So sorry for the delay. Yesterday I went to the gamescom all day long, so I couldn't upload anything.
Chapter 13
Astrid stormed out the house, saddle in hand and Stormfly and Toothless right beside her. She put on the different straps to keep the saddle on as quickly and unfortunately erratic as she could, meaning she had to do double and sometimes dripple takes to get one right.
All the time she kept murmuring to herself about Hiccup's incredible stupidity. Why had he gone alone? Why didn't he talk to her about this? Did he even have a plan or was he winging it like with the plan for staying safe a few days ago?
Mostly she only had one real question on her mind though.
Was he safe?
Astrid didn't know when she started caring for this boy who befriended a Night Fury. Was it when he stood up to her for Toothless, leaving Berk, only because his best friend couldn't live there, over the course of their stay on this Island or somewhere between? She had no idea and right know, she had no business figuring it out.
The only thing she knew for certain, Hiccup had done a reckless decision and she had to get him out of there because she couldn't imagine a live without him.
She finally got the saddle on and in an instant Stormfly got her in the air, making patrol of the Island. Of course they had to take a big Island with lots of forest.
She flew for a solid time and despite her focus on seeing anything other than green leaves and splashes of color from the flowers, she couldn't help but go to the thought she hadn't had for a long time.
What if she wouldn't make it?
Back on Berk, the threat of losing someone close to you with the frequent raids hang around in the air constantly and Astrid always thought she'd adapted to it. She was painfully reminded, that no, she definitely was not prepared for it.
Since leaving, Stormfly and Hiccup were the only real constants in her life and however much it hurt to even think about losing any of these two, Astrid mind went to a house, empty of the laughs she grew to adore, his crazy but unique inventions, the way only he can make her feel like she is living on the clouds.
Maybe she would still have Stormfly and she can even understand her now, but once again her mind trails back to how she only can because Hiccup taught her.
Astrid brushes her name on the saddle and manages to get these thoughts to the back of her mind. It doesn't matter what life would be without Hiccup, because she will save him, even if that means marching down to Helheim and dragging his ass back.
After about half an hour of battling her mind with every pleasant mental image, it really does not help half of those involve Hiccup, she sees a faint glow under some leaves.
Bingo.
As she comes close, the glowing light gets brighter and she can see even more light through the dense pine leaves. This light is dimmer and formed like a stream of some sorts. She looks around for a few seconds and recognizes where she is. She often comes around this part of the Island on her morning Flight. What's glowing down there is definitely the river.
She pats Stormfly on the side lightly and her Dragon gets the message, turning to a nearly completely silent hover. There, on the opposite side of the river of the Flightmare, were a few leaves bristling and through a minimal gap, she saw a flicker of some unnatural color in the forest.
Hiccup.
Stormfly, having massively better instincts, of course already noticed this and began moving as slowly as she could, not wanting to capture the attention of the Flightmare.
She stayed as silent as she could, even going so far as to minimize her breathing.
Unfortunately for her sanity, Hiccup decided not to be so subtle and she watched as he made his way out of the bushes and in front of the Flightmare who payed him no attention.
Stormfly seemed as taken aback as she did, because the Dragon stopped its silent advance, hovering mid-air staring as Hiccup got even closer to the Dragon and she perked up at hearing him whisper soft words at the glowing reptile.
The Flightmare didn't even twitch a muscle, as Hiccup moved ever so slowly towards the river that distanced them. It seemed as it didn't take him as a threat and therefore also didn't bother to attack or retreat.
That is until everything went to hell.
Hiccup took an unsuspecting step and the Flightmare's head shot up like a bola from Hiccup's contraptions. He gave a snarl, but before anyone could react to the semi-warning, the Flightmare opened its maw and shot out some sort of mist.
In that moment she had exactly one thought. 'Not again'. With that decision, she sweeped downwards as quickly as possible.
The Flightmare jumped over the river, now a few feet away from Hiccup and opening its snout, showing the row of ugly and mistreated teeth. Hiccup just stood there, completely frozen and Astrid had a flash of her uncle, staring down the Flightmare, motionless.
