Key:

Normal speech

Thoughts/emphasis

Dragonese

Telepathic communication

Chapter Ten: Lesson Three - How to Train Five Vikings in the Space of Two Days

I was loving my new life. It was Day Three of my stay and Hiccup, Astrid and I were quickly becoming a successful team in the ring. Only downside really was that Stoick hadn't gotten back from the 'talk' with the Outcasts. Enough in that. Recap of this morning:

Flashback:

We stepped into the arena - we were dealing with close-range combat today. Hiccup was a little nervous; having only switched hands the evening before but Astrid and I promised to back him up. This was his chance to prove that he was worthy of becoming a chief (to be honest, he was already by a tenfold). Gobber let loose some of the best swordfighters in the village on us.

"Oh, not the Bladed Six!" I heard Hiccup moan. Time to put secret training into practise. We were split into groups of three and four. Snotlout, the twins and Fishlegs were on first. The task was, simply, to outwit or disarm the Bladed Six. Easier said than done by the looks of things.

"Ow! I am hurt!" Tuffnut yelped as one of the massive Vikings took a swipe at his face. Oh, please. He didn't even bleed! "I am very much hurt!"

"I am seriously beginning to question your teaching methods!" Snotlout moaned. Gobber just sounded bored.

"Find their advantage," he sighed. "Every warrior has one. Find it and use it against them!"

The twins were trying their best to work in tandem but were failing miserably. They had already attempted to use the brutes' size against them but they were extremely agile for people the size of miniature Red Deaths. It wasn't long before Hiccup, Astrid and I were up.

"Remember what I told you," I whispered. Hiccup nodded and Astrid grinned. Clearly, she relished the thought of the danger of being hacked to pieces. Hiccup had remarked on this commenting this earlier by saying 'I'd like to see Astrid lose a limb and laugh at it.' I took that as coming from the resident expert. I started off the attack by vaulting over the brutes using my staff. The manoeuvre took them by surprise and I was able to break a couple of noses. Astrid came in next, shrieking her signature battle cry. Although it made her sound fierce, it caught our targets' attention. The result - Astrid nearly got a bruising. I made a mental note to point that out to her later. Hiccup was the last to join the team and began an impressive six-on-one sword fight between him and the Six. Astrid and I rejoined went on to try and succeed where the twins had failed. We, too, failed. I noticed Hiccup's left leg and that gave me an idea.

"Hiccup! Use your leg," I hissed. Hiccup clearly didn't get what I meant but obliged, managing to give one of the large Vikings a sore foot as his metal foot crashed down on the Viking's boot ("Yeah! Not bad! Not quite what I had in mind, but not bad..."). In a matter of minutes, the Bladed Six were down.

"Impressive," Gobber nodded. "Especially you, Hiccup. I'm glad you found a way to use your disadvantage to your advantage." Hiccup's face slipped into that lopsided grin which he was famous for in my old world. I silently hooted with joy as we strode out of the ring triumphant.

"Thought you said you weren't going to get any better," Astrid teased her boyfriend. I could tell that Hiccup felt like he wanted to playfully punch her in the shoulder but something kept him back. Probably the risk of him getting kicked in the shin or something back.

Flashback Ends

Bringing my attention back to the cove... I had something to say to Astrid.

"Astrid, have you ever considered that your battle cry might be your downfall?"

"Not really," she shrugged. "Why?" My shoulders sagged. Didn't she get it?

"Alright. Hide in the forest and try sneak up on me. "Be as quiet as you can."

Five minutes later.

I could easily hear a rustling in the background as I lounged on a tree stump. I sighed.

"Three, two, one..."

"Gotcha!" Astrid exclaimed, pinning me to the ground. Her cheerful expression faded when I raised an eyebrow. "You heard me, huh?"

"Maybe a lot," I smirked, picking myself up. "You're moving too heavily. Try to feel as light as you can. You know Stormfly? Try to feel as if you are her. Be quick; agile; you are a Deadly Nadder." Astrid nodded. "Try again." So she did, this time, a lot more successfully. I grinned at my own teaching success. We walked back to the cove where Hiccup was practising some sword-fighting moves. I had to admit, he was a natural now that he had switched hands.

"How's it going?" he asked when he saw us.

"Lot better," Astrid grinned. "It's getting late; we should be heading back." When we got back to the village, we were just in time for campfire night - held weekly on Odin's Day. I was looking forward to this, seeing as it was my first.

"I must say, you three are making speedy progress," Gobber praised us. I blushed a little and I could clearly see Hiccup and Astrid's faces glowing with pride. "I do believe we told you our most famous story!" My ears perked up. The others (excluding my two best friends) sagged.

