What is this, honey? An early unscheduled update?
Academic stress is good for everything other than getting your work done.
#
Hela would like to think that she was a simple person with simple needs. She only desired things like well-cooked food, a warm bed, and maybe a somewhat healthy relationship with her father. What she didn't want was to be in Arena running from a dragon.
Which was exactly what she was doing.
She crouched, hiding behind one of the many walls building the maze in the Arena, a shield in her arms as she kept her eyes out for the dragon. Today's dragon was a Deadly Nadder, and as the name suggested, it was deadly. The spikes on the back of its head and those on its tail were removable, and the dragon was awfully quick to shoot them at its enemy.
Hela would've preferred to stay far away from it.
"Today is all about attack!" came Gobber's voice from outside the Arena. He dared to sound bored while the teenagers were scrambling around like blind ants. "Nadders are quick and light on their feet! Your job is to be quicker and lighter!"
Great! If the dragon didn't kill her, then her lack of coordination will.
Seeing the dragon dawdling at the other side of the Arena, Hela took her turned to Gobber. Reading the Dragon Manual left her with more questions than answers, and he was her last shot at finding any information about the Night Fury.
Everyone else was busy running or hiding, so Hela took a chance.
"You know," she started, "I just happened to notice the book had nothing on Night Furies. Is there another book? Or a sequel? Maybe a little Night Fury pamphlet?"
Surely, they didn't know nothing about it?
Unbeknownst to Hela, the Nadder had come closer. She yelped and jumped away as it shot one of its spikes towards her. "Whoa!"
"Focus, Hela!" Gobber shouted. "You're not even trying!"
A scream tore through the air, followed by Fishlegs' voice. "I'm really beginning to question your teaching methods!"
Hela didn't have the heart to tell him that Gobber didn't have any teaching methods.
The old man ignored everyone's rightful panic and continued with his shouting.
"Look for its blind spot. Every dragon has one. Find it, hide in it, and strike!"
Hela hid away as the Nadder darted past her, tiptoeing towards where the twins were arguing about something she was too far to hear. She was sure it was riveting stuff as the Nadder lost its cool and lunges to attack them.
Gobber does nothing but stare with a blank look. "Blind spot, yes. Deaf spot? Not so much." He giggles as the twins shuffle away.
Finally, alone, Hela dared to come from her hidden corner and asked him, "Hey, so how would one sneak up on a Night Fury?"
Gobber rolled his eyes. "No one's ever met one and lived to tell the tale." Then he snapped, "Now, get in there!"
Hela ignored him. "I know, I know, but hypothetically -"
"Hela!" came the sudden shouted whisper of Aron's voice. "Get down."
She turned to face the blond boy, only to find him crouching down next to Snotlout, peaking around one of the many corners of the maze. Quickly, she joined them.
Aron looked at her for a moment before swiftly tumbling away to the other side of the open path.
He didn't expect her to do that, did he?
Snotlout followed his lead, and Aron shot her an insistent look.
Reluctantly – with a slight whimper, not that she would ever admit that – she attempt to follow.
Hela would like to go on the record to say that she knew that it would happen.
Her shield got stuck, breaking her tumble, and leaving her sprawling ungracefully to the ground. Right as the Deadly Nadder turned to look behind its back.
The dragon screeched, and Hela scrambled to get out of the way.
Snotlout saw a chance to show off and grabbed his axe.
"Watch out!" He shouted. "I'll take care of this."
Aron tried to stop him, but Snotlout threw his axe.
Too bad he had terrible aim.
Aron glared viciously at the dark-haired boy, a look so dark that Snotlout took an actual step back.
"The sun was in my eyes, Aron!" Snotlout tried to defend himself. Were that tears in his eyes? "What do you want me to do, block out the sun? I could do that, but I don't have time right now!"
Aron snorted, shaking his head in disgust.
Hela quenched the urge to tuck his bangs behind his ears. Instead, she continued her conversation with Gobber.
"They probably take the daytime off. You know, like a cat," she said, remembering the feline movement of the Night Fury. "Has anyone ever seen one napping?"
Hela didn't even notice when the Arena exploded into chaos, preoccupied with the Night Fury and what Gobber might know about it. One moment everything was fine, the next, Aron was screaming her name as he fell on top of her.
Hela hit the ground harshly, palms stinging from trying to catch her weight and backside aching from the hard landing. She had no idea what was happening as she and Aron found themselves with their limbs entwining with each other. There was a frantic look in the boy's eyes as they struggled to get loose.
