This may well have been the first time that the Chief of the Outcasts had sat at the Chief of Berk's table for a feast as the Great Hall was filled to the brim of Berkians and Outcasts. I guess, they weren't really Outcasts anymore, but they still seemed to like that title. Being an Outcast had led to Alvin's turnabout, though, from what Hiccup told me, I'm not sure he was bad as much as he was misguided. Alvin had made a mistake that lost a few lives and was banished for it, neither of those events can be chalked up to a good thing but at least now, he was our ally.
This feast stood less on ceremony than the one on the one-month anniversary of his father's death did, but there was still some ceremony to be had. After half an hour of eating and more than one round of mead across the adults, I heard Alvin from across the table.
"'Ey, Chief. Do me a favor 'nd get e'erbody's attention. I got somethin' I need to say." Alvin requested and Hiccup nodded, glancing at me with a confused but amused look.
Hiccup stands and raises his hands and without saying anything at all, the people quiet down and turn towards him. They'd grown to know he only speaks like this when its important, and to at least listen to what he had to say. It made me smile seeing the growing respect the people had; challenges aside, no matter what. There may be a few naysayers here or there, and problems in the future, but by and large, the people followed him.
"People of Berk! We owe this bountiful feast to our allies from Outcast Island, and I'd like to take a moment to just say that, while they are Outcast in name, they are not as a people. They are our allies and our family, and it's my honor to welcome them to feast tonight with us." He says with a growing layer of confidence. There is a hearty "Hear, Hear!" from everyone as he continues. "Now, with that said, Alvin the Tenacious, Chief of the Outcasts, has something he wants to say!" He says then looks to Alvin who stands awkwardly.
"Well, I'm no speaker like yer chief here. 'Nd I'll be right to me point! I know we rubbed a lot of ye the wrong way o'er the years, me in particular. But we'd grown stronger fer it!" Alvin says, surprising me by admitting his past like that. "I'm sorry I wasn't here when Stoick fell, 'nd can admit I lost a brother that day. But I want to make it known now that the people of Berk will always have allies on me island." Alvin adds and raises his class, earning another "Hear, Hear!" before lowering his hands and nodding. "Yer Chief, the son of Stoick, is as strong as they come and a true diplomat. May he lead well, to Chief Hiccup the Stalwart!" Alvin roars with his drink in the air. And I do not know what surprised me more, Alvin raising a glass to Hiccup, or seeing the roar of the people cheer with him. I glance up to Hiccup who is still standing with a now bright red flush on his cheeks as he meekly smiles.
"To the Hooligan and Outcast Tribes!" Hiccup counters earning a nod of approval from Alvin as he takes a seat again. Looking back down on the people, Hiccup adds. "Enjoy the feast!" He finishes and sits back down as everyone cheers and goes back to digging in their food.
Glancing at Alvin, Hiccup sighs. "I was not expecting that." He admits and Alvin just laughs
"Ha, ha, ha! I Know! Ye should'a seen the look on yer face! Priceless! Did ye all see that, yer chief, red as a lava pit!" Alvin laughs, prompting literally everyone at the table, myself included to laugh, even Hiccup laughed a little before nudging me.
"Hey, you're supposed to be on my side." He grumbles with a half-smile as I shrug.
"Oh, I am. But he has a point, babe. For someone who does not like public speaking, you're getting better at it." I say teasingly as he groans and pulls me in, planting a full kiss on my lips and sealing any further humor I might've tried throwing at him.
"Oh okay! We've officially crossed into disgusting! I was trying to eat!" Snotlout exclaims, throwing his hands up in protest at our display of affection.
"Then why ye watching the lovebirds." Alvin hoarsely challenged between a swig of mead, prompting Snotlout to grumble.
"They're like, right there. It's hard not to. Okay, okay, can we just, move on?" Snotlout pleads
"I don't know, man. You're the one making a fuss. Half the table is eating." Tuffnut shrugs, shoving a piece of mutton in his mouth.
Neither Hiccup or I cared, if anything, their bantering was amusing and probably called for. Cause we didn't break the kiss when Snotlout cried out, if anything, we pressed in further.
