Takes place shortly before "Race to the Edge", so they look as they would look in said show. Have fun, and enjoy! :D

Winter on Berk was not a beautiful time. In fact, if anything, it was just the opposite. Sure, the snow was beautiful when it was falling, and it was always fun to catch snowflakes on one's tongue, but overnight, Berk would go from a warm afternoon to a white-washed land that looked entirely built up of ice and snow.

But, such weather was common for Berk and its inhabitants, and they complained little about such things. It was more of a nuisance for them than anything else, having to patch the roofs that caved in due to large amounts of heavy snow piled on top of them, along with trying to keep warm through the night.

Besides, since the Vikings were so used to the cold weather conditions, a freezing afternoon or snowy evening came as no shock and no problem; they were used to dealing with blizzards and snowstorms that blew in from the North.

But there was always one week of the year; the week leading up to Devastating Winter, that always seemed colder than all the other days. For most of the Vikings, the answer was simple: get extra blankets from the Great Hall, have their hearths and fireplaces well-lit, and sleep with their dragons until it blew over.

Unless you were Hiccup. He had other things to deal with that were harder than simply keeping warm.

"NO, SNOTLOUT! DON'T DARE HOOKFANG TO SCORCH YOU! … TUFFNUT, GET THAT DAGGER OUT OF YOUR MOUTH! … RUFFNUT, STOP TRYING TO KILL FISHLEGS!"

Hiccup ran back and forth in the dragon academy as his students (and less-than-cooperative friends) did all the things he told them not to do. For instance: Snotlout was chasing Hookfang while holding a target out in front of him, and Tuffnut was trying to decide whether or not he could swallow a dagger without killing himself, and if the dagger would slice open his stomach if he somehow accomplished it. Meanwhile, Ruffnut was trying to see whose helmet was stronger (hers or Fishlegs'), and she was using a hammer to test it.

While the helmets were on their heads.

Astrid watched casually from the sidelines, leaning up against her dragon's side. "What are you so worried about, Hiccup?" she asked offhandedly, crossing her arms over her chest. Snow was falling now; the wind was a light breeze, but Hiccup could tell that it meant trouble later on when it got stronger. "They do this all the time."

"Yeah, I know," Hiccup said. He ducked as Hookfang spat a blast of fire at Snotlout, missed, and almost scorched Hiccup. The fireball hit the wall and sizzled out. Hiccup glared at his cousin, and Snotlout shrugged.

"Hey, Hookfang!" Snotlout said. "Do the thing again!"

"I forbid you to do the thing again," Hiccup said.

"Come on, Hiccup," Snotlout said. "This is our last training session before Devastating Winter sets in."

"I know," Hiccup said, putting his head in his hand, "and that's exactly why you guys need to cooperate. If Dagur, and we're not ready, then we're in serious trouble."

"With a capital T," Tuffnut said across from them, holding a dagger over his open mouth. Hiccup raced over to him and pried the dagger out of his grip before throwing it to the ground beside him. Tuffnut, unfazed, continued, "Wait, would you capitalize the S, or the T?"

Hiccup growled under his breath. "Nevermind," he said. "Just...don't...hurt anything, alright? Astrid, make sure he doesn't get ahold of anything sharper than his finger."

Astrid nodded silently.

"Hiccup," Fishlegs said, finally managing to break away from Ruffnut long enough to speak to their leader, "the wind is getting stronger. Do you think we should head to the Great Hall, before it gets worse?"

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, you're right," he observed quietly. "Come on, let's go." He sighed. A whole day of training that could have been useful, wasted because of the insanity of his friends. It wasn't the first time it had happened, and Hiccup was pretty sure it wouldn't be the last time, either.

He hoped his friends didn't see him limping as he went to mount Toothless. His leg had been bothering him all day - or, more so, what was left of his leg. It was an odd sensation. He knew his left leg was gone, but it was almost as though he could still feel it, and it felt like a throbbing ache that he couldn't shake himself out of.

He steadied himself against Toothless' side, and then made a move to get on his back. Before he got far, though, a sharp stab of pain raced up his leg, and he winced, hoping his friends didn't notice it.

