Disclaimer: Don't own anything but the slightly changed plotline.

"And with one twist, he took my hand and swallowed it whole. And I saw the look on his face; I was delicious."

Hiccup ignored Gobber's story, having heard it at least twenty times since he became his apprentice. They were currently in one of the watchtowers, having a bonfire. But, his attention was on his book, on his drawing of Toothless, one of many.

Toothless was probably a stupid name, especially considering he knew first hand that the Night Fury had perfectly healthy, sharp teeth, but it's what stuck.

He had stayed with Toothless until nightfall, bonding with him and learning things about him. So far, he's found that Toothless loves fish (obviously), he loves drawing (he continued to drag that branch around for quite a while after he and Hiccup shared their little moment), and he's quite playful (he practically forced Hiccup to play several games with him after he became bored of drawing, even going so far as to tackle Hiccup to the ground and lightly bat at him with his claws in a mock wrestling match).

Toothless was almost like a small child, actually. He was very intelligent, yes, but he seemed to have the mindset of a child, as well as the playfulness and the innocence of one.

He wondered if all dragons were like that.

Hiccup returned his attention to his drawing, thinking of how the dragon worked. From what he's found, Toothless has three sets of wings, and that's counting the tail fins. The largest were on his back, and they were obviously used for flying. The medium sized wings were right below the main set at the very beginning of his tail, and Hiccup figured they were used for gliding. That would mean that the tail fins were used for agility in flight, such as steering and maneuvering, and Hiccup wondered how Toothless would be able to fly without the other tail fin.

If he could even fly at all.

Astrid's thoughts were focused on her dragon as well. After she had named Stormfly, the dragon had followed her around, squawking and chirping at the sound of her voice. She almost behaved in a manner similar to a child, with a healthy dose of playfulness and innocence. She also seemed quite eager to please Astrid, chirping happily every time Astrid complimented her on completing a task she had set up to test her out, such as bringing her a tree branch or removing the shield that had gotten stuck between the rocks.

She was also quite vain, Astrid had learned. Stormfly was a very beautiful dragon, and unfortunately, she knew it. Her dose of vanity was rather generous, though Astrid supposed that it was normal for her species.

While she was happy to be able to bond with Stormfly, Astrid was concerned with getting her into the air again. Obviously Stormfly wouldn't be able to use her left wing, not with that large tear in it. The way it flapped in the breeze made Astrid worry that it wouldn't be able to heal naturally.

Astrid shook her head a little, tuning back into the conversation. She had the rest of tonight and all day tomorrow to figure it out; although, she doubted she would be thinking about it too much in the arena.

"He must've passed the word on, because it wasn't until months later when another one took my leg."

"Isn't it weird to think that your hand was inside a dragon?" Fishlegs said, "Like, if your mind was still in control of it, you could've killed the dragon on the inside by crushing his heart or something." Everyone gave him an odd look before simply turning their attention back to their own devices.

"I swear I'm so angry right now," Snotlout said, "I'll avenge your beautiful hand and your beautiful foot. I'll chop off the legs of every dragon I fight. With my face."

Ruffnut and Astrid simultaneously lifted a brow at his little speech before sharing a look and a grin.

Hiccup gave Snotlout a tiny smirk, "Are you sure you wanna put your face in harm's way, Snotlout? It may end up looking even worse than it already does."

Snotlout gave a fake, irritated laugh before suddenly going silent, an annoyed smile on his face, "Aw, I knew you cared about me, baby cousin."

He quickly ducked when Hiccup's steaming fish, still stabbed into the stick, went flying toward him. Luckily, he ducked in time, and the wasted food flew passed his head. Snotlout gave a smug grin, sticking his tongue out at Hiccup, who returned it with an irked expression before dulling out his face, giving Snotlout a stupid look.

Astrid and Ruffnut shared another glance, snorting a little, holding up their hands in an attempt to muffle their incoming laughter.

"Enough. Anyway, Snotlout, it's the wings and the tail ya really want," Gobber said, tearing off a piece of his turkey, "If it can't fly, it can't get away."

