Yeah hi, this is just a long one-shot, just for the fun of it. If you're interested I wrote it with SoD (School of Dragons) a wonderful online mmo httyd game in mind. Enjoy :)
Mini Prologue-
Ophelia Channelia 'Channey' Hyer stood over her bursting satchel and collection of bags, eyes narrowed and hands set firmly on her hips. It almost looked as though she were trying to force her clothes to fit into the bag through the sheer strength of her stare. Since that of course didn't work she stooped down to finish packing. It was only through heroic effort and possible witchcraft that she fit all of her belongings in the satchel was able to stand with stuft, bulging bags weighing her down.
She lumbered out of the comfortable cobbled-stone bedroom and hopped unsteadily down the stairs before gracelessly dumping the bags near the front door and collapsing in a heap. She righted her hair and clothes before standing to look up at her brother Stebon.
"Stebs, can you carry my bags out to the boat so I can say bye to Mom, Dad, and Scarlet."
"Anything to get my bratty little sister Channey off to dragonland" he replied in his most annoying voice.
"Stebs, I'm older than you, you know this, and I'm going to study dragons at Berk. Berk. Not 'dragonland' Anyways, say what you will as long as you carry my junk to the boat."
He just mimicked her in the annoying voice of little brothers everywhere before stooping to grab her bags. She just turned to find the rest of her family. A check of the stone cottage revealed her family to be out so she ventured into the village for possibly the last time. She wandered amongst the old cottages and homes, the same people she had known all her life. The familiar mountains that guarded the village from the vast lands beyond, the old gray ocean frothing at the docks in the other direction, and the temperate weather she'd always known watched over her as she explored. She was leaving it all behind to further her studies and explore the great unknown.
Her people were the descendants of a great viking clan that had migrated south when the dragons appeared. Her people had been in this land for generations, so long that they had nearly forgotten the scourge of dragons. That changed however when the trader Johann arrived to tell them of the wonders north, and how the dragon's were no longer the enemy of Vikings. Apparently, two year's ago, a child from the last remaining viking settlement, Berk, had discovered a way to train dragons. Now, dragons were a help more than a pestilence, and if the village was to stay up to date, they had to understand the secrets of the beasts too.
Well that's where Channey came in, she was the village's number one scholar at the age of sixteen, and her desire for knowledge was stronger than her fear. As a result, she volunteered for the journey North to study at the Dragon Training Academy at Berk. Johann had relayed their intentions, and Berk agreed as long as her village maintained amicable trading relations. Trading rights with them were valuable since the temperate land and lack of dragons led their harvests and resources to be plentiful. The only problem was that the trip between Berk and her village took a month, though it was rumored they were only separated by a few days on dragons back.
Channey finally found her parents at the docks, speaking to the captain who would be taking her and the village goods to Berk for the first time. When her Mom and Dad saw her they rushed over to envelope her in hugs, reminding her to eat well and stay safe since you never know with those dragons. Then her little sister Scarlet (who was also taller than her) scooped her in a hug, sobbing, and telling her about how she'd go train dragons when she was old enough too. Channey awkwardly patted her sister's back until the captain stepped up to inquire about her.
"You're Channey Hyer, correct?"
She nodded.
"Well, it's now time to depart so I'll lead you onto the ship."
Channey pried herself from her sister before waving to her parents one last time, she even saw Stebon a little ways away. With a last watery smile, she turned and followed the captain up onto the ship, leaving her old life behind.
…
*PoV switch to first person, sorry:
I didn't get into this mess with absolutely no knowledge. I mean true, my knowledge of dragons was currently sub-par, especially in comparison to the modern Berkian information but I knew some stuff. Plus Johann was kind enough to give me one of Hiccup's-the Berk boy who unlocked the secret of dragons-scrolls with dragon information.
I mean I knew about the basic dragons from the village's own worn book that discussed dragons like the Nightmare and Zippleback. Hiccups page however discussed how to approach Nadders and Gronckles, that's cool information. The book we had didn't know about blind spots and shot limits, in fact I'm not sure our book even recognized half of the species out there. But that's why I'm leaving, I wanted to know what dragons are out there, what they eat and what they do, are they all social, do they have behavioral differences. I couldn't help but want to learn and dragons presented the biggest mystery of all.
I sighed and placed the sheet on my suitcase, next to all of the other books I brought (that was part of the reason packing was so difficult) and lay down for some sleep. I had dreams of flaming Nightmares, multi colored nadders, and grumpy gronckles that night.
…
I love learning new things but today I learned something about myself that I didn't like: I have motion sickness. Nothing I ate seemed to agree with me and I can only hope that the motion sickness weakens with time.
…
The motion sickness has gotten a bit better, I still can't stand to eat too much though. The good news is one of the ship hands was kind enough to teach me about basic sailing. I already know how to use some constellations for navigation. He also showed me how to tie some knots, which is kind of cool. The captain is also a nice guy too, he loaned me a book on navigation and maps to read when I'm bored since he learned how much I love to study.
…
I am now able to use maps and constellations to chart a course. The captain quizzed me today and was impressed to find that I could accurately point us to Berk. I'm still trying to figure out nautical miles. Not to brag or anything, but I was kinda impressed with how well I performed with the captain watching.
…
According to the captain, we've finally reached dragon territory, meaning that I have a chance to start seeing wild dragon from the ship. I even got to see a pod of dragons apparently called 'Seashockers'. I'd never heard of them but from their two heads and sleek appearance I'd wager that they're both fast and clever. On a side note, apparently we needed to move quickly past Berserker waters because it was reported that they have become hostile towards Berk. Strange, considering how peaceful Berk has been recently.
…
The day at sea started like any other. I ate my breakfast of hard bread and smoked fish, attempted to keep said breakfast down, and lounged around on the open deck. The open air felt nice...and helped me keep my food in my bellie. Plus it gave me a chance to look for dragons, I saw Seashockers from time to time but haven't seen a Scauldron yet. I heard from the crew members that Scauldrons are big and beautiful, but also like to break apart ships for food. I really wanted to see one, I just hoped it doesn't take apart the ship.
I learned over the rail, hoping to maybe catch site of another dragon (dragon watching had become my favorite pastime after reading on the ship) and after nearly an hour of chilling winds and biting sea spray I saw a flash of color beneath the waves. Squinting the vibrant colors and white speckles made it clear that these were no seashockers, and when they burst to the surface I nearly shouted with joy. I called over the ship hand who had taught me about knots and boats. At my insistence he swung down from the crow's nest to see what had me flailing around like a spaz.
When he took his place next to me he stared down at the large, pancake shaped pod of dragon's that were playfully skimming the water around the boat.
"Those there are Thunderdrums, a dragon with the power of Thor himself."
I admired the graceful dragons as they slid beneath the waves before bursting up and gliding across the water. The multiple shades of blue, green, and purple that complemented their speckles were mesmerizing to look at.
"Yes ma'am these dragons are mighty ones. It was rumored that Stoick the vast, the chief of Berk, chose one of these as a companion one for a time."
"Do they have any special skills? Is there any information known about them?" I asked curiously
"Yes actually-"
He never finished because one of the Thunderdrums opened it's mouth to swell in size before letting loose a concussive boom that left both of our ears ringing.
"That." he finished.
"What?!" I yelled
"Instead of fire they create blasts of noise. Can kill a man up close too. They're awful chatty!" He shouted back.
The pod of Thunderdrums let loose a few more blasts between them before sinking back into the depths of the ocean. Though they were beautiful, fascinating dragons I wasn't sure if my hearing could take much more of them. It was a wonder Stoick had one as a companion, I'm pretty sure a Thunderdrum would drive me batty.
