July 21
THE EMOTION OF jealousy, was an emotion Astrid seldomly encountered.
There were few girls her age on Berk, and none of them surpassed her in any aspect of beauty, strength, or most any other benevolent adjective. Astrid wasn't being cocky, just objective.
So, when she laid her eyes on the daughter of Big-Boobied Bertha - who, in all honesty, shouldn't be able to have such a daughter - she was surprised by the sudden rush of envy. It was a strange overwhelming feeling; she never felt the need to be any different than she was.
The young maiden had blonde hair. Not like her own, no, it was a lighter shade, almost white, with long curls cascading down her back. Her sharp light blue eyes wandered the room with a calculated, amused gaze. She was tall, taller than her by an inch or two. She had a curvy figure and Astrid immediately hated that; she herself was bony and lacked curves where one usually had them. She wasn't usually insecure and if so, she took it in stride; but someone who was perfect in every aesthetic aspect? That made her uneasy.
"Now, who's that?" Snotlout asked in a raunchy tone and Astrid rolled her eyes in disgust; Snotlout's courtship was definitely not something she envied, the heir of the Bog Burglars was free to take it. "Isn't that Bertha's daughter?" Fishlegs supplied and Astrid almost smiled at the soft, ever helpful, unassuming tone in Fishlegs' voice, that he had maintained all throughout the years without fail. "She's hot," Tuffnut commented and earned a punch on the upper bicep from his sister. "Ugh, boys are such disgusting pigs sometimes," Ruffnut complained and Astrid heard Cain chuckle beside her. She shot him a look, "Don't think you aren't meant as well." His smile faded and he gulped. Astrid smiled triumphantly.
"Uhh, guys, are any of you worried about this pirate, dragon guy?" Fishlegs asked, tearing his gaze from the girl, obviously concerned with this person's upcoming arrival. " I don't see why we should be. If he's coming for the dragons, he'll be disappointed to know we don't have any - anymore at least," Cain prophesied, "and if he's hostile, we'll show him not to mess with us, dragons or not." Snotlout barked in laughter, dismissing Cain. "If he comes threatening my tribe, he'll regret it!"
"Well, then you must be mightily powerful," a voice stated, "and stupid."
Snotlout's face scrunched up in anger and embarrassment and he turned around to lay his eyes on the verbal attacker. The valkyrie smiled at him. "You-"
"-are Camicazi. I'd say lovely to meet you, but I've never been one for trivial lies."
Snotlout seemed rendered speechless and stood there, mouth agape and blubbering like an fish out of the water. "God, if all men of Berk have this behaviour, I truly regret my decision coming here," the girl, Camicazi, ridiculed. "Camicazi, you will show the people of Berk respect!" Bertha barked at the young adult, who just dismissed the matter with the wave of a hand. "It's just some good natured fun between contemporaries?" Her eyes twinkled with a too dangerous glint of contempt for Astrid's liking.
Ignoring the gaping stares - if from anger, admiration or just pure confusion was unclear - she did not wait for an answer and continued on, "So, between us contemporaries, any of you actually have enough knowledge in that head of yours to tell me something about this dragon guy?"
Sharp blue eyes wandered across their faces and the girl sighed. Astrid wanted to deck the girl when she flicked her eyes across her in disdain. "A shame. I thought at least one of you could be informative. Ah, well, I have no time for this."
She spun around and left.
Astrid felt kidded and scoffed, "What in Vahalla was that?"
"I think I'm in love," Snotlout answered, completely oblivious and sighed, longingly staring at the massive doors Camicazi had just left through. Astrid rolled her eyes.
She was on good terms with Snotlout... well, relatively good terms. He could not help but make a pass at her every once in a while and she let it slide, not wanting to get into it for the millionth time. It had gotten better after all with time and Cain. He adored Cain. But who didn't? He was a troublemaker, but responsible enough. Intelligent and reckless, but caring. He was so much alike... Hiccup, she thought and felt a lump in her throat. She hadn't known Hiccup that well, she wasn't going to lie. But memories, little hints left an impression of this boy, who had been missing so long, the ache was dull and frustrating. Yes, Hiccup and Cain resembled each other in a certain way, but at the same time, they couldn't seem like more different kind of people. They looked nothing alike and while they had similar traits, but never in a million years would she say Cain was a copy of the presumably dead heir.
