A/N: Here's a little chapter, trying to do it from Astrid's POV, which I actually found a lot harder at time. Oh well, I'm happy with the final product so it was worth it. Hope you all enjoy. Let me know what you think.
Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon.
Astrid found herself nervously tapping her fingers on the stone of the arena, where she stood at the front of the crowd, waiting to watch Hiccup kill his first dragon. At least, that was what everyone else from the village was waiting for, Astrid on the other hand was waiting to see what sort of plan Hiccup had tucked up his sleeve. She was almost certain there was no way Hiccup would enter that arena and cause harm to a dragon. Not with the way that Hiccup obviously cared for Toothless, and if she was being honest, Astrid wasn't sure she would be able to watch Hiccup even attempt to kill a dragon. It just didn't seem right.
All too quickly the anticipation got the better of her. Astrid was a woman of action, the young blonde was not known for her patience. All too quickly she was giving a huff and turning around, practically whipping the person standing next to her with her golden braid. She didn't utter a single word of apology as she pushed people aside, making her way through the crowd and towards the entrance gate to the arena where she knew the scrawny auburn haired boy would be awaiting the end of his father's speech.
As Stoick spoke Astrid could tell Hiccup was deep in thought. He didn't even turn around as she quietly stepped down the sloped floor leading to the arena, he probably didn't even hear her. As the chief gave a final cry the crowd cheered and Astrid stepped closer, finally coming to gain Hiccup's attention.
"Be careful with that dragon," there was more she wanted to say, but now wasn't the time. She needed to keep things light hearted she realized, however she knew it wasn't for Hiccup's benefit, but for her own. She would never admit it to anyone, but she was scared. She was afraid of what might happen to him in there, unwilling to fight a dragon, let alone kill it, and afraid of what the rest of Berk might do when they realized that Hiccup had no intentions of fighting said dragon.
"It's not the dragon I'm worried about," Hiccup said, voicing her inner fears.
"What are you going to do?" she questioned finally, pushing her bangs out of her eyes so she had a clear view of Hiccup. She needed to know that he had a plan, she needed to know that this was all going to be ok. If something happened to this awkward teen, she wasn't sure what she herself would do. Astrid had spent so long thinking of this by as the village screw up that up until the night before she hadn't really paid much attention to him. But now, she felt like she was connected, like being so close to him as they soared through the air had caused some sort of tie between the two, a tight string formed of wind and cloud secured around both their souls, in a tight knot.
"Put an end to this. I have to try," He said, not really giving Astrid the answer she wanted. She was expecting a well thought out plan, steps, some sort of detail. He had basically only confirmed what she already knew. She knew he was going to try and change the opinions the village held about dragons, as he had done with her. The problem is, she wanted to know how.
"Astrid," Hiccup started, finally turning around to look at her. "If something goes wrong, just make sure they don't find Toothless," he told her, and the whole thing made her feel like she had just been bashed in the chest with Thor's hammer. What did he mean 'if something went wrong'? Astrid didn't really want to think about what the whole sentence implied.
"I will," was all she could say at first. She knew that no matter what he asked in this moment, with his pine green eyes full of determination, and such a brave heart. There was no chance of her denying him anything. However, even if she would do as he asked, Astrid had a condition of her own. "Just, promise me it won't go wrong," She finally asked. It was the least he could do, offer her a little bit of assurance.
Instead of hearing Hiccups voice giving her his word, instead Gobber walked up behind him, speaking just as the young man opened his mouth. "It's time Hiccup, knock 'em dead," he said. Causing Hiccup to close his mouth and turn.
Astrid wished she could punch Gobber in that split second, and then wished she could see Hiccup's face. She wished she could look into those eyes one more time and give him a smile, a small kiss, anything to reassure him, even if she didn't feel at all reassured herself.
It felt like hours to her as he walked down towards the arena entry, even though it was only a few steps away. Finally he placed his helmet over his head and Gobber walked back towards her, closing the gate with a final clink. This was it.
Astrid could hear the crowd cheering, could even hear her friends calling out, attempting to cheer Hiccup on, however, she couldn't find her voice to even utter a sound. All she could do was walk towards the gate, coming as close as she could to make sure she had a clear sight of Hiccup at all times. She needed to be able to see him, to find some way to help should the need arise.
Her stomach clenched as he moved towards the rack of weapons near the center of the arena. Like the smart boy he was, the first thing Hiccup chose was a shield, easing Astrid's tension slightly. At least he could protect himself. He then reached out and pulled a small dagger from the rack and Astrid bit her lip. If something went wrong, he wasn't going to be able to do much with that, and she knew that Hiccup had chosen it for that very reason. He was making an example.
She heard him speak lightly, "I'm ready," he spoke and then there was a creak as a rope was drawn the large log which was keeping the dragon pen secured lifted.
As soon as the gate was freed a flaming Monstrous Nighmare came screeching out, moving to claw its way around the arena, climbing the ceiling and walls, even stopping a moment to shoot flames at a few members of the crowd. Astrid tried to keep track of its movements as Hiccup remained still in the middle of the arena, seemingly doing the same thing.
Finally the dragon seemed to notice the easy prey, and swooped down to stand in front of Hiccup, causing Astrid to chew on her bottom lip and clench her hands into fists. She reached out to grab the bars of the steel gate as the dragon advanced and Hiccup backed up, dropping both his weapon and his shield. 'Come on, Hiccup,' she thought silently as the rest of the crowd muttered, attempting to figure out what the strange boy was doing.
