How did he do that?
Despite the chicken leg in front of her, Frieda wasn't particularly hungry. While the leg was still somewhat warm, she had been in the great hall for most of the day, only grabbing the leg a little while ago when she noticed that the other villagers started grabbing a bite to eat. Gobber had canceled dragon training for the day so that she and the others could rest, though part of her felt it was due to the weather outside. It wasn't raining when Frieda woke up, but the skies looked like they were ready to pour.
Next to her, her fellow trainees were still buzzing about what happened the day before, and they weren't the only ones. News of what Hiccup did in the arena quickly spread throughout the village. There were some that were skeptical about his triumph over the Zippleback, calling it a fluke, others were hopeful that this was a sign for things to come from the boy.
As for Frieda, she was still focused on trying to figure out what exactly Hiccup did. She was glad that he was able to get out of the match okay, let alone be able to do what he did, but something didn't add up.
What did you do, Hiccup?
Though there were many things that Hiccup enjoyed about being Gobber's apprentice, the heat was not one of them. There were still a few weapons that needed to be mended after the last raid, and while it wasn't exactly dull, it was still tedious, and the heat from the forge wasn't exactly helping.
After straightening out another bent up sword, Hiccup took the opportunity to get out of the smithy to cool off. Once he was outside, Hiccup saw that the clouds were far darker than they were earlier; the sun was beginning to go down. Astrid came to mind, her only shelter from the upcoming rain being the trees nearby. It wasn't much, but what else was there?
Suddenly, an idea popped into Hiccup's head. It was crazy, but it was better than letting Astrid stay where she was. With this in mind, Hiccup bolted towards Raven's Point.
Astrid wearily watched the dim sky above, well aware what it would bring. While it wasn't the first time she'd have to deal with rain since she was shot down, she'd still rather not deal with it at all. Normally, the dragon girl would go looking for a cave to hold up in as to remain dry, but with her broken wing, it'd take too long to find one. However, with the splint, she might just be able to fit into the nearby cove's entryway.
Astrid turned her gaze towards the leather bandage wrapped around her wing, her mind beginning to wander. For as long as she could remember, Vikings have always been fascinating to her, and it wasn't lost on her as to why that was so. She may have been raised among dragons, but it was clear as day that she wasn't one of them, not completely.
The dragon girl chuckled as a thought came to mind. Since she first flew, she wanted to go into a village, to interact with the people who lived there, but she knew she would be killed if she did. Now, though she could no longer fly, she had a Viking meet her, talk to her, and even help her.
It wasn't long before the first few drops of rain started to fall. However, the snapping of a twig behind her distracted her from that fact. Astrid quickly turned, expecting anything but Hiccup, who was bent over and gasping for air.
"Hiccup? Why… are you here?"
The boy took a few deep breaths before looking up to her.
"Oh… hey… Astrid. Just… give me a second."
Astrid watched, as the Viking took a few more gasps of air. Her brow raised, before he stood up straight, finally catching his breath.
"So... I was thinking that, so that you don't get the brunt of the storm, that maybe you could stay at my home for the night?"
The dragon girl stared at Hiccup as though he grew another head for a brief moment. After hearing that, she let out a breath.
"Hiccup, thanks… but it would not… be safe for me. Can't go into… the village. Would be attacked."
"You wouldn't have to come into the village. My home is at the edge of it. Besides, it'll be night soon, you should be able to sneak in through the back door. No one will see you, and if anything happens, I'll make sure you are safe."
Astrid was about to continue rejecting his offer, but it was clear in his eyes how determined and sure he was.
Well, at least, I won't be out in this weather.
"…Okay."
"R-really? I mean, great! Let's get going so we don't get completely wet."
With that, she followed Hiccup. As she continued to follow, it got darker and the rain poured more heavily. As they left the edges of the forest, Astrid was already beginning to regret agreeing to come to Hiccup's home. Just as the temptation to head back appeared in her head, though, Astrid spotted a relatively large building.
Probably his home, hopefully.
Hiccup headed towards the structure and opened the door before, she thinks, inviting her in. Once Astrid walked through the door, Hiccup followed and closed it, shrouding them in darkness. Despite this, Astrid was still able to see. A bump and yelp told her that the same couldn't be said for Hiccup.
"Are you… okay, Hiccup?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just stubbed my toe. Just need to light the pit, that's all."
With that, Hiccup made his way towards another entryway, this time making more cautious steps. Astrid followed after him and found herself in a far larger room. To her left, she spotted a structure covered with items, some of which smelled like food to her. A grunt of effort turned her attention back to Hiccup, who was rubbing a stick atop a pile of wood. He was producing sparks, but nothing was coming from them. An idea popped into her head, and she made her way towards the opposite side of the pit. After a moment, Hiccup stopped and sat up straight, looking around as if trying to spot something.
"Astrid, where are…"
The Viking gave another yelp as a bolt of flame hit the wood pile, setting it alight. Hiccup's jaw hung wide open as he gazed at the fire, then to her face, her smile now clear as day to him.
"Oh, right. You can breathe fire."
"Should have… asked if you needed… fire."
"I just kind of forgot you could."
This wiped the smirk from Astrid's face as her eyes widened slightly at this comment.
"Why… that?"
"I don't know, I just never thought about after a while."
"Oh."
