How to Train Your Dragon 1. Chapter 1

**Okay welcome to the multi-chaptered Astrid/Hiccup story! You guys/gals liked the oneshot so much I decided to make a longer, more action-packed story!**

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_The rocking of the boats was hypnotic._

_Most had been destroyed by the dragons and the few that had not were practically overflowing with vikings. It was easy, sometimes, when she was with the other younger vikings to forget just how large the older ones were. Years of fighting and eating and fighting some more made people like that. Now that they all stood crammed on boats, Astrid was painfully aware of just how small and skinny the newly minted vikings were. Of how small and skinny she was. The boat she had stumbled onto was Stoick's boat and the vikings on it were all crowded as far away from the middle as they could. Not just because of Stoick and his son but because of the large black creature that had saved their lives. Thick bodies and heavy fog obscured Astrid's view but she knew, beyond a doubt, that Toothless was hovering over Hiccup with the same anxiousness that his father was showing. In some ways it was funny to see the identical looks on the dragon and the viking's face. But the last thing that Astrid felt like doing in the world was laughing._

_She felt exhuasted. And not the kind that was solved with a few hours of sleep. A few days ago she had been sure that she would be a viking who killed dragons. Right before that, she wanted to be the viking who broke both of Hiccup's legs. Astrid still felt a dull sort of disbelief that everything they had been taught, everything that they had been trained to do, all of it was for nothing. They had been so intent on killing and hurting the dragons that they had failed to see what Hiccup had. Hiccup who stumbled upon it purely because he was too scared to kill the most fearsome dragon of all. Because when he looked at the scared dragon with the missing fin he had seen himself. Astrid realized that now that comparison would be even more accurate. Wrapping her arms around her suddenly cold chest, Astrid turned from the sea to the backs of the vikings in front of her._

_It was hard to make it through them, with their fat and furs and metal. As she moved she realized that there were more than there should be. Her heart began to pound as she pushed through, trying to get past them. They became faceless, nameless, just barriers that prevented her from reaching her goal. Her arms began to ache and each step became harder as she tried to push through the living, breathing wall. She felt like she was trying to swim except the water was too thick. But Astrid was not the type to give up. Even as her arms burned and her breath caught in her throat, she pushed herself forward. Pushed herself through the wall of vikings. She had promised Hiccup she would look after Toothless if anything happened to him and she was going to keep that promise. No matter what. With a final burst of speed, Astrid pushed herself through the last of the vikings and stumbled onto the clear space on deck._

_She saw Stoick, sitting next to Hiccup with his face buried in his hands. And she saw Toothless curled at the boys feet, his head resting protectively on his knee. The people she had just pushed through seemed to melt away as she lifed one numb foot and then the other, slowly making her way towards where they were. She could see Hiccup's form, covered by a blanket and laid out on the deck of the ship. As she walked she became acutely aware of everything. Of the breeze on the back of her neck, of the way the vikings were all silent, of how Stoick could not even look in the boys direction. Her sense sharpened once more and she realized that Toothless's eyes were closed and the front leg resting on Hiccup's knee was not moving. His ears weren't twiching either. By the time she got to Hiccup she knew what she would see. Astrid's breath caught in her throat as she saw the char marks that blackened the skin of his neck. The blanket was not rising and falling because his chest was not moving. His skin was ghostly white, there wasn't an ounce of color on him. The only time people got that pale was when they were--when they were dead.._

_Astrid stared down at them, feeling like she was truly out of her body. She had known Hiccup almost all her life, in the way that the others knew him. As the scrawny son of the chief who made them all look bad. But in the past few days she had seen him for something else. Seen him as someone she wanted to know better. Guilt, confusion, fear--all of it churned in her stomach as she looked at the still forms of the boy and the dragon. Distantly she could hear her name being called but it was coming from too far away to matter. Nothing mattered, not anymore. Not when the two of them were so still and so pale. They couldn't be dead, her mind protested. They just couldn't. Not now, not like this. Not when they had just started to get to know each other. She shook her head, wishing that the vision would go away if she willed it but it stayed._

_In all its terrible glory, it stayed._

"Hiccup!"

With a ragged shout, Astrid bolted upright in bed.

It took her adrenaline fueled mind a moment to remember that it was a dream. Her eyes scanned the familiar outline of her room. The bed, the rafters--everything was as it should have been. Her breath still coming in short gasps, she could not quite bring herself to believe that everything was alright until she saw the massive shape curled by the fire. The disgruntled dragon fixed her with one half open gold eye, more to confirm that she was alright than anything else, before shutting it and burying her nose further under her wing joint. Astrid took in a shaky breath. If Bluebell was there then it was just a dream. Hiccup and Toothless were injured, missing a foot and a fin respectively, but they were alright. The people of Berk still had their dragons. Hiccup had killed the king and they had learned to live in peace with the other inhabitants of the island. Taking another breath, Astrid looked around her room once again. As her eyes adjusted to the flickering fire that gave the room its warmth, she could see the evidence of her room mate. There were long scratches and holes in the walls from the times when Bluebell got excited and forgot she was, well, a large dragon.

Astrid shook her head, trying to clear it. Under the covers she brought her knees to her chest. That nightmare, it was not new. But each time she had it it was just as awful. When she closed her eyes she could clearly see the burn marks on his too pale skin, the way his features looked when all the life had been erased from them. He seemed younger, frailer than they had all thought he was. And Toothless, Toothless hadn't looked like a fearesome dragon that had once struck terror into the hearts of everyone in Berk. He looked like a creature who had fought and died saving them all and trying to protect the boy that he loved. It was the most heartbreaking thing that Astrid had ever seen.

"Astrid?" Astrid's head flew up to see her mother standing in the doorway, "are you alright?"

"I--" she caught herself as her voice trembled, "I'm fine mom," she insisted, her voice steadier.

Like most viking women, Astrid's mother was no stranger to using a weapon or killing a dragon. Aldis the Quick had earned her name when she had single handedly taken down three Terrible Terrors in the span of a minute. Like her daughter she had a tumble of thick blonde hair and the same pale skin but the rest of Astrid was all her father. Her mothers face clearly showed she did not believe her daughter for a moment. Aldis stepped into the room fully, closing the door behind her. At the intrusion of her mother, Bluebell's eye opened again and her head came out from under the wing joint, her mother fixed squarely in the dragons gaze. Aldis had had some reservations about her daughter riding a dragon and even more about her bringing one into the house but when the frost had set in there was really nothing to do but figure out a way to make Bluebell comfortable inside the house.

It did not help matters that Aldis was one of the vikings who had a hand in capturing the dragons they had used in training. Bluebell and Aldis had tolerated each other much in the same way that Stoick and Toothless tolerated each other. But the dragon was far more enamored with Astrid. Or, as enamore as a Nadder got. Because if there was one thing on the earth that Bluebell truly was enamored with, it was herself. Both Astrid and her mother were vikings, far more inclined to pick up weapons than hairbrushes but every spare moment that Bluebell had was spent preening. It was an excellent thing that Astrid kept her gear clean because it quickly became clear that if there was dirt on the saddle it wasn't going anywhere near her dragon. The one time they had tried that both Astrid and Bluebell had wound up covered in mud with Bluebell as close to hysterical as a dragon got over being so dirty. Aldis, without batting an eyelash, had told them both that until they got clean neither was coming in the house.

Deciding that the woman was not a threat, Bluebell once again tucked her head and fell asleep as Aldis crossed the room to where her daughter sat on the bed. Astrid pulled her knees higher to her chest as her mother came to the bed and sat down. Astrid hadn't told anyone about the reoccuring nightmare. So much was going on, her dreams seeemed stupid to talk about.

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" she asked. Astrid shook her head, "I was nervous before my first hunt too. Its nothing to be ashamed of--"

"I'm not nervous," Astrid said looking down at her hands.

Tomorrow was another one of their tests as newly minted vikings. After passing dragon training it was customary for the new vikings to go out during winter and go on their first hunt. It was supposed to be for food and dragons but in the spirit of their new truce, it was just for food this time. But it was a real hunting trip, which was both a blessing and a curse. Their little rag tag group of new vikings had bonded over their eager participation in Hiccups stupid-crazy-ride-the-dragon-save-the-world-plan but this wasn't like training with Gobber. They were going to go out into the wilderness for three days with nothing but their weapons and wits. But between Hiccup's injury, Ruffnut and Tuffnuts squibbling and the fact that Snotlout still flirted with her, Astrid had no idea how they were going to make it out of there alive--much less with any sort of kill.

And the worst part was that their dragons were staying behind.

They had all protested, loudly, that they should be allowed to come but Stoick and Gobber had refused. They had made great allowances with the dragons but at the end of the day Stoick had put his huge foot down and said that vikings were vikings and every viking had to know how to killl something from the ground. Toothless, always the most vocal of the dragons, had been gravitating between encircling Hiccup in his wings in an effort to hide or kidnap the boy and growling furiously at Stoick until the viking threatened to make him sleep outside. But in the end Hiccup had agreed with his father. He did have to learn how to hunt, on the ground, with a weapon. Toothless had reacted in true Toothless-fashion by giving up the growling and resortng to only wailing and hugging Hiccup, cocooning the boy in his wings. The other dragons were much more reserved with their displays of affection, except of course for Snotlouts who had gotten hysterical and lit himself on fire when he'd seen his viking packing up his weapons. Bluebell hadn't made any great leaps forward with her affectionate displays, the only indication she had even acknowledge Astrids impending departure was the act that for the past few days Astrid had barely been able to be out of her dragons sight.

"Then what is it?" Aldis asked her daughter.

"Its really nothing," Astrid said, trying to get her lips to go up into a smile even though it was pointless, "it was just a bad dream, that's all. Nothing to be worried about even."

"And is this the same dream that keeps waking you up every other night?" Aldis asked.

"Its not every other night," Astrid mumbled, looking down at her knees.

"You are a stubborn one, my daughter," Aldis said, her voice full of affection, "but the Gods send us dreams for a reason."

"You think there's a reason for my dreams?" Astrid demanded sharply, her head flying up.

A cold knot settled in her stomach. There were variations to the dream but it always ended the same way: her standing over Hiccup's body. But if there was a reason, if the Gods were sending her these dreams because they would happpen--Astrid didn't know what she would do. Even before the dragons there had been so many close calls and near misses with Hiccup and any viking related activity. Now he had no foot but he was determined to go on the hunting trip with the rest of them. Astrid looked at her mother, painfully aware of just how horrified she looked when her mothers expression softened and she laid a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"There is always a reason," Aldis said softly, "even for the things we think are senseless," she paused, "perhaps the Gods have seen fit to warn you. So you can stop what you are seeing."

Astrid held her mothers gaze. What if she was right? What if that was why she was having these dreams, because Hiccup was going to get into trouble? They were about to go off huting. Almost every viking made it through dragon training but not every viking came back from their hunting trip. Maybe that was why she was dreaming the same dream every night. It was a warning, to make sure that she was able to make sure that Hiccup came back safetly. She glanced over at Bluebell. Without Toothless, Hiccup would be at a serious disadvantage. Astrid knew she was a good viking and if this was the Gods way of warning her that she was going to be needed to protect Hiccup, then that was what she was going to do.

Swinging her legs over the side of her bed, she got to her feet and went over to where she had her pack by the door. Undoing the ties, she immediately began to sort through the contents.

"I need more bandages," she said finally, walking over to the door. A hand closed over her shoulder.

"Astrid," her mother said, "you need to go to sleep."

"No, I need to make sure everything is perfect," she said, her brow furrowing as she thought about what else she would need.

"Astrid," her mother said firmly, her other hand closing about Astrid's other shoulder, "you need to rest. You've checked your pack ten times already. You have everything you need but if you're so exhausted tomorrow that you can't keep your eyes open then you won't be of use to anyone."

"But--"

"Sleep, Astrid, no more questions," Aldis said firmly, turning her daughter aroud and steering her towards the bed, "and you," her mother turned to Bluebell who actually opened an eye to look at her, "she gets up and you keep her in bed. We clear?" Bluebell raised her tail in a lazy wave of confirmation.

"This is unbelievable," Astrid muttered, realizing that her mother and her dragon had effectively ganged up on her, "can't i just--" her mother folded her arms over her chest, daring Astrid to challenge her. Not in the mood to go on another suicide mission so soon after surviving her last, Astrid sighed and nodded, "okay okay, look, I'm going into bed," she said pulling back the covers, "see?" she tried for her best innocent impression that did nothing to fool her mother.

Aldis looked at her daughter. The bright, determined gaze--even the complete failure to look innocent--that was all her father. It hadn't been five winters since Astrid's father had passed. And with each day, each month, each season Aldis watched her daughter leave girlhood further and further behind with a bittersweet fascination. The older her daughter got the more she acted like her father. Same headstrong stubborness and determination that had made her father the great viking that he was. If there was a task to be done, her hands were the first to do it. If she did not know how to do something she worked until she did. She was all the things that had made her great--and had gotten him killed. As she looked at her daughter Aldis felt her stomach tighten in fear of what the Gods had in store for her. The Gods had a reason for everything, even the most senseless of acts.

"I'll get you your extra bandages but that is it," Aldis said finally, "You don't want to be weighed down because your pack's too heavy. Now you, you get some sleep."

"Deal," Astrid said, getting under the covers with blinding speed.

"Goodnight Astrid," Aldis said softly.

"Goodnight. mom," Astrid replied as Aldis left the room.

As she laid her head on her pillow and let her eyes close, Astrid couldn't help but think that the weight of her pack was the least of her worries.

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**Next time the rest of the group gathers and they set off! What could possibly go wrong?**

**ALSO after an unfortunate incident allow me to make this clear: IF YOU WANT TO USE THE NAME BLUEBELL YOU MUST ASK ME FIRST. You cannot just take it. Contact me and we will talk but if you just 'take' the name, even with crediting me, your story will be considered plagiarism and will be treated as such. I thought it was common sense but apparently not**

**Please please review! This story was born out of your feedback on "Of Hills and Bluebells" so your reviews really do influence the author (namely me). So please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

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As he had for the past two weeks, Hiccup woke to the sound of Toothless being, well, Toothless.

It was still dark out when he opened his eyes but that was not a deterrent on the Night Fury who was hanging upside down from the rafter, his red tail fin firmly in his mouth. He had his wings wrapped around himself but his eyes were open and locked on the young viking. His lips were peeled back in what could have been a grin if not for the constant low sound coming from his mouth, though Hiccup knew his teeth were retracted so as not to damage the fin in his mouth. Toothless was unhappy with what was going on and had absolutely no qualms about making that very _very_ clear. Ever since he had agreed to go on the hunting mission Toothless's behavior had become increasingly erratic. Hiccup knew the dragon was coming from a good place, that he was worried and upset that Hiccup was leaving and he couldn't come along. But the hunt was part of becoming a viking. And even if he didn't want to kill dragons, Hiccup still wanted to be a viking. Not a one hit wonder. With a groan at how early it was and how unhappy his dragon was, Hiccup flopped back on the bed, throwing an arm over his eyes even though it made very little difference given the light in the room.

"Hiccup?" the knock on his door was soft for his father, "son, are you up yet?"

"Huh? Yeah! Yeah I'm up dad," he said, sitting up in bed and swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

It had only been a few months since he had lost his foot and part of his shin when he saved the world. But a few months made a huge difference. He could maneuver his leg and as long as he was careful, he didn't feel like the bottom part of his foot was being burned off again. The skin had toughened as well, making it easier to get around and to put on the prosthetic that he'd modified for himself. That part he knew he had Astrid to thank. Even if it had quickly become clear that bandaging him wasn't the only reason she came over, she still made sure his leg was tended to in the peculiar way that only viking women seemed to know how to do. Between her tending and him finally learning to take it slightly easier, his leg had healed much more quickly than he would have thought. He was not at the point where he could forget that his leg wasn't there, but he knew how to deal with the pain. For the most part it had become manageable. When he looked down and saw his right and left leg, the one that went to the foot and the one that just ended, he did not do a double take.

Reaching over to the side, Hiccup pulled up the prosthetic he was using. He had a multipurpose one and another that worked much better for flying and the quick changes that were required for Toothless's tail fin. But he was going to be walking, not flying. The prosthetic he was using was designed for walking. It fit higher up on his leg and it was padded so that his stump would not get irritated and Hiccup had designed it so that part of the lining was fur. The foot of the prosthetic was designed for stability, especially with the ice and the frost. The best vikings slipped on the ice of Berk and Hiccup knew that if he wiped out now it would probably mean recovery time. Time that he couldn't afford. Sliding his stump into the fur lining, Hiccup pulled the straps of the prosthetic up and around his leg. He pulled on his cloths, taking in maneuvering the prosthetic. This task, and most others, were slowly become thoughtless. He didn't have to focus on getting from one side of the room to another or sitting down or putting on his cloths. Fully dressed in his first layer of cloths, Hiccup cast his eyes around the room, trying to locate the next layer. It was nowhere to be seen. A little while ago and he would have looked but at the moment, he knew exactly where it was.

"Toothless," he said, turning over to the dragon.

Toothless stared him down, tail fin still clenched in his mouth as his wings tightened around himself, a dead giveaway he was hiding something. Namely Hiccup's winter gear. Hiccup walked over to the dragon, keeping his steps as smooth as possible. He still walked with a slight limp and knew that he probably always would, but it was a far cry from the awkward shuffle-step he'd hobbled around with those first few pain filled weeks. Hiccup's eyes darted from his foot to his face, as if checking to make sure that he was not in danger of tripping and not in too much pain. Hiccup finally stood right in front of the dragon. The rafters in the house were high enough that Toothless's face was directly in front of Hiccup's nose. Upside down, the dragon still locked eyes with the boy, his lips tightening around the tail fin in his mouth as his wings trembled with how tightly he had them wrapped around himself.

"Hey, buddy," Hiccup said, "I know you're worried," Toothless closed his eyes and stuck his nose in the air, "buddy listen, I know you want to come on the hunting trip," he said as one of Toothless's eyes peeped open in response, "but you can't. This is something vikings have to do alone. Didn't you go on your own first hunt?" slowly the other eye opened, "I've got to go on mine. I promise I'll be careful. And i'll have Astrid with me. And Snotlout and Fishlegs and the Twins--we'll take care of each other."

Toothless's gaze spoke of disbelief before his eyes narrowed and his wings tightened again in obvious resistance to what the boy was saying. The dragon was a smart creature and had very clearly figured out that the other vikings made Hiccup miserable enough to not act like every viking on Berk. After Astrid's apology, the dragon had accepted her. Grudgingly at first but eventually he warmed up to her. But the other vikings he had no patience for. Ruffnut and Tuffnut for instance and been caught in the dragons paws and forcibly held apart as Toothless got ready to bite them. Snotlout had been thrown in the air, caught in Toothless's tail and thrown back up before Toothless decided his Monstrous Nightmare was far more deserving of punishment despite only having charred Hiccup. Fishlegs had run away wailing before Hiccup could do anything and, thinking it was a game, Toothless had bounded after him intent on 'catching' the viking. Hiccup had to put himself in between the viking and the dragon to try and talk him down. Toothless continued to be incredibly protective of Hiccup, to the point where sometimes the boy had to convince the dragon he was able to take care of himself.

He was not, however, the only dragon to be protective.

From that day on the cliffs to now, Bluebell had bonded with Astrid faster than any dragon that Hiccup had seen. Perhaps it was because the pair spent so much time with Toothless and Hiccup, but Bluebell emulated the Night Fury and his interactions with his viking with the kind of determination that Hiccup had come to expect from Astrid. Astrid told him that even when Bluebell slept inside she slept close the door, protective of the people in the house. But the other dragons to had begun to follow. From Gobber's Terrible Terror, or T.T. as he had been christened, pushing his viking's hand out of the way of a too hot fire to the Twin's Zippleback heads trying to separate their arguing vikings, the dragons were slowly ingraining themselves into their vikings lives. No dragon treated their viking like Toothless did to Hiccup but it was a far cry from the days when the two species spent their nights fighting with each other. Still Hiccup knew that he was not the only one trying to convince their dragon to let them go on the hunting trip. As if to make a point, Toothless let out another growl and shook himself, keeping his wings tight around his body and Hiccup's winter gear.

"Come on buddy," Hiccup tried again, "I need the gear--I've got to go on that hunting trip--"

"Son?" Stoick knocked on the door, "are you--"

"Yeah, Dad!" Hiccup called, "I'm almost ready!" he turned back to Toothless, "Toothless, give me the gear," Toothless huffed and shook his head, imitating Hiccup when he refused to do something, "Toothless!" Hiccup cried in frustration, moving forward.

Toothless growled and flipped upwards, kicking off the rafter. His artificial fin still in his mouth, he held Hiccup's winter gear in his front paws as he balanced perfectly on his back. Hiccup groaned as Toothless settled comfortably on the rafter, his gear dangling easily out of reach. Hiccup walked under the rafter and raised his hand but the moment he did Toothless sat back on his haunches and pulled the gear completely out of the young viking's reach. Toothless made a mumbling sound, shifting his shoulders in another imitation of Hiccup. Jumping was out of the question. Jogging was next to impossible, there was no way he was going to be able to hop up and grab the fur gear that dangled from his paws. Toothless raised his nose in the air, closing his eyes in another defiant move that Hiccup recognized all too well. It was clear that Toothless wasn't coming down anytime soon, and if the dragon didn't come down than the gear wasn't coming down. Going on the hunting mission was suicide enough, he didn't need to add freezing to death and definite hypothermia to it. Throwing up his hands in frustration, just when Hiccup thought that it couldn't get worse, his father opened the door.

"Hiccup?" looked over as his father gently opened the door, "are you alright?"

"I'm fine dad," Hiccup said, his voice thick with misery as he looked up at the dragon sitting on the rafters, "my gear, on the other hand, is up there."

"Up there?" Stoick looked over at the dragon.

Hiccup watched his father's face anxiously. Half the time he expected his father to try and kill the dragon and while he had faith in his father's dragon fighting abilities, Toothless was a Night Fury and only toothless when he wanted to be. Even on the best days his father and the dragon tolerated each other and while Hiccup knew that Stoick's complaints were half hearted at best but they were loud and Toothless did not like them one bit. Hiccup knew he was the thing that made them tolerate each other but he was about to be removed from the equation. Toothless was, without a question, a resident of the house. But if he wasn't there to remind them that they both cared about something, how were they going to get along? Hiccup knew the whole point of going on the hunting mission was to come back home but he couldn't help but wonder if there was actually going to be a physical home to come back to. And if there was, Hiccup had a feeling it was only going to be by virtue of the fact that his house was made with lots of stone that had been proven good at not burning down.

As his father came towards him, both their demeanor changed. Hiccups tail curled around the beam for extra support and his eyes opened, his head turning to watch Stoick with a sharp gaze. By the time Stoick was next to his son he had gone from walking with the gait of a normal viking fortunate enough to have both his legs to what Hiccup had long ago dubbed his 'battle walk'. Barely tolerating each other and yet Hiccup could see so many similarities between the two most important creatures in his life. They even angled their heads the same way was they glared at each other. The beams in the house were high but Stoick was a huge man. With a lightening quick motion he reached up and grabbed Toothless's leg before Hiccup could stop him. The dragon gave an outraged yowl, his mouth opening and teeth showing as he dove for Stoick's hand. His teeth scraped him but they didn't catch him. However the action caused Toothless to release his precious tail fin. The red fin landed squarely in Stoick's hand as Toothless huffed and glared down at him. If Stoick was offput by dragon drool slicking the side of his hand, he didn't show it as he glared back at the dragon.

"You get this back when you give Hiccup his hunting gear," he said holding up the red fin.

"Dad," Hiccup groaned, "don't do that. He hates it when you tease him--"

"Who said I'm teasing him?" Stoick demanded looking down at his son, "he lives in this house he has to live by the rules," Stoick held the fin up, "he's going on that hunting trip," he said, laying a hand on Hiccup's shoulder, "give him back his gear."

Hiccup's heart soared at the warm weight of his father's hand. And the way he said it, like Hiccup was going to go on the hunting trip _and_ kill something. Like he was going to go and be successful and not a complete mess up. Hiccup had never gone off to do something and had his father think that he was going to be able to do it. Whatever he had done it had been by the skin of his teeth, with his father being proud only _after_ he'd done it. But this time his father looked at him like he had faith in him. Like he was sure that he would do the mission. His father kept his gaze on the dragon but the hand on Hiccup's shoulder tightened fractionally. Above them, Toothless let out a huff of air and opened his paws, the gear dropping onto Hiccup's head as he reached out and snatched the fin out of Stoick's hand, bounding off the rafters and jumping onto Hiccup's bed where he curled around himself, showing his back to the father and son. Stoick's hand left his son's shoulder as he picked up the fur and deposited it in Hiccup's outstretched hands.

"Finish getting ready," he said, "I'll see you down there."

"Thanks dad," Hiccup said as his father left, closing the door behind him with much less force than Stoick the vast usually closed a door.

Pulling on the furs, Hiccup looked over at Toothless. The dragon was still with his back to him but Hiccup knew on the other side Toothless hand his fin half in and half out of his mouth, his paws wrapped securely around the red fin. Stealth was not something Hiccup was good at anymore--not that it worked on Toothless anyway--but he didn't mother to be quiet as he walked around the bed to the front of the dragon. Toothless shifted so his back was still to the boy, his paws tightening on the fin. Hiccup came to the other side of the bed and walked forward until he was in front of the dragon's back. Toothless kept himself curled tightly around but Hiccup had a feeling he was being glared at all the same. Hiccup swiped a hand through his hair, trying to figure out what he could say to make Toothless understand that this was something he had to do.

It wasn't just that it was a hunting trip, it was that it would be the first time they were apart. When their friendship had been a secret they had still seen each other every day and since Toothless had effectively moved in, there was barely a minute when they weren't together. And now he was going to go off on a rite of passage that was dangerous even if one was a good viking or, at the least had both their legs. He had to go but he didn't want to go and have Toothless be made at him.

"Hey, I know you want to come with me. And I want you to too--" one of Toothless's eyes became visible as he raised his head, "but you can't," the eye disappeared as the dragon lowered his head, "and I'm really sorry about that. But I've got to do this. You understand that, don't you?" Toothless gave no reply, "maybe not. But I've _got_ to do this. I've got to go on this trip and become a real viking--not the hunting dragon type of viking--but a real one."

Toothless gave no response.

"Look, I know this doesn't make any kind of sense, but if I do this. If I become a full viking, then my dad doesn't have to think I was just the boy who learned that dragons weren't all bad. I'll be a viking n my own merit. And my dad--" he shook his head, "my dad doesn't have to be ashamed of me. And maybe he wont have to look for someone else to lead the village after him, like he always thought he would. Maybe--" he sighed, closing his eyes miserably, "maybe it can be me."

Something wet and cold nudged his face. Hiccup opened his eyes to see Toothless's face inches from his own. The dragon nudged him again before moving his head forward and putting it on Hiccup's shoulder. Hiccup looked over at the dragons closed eye, reaching up and placing a hand on Toothless's head. As if some barrier had been broken, Toothless lunged out and pulled Hiccup against his chest, wrapping his legs around him. Hiccup opened his mouth to protest before Toothless's wings snapped out, cocooning him in darkness. Toothless smelled, well, like a dragon. He didn't smell that bad, especially not since he's started getting regular baths, but being hugged by a dragon when he was trying to get out of the house was not what he wanted to be doing. His arms and legs were pinned by his sides as Toothless squeezed him against his chest. Hiccup opened his mouth to try to get free when the chest he was on suddenly pitched from one side to another. Toothless was hugging him and rocking back and forth on the bed.

"I know, I know, I'm gonna miss you too," Hiccup said with a smile in the darkness of Toothless's cocoon, "but you kinda need to let me go now."

Toothless made a loud sound of protest his chest vibrating against Hiccup's cheek.

Finally his wings unfurled and he opened his arms. Hiccup pushed himself up on his dragon's chest as Toothless put his chin on his chest and looked at Hiccup with bright eyes. Hiccup smiled down at his dragon and, after a few misstarts, Toothless returned the gesture. Hiccup rolled to the side, getting off Toothless's chest as Toothless mimicked the movement, getting to his feet and shaking himself with a snort. Jumping off the bed, Toothless bounded over to the chest by the door and flicked it open, burying his head inside as Hiccup yanked the displaced furs back to where they should be. Toothless trotted back to where he stood, his helmet in his mouth and deposited it on Hiccup's head. Hiccup pushed the hemet into place as Toothless began to walk around him, gaze roving over every inch of the young viking.

"I've got it all, I promise," Hiccup said as Toothless came back around his front, "everything's going to be fine. I'll be back before you know it."

Toothless gave him a look that plainly said he did not believe a word of that but he didn't attempt to cocoon Hiccup again.

"Come on buddy, get your fin, we don't want to be the last ones down there."

Toothless bounded over to the bed, grabbing the red fin before racing back to the door. With a quick fumble of his paw he had it open. Together the two of them walked into the main room of the house. Toothless raced over to the door and then back to Hiccup and then back to the door. Hiccup walked to the door, bending down to get his pack when Toothless stopped him. Tail streaking out, he grabbed the pack and lifted it high into the air, looking at Hiccup. Hiccup sighed and smiled.

"Okay, you can carry that down. But only until we get there. Okay?" Toothless nodded happily.

Hiccup pushed open the door.

It was freezing, even in the village of Berk. The sun was bright, shining off the snow and frost and if it had been anywhere else on earth everyone would have been at least offput by it. But it was Berk. People just went about their lives. Even if sometimes they had to shade their eyes from the glare. Even the dragon residents of the town ignored the sun. The town had always been monotonous in its color scheme, the same dull colors made duller by the weather and constant fire attacks. But now with the dragons there were bright colors everywhere. The greens and reds of the Terrible Terrors, the oranges of the Monstrous Nightmares--after so many years of seeing the same colors when he opened his door, Hiccup was sure that the sight of the brightly colored dragons everywhere was another he would never fully get used to. Toothless looked over at him hopefully and Hiccup shook his head, resting a hand on the dragons head.

"Sorry, buddy, I'm still going."

Making a sound that distinctly sounded like he was muttering under his breath, Toothless walked out onto the hill. Hiccup followed him, shifting his weight as they made their way down the hill to the main part of the road. Together they followed the winding road. They were heading to the docks first. All the hunting trips started out the same, on a boat, heading to _another_ part of the island. The trip was designed to test their skills as vikings. Their non-dragon hunting skills. And a big part of that was being able to navigate a boat. Hiccup looked over his shoulder at the bright, clear day. It was windy out but it was still a beautiful day. One that would have been perfect for flying. As if he was reading his mind, Toothless made a sound and shook his head sadly. The two continued to make their way towards the center of the village, neither terribly happy with the idea of Hiccup going on his first hunt. Especially on a day that would have been so perfect for flying.

"Odin, could you look _any_ more depressed? Geez Hiccup we're going on our first hunting trip."

Hiccup turned his head to see Snotlout rolling his eyes in his direction. Despite being a hero and all, Hiccup was still treated like another viking. Which was a far cry from how he had been treated. But the vikings--especially the young ones--teased each other. Of course now the insults had been expanded to include dragon related ones. Snotlout had remained largely the same after their adventures. He was still egotistical and cocky and somehow having something legitimate to brag about only served to make him worse. Hiccup had heard rumors of people being humbled by heroic experiences but he'd yet to see it with his own eyes. It was hard to be humble when everyone was constantly saying how much they loved you.

"I know, I know--"

"And I know you're all upset you have to leave your girlfriend behind--"

"Really?" Hiccup asked, raising an eyebrow at the other viking, knowing perfectly well that Snotlout was referring to Toothless and not Astrid, "looks like I'm not the only one whose going to be missed."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Hiccup pointed to the side. Snotlout turned to see the Monstrous Nightmare peering out from the curve of the hill. The dragons had shown that though they were good at hiding, there were some things that were impossible given their size. There was a reason their previous raids had been conducted largely at night when they had some kind of cover. Sneaking around during the day, that was much harder but he could see that the Monstrous Nightmare was doing his best to sneak up on his viking. Snotlout, however, seemed less than amused.

"Oh come on! I told you to stay at home!" Snotlout shouted, throwing his hands up, "you're making me look bad!"

The Nightmare let out a sound in between a wail and a sneeze and set himself on fire before taking off across the hill like a crab.

"Great, that's just--that's just great," Snotlout said motioning to the hysterical dragon that was burning through the snow, "of all the dragons I get the hysterical one who lights himself on fire."

"You gotta admit its kind of cool," Hiccup said.

"Cool? Yeah," Snotlout snorted, "it'd be cool if he didn't keep getting upset and almost setting my house on fire. I've got marks where no-one should have them! And they're not even that awesome! No girl's gonna care about them if they can't see them!"

"The fire, its his way of letting you know he cares," Hiccup said with a crooked smile, "and you'd better catch him or he's gong to let the whole village know how much he cares about his viking," Hiccup said.

"Shit, you're right!" the young viking swore, "Sparklout! Get back here!" Snotlout said taking off running.

"Maybe try not yelling at him!" Hiccup called after the viking.

Toothless let out a low chuckle, his mouth still full of the red tail fin. The two of them made their way towards the village where they'd meet up with the the rest of the vikings. It was common for the vikings setting out to have any surviving family there, looking on with a combination of pride and fear as their children were given orders by Stoick the Vast, blessed by the town elder and sent on their way. Hiccup had never thought that the day would come when it happened to be him about to go off on his first hunting trip. Excitement and fear churned in his stomach as he realized that he would be going off to his first hunt. That this time when Stoick the Vast was giving his talk, he would also be one of the parents that was sending their child off. As they rounded the last bend, Hiccup had to fight the urge to run the rest of the way to where the other vikings were waiting. He knew that this would be a hunting trip unlike any other. They rounded the bend to where the other vikings were gathered, ready to set off. But something was different this year.

In addition to their families, a dragon stood behind each viking.

* * *

**Okay so they're setting off next time.**

**I got a bit distracted with the Hiccup/Stoick/Toothless interactions. Anyway as Hiccup's becoming less of a screw up, I could see him wanting to make his father proud of him--even though we all know Stoick is. I wanted Toothless to be possessiveness of his red fin because there's such an emphasis on taking care of weapons and things I could see Toothless picking up on that. And since he imitates Hiccup, he'd imitate him in that way too! And I named Snotlout's dragon Sparklout because the filmmakers seem to have the -lout family all have those names (Spitelout, Snotlout) and I thought Snotlout would keep with the tradition since the dragon's part of the family--even if he keeps almost burning the house down. (fyi, Spitelouts the viking that looks a lot like Snotlout. So for creative purposes, they're related). **

**ALSO after an unfortunate incident allow me to make this clear: IF YOU WANT TO USE THE DRAGON NAMES YOU MUST ASK ME FIRST. You cannot just take them, any of them. Contact me and we will talk but if you just 'take' a name or plot point, even with crediting me, your story will be considered plagiarism and will be treated as such. Don't kid yourself, taking without asking is not flattering its disrespectful and offensive. **

**Now that we got that out of the way..**

**Please review! You guys/gals are kicking ass in the review department and that totally makes me want to lavish this fic with attention (aka updates). So you review, I update and everyone wins!**

**So please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Hunting is the single most important skill a viking has."

Standing in front of the clan chief, with their dragons and families behind them, the young vikings were silent as Stoick spoke. The gathered vikings were all dressed for winter in layers of fur that would keep them warm as they ventured into the wilderness of Berk. By almost each viking's side was a pack, the weave thick and strong, designed to keep the frost out of the contents. The vikings who stood in front of Stoick the vast were all strong and brave and unusually silent. In fact, everything gathered on the hill was. Even the loudest group--Ruffnut and Tuffnut and Tuffnut and Ruffnut respectively--were quiet as they listened to the words of the chief. All were silent and respectful, but they were not still. The movements were subtle but they were there. Fishlegs was standing there with his Gronckle nestled in between his feet, no snow anywhere near him thanks to the dragon's warmth. Snotlout was standing there quietly as was Sparklout behind him but the dragon's tail was firmly wrapped around the boy's ankle. The Zippleback was standing over the twins, one head resting on the twins that stood underneath it. In an uncharacteristic show of affection--or perhaps because they yelled at each other so much the dragons heads had just started to respond to those names--the Twins had each named their head of the Zippleback after each other. Ruffnut road the head named Tuffnut and Tuffnut road the head named Ruffnut. Sometimes it got so confusing that the only way to know for sure was to have the Zippleback start a fire. Ruffnut was the head that sparked, Tuffnut was the head that gased.

Bluebell and Astrid were identical copies of each other. Both stood ram rod strait, their shoulders back and their heads raised high. Bluebell's crown of spikes was edged forward in a show of pride, almost matching the glimmer in Astrid's eyes. The only difference between the two was that Astrid was empty handed while Bluebell had her viking's pack neatly dangling from her nose horn. Next to the two of them, Hiccup and Toothless stood listening to Stoick speak. Despite Hiccup's attempts to get the pack, Toothless had dangled it out of reach of the viking with his tail and marched over to sit next to Bluebell as if to show Hiccup he was not the only dragon to be carrying a pack. Hiccup didn't mind so much when Astrid and he were in the same boat. She didn't seem the least bit offput or ashamed at her dragon carrying her pack, though even if she had been Astrid would never have let it show on her face. Not in front of the other vikings and certainly not in front of the clan chief. None of the vikings would have. It was the way of the people, not just to look tough but to look especially tough when it came to their leader. Even Hiccup, who rarely looked tough at anything before discovering a dragon, strove to look strong for his father. It was the way vikings did things.

Out of the corner of her eye, Astrid looked over at Hiccup. He was standing proud and tall, his eyes locked on his father as Stoick spoke of the duty of vikings. Astrid had heard the speech before, many times, and though she knew she should have been listening her attention kept going to the young man next to her. She knew how to check for injuries but he seemed fine, if a little disheveled. But Astrid knew Toothless and his affectionate habits well enough to guess that that was purely the dragon's fault. Otherwise he looked fine. He was standing with his weight balanced, his features not showing any of the tells that she had come to recognize for when he was in pain and doing his best to hide it. That was good, she told herself that that was good. And yet the moment she let her gaze wander, somewhere in the back of her head she could see the too clear image of him laying pale, and blackened and dead on the deck of the boat. A boat identical to the one that they were about to get on. Everything was fine now, now while they were in the village where people could help them. But soon, soon they would be where it was only them.

And she knew that unless he was in true, consuming agony, Hiccup wouldn't admit it if he was hurt. Not that she would expect him to--vikings didn't just crumble at pain, they rejoiced in it. After all, pain meant that you were still alive and that was definitely something to celebrate, even under the most agonizing circumstances. But it wasn't something to go on hunting trips with. Especially not trips where everyone started out thinking that they were the best. Competition was normal, it was even expected. Sometimes it even started as early as the race to get to the boat first. As she glanced around at the people gathered, she knew that this group wouldn't be any different. Even as she glanced around, telling herself that she had to make sure everyone got back alive, the hairs on the back of her neck were standing up and her blood was already pounding. She was competitive, it was part of who she was. Behind her she heard Bluebell give a snort, shaking herself as she picked up on Astrid's feelings. The dragon had shown herself to be very good at picking up on the physical signals that Astrid sometimes wasn't even aware she was giving. All the dragons had shown themselves to be able to do it but she and Bluebell had honed the skill until even the slightest press of her knee was enough to turn the dragon in the desired direction.

That in itself was the result of countless hours of practice and not always the joyfree rides that Hiccup seemed particularly good at. But Astrid, who was nothing if not determined, forced herself to the point of exhaustion as she fought to be, if not the best then as damn close as she could get. Something that was made only harder by the fact that the best was, well, her not-quite-boyfriend. If it had been any other guy he would have done everything short of branding Astrid to make sure the village knew she was off limits. And though she knew she'd hate it when it happened, it was something she'd resigned herself to. But Hiccup, Hiccup wasn't like every other guy--in fact he was like no guy she'd ever met. She didn't mind not being paraded around like arm candy, in fact, she was not sure exactly what she wanted when it came to Hiccup. She liked where they were, liked it a lot actually, and if it had been any other guy, there wouldn't have been any kind of problem. But Hiccup wasn't any other guy and not just because he was the still slightly awkward, still slightly clumsy and overall newly minted hero. No, he was different for an entirely other reason not tied to any of his accomplishments:

He was the son of their clan chief.

There had been times when that was the only thing that saved him from being thrown out of the clan. But now that he was a hero, now that he was anything but an embarrassment, being the son of the clan chief had new meaning for him. There was pressure now, pressures that his klutziness had saved him from experiencing. before there had been rumors that it would be the strongest of the new vikings to take over for his father. Vikings needed a leader who they could respect, who had proven himself in ways that Hiccup previous hadn't. No-one would say it aloud of course but they had been there all the same. An unspoken fact in Berk, one that had incited young vikings to be as fierce and good as they could. But now, after all that had happened, the rumors had turned with people whispering that Hiccup would be taking over for his father. it was soft now but Astrid knew that if they did this, if he came back from this hunting mission alive and with food, the rumors would only get louder.

Two months ago, if someone had told her both that Hiccup was going to be their hero and that she would be romantically involved with the young man, she would have laughed in their faces before calling them crazy and maybe hitting them for good measure. But that was the case and suddenly she found herself faced with just as many whispers. She was the first girl that Hiccup had been with and there was a very good chance that she would be the last. But there was a difference between marrying the town idiot and marrying the next chief of the clan and some days Astrid wasn't entirely sure which was worse. Both landed her as the subject of far too much conversation that had nothing to do with her skills as a viking. That she had no problem with, she was a good viking and she liked when people talked about her like that. But when they talked about the kind of children she could give Hiccup, well, that she had a problem with. Their romance was still comprised of kisses, maybe the odd embrace or touch, but children? Children was--well, it wasn't anything they had talked about. They hadn't even spoken of marriage!

"When you leave on this trip you leave as children. When you come back, you will come back as vikings of this clan."

Astrid's head shot up as she realized that she had been staring at a spot on the snow for the entire speech. The other vikings and their dragons and their families were all looking at Stoick. Well, except for Hiccup and Toothless, the pair that stood alone since Stoick was his family. Stoick was silent as Astrid turned around and looked at Bluebell and her mother. Bluebell raised her head, holding the pack out of either of their reaches as she looked around before fixing Astrid with her eye. Her gaze went to the boat and went to the girl before going back and forth once more before standing fully upright, moving her pack completely out of either of their reaches. Astrid sighed, looking upwards at the dragon who stubbornly turned her head away. Glancing either way, she was only partially comforted by the sight of most of the dragons doing the exact same thing.

"I guess that's what I get for letting you carry that," Astrid muttered.

"You were the same way," Aldis said looking at her daughter affectionately, "the first hunting trip you were old enough to walk, you insisted on carrying your father's sleeping fur down to the docks and when it came time for him to go you refused to let him have it."

Astrid looked over at her mother before looking at the dragon who seemed to have, once again, understood everything perfectly. Bluebell had herself puffed out in what Astrid had come to know as an expression of being even more proud of herself than she usually was. Inwardly Astrid rolled his eyes at the sight of the dragon. Astrid was very good at hiding what she felt but the dragon was the easiest creature in the world to read. Angry, upset--every emotion was not only naked on the dragon's face but it was felt by every singe person who encountered the dragon. Bluebell not only made her emotions known, she made absolutely sure that you knew them as well.

"She'll be fine," Astrid said looking at her mother, "she's been getting really good at hunting but if she--"

"She's not going hunting," Aldis said glancing over at the dragon before looking at her daughter, "she's been in captivity for a long time. I won't have her going out hunting while I'm worrying about you. She's already taken your bedroom. No sense in changing now."

"Are you sure?" Astrid said looking over at her mother.

"You just think about this hunting trip," Aldis said, "everything else--everything else isn't important right now. Understand me?"

"Yes, mom," she said nodding at her mother.

"That's my girl," Aldis said, pulling Astrid to her for a hug.

Bluebell made a sound above them before suddenly the two women found themselves wrapped in the dragon's tail as Bluebell joined in with the hug. She wrapped further around them until her head came to rest beside them, letting out a sound of joy that she got to hug the two of them. Each dragon had a thing they liked about humans and for Bluebell it was affection. The dragon being scratched, petted and generally adored. She had picked up on hugging and made it her own, by curling around people and squeezing. Aldis and Astrid looked at the dragon who continued to hum happily with the mother and daughter and, in that moment, Astrid knew the two would be just fine when she was out hunting with the rest of the group.

Meanwhile, Hiccup made his way over to his father. He had listened to everything that his father said, feeling as if every word was directed right towards him. Toothless, on the other hand, had been silent during the speech, letting his silence show his displeasure. With the normally vocal dragon, it was very obvious that he was upset. As he walked over to his father, Toothless trailed miserably behind his viking until he saw that he was going to get his goodbye standing next to the man who had chained him to a boat, used him and almost drowned him. Planting his feet, Toothless sat down making sure to keep Hiccup's pack out of the snow but refusing to go any further. Hiccup looked at Toothless who turned his nose away from his viking. Deciding to deal with the dragon in a moment, Hiccup walked over to his father. Stoick looked away quickly before looking back at his son, making it seem as if his gaze hadn't been on Hiccup.

"He'll be fine," Hiccup said looking at the dragon before looking at his father, "he's been taking care of himself for long before I met him. He'll probably want to sleep outside too--" his father's hand on his shoulder stopped Hiccup from speaking more.

"Hiccup," he said looking down at his son, "your dragon will be fine. You just worry about you."

"Worry?" Hiccup went for a smile and tried not to fail completely, "whats there to worry about? Its just a hunting trip with, you know, snow and boats and prey and weapons--"

"Hiccup you were a blacksmith's apprentice."

"Dad, there is a difference between making and sharpening a weapon and swinging it and having it have to actually _hit_ something--"

"Hiccup--"

"And of course that's only if we actually manage to make this boat get to where we need it to which'll be a feat in itself. I mean have you looked at the fog--"

"Hiccup!" Hiccup looked at his father, "you already did the impossible," he said to his son, "countless vikings have done this before."

"Yeah and countless vikings killed dragons," Hiccup muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Hiccup said quickly.

"Listen to me," Stoick said to his son, "this, more than anything else, is about teaching you to work with your fellow vikings."

Hiccup glanced behind him at the 'fellow vikings' that he was going to be working with. It was impossible to tell whether Fishlegs, his Gronckle McLovin or his parents were more hysterical. All four were hysterical, wailing loudly at prospect of separation. The twins were barely tolerating their parent's adoration but at least it was keeping them from turning and attacking each other. Behind them the Zippleback just looked bored at the whole situation but, perhaps living with two head on one body made it easy to tolerate great amounts of annoyance. Spitelout, it seemed was trying to impart that wisdom on his son, while Snotlout was trying to gravitate between listening to his father and holding himself in a way that wouldn't make his dragon upset so that Sparklout wouldn't get hysterical and set himself on fire--again. And Astrid. Hiccup smiled. Astrid had gotten her pack from Bluebell who was standing next to her mother, both the older woman and the dragon looking down at the young viking with pride.

"Work with my fellow vikings," Hiccup repeated looking at his father with a feeble smile, "right. Well, I should--"

"Well, I'll--I'll let you say goodbye to the dragon," he said.

Hiccup nodded and turned around to face the dragon. Toothess stubbornly turned his nose away from the young viking, pretending that he hadn't been watching the exchange and not for the first time Hiccup saw the similarities between the dragon and his father. But both would be damned before they even noticed they had anything in common--except for a penchant for eating recently killed prey. Toothless kept his eyes shut and his head turned away as the young viking came to stand before his dragon. Only the pack that dangled from the dragon's tail made it clear that he wasn't ignoring the boy completely. Hiccup walked over to the side of the dragon's head but Toothless just turned his head the other way.

"Come on buddy, we talked about this," Hiccup said, looking up at the dragon, "I have to go on the hunting trip--" Toothless made a distinct sound of refusal, "you don't want me to be the only dragon--viking--_viking_ there without my stuff right? Its going to be a lot harder to catch something if I don't have my stuff, though it'll look much more manly if I kill something with my bare hands," Toothless let out a snort that sounded distinctly more amused than the previous vocalizations had, "yeah, I know, one incredibly impossible, heroic act a year is enough."

"Hiccup?" Hiccup looked over at Astrid who had her pack on, "we're almost ready--"

"Yeah I kno--"

He stopped as there was a quick rustle behind him and suddenly his arm was lifted. Hiccup looked down to see Toothless lifting his arm with his tail before seamlessly sliding the strap of his pack over his arm. The dragon bounded over to the other side and reached around, grabbing the other strap and moving Hiccup's arm through that. Sitting back, the dragon studied him intently before lunging forward and tugging on his furs until they were more disheveled--but clearly Toothless's opinion of him being 'ready'. The dragon did one final inspection before sitting in between Astrid and Hiccup. With a snap of his wings, the dragon yanked the two young vikings against his chest and wrapped them both up in a tight hug, though he didn't fall backwards this time. From the confines of Toothless's wings Astrid laughed as she pressed up against Hiccup.

"Hi," Hiccup said, realizing the two hadn't had time to say any kind of hello.

"Hey," Astrid replied.

"Okay buddy, time to let us get down to the ship."

Toothless warbled, squeezed them tighter, then released Astrid before yanking Hiccup back for his own personal hug. Which took them horizontal as the dragon hugged and rolled with the boy clasped tightly to his chest. Above the boy's head, Toothless looked at Astrid, his eyes conveying everything she was feeling. Wordlessly she found herself nodding, agreeing to something that she would only later know. Finally deciding that it was time to let him go, Toothless sat back up and opened his wings and arms to let Hiccup go. Hiccup looked up at the dragon's bright eyes and smiled, reaching up and pressing his hand to the spot on Toothless's nose.

"You'll take care of the others, right? Make sure they're doing okay?" Toothless let out a huff that said he would, but he wasn't going to like it, "I'll see you in a bit buddy," he said stepping back. This time, Toothless let him go.

"Come on!" Astrid said, "we don't want to be the last ones down there!"

"On my way," Hiccup said, "bye dad!"

"Goodbye, son," Stoick said, turning with the other parents as their young vikings raced towards the boat.

They made, at best, an awkward bunch. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were in the lead, but only because they were both long, lanky and determined to be first on the ship. Snotlout was behind them, taking time to wave to the vikings walking by. Fishlegs was behind them, his gait anything but smooth as the pack on his back bounced against him. Stoick had a feeling he probably had extra food in there. And bringing up the rear were Astrid and Hiccup, both taking the race at what could be considered at best a jog. Hard for his son physically, hard for the girl emotionally but they made it work none the less. High up on the hill the gathered families and their dragons watched their young take off on one of the final journeys of their youth. The hunting trips, this one in particular, built character and teamwork. So much time was spent honing personal skill, young vikings especially, rarely remembered that there were others out there with them. But there were and by the end of the trip, Stoick knew that the new members of the tribe were not going to easily forget that lesson.

As he stood there watching, a shadow fell over him before landing silently next to him. Slightly wet tail fin in his mouth, Toothless sat down with a huff next to the clan chief before lowering himself so that he was laying down, head resting on his paws as though making it clear he was not leaving until the ship was completely out of sight. Stoick looked down at the dragon who kept his gaze locked firmly on the boat that his son had just reached. The small figure that was Hiccup turned to look at the figures on the mountain for a moment before jogging the rest of the way up the gangplank to the deck of the boat. It took them a few false starts and probably more than a few arguments to go along with them but eventually the group got the boat away from the docks and set on its course with minimal damage to dock and ship. Not perfect, but it would do. Slowly the boat pulled away and began to head out to the open ocean. Neither dragon nor man said anything as they watched.

But together they sat, until the boat was lost to the horizon.

* * *

**And we are off! **

**So more dragon names! The dragons are:**

**Bluebell--the Deadly Nadder, Astrid's dragon named for her favorite flower/Tuffnut--The Gas Head, Ruffnut's dragon, named because she shouts at Tuffnut so much the dragon responded to it. Also because Tuffnut's smelly. /Ruffnut--The Spark Head, Tuffnut's dragon, named because he shouts at Ruffnut so much the dragon responded to it. Also because, as Tuffnut puts it, she needs him to do anything. /Sparklout--the Monstrous Nightmare, Snotlout's dragon, named because everything in his life ends with the -lout and the dragon sparks before setting himself on fire. /McLovin--the Gronckle, Fishleg's dragon, shamelessly named because the second my friend and I heard his voice in the movie we immediately went "McLovin's a Viking?!" and now I can't think of the dragon as anything else.**

**Remember if you want to use any of the dragon names, you have to contact me first. Not after, BEFORE.**

**ALSO, it is on another less than joyful note that I must put this 'reply' of sorts to a special few. Yes few, trust me, I'm not thrilled either: If I delete your anonymous review, that is not an invitation to review again. Take a hint and stop. Your being neither cute nor funny, just annoying. **

**Now, somewhat ironically I might add, I ask the rest of you to please review! You guys were so kick ass last time in the review department so please keep it up! Seriously, when you review I update. Not when you fave and/or alert. I mean I like those too but reviews are what pop up in my email inbox and remind me that people are reading and (hopefully) enjoying this fic. And THAT is what makes me want to update.**

**So if you want updates then please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**First off: FANART!!**

**I do this for my other stories and I just have to tell you about the most beautiful picture that TugaMaggie drew over on Deviantart! Its her interpretation of the scene where Astrid gets the bluebells in "Of Hills and Bluebells" which is one of my favorite scenes. THe pic is just beyond cute and their expressions make me squee with joy everytime I see them.**

**So you can go to my profile page and click the link labeled 'fanart' and it'll take you to the folder with all the art people have drawn for my stories. Keep in mind that most of it is Bleach (japanese manga) but the pieces are all wonderful. This one's b Tugamaggie and its called Bluebells. **

**Secondly: Boat Lingo**

**There isn't going to be any. I know my way around a boat. But there are those of you who don't. So I'm keeping it strictly to "Forward, Backwards, Right, Left etc." Therefore, those of you who want to be egotistical and go all, "Left on a boat is Port", save it. I know. (that's a huge negative generalization but there's always a reviewer or two who thinks they're soooo smart. Call it preemptive action)**

**Now back to the story!**

* * *

"This gonna be, like, the best hunting trip ever!"

The outlandish assertion came from Snotlout and was voiced as soon as the island was out of view. No parents, no rules, no supervision--just them and the objective of their mission. It was like being out into the sun after being cooped up in doors for too long. Despite the fact that it was colder out on the water than it had been back on land, the vikings were too excited to care about anything of that sort. They'd steered the boat away from the docks and cove that sheltered the ships in Berk and slowly the land had given way to the waters that surrounded Berk. Their plan was to swing around and make for the rock formations that sheltered the eastern side of the island. Game was plentiful but it meant they were going to have to navigate the treacherous, rock filled waters that surrounded it. As long as they swung wide, they could have a day of relatively easy sailing and avoid having to undertake the rocks at night--which was certain suicide for even the best of the sailors.

Hiccup took a deep breath and closed his eyes, letting the wind comb through his hair. He had never really had an aversion to boats. He liked the rocking and the smoothness. Especially now. It kind of reminded him of flying, though it wasn't quite as fun. Like all the vikings he'd been on a boat before, but his father was the chief and chiefs tended to stay behind and watch their people sail off, not do the sailing themselves. In fact, as the thought back, Hiccup realized that he'd been on a boat but never overnight. As he glanced around he didn't think any of the younger vikings had spent nights away from home. Trips like the one that they were taking were rare. Any time they had gone overnight away from the safety of their home they had been with their parents. They had been kids and kids went with their parents.

But now they were adults. It was funny to think that they had already saved the world once. Something as simple as undertaking a hunting trip would be easy. But it wasn't. They had saved the world in a plan that was crazy, stupid and relied heavily on no-one knowing that they were coming. This had been thought out, it had been planned and like all things that Hiccup thought hard about, there were at least a million ways for it to go wrong. It was a habit he had, to think about all the ways that things went wrong, and one that he wasn't going to break anytime soon. It was practical, really, to consider how things could go wrong. When you worked as a blacksmith you had to consider the way things could go wrong. If you assumed everything would go right you got surprised when it went wrong. But, if you planned for what would go wrong you could deal with it.

Most of the time.

"Well we haven't sunk the boat yet," Astrid said coming to stand next to him.

Hiccup looked over at her. Her eyes were directed at the sail above their heads. His gaze followed hers. The sail was still fat with wind, carrying the boat merrily away from the safety of Berk. Astrid seemed perfectly content to be on the boat, though Hiccup knew that even if she was wildly uncomfortable she'd die before she made it obvious--even to him. That day when she'd shown him her hands on the cliffs had been an exception, not the rule. She wasn't one to show weakness, not under any circumstance. Hiccup had always thought that was silly--until he became a good viking and found himself doing the exact same thing. But looking at her now, he had a feeling that she was not off put by the boat at all. Her eyes went from the sail to him and almost on instinct he found himself smiling at her. He'd always done that when she looked at him. The difference was that now, now when he smiled at her she always smiled back.

"What?" she asked.

"You don't seem to mind the boat," he said.

"Not really," she said looking down at the deck and then at him, "Bluebell likes to look at herself so much we've been going on the water a lot."

"Yeah, but here you're standing," he said.

"What makes you think I don't stand on Bluebell?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"You stand on her?" he asked, "but the saddle's not designed to do that--"

"So?" Astrid crossed her arms, color staining her cheeks as she muttered something. Hiccup gave her an inquisitive look, "she still likes to look at herself and she's not entirely used to me being on her. If I stand when we fly low over the water, only my boots get wet instead of everything I'm wearing, okay?"

"Okay okay," he conceded, holding up his hands, "they've all got their quirks And Bluebell's a pretty dragon," she still looked embarrassed by it so Hiccup lowered his voice, "and at least she's not getting upset when you hold tighter and setting herself on fire," he added, glancing purposely over at Snotlout.

Astrid let out a snort of laugher and covered her mouth with her hand in an effort to stifle the laugh. It was one of Snotlout and Sparklout's less than stellar moments. Snotlout had been trying to show off to a group of girls--as he was prone to do--and Sparklout had been nothing but enthusiastic about doing the same. The trick had started out fine but midway through, Snotlout had been so busy showing off by waving he'd lost his grip on the reins and grabbed the dragon instead. He was fine but Sparklout, not understanding that, had broken into hysterics and when a Monstrous Nightmare became hysterical, they set themselves on fire. It was a very good thing that he'd been doing the trick over the water and been able to drop from the dragon before he too was set on fire--though none of the young vikings let him live down his outlandish behavior.

"Well I guess that's something," Astrid said finally, her eyes bright with amusement. Suddenly the boat titled to the side, throwing the two of them together. Instinctively her hands went to his shoulders as his wrapped around her waist to steady her, "Hiccup--"

"Whose steering?" he asked looking over at the vacated space.

He and Astrid looked at each other in horror.

"We've got to go right!" Astrid shouted, turning away from Hiccup and looking over at the land, "someone take us to the right!"

At her shout, the rest of the vikings scrambled for the back of the boat.

Unfortunately the twins made it there first.

Each took one side though neither found anything wrong with that except for the fact that the other was standing there trying to take the other's job. The rest of the vikings moved away, knowing that the twins were going to turn it into the kind of fight that they wanted no part of it. Sure enough the twins glared at each other furiously.

"Its my right!" Ruffnut said shoving him across the wood.

"No its mine!" Tuffnut shot back, "See I've got my hand on the steerer, I'm steering."

"You're facing the wrong way, idiot."

"So? My hands on this thing. I'll face whichever way I want."

"You're going to steer the boat backwards?"

"I'll steer the boat whichever way I want."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"You're an idiot!"

"No, you!"

They began to shove back and forth, each grappling for control of the boat. The tiller was forgotten as the twins began to shove back and forth. The boat rocked wildly in response, causing them to loose their balance as they tumbled to the ground and began to fight with their fists instead of their words. At the rough pitching, all the vikings scrambled for something to hold onto as the boat tipped from one side to the other. Arms locked around the mast, Hiccup looked around at the vikings, all of whom were too occupied with keeping upright to worry about the balance of the boat. Biting his lip, the young viking looked at everyone before taking a deep breath.

