Jarik POV...
It was starting to get dark outside, and the rest of the villagers were heading off back to their houses. Mara still hadn't come back from finding Hiccup yet which, while unnerving, wasn't that big of a deal at all really. There wasn't anything particularly dangerous on Berk at all besides the occasional dragon or boar, but boars are just overgrown pigs that are no threat to us. Dragons may be more dangerous, but Mara knows not to agitate any she might come across, and we've taught her enough in the Force to be able to keep their attention away from her if necessary.
Most of the day me and Ahsoka were simply getting resettled into the house, checking the occasional Imperial report, while Mara spent some time looking around for Hiccup. She chatted with some of the other kids, well, really just Fishlegs or Astrid, but not for very long. And we also learned that Hiccup claimed to have shot down a Night Fury in the most recent raid. None of the villagers believed it of course, but Ahsoka and I weren't so doubtful, and I know for a fact Mara would believe wholeheartedly that he did. That boy has a clever mind constantly full of wit and creativity. It wasn't that much of a surprise to see that he based his bola launcher invention off of the Knight Hawk's laser cannons. I'm sure R5 would be boasting with pride if he learns that.
But with the day over, Ahsoka and I were about ready to head off and catch some Z's. We finished up a quick meal, in which she ate raw meat, as usual for her carnivorous diet, this time the chicken. Berk's chicken meat is actually really good compared to a lot of the crap I've eaten in my equally crappy life.
Not everything in my life has been crappy though!
I lay in the bed, all of my daily Jedi wear off and hanging from hook nearby, leaving me in just a simple t-shirt and pants for my nightware. The beds we used here weren't as nice as the ones back at the Jedi Temple, since here they only sleep on wood planks with a blanket. So we improvised, bringing our own inflatable mattresses to lay on the wooden cots, which can shrink to the size of a six inches square cube. I propped myself against the wall on the back of the bed, reading a couple of sentences from one of Gothi's books about the Jedi that she'd given me upon visiting us today, and Ahsoka appeared on the bed beside me, reading over my shoulder. All of her armor was now taken off as well, leaving her in just a gray tank top and burgundy colored leggings which were a snug fit.
"She's late again," I spoke up, referring to Mara.
"Oh you bet," she replied in agreement. "Does it make me a bad parent to say I'm not worried about her in the forest by herself?"
I shrugged, setting the book aside, and then gesturing with my arm, I used the Force to lower the brightness of the nearby lamp to a dull glow. "In most cases yes. For us? I'd say we have no excuse first of all, being commanders as fourteen year olds, and two, there is nothing that could hurt her here on Berk."
"So we're good parents?" Ahsoka asks with a small smile.
"I'd say so, yeah."
Frowning thoughtfully, although not really thinking in actuality, she tapped her chin. "Something's been bothering me lately. How can we be parents if we aren't married, not even officially?" she questions with a sly smirk.
I glance over at her with a raised eyebrow. "You offering?"
"No, it's supposed to be the man that proposes. Besides, you're the one who suggested it in the first place just before we got here," she recalled. I frowned for a moment before remembering that moment, just before our raid on Hypori.
"True. But I thought, we decided the war would make it too difficult to focus on," I pointed, remembering that detail.
She rolled her eyes, turning onto her side and propping her face up on her fist. "Oh I remember that. But considering our living circumstances we have right now, I'd say it's worth it. We're remote spies, living in exile on a backwater world, literally living with a Viking culture. Oh, and we have an adopted daughter."
"You do make good points," I agreed, a small smile forming on my face.
She grinned, scooting up closer to me and flipping onto her stomach, looking over at me. "So, you want to get married soon?"
"How about, I leave it as a surprise for you?" I suggest teasingly.
She grumbles in annoyance before hoisting herself up, suddenly moving to sit on top of me, legs straddling me as they pressed against both sides of my waist. She leaned forwards with a sly look on her face, propping her arms on either side of my head. "Surprises are fun, but I'd like a yes or no answer if you'd be so kind," she says.
"Why do you always instigate moments like this before we fall asleep?" I question in response. I know for a fact that she knows I'm just dodging the question, and I can tell it's annoying her. Raising a hand, I brush one of her lekku to the side out of my face.
"Oh, many reasons. I do it because I love you, you're cute, and you will always be my little Jari," she says fondly, stroking my hair tenderly with one of her hands.
