Healer's Island

Watching the wavering ocean from over the side of the boat was very hypnotizing. Hiccup had spent the last hour or so just leaning against the side of the boat and looking down at the water. Every once in a while he would see a fish or the dark silhouette of a dragon swimming deeper down. It helped to keep his head clear as he mindlessly watched the water's constant movement. It was better than letting himself get worked up or stressed out over spending quality time with two people he should feel completely comfortable around.

It was exhausting— Hiccup found out rather early on in their family getaway— interacting with his parents. It didn't come naturally anymore. Now he had to think really hard about how he responded to them and acted around them. He didn't want to say the wrong thing or upset them in any way. He also felt very self-conscious, knowing how attentive they were trying to be toward him. Everything was already stressing him out and all of his usual outlets weren't an option out at sea. So he allowed himself to get hypnotized by the water's movements and the swaying of the boat. It was making him feel even more tired though, and his eyes remained lidded and his expression blank.

Stoick and Valka had been watching Hiccup rather closely. His behavior wasn't what they were used to seeing from him, and it was concerning, especially considering what Astrid had confided in them. They didn't want to be pushy or make him feel cornered. However, after over an hour of Hiccup staring into the water and hardly moving or reacting to anything around him, it seemed about time that they did something. He looked to be completely out of it, as his blank stare was directed at the water below.

"I don't like him so close to the edge." Valka whispered to Stoick as he kept an eye on their course.

"He's just looking at the water." Stoick replied just as quietly, though he eyed his son.

"Which I wouldn't normally think of as a big deal, but we both heard him the other night." Valka worried. "He thinks we're better off without him. Even Astrid was keeping a close eye on him."

"...he wouldn't do anything like that." Stoick denied. "He wouldn't do that to Toothless and Astrid."

"I suppose..." Valka was still concerned. "But we did just separate him from the two he leans on the most. I'm going to go get him."

Before Stoick could do anything to stop her, Valka was tentatively approaching their son. As she neared him, Hiccup didn't do anything to acknowledge her presence. Valka almost touched his back with her hand, but quickly withdrew it.

"Hiccup?" Valka questioned. Hiccup jumped and turned to her with wide eyes. He had been so out of it, so lost in the waves of water, that he had nearly forgotten where he was. "Is everything okay?"

Hiccup didn't know how to answer that. Obviously, no, nothing was okay right now. If he said fine, they would know it was a lie, but he wasn't ready to actually tell them all of his inner thoughts and feelings— he didn't think he'd ever be ready for that. It had been hard enough to do that with Astrid, and he wanted to be open with her. Hiccup merely shrugged awkwardly, internally wincing at his own less than satisfactory response.

Valka looked unsure for a moment, not having gotten anything useful out of the interaction so far. She lifted her arm in a gesture for him to come away from the edge of the boat and he took a few steps closer to her. "Why don't you come join us over here? We can set out a blanket and sit near your father as he keeps an eye on things."

Hiccup didn't really know what to do. He couldn't refuse to spend time with them, that was the point of this whole excursion. Hiccup gave a small nod of his head and shuffled forward as his mom guided him back over to where Stoick was standing. Hiccup didn't think he had been this awkwardly shy since he was a young child hiding behind his dad when other tribal leaders had come to visit and there were a lot of strangers around, many trying to get a look at the heir of Berk, and often looking with disdain. He felt kind of stupid, honestly, resulting back to that childish bashfulness.

"I know what you're thinking." Stoick declared as his wife and son joined him. "Dragons would have been a faster way of traveling. That's right, of course, but they would also distract us from what we're trying to do— spend time together, just the three of us."

Hiccup was pretty sure that not bringing the dragons was also another way of preventing him from flying away when he didn't want to confront his problems. His parents had him cornered and he was trying his best to think about the situation in a positive light. He wanted to be close to his parents, wanted to be that perfect family. He just wasn't sure if it was possible.

"I always liked sailing anyway." Valka answered Stoick when Hiccup said nothing. "Spending time together on our boat is just as good as spending time together on Healer's Island."

