Chapter 8

Hiccup's POV - Great Hall, Recruits' Tables

As Thor continued to rage outside, I couldn't decide where I'd rather be, inside or outside.

Inside, Fierce-Eye put the bench back and resumed chewing on his bone. Snotlout, Astrid, and the twins were sitting at our table, staring daggers at Fierce-Eye. Fishlegs and Gobber seemed just as uncomfortable as I was. All of the other Vikings had braved the storm to head home.

Outside, the storm had really picked up. The wind whistled through any cracks it could find. Lightning flashes at unexpected intervals made everyone jump. I'm pretty sure the rain had only gotten worse as well.

"Anyways, if you want to be the best, or even just pass dragon training, then you need to live and breathe this stuff," Gobber explained, breaking the awkward silence that followed Astrid's fight with Fierce-Eye. My mentor pulled a book out and cleared a spot on our table for it.

"The dragon manual," he declared, "Everything we know about every dragon we know of. Study up." Gobber had clearly had enough of the teens for one night and headed towards the exit.

"What? You mean read?" Tuffnut asked.

"But what if there's a raid tonight?" Ruffnut added, trying to find an excuse. Gobber didn't bother responding as he left.

"With that storm?" Fierce-Eye chuckled, "Most dragons avoid flying in storms. It weakens their flames and there's always a chance of Thor knocking them from the sky, on-purpose or otherwise."

"But why read words when you can just kill the stuff the words tell you about?" Snotlout asked, trying to sound superior. Again. Fierce-Eye rolled his eyes before studying his bone for any remaining meat.

"Oh, I've read it, like, seven times," Fishlegs chimed in, bursting with excitement, "There's this water dragon that sprays boiling water at your face. And there's this other one that buries itself for like a week. And there's this other one that-"

Tuffnut makes a hand signal for Fishlegs to stop talking. "Yeah, that sounds great. There was a chance I was going to read that..."

"But now..." his sister trails off.

'They were never going to read it. Maybe we should start building their funeral ships now.''

"You guys read, I'll go kill stuff," Snotlout declares, getting up to leave. The twins follow, trying to escape Fishlegs spouting more dragon facts. Fierce-Eye chuckled to himself as he watched the other teens leave.

I turned to Astrid, who was stacking her silverware to return her plate. "So I guess we'll share...?"

Astrid shoved the book towards me. "Read it."

I was disappointed, but tried not to show it. "Oh, okay then. I'll see you -" The door to the Great Hall slammed shut. "- tomorrow," I finished lamely.

"Have they always treated you like that?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin. Fierce-Eye was still so new that I wasn't used to him being around yet. I nodded my confirmation.

"Honestly, it's usually a lot worse," I explained.

"Shameful," Fierce-Eye shook his head, "You put up with that kind of treatment on a regular basis and they can't stand that I'm not licking their boots."

The castaway reached into one of his belt pouches and removed a small cloth bundle. It contained a chunk of bread and what looked like some smoked salmon. He added the slice of chicken from his plate to his collection and put the bundle away.

I looked at the abandoned plates of the other teens, waiting for the staff to collect them. A couple bones still had some meat on them, but Fierce-Eye's looked like a Terror had picked it clean.

"Why do you do that?" I asked, "Why did you save part of your meal?"

Fierce-Eye gave a sad smile. "My life has not been an easy one Hiccup. I believe that I mentioned this morning that I was mis-treated in my birthplace. One of my worst experiences there was when I had to go three days without food."

My eyes got very wide as I looked at the teen. The longest I had ever gone was probably eighteen hours, when Dad sent me to bed without supper. 'Three days? That could be attempted murder!"

"My father decided to punish me for coming home late one night," he explained, " 'A runt like you, must have been up to something.' So he locked me in the basement while he tried to figure out what I had done. Which, by the way, was avoid my drunk father beating me for being a runt. He did that quite regularly."

"After three days in that basement, I managed to catch and eat a rat," he continued as I cringed, "On the fourth day, my father forgot about my imprisonment and came down for a fresh keg. I slipped out and stole some fish from the docks. That experience taught me what true hunger is. When I set aside that portion of my meal, I devote it 'For the Hungry'. Anyone who is hungry enough to ask for it, gets it. I don't eat it until the next day, just in case."

"Didn't you try to tell anyone?" I asked, abhorred that anyone could try to starve a child.

Fierce-Eye nodded. "But my father was too well respected in his public life. Third most important man in the village, while he lived. Who would takes a runt's word over his honor? And my mother was too submissive to do anything to help herself, let alone me."

'And Dad is always worrying about how he's going to keep the village fed. Now what Fierce-Eye said this morning about wanting to kill his family name makes sense.'

