Ice- During a snowstorm, the Riders decide to have a snowball fight. But when Tuffnut accidentally throws a ball of ice at Hiccup's head, will the Friend of Dragons survive?

"We should have a snowball fight today."

That was Heather's thoughtful statement once the Riders had seen that it had it snowed overnight at the Edge.

The gang was currently huddling in the clubhouse, desperate to keep warm in the midst of the freezing weather. Yes, it had snowed, but that didn't mean that it would exactly be fun to have a snowball fight. They'd freeze out there.

"H-Heather," Hiccup stuttered, rubbing his arms. "I-it's too cold. Having a-a snowball f-f-fight is not a g-good idea."

Astrid nodded, but still tried not to reveal how much she was shivering. And she wasn't the only one, either. The twins were huddled together in the corner of the room near the fireplace, Snotlout was keeping himself warm on top of Hookfang, while Fishlegs had wrapped himself in a bundle of blankets, shivering.

"Come on," Heather smiled, not seeming to be chilled by the coldness at all. "It barely snows because we're all the way out here! We should enjoy it while it lasts!" She peeked out the door, bringing in a gush of freezing air. "Hey! I think the sun's even coming out!"

Hiccup held himself tighter, and Toothless nudged his leg in concern. "H-Heather, that's n-not really a possibility a-at the m-moment," Hiccup explained as nicely as he could. "We-we'll just b-be too c-cold, and not be able to d-do anything." A fit of shivers spread through him.

"Guys, I know you have it in you to do this," Heather said, closing the clubhouse's door. "You went to the Snow Wraith's island in winter, for Thor's sake! That was a lot colder than this, and you all survived."

"H-hey!" Snotlout retorted. "That didn't mean we liked it! I never w-want to be part of the Thorston Sandwich again!"

Tuff and Ruff looked up from the fireplace angrily, their skin frightening pale in the flickering light. "We were trying to save your life!" Ruffnut bit back, standing up. "You know, if it wasn't for us, you'd be dead, pal! So ungrateful…"

Tuffnut nodded, and shook his head. "Kids these days… they take everything for granted…"

Astrid blinked. "You k-know, maybe we could g-go out there," she reconsidered, walking up to Hiccup. "It'd be good practice for the next time we end up on a snowy island with barely any way of escaping."

Hiccup raised his brow, letting his arms drop to his sides. "Well, who s-says there's going to be a-a next time?" At Astrid's pointed look, he sighed. "Okay, I get your p-point. Fine. W-we can go, i-if it means t-that much to y-you, Heather."

Smiling, Heather straightened. "Great! Alright, guys. Put on your extra layer of clothes. We're going out!"

"Go long, sis!" Tuffnut called, throwing a snowball over to Ruffnut. "Try to hit Fishlegs again!"

Ruffnut ran and intercepted the ball, grabbing it with her hand in the air. "Got it!" she cackled, swerving around to try and find Fishlegs. It was hard, due to the blizzard around whirling around her, so she blindly threw the ball away and hoped for the best.

There was a high-pitched shriek, and Ruff smiled over at Tuffnut. "I hit him!"

Hiccup suddenly appeared in front of them, shivering. His auburn hair was now more unkempt than ever in the harsh wind, and he cocked his head. "Are you g-guys okay over h-here?" he shouted, having to raise his voice to be heard over the storm. "Any of y-you g-guys need to go back i-in?"

"No, we're fine, Hiccup," Tuffnut answered, starting to walk away. "We're having the time of our lives! It's not even that cold anymore."

Ruffnut smiled, rubbing her arms. "Yeah. Us Thorstons don't get easily unnerved."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "So, that's why you're shivering and trying to warm yourself up?"

The twin dropped her arms, wincing. "Hey! Tuffnut's skin is… thicker than mine! That's why he's so fat!"

"Yeah!" Tuffnut agreed, not realizing what she meant. He turned around. "Oh, and Hiccup…" He quickly grabbed a ball of ice from the ground, unaware of how hard it was. "Look out, H!" Tuffnut sent the ball flying towards Hiccup, and the boy didn't have time to shriek before it collided with his forehead.

Hiccup yelped, and clutched his bleeding head before he collapsed into the snow.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut gasped.

"You idiot!" Ruffnut yelled, running over to Hiccup. "You just hit Hiccup will a ball of ice, not snow! They're called 'snowballs', not 'iceballs'!"

Tuffnut's eyes widened. "Oh, Thor. I got to get Astrid… she'll know what to do- Oh, Thor! He's bleeding!"

Ruffnut bent over Hiccup, rolling her eyes. "Of course he's bleeding, Tuffnut!" she snapped, inspecting his wound. "You threw a ball of ice at his forehead- what did you expect, confetti to pop out?"

Crossing his arms, Tuffnut smirked. "On a completely unrelated note, that would be awesome!"

"Tuff! Go get Astrid!"

"Gotcha, sis!" Tuffnut started to run off, only to trip himself in the snow. He stood up sheepishly, rubbing his chin before continuing on his way. "Astrid! Astrid!" he yelled, trying to find the girl in the snow. "You have to help us! Astrid!"

