I'm back again! I was away for Spring Break but now I'm here and I got both Ch. 3 AND 4 right now. I hope you enjoy!

Ch. 3
Second Meeting

I didn't want to do this. I really, really, really didn't want to do this. But, as always, I had no choice. I had tried to stay at home for a little while, hoping to just sneak off to the forge to keep myself busy. Unfortunately, dad had talked to Gobber to make sure I actually went to the stupid training. Gobber even came and woke me up early to make sure I got there.

"Do I have to?" I whispered to him, trying to hold back my yawn.

"You father thinks it'll help you if you learn how to fight dragons," Gobber whispered back. "And so do I."

I snorted, and received a smack to the back of the head.

For the rest of the time, we both stood and waited for the others to arrive. First to arrive was Austen, then Fishlegs, then Snotlout, then the twins. Once we were all there, Gobber opened the wide doors of the arena, a wide smile on his face.

"Welcome to dragon training!"

"No turning back," Austen said in a low voice.

I rolled my eyes. I slowly marched into the ring, feeling like I was walking to my own execution. Even though I was in the back, I could hear all the other teens talking excitedly.

"I hope I get some serious burns!" said Tuffnut.

"I'm hoping for some mauling, like…my shoulder or lower back," Ruffnut responded.

Austen nodded. "Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it."

Why would you want that?

"Yeah, no kidding, right?" I said sarcastically, and they all turned to look at me. "Pain; love it."

"Oh great, who let her in?" said Tuffnut.

"Let's get started!" Gobber called out. "The recruit who does best will win the honor of killing his first dragon, in front of the entire village!"

"Umm, Hicca already killed a Night Fury," Snotlout smirked. "So, does that like disqualify her or something?"

Him and the Twins all laughed at his tasteless joke as they all continued into the arena. I groaned as I walked too. Man, my life sucks. A moment later Gobber came and pulled me from the group.

"Don't worry," he whispered to me. "You're small and weak, that'll make you less of a target. They'll see you as sick or insane and go after the more Viking-like teens instead."

I rolled my eyes. Great advise, I feel so much better. Gobber chuckled as he walked away and I took my spot next to Fishlegs. Out of all the others, Fishlegs was by far the friendliest. He never picked on me or made any fun. He even got picked on sometimes because he knew everything about dragons and loved reading about them so much.

"Hey Hicca," he whispered.

"Hey 'legs."

"Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight," Gobber said loudly, marching around several cages. "The Deadly Nadder."

"Speed 8, armor 16," said Fishlegs.

"The Hideous Zippleback."

"11 stealth, times 2."

"The Monstrous Nightmare."

"Fire power 15."

"The Terrible Terror."

"Attack 8, venom 12-"

"CAN YOU STOP THAT?!" Gobber rolled his eyes, and then an evil grin spread across his face. "And…the Gronkle."

"Jaw strength 8," Fishlegs whispered to me.

I giggled, and whispered, "Thanks."

"No problem."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, aren't you gonna teach us first?!" Snotlout asked, sounding a little scared.

"He's a blacksmith," I said smugly. "He believes in learning on the job."

"Unfortunately for all of you, Hicca is, in fact, correct."

And with that Gobber opened the large cage, and the Gronkle burst through the doors. We all scattered, trying to stay away. Gobber yelled to us over the ruckus.

"Today is about survival. If you get blasted, you're dead. Quick! What's the first thing you're going tah need?"

"A doctor?" I guessed.

"Plus 5 speed?" asked Fishlegs.

"A shield," answered Austen.

"Shield. Go!"

At once we all headed for the pile of shields sitting in the corner. I grabbed one and tried to pick it up, but the ax in my hand made it difficult. Gobber came over, helped put the shield in my hands and shoved me into the middle of the ring.

"You're most important piece of equipment is your shield. If you have to make a choice between a sword or a shield, take the shield."

This was too crazy. What am I even suppose to do? I turned around to see what else was going on, and to my surprise, I saw Ruffnut and Tuffnut start fighting over a shield that had skulls and flames on it. Really? I mean, really?!

"Get your hands off my shield!"

"There's like a million shields!"

"Take that one, it's got a flower on it. Girls like flowers."

I snorted. A second later Ruffnut snatched the shield away and smacked Tuffnut's head with it. I couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"Oops. Now this one has blood on it."

The two continued to go back and forth, both continuously fighting over the shield. Neither of them noticed that the Gronkle was heading right for them. A second later the dragon shot a large blast of fire, destroying the shield and nearly knocking the twins out cold.

"Ruffnut, Tuffnut, you're out," Gobber looked at us. "Those shields are good for another thing; noise. Make lots of it, throw a dragon off its aim."

At his words we all began circling around the Gronkle, banging our weapons against our shields. At the noise the dragon went cross-eyed and started swaying everywhere. Well, at least I can do one thing.

"All dragons have a limited number of shots. How many does a Gronkle have?" Gobber asked us.

"Five?" guessed Snotlout?

"No, six!" said Fishlegs.

"Correct, six. That's one for each of you."

Fishlegs started to speak, but was cut off as the dragon shot some more fire at his own shield. He freaked out and ran away, screaming like a little girl.

"Fishlegs, out."

Okay, now this was getting way too crazy. I've known Gobber for years and I knew that he strictly believed in the whole 'learning on the job' thing, but I didn't expect any of this! I ran off and stood behind a large piece of wood, not wanting to get hit. I waited for a moment before Gobber spotted me and snapped at me.

"Hicca! Get in there!"

"Alright, I'm going!"

I started to make my way out, then jumped away as the Gronkle fired again at me. Nope! I'm staying right here! I peaked over the wood and from the other side of the ring I could see Snotlout talking to Austen.

