Hi! Finished this one quickly!

Thanks for reviewing!

OOC

Disclaimer~ I do not own HTTYD

Chapter 6 - The Bite & Cure

Astrid drags Stoick off of Toothless, and Stoick groans in pain. "Sorry." She says, dragging him again towards Gothi's tent. It takes her a good few minutes to drag Stoick's heavy body to Gothi's tent. Toothless doesn't help this time, for whatever reason.

When she finally gets him into Gothi's tent, she's surprised to see Gobber awake and sitting up, speaking to Gothi. "What happened to him?" Gobber asks groggily. He must've just woken up, Astrid figures.

"I think he went after the Echotri and got himself bitten." Astrid says. Gothi walks over to Stoick to examine him. There's still a bit of venom on his tunic around where the still bleeding bite mark is. She touches it with her finger and inspects it. There's fear in her eyes when she recognizes the venom that's been injected into him.

She quickly writes in the dirt with her staff. "You need to get the antidote quickly. He only has less than two days to live."

Astrid's eyes widen at this. "Do you know how hard it is to find that dragon?" Gothi nods and writes again. "It hides itself well."

"Then how are we supposed to find it?" Astrid asks, then watches Gothi write.

"Ask Hiccup."

"Ask Hiccup? Are you mad?!" Astrid nearly shouts. She doesn't even want to go near Hiccup at this point, especially after what happened with Toothless, let alone speak with him. Gothi looks at Astrid, shaking her head, then writes once more. "He's encountered this dragon, many times it seems. He will know a way to find it and get the antidote. He's Stoick's only chance right now."

Astrid has nothing to say for a few moments. Finally, she sighs angrily. "Fine, for Stoick." She stomps out of the tent to find Hiccup. She mutters very colorful curses as she walks around the village, looking for him.

After a while of searching, she can't seem to find him. That damned boy is harder to find than Gobber on bath night. And that's hard to find. If there's any of the old Hiccup left, she has one last idea of where he might be. She walks to the docks overlooking the ocean.

And there he is, sitting on the edge, his leg dangling over the waves, his other tucked underneath him. He looks distant, like he's thinking about something. She sits down next to him, startling him. He sighs, "What is it?"

"Can't I just sit next to you-"

"Nope, not anymore. What's going on?" He interrupts Astrid.

She gives up the act. "Your Dad's sick." He shrugs, "And that's my problem… Why?"

"He got bit, by the Echotri." That seems to get Hiccup's attention. "And he need the antidote. Like, now." He looks at her. "And you expect me to just go and find it for him?" When she doesn't say anything he stands and starts pacing.

"That stupid, damned man. I told him not to go after it, I told him he wouldn't be able to kill it, but no, he didn't believe me. Now I'm expected to just go get the cure for him. Ugh." He groans.

"Come on, he's your father." Astrid stands and steps in front of him so he can't pace anymore. It is getting on her nerves.

"I know but-"

"No buts this time. You're the only one who knows how to find it. Please, Hiccup." Astrid says, looking him straight in the eye. He finally tears away from her gaze. "Fine."

She smiles, then punches him on the arm. "Ow! Seriously?" She nods, "That was for being a total asshole these past couple of days."

He smiles, knowing what's next. "And where's my kiss?"

She smirks. "Find the antidote and then you'll get a kiss." He frowns. "Whatever. Come on, let's go." He grabs her wrist and starts pulling her towards the forest.

They've been walking around the forest for about an hour. Astrid's feet are starting to hurt, but she doesn't say anything. She just keeps following Hiccup, and he's even starting to look a little lost. "Are we lost?" She asks.

He glances at her, "No, we're not lost."

"We're lost, aren't we?"

"Hopelessly lost." He replies, stopping and sitting down. Astrid sits in front of him. She rubs her tired ankles. It's quiet for a while, they're both thinking.

"You probably hate me." Hiccup's voice is so sudden, Astrid nearly jumps. She looks at the ground and says quietly, "I don't hate you."

"You should. I've given you every reason to." She looks up at him, and can see the old Hiccup in his eyes. She almost smiles. Almost.

"Hiccup-" He interrupts her. "No, I've been a total ass ever since I got back. And for that I'm sorry. I really am. But it's not entirely my fault." He's going to tell her. "It's because of-" No, no, no, no, NO! Not now, please not now. He thinks. He can't speak, his head is pounding. He closes his eyes.

"Because of what?" Astrid asks him. Hiccup looks up at her, and shakes his head. "Nothing, forget I said anything." He stands. "Come on, I think I know where it is now."

Gobber helps Gothi best he can take care of Stoick. He placed Stoick on a cot, since Gothi isn't strong enough to lift him. Gothi is mixing a medicine that's supposed to help ease the pain. She's finishing mixing it when Stoick stirs. He opens his eyes slightly and looks around.

"What happened?" He asks, trying to sit up. Gobber gently pushes him back down. "You got bit by that dragon. You need to rest."

"No, I need to find its...its… Damnit, what did Hiccup call it?" Stoick asks no one. "And I'ma kill….kill its.. thingy-do-happer." Stoick says in a loopy daze. Gobber tries his best not to laugh or smile, knowing he might get pounded later for it.

