A/N-I have returned! And here is this week's chapter, hope you all like it. Almost didn't happen as there was a major issue with all my files, but everything is almost back in place now, so updates will continue as planned.
As always, please read and review!
Chapter 3
Training and Warning
"Alright, you with the sheep wool on his head, step forward!"
We were in the Training Arena, and had just set up the makeshift targets along one wall. On the wall nearest to us was the weapons rack, brimming with all sorts of different kinds of sharp and heavy objects. The object of the command above happened to be me, as our new "teacher," Wolfblood, hadn't yet learned I don't take kindly to remarks about my hair.
"Uh, Wolfblood, sir, I would really suggest using his name," Fishlegs nervously spoke up. "Yeah, he can be mean when you call him names and stuff," Tuffnut sniggered, grinning in hopes of a reaction from my end. I ignored him and just leveled a brown-eyed glare at Wolfblood, who looked back at me with skepticism. He hadn't been above deck when I gave Ingavar the knuckle-cracking handshake. "Alright, Hawken," he toned, "prove them right, why don't you? Show me what you can do."
I sauntered up to the weapons rack, and looked it over. "Anything in particular you want me to use?" I queried, not sparing Wolfblood a glance. Behind me, he said, "Let's see how you do with that axe above yer head." I glanced up and saw what he was referring to: a double bladed axe with a head twice the size of my own. I shrugged and reached up, pulling it off the rack one-handed, then turned to face Wolfblood and his son, the latter of which showed an inkling of surprise on his face. "Which target?" I asked next. We had set up a series of 5 bulls-eye targets for the practice. Wolfblood pointed to one. "Second from the right," he said. I nodded casually, and lined up in front of the selected target. I aimed the blade toward the circle of wood, then tossed it straight up in the air, to the shock of the two newcomers. It spun twice, then came down, and in one motion, I grabbed the handle, spun with the momentum, and threw it down the length of the arena toward the bulls-eye, the blade spinning as it went.
CRACCKKK!
The force of impact of metal on wood drove the axe deep into the foot-thick block, and a wide split ran up the target to the outer edge. The axe wasn't perfectly centered, I'm not that good, but the lower edge ran through the center, the blade perfectly vertical. I turned to Wolfblood. "Now, what was that crack about my hair you made?" I drawled casually. He and Bitwolf were standing, mouth ajar. I walked down the range to the target, looked it over, an then "casually" ripped the axe out of the wood.
"How did you do that?" I turned to see Bitwolf finally mustering up the ability to speak again. "I-I mean I can't even throw that hard!" I shrugged and smirked. "Can't tell you." That immediately earned a couple of suspicious glances from the two. "Why not?" Wolfblood griped. "Whatever it is you do to get that level of strength, or speed or whatever it is that does that, would be incredibly useful against the more dangerous dragons!" I waved it off. "I have my reasons, that's all you need to know at the moment. You wanted to know how well I work with an axe, there you go." I could see Wolfblood was prepared to push the issue, but Astrid intervened before he could. "Please, sir, just drop the topic," she insisted. "He's not going to let out anything more. I'll go next."
Wolfblood didn't object or say otherwise, so Astrid took the initiative. She grabbed up another axe on the rack, similar to her own prized weapon, lined up with a new target, and then performed her characteristic somersault, launching the axe down the range. It didn't have quite the impact as mine, but was dead center with a vertical blade buried in the target. Wolfblood nodded. "Impressive as well, then, uh, Astrid. I take it you have had practice." He then turned to Hiccup and smiled, as Hiccup winced. "How about the so-called slayer of the Red Death?" he asked. "What kinds of weapons are you practiced with?" Hiccup waved his hands a bit. "I don't have to use an axe, do I?" he inquired. Wolfblood shook his head. "What can you use? If you try something out of your league, I won't know what you actually need to work on or with." I nodded. Good advice, actually, I thought.
Hiccup shrugged in response and walked over to the weapons rack. There were only 3 weapon types I knew Hiccup had worked with before, and the bow and arrow and short sword/dagger weren't in the available assortment at the moment. I needed to talk to Stoick about that. Luckily, he grabbed the set of throwing knives that were there, and stepped up in line with the center target. I heard a slight snicker come from Bitwolf, followed by a light smack from his father, but Hiccup didn't react. He tossed the first knife in the air, testing the weight, then drew back, aimed, and threw it forward, followed by the other 3.
THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!
Each one found the target at least. However, Hiccup's aim was still a little off. Two of the knives barely caught the bottom of the block, and the other two were still low and off to the left. Bitwolf burst out laughing this time, and I could also see Wolfblood holding back the snickers.
Hiccup began turning red, and whirled toward Wolfblood. "What?!" he snapped. "I've only just begun working with these! I don't have my usual bow or anything here!" Wolfblood shook his head, still smiling unapologetically. "Well, at least I know who needs the most work!" He looked at Astrid and I. "You two seem to be proficient enough at the moment, so I assign you two to help him outside of class. Anyway, moving on!"
The session went by quickly enough, considering there were only 4 other "students" to test. Fishlegs still needed some work on aim, though the strength of his arm wasn't a problem (the dent in the cage door next to the targets could attest to that), Snotlout still had his tendency to show off (anyone who watched the Thawfest episode on the TV series, you know what I'm talking about), and the twins…well, what can you say about those two? Good aim with their chosen weapon, the spear, but when you have both of them together something always starts an argument. Wolfblood nearly had a new hairdo to show off.
The rest of the teens were soon dismissed (I left when I chose to), and it was nearly 4 in the afternoon, so I decided it was about time to go check on Toothless and company. Hiccup was going with, no question, and Astrid decided to tag along because "I don't want to spend any more time than I have to near that blockhead Bitwolf. He reminds me too much of Snotlout." I snickered at that, but was also relieved. Not everything I had read was playing out, so there was still hope. As we headed toward the forest path, though, we just "coincidentally" happened to run into none other than Wolfblood and Bitwolf themselves, of course.
"And just where are you three off to?" Wolfblood inquired. "Training out in the woods," Astrid replied curtly. "As you said, Hiccup needs a little one-on-one to improve." "Hey!" Hiccup protested. I shot him a look to say quiet down. He shot me one of his own that said plenty as well, but didn't make any other comments. Wolfblood ignored the protest, and nodded. "Ye should have an adult with ye, in case any dragons or other predators show up," he warned. I waved the thought off with my hand. "We're fine, really," I countered. "My home off this direction too, so I come and go through-" "Wait, you mean you don't live in the village?" Bitwolf interrupted. I sighed and shook my head. "Then how come just about everyone here knows you?" He just wouldn't quit, would he? "Well, if you had been there when we were explaining things to Ingavar, you would know that, now wouldn't you?" I quipped. "I've helped save the village during a number of less-than-pleasant situations before, so I'm held in a bit of a high regard." Bitwolf snorted in return. "You? Save a village? Yeah, right."
I nodded and started to walk away again, taking Astrid and Hiccup with me. "Yes, right. Now, if you will excuse us, we'll be taking our leave now, like we were before you interrupted us." The other two went ahead of me and started down the forest path, and I glanced back and caught Bitwolf giving Astrid a look-over. I shot him a warning glance, and snapped, "Don't even think about it. Astrid is with Hiccup, end of story." I turned back around and disappeared into the woods myself, but kept an ear open. Wolfblood whispered to his son, "Follow them," and then turned back into the village, while Bitwolf began down the path. Of course, I thought, just what we need. I raced down the path and quickly caught up with the other two.
"Off the path. Now," I ordered hurriedly, pushing them toward a thicket of bushes and ferns. They went without question, but Astrid gave me a warning look that promised pain if I didn't know what I was doing. We dipped down the slope a little ways, and I turned and peered through the trees to spot the top of Bitwolf's head making its way in our direction, turning to look all around. Astrid and Hiccup crouched down, and I flared a couple of wings, blending the colors in with the forest. Bitwolf reached the point here we left the path, and his eyes swept over us before he continued onward.
"Why are we doing this?" Astrid whispered as I folded my wings and turned to them. "Bitwolf was trying to follow us," I explained quietly. "Luckily that trail won't go much further than your training grounds, so we should be okay for the moment." I turned and looked around, then morphed Night Fury and crouched down. "Get on."
