Astrid:

She was sitting on a rock staring into the woods, thinking. Astrid thought about what Hiccup had told her the other day when he discovered some dragon trappers on an island nearby working for a guy named Drago. He and she had no idea why this Drago would trap dragons. After all, all Vikings except Hiccup believed dragons to be evil. Whatever the case may be, Hiccup had a feeling it wasn't too, "keep them as pets," meaning malicious. She had to admit. She didn't like the news either. She wondered if Stoick had ever heard of this Drago, she'd have to ask him when she thinks of a good excuse for how she learned of him. She was so absorbed. She didn't even notice Snotlout approaching until he was right in front of her. "Listen, Astrid," he started with that supposed 'charm' he brags about, "I have a surprise arranged for you. Afternoon, four days from now. An early wedding gift, meet me at the arena then, please". Astrid glared at him, not giving any inclination that she was slightly curious.

The oddest thing about the rest of the day was that Snotlout hadn't bothered her for the rest of the day.

Snotlout:

Though he strutted around the village with a look of pure confidence, he was nervous. I'm starting to feel that she isn't playing hard to get like her parents told me... he thought as he absently walked to the arena. Standing at the gates was Astrid's adopted father looking at the ground below. There, lying in a huddle, were four scuttleclaws chained to the ground. "Are you sure she'll like this? I mean, she isn't the one fighting the dragon...".

Her father laughed, "of course she will! She's very Viking like us. She'll love to watch a good and bloody battle".

"Okay, so we have the scuttleclaws, whos going to be their opponent?"

"Why lad, that Deadly Nader, of course!"

Snotlout stared into the arena, despite what is said, the reassurances, people telling me that she is just tough or stubborn. I still have a bad feeling about this. But is it the wedding? How does Astrid feel about me? Both? Neither? I don't want her to marry me because she feels she needs to. I want it to be of love. Why do I feel that this isn't how it's supposed to be? That... We aren't supposed to be... He felt he was missing something, a crucial piece to the puzzle. But was it something? Or someone?

Hiccup:

He was lying on Toothless's side, propped up and absently sketching something in his journal. Toothless shifted, causing Hiccup to come to his senses with a jump. He looked down at the picture and sighed. Astrid started back at him, smiling happily in a sunset on an island theme. Hiccup ripped the paper out and threw it in a pile of five other accidental Astrid drawings. Awakened by the shredding of paper, Toothless perked up and looked expectingly at Hiccup. "Sure, you can burn it," he said. Toothless was about to shoot his plasma, but Lucky got there first. He shot a small amount of fire and burnt the pile to ash. Toothless had a quick glimpse of one of the Astrid pictures and looked at Hiccup as if to say, well? He sighed and got up. He scratched the back of his head and said, "I can't get her out of my mind, I know I should just forget. Gods, she's engaged... to my cousin! I have to just...", he made a motion with his hands like he was letting go of a dove. Toothless rolled his eyes and gave him a look that said, or?

Hiccup frowned, "there is no or to this..." then it dawned in him what Toothless was thinking, "oh no, Berk needs her! She can't just leave with me... if she's gone, who will be chief? No one will follow Fishleggs because they think him a coward. No one likes Snotlout, apparently, and don't even get me started with the twins! Astrid is the only person on Berk with sense". Toothless gave him another expecting look, this time with a hint of humor. Hiccup knew exactly what he was thinking. "Uh, yeah, no. Yes, I'm from Berk, and yes, I am the true heir. But remember? We're renegade, rogue, branded outcasts. No one will follow me. Hell, we aren't even supposed to set foot on this island! I can't just waltz in and say, 'your chief has arrived!' Father would definitely not have me there at all!" Hiccup turned from Toothless so he wouldn't see the tears rising in his eyes when thinking about his father. He never accepted me before. He definitely wouldn't now. Toothless, knowing when his friend is distressed, he wrapped Hiccup in his wings with comforting love. Hiccup smiled, "thanks, bud," he murmured as he started rubbing Toothless's snout. The dragon purred happily. Then Lucky came over and curled next to Hiccup's legs and went to sleep. He sat down with Toothless following suit. He pet the scuttleclaw absently as he and Toothless watched the sun fall. We'll begin our search again tonight at dusk.

Dusk fell, Hiccup mounted Toothless for another sweep of the island. The faster we get this done, the faster we can leave, he thought, though something else thought, do I want to leave? I mean... Astrid... Hiccup glared at himself. Shut up other part of me. It can never happen. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. I shouldn't have visited her, why? All I did was just torture her and myself?

