I was used to waking up early… Did I like it? Not a chance. But Because Gobber never gave me an exact time, I decided to gear up as best I could, and went out around the same time I woke up to fish. That was a mistake. By the time I arrived in front of the arena, there was no one there. No one but the crickets to keep me company. I didn't feel as much pain as I thought I would have, it still hurt but not as much as the day as before. I suppose Gothi's herbs in the soup must have done the trick or most of it at least. Hopefully, I wouldn't open up the wounds as Gobber warned me about, but, I didn't want to worry too much about that. Since I still felt tired and it didn't look like anyone else was coming in a while, I decided to take a nap on the side of the left support of the bridge. As uncomfortable as it was to sleep in mail armor on stone, I was able to finally shut my eyes and get some important rest.
"Hello?" I heard someone say.
Now, who could that be? Can you leave me alone for five more minutes?... Let me sleep...
"Come on Signe, leave him here. If he misses the class then he missed it." Heckled Snotlout
Signe? Did I just tell Signe to leave me alone!?
"Ow! What was that for!" I heard him wail.
"I don't care what you think." Barked Signe "You don't leave people behind. Ever. Though, keep that up and I'll probably make an exception for you."
I yawned loudly "Is it time for dragon training yet?" I asked drowsily.
"Not yet, but it should be starting soon. Gobber tends to leave us waiting for a good time, takes his own time in coming." Explained Signe.
"That's right, you took his training before." Remembered Astrid "Got any tips?"
"Well-" I heard Signe start but I wasn't able to listen as I saw Hiccup walking on the bridge carrying a large bearded ax.
"Hey, Hiccup- You look pale, did something happen?" I wondered.
"Yeah, something did. You know that night fury yesterday?"
"Yeah, what about it? Oh, hold that thought. Looks like Gobber's finally here."
I always found it weird that a fat Viking was training us, wouldn't it have been better if a more muscular and well-built one was the trainer? Not that I had anything against him, he gave me quite a few coins and paid the fee for training after all. Just found it kinda funny. I suppose all the stronger Vikings went with the chief.
He didn't say good morning or anything as he walked near the arena. All he did was lift up the gates and say "Welcome to dragon training!" With a smile on his face.
As we began to walk into the vast arena, Astrid said what we were all thinking. "No turning back."
As the rest hoped to get some sort of wound at the end of the course, Signe just grinned and chuckled a little. Maybe she thought the same way when she first entered training.
"Yeah, no kidding right?" Hiccup said sarcastically "Pain. Love it."
"You guys are crazy, I would prefer to stay intact after all this." I chimed in.
Signe gave an approving "Hmm." at our statement, but I really think it was mine that she was impressed with.
"Oh great, who let them in…" Whined Tuffnut.
I was about to respond with a "Who do you think, jerk." Until Gobber interrupted with a "Let's get started! The recruit who does the best will win the honor of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village!"
"Hiccup already killed a Nightfury, so does that disqualify him or…" Snotlout tried to chime in.
Not wanting to see my friend get bullied, I stepped in "Hey, at least he actually killed a dragon. How many have you killed? I bet for all the brawn you have, you can't even kill a Terrible Terror with your brain the size of a grain of wheat."
The nut twins couldn't help but snicker at my quip while Snotlout gave me an angry scowl. I May have made an enemy with him, but I couldn't care less. He should be put in his place.
As the rest walked a little forward, Gobber tried to comfort him but that probably only made Hiccup feel a bit worse. Telling him that he'll look sicker and weak than the rest so the dragon won't go for him, instead, it would go for the rest of us… Wasn't sure how to feel about that.
"Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight" Gobber announced, from the tiny Terrible Terror to the fat Gronkle. Though Fishlegs was acting as it was some sort of game such as saying "Speed eight, venom sixteen" giving them some sort of rank. Wasn't sure what that meant until I read The Book of Dragons later on. This annoyed us as well it did Gobber, as soon as he placed his hands on the lever to release the beast, he shouted at Fishlegs to stop that. Seriously, it's one thing to know about your enemy but it's another thing to put into practice.
"Whoa, whoa, wait, aren't you gonna teach us first?"
Gobber, with one confident look that was most likely a smile, said "I believe in learning on the job" and released the flying, lava-spewing, fat sausage on us.
Mom, dad? I think I'm gonna join you sooner rather than later! I Thought as we scattered around the ring as Gobber gave us more instructions. Why didn't she go after Gobber though? He was equally a target, wasn't he!?
"Quick!" Exclaimed Gobber "What's the first thing you're going to need?"
