HTTYD: Blue Viking Berry

    It was another long day on Berk, with the warm summer months having begun in earnest.  Though, maybe ‘warm’ was too generous.  Even at its hottest, the island of Berk was temperate at best, and such days were incredibly rare.  Luckily for Astrid, she was always safe in the comfort and, when needed, warmth of her home.  That is, the one she had moved into ever since she married Hiccup a few years ago.  They’ve lived a happy life up to this point, in spite of what they’ve gone through over the years, and have even been committed prior to even considering marriage.  Of course, no married couple is without its issues.  In Astrid’s case, however, issues tended to lie more with her condition than her relationship.  Many times, she had to wait on Hiccup to come home, and it would often get very boring for her if Stormfly wasn’t there to keep her company.  Unfortunately, that was almost always her only choice...

    “He’s late. Again.”
   
    With a loud sigh, Astrid’s body shudders a bit.  She had gotten used to the fact that Hiccup often had to deal with last minute issues that only he, as chief of the Berk, could deal with.  It helped that, as close as they were, they were also independent spirits, so she could understand him taking his time before coming home.  That being said, none of that helped soothe the itch on her nose that, tragically, she couldn’t quite reach at the moment.

    The blonde Viking took another breath, her massive, round, and, blue body growing slightly as a result, with her hands hanging uselessly in their surrounding depressions.  Though she has spent half her life well aware that she’d end up like this, it still didn’t prepare her for the small annoyances like this.  Still, despite the fact she was unable to move on her own and filled with far more juice than most vikings would ever drink in their lifetime, she was rather content with her life. It was far more fulfilling than she honestly expected it to be not even a decade ago, and it made Astrid think back to how her life got to this point.

-

    One of the earliest memories she had was of playing with Hiccup back when the two of them were at the mere age of five. While Astrid was small at the time, Hiccup was even smaller, especially for a young Viking.  Still, she didn’t mind that much at all, especially considering that he was one of the few kids who didn’t tease her about the way she looked, even if she was blue.  It was rather nice, to be able to play with someone who didn’t think you were a freak.  

    At the time, they would often throw about toy axes as a fun game. Or, rather, Astrid would throw toy axes, while Hiccup could barely lift one.

    “Wow, Astrid…” Hiccup started a conversation to her. “You sure can throw an axe!”

    “Looks like I can’t say the same for you.” Astrid replied to him, struggling to suppress a giggle.  “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get it right.”

    “But...I can’t even hold these very well.”

    “Come on, be a little more...confahdint!”

    “It’s not my ‘confahdint,’ I’m just not really strong…”

    “That just means you gotta keep trying.  I had a bit of trouble too when my uncle Finn first showed me how to do it.  Here, let me-”

    “Hey, look!”  A familiar voice cried out to the two of them from behind, making Astrid feel suddenly annoyed.  With both of them turning around, it was made clear to be a young, yet still irritating Snotlout.  “It’s the runt of the litter, hanging out with his freakishly blue friend.”

    Her fists clenched in anger at his description of the two of them, not sure which irritated her more.  When she turned to face Snotlout, she saw that he was backed by the twins Tuffnut and Ruffnut, who were giggling wildly.  Granted, this didn’t surprise her in the least, as Snot didn’t have the guts to mock her on his own.

    “You better be careful Hiccup, if you hang out with Astrid too much, you might turn blue too!”  Ruffnut took a jab of her own at Astrid’s look, further agitating her.

    “Uh- Stop mocking her!”  Hiccup interrupted the three small bullies, trying to stand up for his friend.

    “Oh, and what’re you gonna do?”  Tuffnut rhetorically asked.  “You’re not exactly the strongest sword in the sheath.”

    “I’ll… I’ll, uh…”  The son of the chief’s bravado left him, knowing full well they were right.  Any one of the trio was stronger than him, and he’d have no chance going up against all three.  Meanwhile, Astrid’s irritation against them was quickly turning to outright rage, as her breaths got louder.  She looked like she was about ready to throw a tantrum.

    “Careful, Astrid,” Snotlout started, “you might go from blue to red.”  At that point, Astrid couldn’t take any more, her vision turning white with rage.  She reeled back, and ran her fist into Snotlout’s gut, knocking him off his feet and leaving him hunched over on the ground.  The twins watch him, slack jawed in awe that Astrid managed to do that.  They then turned their heads up, and saw her angered glare focusing on them.

    “Uh… Okay, got it!”

    “Yeah, we were just leaving!”  With that, the twins retreated, leaving Snotlout behind.  He looked up towards the angered girl, and, without saying a word, he crawled back up and ran off with the twins, holding his gut as he tried and failed to hold back tears.  Afterwards, Astrid took a sigh of relief, as Hiccup walked up to her side.

    “A-Astrid… Are you okay...?”  His tone showed he was clearly concerned, though more for himself than for her, after what just happened.

    “I’m fine, Hiccup… Just fine.”  Astrid picked up one of the toy axes, and got a smile to form on her face.  “Let’s go back to throwing these. Okay?”  When she saw him give a nod, her smile only grew wider as they went back to it.