Astrid furrowed her brows in thought, slowly lowering her hand, a look of realization marring her face, and, if she had glanced over, she would see the same look on Hiccup's.

"A downed dragon is a dead dragon."

Okay, so Stormfly definitely needed some help.

Gobber suddenly yawned, "Alright, I'm off to bed. You should be, too. Tomorrow we get to the big boys. Slowly but surely making our way up to the Monstrous Nightmare. But who'll win the honor of killing it?"

"It's gonna be me," Tuffnut grinned, "It's my destiny. See?"

Astrid curled her lips a little at the tattoo Tuffnut showed off, quickly glancing away from it. She furrowed her brows at the sight of Hiccup's empty seat, darting her gaze around in an attempt to find him.

"Your mom let you get a tattoo?"

"It's not a tattoo, it's a birthmark."

Astrid watched as Hiccup scurried down the stairs, following Gobber, her expression curious. She shook her head before returning to her seat, ignoring the questioning glance Ruffnut sent her way before she returned her attention back to her brother.

"Uh, I've been stuck with you since birth, and that was never there before."

"Yes, it has, you've just never seen me from the left side before."

"It wasn't there yesterday. Is it a birthmark or a today-mark?"

Astrid picked at some of her fish, taking a few bites before holding some pieces up to Ruffnut. "Want some?"

She shrugged, grabbing the pieces of fish from her and stuffing them into her mouth. "Oh, hey, Astrid," She said through her chewing, her tone almost sounding like it was merely an afterthought rather than sincere, "Sorry for makin' fun of you in the ring today. It was just too good to pass up."

Astrid rolled her eyes at the tone, but gave a little grin. She knew Ruffnut simply found joking around and being rude or sarcastic ways of showing affection. She shrugged, taking another bite of fish, "Whatever."

Ruffnut suddenly snorted, her shoulders shaking in laughter. "But, oh my gods, the way you two had just conveniently got all tangled up together."

Astrid tried to swipe at her with her fish, but Ruffnut simply ducked out of the way, hopping to the other side of the fire, laughing at Astrid's flustered face. "The way he just so happened to fall on top of you."

Astrid suddenly hopped up, waving her fish on a stick around in an attempt to appear threatening and failing miserably (Astrid could never appear threatening, no matter how hard she may try). Ruffnut let out a squeal, laughing as she sprinted down the spiraling stairs of the watchtower, Astrid chasing her, and the boys watched them go with a mixture of amused, confused, and curious looks on their faces.

"Ruff!" Astrid shouted, "He was being chased by a dragon and I got in the way!"

Ruffnut laughed loudly when she reached the bottom of the stairs, sprinting off. She looked over her shoulder to smirk at Astrid. "You got in his way? Freya, Astrid, you naughty girl!"

Astrid let out a squeal of her own, though hers was angry, her face heating up. She tried to pick up her speed, screaming like a mad Nightmare as she chased Ruffnut through the village, holding her stick and fish above her head.

Sweat ran down Hiccup's forehead as he pumped the bellows, lighting the coals on the fire, and, when he was done, he grabbed some large pliers and poured the molten liquid into a mold.

Gobber came up behind him, lifting it up with a grunt, and Hiccup dumped the cup and pliers into a cold water bucket, hearing the loud hiss. He ducked under Gobber's arms and ran to a table of tools. This was normal for them; whenever Gobber noticed anything wrong with Hiccup, the man would drag him into the forge to talk.

"Ah, don't take it to heart, kid," Gobber said as he set the molder onto a large table with a hefty grunt, "It's his job to be tough on everyone." He separated the molder, revealing a new sword.

"I'm not everyone," Hiccup argued, holding up a wrench in his frustration. It wasn't his father that was truly bothering him (though, it was bothering him now), but it's not like he could tell Gobber that he was overly curious about a wild dragon. That would not go over too well.

