Hey, guys! Sorry about not updating the past few days...you know how life is. :) So, this is THE LAST chapter, and we're finally going to figure out what Astrid saw! :D YAY! *streamers* WHOOP WHOOP! :D Enjoy the final chapter! :D

"How much closer now?" Hiccup asked Astrid for the utmost time. In response, the girl groaned.

"Five minutes closer than the last time you asked me," she said after Hiccup looked at her with confusion. "You can stop asking any time you like, Hiccup. It's getting to be rather annoying."

Hiccup frowned. "I thought we had it settled that you were the annoying one," he said.

"You were sick then," Astrid responded. "And rather delusional, if you thought I agreed to be more annoying than you."

Hiccup laughed, and every "ha" was very pronounced. "Yeah, right," he said, "because no one beats Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third."

"That's right," Astrid said. "Great to see we're on the same page."

Hiccup groaned, and Astrid laughed.

It took them a remarkably short amount of time before they landed in Raven Point. After dismounting their dragons, Astrid signaled for Hiccup to follow her, which he did as she ran forward.

"What is it?" Hiccup asked. "Are you going to tell me, or just keep acting all mystical and mysterious?"

"I told you," Astrid said. "I have to show you. I don't completely know how to fully explain it."

Hiccup shrugged, following her onwards. "I just don't get it," he said. "I mean-"

"Shh," Astrid said, holding up a hand to shut him up. "We're here."

Hiccup swallowed. "If this is some sort of prank..." he began in a warning tone. After letting his unspoken threat hang in the air for just a few moments, he continued following Astrid. "Astrid," he groaned, "what are you-"

"Look," Astrid said. They climbed a hill, and then came to what looked like a cave. Hiccup stared at it, confusion filling his eyes.

"Oooooh, a cave," he said with mock surprise. "How unnatural."

"Shut up for once and listen," Astrid said.

"That's offensive," Hiccup protested.

"Deal with it," Astrid ordered. "Don't you notice something out of the ordinary? Anything at all?"

Hiccup narrowed his eyes as if expecting the cave to sprout wings and fly. "Um...no...?" he said. He looked closer. "No, wait a minute..." he said. "I think...what is that?"

"Well," Astrid said, "why don't you go on and find out?"

Now Astrid was the one following Hiccup as he approached the cave. He stopped directly in front of the thing he had seen. From their position on top of the hill, it looked like an unnatural clump of rock.

He was wrong.

It was a dead wolf.

It looked like it had been dead for a long time. Flies surrounded the body, and it was already beginning to decay, leaving a horrid stench in the air.

Hiccup made a face. "That's awful," he stated simply, pointing to the wolf's body. "No, that's just plain...plain..."

"It's not the worst of it," Astrid said. "Step inside the cave for a minute."

Hiccup looked back at her. "You're keeping me on my toes," he said. "Just stop with the riddles."

When Astrid didn't reply, he stepped inside the cave.

The smell hit him immedietly, and he stepped back outside.

"That smells worse then..." Hiccup began, his voice trailing off. He didn't know what he was going to compare that smell to. It smelled worse than anything else he had ever dealt with so far.

"You know what it is?" Astrid asked.

It took a moment, but Hiccup nodded. "Of course I do," he said. "The wolves are all dead. This cave must have been their 'den', so to speak. The tularemia they had...it killed them off."

Astrid nodded. "See why I was so worried about you, Dragon Boy?" she asked. "I knew you were strong, but seeing these wolves all dead...just dead, all of 'em, I just...I thought...maybe you were going to wind up like them, too."

Hiccup eyed at the first body of the wolf, and winced. "Yeah," he said. "That probably wouldn't have been too charming..."

Astrid stared at him, shocked. "Hiccup," she said, "you could have died. Do you understand that, or are you just more thick headed then I originaly thought?"

"No, I get it, Astrid," Hiccup said. He took another step backwards. "Come on," he said. "I don't want to hang around here any longer than we have to. It's already giving me the creeps."

Astrid nodded, and the two of them raced back to their dragons, mounted them, and then took off back towards the village once again.

...

"What do you think we're going to do about the bodies, Hiccup?" Astrid asked. "We can't just leave the dead wolves there. It's just...just...sickening."

"I know," Hiccup said. "I'll get Ruffnut and Tuffnut to set fire into the cave, and then knock the cave down. They'll have no problem with it. In fact, they'll probably enjoy doing it."

Astrid nodded. "You're probably right," she said. "You know, Hiccup, I'm just glad you're back to normal. You really worried us."

Hiccup smiled. "I tend to do that," he said with a shrug. "But don't worry. I won't be doing it again."

Now it was Astrid's turn to smile. "Good plan," she said. "I guess I won't have to flatten you now."

"Splendid," Hiccup said. "I don't like being flattened." An awkward silence settled between the two of them for a few moments, until Hiccup decided to break it. "And I just wanted to say, thanks," he said.

Astrid turned to him. "For what?" she asked.

"For helping my Mom take care of me, you know...while I was ill," Hiccup said. "I know I was out of it for the most part, but...I still felt you holding my hand when I was in pain, and...I don't know. I guess I just wanted to say thanks."

Astrid stared at him for just a moment, before shoving him roughly. "Of course," she said. "Did you really think I was going to just leave you alone while you were sick like you were?"

"Not really," Hiccup answered. "I guess I just thought that..."

"What?" Astrid asked. "You just thought that what?"

"Nothing," Hiccup said. "Thank you is all, Astrid."

Astrid smiled, and shrugged. "Hey," she said, "that's what I'm here for, right?"

Hiccup nodded. "Right," he agreed.

He knew that she meant it, too.

Author's Notes:

Alright, so this is it, everyone! "Wolves" is officially finished! :D *streamers* Just so you all know, I'm turning "If You Will Marry Me" into a chapter story, and I should start posting that soon, so...

Yeaaaaaah. :D I'm also doing a new one called "Don't You Dare Call Me 'Son'!" which should be out soon as well. Maybe within two weeks if everything goes as planned. :D I hope you enjoyed this story! :D

Until next story! :D

-BeyondTheClouds777