Three days later, everyone's jaw drops through the floor when Bloom makes her way to an empty seat in the Clubhouse. Dagur's the first to open his mouth to object, but he barely gets her name out before she grumpily says "I've been in that hut for three. Days. Dagur. If you try to make me go back in there for another minute, I'm going to go mad!"
She then holds a hand up, and a plate flies into it. And then several leftover Yak-Chops from the night before fly onto the plate with Nadder-spine accuracy. Quickly followed by a large mug that she fills from the barrel of her tea - which, thankfully, seems to take the slightest edge off her mood as she downs it in one gulp then refills it.
Snotlout casually leans over, and says "Now that your feeling better- OW! Ow, ow, ow!" Bloom grabbed his wrist and sharply twisted it so that he's face-planted on the table.
Translation: she's not feeling better, she's just slowly going insane being cooped up in her hut. And the edge on her mood is right back where it was.
Throk groans, having come over from Caldera Cay yesterday, and says "Good to know before we spar. Last time, I only realized you were sick because you sneezed and blew up the crates." And the knowledge that, even sick, she was still beating him easily was a tough pill to swallow.
Stoick frowns, and asks "You spar with my dau-" At Bloom's venomous glare, he quickly amends it to "with Bloom?"
Throk raises an eyebrow, and asks "Were you about to call this young lady your daughter?" This is Bloom's father?! He doesn't see the resemblance.
Bloom flatly says "I was banished because I wouldn't kill Hookfang. And I wouldn't kill Hookfang because dragons were better company for me than the entire village minus Gobber over here ever was. Because they apparently didn't want me around. Because I was the most unviking-like Viking on the entire island." She then downs her mug of tea again before refilling. There's no specific inflection in her words, but the flat, dead way she says it leaves almost all the Berkians cringing and wondering if she's ever going to let that go or stop bringing it up.
From her expression…probably not.
Gobber says "You know, Bloom, you said you'd show me how you made the bow."
For the first time since they found her, Bloom gets a grin and says "Right! C'mon, we can eat in the Forge. Oh, and before I forget…" She quickly points at the Twins and Snotlout, saying "You, you, and you, banned from my Forge. You go in, I'll spill your guts and mount your heads on a spear."
Stoick winces again at the reminder of their last 'talk' back in Berk, even as Snotlout gulps and holds his hands up in surrender. Dagur chuckles, and says "She's a bit protective about her workspace. To be fair, that's where she carves her arrowheads and makes her pins and such. And coats them in Speed Stinger venom. Its not just a Forge, as I found out the hard way."
Asher suddenly remembers the vial of bright blue liquid Bloom had on Berk, and asks "What else does she have in there? Some weird blue stuff, by any chance?" Because it reminded him only too much of the Flightmare that terrorizes Berk every ten years and ruined his family's reputation.
Bloom blinks, then says "Oh, that. You saw it on Berk, right? Condensed Flightmare spray. I found the Flightmare who's food supply goes through Berk during Aurvandil's Fire about two years ago, Meatlug, Hookfang and I dug a new channel for its glowing algae to go through, and collected some spray. It took a while to find him this time though, so Brightfire and I had just gotten another vial when we found the Dragon Hunters in the area."
Stoick tightly asks "So you attacked them out of nowhere?"
Bloom glares at him, and says "Seeing as they had orders to harass Berk's ships and keep them from getting anything from fish to supplies from neighboring islands, I don't see your problem. Besides, I said its a war."
Seeing another fight coming up fast, and not particularly wanting to know what Bloom's magic might do with her still sick, Asher asks "Why were you collecting the spray in the first place, Bloom?"
Bloom blinks and stares at him in shock, asking "You don't know? I figured you out of everyone on Berk - except maybe your Uncle - would have at least an idea about it." At everyone's blank expression - bar Asher, who's got a hopeful one - she sighs and says "Vikings and their tradition of running headfirst into danger with their weapons held high…a Flightmare can paralyze someone with their spray, likely where the whole myth about them freezing their prey with fear came about. The spray has a nerve toxin in it, similar to Speed Stinger venom. Except, instead of going limp as a cooked fish…they just go rigid until the effects wear off. Which is maybe a minute later, its actually a defense to give itself enough time to get away from predators or kill them."
Everyone's staring at Bloom in utter shock, and Snotlout asks "Wait, Fearless Finn Hofferson…was actually fearless?" He then ducks a swing from Asher, who's been known to deck anyone who insults his uncle.
Bloom shrugs, and says "Was he actually fearless? I don't know that answer, you'd have to go to him for it. Did he freeze in fear that night? No, I saw him get sprayed rather thoroughly before the Flightmare took off after its food source from where I was on the roof of Stoick's house."
Asher's nearly delirious with relief, there's finally proof that his Uncle didn't freeze with fear and shame the family name! Everyone will stop making them the butt of their jokes and trying to humiliate them! Its one of the reasons why he always trained harder than the rest, tried to be the perfect warrior so he could restore his family name...along with impressing Stoick, proving to the stern man he could protect Bloom. He can bet Bloom doesn't have any idea what she just did for him and his family by saying that!
Then he looks at her and sees she's studying his reaction - maybe she does know what she just did for him, then. And then he realizes…its what would've happened had she killed Hookfang. Had she betrayed herself, the only friends she had for nearly a decade, and the dragons she made some sort of agreement with.
Of course, if she had…this never would've happened.
She gives him a cutting smile, and he knows she at least guessed what his thoughts were.
