Especial thanks to my wonderful beta, Ladipretender, that really does her best helping me with this fic!

And I'm really grateful for the 235 followers and 150 favorites this story has gotten so far! More reviews'd be the only think to make me happier, though. It saddens me when people follow or favorite but don't leave one single review.

Previously, Hiccup woke up and was recovering just fine, so his father decided it was time to return to Berk, but only for a short trip to tell the Hooligans about a dragon's true nature, the Strike Tribe and their surprising leader.

Chapter 18

Strong Feelings

Snotlout was angry. Infuriated, actually. He was mad because nothing he did was right but everything his stupid cousin did was. How could that be? Hiccup was a weakling, he was on bed rest. Rest is for the weak, after all. And Snotlout was not weak. He had no doubt he was strong and he certainly didn't need rest like his weak cousin.

Besides, Snotlout wanted to go back home. Stoick chose to leave him on the island, it was boring and annoying and all he wanted to do was go back to Berk but he couldn't. And there was also the stupid Monstrous Nightmare that was following him all around the island. How his stupid cousin could deal with those monsters was something he couldn't really understand. Sure, it was nice flying and all but why was the Nightmare being so annoying and persistent?

It also upset Snotlout that Stoick left him there saying he should learn something from Hiccup. It was outrageous! He didn't want to have anything to do with that stupid and scrawny cousin of his; all he wanted from him was distance.

At the beginning, Snotlout actually wanted to be the chief. That changed a few years after Stoick began the real training for him to be the leader. It was boring and very difficult. Sure, he wanted the role before he knew how hard it was and, since he was a strong and tough as all Vikings needed to be everyone knew he was probably going to be the next chief. But he wasn't ready for the responsibilities. Everything he did was wrong, and soon he was getting tired of the idea of being chief.

Staying on that stupid island with his stupid, scrawny cousin and those stupid dragons was getting on his nerves. The only good thing about all this was that girl, Heather. And it wasn't even that good because she kept ignoring him and when he tried to get too close, her dragon, Moody, got in his way.

He didn't know what was wrong with all the girls. Why didn't they like him? He was the perfect example of a Viking, he was strong, handsome and, of course, he had muscles. For example, he had liked Astrid, he had hit on her for years until he gave up because she repeatedly refused him. Yet, there she was, going into his stupid, scrawny cousin's house.

Snotlout sat on a rock, crossing his arms angrily, trying to ignore the snorting Nightmare not far from him. All it took was one flight in the middle of a battle for the dragon not to leave him for more than a couple of hours. He saw the twins kidding around with the Zippleback they rode before and he could also see Fishlegs, a Gronckle and that awfully skinny boy, he was almost sure was named Bork, walking around and talking about dragons eagerly.

He sighed and shifted on the rock to try to get comfortable, failing miserably. Snotlout decided to sit in a tree's shadow and he lay down, letting the time pass by.

One day had passed since Stoick and Gobber left, only taking a Rumblehorn that was pulling the ship when they departed. Snotlout was astounded by that, never in his life had he imagined his uncle willingly riding or letting a dragon pull a ship. It was unbelievable.

Meanwhile, in Hiccup's house, Astrid was keeping him company. The blonde entered, her blue Nadder following until finding herself a spot to lay and rest. Astrid sat on a chair she had placed next his bed.

"Hey, Hiccup. I thought you might need some company in Stoick's absence. Besides, it's not like you can cook or anything in your state…"

"I'm not moribund, but thanks, anyway. I'd appreciate having someone to talk to that can actually respond with words once in a while…" Hiccup said, supporting his back on the bed header. It was still hard to stay in a sitting position, but he liked it better to talk with people and he didn't want to remain laying down the entire day.

"And how was your night without him around?"

"It was okay, I have Toothless with me, and if there's a problem I can always send him or Sharpshot to call for help." The tiny green dragon shifted, but didn't mind him at all, as he was snorting in the chest of drawers by the window. "But why didn't you go with Stoick? I thought you wanted to go home."

