So this is my first fanfiction :D Never really showed anyone my stories so this is all very new to me. Please forgive me if I do anything wrong I'm really not used to this!
Disclaimer: I do not own any How To Train Your Dragon characters and content, but any OC's that are new are mine.
Katia Walstone stood on a rock that perched over a cliff, not far from Berk. Dragons poured past her, gliding underneath the coal black clouds that spat out a heavy downfall, and occasionally the odd flash of bright light struck from the skies. She heard the distant but familiar Viking cry, that echoed inside her brain. At least she had one. She had been orphaned at a young age, her parents being taken by dragons one night. The family had a bad reputation, being the least wealthy of them all, and, at five years old, she'd had to live her life on stealing small pieces of food and equipment at night, hardly showing herself. Now she was fourteen, she questioned what she would do with her life. She scarcely displayed herself, until two years ago, when she had her last chance.
The last time she had appeared publicly, she'd managed to find an old, unused axe, unfortunately, she was caught, and was forced to run from the village, so she swore to herself that she would never go back.
After she'd outgrown her clothes, she decided that if she was rejected, she would have to make do. Now, she crafted herself her own clothes. Strips of leather were wrapped around her feet, and tied half way up her shins, and her wrists were strengthened with yet more leather fastened in a similar style. An old piece of a ships sail served as a corset-style bodice, the thick canvas torn and repaired in multiple places, and covered in grass stains that didn't wash out. From her old clothes, she'd made some other small pieces, including a navy-blue skirt from her tunic. It wasn't the most practical, but it kept her relatively warm and made her decent, should she be seen by anyone, not that it was very likely.
She tore herself from her thoughts, she swept her long raven braid from her face and focused her lapis lazuli eyes on the dark night in front of her. A monstrous nightmare suddenly turned its head to face her, its yellow eyes wide. It made a low warbling sound has it streaked past and returned to its original position. Realising that her skin was soaked through, Katia turned back on herself and headed back to her refuge. Navigating her way through the birch forest, leaping over puddles and small ditches.
A small fire was lit in the clearing she called her home. A fallen-down tree lay nearby, and a satchel, an axe, and a fur cloak rested on the bark. With a heavy sigh, she dropped down cross legged by the log, and pulled the fur over her shoulders. As tough skinned as she was, from hours of the harsh winds of Freezing-to-Death tugging at her skin and face viciously, and being scraped at and scratched by brambles and thorns, she enjoyed the comforts of the flames spitting playfully, and the heavy fur draped around her small body. Closing her eyes, Katia felt a wave of drowsiness washing over her, and started drifting away...
In a split second, the tiredness was snatched from her body, and her eyes shot open. The sharp sound that she'd once feared as a child returned. Night Fury. The 'unholy offspring of lightening and death itself' had just arrowed the starlit sky, the rest of the dragons already raiding. She'd only ever seen the faint black outline in the air, unlike the others, which had showed themselves up close. A sharp 'twang' of excitement burst inside, and an awed look was pasted onto her face. She knew many a Viking who would give everything to slay the beast, for not only would it bring everything back, but would bestow such honour to them. They would go down in history, because no one had ever even seen one, let alone take its life.
But then, something changed within her. She knew that dragons had killed her parents, but never once had they harmed her directly. Even now, when she was only armed when she was boar hunting, they never even scratched her. So, being the forgiving person she was, she found herself being at peace with them. If someone was going to give up so much to kill a night fury, one day they probably will succeed, even though every person currently on Berk had a brain the size of seed, and that was if they had a brain. There was only one of feared creature that showed itself at once, so it was most likely that there was only one. If he was one of the last of his kind, and was killed, that would be the end of them.
A blast of electric blue light was spewed from the sky and exploded into a large quantity of flames. The light was clear even from across the sea; though her abode was still very close. Katia could just make out a small bat-like shape spear the sky, before yet another plasma blast was fired. More shouting followed and more flames flickered into the night.
As if it went all too quickly, a terrible screech could be heard, exceedingly loud and as clear as sun rose and fell, and then a crash whispered through the trees, Katia felt numb. She had no idea what to do. Nine years of being out, going solo, had carved her personality so intricately, making her so sure and confident in her own decisions, and now she forgot about that. Across the horizon, a pale orange colour in the low sky signalled that it was dawn. Only this time, she forgot about being at peace with the world, and finding herself. This was her chance. If she did this, she would finally be accepted into the community. She would be able to socialise with people, Berkians even, not just her reflection in the lake or the words she said out loud, to no one in particular. They would welcome her with open arms, give her a home, a status. She would have friends. She was going to have to kill it.
Racing against the person she was yesterday, she grabbed her second-hand axe and continued down to the pathway. Blindly running, she knew that she should be able to get to it before anyone on Berk. They would have to make their way out of the village before they'd even get close. She knew the world around her well, she thought to herself, but no. That was the person before she had this chance. Now she was just straying further and further away, her small body alive with a new energy, adrenaline being overdosed to her veins. Her eyes were perfectly fine, it was her head that was blind and unseeing. Her heart was still there, pleading her to stop, but for the first time in her life, her head was bigger, ideas bigger and more daring than ever.