Gobber breaks the moment by saying "Well, now that that's all cleared up…what kinda metal do you use for your weapons, Bloom? Never seen anything like it."
Bloom grins and takes out her Tulwar, saying "We call it Gronckle Iron. As you probably guessed, its made from a lava that Gronckles spit back up if they eat a certain combination of rocks. It's lighter and stronger than regular iron - which would be how I sliced Spitelout's sword in half with ease." Her grin takes on a slightly feral edge, as she adds "Frustrates the Hel out of Viggo and his men whenever they try to swordfight me. They just caaan't seem to replicate it." Her voice screams smugness, but they can't really blame her for it after seeing Spitelout's sword get cut cleanly in half.
Bloom and Gobber leave the room, making Dagur groan and rub his temples. Asher immediately asks "What's wrong?"
"Bloom's stubborn enough that she won't listen to anyone if she doesn't want to. Everyone here must know that. Unfortunately…the heat from the Forge will mask her symptoms for a bit. Her magic is fire-based, and she can control fire because of it. And absorb it." There's been a few times where they've been saved by that, with Bloom having Hookfang and Stormfly breathe fire on her to give her a temporary boost.
Fishlegs says "So that's what she meant when she said she's 'extraordinarily nonflammable' back on Berk - she literally doesn't burn!"
Heather shrugs, and says "Rather, it doesn't hurt her in the slightest when she does. She can set herself on fire, her own, magical fire, and the only thing she'll come out with is a smashing headache and a day-long nap after healing any dragons she rescued if she does it too long. And a large appetite when she wakes back up."
Asher peeks into Bloom's forge, and sees its only a simple forge in name - its something of a combination between a forge, an armory, and a healer's workspace.
Piles of dragon scales, a large pile of assorted Nadder spines, a pile of wood…and several vials with differently-colored liquids inside them lined up on some shelves on a wall.
Then there's the more traditional tools of a forge - the bellow, the tools, the anvil and hammer, all of it.
And then there's the sheets of metal hanging along the walls, sheets of metal that look dragon-shaped no less. Dragon armor, perhaps?
Bloom's currently explaining how she built her bow out of three pieces and connected them - they fold together, which is how she can fit the lightweight bow in a pocket sewn into her wrist guard. Even the string is actually a metal cord she made, which can retract into the body of the bow when it folds - so, no need to worry about it getting wet or broken. Though, if it breaks, it'd be a Hel of a time trying to replace or fix it without magic.
Then she takes out one of her hidden blades - he thinks Gobber called it a Dao back on Berk - for Gobber to see. "-made the molds myself, and the hilts beforehand. Spent forever shaping the hilts just right - turns out using a weapon is a lot easier if the hilt is the right size and shape for your hand."
"And the quiver? And the pins?"
Bloom laughs and unstraps the mini-quiver from the inside of her leg, saying "Making the pins themselves is easy, really. I just propel them with magic, since a single touch would layeven me out for hours. They're coated with Speed Stinger venom, you see. Also the work of my magic, I use it to move the pins around. I just lift the pin up with my magic, dip it in the liquid, and let it dry. Then I can't actually touch the pins ever again." She chuckles, and says "Gave Ryker Grimborn a nasty surprise when he grabbed a handful to stab me with. He must've been down for days, there were about twelve of them in his hand!"
Gobber bursts out laughing at that, and says "Brilliant, Bloom!"
"Want to hear about the arrows? They're nothing special, really. The heads are just carved from Nadder spines…and soaked in the venom that gets released. The quiver itself, though, I managed to make it so it held my arrows in place until I picked one out. Even upside-down. I'd do a handstand to show you, but…"
Gobber immediately says "No. Bloom, that's-"
"Not one of my best ideas, I know. My head's stuffed-up enough that I'd at least fall flat on my face. If not onto one of my weapons. Or…knocking down a vial or two up there. Not something I want happening, its harder to get some of those than I make it look or sound." Racing Speed Stingers, for example - sounds easy, but it has her nearly collapsing each time since they always insist on five laps around the island.
Gobber chuckles, and says "I knew you were going to do something big, Bloom. I didn't know you had something quite this big in mind, though."
Bloom shrugs, and says "I built most of the Edge by myself, honestly. My hut, the Arena, the lookout towers. The Clubhouse, as we started calling it after Heather, Dagur, and Mala decided they'd live here some of the time and made their own huts, was more of a defense post and watchtower than the tiny version of the Great Hall its become today. My hut was originally just where I kept stuff, stuff I didn't want people getting to easily or left outside - it got turned into my own living space when Dagur and Heather came and started living here half the time. The stables were originally for injured dragons, since I started this all when I came across the Dragon Hunters, discovered what exactly they do, and they tried to take Brightfire away from me."
She doesn't sound angry, but the forge suddenly lights all on its own and nearly shoots a geyser into the room.
Bloom winces, holds a hand out, and the fire shoots onto it and gets absorbed. "Maybe we should switch to a different topic…"
Gobber nods, and asks "Any new ideas for weapons?"
Bloom shakes her head, saying "Well, I thought about hiding a lockpick in my hair disguised as a hairpin. My hair's long enough and thick enough that most nobody would think twice about it. 'Cept maybe Viggo Grimborn. But then I realized I could just manipulate the lock with my magic. That, or melt it off or rip the door away."
Yes, Asher concedes, that would certainly be easier than making a lockpick and replacing it every time it gets broken.
