Soup Soup

[axetrid]

Who: Hiccup & ~Astrid~
When: April 2nd.
Where: Snow White's apartment.
Summary: Astrid and Hiccup have not only lost their jobs, but Astrid's managed to put metal in the microwave. Yup.
Warnings: Vikings, microwaves and soup.

Calling it a disaster was a slight understatement. Sure, it hadn't been the end of the world, but it probably was the end of the microwave and the bowl of soup she'd attempted to warm was now broken to bits and smeared across the floor. Astrid was, understandably, upset. New technology was only continuing to prove to be increasingly harder to use and use properly, without the attempts blowing up in her face.

It wasn't so much herself that she felt bad for. No, feeling sorry for herself wasn't something Astrid indulged in often. What she did dread however was Snow's reaction to all of this. If she hadn't been so stubborn and had just hadn't touched the darn thing like Hiccup had so lovingly cautioned her about with his stupid notes around the kitchen, this wouldn't have ever happened.

Unfortunately, it had, and so now she had to deal with it.

Cursing to herself Astrid had grabbed the dish cloth from the sink, getting down on her hands and knees to clean up the mess she'd made. Fingers carefully began to pluck shards of ceramic bowl off of soup coated tiles, their edges sharp. One managed to nick her finger, causing it to bleed a bit, but she ignored it. There were bigger things to worry about than simple, little cuts. Hopefully, if she were lucky, she'd be able to wipe away the soup off the floor quickly and without any more mishaps.

The day couldn't possibly get any worse.

Comments

[summing_it_up]

There. It was nice to see her smile. It brightened her features. It made her less menacing. He felt more at ease when he saw the change in her demeanor and her thoughts, going from that degree of angry depression to something lighter. Comforted. A little more hopeful.

Out of habit, Hiccup looked down and shrugged. "Glad I can help."

He knew they were going to have to go through things together. They shared the same feelings every other new person would go through, one that they would constantly be reminded of during their prolonged stay. But thankfully Hiccup wasn't too aware of the extent of that thought. Not yet.

[axetrid]

"You're very helpful." Just a little bit of praise, in the hopes that it'd stick with him this time. Astrid's bowl of half eaten soup was forgotten then, in the meantime, as she counted the freckles on Hiccup's cheeks, quickly losing track before turning her eyes onto his.

"Hey, I've been thinking." And she had - Astrid did a surprising amount of thinking compared to most Vikings, although she was certain that Hiccup had her beat in that department. It was a topic change, but one needed to get her mind off of more recent things. "We really ought to find a calendar, one of our calendars, so we can go about the days a bit better. You know, so we don't miss any important celebrations. It's a bit disorienting not knowing which month we're in. Well, I know it's April, but that means nothing to me."

If there was one thing Astrid would never sacrifice, it would be her culture, especially amongst this fast paced city. If she had to wear clothes that others wore to fit in and get a job, fine. She'd do so. If she had to eat their food she wouldn't complain. But she was a Viking - traditions, myths and beliefs - they all shaped her into the warrior and person she was today. There was no way she could live without keeping those ideologies at the forefront of her mind. Stubborn? Yes. But that's what Vikings were.

"Apparently there's a place called a museum and there's Viking stuff there. At least that's what a girl told me. She thought I was from the museum. What do you think?"

[summing_it_up]

As strange as it felt hearing that, it was still very reassuring. Astrid was always blatantly honest; it was a defining characteristic. That, hopefully, wouldn't change.

He caught most of what she was talking about, noting the change in subject as he tried to play off his earlier distraction with the girl's glances. "Calendar. Right," he coughed, eyes darting the other way. He almost forgot about that, and converting their calendar dates to the city's was tricky.

At the word 'museum,' he perked with interest. "Really?" That could have gone for both the place and the mistake someone made. He nodded after a moment. "I mean– it wouldn't hurt to try, right? If it has stuff we can work with, that would be great."

[axetrid]

"Exactly. If there's any place in the city that we can find a calendar and maybe even other things we're familiar with, I think the museum is the best bet. Surely there has to be someone there that would know what we're talking about, right?"

Optimism. Astrid needed to maintain it. There was no way that she was going to go about the year without a calendar of all things. That would be unthinkable. Unacceptable.

