I was thinking of doing weekly updates, but with seeing how many people are reading this and since almost half of this was done when I finished Toothless's Tale I figured "Aw what the heck? I don;t want to keep my readers hanging" Please enoy!
Standard Disclaimers Apply R&R please!
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Chapter Three: I Nearly Get Blasted
And what, do you think you'd understand?
I'm a boy, no, I'm a man,
You can't take me and throw me away…
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I woke up early the next day dreading what was to come. Sighing, I got out of bed and with deliberate slowness, proceeded through my morning routine in hopes I wouldn't have to deal with so much Dragon Training for the day. Unfortunately, Gobber happened to be walking by and started banging on the front door.
"Oy! Hiccup! Time for Dragon Training!" He shouted from outside.
I groaned, "Coming…" I said grudgingly hefting the axe in both hands and left the house through the front door. Astrid, Snotlout, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and Fishlegs were also there with Gobber who started to lead us to the Kill Ring located in the back of town. I dragged my feet along the path making the gap between me and everyone else as large as I could and not fall too far behind.
What did I get myself into? I thought, I never should have gone on and on about wanting to fight Dragons all those years…I suddenly find out I don't want to fight Dragons and I get stuck in Dragon Training!
We reached the Kill Ring. Gobber turned the crank opening the barred door and stepped inside.
"Welcome, to Dragon Training!" he said.
Astrid, Snotlout, Tuffnut, and Ruffnut all stepped in looking around at the cage roof above them.
"No turning back." Astrid said. She had been looking forward to this more than anything. I wouldn't have been surprised if she was up all night planning out a strategy.
"I hope I get some serious burns!" Tufffnut said adjusting his grip on his spear.
"I'm hoping for some mauling." Ruffnut said, "Like on my shoulder or lower back."
No surprise from those two. Tuffnut and Ruffnut are the craziest thrill seekers you will ever meet. Trust me; their idea of a good time is nearly getting killed.
"Yeah," Astrid said wryly, "It's only fun if you get a scar out of it."
"Yeah. No kidding." I said grudgingly stepping into the ring wishing I could anywhere but here, "Pain. Love it."I added sarcasm dripping from my voice. The others all turned to face me. They all looked at me as if I was a roach they just noticed next to their foot.
"Ugh. Who let him in?" Tuffnut complained.
"Let's get started!" Gobber said energetically as if Tuffnut hadn't said anything, "The recruit who does the best in the class will win the honor of slaying their first Dragon before the whole village!" That got Astrid's attention alright. She was probably imagining the moment of victory.
"Well…Hiccup killed a Night Fury soooo….Does that disqualify him or..?" Snotlout asked trying to sound innocent. The others laughed.
"Can I transfer to the class with the cool Vikings?" He then added which received even more laughs. Tuffnut was actually bent over clutching his stomach. I gritted my teeth trying not to let it get to me.
"Don' worry." Gobber said putting a hand on my shoulder, "Yer small, weak, not much of a target. The Dragons will go for the more Viking-like teens." Not very reassuring but at least I was slightly confident I could at least out run the Dragon fire shots. A moving target's harder to hit. We walked over to join the rest of the class. Gobber, with hands held behind his back began the lesson.
"Behind these doors are just a few of the many species of Dragon you will learn how to fight." He passed a large barred door that was shaking violently, "The Deadly Nadder…"
"Speed…eight….Armor…sixteen." Fishlegs said breathlessly.
Gobber passed another even larger door that was also rattling on the hinges, "The Hideous Zippleback…"
"…Eleven stealth times two…" Fishlegs continued.
The third door Gobber passed was one of the largest and had smoke curling out from the gaps between door and wall, "The Monstrous Nightmare…"
"…Heat Temperature twenty five, Long Range Attack thirty…" Maybe Fishlegs actually ate the Dragon Manual. Wouldn't have surprised me.
"And," Gobber said stopping before door with more bolts and locks than I could count and had the word 'WARNING' scribbled all over it in large, black, messy runes, "The Terrible Terror!"
"Attack eight…Venom…twelve…" Fishlegs would've said more but Gobber had finally reached his limit.
"WOULD YE STOP THAT!" he shouted at Fishlegs.
Gobber limped over to the last door that was being banged at so hard from behind you'd think there was a battering ram and an army behind it. He grasped the lever.
"And now, the Groncle." I braced myself for what was going to happen next.
"Jaw strength eight." Fishlegs whispered to me.
"Whoawhoawhoa wait!" Snotlout bleated in a panic, "Aren't you gonna teach us first!"
Gobber doesn't believe in that sort of thing.
"I believe in learning on the job." Gobber said nonchalantly and pulled down the lever. I had firsthand experience with his teaching methods. I still remember the time I nearly chopped off my own foot the first time I used the grinding wheel.
