Well, BuieBomb was begging, so...here you are!

This is an interesting little chapter. Astrid's pretty pissed, and Hiccup is...well, Hiccup. Oh, and you get to meet Toothless! Isn't that exciting?

Astrid slipped off into the woods, eager to be alone. Dammit, dammit, dammit! I was supposed to win that! What did I do wrong?

She sat herself on a large rock beneath the towering trees to contemplate this and picked up a small stone to sharpen the edge of her axe. With every stroke of her thin, pale hand she imagined bludgeoning the hell out of Hiccup...

She heard a voice in the distance, one that was painfully familiar and sent her heart racing, again for reasons unknown to her. Hiccup was calling out to a hidden friend in the trees. Hmm, what a coincidence, she thought with a wicked smile.

"...leaving, we're leaving. Let's pack up, we're taking a little vaca – aghh! What the – oh, uh, heeeeey, Astrid, what're you doing here?"

She finished the last stroke on her axe and threw the stone aside. "I wanna know what's going on."

"Wha, nothing's going o - "

"No one just gets as good as you." She circled him menacingly. "Especially you."

"I, well, uh..."

"Start talking. Are you training with someone?" She asked, her azure eyes alight. "It better not involve this!" A pale hand grabbed the strange leather vest he wore, which startled him enough to push him back a few feet.

"Ahh, yeah, this looks really bad," He explained as he gestured to the vest. "But I - "

She sighed and threw him to the ground, walking off towards the source of a strange rumbling sound in the distance.

"Alright, okay! I'm through with the lies...I've been making, er, outfits! So, yeah, drag me back, it's time everyone knew..." He had jumped up quickly and grabbed her hand to press it against his shirt, allowing her to grab it and drag him back.

For that split second, Astrid's heart skipped a beat. Her hand, pressed against his chest, felt that he had built some muscle on his thin frame and she didn't want to take it away, but...

She wrenched his arm back on him and he collapsed to the ground once more. "Owwww, why would you do that?"

She kicked him while he was down. "That was for the lies. And that -" She thudded the butt of her axe down on his chest. "- is for everything. Else."

She looked up suddenly and went rigid. Two bright green eyes, like a cat's, were glaring at her between the trees, and a low growling was emanating from that spot.

"Astrid, Astrid? What's - "

"Get down!" She tackled him as he tried to stand while the dragon charged at them. She stood and braced herself to do battle with the -

"No!" Hiccup wrenched the axe from her with a surprisingly large amount of force and threw it away from her. She stood rooted to the spot as Hiccup worked his magic again, the midnight-colored dragon stopping immediately at the sight of his outstretched hands.

"She's a friend!" He said quietly to the dragon. It calmed slightly, and nodded. "You just startled him." One look at the dragon and she didn't think "startled" was the right word. It's eyes were narrowed, and she could swear she saw straps leading to a saddle...

"I startled him?" The dragon hissed menacingly. Her eyes went wide. "Who...who is 'him'?"

"Astrid, Toothless," He gestured gently to his companion. "Toothless, Astrid." He gestured a little less kindly to Astrid, as though he were trying very hard to make it clear that Astrid wasn't to be harmed.

Astrid shivered slightly in her place, then turned and ran towards the village. Oh, when Stoik hears of this -

She hopped lightly over a rock...and never hit the ground. The next thing she knew the ground was racing away from her and the trees went rushing by. Looking up, she saw Toothless clutching her arm tightly and firmly, with Hiccup on his back.

She screamed for the life of her. "Oh no! Ohh, my...Go - "

Toothless dropped her onto a tree branch high above a small river rushing beneath her. She clung to the tree branch with all the strength she had.

Toothless, which she guessed was a somewhat elusive Night Fury, landed on the tip of the tree, bending it forwards enough to create a 90-degree angle. Astrid swung dangerously and screamed again.

"Astrid!" Hiccup called to her from the back of the Night Fury.

"Hiccup, get me down from here!" She shrieked. Please please please please...

"You have to give me a chance to explain - "

"I am not listening to anything you have to say!" The tree dipped slightly lower as Toothless folded his wings in completely, getting rid of all lift from the air. Compared to the dragon, that river was looking very welcoming...

"Then I won't speak!" Hiccup said calmly. "Just let me show you..."

Astrid remained suspended in midair for a moment. The river could be deep enough to jump...but do I really want to find out from this height? And Hiccup isn't dangerous...except for this damn dragon...

"Please, Astrid..." Hiccup pleaded, stretching out a hand to her.

Hiccup seems to be able to calm the dragon...maybe it won't be so bad...

She finally decided to trust him and hoisted herself up onto the branch. It was sturdy enough to hold her weight and she tiptoed over to the waiting duo. Slowly, she held on to Toothless and climbed lightly on.

"Now...get me down from here." She adjusted herself so that she sat just behind Hiccup, then...reluctantly...wound her arms around his waist.

"Toothless, down. Gently," He said calmly to Toothless, who unfurled his expansive wings enough to gain some lift from the passing wind. "See?" He said, turning to Astrid. "Nothing to be afraid of!" Hiccup's confidence was reassuring, and her tensed muscles relaxed.

And then Toothless took off.

Need I say more? :D

Keep following the story, there will be new installments soon. I have about five more chapters ready to go, but that might be a little much for one day, wouldn't it?