Stormfly realized she couldn't get close enough with the nose-dive and didn't have the time to choose if she should attack with Fire for the strong heat or her spines so that they could make a small line between the angry Dragon and one of her closest Friends. So for lack of time, Stormfly quickly shot out both fire and spines at the same moment, never stopping her descent.
Never having tried it before, the result surprised all the people present. The spines shot as fast as the fire and since it had the same target, both flew practically inside each other. It glowed even brighter than the magnesium blast normally does. Astrid saw the fire blast morph shapes, going from the straight cylindrical blast to multiple sharp little blasts and become more focused. The spines hit the ground with a small explosion and Astrid saw them glowing with the heat of the magnesium blast.
Despite everything happening, Stormfly and her rider both never stopped going down, approaching the ground at neck breaking speed.
Now directly above the ground, Stormfly angled herself more sideway, so that Hiccup was in Astrid's arm reach. She instantly grabbed him by his arm and once she felt the known feeling of his tunic, Astrid pulled him close then ever before, grateful that the body contact made her feel his heartbeat and erratic breaths on her neck.
Stormfly screeched at the Flightmare, a wordless insult commonly known amongst the Dragons, used to disgrace the worst of the worst. Before the Flightmare could retort in any way, Stormfly made sure, Hiccup was steady in Astrid's grip and hightailed out of there.
Astrid looked at Hiccup, laying limp in her arms, frozen in the exact state the Dragon spew its mist at it. If she couldn't feel his breath and see his chest rise and fall, she might even think he had died from it.
"Hiccup." She screamed over and over again. He didn't move an inch, but she saw his eyes dart around and stare of into the distance, a sign he is spacing out and thinking.
After a few of the most stressful minutes Astrid felt in the past year, maybe rivaled by her trip to the nest, Hiccup suddenly shot up and moved his arms and legs. He groaned at the effort and Astrid couldn't help but smile at him, moving and making sounds and out of danger.
He took a look at her and his eyes widened ever so slightly, before his face grew into one of comfort. His hand slowly moved up and he cupped her cheeks, his thumb brushing under her eye.
"Don't cry, I'm here alright. It'll be okay." He reassured her and she was surprised at how much those words, or hearing him at all, did to soothe her wild-beating heart. She didn't even care anymore that she cried in front of Hiccup. As long as he was here to witness it everything could be okay.
They stayed like that for a while, seeking for comfort in the other, before Hiccup broke the eye contact and looked over her shoulder in the direction they came from.
Before Hiccup could analyze anything and start rambling, Astrid punched his shoulder. "That's for being stupid." Was all she said as an explanation, because she didn't know how else to summarize all the things that she wanted to beat him up for. She embraced him again and this time, he had the ability to reciprocate. "And that's for not dying on me."
"Really boosting the confidence in me." He gave his sarcastic reply and Astrid had to hold back from hitting him again. "Did you see that mist? It completely froze me." He began and Astrid groaned internally. "And then Stormfly with those flaming spines."
"Shush." Astrid interrupted him. "First off, you're telling me what the heck went through your mind when you went out there, completely on your own. We can think about the other stuff after that."
Hiccup cringed at the intense glare she sent him, strong enough to make most waver on the spot. "I went out there, because I know what that Dragon did to you." He looked away, not able to get out a full sentence under her furious stare. "I wanted to get close to it, maybe talk to it. At least something to get you closure." He explained, waving his arms around frantically. "But the Dragon didn't even react. It was like I wasn't even there until I got to close."
"I think I may have an explanation." Stormfly piped up and somehow both had forgotten they could talk to the creature below them. "The Flightmare has been closed off for several generations from our culture, so it may have lost the ability to speak human or Dragon tongue. As for why it only appears every ten seasons, I do not know. There are ancient telling's from when they still lived among us, that the Flightmare needs the glowing seafood to uphold its power and it only shows in the Nights of the Star Lights."
Astrid and Hiccup went over that Information in their heads. "That does explain things." They said at the same time, though with different enthusiasm.
"Now that we have cleared that," He wanted to go back to all the new things, but was rudely interrupted.
"We are not done with the whole sneaking out alone thing. You should feel lucky we are in the air and you nearly died, or I would have certainly beat you up by now." She scolded him. Surprisingly, his face grew into a sly smile.
"Ooh." He cooed. "You care."
