Astrid decided that she'd keep a closer eye on Stormfly from now on.

The ridiculous overgrown bird had broken into the chicken pen (again) and so Astrid had made the mistake of trying to get her. Then a stupid totem pole (why did Berk have those useless sticks, anyway?) had fallen down in the wind, hit her in the head, and rendered her mostly unconscious whilst Stormfly drove off Speed Stingers.

And now here she was, with a bandage around her head and calf, sitting in the snow, leaning against a rock wall. Hiccup's arm was around her and she was shivering, constantly spouting out obscene comments about Speed Stingers and Deadly Nadders. Hiccup pulled the blanket tighter around Astrid's shoulders. He was the only one who could calm Astrid down, and right now he was trying to soothe her.

"Astrid, calm down. Stormfly was just doing what dragons do best: being a dragon."

"I...don't...care," Astrid growled. She sneezed and hunkered closer to Hiccup, pulling her legs up to her chest. "She...was...being...stupid...and so were those ridiculous wingless Stingers."

"Yes, I know you hate them," Hiccup soothed calmly, wrapping his other arm around her and pulling her close. "But you're being irrational."

"No I'm not!"

"Well, let's see..." Hiccup began counting on his fingers. "You're snapping at everyone and everything, you're overreacting, you're cursing way more than even Vikings usually curse, you're trying to stay mad at the world, you're shouting death threats at nothing in particular..."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Astrid sighed. But Hiccup was right. She was being a little irrational...but she wouldn't admit it.

Hiccup leaned into Astrid and she sighed contentedly. After a moment, she whispered, "Sorry."

"For what?" Hiccup replied.

"Well, first off being mad at everything. And second...sorry for scaring you." Hiccup kissed her forehead.

"Eh, I wasn't that worried," he lied. "I know you; you can hold your own." Astrid smirked. She knew that tone in his voice and the look in his eyes when she woke up. He'd seemed pretty distraught. She knew that he'd truly been scared for her. Hiccup had become very protective of Astrid and refused to let her out of his sight if the condition was risky.

"Yeah, right," Astrid said.

"Okay, fine, I was very worried," Hiccup admitted. "What can I do to deny it? I can't stand letting you go off by yourself...it makes me feel guilty, like I'm letting you do something you shouldn't."

Astrid chuckled. "Hiccup, I'm a Warrior," she chided, "I can take care of myself."

"And the fact that you nearly killed yourself totally convinces me." Hiccup adjusted the bandage around Astrid's head. "Ugh, if only Toothless were here," he sighed. "That way he could heal your leg and head."

The two sat in depressing silence for a while. Then Hiccup asked, "Astrid, where is he?"

"I don't know," she responded. It felt quite familiar, mainly because Toothless had disappeared right before Snoggletog about six years before, and Hiccup had asked Astrid more or less the same question.

Hiccup took Astrid's hand in his. The simple gesture had never affected her before (well, except for the first time they'd held hands), but this time, it sent a pleasant tingle up her arm. It gave a kind of warmth that didn't just block out the chill of the blizzard but also gave Astrid the feeling that she and Hiccup were the only two people left on Earth, that her entire world was connected to her by the simple touch of a hand.

Hiccup smiled tenderly at Astrid, and she returned the gesture. She leaned her head on his shoulder. "I love you, Hiccup."

"I love you too, Astrid."

Suddenly someone in the middle of the cove shrieked. Hiccup leapt to his feet as Eret ran towards him and Astrid. "Stingers....inside.....with us...." Eret panted. Hiccup frowned. He turned to Astrid.

"Stay here." And this time Astrid obeyed her boyfriend. It wasn't like she could go anywhere anyway, what with a stabbed leg and a bruised head.

Hiccup ran off to find his mother, muttering curses to the gods as he kicked up snow. "Stupid wingless reptiles..." Now that the Stingers were trying to attack the villagers in the cove, Hiccup could see why Astrid had wanted to lop the heads off each one with her axe and gut each one with her bare hands.

Eret stumbled after Hiccup. "What do you plan to do?" he called above the wind.

"You're the ex-dragon trapper!" Hiccup shouted. "What do you propose we do?"

"You're asking me?"

"YES!"

"Sir, I don't know how to catch these things!" Eret yelled. "Remember what I said about there not being a dragon alive that I can't wrangle?! I may have lied a bit! Stingers are impossible for my men to catch, let alone track down. We've been trying for years! Even my father's father's father didn't know how to catch them!"

