Kara looked up as another person entered the cove and she hid, glaring out from under the branches and leaves. It wasn't Hiccup, she knew him well. It was Astrid.
"... leaving. We're leaving. Let's pack up. Looks like you and me are taking a little vacation, forever." Toothless was nowhere in sight. Hiccup set down his basket and opened it up, his head clouded with troubles. "Oh..man..."
Hiccup looked up to the sound of Astrid, sitting on the rock right in front of him, sharpening her axe.
"Aggh! What the- What are you doing here?" She hopped off the rock and back him down, spinning her axe threateningly. Hiccup's eyes darted around nervously, searching for Toothless. He found Kara's eye instead, and she nodded. She emerged from the bushes and crept forward, silent.
"I want to know what's going on. No one just gets as good as you do. Especially you. Start talking! Are you training with someone?"
"Uh...training?" She grabbed him by his odd-looking harness.
"It better not involve... this." She said. She was too distracted to notice the glowing behind her.
"I know this looks really bad, but you see...this is, uh..." They heard a rustle coming from the other side of the cove. Astrid dropped Hiccup to the ground and set off to investigate. "You're right! You're right. I'm through with the lies. I've been making... outfits. So you got me. It's time everyone knew. Drag me back. Go ahead. Here we go."
He put her hand back on his harness, getting her to 'drag him back.' Astrid bent Hiccups hand backwards, driving him down.
"AAAAUUGGGHHH! Why would you do that?!" He yelled.
"That's for the lies." Astrid pounced the hilt of her axe off of Hiccup's laid-out body. "And that's for everything else."
Hiccup's yelp was answered with growls, coming from the other side of the cove. Astrid looked up to see... A Night Fury and a Banshee. Toothless pounced toward them, snarling.
"Oh man." Hiccup said. Astrid dove onto Hiccup.
"Get down! Run! Run!" Astrid pulled her axe, ready to take on Toothless.
"No!" Hiccup knocked Astrid's cocked axe to the ground, out of reach, then stopped Toothless short of crushing her. "No. It's okay! It's okay..."
Toothless pulled up short and landed hard, spraying Astrid with sand.
"She's a friend." Toothless snorted in disagreement, and Kara snorted in general. The graceful dragon walked forward and looked Astrid over. Astrid was frozen. Toothless looked from her to Hiccup and back to her, confused. Hiccup looked to Astrid. "You just scared them."
"I scared them!?" Hiccup makes a shrugging motion. "Who is 'them'?"
"Astrid, Toothless. Toothless, Astrid. And that's... Hunter." Hiccup said, gesturing to the Banshee, who snorted. Astrid backed away, eyeing Hiccup and Toothless together with pure disgust. She turn and ran for the village.
"Duh da da, We're dead." Satisfied with Astrid's departure, Toothless turned away. "Where do you think you're going?"
Astrid raced through the trees. A large shadow overtook her. 'Hunter' landed in front of her with a growl, cutting her off from the village. She was suddenly snatched into the air. Astrid screamed.
"Oh great Odin's ghost, this is it!" Astrid yelled. Hiccup and Toothless flew Astrid to the top of a towering pine. It bowed and creaked under their weight as Astrid dangled a hundred feet in the air. "Hiccup! Get me down from here!"
"You have to give me a chance to explain."
"I'm not listening to anything you have to say!" Astrid screamed.
"Then I won't speak. Just let me show you." Hiccup extended a hand. "Please, Astrid."
She eyed him and the dragon, then the ground far, far below. After a moment, she swatted Hiccup's outstretched hand away and reluctantly climbed over the pedal, lines, and harness. She settled behind Hiccup, avoiding as much contact as possible.
"Now get me down." She said.
"Toothless? Down. Gently." Toothless leered mischievously. He spreaded his wings slowly. Toothless released the tree, tucked in his legs, and hovered in place. "See? Nothing to be afraid of."
Toothless suddenly launched straight upward. Astrid screamed. The acceleration was tremendous. Every downbeat bucks the saddle, heaving them into the sky, doubling their speed like a rocket. Astrid was thrown backward. She screamed and hugged Hiccup for dear life, squeezing the breath out of him.
"Toothless! What is wrong with you?! Bad dragon! He's not usually like this. Oh no..." Toothless rolled and plummeted toward the coastline far below. Astrid screamed. Toothless rocketed over the ocean waves, deliberately dipping them in the froth. "Toothless, what are you doing?! We need her to like us!"
Toothless rocketed skyward and began tumbling head over tail.
"And now the spinning. Thank you for nothing you useless reptile." Astrid clamped her hand over her eyes.
"Okay! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Just get me off of this thing." Astrid was defeated, her aggressive energy gone. Satisfied, Toothless relented. They leveled off and headed up into the clouds. Kara met up with them, snorting to Toothless who seemed to laugh. Astrid opened her eyes again, and looked out over a world she'd never dreamed of. She reached out and touches clouds, pierced columns ablaze in golden hues, and floated over a vast, alien sky- scape. Her terror was replaced by wonder. She grinned, despite herself. Toothless rose above a blanket of clouds and leveled off under a starry sky. They emerged from a blanket of clouds under the dancing Northern Lights, shimmering in ribbons across the vast sky. Below them, Berk's torches flickered in the inky darkness. The new perspective was breathtaking. Astrid tucked her arms into Hiccup's vest, burying her chin into his shoulder. Hiccup smiled nervously, glancing at Kara with a 'what do I do?!' expression. Toothless climbed past Berk's tallest peaks and headed out over open water, leaving the village lights behind them.