Our world

The feud

The orange sun shone down on Astrid, brighter than ever, so she had to squint her eyes when she aimed at the target. After hitting it accurately, she rubbed her hand across her face before walking towards the mark to retrieve her stabbed axe from it.

Afterward, she was about to return to her throwing spot, but just then, she glimpsed Heather standing mere inches behind the wooden line. Noticing the axe in her grasp, Astrid stepped away and watched as Heather's perfect throw soared through the air, while Astrid snorted, amused.

"That's very well," she began, coming towards her as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Such a shame these abilities are used for the wron' things."

"Best of five?" Heather proposed, passing her to get her axe from the tree, while Astrid grinned, shaking her head.

"Do ya really have time for this? What with, well, ya know, recent occurrences?" Astrid inquired and pursed her lips together when Heather glared at her, sharply pulling her axe from the wood. "Alright, alright, don't get yer panties in a twist. Let's play."

Nodding, Heather walked back to Astrid's side, and after shooting their axes, the same flawless score, Astrid smiled and joked, "I guess it's a tie." Afterward, they moved together for the weapons, and there, Astrid studied Heather for a moment, noticing her rather closed-off expression. "I'm sorry for my earlier reaction. I shouldn't have said that I didn't care," she apologized, rubbing her teeth against each other. "What did Dagur do-?"

"He took everything from me," Heather answered, snapping her brows together. "Everything," she repeated, leaning her head against the chopped up mark, while recalling her past. "When I was a child, I used to sneak out of my house and go into the woods."

"Oh, so ya were a naughty girl?" Astrid jested, and Heather snickered, lifting the corner of her mouth.

"Yeah, I escaped to meet with kids from the lower classes; my parents were part of some kind of village's elite back then," she recalled, and then, drew back her lips into a snarl. "One of these times, after returning from one of my escapades, I was met with the sight of burning houses belonging to friends of my family, my uncles and aunts', and even my own. Instantly, scared, I ran away, and only a day later I found out my parents were dead, killed by Dagur, who murdered everyone to steal their valuables."

"Fuckin' bastard," Astrid muttered, slumping back against the same tree Heather was leaning against, gaping at her in compassion.

"Mhm," Heather mumbled, sighing while straightening. "After that, when I turned sixteen, I ran away, hoping to get revenge, and in the meantime, I met Windshear, who is like a sister to me, now," she recalled, beaming, while pointing upwards at the two dragons, the mentioned one and Stormfly, as they raced each other, with sticks in their mouths.

"Well, now I see where that urge for vengeance comes from," Astrid remarked, moving back to the throwing line. "However, ya could've thought about some other, better way of handlin' it."

At first, Heather just stood there, staring at her retreating body, wide-eyed, before wrinkling her forehead and rushing after her. "Seriously, Astrid?! You have to?!" she yelled, as she caught up to her and scowled at her from the side.

"Yes, I do have to," Astrid added, stopping suddenly and shrugging. "I'll do anythin' to lead ya away from this decision."

"Why are you so against it?!" Heather grumbled, glaring at Astrid. "I understand Hiccup, because she has some history with her freaking partner, that I don't care about, but you?" she gestured towards Astrid and narrowed her eyes. "You have your own story too, don't you?"

Consequently, Astrid flung the axe, and both of them, despite the distance, could've noticed how it landed slightly under the mark and she heaved a sigh. "Time ago, I wasn't practicin' this for fun," Astrid confessed, while Heather cheered, after hitting accurately, gaining a clear point finally, and Astrid sniggered, amused, before continuing, "but for payback," and moving forward to get back her weapon. "First, it was payback on the dragon, who killed my uncle, dishonorin' my family," she unfolded, sharply pulling out the axe, "and then, on Hiccup, who even so accidentally took away my chance to regain my family's glory."