"Okay, one last time buddy!"
The wind whipped Wren's face as Lightning spun into the air. She slowly turned sideways and fell off her back, knowing perfectly well that she'd catch her. After a few seconds, she saw her dragon flying towards her. Just before her feet touched the water, Wren felt her claws grabbing her shoulders.
Lightning put her on her back and flew to the arena where her pupils and friends, Brenda, Liam, Aleksander, Cassandra and Jake were waiting for her.
"Wow, that's amazing Wren!" Said Aleksander.
"Thanks Alek!" She said as she got off the dragon's back.
"I thought a Night Fury would be more... I don't know, FURIOUS?" Commented Brenda.
"Me too! Thankfully she's a big sweetheart! It's a pity she's the last one of her species..." She answered while she gave her black dragon a kiss. She smiled at her and purred like a giant kitten.
"So, can you teach us?" Asked Liam impatiently.
"Of course! So: each one of you is going to pick an egg and throw it in the lava to make it hatch. I don't know what dragons they are, so it will be a surprise for all of us. Once they are born, the first thing we need to explain to them is that we are friends, not enemies! Give them a fish and while they eat it, touch their forehead. They must get used to your touch. Okay, so who wants to start?"
Cassandra raised her hand first, so Wren told her to pick an egg. She walked slowly towards the eggs and, after a few seconds, chose a yellow one. She picked it up carefully and walked towards the lake of lava. She sat down and put the egg into the liquid. After a moment, bubbles appeared and an orange baby dragon sat next to Cassandra, crying for food.
"Congratulations, it's a Timberjack!" Wren told her.
Cassandra smiled at her new pet and gave it a small fish. While it swallowed it, she touched its head. The dragon looked a bit surprised, but didn't fight back. After it finished eating, it looked at Cassandra and purred.
"Haha, you're welcome buddy! I'm Cassandra; I'll take care of you. And these guys here are my friends! Liam, Brenda, Aleksander, Jake and Wren!"
The dragon turned around and looked at each one of them curiously.
"Now, you need to know if it's a male or a female Cassie. How do you recognize a Timberjack's gender?" Wren asked her.
Jake raised his hand.
"Yes, Jake?"
"The male had yellow eyes and the female has green eyes."
"Exactly! Really good Jake!"
"So, you're a female! Your name will be... Blaze!"
Blaze started jumping and flying around the arena, making all sorts of happy noises.
"She seems to approve the name!" Wren said as she laughed at Blaze's behavior.
Suddenly Blaze breathed fire and almost burned Liam's arm.
"Blaze! Come here!"
The baby dragon stopped flying immediately and sat next to Cassandra's feet.
"Excellent, Cassie!" Her teacher said.
"You can't throw fire around, because fire hurts humans. Look at this."
Cassandra took off her glove to show Blaze her burn. Blaze looked sad and confused.
"I got it long ago, when a dragon attacked my house. I was six years old. It hurts really badly when you get one of these, and I don't want you to hurt people, unless you're in great danger. Do you understand?"
Blaze nodded and gave Cassandra a hug. Cassie smiled.
Blaze walked towards Liam and apologized with a dragon cry.
"It's okay Blaze, you didn't hurt me!" He smiled.
"Okay, who's next?" Wren asked.
Liam chose a white and blue one, which turned out to be a Typhoomerang. It was a female; she was blue with a white underbelly. Liam named her Mistral.
Brenda chose the strangest of all eggs: it was triangular and kept changing color! It was a baby Changewing. It had yellow eyes so it was a male. She named him Flame, because his original color was orange.
Jake chose a red egg and threw it in the lava. A baby Stormcutter came out of the egg. It was a male, so he named him Ash.
Finally, Aleksander picked a red and silver egg. It was a red and white female Grapple Grounder. Alek named her Thunder.
"Okay, the next step is the potion. You can't ride them if they're still babies, right? This potion will make them grow up, so that they'll be 15 years old, just like us."
Wren gave a bottle to each one of her friends. When the dragons drank it, the ground shook and grown-up dragons appeared.
"Now, I'm finally going to teach you how to ride them. Each one of you is going to pick a saddle in the box behind you and I'm going to show you how to put it on your dragon."
"Everyone's on his dragon? Perfect. Now, just do as I say. The dragon will fly by himself; you just have to guide him. Hold on, and enjoy the ride!"
Lightning unfolded her wings and flew towards the exit. Wren looked behind her, and everyone seemed to be doing fine.