"I mean just imagine it, gods forbid, we're stuck here for years without a calendar we miss our birthdays so many times that we forget how old we're supposed to be-"

It was a horrifying thought but she cut herself short before she allowed herself to go any further. Hiccup's birthday was in the winter, wasn't it? Winter was over, which meant that the boy's birthday had come and gone - fifteen winters turning into sixteen. Another change. That meant hers would be coming soon, wouldn't it?

"You missed your birthday, didn't you?"

[summing_it_up]

When she mentioned the whole thing about birthdays, Hiccup stared at her. And then he smiled.

"...I...think it did."

Well. It was a trying smile. One that said that he just realized this as well. February was a short month. Too short.

An awkward laugh escaped him as he waved a hand dismissively, busying himself with what was left of his now-cold soup. "But that doesn't really matter! If it passed here, it passed here..."

[axetrid]

"Sixteen Winters old." She started, turning back to her soup when she noticed Hiccup do the same. "Who would've thought."

Hiccup could wave his hand all he wished, trying to brush the subject away as if he were swatting at a fly, but it wouldn't stop Astrid from keeping her focus. The fact that any of them had lived as long as they had was clear as any sign that they'd had the luck of the gods at their backs. Growing up in a Viking village meant that the average life expectancy of an individual usually wasn't very high. When it came to their own little village on Berk, not only were numbers depleted by the usual expeditions to various other lands, but the number of people who had found themselves dinner to dragons had been rather large. It was short of a miracle, at least in Astrid's opinion, that Hiccup had even survived infancy. Sure, she'd never seen him as a baby but judging by how scrawny he was now after sixteen Winters had past, he must have been an awfully small thing when he'd been born.

"Whether it passed or not, that still doesn't make it not matter."

Vikings liked to celebrate, and even though birthdays weren't huge celebrations compared to others, they were still an important time to reflect and thank the gods for keeping one's health for another whole year. They were a time to appreciate the life of that person with words or tokens of gratitude, to show thanks to that individual's existence.

It didn't seem right that Hiccup had missed his birthday. They really needed a calendar; that was definitely clear now, more so than it had been before. She would rectify this. Somehow.

"If you're sixteen Winters old, then that will make me seventeen in turn soon."

Now that was a heavy thought to hold. Not that there was anything wrong with growing older - growing older meant that she was maturing and would only grow smarter and more talented as the years went by. What it also would have meant back home on Berk was that soon her mother and father would have started having awkward talks about marriage. It was common for teens to marry young, at least in other settlements - that's what she'd heard - but on Berk people usually tended to wait a little longer. There were dragons to kill and slaughter, or there had been. That and rebuilding houses that had been burnt to the ground were the main issues usually at the forefront of everyone's mind. There wasn't time to think about planning weddings, at least not very often, which in all honesty, was more than fine in Astrid's opinion.

Sure, she'd been taught the basics that every lady had to learn to take care of their husband - cooking, cleaning, sewing and the like - and while she wasn't terrible at those things, she still wasn't the most adept at them either, certainly not wife material yet. Her stitch was sloppy and sometimes she burnt what she cooked over the hearth. She'd been still learning (when she hadn't been training to kill dragons or honing her skills as a warrior) but being tossed a thousand years or more into the future only made developing those skills even more difficult. Astrid always loved a challenge, but nothing could match with what she faced here in Siren's Port. For someone who strove for perfection not being able to pass as mediocre in most things was infuriating. That didn't mean with practice she wouldn't reach a level of skill that she could be satisfied with. It could take some time though, all considered.

But, she was getting ahead of herself. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third was sixteen Winters old and she, Astrid Hofferson, would be seventeen soon enough. Unless Stoick the Vast suddenly appeared on the island (or her parents) there'd be no talk of marriage or anything of that sort - a fact she'd covet as a blessing. Someday, it would happen, but not for at least a few more passing of winters.

She caught herself staring then, having zoned out for a moment, cheeks pink with her thoughts as she refocused, clinking her spoon against the edge of her bowl somewhat harshly without meaning to.

"We'll celebrate it. Mine too. I wonder how they celebrate birthdays in this day and age?"

It'd be interesting to find out.