3-First Day of Training

"Welcome to Viking Training!" Lockjaw said.

The young cave-in squad walked into the large ring, the sense of anticipation and new beginning in the air. The ring was in a large brown stone cavern with cracks in the ceiling let sunlight in. Big stone slabs covered the cells where the Viking captives were kept. Each slab had log tied to it at the top; the instructors would fly up holding the slab to release the Viking. The slab would then be hooked over a pair of stalagmites. Larger tilted stalagmites kept the Vikings in the ring. Rose took in all that was in front of her. "No turning back." She said as walked in the others right behind her.

"I hope I get some serious bruises." Bite said.

"I hoping for some cuts, like my shoulder or back leg." Scratch said.

"Yeah it's only fun if you get a scar out of it." Rose said agreeing with sparking head of the sisters. Though she thought only that a scar shows how hard it was and you did it anyway.

"Yeah, no kidding right? Pain, love it!" Toothless said sarcastically.

"Oh, great; who let him in?" Bite said blowing some gas at Toothless.

"Alright let's get started!" Lockjaw said steeping in from behind the Dragon teens. "The recruit who does best will get the honor of killing his or her first Viking in front of the whole Rookery." Lockjaw made head ripping motion and then spread his wings out to emphasize that there would be an audience.

"Toothless already killed a Flash Slash so does that disqualify him or…?" Hotfoot joked. Most of the other laughed. "Can I transfer to the class with the cool Dragons or something?"

Lockjaw put his wing around Toothless. "Don't worry, you're small and weak, that makes you less of a target. They'll think you're sick or insane and go after the more Dragon-like teens instead." Lockjaw then stepped in front of the cells. The sound of the Viking tools hitting the stone on the other side could be heard. They were ready to be let out and kill their captors. "Behind these doors are just a few of the many kinds of Vikings you will learn to fight, the Chop Chopper."

"Speed eight, cutting strength sixteen." Slugcrunch said recounting facts he read about.

"The Long Stab."

"Piercing power eleven, range times two."

"The Spiked Smasher."

"Striking power fifteen."

"The Ankle Biter."

"Attack level six, bite probability twelve."

"Will you stop that?"Lockjaw shouted. Then he flapped up to the next stones log. "And the Crusher."

"Impact strength eight." Slugcrunch whispered to Toothless.

Hotfoot looked scared. "Whoa, whoa; aren't you going to teach us first?"

"I believe in learning on the job." Lockjaw said just before he flew up lifting the stone. Out came running a wide Viking male with a small helmet, covered in fur and swinging a hammer. He screamed at the top of his lungs. The young Dragons split up trying not to die. The Crusher crashed into a wall. "Today is about survival. Is you get hit in a vital area you're dead." Lockjaw explained. "Quick, what's the first thing you need to do?"

"Hide?" Toothless asked.

"Increase fire power by five?" Slugcrunch asked.

"Fly!" Rose answered.

"Fly! Go!" toothless was having trouble getting enough speed to fly until Lockjaw gave him a push. "The most import advantage you have is that you can fly above them. If you have to choose between getting hit in your legs or your wings then get hit in the legs."

"Left! It won't expect us to come in on its tool side." Bite told her sister as they hovered.

"No right! There more room to move that way!" Scratch said. As they argued their neck twisted around each other and the Crusher managed to hit them in the side.

"BitenScratch you're out." Lockjaw said.

"What?" the sisters asked.

"While fire is our most powerful offensive attack your breath is good for another thing; stink. Make a lot of it to disorient the Viking and throw off the speed and timing of his attack." The teens followed Lockjaw's advice and let out as mush of the green gas as they could. The Crusher got dizzy and his swings got slower. "Every Viking tool has a limited range as long as it's not thrown. What range is Crushers?"

"Two?" Hotfoot asked.

"No, three!" Slugcrunch said.

"Correct that about as close as he is to you now." Lockjaw said just before Slugcrunch got hit in the tail. "Slugcrunch out." Slugcrunch flew scared. "Toothless get in there!" Toothless crawled out behind a pile of Fire Rocks.

Hotfoot was talking to Rose not seeing that the Crusher was coming closer. "So anyway I just moved into my parent's firewood cave next hole over. You should come by some time and workout; you look like you workout." Rose did a flying somersault just before Hotfoot got hit in the chest.

