Ear perking as he heard something off to the side, the Night Fury turned its head to where the noise came from, eyes narrowing when he noticed a human standing behind him. His upper lip curled into a snarl, teeth unsheathing from his gums in a threatening way. He might be hungry and weak but that didn't mean that he was going to lie down for this human without a fight, tail flicking up into the air and wings flaring out.

Hiccup eyed the Night Fury with almost the same look it was giving him before he remembered that this was about showing trust and straightened himself. Keeping one of his hands behind his back, he pulled his axe off from his holster behind his back, throwing it to the side where it imbedded into the ground from the force. The dragon's head perked up, his ear flaps flattening against his skull as he looked at where the axe fell before looking back at the human and squinting.

"How about we do this the easy way instead of the hard way, hm?" Hiccup asked with a raised eyebrow, reaching into the small wicker basket resting at his hip off of his belt. "I bet you're hungry." The dragon growled low in its throat before he pulled out a trout. Its eyes dilated, hunger evident on its face but its pride wasn't going to let things happen that easily. It wriggled its shoulders, tail flicking around behind it and tongue slipping out to lick its lips, looking about ready to pounce on him for the fish.

"This is absolutely ridiculous," he muttered under his breath as he approached the beast, keeping the fish close so it wouldn't have a chance to dart out and snatch it from his hand. Every instinct that had been battered into him since he could walk was screaming to just wrestle the dragon into submission but he shook his head to clear his mind of that, inhaling and exhaling deeply. The Outcast eventually got within a foot before the dragon scooted back a bit, sitting on its haunches before Hiccup finally held out the fish. The Night Fury leaned forward again, mouth open to reveal pink gums as it looked up at him. "Toothless? I could have sworn you had..." Sharp teeth ejected from protective casings and Hiccup watched the fish be ripped from his hand, his fingers nearly being bitten off in the process. He pulled his hand back, shaking it with a bit of disgust. "Teeth."

The dragon seemed to be enjoying the fish though, if the way it swallowed it down in one gulp was any indication. It sniffed the air curiously before it rounded in on the small wicker basket at Hiccup's hip, nudging the lid up and peeking inside before the boy pulled away. "I don't have any more," he all but snapped out before a rather hard nudge from the dragon caused him to fall onto his backside. Cursing at himself for throwing his axe away, Hiccup scrambled back until his back pressed against a rock. With the dragon looming over him, it seemed like he was going to have no choice but to take care of him in the more conventional way before he heard a retching sound. Watching the way the Night Fury's neck moved - a particularly large lump making its way up - he gave a small wince as the head of the fish, covered in dragon saliva, landed in his lap.

The Night Fury sat back, looking at him expectantly as he glanced at the fish head in his lap and back up, raising an eyebrow. It licked its lips, forked tongue sliding out. "You want me to eat this? Seriously?" There was a growl as though in confirmation and Hiccup ran a hand through his shaggy hair with a sigh before he picked the fish head up. Waste not want not, he'd said to Astrid, and that still rang true for him. Hiccup held the head in both hands, maintaining eye contact with the dragon as he sank his teeth into the half chewed up fish. iLike bird chicks being fed by their mother, dragons must do the same,/i he figured as he forced the raw fish down with a swallow and a wince.

Seeming pleased, the dragon trilled in the back of its throat as Hiccup finished the fish head off, the coo catching the boy's attention as he wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve. He tilted his head, watching the Night Fury mimic the move before he stood from where he was sitting back against the rock. Now was the moment of truth he guessed. Reaching out with a hand, he seemed to be getting somewhere before the dragon shook its head, its eyes dilating and hissing before it scurried off to somewhere else in the cove. Hiccup scowled after it, dropping his hand before whirling around and kicking the rock with the ball of his foot.

"Damn it!"