The shiphand smiled before beginning, "Well I better get back to the nest, I'm supposed to keep a look-"
He was interrupted by a deafening boom, and the ship dangerously listing to the side. For a moment I was worried the Thunderdrums came back in a foul mood but that changed when I heard shouts of alarm and my companion's cursing. Someone shouted "Berserkers!" before all hell broke loose. More 'bangs' were heard as well as the sickening crunch and jolt as a few of the attacks landed. Some of the crew struggled to reach the catapults but it was too late, the ship was already sinking.
Already the starboard side of the boat was submerged when the berserkers boarded. They lifted some of the precious crates full of supplies to be traded with Berk and attacked the crew members. Most were thrown overboard, although some were taken prisoner for ransom or worse. Even a few brave sailors were slaughtered as they fought to take a stand. A pair of berserkers rushed by me, holding a barrel full of southern fruit, and they stopped a moment to eye me before one shouted:
"Leave her! She's worth nothing. She'll just take up room, and Dagur would be annoyed to see that we came back with a brat instead of loot!"
The other agreed and they rushed past me, back onto their boat. The relief left me however when moments later the berserker ship kicked away from out sinking vessel, making it rock wildly before sinking further into the angry, gray ocean. To finish the job more catapults were fired, smashing into the boat, destroying what was left and sending me into the ocean. Debris smashed into the water around me, and one piece of jagged wood slashed my shoulder as I fought my way to the surface. The sting of salt water in my wound nearly sent me sinking with the rest of the ship and crew but with a final burst of energy I popped to the surface. I took a few gulps of air before frantically looking around. Salt water stung my eyes and the hair that was plastered to my face made seeing even harder.
I tread water for as long as I could, until I could feel a steady burn in my muscles and felt my shoulder throbbing. Just as I was about to sink, a large plank of wood, obviously from the ship had floated back to the surface. I desperately paddled to my rescuer and weakly slid on it. The piece rocked wildly before leveling off and I made a note to limit my movement if I wanted to stay on. Just as I was slipping off into unconsciousness I watched more debris bobb to the surface around me and hoped that maybe other crew members would find their way back too.
…
A splash a freezing cold water woke me up, followed immediately by my own flailing arms and coughs. A few splashes later and I was awake and staring blearily around me, my eyes stinging from the salt water and my shoulder aching fiercely from having reopened the wound. A quick search of my surrounding revealed that my trusty piece of driftwood had washed me up on a heavily forest, rocky island typical of the northern Archipelago. I myself was seated waist deep in freezing seawater on the beach with multiple pieces of wreckage excluding my own plank surrounding me.
I got up on unsteady legs, and nearly fell face first on the gravelly sand when the tide swept past my knees. Disaster averted, I made my way on shore, planning on looking for survivors from the berserker attack. I looked over my shoulder for a moment and saw some of the debris getting sucked out to sea. In a burst of quick thinking I splashed back into the ocean to grab what I could salvage. I'm no survivalist but planks of wood and rope could be useful on an isolated island, so after tripping over myself a few times I managed to grab most of the floating items. When I dragged my treasure safely away from the greedy ocean, I was ready to set out and explore what I had to deal with. Though my injury ached and exhaustion was sweeping over my battered body I had to check for survivors and civilization.
Hiking through the sand was no picnic with my water heavy clothes clinging to and chilling my body. Still, I suffered through it hoping to find something to help me. While searching I managed to find more rope and wood, and even on one occasion a massive piece of sail that was wrapped around a log from the ship. I couldn't move the log but after an hour of shoving and cursing I untangled the rough cloth and was able to use it as a sling to carry my other finds with me. I did make one interesting discovery though just as I was turning back.
The foliage where the beach ended and the forest began rustled from something large moving around. Thinking it was a survivor I dropped my stuff and ran toward it shouting. I skidded to a stop however when a large purple and blue dragon stepped out. The way in stood on two legs combined with the deadly crown of horns quickly let me know it was a dragon I was familiar with-a Deadly Nadder. It roared at me before stepping closer, sniffing and cocking it's head this way and that. Finally it stopped before standing to it's full height, regarding me curiously.
I myself was frozen in fear, this was the closest I had ever gotten to a dragon, and was completely alone no less. However, staring into the Nadder's yellow slitted eyes an idea slowly began to form in my head. From what I saw the island was uninhabited and I had no way to leave or find help. Although there would be searches, they would most likely be short and sloppy since the area to search would be too vague and the chance of survivors would be viewed as slim. I was stuck unless I found a way to get off the island myself, and I couldn't very well sail or swim away. I could however fly away if I managed to tame a dragon, and if the Nadder was any indication, then there were wild dragons on the island.
With this in mind, I tentatively stepped toward the Nadder, cooing softly with my palm stretched outward trying my best to follow Hiccup's cheat sheet I read. The Nadder cocked it's head before stooping down and stepping closer and a thrill of excitement shot through me as I watch Hiccup's tip work. At least I was excited until the Nadder opened its maw and attempted to eat my arm. I shrieked and stumbled back, tumbling backwards in the sand until I hit the pile I abandoned earlier. I lifted my head to see a cluster of spikes imbedded in the sand I had been standing in moments ago. The angry Nadder hissed at me before flapping it's wings and launching itself in the sky. I covered my head, fearing another dragon attack but when none came I uncurled myself and collected my stuff.
I trekked back to the portion of the beach I washed up on, thoroughly shaken but not discouraged. Yes the experience with the Nadder was frightening and I wasn't jumping for joy at the thought of encountering another wild dragon but I knew what needed to be done. I needed a dragon to fly off the island and find other people, it was the only way. And I had no delusions about surviving alone in the wild indefinitely, my injured shoulder throbbed as if in agreement. I needed to train a dragon, and I guess I had enough time to do so. My initial attempt didn't work but I'd get the chance to study them and try again, plus Hiccup's tips floated in the back of my head, so I had somewhere to start.
I got back and set my stuff up in the edge of the forest before hanging my sopping clothes to dry. I wrapped myself up in the tattered piece of sail to protect myself from the northern chill, and burrowed near the roots of a salty pine tree. I resolved to find food and water tomorrow and try my hand at fishing, remembering that dragon training was easiest if you had some sort of peace offering. I fell into an uneasy sleep, aching and uncomfortable for the whole night.
…
I woke up in extreme pain and discomfort, my shoulder ached horribly and seemed to have become red and swollen over the course of the night. My mouth was also dry with the awful aftertaste of salt lingering on my tongue, my first priority would have to be water if I wanted to live past the week. Sloppily getting to my feet, I changed into my dry but scratchy clothes and set out into the forest, trying my best to ignore the pounding headache that was forming.
Nearly two hours later, the exhaustion and lack of water made my hike more difficult. My only comfort was that their had to be a clean water source somewhere for there to be so many dragons living on the island (I had already passed and avoided two fighting Nadders and a trio of what looked to be napping gronckles). I was following a slight downhill incline, hoping to find water collected at the bottom, I had already followed two downhills before with the same hope but found more trees and a mucky puddle. The thick pine forest wasn't making matters any easier since visibility was limited and hiking over logs and roots difficult.
Nearly ready to turn back and try again somewhere else I heard a soft sound, at first thinking it was the wind through the tree branches I ignored it and turned. Then when I listened more carefully it began to sound more like rushing water. My eyes widened before I rushed off towards the sound, barely even noticing the branches that scratched my face or the roots that tripped my feet.
I burst into a large clearing and nearly cried from relief: a large blue lake stretch out before me with a happy, shallow stream feeding into it not far from where I stood. Not hesitating I ran into the water, not even noticing the freezing cold as I splashed water onto my face to clean the burning salt from my skin. I nearly dived down to gulp up the lakewater but my mind screamed a warning just in time. Instead I slopped back up on shore and made my way towards the stream. The lake, though freshwater, would probably not be very safe to drink immediately. Since I had no way to purify water at the moment and obviously needed to drink soon the moving water of the stream would probably be safest. With that thought in mind I stooped near the quick moving water and cupped my hands to take a drink. After the first taste I nearly laughed in joy before scooping and drinking more, unable to get enough. I only stopped when the foul ocean taste left my mouth and it felt as though I'd burst from any more.
