Chapter Text
For two days, Jack had been isolated with the twins in the peaks of Berk, gathering wood for that fence Hiccup had made them build as a punishment. Apparently, his powers to control how much cold they felt were very useful, besides the slide to send the logs gliding right to where they needed them. It would be the sturdiest fence in Berk, and those two were excited to rub it in Hiccup's face.
It was fun to camp, look at the stars, and have snowball fights, but on the morning of the third day, with the fence done and the dragon ready to leave, the two stared at him with intensity.
"What?" he asked, hugging his staff, looking around, lost.
"Why weren't Barf and Belch invited to the slumber party?" Tuffnut asked, hugging the dragon's neck. Ruffnut was hugging the other neck. Jack stood in front of them, at a loss for a reaction.
After all, what reaction could he have when being called out for the deliberate exclusion the dragon had suffered by not sleeping out in the open with him and the others?
"And you also praised Toothless a lot these past few days! He got upset!" Ruffnut pointed out, kissing the green scales.
Jack stared at the Hideous Zippleback, who blinked its unsynchronized eyes at him and hissed that it had no idea what was going on. The head named Barf lowered to chew on Ruffnut's hair.
"Look, I didn't exclude anyone," he said, raising his hands in surrender. "I just went wandering around like every day and they surrounded me and made me sleep."
"How does a bunch of riderless dragons trap the incarnate spirit of winter and make him sleep?" Tuffnut huffed disdainfully. "You hate our son!"
"By the moon..." he muttered, pinching the tip of his nose. "What do you want to make up for it?" he declared, choosing the easier path rather than following the loop they were creating.
There was no logic that would convince the twins, but they were easily bribed. Jack twirled his staff, creating a mini ice Hideous Zippleback, and made it fly a few inches before exploding into fluffy flakes.
The twins looked at each other and huddled together with their backs to Jack, muttering to each other, shooting glances over their shoulders.
That was going to take a while.
Barf and Belch even lay down on the ground, aware of this. Without much to do, he sat on the ground as well, rested his staff in the snow, used it to prop himself up, and pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his clothes while waiting for a verdict.
It was one of Hiccup's drawings, one that he had crumpled and thrown on the floor, so Jack assumed it was trash and that he wouldn't mind him taking it. It wasn't a masterpiece like the drawing of Toothless on the wall, but it showed a dragon with light-colored feathers, front paws smaller than the back ones, and large eyes on a flat face. It looked a lot like an owl. Jack stared at the runes written around the drawing, connected by a line to some parts of the creature, but he didn't know how to read, so what Hiccup had discovered in detail would be a mystery for now.
"Jack!" Ruffnut called, and by the look on her face, she had already been calling him a few times.
Moving lazily, he folded the drawing and tucked it away in his clothes, looking at the duo.
"Well?"
"We want a new slide!" they said together. Jack smirked.
"Where?"
"Where did they get that thing?" Astrid muttered, her arms crossed over her chest and her brow furrowed as she suspiciously eyed the huge slide that went from the top of the Thorston house, wrapped around the building, and ended in a pile of fluffy snow.
"Good question." Hiccup couldn't find anything that could give the answer. His eyes were glued to that white monstrosity and to the sheep the twins were launching from up there, which bleated in despair as it spun around the house on that slide. "Any chance they made this?"
"None," all the riders said together, and Hiccup noticed that more people had gathered.
He could start asking questions and rack his brain for answers. But of all the terrible and absurd things the twins had ever done, an ice slide around their own house was actually nice. His eyes moved down from the building in search of another white thing and found Jack leaning against a tree, also watching.
"Stop throwing the sheep!" the ambassador ordered, and the twins huffed as they freed the second animal on the roof, allowing it to escape. Jack lowered his face into his hand, but Hiccup saw him smiling.
"Do you think that thing about Jack's ice powers—" Snotlout started, and Astrid huffed.
"No. That's just one of their stories. If Jack were an ice monster, the dragons would attack him, not want to adopt him as a hatchling." Astrid looked at Jack too. "He probably helped build it. The North Pole has a lot of snow, they must have made this quickly with his instructions and the dragons' help."
"That would explain why they vanished for two days in the peaks. They were cutting ice," Fishlegs considered.
Hiccup looked at the three of them and shrugged. He knew that didn't explain that huge thing, but it seemed to be enough to relax Astrid's posture and suspicious glare enough for him to just let it become the truth.
