It was early morning and Astrid hadn't exactly slept well the thoughts and memories from the past events still haunted her mind and worried her. As she got changed out of her night tunic and changed into her normal clothing she could hear Stormfly outside scratching at the remains of ice from Drago's Bewilderbeast and the battle that had happened claiming many lives.
She sighed as she went outside and stroked Stormfly's nose gently, a worried look still on her face. She knew that Hiccup and his mother, Valka would most likely still be mourning the death of Stoick. Astrid decided to give them time before seeing what Hiccup was up to like she normally did, as she still needed to recover as well from the thoughts it could have well been her that could have been killed by mistake.
"I know Stormfly. It's okay though girl, it's only me, I'm not going to hurt you." She whispered before wrapping her arms around her dragons neck gently and hugged Stormfly tightly.
Hiccup and Valka were already wide awake. It was this morning that the prayers to the gods were offered, the last ones to complete the funerary rites of Stoick the Vast. This morning they had made their offers, burning sweet fruits flowers, in honor of Stoick to the great gods above. This was the final ceremony, and it was one performed alone by the family at dawn, in the peace of their own hearth. Though it had been a week since the small boat baring his father's body had been set ablaze in the sea, this time held some closure. It was over for Stoick. It was time for Hiccup.
Giving his mother a hug, he stepped out of the darkness of his house to his waiting dragon. Toothless had waited outside, spending the time whining softly and staring at the ground while his rider paid his last respects. Though the dragon had been long forgiven, he himself had chosen to stay away, spending the time outside with Cloudjumper. Now that Hiccup was outside, the great back dragon, pressed his nose against Hiccup's side and closed his eyes. "Alright bud, let's go." Hiccup said quietly, pulling himself on to his dragon's back and together they took to the sky, heading down the hill to where Astrid lived, as they met every morning.
Astrid had kept quiet enjoying the comforting feeling of being with her dragon until she heard Stormfly growl the slightest bit causing her to tense up. She quickly turned around only to notice it was just Hiccup and Toothless, though the tension stayed in her shoulders.
"What have I told you about sneaking up on me?" She asked simply though she rolled her eyes as she walked over to her boyfriend and punched him lightly in the shoulder.
She was trying to lighten up both their moods the best that she could do, though she was still uncertain about how everyone was reacting to loosing family as well as the old chief. Astrid had lost her parents at a young age and she knew what it was like to loose a family member as important as a father or a mother.
"So, any plans for today?" She asked simply. Of course if he didn't have a plan, she did.
As soon as her attention wasn't on her rider, Toothless bounded up to Stormfly and lowed himself to the ground slightly, in the bow that was familiar to both dogs and dragons as an invitation to play. The shorter dragon smiled a dragon smile, teeth retracted, and wagged his tail slightly in greeting.
Hiccup rolled his eyes slightly, forcing an easy smile. "Sneak up on you? You know I'd never do that." he replied jokingly, relaxing a bit, Trust Astrid to be able to lighten any mood. He shifted his weight slightly at her question, glancing away. "Pretending I know how to run the village." He sighed slightly. "I really miss the days before all this. I miss flying off to explore, having an adventure, adding to the map. Hopefully after another few days, I'll be able to escape for a while Gobber and Mom will take over for a bit." He added.
Valka, despite being new to Berk, had been welcomed. As she was in the family of chiefs, she had as much right to run the village as her twenty-year-old son, and could take over as needed- though she was still learning about the village and it's workings, she was as excited about being there as her dragon.
Astrid looked away sadly as she watched the endless sea that surrounded the island. She knew that this was hard for him, it was hard for everyone and those especially who knew what it was like. After a moment of an awkward silence she turned her gaze back towards him.
"I know that this is hard for you, Hiccup. And I'm really sorry that it did happen." She said keeping her tone soft as she spoke as well as making sure that she had eye contact with her boyfriend. "But now, it's your chance to shine as bright as the stars, and I know that you can." Astrid smiled slightly though she was cautious with the words she was saying.
This was difficult for her as she was worried that she would accidently say the wrong words and upset him by mistake. Instead she thought over her words carefully and said them in the softest tone possible.
"You remember when I lost my parents? That was probably the most difficult time in my life. But the things and people that matter most to you will always stay right," She placed her hand on his chest right where is heart was. "Here." Astrid lifted her gaze again to look him in the eyes, before she turned away again.
Hiccup stayed almost perfectly still for a moment, thinking. Her words were always so careful, so helpful, if only he stopped to listen. After a moment, he took a loose hold of her hand. "Thank you." He said softly. "I'm lucky to have you." He added, searching for the words. "I don't know that I could do it without you." He caught her gaze, holding it for a moment, before releasing her hand and turning slightly away.
