Author's Note: Hey, hey, guys and welcome back to "Sticks and Stones!" =D I think that Astrid was probably one of the people who helped Hiccup learn how to fight other than his father, so I came up with this little one-shot. =) I hope you guys enjoy it! =D

Summary: Hiccup decides to take up sword fighting to learn how to be a better fighter. Who better than Astrid to teach him? (Pre ROB)

Teach Me

Hiccup's form was off.

His aim was off.

And to be frank, everything that he did with his sword was off.

Astrid stepped away from the young viking and leaned on her axe. She hadn't even broken a sweat unlike Hiccup, who was glittering with sweat in front of her. The young viking collapsed to his feet, and he raised his hand in defeat.

"That's it!" he wheezed. "I give up!"

Astrid shook her head. Hiccup could be overdramatic at times, but that was one of the things she was fond of about him. Unlike most vikings, Hiccup wasn't the best fighter. He didn't have the stature for it, and he lacked physical strength. The blonde wasn't surprised when Hiccup had come up to her one day, looking a little nervous as he asked her if she could give him some pointers and fighting tips. Astrid didn't know why Hiccup wanted to learn how to fight all of a sudden, but she didn't know why he wouldn't either. With his thin frame and less than strong stature, Hiccup would need to learn some kind of form of defense and combat if he found himself in a situation where he couldn't rely on Toothless for protection.

But that proved to be difficult. Hiccup hadn't touched a weapon in a while. And when he did, he nearly decapitated himself. It took Astrid and Hiccup a while to find a suitable, potent weapon. Luckily, they came across a sword of perfect size and weight. It just needed sharpening, and that was what Hiccup did upon discovering it. Once he finished preparing the sword, he and Astrid headed to the former Kill Ring to practice.

If there was one word that Astrid could use to describe Hiccup's fighting skills, it would be inept. Very inept. It seemed as if Hiccup had never laid his hands on a weapon in his life, but even though he wasn't very good with a weapon, Hiccup did a nice job dodging Astrid's blows. It seemed that Hiccup was more on the "flight" side than the "fight" side.

Astrid hoisted Hiccup to his feet rather roughly, ignoring his squawks of protest. The young viking dusted himself off, wiped his brow, picked his sword and asked, "So, how did I do?"

Astrid set her axe to the side and crossed her arms. "Do you want the blatant truth, or do you want me to butter it up for you?"

Hiccup scratched his head. "I guess I'll take the blatant truth."

"Okay," said Astrid. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and said, "You're terrible."

Hiccup stepped back, offended. "That's way beyond blatant, Astrid."

"It's the truth, Hiccup," said Astrid. She laid a hand on his shoulder. "Your form is really sloppy, and you're not very good at deflecting blows. We haven't even fought for that long and you're sweating buckets."

"We've been fighting for thirty minutes, Astrid," Hiccup pointed out.

"Not very long," Astrid said again.

"Yeah, for you," mumbled Hiccup.

The Hofferson sighed. "Hiccup, you know if we suddenly found ourselves on a battlefield, we probably wouldn't be fighting for thirty minutes. We'd have to stand strong, fight with everything we've got." She squeezed Hiccup's shoulder. "But don't worry, I'll help you improve."

Hiccup blinked. "R-really? But you just said that I was horrible…"

"And you'll get better with practice," said Astrid cheerfully. She pulled out her axe and brandished it. "Let's start with your form and posture."

"Right now?" asked Hiccup, close to a groan.

"Now," said Astrid firmly. Hiccup sighed and dragged himself over to where Astrid was standing. She paced around the auburn-haired teen and scrutinized him, which made him feel a little uncomfortable. Hiccup had been practically invisible when he was overlooked by Berk for most of his life; he still wasn't used to people looking at him so closely or even paying attention to him.

Still, Hiccup didn't feel the least bit fretful as Astrid looked him over. She was sizing him up. Collecting the subtle details of Hiccup's fighting stance that needed to be changed and improved on. Astrid couldn't remember the last time she had helped someone improve their fighting abilities. She had helped a couple of adults, a few of the young kids, but she found that she was rather…excited to help Hiccup improve in fighting. The two already shared a strong kinship with each other, and Astrid was more than happy when Hiccup came to her for help on fighting.

Astrid hummed a couple of times as she looked Hiccup over; the young viking didn't know if that was good or bad. She soon came back around, standing face to face with Hiccup, and she nodded.

