Hey guys! Sorry for the late chapter, I've just been busy with several things. I wanted to take a slight break since summer vacation just started for me, and I was also thinking about different ways to meld together the different universes of the Shaniverse for different stories.
Btw have any of you seen the Bumblebee movie trailer? I think it looks cool! :D
Anyways, I'm not giving up on this story and never will! However next week from Monday through Saturday I won't be able to post any chapters because I'll be off the grid on vacation. :(
Anyways, on to the chapter!
Mara POV...
Later that night after everyone was gone, Hiccup and I sat down at one of the long tables, where he placed a candle for light. He opened the book to reveal a contents page, and started reading through it.
"Dragon classifications. Strike class. Fear class. Mystery class," he read.
"Oh good, fear class," I remarked with an eye roll.
"We excel at naming don't we?" he sarcastically replies. He turns the page to reveal a picture of a large dragon with a massive mouth filled with teeth, and a long whip-like tail. Several other images and sentences with text fill the page.
"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. Extremely dangerous. Kill on sight," he reads.
"Kill on sight?" I repeat slowly. "Just that?"
He only shrugs in response, and our eyes drift to a lurid illustration of decapitated Vikings. I grimace and shudder slightly, not eager to see what that would look like in real life. By the look on Hiccup's face, he feels the same, so he flips the page to reveal another dragon, a lot larger than the Thunderdrum, the whole thing basically just being a set of massive wings. Next to it's main picture is another image showing it slicing completely through trees with its wings.
"Timberjack. This gigantic creature has razor sharp wings that can slice through full grown trees... extremely dangerous. Kill on sight." Hiccup reads again.
I let out an exasperated sigh and roll my eyes. "As fascinating as this is the only knowledge I'm hearing is that you should kill a dragon on sight."
"Well, it's not like we need to know anything else as a Viking," he replies. "Although it would be nice to have more," he admits, agreeing with my thought. He flips the page again to show another dragon, this one more aquatic looking, spraying water from its mouth.
"Scauldron. Sprays scalding water at its victim. Extremely dangerous," he says.
Suddenly, a massive burst of lightning and thunder crashes outside the Great Hall, and Hiccup yelps, turning around in surprise. I grin at him and once he gets over being startled, turns back around only to see me smirking at him.
"What?" he demands.
"Wimp," I reply.
He groans irritably while I giggle at his exasperation before we continue reading. The next page shows a another dragon in a slithering pose, with long leaflike spines on its tail, and wide, bulging eyes that are narrowed. Smoke drifts from its mouth.
"Changewing. Even newly hatched dragons can spray acid. Kill on sight," he continues to read. Not even the babies are safe from Vikings and their belief in killing dragons.
He begins flipping through the pages, merely glancing at the blur of dragons as he reads. "Gronckle. Zippleback. The Skrill. Bone Knapper. Whispering Death," he reads.
I study the image of the Whispering Death for a moment. "Well the name certainly fits." I comment with a nod. "That certainly has to be the weirdest creature I've seen."
"I-I'd rather not meet that one, personally," Hiccup stutters sheepishly.
"Burns its victims. Buries its victims. Chokes its victims. Turns its victims inside-out. Extremely dangerous. Extremely dangerous. Kill on sight. Kill on sight. Kill on sight..." he continues to narrate, skipping through several pages. I roll my eyes at every description he reads, finding it absurd and stupidly repetitive at this point, until one dragon's page gets my attention.
"Hey wait, what's that one?" I ask, stopping him from flipping the page.
"This one?" he questions, narrowing his eyes at it. The image shows a hard-scaled dragon with no wings, and large, thick claws. It's head was large, with a small face and sharp, detailed crest. "Hssiss dragon. Part of the Mystery class," he reads.
I notice one line of text that seems intriguing. "This dragon is more of a myth, but many still believe it to be real. It carries a powerful venom that can be delivered from a simple scratch, and has no cure. Their black and crimson scales, along with glowing red eyes make them look like the devil itself, with their apparent ability to appear out of nowhere." I read aloud.
I consider it with interest, noting how it seemed familiar to a reference I saw in some things I've seen out in the galaxy on missions with Mom or Dad.
"Well that's neat," Hiccup remarks. "Oh hey, here's a different way to encounter it: if you spot this dragon, do not engage. Pray it does not catch you, and run as far away as possibly. Extremely dangerous."
He glances up at me and I give a shrug. "I feel like I might've seen that name before, but I'm not sure. Have to ask my Dad about that," I explain.
"Where in the world could you possibly find a dragon other than Ahch-To?" he asks incredulously.
"Meh. Galaxy's a big place," I reply.
"I can only imagine," he mutters, looking back at the book and flipping the paper again, stopping when he sees a page with no drawing whatsoever on it.
