Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.
'Tis another day for fifteen-year-old Conner Bailey.
Another ordinary day on the ordinary Isle of Laftor with the oh-so-ordinary attacks from dragons and the cataclysmic destruction that followed.
"Get down!" a man hollered and shoved Conner's head. The strawberry-blond boy grunted and ducked, and a fireball passed above his head.
"You should go back to the workshop," the man advised as he slammed his axe at a snarling dragon. His steely eyes glinted in the firelight.
Conner groaned, rolling his bright blue eyes. "But Jack-"
"No buts," another voice quipped in, and a shadow zoomed past Conner and Jack, her blonde hair flying in the breeze. It was Goldilocks, Jack's battle partner and wife. "Why are you out? Get back immediately."
"Fine," Conner grumbled, wincing as another fireball incinerated a house. "I was just trying to help."
Jack and Goldilocks had already sprinted into battle with matching war cries. Axe and sword in hand respectively, they cornered a Heartless Hood. Conner knew it had no chance of survival.
With wooden pillars and planks disintegrating around him, Conner slunk back home, ducking and hiding whenever possible. Fireballs exploded in the inky sky and he could smell the sweat and blood of his people. His slippery fingers loosely held on to his latest, unused invention, a new dagger/arrow hybrid.
"Watch it!" a woman yelled as Conner nearly crashed into her.
"Sorry!" Conner cried, spinning his head to look at the woman, but accidentally smashed into another person. Conner was unceremoniously knocked to the ground.
"Oof!"
It was a high-pitched, female voice.
Conner's face brightened up upon recognizing said voice. "Hey, Alex! How's it going?"
Alex's hair was wound into a tight braid. She wore her typical green and white robes with ancient runes stitched onto them. Her grim expression was replaced by one of worry when she caught sight of her twin. She dug her staff into the dirt and pulled Conner up. "You should be at the craftsman's workshop with Froggy," she accused.
Conner was getting tired of the constant reminders. "Yeeeeah, I'm going."
Alex nodded curtly. "Good." She peered up at the sky, the shadows of dragons flying past. Her eyes narrowed. "It's about time."
It didn't matter how many times Alex did it. Conner was still and would be fascinated by her, the melodic words, the powerful swish of a staff, and the magical light.
The gem on top of Alex's specially crafted staff glowed blue, and Alex muttered a few ancient words, sounding beautiful yet dangerous, foreign yet familiar. The girl swung the staff around to accumulate power, and finally thrust it upwards.
A beam of blue light pierced the smoky clouds above, and an ear splitting clap of thunder sounded. Rain poured down from the heavens, drenching the villagers but mercifully putting out the fires.
It was unfair, really, how Alex had inherited their father's magic ability, but Conner hadn't, even though they were twins. Alex was just allegedly seven minutes older than him! And it was unfair how Conner sucked at everything he did.
As Conner scampered away, he mentally recalled his peers and their skills. Arthur, like Goldilocks, was excellent at swordfighting. Bree used spike-studded whips, which was a curious choice, but it fitted her like a natural extension of her arm. Rook, despite his humble roots as the son of a farmer, was talented with throwing knives. Heck, even Bella- or Trollbella as everyone called her, was pretty good with a mace.
Conner had been clumsy at birth, hadn't had a drop of magic in his blood unlike his ancestors and twin sister, and somehow couldn't handle a single weapon. The only possible good thing about him was that Conner was creative and had a wild imagination, and was always dreaming up crazy ways to stop the dragons. Needless to say, they didn't always work, and caused more trouble instead of preventing trouble. That was why the masses made the unanimous decision to keep (read: imprison) Conner inside during every attack.
Fortunately for him, Conner was accepted as the apprentice of a craftsman, which gave him something to do. For someone with two left feet, he was oddly talented at arts and crafts. Conner wasn't much of a fighting person and didn't dabble in crafting weapons before, but after his father's sudden death a few years ago, Conner felt the need to do something, anything, to contribute to killing dragons. He joined the workshop and learned to repair and craft weapons for the others.
It was then Conner began to invent weapons with his new-found knowledge of crafting. He wasn't very good with the logistics, so he always asked the head craftsman Charlie, more commonly known as Froggy, for advice.
