Very short chapter but it had to be done. A little hint for the next chapter: Something to do with a hammer. Thanks for reading!
Hiccup held his hands over her eyes. This would be tricky. How would she react to being in the air? Flight was a tale that people tell little kids to shut them up. Well, at least that worked with Hiccup. Astrid tried to sneak a peek but Hiccup's hands covered her eyes entirely. He slowly maneuvered her over to the control room. Most of the room was made of glass so she should be able to get a good look without freaking out. Or would she? Better than taking her up to the front deck. He moved her until she was right next to the window then he removed his hands. Astrid's first reaction was shock, then a very un-vikingly scream. She jumped onto Hiccup, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms wrapped around him. Hiccup actually didn't mind this, "WHAT THE FUCK? WHY ARE WE SO HIGH?"
"We..." Oh gods, how should he say it, "We are in the skies."
"NO SHIT! HICCUP, GET ME DOWN FROM HERE. GET ME BACK ON THE GROUND!"
"Umm… No can do, you see, we're in the middle of the ocean." Actually we're not, we're just a short ride from Berk, Hiccup didn't add, "I'm going to put you down now, okay?" Hiccup gulped.
"NO! NO! NO! DON'T YOU DARE!"
"It's okay Astrid, we're safe." Sort of, "I'm putting you down now. Just be calm and don't freak out. Just. Stay. Calm." Astrid calmed down, just a little bit. How was she up here? Hiccup was surprised at how well she was taking it. The last person he brought up here. Well, let's say Hiccup had a lot of cleaning to do. She shouldn't be that surprised, she did take the winch to get up here and she was conscious when that happened. Maybe the safety measures were a little too much? Nah, Hiccup thought to himself, "Now, would you kindly unwrap your legs from around me?" She did as she was told and she tentatively touched the floor, making sure it was solid under her foot.
"How is this possible?" She said quietly. Her heart was still beating in her chest.
"Science." Hiccup responded. She was taking this a little better now. I wonder how she'll react when I take her up to the front deck. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
"Why are you smiling?" Astrid looked at him, finally managing to tear her eyes from the ground.
"Oh, no reason. How do you feel?"
"About being in the air? Okay, I think."
"Good." Hiccup suddenly jumped and shook the cabin. Astrid screamed. Hiccup couldn't help but laugh. Astrid gave him a rough punch. She didn't enjoy that joke at all, "Oh fuck you."
"Ouch. You wanna see the rest of the place?"
"Sure. Just don't do that to me again." She seemed pretty calm now. Hiccup nodded and walked out of the Control room, Astrid right behind him. His first stop was the Inventor's Room.
He opened the door and ushered her in, "This is my Inventor's Room."
"Cool, what do you do in here exactly?"
"Um… Mainly I just mess around, maybe do an experiment or two." Astrid wasn't paying attention, her focus was on the various objects hanging from the ceiling. She grabbed the one that seemed the most interesting. She took it down and held it in her hands. The metal was cold against her skin and the object was light in her hands. There were no sharp edges, just a cylinder, a barrel and a handle with various switches and buttons. Hiccup was very concerned, very quickly, "Put that down."
"Why?"
"It's a weapon."
"This?" Astrid almost snorted. She had the barrel pointed straight at Hiccup and he was clearly uncomfortable with that, "This is a toy! Now, how does this work…" She fiddled around with the switches, she could hear Hiccup protest but as he did she flicked a switch and a gust of flame burst out of the barrel and headed straight for Hiccup. He ducked down, the flames missing him but he could smell singed hair. The flames scorched the wall behind Hiccup, turning it a dark black. Astrid was rooted to the spot, speechless. Hiccup stood up and yanked the object from her hands, "This is a flamethrower. I don't suggest you keep playing with it." He scorned her. He talked to her like an adult would to a child. He put the flamethrower back and he motioned towards the door. Astrid walked out but as she did, she caught a glimpse of a suit of armor.
Their next stop was the engine room. Hiccup opened the door and Astrid felt as if there was an inferno behind the doors. The heat was unbearable for her and she quickly closed the door. She looked at him, her face red from the heat, "What's in there?"
"That is the engine room."
"It's so hot!"
"I know. I go in there every week." He was calm as ever.
"I don't know how you do it."
"I'm used to it. And that's about everything in here. You've seen the bathroom and I'm pretty sure you're very well acquainted with the bed. Anything else you want to see?"
"No, no, I'm fine. Um, Hiccup, can you drop me off back at Berk now?"
"Okay, I don't see why not."