Chapter 7 Astrid and Stormfly


Hiccup entered the hall, got his meal and sat at the corner of the hall as usual. The teens were having dinner together. Then snotlout decided to flirt with Astrid. She decided that she had enough of this and found another table to have her dinner. Hiccup remembered Toothless's words and there was a perfect opporunity to talk with Astrid alone right in front of him. He didn't know how Astrid will react. But he was quit that he wouldn't recieve a punch in the face if he said something wrong since he and she was close friend since they were small although not so much now.

He took a deep breath and took a sit right next to her. Astrid was surprised by this a little as Hiccup have the courage to sat right next to her in public. He would only talk to her when their peers weren't present.

"Good evening Astrid, how was your dinner?"

"Very good until Snotlout showed up. How was your day?" Astrid said coldly

"Quite good. Since I didn't do too badly dring the training and was able to remain unscratch after Snotlout and the twins decided to trick me again." Hiccup said cheerfully.

"You are getting good recently. I didn't know you have that kind of strength or the speed and agility before. You are nearly doing better than Fishlegs now. Then how could you be a screw up for so long?"

This was what Hiccup wanted. He wanted Astrid be curious about him so he could start the next part of the conversation.

"Oh, I started to train myself in the forest just like you three months ago."

"But you had improved yourself to such a degree which would take me half an year to made the same progress. You are hiding something Hiccup. I would like to know how you did it. Did you find someone to train with you?"

"Hey Hiccup, what are you doing to my girl?!" Snotlout stood up and shouted at him angily from his table.

"Just have a talk." Hiccup said claimly which seem anger him even more.

"She is mine. I was the only man allowed to talk with her." Hiccup could see Astrid clenched her fists.

"No, she is not yours! She is my friend why can't I talk to her!" He shouted back. Hiccup the useless just challeged Snotlout. Everyone in the Hall turned their attention to him, waiting him to get flatten. He saw Snotlout face turned red like he was going to explode.

"How dear you speak to me like that. I am going to teach you a lesson, Useless." Snotlout charged at him as he shouted. Hiccup dodge several punches and kicks and that made snotlout mad. He ran to a nearby table, grap a kitchen knife and threw it to Hiccup and Hiccup evaded it as well. Then a fist met Snotlout nose and knocked him to the floor.

"Enough Snotlout!" Astrid shouted at him and after she punched him. Everyone include the adults couldn't believe what happened in front of their eyes. Astrid just defended Hiccup, Hiccup the Useless.

"I am having enough of this asshole. Lets go." Astrid dragged Hiccup out of the hall and leaving many shocking faces behind.

Astrid brought Hiccup to the pathway which leaded to the Arena. No one guarded the place as it was escapedproof to dragons and why would someone go to the place at night anyway. Hiccup just wonder what Astrid was going to do? Astrid didn't stop until they entered the Arena. She turned around and gave Hiccup a nasty surprise.

" I will give you three seconds to prepare, then I am going to beat you." She said while dropped her axe.

"Wait!Wait! Astrid let me explain!"

"Three!"

"I am not flirt with you. I just couldn't stand Snotlout anymore!"

"Two!"

He sighed

"One! Ahhh!"

Thirty seconds later. Hiccup still standing without a black eye or bleeding nose.

"How come you become that fast in three months?! You are hiding something, Hiccup. You are trained with someone who is really good. Tell me who is that guy?" She said threatenly as she place a hand on his shoulders, tighten the grip and made Hiccup yelled.

"OKAY!OKAY! I tell you. That hurts. Yes, I was training with someone in the forest."

"Huh, finally admit that don't you. Answer my second question."

"I can only tell you if you answer my question." She was annoyed since it was she asked question in the first place.

"What is it?" She really wanted to met that guy who Hiccup was trained with so she can became a even better warrior, a little question was nothing.

"IF, I mean IF alright, I make it clear, if there isn't a war between humans and

dragons like they don't take our food or kill us, will you befriend with them?"

What kind of question is that. Hiccup could saw Astrid thought he was insane from her face expression. "I don't expected this but since you are Hiccup that make sense. Yes... I may be will. I actually really like Nadders if they don't burn me to ash or shoot spikes at me. What has this to do with if I can know the idenity of that guy?"

"Now, don't tell anyone the words I am going to say." She nodded. " He never told me his real name. He said I could call him Windwalker."

"Like he can fly. Go on."

He really can.

"He come from Føroyar, you know this place right."

"Of course I know. It is pretty far away. Why would he travel for days to reach Berk?"

"The people in Føroyar have befriended with dragons for the last one hundred years." Hiccup said slowly, making sure she heard every words clearly.

"What kind of non sense are you talking about?!"

"It is very real. I can show you now, here. That nadder who is locked is come from Føroyar and she won't attack us when I unlocked the cage. " He closed the main gate of the Arena and walked to the lever which control the door of the cage. He put a hand on the lever, ready to unlock the cage.

"Wait! Hiccup, what are you doing?! You are going to let the nadder out!" She shouted while picked up the axe.

"Yep, that is what I am going to do." Hiccup said claimly. He knew Stormfly won't harm them.

"Are you crazy?! We are going to get killed !"

"No, we won't, unless you charged her with you axe. The dragon will attack the biggest threat to it first. And you are the only threat here since you bring an axe and I don't bring any. You know you won't win a fight with a adult Nadder, so I suggest you drop down your weapon."

She dropped her trusted axe since that wasn't another choice available. Hiccup was right. She won't be able to win this fight since Gobber hadn't taught them yet. And Hiccup may be really up to something since he was so claim and relaxed.

