"No! Are you serious?" Fishlegs exclaimed as Snotlout finished recounting his exaggerated tale.
Snotlout preened. "You know it," he bragged. "Three spins and I was out, baby! The cops never caught me!"
"Probably because they figured an action figure wasn't worth staying up all night for," Astrid snapped, irritated at how much attention he was milking from the whole thing. And it was her motorcycle he'd borrowed - he almost had them both taken to jail!
He slung an arm around her shoulder, making her pull a face as he said, "Aw, hon, don't be jealous. Just because I can ride the motorcycle better than you…"
"Ugh," Astrid sneered, shrugging off his arm. He didn't notice, already engrossed with telling another far-fetched tale to the rest of the group. She opted to ignore them, focusing on her studies. Of course they were a bit distracting - she had to duck a few thrown erasers more than once as she worked - but she didn't leave.
At the very least, since the teachers no longer bothered to try even keep an eye on this little group, she could work in peace - a noisy, eventful peace. But she never needed things to be easy anyway.
"Hey, guys? Class is starting," Fishlegs said, interrupting Snotlout.
Ruffnut sighed. "Aw, I hate class," she complained.
"I know, right?" Tuffnut agreed. The twins exchanged grins that made Astrid wary. "What did you two do?" she asked suspiciously, not daring to sit down.
They looked up at her innocently just as the teacher walked in.
Astrid regretted even asking as she watched in horror with the rest of the class. A bucket of tapioca - how had she not noticed? - fell on his head, causing him to stumble into a tripwire. Falling flat on his face, Gobber groaned. "You bloody kids!" he roared, standing with a furious look on his face. Astrid quickly sat before he saw her standing. "Which one of you did this?"
Ruffnut and Tuffnut rarely ever are able to be serious, but in moments like this Astrid was almost impressed with their poker faces. Almost… She saw the corner of Tuffnut's mouth twitching.
Gobber stared at the silent room before exhaling angrily, stomping over to his chair and sitting down at his desk. Instantly a loud farting noise could be heard. If the students in the room had been still as stone before, they were now shrinking into themselves as Gobber's expression turned dangerous.
Astrid rolled her eyes mentally as the three beside her burst into laughter, drawing the attention of the angry man covered into tapioca.
"Snotlout, Tuffnut, and Ruffnut, you all have detention," Gobber snapped, wiping some of the food out of his eyes. He picked up the roster, ignoring the fact he was still sitting on the Whoopee cushion as he started to do roll call.
Astrid had to admit she was impressed at his ability to work no matter the circumstances. Although he probably got plenty of practice, having a classroom with Snotlout and the twins. She could see Fishlegs cowering in the corner of her eye, probably still scared from Gobber's earlier outburst.
Sighing, she called out "here" when she was called and went back to working, determined to make the most of homeroom to knock out her work.
Most of her classmates were talking and laughing. When she broke her pencil tip - pressing down too hard was a bad habit of hers - she bit her lip, knowing no one would hear her if she asked for a spare pencil. More likely, they'd laugh and then go back to what they were doing… Not what she needed.
Astrid was about to dig through her bag anyway, despite knowing this was the one day she'd skipped out on bringing extra supplies, when a quiet voice said, "Wanna borrow mine?"
She glanced to her left, surprised to see the boy there holding out a pencil.
"Oh… yeah, that'd be great. Thanks," she said, grabbing it. "I'll return it at the end of the day."
"It's alright, keep it," he told her, pulling another pencil from his pocket. "I've got others." He went back to his papers she noticed on his desk, his pencil moving back and forth.
Astrid hesitated before shrugging, her focus turning back to her work.
She got through about half of the assigned work for tomorrow finished when the bell rang. Satisfied she'd gotten a good amount done, she stuffed it into her binder before slinging her bag onto her shoulder. Dodging Snotlout's attempt to kiss her - for the last time, she was not his girlfriend! - she darted out of the door, a bit thankful her next class wasn't shared by any of the gang. They were great, but after this morning she needed a bit of a break.
It was a shock to her when she saw the boy who'd given her the pencil sitting on the desk behind hers, already scratching his pencil across a something-or-other.
"Hi," she blurted out.
He looked up, then offered a soft smile. "Hi," he said back, his pencil pausing.
"Um, thanks again… for the pencil," Astrid said awkwardly.
The boy laughed. "No problem. I doubt anyone else would have one, anyway… That's why their grades are so low. You know points are actually taken off for using pen?" He smiled again. "Of course, that's not the only reason."
Astrid didn't know whether to agree with him or defend her friends. She ended up doing neither, instead replying, "Oh yeah, I knew that. They told us that at the beginning of the year." She sat down, looking back at him just in time to see the surprise spread across his face. It was gone quickly.