"But, it doesn't matter," Hiccup grumbled, setting down the wrench and grabbing some pliers, working them for a moment, "That guy is impossible to please." He suddenly tossed the pliers to Gobber, who caught them with ease and used them to lift the hot sword and carry it to the anvil.

"He just doesn't want to appear to be playing favorites," Gobber said.

"Oh, he's covered in that department, believe me," Hiccup muttered bitterly, quickly running over to the anvil and dusting it off, "If we didn't live in the same house, I wouldn't even know he was my father." He flicked off a small pebble just as Gobber slammed the sword onto the anvil, not reacting in the slightest despite the fact he had been leaning his face quite close to the flat rock in order to check for dust.

"Have you told 'em that?" Gobber asked as Hiccup removed his wooden hammer hand.

"Of course not," Hiccup muttered as he replaced the wooden hammer hand with a metal one, "We barely make eye contact."

Gobber used his hammer hand to beat out the sword while Hiccup twisted it with the handle.

"Well, he just wants you to do things the Viking way," Gobber said, "I mean, there's the Viking way, and then there's your way, and your way makes grown men uncomfortable."

"Speaking of uncomfortable, I'd like to change the subject please," Hiccup said sardonically.

"Alright, how's it goin' with the ladies?" Gobber asked with a suggestive smirk.

Hiccup shot him a look, opening his mouth to speak, but stopped when the sound of squealing and laughter caught his attention, and he and Gobber glanced around in confusion.

Astrid panted as she came to a stop, grinning at the sight of Ruffnut, trapped between a barn that was blocked off by a few barrels and the forge. Ruffnut let out a squeal when she saw that there was no escape, but she was grinning quite broadly.

"Wow," She said, "You actually managed to catch me. Props to you, Astrid."

"Yeah, well..." Astrid stumbled over her words; she's never been good with threats, "I mean, what'd you think was gonna happen?"

"Well, I dunno, Astrid." Oh, she did not like Ruff's tone. "But I'm sure your boyfriend might."

Astrid's face heated up even more than it already was; her face felt like it was sunburned. "Ruffnut!"

"That is if you're not-" She grinned wickedly.

"Ruff!"

"Too busy-"

"Ruffnut, please!"

"Okay, okay!" She held up her hands in surrender, but she was still grinning.

A small pause.

"Humping him!"

"RUFFNUT!"

Ruffnut laughed, dodging the thrown stick and fish as Astrid ran after her. She quickly kicked over one of the barn's barrels, causing Astrid to trip and fly over it. She landed face first, getting completely soaked by the water kept inside the barrel, causing her to sputter.

Ruffnut laughed. "Astrid, what did you think was gonna happen?"

Astrid let out an annoyed grunt, attempting stand, but she slipped on the watery, muddy ground, falling back over with a shout, making Ruffnut laugh even harder.

"Ruffnut!"

"Astrid, don't worry," Ruffnut said in a placating tone, though her mischievous grin was still present, "I won't tell a soul about this. Then again... Tuff doesn't have a soul, so."

"Ruffnut!" Astrid shouted; geez, how many time has she shouted this girl's name in one night? She quickly stood, wanting to chase after Ruffnut again, but the girl was long gone, her laughter fading in the distance.

Astrid huffed, looking down at her muddy clothes; she was going to have to mix up her mother's special cleaning ingredients for this. She shook off as much mud as she could before walking around the side of the barn, glancing at forge, realizing that there was smoke and an orange glow coming from the fireplace. But... Gobber said he was going to bed...

"Astrid?"

Astrid's eyes widened, and she felt her face heat up again. Oh, no. No, no, no, no. He didn't hear any of that, did he?

"Hiccup! Hi! Um... you didn't happen to hear...?"

Judging by the tiny smirk on his face, he did. Oh the gods do hate her...

He simply shrugged, tilting his head a little, blinking his eyes in a teasing manner. "Why don't we just pretend I didn't?"

Astrid puffed out her cheeks in embarrassment. Yeah, pretending it didn't happen sounded like the best course of action to take. "Yeah, why don't we pretend you didn't? Uh..."

Silence.

What is with all the awkward silences!?