"And you'll always be my Sweetie Horns," I retort with a smile.
She leans her head towards mine, and we almost connect our lips for a kiss before she brings her hand in front of my face. I stare up at her in annoyance while she shakes her head. "Nope! No kiss until you answer my question!"
"It doesn't work like that," I protest, and she rolls her eyes with a small frown, pressing me further into the simple mattress bed to express her disapproval of that answer. Her lekku sway in front of my face, as another way to irritate me in a non-hostile way. "If I say yes or no now it ruins the moment we otherwise would have, because you'd already know it's happening!"
She moves her mouth to answer, but stops with it halfway open, frowning. "I suppose you're right..." she decides with a disappointed sigh. "Alright fine, you win this time."
"Thank you m'lady," I replied with a relieved grin.
She slips off of me after that, but still keeps her legs and arms wrapped around me. I wrap my own arm around her to pull her closer, and she sighs happily, dozing off with a soft smile as she hugs me like a young kid would their stuffed animal in a bed. Ahsoka nuzzles her head against my neck, the tips of her montrals brushing through my long hair, and soon enough her breathing slows to a constant pace, signifying she's asleep. About to fall to sleep, I use the Force to turn the lamp off, pulling the blanket over us both, just as Mara walks in, a little too loud for my liking.
She stops in surprise, seeing us at the opposite end of the room, and I send a glare her way, gesturing to the sleeping Togruta holding on to me. Mouthing an apology, she carefully closes the door, then scampers up to her loft, her movements barely heard through her stealth skills. I swear she has an amused smirk on her face the entire time, no doubt directed towards us. I roll my eyes, and Ahsoka then mumbles some random things quietly in her sleep. Pulling her closer, I lay my head gently on top of hers, drifting off too sleep.
The next morning, the three of us were waiting near the large stone arena that Berk used for training and dragon fighting. The place was carved out of thick stone, with a large metal cage above to keep things inside during a battle. There were several cages lining the walls of the arena, which housed the most common dragons that they would train against. None of us agreed with their methods, but it wasn't our place to judge, and they had done this for hundreds of years. The only way they would change is if one of their own were to suggest an alternative method to the dragon problem. When nobody would be looking though, we would sneak some food to the dragons, and our nonhostile presence kept them calm, if still wary, proving that dragons aren't as bloodthirsty as they think.
Apparently the young teenagers were about to begin their own training to fight dragons today, and Hiccup was included. So with nothing else to do, we decided to observe them and see how they do things. Of course, we had our Fulcrum communicator in case just for emergencies, but coming to Berk was our version of vacation, so we didn't bother ourselves with work or worries whenever here.
Gobber soon approached with the teens behind him, sinc she was to be their mentor for this. Hiccup was lagging further behind them, and I could tell her was nervous. Gobber raises a massive iron gate at the entrance of a vast stone arena, and turns around, waving his hook inside with a grin.
"Welcome to dragon training!" he says enthusiastically.
The recruits file through the gate, and out onto the arena floor. They take it in like gladiators entering the colosseum, noticing how the walls are covered in scorched silhouettes of blasted Vikings from years past. Mara snorts in amusement.
"This'll be fun to watch," she says quietly.
Astrid of course takes the lead, striding in with determination. "No turning back."
"I hope I get some serious burns," Tuffnut says eagerly.
"I'm hoping for some mauling, like on my shoulder or lower back." Ruffnut adds in, excited at the prospect of such violence.
We all looked at each other incredulously, not believing what we were hearing. We're all Viking kids like this? Actually wanting injuries?
"Geez, that's insane," Ahsoka commented with a shake of her head.
"Eh, they're morons," Mara says with a shrug.
"Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it." Astrid adds into the conversation, not at all bothered by the idea. Mara stares down at her with a deadpan look.
"Ok, now she's also a moron," she decides.
"Yeah, no kidding, right? Pain. Love it!" Hiccup's voice drawls sarcastically as he enters the arena behind the rest. The rest of the group all turn to look at him, a few groans of annoyance coming forth. Mara snickers at Hiccup's attitude, while Ahsoka and I crack a smile.
"Oh great. Who let him in?" Tuffnut says angrily.
"Let's get started!" Gobber butts in, moving up beside the kids. "The recruit who does best will win the honor of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village!" he states, emphasizing the killing with his hook.