"Not again!" the twins chorused.

"We had that one last week!"

"HEY! If Kyra's gonna stay, she should hear," Astrid snapped.

"Thank you, Astrid," Gobber sighed before proceeded. "It is the tale of the Dragon Shifter." My eyes lit up. Dragon Shifter? That was the first time I'd heard of such a thing. "The legend is famous throughout the Archipelago. The Dragon Shifter is the human incarnation of the dragon god, whose name has been either lost or never known to Vikings. Every hundred years, the Shifter will be reborn into the next tribe." This was awesome. The Dragon Shifter sounded so cool! "They have the ability to harness the powers of the dragons." I nodded. This really was quite interesting. "The Dragon Shifter is normally recognised by flame-like markings on their body..." My eyes widened, though not with interest. "... and is rumoured to be fluent in the language of the beasts!" My face crumpled. What was this? "Though, of course, any self-respecting Viking knows nowadays that the Dragon Shifter is no more. They vanished when the last one popped their clogs years ago!" Gobber chuckled. I strained a laugh but my attention was elsewhere. My eyes drifted to my hand, which crept up to my voice-box. Could... no! It was impossible. All of a sudden, I got to my feet and raced down into the village.

"Kyra!" Astrid and Hiccup called. They caught up with me just outside the Mead Hall. "What's wrong?"

"I just... it's so... incomprehensible!" I spluttered. "I... need to think." The arrival of Snotlout interrupted my thoughts.

"Okay, what happened just there?" he asked.

"I needed some time to think, okay?" I huffed.

"Listen, I don't know who the heck you are or why you're here but there's something off about you," Snotlout spat. I hissed, literally.

"Leave her alone, why won't you?" Hiccup narrowed his eyes. "She's got to last two more days - at least give her a chance."

"Just because you're the heir to this place doesn't mean you can boss people around, cous!" Snotlout snapped. Hiccup's face narrowed and Astrid went for a punch but I got in first. I tackled him to the ground before springing back on my feet and snarling at him. Everything sort of blacked out then.

What was going on? Kyra had just tackled Snotlout with the agility and speed of a Terrible Terror! Hiccup and Astrid stared bewildered as Kyra had a brawl with the bully. Things soon got out of hand and the two moved in but Hiccup stopped when he saw Kyra's face... no... her eyes!

They were the same colour as Toothless'.

"Kyra! Enough!" Astrid gasped, yanking Kyra away before any serious damage could be done. Snotlout scampered away and Kyra collapsed, almost out of breath.

"What happened?" she murmured.

"You tell me!" Hiccup shrugged. "Come on, let's get you home." But before they could go anywhere, a gasp sounded from the Elder's hut. "Uh-oh."

Within seconds, the entire village was there. The Elder panted and gasped before she said anything.

"She is with us!" she gasped. "She is back!"

"Who's back?" someone quizzed.

"Only when fire and water meet will the Dragon Shifter become known to us all!" the Elder gasped before passing out.

"I swear tp Thor, I could just tear that guy to pieces!" Astrid huffed when we reached Hiccup's house. She'd completely ignored the Elder's prophecy and, to be honest, I wasn't giving it much thought either.

"Pretty much beat you to it, didn't I?" I smirked.

"Tell you what, Astrid," Hiccup grinned. "Tomorrow, I'll hold him and you punch!" We stared at him. "Or not." Astrid yawned and headed off to her house. Hiccup seemed to bring up the courage for something. "Oh, and for the record - I think you're a great warrior!" Astrid stopped in her tracks, turned, smiled, and then headed off again. I smirked at the guy's sudden outburst.

"Saw that."

"What?"

"You like her, don't you?" I asked.

"Well, I..."

"Oh, Hiccup. There's no point bottling it up," I sighed. "Why don't you just go over there and tell her how you feel?"

"I... wha...? There is nothing to tell!" Hiccup protested. Yeah, right. "Okay, we're girlfriend and boyfriend. But that's all!"

"Sure," I smirked.

"Listen, Kyra. If I did tell her that... well... look, things are different here," he explained. "Saying something like that - it's the equivalent of proposal!" Wow, hadn't been expecting that.

"I see," I nodded. Hiccup's face went down.

"I don't want to put her under that kind of pressure. Especially because we're only fourteen."

"What's the normal age for marriage here?"

"Sixteen." I paused before answering.

"Two years is a long time. I hope you two hold it together!" I grinned, turning to go indoors. Hiccup laughed.

