Hey guys! I'm loving the reviews, and I want to thank those who followed and favorited The Runaway.

I'm sorry that this one is kind of short and mainly a filler chapter but the next one should be longer.

Disclaimer: I don't own How to Train Your Dragon and credit for this amazing story and characters goes to DreamWorks

Enjoy :)

Twigs snapped as boots stepped on them. A figure in the darkness maneuvered through the trees and slid down a hill, rounding some large rocks.

Moonlight reflected off the lake in a cove, where an obsidian colored dragon slept with his rider by his side.

Hiccup dozed against Toothless as a couple other twigs snapped, completely oblivious as Toothless popped his head up, his eyes narrowing in on the shadows. Toothless brought his tail around Hiccup.

But then as the figure came into the moonlight, which glinted off their hair, his demeanor changed and he gave a gummy smile at their visitor.

Astrid saw Hiccup sleeping and smiled, putting a finger to her lips as she put the basket she was carrying on the ground. Her action made Toothless warble slightly as tilted his head. Astrid proceeded to walk as quietly as she could towards Hiccup.

When she stood by the dragon rider, she cleared her throat and declared in a loud voice, "My, what a nice night."

Hiccup jumped, mumbling, "I'm up, I'm up."

"Well," Astrid replied, putting her hands on her hips, as she watched Hiccup stretch his stiff muscles. "You could've fooled me."

Hiccup blinked his bleary eyes, fighting a yawn before he looked around. The events in the ring came back to him instantly and he moved his gaze back to Astrid.

She looked like a Valkyrie with the moonlight reflecting off her fair hair. Her blue eyes were bright with the reflection of the water.

"That really happened, didn't it?" Hiccup said. His stomach felt slightly uneasy as he realized exactly what was happening.

It was the same feeling he got the evening before, when he was going to run away and leave the Monstrous Nightmare to Astrid. Now, after what had happened, after all he'd said and done, he couldn't go back. He couldn't magically turn back time and change the way things went.

The realization crashed into him, that he had no choice but to leave.

And he knew now is that he'd miss it all, no matter how hard or how much he tried only to be rejected again and again. He'd miss his time in the forge with Gobber, chatting with his mentor or sitting by himself in the back room while he thought of each new invention and how they'd work. He'd even miss the awkward dinners with his father, or even Snotlout, no matter how mean or rude that boy could be. And he'd miss Fishlegs, who he was able to talk to when they were alone and Fishlegs didn't worry about being accepted by their peers.

And Astrid. He'd miss her too. Even now, even though they hadn't even said goodbye, he missed her. It was like she was already across the sea from him.

This was the point of no return.

"Where's your head at, Dragon Boy?"

Hiccup jumped slightly, and then realized that Astrid was sitting beside him now, and that Toothless was drinking from the lake.

"Yesterday, when you found Toothless in the cove, I hadn't realized what it meant to run away, to leave everything I knew," Hiccup said. He brought his knees close to his chest, loosely wrapping his arms around them. "I hadn't realized what I would miss; what I already miss."

"Hiccup, I know this is hard but it's only temporary, right?" She said. When Hiccup didn't reply, she asked again, "right?"

He looked over at Toothless. "I don't know how long temporary is. Is it days? Weeks? Months?" He asked. "Maybe even years."

Astrid was quiet, and when Hiccup looked at her, her gaze was on her shoes and she was biting her lip. Tears sparkled in her eyes. "I don't want this to be our goodbye," she said. Her voice cracked at the end of her sentence, and Hiccup knew that she was trying not to cry, that she was trying to be strong. Maybe for his sake or for her own.

"Then it won't be," Hiccup promised. Somehow, he knew that he would see her again. Maybe in this life, or maybe in Valhalla, but he would see her again.

They sat together in silence, listening to the water falling into the lake and the wind rustling the leaves. Faintly, they could hear crickets chirping.

"How the village?" Hiccup asked.

"After you left, it was chaos. They crowded Stoick, asking question after question until Gobber shoed them all away," Astrid told him. "I brought you the things you told me to bring, but I had to wait until it was clear. It's why I took so long."

Astrid paused. "Your father held a meeting in the Great Hall after dinner. I've never seen him like he was," she continued. "No matter what you think, he misses you even after what happened."

Hiccup felt a tear escape his eye but he let it trail down his cheek. "I miss him too," he said. Hiccup clear his throat, taking out two pieces of paper.

They were letters for his father and Gobber. "I wrote them letters," he said. "It doesn't explain everything I've learned about dragons, like how to find the nest but it will tell them what they should know. If they even read it."

Astrid put a hand on his shoulder. "They will. I know it."

Hiccup tried for a smile, and put his hand on hers. "I hope so," he said.

