Q-A: Who else feels sadden by the two-week break of Dragons: Defenders of Berk? D; I'm telling ya; Cartoon Network is making a big mistake with that choice. But hey, at least I am still updating am I right? XD It's not the same but at least it's something. Thank you all very much for the 40 reviews! And let's not forget the followers and favorites; they're all very nice too. The song that inspired this chapter is At the End of August by 36 Crazyfists.
Disclaimer: None of this is mine. The story idea IS mine but the characters belong to Cressdia Cowell and Dreamworks respectively.
At the End of August
August 25th 2010 (Berkenshire Secondary School, 7th Period English)~
"So are yoo jus' gonna be quiet like yoo were this mornin' or actually tell me something." Ruffnut half-whispered to Astrid. The Thorston girl, along with the rest of the gang, had apparently held some concern for the Hofferson girl since that morning.
The shorter blonde held back an irritated grunt. Astrid was not in the mood to talk. She rarely was until recently. Her visit to Haddock Castle left Astrid with a lot to mull over. Out of all the inklings Astrid had pictured in her head, she never once thought of, well someone actually residing inside the castle. Everyone in town knew to stay clear of the place and yet that boy seemingly paid no heed to the law. He acted like he was. …comfortable with living in those kind of conditions. No sane person in his or her right mind could be comfortable living like the way Hermit did, and yet he was completely casual about it all. Well, at least from what she noticed from yesterday.
He's definitely hiding something. Astrid thought. Something that I am going to find out. It was the first plan she had come up since the other night. Her mind had been in a daze from the experience she had at Haddock Castle. It was only until she finally returned home that her thoughts weaved into place again, and she could properly formulate a plan. Her plan so far was to learn more about Hermit and find out the truth of who he really was. The first thing she would need to do was earn his trust in order to get the boy to lower his guard on her.
That shouldn't be too hard from the way he behaved yesterday. He acted nervous around me, like he was afraid he would say something insulting. Hermit's a cheeky devil, but not some silly ass… well maybe a little bit perhaps. Astrid felt her lip nearly curl into what appeared to be a smile. Me? Smiling over some boy?
And with a boy she only met the other day? Oh no, not me…
"-strid, ASTRID!"
"Wh-wha," Astrid started with a dazed expression. Around her, the sound of snickering was heard. Her ears turned a slight pink.
"Thank ye, Ruffnut fer giving yer classmate a wake-up call." Gobber expressed gratitude to the female Thorston. He gave Astrid a raised eyebrow out of interest but continued not speaking directly at her. It was uncommon to see the usually determined girl zone out of class studies; this was new even to Astrid. "Now as I was sayin,' at the end of August yoo lot will be startin' on a reading project."
Collective groans replaced the snickering.
"Wait a minute, read?" Tuffnut exclaimed in outermost horror.
"While we're still alive?" Ruffnut followed suit with her head dropping in despair.
"What's the point of reading when the stuff the books tell you the stuff to do?" Snotlout lamented in a manly way.
Astrid heard Fishlegs being the only one showing some form of joy over the project while she decided to keep her feelings to herself as always. She honestly had no ill strife with a book report, a lot less than the whole damned journal assignment at least. All that was needed to do was for her to find a book, write out the 'special meaning' it was conveying, which could be found and easily altered from SparkNotes. Then later conclude what chapter spoke the most to her (read heavy sarcasm).
"This year the book report is goin' tah be a wee bit different from the ones yoo all might be used to." Gobber resumed after he silenced them all with his hammered arm again. "The book yoo need to read will be of yer choosin,' but it must be over 250 words and the pages worth being two and a half. It's all in the assignment sheet I'll be given ya before the end of class."
The groaning resumed again.
The rest of the class period carried on until the bell eventually rang. Bashyball practice returned with a triumphant uproar from the group when Gobber announced the bashyball was returned to his office the other night. Astrid was given a few richly deserved thank-yous for that accomplishment. Sadly the crushing and bruising had to come to an end when practice was over. The sweaty teammates dispersed to the showers right after practice.
"I was jus' havin' fun when Gobber blew the whistle." Camicazi said unhappily, wringing her hair dry with a towel.
"Yeah, why did it have to end so soon?" Ruffnut agreed though hers sounded muffled, due
"Not soon enough," Astrid heard Heather muttered under her breath. The blonde rolled her eyes but remained silent. She didn't care what Heather and Fishlegs' views on Bashyball were. As long as she was allowed to continue playing it, Astrid was perfectly fine. So what if they didn't like getting bruised? A game can only be fun if a scar is gained from it.
