I stare at Hiccup in utter disbelief. "You don't have his spare tail?"
"I'm pretty sure I had it!" He exclaims. Then he groans. "Or I left it on my bed."
My mouth hangs wide open. How could he be so... Never mind. "You can't be serious." I hide my face in my hands and walk towards Stormfly, facing away from him. "Now we're stuck here and we can't go get help because we're caught in a storm and Stormfly is out cold!" I stroke her head affectionately.
"I'm sorry!" He takes a deep breath to calm down. "I thought I packed it, but we were rushing to meet you," he explains patiently. He knows that I'm already on edge from Stormfly being shot. I make a mental note to thank him later for trying not to get on my nerves.
I spin around to face him and close the distance between us. I look him in the eye. "This is for being so careless." I sock him in the stomach.
"I deserved that," he winces, doubling over. I cross my arms over my chest. He bends down again to study the damage on the tail fin. Toothless croons at Hiccup, who places a soothing hand on his head. "The rods seem to be fine. The material is completely burned though. We're going to be stuck here for a while. We should get some rest." As if to prove his point, lightning flashes outside, illuminating the cavern walls in blinding white light.
"Alright. But first." I walk back over to Stormfly's saddlebag and reach inside, pulling out what I need. I throw it at him. He fumbles with it in his hands before shifting his gaze to me.
"You brought an extra tail?" He flips the cloth over to examine the shape.
I cross my arms and roll my eyes. "This is the part where you say 'Thank you, Astrid!'" He drops the material in a pile beside Toothless and runs forward, wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug. My knees go weak, and I pray he doesn't notice.
"You're a lifesaver! What would I do without you?" He pulls away. I shrug his hands off my arms and sit down, leaning against my dragon.
"You'd be stranded out here in the middle of nowhere with no way of getting back, that's what!" I retort. He shoots me a deadpan look, which I return with an eyebrow raise. "You know I'm right."
Toothless growls in agreement. "Really, bud? Whose side are you on?" The Night Fury merely huffs and lays his head on his paws. "Traitor," he mutters as he leans against Toothless' resting form. His tail comes up to whack him in the face. I smile fondly at the pair. Hiccup shoves Toothless' tail off of him and turns to me, waving the spare tail around. "Thanks for bringing the tail. I'll fix it in the morning," he says. "You rest. I'll take first watch."
"I'm staying up," I say resolutely. There's no changing my mind once it's made up, and he knows it. He doesn't argue with me.
"Okay. So what are we going to do to pass the time?" He asks instead.
"Anything you have in mind?" He shakes his head. "We could just talk," I suggest. "What do you think the others are doing now?"
"Heather and Fishlegs are probably going through the Dragon Eye notes for the billionth time. That's a no-brainer," he laughs. "The twins would've passed out by now. Snotlout too."
"I hope so," I muse. "As long they aren't trashing the Edge, all is good." He hums. "You okay?"
He jerks his head to face me. "What?" I raise my eyebrows. "Oh. I'm great. Never been better!" He avoids eye contact with me and sighs. "Why me?"
"I'm sorry?"
"I mean," he pauses. "I just don't get it. Why did Heather come to me to join you first?"
"Probably because she knows we're best friends?" I lie. I know the real reason. I just don't want to say it out loud to Hiccup. We're stuck together until the storm passes. If it were under any other circumstance, I might say something. "If I'd gone with Snotlout or the twins…"
"You don't have to finish that!" He waves his hands in front of him, laughing. "Why was she so insistent though? And it's not like you to be so unwilling to let me join you."
He suspects. He knows what's up. I can't hide it this way. "I just- I'm an independent person. She wanted to find someone to follow me. But you know me. Stubborn…" I trail off. Way to go, Astrid.
"Really?" He stares at me doubtfully. "I don't think you being independent and stubborn has anything to do with this."
"Hiccup, could we please just drop this now?" I feel my cheeks start to grow warm.
