There's No Such Thing As Normal (Hiccstrid)

Chapter 10

Astrid's P.O.V.

Ryder and I raced through the trees, neck and neck. I stepped onto a log and flipped off, landing in a sprint. Ryder simply jumped it before summer-sulting about two feet and coming back to my side. I lengthened my strides and pulled ahead of him by a few inches before we broke from the trees and into the village. 

"Whoa, where's the dragon herd?" Snotlout asked as we passed the arena.

"Right on our tails!" Ryder called as we got farther away.

"Oh, great, he's hanging out with the psycho too much," I heard the twins say before we left earshot. When my parents' hut came into view, I picked up the speed before jumping onto the porch. I hit the wall and fell backwards before bending my body and landing on my hands before straightening into a hand stand. Ryder laughed as he caught up to me and I flipped over onto my feet.

"Well, did that tire you out a little bit?" he asked as we caught our breath. 

I nodded breathlessly as I sat on the steps.

"How do you act so cool when they call you a psycho?" he asks, sitting next to me.

I pause in thought before shrugging. I guess I just got used to it.

"I think I'd blow up if I got called something I'm not everyday," he says.

"Huh. She doesn't blow up because she knows that she really is a psycho," Fishlegs says as he passes. Ryder watched him walk away before looking at me.

"I don't think you're a psycho," he says, "A little shy, maybe, but not a psycho." I glanced at him.

What good is the opinion of a single person against a fact that everyone else knows?

"Okay, I can tell that you have thoughts because you stare into space randomly. What I'm wondering is why you don't say them out loud," he says. I sigh before looking around. I find a stick and use it to write in the dirt. 

'They don't come out right.'

I glanced at Ryder to see his eyes through the eye holes of his mask, betraying a smile. "How can they not come out right?" he asks after a pause. I wipe the dirt smooth with my foot before scraping words with the stick.

'They can come out as randomness, screams, or not even something that should be said.'

"Do you feel like you can't control it?" he asks.

'Yes. The only thing I can control is weather or not I open my mouth.'

"Have you ever learned to talked?" he asks.

I nod.

"Do you ever talk anymore?"

I nod.

"When?" he asks.

'When no one can hear.'

"Why only when no one can hear?" he asks.

'My voice is horrible and it embarrasses me.'

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?" he asks before taking the stick from me and putting it at his side, away from me. I rub my throat thoughtfully. My mouth opened slowly and I saw his eyes grow hopeful before I closed it again with a shake of my head. He slumped with a sigh as I stood up and went inside.

Nightfall

I let out a battle cry as I threw my ax at the target. I kicked three daggers into the air and flipped before kicking them into the same target before grabbing a sword and chopping off it's head. I sensed movement at the side of the arena and swung around before throwing the blade to the spot. When it stabbed the stone wall, I took my ax and raised it over my shoulder, ready for attack.

"Hold your fire!" Ryder said, holding his hands up. I heft a sigh as I dropped my weapon, seeing that the sword landed near his head. "You got pretty good aim in the dark, you know that?" he says and I nod. I've been practicing at night for a while now, so naturally I've developed good night-vision. "Couldn't sleep again?" he asks, walking toward me. 

I shake my head. I just had too much energy.

"To be honest with you, I was trying to see if you'd talk if you didn't think anyone was around," he says, making me pause as I get ready to throw my ax at another target. "Did you see me? Was I not stealthy enough?" he asks.

I nod hesitantly. Now I know that for as long as he's on Berk, I can't talk to Emerald.

"You can't really control that, can you?"

So I can control what you say but I can't control whether I talk to you or not?

"You know what you can't control."

"Shut up," I hiss under my breath, barely loud enough to hear.

"Did you say something?" Ryder asked excitedly. I looked at him in confusion before shaking my head. His shoulders slumped in disappointment.

"Liar!"

Of course I'm a liar, we're all liars.

"But you just lied. A big 'un."

It wasn't a big one. It doesn't affect him if I tell him I didn't say anything.

"Just shut up."

I let out a scream of frustration before bringing my ax down on a bucket of water.

Ryder's P.O.V.

Emerald must really be bugging her. Wonder when the last time she actually spoke was. Not a mutter, or a mumble, actually had a verbal conversation with someone that wasn't herself. Astrid brushed off the blade of her ax and strapped it to her back before walking toward the edge of the arena.

"Psycho! What in the name of Loki are you doing out here?!" A voice shouts and I look to the door to see Stoick glowering at her. She hung her head before quickly walking passed him.

"Why can't she be out at night?" I ask the chief.

"Because, who knows what she'll do if she has nothing to stop her?" he said.

"Has she ever tried something like that?" I ask.

"No, but she could. And when she does, we'll be ready," he mutters.

"Well, I'm surprised you can sleep at all. What with having a girl that's simply hard to understand in your village," I say sarcastically.

"She's more than hard to understand. No one can understand her, not even her parents," he hisses, as if she'd send a fire ball at him if she heard.

"I understand her," I say, making him look at me.

"You what?" he breathes.

"I understand her," I repeat, "She just needs someone to talk to, and since no one in this Thor forsaken village will listen, she has to listen to herself. It's taken me years, but I finally see it."

"How do you explain the false alarm raid alerts she sounded?" he asked.

"Simple hallucination. Anyone can get them. I don't know if it was from the heat, or lack of sleep, or what, but it wasn't something she could help," I tell him.

"What did you come to berk for in the first place?" he asked, his voice a low growl. I silently looked in the direction where Astrid disappeared. Stoick followed my gaze before looking at me with fire. "You came for her?" he asked in shock.

"Does that make me a traitor?" I ask.

"Yes, just like if someone where to turn to the side of the dragons," he says. I shrug.

"I guess I'm a traitor then." In more ways that one.