"That's what I said." He grinned, the expression a bit dry as he added, "Some good that did me."
Their conversation was interrupted before Astrid could ask him what he meant when their teacher came in, immediately silencing everyone else.
Gothi was a bit old, but everyone had learned quickly that even though she was mute and only taught them through writing, disrespect her and the ruler whacked you across the head. She was also incredibly smart and good at teaching, thus the reason why she was accepted as a teacher at the school.
Plus, she wasn't deaf.
No one dared to even laugh behind her back.
Astrid pulled out her textbook quickly, thoughts of the boy behind her vanishing. It was time for math, and math was a class you paid attention in or fell behind drastically - that's how much material Gothi covered in one class.
"Hey, you'll stay, right babe?" Snotlout pleaded as the twins started dragging him to detention. "You'll wait for me, won't you?"
Astrid rolled her eyes, not bothering to respond as he was hauled away. She was going to wait, but not for him. She caught a ride home from Fishlegs every afternoon - her parents didn't let her use her motorcycle - so she had to wait for him. Unfortunately, he had chess club on Fridays.
So she was stuck at school for an extra hour.
"Hey Gobber?" she said, walking into the classroom, "Do you mind if I stay here for an hour? My ride's delayed, and usually I hang out at the cafeteria but they're cleaning hardcore today…" She trailed off when she noticed the boy in the corner. He looked up, waved, then went back to his papers.
Gobber shrugged. "Sure, just don't bring any of your friends in. They're driving me crazy," he grumbled, his head buried in tests he was correcting.
"No problem," Astrid said absently, still staring at the boy. She sat down in the nearest seat to the door, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the silence. She was used to everyone being loud and obnoxious… Silence didn't bother her, but being in a room with two other humans who made no sound at all? It was different.
After a few minutes, Astrid was beginning to relax when all of a sudden Gobber exclaimed, "Ah-ha!"
She looked up to see him holding a piece of paper aloft triumphantly.
"What is it, Gobber?" the boy said, his voice amused.
Gobber grinned back at him. "I have found the twins' test. And they are exactly the same!" He held up another paper. "I bet they cheated! Too bad for them, nothing slips past me!" Chuckling to himself, he scribbled what Astrid was sure was an F on their papers.
"Except for tapioca," Astrid couldn't help adding.
Both of them stared at her. Gobber frowned disgruntedly as he admitted, "Yeah… there's that." He didn't notice, as Astrid did, the boy duck his head hastily into a book, his shoulders shaking. Astrid felt a bit of satisfaction in making someone laugh, even if they weren't making any noise.
She quickly discovered Gobber really had noticed. He scowled mildly at the boy, saying indignantly, "Hiccup! Stop laughing… It's not that funny!"
Hiccup actually started laughing now, putting the book down as his chuckles rang throughout the empty classroom.
"And you, Astrid," Gobber said, startling Astrid from her fascination, "Go back to your work or whatever." He grumbled a bit more under his breath, going back to grading tests. Astrid exchanged a glance with Hiccup before giggling silently, returning to her homework.
Of course, right then a breeze blew through the open window, tossing all their papers into the air. Hiccup fought to close the window against the sudden wind as Gobber and Astrid scrambled to collect the flying sheets.
Astrid snagged all her papers, watching as Gobber handed Hiccup's papers to the boy, walking back to his desk to grade tests again.
After that it was quiet, only the scratching of their pencils filling the air. Astrid started when her phone finally vibrated in her pocket - the alarm she'd set for making sure she didn't keep Fishlegs waiting when his club finally finished. "Ah, thanks for letting me hang out for today," she said, standing and sweeping her papers back into a pile.
"No problem," Gobber said amiably, not looking up. "You ever need a class to stay in again, just let me know."
Astrid paused, halfway out the door. "Thanks," she said again, appreciating that. Especially since last time the cafeteria had been cleaned on a Friday, she had tried to stay with the chess club.
Needless to say… a 'popular' kid and the chess club? She'd gotten mocking glares the whole time.
She hurried out of the classroom, not wanting Fishlegs to leave without her. It was a long walk home, one she wanted to avoid at any cost. When she opened the door and slid in, his mom remarked, "You sure took awhile! What took you so long?" She started up the car, not really waiting for an answer.
Astrid grimaced, stopping instantly when Fishlegs twisted from his seat in the front to look at her worriedly. "Did something happen?" he asked.
"Nah, just… lost track of time," she lied easily, leaning back into the seat.
Later, she'd go out on her motorcycle to hang out with her friends. Probably drink a bit, mess around. It was always like this on days just before the weekend, when the knowledge that she had more time than usual to finish her assignments let her have a bit of fun before she went back to being a studious student.
