Astrid ⟡ 001

[4everythingelse]

Who: 4everythingelse and anybody afoot
Where: The fields around Espoir, midday ish
Style: Third, preferably
Status: OPEN~

Comments

[4everythingelse]

Turning sharply when a voice called out behind her, Astrid ducked under Öndótt's wing and squinted. Someone appeared to be running toward her. What was this? Unhapy natives, perhaps, come to smite her for trespassing? ... No, this figure didn't seem terribly imposing, so she didn't figure it was anyone coming to thrash her. Or if they did think to try and thrash her, she was relatively confident she could handle it.

But as the figure drew closer, Astrid's expression warped into something of sheer disbelief. Those gangly limbs, that mop of wild hair, that voice. No, she had to be imagining it. She felt a bit silly for being so concerned about what was happening to that dummy Hiccup right now that she'd somehow managed to imagine that this person running toward her was him. Of course it wasn't him--Hiccup wouldn't be running anywhere right now, even if he was here.

Öndótt craned her neck around to peer at the figure too, arching her wings to make herself look bigger. If this person thought they were going to get the drop on her human, they had another thing coming. But then the dragon quickly folded her wings again, turning around to fully face the incoming stranger and lifting her head to trill pleasantly.

--Wait.

Astrid watched in disbelief as the figure drew nearer, and as she waited for the image of Hiccup to fade, she shook her head. The image didn't fade. It was--

"Hiccup?" No way. There was no. way. He stopped where he stood, and for a long moment there was just silence. She gawped at him a moment, then shook her head. "Hiccup?" she said again, a little louder this time, and then took off running toward him.

It was him. How was that even possible? The distance was closed in a matter of seconds, and before she really thought about what she was doing, she had drawn her arm back, closed her hand into a fist, and punched him square on the shoulder.

[horrendous_name]

"What are you---?!" ---dooooooing here.... Wait, what?! WHOA! WHAT WAS SHE---

SMACK! "OW!"

[4everythingelse]

"That's for scaring me!" she barked as her fist made contact, and then blinked almost curiously, as if she hadn't even realized she'd been planning to do that until it was already done.

It was Hiccup! She'd punched him enough times over the course of their growing up in the same village that there was no mistaking the way he sort of recoiled backward, the way he clutched his arm, the sound of his voice as he yawped in pain. It was definitely Hiccup.

But how could that be? How did he get here?

In that moment it didn't really matter. She'd been worried he would never even wake up after that ordeal with the Green Death, so whatever crazy miracle was to blame to this reunion, she would take it. As Hiccup stumbled a step back with the sheer force of the blow to his shoulder, Astrid grabbed a fistful of the front of his smithy overalls, hiking him back upright and then throwing her arms around his neck.

"And this is for being okay," she concluded.

[horrendous_name]

He flailed back, rubbing his arm where he was doubtlessly going to have a huge bruise tomorrow. WHY was she so good at recognizing him through causing him pain?! More importantly, what was she even hitting him for? Was it always going to be this way? The whole situation was just way too familiar.

"What did I even do?! You---"

... Well, he was going to argue that Astrid had only just shown up, and he had no time to have scared her about anything, but then he was suddenly pitched forward by her yanking him. He cringed and tried to pull back at first, expecting to be hit again. It took him a second to realize that Astrid's attack was really something quite different...

Hiccup went rigid, finding it really hard to breathe, even if he didn't have a girl crushing him. His face was becoming unbearably warm as he glanced between Astrid, and the dragon, and just staring off in the distance, because what was he supposed to do?! Astrid was hugging him! Sure, she had kissed him on the cheek after she flew on Toothless for the first time, but he didn't think she was going to keep doing it... Though, it wasn't like he really minded it, at all.

"Um--- Haha... I-" Oh gods. Why did his voice sound so squeeky? He awkwardly brought his arms up and hugged her back. "I'm glad you're ok too?"

[4everythingelse]

She wasn't going to admit just how worried she'd been. After they had found him tucked neatly beneath Toothless's wing on the rocky shores of that forgotten beach, charred and bleeding and missing half his leg, she had been almost certain that was it. He had been alive the last she'd seen him, but unconscious with no sign of change. The village medic had said he would live, but whether or not he would actually walk again had seemed a bit up in the air--if it was simply up to Hiccup's tenacity, then she wouldn't have been so concerned. He was stubborn to a fault, if nothing else, but even the most stubborn viking couldn't change nature, and the only way to know if that prosthetic leg was going to work would have been for him to get up and walk on it.

Maybe stubbornness was worth more than she'd thought. He sort of squeaked, and she released him then, feeling a bit self-conscious, and she quickly dusted him off, like this was all some practiced reenacted scene in a campfire story and now that the hug was over it was time to forget it had ever happened. She sort of boggled at him then.

