REVIEWS:

Tim2060: So glad you're enjoying it.

DragonKing49: I'm really having fun with this one, though the sequel is a bit trickier to write. It's hard to have an opinion on a story until it's finished.

Silverleone: I was pleasantly surprised to get your review so late in the week. I hope my writing will live up to your expectations.

I'm torn apart

"Rise and shine, Hiccup!" Gobber's cheery voice rang outside my house, and I woke with an unpleasant jerk.

"Wha…?" I sat up and rubbed my bleary eyes, still half asleep.

"First day of Dragon Training!"

Sorðinn! I'd completely forgotten about that! Scrambling out of bed, I looked down at the rumpled green tunic and pants I'd slept in the night before. They'd have to do for another day. I stumbled down the stairs, almost tripping over my feet. "Coming!"

I pulled open the door, and saw Gobber strolling down the street. I scurried after him, realised it might be a good idea to have a weapon of defence against dangerous fire breathing predators, and turned around to collect the axe Dad had given me last night. The village seemed emptier than normal and almost all the warriors were gone as I rushed back inside. That meant Dad had taken them on a wild Nest hunt again. I had to hunt for the axe, so I was already running late by the time I found it under my bed. Great way to start a class when everyone already hated me.

The fire brigade was already inside and looking around in awe when I finally arrived.

I completely agreed with Astrid as she commented, "No turning back."

"I hope I get some serious burns," Tuffnut said casually.

"I'm hoping for some mauling, like on my shoulder or lower back," Ruffnut countered.

Only the Thorstons would think injuries were a sign of honour. If you got into a fight, wasn't it better to emerge unscathed than with a major injury?

"Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it," Astrid said flippantly, and I stared at her. Why was everyone so eager to get hurt?

"Yeah, no kidding, right? Pain. Love it." Curse my mouth! Everyone turned to stare at me, and I fought against the instinct to run and hide myself behind Gobber. I was going to spend a good part of each day with these people for the next few weeks, I had to at least tolerate them.

"Oh, great. Who let him in?" Tuffnut slouched, holding his spear like a walking stick. I looked over it, and was surprised that it was actually in good condition, except it could do with a good sharpening. Blunt weapons were about as good as sticks, according to Gobber.

"Let's get started!" Gobber said, sounding way too happy about our impending doom. "The recruit who does best will win the honour of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village!"

It was going to be Astrid. Her whole life had led up to this point, and she wore out an axe each year with her strict training exercises. Making her the best axe yet had become a challenge for me, and the one she held now had taken me a full week to make. It seemed to be in good condition so far. Maybe she could show me how it was holding up at some point. I blinked, mentally smacking myself. There was no way in the nine worlds Astrid Hofferson would ever let me touch her precious axe, even if I somehow worked up the courage to talk to her.

"Hiccup already killed a Night Fury, so does that disqualify him or...?" Snotlout mocked.

I swallowed a sigh as the twins cackled and the other teens walked away. Story of my life.

"Can I transfer to the class with the cool Vikings?" Tuffnut asked, and I bit my lip.

"Don't worry." Gobber said to me, and I relaxed into the familiar territory. I knew Gobber, and though he was as mean and bloodthirsty as any Viking, he was also my adopted uncle. Burying me under his arm, he started dragging me forwards to where the other teens were standing in a straight line."You're small and weak." I really hoped there was a point to that insult. "That'll make you less of a target!" I stared at him in disbelief. "They'll see you as sick or insane, and go after the more Viking-like teens instead!"

Gobber pushed me next to Fishlegs, and I breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't so bad, and we'd been quite close when we were younger. If there was any teen I wanted to be paired up with, it was Fishlegs.

"Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight!" I could see the doors more clearly now, iron monstrosities with heavy bars. They rattled ominously, and I looked at them nervously. They were almost as old as Berk, and though I knew Gobber repaired them from time to time, I really wished I wasn't a blacksmith at that moment. I could see every weakness, every point where something could be done to strengthen the doors.

"The Deadly Nadder!"

Beside me, Fishlegs juddered with nervous excitement. "Speed, eight. Armour, sixteen."

I was more interested in the cage. It had a large log as a bolt, suspended from the roof by ropes. Nadders had the hottest fire of all the dragons, and I shivered as I imagined the fire bursting through the crack between the doors, setting the log on fire and giving the dragon free range.

"The Hideous Zippleback!"

"Plus eleven stealth times two." I had no idea what that meant, but the Zippleback's cage was the same as the Nadder's, with the same problem. It would be even easier for the green gas Zipplebacks used to escape through the small crack between the doors, then boom!

"The Monstrous Nightmare!"

"Firepower fifteen!" Fishlegs was in his element, rattling of statistics as fast as Gobber named the dragons, but it was really getting on my nerves. The Nightmare's cage was more secure, with massive metal slabs laid horizontally across the opening, and a thick, reinforced beam right down the middle. It looked secure enough, until I noticed that one of the hinges on the right side, about halfway up, was slightly bent. How strong was that dragon?!

