Author's Note:

This was another random idea that popped into my head one late night after talking to the same friend who gave me my previous idea. This one stuck with me for a few days as I became stuck on how to finish it. My friend had become depressed one night over something her sister had said and I wanted more than anything to help her feel better. So I picked this drabble up again this morning and refused to give into it! Needless to say, I'm proud of how this came out and I sent her the original copy of the tale. I was so happy that I had been able to brighten her day. So here is my attempt at making a friend happy. I hope this brings a smile to your face as it has to me and my friend.

"Would you quit laughing!"

"I can't . . . I can't . . . h - help it!"

"Then I'll make you stop!"

And so the cycle repeated itself. Astrid found herself tackling Sora, shoving his face into the dirt with a scowl present on her facial features. Sora was a giggling mess as he shoved against Astrid and rolled onto his side, unable to control himself. Astrid fumed and directed a kick at his shin before plopping down on the porch again, her scowl never wavering from her face. Eventually, Sora eased himself up again, his trademark smile only further getting on Astrid's nerves. The brunette eased his chuckles into a faint stream as he looked over toward the blond sitting across from him. The two stared at each other in silence for about half a minute before Sora erupted in a fit of hysterical laughter and kicking feet.

Astrid exhaled loudly, the urge to slam the kid's face into the nearest and freshest pile of dragon droppings she could find becoming stronger by the second. "What's so funny?" What little patience she'd been blessed with by Freyja was wearing dangerously thin. Most people would get up and run away from the glare Astrid was sending Sora. Yet here he was, laying on his side in the dirt, both arms around his gut and having absolutely no control over his breathing patterns and vocal cords.

When Sora's laughs didn't stop, Astrid grabbed for a dirt clog and threw it. Her aim was never off and this time was no exception. The ball of dirt and dead leaves smacked into Sora's forehead, effectively shutting him up. Sora bolted upright, looking at Astrid like she had just told him he'd been lied to his whole life and that he was actually a girl. By the time her question finally registered to him, Sora had a sheepish grin on his face. Something Astrid instantly found annoying all over again.

By the Gods, WHY had she agreed to this!

"I'm sorry. I've never been good at staring contests. I always start laughing."

Astrid blinked, her earlier scowl replaced with a confused expression as her brow scrunched together. It was true. The pair had been having a staring contest before they got down to the actual reason for their meeting. And every time Astrid's gray-blue eyes locked onto Sora's darker blue ones, his shoulders would start shaking from suppressed fits of laughter before he couldn't take it anymore and fell onto his back. While it meant Astrid was winning said staring contests, it also left her to wonder who in their right minds would let this kid become the Keyblade Master. He couldn't even hold eye contact for more than three seconds without laughing!

Ever since Sora had shown up, Astrid had been bothered by his willingness to be so open with his emotions and opinions. Hiccup, being as ever observant as he was, had picked up on Astrid's discomfort within the first hour of meeting the foreign brunette. And, being as willing to come up with new experiments as he was observant, Hiccup had proposed the idea that Astrid try and learn how to be more expressive without being violent through Sora. Sora had jumped on the idea of being able to teach somebody something. As for Astrid? She was less than thrilled by the idea of having to spend time around the weird kid. Honestly, she would have rather spent her time watching Snotlout kiss his muscles than this. Okay... Maybe she wasn't that desperate... Yet...

So this was where they found themselves. Astrid was sitting on the lowest step leading to the Hofferson residence front porch, Sora sitting on the dirt across from her. She had hoped to get this whole thing done and over with before breakfast, but Sora had slept in till well past noon. Nobody could wake him up from his deep slumber. Even a wet Willie courtesy of Ruffnut and a burp in the ear from Tuffnut hadn't gotten more than a few incoherent mumbles from the brunette. When Sora had finally crawled out of his cocoon of blankets on the floor, nobody had been at the house anymore. Well... almost nobody. The Terrible Terror that had taken a liking toward Sora had slept in along with him and was still fast asleep against his stomach, having somehow wound itself into Sora's shirt in the night.

