A/N: We're entering a new mini-arc. 

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AUTHOR POV

(A couple weeks later)

Since the dragon killing days were over, Gobber and the gang hadn't spent that much time together. Gobber was always busy building new tools in the forge, and the Dragon Academy trained everyday. 

Every once in a while, however, the gang sat around the fire pit and listened to Gobber's viking stories just as they had during dragon training.

The chilly night air ushered the teens around the warm, crackling fire on the watchtower. 

"Move over!" Ruffnut said to her brother.

"You move over!" Tuff said, shoving her back.

"No, you!" 

The twins crashed their helmets together and got into a tussle in front of the fire. Hiccup simply watched as he was too tired from a long day of training to break them up.

"Okay, that's enough of that. Settle down, you two," Gobber said. "You know, you teens shouldn't make too much noise at this time of night, lest you disturb ol' Ingrid Eriksen."

"Who?" Astrid asked.

"That's n-not real, right, Gobber? It's only a myth?" Fishlegs nervously asked.

"Err, some parts are true, and some are just rumors. But Ingrid Eriksen did exist; that much I know," Gobber stated.

"Who was she, Gobber?" Hiccup asked.

"Okay, gather 'round and I'll tell you--the legend of Ingrid Eriksen's ghost."

"Oooh, a ghost story!" the twins shivered in anticipation.

The teens huddled closer and focused all their attention to Gobber's story.

"The story happened many years ago when you were still too little to remember. Ingrid Eriksen lived alone in the forest and didn't want anything to do with the village. So, Stoick and I left her alone, as well. But the teenagers used to go to her cabin on the far side of the island and harass her all the time. They never let her get any peace. Then, one day, a villager found her dead body inside her house. Now, whether the teens had caused her death, or she took her own life, we don't know."

"And then what happened?" Hiccup eagerly asked.

"Now here's the part that some people believe and some don't. A few days after she died, one of the teens suddenly woke up from his bed at night and ran into the forest screaming. A group of villagers woke up from the clamor and looked for the teen. They followed his tracks into the forest leading to Ingrid's cabin. They wondered why he would go running to this place at night. When they went inside, they saw a scene that would haunt their dreams for a lifetime. They found the boy's body, hacked into several pieces and splattered all around her cabin, his name written in blood on the walls."

Ruffnut and Fishlegs turned around and started gagging and coughing. Astrid and Hiccup looked away and tried to convince themselves that what they heard was not real.

"Well, that's the story I heard, anyway! I was busy sleeping my head off when it happened, and when I checked the cabin the day after, everything was cleaned up. Whether you believe it or not is up to you! Have a good night!" Gobber remarked before leaving.

"Ugh, why... who asked to hear that story?" Hiccup asked with a very uncomfortable expression on his face.

"It was Astrid!" Ruffnut pointed.

"Nu-uh! You guys were all like, 'oooh, ghost story!' and now who knows if I'll get to sleep tonight!" Astrid stressed.

"Come on, you guys! Are you a bunch of mutton-heads that you'll believe that nonsense?" Snotlout said.

"Are you suggesting you weren't scared even a little bit?" Hiccup checked.

"Nope!" he replied without a doubt.

"Well, I'll be sleeping closer to Toothless tonight," Hiccup stated, his hands shaking subtly.

"You're such a scaredy cat, Hiccup," Ruffnut teased.

"Says the one who sneaks into my bed and cuddles me when she can't sleep" Tuffnut laughed.

"Ruff, why would you do that?" Astrid asked. "That's a little weird, even for you two."

"Why not? It's like being born with a free warm body pillow. I might as well use it," Ruffnut said.

"Yeah, I can't say I don't like it, either," Tuffnut said.

"Anyway, that's the last time I listen to any of Gobber's ghost stories," Astrid declared.

"I think I'll just stay up reading the Book of Dragons," Fishlegs said. "Who n-needs sleep right?"

The gang nervously and silently left the night tower and went toward their huts.

Snotlout, being the last to leave, put out the fire.

"Hmm, Astrid got really scared of that story, didn't she?" Snotlout thought to himself.

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A/N: I know this chapter is short, but I'll try to update on Christmas Eve and Day so we can finish this arc quickly.

[Next Chapter: Hiccup agrees to a devious plot concerning Astrid]