Castiel watched Hiccup's gaze on the paper she wrote on and frowned. He seemed so out of it in that moment and sitting there Castiel wondered if she had done something wrong. This made her frown slightly, tilting her head to the side, though her moment of confusion was wiped away the moment she saw little Dusk hop over Hiccup's shoulder and slide onto the table. She gave a silent laugh as Hiccup played with the little baby and the baby enjoy the time with the human before flittering after the other two as they skidded across the floor. They were all so cute and she couldn't wait to watch them as they grew. To see what they each would be like and the different trait she and Hiccup could discover in them. If she stayed here in Berk that long anyway. She was fairly sure, if welcomed, she would. Surely she could find a place here. A home. Right now a place to call home after being away from a human village for so long, sounded very nice. But she wasn't about to ask if she could stay. She don't think she could stand the disappointment if when she asked the answer was no. After all, with a viking village, one could never know their reactions. Even if it was run by a person so much like herself.

At the mention of food, Castiel came to the realization that she was indeed hungry. Her stomach growled as a sign to this fact and she gave a nod to confirm Hiccup's comment, though looked away quickly when she thought Toothless was about to regurgitate his fish, sighing in relief when he didn't. On an empty stomach that was not something she wanted to see. She nodded her thanks as Hiccup handed her a bowl and after blowing on it took a sip. It was really good surprising and the warm soup somewhat helped with the pain she was feeling in her ribs and head. She smiled at him, though her smiled faltered when he said how long she had been out, holding up two finger for him to confirm she had heard it right and when he did she blinked in surprise. Had she really been out that long? Was that why Hiccup had been so relieved when he saw her awake?

Picking up the charcoal pencil, she wrote again on the paper, "I'm sorry if I worried you." She paused, thinking a moment, an important question coming to her mind that she quickly wrote, "Did you get rid of Drago?"

She was surprised about the amount of time she'd been out but that was expected. It wasn't everyday one found out they'd been asleep for so many hours straight- and he knew this from experience. Vaguely he wondered if waking without a voice gave her the same pang of shock he suffered when he realized he was down one foot. He was every bit sympathetic but he was also a viking and they didn't nitpick battle wounds. He'd lost his leg for his village, she'd lost her voice for him... needless to say that in that light he felt her sacrifice was unfair. With a look at her fingers he nodded to confirm what he had previously said. He thought she'd go back to eating even though his cooking probably didn't fair much better than either of his parents (after two days without any food even his mother's meatballs would probably even sit well on the stomach) but instead she picked up the charcoal stick again and returned to writing. He leaned closer to take a look and furrowed his brows. There probably wasn't any better way to put that.

"Yeah..." He rubbed his fingers at his hair, still stressed over what it came to back there, one hand slipping over the strands to tense against his neck "I... handled it." Somehow it wasn't actually that hard. He'd looked him in the eyes and saw no guilt. Still- he never thought he'd have to kill another human being. "The bewilderbeast swam away afterwards." He exhaled "I can't believe he was alive all this time, how did he find out about Aurora and the hatchlings?-" Hiccup yelped as Toothless unexpectedly whacked him with one wing because really... what did any of that matter now? Before he could even consider carrying the thought any further his front door came open. "Astrid..."

"Yes, Hiccup?" She wasn't the only one though, in her wake was the four other vikings of their age group. "Don't you want to introduce us?"

Snotlouce was the first one to make it the the table, propping his hands against the table and smiling at Castiel "hey babe, how 'bout you and me go for a dip?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes "it's snowing out."

"All the more reason for her to cuddle close to me cuz." It was at that point Astrid pulled Snotlouce back, effortless shoving him aside into Fishleg who had before now been watching the hatchlings intently. Snotlouce straightened with a huff: "watch it Fishlegs!" The twins took to fighting over some matter insignificant though who cared to notice. Them bumping heads (sometimes literally) was normal.

Astrid shook her head and applied some of the manners that Hiccup had doubtlessly rubbed off on her. "I apologize for him, he's an idiot. Those two really couldn't be any less alike." She said with a nod of her head towards Hiccup.

"Geeze, thanks for that." Hiccup intervened "look, this probably isn't the best time for this... Castiel just woke up and I think she could really just use some peace and quiet." And she mentioned that she was no longer all the use to being around other people, this wasn't the best group to reintroduce her.