Well that's just brilliant. "I've caught them before!" Hiccup replied. "Back about five years ago, we caught the leader for about ten minutes until the others got him out! Maybe we coud try our previous methods this time?!"

"I don't know about that! Number one, it's still late at night! They're awake!" Yeah, I got that. "And second, there's so many of them, more than I think you've faced! It'll be nigh impossible to get the Alpha separated!"

Hiccup scowled as a Monstrous Nightmare was stung right in front of him, creating a huge discolored statue. A Stinger zipped by, and Hiccup whipped out his firesword. "I swear, I'm gonna roast these things into a Snoggletog feast if we can't drive 'em off," he muttered. "Eret!! Where's Skullcrusher?! I could use him to track down Toothless and get these Stingers at bay!"

"Um, about that, sir!" Eret replied. "Skullcrusher is spending his time as a decoration at the moment!" He pointed to the left side of the cove, where Skullcrusher was frozen in an aggressive stance.

My day just keeps getting better. Hiccup let out a dramatic, angry sigh and turned back toward the frozen Nightmare. More Stingers zipped by, chittering like hyenas. "Well, the best we can do for now is try to hold them off!" Hiccup brandished his firesword at the pack of Stingers that was quickly closing in.

----

Hiccup learned later that trying to fight Speed Stingers in a blizzard is like trying to sew in the dark.

It was way harder than Hiccup remembered, and by the time most of the pack had been scared off, he, Eret, Valka, and Gobber were the only people Hiccup could see that were not frozen. Hiccup gave an exhausted chuckle and sheathed his firesword. "Well," he panted, "I haven't had a workout like that in ages."

"HICCUP!" Astrid shouted from the other side of the cove.

"You're not done yet, laddie," Gobber said tiredly.

Hiccup didn't hear him, though. He was already sprinting through the blizzard toward Astrid. Even if she was immune to Stingers, he didn't want them touching her; he didn't want to run the risk of spending the night with a frozen girlfriend.

When he finally got to her, she was still wrapped in the blanket, glaring at the Stingers that tried to get to her. She was pressed against the wall, and her axe had obviously been knocked out of her hand. It was lying in the snow just out of reach. Hiccup drew his firesword, jumped over the nearest Stinger, and landed in front of Astrid. He brandished the sword in the Stingers' faces, and they hissed indignantly.

Astrid stuck her tongue out at the dragons; she did not care at all that it was a childish thing to do. Hiccup frowned and stepped forward, the wind ripping at his hair and threatening to extinguish his sword. The Speed Stingers knew this and kept themselves far enough away not to be burned but close enough that they could still overtake Hiccup if need be.

Sure enough, Hiccup's hand wavered slightly and the flame fizzled out. "Oh Thor," Hiccup muttered. He sheathed his firesword and backed up as the Stingers advanced, holding his arms out to block them from getting to Astrid. Suddenly a Nadder spine flew out of nowhere and took out the first Stinger. This sent the rest into a panic and they all tumbled over one another, finally escaping the cove.

Astrid beamed. "Good girl, Stormfly!" Stormfly limped over and squawked happily. Hiccup grinned--and then remembered his own dragon was missing. Trying to keep a convincing smile, he sat down next to Astrid and put an arm around her.

Astrid wasn't fooled, though. "Hiccup, Toothless will be alright," she assured, putting a hand on Hiccup's chest. "It was last time, remember? He'd only gone away to find your helmet."

"But..." Hiccup sighed. "What if it's different this time? What if he doesn't come back?"

"Oh, don't think like that!" Astrid chided, smacking Hiccup's shoulder lightly. "You're supposed to be the optimistic, hopeful guy who always looks on the bright side! Where is that part of you, Hiccup?"

"Probably with Toothless," Hiccup mumbled. "And until this blizzard lightens up I won't be able to find him."

Astrid had about had enough of this negativity. She reached up, took Hiccup's head in her hands, made him face her, and kissed him on the lips. When she pulled away she pressed her forehead against his and closed her eyes. "Hiccup, you just need to shut up and try to be happy. This attitude won't get you anywhere in life."

Hiccup managed a chuckle and closed his eyes as well, wrapping his other arm around Astrid and pulling her close. "Okay, I'll try. As long as it makes you happy, I'll try."