So here's the next chapter. It's not my favorite, but hey, I tried. I've been really busy with school and horses so I did this chapter really quickly. Hope you can all follow whatever I was trying to say here and get some humor out of it!

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Fishing

I sat down on a rock next to the lake and started unpacking my gear. I think I had all I needed. I wasn't the best in this area, mostly because I had never cared enough about it to pay attention. Dad had tried his best, but he gave up when I was little. Fishing. A man's job. Sure, working the big boats and nets was hard work, but I didn't really seen the glory in reeling in fish stupid enough to bite a hook with a worm on it. So any time anyone had tried to show me how to fish, I usually went off looking for trolls or something that could be of some use. Well, useful in my opinion. Dad didn't believe in trolls.

I wasn't sure about my skills, but there was no way I could be worse than Toothless. He couldn't catch a fish to save his life. They could be swimming casually right at the surface and he'd still miss them. If all dragons were that bad at fishing, it was no wonder why they always stole our livestock for food.

I took out the pole and set up the hook with bait. Toothless hadn't showed up yet. He probably was off somewhere hiding, ready to pounce and take the bag of fish I always brought. There wasn't a bag today. The fishermen hadn't brought back the normal load so everyone was keeping a close eye on their food supply until they did, which means twenty missing fish would have been a lot more obvious now than before. I couldn't risk someone finding out I was stealing food; it might lead them to Toothless. So for today, I decided to try something new. I was going to, willingly, fish.

A black nose nudged my side. I looked over to see Toothless staring back, obviously confused about the lack of food. He made a few noises that emphasized his question and kept nudging me.

I smiled at him and scratched under his chin in greeting. "You'll get your food soon enough big guy. You're just going to have to be patient."

The Night Fury gave a frustrated humph and walked away indignantly. I should have known better. Toothless didn't like waiting. But as I finished setting up he became more and more interested in what I was doing and eventually sat down behind me. Now came the part that required skill. I stood up, bringing the lengthy pole behind me and took a breath. With a sharp twist of the wrist and arm the line went flying…as did the entire pole. I had forgotten the most important rule: always hold on to your fishing pole tightly. It landed with a splash in the center of the lake and sunk to the bottom. My heart stopped. That was my DAD'S pole.

I had to get it back one way or the other. Taking off my shirt and shoes and placing them neatly on the rock, I dove into the water. It was cold. REALLY cold. I came up with a yelp. Toothless, alarmed by my sudden cry, jumped in after me. He pulled me back out and dropped me on the shore, giving me a look that let me know he questioned my sanity.

"I have to get the pole if you want something to eat, Toothless." He seemed to perk up a little then, and turned toward the water. He dove in with a splash that got my dry clothes soaking. He wasn't down long. After about a minute Toothless shot up out of the lake and landed on the shore with the pole between his teeth. He grinned at me, obviously proud of his achievement, before…

"Toothless, NO!"

…the pole snapped in half.

We both stared down at it, Toothless looking disappointed. I was dead. No, I was worse than dead. I had no idea how to fix a fishing pole and if it didn't look the same as it was before Dad left…

Toothless nudged my side again. He was still hungry. I guess feeding a hungry dragon that probably could eat me if it wanted to would have to come first. I took a last dreaded look at the broken pieces of wood and turned back to the tackle box.

Inside there was a net. It was a small one, but I guess it would have to work. I had seen villagers use nets enough times to guess how it was done. Bending over with the net ready in my hands, I scanned the churned up water for fish. There was a sliver of silver, some movement, and suddenly a small school of fish appeared out of the cloudy muck. This time, I'd get it right. I threw the net on top of them and let the weighted ends hold them down. Doing my best not to create any openings I grabbed the sides and hauled in the catch. The creatures twisted and turned, fighting as hard as they could. I had gotten a lot of them and it was difficult to hold them all down. Once I managed to get the fish a safe distance away from the water I opened the net. The dozen or so fish flopped around, gasping for air. I was quite proud of myself despite my fear over the broken pole. My first successful catch, and I did it all alone.

Toothless appeared almost immediately. He seemed to attack the fish, munching happily, his patience rewarded. I kept out of his way and went back to the pole to see how bad the damage was. It was shattered in a few places and broken into two pieces. It didn't look like I was going to be able to fix this. My worst fears realized, I felt like I was ready to die. After a few minutes Toothless had finished his dinner and purred contentedly. I watched him as he went to his favorite spot in the sun to rest and my eyes passed over the net…

"TOOTHLESS!"

It was torn to shreds. Little pieces of it were everywhere, mixed with broken fish bones and scales. I turned my head to glare at the dragon. He spit out a piece of the net and gave me an innocent smile.

This was a man's job. No one but a man had the mental strength to handle this.

I let out a string of curses.

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Oooh…Hiccup's cussing! Maybe I ought to up the rating. Anyway…yeah. Definitely not my best but I guess it came out alright. I actually started writing with a completely different idea than what I finished with. Read and Review! Love y'all!