Hi guys! I thought it would be fun to get into Astrid's head when Hiccup is mysteriously improving at dragon fighting and she's super suspicious. It ended up including her reactions to Toothless and Hiccup when she finds out, and I kind of extended the romantic flight and gave it more dialogue because I wanted her to have more bonding time with the dragon.
Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD, or any of the scenes that you recognize from the movie.
(Also, I'm not sure if I should be proud of this, but I wrote the whole thing without having to refer back to the movie once for dialogue checks... Apparently, I know every scene/word/expression by heart)
Astrid was pissed.
Somehow, the scrawny little runt was beating her in dragon fighting.
It all started with the Zippleback. She had been working on coming up with a strategic plan to get the dragon to show itself, when the sneaky devil knocked her off her feet, spilling the water in her bucket. After a few moments, the smoke cleared, and the next thing she knew, Hiccup the repair shop boy was backing the giant beast into its cage with nothing but an outstretched arm. Or at least that's how it appeared. The skinny kid closed the cage, wiped his hands on his vest, and casually left the arena without a second thought.
Next, it was the Gronckle. She was about to charge at the monster from the side, when she watched it fly at full speed towards Hiccup the Weak. She didn't see what happened, but when she came out from behind the barrier, the dragon was laying flat on its side right in front of the scrawny boy. He wasn't even holding a weapon.
It happened again with the Nadder. She was about to attack the creature from behind, when it inexplicably stopped and collapsed to the ground, revealing Hiccup completely unharmed and completely empty-handed.
Something wasn't adding up.
It was like he was playing a giant trick on all of them. Astrid hated being tricked. Something was up, and she was going to figure out what it was.
She had gone into the forest to release her frustration and anger, throwing her axe full force repeatedly at a tree trunk. WHACK. She was a warrior. WHACK. She didn't need to cheat in order to kick ass. WHACK. She was better than all of those pathetic trainees.
Just as she was about to throw her axe again, the very subject of her anger appeared in the trees behind her. He froze awkwardly. He was carrying some sort of leather object, wrapped around something he probably wanted to hide. He quickly ran further into the forest, and Astrid immediately tried to follow. He disappeared behind a boulder and Astrid lost his trail.
Okay now she definitely knew something was up. Anger bubbled up in her chest again and she shouted in frustration, sending her axe flying back at the tree.
Whatever the annoying kid was doing, he was doing something he wasn't supposed to. She just needed to figure out what it was.
The next few days, she wandered around the forest in the general area that she had seen him before. She searched for any sign of suspicion – human tools lying around, or a contraption of some sort… Hiccup was one of those builder types, who liked to make mechanical things. Maybe he had built himself a secret weapon to use against the dragons in the arena. Something that would make up for him having literally no muscle.
Maybe he was having private lessons with someone in secret, so that he could be extra well-trained? If that was the case, she definitely wanted to catch them, so she could disqualify him for cheating. It wasn't fair to her or any of the other trainees. Astrid had been working and training for this her whole life, it seemed. She wasn't about to lose to some small bony child.
One evening, she was heading home after dinner in the great hall, when she heard a racket coming from the blacksmith's shop. Eyes narrowing in suspicion, she went over to see what was going on.
"Hiccup?" she called. She received no reply. Astrid walked towards the entrance to the shop, when suddenly the window burst open, and Hiccup clumsily hopped out, quickly closing the shutters behind him. She tried to catch a brief glance as what was inside – probably a contraption of some sort. Oddly, though, she thought she saw a pair of eyes. So someone else in the village is in on this trick, she thought accusingly. He was getting help.
"Astrid!" Hiccup exclaimed a little too enthusiastically. Yep. Definitely hiding something. "Hi Astrid 'I Astrid Hi Astrid," he continued nervously. She almost laughed at how terrible he was at acting innocent.
"Normally I don't care what people do," she said to him, "but you're acting weird."
Just as she said it, he stepped back suddenly with a grunt, as if he had just gotten tugged. "Well, weirder," she corrected herself. There was no doubt the kid was strange to begin with, but even for him he was acting out of the ordinary.
He smiled sheepishly, glancing behind him at the window. Before Astrid could do anything, the boy was suddenly yanked back into the shop, window shutters flying open and closed. Astrid quickly threw the shutters open to see if she could catch whoever was hiding in the shop, but when she looked, the shop was empty. No contraptions, no nothing.
Astrid was beyond angry now. This trick had gone too far. The dragon fighting semi-finals were in two days, and she was not going to let that cheating runt win.