She avoided Hiccup's amused eyes, pointing ahead with a strained smile. "Well, I should probably... you know, go wash up and... bye!"

She quickly sprinted off, trying to block out the chuckle she heard as she did. Her face felt like it was on fire.

Why was he at the forge so late!? Why Hiccup!? Why!?

Hours later, Hiccup entered his small room at the back of the forge, beginning the project he had originally wanted to work on before Gobber had caught up with him.

The room was covered in drawings of weaponry, prosthetics, contraptions, and scale models. He lit a candle and laid his sketchbook on his desk, opening it to his drawing of Toothless. A look of determination plastered on his face, he picked up his charcoal and drew in Toothless' missing tail fin.

The creaking leather bellowed, tongs pulled intricate iron pieces from the coals before dropping them on the anvil. They're twisted, lightly hammered, and dunked in a cooling barrel. The pieces were carried to Hiccup's work bench and laid out on a one-to-one schematic; a sketch of a mechanical tail fin.

Hiccup pieced everything together, revealing the completed tail fin, looking exactly like Toothless' sketched one, and he folded it back up with a satisfied grin.

"Toothless," Hiccup grinned, trying to keep his tone innocent as the dragon sniffed at the air, crooning happily at the sight of the fish filled basket, "I brought breakfast. Hope you're hungry."

He kicked the basket of fish over with ease, and the dragon immediately dug in. Hiccup clutched the prosthetic tail fin closer, eyeing Toothless as he crept behind the dragon. "That's it; you just eat. I'll be back here… minding my own business…."

He knelt by the tail, speedily removing the gauze. The wound was healed, the only indication of any injury remaining being the slightly wrinkled looking skin. Hiccup tried to slide the prosthetic into place, but Toothless began flicking his tail back and forth like a cat the second the gauze had been removed, keeping his tail away every time Hiccup got near it.

"It's, it's okay," He muttered before hopping onto it to keep it still, but the dragon was much stronger than him, seeming to not notice his weight, dragging him back and forth with each wag of the tail. Toothless suddenly scooted up, digging his head into the basket of fish, dragging Hiccup forward with a startled sound. Hiccup huffed irritably, twisting around to straddle the tail, quickly working the prosthetic into place, not noticing the way the dragon froze at the feel of the leather.

He leaned back, examining his work, and looking quite pleased, not paying attention to the way the real tail fin began to flare out.

"There. Not too bad. It works."

Toothless suddenly bolted into the air, carrying Hiccup with him on his tail, and the boy let out a startled scream as they climbed high above the ravine.

"Whoa! WhoooooaaaaaaARGH! No, no, no, no, no, no AGH!"

He struggled to hold onto the tail. As the ground sped away, Toothless suddenly tipped into an uncontrolled bank and dive, and the two screamed together as they fell. Hiccup glanced up, seeing the prosthetic flail uselessly in the wind. Hiccup grabbed onto it and pulled it outward, and the flared appendage caught the air, stabilizing the twisting tail.

Toothless arched just short of the incoming tree tops, climbing into the air.

"Oh my- it's working!" Hiccup shouted excitedly, arching the tail fin towards the right, changing Toothless' directory until they reach the ravine, gliding over the stream.

"Yes! Yes, I did it!"

Toothless glanced back at him, his eyes taking on an expression of annoyance, and he turned sharply, sending Hiccup into the ravine, the boy landing painfully on the shallow stream. Toothless let out a screech when he fell into the lower ravine, the prosthetic useless without Hiccup. He shook off, struggling for a moment, but catching the top of the ravine with his claws and pushing upward.

He looked at Hiccup, cocking his head curiously when the boy grinned excitedly, raising his arms in a victory pose.

"YEAH!"

