"Hey, uh, can I tell you something?" I asked.

"Sure," Astrid replied.

"I, uh, I killed a dragon today. On Johann's boat." I paused for a beat, then hastily added, "Well, I told Toothless to shoot it with a fireball."

There was a brief silence between us as I watched Astrid for a reaction. She gave no hint that she was surprised about my confession.

"I'm sure there was a reason for it," Astrid said as she sat down at her table. "You're not the kind of Viking who'd just kill a dragon for no reason."

After a couple seconds, I followed her lead and sat down next to her.

"I... I guess. Well, the dragon had already clawed into Johann's leg and wouldn't let me or Toothless near him."

"So you killed it to keep it from hurting anyone else. Or killing Johann."

I nodded.

"All right, so what are you getting at?" she probed.

I paused for a moment, looking nowhere.

"I... don't know," I finally said. "Maybe it was because Toothless immediately did what I told him to do. He killed the... uh..." I stopped, my mind having gone blank. "What did Fishlegs call it again?"

"Speed Stinger," she replied without missing a beat.

"Yeah. But anyway, he killed that Speed Stinger like it was nothing to him."

Astrid shrugged a little. "Toothless is still a dragon. There's no right or wrong to him, as long as he knows you're safe."

I sighed as I put my forehead into my left hand and grabbed onto my hair with my fingers.

"I just... I feel horrible that I broke a promise I made to myself when I first shot Toothless down. I found him in the forest, and the way he looked at me made me feel sorry for him. I promised I wouldn't kill a dragon after that."

"Nice try," she said with a wry grin. "You broke that promise a week later when you and Toothless killed the Red Death."

The Red Death. That gigantic monster of a dragon was the reason why we had dragon raids in the past. It was also the reason I was missing part of my left leg.

Strangely enough, I had no memory whatsoever of the battle against the Red Death. I only remembered watching Toothless chained to a boat, sailing toward the horizon with my dad's crew. I remembered feeling like the world was going to end that day. And that was where my memory stopped.

According to Gobber, I nearly drowned trying to help Toothless after the Red Death immolated our boats. My dad pulled me out of the coastal water and rescued Toothless. Immediately after I recovered, Toothless and I took off, using his fireballs to goad the Red Death into the clouds above.

Ten minutes later, after what was described as lightning with no thunder, Toothless and I rocketed toward the ground, and he shot a fireball into the Red Death's mouth, dislocating its jaw. The dragon's wings were torn to shreds, and it exploded once it crashed into the ground.

Both my dad and Gobber said they saw a brief glimpse of me lifelessly stalling in midair, Toothless desperately trying to reach me before the rolling flames did.

The first thing I remembered afterward was waking up inside my house, nearly unable to move due to soreness and the shock of missing my lower left leg. At that moment, I was grateful Toothless was there to help me stand because he knew exactly what I was going through.

"Yeah, but that was different," I said, trying to somehow exclude that horrendous encounter from my morals. "I had to do something or Berk wouldn't exist today."

"And you had to do something about the Speed Stinger, or Johann wouldn't be here now," she countered.

I sighed again, knowing my little argument had been deflated.

"Hiccup, just get over it," she said bluntly. "You did what you had to. There was no time to do anything else. You brought Johann back safely, and you're still Toothless' favorite person."

That wasn't what I wanted to hear. But it was what I needed to hear. I wasn't afraid of letting Astrid know my thoughts, and I thought I had gotten used to her telling me to get over myself. She had probably a thousand different ways to say it, but she somehow knew exactly what to say when I was in one of these moods.

Toothless broke the bubble I was trapped in with a long, slow sigh, trying to get some sleep. A faint plume of steam formed in front of him as he exhaled.

I stood from my seat and walked toward Astrid's door. I opened it slightly to find a white wall of snow pummeling Berk. The sky was almost dark from the clouds and short day.

"Would you mind if Toothless and I stayed here until the blizzard is gone?" I asked from in front of the door as I closed it.

"Stay as long as you need," she replied.

"Thanks," I said.

Based on the snowstorm, I figured we had crossed over from devastating winter into lethal winter sometime within the last few minutes. The fire in Astrid's hearth was doing an admirable job at keeping the cold from clawing its way indoors, but each time we spoke or breathed, a cloud of steam still exited our mouths.

I sat down on the floor next to Toothless, who was mostly asleep by now. He and Stormfly had worn themselves out playing in the snow today. I stroked his cheek gently. After a moment, he sighed in contentment. I smiled a little, mirroring his relaxation.

Astrid joined us and sat down next to her dragon.

Stormfly was a Deadly Nadder, about ten feet tall when standing with a physique like a bird. She had a light blue back and white underside.

I continued doting on Toothless, letting him work his magic. As the seconds passed, the cold weather outside seemed to be getting more distant. The air around me felt a little warmer and a little brighter than when I had first entered Astrid's house a few minutes ago.

I really loved being near Toothless and Astrid.

Predictably, the moment was interrupted by a quiet knock on Astrid's door. A second later, it opened, bringing another brief chill inside.

Toothless and Stormfly opened their eyes to check on what was entering the house. I turned toward the door to find my dad stepping in. He shut the door behind himself and shuddered from the cold.

"Oh, uh... hi, Dad," I stammered.

"I'm glad you found shelter, son," he said. He didn't seem to be very upset about my supposed truancy.

"S-sorry. I didn't think to let you know," I said quietly.

