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THE INTERVIEWS
The crowd applauds - no, more than applauds. It bellows its approval like a wild animal; it crashes like the waves of the sea. Astrid takes her seat again with a tight, small smile on her face, and smooths her skirts. She's resplendent in pale blue satin, and Hiccup can imagine the rush to the bookkeepers that's probably happening right now.
The Thorston girl was wild and aggressive, but Astrid is like folded steel, confident and focused and beautiful and lethal. There have been some good interviews tonight - the tall boy from District One charmed the pants off the audience - and some frightening tributes, especially among the Careers - and even a genuine shocker from the District Nine girl with the braided hair. But Astrid shines above them all, as unmistakably as the North Star. She's everything they want in a tribute. Nobody could follow her.
"Hiccup?" She nudges his ankle with her foot, none too gently. "You're up."
Oh, god. Right.
Hiccup gulps and lurches to his feet, already aware of the eyes of the crowd as they turn away from his district partner and fasten on him. His tailored suit felt like armor when he put it on this afternoon, but now he just feels ridiculous. Who wears a bright green suit, outside the Capitol? Somehow he manages to walk across the stage and sit down again without falling flat on his face. Caesar gives him an oddly sympathetic smile.
And then the last of the applause dies away, and all that's left is the shivering, anticipatory silence into which Hiccup is supposed to put words. Words to inspire faith, or greed, or pity; words to save his own life.
"So, Hubert." Caesar launches the interview in his usual friendly, breezy tone. "What do you do, back at home?"
"Hiccup," Hiccup says, automatically.
Caesar hesitates, thrown off his game - a rare achievement. "I'm sorry?" he says, eyebrows raised. "You...hiccup?" A ripple of laughter rises from the audience.
Hiccup grimaces. "No, I mean - uh, they call me Hiccup. At home. I, uh..."
"Oh!" Caesar swings back into gear, bright white teeth bared in a smile. "Well! I've heard some pretty unusual names from the districts, but I think this one takes the prize! Let's hear it for Hiccup Haddock, everybody!"
The audience applauds politely, but Hiccup's heart is sinking. He's already off on the wrong foot, and his chance to make a good impression is draining away. Argh, who is he kidding? He can't even get the folks at home to listen to him!
"Horses!" he blurts, desperate to squeeze in at least a little of the strategy Gobber suggested. Caesar blinks, puzzled but curious. "I, uh...I train horses. At home. I used to help with the cows and sheep, too, when I was little, but it turns out I'm pretty good at saddle training, so..."
Caesar deftly picks up the thread. "Saddle training! Ladies and gents, we've got a real wild horse tamer in the house tonight!" He smiles at Hiccup, which would be a lot more reassuring without those blinding teeth of his. "I have to admit, I never would have guessed! How do you handle those crazy beasts, Hiccup?"
Hiccup's stomach unknots itself a little - they're back on track, now. He grins at the audience, like they practiced, and pretends to flex a bicep. "Oh, you know...you just have to show 'em who's boss, right? Give 'em the old Haddock one-two!"
There's another wave of chuckles, but they're not really buying it. Hiccup sighs. How would he explain it to his dad, if he was being honest?
"But...seriously," he says, slowly, thinking out loud. "It's more about...spending time with them, and learning everything about them. If you can figure out what makes them tick, you can tame almost anything. You just have to meet them on their own terms."
Silence. Hiccup looks up, and sees the audience looking back at him with rapt attention.
For just that moment, they're really listening.
And then Caesar laughs, and steps in with a joke about whether Hiccup could train his sister's unruly pet dog - now there's a wild animal, folks! - and it's all jokes and banter about unexpected talents and not judging a book by its cover. He even asks if Hiccup thinks he could use those skills of his to analyze his opponents in the arena, which actually hadn't occurred to him until now. It's not a bad idea.
Still, it's a relief when Caesar finally shakes his hand and sends him back to his seat, and the girl from District Eleven can take her turn.
It wasn't a great interview, Hiccup decides as he settles back into his chair. But it could have been a lot worse.