Three's a Crowd

By Eagle Alchemist

The quiet of early morning was abruptly shattered by an almighty crash. The whole Haddock house was woken by the noise. The scent of burning wood accompanied it. Then came the shouting. A very frustrated Kitta could be heard berating some one, well two some one's. Gem and Scrap. Astrid and Hiccup sighed. This was the fifth time that week they had been disturbed by the ruckus. Their daughters voice, slightly muffled by the door, was clearly annoyed.

"Scrap! Stop that! No. No don't antagonise her like that! Gem wait!" Another loud crash "No my work station! Gem settle down. No, don't fire at Scrap! Oh for the love of Thor please you guys knock it off!"

What ever was on fire stopped smelling and the roars of both dragons moved outside. Kitta's parents dressed and prepared for what ever carnage they were about to find upstairs. Heading up there they were greeted by Kitta's half torched bed, the smouldering remains of her blanket and their daughter grumbling to herself as she tried to salvage the latest casualties from the fights between Gem and Scrap. The pair still going at it outside. Waking half the village.

"You really have to do something about those two." Her mother said "Your father and I have had dozens of complaints."

"I know mom. I just need time to come up with a strategy." Kitta picked up her desk.

"You might want to hurry it up then." Astrid began to pick up broken gadgets.

"Sweety I know it may sound harsh but perhaps you should consider having Gem and Scrap live at the academy for now. Till you can figure out how to make them get along." Her father suggested.

"Your right dad. I know it. But I just hate when they give me those big sad eyes every time I even mention it." She slumped down onto her chair.

Hiccup knelt in front of her and placed a gentle hand on hers. She looked at him. He could see it in those familiar green eyes, just how tough she was finding it. He smiled, as his wife stood at their daughters side.

"I know it's hard. Years ago Toothless got jealous of a baby dragon I brought home." He explained "Remember the stories I told you about Torch? The Typhoomerang?"

She nodded.

"Well Toothless didn't like it that I brought him home. Nor did he like the attention Torch was getting. Ultimately though, he came to realise Torch's mother was looking for him and tried to take him back to her. Of course I didn't realise that nor did I pay attention to Toothless's warnings or attempts to show me."

"How does this help exactly?" Astrid interjected.

"I'm just saying, it hurt to have to leave Toothless at the cove. Even if it was only one night." He looked back to Kitta "Sweety, if you take them to the academy it'll be neutral ground and you can work on how to help them to get along together. It might help them understand that neither one can have you to themselves."

"Your right. I guess." She sighed.

"Good. Now, I think you should take them there now. Before they annoy too many of the villagers." He patted her hand then stood.

"Okay. I'm sorry." She said as she left.

Outside she didn't have to look hard to find her wayward dragons. They had moved into the Plaza and people were already complaining. Grabbing a handful of Dragon Nip, she ran down to stop the fight. Kitta gave Scrap and Gem just enough Nip to chill their moods, so she could take them to the academy. Once there she placed them in pens till she could come up with a training plan. Kitta spent half the day with her note book, writing down ideas, scribbling some out again. That was how Brock and the others found her. Stressing herself out over her predicament. Both dragons were now quietly sleeping. The group settled on the ground with her, their own dragons laying down.

They were just as diverse a grouping as the original riders of the Berk Dragon Academy. Rubble the Groncle. A fellow Boulder Class beside him, Mallet the Snafflefang. The twins dragons were a pair of Scuttleclaws, Chaos the purple one and Calamity the blue one, just as troublesome as their riders. Finally there was Flame the Monstrous Nightmare, his rider being just as cocky as his dad. Once the gang was settled, Kitta threw her book aside in a temper.

"Going that well huh?" Brett commented.

"Ugh don't even go there." Kitta groaned.

"Babe, seriously maybe your over thinking this." Brock said.

"Hehe wouldn't be the first time a Haddock over thought something." Gus said "So my dad says."

"Your dad's an idiot Gus." Gilda retorted.

"Shut up. At least my dad is a warrior. Not a moron like yours." He said snidely.

"What did you say!?" Hilda growled.

"Guys knock it off. Your not helping." Brock snapped.

"He started it!" The twins said in unison.

"Did not!" Gus shot back.

"Oh boy..." Brock shook his head.

"Who cares who started it. Just shut up all three of you. Got it?" Brett said sternly curling a fist threateningly.

"Whatever." The three replied.

"Good." Brett turned to Kitta "So, what kinda ideas have you come up with?"

"Take a look." She shoved the book toward him.

Flipping through it he looked over what she hadn't scribbled out. Some ideas were simple training and others were a bit more...unorthodox. Passing the book to Brock he waited for his friend to read over the same information. Silently they had both agreed that Kitta needed to take a break from it. Setting the book aside, Brock took her hand and waited for her to look up. When she did he winked and smiled.

"I think you should take the rest of the day off and go flying. What do ya guys say?" He asked the group.

"I'm in." Brett replied.

"Take the rest of the day off? We're in!" Hilda said on behalf of herself and Gilda.

"Best idea yet." Gus added "Sign me up."