"Hiccup already killed a Night Fury, so does that disqualify him or...?" Snotlout questions mockingly, and the twins laugh while Hiccup sighs in exasperation. Astrid and Fishlegs stay quiet, but turn with the rest of them. Mara crosses her arms in annoyance.
"Can I transfer to the class with the cool Vikings?" Tuffnut asks.
"As if oh could kill a dragon," Mara calls down, leaning against the cage.
"Oh here we go," I say with a small smile on my face, and Ahsoka shakes her head with the same amused smile.
Snotlout yelps in surprise as they all look up at us, mixtures of confusion and wariness, while in Hiccup's case, he brightens up slightly.
"Ahh! What're they doing here?" Snotlout exclaims, pointing up at us.
"To observe you Snotlout, what's it look like? You lot better get used to scrutiny during your training!" Gobber tells him, walking closer to Hiccup.
"I'd advise not losing an arm," I add, showing my metal hand which glints down at them in the light. When the village learned my arm was a prosthetic, they were shocked and in disbelief, having never noticed it. Of course that wasn't too much of a surprise, seeing as how their most advanced prosthetics belonged to Gobber's arm.
Gobber nods in agreement. "Yes, I'd advise not doing that!"
"Can I get one of your arms if I lose mine?" Tuffnut asks hopefully.
I stare down at him for a moment. "No."
Tuffnut pours while his sister smacks him on the head. Gobber throws a supportive arm around Hiccup and ushers him along while the rest of the recruits all line up in front of the cages. By the look on his face, Gobber's pep talk didn't help him at all one bit. He then gets stuck in line with the others and Gobber continues on toward the five massive reinforced doors. Inside the dragons start to growl, smelling the approaching Vikings. The three of us look sadly at the cages.
"Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight!" Gobber announces.
Fishlegs bounces and giggles with excitement, barely able to contain himself.
"The Deadly Nadder," he begins, and Fishlegs mutters to himself.
Speed eight. Armor sixteen."
"The Hideous Zippleback."
"Plus eleven stealth. Times two."
We exchange glances with raised eyebrows at Fishlegs behavior, and Ahsoka lets out a quiet sigh.
"Rex would so end his life right now," she comments.
"No wonder I can beat these guys up," Mara adds in.
"Hmm hmm," I reply. "Speaking of Rex, how's he doing? I've tried sending a message to Boil but he's never seemed to answer."
Ahsoka nods her head. "Same here. Must be too hard for them to get a good signal with that kriffing AT-TE of theirs," she theorizes.
"Yeah probably," I agreed.
"CAN YOU STOP THAT?!" Gobber voice suddenly yelled, and we jolted slightly in surprise. Guess he got fed up with Fishlegs spewing out his statistics. Mara laughs slightly, enjoying the show.
"This is fun too watch," she says happily.
"And... the Gronckle." Gobber announces, resting his hand on the lever of the last cage. Fishlegs whispers something else to himself as Gobber pulls the lever, raising the cross beam on the door to release the dragon.
"Straight into the fray." Ahsoka comments calmly.
Snotlout however doesn't share the enthusiasm. "Whoa, wait! Aren't you gonna teach us first!?" he protests in alarm.
Gobber merely offers him a mischievous grin in response.I believe in learning on the job," he says simply.
As soon as he says that, the Gronckle slams into the doors and out of its cave, charging into the ring like an angry Reek. The recruits scramble in every direction, except for Ruffnut and Tuffnut who rush towards it like pumped-up rodeo clowns.
"Reminds you of someone else's type of training attitude huh?" I ask Ahsoka.
"Yup. Anakin certainly was a warrior," she agrees.
"Why do you two always have to speak about stuff in the past that I never know about?" Mara complains, looking at us.
"Sorry," we offer as an apology.
"Today is about survival. If you get blasted, you're dead!" Gobber yells, and the Gronckle slams into the far wall after being unable to turn in time. It opens its mouth and scoops up a few rocks, chewing them quickly before taking flight again.
I blink in surprise. "They can eat rocks?"
"Weirdest dragon ever," Mara decided.
"Quick, what's the first thing you're going to need?!" Gobber questions.
"A doctor?" Hiccup suggests.
"Plus five speed?" Fishlegs exclaims in a panic.
"Wow, very helpful." Mara says sarcastically.