Conner liked to think he was good at inventing. His creations were… unprecedented and unexpected. However, not everyone appreciated his unrestrained creativity when it came to weaponry.
The familiar shape of the workshop rose out from the ashes. Conner flung open the door and hastily put on his apron. His eyes flitted around, and he stuffed his new invention in a drawer.
"About time!" Froggy called. "This night isn't going too good; we'll need to repair weapons quick."
"Yes sir!" Conner yelled. He grabbed an axe and began to sharpen it, careful not to injure himself.
As the boy worked, he glanced out of a window, observing the chaotic scene outside. Killing a dragon was everything on Laftor. After all, dragons had plagued them and their ancestors for centuries. They stole livestock, burned down buildings, and injured many. Conner shuddered when he remembered how his father, the late chief, had heroically dashed into a burning building to save a family. He remembered his mother's terrified screams and his sister's hysterical sobs. His father's body was never recovered. Before they knew it, the burden of being chief was laid heavily on the shoulders of the Bailey twins.
Naturally, as the older twin, Alex was the official heir, but if something happened to her, Conner also had to be prepared to rule.
Conner was determined to prove that he could be a dragon killer too. He had to protect his people from those dangerous creatures. Problem was, Conner hadn't even came close to injuring a dragon.
Killing a Berserk Beauty would definitely get him noticed. Those dragons were smaller and rounded in size, but with very tough, rocky skin and thick brown fur billowing on their back. Legend was it the guy who named the dragon mistook its silhouette for his girlfriend in a misty forest. Conner privately thought the guy was really dumb.
A Stalkcrusher? With a long, bright green neck and sharp teeth, it was easy to spot, but hard to approach. It snapped its jaws at anything that came close to it. Conner was pretty sure a net would work on the dragon, but no one listened to him, and they continued to attack it with their usual swords and axes and maces. Maybe Conner would be the first to try a new, improved method against the Stalkcrusher. And when he succeeded, he would bath in his new found glory and laugh in their faces.
Killing a Heartless Hood would probably get him a girlfriend. These dragons had retractable crimson scales that acted as a shield around its neck, hence the "hood" part. With hard, virtually impermeable scales and scorching fire, it posed as a terror and as a challenge. Conner hadn't really worked out a way against this one, but he was sure something would pop up soon,
Ah, the Grisly Glass! Conner had always thought the blue-tinted, spiky dragon was beautiful, but he couldn't voice out his opinions in a society that detested dragons. Translucent, venomous spikes grew on its tail and the dragon could fire them at will. It had a ridiculously high accuracy rate for a dragon. Conner didn't want to think of how many people had been impaled by the spikes.
And of course, the most elusive dragon of all, the-
"Flare! Get down!"
A blinding flash of light in the skies, then a boom that left Conner's ears ringing. Adrenaline rushed in Conner's viens, and a wide, terrified grin stretched his face. He dropped what he was working and rushed to peer out of the window to catch a glimpse of the nightmarish dragon, which frightened and fascinated him simultaneously.
The Flare was quick, bright, and deadly. It had the hottest fire known to mankind, sleek golden scales, and claws as dangerous as freshly sharpened swords. With its dazzling, fire-coloured wings, it was eye catching and all that, but even though the target was clearly visible, it was difficult to get a shot. The Flare was simply too fast.
Conner had been dreaming of shooting down a Flare. He had been working hard on a new catapult with improved speed and accuracy, in hopes of killing the beasts of all beasts. That would definitely get him a girlfriend and admiration from everyone on the island.
Why was Conner so focused on getting a girlfriend, you ask?
"Bailey! Conner Bailey!"
Well, Conner had a teeny, tiny (or not) crush on one of the most beautiful, perfect girls in existence.
"Umm, hello? Anyone home?"
(Okay, maybe not so tiny.)
And her name was-
"Conner Bailey!"
Conner finally spun, and the gorgeous, chocolate-coloured eyes of the love of his life stared back at him. Conner's mind went blank.
Bree Campbell.