"Well, I'm going to talk to Jack. If he knows anything, I'll tell you guys later," he offered, taking a step, but Astrid grabbed his elbow. "Yeah?"
"You're going over there? Alone?"
"Well, we've noticed he's pretty slippery in a group. It's a good excuse to get close to him and get something out of him, if I go talk to him alone right now."
Astrid gritted her teeth, but let him go.
"Don't fall for his sweet talk. He's not an ice giant, but I really think he has fairy blood. He's enchanted everyone so far, don't fall for it."
"Astrid, I'm offended! When have I ever fallen for the sweet talk of someone suspicious?"
The looks he received from the trio made his face burn, and Hiccup shook his head and his hands.
"I'll be fine! You guys should find something to do too. Without an audience, the twins will stop soon."
"Meet me later, then. I want to know exactly what you found out, alright?" Astrid averted her gaze from his face and looked past him. Hiccup watched her look surprised and then nervous, turning her back and storming off.
"Is she going to get over that kiss on the hand?" Fishlegs asked, worried.
"Apparently, not anytime soon." Hiccup sighed. But an embarrassed Astrid was better than an angry one.
"Wait! So she's like this because he kissed her hand that day?" Snotlout shifted, elated. "The same Astrid who kissed you in front of everyone?"
"Alright, Snotlout, you have an amazing memory! Really!" he gave a tight smile, and the boy puffed out his chest proudly. Hiccup wanted to roll his eyes. "But there's a difference between her making a move and being caught off guard."
"And Jack is pretty," Fishlegs declared, making both Hiccup and Snotlout stare at him. "What? Don't we call him a fairy because of that too? Otherwise, he could be any other monster with ice powers. But he's pretty. That makes him a fairy."
"I don't know what you're talking about. He's just skin and bones!" Snotlout huffed. "Like, he's more of a fishbone than Hiccup!"
"Again, Snotlout, thank you," he huffed, shaking his head. "I'm going over there to talk to him. Just... don't cause more trouble than the twins already have. Please."
The two shrugged, heading toward the house and the ice slide. Hiccup approached the tree slowly, sure he was being subtle, but Jack looked at him with intensity anyway. From meters away.
"Your Majesty!" he greeted, pushing off the tree, and Hiccup narrowed his eyes at him.
"Why do you keep doing that?"
"I've heard rumors. Not just the chief's son, but the Dragon Lady's! Noble blood!" Jack twirled the staff in his fingers. "I thought it was a... fitting term. Besides, anyone who tries to punish me and sends a dragon to keep me in check deserves a title."
Hiccup stopped walking and pressed his lips together. He didn't know how to react to that yet, things were very new in his family and he couldn't say he was completely comfortable. Especially about his mother. After all, Valka still spent months on end with the dragons and he rarely saw her. He couldn't say he had made much progress with that relationship since they met.
"Did I hit a nerve?" Jack shrugged.
"I'd say you returned the blow from a few days ago," he huffed, and Jack smiled, clearly relieved. "So, are you going to tell me what this is?"
"An ice slide." Jack leaned on his staff with both hands.
"You don't say," he muttered, and the boy chuckled softly.
"They asked me to build it to make up to Barf and Belch for not participating in the dragon intervention that night."
"And you just built it? Just like that?" Hiccup furrowed his brows and Jack tilted his head, his cheek squished against the wood making him look almost defenseless and sweet.
Almost. Because Hiccup had scolded him way too many times to fall for that.
"Not alone. But yeah. Better to give them a toy than to let them create something on their own that could be dangerous." Jack rocked on his heels, his cheeks puffing out a bit as he blew out the air, seeming impatient about something. "This was supposed to be fun, but it's not being as fun as it should be."
"No? I thought sheep tossing was your thing," he joked, stepping closer again, and Jack laughed.
"That was part of a plan. That they gave a ridiculously long execution time for. I probably won't even be here to see it."
"That sounds like something they would do," he agreed, pondering. "But why the long face?"
"Just thinking," he muttered, low and distracted, rocking some more, and then stopped and kicked his staff into the air, catching it mid-way. "You said before that you were studying dragons, but that you couldn't get close enough to a lot of them because they were dangerous."
"Yeah. I can't see the details of their bodies, let alone observe their actions."
