AN: Hona pomnuria, skulblaka. Nice to see you. Here's a new chapter of Dragonheart-enjoy!

*yaawwwwn* I still don't own HTTYD.

Chapter Two

Sightless Eyes

He turned to look at Astrid. For a second, so briefly she might have imagined it, his eyes filled with grief. Then he blinked, and it was gone. Stoick tentatively stepped forward, and slowly approached Hiccup. Then he placed his enormous hands on the boy's shoulders, looking into Hiccup's green eyes. The eyes that filled with remorse as he whispered;

"I missed you,"

And then a tear slid down his face as his father pulled him into a bone-crushing embrace.

"What happened to your leg?" Stoick murmured. Hiccup grimaced as he glanced at the metal contraption that replaced his left foot. It was a simple metal peg, with three wicked-looking spikes attached to the back of it.

"When I beat the dragon Queen, the Red Death. The fake tailfin-" he points at the red leather contraption on his dragon's tail, "burned off, and we nearly made it out. There was fire everywhere. But the Queen's tail…" he trailed off, clearly remembering. Astrid's hand flew to her mouth.

"We hit the tail, and my safety cord snapped. I don't know exactly what happened after that, but Toothless turned right around and caught me in his wings." His voice became more humorous. "But no, bud, you couldn't save all of me, no. So…" he lifted the foot. "Peg leg!"

Stoick looked at Hiccup one more time before turning to the village.

"A feast!" he declared. "To celebrate the return of my son!"

The girl, Idris, took off her mask and hung it from her belt. The two boys did the same. Hiccup stooped down, snatched up his own, then mimicked them. Only the woman was left with her dragon mask on.

"Everyone;" Hiccup said. "I would like you to meet my companions. Idris, Snorri," he pointed to the older of the two Seashocker riders, "Fiske," the younger male grinned impishly and held up a hand. "And Forsja," he finished. The older woman, who still retained her mask, nodded. Stoick's eyes narrowed at her dragon, but he still announced;

"These five dragons are not to be harmed! Leave them in peace, and give them fish! Today, we celebrate. Tomorrow we can discuss what to do about the threat."

o~0~O~0~o

Hiccup walked to the Mead Hall, glancing nervously over his shoulder every few moments, as if checking on his companions. Fiske was tapping an irregular beat on his leg; the young man just couldn't stay still. Snorri anxiously fiddled with his black hair as he walked. Idris walked very carefully, one foot directly in front of the other, like she was afraid that a knife might shoot out of the ground. Fiske stood right beside her, tapping incessantly. The woman, Forsja, was different. She still hadn't removed her mask, which was different to those of the others. It was more of a helmet, much less symmetrical than those of her companions. She, unlike her companions, was in full leather armour, and she hadn't yet said even a word. She carried a staff with hooked ends, while the other riders all held weapons of some description. The younger woman, Idris, was holding a long spear with a ragged blade the length of Astrid's forearm jutting from the top. The older boy, Snorri, had a bow strapped to his saddle and a quiver of arrows at his belt. Fiske had a single-headed axe with a long handle. Hiccup seemed to have no weapon, but there was a sword hilt in a loop at his waist.

The woman was very aloof, not even near the other riders. Astrid wondered why the woman was staying so distant. When Snorri kicked a pebble the woman spun, raising her staff, ready to brain someone. Why was she so jumpy?

Ahead, Stoick leaned over to Hiccup.

"Hiccup, son," he whispered. "I might, might be able to tolerate a few dragons as long as they stay out of the way. But that one;" he inclined his head to the huge four-winged one, "I don't know how long I can look at it without it losing its head. You might not have known, but that dragon is responsible for-"

Hiccup sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I was hoping that we could do this later… you've had enough shocks for one day. But Cloudjumper's rider…"

Hiccup pulled Stoick to the side, his feet tracing the path to the house. Despite the three years, he knew the way perfectly. He gestured to the woman, who flinched. She rattled her staff. Hiccup raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, Forsja. We are telling him.

It was almost like… gods above. The woman was talking using the staff! She reluctantly followed Hiccup. Astrid narrowed her eyes. Hiccup he may be, but who knew how he had changed in three years? What if he attacked Stoick? She followed them, and when they entered the house she went around the back and climbed in through Hiccup's old bedroom window.

"Dad…" Hiccup said. "You might want to lose the hammer," he said. Astrid peered down the stairs. She could see five feet and a metal peg in front of the fire. There was a clunk as Stoick put down the hammer.

"Right. Now, I'm just going to wait over here…" he said, his foot vanishing from view. Then the woman's mask was placed on the ground, and Astrid heard the sharp intake of breath. There was a silence. A really long silence.

"Stoick…" an unfamiliar voice said. Must be that woman's, Astrid thought. "I know what you're going to say. Why didn't I come back? I… I thought Hiccup would be better off with you! I thought he'd be more Viking without me! How was I to know that he took after me?"

Astrid stared. Was the woman saying what Astrid thought she was saying? The blonde took a risk and stood lower down on the stairs, until she could see the whole scene. The woman's face came into view.

Long auburn braids. An angular face and a straight nose. And those eyes.

They were exactly like Hiccup's.