Hiccup also thought that they were trying a little too hard, putting a positive spin on everything, being so overly excitable at every little thing. Picking a destination called Healer's Island, could they be anymore obvious? Thinking about it, Hiccup only remembered a little bit about the place. It had some kind of significance, but Hiccup had honestly been less than interested in learning about places and history at the time his father had told him about it. However, he did vaguely remember watching the flames in the fireplace in their home, back when he was a small child and his father was telling him tales of the past.

"...remind me what Healer's Island is again?" Hiccup finally joined their conversation, though not in the way they had expected.

"I've told you about it before." Stoick huffed, knowing that Hiccup had been distracted for a lot of his "teaching moments" in the past. Valka elbowed him and made a face, they had to be more gentle with Hiccup. Though their son didn't seem to notice or care about Stoick's tone. Hiccup was also often oblivious to the points Stoick was trying to make and drive home— such as learning to listen— especially when it dealt with Berk history. Stoick tried again. "Did you never travel there with your friends when you were living on Dragon's Edge?"

"Well the point was for us to explore beyond what we already had mapped." Hiccup pointed out, feeling like this conversation was going decently enough. "We didn't stay around here and when we were here, we avoided it because we knew there was some kind of... political aspect about that place? With other tribes." Hiccup ducked his head a little, knowing that he should be more aware of agreements Berk had with other tribes, as the heir of Berk.

Stoick sighed, he couldn't really blame Hiccup. It wasn't even that relevant anymore, anyway. "Healer's Island is a lush forest where one can find an abundance of different kinds of plants good for healing."

"There were even plants there that couldn't be found anywhere else." Valka threw in.

"That's true." Stoick affirmed. "The thing about Healer's Island though, is that it is located at a relatively equal distance from a few different tribes and is a valuable resource. It was the place to go for medicines. So, of course, generations back, wars were fought over that island, people wanting to keep its treasures and resources for themselves. But battling over the resources only served to do damage to the island and cause more harm."

"Injuries from war that ironically required healing herbs." Valka pointed out the flaw with a humorless laugh.

"Eventually Berk, and a few other tribes decided to come to an agreement." Stoick continued. "Healer's Island was to be left unclaimed by any tribe. It was declared communal and neutral grounds for anyone to use, no matter what the state of peace is between any of the nearby tribes. However, there are still rules set in place. Only take what you need. No destruction of the plant life is allowed. When you take a part of a medicinal plant, you must leave enough intact for it to continue to grow. No permanent structures are to be built on the land. No battles and no war on the grounds of the island."

"That's... good." Hiccup commented a little awkwardly. "But why don't we go there very often anymore?"

"Well, at first not everyone had discovered what could be found there." Valka picked up the explanation. "Once it was known, it was a hassle to sail there for herbs, especially since people would get hostile and territorial about it. After it was declared neutral ground and the rules were established in the name of peace and prosperity for all, we started taking pieces of the plants and growing them on Berk. That way we didn't have to keep sailing out there."

"Gothi and the other healers fly there now, on occasion. There are some plants that can only be grown in that environment." Stoick said thoughtfully, trying to remember which plants exactly couldn't grow on Berk.

"I suspect a lot of the other tribes did something similar." Valka guessed. "Why take over a day's journey to gather healing herbs when you can grow them yourself?"

"For the change in scenery...?" Hiccup suggested, Valka and Stoick laughed.

"Just like you, Val." Stoick commented and Hiccup raised an eyebrow, he didn't like it when they compared him to his mom. "She could never stay put either."

"Oh, sure I could." Valka denied and nudged Stoick, then noticed that Hiccup seemed to feel out of the loop, and explained. "I trained under Gothi for a while, as a healer. Honestly, I did it more for the opportunity to join them on the trips to Healer's Island for supplies more than I did it because it was some kind of passion. I took a lot of trips out there, and you're right, the change of scenery was refreshing."

"Sigrid mentioned something about you training to be a healer." Hiccup said, trying to find a way to keep the conversation going. He didn't want the overwhelming pressures of their situation and the dampening mood from before, to catch back up with them

"It was only for maybe a year?" She glanced to Stoick for confirmation and he shrugged, hardly able to remember something so specific from that long ago. "I married your father not long after and... focused on other things. Though, the knowledge I did gain has served me well in the past twenty years."

