He won't lie. He may be a tad nervous. Hiccup was currently pacing across the room, fidgeting with his hands. He would run his hands through his tangled hair before gazing at the clock. Only five minutes until the test, yet Astrid is not here. His eyes trailed over the grumpy test masters waiting impatiently for Hiccup to get started. Although he has had a large stint in the Knights Order so far, he hasn't entered the testing hall yet.

It was an extremely simple room. A long hallway opened up into a circular room. Large marble half-pillars line the walls and retain the mosaic dome. There were various test dummies that were remote-controlled scattered about the floor. To pass the test was simple. Eliminate all of the test dummies and do not let them touch the knight or the support engineer. The large doors to the hall opened up and a blonde head peeked in. When she realized that she was in the right room, she entered fully and rendezvoused with Hiccup.

Hiccup deflated, "Thank Thor you are here! I was getting worried."

Astrid arched a brow, "Worried that I was in danger?" Astrid shifted her weight onto one foot and placed her hand on her hip glaring at her companion.

"Worried you wouldn't show!"

"I promised didn't I?"

Hiccup sighed, "Yes you promised, but not everyone in my life has always kept their promises." At these words Astrid slowly let her guard down. He didn't seem threatening to her, just, lacking self-confidence. She was not used to interacting with people like this man, Snotlout had confidence in spades!

"Let's hurry and get started." Astrid glanced over at the test masters currently checking their watches. The most senior of the masters was complaining loudly to his pet sheep. "They seem to be in a rush." Hiccup nodded in affirmation and they started preparing.

Hiccup was counting his various tools, making sure they were all in the right place as Astrid began her meditation to summon her axe. As a C-rank knight, she was now able to summon the axe in under a minute, an impressive ability that few had at her level. Hiccup placed a few of his devices on his belt and grabbed a small earpiece. He handed it to Astrid and she put it in her ear testing the two-way communication. Real-time communication in the heat of battle always benefited the warriors.

Astrid stood at the ready and held her axe aloft over her shoulder. Hiccup stood a few paces behind her observing the targets and developing a strategy. Although Astrid was a talented knight, she was to contribute as little as possible to the strategies in the test to give Hiccup a fair trial. Soon, the sound of the starting horn reverberated throughout the large chamber.

Fog rolled in from the floor and obscured Astrid's view. She was completely reliant on Hiccup's eyes as she slowly paced further into the room. A creaking sound and rumble were heard to her right, still unable to see the targets as they rolled around the fair-haired maiden. Hiccup's voice tuned in her right ear.

"On my mark slash at your three O'clock." He waited a few moments before, "Mark!"

Astrid slashed in the designated direction and decapitated one of the targets. A small smile grew on her face when another target suddenly appeared behind her. Astrid was out of position and unable to attack the assailant. She rolled to her side dodging the dummy as the engineer threw a device that exploded in a bright flash behind her, disorienting the dummy's controller momentarily. But this was enough time for Astrid to slam her axe down onto the lost target, nearly splitting it in two.

"Great work Astrid! Only two left, but it's not looking easy." Astrid huffed. This was a far harder challenge than she expected. All of the other times she helped support engineers it was child's play. This was a completely different caliber, but her support engineer seemed to be three steps ahead of everyone. Including herself. She was pulled out of her thoughts as she heard a scream coming from her left. It was the voice of a woman begging for help, the tone fearful for her life. Astrid nearly ran to her left trying to save the troubled woman when she heard another voice in her ear.
"That's my decoy to draw the demons. When I say, throw your axe directly at the sound."

"What!" She yelled, skidding to a halt. "That will leave me defenseless!"

"Just trust me! Now!" Astrid hesitated for a split second before hurling her axe end over end in the direction of the scream. A thunk and a groan was heard as the axe embedded itself in the makeshift demon. Astrid ran towards her beloved axe and tried to retrieve her weapon, but she was cut off by the last demon. She would have to try and find a way to grab the axe without getting touched by the target. This is exactly what she predicted, defenseless and cut off from her weapon. When she gets a chance, she's going to chew out this support engineer. She and the target eyed each other, neither making the first move. Trying to fake the other one out, holding her breath in anticipation. Before she tried to lunge for the axe a beeping sound broke the silence as a small cube slid between Astrid's feet and rested under the target. A few breaths later and a net erupted from under the target, tangling in a trap and throwing the demon backward violently onto the ground. Maybe this engineer wasn't completely crazy.

It was over. They had dispatched all of the demons. Astrid waited for the fog to settle before she sauntered over and removed her axe from the corpse of the dummy. She inspected her weapon for damage and realized it could use a good sharpening. When she went looking for the engineer she found him receiving his paperwork from the crotchety Mildew. He was clearly upset in passing the engineer and was begrudgingly signing the paperwork. Astrid waited for the man by the door back to the banquet hall. He was walking over with a beaming smile.

"Nice work back there." She commented and he started with a squeak. It seemed he didn't even notice her as his eyes were glued to the paper.

"Hi- uh wow! Thanks!" He said mentally facepalming.