"Just... let me... why don't you..." Hela tried to suggest, attempting to calm him down.
Instead, it only seemed to enrage him. Aron pressed Hela down with a shove to the chest and yanked his axe where it was attached to her shield. Her arm burned as the shield was taken.
Aron quickly jumped from Hela and swung the axe and shield, hitting the attacking Nadder right in its face, wood splinters splattering around.
Hela didn't pay attention to what was happening around her, only faintly hearing Gobber telling Aron that he did a good job. She stayed down, curled up on the ground, arms hovering over her chest, where Aron had touched her.
Where Aron touched her.
Aron ignored Gobber and faced Hela, glaring down at her with flushed cheeks.
"Is this some kind of a joke to you?" He scolded. "Our parents' war is about to become ours! Figure out which side you're on."
It was only then that he saw the shiny sheen in her eyes and how she bunched into herself. His eyes flickered down to where her hands were that the realisation set in. The redness of his cheeks fled as it turned pale.
"Hela… I," he started saying, but Hela ignored him, quickly getting up and running from the Arena.
Rufnutt tearing into Aron was the last she heard as she escaped.
#
Hela ran to the closest place she felt safe in; the forge. With the exception of Gobber, nobody would think to look for her there. Only within the hot and confined walls of the smithy did she allow herself to think about what happened.
Aron had touched her breast.
Remembering the rigid feeling of his hand against sent a shiver down her spine. She was used to embarrassment and humiliation, but at that moment, as Aron stood over her with the anger, only men could feel, Hela had never felt so vulnerable. So utterly small.
Logically, she knew he didn't mean to do it. At that moment, the only thing he could think about was a dragon heading towards them and having to do anything to defend himself. There was nothing personal behind it.
Hela knew this.
It didn't spot her from feeling frail,
She should've been aware, should've done more than talk to Gobber. Maybe if she had been paying attention to the Deadly Nadder, then Aron wouldn't have done what he did.
Our parents' war is about to become ours!
The words screamed through her mind, silencing any other thoughts as she remembered the Night Fury in her backyard. She patted down her vest, shaky hands finding her sketchbook, charcoal between the pages of the black dragon's drawing. Her fingers hovered over the lines for a moment, and, before she knew it, she was exiting the forge.
Figure out which side you're on.
Hela didn't even consider her actions as she takes a shield, steals a fish from one of the many baskets, and runs towards the cove in the forest.
Within minutes, she found herself in the cove clearing, hesitant to enter. She cowered behind the shield as she shuffled a narrow opening between the rocks. Cautiously, she peeked over the edge and threw the fish into the cove.
It landed a meter away with a soft slump!
That was just humiliating.
Hela sighed, leaning forward to look for the dragon. Seeing nothing, she went to pick up the fish. The shield got stuck as she moved forward.
Today just wasn't her day. Maybe, she should sacrifice the fish to Loki instead of the dragon and pray to stop making her life so difficult.
Seeing no other choice, Hela crawled underneath the shield and tiptoed towards the fish, scooping it up with her fingers in its gill.
The dragon was nowhere in sight.
Hela ventured further into the cove with silent steps, slowly turning towards the lake in the middle. A hopeful yet saddened thought filled her head; maybe the dragon had gotten away.
It was then that she felt heavy eyes on her back.
Trusting her instincts, Hela turned to the eyes, unsurprised to find the Night Fury posturing with flared wings on top of a rock. She gasped, startled, as the dragon slinked down from its perch. As it got closer, Hela could see a change in its demeanour, its shoulders rolling backwards at its pupil dilated from their slits.
The Night Fury lifts his head and sniffs the air before growling softly. Blindly, Hela offers it the fish, hoping to all the gods above that the object of its currents affection wasn't the thought of eating her.
It creeps closer, body contorting in ways Hela had never seen before, gums for the world to see as it prepares to take Hela' offering. However, the dragon growls and glares at her, shaking its head towards her middle.
Quickly, Hela opens her vest to reveal the small dagger hanging form her belt. The Night Fury growls again, his demands obvious, but Hela couldn't help but hesitate. Throwing away this dagger was throwing away her only defence. Not that her small weapon could do much against a dragon, but she felt safe with it on her body.
The Night Fury growled again, insistently nodding towards the dagger, and, with a small whimper, she unhooked the blade from her belt and threw it into the lake.
