New Traditions

Most of the forge work had been completed, though Hiccup still spent long hours by the fire pit, sharpening swords and picks. Mornen had requested that her route to the next life be over the sea, and they were going to try to break the ice enough to allow her that journey. Everyone brought their strongest weapons to the forge, and Gobber and Hiccup sharpened every piece to a deadly gleaming edge. If there were enemies other than the ice that day, those enemies wouldn't stand a chance.

That morning, he'd finished the sketches of Mornen, so he found Astrid in the great hall during dinner so he could give them to her. She was at the end of a bench, but she moved over and made room for him so he could sit with her.

Pushing her plate aside, she looked at the drawings Hiccup handed her.

"Oh, these are…" she trailed off, looking closely at a sketch of Mornen standing with Gothi during the last Thawfest. Hiccup had drawn them looking at one another, and their usual expressions of wary affection made Astrid smile.

"My mother is going to love this."

She turned to the next one. This sketch had Mornen in her garden again, her hands on her hips, frowning down at a plant. Astrid started to laugh, and covered her mouth.

"Dad and I visited her once, and she was yelling at her garden," Hiccup said, looking over Astrid's shoulder at the papers she'd spread out on the table. Astrid glanced up at him, still smiling, but with tears in her eyes. He felt awful.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"No, Hiccup. It's good. It's ok. These are perfect."

She turned to the last paper, the smallest one. On it, Mornen was sitting in her chair next to her front door, looking down the hill with a somewhat sour look on her face, ready to greet whomever was making the trek up the hill to see her with warm biscuits and wry comments. Astrid sighed.

"I saw that expression so often."

"Me, too," Hiccup said quietly. "Every trip up that mountain."

"I think we all did," she replied. She flipped the paper over. "It's not signed?"

"No, you said you didn't want to give it to...whoever yourself, so I figured I shouldn't sign it."

"Oh, no. This is yours. Please sign it." She passed it back to him.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

Hiccup took his charcoal from his pocket and turned the page over. Turning the charcoal so the narrowest edge faced the paper, he drew a tiny H and wound the 3 through it. He blew the dust away, then passed the paper back to Astrid.

"This is perfect. He won't -"

"He?"

Astrid closed her eyes. "Thor almighty. What is wrong with me?"

Hiccup was usually honest with himself, and though he didn't like that she wouldn't tell him who the drawing was for, it didn't matter, really. He trusted her, could always count on her honesty. If she didn't want to tell, she had a good reason, and that was enough. Astrid never used lies or tricks to get what she wanted. He always saw her coming, trying to be fair in everything she did. Even if she was trying to kick his legs out from under him, she told him why. And she always faced him when she did it.

Hiccup shook his head, shrugging. "It's ok, I know. You can't tell me."

He could probably make her tell him, nudge her until she confided in him, but he didn't need to. He could guess - he already had a pretty good idea.

Astrid turned her head and looked at him closely. He still felt that buoyant joy when she looked at him, knowing that she saw him clearly. Even now, when sadness covered everything like ice over the sea, he had to work to conceal how he felt when she held his gaze and focused on him. He didn't know what she saw on his face, but her frown disappeared.

"Thank you."

Hiccup didn't think she was talking about the drawings, so he couldn't stop himself from asking. "What are you thanking me for?"

She paused, still watching his face carefully. He was going to start turning red if she didn't stop soon.

"For being kind. Being you."

Too late. He could feel his face heating up.

He was no less confused, but he replied. "You're welcome."

…

The next day brought another meeting, because their attempts to break the ice had failed. Stoick brought up an older tradition, burning within the boat on a far side of the mountain. Gothi frowned, but didn't reject the idea outright. She looked toward her family, who clearly felt the same conflict. Astrid stood in the same spot as the day before, and looked up at her mother. It was not what Mornen had wanted, but it wasn't possible to wait until the thaw, either.

"I know this is difficult, and I am sorry for it," Stoick was saying. "But we cannot break the ice."

Suddenly Hiccup sat up straight. "Wait a minute."

Stoick looked at him, surprised. Hiccup didn't speak up at council without careful thought first, and usually after bringing his ideas to his father first so he could introduce them to the council. Seeing Hiccup interrupt a discussion was a rare event, but Stoick gestured for him to continue. Astrid saw Hiccup swallow hard once he realized the attention of the council and of the rest of the village behind them was focused on him. The silence of their expectation seemed painful, and Astrid knew he was berating himself for speaking before thinking first.

Hiccup turned slightly away from the council, and faced Gothi.

