Huguel

5

s been holding something back from him and he needs to know why.

Astrid's brow furrows slightly and she looks down at her lap. Snotlout notices how pale her cheeks are. Her breathing is short. "I…I don't...know…" she responds after a few moments of silence.

Snotlout frowns. She doesn't look happy and he doesn't get it. "Well, if you don't know, how am I supposed to know?" he demands irritably.

She flinches, causing Snotlout to feel guilty again. He sighs and lowers his voice. "I'm sorry, okay? Don't take it personally..."

Her eyebrows furrow together. "I-it's fine," she mutters.

They both finish eating their breakfast without saying anything for the rest of the time. As soon as they're finished, Astrid gets up and turns her attention to the sink to wash the dishes while Snotlout puts his dirty clothes away. After doing so, Snotlout takes the bag of treats from the table and heads out to the backyard, deciding to go sit under the tree and read.

Once outside, Snotlout sits in the same position, leaning back against the trunk of the tree, as he opens his book to a random page. There’s nothing particularly interesting to see. So he just keeps reading. After a few pages though, he closes the book and throws it aside. Instead, he stares blankly ahead of himself and tries to focus his thoughts. Something has been bothering him lately. Every time that he tries to think about it, no matter how hard he tries, he can’t manage to recall any details.

Why can't he remember what happened that day? Is it because of the trauma? Or does it have something to do with the fact that she saved him that day, but didn't let him tell anyone, just like she promised? Maybe...maybe it has something to do with that?

His mind drifts off for a moment as he considers this possibility.

He suddenly becomes aware of Astrid standing near the end of the bench that is placed next to the tree. For some reason, her presence unsettles him. Not in a bad way. In a pleasant way, of course. It's not unpleasant or uncomfortable, but it makes Snotlout feel uneasy. He feels a lump in his throat.

“What are you thinking about?” she asks quietly, looking up at him from where she stands.

He thinks about his answer for a moment. Should he lie? Should he tell her that he’s been thinking about her? That he wants to forget about what happened to him that day, just like she did? Or should he tell her the truth and ask for forgiveness?

In the end he decides that the truth won’t hurt. Besides, he’s tired of hiding the truth. If she doesn’t forgive him yet, then neither should he forgive her.

After swallowing a few times, he lets out a shaky breath before speaking. “Nothing…I just…wasn’t expecting it is all. I never expected anything like that to happen to me.”

Astrid nods slowly, understanding what he means. She takes a step towards him and kneels down next to him, gently placing her hand on top of his. She smiles warmly at him and he returns it. Her smile reminds him of sunshine and warmth, making his heart beat faster.

"I'm sorry," she says softly. "If I'd known earlier, I never would've made you go there."

Snotlout swallows again. He doesn't respond right away. He isn't quite sure whether or not he believes that it's true. After a moment, he answers, "It's okay. I'm glad that I went there anyway."

She smiles brightly, tilting her head ever so slightly. "And how's the bruise? Still hurts?"

"Not much. You helped me heal it."

"That's great!" she says happily. "At least we managed to make your bruise disappear completely! I can finally stop worrying about it now. Do you feel better?”

Snotlout thinks about how she had healed his injury and that he's not as weak anymore, as he replies, "Yes, thanks. Although it still hurts sometimes to move."

Astrid hums in response and moves her hand, moving closer to him. She gently reaches out to him and starts massaging his upper left arm as she leans forwards.

"There, that should help a little bit," she says softly, giving him a small reassuring smile. Then her eyes meet his and she stops for a moment before continuing, "Actually, we should be able to start training today, right?"

Snotlout frowns. Training? Today? "We can train tomorrow," he says quickly. "It'll take forever and we'll be late anyway."

Astrid frowns as well, and her fingers continue their movements on his upper arm. "But-" she begins, sounding hesitant as she continues.

"But?" he questions as he glances at her for a brief second.

She averts her gaze again as she speaks, "Do you not want to train? You were always really nice to everyone that you met, so I thought that you enjoyed training...but...if you don't want to..."

Snotlout is quiet. He didn't think that it would bother him at first, but he realizes that maybe he wasn't being honest about it. He's definitely enjoyed training and fighting alongside his siblings, so training wouldn't be that bad. However, training is only one activity, not two activities. The more time that passes by and he doesn't have a sparring partner, the less likely the twins will be to agree to teach him how to fight. And, if he trains without any sparring partners, he would become rusty and could even injure someone accidentally. It's not that he enjoys having no opponents or wanting to be alone, but he hates the idea of hurting others. The last thing he wants to do is hurt somebody intentionally.

"...No," Snotlout eventually answers softly. "But I think it would be a lot quicker, especially since it'll give me more time to relax."

Astrid smiles lightly and nods her head, but her expression turns into a frown as she starts to worry. "You don't like it?" she asks hesitantly.

"Nah, I guess it's okay," he responds somewhat unsurely. "I'm not very interested in learning either."

Astrid pauses and she looks thoughtful for several seconds before she says, "...Alright. But I think it's worth trying it once every day until you get used to it."

Snotlout remains silent, seemingly deep in thought as he ponders her words. "Alright," he agrees after some moments of thought. "...Just not too early," he adds after a few moments of hesitation.

Astrid smiles. "Okay, I understand," she responds.

Chapter 3

It has been months. It’s almost six weeks. It hasn’t gotten any better. His bruises haven’t improved at all. His cuts have faded from red to faint white marks. There are also some bruises around his lower abdomen and on his shoulders and thighs that are growing progressively worse, due to lack of exercise. He spends most of the time lying down on his bed, resting, hoping that the swelling in his ankle will go down a little and that it will get better. It hasn’t helped in the slightest. It’s as though there’s a huge weight weighing down his foot each day, keeping him stuck to the floor, unable to walk properly.

It’s still snowing when he steps outside of the house. It’