Looks like people are enjoying this already! I'm putting all of my effort into this one, so I hope you enjoy it!
Review replies (Which I will be doing for this one. I get the reviews through email, so they may not yet show up in the reviews section):
Hiccupisnotuseless: Thanks! I'm trying my best!
Jesusfreak: I'm writing as fast as possible! Don't worry, you shouldn't have to wait long!
Guest: All will be revealed in this chapter and later on in the story! I don't want to give anyhting away, so sit tight and be patient!
HideousZippleback: Thanks! And who says it' going to be Kat that Snotlout falls in love with? Later on, you'll meet another OC called Sophie who I assure you will be much more agreeable. And hey, it's only the AN... right?
CRACK-A-THOOM!
The pathway was instantly ablaze with bright blue fire, spreading across to the houses on either side. Meanwhile, through the smoke, the twins caught a glance of Kat making her swift exit. Ruffnut bared her teeth.
"Come on, we have to catch her! A mad woman like that could destroy everything!" She cried, hauling her brother back onto his feet after his dive to avoid the flames. He stared at her, wide-eyed.
"Even the well-groomed stuffed yak?"
"Yeah, even that!" With a jolt, she tugged him forwards and leapt over the fiery stream, slapping out the tiny fires that caught on her shaggy, leather skirt and beginning the search for a suitable weapon. Her brother, however, was not so lucky, tripping before he had time to jump and ploughing straight through the middle. He scrambled to his feet and screamed, instantly falling back down like a marionette and rolling over and over to extinguish his clothes.
"My hair! My hair is on fire!" He cried, smacking it desperately with his palms. His sister snatched the back of his jerkin and slammed him into a nearby water trough none-too-kindly. Finally, beside the trough, she found what she was looking for. A rack of spears, set next to the fire-trough for just such an occasion as this. Grabbing one as her brother emerged from the depths, she hoisted it up onto her shoulder.
Kat hadn't got far and was scrambling over a rooftop as the spear came whizzing past her, knocking her off-balance and sending her crashing down the tiles and onto the hard-packed earth below. Groaning, she stood up again, brushing away the damage to her dignity. That girl, again. That Ruffnut girl was going to be a problem, she knew it. She and her idiot brother were just getting in her way. Kat's lip curled. Not for long.
Her right hand curled around the hilt of her sword, and she pulled it slowly out of its burnished leather sheath. Contrary to the lacklustre, plain sleeve, the sword itself was set with dazzling jewels and covered in engraved symbols and patterns running all the way down the centre of the blade. There were dragons and Vikings locked in combat, twisting Celtic knots, and the widest point was emblazoned with a wide-winged eagle, sparkling red stones for its glaring eyes. The black leather-coated handle sat perfectly in her palm, tiny, thin chains like golden and silver necklaces hanging from the guard.
With a roar, she shot forward, breath-takingly quick, her sword flashing as she swung it at the unprepared twins. They scattered as she swung again, determined to do them serious injury. Ruffnut snatched up another spear from the rack, aiming it at the beautifully decorated blade. Kat bared her teeth and swiped at the other girl. Sword and spear clashed again and again until finally, the spear snapped in two. Kat's sword found Ruffnut's throat, the twin backing away, heart in her mouth.
"You, get out of my way. Stop following me, or by the gods, I will rip both of your throats out with my teeth," She spat, adding "And I'll enjoy it." Then, with a sly grin, she shot off again, pounding down the street. There was no time to dispatch them now. She would have to wait.
Ruffnut stood, staring after her for a second. She was far stronger than she had anticipated. Then, rage boiling up inside her, she rounded on her brother, fists raised.
"Why didn't you do something? She coulda killed me!" Ruffnut roared. Her brother snorted, stepping back.
"Because it was funny!" He argued, earning himself a cuff around the ear. The two turned to look at the girl escaping across the village, then looked the other way to find the bulky form of Snotlout Jorgenson heading rapidly towards them, looking breathless. He stopped before them, red faced, and bent over to catch his breath, his heavily muscled arms braced against his knees. His brow was beaded with sweat to which his messy, greasy brown hair stuck like paper to glue.
"Ruff! Tuff! Are you guys okay?" He huffed, adjusting his ram-horned helmet, which had slipped during his run. Ruffnut raised her eyebrow as he looked around. "Where did she go?"
"Beats me, but she won't get far" Ruffnut sounded more determined than they'd ever heard her. She gritted her teeth, taking the last spear from the rack behind her and testing it, before slamming her fist into Snotlout's forearm. "Come on! Let's get her!"