So she trained. She pushed herself harder than ever. All she had to do was keep him from doing anything in the ring, and attack quickly so that he wouldn't have a chance. She worked on speed and efficiency. She was going to win this, because she was a warrior, and he was not.
Astrid wandered the forest again that afternoon. She was there until dusk, waiting for the cheater to show himself. He had to come back to the village eventually. And to her great luck, she found him, just as he was leaving a large clearing. Astrid hid behind some rocks so he wouldn't see her.
"See you tomorrow, bud," she heard him say. "You were awesome today."
Astrid grinned. Now she would finally find out who was in on the joke. She waited until Hiccup was no longer in sight, and then ran into the clearing.
There was no one there. Astrid walked the perimeter quietly, searching. When no one appeared, Astrid stomped her foot angrily. How could there be no one here? Was the kid just insane? Maybe he had some imaginary friend he was talking to in the forest, and this really had nothing to do with the dragon fighting at all! Maybe the chief's son really was a complete and utter weirdo.
Astrid kicked something with her foot again, fuming. Then she noticed what she had kicked: half of a raw fish.
A fish? She was no where near the pond in the middle of the clearing. Some animal must have recently had dinner. Astrid glanced behind her nervously. What kind of wild animal ate fish?
It was beginning to get too dark to see very well. Feeling a little creeped out, Astrid quickly left the clearing in defeat. So she hadn't caught the culprit. But she knew Hiccup had been coming to this clearing for weeks, and that something was going on. Everything about it was suspicious. It was time to come up with a real plan. She wasn't going to miss it next time.
The next day was the semi-finals. She had done everything right. She was quick, she was strong, and she was smart. But it still wasn't enough.
"No!" She screeched, seeing Hiccup cowering, weaponless, behind a barrier. There was a defeated Gronckle at his feet. She had missed it, again! "You son of a half-troll, rat-eating, munge-bucket!" She swung her axe angrily, wishing she could break his neck with it. What did he do? How did he keep winning? It wasn't right! It so wasn't right!
"I'm kind of late for – "
"What?!" Astrid exclaimed, holding her axe threateningly against his throat. That was the other thing. He always disappeared immediately, without an explanation, without saying where he was going – "Late for what, exactly?" She asked, exasperated. Late for whatever he was doing in that clearing in the forest, that's what.
The elder declared him the winner of the fight, and Astrid was fuming beyond belief. The other trainees were all excited for him, and began lifting him into the air and cheering. She grinned callously. Let's take this opportunity to catch the cheating bastard, she thought evilly. If he was late for his little date, Astrid sure wasn't going to miss it.
She got to the clearing quickly and looked around the empty scene. "Alright, whoever-you-are, come out!" She shouted. She stomped over to a small rock by the pond. "I know you are here, and I know you are helping Hiccup with dragon fighting!"
She was answered with silence. Astrid gritted her teeth, and crouched behind the rock. She waited for Hiccup to show up. Whoever this trainer was, he would show himself for Hiccup.
She didn't have to wait long. The sound of feet crunching on the ground told her he was here.
"We're leaving," she heard him say. Astrid glanced around to see if she could spot who he was talking to. He was carrying basket over his shoulder. "Let's pack up. Looks like you and me are taking a little vacation. Forever."
He was leaving? Why was he leaving? He was supposed to fight the Monstrous Nightmare tomorrow. And who the heck was he talking to?
Astrid decided to give him a little scare. She hopped up on the rock that she was hiding behind, and pulled out her axe and a sharpener. He had put his things down right in front of her. She slowly ran the sharpener over the blade of her axe.
"Ah!" He exclaimed when he saw her. He scrambled back, stumbling over a small rock on the ground. "What the – what are you doing here?" He asked nervously. Again, really really bad at acting innocent.
"I wanna know what's going on," Astrid said, hopping off the rock. She twirled the axe in her hand and approached him threateningly. "No one just gets as good as you do," she said. "Especially, you. Start talking." He stuttered, backing away from her in fright. There was no way this coward was capable of fighting dragons for real. "Are you training with someone?" She prompted.
"Uh – training?" He glanced behind him nervously. There was someone or something that he didn't want her to see.
"It better not involve this," she grabbed the weird straps on his vest roughly. Was it something to hold extra armor? Or maybe some secret tool that knocked the dragons out?
"I know, this looks really bad, but – "
That's when she heard the rustling in the trees. She threw him to the ground by the weird straps and stepped over him, trying to see what it was.