They both sniffed, at the same time, and then both broke out in laughter. Toothless jumped, and looked at them before he decided it must be a human thing, and continued hunting for fish in the water.

Eventually, Hiccup and Astrid stopped laughing, fading back into silence before they both got to their feet. Hiccup pocketed his letters and called Toothless over, and tied to the basket to Toothless's saddle.

"So, this is really it, then?"

Hiccup rested his hands on the leather of the saddle before he turned towards Astrid. "For now," he said.

They stood in silence, looking each other in the eye, waiting for the other to make the first move.

"Well-"

"I-"

Both of them spoke at the same time and laughed slightly.

Astrid gave Hiccup a smile that sent his heart in flips. "I'm going to miss you," she said.

Hiccup returned her smile. "Me too."

He silently mounted Toothless, hooking his vest to the saddle. His heart was heavy in his chest as he looked around the cove.

Just weeks ago, he was on that ledge, looking down at a trapped dragon. It felt like the person he was then was so far away from where he sits now. Who knew that such a short time could change everything?

Toothless tensed, lifting his wings as he prepared to launch them into the sky.

"Wait," Astrid said suddenly. Hiccup looked at her, really looked at her again because he knew it'd be awhile before he saw her again.

He opened his mouth to reply, when she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him into a kiss.

Hiccups lips tingled as they kissed, and it was like a spark; igniting something that would burn, for forever and always.

Astrid pulled away and they looked deep into each other's eyes. "Don't forget us, Hiccup Haddock," she said.

"I won't."

Toothless, sensing that these were their last words for each other for a long while, launched him and his rider into the night sky.

Astrid was left in the cove, her tears finally falling as she watched them disappear into the stars.

"A storm is coming, Toothless," Hiccup said.

Hiccup was standing on a small ledge, looking at the horizon.

It had been three weeks since Hiccup and Toothless had left Berk and had found a small island with forests, a mountain that went up into the clouds, and a beach.

Hiccup had chosen a cave in the mountain as their camp. It was high enough for them to look out onto the horizon for potential threats, such as viking ships who came there for hunting trips. Inside the cave, Hiccup had his bedroll set up, near the singed rock floor where Toothless slept. He also had a small make-shift forge that had been made from rocks and discarded embers, which he used to fix the only tools he'd brought with him.

In the time that he'd been gone, Hiccup had changed. His clothes were worn, dirty, and slightly singed from forge malfunctions. His hair had grown longer. Hiccup had made a pickaxe out of stone and wood, which he let dangle from a leather strap around his waist.

The horizon had dark, angry clouds that flashed, stabbing at the choppy waters. Hiccup lowered his spyglass, revealing a fresh mark from a dragon claw that would leave a scar for Hiccup to remember for the rest of his life. He had gotten it from exploring a cave nearby the islands lagoon, which turned out to be a dragons den.

It had actually been a Gronckle protecting her young but they made peace after Hiccup and Toothless protected them from a Monstrous Nightmare.

Toothless garbled his reply from inside the cave, where he had relit the fire. Hiccup turned around, pulling aside the cloth he used to keep most of the heat inside but allow the smoke to be released. He sat down, scratching Toothless behind his ears. He stared into the fire, watching the glowing embers.

Toothless crooned in concern for his rider.

Hiccup snapped out of his reverie. "I'm fine, Toothless," he said. "I-I just…I miss-I miss my dad, even if he was never happy with me. He thought that I never paid attention during hunting trips or fishing trips but the truth is…I wouldn't have gotten this far without what he taught me, or what Gobber taught me." Hiccup sniffed, pulling his knee's to his chest. "When we left…I never thought I'd miss Berk," he added.

Toothless warbled and crooned to Hiccup. Hiccup gave a small smile to his friend.

Thunder boomed nearby, vibrating into the ground. Rain came down, like water released from a bucket, and started to hit against the mountain, pelting at the stone.

"What do you say, bud?" Hiccup asked, a small smile on his face. "Think we can fly through this storm?"

Toothless gave a snort.

"Let's go, bud."

Meanwhile, at Berk, fire and rain fought against each-other.

Hours earlier, the dark, angry clouds had drifted over them and seemed to last forever. Thunder echoed above, lightning streaking from cloud to cloud. Rain pelted the vikings as they herded the livestock to the barns while the rest of them got the young children and the women into the Great Hall.

The situation got quickly from bad to worse when dragons descended upon them under the cover of the storm.

Stoick quickly took charge. "Get all our food, supplies, and animals into the caves in the forest, we don't want to lose any of that to the dragons. Spitelout, get the children to the Great Hall. The rest of you, protect the armory, give cover to our livestock and supplies, and protect our homes," he ordered.