The news that Drago was gone made Castiel sigh in relief. This meant that their dragons were now finally safe from the hands of that villain. But yet, Hiccup did have a point there when he wondered about how Drago knew about Aurora, Toothless and the hatchlings. But they didn't even get to discuss their thoughts on it when in barged a group of five teenage vikings around she and Hiccup's ages. Their ages didn't really mater though. Just being around other people made Castiel go tense and it didn't help at all that one of them immediately approached her and started to practically make a pass at her. She leaned away form him though as he leaned on the table she was sitting at and was thankful when the only seemingly sensible one in the group grabbed the boy and threw him away from her.

Her hand tightened on her charcoal stick in nervousness, watching as words were exchanged and and nodded as Astrid apologized for the boy, as if saying the apology was accepted. Aurora slunk up to sit beside her rider in comfort. Aurora had spent a good while with these humans and as she knew they meant her no harm, she was completely calm right now and wished to try to make Castiel at least halfway calm. Castiel looked at her dragon as Aurora rubbed her head against her and smiled slightly, rubbing her head before Hiccup at Hiccup and making a slight gesture as if to say she was fine for now. Though if they started being rough and rowdy again then they might have to leave.

Writing on the paper in front of her, she finished before lifting it up to show the small group, "I'm Castiel."

“Oh.” Tuffnut said as though he understood then: “wait,” a pause “what?” Making it clear the writing made no sense to him.

“That’s her name rock’s for brains.” His sister quipped.

“Well, what kind of name is that?” He shot back before Hiccup stepped in with a placating gesture of his hands. Defusing this atmosphere before another fight could begin.

“Guys. She’s not from the same village as us. They don’t name their kids the same way…” Not to say he was claiming to know everything about where she came from. He knew near to nothing actually, except that they saw dragons as beasts. She had thought his name strange though so it was a decent assumption.

“That’s good because I don’t even know what a Cas… cas iee ll… is.” Tuffnut grunted though the rest of the group was already done listening to him at this point as Fishleg now approached with a small hopeful smile.

“Hiccup,” He started drawing his attention, nervously rocking as he plunged into the main reason he had tagged along. “Have you finished that new section in the dragon manual?”

“Uh… no, it’s not going to be done for a long while but you’re welcome to take a look. It’s upstairs in my bedroom. The usual place.”

Fishlegs clearly tried to restrain his excitement but still had practically skipped up the stairs. Hiccup turned his attention back to Castiel with a gesture at each of the others in turn “This is my cousin Snotlouce, the twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut, Fishlegs just went up the stairs and this is Astrid…” He didn’t have anything to say about her anymore because he wasn’t sure who she was suppose to be anymore. He paused “where’s Eret?”

“Well, he was insistent on scrubbing Skullcrusher down.” Astrid explained and after the muddy state the dragon was in, she didn’t blame him. “I’m sure he’ll be by later to meet her though. Though I’m curious… what village did she come from? I sure it wasn’t one of the enemy tribes. Hiccup.” She added sharply “this could be considered an act of war!”

Hiccup sighed. “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.” But he wouldn’t elaborate because it wasn’t his place to talk about Castiel’s outcast status.

Astrid was silent for a moment, obviously seeing more to that but knowing better than to pry. “It’s nice meeting you Castiel.” She said instead, “it’s unfortunate that things had to happen like they did. The healer said you may never get your voice back, that first day you arrived.” She said this because Hiccup had been pulled away as the other teens were arguing again- rather loudly. Astrid paid them no mind, her smile uncannily soft. “I heard how that happened and… thank you… Hiccup has always been reckless, not always intentionally but-” She laughed, a little of the love for him still there. “It’s a scar to be proud of.”

“Astrid.” Hiccup finally found his way back after shoving the others out. “What… what were you telling her…?” He questioned, suspicious of the expression on her face.

“I have to get going Hiccup. But it was nice seeing you like this. Less… gloomy.” She offered as she walked out. “It’s good for you.”

She may have said ’it’ when she walked out but he heard ’she’ and suddenly felt flustered by the prospect. Was his exgirlfriend of several years… telling him that she was okay with him finding someone else, that she wanted him to? He turned away from Castiel to approach Toothless, busying himself with the task. “Geeze… I hope they weren’t too much. I know you said you don’t have the best experiences with other people.”

