Life on the Edge

2.02 Night of the Hunters, Part 1

Ragnar trades a look with Nightshade as they both walk over to join Hiccup and Toothless on the landing platform. The sun is setting in a cloudy but otherwise empty sky, their missing Rider nowhere in sight.

"Still nothing?" he asks.

Hiccup shakes his head with a sigh. "No. Not yet." He scans the sky one last time before he turns to look at him. "Did you See anything?"

Ragnar shakes his own head. "Nothing. I've got a bad feeling, Hiccup. Astrid's still not back and there's a storm rolling in."

He frowns at the dark clouds as he says it and a bolt of lightning flashes across the sky.

"I know," Hiccup says quietly. He reaches over and wraps a gentle hand around Ragnar's wrist, thumb sweeping along the edge of the tattoo on his forearm. "We'll give it a few more minutes and if they're not back then we'll go look."

"Yeah. Okay," he agrees.

Their attention turns from the fruitless search when Fishlegs walks over.

"Still no sign of 'em?" he asks in concern. He waits a second but takes their silence for the answer it is. "They're probably just out exploring and lost track of time."

"She's never been gone all day like this," Hiccup reminds him.

"She knows better," Ragnar adds. "I mean, I like to think I've managed to beat it into everyone's heads that you can't just leave without telling someone."

Hiccup can tell how stressed he is just from his tone. He slides his hand down from Ragnar's wrist to link their fingers instead. "You have," he assures.

Ragnar sighs even as he squeezes lightly at his hand. "Which is what worries me."

Fishlegs tries one more time to soothe their worry with a little optimism. "You remember that time she didn't show up for her own surprise party because she was setting up a defensive perimeter around Berk?"

"Yeah," Hiccup says simply as they finally turn to face him.

"Or that time she decided to work on her late-night axe throwing and surprised Silent Sven in the woods?"

"Yeah, but-"

Fishlegs frowns in thought. "Yeah. I don't think he recovered from that," he mutters. "And then there was that time-"

Hiccup holds up his free hand to stop him. "Fishlegs, thank you for trying to make us feel better but this is different." He gives him a significant look. "Something's wrong. We can feel it."

Fishlegs purses his lips. "Now, when you say that do you mean...?"

"Something is wrong," Ragnar says seriously. His eyes aren't gray or fogged over, but there's still a weighted look to them that seems to go beyond his years.

"Okay. I- I'm a little more inclined to believe it when Ragnar sounds like that," Fishlegs admits.

He walks over to the edge of the platform, all three of them looking over the water now. A roll of thunder sounds overhead as the heavy clouds grow even darker.

"You know," he adds, "if anyone is equipped to survive out there, it is Astrid."

"No. You're right, Fishlegs. You're right," Hiccup admits.

"Doesn't mean she should have to," Ragnar says quietly.

Hiccup takes a step closer, their joined hands still hanging between them. "She doesn't. We're gonna find her."

The grateful smile Ragnar gives him might be softer than anything Fishlegs has ever seen from the healer. He clears his throat, uncomfortably averting his eyes from the two of them with the odd feeling he's intruding on something private.