"Trista, w-what is love like?" Astrid asked her older cousin, who snapped her head up looking shocked at the question, then threw it back and roared in laughter. Trista, Astrid's oldest and favorite cousin was spending the weekend at her parents place, and Astrid always loved getting the nitty-gritty, real life kind of answers from a girl a little older than her.
"Oh Ast, why do you ask? Trying to decide if brutish boy A is better than brutish boy B?" she replied with a wink, standing up and filling up her mug with a dark stout. Astrid's cheeks flamed red and she hunkered her face down into her crossed arms on the table top, a muffled 'Just curious' barely audible in the air.
"Love is…..odd," Trista began. She made a bit of a face, like trying to come up with something, and then resorted to, "what do you think it is? Got someone in mind?"
Astrid's mind immediately conjured up a picture of Snotlout. Muscles glistening sweat as he lifted some weapon, or the way his back showed his muscle when he did pull ups. "Yeah, I think."
"Tell me about him." Trista said, sliding a bowl of mutton stew in front of Astrid.
"Big." She said simply, blowing slightly on her spoon as steam rose from the fresh food, "Strong. Really good fighter." He face turned sheepish as she continued, "When he works out and gets all sweaty and I can smell him, I dunno, I just feel…. Hot, like really stiflingly hot."
Trista roared again with laughter, "Oh baby cuz, that's not love, like AT ALL. That's lust. You want his dick."
Astrid's mouth dropped to the floor in shock at her giggling cousin. "I do NOT want to lay with him! At all! I'm way too young to be betrothed already. Definitely not to HIS dumb ass."
"Oh I'm not talking about betrothal, you naïve saint," Trista said in between spoonfuls of stew rolling her eyes, "I'm talking about releasing some stress in an incredibly fun way."
"Do you," voice lowering to almost a whisper, "do you do that a lot?"
"I mean, not A LOT," Trista continued, making a few gestures with her hand, "But if I'm bored, or horny, or hungry and he makes me some food. Sure, why not. But that's not love, kiddo, not even close. And don't think I'm telling you to do those things. Don't. Don't be like me."
Astrid scoffed, her cousin was her favorite family member. "What, fun and awesome and hilarious?"
"Lonely."
Trista's entire demeanor had changed and Astrid looked up to see her cousin with a very solemn look on her face. "Lonely, and sad, with a kid who's father I don't even know. No one to curl up with in front of the fireplace on a cold night. Never hearing Davin say 'da-da', no one to experience his first steps with, first word. No, Astrid, do not try and be like me."
It was as if cold ice had been dumped over her. Astrid had never seen her cousin like this, it was unnerving. She shifted in her chair a few times as Trista seemed to stare off into the distance, gaze out of focus. "Well," Atrid began, "what about real love then?"
That seemed to snap Trista back to reality, and she glanced back over the table. "Love is weird. At your age it's going to be nearly the exact opposite of what you just described. You probably won't even want to be near the guy. He makes you feel weird, in ways you're not used to feeling. Might make you slow to think of words, or irritate you because you feel a little sick around him. If you feel sick around a guy, that's a real good sign." She finished laughing, the sparkle back in her eyes.
Astrid's mind conjured up a boy that fit THAT description perfectly. Wanted nothing to do with him, made her feel queasy if he got too close, made her feel so awkward when talking that she just decided it was easier to act like he didn't exist at all.
Hiccup Haddock.
Hiccup God Damn Haddock.
"That one," Trista said, stabbing her spoon in the air towards Astrid, "Whoever you are thinking of right now, it's all over your face."
Astrid barked a laugh, then a second, and before she knew it, they were both laughing with each other. "No, Trista, no you don't understand. I get what you're saying and it sorta makes some twisted sense. But not that one, ha, not that guy. Oh, no way."
"Oh, YES way," she pressed, "you asked me for some advice and I'm telling you right now, older to younger, that is your Sven Borringer. And the sooner you quit being dense about it, the sooner you can start taking that young stallion to Pound Tow-" Trista, no slouch of an athlete herself, deftly dodged the spoon hurtling towards her from Astrid.
"Shut up, Trist, that boy is SO small, and timid, and ANNOYING, and scrawny. I could go on." Astrid vented, grabbing another spoon and digging back into the stew.
Trista held up her hands in defeat. "Okay okay, you have made your case. I believe you," with a completely innocent look she added, "all these brown hair, brown eye boys look the same anyways."
"Eh, they're green."
Astrid got the spoon about halfway to her mouth before she stopped suddenly, eyes going a bit wider. Without moving her head, she peaked a glance at Trista, who's eyes were wide and bright, mouth completely open in the biggest smile Astrid had ever seen a human have. Trista slowly closed her mouth, still smiling with a dazzling display of teeth, and slowly leaned forward towards Astrid, raising her eyebrows.
"Oh, are they?"
"Shut up, Trista, I shouldn't have said that."
"Tell me about his… deeeeep greeeeeeeen eeyyyyyyyyeeeees, Ast."
"Shut the hell up."