"Your overall stance needs some work," said Astrid. She took Hiccup's hand—the one that held the sword—and positioned it in a more battle-ready position. Hiccup felt sparks as Astrid adjusted his hand.

"You want to look intimidating," said Astrid. "You want to show your enemy what they're going up against. You may not look like much, but that gives you an advantage."

Hiccup snorted. "How does being scrawny give me an advantage?"

"Your enemies will underestimate you," Astrid answered. She stepped away and told Hiccup to spread his legs, keeping one in the back and on in the front. Hiccup obeyed, and Astrid nodded when they were in a proper position, and then she continued.

"When people first look at you, they won't assume much. They'll think you're small and easy to pick on, so they won't hesitate to do their worst to you," Astrid swung her axe at her side. "If they immediately assume that you won't be much of a fight, you have the element of surprise on your hands. So, when they attack—"

Astrid suddenly launched toward Hiccup, swinging her axe blade toward him. The young viking immediately backed off and held up his sword, parrying Astrid's blow.

The Hofferson girl smiled. "You'll be able to show them how strong Hiccup Haddock is."

Hiccup dropped his sword to his side and Astrid backed away. "Nice parrying, but next time, don't back away. If you step down, you risk getting hit. That was a close call."

"W-wait, you're actually trying to hurt me?" asked Hiccup in surprise.

Astrid's sapphire blue orbs sparkled with impishness. "Maybe. Maybe not. I have to make things seem realistic for you, don't I?"

"There's a significant difference between realistic and violent," retorted Hiccup, eliciting a laugh from Astrid. He straightened out again and asked, "What next?"

Astrid grinned, and Hiccup immediately knew that he was going to go through the most Astrid-like training session ever.

…

Hiccup was glad when Astrid agreed to help him with his fighting skills. But her form of "helping" seemed a little too close to an actual battle or fight.

Astrid believed in short talking lessons and more action. She would stop briefly to give Hiccup a few pointers, adjust his fighting stance, or simply tell him that he's doing great. She would show him how to properly parry with his sword, different defense moves that he could do with it, and even different dodging moves that he could do to evade being hit. Astrid taught Hiccup many things when they were just talking and demonstrating. But when it came to the actual fighting, Hiccup felt like he was inexperienced all over again.

He dodged another blow from Astrid and blocked another. The metal on his sword clanged with the metal of Astrid's axe. Sunlight glittered off of the two weapons as Hiccup pushed with all of his might, but Astrid was strong, and she didn't seem like she was going to go so easy this time.

"Push harder, Hiccup! You need to push harder. Use your legs!" Astrid encouraged.

And Hiccup did just that. He pushed with all his might and soon, he managed to knock Astrid backward, and the Hofferson stumbled before quickly regaining her footing. Hiccup took this as his chance, and he charged Astrid, who wasn't ready for a sudden attack just yet. She managed to parry Hiccup just in time, but Hiccup could tell that it was a quickened, hasty one, which was why he was able to knock Astrid off her feet without her noticing.

Hiccup held out a hand and Astrid took it, lifting herself to her feet as she dusted herself off. She smiled, the smile that Hiccup had fallen in love with since he was little, and she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Nice job," congratulated Astrid. She set down her axe and put her hands on her hips proudly. "This clearly shows that I'm an amazing teacher."

Hiccup laughed. "Congratulating yourself too, I see."

Astrid smirked and flipped her braid behind her. "Anyway, you've improved a lot since we first started."

"That was only a couple of hours ago," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, and that's good. You're a fast learner. It takes most vikings a couple of weeks, maybe even months to improve their fighting skills," Astrid explained. "You're probably the best student I've taught."

Hiccup's heart fluttered. "R-really?"

Astrid nodded with a grin. "Really. Now, if you don't mind, I promised Stormfly that I would take her on a flight earlier." The Hofferson picked up her axe, patted Hiccup's shoulder, and ran out the Ring, calling out behind her, "I'll see you later!"

Hiccup waved and he smiled. He was already looking forward to the next fighting lesson that Astrid was going to give him. And the ones that would come before that.

Hiccup brandished his sword, but it slipped out of his hands. The young viking was glad that he didn't have an audience on him. He picked up the weapon and shrugged.

"Well, it looks like Astrid still has a few things to teach me," he said to himself.