Astrid opened her eyes.

She blinked drearily, taking a deep breath of humid air; a drizzle of rain was to be seen when looking out the window.

The shield maiden was home again.

At first, she was blissfully unaware of what had happened. The only thing that existed was this moment, the here and now, the peaceful serenity of feeling the humid, storm-brewing atmosphere.

Then, the memories flooded in, as if trying to drown her in their magnitude and weight. Green eyes, black scales, huge dragons, smoke - so much smoke -, ash and then nothing.

A lone tear made its way down her face, streaking through the beautiful warrior's face.

Oh, Hiccup, you stupid daredevil idiot.

She did not know why she went to the cove.

Maybe she wanted to get away from all the gloominess of her tribe; maybe she knew the dragon would be there, grieving; maybe she just wanted to feel something besides this awful, all-consuming grief; maybe she just wanted to feel Hiccup: his presence, so strong and known, that it could never fully fade.

At first, the black-scaled reptile did not make itself present, until she made a move to leave; from the shadows it jumped, teeth bared and eyes not round and kind, but a thin, ferocius oval.

"Toothless," Astrid breathed.

He growled.

"I miss him too."

The dragon stopped in its tracks. Its demeanor of unfriendliness disappeared and with it did the oval eyes. The night fury seemed deeply shaken.

"I cried today. I've never really been a crier. It was... weird. Yeah, it was weird. The stickiness, the wetness, the mess it caused; most of all the ache that wouldn't stop burning in the pit of my stomach even after I had cried out all the liquids in my system."

The reptile stared at her.

"I love him too. And, because he loved you, I'll help you."

It took a long time to figure out what Hiccup's designs meant. They were complicated and advanced; too advanced for someone who had no experience with being a blacksmith, so she rallied up Gobber and Fishlegs and together they encrypted Hiccup's ideas.

But, as it turns out, creating the ultimate tailfin for a night fury was not quite as easy as just that. She had to find out a way to help Toothless permanently; the iron could be made of Gronckle Iron, which Fishlegs had recently discovered, but normal fabric would not suffice.

They needed something sturdy, that could withstand most anything. Dragon skin was the first thing to come to mind, but she had a feeling Toothless would mind wearing the skin of a dead dragon, even if it had been killed before peace had been declared. Unless..., Astrid pondered, a special dragon popping into her mind. They had just discovered it a few days ago; it shed its skin periodically, like a snake, the thought making Astrid shudder. She despised snakes.

For hours she watched as Gobber finished the tailfin, the created device truly genius.

She knew Hiccup had been smart, but as she had lain her eyes on his exact, fine drawings, she felt a twinge of pride for the hidden genius he had posessed.

And as she held the finished masterpiece, she knew, this was what Hiccup would have wanted.

disclaimer: I do not own How To Train Your Dragon

I was going to add a scene in which astrid attaches the tailfin to toothless and he flies away, etc., but I liked this ending :c

so a few reviews wanted a continual with hiccup alive. it was never my intention keeping hiccup alive in this story and I believed that it didn't come across as if he still could be. but, if greatly demanded, I might post an alternative version with hiccup alive... what do you guys say?

-flaminia