"Do not." Astrid said, distinctively trying to hide the blush creeping up on her cheeks.
"Yes you do."
"No."
"Yes."
"Maybe a little." She admitted, not wanting to stretch this back and forth any longer. "If I didn't care, you'd be dead, so you can thank me for that later."
With that, they grew into a comfortable silence. The entire flight back, they didn't exchange a word.
…
Back at their home, they dismantled Stormfly and Hiccup couldn't take one step before being on the ground, a very worried and very hyperactive Toothless licking every inch of him to make sure he was really there.
"Don't you do that again. Ever." He stressed the last word very carefully. Toothless stood up and let Hiccup get to the ground himself, but always at least kept his tail around him in a protective manner, as if the Flightmare would jump out from the bushes right this instant.
Hiccup put his up in a defeated manner, but didn't try to release himself from the Dragons hold. "Okay. Okay. Understood. No more deathly situations or you'll both kill me." Hiccup shot a glance at Astrid as well as Toothless. "Now can we please talk about whatever happened out there?" He pleaded.
Astrid merely chuckled. Leave it up to Hiccup, to analyze a situation where he nearly died. "If you really want to, I suppose I can spare the few minutes." Astrid told him and his grin grew impossibly wide. 'And I don't think I could sleep for the next few hours anyway.'
They got inside and Hiccup sat on the couch, freed from his Dragons tail. Astrid took the opportunity and made herself comfortable in his lap, crossing her legs and leaning against his chest.
"A- Astrid, W- What are you d- doing?" He stuttered and Astrid's heart jumped a little at being remembered how he always acter around her when she visited him in the forge to get her axe sharpened.
She grew a cocky smile and closed her eyes, taking in every part of the physical contact. "Making sure you don't decide to search for a dangerous Dragon and getting yourself killed."
Hiccup sighed and she felt giddy, feeling his breath rustle her hair before he put his head on hers. "I suppose I won't get out of this one?" He asked and already knew the answer.
"Very much." Astrid confirmed with a smile. "Now what exactly was it that made you want to analyze the encounter so bad?"
Hiccup immediately brightened up, something she could make out without even looking at him. "That mist thing." He exclaimed and Astrid searched in her mind what he was talking about.
Giving a nod after going through her memories and knowing what he meant, Hiccup continued.
"After that hit me, I couldn't move, exactly like the story's about Fearless Finn." He said and waited for Astrid's reaction. Her uncle was still a touchy subject. "But I didn't freeze out of fear. It was more like I was frozen, or some sort of paralysis. Do you understand what that means?" He asked, and Astrid's eyes would have lit up, were they opened.
"Fearless Finn Hofferson really was Fearless." She whispered, affirming Hiccup's line of thought.
Hiccup vigorously nodded, something incredibly awkward when his head laid on hers. "Exactly. Your Uncle never was scared. Apparently the Flightmare has some kind of paralyzing spray, which he used on Finn, so that he couldn't fight back and posed no threat to it."
Astrid didn't know what to say. On one side, Hiccup, the only person she had for the past year, excluding the tribe, nearly died because he went out alone to search for the Flightmare. On the other side, him seeking it out, uncovered the truth about the truly Fearless Finn.
Equally, she had no idea on what to do. Despite all the stupid things he'd done this Night alone, Astrid could very much find enough reasons to turn around and kiss him. Otherwise, they had this moment to enjoy and she didn't want to ruin it or even move from her position, tucked in his lap, arms pulling her close and Hiccup's head resting on top of hers.
They sat like that for a while, enjoying the presence of each other and watched over by Toothless, who swore to himself he wouldn't let Hiccup go anywhere alone anymore.
Eventually, the warmth of Hiccup and her ever-present smile got the best of her and she slowly drifted off to sleep, her dreams filled with the images of a certain auburn-haired and green eyes boy rather than the frequent Nightmares of the Flightmare she was haunted by the last few days.
This Night, the two teens slept closer together than ever before and had an equally good sleep.
…
"No way." Heather exclaimed in shock, looking at the bundle in front of her. "You didn't have to do this."
Hiccup gave a slight chuckle. "Why does everyone keep saying that?" He asked himself. Almost every time he did something for others, they said he didn't have to, as if that means he wouldn't. "I'm currently trying to make one for everyone who rides a Dragon in the tribe and although you won't live here, I still consider you part of it." He explained to her.
