Part 2 ~ Chapter 10

The next morning, the Vikings were doing the best they could to occupy themselves with preparing for Snoggletog once again.

Astrid was walking around the village with a shield in hand like a serving tray with a jug of some kind of drink and some empty tankards.

"Yaknog! Get your Yaknog! Get a frothy delicious cup of cheer!" She shouted out as she walked.

She then spotted the other teens talking a little ways away and walked over to them.

"Hey, you guys! Try this tasty new beverage I made for the holidays." She said cheerily.

"Ugh! What is that smell? Is that you?" Tuffnut asked as he shoved Ruffnut away from him.

"It's Yaknog!" Astrid said with a smile as she poured the chunky looking beverage into one of the tankards.

Tuffnut coughed in disgust as she poured the drink. "Ugh! If I drink that I'm gonna yak nog all over the place!"

"Maybe you'd rather taste a punch in the face?" Astrid retorted as she glared at the male Thorston.

Ruffnut sniffed the disgusting looking beverage then leaned away with a grossed out look on her face.

"Astrid, it sounds delightful. I'd love a mug." Snotlout stated kindly and he grabbed the tankard Astrid just filled.

He took a swig and gagged at the taste but forced himself to swallow it.

"You can really taste the yak!" He said, trying to forget how bad the drink tasted as he put the tankard back on the shield.

Fishlegs came up to the group and lit up a bit when he saw the jug and tankards that Astrid was carrying.

"Mmm, yum! What is that?" He asked.

"Oh! You wanna try some? It's my new traditional drink." Astrid explained while holding the shield out to him.

Snotlout shook his head with a look of warning on his face as he stood behind Astrid. Fishlegs took the hint and cleared his throat.

"Oh…you know…ehm…I have…suddenly inexplicably changed my mind." He stated nervously.

"Well, you don't know what you're missing. I bet Hiccup will love this." Astrid said as she was going to head off to find her brother, but she stopped when she saw the looks she got from the others. "What?"

"How could you of all people forget?" Ruffnut asked with crossed arms and a raised brow.

"Forget what?" Astrid asked, turning fully to face her friends with a confused look.

"Oh, I don't know…how about the fact that Hiccup gets sick from eating anything besides raw fish and water now?" Snotlout said as he clutched his stomach.

Astrid's eyes widened and she facepalmed as realization sunk in. "Oh I am such an idiot. How did I forget that? Well looks like I'm not giving him any now..but wouldn't hurt to at least stop by and talk to him."

And with that, the Hofferson made her way to the forge to see her found brother.

~~~HTRYNF~~~

"Hiccup?" Astrid asked once she made it to the forge, looking around for the young dragon. She raised a brow in confusion when she got no reply.

'That's odd. He's usually here around this time.' She thought as she placed the shield down on an empty workbench and looked around the forge. 'Maybe he just didn't hear me or something.'

As she was looking for her brother in his personal work room, she noticed some blueprints lying out on the desk and looked them over. Astrid smiled and shook her head when she noticed they were blueprints for an automatic tailfin.

"Of course he would. 'Bout time too. Knew he was getting tired of riding Stormfly with me." She said with a small laugh.

"What're ya doing 'ere lass?" She heard, which made the young Viking jump and turn around to see Gobber standing in the main area of the forge with a raised brow.

"Oh! Hey Gobber. I was just looking for Hiccup is all. Have you seen him?" Astrid asked as she made her way out of the work room.

"'Fraid not. Last I saw him was at the meetin' last night. Have ya checked his hut by any chance?" The blacksmith asked.

"No, I came straight here. I'll head there now. Thanks, Gobber!" Astrid said with a wave as she rushed out of the forge, forgetting to take the Yaknog with her in her haste.

When Astrid made it to the Haddock household she saw Toothless and Kala playing on the porch together. The playing then came to a stop when she got to the porch and she was hugged by the two hatchlings, Kala doing the best she could to hug her. She smiled and hugged them back.

"Well good morning to you guys, too. Is your dad here?" Astrid asked as she pulled away from the hug and looked at her niece and nephew.

The two hatchlings got worried looks as they looked at each other then back at their aunt.

"He's upstairs. He caught a bad fever overnight and we're not sure what it is. Not even Grandpa knows." Toothless said with a whine.

Astrid's eyes widened slightly. "But he was perfectly fine last night. Has Gothi looked him over yet?"

The two Night Furies shook their heads.

"No. Dad refused to let us go get her. Said he'd be fine and that it'd go away by the end of the day." Toothless explained as he held his left arm.

Astrid sighed heavily as she ran a hand down her face. "Of course he did..Tooth, take your sister to get Gothi. I'll talk with your dad, okay?"

Toothless nodded as he picked up his baby sister and rushed down the hill to go get Gothi. Kala looked over Toothless' shoulder at her aunt, still having the worried expression upon her small face.

Astrid sent the hatchling a reassuring smile then went inside and went up to Hiccup's room, not even bothering to knock as she entered. Hiccup groaned as he covered his face and turned away from the door when he saw her.

"G-go away…" He whined out.

"Oh no ya don't." Astrid said as she stormed over to the bed and made him sit up and look at her. "You are going to let us take care of you whether you like it or not."

Hiccup winced at her touch and pushed her away. When he did, Astrid got a better look at him and got even more worried than she already was. He was panting heavily with sweat drenching his body, his auburn hair sticking to him in clumps. If Astrid didn't know he had a fever, she would have assumed he was very flustered with how bright of a red his cheeks were.

"Hiccup, what's wrong with you? You've never been sick like this before.." She said as she sat on the bed, far enough away that she wasn't touching him so as to not make him wince again.

"I-I…d-don't know… I felt f-fine last night…" He said, but not without struggle.

Astrid gave him a sympathetic look, but then something hit her and she gained a curious look. "Do you think it has to do with why all the other dragons left?"

Hiccup looked at her confused then he growled in frustration as his tunic began to drive him crazy and he tossed it off and away from him. "H-how am I s-supposed to know Astrid..?!"

She raised her hands in surrender. "Hey, no need to get upset. I was just asking. Maybe this is a dragon thing."

Hiccup huffed and looked away from her, gripping the furs on his bed tightly in discomfort.

"Will you at least let Gothi look you over just to be sure?" Astrid asked as she rested her hand on the bed, looking at her brother with pleading eyes. "If not for me, then your kids? They're just as worried about you as I am."

Hiccup glared at her. "Oh y-you did n-not just use my hatchlings a-against me…"

Astrid smirked slightly. "Oh I did. What're you gonna do about it, hm? But seriously, Hiccup, you need to be looked at. We don't know what this is. For all we know, you could have caught an illness that we don't even know how to remedy. You need to let Gothi check you just to make sure it's nothing serious. Please brother."

Hiccup sighed and nodded. "O-okay f-fine…"

Astrid smiled softly as she got up. "Thank you. I'm gonna be downstairs waiting for Toothless and Kala to get back with Gothi. Don't. Move." She warned as she pointed two fingers at her eyes then flipped them to Hiccup as she left the room.

Hiccup huffed and crossed his arms as he fell back against the headrest of his bed, but he then regretted that decision as he winced from the contact and sat upright again.

~~~HTRYNF~~~