Hiccup said "A doctor!?"
Fishlegs said, "Plus five-speed!?"
"A shield!" Signe and Astrid burst.
As the Gronkle was snacking on a few stray rocks before firing, I dashed to the nearest shield around me. I didn't have a whole lot of time to admire the beauty of the thing that could have saved my life but I remember it having a painting of the great tree Yggdrasil being wrapped around by the world serpent Jormungandr.
I faced the Gronkle that was heading towards the twins fighting over a shield, since they were making such a fuss, the dragon decided that no one would have it and blasted it into pieces. The steel boss headed straight for me until I blocked it with my own shield, the force of it alone pushed me back a bit.
Signe was bashing her hand-ax against her shield, specifically, the boss, making a clanging sound when the Gronkle was heading towards her. Making the dragon seem disoriented and fly away to the rest of the group. I didn't want to be on my own so I headed towards them.
"Those shields are good for another thing: noise!" Gobber informed.
We all began to bash our shields against our weapons which made it do the same thing that it did with Signe. As we were going over how many shots a Gronkle has, Fishlegs got the right answer, six shots, and his shield was blasted out of his hand, again turning into shards, and several of the larger pieces headed straight for me!
"Oh no!" I blurted out as I raised my shield "Why do these things hate me…" I sighed.
"That's weird, it happened to me all the time when I was an initiate." Chuckled Signe.
"Wait, really?" I wondered, as she was about to respond we saw Snotlout try to hit on Astrid who was trying to survive the gronkle heading straight towards them. Astrid dodged the blast and Snotlout got hit instead. We couldn't help but give a small bit of laughter.
I saw Hiccup try his shot at Astrid but she was too focused on trying not to get hit, he just barely had time to guard, and instead of his shield shattering, it started to roll away.
Oh crap! I thought as I ran to him "Hey ugly!-" midway into my steps, I fell down and felt a little warm around my back. My wounds opened back up! The pain was debilitating and I could barely get back up by the time the gronkle had him pinned to the wall, all I could do was scream out "Hiccup!" before the creature fired a shot and just barely missed! If Gobber wasn't there to hook the monster in its mouth, Hiccup would be dead and I would have lost another one. I don't know what I would have done if he died then, I could have been so depressed that I could have run my sword right through my chest.
Right after he locked the beast back up and assured it that it'll get another chance he told us "Remember, a dragon will always, always, go for the kill…" Looking at Hiccup as he said the last part.
The training ended shortly afterward, especially after Gobber saw the crimson flowing down my back. Soon enough, he was putting fresh bandages around my back.
"You can't say I didn't warn you, Arne," He said as he stretched bandages around my waist.
"I mean, I can, but that's not gonna make much of a difference, is it?" I winced.
"No, I suppose not. I recommend you get some rest at home but I don't think you're going to listen."
"Probably not. I have things to do and places to be."
"And where would that be except rest on your bed?"
"Fishing and on the water."
"Fishing again?"
"What? It's my livelihood" I retorted.
"I know that, but in your condition, I don't think you should go out right now and let your wounds heal."
"Hmph. I'll think about it…" What I really wanted to do was see that scauldron again but the thought in the back of my head was Why do I want to go back!? It already scratched me up pretty badly in that cave, it could tear me to shreds the next time!
I did go back to my house to rest, only for about an hour or so. I packed up some of my things such as extra torches, flints, and steel but I didn't bring any weapons with me, not even a shield or even a knife. I didn't want this dragon to think I was coming to hurt it and then proceed to kill me. I want the scauldron to be as calm as possible nearby me. I mainly just wanted to check out the wound on it and see if there was anything I could do so I also threw some bandages and other things in my satchel. With that, I began to row to the cavern. It felt weird being in my fishing boat and not be fishing, I don't think I've ever done that. For as long as I could remember, whenever I was on a boat, I was always taking care of my lines, rebating, casting them out, and occasionally throwing out my net. It was pretty relaxing though, maybe I'll take Signe here one day…when the Scauldron's gone of course!... And if I ever work up the nerve to ask her out… When is that day gonna come? I have no idea, but it's gonna be one of these days, I'm sure of it! I just have to find the right situation and words is all! Yeah! I can do that! I thought as I looked at my reflection in the water, stroking my short ginger hair as I imagined interactions with the girl of my dreams. I soon snapped out of it when I realized I was about to hit a rock wall on the side of the island.
