Hello everyone, how are you?
First of all, I'm sorry for the delay in releasing this last chapter, it was not my intention to take so long to release one again but as often happens, certain things come that need to be given more priority. I'm happy to say that I now have more time to dedicate to these stories.
As always, enjoy the chapter, I look forward to your comments and please excuse me if there are any language or writing errors, as I always say, English is not my mother tongue and sometimes I make mistakes in translation.
Greetings and have a nice day.
Astrid looked up at the Berk sky. To be close to autumn, summer was making one last effort to give everyone a cloudless and sunny day, something that Astrid was grateful for, especially just before the start of the school year. And above all she was grateful that the temperature was so pleasant while she waited for her friends, today they were going to met, to catch up a little more and enjoy the free time they had left before starting classes. Although knowing her friends, especially Ruffnut, they will want to know more about what it's like to live in the mayor's house.
Thinking of that, she couldn't help but think again of her new home and its members. Not many days had passed since the move, but Astrid had felt at home from the first moment, living with Stoick was very pleasant and the mayor seemed very happy to have them there, especially her she would be lying if she didn't say that her curiosity was set on the mayor's son.
She had barely seen Hiccup around the house, except at lunch or dinner time. He always seemed to be doing something and running around, always followed by Toothless. They hadn't had a conversation just the two of them since he caught her in his room, something that still made her blush. Astrid felt that at some point they should try to get to know each other a bit more, if they were going to live together it was better to get past that point and start right from the beginning, but she didn't want to force it either. She maybe do it when classes started, she would have more chances.
Taking a look at the big clock in the station, Astrid noticed that as always, she had arrived earlier than necessary, there were still ten minutes left for her friends to arrive.
Looking through the wall of metal bars, she could see the different platforms of the station. Astrid had to be honest, the restoration works on the place had been long and boy did It complicate things a bit in Berk, but it was worth it. In the end, the restoration and improvement of the station had become one of the star projects at Berk in the las years, and it would make Stoick be remembered for a long time, but above all because of the opposition that existed when the project was presented for approval.
The young woman remembered that moment very well two years ago, not only because of the tense time it was in Berk, but also because for someone like her, who participated so much in the public life of the city, it came to be a bit affected.
But the blonde's thoughts were interrupted by a car horn and when she looked up, she could see her two best friends next to an old gray car.
Heather was behind the wheel of the car, she would never let anyone drive her "Razorwhip" model car. Daughter of the former mayor of the now-defunct Berserker, Heather knew very well how to defend herself and stay calm. Although at the beginning of Astrid and she met there were certain clashes between the two girls, in the end both knew how to see the potential great friend that each could be for the other.
Her black hair was always tied in a long ponytail and of course, her typical jeans and gray leather jacket were always present. Astrid couldn't understand how she didn't melt from the heat wearing those clothes. Her good brain was also one of the reasons Astrid liked her so much, a good help when it came to controlling the twins and Snotlout.
And in the passenger seat was Ruffnut Thorston, one of the halfs that made up one of the most feared madness in Berk and the surrounding areas, the Thorstons.
Like her brother, the girl's ash blonde hair was styled in incomprehensible braids, his toned body had the color of someone who had spent ninety percent of the summer out of any shade, especially for the clothes she wore, T-shirt and shorts, always with some burn mark. But what she used to call people's attention about her friend were those crazy eyes and that smile of having already done one of her crazy projects with her brother.
Yes, Ruffnut could be an uncontrollable force, even more so when she was with her brother. But Astrid also knew the sincere part, the one who told you things as they were and knew how to keep a cool head during an important conversation, but above all to be there for the worst moments.
With a huge smile, Astrid walked over and greeted them the only way a Hofferson could with the people she cared about, with a good bump on the shoulder.
"Damn Astrid," Ruffnut grumbled as she rubbed her shoulder to ease the pain. "It's about time you found another way to show affection."
"I agree with her," Heather mentioned as she imitated her friend.
"Whiners", Astrid laugh giggled as she said it. "Come on, lets walk to Ghotis place."
