route_1065 | Overdue reunions and exploration.

Entry tags:

astrid hofferson | httyd

Overdue reunions and exploration.

Who: Astrid and Open
Where: Mahogany Town
When: Wednesday, August 8th
Summary: Astrid arrives in Mahogany and goes looking for her friends.
Rating: None?
Log:

Astrid hadn't really understood just how fast the pokemon Carmen had lent her would really run until she was actually on it's back. It wasn't quite as fast as a dragon, but had been close! She'd even detoured a few times, just to enjoy the rush that was as close as she was going to get to flying for a while.

But finally the trip ended, and she tapped the giant lion back into its pokeball before she turned her attention to Mahogany town. She had to return Carmen's pokemon, of course, and she wanted to look around...but the first thing she needed to do was find Hiccup. And check on him.

Because he was sick. That was all. He had horns, she was allowed to be worried!

[ooc: Astrid will be wandering around town. Specifically for Carman and Hiccup, but anyone in the area can stop her and say hello!]

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Finding Hiccup in the small town of Mahogany wouldn't have been too taxing a task, and it wasn't too long before he waltzed out of the Center with his 'gear in hand. Other than the horns, he actually looked almost healthy! Enough that he'd picked up a job again, at least. He glanced up by chance as he flicked through the different feeds on the network, and nearly dropped the device as he caught sight of the familiar face.

"Astrid!"

He stumbled, predictably, in his rush to go over and greet her, but it didn't hinder the bright smile that had appeared. After so long without contact from home, seeing the blonde in person was an exhilarating and gratifying experience. "You made it!" Hiccup said, almost breathlessly. "Well, I mean, of course you made it, but-- You're here!"

Astrid hadn't noticed Hiccup, looking through a window into one of the buildings, but when she heard someone shout her name she twisted around...just to see him stumble. Of course. She couldn't hide the smile on her face, really, and she didn't even notice the fact that he had, well, horns, as he hurried over to her.

"Hiccup!" Her grin faded slightly as the extent of his, well, blueness really settled in her mind. But he looked okay, he wasn't slow or coughing or anything, just...well...that. And he was here!

"Of course I'm here." she stated, unable to resist rolling her eyes. And she took a step forward, then hesitated as if she wasn't sure what she wanted to do, before she reached out to hug him. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed him till he was right there. "I said I would come, right?"

The hug was...pretty surprising. In all honesty, he had been expecting a good sock to the arm when Astrid had taken that step forward. Hiccup wasn't going to complain though, as he wrapped his own arms around her--an action that, while better than punches, was still unusual for a viking as socially-awkward as he. "You did," he agreed, giving her a tight squeeze before taking a step back to get a better look at her.

"And you are...really dirty." Hygiene wasn't always the best on Berk. They were vikings! They had bigger concerns than bathing, though Hiccup had always put more stock in it than some others. He'd gotten used to Johto's more modern take on cleaning, so he took in Astrid's travel-worn state with a bit of amusement.

He was such a charmer.

The hug wasn't exactly normal Astrid behavior either, but this wasn't a normal moment! She let go almost reluctantly, though she took a step back herself when he did, suddenly under his...what, inspection? Why did she feel embarrassed suddenly?

"I-" Wait, what? She frowned, and then promptly punched him in the shoulder. "Hiccup! It's not like bathing was really a thing while I was hurrying to find you. While you're sick." She crossed her arms and glared. Way to go, Hiccup.

"I don't smell that bad anyway!"

And there was the punch he had been expecting. While it did hurt (because Thor almighty, could that girl punch), the familiarity was actually comforting, and solidified that fact that Astrid was there. She was real and just the same as ever.

"Okay, okay!" Even as he winced away from her, fully prepared for lingering wrath, his smile made its return. "I'm sorry for being so ungrateful. It really is good to see you. Smudges and all."

She kept glaring at him even after she punched him, although the fact that he was actually there was enough to distract her from her anger. He didn't even get a second punch at the smudges comment! Though it was close. "I don't see what the big deal is, it rained on me a few days ago."

