Here you go, chapter 51. I don't have much to say about this one, but I do have something to say to you.

Happy New Year!

May all your wishes come true and don't give up on dreams. Keep hope for something good to happen, even if all seems lost.

Now, on with the story!

Enjoy!

Chapter 51 Dragon Training

Wrenlou pushed the door open, Snotlout hanging on his arm. Halfway to the healers house his leg had given out and he had fallen, unable to walk any further. So Wrenlou had hooked his arm under the man's shoulders and pulled him back to his feet. Snotlout was obviously ashamed to show pain, because he avoided Wrenlou's gaze, staring down at the ground the rest of the way.

Wrenlou sat him down on on of the beds, then went to get water and bandages. He looked back at Snotlout, remembering how the man had been the day of the dual. The angry, bloodthirsty viking was nowhere to be found. Right now he was looking at a broken man, broken by years of abuse. He went back to him, setting the bowl of water on the small side table.

'I need you to take off your shirt, your pants and your boots. Then I need yo to lay down.'

Snotlout looked up at him, his lip trembling. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, then complied. Wrenlou took the clothes from him and put them on a chair. Then he gently pushed the man down on the bed after pulling away the blanket. He tucked the blanket around Snotlout's legs, turning his attention to his torso first.

As he had seen before, bruises covered the skin, along with small cuts and scars. Some of the scars seemed like they had ben serious wounds, but they had healed badly, like they never received proper care. Dirt clung to his skin, along with some dried blood. Snotlout now had his eyes closed and his head turned away from him, biting his lip.

Wrenlou took a deep breath and dipped the cloth in the water. Then he started to wash the dirt and blood away, only revealing more cuts and bruises. Snotlout whimpered softly when the water stung in the wounds, but other than that didn't make a sound.

As soon as he had all the dirt cleaned of the man's chest, Wrenlou turned his attention to the man's ribs. Snotlout flinched as he touched them, pushing gently to determine if they were broken or not. He could feel a few were broken, but most were bruised.

'Can you turn over? I need to see your back.'

Snotlout nodded and sniffled, before turning over on his stomach, burying his head in his arms. Wrenlou took a deep breath, then picked up the cloth again.

Snotlout's back was worse. Had his chest been riddled with scars, his back was covered in them. Wrenlou traced a few long scars, made by either dragon claws or a knife and again, not healed properly. Snotlout shuddered a bit and lifted his head.

'He aways said that going to a healer was showing weakness. He never let me. He said I should take care of my injuries myself. He said showing pain was a sign of weakness.'

Wrenlou sighed. 'I don't think admitting you're in pain is a sign of weakness, I think it's a sign of strength. Admitting you need help isn't something the weak do. It shows that you survived, and that on it's own is a sign of strength. Can you sit up?'

Snotlout complied, with a bit off help. Wrenlou then wrapped his broken ribs as careful as he could. When he looked up, he realized Snotlout was crying. He was a bit taken aback seeing the man cry.

'Why would you even help me. I tried to kill Hiccup. I would have if you hadn't saved him. I'm not worth your help.'

Wrenlou silenced him by placing a hand on the man's shoulder. 'I am a healer Snotlout. I don't care what you did, or what you tried to do. My job is to help people, without judgement. You can lay down again now.'

Snotlout sniffed, more tears streaming down his face. He wiped them away angrily, staring at his wet hands. Wrenlou pulled the blanket of his leg, the one that had given out earlier, and frowned. Snotlout's knee had an interesting shade of purple and it was swollen. It was warm to the touch and Snotlout hissed when he pushed down on it. Shaking his head, Wrenlou bandaged Snotlout's knee as well, then pulled the blanket around him.

'I'm sorry...' Snotlout mumbled.

'For what, crying? As I told Astrid, tears are no sign of weakness. It just shows you've been strong for too long.'

'I don't understand why he wouldn't just kill me. After all I did to him for years...'

'He's Hiccup, it's what he does. Try to get some sleep, okay?'

'This is the first time someone has ever taken care of me like this.'

Wrenlou smiled weakly. Seeing the years of abuse reflected on the man's skin had torn at his heart and his instincts as a healer, but hearing about it made it worse.

'Just sleep.'

'Could you get Hiccup as soon as he's done dragon training?'

Wrenlou nodded. 'Sure. But I think it will take a while. So go to sleep.'

'you are really persistent, aren't you?'

'Shut up and sleep.'

A small smile tugged at the corners of Snotlout's lips as he closed his eyes, quickly falling asleep.

0-0-0-0-0-0

The Nadder squawked again, her tail raised and the deadly spines sticking in every direction. She had her head turned to be able to see the man in front of her. Astrid was holding her breath, staring at Hiccup. The man was standing in front of the dragon, his hands raised. He was talking to it, but she couldn't really hear the words.