"Astrid!" he called over. The young viking girl was holding to the right side of the boat, "on the count of three go left. Fishlegs!" he turned his head to see the viking holding on to the ropes on the left side of the boat, "catch her!" he turned his head over to where Snotlout was standing, "Snotlout can you steer?"

"Huh? Me?" he puffed out his chest, "I can do anything--"

"No, not to impress girls. Can you steer a boat?"

"I can steer it better than those two losers!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes and looked around. Steering a boat better than the twins who would very well capsize them wasn't exactly what he was looking for. His eyes moved around the boat until they landed once again at Fishlegs. The huge viking wasn't clutching at the ropes like Hiccup had previously thought. He was holding on but it wasn't with the same desperation as the rest of them. In fact, Hiccup watched as the large viking shifted his weight in time with the pitch of the boat. He didn't look afraid or, at least, not as afraid as the rest of them. He looked like he was getting ready for the boat to tip. Like he knew what he was going to do once it went over. He looked more at home than Hiccup had seen him look in dragon training.

"Fishlegs!" Hiccup shouted over, "can you steer the boat?!"

"I--uh--" the young viking fumbled for the answer as the boat pitched again.

"Fishlegs!"

"Yes!" he hollered back.

"Okay!" Hiccup looked back at Astrid and Snotlout, "count of three, we're going left. Fishlegs you're going right, aim for the back. Ruffnut? Tuffnut?" he looked around for them.

"We're here!" they said from the other side of the mast.

"Who weighs more?"

"He does!"

"She does! She just doesn't wanna admit it because she's a girl!"

"He just wishes he wasn't such a scrawney little--"

"Ruffnut you go left! Tuffnut you go right!" he looked around, "ready? One, two--three!"

On three the vikings rolled. With the majority of them on the left, their weight balanced out and the boat stopped pitching back and forth as violently. Fishlegs grabbed the tiller, getting the boat under control. Breathing hard and maintaing his white knuckled grip on the side of the boat, Hiccup looked back at Fishlegs. The viking maneuvered the boat with the kind of ease that Hiccup knew came from practice. Lots and lots of practice. His eyes went up to the sail as he made a small adjustment to the boat. It responded to his touch, picking up speed as it took them further into the waters. Hiccup only dared to move when the boat finally stopped rocking all together. Letting out a breath, Hiccup reversed his position and slid down to join the rest of the vikings sitting on the deck of the boat.

He caught Astrid's eye. The young woman looked back at him. Her hair was askew and her cheeks were red but she still gave the lopsided grin Hiccup was beginning to think was reserved for just him. His leg gave a painful throb to remind him that it did not appreciate being knocked around like it had been but Hiccup ignored it and returned her smile with one of his own. Pushing himself to his feet, he made his way over to where Fishlegs was steering. If he leaned a bit heavily on the side of the boat or favored his leg more than usual, no-one was stupid enough to say anything about it. Fishlegs saw him coming and looked intently at the ground before fixing his eyes up at the sail, doing things that Hiccup had a feeling weren't strictly necessary. But Fishlegs was one of the more polite members of their group and when Hiccup stepped in front of him, his eyes met the other viking's gaze.

"So," Hiccup began, "you're a sailor?"

"My parents fish," Fishlegs said, his fingers running over the edge of the wood, "and build boats."

"You're parents make boats?!" Snotlout demanded, "why'd you let these two idiots steer?"

"Hey!"

"Hey!"

Fishlegs muttered something inaudible.

Hiccup realized that half the time they were telling Fishlegs to shut up with his endless stream of facts. But if his parent were fishers and built boats then he'd have learned all those facts from them. The vikings who built things were even more knowledgeable about the dragons than the people who hunted them. In hunting you went for the weak spots of the dragon without much thought. The knowledge came from the people who picked up after the dragons. Hiccup had seen builders who were able to correctly identify a which dragon had done what and at what number of shots it'd been at with little more than a quick examination. There was a good chance that Fishlegs hadn't just learned the facts he spewed from a book, he'd learned them from his parents who had probably written them down themselves. Hiccup looked at the blonde viking and realized that he hadn't known that at all. And from the surprised looks on everyone else's face he realized they hadn't had any idea either.

"So your parents make boats?" Hiccup said, "any we'd know of?"

"They made this one," the blonde viking said looking over at Hiccup.

* * *

Night fell on the young vikings and their boat.

Snotlout, it turned out, could steer a boat. Not as well as Fishlegs but he managed and the two boys had been trading off on the duty ever since. After their first near-disaster, they'd decided that whoever was in charge of steering got to take control of the boat. It wasn't any problem for Snotlout who lived for giving orders but Fishlegs had had one too many close calls due to his politeness before the others told him that he could be a bit ruder as long as they didn't crash. The young viking was still polite to a fault but at the very least he now was able to give them orders without too many 'please' and 'would you minds' getting in the way. Gobber had warned them all that they were going to have to sleep in shifts so that the boat didn't crash. Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were dozing while Hiccup, Astrid and Fishlegs worked the boat.

Hiccup was at the front of the boat, his eyes scanning for any kind of obstruction in the water. But everything looked clear. Out on the water it really did seem like they were the only thing in all the world. The water lapped softly at the sides of the boat, reflecting everything back to him. The boat, the dragon head, even the stars above them. Hiccup looked upwards at the stars that twinkled high above their heads. They were bright and clear and so very far away. Hiccup felt a stab of melancholy go through him. It wasn't like Toothless could fly high enough to actually get them in line with the stars but when you saw them from the back of a dragon they seemed much closer than when you looked at them from the deck of a boat. Resting his head on his chin, Hiccup looked up at the sky. Toothless was probably out there somewhere looking up at the stars too. It wasn't like he was going to be flying. No-one knew how to control his fin. Toothless was as grounded as Hiccup.

"Hey," Astrid said coming over to him, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Hiccup said with a shake of his head, "what's going on?"

"Nothing," she said with a smile that let Hiccup know he wasn't fooling her, "the stars look different down here," she said raising her head up towards the sky.

"Yeah," Hiccup said, "they look further away."

Astrid looked over at him. Hiccup looked upset and she realized that he was probably missing Toothless. The stars did look further away down here but that didn't mean they were bad. They'd been looking at stars for longer than they had been flying on dragons and Astrid had a feeling that when they were old and grey and no longer taking to the skies, they would still be looking at them. But she could sympathize with Hiccup. They all could. Their dragons had become their friends--on cold nights their bedfellows as well--and it wasn't fun at all to leave them behind. It was, however, part of the hunting trip and that was one of the few traditions that they had left. Leaning against the boat next to him, Astrid looked back at Fishlegs who was managing the boat just fine before she turned to Hiccup.

"But down here you can see the constellations," Astrid said.

Hiccup looked over at her, mildly surprised. He wouldn't have pegged Astrid Hofferson to be a star gazer. She seemed like she would have been a girl who worked herself to the bone and dropped--with utter grace of course--into bed. Not someone who stayed up at night and looked at the constellations. But her eyes were already directed upwards, scanning the sky for the constellations that she knew. Hiccup looked up towards the sky. Astrid wasn't the only kid in Berk who'd spent endless hours looking up at the sky learning the stories that were written in the stars. His house had never burnt down to boot so he'd never spend those long nights sifting through debris and given the number of dragons that attacked that was a lot of hours spent looking up at the stars.

"I'd never figure you for a star gazer," he said looking at her.

"Everyone looks at the stars," she said looking purposefully up at the sky, "even Fishlegs."

Hiccup glanced behind at the same time Astrid did. Sure enough the young viking was making adjustments to the boat with his eyes fixed determinedly up at the sky. Both he and Astrid knew he was looking at the Lode-star. It helped them to navigate. Hiccup had used it once or twice when he got lost with Toothless and it was too dark to see properly out. But the stars were more than just navigational aides. Hiccup had hear entire stories from Gobber who told them to him with only the stars to tell him which story to tell. Hiccup hadn't been able to see what he meant until Gobber had taken his smaller hand in his larger one and traced the patters with his finger. He'd done it endlessly, until Hiccup could see the heroes that were set into the sky.

"There's Frigga's Distaff," Astrid said pointing.

Hiccup followed her finger to where her finger was pointing to the three stars that made up the constellation. It made sense that that would be the one she saw. if there was any girl who resembled a tough, ass kicking queen it was Astrid.

"That your favorite?" he asked. Astrid raised an eyebrow, "well you've got a favorite flower, favorite dragon--i just figured you'd have a favorite one of those too."

Astrid gave him a look that clearly said she wasn't amused at the assumption.

"Well, uh, there's Aurvandill's Toe," Hiccup said pointing at the bright star. Astrid followed his finger.

"Is that your favorite?" she asked.

"No," he said, "it is Toothless's though," he added. She raised an eyebrow, "he always looks for that star. I see him doing it too. I think he likes it because its brightest at dawn and dusk. Its the clearest star there."

Astrid smiled at that. it was easy to think that Toothless would not only have a favorite star but that he would make sure you knew what it was. At the mention of his dragon's name, Hiccup's smile slipped a bit, his eyes going from her to the water. Astrid knew he was missing his dragon--they all were missing their dragons. But none of them were as close to their dragons as Hiccup was to Toothless. The loss of his foot and the loss of Toothless's tail fin had only brought the two of them closer together. Astrid was sure that back in Berk Bluebell was having no problems flying but Toothless wasn't going to be taking to the skies anytime soon. Not until Hiccup returned. A part of her was saddened by that fact but she knew as well as every other viking on the boat that it was probably the fact Toothless couldn't fly that was saving them from being followed by the Night Fury. Still the melancholy on Hiccup's face made her heart clench.

"I'm sure he's doing fine," Astrid said. Hiccup looked at her, "you're dad's probably spoiling him rotten back in Berk."

"My dad's not really the spoiling type," Hiccup said with a feeble smile.

"Maybe not for you," Astrid said with a flick of her braid, "Toothless on the other hand," she began.

"What about Toothless?" Hiccup questioned.

"You really don't think Toothless is going to have your father feeding him more fish than either of us could carry by the time you get back?" Astrid asked, raising an incredulous eyebrow.

"Well I--" Hiccup began and then paused.

It was true enough that Toothless and his father were dangerously alike but Toothless was also the single most charming creature that Hiccup had ever encountered. Even the most stalwart, dragon hating, axe swinging vikings--his father included--found they couldn't resist the wide eyed dragon. Or at least that they couldn't bring themselves to be angry at him--even though he had torched half the village of Berk at one point or another. And it wasn't even because the dragon was trying to be charming. Toothless was among the most inquisitive of the dragons and the way that he learned was by imitation. For some reason the vikings found it hard to be angry when the dragon imitated their facial expressions and movements with varying degrees of success. The worst part was that Toothless knew it too. The moment he won you over the dragon not only knew it but he made sure that you knew it too. In spite of his father hating dragons, without Hiccup there to convince him otherwise, Toothless had managed to charm his way into a spot at the table, a space in the bedroom and, if history was any indication, a fish supply that 'mysteriously' refreshed itself even when Hiccup found he didn't have the time to go out himself.

"Yeah I'm probably going to have to find a new place to sleep when I get back," Hiccup realized with a groan.

"Probably," Astrid said, her voice dripping with sarcastic sympathy, "but if its any consolation, I'm probably going to need a new bed. Bluebell's all about the scents and that's got mine the strongest. She's probably crushed it already."

Hiccup didn't really hear past the words 'Astrid' and 'Bed'.

Well he heard but it was hard to focus on anything but those words. A month ago and he'd been struggling to get a date. Now he was thinking about his girlfriend and her bed--not to mention the dragon that had crushed it into oblivion. Astrid didn't seem to find anything wrong with mentioning her bed and the fact that it had been destroyed, in spite of the fact that Hiccup was fairy certain his heart had jumped from his chest to his throat. Astrid's amused smile slowly fell into a puzzled look and Hiccup realized he'd been staring at her.

"Well, hey, you know, my bed is your--house!" Hiccup felt heat burn at his face, "My house is your house. So if you need somewhere to stay--"

"I think I'll be fine," Astrid said, not looking the least bit embarrassed by his sputtering, "does Toothless do the bed thing?"

"Not really," Hiccup said, fighting to get himself under control, "he sleeps from the rafters. Or on those stones he picked out. I think he just likes to be warm."

"Bluebell to. Maybe its a dragon thing?"

"Probably," Hiccup said, "but I mean doesn't everyone want to be warm?"

"Are you cold?" Astrid asked.

"Me? I've got enough fur on make a whole other Hiccup here," Hiccup said motioning to himself.

Astrid smiled.

Behind them they heard movement as the vikings changed their shifts. Instantly she stepped away from him, saying something that he couldn't hear before putting a physical space between them. Snotlout took over Fishleg's place as the biggest of the vikings walked over to the middle of the boat and laid down where his weight wouldn't tip it too wildly. Hiccup watched as Astrid walked over to the packs they had brought. Pushing himself away from the front of the boat he walked over to them as well. Even in the moonlight he could see her blushing furiously, like they had been caught doing something.

He knew she wasn't ashamed of being with him, no more than he was of being with her. But they had enough to do without the rest of the vikings making fun of the two of them. In fact, in the entire village of Berk, only a handful of people knew that Astrid and Hiccup were any sort of together. Oh there were rumors and their long flights together certainly didn't help to quell them, but there was a serious lack of hard evidence to say that the two of them were officially together. Past that first kiss she'd given him when he staggered out of his house using Toothless as a crutch. And the preparations for the hunting trip had taken up so much time that neither had seen the sense in dealing with the insanity that was sure to follow.

"Sorry," she mumbled softly, "I just--"

"Its fine," he said, feeling his own cheeks burn, "don't worry about it."

She gave him a grateful look that had his heart feeling like he was back on Toothless before turning to the packs to get out the extra furs they'd brought for sleeping with. Hiccup stuck his hand into the pack, his fingers easily finding the fur even in the semi-darkness. Not bothering to unroll it, he tucked it under his arm and looked at Astrid before he stood up.

"Well, see you in a couple of--"

She kissed him quickly, secretively but still with the kind of boldness Hiccup had yet to master.

"Night Hiccup," she said, getting to her feet and walking over to one side of the boat.

Hiccup stood up, glad it was too dark for the other vikings to see his bright red face. His heart felt like it was going to pound right out of his chest. In fact, he felt like it was kicking him in the ribs. Hiccup frowned and looked down. That wasn't his heart, of that he was sure. Because the kick came again. Only it wasn't an internal one, it was an external one. Either his blanket had grown sentient or--Hiccup's thought was cut off at the exact same time the familiar hiss reached his ears. Instantly Hiccup turned away from the packs, dropped to the ground and opened the fur with a snap of his wrist.

The fur fell open and out fell the familiar, tiny dragon.

He rolled across the deck before landing on his feet and glaring up at Hiccup, giving a disgruntled hiss but seeming to know better than to blow fire on the boat. All the eyes on the boat went instantly to the small but vicious dragon who bolted forward and ran up the length of Hiccup's leg before settling himself on the young viking's shoulder. Hiccup already knew who the dragon curling around his shoulders was. It was the same dragon who had made the dire mistake of trying to steal Toothless's fish. The one who had first followed him home and then adopted Gobber as his viking.

"T.T.," Hiccup groaned looking at the dragon, "what are you doing here?"

The Terrible Terror puffed himself up, obviously very pleased that he'd managed to sneak on board the boat. Hiccup looked over at the packs, glad that there wasn't food in there. The dragon didn't seem hungry at all and Hiccup knew that Terror's didn't require the same amount of food that the larger ones did. He bent down and picked up the fur that he'd dropped when he found the dragon. There wasn't anything that could be done, not until the morning and Hiccup had a feeling that even then the Terror wasn't going to leave. T.T. was the embodiment of finding a heart through the stomach and ever since Hiccup had fed him he'd been protective of the boy--protective of him and petrified of Toothless.

"Come on," Hiccup said hobbling over to the spot on the side of the boat opposite Astrid, "lets get some rest."

"Dude," Tuffnut's voice stopped him, "I must be really tired--" the viking said, "could've sworn you had a dragon on your shoulder."

Hiccup didn't bother to correct him.

There would be time for that in the morning.

* * *

**Next time they go through the rocks. Hopefully they'll get to land in one piece. **

**Also what's the dragon doing there? Is it a present from Gobber or is T.T. just that cute and annoying? **

**Okay so I know that you need special tools to navigate via the Pole star, but its a long time ago and, hell, there are dragons flying about so just suspend your belief. **

**Now onto Bluebell + Co. Yes I know you all love to get these messages from me (almost as much as I love having to write them) but its come to my attention that some of the very nice people who asked me permission to use my dragons have been getting reviews along the lines of "but i thought that girl was a possessive biatch?" Well I don't like people who take without asking (its called stealing, however 'un-malicious' it may seem), but some people have been very nice about asking and have written some great stories. The people who you see who have said that I have given them PERMISSION to use Bluebell + co. (and who aren't notified by me otherwise) are the nice, awesome kind of people who know when to ask and understand the common courtesy that is so sorely lacking on this site. **

**Last off, please review! You guys are kicking ass and taking names in the review department and that totally makes me want to update the story! We've got action, adventure, romance and dragons coming up and that can come a lot faster if you review!  
**

**So please review! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Omigosh you guys know how to make a girl feel special! **

**In the interest of faster pacing we're only on the boat for two chapters. So get ready for the island!**

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"Get it off! Ooo, Get it _off_!"

Hiccup woke to the hysterics of the other vikings.

Eyes snapping open, Hiccup pushed himself and looked in the direction of the shout. Maybe it was the helmet or the blonde locks or perhaps it was the loud mouth but the Terrors were drawn to Tuffnut Thorston like Toothless to fish. They loved the blond viking. Unfortunately Terrors showed their love and adoration by glomming onto people and, in Tuffnut's case, it was inevitably his face. T.T. had his claws firmly on on the young viking's horns and his lower legs on his jaw while his tail was wrapped around his neck. He wasn't doing anything to hurt him but Tuffnut's reaction was, well, exactly what one would expect from Tuffnut. The other vikings seemed torn between amusement at the situation and surprise that a dragon had made their way onto the boat. All except for Astrid who was hanging over the side of the boat. She pushed herself up and turned around, a small fish sticking off the short spear she had stabbed through it.

"Hey T.T.," Astrid said with a smile "you hungry? Look what I've got here," she said taking the fish off the blade and holding it up, "come over here."

The dragon didn't need to be told twice.

T.T. jumped off Tuffnut and raced over to Astrid, scurrying up her leg to her shoulder where he curled around the viking woman's shoulders, wrapping his tail around her arm. Astrid held the fish up as the small dragon reached out and grabbed it, gulping it down happily before settling himself like a drape on her shoulders with a sound of contentment. Astrid looked up at him with a smile that T.T. had no problem returning before he settled his head on her shoulder. Unperturbed by the dragon that had adopted her like a perch, Astrid walked over as Hiccup got to his feet. Leaning against the side of the boat, he tested his weight on his leg. Thankfully it held up, a bit sore from the day before but the pain was nowhere near unmanageable. T.T. let out a whistle of greeting but didn't move his head from Astrid's shoulder. Astrid, however, looked less than thrilled at the discovery of the dragon.

"Hey don't look at me," Hiccup said holding up his hands, "he snuck in all on his own."

"Really?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips and fixing him with a glare.

"Would I lie to you?"

"Not if you were smart," she said.

"I swear I didn't know he was in there. I went to go to bed and it was already occupied. He must've snuck on when we weren't looking," he said, trying to think of when the Terror would have had the opportunity to crawl into his pack, "he must've been in there for a while."

Astrid gave him a look that clearly said she was not amused---and that she didn't believe he had a hand in smuggling the Terror on board. Slowly Hiccup moved away from the edge of the boat back towards where the packs were. Pulling his over, he began to rifle through. There had to be a note or something in there to explain what was going on. His hands came up empty. There wasn't anything in his pack to explain what was going on. Nothing except the dragon that had snuck in with the rest of his supplies--including an unusually large amount of underpants that Hiccup couldn't quite remember packing. It wasn't the first time a dragon had hidden out and followed him somewhere, but this wasn't some quick trip or jaunt. After all his endless checking and rechecking, missing a dragon was, well, it was a pretty huge thing to miss.

"Well it wasn't Gobber," Hiccup said aloud, re-stuffing his pack and getting to his feet, "I guess he just snuck in there all on his own."

"Wasn't this trip supposed to be no dragons?" Snotlout demanded loudly from where he stood by the mast, "isn't your dad gonna be pissed when we show up with that?"

Hiccup looked over at him and then at the dragon that lay across Astrid's shoulders. Pissed would be an understatement. Hiccup had never been one to follow tradition, not in any sense of the word, and yet he knew that if his father saw a dragon with them when they came back it would quite possibly be the end of him. As he looked around the boat, he realized that everyone else seemed to be thinking along the same lines. This hunting trip was one of the few traditions that they had left. Dragon hunting, the training that went with dragon hunting--so many of their traditions were being lost to their new friendship with the dragons. Hiccup didn't exactly have a problem with that, considering most of the traditions he'd been subject to participating in were the kind of traditions that usually left someone with battlescars to reinforce the lessons learned. But traditions had their place and with so many falling aside Hiccup had a feeling that them showing up with a dragon was going to be anything but good.

Hiccup had been the one to figure out that they had spent three years unnecessarily killing Dragons but the others had jumped--figuratively and literally--on the dragon, so to speak, without much hesitation. Hiccup was used to all eyes being on him in an oh-my-God-how-are-you-going-to-mess-this-up-now-kind of way that he was just happy to be looked at with curiosity. The others, however, were not. Most of the time the dragons took up so much of the attention that Hiccup had a feeling people staring was something of a side thought. But they did stare. And whisper. And when your whole life was spent respecting and listening to the Elders who protected the past, great change was met with resistance. the resistance now was a whisper, something to be said under the breath, but it was there. And if they showed up with kill and a dragon, Hiccup knew that people would talk about their ability as vikings. They'd think that they had help in killing, help of the dragon nature. That was what his father wanted to avoid--what they all wanted to avoid. Dragons or no, they were still vikings--or trying to be.

"No," Hiccup said, "because he's not going to know."

"Huh?" they all looked at him.

"Look I know you're good at the whole 'dragon-thing' but you really think you're going to be able to get him out of here?" Snotlout questioned.

Hiccup looked at the Terror who tightened himself around the viking girl, giving Hiccup a look that said he wasn't going anywhere until he was good and ready.

"We don't have to get rid of him," Hiccup said, "we just have to make sure no-one knows."

"Not to be a buzzkill," Tuffnut said, "but the last time you hid a dragon, didn't you get your ass kicked?"

"And disowned," Ruffnut added.

"And--"

"Yes!" Hiccup said throwing out his hands, "yes that all happened. But I hid Toothless for a long time. We just need to keep him out of the way for a couple of days. Fishlegs, do Terrors hunt?"

"Only in packs," Fishlegs said, "one Terror is to--" T.T. hissed, "they don't hunt alone," he said lowering his voice.

"See?" Hiccup said reaching into his pack and fishing around. He came up with a net that he wasn't really going to using and made a few knots in it before slinging it over his back, "come here boy," he said to T.T.

The dragon liked Astrid but he--like most dragons--adored Hiccup. Jumping off the girl the little dragon bounded over to Hiccup and jumped up his leg before making his way into the sling on Hiccup's back. Terrors could fly but it took a lot for their small wings to get their bodies off the ground. They were fast and quick on the ground. Hiccup had found that most of the dragons that had four legs seemed more inclined to spend time on land. Terrors, however, were particularly good at climbing and within moments the little dragon was testing out the sling before giving a hiss of approval and laying on his back. Hiccup took a step to test out the weight of the pack and was pleased to see that it did not hurt to walk with the extra weight from the dragon. He turned to look at the others who were all staring at him.

"See?" he said with a smile, "He'll be out of the way. I'll hide him in my pack when we get back and no-one will have to know anything."

"Yeah, thats it, we're dead," Snotlout said.

"No, no no--we're not dead!" Hiccup said holding out his hands, "look, one dragon was bound to follow us. They like us!"

"No the dragons like _you_," Snotlout said turning to Hiccup, "they follow _you_. There aren't dragons in any of our packs its in yours!" the bigger boy said, close enough to jam a finger into the skinnier viking's chest.

"Did you check?" Hiccup asked, hearing T.T. hiss as color darkened Snotlout's face.

"That's enough!" Astrid said, pulling Snotlout back and placing herself in between the two of them, "the dragon's here. Lets figure out how we're going to deal with _that_ instead of killing each other."

"As if he could hurt me--"

"I said enough!" the viking girl shouted glaring at him in a way that made Hiccup think that if one of them was going to get their ass kicked it was going to be Snotlout.

"Um, guys?" Fishlegs interrupted the fight brewing, "we're about to get to the rocks."

"About to get to the--" Snotlout began as they all turned to see the boat was pointing inland towards the rocks, "oh shit!"

They all raced to their stations as Fishlegs tightened his grip. The passaged they were about to go through was one of the most treacherous on Berk. But it led to a sheltered cove that made up one of the most plentiful hunting grounds on the island and the more experienced vikings did the passage all the time. When they had planned out their route, Gobber had seemed surprised that they would go for that particular passage but he said that they could do it. The boat they had taken was small and fast--and like all the ships that the vikings used it was designed for going in shallow water. They knew they could do and yet as they looked at the rocks shrouded in mist Hiccup felt his stomach drop. The mist wasn't as bad as it had been near the dragon's nest but it was there all the same. When T.T. leapt from the sling to wind himself around the mast of the boat, Hiccup felt his heart drop further.

"Fishlegs please tell me you've done this before," Hiccup said looking over at the viking.

"Well I'm doing it now!" Fishlegs called back.

And then they were in the mist.

With the rocks.

Fishlegs moved the boat with the kind of skill that Hiccup rarely saw--even in the older vikings. They made sure to keep the boat balanced while Ruffnut and Tuffnut tugged the sail into place. As long as the twins were separated the worked fine. And they were roughly the same weight and size which meant that they wouldn't tip the boat and could worked the sail. Fortunately the threat of serious, impending death made the twins somewhat more willing to work together. Not a lot, but somewhat. Just to be safe though, Astrid and Hiccup stayed on opposite sides of the boat to make sure that neither twin got too competitive. Unfortunately with the rocks came the wind. The boat began to pick up speed as Fishlegs steered around the rocks. Only the shallowness of the boat saved them from the underwater rocks. Hiccup gripped the edge tighter as the boat moved in between the rocks sticking jaggedly up from the water.

"Hold on guys!" Fishlegs called over to them, "its going to get messy!"

Astrid looked over at Tuffnut. The young viking's face was the picture of concentration. For once he was not arguing with Ruffnut but rather watching the sail and listening for directions from Fishlegs. As she gripped the edge of the boat, Astrid looked ahead at the rocks they kept moving around. Each miss was a narrow one as the boat rocked back and forth. The mist didn't help matters either. Boats broke on rocks all the time, even boats steered by people as good as Fishlegs. Astrid looked around at the rest of the vikings on the boat. Fishlegs was looking at where he was going, Snotlout was up in front looking out for any and everything that he could. Her eyes went over to Ruffnut before they landed on Hiccup. He looked over at her, wide eyed and Astrid felt her heart drop.

He wasn't a good swimmer.

Before he had been decent but not now. Not with his metal prosthetic, not with all the fur they were wearing. If they tipped over or if he got thrown into the ocean then he was as good as dead. Astrid remembered the dream, the sight of him so pale and cold laying on the deck of a boat. Her fingers tightened on the wood. Her weight wouldn't change it that much, not when they were going this fast. And if it did that didn't matter. Not if Hiccup drowned. She looked back over to see Tuffnut--who didn't seem to be in any danger of succumbing to his usual fights with his sister. Her eyes went back to Hiccup. Steeling herself, she released her hold on the side of the boat and rolled across the deck to where Hiccup was holding on. The boat rocked as it sped up before she could get a grip on the side of the boat. Her fingers brushed it but they didn't catch it.

"Astrid!"

A rough hand locked around her wrist. Her hand instantly turned, locking around the wrist of her rescuer. Astrid looked up to see Hiccup holding onto the boat with one hand and her wrist with another. She felt a sharp tug on her arm as Hiccup pulled her up against his chest. Astrid wrapped one of her arms around him and held onto the boat with her free hand, gripping both for dear life. If they went over she was going to make sure that Hiccup didn't drown, no matter what else happened.

The boat skidded to a stop before it bumped up against something and came to a stop entirely.

Tentatively, Hiccup opened an eye, then another, half expecting to see water flooding the boat. But was dry.

They were on the shore.

"We did it--we did it!"

The boat exploded with noise as the vikings rejoiced. Tuffnut and Ruffnut were hugging unabashedly but still hurling insults as Snotlout and Fishlegs jumped up and down, shouting things that no-one heard. Even T.T. was jumping up and down, thrilled to be alive. But all the sounds were lost on Hiccup as looked down. Astrid was still in his arms, her own locked tightly around his waist. Hiccup had no doubt that she would have grabbed him a swam to the surface if the boat had gone down--metal leg and all. Her head was still buried in his chest, as if she was expecting the boat to explode. He felt her eyes open before her head flew up, her eyes darting around to look at the other celebrating vikings before they landed on him.

"Well, look at that," he said with a smile, "we didn't die."

For a moment Astrid looked at him like he'd grown two heads.

Then she pulled him close and hugged him tighter than Hiccup thought he'd ever been hugged in his entire life.

Astrid kept her face buried in his shirt, the image of him laying dead still too clear in her head. His body was warm and his grip around her was firm, tight even. She felt his heart beat against her ear, his chest rising and falling with each breath. He was alive. He was alright. She knew it, she could feel it and yet she still could not quite make herself let him go.

"Hey what's wrong?" Hiccup questioned, fear curling through him at her strange behavior.

Astrid's eyes widened as her frayed mind caught up with the rest of her. She was standing there hugging Hiccup as tight as she had ever hugged another person. Even though he was concerned he just held her against him, not making her look at him or say what was wrong. She knew that if she refused to say anything he'd still stand there and hug her. Because that was the kind of guy that Hiccup was. Hiccup who had, in some way, just saved her life. Hiccup who didn't seem to mind the fact that she was bear-hugging him. Hiccup who was the sweetest, bravest, most determined guy Astrid had ever known.

Hiccup who she couldn't tell about her nightmare.

She just couldn't. Between the hunting itself, T.T.'s appearance and Snotlout's jabs he had enough to worry about without her adding to his stress. He would listen to her, really listen and Astrid knew what she said would get into his head. She couldn't do that to him. Slowly she pulled back, hoping it wasn't fast enough to make him suspicious. She did not raise her eyes to his, not yet. Because if there was one thing that Astrid Hofferson was bad at, it was lying. She had never been good at it. Practice had made her good at so many things but not lying. At first she had thought it was just with her mother--no one had ever been good at lying to Aldis who was Quick in more than just the dragon-hunting sense of the word--but time had taught it it was to everyone. The one thing she was bad at was lying. People had said that was a good thing but as she kept her eyes on the wood between her and Hiccup she realized that however good it was, it was also inconvenient.

"Its nothing," she said looking up to meet Hiccup's gaze, "I'm fine, everything's fine," she said taking a step back and he let her, his arms opening to let her, "we should, probably, um get the packs"

Hiccup looked at her, his eyes saying he didn't believe her but he did not push the matter.

"Okay," he said slowly, "yeah," he said with a nod, "you're right. The packs."

Hiccup watched her walk away. The look in her eyes wasn't letting his stomach settle. He didn't know what was wrong with her but she clearly didn't want anyone to know about it. He didn't think that whatever she was feeling could've been chalked up to the boat incident, Astrid wasn't the kind of girl who was easily shaken up. But she had looked upset--really upset. But he did not want to push the matter. If she didn't want to talk about it he knew he had to respect her wishes. Besides, she had followed him and discovered Toothless, Astrid wasn't the type to just ignore something, not if it was important. Unfortunately she wasn't really the type to accept help either. Not unless she asked for it and Astrid only asked for help when she really _really_ needed it.

Having a girlfriend was hard.

Hiccup scratched the back of his neck as he looked over at Astrid as she bent over the packs. He liked getting to know all the new people who didn't either hate him or think he was an incompetent idiot. Astrid especially. He had learned so much about her, including the fact that she was probably the most stubborn girl he had ever met. More stubborn that Toothless--and that was saying something. He didn't have any doubt that she could take care of herself, he just wished that sometimes she would let him help her. The days when he had been so grateful that he just had a girlfriend were becoming further and further apart as he realized that there was only so far secretive kisses were going to get them. As he walked over to where Astrid was, Hiccup decided that while it was hard having a girlfriend but it was even harder to be a boyfriend--especially when he wasn't entirely sure that they were either!

Picking up his pack, he joined the rest of the group in getting off the boat.

The beach was rocky, as beaches on Berk tended to be. Hiccup looked down at the smooth grey stones under his feet doubtfully before raising his eyes. On all sides the beach was surrounded by hills, some of which looked higher than others. None of the land there looked particularly fertile and he could see nothing in the way of game. He had looked at the maps though, he knew just over the hills was the hunting ground. And yet as he looked around the place he wondered if they had really done the right thing in coming there. His eyes moved over to the others, all of whom were looking around doubtfully at the beach where they landed. They all knew they were in the right place but no-one looked incredibly confident about their locations.

"Uh, guys?" they looked at Ruffnut, "has anyone seen T.T.?"

"What you mean has anyone seen him?!" Tuffnut shouted turning around frantically as if he expected the Terror to jump out and attack him, "where is it--where is it?!"

As if aware of his name being said, T.T. came racing down the beach.

Even if he could have flown away if the boat had turned over, the dragon had stayed and seemed more exuberant at being alive than Fishlegs. Something small and long flew around as it dangled from T.T.'s mouth as he ran towards them. The dragon made a B-line for Hiccup and jumped up, beating his wings furiously as he sailed over Hiccup's head and landed on top of the pack the young viking was wearing. Happily he hooked his claws in the weave and leaned forward, so that the object he had found dangled in front of Hiccup's face. It was only when Hiccup held out his hand that the dragon opened his mouth and let it fall into Hiccup's grasp.

"Hey, what you got there buddy?" Hiccup asked looking at the dragon's prize.

Hanging from a strip of well worn leather was a key.

Hiccup turned the key over in his hand. It wasn't terribly well made. As he ran his finger over it he was surprised it didn't fall apart. The key was not that weathered either. In a few months, with the weather there, it would probably be nothing but dust. But as he looked at the crude make of the key, Hiccup realized that it was a very intricate key. Most of the locks on Berk were tough, heavy and designed to keep animals out and people in. But this, this key was full of ridges. A well designed key made so cheaply in a few months it'd be nothing but a memory? Whoever had made the key had wanted to make sure that something was locked up tight and never found again. But why not just destroy it? Hiccup looked at the happy dragon.

"Come on, T.T., why don't you show me where you found this," Hiccup said holding up the key to the dragon.

T.T. took off and Hiccup followed as quick as he could. The dragon took him down the beach and towards one of the hills. It was a low hill, one that Hiccup had no problem getting over. Especially not when T.T. let out a happy series of noises, making it clear that where he had gotten the key was right over the ridge of the hill. Hiccup got to the top, his mind full of ideas of treasure. Because, really, what else did one lock up and hide on a deserted corner of a remote island? They were going to come back not only with a kill but with treasure to boot! His heart pounded as he thought about the way people would look at them. They weren't just competent vikings who had dragons, they were competent vikings who had dragons _and_ found treasure. Standing up on the top of the hill, Hiccup looked down to the shallow valley below.

"Well that's not treasure," Hiccup said looking down at T.T. who let out a happy noise to let him know that he thought that it was treasure, "no," Hiccup assured the dragon, "its not," but T.T. just jumped back up to his perch, very pleased with himself.

Even if, instead of treasure, he had led Hiccup to a half-eaten corpse.

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**Well that's kind of nasty huh?**

**Sooo, yeah, half eaten corpse with that was found with a key, I'm sensing a mystery coming here! They're still gonna rock on the hunt--and now they're gonna have to figure this out too. T.T. snuck in there all on his own--or whoever tucked him in was smart enough not to leave a note. **

**A little note on the whole cursing thing. I'm gonna allow it. The dialogue in the film was modern (and Hiccup was all about getting a 'date') so yeah, they're going to curse occasionally. Especially Snotlout because he strikes me as the cursing type.**

**Don't forget to please review! You guys are kicking ass in the review department and therefore taking up my attention in the fanfiction world! So you keep reviewing and we get one step closer to the...well, I don't want to spoil the surprise but its gonna be awesome. **

**So please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**As always a huge thank you for the reviews! Everyone who reviewed, you're the reason that there's an update for the story. **

**Okay so, warning about this chapter, its a little gory, with some descriptions of the corpse. But its nothing incredibly graphic. **

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Hiccup didn't know how long he stood there looking down at the mangled corpse below him.

Even though he could see the white of the thing's bones, the corpse was fresh. Fresh enough that any of the missing flesh bore teeth marks. Hiccup could see that the man, whoever he had been, was huge. Bigger than Fishlegs even. But he wasn't dressed like the rest of them. There wasn't a scrap of fur on him, nor any weapons--nothing that would drag him down or make him move slower. Even if he was from somewhere else he would have bundled up. Unless, of course, he was running--though whether it was towards something or away from it, Hiccup had no idea. His fingers traced the outline of the complicated key that was designed to erode and disappear quickly. It made sense that a key would be found on a mangled body of a person who was running--away from or towards something--on a deserted beach on an inhospitable piece of land. He glanced down at T.T. who made a huffy sound, obviously less than thrilled at the fact that Hiccup wasn't overjoyed with what he had found.

"Its not you buddy," Hiccup assured the dragon, "its me," he looked back at the corpse.

"Hiccup!"

Astrid came running up the hill to where he was. In spite of having run the entire way, with her pack and her weapons, the viking wasn't even out of breath. Hiccup spun around to face her, his mind immediately going to what her reaction would be to the corpse behind him. It wasn't like it was the first dead body she would see--nor would it be the last. The life of a viking was anything but easy. And yet as he looked at her he felt the urge to protect her from what lay behind him. He curled his fingers, making sure to hide the leather and the key. If he put his hand behind his back she'd know instantly something was up. Giving his best 'there's-nothing-behind-me-that's-interesting' smile, Hiccup locked eyes with her.

"You took off," she said putting her hands on her hips, "what gives?"

"Nothing--nothing gives," he said, "T.T. just wanted to show me--" he cast his eyes around desperately, "the view! He wanted to show me this lovely view," he said as the dragon made a sound that made it clear what he thought of the view and the two vikings standing next to him.

"The view," Astrid repeated, glancing behind her doubtfully. Blindly Hiccup stuffed the key into his pack, "you expect me to believe you ran down the beach and up a hill to look at the _view_?" she demanded incredulously.

"Yes?" he said, though the firm statement came out more as a question.

Astrid made a sound of disgust in the back of her throat and moved forward, sidestepping his attempt at stopping her with ease. As she looked over the side of the hill, Astrid realized that whatever she had been expecting a half-eaten body was just about the last thing she would have thought. But there it was, in all its disgusting glory. Astrid looked at the half eaten form. She had see bodies before, enough to not feel particularly offput by anything but the fact that a half-eaten body was on the island. Taking her pack off, she laid down the axe she had been carrying and picked up a knife, stuffing it into the side of her boot. Then, before Hiccup could say anything, she set her feet and slid down the side of the hill into the valley with the corpse.

The smell got her first.

Corpses never smelled good but this one was particularly bad. Most of the animals that lived around here were grazers but whatever had eaten the man had left sizable dropping's behind. Fighting the urge to cover her mouth with her hand, Astrid moved towards the body. Up close she could see the ragged edges of the skin and knew that the reason he was half eaten was, well, that he had been eaten. Literally. Dragons were carnivorous and yet the idea that this man had been eaten alive made her stomach twist. Moving up to where his head was, Astrid knelt down. and looked around carefully. Not just at the body but at the rest of him as well. There had to be something, some clue as to why this man was here. As she looked at the body she noticed something was out of place. Admist the teeth marks, there was a long, narrow line that spanned his throat, one that was too precise to have been made by claws or teeth. She had held a blade long enough to recognize the mark of a throat slit when she saw one. So the man had been dead when he had been eaten. Astrid cast her eyes around the area. Men just didn't let their throats be slit, there had to be something that caught him first.

Then she saw the arrow.

Half hidden by the body laying there, it was snapped in half. All Astrid could see was the shaft of the arrow. If there had been more of the body Astrid was sure she wouldn't have seen it at all. Taking a deep breath, Astrid reached through the body and grabbed the arrow, pulling it free before she could think too much about the fact she was sticking her hand in a corpse. The arrow came free without much resistance. Astrid looked at the body before looking at the arrow. She could analyze it when she got back up the hill. She had no desire to stay in the ditch with the body any longer than she had to. Straitening up she walked over to the side and scrambled up it, getting easily to her feet. From the wide eyes and dropped jaws Astrid realized that the other had just arrived and suddenly she wished that her fingers weren't quite so sticky so she could plug her ears when the inevitable commotion started.

"That's a body."

"Its a body!"

"There's a dead dude here! A half eaten dead dude!"

"Oh shit! Shit we're gonna die--we're going to be eaten too! Fuck! I hope we die before we get eaten! Or should we get eaten first--oh shit! Which is less painful?!"

Astrid let out a breath as the entire group dissolved into chaos, her attention fixing on the arrow in her hands. The fletching was stained with blood but underneath the staining the fletching wasn't anything she could recognize. Neither was the point, though it was obviously designed to bring down large prey. The ends were jagged too, this wasn't what had been used to slit the man's throat. Using her thumbnail, Astrid scratched the dried blood that covered the lower half of the shaft of the arrow. The markings were stained red but whatever they were, they were unlike any that Astrid had seen before. For one they were jagged, rough but whatever pigment had been used had been designed to last. Whoever shot the man wanted everyone to know that it was _their_ kill. A half eaten corpse that had its throat slit after being shot by an arrow designed to let the world know who had killed the man. The more Astrid thought about it the more she realized that this was shaping up to be anything but a normal hunting trip.

"Did anyone see a boat?" Astrid asked. No-one said anything, all too hysterical to listen to her question, "Hey!" she shouted, loud enough to interrupt their hysterics, "did anyone see a boat or something where this guy came from?"

No-one said anything. Given their chaotic trip over there, Astrid realized that they probably could have passed something on their way there and not seen it. Though judging from the body, Astrid realized that the people who had killed him had probably left. Or, at least, Astrid hoped it had left. Because if that boat was still there, or, more accurately, if the people who had shot the man were still there, then Astrid knew they were in a lot of trouble. Astrid looked back down at the arrow in her hands. The man had been hurt by the arrow but the throat slitting was what had really done him in. Whoever had done it had gone through the trouble of making sure that the man was dead, going so far as to follow him and slit his throat. But then they had just left him there to be eaten. It made absolutely no sense. There was something missing, some other piece of the puzzle. Astrid walked over to where Hiccup was standing.

"Give it to me," she ordered, holding out her hand. He looked at her, "whatever you found, I want to see it."

Hiccup looked at her. She wasn't joking around. He'd seen the look on her face before--not that it too a genius to figure out that Astrid was angry. For a moment Hiccup was torn between giving her the key and keeping it hidden. On one hand giving her the key would bring her into the puzzle. On the other, they had enough to worry about as it was. Besides, the key was a key to, well, he didn't know what it was a key to, only that whatever it was a man had died trying to protect it. He glanced over at the other vikings, all of whom looked different degrees of shell shocked. If he told them that there was a key, he could only imagine that they would loose it all over again. They had other things to deal with, things that didn't involve the half eaten body laying in a ditch just to the right. Hiccup looked at her, his mind spinning as to what he could possibly say that he had found with the body that wouldn't cause the rest of them to go into hysterics.

"I--" he began before quickly stepping forward. She jerked back but he got close enough to whisper, "I'll show you later," he said glancing purposefully back at the others.

Astrid followed his gaze. They all looked quiet but hysterical none the less, shocked at the sight of the half eaten corpse. It was pretty disgusting, even in Astrid's opinion, but for most of them it was not the first time they had seen a body. She didn't entirely like the fact that Hiccup was hiding something from her. But looking at the others she realized that what they wanted was a secondary concern. They couldn't have them freaking out more, not after the adventure they had already had that day. It infuriated her to do it but she gave a curt nod, hoping that made it clear to Hiccup just how infuriated she was at what he was doing. From the pallor his skin took, she knew she succeeded. Turning fully to face the others, Astrid glared at them.

"We can't just stand around gaping," she said, "its halfway through the day already and we're not near where we need to be. We can't just stand here around gaping. Come on."

"But we can't just leave that--it--he---there," Fishlegs began.

"Then what do you want to do?" Astrid demanded, "use our boat to give him a send of to Gjoll?"

The bigger boy looked away, obviously embarrassed at the suggestion. Astrid shoved the guilt she felt as his expression down and walked over to where her pack was laying. Stuffing the arrow in with the rest of the contents of the pack, she slid her arm through one of the straps and stood up, swinging the pack onto her back. Sliding her free arm through the other strap, she shifted so the pack was comfortably on her back. She did not, however, remove the knife from her boot. She was all for leaving the body and the mystery behind but the idea of leaving on her first hunting trip and winding up on a half eaten corpse wasn't something she wanted to do. They could have gone back and walked back to the beach or they could walk past the corpse and head inland. Astrid squared her shoulders, she was not the type of girl to let anyone--living or dead--stand in her way.

"We have to keep moving if we want to get there by nightfall," she said, letting the anger inside her harden her tone.

They followed her.

Past the corpse, away from the beach and the boat and towards the hunting ground. Even Ruffnut and Tuffnut were silent as they walked. T.T. alternated between riding on Hiccup's pack, on the sling he had made and running around the ankles of the rest of the vikings making noises to let them know just how pleased he was that they were all together. Terrors were social, moreso than the other dragons were. One would see a Nightmare or a Nadder without another dragon or human nearby but a Terror, well, Terrors always seemed to either be running to or from someone. Even the gloom that had settled over the rest of them did nothing to stop the excited Terror. Seeing a half dead body wasn't so bad, but seeing a half eaten body was somehow much worse. The terrain was rough but it wasn't impossible to navigate. As they made their way over the rocks, the rougher parts of the terrain began to give way. The odd patch of grass became steadily larger until they found themselves on the outskirts of a large field.

They had made good time but by the time they got to the field the sun was already on its way down. The weather had become less than ideal, wind whipping around them. They had planned to hunt that day but Hiccup had a feeling that that wasn't going to happen today. He glanced back at the others. They looked exhausted and frazzled after what had happened. There was no time limit on what they had set out to do, just a goal. Hiccup didn't know if the older vikings had done this trip without any delays but he had a feeling that wasn't the case. When he looked at the other vikings even Astrid and Snotlout looked like they weren't going to object to setting up camp and hunting in the morning.

"You guys want to--" Hiccup began.

"Set up camp?" Tuffnut demanded, "yeah, lets set up camp."

The others readily agreed and broke off. Before they had set up they had come up with partners. Snotlout had tried to claim Astrid as his tent partner but Gobber had put his foot down and made sure that Astrid and Ruffnut were in the same tent. Snotlout got Tuffnut for his partner which left Fishlegs and Hiccup to bunk down together. There had been a lot of jokes over how the biggest member of the group and the smallest had gotten stuck in the same tent but Hiccup had a feeling that they'd still be able to make it work. After all, Fishlegs might've taken up most of the room in the tent but it wasn't like Hiccup needed a lot of it. Hiccup and Fishlegs found a spot to set up their tent and began to work. Though the bigger boy was usually quiet, he was even quieter than usual.

"So, what's on your mind?" Hiccup asked finally as they finished setting up the tent.

"Um, ah," Fishlegs toyed with his fingers, "its, just, uh, okay the larger dragons wouldn't have just taken a bite out of him. And Terrors are fast--they wouldn't have left just half of him."

"What are you trying to say?" Hiccup asked.

"I'm saying I don't think it was dragons that ate him."

"So no dragons. And the animals around here aren't meat eaters," Hiccup said, "then what took bites out of him?"

The bigger boy looked away. Hiccup wasn't sure what took those kind of bites out of a person, but whatever it was he was sure he didn't want to see it. In spite of his massive size, Fishlegs still seemed worried about what they had seen. More than the others and Hiccup realized that if his parents were building vikings then there was a good chance that the only bodies Fishleg's had seen were in passing. And those bodies would have been burned, not half eaten with their throats slit. Hiccup looked up at the bigger boy who met his eyes with a tentative, hesitant look.

"Well whatever did that, they're long gone. Its not like you stick around after you kill someone right?"

"Right," Fishlegs said with a fast nod.

"Right," Hiccup repeated more firmly, "now I gotta go talk to Astrid."

Fishlegs nodded as Hiccup turned around and walked over towards the girl's tent, though from the commotion he heard Hiccup had a feeling that Ruffnut was over at Tuffnut's tent. Looking at the tent, Hiccup hoped that Astrid wasn't in the tent. He wasn't sure how he was going to get her out but he knew that he had to talk to her. As he looked around, he finally spotted her sitting a little way off on one of the rocks nearby. Hiccup made his way over to where she was. He could see that she had taken off most of the heavy furs that she had been wearing and instead sat there wrapped in the longer fur that she had brought to sleep in. Her hair was out of its tight braid and hung in loose waves to just past her shoulders. She looked, not innocent--because Astrid never looked innocent. But she did look less tough than Hiccup was used to seeing her. His breath caught in his throat when he looked at her sitting there. She looked like she was lost in her thoughts and Hiccup felt like he was intruding on something, something personal. As he stood there she straitened up and looked over at him and Hiccup found he had o choice but to go up and speak to her.

"Hey," Hiccup said walking over to where she was sitting.

"Hey," Astrid said, moving over on the rock so that there was room for him too.

"Listen--" he began, "about earlier--"

"Its not important," Astrid said with a shake of her head.

"No--yes--yes it is. I didn't want to freak the others out, so I didn't tell you but--" he began.

"Why didn't you want me to see that corpse?" Astrid cut him off, fixing him with her blue eyes. Hiccup looked at her, "you tried to keep me from seeing it. Why?"

"It was a corpse," he said, "a disgusting, half eaten, meaty corpse. Why would you _want_ to see it?"

"So it wasn't because I'm a girl?" she asked, raising her eyebrows, "or because, I don't know, you think you need to protect me?" Hiccup stared at her, "well?" Hiccup opened his mouth but was suddenly on her feet and she barreled right over him, "because you don't have to do any of that. I'm not some bread making viking you have to keep behind you at all times. And i get that you're going the son of the chief I am a damn good viking and I don't appreciate being treated like your helpless girlfriend!"

Hiccup stared at her. He had been trying to keep her from seeing the corpse because, well, who wanted to see a half eaten corpse? But from the way she was glaring at him, Hiccup realized it was more than just him trying to keep a half eaten body from her. From a very young age they were all taught that the most fundamental thing about being a viking was that you protected the things you loved. Home, family--Berk, all of those things were to be protected. His mother had died protecting what she loved and he knew that there was a good chance the same would go for his father. And for him. As he looked at Astrid he realized the same went for her. That was why she had dove across the boat to get to him, to make sure that if they went over and he couldn't swim she'd be there to make sure he got to the surface. She had been out to save his life and he had tried to protect her from a view. As the realization dawned on him, Hiccup felt like the world's biggest idiot.

"You're right," he said.

"No you're--" she began before she realized what he said, "what?"

"You're right," he said, "I was trying to protect you from that," he shook his head, getting to his feet, "look, I'm used to being a screw up. I know the only reason I was even alive during that viking training class was because of the trick's I learned from Toothless. You're a great viking and I'm not exactly, you know, the picture of vikingness," he continued with a weak smile that Astrid seemed too shocked to return, "I didn't mean to shelter you. It was jut that it was a pretty gross thing and I didn't think anyone would want to see it."

"Oh," Astrid looked at the ground, embarrassment coloring her cheeks.

Of course Hiccup wouldn't have any ill intent behind trying to keep her from seeing something disgusting. He had been trying to protect her and she had thought the worst of him. She knew that Hiccup wouldn't have done anything intentionally but she had known other viking men--like Snotlout--who had different ideas about how women should be treated. Some girls thought it was cute how boys tried to protect them even on missions but Astrid had never seen it that way. And even after the long day they had had, Hiccup didn't seem angry at the fact that she had just yelled at him. If anything he seemed to be not only understanding of her anger but ashamed of what he had done.

"Look I--I didn't mean to unload on you like that," Astrid said pressing a hand to her forehead, "its just--"

"Its okay. Hey, who understands the need to unload better than I do?"

Astrid smiled weakly as the two of them slowly sat down on the rock that Astrid had previously been sitting on. It was a small rock and even with the furs between them Hiccup felt the warmth of Astrid's body against his own. It was actually kind of nice siting there, just the two of them, with the commotion of the others back in camp. Astrid rested her head on her hand and looked over at the young man next to her. Hiccup had his elbows on the his knees.

"You're wrong you know," she said looking over at him. He met her eyes, "you may not be the picture of 'vikingness' but you're not a bad viking."

"Yeah? How do you figure?"

"Because I don't date bad vikings," she said with a smile.

"I was going to ask about that 'girlfriend' comment," Hiccup said, matching her softened tone.

Astrid glanced over at the rest of the vikings. She had stormed off to a secluded area. The others were out of sight even. When she turned back to Hiccup the young man leaned forward and pressed their mouths together. They had been getting steadily better at kissing, the quick pecks or clumsy presses of lips slowly turning into the kinds of kisses that left Astrid feeling tingly from her headband all the way to her boot toes. This kiss was no different. Astrid had kissed other boys before but no-one had ever kissed her quite like Hiccup did. He didn't try to claim her--to make her feel like she was something to be owned by another. Every time she kissed him Astrid felt like she was back on Bluebell flying over the water. When they finally pulled apart Astrid smiled as she looked at him.

Then she punched him in the shoulder.

"That was for everything else," she said, getting to her feet, "come on, we should go back to the camp."

"Really?" Hiccup said rubbing his arm, "i though you weren't going to do that anymore."

"Well, you gotta keep you on your toes," Astrid said, "besides, you can't think that kissing's going to solve everything."

"And violence is?"

"We're vikings Hiccup," Astrid said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "violence is kind of what we do."

"But does it have to be?"

Astrid was still chuckling as when they got back to camp.

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**Okay I know this chapter wasn't as action packed or moving the story forward as the other ones. But I wanted them to have one slightly uneventful chapter before the real insanity starts. Plus I could see Hiccup getting protective as he gets confident and I want Astrid to make it clear she doesn't need protection. Their relationship and the potential I see as it develops is one of the main reasons I started this fic.**

**As always (and thanks to another couple of incidents) the dragon names are mine and you've got to ask whether or not you can use them. And if you do use them without asking I will find you and its not gonna be pretty what happens next. So ask before you take. Oh and after some thought I released the name of Astrid's mom to a very nice author. i know that there was some confusion over that given my earlier comments on another fic but that was stealing. This was a person classy enough to ask. **

**As always please review! You guys have blown me away with your support for this fic. Which is probably why I've been so quick about updating it. So if you want to see updates its up to you! You've got to click the button that says "review" and do just that! Your reviews are, quite literally, why I update this fic as often as I do. **

**So please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay I felt kind of bad for the last chapter so here's the new one!  
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**I know not as many of you went to review the last one but considering I'm giving you two chapters so quickly after each other, I'll just assume its because of time constraints. **

**As for the rock stars who came out to review, you guys freakin rock! Seriously, each and every one of you. **

**So here's the new chapter!  
**

**Cue the insanity! **

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It was hard to be silent with a dragon on your back.

Bow in one hand, quiver of arrows strung across his back, Hiccup was forced to reconcile that unfortunate fact. Hiccup knew the only reason he could see was because he had convinced T.T. to ride in the sling he threw over the quiver on his back. The Terror might have loved Tuffnut but at the end of the day Hiccup was Hiccup and T.T. had made it very clear that he was not going to be left behind at camp. He was going with them and he was going to be going with Hiccup. They had split up to be better able to catch their prey, each going in a different direction--except for the Twins who went together. Hiccup had a feeling that if they caught something it was going to be a miracle. Their loudness was good for dragon hunting. Not so much for the other kind.

He had convinced T.T. to be silent but he could tell the dragon was sulking. Making sure you were very aware of the dragon's feelings was not a Toothless-exclusive talent. All the dragons were excellent at it and T.T. was among the best. Hiccup could feel the dragon taking the deepest breath's possible in an effort to make sure that Hiccup knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was annoyed with the situation. Shaking his head at the small dragon at his back, Hiccup continued on his way through the surrounding woods, his bow in his hand as T.T. huffed in the sling on his back. Hiccup looked around. There had to be something around there that he could kill, hoping that whatever he was going to hunt wasn't scared off by the smell of dragons.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw something move.

Hand tightening on the bow, Hiccup turned around to face a Elk making his way through the forest. Reaching behind him, Hiccup pulled one of the arrows out of the quiver and nocked it, moving forward towards the animal. He stayed low, making sure that he was doing his best to be quiet as his prosthetic foot dragged slightly behind him. The Elk raised his head and Hiccup froze, holding himself still before the animal went back to grazing. Hiccup moved to the side, setting his feet and drawing back the bow as quietly as he could. The Elk stayed in one place, seemingly unaware of what was going on. Hiccup held the bow taut for a moment before he released the arrow and let it fly.

The arrow hit home.

Hiccup gasped as the Elk toppled to the ground, his arrow sticking out of it.

"I hit it--oh my god I hit it! Yes!" Hiccup jumped up, "I am the greatest viking ever!"

As fast as his prosthetic would let him he raced over to where the Elk was. It was already dead, his arrow piercing right through its heart. He might have lacked the upper body strength to throw an axe far but he had decent aim. Half skill, half luck--exactly how Hiccup was used to rolling. He didn't feel bad at the sight of the Elk laying there. It was not the first thing he had killed, nor would it be the last. But the sight of the animal laying there made him think of another animal that had been laying still on the ground because of something that he had done. At the memory, Hiccup's stomach lowered and suddenly all the joy he'd been feeling at making the kill he needed without getting killed himself flew away as he thought of Toothless.

Miserably Hiccup sat down next to the Elk he'd killed. He had hunted before. Fish was the staple of the viking diet but he had gone hunting before and he had killed animals but now when he looked at the Elk all he could see was Toothless. Resting his head in his hand he looked at the ground. Toothless was back in Berk, probably plotting all the ways that he was going to make Hiccup pay for leaving him for as long as he had. A few days, a few hours--it didn't matter. Toothless had scarcely let Hiccup out of his sight since his fight with the giant dragon that had almost killed them both. He was probably furious that Hiccup was gone. Oh Hiccup knew that when he got back in one piece Toothless would be overjoyed somewhere deep _deep _inside, but his dragon was very good at letting people know when he was disappointed and Hiccup knew he was no exception.

As if he knew that Hiccup was thinking about dragons, T.T. jumped from the sling onto him and let out a huff as he wedged himself under Hiccup's arm and settled himself on the boy's lap, turning around so that he was looking up at Hiccup. He didn't make any move towards the Elk, for which Hiccup was very grateful. The last thing he needed to explain was why he was the only viking whose kill either had tooth marks in it or was already cooked. With his free hand, Hiccup reached out and rubbed T.T.'s nose. The dragon let out a noise of contentment and nuzzled his nose into Hiccup's palm. Dragons, regardless of their shape or species all loved to have their noses petted--though they only let the ones they trusted do it. Terrors were no exception. Especially not when it came to T.T. who loved being petted as much as Toothless and Bluebell did.

"I know buddy, I know, soon we'll be back in Berk," T.T. made a sound of happiness, "are you a betting dragon? what do you think my chances are of my house still standing when I get home?" T.T. let out a low sound, "yeah, I doubt it too."

Hiccup looked over at the Elk, realizing that they were going to have to get back to the camp and then to the boat. Doubtfully he cast his eyes around. He could have asked the others for help but he had actually killed the Elk on his own and suddenly the idea of going to them was just embarrassing. Instead Hiccup looked down at TT. and felt the barely noticeable weight of the sling on his back, an idea occurring to him. The dragon looked up at him as Hiccup sat up straight. When Hiccup stood up the dragon jumped onto his shoulder. Walking over to the Elk he pulled the sling off his back and bent down, tying it around the bottom half of the Elk. T.T. whistled as Hiccup turned and looked up at the dragon.

