Chapter 3: Dragon Training
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Hiccup woke up when the sun was rising at the horizon. He yawned before he got out of bed and put on his boots and his bearskin vest. Hiccup got downstairs and grabbed some bread before he left for Ashalla's house. He ate while he was waiting.
The door of the Hofferson Maison opened and Ashalla came out.
According to Hiccup, she was beautifully dressed, just as always.
Ashalla was wearing a white shirt with long sleeves and a wide blue fur V-neckline. Her strapped skirt was also white, as were her pants and woollen boots, the belt was blue, as were the pearls in the middle of the lower edges her skirt. (See story cover). She carried her hammer in a scabbard on her back.
"Goodmorning Hic." Ashalla greeted him.
"Morning Halla." Hiccup greeted back. "Want some bread?" And he offered a larger part of the bread he was holding.
"Thanks." Ashalla said and took the bread absently.
Hiccup saw there was something on Ashalla's mind. "Halla, what's up?" he asked.
"Just mom." Ashalla replied as she started to walk towards the forest, Hiccup following her. "She's pushing Astrid in Dragon Training to make the family honorable again. But I know it's about dad's death 9 years ago."
"Your mom is still blaming Astrid for that?" Hiccup asked.
"Yes." Ashalla replied.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Hiccup said.
"You don't have to be." Ashalla said. "I got over it long ago. Death is common here, we should just move on over them and not mourn for to long. We know they are in Valhalla, that should give us more straight, the straight to keep fighting and keep their honored memories alive."
"You know you sound very spiritual there." Hiccup said. "Through you are right."
Ashalla laughed for a moment before they went further into the forest.
"How deep in the forest do you think the Night Fury crashed?" Hiccup asked.
"I believe near Raven's Cove, yet I'm not sure." Ashalla replied.
"Well, let's find it before anyone else does." Hiccup said. "You wanna run to there?"
"The sooner we free the dragon, the sooner we can head home or just hang around in the forest." Ashalla said.
The two teenagers started to run through the forest, on their way to Raven's Cove.
Hiccup was quite impressed by the easy way Ashalla landed after her jumps over trees. She was quick and light on her feet, just like a Nadder.
"Something wrong?" Ashalla asked as she turned around, stopping her walk.
Hiccup knew she saw him staring at her and also stopped. "Uhm... I just noticed you move quite like a Nadder, you know, that you're light and quick on your feet..." he rambled.
"You can stop rambling all the time." Ashalla said. "And I noticed YOU are rambling much... even to me."
Hiccup sighed. "Yeah... It's my nerves I guess." he said.
"Why should you be nervous around me?" Ashalla asked. "Am I that scary?"
"No!" Hiccup almost yelled. "I mean... no, of course you're not scary or anything like that. It's just... *sigh*... that I'll never be a part of this Viking society while you are considered one of the best Vikings ever existing! No one likes it that you're my friend..."
"Hiccup, you must know I don't care about that at all." Ashalla told. "Snotlout is a jerk, the twins are addicted to destruction, Fishlegs is okay but way to silent and Astrid suddenly turned into a bitch! Sorry that I said that about my sister, but she really changed once we became 15..."
Hiccup agreed with Ashalla on that.
Astrid had become quite a bitchy person ever since she came of age. The sudden character change had shocked Ashalla very much the first 6 months. Before the change, Astrid used to wave at Ashalla whenever Ashalla went away and didn't care about the fact that Ashalla was friends with Hiccup... But after the change, Astrid suddenly glared at Ashalla whenever she saw her with Hiccup anywhere.
"You know... I agree with you." Hiccup told.
"I'm glad you do." Ashalla said. Then she looked at him. "Have you ever questioned why I didn't kill a dragon, even when I had the chance?"
Hiccup blinked with his eyes. "N-n-no, n-never." he replied with stutter. "Why than?"
"Because, 10 years ago, I had an encounter with a weird dragon breed." Ashalla started. "And it didn't attack me at all, it just stood there, watching me with intelligent eyes. It changed my point of view of dragons, we don't have to kill them, we can just let them and don't sail out every time. And we also spare many lives of Vikings."
"Well, you had a good experience, but almost no one had that." Hiccup pointed out as Ashalla turned her head away. "Look, I'm just telling you, we can't change anybody's mind just like that."
"But maybe, we have to show them a dragon's good side." Ashalla said. "Maybe then they'll listen."
"Vikings have stubborn issues." Hiccup told. "So don't count on changing their minds."
"Yeah... maybe I'm like this because I'm different..." Ashalla sadly said.
"You know... being different can be good." Hiccup told her.
Ashalla looked at him. "Different... like what? Different is never good." she said. "Not on THIS island."
Hiccup took a deep breath. "Look, I don't know what's wrong with your view of yourself, but let me say this. You, Ashalla, are the strongest and most beautiful female Viking Berk ever had. It wouldn't surprise me if you would become the strongest person of the whole Archipelo or if you were a daughter of one of the gods." Well, he couldn't believe what he just said.
"You really think of me like that?" Ashalla asked, her voice sounding surprised.