The door made no sound as it opened, light from one of the torches on the wall of the hallway shining through momentarily before the room was engulfed in darkness again, lit only by the dying fire in the hearth. Heather's footsteps were quiet as she entered her brother's room for the first time in years, looking out the corner of her eye over to where Toothless was sleeping. The dragon stirred, ears flicking up to listen and she sucked in a breath before she saw his breathing even out as he went back into sleep with a bit of help from a sleeping dust.

"That's right. Just keep sleeping, big boy," she murmured under her breath, reaching for a pouch on her belt as she closed the distance over to where Hiccup was sleeping. Her lips quirked into a smirk as he continued sleeping as well, shaking her head. "Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup...you'll regret the decisions you've been making, little brother." Taking a pinch of powder from the pouch, she began sprinkling it around the bed of furs the Outcast chief slept on, muttering incantations as she went. The powder sparked, becoming an acidic green colour as she went, flames igniting around along the powder. These were different from normal flames, in the way that they weren't made to destroy things, as was evident by the way they hadn't engulfed the fur Hiccup was sleeping on like it was his funeral pyre.

Heather spread her arms when she reached the end where his head was, watching the green fire dance before she closed her eyes, bringing her hands together in front of her stomach as her chanting grew louder. Excellinor had entrusted her to this, there was no way she could mess up with so much at stake. With the last words of the incantation, the fire seemed to explode, the light dissipating from the room and even the dying fire disintegrating. The dark-haired witch raised an eyebrow before she grinned to herself, turning to go before the sound of metal whistling through the air at her caught her attention, making her duck just as Hiccup's axe flew over her head, embedding itself into the rock.

"What are you doing in my chambers?" His voice was a hiss and she heard the rustling of furs as he rose from his bed, stalking over to her and taking hold of her by the neckline of her shirt, slamming her against the wall. Hiccup's eyes glowed a vibrant green in the darkness before the light faded, an after effect of the spell that Heather watched with interest before he shook her demandingly.

"I-I was just checking in to see how you were doing." She gave him a sweet smile even if he could barely see it in the dark of his room, reaching up to gently pry his fingers away from her shirt before he did anything that might choke her, her voice taking on a sickly sweet tone. "I know things have been tense between us since I came home but I only want what's best for you, brother dear, believe me when I say that. I really hate being the bad guy, especially when I've done nothing wrong."

There was a pause as it seemed like he was trying to decide whether or not she was telling the truth before he dislodged his fingers from her clothing, pulling his hand away. He'd been tense ever since the meeting with the other chiefs had finished, afraid that she might do something...no, he hadn't been afraid. Why should he have been? His brow furrowed together as he felt like there was a hole in his memory before he shook his head, raising a hand to massage his temples with a small sigh. "I apologize, Heather. I haven't been sleeping well this past week."

"It's no problem." In the dark, her lips quirked wickedly before she covered it up in case his eyes adjusted enough to see her face. "Let me fix you a warm cup of tea. I have a special sleeping herb that I brought back with me from the mainland. Guaranteed at least twelve hours, twenty four at the maximum."

Hiccup licked his suddenly dry lips, thinking about it for a moment before he nodded. "A cup of tea sounds good right now, sister."

With a nod, Heather shifted and moved over to the fireplace, picking up a cup next to it as she grinned to herself, looking out the corner of her eye at him as he pulled his axe from the wall and wandered back over to the furs. Time would only tell if the powder had worked like it was supposed to, but she was sure the results would be exactly as they planned.

As the days turned into weeks, and in turn turned into months, Astrid felt herself growing even more on edge than she had been when they'd arrived back in Berk from the alliance signing. There was a tense atmosphere in the Archipelago, as though the tribe were waiting for each other to attack. Their long standing treaty with the Bog Burglars were terminated upon a letter received from the chieftess Big Boobied Bertha, once word of the Hooligan's allegiance to the Outcasts reached her ears and negotiations with the Meathead tribe were currently between a rock and a hard place. Snotlout did his best as chief to keep things as they were, but with Bertha's lack of faith in him, the Meathead tribe looked to be following in her footsteps and severing their ties to the people of Berk.

Astrid nonetheless kept her promise to Hiccup and had started working with Dagur and Tantrum on training them their own dragons. Tantrum took to the lessons with the grace expected of a chieftess, the princess of the Uglithugs bonding easily with a Timberjack, one she named Flashfang. Dagur, however, took a bit more work due to his nature and in the end had claimed a Changewing for his companion, named Firewyrm. She felt a bit uneasy giving him such a dragon, but he'd insisted on having a unique one as dangerous as him, and their personalities seemed to match.

As the fifth month since the signing rolled around, Astrid made her way to Gothi's as she was summoned to, blinking in slight surprise as she saw the elder standing outside her door and waiting for her, staff tucked into the crook of her shoulder. Astrid slowed her ascent up the stairs, coming to rest her foot on the top stair, watching the expression on Gothi's face.

"It's time, isn't it?" The nod was the only thing she needed to know as she pursed her lips together, biting her bottom one as she stepped up to the landing. She hadn't had contact with Hiccup in all this time, just through Snotlout's word in his correspondence with the Outcast chief. Really, she knew he was keeping her at a distance to keep Heather from her, but at the same time, it didn't do anything to quell her worries for him. Astrid bowed her head. "Thank you for everything you've taught me, Gothi."

Best keep your wits about you, child. I have a feeling Exellinor has taken a step neither of us could have predicted.

"I will."

Gothi fished around in a small pouch near her for a moment before she held up a necklace. It was made of bronze, an elaborately carved circlet in the middle surrounded on both sides by three trinkets fashioned to look like leaves, round bronze beads separating them. Take this. You will need it to call on her. Astrid reached down to take the necklace from the elder, turning it around on her hand, dangling it by the woven leather keeping it together. With a small sigh and a small doubt that she'd need it, she bundled it up in her hand, placing it into the pouch at her hip before crouching to wrap her arms round Gothi in a hug, startling her for a moment before she returned it. Safe travels, Astrid.

"I'll be back." Pulling away, she attempted to give Gothi a smile. "I promise."

I have no doubt. Err on the side of caution and keep a weary eye on the horizon. Remember everything I've taught you. With a nod, Astrid turned around and started her descent down the steps leading to the topmost point on Berk, disappearing before she had the chance to turn around and see the grim expression on Gothi's face as she squinted, watching the storm clouds gathering on the horizon.

Astrid would need more than the Goddess Freyja's blessing to keep her safe.