She grinned in anticipation of the crazy night she'd have.
"Ugh…"
Astrid whacked the alarm in annoyance, then hit it again when it didn't stop. She squinted at the time, then sighed. Last night had repercussions - a headache, among other things - but she should get up.
"..."
In ten minutes. She reset the alarm and went back to sleep.
This happened about seven more times until Astrid got too hungry to ignore her stomach. Turning off the alarm, she stumbled out of her room to the kitchen. Yawning, Astrid opened the fridge. Grabbing the carton of orange juice and swigging a gulp down, she snatched a bagel and ate it cold as she sat on the couch.
Her parents were long gone, of course - they were on a business trip, wouldn't be back for a week at least - so she lounged as long as she wanted, finishing off the bagel and orange juice leisurely.
After a while, she stood, hauling her bag off the floor to bring it beside her. Resigning herself to work, Astrid unzipped her bag.
She froze when she saw a piece of paper that definitely wasn't hers, not least because it had an unfamiliar sketch on it. The drawing wasn't intricate at all, rough strokes that outlined a crouching dragon. Still, Astrid felt as if she could see the muscles coiled beneath the dragon's skin, the eyes flashing between the thick black lines.
"Where did you come from…?" she muttered.
A memory of papers flying around the classroom came to mind, and she turned the paper over, catching sight of the scrawled letters of Hiccup in the corner. Astrid sighed. "I'll give it to him on Monday," she murmured, setting it aside so it wouldn't get crumpled.
Then she pulled out her homework, meticulously double-checking her work and working out equations. There wasn't a lot of work for her English class, aside from a short reading that she breezed through. After a while, Astrid realized she was done when she went over a problem she'd corrected three times already.
She hesitated before cleaning up, putting on her jacket as she grabbed the house keys. Although she was far from the school, she still lived in the city. Freaking huge as it was, there was a store on every street. Astrid figured she may as well pick up some things the house needed - like milk and bread - before night fell.
Tugging up her hood, Astrid popped in her earbuds, humming along to her music to drown out the sound of the cars as they passed by along the highway. After a few rounds of Battlefield by Svrcina she stopped in front of the grocery store, letting her hood fall back as she entered, enjoying the cool AC.
"Uncle! Please, don't-!"
The voice startled her, because she hadn't heard it raised before.
"I'll do what I bloody want! That brother of mine never…"
And then the security guard escorted them both outside, past her, and Astrid suspected neither of them saw her frozen in shock as they went by.
Astrid spun to see Hiccup and Gobber still arguing as they walked away from the store. For a moment, she considered following them. She could ask what was wrong, and what happened…
Then again, maybe she shouldn't.
"You moving, missy?" an old man grumbled from behind her. Astrid moved out of the way, a bit disgruntled.
She'd ask on Monday if everything was alright. At the same time she gave back the drawing. It'd probably end being nothing anyway. With that decided, Astrid moved further into the store, pulling out her grocery list. She wanted to get as many things as possible before she had to get back home.
Then tomorrow she had the Hofferson legacy to carry out.
Sometimes it was such a pain to be born into a family that was in the mafia.
A stroke here - swooping down, then curve tightly into a tail. Darken the lines, small flicks of the pencil to make spines that grow larger as they travel up the spine… Large, swift line upwards to make the first half of the wing, then a deeper curve at an angle to bring it into perspective - no, erase that. Angled higher would be better, since the dragon's in flight…
"Um, hey, Hiccup."
He looked up idly to see who was talking to him, smiling in recognition when he saw Astrid. She was holding out one of his drawings.
Grabbing it happily, Hiccup remarked, "Thanks! I was wondering where this went."
She smiled and lingered slightly.
"Is something wrong?" he asked after a few seconds passed.
Astrid blinked. "Ah, no, I just… I saw you and Gobber the other day. Did something happen?"
Hiccup felt his smile freeze as he said, "Oh, nothing was wrong. We just got into an argument. It was… we were a bit loud, that's all." Feeling as if the explanation was inadequate, Hiccup added, "He's my uncle, you know."
Surprise registered on her face. "He is?" she said, sounding interested.
"Hey, babe, why're you talking to this loser?" Snotlout laughed meanly, coming up behind her.
Hiccup stared blankly at the boy, who smirked back at him.
Astrid shook her head. "Go away, Snotlout," she snapped.
"Come on, this isn't what you want," he said, pulling her away. "You'll be a loser too, at this rate. Let's go, babe."