Putting away his pain and stress, he spoke in a much more normal voice. "How about a quick flight before I have to go work?" he asked. He knew that the work he had now was a lot, but would likely begin to decrease soon- it was just pick-up after the big attack. Rebuilding houses, sheltering new dragons, the likes. Soon, it would return to normal, where hopeful he'd have more time. He knew his father, though he was busy at times, would often spend the days on his own. Hiccup couldn't wait for those days to come.
Astrid smiled weakly at his words, and the tension in her shoulder quickly went away when they held hands and she couldn't keep herself from blushing the slightest bit. "And I don't know what I'd do without you, Hiccup." She said after a moment once he had turned to look away.
Her attention turned to their dragons as she watched them playing some sort of tug-of-war game with each other, she smiled again before turning her attention back to Hiccup and keeping her gaze and words soft once again. "Whatever you'd like to do. A quick morning flight sounds like a nice relief." She paused again as she sighed. "And also, Hiccup. I'm willing to help you out if you need anything just . . . just let me know."
Hiccup smiled slightly at her words. "Thank you, Astrid, I appreciate it." He replied. Calling his dragon from the tug-of-war game Toothless and Stormfly seemed to favor, he clicked his prosthetic to the riding adapter and got on. "How about down to the cliff area?" The cliffs, where giant sea stacks stuck out of the water, was both near to the village and private, a perfect escape. Few flew there due to the difficulty of navigating, but Hiccup and Astrid were the best riders in the village and could do it without problem. "Also, you're always welcome to come to the great hall, if you want." He added lamely. Why she'd want to come, he had no clue. It was about as dull as humanly possible, at least the meetings he had been to.
Astrid got onto Stormfly's back quickly, after giving a few scratches on the chin to Stormfly as she knew that her dragon enjoyed that before going for a flight. She knew that Hiccup was suspicious of why she wanted to help out, but helping out was something friends would do for one another. With all that had been happening lately, she wasn't about to complain about helping out.
"Sure, I don't see the harm in going there." She replied as she nudged Stormfly's side gently and both rider and dragon took to the air. "How about a race? First one to get through all the sea stacks and to the shore line." She grinned slightly hoping that it would get his mind off of other things and just enjoy each others company for the meantime.
Toothless spread his wings, leaping off the cliff face as an easier way to get into the air. His wings caught the air, and they were soaring, in the air where both chief and dragon loved to be. "A race?" He replied, grinning. "Well, if you insist..." he replied, leaning forward in the saddle and signalling for Toothless to spread the scales on his back, best for turns. It only took a beat of the wings, and they were off!
Smoothly they weaved through the rock spires, careful yet fast. He turned a different way off than Astrid, losing sight of her through the stones, and instead urging his dragon faster and faster. "Just a bit more, bud!" He called to his dragon as they neared the shore line.
Astrid and Stormfly managed to get through most of the tight turns, though Stormfly wasn't the greatest at the tightest of turns as she didn't have the greatest ability to weave in and out of sea stacks that were so close together. As the two broke away from the rock formations Astrid ordered Stormfly to increase her speed as she decided they'd have a greater chance at winning, that was if they could catch up.
Astrid then paused the slightest bit and gave a smaller nudge to Stormfly to signal to slow, maybe it would be best if they let Hiccup and Toothless win and get their minds off of the past weeks events. She bit her tongue as Stormfly tried to go faster but whispered to her dragon gently just to slow down, but at the same time to be barely noticeable.
With a spread of his wings, Toothless slowed and landed lightly on the sandy beach, no Astrid in sight. It only took the time for Hiccup to switch his prosthetic to the flatter one for walking. Shielding his eyes from the sun, he offered her a smile. "Nice of you to show up." he joked.
There were many places on the island Hiccup loved, this beach included. It was private yet scenic, and full of fish- something Toothless took advantage of quickly. Pulling out a mouthful of fish, he left a pile of them on the beach for Stormfly.
Astrid got off of Stormfly's back before raising an eyebrow the slightest bit before she laughed. "I think something caught Stormfly's eye. Next time I'll be on your tail." She joked as she watched their dragons catching and eating fish. It then his her that these sorts of things would be limited, spending time like this with Hiccup. Astrid sighed slightly before glancing over her shoulder at him with a small smile on her face.
"So . . . I guess we have a few minutes to relax before we should head back to the village." Astrid found her voice quiet as she spoke before she sat down on the sandy shoreline and gestured for Hiccup to do the same.
Hiccup sat down obediently, leaning close to Astrid. He knew that, due to his responsibilities, days like these would be rare for a while. It was a bit disheartening to think about, that his freedom had been exchanged for responsibility, but it was what it was. He had no choice, after all. "Relaxation time is always welcome." He replied, then added, "What have you been up to most of the days?"