Gothi walks over to Stoick with the mixture. She has Gobber hold him down so she can pour it down his throat. Though, Stoick refuses, she manages to get at least half of it down his throat

"The poison is starting to take effect." Gothi writes in the dirt with her staff. They need to hurry, Gothi thinks.

Astrid follows Hiccup through a maze of trees, he somehow knows the way. Almost like he's walked it so many times before this. She frowns, and tries to keep up with his pace, which has quickened. He begins to walk slower after a few minutes of walking quickly. They finally stop and Astrid looks around where they've stopped. They're at the same clearing that Astrid found Stoick in.

"Are you sure its here?" Astrid asks, looking around for any sign of movement, any sign of life really. Hiccup gives no response, just stands there, almost waiting. Then she hears it.

The dragon's roar is shrill and throaty, making Astrid's ears ring. It lands in front of them, fangs bared. The blue of its scales is dirty, the eyes look almost… tired in a way.

Astrid couldn't believe her eyes when Hiccup just walks up to it and plucks five scales off the dragon. The dragon screeches in pain. "Don't be a baby, you stupid dragon." He says. Damn, Hiccup really must have encountered this dragon assuming from the way he speaks to it.

Hiccup walks to the mouth of the Echotri, and waits for it to open it's mouth. When it does he yanks out as many teeth as he can. Which is about three. "Are you CRAZY?!" Astrid shouts at him, quickly walking up to him and pulling him away from the dragon. The Echotri growls at them, eyes becoming mere pinpoints. That thing's clearly angry.

Hiccup wiggles his arm out of her grip. "Look, I need one more thing then we can run. Okay?" He doesn't even wait for an answer. He walks towards the claws, and roughly pulls one out. The dragon growls loudly at Hiccup, and he starts to back away slowly. "Okay, Astrid, time to run."

He grabs her arm and they sprint as fast as they can towards the village. The dragon doesn't chase them, it's far injured too much to move more than a step without pain.

They finally get to the edge of the forest where it meets the village. Hiccup stops her. They're both short of breath. She beings to walk into the village, but he grabs her wrist, stopping her. He smiles at her, "Woah, woah. I think you owe me a kiss."

She smiles and gives him a peck on the lips. She turns back to walk into the village but Hiccup grabs her wrist once more and twists her around. She's chest to chest with him. "A proper kiss, milady." He crashes his lips onto hers.

When they finally part, they're both panting and smiling. Still smiling, he lets go of her and walks into the village, glancing over his shoulder at her. She doesn't follow for a good few minutes, she's dazed. She blinks a few times, then walks into the village as well.

She goes to Gothi's tent where Hiccup has walked to, and he's lying out the items he took from the dragon just moments before. Gothi's inspecting the items, turning them around in her hands. She pokes Hiccup with the end of her staff getting his attention. She points the staff towards a stack of bowls, holds up two fingers, and Hiccup grabs two of them. When he hands them to Gothi, she crushes up the dragon scales in her mixing bowl and pours the pasty substance into one of the bowls.

She takes the dragon teeth and and cuts them in half, pouring the venom onto the paste. Then, she grabs an amber vial and pours a drop of its contents onto the paste and venom. Finally, she takes the claws and crushes them into a fine powder and adds it as well. She stirs it well.

Gothi stries in the dirt. "Make sure Stoick drinks all of it."

It takes a good two days for Stoick to finally wake up. He slowly opens his eyes, and looks around. Everything's a bit blurry, but at least he can open his eyes. "Stoick, can you hear me?" It's Gobber.

Stoick nods weakly as Gobber comes into focus. "Good. How are you feeling?" He asks. Stoick tries to sit up, and fails, lying back down. "My head's spinning. Wh-What happened?" He asks, rubbing his head.

"Well, you went after that dragon and yourself bitten." Gobber says pointing to Stoick's wound on his left side. Stoick groans. Everything comes back in flashes.

Then his vision focuses all the way and he sees him. He starts breathing fast, angry. He grabs the closest thing to him and chucks it at him. "You traitor! Get out! Get out!"

"Stoick! Calm down!" Gobber says, trying to hold him down. He looks over at Astrid who's standing near the door. "Astrid, get him out of here. He's making Stoick angry." Astrid nods and takes his hand and drags him out of the tent.

"What's a matter with you?" Gobber asks, frowning, and letting go of Stoick after Astrid drags him out. "It's all his fault! Everything is his fault!" Stoick says, making absolutely no sense. "Gothi, I think he's still a little loopy, can you give him something?" Gobber asks Gothi and she nods, grabbing a blue tinted vial and walking over to Stoick. Gobber hold him down while Gothi forces the mixture down his throat.

Stoick falls into a sleep muttering, "It's all his fault."

"Jeez, what's wrong with him?" Astrid asks. "I think he hates you now." Hiccup just shrugs. "I think he's always hated me."

"Well, he looked like he was about to murder you. You must've done something wrong, like really wrong." Astrid says, and brushing her bangs out of her eyes, only to have them fall back into place.

Hiccup doesn't say anything, he's too lost in thought.

They can't find out. He thinks. No matter what Gothi says.

So there's a little Hiccstrid moment for you :)

There's only a few chapters left :( All will be explained soon.

Review?