Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) own nothing :(
After feeling the wind in my face, the overwhelming sense of freedom, I had realised how truly insignificant I was. I wanted to be Toothless' equal. To be able to stand next to him freely and not feel like I paled in comparison. I had always strived to make myself better, in a way. But that was just it. It was the wrong way. I had been trying to be something I'm not. It was like I was striving to be...a Monstrous Nightmare, large and brutish, when I really was...a Night Fury.
I accepted that I was never going to be big and bulky like my father, but at that moment in the clouds, looking into the sunset, I realised I didn't need to be. I could be like Toothless. Small doesn't equal bad. It can be quick, lethal, deadly. Intelligence is also proven by the Night Fury's to be an great asset and not a weakness like the Vikings always believed it to be. In fact, I believe it is what makes them the most powerful.
So here I am day after day. After our flights, while Toothless was eating, working to make myself better. It's only been around two months but, as I only have the occasional errand to run for Gobber and Dragon Training to occupy my time, I have already noticed my body look...stronger. Unlike the fat you see covering the body of Vikings, my body seems to be developing actual muscle.
I work on my arms and torso by curling, bending my knees over the same tree Toothless hangs upside-down on sometimes. As for my skinny arms? Well I've been working more on wielding a sword and shooting from a bow and arrow. I'm actually hoping to be able to accurately shoot six arrows in succession, the shot range for the average dragon. Toothless is also helping me out with my stealth, agility and reflexes.
The weapons I've made to use are a light silver material, made from a new kind of metal I found on one of my trips with Toothless. It was light and I first thought it would be easily shattered, but soon found it to be able to slice through any other kind of object, including iron weapons, easily. This led me to believe it was produced by some kind of dragon (of the boulder class, probably a Gronkle), due to its unusual properties.
I rubbed my finger over the designs on my sword handle as I sat by the water seeping into the cove. It is imprinted with a swirled, curled pattern and has a large Night Fury scale placed in the top-centre of each of the sides of the sword's handle. On the bottom of the sword lay my new symbol which I've place on all my designs and now resides on my journal. It's a black, stencil-like image of Toothless with his body curled to fit on the circle of metal, with his missing fin filled in with red.
A small noise caught my attention and I looked over to where Toothless was and sighed as he gestured to the tree branch. I hadn't even sat down for five minutes.
"Fine," I tell him as I walk up to the tree and begin my exercises before muttering "horrid reptile" which resulted in a harsh thwack to my stomach.
"Ow! Toothless!" I exclaimed, though it didn't hurt as much as it had in the previous months. From this point of view the ground also looks a bit closer than it was before. Maybe I'm finally getting taller as well. Might just be wishful thinking.
After that was done I ran among the trees and shot my arrows at the small woodland creatures who would serve as my dinner and a treat for Toothless who usually survived on fish alone, but could eat pretty much anything. However, after hunting I had to fight, well, play fight, with Toothless before he found it acceptable to begin eating. Only then did I get to sleep, resting against the body of my best friend, his large black wings protecting me from the world around me.
"I'm sorry, I really have to go bud. I promised to work for Gobber today and I really wanted to try that new design of a bow I've been playing around with as it'll be a lot harder once my dad gets back to keep my experiments secret...you know how he is. He'll cause a big fuss and either announce to the village that I'm at last being useful or destroy it instantly in fear of it somehow blowing up...Well, one option is more likely than the other..."
Toothless nudges me comfortly in response, and I can still remember that warmth as I work on repairing the shields in the forge, my work for today.
"What's got ya smilin' so much, lad? Haven't seen you smilin' this a'much since...well, since...never. Ye ok boy?"
"Yeah, I'm ok Gobber. I'm just glad I'm doing so well in Dragon Training," I lie.
"Yeah, ye doing great, son! You've got this way with the beasts..."
I laugh nervously.
"Well, that's the last one done. Do you mind if I work in my space for a bit?"
"Knock yourself out kid."
"Thanks, Gobber."
However, I realised I shouldn't have made Gobber too happy by reminding him of my apparent success in Dragon Training as I now had to put up with his singing, even when closing the thick, wooden door I still couldn't down him out.
"I got me mace, and I got me axe, and I love me wife with da ugly face!"
I was looking over the new weapon in my hand as I heard Astrid come in and, loudly, demand to have her axe sharpened. Knowing Gobber had stepped out, I reluctantly left the new bow on the table and went out to greet her.
"Hi A-astrid."
"Where's Gobber?"
"He's stepped out...I can sharpen it if you want."
"Ha! You sure you can even lift it?"
Instead of answering I grab it single handily out of her grip and take it over to the sharpening station at the back of the store and was done quickly as she stands awkwardly near the door.
"Was that it?"
"Yeah – hey! What's that?"
I turn to see where she pointed and discover she has seen the new arrow heads I made of the left over Gronkle iron (first thing that came to my head when I needed a name for it) near the furnace. The shinny quality makes them almost sparkle in the light and I'm kind of surprised she hadn't seen them before.
I contemplated saying they were Gobber's work to not raise suspicion, but she would probably want to look at them then. So option two...
"Just something I've been playing around with."
She sneered before turning around to leave. "Try not to blow anything up...again."
Yep. Best option.
That still kind of hurt though.
AN: So, what do you think? Should I continue it? I'm planning for Stoic to come back in the next chapter. Thanks for reading!