Thank you so much for all of the reviews and the favourites! Those of you who have faithfully reviewed are so welcome in my heart I can't even describe it! I love you guys! (Rylie my darling, sign in so I can reply to you!)

In all honesty, I can't say I'm all that happy with the first part of this chapter but I think the last half really makes up for it. It's not often that I break out the dialogue but I think I really did it justice. Don't throw any axes at me either; I promise that this will be the last angst-driven chapter for quite some time. :)

Without further ado...

HORIZONS

Arc I : Becoming Urðr

Chapter III

The sun was rising later and later in the mornings and with it brought an ill-fated sign that winter was nigh on the horizon. Hiccup noticed this begrudgingly and wrenched himself out of bed despite himself, drawing additional furs around his body as he left the bedroom for the hearth. His dragon was waiting as patiently as a dragon could, his tongue lolling to one side in excitement. His rider's body language hinted that something sensational was coming as the boy hobbled down the stairs, his hands white-knuckled as he grasped at the banister for dear life. Toothless wiggled his rear end in suppressed anticipation and leapt closer to the boy as he made it down the final stair, the dragon grinning wildly from ear to ear.

"Hey bud," the young Viking greeted placidly, scratching the charcoal dragon fondly behind his ear plates, "Just wait a few minutes and we'll go to the harbours."

Toothless crooned in earnest at his rider's words and dipped his scaly head to one side, thoroughly enjoying Hiccup's satisfying ministrations. A few of his loose scales clattered to the floor as the young rider continued to shift down the dragon's body, using his nimble fingers to itch along the path of ebony spinal plates. He paused and started following a trail of scars down his quarters absently with the palm of his hand, stopping only when the blemishes disappeared beneath his belly. Hiccup's expression turned dangerously thoughtful; the dragon swivelled his head towards the young rider and eyed him with the same caution he had since the days after his revival. Those strange, foreign expressions crossing his rider's face made him squirm uncomfortably and Toothless wished he could do something to get rid of them. He nudged the frown from Hiccup's lips with his nose and the boy offered him a half-hearted smile in return, moving towards the hearth to stoke the cooking fires before venturing further into the galley.

Hiccup grasped at a ceramic jar from the shelf in the pantry and brought it carefully over to the table, teetering slightly as he fought to keep his precarious balance. Once the earthenware was safely placed upon the table, Hiccup opened the jar and took a handful of whole oats into his palms. He dumped the grains onto the table and used the wooden edge to help him bend down to grab the stone rolling pin from a shelf beneath the counter. He began to grind the oats until they cracked, breaking them down so that they looked like they would be the right consistency for porridge once boiled.

He sighed and rolled his shoulders, realizing he had forgotten to start a pot of water on the fire. He trudged over to the pantry again and grabbed a pot off the shelf, bringing it over to the water barrel to fill. He spilt some of the water in his attempt to siphon it from the cask and swore out loud, grumbling sourly to himself as he soaked the sleeve of his tunic. He flailed his arm around haphazardly to try and dry the sodden fabric but only succeeded in drenching himself further, spilling the contents of his pot all over his pants and moccasin. He sputtered angrily and stomped back over to the table, barely restraining himself from throwing the steel utensil at the wall.

Meanwhile, Toothless continued to watch his rider with vague amusement; obviously, the boy's morning was not going as planned. Disaster seemed to follow the poor hatchling wherever he went and the ebony dragon hoped with every ember in his core that the human's terrible luck wouldn't rub off on him.

A swish of his tail reminded him that it was far too late for that.

The young Viking finally managed to fill his pot without another incident and he heaved it up towards the cooking fire, hooking it just above the tongues of flame. He reached for the nearest stool and settled himself as close to the fire as he could stand so he could dry out his clothes before daring to venture outside. From the chill in the air he safely assumed that the first frost must have come during the night, an omen that truly meant the end of the good weather. He gazed over his shoulder at the dragon lying lethargically behind him and felt a pang of anxiety grasp at the pit of his stomach.

What was going to happen to Toothless?

Steadily during the past few days, the number of dragons leaving the island was increasing. It had started with the Terrors, and then the Gronkles, and then the Zipplebacks... They were all heading in one particular direction, south, and the gods only knew where in Midgard they were going. Hiccup was apprehensive about the whole situation and he knew he wasn't the only one – only yesterday he had overheard the twins arguing over why their dragon had left, blaming it on each other instead of acknowledging what was blatantly right in front of their eyes. The dragons were simply migrating; and without a fully functional tailfin Hiccup knew his Night Fury wouldn't be able to follow.

