Treading along the worn dirt path with a basket full of fresh goods and bottled mead cradled in her hands, Astrid weaved through overgrown trees and mossy boulders, following the familiar path to the Cove. She had planned a treat for her and her dragon, a day by themselves, enjoying dinner and relaxing without the pressure or stress that followed them back in the village.
The pair found comfort in their secretary, found hidden touches and stolen kisses were worth the wait when it was just them, hidden away in her room late at night or huddled together somewhere private in the forest or flying off to the mountain to find isolation. Astrid found life was better with the village in the dark now that Hiccup knew. He was the only person she had to confess to, and probably be the only person who could understand, and he did, and that was all she needed.
Despite this, it still caused Astrid some discomfort knowing they were running around, hiding away like rats. They would get caught, sooner or later. It was unnerving. Breaks like these, where it was just them, far away from the judging eyes of her fellow villagers and in each other's safety.
Over her shoulder, trotting just in sight was a bouncing shadow, soft grunts and huffs rumbling from the beast as his twitching nose skimmed across the ground, tail high in keen interest. The blonde tilted her head, her blonde locks swaying out of her sight as she gave a cheeky grin at the nosy beast.
"Getting tired already?" she mused, flashing her teeth in a grin.
Toothless kept his nose to the ground but tilted his eyes upwards to the blonde teen. He glared up at her, pupils shrinking significantly as his curled his lip up, flashing his toothless gums with a soft grunt of disapprove, one that made the Viking snort with amusement, and picked up his pace, catching up to Astrid easily and walked beside her.
"Oh I'm just teasing you" The blonde spoke cheerfully, hips swaying flirtatiously as she turned back to face the path ahead.
Toothless watched her for a moment more before turning his eyes back to the ground and continued sniffing intensely. He was picking up a strange scent, small wisps of a smell unknown mixed in with the earthy scent of the forest around them and Astrid's sweet smell. His nostrils flared out and ears flaps twitch, it smelled like a person, or a ground, he couldn't tell. Maybe Hiccup was in the forest too?
Toothless continued to stare at the floor sniffing at the air curiously as he crashed into Astrid, who stumbled back slightly and grunted in surprise. The dragon took a step back and cooed apologetically, noticing Astrid's frown.
"Toothless I need you to go back to my house" Astrid spoke as she tilted the basket, allowing the dragon to inspect it with a twitch of his nose "I forgot the blanket."
With a soft grunt, Toothless wiggled his hind and pawed at the ground 'Unnecessary.'
"It was raining this morning" Astrid rolled her eyes at the beast's response "I'm not going to be sitting on the wet grass Toothless."
Toothless grunted and jerked his head back, shaking his wings gently up and down as the tip of his tongue slipping out from his open maw and he smiled cheekily at the woman, who rolled her eyes at the gesture.
"I'm not sitting on your back either, but thanks anyways" Astrid shook her head, before leaning on one foot and popping out her hip "Come on Toothless, could you please fetch it? Mr. fastest-dragon-on-Berk."
Toothless grumbled softly and jerked his head up 'Of course my mate.'
Astrid smiled and leaned forward, purposely positioning her forearms to push out her chest together as she planted a loving kiss on the dragon's noise. Toothless grunted at her flirtation actions, but gave a soft coo in appreciation. Astrid straightened up and beamed down at her mate "I think the last place I saw it was on the kitchen table. If not you can find my mother."
With a final nod, Toothless turned himself around and leaped away, sprinting away with his tail bouncing behind him. Astrid watched him run off, her eyes on him until he disappeared around a large cluster of trees and rocks.
Now on her own, Astrid sighed out and turned around, heading back down the dirty, foot-worn trail, picking up her pace. She wanted to get to the cove before Toothless reached her with the blanket. She wanted to gather as much dry wood for a fire pit and get everything ready so that she could surprise Toothless; it wouldn't take the dragon long to return to her.
The blonde hopped over a small rock, avoiding clusters of roots and broken branches as she travelled deeper into the forest, following the fading path towards a small clearing in the trees. Astrid's eyes squinted from the afternoon sun as she stepped into the opening, shifting her basket into one hand so that she could cover her eyes. She hurried across the clearing to the other side, knowing she wasn't too far from her destination now.