"Night Fury," he whispers. I get the feeling that he was looking for this page. What a let down to see it with only a few sparse details. "Speed unknown. Size unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. Never engage this dragon. Your only chance, hide and pray it does not find you."
I studied the page for a moment curiously, glancing over at Hiccup again. He looked fascinated at the Night Fury page, yet also uncomfortable, as if he wanted to look at something else but wouldn't do it while I was there. So I got an idea instead. Pulling out my chronometer, I pretend to check the time with practiced ease before getting up with a sigh.
"Well, I've got some things to do in a minute. See you tomorrow Hiccup!" I tell him with a smile, heading towards the door.
"Ok, I-I'll see you later then!" he replies, watching me go. As soon as I sense that his gaze is no longer on me, I dart off to the side behind one of the pillars, concealed by the lack of light, and use the Force to open and close the door to the Great Hall, giving the impression that I had left. Then, I sneaked back in his direction, using the darkness to my advantage, and then quietly leaped up to grab onto the pillar halfway up so that I was above him. Hanging from the pillar, I looked down and watched as he pulled out his notebook, flipping it to a page and then laying it on top of the Dragon Book.
I could see a sketch of a dragon that wasn't drawn in the book and narrowed my eyes as he considered it. That could only mean that he's seen a Night Fury before, even more so because he shot one down earlier from what the villagers were saying.
Oh Hiccup, what have you gotten yourself into this time?Something that I want to be a part of for sure!
3rd person POV...
Out in the ocean, three Viking warships were drifting alongside a massive fog bank in the middle of the day. Within the fog large rock formations were just visible. Stoick stood next to the chart, analyzing the map before pounding his fist into the table, looking up at the massive fog bang with narrowed eyes in determination.
"I can almost smell them. They're close. Steady," he says firmly.
The three ships drift alongside the massive fog bank, skirting its solid edge, looking for an opening. The crewmen all mill nervously on deck, all too aware of what Stoick is considering.
"Take us in." Stoick finally says.
The helmsman steers the ship into the fog, the other two beside it following suit. The men draw their weapons, prepping for the worst.
"Hard to port... for Helheim's gate," the helmsmen calls out.
The first ship disappears into the fog, followed by the other two. For the first few seconds, all is quiet, until a bright flash suddenly illuminates the shape of a Monstrous Nightmare above where the ships were positioned. Shrieks and roars could be heard, as well as the yells of Vikings, as well as splashes from some thrown overboard.
ooo00ooo
Back on Berk, Ahsoka opened her eyes, frowning in worry before shaking her head sadly, worried for the wellbeing of the Vikings caught at sea, and the dragons in this senseless war between them, both sides victim to the conflict.
Mara POV...
I walked with Hiccup in the group of the rest of the teens, chatting casually with him while the others stayed ahead, before bidding him good luck and heading towards the stands where I would be watching. Hiccup then stops me for a moment, confusion in his eyes.
"Hey, where are your parents? Didn't they plan to usually watch these?" he questions.
I let out a sad sigh. "They aren't coming this time, since today isn't really a good day for them."
"Why not?" he asks in confusion. "Are they sick or something?"
I shake my head. "No, no. Nothing like that," I replied. "Today is Empire Day, which is the day that the Jedi Order was destroyed, and most of their friends killed."
His face drops in realization. "Oh, sorry about that. I wasn't thinking," he apologized.
"It's alright, you didn't know. It happened two years before I was born, but you have nothing to apologize for anyways," I reassured him. After a moment I realized that today was also Hiccup's birthday, from what he's told me, so that must be something else weighing on his mind.
"You know what, how about later tonight we do something fun, how about that?" I suggest. He looks up at me, briefly surprised before shrugging. "Um, alright, sure," he replies.
"HICCUP!" Gobber calls out. He glances over in alarm before chuckling sheepishly.
"Um, I- uh, gotta go," he stammers. I grin at him.
"Go kick some butt Hiccup!" I call out after him as he hurries away into the arena, where a whole maze system is set up. After lining up with the rest of the teens before the maze, Gobber opens the gate, then rushes outside the arena to spectate from where he has a better view. Which is near my position. A blue and yellow Nadder bursts out of the cage with a roar, sending the teens scurrying around inside, and I can't help but be a little bit worried. This goes on for a few moments before Hiccup suddenly stops before us, and I raise an eyebrow at him as he begins to talk.
"Hey, you know, I just happened to notice the book had nothing on Night Furies. Is there another book? Or a sequel? Maybe a little Night Fury pamphlet?" he asks casually.
Less then a moment later, a blast from the Nadder takes the axe head off of Hiccup's hilt, leaving a smoking hole behind him. Hiccup yelps in surprise and runs. The scene is kind of humorous but at the same time I can't help but worry for him.
