POV: Luke 1st
I was standing to the side of the entrance of the kill ring. I had been roped into doing this by Gobber as a form of payment for the best scrap metal he had. I could've gotten metal from Johann or others but Gobber was a friend, plus the metal he had was almost pure. A raid had happened yesterday and I was really annoyed since Hiccup was again the center of attention, bad attention. I always stayed away from raids, not wanting to fight dragons that were being controlled by the queen, so I had no clue what actually happened, but a lot of people said that Hiccup had convinced himself that he had shot down a Night Fury. I knew that there was always some truth to what Hiccup said so I knew to be patient. I was snapped out of my thoughts by Gobber throwing the gate up and walking in.
"Welcome to Dragon Training." He said, looking behind him at the teens. The only reason that I wasn't joining the teens in training is that I was two years older than them, plus the village had given up on me a long time ago.
"No turning back." I heard Astrid say as she led the rest of the teens into the ring.
"I hope I get some serious burns." Tuffnut said as they walked towards the middle of the ring. I had already heard the conversation they were getting into, so I focused on Hiccup who was at the back. The others hadn't noticed him so that was good, but he seemed different, like he had something on his mind.
"I'm hoping for some serious mauling. Like, my shoulder or lower back." Ruffnut continued and I sighed at their stupidity. If you had any injury and/or scarring it would impede in your fighting ability and you would most likely die.
"Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it." Astrid said and I saw Hiccup perk up a bit. Seems as if he still hasn't gotten over this hurdle, it didn't matter though, I would be by his side when he did.
"Yeah, no kidding, right? Pain, love it." Hiccup said, and I saw him rolls his eyes for a second and smirked. He definitely knew the side effects of actually getting hurt enough to leave a scar. The rest of the teens turned towards him surprised, and more than one of them groaned.
"Oh, great. Who let him in?" Tuffnut said and I felt my instincts rile up. Before I could do anything Gobber got their attention again, having sealed the gate so no dragons got out.
"Let's get started! The recruit who does best will win the honor of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village." Gobber said, and I noticed that he did it not only to inspire the teens but also to try to get off the topic of Hiccup. I smiled, Gobber was smart in his own right, even if he never had the best advice, and the grossest stories.
"Hiccup already killed a Night Fury, so does that disqualify him or?" Snotlout asked and I couldn't help myself this time.
"So, does that mean you're saying that Hiccup's better than you or?" I asked back repeating his phrase. They looked startled that I was there but got over it quickly as the twins laughed and Snotlout looked angry. I could see that Fishlegs had a small smirk and even Astrid had to hide her grin. Snotlout tried to think of something to say but ended storming off with the others behind him. I nodded to Gobber and he walked away leaving me behind with Hiccup. I moved over to him and he gave me a small smile.
"Thanks, Luke." He said and I smiled back at him slinging my arm around his shoulder leaning down because of our height difference, 5'9'' to 7', both still growing.
"No problem Hic, and remember…" I went to say but he interrupted me.
"Always use your differences to your advantage." Hiccup said in a monotone voice as if he had said it a thousand times, and he had with how hard I tried to drill it into his head. I smiled and messed up his hair, watching him try to smooth it down.
"Go get'em Hic. Plus, if you need me I'll be just off to the side, and I won't let you get hurt." I told him while looking into his eyes. He would usually just thank me when I told him stuff like this while looking into his eyes but this time was different. He blushed a bit, looking away and stuttering out a thanks before rushing off. I was shocked but had a full-blown smile when I came out of it, looks like my little hatchling is finally getting ready to take the jump. I moved over to the side just in time for Gobber to start.
"Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight!" He said loudly, and I don't know if it was to make sure the teens heard him or because he wanted to agitate the dragons.
"The Deadly Nadder." He said as he passed the first gate and it rocked forward a bit.
"Speed 8, Armour 16." Fishlegs added from his vast memory of the Dragon Manual. It went on like this for the next dragon, and the few after that, Gobber would say the name and Fishlegs would add stats.
"The Hideous Zippleback." "Strength 11, Stealth x2." Was next.
"The Monstrous Nightmare." "Firepower 15." They called out.
"The Terrible Terror." "Attack 8, Venom 12." I sighed at this point.
"Can you stop that!?" Gobber suddenly yelled and I saw Fishlegs deflate some, but he got right back up for the next one.
"And the Gronckle." Gobber said, and I heard Fishlegs whisper to Hiccup, "Jaw strength 8." I didn't know what to think of this new generation of dragon fighters, they all had their quirks, especially Hiccup.
"Whoa, whoa, wait! Aren't you going to teach us anything, first?" Snotlout asked as he stepped forward a bit. I couldn't believe that he was the one to ask the sensible question, but I also knew the answer to said question.
"I believe in learning on the job." Gobber said right before he pushed the lever down and let the Gronckle out. He moved to the side to avoid the doors and I saw the teens start running in the other direction.
