Chapter 6
Dragon training
Part 1
"Is the dragon all healed up?"Merida asked Hiccup. "Yes and ready for training."Hiccup said.
They had all been woken up to a screaming Rapunzel,which Jack was still grumpy about,and told to meet up at the spot where Jack first met them. "So how exactly does this training work?"Jack asked.
"Pretty simple. First I evaluate their speed. Then we start them off with the basics,like how to fly,make sharp turns ect. Then we teach them how to get along with each other,trust one another and learn to communicate. Then,when he's older and up for it,we teach him how to fight alone and with his dragon."Hiccup explained.
"Well that dragon has certainly has the strength to excel at fighting."Elsa said. "Yes but it seems like his communication with people other than with James is not great."Rapunzel said. "Well to be fair we had a net covering him up and took him from his home. If that was me and probably would attack you all."Jack said. "True."Hiccup said. "Let's just hope this training will improve the dragon's communication."Merida said wishfully. The sound of flapping wings filled the air. They all looked up and saw Agnarr and Iduna land,get off their dragons and walked to them.
"Good morning your majesties."Rapunzel said and they bowed,Jack hurriedly followed them.
"Good morning to you all."Iduna replied. "Is the dragon ready to train?"Agnarr asked Hiccup. He nodded. "Good. Merida,Rapunzel a guard is his way with your dragons. Once you have your dragons begin the training." "Ok."Merida said. The king and queen walked back to their dragons and hopped on. " We'll meet you at the training grounds."Iduna said and they flew off. "Merida,Rapunzel." They turned around and saw a guard with two dragons coming their way. "Your dragons."The guard said simply.
"Thank you."Merida said. The guard nodded and walked off. Rapunzel and Merida ran to their dragons and hugged them. Merida's dragon was the same pitch black as Toothless but instead of being completely black his legs,knee below,was white and his snout which kind of formed a Y. Rapunzel's dragon was completely green with red eyes and smaller than the others. "Jack these are our dragons."Rapunzel introduced to him. "Jack this is Pascal,"Rapunzel said,pointing to her dragon. "And this is Angus."Merida said.
"Nice to be acquainted."Jack said to them. "Well,let's to the training grounds now."Hiccup said. They got on their dragons,Jack and Elsa transformed into their dragon selves and they flew east. Seven minutes later Jack was able to see the training grounds. There was a spot to practice archery,a place to practice sword fighting,a place for dragons to practice shooting their fire and a spot for both dragon and rider to practice.
Jack landed on the ground and turned into his human self. He looked around and saw the king and queen on top a tall,wide rock that stood before the training grounds. James and his dragon were already there. Hiccup got off Toothless and walked to James. "Alright,are you two ready for training?"Hiccup asked. "Me and Striker are ready sir."James said,giving Hiccup a salute. "Striker?"Merida asked. "That's what I named him."James explained.
"Well,you and Striker better be ready cause today you will train hard."Hiccup said. "We know and are ready."James said confidently while Striker growled in agreement. "Ok. The first thing I need to know is how fast Striker is. I need a better understanding of him."Hiccup said. James nodded. "Merida,Punzie go to the edge of the training grounds."Hiccup said. They nodded and flew to the edge of the training grounds."James,go to where the king and queen are."Hiccup said.
James and Striker waked to where the king and queen was,the entire distance measured about a meter and a half.
They stopped before the rock.
"Is the stopwatch ready,your majesty?"Hiccup shouted to Agnarr. "It's ready."Agnarr shouted. Hiccup nodded and turned to James and Striker. "Alright,on the count of three I want you two to fly to Merida and Punzie then back here as fast as you can."he said. James nodded. "On your mark,get set...go!"Hiccup yelled. As soon as Hiccup said go they were off. They zoomed right past an open-mouthed Jack,already halfway to Punzie and Merida. I'll admit,Striker is a fast dragon Jack thought. When they made it to Merida and Punzie they made a U-turn and zoomed right back to the "starting line." Once they were close Striker flared his wings open,to decrease his speed and landed in front the rock.
"One minute and nine seconds."Agnarr shouted. "Wow that's the third fastest time."Merida said. "Third fastest time?"Jack asked puzzled. "Yeah. Punzie got a minute and fourteen seconds,I got a minute and thirteen seconds,Elsa got a minutes and five seconds and Hiccup got the fastest time being a minute. Everyone else here got lower than those."Merida said. "When it comes to me and Toothless no one can outfly us."Hiccup said smugly.
"You know one day someone will get a faster record than you two."Elsa said. "Maybe,"Hiccup said. "But not for a long time." Maybe today will be that day Jack thought mischievously. "I think I can beat that record."Jack said. Everyone,except Elsa,looked at him as if he just turned into a hippopotamus. "You? Beating my record."Hiccup said in disbelief. "What? Is it so hard to believe that someone can beat your record? Or are you scared that someone will beat your record?"Jack challenged. "You're on Jack."Hiccup said.
"This I got to see."Merida shouted. "Your majesties,we have another competitor."Hiccup shouted. "Well the stopwatch is ready."Iduna said. Jack transformed into his dragon self and walked to the "starting line." "You can do it Jack."Elsa said and Jack shot her his best dragon smile.
"Yeah Jack,she knows you can do it."Punzie teased and Jack shot her a glared. Elsa looked at Punzie in confusion and she just shrugged. "You ready?"Hiccup asked Jack. He nodded. "On your mark,get set...go!"Hiccup yelled. Jack was off in the blink of an eye. When James and Striker did it Jack noticed one mistake that would have saved them time. They did a full U-turn which,already,made them lose about five,six seconds. He,however,had a trick. He hurriedly flapped his wings,going faster and faster. Then when he got to Merida and Punzie he flared his wings to slow down. Now all he had to so was time this right and he could beat Hiccup's record. Two seconds after he flared his wings he quickly turned around and flapped his wings in one,powerful motion giving him tremendous speed.