"See? It's easy! Now, try to turn left."
Wren turned left and waited for the others. After a few moments of hesitation, they joined her.
"You're doing really well! Now try right."
Lesson after lesson, all of them became riders.
Five years passed, but their love for these amazing creatures remained in their hearts. Everyone else living on the island of Hopeless admired their talent with dragons. Well, almost everyone.
Wren's father was Magnus the brave, the chief of Hopeless. Unfortunately, he didn't approve dragons at all. He said they were killers and heartless creatures. Even though his daughter already showed him countless times her friendship with Lightning, he wouldn't change his mind.
"Hey Lightning! Did you get breakfast yet?"
The dragon shook its head.
"Wait here, I'm going to get some fish for you."
Lightning smiled and poked Wren's back with her head.
"Haha, you're welcome buddy!"
Wren entered her house and ran to the kitchen. Meanwhile, outside the house, Magnus sneaked behind Lighting and threw a net on her. Lightning started growling, but didn't hurt the man, for she knew it was Wren's father. Magnus took her to the docks where he had called all the people to watch the dragons' banishment. All her friends' dragons were there except Mistral. Liam was training on a field, on the other side of the island.
"Here you are, just as you like-"
Lightning was gone. Wren dropped the basket full of fish and ran around the village looking for her, until she saw a purple fireball hit the sky above the docks. It was Lightning's emergency call! She was in danger!
Wren started running to the docks when her friend Liam passed by on his dragon.
"Is there a problem Wren?"
"Yes, a big one. Can you take me to the docks, please?"
"Of course! Climb!"
Wren told Liam what happened on their way to the docks. When they arrived, she saw her father putting all the dragons into cages and preparing to throw them in the sea. He wanted to drown them! Wren wanted to cry. She knew her father hated dragons, but she never thought he'd try to kill them!
"Liam, tell Mistral to shoot."
"Are you insane?! She'd never hurt people!"
"Not them, you idiot, the cages!"
Mistral threw fireballs on each cage, setting free all the dragons. Wren jumped from Mistral to Lightning, without forgetting to thank Liam with a kiss on his cheek.
Probably alerted by all the noise, the rest of her friends arrived and got on their dragons.
"Wren! Are you crazy?! Get off this demon right now!" Magnus shouted.
"No father. You want to banish dragons? Fine. I'm leaving with them."
"You're not going anywhere, you stupid little girl! Get off this thing!"
"I'm not a little girl anymore! I'm 20 years old dad. Dragons gave me so much more attention and love you ever did! Do you really expect me to stay? No. I belong with Lightning. And don't you ever try to take her away from me again. Ever."
Lighting roared, approving what Wren said.
"I'm going with her!" Liam said.
"Me too."
"And me!"
"Don't forget me and Blaze!"
"And me and Ash!"
Wren smiled. She had the best friends in the world.
"Thank you guys."
"Wren. I'm giving you a last chance. Get off this bloody demon, go home and we'll never talk about this again." Magnus said.
"No chance."
"Then you're not my daughter anymore."
"I've never been your daughter anyway."
She turned around and flew away, her friends following her. Just before losing sight of Hopeless, Lightning shot a purple fireball in the clouds and roared again. She was more than happy.
Magnus was furious! Wren left because of him! It was his entire fault!
"Sir, should we send Vikings after her?"
"No, I respect her choice. But these dragons worry me."
"What should we do?"
"Oh, I have a pretty good idea."
After two hours, they interrupted their flight and landed on a small island.
"So, does anybody have a map?"
"I do!" Brenda said. "I forgot about it, but I bought a map of the whole Barbaric Archipelago."
She took a piece of parchment out of her pocket and gave it to Wren, who unfolded it. The map was drawn with black ink and showed all the islands, just like Brenda said.
"Okay, so we traveled two hours north, we should be somewhere around here. If we continue a bit faster, we'll soon arrive on Berk. What do you guys think?"
"I know someone who lives on Berk! My cousin, Astrid! She can help us find a new home." Cassandra said.
"Perfect! Let's go then!"
They left the island and Wren took her compass out again. Next stop, Berk!
"Ugh, my legs hurt!" Cassandra said.
"Oh, I have an idea! What if we made this trip a bit... Fun?" Wren answered.
"How?" Asked Liam, curiously.
"Like this!"
Wren jumped off her dragon's back and let the Night Fury grab her by the heels, so that she was upside down.