"How well?" Stoick asked in alarm.

"Don't start worrying." Valka comforted. "I may have scraped myself up every now and then, but I meant that it came in handy treating the injured dragons that I freed."

"Are people even allowed to go to Healer's Island for... leisure?" Hiccup didn't even know what to call this trip. Family bonding time? Vacation? He didn't suspect that he was going to find the trip leisurely in any way.

"Sure." Stoick answered with some enthusiasm, accepting Hiccup's redirection of their conversation. Anything to get Hiccup to keep talking to them and stop moping around the ship. This was the most he had talked to them since their discussion at the Hofferson house. "There aren't as many visitors there like before. The place is never crowded and is a decent sized island. Most people keep a respectful distance from one another while there. As long as we follow the rules, we can stay for a short visit. I used to go there with my father, when I was your age."

Hiccup hummed a response, acknowledging what his dad had told him. He was well aware of the trips that Stoick used to take with his father, Hiccup's grandfather. Gobber had mentioned it once, long ago, back when Hiccup and Stoick didn't get along. Gobber had mentioned it in a side comment, something about how Hiccup and Stoick could use some time on an island together, to give himself some peace from their complaining.

When Hiccup had probed more about it, Gobber had told him simply so that his apprentice would be satisfied and he could get back to work. The only thing Gobber had actually managed to do, however, was make Hiccup feel even worse about himself. His dad didn't want to spend quality time with his son. Hiccup had wished that he could have met his grandfather, maybe he would have loved his grandson and taken him away from Berk for a nice reprieve from the hatred tossed his way. Or maybe, his grandfather would have been disappointed in him too. He thought he was nothing like Stoick, and Hiccup's grandfather had obviously loved his son.

Hiccup hadn't known that Healer's Island was the place his father and grandfather had used to go. He'd never gone to Healer's Island before, hadn't had the need, and had never been invited on a father-son bonding trip there.

The conversation started to die out, even as Stoick and Valka tried to keep it going. Hiccup was becoming distracted again, letting his attention drift as his eyes settled back on the water. The two parents shared a brief look of concern as they failed to get Hiccup to respond to them anymore. They had thought that things were going well, that Hiccup was going to be more cooperative in his efforts to get along.

"I think Astrid is going to do a great job as interim chief. I'm very impressed by her." Valka tried to coax Hiccup out of his thoughts and back into the conversation.

"She can handle it." Hiccup responded confidently. "Gobber will help her if she needs it."

"Of course." Valka had hoped that bringing up Astrid would lead into a conversation about the young couple. She would love to hear more about their adventures together and learn more about her future daughter-in-law.

"For a moment there, I didn't think Toothless was going to let you leave." Stoick commented with some humor. "That dragon is very attached to you."

Hiccup glanced at his dad, he really had no idea how bonded he and Toothless really were. For a moment, Hiccup considered asking his mom about it, then thought better of it. He didn't need to give his parents another reason to be acting weird around him.

"Toothless will be fine. Astrid will take him flying and look after him." Hiccup said instead.

"She knows how to fly Toothless? It looks kind of complicated." Valka thought about the device that allowed Toothless to fly despite his missing tail fin.

"It took her some time to learn how, but she's gotten really good at it. It just takes practice."

"It takes more than that." Stoick disagreed. "I've tried on multiple occasions and can do nothing more than basic flying, and even then it's not smooth sailing."

"You're just too impatient." Hiccup responded, though he didn't mean for it to be an insult. "It's more than just learning the movements. It's acquiring a feel for subtle changes and an intuition for maneuvering with a partner."

"You and Toothless are very good at that."Valka complimented. "I was very impressed by your flying when Toothless was blindfolded."

"Nearly scared me to death." Stoick muttered, though it was still audible to the others.

"Toothless and I knew what we were doing." Hiccup huffed.

"And everything worked out well enough." Valka had to add, not wanting things to escalate or heat up. Stoick really needed to learn to better voice his concerns for his son so that it didn't always come across as angry. Hiccup needed to learn that his father was going to worry about him and that it wasn't something to get defensive about.