"Focus Hiccup! You're not even trying." Gobber says, annoyed.
The Nadder roars at Hiccup and chases him for a few turns before stopping, turning around to seek another target as it hopped along the walls. Out of all of the dragons I've seen, this one seems the most like a bird.
"Today... is all about attack!" Gobber calls out enthusiastically, and I roll my eyes. "Nadders are quick and light on their feet. Your job is to be quicker and lighter."
"You sound so excited you might as well go in the ring yourself," I comment sarcastically.
"Eh, how will they stay optimistic without some enthusiasm?" he shoots back with a smirk.
The teens move in, stumbling over Hiccup and his unwieldy shield. Leaping on top of another wall, the Nadder spots Fishlegs hiding behind a wall and roars. Fishlegs yelps in shock and the Nadder raises its tail. Spikes pop out of it, and it whips its tail, sending them flying. Fishlegs screams and raises his shield, jogging along as the spikes all hit it, stumbling off of the wall.
"I'm really beginning to question your teaching methods!" he screams.
"Oh now he questions it?" I mutter quietly to myself.
"Look for its blind spot. Every dragon has one. Find it, hide in it, and strike!" Gobber advises.
Hiccup runs past another corridor beside Ruff and Tuff, who then stop in surprise as the Nadder appears from the corner they turned into. They stop in surprise, panting heavily as they tried to stay in its blind spot. The Nadder sniffs the air in front of it, and moves its head from side to side in an attempt to spot them. Tuff and Ruff are smashed together, way too close for comfort.
"How long do you think it'll take before they start fighting?" I ask Gobber casually.
He thinks for a moment. "I'd give it maybe ten seconds," he decides.
As the twins lean back, Ruffnut catches a whiff of Tuffnut's hair and gives a sniff, groaning in disgust. "Do you ever bathe?" she asks, repulsed, trying to push him away from her.
"If you don't like it, then just get your own blind spot," he retorts ngrily, shoving her back.
Irritated, she shoves her brother to the side and butts her head into his face. "How about I give you one!?" she threatens.
"Morons," I scoff quietly.
Their shoving movements and lack of attention to the situation give the twins away. The Nadder sets its sights on them, squawking before unleashing a hot stream of fire at the both of them. The twins cry out in surprise and scramble away just in time.
"Blind spot? Yes. Deaf spot? Not so much." Gobber comments, chuckling to himself at his joke.
"No kidding," I say in agreement. Astrid and Snotlout then run by beneath us, followed by Hiccup who then stops as he obviously has more questions. Seriously? right now?
"Hey, so how would one sneak up on a Night Fury?" he asks, and I hold a hand to my head in exasperation. This is exactly why I keep trying to tell him how his antics will get himself killed one day, yet he still does crap like this anyways.
"None one's ever met one and lived to tell the tale. Now get in there!" Gobber replies quickly with a frustrated shout at the end.
"Focus now, ask later?" I suggest.
He backs up sheepishly. "I know, I know, but hypothetically..."
"Hiccup!" Astrid whispers harshly nearby, and he looks over to see her and Snotlout hiding behind a wall. She puts her finger to her lips and gestures for him to hide. A moment later, the Nadder stalks forwards from behind the corner, sniffing the air. She peeks her head out and readies herself determinedly before rolling across the gap. Snotlout follows after her, and then Hiccup goes next, however the weight of the shield drags him down mid-roll, catching the Nadders' attention. It snaps its jaws at him, and Hiccup manages to scramble away just in time. I was worried, and whenever he got into a tough situation like that my hands were lowered, ready to intervene and use the Force to save him if necessary.
The Nadder quickly jumps back on top of the walls with a quick wing flap, then lands in front of Astrid and Snotlout. Astrid is surprised, but readies herself, preparing to throw her axe when Snotlout suddenly sweeps her behind him, a confident look on his face. I shake my head in annoyance.
"Watch out babe. I'll take care of this," he says cockily.
"Hey!" Astrid exclaims angrily.
Snotlout throws his mace, laughably off target, hitting the wall a few feet away from the Nadder. I snicker in amusement, before bursting into laughter when even the Nadder laughs at his pitiful attempt.
"Eh, I'm not putting much hope on that one," Gobber says dryly.
"I'd put the twins before him," I add in with a grin, and Gobber chuckles in response.
Astrid glares furiously at Snotlout. Seeing the look on her face, he tries to repair his damaged ego. "The sun was in my eyes, Astrid!" he protests defensively. "What do you want me to do, block out the sun? I could do that, but I don't have time right now!"
Stupid.
The Nadder shoots a burst of flame at the two, forcing them to run away, and the the Nadder screeches, running after them. It singles out Astrid along the way, knocking down walls in pursuit. She shouts in alarm, sliding around a corner as the Nadder follows, smashing the entire wall down. It continues chasing after her now, on a path of devastation, knocking down the entire arena when Hiccup wanders up to us again! Does he not even notice?!
