Hiccup and Astrid

Memory of snow and creativity pt2

"Got a good hold on it?" he asked Astrid.
"Yes," came the sharp reply and he moved back to observe his work, then with a nod started gathering more snow.  The next one wasn't nearly as large and he easily set it on top, but slightly angled enough that if he let go it would surely drop to the ground.  Again he worked the snow so that it melded with the pile beneath it.  It took a lot longer as he pressed and worked at it so that it elongated and flattened and then he carefully pulled his hands away.

"Well," Ruffnut heard Astrid ask.

"I think that will hold."

"Are we done?"

"No.  Well I'm not.  But I don't need you to hold anything anymore, so I guess if you want to leave…"   
He trailed off rather pathetically and Ruffnut fully expected Astrid to take the dismissal.  Yet once again she did the last thing expected.
"What else do you need?"
Hiccup grinned.  
"Can you make two snow rolls about this big?"  
He held his hands apart about the width of his scrawny chest.
"Yeah, sure," Astrid said and bent down to pull snow towards her.
Hiccup pulled a small tool from his belt, but paused a moment to admire the view of Astrid on all fours.  Ruffnut rolled her eyes and felt the urge to pelt the kid with a snowball.  Rousing himself Hiccup approached the snow mound, which was just a head shorted than he was.  He peered at it closely for several moments before confidently taking the tool and approaching it.  He delicately began scraping away at various parts, careful not to dig too deep or hard lest the whole thing come crumbling down.  First he did the top, carving both sides of the elongated mound equally, and then he dropped to his knees and worked at the middle before moving to the back and making a quick adjustment on the ground.

Astrid had finished her assignment and stood just watching him with her arms crossed over her chest.  Her head was tilted to one side as she observed the marks he was creating with interest.  Finally he stood up and Ruffnut could see he was absently chewing on his lip.
"What do you think?" he asked Astrid.
"I'm not sure.  It sort of looks familiar but not really?"
Hiccup laughed.  
"Well the most important part isn't on yet."  
He lifted one of the snow rolls and held it out for her to hold then picked up the other.  Ever so gently he set the end of the roll on the back of the topmost mound, face screwing up as he was obviously making every effort to combine the two with only the barest amount of effort, but it wouldn't quite stay and he swore under his breath.  
Astrid set her roll back down and stepped forward so she could place a steadying hand beneath the mound.  Hiccup smiled in appreciation and went back to work joining the two pieces of snow into one.  When he slowly removed his hands it stayed in place and the two shared a triumphant grin before Astrid cleared her throat and quickly looked away.

They repeated the process with the second roll of snow right next to the first and then they were able to move away from the piece and admire the finished product.
Ruffnut stared at it from her hiding spot, mouth agape.  She could see it, she really could.  The nose, the legs, and of course the ears…

"It's a rabbit!" Astrid declared and slowly moved around the sculpture in wonderment.  Sure enough it was.  It was the image of a rabbit caught in a moment of curiosity sitting back on its rear feet, front legs hanging at its chest, with its nose sniffing the air.  
"Ooh!" she exclaimed like child and pointed at the back.  "It's even got a little cottontail!"
Hiccup was grinning like a maniac at her response and Ruffnut wanted to vomit.  But she did have to admit she never would have imagined a heap of snow looking so much like a small woodland creature.

He opened his mouth to speak but all that came out was a high-pitched croaking, so he cleared his throat and tried again.  
"I'm glad you like it."

"I do," she said softly.  "And, uh, I guess you were right.  Making it was kind of fun." 
 She stared down at her feet and plucked at her wool skirt.
"Good.  I mean, well, yeah, um."  He looked around for a bit, completely at a loss for what to do. 
Ruffnut groaned and slapped her forehead.  
"Kiss her, you dumb twit," she muttered to herself then grimaced at what she had said.  Who cared about kissing and tripe like that?  But she was sure that, just for a moment, Astrid's guard was down enough that she would care about it.  Plus it would be a Hel of a good story to tell the others later over warm mead, even if it meant some extra bruises courtesy of Astrid.
"So...uh..need...anything else?" She said
"Why are you shattering?"
"I'm not"
"Anyway thank you for helping the Screw-up and even if I'm sure this will kill me take this as a thanks"
Then he leaned closer and placed a gentle kiss to the corner of her mouth.
"Crap!, he's so dead" Ruffnut said.
Astrid was shocked for a moment before punching his stomach.
"Well I kinda deserve that, so let's pretend nothing happened here"
And with that he left leaving her staring after him and admiring his work.
Astrid lifted a finger to touch where his lips were a moment before.
"I can't believe that...that...dork" she said softly.
She took one last look at the snow rabbit, picking her axe and walking away.

Remembering she'd dropped axe. Ruffnut rushed back to retrieve it, then walked well around the clearing and caught up with Astrid who was laying into a tree with the heat of a mid-July sun even though there was already a felled one nearby. 
"Hey," Ruffnut called casually as she joined her.  "Need some help?"
"Yeah, whatever," Astrid muttered.  "Done playing around?"
Ruffnut shrugged and joined her friend at the tree.  Ten minutes later with a loud crack, it tumbled over sending up a flurry of snow as it landed heavily.
"Rabbit," Ruffnut said casually as the two girls took a moment to catch their breath.
Astrid's head whipped towards her with wide eyes.  "What!"

Ruff nodded her head towards the top of the tree.  
"There was a rabbit hopping by.  Maybe we should go catch it.  Rabbit stew sounds good for supper."
"No," Astrid responded dully.  "It doesn't.  Just get to chopping."

"Whatever you say."
...
Ruff ended the story.
Astrid was going to say something until a voice interrupted her
"Here you are M'lady, oh, hey Ruffnut mind if I borrow Astrid?"
"She's all yours"
And with that he took her hand and dragged her with him.
"Can I ask why?" Ruffnut asked
"You see I promised Astrid a flight around the edge at sunset, and I'm a man of my word"

And with that he left with his M'lady.
___________________________________
Done.
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And thanks for reading ;)