It was less a hundred other tribes with the same idea and more a hundred members of any given tribe against two people who happened to have the advantage of dragons, but she knew it was mostly useless to argue specifics like that with Hiccup. He was very dear to her, but his idea of the big picture tended to be a little different than hers. His was usually far more optimistic.
Slipping behind Toothless as the Night Fury descended to land on the ledge, Stormfly hovered a moment while Toothless made room for her, then lanted quietly beside him. Dismounting, Astrid followed Hiccup's lead, digging into Stormfly's saddlebag, but pulling out her axe. Well, they only needed one torch, and between the two of them she was far more likely to cleave any opposing skulls.
The light of the torch flickered against Hiccup's features, and she traced the lines of his face a moment, a soft smile rising unbidden to her lips. His twiggy frame really did belie his strength, she thought: he was strong in ways she couldn't imagine. What he lacked in muscle he made up for in pure and simple courage of the heart.
But he promptly ruined any idea that he was kind of cool with some well-placed sarcasm. Rolling her eyes, Astrid shoved him with her shoulder.
"If there were giant spiders you'd be screaming like Fishlegs," she accused.
She was kind of nervous, though. If there was anyone in here, they either had a dragon, or they were some kind of cave-dwelling weirdo; any villages on this rock had to be far, far inland, and it would have been a long, cold walk underground to get to this cave. Frankly she would have preferred it be someone with a dragon. At least in that case Hiccup could probably do his dragon whisperer schtick and they'd come out of it with a friend instead of an ambush.
"It feels like the air in here hasn't been disturbed in a year," she said with a shiver. It wasn't any colder in here than it was outside, but it felt bitter and biting, like the chilly darkness was clawing at her bones. "Do you think there's anything living in here?" Besides potential spiders or skeletons, of course.
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Slipping behind Toothless as the Night Fury descended to land on the ledge, Stormfly hovered a moment while Toothless made room for her, then lanted quietly beside him. Dismounting, Astrid followed Hiccup's lead, digging into Stormfly's saddlebag, but pulling out her axe. Well, they only needed one torch, and between the two of them she was far more likely to cleave any opposing skulls.
The light of the torch flickered against Hiccup's features, and she traced the lines of his face a moment, a soft smile rising unbidden to her lips. His twiggy frame really did belie his strength, she thought: he was strong in ways she couldn't imagine. What he lacked in muscle he made up for in pure and simple courage of the heart.
But he promptly ruined any idea that he was kind of cool with some well-placed sarcasm. Rolling her eyes, Astrid shoved him with her shoulder.
"If there were giant spiders you'd be screaming like Fishlegs," she accused.
She was kind of nervous, though. If there was anyone in here, they either had a dragon, or they were some kind of cave-dwelling weirdo; any villages on this rock had to be far, far inland, and it would have been a long, cold walk underground to get to this cave. Frankly she would have preferred it be someone with a dragon. At least in that case Hiccup could probably do his dragon whisperer schtick and they'd come out of it with a friend instead of an ambush.
"It feels like the air in here hasn't been disturbed in a year," she said with a shiver. It wasn't any colder in here than it was outside, but it felt bitter and biting, like the chilly darkness was clawing at her bones. "Do you think there's anything living in here?" Besides potential spiders or skeletons, of course.