As the doors opened, a large pig like Dragon-the Groncle burst out at top speed. It was covered in warts and a slight color of puce. It's wings were small, flapping in a blur like a hummingbird's. It was big and bulky, but it had very good maneuverability.
For a few seconds, the Groncle just hovered in place while I and the others recovered from the shock. Then, the Groncle dived at us and we scattered. Good thing I could outrun everyone else here!
"Today, is all about survival! If ye get blasted, yer dead." Gobber said as if we were discussing this over books and paper, "Quick! What's the first thing yer gonna need?"
"A doctor!" I blurted out.
"Plus five speed!" Fishlegs guessed.
"A shield!" Astrid shouted confidently.
"Right!" Gobber shouted, "Shield! Go!"
We all scrambled for the pile of shields in the middle of the ring.
"Yer most essential piece of equipment is a shield." Gobber said as Astrid and Snoutlout easily picked up their shields. I tried to pick one of them up but it wasn't easy while holding the axe Dad gave me. I leaned the axe against the shield and tried to push it onto my right arm. Gobber suddenly was there and shoved it onto my left arm. He keeps forgetting I'm left handed! Well…at least it was easier to hold onto the shield with my left arm.
"If ye must make a choice between a sword and a shield," Gobber continued to lecture while securing the shield onto my arm, "Take the shield!" and shoved me into the death zone.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut had both gone for the same shield-the one with skulls and flames no doubt-and were now both tugging at it furiously.
"Get your hands off my shield!" Tuffnut shouted.
"There's like a million shields!" Ruffneu grunted.
"Take that one it has a flower on it." Tuffnut said, "Girls like flowers-."
THWAK!
"OW!" Tuffnut shouted.
"Oooops." Ruffnut said feigning innocence, "Now this one has blood on it!"
They began bickering again completely oblivious to the Groncle that was zooming around the ring.
BOOM!
The Groncle released a fireball splintering the shield and sending Tuffnut and Ruffnut spinning to the ground.
"Tuffnut, Ruffnut, yer both out." Gobber said.
"What?" both twins said slightly dazed.
"Those shields are also good for another thing," Gobber continued, "Noise. Lot's of it! Use noise to throw off a Dragon's aim."
Immediately we all began banging our axes and hammers against our shields.
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!
The Groncle's eyes spun and it wobbled in midair as its vision began to blur. While Ruffnut and Tuffnut got back to their feet and started arguing again, Astrid, Snoutlout, Fishlegs and I ran around the Groncle making as much noise as we could.
Then I ran for cover.
"Every Dragon has a limited number of shots." Gobber continued on with his lecture, "How many does a Groncle have?"
"Five!" Snoutlout guessed as I dove behind the weapons rack.
"No! No! SIX!" Fishlegs shouted.
"Good!" Gobber said, "Thas' one fer each of ye!"
BOOM!
"Fishlegs out." Gobber said as Fishlegs started running with a loud "AAAHHHHHHHHH!"
"OY HICCUP!" Gobber shouted nearly making me jump out of my skin, "GET IN THERE!"
I started to sidle out from behind the weapons rack then the Groncle saw me and sent a fireball my way. I only just ducked back just in time! Now it only had four shots left. Soon as it was clear I sprinted out from the weapons rack banging my axe against my shield and running in a zig-zag pattern trying to make it as hard as possible for the Groncle to aim and fire at me.
And now right when there's a Groncle flying after us, Snotlout thinks it's a great time to start flirting with Astrid. He was never that bright…
"So I'm moving into my parent's basement." Snoutlout said, "You should come by to workout, you look like you work out." Astrid completely ignored him and made a somersault dive to the side leaving Snotlout wide open. The Groncle saw its chance and…
BOOM!
Snotlout was blasted off his feet and flew back several feet as his shield splintered into pieces. Serve him right…
"Snoutlout yer done…" Gobber said almost bored. What was he waiting for? One of us to get blasted to bits? Or had he just taught way too many classes like this?
"HEEEYAAA!" Astrid cried out while rolling to the side to dodge the Groncle and was suddenly standing right next to me.
It seemed like a good idea at the time.
"So…I guess it's just you and me now huh?" I commented as the Groncle hovered in front of us.
"Nope." Astrid said, "Just you." And sprinted away completely catching me by surprise.
"Wait what?" Next thing I knew…
BOOM! The Groncle's fireball slammed into my shield splintering it and blasted me off my feet and I slammed into the stone walls of the Kill Ring. Seeing stars I tried to right myself and shook my head to clear the dizziness.
"One shot left." Gobber announced. Still slightly dazed, I didn't notice the Groncle flying right at me until it was almost in my face!
