Okay... so... the story was finished and I went to bed, but then I got this other idea.

So here's an epilogue.

Chapter 9

"Goodnight Meatlug" Fishlegs smiled with a tear in his eye "Your babies are really beautiful."

Fishlegs hated to leave the stables, but he knew it was important for the new mother to spend some bonding time alone with her young. Seeing Fishlegs was having a hard time tearing himself away, Heather walked up and took his hand.

"Don't worry Fishlegs, we all want to be with our dragons but they'll still be here in the morning. Now let's get back to the feast."

Fishlegs smiled his coy little smile and allowed himself to be led back upstairs again. As they wandered slowly back to the hall, they were both surprised to see Snotlout setting up a cage trap between two of the village houses.

"What are you up to now Snotlout?" Fishlegs could not help but worry.

"I'm gonna catch me that mess making bear and then, I'll have a new rug for Snoggletog."

"Oh why don't you just leave it alone; it's never done any harm" Fishlegs sighed.

"And why don't you and your girlfriend just leave me alone" Snotlout snapped.

Fishlegs turned bright red and looked away.

"Well... I-I'm not sure you could call Heather my g-girlfriend..." he stammered.

"Oh hi Heather" Snotlout waved "I didn't see you behind Fishlegs considerable bulk; I was talking about your weird attachment to your equally bulky dragon."

"There is nothing wrong about having a strong bond with your dragon" Heather interrupted "I think it's something you should try and achieve with Hookfang."

"Hey; me and Hooky are doing just fine thank you very much" Snotlout snapped "Now if you will excuse me..."

Snotlout gestured for them to leave, so they did.

"Why would Snotlout want to catch a bear?" Heather asked.

"Most of the bears live on the other side of the island, but this one has been entering the village and going through the garbage looking for food scraps. I think Snotlout is sick and tired of cleaning up after it."

"Do you think he'll catch it?" Heather asked.

"Not with the bait he was using" Fishlegs chuckled "I don't thing bears really go for lettuce leaves."

With his trap set in the alley between the houses, Snotlout hid himself in the shadows under a blanket and waited with his typical level of alertness; in other words, he fell asleep. He slept for a few hours but was eventually awoken when the door of his trap slammed shut.

"Huh... what..? I... I did it" Snotlout jumped up "I caught the bear."

He slowly snuck up on the cage listening for the bears panicked grunting, but he heard so much more.

"Help... let me out!"

"It's a talking bear" Snotlout smiled with joy.

He peered into the alleyway but in the dim light, all he could see was an empty cage.

"Please help me!"

"I've caught an invisible talking bear" Snotlout shivered with excitement "Wait till the others see this... or... don't see it."

"I'm not a bear, please let me go."

"You're not a bear?" Snotlout asked.

"NO!"

"Then what are you doing in a bear trap?"

"I don't believe this; I've been captured by an idiot" the strange voice declared.

"If I'm the idiot, why are you the one in the cage?" Snotlout pointed out.

"Will you just open the door" the voice got angry.

"Sorry but I don't make a habit of letting invisible talking bears have the run of the village" Snotlout stated.

"Oh for heaven's sake" the voice sighed "Come closer."

Unsure if it was a wise thing to do, Snotlout crept a little closer and was hit in the face by handful of glittering dust.

"Ugh... yuk... ith in my mouf" he protested.

"Sorry about that, but you should be able to see me now."

Wiping the dust from his eyes, Snotlout looked into the cage and was surprised to see, not a talking bear, but a rather large man with a long white beard. He was dressed in a red suit with white fur trim and big shiny black boots. The shocked look on Snotlouts face clearly amused the man and as he laughed, his belly shook like a bowl full of Yak Nog.

"Who the hell are you?" Snotlout asked.

"I go by many names" the man replied "In some countries I am Santa Clause, but in others I am known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle..."

"Kris Kringle?" Snotlout snickered "Sounds like a cooking oil. So what are you doing here?"

"I come here every year Snotlout to leave gifts for all the good Vikings of Berk."

"Who are you trying to fool" Snotlout sneered "there's no such thing as a good Viking!"

"Well it's all relative; I mean good by Viking standards."