Astrid huffed as she walked into the cove, struggling under the weight of the full basket strapped to her back; in her arms, she carried a medium-sized box of medical supplies. She had stolen the basket of fish from the fish monger's home; it was really easy considering he was out on the voyage with all the other warriors, as well as the fact that he leaves all his fish baskets in front of his house instead of inside it. She could've sworn, though, that he was already missing a basket when she swiped hers. [1]

"Hey, Stormfly." The Nadder perked up at the sight of her, cocking her head curiously as she watched Astrid slide the basket straps off her shoulders, letting his the ground his a hard thunk.

Astrid knelt down, placing her medical box on the ground in front of her and opening it up. Stormfly walked up beside her, leaning down until her head was right next to Astrid's, tilting her head back and forth in the same manner as a bird, watching her as she took out a few items from the box and laid them out in front of her.

"Okay, Stormfly," Astrid started, and Stormfly let out a small noise at the sound of her name, "I've been thinking about your wing." Astrid worked on mixing a few herbs in a small cup as she spoke, grabbing an herb crusher to mash them with. "I seriously doubt it will be able to heal on its own, so I'm going to help it out."

Stormfly let out a curious snort, and Astrid set the cup of crushed herbs aside to grab some rolled up bandages, as well as a needle and thread.

"I'm going to help you fly again," Astrid said, holding up the needle and thread so Stormfly could sniff at them, "And this should do the trick."

Stormfly backed up slightly, giving Astrid enough room to stand. "Now," Astrid said as she walked up to Stormfly's damaged wing, examining it, "These are stitches, which means I'm going to be sewing you up, so it's going to hurt a little. But, if you stay still and let me do this, I've got a whole basket of fish for you as a reward."

Stormfly let out a small chirp at her words before flaring out her damaged wing, allowing Astrid to work on it. She blinked a few times, tilting her head back and forth as she watched and felt Astrid work. First, the girl grabbed the small cup of freshly crushed herbs, spreading the medicine on each side of the split in the wing. Next, she used the stitches, sewing up the tear was closed and the skin of the wing stretched normally again. Finally, she spread some leftover herbs along some strips of the bandages, making them sticky; she used the now sticky bandages to cover the stitches, lying the bandages flat over the wound before dragging them under the wing and onto the other side, covering the back of the tear as well.

When she was finished, she used a scalpel to slice away the leftover bandages before rolling them back up. Stormfly squawked, cocking her head from side to side as she stared at her treated wing curiously. Astrid gave her a small smile before grabbing her supplies and replacing them back inside the medical box, and Stormfly gave her an impatient nuzzle, nearly knocking Astrid over in an attempt to urge the girl to give her, her reward.

"Okay, okay!" Astrid let out a little laugh at her impatience, standing up. "Geez…" She muttered before giving Stormfly a look. "Before I give you your reward, I want you to flap a little. See if you can get some air."

Stormfly snorted before glancing back at her wing. She spread them out, and Astrid watched the bandages closely to make sure they wouldn't fly off. Stormfly began flapping her wings, and she managed to gain some air, hovering a few feet above the ground. Astrid gave a little grin at the sight before Stormfly let herself drop, landing gracefully on her feet. She turned to Astrid, squawking happily, and Astrid smiled at her. "Good job. Your wing'll be better in no time. Now, for your reward," She said, walking over to the large basket of fish she had dragged into the cove. She struggled for a brief moment (damn her lack of muscles!) before she managed to knock it over with her foot, spilling out all the fish. Astrid cringed at the sight, but Stormfly perked up, immediately walking toward her meal, nuzzling at the fish.

"Wow, that's… really gross. Anyway, I got some salmon, some nice Icelandic cod, and a whole smoked eel."

Stormfly's eyes suddenly constricted and she jerkily backed up with a growl. Astrid gave her a confused look, bending down to grab the eel, and Stormfly jerked again, releasing a high-pitched, panic screech.

"No, no, no, no!" Astrid exclaimed, holding up her hands, one still holding the eel, in an attempt to placate her. She quickly chucked the eel away, speaking in a bit of a panicked manner; she did not want to deal with a spooked dragon. "It's fine, it's fine! Yeah, I don't really like eel much, either..."

Stormfly snorted when the eel was thrown away, and Astrid watched her curiously as she turned her attention back to the fish, wiping away the eel slime on her wrappings.