The three Vikings sped off down the winding Berkian streets, trying to guess where this runaway could possibly be heading, Tuffnut snatching up the spear his sister had thrown from the ground as they passed. They ruled out the docks, the armoury and the Great Hall; there was nothing of interest to her there. Then what?
"Wait! What about the food stores? She's obviously not come from any of the nearby islands, or we'd have seen a boat, right? So she probably hasn't eaten for ages!" Snotlout shouted out, altering his course. The twins followed him, running after the tall, broad-shouldered boy. Tuffnut looked up across the roofs and slapped his sister's arm, grabbing her attention to point up. Above them, the silhouetted form of the runaway streaked across the rooftops, leaping from house to house in practised, stylish speed.
The boys couldn't help but make small noises of admiration at the skill it took to move at that speed across such treacherous terrain. However, Snotlout seemed to get a hold of himself and rapidly put on a burst of speed, Ruffnut close on his heels. As they watched, the girl jumped. She landed before the doors of the food stores. Snotlout skidded to a halt before her. He glared. She chuckled.
Ruffnut was quickly by his side, Tuffnut appearing beside her a moment later. Again, the runaway drew her sword and aimed at each one of them in turn. Snotlout unhooked a hammer from his belt, lifting it up in defence. By contrast, the weapons were complete opposites. One highly decorated, beautiful and sparkling, the other crude and carved from stone. However, it was obvious that one would hold more power than the other. Appearances counted for nothing.
The twins lifted their spears to the girl, all three of them blocking the villain's way. Kat knew when she was defeated. However, she feigned left and right, testing them. A smirk appeared on her face.
"Well, well, well. What have we here? Berk's finest warriors?" She snorted sarcastically. "Hah. Hardly."
"What do you want?" Snotlout growled meanly, hammer shaking with anger. He wasn't prepared to tolerate the insult.
"Oh dear, what's wrong, darling? Are you going to throw a tantrum?" Kat used her most condescending tone to make the comment all the more infuriating. Snotlout lost it, screaming bloody murder and swinging the hammer in what could quite possibly have been a fatal blow, had the girl not sleekly dodged under his arm and struck him across the back with her sword. The blade was lethally sharp, slipping easily through the thick yak-skin coat he wore, right through his three under-shirts and left a long, needle-thin gash across his spine. Screaming with rage, Snotlout turned again, but Kat was already out of his range.
Ruffnut charged her from one side, and she gracefully danced out of the way just in time to see her collide with her brother, who was coming from the opposite direction. Her knuckles pressed against her lips to stifle a bubble of laughter trying to escape her.
"You two really like running into things, don't you?" She goaded as they scrambled back to their feet, their teeth bared in rabid snarls. "Come on! Is this really the best you can do? I've seen slugs move faster!"
With another savage roar, Snotlout swung his hammer, clashing against her sword. Again and again, he brought the weapons together in vicious, heavy attacks. This was better. More coordinated, more targeted. He was taking up all of her attention. She realised, with a jolt, that she had nothing left to pay to the twins, who, at that moment, were nowhere to be seen. Using an old technique she had taught herself, she brought her blade up underneath Snotlout's hammer head and pulled towards her, setting him off-balance and giving her time to kick him in the stomach and watch him fall to the ground.
The twins were behind him, eager for their turn in the fight. Kat stepped back. Something was circling above. She could hear the delicate snap of leathery wings, the buzz of a Gronkle not far away, and the chirrup of a Nadder from somewhere behind her. Kat wasn't used to defeat, but she certainly knew when she was beaten. Slowly, she sheathed her sword at her hip and held her hands up.
She was right about the dragons. A Gronkle, a thick-skinned, thick-skulled brute of a dragon, came bustling towards her. She noted, with a smirk, that it's rider reflected it very well. The dirty brown and purple of it's scaly skin was made to look almost liquid in the flickering light. From her other side, a bright cyan Nadder came hopping like a bird, its wings fluttering and flaring. It squawked, teeth bared menacingly.
Kat backed away as the final dragon dropped from the sky like a huge, black cat. The Night Fury. She'd heard tales of this magnificent creature, but nothing quite did it justice. In all its majesty, it crept towards her, snarling, its thin pupils glittering from the centre of its huge, green eyes, narrowed and threatening her. Its sleek body moved like fluid, its long, finned tail waving behind it in agitation. Kat looked up to its rider.
"Now, here's the boy I wanted to see..."
Well, there you go! The twins were fine after all! I may have got a little carried away with the fight scenes in this one, but who cares? It's exciting! Stay tuned for the next instalment.