Hey, all! Sorry this is late again, but for some reason I really had a hard time with the second half of the Night Fury sequence. As a result, that part is probably messy. The chapter is a bit longer than usual so hopefully that makes up for it.

In other news, I have recently uploaded this story to AO3 as well, so if anyone prefers that site you can read it there. You can find it under the same name 'A World on Fire' and my pen name 'SpiritofFireHS' is the same for that site as well.

Please remember to review! Enjoy and happy reading!

Review Responses:

CajunBear73: Hiccup really needs to stop giving Astrid leverage over him...but then again this is Hiccup and Astrid we are talking about. We all know who wears the pants. (Hiccup from Blindsided: As leader, I am putting my foot down...Remind me never to put my foot down again.)

P-Artsypants: Stormfly is my favorite! It was painful to have Astrid hurt her. I wanted to show that there is conflict in Astrid, and, this time, the warrior won out.

Child of Loc Lac: Firstly, thanks for your honest criticism and especially for explaining it. I agree with your first point, where it felt forced to when I was writing it as well. I'll work on that, but it shouldn't present too much of a problem in the future as the story and movie will start to diverge. For your second and third points...Right now Heather may not seem important, but I have plans for her that are crucial for the story. Also, the way I wanted to portray it was that all the Berkians don't completely despise her (well at the moment some of them do...like Snotlout or Mildew, but he's a given), not like they hate Hiccup at least. She's an outsider, she's different, and Berkians hate different so they shun her, or don't fully accept her. For the last thing: I want to give Astrid her own thoughts and ideals. She is different from the others, at least to some degree. Obviously, I don't know every thought that went through her head during the movie. But in this story I wanted to show that there is conflict in Astrid, and, this time, the warrior won out. This chapter may hint a little about her upbringing in this story and how her parents may have directly/indirectly influenced this separate thinking. Thanks again and please know that I am not dismissing your criticism, just explained why I did what I did.

abidoodle.e: I love your reviews! Makes me feel good about myself :)! I'm really glad you like how I'm portraying Astrid. In the movie we can't actually see her thoughts, but it is obvious that she, to at least some small degree, is different from the other teens. This chapter may hint a little about her upbringing in this story and how her parents may have directly/indirectly influenced this separate thinking. Thanks again!

De Amicus: Welcome back! I hope your hiatus went well. Astrid always seems to have a way to get Hiccup's secrets out of him when she puts her mind to it. That is a major factor of this chapter. And we both already know the answer to the axe question, LOL.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the How to Train Your Dragon franchise, including the characters, settings, plots, themes, etc. from said franchise. I do, however, own this story and the unique characters, settings, plots, themes, etc. contained in this story that do not appear in the franchise as of the date of this publishing, unless otherwise indicated.

Chapter 6

Flowering Bonds

» The Night Fury «

He quietly stooped on a large boulder, assuming a cat-like stance to stalk the fleshy being. The human had intruded in his prison once again, and the only thing that stopped him from eating the insufferable creature was the juicy haddock it carried in its right paw. The Night Fury shimmied his shoulders and padded forward, letting out a faint growl to let his presence be known. To his satisfaction, the human jumped and turned around to watch him gracefully hop off of his perch. Not once taking his semi-stilted eyes off of the creature, he huffed and growled again.

To his surprise, the fleshy neither ran or attacked and only extended a paw. It was offering the haddock to him. Should he take it? It had been so long since he had last eaten. The Fury's pupils dilated and he crawled forward and opened his mouth to accept the offering. Suddenly, he pulled back, growling, into a defense position, his stilted eyes focused on the human's waist. The fleshy lifted a layer of its coverings to reveal the shiny, sharp object it brandished earlier. As it reached for the object, he snarled in warning and earned a flinch. Taking the hint, the human gingerly lifted the object and dropped it on the ground. The Night Fury nodded its head to the pond and the creature kicked the object into the water, out of harm's way.

Pupils wide, he dropped his wings and relaxed his battle stance. His ear twitched in confusion as the fleshy extended the tasty morsel again. Why would it do that? It had just tossed its only defense into the water. How could it trust that he would leave it unharmed? He stepped towards it again and opened his gummy mouth to take the fish.