Sighing I lied back on the banks to relax and enjoy the clean feeling the lake and river gave me. I would have been happy to take a nap right there had the rumble of my stomach not reminded me of my next problem. Oh yea, I hadn't eaten since the morning of the berserker attack and that was only a hard biscuit and smoked fish, it had been two days since then and I'd best start looking for food while I still could. Standing had become a bit easier with the fresh water in my system and I looked around for plants like back home.
From what I could see there were fat, healthy fish in the lake and deeper portions of the stream, primarily perch and trout (although I'd prefer trout). Although I mostly studied back home I had, of course, been forced to help bring food on the table via fishing or harvesting. True, I only ever fished with a line or a net, but I had seen my father and Stebs go spearfishing on occasion and was confidant that if push came to shove I could manage it. Especially since it didn't look like corn was growing anywhere around here. I puttered around, looking for a suitable stick to become my spear, finding a candidate and stripping it of it's branches. Next I tried to sharpen it with rocks, which failed miserably. Dejectedly, I sat down near the lake, watching some fat carp swim sluggishly around, unthreatened by my blunt stick that wouldn't catch anything.
While sulking a loud roar roar grabbed my attention and further down the beach I saw a yellow and orange Nadder picking a fight with a massive lizard-like dragon with fierce horns and a fiery pattern. My guess was I was looking at a Monstrous Nightmare in the flesh and I couldn't seem to tear my eyes from the spectacle as the two dragons fought. The Nadder shot it's spines at the Nightmare and was repaid it with an angry jet of orange flames, the two went on like this for a bit until the smaller Nadder gave an angry shriek and flew away. The Nightmare took the fish that the whole argument was about in the first place before he too took off into the sky, leaving the charred battleground on the lake-beach behind.
While watching the fight another idea took root in my mind, and it began to look like dragon's were becoming my most valuable resource. I picked my way down to where the two dragons previously fought and quickly found what I was looking for. First I built up a fire where I found some of the Nightmares flames smoldering and next searched for a Nadder spine. Once one was located I attempted to attach it on the end of my stick to make a spear. That failed miserably because for all of my brain power I couldn't figure out a way to keep it attached securely. In the end I just used the spine as a knife to whittle my spear, and after tending to the fire some more, was able to harden the point with my mini bonfire. The end result was a crude, but functional spear-it was time to fish.
As it turns out, spearfishing is quite difficult for the inexperienced, and it took many hours and multiple trips to care for my fire before I had any success. It was near the end of the day that I finished, with only a small brown trout and a an oily carp to show for my troubles. I quickly cleaned my prizes and attempted to cook them over my fire. I'm no chef and managed to burn the outside but leave the inside raw, still I wasn't picky and I wolfed down both fish. With a semi full stomach and the knowledge of where I could find fresh water, I hiked my way back to my mini camp which was really just a pile of ship wrecked junk, feeling accomplished. Now I that could at least provide enough for my self to survive I could begin focusing on training a dragon to get off of this death trap of an island. The only problem, I thought, as I settled down to sleep, was the dull throb that was beginning to grow in my injured shoulder.
…
'I knew that the stuff I had salvaged from the shipwreck would be valuable' was thought that ran through my head as I fashioned a crude fishing net from the pieces of rope that I had. Between my knowledge from helping my village and the knots that I learned on the ship, I was able to come up with a semi-usable tool. I also managed to move my camp closer to the lake, the only thing that kept me from setting up right on the lake beach was the fear of dragons causing trouble since they visited the water at all times of day and night.
I managed to catch more trout with my net if I set it up just so in the stream, and also found a better way to start fires. Instead of harassing Nightmares like I thought I would have to do originally I found a better dragon to get the job done. These tiny, winged lizards that were about the size of cats would appear at my camp to steal my fish. Needless to say it was interesting to learn that they too could spew impressive jets of flame.
I now had a system to catch the little buggers: Leave a piece of fish out, pounce when one appeared, quickly wrangle it, point it towards the fire and voila a perfectly good campfire is blazing for my use. With more fish available too, I was finally comfortable enough to begin trying to train a dragon.
…
Today I would try taming a Nadder again, this time armed with fish and Hiccups tips floating around in the back of my mind. It wasn't too hard to find one since the place was crawling with dragons, and I quickly found my target. A beautiful blue and yellow Nadder was snuffling around a small clearing when I found her. Steeling myself I stepped forward to begin my second attempt at dragon training. She whirled when she caught my scent, spines bristling and wings flared. She calmed down at the smell of fish however, and cooing softly I held the fish out to her.
In one quick bound she snatched the fish before turning her attention back to me, I slid into her blind spot and edged my way to her tail to smooth down her spines. I barely got halfway there when she started shrieking and hissing, she whirled around quickly and bowled me over with her wings. When I was on my back she growled down at me before taking off into the sky. Okay, so attempt two failed but I guess I would keep trying, it would work eventually, I knew it.
Attempts three, four, and five also failed epically so I figured I would give Gronckles a shot instead.
…
I spent nearly the entire day trekking around the island searching for the perfect rocks to offer to a Gronckle. If what Hiccup's scroll said was true then a favorite snack of Gronckles was rocks so I figured that was a good place to start a friendship. I was also excited because from what I read, Gronckles were a more sensitive, gentle species when tamed so maybe I would have better luck befriending one. With positive vibes radiating from my person I hobbled towards the rocky portion of the beach Gronckles could be found at.
As it turns out, hiking with an arm full of stones is no joke but I eventually made it, dropping the rocks heavily on the Gronckle beach and waking a green one from it's nap. It blearily blinked it's eyes at me before scrambling up with it's forked tongue lolling out at the sight of the rocks I brought. Taking this as a good sign I gripped a large gray one and rolled it to the dragon's feet. I know they eat rocks but I was still stunned when it scooped it up and crunched the massive stone as if it was nothing. I was preparing to offer it another when all of a sudden it charged me. I stumbled away and watched as is wolfed down the other rocks I brought.
Thinking that was the Gronckle accepting my friendship I scooted closer and tried to put my hand on his nose but instead had to duck as a slug of molten rock whizzed past my face. More flaming minerals followed and I had to quickly retreat to the forest to get away from the mad Gronckle. Unfortunately all other attempts to train Gronckles had ended in a similar fashion. The last dragon I'd yet to try was the Nightmare so I decided to give them a shot even though they freaked me out and were harder to find.
…
Today was Nightmare day, I had already caught a ton of fish and had them slung over my shoulder in a makeshift net bag. I was slightly nervous to confront such a fierce dragon but my options were running out, both Nadders and Gronckles didn't seemed to agree with me. Plus I'm pretty sure the Nadders and Gronckles were becoming a threat to my life, there are only so many fireballs and poisoned spines that I can avoid. It didn't help that I was becoming weaker, I was pretty sure the gash in my shoulder from the shipwreck was infected. I tired more easily and had become much slower to react, plus the pain from the wound was getting worse. I had to find a dragon and get away soon because I wasn't sure how much longer I'd last without getting it treated.
Thankfully, it wasn't hard to find a Nightmare since, though there aren't as many, they're pretty noisy; I didn't think I could handle a long hike. The big baddie that I came across was a large purple and yellow monster, and he was instantly at attention when I appeared, deeply inhaling the fishy cloud that hung around me.
