Hi, everyone, I'm Lyra and I want to thank you for following my first (posted) fanfic. I forgot the disclaimer in the first chapter and I will fix that here. Toothless would you like the honors?

Toothless stares at me with a look that clearly says 'Are you kidding me?' and marches off, tail lashing behind him in obvious annoyance.

Okay, so just me then... I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, all the credit goes to Cressida Cowell and DreamWorks.

Astrid checked the forge first. There was a light on and she could hear the clank of a hammer on metal. She peeked her head into the building and found Gobber hard at work, repairing a torn shovel head.

"Wow," she commented on the jagged rent in the farm tool. "That must have been a feat of strength."

Gobber glanced up from his work briefly, giving her a welcoming smile. "Ol' Boulderbrains was up to his work again," he said. "He was trying to pry a rock out of his fields, you know, the one he's always breaking his plow on?"

"And the shovel gave out first?" Astrid guessed.

"Heh heh," Gobber chuckled, moving the metal back over the fire again. He worked the bellows a few times before turning to her, dusting off his hand on his leather apron. "That rock's been there since the beginning of Berk. But that wont stop him from trying to move it. Anyway, I'm sure you're not here for an old man's ramblings."

Astrid smiled to let him know that she didn't mind. "I was looking for Hiccup, actually," she said. "Have you seen him?"

Gobber glanced out of the shop over her shoulder with a slight wince. "I think the lad's up at his house," he said. "Today's not a good day to have missing limbs."

Astrid frowned, "What do you mean?"

The smith rolled his shoulders, turning back to the shovel head lying in the glowing coals of the forge fire. "My aching limbs tell me there's foul weather headed our way," he said without looking at her. "I'm sure Hiccup knows it too. You'd better go find him lass."

Oh. Gobber had once told her that his arm and his leg troubled him at times when there was a change in the weather. How much worse would it be for Hiccup, whose leg hadn't been off for an entire two months yet? Darn it! Why hadn't she thought of that before?

Astrid turned to walk out of the forge. "I'll find him," she tossed over her shoulder.

"Good las!" Gobber called back. "Tell him I'll cover the forge by myself tomorrow."

"Sure."

The chief's house stood just below the mead hall, looming importantly over the rest of the village. It was bigger too, than most of the buildings in Berk. She had always thought it a little ironic that the smallest viking lived in the biggest, emptiest, house. Now it struck her as a cruel joke. She had seen Stoick the Vast in the hall, eating with the other vikings, engaged in a lengthy conversation with his brother and some of the other older, influential vikings. It meant no one was home to take care of the newest amputee.

She didn't blame Stoick for not being there. He was clearly busy doing chiefly stuff, but there was still a small seed of resentment in her that she could not uproot. A father should be there for his children. But then Astrid hesitated at the great wooden door to the big house. Its not like she had been doing much better. Who was she to judge? How many times had her eyes slid over Hiccup without really noting his presence? How many times had she caught Snotlout in the middle of an act of cruelty towards the young man and walked by without lifting a finger to help him? Astrid sighed, hating the rotten feeling of guilt that was souring her mood. She had some apologizing to do. The whole village did. She raised a hand and knocked on the door, turning back to glance at the village as she waited.

The sky caught her attention. Gobber had been right. There was a great storm rolling in from the sea. There was a great column of cloud towering over the island. The top was white and fluffy looking, but down towards the bottom it was a dark bruised looking purple. It didn't look like the most threatening storm she'd ever seen, but still, the island was in for a rough night.

The door behind her opened, startling her, and she turned to see Hiccup peeking out at her. He blinked in surprise, and the door opened wider.

"Astrid!" he exclaimed. "Hi... Astrid."

Astrid stared back at him, her mind suddenly empty and her mouth dry. Now what? She struggled, grappling with a rising panic, trying to find a way to start, a way to justify her visit. Nothing was coming.

"Ah," Hiccup began uncertainly. "Would you-. Would you like to come in?" He glanced over her shoulder with nervous energy. "It looks like its gonna rain soon..."

Rain. Weather. Hiccup stepped aside, making way for her, but not opening the door much further than she would need to pass through. It was almost as if he was trying to make sure only she could pass. Astrid stepped inside, nodding her thanks, and glanced around the room taking in the large weapons scattered through the living space. These belonged to Stoick of course. The small dagger sitting on the low table before the fire seemed out of place. It had to be Hiccup's. Would he ever actually use it?

Astrid turned to look at him. He was still standing by the door, even though he'd already closed it, and actually seemed reluctant to move away from it. That is when she noticed that he looked pale, and there was a sheen of sweat on his upper lip, and forehead. His shoulders were hunched and tense. Her gaze traveled down to his mismatched legs. He was definitely favoring his left side.

"So," he said a little too lightly. "What can I do for you today, Astrid?"

Astrid moved closer to him for a better look at him, and saw him gulp nervously. What was making him so jumpy? It had her worried, especially since his usually soft, clear green eyes were looking pinched and glassy.