Ruffnut looked down at Hiccup, now noticing how pale he was. His brown hair looked too dark on his light skin, and the blood pouring out of the gash on his head turned the snow around him to the color of red. "Hurry, Tuff," she whispered, moving Hiccup's head into her lap.

"Hurry."

Astrid was already getting irritated with this snowball fight. Not only was it cold, but Heather also had a liking to target Astrid for most of her snowball shots. By the time they were ten minutes in the game, Astrid was soaked through with snow and shivering.

And then she couldn't find Hiccup anywhere.

Just a few minutes ago he had come by, asking how everyone was. Astrid replied that she was fine, more worried on how to avoid Heather than to focus on Hiccup, but she realized that her friend hadn't returned from coming back on checking Ruff and Tuff.

He better have not done anything stupid, she thought, her eyes narrowing as she looked out into the blinding snow. Or flown back to the clubhouse on Toothless because he was too cold… yeah, that would be typical Hiccup.

"Astrid!" she heard someone yell, panicked. "Astrid!"

It was Tuffnut.

Astrid sighed, hugging her shivering self. She considered not replying, but at Tuffnut's urgent tone, she sensed something was wrong. "I'm over here!" she called. "Just follow my voice!"

A few seconds later, Tuffnut appeared in the haze of falling snow, his expression terrified. "A-Astrid!" he gasped, stumbling up to her. "You have to help! T-there was an accident, and now Hiccup is-"

"Slow down, what happened?" Astrid demanded, freezing at the words 'Hiccup' and 'accident'. Had Hiccup been hurt?

"I… I accidentally threw a ball of ice at Hiccup's forehead," admitted Tuff, wincing at Astrid's horrified look. "He's unconscious now, a-and he's bleeding… Oh, Thor, Astrid, blood's everywhere... Ruff's taking care of him now, but she needs help."

"Take me to him!" Astrid shouted, her body trembling with fear. "Take me to Hiccup now, Tuffnut!"

Heather appeared at the side of Astrid, looking concerned. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Tuffnut sighed. "Again? I have to explain this all again? Well, okay, but-"

"Hiccup's been hurt," Astrid explained to Heather, knowing that her story would be quicker than Tuffnut's. "He got hit by an ice ball in the head, and he's bleeding and unconscious."

Heather paled. "Let's go, then!"

Tuffnut nodded, and the trio started to run to where he was leading them, their dragons blindly following behind. Once Tuffnut managed to get them all back to Ruff, they could Hiccup wasn't doing well. Not well at all. He was a deadly white, shivering, and his forehead was bleeding all over Ruffnut's legs. Ruffnut had placed Hiccup's head in her lap, trying to favor his wounded area, but it wasn't helping.

"Sis! We're back!" Tuffnut called, panting as he ran over. "How's Hiccup? Is he okay now?"

Ruffnut glared back. "Of course he's not okay now! You hit him with an ice ball, muttonhead! Those things have been known to kill!"

Astrid gasped, walking over to Hiccup. He looked almost dead… so very very pale… barely breathing at all… She shook her head, reaching the boy. "Hiccup," Astrid murmured, kneeling beside Ruffnut. "How do you always manage to get yourselves stuck in these situations?"

"Uh… do you two need a minute?" Tuffnut asked, confused. "Because we can totally leave."

Ruffnut glowered at him. "Stay out of this, bro. Haven't you done enough?"

Tuffnut stepped back, hurt. "Woah, Ruff. Isn't that a little-"

"Stop talking!" exploded Astrid, too stressed to care how mean she sounded. "Hiccup's injured, and we're going to have a hard time getting him back to the clubhouse in this weather! Okay, first thing's first… we need to dress his wound, and then- wait." Astrid paused, feeling that something was wrong. "Where's Toothless? He should be with Hiccup."

"He wasn't with Hiccup when he came over," Ruffnut said.

"So… where is he, then?"

Astrid'd questions were replied when a roar of a Night Fury rang out from behind them. The Riders turned around to see Toothless leading Fishlegs and Snotlout over, who were shivering on their dragons' backs. "The stupid dragon wouldn't leave us alone," Snotlout grumbled, not yet seeing the unconscious Hiccup. "He went and got Guppylegs before going after me next…"

Fishlegs gasped, hopping off of Meatlug. He had seen Hiccup, and was horrified. "W-what happened?" he blubbered, his face morphed in worry. "Why is Hiccup's forehead bleeding? Why is he unconscious? Why does Tuffnut look strangely more suspicious than usual?"

Tuffnut paused, trying to seem innocent. "What? N-no, I didn't do anything. I'm Good Man Tuffnut. Yep. That's what they call me.. 'cause I'm good, and stuff…"

"That muttonhead threw a ball of ice at Hiccup, and it hit his forehead," Astrid growled, caressing Hiccup's wound. The boy winced, crying out. Well, I know that he's awake enough to feel pain, so I guess that's good news, she mused, removing her hands from the gash. "Hiccup? Can you hear me, Hiccup?"