I slowly slid the net from my shoulder and reached in to grab a large brown trout. Sliding my fingers beneath it's gills I crept forward with my arm outstretched offering the Nightmare the fish. I was kinda just winging it since Hiccup never discussed Nightmares in his paper and the outdated village book basically said 'kill on sight' and that was it. It crept closer before opening it massive maw to take the fish. Losing heart and suspecting the worst if I actually let it take the fish from my hand (I'm pretty sure he'd eat my hand too) I gingerly tossed it into his fast approaching mouth. It stopped before gulping down the fish and turning back to me expectantly. Taking this as a good sign I gave him the rest of the fish one by one.
When he ate the last fish and licked his chops in satisfaction I 'went in for the kill' so to speak. I carefully picked my way over and tried to place my hand on his nose, and like all the other dragon's he melted down when I got close and he ended up smashing his face into me. To avoid being tossed like a ragdoll I clung to his horns, my legs dangling in front of his snapping jaws and my torso covering his eyes.
"Just let me touch your face you stupid dragon!" I yelled as I desperately patted my hand searching for 'the magical bonding spot'.
The Nightmare just frantically shook it's head back and forth to get me off. I felt a burning sensation in my shoulder as the wound reopened and gasped in pain as I let go and got flung into a tree. It was actually kind of good luck that I fell from his face when I did because moments later the dragon went up in a blaze as he set himself on fire.
With a last earth rattling roar the Nightmare launched itself into the sky, leaving me crumpled and hurting against a tree. I knew I had to get back to my camp, that I was exposed to any dragon that happened to come looking for the cause of the ruckus, but I was just so tired and hurt so much. Maybe if I closed my eyes for a bit I would feel better and be able to get back. Yeah, a nap sounded like it would fix all of my problems, I just knew the burning in my shoulder would go away with sleep. I fell asleep awkwardly against the tree, my infected shoulder bleeding a rotten mixture of blood and pus, despite this I still wore a hazy smile on my face.
…
I woke blearily with a cold sweat sticking to my body. My shoulder was mostly numb although there was still a dull ache throbbing in the background. I struggled to wrap my mind around why I was awake, sleep was so much better than reality right now; in fact I could still hear the darkness calling me. The reason for my waking, though, quickly revealed itself when a thunderous roar drew my eyes lazily upward. Even through the fog in my brain I was able to register that I was in dire straits. Towering above me was the largest dragon I had ever seen. It's narrow, bone-white Nightmare-like head regarded me with small, burning yellow eyes, it's massive black horns bull-like and wickedly sharp. It's narrow, ash grey neck tapered down to a massive fiery red wings, unfolded to display the full, devastating size of the dragon, standing on it's two muscled legs. Behind it I could just make out the shredded remains of my fishing net.
It roared again, and the swirl of fire I could see forming in it's throat finally snapped me into consciousness and spurred me to move. I only just managed to tumble away when a massive jet of red flame spiraled into the tree I was just resting against, incinerating it in seconds. It roared again before turning it's snakey head back towards me, angry eyes regarding me with disdain. It once again opened it's mouth and I was just barely able to avoid the next cyclone of fire. The last attack finally got my legs moving as I leapt to my feet to stumble away.
I unsteadily made my way through the forest, moving as fast as I could in my weakened state. The movement and flood of panic made me far more alert than I had been but with a clearer mind the pain in my shoulder came back full force. My shoulder felt as though it was on fire, and if I didn't have a raging fire storm of a dragon crashing around behind me I certainly wouldn't be able to run.
Another storm of fire flew past me, the proximity scorching my skin, causing me to scream and stumble. It was only with sheer panic that I was able to get back on my feet to continue running for my life. I was forced to change directions to avoid the fire raging to my right and the enraged beast closing in fast behind me, the only direction to go was uphill-and unexplored portion of the island for me.
Running uphill in my state was nearly impossible, but the flames licking at my back were a good incentive. Still, I didn't think I could go much longer without collapsing, already my vision was becoming spotted and cloudy and my shoulder felt as though it were burning in dragon fire. My breath was coming out in heavy pants and my footsteps were less sure. Already I had fallen twice, and though my ears were ringing I was sure the dragon behind me sounded like it was getting closer. It was when another volley of red-hot flames came that I burst into an open space in the forest and tripped on a tree stump. I screeched in pain and I skidded heavily over the ground, and when I managed to sit up I was able to fully take in the wasteland I had stumbled into.
The area was like a massive tree-less ring. About fifty yards of barren earth littered with char marks and stumps separated the green. At the center of the giant circle was a small patch of untouched forest, surrounded on all sides by open land, looking for all the world like a moat surrounding a castle. My observation of the strange area was cut short however, when a thunderous roar grabbed my attention. The titan of a dragon crept out of the forest fire streaming from mouth, glaring at me all of the while. The open wasteland was much better suited to it's insane size and I watched in horror as it launched itself in the air and began to circle me. Then fire began to pour from it's mouth as it picked up speed, swirling around me like a fiery typhoon. I could feel the heat closing in an rivulets of sweat slid down my body, some of it stinging my shoulder wound as it went. The lack of oxygen was closing up my throat and I squeezed my eyes shut preparing to meet my end at the claws of a dragon even though that Hiccup boy swears by their goodness.
Just when I thought my goose was cooked literally a low roar rolled through the empty wasteland. The heat suddenly disappeared and I opened my eyes to see the red dragon get forcibly shoved away from where I sat by an equally big blur. Then standing in front of me was a new behemoth of a dragon, nearly as big as my tormentor, it's massive hooked wings spread out to shield me. It's wings were a handsome russet color, lightly dusted with splotches of gold, looking for all the world like dappled sunlight on a bed of dried pine needles. It was standing on it's coiled body like a snake preparing to strike and it turned to me to regard me with warm, intelligent amber eyes. Massive horns with a deep, rich brown color spiraled from it narrow head, also looking similar to a Monstrous Nightmare and it's serpentine body revealed that it had no limbs. It rumbled lowly at me before turning it's attention back at the red dragon who had finally righted itself after being knocked to the ground.
The two flew at each other and the massive thumps and roars as they clashed echoed across the island. My eyes however were becoming heavier and eventually all I could see was the glow of fire, then darkness. I fell unconscious to the sounds of to battling titans.
…
I foggily felt myself being gently lifted, placed somewhere. There was a bit of jostling which made my shoulder throb but I couldn't bring myself to move. A few minutes later the movement stopped and again I was lifted and placed. I struggled to open my eyes but only saw a reddish blur before the world receded around me.
…
My shoulder was burning and my head felt as though it was filled with cotton. I weakly turned my head to see the massive, narrow face of a familiar dragon next to me. It's amber eyes burned into my own as it's forked tongue darted out to brush against my shoulder again. I winced in pain as it continued, and tried to squirm away from it's attention. It simply nudged me back and continued where it left off, growling softly when I wiggled too much. Being awake however, proved too much for me, and I slid back into unconsciousness, unaware once more of what was going on around me.
…
My throat was on fire when I awoke again, and everything was too warm. I was sweating profusely, and a cough wracked my frame, making pain radiate through my chest and shoulder. My movement seemed to disturb something, and the bed I was resting on stirred beneath me. Suddenly a large, familiar head rose into my fuzzy line of sight. If I was fully aware I would have panicked when it's face loomed closer to my own and pressed it's nose to my forehead. A few beats later there was more rustling as I was gently placed on the ground followed by the woosh of massive wings. Once again, in the quiet, my body tried to sink back into oblivion and I couldn't find the strength to fight it.
Before I could sink fully, however, I heard the heavy whooshes of dragon wings and felt tremors in the ground as something large landed. Before I could attempt to open my eyes, I felt something cool drip against my lips-water. In desperation I opened my mouth and greedily accepted every drop that came from above. When I began coughing and could take no more, the steady stream above me vanished. Then I felt something ice cold and wet place on my forehead, making me realize how uncomfortably hot I had been before. Feeling much more comfortable, I sank back into a feverish sleep, only slightly aware of the dragon arranging itself above me.