"Or, like this!" Wren said, amused by her friends' faces.
She grabbed Lightning's tail with both of her arms, put her legs crossed around it and let go of her arms, so she was upside down again but only using her legs.
"I think you were a monkey in another life, Wren." Jake said, laughing.
"Or, you can do this!"
Wren waved her hand, let go of her legs and fell. Just before she touched the water, Lightning flew under her so that she fell on his back.
"Did I ever say I love you buddy?" Asked Wren to the Night Fury.
Lightning purred and smiled, her tongue sticking out.
"Wren, watch out!" Aleksander shouted.
Wren looked up and saw at least twenty rocks in front of her dragon. Not small ones, enormous ones! They must be at least 16ft tall.
Just in time, Wren sat back on her saddle and managed to pass between two rocks.
"Whoa, that was close! Thanks Alek!" Wren said.
"Wait, I think we arrived on Berk guys!" Cassandra said.
Wren looked up and saw the most beautiful thing she ever saw: dragons were flying everywhere! With people riding them! And everyone seemed to approve them and have one! Wren immediately knew it.
"I found my home." She whispered.
"Our home." Liam said, flying next to her.
Wren smiled at him. They stared at each other, smiling, for at least half a minute.
Then, Brenda coughed. They realized what they were doing and it was suddenly awkward.
"So, um, here we are!" Liam said.
"Yeah. Let's find Astrid!" Wren answered.
Lightning roared and sprinted down, towards the docks. When they all landed there, they immediately knew something was going on. People had their faces painted and there were sheep everywhere.
"Okay, we should walk around the village instead of flying, but keep them with us. Listen up, buddies! You can't breathe fire or jump around and eat things in here, okay? We have to find Astrid."
They started by asking a man with a long blonde braided beard who passed nearby.
"Excuse me sir, do you know where we can find Astrid Hofferson?"
"Ye' looking for Astrid? She's participating to the race right now, but you can watch her. It won't last very long, she always wins anyway!"
"Um, excuse me but we're new here. What are those races?"
"Dragon races, of course! If you continue on this street and turn left, you can watch them. Astrid is the blonde girl riding a blue Deadly Nadder. Good luck finding her! Oh, and welcome to Berk!"
The man turned around and left.
"Dragon races?! This is sooooo cool! I already love this place!" Wren said. "C'mon, let's go watch it!"
She ran towards the entrance and sat down, waiting for the race to begin. They had to leave the dragons in stables.
The race began. Wren easily recognized Astrid. When she dropped a sheep into her basket, the whole crowd cheered. I bet she is very famous here.
After the race, they got their dragons back and were leaving when they saw Astrid.
"Excuse me, are you Astrid Hofferson?" Wren asked her.
"Um, yeah... Do I know you?"
"Astrid!" Cassandra called.
"Cassie! It's so great to see you! What brings you here?" Astrid said, hugging her cousin.
"Well, it's a long story, but we want to stay on Berk. Can we?"
"Are you kidding me? Of course! There are a few houses empty around my house, you can have them. And those people are your friends I guess!"
"Yeah: Wren, Jake, Alek, Brenda and Liam!"
"Nice to meet you all!" Astrid smiled.
"The race was amazing; you and your dragon are great!" Wren said.
"Aww, thank you! You should try sometime! What are your dragons?"
"We have a Timberjack, a Typhoomerang, a Changewing, a Grapple Grounder, a Stormcutter and a Night Fury!"
"A... A Night Fury?! That's impossible..."
"Why? Her name is Lightning, there she is!"
Lightning arrived, her tongue sticking out again.
"That means... Toothless isn't the last one..."
"Sorry, but what are you talking about?"
"I know someone who has a Night Fury too."
"That means their species isn't lost! Is it a male?"
"Yes. His name is Toothless! C'mon, let's talk to him and his master."
They flew again, but this time, towards her house.
"Hiccup! I'm back!" Astrid shouted.
"Who is Hiccup?" Liam asked.
"Toothless' master, my boyfriend by the way." She laughed.
"Oh, hey Astrid! How was the race?" A dark-haired boy arrived.
"It would have been better if you came to see me." Astrid answered, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"You know I couldn't, I had to repair Toothless' saddle. You brought new riders?" He smiled at Wren and her friends.
"I have excellent news! Wren, show him your dragon!" Astrid said.
"Lightning! Come here please!" Wren shouted.