"Today is about survival, if you get blasted your dead." He said as he moved next to me. The teens were still trying to get their bearings and I saw the Gronckle eating some rocks that were left out. I pointed this out to Gobber, and although he looked like he knew they were there, may be planned on it, he wasn't expecting it so fast.
"Quick, what's the first thing you're going to need?" He shouted out to the teens.
"A doctor?" Snotlout asked from his area of the ring. He had no idea, whatsoever.
"Plus five speed?" Fishlegs asked using stats. I could that he was thinking overall things that would be needed if it was a one on one match, not factoring in weapons or multiple people.
"A shield." Astrid said. I knew she had the answer Gobber was looking for but I looked over at Hiccup for the answer we used since he didn't have the overall viking strength needed to lift a shield and move quickly with it. He mouthed, A plan, and I nodded smiling at him to reassure him in the training I had tried so hard to ingrain in him. He usually wanted to do everything the viking way, but he seemed to be more accepting now.
"Shields, go!" Gobber said and the teens rushed for shields while I saw Hiccup moving towards some of the more cluttered areas of the ring and I smiled. First, hide, then avoid, and finally, attack if necessary.
"Your most important piece of equipment is your shield. If you have to choose between a sword and a shield, take the shield!" Gobber added, and when he raised an eyebrow to me at the way Hiccup was acting I simply raised one back before turning back to the fight.
The twins were fighting over a shield, arguing about whose it was. Ruffnut eventually knocked Tuffnut over the head with it but he grabbed back on and it was too late. The Gronckle fired a shot straight at the shield and they ended up spinning before they hit the ground. They didn't know it, but I heard the dragons agreeing that they wouldn't harm the hatchlings too much.
"Tuffnut, Ruffnut, you're out." Gobber said as if he was talking about the weather. "Those shields are good for another thing, noise! Make lots of it to throw off a dragons aim." He added and I saw the teens gather and bang their weapons on their shields while Hiccup was on the edge of the ring. I noticed a mistake that he wasn't thinking of but I gave him time, plus he could still use it to his advantage in some ways.
"All dragons have a limited number of shots! How many does a Gronckle have?" Gobber asked the teens as they stopped their banging and started running around again. Hiccup was forced to move to make sure he was as far away from the Gronckle as possible, even trying to stay behind it.
"Five?" Snotlout asked out of nowhere, and I admit it was a good guess.
"No, six." Fishlegs said quickly, amending his fellow trainee's mistake. He made the mistake of stopping in the middle of the battlefield and the Gronckle saw this.
"Yes, six! That's one for each of you!" Gobber said trying to show that he was congratulating Fishlegs but not even blinking when Fishlegs's mistake cost him his shield. "Fishlegs out." Gobber added.
"Hiccup, get in there!" Gobber said as he saw Hiccup trying to avoid the dragon. Despite my training with him, I knew that Hiccup was still too desperate for approval that he would follow that command. I raised an eyebrow at Gobber, and he raised one at me recreating our earlier moment.
I looked back and found Snotlout trying to flirt with Astrid. I sighed at his stubbornness in getting the Hofferson girl, it was clear to everyone that she wasn't interested. It almost cost him his life when the Gronckle shot at him and almost hit him straight on if not for his shield.
"Snotlout, you're done!" Gobber shouted and we both watched as Astrid and Hiccup ended up next to each other. I knew that Astrid had stopped before to bait in Snotlout to get him out so I was already moving towards them. The others didn't understand but I knew they would soon.
"So, I guess it's just you and me?" I heard Hiccup say and I knew that his fake emotions were working instead of his brain.
"Nope, just you." Astrid said and I watched as she got out of the way right before the Gronckle shot a fireball at them. Hiccup dropped to the ground just in time to avoid it and started running. Unfortunately, he was still close to the wall and ended up cornering himself. I full on sprinted towards him and watched as the Gronckle got ready to take the shot. I jumped at the last second and got to Hiccup before the shot did. We ended up rolling away before stopping with him on my chest as I was on my back. I looked to the side and saw Gobber throwing the Gronckle back into the cage but I didn't listen to him, instead, I looked back at Hiccup. He was a bit dazed but when he realized where he was he blushed up a storm and scrambled to get off making himself fall again. I got up chuckling and offered my hand to him, he grabbed it and I pulled him up. I saw that he was still shaking so I put my arm around his shoulder and pulled him in for a side hug.
"Don't worry Hiccup, I told you I wouldn't let anything happen to you." I said and he looked up at me blushing a bit but smiling nonetheless. I let go of him and messed up his hair again.
"Alright, training's over. And remember, a dragon will always, always go for the kill." Gobber said making us look over to him. He was looking right at Hiccup when he said it but I saw the reason behind it. After that we split up, each going our own direction, but I couldn't help but watch Hiccup as he walked off in a daze.