns! I know, this is starting to get depressing, I'm sorry. ((Still on a sad Sherlock kick, I like to eat ice cream at one in the morning and cry over the JohnLock feels, leave me alone)). But so far, this is looking to be a really awesome conclusion to the trilogy! I hope you like it, and I hope you're prepared, because believe me, this isn't going to be the last plot twist I have in store for you all.

So yup! Review tons and I'll try to update before school starts maybe! But then again, it starts this Thursday. How much do you all want an update? ;)