"Me?" One eyebrow arched sharply. "You weren't even conscious the last time I saw you, you dummy. How in the world did you manage to--"

She stopped short as she made to gesture down at his prosthetic leg, inhaling sharply. The prosthetic was gone! He definitely had two boots there, two feet! But... but how was that possible? She'd been there when Gobber had finished attaching the steel peg--she'd seen it! And even if he had magically recovered overnight and was somehow able to run on the pegleg without being in horrific excruciating pain, the pegleg was not there.

"What happened to your foot?" she blurted tactlessly, snapping her head up and meeting his eyes. Astrid didn't necessarily believe in miracles or such idealistic things like that, but if Hiccup had been given his leg back somehow, then perhaps it was time she started.

[horrendous_name]

The boggling is mutual, Astrid. If he could only hear your thoughts right now, he would definitely protest. Obviously he was fine! He was standing right here, now, with his leg, in perfect health. Sure, he was frustrated from being stuck in this place right before a crucial moment in their world, but at least the place was peaceful when there weren't sudden blackouts.

"What are you even talking about?! Yes I was!" The last time he saw her, he was helping her make friends with that Nadder right next to her, though he never got to see the outcome of that.

When he saw Astrid's expression change to one of what he assumed was shock, he stopped and listened to her...

"What about it?!" The boy stepped back, immediately looking down and lifting his left foot up and tilting it to look it over... He couldn't see anything. He thought he may have stepped on something in the shop and not realized it, but no. It looked the same as ever. He sighed and looked back at her. "First Toothless, and now you. I guess my foot just gained instant fame and I didn't even notice."

[4everythingelse]

Okay what? He most certainly had not been conscious, she wasn't even going to attempt to let him argue this fact. He'd been unconscious for days. But that sure looked like genuine bafflement on his face when he inquired about what was so odd. His foot was all in one piece, and the fact that this confused him and there was no magical miraculous story to go with it had her intrigued. It was almost as if he genuinely believed he had never lost it!

"What do you mean, what about it?" she asked. "You really don't--?"

She was quiet for a moment, just peering at him, waiting for him to go psych! Gotcha! and regale her with the story of how he traded some absurd mechanical creation to a witch doctor to get his foot back or something. When the story didn't come, she folded her arms. How could he not know? Had he forgotten somehow? And that didn't explain how he'd gotten his leg restored, either way.

"... What is the last we saw each other?" she asked then, well aware she probably sounded barmy. If he was certain he'd been conscious, then clearly there was a rift here somewhere.

[horrendous_name]

Had Astrid hit her head somewhere? Maybe she'd forgotten about the current situation... But then again, if she still had her Nadder with her, maybe there was more to this then one of them being forgetful.

"We were about to go save our tribe, remember?" He paused, waiting for some form of recognition. In no way was he giving off any hint that this could be a joke. After all, he was being dead serious. "I was going to go do something crazy? We were going to follow after everyone on dragons?"

[4everythingelse]

"Hiccup, that was days ago!" she gasped, covering her mouth.

That was really the last thing he remembered? Standing on top of the outcropping, watching his father and the other villagers sail off toward Helheim's Gate? Had something happened to cause some sort of amnesia? How could he have forgotten everything that happened?

She shook her head. "Do... do you really not remember?" she asked, and lowered her eyes a moment. It seemed kind of unfair that he didn't remember... Hiccup had spent his entire life struggling to keep his head above water, as it were, and here the first time he'd made a big impact and really gotten something right, he couldn't even remember? "You did do something crazy, I remember that part for sure. But we defeated the giant dragon from the nest, don't you remember? You and Toothless, you took it down, in front of the whole village. We thought--"

She frowned, looking at his leg again. Nothing explained how he had managed to get his foot back, but... well, maybe she'd leave that part out. Some things were worth remembering, and others were worth forgetting. Even if he'd gotten the injury doing arguably the bravest thing Astrid had ever seen, he didn't necessarily need to know how he'd paid for his actions, however brave they'd been.

"We thought... it was pretty impressive," she fudged after a moment. Even if it wasn't the whole truth of what had happened, it was true, in any case.

1/2

[horrendous_name]

"Months ago for me." He said it immediately, because for him, he really had been gone from Berk for a good long while by now. He knew he would apparently wake up at the same moment as when he arrived in this world though. He looked over at the Nadder for a second, remembering how he helped Astrid release the dragon to set him up to be ridden.

As Astrid told where she was from, Hiccup's eyes went wide, and his mind reeled trying to piece everything together. The first part, he had experienced... He didn't even get how in the world Astrid could know all of this while he didn't, but for the moment, that didn't even matter to him.

"I-I remember that we left for Helheim's gate but... Gods. We actually beat that thing?!" Sure, Hiccup was still pretty confused, and still getting over the sudden change of Astrid showing up, but he couldn't help but grin. His fists clenched as he did a small jump of excited relief. "YES! We really managed to pull it off?"