Hiccup smiled and faced the door.

"Stormfly, do you hear me?"

"Oh Yes, I had heard everything and you should tell Toothless first before doing this. What if she told the others, we will all get killed!" Hiccup could barely figure out her words as the pronunciation was just so alike from Toothless's.

"I am sorry, but right now, can you walk out the cage untreatenly once I open the door. We wanted her to like us."

"You don't need to tell me that. I know what to do"

"Thank you."

From Astrid point of view, she could only saw Hiccup responded to a bunch of noises made by the dragons.

He turned to face Astrid and saw her stared at him like he was sick.

"I will explain everything after I introduce you to this nadder." Then before Astrid could respond, he pulled the lever and unlocked the door. The nadder pushed the door opened and stared at them. Hiccup, reached his hand to Stormfly and touch her snout, knew she won't mind that. He looked to his side, and saw Astrid froze up like a stone, like her mind was overpowered by all the things just happened in a minute.

He hold her wrist for a moment before he let go of it. He could felt Astrid was nervious from her pulse. "Stormfly, can you sit down, make yourself less threatening. I think Astrid is just too afraid of you." Hiccup said that on purposee and the nadder did what he said.

"I am not afraid of it...her !" Astrid hated someone told her she was afraid of anything. She took a deep breath and moved her hand slowly towards the dragon's snout, and the nadder inched her head forward to let her touch it."

"How does it felt?" Hiccup smiled and asked as he saw Astrid's fear turn to happness.

"I can't discribe it. It is just...amazing!" She said with excitment while patting Stormfly. " We are going to have a very long talk isn't it."

"Of course. Let's sit down first, it is quite long" They sat next to the nadder,and then he started his story about his friendship with Toothless. Astrid was so involved in his story, that she didn't aware she leaned against Stormfly's neck, used it like a pillow. The nadder however, dozed as she knew everything from her friends and found it boring to hear.

"That's all." He finished and then the two heard Stormfly's snore broke the silence. They faced the sleeping dragon and found it adorable.

"Isn't she cute when sleeping."

"She is." He patted the nadder gentlely, woke her up.

"You finally end. "

" Yes, I am. It is getting late now. Sorry I don't have a fish for you. I will come here this time tomorrow, and find a way to clean you."

"I can't wait! "

"What do you mean clean her?"

"Nadders are very proud of themslves. Well, their appearance specifically. They care about their beauity way lot more than any kinds of dragons. They will get depressed if they get dirty. She has been complaining about her scales not being shiny for three months." Stormfly gave a smile, well the best smile a nadder could give, agreed with what Hiccup said.

"Hey, don't you want to meet Toothless?"

" Of course I am, I really want to see what a night fury looked like."

" He was cute. But I need to tell him first. How about the day after tomorrow."

"Good"

Then Astrid hit him on the shoulder.

"That was for hiding scrects and scaring me." Then she gave Hiccup a small hug" That was for defending me from Snotlout words."

"Why did you try to beat me at first?"

"To test you ability, to see how good you actually are." What kind of logic is that? Girls are so difficult to understand.

"I always think you are a nice guy and you are way better than Snotlout, Fishlegs and Tuffnut. But I just couldn't hang out with you or protect you when you are bullied, because of your reputation as a village screw-up and mine is the opposite. I don't want to risk the name of my family and myself. I am so selfish."She said the last sentence with a sense of guilt. Hiccup blushed. They always hung out together when they were small. But Astrid stayed away from Hiccup in public and only talked to him when he was working in the forge after he got the habit of building inventions and brought disasters to the village. She isolated herself from the rest of the kids by training in the forest for hours everyday after her uncle Fearless Finn Hofferson froze in front of a Flightmare,. She made restore the pride of Hofferson clan became her mission in life, and playing with other kids obviously wouldn't help. She became the best shield maiden in the village but she was also lonely since no one hung out with her as she was too fierce and more importantly too mature.

" Its not your fault and I understand that."

" Thank you Hiccup."

"You two are a perfect match."

"What do you mean? "

"I bet several years later, she is going to be your wife."

"What?"

"Trust me. I am always correct when come to things like this."

"What did she just say?"

"Something you won't interested."

"Hiccup, what do you plan to do next?"

"I don't know. Give me a couple days, I will come out with one. Sorry Stormfly, I think its time for you to get back to the cage."The nadder got to her feet. Took two steps before she layed down again. "Good night"

"Good night" They said before Hiccup closed the door and locked it.

Hiccup went back home and saw his dad was inside.

" Oh dad...Did I do something wrong?"

" Son, you surprised me in the training in the last three months. You have improved a lot. So I gave you this." Stoick didn't know how to talk to his son. He throw himself into his duty and left little time for his broken family. He tried to act like a father instead of his chief in front of Hiccup but he didn't know how. He gave Hiccup a helmet.

"Wow. Thanks."

"Your mother would have want you to have it. Its half of her breast plate." He gave Hiccup a helmet. Hiccup didn't know a thing about his mother except she was kidnapped by a dragon and was a shame in the village for some reasons which were unknown to him.

The chief noticed his son was tired."Its quite late now. Good night son."

Hiccup remembered something very important he needed to do.

"Wait Dad!" Stoick didn't expect this since his son avoid him most of the time let alone asked him.

"What's the problem?"

"What had happened when we settled down here three hundred years ago?"

"We drove all the dragons lived here away. Why do you ask this?"

"Nothing. Just asking." He forced a yawn, wanted to end this quickly. "Good night dad."

"Good night" Then Stoick close the door.

Things started to make sense now.