Immediately, the dragon's demeanour shifted as it sat on its hind legs, ears uprights, and pupils round once again, purring as it looked towards the fish before turning those big eyes onto Hela.
She just knew that if this dragon could talk that it would be demanding it to be fed.
Confused and dazed with how quickly the dragon's emotions changed, Hela held out the fish for it. The Night Fury crept closer, its back curling high enough to make Hela uncomfortable, and opened its mouth.
"Huh," she said, surprised at what she saw. "Toothless. I could've sworn you had -"
Faster than her eyes could see, teeth sprung from the dragon's gums and stoled the fish from her hands. With one deep swallow, the fish was gone.
"– teeth"
Hela laughs lightly, slightly breathless. The dragon crawled towards, sniffing.
"Uh, no, no, no," she said frantically. "I don't have any more."
She stumbled backwards, eager to get away from the dragon's bad breath, falling onto her rear as he kept coming closer. Anxiously, she crab-walked, freezing as her back hit a rock. The Night Fury loomed over her, and she had nowhere else to go.
Suddenly, it started gagging, its entire body twitching into itself before it opened its maw and threw up a saliva cover piece of fish.
Right onto her lap.
Hela could only stare.
Dragons could regurgitate?
Hela looked up from her lap and into the bright green eyes of the dragon as it stared meaningfully at her, nodding downwards with a distinct look. Seeing her confusion, the dragon mimicked a swallow.
No.
No!
Hela refused to eat raw, dragon-saliva cover fish.
The dragon's eyes widened.
Biting back the urge to vomit, Hela took the fish into her shaky hands, shivering at the unfamiliar slimy feel of it and lifted it to her face. She shot a pleading look at the dragon, but it just shook its head.
Hela could do nothing but stare at the fish in her hands, wondering what she was doing and why she was considering eating this disgusting meal in front of her. Ensuring its safety wasn't the same thing as earning its loyalty.
His loyalty.
Why was that so important to her?
She closed her eyes and inhaled before biting into the fish. Her eyes opened, tearing at the raw taste in her mouth as she looked towards the dragon. Maybe she could just keep it there and spit it out when he looked away. That idea flew out of the window when he mimicked another swallow.
Gods, Hela hoped this didn't kill her.
Hela swallowed the raw fish in her mouth, gagging as it went down her throat. She had to place her fist on her lips to keep herself from vomiting it all up. Eventually, it all went down and settled in her stomach.
Coughing, wishing for nothing more than a sip of mead to get rid of this nasty taste in her mouth, Hela looked up at the Night Fury, sitting patiently as he watched her, licking his lips. Amused, Hela tried to smile.
The Night Fury shook his head slightly, his purring sounding almost confused. His eyes lingered on Hela lips, his face twitching awkwardly. Slowly but surely, part of his face moved to reveal his gums.
He was copying her, she realised. He was trying to smile.
Eagerly, Hela leaned forward, hand outstretched towards the toothless dragon. She couldn't tell you what had gotten into her to try it. But the dragon didn't allow her to touch him and growled at her, shaking his head before floating away.
Hela watched him in amazement as he managed to make disoriented flying look graceful. Quickly, she got up, running around the lake to get to him. She kept a keen eye on him as he set fire to a piece of ground, circling it before promptly lying down. His headrest only for a moment before something caught his attention. With perked ears, he watched as a bird flew from its nest, following its flight pattern.
Only once it was out of sight did he see Hela sitting eagerly near him. Meeting his eyes, Hela smiled her signature crooked smile, waving slightly at him.
She was determined to be his friend, whether he liked it or not.
The dragon only huffed and, with a lot more drama than Hela thought dragons were capable of, stood up, snorting slightly as he walked away. Hela had to do everything in her power not to snicker at the way his tail sashayed.
Taking the dismissal for what it was, Hela stood up, shaking off any dirt still clinging to her pants, before walking in the opposite direction of where the dragon went. She peeked over her shoulder, snorting at how the dragon was hanging from his tail, looking distinctly bat-like.
Drama queen.
She rolled her eyes, sitting down on the rock she had been curled up against earlier. During her uh, interaction with the Night Fury, time had slipped through her fingers, and as the shadows grew thicker, Hela allowed her mind to wander.