Distracted, Astrid took no noticed of the metal net that lay hidden in leaves and dirt at the edge of the clearing until her foot hit the ground and the net sprung. With a startled cry, Astrid kicked off the ground in an attempt to roll backwards and avoid the trap, but the net was far too large for her to dodge it and Astrid was forced in the air. The basket slipped from her grip and hit the ground below, the lid bursting open and it's contain slipping across the dirt as the metal chains twisted around Astrid's body and lifted her high in the air.
The curses that slipped from Astrid's lips would have earned her a scolding from her parents as she kicked her legs out and struggled to free her arms, the twisted chainmail keeping her restrained. She craned her neck, her eyes desperately searching the ground. As she struggled, Astrid remembered the dagger she always kept in her belt; the net was made of chains, but if Astrid could find a weak link she would be able to get herself to safety. The dagger was no longer in her belt however, instead laying net to the basket, well out of her reach as she dangled meters above, helpless and now defenseless. She yelled a heated curse at the thing before pulling her arm back to her body. Astrid reached out and tugged and clawed at the chains, trying to free herself from the tangled mess. She wasn't getting out, not like this, not in with this kind of trap.
Toothless, however, was still an opinion.
The net could only be from a hunter, meaning she would be hanging here for a while as the Hunters for the village would check the traps every other day. Toothless would be the only one who knew she was in the forest, and would come across her on his way to the Cove. With that thought it mind, Astrid calmed herself down with a steady breath, forcing herself to relax and wiggled her legs free.
Yanking her feet back to her body, Astrid rolled onto her side as best as she could and turned back to stare at the links that kept the blonde suspended "I swear i'm never going to live this down when Toothless sees me like-"
There was a sudden snap from behind her, the crunch of dead leaves and twigs under heavy feet. Astrid first thought it was Toothless, and breathed a sigh of relief but realized, as the noise grew louder and closer, there was an odd clink of metal, clinking together with every step. Toothless did not have his saddle or tail on, and even if he did, they never made such a loud noise.
Her fingers gripped at her belt as her body tense, hating that she was weaponless.
There was a sudden loud snap of a stick and out from overgrown bushes and low hanging branches stepped forth three large stocky men, each dressed in some odd patchwork armor of metal chainmail, poorly cared for leathers and rough hides that had a striking appearance of dragon skin. They stopped short of Astrid, sneering at her helplessness as the blonde stared at them with shock and horror.
"Well, well, boys. We wanted us a Night Fury and caught ourselves a beaut" The man in the middle, who could only be the leader of the group by the way the two other men nodded in agreement with expression of fear. He had a face even his mother couldn't love, with ugly scars covering his face in all directions, a crooked nose and only a handful of grimy teeth left in his mouth. He lifted his rusty, dented in mace as the corner of his lips curled up in a menacing grimace and Astrid grimaced in disgust.
"Say that again and i'll shove my blade up your-"
"Oh" The leader chortled and turned to his mean, who laughed on queue as the man turned to him "She's feisty too! She'll do good, hm?"
There was a couple of 'Sure boss!'and 'We'll get a lot for this one!'from his two followers as the leader twisted his head for conformation before turning back to Astrid, who was struggling and squirming aggressively in the tangled of rope, spitting curses at them.
The men chuckled, shoulder heaving as his eyes stared at Astrid, a dangerous glint in them "What a catch indeed, men."
"Ugh...Boss?" The one on the left bent forward, clutching his slightly crooked spear as he turned his eyes upwards to the dangling blonde "The Night Fury?"
The Leader swatted his free hand back and smacked the man across the head "Shut it, Moron! We've got at least a dozen nets and pit falls all around that nice lil' cove, the dragon's always hangin' around there! He'll fall into one of our traps eventually."
Astrid scoffed and yanked at the chains; Thor curse her if she wasn't going to free herself and kick those idiotic freaks back to where they came from, axe or no axe "What makes you think that three spineless eel-face goblins can't last five seconds against a Night Fury."
"Well" The man sneered and took a step forward with an arrogant swagger "We have nets and weapons and muscles that are no match against a mindless beast."
The Leader turned to his right and gestured towards the closes tree "Go reel this catch in, i want her bounded and on the boat before the Night Fury shows up."