"Recovering I guess. And trying to get things out of my head that I don't want there." Astrid replied simply as she leant against his shoulder gently. "But that's going to take some time to get over, and relaxing is something we both need to get away from the reality of life."
Astrid looked him in the eyes, it was somewhat of a look of compassion as well as mix of worry and stress. "And I've been worrying about how we're going to get all this ice off of the island." She tried to make a joke out of it but it came out more serious then she had intended.
Hiccup nodded slightly. "It was a lot." He agreed, pausing for a moment before shaking the thought away. "The ice is about the one thing I don't have to worry about." he replied with a slight laugh. "I figure that, with enough fire-breathing dragons around, it should be gone soon enough."
He closed his eyes, enjoying the sea breeze and good company. He knew that, for another week or so, this may be as much as they got together.
"It will probably melt over time but you never do really know. But I figure and trust you that you know what you're doing." Astrid replied also closing her eyes and enjoying the sound of the waves crashing against the shoreline as well as the gentle cool breeze. This time off was going to be limited, but at least the time they got together they could enjoy with one another.
"I just wish I could do something to help you out and make things easier for you, Hiccup. I'll do what I can." She said after a moment, eyes still closed as if trying to relax and clear her thoughts of the battle that had happened less than a week ago.
Hiccup squeezed her hand, looking out over the ocean. He certainly didn't know if he'd ever be able to imagine the island, his island, once more without remember the bloodshed that had occurred. He knew that that idea was dumb, that when Vikings fought the dragons there was much more than what had happened in one short afternoon. That didn't stop him from remembering all too much. "Thank you, Astrid." he replied after a moment, letting those thoughts go. Instead he enjoyed the moment, letting himself go for just a moment.
"Anytime." Astrid replied squeezing his hand in a reply before opening her eyes and kissing him on the cheek. She knew what he was thinking judging by the look on his face, and she wasn't about to let him doubt on his capabilities, not yet anyway. She kept her gaze on him before Stormfly squawked and startled her which caused Astrid to tense up again and become alert to their surrounding.
After a hesitant moment she let go of Hiccup's hand and got up to see what had startled her dragon. Stormfly seemed to be watching the ocean as if sensing something that Astrid couldn't see. "What is it?" She asked in a hushed tone as she scanned the horizon, glancing over her shoulder to glance at Hiccup.
Hiccup was up right behind her, shading his eyes with his hand in an attempt to see over the glare of the sunlight. There was nothing, nothing that he could see. Toothless seemed to think differently. The Night Fury was growling at the open waters, green eyes narrowed. "What is it, bud?" he asked quietly, but the only reply he got was a twitch of the ear. Readying himself, Hiccup prepared to pull his sword out. He trusted the dragons, and they were doing their best to warn the riders of danger.
Astrid stood shoulder to shoulder with Hiccup as she watched the water, Stormfly was still alert and snarling lowly at the open water which worried Astrid as if thinking that the Bewilderbeast was coming back. She tensed again as she heard a screech from above and turned her attention to the sky only to see a group of Terrible Terrors fighting over a fish.
Her attention quickly turned back to the water, she was completely alert as she watched as something eventually washed up on the shore a good few meters away. Her eyes widened as she noticed it was a dragon, and not only that but a dragon that rarely was seen and only normally during the stormy seasons.
"Is . . . is that what I think it is?" She asked as she watched Stormfly move to stand in front of her rider still snarling. Astrid was uncertain if it were alive or not, but whatever it was seemed to be spooking the dragons.
Hiccup was in awe. "It is." he replied quietly, pausing a moment more before moving forward. Whatever it was, it appeared dead, likely drowned. The dragons were behind them, squawking and growling angrily, but certainly keeping their distance. Only Toothless bounded forward as Hiccup moved to investigate whatever it was, and even that was short-lived, as Toothless stopped a few meters away and sat back on his haunches.
The dragon's green eyes were full of worry and fear as Hiccup reached out to touch the thing, feeling the wet of the ocean on it. Seeing no response, he moved towards the head and rubbed under the chin, on the spot that would have made most dragons drop to the ground and roll. Toothless growled a warning, raising his front legs off the ground and clawing at the air slightly.
Astrid kept her distance though she stayed close enough to give her own inspection. If it were a Skrill it must have been long dead as it probably would have been able to fly out of the water unless something had stopped it from getting out. She watched closely before noticing some sort of chain that was attached to its legs and tangled in it's tail.
She was about to move closer to inspect before she saw it's sides move and instantly stepped back. "Uh . . . Hiccup, I think it would be wise to step back a little." She whispered as Stormfly snapped at the dragon that had washed up on the shore. What had been a somewhat relaxing morning was turning into a stressful and worrying one.