"Okay," he says. "I'm sorry. I won't push any further." He smiles and reaches for the tailfin. Or rather, what's left of it. He pulls it apart and replaces the damaged tail with the spare one before putting it back together.
Suddenly a thought comes to mind. "What do you think of Heather and Fishlegs?"
"What about them?" I smirk. He chuckles softly. "I never realized they were so into each other. But then again, if it were Snotlout or Tuffnut, she'd be pulling her hair out by now."
"Or theirs," I choke out between bouts of laughter. He joins in and comes to sit beside me.
"Truer words have never been spoken, Milady," he agrees. My heart leaps at his nickname for me.
A few hours pass with small talk. Training strategies and Hiccup running plans to take down the Hunters' base by me, nothing out of the ordinary. We crack jokes and laugh at how bad they are, or bicker softly so as to not wake the dragons. We share about our worries and problems on our minds.
"How are things with your dad?" I ask, genuinely curious. It's no secret that the relationship between the Chief and his son has always been strained, but Stoick has been making the effort to be a better father to Hiccup. After three years, it's easy to say it's paid off.
"Great, I guess," he replies. After a moment, he continues. "He's been going on about showing me the ropes of being Chief."
"Isn't that a good thing?" I eye the braid in his hair that came lose in our effort to outmaneuver the hunter arrows.
"Of course it is. At least I think so. But I'm out here with you guys. I'm not going back without you." He pauses as I remove the braid. He throws me a side glance.
"Continue," I say innocently as I begin to weave another braid to replace the one that came loose. He shrugs and tilts his head to make it easier for me to braid his hair.
"But am I getting the experience I need out here?" I tug his braid hard enough to make him yelp.
"Of course you are! I know we can all be a handful, and you may not realize it, but you're our leader." I finish off the braid and tie it up. "We look up to you, Hiccup. It's an unspoken agreement that you're in charge around here."
"But is it the same?" He peers up at me from behind his bangs.
"Nothing will be exactly the same. You'll learn on the job." I poke him in the chest. "And you'll have all of us to help you out. Don't you ever forget that." He grins widely at me.
"Never." He puts his arm around me and I lean into his warm embrace. I close my eyes and enjoy the moment until Stormfly squawks behind me, shifting her wing. We're forced to move so she can stretch it out. I hug her from the side.
"I'm so happy you're alright!" She chirps happily and bumps me with her nose. I hear the sound of rain droplets outside easing up and step out of the cave. "The rain's stopped," I call.
Toothless yawns and stretches out his wings before brushing past me out into the open air. Hiccup follows close behind with Stormfly at his side. She nudges me again and I check her leg. Thankfully, the wound isn't too serious. She won't have any problems flying back.
"Ready to go?" Hiccup asks from atop Toothless' saddle. He opens and closes the tailfin, checking to see that it works properly. I mount Stormfly and she spreads her wings to take off. I smile at him. "Let's go!"
It's a silent flight back to the Edge, the only sounds being Toothless and Stormfly's playful growls as they race each other to the seastacks and islands along the way. Finally we arrive back at the Edge. We land outside the stables. I walk in to let Stormfly in her pen and feed her before walking out. I turn around to make sure she's alright, but she's already fast asleep. The flight must have tired her out more than I realized.
"May we offer you a ride home?" Hiccup asks, holding out his hand. I smile gratefully and take it, hopping into the saddle. Toothless flies me back to my hut, and Hiccup gets down first. He holds out his hand again to help me down. With his help, I jump down from the saddle and scratch Toothless' chin in thanks. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"
"We see each other everyday, Hiccup," I laugh at the pink hue his face takes on. I punch him lightly in the shoulder. "Good night." I open the door.
"Good night."
I step in and close the door.
"How was it?"
Great.
A/N: Hi guys! It's only been a few days! It's an achievement! Thank you for all the nice things you said to me last chapter. It really motivated me to write this. That and I was excited to get on with the Hiccstrid developments this chapter. Hope y'all enjoyed it! Until next time! :)