The next morning came too soon. Though her bed was warm and comforting, Astrid's mind continued to play through the day before. Every answer led to another question. Every question raise at least two more questions. With her mind, and stomach, swirling Astrid didn't get much sleep despite desperately wanting it. The sunrise came and went yet Astrid stayed in her bed. She knew she needed to get up but was dreading the day. Stoic would be in a bad mood. Who knows where Hiccup is? She didn't know which is worse, if the two Haddocks had the chance to talk or not.
"How does Gobber do it?" She murmured.
Now there's an idea.
She should start with Gobber, find out how he felt about last night. Make a plan to deal with those two. He might even know how to get Hiccup to open up!
Groaning in annoyance, Astrid finally got up to start her day. First, she needs the old Hofferson cure for a hangover. Thankfully, there was already an ice cold bucket of water on the kitchen table, either waiting for her or she wasn't the only one who needed to use it this morning.
"I hate this part." Astrid groaned out, gripping the edge of the bucket.
Taking a big breath, she submerging her head in, screaming through the shock. The sharp icy water on her face, the scream tearing through her throat, and the rush from pulling her head out of the water settled her stomach and cleared her mind. With clarity from the icy cold water Astrid now realized she forgot to bring a towel. She stood in her kitchen shivering as water dripped down her hair and onto her body, completely soaking her top.
"Looks like somebody went over their limit." Her mother's amused voice rang out behind her as a towel was thrown on her head.
Astrid quickly rubbed her hair with it, drying as much as she could. Shivering out a thanks, she started heading back to her room.
"You had a visitor this morning." Her mother cheerfully said, stopping Astrid in her tracks. Astrid spun around to ask who but one look from her mother gave her an idea. Her mother, looking like a cat about to catch a mouse, pulled a large folded piece of paper from her apron.
"He left this for you." Her sickly sweet voice made Astrid's stomach jump, causing the nausea to come back in full force.
Astrid careful grabbed it from her mother, eyeing her suspiciously. She realized what is was before she finished opening it, and it was!
"When did he have the time to do this?" She asked herself.
It hadn't even been two days since Hiccup offered to fix her plans for the training arena but here it is! She wasn't an expert but the roof did look much better than the original one she planned. Astrid was just telling herself she should have asked for help from one of the builders earlier when her mother interrupted.
"Yes, that's nice." Her mother nodded in a rush. "Oh my, what's this?" She pointed to something pinned to the side.
Astrid groaned while gabbing the note. Her mother hadn't even looked at the plans before pointing it out, meaning her mother already opened it and most likely already read the note. And judging by the bright eyed, excited grin it's gonna be something embarrassing or mushy. Surprisingly, Astrid wasn't feeling annoyed or scared about the note. If anything she was excited to read it, just not as excited as her mother. Astrid tried turning around for some privacy. It didn't worked since she could still feel her mother's eyes looking over her shoulder. First she noticed some scratched out parts at the top of the note. Hiccup's usual 'Hey Astrid. Hi. Hi Astrid' stammering immediately played in her head.
Dear Astrid,
I finished the plans for the roof! Got it done quickly so you wouldn't be stressing over it. Sorry I left you to deal with the chaos last night, hopefully my dad didn't go after you for any of it. I know I got most of his anger when I got home. I accidentally let it slip that I know how to get to the dragon's nest so now he won't listen to anything I have to say till I get him there. He's promised to listen to everything I have to say, no interruptions. Of course he has to get the dragon nest first, so I was hoping you could help me prepare. I'm sure my dad's gonna have a lot of work for you, you'll be busy all day and I'll be busy avoiding my dad, so meet me by the forest entrance behind my house after dinner.
From Hiccup
P.S. please, just keep an open mind.
Astrid could jump in excitement! He's finally going tell her everything!
She quickly hid her grin as her mother looked almost possessed, her smile looking painful.
"It's not like that!" Astrid yelled before running up the stairs to her room. Her face going warm as she slammed the door to her room closed. Her mother's laugh still echoing behind her.
Yeah, I'm excited to meet up with Hiccup, Astrid thought as she rushed to get ready. but it's only because he's finally gonna tell me everything.
A smaller part of her, maybe her heart, was telling she was actually happy that Hiccup trusts her. That he's going out of his way to tell her first. She tried to pushed that thought to the side. She really was just after the truth, the answers, right? Sure he grew up to be handsome, brave, and a skilled tradesman; he made her laugh and actually listened to her. Believed in her for no other reason than because she was Astrid.
Somehow, Astrid found herself staring into her reflection in her favorite axe. It was too small for her now but she couldn't part with it, keeping it up on her wall as a memento. She looked it over, remembering that Hiccup was the one who made it.
Maybe I will give him a chance. We could try courting and just, see how it goes. And really, what's the worst that could happen?
Astrid slapped her face, focusing herself on the day ahead. She won't see Hiccup till tonight and until then she'll need to focus on her job. Getting things ready for the trip, calming Stoic, talking with Gobber. As nice as it is that Hiccup finished the plans for the arena, the construction is going to be slow for the next couple of days.