This group of teens that Hiccup was friends with were quite the characters. Each of them were so strange, yet at the same time that made them seem more....welcoming? At least it was a welcome change from her own village where all of the teens were, to put it lightly, brainwashed by the adults there to be blood thirsty killers. This village, while still a village of vikings, seemed different from her own village in that way. She couldn't help but wonder if they had all been this way naturally, or if Hiccup had rubbed off on them. Maybe a little of both? She supposed she would never know, but what she did know is that she kind of.....liked them. She had never felt as comfortable around people as she was now, even if the yelling was a bit much on her still sore and aching head.

It was kind of humorous watching them discuss her name. So, just as their names were strange to her, her name was strange to them? That made sense she guessed. But then came the comment on where she had come from and whether or not her being there could start a war. She didn't think her being here was a problem considering her village could care less about her if they found her here anyway. But either way the mention of her there and being trouble made her slightly tense until Hiccup spoke up, saying he didn't think it would be a problem. She sighed in relief and then watched as he went to break of the twins that were arguing.

When she heard the girl in front of her peak and nodded to her when she said it as nice to meet her and she reached her her charcoal pencil to write on the paper it was nice to meet her as well when Astrid continued speaking. She paused with the sick over the paper and looked back up at her. So Hiccup had told them what had happened. Honestly, she didn't need people thanking her for it. Saving Hiccup was something she had wanted to do. And even if it meant he would never speak again it was worth it, knowing he was safe and sound there with her. She smiled lightly at Astrid's comment of Hiccup's recklessness and it being a scar to be proud. It was true. His recklessness was caused be his need to make things right, and that was a trait that made him him.

By now Hiccup had approached and she watched as Astrid brushed off his quetion on what she was telling her and left with all the other teens. She watched him approach Toothless and after he spoke she wrote once mo on the notepad, "No, they weren't too much. I liked them. They seem like nice people."

Hiccup heard the charcoal scraping the paper and moved towards her to read it. “Yeah, they aren’t so bad once you get to know them.” Now that their childhood was behind them and he had several years to see them as friends rather than the bullies that at the time- he had only hoped to be some part of. To be honest he’d always thought they were good people (being Vikings just made them a little rougher), they just weren’t all that nice to him… and with the way the adults in the village had treated him like some sort of burden it was understandable.

Things had gotten better and looking at Castiel now- he knew the same could be possible for her. She was such a good person and one without anywhere to go or any family she could still call her own. The people of Berk had treated him like ‘Hiccup the Useless‘. They had looked down at him, ridiculed his ideas, told him to be someone else… but through all his failure to be one of them they had still cared. Every villager would have stepped up and protected him in a dragon attack. They would have never turned their backs if he was in peril and he had known that. It was why he KEPT trying.

What did Castiel have? She acted like there was no hope to ever be accepted by those she had once knew. That the cruelty was honest and true. Aurora was here- there was nothing else to it- “Castiel.” He was about to ask her to stay, to join their tribe but at that moment his mother slipped into the room, chuckling as Cloudjumper poked his head in after her.

“Now, now yeh silly beast. You know you are simply too big to fit.” The dragon didn’t listen, turning his head impossible sideways (like an owl) and squeezing into the room. She laughed all the harder before smiling at Castiel. “What do we have here?” She walked further in, pushing the door shut behind her. “It’s wonderful to see you awake dear. Hiccup has been so downhearted. Sitting by your bedside-”

“Mom, please…” Hiccup stressed, pinching the brim of his nose.

“I know what you need.” Valka started instead, “a little fresh air. A nice long flight. Nothing makes one feel better than some time up there. Especially after you’ve been asleep for so long,”

“Mom. She just woke up.”

Valka turned her gaze towards him, her smile sly. “I heard you were up and on your dragon’s back but a few minutes after waking. Short a quarter of your leg at that.”

Hiccup flushed with embarrassment. It wasn’t his best decision back then but with all the changes he’d needed the air. He rubbed at the back of his neck as Valka faced Castiel once more. “What do you say?” She suddenly swept towards Aurora, creeping closer as she offered her hand. Obviously she hadn’t wanted to bother the dragon when she’d been worried about her rider. Valka breathed with awe once she was allowed close enough. “She’s beautiful, a dragon of legend. I had thought them even rarer than the night fury. To think there might still be colonies of them somewhere.”

“Yeah about that mom, there wasn’t anymore of them on their island.” Hiccup couldn’t help but think he knew one thing about dragons that his mother didn’t. They could change to resemble humans.

“Oh the things we could learn from you.” Valka said as she ran her hand across Aurora’s scales. “If only we could hold a conversation. You must know so much.”