The feast went well into the evening and the Great Hall was bustling with conversations and laughter with the people of Berk mingling with the Outcasts. The twins and Snotlout are telling absurd stories about their heroism and adventures on the Edge to Alvin, but it's still making all of us laugh. Even Hiccup and I, are laughing as we drink and eat. Our chairs had moved closer and his arm is wrapped around me as we're turned, facing the fabled storytellers that are the other riders. Even Fishlegs was telling stories, though his were more down to earth in accuracy.
Looking for my mug, my eyes trace the crowd, and most are too busy with their own conversations to pay ours any mind, but I do notice a pair of eyes gazing at me from the sea. Looking further, I can see my mother watching me with a soft look. Like she was decrypting something or trying to work something out in her mind. I had been away from home for three days now, even Stormfly was resting at Hiccup's house. It must've been noticed by others, even if we were careful to wait till nightfall and disperse by dawn. It wasn't like we were sneaking around; we were just being discrete. No one would really try calling us out, with how many times we've saved Berk, and that he's Chief, we had a certain leeway.
But that leeway doesn't extend to my parents. Hiccup already seemed to have his mother's blessing to pursue more questionable time with me, but I can't say the same for my parents. Always so bent on tradition and being the best. It was my father who taught me to fight, and my mother who showed me strategy. It was their combined teamwork that I strive to emulate with Hiccup and in many ways, we do match if not exceed them.
I haven't actually faced the music though; I hadn't been back since leaving and I knew I would have too to collect those scales anyways. I may as well go tonight while they're filled with food and drink so it alleviates any anger I may face. It was usually better to have sensitive conversations with a mead-soaked parent than not, for it didn't make them belligerent, if anything it helped calm them when they are in their wind down phase.
Should I tell them more, where I have been? I would not tell them that we broke tradition, that was our secret, even if Valka suspected. But could I tell them my intention to stay with him going forward? Would they accept that or throw out all my stuff, would it spark a drama that spilled into the streets of Berk? All because a pair of passionate young adults could not contain their longing for one another. Which, to be fair, we could. We chose not to. We made the choice, we planned it. We knew what would happen at that spring and what it would mean, and we went anyways. We were not innocent in this, and if there were consequences, we would face them together.
I struggle to break eye contact with her but am fortunate that Hiccup's laugh distracts me as he pulls me closer. My gaze leaves my mother and looks to him and I just smile, resting my hand on his leg I squeeze tightly and laugh at nothing in specific. I had not heard the most recent story, but I could not let Hiccup see my concern. He had enough to worry about and I did not want him to think it was regret or doubt. It was simply concern over my parent's reactions. Nothing more. Tonight, was going to be interesting to be sure…
The feast was going well for the first real unified gathering between the two tribes. For all the rumors and stories, we were told as kids about the Outcasts, they were either exaggerated with bias or they had truly reformed their ways. Either way, these were people I had trusted, and would trust again, to help me defend my island. Dragons aside, having allies you can call on when times get rough brings a certain degree of comfort and peace of mind to oneself and it is not something I'll balk at. It is one of the reasons I try so hard to negotiate even with my worst enemies over attacking them outright. Even Drago, even after what he did.
But this was not a night for reminiscing, Alvin had made it a night of celebration in a solidified alliance between our peoples. And I was grateful for it. It brought to mind when I could expect Dagur, Mala and Heather to return. With Heather staying on Berserker Island, both Fishlegs and Snotlout's unorthodox romantical efforts towards Ruffnut was at an all-time high. Though something tells me Fishlegs would win out over sincerity versus Snotlout's obnoxious nature. He hadn't really changed since we were kids, and it had helped us in the past, but he could really stand to tone down the exaggerations. I remember when he was writing a book about how he felt underappreciated.
That said, as crazy as they were, they were my crew, my riders and I would not trade any of them for anyone. I've grown to trust them, even if they can be true pains in the rear at times. And the exaggerations were amusing at the very least during story telling times. Like now, Snotlout was recalling a time when he and I were stuck on Outcast Island when we were enemies of Alvin, and how he single-handedly saved the day. And it's sort of true, but there was enough embellishment that I couldn't help but laugh.
