Hiccup tightened the straps on the leather harness, checking over the gear one last time. He’d figured out the problem with the sticky tail fin and fixed it. At least, he hoped he had. It would be embarrassing to take a spill in the middle of a race. Snotlout would never let him hear the end of it, and the thought of Astrid seeing him make an idiot of himself made his cheeks burn. He was glad she hadn’t been there for the fish incident, even though there was no doubt that Gobber had described everything in great detail.

            He wished he knew what was going on between him and Astrid. There was that kiss after the incident with the Red Death, but since then things had been…confusing. They were friends, he knew that much, and occasionally she’d reach out and grab his arm, or look at him for a little bit longer than usual. But did that mean anything?

            They spent a lot of time together, racing their dragons, sitting next to one another at the table. She was constantly punching him. It left him covered in bruises but he didn’t mind, since he was fairly certain that was her way of flirting. He sighed, checking over the straps one more time, more for something to distract him than anything else.

            The arena was mostly empty, save for him and Toothless. There were a few Terrible Terrors sparring in the center of the ring. The tiny, lizard-like dragons were blowing puffs of fire at one another, skittering back and forth and screeching playfully. Roughly half the ring was blackened from Hookfang’s unfortunate sneezing incident, and a few Vikings were on the top of the wall, hammering new boards on where sections were growing singed and brittle. Sooner or later, they’d have to figure out how to fireproof it more effectively.

He’d come an hour early just to make sure he had sorted out the problem with the tail fin. They wouldn’t be winning any races if they crashed into a tree in the middle of everything. Toothless turned to look back over his shoulder, regarding him with quizzical green eyes. The snow was collecting in little drifts along the dragon’s broad snout and Hiccup laughed, brushing it off.

            “Okay? Let’s give it one last try before we race. I don’t want us falling out of the sky again, as much fun as that was this morning.” He patted the dragon’s neck, and Toothless stretched his lips back, the equivalent of a dragon smile. It would be intimidating to anyone who didn’t know his dragon. Hiccup laughed.

            He grasped the saddle and swung himself up, and Toothless lurched forward, running a few steps before launching into the air. Holding his breath, Hiccup stepped down on the shifter as the dragon banked sharply to the left. There was a clicking sound, and the tail fin adjusted itself. They flew a few more laps, and he shifted through the different settings until he was satisfied that the tail fin was working fine. He sighed and patted Toothless on the shoulder “Looks like we’re all set, bud. Bring ‘er down.”

            They circled the arena once more, and then set down, Hiccup holding on tightly as he was jostled in the saddle. It was always a little rougher landing if Toothless didn’t have much room. He slid out of the saddle, surveying his handiwork, nodding to himself. It would do until he got a chance to talk to Gobber about it. He sighed, thinking he’d probably have to put up with the blacksmith telling him fish jokes for a little while.

            “Hey, Hiccup! Incoming!”

            Hiccup looked up in time to be knocked over by a flurry of metal and blonde hair. He blinked, head swimming, and looked up to see Ruffnut sitting on his chest. The girl Viking straightened out her helmet with a whoop, glancing back over at her twin, who was still on their dragon.

            “I told you we were coming in too fast.”

            “You just need to hold on better,” Tuffnut argued.

            “What’s going on?” Astrid was striding in through the entrance of the arena, followed closely by her dragon. Stormfly bobbed up and down when she saw Toothless, the two dragons greeting one another playfully. At least the dragons were happy, because Astrid certainly wasn’t. She glared down at Hiccup. “You two making snow angels? How cute.”

            She didn’t look like she thought it was cute. Was it possible she was jealous? Hiccup couldn’t help feeling a little bit hopeful. He was almost tempted to let Ruff stay where she was, if he hadn’t been afraid of what Astrid might do.

            There was a dull thud that shook the earth and the snow crunched as a huge orange and yellow dragon landed beside Toothless. Snotlout stared down at them from the saddle, pulling Hookfang up right next to where Astrid was standing. He curled his lips in what he probably thought was a winning smile. “You could make a snow angel. I bet—”

“Shut up, Snotlout.”

