Anything Is Possible
Rated: M
Pairing: Hiccup & OC-Runa
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the HTTYD or Frozen characters. Everything belongs to its original creator. However, I do own all my characters.
Chapter 44.
=Normal POV=
[February 20; Midday]
[Hunter Isle; Academy]
The first things on the construction list to be completed were stables attached to homes of people with bonded dragons, and also the kill ring's conversion into the training academy. The space kept the pens to hold dragons but was modified to remove chains and looking so dreary and unwelcome to dragons. The doors were almost cut in half to allow for an open spot that dragons could lookout, and every pen had a food and water bowl made from an old, cut in half mead barrel. The top of the ring remained, but that was for the sake of training wild dragons who came to the island and needed a little calming down before attempting to bond with anyone. Hiccup's method of this was letting the hunters continue to use a blow dart type device with a mixture to put a dragon to sleep, and from there it would be moved to the ring until it woke up. In that timeframe, water and food would be provided for when the dragon awakened, and also the dragon would find itself on a comfortable padded bed. Sometimes that's all it took to keep a dragon calm until Hiccup got there to work with it a little.
At the same time, if Hiccup were busy in the forge or another kind project; there were stable workers who could use Hiccup's earning trust technique to calm the dragons and have them ready for possible bonding. The dragons that didn't bond were free to roam the island and just sit around to visit. There were feeding stations around the island too, spots for unbonded dragons visiting to just grab a bite to eat. The idea was to make it a friendly environment for dragons, to know the island was safe for them to land with people around with no fear for their lives. The Grimborn house had a one-level barn-type of a stable for their dragons, since there nine dragons in total for that household. Toothless still remained with Hiccup in the loft, but all the dragons got to eat fish and drink water in the stable for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Even Cinder was staying in the stable now, because of his size, he had a top loft-like space to sleep in while the rest of the Grimborn's dragons were on the first level.
The main stables were still under construction, but no longer needed Hiccup's supervision as the frame, walls, and roof were up. The rest of the build was all inside to make pens on the several levels available to house wild dragons who might need a place to set down and relax for the night, or even dragons of guests visiting. Although, the only visitor would likely be Gobber with Grump as no one else knew where Hunter Isle was. Runa was overjoyed to have bonded to a dragon on her birthday, and that it somehow ended up being a female Night Fury she had named Nightstar. Hiccup was still in shock that there was another Night Fury after all, and a female, so Hiccup sort of expected that Toothless and Nightstar were going to end up mating; the two dragons had already taken a shine to one another as friends, possibly more. Hiccup wasn't sure if dragons did the whole dating thing. Or maybe that's exactly what they were doing because the mating season was over for this year. Hiccup wasn't sure about that either.
Today, Hiccup was going to be training the Grimborn's in how to ride their dragons. Hiccup spent the last two weeks training a group of others in the village how to fly so that he didn't have to be the only one who could do the lessons. As of now, Hiccup had trained a lead Sharp, Tracker, Boulder, Tidal, and Stoker class teachers. These people were well versed in their specified area and qualified to train others who had bonded to a dragon in their classification. Although, The Mystery class was more of a studying classification if it were a dragon that they hadn't seen before and it needed to be worked with to establish which place it would go. There were several tribe members in charge of this, to study the dragon, work with it, and report to Hiccup their findings. Hiccup would then decide where it belonged. And Hiccup was the Strike lass trainer because of his bonding with Toothless, for now.
Hiccup had a lot of work already, once Runa was set with knowing about Night Furies, and trained with Nightstar; Hiccup wanted to name Runa the Strike Class trainer. Little was known about Night Furies as Toothless had been the only one for many, many years. Hiccup always suspected there were others, but clearly in hiding because of their rarity and being likened as the most dangerous dragon that you didn't want to mess with. So far, Hiccup had been working with the Grimborn family since after breakfast, making sure they had full understanding of their dragons for training and caring. The last on the list was flying, and Hiccup felt they were ready.
"You've done good the past few weeks," Hiccup told them with a smile. "So I think now we should take a break for lunch, and then when we come back…Let's get into the air with learning how to ride your dragons," He announced.