They had been walking for a while while they told each other what they had done during the summer days that they had not seen each other. They decided to take the path that passed along the edge of the forest, the train tracks passed in the middle of it and you could hear the noise of the trains passing by. It was a slightly longer walk to the center of town and Gothi's cafe, but that gave the girls time to chat and personally, Astrid really enjoyed that area of Berk.
At that same moment both Astrid and Heather listened with curiosity, but also with fear, as Ruffnut explained how the twins' big summer project was, something to do with pyrotechnics and a lot of gunfire.
"Wait, so the explosion near the mines. Was it you?" Heather asked in amazement and terror.
"Yes" Ruffnut said it with great pride. "Well more or less"
"What do you mean?" Astrid was scared as she asked that question.
Ruffnut let out a big sigh "Tuffnut and I chose the old mine because there is never anyone there and there are a lot of unused cabins, perfect for storing material and equipment, safety and space" The blonde climbed onto a small stone wall and began to walk on top of it. "We had everything ready, we had finished the project and we planned to take it to the north coast to make it fly and explode." Whit a little jump she took off the stone wall. "But we must have placed something wrong because that same night it exploded, it's a shame we didn't see it, they say it left a big hole" she finished with a big smile.
Before Ruffnut could react Heather advanced towards her and slapped her hard on the head.
"Idiot," she told him as she tried to hit her again, something she couldn't do as Ruffnut slipped out of her reach.
"The hell is wrong whit you?" Ruffnut could not ask again since Heather try to kick her again and she had to doge it. Astrid run fast to put herself between her friends.
"Heather, whats wrong?"
"Whats wrong? I tell you, if that thing had explode in the morning a lot of people would be hurt, or worse, dead" Ruffnut and Astrid look at her whit surprise.
"What you mean?" Astrid ask with fear of knowing the answer. Heathe sigh before to answer.
"As you two know, my aunt works in the city hall as a secretary for the mayor, so she know all that happen on Berk. She told me that mayor Stoick was planing to do something in the old mines and that a group of people were going to study the zone, and the day they choose was the morning of the explosión."
"So you say that ift the proyect that Tuffnut and I were working would not had exploded in the night and exploded in the morning….."
"A lot of people would have been hurt, jesus guys…" Astrid feelt that was the moment to step in.
"Girls, please, breath a moment" Astrid waited until the atmosphere calmed down a bit. She could understand the reason for Heather's reaction, she already knew how the twins could be with their projects. But she feel that was something more in Heathers anger.
She waited until she feel that both of her friends calm down . Looking to Heather she shoot the question.
"Whats whit you? Is not the first time the twins mess up like this and, yes, they can a pain in the ass, but this has more to do tan the twins nearly killing a bunch of nerds" Heather look away a momento before facing the two blonds.
"Who do you think it was going to show those people the place?" In that moment Astrid understand why Heather was more angry tan usual whit Ruffnut. Heathers aunt , Dagna, had the trust of the mayor for that type of important jobs, and that means that if she had been here with the investigators when the explosion occurred, things would have ended very badly. Along with her brother Dagur, her aunt Dagna was the only family she had left, and Astrid knew that Heather was terrified of something bad happening to her.
Looking to Ruffnut, she could see that the same thougs croos her mind and Astrid knew she was starting to feel bad, and like she and all her friends knew about she and her brother is that, yes, they are crazy, but in the end they were good people. Slowly, Ruffnut approached Heather.
"Look Heather, I am sorry, we really think no one was going to be there, I mean, it was abandoned for as long I remember and…" it seem that the female Thorston didn t know what to say. For a few seconds, Heather's face only conveyed hardness, but then her gaze softened and a small smile appeared on her lips.
"Okay, you don't need to wet your pants, I just ask that when you and your brother do these things, do them in a place where no one is sure to go, understood?"
The blondes breathed a sigh of relief and continued on their way with their friend. During the next part of the road they continued talking about their summers, until the question Astrid was waiting for arose as they began to approach Gothi's cafe.