"Uh, uh, you're right! You're right!" He called to her, running to get in front of her. He wanted to block her view. "I'm through with the lies!" He said. "I've been making… outfits!" he tried. Astrid thought she saw something moving in the shadows of the trees. Something big. It didn't seem like a human. "So, you got me, it's time everyone knew. Drag me back, here we go – " He had put her hand back on his vest so that she could "drag him." She yanked back his weak little wrist and pushed him to the ground.
"Ow! Why would you do that?"
"That's for the lies," she kicked him flat on his back. "And that's," she dropped the hilt of her axe onto his stomach, "for everything else."
Suddenly, a loud growl came from the trees, and Astrid went on high alert. There in front of her stood a large black dragon, with menacing, toxic green eyes.
She gasped in fear, her previous anger long forgotten. "Get down!" She shouted, knocking Hiccup back to the ground. The dragon roared, and bounded towards them for the attack. Astrid held up her axe to defend herself. "Run! Run!" She shouted at Hiccup, going for the swing. She was sure they were going to die. But she would go down fighting.
"No!" She heard Hiccup shout as the beast sprawled for the pounce. Astrid felt impact against the hilt of her axe and fell to the ground. It took a moment for her to realize that it was not the dragon that had attacked her. It was Hiccup.
Her axe was suddenly too far for her to reach, and she turned around to see Hiccup standing between her and the angry beast.
"It's okay, it's okay," he held out his hands, as if creating a barrier between the two of them. Astrid hopped to her feet, and backed away in fear and confusion. The dragon roared and held out its wings threateningly, but Hiccup didn't seem scared at all. He turned to face the beast, completely exposed. "She's a friend," he told the dragon calmly, like he was speaking to a frightened child.
The weirdest thing was, the dragon actually seemed to calm down some, and dropped to the ground on all fours. Astrid stared in fear and disbelief at its villainous eyes. The creature moved towards her again. She had no weapon, and no way to defend herself. Hiccup held out his arms, holding its head back with his body. But it wasn't attacking Hiccup. It was out for her.
"You just scared him," Hiccup said to her. He still had his hands on its nose, completely unafraid that the thing could swallow him whole.
"I scared him?!" Astrid replied wildly, not really thinking about what she was saying. Her heart was beating so hard she could feel it in her ears. Then something seemed to click: this was what he had been hiding. He was hiding a dragon.
"Who," Astrid asked dangerously, "is him?"
Hiccup pulled his hands away from the dragon. "Uh, Astrid? Toothless," he gestured to the dragon, like he was introducing two people to one another. "Toothless," he looked at the menacing dragon and gestured to her. "Astrid." The devil hissed threateningly at her, and Astrid flinched.
A dragon. It was a living, breathing dragon! So many thoughts whirled through her head, and in her confusion, Astrid did the only thing she could think of. She ran.
Everything from the past few weeks began to make sense as she sprinted through the woods towards the village. That dragon raid, when Hiccup claimed to have hit a Night Fury with his weird weapon-throwing machine. And then that day in the ring, when all he wanted to do was stand there asking Gobber questions about Night Furies. Astrid had just thought he was being ridiculous and weird. Why was he so curious about fighting Night Furies, when he couldn't fight and didn't even seem interested in fighting against the dragons in the arena? And then she had called him out. Figure out which side your on, she had said accusingly. Apparently, he had taken that as actual advice.
All of the times in the ring when he had seemed to have defeated those dragons – he hadn't actually harmed the dragons at all. He had somehow, magically caused them to cease attacking, with nothing more than a small hand.
Astrid couldn't help but feel a weird sense of awe and admiration for that. How did he keep all of those dragons, and that horrid Night Fury, from hurting him? He had acted like that dragon could actually… understand him. It was like he knew the dragon wouldn't hurt him.
Astrid didn't know what to do. She felt like she needed to tell someone. Who should she even tell? The chief? Gobber? The other trainees? And what exactly would she even tell them?
And then suddenly, something gripped her arms, and she was lifted into the air. "Oh great Odin's ghost!" She shouted, realizing the giant black dragon had snatched her from the ground. "Oh this is it – Ahhhhh!" She screamed, hoping to Odin that maybe someone would hear her. She fought desperately against the claw's death-grip on her arm. This was it. She was dragon food.
Then the claw dropped her midair, and she grabbed tightly to a tree branch as the dragon landed at the top of the tree. She clung to her branch, and looked up at the black monster.
What she saw was Hiccup. On the monster's back.