Suddenly, the Nadder shot her spines at the man in front of her. Hiccup ducked, his arms over his head and he fell to the ground.

'Hiccup!'

The dragon turned her head towards her, eyes squinting. Hiccup scrambled to his feet again, one hand towards Astrid, the other to the dragon.

'Stay back. I'm okay.'

She breathed a sigh of relief. All of the spines had missed him. He turned back to the dragon, his hands still raised. The dragon squawked again, but made no move to shoot more spines.

'I won't hurt you. Come on, let me show you. Come here, come on.'

Tentatively, the dragon got a step closer, bringing her head down to the man in front of her. Ze sniffed his hand, before pushing her nose into his palm. A smile spread across his face and he turned to Astrid, his hand still on the dragon's nose.

'Come here, meet your new friend.'

She took a deep breath. She would not be afraid of a dragon. Slowly, she walked up to Hiccup and the Nadder. The dragon turned her head to her, trying to keep the woman out of her blind spot. As soon as she was standing next to Hiccup, Astrid reached out to the dragon like he had done. Without hesitation, the dragon pushed her nose into her hand with so much force she nearly fell. She laughed nervously. The only dragon she had been this close to had been Toothless, but he had already been trained and ridden. This, this was still a wild dragon.

'Name her.' Hiccup whispered in her ear and she smiled.

'Stormfly. Your name is Stormfly.'

The name had been stuck in her head the moment Hiccup had told her she would get the Nadder. The dragon, Stormfly, squawked as if agreeing with her. Astrid smiled and started stroking the scales.

'Okay. As much as I would like this bonding thing to continue right now, there are two more dragons in need of some training. Fishlegs, your turn.'

The husky man scurried closer. 'You know, Hiccup, I'm not really sure about this...'

'Relax. I have trained Gronckles before, it doesn't take much. They're really friendly. Broghan, open her up!'

The man nodded and pulled the lever that opened the Gronckles cage. Unlike the Nightmare and the Nadder had done, the dragon didn't burst through the door the moment they opened. It waited till they were fully opened, then trotted into the Arena. It's small wings were bobbing up and down with every step, it's tongue hanging out of it's mouth.

'Have you though of a name yet?'

Fishlegs shook his head, his eyes fixed on the Gronckle. As soon as it got them in it's sight. it growled. Hiccup quickly raised his hands and Fishlegs hid behind him. The Gronckle stopped it's approach, staring at the man. Hiccup walked a little closer to the dragon, until he could eventually touch it. The Gronckle allowed the gesture with no problem.

'Your'e just a big cuddly dragon, aren't you.'

The Gronckle plopped on the ground, laying on it's back. It's legs were kicking the air as Hiccup scratched it's chin. Astrid couldn't believe how easy it had been to train the Gronckle, considering it had taken almost half an hour to get the Nadder to calm down.

'Come on Fishlegs, don't be shy. He won't bite. Correction, she won't bite.'

Fishlegs got closer, tentatively reaching out to the dragon. The Gronckle narrowed her eyes, then shot forward, landing on top of Fishlegs and pinning him to the ground. Astrid stepped forward, afraid the dragon would kill Fishlegs, but Hiccup just laughed.

'Like I said, Gronckles are easy. Give them a cuddle and it's over. Now get off Fishlegs you silly dragon.'

He pushed the dragon of the other man and helped him up. Fishlegs looked at the dragon and smiled, spreading his arms. The dragon pushed her nose in his chest.

'I think I will name you Meatlug. Do you like that? Oh you like that don't you... yeah you do...'

'Right. Now to the really tricky part...'

'Really tricky? What do you mean really tricky?'

'It has two heads Astrid. I have never trained a dragon with two heads before.'

'Oh... right... Zippleback, of course.'

'I think it's best if you leave. You and Fishlegs. And take the dragons with you.'

She nodded and guided Stormfly out of the Arena. Fishlegs followed, Meatlug trotting beside him, pushing him with her nose every few steps. Hiccup took a deep breath and turned to the twins.

'Are you ready?'

'We were born ready!' Ruffnut shouted.

'Yeah! Born ready... wait what are we doing here again?'

Hiccup sighed at Tuffnut's question and turned to the door concealing the last dragon. The Zippleback. Two heads he had to take into account. He took a deep breath, and nodded at Broghan.

The first thing to escape the cage was the gas. The dragon's head released it with a gurgling sound and it quickly covered the ground. The dragon snaked out, it's long necks swaying. Hiccup exhaled. The Nadder had been difficult, the dragon refusing to calm down. The Gronckle had been easy, as he had suspected, but this...

One of the heads of the dragon approached him, green gas bubbling from it's throat. Hiccup raised his hand, very slowly reaching towards the dragon, trying to keep an eye on both heads at the same time.

'Nice dragon... I won't harm you... GAH!'