"And how's life in the mayor's house?" Astrid could feel Ruffnut's gaze boring into her side. "More importantly, how's her son?" the blonde's face became more perverted as she asked the question.
"Ruffnut!" Astrid smiled as she heard Heather's scolding voice, she could always count on her to keep Ruffnut in line, or so she thought. "We agreed to ask her when we were all at Gothi's, do you remember?"
"Right, yeah, sorry".
Heather noticed the look Astrid was giving her and she returned the same look. "Don't make that face, we all have some curiosity, I promise I will have them under control" Astrid sighed and succumbed to her fate. It would be best to do it as soon as possible, like removing a band-aid.
As the three friends continued walking, more houses and buildings appeared, until they reached one of the streets of Berk, this one in particular, leading to the center of the city. As they approached Gothi's location, the girls stopped several times to greet different people. The three girls were well known in Berk, and everyone there knew everyone or they were related. At that moment Astrid was greeting Hilda, Fishlegs' mother.
Short and plump, for Astrid, Fishlegs' mother had always been one of the kindest and kindest people Astrid had ever known, she and her mother were very good friends.
"Its so good to see you dear" she said while she grabbed her by the cheeks."
"I talked to your mother a while ago, while she was on her way to the North Station," the little woman told him while she adjusted his shirt, just like a mother knew how to do.
"It seems that both of you are very comfortable with the Haddocks."
"The mayor and Hiccup have welcomed us very well, I miss Hofferson House, but I have felt at home since the first day."
"I'm very happy, my girl, it's about time your mother and that stubborn Stoick stopped fooling around" Astrid and her friends laughed when they heard the woman say that. "Well, I won't keep you any longer, Fishlegs and the boys are already waiting for you at Gothi's.
The girls said goodbye to the little woman, but before they could continue on their way, Hilda grabbed Astrid by the arm.
"I just wanted to know, how is Hiccup?" While Astrid wasn't surprised by the question, after all everyone knew everyone on Berk, she was surprised by the way the woman ask it, as if she wasn't sure she could do it.
"Well, we haven't spent much time together yet, but the times I've seen him he was fine, he and the mayor worked very hard to get everything ready for us."
"That's fine" for some reason the woman seemed relieved. "I haven't seen Hiccup in a while and after..." the woman stopped suddenly, as if she had said something too much. "Well, when you see him, give him my best regards."
Astrid watched the woman walk away while leaving her wondering what she had meant by that. She didn't last long as Ruffnut punched her on the shoulder and they continued on her way. Little by little they approached one of the most beloved places in Berk, Gothi's.
The place had been in Berk for decades, even when her parents were children, and if there was someone who knew everyone and all the stories in Berk, it was Gothi, the legendary cook. One of the most used jokes in the city was that the woman was so old that she was already a healer when the Vikings inhabited these lands.
The façade of the building was made of wood but you could see where there was brick, from the many renovations that the place had undergone. A stone frame adorned the main door and at the top you could see a very old sign hanging with the name of the establishment and many vines could be seen all over the façade of the building. But for Astrid the best thing was when she entered the place.
Every time Astrid walked through the doors a feeling of being at home invaded her. The place was made up of a huge room that the locals affectionately called "The Great Hall", on both sides you could see huge fireplaces, something that was very appreciated in winter, and in the back you could see the bar where the orders came out. The place is always full of people, so it took a while for the girls to find their friends. The boys were on one side of the place and seemed to have already ordered something while they were waiting for them.
On one side of the table was Fishlegs Ingerman, and it seems that the boy had suffered a growth spurt during the summer. Fishlegs always had been a big kid, but now it seemed that he had doubled in size, although surely the jeans and his green sweatshirt helped that, only the sweatshirt could fit three girls like Astrid. He still wore his hair very short, but Astrid could see two blonde braids peeking out of the hood of his sweatshirt.
