AN: WARPAINT!

Alright, enough with the random weirdness. 3,085 words, be grateful bitches.

This was mostly inspired and motivated by the wonderful Fenrir's Phantom and the fact I was really excited for this.

NOTE! IMPORTANT!

I won't update for quite a while because a)School holidays/christmas, b)laziness and c)I am going to Sydney for sometime and shall not be bored enough to waste my life on the internet.

Anyway, GREAT NEWS!

For me anyway, I got an award for English at one of the best schools in the state! Yas! Yas! So yeah, stuff. Um, this chapter probably isn't as epic as it could've been, however my hands are sore so yeah...however it is chapter 7 so something special is gonna happen.

If I owned HTTYD...I would probably not live in the desert. And be a billionaire.

Chapter 7

}Definitely Not Good{

Astrid

I yawned, covering my mouth with a limp hand. The sun was still yet to rise and the others were still asleep. I wasn't quite sure what had woken me but I was unable to go back to sleep. Sighing loudly I shuffled away from Stormfly and plopped by the entrance, staring at the dark sky. Something flat and smooth brushed against my hand and I turned to look, spotting Hiccup's notebook. I peeked over my shoulder, glancing at a soundly sleeping Toothless, Hiccup curled in his wings. Satisfied I picked up the book and gently flipped it open. My eyes widened ever so slightly at the picture, Hiccup's talent didn't cease to amaze me. It was a drawing of one of Berk's beaches at sunrise. I flicked through the pages, marveling at the obvious skill Hiccup possesses. There were designs for various tools and weapons and traps. Sketches of buildings and views. Lots of pictures of Toothless and other dragons. But mostly there were people. Gobber, Stoick, the other teens and...me. I gazed at a portrait in awe, he captured me in the page, a relaxed smile on my face, axe draped across my knees and eyes closed, leaning against a boulder.

I glanced back at Toothless cautiously before turning back. Hiccup held me in such high respects, such awe and what did I do? I completely ignored him. True I didn't taunt him until just recently but I didn't support him either. I huffed silently and turned my face to the ceiling, closing my eyes in regret. I stood, opening my eyes and walked to Toothless before placing the notebook at his head.

I spent the next half hour before sunrise wandering the cave and gathering shed dragon scales. Hiccup was going to need them for my mask. By the time the sun had risen I had two small piles of scales, one black and the other mostly blue with specks of yellow and red. I spent the next little while preparing breakfast, some roast rabbit from last night and some bread and hard cheese placing them on the two plates I made yesterday. (I didn't fail to notice that they were clean). Hiccup flopped out of the folds of Toothless' wings, stumbling forward, almost falling face-first in the still hot coals of last night's fire.

"Morning Astrid." He murmured quietly, sitting and waiting for me to take my breakfast before starting himself.

I took a moment to admire his manners, not many would wait for another to start eating before starting themselves, let alone wait for a woman if they were a man. But technically Hiccup wasn't a man, and I wasn't a woman. Yet, it somehow made him appear very...chivalrous.

My eyes widened in realisation. What are you talking about Astrid?! Concentrate!

Hiccup looked up at me curiously, an eyebrow cocked and questioning look in his eyes. I shook my head, a reassuring smile pulling at my lips. He didn't look convinced but didn't push.

"So," I started, changing my train of thought, "you had better be teaching me to fly today."

Hiccup glanced up from his breakfast before swallowing a mouthful. "Of course! You'll be the second Viking in history to ride a dragon." He smiled widely, eyes sparkling. "Of course you've already ridden Toothless but on your own I mean, with Stormfly." We ate in silence as he thought and I wondered, nerves trembling in excitement, what it would be like riding Stormfly.

Of course it would be different, I'd be on my own, but they're completely different dragons. Stormfly is larger, more upright facing and bird-like, with a different shaped body. Toothless has a broad back, flat and long with a lot of space between wings and Stormfly is narrower, with closer wings. Hiccup sat in front of Toothless' wings but I'd have to ride behind Stormfly's.

