We split the village into divisions. Some get their dragons and go fishing, others make sure all valuables are safe, and everyone else gets food and supplies into the Great Hall.

Hiccup talks to Valka quietly while I write down what's being done on a scroll. As Vikings walk by, dropping off fish or something else, I check off a rough estimate of how much we have. Aside from Night Fury training, this sort of thing is what I always end up doing as my job; counting and calculating.

I glance over at Hiccup and Valka just in time to see her hug him tightly, whispering something to him. He glances my way for a fleeting second before nodding. My chest tightens with paranoia as I avert my eyes back to my scroll and scribble another few tallies down as a Viking drops about five cod into the barrel.

I hear his footsteps getting closer until they stop, his shoulder just brushing mine. My eyes bounce to him for a second before sweeping back to the scroll.

"Everything okay?" I ask, voice flat.

"Mom's worried, but she has confidence in us," he responds, his handsome face a mask of professionalism as he watches his people working. "What about you?"

I shrug. "I'm fine."

I try to keep acting as though counting fish and supplies is interesting me, but it's obvious that it isn't. He's watching me far too closely not to see through my façade.

"Thora," he says, resting his hand on my wrist.

I sigh and set my pencil down, turning my full attention to him. "If something's on your mind, just say it."

He chuckles a little at that, but it sounds forced. "We haven't talked about the wedding since it was postponed," he comments, making me tense up. "I just wanted to ask you about whether you were still good for it."

I nod without hesitating. "I said yes, didn't I?"

"You said yes for the better of Berk and our dragons," he corrects. He steps closer to me, his eyes completely focused on mine. "Thora, tell me, if I asked you right now if you wanted to marry me, what would you say? Just me. Act like there's no one else here. What would you say?"

I can't bring myself to answer right away, the writing materials in my hands feeling like they're slipping from the sheer slackness of my fingers.

He really is the only person who's ever made me feel like maybe I'm not as odd as I truly am. He's the man with the same dragon as me, the man who understands what it's like to feel isolated; albeit not as much as I. Hell, he even understands what it's like to lose a parent.

Here I am, standing before the only human I can say without a shadow of a doubt is my best friend, and he's asking me a simple question. He's saying one thing, "Would you marry me if it was just me?"

Simple words, simple question; that should merit a simple answer, except I'm seeing what he's truly asking. It's not a yes or no question. It's deeper.

What I'm hearing is, "Do you love me?"

I lean up and press my lips to his, unable to tell him everything that I'm thinking. He shuts his eyes and wraps his arms around me, pulling me closer to his lean yet muscular body. I pull away, gazing up at him as I brush his bangs out of his eyes. He doesn't ask for my spoken answer.

----------

I stand on the dock at the edge of the water. Nightstar, Dark Moon, and Emerald fly around above me, Nightstar showing her babies how to fish. The splashes and failed attempts manage to make me smile, but it doesn't stay for long. The sun is almost at the mid-day point, bathing the land in an odd sort of warmth.

I close my eyes, grasping my mother's pendant as I take a long breath.

"Give me a sign. How long do we have?" I whisper. "Mom? Dad?"

I wait for a moment. A gust of wind blows, rustling my hair. My conscious whispers "sundown", causing a deeper sense of urgency to cloak me. My eyes flutter open as my thoughts wander to the man I spoke to before his odd death.

He said love would be my downfall, but what kind of love did he mean? I love the ocean, I love flying, I love Nightstar...I love Berk, despite some of my more negative thoughts towards it at times. Is this battle itself, this battle that I'm fighting to protect my home, going to fail? Is that what he meant?

I groan as I press my fingers against my temple, rubbing as I try to calm my mindset. I turn away from the ocean to see Hiccup and Gobber discussing something a little ways away. Toothless waits near them, grinning as Nightstar touches down with their children and greets him with a touch of their noses.

I smile at the affectionate dragons as my attention returns to Hiccup and Gobber again.

"Gobber, I know you want to help, but you aren't strong enough," Hiccup argues. "I can promise you that."

"Sure, I am! I can make more weapons if that's what you need!" Gobber offers, lifting his arm with a hammer attachment.

"I know you've been working really hard, but you can't," the chieftain retorts. "Really, only Thora is strong enough to defeat Alrek. The rest of us are backup."

"Really? The lass? She's kind of small, isn't she?" the blacksmith asks. "Nothin' against her of course, she just doesn't seem to be that...strong."

I scowl involuntarily, pretending to be brushing off my clothing and adjusting my armour as their conversation continues.

"She's strong in a different way. She doesn't have a lot of brawn, but she has a strong mind and a strong heart," Hiccup defends, making my chest warm up. "Gobber...if you knew what her people once did, you would never doubt her again."

"Alright, lad. Be safe out there. Kick some demon arse for us, yeah?"

"Yeah."

Gobber claps his good hand on his chieftain's shoulder, turning and hobbling away towards the Great Hall. I look up as Hiccup walks over to me, a tiny smile on his face. He gently takes my hand as he looks out across the ocean again, his troubled expression giving me a viewpoint into what he's thinking.

"How much longer do we have?" he whispers.

"Sundown. He's coming at sundown," I reply, my voice equally quiet.