Without Saying

Chapter 25 - The Journey

When Hiccup had asked Astrid to cover for him, she had been beyond surprised, but there had also been a strange sense of excitement beneath it. All this time, she had assumed his disappearances meant that he was avoiding everyone, or perhaps simply needed time away from the village. She had never imagined that there had been an entirely different reason behind it all.

Coming up with an excuse had been surprisingly easy. She just told a few people, more than was really necessary, that she and Hiccup were planning to go on patrol that day and would be gone for most of the day. With Drago's forces moving closer and everyone becoming increasingly nervous about a coming attack, it wasn't difficult for anyone to believe that they had decided to scout the surrounding area. No one questioned it. Astrid had expected Hiccup to return sometime during the night, but when dawn finally began creeping over the trees and there was still no sign of him, that confidence started to disappear. What if something had happened?

She tried to dismiss the thought, reminding herself that Hiccup was more capable than most people gave him credit for. He had survived plenty of dangerous situations before, and if anyone could take care of himself, it was him. But that only made another thought creep in. What if he had lied to her? What if she was actually helping him cover for another disappearance while he had gone running off to Thor knew where because he was afraid of what would happen if Berk discovered his secret? The more Astrid thought about it, the worse the possibilities became.

Eventually, she couldn't stand waiting anymore. She headed back toward the cove. Astrid moved quickly through the forest, taking every shortcut she could remember and occasionally changing direction whenever she thought she might have heard something. The trees were still damp from the previous night's rain, and the ground was soft beneath her boots, but she barely noticed any of it.

"Hiccup,"

She muttered under her breath. She had no idea what she was going to say when she found him. She only knew that she needed to find him. Then she heard it. ROOAAAR!!!

Astrid froze. It was followed almost immediately by a low, strained groan that sounded unmistakably human. Her heart dropped.

"No..."

She didn't even think. She charged toward the sound. Every instinct told her to be careful. If a dragon really was attacking Hiccup, rushing blindly toward it was probably the worst thing she could possibly do. None of that mattered. All she could think about was Hiccup. She wasn't going to stand there and watch him die from a dragon. Not again. Astrid pushed through the last line of trees and suddenly screeched to a halt. Hiccup was lying on the ground, and the black Night Fury she remembered from before paced anxiously around him, its wings shifting restlessly as it moved. Every few seconds, it lowered its head to nudge Hiccup's arm or shoulder before lifting its head again and scanning the surrounding forest.

Astrid stared. The dragon looked agitated, but it wasn't attacking him. If anything, it seemed terrified for him. Astrid's grip tightened around her axe. She had seen this dragon before, but she still wasn't entirely comfortable being this close to it. Toothless was enormous, and right now his eyes were darting around with an intensity that made it clear something was very wrong.

Astrid remained frozen for several seconds, unsure whether approaching would make things worse. Then Hiccup groaned. That was enough. She started forward.

The moment her boot scraped against the ground, Toothless' head snapped toward her. His entire body stiffened causing Astrid to stop immediately. For one tense second, neither of them moved. Then Toothless' expression changed. He recognized her. His guard lowered slightly, but Astrid barely had time to register the change before the Night Fury suddenly charged toward her.