Symphony of Shadows

66. Cold

A/N: Guys I'm terribly sorry about the last chapter...But here's this one:) Next chapter will be out tentatively  Sunday at around 9pm American Eastern Standard Time. I have exams coming up, but will try to update. 

The wind whistled through the trees as Ingrid took her last breath. Astrid's chest visibly heaved, and Hiccup waited in anticipation for her next move. He swore he saw a flash of doubt in her fierce eyes, but it vanished as soon as it appeared—leaving behind a stony mask of indifference. Too much had happened in such little time. It was impossible to process it all when they still had a battle to wage. So, Hiccup placed a hand on Astrid's shoulder and gently squeezed. She needed to know that her soul was still tethered to the earth. That she hadn't gone too far. 

But she didn't react. Astrid's gaze was fixed solely on her old mentor's lifeless eyes. He wished he could read her mind to know what she was feeling. 

"Astrid. Babe, look at me."

He gently lifted her chin up to face him. Beautiful sea-blue eyes consumed by ice looked up at him. It wasn't necessary to read her mind—anyone could see she was being held hostage by her own mind. 

Offering her a hand to stand, Hiccup was relieved to move her away from the dead corpse. He wiped away some stray blood from her cheeks and wished they could be anywhere but here. Astrid was exhausted. She needed a moment to catch her breath, but he knew she'd never admit it when there was still work to be done.

He couldn't let her go back out there like this, though. She'd get herself killed. Pulling her in close to his chest, he hoped his plan would work. 

"Tell me what you can feel."

There was a long pause before Astrid answered, and Hiccup let out a small sigh of relief. She wasn't shutting everything out yet. 

"I feel the warm scales of your suit. I feel your arms around me."

Her voice was utterly devoid of emotion. There was barely any intonation in her usual melodic tone. 

Shit. 

Of course she was affected; she'd just killed the closest thing she had to a second mother. It was as if he'd killed Gobber. 

Right, Gobber.

The mental reminder was a punch to the gut, and he felt nauseous. But he couldn't do this now. Astrid needed him. He'd deal with his emotions later. 

"Now tell me, what do you hear?"

He felt her pull him closer and slowly rubbed circles on her back. 

"I hear you breathing. And your heart beating. I hear—"

A loud bang interrupted her, and Astrid jumped back. Her wild eyes searched for the source of the noise. 

"It's okay—"

He tried comforting her, but it was no use. 

"I need to go. Where's Stormfly? It was the Shellfire. I know it was."

She whistled, and her Nadder trotted up to her. Toothless heard the commotion and nudged his rider's hip. 

"Roooo?"

Even his dragon was worried. 

"Astrid, wait."

She paused and turned back to him. They still had time together, and he'd make it count. He wasn't about to let her rush into battle when it might be the last time they saw each other alive. If today had proven anything, it was to treasure the wonderful moments with each other and not take them for granted.