"Huh? Toothless. I could have sworn you had…" The human started to make noise and he impatiently snapped out his retractile teeth and snagged the haddock. "Ah," it yelped, before jumping back in fright and sheltering the paw that held the food, "…teeth."

After days of starvation, it felt like the fish was the tastiest he had ever eaten, still the tiny morsel was nowhere near enough to satisfy him. He prodded the human with his snout searching for more.

"No, no, no…I-I don't have any more."

Oh, where were his manners. Of course, the fleshy was upset, it had just given him all its food. He would not let his hunger stop him from being courteous. The Night Fury opened his mouth above the human's lap and regurgitated half the fish for it. He sat back on his hind haunches in anticipation, but it just sat there. Why wouldn't it eat? After a few more seconds of waiting and a couple guiding gestures, the human finally downed a bite, spreading its lips as proof. What a strange expression it was. The Fury decided to mimic the creature, warbling in difficulty and he shone his own gummy grin.

The moment was short-lived as the human extended a paw that came much to close for comfort. He snarled and glided away, deciding to take a nap and warming a patch of dirt on the opposite side of the pond. To his annoyance, the fleshy was determined to get close to him. It took several attempts, but he was finally able to get some rest while suspended from thick tree branch.

When he woke, he was surprised to see that the human was still here; surely it had more important things to do. Wait…what was it doing? The Night Fury stalked over to where it was seated and peered over its shoulder, warbling and cooing in wonder. It was him! The human had made him in the dirt! Whatever this was, he had to try it, so he waddled over to a tiny tree and ripped it out of the ground. Dancing around in a large patch of dirt, he constructed his masterpiece. He finished drawing, took a step back, and nodded to signify its completion. It was perfect! He was proud of his amazing capture of the human's face.

Suddenly, he snarled as the fleshy stepped on his creation – the audacity! Fortunately for the human, it realized it mistake and removed his foot, leaving the Fury to contently warble. This continued a couple more times until the human navigated the portrait and found itself inches from the dragon. He snorted a burst of air at it, letting it know where it was.

It held out its paw again and he snarled at it to warn it off. Undeterred, it averted its eyes and turned its head, holding out his paw as far as it could reach. He stared at the extremity, wide-eyed and unsure, contemplating if he should accept the offer of trust. Hesitating twice, he finally closed his eyes and bridged the gap, touching his snout to the paw.

The boy looked up in shock and awe to meet his gaze. "Toothless," Hiccup whispered right before the newly dubbed Toothless darted away.

» Astrid Hofferson «

"Hiccup?"

The boy she had just tossed over her shoulder simply looked back at her and groaned in response.

"What the Hel are you doing?" She berated.

"What am I doing? You're the one who tried to break half the bones in my body!" He retorted and pulled himself off the ground with a grunt.

"Serves you right for sneaking around!" She angrily prodded him in the chest with every emphasized syllable.

Hiccup let out a nervous chuckle and, against his better judgement, intercepted Astrid's finger, mid-poke, with his own. He timidly pushed it back and winced as she glared at the intruding extremity. "I wasn't sneaking around. I was in these bushes and you happened to pass by."

"So, you were hiding?" Astrid was now annoyed, "Hiding from who? Me?"

"Well…uh…yes, in this specific scenario I was hiding from you, but-but it's not that I was hiding from you. You just happened to be here, so I hid…from you…but not you. I mean, I don't want to hide from you, but, since you were here, I hid from you. Wait this isn't coming out right. Yes, I was just now hiding from you, but I am not trying to hide from you." Hiccup was now relentlessly blabbering, unable to communicate his message.

"Ugh," she snarled. Why did this boy always talk in circles? It was obvious to her that he was lying, and she really was not in the mood for these games. "Maybe we should take a little trip to the Chief and you can it explain to him. You know…about why you've been spying on me instead of attending dragon training."

