And Part 2 of the double update…

9: Try:

Hiccup awoke blearily, lying on his front on his bed, his head aching and cheek feeling swollen from the punch. He hadn't been hit by Snotlout properly since he befriended Toothless and the bullying from his childhood died down-he didn't count his cousin's lame attempts to get him angry while trying to help the twins get Barf and Belch back-and he had forgotten that Snotlout was in fact very strong. He whined slightly and pressed his hand to his cheek, feeling the swelling and he groaned. As his eyes focussed, he recognised the incredibly familiar pattern of grain and knots in the wood: he was back in his bedroom on Berk.

He groaned. He had failed on every level. Sure, he had blown up most of Viggo's ships and freed the dragons, ruining the auction and maybe seriously inconveniencing the Hunters-but they were alive and still in business. And he had sacrificed the gold that could have repaid his debt to Berk to save Astrid. He blinked and abruptly sat up, grimacing as his neck twinged. Grimacing, he cracked his neck, wondering just how he had been lying-and how he had been transported back to Berk. He sighed and slid his legs round, glad to see his prosthesis still in place: if he had been with Viggo or Ryker, they would have taken his leg, making sure he didn't have the option to walk out of the place. Shaking his head, he grasped the edge of the bed and pushed himself upright.

You couldn't even manage to pretend to yourself! Ryder sneered as Hiccup ran his hand through his hair. He felt horrible-tired, grimy, aching. He knew he hadn't been eating properly and certainly hadn't been taking care of himself. He ran his hands over his face again, feeling the swelling from the punch and enough scruff on his jaw to warrant a shave and then he shook his head.

"Good luck swimming back to your base," he murmured, turning to Toothless. "Okay, bud-we need to go. They won't trust me again after that raid…and I can't talk to Dad. I can't disappoint him. He still thinks he's proud of me. I can't ruin that."

He'll find out, Ryker reminded him. He'll realise his precious 'Pride of Berk' is a traitor and a weak, useless boy. He should make you a thrall, not his son!

"We have to go, bud," Hiccup repeated more urgently, an edge of panic tinging his voice. Being here on Berk, in his room was bringing it all back: being snatched by Amos and Berthel, passed from bounty hunter to bounty hunter, punched and struck by every one, trying so hard to get away-and failing…and ending as Ryker's prisoner, tortured and broken in every possibly way…

Toothless cracked an eye open and stared at him for a long moment-before flicking his tail round to shield his face and pointedly closing his eye again. Hiccup dropped to his knees in front of the dragon and rested his hands on the scaly face.

"Please, bud," he breathed softly. "I can't stay here. I need you. I need your help…"

The Night Fury jerked his head away and Hiccup gave a low groan of pain.

"I know I upset you," he whispered. "I know…I was willing to kill us both…but I had to. Don't you see? I can't be strong on my own. I'm not strong enough to stop Viggo and Ryker without you."

Toothless growled, saying very clearly: ENOUGH.

But Hiccup recoiled as if slapped and all expression fell from his face. Mechanically, he rose, grabbed his sword and scrambled onto the bed.

"Then we're done," he said tonelessly. "Without you, I truly am nothing."

So we agree, boy, Ryker laughed. You're a failure in every possible way. You're a traitor to your Tribe and your so-called friends. You're a disappointment to your father. You're even rejected by your dragon. You are weak and nothing. Come to me-or go to Hel.

Toothless lifted his head with a sad croon as the tall, armoured shape scrabbled through the window hatch and scrambled out of sight. He didn't want to leave Berk because he knew that his beloved Rider needed help. The way he continued to talk to his unseen shade; his mood swings; his coldness to his friends and his final, broken words all worried the dragon beyond reason. Because Hiccup hadn't even said goodbye: he had just gone, his whole manner seeming…hopeless.

I'm never leaving you again.

But he had. And Toothless sensed that maybe, if he did nothing, this was final.

With a huff, the black dragon scrambled to his feet and raced down the stairs to the main door of the house. It didn't take much effort to barge it open and race down the hill, looking for the blonde shape of his almost-and-should-be-in-the-future-mate. After a crucial few minutes of searching, he found her at the stable they had attached to the back of her parents' rebuilt home, fussing Stormfly and feeding her chicken. The Nadder had a wing in a sling, damaged by the fall during the battle and the long flight she had been forced to complete afterwards and her Rider was fussing her to make her feel better. Toothless felt a pang of nostalgia because Hiccup hadn't fussed him so much recently, since he had endured his kidnapping but then he bounded forward, crooning worriedly. The Nadder offered a sympathetic caw as the blonde woman turned to him, her beautiful face creasing in concern.