"Hey T.T., you wanna help me out?"

By the time Hiccup got back to camp the rest of the vikings were back with their kills. Hiccup came back holding one half of the Elk with T.T. carrying the net that held the other half of the Elk.

"Unbelievable. First a dragon sneaks onto the boat--" Tuffnut began

"Then Hiccup finds a way to use it!" Ruffnut finished.

"Hey! Don;t finish my sentences."

"Don't finish mine."

"God you're like the most annoying twin ever."

"Well thank you."

"Shut up that wasn't a compliment!"

Hiccup shook his head at the Twin's antics and turned to face Astrid. She was a little ways off, the Elk that she had killed laying nearby. Hiccup told himself he didn't feel the slightest bit jealous that the Elk she had killed was a bit bigger and looked a lot faster than the one he had managed to do--with an equally perfect heart shot. At the sight of him she smiled as he walked over to where she stood, pride gleaming in her eyes at the perfect kill she had, once again, flawlessly performed.

"Well it looks like we all killed something and stayed in one piece," Hiccup said glancing back at the group, "and if Ruff and Tuff tear each other apart at least we know its not gonna be because they couldn't hunt."

"That's true," Astrid said, "though its a wonder they managed to stay quiet long enough to sneak up on something."

"Are you kidding? They probably just annoyed it to death," Hiccup said motioning to them as the Twins began to push back and forth.

Astrid laughed and Hiccup felt a thrill go through him. He'd always been dry and sarcastic and most vikings didn't seem to get that humor but Astrid--Astrid got it fine. So did Fishlegs. But Fishlegs's laugh didn't make Hiccup's stomach do the same thing that Astrid's did. Even back in the days when a girl like Astrid wouldn't give him the time of day, Hiccup had always wondered what it would sound like when she laughed--or if she even laughed at all. But he had discovered that not only did Astrid laugh but when she did she did it--as she did almost everything--with her entire self. she wasn't one of those people like his father who laughed with just their mouths. No, when Astrid laughed she did it with her mouth and her eyes and her entire body. It was a beautiful thing to watch and every time he made her laugh Hiccup wondered what a girl like her was possibly doing with him. As if she was aware that his eyes were on her, Astrid looked at him, her laugh slowly falling silent as she met his eyes.

In truth Astrid felt relieved. Hiccup had gone off and killed something and while she had faith that he would do it, the fact that he was standing there with her sent relief crashing over her. Every close call, every adventurous thing--all of it made her think back to the dream she had where he was dead. When he had apologized for protecting her, under the anger she felt a part of her wanted to tell him that he couldn't very well be worrying about protecting her when almost everything she had was going into protecting him. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. If Hiccup knew she was having nightmares about him dying, then he would think about them and the last thing Astrid wanted was for him to be worrying about her dreams. She had woken last night in a cold sweat, saved from explaining herself only by the fact that the young viking slept like rocks. But Hiccup was fine. Standing next to her, sarcastic as always but with a definite pride about him. His met hers, the smile on his face slipping as he looked at her.

"What is it?" she asked softly.

"Is everything okay?" he asked finally.

"Yes," she said firmly, "everything's fine," she glanced back at the twins who had, at the very least, stopped fighting physically, "for now," she added.

"That's why I always say you should live in the moment," Hiccup said, "this is a good moment."

"Definitely," she said.

Tuffnut and Snotlout approached the two of them, along with Fishlegs.

"We need water," Tuffnut said.

"You and Fishlegs can go," Snotlout said.

"Huh? Why us?"

"Why _not_ you?"

"Okay okay," Hiccup sighed grabbing his pack as Fishlegs grabbed the bucket "lets go get some water."

They made their way towards the water, Hiccup carrying the pack and Fishlegs holding the bucket. Fishlegs walked in front, leading them towards the lake where they would get water for the rest of the camp. Hiccup looked back at the camp where the rest of them before focusing on walking along with Fishlegs to go and get the water. They had all accomplished the first part of the task they had set out to do. Of course they hadn't come all the way to kill one animal a piece. They were going to have to take more. But they had at least managed to kill something without winding up dead themselves. That was something. And every kill that he made--that they all made--brought them closer to getting home. Home to Berk. Home to Toothless.

"Hey Hiccup?" Fishlegs called, "you should come take a look at this."

Fishlegs was a little bit ahead of him, standing a ways down a shallow hill.

"What's up? Is there water down there?" Hiccup asked.

"There's no water here but, uh, Hiccup?" Fishlegs called over to him, " but, uh, there's a coffin here."

"There's a what?" Hiccup questioned coming over to where Fishlegs was standing.

There was a coffin.

It looked like it had been half buried and then hastily dug up again and flung clear of the hole. Mud splattered the sides of the coffin but it was out of the ground and laying on its bottom. Hiccup walked over to where it was as Fishlegs let him take the lead, following behind the shorter boy. Standing beside the coffin, Hiccup set the pack he was carrying down and knelt down to inspect the coffin more closely.

Hiccup ran his fingertips over the edge of the coffin. It was a well made one. The wood was thick and heavy, reinforced with a lacework of metal that Hiccup knew no-one on Berk could have done. The coffin was a work of art. He imagined it would last for a very long time, even under water. Bending down, Hiccup looked closer at the top of the coffin. His eyes widened as he looked at the beautiful lattice before they landed on the five small hole. The surfaces were intricate, the holes so small and set in so seamlessly that Hiccup thought he would have missed them if he had not been looking for them. His fingers touched the edge of the holes.

"They're keyholes," he said aloud.

"B-but for a keyhole, don't you need a key?" Fishlegs asked softly.

"Yes," Hiccup said, "I need a--a key! I've got a key!"

His eyes widened as he scrambled over to his pack. Throwing it open he grabbed the items inside and threw them to the ground, searching the insides until his fingers found the small key at the bottom. Grabbing it he left his pack and the contents on the side of the bank and scrambled back to the coffin. Hiccup looked at the keyholes. There were five, one for each corner and one in the middle. Fishlegs came over to the coffin as Hiccup leaned over the top of the lattice work Reaching out he stuck the key in the first of the corner holes, twisting it until it clicked into place. Moving over to the next one he went through the corner locks, opening the keyholes until all that was left was the center one. He looked up to see Fishlegs watching him intently. The bigger boy met his eyes and nodded. Hiccup inserted the key into the middle hole and twisted it.

The sound of gears turning met his ears. Hiccup looked down at the coffin, expecting to hear but not see anything. But things were moving. The lattice was moving, sliding into place like gears on a system. Hiccup watched as the puzzle began to solve itself. As the lattice unwound, a seam formed on the surface of the coffin, splitting it lengthwise from one end to the other. Hiccup leaned forward as the line became clear, revealed by the lacework with the center keyhole in the center of the line. When the lattice had unwound itself the metal was still reinforcing the heavy wood but now there were clear seams showing that the box opened lengthwise along the top. Hiccup looked up at Fishlegs who seemed just as stunned as Hiccup felt.

"Should we open it?" Fishlegs asked looking at the boy.

"I--I think we already have," Hiccup said looking down at the box.

Fishlegs nodded as Hiccup reached out to pull half the box up. Nothing happened, the top didn't move. Hiccup moved forward and grasped the key of the box, turning it further. One half of the lid move slightly upwards as the last of the mechanisms closing it released. Hiccup grabbed the edge of the coffin and lifted it up to reveal what was inside. He had told himself not to be surprised at what he saw, no matter what was inside. But even so he felt a thrill of surprise go through him as he looked down at the contents of the coffin--contents that were decidedly worth of being put in a coffin. He just was not sure why someone would go through the trouble of putting a dead man in a coffin designed so that it was not supposed to be opened by anyone.

"Well at least he's not half eaten," Hiccup said.

Fishlegs made a sound of confirmation as the two of them inspected the man laying there. The man was dressed in the same way that the half eaten dead man had been, in light, cotton cloths designed for a much warmer place. A green scarf was tied around his head, covering his scalp and his right eye. As he looked down Hiccup could see that his left hand was gone as well. Hiccup looked up to see Fishlegs inspecting the body as well, obviously curious as to what was going on. Hiccup sighed and moved back. He was getting tired of seeing dead bodies everywhere and the fact that he was only relieved because the particular body in front of him wasn't half eaten didn't make him feel any better.

"Uh, Hiccup?" Hiccup looked over at Fishlegs, "this guy's not dead."

"He's not what?!" Hiccup demanded, scrambling over to the body.

Fishlegs motioned frantically and Hiccup realized that the man in front of them was breathing. Shallowly, but breathing none the less. That mean this heart was beating, his chest was rising, he was alive. Even though the coffin had been half submerged in the water, the intricacies of the coffin had probably been the thing that saved him from drowning. Hiccup looked up at Fishlegs who looked a second from going into hysterics before he turned back to the not-dead body laying in the intricate coffin between them.

"Uh sir? Sir! Can you hear me?" Hiccup said loudly coming forward, "sir! If you can hear me, uh, open your eyes! I mean eye! Open your eye!"

The man's eye opened.

For a second they were all still, Hiccup looking at the man in the coffin, the man in the coffin looking at Hiccup and Fishlegs staring at Hiccup as well. For a second they were perfectly still.

And then the screaming started.

Hiccup had no who screamed or moved first but the man was suddenly sitting up in his coffin, screaming as he motioned wildly. Hiccup fell backwards screaming as well. Fishlegs on the other hand leapt to his feet, shrieking as he motioned wildly and leapt backwards. None of them knew how long they sat there screaming, or how many times Fishlegs was able to run laps around Hiccup and the man in the coffin. But finally their voices gave out and Fishlegs got exhausted enough to stop running and they were left with three young men staring at each other trying to figure out who was who.

"Are you alright?" Hiccup asked looking at the man.

When he wasn't laying still and cold the man sitting there looked much younger, maybe a year or two older than Hiccup himself. His one eye locked on Hiccup, looking at the viking like he was the only reason he was still on the earth. And, Hiccup reasoned, in a way he was. It took a moment for the man to speak and when he did it was with a voice that, for some reason, sent shivers down Hiccup's spine.

"I've been better," he said, glancing down at the coffin, "been worse too," he looked back over at Fishlegs, "is your friend alright?"

"Oh he's fine," Hiccup said, "so, uh, who are you and why did someone throw you in a coffin?"

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Hiccup," Hiccup said.

The young man nodded before he got to his feet. Hiccup rose to his height as well as the man stepped out of the confines of the coffin he had been locked inside. He was about Hiccup's height, though it was hard to be sure given the uneven nature of the land. His eye swept over Hiccup in what the young viking assumed to be an assessment of sorts. Hiccup had been sized up before by viking warriors who had mistakenly thought he was good fighter. That was his first clue to the young man in front of him. He could fight, though Hiccup had no idea if he could fight very well considering the fact that he had been locked, weaponless, into a coffin. The young man's eyes left Hiccup all together and swept around the area surrounding them before they went back to the young viking's face. Slowly the young man's lips curved into a smile as he reached up and pulled the headscarf off his head to reveal a mop of unruly black hair and a perfectly functioning eye underneath it.

"And I, Hiccup, am Alvin the Poor But Honest Farmer," he said with a sweeping bow, "at your service."

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**And Alvin enters the story! **

**Okay for those of you who are freakin out going "Oh not ANOTHER How to Be a Pirate Rip off!" Calm down, its not. I promise. **

**Let me explain.**

**I was in Barnes and Noble buying a language book (I'm in the process of learning Arabic) and I came across the HTTYD books and decided to give a quick look. Well I wound up reading How to Be a Pirate and HTTYD and I think the books are very VERY different from the movies. But I freakin LOVED the fact that Hiccup had someone like Alvin in his storyline, even if I wasn't entirely thrilled at the way that the author made Alvin so, well, old. **

**So for those of you who know about Alvin, this isn't going to be like the Alvin in the books. For one, he's much MUCH younger than the books made him out to be. As for the rest, well, you'll just have to wait and see. But come on! This was just way to awesome an opportunity to pass up. So if you read the Books I'm going to be introducing a few characters-based-off-the-book-characters but like the movie did I'll be taking liberties with them. Also I know vikings probably wouldn't know what a coffin is (they use pyres) but for the sake of ease, lets just say they do. **

**Don't worry, this story's still going to be centered on the vikings from the movie. After all, its a fanfic for that. **

**Now for all those people reviewing (who freakin RULE), if you know about Alvin/Hiccup and all that please PLEASE don't include that in your review. I don't want those who don't know about them to be spoiled.**

**Remember to ask before using dragon names!**

**Oh and please review! I'd say don't forget but I doubt any of you are forgetting. But by clicking that review button and typing something into that box know you're inspiring me to update faster! And we all know that you want more chapters! So if you want more to read then click the review button and review!**

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So please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay so my life's been a bit crazy so sorry about the delay!**

**Let me say this is a kind of interlude chapter, so its a bit shorter but I wanted to establish Alvin and the gang's dealings with him. **

**Thanks for the reviews you rock stars!  
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No-one moved.

Hiccup found himself sorely wishing that he had brought an axe or a knife or some kind of weapon. But considering Toothless still thought of him holding a weapon as a disgrace and the newer dragons were incredibly skittish around blades of any kind, he had gotten out of the habit of carrying them. From the way Fishlegs was looking at the bucket he had dropped, Hiccup knew the larger boy was considering going for that in lieu of the weapon that he obviously did not have either.

"There's no need for you to go for that," Alvin said, and though he did not look at Fishlegs the bigger boy froze, knowing that the young man was addressing him, "as you can see, I'm quite unarmed."

Hiccup looked at him. He really was wearing clothing unlike any Hiccup had seen before the dead man. Even the green scarf he wore around his head was alien. Lower down he wore a long off white shirt had sleeves that were full but tapered off at the wrist to ensure his hands were able to move freely. Or rather, that his hand was able to move freely. On top of that he donned a black vest that covered him from neck to hip. The pants he wore were also loose, tucked into black leather boots. They too were unlike any Hiccup had seen. Made of black leather, they folded over at the tops and came to just below Alvin's kneecaps. If Alvin had been carrying any weapons, they were gone from him now. But if he was off put by the lack of weaponry he was carrying he didn't let it show.

Hiccup stared at him. Alvin's features were weather beaten. Wherever he had been before being locked in a coffin, his life had been spent very much out doors, even though he only had one hand. It showed in the way he stood--in the fact that he was standing at all considering he had been locked in a coffin that was opened by a key that had been with a man who had not only died but been half eaten by the time they found him. Alvin made no move to get out of the coffin that had held him prisoner for so long, seemingly content to stand there and let the two other boys survey him. Hiccup knew if it had been him in the coffin he would have been running as fast as he could out of the box. But Alvin stood there and gave no sign of discomfort at his circumstances.

Alvin looked around before his eyes landed on the key in the coffin. One of his eyebrows arched as he looked down at the small thing that had freed him from the coffin. He glanced at the two of them before he bent down and turned the key, freeing it from the lock before rising to his full height. Using his fingertips, he held the key up by the leather, letting the small object dangle in front of his face. His eyes flicked from the key to Hiccup and then back to they key.

"Where did you find this?" he asked.

"We found the key--" Fishlegs began.

"Actually my dragon found the key," Hiccup cut in.

Fishlegs looked at him frantically from behind Alvin's shoulder. Hiccup glared at him, silently willing the boy to follow him. He wasn't entirely sure where the lie came from. Only that the boy who stood in front of them seemed to be perfectly fine with having come out of a coffin, a coffin unlocked by a key that a man had died holding. None of those things sat well with Hiccup. Alvin needed their help and Hiccup had no intention of leaving him on the shore--especially when he would probably just follow them back to camp. But he wasn't going to tell him everything, not while they knew nothing of the circumstances that brought the Poor but Honest Farmer to his current predicament. Fishlegs may not have understood Hiccup's reasoning but didn't say anything to contradict him. The two of them looked back at Alvin who locked eyes with Hiccup.

"Your dragon?" Alvin repeated with an arch of his brow.

"Yes," Hiccup said firmly, committing to the partial lie, "do they have dragons where you come from?" he asked.

"Sadly no," Alvin said, "they do not."

An odd sense of pride filled Hiccup at the other man's admission. No dragons? Well, that was one of the perks of living on Berk. But it had become almost commonplace there to have a dragon. Or to see them, or hear them or smell them--the last of which was often rather unpleasant. . The strange clothing, the slight accent--the man who stood in front of him was from somewhere far enough away that there were no dragons in his village. But Alvin did not seem to to think it was strange that Hiccup had spoken of a dragon, so at the very least they had them in the area. It was wonderful but strange to Hiccup just how quickly the idea of having a dragon be part of every day life had been accepted and became the norm of the village.

Hiccup looked closely at the young man. The lack of proper clothing seemed to be getting to Alvin. His jaw was clenched tightly and his arms were pressed to his sides. Hiccup felt a chill go down his spine in spite of the heavy clothing that he had layered on. Underneath that he knew he had clothing about as thin as the cotton Alvin wore and he realized just how freezing the young man had to be. But he hadn't breathed a word of how cold he was, seemingly content to stand there and answer their questioned.

A part of Hiccup told him to leave him there. That was what his father would have done. A strange man coming out of a strange coffin? In a few hours the cold would take care of him if the beasts didn't get to him before that. If he left him there than no-one had to be any wiser about what happened. They would only have to worry about hiding T.T. from his father, not explaining about why they returned with a good kill and another mouth to feed. Leaving him there was the logical thing to do. Something, somewhere, had seen fit to lock the man in a coffin and toss him on a deserted part of an island. Leaving him there was the way to go.

But as he looked at him, Hiccup realized that he couldn't leave the young man there.

He could kill an animal but another person? Hiccup doubted he could do that, even if it was indirectly. The young man was as good as dead if they left him there. Just like Toothless would have been if he hadn't taken care of him. How would his life had been different if he had been faced with the same choice and chose the 'logical' option for dealing with the dragon who had become his best friend?

"Well lets get back to camp," Hiccup said, looking at Alvin.

"You're not going to leave me here?" Alvin asked raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"Well you'll probably just follow us," Hiccup said looking at Alvin.

"Fair enough," Alvin said, "Fair enough."

Hiccup turned and walked back towards the camp. Fishlegs and Alvin followed him as they made their way back. They were silent as they made their way back, each lost in their own little world, each thinking of the place that they had left behind to come to the unforgiving island they now found themselves on. As they walked back up over the hill to where the rest of the vikings were back at camp, Hiccup realized that this probably looked quite bad. The moment they got within view of the camp, the noise started.

"Oh come on!" Snotlout shouted, "you were supposed to come back with water! Not a whole other person!"

By the time they fully got to the camp, they were surrounded by the other vikings who were at least distracted from yelling at Hiccup by the appearance of the new person. If Alvin was off put by the blatant staring he did not show it. He did not straiten his spine or cram his hands in his pockets or fix his eyes on his boot tips. Instead stood there casually, as if he was accustom to all eyes being on him. He had both his hand and the missing one loose by his sides and since the sleeves of his shirt tapered to allow his hand freedom of movement. there wasn't any missing the fact that the young man had only one hand. But even though he could have hid his missing hand, he did not do any such thing. He must have been one handed for a while--that or he was the type not to be embarrassed by things such as people staring openly at him.

Hiccup felt something deep inside him twist at the ease with which Alvin interacted with the others. He liked the fact that now when people looked at him they didn't think of him as a total and utter failure. But he still found it unsettling that everyone not only knew his name but sought him out. Especially in the early days when he had done his best to seem brave and strong while trying not to pass out from the pain his missing foot gave him. But even now, now when he thought he should be used to the attention he still found that half the time he wanted to crawl into a hole and hide and the other half he wished that he was up in the sky with Toothless. Though even now the skies had become rather crowded with other vikings and their dragons.

They had made a lot of noise, which in turn attracted T.T. The dragon came bounding out and made a b-line for their newest member.

"Okay, okay that is the dragon--T.T.--don't worry he's--" Hiccup began to say he was harmless and then stopped, "just stand still. Let him inspect you."

Alvin said nothing but held himself very still as T.T. moved towards his feet, leaning forward and sniffing the young man's feet. The dragon walked a slow circle around the young man, looking him up and down and making small noises as he did. Finally he stopped, looked him up and down a final time before turning and running over to Tuffnut, leaping up the young viking's back and cowering behind his blond hair, his eyes peeping over Tuffnu't shoulder.

"He's skittish sometimes around new people," Hiccup said to Alvin.

"Aren't we all," Alvin replied looking at Hiccup with a smile.

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As dusk fell around them, the vikings and Alvin sat around the fire.

They sat together more out of necessity than comradeship. They did not know Alvin anymore than he knew him. But if recent events had taught the young viking's anything it was that things usually were not what they appeared to be. Like the young Poor But Honest Farmer they found themselves in the company of. If Alvin disliked being so outnumbered and weaponless, he didn't show it. He sat perfectly at ease against one of the rocks. They had all double checked their weapons--as discreetly as possible--and nothing was missing. And yet Alvin seemed perfectly fine with the situation he found himself in. Though, considering he had been rescued from a coffin, perhaps being outmatched and outnumbered was an improvement.

"So, dude, how did you get stuck in that box?" Tuffnut questioned looking at him.

"That is a long story," Alvin said.

"Dude we're not going anywhere," Snotlout said.

"Very well," Alvin said, leaning forward and resting his forearms on his knees, "I was a farmer back in my village," Alvin said, "poor but honest," he added with a swallow, "but me being so poor, a few of the men in the village didn't much like me having the land I did. They caught me one day and when I woke up again I found myself in a strange cave. When I was trying to find my way out, I found the box you found me in. First it took my hand," he said motioning to the stump, "then I'm afraid it took the rest of me."

"Why didn't you just leave the coffin alone after it took your hand?" Snotlout asked.

"Because of what was inside the coffin," Alvin said.

They all traded looks, their minds going to the same place. Whatever was in that coffin had to be good. It had to be getting locked in a coffin after loosing your hand good.

"What was in it?" Tuffnut demanded.

Alvin looked at them all. In the firelight his features were sharp, keen--almost dragon like. His eyes looked at them each in turn and when his gaze landed on Hiccup, the young viking felt as if every part of him was laid bare to Alvin's gaze. Hiccup locked eyes with him, even if he felt intimidated he was not going to let it show. Alvin's eyes narrowed and for a moment the smile that graced his lips was the most devious that Hiccup had ever seen. But the look passed so quickly Hiccup was half sure he had imagined it and when Alvin leaned forward he found himself leaning in with the rest of the vikings, hanging on the young man's every word. Alvin cast his eyes among them one more time before his gaze locked with Hiccup's once more.

"Because inside the coffin, my friends, was a map," Alvin said.

"Was it a treasure map? Please tell me it was a treasure map," Snotlout said.

"But not just any treasure map," Alvin said leaning towards the brown haired viking, "I found _the_ treasure map, the one that leads to the treasure of Grimbeard the Ghastly, the greatest pirate to ever sail the seas."

"Shut up, no way," Snotlout said, "Grimbeard? _The_ Grimbeard? The greatest pirate ever?"

Alvin nodded.

"I wanna see it, can we see it?" Tuffnut questioned leaning even further forward.

"I wanna see it first!" Ruffnut said shoving him aside.

Alvin watched their exchange, amusement shining in his eyes as he leaned back. The twins arguing rose in volume and intensity until they were the center of attention. The poor but honest farmer leaned back against the rock and watched the vikings, his hand resting in his lap. Hiccup watched their exchange but his eyes were drawn back to the young man sitting next to him. Alvin rested his head back against the rocks, watching the flames of their small fire dance. Deciding he was bored with Hiccup's lap jumped off and scurried over to the twins, considering the pair for a moment before enthusiastically joining in and jumping on Tuffnut's face.

Hiccup looked over at Alvin. The one handed young man was watching the group squabble, his lips curved into a faint smile that Hiccup thought might have been the most honest gesture he had seen on his face. But it seemed that Alvin the Poor but Honest Farmer was a very observant man. His eyes did not go to Hiccup but the moment he felt Hiccup's gaze on him, he began to speak.

"So what happened to your leg?" Alvin said finally looking over at Hiccup, "missing limb to missing limb," he said motioning with his handless arm.

"How did you--" Hiccup began.

"You limp," Alvin said, "of course plenty of people have two legs and can't walk very well. Your tell is your face."

"My what now?"

"Your tell. The thing that gives you away. Your tell is your face. When you walk you walk like a man who doesn't quite know his own skin. Doesn't quite know what he's capable of," Alvin looked back at the group before fixing his gaze on Hiccup, "how'd it happen?"

"Dragons," Hiccup said.

"Dragons," Alvin repeated before letting out a low whistle, "I hope he was bigger than your friend over there," he said nodding to T.T. who was happily gnawing on Tuffnut's nose.

"Oh he was a bigger one," Hiccup said.

"Well then, that's impressive," he said, "I bet the girls in your village love you," Hiccup looked at the young man, "chicks dig scars," he said, "and you've got one hell of a tale with that leg of yours."

"Oh I don't know about that," Hiccup said, feeling the back of his neck burn.

Alvin looked at him carefully. Hiccup felt the heat on the back of his neck burn even more. He looked like he knew everything that Hiccup was feeling. But the boy's gaze was friendly, so friendly that it took Hiccup a moment to realize what made him feel so offput by it. Alvin looked at him like he could see everything about him but as Hiccup looked at the young man he realized he could see _nothing_ about him. His eyes were closed off. Hiccup could see nothing about him that Alvin did not want him to see. He was in perfect control of his emotions, but more than that he was in perfect control of what he wanted people to see about him. It was unnerving and for the first time Hiccup found he was forced to turn his gaze away from the young man in front of him.

"So what's with the bandana?" he said finally, breaking the silence "I thought you were missing your eye."

"Well that's kind of the point now isn't it?" Alvin said with a smile, "See I figure if they think your eye's already gone, they're less likely to go for it in a fight."

"Smart thinking," Hiccup said, "your farmers must be different from ours if you're getting into fights with people who want to take your eye out that often."

Alvin threw back his head and laughed.

"Not entirely," he said, "after all, your village seems to have blacksmiths who train dragons."

It had been a long, hard day and soon people began to disperse for the tents, Alvin and his story of the treasure map far in the back of their minds. Snotlout and Tuffnut had the most room out of the boys, enough room to fit one more with them. T.T. followed them, much to Tuffnut's dismay, and Hiccup realized that they would be fine for the night with Alvin sleeping in their tent. The girls went off to their own tent as Fishlegs and Hiccup retreated to their won.

It was only later, when he was moments from falling asleep, that it occurred to Hiccup he had never told Alvin he had been a blacksmith.

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**Ooo how did he know that?**

**Next time Astrid and Hiccup are going on one last hunting run before we leave the island behind! So buckle down for AstridxHiccup fluff! And Hiccup's going to explain more about why he was so willing to let a strange man into the camp--and about the whole treasure thing!**

**Remember if you're choosing between reviewing and not reviewing--review! Your reviews are what keep me writing! Ad I know you wanna get to the whole fluff business. So if you want to find out what's going on, then review!**

**So please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**First off....FANART!!**

**I'm super pumped because Cafcow drew a very pretty scene with Astrid hugging Hiccup and holding bluebells. It is all kinds of awesome...and part of the reason my focus is squarely back on this fic. I freakin LOVE fanart for my stories and she just made me over the moon! **

**She ALSO drew a completely BAMF pic of Alvin the Poor But Honest Farmer that is just all kinds of awesome! **

**You can find the fanart for my stories if you go to my profile page and then click the link labeled 'fanart'. I've got gorgeous fanart that people drew for a bunch of my stories in there but Cafcow's are currently the newest. **

**Remember if you do fanart for one of my stories, please tell me about i! **

**And be sure to go check out Cafcow's art!**

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There was not a soul in Berk who would call Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III unobservant.

Clumsy, un-cordinated, dreamer, weak--but not unobservant. In some ways perhaps his weakness made it worse. He could see a problem--probably better than most could, and he could come up with a million solutions--or at least more than most could. And yet at the end of the day in spite of all the seeing and the dreaming, he could not actually solve the problem. Not in a way that produced an effective solution. Though, at the very least, he could see that there was a problem, because Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was an observant man.

Which was how he knew he was in a lot of trouble.

They had broken off to go on one final hunting run while Fishegs, Alvin and T.T. stayed behind to break camp. Astrid and Hiccup had paired off to go and hunt, but the moment they had Astrid had taken off at a pace that forced Hiccup to go behind her. She did not go fast enough that he lost her, but it was fast enough Hiccup knew she was upset. Upset enough that she did not want to look at him. As he walked behind her, Hiccup realized that she had been the only one who didn't say a word to Alvin. She had just watched him with the stone cold expression that Astrid tended to give people who she was suspicious of. Hiccup had felt the look on the back of his neck when he had been hiding Toothless. The others had asked questioned, been curious but Astrid had just glared.

She might have glared at the stranger but she was angry at Hiccup. Of all the million things he had seen going wrong with bringing Alvin back to their camp, Astrid's fury was not one of them. Something that Hiccup was kicking himself for not realizing earlier. Of course Astrid would be angry. Astrid who was the picture of a logical, ruthless, vicious viking. Astrid who would not have thought twice about leaving a stranger she found in a coffin where she found him--and that was before she even knew that he found the key hidden in the half eaten body.

Inwardly Hiccup swore. He had meant to tell her but he had forgotten completely. As he looked at the tense lines of Astrid's shoulders Hiccup realized that telling her where he had found the key and that he had not told her was only going to lead to Astrid being even angrier. And if there was one thing that Hiccup didn't want it was for Astrid to have another reason to be angry at him. They walked in silence for a short while until the weight of it forced Hiccup to speak.

"So," Hiccup said, "are we going to talk about this?"

Astrid's pace was steady as Hiccup spoke and for a second he thought she was ignoring him. Within the next, he half wished that she had.

"I can't believe that you brought a stranger back to camp!" she cried rounding on him, "a stranger who you found in a _coffin_!"

Hiccup's eyes widened and Astrid realized he wasn't expecting her to talk to him. Astrid stared at him, half wondering if she should be less angry than she was. She had a feeling that when Hiccup and Fishlegs had been sent to get water, something would happen. It was just how things were when Hiccup was around. You turned your back for one moment and the world was turned upside down. But even she could not have foreseen that he would return with a whole other person. A person who he had found locked in a coffin. But that was Hiccup, the eternal gentleman. He saw nothing wrong with bringing a strange man back to the camp. Nothing at all, in spite of the fact that if it had been any other viking in the land of Berk they would have left him.

"I couldn't just leave him there," Hiccup said.

"And why not?" Astrid demanded, nocking her arrow"anyone else would have," she let out a breath and shook her head, "I don't get why you always have to be such a nice guy," she finished, disgust dripping from her tone as though being a nice guy was somehow a negative thing.

"What is so wrong with being a nice guy?" Hiccup asked.

"What's wrong with it? What if it gets you killed?!" Astrid demanded, turning around, pulling the bow taut and letting the arrow fly, all in one seamless, smooth motion.

It hit home.

Hiccup hadn't even seen the elk that fell with her arrow in its heart.

Upset, angry, maybe even a little sad--none of it mattered. Astrid still made the impossible shot look impossibly easy, and before Hiccup had even seen the elk. Her grip on the bow was white knuckled, her hand still by her ear from where she had pulled the bow taut. She looked anything but pleased with what she had done. Hiccup glanced at the elk that lay there, Astrid's arrow neatly through its heart before his eyes went back to Astrid. She was still perfectly poised, holding the bow in front of her as though she had just admitted some great secret. If possible, her white knuckle grip on the bow tightened further and, not for the first time, Hiccup felt worry grip him.

"Astrid," Hiccup said quietly, "what's going on?"

Astrid held herself very still, as though she was hiding in Bluebell's blind spot. But Hiccup was not a dragon, he did not have a blind spot. But if his tone was any indication, he was concerned. And when Hiccup was worried about someone he cared about, he did not let them suffer alone. She could hear he was worried and she knew that meant he would show more concern than a viking had any right to. Of all the vikings in Berk she had to become--whatever she was, to the one truly genuinely nice viking on the island. Her mother always said she had a nose for trouble and that she was so incredibly stubborn, and that those things together were going to land her in a heap of trouble one day. She had just never expect that day to be today. Slowly Astrid lowered the bow, her eyes firmly on the elk she had killed. Not looking at Hiccup she walked over to the fallen animal.

"Astrid--Astrid would you just--just slow down a secon--" his hand wrapped her arm.

"No!" Astrid jerked her arm free, "you know what you're problem is, Hiccup? You think with your heart. You don't think with your head. There is a reason we got sent on this trip, our parents thought that we were ready to be vikings and you just brought a guy you found in a _coffin_ back to camp!"

"What was I supposed to do? Leave him there?"Hiccup demanded, "Astrid he would have died."

"And would that have been so bad?" Astrid demanded, "did you ever think that maybe there was a reason he was in that coffin in the first place?"

"Of course I realized it!" Hiccup said, "but I'm not like whoever did that. I can't just leave a man out in the wild to die."

"Why not?! You can't just take in everyone you see! You can't save everyone Hiccup!"

"I can try."

"Why?!"

"Because that's what I would want someone to do if it was me!"

Astrid stared at him. Both of them had been shouting, their eyes bright with thrill of the fight. As she looked at him, Astrid realized she didn't think she had ever seen Hiccup look so angry before. His cheeks were pink and his eyes glinted with anger. But it was his words that made her stop. He said he would want someone to do the same for him. Astrid knew if she had found a strange man in a coffin in the middle of a deserted landscape she would have left him there, probably knocked him out for good measure so he wouldn't follow her back to the camp. It would mean the man's death but Astrid knew she wouldn't loose any sleep over that fact, if anything she would sleep better knowing that she hadn't put everyone in jeopardy. And it was not like she was more ruthless than any other viking on Berk--they would do the same thing.

All of them, except for Hiccup.

Because the truth was that Hiccup had been treated how every other viking on Berk would treat a runt. Someone who was bad at the dragon fighting arts--and the fighting arts in general. Now, of course, he was held in very high regard. But most of Hiccup's young life had been spent suffering the comments that the other vikings made about his lack of skills. It wasn't strange or unusual and he was not the only weak fighter in Berk. But Astrid realized that if Hiccup was given the chance to treat another person differently, to show them the kind of kindness that he had never been shown by others, he would take it. He would take it even if it meant putting the rest of them in danger.

"Hiccup, I--" she began.

"Forget about it," Hiccup said looking at the elk, "we're late as it is."

"No we're not," Astrid objected, "this is the fastest anyone's made a kill."

"We'll still be late," Hiccup said, glancing down at his leg.

"So we'll be late," Astrid shot back, "Hiccup I get what you're saying but if someone wanted Alvin to be locked away, they probably had a good reason!"

"I know," Hiccup sighed.

"You know?" Astrid demanded, earlier guilt vanishing as she looked at the guilt written all over Hiccup's face, "how do you know? What aren't you telling me?"

"Yeah, I also kindsorta found the key to the coffin in the half eaten body, well, T.T. did and he gave it to me and---"

"You what?!" Astrid bellowed, "when were you going to tell me?!"

"Yes, I'm sorry, its just everything kept happening! I tried to tell you--"

"You _tried_?" Astrid demanded, advancing on him until Hiccup found his back against a tree, "was that before or after you used the key you found on the half eaten body to open the coffin?"

"Before?" Hiccup said, not meaning for it to come out as a question.

Astrid opened and closed her mouth several times, seemingly too furious to form words. Hiccup kept his mouth shut and his back pressed against the tree. Out of the corner of his eye he desperately searched for any sign Astrid was thinking of going for the bow nearby. He had never heard of a hunter making such a close range shot but he had a feeling that Astrid would figure a way to pull it off. Or at the very least to kill him with the taut bowstring. If it had been the first time he had been on the receiving end of such a look, he would have been scared stiff--and he still was. But Astrid had given him the same look before while holding an axe above his head. He knew somewhere in the back of his head that Astrid was not actually going to kill him, but looking at her gripping a weapon and glaring at him, that thought was a cold comfort in the back of his head.

"Look I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the key," Hiccup said, "but its not like I'm the only one with a secret."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Astrid demanded, narrowing her eyes.

"What about you?

"What about me?" Astrid demanded.

"I'm not stupid, Astrid," he said, "I know you're hiding something."

"Hiding something?" Astrid crossed her arms and looked down, "I'm not hiding anything."

"If you don't want to tell me that's fine," Hiccup said, knowing better than to push the issue, "but I know that something's going on."

Astrid kept her eyes locked on the ground. Of course Hiccup would have known something was going on. And of course he would not have pushed her to reveal it to him. Because when all was said and done at the end of the day Hiccup was still probably one of the nicest guys to walk the island of Berk. He knew something was happening but he wasn't going to push her or to make her say it before she was ready. The anger she felt throbbing through her dulled slightly. He must have caught on to the fact she was hiding something the moment they got on the boat and out of respect for her he had not pushed her to tell him what it was.

Astrid raised her eyes and looked at Hiccup before looking away quickly. He was still leaning against the tree, even though she was no longer forcing him to do it. He was still showing her more kindness and respect, even though she had just pushed him back against a tree. In a day or so they would be back in Berk and even though she had no doubt their parents would be furious about what had happened, that would mean that the hunting trip was over. That the dream she had last night, where she had seen Hiccup dead on the deck of the boat again, would not happen. At least, not now.

"its nothing," she said finally, forcing her eyes back to his. Though his gaze clearly said that he didn't believe her, he gave a short nod, "lets just get back. Sooner we get back to the camp, the sooner we can get back to Berk."

"So I'm guessing the first hunting trip wasn't all its cracked up to be?" Hiccup said, pushing himself away from the tree.

Astrid looked at him. Between worrying about all the ways that Hiccup could die, dealing with the craziness of having their group _and_ the addition of the man in the coffin, it had been a miracle that they had been able to kill as much as they did. And on top of all of that, Astrid had realized that it was necessary to hunt on the ground, but there was nothing like the rush of hunting from Bluebell's back. She loved her dragon and Bluebell had made it clear--in her own special way--that she was less than happy about Astrid going off on her own. But even so Astrid hadn't expected the absence of the proud, vain blue dragon to send such an ache through her heart.

"Its a hunting trip," she said looking at Hiccup, "its not supposed to be fun."

"Really? Freezing out in the cold, killing animals without our dragons--fun was the first thing that came to mind."

Astrid rolled her eyes at his dry humor.

"But hey, look on the bright side, at least now we're one step closer to being 'real vikings'," he added.

"I just want to get back home," Astrid said finally, pulling the arrow free.

"I hear you. Even though Toothless and my Dad have probably torn down the house without me there."

Astrid gave a half hearted smile that made Hiccup's heart plunge. He was fine not pressing her for whatever she was hiding but now she looked just, well, just sad. And he didn't think it was about the fact his insane father and equally insane dragon had started a war while he was gone.

"Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to--" Hiccup fumbled over the words, "whatever it is--it can't be that bad--"

"Its not," she said looking down at the elk as though she was embarrassed to look at him before muttering something so low Hiccup couldn't hear it.

"What was that?"

"I said I miss Bluebell, okay?" Astrid said, her cheeks darkening as though she had just admitted a great secret.

"I miss Toothless too--and I bet the others miss their dragons--"

"But that's _them_," Astrid said putting her hands on her hips. Hiccup was silent as she fumbled for the right words, "I've been looking forward to this for so long. And I thought--" she shook her head, "I don't know what I thought it would be like. But even with everything that's happening all I want to do is go flying with my dragon."

"What's so bad about that?" Hiccup asked walking to the side of the elk where she was standing.

"Nothing!" she said hotly, "everything," she said finally, pressing her hand to her forehead, "I'm a good hunter. And I'm supposed to enjoy this. And all I want to do is go home. How am I supposed to be a good viking if I can't even enjoy something as short as this?" she said motioning around to the woods they were standing in.

"Well if its any consolation," Hiccup said, "you're hiding it really well," he said before holding up a hand, "and I promise I won't tell anyone about it."

Astrid looked over at him. It was strange, really, how you could spend your entire life knowing a person but never really knowing them. How you could think one thing about a person, only to learn that there was a whole other side to them. They both had secrets, things they were not comfortable with the other knowing yet. But as time went on, as they shared more and more of each other past the first jerky secrets--his leg hurt, she had a favorite flower--Hiccup found he wanted to tell her more. And Astrid was not sure what it was about Hiccup's honest gaze but she found she too wanted to tell him secrets she wouldn't dream of sharing with another soul. All except the secret she was sure would get him killed.

"You'd better not," she said, inspecting the arrow in her hand.

"Promise I won't," he said holding up a hand.

Astrid pushed herself to her feet, looking down at the elk in front of them before glancing up at the sun. It was still early and the more she thought about it the more she realized that she probably had made the first kill. And even with his prosthetic, they would be able to get back to camp before the others who had gone out did. Glancing around to make sure they were alone, Astrid looked over at Hiccup.

There were times when Hiccup could read the blonde viking like a book. He saw the glint in her eyes and knew exactly what she was thinking. The dead elk was anything but romantic but it was just the two of them. In the early days of them being, well, together most of their awkward conversations had dissolved into clumsy kisses, both so surprised at what they were doing they would jump back like they had been stung. Their arguments still sometimes went like that but as time went on they both were able to hold a conversation with the other.

But that didn't mean Hiccup didn't like kissing her.

One of Astrid's hands grasped the front of his furs but he was the one who leaned forward and kissed her first. The first brush of their lips was tentative, soft even. The second, not as much.

The bow clattered to the ground as her arms wrapped around him.

She kissed him hungrily, her fingers tangling in his hair. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her body closer to him. It was not delicate, gentle or sweet. It was heated and passionate, sending both their hearts looping as though they were riding their dragons. Even with the layers of fur that separated them, both could feel the heat of each other's bodies, the pounding of each other's hearts. Astrid felt her knees weaken at the heated kiss as Hiccup's arms tightened around her waist. She never wanted to stop, never wanted to pull back or away, regardless of whether or not they came back before anyone else with a kill.

Astrid tore her lips away, her eyes snapping open as she looked up at him. He met her gaze for a moment before she drew back her hand and punched Hiccup in the shoulder.

"Don't think you're off the hook," she said, though the glare she shot his way was dampened somewhat by her swollen lips and finger mussed hair.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Hiccup said as they moved towards the dead elk.

They got their kill back to the camp with the others. They had broken camp already and all that was left was to take their supplies and kills back to the boat. That took the longest of all they had done during the day. It was a very good thing that they were able to make their kills early in the day. By the time they reached the boat the sun was already at its highest point. They all moved quickly, even the Twins not fighting as much as they normally did. While no-one was anxious to get back to Berk and explain to Stoick why they had not only a dragon but an entire other person with them, they were even less anxious to stay on the ilsand another day.

"And that's the last of it," Snotlout said, making sure the last of the packs and the kills were secure, "lets get through these rocks and head home."

Hiccup nodded before he turned to face Alvin. The young man stood there, his hands by his sides and no expectations on his face. Hiccup had a feeling he was half expecting them to leave him there on the island. They could have as well. They had saved him already, if they gave him some food and let him keep the fur they would have done more than their part. Of course he would also be dead in a matter of days--if not before that. The others continued to check for gear, already knowing that Hiccup was going to let Alvin come back with them.

"So," Hiccup said, "you ever been on a boat before?"

Alvin looked up at the boat in front of them.

"My last boat ride, did not end entirely well," Alvin said.

"Well at least this one can't be worse," Hiccup said.

"Very true," Alvin replied, "very _very_ true," he touched the side of the boat before looking at Hiccup, "I must say, I'm surprised you're letting me on the boat at all. You've done more than enough as it is."

"We already saved you this much," Hiccup said scratching the back of his neck, "we can give you a ride back to Berk, we'll figure it out when we get there."

"Thank you," Alvin said with a nod.

Soon they were all on the boat, out in the water. They turned the boat around and away from the shore, heading out of the cove.

They headed out of the cove towards the rocks. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were on the sides manning the sails as Fishlegs steered the boat. Alvin stood by the side of the boat as they pulled out. Even though their eyes were on the boat and Fishlegs, on what needed to be done, all of their eyes still darted towards Alvin. it had only been a day since he had joined up with them and their suspiciousness was understandable. Hiccup felt it too and yet he still felt bad that the other man had to endure so many people looking at him like he was a dragon mere seconds away from breathing fire.

The boat picked up speed as it began its quick journey through the rocks.

In the midst of it, Hiccup looked over at Alvin. For someone who claimed to be a farmer, Alvin seemed very at home on a boat. He wasn't grabbing onto anything, in fact, he was barely holding onto anything at all. His wrist was looped through one of the ropes, but it was clear that he did not need to hold himself like he needed to be holding onto anything. His stance was perfectly balanced, easily shifting his weight in turn with the rocketing of the boat. He looked as though he had been born on a boat. Like he had grown up one one as well. Tightening his hold on the thick robe, Hiccup looked quickly away from Alvin before the other man looked over at him. It was unsettling to see someone like that, someone who was so incredibly at home on the sea.

The more he thought about Alvin, the more Hiccup realized that certain things did not add up.

A farmer who was so at ease on the sea, a man who claimed never to have met him but knew that he had been a blacksmith, who said he did not have dragons where he came from but seemed neither upset or scared when one climbed all over him. Something was wrong, he could feel it in his bones. or at the very least, it was suspicious. Too suspicious. Hiccup looked ahead. They had to get back to Berk first. The older vikings, the Elders, his father, they would know what to do when they got back. Hiccup didn't think he had made the wrong decision in saving Alvin's life--after all, how could saving a person's life be 'wrong'--but he had to wonder if there hadn't been another way. Hiccup looked down at the wood of the boat. They had to get back to Berk. That had to be the priority. Once they got back, everything would be alright. Just as soon as they made it back.

They broke through the roughest patch and out into the more open water. Hiccup let out a breath he had not known he was holding and let his hand relax from its tight grip on the ropes. They were through the hardest part, now all that was left was to make their way back to Berk. Berk where the older, wiser vikings were. Where Toothless was. Hiccup didn't think he had ever been so truly thrilled to be heading back to the village he had once disliked so much. They would know what to do with Alvin and even if Hiccup was certain Toothless had wrecked his room and would spend most of the next few weeks glaring at him, he missed Toothless fiercely.

"Alright Fishlegs," Hiccup said walking towards the center of the ship, "lets turn back towards Berk!"

The chill of steel pressing very lightly to his throat made Hiccup freeze.

Around him he saw the others freeze, their eyes widening. Hiccup held himself very still and straight, like he was hiding in a blind spot. But that didn't matter. Everyone knew that once the predator saw you, you couldn't use the blind spot anymore. He felt like he had the first time a dragon had spotted him, before he had known dragons were not the monsters they had thought. Even though he knew that the man behind him was not a dragon, he had no illusions that he was not a predator. Hiccup did not need to know that the metal pressed to his throat was a blade.

"My deepest apologies, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III," Alvin's voice came from behind him, "but I cannot let you do that."

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**Oh snap!**

**Don't worry the treasure map is going to come into play next chapter. Also what's Alvin doing?! Sorry it wasn't as fluffy as I thought it would be but I figured Astrid would be pissed off. **

**Now for all of you rock stars reviewing, please PLEASE don't make comments about the books. I've read them. So I know what the original interpretation was and even if this is a different interpretation, I don't want people to be spoiled. so pretty please keep your reviews around THIS story. **

**And of course, please review! Your reviews are what make me want to update this little story! And if you're thinking about not reviewing, REVIEW! Click the button, type a few words and know that you'll be inspiring your friendly neighborhood author to continue to update. **

**So please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks for the reviews!**

**I am being spoiled rotten by Cafcow! **

**She drew an amazing AMAZING picture of the infamous duo of Camicazi and Stormfly that you all should check out! remember to head to my profile page and click the link labeled fanart!**

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"The first of you to move has his blood on your hands," Alvin said, pressing the blade more firmly to Hiccup's throat. No-one dared to test whether or not he was bluffing, "Fishlegs, turn the boat starboard," Fishlegs anxiously looked at them, "_starboard_," Alvin repeated, "now."

Fishlegs turned the boat.

Out of the corner of his eye, Hiccup saw the land they had been going alongside swing out of view as the boat turned out to open sea. Whatever Alvin had told them had been a lie because the moment it was turned where he wanted, the sails filled with wind and the boat immediately began to pick up speed. All the while Alvin pressed the blade to Hiccup's throat, a silent promise of what would happen if they did not obey his commands. Whoever had wanted Alvin to be in the coffin clearly had had a good reason. Furthermore they hadn't buried him with any weapons, which mean that the Poor but Honest Farmer standing behind him was neither Honest, nor was he most likely a Farmer. He was, however, a halfway decent thief. And if the press of the blade was any indication, someone who did not seem to have an issue with killing people.

"Hey man, do you really need to do that?" Snotlout asked, "its not like we got anywhere--"

"I would prefer that all of you make this journey in one piece but if you make one more move towards that pack," Alvin said as Snotlout's hand froze, "that might be impossible. You two," he looked at the twins, "tend the sail."

They did not make the same mistake of looking at each other. Both of them quickly went to tending the sail. If Alvin was tired from holding the blade to his throat, he did not show it. The blade did not waver, it did not move at all but Hiccup was very aware the fact that Alvin was completely under control of the situation. One move and Hiccup knew he'd be dead. The others knew it as well. They did not move. Astrid's face was behind him but Hiccup did not have any doubt that her features were full of fury. But even with all her skill Hiccup knew he would not risk him. Not until they knew that Alvin did not have any other tricks up his sleeve--and if history was any indication, the young man most certainly did.

"Were you ever a farmer?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes," Alvin replied, "a very long time ago," he continued, "Then I found a coffin with a treasure map in it."

"The map was real?" Hiccup questioned.

"Quite," Alvin said, "I thought it was real but it wasn't until I was locked in that coffin that I understood just how real it was. You're a nice guy, so I'd hardly expect you to understand. But generally speaking when a person is willing to throw a live man into a coffin, its something good."

"Kind of like this situation?" Hiccup asked, eyes darting as much as they could towards Alvin.

"Exactly," Alvin said.

"So, I was wondering how you knew I was a blacksmith," Hiccup said, continuing to talk, "and you know my full name. Did you go into that coffin to get to me?"

"Don't flatter yourself," Alvin said looking up at the sky, "that treasure map is what landed me in that coffin," he said, "that and a series of poor life choices."

"Oh really that fascinat--"

Hiccup cut himself off as Alvin's hand seemingly relaxed fractionally, the blade moving ever so slightly. Hiccup twisted away to try and get free from the young man's grasp, hoping that speed would make up for everything else.

Sadly it did not.

Hiccup never saw what Alvin did with the knife but suddenly the wind was knocked out of his lungs and his body twisted completely in half, one arm bent up and back at an awkward and painful angle, held in place by the young man's missing hand. The knife was pressed to his throat, hard enough now that Hiccup felt it break the skin. The others must have moved but they froze as Alvin once again held him hostage, none willing to risk his safety. Hiccup knew they would have done the same for any of them. It was sweet and sentimental and gave Alvin the neither Poor nor Honest Farmer complete control of the situation.

"I trust I've made my point," Alvin said.

Hiccup felt his stomach give an unpleasant twist. Alvin had purposely given him the opening, testing him to see what he would do. He had wanted him to think that there was an opening, he had wanted him to think that there had been some kind of hope. And he had fallen right into the trap that had been laid for him. Somehow without that hope, the situation seemed impossibly more bleak. Hiccup couldn't move his head without risking his neck, not at the angle with which Alvin held the blade. His eyes were locked on the deck in front of him but slowly he raised them. He was facing the other side of the boat and he realized that there had been another reason why Alvin had given him that opening.

Now he was facing Astrid.

Astrid's eyes moved from Hiccup to Alvin. The moment Alvin's blade had pressed to his throat, her heart had dropped. But now as she watched the skin of his neck drip from the shallow cut the blade had dealt him, she felt her heart drop even lower. She was the best viking on the boat and yet the vision of Hiccup laying dead on the deck was enough to paralyze her. She was the best viking but even if she was not she would know that no matter how fast she moved or how skillful she was by the time she reached the two of them Alvin would have slit Hiccup's throat. There wasn't any recovering from that. Hiccup would bleed out on the deck of the boat and they would be helpless to do anything about it. The feeling of helplessness, of all her skill being useless, of not being able to do _anything_ to help was even more crippling than the nightmares. She wanted to murder Alvin with her bare hands--or at the very least with her axe.

And then she looked at Hiccup.

He held her gaze, even with the blade pressed to his throat. His eyes darted to her white knuckle grip on the edge of the boat. She knew that fighting now, even at these odds, wouldn't do anything for either of them but Hiccup, he knew she was thinking about attacking Alvin--a move that would only mean his death. She wasn't known for her patience. But she saw the way Hiccup looked at her, as though silently wiling her to hold off. It was hard to force her hands open, hard to move them away from the boat edge and drop them by her sides. Hard to give a signal to the vicious man holding one of their knives to Hiccup's throat that she was not going to attack him. But she forced her hands away. Hiccup held her gaze the entire time, his eyes locking with hers. She forced herself to look at him, not at the smile that tugged at Alvin's lips as she gave in to what he wanted. She told herself this was to make sure Hiccup was alright, to keep the nightmare from coming true.

"Very good," Alvin said.

"What do you want us for?" Astrid demanded, glaring at him.

"In good time," he said, "all will be revealed," his eyes darted to the side, "unless, of course, you would prefer I kill him?"

Astrid's head whipped over. T.T. had jumped onto the deck of the boat, puffing himself out and making sounds of anger. Her heart leapt into her throat. Dragon's were intelligent creatures, but she doubted T.T. understood what 'stay still or I'll kill him' meant. All the little dragon saw was a man holding a blade to the throat of the boy that they all cared very much about. She saw the blade press more firmly against Hiccup's throat as T.T. made a noise of distress, one leg kicking against the wood as he got ready to attack.

"T.T. stop!" Astrid cried before turning to Alvin, "he doesn't understand, you have to let Hiccup go!"

"No," Alvin said as T.T. drew back, "it would be a shame for my hand to slip--"

It was Tuffnut who threw the rope out as T.T. shot forward.

It threw the little dragon off balance, so instead of running towards Alvin to rescue Hiccup he was forced to change direction. Perhaps it was instinct, or perhaps it was the dragon's plan all along but instead of swerving right, the dragon went up. T.T. took off like a rocket, soaring upwards as fast as his wings could take him. For a moment it looked like he would get free. Astrid's eyes went from him to Alvin, watching to see if the young man would react. But his eyes too seemed to be on the little dragon who took towards the sky. Wild hope pounded through her. If T.T. could get back to Berk, if he could get help--

There was a screech from high above and in a blur of gold and silk, T.T. vanished, all hope disappearing as well.

Hiccup looked upwards before he could stop himself, already half knowing what he would see. And yet what he saw was nothing he could have been prepared for, because it was nothing like anything he had seen. The dragon that soared above them was light and compact, the rider on its back even moreso. She did not sit as she rode but rather held herself up, one hand holding onto the strap wound around the long extensions on the creature's head. The other was by her side, fingers wrapped around T.T.'s wings. She held herself up on the saddle, her weight shifting easily with the movement of the agile dragon.

None of the vikings spoke as the dragon and rider banked on the air and circled the boat, almost completely parallel with the ship. The rider must have given some kind of signal to the dragon for the animal suddenly soared upwards with a beat of its wings. It soared almost the entire length of the mast with surprising speed before it tucked its wings and dove downwards.

The dragon that landed seamlessly on the boat, letting out a loud sound as it did, a sound unlike any that Hiccup had heard in his entire life. In the sun the dragon was the color of molten gold. It could have been a trick of the light but Hiccup could have sworn the hue of the dragon's hide was shifting in color. The dragon's head swiveled towards Hiccup who could do nothing but stare. The dragon in front of him was like none he had ever seen. it was a compact creature, obviously designed more for flight than life on land. Eyes as gold as the rest of the dragon examined them all with a kind intensity Hiccup was only used to seeing from Toothless. A wicked hooking horn adorned the dragon's chin, angled to assist in the aerial attacks the dragon seemed to be built for.

But however strange and beautiful the dragon was, it was nothing compared to the woman who swung herself off the creature's back.

Her dark eyes were lined with ebony, making them see dark and haunting--or they would be if they did not glint with a wicked sort of amusement. The woman's hair was a dark red, braided and twisted up in an intricate style that was held in place with a pair of ornate hair sticks. The woman's clothing was impossibly exotic as well. Though what he could see of her skin was as tan as Alvin's, the clothing she wore hid more of it than his**. **Sweeps of bright colors, of reds and pinks and greens made her seem even more exotic. But it was nothing compared to the jewelry the woman wore. It dripped from the multiple holes in her ears, it shone from her wrists and throat. Even her ankles sparkled with the jewels she wore. Hiccup had a feeling he could have lived his entire life, traveled around the world and never seen as much wealth as the woman standing in front of him was decked in.

Her eyes darted around and though they did not hold on any of them for longer than a moment, Hiccup got the distinct impression that the woman got everything she needed from the seemingly passing glance. It was echoed by the dragon behind her, its won bright gold eyes sweeping around at them. Both of their gazes landed on Alvin, their eyes locking on his. As their gaze locked on his, Alvin released Hiccup and straitened up to face them fully. There was no fear in his gaze, he obviously knew who the two of them were, and yet even so his hand did not leave the blade. Hiccup didn't think a blade that size would do much against the dragon or its rider, but then again, Alvin had just taken all of them hostage. So perhaps he was just good at pulling off seemingly impossible stunts.

"Loose something?" she asked, holding up T.T. by his wings as the little dragon kicked out with his feet.

Hiccup stared. The young woman was holding the little dragon in a perfect manner. T.T. could struggle and lash out but as long as she held her wrist at the angle she currently did, he couldn't get to her. Each time the Terror twisted or turned, the young woman adjusted her hand to accommodate the dragon's movements. She did it without a thought or care, as if she had spent most of her life doing it. Hiccup tore his eyes away and looked at the dragon's saddle. It was well worn, old even. Older than any saddle on Berk. The old saddle, the skill of the rider, the way she handled the Terror--all of it added up in a way that should have been impossible.

This woman had grown up with dragons.

"Why yes," Alvin said moving towards them, "thank you."

Before he could get there the young woman opened her hands, releasing T.T. as her dragon called out a warning.

The moment the young woman's hand opened, T.T. took off like a rocket for Tuffnut. For once the boy did not object to the dragon jumping onto his shoulder and cowering under his hair. If anything he seemed oddly comforted by the weight of the quaking dragon. T.T. peered out from underneath Tuffnut's hair and let out the most frightened whistle Hiccup had heard from the tiny dragon yet. The gold dragon angled its head towards T.T. in a warning gesture before letting out a low sound and turning away, seemingly bored with the situation. If Alvin had objections to the young woman giving T.T. back to them he did not voice them, seeming to know better than that.

"You brought spares," the young woman said, her jewelry chiming as she put her hands on her hips, "or did Grimmbeard have six descendants instead of two?" she continued, holding up two fingers to emphasize her point.

"Just the two," Alvin said, "and of those this is the one we'll need," he said nodding towards Hiccup, "but it hardly hurts to have a spare."

The young woman raised an eyebrow at him before walking over to where Snotlout was standing. The usually loud boy was silent at the sight of her. If anything he shied away against the side of the boat. The woman did not seem offended by his reaction. To the contrary she seemed to enjoy it. Her lips curved into a smile as she walked much closer to Snotlout than she needed to, her eyes sweeping over every inch of him. Behind her Alvin folded his arms over his chest, a smile tugging at his lips. The dragon gave a sound as well, one that sounded distinctly like laughter. As if it too was taking pleasure in Snotlout's blatant discomfort. The woman said nothing as she looked him over before she turned her head back towards Alvin.

"He hardly seems like much," she said.

Hiccup would never know what possessed Snotlout to move. At the insult, however, the boy's features contorted in anger and color burned at his cheeks. Hiccup opened his mouth to tell him not to do whatever he was about to do but the words failed him as Snotlout moved faster than Hiccup thought he had ever seen Snotlout move. He lunged forward, most likely thinking that if he could not take on the man who kidnapped them he could at least take on the girl who was taunting him. He moved forward, one hand swinging wildly out in a hit that Hiccup had felt before.

