Astrid was starting to get the feeling that Hiccup knew she was tailing him.
There was a perfectly good path to the lake that didn't involve thick trees, mud pits and hidden rocks that tripped her up constantly, and Hiccup chose the path that deliberately tripped her up. All these unnecessary roadblocks were making her even more frustrated. It didn't help that Hiccup was taking it all in stride. He stopped, Astrid panicked and quickly halted her movements. Breathing silently though her nose, she watched as he stretched a bit, fixed the mess of paper his arms and set off again. Releasing her held breath, she continued to prowl after her victim.
Yes, Astrid was sure that Hiccup was on to her.
Hiccup was taking the route directly to the base of the lake. She didn't want him discovering her, so she deviated from his route and quickly sped off to the same spot where she observed him before.
After making sure she was home free, Astrid sat comfortably beside a boulder partially covered by a shrub. 'Perfect. Good spot, and there's no way that he'll see me.' However, just as that thought crossed her mind, she accidentally shifted her weight and broke a twig. It snapped loudly, which happened to catch the red headed target's attention. Hiccup looked wildly in all directions while Astrid kept very still. 'Don't. Move. Don't. Breathe...oh crap, I have to breathe!'
Shaking his head, Hiccup continued on towards the body of water. For what seemed to be the hundredth time, Astrid released a long sigh. Glaring up, she thought angrily that Odin did not have a very good sense of humor.
Creeping back to her original position, Astrid watched intently to observe Hiccup's next move. He set the papers down and started to tiptoe silently around the area. The boy seemed to be looking for something. Astrid stared as Hiccup continued to carefully creep around the area.
Sighing, she rubbed her temples in frustration. "This kid is seriously unbalanced. Heh, imagine if he was looking for that overgrown bag of scales...no, he can't have that big a death wish."
"Hello?"
Clearly, Hiccup was going to meet up with someone…or something. Her blue eyes darted back and forth, searching for any sign of the black monstrosity she had seen earlier. Unbeknownst to both of them, a pair of emerald green eyes was also carefully scanning the area. These eyes didn't have any protective intent at all.
Muscles flexed, claws extended, and a feral growl escaped the dragon's mouth. This boy was not going to come out alive this time. The eyes kept following the strange, wingless hatchling. Slowly but surely he was getting closer. Soon as the young one's footsteps got close enough, he pounced.
"ROOOOAAAR!"
Astrid kept her eyes peeled for any potential dangers that might befall Hiccup. 'I don't even know why I'm bothering to save his sorry behind. Anyone looking for a dragon deserves what's coming to him.' Despite herself, she huffed and continued her lookout. Suddenly, she spotted a jet black blur appear out from behind a boulder.
"HICCUP!"
Her scream was in vain; the dragon had the boy in its sights. From what Astrid could see, it had its teeth bared and a menacing growl came from its throat. Hiccup stopped and backed up slowly. Staring it straight in the eyes, he put his hands up, "I won't hurt you. I just wanted to see if you were injured." If the beast understood any of what Hiccup was saying, it was obvious it didn't care. It slowly stepped towards him, eyes glaring daggers at him. Its pupils became slits so thin, that they bisected its vibrant green irises.
Astrid was frozen in fear. Now normally the Hofferson girl prided herself with being able to stare a dragon right in the eye and not even blink, but this time she couldn't even move. 'You have to help him! He'll die! I can't let him die!' Her thoughts became wildly panicked as her mind flashed back to memories of her father. 'Enough blood was spilled when my father died, I don't need another one of my tribe killed by these monsters!'
Wiping away what she believed to be a sign of weakness, she willed herself to move just enough to grab her axe. Fingers grasping nothing but air, she internally smacked herself. 'No, I forgot it at home! Oh Thor! Why now?'
Meanwhile, the Night Fury and Hiccup continued to be in their own little world; oblivious to the panicking Viking girl atop the cliff only a few feet away. Regaining her composure, she set her sights on the Night Fury and Hiccup. They hadn't moved from the spot that they were in before. Grabbing the small dagger hidden on the outside of her thigh, she crept closer to where the duo currently was. But something stopped her; the dragon wasn't attacking.
The menacing growl that once filled the air was gone, now replaced by a soft rumbling instead. Although its muscles were still stiff and poised to attack, the Night Fury's face seemed a bit more benevolent. It cautiously went up to Hiccup, making sure to keep eye contact with him. Its movements were surprisingly graceful, almost cat-like. Hiccup seemed to relax a little. Slowly bringing his hand up, he spoke softly, "I-I" A look of determination replaced the one of fear he had before. "I won't hurt you."
Astrid was left speechless. She had never witnessed anything like this. It was as if the dragon was listening to Hiccup's pleas. 'I shouldn't move. If I do anything to break this silence, I might blow my cover. Hiccup might become a pile of ash.'
Slowly making its way to the boy, the Night Fury's pupils changed. Its eyes relaxed and its pupils began to resemble ovals. It made a clicking sound and sniffed at the red head. Hiccup brought his hand closer. Astrid leaned in closer. 'What's happening?'
The two seemed to be evaluating the other. Suddenly, the Night Fury backed away quickly and snarled. Both Hiccup and Astrid jumped at least a foot in the air.