"HICCUP!" Gobber shouted. The Groncle opened its maw and I could already see the heated gas rise from its throat. I was about to be blasted! I froze any second the Groncle's last shot would make me nothing more than a black spot on the wall!
At the very last second, Gobber got his hook-hand into the Groncle's jaw and jerked its head to the side sending the fireball flying off to its left making a crater only inches from where I was.
"An' thas' six." Gobber grunted, "Go back to bed ye overgrown sausage…" He grumbled to the Groncle as he struggled to get it back into its cage. Once the Groncle was safely behind the cage doors and locked, Gobber turned to face us.
"Ye'll get another chance don' ye worry…" He said as we all tried to catch our breath. I stood up shakily looking at the crater the Groncle's fireball had made and a shiver went up my spine-yet another close shave with a Dragon. If Gobber hadn't gotten there when he did…I couldn't finish the thought.
"Remember." Gobber said importantly, "A Dragon will always…ALWAYS go for the kill."
Everyone stared at Gobber in a mix of stunned and impressed silence.
Gobber clapped his hands together, "Well, class dismissed." He led the way out of the kill ring. I followed everyone else at a distance. I didn't even hear the comments Snotlout was making about me running for cover. What Gobber had said about a Dragon always going for the kill had jogged my memory of the Night Fury from yesterday. My hand strayed back to the bruise on my throat left behind by the Night Fury's paw…
I had to go back to where I found the Night Fury. As soon as we were back in the village and everyone else was headed for the meade hall, I made my way back to the forest. Retracing my steps from yesterday wasn't that hard. Within minutes, I was back at the boulders where I found the Night Fury.
"A Dragon will always…ALWAYS go for the kill." Gobber had said.
"So…" I said picking up the remains of the bola, "Why didn't you?" If Gobber was right, why didn't the Night Fury just incinerate me when it had the chance? Maybe it was because I spared its life? I continued walking down towards the direction the Night Fury had flown away. I saw some signs that it had crashed into the trees during its flight.
Eventually, I arrived at the edge of a small canyon. There was a pond, grass, and tree roots hanging down into it. It looked like a good place for fishing. It was completely empty.
"Well this was stupid…"I muttered scoffing slightly, "It's probably long gone by-." I noticed something shiny on the rocks at my feet. I crouched down and lifted the object to get a better look.
Dragon Scales…I held the black scale in my hand, It must have come from the Night Fury! But if it did where...?
Suddenly, a dark object flew right past me startling me so much I fell back on my butt. I quickly crawled over to edge and there it was. The Night Fury. The Dragon kept taking off and crashing into the canyon walls no matter how hard it flapped its wings. I couldn't waste an opportunity like this. I leapt down to the ledge below me and pulled out my notebook and started making a sketch of the Night Fury. The Dragon made another attempt to escape but instead of just flying away like I expected, it seemed to be trying to just grab onto the ledge of the canyon walls and climb out, but the stone was too smooth for its paws.
"I don't get it…"I muttered quietly, "Why don't you just fly away?" I finished drawing out the tail. Then, I saw, the left tail fin was missing. The Night Fury tried again to escape but the poor thing crashed headfirst into the canyon wall. I scrubbed out the right tail fin in my sketch.
I did this to you…I couldn't help but feel sorry for it. The Night Fury bounded over to the pond trying to get some fish, but it had no luck as far as I could tell. I set my pencil down-which immediately rolled away and fell down into the canyon landing with a soft thump. I froze as the Night Fury stiffened and turned and saw me. It…no…he made no attempt to attack. He just stared at me as if asking "Who are you? Why are you here?"
The strangest thing was I didn't feel any fear a little maybe, but mostly a strong curiosity, fascination even. I wanted to know more about this Dragon. From all the tales I've heard about Night Furies, I didn't see or feel any of that. Slowly, not making any sudden moves, I stood up. The Night Fury blinked and stayed put. I turned around, and looking over my shoulder walked away from the canyon's edge. This had been the second time I encountered the Night Fury and this time he didn't even try to attack just stared at me curiously.
When I was back at the site of our first encounter I stopped. Was it just coincidence we met or something else? I looked at the sketch of the Night Fury I made again. The left tail fin must have been knocked off when I took him down with my bola ballistae. I felt a twinge of guilt. Sure, I had been brought up being told that killing a Dragon was the greatest thing ever-and never was able to understand how anyone could find killing so enjoyable. But now…I wasn't so sure about anything…
Thunder rumbled overhead. There was a storm coming. I tucked my notebook into my vest and started sprinting back to Berk. A few minutes later, it started to rain heavily and I was soaked within seconds. And the whole time, I kept wondering about the Night Fury…
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And there's chapter three! Read and review please!
Chocobo Scribe