Thankfully, in Sora's search to find a familiar face, he hadn't drawn any attention to himself outside of his hair. His alien black attire had been swapped out for a dark blue tunic and black trousers courtesy of Tuffnut since Sora had proven to actually be bigger than Hiccup when it came to height. Probably due to Sora being a little older than the chief's son. Still, Sora was built like Hiccup muscle mass and bone width wise. So Tuffnut's clothes hung loosely from the lanky teenager. Sora still had on his sneakers since nobody had a spare pair of boots they could offer up. Well, Astrid did, but she wasn't about to loan out anything to the weird-o. Not until she knew more about him and his intentions anyway. Sora's fingerless gloves and metal necklace were still present on his person as well.

Honestly? Astrid wasn't even comfortable with the idea of Sora sleeping under the same roof as Hiccup. If he really was the Keyblade Wielder, then what was stopping him from burning and pillaging Berk? Astrid had never been one for childish fantasies or believing in stories told around the fire to little children having trouble getting to sleep. She had never been one to believe that there really was a Night Fury under her bed, just waiting for her to try and slip downstairs after her parents went to bed to maul her. The tall-tales of Hideous Zipplebacks loosing one of their heads and taking those of misbehaving children to try and replace it never once gave her nightmares. The unbelievable idea that a Monstrous Nightmare got the fuel for its fires by eating the hearts of weak newborn babes had failed to send shivers down her spine. The very idea of a Gronkle falling from the sky and crushing her every time she messed up in her training was put to some serious doubt when Astrid was barely five years old. The fabricated tales of Scaldrens boiling impatient children who decided to go swimming by themselves held no fear for her. The threat of a Deadly Nadder turning her into a shish kabob using the poisonous spines along its tail for getting too fat had obviously been a lie just by looking at Fishlegs. The insanity of it all to imagine a Bone Napper getting the bones that made up its being were from disowned children was beyond absurd. All of these tales and more were told to small children to keep them in line by use of fear.

Why was it just the two of them when it was neither of their ideas you might be wondering. Well, being the master of the art of self-preservation, Hiccup had come up with the smart of idea to not be present at the moment. His latest excuse being that he needed to fix Toothless' saddle or that he was going to brave an attempt to fashioning one for Birdbrain. Whatever the excuse Astrid just knew that the next time Hiccup saw her, he had better pray to the Gods that she didn't break her promise and bust his nose.

Sora's grin was not contagious. In fact, it only seemed to further annoy Astrid. Something Sora purposely chose to ignore. "First things first. We're going to get you to smile." Sora's grin got quite a bit bigger. Big enough that Astrid was honestly waiting for the upper half of his head to fall off from his skull being split in half.

Astrid groaned and rested her chin in her palm, leaning forward with a bored expression. She scoffed at the very idea of somebody taking the time to try and get her to slip a grin or two out into the open. Sora was about as insane as Gobber if he thought she was going to make a fool out of herself and mimic that stupid grin he wore. Astrid balled up her other fist, counting down from ten in her head to try and stop herself from making Sora eat dirt for the umpteenth time today. His face and clothes bore the dirt smudges from that last violent tackle.

Sora's smile died down after a minute, realizing she wasn't going to copy him. About the only emotions he'd ever seen her show were anger, annoyance, confusion, and boredom. Sora knew there was more in there. It was just a matter of finding the right thing to get them to come out. The brunette didn't know what was considered funny on Berk, so he couldn't try and crack a joke or two in the hopes that she would understand and laugh.

Hiccup really should have hung around. He knew Astrid a lot better than Sora did.

"I still say this is a stupid idea." Astrid spoke up suddenly and with a bored tone. It was Sora's turn to look confused. One eyebrow slowly rose up into his bangs, his head tilting to the left side and his smile no longer present. Astrid watched him with mild interest, taking note of how his face would contort so easily to show varying degrees of expression. Clearly Sora did not agree with her dismissive tone. "How can expressing yourself be stupid?" He righted his head, having long picked up on the fact that Astrid found the simple gesture irritating somehow. Smart move...