Fierce-Eye swapped his plate for the Dragon Manual. "Why don't you go get some candles? We might as well study while we wait out the worst of the storm."


Wildheart's POV - Great Hall, Recruits' Tables

A few minutes later, Hiccup brought some candles over to my table. The staff had collected the dishes from the other table, but were still wiping it off. It sounded like the worst of the storm was right over the village now. I still sat on the tabletop. I knew Hiccup wouldn't pull something, but I was feeling paranoid.

To be honest, I wanted to leave with the other teens, avoiding the worst of the storm. However, I was curious what dragon Hiccup had released. Winter couldn't identify it. Given Hiccup's apparant curiosity and the strangeness of his encounter (from a Viking's perspective anyways), I expected him to look up his released dragon

Hiccup sat on the bench beside my feet and opened the book. I looked down and read along with Hiccup. 'These books with the latest facts on dragons are so hilariously inaccurate.'

"Dragon classifications: Strike class, Fear class, Mystery class."

'Fear class? Really?'

"Thunderdrum," Hiccup read the first entry, "This reclusive dragon inhabits sea caves and dark tide pools. When startled, the Thunderdrum produces a concussive sound that can kill a man at close range. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight."

The article was ridiculously short. "Only if you're stupid enough to not protect your eardrums. A bit of bee's wax protects your ears from the sound, and by extension, your brain."

Hiccup looked up at me in slight confusion. "That's not in here."

I snorted. "Course not. I figured out that trick myself. The hard way too." I rubbed my right ear for good measure, glad that my hearing loss hadn't been permament that day. Tide Sirens were like Vikings, stubborn and loud. With all the hatchlings running around the Vild, I didn't need to add any pre-pubescent loudmouths to the mix.

After studying me for a moment, Hiccup turned to a new page. "Scauldron. Sprays scalding water at its victim. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight."

"One sentence?" I asked incredulously, "That's it? What about their flower diet? Their dependence on staying extremely hydrated? Where, is, the, ve-nom?"

"None of that's in here," Hiccup commented, sounding concerned. I could tell that he was starting to question how much his tribe really knew about dragons.

'Good. A fool will assume he knows everything. The wise will acknowledge that he does not.'

"Changewing. Even newly hatched dragons can spray acid. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight."

"They also have a terrible sense of direction," I added, "To avoid getting lost at sea, Changewings will try to stay within sight of their island. I got lucky in that regard."

'At least Spectre found a mate out of it.'

Hiccup simply hummed in acceptance and began to flip through the pages. "Gronkle, Zippleback, the Skrill, Boneknapper, Whispering Death."

'I knew it. He's looking for the dragon he cut loose.'

"... Burns its victims, buries its victims, chokes it victims, turnes its victims inside-out ..."

'Inside-out? What?' I tried to spot the page, but Hiccup has already flipped past it.

"Extremely dangerous, extremely dangerous, extremely dangerous, kill on sight, kill on sight, kill on sight."

"Is that supposed to be a running gag or something?" I asked with a deadpan expression, "If you label every dragon with the exact same warning, then you're basically insinuating that a Terrible Terror is just as dangerous as a Monstrous Nightmare."

Hiccup ignores me as he focuses on a mostly blank page. "Night Fury. Speed, unknown. Size, unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. Never engage this dragon. Your only chance, hide and pray it does not find you."

'So that's the human name for the species of Hiccup's dragon. Night Fury ... not bad. Wish the book had more details though. I can't connect such a vague description to a species not already listed in this book, there are just too many.'

Hiccup turned to me, apparantly wondering if I had more details. Too bad I had to disappoint him.

"I don't know much more than your book on this one Hiccup," I confessed, "That tagline about lightning and death itself makes me imagine a Skrill. If I have seen a Night Fury, then I never identified it as such."

Hiccup looked lost in thought, so I flipped through the Dragon Manual, trying to find the 'turns-its-victims-inside-out' dragon. I found the sketches of Vikings killing dragons disturbing, but not unexpected.

"This book is one of the worst Dragon Manuals I've ever read," I muttered, still looking, "This one doesn't even mention the prefered food of each dragon. You can't bait traps without knowing that much."

Hiccup snapped out of his thoughts. "You've read other dragon manuals?"

I nodded. "I've salvaged from a lot of shipwrecks. Most Dragon Manuals are based on so much superstition and fear that they're basically useless though. I've found first-hand experience to be much more accurate than just accepting whatever truth a stranger wrote down years ago."

"But dragons are dangerous," Hiccup argued, "Aren't they?"

