"Astrid! Don't you let that forge go out again!" Gobber hollered from across the small metal shop. Astrid snapped back to attention, hurrying out back to grab some more logs. She scowled, mad at Gobber for interrupting her, but also ashamed that she'd gotten distracted in the first place.

"Here." She muttered, stuffing the logs into the back of the forge, sparks and ash rushing out, hot air billowing in her face. The sounds from outside echoed in the shop, bouncing off the walls and amplifying, until it formed a deafening roar. Astrid had always struggled to block out the sounds of battle.

"Astrid! Look out!" Gobber yelled again as the roof of the small building exploded in flames, large timbers and flaming grass falling down around her.

" Nightfury!" She heard someone scream, causing her heart to hammer even louder in her chest. Gobber was cursing up a storm as he tried to salvage some of his leather from the hooks on the wall.

Astrid stood frozen in place, memories flashing behind her eyes. Her father, hauling water from the sea, trying to douse the fire that raged through their home, her mother, racing to find Astrid's baby sister, only to be swallowed up by the flames, while Astrid stood, silently, and watched.

It had been a Nightfury then too, and the same horror struck panic that rooted her to the ground then, was holding her feet fast to the burning floor.

"Move!" A voice yelled, barely making its way through Astrid's clouded brain. "Move!" Came another yell, this one more urgent, closer than before. "Move!" The third time the cry came, Astrid snapped her head up. She saw the whole roof of the forge, raked with flames, shaking on the four corners of the foundation. One gave way, and all Astrid could do was watch.

"Are you deaf!?" This time the voice was accompanied by a body. "Maybe blind?" The body materialized from the smoke in front of her. "Does your skin not feel temperature?"

Astrid's heart rose to her throat and her stomach dropped. The boy, or rather young man, standing before her was none other than Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. He was the talk of the village. The best dragon fighter Berk had ever seen, men said. Or, The most attractive man to walk the shores of the island, the women said.

He was only sixteen, one year older than Astrid, and already had taken down a Monstrous Nightmare. Upon hearing this news, Stoik, the Chief of Berk, and Astrid's father, had bestowed upon the young man his helmet. Hiccup wore it now, the silver designs on the side catching light from the fire, making then look as though they were moving, the intricate patterns dancing up and down.

"Astrid?" Hiccup questioned, waving one hand in front of her face, causing her eyes to blink and her foot to take a step back. She stumbled over a bucket, and let out a scared squeak as she lost her footing, sending her falling into the fire covered wall behind her.

"Woah!" Hiccup said, grabbing her by the shoulder and swinging her up into his arms.

"I'm fine," She tried to say, struggling to put her feet back on the ground.

"Shh. I've got you." Hiccup said, silencing her. Astrid hoped he didn't look down and see how red her face was getting. She couldn't tell if this was her worst nightmare, embarrassing herself in front of Hiccup, or her favorite daydream, being rescued by him.

She settled on nightmare when he roughly put her down, saying, "Don't you ever pay attention?" His harsh words were accompanied by an icy glare.

"I'm sorry." Astrid murmured, looking at the ground. The stood in silence for a few moments. Or, as silent as it could get with the village under attack, before Hiccup added, with his voice softening slightly,

"Just, trying to be more careful next time?" He reached out and brushed a smudge of soot from her arm, before giving her shoulder a squeeze and turning away, running back into the village to join the battle.

For several seconds, Astrid stood in stunned stillness. Then, as she saw the blue blast of the Nightfury lights up the sky, her anger set in.

She was angry at the Nightfury, for obvious reasons, she was angry at Hiccup, for acting like her savior, and she was angry at her father, Stoik, for publicly preferring Hiccup over her. Astrid kicked at a rock, but only succeeded in stubbing her toe. She growled out a curse, and took off running.

She sprinted around the outskirts of the village, dodging frightened sheep, jumping over downed trees and ducking fires, until she reached her house. Out of breath, she shoved open the back door, and drug out a canon type thing she had been working on. It shot out a length of rope, in an X shape, with a rock tied at each end. It was meant to entangle a dragon, causing them to not be able to fly, or even stand. Astrid had yet to shoot it at a moving target, and her heartbeat quickened at the prospect.

Dragging the heavy weapon behind her, she struggled up the slope behind her house, eventually coming to a halt at the top, her calves stinging and her lungs burning with the cool night air. She quickened her set up as she saw another shot fired from the mouth of a Nightfury.

"C'mon, c'mon." She muttered to herself, opening up the back legs of the canon and flipping the cover off the top. She stuffed in the shot and pulled back on the trigger, aiming the barrel towards the sky.

Several long moments passed with Astrid's eyes darting feverishly over the night sky. Then she saw it. A faint blue glow as the mysterious black dragon opened its mouth, preparing to fire off another shot.

"It's now or never." She muttered to herself, lining up the canon and releasing the trigger. The recoil from the shot sent her head over heels, tumbling down the slope. Astrid righted herself just in time to see the deadly blue blast misfire into the sea, and hear a guttural cry. Her breath hitched in her throat when she'd realized what she'd done. She'd hit the Nightfury, because if there was one thing the Vikings did know about the beast, was that it never, never, misses.

"What are you doing up here?" Hiccup's voice sounded from behind her. Astrid jumped, whirling around as if to hide the canon behind her back.

"What are you doing up here?" She shot back, narrowing her eyes at him. He looked taken aback, but just for a moment.

"Stoik sent me to look for you once he realized Gobber's shop had burned down."

"How nice of him." Astrid said sarcastically, crouching down and folding the legs of the canon back up, seeming uninterested in the conversation.

"What is that?"

"What's it look like?"

"Jeez okay." Hiccup raised up his hands as if in defense.

"Sorry." Astrid bit out, for the second time that night. Dawn was starting to creep over the horizon, and most of the dragons had been beaten away. The village was left to put out fires and rebuild. Again.

"Let me help you." Hiccup offered as Astrid began to struggle with the canon back down the slope. She reluctantly allowed Hiccup to take the handles and trailed him as he easily returned to the house.

"What were you doing with this thing anyway?" He asked, brushing his hands down the front of his armor.

"Shooting a Nightfury." Astrid said, turning away and collecting her notebook and and ash pencil from the counter.

"What?" Hiccup said, laughing. The bold, hearty sound filled the small back room of the house. It warmed Astrid, until she realized that he was laughing at her.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me!" She snarled, glaring at him with her burning eyes.

Hiccup stopped, his face falling slack. "No, it's just that-"

"What? No one has ever killed one, so how could I be the first?"

"Um, yeah, exactly that."

Astrid made a disgusted sigh sound at the back of her throat. She stuffed the notebook and pencil into a pack, threw in a water flask and some food, and pushed past Hiccup out the door.

"Wait!" He called, jogging after her. "Your dad won't like this!"

"I don't care!" Astrid shouted, whipping around. She felt bold, talking back to someone wasn't something she often did.

"Well," Hiccup followed her, anxiously twirling a knife. "I was meant to come keep you safe, and-"

"Of course you were! He doesn't think I can do anything! Just you wait! Wait until I bring back the heart of a Nightfury, and then you'll all see!" Astrid hollered, not turning around. She didn't want Hiccup to see the tears etching trails down her sooty cheeks.

AN_

Hey Guys! This is my first HTTYD fanfic, and as you can see, it is my take on the first movie if Astrid and Hiccup switched places. Hope you enjoyed it!