On the other side were Ruffnut's brother, Tuffnut Thorston, and Snotlout Jorgerson. Tuffnut was exactly the male version of Ruffnut, same physic, same hair, same crazy eyes. The big difference between him and his sister was the clothes, Tuffnut was wearing green military camouflage pants and a white t-shirt that, like his sister's clothes, had burn holes.
And next to him, taking up a large part of the bench, was Snotlout Jorgerson. Although Snotlout also seemed to have suffered a growth spurt, he was still one of the shortest of the group. But what he didn't have in height he made up for in muscle. One of the star players on Berk High's wrestling team, Snotlout had a strong physical presence. Wearing jeans and her old leather jacket, Astrid seems to remember that it belonged to Grandpa Jorgerson, her black hair was still just as long and disheveled. But what caught Astrid's attention the most was that his head seemed to be somewhere else.
For the next half hour, the group of friends caught up on their vacations, the last year of high school, and the excitement that they were at the gates of college.
"Can you imagine?" Fishlegs asked. Everyone stared at him without understanding. In the end it was Ruffnut who asked the question.
"Imagine what?"
"Next year at this time, we will be about to start university," he said, quite excited.
Hearing this Astrid felt a strange mixture in her stomach. It wasn't a big secret what awaited them at the end of the year, but Astrid would be lying if she said that the thought of graduating and going to university didn't make her nervous. And looking around at her friends, she could see that they felt something similar. The only one immune to that feeling seemed to be Fishlegs. The big guy had been talking about it since before the summer and although he did it without realizing it, it made everyone a little nervous. Luckily, Heather stepped in to change the direction of the conversation.
"Hey Fishlegs, weren't you in Arendelle with your parents over the summer?" She accompanied that question with a flirtatious look that made the boy's eyes shine and he started talking about his vacation.
The group of friends spend the next hour talking about summer, stuff they did, people the meet and the things, beside school work, that theye were looking foward to this year. Heather and Fishlegs where talking about their clubs activities, Ruffnut and Snotlout talked about the different tournaments and championships that will take place this year, Ruffnut and Astrid on the volleyball team and Snotlout on the wrestling team. For their part, Astrid and Tuffnut talked about the different celebrations that the schools held throughout the year, both always participating in the preparations. At that moment they were discussing which celebration was their favorite.
"Come on Astrid, seriously?" The blonde's question in a raised tone made the rest of the group pay attention to them.
"What's wrong with it?"
"Are you guys okay?" Heather asked.
"Yes, but Astrid surprised me with her answer to which celebration she liked the most.
"Why?
"She says her favorite is the fall celebration." Fishlegs looked at him strangely.
"Well, there's nothing wrong with it, it takes place shortly before Halloween and it's always one of the most fun and enjoyable celebrations in Berk, I like it too".
I'm not saying it's not a cool celebration, but if I had to choose, I'd choose the dragon festival."
Astrid rolled her eyes as she listened to her friend. "Of course the dragon festival is the best, it's the celebration of the year, the biggest and the one that most people come to from outside, I don't argue with that."
"So what's the problem?" Tuffnut looked at her strangely.
"Well, the fall celebration and others are more of Berk's holidays, for us, for the people here. Like New Year's, on Snoggletog, when we all get together here to welcome the new year."
Astrid could see from her friends' faces that they understood what she meant. In recent years, with the renovations that had been taking place in Berk, many tourists and visitors had been arriving, mainly for the big celebrations, such as the dragon festival.
And that wasn't a bad thing, it had made Berk's economy do very well, especially for many family businesses that had been in Berk for generations and that had been down in previous years. Not to mention that Berk's popularity had risen a lot.
But not all of that was free of problems, which were solved by the workers of the city hall, the police, firefighters or the rest of the city workers. Even so, the biggest problem was the complaints of a group of citizens, those who had never looked favorably on the changes that Stoick had made.
That was why he liked Berk's minor festivals so much. It's not that there weren't any outsiders, but not as many as at the others. And his friends had understood that. The feeling of family was more noticeable.
"Well, let's enjoy ourselves as much as we can," everyone turned to Heather.