I eventually arrived at the cavern, wary of the possible scauldron lurking around. Lighting my torch, I slowly marched into the cold cavern. Slowly waving my torch a the surroundings, I eventually made out what were pieces of what used to be my spear flowing in the water. The dragon must have broken it when I was out, or maybe it was shattered when I pulled it out, either way, it was a waste of craftsmanship. This spear was very dear to me, it was a snoggletog gift from my father. Like all little kids at that time, I wanted nothing more than to fight and kill a dragon. I begged my dad to train me but he kept saying no because I was too young, until a Snoggletog about a year ago when he gave me a long wooden box, upon opening it, I saw the spear in all its glory. It was requested from Gobber actually, my dad would have made it himself but blacksmithing is a delicate trade. One wrong move and you can ruin the whole thing, at least that's what Hiccup told me. That was his way of saying "You're ready. I'll train you."
I sighed and moved past the pieces. As I continued and neared my torch near the faintest outline of the scauldron, it lunged at me with frightening force! This made everything I prepared for essentially useless. The torch went out and the backups I had were soaked, great… just great… I thought as I brought my head out of the water but stopped as soon as I felt sharp objects on my forehead and chin. Those aren't teeth, are they…? As my eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness I realized that my head was somewhat into the scauldron's maw. It is! My life was flashing before my eyes and I tightly shut my eyes This is the end! I thought I never got to kiss Signe! Didn't complete dragon training! As thoughts were racing across my mind, something peculiar happened. Instead of my face being bitten off, I saw the dragon back his head away and just stare at me. It studied me in a curious manner, cocking its head to the side like a dog. All it did was chuff with some steam leaking from its mouth and walk away to where it was to lay down. As my eyes continued to adjust, I could see the scab that was formed on its wound, it seems that my shirt was either taken off or slipped out of the slit.
Just like Gobber said, it went for the kill but also unlike what Gobber said, it then decided not to eat me. This perplexed me, the day before, it seemed like it had every intention to kill me, at the very least out of self-defense. When I was fishing, it was about to kill me with a shot, and when I came back, he tried to bite my head off. Now, it seemed like it at least tolerated me. Daring not to push my luck, I decided to stay away a few feet from it but close enough to get a good look at it. As I walked through the water, the scauldron stared at me, checking if I was going to make a move. Since I didn't have so much as a knife with me, I couldn't have made one even if I wanted to. Hmm… Maybe he's hungry? I wondered. I didn't have a whole lot on me, nor the boat but I made a mental note of bringing something for the scauldron the next time I visited it. Eventually, I just sat found a moist rock and decided to sit on it for the rest of the time I was there. The scauldron eventually decided I wasn't going to attack it and it then just closed its eye and rested.
Soon enough, I heard thunder clouds and I decided it was time to go before the rain started to fall.
I arrived too late. By the time I roped my boat to the docks, it was pouring hard, so hard I thought it was hail for a second, and it was a long walk to the great hall. I sighed a long exasperated sigh and began trudging through the mud-caked ground. As I neared the hall, I saw a familiar face walking up the stairs.
"What's up, man?" I called out.
Hiccup, a little startled, looked at me and wave. He decided to stand on the stairs as I slowly scaled the stairs, kicking off some mud every other step. As we got to the door, we could hear Gobber talking with the rest of the trainees. When we opened the door, Astrid was saying how her somersault dive was sloppy and stuff, Snotlout, trying to show his "nicer" side to her tried to say that it was so "Astrid". Yeah, I don't think that won him any points. As we approached the table to grab our food, a few were giving Hiccup some bad looks, mainly Snotlout and Ruffnut. As Hiccup was choosing a place to sit down, Snotlout constantly blocked his seating, what a jerk! Hiccup rolled his eyes in a way to say "Fine!" and we sat at the next table. All this while Gobber was asking where Hiccup went wrong.
"Uh, he showed up." Answered Ruffnut, though she was probably just annoyed by him.
"He didn't get eaten." Backed up Tuffnut.
Signe, who was with them, just rolled her eyes at their comments.
Oh, go take that spear of yours and shove it! I thought as we walked.
Astrid gave a, well I don't want to say a better answer but more of a thought-provoking answer.
"He's never where he should be." She answered.
"Thank you, Astrid!" Gobber exclaimed.
Hiccup sat on one side of the table where I sat on the other end. After Gobber's exclamation, he looked a little depressed.
"Hey, don't let it get to you man. You did your best, and that's all that counts."I whispered. While this was a small lie, as he was trying to talk to Astrid during the training (Though I guess I can't blame him as I was chatting with Signe a little), I tried to cheer him up. "Besides, it's the first day. We all kinda sucked… except Signe of course."