…
The fever broke a week later, and with its departure I bolted upright in the middle of the night, as if from a bad dream, sending the damp moss on my forehead tumbling. Feeling more awake and aware than I had in days I was able to check over my body and take stock of my surroundings. I was covered in dried sweat and there was a cake of dried leaf paste spread over my injured shoulder. I appeared to be in a warm tent of some kind in a location I didn't recognize. I attempted to get to my feet, but dizziness sent me tumbling back to my knees.
My movements seemed to wake someone else and it was revealed that my tent was actually a massive dragon. It's wings pulled back and the open night sky and pine tree tops were revealed to me, and with them came a biting arctic wind. I turned to see the long, thin face of the dragon who had been my companion for the last week while I had been battling my fever and infection. It's intelligent amber eyes regarded me serenely and realization dawned on me as my hazy memories trickled back to me.
"You saved me." I whispered to the dark.
"You rescued me from that other dragon. Not only that, but you took care of me while I was sick. I think you cured me, I would have died if you hadn't done that."
He, since he was in fact male, rumbled at my words before gently nudging me back into the shelter of his wings. I was just settling down in the crook of his snakey tail when I turned to him and asked,
"What should I call you?"
He exhaled slowly, chasing away the chill with his warm breath as I thought back to when I had first seen him, proudly facing off the titanic dragon who had chased me. I remembered my first thoughts as I gazed on his massive form.
"Behemoth." I said with a smile, "I guess I'll call you Behemoth."
He grumbled in response before closing his wings and settling back down to sleep, I soon followed in a clear, dreamless, restful sleep that I hadn't known since the whole ordeal began.
…
Daylight revealed that everything up to that point had been no fever dream, Behemoth was still there in the morning light, proud looking as ever. That was actually the first time I got to see him with a clear mind, no tears, sweat, or fever to cloud my vision. He was a rich brownish-red color, flecked and dusted with gold on his wings and again on his underside, his horns dark brown spirals just above the amber colored eyes I had fallen in love with. He was a generally handsome, austere looking dragon, much more regal looking in his size than that flashy Titan who had terrorized me (I decided to nickname that awful red dragon Titan).
Behemoth who had finally noticed me ogling him, rumbled before nudging me around playfully.
"Heh, I'm glad I'm better too you enormous winged-snake. Thanks for saving me" As I said this I affectionately scratched behind his horns and was stunned by his reaction. He just collapsed on the forest floor, nearly crushing me with his size, a blissful expression on his face.
"You like that?" I asked, as I continued to scratch the back of his head, then neck. When I got down to his back he literally began to rumble like he was purring. At that I giggled, it was just too funny seeing a dragon his size purring like a kitten.
"You probably can't scratch an itch with those big 'ole wings you've got lying around" I said to him with a laugh, he just drooled where he was lying. I took back what I said about him being regal, he was just a big goofball.
Most of the morning passed by in that manner, me scratching Behemoth's back, and him growling whenever I stopped. Eventually, though, I had to get up, eager to wash off all of the funk I sweat out while sick. Behemoth's head rose to follow me as I climbed gingerly off of his back, making me laugh whenever he'd nudge me.
"I can't stay" I giggled as I swat at him, "I'm all stanky from nearly dying"
That said, I trotted from beneath the shadow of the dragon and picked my way through the trees, making a guess at where I'd find the lake. A bit of walking and I wandered out into a familiar wasteland of stumps, and I realized Behemoth made his home in the little tuft of forest set in the middle of the deadzone. Huh, guess it was lucky I stumbled in his home, I would have been burnt to a crisp otherwise.
I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the rustling behind me. I turned to see the awkward sight of Behemoth 'walking' out of the tree's behind me. He was awkwardly using the limbs in his massive wings to walk, his long body trailing behind, obviously he was more suited towards flight. He slid past me, grumbling grumpily as I laughed at him. It was while I was following behind Behemoth that I realized something, I had laughed and smiled more this morning than I had since I washed up on the island, even since I had boarded the boat to Berk. I couldn't help but smile at the thought, this dragon was really something, definitely different (and better in my opinion) than the other dragons I had met.
When I heard the familiar gurgle of the stream and lake (how Behemoth knew where I wanted to go I have no idea) I took off, leaving a surprised dragon behind. I stripped nearly the second my feet hit the lake's sand and turned just in time to see Behemoth looking blankly at me.
"Pervert!" I screamed before throwing my shirt at him, landing it perfectly so that it draped across his horns. With that, I ran laughing into the lake to wash off, feeling happy and carefree with my new friend nearby.
After washing off and getting a drink at the stream I came back to the beach to find Behemoth still patiently waiting for me. How that dragon could be so calm, caring, and patient was beyond me, I mean was that even normal behavior for a dragon? I wasn't so sure because the only interactions I've had with them before him were short and violent.
I began to shiver as I waited to dry and put on my clothes, Behemoth, noticing my plight did something strange in response. With a powerful flap of his massive wings he was airborne, and with a few more flaps gaining speed and height as he flew to the center of the lake. Then he turned in a massive half circle, flying towards me, picking up a frightening amount of speed. Before I could decide whether or not running would be a good idea, he blazed past me, showing no signs of slowing for the trees. Then, he whirled his massive wings and to my absolute shock, I watched as they easily sliced right through a massive pine, sending it tumbling to the ground in a cloud of sand and dust.
Once the tree was felled he landed and moved the tree towards me, slicing and chopping it as he went with his apparently razor sharp wings. Once he was satisfied with the state of his leafy victim, he hung his head over it and ignited his bonfire with a few drops of oil and fire. Soon, he had a huge fire roaring, looking quite smug with himself, never mind my own stunned face complete with my jaw hanging open. The ironic thing was that, I'm pretty sure I dried off as he prepared the fire.
Since I didn't want to be rude for his effort, I dressed myself before going to sit by his fire. In a flash of inspiration I snatched a long stick and puttered around looking for a Nadder spine (seriously you could find the things everywhere) as Behemoth watched curiously. Soon I had a good looking spear made and went to the stream to catch some fish. Not to brag but since my first day on the island, my fishing improved, and in no time at all I had quite a few fish speared and ready to be eaten.
I only skewered and cooked one for myself, instead choosing to give the other four to Behemoth, who looked quite thrilled with the gift. We ate in a companionable silence and spent the rest of the day and a bit of the night by his fire. And the best part was, while Behemoth was coiled around me, not one dragon came to give me a hard time.
When the moon had risen and the fire burned down I yawned and stretched my hands out above my head. Then came the biggest surprise of the night, as eyes were squeezed shut and my hands in the air I felt something warm and heavy lay against one of my palms. My eyes popped open and looked straight into the handsome amber eyes of Behemoth, still reflecting the light of the dying embers. It was looking into his face that I realized what it meant to bond with a dragon. They weren't some tools I could use to escape, and touching their faces didn't make me their master. It was a partnership, it was something to be earned and cherished, it was friendship and trust. Nobody really trains dragons, we just befriend them.
My eyes began to tear up as I realized this, and I gave Behemoth a watery smile as I realised the magnitude of his gift. As if he hadn't done enough for me already. He huffed softly at me before gently grabbing me by the back of my shirt and placing me on his back, a safe distance away from his deadly wings. Once I was settled, he took off and we flew together for the first time. It was a short flight, only to his home in the deadzone which made so much more sense now. But still it was an important moment for both of us. I fell asleep smiling, sheltered beneath Behemoths wings that could rend trees without slowing but still wrap around me so gently.