"Yes!" The family cheered. They were the only ones hitting the riding point, everyone else was still on care or training.
"Let's get to the house for lunch then," Ryker said.
A few moments later, they were exiting the academy with their dragons to get back to the house to enjoy their midday meal. It would be exciting after lunch, finally learning how to ride their dragons!
. . .
[Midday]
[Hunter Isle; Grimborn Home]
The walk to the house didn't take long. Truda and Hertha got started on cooking the meal while Vera and Runa set the table and then Brynjar, Agnar, Viggo, and Ryker took care of the dragons' food. Hiccup went upstairs to do something. The lunch would just be stew, leftover from dinner last night. There was no point in wasting it and there was just enough for everyone to enjoy a bowl with a piece of bread. The only waiting was for the stew to heat up, which didn't take too long with some help from Sharpshot in getting the fire burning hot, also the assisted Monstrous Nightmare gel which kept the fire lit, and not needing to constantly be fed wood to keep it going when it died down a little. As everyone waited for the food to be ready, they relaxed in the main room, and Hiccup came down to join them, his notebook in hand.
"Ah, there you are," Viggo chuckled.
"I didn't go very far," Hiccup replied as he sat down on the couch. "I was replying to Gobber; he asked how training was going and how things here are," He added.
"I hope we'll see him again," Hertha smiled.
"I'm sure we will, he's just gonna be careful not to lead the others here," Hiccup informed.
"Would they follow, despite your warning?" Ryker wondered.
"Maybe, if they suspected Gobber has known where I've been after telling them he didn't locate me back in December," Hiccup replied gently, working on a few sketches in his notebook.
"Would you follow through on your threat to remove the dragons?" Ryker asked next.
"Only if they attack me with their dragons again," Hiccup clarified.
"Would Gobber ever give in and tell them during interrogation, if they suspected his was being dishonest?" Viggo questioned.
"No, but Gobber would tell them if something happened where they were in danger and knew I could help. As I said before if they needed assistance, I would go. Gobber would send them on their dragons to ask for help, that would be the only condition to him revealing my whereabouts. But I assume that is a situation that time was of the essence and couldn't use Sharpshot to get me a message," Hiccup explained.
"So, what are you working on?" Runa inquired, glancing over at Hiccup's notebook a bit.
"Saddle designs for your dragons. I've done saddles for Rumblehorns, Nadders, Gronckles, Hotburples, Nightmares, and even Night Fury. But Triple Stryke, Skrill, and Stormcutter? No, I'll need to figure something for that. I also need to consider something to protect you, Viggo, from lightning when Boltrider charges himself if you're on his back…" Hiccup mentioned while still working in his notebook on the design for a Stormcutter saddle.
"Metal armor?" Brynjar offered.
Hiccup shook his head. "Not a good idea given metal attracts lightning; your father would end up electrocuted and that's not pleasant."
"You speak from experience?" Viggo asked curiously.
"Yeah, it sucks," Hiccup chuckled. "Happened when I was sixteen…We were working on metal perches for the dragons since landing on homes was causing damages. A lot of lightning started coming in, causing more trouble. The tribe actually believed that Toothless was the cause since he's the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. We tried to leave, but didn't work. When they were going to drown Toothless, I realized it was the metal. So I got on a high post with a spear, the lightning was attracted to it and I ended up shocked and in the water unconscious. Toothless broke his restraints and dove in after me. I woke up the next morning, completely fine."
"That's crazy," Vera blinked. "Not everyone escapes being hit and is fine,"
"I know. Bucket back on Berk was hit by lightning, he now wears a bucket on his head and has a heart of gold, amazing artistic ability, good farmer/fisher, but lack of a better word, kind of a scatterbrain who asks dumb questions like why is the sky blue at random." Hiccup smiled.
"So, what ideas did you have to keep my dad safe from lightning?" Runa questioned softly.
"I was thinking of making him an armor from the Skrill's scales. If the dragon can withstand the lightning, couldn't armor from the same thing be just as effective?" Hiccup wondered aloud, to voice the idea.
"That…Would likely be perfect to keep me from being electrocuted. Brilliant, Hiccup," Viggo smiled.