Hiccup began to panic. "What- what happened?"
The Night Fury continued to growl and glare at Hiccup. Attempting to pinpoint where the dragon was looking at, he brought his hand to his leg. Astrid watched him pull out a shiny, metallic object.
'Oh! The dagger! That dragon must've spotted it and gotten scared!' Hiccup seemed to have come to the same conclusion and threw it on the ground. The midnight blue creature snarled and blasted fire at the dagger. It was a bright blue flame and it exploded on contact. Astrid recoiled at the sight. 'I have never seen anything like that before...from ANY dragon!'
Hiccup tried to console the dragon. "See, nothing to be worried about. The danger's gone." Unlike before when the dragon had listened to the Viking boy, the Night Fury just bared its teeth and roared before tearing away from Hiccup. It tried to fly away, but it only managed to glid a few feet. After it landed, it moaned in displeasure.
Astrid looked on with great curiosity. After her heart had stopped beating a mile a minute, she breathed a sigh of relief. 'Thank the gods, Hiccup's ok...Wait, what? No, not Hiccup, DEFINITELY not worried about that scrawny fishbone! My heart's just pumping from all the adrenaline! I'm just glad a fellow comrade is still alive. Quit acting like this Hofferson, get ahold of yourself.'
Glancing down, Astrid got a quick look at the Night Fury's unsuccessful attempt at flight. She looked on with confusion. "Why don't you just fly away?" she thought aloud.
Shrugging her shoulders, she stretched her arms and legs. 'Ugh...sitting in the same spot for an hour feels horrible.'
After an hour of staring at Hiccup watch the Night Fury, Astrid noticed him getting up to leave and prepared to take off right after him, but could not find the energy. The day's event took a heavy toll on her as her eyelids began to grow heavier. Astrid was making her way out of the shrubbery, when a familiar voice filled the air.
"A-Astrid, what are you doing here?"
Hiccup looked extremely nervous. Astrid noticed his palms were sweating, and his hands were anxiously moving at his sides.
'Wow, that encounter must've really shaken him up. He can barely look me in the eye, and he's all twitchy. Wait! Can't have him be suspicious by me acting all nice, I'll have to do something so he doesn't know I was watching him!'
Astrid rolled her eyes and looked up at the treetops. She took a few steps back and looked at Hiccup out of the corner of her eye. "Yeah, what do you want?" She attempted a look of indifference, but her exhaustion made it extremely difficult.
Hiccup gave her a nervous smile and rubbed the back of his neck. "So uh...what brings you to the woods?"
"Am I not allowed here?" Astrid narrowed her eyes in annoyance.
Raising his hands disarmingly, he answered, "No! No, you can be here whenever you want! I mean not whenever, I don't think your mom will let you out at night..."
Glare.
"Not that I know what your mom's like, not at all!" Astrid toned down her anger, now knowing whether it was out of pure exhaustion or if she felt a bit of pity for the boy.
She waved her hand in the air and said, "Well I'll see you later." Hiccup relaxed a bit, but his face looked disappointed. Before she got a foot away, she managed to hear him mutter under his breath. "Way to go, you managed to screw up a simple conversation yet again...All the ladies love a stuttering Viking!" Sulking, he went off a slightly different path that Astrid's, presumably to avoid any more embarrassment.
Astrid smiled. Though she thought he was an idiot and a complete masochist, she found him slightly endearing; not that she'd ever admit that. Ever.
Trudging her feet towards her house, Astrid replayed the day's events. 'The dragon did not attack, didn't go in for the kill...why?' This simply did not make sense. It went against everything her father had taught her.
As she continued on, she was oblivious to any villager that tried to get her attention. Snotlout had spotted her. Slicking back his hair, he put on his best flirt face and cozied up to Astrid.
"So babe... You. Me. Working out. What do you say?" He waggled his eyebrow for good measure. All this earned him was an elbow to the gut, and a terrifying glare. "Ow...*cough* Alrighty then, see ya later?" Astrid grunted in response, and left Snotlout to his own devices.
The now irritated Astrid did not appreciate being treated like some sort of prize to be won. All Snotlout and the other boys had done were flex their muscles and say how good they would be together. They'd talk endlessly about how perfect Astrid was for them, but never about how good they would be for her. It was just tiresome having the same routine every day. Flirt. Punishment. Walk away. Lather, rinse and repeat.
Upon coming home, Astrid ignored any words her mother was saying and climbed the stairs to her room. She flung herself into bed and willed sleep to overtake her. What she had seen today was too much to absorb and she needed time to process. Tomorrow was a new day; there would be more time. Slowly closing her eyes, she said goodnight to no one in particular and let the darkness ease her mind.
I'm not sure if this chapter was particularly long, but it's the best I can do. I won't be able to update till Friday after this, so please enjoy this chappie and hit me up with some feedback! It's still incredible that so many people are favoriting and adding it to their favorite story alert AND reviewing! :D this makes me a very happy noodle :) but all you nice people favoriting, please tell me WHY you like it so much! For all I know, you could be confusing this story with another! :P well thank you anyways people, adios!