"Well, I have a way with dragons." Jack winked at him, a hopeful light there. "What if we tried to get close to one of those? I can tame it and you can make your notes and drawings."
"That's dangerous, Jack. You don't have experience with—" he started, but Jack raised an eyebrow at him.
Hiccup closed his mouth, holding his gaze, but he didn't really have anything to say. Even Hookfang had surrendered to that boy, and he was very complicated to manipulate.
"Would you be willing to take a risk with us and spend hours taking boring notes?"
Jack laughed.
"How would that be boring?" His smile grew, the staff twirling in his hand. "I'll get to meet other dragons. See more of the archipelago. To me, it sounds way more interesting than staying here making ice sculptures with the twins." Jack furrowed his brows and massaged his own chin, looking out at the horizon. "Wow, I never thought I'd say something like that."
"Are you serious?"
"Of course I am." Jack took a step toward him. He was already short, but he leaned in further to look at Hiccup in a weird way, which reminded him of animals that hunt at night stalking something they are curious about. "Or are you afraid of taking a fairy around?"
"You're not a fairy," he huffed, and Jack's smile grew sharper.
"Like I said, I'm not good enough to be considered one." He straightened up and turned his back on Hiccup, walked away a few steps, and stopped, looking at him over his shoulder. "Call me when you go investigating. It'll be fun."
Hiccup didn't know what to say. And he wasn't liking how many times he had found himself speechless over these past few days. Jack watched him for a few seconds and laughed, hunching against his staff before running toward the Thorston house and disappearing from sight.
It took two seconds after he disappeared to remember he was standing in the middle of the village doing nothing. It took another second for him to feel his heart beat and a smile twitch on his lips.
If Jack really helped him, he could catalog many more species. Go to places that were much harder to reach. He could have more information than even his mother!
The excitement made him feel a rush of energy coursing through his body, and his face heated up as he turned and ran to his own house.
He should plan. Where could they go to test Jack's skills before actually starting to take risks?
Snotlout appeared in front of him with his chin held high and arms crossed over his chest at lunchtime, interrupting his walk with the kids to the hall.
"Good morning, elf," the dragon rider greeted, and Jack raised an eyebrow.
"Good morning..." he replied, gripping his staff tighter under the glare he was receiving.
The kids around them started murmuring uncomfortably, and one of them kicked snow at Snotlout.
"You brat!" he hissed, but the boy just started laughing as if daring him to do something.
Jack knew that children and hatchlings in Berk were treated like forces of nature that no one could control, but it was hilarious to see it in action, with several kids mercilessly attacking a huge man who rode one of the scariest-looking dragons.
"Stop that!" Snotlout complained, defending himself with his arms when more kids joined the one-sided war.
Well, it was Snotlout's fault, having arrived with all that attitude.
"Alright, guys. He gets it," he said quietly, relaxing his grip on the wood. The kids looked at him attentively, and Jack smiled. "You can go eat. If you don't make a mess, we'll play fort later, okay?"
"Yay!" they cheered together, and dashed down the hill in a pack.
Snotlout brushed the snow off his clothes and looked at him with genuine anger.
"What's your deal?" he growled, stepping closer until they were face to face.
Jack just stared at him.
"You're going to have to be more specific," he countered.
"That was the second time you tried to steal my dragon. You ran away for two days, so I couldn't make you pay for it. But now you're here and I want to know if you think you're man enough to start a fight with me." Snotlout puffed out his chest.
Jack just blinked.
It was almost funny. Maybe if he were truly human, that would have had an effect. Maybe. With almost all his memories back, he knew he wasn't an angel when he was alive either.
"I didn't try to steal Hookfang, he just liked me." He shrugged disdainfully, thinking about walking right past Snotlout, but his instincts told him that if he moved from where he stood, he would be cowardly attacked.
Because the concept of attacking from behind being unfair in a fight was completely unknown to Vikings. So he stayed put, eyes locked on his, because if he looked away, it would be nothing less than showing fear.
And honestly, he didn't like the way Snotlout had approached him. He hated arrogant people. It was one of the reasons he and Bunny always clashed in the past.
"Liked you?" Snotlout scoffed, and Jack felt his breath on his face.
"Well, that might be a weird concept for you. I wouldn't be surprised," he mocked, shrugging. He felt the air from Snotlout's nostrils huff out harder. "And also, it must be terrible to know that someone is better than you without even trying, isn't it?"