"The worst part is with practice over, we now 'ave to start on our reading projects." Ruffnut griped before adding a word that would make Gobber blush. She stood by the mirrors along with Astrid and Heather fixing up their hair.
Camicazi chortled. "Sucks to be you lot."
Astrid smirked knowingly. "Don't act so high and mighty, Cami, yoo'll have tah do the project in a year's time like us."
The smaller blonde immediately ceased her giggling.
Ruffnut sniggered, "Good one, Astrid."
"It's the truth."
"A harsh truth." Cami' sighed.
Heather gave her underclassman a reassuring shoulder squeeze. "Don't listen to them. The project isn't all that bad."
Camicazi shook her head and raised her chin. "Who said I was scared?"
"No one I-"
"Nobody in Berkenshire is afraid of anythin.'" The young Bog girl struck a pose before reciting the town's oldest and most famous motto. "'Only the Strong can Belong.'"
"Here, here!" Ruff whistled on agreement.
Heather sighed. "I keep fergetting how things are different here then they were back in my old town."
"Getting homesick?" Ruffnut asked teasingly.
Heather furrowed her eyebrows for a moment before replying in a still voice. "Yoo know, I don' think I remember much about mah old village before moving here." The discusssion differed between the black haired girl and the two talkative blondes; Astrid continued untangling her hair. Her eyes stared into the mirror as she brushed her hair into a more manageable mess. She was so focused on her work that Astrid almost didn't notice the burning glass lantern behind her hanging on the wall. Astrid blinked in confusion for a brief moment and just as quickly as the lantern appeared… it vanished.
"Astrid," Ruffnut chimed, her timing impeccable. "That has got to be the twelfth time I call yoo out today and zoned out. What. Is. Going. On?"
Astrid inwardly scowled, angered that her odd moment ended when it did. "Nothin.' E'erything is fine. I jus' have a lot on my mind is all." Some part of that held truth, though the other half wasn't so sure.
"Well I was tryin' to ask ya if yoo were still gonna come with me to the school library toh get the books."
"I already picked mine out," Astrid fibbed. She knew perfectly well what Ruffnut was interested in. The Thorston girl never willingly went to the library unless Gobber, or some other unlucky soul, had the 'pleasure' of dragging her in themselves. Ruffnut wanted to talk about the second trip into Haddock Castle. While Astrid never openly promised to tell Ruff' what she exactly saw inside, she no longer wanted to after crossing paths with Hermit. It would've been so embarrassing to admit she made a mistake and thought some beanpole was more than a nuisance.
A nuisance who's head I bruised overzealously. That horrible feeling of guilt swelled inside Astrid again. She was starting to dislike that feeling the many times it came out today.
"Hate toh break it to ya, Ruffnut but I heard from Gobber that we can't go into the school library."
Ruffnut stared at Heather incredulously. "Why not?" Astrid did hear a premature sigh of relief from her friend though.
"Something about some renovations to fix up a pipe or something." Heather answered with a shrug from her shoulders, hinting she didn't know any more details.
"This doesn't prevent us from doing the project though," Heather adding, earning a strangled yell from the Thorston girl. "Gobber said we might have to try the town library for books instead. The boys will come with us after we get out of here since I told them already."
"Great to put us in the loop, Heather." Ruffnut did not sound the least bit pleased. Astrid nearly sighed in relief. So it would seem she and Ruff' weren't going to be alone at the library after all.
"Let's just get it over with," Astrid spoke up, straightened her hair to its proper form and walked to the door. Her classmates followed suit.
"Oi, wait up! Wait fer me!" Cami' shouted her clothes not all worn, unlike the others. She scrambled her things together in less than five seconds and went bounding out of the shower room.
Since practice, this time wasn't extended with a long lap exercise the gang walked through town with plenty of sunlight still streaming above the sky. The town's established marketplace was in its very center with the library not too far off. Thanks to the invention of the Internet and wireless interlinking, the library had seen better days. The building needed a new paint; dust covered various corners of the walls, and a few spider-webs could be seen.
"This place is awful for my asthma," Fishlegs complained. He coughed after breathing in some dust particles.
"Stay quiet, boy." A whisper broke through. The gang quickly turned around to see Harry Hartslicerson. He was usually seen as their school librarian, being very obsessed with keeping all his books in place. There were rumors that he had dogs to sniff after an overdue book and chase the poor soul that forgot to bring it back.
"I-I didn't know you worked here, Mr. Hartslicerson." Fishlegs stuttered.