Astrid took a deep breath. She felt like she was having to explain why fire was hot to the a two year old all of the sudden. "Because you're enemy could potentially read your next move. Or worse, find what you value most and take it away from you. You're enemy would love nothing more than to make you suffer in more ways than you thought possible." Saying this, Astrid blinked at Sora's latest expression. His deep azure eyes had widened by a significant degree and his mouth was hanging open from a fraction of an inch. Somehow, Astrid took pleasure in seeing him so dumbfounded. But she didn't smirk. She withheld showing such a thing to further prove her point.

Somehow, someway, Sora took this information and turned it around. He closed his mouth and relaxed his facial expression, his curiosity twinkling within his eyes. "So then, you consider me an enemy?" Sora questioned and scratched the back of his head. But before Astrid could open her mouth to say anything in her defense on the matter, Sora plowed onward. "And is that why you're so open around Hiccup? Because he's your friend and you trust him not to hurt you?" Astrid closed her mouth, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks. She looked away from Sora, doing her best to gain control of her flushed expression while trying to think of a decent comeback to this observation.

Sora, on the other hand, had caught onto Astrid's latest expression. A smirk etched across his boyish face. Had Astrid been looking at him, she might have felt Goosebumps. In the small time she'd known Sora, she had come to the conclusion that Sora wasn't one to scheme behind her back like Hiccup did. Granted, Hiccup can and had already proven he knew how to talk Sora into helping him with his latest hair-brained scheme. But Sora didn't strike anybody as somebody who was smart enough to plot anything beyond the next five seconds of his short life. Then again, Astrid had never seen Sora in a fight either. If he really was the wielder of the Keyblade, he had to be strong on the battlefield. Astrid found herself fighting the contemplations on how to wind Sora up enough to agree to a match against her.

Careful with the words she chose, Astrid kept her expression locked on Sora's still unnamed Terrible Terror, which was currently chasing its shadow a few feet from Sora. "Yes. Because Hiccup is my friend." She really, REALLY hoped Sora didn't catch onto her blush. Sadly, even Sora wasn't that oblivious. The brunette's smirk was joined by a sly look in his eyes. "Really? How come you don't act that way around the twins or Fishlegs then?" Even Sora knew Snotlout got on Astrid's nerves, but he didn't know it was because he constantly hit on her. He just thought Astrid didn't like Snotlout for belittling her because of her gender.

Astrid visibly flinched, but she kept her composure. Gods, why couldn't Sora just drop the subject and go back to trying to make her smile? That was easier to deal with than this! "Because the twins are annoying and Fish is just... Fish." The blond glanced at Sora out of the corner of her eye and regretted it. That knowing look on his face was disturbing. Period. Astrid looked away just as quickly as she had glanced.

Sora's smirk pulled back further, showing some of his teeth. Teeth that bothered Astrid with how straight they were. Anybody in Berk who was lucky enough to reach the age of fifteen was missing a few and what teeth they did have left were crooked or chipped. Her left front tooth was bigger than her right and, like most kids, she had a bit of an overbite. Sora, on the other hand, looked like he had never bitten into anything his entire life. Yet another reason he was a freak in Astrid's eyes.

Her answer, however, did not perturb Sora. He had latched onto something that he could use to get Astrid to show different levels of emotion outside of rage. Something he hoped he could use in the long run to get her to crack a smile. "Then how come you treat Hiccup different than the others?" Sora had seen Astrid get annoyed with the brunette. Then again, she also seemed to hover over him like a vulture every time he even gave so much as a hint of a limp from his prosthetic. Sora wasn't the type to over evaluate things, so he never thought much of it. He just took it as her just being a good friend. Even now, that was how Sora saw her relationship with Hiccup. But she acted different around Hiccup none the less.

Astrid was about as good as masking her emotions as she was changing them where the scrawny worst-Viking-in-Berk-history was concerned. She shifted a little, the only sign of her discomfort. She forced a bored expression on her face, hoping to deter Sora from the subject, and she looked back to him, doing her best not to deck him for that strange expression he wore. "Because he's my friend. I don't understand why I have to keep repeating myself." Astrid would kill for a subject change right about now. She so latched onto the first thing that popped into her head. "Why are you so willing to express yourself despite the danger it might bring to your friends?" Judging by the smirk faltering on Sora's face, Astrid had successfully deterred the brunette from digging where nobody should tread.

Or not...