Bree Campbell, the fearless warrior, who did not scream or faint even upon seeing the goriest of wounds. The calm and collected strategist, the pretty girl who didn't care what people thought of her, and the object of Conner's affections ever since they were both little kids.
Bree's blonde hair was in a long, messy braid over her shoulder. She wore her purple woolen hat as always, and Conner couldn't fathom how pretty she could be when she was literally fighting just ten seconds ago. When did glistening sweat become so attractive?
"Y-yeah, Bree, what do you want?" he managed to get out.
Bree eyed him curiously, then went back to business. "My whip broke, so I'm looking a replacement until it's fixed." She handed over her leather whip. A few of the iron spikes were missing, and a huge spike from a Grisly Glass had pierced through the leather. Something panged in Conner's heart upon seeing the miserable state of the weapon. After all, he was the one who'd crafted Bree's whip. "Ouch, that's nasty. It'll probably be fixed in a few days, so don't worry."
As Conner rummaged around the back for a replacement whip, Bree started to talk. "You okay? You looked a bit dazed just now."
A blush rose on Conner's face. "Nah, I'm fine, just a bit overwhelmed tonight."
Conner wasn't really close with the other teenagers as a whole. Alex, Bree, Rook, Arthur, and Trollbella all participated in training together, while Conner slaved at the workshop. It had always been like that since they discovered Conner had no talent in fighting whatsoever. He was on good terms with his peers, but they didn't speak much. Except for Alex, and maybe Bree. Bree was always interested in Conner's new inventions (which may be an act of pity, Conner realized) and helped him with figuring out certain parts. Conner was very grateful for that.
"It's hell out there," Bree mused, fiddling with her hair. "You're lucky to be in here."
Conner scoffed. "I'm only here because I'm useless at everything else."
The duo became quiet. The distant shrieks and roars of the fighting reached their ears.
"No, you're not useless. No one is. In fact, your weapons are pretty cool." A pause. "I-I like them a lot."
A sigh escaped Conner's lips. "There's no need to make me feel better." He turned, a new whip in his hands. "Does this fit?"
Bree tested out the whip's weight in her hand. "Hmm, pretty good." She smiled at Conner. "You know me too well."
Conner's heart stuttered, and his face turned bright red. "Of course."
Of course I know. I've been making your whips ever since I was twelve, and I know what measurements suit you the best, and I know you only let me fix your weapons because you think the other craftsmen won't do it the way you like.
"See ya." Bree waved, and jumped off into the dusty, chaotic night.
Conner's eyes followed her as she left, a half-smile on his face. "See ya," he said softly.
A/N: I don't know why I wrote this. It's probably really messy with wacky characterization lol. Buuuut I just had the urge to do this when it was like 10pm. And you can bet I binge-listened to the HTTYD soundtrack as I wrote this. Bear in mind, my memory of HTTYD 1 is a bit rusty, so don't expect this weird oneshot thing to actually correspond to the movie. But Conner is definitely Hiccup, and Bree is Astrid.
yeAH I KNOW I should be working on False Obsession Turned Real but this… just popped out of nowhere… sorry…
I haven't watched HTTYD 3 (I'm not calling it the Hidden World) yet but I hopefully will soon. So no spoilers, please!
For all ya HTTYD and TLOS nerds, the dragons I mentioned here correspond to the dragons on HTTYD. And vaguely based on some select fairy tales.
The Flare is based on the tale of Goldilocks, and corresponds to the Night Fury.
The Grisly Glass is based on the tale of Cinderella, and corresponds to the Deadly Nadder.
The Heartless Hood is based on the tale of Red Riding Hood, and corresponds to the Monstrous Nightmare.
The Stalkcrusher is based on the tale of Jack and the Beanstalk, and corresponds to the Hideous Zippleback.
The Berserk Beauty is based on the tale of Beauty and the Beast, and corresponds to the Gronckle.
As an added note, Laftor (the setting) is a shortened form of the Land of Stories. I took the "la" from "land", the "f" from "of" and "tor" from "stories" :)
As I said, I don't know what I'm doing here, so I don't know if I'll continue this thing. But as always, please tell me your thoughts! Thanks for reading!