"Hiccup!" She shouted. "Get me down from here!"
"You have to give me a chance to explain," he said. Astrid felt a new anger bubbling. This insane kid really did beat her. He completely outsmarted her. He was somehow able to control a dragon.
"I am not listening to anything you have to say!" She replied angrily. She tightened her grip on the tree branch as her hands began to slip, and moved in towards the trunk to where it was more stable.
"Then I won't speak," he promised. "Just let me show you." There was a pleading honesty in his voice. Astrid looked down, realizing that she was way too far to drop to the ground. She could climb down. "Please Astrid," he asked again earnestly. She didn't know why, but she listened, pulling herself up so she could reach Hiccup and the dragon. She was still angry at him, and angry at herself, but she was also curious. She looked at the dragon, who glared at her in plain dislike. She grabbed hold of the makeshift saddle that Hiccup was sitting on and the dragon growled. Part of her wanted to run. This dragon was an enemy. It was among those who raided and destroyed their village. She didn't want to be nice to it. But she knew Hiccup, and he seemed so at ease with the frightening beast. She wanted to know how he did it.
She pulled herself onto the saddle behind Hiccup, and held out her arms, careful not to touch the unholy creature. "Now get me down," she told Hiccup.
He ordered the dragon to take her down to the ground, but Astrid saw the creature's angry glare. He didn't like her. And he was going to teach her a lesson.
Astrid screamed as the dragon shot into the sky. It twirled and dove and flew aggressively through the air, and Astrid practically fell off the saddle. She grabbed hold of Hiccup for her life. He's gonna kill me, Astrid thought. This dragon wants me dead.
The roller coaster paused for moment. Hiccup laughed awkwardly as she managed to pull herself back onto the saddle. "He isn't usually like this," Hiccup told her.
And then they fell. Spinning and diving into the water and swirling upward through the sky. Astrid closed her eyes and screamed and screamed. Why did this dragon hate her so much? What had she done wrong? Why was Hiccup so much better than her?
Well for starters, her goal in life was to fight and kill dragons.
That might be a good reason.
She had also beaten up Hiccup, who the dragon apparently liked.
That might be a good reason too.
"Okay!" She said so the dragon could hear her. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry. Just get me off of this thing!"
And suddenly, the roller coaster stopped. They weren't falling to their deaths anymore.
Astrid counted to ten, and then peeked her eyes open. They were gliding through the air, so smoothly that she couldn't even tell that they were moving. They were so high up, she could see the tops of the clouds. Astrid took a breath, and released her tight grip on Hiccup. Had the apology really worked? The dragon stopped trying to kill her because she said she was sorry?
She felt an urge to reach up and try to touch the beautifully lit clouds. Her hand passed through the cool mist. She felt a rush of excitement. She had just touched a cloud!
She released both of her hands and leaned back into the sky. She was flying. She was flying!
She couldn't believe this was really happening. The vast ocean expanded into the horizon down below them. It was like she could see the entire world.
Astrid looked back at the dragon, who's green eye turned to look at her as well. Unlike before, when his eyes were angry and threatening, the pupils had now dilated into round circles, and he gave her a toothless smile.
A toothless smile. What was it that Hiccup had called this dragon before?
Astrid smiled back, realizing the significance of the name. Hiccup had named this dragon for its sweet an innocent smile.
Sweet and innocent. This dragon looked sweet and innocent. Not like a monster at all.
Astrid thought about the way that Hiccup had been so unafraid of the dragon, even when he was angrily trying to attack her. It was because Hiccup knew that the dragon wasn't always aggressive like that. She had just… scared him, just like he had said. He saw her as a threat. Small, weak, gentle Hiccup was no threat at all, and he had shown this dragon that he wasn't going to hurt him.
"You're his friend," Astrid said aloud.
Hiccup glanced back at her. "Best friend," he corrected.
Only friend, Astrid realized, the smile dropping from her face. She knew that no one in the village had ever liked Hiccup. He was the weird, weak klutz who always got into trouble just by being present. Astrid felt a rush of guilt. She had no idea he was so… she didn't even know what word to use to describe it. Brilliant? Unorthodox? Rebellious? Amazing?
It was amazing. They were flying through the sky on a dragon because Hiccup had been kind to a creature that everyone else thought was a villain.
She placed her hands on Hiccup's shoulders. "What happened?" She asked shyly. "I mean, how…?"
"I found him in the woods," He explained. "He was caught in the ropes and I…." He looked down, running his gentle hand over the dragon's head. The dragon made a soft purring sound. "I let him go. He could have killed me, but he didn't."