"Toothless?' she asked softly. The dragon gave a worried warble and she turned to face him directly, leaning forward. "Hiccup?" The dragon nodded. She sighed and rested a hand on his muzzle. "He needs us, doesn't he?" Toothless gave a little coo and she sighed. "Okay," she said. "We need to find him-and we're not leaving him until we get some answers!"

oOo

Toothless insisted Astrid scrambled on his back and they galloped up the hill towards the forest. He could have flown because he knew that Astrid had been taught how to use the prosthetic tail-but he could smell Hiccup's scent and it was easier to follow on the ground. But as they bounded over the fallen logs, the mossy hummocks and the little streams in the dense spruce forest of Raven Point, both woman and dragon knew the only place Hiccup would head. It was the most special place on Berk, the place where he had met his best friend and always gone when he needed space to think and be alone.

But Astrid's heart was pounding as she slid from Toothless's back and peered down into the rocky depression, seeing the tall lean shape in the alien black leather armour, hands running through his tousled auburn hair. He was shaking his head and seemed to be talking to himself. Frowning, she slid down the crevice that acted as entrance to the cove, then landed on the mossy grass. Toothless was more direct, leaping down directly. But Hiccup gave no sign he had seen or heard them. Sharing a worried glance with the Night Fury, she walked closer to him.

"Hiccup?"

The word was gentle, hesitant and met by no response at all. She stared at him, seeing the shape hunched, the aggressive black leather armour making him appear paler and gaunter, the bruise from the punch ugly on his pale cheek. And Toothless's unhappiness, the fact Hiccup had finally broken from his dragon made Astrid afraid for him. Because while he had Toothless, his brother and best friend, he had support, some anchor to everything he was. But now…he looked like a dead man walking. And she knew in her heart and soul that this was her last chance to reach him, to force him to tell her what had so wounded his heart and had forced the goofy, kind, brilliant boy she loved to become the stranger before her. And she wouldn't leave until she had made him talk-by whatever means.

"Hiccup?" she repeated, advancing slowly. "We need to talk."

"Go away," he growled, staring at the ground. The dragon crooned and approached him but Hiccup's stiff posture made even Toothless pause, his eyes wide and unhappy. His beloved brother…no longer loved him. He was no longer the person that Toothless had bonded with.

"No," Astrid told him levelly, seeing his shoulders tense. Suddenly he leapt up, Inferno in his hand, the flaming blade inches from her face.

"Go. Away," he snarled through his teeth. Astrid stared calmly into his blazing green eyes, not even flinching.

"You're not going to do this," she told him calmly.

Yes I will. Leave me alone and I'll finish it. And then no one will be shamed by talking to or dealing with me again.

"Try me," he hissed. "You've taken everything else!"

And then she really did stare at him, utterly shocked, She backed up a pace at the ferocity in his expression and her gaze betrayed her hurt.

"Just what have I taken from you, Hiccup?" she asked him. He levelled Inferno at her chest.

My heart. My hope. But I can't tell you that.

"The Riders. My role as leader. My honour. You've made me look weak and…" he growled but she moved astonishingly fast, ducking under the blade, her foot slamming into his middle and then kicking the blade from his hand. He lunged at her but she blocked. Yet he had improved as well, catching her arms and tossing her aside. She landed, stumbled and then danced forward, her fists bunched and eyes locked on his face.

"No one made you look weak," she snapped, eyes glittering as she watched his every move. "You almost got them all killed in some Loki-damned insane plan. And for what?" He swiped a punch at her but she dodged, landing a brace on his torso. She knew his leather armour would shield him from the blows but he flinched as she struck him and she almost felt bad-but his face was still twisted with anger and she wouldn't lower her guard.

"You can't understand," he hissed through his teeth. "You would never understand!"

Let me go. Please.

"Try me!" she invited him, circling him with perfect poise and balance.

Tell her, Ryker hissed. See if she wants to help you then, boy! Tell her what you betrayed…

"You've never faced this," he shouted at her.

"Faced what?" she snapped. He threw himself at her, bearing her to the ground, but she rolled, kicking him off and bouncing to her feet.

"This!" he shouted, arms flung wide. "Being hunted for a bounty! Being so weak and helpless that everyone caught me and traded me off like a Thor-damned chicken!"

