Chapter 7
A/N: Wow. I'm so happy with the positive response the last chapter received. Thank you all so much for your responses. Hopefully now that things have calmed down I can get back to daily or at least bi-daily updates.
Anyway! One with the fic!
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Astrid signaled Stormfly to hover as she and Heather reached the compound. She was astounded at what she saw. There were more people than she could ever remember on the edge all bustling around. At least twenty men were carrying tables and benches and arranging them with Snotlout and Fishlegs The twins were hanging lanterns above the seating with the help of Barf and Belch. Hiccup stood with Stoick himself, Gobber and Gothi along with a dark haired man she didn't recognize, all in a heated discussion. Gothi's staff was working overtime in the small sandbox Hiccup kept for her visits and occasionally she'd smack Gobber into the correct interpretation.
"Holy snapdragon." Astrid muttered.
Heather whistled lowly from beside her on Windshear. "There are a lot more people here than I'd thought."
Astrid nodded. "Come on. Let's let Hiccup know we're back and see what's up."
She signaled Stormfly to land near the group of leaders, Heather right behind her and they dismounted quickly to approach the meeting. Hiccup looked up to give them a relieved smile. "Glad you finally made it."
Astrid smiled wanly back. "Sorry. It took longer than I expected."
The strange man laughed. "I see that dragon looks a sight better than the last I saw her." He commented, gesturing to Stormfly.
Astrid blushed. "She needed tending. That's what took so long."
The man laughed again. "Not to worry, lass. I expect my men to tend their ships before coming home and they don't live and breathe! That's a fine Nadder and a fine keeper if her looks are any indication."
Hiccup chuckled. "Like I said, Astrid always tends to her dragon first. Even at the exclusion of herself sometimes. This is the longest they've been apart for a good while. I'd've been surprised if she hadn't taken time for her first."
Astrid shared a quick embarrassed look with Heather. Stoick walked over and clapped a hand on the ebony rider's shoulder roughly. "Heather! It's been ages, lass. How have you been keeping yourself?"
Heather smiled warmly at the large Viking chief. "Pretty well all things considered. Windshear keeps me safe."
Stoick laughed. "Aye. I'll bet. I hear she put up quite the commotion during the storm."
The others laughed as she blushed. "If the others hadn't been here to warn us before we'd seen her, we'd have thought we'd come across an island of mad dragons." The strange man added.
Heather winced and sent a look back at the Razorwhip. "She wasn't too bad, I hope?"
Hiccup shook his head. "Nothing we couldn't handle."
"No dragon outdoes the Dragonmaster." Gobber piped in.
Hiccup shook his head. Astrid knew he wasn't entirely comfortable being called a `master' anything, but the title was being used more and more so he'd stopped fighting it. Just then a red headed young girl about their age and a reedy blond Viking approached the meeting. She wore a simple garb and her right arm was in a cast. "Right! So. Introductions. Heather. Astrid. This is Calder the Steadfast, Captain of the Breezegift and Chief of Blind Water Vikings." Astrid and Heather both bobbed their heads at the large man. "And this is Dustin the Coarse, second in command and first mate and Kari, daughter of the chief and captain." They all exchanged greetings.
"The food is ready whenever you decide it's time to eat." Kari said softly.
"That's good to hear." Hiccup said gratefully. "Should we continue after the meal?" He asked the elders respectfully. Gothi nodded and Stoick and Calder both agreed heartily. "Ok. Astrid? A word before we eat?" Hiccup asked, turning to her as the others left.
Astrid looked at Heather, who smiled and shooed her. Astrid grinned back and followed Hiccup into his hut. She started apologizing the moment she shut the door behind her. "I'm really sorry it took us so long to get Hiccup. I really didn't think it would -"
"Astrid. Astrid." Hiccup cut her off. "I'm not mad."
Astrid blinked. "You're not?"
Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Of course not. I told you to take your time, didn't I?" He waited for her to nod before he continued. "No. What I wanted to talk to you about was this." He said, turning to his table and gesturing at some papers spread there.
She came to look and saw some detailed drawings of islands they'd never been to before and notes in unfamiliar handwriting. There were also a few drawings of dragons that she'd never seen before. "What's this?"
Hiccup smiled at her. "Kari gave them to me. They're pictures of islands near theirs and the dragons that live there. New species, Astrid!" He said excitedly. "Just think of how much there is to learn! I mean, look at that one." He said, gesturing to a drawing of a dragon that looked more like a butterfly. From the measurements it was about the size of one, maybe a tad larger. Another below it had long horns on the back of its head. "They call them Flutterfires. And here is a Marsh Tiger." He said, gesturing to a striped dragon with webbed feet and prominent nostrils. "There are dozens of new species." He said, spreading a few more papers. "She says she hasn't had a chance to document them all. And the best thing is, most of them aren't predisposed to be aggressive towards people. There have been only a few species that have caused trouble, but the rest get left alone and have been for generations. Kari even says that some of them have been known to help Vikings in need. This could open up a whole new world to understanding dragons."