The great creature opened one of its green eyes and stared restlessly up at Hiccup, sensing the panic coming off of the young hatchling in waves. He raised his head slowly and gazed at the boy calculatingly, their stare meeting for a fleeting moment. The human refused to make eye contact with him again for longer than a second and it was at that point that the perceptive dragon finally realized that he was the source of his rider's upset emotions. Without another moment's hesitation, the Night Fury got to his feet and padded closer to the half soggy human, curling his tail around the crippled leg of his rider as he sat down behind him.

The dragon peered downwards and eyed the mahogany crown of hair, the movement of the individual strands barely perceptible as his hatchling breathed in and out. His proximity to his rider hadn't changed the unsteady beating of the human's jolting heart and the dragon crooned softly in question, nuzzling the tuft of hair with his snout.

Hiccup sighed and finally looked up at the dragon, his green eyes wide with worry and concern. Hiccup let his head rest against the Night Fury's chest with a soft thunk and rolled his eyes, offering him a smile that could only be described as melancholy.

"I'm sorry bud," he murmured, "I've just been caught up in my thoughts."

Toothless' expression said otherwise.

"Okay," Hiccup conceded with a shrug, "I've been doing a lot of thinking. About the dragons, about you, about me I guess. It's just that…they're all leaving and you can't."

The dragon shifted slightly and breathed out, letting Hiccup know that he had understood what he was trying to say. Toothless came down on all fours and crept up beside his rider, his eyes sad in comprehension as he nudged Hiccup with his brow. The boy smiled feebly and granted the dragon his wish, scratching him gently behind the ear plates and along the jaw line. Toothless warbled in satisfaction and drew nearer to his human, trying with every fibre of his being to portray that he would never want to leave his side anyway. After nearly smothering him in a full body embrace that knocked him from the stool and onto the belly of the beast, Toothless was sure he had gotten the hint.

"Uggh Toothless!" the boy complained laughingly, trying to swat one of the dragon's hefty paws off of the side of his face, "You overgrown salamander, let me go!"

Toothless refused to budge.

"Toothless!" Hiccup resorted to whining now, knowing well enough that the charcoal Fury couldn't stand his nasal moaning. But the dragon kept ignoring him and continued to hug him as close to his body as he could with little to no chance of Hiccup escaping on his own.

"Okay," he sighed in defeat, attempting the voice of reason, "If you don't let me go, we can't go flying. Now, if you hadn't already noticed, I got up extra early so we could leave before Gobber gets here. But if you keep me here he'll find me and then we'll never fly again!"

The dragon made a noise of scepticism but otherwise kept his peace.

"Ugh…look, I'm just worried that's all," the young Viking grumbled, pouting in the dragon's resilient embrace, "Things are different now and…I don't know buddy. I feel like I just need to get away from here, you know? It's not like I'm actually of any use," Hiccup paused to fight back the well of emotions rising in his chest, successfully swallowing them after a moment of repose, "Nobody talks to me the way they used to anymore, which is not necessarily a bad thing but still… It's like...it's like I'm a celebrity to them or something. I feel like one day they're actually going to see me for who I really am, a half crippled fishbone…and then it'll be three times as bad as it was before… I don't know Toothless, help me out. What should I do?"

After a small pause, Toothless finally shifted just enough so that Hiccup could peek out between the dragon's paws in order to see the two big eyes that stared back at him with all the understanding he ever needed. Toothless blew a gust of air from his nostrils, tousling the hatchling's wild hair and warming his pale skin before offering him that signature toothless grin that never failed to make his hatchling smile.

And of course it worked.

Hiccup's lips betrayed him and the instantly satisfied dragon graciously released him from his bonds, immediately leaping to his feet and bounding over towards his tack. He nudged it off of the wooden horse until it tumbled to the floor with a clatter and Hiccup, his boiling water now entirely forgotten, hobbled over to retrieve it. Beckoning the dragon to lay onto his side, Hiccup began to attach the tack piece by piece, buckling on the crimson tailfin by memory. He tightened the straps around the Fury's withers and chest with relaxed precision and within minutes he was finished, clapping his hands together to rid them of the dust from the floor.