    As she continued to reminisce, Astrid realized that she and Hiccup had always been close.  She recalled spending much of her days with the sickly little boy with quite the heart, be it playing games, wandering about the village, or even sneaking out into the forests about the island.  Despite her complexion and the raids her village experienced, she felt truly happy.

    Unfortunately, that wouldn’t last past the events of Aurvandil's Fire the following year.  

    As the skies were set alight, much of the tribe was preparing for the return of the Flightmare after a decade since its last rampage, the dancing lights in the sky foretelling its return.  While the dragon did not do much damage to the village on its own, that wasn’t why it was feared.  Rather, it was said to be so horrifying that even the bravest of Vikings would freeze upon seeing it.  Most Vikings that would’ve seen it would never be seen again, but that didn’t stop Astrid’s uncle Finn from trying to end this event.

    As his uncle got ready to face the beast, Astrid came out of her family home to join him, her training axe in hand.  While it wasn’t meant to be used in a real fight, it was still sharp and would hopefully help against the Flightmare.  She never found out if it would have, though, as her uncle met up to stop her.

    “Oh no you don’t, Astrid.  This is not a battle for you.”

    At this, the young girl wanted to argue, to say that this was her fight as much as it was anyone else’s.  She didn’t say a thing, however, her respect for him and his soft but firm grip on her small shoulders keeping her quiet.

    “Not yet, anyway.  You wait here, I’ll make sure this nasty dragon doesn’t destroy our village again.”

    With a final smile, her uncle ran off to face the glowing monster, quickly getting out of Astrid’s sight.  She was about to return home when she heard something she never thought she’d hear, her uncle screaming in the distance.

    After that, the Flightmare quickly came and went, damaging some of the villages boats and breaking more than a few roofs, among other things.  In the aftermath, Astrid came outside to look for Finn when she heard some of the other adults in the village speaking about how he froze in hushed tones.  Unable to believe what they were saying, she ran about the village, hoping to find him, only to find nothing.

    ‘Fearless’ Finn Hofferson, Astrid’s hero and uncle, was gone, leaving her utterly devastated.  He was like a second father to her, and losing him only made her feel emptiness.

    After that fateful day, Astrid felt cold, many of the things she used to enjoy no longer bringing the same spark as they used to.  No longer did she join Hiccup to explore or play together, she rarely smiled, and she no longer hesitated to give Snotlout what was coming his way whenever he tried to tease her again, a lesson he learned quick.  From then she spent a good deal of her time training, working her skills with her axe.  It would be many years before she’d let herself enjoy things again, but before that would happen, another issue would come up to raise its head and make her life worse.

-

    The sound of the door being shut snapped Astrid out of her reverie, her eyes locking onto her husband and chief.  Hiccup looked absolutely exhausted, and it seemed he wasn’t the only one, as Toothless collapsed on the floor mere moments later.  The big blue woman couldn’t help but giggle a bit in amusement.

    “Did you two have a tough day today?”  Astrid asked, her brow raised in curiosity.

    “Yeah, and it seemed like it was going to be an easy day, too, when I woke up.”

    “Really?  What happened?”

    “Well, would you believe me that the twins managed to cause a stir around Berk?”

    “Oh no, not again.”  Astrid rolled her eyes, though she couldn’t help but smirk at the fact that they haven’t changed.  “What did they do this time?”

    “Well, they… oh gods, it’s exhausting just to think about it.”  Hiccup sighed again as he started to rub his head, trying to work down a mild headache.

    “Then don’t, and relax… after you help me with this itch on my nose that I’ve had for a while now.”  Astrid wiggled her nose, trying to soothe the persisting irritation.

    “You couldn’t have had Stormfly do it for you while I was away?”  The young chief gives a tired chuckle, coming over to his bloated love and softly scratching the tip of her nose, causing the gigantic berrygirl to sigh in satisfaction.

    “You know she isn’t really good at this kind of thing.  Besides, why have a dragon do it when I could have the man I love do it instead?”  Astrid couldn’t help but blush a bit at her words, a bit of purple appearing on her soft cheeks.

    “I suppose you’re right on that.”  After helping her with her itch, Hiccup leaned into her, supporting himself against her form as he tried to relax.  “Still, it’s nice to know that you’ll always be here for me, once I’m done with doing my daily duties.  I’m pretty sure it helps me cope with the stress.”

    “Well, I’m happy to hear it, I just wish I could help out more on most days… or much of anything, really.”  At this, Astrid flapped her hands and wiggled her feet, which did little except send tiny vibrations through her form.

    “You’ve done plenty, Astrid, for both me and the village.  Though, I suppose I could try to figure out a way for you to be able to do a bit more around here, but not right now...”  Hiccup tried and failed to suppress a particularly loud yawn.  “How about I fix us dinner before we get some sleep tonight?”

    “Well, I was hoping to be able to talk a bit more, but I think I’d be happy with that tonight.”  The bloated warrior smiled, just happy to have him home and to herself again.