I Am Dragonblood: Secret Uncovered {Book Three} (HTTYD Fanfic)

Chapter Five - The Track Down

    Astrid

Hiccup was... A dragon. 
    Astrid stood on the beach where Hiccup had transformed moments ago, watching the plants he'd dived through swaying. The sound of footsteps coming down the path was behind her, but she ignored them, too shocked to register anything around her. 
    Hiccup was a Night Fury. She kept replaying the moment he'd shifted in her mind's eye. Those reptilian dragon eyes that were still familiar as Hiccup's meeting her own, then the wings and claws and tail that had burst forth in an instant, converging into a dragon so quickly that her mind could not process it. His green eyes had remained locked on her, holding her there until he'd heard something and fled. She couldn't quite believe it, yet she had somehow always known, from his affinity with the dragons and... His eyes changing and the snarl in his voice when he was angry...
    Here was the Chief, hiding a secret such as this. How in Thor's name had he kept it hidden for so long?
    A hand on her shoulder startled her out of her thoughts. Fishlegs was beside her, looking at her with some concern. 'Where's Hiccup?' He asked. 
    'I don't know,' Astrid replied. She sensed movement from the now still plants and thought she saw a Night Fury's ear disappearing from view. She shut her eyes for a second. Your going mad, she told herself. 
    'Astrid, are you ok?' 
    She opened her eyes and saw the others crowded around her. 'Yeah,' she said non to convincingly. No, I'm not. I just saw my best friend turn into a dragon and run off. 'I'm fine.'
    'Okeyyyy,' Fishlegs said, not at all convinced. 'We should go look for Hiccup.'
    'Why?' Snotlout said. 'He's done this before and always come back. Now we can just sit back and relax and not have to listen to his dumb plans.'
    'Or go and blast stuff to smithereens,' Ruffnut said enthusiastically. 
    'Hiccup's our friend and Chief, we can't leave him in a strange place to fall down a pit or something.'
    'We should split up,' Astrid said. 'I'll take that way,' she gestured to the way the Night Fury had gone, even though she very much doubted he would still be there. 
    'Ok, dragons, everyone '
    The dragons were ready and waiting when they arrived back at camp. Astrid mounted Stormfly and they took off before any more delays occurred. She saw Toothless in her peripheral vision, he was at the edge of camp looking out over a waterfall, ears down and eyes searching. 
    He must know about Hiccup, she thought, and looked down at her Nadder, wondering if she had known all along, too. She swooped down low over a saltwater lake, searching the rocks for any sign of dragons, but was nothing but the strange glow there. Stormfly gave a tiny squawk, alerting her rider. She turned in time to see a jet black tail vanish around a corner. She urged her dragon on, Stormfly's tracking skills coming in handy yet again. They were led on for a few minutes, the structure of the rock formations becoming familiar, until finally something recognisable came into view. The tunnel she'd tried time and time again to get through was ahead, and it was unguarded.

545 words, very short one XD