"A shield." Astrid says confidently.
Gobber nods his head. "Shields. Go."
Everyone scrambles to pick up one of the shields that are scattered around the arena, staying out of the way of the dragon while Gobber continues to give out advice.
"Your most important piece of equipment is your shield. If you must make a choice between a sword or a shield, take the shield."
Hiccup has some trouble lifting his, trying to get a god grip on it, so Gobber helps him slip his arm through the straps, standing it up for him then shoving him into the fray. Ruff and Tuff both stand amidst a dozen shields, but of course they both grab the same shield, one that has a skull painted on it.
"They'll get killed doing that," Ahsoka says with a sigh.
"I'm surprised they haven't died years ago," Mara adds in.
Even from up here we can hear their argument. "Get your hands off my shield!" Tuffnut demands.
"There are like a million shields!" Ruffnut protests, yanking it her way.
He then gestures over to one nearby. "Take that one, it has a flower on it! Girls like flowers."
"Wrong," Ahsoka and Mara both say at the same time. I snort in amusement.
Scowling, Ruffnut then uses the shield to bash Tuffnut directly in the face with it. He cries out in surprise and pain, yet stubbornly doesn't let go.
"Ooops, now this one has blood on it," she jeers.
As the two continue their fight over the shield, the Gronckle notices and takes aim at the distracted twins. A blast of explosive lava streams forth from its mouth, destroying the shield. The force of the fireball rips it from their hands and sends them spinning, where they collapse on the ground in a daze.
"Tuffnut, Ruffnut, you're out!" Gobber announces.
"What?! What?!" they both shout at the same time in a daze.
"Called it," Ahsoka says.
"As if anyone of us is surprised," I retort.
"Very true," she replies in agreement, and Mara nods her head.
The dragon then buzzes around in the center of the ring, looking over at where the teens are gathered on the far side of the ring. Gobber adds in another bit of knowledge. "Those shields are good for another thing. Noise. Make lots of it to throw off a dragon's aim!"
Using the weapons they had with them, they start to bang them against the surface of the shield, even Hiccup managing to do so, although with some effort. Apparently that tactic works, as the Gronckle starts to become dazed and confused, shaking its head around with a growl.
"That's a useful tactic," I comment.
"All dragons have a limited number of shots. How many does a Gronckle have?"
"Five?" Snotlout immediately shouts, although it's plainly obvious that he doesn't know what he is talking about.
"No, six!" Fishlegs says eagerly, raising his arm high into the air with a smile on his face. This gets the Gronckle's attention as it begins to head over to him.
"Take notes Mara, this is why you don't get distracted in a battle," I advised.
"Correct, six. That's one for each of you!" Gobber exclaimed gleefully.
Fishlegs frowned. "I really don't think my parents WOULD-"
Before he could finish his sentence, the Gronckle shot a fireball at his shield, sending it blasting to bits against the wall. He yelped in surprise, quickly retracting his hand and looking at the Gronckle in terror. He throws his hands into the air and runs away as fast as possible, screaming in a high pitched voice.
"Fishlegs, out." Gobber says casually.
"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind." Mara replies to me in agreement.
then they all realize that Hiccup is hiding behind the weapons rack, staying out of the dragon's sight. Gobber spots him and frowns. "Hiccup, get in there!" he calls out.
Hearing that, he moves cautiously outwards, peeking out from behind the rack. A fireball blasts next to his head and he yelps, scurrying back behind the weapon rack again. Nearby, Astrid is tense and bouncing on her heels, ready to dodge a blast. Seeing another opportunity to flirt, Snotlout appears, trying to hit on her.
"So anyway I'm moving into my parents' basement. You should come by sometime to work out. You look like you work out-" he says casually, eyeing her with awe.
However she simply cartwheels out of the way when the Gronckle rushes forwards, allowing a shot to shoot past her. Too caught up in trying to woo Astrid, Snotlout never notices the fireball until it slams directly into his shield, sending him flying onto his back.
"Moron," Mara mutters with a grin.
"Snotlout! You're done!" Gobber calls out.
Having finally reappeared from behind the weapons rack, Hiccup jolts in surprise when Astrid rolls up beside him, then quickly realizes that they're the only ones still left. He casually sidles up beside her, trying to look cool while she keeps her eyes on the dragon.
