There's No Such Thing As Normal (Hiccstrid)

Chapter 2

Hiccup's P.O.V.

I stood at my fathers shoulder as he talked to Sven Hofferson, Astrid's dad. "Sven, do you know how much damage she could cause?" Dad asked, his voice growing impatient.

"Stoick, you know I respect you, but this is the only thing she's ever wanted. She want's to be normal, and she tries to, but the whole Emerald thing is mine and Ingrid's fault. And besides, it's just a way for her to get her mind off stuff. You can't tell me that you've never doubted anything Hiccup's done, can you?" Sven asks.

"At least my inventions work out in the end," I grumbled from the corner of my mouth.

"I agree, I have had my doubts," Dad says.

"Dad!" I cried in shock but he ignored me.

"But, I knew he'd find a way to make it work. How would Astrid make her mind work? And can you even promise that she would?" Dad asks and Sven slumps in defeat. I really wanted to take notes. My dad was one of the best at making villagers share his thoughts. And right now, he was trying to make Sven think that his daughter could be a danger if she was allowed into the arena.

"Stoick, if you are implying that my family is unstable, I suggest you redirect your thoughts," Sven growls.

"I finally see the resemblance," I whisper to myself. Sven had always been a peace maker while Astrid got her anger issues from Ingrid, her mother.

"What will you do if I don't?" Dad asks cautiously.

"Not what I'll do. What Ingrid will do," Sven says before his wife walked into the room and went to his side.

"What's he saying about my baby?" she asks her husband who rose an eye brow at my father.

"Don't give in, don't give in, don't give," I muttered under my breath. I saw my dad swallow hard before answering the fiery mother.

"I was just telling Sven how much we look forward to Astrid joining us in dragon training," I looked at my dad in shock, praying to Thor that he was joking.

"Good, maybe it'll distract her from whatever's going on in that head of hers," Sven says before I storm out of the Meade Hall. I can't believe I have to train with the village psycho. She even passes Mildew! Mildew!

"Emerald, shut up!" Astrid's voice screams and normally, I wouldn't care, but his wasn't the normal 'You're driving me crazy, shut up' scream. And it was coming from the forest, not the docks, like usual.

"Astrid, you can't get away from me so don't try! You'll only exhaust yourself!" Astrid's voice called. I had no idea what was going on, but was suddenly interested as I ran after the blond viking. I caught up to her in a clearing before she disappeared into the trees again.

"Astrid, wait!" I called. She seemed to run faster. "Astrid!" I called again. We came to an empty stretch and she was running for a cliff. I called out to warn her but she ran right off the edge. "Astrid!" I screamed as I ran to the edge. I got there just in time to see her grab a vine and hit a bunch of rocks before tightening her grip and slipping to a stop. She was hugging the tendril and breathing very heavily as she stared at the sharp rocks no more than a whispering death below her. "Astrid! Are you okay?!" I called and she looked at me to show me her eyes wide and practically popping out of her head. She gulped before putting her feet on the rock wall and adjusting her grip on the vine.

"Shut up, Emerald, I can do this," she mutters. Next thing I know, she's yelling, "Because down there is certain death so shut up so I can get us back to safety!" Then, as if out of spite, she turned and started running up the wall, using the vine as a pivot. When she got close to the top, she jumped and let go of the vine, flipping through the air before landing in a crouch behind me. She suddenly seemed out of it as I turned to face her, swaying on her feet as she slowly moved back to the edge to look at what could have been her fate. I saw a thought flash through her eyes as I stood next to her. "What am I doing?" she breathed softly.

"What?" I asked, wondering if she was talking to Emerald.

"What, am I, doing?!" she screamed, stumbling from the cliff and clutching her head.

"Are you talking to me or Emerald?" I ask.

"I'm talking to you, Hiccup! What am I doing?! I don't know why I'm here, why am I here?!" she was panicking. I've never seen her panic before. She fell to her knees in front of me, still clutching her head. I had no idea what was going on, much less what to do. "Oh, forget it, I'm a psycho. That's what I am, I need to except it," she muttered under her breath. "Whoa," she said suddenly, lifting her head and looking in the direction of Berk. "There's a raid comin'," she finished as she turned back to me. I looked to the sky to see absolutely nothing. She then stood up and walked to the tree line.

"Astrid, are you okay?" I asked, running after her.

"Not really," she says as she doesn't break stride.

"Wanna talk?" I ask and she froze in her tracks.

"Those are the kinda words that got me into this mess," she said gravely, staring at nothing.

"W-what does that mean?" I ask.

"Ask my parents," she ordered before running into the trees and disappearing from sight. I went back to Berk, deep in thought. I always just called her psycho because she talked to herself. Tonight it seemed like she wasn't in control of her body. Was she really a psychopath? Or did she just need help controlling her thoughts?

Time skip (Brought to you by Laziness. He's that one, over there. *Points to a section in the audience* Sweat pants and stained grey hoodie. Seat 5, in row B I believe.)

I led the group into the arena as they jabbered about injuries they were hoping to get. "Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it," I said as I rested the blade of my sword on my shoulder.

"Yeah, I know right," everyone turned to see Astrid, holding her ax on her shoulder, "Pain. Love it."

"If you love it so much, why don't you marry it?" Tuffnut asks.

"Because I have a brain," she says. Don't say that, I thought, holding back a wince.

"Too big of one, I might add," Fishlegs says before everyone broke out in laughter except Astrid and I. She chucked her ax at Fishlegs' head but I caught the handle right before it made contact with his face. He was lucky I was standing next to him.

"Learn how to use your shield," I told him, slamming his shield to his chest. I then swung Astrid's ax in a circle as I walked toward her. "Can I talk to you?" I asked as I handed it to her.

"Sure," she said as she snatched her weapon. I then led her across the arena until we were out of earshot of the others.

"So, what happened last night, does that happen often?" I ask before she stiffened.

"Uh..." she said, turning her head away in thought. "Just when I need to get away from stuff," she finishes after a minute.

"Does Emerald tell you to do that?" I ask.

"1 time," she says before pausing, "out of three." I sigh. This girl was suicidal because of...I don't even know what. And my friends were laughing at her. I know I laughed at her too but that was before I knew how serious it was.

"Meet me at Ravens Point tonight, Moonhigh," I order and go back to the group before she can show me her confused fear.