CHAPTER TWO- what is this magic?
Despite all Gareth's attempts to discourage him Drayko lived most of his life happily with his friends, Leif and Fishnut- don't worry, Fishnut isn't nearly as disgusting as his name, it's just his parents' names mixed together. But as they reached their late teens Drayko began to notice something strange about some of the young people in the village.
"Hey Fishnut?" Drayko asked his friend one sunny afternoon. "...Hmm?" Fishnut wasn't looking at him; he was paying very close attention to the daughter of a fisherman who lived on the far side of the village.
Drayko frowned and turned Fishnut's head physically to face him. "Why are you staring at her?" he asked. "What's she doing that's so interesting?" Fishnut only smiled and turned Drayko's head to face her.
Drayko had been correct, she wasn't doing anything spectacular. She was just picking up the crates of fish her father had caught. As he watched he found that his eyes were drawn to the fish every few seconds.
"I'm hungry..." said Drayko to himself.
"Yeah, me too." His tone implied that he was not hungry for fish. Drayko glanced at his friend, following his eyes to see what he was really staring at. It was the fishermen's daughter, but why- he couldn't think of it until he realised that she had to bend over fairly low to get the crate of fish off the ground.
Drayko shoved Fishnut to the side so hard that he fell to the ground. "You pervert." Drayko mocked jokingly as he began to walk away.
"Don't go and pretend like you haven't noticed the girls either Drayko!" Fishnut called after him.
As he thought to himself he noticed that he had been glancing at girls when he hadn't necessarily needed to. He sincerely hoped that Hiccup wouldn't give him 'the talk' any time soon.
Luckily however, Drayko's inadequate worries were not confirmed when he got home, because it seemed that Hiccup, Astrid, and a few more adults were going on some sort of quest to another village to help in a war of some kind, so Leif and Drayko were going to stay at Fishnut's house, seeing as they were friends.
When Leif and Drayko were strolling across the village to Fishnut's home, Leif brought up an uncomfortable question that was almost as bad as if Hiccup had suddenly brought up the talk. "Have you picked out a prospective girl to date?" Drayko froze. "Uh...why do you care?" Leif shrugged and wrapped his arm around the young boy's neck. "Am I not allowed to be nosy in my brother's love life?" he ruffled Drayko's hair roughly before letting go, "I just happened to see you and Fishnut watching the fisherman's daughter and thought you may want to give love a try."
"Fishnut was the one staring; I just wanted the fish she was carrying." Drayko spat simply. Leif gave a hearty laugh. "Always thinking about your stomach." He stated. Drayko frowned. He was not going to win in this conversation. "And here I thought you might have trouble living in a house with a girl." He walked through the door into Fishnut's house so fast that he missed Drayko's shocked glare.
"What do you mean-" Drayko began as he walked into the house. It was a large one floored house with many rooms lacking doors. In the middle of the wide living room sat Fishnut, and girl he had never seen before. The boy stood with a frown. "Sorry guys, my useless sister can't stay with her friends because they're going with their parents."
"I'm not as useless as you are fish nuts." The girl stated harshly. She looked at the brothers. "Hi Leif, and-" she looked at Drayko with slight surprise. "Hi Drayko, I don't think I've ever talked to you before. That seems a bit silly, seeing as you're a close friend of my half-wit brother." She walked over to him. "I'm Tofa." She continued as she held out her hand.
Drayko stared at her hand as if it was a foreign object. "Um...h-hi Tofa." He said with the ease of the clumsiest dork. He grabbed her hand and stared at her. Her smile slowly faltered as she realised Drayko had no idea that he was supposed to shake his hand.
"Ah-ha..." she said as she took her hand back, "yeah, I'll go get dinner." She walked off.
"Make sure you grab some uncooked meat Tofa!" yelled Leif. She poked her head out of the kitchen. "Why?" she asked. "I uh, can't eat cooked food." Drayko explained nervously. She gave him a confused look but let it go, disappearing back into the kitchen.
Leif elbowed Drayko accusingly. "You like her." He whispered. "I do not like her, he's Fishnut's sister for Thor's sake!" Drayko whispered back.
Fishnut walked over to them. "What are we whispering about?" he asked softly. Leif smiled at the other boy, "Drayko's has a crush on Tofa."
"EW! That's my sister!" Fishnut whispered furiously to Drayko.
Drayko frowned. "I said I didn't like her!" he hissed under his breath.
"He's got a point Drayko, she is his sister." Leif whispered, totally ignoring Drayko's comment.
"But-"
"Then again, he should have freedom to date whoever he wants." Leif continued to Fishnut.
"I don't like-"
"Fine!" Fishnut whispered. "Drayko, if you're so utterly serious about this, I'll permit it," he leaned in close, "but if you break her heart I'll kill you."
"YOU GUYS!" Drayko screamed. "I DON'T LIKE HER!" he threw his arms up in the air.
"Don't like who?" Tofa's voice rang from inches away. Drayko's eyes grew wide at the cliché style his life seemed to have taken. He turned with an embarrassed smile plastered to his face. "n-no one." He stuttered.
The white blond boy could hear his friends laughing at him behind his back. "Those insensitive little shi-" he hissed under his breath.
"I got your meat for you Dray. It's on the table." She stalked back into the kitchen with a smile.
Fishnut wrapped his arm around his friends and grinned with ill intent. "Yeah Dray why don't you go get your meat." Leif made ridiculous kissing noises behind him.
Drayko growled and shoved Fishnut off him, walking into the kitchen leaving the two chuckling boys behind.
Tofa waved at him as he walked in; concentrating more on making sure the food didn't burn than anything else. She pointed at the table; it held a plate of raw meat. Drayko smiled and walked by her. "So uh..." he tried to think of something relevant to say, "Do you have a boyf-...dragon?" he asked, almost giving himself away.
"Not yet, I want to find my own in the wild. I'm going to go hunting for one on my eighteenth birthday." She replied. "Do you have a dragon?"
"No, I just don't like riding them." He mumbled. "It's not like I'm afraid of heights or anything." He explained hands up to defend himself. She smiled at him. "...right." she said with a hint of disbelief. "Are you going to eat or are you just going to let it rot?"
"Oh! Sorry..." a blushed creeped across Drayko's face. "Sorry..." he mumbled again. He heard her laugh softly. He sat down and ate quietly.
Leif and Fishnut walked in. Fishnut made a retching noise. "How can you eat like that?" Drayko looked over at his friend. "Whu ooh ou een, I eap lie ith all uh thime?" Drayko tried to say around a hunk of meat.
Leif sighed. "He said: 'what do you mean, I eat like this all the time'." Drayko's older brother explained. Drayko nodded. Tofa walked over to him and grabbed his shoulder. "Don't talk with your mouth full." She warned. His face went red as he swallowed. "...sorry..." he whispered.
Fishnut gagged. "I think...I'm going to be sick." He ran out of the kitchen.
Drayko frowned and looked down at his plate as Tofa set up three more plates around him. Leif sat down on the other side of Drayko. "It's not that gross, trust me, I've had to live with it all my life." He patted his brother on the back.
They ate in light hearted silence until Fishnut re-entered the room, looking grim. "You alright fish nuts?" Tofa asked teasingly. Leif snorted as Fishnut glared at his sister. "Don't call me that." He growled, he walked over to the table and sat down grudgingly.
They ate in more silence, but this time it was stressed, at least for Drayko.
"You know, I can go eat somewhere else..." he offered.
"No, you stay right here Drayko. If fish nuts is that against it then he can leave." Tofa said. This comment made Drayko feel a little better, though Fishnut gave him an angry look. He smiled and finished his dinner in peace.