"Hiccup," she said at last and he flinched. Her temper flared. "Look, would you relax?!" she snapped. "I came to make sure you were alright, because Gobber mentioned there was a storm coming in."

He stared at her wide eyed, looking slightly taken aback, and Astrid took a moment to congratulate herself on her wonderful start. Nice going Astrid, you really put him at ease there.

"Oh," he said in a carefully neutral tone. "Well, as you can see, I'm just fine. Thanks for checking up on me."

His eyes went over her shoulder as he spoke and he suddenly looked relieved. Astrid almost jumped at the soft blowing that sounded right next to her ear. Oh. There he was. She turned slightly to glimpse a large scaly black nose.

"Hey, Toothless," she said. The dragon fearlessly nudged his head under her hand with a happy croon and she laughed. "Good to see you, too."

Astrid turned back to Hiccup just in time to see his features tighten in pain. He leaned more to the right, and though his prosthetic was resting on the floor, she could see he was putting no weight on it at all. Who was he trying to fool? It was clear that he was in a lot of pain. He hadn't stepped away from the door this whole time because it would mean putting pressure on his injured leg.

"Hiccup," she said, trying not to sound too exasperated. "Your leg's bothering you, isn't it. And don't lie to me."

Hiccup gave her a pale, strained, smile and a false laugh. "How can my leg bother me if it isn't there?" he asked jokingly.

Astrid could only look on in slight shock, and horror, as he continued to laugh at his twisted joke, that is, until his laugh turned into a choked sob. Then he cut off abruptly, looking up at her, his green eyes wide with surprise, and bright with pain. Oh, Hiccup.

"It's not there," he said again, his voice sounding far more strained and insistent.

Astrid frowned, was he still trying to cover this up?

"It's funny!" he insisted desperately, tears beginning to mist his eyes. "'Cause it's not there. It's funny, isn't it Astrid?"

He looked at her searchingly, hoping for a confirmation so that he could continue this sick facade. Astrid looked at his pale face taking in the dark rings around his hollow eyes and the freckles that stood out in sharp relief against alabaster skin. His eye were hard to look at because they were filled to the brim and overflowing with pain and pleading. Her heart broke for him, and she closed her eyes briefly, trying to come to terms with the feeling before it escaped as tears of her own.

"No, Hiccup," she said gently, opening her eyes again. "Its not funny. Not even a little bit." Then she held her peace and waited, carefully watching his face as his facade crumbled and broke, that horrifying fake smile sliding off his face to reveal the full brunt of his pain and grief.

"Its not there," he said again quietly. And then again, his voice tight with pain. "Its not there..."

Toothless pressed forward with a worried sounding whine, and Astrid carefully pulled Hiccup into her arms, keeping his weight off his bad leg. Well, wasn't this a wonderful situation? She had no idea what to do now that Hiccup was a nearly hysterical mess. She wasn't exactly an expert on comforting people.

With a sigh, she leaned down and caught Hiccup's legs in the crook of her arm and scooped him up off the floor, earning a wince as the prosthetic pulled at his stump. He was too light, and she could feel his ribs plainly against her hand as she supported him. Hadn't he been eating at all? She quickly crossed the room and eased him down on the bed that had been moved downstairs for him.

"Hiccup," she said trying to get his attention.

His eyes locked on her with almost feverish intensity. "Its gone," he said miserably. "So why does it hurt so much?"

The tears finally escaped his eyes and he wiped them away with uncharacteristic ferocity. He looked disgusted with himself. "I'm still not a viking. After all this..."

Astrid looked at him with confusion, noting the way he was fighting against the broken sobs that threatened.

"What do you mean you aren't a viking?" she asked. "You live here don't you?"

Hiccup shook his head and laughed bitterly. "Look at me," he snapped. "I'm crying for Odin's sake! Vikings don't feel pain, they don't get upset over a missing leg, and they don't cry!"

Astrid couldn't hold back a slightly incredulous scoff. "Where did you get that idea?" she asked. "'Cause as far as standards go, that's a pretty tall one to live up to."

Hiccup seemed to shrink into himself rather than take encouragement. "Well you guys seem to live up to it really well," he said in a hoarse hopeless tone. "I mean, I've never seen you cry."

Astrid pursed her lips, and decided a different approach was best. "But I have," she admitted quietly.

That caught Hiccup's attention. He looked up at her sharply, consideration in his green eyes. "You have? I didn't think you were capable of-."

"You big dummy," Astrid said, cutting him off in annoyance. "Of course I can cry. I cried when they told me that they'd had to cut your leg off. See, I'm sad about it, too."

Hiccup threw himself forward before she'd even finished speaking and wrapped his arms around her. Astrid went stiff in shock at the sudden change, but nearly started crying again herself at his heart broken weeping.

"Its gone!" he cried. "Its gone! And it hurts!"

Astrid laughed a little wetly, wrapping her arms around him, holding him as his body shook and trembled. "Why didn't you say so, dummy? Do you have any medicine for it?"