The long bearded man clicked his tongue, looking more offended by the second. "Nay, I don't work 'ere. She does though." He jerked his body to his right to reveal a new shapely sight. A woman in her early twenties stood behind the school librarian in great contrast to his shorter, wider form. She was dressed in business suit-like outfit that should've been too tight to wear yet it did not seem to bother her in the slightest. Her red hair was tied in to a firm ponytail that almost reached her back from being so long. Despite being a rather beautiful young woman, she held an ugly expressionless mien.
"Ms. O'UGerly." The scary school librarian said his tone sounding forced.
"Tantrum," the young woman corrected her tone equal to the older man's.
Astrid could practically see the tension radiating from the two adults before her. In order to prevent an all out brawl in the library Astrid coughed awkwardly on purpose, gaining the two respected librarians attention.
"Ere, right." Harry straightened himself up, pushing his drooping beard under his belt (Astrid inwardly gagged while the others did show their genuine disgust) and hobbled past the students. He walked straight toward the same front doors Astrid, and the gang had only just walked through minutes before. He paused his procession long enough to glance at Tantrum before scowling and hurrying along his way. The doors were opened and closed with a large slam.
"Hi, Tantrum." Fishlegs waved shyly.
Tantrum waved halfheartedly. "Hullo. Gobber called me, saying you lot need some books fer a project."
The teenagers nodded accordingly. "Very well, I'll show ya the section fer the books that should fit the criteria jus' fine. I had tah do the project when I was still in school." She shuddered. "Never found much use fer it, despite mah current situation."
"Should I ask what the school librarian was doing in the town library?" Camicazi inquired though she sounded like she was asking something else entirely different.
Tantrum's usual frown deepened further. "Harry and mah Da don't always see eye toh eye with one another. Naturally Harry finds it unreasonable fer me to be handlin' a job he believes he should be doin.'" She turned left to one corridor of bookshelves to appear right in front of another wall of books. Tantrum causally walked to her left, going down another hall again.
"Tch, figures a man would think a girl can't handle things on 'er own."
"I think any woman can do fine by themselves," Snotlout started rather smoothly before messing it with getting ahead of himself. "But any lady can ask me fer an extra hand around," he didn't get time to finish when abnormally large book fell on his foot. Seconds later Snotlout whined while keeping his mouth shut.
"Snotlout goes after any woman with breasts." Astrid sighed with an eye roll.
Heather held back a laugh. "Funny, he doesn't show signs of interest toward Camicazi." She peered toward the shorter girl and couldn't help but notice the smug look on Camicazi's features when she looked at the pained Snotlout.
"Correction, Snotlout flirts with any girl that has breasts and is between the ages of fourteen and twenty."
Ruffnut overheard the two girls and snickered along with them.
"How much longer 'til we get there?" Tuffnut asked impatiently. While the almost-brawl earlier got his undivided attention for a few moments, it died down after the conflict ended, as well.
"Just a few ways and ah, here we are." Tantrum's lip held the ghost of a curled lip all the while she flourished her right arm toward an empty room. Well it wasn't exactly a room per say, more like three bookshelves surrounding a medium sized table covered with a few stack of books and several chairs partly tucked under the table.
"This should be a good place to start." Tantrum said, already making her way out of the non-natural room. "Jus' call if ye need anything."
"If she could hear us," Ruffnut muttered a few minutes later. She was in a rather stingy since Tantrum made her appearance, though Astrid couldn't blame her. Most women did feel self-conscious after coming across Tantrum. There was a reason she was the most sought after girl in her Seventh Year class back when the gang was still in Primary Three. Unfortunately, Tantrum was not only thr most perused woman, but also the most available with her father, Ug O'UGerly, being very overprotective of his daughter. Astrid could count with one hand of the number of steady relationships Tantrum actually held after she graduated. It didn't help Tantrum much when her father requested her to have the most isolated job in Berkenshire, which was being the librarian for the town's library.
Astrid was more than happy to know her father didn't get overprotective on her. They had an unspoken understanding that Astrid was more than capable in handling herself in a boy's weak attempt at flirting with her. Snotlout was so far the only guy not to wise up in to seeing that she wasn't interested in him. Since he was harmless in his own right, Astrid tended to ignore him and vent her aggression when Bashyball practice came around.
Bloody, but effective.
The rest of the half-hour passed unceremoniously with the gang settling with a routine of finding a book, vaguely skimming through the first pages, then chucking away before doing the whole procedure all over again. Fishlegs was the only one still reading the first book he picked up while Heather was reading the backs to inquire about the summary until she would find a book that would catch her fancy. Camicazi attempted (read attempted) to entertain herself by stacking large amount of books into a pile and played a haphazard game of Jenga. Fishlegs was so immersed in his book that he didn't even try to stop her. Astrid sat idly, watching her friends with no book in her hands. Astrid knew that her personal library did not have the exact books Gobber would approve to read since the project required a student to pick out a book they never even read before.