…
Nothing is warmer than Behemoths wing-tent but the ground can get pretty uncomfortable so it was while I was lazily scratching his back, thinking about how I'd convince Behemoth to fly away from the island with me when I got a random idea. I sprung off his back and bolted, ignoring his shocked growl of protest as I sped off. It wasn't hard to locate my old campsite since Behemoth showed me how to get to the lake. Soon I had collected my massive piece of sail all of the Nadder spines I had collected while on the island (I wasn't kidding about dragons being an important resource) along with pieces of useful looking wood.
The trip back was tougher since I was dragging all of the supplies behind me and the uphill sucked too since Behemoth created his fortress on the high point of the island. It was while I was trekking up the hill that I heard a shrill but familiar roar and I turned just in time to see an aggravated white and pink Nadder preparing to attack. I shrieked and took cover behind a tree as a volley and spines and fire came after me.
"What'd I even do to you, you crazy dragon!" I hollered from my shelter. In response I only heard flapping as the Nadder gave chase. I probably would have been caught by that stupid dragon had Behemoth not swooped to my rescue again. All he had to do was spread his wings and roar to send the Nadder packing. I cheered and hollered insults after the Nadder until Behemoth turned his grumpy eyes to me as if to say 'You're more trouble than you're worth, tiny human'. I just shrugged sheepishly before collecting my stuff and heading back with him.
When we got back to his nest, I beckoned him down, holding my tarp and nadder spikes in a bundle. When he was close enough, I climbed onto his face, sitting on his snout and beckoning to be raised. He grumbled in complaint, but ever the saint, he humored me. Once he had me lined up to my desired trees, I got to work, trying to hammer the sail to the trees using the spikes as nails. My lofty goal? A hammock of course.
Once done, I left my seat on Behemoth's face to try it out and promptly went plummeting in a tangle of fabric. I probably would have gotten hurt had he not caught me, poor guy must think I'm disaster prone. The next attempt to make a hammock was led by Behemoth, and he did a much better job at nailing the spikes into the trees by coiling around them and squeezing like some sort of boa constrictor. Is it sad when a dragon can make a hammock but you can't?
…
Behemoth and I were practicing flying around the island again. He was a good sport about nearly everything but he was firm in not wanting to leave his home. I guess I kind of understood that and I really didn't mind staying now that I had him to keep me company (and keep me alive). I owed him patience in return for my life that he saved, plus I'm pretty sure I did a good job proving my inability to train a dragon in the conventional sense. In the meantime we just spent our days lazing around, playing and practicing flying together.
One thing I noticed while flying with him was his very slow pitch and turn rate. If he wanted to change directions he needed to fan his wings out to slow before taking a long wheeling turn to wherever. That was fine in the open sky where he spent a majority of his time, but completely dysfunctional in the forests he so loved. I mean, I knew his walking was awkward to say the least, and that he could cut down trees while flying, but that didn't explain how he could move so quickly through the forest without destroying the entire island. Plus it became clear that he really has a soft spot for trees and prefered to avoid cutting them down without a clear goal in mind.
My thoughts were broken however when I felt him desperately trying to turn and stop, the cause was obviously the distracted Gronckle flying straight toward us. Poor Behemoth wasn't able to stop in time and the Gronckle barreled right into us, knocking me from my position behind his head and sending him into a tumble. The ironic thing? That tank like gronckle only dropped for a moment before catching itself and carrying right on.
As much as I would have loved to ponder the injustice of it, I was too busy plunging towards the ocean, screaming for Behemoth to catch me. I could hear and see him roaring in frustration as he tried to dive with his cumbersome wings. I watched in horror as the ocean came up fast, even as Behemoth edged closer. He managed to snatch me in his jaws at the last second, fanning his massive wings out like a parachute at the same time to keep us out of the water. Moments later we leveled off and he placed me on his back, both of us breathing hard with our eyes wide.
"We really need to work on that bud" I finally got out, quickly hearing his rumble of agreement.
Having enough excitement for the day, plus not enjoying the queasy feeling I got from reappearance of my motion sickness, I urged him to go back to our island. Instead of taking our normal path however he stayed where he was and continued skimming the ocean. Normally I'd be okay with that except the island and tree line was coming up fast and I was reasonably certain Behemoth couldn't climb quickly enough to avoid it.
"Uh, Behemoth, don't you think we're coming a in a bit hot?"
If anything I think he began moving faster.
"Um, I seriously think we're gonna hit it!" I finished in a scream as the trees rushed to meet us, thinking maybe Behemoth forgot I couldn't cut through trees like him.
As I was screaming, at the last second he folded his wings and stretched his hooked wing appendages forward. He hooked them into the first trees we hit, using his momentum to swing his body forward easily sliding between the trunks. Realizing we weren't dead I opened my eyes to watch in awe as Behemoth half flew, half slithered through the trees. He easily wound through the thickets, using his hooks buried in the trees nearby to launch us forward. The speed he created this way was incredible and I had to duck beneath and hold onto his horns to avoid being flung off as he whipped his way through the forest. It was a wonder he could see the trees as he passed well enough to react and avoid them. It was almost like this was his super power, but then again, he wasn't the king of the forest for no reason.
As quickly as flight began, it ended as he fanned out his wings to stop in the big open area around his nest. Huh, I guess that explained that. Once he got us to a full stop he hobbled into his trees and curled up in his nest of logs. I unsteadily climbed from his back, doing my best to keep my lunch down. I turned my baleful eyes at him and said,
"You did that on purpose ya show off. Had to save face after nearly dropping me in the ocean?"
He huffed in his strange dragon laugh before placing me on my hammock just above him.
"Well, even if you did nearly give me a heart attack, that was a pretty cool trick." I was pretty sure he rumbled (purred) below me at the compliment.
…
It was another lazy day for us, I was reclining on Behemoth's back, gently scratching his scales while gazing at the sky, with said dragon dozing beneath me. I was actually thinking about how to convince him to leave with me as he was still quite unwilling to leave his home. As I thought I lazily watched a few sparrows performing their acrobatics in the sky. My eyes tracked one as it closed it's wings, free falling for a time before twirling and flapping, easily rejoining it's partner. It was actually impressive, what they could do in the air, and I focused more and more of my attention as the pair twirled easily through the trees.
I wished Behemoth was able to do that, then he'd be able to avoid things like that Gronckle next time around, plus he would be more mobile in the air. And then I thought maybe he could. It wouldn't be hard, all he would have to do is close his wings and let gravity do the rest, he could certainly turn in the air with that snakey body of his, all he would have to do is try. With a clear goal in mind, I leapt off his back before tugging on his horns trying to wake him up and get me to follow.
He grunted, grumpy at being woken up, but he still got up and followed, patient with me as always. When we got out into his open ring of wasteland, I turned to him and flung my arms straight out like wings. He stared at me like I was crazy, but humoring me he mimicked with his own. Even though I knew about his impressive size it was still shocking to see how big his wingspan was.
Recalling the sparrows, I then snapped my arms back to me, pressing them tightly to my sides. Behemoth, still giving me a look, half heartedly followed my lead. I tsked at him and squeezed my arms tighter until he did the same, and I nearly laughed at how thin he looked all tied up like that. We carried on like that, me showing him what I wanted him to do with my arms, trying to figure out what they would do in flight. When I was satisfied I sent him up into the sky, watching him circle high above as I prepared to send out my first flight instructions.
I waved before snapping my arms to my sides, watching as he obeyed high above. As expected he dropped, looking similar to a ribbon falling in the wind. Then I turned before opening my arms half way, watching as he did the same. Then cheering when it work, he had completely turned directions in half the time it normally took him. We carried on like that for hours as Behemoth got better and better at using gravity and his flexibility to become more agile. Soon he didn't even need to follow my arms to complete complex twirls and turns.