"Can my saddle be black like your is for Toothless?" Runa asked.
"I'm sure we can arrange that," Hiccup laughed a little.
"Yay!" Runa clapped cheerfully as Hiccup just chuckled, shaking his head at her excitement.
"So what about a saddle for Snowstrike, will that need a design. I caught that it was wasn't among your list of ones you've done before," Brynjar questioned.
"Wooly Howl has a similar figure to a Night Fury, so I think a little reworking of that type of saddle is all that's needed," Hiccup informed calmly as he drew a few more things to the Stormcutter saddle, then turned it to show Truda. "What do you think, Mrs. Grimborn? Work for you?"
"Oh, it's lovely. Would it be possible to add a seatback to it? Something to sit against?" Truda hoped. Hiccup flipped the notebook with a nod and added the request for her, then showed her again as she beamed, nodding in approval. "Perfect! And you can call me Truda, sweetheart,"
"And me Hertha," Ryker's wife added with a light laugh. Hiccup had been using their titles since meeting them, but only out of respect. Now what he had permission to call them by their first names; he would do that instead.
"Is there storage in the saddles?" Agnar questioned.
"Yes, designed to your specific type of dragon as I don't want anything being too heavy or bulky. The saddle for Poisontail will actually be similar to the Night Fury one as well because of the positioning, so the only hard ones were Skrill and Stormcutter," Hiccup mentioned as Agnar nodded.
"We really do thank you for bringing us this peace with them, Hiccup," Truda smiled. "It's incredible,"
"And we understand that bond you were always talking about," Ryker added. "You're right, the feeling of being complete…The part you gain that you didn't know you needed to feel this way,"
"Pretty cool, right?" Hiccup smiled broadly. "Just wait until you get to fly later, that's the best. Flying with your best friend,"
Hertha got up to check the food. "Lunch!" She called brightly as everyone moved to the table to get their bowls and then line up to receive a ladle full of stew, then a piece of bread sitting beside the cooker. Once everyone had their food; they sat down and began to eat. "How is everything looking for the hunting season?" Hertha inquired after a few moments of silence.
"Might push it back to April as things are looking non-cooperative with March," Ryker replied to his wife. "We're still watching things, but it might be better and safer to wait,"
"And can you continue to hunt despite having bonded dragons?" Hiccup questioned.
"No, but we'll need to expand to other islands to hunt animals, fishing, and whatnot. There won't be enough here to carry through the next winter based on breeding seasons of animals, and then there is furs and skins to consider for trading in the ports. It's not as big as dragons, but it will have to do," Viggo informed.
"You can still factor dragons into your trade, you know that, right?" Hiccup mentioned as the eight Grimborn members looked at him with surprise. "How do you think all the other islands are surviving now that they aren't capturing, hurting, or killing dragons? They're using what they get from the dragons, along with basic trade," He added.
"How can you use dragons if you're not getting their hides and stuff?" Runa asked.
"I'll explain later…" Hiccup laughed. "Just eat, or we'll never get to flying before the storm comes in,"
"Storm? It's nothing blue skies," Vera blinked.
"It's coming from the East. Cold, possible snow but due to the warm weather here, likely rain before it touches ground. I give it about two, maybe three hours," Hiccup shrugged as he continued eating.
"How do you know that?" Truda wondered with surprise.
"I sense it coming. I feel the drop in temperature and the moistness in the air," Hiccup replied gently.
"I didn't know you could do that," Viggo pointed out.
"Neither did I until earlier when we spent all day outside," Hiccup said. "Plus, the dragons are picking up on it, and keep me informed," He smiled.
"Huh…Good to know," Ryker chuckled.
After that, they continued to eat and talk a little, the growing excitement to be able to fly bubbling in them.
. . .
[Afternoon]
[Hunter Isle; Academy]
When lunch ended, and was cleaned up; Viggo had to handle a few things in the village so Hiccup took the rest to the academy to get started on how they should mount their dragons. Viggo finally joined around 1:30 pm.
"I'm here, sorry." Viggo apologized.
"No worries, we've just finished going over mounting your dragon since everyone is different. Also, I was taking measurements for saddle-making, so you're just in time for your measuring with Boltrider," Hiccup smiled.
