The Other Night Fury
Berk-eighteen years ago
Two small black creatures darted through the bushes and trees.
To look at them you would think they were black cats. But they were no such thing.
Looking closer you would see developing wings. You would see their very sharp, if small retractable teeth.
You would see the intensity in their eyes. Definitely not cats. These were Night Furies.
They were on their third hunt. Brothers. This was their first venture into the Viking island of Berk. The naïve creatures knew nothing of the ferocity and strength of their human enemies.
Their first two hunts had gone without incident. One had required chasing down a sheep, but they came out of that hunt victorious, breaking only a mild sweat.
These two were not yet strong flyers. They had needed assistance from their father in order to even make it to the island. But their small size made their speed on the ground impressive. They were not the lumbering beasts that they would become.
They chased each other through the forest. They loved chasing each other. It was how they warmed up before the hunt. Fooling around before bloodshed was the dragon way
The younger of the two fidgeted with his retractable teeth. He had done so before every hunt. The older of the two brothers was more disciplined and serious. He snapped at his brother to stop fidgeting. They heard a noise and froze.
Loud deep laughter from a distance. The two quickly darted into a bush.
The younger of them stopped playing with his teeth. They stayed perfectly still. The older one peered out.
While more disciplined than his brother, he was more curious as well. He could hear the creatures conversing, but could not see them. This would not do.
The younger dragon was shaking. His curiosity had been drowned out by his fear of confrontation. Whatever these creatures were they sounded large. And tough. He wanted nothing to do with them. He grabbed onto his older brother's tail in fear.
The older dragon shrugged him off. He turned and gave the young dragon a serious look. Then he crept out of the bush. The younger dragon dared not follow.
The older dragon climbed up a nearby tree and crawled onto a branch. He could see them now.
Humans. They were fat and had massive facial hair. They wore metal hats with horns sticking up in a threatening manner.
But the dragon had to get closer. His curiosity was too strong. He crept farther down the branch. Suddenly it snapped.
The dragon fall through the air. He tried to fly but he hit the ground before he could extend his fledgling wings. The humans stared at the creature.
"Well lookie here Stoick! The tallest one boomed "It's a little one!"
The human known as Stoick stared down at the infant dragon. "What do we do with it Odom?"
Odom laughed. "It's a dragon! We kill it!"
Stoick stared at the dragon again, as if judging it. The younger dragon had crept closer and was watching from the shadow of a large tree.
"Alright then. Let's get this over with." Stoick said dryly.
The other two humans grabbed onto the dragons wings and held it in place. Odom pulled out a hunting knife.
"I'm not going to lie to you little one. This is going to hurt."
The air was filled with high pitched screaming. The younger dragon stared helplessly from the shadows.
The human known as Odom was leaning over his brother. He could see his older brothers legs flailing wildly as they held him down.
"Enough of this! Stoick shouted "Just kill it and be done with it!"
Odom turned to him, dragon blood covering his face.
"You can't just kill a dragon Stoick. You have to send a message to the rest of them. He looked at the dragon, now in agonizing pain. "But perhaps you're right. Time to die little one."
Suddenly a loud roar was heard. It shook the whole forest. The humans looked around.
Suddenly there was a purple flash. One of the trees was uprooted and sent flying.
The large Night Fury landed in front of the humans. Odom turned and ran. The others followed.
It was their father. He had heard the older brothers cries and had come to the rescue.
The younger dragon came out into the open. He saw his brother fully for the first time.
One side of his face was mutilated beyond recognition. The human had carved into it with his hunting knife. One of his eyes was now white. He no longer had sight out of this eye.
He looked at his younger brother and cried in rage.
Toothless woke with a start. He was panting heavily as though he had just flown in a race against the fastest of the monstrous nightmares.
He looked over at Hiccup. The boy was still sleeping peacefully. No point in waking him. He couldn't possibly help with this pain.
Toothless rolled over and tried to get back to sleep.
