A/N: And now back to Hiccup and Astrid. Oh and I was wondering if you guys had checked out my other story Rider Vs. Conqueror. I've put a pause on it since I have a bit of writer's block for it, but you guys can read it if you want and tell me what you think of it. Maybe some encouraging reviews will help me get on track with it again. Enjoy!

Astrid's POV

"He is right" I thought. I had just walked out of his house and began walking in a random direction, not caring where I go or if I even get lost in this place. What I just told him in there, about me killing a dragon and feeling pride and glory for after it, that went against everything he believed...and it might have just ruined my chances in reconciling with him. And what was I thinking just asking him to come back. I just found him yesterday and right now trying to rip him away from his home. I looked around the valley he was in. I'm not going to lie, it was jaw-dropping.

The valley was guarded by two huge mountain ranges on either side, with snow adorning the peaks of them. The sun would set exactly in the middle, between those two ranges, and I could just imagine what the scene would like. The whole valley was filled with trees, mostly oak and pine trees and Hiccup's house was built on higher ground on this side, meaning he could just sit on the roof of his mansion and just watch for hours the scene that ley ahead of him and not get tired of the view. I swapped my thoughts back to the matter at hand...Hiccup's answer.

Every time I repeat all the reasons as to why he won't help us, the more I feel he is not going to help us. I can't believe I only now realize that no human being should have been treated like that...and what makes it worse? We were his village. He lived with us, talked with us, and yet we treated him worst than an Outcast. I should just leave and let him live in peace...away from us.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when a something big and white burst out of the trees in front of me and let out a blood-curdling roar. It was massive...bigger than Toothless and bigger than Ripper's Whispering Death, about three times bigger than Ripper's dragon. It had the same build like the Whispering Death, except red eyes, and a mouth that looked like it could swallow me with one gulp.

It looked right at me and I knew almost immediately, it wanted to kill me. I bolted the other way, hoping to escape that dragon, but my effort became in vain as I heard the distinct sounds of falling trees and roars coming behind me...and they were getting louder. I never did this but I was desperate. I screamed, hoping Hiccup or Toothless would hear me.

I made a quick glance behind me but I didn't see anything which was weird, because I still heard the sounds of trees crashing and the dragon's roars. But when I looked in front of me all I saw was a the dragon's tail coming in from the side and hitting me. The hit was so strong, I was sent flying. It all happened so fast that I didn't even feel the pain from when the dragon hit me.

However I landed hard on the ground, and was sent rolling right into a small ravine, hitting several branches along the way. During this time, I was hoping it would all end soon, and it did...I landed right onto some soft earth, but the broken branches fell right onto me as well, and one, which was quite heavy fell onto my foot. I yelled in pain, my whole body was in pain. I looked at my hands and saw cuts and scrapes all over with blood starting to stain. I quickly tried to push the branch off my leg but it was too heavy. It was no use, I wasn't going to get out of there.

When I looked up I saw the dragon arrive and look at me, it still had the intent of killing me...and I did deserve it. I began to think that this was punishment for how I treated Hiccup. I would not argue with faith anymore because everyone has to pay with for the wrongs they had committed. My wrongs were not giving a crap about Hiccup, not coming to his aid, ratting him out and ignoring him for all his life. I looked up and saw the dragon lunge. Time again seemed to slow down, the jaws getting ever so closer in enveloping me in a world of darkness...a fitting end. I closed my eyes and waited for the razor sharp teeth to bury into my flesh and tear me apart.

Hiccup's POV

I sprinted through the forest, not caring if any of the branches hit me on the way. When I heard Astrid scream, my heart stopped for some reason, and then I began to have an adrenaline rush. Toothless was ahead of me, also running at incredible speed to the source of her scream. In all my days I never imagined the great Astrid Hofferson to scream. But when I thought about why, "Oh no...if she ran into him" I thought and on instinct I ran even faster, faster than I think I've ever gone. I was not scared for her, it was the thought of the others coming to look for her if she took too long. And he didn't like me as it was...all the more reason to get to Astrid now.

I saw Toothless dive into a ravine and heard a few loud growls and roars from Toothless and...him. I reached the ravine and slid down to see Toothless in a defensive stance in front of Astrid and...Armedis.

"You two again! I thought I made it clear I never wanted to see you again!" the white dragon roared. Toothless made way for me and I stood directly in front of Astrid, who was severely injured and trapped by a fallen branch. She was completely frightened and I couldn't blame her.

"She's new here Armedis, she came here looking for me" I said but was interrupted.