"May I make a suggestion?" She looked at him with eyebrows raised and lifted her palms toward him.

"What if…would it be acceptable if the dragons flew the ship to the open water south of us? If we all rode, and the strongest dragons carried the ship to the water, we could bring Mornen to the sea, just… not the sea here at Berk."

Gothi frowned, and a murmur spread through the crowd as the people in the front shared Hiccup's suggestion with those who hadn't heard him.

"If Mornen wanted to go by water, we can bring her to the water," Hiccup said to his father. "The ice didn't arrive in the harbor too long ago. We should be able to find the edge of the ice covering within a half day's flight."

Stoick nodded slowly, considering the idea. "Can we carry the ship?"

Hiccup looked over at Gobber, who wore an expression similar to Hiccup's when he was calculating something in his head.

"Aye, we should," Gobber replied.

"What would we need, then?" Stoick had folded his arms across his chest, one hand pulling at the braid on his chin.

"We may have to make more chains and borrow ropes from the fishermen, but it can be done."

Stoick looked back at Hiccup. "Can the dragons lift the ship? Are there enough?"

Hiccup was writing something in his notebook, and didn't look up.

"Aye," he replied, imitating his father and Gobber without realizing it. Stoick jerked back and glanced at Gobber, who tried not to laugh. Hiccup looked up at his father again, unaware of what he'd just said. "They should be able to, if we balance out the weight across different breeds."

Then Hiccup turned his head, looking over his shoulder. "What do you think, Astrid?"

"Absolutely, they can," she replied, pushing her hair out of her eyes with the back of one hand.

The murmur grew as everyone talked at once. Dragons flying the ship to the sea was far outside the tradition, but it allowed them to honor Mornen's wishes. Astrid wasn't able to hear everyone from where she stood, but the collective tones of their voices seemed curious and thoughtful, not angered or outraged.

Stoick stood and held up his hands for quiet. He looked over at Gothi, who again looked at her family, this time with a pleased expression. Then Gothi turned to Hiccup and Stoick and nodded her agreement.

"It is decided," Stoick said. "We will fly Mornen to the next life on the backs of dragons, and bring her to the sea. Who is with us?"

The room erupted with voices echoing in agreement, and Astrid heard her mother taking in a slow, serrated breath behind her, trying to hold her in tears. She knew the feeling, so she didn't turn to look.

Then Stoick turned to Hiccup. "You have something to add."

It wasn't a question.

Astrid's eyes widened, and her breath halted in a short gasp. Hiccup had been looking at his notebook, eyes unfocused, lips moving slightly, probably calculating the length of chain and types of dragons needed, wind speed, optimal flight route, and anything else he considered important. He was not paying attention, and when his father spoke and the room fell silent again, he looked up and froze. His cheeks stained red, and she saw his shoulders slump inward slightly, his instinct to fold in on himself and look at the ground.

But Stoick's statement offered no alternative. He expected Hiccup to speak. So Hiccup stood, and Astrid saw his fingers go white as he gripped his notebook.

He cleared his throat, lifted his shoulders back, and took a breath. Astrid pressed her fist against her stomach, imagining Hiccup must feel an even bigger knot in his.

He wasn't interested in speeches, Astrid knew, though he was growing used to speaking to larger groups. At the academy, he rarely went for inspirational talks, but was always practical, explaining how everyone could do what he did. This moment was no different.

His voice didn't carry as far as Stoick's, but he did his best.

"W- we look after each other," he said. "We look after Mornen now, because she looked after us."

Behind him, where he couldn't see, Gothi nodded, eyes narrowed in a way that always made Astrid nervous. Hiccup continued, after clearing his throat.

"We take care of the dragons, and they take care of us. We're all p-part of Berk now. So it's fitting that we fly Mornen from the backs of our dragons, and bring her to the sea. We can do this, for Mornen, if we work together."

Gothi tapped her staff on the stone floor, creating a cracking sound that made everyone look at her. She nodded firmly.

"Aye," Stoick echoed. "Let's get to work."

Hiccup sat down in a hurry, blew out a breath and rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. Then he opened his notebook and started writing, probably listing all the equipment they'd need for each dragon. Astrid could see his ears and neck were very red, and he'd allowed his shoulders to slump forward so his body curved above the table, so he took up less space.

Astrid felt awful for him, and was increasingly angry on his behalf the more she thought about it.

She didn't think to clear her expression when Stoick turned to leave. He caught her glaring at him, and his eyes widened in shock. She looked down at the floor quickly, but not quickly enough.

Oh, Gods.

That was not good.