A/N: Huh, wow, this one came... Hn, slightly quicker yet slower than expected? I dunno. And I'm surprised at how long it is, wow. Again, thanks for everyone sticking with me, and the awesome feedback! Even those of you who didn't review, I still know you're there, and it's really a nice feeling, especially since my stuff is so amateur and horrible. |D I'd also like to know if you guys like these longer chapter more, or shorter but more frequent. This one came rather quickly. And, uh, again, errors, please report, it'd be a great help! Just a note on the style as well- I think that the story'll be a mix of humor and seriousness, so there'll be lighthearted stuff like this in addition to action and stuff. Uh. Yeah? Hopefully it's not to bad, and sorry for such a long AN again! Please enjoy.
Astrid was such an idiot.
After her encounter with Hic-… the Man… She'd run off without even thinking about where she was, or what was ahead. Basically, she'd crashed through the woods trying to put as much distance between herself and a possibly murderous Hiccup, and then felt the ground suddenly disappear from beneath her feet. The rest was history.
So then comes the present, where she was stuck, here, in the cove.
Oh, yeah, and one tiny thing she'd failed to mention- she was a dragon now too. How she had failed to notice earlier was beyond her. Surely she should have noticed that she was running on four legs, or when everything had seemed smaller, or even the little fact that she had extra limbs hanging off of her now. Was it really that hard for her to realize that she'd become something that barely resembled herself?
And her dream…
Well, it was obvious now that her nightmare wasn't one at all. She had actually fallen from the sky, had been captured in a net, and became a dragon.
A dragon.
The one thing that Vikings despised without compare, herself included. And she had become one of them. The very thought made her skin crawl in disgust. She was stuck in the body of her worst enemy, as if she had committed some terrible, unwritten crime so severe that the gods themselves decided upon divine intervention. But really, what could she have possibly done to deserve this, of all things?
However, she would have to put that thought onto the side to mull over later. She had a more urgent predicament on her hands- it was because of her new body that she was stuck.
She was crippled, and also too big.
The one way up and out of the cove that didn't require flying was through a tiny, winding path up a rock cliff. She could have managed that herself in her new form, but the opening and way out could barely fit over her shoulders. She had tried flying. The whole thing had come naturally to her, an instinct, but the moment she could almost touch the top with her nose, she'd fall.
It was all thanks to a fin missing on her tail.
She was sure, if she had that missing body part, she could have flown up and away. How she had ended up with one short, she hadn't the faintest idea.
But then again, if she made it out, then what? Berk could never accept her in this new form. They'd kill her on sight. Heck, with her luck, she was probably a Night Fury and the very dragon the entire Viking population coveted to kill. It wasn't as if she had blanked out for a helpful couple of years, and then happily prance back just in time to find that dragons and Vikings had become best buds while she was away.
The day that Berk restrained from killing a dragon would be the day that a dragon saves a Viking. Peace was completely out of question.
Astrid huffed in exasperation, flopping down beside the lake located within her prison. Her stomach gurgled, complaining at the lack of food. She would starve to death, no glory in her final moment. To think that Astrid Hofferson would meet such a laughable end. She'd hoped to go down fighting, and with a chance for Valhalla. Definitely not as a starved dragon possibly doomed to wander forever.
She groaned in frustration, angrily blasting a nearby bush into a crisp. She knew she shouldn't be venting onto a defenseless shrub, but she was a dragon now, so to Hel with it. Although she had to admit that wielding the power of 'lightning and death itself' was rather entertaining. Quite an upgrade from ax-throwing, if she did say so herself.
However having the ability to raze villages and bushes to the ground wasn't helping her catch any of the stupid fish. They all swam teasingly close to her face before darting away the moment she tried to nab them with her claws. She hadn't quite realized the importance of thumbs back when she was a Viking, and she mourned her loss bitterly every time a silvery guppy slipped away from between her paws.
She moped, glaring at the source of her hunger.
Suddenly a cascade of pebbles spilled down a cliff edge. Astrid's attention snapped to the source.
The path.
But there was nothing at the opening.
She squinted into the shadow. Had there been a flash of metal, or was it just her imagination?
And then she smelled something.
Something salty, with a pungent smell like brine- something delicious. It made her mouth water uncontrollably.
Fish.
Fresh salmon, out of the water.
Astrid closed her eyes, drinking in the delicious, delicious scent. She could practically taste the soft flesh on her tongue, and she almost giggled despite herself. Ew, that couldn't be her, right?
The things starvation did to the mind.
But the smell beckoned, and Astrid followed her nose blissfully.
She turned around, and was met with a clearing of a throat.
Astrid found herself face to face with a disgruntled Hiccup. The new version.
She knew she should have been embarrassed- or at least something- but her hunger commanded attention and her gaze immediately slid to the scaly thing held in his hands. A salmon. Her nose was not mistaken.
Her stomach gurgled to her, mentioning in a not-so-discrete way that it wanted that fish, and now.
Astrid leaned forward, the fish within reach, and-
The gleam of metal.