Don't let Tuff hear you say that, Astrid thought insanely as he raged at her.

"So I knew I had to change! I couldn't continue to be so useless and weak that you always had to rescue me! That my plans were so lame that people got hurt! That people got killed!"

"But your plans almost got everyone killed-and they would have, if we hadn't come to your rescue!" Astrid argued, her eyes flashing. "Gods, Hiccup! Did you have idea what you were doing? You have pushed and shouted and been so cold to the team that they don't know what they're doing! They follow you because they like or admire you…or they did. But you've become as cold and cruel and uncaring as Viggo himself. I have seen you attack every Hunter base you could find-and massacre the Hunters when they were beaten." Her eyes expressed her dismay. "You killed them in cold blood, Hiccup."

"Isn't that what a Viking does?" he asked her sarcastically. "But as I'm not a Viking, as no one gives me any credence or any respect as a Viking or a leader, I had to change. I had to become a proper Viking-you know, ruthless, brutal, unyielding…"

"Hiccup…this isn't about being a Viking," she told him urgently. "It's about being Hiccup."

"The runt of the litter, the disappointment son of the great Stoick the Vast, the weak, pathetic boy who has been captured and handed from bounty hunter to bounty hunter!" he snarked. "You think I wanna be him any more?"

"You should!" she shouted in his face. "Because he was the boy who saw what others didn't and befriended a Night Fury, who was prepared to defy his father and risk his life to prove that dragons weren't mindless beasts! He was the boy who risked his life to save the village and defeat the Red Death. He was the boy who fought off Outcasts and Berserkers, who ended the war and forged the Treaty with Alvin. He was the guy who ended the menace of the Screaming Death, who chased the hope of exploration into the Great Beyond, who founded the Edge, who saved each and every one of us. Hiccup was the person who was all our friend, who showed me the truth about dragons, who made us all dragon riders, who became the Pride of Berk and the pride and hope of his father. He was the guy who risked so much to rescue dragons from the Hunters, no matter how dangerous-and who wouldn't put anyone else at risk when he put himself in harm's way instead. And who always came up with a crazy, inventive and bold plan to get us out of trouble. Hiccup always saw the good in everyone-even Snot and the twins-and who made us the force we are. He was kind and generous and caring and inventive and brave. And he was the guy we would fly to the ends of the world for, if he asked or if he needed us-even if we didn't understand why and what he wanted because he was our friend and we trusted him. And Gods, we would fight off every Hunter and bounty hunter on Midgard to protect him and get him back if he was in trouble because we all-in our own ways-loved him."

He stared at her.

"But you stopped being Hiccup and became a twisted version of Viggo. You were cruel to everyone. You pushed us away. You stopped caring for our safety and our worries. You hurt most of us. You…" She stopped. You broke my heart, her eyes said but she wouldn't say the words. "You became someone we didn't like, we didn't respect and wouldn't want to follow because you would spend our lives and our dragons' lives in an instant for your damned revenge on the Grimborns!"

"I…it's not your concern," he told her tightly.

"OF COURSE IT IS!" she shouted in his face. "Because when you became Viggo's twisted reflection, then you truly lost-and I don't think you see it, Hiccup. Your strength was your mind-and your heart. You have courage and you have compassion-and those two things will move mountains! They changed the whole of Hooligan society and ended a war that had raged for three hundred years!"

"Four," he mumbled.

"And you keep going on about being weak and wanting to be strong-but didn't you understand? Our unity and friendship was our strength? No matter what Viggo came up with, we pulled together and as you listened to the crazy ramblings of every one of us, you could pick out what you needed to come up with the solution. And the unpredictability of what we did threw Viggo and often pulled our asses out of the fire when everything looked hopeless. But you've destroyed all of that. No one speaks to you now. The twins probably hate you. Snot…I think he may as well. After the raid, Heather wants to leave. The A Team…well, none of them would follow you to the Great Hall for dinner, let alone on a mission now! You have taken everything that was good and powerful and strong and you've shattered it more effectively than Viggo ever could. Because if you were hurt, we would have rescued you and helped you recover and made it all right-but when you cut us off and were cruel to everyone, why would we want to go an extra inch to help you? When you stopped caring about the dragons and the adventure; when it became all about you and all about revenge, then that's when stopped being our concern. And you broke the Dragon Riders."

"I had to become stronger," he insisted angrily.