"So, I guess it's just you and me huh?" he says, trying to get on her good side.
Mara widens her eyes in worry, seeing the Gronckle charging for them. "Uh..."
Ahsoka and I also keep a close watch in case anything possibly bad happens.
"No. Just you!" Astrid says, rolling away. A split-second later, a lava slug bursts forth and knocks Hiccup's shield clear off of his arm. Mara winces, and he yelps in surprise, having not noticed the dragon approaching at all.
"One shot left!" Gobber announces.
Hiccup panics and chases after his shield as it rolls across the ring. The sudden movement gets the attention of the Gronckle, and sends it chasing after him, leaving Astrid in the clear. Mara widens her eyes in worry, and I can sense her need to jump down there and rescue him very prominent. Quite frankly I'm just as worried as she is, but I won't go down unless necessary.
"Hiccup!" Gobber yells, seeing the danger.
The scene happens on the opposite side of the arena from us, and Mara looks over at me and Ahsoka in a panic. "Can't I help him? He's about to get blasted!"
I nod my head. "Go," I say simply.
"Come on Mara," Ahsoka says, getting up and slipping through the cage, Mara immediately following after her without hesitation. they fall to the ground, landing on their feet and rushing over in the direction of the commotion. I would go after them, but honestly I'm not needed at all. Besides, I'm faster than most people with Force enhanced speed of course, but both of them still run faster than me anyways.
Seeing the Gronckle chasing him, Hiccup abandons the shield and tries running away, but the dragon catches up, pinning him against the wall. It opens its mouth and cocks its tail, ready to fire at point-blank. Hiccup leans back with a terrified look on his face, closing his eyes tightly and preparing for the worst. Thankfully, Gobber is right next to them, Ahsoka and Mara not far behind.
Gobber lunges in and hooks the Gronckle's mouth at the same time it fires, while Ahsoka also leaps forwards and slides across the ground beside them, thrusting a hand out with the Force and shoving the Gronckle off target. Their combined effort makes the shot miss Hiccup entirely, although still a very close call, and the dragon begins gnawing on Gobber's hook.
"And that's six!" Gobber exclaims, slightly rattled.
I slip through the cage and also jump into the arena, moving over in their direction while Gobber wrestles with the Gronckle.
Go back to bed, ya overgrown sausage!" he yells, swinging the dragon around, throwing it at the cage. He's strong enough to be able to throw the Gronckle into it's cell with the proper momentum, and I move up beside him, using the Force to keep it back while he pulls the lever, shutting the cage.
"You'll get another chance, don't you worry," he adds finally, turning around.
"Cutting it close, don't you think?" I comment.
"Too close," he mutters.
Ahsoka leans against the wall, brushing herself off while Mara helps Hiccup to his feet, concerned but looking relieved that he's alive and just fine. The rest of the teens are all spent, breathing heavily, although Astrid is handling it better than the others are, not as winded. Which is not surprising considering how much she values her training to be a warrior.
"Remember... a dragon will always, always go for the kill." Gobber says sternly, giving Hiccup a serious look. He hoists Hiccup to his feet and walks off, signifying the end of the lesson. Hiccup looks overhead to see a steaming pit in the solid stone wall, shaken.
"Hey, you ok?" Mara asks him in concern.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah I'm alright, thanks for asking," he replies, slightly shaken.
"Quite the intense lesson," Ahsoka remarks.
"Certainly get's you understanding how dangerous it is very quickly," I add.
Hiccup nods. "Yeah well, that's Gobber for you. Always goes straight into the danger zone." He looks at the smoldering blast point on the wall for a moment, as if he was considering something before heading off. "Ok well I've got uh... some things to do."
"Like what?" Mara asks curiously. "Mind if I tag along?"
"No no, no it's fine. I just need to go work on something else, really important," he stresses, although he's definitely nervous about it. I raise a disbelieving eyebrow before shrugging in response. Mara looks very suspicious as well, but before she can say something else I interrupt.
"Alright well, take care Hiccup. We've got some more training to work on today anyways Mara," I remind her.
"Seriously?" she complains.
"Yup!" I say cheerfully, and she grumbles to herself.
3rd person POV...
Back in the forest, Hiccup was at the spot where he released the Night Fury, studying the remnants of the discarded bola. He holds the metal balls curiously, bouncing it in his hand with a frown as he considered what Gobber had said about dragon's always going for the kill.