Astrid jumped back, lips pulling back into a snarl in defense. What had she been thinking? He must have realized his mistake of letting a dragon free and had come back to finish the job. Any Viking would jump at the chance to slay the mightiest of dragons, and to think that this boy could be any different was just insan-
He held his hand out in a gesture of peace. The side of Hiccup's mouth twitched in what might have been a lopsided smile. Flipping the fish to his other hand, he unsheathed his sword. Spinning it in his hand, he embedded the tip into the earth before flopping down beside it. He met Astrid's incredulous look with a sigh. "I haven't poisoned the fish." Astrid stared at him some more. Hiccup glared at her. "Well, are you going to eat it or not?" He snapped.
Well, if that was how he was going to play it, Astrid was not going to respond to intimidation. She sat down right where she was, not making a move for the tantalizing salmon. She'd find a way to catch those pesky fish herself for sure. Even if it wasn't salmon. And if she starved to death, hungry or not, she wasn't going to bow down to some immature, mopey teenager. Astrid fixed the Viking in front of her with her most defiant expression.
For a moment, he looked like he was going to crack a smile. "You're a stubborn one, aren't you?" He looked like he was about to say more, but decided against it.
He studied her for a moment, and seemed to come to terms with something. He made a face before taking a bite out of the salmon's side. And immediately gagged. Heh. Wuss.
"See?" he mumbled past the salmon, probably trying very hard not to bring up his lunch. "Delicious." He gave her a thumbs up, a bit green in the face. If this wasn't Hiccup, she'd have to introduce them to each other. But Astrid couldn't stop herself from torturing the poor Viking a bit more.
She raised a brow, feigning an unimpressed look. Hiccup deadpanned, as if wondering if this dragon could possibly be serious. Astrid bobbed her head, prompting him to go on with wide-eyed innocence. He looked like he was about to die. Nonetheless- and still with much difficultly- he swallowed.
Astrid keeled over, laughing. She could barely breathe, and was shaking so hard she doubted she could stand.
Hiccup made retching noises, and fixed her with a glare. "You evil reptile!" He proclaimed, throwing the rest of the salmon at her head. It completely missed. This sent Astrid into another fit of silent laughter. She was practically rolling on the ground now.
"Come here, you!" he roared, scrambling onto his feet. Astrid batted the salmon at him before prancing away, still laughing. Hiccup slapped the fish to the side, bounding after her yelling bloody oaths and promising to chop off her head once he caught her. She slapped him with her tail in response. He tackled her, and she gave a dramatic roar before flopping onto her side.
"Take that!" He yelled, whapping her firmly on the shoulder. Astrid roared again, flailing her paws and batting him aside in a show of faux anger and pain. He rolled, scooping up the discarded salmon. "En garde!" He shouted, brandishing the fish at her. Astrid shrunk back, giving a screech and hissing at the fish as if it were a real sword.
"Begone, foul beast, if you value your life!" He announced. Astrid huffed, and promptly chomped on the salmon, tugging it out of Hiccup's grasp. She ate it, and looked at him smugly. Again, he almost smiled, if looking rather sick while he was at it.
"How can you eat that?" he asked unbelievingly, scrunching up his nose in half mock disgust. She stuck out her tongue. It tasted just as good as mutton stew to her. She'd make a note to try raw salmon if she ever became a Viking again.
The edge of his mouth twitched, once again almost becoming a smile, but not quite.
Why did he keep doing that?
Astrid slowly grinned, as if making an example with step-by-step instructions might cause him to smile- or teach him how to do it properly, if he really was that clueless.
Instead he tilted his head, suddenly very curious. His eyes were fixated on her mouth- more specifically, the inside of her mouth. What, was the inside bright purple or something? Astrid was irritated and slightly uncomfortable under his careful scrutiny. Surely he'd seen a smile before.
"You're toothless?" he muttered. Astrid almost missed what he said, but when she realized, she started to panic. She didn't have any teeth? How could she not have any teeth? But then something shicked, and Astrid felt her fangs sliding into place out of her gums. Huh. Weird. Well, that was a cool perk, but she wasn't particularly worried about what her mouth could do.
Hiccup, on the other hand, was absolutely fascinated. He was saying something and reaching towards her. Astrid was, at the least, feeling rather awkward about the whole thing and snapped her mouth shut. Hiccup stopped abruptly. He turned away awkwardly, as if searching for something to say to excuse himself. His hand was hovering only two inches away from her face.
Astrid could feel her pupils dilating almost impossibly wide. The space between them seemed to vibrate with energy. When she didn't retaliate, he hovered uncertainly nearer. Astrid closed her eyes, and gently pressed her nose to his hand.
What was she doing? This, right here, has got to be the most awkward thing she'd ever experienced. It was outlandish. It didn't make sense. She didn't know why she did it. She had never seen anyone else do it, either. However, at the same time, it just felt natural. Something had prompted her to do so, like an instinct but not quite. She suddenly felt his gaze on her.
Opening her eyes, Astrid drew back, meeting Hiccup's quizzical look. Well, she barely had an idea herself. But he seemed to be thinking about something else deeply, standing rather rooted to the spot. He was contemplating something important, that much was obvious. Ready to wait for quite some time, Astrid sat down, tail curling around herself.
Suddenly, his eyes shot to her tail, and his eyes seemed to light up.
"Stay here," he blurted excitedly, his eyes lighting up. "I have an idea."