REVIEWS:

Silver Sentinel: Hits to the head, depending on the place, don't actually need to have super strength behind them. Plus, Snotlout's throwing skills (see the axe throwing in Thawfest) are definitely better than average. As long as it was a decent sized rock, he wouldn't have much trouble knocking Toothless out, especially when he was distracted by Hiccup. Very interesting perspective on this story, and this coming chapter was massively altered because of your review. Originally, it only had the mounted pair part and was the shortest chapter in this story. I hope you consider this as much of an improvement as I do.

Bella Hess (from Chapter 1): Thank you for pointing out the horrible writing mistake I was making. After recently reading PutMoneyInThyPurse's True Colours and the connecting stories on Ao3, I should have seen what I'd done—please remember that I wrote this when I was far less experienced—but I didn't. I've tried to fix it in the last two chapters, without completely messing up the ending or making it far too long. It probably isn't what you're hoping for, but it's open ended enough that anything could happen, which I hope is enough.

FIRE

"Alright, the rules are as follows:" Dad yelled over the Kill Ring. "Just like the past two events, there will be a human part and a dragon part."

I hadn't expected that. What would the human part involve, since we couldn't breathe fire?

"The human part was suggested by Bucket," he continued, and Bucket waved happily at everyone. "You will be given a section of the forest and a torch, and you have to create something—either a sculpture or an image. He will be the judge."

Snotlout scoffed. "That's it? Make a picture on a tree? C'mon, give us something more Vikingly!"

Toothless and I exchanged pleased glances. Thank you, Bucket, I mouthed at the artist, and he smiled at me, waving again.

"You have until the torches burn out, or until sunrise tomorrow. Hiccup, you are given the forest on the west side of Berk. Snotlout, take the east. We'll see you when you're done."

Gobber handed us each a simple torch, and the dragons lit them for us. I smiled at Toothless, confident. 'Good luck.'

"You too."

"The dragon part will take part at the same time. I will announce the rules as soon as the humans get started."

Snotlout raced off, heading straight for his side of the island, his torch bobbing wildly and threatening to go out. I set off more sedately, making my way to the west side. The trees were the normal kind: enormous pine trees. The first thing to do was to make sure I didn't lose my only tool, the fire. I cleared a small space on the ground and built a fire, making sure it was strong and wouldn't die down too quickly. Then I looked around, evaluating what I had to work with. There were a few rocks, lots of pine needles, lots of pine trees, and a small clearing a few metres away. Okay, what did I want to make?

Bucket was always so serious when he was painting or creating, doing what he was told to do with a single minded intensity. That wasn't me. I couldn't make something if I didn't want to.

My eyes widened. I knew what I was going to do.

It took hours. I hurried back and forth, grunting as I rolled rocks out of the way and hauled fallen branches out of the way. Eventually, I had a clear working space. Then I had to burn the branches into the right shapes—I ruined a lot, because unsurprisingly, wood burned a lot quicker than metal melted—then I rolled some of the rocks back again to provide a framework, and had to find a suitable fallen log: not rotten, close enough to the place I was working to drag it there, light enough to carry, and big enough to use. Eventually I found one that was tolerable, and I heaved it back to the work space. Then there was yet more burning, I had to find more fuel for the fire without burning anything essential, and I was terrified of making a mistake, because I only had one log. It became dark and harder to see, so I made a trip into the forest for yet more wood to build the fire up again.

There was an ominous cloud of smoke emanating from Snotlout's half of the island, and I sometimes heard some colourful swearing when the wind was right. The moon was starting to rise when I finally finished the main piece, but I still had two more to go. Sweaty and exhausted, I wiped my face, probably leaving charcoal streaks across my forehead and cheeks.

A sticky gash in one of the living trees was invaluable, and I scraped the resin off, warmed it over the fire, and used it to glue some of the pieces together. The other pieces weren't nearly as big, but they were very complicated. I toiled for half the night to finish one, then the other half to finish the next one. The sky was starting to lighten when I tucked the smallest piece under the biggest piece and arranged the medium piece just right. I stood back to look at it properly, swaying lightly on my aching feet.

It would have to do. Even to my tired eyes, I could see how much emotion I'd managed to put into the two faces, painstakingly burning the top layer and scraping features into the softer wood with my fingernails. To make it consistent, I'd burned them almost all over, making the wood a dark brown bordering on black, and I'd even managed to get some detail in, like scales and clothes. Not bad for a night's work without the forge, if I said so myself.