The trip back to the village was mostly uneventful, the Outcast heir fuming the entire way. Why couldn't he have just made the dragon submit? This whole thing would be a hell of a lot easier if he could do things the Outcast way, even if the Outcast way did include maiming and possibly killing the beast. Hiccup entertained thoughts of how to kill the Night Fury as he made his way into town, watching the way people ran past him to the docks. They ran like they were being attacked but the expressions on their faces were happy ones and the village wasn't on fire so he gathered it wasn't like that.

Noticing Fishlegs run by him as fast as his little legs could carry him, Hiccup reached out to stop the other teenager, making him turn his head to look at him. "What's going on?"

"Trader Johann is in town," Fishlegs replied, and Hiccup could practically feel the excitement radiating off the boy. Then again, Berk was a small island community whose only interaction with other tribes was through war or diplomatic reasons, so something new coming to town through Trader Johann would obviously get them excited. "Are you gonna come down?"

He tilted his head in consideration. "Hm. Maybe. I don't have anything to trade though."

"Oh no problem. You could ask him if you could give him something extra next time he comes into port. Trader Johann's nice like that." As though suddenly realizing who he was talking to, Fishlegs gave a small squeak and scurried off again, tripping once on the way before he stumbled back up. Hiccup chuckled under his breath, feeling a strange sense of satisfaction at the other boy's nervousness around him before he rolled his shoulders. He should at least go down and see what was available in any case. He might find a new sword or something.

The docks were somewhat clear by the time he made his way down, looking out the corner of his eye as the twins fought over something or other. Some kind of statue by the looks of it. As he stepped onto the boat and Trader Johann turned around to welcome him, his eyes widened upon seeing the Outcast, raising an eyebrow before he spread his arms, salesman face on. "Ah, Hiccup. Always good to see you, lad, but, er, what are you doing on Berk?"

"Alvin disowned me for failing an important mission, and my boat landed here after a storm." He gave a small shrug. "The village was kind enough to put me up." Until they could trust him, but he left that part out. Noticing the look on Stoick's face out the corner of his eye as the chief studied a new sword, he figured not saying his true father's name made the older man a bit disheartened.

"Outcast or Berkian, you'll always be welcome on my boat, son. I picked up some pretty good weapons on my last trip to the Meathead tribe that you're welcome to peruse." Johann clapped his hands together, rubbing them with a smile.

"I'm afraid I don't have anything to trade this time around, since all my belongings have no doubt been destroyed by now back on Outcast Island. Would you mind waiting until next time for a bigger barter?"

"As the young man wishes. Anything you want, and you trade double next time. Do we have an accord, Hiccup?"

"That we do, Trader Johann." Hiccup took the outstretched hand and shook it, adding a bit of a squeeze to it with a small smirk before he turned away from the tradesman and wandered over to the weapons section. Stoick continued swinging the sword around through the air in practice, as though he hadn't made a face at Hiccup, and the boy ran his fingers over the blade of a hatchet, picking it up and weighing it in his hands.

"Oh you're, ah, interested in axes and hatchets then, boy?" He looked out the corner of his eye at Stoick as the chief gave one last swing of the sword, cutting clean through one of the poles of the docks.

"Any type of weaponry really," he replied curtly, pulling the hatchet back and giving it an experimental swing through the air. "I had trophies back ho...on Outcast Island from raids. No doubt they're gone now, but I was particularly fond of a couple of them. A pity."

"Er, I see." Stoick twiddled his fingers over the hilt of the blade in his hands, watching the way Hiccup moved. It was obvious he'd been trained for years, if the way the hatchet swung through the air was any indication. "Hiccup, there's...something I've been meaning to talk to you about." The boy paused, looking over his shoulder at his biological father. "Where are you staying right now, lad?"

"I've been sleeping out in the rocks behind the village with Fenrir." At the look on Stoick's face, he rolled his eyes, placing the hatchet back with the other weapons. "Well it's not like there's anywhere else."