He shot forward towards the king and queen. Just before he landed he adjusted his stance so that his feet were facing the rock then he slammed into it,feet first. The rock trembled,nearly causing Agnarr and Iduna to fall off.
Once they regained their balance,Agnarr looked at the stopwatch and his jaw dropped open. "Is everything ok father?"Elsa asked,seeing her father's expression. Her father didn't answer her right away,his shocked expression and open mouth frozen on his face. "Dear,you may want to close your mouth."Iduna said to her husband. Agnarr quickly regained his composure.
"What was his time your majesty"Merida asked who somehow managed to appear beside Jack who jumped in startlement. Though his face showed nothing the shocked in his voice was clearly unmistakable. "His time was fifty-five seconds."Agnarr said. Everyone slowly turned to look at Jack. Their faces either had their jaw wide open or was frozen in shock. Jack looked at Hiccup. Hiccup's face was a mixture of awe,disbelief and,mostly,confusion. He looked so confused that Jack laughed. "How?"Hiccup whispered.
"By being the best that's how."Jack replied. Hiccup shook his head and chuckled. "Looks like Frosty has some secrets about him."Elsa said. "Frosty?"Jack asked with a raised eyebrow. "Thought it was a cute nickname." Elsa said with a shrug. "Frosty...I love it Snowflake."Jack said. When Elsa gave him a questioning look he simply said. "A beautiful nickname for a beautiful lady." Elsa blushed and looked away shyly. "Smooth Jack."Hiccup whispered,wink then laughed.
Jack glared at him.
"If you two are done flirting we should get back to training."Agnarr said. "Father!"Elsa exclaimed,now as red as a tomato. Jack blushed as well. Everyone laughed."Alright people back to training,"Hiccup instructed.
"Ok James. Now I'm going to teach you the basics of flying. First thing: Get on your dragon."Hiccup said,hopping on Toothless. James,with Striker's help,got on Striker. "Now here are the basics for flying. First I'm going to teach you how to use your body movements to steer your dragon. We'll start on the ground for practice. To propel your dragon faster lean your body forward and give him a little kick. Not too hard though."Hiccup warned.
James followed Hiccup's instructions perfectly,leaning his body close to Striker's and gave him a soft kick. "Perfect."Hiccup said. "Now to turn Striker lean your body a little to the side and also use your arms to direct him." James nodded and leaned his body to the side while using his arms to steer Striker.
"Alright. Now for making a sharp turn you have to lean your until it's lined up with Striker's side. To avoid falling off,clutch your legs tight against Striker. Careful not to hurt him."Hiccup said. "Ok."James replied. Slowly,he leaned all the way until his body was on Striker's side. "Not bad,just clutch your legs a bit tighter."Hiccup advised. James obeyed and tighten his knees. "Great job James." Hiccup said.
"Man,the way you're doing these perfectly some might say you were born for this."Pynzie praised. James smiled broadly. "Now last but most importantly to stop Striker midair lean your body backwards while using your hands to pull him back until he stops."Hiccup said. James put his hands on Striker's neck and pulled back while leaning his body backwards.
"Alright! Now let's try them all again but this time in the air."Hiccup said. "Yes!"James yelled excitedly,fist pumping the air. Jack chuckled. Wow,he reminds so much of myself he thought. " Well then,let's fly."Hiccup said.
They shot into the sky.
"Now try and keep up!"Hiccup yelled flying away from James. Jack knee what Hiccup was trying to do. He's trying to make James put these moves into work. James,too,knew what Hiccup was doing. "Come on Striker!"James said. Striker roared and flew after Toothless and Hiccup. He leaned closer to Striker and gave him a little kick.
Striker flew even faster.
Good job James Jack thought. Hiccup glanced over his shoulder and saw Striker and James gaining on them. He smiled and turned to the right. James leaned to the right and Striker turned. Now Hiccup made a sharp turn to the left. James followed him and made a sharp turn to the left. Finally,Toothless and Hiccup stopped not too far from James and Striker. James leaned his body back and pulled Striker back. After a few flaps of his wings Striker stopped before Toothless and Hiccup,hovering in the air.
"Did I do good Hiccup?"James asked. "Well James,I'd say you're a natural at flying Striker."Hiccup said. "Alright!"James shouted happily. They flew down on the ground and landed. He patted Striker on the side. "You did good too boy."he said.
Striker nuzzled him.
"Well now that you passed the basics for flying it's time I think it's time to train your trusting ability for one another."Hiccup said. He looked at the sky which was quickly heading into nighttime. "Unfortunately we don't have time. You'll have to finish the rest of your training tomorrow." "Ok."James said. "Father,"Elsa shouted. "We're finishing training for today." "I presume it will be completed tomorrow?"Iduna asked.
"Yes."Elsa said. "Ok. Well,goodnight everyone."she said and they were off. "I could actually use a bit of sleep right now."Jack said feeling tired. "Alright then we'll meet back up here tomorrow morning,"Merida said. "And Punzie,do not scream in my ear tomorrow or so help me I will hunt you down."she threatened.
"Yes please."Jack agreed. "Alright,alright. I won't scream in your ears,"she said. "Just wake up early ok?" "Got it."Elsa said. "Well,goodnight to you all."Hiccup said. "Goodnight."they all said back and flew off to their beds to sleep.