"Wow," Astrid mumbled, "You really hate eel, huh…." Astrid looked back at the eel, lying innocently on the ground a few feet away. "I wonder…."

When Astrid entered the arena, she immediately searched out Ruffnut. She saw her standing next to her brother, as always, and quickly sprinted toward them. She wasn't strong, but she was able to use her momentum to push Ruffnut into Tuffnut.

"That was for the mud bath," Astrid said, smiling proudly. Ruffnut snorted before letting out a few laughs, while Tuffnut simply glanced between them in confusion. Ruffnut glanced at Tuff before giving Astrid a smirk that made her falter.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that," Ruff said, her tone false, "Hey, Tuff, did I ever tell you about-oof!"

Astrid quickly cut her off, trying to smother her mouth with her hands, but Ruff simply let out muffled laughs. Tuff rolled his eyes, losing interest in their scuffle and walking over to Snotlout.

"Please don't tell, Ruff! Anybody!"

Astrid let out a squeak when she felt something slimy slide across her hand. "Ew!" She shouted, snatching her hands away, wiping Ruffnut's spit off on her leggings as the girl simply laughed.

She smirked, jerking her head in the direction ahead of them. "Not even him, Astrid?"

Astrid glanced in the direction she pointed out, flushing at the sight of Hiccup walking into the arena with Gobber next to him, carrying a few buckets.

Astrid shot Ruffnut a look, her face flustered.

"Okay, okay," Ruffnut smirked, holding up her hands in surrender, "I promise I... nah! Hey, Hiccup!"

"Ruffnut!" Astrid shouted, attempting to run after her as she sprinted toward Hiccup, who glanced up at the sound of his name. Astrid knew she wasn't going to be able to reach her in time; the only comforting thought she had was that Ruff didn't know that Hiccup had overhead them last night.

"Quiet down," Gobber said, causing Ruffnut to freeze just as she reached Hiccup's side, Astrid stopping next to Fishlegs. Gobber walked around the arena, shoving buckets of water into the recruits' hands.

"Um... What do we need these for?" Fishlegs asked hesitantly.

Gobber didn't answer; instead, he walked toward one of the cages, grabbing the handle and pushing it down, lifting the bar from the doors.

"Today is about teamwork."

The unbarred gates literally exploded open, sending a fog into the arena. The recruits backed up, holding their bucket of water close as the fog spread around them.

"A wet dragon head can't light its fire. The Hideous Zippleback is extra tricky. One head breathes the gas; the other head lights it. It's your job to figure out which is which."

Astrid and Fishlegs huddled together, their eyes desperately searching the fog for the dragon. Fishlegs began muttering information, something he always did when nervous.

"Razor sharp serrated teeth that inject venom for pre-digestion. Prefers ambush attack, crushing its victims-"

"Will you stop that?" Astrid hissed, giving him an irritant look, her whole body tense.

Snotlout and Tuffnut huddled back-to-back, twisting around to look into the fog.

"If that dragon shows either of its faces..." Snotlout muttered before a shadow within the fog caught his attention. "There!"

He and Tuffnut tossed their water towards it, and a masculine and feminine shout was heard. Hiccup and Ruffnut walked into their line of sight, their faces irked.

"It's us, idiots," Ruffnut grumbled.

Tuffnut smirked, "Your butts are getting bigger. We thought you were dragons."

Snotlout shot his glaring cousin a nervous look, having been on the bad side of his temper way too many times before. "Not that there's anything wrong with a dragon-esque fig-"

He was cut off when Hiccup gave him a hard, loud punch to the face, sending him to the ground. Ruffnut retaliated as well, chucking her water bucket directly at Tuffnut's face, knocking him onto his back. He sat up with a dazed look before he was suddenly pulled into the fog with a shout.

Ruffnut let a concerned look mar her face, attempting to walk forward, but Hiccup blocked her by holding up an arm.

"Wait."

A small pause.

