Chapter 15: Viking Unions

The dragon riders were in the middle of training to take on the dragon hunters when they were interrupted by an unexpected visitor. Spitelout, Snotlout's father, landed on the Edge with his Deadly Nadder. Everyone stopped what they were doing to give him uneasy smiles.

"Dad?" Snotlout said.

Hiccup stepped forward to greet them. "Spitelout! Eh, what a... what a pleasant surprise."

Snotlout scrambled forward to show his father his axe, but Spitelout looked at it and frowned. "Eh, dull."

Snotlout chuckled nervously. "Haha, yeah, I was just telling them that, dad." He once again moved in front of him to get his attention. "Hey, did you see that-"

"I come with news from Berk," Spitelout said, ignoring his son and causing Eira to frown. "There's to be a union tomorrow between two proud houses: our family, House Jorgenson, and..."

"What kind of muttonhead would marry into the Jorgenson's?" Astrid said.

"...Astrid's family, House Hofferson!"

Astrid's eyes went wide "..Wait, did he just say... House Hofferson?"

"He sure did!" Eira said.

"That is unprecedented," said Fishlegs. "There has never been a union between these two families! Hoffersons have always disliked Jorgensons, and..."

Astrid glared at Snotlout as he moved closer to her. "Jorgensons have always irritated Hoffersons. Wait, this means Snotlout's gonna be... family?"

Snotlout put his arm around her. "What's the problem, cuz? This is just going to bring us closer!"

Astrid elbowed him to get him away.

"You do kind of fight like siblings," Eira said, earning a sharp look from the blond.

"Welcome to the family, lass," Spitelout said with a grin. "Now, onto business!" He pulled out a long package and unwrapped an axe.

Snotlout stared at the axe in awe. "Woah! The Jorgenson family ceremonial axe! There's never been a union without it!"

"Aye, and as you know, it will need to be present tomorrow at Berk's secret matrimonial site, the Island of Frigga, to chop down the ceremonial birch for this union to be official, so you, Snotlout, will be delivering it!" He placed the axe in his son's waiting hands.

Snotlout grinned. "Sweet!"

"That's quite an honor, Snotlout!" Hiccup said.

"This privilege is only given to the bravest and most virile member of the Jorgenson clan. And you guys are looking at him! Boom, baby! Whooo!"

Eira had to grin at his enthusiasm. She thought his father had been treating him poorly when he first arrived, but perhaps she had misread the situation.

Spitelout scratched his chin. "I would have done it myself if I want already responsible for procuring the beasts for the union's ceremonial 400 bore feast."

"But I'm the family's natural second choice for the job," Snotlout said proudly.

"Of course Hedgelout isn't available. He's still missing at sea..."

Snotlout's smile faded. "Third choice. That's still good. Right?"

"Ah, and then there was Griplout..."

Astrid blinked. "Griplout?"

"Are you talking about the Jorgenson that lost both his arms in that freak mutton accident?" Hiccup said.

An uneasy feeling hit Eira as the conversation progressed. She hated the crestfallen look on Snotlout's face. Did his dad have any idea what he was doing to his son's confidence? She did not know what she could say to make anything better, so she simply stood beside her friend to give him moral support.

"Aye, he just couldn't get a good enough hold on the axe with his teeth," Spitelout went on. He turned to Snotlout. "Remember, a lot is riding on this, boy-oh. No axe, no wedding. No wedding, well, hopefully, you're smart enough to at least figure that out." He turned to his dragon. "Well, I have to be in my way. Bores don't grow on trees, you know."

"Thank Thor I don't have to go to that ridiculous-" Astrid started to say.

Spitelout stopped and addressed her: "Oh, lass, your folks are expecting you to represent your family at the ceremony. So better get a move on!"

Astrid growled and Hiccup laughed.

"You too, Hiccup!"

Hiccup frowned. "What? Me?"

"Aye, Stoick's orders. You're representing the Haddocks!"

Toothless growled.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Hiccup muttered.

"Can I come?" Eira asked giving Spitelout her most pleasant smile.

The older Vikings shrugged. "Sure, why not? See you at the ceremony!" He climbed onto his dragon, and they took off. "Onward, dragon! Spitelout, Spitelout, oi, oi, oi!"

"Don't worry, dad! I got this!" Snoutlout yelled after him.

Astrid, Hiccup, and Toothless glared at Snotlout.

Snotlout blinked. "What are you all looking at? I can do this!" But he accidentally flung the axe to the other side of the arena. He winced and ran to retrieve it.

"Just calm down and don't think about it too much," Eira said, walking behind him. "You can do this."

