Astrid stood in the door of Hiccup's house, watching as the sun slowly sank. Hiccup and the twins had been gone for three days now and she was starting to fear the worst. What if they'd been captured by the trappers. Or worse, had been killed. No! Hiccup wouldn't do that, he'd couldn't. He wouldn't. He was Hiccup Haddock, and he'd never leave her alone. Never.

"Are you okay, Astrid?" Fishlegs asked as he walked up to her.

"Fine, Fishlegs," Astrid yawned. Just worried.

"Me, too," Fishlegs agreed. "Well, we can head out tomorrow and search for them. The auxiliaries and Stoick will be here, so we'll have more people to look about. Don't worry, we will find them."

"I know, Fishlegs," she weakly smiled. "Good night, Fishlegs."

"Night Astrid," Fishlegs waved and returned to his home.

As Astrid watched him return home, she looked out onto the horizon. With its last rays of gold fading into the ocean, she closed the door.

Once the door had completely shut, Astrid looked about, finding the stairs and making her way to Hiccup's bedroom. By the light of a single candle, she sat upon his new bed and grabbed the stuffed dragon toy his mother made him. As she looked at it, a tear rolled down her eye.

"Please be okay, Hiccup," she sobbed as she laid down in his bed and hugged the dragon to her. "Please."

"Ah!"

Hiccup fell back to the floor in a heap and grunted, holding back tears of pain as he sighed in defeat. He'd been trying to get up for hours now, but each time, his broken leg would give out.

"Okay," Hiccup grunted, "No more failed attempts at standing for today."

Deciding it was pointless to move, Hiccup grabbed his sketchbook and flipped through the pages, moving to his final sketch. He finally reached the partially drawn image of Tuff caught in one of the many traps he'd set up around the cave. He both inwardly chuckled and grimaced at the cave. On one hand, it was definitely enough to keep the trappers at bay and could give them some time, if set properly, but it also trapped them within the cave.

Suddenly, a scream echoed from outside, followed shortly by a splash. Hiccup looked to the cave opening, concerned. Had Dagur and the hunters found them? Had they already taken Tuff out? Without Tuff, he knew he would be doomed.

"Tuff?" He called.

A few seconds passed before Tuff walked in, completely drenched and holding a sizeable fish in his hand. Hiccup couldn't help himself and burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Tuff asked in confusion.

"Oh, nothing," Hiccup wiped a tear with his good hand as he finished chuckling, "I just didn't know it was your Annual bath day."

"Haha, yeah yeah," Tuff shook himself dry and dropped the fish on the floor before starting up a fire, "Laugh it up while I cut and cook this fish."

"No!" Hiccup screamed in fear, "Let me. We don't want the cave to burn down."

"Hiccup, for one, you can't even stand. Second, I'm actually good at cooking."

"Tuff, I... I just..." Hiccup started, but was cut off by Tuff."

"Hiccup," Tuff said, "Just trust me."

Hiccup paused at this. He was right. As a leader, he needed to trust them, even if it was Tuff. He deserved as much respect as the other members of the group. It wouldn't hurt to let him try at least. And it was true, he couldn't even get up and get to the fire to cook it. He had no other choice.

"Okay, Tuff," Hiccup sighed, "I trust you."

"Thank you," Tuff smiled and grabbed the fish along with a sack of Thor knew what.

Tuff quickly de-boned and skinned the fish, putting the bones into a pot and discarding the skin and head. He then filleted the fish and seasoned it before grabbing some large fern-like leaves and placing them into the fire. He did the same with some potatoes and sat them into the fire for a few minutes, occasionally flipping them. Once done, he pulled them from the fire and peeled them, revealing his creation.

"Here, Hiccup." Tuff held the cooked fish to Hiccup's face, "Just try it."

Hiccup inwardly grimaced at the sight of the fish. He remembered the last time one of the twins had cooked for him, but he didn't want to hurt Tuff's feelings. He sighed and took a bite of the fish, but was actually surprised to find it was delicious.

"Wow, Tuff," Hiccup swallowed. "I didn't expect it to be that good."

"Thanks," Tuff took his own fish and sat back. As he did, his eyes travelled to Hiccup's feet, "You've been trying to stand. Haven't you?"

"How could you tell, Tuff?" Hiccup asked.

"For starters, you are Hiccup," Tuffnut explained, "You're more stubborn than Skullcrusher and your dad combined. Second, each time you move that leg, you wince."

"Well," Hiccup sighed, "I just wanna get home. It's unfair that you and Ruff should have to wait for me to recover."

"Hiccup," Tuff patted his shoulder. "We don't care if you're hurt. What matters is that you rest up. That's why Ruff went to get the herbs. So we can get you home and so you can heal."

"It's all my fault that we got captured," Hiccup sighed.

"Hiccup," Tuff looked him in the eye, "It's not your fault. It's Dagur's fault. Trust me. Who took that blow to the head when he went to hit Ruff? You did. Hiccup, we couldn't ask for a better friend. Or a better leader."

Hiccup weakly smiled at this.

"Thanks, Tuff," Hiccup rubbed his head, "I guess I was a bit harsh on myself. But what you said really helped me out."

"No problem, Hiccup." Tuff laid him down and grabbed his axe, "You just get some rest. It's getting late anyway."

"Thanks, Tuff," Hiccup pulled the blanket over him and yawned as he started to slip into sleep, "You're a pal."

"Almost... There..." Ruff panted as she finally reached the Starvilt tree orchard, collapsing onto the first one she found, "Finally."

She quickly climbed and opened her herb pouch and pocketed as many leaves as she could, as well as some of the pods. She knew how potent they were, but was sure she'd have use for them. Finally, she slid back down, yawning as she leaned onto the tree and Toothless rested his head on her lap.

"Tomorrow, we can head back to Hiccup," Ruff smiled at Toothless, "Everything's gonna be fine."

Toothless cooed in response and the two soon fell asleep.

End of Chapter Three

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