Snotlout turned red. Bloodshot eyes and dilated pupils. Clear signs of blind fury.
Better for Jack, who smirked with satisfaction as he took a step to the side and dodged his fists.
"Whoa, careful there," he warned, twirling his staff, moving the curved end down, hooking it around his thick ankle, and pulling up, making him fall face-first into the snow. "Oops, guess that was too late."
"Coward! Fight bare-handed!" he growled, getting up in a flurry of feet, and Jack tapped his fingers against his own face, pretending to analyze the situation. The snow under Snotlout's feet turned to ice and he fell again, this time sideways, slipping.
Jack took small, distracted steps around him, twirling the staff in his fingers.
"Why would I do a thing like that?" he laughed, looking at him over his shoulder, tapping his staff against his other hand. "If you'll excuse me, I have to eat."
"Get back here!" he demanded, getting up more carefully, and tried to run toward him, but Jack simply spun, dodging him, and pushed him forward with a hand on his back at the end of the spin.
Snotlout skidded, but didn't lose his balance, turning back to him with flared nostrils and a red face.
"Damn elf! Do you think I'm playing?"
"Of course not. If you were, this would at least be fun," he huffed, rolling his eyes and dodging another lunge. "And it's too early to fight, don't you think?"
"You stole my dragon in the middle of the night!" he accused, pointing a finger. "And now he's disobeying me!"
"I don't think I can take the blame for that," he murmured and spun again, using the straight end of his staff to trip him, and tapped the curved side lightly on his head. "Maybe he's just afraid of you. You seem to be too angry for no reason."
"What do you know?" he roared, slapping the staff aside as he rolled over on the ground. "Hookfang has been impossible since you arrived! I put him back in the barn, since he doesn't want to obey! That way he'll see what it's like to be an ordinary dragon!"
The wind blew.
Jack breathed slowly, looking at him with impatience, and Snotlout stopped moving halfway through getting up.
"I didn't try to steal your dragon," he stated, and Snotlout swallowed hard. "If you're treating Hookfang rudely because you think I'm competing with you, then I should start considering actually doing it." The Viking opened and closed his mouth; Jack crouched on his heels, leaning his face close, tilted slightly to the right, looking him in the eyes. "I hope you stop being childish and apologize for sending him away. Because if that dragon gets hurt because you're stupid, then I will accept your idiotic challenge to fight."
Jack leaned in closer, leaning until their faces were very close, letting the air condense near his mouth, creating a mist as he spoke.
"And you don't want that, do you?"
Snotlout started to tremble, his eyes wide, and shrank back on the ground like a cornered animal realizing that, no matter how hard it tries to escape, there is no way out. Jack stood up, twirled his staff, and turned his back. He counted three steps. He heard the sound of Snotlout scrambling in the snow and then his heavy running as he fled.
Baby Tooth might be very annoyed by that, but Jack had to bring a hand to his mouth to keep from bursting into laughter at the rider's panicked expression.
Well, he deserved it, didn't he? He was the one who picked the fight.
Hiccup had a chicken leg in his mouth when Snotlout appeared at the table with an irritated, displeased, and, most of all, embarrassed look. Everyone exchanged confused looks, and the rider gripped his own plate tightly before sitting heavily across from Jack and putting an extra chicken leg on his food.
"What a surprise," Jack smirked, taking the drumstick and biting into it.
Snotlout turned red, looked up, and quickly looked away. He stayed quiet. Astrid stared at him and then at Hiccup, but he had the same context for what was happening as anyone else. He had stayed home all afternoon researching where he would take Jack to hunt dragons.
"Snotlout, is everything okay?" Astrid tried, concerned, reaching out for his arm.
"Of course. Why wouldn't it be?" he hissed, shoving food into his mouth. Jack kept his eyes fixed on him, biting into the chicken. "I did it," he finally muttered.
"Great. I already knew." Jack pushed a goblet toward Snotlout, who blinked in surprise. "He came to tell me. Thought you were cute."
If Snotlout's face was red before, it now looked ready to combust. Jack gave a light laugh and stood up, walking around the table, and placed his hands on his shoulders. He tensed up immediately, his eyes wide but vacant, glued to the table.