Snotlout gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks, Eira. I'm glad you're coming with me." He paused. "So, is this a... date?"

Eira froze. The notion had not even occurred to her, and for some reason, the way he asked her outright instead of the teasing manner in which he flirted with other girls made her nervous. "O-Of course not! I just want to support you. We should be going, shouldn't we? Let me go get Swiftwings!" She bolted out of there before she had to answer any more awkward questions.

Swiftwings, Hookfang, Toothless, and Stormfly carried their riders high in the sky. Eira could see Snotlout's nervousness, and she wished she could find some way to instill confidence in him. Their companions were not helping. They kept bringing up all of his past failures, and while Snotlout had an excuse for every one of them, Eira could see anxiety slowly take over.

"Guys, please cut it out," she said.

"All I know is when I ride in with this axe, I'm gonna shove it in all their Jorgenson faces," Snotlout said. "Booo!" He swung the axe around as he impersonated Spitelout. "No axe, no wedding, boy-o-" The axe slipped from his hands and plummeted to the earth. "Oh oh-oh. Ah!"

"Toothless!" Hiccup called. "Power dive!"

All four dragons dove down in search of the axe. When they came out from the clouds, they could see the axe headed straight for a small island.

"It's gotta be down there!" Snotlout shouted. "We have to go and get it back!"

"It could be anywhere!" Astrid said in frustration. "That island isn't exactly tiny... if it even landed there and not in the ocean."

"We're finding that axe. We have 'till sundown." He flew towards the island without waiting for a response.

"You can go back if you want to," Eira said, "but I'm helping him."

Astrid and Hiccup soon joined them on the ground. All four Vikings started hacking through a thick brush. Finally, they spotted the axe resting above a hedge.

"Haha, there it is!" Snotlout said triumphantly. "See? I'll just grab it and we can get back in the air. Problem solved!" While he strode forward, the dragons growled nervously.

Eira did not like this. "Snotlout..." she said cautiously.

He ignored her. " And it's in one piece? This could have gone way worse." He tried to pull out the axe, but it did not budge. "It's really stuck in there." When he tried again, the ground started to tremble.

"Snotlout!" Hiccup cried.

Snotlout was thrown to the ground, and a dragon appeared, the axe securely attached to its back. The dragon roared in anger. Snotlout looked on in fear, but then determination overcame his face. He ran at the dragon and jumped onto its back.

"This is my family's axe," he said. "Give it up!"

"Snotlout, let go of the axe!" Hiccup said.

"No way, Hiccup. I'm not leaving this island without it."

"We gotta help him," Eira said, watching the strange dragon thrash about. She moved forward with Swiftwings and had her blast the dragon. Hookfang, Stormfly, and Toothless soon followed.

The dragon fought back with its own unique move that left Stormfly with blurry vision. Hiccup would have been struck if not for his Gronckle iron shield. And then the dragon spread its wings and flew straight up. Snotlout finally lost his grip and started to fall, but Swiftwings managed to catch him in her claws and gently set him on the ground.

"It's gone," Astrid said in relief.

"But so is the axe," said Snotlout. He took off running in the direction the dragon had flown.

"Snotlout, what are you doing?" Hiccup said.

"There's still time!"

Eira did not hesitate. She ran after Snotlout with Swiftwings by her side. "Hey, wait up!"

Snotlout looked back at her in surprise. "Eira? Are you here to convince me to go back?"

She smiled and shook her head. "I'm here to help you. I know how important it is for you to get that axe back."

"Really? You don't think I'm being crazy and reckless?"

"Yes, but you support me when I a crazy and reckless, so I'm supporting you now."

He grinned at her. "Thanks, Eira! You're the best."

Snotlout made a valiant effort to get the axe back... with the help of his friends, of course. He had the brilliant idea to bring Smothering Smokebreaths to the island to take the metal from the Armorwing, including the axe. In the end, he succeeded. Of course, then they had to help the Armorwing get more armor so he wouldn't be defenseless, but everyone won in the end.

Except, he had run out of rime. He left the island as the sun was setting, but it was dark by the time he arrived at the union ceremony. His shoulders slumped as he saw Vikings packing up and leaving.

"Oh, no," he groaned. "Hookfang, we're too late." He dismounted as his friends landed beside him.

"It'll be alright," Eira said, casting him a worried glance.

"Snotlout, we'll say it was our fault," Hiccup said.

"Yeah," Astrid agreed. "We can say we're the ones that made you late."