"I want you to consider moving into my house." All activity seemed to stop on the boat and Hiccup's eyes widened into a look of incredulousness. He couldn't seriously be asking him back, could he? "Now I know I haven't exactly been a good father, and for years I thought Thor had taken you when we sent you out to sea. You have every right to be mad at me, lad, I don't blame you, but please consider it at least."

This was his chance, Hiccup thought to himself as he looked up at Stoick, green eyes dancing with distrust as the chief and the rest of the boat waited with bated breath. If he took the offer, he'd have a prime position to kill Stoick in his sleep when the time came. Gain their trust, kill Stoick, steal the dragon conqueror and make it back to Outcast Island before anybody noticed with a tamed Deadly Nadder and Night Fury. He tilted his head away, crossing his arms. "I'll think about it."

As he turned away from Stoick as the chief covered up the momentary beam on his face, he watched Mildew and Johann talking in hushed voices over by a stack of wicker baskets, his lips curling into a smirk. That must be the Blue Oleander that he told the old man to order. Good. Mildew had held up his end. "Pity, I was looking forward to roast lamb," he murmured under his breath as he passed on his way around. He saw Mildew stiffen out the corner of his eye and gave the old man an innocent smile even as Johann looked between them questioningly before he shrugged it off as simply the effect Hiccup left on people.

Spotting Astrid test out a weapon she'd picked up, he grinned, sneaking up behind her while she was practicing, watching the way she swung the axe before he reached out, cupping his hands around hers and shifting closer behind her. "Your form is a bit messy, princess."

She shot him a look over her shoulder, a bit startled and would have swung around to take his head off with the blade, and she stomped on his booted foot, making him wince. "I could have killed you, numbskull!" she swore at him, before he started moving them in unison. "And what do you mean by messy? I'm..." She held her breath as he corrected her form, her face flushing a little in embarrassment. "Oh..."

"Like I said, messy." Once he was done, he pulled the axe from her grip, trailing his fingers along the blade. "This is a Roman style weapon."

"You can tell that just by looking at the blade?"

Hiccup shrugged, handing it back to her handle first. "I've seen Roman blades up close and personal. I know one when I see one. I imagine it'd be a bit hard for someone who hasn't been on a raid to see."

"The Outcasts raided the Romans?" Astrid raised an eyebrow. That she found a little hard to believe, and the fact that he'd been on one. She crossed her arms over her chest, careful with the axe. "You're bluffing."

"Sometimes Roman boats crossed into Outcast waters." He rolled his eyes at her disbelief. "Anything they have on board is immediately theirs by rights."

"Mmm...I guess I can believe that." She looked at the small wicker basket attached to his hip. "You've fed the Night Fury? What was its reaction?"

"It threw half of it up in my lap and expected me to eat it."

Astrid made a face. "Yeah, they do that sometime. It's their version of a peace offering. Stormfly shared her fish with me the first time I fed her too. It's a sign that he's starting to trust you."

"Like you are, princess?" Hiccup raised an eyebrow, lips quirking. "Should I be expecting half eaten fish to show up on my plate at dinner tonight?"

She hit him on the arm. "I still don't trust you entirely...but I'm starting to." Astrid turned her head away from him, missing the way his smirk darkened just a bit before she lifted the axe in her hand. "So how much is a Roman axe worth for barter, you think?"

"If you have to ask, more than you can afford."

"Drat."

The next morning, there were blue-purple flowers around the plaza and spreading up the steps to the great hall. Hiccup had made Fenrir stay behind in their little mountain cave when he saw the sunlight hit blue down in the valley. He made his way into town with a stretch, noticing the way the other viking teenagers were gathered in the plaza with their dragons.

He raised a questioning eyebrow, tilting his head. "What's wrong with them?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer. Five pairs of eyes looked up at him, a couple of them a bit weirded out by the way he actually sounded concerned.

"They're sick, genius," Snotlout snapped from where he was kneeling next to Hookfang, careful not to get his Monstrous Nightmare too upset so that he set himself on fire.