The conversation died off again and Valka sincerely hoped that talking to each other would get easier over time. They were off to a somewhat rocky start, but things could improve in the next few days. She would do everything she could to insure that.

—

The feeling of rocking gently on the waves of the ocean was familiar to Hiccup and it helped lure him into sleep. He was tired after the surprising amount of energy it took to try and keep up a conversation with his parents. Trying to get some sleep was a good way to escape the situation, and he honestly did need some rest.

Though he was lulled into sleep fairly easily, it was a fitful and restless kind of sleep. His dream stemmed from a memory, one that he hadn't given much thought before but had actually been one of his more frightening experiences.

He was trapped. Having descended down into the depths of the water in one of his inventions, so that he could free the Submaripper that was causing trade ships from coming to Berk. Hiccup had thought the mission had been a success, but then the metal contraption that he had used to create an air pocket under the water, dropped to the ocean floor.

Water spilled in, filling the space at an alarming rate. Hiccup had looked around frantically, desperately scrambling for a way out, but there was none. After a moment of panic, Hiccup looked through the circular window and saw Toothless. His dragon was unwilling to leave him there and Hiccup knew he would do the same thing for his best friend.

Hiccup had accepted what was going to happen. He wasn't going to make it... he held his breath as the water surrounded him and stared back at Toothless. His last sight, his last thoughts, would be of his dear friend.

He knew he wouldn't last much longer. He could feel the urge to take in a deep breath. He felt the tightening in his chest, the strain in his lungs. Everything went dark...

With a violent jolt, Hiccup sat up and took several deep breaths. Looking around, he remembered where he was— on a boat, headed for Healer's Island with his parents. With confusion he noted that he didn't see his parents anywhere. There was literally no where for someone to hide.

Shaking his head, Hiccup tried to rid himself of unpleasant memories as he stood up. The rocking of the boat made him feel unbalanced for a moment. He looked out over the seemingly endless waves of water, the openness a relief from the memories of being stuck in small spaces with no air. He really didn't have the best experiences with tiny spaces.

"Hiccup!" Stoick shouted to his son. "You're up!"

Hiccup turned around, finally noticing that they had arrived. The boat was tied up and his parents were on land. How long had he been sleeping? He wasn't sure, but was grateful that he had been saved the awkwardness that had settled around them as they sailed. He was also grateful that neither of his parents had witnessed the state of his waking. Hiccup didn't know why these nightmares had been plaguing him more than usual. He had already come to terms with a lot of his near-death experiences, hadn't had dreams about them in a long time. Ever since his battle with Drago, they had all come back with renewed vigor.

"You could have woken me." Hiccup informed them as he descended from the boat and stepped onto the dock. "I thought permanent structures weren't allowed on Healer's Island?"

"They're not, with the exception of a few designated docks." Stoick answered.

"You seemed tired, so we decided to set up camp on our own." Valka responded to his first statement. "It wasn't very difficult."

After taking in the beautiful surroundings, Hiccup walked up a path and joined his parents. There were a couple piles of supplies lying around, but no campsite. Before he could ask about it, Valka answered his question.

"We've been going back and forth for our supplies. We set up camp further inland."

"We were going to wake you in a few minutes anyway." Stoick said, handing Hiccup a pack to carry and starting up the path into the woods. "It's not too far from here."

The walk through the woods of the island was pleasant enough, Hiccup liked exploring new places. Usually he would take in the view from the skies first, with Toothless, then explore more in detail on foot, drawing on his map and taking note of interesting things in his sketchbook.

Hiccup noticed that there were a lot of plants here, most of them he recognized as plants that Gothi used. He wasn't an expert on herbs and plants like Fishlegs, that didn't interest Hiccup nearly as much as it did his... former friend, but he did have decent knowledge on the subject. He had been forced to take a lot of different medicines when he had first lost his leg, and still took some today, when his amputation acted up. After being forced to take so many, he had discovered which ones he preferred and helped him the most.

