Chapter Sixteen

~Epilouge~

A/N: LAST CHAPTER! (Some ACTUAL non-mist-induced-Hiccstrid here! :D)

In response to...

InfinitiumAce: Yup, evil is probably a good word for it... And hopefully this last chapter will satisfy you sufficiently. :)

TheGallopingCupcake: Lol, I told my mom about the mist-overdose and she just shook her like, 'what are you doing with your life?' XDDD It was awesome. But seeing as how this is the last chapter, hopefully you don't have to panic TOO much. :)

xInsertCreativeUsernamex: Lol, yes it was fun! :) And yeah, I'm dreading it myself. (Although mine might actually be in, I'm not sure o_o I hope so...I don't want to turn into drunk Hiccup XDD WHO KNOWS what might happen if I'm all hyped up on happy gas with access to fanfictions? XDD)

Heslen: AH! If I'd known about your lack of internet access sooner, I might have been able to update when you needed it! Sorry! D:

Jesusfreak: Lol! XD

anime-rocks-08: Well, after my week's vacation (due to relatives) I'll be writing a post-sequel story! Hope to see you there :)

MHJohn64th: Yep, the Siren's nest is the cave where they found all the dragon eggs and such! :) Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you like the last chapter! :D

NightFury999: Yes it did... Thanks! XD

Breyannia: Yep, they're great hunters...but not very good at understanding human speech, apparently. XD As for Hiccup, you'll see how he is in this chapter! :)

Ashling Alroy: Then read the chapter! XD

MissSharpenedSpikes: Remember, it wants him because he cut off one of its hatchling's tentacles. Revenge and all that fun stuff! :)

AwesomeGuest: You'll see~

NightFury101: Yay! I'm glad you liked the cliffhanger XD (Fun fact: that was originally meant to be halfway through the chapter, but I decided to end it there for dramatic purposes...) LOL! And NO! Don't cry! Our silly dragon friend is okay! *Pats your head* LOL! XDD

oceanzap: Lol, well that IS what he was trying to do...! And Hiccup certainly has a strong record of doing crazy things to protect his dragon. (Getting struck by lightning, almost drowning twice, etc etc...)

"Careful, lad." Gobber coaches supportively as Hiccup pushes himself into a sitting position. The boy hisses in pain before taking a deep, steadying breath and setting his feet on the floor. "Are you sure you want to get up just yet...?" His mentor asks him. "Gothi warned you to stay still for the next few weeks...it's only been a day..."

Hiccup nods his head before pushing himself onto his aching legs. He wavers for a moment but manages to balance himself without falling. "I need to check on the others." He grumbles in a hoarse voice. "It's killing me not knowing how they're doing."

"That's not the only thing that'll kill you if you keep moving around so much..." His mentor sighs, offering an arm around the slim teenager's shoulders, which Hiccup gratefully accepts as they hobble toward the door. Fortunately, they only have to go to the Great Hall, which isn't far from here.

His father, his dragon, and everyone else who was injured is there right now, being routinely checked up on by Gothi. Well, all but Hiccup, who was rushed to her after his fifteen foot drop out of the air yesterday. Luckily, the water absorbed most of his fall and the only real injury he sustained is some major bruising across his body, particularly his back, which is now varying shades of purple and blue.

"I'll go back to bed once I'm sure everyone is okay." He assures Gobber as they jointly limp out the door, Hiccup flinching every time he has to put weight on his sore legs.

His mentor grunts as if to say 'suuure, you will' and doesn't say anymore until they've reached the Great Hall, whose doors stand wide open. Once inside, Gobber practically drags his young apprentice over to a table to sit and rest, as the medicine woman instructed. "I'll let your father know you're here. He'll be glad to see you awake again."

Hiccup nods and painfully shifts his weight to a more comfortable position. Then again, all the benches in the Hall are made of stiff, unforgiving wood...so no position is comfortable when your back is one, giant bruise. So the frowning boy sighs and contents himself with searching the Hall for his friends.

He finds the twins bickering in a corner. They have a few various bandages on their arms, probably for heat blisters they got during the battle... With so much fire, it's no wonder they would get at least some minor burning. Beside them, a little ways away, are Snotlout and Fishlegs, who also appear to be having a rather heated conversation about one thing or another. They're also sporting gauze, although Snotlout is wearing many more, due to having been thrown from his dragon so roughly.

And then Hiccup finds Astrid. She's Gothi's current patient and there's a very pained expression on her face as the elderly woman applies some kind of cream to her ankle and begins to wrap it up against a splint again. It looks bad and, not for the first time, Hiccup fears it might get worse.

However, all of his concern is tossed to the wind when she meets his gaze. Astrid smirks at him and offers a half-hearted wave, flinching when Gothi pulls the bandages into place over her wounded foot. Hiccup smiles back at her and moves as if to stand, but is stopped when she shakes her head and motions for him to sit still.