Later, we flew together, using the new tricks he had learned. It was exhilarating, twirling and turning through the sky, flying in a way no dragon his size should. Free falling before snapping his wings out to catch us, whipping through the sky in turns and dives that nearly flung me from my perch; it was all incredible. By the end of the day we were laughing and playing in the sky, seeing how well he could do this or that, falling to the ocean and flying at the last second, seeing how close we could get to rocks, trees and other dragon. It was so amazing to the point where I nevered wanted to land again, of course, poor Behemoth was getting tired from flying all day so we eventually had to return to earth.
That night I snuggled up next to Behemoth, preparing to go to bed, when he gently nuzzled his face next to mine. I smiled softly before scratching lightly behind his horns,
"I had fun too bud. It was an amazing day."
I fell asleep that night smiling, snuggled up against my best friend.
…
The next morning I was wading through the tide pools and shallows on the beach searching for shellfish since I had found out a while back that they were Behemoth's favorite. While I was reaching down to pluck a particularly large oyster from the side of a rock I glimpsed something in the distance. I rose and squinted trying to make out the anomaly, before becoming more and more excited. I could just make out the shape of sails, it was two boat!
I dropped The bag full of shells I was carrying on the beach as I sprinted to grab wood and branches. Once I had a pile of wood on the beach in record time I snatched the fire lizard that was investigating my abandon shellfish and started a roaring bonfire. Once I added a few green branches I had a smoky signal fire going, there was no way they could miss me.
I crouched on the beach, watching as the ships drew closer to my island after obviously spotting my fire. It wasn't until they were close enough for me to see the crest that I realized my mistake. There in blood red across the sails was the Berserker skrill crest. My eyes widened and I leapt to my feet, needing to find Behemoth, we had to leave before they attacked me, because from what I remembered they were no friends of mine. As I fled into the forest I heard the first splash of a stone as a catapult was fired.
I ran blindly, screaming Behemoth's name as I fled. I had just tripped over a root and was sprawled face down on the ground when I heard the massive wing beats of my friend. I raised myself up in time to see Behemoth reach down and right me. Frantic, I climbed on his back, not even bothering to tell him what was up. He gave me a concerned look while I urged him to take off.
"It's Berserkers Behemoth. You've probably never met them but trust me, they're not friendly. They could kill us!"
I'm not sure how much of that he got but he was certainly able to pick up on my distress so without further ado he lifted off into the sky. when we climbed high enough it was clear that they were much closer, in fact it looked like one of the ships was preparing to send a search boat full of heavily armed berserkers to our shores. Behemoth, spotting the trouble, swooped closer to investigate despite my warning and he quickly had to duck as a stone was launched at us.
He grasped that they meant us harm after that but when I urged him to escape he turned to look at me and I understood: he wasn't going to leave his home and forest unprotected. Seeing his resolve I nodded and told him,
"If you want to stay and fight, that's fine with me. I won't leave you to fight them alone. It's my fault they're here anyways."
With that he dived down using his new flying style to easily avoid the slew of boulders sent our way. When he stopped I noticed a volley of crossbow bolts coming our way and called out a warning. Behemoth seeing the danger flapped his wings, creating a powerful blast, stopping the bolts in their tracks and sending them into the ocean. With the skies clear, he continued on his path, and when we were right above one of the boats he sent a shower of cinders and drops of fire onto the almost entirely wooden boat. It burst into flames in seconds. We climbed to avoid the next attack before Behemoth turned and dived again, to deliver the killing blow to the burning ship.
He easily dodged the attacks, winding around and through the shower of rocks and arrows before leveling off at sea level with a dramatic snap of his wings. Seeing his plan I ducked behind his horns and squeezed my eyes shut had he sliced the boat in half. When I looked behind us, I watched as the boat slowly slid into two clean halves before being swallowed by the ocean. Soon after debris and berserkers bobbed to the surface.
I could feel Behemoth preparing to take out the next ship but I placed a calming hand on his head. Seeing the soldiers desperately clinging to the driftwood and paddling frantically to the other boat to be rescued brought back painful flashbacks of my own ship wreck.
"Let them retreat bud, they know not to mess with us." Even though I knew they would most likely come back to settle this another day.
We watched as the remaining ship gathered up the surviving berserkers before turning tail and fleeing into the horizon. We stayed like that for hours watching until we couldn't see them anymore before heading back to our own home in a grim silence.
…
I was reclining in my hammock, trying my best to relax while Behemoth fidgeted below me. The berserker incident had occurred the day before, making us unable to relax since it happened. We both kind of expected a surprise attack at any moment, to the point where we couldn't sit still from our nerves. It was actually when I finally began to doze off when a flutter of fire-lizards took off into the sky, shrieking alarms as I went. Moments later, a few gronckles thundered through the tree-less ring with a few Nadders close behind.
Behemoth and I shared a look, knowing what the panic meant, the Berserkers were attacking again, and sooner than expected. I had already resolved to help my friend protect his home, this was all my fault and I owed him so much anyways, so I swung down to my place on his back as he took off. Once we were high enough I scanned the ocean not seeing any ships to my confusion. Hearing Behemoth's rumbling growl and following his line of sight revealed the problem.
Not far away a formation of five dragon was hurtling towards us, and my blood ran cold. Ships were one thing, but if the Berserkers had dragon riders here to attack us, then we were sorely out matched. From what I could see there was a girl on a Nadder, a big guy on a Gronckle, another guy on a Nightmare, and two people (were they girls or guys?) on a Zippleback...plus one unknown, a boy on a smallish black dragon with massive wings. That unknown dragon could be a problem, the last time I saw a new dragon was with Titan and he nearly roasted me. Plus the black one was moving pretty fast...very fast, oh boy we could have a big problem.
I was snapped out of my thoughts when a blue fireball exploded near our heads, prompting us to move. Behemoth looked like he wanted to fight but I tugged him away,
"There's too many dragons, bud, we're outnumbered and outmatched."
He still shot a spray of drops of oil-fire, sparks, and cinders at the approaching dragons before turning to retreat to the forest. We were stopped however, when the black dragon and boy burst in front of us, a blue fire glowing in it's throat.
I didn't even have to give an order, Behemoth folded his wings, sliding out of range and past the black dragon before snapping them open again and jetting forward. I turned to see the other dragon preparing to fire and shouted a warning to the dragon below me. He turned and seeing the incoming fireballs tucked his wings a bit closer and twirled to avoid them. He then slid quickly to the right to avoid the incoming Gronckle and then used his powerful wings to send the Nadder tumbling in a gust of wind.
The dragons surrounded us, and I heard the chubby blond boy on the gronckle telling his fellow Berserkers to be careful because the Timberjack(?) was using an unusual flight style, that he couldn't predict our movements. Ha serves him right, trying to predict our movements, also did that make Behemoth a Timberjack, that was actually kind of fitting. My thoughts were once again broken when the boy on the black dragon called to us,
"Surrender, and turn yourself in! We will not let rogue dragon riders escape!"
"Never!" I shouted back, "Just leave Behemoth and I alone!"
Behemoth took that as his cue before folding up his wings again and sliding through their ranks. We skimmed over the ocean as they scramble a bit above us, probably thinking they had us pinned. I smirked down to Behemoth before patting his neck and saying,
"What'ya say we show 'em what you can do in a forest?"
Behemoth rumbled in agreement before speeding up quickly, hurtling towards our forested island.
"They're heading straight for the trees!" someone called.
"Don't they know cutting through them will just slow them down?" another responded.
I just grinned as Behemoth's hooks sunk into the first tree, pulling us into the comfort of the forest. They'd never be able to keep up or get through the forest and we could take the lead we got to escape. I know that's not what Behemoth wanted but leaving was becoming a necessity. I turned to look behind us and was shocked to see the black dragon giving chase through the forest.