I smiled gently. "In my experiences, humans are the greatest monster alive. We have waged wars and keep developing new weapons to kill each other over land, religion, resources, and politics. Dragons are basically creatures of mimicry. Confronting them with rage and agression will get you the same in turn. But if you are kind, gentle, and not a threat, then a dragon will be kind, gentle, and non-threatening in return."

BANG!

I turned and saw that the storm had forced the doors open. Hiccup had twisted to see the source of the noise, dropping a journal in the process. It fell open on impact, so he scrambled to recover it.

I didn't worry too much about his secrets. One of mine had just flown through the door and hid in the rafters. 'What is Winter doing in the village? In the middle of a storm? Something must be up.'

"It's really raging out there, huh?"

"Yeah," I mumbled, trying to think of a way to get Winter to safety before she was noticed.

Hiccup fingered his journal in thought. Eventually he asked, "Do you know of a way to approach a dragon safely?"

'Approach a dragon? Is he asking out of curiosity or is there a dragon living on Berk? Wait a second, what if the 'Night Fury' didn't fly away after Hiccup cut it loose? Could it be...?'

I smirked and turned to look at Hiccup, realizing that I still hadn't answered his question. "Each species of dragon has their own rules and exceptions to those rules," I warned, "But I can give you a couple of basic guidelines."

Hiccup smiled as I continued. "First of all, no weapons on the first meeting. This shows the dragon that you don't want to harm it. Between dragons, this habit is displayed by sheathing their claws and standing casually, not prepared for sudden movements. Their eyes will also dialate, indicating that they are calm."

"Like humans, each individual is unique," I explained, "With their own flaws, experiences, and emotional scars. Most will adopt a wait-and-see approach. However, some dragons might attack anyway, usually if they're feeling territorial. Others might have had terrible experiences with humans and want to get away from you. The concept of dragons regularly raiding human settlements is very strange to me."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow at my last statement. "Didn't they raid your village?"

I shook my head. "Dragon sightings were rare. We'd hear about an occasional raid, but those were extremely uncommon, conducted by a single dragon or two attacking a lone fishing boat or a hunting party, not taking on a whole village. That would be an act of true desperation, when they needed a lot of food. And you guys have been getting raided for centuries, right? If the local food sources were that bad, then the dragons should have relocated on their own, where they wouldn't have to compete against humans at the very least."

Hiccup started to stare at his closed journal again. It looked like he needed to think, and I needed to get Winter out of the Hall.

Grabbing my cloak, I announced, "That's enough heavy discussion for one night. I'm gonna head out. Are you coming?"

The young heir looked towards the door before shaking his head. "I'll just stay here until the storm finally dies off."

Smiling inwardly, I nodded and walked towards the side of the Hall. While I stood on the opposite side of a support column, I stopped for a moment. I jerked my head and Winter slipped down to wrap around my torso. Only then did I put on my cloak, hiding Winter from casual observers. 'She better have a good reason for taking such a risk.'

I was about ten feet from the exit when Hiccup called after me. I momentarilly panicked that he may have spotted Winter. I looked over my shoulder, ready to run out the door if needed.

"Why'd you help me against Snotlout and the twins?" he asked.

I sighed in relief, but I still needed to get out of here. "I guess you reminded me of myself." Hiccup tilted his head in curiosity, so I elaborated. "Like I've said, I was the village runt. That's why I suggested training you. Humans built like Vikings should fight like Vikings, but I developed my fighting style to use the strengths of my 'runty' body type, not my weaknesses. Just give it some thought."

Before Hiccup could form a response, I pulled up my hood and speed-walked out the door. I felt a little bad, brushing him off like that, but Winter was the bigger priority right now. Once we were outside, I tilted my head down against the rain and lowered my voice.

::You better have a good reason for coming to get me,:: I growled at Winter, ::Storm or no storm, if a Viking saw you, a species not native to this area, there would have been questions.::

::I know, but something is wrong at the Arena,:: Winter worriedly explained, ::And Spectre's invisibility wouldn't work right in this rain. I was the least bad option.::

I sighed in annoyance, but accepted that she was right. A medium-sized dragon displacing the raindrops would be a problem. I started walking towards the Arena, a red phantom in the empty village lane. ::Tell me on the way.::


Hiccup's POV - Great Hall, Recruits' Tables

I stared at the doors, thinking about everything Fierce-Eye had said, about himself and dragons. It definitely gave me a better idea of what made him all of ... that.

Mistreatment at the hands of his father and tribe seemed to have given him a low opinion of Vikings in general. Traditional Vikings anyway. Prolonged isolation as a hermit left him socially undeveloped, but he learns from his experiences and tries to help others. Strangest of all, he seems to view dragons as more animal than monster, unlike the unanimous opinion around Berk. A dangerous animal that could kill you if you make the wrong move, but still...

