asteria

Asteria would be the first to admit she jumped. At first she had watched with her heart in her throat - nervous but also strangely proud of @Hiccup for facing his fear. Of course nothing could be so easy, and she leapt a near foot when it split abruptly open.

Hiccup scrambled and hid behind her which made the girl feel oddly protective. Legs splayed she braced herself for whatever was to come, lips peeled back in a snarl that probably looked a lot more fierce than she felt. Truth be told she was shaking in her fur.

All of that fear was, thankfully, for naught. There were no ghosts and in fact Asteria spotted a few curious glints among the carcass of the pumpkin. “No ghosts!” She flashed her friend a grin and featured towards the pumpkin with her head. “let’s go look!”

Without waiting for his response she slunk forward, ears slightly tipped back which was the only sign of her nervousness. The lure of trinkets was too much, though, and she just hoped that no ghosts jumped out belatedly.

hiccup

No ghosts … ! Asteria had noticed too, which made Hiccup feel better. From where he cowered behind her though, he could not see the treasures that had been stored inside, and it was only when she decided to investigate that he stood up, following. He hesitated a little, unsure if this was some delayed trick. However, his unease soon faded and his ears swirled forward on his tufted head. The shimmering of goodies caught his eye, making them widen in surprise. “Wow!” he piped and moved in closer, poking the exploded fruit with his paw. He flinched, of course, but settled down when nothing sprang out. “I wonder if this was what the ghosts were protecting?” Seemed like a logical explanation to him. Using his claws to pry open the cache, he grinned when he saw the curiosities that had been stored inside.

Immediately, his attention was drawn to a string of cowrie shells and a stick from which jewels were strung. Smiling brightly, he looked back at Asteria. “Which one do you want?”

asteria

It wasn't a thought that had originally occurred to her, but as @Hiccup said it she agreed that it made sense. "Maybe we should go back and check the other one, too!" Maybe the ghosts would be gone, and they would be able to find more treasures! The girl had visions of bringing home some special trinket to Saga, to thank her for all that she had done.

For now, though, her gaze is drawn down to the pile of gifts, and rather than the shells or the gems she is immediately drawn to a fluffy feather. It is white and pink, a color very similar to the shade of her eyes. "I want that!" She grinned up at him and then plucked the feather from the pile of goodies. Sure, she would be happy to take home some other things for her little den, but this was what had interested her most. The small tuft of mane growing on her head was not enough to hold the feather yet, but she had hope!

"You can pick which one you want first." Asteria gestured back to the other interesting things and watched Hiccup curiously, wondering what he would choose.

hiccup

“I’m not about to get chased again!” Hiccup giggled when Asteria said they could go back to the tunnels. As cool as the treasure was, he didn’t want to provoke more ghosts. He’d been chased once already and that was one time too many! Hopefully she’d stay away from the tunnels too. Hiccup didn’t want her chased either.

The boy’s focus settled on the feather that his friend said she wanted, making him smile wide. “Oh! That’s pretty!” he complimented. “It matches your eyes, too!” Not only her eyes, but the pale streak that rimmed her lower eyelids and the tuft on her head! “Do you wanna wear it? Maybe we can find something sticky to hold it? Like sap?” A little tree sap would easily hold it into her fur, if that was what she wanted.

What he wanted was the string of cowrie shells. “I’m gonna pick … this!” he declared giddily and reached in, scooping the natural bracelet from the pumpkin. The bracelet hooked on his claw, Hiccup plopped onto his behind and curled his tail around, freeing his fore-paws. Carefully, he maneuvered the bracelet down onto his tail and gave it another flick, pleased by the delicate clack of the shells.

Hopping back onto his paws, he flipped his tail over to show off the little charm bracelet and beamed. “How’s it look?”

asteria

At that moment Asteria decided that @Hiccup was definitely smarter than she was. The girl would never have thought of using sap to hold the feather in place, but now that he had mentioned it she felt a little thrill of excitement. Maybe she could wear it now!

"Oh, could you help me?" Her gaze flicked up towards the tuft of mane and she grinned. "I think it'll be perfect to wear."

Her attention was drawn to the shells - they really were ideal for her friend. He flicked them down on to his tail and she couldn't help but notice how perfectly they contrasted his fur. "Looks great!"

A sudden burst of energy and excitement filled her and she bounded around him in a small circle, the feather briefly forgotten on the ground. How lucky they had been! "We could bring some things home, too!" This exclamation was made as she trotted over to the pumpkin and peered down at the many trinkets that were left.

hiccup

“Yeah! You know I will!” Hiccup beamed when Asteria asked if he would help her secure her feather in place. They would probably need to head to the swamp, or anywhere else that had a bunch of trees, but Hiccup was always excited to go out on an adventure with his best friend.

He puffed up when she commented on how nice his own trinket looked. It clacked when he excitedly whipped his tail at her bounding, making him laugh and smile over her contagious energy. Hiccup hopped after her and joined her next to the pumpkin to see what was there. “I got an idea,” he declared before trotting up the beach, searching for—

“Yes!” he chirped at his finding: a large piece of bark, tangled in seaweed. Grabbing one piece of seaweed, Hiccup started to pull the bark back, using it like a little sled. As he came back to the pumpkin, he explained, “We can put our stuff on this and take it back to your den! Then we can go look for some sap for your feather.”

asteria

Asteria watched him bound around, his energy was... catching. Her tail wiggled with excitement and she skipped after him as he fetched the bark, and then bounded back to their pile of trinkets and prizes. There were a few interesting things to be found and she marked a few in her mind to give to Saga and Nero.

"Ok! But you'll have to take some things home too!" It wasn't fair if he only took the shells! As great as they looked she wanted to share with him all of the little things that they had been gifted with.

Moving to help load everything on to the makeshift sled she bounded forward a few steps and then back - "this way!" Asteria would lead her friend to the den, helping pull the sled of goodies as they went.

-exit with hiccup-

hiccup

The cherry-coated boy was more than happy with his singular trinket, so he was ready to surrender the remaining treasure to Asteria. But his friend selflessly insisted he take more, making him peer down at their little hoard of goodies with a giddy gleam in his eye. He supposed he could take one or two more things to decorate his den with, or to gift to Faevyre! They could sort that out once they’d reached Asteria’s den.

With a bright smile stretched across his muzzle, Hiccup eagerly threw himself into the task of getting their loaded sled back to her home for sorting. Exit