"You wanna fly buddy?"

The dragon undulated in anticipation, his toes waggling with excitement.

"Then let's ride."

From the vertical trajectory of the blur that shot up through the clouds like an arrow Astrid knew without a doubt that the little black speck in the distance could belong to no other. She beckoned her Nadder to pick up the pace and the blue scaled dragon did so eagerly, her wings beating harder against the influx of air. The young warrior kept her eyes trained on where the Night Fury had promptly disappeared into the heavens, blue irises narrowed as she tried to anticipate where the charcoal dragon might emerge. It wasn't long before the sound of the Night Fury's tell-tale nosedive stormed her ears, the dragon's slender body cutting through the air with enormous speed. As he spiralled downwards, the wind against his scales made a noise so unbearable that it still struck fear into the hearts of men.

The scream had started out slowly but now it was quickly beginning to rise in pitch and Astrid felt her Nadder stiffen beneath her. The blue dragon roared and barrel rolled hastily to the right just in time as the Night Fury and his copper haired rider shot through the blanket of clouds and nearly landed on her lap.

"HICCUP!" she screamed, her heart thudding wildly in her chest as she fought the panic that coursed through her veins, "Are you trying to kill me?"

Toothless levelled out beside the pair and from behind the mess of auburn hair his eyes shone brightly, their green depths wide with an emotion she couldn't quite place, "No more than you're trying to kill me!"

Astrid scowled, crossing her arms across her chest indignantly, "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Hey," he shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant manner as he veered his dragon further away, "Don't ask me. I don't try and slice me in half with an axe or shish-kabob me with my own inventions every time I see myself."

Astrid swallowed her annoyance for a moment and tried to placate herself, realizing that she hadn't seen Hiccup with this expression in his eyes since…she actually couldn't remember the last time she had seen him like this. Before the battle of the Red Death, that was for certain.

"What's got you so out of sorts, fly boy?"

Hiccup tried to hide the blush that covered his freckled cheeks at the endearment but ended up failing miserably, "Nothing. I just err…I…umm well…I…"

His blush deepened and Astrid took advantage of his weakness, nudging her Nadder a few feet closer to the reddening boy, "Loki got your tongue?"

He swallowed nervously and veered Toothless away from her, ducking downwards towards the mainland. She quickly followed him, unwilling to give up so easily, and tailed him until they reached the coast. Toothless landed on the ground at the last minute and settled upon the sand, turning his head minutely in question as the Nadder followed suite. Astrid leapt off her mount and jogged up beside the stationary Fury, her roguish stance clearly exposing her intentions.

"Get off that dragon right now and tell me what stupid plans you've made," Hiccup looked startled at her revelation and with a growing satisfaction Astrid knew she had guessed correctly, "You're as see-through as a jellyfish, fly boy. Now tell me what's going on."

Hiccup hesitated for a moment but finally relinquished his position of advantage. He reached down and began unlocking his prosthetic from the stirrup, grimacing all the while, "It's none of your business."

Astrid raised an eyebrow and planted her hands on her hips, "I'm your girlfriend stupid. Your business is my business."

Hiccup looked startled at this and nearly fell from his position on Toothless' back. He stopped unlatching his prosthetic and started sputtering, his face level with her own as she continued to stare back, "What?"

"What?" she frowned deeply, crossing her arms again, "Am I your girlfriend or not?"

Hiccup was taken aback but at least he had gained back some of his motor functions. He managed to fumble to the sandy ground, his eyes still locked in a death stare with hers, "I…I…a-are we?"

Astrid winded her arm up for a hard punch but hesitated at the last minute, the panic on his face forcing her to pause in her stride, "Well that's what I thought. But obviously you've got other ideas."

It didn't take a genius to see that the Viking warrior in front of him was furious, "I…I'm sorry. I just…I just didn't think you wanted to…err…be…be with me, I guess."

Her anger quickly transformed into confusion, "What? What are you talking about?"

"Well…I…I don't know," Hiccup turned away from her and took a few steps forward, wishing fruitlessly for some solitude, "This was a bad idea."

Astrid's anger returned with full force, "What was a bad idea?"

"Just…" Hiccup turned and eyed her sidelong, unwilling to make full eye contact with the livid warrior goddess, "I'm sorry. I never should have dragged you into this."

