Hiccup hurried himself as best as he did. He had just finished up being scolded by his father, again, and Gobber, the village's blacksmith and his father's friend, tried his best to explain things to him. But despite Gobber's words, it still felt the entire village looked down on him. So, while his father was out to discuss the dragon problem, he decided to sneak out and find that dragon.
Unfortunately, that was easier said than done…
"The gods hate me." He groaned as he pocketed his map of the island, having no luck with finding his dragon. "Some people lose their knife or their mug. No, not me. I managed to lose an entire dragon!"
In frustration, he smacked a tree branch out of the way. However, the branch snapped back, hitting him in the face, and adding more to his humility. He looked it up for a second, and soon noticed something off. A tree trunk was snapped..as if something crashed into it. He turned his gaze down, as he saw more snapped trees and upturned earth.
Could this be where the dragon crashed?
He breathed in and followed the destruction, occasionally stopping to examine things. He kept going until he got to a ditch, but when he looked into it, he quickly gasped and lowered himself to hide. Up ahead, he saw the black form of the dragon, slumped into the floor. Still shocked, he took his knife out, and slowly approached.
"Oh wow." He approached the dragon, seeing it's lifeless body laying there "I did it. I did it. This fixes everything! Yes!" He planted his foot on the beast and struck a victory pose, "I have brought down this mighty beast!"
He suddenly felt the creature shift its weight, and he had to spring back. It was still alive. He quickly drew his knife in defense, worried now that the dragon might still be dangerous. Cautiously, he crept around the dragon, ready to strike if needed.
And when he reached the front, he saw it. The dragon stared right at him, it's gaze cold as ice. Hiccup tried to look away...but he is only drawn back to the dragon's was not a look of hate...it was one of a creature who accepted their fate and knew they were going to die.
Hiccup breathed in and out as he swiveled his knife downward, "I am going to kill you, dragon." He muttered, "I'm gonna cut your heart out and take it to my father. I'm a viking." He raised the knife up and closed his eyes, "I'm a viking!"
But the more he thought of it, the more he hesitated. He could only hear the dragon's deep breath as he opened his eye to the dragon. The dragon stared still, but soon it closed it's eyes and lowered its head, ready to accept its fate. Hiccup tried, and tried...but he couldn't go with it. Something told him this was wrong...and the more he thought, the more it was right.
Hiccup lowered the blade and sighed. He couldn't do it. All his life, he wanted to kill a dragon, and when he had the chance...he just couldn't do it. He looked down at the ropes that coiled around the dragon, and turned to leave. But he stopped himself and looked back to the dragon. He couldn't just leave it here to die…
The dragon's eyes opened as it heard the sound of a knife cutting rope, as Hiccup quickly worked on undoing the bindings just in case someone decided to come this way. One rope fell, then two, then three. And once the last one was free, the dragon, to Hiccup's surprise, leaped onto him and pinned him against a rock.
Hiccup looked up and saw the dragon's gaze again, this time closer. The dragon narrowed its eyes and stared as Hiccup breathed in and out, paralyzed with fear. It leaned its head back and opened its mouth, and Hiccup closed his eyes as he prepared to get torched...but instead, the dragon let out an ear-piercing scream before it released him and ran off.
He opened his eyes to see the dragon flying away. It bashed itself into a mountainside, recovered, and dropped out of view. He was still alive….he was...still...alive. Hiccup panted, out of breath, and shocked that he nearly died. The poor boy picked himself up and walked away, shaken over what happened…
He only took two steps until he dropped his knife, fell to his knees, and fainted.
Above the forest, sitting on the mountain, Hraesvelgr watched. He couldn't help but chuckle as the young boy fainted after his run in with the Night Fury. Here, no mortal would survive a close encounter with a dragon. But he could tell that the boy just earned the Night Fury's interest by sparing him.
"All it takes is kindness on one side…" He muttered to himself.
It was already close to night time when Hiccup got home. He was still baffled. He had a perfect opportunity to kill a dragon...and instead, he saved it. It was everything he wanted to do, but instead, he did the opposite. Why?
Still, after everything, he wanted to just give up on his goal to kill a dragon, maybe switch to blacksmith and use his knowledge to form new things to help the village out. That way, he'd get some respect without violence. Anything that didn't involve having to kill. But that meant he had to confront his…...father.
Hiccup froze up as he saw his father sitting over the fire-pit. He must of gotten back before...er, how long was he out for again? Either way, he probably would be safe if he snuck past him...made it seem he was in his room. That might work. All he had to do was get upstairs and...
"Hiccup." Stoick didn't bother to lift his head up, knowing full well his son entered the house. So much for that plan..