Castiel looked up when Hiccup said her name, curious about why he looked so serious, but before he could get out what he was trying to say, the woman from before, when she had come to retrieve Hiccup after Aurora had been taken, walked in, a dragon poking his head in behind her She tilted her head to the side in curiosity at the strange dragon. She had never seen one like him before and he was quite the character, turning his head at what she thought to be an impossible angle and somehow managing to squeeze through the doorway, despite his massive size. As the woman spoke, Castiel payed attention to what she said, while at the same time grabbing her notebook and began to make a sketch of the new dragon in front of her. It was normal for her to do this, when seeing a new breed she had never encountered before. She wanted to sketch it to remember it appearance and learn what she could about it. This one was amazing. A large dragon with four wings and bright yellow eyes. She would have to ask questions about it later.

She paused in her sketching when Valka began to state how worried Hiccup had bee about her and how he had stayed by her. She brought her hand to her mouth to hide her silent giggle at the look on Hiccup's face and smiled at the suggestion of a flight. That did sound really good about now. Going flying always raised her spirits and made her feel better. She nodded happily in agreement, standing up, Her side still hurt and she had a headache, but she wanted to go flying and she wasn't going to let those things stop her. She watched as Valka approached Aurora, who allowed her close enough, purring as the woman ran her hand across her scales.

Castiel glanced at Hiccup when his mother spoke of wishing they could talk to her. Well, they could technically. But, it was up to Aurora if she wanted to transform to talk and right now she probably didn't right now, considering they had just gotten back to Berk and she had only just met the woman. Oh well, revealing that to Valka would just have to wait.

She walked over to Aurora, who knelt down to let her on her back. Once Castiel was up, Aurora picked up her babies one by one and placed them in the basket that layed in the corner of the room, where they had been sleeping in. For the flight the babies would be stayed there since Blizzard's wing was still hurt and he couldn't fly. And it was about time for them to go to sleep anyway. Aurora walked outside with her rider on her back and Castiel looked back at Hiccup and Valka to see if the two of them were coming on the flight as well.

Toothless galloped to the door, looking back at his rider with a bark. Things had been sort of hectic lately and he was craving the sky. Hiccup would never be so selfish to keep him grounded but he wanted to do all the aerial loops and dives that he couldn’t with the prosthetic he controlled alone (since it just mimicked the position of the second tailfin). Hiccup’s mother laughed “looks like your nightfury’s all for it.” Cloudjumper pushed his way out the door, forcing Toothless to spring aside- and the night fury responded by racing around the older dragon and barking at Hiccup again.

Seeing that the other two had mounted their dragons he knew he had to surrender. He held up his hands and gave: “Alright. Let me just-” Toothless barked again and Hiccup changed his mind, smiling broadly “fine.” He sprung onto Toothless’ back and it was no sooner than his leg clicked into place that Toothless launched into the sky. Spiraling upward before suddenly leveling out. It was obvious Hiccup enjoyed the ascend, his face rosy from the bite of the winter’s chill as snowflakes scattered around them but he still attempted to look stern “Toothless, let’s not rush things okay? Castiel just woke up.” Toothless rumbled an apology.

Valka’s smile was warm for she loved her boy- the one she hadn’t seen grow up but still shaped out into something any parent could be proud of. “Let’s join them shall we?” She offered to Castiel as Cloudjumper began to climb the sky. She was home on her dragon’s back and while she knew neither of these two had been riders as long as her. She could see the same thing in them.

Castiel smiled when she saw both Valka and Hiccup climb onto their dragons and that smile grew even more when she saw Toothless take off and Hiccup with that bright smile on his face. She always loved riding her dragon, so she could imagine just what he felt in that fast ascend into the sky. She couldn't wait to feel that again. After she was all better that is. She looked down at Aurora, who looked up back at her. Smiling Castiel patted her side and when Valka asked if they wanted to join Hiccup and Toothless, she nodded. Aurora took off in a smooth motion, being cautious of her rider's condition, though Castiel enjoyed it. She smile on her face said it all as she lifted her hands up to feel the wind pass by them and though no sound came out she laughed in glee at being in the sky with all the people she cared about.

Putting her hands down against Aurora's back again, Castiel looked over at Hiccup and smiled as Aurora automatically flying closer to Toothless as if by instinct. Castiel was glad to see Aurora so happy with her mate and while both still had cuts and scales bent from their fight two days ago, neither seemed to care. She could imagine they were just happy to be by each other's side. She guessed after spending almost a whole life time of Aurora thinking she was the last of her kind and that would never find anyone remotely similar, the dragoness must have been very content and relaxed being with Toothless. If she was honest, she kind of felt the same way whenever she was with Hiccup. Even if she wasn't with Hiccup in that way, it was nice to be around someone who understood. It was just as relaxing and calming. It gave her a peace she couldn't have being around anyone else.