Suddenly, a tail swiped their feet, knocking them to the ground, causing Hiccup to drop and spill his water bucket, and Tuffnut came scrambling out of the fog, practically running over Ruffnut. Astrid and Fishlegs quickly stepped to the side as Tuffnut ran passed them, shouting loudly.

"Oh! Ohh! I'm hurt! I am very much hurt!"

"Chances of survival are dwindling into the single digits now..." Fishlegs said nervously, and Astrid shot him another look.

Suddenly, a snake-like head emerged from the fog, twisting around, cornering a panicked Fishlegs before stopping directly in front of him. He quickly dumped his water on the head, and the dragon narrowed its eyes irritantly, opening its mouth to let a fog of green gas puff out of it.

"Oh," Fishlegs grinned nervously, "Wrong head."

The dragon suddenly screeched, shooting gas at him rather violently, and Gobber stepped forward in concern.

"Fishlegs!"

Fishlegs scrambled away, his arms in the air in a panic, screaming. Astrid stepped to the side to avoid being rammed into, causing her to nearly run into the second head. She glanced between the two heads nervously, tightly clutching her water bucket.

"Now, Astrid!"

She threw the water up, and it shot into the air, arching toward the ground seconds before reaching the sparking head. The two heads glanced at the now wet ground before looking up at Astrid, and she could've sworn they were grinning.

"Oh, come on," She moaned, and one of the heads suddenly knocked her over, both of them growling, a rattling sound escaping them, spreading their wings for intimidation.

"Astrid!" Gobber shouted, running forward a bit to help, but he froze at the sight that greeted him as the fog finally dissipated completely.

The dragon was jerking away from Astrid nervously, and Astrid held out her hands as she stood, giving it orders.

"Back. Back! Back!"

Hiccup stepped forward a bit, his eyes narrowed in both confusion and suspicion. Around him, Ruffnut and Tuffnut adjust their helmets, Fishlegs clutched his bucket tightly, and Snotlout shook off the dazed state Hiccup's punch had put him in; their faces slackened in awe as they watched Astrid scare away the Zippleback.

"Don't you make me tell you again!"

In the stands, Gothi narrowed her eyes a little, watching Astrid closely. [2]

"That's right! Back in your cage!"

The dragon scrambled against the wall, its necks locking together in its panic. Astrid glanced to the side, making sure no one saw her, and she reached under one of her shoulder pads, removing a rolled up eel she had stuffed in there before leaving the cove. The dragon's four eyes widened even more at the actual sight of it. [3]

"Now think about what you've done," Astrid mumbled, tossing the eel into the cage, and the dragon let out a panicked snort, its back legs literally on the wall as it tried to scramble away from the eel as best as it could.

Astrid quickly shut the cage door, wiping off the eel slime on her wrappings. She turned, freezing, her brows lifting in surprise at the sight of everyone staring at her.

Fishlegs dropped his bucket.

"Okay, so, are we done here?" Astrid said. She tried to appear confident, but she stumbled over her words; she's never been the best liar. "Cause I have some things I need to, uh... bye! See you tomorrow!"

She quickly scrambled away, and Hiccup's gaze followed her retreating form until she disappeared from his sight.

Uh oh, Astrid's suddenly good... ;)

Did you like my Ruffnut and Astrid moment? I got some inspiration for it after reading a few other fanfiction stories with some Ruff and Astrid interaction :)

1) Okay, just in case people didn't catch that, when Astrid went to go swipe a basket of fish at the fish monger's home, she notices that he already seems to be missing a basket, which is the basket that Hiccup stole.

2) In previous chapters, I mentioned that the only people remaining in the village are the recruits, the elderly, and the young children; everyone else is on the voyage. So, the canon scenes that depict more and more people coming to watch Hiccup in the arena never happen here. The only one that comes to watch Astrid is Elder Gothi up until the part where Stoick and the rest of the voyagers return.

3) Don't think that makes sense? Think the eel should've fallen out? Well, in canon, Hiccup only had the eel resting on his shoulder, covered by his vest. That should've fallen out as well.