The dragon advanced more and Hiccup put his hands out in a calming motion, apparently trying to reassure the dragon that he meant it no harm. To further show his intentions Astrid watched as Hiccup reached up with both hands and removed his helmet, and threw it off to the side, causing the whole crowd to gasp. Astrid could only roll her eyes.
However as the crowd started to further gasp and mutter as the dragon stayed still, Astrid pushed her head between the bars and looked around, trying to figure out what Hiccup's next move would be and a way to help. That was when Stoick spoke up.
"Stop the fight," he called.
"No!" Hiccup yelled out so everyone in attendance could hear. "I need you all to see this," he said as he reached out hesitantly towards the red dragon.
"They're not what we think they are. We don't have to kill them," he said as he moved closer, causing Astrid to push herself a little closer to the bars, wanting to be as close as she could get should anything go wrong, either due to the dragon, or the citizens of Berk who still were gasping and mumbling.
Suddenly Stoick was furious and leaped from his chair yelling, "I said stop the fight," he demanded and slammed his great axe on one of the steel rings around the arena. That was when all chaos seemed to be let loose.
The Monstrous Nightmare was no longer calm and seemingly ready to accept Hiccup's calm movements. It was suddenly angry and snapped at Hiccup before spiting a long flame at him, causing him to start to run around the arena, the dragon right behind him.
"Hiccup!" Astrid cried, pulling at the bars, no longer paying any attention to the crowd around the arena. Her main goal was to get in there and help save the solitary awkward boy.
Her body sprung into action as she snatched a heavy axe from the wall and used it as leverage to lift the bottom of the gate, sliding under it to pull herself through and into the arena with Hiccup and the Monstrous Nightmare.
Everything was a panic. Hiccup was running around, dodging bursts of flames and attempting to grab a shield or anything that he might use to protect himself. Astrid stood by the side a moment, trying to come up with some sort of plan. As she spotted a hammer amongst the wreckage of the weapon wrack Astrid called out attempting to get his attention. "Hiccup!" she screamed, then ran over to the hammer, using her foot to kick a piece of board which caused the hammer to fly up so she might snatch it out of the air. With a cry she threw it at the dragons head, connecting with his jaw just as he seemed to be closing in on his bony prey.
What Astrid hadn't anticipated was her actions causing the dragon to turn its wrath on her. Suddenly the beast had turned its head in her direction and she had just enough sense to start running off before the dragon was right behind her. She ran in a zig zag, hoping to slow the dragon as she tried to decide her next move.
"This way," she heard and looked over to see Stoick had lifted another one of the gates and was motioning for the two teens to head in that direction. Astrid didn't hesitate, she stopped herself mid step and move in the direction of her chief, Hiccup at her side. Stoick managed to stop her by placing his hands on her shoulders just as she turned to see Hiccup about to pass the gate, only to be stopped when the Monstrous Nightmare shot at the wall right next to it, Stoick protectively wrapping his arms around her and pushing her to the far side.
By the time she looked about again, Hiccup was running off in the other direction, away from the gate. Only to be bumped by the Monstrous Nightmare, knocking him to the ground and trapping him between its claws. Astrid was about to scream out when she heard a sound, causing her to look up.
There was a sudden blast and smoke filled the arena, obscuring any view she might have had of the red dragon, or Hiccup himself. The only thing that stopped her from calling out was the sound the blast had made. It could only have been caused by one dragon. A Night Fury. Toohtless was here.
Astrid's suspicions were confirmed when there screeching and growling could be heard from the smoke and the black dragons and the larger red one came tumbling out into clean air, biting and scratching at each other. In no time at all Toothless was able to push the Monstrous Nightmare away from it, and backed himself up to stand in front of Hiccup, screeching at the larger dragon, keeping him back from his rider.
The Monstrous Nightmare slinked away from the other two as Hiccup ran up to starting trying to push Toothless away. At the same time the men and woman from the village started to climb through the bars and leap into the arena, all charging the dragon that had just saved the chief's son.
Astrid cried out as she saw Stoick grab a weapon from the wall and start to charge Toothless with everyone. She could hear Hiccup calling out as well, though she had no idea what his words were. Toothless seemed to finally catch on to what was happening as he started to shake his head and open his wings in some sort of attempt to defend himself from the onslaught of people.
Astrid covered her mouth when Toothless and Stoick went rolling one over the other, Toothless finally coming out on top and opening his mouth, ready to shoot a plasma shot at the chief. "No. NO!" Astrid heard Hiccup shout, causing Toothless to close his mouth and pushed back a little to look at Hiccup.
As soon as Toothless was distracted, the villagers jumped on him, pushing him to the ground. Astrid shot forward, grabbing around Hiccup's waist to hold him in place as he reached out for his dragon. "Oh, no no. Please just, just don't hurt him." He pleaded with the crowd and Astrid's heart ached as she held him secure, wishing she was wrapping her arms around him in comfort rather than restraint.
Astrid was unsure of what happened next. She didn't see anything around them as she stood there, her feet planted as she held on to Hiccup who was giving her a good fight. She wasn't sure what the villagers did with Toothless. The next thing she was truly aware of was Stoick taking hold of the back of Hiccup's vest and pulling him away from her as Gobber wrapped his good arm around her waist and pulled her back.
She reached out for the boy one more time, but Gobber held her steady as she watched Stoick lead him out of the arena, his head bowed, and hers bowing in failure only seconds later.