DISTRACT Is Super Effective! [Open]

[astridhofferson.livejournal.com]

She sneezed and the fishing rod in her hands briefly jumped in her grasp.

Astrid huffed out a grunt, a hand relinquishing hold on the line as she indignantly rubbed under her stubby nose with the back of her finger while her blue eyes dully leered at nothing in particular off-screen.

That sneeze. Someone talking smack about her?

Disregarding this fleeting suspicion, she shrugged it off, merely readjusting her grip on the handle, and settled posterior more comfortably on the moss-covered boulder beneath her.

Within the encompassing towering stone walls of what appears to be a lost oasis, Astrid engaged in fishing on these familiar grounds taken from her memory of a memorable location somewhere on the outskirts of the Viking's home village -- the exact place she stealthily pursued after Hiccup and discovered Toothless subsequently. 'Course, for Hiccup and his dragon, this secret watering hole served as a base where they established their bond as well.

Today, though it just served as a relaxing getaway for one of the female's less than energy draining hobbies. Or so she thought? There's a sudden reflection of a figure on the waters pristine surface and it was impossible not to notice she now has company.

Astrid blinked a moment, then pursed her lips and turned her head to look up sidelong at whoever approached her with a stare clearly of "Hey, don't scare the fish."

Comments

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"What th-- How dare you call my Netherworld ridiculous!" Zetta roared. "I'm an Overlord! The most badass one in the entire universe! MY Netherworld is the pinnacle of badass Netherworlds! Y-your world is... is trite! Dragon riding! Like that's never been done before!"

The Overlord fumed like an angry thirteen-year old.

[astridhofferson.livejournal.com]

Her eyebrow twitched, but unlike this brash, obnoxious book, Astrid composed herself and calmly shut her eyes, placing a hand on her chest with nose upturned snobbishly. "Excuse you, you'll just have to get over it if my world is too practical for you and live with the fact everything made more sense."

[badassfreakingoverlord]

That, rather than irritating Zetta further, just baffled him. "...What the hell is practical and sensible about riding dragons?"

[astridhofferson.livejournal.com]

She palmed her cheek, thinning her eyes upon him. "A hundred times more than hurling around a fishing rod in a fight," Astrid pointedly shot right back.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Hurling-- what the hell are you envisioning?" Whatever it was, to be fair, it probably was a lot saner than the actual usage of a fishing rod in Netherworld combat.

[astridhofferson.livejournal.com]

Astrid bristled slightly. "That-- never mind what I'm thinking! It's your fault anyway," she spat, a little defensively than she would have liked. Your ridiculous world is giving her ridiculous thoughts and she is offended!

[badassfreakingoverlord]

The Overlord stopped short at that exclamation, looking at her in some surprise -- and then he burst into laughter.

"Hyaaaaa ha ha ha ha! You ARE Ruffnut's tribemate after all!"

That was probably intended as a compliment.

[astridhofferson.livejournal.com]

She resisted the urge to swat him with the pole. It'd feel damn good, yet that would result in a violation for her, wouldn't it? Meaning in the end Zetta would have the final laugh. This irritated her for some reason.

"Well, yeah; you should've known that. And pipe down, would you? You'll terrify the fish."

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Oddly, the ship had been fairly lenient towards violence against Zetta up till now, perhaps recognizing that either he was nearly impossible to damage, or that he was simply a cosmic chew toy at the moment.

"I'unno," Zetta said, his tone more moderate. "You and your guyfriend seemed practically from another world... except when he was threatening to end me," he added with another grin.

[astridhofferson.livejournal.com]

Her concern for the fish seemed to suddenly leave her thought process as if it no longer mattered at all, including Zetta. The annoyance she felt dissipating as she turned to look off in the distance with her face in her hands going positively spacey for the moment, murmuring dreamily, "Mm, yeah... yeah it was--it was really something."

brb, dreaming of raw vikingness

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Whoa! Stop that! No fantasizing in the Sensorium! I swear to Magog if this place gets weird because of your mind--!"

Zetta looked around, horrified, as if certain the image of this peaceful glen would suddenly gain a thumping brown-chicken-cow-cow beat as it transmuted into whatever Vikings considered sultry.

