Don't leave me

Chapter 7: No Eating for me

Astrid's POV

It had been two days since Hiccup left, and gods did I miss him.

I hadn't really been much out of the house either. Ruffnut and Eret had been helping me out a lot, cooking, cleaning and keeping me company.

Ruffnut was out teaching at the academy, and Eret was helping Gobber at the forge. Again, I found myself sitting on the couch, sharpening my axe.

When the blade of my axe was so sharp that it could probably cut off a finger if you so much as touched it, I decided that it was the perfect time to go on a trip around Berk.

I stepped outside and breathed in the cold breeze. "Fresh air!"

I whistled for Stormfly, and not long after, she landed at my feet.

I scratched the dragon underneath her chin. "Who's my good girl? Who is it?"

The dragon roared in response as she stretched out her wings and began jumping up and down.

"Of course it's you!" I smiled at her as I pressed my cheek up against hers. "Ready to go for a little flight?"

Stormfly screeched as she bent down, allowing me to easily climb onto her back.

We shot up towards the clouds, the cold air burning my cheeks. But I couldn't feel it, all I felt was free and ... relieved.

Stormfly did a spin as she shot up above the clouds, only to drop down again before we dropped through the clouds and she steadied herself.

"Wohoo!" I exclaimed as I raised my arms above my head, earning another roar from Stormfly.

In the distance, I could make out the outline of the academy. We flew in circles above it as I looked down and saw Tuffnut speaking to the class, Snotlout rolling his eyes at him and Gobber sitting on the back bench, making sure the two muttonheads weren't doing or teaching the kids anything stupid.

I caught a glimpse of Ruffnut in the tunnel. I waved at her before we set our course back towards the village.

As we neared the Haddock house, I heard loud growling coming from the inside.

I gestured for Stormfly to land, and not long after I was knocking at the door.

"Valka? Are you alright?" I asked as I knocked on the door a second time, pressing my ear up against it, trying to hear what was goin on inside.

"No, I'm not, please help!" Valka said, her voice sounding like she had been up all night.

I opened the door and stepped inside, where I found Valka sitting with her head in her hands on a stool in front of Toothless, who was laying in the corner, looking very sad.

An intense odor tickled my nose hairs as my eyes landed upon the floor that surrounded the two of them. Fish, fish and more fish. Just a bunch of fish, scattered on the floor.

"What happened here?" I asked Valka as I tiptoed my way around the fish, trying my best not to step on them.

"Toothless is refusing to eat" Valka exclaimed, sounding more exhausted than ever.

"Do you know why?" I asked her as I placed a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at me and I was met by the sight of red eyes and heavy bags under her eyes, indicating that she had been awake for quite some time. "I think it's because he misses Hiccup"

I walked over to Toothless, maneuvering my way through the fish. I pushed a couple of fish away with my foot before sitting down beside his head.

"I understand, Toothless" I placed a hand on his head, stroking it. "I miss him too"

Hiccup's POV

It was finally time for dinner.

After a long day of introductions and loads of information, I was happy to finally be back in my hut, making dinner for myself.

As I was about to serve myself some of the food I'd made, there was a knock on the door.

I opened it and found Emerald standing on the other side of it, biting her lip as she held her arm.

"Emerald, What brings you here?" I asked her, pushing every thought about Astrid to the back of my mind.

"Well, I was just walking by, and there was this really good smell coming from your house, so I wondered if... I could maybe eat with you?" She suggested, her bright green eyes shining.

I stared at her for a second, and couldn't help but be reminded of Astrid, my beautiful Astrid. I glanced over at the young girl at my door, and somehow it was like Astrid was standing right in front of me.

I felt my heart constrict at the thought of turning her away.

"Sure, come on in!" I took a step to the side, making way for her to come in.

Dinner was quite pleasant, and my guest definitely shared some differences with the person she reminded me of.

Emerald was not a bad person, far from it. She was a kind, intelligent, young woman who some would consider a bit of a wimp, due to her many fears.

That's probably why I felt bad listening to her, imagining her as someone else.

When I looked at her, all I saw was Astrid, which made my heart leap with joy, until it once again realized that it wasn't Astrid, but someone else.

Astrid. I had barely been away for three days and I was already missing her like I hadn't seen her in a decade. Gods, this was going to be one tough year.