The young woman responded in the same way Hiccup realized Alvin had. In a blur of silk she twisted around, her hand going low to connect with Snotlout's gut, forcing the air from his lungs. Almost instantly her hands were up and around his wrist, twisting it high and back, her other hand reaching up in her hair. In a moment the woman had Snotlout doubled over, one hand twisting his arm back and the other holding a pair of very sharp, very thin blades to his throat. Her dragon let out a screech of fury, lowering its head so the chin crest was almost pointed at Snotlout as its antennae flattened in anger.

The dragon also changed color.

It happened so quickly Hiccup barely had time to see it but the dragon's color changed. Instead of a bright gold, the dragon turned a dark blue-black. Not as dark as Toothless but it was a far cry from the bright gold the dragon had been before. It screeched again, far more loudly this time and the already dark color deepened further. Snotlout was no threat to the woman but that hardly seemed to matter to the dragon. Hiccup had never seen a color changing dragon before but he recognized the motion as it drew itself up. It was getting ready to breath fire. And if it did on a wooden boat, they were all as good as dead. The woman seemed to know as well. Her eyes locked with the dragon as it puffed itself up, its mouth opening.

"Stormfly! Thats enough!" the woman shouted, cutting the dragon off mid motion.

The dragon landed back on the ground, sneezing. Smoke came out of its mouth but no fire. Stormfly shook its head, as if it was shaking off the blue black color. A moment later the dragon was gold again, though a darker shade than it had been when it first swooped down. Alvin glanced at the dragon who sneezed again, shaking its head before lightening up further back to the original gold it had been. Alvin glanced up at the sails before looking over at the side of the boat. He stepped away from the dragon and walked forward until he was next to her.

"Sadly, Camicazi, we are in need of this boat until we can rejoin the others," he told her, "make sure your dragon is aware of that?"

It came out as a question but from the anger that sparked in the red headed woman's eyes it was anything but. And she was anything but pleased to give in to his request. Her eyes promised pain but her lips curved into a smile that was as devious as it was heartbreaking and she released Snotlout, pulling back the twin blades. With a quick twist her hair was up and secured once more. Seemingly satisfied, Alvin turned and walked over to the back of the ship, changing their course. Camicazi walked over to Stormfly who lowered her head when she approached. Camicazi reached out and placed her hand alongside the crest on Stormfly's chin, her other hand scratching the dragon's nose. The dragon made a sound of joy, tilting her head to lean into her rider's touch.

The color change happened more slowly this time, starting from just around the dragon's chin crest and bleeding out along the length of her hide. Instead of the angry blue black the dragon had been, the gold was slowly taken over by a bright and cheery blue. For a moment the dragon was half blue, half gold, then the two colors seemed to swirl together and finally the dragon that stood enjoying being petted was completely blue. Camicazi continued to scratch the dragon, something Stormfly obviously adored. The dragon did not purr like Toothless did but it did make a sound in the back of its throat, obviously enjoying what was being done.

"Good girl, Stormfly," Camicazi said before lowering her voice and saying something much softer to the dragon, something that she obviously enjoyed hearing, "that's right," Camicazi's fingers paused as she turned and glanced at Hiccup. Stormfly's eye snapped open and locked on him as well, "see something you like?" she asked, one fine eyebrow arching upwards.

"Uh--" Hiccup began.

Camicazi turned to face him fully. The blue began to blend out of Stormfly's hide as the dragon began to turn gold once more. Camicazi glanced at the dragon who met her gaze before locking eyes with Hiccup. Camicazi walked forward and Hiccup found himself pressing against the side of the boat just as Snotlout had been. Camicazi stopped before she fully invaded his personal space, but from the look in his face Hiccup realized that the young woman was fully expecting an answer to her question.

"Well?" she asked.

"Your dragon just, uh, reminds me of--"

"Reminds you?" Camicazi demanded, "she _reminds_ you of something? You listen to me, I will not have my dragon 'reminding' anyone of _anything_ to do with a tribe of Hooligans too stupid to know they did not have to kill dragons," she spat, her eyes dancing with fury.

"In our defense we did have to kill one," Hiccup said holding up a finger.

Camicazi gave him a look of disgust that rivaled the ones Astrid used to give him before turning on her heel and walking over to Stormfly. Hiccup opened his mouth to say something, to ask how she knew that but he closed his mouth. The woman was working with Alvin. If she thought they were still stupid and killing dragons then that was all the better for them. He did not know what she made of T.T. but if she was willing to think the worst then he was not going to be the one to correct her. The dragon made a sound of disgust before curling next to Camicazi. Hiccup leaned against the rail of the boat, letting out a breath. The woman was scary. Between her and Alvin Hiccup wondered if his pounding heart was ever going to return to its normal rhythm.

"And where are you going?" everyone looked at Alvin, Astrid froze halfway across the boat.

"I need to make sure his throat's okay," Astrid said looking at Alvin, "I've got bandages in my pack."

"His throat is fine," Alvin said, "step away from the packs."

"But--"

Alvin raised an eyebrow, his hand moving slightly towards the knife. Astrid's eyes went to Ruffnut and Tuffnut, both of whom were closest to him. Woud one of them die or would Alvin go for Hiccup? Both of the twins looked silent, almost scared even and Astrid realized that once again she could not risk them. Not now. Not when there was yet another person added to the mix. It hurt to turn away from Alvin and the packs but she forced herself to do it. She walked over the length of the boat to where Hiccup was standing leaning against the side. She tried to keep her steps slow, careful even as if she was just a viking being concerned about a friend. The less Alvin knew about them all, the better it would be for them.

"Hey," she said, "how's your neck?"

"Its been better," Hiccup said.

"Hold on, let me see," Astrid said reaching out and touching his face.

Hiccup held himself still as her fingertips gently touched the side of his cheek, holding his chin so she could see the cut in its entirety. Her hand was steady and firm against his cheek, but even Hiccup could feel her fingers pressing a bit too tightly against his cheek. She was shaken up by what was happening and he knew that the powerlessness she felt must have been terrible for her. Astrid liked to be in control--or at the very least have some say in what happened in a given situation. But here she was helpless and suddenly Hiccup found he wanted nothing more than to hug the young woman in front of him. But he refused to do it, Alvin already knew too much about them. The last thing Hiccup wanted was for Alvin to use Astrid.

"Do you have any idea why he's after you," she asked, her voice so low he almost couldn't hear it.

"No," Hiccup said, "I think he is after me though. He knows the most about me--me and Snotlout."

"He called Snotlout the 'spare'," Astrid said before raising her voice, "you neck's not too bad," she said.

"The spare," Hiccup frowned, his mind puzzling over that, "its got to have something to do with--" he stopped, his eyes widening, "with--"

Stormfly suddenly let out the loudest sound that they had heard yet, her head turning towards a point on the horizon. All the eyes on the boat went towards that point as the boat swung towards that point. Astrid's hand dropped from his cheek and, half hidden by the furs they wore, found his own. Hiccup tightened his fingers in hers as the boat continued to pick up speed, carrying them towards the next leg of their journey. Any passing hope of escape vanished as the shape they headed towards began to loom bigger and bigger. Suddenly it became clear what they were going to do. They were not going to be rescued because Alvin was going to make sure every member of the Hooligan Tribe thought that they were dead. He was going to give them bodies, a boat, everything that they needed. In the furs, Hiccup felt Astrid's fingers tighten on his own and found himself gripping her own hand in return.

All the while the new boat on the horizon loomed closer.

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**And we've got our new character!**

**So I know the movie says that Camicazi's probably the model for Astrid AND she's first appearing in the third book but I had an idea and thought I'd roll with it. Don't worry we're going to learn more about her in the coming chapters and what she's really up to. **

**For Stormfly I kind of went with the basic model of a banshee from Avatar, both in the model of the dragon AND in how Camicazi rides her. But I changed it up a little bit in terms of the dragon design. So don't forget to check out Cafcow's awesome picture to see our new awesome duo. **

**And, as always, please review! A whole bunch of you added this as a fave/alert and didn't review which makes me sad. Your reviews are literally what keeps me writing this story. Its true. I love writing it but I have a whole bunch of other stories going on, so if you want updates for this one you gotta click the button and review! **

**So please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**First off, thanks for the reviews! You guys rock! Here's an update!**

**Next we've got MORE FANART!! Ticcy drew a beautiful piece inspired by Astrid fixing Hiccup's leg in "Of Hills and Bluebells" which is the predecessor to this story. Remember you go to my profile page, then click the fanart link and check it out!**

**Now back to the story!**

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As the two boats got closer together, it was clear just how different they were from one another.

The boat that pulled alongside them was of wood so dark it was almost ebony in comparison to the boat they currently road on. The structure was also unlike anything Hiccup had seen before. The boat was taller than the one they found themselves on, the sides much higher than theirs even at its lowest point. At the back of the boat and the highest point of the boat, the men were standing so far above them that Hiccup had to crane his neck to see them. Three masts were evenly spaced apart on the deck, their wood as dark as the rest of the ship--which only served to make the alien rigged, sunset colored sails more foreboding. Everything about the ship was unlike anything that any of the young vikings had ever seen.

The same went for the crew. Every person on the boat wore thick furs but they all looked distinctly uncomfortable in them. If Hiccup had felt isolated about missing his foot, he was in good company with the lot on the boat. Hands, feet, eyes--one man was even missing his nose. There was no lack of body parts missing among the crew. But none seemed to find it strange, though Hiccup saw angry skin around more than one replacement prosthetic. They hobbled and compensated and made it work. They were single minded and focused on the task at hand. He heard them shout to one another as they performed some task that he did not understand.

Hiccup glanced over at Alvin out of the corner of his eye. He was not ordering the men, nor was he shouting at all. He was standing perfectly still with his hands folded neatly over his chest. If Hiccup had to name the expression on his face it was pride. He was proud of the crew of the boat, proud in a way that Hiccup realized he could understand. Hiccup had felt the same thing when the other vikings, the people he had trained with and bled with, had followed him into the fight. Alvin had fought and bled with these men and, Hiccup had a feeling, he had had a hand in training them as well. But more than that he trusted them. It was written all over his face. He knew they would do whatever it was that he had ordered them to do.

Smoothly Alvin stepped forward an instant before a heavy rope was thrown to him. He caught it and secured it to the boat they stood on. Ropes were thrown to Camicazi who performed the same task with the same ease. Between the two of them the boat was secure to the other in a matter of moments. The men on the other side of the boat may have been lacking in limbs but they certainly were not in weapons. Hiccup knew their hope of a quick escape had dwindled when Alvin had taken him hostage and had vanished when Camicazi had come down on her dragon. He had thought if they bided their time they would get another shot, but as he looked at the men who stood above them, that too seemed like less and less of a possibility.

As soon as the boats were secure, a man reached out and threw down a rope ladder. It clattered against the dark hull of the boat before hanging there. The rest of the vikings looked at each other, no-one quite knowing what to do. It was clear what the ladder was for but it was not until Alvin spoke that they realized they were supposed to climb onto the other boat--onto _his_ boat.

"Do not go for you packs," he said, "everything stays here--except for you."

"What if we refuse?" Astrid questioned looking at Alvin.

The young man was silent as he walked over to her but Hiccup could see discomfort in her eyes. Alvin looked at her and though their height difference was not sever, from the way Alvin looked at her, Astrid felt like she was no bigger than a Terror.

"I am going to set your boat on fire and send it back to your parents," Alvin said, "if you wish to remain on the boat, so much the better."

Astrid swallowed thickly. They were at least half a day from Berk. If he set the boat on fire it would be sunk by the time it got there. Maybe a piece or two of driftwood would wash up but that was it. Remains of boats and of the people who had sailed on them had washed up on the shore before. She knew that the vikings would know. They would know what boat of theirs had been destroyed, they would know who had been on that boat. They had been identifying the destroyed, burning remains of boats for a very long time. Alvin clearly already knew what her eventual reply was going to be. He looked away from her eyes with a satisfied look in his own before he motioned to the ladder.

"Ladies first."

With as much dignity as she could muster, Astrid walked over to the ladder, refusing to meet anyone's gaze as she reached upwards and grabbed the first rung of the ladder. She climbed the side of the boat. A hand reached for her but she ignored it, swinging her legs over the side and dropping down onto the deck. Straitening up, Astrid looked around at the boat as wonderment eclipsed the anger she felt. Vikings were very good on boats but i was clear that the people who surrounded her lived on the boat they stood on. All her life she had never set foot on a boat like the one she found herself standing on. Behind her she heard the others come aboard, each just as stunned as she had been. A moment later Alvin stepped onto to the boat and walked around to the front of them.

"Welcome," Alvin said, "to the Outcast."

There was a whisper of wings on the air as Stormfly dropped onto the boat. None of the other men gave her a second glance, clearly used to the presence of the currently gold dragon. Camicazi climbed over the edge via the rope ladder, landing on the deck as silently as her dragon had. Even in the company of the group they had come with the young woman and her dragon stuck out. If she was cold Camicazi made no sign of it. Her hands remained at her hips, her eyes scanning the men as if expecting them to do something stupid.

And that was when Astrid realized that she, Ruffnut and the red haired woman were the only females on board.

Every man that they saw was just that, a man. Scarred or missing a limb, old or young, all of their eyes darted to Camicaizi at least once. Between the bright silks and the low cut blouse, it was impossible not to. She did not seem off put by the attention at all. On the contrary she seemed to enjoy it if the slight movement of her hips was any indication. The men glanced at Ruffnut and her, but their eyes always went back to the silk clad woman and her bright gold dragon. Stormfly didn't seem to mind the attention anymore than Camicazi did but every time an eye went to her, Astrid felt uncomfortable and from the look on her face, so did Ruffnut.

"What are you going to do with us?" Hiccup spoke finally, his voice stronger than he felt inside.

"Nothing you need concern yourself with for the next--" Alvin looked over his shoulder, as though reading an invisible map, "oh the next day or so," he said to Hiccup.

"You can't just expect us to sit here and let you take us--wherever you're taking us!" Hiccup objected.

"Actually, Master Haddock, that is exactly what I expect you do," Alvin said.

"You know my father's going to come for you," Hiccup began, but as soon as he moved forward two men grabbed him, "burned boat or no, he'll come for me."

"You know," Alvin began "you're right. If he thinks you are alive, he will," he glanced at the six of them, "lets do something about that, shall we?" he looked over at a man standing nearby, "get six of those fools from below."

The man nodded and disappeared before returning with six people shackled to a long chain. Hiccup's eyes widened as he looked at them. They all looked slightly shocked, all blinking in the bright light of the sun as if they had been in a dark place for a long time. Their cloths were little more than tatters, their skin was dark with dirt and bruises. Hiccup realized that the six of them were prisoners. The man who held the chain their manacles were connected to gave a vicious tug, throwing the people off balance. He walked over to Alvin.

"That's the six of 'em," he said, "they'll fetch a good price at the markets--"

"Tell me something," Alvin said, "if we are hunted down by vikings and killed, how are we to spend any of the money we would make on the sale?"

The man looked down and muttered something inaudible.

"That's what I thought," Alvin said, "put them on the boat. We've wasted enough time here as it is."

It was not until the six people were near the end of the boat, about to be moved that Hiccup realized what was happening. Six people, six of them. One boat and a dragon that could set it on fire. He looked over at Camicazi who was tugging the straps of her saddle, making sure they were in place and he realized what was about to happen. Alvin was going to kill six people and make it look like the six of them were dead. He was going to murder six people to make sure that Stoick the Vast would not be looking for his son, nor for a man crazy enough to kidnap him. No, Alvin was making sure that Stoick was looking for revenge. And he was going to murder six people to do it.

"Wait! No!" Hiccup struggled against the men holding him, "those are people! You can't just--you can't just make them die!"

"Actually," Alvin said, "i can," he turned to one of the men, "make sure Master Haddock is unable to perform any ill advised rescue attempts."

The man nodded, a smile coming to his scarred face. He walked towards Hiccup as two of the other men grabbed his arms and wrenched them behind his back. Hiccup struggled against them but they were huge, their grip strong. He did not know what the man was planning to do before he reached out, his hand wrapping around Hiccup's prosthetic leg. Hiccup's eyes widened as his gaze flew up to the man's face. A smile revealed the man was missing most of his teeth, though a handful had been replaced by stones. His last thought before the man moved was that he looked strangely like Gobber.

Then the prosthetic was wretched from his leg and he thought no more.

A sound was torn from his lips as the wound screamed in agony. The straps were still fastened as the prosthetic was pulled free, their buckles leaving cuts along the stump of his left leg. The end of the wound had healed somewhat but the rough removal of the device was enough to make spots dance across his vision. His body lurched with the force of the removal as the man tossed it carelessly over his shoulder. Even in the throws of agony, Hiccup heard the sound of it skidding across the wood. Something fell into the water with a splash but whether it was his leg or something else, he could not be sure. For a moment Hiccup existed only in the agony of what had happened.

When he became aware of what happened he realized that the six people were on the boat below them, already bound to the ship that would become their pyre. Hiccup knew the hands holding him up were the only things that were allowing him to remain upright. Desperately he looked around only to find that the others were in a similar situation. Those that had struggled were being held, weapons aimed at them. They could not get to the prisoners, no matter what they did. Hiccup struggled harder but nothing happened. His eyes locked with Alvin's.

"You're going to start another war!" he shouted at the young man, "is that what you want?!"

"Another war?" Alvin raised an eyebrow, "I have much more important things to worry about than your foolish wars," Alvin held Hiccup's gaze, "untie the ropes, push off, we're leaving."

Hiccup tore his eyes away, looking over at the ropes were untied and thrown back, separating the two boats. Someone had rigged the boat so that wind filled the sails, moving it away. There was no fire on the boat and the six tied to the deck seemed to have realized it as well. But the thought was anything but comforting. Especially when he heard the sound of silk moving as Camicazi swung herself onto Stormfly's saddle. There was a beat of wings as Stormfly prepared to lift off. Alvin's voice was low when he spoke but Hiccup heard every word as though it was burned into his brain.

"As you will come to learn, Master Haddock, timing is everything."

The dragon kicked off taking to the skies as the boat pulled further and further away from them. There was nothing any of them could do, not the people on the boat or the vikings being held captive by the men loyal to Alvin. It sickened him to see but he realized that it truly was just too late. The feeling of helplessness, of not being able to do _anything_ was a thousand times worse than anything he had felt before. He wanted to scream or shout or do anything to make them be alright. But the boat pulled further away, Camicazi and Stormfly circling high above.

He did not know how long he was forced to watch the boat pull away, only that it seemed to take an impossibly long time for the boat to get from being next to them to becoming a spot on the horizon. It was only then, when it was close enough to Berk but far enough away that no-one would see what had truly happened and who had truly died, that it happened. Hiccup watched as blue shot from the dragon's mouth, fire igniting the boat.

It looked like a spec being burned blue but Hiccup could have sworn he heard screams.

They were roughly moved into a dark underground room, where bars separated them from one another. No-one spoke, there was nothing to say. Everyone sat there, staring at some distant point, their thoughts a million miles away. The screams of the people condemned to death echoed in their heads, people who were going to die because Alvin wanted to make sure their parents thought that they were dead. No-one knew if their dragons had a good enough sense of smell to tell that the bones that would wash up on shore were not theirs, but even if they could they all knew that their parents would immediately think a dragon had done it. Their peace with the dragons was still too new, a boat full of fire burned corpses would make them think that the dragons had been responsible.

And by the time they found a way off the boat, it would be too late.

Hiccup didn't know if they would be at war with the dragons again or if they would be at war with something else, he just knew that there would be violence. And not because a man had put six innocent people on a boat and set it on fire. They would go to war because one of those people would be mistaken to be _him_. It wasn't anything he could have controlled either. His father may not have understood him but if he had been killed--even when he'd been disowned--it would still have been an act of war. You didn't just kill the son of the chief of a Clan without expecting a war in return. His father would go to war, he would attack whoever he held responsible for his death. Toothless had a good sense of smell but charred bones were charred bones.

He never should've gone on the hunting trip.

As he sat there he looked over at the others, each in their own cage. Would they have let Alvin out? Or would the young man have found his own way out? Would they still be in as much trouble as they were now? Maybe Fishlegs or Snotlout would have opened the coffin but the twins probably would have been too involved arguing over the coffin itself or the key or who could get the most water the fastest. And Astrid would have just left it there. She had always been the strongest of their class, the best of the vikings. Astrid who was sitting in the cell next to him with her back against the wall, her knees hugged to her chest as her eyes too seemed to be a million miles away.

"Not really the way you saw the hunting trip ending, huh?" Hiccup asked, turning his head towards her.

Astrid looked over at him.

After all they had seen, after what had just happened, he was still cracking jokes, still trying to make them all feel better. She knew he felt that their situation was their fault--and that the people who had just been burned alive were also because of him. But he refused to look like he was going to crumple or fall to bits. She could see the sweat on his brow and the tinge to his skin and she remembered them grabbing the prosthetic from what remained of his left leg. And yet he was still trying to act strong, all the while she felt like curling in a ball and sobbing. But not Hiccup, who when her eyes connected with his even had the strength to offer a crooked, honest smile.

Pushing her own feelings aside, Astrid pushed herself to her feet. She had to duck when she stood but she made her way over to the wall that she shared with him. Pressing her back to the wood, she slid down until her back was up against it, her legs spread out in front of her in a mimicry of his own position. Leaning her head back against the wall, she looked up at the cage above her head, forcing back the tears that threatened her eyes before she turned her head and looked over at him.

"Not exactly," she said. He looked away, shaking his head, "but I bet we're the first vikings to get kidnapped on the hunting trip."

"Yeah, what is it with us and firsts?" Hiccup asked, "we always seem to be doing them."

"Don't look at me!" Astrid said, "you're the one to do them first."

"Yeah," Hiccup said, before his voice lowered, "but its more fun with you."

Astrid didn't know how it was that even after everything that happened she still managed to blush at his words. She looked down before meeting his gaze again. He was still trying to smile, still trying to be strong but she saw the despair in his eyes. Even if they managed to find a way out, if their parents didn't think they were dead, if they got revenge on Alvin--even if all that happened six people would still be dead. Suddenly the tears that had threatened her vision were back. Her eyes stung as she felt them water. Astrid squeezed her eyes shut, fighting back the tears. Hiccup could be strong for her, why couldn't she do the same for him?

"I guess I should've expected it," she said, forcing her eyes open as she fought back the tears, "we've always got to do things big, huh?" she said, her voice trembling, "if we just had a normal hunting trip, it wouldn't be us, right?"

"Yeah," he said, but when his voice came out it was as rough as hers, "right--" his breath caught as she saw his eyes glisten.

Astrid leaned forward, her hands threading the bars that separated her from him. His eyes glistened and she could see the strength he was showing fracture. He looked upwards and she saw his jaw move as he fought to try and contain his emotions. Viking men, they all worked like that. But to see him do it, it was heartbreaking. Astrid wished that there weren't bars between them. That she could beat him or hug him or do some combination of the two. But they were separated, not emotionally but physically and suddenly that seemed so much worse. Astrid's fingers tightened on the iron bars as Hiccup's breath caught in his throat. Her own eyes stung worse as an invisible object lodged in her throat, making it impossibly hard to swallow or to breathe or to do anything but fight back sobs that fought to break free.

"Hiccup?" she called over to him and for a moment she thought his eyes wouldn't find hers. But then, miserably, his eyes found hers, "this is not your fault," she said, her voice little more than a choked whisper.

He moved more quickly than she thought possible. His hands found hers as his head rested on their joined hands. She gripped his fingers for all she was worth as she watched his body tremble with the guilt and the sadness and the exhausting weight of all that had happened. His breath was hot and choked on her hand. A moment later she felt wetness touch her fingertips as the first of the tears he was barely holding back broke free. If the others thought anything of him crying, they weren't stupid enough to say anything. Or perhaps they too were lost in their emotion. All that Astrid cared about was the boy in front of her, the first person except her mother that she had ever wanted to comfort--and the one person that she could not. All she could do was hold his hands in hers and pray that somehow they would get through this.

Somehow, together, they would.

They had to.

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***sob* I wanna hug Hiccup too!  
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**Okay so next time, well, you'll find out next time. And are the dragons gonna know what happened? Where's T.T. in all of this? Is Astrid ever going to tell him about the dreams? IDk you'll just have to 'inspire' some updates (by reviewing). **

**So I watched this again with a friend over the weekend and we all agreed that Hiccup needed someone to comfort him. Because aside from Toothless he never really had anyone to do that. So way to step up Astrid! I wanted her to be kind of out of her comfort zone too in comforting him. They're growing as people. And there's a really big dramatic Hic/Strid scene coming up that I'm super pumped about. **

**And now please review! You people who came out last chapter were AWESOME! But for the rest of you, please keep reviewing! I update quickly but this story is getting enough hits you should be reviewing! And alerts and faves. I like those but I LOVE reviews! So remember if you want updates you gotta review!**

So please review! 


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks again for the reviews! Way to rock my socks off!**

**And we've got more art! Or at least this story does!**

**Epic-FailWin drew a beautiful pic of an older Hiccup holding Bluebells! His expression is so sweet and she captured the awkwardness Hiccup so perfectly!**

**Hollyboo2001 drew three awesome pictures from the story. One is Hiccup and Fishlegs meeting Alvin, the second s one the kiss by the elk with Hiccup and Astrid and the third is a colored version of the second. she did a really cool thing where they all look like they're from a storybook. **

**So remember to get to the art you can either go to their deviantart pages or you can go to my profile and click the fanart link! The fanart is so beautiful and the other pieces that were drawn for the story just are all fabulous! Remember if you draw something let me know!**

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The tell tale stick of salt made it hard for Hiccup to open his eyes.

It wasn't the first time he had cried himself to sleep, nor did he think it would be the last. Blearily Hiccup forced his eyes open. It took his pain, despair and sleep fogged mind a moment to figure out where he was. The alien dark wood and wrought iron cage he found himself in were completely foreign. He was laying on his side, one arm cushioning his head, the other tangled in the iron of the bars of the cage. His left leg was a dull throb of pain from the rough handling of the previous day but it was a manageable ache. It was dampened somewhat by the warm fingers that tangled with his own through the iron bars of the cage. Even as his eyes followed the line of the arm, he knew that it was Astrid's face he would see.

She was beautiful when she was asleep.

All the anger, the sadness, the determination--all of it was gone from her face. Her blonde hair had come free from its tight braid, or perhaps she had taken it down when he wasn't looking. The thick, gold curls fell across her face, half hiding her serene features. He had seen Astrid with her hair down a handful of times before. It never ceased to amaze him just how delicate it made her look. Without the tight coil of her hair the armor she always seemed to put up disappeared. She looked more real and more human in those moments than Hiccup could have dreamed possible. It was strange, really, how such a simple act could transform a person so completely. She was still dressed in her furs, the hand that gripped his was still rough with callouses, she was still Astrid. And yet at the same time he knew he was seeing a side of Astrid that few ever got to. For some reason the knowledge made him feel both privileged that he got to see it and sad that the girl took such pains to make sure no-one else did.

Reaching up, Hiccup swiped a hand over his face, trying to wipe away the stick of salt. He did not know how long he had cried for last night or at what point he had fallen asleep. Raising his head, he looked around the small room. The others were in cages, each curled around themselves in a failed attempt at comfort. Hiccup doubted Fishlegs or Snotlout could even sit up fully without bumping their heads against the iron. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were back to back against the cages, though he knew neither would admit they sought comfort in the other. Hiccup studied them. Ruffnut looked the same but Tuffnut looked like he had put on extra furs. Hiccup frowned, they hadn't been allowed to go for their packs and they had all started out on the island wearing the same things. Before his stunned gaze, something moved. It was slight, hidden by the fur but Hiccup was sure he saw his stomach move.

A moment later, a head poked out from Tuffnut's vest.

Hiccup's eyes widened as T.T.'s face peeked out of the top of the blonde viking's vest, still half hidden by his hair. Even in his sleep, Tuffnut's brow knit together, the viking's hand tightening against the dragon. T.T. sniffed at him before inching further up, his big eyes fixing on Hiccup. Hiccup realized that the little dragon had hidden with Tuffnut during the commotion of the capture. The dragon turned his eyes from the viking to Hiccup. Immediately his horns came forward in excitement, his nostrils flaring as he looked at 's eyes opened as the dragon moved again, his eyes looking own at the Terror before looking at Hiccup. The dragon began to make a sound but Tuffnut stuffed him back under the furs of his outer layer.

"How did you--"

"He was hiding behind my hair and when we got on the boat he jumped in my shirt," the young viking told him, "then he just stayed there."

"And you didn't say anything?"

"What was I supposed to do?" Tuffnut hissed back, "Tell that crazy dude I had a dragon hiding in my shirt? They'd probably have tied him up and tried to burn him with those people," he finished, his fingers tightening around the dragon as T.T. huffed angrily at the prospect. Tuffnut and T.T. gave each other identical glares before fixing Hiccup with the same evil eye, "what are we gonna do?"

Hiccup opened and closed his mouth, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do--or at the very least what he was suppose to tell the pair of them. They were looking at him as if they weren't sure he was the one to watch, but that there wasn't anyone else to look to, no-one else to ask. In spite of Astrid's comfort, Hiccup knew that it was at least partially his fault that they were in there. And even if by some stroke she was right, the fact remained that they were in this position and they had to get out of it. Both the young viking and the little dragon looked at him expectantly. They thought that he actually had a way to do it. The problem was that he really had no idea what he was supposed to do. Facing a dragon, saving the world, he could do that. But figuring out how to get them out of the situation they found themselves in--without getting anyone else killed--he had no idea how he was supposed to do that.

"I don't know," Hiccup said.

"You don't know?" Tuffnut repeated, "you don't know?" he hissed, "you figured out that dragons weren't evil. You can't figure out how to get us off this damn boat? Aren't you supposed to be good at coming up with crazy inventions and shit like that?"

"Yes--yes!" Hiccup said, frustration surging through him, "and if it was just me, maybe I could. But its not just me," he said, "you guys are here too and Alvin just burned six people alive to make it look like we were dead. I can't risk you guys--"

"Forget that," Tuffnut snapped, "we're so screwed right now you shouldn't even be thinking about risk. You remember what that chick said? He wants you, Snotlouts the spare. That means the rest of us are expendable and therefore completely screwed."

Hiccup looked at the young man, surprised at what he had said. In the commotion he'd forgotten what had been said about the two of them. It was an unspoken but well known fact that Snotlout and he were cousins--even though they would both deny it to the death. But they were related and if Alvin had referred, at some point, to Snotlout as the spare, that could only mean that there was something to do with Stoick. Something that made Hiccup their primary target, rather than Snotlout. Probably the same thing that made him the heir to becoming the Head of the Clan rather than Snotlout, as his father had been rather than his brother.

Before he could think about it more two men came down into the narrow room.

Hiccup yanked his hand away from Astrid's before the two men could see it. So far Alvin had exploited every weakness he knew of, the last thing that Hiccup wanted to do was give him another. In his own cage, Tuffnut closed his eyes and made sure that T.T. was safety hidden in the fur of his outer layers. The two men traded looks before both of their beady, reddened eyes landed on Hiccup.

"Get him up, Captain wants to see him now," one man said nodding towards him.

The cell door was unlocked and Hiccup found himself being roughly extracted from the cage. The two men held him up as they dragged him out of the cage, holding him between them. Hiccup had no time to look back at his friends or the dragon that hid among them as the two men all but dragged him out of the room of cages. He caught glimpses of another hallway full of rooms hidden behind darkened doors before the bright light of the sun hit his eyes. Hiccup closed them against the sting before forcing them open. it was early in the day if the sun was any indication. And from the full sails, they were making good time. Alvin had said there was nothing to concern himself with for a day or so. Judging from the position of the sun in the sky, time was slipping away far more quickly than Hiccup would have liked. The men hauled him across the deck, compensating for his lack of a leg before they shoved him into another room as alien to him as the rest of the boat.

Hiccup stared.

The room he found himself in was unlike any he would have thought on a boat. High ceilings were lit with light that streamed in from the windows set into the hull. The floor was not laid with wood like the rest of the boat but with mats made from something Hiccup could not recognize. Along one wall was a polished desk made of the same dark wood, only it was so low Hiccup knew no-one could actually sit at it. But from the looks of the low red cushion placed in front of it, no-one did. At least, they did not in a chair. Lacquered cabinets of the same dark, polished wood were set against the wall, containing things unknown to Hiccup. Even after all that had happened in the past few days, the strangeness of the room he found himself in was enough to make his head spin and his body to feel off balance in a way that had nothing to do with his missing leg.

The side door opened and suddenly the surprise of the room paled in comparison to the man who stood in it.

Hiccup told himself that it was Alvin, that it had to be, and yet the man who stood there was as different from the not poor and not honest farmer as could be. The basic clothing was the same, as well as the green scarf that hid one perfectly good eye the young man did not want to loose in a battle. But on top of the clothing he donned a long black coat that reached his knees. Silver buttons decorated the garment, both on the front and the sleeves which were rolled back to reveal the silk lining. His good hand was adored with rings. The skin of his prosthetic was gone, replaced by a silver cap on the missing limb. Instead of an attachment to act as a weapon, the prosthetic had a small hole in it. But it was not until Hiccup looked at Alvin's waist that he realized what the hole was for.

At the young man's hip, suspended on a well worked, very cared for leather scabbard was a sword. The wickedly curved blade held an ornate handle unlike any Hiccup had seen before. While the handle was clearly capable of being held by Alvin's remaining hand, he could see the end of it had a narrow attachment, one that would fit perfectly into the prosthetic that the young man bore. Hanging next to the sword on the scabbard was a small dagger, one that was also fashioned with the same capabilities. Hiccup's stomach gave an unpleasant swoop was he realized that in addition to being absolutely vicious, Alvin was also ambidextrous. The murderous, cutthroat crew that followed him was probably not only willing to fight in the name of their Captain because he was their Captain, they were also willing to do it because Alvin was apparently more than capable of making them do was he pleased.

"Leave us," Alvin said to the men, his blue grey eyes expressing nothing but contempt towards them.

"Yes sir," they both said, releasing Hiccup and making a quick exit.

Without their support, Hiccup found it almost impossible to remain upright. He had stood on one leg before, but somehow there was a different between playing at balancing and actually having it be impossible to set your foot down when you lost the ability to do so. The mats he stood on seemed soft enough but they made it even more difficult to stand upright. The boat rocked from side to side and though it pained him to do so, Hiccup lowered himself down before he could topple to the ground. Alvin looked down at him, standing impossibly high above the young viking. Slowly the young man reached up and untied the green fabric that hid his eye, pulling it off his face to reveal the two good eyes, both of which locked on Hiccup's features.

"I know what you're thinking right now," Alvin said, "right now, you are wondering why a person like me would do what you've seen me do."

"Do you mean the part where you kidnapped us or where you burned six people alive?"

"Oh I imagine both are troubling to you," Alvin said, "but lets be realistic, shall we? Six of you, one of me, it was hardly a kidnapping--

"You knew they wouldn't attack you if you took me hostage," Hiccup said before he could stop himself, "just like you knew I was a blacksmith and my father's the leader of the Hooligans."

"Yes yes I know all of that," Alvin said dismissively, "but you are going about this all wrong. You are thinking that I know all of that because I have a particular interest in you as yourself."

Hiccup frowned. No interest in him as himself? But that made no sense. What interest did Alvin have in him then? As he was staring, Alvin walked over to one of the cabinets. Placing his hand against the side, he slid his palm to the side. The front of the cabinet slid back. Alvin reached inside and withdrew a folded piece of aged paper and handful of small black boxes. Sliding the cabinet back closed, he walked over to where Hiccup sat and lowered himself down so that he sat across from him on the mats, crossing his legs. Reaching forward he placed the objects onto the ground between the two of them before drawing back and placing his hands on his knees. Hiccup looked from the young man to the series of black boxes and the piece of paper sitting between them.

"Go on then," Alvin said making no move towards the objects.

Slowly Hiccup reached out and picked up the paper. It was heavier than he would have thought, aged and weathered as well. Even so he was careful as he slowly opened the paper, running his hands across the surface. The ink was as aged and weathered as the paper it was carefully drawn on. It was a map, each place carefully detailed in a way that made hiccup feel as though he was actually standing on the land. The map itself was carefully lined with a border before a finger's worth of blank paper finished the map. The middle of the map was missing. A perfect section, gone from the center. As Hiccup looked at the jagged edge, he realized that the map had fine lines running throughout it. It was not a whole map, nor had it been in some time. It was, however, a familiar map. The borders, the lines, even the wind rose detailed at the bottom right half were all surprisingly familiar.

They were also on the map in the Viking's war room.

That map had been drawn by his great great grandfather, finished by his great grandfather before being added to by his father. Hiccup had always had something of an eye for detail and he could see that the map he held had been drawn by the same hand as the others. As he turned the map to its side, Hiccup began to see some of the land masses. He recognized Berk, drawn to perfection including the portion of rocks that Hiccup recognized as where they had just made their way through the main part of the house. Slowly Hiccup looked up from the paper in his hand to the boxes between himself and the young man. The black boxes were set with bright gold tiles set in patterns. Hiccup's eyes moved from the black lacquered boxes to the young man who sat across from him, watching him carefully as he studied the objects between the two of them.

"This is Grimmbeard's map," Hiccup said, setting it down between them, "you said it was--" he trailed off as the conversation came back to him, "you said you found the map--" Hiccup continued, trailing off as Alvin reached forward, removing the first of the boxes.

"I wasn't lying to you when I said that I found a coffin that held a map," the young man said, placing the small lacquered boxes in between them in a perfect square, "I was a farmer--a poor one. And one day when I was going to trade at the market, I found a coffin that held these and for the first, I traded this," he added, holding up his missing hand, "needless to say, farming is considerably harder when you are missing one hand."

Hiccup half listened as Alvin arranged the boxes between them. As he stared he realized that what he had assumed was a nonsensical pattern was actually a perfect image of the map. Each of the black boxes held the part of the map they contained, the gold on the tiles forming an identical image. But around the edges of the image, in what was the blank space on the map, were runes. Even though there were not many boxes, the gold was bright and set with a fine and skilled hand. All the boxes were solved save for the last one which was still a mess of gold and black, right in the middle of the perfect mirror image.

"Your great great grandfather was a very smart man--or a very untrusting one--though the two are not mutually exclusive. As you can see he took certain precautions with his valuables."

"You went into the coffin to get these?" Hiccup questioned.

"Yes," Alvin said, "and as I solved them more and more of the map came to be," he continued, gesturing to the boxes spread out between the two of them, "except for the runes."

"Huh?" Hiccup looked at them.

"The words make no sense. Its written in a code," Alvin said, "a code that can only be solved with this," he said nodding towards the middle box.

"So you need the last box," Hiccup said as both their eyes landed on the box.

"Yes."

"And you expect me to solve it?" Hiccup said, though there was no question in the words.

Alvin was silent as Hiccup's head rose, his eyes locking with his. Anger coursed through Hiccup. He should have been home now--they all should have been home. And yet they were stuck on the ship because of the man sitting across from him. It wasn't fault that they were there--it was Alvin's. And now Alvin expected _him_ to solve the box, get him his map. Hiccup drew his hands back, gripping his knees as he stared at the boxes in front of them, at the map, at the young man. When his eyes raised up to meet Alvin's once more, there was only anger in them.

"I'm not doing anything for you," Hiccup said, "I should be home right now, my father should be asking me why I didn't kill more. Instead he's going to see that driftwood and those bones and he's going to think that we're dead! I'd rather die than help you solve anything!" he said, his hand going out to knock the box away.

Alvin's hand closed around his wrist and tugged, yanking Hiccup off balance. His palm connected squarely with the unsolved center one, the last of the boxes, the unsolved one. Hiccup's eyes went from his splayed fingers to Alvin's face. The young man's eyes did not leave his as he reached into the collar of his off white shirt and pulled up the leather lanyard until the key that had freed him from his coffin was in his hand. The leather was looped around the edge of his prosthetic. Alvin easily slipped the leather off his neck so the key dangled in front of them. He moved perfectly, carefully, smoothly--he had a lot of practice with having only one hand. He must have found the coffin a long time ago if he was as at ease with one hand as he was.

"As I said," Alvin told him, "I am not after you because of your talent with puzzles or the fact that you are trained as a blacksmith or even the fact that you train dragons," Hiccup's eyes widened, "I am after you because your great great grandfather was a distrusting man who took precautions with his goods."

"Precautions?" Hiccup questioned, tugging his hand but finding it impossible to remove from his iron grip.

"Yes. See the boxes have a precise order, The outer first, working inwards. All that is missing is the key," he said, holding the key between them.

"So you want me because I'm his descendant?" Hiccup questioned, moving his wrist, "that's why Snotlout's the spare? Because he's my cousin? He's a descendant too!"

"Now you're catching on," Alvin said.

Alvin moved forward, switching so that his prosthetic pinned Hiccup's hand down and his other hand grabbed the key. He inserted the edge of the key into one of the black tiles and moving jerking it up. The small black piece came free. Alvin pressed Hiccup's hand down. He felt a sting as the pad of his thumb was pricked by something hidden and sharp. Too stunned to move, Hiccup watched as his blood began to fill the crevices of the box. Only when some invisible point had been reached did Alvin release his hand. Hiccup pulled it back, looking at his thumb. The cut wasn't big, nor was it deep, and yet enough blood had been taken for the box to begin to work in a way that Hiccup did not understand. His eyes left his thumb.

Hiccup looked down at the box. Certain portions of the tiles were stained, but not all of them. It was some kind of indication of where everything was meant to go. Alvin watched it carefully, as did Hiccup but neither made a motion to solve the box and get the prize. Hiccup looked up. Alvin's gaze was fixed squarely on the box, not on anything else. He wanted the map, he wanted the prize.

But laying just outside of his view was the tile and the key.

Slowly Hiccup inched his hand forward. He had manipulated small mechanisms before, things that required a delicate and fine touch. The tile was small and light but Hiccup was willing to bet a lot that it was required for opening the box. All the others had tiles in all their positions. But the key was not. Hiccup didn't know if it was used for anything. It was a harder steal because of its size and the length of the lanyard, but Grimmbeard had been a Haddock and if there was one thing a Haddock knew how to do it was overcomplicate something. Hiccup looked at Alvin and the box as his fingers connected with the key. Carefully he pulled it forward, closing his hand around the lanyard and moving it so that it remained concealed in his hand.

"I see you," Alvin said. Hiccup froze as Alvin's head rose, "Camicazi do you really expect to go unseen in _that_?"

Hiccup turned his head to see Camicazi leaning against the wall. She was dressed just as ostentatiously as before. Unlike Alvin she looked just like she had when had first seen her, beautiful, dangerous and very _very_ sparkly. Her red hair was still twisted up and held with the pair of hair sticks she had held to Snotlout's throat and Hiccup felt a shiver run through him. Alvin to his front. Camicazi to his back. But unlike Alvin, Camicazi had no reason to keep him alive--though if push came to shove Hiccup had a feeling both of them would kill him in a heartbeat. Useless, helpless, those were not the worst feelings in the world. Being expendable just might have been and sitting there Hiccup realized that he felt all three.

"You're wanted on the deck," Camicazi said with a dismissive shrug of her shoulders.

"Very well," Alvin said, "take Master Haddock back to the cell."

Camicazi's lip curled as Alvin got to his feet. By the time he looked at her, her face was perfectly composed, the disgust reduced to disdain. Camicazi walked over to Alvin and Hiccup. She slid her hand underneath Hiccup's arm and pulled him easily to his feet, looping his arm around her shoulders to keep him on his feet. Her hand wrapped around his wrist, the wrist with the hand that concealed the key. Her features showed nothing but her hand wrapped around his fist and he got the sickening feeling that she knew he was hiding something in his hand.

"Do they not know how to feed people in your Tribe?" Camicazi asked, with a disdainful arch of her eyebrow.

"I went for the whole 'toothpick' look, figured the dragons would go for the meatier fellows."

Clearly the red haired woman did not pick up on the joke as she gave him a look that was filled with more disgust than the one she had offered to Alvin when he ordered her around. The arm that held him up was well muscled and strong, the kind of lean muscle that Hiccup had developed when he was riding Toothless. Holding him up with absolutely no trouble, Camicazi got Hiccup out of the room. Alvin left after them, locking the door behind him. Camicazi walked Hiccup out of the room and down one of the hallways as Alvin made his way onto the deck of the boat. Camicazi moved slowly down the hallway, much slower than she actually needed to do. Hiccup counted three agonizingly slow steps past when Alvin walked out onto the deck before Camicazi moved.

There was a jerk and suddenly Hiccup found himself slammed up against the wall, one of Camicazi's hands pressed against his mouth, her other pinning his wrist to the wall.

Camicazi glared at him, as her hand left his wrist to force his fingers apart, grabbing the key he was holding onto. She looked at the key on its lanyard before looking at him. Grabbing the collar of his shirt, Camicazi yanked him into the nearest room. There were two men standing there talking, both of whom fell silent as Camicazi dragged Hiccup into the room and held him upright by the collar of his shirt. For a moment no-one move.

"Get out!" Camicazi barked.

The men got out.

Camicazi dropped Hiccup to the ground before kneeling in front of him. Her fingers went to the laces of her vest. Hiccup watched as they sped down the length, pulling the dark fabric free. When it was open, she reached down and pulled up the bottom of the loose shirt she wore. The right side of her ribcage was a mess of scars, the kind of scars one got from being burned. The scar was faded and old and certainly not as large as it had once been,

"I got this when I was five, Stormfly had a cold," she said, dropping her shirt before shoving up the sleeves to show him three long claws that dragged along the length of her forearm, "I was seven when this happened the first time, thirteen when it happened again. Poison Darter, the first time it fired at me, the second it fired at a trainee. Twice I almost died," she pushed back her hair to show him a long, fine scar that decorated the line of her scalp, "this was from a Nadder when I was sixteen. What do these all tell you?"

"Maybe you should be more careful around dragons?" Hiccup began weakly before Camicazi yanked him up by the front of his shirt.

"I have been riding dragons my _entire_ life! And suddenly just because _you_ stumbled on a secret the rest of the world was already aware of you're suddenly some big damn hero. Look at you! You can't even _stand_ properly!"

Hiccup gaped at her. Clearly she knew about the dragons and how they were no longer at war. But judging from the fire he saw in her eyes she was somewhat less than thrilled about the situation she found herself in. His surprise was replaced with anger as he realized that she had been aware of it but had let him think otherwise. Six people had died while she was figuring out whether or not she was going to tell him. Taking his weight onto his forearms, Hiccup pushed himself up and returned her glare.

"You know we're not at war with the dragons anymore?" he demanded, "why didn't you say anything?!"

"Because you're disgusting and pathetic," she snapped, "you've spent centuries hunting and killing dragons. Suddenly you figure to put one between your legs instead of running it through with an axe and you think you're smart? You don't even deserve to be called a dragon rider."

"I am a dragon rider," Hiccup snapped, glaring at her, "and when I get on my dragon its to do thing _other_ than kill defenseless people!"

Camicazi looked down for a moment, her gaze and emotions hidden from him. But when she looked up she looked just as angry as the moment he had opened his mouth.

"I did what was necessary. And I made certain your foolish little dragon was not on the boat with them! But I suppose your love of dragons only extends to the ones capable of being ridden."

"That's not true," Hiccup said, "we made a mistake but we're trying to fix it--"

"And you think when those bones wash up on shore your brute of a father isn't going to kill every dragon on Berk?"

Hiccup looked up at her. He had felt the same fear but somehow hearing it on her mouth only served to make him angry. He knew Stoick would get angry, he might break some things too. But Hiccup had to believe that he wouldn't be stupid enough to go to war with the dragons of Berk--or not the dragons who had decided to come live with them. His father had to know that none of them had been the culprit for this. He just had to. He raised his chin defiantly and glared back up at her, feeling angrier at her and Alvin than he'd been in his entire life.

"My father is not a brute," he said, his voice trembling with anger.

"So you're waiting for your daddy to come and save you?" Camicazi questioned, disdain dripping from her tone, "some Clan Chief you're going to be."

"I'm not waiting for anyone to come and save me," Hiccup said, "but my father is going to come. Because on Berk we help each other. We're not perfect but we don't abandon each other," Camicazi opened her mouth angrily but Hiccup barreled over her, "and you see this?" he demanded, grabbing his pant leg and motioning to his missing leg, "I got that from Toothless, my dragon, while we were saving the world from another dragon."

Camicazi looked down at his missing leg, silent for a moment. Hiccup kept his hand tight on the leg of his pants. He had been sized up before, he knew what Camicazi was doing. The dragon rider was silent as she looked down at his missing leg. The hand that gripped his shirt slackened before being released completely. Slowly Camcazi redid the laces of her shirt, tucking it back into her pants and making sure that everything was secure. Reaching down she pulled him up to his feet but her movements were somewhat less rough than before. She walked him back to the cells. The others were all awake by the time she got there and pushed him into the cell. She locked it closed behind him before walking out of the room without so much as a second glance.

"Hiccup!" Hiccup turned as Astrid looked at him, "what happened?"

He quickly told her about the boxes and the blood and the fact that all this had to do with treasure. Astrid was quiet as he spoke, absorbing his words but he could tell that when she had woken up to find him missing she had been worried. When he got to the part about Camicazi she listened quietly to that too but the anger he saw in her eyes sparked at the mention of the girl hitting him and Hiccup got the strong impression that Astrid thought she was the only girl allowed to show him any kind of physical abuse.

"Did she give you back the key?" Astrid asked him.

"No," Hiccup said, "she's probably going to give it right back to Alvin."

Astrid nodded but she didn't look that convinced at what he had said.

"You don't think she's going to?" Hiccup asked looking at her curiously.

"I don't know," Astrid said, "you said she looked disgusted with him. People who look disgusted with others don't usually help them."

"I don't know what she's going to do with the key," Hiccup told the blonde girl, "it doesn't matter. We lost the key."

"Yeah," Astrid said, "but now we know why he wants us and what he's really after. And that means we're not totally in the dark anymore. That's a good thing."

Hiccup nodded. They had found something out. That was a good thing. He looked over at the others, Snotlout looked somewhat less than thrilled to have found out that he was the spare for Hiccup. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were lying side by side in their cages, Tuffnut was holding T.T. against his stomach while Ruffnut was watching them carefully. Fishlegs just looked miserable at the size of his cage. But they all looked moderately happier at the fact they had learned _something_ from Hiccup's excursion looked at Astrid. She was sitting so that her back was to his against the iron work of the cage. Slowly Hiccup moved so that he was sitting with his back to hers, both pressing against the cage.

"How's your leg?" she asked finally.

"Its not bad," he said, "those buckles weren't too deep."

"That's good," Astrid said, "we'll be risking our necks as it is, I don't want to have to worry about you dying from an infection."

"Thanks," Hiccup said, "I appreciate it--"

"Who says its for you?" Astrid asked, "I just don't want Toothless to be mad at me. Bluebell looks up to him you know. If he gets angry with me she'll go right with him."

Hiccup smiled at the way she spoke. They both knew she had been worried about him and that he had broken down in front of her last night, but neither felt the need to make it obvious how they felt.

"I don't know," Hiccup said, "she got pretty defensive of you that day on the rocks."

Even though he couldn't see it, Astrid felt herself smile at his words. She had woken up to find him missing and immediately thought the worst. Even Tuffnuts words that the Captain had only wanted to speak to him had done nothing to make her feel better. Not after last night when he had fallen asleep holding her hand like it was the only real thing left in the world. The worst thing was that she had felt it before when he had gone off to face the huge dragon. She had thought he was going to die then but he had come back. And he had come back now as well. But the feeling of waiting, that was what Astrid found to be the worst. But he was there now, his back warm against hers even even through the iron of the cages they found themselves trapped in. His fingers slowly moved forward, his calloused hand settling as much on hers as the bars would allow.

"So what now?" Astrid asked, "you know what he wants, so what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to figure out a way to get us out of here," Hiccup said, "before my father and Toothless decide to start another war out of boredom."

* * *

**Oh Alvin and Camicazi, you'd better get ready! **

**Hiccup's still not got a plan but he's moving towards being hopeful. Lets see where that takes him! In the next chapter or two we're gonna get off the boat! So Hiccup's gotten a bit angry, but he's not really sure what to do. I bet his friends can figure it out!**

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**So please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey all!**

**Sorry about the crazy alerts you've been getting!**

**Here's the new chapter!**

* * *

It was impossible to judge time in the dark, windowless, cage filled room.

The waiting and the not knowing vied for the worst part of the whole experience. It was torture laying there with nothing to do but let the boat rock back and forth--though even that was barely enough so they could feel it. The Outcast was a much deeper boat than theirs had been. Hiccup was sure all of Berk could fit inside the hull of the dark wooden craft, with room for the Outcasts's crew on deck. Hiccup couldn't help but think it would be uncomfortable though, especially considering how much_smaller_ everyone was. Camicazi was clearly a dragon rider but Alvin too was built much more like Hiccup than Stoick. Both though bore hard forms that spoke of a life lived out doors.

In her own cage, Astrid tried to keep her face as blank as possible. She knew it was only a matter of time before the men came into the room and took Hiccup again. Each time they did they threw him back in the cage, more bruised and sometimes more broken than he had been before. She knew that Hiccup was probably just grateful that they took him instead of someone else but each time, it made her heart jump into her throat. She knew he didn't want anyone to know how much they cared for each other, so each time she was forced to watch him be taken away without saying a word. Even if she had the opportunity to, she had no idea what she would tell the green eyed viking.

That she kept having nightmares about his death? Nightmares that were only made better when her eyes snapped open and locked with his sleeping form? Was she supposed to tell him that she wished more than anything else she was better at comforting people so that when the world got to be too much she could say something to make it better? That she wished there was some way to get rid of the bars that separated them so that she could feel his body against hers? Everything sounded so incredibly stupid in her head. She was a good viking, a good fighter, good at everything except for what to do when it came to the young man who had shown her so much. Astrid hated feeling helpless, she fought hard not to be useless--to be a real viking, not a bread making one. And yet the more she thought about it the more she realized that when it came to being a, well, a girlfriend, she had no idea what to do.

Especially not with a guy like Hiccup.

She had dealt with idiots like Snotlout before. Boys with their rough words and messy hands. She had even kissed one or two but their stubble scraped her cheeks and their kisses were always sloppy. But not Hiccup, who was too sweet for his own good. Who would kiss her gently when they started making out but by the end would have her clinging to him as her senses swam with the sensation of him. Her mother always said she was the type of girl to fight for the best. Astrid had just never thought that the best guy would be the one who complimented her in every way that a person could. Even now as he sat so close and yet so far from her, she could see he was lost in thought, one knee drawn up to his chest and his other leg extended in front of him. She wanted to say something but before she could, someone else spoke.

"Hey, um, guys?" Hiccup looked over at Fishlegs who tapped his fingers together nervously, "do you think he was telling the truth? That he really was a farmer before he found that coffin?"

"Yeah," Tuffnut snorted, his voice full of sarcasm "I bet he was honest too," he added as T.T. backed him up with a huff of agreement from his position on top of the blond viking's head.

"Its me and Snotlout he's after," Hiccup said with a shake of his head, "I don't even know if he thought the rest of you were going to be there."

"This is beyond lame," Snotlout said, "he's after _us_ and you're the only one who gets to leave the cage! How unfair is _that_?"

Hiccup looked at the brown haired boy, shocked he could even say such a thing. Every time that he'd been dragged from the cage it had been to be beaten, pricked, poked or otherwise prodded. A part of him said that he gladly would have changed places with his cousin. Let the brutish boy get poked, prodded and yelled at by everyone on the boat. But at the same time Hiccup knew even his meanest streak wouldn't wish that on the boy sitting across from him. It was bad enough that he had to be taken from the cage, but he knew that if another one of them was taken and he was forced to wait, knowing that _he_ was the reason they were there, that would be a thousand times worse. He was the one they wanted, anyone else they took would just be collateral against him.

"I can't believe you two are cousins," Ruffnut muttered.

"I know, right?" Tuffnut snorted, "you're like--"

"The worst cousins ever," Ruffnut finished.

"Hey! Don't finish my sentences!" Tuffnut said, "I told you can't do that stupid twin shit."

"Don't take it out on me because you're so stupid its obvious what you're gonna say."

"Guys--" Fishlegs began.

"You're just lucky there are bars between us in these cages--"

"Guys! Look!"

Hiccup looked over, his eyes widening.

T.T. was almost out of the cage.

The Terror was half out of the cage. With another wiggle he was completely out. Spreading his wings he dropped to the ground, landing on it with a thump. The iron work of the bars was ornate and impossibly fine. Between his and Astrid's cages, the bars were so small he could barely fit his had through. The rest of their cages all looked almost identical and yet somehow impossibly the little dragon had managed to squeeze himself through the cracks and slip out. T.T. glared back over at Tuffnut and Ruffnut, making it clear that it was their fighting that made him want to leave before moving forward, obviously trying to decide where he should go to next. Sometimes human emotion was lost on the dragons but in this case T.T. clearly saw their frozen looks, his feet pausing as he stopped. He too looked confused before with a squeak he shot back o Tuffnut's cage, worming his way back through the work of the bars and diving into the viking's vest once more.

"How the heck--"

The door opened.

Immediately everyone tensed, their eyes going to the door as two of the nameless pirates moved into the dark cage room. They lumbered in, moving through the cages, their eyes going to each of them. Their gaze was filled with delight. They were obviously enjoying seeing the fear that lived in each of their eyes. Each time they passed a cage their feet paused, their eyes roving over the person who was trapped inside. Each time their feet hesitated, Hiccup felt his stomach drop. It was not until they walked forward that he felt like he could breath again. When they stopped in front of his cage, Hiccup looked up, meeting their eyes squarely. The two men's smile widened further and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were going to take him. Sure enough they reached out and unlocked the latch of his cage, pulling the doors open and grabbing him roughly by his arms.

As he had done every tim before, Hiccup kept his eyes ahead. He did not look at any of them, refusing to show if someone meant more to him than anyone else. They all mattered to him, just as he knew he mattered to all of them. If any of them had been taken he would have been terrified. But he knew that if he showed that someone meant more to him than someone else, it would get back to Alvin and he would use that. He had used every other weakness that anyone had revealed. If he used another person against him, Hiccup didn't know what he would do.

The two men hauled him out onto the deck where the light and the wind stung his eyes. Instead of forcing him to knees and wrenching his arms, the men dragged him over to the side of the boat and released him. Hiccup's hands grabbed the edge, compensating for his lack of a leg. Holding tightly to the side of the boat, Hiccup watched as the two men departed. The deck of the boat was largely deserted. As his eyes scanned around Hiccup realized that only a handful of men were on deck, the rest were nowhere to be seen. It was the most alone he had been since he was kidnapped. But somehow that made him feel anything but better.

All around him was water.

There was no glimmer of Berk, no hint of land, nothing but the endless ocean and the equally endless was no way to tell where they were. He might have been able to steer a boat back to Berk if he had a map and a location but at the moment there was truly no way to see where they were. The boat was still moving at a smooth pace, the man at the helm keeping them steady and the strange sails filled with wind. But the endlessness of the ocean and the sky only made Hiccup feel ill. Though it seemed like so much longer, if they had only been at sea for two days, how were they going to be found? He looked up at the sky. Was anyone going to come for them? And if they had just gone out into the open ocean, was there any chance they would be found?

Abruptly amidst the sick feeling in his stomach, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

Slowly Hiccup turned and looked over to see Stormfly watching him intently.

The gold of the dragon's hide had changed to a bright red. He did not know what the color meant, only that Stormfly had turned black when she had been upset. The dragon shifted against the wood of the boat, turning her head so that one eye remained fixed on the young man in front of her, while the other did a sweep of the deck. Stormfly moved forward. It was more like watching an awkward crab scuttle forward than the graceful cat-like motions that Toothless exhibited. The red of the dragon's hide alternately went from being tinged with gold to being tinged with something very dark. Hiccup held himself very _very_ still as the dragon made its way closer to him. He was acutely aware of the emptiness of the deck and of the breeze that ghosted the back of his neck. The dragon with its wicked chin crest could strike him down right there and then and no-one would do a thing to stop it. So Hiccup did the only thing that he could.