Hiccup backpedaled with a hint of panic at the sudden movement, nearly tripping on the rocks behind him. Catching himself just in time, he regained his footing and kept a bit of distance as he made his way back towards Astrid. "Well, I guess it's not dead. Not yet anyway." He muttered, pulling his sword in to his hand.
The sword with the blade of fire, made for taming dragons, not killing them, was his own personal pet project. Though it would be hard to use in an actual sword fight, it was perfect for most other uses- like taming a potentially dangerous half-drowned dragon. "I wonder what happened, why it washed up." he said quietly, his voice calm despite how tense he was.
"It looks like it has chains wrapped around it's legs and tail or some sort of rope. My guess is Drago." Astrid replied saying the name of their enemy like it was poison in her mouth. She backed up again when the dragon opened it's amber eyes and took in the surroundings of the beach before setting it's eyes on them and hissing lowly.
Astrid noticed almost immediately that Stormfly was snarling in return but wasn't attacking just protecting them from any harm if the Skrill decided to attack. It was a slim chance that it would happen if it was tied up, but if it felt threatened than that was totally different.
She shifted uneasily under the watch of the dragon. Neither her or Hiccup had seen a Skrill in ages, let alone one that was tied up like this. All instincts were kicking in and telling her to run, yet fear kept her in place.
Hiccup glared at the remnants of chains. "Remind me that, if we ever see Drago alive again, to shove him into the nearest Whispering Death hole and cover all the exits." He muttered, still watching the dragon closely. The dragon was obviously weak and hurt, seemingly of no threat to the Vikings, though their dragons seemed to think different.
Toothless's tail was lashing angrily as he tensed, ready to fight if they were attacked. Either way, there was nothing Hiccup could do. He didn't think that it was in any condition to be impressed by his fire display, as even if it recognized him as one of it's own, it was still hurt. And hurt dragons led to a lot of trouble if there were threatened.
"And remind me to help you out with kicking his sorry ass out of the very archipelago." Astrid added simply under her breath before retrieving something out of her saddle bag, making sure not to make any sudden movements. She held out her other hand as she placed a few good pieces of dragon nip on her hand.
Astrid was still alert to everything and had her main attention on the Skrill. "You think this might work? To help calm it down that is and give us both a better chance at trying to loosen those chains?" She asked quietly trying to keep her heart from racing.
Hiccup weighed the optioned, but saw that they had no choice. "Be careful. I'll work on the chains as soon as I know that you have it occupied." He replied, tucking the Dragon Sword away in favor of a smaller knife with a tougher edge, for hacking away at the seaweed that was tangled over the chains. Carefully, he made his way towards the back legs of the dragon where the chains were the most concentrated, keeping his hand on the hilt of his blade and eyes on the dragon.
Any sudden movements towards Astrid and he'd take action to stop it, Skrill or not. He was fiercely protective of her, even if a lot of times she had much more competent that he was.
"I'm always careful, unlike you at times." She replied simply glancing over at Hiccup before turning her attention back on the dragon in front of them. Astrid swallowed nervously as she watched the dragon closely before inching her way closer despite being nervous and knowing well enough that this dragon could easily channel lightening.
"Easy does it, I'm not going to hurt you. We're just trying to help you out." She said after a moment when she knew she was close enough to the Skrill. She held out her hand and quickly placed the dragon nip in front of it. A sudden snarl from Stormfly made her backpedal very quickly as it had been unexpected and she was already nervous enough as it was.
As soon as he had seen Astrid jump back Hiccup had done the exact same even despite having more knowledge in dragons he wasn't going to risk getting an electric shock. But to his surprise the Skrill's eyes were closed again and it's sides weren't moving like it had been moments before. It didn't take him long to realize that it was too late to help this dragon out and he soon went back over to Astrid's side with a small sigh.
"Another dragon dead, all because of some barbaric person wanting to control the world. We might as well head to the Cove or something." He suggested meeting her gaze after a moment. Oh gods, her beautiful blue eyes. He'd do just about anything to be with the girl of his dreams and he was planning on it when he knew it would be the perfect time to ask for her hand in marriage. Now though he would wait for awhile as the pain of loosing his father was still fresh.
Astrid had been about to say something but sure enough their dragons had stopped snarling and she couldn't help but shake her head and sigh as well. His words caught her by surprise though and she nodded after a moment. "Sure, I don't see what harm going to the Cove would do." She replied simply as she quickly got up onto her dragons back in one swift movement. After all she was thinking the exact same thing and had something else in mind as well.
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Well there you have it the first chapter of one of my first fanfics for Hiccstrid shippers.
Please review if you'd like to see more. ^^