Jack leaned close to his ear and spoke. He spoke for a considerable amount of time, too quietly for anyone to hear. When he pulled away, Snotlout buried his red face in his arms and received congratulatory pats on the back from Jack.
"I guess I owe you this too," Snotlout muttered, and Jack raised an eyebrow. "I deserved it."
"Of course you did." Jack looked at him more seriously and finally sighed, ruffling his hair as if dealing with a child. "But it's done. It's settled. Anyone can be an idiot."
Snotlout nodded, quiet. Jack calmly went back to his seat and looked around. "What is it?"
"Nothing," they said together, all of them forcing themselves to go back to eating immediately.
Except for the twins.
Ruffnut hugged him from behind and whispered something in his ear. To which he looked at her over his shoulder and replied just by moving his lips. Tuffnut crossed his arms over his chest and, without any warning, grabbed Jack's hand, turning it from side to side, only to drop it looking upset. Jack tapped his fingers against his own forehead, leaning back and resting against Ruffnut.
And just like that, Hiccup felt like everyone else had been left out of something, and the feeling worsened when Tuffnut seemed to make a decision and stood up, grabbing Jack's hand and leading him away, with his sister following them, carrying the staff.
The whole thing was so absurd that it wasn't just the dragon riders staring at it.
"But by Helheim—" Astrid started, standing up and looking at the doors. "What?"
"I don't even know which part of all this is more bizarre." Fishlegs was also staring at the door.
"Snotlout!" Astrid demanded, and the man looked up.
"Nothing. He just... helped me with something," he huffed, turning his still-red face away.
"And did he need to whisper that in your ear, stuck to you like that?" Hiccup asked, not seeing any sense in any of it. Snotlout blinked, looking confused and furrowing his brows before opening and closing his mouth several times.
The redness was now on his ears too.
"What? That... it's not..." Snotlout stood up and shook his head. "Look!" he tried, pointing a finger at everyone. "That fairy has powers! Are you listening?! Don't trust—" He cut himself off, pressing his lips together. "No, he's trustworthy. It's just..." His face turned purple with frustration and he turned his back, storming off with heavy steps.
Hiccup was pretty sure that wherever he stepped on his way to where he was going would leave a mark, as the snow would melt under his furious steps. Astrid didn't accept that reaction as an answer and followed him outside, which inevitably required Hiccup and Fishlegs to follow them too to prevent a fight and a probable concussion.
"Guys, we were eating dinner! We can figure this out later!" Hiccup tried, holding up his hands. Toothless caught up to them when he noticed them leaving, his tongue hanging out, excited to go for a walk before going to sleep. "Later, buddy," he muttered, nudging his snout aside affectionately.
"Snotlout, you are going to tell me right now what Jack did to you!" Astrid demanded, quickening her pace and grabbing him by the shoulder, spinning him around. "Tell me! We can help if he—"
"He didn't do anything," he shot back, but his tone was broken. As if he was fighting with everything he had to speak. "He just made me see how much of an idiot I was."
"What?" Astrid let him go as if she had been shocked. Snotlout wasn't one to admit any mistakes. Arrogant and full of himself, winning things through brute force and shouting. "Did you guys... fight?"
"If you call rolling around on the ground by yourself the whole time a fight, then yeah," he huffed, taking a step back to ask for space.
"I don't get it." Astrid pressed her lips together.
"Did he hurt you?" Hiccup asked, feeling more afraid of the answer than was normal. Snotlout shook his head. "Did you hurt him?" His tone was harsher as he said that; Snotlout kicked the snow, irritated.
"Didn't even touch him," he grunted. "It was just something stupid."
"Your reaction didn't make it seem stupid." Fishlegs approached. "And neither did his."
"Well, he seems to like to provoke, doesn't he?" Snotlout scoffed, shrugging. "He just told me things I already knew, but it's embarrassing when someone else talks about it. At least he only said it to me."
"Things about you?" Fishlegs furrowed his brows, his eyes dancing through scenarios and then widening as he stared at Snotlout, his face turning red. "You... oh!"
"What?" he asked, looking confused. Hiccup looked at Fishlegs, who gave him a meaningful look.
"That explains the way he touched you," Fishlegs finished, and everyone froze.
They all looked at Snotlout, who seemed to be a bit slower to catch on. Hiccup felt something uncomfortable at the mere idea and pushed it out of his mind, at the same time the conversation from that morning replayed in his head.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Snotlout asked, bringing them back.