He extended a hand to the dragon.

Stormfly jerked back, puffing herself up as she extended her wings in a show of intimidation, her hide darkening to a very deep red that bordered on black. But Hiccup kept his hand out. Either he was about to get something in common with Alvin or the dragon was going to see that he meant her no harm. Stormfly dropped back to the deck, lowering her head and hissing at him, her mouth opening to reveal wicked sharp teeth capped with the same ebony that tinged her hide. She threw her head forward, positioning it so that the chin crest would be able to stab him easily. Hiccup kept his hand extended towards the dragon as her head weaved back and forth. Throwing himself to the side or back would only make her think that he was trying to get away. Hiccup had to show her that he wasn't. That he was not afraid, that he was not an enemy--or, failing that, that he was not food. Stormfly dropped back onto the deck, turning so that her gold eye locked on his.

For reasons he could not explain, Hiccup kept his eyes open for as long as he could, until they watered too much and he was forced to blink. It was only for a second but Stormfly shook herself, the dragon fixing him with the same look that Camicazi had directed his way. That combination of disgust and irritation and the red and black slowly began to turn to gold. Still Hiccup left his hand up and out, offering it to the dragon. She drew her head back and sniffed, this time with disdain before scuttling forward. Hiccup had his hand out, palm up to the sky. Before his surprised eyes, the dragon lowered her head towards him, the two extensions whipping forward and batting the back of his hand. Hiccup turned his hand with them until his palm was parallel to the dragon's chin crest, his hand facing the open ocean instead of the sky. Seemingly satisfied with what she was seeing, Stormfly moved her head forward and placed her chin crest to the side of Hiccup's hand. Instead of turning a bright blue, however, the dragon turned a light blueish lavender color.

"Stormfly!" Hiccup looked over at the shout of the dragon's name as Camicazi stormed forward.

"Sorry--" Hiccup began.

"Don't move," Camicazi cut him off. Hiccup looked at her and she jerked her head. Stormfly froze like a guilty child and Hiccup realized that the dragon's tail was moving towards his foot, ready to yank him off balance, "Stormfly come here you little liar," she said motioning.

Stormfly let out a huff and moved back, withdrawing her tail and her chin crest, the blue lavender bleeding into a darker brown. She moved much more quickly though only slightly more elegantly over to Camicazi and curled around her, glaring angrily at Hiccup. Camicazi glared at the dragon before walking forward to where he was standing, sidestepping the Mood Dragon entirely. Stormfly let out a huff at her rider's reaction, her hugh changing from the brown to a pure white before she dropped onto the deck, obviously bored and frustrated. Camicazi gave her no more than a passing glance, one filled with the same kind of annoyance he saw her give Alvin, though the look she directed at her dragon held more affection than the glare she'd given the pirate.

"I'm sorry," Hiccup said again, "I thought--"

"Stormfly's a liar," Camicazi said folding her arms across her chest. Hiccup looked at her curiously, "she turns purple when she lies," she continued, "makes her a horrible sneak, though she thinks she's better than she is," she continued, "gets us both into trouble."

"Dragons tend to do that," Hiccup said, adjusting his grip to hold onto the side of the boat and face her at the same time, "my dragon was getting me into trouble before I even really knew him," her eyes narrowed angrily and Hiccup quickly continued, "see on Berk a Night Fury--"

"What do you know about the Night Fury?" she demanded before her eyes narrowed, "you--" they widened, "your dragon is a_Night Fury_?!" she shouted, taking a step towards him, the curiosity replaced once again by anger.

"Uh--kinda--yes," Hiccup said as she once again looked a heartbeat from kicking his ass, "Toothless--"

"Night Fury's have teeth!"

"Technically they've got retractable teeth," Hiccup said. She looked at him like he was a complete idiot, "we did hunt them for two hundred years. We do have a dragon hunting manual," he said. She opened her mouth, "I know, I know, you've got a library right?"

"You ride a Night Fury named Toothless?" Camicazi demanded furiously. Hiccup nodded.

The young woman made a sound in the back of her throat, filled with disgust before coming over to the side of the boat. Hiccup looked back at Stormfly. The white of the dragon was taking on a greyish tinge. Dark colors meant bad things when it came to the Mood Dragon. Quickly Hiccup turned back to Camicazi. she had her back to her dragon, her fingers gripping the edge of the boat with a white knuckled hand. Her eyes were closed as well and Hiccup realized that she was fighting to reign in her emotions without alerting her dragon. Though he hated to do so, Hiccup turned to face the young woman fully, loosing sight of the dragon completely.

"Are you okay?" Hiccup asked.

A humorless smile twisted the red haired woman's lips before her eyes open and locked with his.

"If you were a member of my Tribe, I would kill you," Camicazi told him. Hiccup's eyes widened, "people have fought and died to get their hands on a Night Fury and you--" she shook her head, her lips pressing together, "you just found one."

"Caught him actually," Hiccup said. She looked at him, some of the anger giving way to curiosity, "I wasn't good at hunting dragons. I could make things though. I made a cannon and fired a net. He got caught and I found him in the woods."

"And you didn't kill him?" Camicazi questioned, narrowing her eyes.

"I couldn't kill him," Hiccup said with a shake of his head, "I saw him and I realized that as scared as I was of him, he was just as scared of me," for once she didn't interrupt him, "so I cut him loose. He would've flown away but he got hurt in the attack."

Camicazi was silent as she looked at him and once more Hiccup felt like he was being sized up by a dragon. But the anger did not return to her eyes. She looked at him and for once Hiccup was fairly certain he was not in danger of being hit or yelled at. It was a strange feeling, especially considering how easily the two things came to the young woman standing beside him. Swallowing back the remnants of fear he felt, Hiccup opened his mouth to ask her what she was doing on the boat and why he had suddenly been taken onto the deck. But before he could ask any of those things, Camicazi's head turned as the door banged open. Hiccup's eyes immediately followed her gaze, locking on the people that moved through the door and onto the bright deck and suddenly it became perfectly clear why he had been taken onto the deck and left standing with only the side of the boat to hold onto.

Two men were dragging Astrid onto the deck.

The young woman was doubled over and from the sounds escaping her lips they had knocked the wind from her lungs. The two men held her arms tightly. Hiccup looked down to see that her feet were dragging. They were the thing keeping her upright. How many times had he almost fallen and Astrid kept him from landing on his face? And now the two men there were keeping her upright, their fingers digging into the fur so hard Hiccup knew the young woman was going to have bruises from their handling. Astrid made no move to look up at him, her head lolling down. Hiccup tore his gaze away from her as the sound of heavy boots on the deck brought his gaze to the person he knew would emerge next from the darkness.

Alvin stepped onto the deck, his eyes sweeping around before locking on Hiccup. Hiccup's fingers tightened against the wood as the pirate walked forward, stepping in between him and Astrid. Any view he had of the blonde girl was lost to the swish of the heavy fabric of Alvin's coat. Furiously Hiccup pushed himself up as best he could, wishing beyond anything that he had the ability to walk over to where they were standing. Anger towards the young man in front of him fought with the sickening worry he felt at the sight of Astrid looking like that. Alvin looked at him but this time there was no amusement in his visible eye. Only a deadly, cold fury that Hiccup knew was echoed on his face.

"Let her go," he ordered, glaring at the young man.

"So sorry, Master Haddock, but I will not be doing that," Alvin said, folding his arms across his chest, "you and her were just so sweet the other night, I had to ask for her help in finding out where you've hidden that key."

Shock wiped his mind blank for a moment. The key? The small, ornate piece that had started this whole mess. The key that he had swiped when he was in the room with Alvin. The key that had been stolen from him by the woman standing next to him on the deck. if he looked at her, Hiccup knew that Alvin would think she had something to do with it. But if he didn't tell the pirate what had happened then he knew something would happen to Astrid. There was only one thing that he could do.

"I don't have your key," Hiccup said

Alvin raised an eyebrow, his lips pressing together in a gesture that spoke of disbelief.

"Lying, now are we?" he said, "you are--"

What Hiccup was or was not, he did not know as commotion took over the deck.

Hiccup realized he should have known that Astrid was being overly dramatic about being hit. He had watched her take a hit before and while it did not happen often, she was not the type to give in to the reaction that occurred afterwards. Not in the way that she had been. But all that the men had seen was a thin blonde girl who had suffered a punch like a girl usually did.

They never knew what hit them.

By the time the first man hit the ground, Astrid had grabbed his knife and attacked the second who also went down in a matter of heartbeats. A handful of other men joined the fight but none lasted long against Astrid's skill. Hiccup had seen her fight before, all the young vikings had. But he had never seen her fight like she did. Knives replaced the axes she usually threw but her hits were no less deadly. The men on the ship were good but their skill was much rawer than hers. Unfortunately they were also very tough and the handful of knives thrown only managed to slow down a few of them. But even as she stared down death, Astrid showed no fear, only a clear desire to kill or maim as many of the pirates as she could get her hands on. When she was out of weapons to throw, she bent down only for a moment. Alvin moved forward, his hand going to his waist. Hiccup opened his mouth to shout a warning to her but it was too late.

In one smooth motion Astrid stood, turned and placed the tip of a sword at Alvin's throat.

"No-one move," she ordered, not looking at any of the crew, "or your Captain dies."

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**Uh oh! What's gonna happen?! Go Astrid! **

**I know this chapter was short but just wait, next time its gonna be a much longer one! Think of this chapter as like the bridge between the last chapter and this one! (Which is like ALL Hic/Strid.)**

**I know a lot of you commented on the notes that came up last time. Thank you for all your support. I know you won't be able to review this chapter signed in since you technically already commented on the chapter. So if you want to you can either review anonymously (I accept those) or you can PM your thoughts to me. Or you can just hold off until the next chapter!**

**Also if I have not responded to your message yet, please give me a little time. My inbox is currently very very full but I promise I will get to everyone! Thank you for everything! **

**Also, as you know, I'll ask you to please review! You'll make me want to update faster!**

**So please review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi All!**

**First off at the suggestion of a few reviewers/friends I made a oneshot that is pure, unabashed Hiccup/Astrid fluff. Its called "Hey Soul Sister" and its on my profile page. **

**AND we've got new fanart! This one's by BlackRaven162 and goes with "Hey Soul Sister" and captures a moment from the story in utter perfectness. Seriously, its a great piece of art and has a wonderful feel to it. She also did a great job with a certain ring that comes into play with the story....wait what? **

**Now back to our original programming. **

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The weight of the sword was monumental.

Astrid held the blade as tightly as she could, pointing it at the throat of the man in front of her. Her stomach still burned from where she had been hit, but she pushed the pain aside. She had been hit before, she knew how to take one even if she disliked it. But the men had seemed to think that going utterly limp was totally normal and Astrid had realized that she could use that to her advantage. They had been listening to Alvin taunt Hiccup and Astrid had seen red. The moment their grip slackened she had moved, taking out everyone that she could see. She had heard Alvin move towards her and she had done the only thing she could. She grabbed the nearest weapon and prayed to every God she could think of that the men on the crew cared about their Captain as much as they cared about Hiccup.

Now though as she stared at him she was beginning to regret her rash decision. She could hear people move behind her, their footfalls heavy against the wood. But their steps faltered as they saw the position their Captain was in. Astrid didn't spare them a glance. She didn't look anywhere but at the man standing right in front of her. She had told Hiccup that their current predicament wasn't his fault and it had been more than just comfort. It was not his fault. Any blame fell with the man she was currently holding at the point of a sword.

The man who looked anything but afraid to be held at the point of a sword.

Astrid's eyes narrowed as she looked at him. He stood perfectly relaxed, as if being held at sword point was nothing new to him. It sent chills racing down her spine. He did not look frightened or scared or even like it was new to him. The men who stood behind her, their weapons ready, they were suddenly the least of her worries. Because as she looked at Alvin, as she watched his blue grey eyes, she realized that however unsettling the look on his face was, it was far more unsettling to realize that she had seen that look before.

"Well this is interesting," Alvin said, glancing down at the blade she held to his throat, "I assume you are thinking that the men standing behind you have some kind of loyalty to me?" Astrid's eyes narrowed further, her fingers tightening on the hilt, "I see," he continued, "well allow me to clear that up. They do not."

"Then why aren't they attacking?" she demanded.

"Oh, that's because I have this," he said, moving one hand smoothly towards his jacket.

"Don't move," Astrid ordered, pressing the blade closer under his jaw. Though no fear came into his eyes, Alvin's hand froze.

"Very well," he said, and Astrid was certain if her blade hadn't been against his throat he would have sighed, "I have something, you see, something that they need if they have any hope of getting a cut of the treasure."

"So--"

"So," Alvin said, "while they are not loyal to me, they will make sure I come out of this alive," he continued, "because while loyalty might be sweet, the people surrounding me all need me. And that, my dear girl, makes them far more dangerous."

Astrid was halfway to running him through by the time he called her 'dear girl', halfway to killing a man, halfway to making a monumental mistake. Halfway there and yet her muscles froze before she could fully perform the action. There was something about the way he said the words, something in his tone that made her pause, her eyes moving from his to the people standing around him. None of the men moved towards Hiccup or her or Alvin. In fact, not a living, breathing person on the boat moved.

None of them had too.

Astrid's eyes widened as suddenly Hiccup was dangling upside down, suspended from the ground by the tail of the dragon that had suddenly turned blue-black. The gold eyes of the dragon were sharp, predatorily and utterly focused as she moved her tail so that instead of dangling over the deck of the boat, Hiccup was hanging over the open water. Horror flooded her as her eyes moved from the dragon to the red haired woman standing next to her. Her own eyes were as unforgiving as the dragon she rode. Astrid stared as she held her hand out, fingers twisted in what was obviously a signal to the dragon.

"No loyalty," Alvin said, "but I am necessary."

Astrid looked at Hiccup. The green eyed young man struggled against the tail that held him over the edge of the boat, dangling towards the water. It was sickeningly clear why Alvin had been so confident, so unafraid of her. Because he knew. That was why he had brought her out on the deck. He knew that if it came down to a choice between killing himself and saving Hiccup, she would choose to do that. As she stared at him, trying to think if it would even be possible to allow him to fall, she realized that if she did that then he was as good as dead. There was no metal to weigh him down but the furs they were wearing were heavy. And while he did not have a prosthesis on his foot, he did not have a foot to kick with. He would drown, in the middle of the open water, he would be dead.

"Put him down," Astrid demanded, pressing the blade firmly enough to draw blood from Alvin's throat.

"As you wish," he said, glancing at Camicazi.

There was no emotion on the woman's face as she opened her hand, just as there was nothing on the dragon's face as she uncurled her tail. Astrid did not know if her face echoed the numb horror she felt as she stared at Hiccup, only that when the young man's eyes locked with her own there was nothing in them. No emotion, no fear, no sadness, no blame. If anything he looked surprised and Astrid was suddenly, painfully, aware of what his features would look like with no emotion on them. When they were pale and still and he was laying on the deck of the boat. She had seen him dead in her dreams a hundred different ways, his body bearing marks she wished she had never seen. But in all the dreams, she had never actually seen him die.

She had never thought that _she_ would be the reason he died.

The dragon's tail released and suddenly Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III fell from her sight.

"Hiccup!" Astrid screamed, moving forward. Alvin seamlessly moved with her, keeping the sword at his throat, "get out of my way!" Astrid demanded.

"I have a better idea," the pirate said, "I can see from your face that Master Haddock is not a terribly good swimmer. And that you are very worried about him," he said, "its touching, truly it is, my heart positively bleeds for you both."

"You can't do this!" Astrid protested, "he's necessary for your treasure too!"

"A descendant of Grimmbeard _may_ be necessary--"

"He is!"

"As is your thick skulled friend."

"Snotlout?" Astrid demanded, her eyes darting to the edge where Hiccup had gone over. It could have been her imagination but she swore she heard splashing. He was struggling, but he wouldn't stay up for long, "you said he was the spare. You've got the best descendant right there!"

"Very true. And yet he's given me nothing but trouble. I had thought that was because--well, I suppose the _why_ is not important. I am a solution oriented man," he said.

Astrid looked at him. Hiccup was fighting but she had to give him a chance. He could not die. Not like this. Not because of the man standing in front of her. Not out in the open ocean thrown from a boat by a dragon. Astrid's eyes widened as the splashing she heard stilled. Alvin heard it as well, she could see it on his face as his lips twisted into a smile. Hiccup had gone underwater.

"I'll do it," she said. Alvin raised an eyebrow, "whatever it is," Astrid lifted the sword from under his throat. Alvin let her but made no move to get Hiccup up, "you have to get him up--" Astrid said, moving forward.

Something connected with a spot high on her stomach and suddenly it was impossible to breath. A moment later there was a sharp pain at her side and any thoughts of regaining her breath fled from her lungs. The sword that she had been holding clattered limply to the ground as a pair of hands grabbed her arms. They took no chances this time, not that it would have made a difference. The pain she felt was like nothing she had felt before. It was impossible to breathe or to think, or to do anything but stare helplessly at the side of the boat where Hiccup had been dropped. If she could have forced air through her deadened lungs, Astrid knew she would have been screaming.

"Take her to my quarters," Alvin ordered, turning and walking forward.

"Hiccup--" Astrid wheezed, fighting to lift her head to look at Alvin.

The pirate seemed to consider her words for a moment before turning to the woman and her dragon.

"When you're sure he's been thoroughly washed, make sure you get me that key," Alvin said, "I'd hate to have had us come all this way for nothing."

The pirate swept off the deck, disappearing into the room below.

Wordlessly Astrid stared at the deck and the woman standing there with her dragon. There was no splashing, no struggling, nothing but the endless ocean and the soft sound of the boat moving through the water. It was painful when her lungs began to work again but not nearly as painful as the burning deep inside. She had Alvin, she could have run him through but she hadn't. She had failed. She could have somehow killed him, maybe defeated the other pirates--she could have saved them all. But instead she had traded their freedom for a chance at saving the one young man she realized mattered the most.

The man that she would never see again.

And it was all her fault.

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With a choked, sputtering gasp, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III came back to life.

Someone turned him onto his side as he spat sea water and whatever he had eaten onto the deck. Throat and eyes burning, Hiccup pressed his hands to the wood as his arms trembled viciously beneath him. Someone swore and a hand that was heavy with rings grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him to lay back down on his side. Hiccup gagged and suddenly the reason for being on his side became clear as more salt water came spilling out of him. His eyes burned as he forced them open, lashes heavy with the stuff. His entire body felt like it was wet and on fire, his muscles burning for reasons he did not remember.

And then it came crashing back to him.

The struggle, the fighting to stay afloat and struggling out of every piece of fur he could reach. But it hadn't mattered. Like an invisible hand was around his foot he had been yanked down into the watery depths. He had fought against that too, against the urge to inhale, to breathe in the water and drown for real. But he had been powerless when the burning had become too much and before he could stop himself he had breathed in and salt water had filled his lungs. It had been messy and quick and the last thought that Hiccup could remember thinking was how terrible it was to drown.

"You didn't drown you idiot!"

Hiccup twisted up, not surprised to see that the ring encrusted hand belonged to Camicazi. He was surprised, however, to see that she too looked like a wet fish. On his other side, Stormfly was standing also dripping water. She too looked less than thrilled at the situation, her nose high in the air with disdain. But from the violet hugh of her hide, he knew she was lying. His lungs burned again and Hiccup found that once more he was lost to a coughing fit. He pressed a hand to his mouth, barely managing to summon disgust as more salt water spilled from his mouth onto his palm. Camicazi made a noise of disgust behind him, letting him know that she was none too pleased with the situation at hand. But even that was half hearted from the young woman.

"Thanks," he said, his voice hoarse.

Camicazi slapped him upside the head.

"Ow!"

"Man up!" the dragon rider ordered, "we have work to do."

Hiccup pressed a hand to his mouth, looking around and realizing that they were on a different part of the deck--and that there were no crew members around. Slowly he pushed himself up but this time Camicazi did not stop him. His arms trembled violently as they supported his weight. Something warm and firm and thin was suddenly behind him, propping him up. He looked over to see that even if the dragon was not looking at him, her tail was holding him up. For once Camicazi did not object to their interactions, the young woman looking at him almost angrily.

"Keep breathing," she ordered.

"I'm trying," he said, "but everyone here seems to want me to either stop or to bleed," Camicazi glared in response, "why did you save me?" he asked.

"I didn't want to drown you," Camicazi said looking away, "but I had to," she said looking back at him, "he probably already suspects something--"

"Suspects something? So you didn't burn those people?"

"No, I did," she said. Horror must have shown on his face because she glared even more angrily, "I did not have a choice!"

"Yes you did," Hiccup said, pushing himself away from the dragon's tail, "you could have said 'no' and not killed six people--"

His voice must have gotten louder because suddenly her hand was pressed against his mouth, silencing him. Her head turned as she looked around to see if the men were still around, if his voice had attracted anyone's attention. Seemingly satisfied that it had not, Camicazi looked back at him. glaring in an obvious demand that he lower his voice. Hiccup nodded his understanding. Slowly Camicazi withdrew her hand from his mouth. Her features were tight, tortured even and Hiccup realized that the idea of killing six people was very unsettling to her. But she had still done it. That was what he didn't understand.

"Why did you join with Alvin?" he questioned.

"That's a long story," Camicazi said, reaching up behind her neck and undoing the leather tie around her throat, revealing the key on the end, "like I said, there's work to be done--" she frowned and looked around before locking eyes with him, "they took your girl."

Hiccup's eyes widened. He did not need to ask who she meant, he knew. Alvin had taken Astrid. His eyes moved for something--anything--to pull himself up with. He had to get up. He had to get to her. If Alvin had her, then--then--Hiccup's heart lurched. She had been holding a sword to Alvin's throat and then suddenly she had been taken prisoner by him. There was only one thing that he could think of that would get Astrid to agree to something so quickly. His eyes landed on Camicazi, sitting there holding the key, looking at him like he had grown a second head.

"Where did he take her?" he demanded.

"Easy," she said, "she's with him, probably in his rooms--are you really going to try and stand?" she asked, arching an eyebrow as Hiccup pushed himself up on all fours, "what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go get her back," Hiccup said, ignoring the protest of his muscles as he struggled onto his leg.

"How?" Camicazi demanded, catching him as he pitched forward, "are you going to _fall_ on him?"

"I'm not just going to sit here and wait for orders!" Hiccup told her furiously, "Astrid's in trouble!"

"Stop it," she said, "you are all in trouble. Your job is to get all of you out, not just your girlfriend."

Hiccup opened and closed his mouth, shame fighting the anger he felt. She was right, they were all in trouble and yet a part of him wanted to throw everything else to the wind and go down and rescue her. But he knew that the young woman next to him was the only thing keeping him upright. And that even if he wanted to go downstairs and fight everyone until he found Astrid, that would only mean death for the rest of their friends. Death or worse. With a sickening twist, Hiccup realized that he couldn't do that. Not to them. Not like this. Wordlessly he looked at Camicazi. The red head rolled her eyes at his stricken expression.

"Yes it is a difficult thing to do, choosing what is more important," she said and Hiccup knew she was not simply talking about his predicament, "I'm sure your girl will be fine."

"You don't know that, she--"

"Seems far more capable than you," Camicazi snapped, "she can at least handle a weapon."

Hiccup looked away. Astrid was capable of handling herself, he knew that, and yet the sickening feeling he felt made him want to do something, anything to make sure she was alright. When he had been helpless she had been able to do that for him, but when she was being taken away he had no way to even know if she was alright. All he knew was that she had been taken by Alvin--that she had agreed to go with the pirate because she had thought that it would save Hiccup. A part of him felt elated by the knowledge that he meant so much to her. But as he stood there helplessly, cold wet and horror struck he couldn't help but wish that she still thought he was an idiot not worth her time.

"Don't look so heartbroken," Camicazi said, maneuvering him to the side and easing him down, "he isn't going to do anything to seriously hurt her. He only took her because you were being uncooperative."

"Uncooperative?" Hiccup demanded angrily, "then he should be dealing with me!"

"Yes and I suppose you shouldn't have been kidnapped in the first place," Camicazi said rolling her eyes.

"She's got nothing to do with this," Hiccup said.

"Well you killed that one when you cried like a little girl and fell asleep holding her hands," Camicazi told him icily. Hiccup looked at her, too surprised to feel embarrassed, "it is a jail, not your bedroom," the rider snapped at him.

Hiccup looked down at the ground in between his feet. After all that they had done to keep their new relationship a secret, one night of weakness on his part ruined it all. Why could he not have kept it together? Why did he have to make it clear that even with their friends the person that he trusted the most was Astrid? Hiccup looked over at the dark wood of the deck. There had been a time when he could have stormed through and found her. it would have been a suicide mission but he could have--and would have--done it. But now without something to help him stand, he couldn't even do that. He was utterly helpless.

"Not to add to your troubled thoughts," Camicazi said, "but Alvin might have let your girlfriend _infer_ that you drowned and were dead."

"She thinks I'm dead?" he asked, his voice hollow.

"He used the term 'wash' but I'm afraid so."

"But if she thinks I'm dead she's going to--" he began before trailing off.

He had no idea what she would do.

Learning about Astrid had been something he had enjoyed immensely but she was not always forthcoming with information. Sometimes the most important things he learned by accident, or simply by watching her. Like how she had a scar just above her left eyebrow. It was faint and barely noticeable but he knew it was why she had her bangs the way she did. Or how if she was upset she wouldn't push her food around but eat it with fast, angry motions before storming off. There were some emotions that she hid, but the rest were all surprisingly stark on the surface. But he did not know how she would deal with grief--if grief was even what she'd feel when she thought that he was dead. He just knew that if she thought he was dead she wouldn't act like she would if she knew he was alive.

"Can someone come and drag me back to the cell now?" Hiccup asked aloud.

"Nope," Camicazi said, "there's been a change of plans," she said, pointing.

Hiccup followed her finger with his eyes.

There was land on the horizon.

For a wild, hopeful moment he thought that it was Berk. That it was home. That somehow Toothless and his father and the others would be there. But aside from being in island, there was nothing similar to Berk. The island in front of them was not shrouded in mist, though it was faint thanks to their distance. From what he could see the island was small but full of rock formations that seemed to stretch into the heavens. There was no steam, no smell of ash, and yet as he looked at the approaching island Hiccup realized that it looked oddly like the dragon's nest. He had thought that when he saw land, when he could get off the boat, that he would be overjoyed. But as he looked at the approaching island a cold knot settled in his stomach and joy was the very last thing on his mind.

The sound of leather being moved brought his attention from the island to the dragon. Camicazi had moved without him even realizing it and was standing beside Stormfly, tugging a broad strap of leather taut across the dragon's chest. As he looked around, Hiccup realized that there were two packs now attached to the dragon's sides, hooked onto the saddle. Deciding the work was to her satisfaction, Camicazi turned around and walked over to one of the men. Hiccup watched as she held the key out, handing it to him and speaking quickly before turning around and walking back over to Hiccup and her dragon. Stormfly's hide began to change to her usual gold, obviously ready to leave.

"He's splitting us up," Hiccup said looking at Camicazi.

"Yes," the rider said, "we're going first," she gave a final tug to the leather before turning to Hiccup, "so, have you ever ridden a Mood Dragon before or have you not found one on Berk yet?"

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**And they're splitting up! **

**So Hiccup and Astrid are separated, she thinks he's dead! But hey we're getting off the boat! So obviously there's gonna be some changing in the chapter POVs, but not to worry, it'll all make sense!  
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**Remember to review! You guys kicked ass last time and you're makin me just want to dedicate all my time to updating this fic!**

**So please review! **


	15. Chapter 15

**First off BlackRaven162 is spoiling me ROTTEN! She followed up her beautiful pic of Hiccup and Astrid in "Hey Soul Sister" with an utterly AWESOME picture of Camicazi and Hiccup from the last chapter in which she totally managed to capture the emotions of the characters! And also their forms. Cafcow did the incredible pic of Camicazi that totally captured the character and BlackRaven162 totally continued that--and did it in her own style!**

**Now the winter cloths that Astrid's going to be wearing are heavily inspired by HollyBoo2001's gorgeous drawing of Hiccup and Astrid from Chapter 9. **

**Remember to see all the fanart you can easily go to my author page (click the link up there that says "Enchantable") and scroll down to the part of my profile entitled "Links of Awesome". The first section is "Art etc." and there's a link titled "Fanart". Click it and go look! **

**Now back to the story!**

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Astrid stared numbly ahead.

He was dead.

The thought seemed to occur to her from some impossible distance. Hiccup was dead. The dreams about him being burned and mauled were gone from her mind, all replaced with thoughts of the chilling certainty she had that he would drown when their boat first came rocketing towards the shore. She did not even need to close her eyes to replay that final moment when he had been suspended over the water, when she had been so certain that she could free him--that she could free them all. Only to watch him fall into the water so quickly it felt like she had missed something. A part of her felt as though it was all a dream, as though he could not possibly be dead. Hiccup had figured ways out of worse situations, surely he had found a way out of this one.

And then she would remember the sound of the splashing stopping, of everything going impossibly quiet.

Of him finally sinking below the waves.

Astrid squeezed her eyes shut. It made no difference. He was still gone, the image still haunting. A thousand questions beat through her. What if she had dropped the sword and ran after him. What if the men hadn't stopped her, what if Alvin had gotten out of her way, what if, what if, what if. But nothing changed. Hiccup had still dropped, she had still not been able to get to him and now he was dead and she knew that it was her fault. She had pushed Alvin, sure that he would surrender or do something. Yet as she thought more about it she realized that Alvin had reacted predictably. Every time they fought back, he countered. More than that, he countered perfectly, as if he could tell exactly what their next move was going to be. He was not just being perfectly wicked, he was being smart about it as well.

The anger she felt when the door opened and Alvin walked inside was surprising. It poked through the numbness, but even so it seemed to come from an impossible distance. The young man looked calm as he walked into the room, his visible eye moving around as though to check for threats. When it landed on her, even through what she was feeling Astrid straitened up and met the young man's gaze unflinchingly. Her eyes were locked on his, to the point where she did not see what was in his hands until it came sailing towards her. Expertly Astrid caught what he threw, belatedly realizing that he had thrown it in a way that made sure even if her hands had not streaked out she would have caught it.

The bundle that landed in her lap was soft and heavy. Astrid tore her gaze away from the pirate's to look down at the clothing. It was very similar to what his crew wore, the same thin cotton material. Except what she held in her hands was cut more for a woman than a man. Along with it she realized there was a coat similar to the one that Alvin wore--and the ones that the other members of the crew would soon don. Astrid looked at the clothing and then up at him. Alvin was perfectly composed as he looked at her.

"Get changed," he told her before exiting as quickly as he had entered.

Astrid looked at the door he closed on his way out before looking back at the clothing in her arms. Opening her hands she let it fall to the ground. The clothing fell at a pile at her feet, a mess of colors and fabrics. She was going to dress like--like one of the crew. Like one of the men who had stood there while they were kidnapped. Who had done _nothing_ while the bravest Viking she'd ever known just drowned because of an injury he had gotten saving them all. The thought was so disgusting that in spite of everything she did not feel, Astrid found herself taking a step backwards.

She did not realize how many steps she had taken until her legs bumped against something.

Astrid turned and looked down, surprised to see the black lacquered cabinet that barely reached her knee. Her head rose as she looked up and around at the room for the first time. There were a dozen of them set against the wall, closed and, though she could not be sure, Astrid imagined that they were locked as well. The hopelessness of the situation was suddenly crippling. She was good at fighting, they all were good at fighting. But Hiccup had been the one who could figure things out. He was the one who would have had a shot at getting them out of the situation they found themselves in. She had been having the dreams for so long and yet when it came down to it she couldn't stop it. She couldn't save him. And the others--

The others.

Astrid's eyes widened as she realized that there were the other members of their group. Her thoughts had been so jumbled and focused on Hiccup that she hadn't even thought about the Twins, Snotlout, Fishlegs--T.T.. They were all still in the room with the cages, still imprisoned, still locked up down there at the mercy of the pirates. She, at the very least, was out of the cage. A part of her wanted nothing more than to sit on the mats and sob. That or to numbly put on the clothing and obey, to just not let herself feel anything, to focus on the nothing. She wanted to do either of those things and yet as she looked at the mats she realized that neither of them was an option.

Focus on the enemy.

It was Dragon Training 101. Friends could fall, families could die, the world could end around you and you kept going. if you lost an arm you switched your axe to the other hand and kept swinging. Even if you couldn't survive the battle, you could destroy your enemy. Sometimes you couldn't hope for victory, but you could sure as hell get revenge. Astrid couldn't save Hiccup. And she knew that revenge would feel great. But she also knew that Hiccup would have wanted to make sure that they were all out of there safety. Every time that she had fought Alvin he had beaten her. It killed her but she needed to put the fight aside. She had to focus on her enemy but she had to make getting everyone safely out her priority. She had to see this through. And once they were all safe she knew she would feel Alvin to Toothless, one limb at a time.

Turning around, Astrid dropped to her knees in front of the black cabinet, her fingers pressing against the lacquered wood. She pushed at the top of the cabinet but it did not rise. Her fingers pressed against the wooden slats on the front but none seemed to open the cabinet. There was no latch or hidden catch, or anything that she could see. Her stomach plummeted as the thought that what she was facing was not a cabinet at all occurred to her. What if it was just something in the wall, what if it wasn't anything? What if she was risking snooping around in the cabin for nothing? Hand still pressed to the cabinet's front, Astrid turned to look back at the clothing that lay behind her. Perhaps she should just do what he said, wait until she had a real opportunity to find a way to get them all out safety. Her body turned towards the clothing. Perhaps--

The front of the cabinet moved.

Astrid whipped back towards it. She had been turning and her hand had pushed and it had moved. Not enough to reveal what was inside, but enough to make it clear that it opened. Unable to figure out what she had done, Astrid turned back towards the clothing, mimicking what had caused the door to slide. It slid a little more. Blindly Astrid pushed her hand in the same direction, but she turned her body back to face the cabinet. The door slid open, revealing two dark shelves. Astrid had no time to guess what was in them, to hope or pray or think. She simply had to look.

Her eyes took in the darkened contents of the shelves. They were full of crystals and rocks, as if someone had taken the insides of the earth and polished them and set them inside a cabinet. Blood red rubies, deep sapphires, smooth chunks of amethyst--there was enough wealth on the first shelf alone to buy Berk twice over. The second shelf as well was full of stones, bright and polished perfect. Astrid felt her heart drop. The stones were beautiful and heavy looking but she didn't think they'd be much use--unless she wanted to hit someone really hard. There had to be a weapon, something in there amidst the polished stones.

And then she saw the knife.

Astrid's eyes widened as her hands grabbed the knife. It was long and unlike anything she had ever seen, the blade concealed in a case studded with enough gems to blend into the cabinets contents. Astrid immediately pulled it off, placing the case inside and pushing the stones a bit closer together. The weight of the blade was surprising, as was the size. It spanned the length of almost both her palms, even though the blade was curved. It too was unlike what she had seen, the metal a dark and brassy color, etched with strange symbols and signs. It was a work of art, that much she was certain of. Holding out a section of her coat, she pressed the blade to the fur. Even without pressing down, the blade cut through the fur. Astrid's fingers curled around the heavy blade. It would do just fine. Now she just had to get it out of there in one piece.

A sound reached her ears suddenly.

Someone was opening the door.

Astrid's eyes widened as she looked at the door. The handle was moving. Spinning around she slammed the cabinet shut before whirling to her feet and facing the door. If she was fully clothed, he'd know. He'd know that she had been up to something. He would know that she hadn't been changing. Astrid looked at the knife she had. He had said something about a key, she had no guarantee he wouldn't know about the knife. She had to make sure that he did not see what she had taken. That he had no reason to think she was doing anything but what he asked.

She had to get naked, fast.

She moved forward as she yanked her clothing apart, fast enough so that the half done laces slid open. Grabbing the hem of her outer layers, she pulled them clear over her head, throwing them on top of the furs before tearing off the last of her upper garments at the very last moment. The furs and the fabric all fell on the knife, covering it. But she knew if Alvin stayed in the room he was going to discover it. She had to get him to leave. She needed more time. Alvin might have done the impossible with composure but if there was one thing Astrid had learned it was that men who did the impossible very well usually had one major weakness. Not giving it a second though, Astrid turned and faced the door fully as it opened to reveal Alvin.

For a moment neither of them moved.

Astrid stared at him, painfully aware of the cool air that blew across her bare chest. Alvin stared at her, his eye wide and his lips parted. Astrid stared back, trying not to feel embarrassed at what was happening--or on the fact that she had a knife hidden underneath the clothing sitting just behind her ankles. Or that she had slammed the cabinet door shut and had no idea if it had opened even fractionally. Everything, _everything_, rode on Alvin getting out of there before he discovered anything was amiss. Shoving down anything else she was feeling, Astrid did the only thing that a girl in her situation could do.

"Get out!" she shrieked, crossing her arms and forcing Alvin's eyes from her chest to her face, "you--you--pervert!"

Alvin stammered something incoherent, grabbing the door and slammed it shut.

Letting out a breath, Astrid relaxed her arms, letting them fall to her sides. She hadn't expected that to work. But Hiccup had taught her that men who were able to pull of impossible stunts tended to be very bad with the things that other people were decent at. Like girls. She had gambled and she had won, but the victory was short lived. Shoving it to back of her mind, Astrid hurried over to the cabinet and made sure it was completely closed. She quickly got back to the pile of her old clothing and grabbed the knife from under it before she crossed the short distance to the other clothing that lay in a heap on the mats. Quickly she kicked off her boots and shed the clothing on her lower half, making sure the knife was always somewhere that she could hide it if need be.

The pants she wore were loose and made of odd fabric. The embroidery was incredible, depicting a scene of what Astrid guessed was spring time. But the pattern was off, oddly sewed together and she realized that something had been cut up to make the pants she wore. Something much bigger. Whatever it had been, she just hoped that the gold and silver threads in the embroidery were not real, but knowing the crew, she had a feeling they were. Picking up the dagger, Astrid placed it in the waistband of the pants at the small of her back. Next came the shirt. Astrid frowned at the garment. It was long and oddly delicate for what she was sure was a man's shirt. Pulling it on she looked down to see that it hit her knees and was, thankfully, very loose. A belt had been put with the clothing, though it seemed strange for them to think she would need such a thing. Still the more layers she had on, the more chance she had of hiding the dagger. Winding the wide belt around her waist, Astrid buckled it shut before grabbing the leather boots and pulling them on.

What she had thought was a coat much like the one Alvin wore, was in fact not. It was a cloak made of a heavy fabric that felt impossibly soft in her fingers. The garment itself was the color of sapphires, the fur that lined it was pure white. Silver edged the garment, leading seamlessly into the fastenings of it. Astrid pulled it on. The cloak hung to her ankles falling around her body perfectly. The three silver fastenings went on her right shoulder, the opening allowing her to move her right arm freely. There was an opening to allow her to move her left arm as well without much trouble. Astrid pushed the hood back off her face, quickly making sure that everything was in order around her for when Alvin opened the door once more. Satisfied she turned around to face the door.

This time there was a knock.

She was silent.

A moment later the door opened and Alvin walked inside. Astrid looked at him for a heartbeat before looking down at the ground. She needed him to think--to think that her thoughts were only on Hiccup. A tightness gripped her throat but Astrid shoved it aside. She could think about him later. Later when--when this was over. When his bones were rotting in the sun, when everyone was safety home. For now she had to focus. She had to use everything that she had been taught to make sure that no-one else had to die at the hands of the man who stood in front of her. She heard him move forward, his boots heavy on the mats in front of her.

"Sit down," Alvin said, "you look as if you're going to fall over."

Astrid's eyes rose as she looked over at him. His back was to her but she watched as he shed the elaborate coat he was wearing. He was very skilled and she realized that if she did not look, she would not have known he was missing his hand. His movements were seamless as he laid the garment down on one of the cabinets before undoing the buckle around his waist, laying the sword and dagger down on top of the coat. Astrid continued to stare as he pushed aside the cabinet front and reached inside, pulling out two garments, laying them on the top. Astrid watched as he folded his coat carefully and put it inside the cabinet before doing the same with his black vest.

"Where are my friends?" she demanded.

"Where you left them, I imagine," Alvin said, pulling on a dark vest lined with black fur, his fingers seamlessly doing up the fastenings. She was quiet, "care to join them?"

Astrid stared at him, unsure of what he was expecting her to say. A part of her wanted to go back down to the cages, just to get out of his presence. Also to talk to the others and try to figure out what they were suppose to do. But she knew that if she saw the cage next to hers without him in it, whatever strength she had was going to shatter. After what had happened, after he had confided in her, after his walls had come down in front of her, the idea that she would be imprisoned and he would not be there next to her was almost more than she could bear. She had to keep it together, for them if nothing else. She had to make sure that they got through this safely.

She _had_ to.

"Why am I wearing this?" she asked looking at her clothing.

"Its cold outside," he replied, pulling on a cloak identical to hers, save for the color and length.

"But I was dressed for that before," she told him, her eyes darting down as he turned to face her completely.

She heard him walk forward. But instead of stopping at her, he walked over to one of the cabinets. For one moment Astrid was sure that he would stop at the gem cabinet and find her theft, but he kept moving. She watched as he walked over to another cabinet, bending down and sliding it open. In the faint light, she could make out other objects. But while the gems were obviously worth a lot, as was the clothing, the objects in that cabinet were actually quite worthless looking. From what she could make out there were carvings from wood, some perfect and smooth, some so rough they looked as though they had been made by a child. Alvin reached into the back of the cabinet and pulled out a long chain, either end fastened with manacles.

Astrid looked away as he turned around. She heard the cabinet being slid shut before he turned and walked towards her, the chain in his hand. He stood directly in front of her, close enough that Astrid could hear his breath. For a moment, at least, he seemed content to stand there with the chains in his hand and suddenly the thought of being in the room with him, of being so close to him, was almost as shattering as the thought of being in the empty cage next to Hiccup. Taking a deep breath she turned and looked back at Alvin.

His hand came forward and grasped her wrist, pulling her hand towards him. Astrid started at just how rough his hands were. She was no stranger to callouses but the palm that gripped hers was covered in more than most of the vikings she knew. With brisk, efficient movements that Astrid couldn't help but stare at, Alvin held her wrist in one hand and did up the manacle before looping the chain through the belt at her waist and attaching the manacle to her other wrist. Astrid looked down at the chains with dismay. He had looped them around the buckle, effectively cutting off any hope she'd have of escaping while making she sure knew that escape had been possible.

"I'm not going to be with the others, am I?" she asked finally, looking at the shackles on her wrists.

"Smart girl," Alvin told her, "and the answer is no. You're not. But you'll know they're there--and what will happen if you try to pull another stunt like the one you did on deck."

"Another stunt?" Astrid demanded, her head flying up, "you killed Hiccup because of a _stunt_?"

"As I told Master Haddock, timing is everything. Perhaps if you were a bit less swing-happy the situation you found yourself in would be different."

Anger roared through her, its intensity crippling. There was no more numbness. No more thoughts of Ruffnut and Tuffnut, of Snotlout and Fishlegs and T.T., all of whom were depending on her. There was just the blinding, overwhelming desire to beat Alvin to a pulp. Forget feeding him to Toothless, she was going to rip him limb from missing limb with her bare hands. The chain was infuriatingly short and so Astrid fought with the only thing she could.

"And maybe if you were a bit smarter you wouldn't hoard silks and gems and old bits of wood like the selfish coward you are!" Astrid shot back furiously.

Alvin's visible eye narrowed in anger, color darkening his cheeks and Astrid was half certain he was going to backhand her. She held his gaze with her own, a part of her wishing that he would hit her. Wishing that some kind of physical pain would do something to stop the fierce ache that seemed to have taken residence in her very soul. But Alvin did not give her that. His hand never rose to her face. He held her gaze until the color faded from his cheeks and his features smoothed out to a mask of perfect composure.

"And yet," Alvin said, his voice low and steady, "_I_ am still the one with the key to your friend's freedom," Astrid's fists clenched, "and the next time you are overcome with the urge to shout like a child--or fight like one--I suggest you remember the what became of Master Haddock."

Then he turned on his heel and walked out of the room, the door slamming in his wake.

Astrid was too stunned to realize that she had obeyed his first suggestion, her legs buckling and bringing her to the mats on the floor. The fur of her cloak cushioned her as well. The other pirates would be in cloaks. She'd be just a nameless, faceless member. If Hiccup didn't come back, they would think that she too was gone. And if she tried anything, Alvin would do something to the others. There was nothing that she could do. Nothing except obey him and pray that she got an opening like the one she had created for herself. She had made openings twice now, but he had managed to stop her at both, each time using her friends as collateral against her.

Her friends--

Astrid bit her lip as the invisible object in her throat swelled and her eyes began to sting. Hiccup wasn't a friend. Their 'friendship' had lasted for as long as it had taken her to grab him by the front of his green shirt and press her lips against his. And now he was gone. There would be no stolen kisses or heated embraces. No rolling her eyes when he did something clumsy or awkward or silly but perfectly Hiccup. There wouldn't be any more long nights in the blacksmith shop or sitting on the deck looking up at the constellations. They'd never race their dragons or tend to each other's scratches or do any of the things she had come to find so perfectly wonderful.

They were young and Astrid knew that she'd still be expected to marry and have children. And even if there had been a time when she wouldn't have noticed him, Astrid realized that more and more that hazy, far off day when she would become a wife it had begun to look more and more like Hiccup would be a part of it. But that would never happen now. There would be another man, another someone waiting for her who probably knew how to throw an axe properly but couldn't figure out how to fix the small bit of the saddle that had been digging into Bluebell's neck and making her irritable. There'd be no careful, calloused hands to shyly entwine with hers. There would just be--be nothing and suddenly Astrid found that she was hard pressed not to burst into tears.

She had to stay strong, she had to see her friends through this no matter what the cost. What happened to her now, it was inconsequential. She had already failed, Hiccup was already gone and if another person died, she didn't know what she would do. Alvin had killed people but she--she should have done something. She was a leader, she always had been. But what kind of leader let someone they cared about die? What kind of a leader failed so completely? She had to see the others safe but as she sat there, Astrid couldn't bring herself to think about anything but the misery she felt.

She wasn't even aware of the tears that had escaped and slipped down her cheeks.

Only of the cold metal that bit into her wrists.

And how, even if she had no right to do so, she desperately wished Hiccup was there to hold her hands instead.

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***Phew!* I think that was the hardest chapter to write! I can't even tell you how hard it was to think about how Astrid would feel and react, especially in light of how it happened, well, last chapter. So she's very jumbled up--which kindasorta happens after a loss. **

**So whose ready to get off the boat?**

**Everyone?**

**Good, me too, because next time we're off the boat and on the island! Don't worry we're gonna find out what's going on with Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs and Snotlout next time. And all I can say to Astrid is that she's luck all she's got is a dagger. Tuff's got a whole dragon to smuggle! Good luck with that one!**

**Please review! Last time a few of you rock stars turned out--and rocked hard--but for the rest of you please review! I'm here for your feedback and though I am honored by alerts and faves, I do love reviews and find them very helpful. **

**So please review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**HollyBoo2001 drew more fanart!**

**This time one's a gorgeous colored piece with Astrid and Hiccup--and Astrid's in her new winter clothing! Which makes me all kinds of happy considering I used her designs for their winter stuff. She took my description of the cloak that Astrid's wearing and just made it beyond beautiful. Same with the emotion of the piece. She captured the emotions of the characters beautifully! **

**The other one is just all kinds of awesome and features a supremely pissed Astrid shouting at a slightly angry Alvin. Their expressions are just beyond cool and it really looks just like what I was picturing with the scene. Astrid really REALLY looks like she wants to rip Alvin to pieces and he looks just infuriated enough to still be IC. **

**Go look!**

**So you can find all the fanart with the link on my profile page, but if you're having trouble please drop me a PM or mention it in your review and I'll be happy to give better directions! **

**Now back to the story!**

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"They're fine, I mean, yeah, they're fine," Snotlout asserted, "what kind of idiot takes on a massive dragon and gets killed by a pirate? They're fine--"

"Dude, the more you say it the less convincing it is," Tuffnut said from his cage, T.T. offering a lazy whistle of agreement, though both still looked unsettled.

No-one was sure how much time had passed since Astrid had been taken, only that it was longer even than when Hiccup had been taken. Hiccup had been grabbed before but he had always been returned--usually much more quickly than the last time he had been taken. But there was no light from outside and the men came and went periodically but even that was a poor way to tell time. There really was no way to know. Except, perhaps, to count the seconds but even that seemed foolish and pointless. Especially when men came in and constantly took their friends. But being in the cage was little better and half of them were wishing that they would be taken just so that they could stand up and stretch their legs for a moment.

Each passing moment just made it worse.

Astrid hadn't come back, neither had Hiccup. Nor had any of the men--which was why T.T. was currently curled up on Tuffnut's head like a hat. T.T. was a quick dragon, easily able to hide when the others came into the room. When they did not he had taken to sitting on Tuffnut's head or back or chest, depending on how the young viking was laying. After his first wiggle out of the bars, he had stayed in the cage with the blond, seemingly content to lay on top of other vikings shifted and moved, doing their best to keep the blood flowing and their muscles from cramping in the small cages. But it was still maddening to have nowhere to go and to have nothing to do. In spite of the outlandishness of his assertion, they all tried their best to believe it. It was better than letting their imaginations go crazy with what _could_ be happening above on the deck.

"I mean--"

"They're fine, yeah, we know," Ruffnut snapped at him.

The Twins had stopped fighting, something that was strange in itself. But either the cages or the idea that they could be taken separately or just the general bleakness of the situation had stopped them both from arguing. Fishlegs, too, had fallen silent, barely speaking a word. His situation was the most uncomfortable and yet every single time the door opened the young viking would curl into himself and push as far away as the confines of his cage would let him. Snotlout's bravado only seemed to show itself when the men were not in the room. When they entered he would be a silent as the rest of them, waiting to see if the men took someone else this time. Now as they sat their they half wished the door would open and the men would return Hiccup and Astrid.

But the door stayed stubbornly closed, their friends still gone.

They had all agreed long ago that the worst part was the waiting, followed by the not knowing and the helplessness. Even T.T. seemed so ready for something to happen that when the men came in he had taken to bracing himself against Tuffnut's chest, his legs tense as if he was ready to spring upwards and attack. Tuffnut knew that the furs he wore gave him the appearance of extra bulk but there was a significant difference between how much room T.T. took up when he was laying flat and how much he took up when he was on all fours. Half the time Tuffnut was either curling his knees up to hide it or pushing down on the dragon until he lay flat.

"Gods," Ruffnut complained, "I just want to get off this boat."

"Yeah," Tuffnut agreed, "but not if we're in a freakin box when it happens."

"You don't think they'd throw us in that box do you?"

"They'd better not! I hate small spaces!"

"You hate everything."

"Not as much as I hate your face."

"Not as much as I hate yours!"

Their fighting stopped as two of the pirates opened the door with a bang, causing T.T. to shoot down Tuffnut's back.

Neither Hiccup nor Astrid were with them.

That was the first thing that the vikings noticed. The next was the fact that one man carried a heavy looking ring of keys with him. The two pirates were as dirty and scarred as the others, one was missing his entire left arm while the other looked as if half his face had been smashed in and poorly shoved back together, sans his right eye which was nothing more than a gaping hole, partially concealed by a bright yellow scarf. The one with odd face held the keys but the men clearly shared the duty. The key ring was tethered to the missing arm man's belt. Together they made their way to the cages where the vikings were being held.

"Figure's we'd get here on a nice day," the one with the smashed face grumbled, "first time we see the sun in days and we'll be spending it anchored out here."

"Least we get to enjoy the weather," the one with the missing arm said, "don't gotta spend it in those rocks like the rest of this miserable lot."

"Miserable lot?" came the reply, heavy with disbelief, "you idiot they get to go in the cave while we're stuck on this boat!"

"Rather be on this boat than that cave!" the other shot back, "caves like that always lead to trouble. They got monsters and curses and things like that. 'Sides, not like those little things are going to get the stuff back here. That way if there's a curse or monster, some of 'em will make it out and we'll be here safe and sound."

"if there's a curse, you _idiot_, then its going to be on this boat!"

"Well at least they'll be no monsters."

The man with the smashed face rolled his remaining eye before yanking the chain of the other man, pulling the keys closer. He opened the cages one by one, leaving the doors wide open. The door opened as a third pirate who was apparently standing guard threw a large bundle to the smash faced man, who let it fall to the ground without so much as a second thought. Finishing unlocking the cages, he turned to the bundle and picked it up.

"Okay you lot, out of the cages, stand over there."

Shakily they got to their feet. T.T. being, well, T.T., latched onto Tuffnut's back as the young viking staggered backwards to fall in line with the others. The two pirates traded a look before the one with the missing arm glared at him.

"Why's he walking funny?"

"He's been in a cage for two days!"

Shock coursed through them Two days? It seemed impossible that it had only been two days. That two days ago they had been on a hunting trip, excited that their parents would be proud they had caught something. They had been thinking that they would be going home within a day, going back to their dragons and their families--one step closer to being full fledged vikings. Two days and yet now they had no idea where they were, how close or how far away Berk was, or even if anyone had figured out the ruined remains of the boat and the charred bones that washed onto shore did not belong to them. Two days was all that had passed and suddenly every viking was certain that in all their life there would never been two longer days.

"Put these on," the one armed pirate said hefting the cloaks at them.

They caught the heavy, ornate cloaks in their hands and with numb fingers put them on. The man with the smashed face picked up the manacles that had been thrown in along with the cloaks. No-one moved to hold out their hands, which immediately made him glare as he looked at them. T.T.'s claws dug into Tuffnut's back as the little dragon tensed in anger.

"Out with them," he demanded.

Tuffnut stuck his wrists out first.

He couldn't risk T.T. getting overzealous and jumping out at the men. The more hopeless the situation got, the more he was sure that they were going to need the little dragon. As the man attacked the manacles to his wrist, he heard T.T. give an almost inaudible huff and lay flat against his back. Ruffnut looked at him before she stuck her hands out as well to be chained. Fishlegs and Snotlout followed suite until a row of chained vikings faced the men. Satisfied at what was happening, the two men looked at each other before looking at the vikings.

"Lets go," the smashed faced one barked.

They staggered out of the room. Five other pirates waited for them on the other side of the door. it seemed that they were taking no chances with them. Fishlegs felt his stomach drop. If there were this many men then something happened. He got a sinking feeling that whatever had occurred had something to do with why Astrid and Hiccup weren't with them. He just hoped that whatever they had done had done something to help their situation--and that they were alright wherever they were.

The young vikings were shoved onto the deck, blinking at the suddenly light as their legs struggled to hold their weight after being still for so long. There were a handful of pirates on deck, all putting on similar cloaks to the ones that they wore. With their hoods up, they realized that it would be impossible to distinguish them from the pirates. Their cloaks hid the manacles they were bound with, they would just look like other pirates. The realization was unsettling, but they had no time to dwell on it as they were pushed towards the side of the boat. The rope ladder was back in place, hanging over the side.

Fishlegs looked over the edge of the boat, half expecting it to be nothing but water.

There was another boat below theirs.

Made of the same dark wood as the Outcast, the boat was without sails and was significantly smaller than the one they were standing on. There were three long benches that spanned the inside, oddly inlaid with thick red cushions. The sides of the boat were high enough that if they had not been shackled and forced down there, the ride would have been rather comfortable. The front and back of the craft was outfitted with two raised platforms. Two pirates dressed in cloaks similar to the ones they were wearing were standing on them, fixing long, curved black poles to either end. On the tip of each hook they fixed globes of glass worked in a frame of iron. Both men lit the insides of the globes, the glass bursting to life and glowing a bright orange.

"Get down there," one of the pirates on the deck ordered.

One by one they made their way onto the boat. The small craft rocked with their weight but held steady. Immediately one of the men walked down the line of them, connecting a heavy chain to their shackled wrists. Even if one of them managed to get free they would still be stuck with the rest of them. And between the weight of the chain and their furs their was little chance they would make it to shore in one piece. The moment they were loaded in, the two pirates pushed off from the boat and pulled long oars up, beginning to paddle with brisk and efficient strokes that had them gliding seamlessly forward.

Huddled in the boat, they were all silent as it made its way along the water towards the rock formations.

In the cloak he wore, Tuffnut could feel T.T. trembling but past tightening his hand on the dragon there was nothing he could do. Especially since he felt like shaking as well. The boat glided along the water, propelled by people who had long since learned the quickest way to move the boat. As they got closer, the rocks ahead seemed to loom impossibly high, their grey facades weathered and jagged. No-one spoke about the jagged rocks that seemed to line the shores, about how there was no place that they could safety land the boat. The men seemed to know what they were doing, and though it was a small comfort, the young vikings all knew the pirates that rode the boat with them did not want to die.

The boat glided towards the rocks, slipping easily under the first of a large rock that arched high above them. They glided past a monstrous boulder, so close that if their hands had been unshackled they would have been able to reach out and touch it. One of the men plunged his paddle into the water, turning the boat sharply towards a pair of rocks that towered high above their heads. They were slanted, a middle portion worn out. The boat turned for it and the purpose of the lanterns suddenly became clear. As their boat breeched the rocks and made its way into the cave, Ruffnut couldn't help but take one last look at the sky before it was swallowed by the slate grey rocks.

Though there was no sky, the tunnel was not pitch black. The rocks were deep in the water but not so deep that sunlight didn't slip through. The water was dark but they could see a faint glow edging through it. The orange glow of the lantern illuminated their way more, edging through the darkness they found themselves in. The boat glided through the cave, pressing deeper and deeper until any last sliver of the sky was gone. The light still shone feebly from underneath the rocks but even that seemed to get weaker as they pressed through the darkness to a destination known only to their captors.

"Hey, pirate!" Ruffnut called over to the pirate on the back of the boat, "where're we going?"

The pirate who stood there was even closer to their age than Alvin. He was tall and gangly, his movements still ripe with the awkwardness of youth. His mop of brown curls was unruly, cut haphazardly back to keep away from his eyes. He wore no scarf on his head, but he did don the same mismatched clothing as the rest of them. His was just as ill fitting, his pants barely long enough to tuck into his brown boots. His loose shirt was even looser than most of the men, the tightness of the red sash he wore revealing just how thin he was. Still his grey eyes echoed with surprise when Ruffnut spoke to him. The moment he opened his mouth, the pirate in front silenced him.

"Keep your mouth shut, you Dubrain," the pirate at the front of the boat ordered looking back at him.

The grey eyed pirate's lips shut, pressing together in a tight line as he held the man's gaze. Freeing a hand from the oar, he drew his finger across his lips before locking an imaginary lock and throwing away the key. The pirate in the front made a sound of disgust before turning forward and continuing to row. The grey eyed pirate rolled his eyes at the back of the pirate in front's head before pushing his oar into the water. His eyes locked with Ruffnut's as she looked at him, watching their exchange.

He winked.

Ruffnut's eyes widened as her cheeks burned, her eyes tearing away from his. In all her years, the young viking was sure that she had never been _winked_ at. And certainly not by a young pirate with bright grey eyes. The gangly young pirate continued to row as Ruffnut stared ahead, feeling her face get redder and redder, certain that his eyes were locked on her.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Tuffnut demanded looking at her.

"I'mfine," Ruffnut snapped, so quickly the words jumbled together.

"You're all red--"

"I said I'm fine!" she shot back, her voice echoing off the walls which only served to make her face get redder.

"WIll you lot stop shouting?" the pirate in front bellowed, "you see what you did you Duhbrain?" he snapped at the young pirate, "I told the Captain I should've left you to watch the ship."

"Oh come now," the young man spoke for the first time, his voice full of the humor they had seen on his face, "you know the Captain would never trust me with a ship," he paused with a smile, "not even an tied up one."

"Anchored!" the pirate in front screeched, "_anchored_ you--"

"Duhbrain?" the younger pirate supplied helpfully, though the twinkle in his eyes suggested he knew perfectly well that the boat had been anchored and not tied up.