She reached down and patted Aurora, to which the dragoness purred and gave a small bark of happiness. Right now, everything was perfect. And Castiel hoped it not only stayed that way, but got even better.

She was laughing.

It was in the flutter of her breath and the rosy color of her cheeks. Fingers stretched towards the sky and eyes alight with joy as the wind played across her hands, spiraling away in misty wisps of snow. Hiccup tipped his head to watch her absolutely awed by the light in her eyes. She was happy, truly happy, he couldn‘t recall any other time he‘d seen her like this- she was more beautiful than he had ever thought possible. “Hey you.” His smile was warm and breathless, taking no more than a moment to reach his eyes. He closed them with a click of the pedal and Toothless tipped sideways- wing brushing past Aurora’s before the dropped through the sky.

White flurries rushed past him, catching on the current of Toothless’ flight and he was alive again. No weight could hold him up here. Another click and they ascended- angling sharply and circling upward, dusting Aurora and her rider with a light powdering snow. His smile so broad it was beaming. He wanted to fly with her in great aerial spirals and climb to the highest crest of the sky. Why hadn’t he before? They drifted closer again and flew leisurely. He knew that today wasn’t the day for that but there would be a lot more chances.

Toothless warbled at the other dragon and Hiccup chimed: “hey hot stuff.” Earning him a whack from Toothless’ ear flap but that only made him laugh, holding up his hands in surrender. “Okay, Okay. I’m sure your material isn’t that corny but give me a break. I don’t speak dragonese.”

The nightfury had to disagree. Hiccup was very intelligent and understood the gist of dragon conversation (in a way none of the other Vikings in this village seemed to) even if he didn’t understand every word. His gaze shifted back to Aurora and he warbled again, nodding his head slightly towards Hiccup before tilting it towards Castiel. It was likely Hiccup knew they were talking about them but the exact nature of the discussion shouldn’t be clear. If translated into their human tongue it’d roughly be the equivalent of: ’what do you think? Can they work out?’.

With an uncertain smile at Castiel, Hiccup shrugged his shoulders to say he didn‘t really get it.

Valka understood though. Between her son and this girl she saw something soft and sweet and was instantly warmed by it- She hadn’t seen him grow up but she still might get to see him fall in love. “Hiccup.” As much as she didn’t want to ruin this moment the air was much to crisp at this time of year. This girl wouldn’t be use to Berk’s frigged winter. Cloudjumper carried her towards them. “Let’s head back. Before the weather picks up.”

There was nothing better than flying through the skies, feeling as free a anyone could ever be. If someone were to ask Castiel, flying like this was the best medicine anyone could give her. She made a mental note to go out on short daily flights until she was well enough to go on her longer more adventurous flights doing spins and loops on the dragoness's back. She looked over at Hiccup and when he said 'hey you', even though that phrase was short and simple, her cheeks reddened ever so slightly and she smiled at him, giving a small wave as if to say it back to him. It was the way it was said it and the way his eyes lit up before he descended that made her heart flutter in her chest and think that maybe something could happen between the two of them if she was patient enough.

When he came back up she gave another soundless laugh as she and Aurora were showered with a light flutter of snow before covering her mouth to hide her silent giggle a Hiccup attempted to translate what Toothless was grumbling at Aurora and got hit by Toothless's ear flap. It as cute and very much entertaining how the two interacted with one another. She herself watched her own dragon rumble a response back to her mate, followed by her looking up at Castiel and glancing at Hiccup before turning her gaze back to her mate and giving a happy bark. Castiel sure didn't speak dragonese, but she was fairly sure the two dragons were talking about she and Hiccup, which once again, made her cheeks heat up even more.

Still, she looked back at Hiccup and shrugged back to him with a small smile and when Valka suggested they head back, she nodded and the thee riders and their dragons were heading back to Berk and once there, Castiel was nudged inside by her dragon, where she was told to go rest some more.

A couple weeks had passed since Castiel woke and the villagers were warming up to her. With this time the dragons were also extending their respect to Aurora as the alpha’s mate and there was an overall air of acceptance on both sides. Hiccup disclosed his desire to have the girl stay on Berk to Toothless one night (the dragon failed to be surprised) but he knew he’d have his approval and before he shared the news with anyone else it was nice to know at least one person was on his side.

