That evening Hiccup decided to sit in the Great Hall for supper, and when Nina joined him, if a bit skittishly, all the other kids and the few adults that were left behind, had already swarmed Hiccup, and when she caught the few fleeting glances she could of him he was grinning from ear to ear, laughing and cracking some jokes. While it made her happy to see him finally having a good time in and around the village, it kind of deflated her a bit knowing she wasn't a part of it.
She caught his eye and pointed toward the door using only her wrist while mouthing "I'm gonna go to the Bunker; see you around" to him. He nodded once, blinking those dazzlingly green eyes that simply sang with joy. She forced a smile for him and left. She returned to the Bunker, as she had said, and found Herby and the Terrors still up and doodling on a big sheet of parchment they had evidently chewed off the roll she had bought from Trader Johann. There were crude drawings of the dragons, a couple of Hiccup, several of her, and a few amazingly complex designs for broadswords, and a couple for some longbows.
"Wow, you guys have been busy," she commented. She looked at the bow designs and the swords, then got out large sheets of parchment along with some new charcoal, transferring the sketches to their own scrolls. If she had time, she would ask Gobber to help her with the weapons.
As she finished transferring the final details to an elegant bow that she instantly imagined as being made out of an exceptionally sturdy wood that could still be flexed and bent while still returning to true, she heard the hatch door open and the Terrors remained in place while Nina peeked around the corner. Hiccup had come looking for her. "Hey. Thought I'd find you here," he said.
"Well, obviously. I told you I'd be here," she said. He snorted once.
"Yeah, I guess you've got a point there." He spied the parchment rolls with the weapon designs on them and nodded to them. "Whatcha got there?"
"Just some designs the Terrors made," she said dismissively. "No biggie." They went over to the desk and sat down on the bench. "I'm gonna ask Gobber if he can teach me the basics of blacksmithing so I can make these myself."
Hiccup leaned away from her, an offended look on his face while his eyes flashed with pain. "Excuse me? Have you forgotten that he taught me everything I know?" he said, his tone overly sassy. She couldn't help but laugh. "This is no laughing matter, Nina, I'm serious."
"Alright, you've made your point," she cackled. She took a deep breath and found her laughter tampering slightly. Their eyes met and his eyes were sparkling with unreleased giggles. "Would you like to see the forge the Terrors and I have set up?"
"Sure," he said. They rose and went to the curtained off area. She put an arm out and guided him back while Herby drew the thick fabric back, releasing an immense wave of scorching heat that instantly made the sweat stand out on their foreheads. Once the temperatures equalized, they entered. Hiccup began poking around, checking everything out and ensuring it met with his standards. "Let's see here: casts, anvil, hammers, grinding wheel, for-whooo!-super hot forge. Gods, Nina, what are you trying to thaw the world?" Again, she laughed. "Okay, so everything seems to be in order. Got any metal?"
"Yup. Johann gave it to me as a gift from some clients who requested some rabbit hide shoulder pads once," she said. Grabbing the wooden crate from the shelf, she set it up on the counter and Hiccup grabbed a large iron bar.
"Okay, so do you have any aprons? We're gonna need those to keep ourselves safe," he said. "If not, just get some leather and we'll whip some up quickly."
"I was actually working on some before supper," she said. It was partially true. She'd worked on them that morning, so she had it on a technicality. The Terrors brought them out, finishing tucking in the untidy bits out of sight, before presenting them to the humans. Hiccup made a couple adjustments before donning them. He explained the purpose of each thing, but before they could heat the metal up, they had to duck out.
"I dunno if it's the fact that it's past sundown, or if it's roughly the time we go to bed, or if it's a combination of the two, but I can't do any metal working tonight, Hiccup," she said.
"Agreed," he said, suppressing a yawn. He removed his apron and put his vest back on. "C'mon, let's go back to the village. If you want, you're welcome to crash at my place. It's closer and big enough for the two of us."
"Are you sure?" Hiccup nodded. "Your Dad won't mind? He wouldn't be mad if he found out?"
"No, Nina. He loves having you around," he reassured her. "He says you're a good influence on me." The pride and joy that gave her almost brought her to tears. "Unfortunately, the Terrors won't be able to come with us." The dragons gave him horrified looks. "Y'know, dragons, Vikings, big three hundred year war going on and all. Wouldn't exactly be the best idea, would it?"
"Yeah, good point," Herby said brokenly.
((For those wondering why their criticisms have not been published it's because they're nothing but negative. I'd be fine publishing them if they had some way I could improve other than giving flimsy excuses for your dislike. You like the canon? Fine, like the canon. Just don't expect everyone to adhere to it like a nun to her virginity. This is a fan fiction: a story written by others about the characters they love and admire.))