[astridhofferson.livejournal.com]

Pft, unlike Ruffnut she's got a better handle on her imagination. Astrid lifted a finger, about to protest--

--And a sudden added weight (http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af224/astrid_hofferson/Random/Steel-big-Cuffs.jpg) in that hand promptly stopped her. Shocked, she immediately flung it aside into the water, then shrugged back at Zetta. It took an enormous amount of willpower to contain her blush. "Malfunction. I don't even know what that is!" she snorted, forcing a dry chuckle.

So maybe she underestimated the Sensoriums. That was TOTALLY uncalled for!

[badassfreakingoverlord]

The Overlord lifted one eyebrow -- then grinned. Definitely Ruffnut's tribe member. Now he had no doubt.

"So," he said, because he suspected that if he teased her about that she'd toss him in the pool. "Ruffnut showed me her dragon in here. What's yours look like?"

[astridhofferson.livejournal.com]

That... question came out of nowhere. Initially, Astrid pursed her lips, appearing hesitant.

Then, she just scooted to the side and languidly leaned upright against the smooth fishing boulder she was sitting prior to the Overlord's arrival, one arm behind her head, the other absently toying with her fringe almost pensively.

"... her scales primary color is blue, but she has yellow and green blotchy wings and tail. Spikes on her head and tail laden with projectile spike darts. Deadly Nadder; their breed is gorgeous, really, and she is rather vain. I called her Fransicia. Y'know, the axe. Her head shape kind of resembles one, I thought. Though, Nadders act more like over-sized, fire-breathing birds than anything."

And there was silence.

...well, she answered his question.

She'll have to apologize (or not) if he was expecting some beast to magically *poof* before his eyes. Unlike Ruff, Astrid's obviously lacked the... live presentation.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

That explained a lot, actually.

Specifically... well, it said something that Astrid didn't conjure an image of her dragon when describing it, but conjured those, uh, other things completely by accident.

"So not two-headed, then," Zetta said. His only experience with those dragons had been that two headed... THING Ruffnut apparently rode. How did those things even survive?

But that raised another thought in the Overlord's brain. "Question for you. Tell me about Ruffnut's brother."

[astridhofferson.livejournal.com]

Hah, Zetta is pretty perceptive when he wants to be, huh? Yes, Astrid has her reasons, not like she'll spill on the spot...

Her head turned, regarding him sidelong, eyebrow raising. "Tuffnut? I don't know him all too well, but what you want to know?"

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Whatever you can tell me," Zetta replied. "All I have to go on is what Ruffnut tells or shows me, and I get the idea that's not the most... objective view. He's clearly an important figure in her life though. And, they're twins. What I'm teaching her will change their relationship forever. I want to know what it's like."

[astridhofferson.livejournal.com]

Absently scratching her cheek, she thought on it.

"I probably don't need to say this, but their relationship largely consists of a fierce sibling rivalry. One of our original pranksters back home, and sometimes it was hard to tell if he took practice seriously. He tends to boast a lot, though. And when it came to his sister, well..."

Astrid smiled lightly. "...they're family. Family is important in our culture." What more needed to be said?

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Hmm." That painted the rather alarming picture of Tuffnut being pretty much like the Ruffnut depicted him in the sensorium. It also confirmed a lot of what he'd thought on other matters as well.

"Any thoughts on what making Ruffnut about ten million times stronger than him will do?"

[astridhofferson.livejournal.com]

"Intense jealously? It'd likely score you another apprentice."

Brief smirk here. "I don't know. He hates books."

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Hmph. That's part of what I'm wondering," Zetta said. "Ruffnut may be human, but I know the soul of a demon when I see one." It hadn't been her sklll or strength of any of that crap that had drawn Zetta's attention, after all. "Her brother, at least in her depictions of him, doesn't seem to share that at all."

[astridhofferson.livejournal.com]

Astrid blinked. "Soul of a demon? Is that... a compliment?"

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Why the hell would it not be?" Zetta said, taken aback.

[astridhofferson.livejournal.com]

He's getting some deadpan now. "Because that's not something you'd say about a human unless they're a maniac."

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Yeah, and?"

What, did you think Ruffnut sweet-talked her way into the Overlord's good graces?!