Hiccup gulped a few time and brought his frantic breaths under control. She felt him nod against her shoulder and managed to get out that it was on the table behind her.

"Alright," she said. "Toothless do you mind propping him up?"

Toothless seemed to scoff in reply and rose up smoothly on the bed, settling comfortably behind Hiccup so that he could lean back against his scaly black side.

"Since when are you two so comfortable around each other?" he exclaimed.

Astrid turned to him with the jar of salve in her hand. "Is that a bad thing?" she asked.

Hiccup's blush didn't do much to put color in his cheeks. He turned his head slightly, avoiding her eyes. "No," he said almost warily. "It's just a little sudden, is all." He reached out a hand and rubbed the dragon's head fondly earning a rumbling purr. "You'll have to take it off," he muttered under his breath.

Astrid glanced up at him and frowned at the sudden subject change. "What?"

"M-my, the- the prosthetic," he said in a quiet rush, but Astrid caught it.

"Ah." She set the medicine on the bed and gently rolled up the tattered leg of his trousers to the point where wood met flesh. It looked swollen and red and she could not help but hiss in sympathy. Then she set about undoing the buckles that kept it in place. She'd seen Gobber do it once, and it was pretty simple.

Hiccup hissed in pain, his back arching as the fake leg came away. Astrid set it down against the bed withing easy reach, and grabbed Hiccup's shoulders, steadying him as he fought through the pain.

"It hurts!" he fussed, grabbing her arms in a death grip.

Astrid leaned forward until her forehead brushed his. "I know," she told him. "I'm sorry."

He nodded as his breaths calmed again and Astrid let go, gently pulling her arms out of his grip. His hands fist-ed in the blankets on either side of him instead. She opened the jar and took a great dollop of it on her fingers and gently began to rub it on the scarred stump slowly increasing the pressure until Hiccup was writhing in pain (and nearly screaming) against his frantically concerned dragon. Astrid did not pause in her work to dry the tears that were now flowing freely down her cheeks.

Then all at once, the cut off muscles in his leg seemed to relax under her fingers and Hiccup fell, sobbing with relief against his best friend. Toothless hummed encouragingly, wrapping his tale around so that it lay across Hiccup's lap.

"Thanks bud," Hiccup said sounding weak, but steady. Then he sat up a little. "And Astrid-."

"It was no problem Hiccup," she said. "It's the least I could do."

"Astrid?"

"Hiccup, I already told you there's no need for you to thank-."

"Astrid, its raining," Hiccup said in a rush, cutting her off. "Will you stay?"

Astrid looked up at him, slightly startled at the change in pace. But then she glanced up at the roof and listened. The hard rapid knocking sound of a harsh driving rain was suddenly loud in her ears. She startled when she felt a gentle, warm touch on her cheek and she turned to see Hiccup gazing at a drop of water hanging from his finger with wonder. It was a tear, she realized. Hers specifically. He glanced up at her with that same look of wonder.

"When did you start crying?" he asked quietly.

Astrid swallowed thickly, trying to rid herself of the lump in her throat, and turned her eyes away. The day I met a viking who wouldn't kill dragons.

"I'll stay," was all she said and Toothless lifted his tail briefly so that Astrid could sit down next to Hiccup. He was still trembling slightly, and she looked at him carefully, trying to judge if it would turn into tears again, but he merely relaxed when she pulled him to lean against her. Well, he seemed alright at the moment. But he had also seemed alright, when he'd first woken up, and when he'd first started relearning how to walk. Only just now did he finally grieve over his loss. It had been a full month and only just now...

Astrid turned to ask him about the delay, but discovered that he was fast asleep. Figures. He had been exhausted though, and she could not fault him. For such a small viking, he sure was a big dummy at times. Oh well. Darn it, she hadn't gotten a chance to ask him his favorite color...

Stoick the Vast entered his house quickly, escaping the driving rain. He closed the door and barred it against the wind then turned and halted in his tracks. There on the temporary bed, was his son, and the fierce Hofferson girl, lying asleep next to each other. He knew that girl. She had been the one who volunteered to take care of Hiccup while he was in a coma. She had also kissed him the day he woke up. He frowned. What was she doing here?

He snuck closer and found to his surprise that their faces were covered in tear tracks. Hiccup's prosthetic was leaning idly against the side of the bed, and there was the pungent smell of medicine in the air. He quickly put it together from there. The storm had probably a lot to do with it, he thought, glancing at his son's ruined leg.

It was a bitter sort of comfort to know that some one had been here for him at least. He only wished that his duties allowed him a little more freedom as a father. Stoick straightened the clumsily pulled up blanket over the two kids. It looked like Toothless had tried to tuck them in. Then he glanced around for the dragon and spotted his shadowy mass hanging like a bat from the rafters. Those electric green eyes opened as Stoick looked at him, but the dragon merely nodded and went back to sleep.

Stoick smiled. You would be proud Val. Your son has managed to tame the unholy offspring of lightening and death itself. That and a proud shieldmaiden. He takes after you so much. I wish you could see him now...