He frowns but obeys her, sinking back down onto the wooden bench with some relief that he won't have to put weight of his aching body. Astrid nods at him, pleased that he's actually listening to her for once, and mouths 'be over in a minute'.

Hiccup is about to mouth a reply back, when he feels a puff of hot air on the back of his head. Turning around, he nearly jumps out of his skin in surprise to find himself face-to-face with a very peeved-looking Night Fury. Toothless glares at his human from the other side of the table before slinking over top of it and then stepping down onto the floor before Hiccup.

"Uh...hey, bud." Hiccup tries weakly, only to receive a grumpy snarl from his dragon. Normally, he would ask why his friend is upset...but he already knows. "Look, I couldn't just let the Siren kill you! I had to do something!"

But Toothless only snorts and nudges his nose against Hiccup's side, causing him to wince at the circular welt that marks where the tentacle nearly crushed his ribs. Toothless just doesn't understand why Hiccup is always trying to reverse their jobs! It's Toothless's job to protect Hiccup! Not the other way around!

And Hiccup knows his dragon feels this way. How could he not...? It seems like every time Hiccup puts himself in any kind of harm's way to help Toothless, his Night Fury practically throw a fit! And this time is no exception.

Hiccup prods Toothless's nose away and finally offers a little smile. "Okay, you can be mad at me if you want." He shrugs. "But I'm just glad you're alive."

Toothless growls quietly because he knows what his cunning little human is trying to do. But despite knowing that Hiccup is only trying to make him feel bad, Toothless can't help it. He is glad Hiccup is okay as well, even though he's frustrated with him. So he continues to drone unhappily as he nuzzles Hiccup's cheek, earning a grin and a scratch behind the ears from his friend.

"So, how're you two love-birds feeling?" Astrid chuckles as she limps over to them, aided by a pair of makeshift crutches.

Hiccup clears his throat and smirks at her. "Eh, I think we've been better." He admits, motioning to the various knicks and scrapes along his dragon's skin. As well as the sore spot on the Night Fury's throat... "But we'll live."

She nods and sits down beside him. "Thanks." She says as he pulls a stool over for her to lean her ankle on. "I guess we're all a bit roughed up..."

"So, what did Gothi tell you?" Hiccup asks carefully, his eyes searching her broken ankle for signs of recovery. But, of course, he can't see through the bandages so he doesn't know if it's getting better or not.

Astrid shifts her weight so she's not putting so much pressure on her foot and then turns to face him, giving him almost a scolding look. "It's fine, Hiccup. It'll be healed and good as new in a few months."

"Did she actually say that?" Hiccup demands, his brow wrinkling in concern.

"She said to rest and it'll be fine...same advice she gave you, right?" She grumbles, sighing when he responds with a sheepish grin. Busted. "Hiccup!" She groans. "You know, you can't possibly disobey every order you get. Some of them are givin for a reason."

"I know, I know..." He moans. "But I had to come over to make sure everyone was okay. Like you said, we all got a bit roughed up. Speaking of which..." Hiccup glances around the Great Hall, wondering where Gobber went. "Have you seen my father? Gobber said he was going to get him..."

"Not since earlier..." She says. "Why?"

Hiccup sighs and sits back against the table behind him. "Well, frankly, I'm a little worried... Last I saw of him, he was being attacked by the queen." He grumbles. "I'd like to know how he's doing."

Astrid doesn't reply at first so Hiccup glances over to look at her, his expression turning confused at the soft look on her face. "You know, Hiccup, you have a really bad tendency for being more worried about other people than yourself."

He arcs an eyebrow, about to ask if that's a bad thing, when she suddenly chuckles under her breath as the memory surfaces in her mind. One of Hiccup giggling drunkenly under the influence of the Siren's hallucinogenic mist and, even then, he had been more worried for Astrid's safety than his own...

"What's so funny?" Hiccup suddenly asks her, scrutinizing the amused shimmer in her eyes.

"Nothing." She lies with a shake of her head. "Just...remind me to never let you get drunk."

"Excuse me?" He sputters, baffled. However, she never gets a chance to explain herself, because a moment later, the doors of the Great Hall are shoved open and a wide-eyed Stoick comes barging in. There's a bandage peeking through beneath his tunic, as well as a handful littering his arms and legs.

Hiccup grimaces at the sight of his father's injuries but ends up smiling once his dad has spotted him. "Hey, Dad." He greets as Stoick hurries over, grinning in relief that his son is feeling well enough to move around.

Stoick stops a few feet in front of him and kneels down, still smiling from ear to ear as he ruffles the boy's hair and asks, "How're you feeling son? Gobber said you were in quite a bit of pain still...you look alright to me, though."