"Excellent," Viggo smiled.
"Everything alright with the village, dear?" Truda asked.
"Oh, yes. Simply fine now, few things to deal with," Viggo nodded as Ryker and Hiccup eyed him. "Ryker, Hiccup, when we're done with the lesson; I'll need you both for a meeting with the council. You don't believe we'll be longer than 4:00, do you, Hiccup?"
"No, that's about when we'll be finishing up," Hiccup replied, reading Viggo's eyes and seeing that this was clearly a discussion for those involved with the Johann and enemy situation.
"Perfect," Viggo approved. "Now, what must I do?"
"Call your dragon beside you, use the sit hand position for him to lower and get yourself on his back, rather the neck area between wings and back of his head." Hiccup informed.
"Understood," Viggo replied as he set his fingers to his mouth and gave a slightly high-pitched whistle and Boltrider instantly raised his head, then came to Viggo's side and without the command to sit, the Skrill did so. Viggo carefully got himself up and positioned on his dragon's neck, careful of the back spines and relaxed. "Like this, Hiccup?"
"Yes, that's exactly it. Good job," Hiccup congratulated happily. "Now, stay put so I can measure where your saddle will go." He informed while getting out his measuring strip of leather and checking different things. After a few moments, he pulled back. "Okay, you can hop down and I'll measure you for the protective armor against lightning," Hiccup told Viggo, who did as asked and then Hiccup started measuring him and writing the information form. "Alright, that should do it. Now…Who is ready to get in the air?" He set the notebook away in Toothless's saddlebag.
"We are!" The group of eight called, even the dragons roared in joy as Hiccup laughed a little.
"Then mount up, dragon riders!" Hiccup announced. The eight quickly got on their dragons as Hiccup waited for them to be on and ready. "Alright…Now, I know some of you have nothing to hold to, so we're gonna use leather straps I cut earlier. Normally, it's rope, but that's a bit too rough on the scales." Hiccup went around, passing the rope out to those who would need it. "Agnar and Ryker, you just need to hold the appendages in front of you. Agnar, those first two larger nubs. And Ryker, the horns. When your saddle is made, you'll be farther back between the wings, but for now, the horns will work." Hiccup stated.
"Got it," Ryker and Agnar replied to him.
Hiccup moved and hopped on Toothless, getting in the saddle, and positioning his feet before opening the tail. "Now, we're gonna head out one by one, then hover and wait for the rest. After that, I'll take ya around the island to work on moving and some obstacles," Hiccup told them. "Big dragons first, all you need to do is tell them fly and if they don't respond to that, give a little nudge with your feet to their sides," Hiccup said. It took a little time and work, but half an hour later; all of them were in the air, hovering. "Good work, all of you," He beamed. "We're gonna take this nice and easy until you get the hang of basic flight," He stated. "Most of the time, you can just say what you want, but for more quiet situations, best to use hands or feet. So whichever works for you, develop a ways of communication with your dragon for directional commands."
"Should we spread out to practice?" Runa asked.
"No, for now, your dragons are just going to follow Toothless's command, so you get used to flying. Remember what I said about getting lightheaded from being high up in the thin air. You need to adjust to that before you take on anything else. You can practice silent communication on your own time right on the ground to understand stop, forward, back, hover, left, or right. You'll get a chance to do it in the sky when I teach you fly patterns and maneuvers. Once I know you can handle flight without me, I'll let you have free reign," Hiccup told them firmly. "We don't want to go making mistakes and attracting attention,"
"Quite right. Well, on your lead then, Hiccup!" Viggo motioned. Hiccup smiled and led them into flight slowly.
Today was a good day, and the family was excited to be in the air at least after the last two weeks of training with hand signals, commands, and what not. Also with taking care of their dragons in feeding, injuries, and grooming. Hiccup was happy for them, and he always knew this was possible, so it was a huge joy for him to see dragon hunters becoming dragon riders. The meeting later had Hiccup feeling a bit worried, but he was sure that it would be find and he was possibly just worrying too much when he didn't even know the subject het. For now, Hiccup had to focus of making sure his riding trainees got the teaching they needed to ride their dragons without him.