Ladybugs and Dragons

Speak of the Devil....

"Yo, Astrid! Wait up!!" At the sound of the obnoxious voice, Astrid groaned, feeling as she slumped down just an inch. Her grip on her axe tightened, just in case. The rough leather scratched her hands. She continued storming forwards. The wooden boards underneath her creaked with each step, groaning as the footsteps behind her quickened. Distant screeches of sea dragons echoed through the sleeping village. The sun out in the distance was just peaking its rays out from behind the sea. Wooden huts were showered in a warm orange glow, bringing life to the dull wooded beams and grim old dragon sculptures.  They landed their light on the large ice spikes that still littered the town. 3 years has gone by, and they still hadn't rid of all the ice. As much as the sun fought to melt it, they were stubborn; they reminded her of Hiccup in a sort of way.

Or...someone else....

'Speak of the devil'

"I said wait!!"

"Snotlout, I heard what you said, I just chose to ignore it." The boy ran up next to her, flashing his famous smirk.  It sank down faster than snow melting on the hottest days in July.

"Ouch. That hurts." His hand flew up over his heart, grasping it as if he had been struck with some spear or weapon. Astrid rolled her eyes at his joke. Like she didn't get enough of this every single day.

"Good." The sarcasm in her voice was blatant, and hilarious to any standbys' point of view. Snoutlout groaned, his eyes falling into an unamused blank stare.

"Hardy har har, very funny."

"Why thank you." Astrid beamed sarcastically and pressed her hand against the spruce door that led into the Cheif's Quarters. It swung open slowly with a loud creak. The first thing her eyes landed on was the large black cat-like dragon seated next to the large wooden bed. His ears perked up as he heard the door swing open, tail wagging as he caught a glance of the girl.

The second thing that caught her eye were the two teenagers, dressed in colorful leather suits, braced in defensive poses. The one in black leather held a baton out, guarding a girl with blue pigtails and a red spotted suit. Astrid's grip on her axe tightened, as she braced her leg back.

"Who....are you?" She demanded. The male jumped at the sudden voice, pointing his baton towards her.

"Uh, A-Astrid...hey!" Hiccup's scrawny head poked out from around the corner of a wall. "A-a little help?"

"What? Too chicken to face us?" The blond challenged. Astrid's mouth fell down into a snarl.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Chat scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes at me." Astrid snapped.

"Why not? Gonna get you in a cat-heap of trouble?"

"Chat!" Ladybug, who was now sitting up, spoke curtly. "Bad kitty." Her head sank into her hands; it felt as if there were a drill inside, constantly eating at her from the inside out.

"What?!" Chat wined. "You always let me trash talk our enemies."

"Enemies?!" Astrid yelled. Her eyes were now focused intently on him, gripping her axe so tightly, it cut off the circulation from her hands.

"Ooh...bad call." Hiccup muttered, having already been able to see what was coming. His gaze landed on Astrid. "Easy, easy..."

She lunged at the teen. Hiccup held her back. That didn't stop her from grunting ferociously.

"Woah woah, there, no one's challenging the other...little help there bud?" Toothless roared, a loud shrieking sound that sliced through the silence of the village, waking up the Vikings, no doubt. It stopped the bickering right in it's tracks. Outside, sheep were belting. Hiccup shot a look at the black dragon. "A bit dramatic, but that'll do." Toothless held his head up. Yes, he was dramatic, and he was proud of it. Hiccup would just have to deal.

And of course, he expected a fish in return for his fabulousness. Obviously.

It was a dead good ol' fashion stare off. No one moved. No one blinked. No one breathed, if that was possible. No one lost their focus on the other. As far as the parisians were concerned, one wrong move could mean life or death. Or, at least, in the teenage boy's mind. The girl was too occupied rubbing her pounding head to even realize what was going on. As far as the Berkians were concerned, well, they're Vikings. How do you think they felt?

Aggressive, of course. Well, Astrid was. Hiccup was just trying to keep the peace, was that too much to ask?

The air was growing tense. Someone would have to make a move sooner or later. And that someone would be....

"Woah, woah, hold up." Snotlout wandered into the middle, holding his hands up. He blinked at the superheroes in pure and utter confusion. He pointed at the blond boy. "Who are you?" His finger moved towards the pigtailed girl. "Who is she?" His eyes narrowed for a second, then widened as he pointed at himself. "WHO AM I?!"

"An idiot." Both Chat and Astrid muttered at the same time. They paused, and met eyes.

"There we go, something we can agree on." Hiccup sighed with relief, untensing his body. He reluctantly let go of Astrid's hood.

"Huh?" Snoutlout looked around, at the group.

"Well, that's a relief." Astrid sighed, lowering her axe. "Here I was, scared I was gonna have to kill you."

"Yeah." Chat agreed, collapsing his baton. "I really didn't want to cataclysm you."

Snoutlout's confuses gaze ran back to back between the two groups of teens, as they began chatting as if nothing had happened between the two. Even the girl in the red costume, who was now seated at the edge of the table, was able to get a sentence or two in the conversation.

"I am....so lost."

"Good." Astrid cut in. He glared at her.

"Y'know, Astrid, I get the feeling you don't like me."

"Gee, I wonder why."