This is a human centric chapter, so we see plently of Astrid! Toothless will be more in the next chapter, and I'm thinking of starting a chapter focusing on the dragon flock. But we'll see... Enjoy!

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HappyPup1: OH YES HE DOES!

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KE12: Why thank you, I am too.

"Remember what I told you," Hiccup whispered in Fishlegs' ear. "You woke up in the woods with no memory of the last few hours, wandered around, and I found you and took you back to Berk." Fishlegs nodded and Hiccup said one last thing, "I promise I'll explain soon, but as long as you trust me we can get this done now." The pair were silent all the way to Berk.

If you wanted the most attention, today was the right place to be at this particular time. Of course Hiccup didn't know that today everyone on Berk was crowded in the village square, preparing for the celebration of the Viking's Victorious return. The Vikings prepared every year though no ship had ever returned victorious, more often than not the ships hadn't return at all. However the Vikings were stubborn, and they refused to stop believing that one day they would have victory and one day they would need all the decorations and food, but that day was yet to come.

When they came into the view of the town square all sounds silenced, everyone froze, their eyes bugged out. You'd think their reaction wouldn't be so strong after the return of both Hiccup and Astrid, but as they say two times is chance but three is something fishy. Beside the very boy who'd first escaped the dragons was now walking with the latest and last return.

Dismissing the fishy part they all rushed forward creating a sea of curious Vikings, forgetting about the decorations, and forgetting that if all three of the taken children were here it meant that the vikings who were at sea had not succeeded.

Hidden in the shadow of a house at the edge of the village square was Astrid Hofferson. She'd been away from Berk for, what a week? And returned to find that the old town failure had become the hero and escaped from a nightfury no less. A NIGHTFURY! When she Astrid couldn't even escape from a lowly gronckle, if they knew the entire village would probably be at their knees with laughter. After all she'd trained all her life to get to this level of skill, which was why she refused to believe that a boy who'd never killed a dragon had escaped a nightfury, something wasn't right… Also she strongly disliked anyone who did better than her when it came to dragon killing, and Hiccup fit that mold perfectly. Today class had been canceled since Hiccup hadn't attended (well and for the whole prepare the celebration thingie, but Astrid is more than a little mad that one reason, might I say a small one, was hiccup) and that enraged her. All the villagers could talk about was Hiccup this and Hiccup that, it was starting to grate on her. After her return they'd welcomed her back with a party and went right back to talking about Hiccup, and honestly Astrid was more than a little jealous. And now after walking in with Fishlegs, she was sure the Berkians would now never stop talking about Hiccup. Someone gossip would probably connect all of the miraculous returns of the kidnapped teens, and somehow come up with scenario where Hiccup was actually the one who saved them all. Astrid scoffed and rolled her eyes.

Hiccup began to melt into the shadows, backing away slowly, hoping to not get caught up in the wriggling mass of humans. "So how did you find Fishlegs?" came the sharp biting question. Hiccup froze and looked around, a figure emerged from the very shadows he'd just been trying to disappear in, it was Astrid. Stuttering he replied, trying his best to lie, "I... I.. Found him.. wandering.. In... In the woods."

Astrid heart stopped for a beat, she'd wakened in the woods, and she remembered a scene from her dream where Hiccup had been looking over the stone hole she'd been held in. It had to be coincidence, it had to be.

Hiccup watched as Astrid struggled with her expression, trying to hide her shock and confusion. His heart froze in terror, if... If she couldn't... Have memories of her rescue... Could she?

When Astrid apparently didn't have anything else to say and the shock disappeared quickly, Hiccup sighed in relief, he must have imagined that. Then quietly he slipped away.

Astrid watched as Hiccup disappeared and decided resolutely that the dream had just been a dream, and it had all just been a coincidence. She wouldn't believe anything until she had proof, beside Hiccup befriending that black dragon she'd seen in the same dream. Please...

Hiccup saw that the crowd had started to disperse and that Fishlegs was now only surrounded by a small amount of people. Normally Hiccup would have waited longer just to make sure the fellow Vikings didn't follow them or anything, but something about Astrid had unnerved him. He weaved his way through the remaining people and quickly reached the center and announced to the village square. "I'm bringing Fishlegs back to my house, he must be tired and with his parents gone on the voyage I'm sure he'll like some company. Beside I'll fill him in on all that happened in his absence." This effectively cleared the remains of the mob, and he pulled Fishlegs away in the direction of his house, however as soon as they were out of sight they headed into the forest. Doubling back Hiccup and Fishlegs walked back toward the Town square where the beginning of the path to the cove was, careful to stay hidden in the trees.

Astrid wandered aimlessly through the village, she had nowhere to go, and no one to talk too. She never really had any friends; Ruffnut was the only girl but not her style, and her brother Tuffnut, out of question. Snotlout tried to flirt with her way to much, and Fishlegs was too brainy for her liking. And Hiccup, well he was to Hiccup, anyway he was the Town laughing stock, till now at least... She passed the Haddock house and decided to see if Fishlegs and Hiccup were there, partly out of suspicion and partly out of curiosity, maybe they knew more of how she'd been returned to Berk.

Astrid sighed not believing she was doing this, walked up to the door and knocked, no answer. She knocked again this time more forcefully, nothing. She placed her ear against the door, not a sound. She sighed once more and climbed up onto a windowsill on the second floor, it appeared to be the only one. Peering in Astrid realized that she had just so happened to pick Hiccup's room, her face blushed bright red, and then she caught sight of one of the many papers sticking out of a notebook sitting on the table across the room. The dragon drawn on there looked so familiar, too familiar. She's never known Hiccup could draw like this... something didn't feel right, there was something tugging at the back of her mind. The dragon had been drawn from above with a rounded snout and tiny weird ear looking like thingies sticking out from the back of its head. Also it appeared to only have one tail fin, how weird... It didn't match any dragon she knew from the book of dragons. A voice in her head told her to get out of there and she did, Astrid jumped off the sill and ran away, hoping no one especially Hiccup had seen her.

Umm no Astrid is not a jealous brat, she has her reasons...