"The Terrible Terror!"

"Attack, eight. Venom, twelve!"

Terrors were such small dragons, the cage should be fine. Besides, Gobber knew what he was doing. Every cage was probably as safe as the forge, which meant I'd be fine as long as I didn't do anything stupid.

"Can you stop that!" Obviously I wasn't the only one who was getting annoyed with Fishlegs' deluge of information. "And… the Gronckle," Gobber finished, resting his hand ominously on the release handle.

Cowed, Fishlegs whispered, "Jaw strength, eight," to me out of the corner of his mouth. I smiled at him, happy that someone didn't think I was to be 'bullied/ignored on sight'.

Snotlout took a step forward, obviously panicking. "Whoa, whoa, wait. Aren't you going to teach us first?!"

I knew what was coming next. It was the story of every scar I'd ever got when I made a mistake in forging.

"I believe in learning on the job!" Gobber pushed down on the lever. A fat dragon with hummingbird wings burst out of the cage and slammed into the wall in front of it with a loud crack. All rational thoughts left my head, and I worked on blind instinct that told me to get the heck out of there! I ran as fast as I could in the opposite direction until I almost crashed into a wall. Turning around and holding my axe in a vaguely aggressive stance, I watched Astrid. If anyone knew what to do, it would be her.

"Today is about survival. If you get blasted, you're dead." That was obvious. "Quick! What's the first thing you're going to need?" Gobber asked, acting as though there wasn't a deadly predator less than ten metres away from us.

I got a glimpse of the razor sharp teeth in its mouth and panicked. "A doctor?"

"Plus five speed?" It seemed like I wasn't the only one who didn't do well under pressure. If it was possible to increase our speed that would have been useful, but Fishlegs obviously hadn't thought his words through before speaking.

"A shield!" Astrid said, her legs half bent and ready to sprint in any direction, her axe held ready by her side.

"Shield, go!" Gobber yelled and everyone ran straight for the shields scattered around the room. I found a red one in the middle of the floor and turned it over. Where did they keep the straps on those things? I tried to put it on my arm, realised I had it upside down, and tried to sort it out. I was used to fixing them, not using them! "Your most important piece of equipment is your shield! If you must make a choice between a sword or a shield, take the shield!" Gobber charged over, pushed the shield onto my arm and shoved me into the middle of the ring. I remembered how bent some of the swords were after Vikings tried to use them on Gronckles and completely agreed with him.

In the middle of the ring, Ruffnut and Tuffnut fought over a hideous orange shield with skulls on it.

"Get your hands off my shield!"

"There's like a million shields!"

"Take that one, it has a flower on it. Girls like flowers." I was convinced that Tuffnut had finally gone insane. Who in their right mind would say something so ridiculous when half the warriors on Berk were women? Ruffnut wrestled the shield out of his grasp, and hit him over the head with it.

"Oops, now this one has blood on it," she cackled, and I stared in disbelief as she held it out for Tuffnut to grab again. They were definitely both insane, no question.

The Gronckle flew past and blasted the shield they were holding, spinning both twins round before they toppled to the floor in a daze.

"Tuffnut, Ruffnut, you're out!" Gobber yelled. "Those shields are good for another thing: noise! Make lots of it to throw off a dragon's aim!"

All the other teens were in a straight line, one of their fire fighting formations, and I hurried to join them. Every stroke jolted my arm as I hit my shield with my axe, and the Gronckle hovered in place, looking at us in bewilderment. Its eyes were half closed and it shook its head in confusion.

"All dragons have a limited number of shots!" Gobber continued to teach as we tried to avoid being killed. "How many does a Gronckle have?"

The number was kicked out of my head by all the adrenaline coursing through my veins. Didn't it depend on how many rocks it had eaten recently?

"Five?" Snotlout guessed, panicking just as hard as I was.

"No, six!" Fishlegs said, lifting his shield into the air.

"Correct, six! That's one for each of you!" I really didn't like the sound of that, especially when the Gronckle had taken out both the twins with one shot, and I ducked behind a nearby board.

Fishlegs' shield was blasted out of his hand and shattered against the wall. The Gronckle circled round, and he threw his weapon away in terror, before running away, screaming. There might actually be someone who was just as bad as me at Dragon Training.

"Hiccup, get in there!" Gobber must have seen me cowering, so I covered my chest with my shield and moved out. A shot hit the wall right next to me, and I immediately shrank back behind the wall. Gobber had said the lesson was about survival, right?

"So, anyway I'm moving into my parents' basement," Snotlout said casually to Astrid as I finally summoned the courage to creep forwards. "You should come by sometime to work out. You look like you work out!" Just when I thought my cousin couldn't get any dumber! Astrid somersaulted away from Snotlout towards me, and his eyes followed her as she rolled. A blast struck his shield and he was knocked backwards by the force.

