Disclaimer: How to Train Your Dragon was not my idea. However, This Is My Idea.
Author's Note: I have many excuses that I could use to tell you why I have not updated in a LONG time but you would not accept any of them, so I will compromise by telling a complete and utter lie: I got on the plane to Berk instead of where I was supposed to be going and it all went downhill from there.
Astrid raged through the burning town. She didn't care that she had a job to do! Hiccup and his fat mouth had taken it too far this time. The others would put out the fires anyway. Thinking had gone out of style when fighting was proved the only way. Astrid was determined to prove that! She would kill a dragon with her bare hands tonight and Hiccup would never attempt to belittle her again. She would show him what a real Viking was.
Her plan that had formed a moment ago, to charge at a Hideous Zippelback and slice off both its heads with her axe, would be impossible: for the first time in her life, she had left her axe behind. She threw a stomping fit, cursing her stupidity and feeling as useless as Hiccup. The connection of Hiccup to weapons drew Gobber's shop to the front of Astrid's mind.
She bolted in the direction of the smithy. She was sure he would have something decent there. She barged in as Gobber slowly trudged through the front entrance. His carelessness had never upset Astrid more. It took him a moment to realize that his apprentice was not present before he sighed. He bellowed, "HAS ANYONE SEEN THAT BLASTED TWIG, HICCUP? HE HASN'T BEEN CARRIED OFF, HAS HE?"
"Snotlout gave him a black eye and he's deciding to be chicken for the night," Astrid explained shortly, giving Gobber a shock at her sudden presence, then got to the point. "Gobber, give me your best axe, sharpened." She ordered.
"Hold on, lass! Don't have a dragon! I just got here! That's Hiccup's job. And you have one of your own. Get to it, lass!" (Author's Note: I took some poetic license here. You know how people say "Don't have a cow"? I expect having a dragon, if it were any bigger than a Terrible Terror, would induce much more pain.)
"Damn my job," She said heatedly, "You're the one in charge here!"
"Astrid, I have enough on my hands as it is."
She groaned.
"Listen, if you don't feel like doing your job, doesn't mean you can't fill in for Hiccup. It's not like he ever does much anyway: spends time with his stupid inventions…if that-what was it called?- mangler ever brings down a dragon…"
All that hanging around Hiccup had caused Astrid to develop a crazy idea. Maybe one of Hiccup's inventions actually would work… In a stroke of insanity, she pulled the tarp off the nearest contraption. It was unlike any machine Astrid had ever seen. Well, it is Hiccup and that's about as weird as usual… She figured that this would work in a pinch.
"They need me out there," Gobber said offhandedly, "Stay here, or better yet, get back to your real job!" The Viking was gone… Of course she wasn't going to stay there!
She ran out into the field where no one was. Her fury at Hiccup drove her. She'd show him thinking… Then everything was silent and still… Now that she was finally all alone, she guessed how to work the mangler, as Gobber had called it…
You pull this… and this… I guess you push this… and it sends this…
The silence was broken by the explosion that could only be caused by one dragon… The Night Fury. This was too perfect! Her heart raced excitedly. If she caught a Night Fury she would be honored forever…
As it whistled by, she pulled, then pushed, and somehow, a catapult caused a net to shoot forward. It flew towards the Night Fury. Astrid did not believe her eyes as she saw the outline of the mighty dragon become entangled in the net.
She stuttered, "I… I did it!" She did not believe her luck. She smiled slyly. "Did anybody see that?"
"Wow," said a thin figure with a black eye behind her. Before even turning around, her smugness turned to annoyance.
"Someone other than you…"