How to Train your Dragon
By Thora Diana Haddock
Chapter 7-I didn't think it was a Big Deal
I have gotten myself into bad situations before, but this was the worst one yet! As we continued to approach the arena, my hands were getting very sweaty from holding my sword, it was getting harder and harder for me to breathe, and I was pretty sure I was going to pass out any second from the nervousness and it only got worst as we got closer to the arena.
When we got to the gates of the arena, Gobber lifted the first barred gate, and then we walk to the second gate. "Welcome to Dragon Training!" said Gobber as he lifted the second gate. Asgerd took a big breath to calm himself. (If he does get nervous.) "This is it, no turning back." he said. Then we got our first look at the inside of the Dragon Training arena. It was basically a pit. On the upper viewing floor were iron bars and a chained ceiling. There were five doors each sealed by logs in different directions, the dragons are probably kept there. There were also racks of weapons of all kinds. It would have been amazing if I wasn't filled with worry about killing dragons. Call me soft, but just because I want to be a warrior, doesn't mean I like the idea of taking a life.
"I hope I'll get some serious burns." said Tuffnut pumped up with excitement. "WHAT? HE WANTS TO GET BURN TO A CRISP?" I thought to myself. "Or maybe even some mauling like on my shoulder or lower back." he added. "ARE THESE GUYS LOOKING FOR A CHANCE TO GET SCARS?" Iknow scars are considered badges of honor, but just wanting them right on the first day of training is just asking for trouble. "Yeah well, it's only fun when you get a scar out of it." Asgerd said. Great! Not him too! This is really not helping with my nerves at all.
"Yeah, no kidding, right?" I said with a nervous chuckle. "Pain. Love it." "What's with you Leif?" asked Tuffnut, "You're all uneasy all of a sudden." Great another unwanted question. How am I going to cover this one? "Um… I just haven't seen many dragons." I said. "How's that possible?" asked Fishlegs. "Well, there's … not very many houses on my island, so we don't have very many attacks there, since dragons only raid places with a lot of food. And when there is one, my father keeps me in the basement for my safety. He didn't want me to fight dragons until I learned how to do it." "Oh I see." said Fishlegs. Well that worked out.
"Let's get started!" said Gobber, who had just put a hook attachment on his missing arm. "Oh I've almost forgot. The recruit who does best in the whole first year class in the next few weeks, will win the honor of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village." he said. Oh man, this just keeps getting better and better. "Well, we all know who will win that honor now will we?" said Snotlout being full of himself again. Everyone else just rolled their eyes annoyed, and then they walked towards the center of the arena.
I just looked down at my feet feeling really sick to my stomach. Gobber walked up to me and patted me on the back, walked me towards the others, and said, "Don't worry. You're small and a bit on the scrawny side. Dragons don't really go for those kinds of people. That will make you less of a target. They'll see you as sick or insane and go after the more Viking-like teens instead." Then he giggled a bit. "Funny," I said, "I thought those giant lizards would love to have a specimen like me for dinner. Thanks anyway for trying to make me feel better." I said with an un-amused smile. "No problem!" said Gobber cheerfully not taking what I said seriously.
He walked in front of us, while I bowed my head to the others when I got in line. "Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight!" Gobber said, and then he started pointing to the doors where the dragons were held. "The Deadly Nadder!" he said pointing to a door being banged hard. "Speed: 8 Armor: 16." Fishlegs said determined. "Oh boy, hard head!" I said to myself feeling a bit more nervous than before. "The Hideous Zippleback." Gobber said pointing to a door that was being rammed harder than the Nadder's. "Plus eleven stealth times two." Fishlegs stated. "Double trouble!" I said even more nervous. "The Monstrous Nightmare." Gobber said pointing to the door with a vertical log blockade that was being banged the hardest. "Fire Power: 15." Fishlegs said getting more excited. "Burning Hot!" I said suddenly feeling that this was a really bad idea. "The Terrible Terror." Gobber said pointing to a door that had more blockades than the others. "Attack: 8, Venom: 12." Fishlegs said rearing to go. "WAIT, VENOM!" I said really worried. "CAN YOU TWO STOP THAT?" shouted Gobber, who was getting really irritated with us and our comments. We stood up straight immediately and kept our mouths close. He rolled his eyes and put his hand on a lever next to a door with a horizontal log blockade. "And…" said Gobber continuing what he was saying before he shouted at us for our comments, "… the Gronkle." He finished. "Jaw Strength: 8." Fishlegs whispered to me, probably not wanting to be caught again. "Definitely don't want one of those to take a bite out of you." I thought to myself.
