Seeing that the helmet was a sore spot and that she'd been forced into it made Hiccup drop it. Unlike Tuffnut, other than his general wry commentary about his friends, he didn't enjoy teasing them about things that really bothered them and he knew having to wear all this frilly stuff probably had Ruffnut taking a hit to her self image.
"They're laughing at you being mean because it makes them feel like they're civilized in comparison, with their fancy clothes and delicate manners."
He held up his hands in a delicate way, briefly doing an impression of how the Capitol people carried themselves.
Then he collapsed into a nearby chair, picking at the weird little leather straps at the wrist of his jacket.
"They think this whole thing they do is proof they're some kind of noble society and anything we do that they see as 'uncivil' is funny to them because they take it to mean they are as advanced and special as they think they are. And that also means they think they deserve to do what they do without getting punched in the face back. They're not like Vikings at all - they want to cause violence but unlike Vikings, who understand the price of a good brawl might be losing a few teeth, and the price of killing someone might be a blood feud, they don't want any of the risk. And despite being -" His voice dropped low, and he looked around to make sure no one would overhear him before saying the next word quietly, "- cowards that way, they want to feel like they're still important anyway."
Ruffnut - like most of his friends, really - wasn't exactly queen of social graces and that was why he was hoping he could help her understand how the Capitol people worked and how they justified things to themselves so she didn't make any mistakes navigating it.
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"They're laughing at you being mean because it makes them feel like they're civilized in comparison, with their fancy clothes and delicate manners."
He held up his hands in a delicate way, briefly doing an impression of how the Capitol people carried themselves.
Then he collapsed into a nearby chair, picking at the weird little leather straps at the wrist of his jacket.
"They think this whole thing they do is proof they're some kind of noble society and anything we do that they see as 'uncivil' is funny to them because they take it to mean they are as advanced and special as they think they are. And that also means they think they deserve to do what they do without getting punched in the face back. They're not like Vikings at all - they want to cause violence but unlike Vikings, who understand the price of a good brawl might be losing a few teeth, and the price of killing someone might be a blood feud, they don't want any of the risk. And despite being -" His voice dropped low, and he looked around to make sure no one would overhear him before saying the next word quietly, "- cowards that way, they want to feel like they're still important anyway."
Ruffnut - like most of his friends, really - wasn't exactly queen of social graces and that was why he was hoping he could help her understand how the Capitol people worked and how they justified things to themselves so she didn't make any mistakes navigating it.