Astrid raced back up the stairs and leaped out the window. She did not want to intrude on the family reunion.

o~0~O~0~o

She fell back in with the group in the Mead Hall. The three remaining Dragon Riders were sitting awkwardly, given a wide berth. Other people were bringing in food to be cooked, or rounds of bread.

Hiccup's mother! As far as Astrid knew, she had been killed in a… dragon raid. Of course. She had survived, and befriended the dragons! Astrid made up her mind. She would have to talk to the riders about their past. Who knew how they had gotten into their situation? She quickly decided on Idris. She seemed the most kindred spirit of the riders. Astrid walked past the other young Vikings.

"Do you think they'll know how to teach a Zippleback to blow stuff up when you ask it to?" Tuffnut hissed. Astrid rolled her eyes and continued on, sitting beside Idris. The girl raised an eyebrow.

"You've got guts, you have," Idris said. "You're sitting beside one of the foul feral traitors. Careful, or I might breathe fire on you, or sprout wings and carry you away."

Wow. Her tongue was sharp.

"Huh. I think I'd be a little more freaked about the wings than the flying away. I'm Astrid," she responded. Idris smiled.

"Idris. Nice to meet you. Ugh. I feel so awkward. It's been four years since I've talked with anyone but the others. And now suddenly there are all these people. If it weren't for Hiccup, I wouldn't be here. Stormcleaver and I would be out flying."

They named their dragons?

"How did you meet up with Hiccup and the others?"

"Oh," Idris laughed. "Awkward story. My sister had managed to capture a Grapple Grounder, the first in out tribe to manage it. Grapple Grounders caused a lot of damage on my island. Anyway, they caged her up, and she was going to be killed in front of the village to open our harvesting festival. I got caught trying to release her. I mean, I wasn't a dragon-lover, but no animal should have to go through that. For a dragon to die on the ground, chained up… it's the worst kind of death. It's like how we Vikings consider dying of old age ignoble. If dragons die like that, they'd miss out on their version of Valhalla. So anyway, I got caught and they chained me up too. They stuck me in the cage. One thing they didn't think of, however, was taking my shoulder guards."

The guards in question were metal arches over her shoulders studded with long spikes.

"It took a while, but I managed to pick the locks on the Grapple Grounder's muzzle and wings. She grabbed me and blew up the cage. It was carnage. Vikings running everywhere. The Grapple Grounder flew away, and she was still carrying me in her claws. Eventually we crashed on some uninhabited island, and that's where Hiccup and Forsja found us. We helped them in their dragon sanctuary, until Drago attacked."

"So, what's up with this Drago Bludvist guy?" Astrid asked. Idris' face darkened.

"He's a madman. Hiccup tried reasoning with the guy and he nearly got killed. Sword to his throat and everything. Drago killed our Alpha."

Her eyes filled with tears. Obviously this 'Alpha' was important.

"It was horrible. When you spend a long time with an Alpha, you can almost hear him. Don't look at me like that! Anyway, it we could practically hear his voice, like the rest of our nest. When he died, we felt it too. Hiccup and Valk-" Her eyes widened. She'd slipped up.

"Shh. It's alright. I know Forsja is Valka, Hiccup's mother." Astrid soothed.

"How?" Idris asked.

"Ki-ind of followed them. But go on with the story," Astrid prompted.

"What was I saying? Oh, yeah. Hiccup and Valka are especially sensitive. Hiccup almost had a fit. It's a miracle he stayed on Toothless. Then Drago killed Sonja, and that was the last straw. We had to flee. But when Drago had Hiccup, he said something about attacking the islands, starting with Berserker Island, then Berk. We flew here right away."

"Who was Sonja?" Astrid questioned.

"She was the sixth Rider. She had a Timberjack, but Drago took her. He shot the two of them down."

Astrid shook her head.

"This Drago guy must be serious," she muttered.

"Oh, he is," Idris said, eyes wide. "He won't stop until he's the King of the Archipelago."

"Phew. Wow. But what stopped you guys from taking him on yourselves?" the blonde asked.

"Are you kidding?" Idris said in disbelief. "I don't know what he was like when you knew him, but Hiccup's a fair hand with Inferno… you know, the sword. And Drago almost killed him without even breaking a sweat! Fiske and Snorri together couldn't take him. Sonja was an amazing fighter, and Drago killed her. Valka hates fighting, and I… well, I have my infirmity, don't I?"

"What? Infirmity?"

Idris raised an eyebrow. "You didn't notice?"

Astrid shook her head. Idris smiled softly.

"Astrid, I'm blind. I have been for two years."

Astrid reeled.

"How do you know where you're going? How do you fight and stuff?"

"I've got really good hearing. Also, Hiccup, Fiske and I worked out a system. That tapping Fiske does? It tells me where to go. It's really helpful. And as for the fighting, I rarely leave Stormcleaver's back."

Astrid looked at Idris' eyes. Before, they had seemed to be a light blue-grey, but now that she looked closely she could see that they weren't quite focused. They were more of a pale, milky blue, and she didn't blink. It was quite an eerie effect, and Astrid shivered.

Two men, his mother and a blind girl. Hiccup certainly had the strangest of companions.