The flight was short an uneventful, and we soon landed in the cove, Astrid and Hiccup dismounting as I changed back. Looking around, Toothless was nowhere to be seen, though that was good and to be expected. ::Toothless! Come out already, we need to talk!:: I yelled.
CREEEEAAKKKK! Snap!
I looked up and sighed. Naturally, he was in the one place I'd forgotten to look: up a tree. Toothless glided down from the branches and landed in front of us, rubbing up against Hiccup and giving him a friendly lick, and Hiccup gave him a scratch in return. Then, he looked at me. ::Something wrong?:: he asked. I nodded. "Possibly, so keep your guard up. That story I mentioned is becoming reality." He cocked an eyebrow. And by that, what do you mean? "Long story short, there are suspicious Vikings trying to follow us and there may be a 'Shadow Lord' on the way."
His reaction was instantaneous, eyes going wide, and then to slits, and he bared his teeth as he wrapped around Hiccup and Astrid, scanning the skies. ::If it comes anywhere near here….:: "Quit being overprotective, will you?" I interrupted, walking over and pushing him on the snout. "I'm here still, alright? And that's not going to help anything anyway." Toothless shot me an anxious glare. ::Do you even know what a Shadow Lord can do?:: he snapped. ::Hiccup and I managed to take down the Red Death, and even together I doubt we could take one down if given twenty year's practice!::
I gave him a deadpan stare and raised an eyebrow. "I can turn into a creature of living shadows. I'm sure that together we could manage something. It's big, it has hard scales, yes, but it's still your average stealth class dragon." Toothless didn't stop glancing upward, but he released the tension he was building up and his expression softened a little. ::Well, maybe,:: he muttered. I nodded. "Well, it's an improvement. Are the Terrors still up at the portal?" ::Last time I checked.:: "Good."
I turned and left the three Berkians to themselves and flew up to the clearing around the portal, whistling a high note as I landed. As expected, the half dozen or so Terrors appeared in the trees. The self-appointed "head" of the group, Phil (named after Gobber's favorite sheep for reasons unknown, though the fact that they were both nearly white might have played a part), came and landed on my shoulder, looking up at me. ::What's up?:: he chirped. I glanced up at the clouds building. ::Keep a very close eye out and stay hidden. There's untrustworthy Vikings following us, and a good chance we may have a Shadow Lord show up on the island.::
Like Toothless, they all reacted immediately to the name, screeching and disappearing into the trees, and Phil crawled behind my neck and under my hair. ::You're kidding, right?:: he twittered again. I shook my head and pulled him out so I could actually see him. ::Afraid not. In the unlikely event it happens to find the portal, you will need to distract it somehow and draw it away. I know that's a scary idea but if that creature gets to the other side there's no telling what it would do in my world. Besides,:: I gestured to the trees, where the rest of the group had vanished, ""You all seem to be good at hiding, right?:: Phil nodded carefully. ::Good. Also, I doubt I have to tell you, but if that happens, send someone for me immediately, no matter where I am.:: I let Phil go, and he flew back up to his perch in the pine tree nearby, still trembling a bit.
At this point I was starting to become very concerned. I knew the Shadow Lord, if it did show up, would be a hard thing to beat, but how bad did it have to be if just the mention of it sent the rest of the dragons running? There was something else going on here, I surmised, some secret I had missed.
It wasn't quite time for me to head back home just yet, so I tagged along with Astrid and Hiccup as they went to Astrid's training area. It took a bit of coaxing to get Toothless to let them leave the cove without him, but he knew what happened if someone from the other tribe found him, or us with him, so he reluctantly stayed put for the moment. As we flew to the clearing, I morphed a different kind of stealth dragon, one that could blend with the skies, so that if Bitwolf was still looking for us he wouldn't see us coming in to land.
Turns out, it was a smart idea, as Bitwolf was still around. Not five minutes after we had landed and started drilling Hiccup on fighting stance and such, he came puffing down the trail leading from the deeper parts of the forest. When he saw us, he stopped and stared, open-mouthed, at us for a minute.