Hiccup gave a slight chuckle "Nothing can go wrong Signe, eh?"
I shrugged but was happy that I lifted his mood a little.
"The dragon manual," Announced Gobber as he placed a large book on their table, moving around some of their food "Everything we know, about every dragon we know of." He said as he looked at Fishlegs, weirdly enough, the chubby Viking was nodding quite a bit, though maybe he was just trying to show his focus on Gobber.
As soon as Gobber said that there was a small rumbling through the hall. "Hmm… No attacks tonight. Study up." He commanded as he left the building.
Quite the hands-off teacher, he was, always leaving when his work was done, never sticking around to make sure we behaved or anything like that.
"Wait, you mean read?" Complained Tuffnut
"While we're still alive?" Said the other twin.
"Why read words when you can just kill the stuff the words tell you stuff about?" Wondered Snotlout as he slammed his fist on the table, making the bones of his chicken wing bounce up a bit.
"Better to know your foe than just going out and knowing nothing about them and getting killed," I stated as I bit down on my chicken leg, Signe gave an impressed nod while the rest seemed to ignore me.
"Oh, oh, I've read this book like seven times! There's this water dragon that sprays boiling water at your face!" Fishlegs interjected, he said something else after that but as he said that, I nearly choked on the mouthful of chicken, coughing a bit onto my plate. A scauldron!? I knew that was their name and what they shot, but that still caught me off-guard! Of all the dragons he could have started out with, he started with the scauldron. Quite the weird coincidence.
As Fihslegs was about to explain another dragon, he was cut off midsentence by Tuffnut. I swear, if something bad happens, it's always caused by Tuffnut, Ruffnut, or Snotlout, or maybe all three of them. Some of the worst people in the village!
"You guys read, I'll go kill stuff." Said Snotlout as he got up with a cocky smirk on his face.
"I would prefer you to die in the jaws of a dragon instead…" I muttered under my breath.
As everyone was leaving, Hiccup walked over to Astrid.
"I guess we'll share-"
As soon as Astrid looked at Hiccup she rolled her eyes and pushed the book at Hiccup, exclaiming "Read it!" and left. Wow, the guy really knew how to pick'em…
"All- all mine then, wow, so, okay, I'll see you…" Before he could finish his sentence, the doors were shut "tomorrow…"
"Hey, I'm still here, bud." I notified him as I took my plate to the table.
"Oh yeah, that's true. I guess it won't be so bad after all. But let's finish our food first before it gets cold"
"Sounds like a plan," I said as I dug into the plate of meat.
Eventually, we finished and the great hall was dark, save for some candles that were lit to read the book.
"Let's see what this old book has to offer," I said as we sat down.
Hiccup nodded and opened the book "Dragon classifications: Strike class, Fear Class, Mystery Class-"
"And Tidal class" I added.
"Thunderdrum: 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"
Geez, can sound really do that to a person? Also, the book's kinda a graphic, wouldn't expect to see a drawing of a man being decapitated by the dragon… then again, considering the book, this kind of thing probably happens often. I thought, though because of my thoughts I kinda missed what Hiccup was reading about the Timberjack.
"Extremely dangerous, kill on sight" He read.
"Huh, I'm starting to see a pattern on these entries. Do all these have 'extremely dangerous, kill on sight'?"
He then read what was probably the most interesting entry in the book, the Scauldron. As he finished reading, Thor pounded his hammer and a loud bang of thunder sounded through the hall, didn't help that the gates were slightly open. This startled both of us quite a bit, but as I looked back at the book, I saw something next to the scalding water sentence. It read that the Scauldron also has extremely venomous fangs that if a person is bitten, they'll be dead within the next twenty-four hours. That sent shivers down my spine, I almost got bitten by the scauldron, if he hadn't stopped when he did, I could have been dead within the next day!
He was flipping through the pages, all entries said to kill on sight, and then landed on the Night Fury with a blank page, the dragon we got that one night. As he finished reading its entry, he then took out his journal and placed it on the book. A drawing of a dragon.
"Hiccup, is that-"
As Hiccup saw that I was looking at it, he quickly stuffed his journal back in his coat. "I gotta go! Uh, see you tomorrow." He said as he quickly walked out of the hall
"O-okay then… See ya…" What was all that about? I wondered.
(My last post was July 23rd, geez. I'm wayyyy overdue. Sorry, life happened, and life keeps happening. Not to mention being a college student, by the end of the day I'm burnt out when it comes to writing. I will try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can but no promises.)