Her world as she knew it was spiralling back down, and soared behind her. 'I can do this!' She yelled out loud. The spark inside of her was evergreen.
She stopped suddenly when she realised she was technically on Berks ground. Raven Point. Her heart racing, beating in overdrive, she brushed the thought of being in the village that had treated her and her family so badly from her shoulders. Unshaken, she continued forward, still burning on the inside. What would they think of her? They would love her! But it wasn't even her that had shot it down. Ah well! She'll say that it broke free from the ropes and only bring the heart after a few days.
Lost in thought, she'd been oblivious to the fact that a tree had been torn down forcefully, broken. That a path had been etched deeply and unnaturally into the ground. This was it. Her curiosity getting the better of her, and she found her footing in the damp earth as she peered around her. The world around stood dangerously in her mind, and jumped back when a jet-black wing was seen behind a boulder. Her breathing got heavy and unrhythmic, something that rarely happened. She peeked over the tree she'd hidden behind, trying to be brave, when she realised that the beast was well and truly stuck. Already dead, perhaps. The ropes of a bola were snapped around him, his feet tied back to his body.
Her grip tightened around her weapon, the handle old and worn, and found herself creeping towards the dragon. Looking closer, she saw that on his front right foot the rope was wrapped painfully deep into the scaly dark skin.
"This isn't who you are!'' begged her heart, forced to beat faster, working harder than ever. She paid no attention to what was spoken, she couldn't hear it, she chose not to. Her arm slowly rising, her axe somehow steady in her shaking hand. One step forward was all it took. Gaining confidence in her newfound self, her arched back straightened, her head being held high upon her broad-shouldered self.
Steps away from the infamous devil, axe held at the same height as her head, ready to strike. So alive with energy, she struggled to take it all in. Normally, she would have taken her time, planned it through with detail in every single scenario that was possible. Now, she was inhaling oxygen so fast, dizziness began to take over her, her Viking blood burning, searing through her skin. Axe now held high above her head, she stood closer to the dragon than anyone had before.
She prepared herself, filling her lungs, and forcefully yanked her axe down hard, but then…. Right before the blunted blade grazed the scales, half a millimetre away, she stopped. This wasn't who she was. She couldn't do this! She was Katia Walstone, born in the community, forged in the wild. She took only what she needed, no excessive killing. She would slay a boar or two for food, and maybe a yak for leather and furs. This wasn't necessary, she didn't need fame, or a fortune. She wasn't going to bring glory for once to her family and ancestors. She was herself, strong both emotionally and physically, unafraid to show her feelings, but showing off her muscles was vain. She despised of displaying any signs of physical strength to anyone, should anyone find her.
Her axe dropped to the ground, and the blade split in two. But that wasn't what she paying attention to now. This was a beautiful creature, filled with skills of agility and speed, great power in his plasma. She tore her eyes from the broken blade lying limply on the mossy stones, and redirected them to the dragon. The creature took a mighty breath of relief, and then rolled backwards, and in the pain of having his wings and feet strained against each other, whined in a low, feeble note. Katia fell back against the boulder, shaken by the fact that she could have almost performed such a horrific deed. She too made a small whimpering sound, which alerted the creature, and her eyes widened greatly, even more than they already were, when a pair of bright, lime green eyes stared back at her own, with slits of the darkest shade of night. Katia backed away further, scared out of her wits. She wasn't afraid to display her emotions like this, not when no one could see her.
'This is all my fault,' a small whisper escaped her lips. If any of the Berkians found him, it would be a ticket for certain death. She had to help it.
Without thinking, she flicked the sharpest half of her broken axe into her hand with her toe, and set to work. She sliced her way through the ropes, and stopped and gasped when she saw the tale. Half of it was gone! Only half of the creature's tail fin was left. It must have been torn off when the bola had it him. She realised what it meant. If a dragon can't fly, he can't get away. A downed dragon is a dead dragon, and this one certainly couldn't fly, not like this. She would have to hide him, the villagers could find him in his condition, and then that would be the end of that. The young girl continued her work, and she sensed that the dragon was frightened, more so than her. She spoke softly to the Night Fury, instinctively whispering calming words.
'But they will.' She warned. 'You need to go, if they find you, I don't want to think what they'll do. I'm here for 'It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you!'' she sawed through the rope, gently tugging at it to pull it free.
you, you should know that. I hate people too, I was a burden to them. I'll help you if you need me. Not that you probably will, you're so strong and powerful. But right now you need to find shelter before they find you.'
She had finished her handiwork of freeing him, and now he got back to his feet. She could see that he was greatly pained when he moved. He stared into her eyes, his own dilating, and he moved closer to her face. He sniffed her, but she still showed no fear, as she realised he would not hurt her, because when she looked into his eyes, so distant and far-off, yet so close it felt penetrative. He gave a warble of approval, and his pupils returned to their usual slits, and he bounded off into the trees and into a grove that Katia recognised.
She would return, she knew it, but first she'd have to do something she swore she would never do again.
Again, I would like to apologise for any mistakes made, but if you're reading this it means you got to the end! I thank you for your patience with my work, it means a lot to me. If you did enjoy, please leave a review, or if you have any suggestions, please add them, all constructive criticism is accepted! Well, I guess that's that then, I'll be on my way:D