"You're safe. That's all that matters right now." He adjusted a chair near Astrid's table and sat down as he brushed a collection of snow out of his beard.

"Can you tell me what happened to Trader Johann?" he asked.

I knew I should have felt that crushing weight again, but my dad asked the question using a surprisingly gentle tone. Either that, or I felt like Toothless, Astrid, and Stormfly had my back for this.

"Is... is he gonna be okay?" I asked.

"Gobber thinks so. He's still breathing, anyway. His hands, ears, and nose have frostbite, but his leg's been cleaned and stitched. Gobber and I were wondering if you saw anything happen to him."

"Uh," I started. "I didn't see what caused him to become paralyzed. But I think it was the Speed Stinger," I said.

"Johann has a puncture mark on the back of his left hand, and his left calf is clawed," he stated. "Which one happened first?"

"The puncture wound," I said quickly. "That was already there when I opened the trap door in his boat. Johann was curled on the floor when I first saw him."

"He wasn't moving?"

I shook my head. "I tried to ask if he was okay, and that was when the dragon jumped out of the shadows and gashed his leg."

"What happened to the dragon?" he asked. My dad's tone of voice implied he was asking why the dragon was dead or who had killed it.

"Uh," I said as my stomach lurched. I still hadn't gotten over playing an active role in killing a dragon. "We... killed it," I said quietly.

That same wave of anxiety from just a few moments ago washed over me. Admitting I was responsible for a dragon's death was just as nerve-wracking the second time as it was the first.

"Who's 'we?'"

"Me and Toothless," I nearly whispered, as if keeping my voice down would make killing that dragon seem less traumatic.

Astrid sighed audibly. "Hiccup, it'll be fine," she said. There was a hint of irritation under her voice.

"What is he worried about?" my dad asked, turning his attention to Astrid.

"Hiccup isn't comfortable admitting he killed a dragon," she stated bluntly. Before anyone could say anything, she added, "Even though it was probably the only way he and Toothless were gonna bring Johann to Berk."

My dad sat there in silence. The wind picked up outside, whistling as it blew through the village.

After a few seconds, my dad said, "I know you care about dragons, but sometimes there's nothing else you can do. You'll have to make tough decisions like this every so often."

The house was silent again, except for the fire crackling and our dragons breathing. Even with my dad's and Astrid's reassurances, I still felt like there was something else I should have done to keep from killing that Speed Stinger.

One of the logs in the fire popped suddenly, making all five of us jump a little. Toothless whuffed in irritation at the hearth. I stroked his cheek, trying to get him to calm down. I knew it wouldn't take long, and besides, I didn't want something random like this to ruin the feeling of peace we had in this house.

Just like normal, Toothless closed his eyes and sighed as he leaned into my hand. I didn't say a word because there really wasn't anything to say. I relaxed again, leaning against Toothless' side and stared at the hearth.

The log that had popped a few seconds ago collapsed into two pieces and tumbled to the sides of the fire, sending embers spinning through the air. Toothless watched the small red dots with curious interest before they disappeared.

I smiled, knowing the peaceful feeling had returned.

"How did you get Johann to Berk?" my dad asked quietly.

"Very carefully," I responded with a hint of sarcasm. Before anyone could retort, I turned again to face my dad and continued, "I threw Johann across Toothless' back and made him fly slowly."

"What about the Speed Stinger?" Astrid asked.

"What about it?" I repeated, looking at her.

"Where is it?" she asked.

"Still on Johann's boat," I said. "The blizzard was already starting by the time Toothless and I got Johann off his boat. So we left it there."

"His boat is tied to the docks," my dad pointed out. "I saw it."

He paused, glancing at me. I had a slightly confused look on my face. My dad preempted my question and clarified himself.

"The dragon," he said. He paused again, although his eyes told me there were more words to come. After a brief silence, he added, "It's been buried."

"Do we have to clean the fish from Johann's boat?" I blurted out suddenly.

Hiccup, you're really good at recruiting yourself for stupid things, I thought.

My dad fixed me with a curious look. "That was from the dragon, wasn't it?"

He never gave a direct answer to my question, so I hoped he'd forget about it for the time being.

"It had to be," I confirmed.

Without warning, Astrid interrupted us. "What if it was a scout, like Fishlegs thought? When the rest of its... pack, I guess, finds it, do you..."

I cut her off. "I don't want to think about that right now."

She was silent after that; the only sounds in the house were the fire crackling and our dragons breathing steadily. I relaxed as I took root against Toothless' side. For just a few minutes, I didn't want to have a worry in the world.

Toothless' head shot up suddenly, preventing my wish from being granted. He growled at the wall about twenty feet away from us. The mood in the house quickly changed from relaxed and peaceful to cold and tense.

A pair of footsteps stomped onto the stoop just before someone pounded on her door. Not a second later, the door flew open, revealing a snow-dusted Gobber with a panicked expression on his face. Toothless leapt to his feet just as I caught myself from colliding with the floor.

"Stoick! There's something happening on the ice sheet!"

"Are there a bunch of dragons standing on the other side of the rift we made today?" I asked without thinking.

"How did you guess!?" Gobber half-shouted sarcastically.

Astrid and I exchanged glances. I mimed a sigh of relief and stood after a few seconds.

"Can Toothless and I join?" I asked.

My dad nodded and motioned with his hand, not looking back at us. Stormfly warbled softly, indicating she and Astrid were coming as well.