He was suddenly engulfed by the gas as it shot out of the dragon's mouth. He heard Astrid yell and the Zippleback growled.

'Oh boy...' Hiccup murmured and he coughed.

All he could see now was the greenish gas. It surrounded him. If the dragon decided to light it, he was toast. Literally. He took a deep breath, coughing again when he inhaled the gas.

'Okay... stay calm... it hasn't lit it up yet...'

He stretched his hands out in both directions, then started walking forward. A shadow shot past him and he froze instantly. Two dragon heads appeared in front of him, the left one still expelling small bursts of gas.

'Look, I'm not trying to hurt you. See? I'm unarmed.'

He showed the dragon his empty hands. The right head came closer, opening it's mouth.

'Please don't blast me.'

The gas breathing head bit at the other head and it disappeared into the cloud of gas that was still hanging in the arena. The other head looked at Hiccup and finally the gas stopped flowing. Hiccup blinked a few times, he could feel himself getting light-headed. He should get out of the gas, and quick. So he reached out to the dragon, the one head that was still eyeing him and the dragon allowed him to place his hand on the scaled nose. He sighed, then looked around. Where was the other head? All he could see was the gas, no sigh of that head.

He felt a nudge against his back and turned around. The other head, the sparking head, was there, looking at him. He reached out to the head, his one hand still on the other nose, and now this head allowed him to place his hand on it's nose as well.

'Right, now we've gotten that over with, could you do something about all this gas? It's getting hard to breath in here.'

The heads disappeared and he could hear the dragon flap it's wings. Soon all the gas had left the arena and the crowd breathed a sigh of relief to see him in one piece. The dragon lowered it's head again, both begging for attention.

'Yes... okay... no, don't bite that... no need to be pushy... Ruff! Tuff! Get over here!'

The twins came closer, bickering. Sighing, Hiccup put his hands in his sides.

'Alright, what is it now?'

The twins rambled something about gas breathing heads and sparking heads, and it ended in them pulling each others hair. Before Hiccup could do anything, the dragon lowered it's heads and plucked the twins of the ground. They stopped fighting instantly.

'There you have it. Ruffnut get's the gas-breathing head, Tuffnut the sparking head. And now not a word about it anymore, understand?'

The twins nodded and the dragon put them down, each head pressing his nose into the hands of it's rider.

'Name them. Two heads, two names.'

'Barf!' Ruffnut exclaimed, and Hiccup facepalmed. Of all the possible names...

'I think I'll name you... Belch. Yeah, Belch. So, what do we do now?'

Hiccup took a deep breath. 'Right now, nothing. This is it for today. I think that it's better to keep the dragons here for now, so they won't accidentally burn down the village.'

'Hiccup! Are you alright?'

He turned to Astrid, running towards him. Stormfly was trailing her, so were Fishlegs and his Gronckle. He nodded.

'When I saw that dragon breath all that gas at you, I was so worried! I thought you might die.'

'Yeah I was kinda worried myself. Luckily it decided to play nice. Have you seen my crutch? My leg is killing me...'

'Sure, hang on, I'll get it for you.'

She left and Hiccup turned around. Now that the adrenaline of training dragons was fading, he could really feel the pain in his leg. He gritted his teeth, trying to ignore it, and he had never been happier to see Astrid come back with his crutch.

'So what do we do now?'

'Do some bonding. Play with them. Nadders like to play fetch, so you could do that. Get to know them a little better.'

'And where are you going?'

'To see Snotlout. Don't worry, they'll be here in case you need help.'

He gestured to the other dragon riders. She hadn't even seen them come in. She nodded. Once he left the arena, she turned to Stormfly.

'Okay. You like to play fetch? Do you? Alright...'

She found an old broken spear and threw it across the arena. Stormfly squawked and went after it, returning a moment later with it in her mouth. Astrid threw it again, towards the other end of the arena. Stormfly brought it back again. She smiled. This was more fun than she would have thought!

She looked around. The twins were hanging from the dragons mouths again, trying to hit each other. Fishlegs was scratching Meatlug's chin, the Gronckle once again laying on the floor, legs kicking the air. And she was playing fetch with a Nadder. She took the broken spear from Stormfly again and threw it again. The dragon squawked with happiness and raced off.

She was smiling wider than before. It had been beautiful when Hiccup had trained the Nightmare for Snotlout, and when he had called her down she had suspected something, but never had she thought she would befriend a Nadder, and possibly ride it one day. She could already imagine her and Hiccup soaring through the clouds, high up in the sky.

She was glad he had come back, even if it pained him to be around some of the villagers. He had done so much already.

He had made peace.

He had exposed Spitelout as a bully.

He had discovered that Snotlout had been abused for years.

And now he had trained dragons for them. They would be dragon riders.

The dragon riders of Berk