"Oh my God, what is Hilda wearing! For Gods sake, she's never going to get herself married if she keep on going like that, she's not that smart or wealthy; her beauty's gonna have to save her," Ruffnut muttered to Astrid, leaning towards her, her long blonde braids practically hanging into her plate and Astrid held back a chuckle. It seemed that, the more time passed, the more Ruffnut became less of a boy and more of a girl. A matchmaker with a liking for bluntness? Not a good combination. Gods, the time before Astrid's and Cain's relationship were the days of hidden feelings and little blushes and quiet stutters.
But one shouldn't be fooled; Ruffnut was as much of a dimwitted troublemaker with a want for destruction as always. Her and her brother? Resident prankers.
Astrid laughed at some joke Ruffnut made about her and the trader's son and swivelled her fork in her plate. To her left, Cain was in a deep conversation with Fishlegs, frowning and an exhausted look on his face. Cain was the strongest person she knew and she... liked him a lot for it. She searched for his hand under the table and squeezed it tightly. He sent her a loving look and she returned it.
Let this dragon king come; even if he was... him, she'd do anything to protect her home and the people in it.
Astrid felt nervous.
She hadn't felt nervous very often in her life and when she did, it was not because of reasons like this.
The wind was wild, the earlier summer weather gone from view; the waves at the port rolling in with mighty power and hight. A storm was brewing in the depths of Helheim and coming towards them. Or, as some said, it was just accompanying the someone that was coming from Helheim.
It was nerve wracking; important members of the two tribes had gathered at the docks, awaiting the arrival of the ships; Astrid didn't think her heart could beat as loud as it did when dark ships appeared on the horizon.
They neared at an alarming rate, and with all the wind, Astrid feared the ships might never even reach the shore, but reach they did. These ships were unlike anything Astrid had ever seen. With huge sails, dark wood and its sheer size, it was impressive than most anything. But, the by far most impressing thing were not the ships, but what moved them so quickly. Were those... dragons? What looked like heads, coloured red - blood red - bobbed up and down on the water; menacing red eyes matched the way they seemed to move: they were the predators and the people the prey. They resembled a small whale with red shimmering scales, but thinning out towards the end of their elongated bodies; fins decorated their skin, some - dorsal fins - raging out in a sharp arc; they owned wide and huge pectoral fins stretching out for 25 meters, with claws that had to be one meter long, and seemed so sharp and dangerous enough to slice the water apart; steam rose from their mouths, creating a fog-like hideout for their ships, truly looking like a fleet from Helheim.
The silence that had bestowed the people was broken by rushed whispers of concern and fear; the ships neared, they were only two and one might assume them non-threatening, but they were. They chilled you to the core with the pure power it radiated.
Astrid watched in silence, fingers tightening their hold on Cain's and she breathed in anticipation.
What if it was him?
The ships docked.
Astrid never knew that minutes could feel so agonizing; each second ticked by in an utter slow matter. The only thing to be heard was the howling of the wind, the lapping of waves and the quiet menacing growls and huffs of breath by the sea dragons.
The decks were empty.
It was unsettling, fog rising around the ships, no soul seemingly present.
"This is Stoick the Vast, Chief of Berk, show yourself!"
The Chief's words echoed in silence.
A person came into sight.
It chuckled.
It was a man. He wore black clothes made of leather, markings and cuts of knives deeply embedded; a sword his right hip, steel dark and the handle with a leather grip.
His clothes were tightly wound around his thin, but firm, body, calling attention to his broad shoulders and wide chest. What surprised Astrid though, was the face this man wore.
No green eyes, auburn hair and little scar on the right-hand side of the chin. No, it was grey eyes and a complete unfamiliar face staring at the vikings.
It wasn't Hiccup.
Astrid's heart sunk with grief.
Kind of depressing? Kind of disappointing? Kind of awesome (who am I kidding, it so is not)? Tell me your thoughts c:
So Camicazi and her tribe are from the books, but it is just the name and appearance (I think) that will be canon. I will no incorporate her story, or anything else, since I have never read the books. She was a character in the old story and I thought she might be an interesting element.
Hope this and that other little plot twist (a hint: grey eyes) surprised you!
Oh, and what do you think of Cain? I wasn't planning on getting so attached to him, but he's my baby now!
-flaminia