The Strength of the Princess (HTTYD)

Progress

Chapter 46: Progress

Eira and Ingrid enjoyed Snoggletog at Berk. They were especially happy to have each other during the holidays. The dragon riders slowed down their activities for several weeks during the darkness that took over this part of the year. Eventually, with the new year, they got back into the swing of things. Fortunately, that did not mean fighting dragon hunters at the moment.

Ingrid resumed her lessons with Snotlout. Eira understood the reasons for this, but she did kind of miss seeing them all of the time. So, it was a surprise when Snotlout came to her hut asking her to go with him.

"What's this about?" she said as they walked through the forest.

"That's a secret," Snotlout said mysteriously.

Eira did not know if she liked the sound of that or not. Eventually, they arrived at the nearby pond. The young girl gasped when she saw the picnic laid out for them. "Oh, wow."

"Do you like it?" Snotlout said with a hopeful look.

Eira smiled at him. "This looks lovely. It was very thoughtful of you."

"I know, right?"

Eira started for the food. "Did you cook?" She could not remember ever seeing him cook, but that did not mean he did not know how.

Snotlout rubbed the back of his neck and gave a sheepish smile. "I may have asked Ingrid for help."

"That's alright. Ingrid is an excellent cook."

"This may also have been her idea."

Ah, so this was her sister's influence. If this was part of his 'training,' Eira thought it must be working. The two of them sat across from each other next to the pond, and Snotlout dished out the food. "You and Ingrid seem to be getting along well."

Snotlout grinned. "Yeah, she's great. Is everyone from Torvald so nice?"

Eira chuckled lightly. "I'm sure we have plenty of grumpy people. Not that I've ever met them. Everyone was nice to me, unfortunately."

Snotlout gave her an odd look. "You want people to be mean to you?"

"It's not that. I want them to be real. A lot of people were nice to me out of obligation. I never knew how they really felt or if they actually liked me."

"Of course they actually liked you." Snotlout bit off a large piece of mutton. He opened his mouth to speak again but caught himself and swallowed first. "You're a likable person."

Eira blushed. "Thank you." She did not know what to say after that, so she focused on her good. "This is good."

"I know! We'll have to make Ingrid cook for us more often."

Eira smirked. "I don't think she'll appreciate being used like that."

Snotlout shrugged. "It's worth a shot."

Eira laughed. "I'm the one who has to live with her."

The two of them continued to chat casually. It felt just like old times. Eira appreciated that they could still hang out like this without too much additional pressure. She was unsure which steps to take to progress their relationship, but she figured it would all come with time. For now, she was happy they enjoyed each other's company.

***

"Your idea was perfect!" Snotlout said as he entered the clubhouse for his training with Ingrid. "Eira loved the picnic, and your food was great."

Ingrid smiled. "Good. I'm glad I could help out. Maybe next time you could think of something like that on your own."

Snotlout blinked. "Why would I do that when I have you?"