She arched an eyebrow, "are you always this awkward?"

He mumbled rubbing the back of his neck, "only around stunning valkyries." She crossed her arms and glared at him when his words finally registered. "NO! I mean, not that you aren't stunning, it's just that–" He actually facepalmed now. "Just kill me now."

She gave a light laugh, "I'm not going to kill you." She punched his shoulder and he gave confused look. "Thanks for the compliment."

"Thor, if that's what you do when given a compliment I'm worried to find out what you do when insulted," he questioned while rubbing his shoulder.

At this, she actually smiled, "same thing, just with an axe instead of my fist." She finished with a noncommittal shrug. "Why don't you come and sit with us in the banquet hall? I could use someone actually interesting to talk to, unlike the other muttonheads in my cohort."

"Thanks for the offer, but I can't sit with you as my rank doesn't let me join your banquet hall." He gave a sad smile.

"Ah, so are you moving up to an A-rank engineer?"

Hiccup scoffed, "no, just barely made it to D-rank rank after five years!" Astrid laughed thinking he was joking. She froze when she noticed his hurt expression. He showed her his paperwork that had a giant letter D on the top with Mildew's sheep scratch signature on the bottom.

"What the Hel?" She said, grabbing the paper for closer inspection. "You were only an E-rank engineer?"

"Sorry Astrid, I probably should have told you. I thought you knew." She was still giving him an incredulous expression.

"That test was far too hard for an E-rank engineer! And you are far too capable for an E-rank much less a D-rank engineer. I thought this was an A-rank test based on the difficulty!" She was practically yelling at this point. Hiccup snatched his paper back from her as she was flailing it about wildly, trying to save his precious paper from being ruined or ripped.

"I think it was the A-rank test. My test was not exactly designed for success."

"Who'd you piss off to get this kind of treatment?" She inquired.

"Spitelout." Astrid gave an understanding nod.

"What did you do?"

"I was born," Hiccup deadpanned. Astrid's eyes softened at this. It was clear to her that this man was not treated fairly. She didn't even know him, but that much was obvious. He was infinitely sarcastic, but sometimes she could catch a glimpse of the real hurt in his eyes. Sure, she could understand this type of treatment for someone who barely put in any effort, never paid attention, or had zero self-awareness. Snotlout basically. But this seemed discriminatory and targeted.

Astrid looked at his slumped shape. She was never very good at helping people with their . . . emotional issues. But she could try. "I just realized I never caught your name." It was a statement, but the intent was clear.

Hiccup arched a brow, "what do you mean?"

"You never introduced yourself." She held out her hand looking for a handshake. "I know you already know mine, but I'm Astrid."

He gave her another questioning look as he slowly reached for her hand. Before he was able to grab it, he was barreled into by a large man with prosthetic limbs.

"Hiccup! Laddie!" Gobber grabbed the boy and nearly spun him in a circle. "I just heard that you passed!"

Hiccup was scratching at his arms trying to pry himself off of the big man, "Gobber! Air!" he choked out. Gobber quickly put him down with an apology. Before he could reply, Gobber flipped around and faced the gaping blonde next to him. Her jaw was hanging low in astonishment.

"Lass, thanks for helping Hiccup." Gobber grabbed her extended hand and started shaking it in gratitude. "Thor knows he needed a break." Astrid numbly nodded.

A large smile plastered the man's face, "just wait until your father hears! He is going to be so proud." Gobber began trotting off to the main door.

Hiccup reached for him, "Gobber please, he doesn't need to–" before he could finish his sentence, as quickly as he had arrived, Gobber disappeared on the other side of the door closing it with a loud thunk. Hiccup glanced over at Astrid who was still staring at him wide-eyed. It seems she managed to regain her speech.

"H-hiccup?" she stammered, still unsure if this was all real. He nodded. "Wow. I don't believe it," her eyes inspected his whole body causing Hiccup's cheeks to flare up in embarrassment. "When did you get so ho–" she froze, "tall."

Hiccup shrugged, "I guess I am just a late bloomer. Better late than never I guess." Astrid nodded along still inspecting the man. Hiccup was unsure of how he felt about her analyzing gaze. Should he be excited that someone is actually checking him out instead of just looking at him like a stain on the wall? Wait. This is Astrid! She's not checking him out. Immediately he felt completely exposed like she could find every fault that existed, every crack in his mask, everything wrong and out of sorts. "Thanks again Astrid for your help. I really appreciate it."

She smiled, "No problem Hiccup. I'm always happy to help." With that, he returned the smile and waved as he left. As he exited the door he quickly looked down at the paper in his hands. It was official, he was a D-rank engineer! Astrid didn't run away screaming and he was pleasantly surprised that she approved of his work, unlike the rest of the Knights Order. Something in his heart spurned. Inspiration. Knowing now that he is worth far more than he gave himself credit for, his inventions might not be as useless and destructive as first thought. A smile graced his lips. It was time to get to work.

