Our world

The disintegration

There were very few situations in which Astrid Hofferson was awakened by someone. This is mostly due to her keen instinct, similar to that of Toothless', which alerted her whenever there was a need to be alert.

Thankfully for it, by the time they were fighting dragons in the village, she had woken up, before the raid even got there. Later on, these abilities came in handy, and she became one of the elite guards in Berk. Now, it helps her avoid the spikes of the impatient dragon every morning.

That's why whenever she felt someone evoke her, she knew something was not fine. Usually, if that happened, she would rise, while her body was encircled with bandages, after some horrible incident.

Only once was she awoken by twins at a terribly early hour, but before she could have killed them, they explained themselves with the hope of gaining her help in pranking Toothless for Loki Day. The best day of her life, she beams, every time she recalls this.

Surprisingly, today was different; the person responsible for her rousing was Heather, who wore a rather depressed expression. Moments later, she found herself standing at the nearly completed stables.

Not surprised by the fact of the presence of the other, tired, known by her young adults, she listened to Heather's odd plan of attacking Dagur, but in the meantime, her eyes couldn't leave the sight of Toothless, whose behavior was far from his normal one.

The man crossed his arms over his chest, tightly, as his mind wandered elsewhere, far from reality. Even though his existence had never been an interesting topic for her, today she surveyed every part of his body, trying to figure out what was wrong with him.

Finally, she apprehended that, when Heather finished her speech, after explaining everybody's position in it, forgetting about one. "What about Hiccup?" Astrid asked, and quirked up the corner of her mouth, glimpsing that she hit a nerve.

"She isn't involved," Toothless answered sharply, having remained silent throughout the entire conversation.

"She isn't involved in the plan, or does she not want to take part in it?" Astrid questioned and clicked her tongue when neither of them responded. "She doesn't want to. If that is so, then I'm shocked ye're even invitin' us to it. She is our leader, and we follow her decisions."

"Since when have you been so eager to follow her decisions?" Toothless snarled, boring his eyes into Astrid, enraged. "Weren't you-,"

"Don't ya dare point out my past," Astrid warned, gnashing her teeth, "or I'll start pointin' out yers."

The two of them scowled at one another, ready to knife each other's throats, but before that could have happened, Heather pushed in between them. "Guys, there is no point in arguing," she started, before glancing at Astrid, seriously. "From what I know, Hiccup isn't anything like a leader, she's just one person who isn't willing to help us."

Immediately, Astrid's eyes narrowed at Toothless, before muttering, "What a piece of shit ya are," to him, snappily. "Hiccup isn't our official leader, but she was the one to lead us toward victory over the Red Death," she started, before pointing at the rest of the gathered, "she may not be their leader," and then at herself, "but she's mine."

"I get it, but-,"

"But what?" Astrid snorted, shaking her head, amused. "Honestly, I'm more curious about the reason why Hiccup doesn't want to be involved in the plan because listenin' to it, I think that it isn't a bad idea, and she would agree with me, surely. So, what are ya not tellin' us?"

Afterward, Astrid glimpsed how Toothless gazed at Heather, who inhaled, calmly. "I'm planning on killing Dagur," she explained, raising her chin, confidently.