After months of worrying about how he was going to manage when he got back home, or if he really was going to be returned back in time, he actually had a solid answer about the battle. Somarium chose to pull him from the worst possible time. It was like waiting for months in the calm before the storm, never knowing when he would be pulled back, but Astrid's explanation finally gave him the hope he had been waiting for. They were going to win, and Toothless was going to be fine.

2/2

[horrendous_name]

When the subject moved on to the tribe though, Hiccup's smile dampened slightly. He hadn't parted with his dad on the best terms... At all. Beyond his dad, he had kept the whole village in the dark about Toothless for so long. He'd hoped they'd come around when he proved to them that the dragons weren't what they thought they were... But Stoik the Vast was the most stubborn viking that ever lived. After the what he said to Hiccup last, he wasn't sure how much he would change his mind, even with solid proof.

"You mean..." He hesitated asking. Maybe he didn't even want to know, but part of him told him he had to know. "...Even my dad?"

1/2

[4everythingelse]

"Months...?" Okay, this was just making less and less sense as things went on. How could he have been here for months if she'd only just seen him the previous evening? Suddenly this was a big temporal paradox and she was pretty sure she was getting a headache.

Well, at least the good news had cheered him up. He'd seemed so downtrodden on the ridge, watching his father sail off with Toothless on the longboat. If that was really the last thing he remembered, that was a pretty heavy weight to bear for all this time. She smiled faintly.

"Yes, we did defeat it," she said, shoving his arm lightly. "I can't believe you don't remember that, you big dolt. It was only about the coolest thing you've ever done." She chuckled then, shaking her head. "You baited the thing to chase you down out of the clouds, and then pulled up at the last second,"--this was accentuated with a sort of swooping gesture with one hand--"and it was too big and heavy to keep from crashing into the beach. The whole thing exploded."

2/2

[4everythingelse]

And then she paused when Hiccup's face fell, and he asked about his father. It was true that Stoick the Vast was bull-headed and difficult to persuade, but Astrid would never forget the look on the broad man's face when he had thought his son was dead. The entire village had sagged under the weight of the thought of having lost Hiccup, and even if none of them had really appreciated him until that very day--herself included, she wasn't proud to admit--he had changed the hearts and minds of the whole clan that day with his heroic act. She wished he could have heard how they cheered when Stoick had discovered he was still alive.

Whatever he remembered, whatever he'd forgotten, whatever had happened to undo what had happened to his leg or otherwise, he deserved to know that much.

"Yes, Hiccup," she said slowly, nodding, "even your dad."

She started to elaborate when suddenly Dot let out a sharp trill and spread her wings. Lifting her eyes, Astrid looked at the dragon, furrowing her brow. Was something nearby?

"What is it, Dot?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"

[hasnoteefs]

Night Furies were always referred to as the most intelligent and the most elusive of all the dragons Vikings knew of. They moved swiftly and silently and the only reason Vikings were ever aware of their presence in the first place was due to their impeccable aim and the horrid shrieking sound they made just prior to firing their semi-solid balls of lightning fire.

So naturally, Öndótt was the only one that noticed Toothless' approach from downwind in a cluster of nearby bushes.

Although Astrid probably would have noticed the giant black mass that materialized out of thin air behind Hiccup with a playful grin and spread wings. Watch it, Hiccup, you're about to be pounced.

[horrendous_name]

Hiccup gave a huge huff of relief. Considering the fact that he lived the last few months assuming he had been disowned, Astrid's reassurance was simply amazing to hear.

"Great." ... Well, it would be great, if he was less distracted in this moment. He was a little bit too preoccupied to really care about what the Nadder was seeing. He was kind of dealing with the fact that all of the stuff he'd been stressing out over for the last month was finally done with. Also... Was that really that dragon's name?! It just wasn't what he expected.

"Dot? You called your dragon d-----" WHUMPH!

Urk... Sorry Astrid. Can't talk right now. Being pounced into a pancake.

[4everythingelse]

"Well, her name is officially Öndótt," Astrid replied matter-of-factly. "It means fiery-eyed--I think it suits her. So Dot's just a nickname." She narrowed one eye then. "Why? Is is that strange? I really don't see how it's any sillier than calling your dragon--"

Speak of the devil.

"Toothless?" Astrid jumped back as the Night Fury leapt at Hiccup, bowling him clean over. She winced visibly as Hiccup had the wind soundly knocked out of him with a whumpf as he hit the earth, and then she laughed, despite herself. This place really wouldn't be so bad, she supposed, so long as she wasn't alone. If Hiccup and Toothless were here, then maybe being stuck here wouldn't be so bad.

Not that she was ever going to tell him that.

"There you are," she said to Toothless, moving past Öndótt as the nadder clicked her jaw in greeting to the other dragon. "I was wondering where you'd disappeared to." Reaching out and scratching behind Toothless's jaw, she made no immediate effort to help Hiccup to his feet. He still had two; he'd be fine.