Chapter Text
At dawn’s first break, the vikings of Berk prepared to sail. The brisk morning air thinned with the rising sun, winds from the north carrying in the smell of the sea. The burly and battle-worn men, women, and otherwise made their way to shore while carrying their supplies for the journey. At the base of the island, the small fleet of ships at the docks floated lazily in the low tide. Two of these boats were being loaded by the gathering of adult vikings under Stoick the Vast’s command. The chief turned from the hustle to look over his village. Though he was a proud and confident man, he was no fool - Stoick knew that any time dragons were involved there were going to be casualties. At some point, he himself could very well be one of them. The red-headed viking took his chances to make peace with this certainty often.
“Heading off, then?” came the voice of Gobber as the peg-legged man made his way down the steps to the docks, stirring the chief from his thoughts.
Stoick inhaled deeply and nodded, facing the ships again. “Aye, we’re ready.”
“Safe travels my friend.” He raised his hand and Stoick took it before pulling the shorter man into a hug. After pulling away, Gobber raised his vacant metal attachment on the end of his arm to point at the village chief. “Don’t you worry about us here. I’ll get those kids in top shape. You just focus on finding that nest.”
The horn upon one of the boats sounded, signaling that the vikings were stationed and prepared to sail. Stoick placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder and nodded again. He opened his mouth to say something, then decided against it and turned away to walk towards the end of the dock.
Neither of the men, nor the rest of the vikings, knew that in the storage hatch of one of the ships, Astrid was behind supplies that she’d arranged to hide herself from view. She had been startled by the horn, her nerves picking at the back of her mind. The boat jostled as the last of the voyagers boarded, and with the call to cast off from Stoick, the two ships departed.
Astrid - who had barely slept at all the night before - found herself lulled to sleep in the gentle rocking of the ship on the open sea. When she awoke later, she could hear the vikings above talking and laughing. She couldn’t make out any of the words, but she felt comforted by the sound. The teen had, admittedly, felt nervous as she’d closed the hatch overhead and enclosed herself in darkness - and again when it was opened to drop in more supplies. But the familiarity of her people around her put her at ease. Astrid adjusted her position to be more comfortable and wondered if her parents were above her, or if they had boarded the other ship.
As the memory of the previous night stirred again in her mind, her expression lowered and her brow knitted firmly. She sat up straighter and busied herself with checking her axe for any wear or damage. Not that it’s seen much action, the young viking thought to herself. Sure, she’d helped whenever the village was attacked since she could carry a weapon, but she had never been allowed to be in the heat of the battles. Her mother specifically forbade it, despite her dad wanting Astrid to be prepared for the dangers of being a viking, as they had before her, as the rest of the village had. Astrid trained daily in the woods for as long as she could remember, sharpening her skills and dreaming of being one of the greats. However, no matter how hard she worked and how strong she’d become, her mother was steadfast in her refusals. The night before, she had stayed up late to listen in on the two discussing the meeting. When she’d overheard them talking about traveling out to find the dragons’ nest, Astrid knew this was her chance; to join the adults on their journey and prove herself to be as capable as anyone else. However, her father had mentioned the training course that Gobber had been charged with. It was then that something within the teen had snapped - the young fighter was not about to be left behind with the other kids for the spectacle of training in a controlled environment, caged in that pit, when she was itching for real battle. She had snuck out of the house after her parents said their goodbyes, and ran to the docks. The young viking managed to avoid being seen as she slipped aboard the ship and hid herself from view below deck.
Astrid crossed her legs and drove her axe into the wall of the compartment. I’m ready for a real fight. The young viking pictured her first kill, standing tall beside the fallen dragon and basking in the praise from the others. She could almost hear their cheering, until -
”Dragons! Prepare yerselves!”
The roar of several beasts rang over the sea as the boats were attacked, and the rocking of the boat as the vikings scrambled caused Astrid to be tossed around wildly. The crates and supplies around her shifted with the motion, and the blasts of fiery breath. She became pinned against the side of the compartment. The teen reached for her axe, lodged in the wall. Another blast from the dragons above caused the young viking to lurch forward, and the items surrounding her slid with her. The adults on deck howled and screamed, their steps echoing loudly as they struggled to fend off the attackers. Astrid heard a splash, and turned frantically to face where the noise originated. Above her, the roaring of the beasts electrified the air. She looked upward again at the sound of another warning being screamed over the sounds of battle.
”Abandon ship!!”
Astrid tried to shove the largest crate away from her in an attempt to free herself from being pressed into the corner. Bracing her feet against the compartment wall and her shoulder on the wooden box, she pushed it a couple feet over. She yelped as spikes appeared in a ripple-like progression through the planks above her, their sharp points mere inches from her face. Astrid could hear more splashing as the vikings evacuated to the water and adrenaline coursed through her veins, fierce and burning. She reached up to push the hatch open, and a large impact on the side of the boat threw her against the wall of the compartment. She felt a sharp pain in the back of her head before blacking out.
Astrid stirred and shook the dazed feeling off firmly. She looked around and located her weapon, still lodged in the wall. The teen pulled it from the wood before turning back. She reached for the compartment’s hatch, avoiding the spikes that remained poking through the wood, and opened it. She tossed her weapon onto the deck and it clattered over the planks. The young viking then pulled herself onto the crate and climbed up.
The ship was empty, and a disaster to behold. The sail, scorched and shredded, hung askew above her. The bulkheads were ripped apart and singed, with one distinct bite taken out of one side. Astrid felt her heart pounding in her ears and scanned the ocean around her and saw nothing in the vast expanse of open sea. Tears began to well in her eyes as she spun, panting, searching for anything, land or life. But she saw nothing but the gentle waves over the ocean. She screamed, throwing her axe around her wildly. Her balance slipped from her flailing, and she dropped to the deck. Astrid wailed, her voice cracking from the strain. She punched the deck, her head lowering to touch the wood.
A loud creak sounded above the teen, and she looked up as the boat’s mast splintered and cracked. Astrid scrambled and rushed to the back of the vessel as the mast fell. The impact upon the severely damaged ship snapped it in half, causing the teen viking to lurch downward. She swung her axe and drove it into the deck, gripping the handle tightly until her knuckles turned white and she dangled over the waves. The supplies that had surrounded her in the storage compartment were flung out into the sea from the collapse of the ship and began drifting away.
“No!” Astrid cried, throwing her hand out towards them helplessly.
Suddenly, the young viking heard a dragon’s roar somewhere in the distance. She searched the skies, frantically trying to find the source. Astrid grunted as she pulled herself up, using the axe as leverage. She clambered up the half of the ship and sat atop the bow. A short sob escaped her and she straddled the wood, forced to come to terms with the fact that she was hopelessly adrift on the sea, with no one knowing to go back and look for her.