By the time we finished breakfast I was feeling more than a twinge of nerves.

"Okay," Hiccup clapped his hands together and made his way to the back of the cave to the pile of metal they salvaged yesterday. "You're going to need something to hold on with." He explained as he came back with a sturdy looking piece of vine.

He tied it around Stormfly's middle, just behind her wings and gave her a gentle pat. "There we go girl, ready to go."

"Just like that?" I asked, "is that all there is to it?"

Hiccup gave a small shake of his head, of course not, I thought poutily*, there's always more.

"Come on." He waved me forward, "you've got to make sure she's okay with you riding her before the first few times you try. Just go up and slowly go through the motions of mounting her, if she seems skittish, stop, back off and wait before trying again."

I let out a small breath through my nose and approached Stormfly as I always would. She turned her head to look at me curiously and let out a sharp squawk. I reached up, stretching for the vine around her middle. Upon gaining no reaction I grasped the vine gently. Still nothing. I secured my grip higher with both hands and leaned forward slowly. Stormfly gave a reassuring warble and I turned back, bouncing quickly I pulled my body up and onto her back, landing with a leg on either side.

Upon only gaining a happy trill from the dragon as a reaction I let a triumphant grin spread across my face.

"There we go." Hiccup grinned from his spot on Toothless, "now, we're just going to take it slo-"

Before he could finish his sentence Stormfly ran forward and launched herself off the edge, gliding over the treetops. My reaction was not one I was proud of.

"Hiccup!"

"I'm right here." I turned to my right and saw Hiccup and Toothless gliding along side us, relief washed over me and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Alright, we'll save taking off for another time. Start with stop. Lean back, pulling on the vine a little and say:stop." Hiccup instructed.

Taking a deep breath I tentatively leaned ever so slightly back.

"Don't worry. I'll catch you."

Nodding affirmation I leaned further back and told Stormfly to stop. We paused mid-flap, hovering in place.

"Good. Tap her sides with your feet and ask her to go."

I did as told and with a moments hesitation we started soaring again.

"Alright, lean to the left and say-"

"Left?"

"Well, yeah."

I did as I was told and we banked to the left. Before Hiccup could instruct me further I did the same thing with the right side.

"Well done Astrid. Now lean forward and say up, then sit back and tell her down." Hiccup called, watching from afar.

We tried it successfully and we hovered waiting for more.

"That's basically it." Hiccup said coming over, "with a bit more practice it should come naturally, almost in sync with Stormfly, guessing your moves. Dragons are smart, if you ask them aloud, generally they should understand and do as you ask."

Toothless snorted as if to say, we should understand? Stupid human.

"Toothless...you know what I mean." Hiccup smiled fondly at Toothless before looking back up at me. "Just do those exercises for a while then we can rest and do something else."

I nodded confirmation and Stormfly and I resumed our basic exercises, mixing it up a little sometimes but still doing fairly well for first-timers. We continued like that for sometime until I really started to feel uncomfortable. I hated to admit weakness but this was probably necessary.

"Hiccup?" I called, "can we take a break?"

Toothless swooped out of a roll and leveled off beside us. "Sure. Look, the river's right below us, we can take a break there."

"Alright, c'mon Stormfly." We leaned forward in a swooping dive, bolting down like an arrow from a bow to a stop on the ground. It wasn't quite as graceful as Hiccup and Toothless' but it was more than average for a beginner. At least I assumed.

I wandered the riverbank, twisting and stretching my muscles from their cramped positions. "How are you not sore?"

"You get used to it." Hiccup replied and sat, leaning against a tree.

I sat beside him, not failing to notice the subtle widening of his eyes. "When you and Stormfly are bit more used to each other we can go out to a trading port or a market and trade for some leather and cloth. Maybe a little bit of fur. With what we have here I'll be able to make you a saddle and maybe even start on our disguises."