"Snotlout, stop," Astrid said, yanking her arm out of his grip. She scowled at him. "What the heck? I've already told you I'm not your girlfriend. I'm starting to think we shouldn't even be friends." Astrid shoved him back, making him stumble. "Get. Away."
"You're lucky I don't hit girls," Snotlout muttered, turning away.
Astrid sneered. "Yeah? So are you," she threatened.
Hiccup waited until Snotlout was out of earshot before commenting, "That was… unusual. Why did you get mad at him?" He hesitated before adding, "Not that I don't appreciate it."
"He called you a loser," Astrid said curtly.
"They always do."
"Really?" she asked, seeming startled.
Hiccup shrugged. "When you're not with them, they get bored." He gave her a half-smile, gesturing a little towards himself. "I'm a bit of an easy target. Not much strength, I'm afraid." Hiccup considered the paper before him, then asked, "Hey, what does this look like?"
Astrid glanced at the drawing. "A dragon, right?"
"I thought so… It looks a bit strange for a dragon though…"
He caught sight of Astrid grinning as she sat down. "So what should a dragon look like?"
"More scales and less leathery… sharp claws…" Hiccup murmured absently.
Astrid shrugged. "Well, they're not real anyway. I think it's fine no matter how it looks."
"Guess so," Hiccup agreed, setting the paper aside.
He started on another drawing, starting to sketch the outline of the dragon. This one would curl up, so a curved spine, head resting on the middle. Nose pointed inwards, eyes swoop down, a single line. Arms bend, blunted claws rest beneath the chin, sticking out a bit on either side. Head has horns going over the neck, the bottom a seamless line through…
"That's amazing. How do you draw like that?" Astrid asked, leaning over.
Hiccup shrugged, erasing a bit of the neck and redrawing it to make the proportions fit. "I've drawn for a while. Just takes practice." He hesitated. "I saw you on Sunday," he admitted. "What were you doing?"
Astrid seemed startled. "I… er… Nothing in particular."
Hiccup studied her for a moment, his expression curious. "Have you ever heard the name Stormfly?" he asked.
"No," Astrid said. She stood. "I'll see you in class, Hiccup," she said, walking out.
Hiccup tracker her, seeing how the way she walked was stiff.
The smile faded from Hiccup's face as he looked down at his drawings, his fist clenching. "Found you," he muttered. He swept the papers into his bag, standing. Ignoring the bell as it rang, Hiccup hurried out of the classroom, bumping into Gobber in the hallway.
"Where're you going?" Gobber demanded.
Hiccup exhaled. "Uncle, I found the head of the Nadders."
"And you're off to see Stoick," Gobber surmised. He nodded to Hiccup, continuing to walk to his class. Hiccup jogged briskly down the halls, slipping out the back entrance. Jumping the fence, he vanished into the woods.
"Father! Father, I found the Stormfly."
The gruff man looked up from his books, disgruntled. "You found the what?" he said, frowning.
Hiccup hissed fiercely, "I found the Stormfly!" He hopped down on the floor from the window that had been left open. "Don't try to play ignorant, I know you recognize the name. Do you want to know who they are or not?"
"If I know my son," Stoick sighed, "You'll demanded payment for that information. The head of the Nadders… Pretty expensive, if you're right. Of course I'll want to delay a little while." He ran his hand through his beard, seeming tired. "Alright, what do you want?"
Hiccup smiled triumphantly. "Twenty pieces of charcoal."
Stoick raised an eyebrow as he commented, "That's less extravagant than usual."
"Only because this time, I felt like it."
"Deal. Now, who is the Stormfly?"
Hiccup answered his father confidently, "Astrid Hofferson. And one more thing - she's probably just the heir, but she's as good as. You haven't seen her in action yet. Judging from what I saw when I spied on her, she's well-qualified to be the Stormfly."
Stoick nodded. "That makes sense." He sat up, going through his papers. Then he pulled out a document. "Yes…" He glanced at Hiccup with a smile that was both proud and chagrined. "The Hoffersons, I've suspected before… But I was never able to confirm it. Are you certain?"
"Yes," Hiccup replied.
Stoick studied Hiccup. "Draw her for me," he ordered.
With a smirk, Hiccup pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil. He spread the paper flat against the desk before studying the blank page. A sharp chin, a straight line that was either confidence or anger… A shadow beneath her lips, not too large but just enough. Bangs falling into her face, hair pulled over her scalp into a braid, hung over her shoulder. Clear eyes and a straight nose.
"Here you are," he said, handing over a detailed portrait of Astrid.
Stoick chuckled. "You sure you just want to sell out your girlfriend like that?" he teased.
Hiccup scowled. "A popular girl like her? My girlfriend? No, I just made a bet my hunch was right… and it was."