Rated: K Time Zone: Before RTTE
Trying to whip this up in an hour. (Currently 0:00 on the timer. Let's see how this goes!)
Berk in the winter is... cold.
Not just cold, no. The intense frigidity couldn't be described in one measly, four-letter word. It was bite your fingertips off cold, freeze the features off your face cold, frost on your eyelashes cold. You get the idea.
Being an island in the Viking Archipelago, it was guaranteed to be cold. The archipelago was at the tip-top of the globe, where the birds were gone half the year and the midnight sun shone in the summer.
On this particular day, the whole of the island had been blanketed by a soft sheet of snow. Fresh, white powder coated every remotely-flat surface, enough to make the village seem like a gingerbread town with extra frosting.
It had been too cold to do anything productive, as the sea was partly frozen over, and really, who would you find working on a day like this?
On a snow day, everyone played. Even the older adults would put away their work and chat, rejoicing in the spirit of doing absolutely nothing. The little children would run around outside, ecstatic at the weather. If you weren't careful, you could easily be pelted with a snowball or run into a clumsily-made snowman.
The teens, however, would partake in slightly more advanced games, though the merriment was equal. The lake had been frozen over, and it had finally been declared safe for ice skating. A certain brown-haired, one-legged teen had generously forged several pairs of new ice-skating blades for his friends.
He now tended to the fire in the warm forge, sweating in the heat of the blaze. Twelve metal blades lay next to him, glinting in the light.
He picked up one, weighing it in his hand. He beckoned a large, obsidian-black dragon over. "Here. You think this is shaped enough?"
The dragon nudged it with its snout, curiously staring at it with crossed eyes. Then he turned around and crawled back to the heated place by the stove where he had been napping. "Gee, thanks for the approval, bud."
He set the blade down and picked up one at the end. As he tied a thin rope to it, the door swung open and puffs of snow whirled in. He heard the light footsteps before he saw them, instantly knowing who it was. "Milady."
"Hey." She chuckled. "How are the skates going?" She leaned on the wooden table next to him.
He showed her the one he had in his hand. "I'm just putting the ropes to attach it to our shoes. You said Fishlegs had skating shoes we could use?"
She nodded. "Yup. His parents have a lot from past years. Do you want me to bring them to the pond so we can attach the blades to them?"
"Sure, thanks." He replied. "I'll finish attaching the strings."
He heard the door open and close again, the snow billowing into the forge and quickly melting on the dirt floor. He turned back to the skates, and methodically strung the rest of the blades. He set aside the different sizes, from large for Fishlegs to small for the twins.
Stoking the fire, he spared the fire a longing glance as he wrapped his coat around him. He tapped a lever on the wall and proudly watched as the water-extinguishing system promptly dumped a bucket of water onto the fire.
He picked up three in one hand and three in another, swinging from the strings he was holding them by. Signaling to Toothless, the black dragon reluctantly got up with a mighty huff. Hiccup squeezed him through the door, then as a gust of wind slapped him, a warm black wing shielded him from the flying snow. "Thanks, bud."
They struggled against the wind until they climbed down a small hill separating the lake from the village. There, the wind was stopped before it could reach them. Straightening up from underneath Toothless's wing, he spotted the others waiting for him.
As he neared, he saw Tuffnut and Ruffnut madly chasing each other around on the ice. Their shoes slipped haphazardly as they scrambled around the frozen lake.
Snotlout and Fishlegs looked up as he came closer. Snotlout rubbed his hands together, looking eager. "Finally! Now I can show you how to properly skate, cuz I'm the best at it."
Fishlegs exchanged a long-suffering glance with Hiccup, and extended his arm to take his pair of blades. "These ones?"
"Yup." Hiccup confirmed. "They've just been sharpened, so they should be good."
Astrid arrived behind him, carrying six pairs of shoes in her arms. "Here, once we tie the blades to these we can start skating!"
Hiccup sat down on a nearby fallen log, not before brushing the snow off it. Carefully fitting his blades to the boot, he tested it for stability. When it held up, he breathed a sigh of relief. When he had forged them, he didn't have as much experience as he should have. Lately, he had not seen Gobber forging skates, so he had given it his best shot.
He tied the other specially forged blade to the shoe he had asked Gobber for to fit over his prosthetic. He slipped it over, tying it tight to the metal. He tied it to the other one, then shakily stood up.
He couldn't remember the last time he skated. He knew he had been small, for this was when he was still very puny, and ostracized by the other kids. He certainly remembered that he was no expert at it.