"Because I want my friends to know how I feel!" Sora exclaimed passionately, bringing his hands up evenly with his chest to and flexing his fingers at the air between the two of them, as if he was trying to grasp hold of something that wasn't there. He stressed his point with more than just words and hand gestures. Sora's face and voice spoke of a more serious tone. Something that normally wouldn't come from him. Something some people would argue should never be expressed by Sora unless under the most dire of circumstances. "Isn't that why you smile at Hiccup?" he added in on a lighter note. And, just like that, his serious expression vanished, leaving a tilted head and a quirked eyebrow behind.

Somehow, Astrid stopped her cheeks from setting themselves on fire at this. She eyed Sora suspiciously. There was no way this oblivious little half-troll, alien, pain in her butt had ever seen her smile. But if there was one thing about Sora everybody who talked to him noticed, it was that Sora was honest to a fault. If you wanted the truth, you asked Sora. It was like he had never been taught how to lie before. Maybe wherever he was from, lying was unheard of. But while Sora didn't lie, he could pick up on when those around him weren't being truthful to him. Why else would she be having to defend herself against him now? Sora wasn't book smart, but in the ways of emotions, Sora was the master of picking up on them.

That knowing, creepy smile slipped across Sora's face again at Astrid's lack of an a forthcoming answer. Astrid grew annoyed all over again, but she resisted the temptation to bash Sora's skull in because she knew it would only further prove the point Sora was hinting at. The thing is, Astrid didn't know that what she thought Sora meant and what he actually meant were two different things. Sora was just trying to get her to admit that having a friend in Hiccup helped her relax and show a grin. Astrid was afraid Sora was thinking far too into their relationship and had possibly picked up on Astrid's desire to be a little more than just Hiccup's friend. Sure, she had kissed the guy in broad daylight with half of the town watching her. And yes, people had taken notice to how she hovered over him and had no tolerance for things being said against or about him that were negative in any way. But if Sora figured that much out, then maybe Astrid wasn't as good as masking her emotions as she had previously thought.

Exhaling loudly, Astrid reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose. "What of it, Spiky?" Astrid rarely resorted to name-calling, but she was growing more and more impatient with Sora's questions dancing just out of range of the real question that she felt he was hinting toward. "Spiky" was a term coined by the twins upon seeing Sora. Both were convinced that was his real name and that "Sora" was just some made-up word that he called himself to hide his embarrassment. What both of them failed to realize was that Sora had no issues with being called "Spiky". It was better than Snotlout in his honest opinion. Not that he would say that out loud for fear of getting into a fight with said Viking.

Sora shrugged indifferently. While Astrid was getting annoyed by his questions, Sora was getting more and more curious. The fact that she was reverting to anger made Sora want to back off, but he'd gotten Astrid to show a non-negative emotion earlier that he couldn't quite name. Which meant he was sitting just outside of the solution to Astrid's expression problem. Leaving Sora to want to dig further despite any discomforts it might bring him in order to help Astrid.

"Well, I was just curious. You always act different around him." Sora pestered innocently.

"What do you want me to do! Ignore him?" Astrid felt her fists ball up.

"N - no! Just that I was curious as to why! Maybe it'll help you express yourself better."

" . . . . . "

Astrid bit her lower lip. She was getting really tired of these weird conversations that seemed to come to life when she was left alone with Sora. After this, Astrid made a mental note to be never be around the brunette without anybody else present. There wasn't much else to say on the matter, but it didn't look like Sora was going to be dissuaded anytime soon into changing the subject into something less... awkward.

If Sora was put off by her lack of a response, he didn't show it. The two were left at a stand-still, neither wanting to say anything but wanting to kill the silence at the same time. A question popped into Sora's mind. While it wasn't a subject changer, it would hopefully get the mood to lighten up. "Why do you consider Hiccup your friend?" Sora spoke with honest curiosity. They say curiosity killed the cat. And, well, Sora had been turned into a lion cub before.