Her threat had hit its mark and Hiccup's eyes widened to their fullest extent. "No, no, that won't be necessary…I'll be…I'll be honest with you, but you have to promise that you won't tell anyone…especially Dad." He offered the compromise.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Alright, fine. I promise."

"Okay, good, okay. So…um…"

"Oh, my Thor! I promised. Didn't I? Now out with it!"

"I can't kill dragons."

"Yes, I know. We all know. That's what training is for." She grew more exasperated, "If you bothered to show up, that is."

"No, no, you don't understand. When I say 'I can't kill dragons', I meant that I actually can't kill dragons, no matter the amount of training." Astrid raised an eyebrow to indicate that she remained unconvinced. Noticing the gesture, Hiccup continued to explain, "Look, a little while ago I found a Ni…uh…dragon out in the woods." He consciously pointed in the direction opposite of the hidden cove. "Someone had shot it down; it was all tangled up in a bola and was vulnerable. All I had to do was plunge my dagger into its heart and I would come back a hero. That was it! But, I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill the dragon. When I pulled out my dagger, it opened its eyes and looked at me…like it knew what I was about the do…like it was afraid…like it didn't want to die." Hiccup stared at the ground and shuffled a foot.

"Hiccup," Astrid icily whispered, "Where's the dragon?"

"It…got away."

"Don't lie to me." Her eyes narrowed.

"No, really," he looked back up put up his hands in surrender, "I went back to check and it wasn't in the spot where I first found it. Actually, that's where I was coming from right now and why you caught me hiding… and also why I didn't show up to training. I'm afraid of what will happen to me if anyone finds out."

"You've got to be kidding me." Astrid shook her head and glared at him. "What is wrong with you? How could you just let one of them go free? They steal our food. They burn down out homes. They kill us! Why can't you just man up and do your duty as a Viking!"

"I-I…but-"

"Oh, wait! That's right. You aren't a man, just a worthless fishbone!" She hissed her words, lacing every other with heart-wrenching venom. "And the worst part of it all is that I have to marry you. You! All I'm going to be doing for the rest of my life is cleaning up your messes. I should have let that damned Gronkle finish you in the arena. You've thrown your lot in with them. You're not a Viking. You're not one of us."

Wait…was that a tear? Even in the face of atrocities at the hands of his fellow Berkians, Astrid had never seen Hiccup shed a single tear. Her unwarranted fury slowly subsided as her words dawned on her. She was a monster. How could she have said that to him? Yes, Hiccup tended to mess up…a lot. But she knew that his intentions were always pure and meant to bring benefit to his village. On top of it all, Hiccup never hoped ill-will on his people, even those who were cruel to him. And she had just called him a traitor. He was a good person at heart and she turned every single one of his insecurities on him. Of course, she was still mad about the whole dragon in the woods thing…and it had pushed her over the edge. The shock about the wedding, the loss of control in her future, and the recent frustration about the destruction of her axe had been bottled up inside her and wrongfully spilled out onto Hiccup. He did not deserve any of it. He had trusted in her and confided in her, only her, and she threw it all back in his face.

Astrid moved closer to him. "I didn't mean that."

Hiccup flinched as she drew near and he jumped back from her. His eyes now burned and his voice was toxic and foreign. "No. You were very clear. You wouldn't have said all that if you hadn't meant it. Enough is enough. I thought you were decent and could see past my outside, but you're no better than the rest of these mutton-heads. You never ridiculed me or attacked me, so I guess I was just so far beneath you that I wasn't even worth the effort. You think you're a warrior, but you're just a murderer. Enjoy being a dutiful Viking. You certainly have what it takes." Hiccup spun around and started running back into the woods, not sparing a look behind.

Astrid's feet were glued to the ground and she could not bring herself to follow. She had never seen Hiccup so angry and unsettled. His most recent words had infuriated her, but, at the same time, she had said some awful things herself. Her mind was fighting itself and her emotions were confused.

» Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III «

Oh, Thor. Oh, Thor. Oh, Thor. What just happened? This was all his fault. Luckily, he was able to hold his tongue regarding any specific information about Toothless. But, in his grand wisdom, he revealed one of his biggest secrets to Astrid to keep her from telling his father that he skipped dragon training. Before he was just a disappointment who did not have the bodily strength of a real Viking to put to use fighting dragons. Now, after he had been forced to spill it all, she knew that he did not have the mental fortitude or the stomach. Everything she had said was true. To make matters worse, he had screamed at her and accused her of being horrible to him in the past, while, in truth, she was one of the only ones who did not tease or torment him. Of all people, why did he have to go and yell at his betrothed.

» Astrid Hofferson «

The door to House Hofferson slammed behind her as she stormed in and made way for the staircase.

"Astrid." Gunnar called out, "What's the matter, my dear?" Her father poured some liquid from a steaming kettle into two mugs. Sitting down next to the hearth, he held one out for her. "Come sit down, lass. Talking about it will make you feel better."

Astrid knew better than to argue with her father. There was no point. He was always right. She quietly took the extended mug, plopped down on the opposite chair, and took a sip. There was the distinct flavor of birch and slight undertones of angelica and moss – her favorite tea. She looked up at her father, "I can't tell you…I promised him."

"You don't have to keep any secrets from me, lass. I'm your father and I will always be on your side…and Hiccup's."

Astrid was shocked, "How did you know it was about Hiccup?"

"You just told me," he smirked, "Besides, who else would it be?" The two sat in silence, slowing draining their mugs and waiting for the other to speak first. After twenty minutes of this, the pair had emptied the kettle and Gunnar rose from his seat. "You don't have to tell me and I think it's admirable that you want to keep your word, but ask yourself who that will benefit. It is clearly troubling you and I doubt Hiccup is faring any better. My ears are always open for you, lass. And my lips are always sealed." He started to walk away.

"Dad?" Astrid stopped him as his words finally registered. She knew that she could trust her father, and, like always, he was right. Keeping her promise to Hiccup would only cause turmoil to fester in the both of them.

Gunnar turned around with a smile, "Yes, my dear?"

"Could you sit down? We need to talk." Through averted eyes, she told her father everything that Hiccup had revealed earlier. There was his truancy from dragon training, his inability to kill a downed dragon, and his cowardice against their enemy. Astrid left out the last bit, where she had spat abuse at him, knowing her father would not approve. When she looked back after finishing, she expected him to be as furious as she had been, but there was not even a hint of anger. To her surprise, he merely grinned and stared into the hearth as if he were replaying a bittersweet memory.

Gunnar laughed and looked back at his daughter. "Aye, of course he goes and does that. I bet he even cut the dragon loose before someone else found it." He laughed again.

"Cut it out. This isn't funny!" She simmered.

"Ha, of course it is, lass, the boy's the spitting image of Valka. It makes sense that he would turn out so much like her as well. The only things he got from Stoick was his gender and that Haddock nose."

"No, it isn't! And who even is Valka? Why does she matter?"

Gunner stopped chuckling. "Ah, a great woman she was a voice of change, a dear friend. She was Hiccup's mother, you know?"

"What?" Astrid's eyes grew wide. She had never known anything about his mother…and had never given it any thought either.

"Aye."

"What-what happened to her?"

Shaking his head, Gunnar answered. "It was a tragedy, lass, and not one I care to repeat. All I can hope is that she found peace in Valhalla."

"You said Hiccup was like her?"

"Valka was always trying to convince the village that dragons were peaceful creatures and we didn't need to fight them. But, this is Berk, so no one listened to her. There was even this one time that several of us returned from a diplomatic journey and found that somebody had released all the dragons in the arena. It was never proven who had done it, but I have no doubt that it was Valka."

"But doesn't that make her and Hiccup weak."

"No, Astrid." Gunnar said sternly, "That makes them the strongest of us all. It takes immense strength to do what is right when all you have ever been taught tells you to do wrong."

"But it's not right!"

"Tell me…do you think that I am weak? That I do wrong?"

"No, of course not!"

"Then what if I tell you that I have never sought out a dragon to kill. We both know that I have killed many dragons before, but not a single one was killed out of spite…or anger…or revenge. I have only ever killed a dragon in my defense or the defense of my fellows. I'll ask you again. Do you think that I am weak? That I do wrong?"