"Yeah. Me too."

The next morning, Battle Training was put on hold. Hiccup, Astrid and I were practising moves down in the cove when the dragons' ears perked.

"What is it?" I growled.

"The others," Stormfly sniffed. Toothless growled next to her. Sure enough, the twins, Fishlegs and Snotlout came into the cove on top their dragons.

"Guys, what is going on?" Hiccup asked, sheathing his sword.

"Nothing really," Tuffnut shrugged.

"We just want to know what's going on," Ruffnut hissed, dismounting the Zippleback who nodded both its heads in my direction.

"No one from outside the Archipelago should be as good as you," Snotlout growled at me. "Especially you! You said you were from a tribe that were pacifists."

"Yeah, start talking!" Tuffnut threatened. Suddenly, all the dragons rushed to my defence. Oh, brilliant.

"And another thing - why do the dragons act the way they do around you?" Fishlegs asked. He was a little more passive and I trusted him. It was the loonies in front of me whom I didn't trust!

"Long story," I replied.

"Tell!" Ruffnut jibed. I snorted in Dragonese for the dragons to let me be and that I had a plan.

"You... you just...!" Tuffnut stuttered.

"Yep," I sneered.

"Kyra, what are you doing?" Astrid hissed.

"Something crazy," I replied, whipping my staff in front of me and somersaulting over the teens. "I'll talk! But you'll have to catch me first!" And I leapt off into the forest.

"She's nuts," Hiccup moaned, mounting Toothless and shooting after Kyra. Astrid followed and hot on her heels were the other teens. Kyra zipped in and out of the trees at such a speed it was impossible! There was no way a human could outrun a flock of dragons but somehow, she did. She headed further into the forest before disappearing into the skies. Toothless, with his ability to perform a vertical takeoff, was after her in seconds but the other dragons needed a bit of a run up.

"Who is she?" Ruffnut panted.

"I think I know!" Fishlegs cried. Astrid and Hiccup's heads whipped around at the guy who was clinging to Meatlug for dear life. Not good. They spied Kyra waiting for them by a cliff face. She grinned at them before taking off again. The dragons shot after her but Hiccup had the feeling that Barf-Belch, Meatlug and Hookfang were deliberately making their riders as uncomfortable as possible, judging by how they seemed to keep trying to throw the teens off their backs.

I was having so much fun! I was flying around the clouds on my glider (although I really needed a dragon to catch up soon - I was losing altitude) and doing something totally awesome! I could hear voices in my head but I wasn't mad. I knew who they were.

"Alright, guys," I thought. "How's it going?"

"We're still waiting but it shouldn't be much longer until they crack," a rich, deep male voice sounded. I knew on instinct that this was Hookfang talking. Yep - I was telepathically communicating with the dragons! When I spoke to them in Dragonese, they sounded pretty similar. But like this, their true voices sounded in my head.

"Well I hope that's soon!" a grumpy, rather gravelly voice moaned. That'll be Meatlug, the Gronkle. "Fishlegs keeps trying to speed me up and I'm tired!"

"Oh, quit your moaning!" one of the Zippleback head's snapped. I had no idea which one it was but it sounded rather sing-song.

"Yeah, we've got two riders so shut your fat face!" the other added (this one was lower). I stepped in by instructing the other dragons to do what they could to the twins and Snotlout - they were my main targets. One: because they weren't exactly being the most friendly teenagers and Two: because I just felt like it. It wasn't long before my sharp ears picked up the words that I'd been waiting for.

"Okay! We're sorry! For whatever we did..." I heard the twins yelp.

"Just tell us what is going on, please!" Snotlout shouted. I slowed to allow the dragons to catch up.

"Hiccup, can I hitch a lift?" I called, getting dangerously close to the sea. Hiccup nodded and I glided over to Toothless and folded my glider.

"Is it true?" Fishlegs asked, when he'd caught up.

"What?"

"That you're the Dragon Shifter?"

I almost froze. I couldn't be...the Dragon Shifter had vanished...right?

"Is it true, Kyra?" Hiccup added.

"I don't know!" I almost yelped. "How... how can I be?"

"It's the only plausible answer," Toothless growled. It was true. I had those tell-tale marks; I could talk to dragons; I could fly...

"It might just be true..." I whispered. "Maybe that's the reason why I didn't belong where I used to live..." I explained everything. Surprisingly, the teens understood. "I'm not from that world at all...I am a Viking!" This was too cool to be true... I belonged here! I'd found my home!

Lesson Three: How to Train Five Vikings in the Space of Two Days. Easier said than done.