I nodded in agreement. "You brought money?"

He shuffled uncomfortably. "No, not much. I'll be able to trade a little metal and a few little knick knacks for some cheaper things. The others...I might be able to get a job in a blacksmith's and earn some money." He looked out over the river. "I'll figure it out."

"I brought money."

Hiccup looked back at me and blinked owlishly.

"Since we'll be living together for a while, and it is actually my money I can share if it'll benefit both of us." I said, looking down and fiddling with a blade of grass.

"Y-you would?" Hiccup stuttered.

I gave a little half smile. "Yeah."

We sat in a surprisingly comfortable silence for sometime, just watching the light dappled on the river and listening to the sweet, sweet song of a mysterious bird.

"Where should we go from here?" I wondered aloud.

Hiccup hummed under his breath before looking up. "We'll have to free the dragons in the archipelago first, maybe even try to convince some people that dragons aren't all bad. Then after that...I dunno. I've always wondered if there was any land down South. Maybe there's some giant landmass there, with dragons we've never seen before. Maybe there are people out there like us, people who don't hate dragons. And maybe there are people not like us. I don't mean in the dragon hating way, but just...different. Strange to us, living somewhere where it never snows and the rain is little and dragons are welcomed and sing on the rooftops..." He trailed off and looked around. "Where are the dragons? Toothless!"

My eyes widened in realisation, "Stormfly!"

We scrambled about, searching the underbrush and trees calling their names and searching for prints. I found a trail of prints leading along the bank downstream. "Hiccup! Over here!"

He ran over, breaths coming in short bursts. "Toothless' footprints!"

"Exactly!"

We followed the prints calling for the dragons until Hiccup slipped on a torn up mud pile. He cried out in surprise, falling towards the river and flailing his arms. I caught him by the wrist and he hung suspended above the water.

"That was close." He breathed shakily but my attention wasn't on him. "Astrid? Astrid? Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." He pulled himself up and turned to look, his face paled.

There on the opposite bank was a skeleton. Strange armour glittered in the water and the bleached bones were overgrown with river weeds.

"By the gods." Hiccup whispered.

I nodded in mute agreement. "Toothless' tracks continue on the other side."

"Let's go." We waded into the river at a shallow spot, the water only reached up to my chest, and we made our way through the gently tugging current.

We slogged through the water and onto the bank, brushing past the skeleton. The tracks led through dense undergrowth, obviously broken and pushed aside by something large. We walked for some time and as we did I took a moment to wonder how long we weren't paying attention to the dragons for that they went so far. We finally emerged from the undergrowth in an area that gave little shelter and was made mostly of stone and the base of a rocky outcropping.

Hiccup almost wandered out into the open before I managed to grab him by the arm and drag him back.

"Are you crazy?" I hissed in his ear. "What if whatever drew the dragons away is still there and ready to attack us? What then?"

"Okay, okay. We need an idea." Hiccup murmured and paced in the undergrowth.

I sat and waited, listening to his near silent muttering and the melodic cries of an unknown bird. Then they stopped. The cries stopped. I waited, expecting them to start again. But they didn't.

I frowned and looked out at the rocky ground again. I moved my foot slightly and heard a sharp crack. Looking down I spotted a bleached bone, snapped in two where my foot landed. I gulped.

"Hiccup..."

"Not now Astrid." He muttered.

I frowned and opted to look around more. There were more bones scattered around the area, some glinting of metal and a strange amber coloured rock. An angry cry sounded, like a shriek except, strangely melodic and enchanting. It sounded a little like..."That bird!"

I turned to Hiccup who had stopped his pacing and was now frowning out at the rocky area. "That bird! Hiccup, that bird earlier must have called the dragons away!"

"I don't think it was a bird Astrid." Hiccup murmured. "Look."

I turned to where he was pointing and gasped. Toothless and Stormfly were being chased by a strange brightly coloured dragon.