"Dad. Uh…" Hiccup made his way over as his father stood up, "I, uh...I have to talk to you."
"I have to speak to you too, son." His father walked up to him.
They both took a deep breath, collected their thoughts. "I think it's time you learn to fight dragons."
"I decided I don't want to fight dragons."
However, it became apparent they both spoke at the same time, and neither one heard what the other said. "What?" They both said.
"You go first." Stoick urged.
"No, you first." Hiccup shook his head and argued.
"Alright." Stoick started. Hiccup noticed he seemed nervous about something...which couldn't be good. "Alright. You get your wish. Dragon training; You start in the morning."
Hiccup froze and looked startled. If this was any other day, he would of enjoyed this announcement. To become a true viking, to train with people his own age, to kill a dragon! But ever since the Night Fury, he wasn't sure if this was best for him. He tried to grin, but he just rambled when he spoke, "Oh man, I should've gone first. Uh, are you sure that's a good idea, dad? Cause I was thinking...you know we have a surplus of dragon-fighting vikings. But do we have enough bread-making vikings, or small home repair vikings-"
"You'll need this." Stoick handed him a large axe...well, large to Hiccup as he stumbled trying to lift it.
"I appreciate the axe, dad. But the truth is, I don't want to fight dragons!" Hiccup argued.
But his father didn't see reason. "Come on. Yes, you do." He said with a laugh as he walked to the fire. This was what his son wanted, right?
Hiccup sighed and tried again to convince his dad, "Rephrase: Dad, I can't kill dragons."
"But you will kill dragons." His father insisted.
"No, I'm really very extra sure I won't." Hiccup continued his defense.
"It's time, Hiccup." Stoick's tone became more serious as he continued to ignore his plead.
"Can you not hear me?!" Hiccup yelled.
His father calmly turned back to him, "This is serious, son." Stoick stated as he started to explain, "When you carry this axe, you carry all of us with you. Which means you walk like us. You talk like us. You think like us. No more of…" He gestured to Hiccup, "...this."
Hiccup blinked, "You just gestured to all of me."
"Deal?" asked Stoick.
"This conversation is feeling very one-sided." Hiccup complained.
"Deal?!"
Hiccup sighed as he looked to the axe. There was no point in winning this argument. "Deal." He said.
"Good." Stoick gathered his equipment and walked to the door. "Train hard. I'll be back. Probably."
"And I'll be here. Maybe." Hiccup watched as his father walked out the door. He wondered if his father would come back...and what would happen when he did. Now alone, he sighed and went back upstairs to his room.
Tomorrow will be a long day…
Day broke, and Hiccup had to eat early so he could make it to the arena. It was a large stone structure that sat at the edge of the village, with a metal cage built on top to prevent any dragons from escaping. The entire building was built next to the mountain side, and the only way to get in was through special gates that were secured by plank locks.
The Dragon Training arena. The one place he wanted to be...but now, the one place he didn't want to be.
He could already see the other kids walk into the arena, led by Gobber. The kids were talking about the various scars they might earn from training...which didn't help Hiccup's mood. He rolled his eyes and groaned as he held the axe his father gave him, "Yeah, no kidding, right?" He didn't even react when everyone turned to look at him, "Pain. Love it."
The skinnier boy in the group, Tuffnut, groaned alongside everyone else, "Oh great. Who let him in?"
"Let's get started!" Gobber spoke up, ignoring Tuffnut's statement as he stood next to Hiccup, "The recruit who does best will win the honor of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village." He explained.
"Hiccup already killed a Night Fury, so does that disqualify him or…?" Snotlout, Hiccup's cousin, spoke. The other kids laughed before they walked away, leaving Hiccup with Gobber.
Gobber wrapped his arm around Toothless as he walked with him, "Don't worry. You're small and you're weak. That'll make you less of a target." He tried his best to reassure Hiccup, "They'll see you as sick or insane and go after the more Viking-like teens instead." He patted Hiccup on the back before he stood in front of the other recruits.
"Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight." He explained. The doors shook as the dragons behind them tried to get out. "The Deadly Nadder." He walked by the first door.
"Speed eight. Armor sixteen." Fishlegs, the fatter and more nerdy viking of the group, said under his breath.
"The Hideous Zippleback." Gobber moved to the next door
"Plus eleven stealth. Times two."
"The Monstrous Nightmare." He moved to the third door.
"Firepower fifteen."
"The Terrible Terror." Gobber moved to the fourth door.
"Attack eight. Venom twelve."
