Hiccup and Astrid

memories part 11

...However powerful a Viking Stoick the Vast was, he did not have the slightest idea in regards to how he was supposed to react in front of a tamed Night Fury that was apparently seething with literally burning anger. Every time Stoick took one tiny step towards the staircase that led to his son's bedroom, the black dragon displayed two rows of teeth which were as sharp as could be, and snarled viciously. Toothless' eyes had narrowed dangerously, and his tail whipped the wooden floor in agitation. Every now and then, the gigantic reptile would even threaten to shoot one of his deadly bluish fireballs but changed his mind at the last second, that is to say when Stoick went away from him and the stairs he was stubbornly guarding. For the umpteenth time that day, the mighty Viking chieftain couldn't prevent himself from letting an exasperated growl escape his cursing mouth. Ever since Hiccup came home that morning, the Night Fury had decided to sit at the bottom of the staircase, not letting anyone approach him. Stoick had a pretty nasty feeling that told him whoever tried to ignore the beast's warnings would end up seriously injured, to say the very least. Not being able to climb up the stairs meant not being able to see Hiccup who, judging by the ambient noise, was busy turning his room upside down in a desperate attempt to release the anger and distress that wolfed him down from the inside.
This was not the first time Hiccup acted this way, but it definitely was the first time Stoick actually paid attention to it. Ever since it had become clear his son would become the exact opposite of what he was supposed to be, that is to say a true Viking, the way everyone in Berk meant it until quite recently, Stoick had decided to simply and purely ignore whatever Hiccup could do when he was not working at the forge with Gobber. Consequently, the chieftain of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe had not set a single toe in his son's bedroom for quite a number of years. He did not even know how it actually looked like by now. Needless to mention, Hiccup didn't let anyone enter his room anyway, one thing Stoick had actually respected for all those years. But right now, when he finally wanted to go and see his son to ask him what was wrong, he could not do it because of one angry, stubborn Night Fury whose only current idea was to protect the one human who had tamed him, and thus, to guard that damned staircase! It seemed nothing could make Toothless budge an inch. Stoick had tried everything he could think of: soothing the dragon with careful words and pats, luring him away with a bunch of fishes, scaring him away with eels, whatsoever, but none of those worked. The only reactions Stoick had earned from the Night Fury were snarls and growls, and those only resulted in making the Viking chieftain angrier and more and more frustrated by the second. And, as everyone knows, there are a lot of dangerous things in the world, but very few of them are considered more dangerous than a frustrated Viking. Except a frustrated dragon, maybe. The point is, when Stoick the Vast did hear the two series of repeated knocks on his door, he decided to call all the gods of Asgard to witness the way he was going to take it out on the unexpected visitor. Whoever it was, he was going to have a hard time of it.
"WHAT???",
Stoick roared as he opened the door as brutally as he could, only to find a slightly surprised female Viking staring at him with blue eyes that had widened a bit at his obvious outburst. One hand coiling around the collar of her fur coat, her cheeks redder than usual because of the raging snowstorm, several golden bangs of hair escaping her headband and falling haphazardly about her face, Astrid Hofferson took a step back, maybe without even realizing it, and straightened her shoulders in true Viking fashion, obviously not caring one bit about the weather. Stoick, in spite of his anger, could only admit how fierce and proud she looked and see the definite, dangerous beauty she would have as a fully grown woman. She was a Valkyrie, and she knew it. A couple of seconds passed in a silence that was only broken by the howling wind and the curious squawking sound Astrid's Deadly Nadder gave while watching the two Vikings interact, or lack of interaction,  with one another. Astrid eventually decided to break the ice and put her right hand, curled in a tight fist, in front of her heart.
"Greetings, chieftain Stoick the Vast. Respect and Strength."
Stoick smiled, finding his anger was vanishing rather quickly, and returned the greeting.
"Respect and Strength, Astrid Hofferson. What brings you here?"
"I'd like to see Hiccup, if that's alright. I need to talk to him."
"Yes, we all do, don't we?"
Astrid felt her eyes narrow at the odd comment, and watched as the chieftain of the tribe let out a heavy sigh. In an unexpected gesture, he put his large hand on her shoulder, making her body tense for a second.
"Well, come inside, Astrid, we don't want you to freeze out there."
"Thank you."
"And maybe you'll be able to talk some sense into that crazy dragon's head!"
"What? Toothless?"
"Yes, and Hiccup will have to explain why he named him that. Nearly bit my head off! That beast's so stubborn I doubt Loki himself could trick him!"