Niko was knocked to the ground with a thud. Gathering his bearings, he stood up, only to be pushed down again.
He sighed, sitting up and brushing his clothes off. He had, once again, failed to tame the Monstrous Nightmare in the arena. This was the fourth time he had failed the test, and he was starting to wonder whether it was worth trying anymore.
"Alright Niko, that's enough." His Mother's voice echoed through the arena entrance. The Monstrous Nightmare cocked it's head, recognizing it's master's voice. When Niko's mother, Joyce, entered the arena, the Monstrous Nightmare instantly fluttered over to her and elegantly perched on her shoulder.
"Mom, that's the fourth time today I've failed this exercise. Can we stop now?" Niko asked with a sigh. Sometimes, Niko wished his mother wasn't an all-time Dragon Racing champion.
"Don't worry Niko, you'll get the hang of it." Joyce said, pity in her voice. Niko sighed, picking up his sword and getting into battle position.
This is going to be a long day. Niko thought to himself with exasperation.
Niko's mom was usually off racing, leaving Niko to stay with his dad most of the time. His dad designed mechanical dragons (Lord only knows why), and insisted it would make the world a better place. Meanwhile, Niko didn't really have that much of an interest in dragons. Until he met Wildfire, of course.
Niko had always gone into the woods outside of his house to write. He found it calming to be surrounded by nature, while he transported himself into a magical world. It was an early Saturday morning when Niko's slumber was disturbed by the loud snap of a branch breaking. Niko was usually a deep sleeper, so this snap was no normal snap.
He slipped on his shoes and tiptoed down the creaky wooden steps to the first floor, careful not to wake his parents.
As he opened the front door to see what was outside, he almost yelled in surprise. Right in the middle of the path leading to the woods stood a blood red dragon. Niko noticed at once that it only had one good eye. One of the eyes was a bright red, whereas the other was a misty grey color, which meant it was most likely blinded by a Treejacker. Niko carefully took a step towards it, trying not as to frighten it, when it suddenly cocked its head right at him and squawked in surprise.
Niko immediately backed away, frightened that is would rip him to pieces if he went any closer. After a good 10 minutes of them both standing and staring at each other, Niko took one more step. As he surely walked to his own deathbed, he noticed that this dragon looked surprisingly like a Nightfury. The only difference was that this dragon had a hooked beak, hooked talons, and, of course, it was BRIGHT RED. Other than that, they were pretty much the same.
Over the course of the next few days, Niko would go out into the woods to see the dragon. He would always find it on the path, waiting for him. Each day he got a little bit closer, until one day where he found himself within arm's length, and the dragon wasn't backing off. Then, slowly but surely, he rested his hand on the dragon's nose.
"Oh my Berk! I actually just trained a dragon!" Niko exclaimed, excitement in his voice. He eyed the dragon more closely now, taking in all its features. "I think I'll name you…"Niko pondered this for a moment.
"Wildfire"