Ruffnut's Wish Chapter 1 (Prologue)
A/N Ruffnut wishes on a wishbone, and her much-longed-for but utterly improbable wish begins to come true, as wonderful new teens start arriving on Berk out of nowhere! This makes some people ecstatically happy, and others... not so much. Rated T for one good kiss and a minor bit of innuendo; there is no swearing. Fluff and WAFF galore, with a little romantic suspense to make it interesting. Hiccstrid.
I wrote this as my own "response" to some comments the teens made in another story of mine, "The Fanfic Panel Discussion." It's purely for fun. The story takes place in seven days of Berk time, so I'll post one chapter a day, and you can follow the story "in real time."
o
It was Mánadagr. (We would call it Monday.) Supper in the Mead Hall was just about over. Ruffnut and Tuffnut had shared a whole chicken, as usual, and there wasn't much left of it, as usual. They had a standing agreement – she got the left half and he got the right half. It cut down on the arguing and fighting while they were eating. That saved time for better-quality arguing and fighting later.
"Here's the wishbone!" Tuff exclaimed as he held it up. "Want to make a wish and pull it?"
"You're supposed to let it dry out first," she mumbled.
"Who wants to wait that long?" her brother said. "I want to make a wish right now!"
"Why should I bother?" Ruff sighed. "You always win, every single time. The stupid wishbones don't like me."
"You'll never win if you don't try," he persisted.
"Even if I did, what good is winning?" she protested. "I don't see you getting all those wishes come true."
"No?" he smirked. "Last week, I wished that Hiccup would sharpen my spear for free, and he did!"
"You just caught him in a generous mood with time on his hands," she sighed.
"And a month ago, I wished that I'd get away with that prank I played with your pillow and the dead squid, and Mom and Dad never caught me."
"You did that to me? You are so dead!" She grabbed what was left of the chicken and prepared to heave it at his face. He pushed it back down onto the table with a grin.
"You see? Even you didn't know about it! Wishes do come true, sometimes," he went on, hoping to distract his sister from her rage. "So come on! Make a wish and pull."
She sighed and nodded. He wouldn't let up until she gave in. What should she wish for?
Her mind went blank.
What would be a good wish? She looked around the Hall, hoping something would inspire her. All she saw was her other friends. Fishlegs looked lost in thought, Snotlout was trying to get Astrid's attention, and Astrid had eyes only for Hiccup. As he got up with his empty plate, he took her dirty dishes as well. She thanked him, smiled, and blew him a kiss, which made him almost as red as a real kiss would have done.
What was it with those two? They seemed like such an unlikely couple sometimes... him with his un-Viking-like mildness and cleverness, her with her axe and spikes and punches in the arm... and yet they made each other so happy! Wouldn't it be nice...
Ruff nodded. She closed her eyes and made her wish. "Count to three," she told Tuff.
"One... two... thunder!" he exclaimed. "Fooled you! Okay, this time for real. One... two... three!" They pulled.
Ruff stared in astonishment. Her brother had wound up with the smaller portion of the wishbone. She'd won!
"Hey, that's cool; I'll win next time," he said. "What did you wish for?"
She shook her head. "It was stupid."
"Aww, come on! If you can't tell your own twin brother, who can you tell?"
"Never mind," she said, shaking her head as she got up from the table. "It'll never happen anyway. I should have wished for a pet troll or something."
It would sure be nice if it did happen. But some things are impossible, even for a wish made on a chicken's breastbone.
Right?