The pirate in front seemed suddenly too furious to form words as he turned forward and began to all but attack the water with the paddle, resulting in a lot of noise without a large amount of movement. The young pirate in the back easily continued to row, as if infuriating men was nothing new to him. The pirate that had been called a Duhbraid continued to row. After a moment, he began to hum as well, easily matching the dip of his oar to the beat of his song. The pirate in the front soon fell in line with the pace of the younger pirate, though he did not look back, seemingly too disgusted with the younger man to even glance at him. That seemed to suite the grey eyed young man just fine as he continued to hum and row.

Though she had every intention of keeping her eyes forward, Ruffnut found her gaze drawn back to the younger pirate. Though his eyes were ahead on the man, the moment her gaze darted to him, his eyes locked with hers and his lips curved into a smile. Ruffnut felt her cheeks heat up but she kept her eyes locked with his. His smile widened at her defiance and refusal to look away even as her cheeks darkened. Still holding her gaze, he stopped rowing and humming and knelt down until they were closer together.

"We've got no idea where we're going," he said, as though confiding a great secret.

Ruffnut's eyes widened. They had no idea where they were going?

"Then what the hell are we doing in this cave?" she demanded, glaring at him even as Tuffnut hissed at her to shut up.

"To tell you the truth, _I_ think we're lost--" he glanced up at the pirate who was holding the oar so tightly it look as if it was going to break, "my friend over there doesn't agree but he took a good knock about a week ago," he continued, tapping his forehead to illustrate his point, "and it just hasn't been the same up there since," He straitened up, "now me, I know I am nothing more than a Duhbrain, but others are just not as fortunate to be so wise."

He resumed humming once more, matching his oar strokes to the tune. Ruffnut turned back forward, feeling slightly dazed at what had just happened. She felt Tuffnut's eyes on hers but didn't dare look at him. She could still feel the heat on her cheeks from when she had talked to the Duhbrained pirate. She felt the others looking at her as well, as if she had suddenly sprouted two heads like a Zippleback. Ruffnut kept her head forward. She had talked to boys before, but more often than not it had been either before or after she buried an axe in something. Or turned and insulted Tuffnut. Suddenly she found herself wishing that her braids were a bit longer so she could grab one, wrap it around her neck and die right there and then.

"You're still all red," Tuffnut hissed to her before glaring over his shoulder at the grey eyed pirate who just smiled brightly in return.

Tuffnut promised to kill him right after Alvin and maybe before the red haired bitch.

Once again they found their journey was timeless. The two pirates did not get tired, the Duhbrain's voice did not falter, the light did not change. The work outside of the boat could very well have ceased to exist for all they knew. But all were thrilled enough to not be trapped in the cages that they were silent. They may still have had to sit and their wrists were chained but they were no longer bent in half in the cages. Fishlegs looked close to weeping with joy at that. As they continued to glide Tuffnut felt T.T. move from his stomach to his back, settling comfortably against his spine with his front legs hooked on Tuffnut's shoulders and his tail wrapped around his waist.

Tuffnut's eyes widened as he felt the cloak move as T.T. stuck his head out of the opening at the back of his neck.

The pirate ahead did not see it but the one behind certainly did. Tuffnut held himself very still as he reached over and elbowed his pink faced sister. Ruffnut whipped her head towards him furiously enough that one of her braids whacked his shoulder. He didn't care. If the pirate behind them said something then T.T. was going to be in trouble. They all were going to be in trouble but T.T.--Tuffnut stopped himself. Maybe if they got him back inside quick, no-one needed to be any wiser. Ruffnut glared at him.

"What?" she demanded, her cheeks still pink.

Tuffnut glared at her, praying that she would figure out what was going on. He jerked his head slightly backwards. Ruffnut's eyes narrowed before she glanced at the back of his neck. Her eyes widened at the gold eyes that peeped through her brother's hair. Her head turned towards the grey eyed pirate. He was still humming, his eyes scanning the rocks and for a moment she thought that maybe he hadn't seen the dragon. His eyes locked on hers once more before they moved purposefully towards the dragon peeking out of her brother's hair.

With a wink and a smile the grey eyed pirate shoved his hand into a pocket hidden by his red sash and tossed a scrap of fish towards T.T.

The little dragon opened his mouth and gulped down the fish meat, licking his lips and looking at the pirate for more. He increased the volume of his humming as he fed T.T. The little dragon eagerly gulped down the food as the pirate up ahead continued to row, muttering bad things about the grey eyed pirate. As she watched, Ruffnut didn't know whether to be thankful that only one pirate knew about the dragon or worried that this one pirate carried fish around and fed dragons without a second thought. He stopped when T.T. was obviously full as the little dragon disappeared within her brother's cloak with a content burp. Ruffnut watched the dragon vanish before she turned to look at the pirate.

"Hey," her brother twisted, looking at him as well, "Duhbrain. You got a name?"

"Dogsbreath," the pirate said without missing a beat, flashing them the same brilliant smile.

"Your parents named you Dogsbreath?" Ruffnut questioned.

"Once a Duhbrain, always a Duhbrain," Dogsbreath said.

"Dude," Tuffnut looked at the pirate, "stop flirting with my sister."

Without missing a beat, Dogsbreath the Duhbrain turned and winked at the young man before picking up his song where it had left off, leaving the two red faced twins staring ahead, silent at last.

* * *

**Sorry I just couldn't resist! **

**Dogsbreath is in the books but he wasn't in the movie. Now aside from his name and a few details he's not going to have a ton in common with his book counterpart--not to the degree that Alvin and Camicazi do--but, well, you'll see. **

**Funny story, see I was talking to a friend who asked why I didn't have Dogsbreath in the story since I was re-imagining the other book characters and I've actually gotten a few questions about why he's not there. So he's here now! **

**And we're off the boat!  
**

**Next time we're gonna catch up with Camicazi and Hiccup and learn a bit more and get one step closer to....well, you'll see. But its really awesome and I'm totally pumped. I actually did enjoy writing Ruffnut, I could see her having trouble with a guy flirting with her. **

**Which is why you should review! I love all you guys and gals who reviewed these past two chapters but I'll tell you its a bit disheartening when so many of you add this to alert and fave without reviewing. I don't mind so much how few of you came out last chapter considering I posted it and this within 24 hours of each other, but please do review! I really like to hear what you think! Oh and don't forget if you're having trouble getting to my fanart folder on deviantart, let me know so I can direct you. Anonymous reviewers, obviously I can't do that unless you give me some kind of contact info. But for the rest of you drop me a line! **

**So please review! **


	17. Chapter 17

**More fanart!**

**Bintavivi drew a scene from chapter 15 that is just all kinds of awesome. Its one in this neat comic style that totally blew my socks off. Its very cool to see such a scene captured comic-style and Bintavivi managed to capture the rawness of Astrid's emotions so heartbreakingly well it makes my head spin to boot! Plus the colors are really REALLY cool looking! I am just being spoiled by the fanartists here and you all should go ooogle what they've got to offer because their other work is just all kinds of awesome too! **

* * *

Even with one leg and his ability to walk virtually gone, Hiccup didn't think he had ever been so grateful to be off a dragon in his entire life.

Stormfly was a small dragon, designed for many things such as speed, agility and long distance flights. Carrying two riders, however, was not one of those things. He had spent the ride crouched on the back of the dragon, holding onto the saddle for dear life as Camicazi steered the dragon. Because of her size, Camicazi crouched rather than sat on the dragon's back, moving each time the dragon did. The way they moved was incredible, both obviously having long become accustom to each other's movements. Hiccup was sure that if he hadn't been clutching the back of the saddle for dear life, he would have been very impressed. As it was, if he could have had the use of both his legs, Hiccup was sure he'd have been on the ground kissing it.

As it was, he had to settle for sitting on it.

Camicazi was over by Stormfly, undoing the packs tethered to the dragon's saddle, dropping them unceremoniously to the ground. Undoing the buckles of one she inspected its contents before straitening up and walking over to him, dropping it in his lap. Through the leather he could feel fabric, soft and thick but not as heavy as the pack would have been if there were other things inside it. He looked from the contents to the young woman who had already turned back to the second of the packs.

"Get changed," she ordered.

"Huh?" Hiccup looked back up at her, still feeling daze.

"I said, get changed. You'll be even more useless to everyone if you get sick and die," she said, reaching up and unknotting her vest.

Camicazi was undoing the laces of her vest, loosening them sufficiently until she pulled the sopping garment over her head. The long white shirt followed in a wet heap, leaving her standing in a bright orange chemise, pink sash and bright green pants. Hiccup opened and closed his mouth as she undid the sash at her waist, dropping it onto the pile before following it with her shoes. Her pants were around her ankles before he figured out how to make his throat work, the length of her chemise the only thing keeping the situation from being truly indecent.

"Wait!" Hiccup protested, "I can't--" he began, trying to figure out how to move.

"Turn around?" Camicazi questioned, turning to face him and putting her hands on her hips, "I assumed as much," she said motioning to the dress, "is this the first time you're seeing a girl naked?"

"Yes--no--" Hiccup stammered, knowing he was beet red, "I mean I--"

"Shut up, Stormfly!" she pointed at the ground in between them, "wings out."

The dragon landed in between them and spread her wings and turning her head stubbornly towards Camicazi. Hiccup saw the orange chemise come sailing from behind the dragon's wings to land on the pile. Hiccup looked down at the pack in his lap, carefully setting it onto the ground. Inside he found a long tunic that was, thankfully, dry, though the fact it was made of yellow silk had Hiccup wondering who it was for. Reaching down he pulled his soaking boot off. His tunic followed before he pulled the new one on. It took a bit of maneuvering to get his pants off and replace them with the soft black velvet ones he found in the pack but he managed. With a bit of fussing he figured out how to do up the silver buttons on the hem of the pants, tightening the one leg around his ankle. He followed the garments with a thick vest he found inside, heavy with gold embroidery on suede as black as Toothless.

Camicazi came around the front of the dragon before he could put on the cloak he had found. She too had changed from her wet clothing though her garments were no less colorful. The pants she wore now were so loose that if she stood with her legs together it seemed like she was wearing a skirt so long that he could only see the toes of her brown boots. Made of gold, the pants were edged in blood red. On top of that she had traded her long tunic for a fitted red bodice embroidered with what Hiccup hoped were not real rubies. The sleeves were long and loose, though a pair of gold armbands studded with red stones tightened them around her upper arms, though the gold edges of the fabric came to her knuckles.

"Well?" she demanded tersely, "what are you waiting for?"

Hiccup stared up at her, shocked that she could be so terse after what had happened. He could feel the water of his hair dripping onto the collar of the new tunic he was wearing, each drop reminding him of the fact that everyone he cared about in the world believed that he was dead. His father, his dragon, Astrid--everyone thought he was rotting on the bottom of the ocean--or most of him anyway. He prayed that his father wouldn't start a war, but he was fairly certain Astrid was going to try and kill every pirate she got her hands on. He just prayed that they were all alright--and that no-one did anything in the name of useless revenge.

"Where are we?" he asked. She raised an eyebrow, her lips parting to yell at him but Hiccup refused to give her the chance, "everyone I love thinks I'm dead--because of you! My custom made prosthetic is at the bottom of the ocean somewhere and now I'm just supposed to go with you on this island and I've got no choice in the matter! The least you can tell me is where the hell we are--"

His shouting was cut off with a rough gasp of pain as agony seared up his missing leg. He looked down to see that his stump was now resting in a rough metal cup and instead of the sleek prosthetic he had so carefully designed, there was a wooden pole.

"You can't be serious," Hiccup said looked up at her.

"Like i said, don't become more useless," she said, "and we aren't going to be able to fly where we're going."

Hiccup glanced doubtfully down at the pole sticking out from his leg, fighting the urge to tell her he didn't think they were going to be doing much walking either but Camicazi had already turned back to their packs, pulling on her own ruby red cloak, fixing it so that the brown fur hood was pushed back. With an expert motion she twisted up her hair, sticking the two thin sticks into the style to hold it in place. Moving over to Stormfly, she tied the packs back onto the dragon, securing them to the saddle--which Hiccup realized was made of the exact same leather. Hiccup tightened his fingers in the fur of the cloak that he held in his lap, fighting the urge to shiver. Camicazi crossed her arms over her chest, rolling her eyes skyward before letting out a frustrated breath and looking at him.

"We're on Skullion Island," she said. He looked at her blankly and frustration contorted her features "its the island where your grandfather hid his treasure!"

Hiccup couldn't help but stare up at her. The idea that this was all about treasure, it was unfathomable to him. So many people dead, his friends separated and at the mercy of pirates--his leg gone. And all because his great great grandfather spent his life stealing from others and then buried the treasure on an island for the world to take. Camicazi held his gaze, her own so full of disgust that Hiccup half wondered if he had imagined her earlier slight kindness and curiosity. Finally though, something seemed to break and she let out a breath, shaking her head.

"We need to keep moving," she said looking at him, "staying here is a very bad idea."

"Why?" Hiccup questioned.

"Just get your cloak on," Camicazi snapped glancing over her shoulder.

With numb fingers Hiccup pulled the cloak on and did up the fastenings that lay on the outside of the black leather. Rising to his feet he was surprised to feel that his leg did not hurt as much as he thought it would. Tying a knot in the extra fabric of the pant leg, he moved after her as best he could. It was awkward to walk on the prosthetic. The end was narrow and small--smaller even than the curved edge of his first prosthetic. It did not help that the wood of the prosthetic was a bit too long for him. He knew his limp was even more pronounced as he staggered after the red head. Now that he could stand though, it seemed Camicazi did not think he needed help. She did not walk so far away from him that he could not see her, but far enough that he was hard pressed to keep up. For all her talk of safety Stormfly remained behind, preening on the beach as they made their way across the rocks.

"Your dragon doesn't mind being left alone?" Hiccup asked, desperate to get her to slow down.

"Does yours?" she shot back.

"Uh--" Hiccup trailed off, thinking of how Toothless had been so adamant that he not go on the hunting trip and how before the ship wreckage washed up on shore his dragon and his father were probably sitting in front of the fire eating until they had to be rolled upstairs, "kinda. He really likes people--especially when they feed him--"

"Would you shut up?" Camicazi demanded spinning around to face him, her eyes blazing.

"Would you mind slowing down?" Hiccup asked, "my leg was made for a taller person and I've been in a cage for two days."

Camicazi rolled her eyes and turned back around, but her pace was decidedly slower. Together the pair made their way across the rocks. Thankfully Stormfly had taken them up high enough that the terrain was mostly smooth, but Camicazi navigated it far better than Hiccup was able to. Most of his concentration was taken up by focusing on moving the awkward, rudimentary prosthetic forward without winding up flat on his face. He was so focused on the task at hand that even if the red head had not told him to shut up, he would have been quiet. It was still cold but the sun on the back of his neck made him warm, so warm that before long his hair was dry. Hiccup didn't know how long they walked for. His legs, both the whole and the amputated, began to ache barely five minutes into their walk. It was not until a shadow fell over them that he realized the terrain had changed at all.

The cave they were walking towards was massive, looming high above them. The rocks were smooth on the sides that faced outwards but the inner parts were jagged, making the cave appear oddly like a very foreboding mouth. Hiccup paused, his head turning away to look back at the ocean. He realized that the Outcast must have been anchored on the other side of the island as he looked at the empty ocean where he almost drowned--where his friends thought that he had drowned. When he looked forward, he realized that Camicazi had continued to push forward and was at the entrance of the cave. Not wanting to loose her, Hiccup put on as much speed as he dared. She waited for him by the front of the cave, sparing him a withering look before turning to face the cave.

Placing two fingers in her mouth, Camicazi let out a loud whistle that echoed deep into the cave.

For a moment nothing happened.

Then Hiccup heard the distinct sound of something charging towards them.

By the sound of it the creature was heavy, heavy and fast. He could hear it thundering towards them. All thoughts of the fact that Camicazi had summoned the creature fled from his head as Hiccup looked at her. She was right in the path of the approaching beast. If it kept charging, it was going to slam right into her. Above them, Stormfly continued her lazy circle in the sky, as though there was nothing wrong. Hiccup ignored it all. He had to get Camicazi out of the way of the approaching creature. With little more than a split second to decide, Hiccup did the only thing that he knew would get them both of the way.

He threw himself at the young woman, knocking them both to the ground and out of the way of the creature.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Hiccup turned towards the mouth of the cave where a pair of luminescent eyes stared back at him. The bright gold orange was unmistakable and distinctly that of a dragon. His eyes widened as he looked at the dragon hidden in the darkness, unsure if the dragon was a friend, foe or just generally wanted to eat them. He didn't move, he just stared. That was all he was able to do before there was a sudden, sharp pain on the back of his head and he found himself forcibly shoved off of the red headed dragon rider.

"You idiot!" Camicazi shouted, pushing herself to her forearms, "did you not hear me whistle?"

"But I--"

"Shut up! Just--just shut up. You don't get to talk anymore," she said shoving herself the rest of the way to her feet and facing the dragon. Reaching into the pocket of her cloak, she pulled out a handful of fish, "its alright," she spoke, her tone softening so much that Hiccup wondered if there weren't two Camicazi's inside one body, "don't be afraid of the idiot, he's just loud."

Hiccup thought that was a little unfair considering all the screeching she was doing but he kept that to himself as she stood with her hand extended towards the cave. The dragon leaned forward, its muzzle just sticking out of the darkness as it gave the fish in her hand an experimental sniff before withdrawing into the darkness. Camicazi kept her hand held out as the dragon repeated the process. Finally the dragon's head fully emerged. Titling it to the side, it reached out with massive jaws and took the fish carefully from Camicazi's hand. Tossing it up the air, it gulped it down with unabashed delight before lumbering out of the shadows to stand fully in the entrance of the cave. Hiccup stared. The massive jaws, tough skin, rounded body--even the small wings that seemed too little to carry the creature. All of it was shockingly familiar.

It was a Gronckle.

The dragon turned its attention to him, lowering its head so that it could examine him with its bright gaze. The nostrils flared as the dragon sniffed him, its rough skin scraping across the cloak as its massive jaws dripped close enough for Hiccup to still see the remnants of the fish. But the Gronckle's examination was nothing new for him. Before he could be yelled at, Hiccup reached out, choosing speed over caution and scratched the spot on the dragon's head that he knew made Gronckles go wild. The dragon let out a grunt of pure delight and, much to Hiccup's shock, proceeded to roll onto his side so the boy would have better access to the spot. Hiccup struggled to his knees, trying to maneuver without breaking the scratching as the Gronckle kicked his legs out in joy at the attention.

"Gronckles," Camicazi made a sound of disgust at the creature who had seemed so fearsome moments earlier before walking around to where he was laying on his side, "you're lucky he's got no standards."

"What--"

"What did i say about talking?" she demanded turning to him and making a clear motion with her hand, "up with you."

With an apologetic look, Hiccup withdrew his hand. The Gronckle, clearly unhappy to not be being petted anymore, the dragon shook his head and got to his feet, obeying Camicazi's signal. Looking at him, Hiccup realized that the dragon was carrying packs, fashioned similarly to the ones that Stormfly bore. Camicazi undid the first with a practiced motion as Hiccup looked up at the dragon's saddle. It was similar to the one that he had designed for Fishlegs and his Gronckle, but there were a few things that he had not thought of. Like how there were three straps going around the Gronkle, the reins attaching to the foremost strap in a way that would let the dragon feel the command without being bothered by it while the back strap wound all the way under the second to last section, allowing for the packs that Camicazi had taken off the dragon.

"This is one of your dragon's, isn't it?" Hiccup asked, pushing himself to his feet, "but this kind of dragon comes from Berk--" his head came up as he looked at the red head.

Camicazi seemed to be doing her best not to look at Hiccup, finding whatever was in the packs very interesting. Hiccup moved past the dragon to where she was standing.

"You got this dragon on Berk," he repeated.

"Yes--yes!" Camicazi said, turning around so fast she dropped the pack, "alright yes. Berk's got the largest hunting ground for dragons! And its not like you were using them anyway!"

"This is unbelievable!" Hiccup said, "you've been _taking_ our dragons?"

"Better than you killing them!"

"We didn't know any better!"

"Like that's an excuse!"

"You're stealing our dragons!"

"They're not yours!"

Both broke off breathing hard and staring furiously at each other, their eyes blazing. It made sense then how she knew about his fight and the eventual death of the Red Death. If her people had been taking their dragons, then the absence of the leader would be immediately apparent. It also explained how she knew about the people of Berk no longer killing dragons. Camicazi looked completely un apologetic at the theft. If anything she just looked angry that she was being confronted by someone she considered to be such an idiot. But Hiccup was so angry he could barely see straight. First there was Alvin and his obsession with treasure and now it seemed that Camicazi too was little more than a common thief. It was enough to make Hiccup think he'd cut his other leg off if he could find an honest person on that ship.

"So you've been raiding Berk for dragons?" Hiccup demanded.

"That's a little overdramatic don't you think?" Camicazi said rolling her eyes, "the place i come from has very few dragons. Like I said, Berk has the largest dragon's nest and you weren't doing anything with those dragons but killing them."

"So where you come from everyone's a dragon rider and they all ride dragon's from Berk?"

"Don't be stupid," she snapped, "I didn't say all of them. Just a fair amount. Stormfly's native to where I'm from."

"What about him?"

"Seaslug's from Berk," she said finally, at the sound of his name the Gronckle gave a snort and shook his head back and forth.

Hiccup ran his hand through his hair, looking between the girl and the Gronckle. For once Camicazi did not look like she was thinking about killing him. She didn't look guilty or upset, just cautious. As if she wasn't sure how he would react to what she had just said. All the ways that Hiccup wanted to react, he knew he could not. She knew where they were supposed to go and even if his friends thought that he was dead Alvin knew he was not. As much as it killed him to think it, he knew that he needed her. And she needed him. For all her yelling and making people think that he was dead, the fact of the matter was that he was still alive and from her wet clothing and unhappy demeanor that had been because of her as well. She had made it clear that she was very disgusted with him and Hiccup realized that he was rather disgusted wit her as well. Stealing dragons, killing people, making alliances with pirates--there was very little to find redeemable about the young woman standing in front of him.

And yet the fact remained that, for the time being, they were stuck together.

"Can you at least tell me _why_ Alvin needs me?" Hiccup asked, "he used my blood to open the box to get the last bit of the map but is there another part to this that's going to make me bleed? Or die?"

"Maybe," Camicazi said with a shrug. Hiccup looked at her, "Alvin keeps that map under close guard," she continued, "I don't know what's going to be required of you."

"Okay," Hiccup said, "okay, then let me ask you this. Why are you here? What's in it for you? You don't even seem to like Alvin--"

Emotion flared in Camicazi's eye and suddenly the rider looked much closer to his age than she had previously. It was not anger, or rather, not just anger in her gaze. Hurt and sorrow churned in her orbs as well, as though the mention of her feelings towards Alvin caused her some great physical pain. Irrationally Hiccup felt guilt as the red head turned her face away from him. When she bent down to pick up the pack she had dropped, Hiccup glanced over his shoulder at the Gronckle sniffing around. When Camicazi looked up she was perfectly composed and looked just as angry as she always did. Seeing her looking sad was unsettling as hell, Hiccup found he was relieved to see the spark of anger in her eyes once more.

"I want that treasure," she said, digging around in the pack and pulling out a pair of swords on a dark brown brocade scabbard. She made quick work of fastening it under her cloak so it cut across her chest, the hilts of the two blades accessible but largely hidden by the cloak, "you figured out that dragon's aren't just good for being killed. We've got riders and we need dragons."

"Yeah, but the treasure--"

"My tribe needs that treasure to convince your father to let us keep getting dragons!"

That did make a certain kind of sense. Most of the dragons now lived either in the village or much closer than they had. Though there were more dragons than people, if dragons kept disappearing then that would certainly be noticed. And if Stoick found out that it was by people--well, the Chief of the Hooligans had never really needed much of a reason to go to war. Especially now that the war with the dragons was decidedly over. But if a group came to speak to them and brought something to trade, like a great treasure, he had a feeling his father and the rest of the Tribe would be more open to talking about working something out. War was a costly venture and even Hiccup knew that the treasury was very low.

"I did not expect things to escalate like they did," Camicazi said, pinching the bridge of her nose, "but I need that miserable pirate to trust me enough to lead me to the treasure."

"I can talk to my father," Hiccup said. Camicazi looked at him, "you did save my life. Maybe he'd be willing to work something out. If you talk to the leader of your Tribe--" he hesitated, knowing that sometimes the younger vikings didn't like to talk to his father, "if you don't mind talking to him--her--" he stopped, "maybe we can work something out without anyone else needing to get hurt."

Camicazi seemed to consider his words as she turned back to the pack, fishing out more weapons. She made blades disappear into sleeves and pockets until Hiccup had to wonder how she was able to walk with all the metal she had hidden on her. She turned back to him and walked forward until they were standing toe to toe. When she looked at him there was an odd sort of kindness in her eyes, though the spark of anger was still there.

"Unless you want your friends to be dead, we need to go where he's told us to," she said, "your friends are as good as dead," her lips quirked up, "and there are going to be a lot of people who are going to get hurt."

Hiccup stared at her. She looked very serious, her gaze ripe with intent. she really did want to put a lot of them n a world of pain. Hiccup had seen that look when Toothless stalked his prey, delighting in the hunt. It was unsettling to see it on a human's features but he pushed that thought aside, forcing himself to keep his eyes on the dragon rider in front of him. He needed her, she needed him. It was still an unsettling and unpleasant thought but at the moment he knew it was the best that he could hope for. He had to focus on his friends, on getting them out of the situation before it escalated any further and more innocent people got hurt. If they had had a chance to talk, maybe they could have figured out a plan. But as it was they were separated, with no way to figure out how to work together. And if history had shown him anything it was that they got the most done when they worked together.

"Okay," he heard himself say, "we'll go to where Alvin wants. I'll get my friends, you'll get your treasure. My father and the leader of your Tribe can figure out what to do next."

"Then we're in agreement," Camicazi said, "we'll do what it takes for our future Tribes."

"Yes we're--" he stopped, "did you just say future Tribe?"

"Oh didn't I tell you?" she said airily, "the leader of the Bog Buglers is my mother. I'll be the next Chief--around the time you'll take over the Hooligans I expect."

Hiccup opened and closed his mouth, staring down at her as yet more of the puzzle pieces fell into place. The arrogance, the disdain at the rest of people, the rare dragon, the clear expectation that she would get her way and infuriation when she did not--not only was she the Heir to a Tribe but she had been treated like one, probably from the day she was born. She had not fought so hard and done such terrible things flippantly or because she was focused on getting rich. No, she had done them to protect the way of life that she knew. There was still much that he did not know about the young woman in front of him but suddenly she did not seem quite as disgusting to him.

"Lets go to Alvin," he said. Immediately she turned to the darkness, "wait, can I have a weapon?"

"A weapon? Why don't you try to walk in a straight line?" she suggested, hefting a torch he had not seen her extract and holding it out for the Gronckle to light it, "besides, Alvin is going to pat you down and if he finds out I armed you we're going to loose the element of surprise," she continued, holding the light above her head before moving into the darkness.

"Speaking of surprises," Hiccup said, "whose the Gronckle belong to?"

"A Dog."

"A dog? That's all you're going to tell me? That makes no sense!" he turned around towards the Gronckle, "is he coming with us?"

"Are you stupid? No we're not bringing another dragon with us. He's staying here."

"Why?"

"Hiccup?" she said, her voice terse.

"You're going to tell me to shut up again aren't you?" Hiccup asked before letting out a breath, "we need to come up with a plan though for what we're going to do."

Camicazi didn't reply and Hiccup realized that she was leading by example as they made their way through the darkness with only the torch to guide them. Hiccup kept his eyes on the ground, focusing on making sure his prosthetic didn't slip, something not helped by the darkness. As they made their way deeper into the cave, Hiccup realized that he could hear water up ahead. He already half knew what he was going to see when they turned a corner. The cave sloped outward in a wide half moon, water lapping at the stone ledge. Camicazi raiser her torch to illuminate more of the cave and Hiccup felt his heart sink.

Resting on the edge of the stone was a small black boat made of the same dark wood as the Outcast. Camicazi hopped easily on board and stuck her torch in the front and back lamp of the lanterns that rested on curved hooks. Hiccup followed her at a slower pace, looking down to see three wide benches on the smaller boat, each outfitted with thick velvet cushions. Two long oars lay across the seats. They had been recently used and were still wet, the water staining the thick velvet.

"Well?" Camicazi said, standing on the back platform and picking up an oar, "are you coming?"

Hiccup sighed and looked at the boat before looking up at the woman before he moved forward and got into the craft.

"After this, I'm never getting on another boat again."

"You and me both."

* * *

**And we're heading towards Alvin and the treasure! Next time we're obviously going to go check in with the Alvin and Astrid and see what the crew is up to while Hiccup and Camicazi scheme and figure out what they're going to do now. **

**I'm getting pretty excited and I hope you all are too! **

**Please review! You guys were awesome last chapter in that department and I hope you'll keep it up! I love getting feedback on the writing a****nd though I'm feeling very inspired when it comes to this story I gotta tell you your reviews do make me want to update faster. As always thanks for the alerts and faves, I hope some of you will review!**

**So please review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**First off its art time! **

**Epic-Failwin kicked ass and drew an awesome pic of Astrid from Chapter 15! Chapter 15 is getting a lot of love from the artists which just makes me so very happy and honored--because I am a total fail when it comes to art. Epic-Failwin's new piece is a very cool lineart where Astrid looks strong but raw and totally pissed because Alvin's a douche. The art is awesome. AND she's in her new winter gear to boot which makes me equally happy because I'm a fan of it. Even though its about to get kinda wet. **

* * *

The knife pressed into her back was mocking her.

Fingers tight on the chains of her manacles, Astrid was sure that if a knife could laugh the one pressed into her spine would be doing just that. She was armed and considering Alvin hadn't taunted her about it, she was willing to be that he didn't know. And yet the knife was stubbornly out of her reach, pressed into her lower back. Astrid looked down at her shackled hands. She could barely move her hands at all, much less get them to her back and plunge the knife into Alvin's throat. All she could do was sit there and feel the weight of what could very well be her only chance to get her friends free and destroy the man who had taken Hiccup from them.

In spite of all the trouble he had gone through to get them on the boat and his words of not trusting his crew, Alvin seemed perfectly content to allow the men to make sure the rest of her friends arrived in one piece. His remarks about being necessary were callous but he clearly believed them enough to let the people split them up. As far as Astrid could tell that had worked, though if her friends had started some kind of rebellion she knew she would have no idea. Not until it was too late for her to be anything but completely useless.

And yet as the boat they were on glided alongside the foreboding rock formation of the island, Astrid was fairly certain that they had done nothing of the sort.

Looking over to her right, Astrid watched the rocks. They were weathered and smooth from years of abuse by the elements, their grey facades forming a fortress. They were tall too, tall enough that Astrid imagined there were caverns and caves inside. That was good, caverns and caves meant that they could hide. Looking upwards, Astrid saw a dark gold shape silhouetted against the horizon, circling a spot on the island. She knew it was Camicazi's dragon, the dragon that had dropped Hiccup into the dark waters. Fighting back the urge to be sick at the memory, Astrid looked forward and tried to focus on anything but that.

Like the physical pain she had stubbornly pushed aside.

Her stomach hurt from where they had struck her and she knew her wrists would be bruised from their fingers and the tightness of the cuffs that circled them. The blow that had been landed to her ribs was worse than she had thought. Her ribs ached now and any attempts to draw a deep breath resulted in sharp pain that nearly made her loose her breath all over again. The ribs themselves were not of concern, she knew the real risk lay in one of them puncturing something internal. She needed to get them tended to, but at the moment she knew that the best she could get was to not breathe too deeply and try not to jostle the injuries. Normally she would have pushed aside any physical pain, she would have just gritted her teeth and fought through it. But the physical pain made her focus, kept her grounded and if focusing on it was what it took, then that was what she would do.

"How are my friends going to know where to go?" Astrid asked, her eyes still locked on the island.

"Oh they'll be there," Alvin said.

"But how?" Astrid asked, twisting to look at him, "I'm not going to be able to tell them," she said, moving her wrists so the chains jangled, emphasizing her point.

"A few crew members have instructions on where to take them," he said. Astrid opened her mouth, "you need not concern yourself with where they are."

Astrid fought back the urge to sneer at his condescending tone. Her fingers tightened in the chains as she fought back the urge to jump to her feet, knock Alvin off the boat and pray that they both would drown. No matter how excellent and ingenious Alvin's plans were, she had a feeling that if he did not show up wherever they were going, his pirate friends would murder the rest of them. They had to make it there and they had to do it in one piece with both of them alive. Besides, Astrid knew that even if she did not survive for long after she killed him, she at least wanted to see the light fade from his wicked gaze. She wanted him to know that she had killed him for what he had done. She wanted that satisfaction.

The boat turned sharply inwards, jerking her out of her thoughts. Astrid looked up ahead as the boat glided silently inwards, sliding through two of the narrow arches of stone and into a deep cavern. Astrid kept her eyes forward, looking through the gloom as the boat glided along the massive underwater lake. The passage was wide, so wide Astrid thought that the Outcast herself could have fit inside. The boat continued smoothly along the water, taking them deeper and deeper into the cavern. Astrid frowned at the sound of rushing water. Opening her mouth, she looked back at Alvin who was sitting on one of the benches. He looked back at her and flashed a smile that had Astrid seeing red.

"I suggest you hold onto something," he said, "I would hate for you to wind up like your friend."

Astrid opened her mouth angrily to tell him that she couldn't hold onto anything with her wrists chained up so tight, but before she could get the words out the boat turned to the side and all she had time for was a ragged gasp before it dropped downwards.

All that the young viking could think was that this was _nothing_ like being on a dragon.

The boat rocked sharply from side to side as water sloshed upwards violently. There was no still water or smooth gliding, just a sharp rocking that had her scrambling to hold onto the bench as best she could. Sometimes the boat pitched upwards and sometimes it would rock violently forwards, the nose dipping down far enough that the orange lantern on the front would be touching the water. Each rock and roll and pitch and tilt made her ribs scream in pain and steal the air from her lungs as she struggled to breath past it. Icy water washed over her, cutting through the thin fabric and biting into her skin.

She did not know how long they were trapped in the water or how far they went in the tunnels, only that each time she thought she had adjusted to the rocking the boat would pitch further or water would slosh over her or something would happen to make her loose her breath all over hilt of the knife dug painfully into her back but the bruises she was getting were only assurances that the knife was still there. At one point she closed her eyes, when the sway and rock of the lantern was too nauseating to watch. Everything she had went into holding desperately onto the seat and trying not to be sick.

Finally the boat rocked onto smoother water.

Fighting the urge to gasp, Astrid looked up at the mouth of the cave and suddenly all thoughts of pain and water and vomit inducing boat rides were gone from her head.

The cave they were in was massive, most of it lost to the shadows but Astrid could hear the echoes of the water. Faint light came from the top of the cave shining down onto the water below. Behind her she heard movement. Turning she saw Alvin bend down and pick up something. In the glow of the lantern Astrid saw that it was a jug. The pirate uncorked it with his teeth as the boat glided over to the wall of the cave, the other pirate on the boat steadying it as Alvin stood on one of the benches. Astrid watched as he poured the contents of the jug on the wall. Her eyes narrowed as she realized he was pouring it into a groove. Looking down she saw that there were other jugs. One by one, Alvin poured them all down the grove. Dropping the last of the jugs to the bottom of the boat, the young pirate moved forward and picked up the lantern, touching it to the grove.

Astrid watched a flames raced along the oil that he had poured in, illuminating half cave. Carved into the wall was a massive circle that spanned the cave, done on a slant so that the oil would quickly slide down and light the inside. Astrid jumped as the boat moved towards the other side, where Alvin repeated the process until the massive slanting circle was complete, throwing the cave into flickering light. Astrid opened and closed her mouth as she looked up at the cave, at what she had been certain was the same slate grey stone as the rest of the island. But the flickering light revealed that the cave was not stone. In fact they were actually not in a cave at all.

They were in a broken golden globe.

Astrid swallowed thickly, her stomach rolling in a way that had nothing to do with the roller coaster of a boat ride she had just suffered through. There was no mistaking the bright sheen that peaked through the weathered, brassy interior. Astrid could see carvings, half lost to the abuse of the elements. The narrow ridge that Alvin had poured the oil through was of a darker metal. It was broken almost completely away from the gold of the globe in some places, the slant due more to the decay than placement. The boat pushed away from the side of the globe and moved in towards the middle.

When they got there, Alvin pulled the now lantern-free hook off the front of the boat and maneuvered it upwards. Astrid watched spellbound as the hook disappeared into the darkness of the globe. Holding it tightly, the pirate began to move the hook outwards in a methodical pattern, as if he was following some kind of direction. For a few impossibly long minutes, the cave was silent save for the odd hiss of the flame or lap of the water. Astrid was half believing that there was nothing up there. The the gold of the globe was more wealth than she had ever seen, perhaps that was what Grimmbeard had hidden.

And then she heard the chains.

Astrid's eyes widened as a smile spread across Alvin and the second pirate's faces. With a sharp twist, Alvin pulled the chain downwards. Astrid watched as he pulled the chains downwards. They came slowly, with the terrible sound of long unused machinery being put to use. Neither the sound nor the speed seemed to bother Alvin who watched as his prize was lowered down. Astrid watched, realizing that whatever she had expected there to be it was a far cry from the lone, solitary chest that was nestled in the chains. It was a rusted, weathered thing that could have fit quite well into the ornate coffin from which Alvin had come. Frowning she looked at the chest as it was lowered in its bundle of chains onto the second bench at Alvin's feet.

"Is that it?" Astrid spoke finally as Alvin released the chest from its chains. Alvin did not look at her as he reached around his neck and pulled the key free, inserting it into the lock and twisting it. She heard the tumblers turn but Alvin reached out and pressed his foot against the top of the chest, preventing it from opening, "well?" Astrid questioned, "hey!" she objected loudly as the second pirate grabbed her, "put me down!"

Astrid struggled at the man's rough grip but not enough to dislodge the knife pressed against her spine. The man shoved her into the bed of chains that had been vacated by the chest. He moved so that he pinned the chest down as Alvin moved into the chains next, taking the key with him. The pirate moved last, making sure that he was in the chains as well as he pressed down the chest. Reaching into his cloak, Alvin withdrew a thin metal dagger. He turned his head towards the opening of the cave before slowly turning around the black circle, looking for something Astrid could not see. Whatever it was, he saw it. With an expert movement, he drew back his wrist and threw the blade.

It slammed into the wall.

The chains rose upwards.

Astrid sucked in her breath as best she could and clutched the chains tightly as they rose upwards. The feeling of weightlessness without the warm feeling of the dragons was sickening. The chains kept rising higher and higher into the globe, back to where they had come from. They stopped when they were close enough to the ceiling that Alvin had to crouch to avoid hitting his head. The other pirate did the same, though he did not have to crouch quite in the same way that Alvin did. Reaching up on the globe, Alvin gave three sharp pounds on the outside of the globe before falling silent. Astrid looked down at the bottom of the globe where their boat still waited. Without the pressure of the pirate's grip, the chest had sprung open to reveal that it was full of gold coins. That was a lot, to be sure, but not enough to justify killing one person, let alone seven.

"Is that it?" Astrid demanded angrily up at him, "you killed all those people for a chest of gold and a globe that you can't even carry? Are you out of your mind? What---mmmph!"

Alvin's hand pressed against her mouth, silencing her yelling. His eyes remained on the water below them. Astrid glared at him, turning her gaze to the other pirate who also watched the water hungrily. With Alvin's hand still clapped over her mouth, Astrid turned her gaze to the water as well. There was just the boat with the open treasure chest, the gold coins staring mockingly up at her. Alvin's hand was warm and rough against her lips, his thumb pressing up against her jaw so that any attempts she made to speak were cut off. But speaking was the last thing on her mind. She could twist and throw him off the chains, throw him into the water. He was wearing one of the cloaks, he had one hand--she doubted it would take much for him to drown. All that she had to do was---

Something moved.

Astrid's eyes widened as she looked down at the water. There were ripples on the surface, like something had been dropped down--or had come up from the bottom. Eyes wide she watched the surface of the water. What moved was so dark and glistening that it almost blended with the water. Only the ripples that it threw off gave away that it was not the water at all. Astrid looked around at the water. It looked as if it had come to life, ripples were everywhere. Not to the point where the water was choppy, but the dark surface lapped up against the edges of the globe with far more vigor. Whatever the creatures were, there were a lot of them. Astrid realized that they had been brought by the chest, like fish to bait. But there did not seem to be anything special about the coins. They were not unusually bright, the mechanism to open them was not unusually loud--certainly not as loud as the gears that lowered the chest. And yet they had attracted the creatures in the water. And when the first stuck its head out of the water she saw why.

The dragon looked emaciated, its skin stretched so tightly over its bones that Astrid thought she could practically see each one. The dark purple black of the dragon blended perfectly with the water around them. The dragon's head was perfectly designed to cut through the water with no interference. There were no ears, no antennae, nothing but the smooth black skin. The angled head turned to the side and Astrid found herself had pressed not to scream. The dragon had no eyes, not even an indication of where such things would be. It was deaf and blind. The nostrils on the dragon were massive, gaping, black circles that took up most of the top of the dragon's nose. The rest of the end of the dragon's face was taken up by the mouth. The dragon had an underbite, its mouth slightly parted to reveal yellowed fangs. Massive ones lined the front of the dragon's jaw, designed to rip and tear while the back were crowded with smaller designed to destroy anything that made it past the first.

Astrid watched as the dragon dipped its head, sniffing the gold treasure, its nostrils expanding even further. The dragon reared back its head before shooting forward with shocking speed, knocking the treasure chest clear off the boat. Its body was massive and eel like, long and smooth with no wings or legs to speak of. A long ridge lined the top of the body, just as dark as the rest of it. The dragon could have made a complete circle around the Outcast with its body. By the time it vanished into the water once more, Astrid had been forced to take several breaths. The water became increasingly violent as the apparent smell of the treasure drove the blind and deaf dragons into a frenzy. Alvin watched them silently, his eye unreadable before he looked up at the top of the globe. He must have seen something in the dragons because he reached out and gave a sharp rap on the top of the globe.

A dark red chin crest appeared at the same time one of the massive black heads poked out of the water, turning right towards them, its nostrils expanding to get a hand on their scent. Stormfly sliced through the top of the globe, cutting them an exit as the dragon slid under the water. Astrid had fought enough dragons to know that it was not leaving, it was preparing to attack them. The moment the light burned her eyes from the opening, Alvin pushed her on to the top of the globe. Stormfly's tail shot out and looped around the chain of her manacles, holding her against the sloping sides of the globe. The gold seemed to be inside, the outer part of the structure was all rock, the slope barely a quarter of the globe's height before it reached the top surface of the island. Alvin was out next, gripping the side of the globe as he reached down and held out his arm to the second pirate. Astrid saw his hand grab it at the same time there was a terrible snapping sound followed by the tear of flesh.

The pirate in the chains screamed in pain, his hand opening on Alvin's wrist. Alvin's other hand dropped from the edge of the cave to grab the man's wrist, holding him as the dragon apparently retreated for another attack. With a yank, Alvin tried to pull the man free from the globe, but the dragon was too fast. There was the sound of more flesh being torn away, of more agony on the part of the man. Astrid couldn't see what was going on, she could only see Alvin. The first injury had been bad but this one was worse. She saw Alvin blanche, the color draining from his face but his grip remained strong on the man, unwilling to let him fall to his death.

The pirate he was holding onto clearly knew that he was going to die, and knew that if he continued to hold onto Alvin then he could fall as well. Astrid saw him pull Alvin slightly closer, his fingers tightening on the pirate's sleeves as he tried to gain momentum. Her mind worked fast, trying to figure out if there had been any indication that this man was special. But he just looked like the other pirates, grizzled and scarred and fixed on the treasure. And yet he was leveling himself up, one hand fisting in Alvin's shirt as he got traction. Astrid's eyes widened as the pirates looked at each other, both aware of what was about to happen and both powerless to stop it.

With his remaining strength the pirate shoved Alvin back, falling into the depths of the dragon infested cave.

"No!" the cry from the young pirate's lips was shocking to Astrid's ears as Alvin scrambled to try and get the other pirate back.

"Stormfly!" Astrid shouted to the dragon who was one step ahead of the viking, pinning Alvin to the globe with one of her wings to prevent him from falling into the globe as well.

Astrid tried to dig her heels in to offer some stability to the dragon but Stormfly was more than adept at handing onto the smooth surface of the globe, her talons digging in. Hooking the claw at the top of her wing joint into the back of Alvin's cloak, she hauled the pirate free of the hole and pinned him down there. Drawing back, the dragon leaned forward and shot a jet of flame downwards, scorching the innards of the globe. Releasing her grip on the surface, Stormfly let the three of them slide down the side of the rocks and onto the flatter surface of the island below them.

Dripping wet, more angry and confused than she had been in her entire life, Astrid ripped her shackles free of the dragon's tail and spun around to face the pirate. Alvin was already on his feet, adjusting the cloak he wore. There was a bright blossom of blood on his shoulder where the other pirate had grabbed him before throwing him off but if the blood bothered him Alvin did not show it. Astrid staggered over to him, too fixed on the fact that her friends were most likely on a boat on waters infested by the strange dragons to care about the fact that Alvin had shown emotions other than disdain towards a member of his crew.

"What the hell _were_ those things?" she shouted at him, "you--you opened that chest! You let them out! My friends are still down there in those caves somewhere! Did you even tell your crew that you were going to let those dragon out?"

"Stormfly," Alvin turned to the dragon who looked at him, "go," he said, accenting the command with a flick of his wrist. Reading the signal the dragon pushed off and took to the skies as the pirate looked around, trying to get his bearings.

"Did you hear me--" Astrid began.

"When you are always yelling it is incredibly difficult to figure out what precisely you are angry about," Alvin said, reaching into the lining of his cloak and pulling out a compass, opening it and consulting it.

"You've now murdered eight people in front of me!" she shouted.

"And yet you cannot tell me the names of seven," he said, apparently getting the reading he needed, "that chest will not hold their attention for long and unless you would like everyone to be eaten I suggest we keep moving."

"If they get eaten its going to be your fault!" Astrid snarled.

Alvin turned around so quickly that she almost walked right into him. Gripping her manacles Astrid glared up at the pirate, wishing more than anything she had a way to kill him slowly. There was anger in his visible eye, anger and annoyance as if he knew something that she did not.

"And yet they will still be dead," he said glaring at her, "and i believe we've established that blaming _me_ is little more than cold comfort."

Astrid opened her mouth to tell him that when she ran him through with a knife or strangled him with his stupid green scarf it'd be a lot more than cold comfort but he cut her off.

"And even if, one day, you were able to kill me, you would still be alive, they would still be dead and you'll realize that revenge will not change anything."

Astrid's eyes widened, her lips shutting. The way he spoke, the bitterness and anger that laced his tone--there was only one thing that made people speak like that: experience. And suddenly it began to make sense. The way he knew what they would do, almost before they knew it themselves. The way he spoke of necessity of knowing where you stood with people--of them being loyal because of necessity rather than emotion. Why he was callous and guarded and sneaky and wicked. He was able to predict how they were going to react because at some point, at some time Alvin had been like them.

"Did you at least manage to kill him?" she asked meeting his gaze dead on.

He was silent as he looked down at her, his face unreadable. The click of a lock echoed in the emptiness between them. Astrid tore her gaze away to discover with dismay that another chain wrapped around the ones that led to her belt. In addition to being shackled she was now effectively leashed to her captor. Alvin wound the chain around his wrist. They both looked up at the same time, their eyes meeting and if she did not know the cold blooded pirate better, Astrid would have said he looked almost sad.

"Like I said, it does not make a difference," he said, walking across the rocks.

Astrid had no choice but to keep her mouth shut and follow him, doing her best not to trip on the uneven surface.

All she could do was pray that her friends safe.

And that when she got her revenge, somehow, it would be different than when he had his.

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**Okay I know I said that we'd check in with the others but Astrid and Alvin commandeered the chapter. Next time we'll check in with the others but I'm not going to turn this into a 'everyone gets one chapter to focus on' story. **

**Also last time I got some questions about the Gronckle and his owner. They are cannon in the books, so it wasn't really up to me. Same with the dragons in this chapter. They are in the books and there are aspects of the book I want to bring into the story. **

**But anyway, so yeah, next time we're with the others and then we get to--well, you'll see. But its gonna be fun. **

**Okay guys, please review now. Last chapter I was surprised at how few of you came out---and how many of you added the story to alert and fave! Please PLEASE review. It makes me want to update and give you more to read! **

**So Please review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Sorry for the delay!**

**Next Cafecow drew Dogsbreath and Seaslug! She did such a kick ass job with Alvin and Camicazi that I selfishly had to have a complete set of the re-imagined characters and after some very light begging on my part she agreed to do it! The picture of Dogsbreath is just so awesome and like with the other two re-imagined characters she's just done an incredible job of capturing the personality in the piece. I am a very luck (and spoiled rotten) author. **

**Now here's the new chappie!**

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Their boots echoed ominously on the ground.

The boat had only taken them so far before it was put ashore and they were roughly pushed onto the stones to continue on foot. It was slow and awkward, their muscles unprepared for the strain after having been still for two days. Walking would have been trouble but walking with the four of them chained together, it was a miracle they made any progress at all. As it was their steps were slow, labored affairs that echoed loudly in the cave. At their back, the pirate called Dogsbreath holding one end of the chain had moved from humming to whistling while the pirate leading them looked angry enough to seriously hurt them all.

In an almost unheard of show of blatant affection, T.T. had taken to riding high on Tuffnut's back with his head sticking out so he could look at Dogsbreath. From the dour look on her brother's face, Ruffnut knew he was slightly jealous-not that he would ever admit such a thing. Things had shaken out so that it was her brother, her, Snotlout and Fishlegs in a long line on the chain. The pirates had pulled their hoods over their faces so even Dogsbreath's whistling was muffle by the warm white fur of her blue and silver cloak. As they walked along the seemingly endless stretch of cave, all could not help but wonder if they would ever see the sky again, let alone if they would ever make it back to Berk.

They hadn't passed anyone else in the tunnels but all were aware that the other pirates were on the island-somewhere. As he walked forward, Snotlout wondered if Hiccup was somewhere. Maybe they were going to use him for whatever they needed. He had always thought that being the nephew of the Clan Chief was cool-especially when his son was such an idiot-but now he really wished that Hiccup was alright. If for nothing else than they would have the real person they needed to get the job done.

Fishelgs was torn between being terrified of what was happening and being relieved that he no longer had to squish himself into a tiny box. But the gratitude he felt only made him feel worse. Hiccup and Astrid were still missing-but he knew that Astrid was missing because of Hiccup. The pirates were smart, really _really_ smart and they knew that while he and the others were friends with Hiccup, Astrid was the one he liked the most. Or the one that he liked in a way that meant he'd probably do something really_really_ stupid to save. He knew Hiccup would save them too-that he'd do a lot to save them-he just hoped that it wouldn't come down to picking them or Astrid.

They were all so lost in their miserable thoughts that they did not realize they had stopped until they almost collided with the pirate who led them.

They followed his gaze to see that up ahead another pirate had staggered out of the shadows, obviously unsteady on his feet, his hood pulled up over his head.

The pirate in front stopped them short, staggering to a stop, his hand pressing against the wall of the cave momentarily as if he needed the support to remain upright. Even stopping short, the others looked up at the newcomer with curiosity. He wore a dark cloak embroidered with gold thread. He was so drunk that he could not even make it all the way out of the shadows so that they could see his feet. The pirate leading them fixed him with a look of utter disgust, making a sound in the back of his throat he moved forward towards the man.

"Hey you!" he bellowed, loud enough to echo off the cage, "what are you doing here?"

The pirate motioned to his throat, as if to say he was further injured there. The other pirate rolled his eyes, accenting it with a sound of disgust deep in the back of his own throat and threw down the chains, walking over to the cloaked pirate, his footsteps as loud as his voice. Changing his mind, the second pirate grabbed the chains and pulled them all towards the shadows. They staggered after him, their legs barely able to keep up with his command. The pirate glared at the other-or they thought he did. Both of their faces were lost to the shadows of their cloaks.

"Drinking at a time like this," their leader muttered, "Duhbrains and missing limbs-it a wonder anyone knows where the treasure is," he shook his head with disgust before turning to the pirate, "well what are you doing here?" he demanded, leaning closer before wincing with disgust and muttering something about alcohol.

"I think," the pirate began, his voice garbled and hoarse, "I think I took a wrong turn about here-" he motioned wildly with his hands as the pirate's face contorted in disgust, "where's the cave?"

"Where's the cave?" the first pirate sputtered, "you idiot!" he slapped the pirate upside the head, sending the drunk against the wall before he grabbed him and yanked him forward, "everyone's already in position! We're running late as it is because this idiot keeps distracting me!"

"So-"

"And you're drunk!" the pirate ranted before heaving the second even closer and spitting directions at him too low and furious for the other's to hear.

What they did hear was something skid along the stone.

Everyone in the cave froze, their eyes all landing on Dogsbreath and the brown cloth wrapped bundle by his foot.

The Duhbrain looked at them before flashing a wide grin, raising his foot and kicking the bundle back into the shadows. It skidded out of sight, their eyes all locked on it as it was lost to the shadows. Slowly everyone's gaze rose once more and locked with Dogsbreath. Still wearing the grin, the pirate looked around like nothing had happened before he pursed his lips and, in front of their shocked eyes, resumed whistling once more as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. It seemed to be the breaking point for the pirate who released the durnkard and moved forward, intent on putting the Duhbrain in a lot of pain. He lunged.

Only to be stopped by the drunkard's wooden leg.

The pirate staggered forward, careening into the four of them, the chain he held yanking them all down with him. They collapsed in a heap of limbs and chains and fur, so tangled it was impossible to tell who was who or where anyone was. In the chaos, the pirate managed to free himself from them and jump to his feet. There was a sharp tug and suddenly there seemed to be a living wall of flailing limbs between the pirate and Dogsbreath. Seizing the opportunity, the pirate turned on his heel and raced into the darkness

"Dogsbreath!" a voice roared.

"Get down!" the pirate shouted at them and somehow, impossibly, the five managed to drop to the ground.

There was a whistling sound, followed immediately by a hoarse grunt as the arrow embedded itself in the pirate's back.

Everyone turned to look at the other pirate. Dogsbreath stood perfectly poised, in his hands he held a longbow. The weapon was beautiful, made of dark wood and polished so that even in the dim light it shone. Guiding ran the length of the bow, the gold dark and rich in spite of the weapon's obvious age. The look in the young man's eyes was neither humorous nor carefree. The man looked dangerous, his deadly calm gaze tinged with anger as he looked down at the pirate. Slowly he lowered his bow, his eyes lowering before he looked up at them once again, this time with the familiar humor.

"I've been wanting to do that for two weeks now," he said with an offhanded grin.

"Thank the Gods you resisted," Camicazi said, brushing past him and walking into the shadows where the pirate had fallen. She dragged him back into the feeble light of the torch, "he's dead," she stated, looking up at Dogsbreath before her eyes turned towards the second pirate, "do you at least know where the cave is?"

The drunkard pushed himself to his feet, holding onto the wall for balance and looking every bit as unsteady. Only now it was clear that it was due to his wooden leg rather than any sort of drinking. As the cloak fell around his unusual clothing, the others watched him silently. The others stared as he got unsteadily to his feet before reaching up and pushing the hood back from his face. Even with the missing limb, they knew the young man in front of them was not a pirate. Not when the black hood of his cloak was pushed back to reveal a mop of familiar brown hair and pair of bright green eyes.

"Hiccup!"

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III swiped a hand through his wet hair-an action that only messed it further-before turning to look at the red haired woman. She arched an eyebrow, waiting for him to reply. The others looked between them. Whatever had transpired between the two of them, it had been enough so that the red head took up Hiccup's attention-and not in a way that one wanted to have Hiccup's attention. No-one could quite remember if they had ever seen Hiccup glare at someone-or if that someone would be quite so willing to return the glare with eery similarity. The two glared at each other silently for a moment before Hiccup tore his eyes away and looked at the five of them.

"Guys!" His eyes widened, the anger vanishing as he stared at the four of them.

The four tried to get to him but barely made it two steps before the chains got in the way and they fell once more to the ground. Awkwardly, Hiccup staggered over to them, his heart pounding as their two trips to the ground got their hoods off. Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Snotlout and Fishlegs-they were all there. All except for one. Furiously he shoved the sickening feeling in his stomach aside. Astrid was somewhere-somewhere nearby. She had to be. But the four of them were there, they were for the time safe. And that was something to be grateful for. Shaking off his stupor, Hiccup hobbled over and tried to help as best he could while maintaining his precarious balance. The wood was nothing like his carefully designed prosthetic and it was taking all he had to figure out a way to stay upright. But somehow, like a strange eight limbed dragon, the four managed to get to their feet and grinned at him.

"Dude we thought you were dead!" Snotlout cried.

"What happened? Where were you? Did you really just kill that guy?" Tuffnut demanded, looking rapidly between the two of them, "aren't you supposed to be an idiot?"

Dogsbreath laughed as Ruffnut glared furiously at her brother.

"Well yes," he said, "I suppose I am supposed to be an idiot," he undid the buckles of his cloak and dropped the garment to the ground, picking up the quiver of arrows and slinging it over his shoulder.

"You're wearing a sash," Hiccup said looking at the red fabric that twined its way around the young man's waist, "what does the red mean?"

Dogsbreath and Camicazi both turned to him, their eyes locking on his face. Fighting the urge to look away, Hiccup held Dogsbreath's gaze before Camicazi pushed herself to her feet with a sigh, walking over to where the two of them were standing.

"Hiccup, Dogsbreath, Dogsbreath, this is Hiccup," she said motioning from one to the other, the light dancing off the gems in her rings.

"Hey," Dogsbreath said with a bright grin, "its nice to meet you."

"Dogsbreath-" Hiccup frowned, his mind working, "A Dog," he looked at Camicazi before looking at Dogsbreath, "you're the one who owns the Gronckle."

"Who? Seaslug?" Dogsbreath threw back his head and laughed, "no no, I don't _own_ him, I just found him and convinced him to stay with me. There's nothing owning about it-though it took me ten minutes to get him to stop crying when I told him he'd have to stay there."

"He was fine when we passed through," Camicazi said, bending down to further inspect the body, "scared this one half to death."

"I thought you all realized Dragons weren't a threat," Dogsbreath said, "this one's been carrying an underfed Terror all day."

"His name's T.T.," Tuffnut muttered under his breath, one hand pressing against his back angrily as T.T. let out a whistle.

"My apologies," Dogsbreath said to the Terror who huffed before jumping off of Tuffnut and scurrying up Hiccup's back to rest on the young man's shoulder, inspecting Dogsbreath from a closer but safer distance. Camicazi threw the dead pirate's cloak at Dogsbreath who caught it deftly and held it up to examine it, "aw its got a hole in it," he said, Camicazi narrowed her eyes, "well its cold in here," he said.

"When this is over you can have as many cloaks as you want," Camicazi said to him.

"Yeah but they're gonna have holes in them too," Dogsbreath sighed, fastening up the cloak.

"Will you shut up about cloaks and holes?" Camicazi roared, turning around to face the young man, "chances are you'll be throwing it off to fight anyway."

The red head spun around as Dogsbreath made a face to her back, arranging the folds of the cloaks so that they hid the bow and arrow he now wore. Camicazi had her twin blades, he had the bow and arrow, Hiccup was relieved to think that _someone_ on their side was armed and knew how to use the weapon. It seemed that while Camicazi clearly still thought that he was an idiot, she seemed to think that of most people-including the man who had accompanied her onto the boat and owned a Gronckle. Now when he had his hood up, Dogsbreath would look like the pirate who had been leading the others. He and Camicazi would look the same.

"Which way do we go?" the red head demanded, picking up the torch.

"He said down the passage, then we're to turn to our fourth right and then our third left and follow it until we reach the cave.

"So we need to count," Camicazi said, holding the torch high above her head. Hiccup hobbled over to where she was standing.

"I thought you said she'd be here," Hiccup said, lowering his voice as he looked at the woman.

"I said there was a chance," Camicazi snapped back, "Dogsbreath, where's the other girl?"