"I do, but not right now. I'm not in a hurry. Besides, Stoick didn't give us a choice. He only took Gobber. The other teens are on the island too, helping out. Well, I mean, it's not like Snotlout is doing any work and it's not like we can keep the twins under control and not blow anything up… At least Fishlegs is helping out. The village is almost already completely restored. It's amazing, because the way it was destroyed, I'd have guessed it would've taken at least double of the time without the dragons."

"Yeah. Probably something like that…"

"Yeah…" She trailed off and they fell into an awkward silence for a few moments until she punched his arm. Toothless was lying on the bed, bored, and jumped in surprise at her action, but he laid down again when he noticed she wasn't seriously going to hurt his human.

"Ouch! Why would you do that? What was that for?" he asked, rubbing his sore arm.

"I wanted to do that for a long time now, but you were in too bad of shape for me to do it before."

"But, why?"

"That was for the lies! You shouldn't have just left like that! You simply vanished!"

He raised an eyebrow and leaned to the other side just in case she started hitting him again out of the blue. She was obviously angry and her eyebrows were furrowed.

"But wasn't that what you wanted? I thought you hated me!"

"No, stupid. I never did! Where did you get that from?"

"Your hateful glances, as well as your tendency to ignore, me greatly helped me come to that conclusion."

"I never hated you. And I just ignored you because I had nothing to say, but at the same time, I didn't like what Snotlout and the twins did by bullying you. Though, I didn't know what to do to stop it because you were just so different."

"Yeah, I know. I was the tribe's disgrace and the weak, clumsy heir no one wanted. Thanks for summing that up."

"I never said that, don't put words in my mouth." She crossed her arms and rested her back on the chair. "You were different, and you thought differently. If there was something you couldn't do, you went and created a solution. You were smart, smarter than everyone there combined and I think it kinda scared them, but I saw your potential. I just didn't really realize it until you 'died'."

"Thanks. But I still can't fathom it. I get that Stoick missed me and Gobber probably had a hard time finding another apprentice, if he did. However, I don't understand why should it upset you so much. You wanted me to vanish so you could fight the Monstrous Nightmare."

"What? I never meant that for real! And I certainly didn't want you to die! For Thor's sake, you can be so stupid sometimes! You made me feel guilty and mourn your death when you were alive and well the whole time!"

"So… You missed me?" He asked, surprised and hopeful at the same time.

"Yes! No. I mean, who would we make fun of in your absence, right?" She tried to cover up but only received a small and shy smile from him. Astrid blushed before continuing. "But, yes, I missed all your crazy inventions and watching to see if they'd work or not. We all missed you…" She admitted shamefully.

"Sorry… I just never imagined no one would really miss me…"

"Anyway, speaking of your inventions and plans, Bork and Hall were showing me these journals and some of your newest designs." She said taking a few books from a satchel she had placed on the table before sitting earlier. Astrid felt the need to change subject before she felt even more embarrassed.

"What? They shouldn't do that. The journals are just too old and the designs need improvements. I don't want you to see them like that…"

"Why not? They're wonderful!" She praised, reaching for them and opening one of the books. "The drawings are so beautiful, I've seen some of yours before you ran away from Berk, but these one have so many details! And the notes helped me get a lot closer to Stormfly."

The journals were from the time he was living among dragons, learning their ways and secrets, and writing down details he discovered from each species. But it was kind of jumbled; she found pages on Nadders, then it went on about Changewings and then Scauldrons and back to Nadders again, etc. That's what Bork was doing, he was trying to organize the dragons by class and species and put all the information Hiccup gathered along the years in a book.

"They're detailed because I managed to get very close to them in a peaceful and calm environment."

"But, Hiccup, that could have been so dangerous!"

"Not at all. I knew what I was doing and if something went wrong, Toothless was there to protect me."