            “I think I’m in need of air” Hiccup wheezed. “Ruff, do you mind…”

            “Oh, you’re fine.” Ruffnut waved one hand at him, but she climbed to her feet, brushing her tunic off. “That wasn’t a fair race.” She scowled up at Snotlout. “You hung back.”

            “I was distracted.” He gave Astrid another wide grin, much to Hiccup’s annoyance.

            Astrid snorted in disgust.

            “Hey, Hiccup, I heard you had some fish troubles this morning.” Snotlout rocked back in his saddle, laughing. The twins nudged one another.

“Yeah,” Tuffnut said loudly, “I heard you decided to trade in Toothless for a pet fish...or three.”

            Hiccup rolled his eyes, trying to ignore the uproarious laughter. “Good one, guys. Very funny.”

            “Nothing like the smell of fish. Heard you were rolling in it.”

            Astrid made a face at the twins. “He had a bath, right Hiccup?”

            “Yes, thank you for asking.” Hiccup ducked his head to hide his blush, pretending to be interested in the buckles on the saddle.

 Luckily the others were distracted by Fishlegs barrelling in on Meatlug, sending a spray of snow up that hit Hiccup right in the side of the face. The chubby Viking was breathing hard and he looked confused. “Wait, who won this time?”

            Ruffnut rolled her eyes. “We haven’t started yet, genius.”

            “Yeah, what were you doing?” Tuffnut said. The twins cackled.

            “We were just discussing Hiccup’s exciting foray into the fish market,” Snotlout said, grinning ear to ear.

            “Oh yeah, are you okay?” Fishlegs looked anxious. “I heard you fell from really high.”

            “I’m fine, thanks.” Hiccup gave his friend a big smile. “At least someone is concerned about my welfare, rather than laughing at how hysterical the fish thing is.”

            “Oh come on, you big baby. It’s just a joke.” Astrid scoffed at him. “I swear we won’t call you Stinky forever, just a few days.”

            “Funny,” Hiccup grumbled.

            “Let’s go. Is everyone ready?” Astrid gave him a sideways look and a smile. “You’re coming, right?”

            Though he was covered in snow, and still a little cross from the fish comments, Hiccup couldn’t resist that smile. He looked over at Toothless who was bobbing his head and darting back and forth in front of him. “Yeah, I think I fixed his tail fin, so let’s go.” He scrambled up, grasping the saddle and swinging his leg over, locking his metal foot into the stirrup. “Alright! Are you rea—?”

Toothless lurched forward, launching himself into the air at a run. The others were close behind, yelling and whooping, their shouts loud in the crisp winter air. The five dragons shot out of the arena, the flapping of wings echoing around them, startling a flock of seagulls from the shore nearby.

Hiccup squinted against the rush of wind, shielding his face from the snow as the dragons climbed. Finally Toothless straightened out, levelling off, and Hiccup relaxed in the saddle.

They were flying low over the village now, ducking and rolling through the air. The others were already racing to overtake each other, yelling and catcalling, but Hiccup knew that Toothless was saving his energy for later, for when they got nearer to the cliffs on the other side of the island.

 They had to pivot in the air to avoid Stormfly as Astrid came in closer. She was laughing, holding on tightly to her saddle, braid whipping around her face. She nearly clipped him. “Eat my dust, Hiccup.”

“I think you mean snow—woah!” When Toothless turned sideways Hiccup held on tight, gasping in the freezing air. He laughed, and puffs of silver vapour left his lips.

            They were skimming the thatched rooftops now, almost too close. The tips of the dragon’s wings were knocking snow off on to the people below, and there was a clatter and a shout as Toothless’ wing clipped a dragon-shaped weathervane, knocking it off one of the houses. The metal weathervane toppled down, end over end, clanging onto the street. A couple of Viking women on the street stopped and looked up, shielding their eyes and scowling.

            One yelled up at them. “Thor almighty! These bloody dragons!”

            Hiccup bent low over his dragon’s neck, speaking loudly over the wind. “I think we should be more careful, bud. Maybe avoid hitting anything else today.” He glanced back at the women on the ground who were still glaring up at them. He grimaced, remembering what his father had told him that morning. Lying low probably would have been a good idea; knocking things off of people’s roofs wasn’t helping anything.

