Chapter 9

Today was a wonderful day. Not only did I finally get out of the house to discover I was the village freak, but the same dragon that had made everyone think I was a freak had turned around and decided it was hilarious to drool all over my hair. On the bright side of things, save for a few strands, it had mostly dried. I smelt a bit like smoke though.

Just when I was thinking things couldn't get worse, I pushed my way through the branches and back into the village . . . and ran right into Gobber.

"Hiccup, there you are! I've been looking all over for you." Gobber asked. He slapped me on the back, nearly knocking me over. "Dragon training's in two minutes. We'll be playing with the Deadly Nadder today!"

Of course we were; it was Tuesday, after all. Otherwise known as the worst day of the week. While I hated dragon training on the best of days, I especially hated dragon training with the Nadder. Nadders were ridiculously quick and agile, like a winged hare that had eaten too many mushrooms. Combining them with a clumsy, gawky person like me . . . it was a recipe for disaster. It didn't help that Gobber liked to stack things in favour of the Nadder.

His hook snagging my collar, Gobber dragged me into the arena, where I found he had set up a tall maze. I groaned. I'd done this before; I knew what would happen. We'd run through the twisting maze, and the Nadder would be perched on the walls above, picking us off one by one. It would go after Tuffnut and Ruffnut first, because they couldn't keep their mouths shut, then Fishlegs because he was as awkward as me, and then the fun would really start.

"Alright, grab your weapon, Hiccup!" Gobber called.

I walked over to the weapon rack, where everyone else was already waiting. Most of them didn't say much, but Snotlout jeered, "Hey, if it isn't the star of the raid!"

I sighed.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said. "What happened in the raid doesn't matter. You know the drill, Hiccup."

"Stay out of your way," I droned.

Astrid pointed at me. "Don't you forget it."

When the Nadder was released, I did exactly as I was told. I tiptoed through the maze, staying far away from Astrid. The twins were already arguing, and I could hear Snotlout loudly making excuses for something he had done.

"Ruffnut, Tuffnut, you're out!"

And that was two down. I counted down the seconds until Fishlegs was eliminated (two hundred and sixty five . . . longer than I expected). That left the three of us, soon to be two.

"Make way!" Snotlout shouted. He came barging through the corridor I was waiting in, the Nadder hot on his heels. I pressed into the wall, holding my shield in front. Snotlout ran past me, and so did the Nadder, too focused on the hairy, screaming boy to worry about me. Snotlout, while attempting a turn, smashed right into one of the maze's wall. Both he and it fell over with a plop.

"Hah, take that, wall!" Snotlout said. He grinned –

And the Nadder was on him.

I watched with mild interest.

To Snotlout's embarrassment, Astrid charged in to his rescue. She slammed her axe (the head of the axe, not the bit; we weren't supposed to kill the dragons just yet) into the Nadder's head. The Nadder reeled back with a shriek, stumbling backwards, and retreated to the safety of the maze's walls.

Right above me.

This could only end well.

Wings spread, the Nadder hissed in Astrid's direction; it hadn't noticed I was there. It continued not to notice I was there, until Astrid finally recognized me hiding behind my shield. That moment where her eyes widened, where she paused, was everything the Nadder needed to know something was up.

It looked down.

I smiled awkwardly at it.

In all honesty, I can't really blame the Nadder for how it reacted. If I had looked down to see a Terrible Terror at my feet, I would have kicked it. Similarly, the Nadder jumped right onto my back, knocking my helmet off and me down, and stomped on me. I should have been done after that, but hanging out with Toothless had given my body tolerance against random assaults by heavy weights, and the Nadder was lighter than Toothless was.

Since I was pinned to the floor, my cheek being ground into the dirt, I had a very weird view of Astrid. She was scowling, looking a bit frightened, or maybe worried; it was hard to tell when she was sideways. She raised her axe high, charged –

The Nadder's talons dug into my back as it stiffened.

Several sharp clangs rang through the air as the Nadder shot spikes, which bounced off Astrid's shield. She was close enough to us that I relaxed, knowing that in a few moments, I would be free to move and Astrid would be beating up the poor dragon.

Then the dragon switched what it was shooting.

She blocked the fireball – of course, she did. She's Astrid – but the impact was still enough to send her flying backwards. In the corner of my eyes, I saw Gobber rushing in to interfere, which was a red-hot warning that this fight had spiralled out of control. The Nadder roused its flame again.

And aimed at me.

For the third time in the arena, I found myself in mortal danger.

. . . Gobber really needed to reconsider his safety precautions.

For the third time in the arena, I miraculously didn't die.

The Nadder's mouth snapped shut. It stuck its snout right into my hair, and sniffed. And sniffed again. And again. Meanwhile, Gobber and Astrid were slooowly creeping forwards, torn between helping me and not spooking the Nadder into killing me.

The Nadder backed off.

My spine popped as I went up into a sitting position. The Nadder was staring at me, neck bent so that we were eye-level. Its nostrils flared dramatically. It stuck its snout into my hair again.

And it backed off..

My eyes were on the Nadder, so I couldn't see the others, but I knew what their expressions would look like. The Nadder was . . . it was just leaving me alone, and I had no idea why.

Astrid whispered, "Hiccup?"

A pause.

The Nadder shrieked and went after her.

Astrid could have easily taken care of herself, but my weirdness had been enough for Gobber. He hooked the Nadder by the inside of its snout, and then tugged it over to its cage, where he locked it securely inside. He turned around after, staring straight at me. Everyone was, actually.

"How did you do that?" Astrid demanded.

I looked at her. Truthfully, I said, "I have no idea."

Review Response:

IcePhoenix2112: Haha, you got it! It's true that Hiccup was carrying a bit of Toothless's scent, but it wasn't distinct enough at that point for the other dragons to leave him alone

ILOVEPIXELS: Thank you! I'm sure most people see you, it's just that not everyone responds to anon reviews. I do because I like talking to people :)

Jazz: Oh dem parents XD

Matt: Thanks!