A Dragon's Honor

Chapter 4 : The Next Step

Omniscient Pov, Berk_____

"Where are they?!" A loud and very ferocious voice echoed through the village. "They should've been back by now." The voice belonged to Stoick the Vast, Chief of the Hooligan Tribe of Berk. He was like a wild Nadder with dragon root, pacing up and down, looking for Gobber and the group of teens.

"I want a search party. They couldn't have been killed by dragons, they have Astrid, for Thor's sake!" Stoick faced Spitelout and a couple of other warriors. "We'll go in 3 boats, all of the best fighters on it."

"Yes, Chief." The Vikings scattered to prepare.

"Oh, Valka. Hiccup has been gone for 5 years, and now Gobber and the teens are missing. Odin help us."

"Well, dear. Perhaps we shouldn't have allowed them to go on a camping trip. They... Might've shipwrecked and landed somewhere outside of the archipelago," Valka said as she walked over to her troubled husband. "We'll find them."

" 'We'? You're staying here. "

"But- "

"I don't want to lose another family. Not again. "

"Oh, Stoick... "

At the Cove, two hours later__

"Will Hiccup be alright? " Astrid mumbled.

"The Terrors know what they're doing. He's trained them for so long!" Fishlegs put a hand on Astrid's shoulder. " He'll be fine. I hope."

The dragon rider laid on the bed, a few Terrors flocking over to the side of Hiccup. Toothless, who returned after half an hour, cooed softly, and since Astrid don't know how to speak with dragons like Hiccup, she just petted the Night Fury. Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Snotlout rummaged through Hiccup's clothes drawer, looking through all his cool armor. Annoyed, Astrid shooed the twins, Snotlout's and Fishlegs out of the room, leaving Toothless and herself in the room, along with an unconscious Hiccup.

Suddenly, Hiccup groaned, the tiny dragons shifting backwards. A pair of forest green eyes fluttered open, and Toothless raised happily, now that his rider was awake.

"H-hey there, bud, " Hiccup said as he looked at the shieldmaiden. "What... What happened? "

"You were out cold. Luckily, a few Terrors came into the room and fixed you up. " Astrid sat by the edge of the bed. "Hiccup, I have an idea. Why not you come back to Berk? Your father is fuming, and your mother can't really stop him now that we're practically 'missing'."

"Thanks for the suggestion, Astrid, but if I wanted to come back, I wouldn't be here anymore. Besides, you heard Snotlout's dad. I'm a renegade, traitor, all those things that was said that day. And why aren't you trying to kill me, Astrid?"

Astrid hesitated, before starting with her explanation. "Back at Berk, the day before you left, we went on a flight together, right? When you did left, I was practically heartbroken. A few months later, Stoick said that you were surely dead, killed at the hands... Or claws of your night fury. During the funeral, your dad made it clear that Snotlout would replace you as the heir, and I would be married to him, and don't get me wrong, but I hate Snotlout."

Hiccup felt sad and relieved. "Was it on your consent, or..."

"Obviously not, muttonhead, " Astrid chuckled. "But, I knew you and your dragon share a special bond, and that he would never kill you. So, I lived on Berk, still believing that you were alive out there, somewhere outside of the archipelago. And- "
"Here I am, " Hiccup finished for her.

"Yup. Here you are, sitting down, fainting because of absolutely no reason. Yay!" Astrid sarcastically said as she slapped Hiccup's back lightly.

"Haha, very funny, Astrid." Hiccup stood up and walked towards the makeshift balcony to see the sun set. "You know, dragons aren't what they seem to be. The ones back at Berk only had to raid, or else... "

"They get eaten themselves by the queen." Astrid shuddered at the memory of them barely escaping the best when they were young. "The raids stopped, though. Did you have anything to do with this? "

"Funny story, actually. The queen, which I call the Red Death, was killed by me and Toothless. Not bad for my first dragon kill, " Hiccup said with a hint of pride and sarcasm. "That's how I lost my leg."

"So all this time, you've been protecting Berk from the raids? By killing the queen?" Astrid stood beside Hiccup. "Gods, Hiccup, you are... Really something. You solved the problem at Berk. You saved everyone living there. You protected the home that once shunned you out because of some stupid rule; Gods, Hiccup... We Berkians don't deserve you. I... Don't deserve you. " Astrid calmed down, satisfied as she said what she wanted to say. As she turned to leave, she heard a small snicker. She whipped her head around, seeing Hiccup trying to surpress his laughter.

"What's so funny? " Astrid demanded.

"Nothing, just... " Hiccup breathed in and out, controlling his excitement. "You said you don't deserve me. What did I even do to make you say that? "

" Well... It's just... Gods! I'm getting out of here before this gets way out of hand. "She left the room, red to the brim.

"I sense a wedding coming up. Make sure you invite me," Toothless snickered, his face plastered with a gummy smile.

"SHUT UP, TOOTHLESS! " Hiccup hushed his dragon, his face getting hotter and hotter by the minute, causing the Night Fury to laugh heartily.

Stoick________ (A/N Idk boat thingies like mast or hard port and stuff like that, so please bear with me :C)

He stood by the top of the ship, remembering his son's presence. Or what was left of it anywhere in his soul, anyways.
Valka held her husband's forearm, equally worried for the teens and Gobber.

"My love, do not worry, " Stoick reassured her. "We will find them. "