Gobber, having enough of Fishlegs statistics, looked to the boy, "Can you stop that?!" He yelled in annoyance. "And...the Gronckle." He smirked as he moved to the lever.
"Jaw strength, eight." Fishlegs muttered to himself.
Snotlout's eyes widened as he realized what Gobbe was going to do, "Whoa wait! Aren't' you gonna teach us first!?" He exclaimed.
Hiccup groaned, "He doesn't do that…." He muttered.
"I believe in learning on the job." Gobber pulled the lever and stepped out of the way.
The recruits only had time to move out of the way a the chubby dragon bursted through the the door and into the arena.
Hraesvelgr grinned as he watched the young ones scramble and prepare themselves for battle. The older mortal, Gober, talked about survival, and after asking them what they needed for battle, he had them grab shields to defend themselves. It was a shame Nidhogg wasn't here to see this. He would of loved this mortal.
"I knew I'd find you here, Hraesvelgr." Said a calm female voice.
He glanced behind him as he heard the flap of wings as another Greater Wyrm landed behind him. This one, like himself, had four horns jutting outward from her skull. She had orange scales and a bit of fur on her back, and only had one pair of wings versus Hraesvelgr's two.
"Ratatoskr." Hraesvelgr smiled as he recognized his sister, "I assume Nidhogg told you I was here."
Ratatoskr laughed, "He wouldn't stop ranting about how you decided to stay here and watch 'pitiful mortals'." She said, "I told him I'd check up on you, keep you out of trouble."
"And he calmed down?" Hraesvelgr asked. When Ratatoskr nodded, he chuckled, "He listens to you more than he does with me."
"Is that a truth." She turned her gaze down to the arena, seeing two mortals fighting over a shield, only for it to be blasted by the Gronkle, sending the twins to the ground. "So, what do we have here?"
"Dragon training." Hraesvelgr replied. The young ones started to bang their shields to make nose, which, did distract the lesser dragon for a while, until it fired upon the chubby poor human ran away screaming in terror. "They know some of the lesser dragons' weaknesses, but only that. They wouldn't do much when dealing with a greater dragon, lesser wyrm, or even us."
"They seem determined though." Ratatoskr watched as one mortal tried to flirt with the female of the group, only for her to move out of the way as the Gronkle fired. This, of course, left the male exposed as he the shield he had was obliterated. "If foolish."
"They all are." Hraesvelgr replied as the young mortal he has been watching with interest had his shield blasted out of his hand. "Well, some more foolish than others." He frowned though as the Gronkle focused on the child as he scrambled to get his shield back. This led to him being corned between the dragon and the wall.
But the boy remembered what Gobber said about noise, and seeing that his shield was near him, he slammed the shield into the wall as much as possible. The dragon got disoriented as a result, it's vision going all over the place and messing it's shot up. This gave enough time for Gobber to move in and pull the dragon away from the boy right as it fired, spending its last shot.
Ratatoskr tilted her head, "Weak, but clever. He has potential, as well as the female."
"But not to be dragon slayers." Hraesvelgr smirked.
"And that' six!" Gobber wrestled the Gronkle, who wasn't that eager to let go of his hooked hand just yet, "Go back to bed, ya overgrown sausage!" He threw the dragon back into its pen and slammed the door shut, "You'll get another chance, don't you worry."
He frowned and looked to the recruits, all of which were shaken up. "Remember...a dragon will always.." He looked down to Hiccup, who still sat against the wall, "..go for the kill." He hoisted Hiccup up and walked off.
Hiccup looked to the wall, still burnt from the Gronkle's fire. A dragon will always go for the kill... He thought this over for a second as Gobber concluded today's training, but his words went over his head as he kept thinking. If a dragon always go for the kill…
...then why didn't the Night Fury do so?
AN: Chapter 2 done. I was happy with the first chapter, so I decided to go ahead and work on the second chapter as soon as possible. I admit, I was going to split this off into 2 chapters, but I felt ending things with Hiccup and Stoick's meeting would make things short. So, I kept typing, and eventually got it this far. The longer the better, right?
Now, Hiccup. Hiccup won't be as defenseless as he is seen in the show. While he is weak, he is still smart. And while he did have a lapse of being able to disorientate the Gronkle, trust me, he will have more brilliant ideas as the story progresses. I have more plans for him.
Also, we introduced another Greater Wyrm to the story. Again, those who played FFXIV would recognize this one..or wouldn't, but I do enjoy building lore up.
Chapter 3 will be around the corner, as long as my writing mood continues. Keep the word up, feel free to fav, and enjoy. I still am open for beta readers, so if anyone wants to, let me know.
Till next time. Neo out.