"They probably take the daytime off..." he continues to theorize.
Noticing Astrid and the Nadder heading his way, my eyes shoot up in alarm. "Uhh, Hiccup," I start to say warningly.
"You know, like a cat. Has anyone ever seen one napping?" he continues, completely oblivious.
"Hiccup!" Gobber exclaims.
"Hiccup watch out!" I yell, pointing behind him.
Finally he whirls around in surprise, noticing the walls falling all around him, as well as the teenage Viking girl flying through the air in his direction.
"Ahh! Hiccup!" she screams, and Hiccup cries out in surprise when she lands on him, the Nadder skidding past them and slamming into a few collapsed walls. I wince at the scene. The two lay in the middle of the carnage, tangled with Astrid on top, grunting angrily as she tried to separate themselves from the tangled mess.
"Oooh! Love on the battlefield!" Tuffnut jeers.
"She could do better," Ruffnut adds, and I groan in slight disgust. I so did not need to hear that.
The Nadder bursts out of the pile of wood, roaring at the pair, and I glance between it and them in alarm, worried about Hiccup's, and by extension, Astrid's safety.
"Just... let me... why don't you..." Hiccup struggles to say.
The Nadder spins around and races back toward them quickly. Astrid untangles herself, causing Hiccup to yelp painfully as she shoves his face down in the process, and tries to pull her axe from Hiccup's shield which is stuck attached to his arm. She plants her foot on his face and yanks the axe free, while he grunts in pain, the axe still burrowed into the shield.
At this point the Nadder was so close that I slid through the bars after sharing a worried look with Gobber, landing on my feet by the wall. Astrid then spins and swings the axe and shield, scoring a direct hit on the oncoming Nadder's nose. It yelps in pain, scurrying off.
"Well done, Astrid." Gobber calls out in satisfaction.
The Nadder squawks again and glances back in the direction of Hiccup and Astrid, but at this point I had rushed forwards, leaping at it. The dragon glances at me in surprise and aggression, but before it can act I grab onto one of its crown spikes, forcing its head down slightly and press a hand to its head gently. I use the Force to calm it down, and the Nadder stops being aggressive, slumping away just as Gobber comes forth to lead the Nadder back into the cage.
"Is this some kind of a joke to you?" Astrid says angrily, and I turn around to see her glaring down at Hiccup, axe held threateningly. "Our parents' war is about to become ours! Figure out which side you're on."
"Astrid, lay off. It was a mistake," I say with a frown, marching forwards.
"Mistakes like that are going to cost someone their life! He needs to figure that out!" she retorts, glaring over at me before stomping off with the rest of the teens. I'm unfazed, but I can tell that got to Hiccup. Standing above him, I reach a hand out and help him to his feet with a concerned look on my face.
"You alright Hiccup?" I ask him.
"Yeah I'm fine," he replies, slightly glum though. "Guess I'll need a new axe though," he jokes.
I smile slightly at his sarcasm. "You don't have to take her words to heart you know. You're brilliant at other things," I remind him.
He sighs. "Yeah, but in a way she's right. I wasn't taking it too seriously today," he says glumly.
"Well, there is room for improvement," I admit with a smile.
About an hour later, I had noticed that Hiccup had slunk off into the woods with a shield and fish, so I made plans to follow him. Firstly though, Mom and Dad have something to tell me, so I'm going to stop by the house on the way.
"Hey Mom, Dad," I greeted, walking inside the house.
"Hey sweetheart," Mom replied.
"So what's up?" I asked.
"We just got a call from the Ghost Crew to help transport a Rodian named Tseebo away from the Empire, so we called R5 and told him to pick us up." Dad told me. "Would you like to come along?"
I blinked at them in surprise, before considering. "Well, I'd like to go on this mission... but at the same time I also want to follow Hiccup. I think he's hiding something," I admitted.
"Hiccup's hiding something?" Dad asked with a raised eyebrow. "Let me guess: it relates to dragons," he deadpans.
I nod my head with a smile. "Yup!"
"Alright, well good luck to you on that Mara. We'll be back in a day or two," Mom tells me, as I head out the door.
"See ya!" I say with a wave.
"Don't do anything stupid!" Dad calls out, and Mom smacks him on the shoulder while I giggle in amusement.
And right now in the timeline it is Empire Day during Star Wars Rebels, and dragon training is starting to get a little more intense. Also, Mara now suspects Hiccup in relation to the Night Fury! So of course she's going to investigate this... :)
Also a strange and mysterious new dragon was read in the Book of Dragons. Wonder if they'll ever encounter that? Hmm...
