Hello. And yes, before you ask, this chapter does end on a cliffhanger. So...well, nevermind. Don't all my chapters end on cliffhangers? XD So, hopefully this chapter is alright. I was up half of last night with some weird ear problem, so hopefully this chapter's good enough for you awesome guys. :) I need coffee. XD Enjoy chapter 15! :D

That was exactly how Valka found them the next morning; Astrid's arm draped loosely over Hiccup, Hiccup sleeping with the blanket around his body, Toothless watching them in the corner. Valka couldn't help but smile. She knew how much Astrid cared about Hiccup, despite how the girl always brushed the subject off.

She left, heading back downstairs to make breakfast, deciding that Hiccup would be safe under Astrid's care, even though she was sleeping. She didn't want to disturb either of them at that moment.

After a while, footsteps met Valka's ears, and she turned to the stairwell just in time to watch Astrid walk down the steps, looking half-asleep but at the same time, awake enough so that she didn't stumble blindly.

"Morning, Valka," she said.

"Good morning," Valka said. "How was Hiccup last night?"

"He got a bit of a fever," Astrid said, "but other than that, he was fine. He slept nearly the entire night through without waking up, except once."

"That's good!" Valka said. "Could mean he's getting better. Of course, it'll still be a few weeks before he's well once again, but he's sleeping soundly at least."

Astrid nodded. "What should I do to help?" she asked. "Anything I can do for you?"

Valka shook her head. "Not at the moment," Valka said. "You hungry?"

"Not really," Astrid admitted. "But thanks for the offer. I might take Toothless for a flight…he's been cooped up for days now."

Valka nodded. "He's probably getting restless," she mused out loud.

Astrid nodded. In honesty, she was lackadaisical about leaving Hiccup, but she also knew that it wasn't like anything was going to happen while she was taking Toothless for a quick spin around the island. Besides, if anything dramatic happened, Astrid was certain Valka would come get her.

"So, just a quick flight then. Long enough for him to stretch his wings," Astrid said. "Then I'll be back. Maybe I'll ask Fishlegs how the village is holding up, too, while I'm at it…"

"There's no rush, Astrid," Valka said. "You deserve some fresh air, too. You've been here for quite a while as well as Toothless."

"Well…alright," Astrid said. "I'll be back soon." She crept back up the stairwell to get Toothless. The Night Fury was awake, watching Hiccup's sleeping form. Astrid motioned for the dragon to follow her, which he did, as quietly as possible.

"I'm taking you for a flight, okay?" Astrid said once they made it downstairs. Toothless skidded to a stop, shaking his head. Astrid groaned. "Toothless," she said, "it's going to take a while for Hiccup to get better. Hiccup would want you to get some exercise. He'd be upset if he learns that you haven't been flying the past few days, and you don't want to make him upset, do you?"

Toothless growled.

"I know, I know," Astrid said, "but it'll do you good. Plus, it'll make Hiccup happy. Alright?"

Toothless huffed, but nodded in the end. Astrid smiled, looking back at Valka.

"I'm going to take him on the flight now," she said as she and Toothless made for the door.

"Alright," Valka said. "If Hiccup wakes up while you're gone, I'll let him know where you went. I'm sure he'll be grateful to you, for this and numerous other reasons."

"Thanks, Valka," Astrid said. She opened the door, and she and Toothless headed out. As soon as the door was closed behind her, Astrid turned to Toothless.

"Ready to fly?" she asked.

Toothless nodded. Astrid mounted him, forced her foot into the foot petal, and with that, the duo was airborne.

Astrid would never understand how Hiccup flew Toothless with such ease. The Night Fury was fast. Too fast, perhaps, in Astrid's opinion, if you were to ask her. She struggled to keep a hold on Toothless, and even when she was sure her grip was firm, she always managed to lose it in the end.

"Toothless!" Astrid shouted, trying to get her voice over the wind. It wasn't windy, but with Toothless' speed, the winds suddenly felt so much stronger. "Slow down! Toothless!" Astrid tried, tried, and tried again, but each time she shouted, the Night Fury only seemed to go faster.

And then Toothless started spinning. Astrid felt her stomach twist as the Night Fury spun through the sky, its wings tucked around its body. Toothless let out a shriek that echoed across the island, and Astrid was sure everyone could hear it.

"Toothless!" Astrid shouted angrily. "Slow down—AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Toothless dived towards the ocean, letting his wings loose at the last second so they shot straight back into the air.

"Okay, okay, that's enough," Astrid said breathlessly as Toothless finally leveled out across the beautiful morning sky. Astrid made a silent promise to herself: never again would she tease Hiccup when his flying on Toothless wasn't as graceful as one would expect.

"You've had your fun," Astrid said. "Just…fly straight, and then we'll go back to Hiccup's house when you're ready, alright?"

Toothless growled, which could have meant anything, but Astrid was sure it had been a 'yes'. Suddenly, Toothless growled, and it didn't take a genius to tell it wasn't a happy one.

"Toothless?" Astrid asked. "What's up? What's wrong?"

In response, Toothless spun around, and shot towards Raven Point. Astrid yelped, wrapping her arms around Toothless' neck in a pathetic attempt to keep herself mounted.

"Toothless!" she shouted. "What is it!?"

Instead of replying, Toothless landed in the middle of Raven Point. Astrid dismounted, brushing herself off. She was certain her braid was messed up from the flight, not that she thought about it too much.

"Crazy dragon," Astrid said, shaking her head. "What was that, huh? What'd you do that for?"

Toothless growled once again, his eyes narrowing. Astrid turned around, but the only thing she saw was a hill. After a moment, she began climbing it, Toothless following her closely.

"I don't know what it is you want to show me that's so important," Astrid said as they made it to the top. However, once Astrid looked over, she gasped.

"Whoa," she breathed.