"So this is why you didn't want me to leave." The brunette concluded. Ever since she told Hiccup she wanted to leave, he had always found some excuse as to why it was better to stay and although she had no idea why, at least then, it was always hilarious to watch him find another obvious lie.
Hiccup gave a nod as response. "Since you are leaving, I put your saddle on top of my list, but making one that can last for who knows how long until you visit again takes a lot of time and I had to make Astrid's first since she flew with a rope for a solid year now and-"
"I get it. It isn't easy and Astrid always goes first for you." She summarized to stop his rambling. "Seriously, I feel honored to be the third one you made a saddle for." She thanked him.
Hiccup held back his remark that she was only third because the others didn't threaten to leave the village for an undefined time in the near future. Of course he had nothing against Heather and would have still made her saddle regardless.
"Keep in touch." He smiled to her as she put on the saddle, a simpler design than Astrid, with space for more satchels at the sides and a larger handle that mirrored the shiny scales.
"You act as if I'm leaving now." She joked back at him. "I'll have to say bye to my parents first. Then you can come with that 'You're always welcome here' talk."
He gave a snort of amusement. "Well," He drawled out for comedic effect "since you apparently already know that and I held you here for far longer than you wanted, I thought you'd get out of here the second you said goodbye to your parents." He said, of course sarcastically.
Astrid and Heather had bonded on training, since Heather was also a natural axe-person, he still doesn't know what that means except, that she likes to use an axe. Since giving the flying lessons of to Cami, he and Heather had spent less time, but still managed a somewhat normal friendship.
Even if she wouldn't say goodbye to him, she would definitely want to tell Astrid she's leaving and seeing that those two couldn't be separated since the Night of the Flightmare, he could see her off anyway.
He broke the silence after a while, since he hated standing around uselessly and Heather was occupied with her saddle. It reminded him of his days when he really was exactly that. "I better get going now. If I don't come back in the next few minutes, Astrid may notice I'm gone and when that happens," He broke off, imagining all the outcomes, more that half of them ending with a bruise and hour-long reprimanding. "Let's just say I wouldn't want that."
Heather piped up at this. Ever since the first Night she had found those two sleeping practically on top of each other on the couch, she had been secretly dropping hints to Astrid so that they would get together. "Do tell. When did you become so close? I mean, you were always close, but she hasn't let you off the hook for a full week." She inquired.
Hiccup sighed at the memory. "The Night of the Flightmare, I did something really stupid and since then, she won't let me get a second of personal time, so that I don't 'try to kill myself. Again.' As she said." He groaned at the invasion of personal space that had been going on for multiple days now. His eyes widened at how it may have sounded. "I don't mind the company, but the reason." He hurried to explained himself quickly. "She's acting as if I'm back to my old self, that couldn't do anything on my own and constantly needed to hide from anything that could possibly do any damage to me."
Heather gave an understanding nod. "Look. Even if it looks like that, it's totally different. In Berk people didn't want you out there because they didn't believe in you and they looked at you as their heir. Astrid doesn't see it like that. She wants to keep you safe because she can't stand a world without you. Unlike the others, she does it because she cares." She reiterated. Astrid didn't say it exactly like that, but from everything she gathered, she definitely meant it like that. "Now go get back. I have some parents to go to and you got your friend, roommate, guard. Whatever you want to call her." She joked, making him slap his forehead, but she noticed the slight blush at 'guard' as a nickname.
An hour later and lots of 'goodbye', 'We'll miss you' and 'come check in once in a while', Astrid, Hiccup and Heather's parents stood at the edge of the cliff, staring out into the horizon where the last few silvery flickers disappeared under the orange glow of dusk.
Finished with this one. I hope the Hiccstrid wasn't too on the nose, but I love those two and couldn't restrict myself.
Also, please tell me what you think about my new additions, like the Flightmare not being able to communicate, the spines absorbing the magnesium blast for additional power and that they didn't redirect the flow of glowing algea. I didn't want to make it happen exactly like the show and I never understood, why the Flightmare is that big of a problem if he only appears every ten years in Berk.