I might as well do something with mah time here. Astrid finally decided to leave the room. If she were in a library, it would be better for her to invest in the opportunity and actually go find a book.
"Where are yoo goin'?" Camicazi was the first to ask. Her Jenga stack toppled over Fishlegs by mistake.
"Gonna go look around fer a bit." Astrid responded without a beat.
"Didn't ferget yer book now did ya?"
Of course, Ruff' is wise enough to pick out mah lie. "I didn't. I was thinking about getting something else fer my interest. This is a public library after all."
With that said, Astrid left the others to their own devices.
Traversing through the makeshift halls weren't all that easy with no Tantrum to guide you. Despite that handicap, Astrid was not the least bit phased. She had been inside the library plenty times before with her mum; it was easy to find the front door. But of course that wasn't the destination Astrid was looking for. She was still searching for one book that would be at her reading level and fit the criteria for Gobber's appointed task.
There has to be one book here that is good enough to look over. Astrid thought in bitterness. Sadly she had no such luck. Most of the books she noticed were titled with the oddest of names; The Encyclopedia Barbaria, Swordfighting with Style, and even stranger, a book that looked like a manual on training a shark for a pet. Astrid always thought her village was different for once being a Viking's settlement, but now she was starting to believe there was something very bizarre going on.
She turned away toward a new area and started to go one way until something caught her eye. On the other side of the hall, a shelf's wooden frame stood opposite to the sill was the burnt stamp of a red circle showing a fish. Astrid stared at the image, curiosity getting the better of her, as her feet began to move on their own. While the last bookshelf clearly held a few oddities, this one, oh, this one, took everything else by storm.
One book bound with leather lay resting one a lone shelf. No other book could be seen in sight. The title was the first thing that caught Astrid's attention.
"The Book of Dragons by Bork Einarðr (1)? Weird name." Astrid observed while pulling the book from its place. Her eyes barely glanced at the cover before her eyes widened.
"One copy on Bowen's Book of Botany." Tantrum said while stamping the book's designated page. She handed it back to Fishlegs. "Have fun with that."
"Oh, it will be a very fascinating read I'm sure." Fishlegs replied with a smile.
"Yeah, yoo do that. Next!"
The line for the book checkout couldn't have been any longer to Astrid. For the first time in a long time, Astrid could remember; she actually felt impatient. She never felt more hurried in all her life. Sure she had those moments wishing one class would end quicker, but what normal teenager never felt that way? Astrid wanted the line to dissipate faster so she could get out of the library quickly. She didn't even care what the context of the book was. All that mattered was for her to take the book and go to Hermit for some answers. He had to come clean sooner rather than later.
"Astrid, yer next." Tantrum called out to the blonde. She quickly got out of her thoughts-the twelfth time that day-and walked down the front desk. Astrid then realized that she and Tantrum were the only ones inside the library.
"Yer friends already left," Tantrum explained, almost like she read Astrid's thoughts. "Most of them weren't happy being cooped up in here. Can't blame them really."
"You could always get a different job elsewhere you know." Astrid suggested.
Tantrum scowled. "Yeah, if my father wasn't being so-so, argh!" She slammed her hands on the desk, a small thump being heard seconds later. "I just want toh do one thing on my own fer once without dear old Dad telling me otherwise. Be grateful yer father allows yoo freedom, Astrid."
"Yer dad cares about yoo," Astrid replied, handing the book over. "All adults have a weird way of showing it, especially in a town like this."
"Ain't that the truth," Tantrum concurred. She looked at the book with her eyes squinting and pursed lips. The flaming redhead made the traditional 'no' gesture before handing it back to Astrid. "Put that where yoo found it and don't look fer it again."
Astrid was gobsmacked. "What? Why not?"
"This book isn't allowed to leave the library's premises."
"Isn't this supposed to be a public library? Yoo know a place where anyone can borrow a book an' keep it until the due date?"
"That book," Tantrum motioned toward the book's spine. "Has a red herring on the side. Any book with that symbol isn't allowed any removal from its location."
"Who came up with that dumb rule?" Astrid asked, exasperated.
"By order of the town council." Tantrum answered swiftly almost as though she had this conversation before.
Astrid was dumbfounded. "How can a book be banned if that damn thing is in the library?"