"Lay off, Snotlout, he was just asking a question," Ruffnut growled out, her own irritation starting to peak. If Barf was feeling better she'd have told him to send his noxious fumes Snotlout's way, but alas, that was not to be. She looked up at Hiccup, mouth screwing up as she shrugged, Tuffnut taking over. "He won't even blow anything up."

"You weren't up half the night cleaning dragon snot off your walls," the Berk heir hissed at her, stroking his hand along Hookfang's muzzle as the Nightmare grumbled.

"Now I'm really glad I didn't bring Fenrir into town with me." Hiccup crossed his arms over his chest, tapping his chin as he pursed his lips together. He looked at Astrid and Fishlegs. "They've never been sick like this before?"

"Never." Fishlegs shook his head, pulling an arm away from around Meatlug as he used his hand to elaborate. "We think it's something new that's making them sick. Trader Johann was just here yesterday, though. We wouldn't know where to start."

He rolled his eyes a little. How pathetic. "It's simple. Get everyone to throw everything they bought from Trader Johann into a pile and burn it. Are you vikings or not?" As the other kids looked at each other, he shrugged. "Well, I'm going to go feed Toothless, so I'd better not hang around here much longer. Don't want to carry whatever disease your dragons are and make him sick too."

"You named him Toothless?" Astrid asked, watching the Outcast boy slap a hand over his mouth as his cheeks flared with a bit of embarrassment.

"I've been calling him that mentally ever since I noticed that his teeth are retractable. I guess it works as a name." Fishlegs' eyes lightened up and he waved a hand before the other boy could open his mouth. "He's not ready for other visitors yet. I'll let you know when and you can study him to your heart's content."

"Well, we won't keep you." Astrid frowned a little, looking over at the others. "In the meantime, we'll get everyone to throw their things into a pile."

As Hiccup walked away from the group, he overheard Snotlout yelling "I'm not getting rid of my mirror!" and rolled his eyes. Useless fools.

Mildew scowled when he opened the door. "Oh, it's you," he said, eyeing Hiccup with beady grey eyes. "I did yer dirty work for you. Rack off, already."

"Oh no, you misunderstand, Mildew, I was just coming by to thank you for all your hard work." The Outcast heir crossed his arms over his chest, smirking. "And to tell you that the Blue Oleander is already in effect." Noticing the look on the older man's face, he spread his arms wide. "What's with that look, Mildew? You should be happy! The dragons are getting sicker by the hour."

"But you're going to cure them. Where's the satisfaction in that?"

"It's all in their reactions, my friend," he purred, stepping past Mildew and into his house despite the noise of protest from the elder. "Once I reveal that I know the cure to the Blue Oleander, they'll be desperate to cure their dragons. You should have seen the looks on their faces, really. Their despair was delicious." Hiccup looked over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow at the look on Mildew's face. "Oh, don't look like that. Trust me, you're aiding a worthy cause. Besides, by what I've heard, you were aiming to get rid of the dragons long before I washed up here." He looked out the corner of his eye at a painting on the wall under a trophy head of a Gronckle, noticing the depiction of a younger Mildew engaging a Monstrous Nightmare.

"And what about your dragons?" Mildew asked as he picked up Fungus after a series of terrified bleating from the sheep. "Are they going to get sick too?"

"Fenrir is far away from the Blue Oleanders you planted around the village and Toothless is stuck in a cove. They won't get infected." He turned around. "Besides, I have to bring back proof to my father that I was able to tame dragons. Alvin wants nothing but the best, and he will get the best, and soon we will rule from the skies with an army of dragons!" Hiccup spread his arms again, an almost maniacal grin on his face. "The Outcasts will rule over the lands and seas and skies and there won't be anything anybody can do to stop us! Not Thor, not Odin, not Stoick, and certainly not the little dragon princess. We will be an unstoppable force! Revered as Gods!"

The old man watched the boy laugh, fingers clenching around the staff in his hand and sinking into Fungus' wool. "Well I didn't sign up for this so get out of me house!"