"Wait Gobber," said Snotlout looking more scare than when we started the classes, "Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked. "Like I said before, I believe in…" Gobber started. "Learning on the job." all of us said at the same time in bored voices and rolling our eyes. "Right!" said Gobber, "So you know what's next." And before we knew it, he pushed down the lever, the log blockade was lifted by a cord, the doors flew opened, and the Gronkle came hovering at us like there was no tomorrow.
It was a greenish yellow brown, with bat wings and ears, hovering like a hummingbird. Its jaw was really big; no wonder its jaw strength was eight. On the lower part of its jaw were warts of some kind. The scales were a little bit glossy, meaning it was a female. I have heard that the scales of a male dragon are lot shiner than a female's. She looked really furious and she was heading straight for us.
Without a second thought, we all scattered in different directions trying to evade her. My mind was in a blur. Gobber said that one who does best in the class will "kill" a dragon, so I don't think have to kill it in this class…yet. "Today is about survival." Gobber said. Oh well that's oblivious, you don't want to die on the first day of training. "If you get blasted… you're dead." Gobber said. This definitely isn't the idea of someone's first class of Dragon Training for first year kids like us. The Gronkle flew past us, went right into a wall, and swallowed a few loose rocks. I have heard that Gronkles melt rocks in their stomachs for their fire that was almost like exploding lava rocks. Looks like she's going to bring on some serious heat.
"Quick!" shouted Gobber, "What's the first thing you will need?" he asked. "A Doctor?" I said too tense to give a serious answer. "Plus Five Speed?" said Fishlegs, who looked like he was about to wet his pants any minute. "A Shield." Asgerd said giving the oblivious answer. "Shields. Go!" ordered Gobber. And with that we had our shields at our sides in an instant.
Tuffnut was having trouble coordinating his hands with his shield and spear. They kept getting tangled with each other. Ruffnut and the other girls on the upper viewing floor were laughing at the top of their lungs at Tuffnut's clumsiness. "I guess the eggs we had for breakfast this morning and the way you boys are moving aren't the only things scrambled." Ruffnut said. "What did I said about being quiet?" Tuffnut yelled. "Try and make me, Big Brother!" she yelled back. They were so focus on fighting each other with their words, (when they rather be fighting with their fists) that Tuffnut didn't notice that the Gronkle caught sight of him and was heading straight for him. "TUFFNUT LOOK OUT TO YOUR LEFT!" I yelled trying to warn him, but when he turned to his left, the Gronkle shot a fireball at him and it shattered his shield in pieces sending Tuffnut flat on his back. "Tuffnut, you're out!" Gobber said in a bored voice. "What?" Tuffnut asked dizzily. "Are you okay, Tuff?" I asked. "I'm fine, but who's Tuff?" Tuffnut said too dizzy to think straight while he got up.
"Those shields are good for other thing." Gobber said, "Noise! Make lots of it to throw off a dragon's aim!" Immediately, we hit our shields with our weapons, making clanking noises. The Gronkle started shaking weird, her eyes were going around in different directions. I didn't know it, but she was seeing multiples of us. We all began to circle around her still banging our weapons against our shields.
"All dragons have a limited number of shots." Gobber said continuing his lesson, "How many does a Gronkle have?" We stopped banging our shields to try to answer Gobber's question, then the Gronkle snapped out of her confusion and shot a look at us. With that, we scattered again. While they were trying to get back at the dragon, I went behind the weapon rack to catch my breath. Seems cowardly I know, but I had been jumping, swinging my weapons, dodging, aiming, and doing a lot of physical stuff half the day (And I'm not using this as an excuse either). "Five?" I heard Snotlout guess. I would have corrected him, but I didn't know the answer. "No. Six!" Fishlegs answered (of course) as he raised his shield over his head. "Correct, Six!" said Gobber cheerfully, Fishlegs was so beamed with pride of his dragon knowledge, that he didn't notice the Gronkle stopped, flew backwards, and turned to her right. She was right behind Fishlegs. "I really don't-" Fishlegs started to say, but he was interrupted when the Gronkle shot her fire at him. It hit Fishleg's shield and it flew right out of his hand. "Fishlegs, out!" shouted Gobber in a bored voice. Immediately, Fishlegs ran with his hands in the air (Which made him look like he was running on his tip-toes) to the side of the arena to join Tuffnut screaming at the top of his lungs.
"Leif!" Gobber shouted at me. He noticed I was behind the weapons rack. "Get in there!" he ordered. I side stepped to the left; out of my hiding place in a crouched position. Then the Gronkle shot a fireball at me, making one less shot for her. I side-stepped back to my right behind the weapon rack. I poked my head out and when I saw the coast was clear, I ran out to help out, ready for action.