Trying to get his mind back on the race, Hiccup leaned forward in the saddle and fixed his eyes on Astrid’s blonde braid. The sun glinted off the spikes on her leather belt, and he had to blink to clear his vision. “Come on, Toothless. Let’s get ahead of her.”

            With a happy growl the black dragon surged forward, wings beating the air furiously. Hiccup looked down as they passed over top of the twins. Ruff and Tuff were arguing, taking wild swings at one another. Barf and Belch, the two headed dragon, was flying steadily. Both heads appeared to be irritated with the twins, exchanging glances and growling. None of them noticed as Hiccup and Toothless overtook them.

            For a few minute he was able to forget what had happened that morning. Toothless was climbing higher, and as they left the village and headed over the tops of the snow covered trees, it was like the air became fresher, like he was breathing in pure oxygen. It made him dizzy with happiness. Hiccup knew that Toothless felt it too - he could tell by the way his dragon swooped up and down, riding each breeze that gusted past them, gliding on the dips and hills the wind created.

            It didn’t matter how often you did it, flying was unbelievable.

            A few more seconds of this and then Toothless tilted his wings, taking them down fast towards the forest. Around them, the other dragons were doing the same, until they were almost in the forest, dipping and zigzagging between the tops of the trees like an obstacle course. The goal was to reach the cliffs, but in order to win you had to touch the rock that jutted out at the very tip. And you had to come down low to do that. Flying above the trees so close to the finish line would be considered cheating.

Toothless dipped back down into the forest, flying even lower. The twins were passing Fishlegs now, hooting at him as they did so, smacking one another and jumping up and down on their dragons’ backs. Fishlegs, who had nearly been knocked off his dragon by a tree branch, was too busy picking leaves off the horns on his helmet to notice them.

            Toothless put on a burst of speed. He was finally going to use the energy he’d been saving, and Hiccup held on, his pulse picking up as they flew faster. Snowflakes were whipping past, coating his clothing and sticking in his hair. They peppered his face and neck, making his skin sting.

            The two of them reached a clearing and, free of trees, they gained even more speed. Laughing, Hiccup pulled alongside Snotlout and Hookfang. Toothless matched the other dragon’s pace, wings beating furiously, trying to pull ahead. They were neck and neck, and the clear stretch would only last seconds. One of them had to outfly the other or risk barrelling into the trees.

            Snotlout bared his teeth at Hiccup. The other boy was starting to resemble his dragon.

            “I think you have something in your teeth again,” Hiccup shouted over the wind, and grinned when the boy’s smile vanished. Last week Snotlout had walked around with a piece of cabbage stuck between his teeth for a full day and nobody had told him. He’d been paranoid about it since then. Snotlout began searching his vest pockets for something, and Hiccup managed to pull ahead of him a few inches.

            Behind them the twins yelled. The thunderous sound of flapping wings filled Hiccup’s ears as the two-headed dragon flew over him. Hiccup looked up to see the dragon’s belly inches away from the top of his head. He ducked low into his saddle as they flew over him. It was a reckless move that would end up sending the twins into a tree if they weren’t careful.

            Of course, they were never careful.

            Barf and Belch pulled up next to Astrid. Tuff, who was nearest to her, started cackling, bouncing pebbles off Astrid’s helmet.  Astrid twisted in her saddle and yelled at him to quit it, trying to catch one of the pebbles to throw back. The twins would be lucky if they didn’t get an axe flying their way shortly. Astrid would only put up with them for so long, especially in this situation. Her competitive streak didn’t allow for much patience.

 The dragons were all inches apart now, even Fishlegs and Meatlug weren’t far behind. The trees on the other side of the clearing were looming closer, and Hiccup prepared to pull Toothless up sharply.

            That’s when it happened. The twins were still yelling, and Barf must have been done with the noise, because he turned his head and snapped at Belch, who roared in irritation. The dragon’s heads began snapping and snarling at one another, which resulted in them pulling down suddenly without looking. The two-headed dragon crashed into Stormfly, who flew backwards with a screech, crashing into Toothless.

            Hiccup yelped, and then found himself with his arms full of Astrid, which wouldn’t have been so bad if they weren’t falling. There was a tangle of wings and teeth and tails; Hiccup squeezed his eyes shut and held onto Astrid tightly, feeling himself plummet downwards. He had time for one thought - she smells nice - and then they hit the snow bank in a giant pile of dragon and Viking.