Dogsbreath walked forward to where the two of them were standing, seemingly aware of the fact that Hiccup did not want the others to be alarmed. The only problem was that none of the others in their group were particularly good at having secrets kept from them-at least not right in front of their faces. When Dogsbreath moved forward, the four of them lumbered after him. The three of them looked at the four others, who returned their looks, waiting to hear what Dogsbreath was going to say. He shrugged his shoulders and put his hands on his hips.

"When you got dropped-"

"That's why you're wet!"

"Astrid was taken below to Alvin's quarters-something about 'doing whatever he wants'. I didn't see what happened next. Me and him got orders to bring these four ashore and its not like we stuck around to see what happened to her."

"She's with Alvin," Camicazi said, looking into the darkness of the cave as if she could see something they couldn't, "how is she with dragons?" she asked, turning her head and looking at Hiccup.

"She was the best Dragon Hunter in our class," Hiccup said.

Camicazi and Dogsbreath traded looks.

"Grimmbeard wasn't stupid-he was paranoid," Camicazi said turning to face him, "and he was also smart. This is the Island of Skullions-and it was before your great-whatever grandfather set his boots on it."

"This one gets it," Dogsbreath said nodding towards Fishlegs.

Fishlegs had knit his hands together, his eyes darting around as if one of the Skullions was going to jump out from the shadows at any moment. Hiccup frowned, trying to think back to the Dragon Book and decide if there had been any sort of information on Skullions. For the life of him he could not remember if there had been any. Fishlegs, on the other hand, seemed to remember quite accurately what the Skullions were. He was pale and looked even more anxious than he usually did. Camicazi and Dosgbreath clearly knew what they were up against but seemed content for once to let one of them speak. Unfortunately it looked as if Fishlegs was more inclined to open his mouth to vomit than to speak.

"Buddy?" Hiccup asked, coming forward, "can you tell us about the Skullions?"

"Armed 9, Radar 7, Hunting ability 9, Speed 9, Fight factor 8 or 9-but probably 9-"

"That's a lot of 9s," Ruffnut said.

"They can't see or hear," Fishlegs continued, "but they can smell-really really well."

"According to the legend," Camicazi said, "Grimmbeard chose this island because of the Skullions. To make sure no-one would get his treasure, he made sure that the treasure was boobie trapped to put the Skullions to sleep. That treasure is crawling with Skullions."

"So we're about to walk into a cave, filled with unimaginable treasure that is crawling with some of the deadliest dragon's that we've ever heard of?" Hiccup demanded.

"No," Camcazi said, "there's a chest, one he also boobie trapped except this one will wake the dragons up. They go for the chest and we've got a window of time where the treasure will be unguarded."

Hiccup opened and closed his mouth several times, anger flaring in his eyes as he looked at the red head, seemingly too livid to speak. However angry they had seen Hiccup angry before but now he looked truly livid. Close to violence even as he stared at the pair of them. Camicazi let out a breath and crossed her arms, looking intently at a spot on the wall as Hiccup took one shaky step forward, followed by another until he was in front of the woman. Her gaze slowly met his.

"Astrid is with Alvin and they opened a chest that was boobie trapped to attract some of the most dangerous dragon's we've ever heard of?" Hiccup shouted, his voice echoing off the cave.

"Does this girl of yours enjoy being treated as if she's quite this much of an idiot?" Camicazi demanded raising an eyebrow.

"Hey! Astrid's our friend!" Tuffnut objected loudly, Ruffnut voicing her agreement for what her twin had said, "she's in trouble!"

"I know that," Camicazi said, "we all know that-"

"Hey, listen," Dogsbreath spoke up, looking at Camicazi before turning around and looking at the rest of them, "we're all in a fair amount of trouble right now. And the thing is that there's not much we can do 'til we get to that cave," he looked between the two future Chiefs, "we have to get there and we don't have much time. You guys have to stay calm, we have to make him think that nothing happened."

Hiccup stared at the woman, not sure if he could follow what the young man was saying. He tore his eyes away and looked down. The wooden peg that had taken the place of his carefully crafted prosthetic seemed to mock him in the flickering torchlight. Astrid was with Alvin, they had released the dragons that would have killed them all to get to a treasure he wanted no part of. Alvin had made her think that he was dead. What would that drive Astrid to do? If she thought that she had nothing to loose anymore? If her only thoughts were for the safety of their friends, with no thought to herself.

And if she truly was in trouble, there was _nothing _he could do about it.

He was barely able to stand, much less to actually fight-not that he had ever been particularly good in a fight. But now he really was helpless. He was useless. For Astrid, against Alvin, there was nothing that he could do. He was unarmed, he could barely stand, what was he going to do? Fall on the pirate? And if he revealed that he was alright, would Alvin do something to hurt Astrid? Had he already done something to her? He had to believe that she had survived them letting out the dragons, that if nothing else Astrid would do everything she could to make sure that their friends were alright. That in spite of the chills across his spine and the sickening feeling in his stomach, that she was alright. That she was able to play his game, that she was able to survive.

But he wanted to be help her.

_Gods_ he wanted to be able to help her.

For all his genius, for all his new status, he was still just the awkward, screw up son of a Chief who couldn't even through a net properly. The bitterness inside him threatened to choke him. There was nothing that he could not do when he was on Toothless. And even the limited things he could do with his prosthetic seemed impossibly far away as he stared down at the wooden peg. Alvin knew that he was alive, Astrid didn't. The pirate would use that to his advantage-just as he had used everything else that they had given him. If they had any chance of getting out of this with everyone alive, they were going to have to beat Alvin at his own game-something Hiccup wondered if they could possibly do.

"Hiccup?" he looked over at the soft call of his name, only to find that there were six pairs of eyes watching him warily.

The only thought in his head was that he wasn't ready.

He wasn't ready for their looks, for the four people who came from his tribe to be looking at him as if _he_ had the answers. As if he wasn't the one legged, dragon-less son of their Chief who had only recently proved he could be a somewhat competent viking. He had spent countless hours dreaming of this moment, of the time when they would look to him to lead them in something truly viking-esque and yet now that it was upon them he had no idea what he was supposed to say or to do. A part of him wanted to shout that, to tell them to look at someone-at anyone else-and yet he found he couldn't. Because there wasn't anyone else. Only him. And he was just going to have to make due, peg leg and all.

"He's right," Hiccup said looking at them, "Astrid's in trouble-we all are. And there's nothing we can do about it until we get to that cave. How are the chains?"

"Still locked on," Snotlout said waving his hands.

"Okay-" Hiccup looked at them, "come here. Camicazi, how much time have we got?"

"Not long," she said.

"Then this'll have to be fast," Hiccup said moving over to them and looking down at their manacles.

They were crude at best, not well made at all. Clearly Alvin hadn't been transporting prisoners. Hiccup could see the tell tail signs of rust on them. Examining them under the feeble torchlight, he almost breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the rust on the links connecting them. Glancing behind him he looked at the red head. He was willing to bet a lot that she kept her weapons in much better condition than Alvin kept his shackles. He looked up at the four of them before hobbling over to Camicazi.

"The chains are almost rusted through," he said.

"Want me to cut them?" she asked, one hand going for her sword.

"Yes but what's important is where you cut them," he said. her eyes narrowed, "its like you said, we gotta make sure that he thinks nothing's changed," he looked over at the four of them before looking at Dogsbreath, "but we have to make sure that they can still move. If they go in now like this, they're goners."

"And Stormfly's not going to be able to drop me to yank them out," she said with a dramatic sigh, reminding him exactly who had saved him before she reached up and pulled out one of the bright swords. She reached forward and held out her arm. As if obeying some unheard signal T.T. jumped from Hiccup and landed on her arm, "I need to borrow this," she said turning towards the four of them.

"Uh-" Snotlout began.

"Shut up and spread your hands."

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**Better work fast! We're on a time limit!**

**Next up we're gonna get to the cave! Woo hoo!**

**Please Review!**


	20. Chapter 20

Once, when she was a child, Astrid had knocked herself unconscious.

She remembered every moment up to that point with startling clarity. From the way the grass had seemed to tear at her special dress, the one her mother had painstakingly embroidered with flowers, to the way the planks of wood on the docks had become slick with rain water from the night before. She remembered pausing to look at the horizon, eyes searching for any sign of the ship that was supposed to be coming back that day, even as the wind unraveled her braided hair and forced tears from her eyes. She remembered hearing that people sometimes came up on the beach and she had known-as only a child could know-that her father was down there. She remembered the jolt in her legs as she jumped the last step, the echo of her mother's voice calling for her. Just as she remembered the too-slick stones under her feet and the way the sky had looked as she fell backwards.

And then there had been nothing.

Now as she made her way through the oppressive darkness of the tunnel, Astrid wondered if maybe she wasn't unconscious again. The darkness was so thick that even if she waved her hands in front of her face she could see nothing. The fur of the cloak she wore muffled everything, making it seem as if the darkness was a tangible thing pressing down on her senses. She stepped carefully. There was nothing to ground herself with, she could be in a wide space or a narrow one and have no way to know. She only knew that if she fell now she was going to loose any kind of physical advantage she might gain. Not that there really was one. Her wrists were shackled and the skin was torn from where she had tried to work them free. And even if she did figure out a way to beat Alvin-well, she would have to find him first.

It was impossible to find him though. He had done something so she couldn't hear his breathing-not that the fur surrounding her face didn't do wonders for helping someone hide from her. His steps were quiet too, much quieter than she would have expected given his heavy boots. Once more she cursed the fact she had been so slow in seeing that the man was _anything_ but poor and honest. At the thought of her companion Astrid felt her temper flare. Immediately she worked her wrists against the chains, forcing the metal shackles to dig into the torn flesh of her wrists. The anger and the pain seemed to help keep her focused and Astrid knew she needed to be as focused as she could if she had a chance of getting everyone still alive out in one piece.

Weariness seemed to claw at her as they continued down the cave length. She had been so consumed by anger and hysteria and a thousand other wretched emotions that the adrenaline had pounded through. But her body seemed to have reached the point where anger and pain only helped to stave off the foggy exhaustion, not end it completely. Much to her shame, Astrid realized that the thing she wanted more than any other was to just sit down and cry. To weep until her lungs ran out of air and her heart stopped aching. She knew she had work to do and as a warrior she found the thought of sobbing-no matter how justified it was-to be one she couldn't stand.

There was a change in the stale air.

Astrid breathed in sharply, focusing on the air that filled her lungs. Her sense of smell was the only one she had functioning at full strength. With what little skin remained exposed, could feel the change in temperature, the faint breeze that seemed to lap across her face. Her nose smelt the slight freshness of the air. They were coming to some kind of opening in the cave. Eyes straining through the darkness, Astrid looked for any sign of what was coming up ahead, but only darkness lay in front of her. Astrid forced her pace to remain steady. She couldn't give anything more away to Alvin than she already had.

"Stop," Alvin ordered, his voice coming from somewhere near her left. Astrid stopped, "turn towards me."

"I can't see you," Astrid began, trying to make her voice soft.

"We are about to go for a little swim and unless you would like to meet those dragons while we are underwater, turn."

Astrid turned.

When Alvin's hands brushed her cloak aside and moved towards the belt around her waist, it took everything in Astrid not to shove him away. It was not just the brush of his fingers on her stomach, it was the thought of him finding the knife still pressed into her back. Gods, if he found that then everything was really over. Staring upwards into the blackness, she bit the inside of her cheek, hard enough to draw blood. She felt the belt loosen and her breath caught in her throat. Alvin did something and suddenly her wrists were a good deal looser than they had been. Seemlessly he did the belt back up, obviously in preparation of when he would shackle her completely again and, like a man leading a dog, he pulled her forward with the chain.

"I can't swim like this," she said quickly, stopping him, "I've got too much on-I'll drown."

"I have complete faith that you will not," Alvin said, "certainly not when you've got some half-baked plan in your head to rescue your friends and get revenge for what was done to your lover."

Astrid fought to keep her face blank, though she knew it wouldn't have made much difference in the darkness that surrounded them. Everything in her wanted to yank Alvin forward and beat him until he was nothing more than a smudge of pulp on the stones under their feet. She couldn't let the rage control her. If she fought him in anger she knew she would fail-every time she had attacked him when she was angry up to this point had resulted in failure. She had to wait, wait until _he_ gave her the opening. Even though the idea of waiting to put the pirate in an inordinate amount of pain made her shiver with anticipation, the idea of swimming after what she had witnessed did not.

Underneath the anger and the fear however, Astrid still found embarrassment burning at her cheeks. The few kisses she had exchanged with Hiccup hardly seemed to be enough to justify Alvin referring to them as 'lovers'. The idea of being, well, that, was something that hadn't crossed Astrid's mind and to hear it on the lips of the man who had killed him just seemed wrong. As she stood there facing the task set before her, Astrid couldn't help but think Hiccup would probably already have a way out of the situation-or at least a better way to deal with what he was facing instead of being caught in an emotional storm.

It was bittersweet to think that a month or two ago she, like the rest of the village, had just thought of Hiccup an idiot and looked with apprehension towards the day when he would inevitably attempt to take over his father's position. They all knew Stoick had a soft spot for the boy, something the rest of them did not share. But Hiccup had proven himself ten times over. Only now it was for nothing. He had proven himself, but a heroes funeral seemed like a bitter honor. Unexpectedly Astrid felt her eyes sting as she realized even that was far fetched. They could have the ceremony but Hiccup's body was at the bottom of the ocean.

With a tug, Alvin moved her forward. Her foot landed so that her toes stuck over the edge of the rock. Fear clogged her throat at the thought of jumping into the darkness only to land in the icy water and have to kick with all the fur and her hands shackled. Stubbonly she forced the feeling aside. A fast heart would only make her use up her air quicker and Astrid knew she was going to need all of it.

"Lets go."

Astrid took three quick breaths, drawing in as much air as she could on the the third before there was a tug on the chain and she found herself weightless in the darkness.

A moment later she hit the water.

Astrid choked as the cold shocked her system, almost forcing the air from her lungs. Immediately her fur dragged her under. She felt her arms tugged in a direction and blindly kicked out, forcing her body forward. Her lungs burned with the strain but she forced herself forward, refusing to give into the overwhelming desire to breath in the water and drown. She focused only on kicking, on making it through this latest trail. At the end of it was Berk. Even if she failed every other way, if she got the others back to Berk that would be something. Not a fair trade, but it would be something. She had to survive to get to that. She had to keep kicking no matter how heavy her cloak was or how sharp her lungs burned.

The direction of the chain altered, tugging her vertical instead of horizontal. Astrid followed, kicking harder but it was almost impossible to do. With a sickening dip of her stomach, she realized that she was going to drown. Her lungs were burning, her chest was throbbing and everything in her was saying to just let go. Inhale and let the water take her far far away. It wouldn't be that hard and, with any luck, after a moment of agony she would awake in the afterlife with Hiccup. Would that really be so terrible? Astrid looked upwards at the faint light, surprised that she could see the foggy outline of things. She watched as Alvin's feet disappeared and prepared to take a deep breath.

And then she was yanked forcibly out of the water.

Choking and sputtering, Astrid struggled for air as she was pulled forward by Alvin. Her hands locked onto the stone that he had climbed onto, her arms straining to hold her weight. Alvin's free hand grabbed the back of her cloak and dragged her fully onto the stone. The pirate was much stronger than she would have assumed, he pulled her up as though she weighed nothing. Forcing herself up, Astrid gagged, forcing bile and water onto the stone. For once Alvin seemed content to stay still, waiting for her to finish. Still on all fours, Astrid took deep gasps of air, fighting to get herself back under control.

Forcing her eyes open, Astrid looked up and for the second time, lost all the air in her lungs.

She had _never_ seen anything like the cave she was in. Faint light was magnified a thousand times over by the gems and the metal that lined the walls. Coins from more nations than she knew existed were heaped in mountainous piles of copper and silver and gold. Trunks turned carelessly on their sides spilled rubies like blood and sapphires like tears. She could see swords with so many gems they couldn't even be used as proper blades and shields made out of soft rosy gold. There were gowns heavy with embroidery and cloaks that looked so soft it seemed impossible they were made by men. Raising her head, Astrid looked up and was stunned to see the treasure continued high above their heads. She was stunned at the sight of so much treasure. She had known it would be impressive, that it would be worth killing for, but she could not have imagined it would look as breathtaking as it did.

She barely even felt it as she was pulled to her feet, the heavy cloak dragging wetly on the ground. The sight of so much wealth was enough to make her head spin in a way that had nothing to do with the lack of oxygen she had suffered. Light caught the facets of the gems scattered around, reflecting back in a dizzying rainbow and making it impossible to think. Bright blue stones with white stars on their faces fought for splendor with diamonds as big as her fist. Astrid could never have imagined so much wealth existed-let alone in one cave.

Suddenly it made a little more sense why a man would kill for the treasure surrounding her.

As soon as she had considered the thought, disgust filled her.

Nothing was worth what had been done to them. Certainly not the rubies and the gold surrounding her. Forcing herself to look past the bright splendor of the gems, Astrid looked around the shape of the cave. It was hard to see past the mounds of glamour but she managed to discern the cave was vaguely circular in shape. The walls were made of rough stone, untouched by the elements. Light came from the top of the cave where a series of small cracks let a feeble amount in-which was then magnified by the gemstones and metal around them. A wide rim of stone was raised above the water but most of the center was taken up by the water from which they had just swam up. Looking down Astrid could see the water was lighter at the far end of the cave, revealing they were close to the open water.

"Now then," Alvin stood in front of her, "lets fix these," he said deftly undoing the belt and re shackling her properly, "and this."

Astrid gasped aloud as the heavy, wet hood came over her head once more. The water had not been as cold as she would have thought and the cave had been so splendid that she had forgotten her physical discomfort. But the sopping, cold hood that had been dropped onto her head seemed to carry with it the weight of everything she had suffered. Suddenly weariness seemed to gnaw at her bones and icy fingers seemed to snake up her spine. The weight of the water dragged the hood lower on her head, making it difficult to see properly. Most of the world was lost to the wet, heavy fur with only a sliver of the cave and its splendors revealed to her gaze.

"Wha-"

"Be quiet or I will gag you," Alvin said, his voice sharp and cold.

Astrid pressed her lips together, forcing herself to think of the others. Hot headed heroics would only get them in more trouble. Forcing herself to think of the others and not the burden of obeying Alvin, Astrid moved her wrists back and forth, finding the manacles just as tight. The metal bit into her skin but she kept testing the length, trying to figure out if there was any give in the bindings. But they did not give even an inch. Astrid felt her heart sink. Even if she could get her hands on a blade if she could barely move them further than her waist. Alvin would have to fall on her sword for her to inflict any sort of damage on him. It was useless, useless and hopeless unless she managed to get her hands free.

It was hard to hear with the hood pulled over her head, almost as hard as it was to see-not that there were things to see or hear at the moment. Alvin stood beside her quietly, seemingly content to be in silence. Astrid wasn't a fool, she knew he was waiting. A man like Alvin wanted a show. It was as much about getting to the treasure, as much about being known as the pirate who got the treasure, as it was about the gold and gems that cascaded over them. He wanted the glory and the fame. Astrid knew it was a weakness and she would take any that she could get.

Someone came up through the water.

Astrid turned her head in the sound of the splashing. She did not need to be able to see properly to know the wearer of the blood red and gold cloak. Anger coursed through Astrid. Alvin had ordered Hiccup's death but it was _her_ dragon that had dropped him. All the while she had done nothing, nothing except send six innocent souls back to Berk to convince their parents that they were dead. The anger roared up and before she could comprehend what she was doing, Astrid had thrown her head back to shake off the hood and started forward.

"You bi-"

A length of fabric was seamlessly inserted into her mouth, as if Alvin had been waiting for the excuse. Astrid gagged on the foul tasting fabric as the sting of sweat and old musk filled her mouth. Alvin easily tied the gag off, pulling it tight enough so that any sound she made was muffled beyond comprehension. Grabbing her hood, Alvin threw it back into place before looking at Camicazi.

"You're late," Alvin said sharply.

Camicazi glanced at him and the blue clad woman next to him before turning back to the treasure. Slowly she walked over to the gemstones piled clear up to her waist. Reaching out she slid her hand in between the finely cut stones, letting her arm sink in clear to her elbow. Slowly she raised her hand, letting the gems slide off the soaked fabric of her shirt like drops of water. The gems piled in her hands, a rainbow of rubies, sapphires and amethysts. Camicazi stared at the gems, feeling overwhelmed at the wealth that surrounded her. Triumph roared through her at the sight of so much-there was enough in her hand to buy half of Berk alone.

Opening her fingers Camicazi let the stones drop back onto the pile. Adrenaline pounded through her with every thump of her heart. All of this was here. Suddenly she did not need to think of the plan Hiccup had concocted or the deal he offered. All she had to do was plunge her blade through Alvin's chest and watch the light die from his eyes. Then she would cut off his head and take control of his crew, using his beloved ship to get the treasure back to home. Even Stoick wasn't stupid enough to think that he could not use the wealth. And he already though his son was dead, no-one needed to be any wiser to what had really happened.

Camicazi looked at the few gems still pooled in her palm, forcing the thoughts of delicious revenge to the back of mind. She had given too much to the endeavor to just let it all fall to pieces because she couldn't wait to kill Alvin. She wanted to _savor_ every moment of his death. And before that she wanted to rip everything he was to shreds. She glanced at him, standing next to the girl from Berk in the blue cloak. No, no matter how much she wanted the treasure quickly, that just would not do. She had controlled herself this long, a little while longer wouldn't matter.

After all, a quick death was simply too good for Alvin the lying, treacherous weasel.

"I was detained," Camicazi said, throwing the last of the gemstones aside and dropping her hand.

"Yes, where did you get those weapons?" he asked.

"You didn't honestly expect me to come here empty handed, did you?" Camicazi asked with a smile that was anything but nice-though the one Alvin gave in return had a glimmer of humor to it. As if he had been expecting her to act as she was. Camicazi forced her anger back, "so what now?" she asked.

No sooner had the words left her mouth than the sound of whistling reached their ears. The three turned their heads to the far wall of the cave where a pirate in a brown cloak came hobbling out. Camicazi kept her gaze on the pirates that led the prisoner, not daring to look over and see if Alvin had noticed something was wrong. The pirate in front stopped at the mouth of the cave, the whistling continuing as he stood there. Alvin surveyed them all with an unreadable look on his face, seeming to consider something known only to him.

"Excellent," Alvin said, clearly satisfied with something, "no trouble, I take it?"

"None," the pirate grunted.

Alvin's smile widened and Camicazi stiffened in fear. He knew something was wrong. Alvin _only_ smiled like that when he knew something was wrong. Camicazi eased her hand backwards in the folds of the cloak, her fingers moving into the fabric in search of one of the blades. She couldn't go for the swords, not yet, not with things as they were. Certainly not when Alvin was standing there smiling like he had pulled off something quite impossible. Camicazi tore her eyes away from Alvin, scanning the walls of the cave for any kind of threat.

"Dogsbreath," Alvin said, "bring them forward," he motioned to the group of them.

The whistling stopped immediately. Camicazi swore inaudibly as Dogsbreath confirmed that he was, in fact, standing there instead of the pirate who they had killed. Dogsbreath brought the group of them forward on the chains. When they were within an arm's reach of Alvin, he motioned for Dogsbreath to stop. With a rattle of chains the group stopped and for a moment no-one moved.

Then Alvin reached out and grabbed Dogsbreath, throwing the young man into the water.

Camicazi sucked in a breath and started forward but Alvin turned to her.

"One more step and he dies," he said, his voice sharp and cold.

Camicazi's feet paused as her eyes went to the water where a soaking Dogsbreath emerged, coughing but otherwise unhurt. The young viking kicked out and paddled across the narrow expanse to the opposite side of the cave, easily pushing himself out of the water. Alvin made no move to stop him or even to attack him. Instead the pirate grabbed the little slack in Astrid's chains and dragged her forward, moving her across the slope of stone to the other side of cave. She staggered but managed to keep up with him as he pulled her over to the far wall and stopped, looking back to see Camicazi to their right, Dogsbreath to their left and the chained vikings on the far side of the cave.

"Now you all are reasonably smart," Alvin said, "so I am _certain_ this questioned has occurred to one of you 'how are we going to get the treasure out of here?'," he looked between the three groups, "as you can see, aside from that narrow tunnel the only way out is down and, lets face it, taking all this through that," he added nodding towards the small off tunnel, "will take a very long time."

"Obviously our friends from the Bog Burglars don't share Berk's enthusiasm for dragon hunting," he sighed, as if such a thing was a huge inconvenience, "however, they have a rather unique sport all their own."

"You son of a bitch!" Camicazi snarled, her temper flaring, "_this_ was your plan from the start?"

"Yes," Alvin said, no shame in his tone, "oh don't look so wounded, it was necessary to keep you in the dark. Besides, even without me you were going to need to kill the dragons anyway if you were going to get the treasure out of here."

"The Bog Burglars are dragon riders, not killers!" Camicazi snarled.

"Well the Bog Burglars are going to have to decide whether or not they want to come out of this cave with their hides in tact," Alvin snapped back, "and considering Berk's long and glorious tradition of dragon hunting, I'm sure they can lend you a hand."

Camicazi ground her teeth together so hard her jaw ached. This had been a set up from the start. Alvin had warned them about the dragons, he had made it sound as though they would get the treasure and get out before they encountered the beasts. Now she knew his intention all along had been to get them into the cave and let them do his dirty work. Camicazi looked at Dosgbreath. Anger burned in his eyes but the young man was far more adept at controlling his temper. Camicazi started forward. If she was going to be killing something, she sure as hell was going to start with the pirate standing there. Furiously she reached for the clasp of her cloak.

"I'd keep that on if I were you," Alvin said, stopping her fingers.

Camicazi looked at him and then at the cloak. It was soaking wet from the water she had swam through. Her eyes widened as she realized the smell of salt water would help hide her own scent, making it harder for the dragons to smell them. Her head whipped to the side as she took in the other viking standing there, their clothing dry and their scent strong. The Skullions would go for them. Camicazi looked at the water, not trusting its still surface. She looked up, the self satisfied look on Alvin's face making it clear how much he was enjoying this.

Beside him, Astrid worked at her wrists frantically, terror pounding through her. The others winding up as dragon bait was _not_ what she had in mind. She had to get her hands free, she had to-Astrid stopped, realizing with sickening clarity exactly why she had been isolated. There was no mistake why she was the lone viking to be dunked in water and taken to the cave. She had thought that it had all been because she had been Hiccup's girlfriend, but now she saw that wasn't the only reason. It was because _she_ was a dragon fighter. As if to confirm her worst suspicions, the pirate turned to face her, his hands undoing the chains from her belt.

Perhaps it was the water, perhaps it was the swim, but for whatever reason this time the knife did not stay put.

The metal clattered noisily to the ground. Both Alvin and Astrid turned to look at the knife just behind her heel. Alvin arched a disdainful eyebrow at the knife before glancing up at her.

"Interesting," he said before pulling her forward, pulling the ornate key out from under his shirt and inserting it into the metal of her manacles, undoing them, "you are certainly-"

What she was or was not was lost to Astrid.

The moment the manacles came undone, she drew back her hand and slammed her fist into his face, splitting his lip.

Throwing herself backwards, Astrid grabbed the knife and faced Alvin, her body already in a fighting stance. Alvin's hand instantly locked around her wrist and spun her backwards, so that her back was pressed to his chest with his arms pinning hers to her sides. Astrid struggled against him but his grip was painfully tight and merciless as he held her facing her friends and the water.

"I think you have bigger fish to fry," he said, his voice hot in her ear, "and as you can see the line to kill me is rather long," she cursed him, the words inaudible through the gag. Thinking that he had won, Alvin reached up and pulled the fabric down, "what was that?" he inquired as Astrid took a breath.

"The water!" Astrid shouted, looking from Camicazi to Dogsbreath, "the water! You have to get them wet!"

She heard Alvin sneer and she found herself being pushed sideways before a fist was driven into her stomach, the air flying from her lungs. Another punch followed it immediately afterwards, the sharp blow making it truly impossible to breath. Her knees buckled, slamming into the stone as she threw her hands out to catch herself. Fighting for air, Astrid raised her head to see the cave had erupted into chaos. Dogsbreath was holding a trunk he had obviously used to fill with water and dump on the now soaking vikings. Coughing, Astrid pushed herself up, struggling to her feet.

Her eyes found Alvin back behind the others. The pirate was all but dragging a struggling cloaked figure to the exit, his good hand wrapped around the man's mouth to keep him from talking. The figure hobbled, obviously favoring one leg. Frantically her eyes moved across the figures of her friends, all of whom were still on their chain before her gaze flew back to the two of them. In another moment they would be out of sight, if the other figure just struggled a little harder she could see his face. Instinctively her foot moved towards the men, though she knew she'd never reach them in time. Wild hope pounded through her as she thought, for one beautiful moment, that maybe Hiccup was still alive.

And then a eyeless, earless head slid out of the water with its nostrils flared and all the hope she had felt vanished.


	21. Chapter 21

With a thunk, the axe embedded itself in the dragon's skull.

Astrid did not watch the monster sink below the waves, taking with it her preferred weapon. She barely had time to recover from the throw before diving forward and rolling out of the way of another Skullion's tail. Her sore body howled at the abuse but she ignored the pain. Pain was secondary. What little adrenaline she had kicked into overdrive as her body went through the familiar motions of hunting dragons. Her hand locked around the hilt of a sword which came free with an easy tug, just in time to be brought up and used to block the tail that once more chopped down towards her head.

The tail slammed into the blade with enough force to make her wish for her axe again. Gritting her teeth as her sore muscles screamed in protest, Astrid stepped forward, pulling the sword with her. But the dull blade only managed to annoy the dragon, not slice the thick skin open like any decent blade made in Berk would have. Before the tail could come back down and crush her, Astrid dove forward and rolled out of the way, landing on her feet and digging her heels into the slick surface of the rocks.

Chaos had taken over the cave.

Dragon fighting in itself was a messy, chaotic affair. Dragon fighting in an enclosed space with bad weapons was little short of suicide. And that was before the water started to slick the rocks. Astrid felt like she was trapped in a nightmare. Even the adrenaline that pounded through her was not enough to counter the fog that wound through her. Dragons usually had some kind of advantage against the viking they fought. But Astrid had never fought water based dragons where they had the advantage. She knew that if any of them landed in the water it would be over for them. The rocks were their only refuge and even those were become slick with water. What little control they had in the situation was rapidly slipping away.

Forcing the bone aching weariness back, Astrid looked around the room. Alvin was nowhere to be seen, obviously intending them to kill the dragons and probably themselves so he could just take the treasure. Bone would wash up on the beach of Berk, but their real bodies would be lost to the water and the dragons they fought. After all they had learned, they'd still die doing what their parents had done. Gritting her teeth, Astrid looked over as one of the dragons reared back, open mouth exposing arrows embedded in the roof of its mouth. It sunk below the waves, moments before another rose up to take its place.

No eyes, no ears and yet those big, flared nostrils seemed to have no problem locating them. Suddenly Astrid wished that they had Gobber to call off the match or one of the older vikings to fight off the dragons. Dragons that clearly wanted them dead or in their bellies. Her eyes cast around the cave, looking desperately for a way out but however Alvin had gotten out was no longer an option. The entrance was gone and they were trapped with the Skullions in the cave. It was like some cruel, twisted joke that after how far they had come with the dragons, after all they had learned, they were still going to be devoured. If the situation hadn't been so tragic and she not so tired, Astrid was sure she would have laughed outright. As it was she did not know how much longer she could keep up the fight.

Another tail slammed into the ground, barely missing her. Before it could withdraw however, a blade whistled through the air and bit deeply into the dragon's thick hide. The dragon screeched in pain, which was far more indication of the weapon's success than the wetness of the limb. Astrid jumped forward, grabbing the sword and wrenching it free. Before the tail could withdraw she swung the blade in a downward arc, the edge biting deeply into the thick skin with surprising ease. Astrid tugged forward and slicing the edge of the tail clear off. The Skullion howled as Astrid jumped backwards to avoid the head.

Fighting for air, Astrid looked at the blade she held in her hand. It was ornate and pretty but unlike the others it was clearly sharp and had been put to recent use. There was no time for contemplation though as another Skullion lunged forward. Astrid sidestepped the vicious teeth, bringing the blade down in a sharp motion that sent the dragon rearing back, shrieking its agony as blood filled the overly sensitive nostril. Switching the blade to her other hand, Astrid sidestepped the tail of the next dragon before slicing it clear off.

Weariness ate at her, worse than any of the dragons. For every tail or nose or limb that she cut off, a hundred more seemed to spring up. She knew the situation was hopeless, but hopeless seemed to be the only word to describe every situation they had found themselves in since releasing Alvin from the coffin they had found him in. But they had to keep fighting, until the last of them fell. Dying might have been possible, but it was not going to happen by any of them just giving up.

They were vikings.

And vikings did not die lying down.

**

* * *

**

The moment they reached the end of the tunnel, Alvin loosened his hold on Hiccup. The young man staggered away from the pirate, his prosthetic leg slipping against the wet stones. Fumbling with the heavy fur of the cloak, Hiccup shoved his hood back and looked at the pirate, his chest heaving with anger and adrenaline. Alvin crossed his arms and looked at the young viking, his face unreadable.

"What the hell are you doing?" Hiccup demanded, "they're all going to die in there!"

"I doubt that," Alvin said, "you should have more faith in your friends."

Hiccup's anger roared up, the blood pounding in his ears as he stared at the pirate. Alvin met his gaze easily, seeming to know something that Hiccup did not. Anger made it impossible to think straight, to consider what he could mean. But all he could see was his friends as the dragons came, he could only see them about to be slaughtered while he was dragged off by the pirate-by the person that _he_ had set free. And now they were all as good as dead because of him.

"Why are you doing this?" Hiccup demanded, fighting against the blinding anger that surged through him.

"Why am I doing what?" Alvin asked with an arch of his eyebrow.

Hiccup gritted his teeth, forcing the desperate urge to scream aside. He had a million questions. Why was Alvin so blinded by his desire for the treasure? Why was he so willing to sacrifice everything and everyone just so he could get what he wanted? Why him, why them? Why now? Why like this? But Hiccup knew he wasn't going to get any answers, at least any that would save the people he cared about. People who were in that cave dying because of what _he_ had done.

"Why did you drag me out?" he asked finally.

"Because you're Grimmbeard's heir," Alvin said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"Stop saying that!" Hiccup shouted, "people are back there dying because you want something that isn't even yours!"

"Something that I can't get to without the blood of Grimmbeard's heir," Alvin continued, not raising his voice, "and your the only one who has that."

"So you're just going to sacrifice all those people so-so you can get what you want?" Hiccup demanded, "you're insane!"

Alvin's lips curved into a smile, as though there was something funny about the situation, something that only he could see. If possible, Hiccup felt his anger increase. He stepped forward, swearing when his prosthetic slipped against the stones. Alvin continued to look at him, though his smile did not widen at the sight of Hiccup struggling with his missing leg. Instead the young pirate stepped forward, brining himself closer to the viking.

"Maybe," he said, "but I'd think you of all people could understand what I'm doing."

"What?" Hiccup demanded, "what are you talking about?"

"Think about it," Alvin said, "We're both willing to betray people, to keep secrets, to what no-one else is willing to do so that we can have what we want-what we know will help everyone even if they are too blind to see it themselves."

Hiccup opened his mouth to protest, to tell Alvin that he was insane. That they were nothing alike, but before he could get the denial out the pirate continued to speak.

"Oh I know that I've gone after treasure with a group of like-minded people who knew what they were going after while you turned your back on your people and everything they believed in order to keep a pet, but the similarities are there. If you look hard enough."

Ice seemed to flood his veins, dousing the anger that had burned through him. His mouth opened to protest and then closed, unable to form the words his mind had been so certain of. Somewhere deep inside he knew that Alvin was lying, that he was coming up with something that did not make sense. And yet that part of him seemed to be inaudible in the face of the doubt that gnawed at him. What if Alvin was right? What if they were even a little bit alike?

Hiccup pushed his weight forward, focusing on the pain of his prosthetic rubbing against the sore flesh of his missing leg. It was an old viking trick, one he hadn't ever thought he would have to use. Where you focused on the pain, on the ache, on anything but the desire to give up and admit defeat. If he and Alvin were alike, Hiccup knew that he would want to give up. Knowing that his friends could only hold out for so long only made the desire to give up more overwhelming. So he focused on the pain and looked at the pirate.

"I'm nothing like you," Hiccup said, as much for himself as the pirate in front of him.

"No, of course not," Alvin said with a faint smile, "I'm not going against a blood feud and betraying the deaths of countless members of your tribe."

"You're just standing by and letting people be slaughtered!" Hiccup said.

"Yes, I imagine this betrayal is quite different than yours."

"I didn't betray anyone," Hiccup protested, fighting against the ice that twisted through his veins as he thought back at the faces of his father and Astrid when they found out what he had done, "I didn't."

"Really?" Alvin asked, "I suppose we have very different definitions of betrayal then."

Hiccup looked over the pirate's shoulder at the tunnel that led back into the cavern. He knew that he'd never get through the pirate, not without loosing the prosthetic. And he knew that in that fight he'd be even more useless than he tended to be when it came to fighting without being on Toothless's back. But just standing out there with Alvin, talking about whether or not he was a traitor, it was torture. They were being hurt, they were dying and he was just _standing_ there.

"Look I'll do what you want," Hiccup said, changing tactics, "just get them out of that cave."

"I'm afraid thats not going to happen," Alvin said, "as I'm certain your fat friend has informed you, the Skullions have no sense of sight or sound, but they have a very keen sense of smell. They have your friend's scent, they'll have the scent of anyone who gets near that cavern. Oh and if it did not escape your notice, the way in was cut off when we left."

"So they're trapped in there? With those dragons?" Hiccup demanded.

"Well they are trained dragon hunters," Alvin said, as though it was a perfectly logical justification, "except for Camicazi and Dogsbreath, of course, but they're more than capable of taking care of themselves," Alvin smiled, "and your girlfriend, she's quite the fighter. Best dragon hunter I imagine?"

The anger returned, tenfold. It must have shown on his face because for the first time since they left the tunnel, the smile on Alvin's face widened. As if he knew that he had struck a nerve.

"She was very upset when she thought you were dead-thinks your dead," he said, "but she still followed me. Still did what I asked, though I think it was just to keep the ret of our friends safe. Not a very good use of her time, if you ask me, considering they're probably all dead-"

"You son of a bitch!" Hiccup shouted, stepping forward, too blinded by his anger to realize that he would be useless in a fight against the pirate.

Alvin easily sidestepped his swing and grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back. Hiccup's body bent forward, his arm aching viciously as the pirate wrenched it back. His prosthetic slipped, throwing him even further off balance as his good leg buckled, bringing his knee into sharp contact with the slick stones underneath his feet. Alvin maintained his grip, letting gravity and Hiccup's movements do the rest of the work.

"There is something I'm curious about," Alvin said, his voice mild, "after going through all that trouble to tame a dragon and prove how much they were not threats, why turn around and kill one? Isn't that a little, oh I don't know, hypocritical of you?"

Hiccup gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to shout back at the pirate who held him in such a vulnerable position. He had been bullied enough to know just how little it would take the pirate to break his arm and he knew that he could not afford to loose the use of another limb. Turning his head, he looked up at Alvin.

"What do you care?" he demanded.

"Your right," Alvin said, "I don't," he shrugged, the movement sending waves of pain up Hiccup's twisted arm, "but I am waiting until everyone's dead so that I can get to the treasure and listening to you howl is getting boring," Alvin looked down at him, "so, have you started planning for when you'll be chief?"

Hiccup squeeze his eyes shut, turning his head downwards and away from Alvin. The _last_ thing he wanted was to hear about when he would be chief as the people he thought he could protect died a few feet away while he was held there because of the blood that ran through his veins. He had never cared about being the son of the chief, it had always just made things worse. And now being the great-something grandson of the man who had found all the treasure was once again making things worse. As he knelt there with his arm twisted back, Hiccup realized that he would have given anything to be back in the cave fighting with his friends-even if it meant certain death.

What kind of chief stood on the sidelines while his tribe died?

His father had always _always_ been on the front lines of the fight. His mother dying, his own shortcomings, injuries, nothings had ever stopped Stoick from being side by side with his fellow tribesmen. Even Gobber had always been there, his father had told him that the day Gobber had lost his leg he had only stopped long enough to figure out a way to walk before continuing to fight. And yet instead of being in the middle of the fight he was on the sidelines, being taunted b the very enemy that had put them in that position. And the worst part of it was that he knew even if he got into the thick of the fight, he'd still be useless against the Skullions.

Hiccup twisted his head up and looked at Alvin. The pirate turned his head, looking backwards in the direction where they had come from. Hiccup strained his ears, trying to hear whatever had drawn Avlin's attention since it was impossible to see given the position at which he was being forced into. But he could not hear anything. Alvin looked back at him, obviously enjoying the pain that Hiccup was going through. Hiccup wished that he could fight back, that there was a way for him to fight back. A way that he could rescue the rest of them. But he was nothing, he was helpless and that was the worst feeling in the world.

Hiccup twisted his head up and looked at Alvin. The pirate turned his head, looking backwards in the direction where they had come from. Hiccup strained his ears, trying to hear whatever had drawn Avlin's attention since it was impossible to see given the position at which he was being forced into. But he could not hear anything. Alvin looked back at him, obviously enjoying the pain that Hiccup was going through. Hiccup wished that he could fight back, that there was a way for him to fight back. A way that he could rescue the rest of them. But he was nothing, he was helpless and that was the worst feeling in the world.

"Ripping off my arm isn't going to get you the treasure!" Hiccup shouted.

"True," Alvin said, "and you bleeding out will be equally useless," he added, releasing Hiccup's arm.

Without the pull of Alvin's arm, Hiccup collapsed onto the stones, throwing out his hands to stop his fall. His wrists ached viciously with the new soreness but he ignored it. Bending his good knee, he pushed himself up as far as he could. It was difficult to get to his feet, it had been since he lost his foot. But he managed, straightening his leg until he was able to maneuver his prosthetic to touch the ground and then finally to take his weight. Alvin did nothing, waiting for Hiccup to get to his feet fully. Hiccup straightened up, looking at the pirate and fighting the urge to rub at his new bruises.

Hiccup turned away from the pirate and looked over his shoulder. They had come out of the cavern at what seemed to be the end of the island. The rocks did not extend far and were close enough to the ocean so the waves splashed over those close to the water. Hiccup turned back to the pirate, looking at Alvin who returned his gaze patiently, as if he had all the time in the world. Hiccup looked past the pirate, back at the darkness of the tunnel.

"Please," Hiccup said, looking back at Alvin even though bitterness flooded his mouth, "just get them out of there and I'll do whatever you need to get the treasure."

"Impossible," Alvin said, "and pointless," he continued, "you will do what I ask because your friends are dead and there is nothing else for you to do."

"No," Hiccup said, the protest coming from his lips easily, even though they both knew there was a chance they were not true.

"Are you certain?" Alvin asked with an arch of his eyebrow, "the Skullions kill very quickly and even though I imagine Camicazi and Dogsbreath have smuggled in some weapons I assume your friends have made a last stand and died an honorable death-for vikings."

Hiccup took a deep breath and fought the urge to rise to the bait. Alvin was trying to goad him, to distract him. Which meant that there had to be something he was missing. Something that could help his friends before it was too late. Something that the pirate did not want him to figure out before it was too late. Hiccup looked away from the pirate, his eyes moving around the barren landscape as he tried to see if there was something that he could use. Anything that he could use to help the people he loved.

His foot moved backwards as he took a step away from the pirate. Alvin's eyes narrowed slightly, obviously wondering what Hiccup was up to. though in truth Hiccup had no idea what he was going to do or even where he was going to go, not that there was much room on that front. But he was running out of options, if they were out of time. Hiccup took another step backwards, taking care to be mindful of the shortcomings of his prosthetic.

"Skellington's have a good sense of smell huh?" he said, a half formed idea beginning to take shape in his head, "I remember reading about them, in the Dragon book," he stepped backwards, "best sense of smell in the world huh? And they're dragons so, you know, they've already got great senses of smell-" his foot slipped against the slick ground, "and-"

"Where are you going?" Alvin questioned, his eyes narrowing as Hiccup stepped backwards again.

"Its so great," Hiccup continued, thinking aloud more than anything else, "I bet it even works there."

"There?" Alvin questioned.

"Underwater."

Their eyes locked for a moment and for that moment Hiccup felt as if his entire self was laid bare to Alvin's eyes. Tearing his gaze away from Alvin's, Hiccup stumbled forward. He felt Alvin's hand grab at the cloak around his shoulders but he undid the clasp, letting the heavy garment fall back against the pirate. Hiccup made it to the edge of the rocks before Alvin's hand fastened around his shirt, stopping him from going any further. Twisting around, Hiccup looked at the pirate.

"Are you out of your mind?" Alvin demanded, "your friends are dead! You're just going to sacrifice yourself for nothing?"

"You're wrong," Hiccup said with a smile, "my friends are great dragon fighters."

He kept his eyes on the pirate as he raised his leg, lowering his arm at the same time. His makeshift leg was barely attached as it was. He could feel the torn and abused skin sting as he worked to undo the strap. He knew the skin was close to bleeding as it was. It wouldn't take much for it to start and if those Skullions could smell as well as the dragon book claimed, it wouldn't take much for them to smell the blood. Alvin looked down as Hiccup yanked the prosthetic off of his leg and slammed it as hard as he could into the pirates stomach, knocking the wind from his lungs. Hiccup had one look at the surprise on Alvin's face before the pirate's hand opened and there was nothing more to keep Hiccup from being pulled backwards.

And then it was as easy as falling back and letting the waves close over his head once more.


	22. Chapter 22

Nocking two arrows, Dogsbreath drew back his hand and released them into one of the dragons.

With a screech, the Skullion reared back in agony before falling below the waves with a spray of water. Though he did not close his eyes, Dogsbreath turned his head to avoid being sprayed with salt water. He could not have his vision compromised by the salt, which would be worse than loosing sight of the enemy for a moment. Only this time when he turned around he was not greeted by countless gaping mouths. Dogsbreath kept his bow taught but as his eyes surveyed the pit he realized that there were fewer Skullions popping up.

"Something's happened!" he called over to Camicazi.

The red head looked at him and then down at the water, realizing that he was right. The endless supply of dragons seemed, somehow, to be dimming. Striking down another dragon, she turned and looked at her companion. They hadn't killed enough of the dragons for this to be happening. Which meant something was luring them away and she had a feeling that it wasn't Alvin. Not if he had them to do his dirty work. Dragging her blade up and through another dragon, Camicazi jumped over the wet stones and landed near her friend.

"If we can swim past them and get to the other side we can get the cave open."

Dogsbreath looked at her and then down at the water. From what he remembered it was a straight shot to the next opening, not even long enough to be truly difficult. That was, unless the water was crawling with Skullions as it currently was. He looked at the red head. Camicazi's eyes were narrowed as she looked at the water, calculating the same thing that he was.

"Hold them off long enough for me to get this thing off will you?" he said motioning to the heavy fur.

"No," Camicazi's refusal was flat and cold and left no room for argument.

Dogsbreath opened his mouth to do it anyway.

"I got us into this," Camicazi said, spinning around and decapitating a dragon, "I'll get us out."

"What kind of Burglar would I be if I let our Chieftain's daughter die?" he asked with an offhanded grin as he shot three arrows out.

"One who knows how to obey an order," Camicazi snapped.

It was only thanks to the echo in the cave that Astrid heard their exchange. She looked at the wall of the cave, at the entrance that had been closed off from the outside. If they could reach that they could let the rest of them out. Her eyes went to the pit of water. There were fewer dragons and fewer were popping up to replace them but the dark waters still looked foreboding.

Her eyes dragged upwards to look over at her friends, all of whom were fighting against the tide of dragons. They were fighting so hard but as Astrid watched them she was struck by how young they all looked. What would they look like in ten, twenty years? They'd have kids and new scars and stories to tell. Stories that they would never get to tell if they died here in the cave because of the whims of a mad man. A man whose ornate knife was still pressed against Astrid's spine, a silent reminder of the promise she had made to get them home safe.

Looking over her shoulder she watched as Camicazi and Dogsbreath fought together, moving with the kind of ease that came only with years of practice. They had fought together. They had a history. Dimly Astrid found herself wondering if they were together romantically. If they were lovers. Finally her eyes dragged down to the ornate sword she held, the dark blood of the Skullions staining her hands. It was her fault that Hiccup wasn't there. Her fault because she had fought so hard against a man who you could not fight with brute force, no matter how much she wished that it was possible.

Feeling as if she was moving on automatic, Astrid stepped back from the water, retreating to the corner. Reaching up around her throat, she undid the clasp of her cloak, letting the heavy, wet martial fall to the ground. She dropped the ornate blade onto the fur, ignoring how the dark blood immediately began to stain the white of the fur. Reaching to her back, she pulled the ornate knife free from its place in her belt.

Taking several deep breaths, Astrid leaned her weight back before pushing forward, running forward.

She did slip on the stones, though dimly she was certain that she should have. It was as though her body no longer belonged to her. Taking in a last lungful of air, Astrid parted her lips and placed the knife in between them. Kicking off the ground, she pushed herself as high into the air as she could, aiming for the end of the gaping hole and not the dragons that were still snapping in the air. For a moment she was certain that she was going to be eaten.

Then the dark water closed over her head.

Astrid tightened her lips around the hilt of the knife, kicking out with her feet as she forced herself underneath the lip of the rock. Her fingers pressed against the stone as she struggled to see though the water. But there was so much blood that it was nearly impossible. Forcing herself to move forward, she stayed as close to the surface of the water as she possibly could, feeling along the stone as well as using her sense of direction to move through the water.

By some miracle, she saw the light begin to peak through, outlining a darker circle up ahead, the next opening. Forcing herself not to get too excited, lest her heart speed up and her air be used too quickly, Astrid struck out towards the darkness and the opening that would lead to her freedom. Hers and the people she had sworn to protect.

Her hands broke the air first, the rest of her head following as she inhaled through her nose. Grabbing the edge of the rocks, Astrid adjusted her hands and lowered herself into the water to kick up and push herself out onto the rocks.

White hot agony streaked across her back.

A scream escaped her lips around the dagger as she felt the teeth of the dragon sink deep into her back. Automatically she went to push herself up, only to drive the monster's fangs deeper ingot her flesh. Automatically her hand grabbed the dagger in her lips, drawing the blade and striking behind her. By some miracle she managed to hit flesh sensitive enough to have the dragon screech and release her somewhat. Moving on pure adrenaline, Astrid forced her body up and out of the water, dropping onto the stones. The Skullion hissed and lunged forward, jaws open wide and teeth stained with her blood.

Rolling onto her back, Astrid struck upwards into the roof of the Skullion's mouth.

The knife impaled the dragon, even as the beasts fangs sank deep into her forearms. The dragon shuddered above her before going horribly still. Only when the weight of the dead dragon began to drag on her did Astrid move, pulling her arms free and rolling away from the hole, dagger still clutched in her hand. Dimly she heard the dragon sink below the waves but Astrid did not wait to hear if another would be coming her way.

Pushing herself to her feet, she staggered as fast as she could into the dark cave.

But Astrid barely made it three steps before her body rebelled against her.

She could not remember the last time she had eaten and yet her stomach heaved, spilling its contents onto the stones as she doubled over. The torn skin of her back pulled as she heaved but when she went to grasp the stones for some kind of support she found it was almost impossible get her arms to move. They felt leaden, as if someone had strapped weights to them. Astrid dug her fingers into the stone as she suffered through the wave of sickness.

When it passed she turned away, leaning her forehead against the stone as the feeling of being hot and cold at the same time began to race through her. Desperately she thought back to what Fishlegs had said, though she did not really need to to know what was happening to her.

She was poisoned.

The thought sent as stab of panic through her. For all that she had wanted to make sure that her friends were alright, dying was not one of the things she had in mind. Especially not dying from a poison. She tried to think back to what Fishlegs had said but her head was too foggy. Shivering, Astrid touched her side and felt the warm wetness of her shirt. She was probably going to be unconscious from blood loss before the poison got her but that thought did little to make her feel better. Dying on her first hunting mission was not what Astrid had in mind. Not when she had her entire life ahead of her.

Some vain, childish part of her howled that she was too young to die.

Just like Hiccup was too young to have lost a limb.

Like he was too young to die.

Pressing her hand against the wall, Astrid squeezed her eyes shut before opening them against the darkness. She couldn't see but she doubted that had to do with the place she found herself in rather than the poison working its way through her system. Shoving the sadness and panic aside, Astrid tried to think back to what Fishlegs had said about the poison. Words like paralysis and death echoed through her head but they made no sense. Whatever the effects she could feel them taking hold of her.

She had to keep moving.

If this really was the end of the line she wasn't going to die sobbing like a child against the wall of a cave. Not when Hiccup had already been killed. Not when she had the chance to make sure that her friends were able to get home and tell the rest of Berk what happened to their chief's son. Forcing her leg forward, Astrid told herself the stiffness was in her mind. That she was being a child for thinking that the poison was working so quickly. It was slow and painful to walk but she forced herself forward, even as her legs became stiffer and stiffer.

Staggering more than walking, Astrid made her way towards the entrance of the cave. How she was going to move the rocks, she had no idea. But she had to find a way, of that she was certain. Everyone was counting on her to find a way out for them. Especially because if she did not succeed she knew that they would send another person in. They were fighters, every last one of them, though as she felt the pain of her ruined skin Astrid wished like hell they weren't.

As she made her way along the cave, Astrid felt weakness swamp her. It was not gradual or gnawing like it had been before. This swelled out of nowhere and crashed over her with all the force of a tidal wave. Astrid sucked in air, leaning heavily against the rough stone of the cave ad locking out her legs to prevent them from buckling. If she laid down now, she knew there was no getting up. Sticking the knife into her belt, Astrid freed her hands. Forcing herself forward, Astrid staggered towards the cave, trying not to fall on her face as she made her way towards the rocks.

Forcing her mind off the nausea and pain and wretched feeling of being unbearably hot and cold at the same time, Astrid hobbled forward. Usually when she was hurt she thought of the fight. But if she was hurt and she wasn't fighting she thought of other things. Things that made her happy. Swallowing against a throat that suddenly felt too tight, Astrid hobbled forward, forcing her mind onto something else. Something happy.

Like flying with Bluebell.

Though she had been trained to hate dragons, Astrid was sure that nothing could be as wonderful as flying with her dragon. Especially when Bluebell caught her reflection and dove forward to take a closer look at herself. It was so comical that instead of being angry Astrid usually couldn't help but laugh as her dragon preened herself mid-air and acted far more vain than Astrid was certain she ever had.

Her thoughts turned to weapons. To bows and arrows and things that could be thrown. Thrown and sail through the air, hitting targets with the wonderfully satisfying sound. Bluebell liked that too, though her dragon's weapons were made of spikes rather than steel. But Astrid liked the weapons of steel, she liked the way caught them and the sound of the blade on the whetstone as the blacksmith carefully sharpened them.

Blacksmiths..

Blacksmiths like Gobber and Hiccup who looked far more alike now that Hiccup had a steel foot. The sound of them tapping around the blacksmith shop, their regular steps punctuated by the sound of metal on stone, had become just as comforting as the sound of the steel being sharpened. Especially as winter began to come and the warmth of the blacksmith shop became more and more alluring as Astrid trekked home.

But now she knew that even if she made it back to Berk somehow Hiccup wouldn't be at the blacksmith shop anymore. He wouldn't be there to shuffle over with soot on his nose and his hair sticking up from where he'd brushed it haphazardly out of his face. He wouldn't be there to take the weapons she brought and sometimes be so nervous he'd drop them when he took them and touched her hand. He'd just be, well, gone.

The thought made her throat tighten for an entirely different reason. She knew she was being silly. A handful of kisses and she was thinking that what? That she'd marry the chief's son? The thought was almost laughable, both in the idea that marriage would even cross her mind and in the knowledge that it would be to _Hiccup_. To a boy, this time last year, she wanted nothing to do with since he wasn't even allowed to hold the water bucket to put out fires started by dragons.

But so much had changed now.

Now Hiccup had effectively put out every fire by making sure the dragons no longer needed to fight them. He had saved them all and as unfathomable as the idea of even looking twice had been a year ago, now suddenly it seemed that the idea of thinking about marrying him was not totally insane. Not that it mattered anymore. Maybe it was the poison or the blood or the knowledge that she was going to die in the cave but Astrid finally let her mind begin to wander to where she never would have let it go before.

He'd probably offer some messy proposal in that endearing way of his, since Astrid knew nothing Hiccup planned ever really went right. But she knew she'd say yes anyway and probably find it adorable at the same time. They'd have a big wedding, he was after all the son of the chief, and even though Astrid knew she'd be horrified at the fact that the eyes of the entire Tribe would be on her, she'd still be deliriously happy to marry Hiccup.

Idly she wondered if he'd dance. By then his leg would probably be fully healed and he was always doodling new prosthetics. She imagined he'd find a way to make one that would work for dancing. Astrid wasn't entirely opposed to dancing. A slight adjustment to your arms and stance and you were practically fighting. But she rarely had the opportunity to dance. Then again Hiccup had always been able to see what she successfully hid from others so he'd probably figure it out and dance with her until she thought she couldn't dance anymore.

The thought of dancing with him brought a smile to her lips, or as much of a smile as she could manage with the pain and exhaustion.

Pausing, Astrid looked around at the darkness. The world swayed violently as she realized that she had nothing to orient her eyes with. Her fingers gripped the stone as she fought to bring herself under control. Extending her arm so that more of it pressed to the firm stone, Astrid tried to orient herself but her body refused to co-operate and her legs buckled. Responding automatically, Astrid straightened her legs and pressed her back to the stone without realizing what she had done.

A scream was torn from her as the shredded skin of her back pressed to the stone, white spots dancing in front of her vision.

Pushing herself from the rocks Astrid pressed her face into her arms as she fought not to scream again. Her harsh breathing echoed noisily in the cave as her back throbbed worse than she would have thought humanly possible. Every fiber of her being screamed at her to pass out. To just let go of the pain and the suffering and sink into the blissful unconsciousness. It would be so easy. All she had to do was close her eyes and let go.

It would be as easy as-

As easy as falling.

The image of Hiccup falling into the waves was enough to force her from the tempting unconsciousness. Forcing her eyes open, Astrid pushed herself back and gripped the stone. She knew if she followed the wall of the cave she would reach the far wall and the doorway where her friends were. Not bothering to close her eyes, Astrid dragged her leg forward, trying to let her mind get lost once again so she did not have to focus on anything else. But the pain was too great and each time she tried to think of happy things all she saw was the image of Hiccup dropping into the waves.

Astrid swore.

_Why_ was he the only thing that she could think of? Why was it that now every happy thought seemed to center around the freckled boy with a mop of unruly hair and bright eyes that seemed to shine. Why? He was dead. He was dead and the logical part of her mind said she hadn't known him well enough to feel this way. A few months ago and she wouldn't have shed a tear if he died and now she could barely think of anything else. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that she thought this way, that the sharp ache deep in her chest had nothing to do with the injuries she suffered still managed to hurt just as badly.

It wasn't fair that she felt this way and the one person who caused all of it was gone.

The anger seemed to steady her as she staggered forward, her chest struggling to get enough air into lungs that no longer seemed to want to accept it. She shuffled forward, her steps small enough that the first thing that came into contact with the far wall as her nose. In spite of her misery, excitement bubbled in her as her hands came out and pressed onto the stone. Turning her body she hurried forward, as fast as she could until her feet bumped into stone.

Groping out blindly with her hands, she found the smooth rocks and followed them upwards to where the edge of the opening was. They were not large, but there were a lot of them. Reaching out, Astrid began to pull them away, working to create a reaction for all the stones to tumble away. But it was slow work, her hand wanting to reply to her commands. Forsaking her grip on the stone, Astrid pressed her side against the stone to remain upright as she struggled to free her friends.

She was so intent on her task that she barely heard the sound of boots on the stones. Astrid froze as she heard the sound of the steps of the man. It was a man, she could hear it in the heavy steps. A man who was used to stepping and making certain that he had firm footing before taking the next step. In the darkness her eyes widened painfully as she felt the stones beside her begin to slide down on their own accord.