"If she came here looking for you then there's more coming! And I will not tolerate any more humans in this area!" he yelled back. I could see he was struggling to hold himself back.

"Believe me Armedis, she came here alone. As soon as I'm done healing her she'll leave" I tried to reason.

"(growl) She has that air among her...she's killed a dragon" he snarled and made a lunge for us but Toothless remarkably pushed him back.

"Armedis, listen! She will leave this place soon and I will never venture this far out. Please" I begged. I knew this dragon could easily kill me and Astrid, and even Toothless, reason was the only option here.

The white dragon calmed down a bit and stared over Astrid, that anger still in his eyes. "Fine. But if I ever see you or any other human trespassing...I will not hesitate to RIP. YOU. APART" he emphasized the last three words and took off back to his side of the valley.

I let out a deep sigh of relief and looked at Astrid who had bewilderment and fear (mostly fear) written all over her face. I knelt down and examined her. She had many cuts and bruises over her arms, most likely from being thrown, or falling. Some of her clothes were torn, most likely from running and getting it caught on twigs and branches. The branch on her leg gave me a worry though. Toothless came over and pushed it off her foot, and she didn't move it.

"Is it broken?" I asked. My face was a bit close to hers now, and it did feel quite a bit awkward...and I could tell it was for her as well.

"I-I don't know...but it pains a lot" she said. She wasn't holding her foot, telling me that any pressure on it was painful. She couldn't walk back, that was for sure. Flying was not an option because with how Toothless handles, I didn't want Astrid injuring herself any further. The only other option was to...uh...carry her out and back to the house.

"I'll have to carry you back" I said placing my hands behind her back and under her knees. She looked away for a minute. Yeah this situation was getting more awkward by the second. "Alright" she finally answered and with that approval I gently lifted her off the ground and got in the bridal-style carry position as she placed both of her hands around my neck to keep herself up.

Toothless carved out a path up the ravine that would be fine for me to climb while carrying her. It took no time to walk out of that ravine, thankfully it was a ravine with dirt on each side rather than rocks. The house was a fifteen minute walk...just my luck...the Gods must really love me.

We went with a minute with awkward silence but that minute felt like a year. Here I was, carrying Astrid Hofferson bridal-style! I mean really, after all we've been through in the past couple of days? I didn't want to make eye contact because if I did I knew would start blushing and she also refrained from making eye contact as well.

"What was wrong with that dragon?" she asked breaking the silence. I should have expected her to ask that since, it almost tried to kill her.

"Vikings...that's what's wrong" I answered simply looking at her, but she had a neutral face on, telling me to go further.

"That dragon's name's as you heard me call it is..."

"Armedis...yeah I know. What I want to know is that he held himself back from killing you as well, and I thought you made friends with all the dragons in this valley" she said. Oh I wish I did.

"I did...except for Armedis. The reason for his hatred is what some Vikings did to him twenty years ago" I said, already feeling the tears come to my eyes. "When I first arrived here, I knew humans didn't live here, but I saw many dragons making this place their home. I went exploring in this area and about a mile on the other side of the ravine...Armedis found me...and attacked me. I was severely injured...I had a gash from the top of my chest to my stomach and it was bleeding profoundly. If it wasn't for Toothless, I'd surely be dead. The only reason he stopped attacking was when Toothless came to my defense which shocked him, but he still wanted to kill me" I began explaining. I looked at her and she was clearly hooked on the story.

"Toothless asked him why he hated humans so much...and when I heard what he told me...I cried that night...and every night for the next week because no living creature should ever go through that pain" I said, feeling a tear run down my cheek...but soon I felt a thumb wipe that tear away and Astrid staring at me deeply, encouraging me to continue.

"Armedis came here twenty years ago, from a large island about fifty miles north of here. He told of a mate he had and his first brood of hatchlings. He told us of how proud he was, that he was finally a father and had a beautiful mate to spend the rest of his life with...Then one day, he ventured out to gather some food. He had to travel a long distance for water since most of the island was surrounded by ice. He was about ten minutes into his flight when he felt a pain in his heart. The pain was that of your heart being struck and pierced by daggers and swords. He soon felt it multiple times and then he knew something was wrong...He turned around and flew back...as fast as he could. During the trip back he could still feel his heart being pierced and soon he heard the painful roars of his mate and young. When he arrived back home...it was the worst scene you could imagine" I paused, to catch my breath.