"Hotfoot you're done." Lockjaw said.

Rose landed next to Toothless. "I guess it's just you and me huh?" Toothless said.

"No, just you." Rose said as she took off and did a barrel roll. The Viking jumped on Toothless' back ready to crack his head open.

"Toothless!" Lockjaw said just before he grabbed the Viking with his mouth the Crusher barley missing and cracking the floor. "And that's range four. Go back to sleep you overfed bear! You'll get another chance; don't you worry." Lockjaw threw the Crusher into its cell and unhooked the slab with his tail. Remember a Viking will always…" He leaned in close to Toothless. "…always, go for the kill." Toothless looked down at the new cracks.

"So why didn't you?" He asked later back at the spot where he let the Flash Slash go. He walked to a sloping valley the hill sides covered with gravel hopping to find it again. "Well this is stupid." He said believing that the Viking was long gone. Then he looked down to see dried puddles of blood. Then to his right Toothless saw the Flash Slash try to crawl up the hill and slipping down. Toothless flew to the next closest cliff to have a better look. Seeing the Viking trying to crawl up again Toothless took a piece of bark and with one claw etched the shape of the fearsome creature. "Why don't you just walk up the hill?" he asked himself then he noticed that that the left leg of the Viking was shorter than the right one where he must have hit it. He then saw the Viking try to stand and grab some berries hang off a branch but falling. He made a mental note that plants could b something else the Flash Slash could eat; Toothless then scratched out half of the left leg on the bark but then sound of the craving got the attention of the Viking below. All it did was look at Toothless with equal curiosity.

Rain; Dragons hated rain storms, especially at night making it harder to find their way. Toothless walked to the watering cavern a place where Dragons gather to have a drink from an underground spring and met with friends under fire light. His classmates and Lockjaw were already there. "Alright where did Rose go wrong today?" Lockjaw asked.

"I miss-timed my somersault dodge; it threw off my landing." Rose said disappointed.

"Yeah, we noticed BitenScratch said together sarcastically.

"No, no, you were great. It was so Rose." Hotfoot said trying to make her feel better.

"She's right. You do have to be tough on yourselves. Where did Toothless go wrong?" Lockjaw said as he saw Toothless take a drink.

"Uh, he showed up." Scratch said.

"He didn't get his skull crushed." Bite said.

"He's never where he's supposed to be." Rose said then she took a drink. Toothless got a depressed look on his face being berated by the girl he liked.

"Thank you Rose. You need to live and breathe this stuff." Lockjaw said. Then he uncoiled part of his tail dropping a book made of tree bark held together by three rings of vine. "The Viking Manual. Everything we know about Vikings and Viking tools we know of." Then Lockjaw looked up hearing the wind blow faster and harder. "The winds changed, which means it will be difficult for them to sail. No attacks tonight, study up." He then began to leave.

"What? You mean read?" Bite asked.

"While we're still alive?" Scratch said.

"Why read words when you can eat the stuff the words tell you stuff about?" Hotfoot asked.

Slugcrunch got excited. "I read it like about seven times there this thing they use in that shoots pointed sticks at you with and there this other one with a small blade that…"

"That's great. There was a chance I was going to read that." Bite said to shut Slugcrunch up.

"But now…" Scratch said disinterested.

"You guys read. I'll go burn stuff." Hotfoot said.

Slugcrunch tried to follow the two Dragons that got up and left just leaving Toothless and Rose. "So I guess we'll share…" Toothless said before he got interrupted.

"Read it." Rose said as she got up and left.

"Great all mine then. Wow so I'll see you tomorrow." Toothless said but he did have to go home and look after Moonstar. So he picked up the book and brought it home.

"Wow you're still alive!" Moonstar said. "Keep this up and you might make a decent Dragon in a hundred years."

"Shouldn't you be asleep by now?" Toothless said annoyed.

"I don't want to go to sleep; besides I'm too big to sleep in the nest and you know it." Moonstar said defiantly.

"Look Mom left me in charge."

"The only mistake I've ever known her to make."

"Still, I'm in charge and you're supposed to go to sleep after the sun goes down." Then a very small fireball hit Toothless in the face.