With a grunt, the man hurried over to the tree and pushed aside some low hanging leaves that hid a the end of the metal net. As he began to fiddle with it, there was a quiet rustling of leaves, the soft thudsof paws on the hard ground from a distance away. It was muted at first, silent against human's hears, but as the seconds drawn on, the louder the sound became as it grew closer and closer. Soon enough, there was a snap, crack and a ruffle as the tall, wild bushes at the opposite of the clearing shook suddenly for a second, before a black blur shot from it and landed into the clearing with a heavy thud.
Toothless raised his head, his ears up high and his eyes wide in alerted attention. The blanket carefully hung between his teeth and swayed as his head jerked about. At first the dragon was confused, seeing three strange men with startled expressions was not something he saw every day, but as his nose twitched he turned his head upwards, the beast's eyes instantly turn to hard, paper thin splits, his teeth popping out fully at the sight as he went rigid. He stared at her for a moment, and Astrid could see his mind working as she stared into his wide eyes, but they flashed and the blanket fell from his teeth and he snapped his attention back to the three men. He dropped into a defensive stance and snarled cruelly. His tail swing wildly in the air and his wings fanned out and the man scattered.
Barking orders, his followers ran along opposite sides of the clearing and, all three men trapping the beast in a ring, began to circle him, their weapons draw out and ready, one spinning a net in his meaty hand as he wielded a stubby thick sword. Toothless stomped his front paw and growled and snapped at the air in the mans' directions if they tried to move forward. As he stared the men down and smacked his tail against the ground, his eyes would flicker towards his mate, who was busy tugging aggressively on the. She wanted to fight with the dragon, not hang around uselessly.
"Nets and arms ready men! I'm not losing a single coin all because you got clumsy and mauled or killed the beast" The Leader snapped and his two men shuffled forward with great caution, their blades pointed directly at Toothless as he curled, much like a Viper about to strike, and snap out at the nearest enemy. The man with the crooked spear yelped and stumbled, the dragon's teeth inches away from snatching his weapon away, and leaped to his right to try and avoid the Night Fury's vicious bite.
"Get at him ya cowards!" Swinging his mace in his hand, the Leader stepped forward, a wild grin on his face as he draw his weapon back, readying to swing "Tie him up and drag him back home!"
The others shouted wordlessly in response and brought up the courage to strike the beast. They rushed forward with wild battle cries and swung around their weapons above their heads bashfully. Toothless shrieked and reared up on his hind legs, front legs kicking and teeth snapping at the air in a threatening manner as his wings fanned out wider. The beast first hit the one on his left, smacking him in his chest with his wing and throwing him off course and into the bushes behind him, his sword flying off a few meters away from him. Spinning around, Toothless dove forward to meet the man with the crooked spear, his forehead crashing into his stomach and tossing him upwards over his back like a ragdoll, sending him crashing into his friend, who was just beginning to recover from his blow, and made they both hit the ground with loud cries of terror and pain.
Watching the two struggling to push themselves back up weakly, Toothless turned to the leader, roaring at his face and rising up ever so slightly to met his glare. The two stared each other down for a few seconds, pinning each other to their spot before the Leader screamed and launched forward. Unfortunately for him, swinging his mace back and forth frantically, trying to hit the dragon as he dodged each blow swiftly. The man snarled like a beast and continued to swing his weapon frantically at the dragon, who could only snap and jerk out of the way of the impact, unable to find an opening in the Leader's defense.
"Weak thing you are!" The Leader boomed as one of the pointed spikes on the mace scratched at Toothless' forehead, catching at his scales and tearing some away. Toothless snarled and stepped back, slightly dazed from the sudden attack, his tail beating ferociously on the ground behind him in his frustration. The man's attacks were fast and strong, but Toothless wouldn't let himself lose to his overgrown slug.
The man suddenly charged, baring his weapon above his head and rushed at the dragon, who jerked back, just missing the weapon by an inch. The beast inhaled sharply, the hot sensation of his flames appearing in his throat gave a growing hiss, and something the man did not ignore. He jerked his weapon to the side, slashing at the dragon with a wicked grin. The blade cut away at his scales, but the force cause the dragon to stumble and let loss his fire. The blast shot past the man, missing him by an inch, and unfortunately slammed into the ground directly below the blonde, a dark cloud exploded at the impact. The blow had created a small, but intense shockwave through the clearing and Astrid, still suspended in the tree tops, was thrown to the side, the chains around her body growing tight before suddenly became slake as the some snapped loudly.