Seeing the familiar white petals of a plant that he liked to carry with him, Hiccup came to a stop. Glancing ahead of him, he could see his parents walking leisurely up the path together. He took a moment to be briefly annoyed, then walked off the path without them even noticing.

If he was going to endure a week with his parents, he was going to want some chamomile. It had been given to him, along with a mixture of other herbs, to help with the inflammation in his stump, but Hiccup liked that it also helped him sleep and feel more calm. It would do him good to have some with him, and Healer's Island was a good place to get some.

Hiccup carefully maneuvered down a slope to a clearing. There was an abundance of chamomile, the spot in direct sunlight. As he observed the area, he had to admit that at least his parents had decided on a beautiful place to go for their little trip.

Not in any hurry, figuring that it would be fairly easy to track down his parents and find the campsite when he was ready, Hiccup walked leisurely through the small field. There were plenty of good specimen to choose from, but Hiccup was more focused on enjoying the solitude after being on a boat with his parents for so long, without anywhere to go but the ocean if he wanted to be alone, and that wasn't really an option.

A gentle breeze displaced his hair and Hiccup stopped, closing his eyes and taking a deep, relaxing breath. The mounting stress and anxiety of the past couple weeks had been getting to him and he supposed that his parents were right about him needing a break. Not that their constant presence had been helping him to relax.

They wanted to bond and Hiccup felt bad that he had made a big deal out of it, hinting that it might not be possible. They weren't likely to stop probing at him until he gave in, so he would do what they wanted, he would please them like he always pleased others, meanwhile hiding his true feelings. It was how he had always lived, so he could keep doing it, even if the very idea made him feel tired. He could keep pretending that things were fine. Hiccup knew he hadn't been doing a good job of acting like he was okay lately. He was going to try harder though, make it seem like everything was fine so that people would leave him alone and stop trying to fix him.

He had buried things deep down before he had let Astrid dig deep and draw out his hidden feelings, he could cover them back up again.

Hiccup regretted letting himself be so vulnerable in front of so many others. He had expressed doubt to his parents that they could ever be a family. He should have just brushed it off, told them what they wanted to hear, pretended that everything was okay. Now, they were aware of his feelings and were coddling him. He hated it. Everything they did felt insincere because of it, especially when they didn't even notice him slip away, once again too distracted with each other.

With a sharp intake of air, Hiccup whirled around, wide eyes scanning the tree line. He hadn't necessarily heard anything, but he had sensed something, as if someone had been watching him. His parents would have alerted him to their presence, would have said his name. They also would have come from a different direction.

"Hello?" Hiccup called, but there was no answer. He stood completely still, watching the line of trees, squinting into the dimmer lighting just beyond. Still, nothing moved and no sounds could be heard. It could have just been an animal, though that reasoning didn't quite satisfy him.

"There you are." Valka's gentle voice came from the direction of the path Hiccup had strayed from. Hiccup turned his head to watch as she cautiously stepped down the slope, Stoick not far behind her. "We turned around and you were gone."

"...sorry." Hiccup answered quietly, cursing himself for not speaking normally. It would take more than that to convince his parents that things were okay between them and that their bonding time had worked. He had to make them think that they could be a family, so that things could feel normal again. Ignoring his feelings and pushing forward like everything was fine seemed like a better option than being awkward and having strained relationships with his parents. Hiccup had pushed forward after the incident with the Red Death, and things, for the most part, had worked out. For the past week, it seemed as if the past was catching up with him, but he could weather it out. Things could be normal again.

"Is everything alright?" Valka had noticed how still Hiccup had been when she had first spotted him. He almost seemed frightened. She glanced around, looking for any sign of a threat. There shouldn't be, not on Healer's Island.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Hiccup said, louder than before. He winced, thinking that he had overdone it a bit with the volume. Why was it so hard to act... normal? How had he ever managed to bond with his mother that first day they had met? That seemed so long ago and unattainable now. Even the idea of interacting with his dad made him feel a bit anxious. It didn't used to be this way. With a sigh, Hiccup gestured at the plants. "I just wanted to gather some chamomile."

