Chapter Text
Hiccup landed at the cove and helped Astrid down from Toothless before stepping onto the ground himself. Astrid turned to face him.
“So what are you going to do now?” she asked. “Hiccup, you’ll have to—”
“I know,” he said, looking at Toothless as he ran a hand over his head.
“Do you have a plan?” Astrid asked, stepping closer.
“I’m going to run away,” he said, then turned to look at her. “I know my father would never understand, so this is the only option.”
Astrid looked at him, unsure.
“You know this means I’ll have to kill a dragon, right?” she said.
Hiccup looked away.
“I know. Let’s not think about that,” he said. “I’ll drop you off at the village, take what I need, and then leave.”
She nodded quietly.
They climbed onto Toothless and flew to the edge of the village. Astrid helped him gather supplies, but Hiccup left most of his belongings behind so no one would realize he had actually run away.
She stood beside him as he strapped the basket onto his back, ready to mount Toothless again.
“Be careful,” she said.
Before he could respond, she grabbed him and kissed him. He froze for a moment, not knowing what to do, then climbed onto Toothless and took off.
Astrid stayed at the edge of the village, watching the Night Fury’s shadow grow smaller in the sky.
—
The next morning, the village gathered as usual.
People stood near the training area, waiting and screaming Hiccup’s name. The dragon had already been secured, and the crowd murmured around. Astrid stood with the other teens, her arms crossed. She didn’t know how this would go, knowing that Hiccup is long gone from the island.
Soon enough other people noticed that Hiccup was not there.
At first, no one questioned it. He was often late or missing entirely, especially since he started dragon training. But as the time passed, people started to question his absence.
“Has anyone seen Stoick’s boy?” The voice came from somewhere in the crowd. A few people looked around, but no one answered the question.
“No” Someone responded “No one seen him since yesterday”
People started to talk more, some looked toward the houses, others towards the training area.
“He’s just late, like always” A man said but no one had paid him mind.
“But not for dragon training, it was his moment now” Some woman responded.
Astrid stood there, she clenched her teeth, and tightened her grip on her arms. She forced herself to look right at the arena, while she listened to the murmur of gossip, to what might have happened to Hiccup, while she knew the truth.
Stoick showed up at the entrance to the arena, but there was no sign of Hiccup, not there, not anywhere.
“Where’s Hiccup?” He asked, with his gruff voice. But no one responded to him.
Gobber stepped towards his friend “No one’s seen him today, Stoick” then he added after a moment “No one even seen him come home last night”
“I heard dragons in the forest, maybe he went there to train on his own” Someone said.
“Maybe he was killed?” Another voice followed.
“Enought” Stoick yelled, and the crowd went quiet as they watched him.
“There will be no dragon killing today” Stoick said before he added “We will search the island, every path” People looked surprised at each other, but no one argued. Astrid looked at Stoick, thinking about what she could do to help Hiccup, to cover for him.
After the crowd started to break apart, Astrid stepped forward. People were still talking behind her, their voices low, uneasy.
“Chief,” she said.
Stoick turned toward her. His face looked tired, his jaw tight, like he hadn’t slept.
“Let us help search,” she said. “We know the island.”
Stoick shook his head slightly. “You stay in the village.”
Astrid didn’t move. Her hands were clenched at her sides.
“I know where Hiccup would go if he wanted to be alone,” she said.
Stoick paused.
The noise around them seemed to fade as he looked at her. The other teens stood a short distance away, watching but not speaking. Astrid met his gaze and didn’t look away.
For a moment, Stoick said nothing. His eyes searched her face, like he was trying to decide if he should trust her.
Then he turned toward the others.
“You all stay here,” he said. “No one leaves the village.”
They nodded, surprised but silent.
Stoick looked back at Astrid. “You’re coming with me.”
She nodded once.
They turned and left the training area, walking past the empty cages and into the forest beyond the village.
—
They walked in silence at first. The village sounds faded behind them as the trees closed in. The path was narrow, worn down from years of use.
Stoick walked ahead, moving fast despite his size. Astrid followed a few steps behind, keeping pace.
“How well did you know where he went?” Stoick asked without turning.
“I followed him most of the time,” Astrid said. “To be honest, I was suspicious of how good he was at all this.”
Stoick slowed slightly but didn’t stop.
“At killing dragons?” he asked.
Astrid nodded. “Yes.”
They moved deeper into the forest. The air grew cooler, the light thinner between the trees.
“You think he ran?” Stoick asked.
Astrid looked at him. “Why would he run off? He wanted to finally be accepted. He had a chance.”