They continued to fly until a Zippleback, out in the open, caught their eye. Suspicious, the dragons here are reclusive. Why is this one out in the open? He wondered as he and Toothless landed near the Zippleback. Hiccup approached with slightly more caution than with other dragons. The blue Zippleback stared at him with intelligent eyes as Hiccup placed his hand out in front of the dragon's head. One head rubbed its snout against his hand while the other continued to stare. When it retracted its head, it rushed Hiccup and took him into the skies. Toothless roared in fury as they took his rider. The Zippleback flew to the top of the cliff that overlooks Berk. It placed him there and looked at the arena. At first, it seemed empty. But then his sharp eyes caught sight of a colorful blob at the center. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was four scuttleclaws. Why don't you guys just... fly away? You're small enough to..., then he saw the chains. I bet they're Lucky's siblings. He probably escaped, tried to save them, and got himself injured in the process. Poor guy. They then heard Toothless's roar of fury from behind. "Whoa! whoa there bud, it's all right, look", Hiccup pointed at the arena, and Toothless came and looked. "He is just showing us that he isn't leaving until the trapped dragons are saved. This would make sense as to why the dragons are so reclusive here". Toothless turned to the Zippleback, who nodded his head in apology. Toothless mimicked the motion as a sign of forgiveness. Then the dragon flew off, leaving Hiccup to formulate a plan to save the dragons.

The next morning...

"So...", Hiccup started to say to Astrid. They sat at the cove with Lucky laying his head on Astrid's lap. He seemed to be peacefully asleep as she stroked his head. "Yeah," she said, staring at the water. "Do you even know what this "surprise" even is?" He asked, curious as to what his cousin considered a surprise for a girl... especially Astrid. "No," she replied. Things between him and Astrid weren't the same. They had both realized that they couldn't be together, that their lives were pulling in two separate directions. She the chief of a tribe. He, an outcast from the village she would rule.

"I hope it's not some sort of dragon verses himself match to impress me. It'll only irritate me", she finally said after a few minutes. Hiccup only nodded, not able to respond. "Maybe you could convince them like I... never mind. That won't work. You would be thrown in the same spot I am... and Berk doesn't need to lose another sensible person", he laughed. She smiled and faced him. They leaned closer, staring into each other's eyes. They were inches from each other when Lucky made a squeaky chirp which pulled them apart.

"Well," Astrid said, getting up abruptly, "I'm off, need to return before dark, you know?" Hiccup nods, "yeah, goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Astrid:

It was noon the next day. Astrid had no idea what to expect. She proceeded to the arena expecting anything illogical. What she finds is downright unforgivable.

If he had arranged a dragon verses dragon match before she re-met Hiccup, she would have enjoyed it. However, she felt horrified as she saw the four chained scuttleclaws in the middle of the arena. Rage boiled within her heart as she saw the Vikings pull them apart and prepared them for whatever battle that lies ahead. She didn't think that they were just some dragons, when looking at them she saw Lucky, the little pink dragon Hiccup had saved and whom she had grown attached to. I must stop this, she thought to herself, but how?

She started to move towards Snotlout when she heard a gate opening from within. Snotlout is not fighting the scuttleclaws? She asked herself as she saw him standing tall a few paces ahead of her. Boom! She heard the door swing open, which drug her attention back to the arena. The deadly nader stormed out of its gate and shot a gout of fire at the spectators. It continued to act out until it layed eyes on the scuttleclaws in the center. Everyone was silent. No one, not even Astrid, knew what would happen next. The dragons stared each other down. Astrid saw the wild look in the reader's eye and wondered, do we feed our dragons? Then, it bolted towards them, shooting flames at the little dragons. They... well... scuttled, out of the way, squawking like a flock of birds during hunting season. The Vikings around her laughed and reveled in the sight of the creatures they hated as they ran around. This cannot continue!

Astrid jumped into the arena. When she landed, she miscalculated the distance and fell down. The crowd erupted in a frenzy.

"ASTRID FELL!"

"GET HER OUT OF THERE!"

She rolled over and got up. She reached for her ax to discard it as Hiccup had shown her but realized that it had somehow dislodged from its sheath and was now sliding to a stop at the nader's feet. She started to cautiously approach the dragon, hand it out like she saw Hiccup do.

"GET AWAY FROM IT!"

"FORGET ABOUT THE AXE! RUN!"

"DON'T TAKE IT ON DISARMED!"

Astrid ignored the Vikings and continued to advance towards the dragon. They'll see, they will see. I'll make them see for Lucky, for the Nader, for the scuttleclaws, and for Hiccup.

She was close, "it's okay, it's okay," she coaxed. The dragon started to relax. The Nader stared into Astrid's sincere eyes. The dragon's snout was in her hands. She laughed. I tamed a dragon! Just like Hiccup!

But then, everything went wrong. The Vikings didn't see her attempt to befriend the dragon. They only saw her as a disarmed woman facing off against a dragon. They jumped into the arena and advanced towards the Nader. It growled and stormed in front of Astrid, taking up a defensive stance. Is it... protecting me? She asked herself as the Vikings charged. It lept at Astrid and wrapped its wings around her like a mother protecting a child. A hammer flung at the nader's head and hit it on the side of the face. Astrid jumped out, yelling, "STOP!" But no one heard her. No one saw her. They all only saw the threat, her new friend. Strong hands grabbed her from behind and hurled her out of the way. "Get an ax, Astrid! We'll hold it off so you can grab a weapon and finish it off", Stoick said as he and Gobber flung ropes around the Nader. "No! That's not-" her words were cut short by the sound of screeching. Which came closer and closer, everyone, including the dragons, looked up. Then, a human voice rang clear above the screaming sound. A voice that made Astrid's heart leap. "STOP!!!!"

Astrid smiled. Hiccup!