Already late, Astrid skipped breakfast and decided she'd just wait for lunch but trying to rush past her mother without eating ended with buttered bread forcefully stuffed into her mouth. Choking down what she could she turned to leave before she realized one more job she had. Hand still on the door knob, Astrid turned back to her mother.
"Hey mom, how do you feel about the Berserkers and dragon wing people?"
Her mother hummed in thought before replying. "Well, your father is very much on Stoic's side. He thinks they must be under mind control or something. But I don't really care."
"Really?" Her mother had never been one to hesitate killing a dragon.
"As long as they keep their dragons away from us, I think its fine. Better to have them as friends than enemies."
Astrid hummed herself thinking, fair point, before leaving.
It didn't take long for Astrid to find Stoic. She could hear him from several houses away, and most of the town was hurrying in the other directions.
"Mornin' Astrid!" Mulch replied, by himself for one. "You might want to stay away from him today. Even Gobber couldn't calm him down. That's why I left Bucket at home."
"Thanks for the warning. Say, what are your opinions on the whole Berserker, Dragon People thing?"
"Oh!" Mulch looked taken aback by the question. "I agree with Stoic, they're probably bad." He sputtered out, looking towards Stoic out of the corner of his eye.
"Well, what about the fact that the Berserkers are allied with them?" Astrid asked, trying to dig deeper.
"Stoic says it's bad so it's bad." Mulch moved away from her. "Have a good day! Bye!"
Astrid groaned, as he ran away from her. That was just Mulch, right? The others will talk with me about this, right?
Turning back towards the grumpy voice Astrid made her way closer, but the closer she got the slower she walked until she had stopped completely. Stoic was currently yelling about getting more volunteers for the trip to the nest, stating that this time they would get there. No one else knew why he was so sure and he wouldn't tell them how he knows which just made it sound like the same old same old. Astrid knew why he was so sure, he was trusting Hiccup to get them there. It was sweet, except for the angry tone and scowl plastered on Stoic's face.
The few people who had remained made their excuses and walked away. Leaving a furious Stoic standing there. He marched off to search for others he can convince to join them.
I'll let him calm down first. She told herself as she changed directions, moving towards the docks instead. She'll see what they need done first.
Making her way through the village Astrid tried to talk to people about the Berserkers but most parroted back some form of Stoic's words from last night. She realized she'd have to be a lot more subtle to figure out what they actually thought. Luckily she saw a familiar face at the market.
"Fishlegs! Over here!" Astrid called out.
"Where have you been all morning?" Fishlegs asked, walking over to her.
"I had a lot to think about. Last night was-"
"Magical. A dream. The greatest night of my life!" Fishlegs was practically glowing.
"Sure. It had it's good points." Astrid replied with concern.
What did Heather do to him?
"Heather's the best! I've never had someone believe in me like she does! It's just a shame she's already with Eret." Fishlegs finished with a sad look.
"Oh, she told you that huh?"
"Yeah. It's fine. Eret seems like a good guy, and I can't hate him just because…" Fishlegs trailed off looking uncomfortable before changing the subject.
"So, what were you busy thinking about all morning?"
"You know. The Berserkers and the dragon wing people." Astrid offered.
"Oh, yeah. Them." Fishlegs paled at the thought. "Dragons are bad enough! I don't want to know what a half dragon half human is like!"
"I-I don't think they're half dragon?" Astrid countered. "I think they're normal people living with dragons."
"There's no way. If they're just humans why aren't the dragons eating them?"
"It sounded like they can control the dragons. We'd have to find out how they do it." Astrid tried to continue the conversation but Fishlegs ended up going off on a question spree.
"How do they farm? The dragons would constantly be after their live stock and burning their crops. Do they keep the dragons in pens? Like, when we would keep them in the arena? That must be a big arena. How many dragons do they live with? Are the dragons coming and going like a nest or are new ones stopping by? Do they have houses? Where do they sleep?"
Ever the realist, Fishlegs mind went off on how living with those beast would work. All question Astrid couldn't answer. She wasn't even sure if Hiccup could answer some of the more in-depth questions. Astrid stood back and let him continue for a moment when she felt someone's eyes on her. Looking to the side she found Snotlout, standing next to a stall on the other side of the street. He looked away from her but she knew he had been staring at her. Not uncommon, but usually he'd wave or try to talk to her from across the street, ignoring her was new.
Slightly concerned, Astrid looked back to Fishlegs. She was just about to interrupt when a scared Tuffnut came running up to them.
"You Horrid Little Brat!" A very angry voice called after him.
"Help me!" Tuff whispered as he hid behind the two of them.
They looked back to see Mrs. Thorston, red faced, hair disheveled, and wielding a broom like an ax.
"Do you have ANY idea what you've DONE!"
"We didn't do anything! I promise!" Tuffnut cried out from behind them.
Astrid was rooted in place in horror. She had seen Mrs. Thorston upset at the twins before, obviously, but she had never seen her this angry.