"Odin's beard Hiccup!" she bellowed, throwing her hands into the air in frustration, "What in all of Midgard are you talking about?"

"Look, just forget I ever said anything," he finally turned halfway towards her but he still refrained from looking her eye to eye, "You should go back to the village. Your mom is probably looking for you."

"Nu uh, no way," she growled, her back arching in preparation, "There is no way you are getting rid of me that easy."

Hiccup turned away from her again and Astrid took this as her perfect opportunity, closing the gap between them before pouncing on top of the boy from behind. He cried out in surprise and made no protest as she flipped him over onto his back and pinned his arms to his sides with her calves, his weaknesses oddly prevalent in his surrender. She stared daggers at him as he fought to catch his breath, his cheeks flushed as his heart tried to recover from his alarm.

"I-Astrid, please—"

"You are dead meat if you don't start answering my questions Hiccup," he swallowed roughly and, with an air of satisfaction, Astrid continued on with her interrogation, "Now tell me, what on Earth is the matter with you?"

"N-nothing," he stammered, the proximity of his face to hers finally becoming evident to the boy.

Astrid grinned, realizing that this impromptu intimacy might very well work to her advantage, "That's not the answer I'm looking for and you know it."

"I…" he signed, finally appearing like he was giving up, "I don't know Astrid. Do you think you could let me go?"

"No way," she leered, her smirk intimidating the daylights out of the boy beneath her, "Not until I get some answers. Now I'm going to ask you again, what is going on?"

He turned his head to the side and tried to send a signal of panic to his dragon with his arms but found himself completely immobile. Not that it would have mattered; the traitorous Fury was off frolicking in the waves with Astrid's Nadder, completely oblivious to his rider's plight.

"Hiccup…"

"Fine," Hiccup closed his eyes, his body finally relaxing beneath her weight, "I'm just worried, that's all."

"About what?"

"…the dragons I guess. I don't know where they're going and I'm worried that they won't come back."

Astrid frowned, "So are the rest of us. But I'm not stupid Hiccup. Something else is bothering you and I want to know what it is."

"I…come on Astrid," he looked towards her, his eyes pleading, "I don't want to talk about it. You know, men and their feelings—"

"Don't kid yourself Hiccup. You may have killed a dragon half the size of Berk but you're still a toothpick."

Hiccup's lips pursed together, a hard edge coming over his gaze, "Gee thanks Astrid. I thought significant others were supposed to be supportive of each other."

Astrid snorted, "Well according to you we're not even in a relationship."

"I didn't say that!" he said, his voice rising in volume, "I wish you would just leave me alone!"

"No!" she shouted back, her face now inches from his, "I'm not letting you go without knowing just what's going on!"

"What are you talking about?"

"What are we Hiccup?" she shrieked, "What am I to you? Do I mean anything to you?"

"Yes!" Finally, finally he was beginning to resist against her, "Yes you mean something to me! By Frigg you mean everything to me!"

If the shock on her face wasn't evidence enough, her grip loosening was a sure enough answer as Hiccup finally managed to free his arms, "Which is why…I don't know Astrid. I don't know if this is going to work out."

It was as if someone had taken a hammer to her chest, "What?"

Hiccup sighed and took a moment to brush his dishevelled bangs from his eyes, "You're…you're a warrior Astrid and I'm…I'm not. You said so yourself, I'm a toothpick. You're better off getting involved with somebody else, not tangled up in me. I'm a mess and…there are others who are a lot more deserving, a lot more suitable for you. You're so beautiful and…gods Astrid look at me; I'm a cripple for the love of Thor. You might as well all start calling me Hiccup the Useless again – I'm pretty much good for nothing now anyway."

Astrid's face began to redden and redden until Hiccup began to worry for her well-being and raised his hand to touch her cheek. She reacted immediately at his touch and threw his hand away, a livid growl escaping her lips.

"How dare you!" She leapt to her feet and stared furiously at the boy, just barely keeping herself from tromping on him, "How dare you just assume what's good for me and what isn't! You…you stupid, selfish idiot!" She threw her hands into the air and bent down, grabbing him by the scruff of his collar, "I fell in love with you, you dim-witted bonehead, and now you're telling me to shove off? I…aaghh!"