Astrid blinked, clearly being thrown out of her stupor. She shot Sora a confused expression, silently asking him where such a question came from. Well, since Sora wasn't venturing past the idea of her being friends with Hiccup, then she figured she could handle this and entertain Sora's oblivious curiosity. Astrid opened her mouth to answer, but stopped herself from making any sound. Honestly, she had never thought about it before. The blond had never been asked to explain herself or her actions in such a way. Most either just knew or didn't have the nerves required to ask her such a question in the first place. It made avoiding these kinds of situations so much easier. Astrid clamped her mouth shut at her loss for words.

Hiccup was brave to the point of suicidal stupidity. This was proven on a near daily basis around Astrid since he seemed to either enjoy winding her up in a fit of rage or was blissfully unaware of how close he got sometimes to loosing his ability to reproduce. Tell Hiccup NOT do to something, and it was only a matter of time before you caught him doing what you warned him against, having long convinced himself that whoever told him not to do it was wrong. He had a one track mind in the sense that once he got an idea in his head, no amount of physical abuse or attempts at talking some sense into him would deter him. Hiccup had a strange sense of humor and was quick-witted, but not in an arrogant way. Granted, Astrid used to view people who would rather use tact over an axe as weaklings. She doubted Hiccup would (or even could) heft an axe over his shoulder and charge into a battle seeking honor and glory. Raising a sword in anger didn't suit him either. And forget dropping a war hammer on the heads of his foes. Hiccup would be more likely to drop it on his own foot that was still there. Astrid knew he was a little clumsy, made even more obvious thanks to his prosthetic by the way he flailed his arms just trying to maintain his balance. If Astrid started walking slower than usual just so he could keep up with her, he became frustrated. He could try and hide it, but it was still pretty obvious. And despite this set-back, Hiccup still refused to withhold a snarky remark at the risk of being decked between the eyes. He tended to make sarcastic jokes about everyone and everything. He was scrawny, short, and weak for his age and was horrible with any traditional weapon placed in his hands. Not to mention how much he could and would complain and whine if you did something to him he didn't approve of. Like taking him by surprise and giving him a noogie. Hiccup didn't enjoy being reminded just how powerless he really was either.

So then... What was there to like?

While he was braver than most in the worst situations, Hiccup wasn't selfish. Astrid couldn't recall a time where he was pretending to withhold his fears. Any time he ever did attempt something, it was rarely ever for himself. For so long, he'd merely done the stupid things he had because he was seeking approval from his father. Everything else had either been for Toothless or someone other than himself. Hiccup had risked everything just to make sure nobody else found out about the Night Fury he'd befriended. He was willing to face Stoick at his angriest to try and protect the dragon from Berk's wrath. Despite being disowned and down on his luck, he was still able to pick himself up again and save the very people who had mistreated him for so long. Hiccup was also one of the only people who didn't hit on her or attempt to impress her. Granted, he got flustered easily and repeated himself when startled. But he treated her like a person and not some trophy to be won. Hiccup got on her nerves, and while she wanted to hit him more often than not, he was the last person she would wish anything bad on. While he was a bit of a klutz, when things got serious, he would buckle down and drop the sarcastic comments in favor of thinking of a solution to the problem. As far as she knew, he didn't think ill of anyone. It was rare for him to swear or curse at something that wasn't his own fault. He wouldn't begrudge anyone because of their short comings and treated everyone on about the same level. The big exceptions being Stoick and Toothless as far as Astrid could tell.

Without even realizing it, Astrid had the beginnings of a smile on her face.

He was loyal beyond words to the people who just gave him a chance. Hiccup didn't look down on anybody any more than he did himself. He was his own worst critic. He'd sooner find something he did wrong than point out where someone else screwed up. And, in some weird and twisted way, Astrid found him adorable despite him being the definition of an annoying little dork. The way he tilted his head when he was curious was annoying at first, but it somehow grew on her. His crooked, nervous grins twisted her insides in a strange and not quite unpleasant knot. His more confident smiles were somehow contagious. Even his little tantrums were cute in their own right. Thinking about it, Astrid couldn't suppress a light chuckle from escaping her. Hiccup was nervous when he was within her presence despite her desire for him to just relax and be himself around her. Astrid hated how he had such little confidence in himself sometimes, but she was grateful he wasn't cocky or arrogant like Snotlout or Tuffnut.