Viking hygiene really needed work.

"And you better be sorry. I came a long way to see you, Hiccup." She crossed her arms and smirked. "Weird blue horns and all."

Admittedly, Carmen's got the advantage on Astrid in a number of ways with regards to this little rendezvous; not only has Astrid only ever seen her in text (whereas she's had the benefit of a face and a voice on video in return), but there's also the matter of Vicky the Arcanine, and Carmen wouldn't be a trainer worth her salt if she couldn't recognize her own Pokemon, even in the hand of someone else.

Granted, Vicky was in her Pokeball at the moment, which eliminated her as a primary means of identifying Astrid, but it wasn't exactly like she really needed the help considering Astrid's rather noteworthy appearance.

At the moment, she was occupying an outdoor table in front of one of Mahogany's small, hole-in-the-wall cafes, lingering over her cup of tea and thoughtfully taking in the scenery of the new town; it didn't resonate with her the way that Ecruteak had, granted, but it still had its perks nonetheless.

And it appeared that one of those perks came with a fat yellow braid and a warriorlike expression.

Vaguely amused, she slipped back inside the cafe and paid for an iced tea to go before heading out onto the street to approach the girl.

"It's a nice town, isn't it?" she remarked with a smile. "Smaller than most, but some things are more important than size."

Astrid honestly wasn't expecting anyone to just walk up and talk to her, so it took her a few seconds to realize that someone was, her attention on the town itself. She blinked up at the taller woman in surprise, and after a few seconds of processing what she had said, gave a nod.

"Yeah. It's..." She almost looked rueful. "Every town is large to me." After all, even a small town here seemed to be bigger than Berk. And she'd used to think Berk was pretty large, frankly. They took up a whole island.

Her gaze returned to the woman again though. "Do I know you?" She asked, carefully. She'd spoken to many people on the magic window gear thing, but she was reasonably sure she'd remembered everyone.

Quite frankly, Carmen was rather pleased to see the measure of caution out of Astrid. She didn't know a great deal about the girl outside of her relation to Hiccup and what she'd gleaned from speaking to her firsthand on the network, so it was nice to see these small indications of who she was and how she operated — and a girl who knew the importance of care and skepticism was well on the right track, in Carmen's book.

"You might," she answered lightly, "assuming your name is Astrid."

Which she basically already knew it was, but it couldn't hurt to have confirmation.

Astrid didn't really appreciate being jerked around, which it certainly felt like this woman was doing. Politely, mind, but still answering questions with questions and not giving her any information she could use to figure out who she was.

"Maybe," she answered, crossing her arms. "How do you know me?"

Ivy would've done the same thing, she mused with undisguised humor; the two girls looked almost nothing alike, and yet the spunk and attitude were nearly identical.

"Well, to start with, you have my Arcanine," she said pleasantly, never wavering even in the face of Astrid's obvious distrust. "Not that I'm in any particular hurry to take Vicky back, mind, but it would be nice to hear how she made the trip."

Astrid's eyes widened for a second, and then her frown got worse. "You're Carmen?" She didn't know what she had expected of the woman traveling with Hiccup but, well...this wasn't it. Was it strange to have completely non-existent expectations dashed? Because she'd managed, just now.

At least this removed the jealous about some girl traveling with Hiccup. Jealousy she didn't have because that was still stupid. Hmph.

She did make quite the spectacle in her red coat, hat, and heels, and she'd also always had a certain flair for the dramatic, so seeing Astrid's reaction to her nonchalant introduction was gratifying, to say the least.

"Very good," she said, amused. "Would you like to wait for Hiccup to confirm that he knows me, or is my word sufficient enough in the meantime? Or come up with some other way for me to prove who I am; I don't mind the test."

Astrid was quiet as she considered, her finger tapping against her arm, and finally she shrugged. "I don't know why you'd lie about that." She finally decided, and then she reached into her bag and tugged out Vicky's pokeball, holding it out to the woman.

