Sometime during the night, the pair managed to slowly get up from the grass. They found themselves silently walking towards the village. Astrid's arm was wrapped tightly around Hiccup's waist as he leaned against her for support. The forest was eerily quiet and the shadows of the trees hauntingly enclosed them. Slivers of moonlight were peeking through the dark branches, barely illuminating the ground. Their footsteps rustled the grass and leaves below them. As the trees began to open up into the clearing, Hiccup stumbled and fell on his side. He winced in pain and gently rolled onto his back, clutching his side. He looked up at Astrid who had lost her balance as well, and gave her an apologetic smile.

"Sorry" he murmured. Astrid crouched down next to him and shook her head, dismissing his comment.

"Are you okay?"

Hiccup gently removed his hand from the side of his stomach and looked at his ripped armor.

"I think I got scratched by one of Grimmel's dragons." He sat up slowly, gritting his teeth. "I guess, I uh- didn't feel it till now"

Astrid gently wrapped her arm around his waist. Her concerned eyes glanced at his broken shoulder pad, ripped sleeves, and scratched armor. She delicately pulled him off the ground, his arm wrapping around her shoulder. Once standing, he took a couple of shuddering breaths to relax his body. Hiccup took a limping step forward, and gasped in pain.

"We can walk slower if you need to." Astrid softly suggested. Hiccup stopped moving and looked at her.

"I'm-" Hiccup grit his teeth. "I'm fine. Lets um, Let's just get to my house."

With that, Astrid's demeanor suddenly changed. A quick shadow passed over her face and in another second, it disappeared. Hiccup glanced at her, confused and unable to read her expression. He opened his mouth to say something but another jab of pain rendered him motionless.

A couple agonizingly slow steps later, they made it into Hiccup's tent. Astrid slowly helped him sit down on the side of his bed and removed his armor. Hiccup clenched his jaw and shut his eyes as she removed his teared breastplate. The shirt under his armor was ripped and shredded. The side was damp with a dark crimson.

Hiccup slowly looked up at Astrid. Her expression was grim. She locked eyes with Hiccup, asking for permission. Hiccup softly nodded and shut his eyes as another spark of pain shot through his side. Astrid's steady fingers gripped his shirt and slowly lifted it up and over his head.

Hiccup gasped in pain as the cold night air stung his exposed skin. He slowly looked down to see two long incisions on his side. Blood trickled out of the deep wounds. The surrounding flesh was caked with dried blood. Hiccup released a ragged breath. Across the room, Astrid was rummaging through his boxes. She held up a roll of cloth bandages and walked towards the bed. She looked worryingly at Hiccup.

"Can you stand?" She softly asked. Hiccup breathed heavily through his gritted teeth as he moved to stand. Astrid shook her head, motioning for him to stop. Hiccup's body slumped a little bit, relaxing as best as it could. He began to focus on calming his breathing as Astrid dragged a small stool on the floor and positioned it near the bed, facing Hiccup's side.

"Hiccup." Astrid whispered. She gripped the bandages and held them close the lacerations. Hiccup looked at her and shakily nodded, gesturing for her to begin. He sat as straight and still as possible as Astrid raised the bandages to his wound. He clenched his jaw as she began wrapping the cloth around his body. Hiccup shut his eyes and forced himself to calmly breathe.

As Astrid was wrapping the bandage around Hiccup's torso, she let her eyes wander to the rest of his upper body. He had a few cuts on his chest that were turning red. There were some scratches and scrapes on his shoulders, though not any of them were as serious as the one on his side. Not noticing she had stopped bandaging, Astrid leaned to her side to look at his back. She choked back a gasp.

"Astrid?" Hiccup had heard her and opened his eyes. His emerald eyes looked into hers. He searched her face in concern, "Are you okay?"

Astrid quickly recovered and put her head down, shielding her wet eyes from his gaze. She started bandaging him again. She let out a quiet, breathy laugh.

"Am I okay? Have you seen yourself?" Astrid quietly joked. She kept her eyes on the bandages. Hiccup's gaze was still on her. He saw that her usually steady hands were slightly shaking. He opened his mouth to speak, but another stinge of pain shot through his body.

"Agh." he breathed through his gritted teeth. Astrid quickly finished wrapping his torso and tightly knotted it on his side.

"Do you think you can put your legs on the bed?" Astrid softly asked. Hiccup swallowed his pain and slowly pulled his legs up from the ground and onto the bed. Astrid carefully watched him, making sure he did not tear the bandages or cause more damage. Once his legs were under the covers, Hiccup let out a raggedy breath, exhausted. He watched as Astrid put the stool back in its place and walked to a wooden chest. Her hands were shaking.

"Astrid?"

Astrid stiffened at the sound of her name. Her eyes were brimmed with tears but she quickly wiped them and took a deep breath. She rummaged through the chest.

"Yeah?"

No answer.

She brought out a spare prosthetic.

"Here." Astrid placed it on the table closest to his bed, "I'll leave it here so you can easily grab it in the morning." She glanced at Hiccup. His eyes were still burning into her.

"If you don't need anything else," she slowly continued, "I'll get going."

That snapped Hiccup out of his concerned thoughts. He looked at her

"Astrid. Your house is-"

"Tent."

"Tent?"

"It's a tent." Astrid's voice was barely above a whisper. Her eyes were locked on the ground.

"Okay, your tent" he emphasized the word. "Your tent is across the clearing. You'll have to walk all the way over there."

Astrid stayed silent. He knew that wouldn't stop her.

"And" Hiccup looked down and quietly added, "I don't want you to be alone. I-I don't want to be alone."

"Today was one of the worst days of our lives." he forced out the words, "And I don't want us to be separated when we already lost-" his voice faltered. He looked at Astrid. Her head was facing the tent opening. Her eyes were closed and mouth quivering. Hiccup looked down at his hands.

"Okay." Astrid's quiet broke the numb silence. Her eyes were still distant and fogged with sadness.

"Okay?"

"Okay." Astrid quietly repeated. She gently nodded, "I'll stay."

"Are you sure?" Hiccup asked. Astrid nodded. She removed her armor and gently placed it on top of a wooden chest. Even with her long sleeved shirt and leggings, she still shivered at the cold air.

Hiccup winced as he forced his body down unto furs. His view of the tent ceiling blurred with pain. Once his back touched the furs, his body relaxed. He let out the breath he was holding.

Astrid's body began to give out when the warmth of the covers caressed her body. Her eyes fought to stay open. Turning her head to Hiccup she whispered,

"Are you still in pain?"

"I'll be okay." Hiccup breathed out. He faced her. "We'll be okay."

His eyelids felt heavy. Astrid's began to close as well. She turned her body upwards. The moon shone through the tent.

"We'll be okay." she repeated