Now that I was alone, I opened my journal to the Night Fury sketch. I almost had a panic attack when I dropped my journal and it fell open on that sketch. 'If Fierce-Eye had looked down at that precise moment ... What would have happened, anyway? If dragons are animals to study and understand, would he have wanted to approach this one? It certainly can't fly away. I can't bring myself to be responsible for the dragon's death, by Viking or starvation. That leaves one option: helping it.'


Winter's POV - Death Pit

As we arrived at the Arena, Wildheart's face froze in confusion. I couldn't blame him. The training dragons were roaring incoherently and slamming themselves against their doors.

::You see?:: I asked, ::I came to try and introduce myself, let them know that they aren't alone. Instead, I find this. They don't even seem to hear me.::

Wildheart walked around the viewing platform to the Chief's chair, avoiding the maze filling the arena floor. ::Have they said anything?::

::No, just this half-mad screaming,:: I answered, ::I get that they don't like being caged, but they'd never get far in this weather. Something is driving them to act this way, but I don't know what.::

Wildheart stuck his head between the bars and looked down at the rattling doors, visibly concerned. Even at dragon training this morning, there were still taunts, insults, and even pleading to indicate intelligent thought.

::Well it can't be Rage Tumor,:: the human finally said, ::Gronkles are immune to it and you're not. Can't be eel blood, they're not really acting afraid.:: After a moment, my friend smacked himself on the forehead. ::Of course! Winter, check on the Ember Claw.::

I didn't understand what he expected, but I've learned to trust his judgement. I left the shelter of his cloak and slipped through the bars to the correct cell. Oddly enough, the small door was the only one not being attacked.

::Any half-crazed dragons home?:: I called out, cautiously.

::No, just a fully-sane one,:: replied a sarcastic male voice. I could barely hear him past all the other dragons.

::My name is Winter,:: I introduced myself, ::My clan and I have come to free you all.::

::Don't bother,:: answered the ungrateful brat, ::The others are all being called by their Alpha. Since they can't respond to her summons, they are being driven feral. Won't be back to normal until dawn, at least.::

'That explains it. The Alpha is using her magic to call all of her dragons out of the storm. Ember Claws belong to species-exclusive nests. They don't normally socialize with bigger dragons, lest they get bullied around.'

::Don't you want to get out?::

::Of course!:: came the immediate response, ::But my nest is on another island. I'd never get home in this storm.::

::Then we'll come back after the storm ends,:: I promised, ::We'll get you out of there soon, so stay alert.::

The trapped dragon grumbled in response while I flew back up to Wildheart. I described the conversation to him and he nodded in understanding.

::That's the problem with Alpha authority,:: he commented as we started back towards the bridge, ::You can issue orders without fully understanding the situation. Bad things can happen when dragons can't perform orders assigned by the Alpha. Imagine if I tried to summon the Nelru or Oracle from here. That's why I try to avoid using the Ziik to issue clan-wide commands.::

I shuddered at the thought of the Snow Sprinter and Stone Seer trying to reach Berk. Neither of them could fly or swim! ::So, how are we going to free that Ember Claw?:: I asked.

Wildheart grinned. ::You saw how chaotic things were this morning, right?:: I nodded. ::I bet there wil be an excellent opportunity sooner or later for me to accidentally release a dragon while no one else is close enough to stop it.::

When we got to the bridge, I flew to its underside to wait out the storm. Spending the night in the village was a little too risky.


Astrid's POV - My Bedroom

I laid awake in my bed, staring at the ceiling. Thor wasn't done yet, but the storm wasn't why I was still awake. I kept replaying Fierce-Eye's criticisms and our fight. I mean, the guy was armed with swords and a bow, but he beats me, Astrid Hofferson, with a bench. A BENCH!

"She's not a warrior. She's a liability."

"Are you trying to intimidate me Princess?"

"I'm getting tired of holding back against inexperienced recruits."

I took a deep breath, trying to block out Fierce-Eye's words. 'What does he know? He's not much older than any of us. Those dragons he said he killed were probably just hatchlings, if they even existed at all.'

The problem was, Berk is a small island and there aren't many people still around with the nest hunt. By lunchtime tomorrow, everyone will have heard about my defeat. 'I've got to beat him. My reputation will never recover if I don't. Maybe Gobber will approve a sparring match.'

As I set my new goal to beat Fierce-Eye, the storm began to calm down. Soon enough, the patter of raindrops were lulling me to sleep.