"What about his laugh? Tell me about his laugh, or maybe. Maybe his smile? Oh, I bet his smile is INFURIATING."
"Shut. The. Fuck. Up. Trist."
"Oh, I finally get to see my little Astrid crush her first boy! Awwwww- YIKES!" Trista cooed before pushing herself away from the table and running into the Great Hall, Astrid clambering up over the table in hot pursuit.
Lying on her stomach, Astrid blew a few strands of hair away from her face with a small huff of frustration. Watching them dance around the air for a few moments and settle back on her face did little to deter her scowl that she now refocused on its original target, sitting by himself in the moonlight, on the beach, when he should be resting for training tomorrow.
Hiccup Haddock.
Hiccup GOD DAMN Haddock.
Astrid had replayed the conversation with her cousin, Trista, in her head three times already and all she had managed to do was get even more angry with this boy. Who the hell did Hiccup Haddock think he was? Staying up half the night to doodle some lame ass drawing in his book when he should be resting so he wasn't so pathetic during training tomorrow. Who did he think he was making Astrid look at his stupid face on the stupid beach in his stupid fur coat with his stupid hair waving in the wind and his stupid perfect green eyes and his stupid disarming smile….
Where was she going with this? Clearly I need to run off some energy she thought as she rolled on her back and started pulling on her leggings. Slipping into her shoes and buckling her skirt, she topped off the outfit by hitching her axe on her back gave one last glance to the boy on the beach. Seeing the moonlight reflect off his shaggy, brown, mess of hair, blowing slightly in the wind, made something in Astrid's stomach do a flip.
She didn't like it. At all. She hated everyone, ESPECIALLY Trista and Hiccup.
With a low growl, she darted into the woods, using the full moon's light to pick her way up the hill. The ground was uneven and roots and bushes threatened to trip her up, but Astrid was nimble and agile. The light was just enough that every snare along her way she was able to avoid, if just at the last moment, and she ran.
She didn't have really a destination in mind, but knew she would either know it when she found it, or make a big circle back to the campsite. No sooner than having that thought cross her mind, she came to a small clearing at the top of the hill, a rock-side jutting out from the cliff face towards the ocean. With a quick couple of seconds to catch her breath, she made her way out onto the outcropping and sat down, letting her legs dangle over the side.
She always took the beauty in scenery around her for granted, but tonight, she found her breath catching as the moon reflected nearly a perfect mirror off the ocean. Small waves were the only thing to ruin the illusion of two full moons. The rocks in the distance seemed more daunting and imposing at night, in the moonlight than they had during the day, and she found herself longing for adventure. Imagining herself alone on a small boat, standing up with one hand on her mast as she sped towards the islands, eager to discover their secrets.
She got lost in the fantasy for a while, but was brought back to reality when her gaze slowly, but predictably, made its way down, down, down to the beach to the west, where a boy was still hard at work. Rolling her eyes, Astrid rose to make her way back down to the camp, when she noticed something. Squinting, she saw Hiccup glance back towards the tents, then grab some fish from near the fire and stuff them in his bag, placing his notebook down in his tent. With a last glance at the campsite, he disappeared into the woods west, towards Berk.
Is he running back home? "Not without his little notebook," Astrid whispered to herself, her curiosity got the better of her, and she flew back down the hillside, arriving at the camp mere minutes later. She crossed the clearing quickly, and had every intention of following Hiccup, who she could easily catch, into the woods and ask him just what the HELL he thought he was doing. She had every intention of it until she stole a glance back towards camp and her eyes rested on something.
Hiccup's notebook.
Her curiosity battled itself for a few seconds and the urge to look at his notebook beat out the urge to find out where he was going. Plopping down on her butt in the sand and criss-crossing her legs, she snatched the book up and opened to the first page. "Okay, little man, let's see what's so fucking interesting ."
The first few pages were schematics for things she didn't understand. The next dozen or so were drawings of flowers and stars. Astrid's eyebrows climbed on her face, they were really good. Flipping half-hazard through the book, a few dragon pictures here, a few more schematics there, when she stopped on it. Her fingers instantly touched the page, her eyes going wide. A woman. A beautiful woman with wings like a valkyrie was swinging her mighty axe against some made up monster in Hiccup's mind.
The detail was immaculate. She traced the face into the chest and waist then legs, they were done so intricately, so meticulously, it must have taken him hours…..the hours on the beach. He mouth was slightly open as she drank it in, breaking into a smile as she brushed her hand across the drawn braid. It was clearly, clearly a picture of her, but it was far too perfect.
Is that how he sees me? Gods, does he think I'm that flawless? He stomach was doing that thing again, but this time she smiled and that seemed to be the secret because suddenly it was like pins and needles spread to her toes, fingertips, head and everywhere in between. And where she felt it, she was warm! Looking at the face of the drawing she felt the waves go over her again, and glanced up, half expecting to see a very awkward boy looking at her.
Hiccup was nowhere in sight, and she gently closed the book and placed it back when she took it, making her way back to her tent. Curling up into her blanked, she thought again of the warrior valkyrie that Hiccup had drawn of her, and she fell into an extremely calm sleep.