"We've got company Behemoth. We're gonna need to pick up the pace." I muttered down to him as I flattened myself beneath his horns. He began to whip through the forest at an even faster pace, his hooked wings flashing out everywhere to propel us even faster. I heard cursing and looked behind us to see the boy and dragon falling even further behind before eventually disappearing. I cheered, as we continued, there was no sign of him, and soon we'd be on the other side of the island.
I saw light ahead, signalling and end to the forest, and I began to celebrate. It was cut short however when we burst into the open and Behemoth had to fan out his wings to come to a screeching halt. The other four dragons had arranged themselves on the other side, they had us completely pinned to the forest. Behemoth turned, hoping to escape through the route we just taken when the black dragon burst through, cutting off our last escape path. I looked all around and saw fire brewing in all of the dragon's throats, we had lost.
"Give up, we don't want to fire but we will if we don't surrender." the boy on the black dragon called out to me.
Behemoth was still growling and glaring at the ones around us, and I was sure he'd keep fighting. Still I couldn't let him, so I lay a comforting hand on his snout and said, asked him to take us down.
"Alright," I called, "We surrender, just please don't hurt Behemoth. We're landing on the beach now."
We landed followed by the thumps of the other dragons as they joined us.
"Off the dragon!" The blond girl wielding a battleaxe on the Nadder yelled.
Deciding it best to cooperate I slid from Behemoths neck with my hands in the air. However when my feet hit the ground Behemoth swamped me into his wing-tent of protection, hiding me from view.
"Call off your dragon!" the same girl yelled, so I gently pat Behemoth's stomach, begging him to trust me as I stepped out of his protection. I approached the boy on the black dragon since I assumed he was the leader there; he slid off of his own saddle to meet me halfway.
When I got to him I was forced to my knees by the girl who had come up behind me, to restrain me I guess. As if I was a threat without Behemoth who was growling in the background in response.
"Who are you and how'd you train that Timberjack over there?"
With my chin held high I responded, "I'm Channey, and that's Behemoth over there. I didn't train him, he became my friend on his own. And we've done nothing wrong."
The boys eye's widened in response before asking,
"Channey? As in Ophelia Channey Hyer of the Southern Viking Tribe?"
"Uh yeah actually," I said in confusion, "How'd you know that?"
"Astrid let her go." He said before giving me a hand up.
"I'm Hiccup, that's Astrid over there. That's fishlegs on the Gronckle, Snoutlout over there, and the twins are Ruffnut and Tuffnut, we're the dragon trainers of Berk. I'm sorry we attacked you but we didn't know who you were. We expected you a month ago, everyone thought you had died with the ship."
My eyes widened in wonder, "You guys are the dragon trainers? We thought you were Berserkers who had come to finish us off!"
"Berserkers?" Hiccup asked, "We were actually here looking for Berserker ships. Did you see where they went?"
"Yeah, we sunk one of them and the other retreated back to Berserker Territory."
The others eyes widened in shock and the chubby boy called Fishlegs wandered over to speak to me.
"No way, you sunk a Berserker ship by yourself? And did you train that Timberjack to fly like that?"
"Hm? Oh, Behemoth knew the forest trick before I'd even met him, and the maneuvering thing? I showed him how to do that after watching sparrows fly."
"Sparrows? Fascinating" Fishlegs said to himself before wandering back to his Gronckle.
"Well," said Astrid, "That was some pretty fancy flying there, we could use someone like you if you still want to come to Berk." She looked much less threatening when she smiled and wasn't wielding a battleaxe.
I smiled at all of them, and was about to agree when I remembered something. I turned to see Behemoth watching us curiously, wondering why we were friends all of a sudden.
"Yes, I would still love to come and study on Berk, but can I please say goodbye to Behemoth first?" I asked sadly.
"You know you can take your dragon right? All dragons are welcomed at Berk." said Hiccup.
"I can't take him from his home, and he doesn't want to go. I would never force him." I said, nearly in tears.
The Berk riders nodded before each taking off to give us privacy. When I turned to see Behemoth staring at me I did burst into tears before running to hug his face. He rumbled softly, not sure why I was breaking down, even as I clutched him. We sat like that for a while and I could see it slowly dawning on Behemoth why I was crying. He could see that the other humans were going to take me away.
"I know bud, but this is for the best. I need to be with other people, and I can't keep weighing you down. I know it's a burden to keep me alive and out of trouble." I finished with a laugh, even as the tears ran down my face.
We stayed like that for a while but eventually I knew it was time to go, I couldn't keep the others waiting much longer, so I climbed on Behemoth for the last time to beckon them over. They came down and I tried my best to wipe my tears as I waved one last time to my best friend before climbing on the black dragon Hiccup called 'Toothless'.
It was hard to leave Behemoth behind on that beach, and Hiccup could tell so he tried his best to distract me. He told me about Berk, and all of the different kind of dragons. He also told me about Night Furies and Toothless, and how they met. In return I told him about me, how I love to read and study, the shipwreck, even Behemoth although that was hard. He was angry when he heard about the Berserkers, but shocked when he heard about how Behemoth protected me and nursed me back to health. I also found out that Titan was apparently a Typhoomerang, I decided I didn't much care for that species.
"Wow." said Hiccup, "Sounds like Behemoth was a special dragon."
"He is." I responded with a sad smile, "He's my best friend."
We probably would have continued talking if we hadn't heard a surprised cry from one of the riders. I was just about to turn when I felt myself being lifted and placed on a familiar back. I nearly cried again when I saw the familiar red-brown scales, lightly dusted with a comforting gold. The amber eyes I loved regarded me warmly, as he rumbled in greeting. I was smiling like I was the luckiest girl in the world when Hiccup and Toothless slid next to us.
"I knew he'd come back," Hiccup said with a smile, "You couldn't have a bond like yours and be apart for too long. You guys just had to realize it."
Hiccup was right too, I never wanted to leave Behemoth behind again, I was just happy he felt the same way.
…
Berk was everything I imagined it to be and more. Dragons were such interesting creatures and I quickly became friends with Fishlegs as we strived to learn more about them. Snotlout tried to pick on me for being a 'nerd' too but if I didn't beat him up, Behemoth certainly would whenever he'd come looking for trouble.
I quickly rose to be a top scholar in Berk, working only under Fishlegs. He would do most of the studying with books, but I did get to become the field scientist collecting data on dragons since Behemoth could keep me out of danger. It was also realized that my failed attempts to tame dragons on my island were no flukes. I was an awful dragon trainer and could only get along well with Behemoth for unknown reasons. That didn't stop me from making countless dragon friends however.
Even Behemoth found his calling there on Berk, and it was hard to find him not caring for the kids. That worked out too, since he was big enough to take them all on field trips at the same time, something Meatlug really appreciated. And I'm thankful everyday that my best friend was happy to move there with me, since I know I could never enjoy life without him. Yes, Berk life was amazing, and every day brought an adventure that I could share with my friends.
And you know, I didn't regret my time on the island. First of all, it introduced me to Behemoth, something I'll always be thankful for, but past that it changed me. It made me into a stronger person, and taught me how to be more self sufficient. And I can honestly say the girl who flew away from it on the back of a Night fury was a much stronger person than the girl who had washed up on drift wood. Maybe it was nearly dying, maybe it was surviving, maybe it was failing, maybe it was triumphing, and maybe it was Behemoth, but something there made me better. And I'll always be thankful for that.
Fun fact: I have a phobia of Typhoomerangs to this day.
The end
Author's Note: All species info on Timberjacks was correct except for the forest flying. That I made up since I couldn't imagine a Timberjack wanting to destroy forests all of the time. The maneuverability bit, was neither true or false since there is nothing available about Timberjack flight. The rest, including the love of forests, having razor sharp wings, the patience, and even sheltering and protecting humans was all true.