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FIGHTING

'You just keep out of the way of Snotlout. I don't want you getting hurt.'

"Can you beat Hookfang?" I asked Toothless nervously. This was one of the rounds we should win, but if we didn't then we had to win the fire event.

'I don't know,' he admitted. 'The last time we fought, he was weak from being imprisoned in that cage, and I had the element of surprise.'

He looked just as nervous as I felt, shifting from side to side, and I hugged his head reassuringly.

"Even if we lose the challenge, I'm not giving you to Snotlout," I told him. "I'd break a thousand Viking laws before losing you." He purred into my arms. "Though it would probably be better if we won the challenge fair and square," I added. "The villagers can get pretty violent in enforcing Viking law."

"Hey, are you coming?" Astrid asked impatiently. We'd agreed to go to the third challenge together.

"Yes," I called to her, and mounted Toothless. All I wanted to do was some proper flying, to lose my nerves in the thrill of flight, and I could tell that Toothless wanted to as well, but we needed all the strength and endurance we had for the next event.

My heart got left behind in the sky, hovering somewhere above the Kill Ring as we landed, and my head tried to follow it up into the sky. My hands were sweaty no matter how much I wiped them on my tunic, and I found it hard to breathe.

"Alright, the rules are as follows:" Dad started to say, but he faded into meaningless noise, and I had to concentrate to hear individual words. "No killing or permanent damage, and no fire from the dragons, but other than that, pretty much anything goes. Last human or dragon standing earns a point for their team."

Toothless nudged my arm, and I realised that it was almost time to start. Snotlout was glaring at me, and he obviously thought they would win this one easily.

"On your marks…" Toothless stroked my back with his tail, and I tried to take deep breaths.

"Get set…" I bent my knees, ready to run. Whether that was at or from Snotlout, I wasn't sure.

"Go!" I blinked in surprise as Hookfang barrelled towards me. My legs went limp as fifteen years of instinct flew out the window.

'Hiccup, run!"

Toothless was already springing at Snotlout, determined to bring him down and come to help me. My mind was frozen but my legs responded, thank the gods. I sprang sideways and felt the rush of wind as Hookfang barrelled past me. He skidded to a stop, spun around and charged again. I tried to sidestep again, but his wings were ready and waiting for that trick, and he knocked me off my feet.

Trapped and helpless beneath his claws, a strong sense of deja vu washed over me. I twisted my head to see how Toothless was doing. Snotlout wasn't trying to be the hero this time, he was actually thinking properly and staying out of range of Toothless' teeth and claws. Every time Toothless lunged for him, Snotlout would duck and weave out of his grasp, often tagging him on the head cheekily as he passed.

'Night night Hiccup,' Hookfang mocked, and I saw Toothless' ears prick up. Hookfang raised his head, ready to hit me with his hard horns, and Toothless spun away from Snotlout, ready to tackle Hookfang. He didn't see the gloating grin on Snotlout's face, or the rock in Snotlout's hand, until it flew through the air and hit him on the head. He dropped to the floor, and I screamed uselessly.

"TOOTHLESS!"

Hookfang twisted his head violently, and I grabbed his horns as they sped towards my head. Instead of knocking me unconscious, the horns tore me out of his grasp faster than I could ever move on my own. Taken by surprise, Hookfang tried to slam me into the wall, but I got my feet up. Bracing myself against the wall, I pushed harder than I'd ever pushed before, and Hookfang's long neck started to buckle slightly. I caught a glimpse of the limp black body on the floor, and strength flooded my body. Hookfang's horns met the floor, and he went limp.

I stood up and turned around, looking for Snotlout. He was right in front of me. I didn't have time to blink before a massive fist collided with the side of my head and blackened my vision.

"—and Hookfang."

Wha…? What had just happened? A thick spike of pain twisted through my brain, scrambling my thoughts. What was Dad doing near my bed? The fuzzy world sharpened, and the sounds, sights, and smells of the Kill Ring washed over me.

I blinked, trying to catch a thought before it escaped. A… competition? Had Snotlout won? Why were we—oh no. I slumped, suddenly overwhelmed by a surge of information. We'd lost.

"Ha, ha!" Snotlout said, looming over me. "I'm one step closer to getting my own Night Fury."

I hissed at him, dragon style, and he backed away in surprise.

"You. Will. Never. Get. Toothless." My words came out strangled, but Snotlout obviously understood them.

"We'll see about that."

He sauntered out of the Ring with Hookfang in tow, and I tried to raise my head. The walls spun around me, and I groaned as my head pulsed in pain. Snotlout had really hit me hard.

"Are you alright, son?" Dad reached down and offered me a hand. "That was a dirty trick with the rock. You should have won this event."

Rock? What rock? I gripped Dad's massive paw and closed my eyes against the vertigo as he pulled me to my feet. When I opened my eyes again, I saw Astrid, Fishlegs and Gobber staring at me worriedly.

"Did you see that!" Tuffnut exclaimed. "You were all trapped under Hookfang's claws, but as soon as Snotlout got Toothless, it was like you became Astrid! Why can't you do that all the time?"

Astrid glared at him, and Ruffnut clarified, "Stronger and more violent than people think. He obviously didn't grow blond hair and start wearing a skirt."

Wait, 'got Toothless'? I turned my head, and my heart fell out of the sky on top of me when I saw the limp heap of black in the middle of the Ring. Momentum carried it through my chest and into the floor. I obviously wasn't out for very long, but Snotlout had thrown a rock at Toothless' head! I wriggled out of my dad's grasp and lurched over to Toothless, somehow unable to walk in a straight line. Lying down—well, falling onto my stomach and not bothering to get up again—in front of Toothless, I traced the edge of his eye with my hand, like I was brushing hair out of his face.

"Come on, Bud," I whispered. "Wake up."

There were people babbling above our heads, but it was meaningless noise. His nose twitched.

"That's it," I encouraged, and his eyelids flickered, giving me a glimpse of the emerald green beneath.

Toothless finally opened his eyes with a groan, and I smiled, though it was tinged with sadness.

'What happened?' he moaned. 'My head's killing me.'

"Snotlout threw a rock at you from behind," I told him, and he glanced away in shame.

'They won, right?'

I looked away too.

"I got Hookfang by bending his horns to the ground, but Snotlout got me." I gingerly prodded my head, feeling the lump just above my ear where Snotlout's fist connected with my head. It was slightly wet, and my fingers came away red.

'There's still two events left, Hiccup. We still have a chance.' Toothless licked my hair, soothing the ache. A trickle of blood dribbled from a small cut behind his ear, and I ran my hand along his spongy tongue, gathering some of his healing saliva on my fingers. Spreading it along his head, I tried to be optimistic about our chances, but my mind kept coming back to what would happen if we lost.

If Snotlout won Toothless, every Viking would be trying to separate us so that Snotlout could have his 'prize'. The only thing we could do was run away and never come back. Before Astrid discovered Toothless, I would have happily uprooted my life and left Berk behind forever. But now that I was actually getting along with my father, had a kind-of girlfriend, and Fishlegs and the twins were being nice to me, it would be a lot harder. Of course I'd choose Toothless, but it would be hard, and I knew that I'd have a few sleepless nights.

"Which event is next?" I asked Dad, and he stroked his beard.

"Fire."