The dragon cooed again, seeming to speak. Hiccup smiled. "He was hurt," Hiccup gestured to his tail. Astrid glanced back, only first noticing that the dragon seemed to be wearing a tan, man-made tail fin. "I fed him a fish, showed him that he could trust me, and so I began to help him fly again."
Astrid looked at the wiring and pedals that were connected to the tail. "You made all of this?" Astrid asked, astounded. "Wait, are you actually flying him?"
Hiccup pointed to the left pedal. "I control the left tail fin with my foot," he explained. "So I can match it to Toothless' fin on the right."
He demonstrated the pedal and the dragon turned with the tail's motion. Astrid dropped her jaw. He was actually a genius. "I guess all that blacksmithing knowledge came in handy," she commented.
"I couldn't have done it without everything that Gobber has taught me," he said, a kind of admiration in his voice. Of all people, Gobber had always been the nicest to Hiccup. It made sense that Hiccup would have so much respect for his teacher.
Astrid looked out over the horizon and gasped. "Look!" She exclaimed in awe. "The sunset!"
The deep orange sun was dipping under the horizon, sinking into the water. But the clouds! Astrid had never seen such a beautiful spectacle in her life. The sun seemed to illuminate the fluffy white blankets in pink, purple, and gold. It was the most incredible sight. And it was all because of a dragon. All because of Toothless. All because of Hiccup.
Astrid wrapped her arms around Hiccup's waist and smiled, despite herself. This was so cool. No one at Berk would believe this if they didn't see it with their own eyes.
"Hey Toothless," Hiccup said to his dragon. "Let's go down by the water, see if we can find you a place to land for dinner."
Toothless made a sound of agreement, and then they descended towards the ocean below them. This dragon understands everything he says, Astrid thought in awe. He must be brilliant too.
They found a small strip of land off the coast of Berk, far enough away that they could only just see some of the glowing lights from the island. Hiccup grabbed the large basket off of the dragon saddle and tossed it to Toothless, who dug into the fish vigorously. He then picked up a smaller basket, and pulled out a fish as well.
"Alright," he sighed in contentment, grabbing a stick from the ground. "We can build a fire, cook up some dinner, and head back to Berk before people start wondering where we are," he told Astrid. He attached the fish to the cooking rod, and handed it to Astrid. She took it and smiled. The dragon had stuck his head into the basket, searching for more fish. Astrid laughed as he tried to shake the basket off.
"Hey, bud, don't hurt yourself," Hiccup went over to the dragon and placed a soft hand on his neck. "Hold still, I can get it off." Toothless obeyed, and allowed his friend to pull the basket off of his head. The dragon licked his lips and then nuzzled the small boy in a thank you gesture. Hiccup scratched him under his chin and smiled, looking into the dragon's sweet green eyes. "Why are you always so hungry?" He asked.
Astrid watched the exchange, and felt a warmth in her heart that she had not felt before. How was this even possible? He was so kind and loving with this dragon, and the dragon was just as gentle and loving back.
Suddenly, the dragon stuck out his tongue, and gave a big slobbery lick to Hiccup's face – or more like his whole body. "Gaaah!" Hiccup backed away and tried unsuccessfully to wipe the slob from his face. "Toothless!" He complained.
The dragon laughed.
Wait, what?
The dragon just laughed.
Astrid laughed too, mostly in disbelief.
At the sound, Toothless turned to look at her. They studied each other for a moment.
He tilted his head, seeming to decide whether or not he still disliked her.
"I uh," Astrid began. "I don't think I made a very good first impression," she told the dragon. His ears perked up when she spoke. He made a strange sound in the back of his throat. It sounded like… uncertainty, maybe?
"I'm not really a villain," she said, taking a tentative step towards him. "And neither are you."
Toothless cooed and bowed his head, stepping towards her as well. He gave her a small nudge, and Astrid ran her hand over the top of his head before gently resting it on his nose. She finally had a chance to really look into his soft, vibrant green eyes. "You are amazing," she said softly. He purred, and then hopped back over to Hiccup, who had sat down with a pile of kindling he had collected. The dragon curled his body protectively around the small boy, and puffed a little blast of fire at the kindling. The fire lit quickly. Hiccup leaned against the big black body, smiled a genuine smile at Astrid, and gestured for her to join him by the fire.
Feeling happier than she'd ever thought possible, Astrid willingly obliged.
I hope you liked it! Please review!