Everyone spread out, leaving Gobber.

"Thor's angry tonight," Stoick said.

He stood in the Great Hall, where he had been when his scouts told him that dragons were raiding. The Berkians had crowded around him as they awaited his instructions, before going to do their jobs. The only people left in the warmth of the Great Hall was the children and teenagers(the infants with their mom, dad, or eldest sibling), the cooks (who had prepared soup), Gothi (who handed out blankets and had a corner prepared for the sick and injured), and Gobber.

The Blacksmith stood beside Stoick, silent.

In the time that Hiccup had been gone, his absence had worn on them both. Work in the forge had grown harder for Gobber, who no longer had his apprentice. Dragon raids had increased drastically, making it harder for everyone on Berk, such as the farmers, fisherman, loggers and builders, etc. But it was hardest for Stoick, who managed it all, all the while dealing with the loss of his son on the back of that Night Fury, who may or may not be alive.

He had sent out parties to check nearby islands but once the raids became more consistent, Stoick had to put an end to that and look after Berk. But despite the sting of betrayal, he still hoped that Hiccup was still alive out there.

"Stoick?"

It was the voice of his friend that snapped him out of his reverie. His friend knew exactly what was eating him up inside.

"He's alive," Gobber said. He put a hand on Stoicks shoulder. "I know he is."

Stoick sighed. "How did I not see it coming?" he asked. "Why did I ignore the signs? Why hadn't I listened to him?"

"You were doing the best you could at the time," Gobber said. "You couldn't have seen any of this coming. I spent more time with him than anyone, and I didn't…" He trailed off.

Thunder boomed above.

"You should get to the forge, Gobber," Stoick said. His eyes were misty but it was clear that he was fighting to keep them from falling. "You have a lot of work."

"I'm too far behind to do it on my own," Gobber said.

"I'll help."

The reply came from Astrid Hofferson. She stood tall, her axe on her back.

"No, you'll stay here and help Gothi," Stoick said.

"Fishlegs, and the others have it under control," she argued. Her gaze went back to the other teens.

Fishlegs was helping Gothi with the herbs, while Snotlout and the Twins were clearly up to no good.

"I think it's only Fishlegs that's helping," Gobber said.

"Look, I'm a quick learner," Astrid said. "I can help get Gobber caught up."

"Stoick!" One of the vikings ran towards him, panting. "It's the animals. A Nadder broke apart the herd and now there's chickens and sheep scattered over the fields."

"Lead the way," Stoick said and the two ran outside into the storm.

Astrid turned to Gobber expectantly.

"Alright, you can be my aid," Gobber said.

He started to limp away, the blonde viking following. "Thank you," she said.

"This stays between you and me, you got that?"

"Yes, sir."

They went down the stairs as quickly as possible, pelted by hail and they were well-soaked by the time that they reached the forge.

Gobber left Astrid to pump the bellows at first, and then showed her how to get the weapon back to brand-new. She actually was a quick study but still not quite as good as Hiccup was.

Meanwhile, Stoick was in the fields, helping his people to get all the animals together while he covered them from the dragons.

It was as a Deadly Nadder escaped from a net, knocking away Stoicks axe, and about to fry him, that they heard it.

A loud whistle through the hail and the thunder.

A Night Fury.

The Night Fury, and a shout above it all.

A bright purple blast hit the ground between the Deadly Nadder and Stoick, and, briefly, Stoick got a glimpse of a black shadow and a boy, before they disappeared into the storm.

He shook his head, getting back to work. When all of the animals were back together, Stoick ran back into the village. He'd just seen Astrid helping in the forge but before he could go over there, another purple blast stopped a monstrous nightmare from burning down Berks armada.

Stoick ran to the forge.

Astrid saw him first. "Uh…" she said, clearly expecting him to yell.

Gobber came into the room, freezing in his tracks. "I can explain-"

Stoick shook his head, interrupting him. "That's not why I'm here," he said quickly. "I saw him - Hiccup and his Night Fury."

It was then, with a final strike of lightning, that the storm ended, and the hail stopped coming down. There was distant thunder but all that was left was a drizzle.

The trio rushed out to see that the dragons had grabbed some stray sheep and some yaks, and were flying away as vikings threw spears and nets and axes at them.

Some houses had burned down but most of them remain standing, with wet, charred wood.

Now, it was time to recover from the storm and the raid.

The gravel crunched beneath Hiccup's feet.

After dodging lightning bolt after lightning bolt, they had finally arrived to the nest, soaking wet but alive.

Hiccup glanced at Toothless before his gaze fell back on the mountain, where he knew the monstrosity inside hid.

He knew they'd need some rest after their trip but then their battle would begin, and one way or another, this would end. This was just the calm before the storm.