"So... why didn't you?" he mutters.
He drops the bola and looks around, pressing on in the direction it flew off. Following the general path, he drops into a rocky crevice and follows it to an isolated cove hidden within thick trees, several feet down into the ground with a pristine spring pool in the center. He scans the high stone walls with wonder, having not discovered this place before and marvels at the beauty of it. Then he notices a single black scale on the ground. He crouches down and picks it up, studying it, noticing several more also scattered around.
Hiccup eventually sighs irritably. "Well this was stupid," he muttered. Getting away from Mara and her parents was his biggest worry, since it was really hard to hide things from them. If it wasn't for Jarik interrupting he might have not been able to get away at all without revealing the truth, considering no one else would really care.
Out of nowhere, the Night Fury suddenly appears right next to him, scrambling at the rocks with a frustrated roar. Hiccup yelps in surprise, stumbling backwards and watches the dragon struggle to climb the walls. It flaps its wings violently, attempting t get leverage with its claws, before eventually letting go, gliding away to a rough landing. He realizes that the dragon is trapped there. With an eager grin, he moves closer curiously, excited at being able to see the dragon again. He watches as continues to escape the cove numerous times, flapping furiously and struggling to climb the walls, but no matter what, it is unable to get free.
When it lands on the ground before him, wings outstretched, he quickly pulls out his notebook and flips past previous drawings of weapons to a clear, blank page. Glancing between the book and the Night Fury, he quickly draws a rough sketch of the dragon to record its image before he loses this chance. The Night Fury continues to claw at the steep rock walls, trying climb out of the cove. After a few more failed attempts, it gives up and rolls back to its feet, slowly crawling to the water's edge. Peering into the clear water, he spots a small school of fish and leers closer, suddenly snapping his jaws out as fast as he can. Unfortunately for the dragon, the fish scurry away before he could get a grip, and he whines pitifully, feeling very hungry and desperate for food.
After completing his sketch, Hiccup frowns in confusion. "Why don't you just...fly away?" he mutters.
Get another look at the dragon, he notices something different and adjusts the drawing, carefully erasing one half of the dragon's tail. Looking up again, he scoots closer for a better look before accidentally dropping his charcoal pencil. He quickly scrambles to retrieve it, but it rolls off of the rock outcropping that hides him from view and bounces into the cove. As it travels down the cliff, he creates a few loud tinkering sounds, getting the Night Fury's attention. Hiccup freezes, worried that the dragon might attack him again.
However, instead of growing hostile, the Night Fury actually looks curious, gazing up at him with wide green eyes. The dragon could... sense something different about him compared to the rest of the humans living on Berk, and he wondered what it was. The two shared looks with each other, something profound being exchanged.
Mara POV...
My parents and I were having dinner in the Great Hall after another training session when the rest of the teens started to enter, chattering with each other about their training. Gobber follows in after them, and they all sit down two tables from us to begin eating their own dinner. I frown in confusion when I realize Hiccup isn't with them.
"You have any idea where Hiccup is?" I ask Mom and Dad.
"He's close by," Mom replies after a moment.
On cue, the door opens again to reveal Hiccup entering, soaking wet. It started to get stormy outside, and it was now pouring rain, as evident by him being soaked to the bone. Where could he have possibly gone? He grabs some food from a nearby table and saunters over, brightening up when I offer him a wave.
"Alright. Where did Astrid go wrong in the ring today?" Gobber questions.
"I mistimed my summersault dive. It was sloppy. It threw off my reverse tumble," said girl immediately replies. Most of the teens don't bother to hide their eye rolling. I raise an eyebrow and look at my parents, who shrug in response.
"Guess it could use some work," Dad admits while the teens dissolve into bickering.
"Although I think she should learn to value of teamwork," Mom adds in, and Dad nods in agreement.
"No, no, you were great. That was so 'Astrid'." Snotlout says charmingly, holding her hand with a lovestruck expression. Astrid groans in disgust, yanking her hand away from him.
"If you're trying to pick up girls that is one of the worst ways Snotlout," I called out with a grin. He glares over at me furiously while Astrid sends me a pleased and grateful smirk. Hiccup also grins in amusement, while the twins cackle at my comment.
Ignoring the banter, Gobber continues to talk. "She's right, you have to be tough on yourselves."