"Snotlout! You're done!" Gobber yelled, and I realised something.

"So, I guess it's just you and me, huh?" I said to Astrid, amazed I'd made it this far.

"Nope, just you," she replied, dashing straight past me. I hoisted my shield up with a yelp as a hot ball of lava knocked it right out of my hand. Realising I was defenceless, I chased my shield desperately, but the stupid thing landed on its side and rolled away from me as Gobber called out, "One shot left."

The Gronckle buzzed noisily right behind me, and I suddenly realised I was running straight into a wall. Skidding to a stop, I tried to turn around, but my feet slipped and I was suddenly on the floor with an angry dragon looming over me. Something twitched in my head, there was a faint burst of itching, and the world went white again.

"Hiccup!" There was real fear in Gobber's voice and I huddled down, trying to make myself a smaller target. The Night Fury was definitely scarier, but I could see the glow at the back of the Gronckles' throat as it readied a fireball. Its brown flame wasn't nearly as big or angry as the purple ball of fire, and I desperately reached out towards it, panicking and working on blind instinct. The Gronckle hesitated for a second, staring at me in bewilderment, then narrowed its eyes again. I closed my eyes as the world faded back into colour. I really had to get that under control.

Boom! I heard the shot being released and waited for the pain, but it didn't come.

"And that's six!" Gobber's voice shook a little, but he seemed to have recovered. I, on the other hand, felt like someone was hammering on the inside of my chest and trying to burst my heart open.

"Get back into bed, you overgrown sausage! You'll get another chance, don't you worry."

He spun round, threw the Gronckle into its cage like a bola, slammed the doors shut, and lowered the bolt.

"Remember: a dragon will always—always—go for the kill." Gobber put his face close to mine, and I knew that was his way of telling me to stop all 'this'. But there'd been a dragon who hadn't gone for the kill, even when they had a personal grudge against me, even when I'd knocked them out of the sky. Any Viking would have at least cuffed me if I'd knocked them over, but this dragon had only roared at me.

"Class dismissed," Gobber said cheerily, and there was a mass stampede for the exit. I hung back a little as Snotlout shoved Fishlegs out of his way and charged into the village.

"Are you alright, Hiccup?" Gobber asked quietly. "The first near death experience can be quite a shock. I'm surprised you didn't faint."

I almost told him that it wasn't my first near death experience, but then I would have had to confess that I'd let a Night Fury go, and I couldn't do that. I felt really bad, hiding things from Gobber, but there was no way I could ever admit that I'd spared the life of Berk's worst enemy.

"Actually, I think I might go home and lie down," I said, hoping he'd excuse me from forge duty for the afternoon. "I feel a bit dizzy."

"I'll walk you home," Gobber said, and I picked up a random shield.

"I think I need to practise using a shield, not just making one. Do you mind if I...?"

"You got that right, Hiccup," he laughed. "I never thought you'd beat Snotlout!"

We walked home together, and he peeled away to go and catch up on forge work. With most of the warriors away on a Nest hunt, there weren't nearly so many repairs to do, and he gave me the week off.

"Maybe do some training? Just a thought." His eyes flicked to mine, filled with genuine concern. He wanted me to do well, but I couldn't. I'd never be able to kill a dragon, however much training I had.

"Thanks, Gobber. Maybe tomorrow, but today I just want some time to rest and think."

He stumped off, and I slipped inside the house to put my axe down, then out the back door and into the woods. There was something I needed to know.

oOoOo

It was easy enough to find the place where I'd shot down the Night Fury, but then I realised the a flaw in my master plan. It had wings, so it could fly away without leaving any tracks behind. It could be anywhere by now. I knelt down and lifted one of the heavy bola weights.

"So why didn't you?" I thought aloud. "If dragons always go for the kill, why didn't you?"

I looked around the ground, hoping for any clue, no matter how small. Thick claw marks in the ground showed exactly where it had been when it had taken off, but it could easily have changed direction. I tried to dredge up memories from yesterday. I'd covered my eyes, trying to escape the awful brightness, and the Night Fury had flown away. But I'd distinctly heard it crash into a rock before roaring angrily at the sky. Maybe it was still stunned from the crash? It must take a lot of concentration to fly. I imagine how hard it would be to coordinate everything. One small mistake could send a dragon to the ground, and it must be almost impossible to fly with a foggy head. I knew that the Night Fury would probably have recovered by now, but it was the only lead I had.

oOoOo

After a few hours of searching fruitlessly, I was ready to give up. My legs ached from walking, I was sure that I was hopelessly lost, and my stomach was making all sorts of ungodly noises in hunger.

"One more try," I told myself, walking in a random direction through the forest.