Hiccup dropped his hands at that, letting one rest on his hip as he closed the distance between them, leaning forward. "Oh but I'm afraid you did. You see, by agreeing to work for me, you've entered what we Outcasts like to call a contract. Any time I need someone to take the fall, you will be that someone, whether you like it or not." He paused, tilting his head as he pulled his axe from his back, reaching to yank Fungus from Mildew's hold by the scruff of his neck. Fungus bleated pathetically, struggling in his hold before he stilled when the axe was brought up to his throat, making Mildew stop trying to grab for him. "I've heard there's more than one way to skin a sheep." He grinned viciously. "Let's test that theory, hm?"

Watching the blade sink into the wool around Fungus's underside, Mildew reached out to wrap his hand around Hiccup's wrist, gnarled old fingers shaking. "Alright, alright! I'll do yer dirty work, just let Fungus go."

Hiccup paused before he ran the blade of his axe through the wool, the sharp edges tearing it away from the sheep's body before he held it to the underside of it's legs, sneering. "This is your last warning, old man." He tossed Fungus towards his owner, watching Mildew fumble with him before he sheathed his axe, walking around them. "Don't mess it up."

Then he was gone, leaving Mildew to soothe his sheep and wonder how he'd gotten himself into this mess.

"We threw away everything. I don't understand how they aren't getting better," Fishlegs managed to work out over his worrying, pressing the back of his hand to Meatlug's forehead. The usual warm temperature of her body was at a high level, and he pulled his hand away before it could get burned. Evening was starting to fall over the village, everybody having gone to the great hall for dinner even under the dark cloud that the dragons were getting sicker. Fishlegs wrung his hands, looking over at Astrid. "What do we do?"

"There has to be someone who bartered something from Trader Johann who hasn't turned it in," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. Stormfly was sleeping in her pen attached to the Hofferson household, or trying to at least. "Think. Who didn't we see throw something into the pile."

"Hiccup didn't," Snotlout said, leaning away from his post and walking over. "I haven't seen him since this morning."

"He's been with the Night Fury at the cove, though," Astrid replied, raising an eyebrow at him. "And besides, his cave's all the way outside of town. If his new weapon was making the dragons sick, it wouldn't be coming down to the valley. He sounded just as worried about Fenrir getting sick as we've been all day."

"Why are you defending him all of a sudden?" Snotlout raised an eyebrow at her. "He was an Outcast and he's been in Berk for a week. I dunno about you guys, but I don't trust him yet."

"Sometimes you just have to not care so much, Snotlout." Astrid noticed Ruffnut grin at her out the corner of her eye and give her a nod of approval before she shrugged. "Let's just say I've been looking at things from a different perspective."

Silence fell between the teens, worry eating at them in a way that made their interactions with each other that much more tedious. Snotlout huffed and crossed his arms, leaning against the watch tower. The twins sighed in unison where they were sitting down on the ground, Ruffnut drawing her legs up and Tuffnut crossing his own as Fishlegs hummed a lullaby, watching Meatlug close her eyes.

"Still no luck?" They looked up when Hiccup came into view from the portside of the island, noticing the looks on their faces. When they shook their heads, he frowned, tapping his chin. Snotlout gave a low growl before he pushed himself away from his leaning post, storming over to his cousin.

"What about you?" he snapped, planting his fingers quare in Hiccup's chest and looking up, meeting narrowed eyes. "You bartered something from Trader Johann too! I didn't see you toss it on the burning pile!"

"I was with Toothless all day!" Hiccup snapped back, pushing Snotlout's hand away from him with a violent shove. "See?" He gestured to the small wicker basket at his hip, opening it to show him the remaining fish head of a fish, torn at the end with marks that looked like dragon teeth. "Besides, I left my purchase in my camp and I went back to check on Fenrir before I came into town for dinner. She's perfectly healthy."

"Then why are you making so many excuses, huh?"

"Maybe because you're so damn persistent!"