"I can accept a lot from you. The rudeness, the destruction, the maiming. But no son of mine is going to get away with ruining a ladies honor!"
Astrid's head snapped sharply to Tuffnut while Fishlegs took a BIG step to the side, leaving Tuffnut in the open.
"First off, it wasn't a lady, it was Cami!"
Astrid relaxed at that. Cami can take care of herself so it's not like Tuffnut did anything bad to her.
"Secondly, we didn't do anything." Tuff didn't sound so innocent at that part.
"You expect me, YOUR MOTHER, to believe that you STAYED OUT ALL NIGHT with a girl and didn't do ANYTHING?"
All eyes in the market turned to Tuffnut, waiting for his reply. His face betrayed his inner thoughts, clearly switching between wanting to brag to everyone about his night or desperately pleading his innocents to his mother. Unsurprisingly, Tuffnut chose a third option. Running away. He bolted out of there like a dragon was attacking. To be fair his mother went right after him, broom swinging as she cursed him out. She was fully intending to do some serious damage to her son.
"Well that was-" Astrid turned to see Fishlegs walking away from her. "Hey!"
"Ugh, what a baby." Ruffnut's voice came from where Mrs. Thorston was just standing.
Despite her harsh words Ruffnut looked miserable. Her hair was just as disheveled as her moms, her eyes tired and swollen. She looked like she had a rough night.
"So, what? He can't even look at me anymore?" Ruffnut tried to sound mad but her voice broke a bit. Looks like Ruffnut was just starting to realize how much she hurt Fishlegs.
"Can you blame him after you spent most of yesterday ignoring him?" Astrid tried to remain neutral, both Fishlegs and Ruffnut were close friends but it's obvious which one is in the wrong.
Out of the corner of her eye she could just make out Snotlout getting a bit closer. He was still on the other side of the street but now he was partially hiding behind a cart, still staring at her.
"It wasn't that big of a deal!" Ruffnut stomped. "That's just how I am! If he doesn't like it he can-"
Astrid looked at Ruffnut pointedly.
"Whatever." Ruffnut folded her arms. "If he's mad at me then I'm mad at him. I saw him cozying up to that Heather girl."
Astrid sighed in annoyance. Some people just can't admit when they're wrong.
"That was after you spent all night throwing yourself at Eret, in front of him! If you don't like him doing it to you then you shouldn't do it to him." Astrid shrugged as she turned her attention back to her work.
"Oh great! Now you're against me too! I thought you were my friend?" Ruff yelled.
"You are my friend but so is Fishlegs. I'm not gonna lie to you just to make you feel better about a situation that you cause." Astrid didn't even bother to look back, too busy filling up the crate she had with fruit for their trip. She should have known better than to turn her back on Ruffnut.
SMACK!
"What in Odin's name?!" Astrid held the back of her head as she turned to glare at Ruffnut. The Thorston girl was at least smart enough to run away after sucker punching the back of Astrid's head.
Letting out a groan, Astrid grabbed the crate and marched back to the docks. It wasn't the first time the two had gotten in a fight, not even the first time they've hit each other, but it's still a pain.
The dock was full of the people getting the boat ready to launch tomorrow causing Astrid to have to wait in line to drop off her crate. As annoying as it was to have everyone here it means that the boat will be ready sooner rather than later and Astrid can move to her normal, everyday jobs. As the line moved Astrid kept looking around, eyes and ears open for any sign of their chief. It's not that she's avoiding Stoic, she just wants to make sure she catches him in a better mood.
Finally getting to the boat, Astrid dropped off her crate and went to Phlegma to ask what was next.
"Oh, we're just about done. The word is this will be the last excursion to that damned nest so everyone's chipping in, ready for this to be over with."
"There's nothing else that needs to be done?" Astrid asked.
"Hum," Phlegma thought for a moment. "you can check in with Gobber? See how he's going with the weapons."
Ack came up behind Astrid to add his own supplies, and his own two cents. "I'm sure he'll need help since Hiccup's not around today."
"Ah, making a mess and then leaving us to clean it up. Just like old times." Phlegma smiled as the two laughed a bit.
The two talked with smiles and a warm tone but it struck Astrid as a little odd.
"Aye, I bet the poor boy doesn't even realize the problem he's created." Ack said as more people came by to drop of boxes.
Phlegma shock her head with a smile as she walked towards the new pile of boxes. "That boy needs to learn how to pick better friends."
It wasn't the same tone they used when they were kids but it still felt like the village reverted back into their old ways of blaming Hiccup. Astrid thought this was worse, they were talking about him like he was dumb or, as Stoic said, too naïve to realize the problem. This really ticked Astrid off, Hiccup was well aware of the issues, he was trying to help. Trying to find a way to please everyone! And they're talking like he's still a child.
Astrid left the docks wondering how much of that was their own thoughts verses how much of that was Stoic putting those thoughts in their heads like what seems to be happening with the topic of the Berserker tribe and Dragon People? Yes, Stoic is a popular chief. Yes, a lot of people believe the same things he does but at some point people had started just blindly listening to him. They need to find their own opinions and beliefs.