Astrid looked away, her attention turning back to the various things that covered the room now brighter. While she could see them before, she was only able to see the shapes and none of the details such as color. Among them was a row of shields covering the wall, accompanied by various weapons. She took a few steps closer, looking at the images on the shields. The dragon girl's gaze went over every detail of shields. Of them, the one that caught her attention the most was one of a Viking's face, toothy mouth wide open with something coming out of it.
A clang behind her caused Astrid to turn to see Hiccup hanging a round container over the fire, something that wasn't lost on the boy.
"Hope you're in the mood for boar and cabbage stew, because that's what I have here tonight."
"Stew?"
Hiccup took a confused look at her before realization appeared on his face.
"Oh, you probably never had some. It's like… uh, cooked meat and other things in a… just try it when it's ready, I don't really know how to explain it."
"Oh…"
Astrid looked at Hiccup, not knowing how to respond to that. After a moment, she decided to change the subject.
"Hiccup, what is… on this shield?"
Astrid pointed at the shield with the berserk Viking painted on it.
"That's a painting of my dad."
"Your dad?"
"Yeah. His name is Stoick the Vast. He's also the chieftain… the leader of the tribe."
Astrid's eyes widened slightly at this for a brief moment before she asked another question.
"Where is your… dad? Shouldn't he be… with you?"
"He went out to lead an attack on the dragon's… your nest. He wa-"
"It's not… our nest."
"Well, he went to find where you all go after a raid on us, so he can make the attacks stop."
"…he won't… be able to find it, Hiccup."
"Why's that?"
"He can't… only those who can fly… can."
"Oh."
Silence fell between the two for a moment before Hiccup head towards the table. Grabbing a couple of round objects, he went back to the container and poured a bit of its contents into them.
"Well, the stew's ready, why don't you come here and take a bowl."
With that, Astrid made her way towards the fire pit and took the bowl Hiccup handed to her. Within it, bits of meat and what was presumably cabbage floated within a brown liquid. It didn't look appealing to her, but it smelled good.
Well, I guess I can try this.
The dragon girl poured some of the bowls contents into her mouth. As soon as it touched her tongue, she was glad that she had tried the stew.
"Uh, Astrid?"
The dragon girl lowered the bowl so she could give Hiccup her attention.
"You're supposed to use one of these to bring the stew to your mouth."
Hiccup held out a small stick with an indentation in it, presumably so it could carry some of her bowl's contents.
"Oh."
Astrid gave a small chuckle before taking the stick out of Hiccup's hand. The boy then continued to eat, and she watched him as he used his own, imitating him. Using the stick felt odd to her, but she felt compelled to finish off the stew this way. Astrid was a few bites away from finishing the bowl when Hiccup cleared his throat, grabbing her attention.
"So… I was wondering… what's it like? Living out there…?"
Astrid opened her mouth to give a response, but was unable to do so. Her attention went back to her bowl, as though her answer would be found within it.
"I… I do not know... It is all I know, don't know anything else… not until now."
The dragon girl turned her gaze back to Hiccup, who had been paying full attention to her.
"Sometimes it is… tough, sometimes it is not. I just do… what I need… to do to live."
"I-I see."
Hiccup looked away from her and back to his bowl, allowing Astrid the opportunity to finish what little was left in her bowl before putting the stick in it. For a moment, Astrid looked around for a place to put the bowl down.
"I can take that for you, Astrid."
"Oh. Thank you, Hiccup."
The boy took her bowl before going into the other room. When he came back, Hiccup gave a yawn. In his hands was another bowl, this one with a small flame in the middle.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I think it's about time we get some sleep."
To this, Astrid gave a small nod. If she were honest, she hadn't been sleeping as regularly as she used to before the crash.
"Alright, I'll show where you can sleep tonight."
With that, Astrid got up from her seat and followed him upstairs to another room.
"All right, just this way, watch your step, and here we are!"
Astrid looked around the room. Unlike the main area below, there were far fewer items on the wall. In fact, there were only three structures in this one, though one of them was cluttered with numerous other items. The dragon girl walked up to this particular structure, looking at the images on the items.
"Hiccup… what are all these?"
"Just things I've been working on, some needing it more than others. I'd show what they are, but it's kinda late. I'd be happy to show you when you wake up."
"Okay... then."
"Anyway…"
Hiccup walked towards the longest of the three structures. Atop it was a cloth and a rounded object that looked relatively soft.
"You can have my bed for tonight."
"Bed?"
"Yeah, we sleep on them, rather than on the floor."
"Then… where will-"
"I'll sleep downstairs. My dad is not here, I'll just use his."
"Oh… thanks."
"Not a problem, Astrid, see you in the morning."
With that, Hiccup went back down below, leaving Astrid in the dark. She made her way to Hiccup's bed before resting atop of it. However, she had trouble getting comfortable.
How does he sleep on this? This is harder than the ground.
After much tossing and turning, Astrid found the position she was most comfortable with. It wasn't long afterwards before she fell asleep.
Well, this was a unique chapter, to say the least.
The concept for this chapter came about actually while I was writing the fifth chapter. A particularly nasty rainstorm rolled in, soaking anything that went outside. One thing led to another, and well, we have a chapter where Astrid stays a night in Hiccup's home.
This chapter also allowed me to expand on Astrid a little bit. Though she is the main female character, as well as what gives this fic it's name, Astrid has had less screen time than Hiccup. This was the perfect opportunity to fix that.
Anyhow, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I aim to have the next one up in two weeks at the most. Been experimenting with ways to get myself to write more often, and some things are providing excellent results. Till next time!