I feel Astrid shift besides me and tug on her shoulders, bringing her closer, her side pressing with mine. Her hand finds my leg and grips tightly, pulling me out of my train of thought and glancing over to her with a smile. She had a brief look of unease on her face that quickly vanished and was replaced with a smile. Leaning in, I peck her lightly on the cheek.
"Everything okay?" I say only loud enough for her to hear me over the roar of the people around us and she shrugs, rolling her neck and sighs a little bit.
"Yeah, I've got a feeling I'm going to have an interesting conversation with my parents tonight." She admits to me, prompting me to turn my head slightly and look at her.
"Why do you think that?" I ask, my eyes studying her face, a flicker of unease taking shape in my own mind. I know I didn't regret anything between us and was confident she didn't either. But her parents may not be as understanding as my mother is.
"I just noticed my mother staring at us amid everything with a look about her. Since I need to get the scales anyways, once this feast is ended, I'll be stopping at my house to face whatever she has to say." Astrid says, her tone quiet and somber, like she feels a degree of apprehension.
"Do you want me to go with you?" I ask, my hand finding hers and squeezing it tightly and she shakes her head, looking at me and smiling.
"No, Hiccup. This is something I'll need to handle alone. I imagine it's about you and I, and it's not like our relationship is some great secret like it was when it started." Astrid answers softly, returning my grip, though looking away.
"That was only to avoid any appearance of doubt while we dealt with the hunters, it wasn't even really a huge secret then, anyways." I reaffirm and she nods. Squeezing her hand, she looks at me and I smile. "Whatever you need, Astrid, I am by your side. If you need to do this alone, then I support you. If you think you should spend more time with them, than with me, I'll support you." I say softly but confidently, and she smiles, shaking her head.
"Whatever the outcome of this talk, I don't want to spend less time with you, Hiccup. And I don't want to go back to sleeping alone." She whispers, pressing her forehead to mine and I smile, nodding.
The night seemed to fly by after that, with Astrid and I never breaking our grip except to find a drink or piece of food here or there. Even then, our hands quickly found each other again and our chairs remained close. Near the end of the feast, as she was resting her head on my shoulder, Alvin bellowed a loud laugh.
"Alright-ey, then! If ye don't mind, I got a bedroll on me ship to crash on. 'Eh, Chief Hiccup. Ye don't mind us stayin' in port o'er night to sleep it off, do ye?" Alvin asks and I shake my head.
"You're more than welcome to, Alvin. I was going to recommend it anyways." I state and he nods, rising.
"Well then, good night 'nd I'll be seein' ye around. We'll be off early!" Alvin finishes and heads out, most of his Outcasts breaking their conversations apart and following their leader as he does. Thus sparked the break in the night, as the Outcasts filtered out, the Berkians followed suit with several people finding themselves yawning, their fatigue catching up to them.
Glancing down, I spot Astrid's mother gazing up at us briefly but once my eyes meet hers, she breaks contact and starts to make her way out with her husband. Astrid squeezes my hand and I nod. She saw it too, hopefully it didn't mean anything bad and it was a look of concern for their daughter and not anger. Looking at Astrid, I see her let out a breath and my finger traces her chin so she looks at me and I lean in, kissing her.
"Go, you know where I'll be if you need anything." I say softly, parting my lips from hers and she smiles.
"I love you, Hiccup." She says softly and I smile warmly.
"I love you too, Astrid." I answer, squeezing her palm as she smiles and nods, getting up and chasing after her parents. I take a deep breath and finish my own drink, closing my eyes and shaking my head slightly. I hope how close we have become doesn't cause problems for her, I want to help make her life enjoyable and happy, not challenging.
"Love has its hurdles, Hiccup." I hear my mom from the other side of the table. She's the only one still at the Chief's table with me, with only a few scattered Berkians still in the Great Hall, finishing up. Conversation down to various idle chatter. I nod and sigh.
"I just hope jumpable hurdles don't become impassable mountains." I answer her.
"Stay strong for her, and she'll stay strong for you. Come, walk with me." She says, standing and I let loose a breath. Apparently, it was time for my own talk; are mother's synchronized or something, this seemed almost planned.