"But you became weaker!" she snapped. "You made yourself vulnerable and isolated. You cut off your sources of advice and friendship and support. You made yourself predictable because you're trying to be Viggo-and I have to tell you now: Viggo is much better at that than you ever will be! Why do you think he wanted you dead, Hiccup? You were a huge problem for him-one he couldn't cope with. So he snapped. But even when you were so mutton-headed you didn't listen to me or tell your Dad-who could have come up with the solution to warn them off-we came for you. We scoured the Archipelago and beyond for you and we found you before Viggo could kill you!"

Hiccup looked away, his head bowed. He could hear Ryker's taunts hissing in his ears.

"No," he said quietly. "You were too late."

She stared at him and Toothless gave a small croon.

"Then tell me!" she insisted. "Hiccup!"

"I can't," he said.

"Hiccup-no matter what a total asshole you've become, I still want to help you!" she told him, gently approaching him.

"Which just proves how weak you are," he murmured. "Friends are a weakness, a vulnerability. Even now, you won't listen to what I tell you. You just assume I want to become Hiccup."

"Instead, you've become Ryker!" she shouted and he snapped round, eyes glittering with rage. She knew she'd landed a direct hit.

"Never…" he began but she glared at him.

"You don't like it? But that's exactly who you are!" she retorted, seeing the opening. "You aren't Viggo, because he's still playing you like a puppet. Gods, he must have thought Snoggletog had come when you turned into a bad version of his older brother. You've lost everything that made you a dangerous foe and turned yourself into a soft target. And without us, you would be dead and your dragons-including Toothless here-would be in his hands. Cold, cruel, vicious-you are just an inferior version of Ryker!"

"Go away!" he shouted at her, his voice cracking just a little. "You don't know anything! You have no idea what he did, what I suffered…you just flew in and expected me to be the same. But thanks to Viggo, everyone was after me! Every time I tried to get away, they got me back. And no matter what I tried…I failed. And then finally, I was handed over to Ryker-and he punched me unconscious and I woke on his ship…and I knew you were after me…but as the voyage went on…no one came."

His voice had dropped but his fists clenched and his blazing emerald eyes glared at her.

"And you will never understand what he did."

"Tell me!" she begged softly but he turned away. "Please, Hiccup-I just want to help you."

I love you.

"Go," he said tonelessly. "Please-just go." She stared at him for a long, hopeless moment and finally turned away, bending down to collect her axe as she walked away. Toothless gave a small, sad warble but Hiccup shook his head, still looking away. Astrid sighed. She truly wanted to punch him, to scream at him, to force him to talk…but Ryker had already forced him and broken him. And if there wasn't a single corner of the man facing her who wanted to accept her reaching out to him, then maybe…he was beyond helping. Maybe she had finally lost Hiccup.

"I tried," she sighed. "I'm sorry, Hiccup. I can't do any more. I want to help you, I truly do…but I can only help you if you want to be helped. I…I want you back." She swallowed. "I miss you," she added softly as she walked towards the crevice that acted as entrance and exit to the cove by foot. Toothless gave a sad croon then turned away, not seeing Hiccup flinched as Ryker's triumphant voice hissed in his ear.

You're mine. You'll always be mine. And you are nothing.

She never loved you. And never will now…

And then she heard it-the soft thud and a shuddering breath. She paused and turned round-to see Hiccup had dropped to his knees, his hands pressed over his face. His shoulders were jerking just slightly, his head bowed. And then he folded forward, curling into a fetal ball and rocking slightly, his back shuddering with silent sobs. Sharing an anxious look with the Night Fury, Astrid raced back to him, her frustration and incomprehension put aside as she dropped to her knees by him.

"Hiccup?' she asked gently, reaching for him but pausing, her hand hovering mere inches from his shuddering shoulder. But he just sobbed harder so she gently clasped his shoulder. And when he raised his face to look at her, his skin was wet with tears, tragic emerald eyes utterly desolate.

"I'm not worth it, Astrid," he whispered. "I can't ever make up for it…"

So she pulled him against her and felt a sudden surge of relief as he leaned against her, his face burrowing into her shoulder and arms wrapping tight around her slim body. Huge tearing sobs shook through him, his face turned away from her but she just held him tight, anxious and hopeful-because this was the closest she had been to him since that first day when they had gotten him back from Ryker.

"Hiccup, whatever happened, I am always here for you, you mutton-head," she whispered into his ear. "Now please, please, tell me what's going on."