He looked self-consciously to the others. To his relief, Fishlegs and Snotlout looked as if they were having trouble. The twins were gleefully stomping toward the frozen lake.
Astrid had just finished tying her boots on, and naturally stood up. Oh no, Hiccup thought. If she was good at ice skating, then this was yet another thing she was better than the rest at.
He stomped to the lake with the others, laughing with the others when Snotlout tried to hop onto the ice. He slipped out from under his feet and landed on his bottom with a loud "Oof!"
Fishlegs was more cautious with skating, carefully stepping into the ice and moving little by little, arms stretched out in a futile effort to keep his balance. The twins had dashed onto the lake and performed some different moves. Fishlegs seemed to have read about ice skating moves, for he rattled off names as the twins skated. "Spiral, one leg lifted. Scratch spin, spin with foot crossed over. Ooh, nice toe loop jump, Tuff."
Tuffnut skated over, ending in a hockey stop that somehow spread snow over Fishlegs. "Ah, look at the newbie pretending like he can skate. Ruffnut, isn't it adorable?"
Fishlegs rolled his eyes and took a few more cautionary steps. Snotlout had started to begin a process of wildly flailing a few step, falling down, and then getting back up. If one was unlucky enough to be near him when he went down, they would also be dragged down as Snotlout cling to anything he could to stay up.
Hiccup tried to skate a few steps, then stopped when the sensation of skating over such slippery ice came. He slightly whirled his arms, keeping them straight out.
Meanwhile, among these struggles, Astrid was skating breezily around the edge of the lake. Arms crossed, she seemed to fly around the lake as she casually sped around them all.
Hiccup called to her, "How are you going that fast?"
She skated a bit closer, telling him, "My dad made me learn. Every day in winter, he'd wake me up early in the hope of making me learn to skate well. Guess it paid off."
Hiccup looked at his stationary feet. "In that case, can you teach me?"
"Sure." She skated so he was right next to her, then stretched his arms out so he looked like a T. "Try to keep your balance, don't be afraid of falling, and wow, you're tensed up! Relax, it's just ice."
He breathed out, letting his muscles relax. He took one step forward, inwardly congratulating himself when he didn't fall. He took another, and another, until he was in a strange kind of penguin waddle around the lake. Astrid patiently skated next to him, correcting his feet and tugging him along.
He tried to go faster, feeling guilty that Astrid had to slow down, and took a step too fast. His foot slipped out from underneath him, and he came cashing down. Dazed for a second, he heard Astrid laughing above him. When he tried to get back up, he heard another thump and a weight crashed into him. Laughter resounded from all sides of the rink, and he started to laugh as he realized what had happened.
He carefully crouched up, sending Astrid tumbling off his back. While on her back, she was laughing hysterically.
Flushed and embarrassed, Hiccup shakily stood up. Astrid got up quickly, still laughing. She skated to his side and nudged him. "Thanks for making me fall down with you."
He shook his head jokingly. "Anytime. My pleasure."
She smiled, rolled her eyes and skated far ahead of him, circling around the rink. Hiccup watched her go, laughter bubbling in his chest.
The rest of the wonderful day, they skated and played foolish games, raced against each other, and even tried to get their dragons onto the ice. All of these resulted in endless laughter, especially the latter, as they watched their dragons slip around on the ice.
At one point, Toothless careened around the rink on his belly, eyes wide open because he couldn't control his speed. He crashed into Hiccup, sending both tumbling and almost snowballing.
As the sun slowly disappeared below the horizon, they all trooped inside the Great Hall. They took off their skates and found a free table. Piling their skates at their table, they got mugs of hot tea, warming their hands and their red cheeks.
As more people started to enter the Great Hall for dinner, the smell of warm, spiced yak chops and roasting vegetables invaded the Hall. High above on the ceiling, Snoggletog decorations produced smells of cinnamon, pine leaves, and peppermint.
Feasting on yak chops and meat pies, they laughed and joked for hours. The teenagers were easily the rowdiest table, especially with their dragons playing near their table.
Hiccup finished the last bite of his meat pie, then pushing his plate aside. He felt satisfied, completely content with the day. These days felt so much happier than the winters of before, when Toothless wasn't there. He had been left behind, having to say in a corner as he longingly stared at the teens table.
As he was laughing at Tuffnut and Ruffnut's antics, the emotion of deep belonging and happiness settled inside him.
Maybe, he thought, it was true that as the years go by, they can only get better.
Whew. A minute and 25 sec to spare. Hope you enjoyed it! Survey: Fluff or Angst? ~ScribeOfTheLegends