"Well babe? You in?" Brock asked Kitta.

She thought it over. It would be good to take to the sky and let the wind blow all her troubles away for a while.

"Sure. But, do you think I can trust those two to behave while out?" She asked.

"Listen, Scrap is too small to ride. So I think they should be fine as long as the little guy can fly by you." He replied.

"I hope your right Brock."

He just smiled at her. Pretty sure it would all work out. But then he was always pretty optimistic. As the group were saddling up to go, Gustav Larson entered the academy with his son Seamus. After a short conversation, the riders had to agree to take the younger teen with them. His father wanted him to train, to be able to have a dragon to ride in order to help out with the family business. At fourteen Seamus was a smart kid and resourceful but he needed to learn how to do things the dragon way. So he was going to tag along and learn from Kitta and her friends.

000

Several miles and about an hour later, the group set down to rest their dragons. It seemed Brock had been right. Scrap and Gem had been on their best behaviour during the flight. Everyone relaxed around a small fire and cooked fish over it. The dragons all seemed content. That is...until Gem and Scrap began to fight over their food. Kitta had finally had enough and snapped.

"That's it!" She yelled, making Gem and Scrap suddenly stop and look at her "You both need to stop this stupid fighting! You're both important to me and you have to share me!"

Silence fell upon the group. One log snapped in the fire. It was like the breaking of a dam. All the stress came rushing to the surface and Kitta broke down. Brock held her tight, letting her cry it out. The others had no idea what to say and so chose to remain quiet. Except for Brett. His best friends girl was upset. He wouldn't stand for that.

"See what you two did?" He said to the dragons "You upset the person you care about because you keep fighting over her."

Gem and Scrap looked at each other, then hung their heads in shame.

"Both of you can be in her life. Both of you mean the world to her. Now suck it up and do what's right. Get. Along." He finished.

Just when it seemed as though the situation had been fixed however a new problem arose. Firefly, the Deadly Nadder she had trained with, showed up. Without hesitation Firefly went right up to Kitta. Now it seemed Gem and Scrap had a new enemy. One they both agreed was not allowed near their human. And so a new fight began. This time the Luna Fury and Terrible Terror worked together. Fire blasts and spines flew causing everyone to back off. Kitta saw what was happening and thought for certain this was the worst it could get.

She couldn't have been more wrong.

As Brock and Brett tried to separate the three dragons a full grown Scauldron came up behind Kitta. The others gasped. The best friends hadn't time to react or get to her. The dragon pinned her down and looked set to bite her. That would be fatal. Without a second thought Firefly, Scrap and Gem went on the attack. Scrap got up close to it's face and distracted it. Firefly began to shoot spines near it's feet to force it back enough so that Gem could pull Kitta to safety. With that done all three stood in defence of Kitta. She couldn't believe it. Faced with this show of teamwork the Scauldron got mad and was about to attack...until the other dragons all joined in. Badly outnumbered it retreated into the ocean.

Gem, Scrap and Firefly seemed to silently agree that fighting each other was stupid. Defending Kitta was far better.

"Kitta you okay? You're not hurt are you?" Brock fretted.

"No I'm okay. You guys, you saved me." She said to the dragons "And you did it together. I'm so proud of you guys."

Each one got a pat of affection.

"They finally get along. Who knew they could come together on their own." Brett said.

"Yeah. That's all fine and stuff but what now?" Gus commented "She can't keep all three."

"Hehe yeah that would be totally unfair." Gilda added "I mean shouldn't we all be allowed three?"

"Yeah totally sis. I want a Skrill." Hilda informed them all.

"Your an idiot nobody can control one of those." Gus teased.

"Uh, Yeah they can. Kitta did." Hilda pointed out.

"She did...but she let it go. Such a waste." Gilda sighed and shook her head.

"Guys, could you be any more stupid?" Brock asked.

"Uh yeah." The trio replied.

"I think this Nadder is cool." Seamus piped up.

That gave Kitta an idea.

"Hey Seamus, how would you like to be Firefly's new rider? You'd have to look after him really well." She said.

"Really? I can have him for my own?" The kid looked excited.

"Sure, he's trained. Dependable. He'll be you're best friend for life if you take good care of him." She explained.

"I can totally do that."

"Alright then. First lesson kid, bonding."

It didn't take long for Seamus and Firefly to bond. The Nadder was such a friendly soul and just eager to please. Within the hour he was off flying with his new friend. Kitta felt happy that at least one of the dragons she'd trained was now happy and no longer going to cause an issue. She could only hope to find out how to fix that with the other two. Though they were to surprise her upon returning to Berk. They were actually behaving. No fights. No squabbles. They even ate dinner together without a fuss.

When it came time for bed, again they behaved. Scrap settled on his little slab but only after he'd shoved it a bit closer to the huge slab that served as Gem's bed. The house fell silent as the Haddock family retired for the night. When morning came, it was a completely different story to the previous weeks. No yelling. No burning. No roaring. Just the bird song outside to greet them as they woke.

Finally things had settled down in the Haddock house. Three humans and now four dragons. A happy family unit. Finally.

The End