Once Castiel was fully recovered from the ordeal he decided he shouldn’t put it off any longer. So early one morning he just went ahead and asked her- obviously it wasn’t the most tactful of moments but he had to before he lost the nerve. He set the bowl of cooked oats on the table and gingerly took to rubbing the back of his head. “I had been thinking. How would you like to join the Hairy Hooligan tribe and stay on Berk?” With me? He excluded that last question from his small speech but that didn’t mean he wasn’t thinking it.

“The other Vikings have pretty much already accepted you as part of the village and the dragons are fond of you. I mean I’m not going to force you… but will you at least think about it?”

In the past two weeks Castiel had found a home being in Berk, something she never thought she would find. She had people around her who cared for dragons and though most of them where still wary of her, they were getting to not be so and maybe some were even getting to enjoy their company. She even enjoyed the company of some of them. Even the girl Astrid, who she had later found out used to be with Hiccup, wasn't so bad to be around. This place was much better for her then her old village. She had her dragon, Toothless, the baby dragons, Valka who had been teaching her quite a lot about dragon she never knew before, people who were at least kind to her in the village, and best of all, she had Hiccup here with her. She and Hiccup had been going out ever day with Aurora and Toothless to go flying together and each day as she got better, the flights got longer and more elaborate with spin and turns in the air. It was her favorite part of the day. She could stay here forever if it meant she could continue to have that time with him.

The only problem was, now that she was well, she didn't know what was going to happen next. She really like it here, but she didn't know if she should stay or not. She hadn't been asked to stay, and she sure wasn't about to ask if she could as she considered that kind of rude and putting someone if a tough spot if they didn't want to her to stay. She had been thinking about all of this more and more every day as she grew closer to healing and now that she was completely healed it was burning fresh in her ind every second. She was worried in a way. In her short few weeks here, she had grown so used to the community that leaving was a dreaded thought, leaving feeling both sad and alone. The thought of that isolation even worse now that she had been removed from it.

She thought about this with a slight frown on her face as a bowl of oats was set in front of her and she took one bite before Hiccup was speaking. She was at the very least surprised he was asking her to stay. From what she had seen in her time there, Hiccup was somewhat, no offense to him in any way at all because she thought it was cute, a shy and awkward person(in some situations). So to hear him asking her to stay there in Berk like this surprised her for some reason. After the surprise wore off though, she smiled brightly and nodded quickly. There was no reason for her to think about it at all. She was staying in Berk.

A part of him still stuttered when people willingly and easily accepted his outrageous suggestions (when they hadn’t even heard him out when he was younger) but maybe in this case it wasn‘t really that crazy to ask this. “Just like that?” He questioned vaguely flabbergasted before adding: “Well…,” He drew out and finished: “okay then.” Shaking off the feeling of being stunned, he chuckled: “The villagers will see this as a reason to celebrate.” Any reason to break into the stores of liquor and get drunk beyond all reason. He held up a finger to her and backed up the stairs “wait right here.”

Hiccup was not expecting to meet his mother at the top of the flight and quickly spun around her the moment he noticed. “Wh-what are you doing? In my room?”

“So…” Valka started engagingly “when are you going to make your proposal? Every chief needs a wife at his side.”

“Mum, it’s not…” He rubbed at his face and looked away as he walked over to his desk “like that…”

“Nonsense. You are already making gifts.” She gestured to the bow as he picked it up, the ‘self lighting arrows’ giving it a unique flare that only his sword seemed to possess.

“That’s all it is mum, a gift. Please don’t make a big scene of it…” Hiccup picked up the bow and quiver of arrows. “I don’t want to push anything. She just officially became a member of our tribe. So just… keep those sort of thoughts to yourself. I don’t want to scare her off.” He made a face and turned to hurry back down the steps. When he reached the bottom he slowed his pace and coming over to her. “Now as a sort of… ’welcome to the tribe’,” He held the carefully crafted bow out to her while silently hoping she liked it. “I also got these.” He said shrugging his shoulder to shift the quiver of arrows. “It’s sort of a packaged deal. Free of charge.”