Snotlout shook his head. "No. It was my fault. I got this." But he sounded more confident than he felt. He hated letting his dad down... again. He did not want to feel like a failure. Eira placed a hand on his arm and gave him a knowing look. He accepted her silent message. He nodded at her and let her come with him. He did not want to be alone.

He spotted his father cleaning up. He took a deep breath and approached him. "I know what you're gonna say, Dad. I messed up again. I ruined the union ceremony. And I let you down, and all the Jorgensons down. But you have no idea what I went through to get this here. I risked my life and my friends' lives fighting a gigantic torch-breathing dragon for this stupid thing. And if that's not good enough for you, then I guess I'm never going to be good enough for you! I said it! So, here is your stupid axe, and sorry about the ceremony." He held out the axe and looked away, cringing in anticipation.

"What in Thor are you going on about, boy-o?" Spitelout said. "There's not going to be a union."

Snotlout looked at him in surprise. "Wait, what?"

"Oh, a brawl broke out at the rehearsal dinner. It's a good thing you didn't get the axe here earlier. It would've got really ugly." He smiled at him as he accepted the axe. "But, nice work anyway, son. I knew I could count on you." He clasped his shoulders and then strode past him. "Whelp, if we're done here, I have 400 boars to return."

Snotlout could not help the grin that crossed his face. "He knew he could count on me."

Eira smiled. "Of course he did. You know, I think he's actually a lot better person on the inside than he comes off as." She paused. "Kind of like you."

Snotlout smiled back at her. He was certainly glad they had met. She made everything seem much simpler. "Oh, sorry we didn't get to go on our date."

Eira's eyes widened. "It-It wasn't a date!"

Snotlout grinned. "I know."

That evening, Astrid, Ruffnut, and Eira decided to have a girls' night. They sat around laughing as Ruffnut told stories about her 'marriage' to Fishlegs that day. Apparently, they were practicing a Viking union, and Tuffnut thought he had actually married them. It turned out he did not finish the class to grant him that authority.

"It's too bad," Ruffnut said. "It was kind of nice - even if his hut is way to small."

Astrid chuckled. "There's always hope for the future. Now, Eira, I have a question for you."

"Yes?" Eira said.

"Do you like Snotlout?"

Eira's eyes grew wide. "Wh-What?!" Her heartbeat suddenly quickened. Had he said something to her?

"Do you like Dagur?" Ruff asked.

"N-No."

"It's okay if you like Snotlout," Astrid said. "I can't begin to understand it - and I don't understand your friendship either - but it would help get him off my back."

Eira shook her head. "It's - I just - I don't know if I like him."

"How can you not know if you like someone?" Ruff said.

Eira took a deep breath and let it out slowly. How was she supposed to explain it? "I told you guys the formal way my culture presents suitors, right? 'Liking' someone on those terms meant I found them attractive and thought they would make a good husband. But I rejected all of them because I wanted something deeper. I wanted to know someone as a friend first. And now I have lots of friends. But how do I know if I want something beyond that?"

"I can kind of see what you're saying," Astrid say. "Physical attraction is a secondary consideration for you, and I think that's fine. It's good to get to know someone before you become serious. If you try before you're ready, it might affect your friendship."

Eira nodded. "Exactly. So, how do you know?"

Astrid appeared thoughtful. "Well, let's try a thought experiment. Imagine you've accomplished everything you've set out to on Berk, and your family really wants you to go home to Torvald. Of course you'll miss all your friends, but is there one specific individual who would make you want to stay? You may not have an answer now, but if you ever come up with one, I think that is guy you should take a chance on."

"Or you can imagine him getting married," Ruff piped up. "Do you want to punch the other woman in the face?"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "That could work too."

Eira could not help but laugh. "Thanks, guys. I will keep that in mind." She could not think of anyone who fit the bill in either scenario, but she would definitely look out in the future.

"Now it's Astrid's turn!" Ruff declared. "Who do you have your eye on?"

Astrid suddenly appeared uncharacteristically nervous. "N-No one!"

Eira stared at her. "Really? I thought you like Hiccup."

"Why would you think that?"

"Why do you think I like Snotlout?"

The two girls stared at each other for a minute. Then they burst out laughing.

"I'm not sure what's going on, but I'll join you!" Ruff said.

The laughter eventually died down, leaving Eira feeling happy and content. She was really glad she found friends like this. "Do you think the guys are talking about us?" she asked.

"I hope not," said Astrid. "I can't imagine what they'd be saying."

"Fishlegs is probably lamenting that his union ceremony wasn't real."

Ruff nodded. "I am a great catch."

This started another round of laughter.