I stumbled back to the Ring, every muscle in my body sore and tired. I could lose myself in the work for a while, but afterwards I had to pay the price. Snotlout was already there when I limped into the Ring, his arms crossed across his chest and a smug expression on his face.

"Hiccup!" Dad's voice was shocked, and I was almost crushed by a pair of massive arms lifting me off the ground.

"Dad—get off! I'm fine!"

"Yeah, he gets like this when he works all night," Gobber chimed in. "It's perfectly normal, Stoick."

I was dropped suddenly, landing on Toothless' back. "Thanks, bud."

'So, what did you make?'

"You'll have to wait and see." He whined unhappily, and a smile twitched at my lips. "C'mon you won't die."

'How do you know?' he grumbled.

"Anyway, what was your part like?"

'Hookfang win!' Hookfang enthusiastically told Snotlout, and Toothless sagged slightly.

'It was a Jorgenson's idea, apparently. We balanced on two small sea stacks, and the first dragon to fall into the water lost. I knocked him off several times, but he always recovered before hitting the water.'

"That's not fair!" I protested. "They know you're flightless!"

He swung his tail forward and looked at it sadly. 'Well, at least Snotlout's rubbish at making things.'

"I'm really sorry," I murmured, fondling his drooping ears. "I should have made you an auto-tail—"

'No!' he snapped. 'No, I don't want an auto-tail. I love flying with you, I just wish I'd won this. I feel so helpless, knowing that either you win this or I become Snotlout's dragon.'

"It's hard to know that you can't do anything to change the outcome, isn't it?"

He nodded.

"But seriously, can't you trust me?"

'I'm trying, but the stakes are so high…'

I leant forward and rested my cheek against his head. "Well, you won the agility for us, so I think it's my turn to win something."

"Now that everyone is here," Dad yelled over the noise of the crowd. "Let's go and see what these young men have created." Bucket clapped his hands and squealed excitedly. "Who wants to show the judge first?"

"Me, duh," Snotlout drawled. "I'm obviously going to beat Useless."

I was fine with that. Snotlout leading the way, we marched through the forest. Scorch marks appeared more and more frequently as we went on, and I even saw a small fire that was still smouldering away in the undergrowth. Eventually, we reached a small knot of trees that had been completely burnt, three tall spires of charred wood.

"What's the title?" Bucket asked.

"I call this: Power."

Toothless snorted quietly. 'Looks more like "Whoops I dropped my Torch" to me.'

I grinned.

Bucket stared at it for a while, moving around and looking at it from all angles, mumbling to himself under his breath the entire time. We waited, shuffling from one foot to another awkwardly.

"Okay, next one," Bucket declared suddenly, and Dad gestured to me.

"Lead the way, Hiccup."

I glanced up at the tall peak in the middle of the island to get my bearings, then directed Toothless off to the right. People were chatting about Snotlout's sculpture as we walked, some claiming that there was a hidden meaning in it, and others saying he'd messed up and slapped an impressive title on a bad result. We finally arrived at the clearing, and I dismounted smoothly.

"Forced Apart."

It wasn't life-size, but I'd managed to make them pretty big—the whole scene was about as big as Dad, if he was lying down. Made of various interlocking branches, a boy, as similar to me as possible, curled under a wooden Night Fury's protective wing, clinging to its paw tightly. There was half a heart of unburnt wood on his chest, pale wood where I'd painstakingly stripped the bark away, matching half a heart on the Night Fury's chest. Where their bodies met, the two half hearts fit together perfectly, forming one shape. Their faces, the things that had taken the most time, were etched into a permanent expression of fear, and they clutched at each other in desperation, gazing up at the third figure.

The third figure's face was blank and expressionless, but that somehow made it more sinister. Short but solid, with broad shoulders and bulging arm muscles, it even had a small helmet I'd cobbled together at the last moment. It held a wooden axe high above its head, legs planted firmly on the ground, and was ready to plunge it straight down into the join of the boy and dragon's heart.

'I—' Toothless choked. 'It's us.'

I glanced sideways at Snotlout, who was staring at the scene with something almost soft in his eyes, strangely vulnerable in the dappled light coming through the leaves. Then Spitelout clapped a hand on his shoulder, and he straightened instantly, the small chink in his exterior gone within seconds. Bucket darted forwards with a small cry, lifting branches and peering into every crack and crevice of my work. He spun around to Dad, face alight.

"Hiccup wins! Hiccup wins!"