Fishlegs was the first to realize his pained expression, and when he did, Hiccup had already seated himself on Toothless' back. "Hiccup," he said, "are you alright?"

Those four words instantly had the other youths looking in his direction. Astrid looked angry, like she usually did, but there was a small hint of concern behind her eyes, and Hiccup didn't fail to notice it.

Snotlout looked annoyed, Ruffnut looked confused, and Tuffnut looked like he wanted to try swallowing daggers again.

Hiccup shook his head, trying for a smile. "I'm fine," he said. "It'll pass…"

The pain didn't pass. If anything, it only got worse, until he hissed through his teeth and doubled over, the side of his head on the back of Toothless' neck while his hand clutched at what was left of his leg.

"It'll pass?" Snotlout questioned as Astrid and Fishlegs hurried towards Hiccup. After a moment, Snotlout followed them as well. "What will pass?"

Hiccup waved his hand to his friends, but they only looked more worried. "Hey, don't worry," he assured. "It's...just...one of those stupid things that comes with being an amputee…"

Astrid frowned. "It doesn't just look like - whoa." She cut herself off, springing forward to catch Hiccup as he fell sideways off Toothless. Toothless growled with concern, nuzzling Hiccup as the boy stood up straight, albeit with a pained expression on his face.

"Seriously," he said. "It's just...just...actually, just help me on Toothless again."

"Do you have a deathwish?" Astrid snapped. "No way you can fly like this." As it was, it took both Astrid and Fishlegs to keep Hiccup from face planting the ground again.

"Then...then help me walk," Hiccup muttered. "I'm...I'm fine…"

Another wave of pain crashed over him, and this time, he screamed. Ruffnut and Tuffnut shouted something no one could make out, while Astrid quickly lowered Hiccup to the ground and cradled his head in her lap. Toothless shrieked, and Snotlout ran forward as if to help in some way.

"What's wrong, what happened!?" Snotlout shouted frantically.

No one answered him for a good long while. "Snotlout," Astrid said from where she was sitting on the ground with Hiccup's head in her lap, "go get Stoick. Ruffnut and Tuffnut, you get Gothi."

For once in their lives, the assigned three didn't argue. They mounted their dragons and headed off instantly.

"I've read about something like this before," Fishlegs said to Astrid. "And Gobber's talked to me about it before, too. He called it 'phantom pains.'"

Astrid cringed. She had heard that term before, but that didn't mean she was very familiar with it. All she knew was that it was painful. "Well?" she said. "Continue?" She didn't want to imagine the pain Hiccup was in. He was shivering, and Astrid knew it was from his pain, not the cold, and that was already worrisome enough without the fact that he was gasping for breath, his chest heaving.

"Well," Fishlegs said, breaking her out of her thoughts, "it's kind of hard to explain, but...well, right now, Hiccup probably feels as though he still has his leg."

"Yeah, so what?" Astrid said. "What's so bad about that?" What's so painful about that, more-like.

"And it probably feels like it's being sliced to ribbons or stabbed with a white-hot sword," Fishlegs said quietly.

Astrid hesitated. "That doesn't sound pleasant," she said under her breath, although she sounded more worried than anything, which was something Fishlegs rarely saw in the young dragon rider. They looked back down at Hiccup: his eyes were squeezed shut, tears slipping past his lids, and he was moaning and hissing through his teeth.

"It hurts…" he whimpered. Astrid put her hand on his forehead to check his temperature and make him relax. He felt warmer than usual, but Astrid didn't know why. "It hurts…" he choked.

Astrid looked at Fishlegs helplessly, and he looked back at her in the same way. "What do we do?" Fishlegs asked.

Astrid didn't answer him right away, and when she did, she spoke in a quiet tone she wasn't known to have. "The healer and Stoick are coming," she said. "The...the healer will know what to do. He'll be fine." She ran her fingers through Hiccup's hair, but that was it. She couldn't do anything to take away his present pain, and she hated herself for it.

He relaxed when she stroked his hair, but even then, it didn't seem like very much. Just a small gesture of compassion that helped abate some of his agony. Astrid wished that he never went through any pain at all in the first place.