Everyone then notices Hiccup once he gets closer, his footsteps echoing. As he grabs a mug Snotlout and the twins scramble to block any chance of him sitting at their table. I shake my head in disgust at their tactics.
"Where did Hiccup go wrong?" Gobber says sternly.
"Oh here we go," Dad says quietly with a disappointed sigh.
"He showed up." Tuffnut says.
"He didn't get eaten." Ruffnut adds with a smirk.
As Hiccup walks by their table, Snotlout scoots over again to block any chance of him sitting down, a smug grin plastered all over his face. Rolling his eyes, Hiccup comes over to sit at our table, and I send him a small grin. He smiles back gratefully, although i can tell he's troubled by something, which has nothing to do with the teenagers.
"He's never where he should be." Astrid says coldly.
"Thank you, Astrid." Gobber says.
"If I may, I think something Hiccup needs in more confidence in his abilities, which no one seems to be willing to offer," Dad speaks up, with his subtle implication of how everyone keeps trying to push Hiccup down. His implication is only reinforced when he stares at the teens, who squirm uncomfortably. I smile, glad to have such an epic adopted father. Beside me, I can sense Hiccup's gratitude grow even more.
Gobber looks thoughtful before nodding in agreement, pointing at Dad for emphasis. "Also true! If a Viking has no confidence or encouragement, then they won't be good warriors." He then stands up, a book held in his hand. "Now, you need to live and breathe this stuff."
He drops a giant book in the center of the table with a loud thud. "The dragon manual. Everything we know about every dragon we know of," he emphasizes. I glance over at it curiously.
A rumble of thunder shakes the hall, and the rain starts pouring down outside even harder than before. Gobber glances up, assessing the weather before nodding to himself. "No attacks tonight. Study up!" he announces, turning away and leaving the Great Hall. Everyone then stares at the book, the punks of course with disbelieving and irritated expressions on their faces.
"Wait, you mean read?" Tuffnut asks in horror.
"While we're still alive?" Ruffnut exclaims in disgust.
"You can't read when you're dead," I point out with a roll of my eyes.
Snotlout slams a fist on the table in annoyance. "Why read words when you can just kill the stuff the words tell you stuff about?"
"Oh yeah?" I challenge, turning around in my seat to face him. "So then, tell me how one would kill a Changewing dragon?"
He glares at me. "By cutting its head off, what do you think?"
"How are you gonna do that if you can't see it?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Snotlout demands, looking at me as if I'm an idiot. Astrid shakes her head while I roll my eyes, turning around. He's so not worth my time.
"Wow. What an exceptional level of dumb." Dad says bluntly. Mom nudges him in the arm with a stern look. "Jarik, be nice," she scolds.
"What? You can't tell me you aren't thinking the same thing!" he protests. "Besides, when were you ever the one for politeness in a non formal setting?" he argues.
Mom opens her mouth before shrugging. "Ok, good point."
Hiccup snickers to himself while I smile in amusement. While they were bickering, the rest of the teens all except for Astrid had left, apparently trying to get away from Fishlegs who was sprouting off dragon facts. Seeing this, Hiccup looks over, considering before trying his chance at conversation, moving to where Astrid and the book lay. She actually looks like she's considering reading it.
"So I guess we'll share-" he starts to say.
Of course that idea is immediately gone as soon as she notices Hiccup approach. "Read it," she says coldly, pushing it in his direction and walking out the door.
"Oh, uh, all mine then!" he stammers. "Wow, so okay. I'll SEE YOU-" he calls out, but the door slams shut before he can finish the sentence.
"...tomorrow," he says sadly with a sigh. I get up and walk over, looking at the book cover curiously. "Hey, can I read it with him tonight?" I ask my parents.
"Sure," Dad says, and Mom nods, having no issue with that.
"I can share it with you," I tell Hiccup.
"But you're not in dragon training..." he replies.
"Doesn't mean I'm not curious to learn about it," I point out. He smiles gratefully in return.
More Jarisoka moments yay! they're both continuing to grow further in their love for each other, and I'm sure you all are just waiting for something epic to happen! :D
Also dragon training is going on, which has everyone busy. And Hiccup starts to think differently about Toothless! He's not gonna be able to hide the secret from Mara, or Jarik and Ahsoka for very long though lol.
