Chapter 1 – New Day
The sound of the alarm popped Astrid Hofferson's eyes wide open. It was the start of a new day. The first day, in fact, of a new job in a new town. She smiled to herself before hopping out of bed for her shower. The warm water felt good against her cold skin, and after a quick drying she wrapped her long blond hair in a towel, threw on some clothes, and wandered over towards the table. As she passed a cage, a yellow and blue Macaw peered between the bars at her. Astrid stopped and smiled. "Good morning, Stormfly."
The bird looked at her, and then squawked "Good morning" in response. Walking over to her kitchen counter after checking the bird's food and water, she picked a piece of banana bread out from a plastic container. She also grabbed a small oat muffin before settling at the table, looking out the window at the sights of the town of Berk. From the window of her small apartment, she could see the heads of the large stone Viking statues at the north side entrance to the town. After a quick breakfast, she unwrapped and braided her hair, pulled on her boots, and checked one more time for the directions to the med-tech startup Dragonwing, her destination for her new job. Hopping into her Elantra, she drove the short distance to the small building, "Don't Look Back" blasting from her car's stereo.
As she pulled into the parking lot, she spied a very tall, broad man standing by the front door. That must be Gerard, she thought. She popped open her door, locked her car (can't be too careful) and walked up to the hulking form of the town's mayor. "Good morning, Mayor Haddock."
The gargantuan man let out a deep, throaty laugh. "Please, Astrid, just call me Stoick. Everybody else does."
She gave him a confused look. "I thought your name was Gerard."
Stoick laughed heartily. "It's an old nickname from my time as police chief, but that's a story for another time." He gestured towards the door. "Come on in. My son's business partners will give you a tour before you settle in."
Astrid gave him a nod and headed in the door. She gasped as she walked in, taken aback by the almost clinical foyer. The chrome reflected the sunlight streaming in through the windows. Standing at another door with a keycard lock was a trio of young adults about her age. One of them, a tall blond, greeted her with a smile.
"Hello! You must be Astrid. Stoick told us you were coming. I'm Martin Ingerman, but everybody calls me Fishlegs. These two are Theodore and Rebecca Thorston, better known around town as Tuffnut and Ruffnut. We want to welcome you to Dragonwing."
The two twins, a boy with long blond hair braided down at the sides and a girl with braids coming straight out, circled her with a mischievous glint in their eyes. "Well, dear sister, it appears Stoick's newest sacrifice is here."
"How long will it be before Hiccup runs her off, brother dear?"
The male twin pondered. "Ah, I give her two weeks or less."
"You're on!" The twins spit into their hands and shook.
Fishlegs groaned for a second. "Guys, let's not assume anything. Hiccup won't be THAT terrible to her, right?"
He looked at the ground contemplatively for a minute, but his head snapped up as the door opened again. Stoick nodded. "I'll go tell Hiccup she's here. Fishlegs, why don't you start the tour?" The tall boy swiped a card and held the door for the substantial mayor before beckoning for Astrid to follow him.
"So, this is the first of our two hallways. We have several labs for testing through these doors. We have to rigorously stress test the hardware and software of the prosthetics before they can be put to use, and that's where the twins come in. They do a fantastic job of testing rigorously, and are smarter than you'd think they would be. The door with the plaque on it is their office. Mine is the one further down across from the bathroom. I do all the software programming for our prosthetics. Now come this way, I'll show you the back hall."
Fishlegs guided Astrid towards the back, answering questions as they went. As they rounded the corner into the other hallway, Astrid saw Stoick's Massive frame squeeze through a door at the end of the hall that was promptly shut. "That office on the end is Hiccup's. He's our Hardware expert, and he works on them in a workshop you can get to from a door in his office. The door on the left wall is the supply closet. If you need anything, you can usually find it there. The first door on the right here is the break room. We have a fridge and a microwave in there, so if you want to bring leftovers from home you can. The other door is your office. The CCTV footage from the cameras out front and in the foyer go straight to a desktop computer in there, and the foyer's buzz in to get to the back is tied to the phone in there. You can also unlock the door to the back from your office using that computer. I'm sure Stoick's talked to Hiccup by now, so let's go talk to him. Unless you have a question?" Astrid was about to open her mouth when a shout ripped out from the door of Hiccup's office and reverberated down the hallway.
"You did WHAT!?"
"It's for your own good, son!"
"I told you, I don't need a glorified babysitter! You can send this 'new hire' of yours away!"
"She's already here, Hiccup! Don't fight with me about this! I want you safe!"
"That's it! Out! Right now!"
The door flew open and Stoick stormed out, still glowering, slamming the door behind him. Noticing Astrid and Fishlegs in the hall, his expression quickly turned to one of worry. "I'm sorry about that," he claimed as he approached, "But you'll have to forgive Hiccup, lass. He's stubborn like me, and thinks I'm being overprotective."
Astrid shrugged. "It's alright. I know a thing or two about stubborn. I'm sure once I'm around and he gets to know me, he'll warm up."
Stoick thought for a second, before nodding to her and Fishlegs with a curt "Good day" before leaving. "Well," Fishlegs offered, "At least you got an apology." Just then the low music that had been slowly drifting from Hiccup's office really picked up.
She had excuses and she just used them,
She was the victim of unspeakable abuses.
Her husband was violent, malicious and distant,
Her kids now belong to the State of Massachusetts.
Fishlegs winced. "The Dropkick Murphys again. I guess no one's talking to Hiccup anytime soon." He gestured to her. "Let's go see your office."
Fishlegs opened the door for her, and she walked into the room. It was small, with a little desk with a drawer and a desktop computer. Sitting on the desk were also a keycard and a physical key. "Those are for you, Astrid. The drawer contains a Taser and pepper spray. The key is a master key, and I'll tell you what you need that for at 5 when we need to close up for the day. Anything else you need before you get started?"
Astrid nodded. "Why am I all the way back here? If I'm security, wouldn't it make more sense to be at the front of the building where I can protect all of you?"
Fishlegs nodded. "If you were here to protect all of us, that would be true. But you're not here to protect all of us, just Hiccup. The keycard system should keep all of us safe anyways. If anybody does get in here, your job is to secure Hiccup and escape. That's why your office is so close to his." Fishlegs sighed. "Anyway, I have work to do, so I should get going. Hiccup should calm down in a couple hours, so check periodically to see if his music has calmed down. Once it has, it should be safe for you to go talk to him. Make sure to knock, though. Hiccup hates being interrupted. I'll see you at lunch!" With that, Fishlegs walked out the door and Astrid closed it with a click. And just like that, she was alone in her office.