He raced out into the cold night. The freezing temperature bit at his face; his breath formed small clouds. It was the middle of the night at least 3 or 4 in the morning. Hiccup had lost track of time. He had slaved all night trying to finish his latest project that was just collecting dust in the corner of his forge and office. The large device was strapped onto his back along with a small portable power supply. This was the most energetic he had felt about his job since he last started. He was going to ride this high until he actually collapsed.

There was a small cove that he had found in the forest behind the Berk village. It was nearly the only place untouched by humans. It was nature in its purest form, with a small lake in the center. Walls of rocks enveloped the sides of the cove, isolating it from the forest and making it harder to spot. Making it the perfect area for Hiccup to lie down and just think. Sometimes he would bring his more . . . questionable inventions here to test them away from prying and judgemental eyes. This was one of those times.

Although it wasn't dangerous or questionable, it was extremely loud. So secluded forest spot it was to try and test this bad boy. Hiccup was still thinking of a name for it. Admittingly, he was pretty terrible at names which was no surprise considering his middle name was literally Horrendous. So far all he had for the device was the Sonicator! It could produce a sonic wave discharge that in theory could disable a demon. They have far enhanced senses compared to humans which was a blessing but in this case, a weakness that Hiccup could exploit.

Once he reached the cove, he found the tree on the farthest side and tried to lift and secure the device as high in the tree as he could. It was just slightly over his head and should be an adequate height for its purpose. He placed a few lasers around the cove that would act as a motion-sensing barrier around the Sonicator. If something breaks one of the beams, it would set it off. Once finished, he plugged in the power supply. He quickly placed some headphones over his ears that would cut out any damaging sounds before he flipped on the battery. He stepped back and smiled at his work. A snap of a branch snapped him out of his admiration. Hiccup's head flicked around toward the sound and his breath caught in his throat.

Two acid-green eyes were staring at him. The pupils were slitted and a low guttural growl ruptured the otherwise tranquil forest. The demon behind him slowly rose until it was at eye level with Hiccup. Involuntarily, Hiccup stumbled back towards the tree and the demons slowly approached him ready to strike. Until it stepped on one of the lasers. As soon as it did all Hel broke loose. The Sonicator boomed causing Hiccup to fall to the floor as the dirt and leaves were thrown violently away from the device. Although his hearing had now cut out he could still feel it. The demon was not so lucky.

It was bent over covering its ears and writhing in agony. It looked around in a panic trying to find a way to escape this torment but seemed almost delirious from the loud sounds. Every boom of the device flattened the demon onto the ground, no matter how many times it tried to stand. Hiccup recovered much quicker and was able to stand without problem. He then walked carefully over and stood above the panicked shape. Hiccup drew a small knife from its sheath and stared down at the demon he was about to slay. To become a demon hunter and bring back its head to obtain the admiration of his father. The demon caught sight of Hiccup and stared at him with wide eyes. Hiccup looked back and realized that the demon had been following him the entire time. It could have killed him at any point, but instead just watched. He saw the tracks of the demon nearly step in step with Hiccup since he first entered the cove.

That was when Hiccup noticed the emotion in its eyes. Fear. He had never encountered a demon before, but he knew of their bloodthirsty reputation. This demon was the opposite of everything he knew about demons as his own words came back to him. Captured demons are worth more than dead demons. He knew this was true, yet here he was trying to kill it. For what? Honor? There is no honor in killing a defenseless beast. He made up his mind and ran over to the Sonicator and flipped it off. Hiccup then slowly looked over to the dark shape slowly catching its breath. Its luminous eyes flicked over and stared at him. Pupils dilated with a hint of . . . confusion? The demon recovered and shook its head before standing tall and straightening its back into a regal posture. His dark skin hid behind nearly black armor that was adorned and decorated in a beautiful fashion that even Hiccup was jealous of.

Its brows furrowed before it then surprised Hiccup by speaking, "What in the gods' names was that horrid device?"

"Y-y-y-you can speak?" Hiccup forced out stammering from both the cold and dread.

He huffed, "I have a perfectly good tongue and mouth. Of course, I can speak! Do I look like some lesser demon to you?" The demon approached Hiccup slowly and the growl returned.

"Of course not! How would I know what a lesser demon looks like when I've never even seen a demon?"

The demon pushed Hiccup back again the tree and pinned his throat with a blade that was summoned from nothing, instantaneously. "Answer my question. What is that. . . Thing?" he emphasized pointing at the large box tied to the tree.

"It's a device I made to subdue demons!" He yelled.

The sword pressed to Hiccup's throat suddenly lit on fire and began scorching his skin. "To just murder them while they are helpless and defenseless?"

"NO!" he protested as the sword was pressed closer, drawing blood. "To study them! To capture and study!" The flame on the sword went out. The demon slowly lowered his weapon but he was still glaring.

"You knights kill every demon that comes in your sight. Why should I believe you?"

"Because I am not a knight." Hiccup said without hesitation.

A large toothless smile slowly grew on the demon's face, leaving a black maw that seemed to peer into a dark and empty abyss. "I think you and I are going to get along. Hiccup Haddock."