And Hiccup nods, almost eagerly. He's not sure how he was expecting his father to react, but this certainly is a surprise. Usually, there's a bit more scolding on recklessness involved... Then again, a parent can only show so much tough love after witnessing their child falling out of the sky, into only a few feet of water... "I'm fine, Dad." He assures him as his father sits back, wincing slightly at the pain of his own wounds. "Seems like you should be the one resting, not me..."

But Stoick waves him off. "Eh, I've had much worse than this! Trust me on that, son. It would take more than one dragon to kill me!"

Hiccup chuckles as his father's good mood as Stoick ruffles his son's hair for a second time before standing up.

"Now, I've got to go talk to the men I sent out this morning. There were no disappearances last night, so we're hoping the Sirens have gone for good this time."

"Hopefully..." Hiccup shivers at the thought of them returning. Scaring the queen off took a lot out of the Riders and doubts they could do it again without some serious casualties.

However, he can't dwell on that thought for too long before Gobber comes hobbling in. "Stoick, the men have just arrived in port. They said they didn't see anything outside the Siren's nest and nothing tried to attack them..."

The Chief nods as he follows his friend outside, leaving Hiccup and Astrid to exchange amused expressions before getting up. Hiccup offers her his hand and she gladly takes it, happy to not have to put weight on her bad ankle this time.

"Thanks." She says and he nods. The two of them limp their way toward the door, with Toothless hanging a ways behind them. He eyes his Rider suspiciously, wonder why Hiccup is blatantly staring at Astrid as they walk. ...it's not his usual stare. Not goofy or dreamy. He looks...thoughtful.

"Hey...Astrid?" He mutters, suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"Um," Hiccup pauses, obviously searching for the right words. "Can I ask you something?"

His friend offers a small nod, although she looks a little...worried.

"Uhh..." By now, they've exited the Great Hall and are lingering by the stairs. Hiccup chews his lip for a moment before finally asking his question. "Back when we were fighting the Siren...and I breathed in some of its mist..."

Astrid inwardly grimaces. Oh gods... She almost groans. Please don't tell me he remembers that...! "Y-yeah...?"

"I...I didn't say anything...crazy, did I?" He finally mumbles. "I mean...when my dad did, he said some pretty...weird things and... I mean, I didn't, right?"

"Uhhhh..." And now it's Astrid's turn to stammer. "Well...I mean you were mumbling to yourself and...I guess you might have said some...kind of silly stuff but... I know you weren't exactly yourself so I don't mind."

Even so, Hiccup looks mortified. "Oh no..." He groans. "What did I say?!" A million horrifying thoughts go through his head of things he may have said while he was out. Some worse than others...

"N-nothing!" She waves him off and starts walking again, trying to move quickly with her crutches. But stairs and a broken ankle don't go well together so she's essentially trapped as he follows her, continuing to demand what it is he told her in his drugged state. To which she continues to refuse he said anything weird at all. And after a while, Hiccup sighs in irritation and gives up, contenting himself with trudging along beside her as they walk in the direction of their houses.

They reach Astrid's place first and Hiccup helps her climb the few steps that lead to her front door, even though she insists she can do it without him. He still guides her as best he can, even scooting her father's boots out of the way so she won't trip over them.

Once at the door, however, he grips his aching ribs and leans on the side of the house when he thinks she isn't looking. But of course she notices...

"Thank you, Hiccup." She says almost softly.

And he nods, his buck-teeth showing in his grin. "No problem." For the shortest moment, he lingers there and the two teens stand in a comfortable silence, smirking at each other like a couple of dopey love-birds that would make any outsider roll their eyes -as Toothless does, right before walking away.

But soon, their self-induced spell is broken and Hiccup clears his throat, lowering his eyes because he hadn't really noticed he'd been staring. "Um, I'll see you later." He says as he turns back toward the steps.

"See you." She agrees as he limps down the stairs toward his dragon. "Oh, and Hiccup?"

"Huh?" He asks, glancing over his shoulder.

Astrid is already halfway in the door and there's sneaky smile on her face when she says, "Me too." Right before slipping inside and shutting it behind her.

Astrid never answers his inquiries as to what that meant, simply enjoying it as her own, personal joke...and response to his drunken confession.

A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! (YAY HICCSTRID! XD)

I'm thinking my next fanfic will be post-sequel...

ALSO! I'm taking about a week's vacation from the site because my aunt and cousin are visiting! (Talk about perfect timing, they're literally coming TODAY.) So I'll keep you updated as to when my return date will be and what my next fic will be about :)

(Keep an eye on my profile if you're curious)

Also, THANKS FOR THE MOST REVIEW I'VE EVER GOTTEN! Seriously! OVER 200! THAT'S INSANE!