The ground suddenly gave out beneath me and I plunged downwards. Skidding down a steep cliff and bouncing off a couple of rocks, my heart slamming into the top of my ribcage, I found myself just above a small basin in the earth, lined with tall walls. Ducking under a root, I emerged into bright sunshine and gazed across the cove.

Wow. I drew in a breath of awe. It was calm, peaceful, and sunny, with a glassy lake in one corner. Various tree roots hugged the walls, and green foliage dripped down the sides. It was worth walking all this way just to find it. I knew with certainty that this would be the place I came to for peace and quiet from now on, especially when a flock of small birds flew through a sunbeam released by the setting sun. There was only one way in or out, unless I could fly, and it was a small gap between two rocks on the opposite side of the depression. None of the village adults could have squeezed through, except maybe Mildew or Gothi, and even Fishlegs would have trouble.

"Well, this was stupid." I finally admitted that I was no closer to finding the Night Fury. Judging from the sun's position, I thought the village must be a little to the right, and I was ready to call it a day. It was nearing sunset, and I reluctantly acknowledged my need to eat. My last meal had been supper the night before last, and I couldn't go without food indefinitely.

An irregularity, a break in the green grass to my left, caught my attention as I turned to go. There was a trail of small black stones across the grassy ledge, and I reached down and picked one up. It was smooth on both sides, impossibly thin, and it reflected the light. Maybe it was some kind of metal? I ran my fingers over it, wondering what the strange substance could be. Could it be used—Whoosh!

My heart almost burst out of my chest as a large black streak flew up the wall towards me, and I scrambled backwards. What on Midgard was that?! When I'd got myself under control, I carefully crept forwards and peered around the corner. The Night Fury! It scrabbled desperately on the steep cliff face, but couldn't get a good hold. Slipping downwards, it had to glide to safety, tipping sideways and landing awkwardly on the other side of the pond. It let out a sad gurgle as it hit the ground, hanging its head.

Excited, I scrambled downwards and landed on a small ledge about two thirds up the walls. This was my chance to find out why the Night Fury hadn't killed me!

As I watched, it took off and flew determinedly towards the edge of the cove. It was doing fine, until something went wrong. It crashed hard to the floor and moaned in despair, barely landing on its feet in time to absorb the fall. It took off again, trying to get some vertical lift, and I realised this was a good chance to draw it. Fumbling for my notebook, I opened it to a random clean page and scribbled down the basic shape as the Night Fury tried to escape again. Two incredibly large wings attached to a long oval body with two triangular fins just behind them. A long thin tail flared out at the end into two diamond shaped tail fins, and the head had four frills, two large and two small. I'd add in details later.

"Why don't you just... fly away?" I asked quietly. Surely this dragon, one that was never seen, never caught, and zoomed across the sky faster than the wind, could escape any time it wanted to?

The Night Fury angrily shot a purple fire bolt at the ground in front of it, and I realised I'd drawn the tail wrong. Rubbing out the extra fin, I winced at the smear of charcoal it left behind. I'd transfer the drawing to a different page when I got back.

The dragon took off again, trying to reach the other side of the cove, but something went wrong in mid air again. This time it couldn't twist around in time and it landed hard on its side, groaning in frustration and pain. Lying on the ground, the splash of a fish caught its attention, and it got to its feet and limped forwards. I watched in fascination as it plunged its head into the water and tried to grab the fish, which got away. I wasn't the only one who was bad at fishing. It made sense that it wouldn't take our food if it only ate fish. Another reason it never came down to the ground.

It pulled back and lay down, clearly exhausted and about to go to sleep. I sighed at the mistakes in my drawing. The wings weren't symmetrical, the colour was all wrong, and I hadn't managed to position the eyes quite right… My hand loosened on the pencil, and my heart stopped as it fell to the ground with a small clatter.

The Night Fury raised its head.

I frozel, waiting for the deadly fire bolt that was about to come my way. The first time had probably been a simple repayment for me sparing its life, and this time I was definitely going to be burnt to a crisp.

But as the minutes went by and the Night Fury just stared at me, I started to relax. The green eyes weren't scared or angry any more; they were curious. I could almost hear the dragon thinking what kind of scrawny human deliberately looks for a dragon that could kill him in a second? I tilted my head to the side, and it copied me. It was obviously more intelligent than other animals, maybe more intelligent than the twins, though admittedly that wasn't a very high bar.

The sky suddenly darkened, and I looked up, surprised that the sun had set already. I groaned in frustration. There was an enormous storm cloud completely covering the sun, and I knew that I was about to get soaked.

I scrambled up the small slope again, and turned around for one last look at the Night Fury. It lay down and folded its wings, ready to wait out the storm. Something tugged on me, but I shook my head and hurried to get home before the forest became too muddy for me to pass through.

I'm so glad the weather's warming up.