Valka looked at her son for a moment, sure that there was more that he was leaving unsaid. She didn't want to be pushy or overbearing, so she let it go. "Do you want some help? I told you that I used to come here, to collect herbs with Gothi?"

"Yeah, I remember." Hiccup answered, though he did know how to collect part of a plant while still leaving it alive. He would let his mom teach him if it would make her feel better.

"This spot's not far from a place my father and I used to go for sparring." Stoick was taking in the surroundings, keeping off to the side so that he wouldn't trample any of the medicinal plants. He had listened to the brief conversation between his wife and son. He was sure something was on Hiccup's mind, he knew his son well enough, but decided not to bring it up. "It's a decent sized clearing in the trees, covered in dirt. No risk of trampling the plant life."

"Sparring?" Valka smiled in amusement as she knelt down next to a plant and gestured for Hiccup to do the same. "Do you really want to take me on?"

Stoick chuckled at her response. "You could teach Hiccup a thing or two, I'm sure. He doesn't fight like the rest of us."

Hiccup narrowed his eyes at the comment. It was true enough, but he didn't feel much like training and sparring with his parents. Things tended to get a little strained when his father tried to teach him how Vikings fought.

"I'd be happy to, if that's what Hiccup wants." Valka glanced up at her son, taking her eyes off the white flowers. She remembered that Gobber had mentioned how Hiccup didn't enjoy activities such as sparring or hunting. Hiccup met her eyes, a bit startled.

"Sure..." Hiccup agreed, though mostly because he didn't want to offend his mother or cause any disagreements or problems. He had told himself that he would go along with what they wanted, so that he could convince them that there wasn't a problem. Valka smiled at him and proceeded to teach him how to gently harvest a piece of the plant while still leaving it mostly intact.

—

The coals of the fire radiated heat, the orange glow of the embers the only sign of the fire that remained. Hiccup leaned against a log with a blanket draped over him, having not been able to fall asleep and not particularly eager to dream of another one of his past, near-death experiences. His parents were sleeping soundly on the other side of the campfire.

After having slept for such a long time on the boat, Hiccup hadn't been able to fall asleep. He wasn't tired and he hadn't done much today so he still felt well-rested. Once they had made it to their campsite, after their little side quest to gather some chamomile, they had finished setting things up. Hiccup had wanted to explore some more, but the sun was starting to go down, so they had made some dinner and relaxed around the fire together. If anything about the day had exhausted him, it had been trying to act normal and participate in the conversation before they had decided to get some sleep. It would get easier with time, Hiccup knew.

Careful as to not make any noise, Hiccup decided that he was bored of just sitting there in the dark, and stood up. If Healer's Island was a peaceful place then there was no danger in him exploring a bit on his own. He was careful to step around things as he made his way to the edge of their campsite and into the tree line, glancing back once, to make sure his parents were still sleeping.

Hiccup decided that he would walk the perimeter of the island, since he wasn't too far from the shore anyway. The walk would take a couple hours at least, but he was fine with that. Maybe he would be tired by the time he made it back to their campsite. It would give him a better idea of the landscape. Since he couldn't just fly overhead with Toothless and memorize the layout, he would have to do it the hard way.

Seeing the variation in vegetation and plant life, Hiccup could see why it was called Healer's Island. There were a lot of healing herbs, some he knew were rare. Though, it didn't look like many people came here anymore, otherwise a lot of the plants would be cut back and managed, but a lot of them grew rampant. His parents had made a good point, earlier— why keep coming back when you could start growing it at home?

The fact that lives had been lost over this island and its resources, yet it now sat overgrown and abandoned, gave the place a growing eeriness. It was pleasant and beautiful during the day, and it was still a beauty to look at now, but with an unsettling air about it.

Something felt off to Hiccup, but he couldn't quite figure out what it was, other than his mind thinking about the island's dark history and the greed of the people who had fought over it. Since it was neutral ground and an incredible resource for plants that couldn't be found in many other places, Hiccup figured that the tribes should come up with a system. Have one tribe maintain it each month, or something along those lines. Even with the rules already set in place, the island was starting to look pretty wild and overgrown. Common plants could easily choke out the useful ones. After all that went into the agreement to share this place, after all that violence, Hiccup thought it was a shame that the place felt so... abandoned.