"No need to use language here."
"I'm jus' saying this whole thing sounds ridiculous."
"If yoo have a complaint, tell it to the council."
"Yoo mean Mayor Sköll? Because that's pretty much the whole council in a nutshell." Everyone knew that Sköll had the last say in everything. Arguing with him was out of the question. Sköll's word was law since everyone was too afraid to oppose him. But right now, Astrid didn't care for that. She was going to read the book in her hands and show it to Hermit. He had to see what she saw.
"Look," Astrid began in a softer voice. "I really, really, really need to check this book out. I heard what yoo said about this needing to stay in the library but please, please let me take it out this once. I promise I'll bring the book back when I'm done with it. Just this once bend the rules a little bit."
Tantrum looked at Astrid with a look that showed her usual embittered expression, yet held something else hidden. "Yoo really want the book that badly."
Astrid nodded, her stomach feeling heavier than rocks. "Yes, I do."
Tantrum glanced at the book in Astrid's hands before looking back at her again. "Don't think I ever seen yoo beg either."
Astrid forced her face to remain neutral before admitting, "Never wanted anything right now."
A small silence fell between the young and older adolescents. Both of them kept a steady gaze and never trailed their eyes off of one another. Neither one was the victor in this intense mental game. Only one would come out as the champion and claim the title of conquering hero for their own beliefs and-
"Fine yoo can take it. I always thought the rule was rubbish anyways."
….Or maybe Tantrum really didn't care for the same beliefs as Sköll. Clever girl.
Still Astrid felt hesitant and arched a brow. "Honestly?"
Tantrum nodded. "Aye. I hate the way Sköll thinks he owns and controls everything. He's more of a control freak than mah own father."
"So yoo'll let me have the book?" Astrid asked, hoping to change the delicate subject.
"Yes," Tantrum quickly grabbed Astrid's arm before speaking in a hushed tone. "Don't let anyone know what happened in here today. No one must know that I allowed this. I may not like Sköll, but I am afraid of what he could do to me and yoo should too. He's the sort of man that gets what he wants and does anything to keep it that way. Defying him is risky but I always wanted to punch that stupid grin off his bloody face. Be careful with that book, Astrid." Her gaze softened and for a brief moment her face appeared lovely. "I'd hate to see one of the kids I use to baby-sat get into trouble."
Astrid returned the stare in a similar matter, remembering the younger days of her youth. She remembered both the good… and the bad. She inwardly winced. "All right then. I promise I will bring this back as soon as I can."
"Yoo better." Tantrum warned though some teasing was still heard in her voice. Astrid gave the book back to Tantrum for her stamp only for the older girl to gently push it away. "The less noticeable marks on it, the better. Having a fresh stamp in the book will lead to questioning."
"Why, does the mayor look at these books often?"
The averted glance from Tantrum answered Astrid perfectly. No more words were spoken all the while Astrid walked off and made her way to the front doors. She turned around once to look at her former babysitter, in a silent manner of saying goodbye. Astrid unzipped her rucksack, placed the book inside, and walked out with the door swung right open.
8/25/10
Today I did something unexpected. I borrowed a book in an effort to understand a boy better.
-Astrid Hofferson
Similar to the last entry it was lacking in detail, but it was blunt and to the point, just like the girl who penned it. Astrid leaned over at her desk to pull out the Book of Dragons and looked at its cover again.
"What sort of secrets are yoo hiding from me, Hermit?"
The cover of the book was the same as the wax dragon stamped from Hermit's letter.
Q-A: O.O Duh, duh, duh~! Quite the ending line huh? How is 'Hermit' going to explain that one to Astrid? I apologize for the bits of dialogue that sounded more like exposition than anything else. I swear by the power given to me as a writer; it will all be strengthened by real events to prove it. I might even pull a flashback in the story, who knows… well I do but you all can't know what's going to happen next or else it will be a spoiler. Though I will say this, the next chapter will focus on Hiccup again in his POV and a familiar face will be making an appearance again. ^-^
And yes, Harry Hartsliceson is my take on the Hairy Scary Librarian from the How To Train Your Dragon book series. XD The last name is based on the tamed dragons he owns called the Heartslicers, and they do live up to the name. 'Harry' did make a slight cameo in the Going Down the Rabbit hole (again) chapter when he was the teacher that dragged Camicazi and Snotlout away when they made trouble before the mayor's speech, if anyone remembers that.
Keep on Writin' and Rockin'
(1) Einarðr is Norse for bold. XD I figured that it would be less… anachronistic that way. XDD Not that ever stopped HTTYD before.