"What do you mean?" Astrid asked.
"I mean the fact that while everyone else is enjoying themselves, we'll be busy helping out with everything during every party, or have you forgotten that?"
Suddenly everyone remembered that, as seniors at Berk High School, they were required to help out during all the town's festivities as a community service. For the next few minutes, Astrid could see the agonized faces of her friends as they remembered that detail.
"What's wrong with all of you you?" The blonde looked at them amused, "It's not that bad."
"Maybe for you," Ruffnut replied, "you're used to it, but I admit that I'm not happy about getting up early during winter break to be here and working non-stop all day."
The collective groan that the others made when they heard the female part of the Thorstons made Astrid laugh.
"And so is Hiccup," Fishlegs said. Everyone fell silent upon hearing him.
"What do you mean?" Heather asked.
"Well, I don't think it's a secret that Hiccup is here and is going to go to class with us, right?" The boy looked at Astrid who nodded slightly. "So it's not strange to think that he'll also be helping out at that time, especially since he's the mayor's son."
"That's true, it hadn't occurred to me until now," Astrid mentioned, as she saw a smile on Ruffnut's face. "And what's wrong with you?"
"Nothing, it's just that this leaves us the perfect path for you to tell us firsthand how things are going at the Mayor's house" Astrid rolled her eyes as she listened to her friend. It seemed like the time had come to tell them something, otherwise they wouldn't leave her alone. Besides, she would probably end up taking them to the house, as Hiccup had mentioned. Better to prepare the ground.
For the next hour the young blonde girl was telling her friends what had happened in the last few days since the move had started. There were questions about the house, curiosity was normal, and the area. There were also questions about the move and how she was doing there, her friends knew how much she loved her old house.
But it wasn't long before the questions began to turn to the mayor's son, it seemed that what she had told Ruffnut and Heather wasn't enough. They weren't the only ones, Fishlegs and Tuffnut also had questions about him, although more about where he had been all this time.
Curiously, the one who didn't ask many questions was Snotlout, he was very quiet, especially when mentioning Hiccup. Astrid thought it was because being his cousin, he would know many of the things she was telling.
By the time they realized it, during their conversation, the sun had set and night was slowly coming. Although it was not yet very late, the group of friends decided to go their separate ways, since they still had things to do before starting school. They left the tips for the employees and left the place together. Although there were still a few days of summer left, the nights were already cool in Berk, and people could be seen wearing jackets and sweatshirts.
Fishlegs headed off to his parents' bookstore, one of the oldest in Berk, while the twins went with Heather, since they lived nearby. That left Astrid and Snotlout alone. Since it was almost dark, Snotlout offered to take her, since he knew the way to his uncle's house.
The first few minutes of the trip were silent. The relationship between the two of them was always a bit complicated. For the most part, their relationship is based on fighting, complaining about each other, and much of that time, Snotlout's attempts to woo Astrid, which didn't end very well.
And that was until the previous year, at which point things got really bad. Any crush or infatuation Snotlout had on Astrid had disappeared. That had made the fights and arguments between the two go from bad to worse, much worse. Astrid kept criticizing Snotlout's attitude, that he didn't care about anything but himself and that he didn't think about the consequences of his actions. For his part, Snotlout criticized Astrid for never stopping to bother everyone, always with an air of superiority, ordering them to do everything all the time and ruining any plan they came up with, incapable of getting the stick out of her ass.
And from there things only got worse, reaching the point where Heather had to lock them both in a room, threatening not to let them out at any time, not even to go to the bathroom, until they really talked to each other. It took them three hours to start talking, slowly and in short sentences. But as they talked and went deeper they saw that behind the anger they felt towards each other there was something more. It's not that they didn't feel what they said to each other, but they would be lying if they said that the anger and the rage that was behind them weren't for another reason.
In Astrid's case, the blonde had suffered a serious injury at the beginning of the school sports season. While the injury was serious, it didn't require surgery or anything like that, but it did require a lot of rest, following the doctors' orders to the letter and taking rehabilitation seriously. The worst thing for Astrid was that she was going to be on the bench for a large part of the season.