"So, anyway, I'm moving into my parents basement," he said. "You should come by sometime to work out. You look like you work out."

Then Snotlout's shield got blasted while Austen skillfully somersaulted out of the way.

"Snotlout, you're done."

I looked to see that Austen was now only a few feet away from me. I took a few steps towards him, not sure what to do.

"So, I guess it's just you and me, huh?" I asked casually.

"Nope. Just you."

Austen ran away and I stared after him. Then I felt my shield leave my hand as it was blasted away by the Gronkle.

"One shot left."

I started running after my shield, reaching my hands out to grab it. I barley even noticed the Gronkle was closing in on me.

"Hicca!"

I turned my head to see the dragon was already on me. As I turned my feet slipped and fell on the ground as my head hit painfully against the wall. I gasped, staring down as the Gronkle sniffed at me. Then I growled as it opened its jaws, ready to fire. Then Gobber's hand came up and yanked it away by its jaw, causing its fireball to hit the wall instead of my head.

"And that's six," Gobber grunted, dragging the dragon back to its cage. "Go back tah bed yah over grown sausage! You'll get your chance, don't you worry!"

I panted a little, still shocked at what happened. Gobber quickly came back over and helped me to my feet.

"You alright, lass?" he asked softly.

"Yeah," I said, rubbing my arm. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Gobber nodded, patting my back in a comforting way. Then he turned and looked at all of us.

"That's all for today," he called out. "We'll meet in the Great Hall for dinner, and afterward we'll talk about how you need to improve after today's lesson. Remember, a dragon will always," he looked at me. "Always…go for the kill…"

"So why didn't you…?"

I stared down at the broken bola in my hands. I couldn't stop thinking about the Night Fury. It had me pinned, it could've killed me, but it didn't. It let me go…

After staring at the ropes for another moment I set them down and continued on through the forest. I wasn't paying too much attention and soon found my self entering some sort of cave with light at the other end. I jumped down and started to walk in. Once on the other side I discovered a beautiful cove with a large crystal-clear lake in the middle. Despite the beauty and the peaceful serene, this didn't help me in my search for the Night Fury.

"Well, this was stupid…"

Just as I was about to leave I looked down and saw several black scales scattered on the cave floor. I blinked, then knelt down and picked one of them up, examining it closely. Flawless, and smooth as pearls. I could see my own face reflected against the black surface.

Then out of nowhere something big rushed up on the outside of the cave. I gasped, dropping the scale as I sat back. Taking staggered breaths I slowly crawled forward and peeked out of the entrance. I couldn't believe it; it was the Night Fury! I could see it trying to crawl up the wall and then roughly sliding and falling on the ground. It roared then glided to the other side of the cove. I felt myself start to grin as I gazed at the dragon. Slowly, I started to step out into the open, stopping short of the edge. I watched closely as the dragon continued to try and fail to fly and climb the stone wall. Suddenly my drawing instincts kicked in and I quickly pulled out my sketchbook and charcoal pencil. Taking advantage of every time it stayed still, I carefully drew the dragon into my book, making sure to copy every detail correctly. Within seconds it was finished. Nodding at my current work, I looked back to see the Fury sitting on the ground, looking around, almost hopelessly.

"Why don't you just…fly away?"

It was then that I noticed one of the dragons' tailfins was missing. I rubbed my thumb against the picture, leaving a dark smug where the tailfin used to be. I stared at the image, and a small thought came to me.

Maybe this is why. The bola took its fin off, so now it can't fly. This dragon's stuck on the ground because of me…

A wave of shame seemed to pass over me as I hung my head and my shoulders slumped. I didn't pay enough attention to see that my pencil was slipping out of my hand. By the time I noticed it was already on the edge of the cliff.

"No, no, no-!"

Too late. It fell and hit the ground with a loud clatter. Apparently, it was enough to get the Fury's attention. Its ears perked up a little at the noise, and before I could move it raised its head and spotted me. Its pupils widened slightly and, to my surprise, I heard it start to purr lowly. Perhaps it recognized me? I sat up on my knees, still staring back. I tilted my head to the side, the dragon did the same. I blinked. Then(I don't know what made me do it), I lifted my hand and gave a small wave. The Fury's ears completely perked up, and its purring grew slightly louder. I couldn't help but grin slightly.

As I lowered my hand I leaned over and looked down at the ground. I could see my pencil sitting where it fell. From here I could easily jump down, grab it and get back up in a second. But the dragon wasn't very far away. What if it attacked me? I'd never be able to get away. I kept my eye on my pencil, thinking I should probably just leave it there. Then I heard what sounded like shuffled footsteps coming from close by. I looked up a bit and was shocked to see the Fury was walking towards me. I sat back quickly, and the dragon stopped for a second, too. It looked at me before bowing its head, and I saw it sniff my pencil for a moment. A second later it lifted its head and I saw my pencil in its mouth.

I blinked a few times to make sure I wasn't seeing things. What was this dragon doing? It continued to come closer, crawling up a little on the tall rocks below. Then it reared its head back and tossed the pencil up, which flew up for a second before landing on the ground and rolling over to my feet. I slowly picked it up, stared at it, then looked back at the Fury. It was giving me a curious look, as though waiting for something. I stood up on my feet, the dragons' eyes following me. I gave a small nod, as to say 'thank you,' and the dragon blinked, a satisfied look on its face. Then I slowly started to back up, not taking my eyes off the Fury. Once I was out of the cave, I turned and started to walk home.

Ch. 3 ladies and gents! Now, move on to ch. 4, cause i know you want to! :D