Chapter Twenty Three

The sky over Berk was grey and bleak; perfectly portraying the general feeling in the air. Astrid stood on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the docks below. At the beach, Fishlegs, the Twins, and Snotlout were taking care of the wrecked Thariin ships; under the instruction of Gobber. In the distance were a few of their own ships burning away, carrying those that fell in battle to Valhalla. Letting out a heavy sigh, she looked down and saw a single ship being prepared for a similar fate. It was Ukiah's. The sail was a plain white with a large black diagonal stripe across it. Just like his war paint.

Astrid shook her head at the thought of him. Technically, he hadn't died yet. But after pulling him out of the arena two days ago, Gothi said that the chances of him recovering would be the same as it snowing in the middle of summer. Though to Astrid, she clung to the hope that he'd pull through. Besides, he's a Crevite! He's shown time and time again of doing the impossible.

Lost in her thoughts, she then felt Stormfly gently rub against her. Turning she smiled weakly at her dragon. "I think I'm alright girl. We went through a lot the last few days, huh?"

Stormfly softly squawked, trying to comfort her rider.

Lightly laughing, she scratched Stormfly's massive head and said "Come on, let's go help the others clear up some of that debris…"

Stormfly softly growled, following Astrid down the ramp. She knew Astrid didn't feel like flying, and wasn't going to push it. At least, not right then.

Fortunately, not that they had any choice, the Thariin soldiers released Hiccup after the duel, and promptly left that day with their fallen chief. The thought of Strogg being no more, brought a huge relief to her. Visibly relaxing that he was gone forever, she lazily shouldered her axe. Then the thought came back. The one that's been haunting her since the Thariin fleet left. What was it for? All that fighting, all that death, and what did they gain? They defied the most powerful tribe, defeating their ruler and chieftain, all in order to protect someone they called a friend; who, in the end, sacrificed himself for Hiccup, herself, and his dragon, Arrow. Not to mention the entire island of Berk.

Shaking her head vividly, she silently rebuked herself. "He wasn't dead! Not yet at least. He hadn't sacrificed himself yet! Shutting her eyes in frustration, she then heard a familiar voice call out her name. "Astrid! Astrid! Come quick!"

Looking up, she was surprised to see Hiccup and Toothless running towards her. A look of sheer joy was plastered on both their faces, making her slightly gasp at the potential news. Though she didn't want to get her hopes up, for some reason she knew exactly what it was about. "What?! What is it?" She cried out.

"It's Ukiah! He's waking up!" He shouted, stopping in front of her.

Astrid gaped at him, not believing what he was saying.

"Come on! He was stirring when we ran to get you!" He continued to shout, pulling her along and running back to his house; where they were keeping Ukiah.

Astrid didn't need to be told. She was already sprinting with Hiccup. "When? When?!" She shouted, turning to Hiccup with a wide smile "Is he that much better?!"

Hiccup frowned a little, saying "Gothi says that he's still not…safe, but the fact that he's able to wake up is a good sign!"

Smiling from ear to ear, she followed Hiccup as they arrived at his door. Throwing it open, it revealed Gothi at the cooking pot, stirring something; and Stoick standing over Ukiah's bed, looking down at him. And then Arrow, who was at the end of his bed and staring intently at his rider. Since they took Ukiah in, Arrow refused to leave his bedside. As soon as Hiccup and Astrid stepped inside, Arrow greeted the two by smiling at them, with a small amount of sand drizzling from the corners of his mouth. Astrid laughed quietly, gently petting the happy Sand Wraith. Standing on the opposite side of Stoick, the two looked down at their friend.

Ukiah, to be put lightly, looked like he was indeed pulled out of the grave. Even compared to when he first woke up on their ship. His black hair was taken out of its braid, being a mangled mess. He also had dried blood flakes covering one side of his head. His face was swollen, and his nose crooked from being kicked there. His upper body was wrapped in bandages, stained with some blood from when he was slashed in the side. The center of his chest had a massive cloth placed over it, covering where the he had taken the blade. They were held by separate wrappings that went up and over his shoulder. He looked like he should be dead. The only sign of life was his chest moving up and down very shallowly, and his eyes were half opened.