In the span of one afternoon, she had learned more about Night Furies than anyone on Berk knew. However, every new piece of information she gathers spawned further questions. The Night Fury had shown intelligence, not only by mimicking Hela but by guiding her to eat. Idly, she wondered if he saw her as a slightly less competent dragon species, similar to the way cats think of humans.
Absently, she patted her vest down, lowering her empty hands in disappointment. In her hast, Hela had left her sketchbook in the forge. Hela cringed, hoping that Gobber was too busy doing literally anything else to go to the forge. She couldn't risk him finding out about the Night Fury.
Some part of her considered running back to go and grab her sketchbook, but she didn't want to risk it. Not only did it mean going to the village, but there was nothing to guaranty that the dragon would still be here.
Hela sighed and went to go and find a long stick. Within a few minutes, she had one and sat back down on her rock, dragging her feet to create a blank canvas on the earth.
Slowly, the sun dipped towards the horizon as Hela drew in the sand, erasing more than creating. The line was too crooked, then too long and then not long enough. The right eye looked larger than the left, and the ears just weren't shaped the right way.
Clearly, and drawing wasn't her strongest medium of art.
Eventually, she finally got those right and moved to create the rest. It was then that a shadow, identical to the lines in the sand, loomed over her.
Hela hadn't even known the Night Fury was awake and had to fight to keep from flinching. She kept her eyes firmly to the ground, adding some finishing detail to her creation. The dragon shuffled awkwardly, crooning as he follows the movement of her hand before he stomped away. Only then did Hela look up.
She gasped as he took hold of a small tree and ripped it from the ground, roots dangling in the air as he moved. He shook himself, tree firmly between his teeth, and placed the one end to the ground.
Curious, Hela stood up as the dragon begun to sweep across the ground, twisting in circles and half-moon formations, twirling around her at high speeds. Hela had to crouch as he swept past her, ducking just in time to avoid being hit with the dragon's branch. He looked ridiculous, but she stood dead still, not wanting to break him from his ritual.
Suddenly, the dragon stopped, dropping the tree and nodding in satisfaction towards his lines.
The realisation lit up Hela eyes.
He was drawing!
And as he looked to her with a proud tilt to his head, Hela wanted to cry. He was drawing her!
She gaped at him as she took in what he did. Admittedly, she couldn't see the resemblance between her and the wrinkly lines, but it was the thought that counts. Overwhelmed, Hela took a step forward.
The dragon growled, and Hela froze. Strangely, there was no fear in her heart as she looked down and saw her foot on the line – an idea brewed in her mind as she lifted her foot from the ground. The change was immediate as the dragon growl shifted into a purr. Teasingly, she put it down onto the line.
This time, he snarled. Hela's lips twitched into a barely constrained impish smile before she repeated her previous steps. The way the Night Fury switched from ferocious growls into kitten purrs was amusing. Who knew Night Furies' were just overgrown cats with wings?
Satisfied with her experiment, Hela finally stepped over the line, the dragon's eyes softening as he crooned at her. Unable to resist, Hela walked through the lines. A careful choreography of steps as she danced through the drawing. Hela got lost in the moves, focusing solely on not messing up.
Finally, as she steps out of the swirly lines, Hela felt a warm puff of air heating her neck.
Hela quickly turned to look up at the Night Fury, her leaf green eyes meeting his.
Time seemed to slow down as they just looked at each other and resolved hardened Hela's heart as she remembered her decision to earn this dragon's – this beautiful and intelligent beyond compare – trust. She wanted to reach out, but something in her knew that she couldn't force him to accept her touch; he had to be the one to decide.
Hela turned her face away, forcing her shoulders to relax, and, with a deep breath, extended her dominant hand to him.
Moments passed, and Hela was afraid that he had left her, but instead, a warm snout pressed into her palm. Her knees quivered at the feeling, overwhelmed and overjoyed in ways she has never been before. And as she met his eyes again, this time, with kinship, Hela could feel love blooming in her chest, a fluttering so warm that it chased away the ever-present cold of Berk away.
The very earth had moved, yet Hela's world had never felt more stable than at that moment.
The reflection in the dragon's eyes wasn't Hela Haddock with every failing expectation on her shoulders. No, she was just a girl.
And Toothless was her friend.
The delicate peace shattered as Toothless huffed and shook his head before slinking away further to the cove. His sudden departure left Hela breathless, saddened and excited.
As Hela floated towards the village, light-hearted and soft, she knew that whatever this friendship was with Toothless, it was something she would fight the entire island for.