A fit of snickers drew Astrid from her train of thoughts, blinking her eyes to focus on the reality set before her. Sora once again had a smile on his face, but it wasn't taunting. It seemed to be withholding some sort of inner knowledge that wasn't fitting for somebody like Sora to know and understand. For once, it didn't grate on Astrid's nerves. She stared back at him, not realizing the faint grin that was present on her face. "What's so funny?" she questioned and realized her mouth felt strange. It was then the blond Viking realized what she had been doing and quickly tried to shove the stupid expression to the side. But it would seem that by being a Viking, even her body was going to stubborn and against her inner wishes at some points in her life. It really didn't help that her cheeks felt warmer than usual.

Sora's smile widened a little, nearly causing Astrid's eye to twitch. She held it together only because she wanted to know his answer. "Nothing. Just wondering why it took you so long to realize it's okay to smile." To emphasize his point, Sora pointed toward Astrid, indicating the expression on her face.

Instantly, Astrid groaned and put her head down, holding her head up by pressing her palms against her forehead. Was it really okay to smile outside of the confident smirk or a victorious grin? No, surely not. But what had caused her grin despite her desires to not show such a gesture? At the time it had happened, she had been lost in thought. Lost in thought thinking about Hiccup and why she considered him a friend. Realizing this, Astrid groaned once again, longer and louder than the first. For the love of Thor, what had Hiccup done to her? The scrawny little half-troll was able to screw her up even when he wasn't around! And nobody messed around with Astrid Hofferson! Nobody who knew her even in passing and didn't want to loose a few fingers or an eye. But this guy just walked into her life, creating all sorts of new and unwanted emotions, and got her to bend over backwards in worry without even saying a word!

"It's official... The Gods hate me..." she muttered in a pitiful tone that was unbecoming of her.

Sora blinked, unsure as to why Astrid would say such a thing. He got up off of the ground and absentmindedly patting down his borrowed trousers and rear to get rid of excess patches of dirt that clung to his legs. Sora approached Astrid, bending down at the waist and balancing his upper body up by pressing his palms down on top of his knobby knees. "I don't get it." He was still hovering above her even from that vantage point, so Sora squatted down and crossed his arms, resting them across his knees while he maintained his balance. "What's so wrong about smiling? Is there a rule against it or something?"

Astrid groaned once again and lifted her gaze, seeming unfazed by how close Sora had moved toward her. She rested her chin in her palms, regarding Sora with a strange expression. There was no rule against it per say. It was just something that was frowned upon in Viking society. Something she doubted Sora could come to understand. "Everyone here can smile, Sora." she answered as if she, once again, talking to a two year old. And it was true too. Everyone smiled around Berk. It was just either after a victory, a crude joke, a violent display of brotherly affection towards one's battle buddies, or something equally as Viking-like. "Just nobody around here smiles because of Hiccup. Nobody sane anyway." Astrid really didn't care if Sora caught on or not. She was positive Sora already knew her not-so-well-kept-secret anyway.

Sora blinked, finally seeming to catch onto what was going on. "Oh... Oh! So..." Sora trailed off, unsure of just how to continue this without prodding Astrid or antagonizing her into screaming and storming off. "So you like Hiccup in... that way huh?" Sora said in a way that clearly implied that he was only just now picking up the relationship status.

Astrid's expression went from blank to surprised in near record time. So Sora hadn't caught onto her until just now? Was he really that slow or was he just toying with her? Astrid shrugged and gave a slow nod of her head, making sure to get her point across now so it wasn't brought up later where Hiccup would hear. "Bingo. I think you might be one of only a few who didn't know that." Which was true. Astrid had made it clear she had laid claim to the brunette when she kissed him in broad daylight shortly after he had come back around. Granted, Snotlout probably still didn't know and the twins were still blissfully unaware as far as she was concerned. As for Fishlegs, there was no telling. But Hiccup knew and that was all that really mattered in the end.

"So... does Hiccup know?" Sora asked tentatively.

"I should hope so. If not, he's more oblivious than you," Astrid responded with conviction.

"Well," Sora started as he finally lost his balance and fell onto his rear, "then what is there to be ashamed about?"

