Infernal Responsibility

Desperation

Astrid stared dismally at the oak doors. They were more then just a barrier to the cold, they were a barrier to her best friend. How did things come to this?

The black dragon solemnly scratched at the panels to go out.

"Toothless..." Astrid called.

He saw her sadness and understood that his master needed to be alone. He sauntered over to the blonde and placed his head in her lap. She scratched his head as he crooned. "It'll be okay, Toothless. We'll straighten everything out." She hoped.

"So, this is your fault." A voice claimed. Toothless hissed and raised his tail to attack.

Astrid simply glanced up at the intruder. "How's it my fault? I had no idea that he..." As she spoke, she felt the ring on her fourth finger. She was right. "Well, I didn't know he would take it so harsh. And I'm not the only one at fault. You said that his friendship with Toothless was bad. But Toothless is the greatest friend anyone could have. I wish I had found him first." She continued to pet the dragon in an attempt to calm him down.

"Well, if you hadn't been so selfish, I wouldn't have even had to be involved."

"Me selfish? EXCUSE ME!?" Astrid stood, menacingly.

"Yeah. He asked you first, you should have just said yes."

"Listen missy, I've been close with Hiccup since he trained Toothless. I've known him my whole life. If there's something I know about him, it's that he's always calm and he doesn't care about his size. He always does his best! What he said tonight, that was not him talking. Someone put those ideas in his head. And I tend to believe it was you."

"I just told the truth, if he couldn't handle it, that's his own fault."

Darla suddenly found herself on her back, blood dripping from her nose. Astrid stood over her, looking like a spawn from Jotunheim. "You broke him, and for that, I will never forgive you."

The troll was forgotten as Astrid headed to the door. "Come on Toothless, let's see if we can comfort our friend."

The dragon perked up in the thought of his rider and the two went out together. Astrid first checked the Haddock home, but finding it empty, she supposed he would chose a place more sequestered. With the pale glow coming from the forge, the young viking trotted over and knocked at the main door. No answer. Dissatisfied, she hopped the counter and went inside. The forge was empty, only weapons and fires inside. She then remembered the back room filled with Hiccup's sketches. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw the door to the room shut, as it almost never was.

She knocked. "Hiccup? Please...I know you're in there. Please, just let me in. Let's talk this out. I didn't know you felt so strongly...Hiccup, I thought it was just an obligation. I would never have said those things if I had known."

There was still no reply. "Hiccup?" She gulped. His speech ran through her head, making her grow cold.

"If admitting all of this makes me weak, then who cares? Because I don't. I'm always weak. So I'll save you all the pain." He couldn't have... "Find yourself a new heir."

"Hiccup, for Thor's sake, answer me!"

Still no reply. Fear rising in her blood, she gripped the handle and tugged, luckily finding it unlocked. "HICCUP!"

Empty.

A lit candle sat at his desk. He had been there, and not too long ago. Astrid looked over the contents of the desk and saw one of Toothless' tails. This one looked different from the others...it had gears on it, and no rods or ropes. Then she noticed there was a note next to it.