The branch she was being held by was already weak from the weight of the girl in the heavy metal net and could not take the explosion, snapping when the net was sent forward. The blonde gave a startled cry as she dropped like a dead weight. Unable to see the ground through the thick plum of dirt as she tumbled out of control, Astrid couldn't protect herself from the impact as she hit the ground head on.
Everything was still and for a moment Toothless was blinded, but he was not deaf, and jerked his head to the side sharply, slamming hard against his offender's side. The man gave a startled cry at the dull crack from his side, before he was launched in the air and thrown against a nearby tree. The attacker slumped limply to the ground, shifting onto his front and curled up into a weak ball, wheezing painfully.
The cloud of dirt began to settle, and the dragon shook his head with a snort. Clearing the dirt out of his blurring vision, Toothless blinked and turned away from the limb body of the unconscious man and looked up. He expected to see Astrid, safe high above the chaos of the fight, but found himself looking up at a split branch. The net was no longer dangling high above in the trees, Astrid nowhere to be seen.
Panicked, Toothless' eyes dropped, searching through the dusk before he spotted a dark shape on the ground. The dragon whined, and leaped towards his mate, gut twisting in pain as he rushed her still body.
She laid on her stomach, her face turned away from the dragon, and the heavy net laid on top of her body. As Toothless neared her, he noticed her armored skirt had been pulled up and bared her tights, her skin and clothing marked with dirt. The dragon glanced up and down at her body, quickly glancing away from her backside as his scales grew hot. He found that there were no terrible cuts and burns as let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Relieved, the dragon tugged away the warm chains from her body, tossing the net over his shoulder and nudged her onto her back carefully, cooing. Toothless quickly dropped to the ground, staring at his lover with wide, unblinking eyes.
Toothless didn't move an inch, whining quietly as he waited for the blonde to move, and when she did begin to stir the dragon felt as if a weight had been lifted. He cried softly, nuzzled her head carefully as she began to twist and moan, before her head turned towards Toothless' touch and her eyes began to flutter open.
Sight hazy and unclear, Astrid grunted as she attempted to push herself up off the ground "Fuck" she cursed as she fell back to the ground, and Toothless whined.
Astrid offered Toothless a small, but reassuring smile, but felt as if she had been hit by a Nightmare. Damn fall, damn net, damn everything.
The dragon felt panic in his chest, realizing Astrid had become hurt from the fall, and that it wasn't she could simply walk off. Toothless swore at himself, knowing it was his entire fault; if he just more careful, if he didn't use his fire. He would have gotten hit a few times, a handful of cuts here and there, but he could have taken it if it meant Astrid would be safe and unharmed.
The fall from her previous spot in the trees was at a dangerously height, and the shock from his explosive blast must have cause a lager impact when she fell to the ground. Toothless knew from experience that humans were weak to high falls; they didn't have tough scales to adsorb the impact or strong bones to keep them from snapping. What if she was seriously injured? What if she didn't wake up?!
Toothless cried louder, belly pressed low against the ground and ears pinned back in worry 'Love?'
The blonde suddenly stirred, slowly turning her head towards Toothless as he nudged her again. Her eyes fluttered openly, flinching at the brightness of the afternoon sun and found Toothless staring at her, his expression one of fear. She groaned slowly before smiling at Toothless, feeling dazed "I landed on my head."
The dragon cooed at her, brushing his nose through her messy hair, trying to ease away the pain from her poor landing. Astrid smiled tenderly at the dragon's affections, but her head was swimming and her skull suddenly felt as if it had become too small. She swore at herself silently, but knew she couldn't have prevent any harm in the confusion of the explosion. The net had suddenly become lack and the next thing she knew she was flying through the air, unable to see when the ground was and, without her vision, was unable to break her fall, and landed headfirst.
The Viking had to close her eyes, her vision unfocused and not doing her throbbing head any favours. She inhaled deeply, attempting to make herself feel better. Toothless cried softly when the blonde grew limb once again, a soft groan escaping her lips as her expression twisted in discomfort.