Hiccup paused, feeling as his foot crunched atop something. Using the natural lighting of the bright moon, Hiccup crouched down to get a better look. It was an old fire pit, with charred wood strewn about and ash left in piles. It looked old enough. So apparently people did still come here on occasion. Having walked a majority of the perimeter already, Hiccup hadn't seen any other boats at any of the docks. Some of the docks were even run down and in need of repairs. He was pretty sure no one else was here but them.

As he moved to stand up, something occurred to him. Crouching back down, Hiccup picked up one of the charred pieces of wood. It wasn't a branch or typical firewood. It was a wooden plank. Hiccup wondered how it had gotten there, on an island that didn't allow structures to be built on it. It was obviously a former piece of something, a house or a boat even.

Tossing the wood back onto the ground, he thought back to earlier that day, when he was sure something had been watching him. It couldn't have been a person if there was no sign of other people being there recently. It was likely to have been an animal of some kind, lurking in the bushes. Hiccup moved on from the old fire pit, a thought coming to him. He could always go back and check, see if there were any footprints.

—

After having made his loop around the island, confirming that there were no other ships there other than their own, Hiccup made his way back to the patch of chamomile. It was late into the night now, closer to morning, and it was hard to see.

Carefully making his way through the chamomile for the second time, Hiccup could see the place amongst the trees that had caught his eye the day before. He hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings then, just basking in the freedom of being out in nature on his own. That was when he'd had the sudden feeling that he wasn't alone, not counting his parents who were further up on the trail. Hiccup wasn't sure what exactly made him look in that particular direction. It hadn't been a sound, or even the sight of movement— his eyes had been closed at the time. No, it had been a creeping feeling running up his spine. A prickly sensation on the back of his neck. He had turned suddenly, before even realizing why.

"This is stupid. What am I doing?" Hiccup whispered to himself as he came to a stop, just outside the line of trees that surrounded the area. So he had been spooked by some animal, that didn't mean that there was anything to investigate. Why would it matter anyway, if there were other people on Healer's Island with them? It was neutral ground, anyone was allowed to be there so long as they followed the rules.

It was odd though, that someone would watch him and sneak away, assuming someone had been there at all. There were no other ships to be found, so maybe they flew in on dragons. Hiccup knew there were a few other people and tribes out there who had peace with dragons too. He hadn't seen any evidence of dragons though, had heard no roars or seen any flying around. But he also hadn't finished exploring the inner regions of the island.

Shaking his head and reprimanding himself for being paranoid, Hiccup took a few steps into the trees. He was being ridiculous. They were safe, it didn't matter if anyone else was on the island. There was nothing spooky in these woods. He should focus on his parents and stop looking for something to distract himself from the reason he was on this island in the first place.

Despite his thoughts, Hiccup still drew his Dragon Blade as he neared the spot in the trees that had caught his attention before. He was curious and so wouldn't stop investigating until he was satisfied. Hiccup made a face, knowing that doing such things was what often got him into trouble, but that thought also wasn't enough to stop him.

Fire ran up the blade of his sword, warm air blowing against his face for a moment, lighting the area so he could look for footprints. Hiccup tilted his sword toward the ground so he could get a better look. As he moved the source of light in his hands, a glint of light at the corner of his eye alerted him to something strung between the trees.

There was a line of thread, the fire from his blade allowing him to see it. With a gasp as he realized what it was, Hiccup immediately pulled his sword back and threw himself backwards as he saw the flame from his sword burn through the thread and run up its length.

A trap flung out of the dirt-covered ground and sprung up, just where Hiccup had been standing.

Eyes wide, Hiccup panted for breath as he stared up at the tangle of ropes in surprise, from his place on the ground. He was nearly laying on his back, his elbows holding himself up, and his legs drawn in and away from from where the trap had been sprung.

The trap had been activated before he had even hit the ground with a thud, it had been a close call. He had not been expecting that. If not for the light from his Dragon Blade, he wouldn't have seen the thread and would have been strung up in a dangerous trap.