"I'm not sleeping in that nest!"

"You're still little and that was your only shot. I may not be as big or as strong as the others but I'm still a lot bigger than you! Now go to sleep!" Toothless yelled.

"No!" Moonstar leapt up and bit Toothless on the ear. Toothless then grabbed her with his claws and pinned her to the floor. But Moonstar was a lot stronger than she looked so she and Toothless began to roll around the chamber. "Dad would let me stay up! He would see that I'm a real Dragon not a pathetic lizard with wings like you!"

"How would you know? You never met the guy!" Hearing that Moonstar stopped fighting and began to cry because it was true; their father died before she hatched. "Hey, hey now I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten angry. I'm older; I need be the mature one. It's just you have no idea what it's like being the clumsy useless one."

"I…I'm sorry I said you weren't real Dragon. I know you try your best but it just seems so unfair. You're well, different but you still at least have some memories of Dad and you get go to Viking Training and stay up after dark; you even get your own chamber while Mom still makes me sleep in the same nest I did as a hatchling."

"Well, digging your own chamber is something we have to talk to Mom about when she gets back but if you go sleep now you can sleep with me in my chamber… at the other side of it though."

The tears cleared from Moonstar's eyes. "Well yeah, I don't want to catch your case of the klutz." She was her old self again as she went to Toothless' chamber. "Toothless, just so you know I think that if Mom doesn't find the village this trip, one day you really will be the first to kill a Flash Slash."

Hearing the name of the Viking he took down he remembered the book he brought. "You go to sleep Moonstar; I got to read this for class tomorrow."

"Ok, goodnight."

Toothless then lit a small flame and began to read. "Viking and tool classifications; Cut class, bash class, mystery class." He turned to the entry on one of the tools that Slugcrunch talked about. "Sting Rain, this tool can launch bladed sticks. They have been known to be poisoned and a volley from several of these Vikings can impale a Dragon all over his body. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight." There was a picture of a Dragon with arrows sticking out of his body and one of a Dragon breathing fire on a Viking with a bow. Toothless turned the page seeing a picture of a Viking throwing knives. "Flying Fang' this tool may be small but it can cut across the length of the body. Vikings can carry many of these and throw them into the eyes. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight." The next page showed a pot of boiling oil. "Black Burning, this defensive tool pours a hot burning substance that will only come off by diving in water. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight." A crash of thunder startled Toothless but he had to find what he was looking for. Next he turned a few pages to one with a picture of a pick ax. "Dig Tooth, mainly used to steal Fire Rock it can pierce a Dragon's skull, kill on sight. Crushers, Long Stabs, the Cutting Moon, Doom Thrower. Stabs its victims, chokes its victims, cuts its victims heads off." Toothless couldn't believe that one kind creature could create so my ways to cause death. And over and over the same five words were repeated. "Extremely dangerous, extremely dangerous, extremely dangerous, kill on sight, kill on sight, kill on sight." Then he finally found the entry he was looking for but there was no picture and very little on it. "Flash Slash, Blade type unknown, Speed unknown. The Vikings who weld this are said to have ice for hearts. These unholy offsprings of lightning and death are never to be engaged. Your only chance, hide and pray it doesn't find you." Toothless place the craving he made earlier over the entry. "But I still don't get why it didn't kill me. If it is as evil as this says it wouldn't show any mercy. But it did."

Shadowgale and rest of her expedition were having trouble flying in the storm. Then in the darkness she spotted an island with a high hill. "Follow me! We'll rest this storm out and continue at sunrise." They landed at the side of the hill. "Begin digging! We need shelter for the night." Shadow gale ordered. The Dragons began to claw and bite at the hill side clearing pounds of rock every few seconds. In less than fifteen minutes they dug out three caves large enough to host their number. In her cave Shadowgale with a strong single breath turned a pile of rumble into a single smoldering stone. Just before she fell asleep she said. "Live, live Toothless. With any luck when I get back to you my children and you will never need fear Vikings again."

Author's note: I did want to expand the story a bit and the big brother, little sister element is a big difference between hiccup and Toothless. There will be other differences between stories later but I let you fin pt about them as there posted.