I stopped when I saw Snotlout flirting with the girls on the upper viewing floor again. I rolled my eyes and groan; this is really not the time for him to be making goo-goo eyes at them. "So anyway, I'm moved to my parent's basement. You ladies should come by sometime to watch me work out, since you like watching me clean the floor with these guys." "Oh come on, you were just stumbling around the whole time and you almost fell asleep on your feet!" I thought to myself. They still didn't paid attention to Snotlout; they were still looking at Asgerd. He was right behind Snotlout, eyes focused on the Gronkle, ready to strike her at any time. "Hey!" Snotlout said started to get annoyed with the blonde-haired boy. Since Asgerd moved here, Snotlout's girl problems have gotten worse than usual. So, they were pretty much rivals, however I don't think Asgerd is interested in finding a girlfriend. But I kind of hope I would be an exception. Girls pretty much forgot Snotlout existed. "Pretty boy! Stop showing off for the ladies!" Snotlout shouted. Then the Gronkle started to light another shot at the two boys, but Asgerd cart-wheeled away to his left. The Gronkle shot her fireball and it sent Snotlout flying to the wall. "Snotlout! You're done!" shouted Gobber.
Asgerd landed to the front-right of me. I was flabbergasted how amazing he was. I shyly walked a bit to him. I know I'm supposed to pretend I'm a boy, but I just can't help it when he's around. Not to toot my own horn, but there's a chance Asgerd and me could be the two best students in the class. "So I guess it's just you and me, huh?" I said trying to start a conversation. "Nope, just you." Asgerd said running to the left. "What?" I said confused. But it was too late; the Gronkle shot its fireball at me right and it hit my shield. "One shot left!" Gobber informed us. However, if I remember correctly, the Gronkle can refill its shot limit by melting more rocks in its stomach.
I got back up, meaning that I was still alive. I grunted angry, I couldn't believe that Asgerd left me to deal with the Gronkle. If I wasn't pretending to someone else, I would have given him a piece of my mind to properly treat a lady. I hit my left fist on the floor, and then I realized that my shield was gone. I looked panicky for it and saw it rolling away from my left. I got back up and ran to get my shield, franticly trying to grab the edge, but it kept getting out of my reach. Little did I know that the Gronkle was heading straight for me.
"THO… I mean, LEIF!" shouted Gobber. I stopped when I heard him say my pretend name and turned around to see what was wrong. When I did, I saw the Gronkle and stumble backwards into the wall and the Gronkle blocked me from escaping. I was in the same situation as I was yesterday with the Night Fury. I could hardly breathe, at least the Gronkle didn't pin me with her paw like that Night Fury did. The dragon was preparing to shoot her last fireball at me. I turned my head to my left; this dragon wasn't going to show me mercy like the Night Fury did. I was ready to except my fate, once I heard the blast; I immediately curled into a ball, hands over my heads. When I opened my eyes, I noticed I was still in the training ring. I looked up and saw Gobber, who had his hook attachment on his missing arm in the Gronkle's mouth, trying to keep her away from me.
"And that's six." Gobber said. The Gronkle was struggling to get away from the veteran Viking. "Go back to bed, you overgrown sausage!" Gobber told the Gronkle as he put her back in her cage in the wall. Once the Gronkle was in, Gobber pulled the lever to its original position, closing the cage. Then he turned to us. "You'll get another chance, don't you worry." he said trying to cheer us up.
"Are you guys okay?" I asked Tuffnut, Fishlegs, and Snotlout (He's still my cousin.) "Yeah, we're okay!" said Tuffnut. "Thanks for asking!" said Fishlegs. "Yeah! Great! Better than you anyway." said Snotlout in a bad mood trying to get under my skin. Gobber grabbed my right arm to help me on my feet.
"What happen?" Gobber asked in a whisper, "You were doing fine, until this class." he said confused. I couldn't tell him about the Night Fury, I have to think of a reasonable let true excuse. "Um… the Nightmare yesterday really gave me quite a fright." I said, "I must still not be over it." "Well okay, just remember," he started, "Dragons will always…" then he stopped to give me a serious look, "Always… go for the kill."
I looked at the crater created by the Gronkle's fire. I walked out the arena with the others. I decided to go to the forest to try and find the Night Fury again. What Gobber said really got me thinking. I turned towards the direction of the forest, and then Asgerd saw me. "Where are you going, Anderson?" he asked. "I'm just going for a walk." I said. "Alright," said Gobber, "Just come to the great hall at sunset, we're going to go over what we learned today." "Okay!" I called back. "I will!" Are dragons really that horrible? I have to find out, no matter what.