"Heh…guess I'm…a-agghh…live…" Ukiah whispered hoarsely, putting as much energy as he could into the sentence. He seemed to sink deeper into the pillow that was placed behind him, making Astrid flash with worry.

"Take it easy, Ukiah." Stoick counseled, resting his hand on the corner of the bed "It's a miracle you're even able to wake up…"

"I…hate…sleep-ping in…" He jested, equally quiet and letting the crack of a smile at the corners of his face.

"Shut up Ukiah." Astrid said aloud, shaking her head at him with a relieved smile "I'm going to knock your arm off when you get better!" Seeing him crack the small smile though, caused her to visibly relax.

"Heh…I'd rath-ther…" Ukiah began to say, only to be interrupted.

"Enough, Ukiah." Stoick ordered "Save your energy. Gothi say's you still have a chance of not making it."

"No…I'll…make it…" Ukiah whispered, his half open eyes closing "My…par-parents t-told me I-I-I would…"

Everyone in the room went silent. Staring down at Ukiah, they listened to him say. "The-ey…said…they were p-p-rou-d. I di…dn't want…to come b-b-back…but, they t-t-told me to…" A tear dripped out of the corner of one eye, which he quietly said "I he-heard their…voi-voices…"

"Rest, Ukiah. You can tell us all about it when you have more energy." Stoick said aloud, gently resting his arm on Ukiah's shoulder. Looking over at Hiccup, he then said "Son, can I borrow you and Toothless? It seems we have a ship that doesn't need to be prepared anymore."

"Sure, I can help." Hiccup replied, a little bummed that he couldn't stay with Ukiah. Facing his friend, he then said "For what it's worth, thanks Ukiah. You're the reason I'm not on a ship to Thariin."

Ukiah just smiled weakly, nodding his head barely.

At that, Hiccup, Toothless, and Stoick walked out of the house; leaving Gothi still stirring the pot, and Astrid next to Ukiah. Arrow then snuck next to Ukiah, gently nuzzling his arm.

"He..ey…friend…"Ukiah whispered, feeling Arrow. Unable to lift his arm, he simply whispered words of comfort "Gla…ad you're…doi…ng good…"

Astrid, at this point, gently reached down and gripped his hand. She thought for sure she'd never be able to do that again.

Ukiah's eyes fluttered open. Looking up at Astrid, he just had a confused expression on his face.

"Thank you, Ukiah." She whispered, blushing a little bit "I was…really worried about you."

A small smile began to grow on his face, realizing what she was saying. His face seemed to do the talking for him.

Her face turning into a glowing red, she glanced over to make sure Gothi wasn't listening. Seeing that she wasn't, she turned back to him and explained "Since I saw you at your little trading post, I coul-. I felt-. I uh…" She stammered, unsure of how to say what she was thinking. Growling at herself angrily, she finally blurted out "I liked you from when I first saw you."

Ukiah's eyes lit up with shock. Staring at her, he couldn't even say what he wanted to; even if he was completely whole, he didn't think he could say what he wanted to!

"I saw what kind of a person you are." She said, looking away from his shocked eyes "You're just like Hiccup, and it's not that I don't like him, it's just…I don't know…"

"As…trid. You…don…t have to…explain…" He whispered with broken words, the corners of his mouth growing into a relaxed smile. "Th…ank…yo...u."

Smiling, she simply pulled a chair closer to his bed and sat down. Keeping his hand gripped in hers, she continued to watch him as he let his eyes close again, letting him fall asleep. Seeing him relax, she whispered "You know Ukiah, I never told you myself. Welcome to Berk. Welcome home."

Well, I hope you enjoyed it. By the amount of reviews, follows, and favorites; I'm guessing not very many did. Any who, thanks to those who did follow and favorite, I hope it was a good read.

So, what could I have done different? What did you not like about the story? Was it because it wasn't an AU or a gender swap? No magical powers? Or just not interesting to begin with? PM me or review, it seriously helps me so I don't post stories like this.