If what he had sensed the previous day had really been an animal... then that animal would have been captured in the trap and unable to sneak away and that would have made a lot of noise. That would mean that a person would have had to have been there, to set up the trap. Or if it had been an animal, someone had to have set up the trap after Hiccup had been there last.

Hiccup quickly retracted the blade of his sword, extinguishing the flames. He didn't want to draw attention to himself if someone else was out there. He quickly stood and stepped away from the trap in front of him, suddenly feeling like going out into the open meadow was a bad idea and would leave him exposed.

Taking a deep breath, Hiccup tried to calm himself and reason things out. So what if someone else was out there? They were allowed to be. Hunting wasn't against the rules on the island, neither was setting traps for the sake of hunting. Hiccup could have interrupted someone as they were checking their trap when he had been there earlier, and they could have decided to remain quiet so that they wouldn't scare off any animal life. Not everyone was social, some people liked to keep to themselves. Everything was fine.

His heart had stopped pounding in fear as he thought things through and he let his hand fall away from his chest. There was nothing to be afraid of on this island. It was peaceful, and beautiful, even if a little wild. He was making something of nothing, letting his imagination get the better of him.

The trap may have startled him, but it didn't mean anything sinister was going on. There were plenty of explanations for what had happened. Taking another deep breath to try and further calm his nerves, Hiccup decided to leave the area. He had just messed up someone's trap and they would have to come and fix it if they wanted to catch something they could eat. Hiccup almost felt bad about springing the trap and ruining someone's hunt.

Hiccup climbed back up the slope that lead to the trail they had walked along earlier, to get to their camp, slipping here and there due to his prosthetic. Once he was up on the trail and looking in the direction of camp, he realized that he didn't want to return yet, even if doing so would help him settle down and feel a bit safer after his scare. Sneaking back into camp always ran the risk of waking and disturbing his parents, but that was more of an excuse than anything.

Honestly, Hiccup was afraid that if he fell asleep, he would wake due to another one of those nightmares, where he relived one of his near-death experiences, and his parents would fuss over him. That was the last thing he wanted to happen, especially since they were already fussing over him enough to grate on his nerves. He wanted to have a good relationship with his parents, but he didn't want it to feel forced or superficial. That didn't seem likely with his intention of burying his feelings deep down and moving on, but it still bothered him.

With a sigh, Hiccup decided to return to their boat. There were still some supplies there and he would be able to sleep comfortably. If he woke in terror, no one would know. He could return to camp at first light and hopefully his parents wouldn't make anything of it.

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A/N: Hey everyone, thanks for reading! A lot of thought went into this chapter, so I hope you liked it!

Twilight81598: Wow, I'm happy to hear that you liked the last chapter, haha. THANKS!

Silver Sentinel: Yeah, Hiccup wasn't in the right frame of mind to be chiefing, and he was afraid of how other people would think of him after witnessing both arguments with his parents. Good thing he can always rely on Astrid.

Jack the Dragon: This chapter may not have had as many feelings, but don't worry, there will be plenty more angst and feelings to come! So many. I'm glad that you like my story!

CHSHiccstrid: I would have liked it if the movies and shows addressed how Hiccup felt about how things used to be and how it all affected him, but I guess they were focused on other things happening and didn't want to dampen the movies with such heavy topics. But it seems like Hiccup should have been more affected. Haha, I'm glad you like how I write Hicstrid. They make a good couple. You thought the past couple chapters were angsty, just wait for future chapters.

Animation Adventures: Everyone realizes how much they have hurt Hiccup, and they all want to make amends now. Though it will take time and effort. The place Stoick and Valka take Hiccup, Healer's Island, isn't from the movies, shows, or books. I made it up, so don't worry. All the backstory you need was already explained in this chapter. I reference Race to the Edge fairly often in this story, so I hope it doesn't ever get confusing for you! (Actually, someone tells me that Healer's Island is a place in the shows. I didn't know that, so I guess I gave it a new history, haha).

dbfox007: I'm flattered that you read the last chapter twice. I'm glad you like the story! Yeah, the last chapter did get into a lot of deep stuff. Astrid is pretty great, isn't she? Thanks!