"I know… It's a habit." She said, closing it and grabbing some sheets of paper. "Hall told me you might want one of these to keep you from getting bored to death. He said it was your newest designs. I found them very interesting."

"Really?"

"Yeah. This one is about saddles, right? I liked the compartments to keep stuff in."

"Thanks. You know, the difficulty in designing saddles is that each species need different ones that will adapt to their shapes in appropriate ways. But it's very interesting, though."

"And is this one about a new prosthetic for you? It's switchable, right?"

"Yes. How do you know? I didn't write much about it. People always have difficulty in deciphering what I meant to do by just looking at the plans." Hiccup said, impressed. Astrid shrugged. By then, it was almost lunchtime and they'd been talking all morning.

"I don't know. I saw the one you use and they have mechanisms like these, but by the drawings there are three different kinds of legs, what are they for?"

"One is for walking, another is to connect with Toothless's pedal to fly and the last one I'm still designing to join in with the other two to help me walk on icy terrains. I can't count how many times I've slipped on ice, but I'll have to test if what I want to do will work out…"

And then, all of a sudden, she smiled sincerely and pecked his cheek, totally surprising him.

"And what was that for?" He asked, utterly curious.

"I don't know. For being you, I guess. For being different."

"Thanks. But you can admit it, you just wanted to kiss all this."

She rolled her eyes. "Since when did you become so cocky?"

"I don't know, probably since I befriended a mighty Night Fury." He said, rolling his eyes and grinning proudly.

"Well, you can stop that. Anyway, here it is. I think it will help you keep busy while you recover."

"Thanks, but I'd rather have your presence instead." Astrid blushed and thanked him, saying she couldn't be there at all times. And then, they got hungry.

"Do you have something to eat in here?"

"I think I ran out of a few things. There's still bread and rice but that's it. I guess we could just fry a bit of fish and eat it with the rice and some vegetables."

"And by 'we', you mean me, right?"

"I could do something, too."

"No, it's okay, Hiccup. You should rest."

"I'm really tired of people telling me that…"

"Maybe you should listen. Odin, you're just so stubborn! You take after Stoick more than you could imagine. Anyway, I'll go grab some stuff then."

"Wait, Toothless needs to eat too. What do you say about some nice salmon this time, Bud?" The dragon crooned happily. "Go with her, Bud. You need to get out of this house at least once in a while." This time, he crooned sadly. "Don't worry, it will just be for a little while. I'll be fine. And bring some salmon for Sharpshot. He'll be hungry too."

"Sure. I'll be back soon, dragon boy." She left, followed by Stormfly and a reluctant Toothless.

Hiccup was indeed worried about Toothless's freedom and stretching his wings; it was not like his full wingspan could fit in the small house. But the truth was that Hiccup needed to be without his over protective dragon for a few minutes to try and break free from that boring bed. He wanted to know just how far his recovery had come. He really had no patience for bed rest.

He forced himself to stand up, this time, Hiccup made sure he was using his prosthetic. He was feeling much better than when he first woke up, his muscles weren't as weak and tired as before and the effects of blood loss had already vanished. The problem was the pain the gash still caused. They said it wasn't as deep as it looked, but that didn't mean it was shallow. And it was very wide indeed.

Ingrid had to come and check on him and to change the gauze every day, she had removed the stiches the day before and Hiccup knew he was getting better, the worst pain was when he was sitting or on his feet. The pressure it made on the gash was so intense that it was hard to breathe, but it was more bearable than the last time he tried to stand. He managed to walk a bit around the house, using the walls for support. He managed to reach the chest of drawers and tried, with difficulty, to breathe deeply.

That's when, suddenly, the door snapped opened. Hiccup couldn't have been more surprised to see Snotlout there. Of all the people that he knew were on the island, his cousin's name was at the bottom of the list of people that would visit him.

"Snotlout, what are you doing here?"

Flashback 18

"Hey, Eira just told me the news. Why didn't you tell me before?" Hall asked Sten, who sat on the floor with his Snafflefang lazily snorting by his side.