I sagged in relief. We had a chance at winning fire, and the next one was almost guaranteed. But if Snotlout and Hookfang won one more challenge, they'd win the entire event. Dad glanced at me. "The mounted pairs challenge will take place in the afternoon. Meet in the Ring at one hour past noon."

Toothless bent and offered the saddle to me before Dad had finished speaking. 'Nap. Now.'

"Geez, Mr. Bossy," I grumbled, climbing on. "Don't be so impatient."

He took off as soon as I was secure, and to be honest, I was glad for the rest. We flew straight into our room through the large window, and he barely waited for me to remove the saddle and harness before knocking my feet from under me. Landing on his thick neck as he caught me, I let myself hang limp as he twisted to get us both comfortable. It was nice to relax and let my tired muscles finally stop holding me upright, but there was no way I'd actually sleep in the middle of the day. Lying on Toothless' chest, I pressed my ear against his skin. His heartbeat was slower than mine, but every so often they'd beat together and my breath would catch.

'The axe won't fall.'

"The axe won't fall," I agreed. "We won't let it."

He purred, shutting the light out with his wing. Despite myself, the darkness and warmth lulled me to sleep so slowly I didn't even feel it until Toothless woke me. Refreshed, I stood up and stretched, then put the saddle back on him. We reached the Ring in record time, but Snotlout and Hookfang were already there when I dismounted.

Dad waited for a few latecomers, then started to announce the third part. "This is designed to test both accuracy and power. There are six trees per dragon, and the fastest to completely destroy those trees will be the winner. So, don't run out of shots. But you must be in the air while you do it. Snotlout, you take the six red trees, Hiccup will take the six white trees."

I nodded and mounted Toothless. He spread his wings confidently, ready to win. Snotlout and Hookfang had already won twice, so if they won again, it was all over.

"On your marks…" I patted his head, and he gave me a gummy smile that warmed my heart.

"Get set…" Snotlout whispered something in Hookfang's ears and he reluctantly spread his wings.

"Go!" We shot into the air. Our six trees were in a ring at the top of a cliff, and Toothless rose on an updraft to come equal to them. He was just about to shoot, when a boulder flew at us out of nowhere. Choking back his plasma blast, he spun to avoid it and dropped. Now I could see two figures defending the trees; Ruffnut and Tuffnut. They were fighting over the catapult, but when we tried to get closer they somehow started working together and almost hit us.

"Right. They won't let us get close without shooting at us, so we have two options," I thought out loud. "We can try and shoot the trees from a distance, or we can get in close and avoid the boulders for long enough to demolish the trees. What do you think?"

While Toothless contemplated the problem, I stole a glance at Snotlout and Hookfang. They seemed to have Astrid and Fishlegs shooting at them, and from the charred trees around them, they'd wasted at least two shots. Monstrous Nightmares have ten though, so they still had eight chances to hit six trees. Toothless only had six to begin with.

'Stay back. I should be able to hit them all.'

Toothless flew for the sky, then stopped his wings and let us fall. Twisting into a dive, I heard the characteristic screech of a Night Fury about to fire, then saw a ball of fire leave his mouth. It struck just between two trees, completely demolishing one and setting the other one on fire. The twins turned to stare at the 'awesome' destruction, and we risked getting closer to shoot three more trees in quick succession. Totally mesmerised by the flames, neither of the twins noticed as Toothless easily shot the last tree, then sent his last shot into the catapult.

That was easy compared to the previous challenges, I thought as we flew back down to where Dad was waiting.

"We got them all," I told him, and his face creased into a smile.

"Good lad. Win one more, and the Night Fury is yours for good," he said enthusiastically, just as Snotlout came in, anger plastered across his face.

"I swear Astrid doesn't like me!" he complained noisily. "She shot right at us, and when I tried to tell her to stop, she threatened to aim the next one at my mouth!"

"Well, you've lost this one," Gobber told him cheerfully, slapping him on the shoulder. "Maybe you should go and get ready for the next event? It's speed and endurance."

"Come on Hookfang!" Snotlout stormed away.

'Night Fury always win fire. Hookfang win one more, Hookfang Rider see Hookfang best, like Hookfang better.' Hookfang gave us a glare then followed his rider, head held high.

AN: As a Christmas present, next week I will post an additional one-shot. It's something completely new, I've never even mentioned it before, and I wrote it when I had a cold the past few days—so I have sympathy for the characters. I won't spoil it anymore, except to say that it's set around the second Snoggletog they have—after GOTNF, but before RTTE.

~JustAnotherRandomPoster