"In front of him he saw the blood-stained body of his mate who was lying on the ground, barely moving, and when he looked around, he saw the bodies of his young, clearly dead. He then heard a faint cry of help and when he looked to his right and saw ten men cornering his last hatchling, with axes, swords and hatchets at the ready. Then all of a sudden...all the pain he felt, the sight before him, unlocked an uncontrollable rage within him. He let out a loud roar, grabbing the attention of the men, but it was too late for them. Armedis charged them...ripped...them...to shreds...literally. All that was left was blood all over the snow and ice with bits of bones and flesh littering the snow as well. Those Vikings never stood a chance. He saw that his last remaining hatchling was still alive and nuzzled it telling it was alright, but then he heard his name be called, his mate's voice. He immediately dashed over to her. It did not look good, she had multiple deep cuts and had already lost a lot of blood...he knew she wouldn't make it" I said, by now tears were running down my face, as well as a tear or two from Astrid.

"She told him that she knew he flew back as fast as he could, hoping that he would make it in time. You see when dragons mate, they create a bond that is stronger than any living being in these lands...so strong that they feel what each other feel's.

"She made him promise to take care of their last young one, who now was nuzzling its mother, crying as well, begging his mother not to leave. Armedis was also crying. She managed one last smile and with all her strength nuzzled him and he returned the gesture. But then the nuzzling stop and when he opened his eyes he saw her fall down to the ground, eyes closed...never to wake again. He looked back to his hatchling and felt extremely sorry for it...it was still nuzzling its mom, hoping in some way she would wake up. He blocked its path with his tail and moved him away from his mother's lifeless body. He looked down and saw the baby dragon pressing deeply into him, crying, probably hoping this was all a bad dream...Unfortunately it was all too real" I looked to her and saw she was still interested in what took place, so I continued.

"Armedis' heart was full grief, losing his mate and five of his six hatchlings...but that grief was replaced with pure rage. He knew where those Vikings came from, a village only five miles away. His family left them alone, they never annoyed the village...but now...Armedis took off in the direction of the village...and thus the creation of the 'White Death'" I said.

"Wait, the White Death, isn't that the story...of..." Astrid said as she looked me in the eyes, not wanting to say it was true.

"It is...Armedis killed everyone in that village. When the village went silent, people came to find out what was wrong, and found the remains of men, women...and children. They knew a dragon did it, but...they didn't know why. By then Armedis and his hatchling were long gone. He came here after he avenged his family to live away from any Vikings. That is why he attacked you, and why he attacked me when I came. He wants nothing to do with Vikings or any human for that matter" I explained.

We had now reached my house and Toothless opened the door for us and I carefully carried her in and went to my bed chambers. I gently placed her on the bed, placing some pillows against the backboard for her to rest on. I then went over to a cupboard to get the medical kit. I returned to find her taking off her trying to take off her left boot which housed her injury. "Here let me help" I said and gently removed her boot. I saw that she had some swelling but not that of a broken ankle or foot, more like a sprained ankle...which was still serious. It would be a week at least until she would be able to walk on her own again, or more.

"Ok, good news is it's a sprained ankle, bad news is, you'll be restricted to the house for a week" I said getting some cream out that would help reduce the swelling and some bandages to wrap her foot in. I heard her grunt from the pain, even more so when I had to tighten the medicinal cloth around her ankle.

"Thank you" she said softly as I finished, avoiding eye contact.

"You're welcome" I replied and returned the medical kit to the cupboard.

"I shouldn't be here Hiccup...you told that dragon I'll leave and I should" she said suddenly. I turned around to see she was looking at me. "It was a mistake to come here asking you to come back with me. I guess I was only thinking about how you could make life better for the people of Berk, for your father...but from what you've just told me, about the truth of the 'White Death'...I think it's the same story with all the other dragons. But Hiccup, you have to understand our side of it...we can't just let them take our food, I know killing them isn't right either, but we do what we have to survive!" she exclaimed, giving her side of the argument.

"I know you're against killing them but that's why we...I need you to come back...because with you there, we could finally solve what's going on with those dragons. So we can avoid the killings on either side...so we can avoid a similar story like Armedis'...so we can live in peace" she said the last part softly.

She's right. I've run from my past too long. It is true it is my past that has made me the man I am today...but forgiving the past is a totally different thing. If I go back, I have to face all the ridicule I received when I was useless, I will have to face my father, after he disowned me and I will have to face the people of Berk who treated me like an Outcast...I will have to face my greatest challenge.

I went up to Astrid and sat on the edge of the bed and placed my hand on hers and looked her in the eyes. I could tell she was waiting to hear the next words to come out of my mouth.

"I'll come back to Berk with you" I said.