Local Holiday

It was that time of year. The Summer Solstice. The hottest day of the year.

On Berk, the hottest day of the year was still moderately cold by global standards, but it was still a time for celebration. Today was Freyja's Day. It was a day of feasting and fighting and giving thanks to the gods for good harvest and good times to come. After the war with the dragons had ended, Freyja's Day became Berk's biggest holiday next to Snoggletog. Now that the war was over and the dragons helped gathering food instead of stealing from it all the time, Berk had more crops and fish and mutton than they knew what to do with. The mead ran like water and the adults were quick to help themselves in celebration.

For the longest time, Astrid Hofferson hated Freyja's Day. Freyja was a lot of things, a Goddess of Fire and Warfare, favored by Odin and revered by Berserkers and Shieldmaidens alike, but she was also a Fertility Goddess. It was her blessings that put bread on the table and potatoes on their plate, just as they put babies in bellies for future clan members. On Freyja's Day, it was tradition that the Men of the Hooligan tribe would go without their shirts, shoes and armor for the entire day in order to honor the blessings of the god of male fertility Frey.

Women, however, were expected to go without clothes completely, going about their duties throughout the village completely naked.

Fishlegs once had a theory that the tradition originally started because people back then found the summer so hot that they stripped down to keep cool, but no one actually cared. Everyone else saw it as a sacrament.

Astrid remembered years ago when she performed this tradition for the first time. After her first bleeding made her a woman in the eyes of the village, her mother refused to let her leave the house without stripping down first. To do so would be an insult to Freyja.

"That's how you get ugly babies," her grandmother croaked, her sagging breasts an image Astrid struggles to forget to this day.

It was the worse day of her life. Walking around with the cold wind biting her skin. Snotlout staring at her ass with a slackjaw. Tuffnut asking inappropriate questions that led to an equally naked Ruffnut kneeing him in the knads. Fishlegs feinting. As much of a wimp Hiccup was, he at least had the decency to not stare.

As the years went on, she told herself every reason not to be embarrassed, but the way she filled out as puberty just made people stare more and more. Her breasts were a descent size. Her stomach flat, but soft. Her hips framed her heart-shaped ass perfectly, something Snotlout felt the need to say "as a compliment" before Astrid broke his arm before he could grab it.

Today was her nineteenth Freyja's Day, and things were different this time. The Dragon Hunters were driven out of the Great Beyond, Berk has never been richer, all loose ends have been tied up and this year she had a boyfriend.

Astrid and Hiccup had been dating for six months now and a small part of her was looking forward to this day. After the war with the dragons ended, a part of her felt tempted to flaunt herself at him. A man nearly dies saving your village and you kiss him for it, you can't help but grow attached to him. Now that they were official, parts of her wanted to move beyond a kiss.

Last year, he got a good look at Hiccup without his shirt and she can't help but admire him from afar. Turns out dragon riding does wonders for the abs.