Castiel could see the surprise on his face that she had agreed to stay here in the village with them so easily and she wondered why he would seem so surprised. She had been staying here for a couple of weeks now and things were going very well. She was very happy he had asked her to stay. She watched with a smile on her face as he went up the stairs and for a moment she could hear the light voices of him and his mother speaking to one another. She couldn't hear the words, but from the tone of his mother, it sounded as though she were teasing him about something. She smiled slightly at that and waited patiently for Hiccup to return.

When he finally came down the stairs, she sat up slightly, and her smile brightened when she saw what he was holding out to her. It was such a beautiful bow, obviously hand crafted. He must have worked so hard on it. And he also handed her a quiver with arrows that looked different from any arrows she had ever seen before. She watched curiously and pulled one of the arrow out, examining it before putting it back. Smiling more she slipped the quiver onto her back and took the bow in one hand. Then, looking back at him, she took hi hand, practically dragging hi outside, excited to try out her new gift.

Once Aurora was in sight she hopped onto her back and waited for Hiccup to get on Toothless's before the two dragon flew off, followed by the three younger Fury's(whom had grown significantly in the past few weeks, though still quite smaller than their parents). She laughed and looked back at him before grinning and clicking her heels against Aurora's sides lightly to tell her to go faster, the grin on her face saying she wanted to race. They flew in twists and turns, spinning around one another, a bright smile on her face, and finally their flight ended at some cliffs. She hopped off and grabbed the bow in her hand before lining an arrow up on it.

Looking back at him for a moment, she smiled and aimed her shot, shooting the arrow into the air and blinking in surprise as the arrow suddenly caught flame before ticking into the ground, the five dragon chasing after it happily. She looked down at the bow very excitedly and turned to him, hugging tightly him as a thank you, as happy as she could be.

With dragons there was never any need for words- he could understand them in their every motion and he was starting to see that same principal extended to humans. The way Castiel straightened and her eyes lit up when he returned, could only mean she was happy (to see him) and the only thing that stopped him from believing fully was the doubt in his own heart. Astrid had given him all the certainty he had ever needed to know he was wanted but then she inveterately crushed him. While he didn’t hold it against her it had hurt. Smiles held between them might never be quite as warm again- even if they were still friends. She’d had looked at him with all the affection that Castiel sometimes did but it had meant nothing down the road. It made him a tad doubtful.

But she was smiling, his hand in hers, leading him out into the brisk morning- sunlight shining brilliantly over a fresh coat of snow and she simply seemed to glow. Kicking up fresh powder and mounting the dragoness with excitement washing off her like static in the air. He smiled and leapt onto Toothless back, clicking his foot into the pedal and ascending. He hung back in a lazy drift, merely to watch the light streaming off her. The Vikings of Berk rode dragons but they didn’t really fly WITH them. Castiel did and she had been doing so all along. When she looked back and a grin split her face he leaned closer to the saddle, eyes calling back a challenge and suddenly they took off.

His laughter might have been the only one heard but he didn’t believe he was alone it. When they landed he‘d watching her take up the bow, notching back an arrow with a smile on her face. He’d caused that. It wasn’t some big mess up, it was the opposite of that and he was so very glad.

Her face-
It was the picture of surprise and he couldn’t help but smile. Then before he could ask her what she thought she answered- throwing herself at him and her hug was so soft… his bones didn’t creak under the exertion of another’s muscles. Obviously not a Viking hug. When Astrid got this excited she was likely to snap his spine with an overly enthused embrace. He chuckled weakly “I’m glad you like it…” It was really all he could think to say, so surprised by her reaction and at the same time, warmed by it.

When Hiccup said he was glad she liked it, she pulled back and nodded in confirmation. She liked it a lot and would likely use it all the time from now on. It was really great he had done all of this just for her. Unlike others who may not see how busy he always was and all he did for the village, she knew just how hard he worked to keep thing running and the fact he took time out of what little free time he had for himself to make this for her was so nice of him.

She let go of him and turned to shoot a few more times before she figured they better be on their way back to the village. Grabbing the arrows she had shot, she put them back in her quiver and mounted her dragon and waited for Hiccup to do the same before taking off into the skies with him. It was while they were flying that she looked back at him and grinned again, though this time it wasn't for a race. Instead she stood up on the back of her dragoness and after getting her balance, waited until Aurora had drifted close enough to Toothless before moving.

She had seen Hiccup's mother do this once before when they were all riding together and Castiel herself had deemed this dragon walking. Once she was close enough she hopped over onto Toothless's wing an still standing when she did, laughed silently in glee. That was the first time she had been able to do that. She had tried a few times before but it ha always ended in Aurora having to catch her. This time she was successful though. Joy still on her face from doing o she looked down at Hiccup and raised an eyebrow in challenge, walking around him once while keeping her balance, as if trying to get him to Dragon Walk as well.

