Dragons: The New Chief

Chapter 52: It's Time

Stormfly squawked loudly, shuffling her wings as the riders took another lap around the village. Astrid grinned widely as she watched her husband, Hiccup, race by. The surge of air forced itself against the bystanders on the chief's ramp. Gobber, who stood beside the countess, stumbled, but caught himself just in time to see Hiccup dunk yet another white sheep into Astrid's basket.

"That makes 9 for Hiccup! Or Astrid! Whatever it is the man's doing..." Gobber announced, muttering the last bit only to where he and the woman next to him could hear.

Ruff and Tuff zoomed by on Barf and Belch.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Ruff complained as she bounced in her saddle. "We gotta get the next one!"

"Not if we get it first." Eret snickered as he whirled past them on Skullcrusher.

Tuff sighed, leaning forward in his saddle without a care. He stuck his finger in his ear, dug around, then looked at it before flinging a ball of wax to the ground. "I bet you miss when Fishlegs and Snotlout would fight over you now. At least we would get some sheep!" Ruff rolled her eyes. "It's all your fault you know." Tuff finished.

Ruffnut clenched her teeth together before pounding her fist on her brother's helmet. "You take that back!"

Tuff reached over and slammed his fist against his sister's helmet. "No! It's true!"

"Is not!" Ruff said, smacking her brother again.

"Is too!" The man countered, hitting Ruff once again.

Once the two got going, so did their dragon. The heads began to snap at one another, until eventually they got turned around and were heading the wrong way.

"The twins are..." Heather said, confused.

"Something." Astrid finished as the twins rushed past, looking over to the woman that sat in the chair to her left, where Astrid would be sitting if Hiccup didn't decide to take her place in the race.

Astrid sighed and leaned against the chair's back. She placed her hand on the very top of her middle, running her hand down once and let it sit at the bottom. Seven months now, only two to go.

"You ready?" Heather asked.

The blonde smiled, still looking down at her belly and nodded. "I am, but i'm also not. I spun the three threads and painted the rune yesterday, and I thought I was ready but... I don't know."

Heather chuckled. "I remember that stage when I was carrying Njord."

The boy, at the sound of his name, began to babble. He sat on his mother's lap as he watched the dragons race around. Each time a dragon flew by he would remove his slobbery fist from his mouth and point, saying 'dragon'. Heather tugged on the boys brown tunic, pulling it back over her childish tummy.

"But then they get here and it's horrible."

Astrid turned her head over to the woman with a face of pure shock.

Heather laughed, shaking her head. "I'm joking of course, when you get around how far along I am you'll be ready for the baby to get here. This is the part that's pure agony, the waiting, the wondering, and the pain. Oh the pain."

"Any time now for you, huh?" Astrid asked.

Heather nodded. "Yes. I am so ready to get him or her out, I can feel my joints loosening and fake pains."

Astrid furrowed her brows as she looked on the raven haired woman. "What are fake pains?"

Heather pursed her lips and bobbed her head from side to side. "They feel like labor pains, but they aren't really. It's just a tell tale sign of labor, usually around two weeks before actual labor."