Patience has not always been one of Astrid's strong points and having to wait to recover greatly worsened her attitude and mood. The good thing was that if she did what the doctors had told her she would be able to play the last games of the season, but it was becoming a torture for her.
As for Snotlout, the reason was problems in his family. During that year, since the beginning of the school year, the relationship between his parents had been getting worse and worse. The fights between the two of them had reached such a point that they began to affect Snotlout greatly, especially because they released part of their anger when they talked to him, something that made him spend as much time as possible outside of his house that year.
The worst came a few days before that big argument with Astrid. Without giving any sign or warning, Snotlout's mother, Sigrid, left Berk and while it was a huge blow to his father, it only made Snotlout even angrier that she had just left. Although things had been difficult for him, it seemed that things had improved during the summer.
After telling each other these things and listening to each other for once, Astrid and Snotlout decided to try to improve their relationship. Not that they didn't fight between them from time to time or get on each other's nerves. But they also knew that they could count on each other and therefore knew that when it was necessary they could talk with total sincerity.
"You're enjoying it?" Snotlout's question brought Astrid out of her thoughts. She had been staring out the passenger window at the scenery.
"I'm enjoying it?"
"Living with Uncle Stoick and Hiccup, are you enjoying it?" Astrid thought for a few minutes.
"Well, so far, yes, although it hasn't been that long, but my mother and I have been welcomed very well. They've taken a lot of trouble to make us as comfortable as possible." Astrid could see Snotlout smile a little when he heard that.
"I'm not surprised, the Haddocks have always known how to make those who visit their home welcome, even if they don't deserve it." Astrid could feel something in those last words her friend said, but she couldn't figure out what.
And at that moment Astrid realized something, Snotlout was Hiccup's cousin, if anyone knew what young Haddock had been up to in the last few years, it was his cousin.
"Hey Snotlout, now that the subject of living at your uncle's house has come up, could you tell me something?"
"What?" Snotlout didn't take his eyes off the road-
"Could you tell me something about your cousin?" Snotlout looked at her strangely, so Astrid quickly made herself understood. "You see, I haven't seen Hiccup for years and now suddenly I live with him, we've had some conversations, but I don't know much else about him."
"And what do you want me to tell you?" Astrid barely heard the question.
"Well, I don't know, I know what's happened to him during these years, I know that he's been studying in Dunbroch, but apart from that, I don't know much else."
"Well, then you know the same as me." Astrid looked at him without understanding, Snotlout sighed and parked the car near the entrance of the house.
Astrid didn't understand why Snotlout needed to stop the car to answer her and what did it mean that she knew the same thing as him?
Before she could say anything, Snotlout sighed and began to speak.
"What I meant, Astrid, is that I don't know much more than you when it comes to my cousin these past few years." Astrid wanted to ask something, but Snotlout waved her hand to let him continue talking. "Hiccup and I are cousins, but during these past few years the only times we've seen each other have been at family parties and even then we barely spoke." Astrid could sense that there was more behind those words, but she was even more surprised of the fact that the two cousins didn t have any the fact that the cousins had hardly any relations between them, beyond what was strictly formal. Astrid remained silent for a few seconds while she thought about her next question.
"What happened between you two?" Snotlout looked at her with a blank look. "I mean, I know you two weren't the best of friends when you were little, well I don't think anyone was much at that time, but to never talked to each other anymore."
Snotlout sighed and stared at the steering wheel of the car in such a way that Astrid was a little scared. After a few more minutes he looked up and stared at his friend.
"Astrid, I'm going to tell you something, something I never tell anyone and I'm only telling you because I think you need some context now that your mother and Uncle Stoick are together and you live under the same roof." Snotlout ran his hand over his face and began to speak.
