When Hiccup walked into his house with Toothless in tow, he immediately knew something was wrong.
His father was seated at his spot on the table, but his bowl of yak soup was untouched. He didn't look up as Hiccup approached him, his gaze remained fixed on his folded hands. Astrid sat next to him at the table, looking as confused as Hiccup felt.
"Dad? Gobber said you were looking for me, but he-"
"Sit down."
Hiccup exchanged a look with Astrid before taking a seat across from Stoick. Toothless shuffled over and plopped himself in front of the fireplace, purring contentedly.
"We have a situation," Stoick said, his eyes still glued to his hands.
"What's wrong, dad?" Hiccup asked, his voice catching.
Stoick finally looked up and locked eyes with Astrid, "Burp has requested your hand in marriage."
There was a moment of silence, and then the room exploded with the sound of Hiccup's chair crashing to the floor as he stood up,
"No."
Stoick's eyes flickered to his son,
"And that's what I told him. But he has his mind made up."
Astrid jumped to her feet, white-faced, eyes blazing, and shaking with fury,
"I won't marry him."
Stoick's gaze returned to Astrid,
"He threatened to start a war-"
"Let him," Astrid snarled, pounding her fist on the table, "We've got the dragons, we can take him!"
"Astrid," Stoick said firmly, "The Bone Breaker Tribe is our longest standing ally. We can't afford to have them turn enemy. Think of what you're saying!"
Astrid glared at him in silence.
"There has to be a way to reason with him," Hiccup said desperately.
"I tried," Stoick said, "he won't hear it."
"Let me talk to him," Hiccup suggested.
Astrid's suddenly pounded her fist on the table again,
"I'll kill him. I will kill him!"
Hiccup quickly took a step towards her,
"No one is killing anyone," he turned towards Stoick, "When did he say he was leaving?"
"Dawn. He went to the docks to ready his ship."
Astrid jerked out of Hiccup's hold and made a move towards the door, but Hiccup effectively blocked her,
"Move," she snarled.
"No. Let me go talk to him-"
"I'm going to talk to him," she spat.
"No. I'll-"
Astrid unsheathed her axe,
"Don't make me do it."
Hiccup eyed the blade uneasily, and from his place on the hearth, Toothless growled.
"Enough," Stoick said angrily.
Both heads instantly whipped in his direction and Astrid glared at him,
"Chief-"
"I said enough. Hiccup," he turned towards his son, "If you go to talk to him he'll think you're trying to overpower him. Let Astrid go. Maybe she'll be able to talk some sense into him."
"You're kidding," Hiccup said incredulously as Astrid pushed her way past him and made a beeline to the door.
"But the axe stays here," Stoick called after her.
She froze and turned around, glaring.
"I don't think so."
Stoick glowered at her,
"If you hurt the Bone Breaker's future chief we'll have a lot more than a war on our hands. The axe stays here."
Astrid glared at him for a few more seconds before throwing her axe angrily to the floor and marching out the door.
Hiccup watched her go, a pained expression on his face,
"Let me go with her-"
"No," Stoick said sharply "I already told you, you need to stay here. Any kind of confrontation and Burp will think you're trying to override his authority."
"But what if he-"
"Astrid can handle herself," he said firmly, and there was a note of finality in his voice that Hiccup didn't dare contradict.
*~*11*11*~*
AN: Sorry for the short chapter! I wanted to set the scene before I go any further. Don't forget to review! :)