She threw him back into the sand and spun around on her heel, stomping off towards the rocky crags as fast as she could manage. She could feel the tears welling up and fought them back as valiantly as she could, focusing her thoughts on how incredibly angry she was instead of the reason why. She made it to one of the huge stone structures before she was intercepted, the boy's unsteady footfalls closing in behind her.

"Get away from me," she grumbled, hiding the tears in her voice as best she could. She kept her face turned away from him and her hair all over the place, her eyes focusing on an obstructing shard in the rocks.

"No."

"Leave me alone!"

"No."

She fought the urge to turn towards the obstinate boy and clobber him with her fists, choosing to concentrate on keeping the tears from escaping her eyes for the moment instead. She hated him for this, hated him for doing this to her and despite her best efforts she knew she couldn't keep her emotions at bay for much longer.

"I waited seventeen days for you to wake up," she whispered, her arms coming around to hug herself, "I thought you were going to die and every morning I rushed from my house just to make sure…just to make sure you were still breathing. Because after…after all of that, after Toothless, after the nest, I don't know what happened. But I think I…I think I knew then that I had been wrong about you, and that you weren't useless, no matter how useless you seemed. You were powerless and yet…you nearly died for us. I thought you were dead. And then when they…they cut your leg off and the healer's said you weren't going to last the next two hours…gods Hiccup, don't you understand? I thought you were gone! I thought I'd never see you again!" she finally turned around to face him, her eyes full of unshed tears, "I had never felt so helpless! I was in love with you! And now…I don't know what to think anymore."

The pause between them grew and grew until Hiccup couldn't take it anymore. The silent tears that were streaming down her cheeks were tearing him to shreds and the only thing keeping him from losing his mind was the realization that he was the source of her pain. Her eyes, their depths the colour of his beloved sky, were filled with a desperate sorrow he had never known and without knowing what he was doing he was crashing his lips onto hers, senseless as the gods took a frantic hold of him.

He placed his palms on her cheeks and brushed the tears away with the pads of his thumbs, gracious as she melted into his body and latched onto him like she had never done before. He let one arm slide down her spine and rest on the small of her back, pressing her closer to his body as he tipped her head back, taking advantage of his newly acquired height. His other hand found its way towards the nape of her neck and buried itself in her braided hair, revelling in the softness of her tresses against his skin.

He parted his lips slightly and gasped, his lungs filling with a mixture of her breath and his. Her eyes flew open at the sensation and quickly regained her senses, kissing him back with a fierceness that derived from the very corners of her heart, her emotions already so awry that she was nearly lost in the storm. She fought against the lips that worked against hers, tangled her fingers in his unwilling hair and wanted to throw him to the ground if it didn't mean separating from their glorious contact. She whispered her most fierce battle cry in the clash of their lips until she couldn't take it anymore, finally pulling them apart.

She pressed her cheek against his and struggled to catch her breath, their bodies still pressed together as closely as they were able. She revelled in the sensation of his stubble against her jawbone, a smile slowly crawling onto her lips as she realized she was entirely mistaken.

"I'm sorry Hiccup," she muttered, her lips barely an inch away from his ear, "I didn't mean to yell at you."

He sighed and Astrid could feel the pain in his chest as he did so, their bodies separating slightly as he took another deep breath, "I meant what I said before. You deserve something better, someone who can provide for you. You know as well as I do that I can't do that."

She pulled away, holding his shoulders at arm's length, "I can provide enough for the both of us."

He shook his head, his eyes downcast, "It's not right."

"Since when is the proper thing to do right?"

"Since I fell in love with you."

It was her turn to be speechless now, her eyes wide with the kind of surprise that succeeded in tearing his heart to pieces.

"We can't do this Astrid, you know that."

"Yes we can Hiccup, we can."

"I may not always be around."

"Don't say that, you're being stupid."

"No, I'm being reasonable."

She curled her hands into fists, her strength waning as every ounce of fight began to drain from her body, "I won't ever leave you."

Hiccup stepped back and glanced at her once more before turning around and walking back towards Toothless, the dragon standing sentinel now only a few yards away. He leapt on top of the Night Fury and bent down to strap his prosthetic into the stirrup, his eyes meeting hers for the last time before taking to the air and disappearing into the clouds.

"That's what I'm worried about."

It can only get worse before it gets better right? ...right?

Please review! You've heard it a million times before but the more you guys review and favourite, the faster I will post chapters!

Love and fluff,

Brontë