"Because Hiccup suggested it only a few hours ago. And now, Ingrid gave me all these books about healing and ointment and healing gels and all these kind of things."

"That seems nice, all the different kinds of knowledge! And thing about how many things there are to use to heal wounds, that's important!"

"And boring! I didn't know I'd have to read that much! And stop being so excited, you look like Bork…"

"Stop thinking about how boring it is, think about all the new stuff you're about to discover. No one's ever tried to test out the different effects that the ointments and stuff have on reptiles, especially dragons. I mean, there are a few things, like the botany book Bork read that talked about the Blue Oleander being poisonous to dragons, but there's not much about other kinds of flowers and plants and their effects on them. Think about all the different things you'll be the first to know! You'll go down in history!" Hall said with joy and Sten began to like the idea a little more.

"Okay, that might actually be a little interesting." Sten admitted.

"I knew you'd say something like that, you're so vain…" Hall joked sitting near his friend, his dragon Freya laying down behind him and yawning.

"Shut up! You gave the idea, now you'll have to help me. I'd like to test which stuff will work better on dragons, but I don't have the patience to write it down in a book."

"Let's just write notes in a journal, Bork can organize it later, like he's doing with Hiccup's old journals. He likes to do that and Heidi likes to help him by drawing in it."

"I guess so, I should ask him if he'd organize my notes." Sten wondered out loud, closing the one that Ingrid had lent him.

"You have to do them first. You don't even know if there'll be too much to learn and write. Besides, it might take some time. I guess a generic botany book might help you out if they have information about reptiles."

"We don't really have one of those, do we?" Sten asked flipping through the pages of Ingrid's books.

The books were all about the plants that worked with humans, if he could combine the two kinds of information and test out a few theories in a safe way that wouldn't harm the dragons, he'd conquer a lot of things no one ever had before. He knew it was not going to be easy or fast, but he was willing to give it a try.

"I don't think so. We don't have many books and the ones we have are basically about dragons, sword fighting or blacksmithing…"

"Maybe we could go to the Meatheads, see if they had anything." Sten shrugged looking at his dragon Calder who raised his head curiously.

"I don't think we need to go that far. I believe we still have some books back on our old island. We didn't bring everything we had when we started living here."

"Do you want to go with me?"

"Sure. Why not? But I think it's a good idea to tell someone first, right? It's only a few hours' trip and we'll probably be back by nightfall, but if something happens at least someone would know."

"Yeah, it's actually a good idea, Hiccup doesn't forbid us from going anywhere, but he likes to be informed. Since he went out with Camicazi, I think we should just warn Bork and Eret."

"Right. I'll do it. Go grab some food and I'll meet you in front of the Great Hall in about half an hour."

Sten agreed and they both left. Hall went to find Eret and Bork and, when he did, he told them about the idea of new book specifically about treating a dragon. Bork even suggested the title 'How to Treat Your Dragon' that could be a part two of the one he was helping Hiccup write 'How to Train Your Dragon'.

Soon, Hall and Freya found Sten and Eira, along with their dragons, waiting in front of the Great Hall's doors.

"H-hi, Eira!" Hall greeted, surprised.

"Hey, Hall. Sten told me about everything, I hope you don't mind me joining in too!"

"Of course not! It'll be a pleasure!" Hall said, gulping, and if someone looked close he would see his cheeks getting redder, but no one noticed.

"Then, what are we waiting for?" She asked anxiously and hopped on her dragon, Thyra. In a matter of seconds, the three dragons were airborne with their humans.

Hey, guys! I know it wasn't a very active chapter, but it was important, especially for character development. And I have good news, next chap more action will start to develop to get to the climax, which Hiccup needed time to recover to fight one more time.

So, please leave me your thoughts of the story and what you think might happen next! I'd love to know!

And don't forget to check my DA page after reviewing and/or my profile to check my newest fic! :D

Itban Fuyu