"Oh my gods."

It roared that same melodic roar again and breathed (squirted?) some of that liquid amber at our dragons. Stormfly roared indignantly and fired right back, dodging the other dragon's blow.

"We have to help them!" Hiccup exclaimed and ran out, hiding behind jutting rocks.

I bit back an insult and ran after him, rolling between two boulders. I peeked round the side and looked the dragon up and down. It had a long, awkwardly shaped head crested with spikes, antennae and a purple, fan-like appendage on both sides of its jaw. Its wings were similar, fan-like and yellow, mottled with bright purple. From what I saw it only had two hind legs. A glob of amber landed beside me and I snapped back, shrinking behind the rock.

I cursed quietly, how I longed for my axe.

Stormfly was approaching and fast. Toothless was already in the air, Hiccup on his back and firing angrily at the dragon.

"Stormfly!"

I saw her balk and then veer towards me. She paused by my hiding place and I leapt on, taking off just before a blast of amber hit the ground we had been on. We joined Hiccup in the air, firing at the angrily screeching dragon, its song more like a death cry now. It fired blast after blast of amber at us until it tried again and came up with nothing. Stormfly fired her spines at the dragon, cutting it off and clipping its underbelly. It shrieked in surprise and faltered in the air. Toothless roared commandingly* and it slowly sank towards the ground, head bowed in defeat.

We settled on the ground just as a slim figure came running out, axe glinting in the light. Hiccup slipped off Toothless just as he pounced, pinning the dragon to the ground. He roared at the dragon and sat haughtily on its chest.

Asmund cautiously approached us, axe held tightly and muscles tensed.

"Hey Asmund." Hiccup called casually.

"You defeated the Death Song?" He asked skeptically, lowering his axe slightly.

"Sort of. What are you doing here?"

I folded my arms and regarded Asmund cautiously.

"I heard the Death Song screaming. Naturally I ignored it until I realised it was you that it was probably after." Asmund explained, folding his arms and regarding me with an air of finality.

"Death Song?" I asked coldly. "Sounds like something Tuffnut came up with."

"I didn't name it." Asmund said tersely.

I harrumphed.

"You're still on my island." He continued, looking questioningly at Hiccup.

"Yeah, ah...we need to make some preparations and Astrid needs to practice flying and I need to make Stormfly a saddle." Hiccup explained. "We'll be out of here as soon as possible, I promise you, but we need to get some things ready first."

Asmund raised an eyebrow but nodded, turning away. He went several steps before turning abruptly and walking to me.

"What did I ever do to make you mad at me? I just showed up and you went ballistic! Why? Why are you so pissed at me?" He demanded.

Hiccup made a move to speak but I raised a hand to silence him.

"You were strange and new. I had just left my family forever, my brothers, mother and father, left behind buried in the shame of my actions and nearly broke! I had just abandoned my tribe! Me! An honoured Shield Maiden in training! Abandoning her tribe and family for a life of treachery with her people's greatest enemies and the village's disgrace!" Hiccup winced visibly at that. "I don't know. You tell me. Is being torn up with guilt and shame and half a dozen other emotions enough to snap at a stranger after your only human companion has disappeared for the entire day then comes back with said stranger, offering no explanation and expecting me to go: oh! Hi! How are you? Do you want to be friends? I want to be friends. Well, no! Of course I'm going to be mad! It doesn't help I'm a naturally angry person either!"

I huffed loudly. Asmund looked taken aback and Hiccup looked downright ashamed, head bowed and twiddling with his thumbs. Stormfly trilled comfortingly.

"Sorry." Asmund murmured.

"I don't apologise." I said. "But if I did, this is where I would." I slipped from Stormfly's back and grasped Asmund's outstretched hand.

"So..." Hiccup started, "we should probably-" he was cut off by a terrified screech.

AN:

* I know these aren't real words but still, give me a little leniency.

Hugs and cookies and baby Night Furys for everyone!