"Shortly after I started my first year of high school, Uncle Stoick organized a fall party at his house, for the family and we're a big family, you'll see when it's your turn." Astrid could see that her friend was making a big effort. "And well, you know how my cousin and I were back then, we weren't exactly nice to him if you remember." Astrid knew what he meant, it was rare not to find a memory from when they were children where they weren't making fun of Hiccup or playing some kind of joke on him. But she could tell that Snotlout was referring to something else when she saw him sigh before continuing.
"But with him, well with him I was a jerk, in many ways" Astrid could see guilt and regret in her friend's eyes, something that in someone as stubborn as Snotlout shouldn't be taken lightly. "But that day he was strange, instead of being silent and going unnoticed, he seemed more talkative and instead of putting up with the mockery of the other members of the family, Hiccup answered them back and boy does my cousin know how to use words."
Astrid was surprised to hear that. She might have only been living with him for a few days, but she didn't think Hiccup was the type to use words to put someone down. "So what happened?"
"Well, as usual I stood in front of him and started messing with him and then he... punched me in the face and knocked me out.
Astrid was thankful that no one had taken a picture of her at that moment, the look of disbelief must have been something to see because the moment Snotlout saw that face he started laughing.
"Yeah, I know, I didn't expect it either." Snotlout let his friend gloat a little longer, and a few minutes later Astrid was already composed.
"And what happened next?"
"Well, to be honest, not much. When I regained consciousness I was lying on the couch with one tooth missing. Hiccup wasn't there, but I could hear him arguing with Uncle Stoick shortly after. Shortly after, my parents and I left, and although I wasn't paying much attention at the time, I could hear something my parents were saying, I don't know what, but they were talking about Hiccup and his parents, something about how things had changed."
"Change how?" Gossip wasn't something that caught Astrid much attention, but the young blonde couldn't let herself get caught up in the things her friend said.
"And what happened the next time you saw each other?"
"We didn't see each other again." Astrid frowned upon hearing the answer.
"What you mean?"
"After that I didn t see Hiccup in the next meeting, like a month or two after New Years, and he wasn't there. I asked Uncle Stoick where he was and he made a weird face, he told me something had happened and that he wouldn't be around for a while. I later found out that he wasn't going to Berk High, that he was going to Dunbroch. It was almost two years before I saw him again and... boy, had he changed."
Astrid hated to admit it, but Snotlout's story had caught her attention and, above all, her curiosity about her new housemate. Looking out the window of the car, she could see that they were about to arrive at the blonde's new house, so she quickly asked a few questions.
"You say Hiccup changed, what do you mean?"
"Well, for various reasons, he didn't seem so nervous anymore, he was more confident, when someone tried to confront him or mess with him, he had no problem confronting them, but everything was very calm, I don't know if I'm explaining myself well."
"And you didn't ask him what happened?"
"I think we've barely exchanged a word in the last few years, I tried but he wasn't interested in talking to me."
Astrid noticed some sadness in those words and it gave her a small idea of why Snotlout was telling her this, not only for the reason he had given her but perhaps to see if she could find out what had happened to her cousin these last few years.
"Hey, why don't you come in and say hi to my mom and Stocik?" Snotlout looked at her in surprise.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I have the key to the front door, park in the driveway and come in, I'm sure your uncle will be happy to see you." Astrids could see a small smile on her friend's face.
"Okay, why not?"
It took them a few more minutes to get to the house, but as they crossed the door, Astrid could see a green SUV that she didn't recognize. She also noticed that the door to Hiccup's workshop was open again and that both her mother and Stoick were there, talking to someone.
As she got out of the car, both she and Snotlout went towards them and as Stoick approached, he saw them and made a sign for them to come closer. For the first time in those final moments of summer, Astrid could feel a small cold breeze.
"Snotlout, what a surprise to see you, how are you?" As both friends approached, they noticed that next to them there was a girl with long red hair. "This is lucky, we want to introduce you to a friend of Hiccup's who will have dinner with us tonight, you can stay too, Snotlout.
But before Stoick could make the necessary introductions, Astrid took one look at the guest and recognized her instantly.
"Merida Dunbroch?"