When his sobs finally quietened, he gave the slightest of nods and he pulled away from her. Miserably, he sat on the floor, pulling his knees up to his chest, his prosthetic clicking. With a gentle warble, Toothless crept over and sat behind him, nuzzling at the young man and Hiccup raised his wet face, palming at his cheeks. His emerald eyes were shining with misery and guilt.

"I'm so sorry, bud," he sighed, gently stroking the dragon's muzzle. Unhesitatingly, the Night Fury pressed his nose into his palm and Hiccup got to his knees and instantly hugged the dragon, holding the reptile for a long time. "I've not been much of a friend, have I? I put you at risk-and our friends. Hel, I was willing to sacrifice us both to stop them. And I wouldn't listen to you when you didn't want to go on the attack, when you saw those missiles coming." He gave a small, bitter laugh. "I taught the others to listen to their dragons years ago-but I didn't listen to mine. Or to my friends." He shook his head as Toothless solemnly licked his face and the young man gave the slightest of smiles. "Thanks, bud," he murmured and then he turned back to the girl, sitting back down by her, the dragon curled at his back. She gently stretched out her hand and rested it against his bruised cheek, feeling the dampness-and the stickiness from Toothless's saliva.

"Something has happened," she said gently. "Something has gone very wrong with my brave, sarcastic, amazing friend. And things only get better if you share, if you are honest. Gods, I learned that when I tried to keep the fact I was working with Heather when she was undercover with the Hunters from you. That deceit, those lies almost destroyed us, Hiccup. And I never wanted to feel as wretched as I did then-because though I could justify the reasoning, it felt wrong not be honest with you because you are my best friend. And I know something terrible must have happened to do this. You kept escaping from the bounty hunters all the way through, you never gave up…until the end. Why?"

He closed his eyes, pressing into her hand before he lifted a hand to grasp it gently, holding it tenderly in his larger grasp.

"Ryker," he murmured very quietly. "When he had me, there was no plan, no need for me to be alive or unharmed. I wasn't a bargaining chip or an enemy to be gloated over: I was being taken to die, I was of no more consequence. And I was so battered and bruised, my neck was agony and my metal leg was missing. And as long as I didn't die, I was his." He bowed his head and blinked hard. She grasped the hand in her other and brought it to her mouth, ghosting a gentle kiss on his skin.

"Hiccup, I can't imagine how hard that was," she said gently, "though I saw the scars…" His mouth twisted in a sardonic smile.

"Some of them," he told her grimly. "I have a lot more. As soon as I was in his hands, he tortured me for my knowledge of the Edge's and Berk's defences. And he was very, very direct because he only had until he arrived back at base to get anything out of me." Her eyes shone in sympathy and her grip tightened on his hand.

"I am here," she reassured him. She could feel him trembling but he forced himself to smile again.

"Yeah, and I was glad you weren't there then," he admitted. "Because it was…terrible. I-I just recall pain and my screams. And-and he kept taunting me that there was no one to come, that I was out of time, that you had all abandoned me because I was too weak and useless, that I was only useful for one thing, that my corpse would be sent back to Dad as a warning…"

"And…?"

"And I told him my father would hunt him down like the dog he was," Hiccup admitted. "Um…not one of my snappiest come-backs, but my throat was really sore and I was barely conscious from the torture and…um everything else…" He swallowed. "Um, I may have called him a son of a deformed Gronckle as well." She managed a small smile.

"Gods, you were really off your game," she teased him and the smile fell from his face, his eyes dropping.

"So you see why there's no hope," he whispered, his head bowing.

None of your friends will want a traitor, a coward, a pathetic ruined boy like you. Come back to me, Hiccup Haddock. You're mine. There's nothing left for you here.

"I'm sorry, Astrid…"

"Hiccup, I know you did nothing wrong," she told him, grasping his face between her hands. "Is this why you were so obsessed with revenge? To avenge your hurts? What Ryker did to you?"

He gave a short bitter laugh.

Tell her. And watch her spurn you.

"Revenge is all that he left," he mouthed gruffly. "He…he…" And then he closed his eyes. "He took everything else from me. I'm sorry, Astrid. I'm so, so sorry…"

"Hiccup?" she asked, a sick feeling in her stomach. He wrapped his arms around his body and his shoulders hunched.

