For Milady

TWO: Staying on the Edge

A/N: Yes, this chapter does mirror the events of Season 5 RTTE.

TWO: Staying on the Edge

It had been a brief lull because the volcano had fought back, surging again and again with small eruptions that had plagued but not directly threatened the Edge and Hiccup had led the riders with enormous determination to save the base. Snotlout was whinging more and more as they kept fighting small lava flows with Gronckle iron and rebuilding the base until another massive eruption, three months after they had celebrated victory over the volcano. And in the aftermath, as half the Edge was burning and Snotlout's precious hut was destroyed, the riders had turned on Hiccup.

"This is a disaster," Astrid commented, staring at the aftermath. Surprisingly, Tuffnut had been philosophical.

"I've seen worse," he said. Fishlegs had agreed with the dry observation:

"You mean-you've caused worse!" Tuff had been unrepentant and admiring.

"I wish! This is Odin's handiwork-and I am just a mere mortal..." he had explained with remarkable clarity. But as he had recovered from being knocked out during the eruption, Snotlout had immediately attacked their leader, his eyes narrowed.

"Well-are you happy now, Hiccup?" There was a pause and Hiccup had looked shocked.

"Happy? Wha-what did I do?' he protested but Snotlout hadn't backed down an inch, his tone sarcastic.

"We should have left this pile of rocks months ago...but no....you want to keep exploring. Hiccup the explorer! We'll all end up killed just to indulge your vanity!" There was a wounded expression in his emerald eyes that made Astrid want to take his hand and comfort him but the pragmatic warrior within her made her sigh and speak honestly, as she had always promised to.

"Hiccup-you know I would rather plant dragon root under my fingernails that agree with Snotlout-but I think it may be time to head back to Berk," she said calmly, her gaze sweeping over the other riders. "Viggo and Ryker have been killed, the Dragon Eye has been destroyed and even Mother Nature is telling us to go!" She stared at Hiccup as Tuff and Snotlout rambled about who Mother Nature was the the male twin demonstrated his amazing and completely unexpected knowledge about foreign deities and saw him turn away, looking around the base they had created, the base they sustained and protected at the risk of their lives for so long.

"Hiccup-we won," she said gently. "We can go home." But when he turned back to her, there was no joy in his eyes because home meant training as a Chief, duty and restrictions... Wordlessly, he had turned away, his shoulders slumped as he had turned back to helping repair the Edge. Busy during the day, Astrid had battled on against exhaustion, a heavy weariness in her bones that had plagued her more and more over the last few weeks. She had slept like a corpse, occasionally skipped breakfast because she was too weary or feeling nauseated due to her exhaustion and felt her head muzzy throughout the days. So she had seen him peripherally that evening as she had trudged to her hut but she had been turning in as he had headed off on his evening flight with Toothless, staring down at the lava flows on the island, seeing more and more of their home vanishing under the fires.

"Okay," he had said the next morning, the deep shadows under his eyes showing he had barely slept as he had wrestled with the problem and finally come to the inevitable conclusion.

"Finally," Snotlout had snapped, his blue eyes narrowed. "When are we getting out of here?" Hiccup gestured aimlessly with his arms.

"When we've stabilised the volcano and found new homes for all the dragons we've relocated here," he explained calmly as Snotlout huffed and muttered under his breath.