The Night Rider: Book Two

Chapter 32: Axes

ASTRIDS POV.

Stoick, Spitlout, and a dozen others had left by ship for Berserker Island around an hour ago. It had been early morning, the sun barely peeking over the horizon. Now, the sun was higher up, and Berk had come to life with Vikings busily starting their days. Gobber, who Stoick had ordered to stay behind to watch over things, had told Astrid that it would be a few days before Stoick returned.

Astrid was walking around the village, board, with her axe swung over her back. Not knowing what to do. She looked for Hiccup but couldn't find him. She'd seen him watching his fathers ship sail off earlier but before she could approach him he'd flown off on Toothless. She hoped that he hadn't gone after Stoick. Or tried to beat them to Berserker Island.

Astrid found a corner in Berk and was face to face with Heather. She was eating an apple and talking with a teenage male Viking around her age. "Hi, Astrid." Heather greeted her.

"Hi." She greeted back.

Heather shooed away the male teenage Viking who looked upset about it but ran off anyway. Astrid and Heather stared at one another for a few moments awkwardly. Neither of them knowing what to talk about. "Have you seen Hiccup?" Astrid asked.

"No, I haven't." Heather replied.

Astrid sighed into her palm. "I hope he didn't go after Dagur."

"He wouldn't do that."

"Why?" Asked Astrid.

Heather laughed softly. "Because you asked him not to. You have an affect on him."

Astrid blushed slightly and looked away so Heather wouldn't notice, although it was obvious that she had.

Eager to advance the conversation Astrid started one about the first thing her eyes landed on. "I like your axe."

"Thanks. I like yours." Heather complimented back.

Silence fell between the two again, and Astrid realized that she really didn't know anything about Heather. Despite the fact that she was one of Hiccups closest friends and ally's. She wanted to know more about Heather, because they could probably be friends. "Do you want to go to the forest and practice axe throwing?" Astrid proposed.

Heather contemplated her suggestion for a moment but eventually nodded her head. Astrid led Heather through the village. Giving her a not so official tour of Berk. Mainly pointing out buildings, dragon feeders, the Mead Hall, and the Great Hall. Heather commented on a few of her callouts, but mainly kept quiet. Soon, the two were outside Berk and walking through the tall trees. They walked for several minuets before they found a large tree in a small clearing that would work.

Astrid pulled her axe off of her back and hurled it through the air. It spun in a satisfying blur and stuck perfectly in the tree. Heather pulled her axe off her back and extended the other side. She threw her own and it plunged into the tree next to Astrid's.

"Thanks for this. I need the practice." Thanked Heather.

"What do you mean?" Astrid asked, collecting her axe from the tree. "You seem pretty good to me."

Heather pulled her axe from the tree and examined the sharpness of each of the axe heads. "In war, you can't be 'pretty good'. You have to be excellent, better than your enemy. Or else." Heather threw her axe skillfully towards a tree. One of the heads collided with it, causing it to ricochet into another tree which it stuck into.  "Your head will wind up on the ground, instead of your enemies." She said morbidly.

"Okay, you have to teach me that." Astrid gawked.

Heather pulled her axe from the tree. "Maybe another time."

The two continued to practice. The sound of their axes sinking into the trees echoed around the forest causing birds to fly up into the air in fright.

"So, that guy earlier. He's cute." Astrid said, trying to think of conversation.

Heather chuckled softly. "I guess. Smells like rotten eggs like you wouldn't believe."

Astrid laughed and Heather joined in for a brief time. "Trust me, I smelt it. I thought maybe something in one of his pockets had gone bad." She said, issuing another round of laughter.

"He also made too many advances." Heather said.

Astrid laughed. "Like Snotlout?" She asked.

"The beefy one, Hiccups cousin? Yes, like Snotlout." She agreed, and the two laughed some more. "There just aren't any good men anymore."

Astrid nodded, although she didn't verbally agree. Because she disagreed. She'd found a good man. "I guess." She muttered.

"So. You and Hiccup. Is there something there?" Heather asked, catching Astrid off guard. Causing her to miss her axe throw, almost beheading a bird.

"What! Me and Hiccup? No—well, sorta." She admitted.

Heather diverted her eyes away from her direction momentarily. And Astrid thought that maybe she liked Hiccup. "There's one good man." Heather commented.

"Yeah." Agreed Astrid. "In more ways than one." She accidentally said aloud. Earning a suspicious look and grin from Heather.

"What do you mean?" Heather prided, approaching Astrids side.

"Well—I just mean... he's—pleasing." Astrid said.

Heather smiled, as she clearly understood what Astrid meant. But Astrid saw something on her face. Sadness? Disappointment? She couldn't quite put a finger on it. Astrid quickly decided to change the subject.

"So. What was it like? Being captured?" She said, regretting it. "You don't have to say, if you don't want to." Astrid added.

Heather sighed. "It was hard. I mean, the daily torture was enough to make you go insane. Plus, hearing that the person you hate the most is your brother... it's a feeling that you can't explain."

"It must be rough." Astrid said. But then, she realized something. "Wait. Daily torture? You told me and Hiccup that you had been left alone for all but the last day."

"Oh yeah. Sorry. Got it mixed up." Heather said casually, throwing her axe into the tree. Heather retrieved her axe, and got Astrids and returned it to her. "That's enough for today. I'll see you around." Heather said, patting Astrid on the shoulder and walking away back towards Berk.

Astrid stood still with her axe in her hands. She couldn't stop thinking about how Heather had gotten something wrong about what had happened. Something as major as daily torture. Astrid looked back to Heather who was almost hidden completely by the thick foliage. How could she get that wrong? A sneaking suspicion of Heather blossomed in her gut. And she couldn't help but not trust her a little less.