As far as Hiccup knew his mother was the only one that could effortlessly walk across multiple dragon backs. While he’d leapt from Toothless before- straight up to avoid obstacles, he limited those kind of daring actions to his dragon. Now with Castiel looking at him with that smile and a challenge in her eyes he felt the desire to do so. “Toothless.” He patted the night fury’s smooth neck and while it was unnecessary Toothless knew the other dragons would do whatever for the boy that brought about this paradise for them. So when he called out across the snowy village, dragons ascended in the dozens- not at all put off by the request.

Hiccup clicked Toothless’ tail fin to the other gear and straightened to his feet. “See you don’t know what your getting into Castiel.” He teased “I am the master of these sort of things.” Toothless gurgled down a laugh and resisted the urge to buck him off as the countless dragons drifted around them, clicking their calls of excitement and rumbles of pleasure.

He cautiously made his way across Toothless’ wing who decided now would be a good time to tilt- just slightly. Causing Hiccup to slid forward into Castiel and the two of them to land on Cloudjumper who had come at Toothless’ direct call, humming with amusement as the young Vikings. “Oh, uh…” Hiccup had caught himself, hands braced at either side of Castiel. Realizing how close he was, he was immediately on his feet. “Sorry. I’m not- um-” Awkward. He tried again. “Yeah, that was… I‘m just going to go then.” He turned heel, walking off Cloudjumper to drop down onto the wing of a nightmare and then pulled himself up onto a nadder which preened for his attention. He shushed it “trying to hide in a mass of dragons here, don’t give me away.” And gave into it anyhow, scratching behind its crown of spines.

Toothless grumbled as his plan backfired.

Castiel had to admit, she hadn't expected for hiccup to actually get up with her and join her in the dragon balancing act but when he did, her face glowed with amusement and happiness. She giggled and watched as he patted the Nightfury's neck. Next thing she knew there were hundreds of dragons flying around them and this made her eyes brighten and her smile grow more at the challenge of walking along these dragons. looking over at Cloudjumper, she moved to slide off of Toothless's wing ad onto the large dragon, but as she crouched to do so, she gasped and turned in surprise as Toothless tilted, causing her to fall backwards and Hiccup to land on top of her.

The pale skin on her cheeks managed to turn a bright red from embarrassment and though this was an awkward situation, having him so close to her gave her butterflies and left her heart pounding in her chest. It was a nie in a way having him close. But at the same time, she knew Hiccup was never one to keep situations like that going and would rather leave them as soon as possible. And sure enough he stuttered over his words and was away from her in an instant, turning on his heel and dropping off onto another dragon.

Sitting up, she smiled and crawling over to the edge of the dragon, though she didn't seem to see him any more in the crowd of dragons. Smiling at the thought of finding him in a sort of game of hide and seek or tag she slid off of Cloudjumper and onto a timberjack, before going to hop onto the wings and backs of many other dragons, obviouly having fun searching for and spending time with the boy she cared so much about.

Finally she spotted barely a glimpse of his thought the mass and quickly hopped from one dragon to another, hoping onto one above his and tapping his shoulder with a smile before hopping off quickly. laughing ad hiding now that it was his turn to find her.

Hiccup was so certain he’d upset her and as such he had to leave her be for a time- if he stayed she’d deck him like any other Viking female that just had their personal space encroached on. And boy did he intrude. It wasn’t even intentional but for a brief moment they were nearly nose to nose. Where had his hands been? Surely not on her. He rubbed them at his face now distressed at the possibility of overstepping some boundary.

Then he felt a tap on his shoulder.

He’d barely turned his head in time to see her disappear over the wing of a dragon. Okay? He drew his legs up on the nadder’s back and straightened- lifting one hand over his eyes as he scanned the gathered dragons for another flicker of her form. He thought he noticed a nightmare tilting, one wing rising higher as though someone had just treaded down on the opposite one.

He carefully started across the dragon backs, the snow making the scales slick and at times dangerous for him as his metal foot would shift uncertainly. He wasn’t worried about falling but rather find Castiel. He made his way over to the nightmare and peered down, spotting her on a nearby dragon’s back. “Castiel.” He grinned at finding her but the expression became a little more wary. “Your not mad about me having trodden your space?”