The sound of wings flapping, followed by Stoick's shout of, "HICCUP!" as he flew in on Skullcrusher met their ears. The dragon landed in the academy, and Stoick dismounted the dragon, racing instantly towards where Astrid was sitting and Hiccup was lying, twitching and convulsing in pain.

"What happened!?" Stoick demanded as he bent down and took Hiccup into his own arms. Hiccup moaned in protest of being jostled. "What is it!?"

"Phantom pain, sir," Fishlegs reported worriedly. "Or...or I think that's what it is…"

Astrid stood. "What do we do?"

"The best thing is to keep him relaxed," Stoick said, although he seemed to be talking to himself more than the others, his eyes glued to Hiccup's face. "Keep him calm, get 'im warm...the cold hasn't done him any favors, but he'll feel better when he gets warmed up a bit."

Hiccup gasped and choked in pain, resting his head against his father's shoulder. Stoick smoothed his hair briefly and looked back at Astrid again. "I'm taking him home," he said.

"I'll come with you," Astrid offered instantly. She wasn't going to let Hiccup suffer without being there with him. She was his friend - in fact, she might have even gone on to say that they were more than friends.

Not out loud, of course. Silently, to herself, if ever.

Stoick nodded and mounted Skullcrusher while Astrid hopped on Stormfly's back. Within moments, the dragons were airborne and heading straight for the Chief's house. As soon as they got there, Hiccup was put to bed, and Astrid was given strict instructions to watch Hiccup, which she agreed to without question. Stoick went back out to get soup from the Great Hall and a few extra blankets.

Hiccup cracked his eyes open and looked up at her. "Astrid?" he asked blearily. "I...I d-"

Astrid put her finger on his lips to silence him. "Save it," she said. "Why didn't you tell us your leg was hurting?"

Hiccup swallowed. He didn't really want to speak at all. He wanted to scream because of the growing pain in his leg, but he refused to for fear of looking weak in Astrid's eyes. "It...it wasn't b-bad, u-until…" Hiccup started, and then let his voice trail off, hissing through his teeth in pain.

Astrid sighed and put her hand on his cheek. "Oh, Hiccup...you're shaking like a leaf…" she said, sounding more as though she were talking to herself and not to him. "Your Dad will be back soon. You'll feel better after you've warmed up. That's what he said."

Hiccup nodded and closed his eyes for just a moment.

…

"Hiccup?"

Hiccup blinked rapidly and squinted at the light streaming through his window. The first thing he registered was the fact that it was warm - too warm, even. The second thing he noticed was Astrid shaking his shoulder.

"What?" Hiccup blinked, pushing himself into a sitting position. He was still on his bed, but it was sunny outside now. "What happened? What time is it?"

"Around noon," Astrid said. "February fourth if you want to know. You know, I was starting to wonder when you would wake up. You were asleep for hours."

"That's what happens when you sleep, Astrid," Hiccup said. "It normally goes on for a few hours."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Well, you were asleep for nearly twenty-four hours," she said. "Your Dad said that it was normal, but that really didn't make it any less unsettling. How do you feel?"

"Better," Hiccup said. "Yeah...phantom pains never last more than a day."

"That's good," Astrid said. "But still, I think you should take it easy. I do not want you to relapse into it, alright?"

"Alright," Hiccup agreed. "Alright, I'll take it easy...but I won't like it."

Astrid rolled her eyes again and reached over the desk, grabbing a bowl and a spoon. "Here," she said. "It's soup...Oh, don't give me that look. I didn't make it." Hiccup sighed with relief. "And anyways, my cooking can't be that bad."

Hiccup made a face. "We'll talk about it when you've tasted your Yaknog," he said, reaching to take the bowl from her.

Astrid huffed, but said nothing. "Whatever," she said at length. "Eat your soup, snarky."

Author's Notes:

What'cha guys think? Any good? I'm going to do another chapter with Valka and Hiccup and Hiccup having a phantom pain, so look out for that if you guys want, and I'll see you guys then! :D

-BeyondTheClouds777