Astrid sighed loudly, almost in an annoyed manner. "How can I explain this without confusing you more..." Astrid closed her eyes, exhaling loudly through her nose, before looking at Sora again, forcing him to look right back at her. "Because Hiccup is the worst Viking in Berk history." Before Sora could open his mouth and attempt to contradict her, Astrid held up one of her hands to silence him. "The guy can't lift an axe, he can't follow orders, he couldn't even do the most basic of tasks right when somebody tells him to stay out of the way." Astrid dropped her other hand, choosing to hold her head on its own now. "He can hardly defend himself outside of sarcastic remarks or running with his tail between his legs." Sora opened his mouth to try and retort against this, but was cut short once again by a serious glare from Astrid. "But," she said with all the seriousness her glare implied, "Hiccup is not a bad person. He's crazy and full of stupid ideas, but he's loyal to a fault and... and..." Astrid sighed and shook her head. "I wouldn't have him any other way." Astrid's shoulders sagged at this realization. Here she was getting herself wound up and saying things better left kept to herself to somebody who shouldn't even exist outside of a fairytale. "Nothing wrong with that."

A smile danced across Sora's face. His expression told a thousand stories, none of which Astrid had the ability to interpret.

Whatever Sora was about to say next was cut off when they both heard a hiss coming from behind Sora. The brunette slowly turned around, Astrid getting up to her feet to look over his head. The Terrible Terror had its back to them, looking to something in the sky. Both kids looked upward, seeing a mass of blue and yellow coming down and landing with the grace of an elephant on roller skates barely ten feet to their right. Sora yelped in pure surprise, falling onto his back and startling the Terror into climbing onto his gut, hissing and fanning out its wings as if trying to protect its new favorite sleeping spot. Astrid jumped back, but was more confused than scared by Birdbrain's sudden appearance and awkward landing.

Until she got a closer look at the dragon.

There were leather straps hanging off of the dragon's torso. One had a buckle that clearly was meant to attach across the dragon's chest with another strap to secure it into place. There was a similar pair, covered in a bit more padding going around the base of the dragon's long and spiked tail. A long and wide patch of leather was across the dragon's back, sitting lopsided between the dragon's wings, having been hindering Birdbrain's use of her left wing. The only thing really holding it in place was the loop around the Nadder's tail and the fact that the leather padding had gotten hooked on one of her upright neck spikes. The dragon was clearly agitated by the clicking sounds she was making. The Nadder huffed loudly when Astrid approached her, even bending down to make it even more clear what Birdbrain wanted. Astrid grabbed hold of the leather and gave it a few yanks before it came loose from the spike that had somehow punctured through it. Instantly, the dragon started to relax, the spikes on her tail going flat against her scales. Astrid moved down and fiddled with the buckle around its base, eventually pulling it loose and letting it hang. Birdbrain took the cue and shook herself, knocking the harness off and onto the ground.

Standing over it, Astrid sighed loudly and bent down to lift the leather up off of the ground. Sora had finally recovered and approached her, looking the mess of leather and buckles over with a confused expression. Sighing, Astrid hoisted the harness under her arm and turned on the spot, knowing exactly where she was needed. Sora watched her, looked to Birdbrain, then back in the direction Astrid had left in. Birdbrain grunted before walking after her blond rider, for once not agitated by Sora's presence.

Blinking out of his confusion, Sora took off after Astrid, passing up Birdbrain fairly easily. "What's going on?" Sora questioned just in time to feel the Terrible Terror land on his head just in time for him to slow down at Astrid's side. Astrid adjusted her grip on the makeshift harness, her gaze locked ahead of her. "Looks like Hiccup tried to make a saddle for Birdbrain. And succeeded in ticking her off." Sora paused for a split second before jogging to catch up with her again. Their earlier conversation came to mind, but the brunette kept that to himself. He'd never been to the blacksmith forge before, so he's just have to trust Astrid to lead the way.

A light snicker came forth after Sora chanced a glance back at Birdbrain before looking to the blond Viking next to him. "You weren't kidding when you said Hiccup was crazy."

Astrid rolled her eyes, but was unable to stop a faint smile was gracing her face. "If only you knew, Sora. If only you knew."