"Astrid…" moaned Hiccup. "Astrid… A-Astrid… m'head hurts..."

Laughing, Astrid brought Hiccup up to her chest, unable to hold back a much needed hug. After a long moment, she laid him back down on the snow, knowing she couldn't hold onto him forever. "So, how do you feel, Hiccup? You got hit in the head with some ice, thanks to Tuffnut." She held back another growl. "But don't worry. We're going to take you back to the clubhouse soon, and you'll be nice and warm… your head will feel better, too."

Hiccup smiled, and grimaced as his forehead burned in protest. "Mmmm… th-that sounds nice… Astrid, I-I'm really sleepy…"

Fishlegs yelped, running over. "N-no, Hiccup! You have to stay awake! Going to sleep with a head wound is not a good idea… you may never wake up again!"

Snotlout finally noticed what was wrong, and he stiffened. "Wait, what happened to Princess Outpost? Why's he bleeding?"

"Oh, I'll tell you what's going on," Tuffnut offered, brightening as he prepared for a long speech. "You see-"

"There's no time to spare, Tuff," Fishlegs interrupted, carefully looking over Hiccup's head wound. "Hiccup's been hurt… bad. We have to get him somewhere warm before he freezes to death out here."

"Well, it's going to take awhile to do that," Ruffnut sighed. "This storm's not getting any clearer, and the dragons are having enough trouble walking around as it is… what do you think will happen when they try to fly?"

Toothless grunted, slinking up to his rider. He was sure he could do it, even with his tailfin. He had to. For Hiccup.

"I'm sorry, Toothless." Astrid shook her head, wincing. "Your tailfin might ice over when we take off, and then we'll all crash. No, we have to use another dragon to get Hiccup back." She snapped her fingers in understanding, and nodded. "We'll take Stormfly! She's great at getting through storms, hence the name. We'll be back to the Edge in no time."

Stormfly perked up at her name, and shifted on her feet.

"Okay," Fishlegs agreed, although reluctant. "But once you get Hiccup to safety, you need to warm him up. Bring him to the clubhouse and put him on a blanket near the fire. Next, find something to cover his wound, and wait for me to get there. I'll know how to do the rest."

Astrid felt impressed by Fishleg's calmness. Whenever there was trouble, he'd usually be overwhelmed by stutters and fear, but now he seemed perfectly fine, unflinching even at Hiccup's condition. She nodded, dragging Hiccup up by his arms. "Alright. I'll see you there." Astrid looked over her shoulder. "Stormfly, come here!"

The dragon bounded over over, cawing in alarm when she saw the limp Hiccup. Astrid looked down at her friend. "Stay awake, Hiccup," she told him, heaving the boy up on Stormfly. "Just for a little longer. We have to get you back to the clubhouse."

Hiccup shivered, slumping against Stormfly's neck. He was barely conscious, and was getting paler by the minute. Blood tricked down the side of his head, filling Astrid with worry. "Okay," he whispered. "For you, Astrid. I'll… stay awake,"

Astrid smiled, jumping up on Stormfly. "Good." She nudged her dragon, holding Hiccup closer in her arms. "Let's go, girl! Back to the Edge!"

With a caw, Stormfly took off into the snowy sky.

The ride to the clubhouse didn't take too long, as Stormfly was an expert in navigating. The whole way, Astrid had to talk to Hiccup to keep him awake. He wasn't doing too good in the blizzard raging around him. His skin had grown a shade paler- if that was even possible- and still more blood leaked out of his wound.

Once Stormfly landed next to the clubhouse, Astrid didn't take a moment more than she had to before helping Hiccup slide off of Stormfly. The poor boy could hardly stand, let alone walk, which forced Astrid into nearly carrying Hiccup the whole way inside.

By the time Hiccup was laid next to the fireplace, lit by Stormfly, Hiccup was ready to pass out again. "Now can I sleep?" he muttered, his eyes struggling to stay open. "I've been a-awake the whole ride…"

Astrid felt concerned. Fishlegs had told her that Hiccup needed to stay awake, what with his head wound, but Hiccup looked so tired… and the way that he looked so desperate for her to agree… well, she couldn't say no to that face.

"Okay, Hiccup," she sighed. "Just until Fishlegs gets here, though. Understand?"

Hiccup nodded, his eyes fluttering close. "Th-thanks, Astrid."

"Of course." Astrid paused, thinking of how she almost lost him out in the snow earlier. That had been one of the most terrifying feelings she had experienced in her life. Astrid, before she could stop herself, let a tiny smile trace upon her lips. "I love you, Hiccup," she murmured, patting his hand. "I always will."

Hiccup faintly smiled back, and much to her surprise, he whispered, "I love you too."

And right there and then, Astrid knew that everything would turn out alright.

Hmm hmm, lots o' feelzies. ACK, sorry for any horrible mistypes or weird sentences... it's midnight and I'm on my iPad which autocorrects everything into its opposite word. Who knew I installed the app for that? XD

See you all next time! Happy reading!

-thepurplewriter333