There was absolute silence as Hiccup stared at Astrid. The dragon held its breath as Hiccup just stood and gawped, his mouth hanging wide open. He looked even more foolish than he normally did, trapped somewhere between fear, surprise, amazement and fainting. There was absolutely no way, no way, that this was real. Dragons couldn't write, and Astrid wasn't a dragon. He started to back away, laughing nervously.

"I must be feeling sick. Yeah, that's probably it. There just no way… It's not possible... I can't, you're not..."

The dragon moaned again, pointing at the name of his dead friend, and back at itself. It had taken him a minute to understand what it was trying to say. It was insanity, but the spidery runes scratched in the dirt confirmed the impossible. Somehow, for whatever reason, by some black magic that scared him to the core, the creature that stood in front of him was Astrid.

He just couldn't find the words to describe the shock and horror that he felt. This was a Night Fury, the most powerful and dangerous dragon ever to plague Barbaric Archipelago, and yet it was also the most prolific teenage dragon slayer in Berk's history. It was almost too much for his head to deal with. After all, it wasn't every day the object of his adolescent obsession turned into the unholy offspring of Lightning and Death itself.

He narrowed his eyes, trying to visualise Astrid's blond hair and beautiful face in place of the scaled animal before him. It was just so difficult to believe that this was the Viking girl that had been carried off from the village not two days earlier. He simply couldn't match up any of the feminine features that had been burned into his memory since childhood, with the hunched over dragon that was sitting opposite him.

He stared deeply into her eyes. They were pools of sadness and desperation, a world away from the anger and pain of when they had first met. He held her gaze, searching for some meaning in those wide, inviting pupils. One thing was abundantly clear, it meant him no harm. There was not a trace of hatred in those eyes. Maybe, just maybe, it – no she, was telling the truth.

"Astrid… Is that you…?"

She let out a cry of happiness and barrelled forward. Before he could react, Hiccup had been scooped up, as she grabbed hold of him tightly in the dragon equivalent of a bear hug. She was shaking, and making irregular, choking warbles as she enveloped the small boy with her vast wings. To Hiccup, it sounded a lot like she was crying.

There was no doubting it now, this was Astrid. Dragons were never big on hugging or crying, at least not in his experience. He was still pressed up against her, trapped by her wings as she curled up around him. As she nuzzled his chest with her enormous head, she let out a high pitched whine. He gently patted her snout.

"Hey, hey. It's okay. I'm still here"

His words seemed to calm her down. She set him down gently, and took a pace backwards before laying down on her paws. She was still shaking, but only slightly. "I can't believe it, you… you're a dragon!"

She moaned and nodded her head. She must have been traumatised, judging by her reactions. It wasn't surprising, she had been all alone, living out in the wild, exposed to the elements. Hiccup flinched, remembering the storm of the night before. She had been devoid of all human contact and support, despite going through what must have been the most harrowing experience in Viking history.

She wouldn't have been able to come home, she would have been killed on sight. Gods, even her own family would have gutted her and turned her into a wall decoration, or maybe a nice rug. If there was one thing Hiccup knew about the Hoffersons, it was that they always fought to the bitter end when it came to vengeance. They would welcome the opportunity to behead the beast that had robbed them of their daughter.

Hiccup looked around. From the looks of it, this was her new home. She had nowhere else to go, and this seemed to suit her needs well enough. Fresh water, cover from any roaming humans… He could hardly imagine the pain she must have been going through, to be hunted by the ones you loved through no fault of your own. All this time the village thought she had been killed by Night Fury. No one had even considered the possibility that she had become one herself.

If there was any doubt before, it was all gone now. He would look after her, it was the least he could do, given what she had been through. Hiccup would not tell anyone that there was a deadly Night Fury living in the forest nearby. Not when that deadly Night Fury happened to be his friend Astrid.

'Wait, she's my friend now?' Hiccup laughed inwardly to himself. 'I suppose she is, I'm all she's got'.

It was not lost on Hiccup that Astrid had hugged him for the first time only after she had been transformed into a killer beast of the night. Loki never ceased to amaze him with the tricks he pulled.

It was getting dark now, and Astrid's eyes shone a brilliant green. Using a single claw, she slowly started to write something in the dirt. Hiccup leaned over to try and read it, but the light was dying.

"I can't see. Let me build a fire and then we'll talk".

Astrid nodded in agreement. He turned to go and gather some sticks that were big enough, but had wasn't having much luck. Astrid silently got up and padded over to the forested area of the cove. Hiccup was busy piling up what little kindling he had. He was never very good at camping skills, a hundred failed adventures in the forest with the other teens when he was younger had taught him that the hard way. Nevertheless, he always carried a small flint along with his knife.

Whilst Hiccup had his head down, striking the flint with another stone, Astrid dragged a large sapling over with her teeth, and dumped it beside Hiccup. She sat back on her hind legs, tongue out and tail wagging.

"Well that works as well, I guess."

With branches from the sapling, and a few minutes of cursing and bleeding knuckles later, they had a roaring fire.

"So…" said Hiccup, pulling up his knees and looking at the dragon.

"Tell me everything".

ANOTHER NIGHT FU-

"Wait, the other Night Fury transformed you. Why?"

Astrid nodded and rolled her eyes. She would never be able to explain everything if Hiccup kept interrupting her. The boy asked too many questions.