"You can't have anything to do with me now," he breathed. "Astrid…" But she flung her arms around him and hugged him tight, feeling him shaking. "I could have coped-just-with everyone being after me and being battered and bruised and handed around like a commodity…but when he…when Ryker…I knew I was too weak. I couldn't stop anything. I had to change-Thor, I had to become stronger. I had to push everyone away so I wouldn't be vulnerable because I was worried about them-but that didn't work. I had to push you away because you would never give up and would find out what he had done. Because when it all went wrong, you wouldn't be there to distract me. Because when it all went wrong, you would be safe. You would survive." Her eyes widened in shock and sympathy and he closed his eyes as she squeezed him tighter. "I needed to be able to attack them, to finish it without worrying about you. But I was a failure at that as well!" She sighed into his neck, feeling him hug her back.

"Hiccup-you were a failure at being a ruthless, heartless, cruel, evil warlord," she told him. "Not actually something anyone should aspire to anyway. You could have finished them-but you chose to save my life instead, to give up the gold to save a life, not end two." She took a deep breath, nuzzling against his neck briefly, before pulling back and staring into his ashamed face. "You are exceptional and amazing at being my friend, Hiccup. I wish I had him back-because then I could tell him that I don't care what Ryker did to torture him, what abuses he put him through because no one else will ever know. And I am his friend and will stand by and protect him until Ragnarok." He looked into her face, seeing tears on her face as well and her utter determination.

"Astrid," he mumbled.

"Hiccup-stop being a mutton-head, okay?" she told him in a mildly exasperated voice. "You're my best friend, my future Chief, the first person I flew with and probably-hopefully-the last person I will end up flying with. I can't imagine a world without you, Hiccup. What happened doesn't matter as long as you are you. Be my Hiccup again."

"Um…your Hiccup?" he asked shakily as she grabbed him, hauling him forward and pressing a brief but determined kiss on his lips. She pulled back with a smile, seeing his emerald eyes widen with utter shock.

"That's for telling me, for trusting me," she told him and then punched him really hard on the arm, managing to find a gap in his armour.

"OWWW!" he yelped.

"And that's for everything else," she told him smugly. "Stop being…all of this and become my friend once more." She paused. "And lose the stupid armour, Hiccup!" He sighed heavily.

"It's not that comfortable," he admitted. "I think the tunic needs to be more flexible and the arm and leg guards aren't that helpful-but I do like the binders…" He rotated his arms and looked at the vambraces. "Maybe with a knife and a compass…"

"I really liked your old armour," she told him as he began to unstrap the black leather. He offered her a shy smile.

"Little help here?" he asked and she willingly helped him out of the armour, the pieces falling to the floor of the cove. He unfastened the gorget and stared at it for a long moment.

"I could understand that," she admitted and he gave a wan smile as he dropped it to the floor.

"It always felt like something was tight around my neck," he admitted. "I thought I'd feel safer but instead, I felt…imprisoned, not free." She rose and offered him her hand, helping him rise, once again a tall lean shape in red tunic and dull green leggings, his shining green eyes apologetic and auburn hair casually messy. They grabbed their weapons.

"Let's go back to the village-and start building bridges," she said as he grasped her hand gently.

"I have a lot of construction work to do," he murmured and then sighed. "I am sorry, Astrid. I can't even manage to be a ruthless murderer properly." He stared at the ground with a sigh and covered his face with his other hand. "Gods…how can you ever forgive me?" She sighed, her fingers lacing with his.

"You were right about one thing," she admitted. "You are a Viking. And they were trying to kill us. Viggo tried to kill you. They've tried to kill us many times. And while your response would make Madguts the Murderous or Dagur the Deranged proud, it wasn't completely unViking. It was just unHiccup."

"Is that a word?" he asked her dryly and she swatted his shoulder instantly. He flinched, used to Astrid's usual means of communication.

"Of course, mutton-head," she scolded him and he sighed. "In fact, the fact you have hardly ever killed anyone is more unusual than anything else, Hiccup."

"I am going to have nightmares about those raids…those deaths…for a long time," he admitted. "Um along with everything else." She squeezed his hand.

"And I'll be there to help you through-if you'll let me," she told him. He nodded as a small roar sounded. "And Toothless-no, I hadn't forgotten you!" she added as the dragon gave a smug warble.

"Would you like a lift back to the village, Milady?" he asked, gesturing to Toothless, who grinned edentulously and waggled his butt like an over-excited puppy now that his little Viking seems to be back to his usual self and once again friends with his almost-and-should-be-in-the-future-mate. She smirked and squeezed his hand back.

"I thought you'd never ask."