"You... know... if you were an idiot to Jack, then we'll be forced to take his side," Astrid said, looking embarrassed, a bit of discomfort in her tone revealing she wasn't liking where this was going.
"What would I have done to him? I challenged him to a fight! Everyone does that when they have problems!" he complained, stomping his feet.
The collective sigh was so loud that Hiccup felt ashamed of himself for feeling so relieved. If the village's diplomacy depended on Snotlout controlling himself to not be an idiot when crushing on someone, it would be better to just pack their bags and leave.
Snotlout looked at them, still lost.
"Alright. That's... that's great," he blurted out before thinking, and Astrid and Fishlegs looked at him. "So you just tried to hit him and got your butt kicked?"
"Which would be normal, at this point," Astrid muttered, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to her hip, much calmer.
"Did you guys come after me to humiliate me or support me?" Snotlout snapped, and everyone shrugged. "You know what? Whatever!" he hissed, turning his back. "I'm going to fly with Hookfang. I hope I don't see you guys anytime soon! Pathetic losers!"
"And there he goes. Free in the world. Ready to bite someone," Hiccup sighed, and Astrid laughed. "For the love of Thor, Fishlegs, don't give us a heart attack like that!"
"It's a possibility!" he argued, shaking his head. "But actually imagining it was terrible."
"I thought he had kissed him by force. By the way he looked embarrassed and seemed guilty." Astrid looked at Snotlout's back, who was already very far away.
"Odin forbid that ever happens," he hissed, feeling almost disgusted by the idea. "No! No! No!" he blurted out, shaking his hands as the images started to form. "Wow, I could throw up."
"Come on. Idiots deserve love too!" Astrid teased, stepping closer, and Hiccup rolled his eyes.
"From our ambassador? I already have a headache with the relationship he has with the twins. If he wanted Snotlout, I'd go live with my mom in dragon paradise!" He clicked his tongue, and Astrid burst out laughing.
"Imagine Snotlout being forced to act like a lord of a refined kingdom like the North Pole?" Fishlegs laughed. "Wow, North would probably either love it or hate it. Jack would have a horrible husband!"
"I would hate it if my son came back from a Viking village with one of them and not a dragon. I guarantee you that," Astrid pointed out, and Hiccup laughed.
"Well, we can at least help with that. Jack has time here, and since my dad's fears about the dragons' secrets are useless if the dragons have decided they love Jack, we can find one for him to ride." Hiccup smiled at the prospect. "With that, we'll have his favor too. I prefer to bet that he and his kingdom really just want what's best for us."
"Especially since, now that we know about his skills with our trump card, we have no choice but to rely on Hiccup's chronic positivity," Astrid muttered, and Hiccup looked at her, offended.
"At least I tried to talk to him and did fine. What about you?" he countered, and Astrid blinked in surprise at being questioned.
"I- I'm taking my time! I need to know what he's up to!"
"And when exactly are you going to figure that out?" Hiccup pressed, and she glared at him.
"When I stop thinking he's just an idiot who flirts with everyone!" she huffed, annoyed. "Did you see the way he was with Ruffnut today? He doesn't have the slightest bit of... of..."
Astrid couldn't find the words, her cheeks red. Hiccup turned to Fishlegs, who looked just as confused. Jack obviously didn't see the twins as anything more than very crazy siblings he loved to make mischief with. You didn't even need to know them deeply to figure that out. And Ruffnut wasn't exactly subtle if she was interested in a guy. Whatever it was that Astrid saw, it was more in her own head than based on what was actually happening.
"I guess we can wait for your time," he offered, scratching the back of his neck at the helpless look Astrid gave him. "I can be the one to try and bridge the gap if you're uncomfortable."
"I'll watch your back," she declared, lifting her chin.
"Well, I think that wraps up our night." Fishlegs yawned. "It's been a pretty long day."
"Tell me about it." Astrid gritted her teeth and let out a breath. "A flight before going back?" she offered, looking at him, and Hiccup smiled at the idea.
"Sure."
"I'm going home." Fishlegs walked away, and Hiccup watched him go, preferring not to say anything.
"Leave him be. Let's go," Astrid called, taking him by the hand and pulling him halfway back until they found their respective dragons waiting.