"Here. She was pretty fast."

"Having taken her for a spin before myself, I'd say that's an understatement."

Accepting the ball when it was offered, Carmen gave it a light toss and called Vicky out, sinking one gloved hand deep into the fur of her mane once she'd had the chance to appear. "Good girl," she said, not bothering to disguise her affection. "It's been a while since you had a good run, isn't it? That trip was good for you."

Then, after a moment of receiving Vicky's happy sniffing and nudging in return, she turned her attention back to Astrid. "If you have questions for me, go ahead and ask. It's easier in person than it is over the Gear, isn't it?"

Astrid watched Vicky carefully for a moment, as if making certain she was reacting like Carmen was her owner...better safe than sorry...before she was completely sure the woman was who she said she was.

"I guess," she agreed about the gear thing. She'd never get used to them, but they were useful. Absently she pulled out one of her own pokeballs and clicked it, releasing her now-four-day old growlithe. The little fire-puppy stretched and bounded around Astrid's feet before he turned her attention to the much, much bigger lion, peering up at her curiously.

"So...you travel with Hiccup, huh?"

Carmen might not have been Vicky's original owner, but they'd had plenty of time together in which to become familiar with each other, and Vicky reacted to the petting the way one might expect — eagerly, with plenty of nuzzling and satisfied growling as she tipped her head into the strokes. And upon the entrance of the little newcomer Growlithe, she likewise turned her attention downward, giving the young pup a curious, motherly nuzzle.

"We have been for a while now," Carmen replied, watching this little display a moment before returning her attention to the conversation at hand. "Though that might change now that you're here, I suppose."

Astrid hadn't named the little puppy yet, but it didn't seem to mind. At the nuzzle he leaned up on his hind legs to lick the big lion on the nose before dropping back and bounding around, sniffing everything nearby.

The viking teen's attention was on what Carmen said though, trying to figure out exactly what she meant. "Why?" She didn't really have plans beyond 'find Hiccup', so she honestly didn't know what was going to happen now. She intended to go back and get the badge she missed, eventually, but beyond that...she was winging it.

"Traveling groups aren't permanent arrangements here," she explained, holding out the to-go cup of iced tea in silent offer. It'd be up to Astrid whether or not to take it, of course, and that in turn would go to whether or not she'd decided to take that extra step in trusting her. But it was a hot, clear day out, and if she'd been traveling, there was always the chance that she'd be thirsty. "And there isn't a lot of pressure to stay together; more often than not, people meet, part ways, and just promise to reunite again sometime soon."

"Oh," she said, and that did make sense, really. Although it was hard for to imagine Hiccup traveling by himself for some reason. She hadn't really enjoyed doing it on her own, either. It was...lonely.

After a few seconds of thinking about it, she reached out to take the drink, though she sniffed the top before she took a sip. Okay, that was pretty good. "Travel wasn't really something we did back home." She said in explanation of her confusion.

In fairness, Carmen herself probably did more traveling in a month than most people did in five years, so staying mobile in Johto had never been a particular sticking point for her, the way it was for some other people. Of course, she also had the benefit of a full team of flying types, plus a few ground vehicles and a boat, which made traveling considerably easier than it would've for someone who was still as relatively new as Astrid was.

"What was it like back home?" she asked, curious. She knew some of it from Hiccup, of course, but different people had different perspectives, and she's curious to hear Astrid's.

Astrid thought about this for a moment, as she took a sip of the drink she'd been given, considering the taste. Everything here tasted different from things back home, so each drink was a little discovery. Finally she shrugged.

"Busy. Berk wasn't very big, and we were always fighting with the dragons, or dealing with food, or hunting, or sometimes fishing." Astrid wrinkled her nose at the last. She was not a fan of fishing in the least. "Everything was about fighting the dragons for years and years...my whole life, really, was preparing for Dragon Training. I was really looking forward to it..." And she was the best, frankly. Except then Hiccup came along... "It wasn't until recently that we stopped."

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Overdue reunions and exploration.

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