"When did you show up?" he asked. After suppressing a few giggles, Astrid answered. "Wow, you must be blind. We've been here for like half an hour already. What are you doing out here? We didn't see you walk by either." Leave it to Astrid to sound perfectly nonchalant in her storytelling. "I, uh, I was-I was looking for you guys. My dad thought you still might need some advice from someone who's really experienced."
That was a bad choice of words coming from Bitwolf. Astrid glared at him for a second, then back-flipped toward the nearest tree, driving her axe into it as she landed. "Does it look like we need more advice?" she asked calmly, with a venomous undertone riding her voice. Bitwolf stuttered for a minute. "Well, I ….I uh, didn't mean…"
I started chuckling at his being one-upped. "We know what you meant," I filled in. "But we're fine, so you can run along. I'm sure you're needed for something at the moment." Bitwolf shook his head. "No, free for the evening." I glanced at Astrid, who suppressed a growl as she threw up her hands. "Whatever."
A few minutes of practice were all Hiccup got before the sun began to disappear behind the trees. Being the middle of summer, it wouldn't get truly dark for another few hours on Berk, but I had to head home, and so did the teens. "You do know your way back, right?" I asked jokingly. Astrid swung a punch at me, but held a smirk on her face. "Of course, doofus," she lipped. I looked at Hiccup next. "By the way, a word of advice for tomorrow: don't let anyone leave the village before I get there, alright?" He nodded, but Bitwolf still looked confused. "Why?" "Because I know the layout of this island better than some of the villagers, even if I don't live here, per se. Most others would easily get lost if they venture too far." Bitwolf eyed me curiously, but then shrugged it off. As I turned to leave, though, he began to walk behind me.
"Where exactly is it that you live, anyway?" he asked. I turned around to face him, still walking backward. He stopped, expecting an answer, as I began to back through the thick ferns. I grinned. "Sorry, but I can't tell you." I turned around and sprinted into the forest, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye. Once out of sight, I heightened my hearing to see if he would continue to try following me.
"Wait a minute, come back here!" Bitwolf yelled. "I'm not into childish games, just tell me where you live!" "Hold it right there, Bitwolf," Astrid snapped. "Don't even try to follow him." "And why not?" "Because for one, if Hawken doesn't want to be found, or doesn't want something to be found, it's not going to be found. Two, if he finds you following him out there, it's likely you'll end up swimming back to Berk."
I smirked and turned around, changing back to stealth dragon and taking to the air. As I glided unseen across the forest, I happened to glance out toward the ocean. A vast expanse of blue, dotted in the distance by the spouts of a pod of whales. During calm days like that one, the ocean was soothing, comforting. Nothing to worry about, just a small speck like a bird off in the distance. I turned my head back forward and….
Hold it. I looked back out across the ocean. There was the speck on the horizon, and as I watched, I noticed it was too big to be a bird. Nothing too unusual, since wayward dragons often passed through ,staying a night or two on the island before moving on. However, this speck wasn't moving away or getting closer, and as I watched, it blinked out of view.
That was not good. There were only a few species of dragon able to vanish midair, and they weren't exactly common, either. I shuddered, but knew there was nothing I could do at the moment, not tonight. I needed to just get home and rest, because now I knew for sure that I would have to be on top of my game tomorrow.
I reached the portal and dove through, changing back and walking into my home. My sister was sitting on the couch as I walked in, watching some cartoon on the TV. She must have noticed how I felt, because she came up and hugged me. "What's wrong?" she asked. I ruffled her hair. "Nothing, not that you need to worry about anyway." Apparently I wasn't very convincing. "Is something happening on Berk?" Holly asked. "Are Astrid and Hiccup alright?" I sighed. "They're fine, but we have another tribe visiting who still doesn't get along with dragons." Holly's eyes widened, but I stopped her before she could say anything. "Don't worry, the dragons are safe, and we're taking extra care nothing happens. No one's in danger or anything." Under my breath, I muttered, "yet." I looked down at Holly again. "I've got to get some sleep, okay? Where's mom?" "Downstairs. You missed dinner by the way." I frowned, but then shrugged. "I'll just have a big breakfast then. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" "Okay, love you!" I smiled. "I love you too. Good night."
I got very little sleep that night, in reality. Too many images were running through my head. There were too many ways for things to go wrong, and too few ways to prevent it.