            Hiccup sat up. His helmet was tilted to one side and his metal foot seemed to be stuck in the ice, but other than that he was fine. It was a good thing it had been snowing a lot over the last few days. He looked down at Astrid who was sprawled in his lap looking up at him. For a moment they didn’t move, locking eyes, and then the blonde girl blushed deeply red, and scrambled up, straightening her tunic.

            “Uh, is everyone okay?”

            Toothless climbed to his feet, shaking himself, spraying snow in every direction. Hiccup grimaced as he was hit with a flurry of freezing ice pellets. That was the second tumble out of the sky they’d taken that day, and his dragon was clearly unimpressed by it. They were lucky they hadn’t been injured either time.

            Hiccup stood up and brushed himself off, muttering to himself. “That’s twice now. Can’t believe our luck.” He hadn’t fallen this much since he’d first started flying with Toothless.

 Stormfly was growling, indignant, trying to scramble to her feet. Barf and Belch were lying half on top of her, legs kicking in the air. They were still barking at one another crossly. The twins sat up out of the snow bank, half buried in the drift. They were both laughing.

            “That was close. We nearly died.” Ruffnut grabbed her helmet out the snow and shoved it back on her head. She didn’t appear to notice it was full of ice, and now chunks of snow were falling out and sticking in her hair. “We should do that more often.”

            “Yeah.” Tuffnut looked at his twin, a huge grin spreading over his face. “That was so awesome.”

            Oblivious to the black looks that everyone was giving them, the twins proceeded to scoop up handfuls of snow and pummel one another. Tuffnut grabbed Ruffnut and shoved her face in the snowbank, and then Ruff jumped up and threw a snowball at her twin. It missed, hitting Astrid in the shoulder instead. She looked about ready to clunk their heads together.

            Hiccup looked over at Fishlegs and Snotlout, checking that the rest of his friends were okay. Snotlout was sitting in the middle of the snow drift, arms crossed, glaring at Fishlegs.

            “Your dragon is sitting on my leg.” He scowled at Meatlug, who grunted and shuffled forward, flapping her wings. Snotlout blinked as his hair blew over his face. Once the dragon had moved itself, Snotlout stood up, brushing the snow off his fur vest with a look of distaste. Hiccup noticed he was clenching something between his teeth.

            “Is that a toothbrush?”

            Snotlout pulled the toothbrush out of his mouth and muttered something, darting a look over at Astrid She was checking that her dragon was okay and didn’t notice him. Hiccup could feel his hands curl into fists. He didn’t want to start something with Snotlout, but he didn’t like that the other boy still flirted with her all the time. Sure, he and Astrid weren’t officially a “thing” but it was obvious there was something going on between them, wasn’t it? Maybe it wasn’t. Was he completely delusional? Maybe she’d just kissed him at the time because she’d been happy he wasn’t dead. That was something though, wasn’t it?

Snotlout shoved the toothbrush back inside his pocket and opened his mouth, no doubt about to say something snarky. He didn’t get the chance.

The earth beneath them lurched without warning, and the Vikings staggered, shocked into silence as ground rumbled, a sound that seemed to come up from deep underground. The snow banks seemed to shift and the trees swayed. The roar it made was low and loud, like a very angry dragon far below the earth. After a moment it stopped; they stared at one another, silent and worried.

            “What was that?” Astrid glanced around the clearing, frowning.

            “It’s nothing, only a little quake.” Snotlout crossed his arms over his chest, his arrogant manner was back. He straightened his shoulders and cleared his throat. “Nothing to be afraid of. Not when you have a mighty warrior to protect you from—”

            “Puh-leeze.” Astrid narrowed her eyes at him. “What are you going to do? Fight an earthquake with your hammer?”

            Snotlout might have said something back, but nobody ever knew what it was. The rumble started again, and then the snow began sliding beneath their feet. For a second Hiccup thought he was slipping, that he’d walked onto a patch of ice, but then he realized the forest floor was slowly caving in. He yelped as the ground seemed to open up, and then it swallowed them all like a hungry dragon.