"Would you two knock it off?!" Astrid shouted, hitting both of the boys over their heads, earning exclamations of 'Ow!' from both of them. Watching them rub their heads, she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "We're all worried about the dragons, Snotlout, but Hiccup didn't do anything. I believe him."

"Me too," Ruffnut piped up from the ground, getting up and dusting her skirt off before she helped Tuffnut to his feet, who nodded his assessment. "So cool your jets, Snotty."

Snotlout scowled at his friends before he looked back at Hiccup, who sneered at him. After a couple of minutes, he pushed Astrid's hand away from where it was keeping him in place, scowling and walking over to the twins in a huff. Astrid nodded her approval before she looked at Hiccup sympathetically. "Sorry."

He shrugged. "It's no big deal. I mean I was an Outcast. I can see where the animosity is coming from." He was grinning to himself on the inside, though. It looked like all his hard work at gaining their trust was paying off. "You haven't noticed any changes to your surroundings or anything that might indicate where the disease is coming from?"

Fishlegs pursed his lips together in thought as he got up from the ground, dusting himself off and careful not to wake Meatlug, the teens looking at each other before they shrugged. A Terrible Terror scurried past them and Hiccup's gaze followed it, watching as it sniffed at the Blue Oleander bush before it nibbled on a flower. Fishlegs followed his gaze, frowning deeply. "I don't remember seeing those flowers here before," he began, a bit of hesitance in his voice.

"I saw Mildew planting them last night." Everyone looked towards Tuffnut, who looked a bit weirded out by it before he threw his hands up. "Don't look at me! Nobody asked 'Hey, Tuffnut, did you see anything strange last night?'!" Ruffnut smacked him in the shoulder. "Well nobody did!"

"Who is Mildew anyway?" Hiccup asked with a raised eyebrow, glancing at Astrid who clenched her fists at her sides. "I heard someone mention that he's tried to get rid of the dragons before."

"He has," she ground out, brow furrowing into a deep scowl. "And it wouldn't surprise me if he iwas/i behind this."

"I swear I am going to hurt him so bad," Snotlout growled, smacking his fist into the palm of his hand. "Hookfang was so sick I was cleaning dragon barf for hours!"

"We can't do anything until we can prove that it was him, though," Fishlegs spoke up, his arms spread wide. "And Stoick is over in the next village making a peace treaty. He won't be back until tomorrow."

"Who said we need to wait for Stoick?" Hiccup raised an eyebrow, unattaching the small wicker basket from his belt and rolling his shoulders, cracking his knuckles with a grin. "A little interrogation doesn't need a chief's permission." He looked at Fishlegs, voice lowering. "Meatlug is sick, possibly dying because of Mildew. Don't you want to give a little payback?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"Ah forget him." Snotlout waved his hand. "As the heir of Berk, I say we go pay Mildew a visit."

In the end, they hadn't been able to get a confession out of Mildew, the teenagers returned to the village with a dejected look on their faces. Things could only get worse from here after all. Hiccup frowned as though in thought, plucking a flower from a bush and running his fingers over a petal. Astrid watched him study it, walking over with a tilt of her head. "What is it?"

"I've seen this flower before."

"Uh, yeah, they've been here since this morning," Tuffnut interjected with a roll of his eyes,

"No, I mean I've seen it before. It's a flower that only grows on Hysteria." Ignoring the questioning looks that simply asked what he was doing on Hysteria, he threw his arms up. "I was easily distracted from raids as a kid, okay? It's a Blue Oleander, poisonous to reptiles."

"Well we know that," said Snotlout a bit more sarcastically than usual.

Fishlegs smacked his fist into his palm. "Now I know where I've seen that flower before! It was in the botany book that I got from Trader Johann."

"Think quick, Fishlegs," Astrid said imploringly, using her hands to elaborate. "Did it say anything about a cure?"

"I don't know! I never got through it!"

"There's a dragon that eats the Blue Oleander," Hiccup continued, crumbling the flower up in his hand. "The Scauldron. It's..."