A beautiful Night Fury arrived and sat next to her master. The dragon looked curiously at Hiccup, and then smiled, her tongue still sticking out.
"Another Night Fury?! This is amazing! This changes everything! Is it..." Hiccup asked
"A female, yes." Wren smiled.
"Can I touch her?" He asked
"Of course! Lightning, that's Hiccup. He's a good person, don't worry he won't hurt you."
Lightning smiled and let Hiccup touch her head.
"Hello! You're a beautiful dragon!" He smiles. He scratched her back and her neck, which made her fall on the ground, purring.
"How did you do that? It's amazing!" Wren asks.
"He is really talented with dragons." Astrid said.
"So, do you want to meet my dragon? He's a Night Fury too!"
Lightning got up and roared, her tongue sticking out.
"Haha, Toothless sticks his tongue out too! Must be a Night Fury thing. Come on, Toothless is in the arena. Follow me guys!" He said.
They went to the arena on their dragons, Hiccup with Astrid on her dragon Stormfly.
When they landed on the arena, there were already some people there.
"Hey guys! We have new riders on Berk!" Hiccup said.
"Really? Who?" Asked a dark-haired guy with a Viking helmet on his head.
"I hope they have some cool dragons!" Said a blonde girl with two braids and a helmet.
"Here's Liam, he has a Typhoomerang!"
"He's hot!" Said the blonde girl.
"This guy here is Jake, the owner of a Stormcutter."
"He's hot too!"
"This is Brenda, she has a Changewing."
"Aleksander has this beautiful Grapple Grounder."
"Why are all those guys hot?!"
"Cassandra owns a Timberjack."
"And last but not least, Wren has a Night Fury!"
"A Night Fury?!" Asked a blonde guy.
"I thought they were all dead!" Said the girl with the helmet.
"This guy is Snoutlout, the twins are Ruffnutt and Tuffnutt and the blonde guy is Fishlegs. C'mon, Toothless is this way!"
Hiccup grabbed Wren's hand and ran to the back of the arena, where he opened a door and a Night Fury appeared.
"Toothless! This is Wren, my new friend. Say hello!"
Toothless looked curiously at Wren, but smiled when she touched his head.
"Looks like he likes you!" Hiccup smiled.
"Hey, I have someone you need to meet Toothless! Her name is Lightning." Wren whispered to the dragon.
Wren whistled. A few seconds later, her Night Fury appeared and sat next to her master.
Toothless and Lightning stared at each other for a moment. Then, Lightning got up and walked around him, in circles. They talked in their language for a moment, then Toothless smiled. Lightning smiled back, then she realized he even smiled like her.
After that, Toothless put Hiccup on his back, flew upwards to the arena's ceiling and told Lightning something. She laughed, made Wren climb on her saddle and joined him. It looked like he challenged her.
"Hiccup, I think they want to see who's faster!" Wren said.
"That's us, for sure!" He answered. Toothless roared.
"Haha, I don't think so. Lightning is the fastest dragon in the world."
"Let's see it then. Ready?"
"I was born ready!"
"3, 2, 1... GO!"
They sprinted exactly at the same time. They flew up and down in the clouds, spinning faster and faster.
"The first to go back to the arena wins?" Asked Wren.
"Sure!"
They turned around and flew down, as fast as they could.
"C'mon Lightning, we can win this!"
"Faster buddy!"
They landed in the arena at the same time, exploding the entrance. They fell off their dragons and rolled on the ground because of the speed. When they got up, their faces were black because of the ashes and their hair was messier than ever.
"We won!" Shouted Hiccup.
"No chance, we won!"
"Who won, Astrid? Asked the boy.
"I don't know, I wasn't looking. I have to go. Bye." Astrid answered in a sad tone.
"Astrid, wait! I'm going too. I have to finish my saddle! Great race, Wren! Good job." Said Hiccup.
"You were amazing too! See ya'!"
Toothless said something to Lightning before following his master outside.
"Astrid, wait! We didn't see our houses!" Cassandra said to her cousin.
"The free ones have red flags next to their front door." She said without even looking behind her.
"Astrid, is there something wrong?" Asked Hiccup.
"No, no, not at all. I'm just... Tired." Answered his girlfriend.
"Oh, okay. Did you like the race? Wren is a really good rider."
"Yeah, it was really cool. I'll... See you tomorrow."
"Okay."
Hiccup pulled Astrid closer to him to kiss her, but she just kissed him on the cheek and closed her house's door.
Something was definitely wrong.