Astrid watched him speak, hands gesturing wildly and face glowing with enthusiasm. If there was any doubt to Hiccup's passion about anything and everything dragon, one only needed to listen to him speak about it. He was forever in pursuit of new knowledge to add to his already impressive repertoire on the subject. She smiled warmly as he mentioned expeditions and trade routes between the new Vikings and talking with Kari about the new species and habitats.
A knock at the door interrupted his passionate speech and Astrid moved to get it. She opened it to find Kari herself outside. Astrid smiled at the girl and moved aside, gesturing for her to come in. "We were just talking about you."
The redhead blushed. "The new species?" She asked as she entered.
Astrid laughed. "Yep."
Kari rolled her eyes at a now sheepish Hiccup. "I understand you are passionate about the subject but our fathers sent me to find you. The host is absent from his own feast." She scolded.
Astrid was amused as Hiccup flinched. "I know, I'm coming. I just wanted to let Astrid see your work. You really have some very good documentation skills and your depictions are astounding. How can I not want to show them to my second?"
Kari blushed under the praise, but shook a finger at him angrily. "Don't give me that. I've only known you for a few days and I already know it's far more the subject you're interested in than the work itself."
Astrid laughed at that and Hiccup sent her a mock glare. "Now that's not entirely true. I have your notes on the plant and animal life here too."
"And all of them pertain to the dragon's association with them."
As she continued to fuss Astrid found herself very entertained and impressed at Kari. The girl had Hiccup down to a `t' and it was extremely refreshing to see someone else fuss at him for neglecting everything but his research. She had to admit Kari was better at this dressing down than she was herself, but couldn't find it in her to feel competitive about it.
Finally, Hiccup threw his hands up in defeat. "Ok, ok. I'm obsessed."
Kari folded her arms triumphantly. "And?"
Hiccup sighed. "And I promise to lay off a little for the next few days."
Kari rose an eyebrow. "And?"
"And I promise to eat what you and the others prepare while it's still warm and delicious?"
Kari nodded and grinned. "Good."
Astrid clapped and both of them jumped, obviously having forgotten she was there. "That was spectacular. Ten out of ten for Kari." She praised. The redhead blushed and Hiccup muttered something unintelligible under his breath. Astrid laughed again and headed for the door. "I'm going to eat. You two come along when you're ready."
"Astrid!" Hiccup groaned as she left.
The blonde rider chuckled as she jogged towards the activities to look for Heather. After a moment of searching she found her seated at a table surrounded by her friends and teammates. Snotlout was saying something that was on the verge of getting him punched, if the expression on her girlfriend's face was any indication. Astrid sighed as Heather finally snapped and the robust Viking was sent sprawling to the ground.
"Leave it to Snotlout." She said to the amusement of the Vikings around her as she approached. She pushed Snotlout's plate aside and took a seat next to her girlfriend. "Miss me?" She asked as she reach to grab a leg of chicken from a platter at the center of the table.
Heather rolled her eyes and retrieved a plate for her and began heaping potatoes and vegetables on it. "Shut up and eat." She grumbled. Setting the plate in front of her.
Snotlout recovered himself and came to sit beside Astrid. "Hey there, babe."
Astrid rolled her eyes. "Hi, Snotlout."
Before he could get her annoyed at him as well, Fishlegs cut in. "Did Hiccup show you Kari's work on the new dragons?" He asked her.
"New dragons?" Heather asked.
"Yeah. "She answered both of them. "That's what Hiccup wanted to talk to me about. Apparently, where Kari lives there are dozens of species of dragons that we've never seen before. She's got some pretty good notes on them. Hiccup has them all in his hut and, from the sound of it, he's been pouring over it almost nonstop. Kari gave him quite the dressing down about it." She added with a chuckle, glancing up to see the two of them join the table Stoick and Calder were seated at.
Heather rose an eyebrow. "Really now?"
"Really, really. It was fun to watch."
"Hmmm." Heather hummed, a contemplative look on her face.
"Did you see the Flutterfires?" Fishlegs cut in again, obviously too excited to contain his enthusiasm.
Astrid nodded at him. "They were cute. I really can't wait to see them firsthand."
Fishlegs squealed and clapped, bouncing in his seat. "I know! I can't wait to see what other kinds are there. It's going to be great seeing it all. A new place, new dragons. I can't wait!"
"I hope there are more explosive dragons!" Tuffnut cut it.
"Or more like the Fireworms!" Ruffnut agreed.
"Only bigger." Ruff commented.
"And badder." Tuff supplied.
"And more capable of chaos than anything we've ever seen!" Ruff yelled.
"A dragon after the heart of Loki himself!" Tuff rose her voice to match her brother's
"It'll be awesome!" They said together, far off, happy looks on their faces as they no doubt imagined the mayhem that would come from such a meeting.
Astrid shook her head in amusement at the two of them.
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Sorry, for not having more smut in this chapter, but there are quite a few things that need to be covered before the girls get some more alone time. Just bear with me, we've got a lot of ground to cover. Ja ne!