"Then how come I've never gotten a gift from you?" Snotlout doubted the man's story.

"Are you kidding me" Santa crossed his arms "Even by Viking standards you're a mean one; that's why you get coal every year."

"All the coal in my socks... that was you?"

"Of course it was" Santa said proudly.

"Oh thank you" Snotlout reached through the bars and shook the man's hand "The coldest time of the year and you give me the gift of coal; warm wonderful coal."

"Hmm... I may have to rethink my punishment gift for people inside the arctic circle" Santa thought "now will you please let me out of this thing."

With the strange man clearly becoming annoyed, Snotlout decided he had better let him go before he threw more dust in the young Vikings face.

"Thank you Snotlout" the man smiled as he stepped out of the cage and walked off.

"Hey... where ya going?" Snotlout called out.

"I've got one more delivery to make and then I can get out of this place."

The man who called himself Santa Clause strode through the town while the few Vikings still on the street just ignored him.

"Hey... stop that guy" Snotlout called out, but everyone just ignored him too.

"They can't see you or hear you Snotlout; it's a little side effect of my magic dust" Santa told him "Don't worry, it will wear off soon."

Not knowing what to do next, Snotlout followed the strange man as he continued on to Astrid's door. He then surprisingly just walked through without opening it.

"Wow; this is so cool" Snotlout declared as he entered the same way.

"You should not be in here" Santa said sternly.

"Hey; I'm Astrid's friend so I think I should keep an eye on you while you're in her house."

"Well just stay out of trouble while I put this gift where she can casually find it."

"What ya got there anyway" Snotlout asked.

"It's an old book" Santa smiled as he placed it in the side cushion of her chair.

"Not much of a gift if you ask me" Snotlout sniffed.

"When Astrid was seven years old, Hiccup gave her flower and she pressed it in this book. When she finds it tomorrow, it will remind her of just how much he really loves her and for how long."

"So how do you know who is good enough to get a gift?" Snotlout wondered.

"Well for one thing, I've got a list" Santa revealed.

"Yeah I can see it" Snotlout said "It's about five degrees to the left.

"Not that kind of list" Santa snapped "But also being an invisible fictitious apparition means I can listen in to what people think of each other. For example, everyone on Berk believes Astrid is a good girl; Hiccup in particular thinks she's very good."

"I'm not surprised" Snotlout noted "These are Hiccups clothes drying by the fire."

"What... no that's not what I meant" Santa protested "I mean unlike you and the twins, she is reliable, dependable... wait Snotlout; don't go up there."

But Snotlout just ignored both Santa and his conscience as he hurried upstairs to the loft where Astrid slept.

"I knew it" Snotlout declared "they're both here, fast asleep."

"And why not" Santa tried to pull Snotlout away "They're young and in love, and will be married someday; now let's leave them alone and get out of here."

"Well I think it's wrong for Hiccup to assume he can just..."

Snotlout was unaware that Astrid always slept with a short sword under her pillow, but he soon found out about it when she dug its point under his chin.

"Oh you've gone way too far this time Snotlout" Astrid growled.

"Err... you can see me?"

"Unfortunately for both of us, yes."

"I err... followed this intruder in to protect you... and Hiccup... who I'm sure has a legitimate reason for being here."

"Lame Snotlout, even for you."

"But he's standing right there; can't you... of course you can't" Snotlout realised at last that the magic powder had worn off.

"What makes you think you can just waltz into my house in the middle of the night..."

"Err... your blanket is slipping!"

Astrid nervously checked to see if she was still covered, giving Snotlout the opportunity to break away and run off down the stairs. Without thinking he ran at full speed into the door and bounced back onto the floor. Astrid gave a very satisfied grin as Snotlout picked himself up and fumbled with the door lock, before running off into the night.

Picking up the hem of her makeshift dress, Astrid walked down and shut the door, making sure it was well and truly locked, before returning to the loft.

"Huh... did I just hear the door?" Hiccup yawned.

"Go back to sleep sweetie" she kissed his cheek "I was just getting rid of a pest."

Okay now it's over (I think). Thanks for all the reviews and thanks again for reading.

Merry Christmas, Marty.