"A sea dragon that swallows down sea water and shoots it back out of its mouth at scalding temperatures." Fishlegs winced a little when Hiccup glared at him, but he continued nonetheless. "Usually with something like this, you'd be able to draw its venom to create an antidote, but Scauldrons don't have venom."

"Yes they do." All eyes were back on Hiccup. "Alvin had a captive Scauldron back on Outcast Island for entertainment purposes. One of the handlers was bitten and died a day or so later because we couldn't extract the venom from his body. We didn't have the methods."

"Well we're not going to Outcast Island," Astrid said, placing her hands on her hips. "We'll take a boat out to sea and lure it in with the Blue Oleanders. Ruff, Tuff, I want you guys to start shredding the bushes of those flowers and put them into baskets. Snotlout, Fishlegs, go get us a boat ready. Hiccup and I will get everything ready to extract that venom from the Scauldron. Let's get this done before the chief comes back."

"I'd lure it to the boat from the air but I'm afraid being around the flowers will make Fenrir sick," the outcast said as everyone nodded and started scurrying about to get things prepared.

Astrid turned to him, shaking her head. "Don't worry about it, I wouldn't ask you to get her sick for the sake of our own dragons." She gave him a look before offering a small smile. "Y'know, I'm a little proud of you." At his blinking, she shrugged. "A week ago you would've been insisting on doing things the Outcast way. I'm impressed."

He inclined his head. "Yeah, well, let's just get the dragons taken care of."

"I guess matching you to Fenrir softened you." She raised an eyebrow before wandering off to do what she said they would, leaving Hiccup grinning in the dark as he swept away to follow her. If only she knew.

Getting the venom from the Scauldron was no easy task, but the six viking teenagers managed to get away from it mostly unscathed. Tuffnut had ended up messing the whole plan up and in the end, Hiccup had had to rip one of its eyeteeth from its mouth in order to keep it from biting the male twin. While not in the original plan, the tooth had ended up carrying the venom all the same, and they left it to soak in the bucket he and Astrid had prepared on the way back to Berk. Once there, they took the venom to Gobber to be made into an antidote, who gave them questioning looks.

Waiting for the antidote to push the poison from the dragon's bodies was the worst part. It took very nearly five hours, but the worst of the sickness was taken care of and they were back on their feet. Hiccup leaned against the outside of Stormfly's pen, listening to Astrid coo to her softly with his arms crossed over his chest. Sunlight was beginning to break over the horizon, enveloping the village with a warm glow.

"Thank you." Astrid's voice snapped him out of his reverie and he turned his head to look at her as she placed her hand on the wood he was leaning against. At the look on his face, she gave him a smile. "If you hadn't recognized the flower and known that the Scauldron had venom, I'm pretty sure all our dragons would be dead by now."

He shrugged, turning in his spot so that he was facing her instead of side on, but still leaning against his post. "It's no big deal," he replied, waving a hand. "I'm sure you would've done the same if it was Fenrir that had gotten sick and not your dragon."

She shook her head, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "You said it yourself during your first flight - you probably would have suggested that we kill them a few weeks ago. You've come a long way." Astrid pulled her hand away only to wrap her arms around his shoulders in a hug.

Hiccup stood stock still at the hug, his eyes wide and unfocused and hands hanging in the air around her waist, as though he didn't know what to do with them. When she pulled away and draped her arms over his shoulders, he gave her a look, raising an eyebrow. "What was that?"

"It's called a hug." She rolled her eyes at him but when he showed no acknowledgement to the word, she frowned as she came to a realization. "Alvin never hugged you. Did he?"

He inclined his head. "He used to wrap me into a headlock and pat me on the back, but he never...hugged me, no." It was a strange sensation that left a tingle through his body, a strange warmth flowing through his veins. When she went to hug him again, he was a bit more prepared for it this time, though he still didn't know what to do with his hands.

"Then you better get used to them, jerkface."