He tried stirring the blonde, but after many attempts, Toothless realized he couldn't just wait around for her to wake up, not with a head injury. Hiccup always got himself hurt on numerous occasions; crash landings, slipping on ice and training accidents had left Hiccup batted and bruise, but he would always recovery. Toothless had been with Hiccup through most of these injuries, meaning Toothless knew what to do.
Carefully, Toothless began to pull the limp body of his mate onto his back, awkwardly laying her on her front across his back before turning around. With one last glance towards the unconscious chief and his men, the beast huffed a curse in his tongue at them before slowly walking out of the clearing, focusing on the sounds of Astrid's calm breathing as he retraced his steps back to the village, hoping Astrid hadn't hit her head too hard and she was just fine. Astrid was hurt on his watch, if he was just faster, Astrid wouldn't have be gotten caught and end up like this; if she wasn't okay, Toothless didn't know what he would do without his mate.
xXx
The first thing she felt was a throbbing ache, a loud, booming ringing overcoming her senses. She felt like she had been tackled by a Gronkle off a cliff. With a grunt, Astrid stiffly raised her hand and rubbed her forehead, expression twisting into one of pain. Her fingers made a circular motion against her temple, easing the hammering against her skull to a dull thud.
Now that she could think, Astrid slowly opened her eyes, blinking quickly to ease her swimming vision before pushing herself up by her forearms. Her sight began to clear and Astrid sighed as her fingers tenderly massaged against her temple. There was defiantly a bruise.
Swinging her legs around, Astrid eased herself into a more comfortable position on the edge of her bed. Fingers easing her throbbing head, Astrid glanced around the room, confusion hitting her first, but quickly melted into a strange mixture of relief and shock. She was no longer in the forest, hanging helpless from a tree about to be dragged of by a bunch of Outcasts.
But where was Toothless? Astrid couldn't see any sign of the dragon. The blonde frowned, her gut twisting in worry; was Toothless okay? The last thing she remembered was falling, disorientated and blind as she dropped through a cloud of dust and hit the ground. Pain shot through her head and down her spine and everything just…stopped.
Toothless could take care of himself and then some, but it was three against one, and the leader of the Outlast seemed to be able to handle himself against the Night Fury.
"Toothless?" Astrid call, and a loud thud immediately followed from downstairs. There was a series of thuds that immediately followed, and her bedroom door swung open. Toothless shot into the room, his eyes bright and his tongue flapping out from his open, grinning mouth at the sight of Astrid up and awake.
He dropped down in front of her, tail wagging uncontrollably as he rubbed his forehead against the girl's stomach, a deep purr rumbled in the back of his throat. Astrid beamed, relieved to see that Toothless was safe and sound, and rubbed the palms of her hands against the smooth scales of the dragon's head. Her fingers brushed against a healing slash at the side of his head, a few missing scales showing the rough hide underneath, and Astrid wondered if Toothless had any more injuries from their encounter with the Outcasts.
"Toothless!" Astrid cooed, bending down to press a loving kiss against the dragon's scales, earning a cheerful growl from the beast.
Toothless jerked his head up to give Astrid his own kiss, the tip of his tongue flickering out to tickle her cheek, much to Astrid's amusement. The blonde giggled, shoulders bouncing as the dragon began to nuzzle her again "I'm so glad to see that you're okay!"
The dragon grunted, his eyes squinting happily at Astrid as he bounced on his paws, shifting his weight from side to side. His body language told Astrid he was overly excited and nervous at the same time, and she didn't think it was just because she was awake.
The blonde ran her hand up and down his jaw, the vibrations from his loud purrs tickling her palm "Are you okay, Toothless?" she asked, curiosity lacing her voice.
Toothless grunted again, looking away sheepishly before snorting. Astrid opened her mouth to speak when the beast pressed his nose against her stomach and pushed her back, growling and cooing as he told her to stay before spinning around and scrambled out of the room, tail almost hitting Astrid as he ran away.
Astrid couldn't help but chuckle, the dragon's strange behavior always making her smile. She sat patiently, staring through the open door as she listened to the sounds of Toothless banging around downstairs. There was a minute of quiet growls and objects being tossed around before Toothless reappeared.
