Astrid cast her dragon an irritated side-glance, hands clenched at her sides. The Deadly Nadder simply yawned, snorting a bit as if she was laughing at her owner, then resting her head on large clawed feet.

"Why is she so... awkward?!" Her gaze shifted to Hiccup as he hastily averted his amused eyes, turning back to Toothless and adjusting his saddle.

"I guess it just means we'll have to share Toothless today, right?" His hands paused as he waited for her answer; they hadn't both ridden the same dragon until that moonlit flight they had shared, the time that Astrid had discovered what dragons were really like.

"Alright. Hurry up then." She gave her dragon another irritated glare before making her way over the grassy bank where the dragons usually stayed, watching and waiting as Hiccup prepared for the flight. She smiled slowly as a thought popped into her head.

"Can I go in front?"

Hiccup gave her a questioning look at her question before frowning, one hand on his dragon's saddle as he prepared to mount him.

"Uh, why?"

She casually moved over and pushed him aside, placing her hands in the space where his once were.

"So you can teach me." She gave him another glance and Toothless wiggled about impatiently, snorting a bit.

Hiccup sighed; he knew how determined Astrid was, and Toothless certainly wasn't in the mood to wait around for them. So he nodded.

"Go on then... I guess it'll be interesting to have the back view for once."

Astrid jumped up into the front seat of the saddle, helping her friend up and into a comfortable position as he struggled to find his bearings, finally clutching her round the waist as they took off into the sky.

"Wait, Astrid, pull- no, that's the wrong one!" Hiccup leant over her shoulder in frustration as Toothless let out a confused roar, swerving off to the side and almost hitting one of the large rocks that surrounded Berk in numbers.

"You were telling me to pull that one!" The young Viking girl grit her teeth in annoyance as she grabbed the right rein, pulling the Night Fury back up into the sky and making sure he was flying steadily again.

"It's hard to tell from the back seat..." Hiccup muttered, hugging the girl in front of him closer as he cast her hands a nervous look, wondering what he'd got himself into.

"Hey Hiccup..." His eyes jerked upwards again suddenly as he noted the girl's uncertainty in her voice, sitting back slightly.

"What-" Green eyes blinked as they settled on a massive, almost-black cloud in front of them, dangerously close- and the swirling amount of air underneath it.

"What is that?" Astrid eyed it in wonder and confusion, but was distracted as she felt Hiccup's hands rising from her waist, grabbing the reins from her hands.

"I don't know, but we have to get away from it and warn the village. Now!" His voice became urgent as he leant over her, pulling Toothless to one side as he tried to steer the dragon away from the colossal cloud ahead of them.

But it was too late for that.

The swirling air were like hands as they grabbed at Toothless' feet and wings, reeling him in as he fought, squirming and roaring furiously.

"Come on buddy, you can do it!" Hiccup yelled encouragingly as he tried to pull the dragon away from the hurricane's grip, hands and legs shaking as cold air whipped around the trio.

"Hiccup, he can't, it's too strong!" Astrid was struggling to keep hold, hands round the back of her as she clutched whatever she could find of Hiccup, making sure that they were both held onto Toothless as they were bucked around by the raging wind.

"No! He can do it, come onnnn..." His hands were like lightning as they switched from rein to rein, adjusting the dragon's tail with a desperate air, until finally...

"Toothless, I can see Berk! Land there, quickly!" He pulled the Night Fury into a dive as a patch of green and brown appeared, heart fluttering with fear but hope.

It was only seconds before they'd landed messily, crashing into a nearby clearing of the forest and uprooting a few trees along the way, both dragon and riders ending up in a tangled heap by a large crystal-clear lake.

Hiccup groaned. "Astrid... Toothless... You both okay?" A small snort and a moaned 'I think...' came in reply, movement pulling him out of a daze as he opened his eyes to find sky blue ones.

Astrid was underneath him, eyes searching him worriedly and hands still latched onto his clothes, sealed round his waist. They both stared into each other's eyes until Toothless growled, making her hands loosen as she carefully pushed Hiccup off herself, pulling away as they both glanced at the dragon.

"Toothless?" Hiccup stumbled to his feet, watching as the dark-scaled dragon bared his teeth, making a furious growling noise and whipping his tail around, wings held in by his sides.

"What's wrong buddy? You hurt?" The dragon's eyes darted everywhere and then he fell to the floor, looking around suspiciously and ignoring as his best friend approached him, looking him over.

"Hiccup..." A hand grabbing his made the young Viking look up in surprise to meet Astrid's gaze, blushing faintly as he found himself face to face with the girl.

... Then she hit him, raising a fist and punching him on the arm.

"Ow! Jeez woman, why do you always..." Hiccup rubbed his arm with a frown as he haunched his shoulder up, pulling his fingers away from hers.

"That was for blaming me for doing the wrong thing!" Astrid's face was set into an annoyed look, which softened as she leant closer to him, smiling amusedly as his green eyes widened.

"But this..." Her lips came into contact with his softly and she slid one hand into rusty-coloured locks, giving him a quick kiss before pulling away, watching as a goofy grin slid across his face.

"...is for saving us." She turned, almost running as she made her way up the hill, pausing at the top to glance back at him.

"I'll see you back at the village!" She smiled and even gave him a little wave, before disappearing.

Hiccup's legs gave way as he let out all the air that he'd been keeping in his lungs, slumping down by the dragon and leaning against his scaled side.

"Phew... She sure is something, right buddy?" Toothless only growled in reply, tail whipping from side to side, making Hiccup frown again.

"If only you could talk, then you could tell me what's wrong..." The Viking got to his feet and gave his dragon an uneasy look, watching as the Night Fury only huddled up.

Then, he heard Astrid calling.

"Hiccup! HICCUP!" He could see her wide eyes from the top of the hill, anxious and ...confused?

Hiccup's heartbeat quickened as he realised something was wrong. Astrid was hardly ever scared, but she looked so...

"Astrid! What is it?" Thoughts sped through his mind as he ran, using all his strength to make his way up to the top of the high bank that surrounded the lake. Had the village been attacked? Her dragon been hurt? Speaking of which, where was her dragon? She was usually around the lake but now she was nowhere to be seen...

Astrid's hand came into contact with his for the second time that day as she pulled him into the bushes... and pointed.

"I don't think we're in Berk anymore, Hiccup..."