She didn't know how to respond. A knock at the door broke the silence and Gunnar moved to answer it. Astrid couldn't see the visitor but could hear every word in the conversation.

"Hello, son. How can I help you?" Her dad spoke first.

"Hi, Mr. Hofferson. Is Astrid here? I need to speak with her…alone." Wait was that Hiccup?

"Aye. But, if you don't mind my asking, what's this about?"

"I need to apologize for my earlier behavior." Hiccup responded frankly. She was the one who said all those terrible things to him, but he had come to ask for forgiveness.

"Go on in lad, she's by the hearth."

"Thank you, sir."

Hiccup padded into the room with his head low and eyes downcast. Pieces of undergrowth were tangled in his hair and clung to his vest. "Um…hi," he said when he saw her.

"What do you want?" She feigned ignorance.

"I was hoping that you would give me a few moments to talk to you." He spoke cautiously.

"And what exactly is there to talk about?"

"Just one thing…"

"Fine, go on with it." She already knew what he wanted to say, but she did not feel deserving.

"I'm so, so sorry about the awful things I said to you. I'm sorry for yelling. I'm sorry for saying that you weren't a warrior. Please, let me make it up to you. Tell me anything, anything at all, and I'll do it. But I'm guessing you want to be alone right now, so I'll go." He stared at the floor through the entire apology.

It hurt Astrid to hear him speak when it was clearly her who should have been apologizing. What he had said did not hold to a candle to the atrocities she had thrown his way. "Hiccup, sit down."

"W-what?"

"Sit!" She pointed at the chair her father was previously in. As he warily walked over to it and sat, she started to say her piece. "What do you think you're doing apologizing to me? There's nothing you need to make up for. After all those things I said to you I should be saying sorry to you. So…I'm sorry." The words were painful to say and this was now the second time she had said them to Hiccup. Why did she keep finding herself in this position…and with him of all people?

"No, you didn't do anything wrong!" Hiccup looked at her in shock.

"Shut up and take the apology, Hiccup." What was up with him? Why could he not accept that he had been wronged and she was the one who needed to ask for forgiveness? Only an hour ago he was distressed by her words and retaliated, but now it was as if he had forgotten – or refused to acknowledge – everything she had said.

"Okay."

"So…?" She inquired.

"So?"

"Am I forgiven?"

"Yes. Always." He answered and looked up at her. His eyes immediately darted away and fixed on an object leaning against her chair.

"Oh yeah," Astrid said sadly, "It got damaged during training and Gobber said that it was too much trouble to repair it."

"Can I see it?" He asked holding out both hands.

She picked up her axe and looked at it, hesitant to hand it over. Finally, she gave it to him. It was already damaged beyond repair so where was the harm?

"It'll take a bit of time, but I can get it back to you better than new." He told her as he inspected the damage and ran his fingers over the engraving.

Astrid's spirits immediately lifted, "Really? But Gobber-"

"-can be the laziest man on Berk when he puts his mind to it." Hiccup interrupted, "Besides, the damage is no where near as bad as last time."

"Last time? What do you mean last time?It hasn't been damaged before."

Hiccup's eyes shot wide open and darted around the room. "Did I say last time? I was mistaken. I probably mixed this up with another axe."

"Cut the yak-turd! You are a terrible liar."

"Who me? I'm not lying." He was turning the deepest shades of red.

Astrid shot him her signature death glare and it was all that it took.

Hiccup sighed and closed his eyes and started recounting the memory. "It was two years ago, on Snoggletog…"

I just realized I named this chapter 'Flowering Bonds'. When I first planned this chapter, I had Hiccup bring Astrid some lilies (cause lilies are the best flowers and I will fight you on that) to apologize, but when revising I decided to remove that part because it didn't seem like the Hiccupy thing to do (at least not at this stage in their relationship). Now you know.

Looks like Astrid may be growing a bit closer to our hopeless hero. I mean...Astrid Hofferson apologizing? That can't be right! Hope y'all are excited for the next one! It's about time that some wedding preparations started happening.