They were still sitting by the fire, although Astrid didn't need to. Her night vision was extraordinary and she no longer felt the cold when she lay outside at night. Admittedly, being hungry didn't help, but she was able to withstand much lower temperatures than she ever had as a human.

I THINK

She thought about the best way to explain this to him. How could she reveal that the only reason she was currently a dragon was so that she could have hatchlings with the male who had been attacking their village mercilessly for the last decade.

I WAS TO BE HIS MATE

"Wait, what? He wanted you to… to…"

She moaned sadly and nodded, her head drooping. It was comforting to be able to talk to somebody after everything that had happened, even if she couldn't exactly talk.

"That's horrible, I'm so sorry."

Hiccup put his hand on her tail. She could feel the warmth spreading from the tiny point of contact. She didn't know if she was cold blooded or not, but her body temperature was certainly less that it had been before, at least in her extremities.

"What are you going to do now? Is there anything you can do?"

FIND HIM. CHANGE BACK

Saying it to someone else, she realised how impossible that task was. Even if she could find the other Night Fury, as she had no idea where he was, what were the chances of him agreeing to change her back into a professional dragon-slayer? He needed her, and she was fairly confident that he would be able to overpower her, what with his significantly greater experience when it came to being a dragon and all. Mating as a dragon sounded horrific, but getting raped as a dragon? It made her shiver just thinking about it.

"Why are you here then? Isn't he out there somewhere?" He gestured vaguely up at the sky. For all he knew the dragon could be circling right above them and he would never realise it. They were called Night Furies for a reason.

She held up her tailfin, fanning out the single flap that remained. Most of the pain had gone away, but it was clear that it wasn't growing back. She let out a small moan of despair. There was no way that she could get out of the cove, not without help.

"Oh… Is that why you couldn't just fly away?"

She closed her eyes, crooning slightly. Hiccup shuffled up closer. He reached out to touch her side, but his hand froze at the last second.

"May I", he asked nervously.

Astrid nodded her approval. He began to lightly stroke her, feeling each individual scale. She had to admit, it felt quite nice. It was like she was on the edge of being tickled. As he caressed her, she noticed how soft his hands were, so very soft. Maybe it was just because she had a thick, armoured hide covering every inch of her body, but she could have sworn that his touch was as soft and as caring as her mother's when she was a child. It was almost as comforting.

She stretched out her paws and rolled over slightly, giving him a chance to rub her belly. She closed her eyes. She didn't have a clue what she was doing, it just felt so good…

"Wow, this is amazing. You are amazing." He let out a short chuckle. "Nobody has ever even seen a Night Fury before, and I end up giving one a massage."

"Okay, that's enough now."

She rolled back down, a slight frown directed at the boy. She might not be acting hostile towards the boy, but that did not make her some kind of pet. Besides, she had something she needed to ask him.

IN THE FOREST, WHY DID YOU NOT KILL ME?

Hiccup read the runes and leant back, his eyebrows creased in thought. It took him a minute to find the words, but Astrid waited patiently. She was very interested in what he had to say.

"I couldn't kill you, because… You looked just as scared as I was. I looked at you, and saw myself. It might sound stupid now, but back then I just thought you just were a dragon, caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm sorry for shooting you down"

She considered what he had said. Hiccup really was something else. He was perfectly willing to set free a live dragon, just because it looked as terrified as he was. Nobody else in the village could even comprehend that dragons were capable of thought and feeling. She really was lucky that it was Hiccup who had found her, and not idiot like – she shuddered – Snotlout.

Wait a minute, Hiccup had shot her down. She wasn't angry. A tailfin was a small price to pay for control over her body. But it was unexpected, the boy couldn't do anything right. It did make sense, however. Nobody else had come to find her so it must have been him. Still, that bola had hit her hard, and there was no way he was strong enough to throw it. Maybe one of his inventions had worked after all…

"Listen, if you can't get out of here, how about I bring you back some fish tomorrow. You like fish, right?"

She nodded eagerly, and silently thanked whichever gods were still listening. At least she wouldn't starve. As for the food, fish was the only thing she knew she could eat, and it was one of the few resources that Berk had in abundance. Really, what was just another mouth to feed, even one as big as hers?

BRING LOTS. I AM A HUNGRY, HUNGRY DRAGON

Hiccup laughed. She felt oddly pleased that she had made him smile, and before she realised, she was sporting a wide, toothless grin as well. He yawned.

"Well, it's getting late. I'd better be off. I'll see you tomorrow…"

"No, please. Don't go, not yet. Just stay for a little bit longer."

Astrid whined and tugged on his shirt. She really enjoyed his company, and wasn't sure she was ready for another night alone.

"Wait, you want me to stay here?"

She nodded vigorously, laying down and making her best 'cute face'.

"Well, when you put it that way… My Dad's out looking for the nest, nobody will miss me. I guess I could stay the night, if you're okay with it."

She rolled her eyes. Of course she was okay with it, she had asked him for Thor's sake. He lay down by the fire, and tried to get comfortable.

"This was a bad idea, what if it rains again? What if the fire goes out? Won't I freeze?"

She snorted and pulled him up against her, under a wing. Neither of them would freeze if they huddled up like this.

"Well I guess this isn't so bad…"

That night, she slept better than she had in years.