Stoick didn’t answer.
They continued walking.
After a while, the trees began to thin, and the ground grew uneven.
Astrid slowed. “It’s close,” she said.
Stoick tightened his grip on his axe.
They stepped out of the trees and onto Raven Point.
The first thing they noticed were the trees.
Several of them were snapped or bent, their trunks split and branches scattered across the ground. The marks stretched in a long line, like something heavy had hit the ground and slid before stopping.
Stoick slowed. He stepped closer, his eyes moving over the broken wood and torn earth.
“This wasn’t a fall,” he said. Astrid stayed quiet behind him.
They walked further, following the trail. The ground was uneven, scraped raw in places. Leaves and dirt were pushed aside, forming a clear path through the forest.
Then Stoick stopped.
Something was tangled around the roots of a tree. He bent down and pulled it free.
Throwing ropes.
Stoick stared at them for a long moment. His grip tightened as he recognized them.
“Hiccup’s,” he said quietly.
Stoick looked back at the damaged trees, then down at the ropes in his hands. Whatever had happened here, it wasn’t an accident. Astrid looked at him, then suddenly turned and started running toward the cove.
“Wait,” Stoick called after her.
She didn’t stop.
They left the forest path and moved downhill. Astrid slowed only when the trees opened up.
The cove lay below them. She stopped at the edge and looked down. From above, she could see dark shapes scattered across the ground.
Black scales.
Then she spotted something lodged in the rock wall.
A shield. Hiccup’s shield.
Stoick reached her a moment later. His gaze followed hers, and his face went still. They climbed down carefully.
Up close, the damage was clearer. Deep marks were carved into the stone. The ground was torn and burned in places.
Stoick stepped toward the shield and pulled it free. The wood was cracked, the metal rim bent.
Then he saw the scales at his feet.
Night Fury scales. And as he looked around he was able to see Hiccup's knife and his bag laying near him on the ground.
He stood there for a long moment, staring at them. Astrid stayed beside him, saying nothing.
Stoick didn’t move at first.
He stared at the knife, then at the bag, like he was trying to understand how they ended up there. Slowly, he stepped closer and picked up the knife. He turned it in his hand, his thumb brushing over the familiar grip.
“Hiccup was here,” he said.
Astrid nodded slightly.
Stoick straightened and looked around the cove again. The rock walls rose around them, scorched and marked. The ground was torn up, pressed down in places like something heavy had been dragged across it. Black scales were scattered between the stones and roots.
“He hit it,” Stoick said. “Wounded it.”
He walked toward the far side of the cove, stopping where the marks ended abruptly. There was nothing beyond them. No trail. No signs of where Hiccup could have gone.
“But something went wrong,” he continued. “He got too close.” Astrid stayed where she was, her hands clenched at her sides. Stoick looked up at the cliff walls, then back at the ground.
“A wounded dragon doesn’t flee,” he said quietly. “It takes what it can.”
He lowered his gaze to the knife again.
“It took him,” Stoick said. “To finish him later.”
The words settled heavily in the air.
Stoick let his hand drop to his side, the knife still clenched in his fist. His shoulders lowered slightly, as if the weight of the thought had finally settled on him.
“We won’t find him,” he said.
The forest was silent around them.
Astrid stood beside him without speaking, she just looked up at the sky thinking where Hiccup might be now, knowing this was the truth Stoick believed now.
—
They went back to the village after a while. As they arrived it was already getting darker. No one talked on the way. Stoick walked in front, while Astrid was a few steps behind him.
When the people noticed them coming back, the words already spread fast. Soon all the vikings gathered inside the Great Hall.
Stoick walked to the table where people were gathered around. He opened his hand and a single black scale dropped onto it. People leaned in to look at it, some stepped closer to see.
“This was found at the cove, past raven point” Stoick said “Alongside his shield, knife and his bag.
People murmured and went silent.
“He went after Night Fury” Stoick continued. Some people shook their heads hearing it, some looked terrified.
“He hit it” Stoick said “Wounded it” He placed his hand next to the scale. “But it didn’t run, it fought back,” he said.
The whole hall grew quieter, that they could feel people shuffle on their feet.
“He tried to kill it, and it took him before he could do it”
Astrid stood near the wall, her arms crossed tightly. She just looked at the ground, because what else could she do? She led Stoick there, she let him make his own beliefs, of what happened just to protect Hiccup.
“My son died fighting a dragon” he said before he added a bit quieter “He died a warrior death”
Astrid just nodded lightly. She just hoped Hiccup will find a good place for himself.