He shuffled on his paws, creeping into the bedroom with his eyes trained on Astrid but head low to the floor. He quickly dropped in front of her, setting down at her feet and grunted, his head tilted down slightly. Astrid tilted her head, confused to the sudden shift in the dragon's behavior before taking notice of the small, square thing clamped tightly between his gums.
"What you got there, Toothless?" Astrid slowly extended her hand, but Toothless ducked down to avoid it.
He laid his head against her lap again, cooing low as he glanced away, worry clear on his face before he sighed and opened his mouth. A small wooden box tumbled from his maw and onto Astrid's lap as Toothless pulled away, sinking low in front of Astrid. His eyes were wide and stared at Astrid intensely as she reached down and grasped the box, a frown on her face.
The blonde looked back to Toothless, quickly understanding what the dragon wanted from her, and pulled off the lid. Confusion struck Astrid as her eyes fell on the black, shiny band that lay within the tiny box. She carefully picked it up, her eyes moving to Toothless for help. The dragon raised his head, pressing his nose against the band gently, before moving his head to rub his nose against Astrid's left hand, letting out a high pitch whine as he eyed the blonde.
Her eyes moved from the ring to her hand and realization hit her hard. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open, but no words came out, too shocked by what was just asked.
"Toothless… are you asking me to-?" The blonde manage to choke out, her throat suddenly very dry.
With a fast nod, Toothless repeated the same whine, gaining a little more confidence as he straightened up to her level. He watched her carefully, heart skipping a beat as Astrid grew silent as she stared at the ring in her hand. This was torture.
'Astrid?' Toothless chirped, claws digging into the wooden floor in anxiety as the blonde slowly raised her head, expression blank.
Toothless could see she was thinking, her mind working overtime as she figured out what to say. Toothless couldn't blame her, what he asked was a big step in human culture, maybe bigger than Toothless realized? He knew he loved her, and that she loved him, and that he wanted to be with her forever, but what if he was doing everything wrong? Did he make a mistake asking her so soon?
Astrid's mouth opened, her glaze landing on Toothless as she took a deep breath, still not believing what was happening, but she knew there was only one answer she could give "Yes."
Toothless swore his heart stopped, but he didn't care, he couldn't care! He squealed loudly, launching himself to his feet before shooting forward, front paws landing either side of Astrid as he chattered wordless, planting sloppy kisses on her cheeks. The Viking's chest heaved with laughter as her own heart fluttered useless and stomach twisted; but she knew this was the right choice.
After letting Toothless get his fill of kisses, Astrid managed to push the dragon off her long enough to slip the ebony band onto her ring finger before she was tackled to her bed by Toothless, his kisses and nips endless.
xXx
People wanted longer chapters, how about one that's ten pages long? IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED?
I'm sorry for my lack of…well everything, but my (biological) grandfather had a stroke a few weeks ago and my grandmother paid for a plane ticket so I could stay with them/help them out while he recovered. His health is slowly improving, but he's not in a very good mental state right now, and it's very emotionally draining when you feel like crying but have to put on a smile for your grandfather so you don't give him another panic attack *sighs*
So yeah, I'm sorry for my absence, I probably should have made an AN, but I'm rarely on my computer for anything other than school work, so I'm always forgetting heh.
Update will come! Just….slowly I would imagine, this whole thing hasn't really help my mental state either :s but I'm slowly getting into it! Don't you worry!
Please review, it would really make my day (especially considering how long I've been trying to finish this chapter dAMN)
HUGE thank you to: storygirl99210, Bhorzethorn, lexboss, germanyusaman1997. Guest #1, write more soon, Evening star NMLR, damionfeller, PewDiPie, Gooier, Guest #2, cristophermendoza5, Bradley.13, Maxfed, Guest #3, kabul dash, Vosmossy, Guest #4 (lmao), Moe Lester, Guest #5, Guest #6, Guest #7, DuskBlade295, ivanganev1992, multipersonality dex, bob, Guest #8, DragonTrainerBoss, AnaBookWorm, MaddyR, Guest #9, Eric Harris, kerry93rocketma, Alex, Herobrine and Uncle Yetibacca! Holy crap so many!
~LMDR