"Whose there?" Alvin's voice demanded.

Astrid bit her lip to keep her breathing as quiet as possible. Reaching into her belt, Astrid drew the knife she had stolen from his cabinet, fighting to keep as quiet as possible. The blood was rushing to her ears but she fought to hear over it. She heard the rocks move as he stepped forward. Astrid turned her head back to the rocks, hoping that enough of them had moved so that they could get out. She knew that after what she was about to do, her strength was going to be spent.

She waited, barely daring to breath as she heard Alvin move forward. His feet were softer as he tried to keep quiet but he was close enough that Astrid could hear his breathing. She waited though until he was close enough that she could feel his breath on her cheek, feel the warmth of his body on her wet, chilled skin. Waited until he was so close that she knew if she could see she would have been looking at him.

"It's me," Astrid gasped out before lashing forward.

With a wet sound, the blade hit home.

She knew she made contact but it wasn't until she heard the sound of something giving way that she realized she had thrust the blade into Pirate's eye.

She heard Alvin's ragged cry as he staggered backwards, her own body staggering drunkenly sideways as the knife pulled free of her wet palm. Grabbing the wall again, Astrid leaned heavily against the stone of the cave, her breath escaping in harsh gasps as she heard the pirate stagger and trip backwards, retreating. She could almost imagine the sight of him with his own dagger sticking out of his eye socket and the mental image was almost enough to make her smile. A vicious, twisted part of her was glad that she hadn't killed the son of a bitch, glad that she had only wounded him. All of her, however, was glad that he knew it was her who did it.

Dimly Astrid realized that she was leaning against the wall, her back against the stone but she couldn't feel any of the earlier agony. Nothing past a deep ache that seemed to go all the way to her very bones. The poison had taken her far enough that she did not even feel the ragged edges of her skin tearing against the rough stone anymore. The thought should have bothered her but she found that she could not care. Turning her head to the side she saw that she was away from the opening of the cave, lost even deeper in the shadows. Straining to hear over the pounding of the blood in her ears, Astrid listened to the sound of someone shouting, their voice loud and authoritative rather than pitched with fear.

Someone was taking charge.

A faint smile on her lips, Astrid let her legs slide out from under her. She knew that she was far enough from the cave's entrance that if they ran, which was what they should do, they wouldn't see her. She could feel the blood soaking her shirt and the sweat staining her forehead and she knew she did not want the others to see her like this. Not now. Not when her blood, the dragon's blood and the blood of Alvin the not so poor but honest farmer's blood all stained her body. Dimly she realized that the blood had probably matted her hair too. That was the trouble with being a blonde girl. Blood in her hair, the cut ragged from the dragon's teeth, Astrid frowned. That would never do for her wedding to the chief's son. Especially not since Hiccup had always loved to tangle his fingers in her hair. Dizzily Astrid breathed out, feeling the world tilt even though somewhere deep inside she knew it was her ruined body falling to the side. She barely felt it when her cheek struck the stone.

The last thing she was aware of was the oddly familiar roar of a dragon.


	23. Chapter 23

It was getting difficult not to inhale.

Whoever said that drowning was peaceful clearly had never drowned in the opinion of Hiccup Horendous Haddock the Third who, after very nearly drowning twice in a handful of days, considered himself something of an expert. He looked down at his bleeding leg, Hiccup strained to see though the darkness for the Skullions, praying that this would work while simultaneously dreading the feeling of teeth shredding his skin.

He could see in the water, the light was enough out here. But he only could see darkness where the island was. Where the Skullions would be coming from. He thought he could see movement but logically he knew it was in his head. From what he knew the Skullions were fast, really fast. Fast enough that when they came from him they weren't going to waste time. He fought against the reflex to inhale, keeping his eyes on the shadows. He didn't mind the idea of dying as much as he minded the idea of dying without knowing he had done everything to save his friends.

Then, as if the Gods had answered his prayer, he saw unmistakable movement.

If the Skullions had been frightening before, now they were downright terrifying. The massive dragon slithered through the water with shocking ease, nostrils wide and jaws open to expose it's teeth as far as possible. There was one to begin with but soon other's followed, shooting through the water with surprising speed as they came towards his bleeding leg.

The fear that gripped him was paralyzing in it's intensity and suddenly all the noble thoughts he had about self sacrifice went out of his head.

The burn of in his throat was worse as his heart began to pound ten times as quickly with raw panic. He wanted to look up, wanted to see if he had a chance to save himself but he could not take his eyes off the dragons that slid towards him. The world seemed to grow darker as his body yearned for oxygen. Hiccup had never thought he'd have to make the choice between being ripped apart by dragons and drowning but that seemed to be the place he found himself in.

Until his body decided for him.

He was powerless to stop the inhale as his lungs tried to fill themselves. The water that filled his nose was agony but it was nothing compared to it going down his throat. The dragons were getting closer but it was impossible to worry about them as his body tried for air and found only water. One moment they seemed to be fairly far away and the next the teeth of the fastest was so close that he saw the glistening of the dragon's teeth as they reached for his flesh.

He was in too much pain to think about everything that his death meant he would not do. To think about the life that he would not have now that he was going to die in the middle of the ocean so far away from Berk. He just hoped that his father and Toothless would somehow figure out that he wasn't on the debris of that boat. That he had chosen his death, that he'd met his end doing something noble instead of being tied to a ship. Instead of being a loser like he'd spent most of his life being told that he was.

Just when the darkness made him think he would not have to feel his flesh being ripped apart, something seized the back of his shirt and yanked him out of the water.

For a moment Hiccup was sure that he was dead. That he was being literally pulled into the afterlife. Then he realized that he was still looking at the Skullions which were still snapping at him, his mouth was still full of sea water and his entire body still felt as if he was closer to dying than being alive. He was too surprised to react as his body was swung over the water and found himself hanging over planks of wood before being deposited on all fours. The thump was enough to force his lips open as he spat up sea water.

Coughing Hiccup continued to spit up water as firm hand clapped him across the back.

He knew that hand, he'd know it anywhere.

Swiping the hair plastered to his forehead back, Hiccup raised his head to looked at the owner of the hand, only to be slapped again, this time by something that was unmistakably _not_ a human hand. But it was done in a perfect imitation of the slap that he had been given. Coughing for an entirely different reason, Hiccup turned around and looked at the two figures sitting behind him crouched anxiously over his body.

"Dad?" Hiccup stared up at his father before his eyes swung over, "Toothless?"

WIth a yelp of pure joy, Toothless seized them both in his paws, clutching the massive viking and his son to his chest and closing his wings over the pair of them, wiggling back and forth in the dragon equivalent of a group hug. Hiccup was stunned, his head spinning as he breathed in the familiar scent of his father and the dragon. Toothless was alive, Stoick was there, they hadn't killed each other and somehow they managed to find him.

The dragon's wings relaxed fractionally, just enough to let the light in. Stoick moved and got to his feet but before Hiccup could do the same Toothless' wings wrapped around him and dragged him back tightly against his chest for another hug. The dragon squeezed him tightly as if he was never going to let him go. Even though his hand was trapped by his side thanks to the tight grip of the dragon's limbs, he managed to pat his hand against the dragon's scaly stomach.

"I missed you too buddy," he said to the dragon.

Slowly Toothless loosened his wings, angling his head downwards to look at the boy balanced on his chest. Hiccup looked up into his dragon's massive yellow eyes and realized suddenly that he was close to tears. He was safe, Toothless was there, his _father_ was there. Toothless looked at him curiously and let out a whistle of concern. Hiccup forced his tears back and smiled at his dragon.

"It's okay," he said pushing himself up.

His father slid a hand under his arm and helped him to his feet, compensating for the lack of prosthesis. Hiccup looked up at his father, amazed that Stoick was there. From the look in his father's eyes he knew he had to look terrible. About as bad as he currently felt which was pretty close to the worst he'd ever felt in his life. His eyes left his father's and Hiccup realized that they weren't alone on the boat.

He looked around the deck, recognizing the familiar sight of Gobber and a few other vikings he recognized. Most of the people, however, were complete strangers dressed in equally strange clothes. His eyes landed on a massive red haired woman who seemed to be the only one to rival his father in terms of sheer size. Her equally massive dragon was beside her and next to that dragon was none other than-

"Stormfly!" Hiccup looked at Camicazi's dragon before tearing his eyes away and looking back at the rocks, "Dad, I've got to go."

"Hiccup?" Stoick looked at his son, obviously about to tell him he wasn't going anywhere.

"The other's, they're still trapped in the cave!" Hiccup looked around, all questions of how his father got there erased from his head, "I need-" he looked around, "did you bring my-"

He cut himself off with a yelp as pain shot though his leg.

Looking down he saw that Toothless had managed to grab his prosthetic and snap it on when he wasn't looking. The dragon peered anxiously up at him, waving his tail back and forth to show that his own red tail fin was already strapped in place. Toothless let out a whistle of encouragement before turning to the side. Hiccup grabbed the saddle and swung himself in. He hadn't flown on Toothless without the aide of his harness but there was no time to worry about the straps of it.

The adrenaline had kicked in, belaying the weariness he felt. His lungs still burned and his leg still ached but he ignored those things. His only thought was on getting to the cave and saving his friends. That and making certain Alvin the treacherous did not get away. He looked down at his father, reached up and swiping his dripping hair out of his eyes.

"You've got to bring the boat around to the other side of the island," he said in a rush, "there's another boat there. With some of the crew still on it. You can't let Alvin get away," he looked at Stormfly, "she knows where it is."

Stoick looked at his son as if Hiccup had grown a second head but Hiccup had no time to explain. Or even to ask how his father had gotten there. But all that Hiccup could think of was that even though he'd managed to lure some of the Skullions away from the cave his friends were still in there. And Alvin might still be right, they could be dead for all he knew. But with Toothless there he was no longer helpless to do anything but fall on their enemy. Now he could do something useful. Something to really help them that maybe wouldn't involve everyone dying.

"Please Dad," he said, praying that Stoick would trust him.

Much to his shock his father gave a curt nod.

"You heard the lad!" Gobber shouted, "bring the boat hard to port!"

"Thank you," Hiccup said before looking at Toothless "come on buddy, lets go!"

Toothless pushed easily off the boat, his massive wings snapping open as he took to the skies. Hiccup steered him out across the waves, bringing the dragon as low to the water as he could. The only opening to the cave that he knew of was that open hole that was crawling with Skullions. Toothless shot low across the waves as Hiccup thought of another way.

"Hey Toothless!" the dragon looked back at him, "do you know what a Skullion is?"

The dragon snorted and looked at him before speeding up. He felt the dragon's sides expand as Toothless took a deep breath. HIccup sucked in his own lungful as Toothless glanced back to make sure he had before tucking his wings and shooting through the water. Hiccup flattened himself against the dragon as the writhing bodies of the Skullions came into view. He squeezed his eyes shut against the blood in the water as he felt Toothless spin.

The dragon shot upwards, breaking the waves with a deafening roar.

Hiccup shook the wet hair out of his eyes as Toothless fired a ball of fame directly into the nearest Skullion before turning around and sinking his teeth into the back of the one next to it. With a beat of his wings, Toothless rose above the Skullions. Hiccup looked down at the dragons with their eyeless, earless heads. The sharp, vicious teeth continued to snap as their nostrils widened, locking onto Toothless's scent. Except for one who lunged towards the vikings.

"Toothless!" he shouted.

The dragon let out a precise blast of fire, burning the dragon's head off before it could hurt their friends. Toothless tucked his wings and dropped onto the ground. He turned his head towards Hiccup's leg and nudged it with his nose, urging the boy off his back. Hiccup looked down at the dragon before realizing that without his harness, many of Toothless' more acrobatic stunts would be impossible to perform. Hiccup slid off the dragon's back, landing on his feet. Even though his stump was in pain it hurt a lot less with his prosthetic instead of a piece of wood. Toothlesss nudged him back to his friends before turning back to the dragons, the growl that came from his mouth turning into a loud roar before the Night Fury dove headfirst into the pit of dragons.

"Are you guys okay?" Hiccup demanded turning to his friends.

The other vikings all looked shell shocked, their eyes wide and the makeshift weapons they carried were hanging limply in their grips. Even with the warmth from Toothless's blast of fire they were soaked, their heavy ornate cloaks dripping water onto the stones. They were looking at him with disbelief, as if they could not believe what they were seeing. Hiccup glanced over his shoulder at the wet sound of Toothless ripping a Skullion clear in half, throwing each end to the opposite walls of the cave before blasting them with fire. With an impressive barrel role, the dragon destroyed another two Skullions with his flames.

"Yeah," Tuffnut looked at him, seemingly shocked into seriousness, "we're fine man. But how-" he looked at Toothless.

"I don't know," Toothless said.

"You don't know?" Snotlout demanded loudly, "what do you mean 'you don't know'?"

"I didn't stop and ask! I got back here as quickly as I could," Hiccup said to his cousin, "I thought you guys were in trouble!"

"We are in trouble! But not as much as we're going to be when Uncle Stoick finds out that you managed to bring your dragon on the hunting trip!" Snotlout bellowed.

"Would you forget about the stupid hunting trip?" Tuffnut shouted, "we were kidnapped by a crazed pirate and our parents think we're on the bottom of the ocean! We should have brought every dragon on Berk with us on this hunting trip!"

T.T. popped his head up and let out a whistle of agreement.

"I mean dragons who can actually do something!" Tuffnut yelled, earning a dirty look from the terror.

"Guys-" Hiccup began.

"Hey don't get mad a me for worrying about staying whole when we get back!" Snotlout said.

"Guys-"

"Why don't you worry about getting back in one piece first?"

"Shut up!" Ruffnut bellowed, silencing her twin and Snotlout.

"My dad brought Toothless," Hiccup said.

"Your dad _what_?" three voices demanded in unison.

Hiccup looked at the vikings before looking over at the Night Fury as Toothless let out a snarl before snapping one of the remaining Skullions. The dragon's head half out of his mouth, Toothless still managed to grin in Hiccup's direction. It was easy sometimes to forget how vicious Toothless' reputation was. But watching the Night Fury weave around the Skullions, destroying them in his path, it was impossible to forget the terror that the dragon had once been famous for.

His eyes moved across the cave to where Dogsbreath was standing. The bow in his hand was still nocked but the rider seemed to know enough not to fire and risk hitting the Night Fury. He looked over at the group of them and flashed a grin in their direction before turning to look back at the Night Fury destroying the handful of remaining Skullions with the kind of delight that only came from watching something that had threatened you get what it deserved.

Hiccup looked for Camicazi and Astrid. After the dragon rider's words about Night Furies he wanted to see her face when she looked at the dragon. At _his_ dragon. But Camicazi wasn't looking at Toothless. She was crouched by the far wall, one of her hands grasping an ornate sword that matched the other she held. The look on her face was unlike any Hiccup had seen. His gaze moved downwards to see what was laying underneath the blade.

His heart lurched when he recognized the blue and white and blood stained cloak.

"Where's Astrid?" he demanded, turning and looking at his friends.

His friends traded looks that did nothing for his plummeting heart. Several of them opened their mouths before closing them, seemingly unable or unwilling to tell him what was going on. It was like some sick joke. The best dragon hunter in their group was dead? Was killed by a _dragon_? Hiccup opened his mouth angrily to demand that someone tell him what was going on, even though the rest of him did not want to know.

"She went into the water," Fishlegs said quietly, "to try and get to the other side of the cave so she could get us out."

"What?" Hiccup gasped, horror flooding him as he turned back to the water.

There were only two Skullions left but to his panic fogged mind it seemed like when they had first flown into the cave there had been thousands of the dragons. Thousands of dragons and no way for Astrid to make it through them all. His mind immediately went to when he was waiting for the Skullions to eat him in the water, before his father had rescued him. What if the reason they had taken so long had been because they had already found prey? What if Astrid had been eaten by them? What if she had died to try and save their friends?

What if she had died thinking that _he_ was dead?

Desperately Hiccup took a step forward towards the edge of the water, looking down at the blood filled liquid as if by jumping in it he could grab her back. Even if the truth was that she was already long gone. The water churned violently as Toothless crushed another dragon, the liquid sloshing over the lip of the stone and splashing his boot. It was indistinguishable from the other water and blood that stained the tops of his boots but the idea that her blood could be on his boot made his stomach roll.

Remembering their words, he turned around and hurried over to the opening of the cave. If Astrid had made it to the other side, if the cave was open, then there was a chance she was alive. The light from the main cavern was minimal but he could see that the rocks that had blocked off the entrance were spread out across the tunnel floor, spreading into the thicker darkness. Someone had pulled the rocks out and his heart began to pound for an entirely different reason.

"Astrid?" he called into the cave, his eyes straining through the darkness.

But he could hear nothing.

Hiccup stepped forward, his prosthetic tapping against the stone as he struggled not to stumble on the stones. A roar from the inside of the cave drew his gaze back towards where the rest of the vikings were but he knew they were in good hands with Toothless. The sound from inside the depths of the tunnel was much lower but he heard the sound of staggering steps. Hiccup moved further into the tunnel, his ears straining to locate the sound of them. Either the staggering person was Astrid.

Or it was Alvin.

Hiccup's stomach twisted in an entirely different way at the thought. If Astrid wasn't replying then she was in trouble. There was no other reason for her to be quiet. And if she had been fighting he would have heard the sound of blades or of strikes or something. Not the silence, broken only by the staggering of heavy boot falls. An entirely different though occurred to Hiccup. If Astrid had survived the Skullions only to be hurt by Alvin-Hiccup refused to finish the thought. it was too awful to think. He wanted the pirate dead for what he had done but if he had hurt Astrid then Hiccup was going to make certain his death was very slow and very painful.

"It's open."

He turned his head to see Camicazi standing there, the twin swords grasped in her hands. The light was to her back so he could not see her expression. The way she said it though, it sounded as if she was numb. As if she could not fully believe what happened. He heard the sound of someone running forward and moments later Dogsbreath appeared behind her. Camicazi did not turn at the sound of her friend approaching her, her eyes remaining firmly on the darkness that stretched ahead of them.

From deep inside someone laughed.

Hiccup's eyes widened. The low chuckle sent chills down Hiccup's spine as it began to rise in pitch and intensity. Soon the entire cave seemed to echo with the sound of maniacal laughter, though it was the kind of laughter that held absolutely no joy. As if the person laughing was only doing so because there simply was nothing else left for them to feel. It was enough to fill Hiccup's veins with ice. Since the laugh that echoed in the darkness was unmistakably Alvin's.

Behind him he heard Camicazi's teeth grind together in fury at the sound. She was furious, just as furious as he was and in that moment Hiccup was certain he understood the red haired woman better than he'd understood anyone in his life. Alvin had tortured them both, all so that he could get his hands on the treasure that was back in the cave. Treasure that could not be worth what they had gone through to get there. All the while Alvin's maniacal laughter continued to echo from the depths of the cave.

"Hey guys? We've got to get the rest of these people out of here," Dogsbreath said abruptly, "you know, in a way that doesn't involve going through Skullion infested water?"

"We need something to see with," Hiccup said, forcing himself out of the anger, "Astrid could be hurt-we've got to find her," Hiccup added moving back towards the cave.

"Okay I'll find something in the cave," Dogsbreath said, "it's a good thing we've got a dragon here that can breathe fire, huh? Right Camicazi?" he said, "Camicazi?"

Hiccup looked over just in time to see the red haired dragon rider take off into the darkness. His eyes widened. She was going off to fight Alvin in the darkness, without any sort of light, against a man who usually fought with one eye covered.

"Cami-" Dogsbreath began to shout but Hiccup lunged forward, clapping a hand over the dragon rider's mouth before he could say anything.

Their eyes locked and Hiccup was surprised at the amount of concern he saw in Dogsbreath's gaze. He was really worried for Camicazi, and not just in the way that a member of a tribe should worry about the heir to the leadership of the tribe. Forcing the information to the back of his mind, Hiccup pressed a finger to his lips and motioned for the dragon rider's silence. Dogsbreath gave him a look that said he'd much rather go charging after Camicazi but he didn't try to shout again.

"Okay Camicazi!" he said loudly, "you go and get something to use as poles. Dosgbreath and I will get something to, uh, light on fire!"

Understanding flared in Dogsbreath's eyes as he realized that Hiccup was trying to give Camicazi a shot at killing the pirate. The dragon rider gave a short nod ad Hiccup pulled the hand back from his mouth, jerking his head towards the cave. Slowly the two of them retreated back into the main part of the cave, away from the tunnel where the pirate and the dragon rider were about to begin fighting.

The sight that greeted them could not have been more different from the one they had left behind. Toothless was rooting around in the treasure, a lopsided crown dangling from one ear. There were no more Skullions, just a few singed patches of stone to show where Toothless had obliterated the bodies that had made it out of the water. At the sound of Hiccup's foot, the dragon's head flew up and he bounded over to Hiccup, something clutched in his jaws.

"Where's Astrid?" Fishlegs asked.

"I couldn't find her," Hiccup said, "we've got to make torches out of this stuff," he looked around at the treasure, "come on. Try to find something here we can use as a stick. We need to get-" he stopped as Toothless nudged him.

Hiccup looked down. Toothless was holding a sword in his mouth. The dragon nudged it into his hands. It was surprisingly heavy in his hands. Instead of being ornate or bejeweled like everything else in the cave, the sword was a simple affair. The scabbard was made of dark leather that matched the leather strips wrapped around the hilt of the sword. Toothless looked from the sword to Hiccup before bounding over to the treasure and shuffling through it, finding a wide belt of gold and racing back, forcing the belt into his hands.

"Okay okay," Hiccup said, realizing that Toothless was attempting to arm him. Quickly Hiccup buckled the gold belt around his waist and stuck the sword into it, "there, see?" he said holding out his hands for Toothless to lean forward and inspect him.

The sound of tearing fabric drew his eyes over to the other side of the cave where Ruffnut and Fishlegs were holding long ornate staffs as Dogbsreath sliced Astrid's cloak into long strips to make something the torches could burn. Beside them Tuffnut held a similar staff but curled around the top was T.T. who seemed determined to be more helpful after Tuffnut's earlier insult. Toothless let out a sound and looked at Hiccup before running over to the side and coming back with another treasure clutched in his mouth. This time, however, it was an ornate looking lamp.

"Sorry buddy but I don't think there's any fuel," Hiccup said, looking down at the block of concealed oil.

Toothless sniffed the lamp before raising himself up and letting out a precise blast of flame. Much to Hiccup's shock the fuel caught and light began to blossom from the lamp. He looked over at Toothless who let out a satisfied sound and settled back on his hind legs, looking distinctly smug at the accomplishment.

"Thanks," Hiccup said to the dragon, "hey can you go find more of these?" Toothless looked at him suspiciously, "I'm just going to check, I'll stay where you can see me."

Toothless narrowed his eyes before turning and hurrying over to the treasure before Tuffnut could use T.T. as a lantern. Hiccup walked over to the tunnel and lifted the lantern, trying to widen the light. There was no maniacal laughter echoing in the tunnel, no shuffle of footsteps, though dimly he thought he could hear the sound of steel clanging on steel. His heart began to race as he stepped further into the cave, past the rocks, half dreading what the light of the lantern would show him. But he forced himself forward. If Astrid was hurt he had to find her. She could not be the one of them that did not make it through this.

Staying in the middle of the tunnel where Toothless would clearly be able to see him from the front of the tunnel, Hiccup moved further through the darkness. There were pockets of darkness to the side, pockets he hoped that he would not have to search. He advanced slowly, even though he wanted to do nothing more than run until he found Astrid. With each passing moment he was more and more certain that she was in trouble. More and more certain that he needed to find her.

His prosthetic struck something.

Hiccup lifted the lantern and looked down at the ground.

Laying a few inches from his prosthetic was a very ornate, very bloody dagger.

Panic seized Hiccup. He had handled enough weapons to recognize the blood that coated the hilt of the blade. The person who had used the blade had been bleeding heavily when they did. They had been hurt as well and immediately his mind jumped to the worst conclusion. Raising the lantern higher over his head, Hiccup stepped towards the wall of the cave and lifted the lantern higher. The wall in front of him was dry but the relief he felt was fleeting at best. Turning towards the other wall of the cave, Hiccup walked over to it as quickly as he could, praying that he would find the same clean stone. The lantern was by his side as he made his way over but he forced himself to lift it. Forced himself to face the pounding of his heart and the fear that gripped his throat.

Fear that only got worse when the light from his lantern illuminated the fresh, wet stain on the rocks.

It was a struggle to reach out and touch the stain, to feel the wetness underneath his fingers. He knew they would come away red but that did nothing to console him as he looked at the bright color. Someone had leaned against the wall and bled against it. The stain dragged to the side, showing where they had pulled away from the wall before a hand dragged through the blood and pulled it across the wall. Whoever was hurt had been wounded badly. Hiccup was deaf to Toothless' sharp cry of alarm at his disappearance from the entrance of the tunnel as he looked at the blood stain.

Raising the lantern higher, Hiccup set back across the tunnel, following the line of blood that had been dragged along the rocks, praying to every God whose name he could remember that the blood did not belong to Astrid.

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**Okay so I think that Toothless can swim (obviously) even if it's only for short distances. In the movie it's never really specified if he can or can't and we see things to support both arguments. If you're inclined to think that he can't then that's fine. But please be respectful in expressing your opinion. Thank you. **


	24. Chapter 24

**Valley of the Deranged made a cool pic detailing Hiccup and Astrid in their winter gear. Go check it out!**

**Also big thanks to Bintavivi who listened to me ramble, gave some great advice and helped me get my ass in gear for the Hiccup/Astrid extravaganza that is the next chapter of this story. **

* * *

Anger made it very hard to let her other senses compensate for the darkness.

Camicazi tried to let them do that but it was difficult to focus on the lap of nearby water, on the soft sound of her boots on the stones. Difficult to try and see where Alvin was when his maniacal laughter stopped echoing around the confines of the tunnel. Difficult, because the only sound the young dragon rider particularly wanted to hear at the moment was the wet sound of her blades tearing through his innards.

Without warning, a fist buried itself in her stomach.

Her eyes widened as the air fled from her lungs. She felt Alvin beside her, the edges of his headscarf brushing her shoulder. Her anger worsened as she felt the hand that was not buried in her stomach steady her shoulder. He was calm, controlled, nothing like the man who had laughed so maniacally moments earlier. She felt him lean forward, bringing their faces closer together.

"Come to finish it, have you?" Alvin questioned as she remained doubled over his fist.

Camicazi gasped for air with lungs that no longer seemed to work. Alvin could have continued, she braced herself for his next blow, but the only thing she felt quick twist at her wrist as one of her blades was wretched free of her grasp. She opened her hand, letting the sword go rather than risk her wrist and fingers. The blade did not clatter to the ground, it whispered through the air as Alvin drew back, the prize in his hand.

"Well then," his voice came from somewhere to her left, "let's finish it."

"For once it seems we agree," she snapped, turning and slicing her blade through the air.

Their blades met with a terrific sound that echoed all around the tunnel. Camicaizi disengaged him before striking again, keeping her movements small to compensate for the lack of sight. She sent a series of fast, short blows his way, letting the clang of metal on metal guide her. He was quick but she was faster, not allowing him to move out of the way without risking getting cut by her blade. All the while her eyes scanned the darkness, looking for any glimmer of light, for any way out of there. Anything to give her some kind of advantage.

"For the record," Alvin said, "we've agreed before this."

"No," Camicazi snapped, "I'm just good at lying to you."

"So, why the sudden honesty?" he asked.

"Because I've got my alliance with the vikings from Berk," she said, "so I don't need you to bring me to that treasure after all," she grinned in the darkness, "but thanks anyway."

"You're welcome," he snapped, the note of anger in his tone bringing an even wider smile to his face, "speaking of vikings from Berk, was your rescue by our fearless Hiccup everything you dreamed it would be?" he continued as they traded blows.

"It was well enough," Camicazi said, sidestepping the thrust of his sword in the dark, "for someone whose barely had time to learn to properly ride a dragon."

The pirate chucked at that as they moved through the tunnel trading blows with neither truly getting ahead. Alvin may have had the advantage with usually fighting with one eye but out of the pair of them Camicazi was the faster swordsman and was able to counter. Still Camicazi could feel the sweat beading her forehead and she knew that unless she got light soon so that she could see where she was striking, there was a good chance she was going to be killed with her own blade.

An unmistakable splash reached her ear as one of Alvin's feet stepped in a puddle of water. She heard the pirate step back. Camciazi swung her blade down and up, scraping the tip across the ground and flicking water up in the general direction of Alvin's face. If he was surprised like she intended, he did not react like she had hoped, their blades continuing to meet with ease. Still she managed to force the pirate towards where she roughly knew the light would be.

A roar echoed from somewhere near the cave, though it did not halt either of their blades.

"Friends of yours?" Alvin asked lightly.

"Don't worry," Camicazi said, "no-one gets to kill you but me."

Alvin laughed at that, though his laugh this time lacked the maniacal edge. He found it funny, as if her threat held no actual merit to it. Camicazi fought the desire to hit him outright and instead was forced to settle for blocking the blows he sent her way with a bit more force than before. But she could not sacrifice speed for satisfaction. Not when he still had such a great advantage, being far more used to fighting with his vision compromised than she was to fighting on the ground at all.

As she swung her blade Camicazi realized that she could see a glimmer across the polished metal. Hope raced through her as she realized that light was nearby. Near enough that as she forced him backwards she could see that he was wearing his headscarf, even though they had been fighting in the darkness of the tunnels. Shoving the thought aside as more habit than anything else, Camicazi lunged forward and drove him back with renewed vigor.

"Tell me something," Alvin said, "how long have you been planning this? Weeks? Months?"

"Depends," Camicazi said, "how long have I been on that Gods cursed ship of yours?"

"That long?" she saw the light shine off of Alvin's features, revealing the smile he sent her way, "I'm impressed."

"Don't be," she snapped, finding the thought of him being impressed with her disgusting.

He locked blades with her without warning, the twin swords grating against each other as his weight pressed against hers. He was painfully close, close enough for her to smell the stink of salt water and sweat and blood on him. She was light, even for a Dragon Rider and Alvin was much heavier from years on the sea. Even after a few heartbeats she could feel her arms ache with the strain of keeping his blade away from her throat. Only the thought that the next blood he spilt would be _her_ blood on her own damn sword kept her holding him off.

"So," she said, fighting to focus on something other than the ache of her own muscles, "was it always your plan to abandon us in that cave or did inspiration strike you?"

"Well you didn't really expect me to kill those Skullions did you?" he asked.

"Of course not," Camcazi said, "you don't k-kill dragons," she continued, shifting her feet, "you don't get your own treasure. Tell me is there _anything_ you do on your own?"

"You'd be shocked at just how willing people are to do things for me," he said, "after a bit of persuasion."

Quickly Camicazi's foot snaked out, hooking around the back of Alvin's leg and yanking forward as she pushed with her arms, throwing him off balance. His blade blocked the swing she sent his way, but Camicazi stepped back before he was able to lock blades with her once more. He may have had one hand, but that hand was _strong_. Camicazi parried his blow before returning it with several rapid strikes, forcing him back. His speed was infuriating but not surprising. After all, one did not become as feared as he was without being able to dominate in a fight.

"Persuasion?" Camicazi smirked, "is that what you're calling it these days?"

Alvin let out a harsh laugh, easily trading her blows and allowing himself to be moved backwards. The breeze blew from somewhere to her left and she forced him towards it, putting more strength into her blows to move him quicker. If she could make it to the light they'd be on more equal ground, If she could make it there then she stood a chance in this fight, not just of surviving but of making the one handed pirate pay for all that she had done to keep up the charade of loyalty.

The light in the cave was just beginning to give way when he yanked her off balance.

Camicazi staggered forward, barely managing to bring her sword up to deflect what would have been a fatal blow. As it was the sword bit deep into the skin of her chest, dragging a gash towards her shoulder and tearing a cry from her throat. Staggering back, Camicazi resisted the urge to press her hand against the wound, knowing there was little she could do. Alvin made no move to press the sword to her throat, to end the fight in spite of the massive opening she had given him. Her temper flared when she realized why.

The son of a bitch was playing with her.

They both knew he was the better fighter, that he had manipulated them into this situation. They both knew it and yet he wanted to rub salt into the wound. To make sure that when she died at his hand she died frustrated and angry and knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that every attempt she made to get the better of him had failed. Camicazi glared at the shadowed figure, tightening her grip on the sword with her good hand.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you it was rude to play with your food?" Camicazi questioned.

Alvin chucked at that as she moved her arm as if to lash out with her blade. He red her movement perfectly, bringing his own sword in position. At the last moment, Camicazi did the only thing she could and turned and ran as fast as she could to the mouth of the cave and out onto the rocks. She needed something to level the playing field, especially now that she was injured. Blinking in the sudden change of light, Camicazi focused her gaze on the mouth of the cave, surprised that Alvin was not hot on her heels.

"What's the matter?" Camcazi called into the cave, "not hungry anymore?"

No laughter reached her ear and Camicazi felt the first stir of something like fear. Taking advantage of the momentary pause, Camicazi looked down at the gash she had been dealt. It was deep and vicious but thankfully she could not feel anything that suggested she was poisoned. Unfortunately, she could not feel her arm either. Forcing herself to breathe, Camicazi reminded herself that getting upset was not going to help anything. Furthermore, getting upset was probably going to get her killed. She needed to be calm. Or at the very least in control of her emotions.

"Alvin?" she called, taking a step towards the mouth of the cave, "did the Skullions get you?"

He did not reply. A part of her knew he was waiting for her in the shadows but a cold stab of fear echoed in her. What if he had gone back? What if he had decided to get his hands dirty and gone back to kill the others? Her insides clenched. Normally she would like the odds the others had but it was Alvin and that meant assuming anything was a very bad idea. Adjusting her grip, Camicazi stepped forward towards the mouth of the cave.

The sound of a stone whistling though the air was all the warning she had before his blade came towards her. Camicazi twisted away from the rock out of instinct, barely managing to bring her sword up in time to block the chopping blow he sent her way. As it was she felt the echoes all down her forearm. Alvin stepped out of the cave and it became clear why Alvin had wanted to keep this fight in the dark.

He was injured.

The dark, fresh stain spread across the green fabric of his headscarf. He was used to fighting with one eye covered but judging from where the stain was the wettest, Camicazi had a feeling that he wasn't fighting that way by choice. Someone had hurt him and done a very good job of it. His skin was pale and covered in sweat, more than it should have been given the length of their fight. Something must have shown on her face because his lips twisted into a grim smile before he winced as the skin around his injury pulled.

"What-" she began.

"Oh lets not play concerned," Alvin scoffed, "I know this only means you'll be even more upset when I kill you," he paused, "or you'll think your victory was not well earned," he shrugged, "neither of which is true."

Camicazi raised an eyebrow before shrugging her one good shoulder in response, liking the second of the two outcomes much better than the first. A deep, prideful part of her disliked the fact that someone else had wounded him before she did. Though the list of people who wanted to hurt him was long, Camicazi knew she ranked higher on that list than any of the Hairy Hooligans did. From the glint in Alvin's eyes she could see he seemed to share her point of view.

"They're a fair amount of trouble, aren't they?" she asked, not lowering her sword even though Alvin had yet to make another move towards attacking her.

"You have no idea," Alvin said.

"Though I suppose if it was easy to get their treasure-" she began.

"Or their dragons," Alvin interjected, earning a glare from the flame haired dragon rider.

"But I guess I owe you a thank you," Camicazi said, "see you wouldn't know this, since you won't get your hand dirty," she continued at his incredulous look, "but the easiest way to get people on your side is through an outside enemy."

In spite of the injury to his face, Alvin's eye narrowed in suspicion and a very shameful part of her jumped up and down in pure joy. Alvin didn't attack her, seemingly intrigued by what she was about to say and it took everything Camicazi had not to lower her sword. With a smile, Camicazi stepped forward, keeping out of range of Alvin but coming close enough to make certain he heard every word of what she was going to say.

"See, while you were out being a complete asshole," she said, "I've been helping out our little one-legged future Chief and his blonde friend," Alvin's gaze became even more suspicious, "that means when we get back to Berk, and believe me we will, the Bog Burglar's are going to continue to have their Dragons," she smiled again, "but the good news is you can keep whatever treasure wasn't sunken by the dragons or the vikings. I know you don't know this but that fight got pretty intense back there."

Alvin stood still for a moment and for that moment Camicazi basked in the pure, unadulterated joy of being _right_. Of pulling one over the pirate who had held his uncanny ability to get what he wanted over her head for longer than she would care to admit. For one impossibly amazing moment she was able to know exactly how it felt to beat Alvin the Treacherous at his own sick, twisted little game. And it felt incredible.

Then the moment passed as a chuckle escaped the pirate's lips and all the joy Camicazi felt was replaced with dread.

"Well done," Alvin said, and the pride in his tone made her sick, "very well done. I must say, I am impressed-and though I know you told me not to be, I assume your bragging about this victory invites such a reaction."

Camicazi could only glare to hide the sick feeling as the pirate continued to speak.

"I wonder though, how your new friendship with the future Chief of the Hooligan Tribe will fare when he discovers the rather untimely demise of his, how did you put it, 'blonde friend'?"

"What are you talking about?" Camicazi demanded.

Alvin stepped back and lowered his sword, tucking the weapon under his arm to free his hand. Reaching behind him he pulled out a dagger stained with ruby blood and a thick, faintly green substance. He dropped the dagger onto the rocks between them, letting the mixture splatter the stones. By the time she looked up his sword was back in his hand, but her interest was on the knife. Or, more specifically, on the green substance coating every inch of it.

"I will say, that girl does not know when to quit," he said, "and I wouldn't bother with that if I were you," he advised when Camicazi took a step forward without realizing it, "the girl's already dead."

"No," Camicazi said.

"My apologies," Alvin said with a twisted sort of smile, "was it supposed to be you who saved everyone?"

With a yell, Camicazi lunged forward, lashing out with her sword. Alvin caught the blow and deflected it, bringing his own blade back to return her strikes. Again and again their blades met, adrenaline fueling their attacks. An urgency gripped them, weariness, injuries even the poison that seeped through Alvin's veins was all eclipsed by the fight. Both were aware that every game they had played had led up to this moment. Moves had been played, strategies tried and failed, all leading up to this one final battle for victory.

They fought quickly, moving across the rocks, barely giving a thought to footing. Fighting on a boat had given them both balance and an almost automatic sense of where to place their feet on the unforgiving terrain. The slick wood of the Outcast it was not, but the stones presented their own challenges. Above the clang of swords, Camicazi could hear the echo of the waves breaking against the rocks and began to shift her feet towards that. Alvin went along with it, making her think that he saw the advantage in the precarious position as well. Confidence surged through her. He may have been around ships longer but she was more experienced when it came to heights.

Soon they found themselves on the edge of the cliffs, the ocean crashing to one side and the rocks dropping off steeply to the other. A fall to either side would mean the end of the fight and most likely the end of the fighter. Camicazi could see Alvin's strength beginning to wane. His blows became more chaotic, holding less strength as they rained down on her. In spite of his earlier words, Camicazi began to feel the creep of disappointment at the thought it was the poison that would kill him rather than a decent fight.

"Stop being so honorable," Alvin snapped at her, the words spat out between labored breaths.

"Honor?" Camicazi laughed, "honor's a luxury for the rich, remember?"

"It's morals and yes, I do," Alvin said, "though all things considered I'd say you're about to become rather rich," he smirked, "one last morally scrupulous act?"

"Killing you would be the most moral thing I've done since I set foot on the Gods cursed ship of yours," Camicazi snapped, parrying the weak blow he sent her way and stepping back out of his reach, "but I'm not going to shove you off this cliff to get my way."

Alvin blinked at her, the shocked look on his face having nothing to do with surprise. Camicazi took a breath and stepped back again, putting more distance between them as Alvin swayed slightly on his feet. The dragon rider could feel her heart pounding in her chest from more than just the adrenaline as she took another step back. Alvin could be pretending but she would have enough time now to see his attack coming. However his sword dropping tip first towards the ground made her think that was not going to be happening.

"You've got what you wanted," Alvin said, as if that was the explanation for her not killing him.

"Yes," Camicazi agreed, "I do," she swallowed against the odd feeling in her throat, "but that's not why I won't kill you," she looked at him, meeting his gaze clearly, "you want me to kill you."

He looked at her incredulously. As soon as the words left her mouth she wished she could take them back. Back in the cave she would have ran him through the moment she had the opportunity. He deserved that. He deserved to die and she deserved to know that she killed him. But as she looked at his pale, sweat soaked skin she realized that as satisfying as a quick death would be for the pirate, he deserved worse. And she deserved to leave this island without his blood on her hands.

"You want me to kill you," Camicazi continued, "because you've been terrified of dying because of a dragon since one bit your hand off," Alvin's eyes widened, "so I'm not going to kill you because you deserve this. You deserve to waste away as the Skullion poison works its way through your system," her voice trembled with anger, "you deserve everything that's going to happen to you on this Gods forsaken spit of land."

Her breath caught in her throat and much to her shame she felt tears threaten her as she watched Alvin's fingers loosen until the sword dropped from his hand to clatter over the side of the cliff and into the frothy depths below. Her foot stepped backwards slowly, body listening to logic even as her heart howled for her to murder the bastard where he swayed. She continued to back away until he dropped to his knee, his handless arm coming out to brace the weight of his body. It was a habit of his, she knew that. To do as much as he could with the handicap he had more than earned.

"Wait," the word was harsh, laced with rough desperation and in spite of everything her foot paused, "damn it," he swore, raising his head, "kill me."

Her head shook in refusal, her throat tight as she looked down at him, fighting the urge to run as far as she could away from him. His remaining eye locked on her, struggling to focus as the poison gripped him tighter. Camicazi stared down at him, unable to tear her eyes away even though she knew that she should. That if she did not, there was a chance she would give into his request. Like she had done before. Clearly he was counting on it, his eye remaining locked with hers longer than she could stand without blinking.

"Please," the request was foreign and soft on his lips and for the first time she thought she saw fear in his eyes, "if you ev-"

"No," the refusal was flat and definite as she glared at him, unwilling to hear what he was about to say, what line he was about to cross, "goodbye Alvin," she said, stepping backwards again.

It was only when she was far enough away that she could hear him coming that she turned around and showed her back to him. It was only when she heard the soft sound of him collapsing onto the rocks that she quickened her pace, rounding the corner from the narrow cliffs they had been fighting on back to the main slope of rocks. Breaking into a dead run, ignoring the jostling to her injured shoulder, Camicazi made it over to the knife. Shifting her sword she grabbed the dagger and shoved it into the waistband of her pants, taking care not to get poison and blood on anything but the fabric.

Camicazi looked at the mouth of the cave, Alvin's taunt about Astrid ringing in her ears. She had seen poison like the one coating the dagger. She knew how to treat poison like that and while she was in no hurry to fix Alvin she could save Astrid if there was time. If she hadn't gotten a direct dose from the fangs of the creature into an artery there was a chance. She had cleared the mouth of the cave which meant she had to be close to it.

Close enough that they had ran right past her.

Swearing, Camicazi wiped her hand on her pants as best she could before raising two fingers to her lips and whistling for her dragon. Spitting the bitter taste onto the ground, she looked to the sky as Stormfly rose over the rocks and flew towards her, landing lightly in front of her with a whistle of concern as the sight of her arm.

"I'm fine," Camicazi said going over to the saddle and opening a pocket to remove a dark leather pouch, "go get Seaslug and meet me back here alright?" she said.

Stormfly whistled again and kicked off, soaring upwards towards the heavens. Camicazi stepped back into the cool darkness of the cave, straining to hear anything that would lead her to the others. Did they even know where the blonde viking was? Camicazi hurried through the darkness, trying to remember which way she had gone before. The breeze gave way to the stifling musky air of the cave, air Camicazi had become far too used to breathing in. Straining to see in the darkness, her fingers tightened around the bag, reminding her of the urgency of the situation.

Just when she was about to shout for someone, hoping they could hear her, the sound of a lantern hitting the ground reached her ears.

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**Still over the anonymous drama. If you want to comment without an account hit up my email.**


	25. Chapter 25

**This chapter goes out to Bintavivi who was an amazing sound board and helped me with this chapter in numerous ways ****when it was first worked on two years ago. It also goes out to Kurrow1 who was the first person to tell me it was alright if I didn't finish the story. **

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The entire world had narrowed to a single point.

Hiccup didn't hear the lantern clatter or the pound of his friend's feet as they raced towards them. He was blind to Toothless' alarm, Camicazi's frantic approach. Nothing in the world seemed to matter other than the figure that lay crumpled against the far wall. She had dragged herself from the opening, that was the only explanation to why she was laying hidden to the side. He had walked right past her and if not for the painfully obvious line of blood, he would have missed her in the darkness. As it was the few feet away he stood from her seemed like an unbridgeable gap. He was paralyzed, even as the lantern he had dropped rolled away and her body was lost to the shadows once more.

Then the world rushed back into focus.

Later he would not be able to tell how he ran on his makeshift prosthetic. The blackness was thick and dark but he was able to make out the shape of her in the darkness. He fell to his knees, trying to imagine that it was water that soaked through his half dried pants. But every viking knew the smell of blood, knew the feel of it, even the youngest of them who hardly spent time on the battlefield. Reaching forward his fingers connected with more blood and rough stone. Scrambling forward his fingers groped for her, finally coming in contact with her shoulder.

"Astrid, Astrid-" her name was a low fumble on his lips as he pulled her up and against him, his fingers desperately trying to find unbroken skin, to not cause her more pain, "come on Astrid," he said, trying to inject some strength in his tone, "Astrid, come on, I know you can hear me."

But as his fingers slipped over torn skin and leather, Hiccup couldn't help but wonder if that was true. He could feel the blood coating his forearms and soaking through his pants. There was so much of it he wondered how it was possible she was still bleeding. Shifting her so that her shoulders lay in one of his arms. Reaching over with his other hand he pressed his fingers to her neck, searching for the beat of her heart. There was blood there as well, though whether it was from his hand or another wound he couldn't say. His fingers gripped her shoulder as he searched for the beat.

A soft sigh escaped her lips.

Hiccup held his breath as looked down at her, half certain he had imagined the sound. But he felt her tense against him as she stirred, the pain reaching her even in her unconsciousness. Hiccup tightened his hand against her, his eyes searching the faint outline of her face in the dark for any sign she was coming back. He felt her shift against him, the movement faint and so un-Astrid like that he felt his stomach drop. Risking a glance behind him he looked for the lantern but was unable to see it in the darkness. His eyes had adjusted enough to make out the vague shapes of things but with a light he could see what was wrong. He could help. He could-

"Hiccup?" the soft, confused murmur drew his gaze back to the viking in his arms

"Astrid," his eyes widened as they strained to make out the form of the young woman, "hey," he began, relief welling up in him.

"Hiccup you're-" her voice stopped, "am I-" she began.

"No," he cut in, "no you're fine," he said firmly, forcing his voice to be strong.

Even in the darkness he could feel the heat of her gaze on him. He realized then that the last time Astrid had seen him he had been dropped overboard by Stormfly. He had still been in the heavy furs and without his prosthetic. She probably thought that he had drowned. Gods, he almost had drowned. She had spent the past days thinking that he was dead. Instantly a hundred questions jostled in his brain. What had she done? What had she thought she had to do if she thought he was dead? Had she missed him? But he pushed them all aside, focusing on the woman in his arms. He wasn't dead and if he had anything to say about it she wasn't going to be dead either.

"You're fine," he repeated, needing to hear the words, needing her to hear them, "I'm alright too. Camicazi pulled me out of the water and now Toothless and my Dad are here," he told her, "they've come to take us home-" he looked back over his shoulder, "Toothless!" he called, "we need the lantern."

He heard the affirmative sound from his dragon before" turning back to Astrid.

"We'll get the light and I'll take a look at your back," he said, she gave no reply, "come on," he lightly urged her, "this is the part where you tell me that's a woman's job and I tell you 'but i've never had a woman' and you accuse me of being sexist," he looked down at her, "Astrid?"

"You're rambling," Astrid pointed out, "even I know," her breath hitched, "know not to interrupt."

"Yeah," Hiccup agreed, fighting the odd tightness in his throat, "I guess I do that a lot huh? Comes from spending a lot of time talking to a dragon."

Astrid made a soft sound of agreement. Hiccup heard the padding of Toothless's footsteps as the dragon came over quickly. In his mouth he held the softly glowing lantern. Glancing around the dragon gingerly set it down to Hiccup's right. The blacksmith closed his eyes against the light before blinking them open to look down at the young woman in his arms. Immediately he found he wished the lantern had not been lit at all. Blood soaked his forearms and pants from where Astrid's body was pressed against his. Irrationally he wondered if he could scrub the blood from his prosthetic before they got back to Berk or if he would have to throw it away.

Angrily he pushed the cowardly distraction away and forced himself to look at Astrid. Her clothing was different, obviously courtesy of Alvin. But it was soaked. With a dull thud of horror he realized she had been in the water, Skullions and all she had gone in. Had she known they were there? His eyes moved up her form to the deep punctures in her wrists that he recognized as fang marks. Blood still flowed sluggishly from them, following the line of her arm and dripping onto his knee from where her hand rested. He could feel the gashed on her back, though he couldn't see them. The water had slicked her hair down and blood coated the bottoms tips, turning it as red as Camicazi's.

Her face, however, was perfect.

Untouched by the horrors that marred her body, the only indication of anything amiss was the pallor of her skin and the smudge of red on her bottom lip. It was a cruel joke because he knew if he only looked at her face he would be able to fool himself into thinking she was fine. A face that perfect did not belong on the body of a dying person. Before he realized what he was doing his hand had reached up to wipe the crimson from her lip. Lips that curved up into a faint smile as her eyes struggled to adjust to the addition of light, an errant tear breaking free and slipping down her cheek.

"Do I really," her breath hitched again, "look that bad Hiccup?" she asked, her voice tight.

"No," he said quickly, wiping the horror from his face and focusing on the good. Good like the fact her headband was still in place and her eyes were open and on him, "no," repeated firmly as he looked down at the blood that dripped onto him from her back, "I need to see your back," he told her.

She nodded. His fingers squeezed her should apologetically as he slid his hand around her back. Even at that she tensed, her jaw locking. Forcing himself to do what he needed to do, even if it hurt her more, he carefully pulled her up against him. Her face turned into his shoulder, a desperate, muffled sound escaping her lips as he looked down at the damage on her back. The gashes were numerous and deep, the two worst stretched from her left shoulder to her opposite hip. Hiccup tried to examine them but all he could see was blood and torn fabric.

Easing her back down, he looked at her tight features as she struggled not to cry out with pain. It was shameful to do so, though he was sure that he had screamed himself hoarse when they had fixed his leg. But Astrid had always been a better viking than he had. After a moment her features relaxed, her eyes opening to look up at him. More tears joined that first one, shocking the young viking. Hiccup couldn't remember ever seeing Astrid cry before. Fighting the horror he felt, he tried to smile reassuringly at her but the pain in her eyes made him stop.

"Sorry," he whispered, the false reassurances sticking in the back of his throat, "Toothless?" he glanced over his shoulder at the dragon who was instantly by his side, "we've got to get back to the others."

"No!"

The demand came harshly from her lips, harsher than Hiccup thought possibly. Astrid squeezed her eyes shut, her lips pressing together in a tight line, as if the simple act of putting force behind her words was enough to make her sick. It was so unlike the girl who used to punch him for no reason or hold his calloused blacksmith hands tight enough for him to feel every one of hers. The panic that seized him seemed to give way to something infinitely colder and far more deadly. He realized that one of his hands was pressing against her torn skin but she wasn't reacting. Not like she had when he'd turned her over.

"Okay, okay," he said quickly, "no others. It's just us, okay?"

She might have nodded but he couldn't be certain. A tremor raced across her as her eyes slipped shut before she forced them open. Hiccup felt as though he was drowning all over again. He had never seen wounds this bad because even though he was the chief's son, kids didn't get to see the dead, especially not when they were maimed. He knew how to tend to blisters and burns and scrapes but nothing like what tore Astrid's skin.

"Astrid what happened?" he asked.

"Hmm?" she looked up at him sleepily.

"You've got better scars than I do now," he said trying to lighten the mood, "how'd you get them?"

"Skullions," she said, "I was almost out of the water."

His throat seemed to close at the admission. She had almost been out of the water. She had made it through all the Skullions in the pitch darkness, only to be caught when she was almost there. And yet she had survived long enough to make it to the entrance of the cave, almost get everyone out and still hide herself so no-one else would see her body. But as horrible as the physical wounds were, Hiccup knew the real danger was the poison coursing through her veins.

Was there an antidote? Hiccup tried to think back on the dragon book but his thoughts were a muddled mess. If there was a cure it wasn't one he could think of. Just of how deadly the venom was. He tore his eyes away from Astrid's face and looked up at Toothless. A low whistle escaped the dragon's lips, but his eyes did not move from the gentle rise and fall of her chest.

"You did," Hiccup said, "you got there. The others are out."

Astrid looked up at him, but Hiccup could see her eyes weren't focusing. He opened his mouth to say something before stopping, not trusting his voice. In some ways he wished he could speak. The silence in the cave was worse, broken only by the steady sound of his breathing and the wet rasps of the girl in his arms. He knew what that sound was, what it meant. And with every pulse of his heart the cold feeling grew. He had walked past her. Missed her completely. He doubted that it would have made a difference if he had seen her, there was so much blood around them, but there was no justification for what was happening.

"It doesn't hurt anymore," Astrid said finally, her voice impossibly soft.

"It's okay," Hiccup said, "it shouldn't hurt anymore," he continued, "not after so long."

Astrid nodded, her fingers tightening almost imperceptibly on his knee.

The show of fear made Hiccup's heart crash. She was dying. She was dying and she was laying down in his arms. There was something-something wrong about that. Something that made his chest twist. Shifting his fingers against her skin, he looked for a reaction and got none. He didn't want to do anything that would cause her to feel more pain, not now at the end. His fingers tightened on her as he shifted so he was sitting fully against the wall. Carefully he moved her until she was sitting up, her head resting on his shoulder. Reaching down he laced their fingers together.

"This was some adventure huh?" he said. He felt her head tilt and a weak laugh escaped his lips at the expression he imagined would be on her face if she wasn't- "not just this. I mean everything. The dragons, me loosing my foot, changing laws," he leaned his head back, "I don't know about you but i'm exhausted. We're just supposed to fight dragons right? I mean what we've done, it's more than enough for a lifetime. Several probably."

It wasn't.

He tried to keep his voice steady as he spoke but it was hard. What they had done, what they had accomplished was difficult to believe. But it wasn't enough. They were supposed to have a long life, there were supposed to be things that happened after their adventure on the island. There was a life they were supposed to have, when they finally made it back and were seen as something other than children. Just the thought of it, of all those things happening with Astrid gone, it made his chest tighten and for a moment it felt as if he was the one who had been attacked by a dragon. But he forced his voice to be steady as he continued to ramble.

"And I guess we'd have to change things again because our daughter isn't going to settle for not being Chief."

"Our daughter?" Astrid's voice came soft against his neck.

"Yeah," he said looking at her, "come on, she's not going to settle for not being Chief. And she'll be a great one too, much better than her old man."

He swallowed, his voice oddly thick at the thought. It felt like the life he was just beginning to accept was slipping away, faster than the blood in Astrid's body. Astrid was the one who pushed him to be better, who didn't let him take the easy way out of things. She didn't slow down for him, she made him want to catch up. Hiccup's throat tightened as he looked down at her, trying to wrap his head around the idea that the world could be so cruel. Astrid had trained her entire life to hunt dragons and she was damn good at it. And then she had somehow learned to re-think everything and become an incredible dragon rider, all within the span of a year.

It wasn't fair that she was not going to make it off the island alive.

Even if there was a cure Hiccup knew it was too late. Something could take the poison from her veins, but it couldn't put the blood back in them. It couldn't stitch up the skin on her back either. It was too late. He was too late. He knew he was not the leader, not yet, but he should have been faster. Faster or stronger or something. Anything. Anything at all so it wasn't Astrid laying against his shoulder slipping away. Sickeningly, he thought, it should have been him.

A growl from Toothless broke him out of his reverie. Hiccup's head snapped towards the darkness, landing on the figure of Camicazi who stood outlined in the glow of the lantern.

His first thought was that she looked horrible. Her clothing was torn and matted with still wet blood. The arm that wasn't holding the leather bag was dangling limply by her side. The cuts were sharp though, even he could see that. They were precise, made by the edge of a blade rather than the jagged pull of a dragon's fang.

The second thought in his head was anger. Because when he looked at the wounds she bore and the leather bag, he knew she had been fighting. And with a sickening certainty he knew that the bag contained something that could have helped Astrid. Toothless let out another warning growl but Camicazi ignored it and stepped forward,

Hiccup wanted to tell her to get away. That Astrid wanted to die in peace, with just them. She didn't want anyone to see her. But the words seemed to get stuck in his mouth, clogged by the too painful feeling of hope that he was wrong. That she wasn't too late and whatever was in that bag would be enough to save Astrid. The red head came in front of them and knelt down, dropping the bag to the ground and gently grasping Astrid's shoulder.

The blonde viking's eyes opened hazily as she looked blankly ahead before focusing on the red head.

"You're-"

"I'm fine," Camicazi said, her voice far more gentle than Hiccup thought he had ever heard her, "sword wounds are easy to fix. I'm guessing Alvin has you to thank for needing an eyepatch?"

"Had to do something," Astrid said with a twist of her lips, something that should have been a smile.

"Hiccup," Camicazi looked at him, "help me sit her forward," she turned back to Astrid, "I left him out on the rocks. The poison will get him or a dragon will."

"Hope it's Bluebell," Astrid muttered as Hiccup leaned her forward, bracing her against his chest.

"Toothless," he hissed at the dragon, nodding towards the lantern. Toothless grabbed it and came over with it in his mouth, holding it up and giving them some light to work with.

Camicazi looked at the wounds on Astrid's back. Hiccup anxiously watched her face, waiting to see if he could read her reaction. Whether it was training or just the nature of the wounds, he could read nothing from her features as she looked. A sigh escaped her lips but instead of reaching back she leaned forward and peeled up a piece of the torn fabric on Astrid's back. She looked at the wound before looking up at Hiccup.

"She's lost a lot of blood," she told him, "these are deep," she looked down at Astrid's forearm, "those are worse."

"Is it too late?" he questioned, looking at her.

"I don't-" she looked down at Astrid, "I don't know," she said finally, looking up at him, "I-we-we can try. But it's going to hurt."

Hiccup swallowed thickly and looked down at Astrid's head. The light only made her look worse, look like she was closer to death. A part of him wanted to tell Camicazi not to. That Astrid had been through enough, she had done enough for her death to be honorable. That a peaceful passage into the next realm was the least they could give her. She deserved to just drift off, to close her eyes and slip away with the least amount of pain.

But something deep in his chest howled at the thought.

He believed Astrid deserved a quiet, peaceful death. But he knew Astrid. She had gotten into this position fighting with everything she had. Doing everything she could before someone else had the chance to. Even half dead she had managed to stab Alvin's eye and hoped that her dragon was the one who got to eat him. What he believed she deserved was irrelevant. Astrid always fought. If she was going to die so soon and so young, she deserved the kind of warriors death they had all strove for. Even if it was just with her own body.

Adjusting his grip, he wrapped his arms around her. Camicazi closed her eyes for a moment at the silent command. Hiccup doubted she agreed with him, but he didn't care. Astrid had proven herself to be as much a warrior as Camicazi, she deserved that honor. Camicazi looked up at Toothless and motioned him down. Gently she pulled the lantern from his mouth and held it out.

"Use your tail," she said, "we're going to need your fire."

* * *

**Before you review:**

**-Yes I know that the dragons name is Stormfly, this story was started before the dragons were named by the creators. **

**-Please do not send me multiple pms harassing me for updates and/or name calling. I am trying to finish the story and I would appreciate it if you would meet me half way. **

**-Lastly there are 2/3 more chapters. Think of this as a sort of transition. I'm trying to get back into the groove of the story but I apologize if this chapter seems kind of disjointed. **

**Thank you! **

**Love,**

**E. **


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