Forget (HTTYD Hiccup Haddock)

003

~~~

"E-easy does it.." Hiccup lowered the shipwrecked girl into a seat at the dining hall, balancing her plate on his free hand. They both sighed in relief when she was sat, and he placed her supper before her. Astrid dropped off his plate in front of him before moving to take her seat across. "Thanks, Astrid."

"No problem."

"What..." 'Shipwreck' started, but cut herself off. Hiccup nudged her as he sat down, giving her a look as if you tell her without speaking to continue. When he sat completely, she leaned over to whisper. "Wh-what is this?"

"Lamb, roast chicken, and spuds." He pointed to each as he named them, speaking just as quietly as to humor her bashfulness. Although, the secrecy was fruitless, anyone who tried could hear them. "Did you, uh, did you forget what food was too?"

"No, I-!" Her face scrunched, almost in pain. Hiccup watched in concern as her hand came to her forehead, pinching between her brows. "I've only- I've only ever eaten fish.. fish and oranges. Sometimes... sometimes..."

"Take your time." Hiccup placed his hand on her shoulder, patting it encouragingly. "Don't push too hard, it'll come to you."

"Sometimes there were... apples? Eggs, pickles, lots of limes." She rubbed her eyelids, fingertips white as she pressed down into her tear ducts. "Lots of limes- we would.. we would make juice, and pretend it was Sake or grog, because we were too little and they wouldn't let us drink."

"Sake? What's Sake?" Astrid asked, voice soft and tentative. She was just as afraid to upset Shipwreck as Hiccup was, who was churning with his own questions.

"Who-" Hiccups words caught in his throat. "Who's we?"

"Argh, I-I don't-" her hands shook, pressing harder and garner into her eyes. "It's- it's right there, it's right there but I can't-"

Flashes of joined hands, young and a little older. The ocean spray and rolling winds, the taste of sour limes, the scent of flowers. Her own laughter echoed in her ears, youthful. She was a child. But then it warped, it grew more mature. Someone else was laughing too, but she couldn't tell who. She couldn't see, or even truly hear. She couldn't tell if it was a boy, if it was a girl. It was all so deluded.

Screaming, loud and shrill. Cracking wood, the whining of bending planks. The smell of soot.

"Sorry- sorry I have to go, I have to go." She stood with a start, chair wood screeching against the cobblestone floors. Hiccup snagged her under arms when her knees buckled, but she wasn't about to let it stop her. "Let- please let go, I need-"

"Just-just wait a second, hey, c-calm down." Hiccup fought against her pulling, trying to wrangle her back. It wasn't too hard, she was still so weak. Astrid stood over the table and leaned forward, spinning Hiccup's chair so he could back her down into it. That's exactly what he did. "Calm- calm down. Here, sit, just breathe-"

"No." She tried to get up again, but his gentle hands kept her seated. He pushed her down by her shoulders, carefully with as little force as possible. "No, I've to go."

"Go where?" Hiccup asked the question everyone was thinking, and it made her stall. By the look on her face, he knew she couldn't remember. "H-hey, it's-it's... everything is going to be alright. Okay?"

Astrid caught his eye over shipwrecks head and gestured for him to continue comforting her.

"Uh-um... look- look at me." Hiccup grasped her biceps and lowered himself to his knees, putting himself on even ground with her. Her cerulean eyes locked with his, deep and cold like they always were. Hiccup gulped. "Yo-you're safe here. I won't- we aren't going to let any-anything happen to you, understand?"

She nodded, trying to take deep breaths.

"Okay- okay good. Just, uh, breathe and relax. You need to eat."

~~~

"It's not her fault." Hiccup sighed, standing by the kitchen where they could talk privately. He kept an eye on Shipwreck, who was sitting at the table with her head low, picking at her meal. His heart ached for her, he just didn't know how to say it. He gestured to her for Astrid to understand. "She's- it's not her fault. I feel bad."

"I get it and I don't blame her." Astrid shook her head, a sad frown on her lips. "I can't imagine what it would be like if I lost all my memories. I'm just... worried. We don't know anything about her, and she can't tell us. What if- what if she's a raider?"

"I don't think she is. I think-" Hiccup cut himself off, thinking. "I think she was part of a seafaring tribe. I mean, the diet she described is ship rations. If she grew up in a nomadic tribe, it would explain why she doesn't know what chicken is. You can't bring livestock on a ship."

"Yeah." Astrid agreed, nodding. She crossed her arms over her chest, eyes squinting as she thought as well. "And it would explain how she was able to manage a ship all by herself."

"When she said she had to go, she didn't seem to have an idea as to where..." Hiccup started, biting his thumb.

"Well, yeah." Astrid's gave him a look. "She can't remember."

"I don't- I don't think she ever knew." Hiccup shook his head. "I think something happened to her tribe, something bad. She got split up, she was running from whatever attacked them. She was just running, she just had to go."

"Maybe." The blond woman sighed. She hated to admit that that sounded like the best explanation. "Are you gunna tell her?"

"No, no I can't." Hiccup shook his head violently, physically backing away from that idea. "She's already one bad thought away from panicking. I don't want to upset her over a theory, we don't know for sure what happened."

"Okay, we keep it between us." Astrid took a deep breath, placing her hands solidify on her hips. She looked to Hiccup, who was nervously running his thumb across his bottom lip as he watched Shipwreck interact with the others. "You seem attached to her already."

"Yeah, I'm responsible for her." Hiccup scoffed, but then he shook his head. "I sympathize with her, I guess."

"Yeah." Astrid nodded, a sly smirk coming to her lips. "And she's pretty."

"Very pretty-" Hiccup choked as soon as the words left his mouth, a dark color coming to his cheeks as he whipped his head to glare at her. Astrid devolved into a fit of laughter, holding her gut to keep her upright. "That's- you can't- Hmph, that's not fair!"

"Oh, come on." She giggled. "You're too easy."

"Shut up!"