Chapter 10

See You Tomorrow

Arena

"Today is aboot teamwork!"

That was all Hiccup heard from Gobber before an explosion, quite literally, rocked the arena. A pair of cage doors burst open with a shockwave that threatened to knock the trainees off their feet, and while they were busy regaining their footing, a cloud of smoke billowed outwards to swallow them in its embrace. Hiccup lost sight of his peers almost immediately, except for Fishlegs and Snaketail, who crowded around him out of an instinctive desire to stick together.

"Ye've fought against monsters that can use fire attacks!" Gobber's voice called from somewhere outside the cloud. "A wet monster head can't light its fire, but the Qurupeco is extra tricky! Yer job is ta figure oot how ta disable its fire!"

Every one of the teens held a water bucket in his or her hands for that exact purpose. Hiccup tightened his grip on his, squinting at the thick wall of grey surrounding him. Somewhere in that obscuring vapor, the monster was waiting to strike. He could hear it chattering and clucking to itself, somewhere in the impenetrable fog.

Strangely, Hiccup felt calmer than he ever had in previous monster training sessions. It might've been because, now, he had somewhat of a plan other than running for his life. He snuck his free hand under his jacket and touched the eel he had hidden there. If Sightless had an adverse reaction to it, then would other monsters? The possibility that the eel would provide protection calmed Hiccup… although he still eyed the fluctuating smoke warily, unsure as to where and when the monster would appear.

He could hear Fishlegs muttering something, only to shut up when Snaketail hissed at him. Deeper voices came from farther in the fog, then a shout and what seemed like arguing. Shortly after, a piercing yell tore through the arena, too loud and desperate to ignore. Hiccup, Snaketail, and Fishlegs stiffened, the tension in their little bubble shooting up until their skin tingled. Was that Tuffnut's scream? The smoke was starting to clear up, but it wasn't enough for Hiccup to make out his comrades' locations.

More screams floated out to them from deeper in the cloud, and Hiccup felt Fishlegs start to tremble. "Chances of survival are dwindling to single digits now…" he whimpered.

"First it'll splatter us with its flammable mucus, then light it with –"

"Shut up and let us listen," Snaketail growled, searching the smoke for the source of Tuff's wails.

They didn't have long to wait – Tuffnut himself came scrambling out, smacking into Fishlegs and bowling the Ingerman boy over. Tuff didn't even notice the collision, and ran towards the exit, clutching his arm.

"Oh, I am hurt! I am very much hurt!" he hollered on his way past, stumbling through the dissipating vapor.

A raucous squawk blasted their ears from somewhere close by. Hiccup and Snaketail whirled around, their hearts hammering. A huge green shape came running out, dispelling curtains of smoke with its beating wings. It threw its blunt-beaked head forward and let out a honking cry, which scared Fishlegs into abandoning his empty bucket and fleeing after Tuffnut.

Snaketail, though, stood her ground. A fierce glint in her eye, the Grundenson girl hurled her bucket upwards with a challenging shout. Out flew the water, which splashed all over the Qurupeco's head and neck. She straightened up with a triumphant grin and a confident glance at Hiccup… only for the expression to disappear when the Qurupeco bent its neck toward her and drooled snot-green slime.

"Oh," she said, with a lame chuckle. "My bad."

The Qurupeco opened its mouth and spat mucus all over the defenseless Snaketail, sending her running whilst spouting curses. It shifted its attention to Hiccup, and now his nerves started to climb. The Qurupeco was smaller than the last two monsters, but not by much, and took the form of a brilliant green bird wyvern with a duck-like snout, flat tail, and chunky wing claws. Towering over him, it inflated its beak into a trumpet and puffed out a bright red throat sac, using them to manufacture a mighty roar.

"Now, Hiccup!" Gobber called.

Screwing up his courage, Hiccup tossed his water… and missed completely, to his dismay. The Qurupeco advanced with an intimidating strut, clapping its flintstone claws together to produce an ominous CLACK and shower of sparks. It inflated its chest, raised its wings, and Hiccup braced himself for the worst…

…only for the Qurupeco to shrink, its aggressive posture turning fearful.

Confidence surged within Hiccup, and he took a tentative step forward with hands raised before him. Just as he suspected, the Qurupeco hopped back with a squawk, its head twitching like a terrified chicken. He took a second step, then a third and a fourth.

"B-Back… back, back!" he ordered, keeping his advance slow and steady. Each time he moved his hands, he herded the bird wyvern closer to its open pen. "N-Now don't you make me tell you again! That's it, you… get back in your cage!"

The Qurupeco opened its mouth and spread its wings and tail, a threat display inspired by terror. Its posture was submissive, though, and another push from Hiccup spooked it into shrinking away again. Then, once it had passed the threshold, he opened his jacket and threw the eel into the cage, making sure that it couldn't be seen by anyone behind him.

"Now think about what you've done," Hiccup finished, and pushed the cage doors closed.

For once, Hiccup felt ecstatic. The eel had worked like a charm, tickling his inventor's brain with the sensation of an experiment concluding successfully. And the satisfaction of seeing a monster cringing away from him? Cathartic, after needing rescue from them twice before.

Not to mention how that must have looked to the others… Hiccup thought, and when he turned around, was not disappointed. Gobber, Astrid… everyone was slack-jawed and goggle-eyed, paralyzed with utter bewilderment. Hiccup had to fight to keep a grin from stretching across his face. He had done this. He had succeeded at monster training. He had done something even Astrid couldn't.

The shocked silence stretched as he marched out the gates with nothing but a casual farewell. Only when the arena was far behind him did he break out into a massive smile and put a skip into his stride. From this day forward, no-one would look at Hiccup Haddock the Third the same way, ever again.

Gobber's Smithy

Hiccup dusted off his latest creation with an air of pride. The saddle was tailor-made to fit over Sightless' broad back, with straps that would wrap snugly around his body. While Hiccup didn't have Sightless' exact measurements, he was confident that it was close enough to get the job done until he could construct a more specific model.

The saddle was certainly an impressive piece of work, but it wasn't the only accessory he had put together. Instead of his usual fur jacket, Hiccup had made himself a streamlined brown harness.

Indeed, Hiccup had big plans for Sightless. With the wing splint proving successful and his new goal realized fully, he knew what his next step would be. After all, there was no better way to help a Gore Magala fly than by riding it!

Hidden Grotto

But first he had to get the saddle on the damn thing.

It took a lot of chasing, but soon enough, Hiccup and Sightless were on their first official test flight over the lake. Hiccup sat comfortably atop Sightless' back thanks to the saddle, finding it much easier to hold on during tight turns when he was in a stable riding position. His legs clung tight to the Gore Magala's flanks, but he only gripped the edge of the saddle with one hand.

From the other hand trailed a length of sturdy rope that he had attached to the hinge on Sightless' splint. The idea behind this addition was simple – when Hiccup wanted Sightless to change direction, he would tug the rope to pull the hinge shut. Of course, tugging with different amounts of effort would cause Sightless' wing to fold accordingly.

Hiccup was just beginning to think that this was turning out to be a well-working system when he yanked the rope too hard by accident, and Sightless went into a nosedive that plunged them both into the lake for the second time that day.

Berk Woods, Next Morning

When Hiccup next met up with Sightless, he arrived with a series of tweaks made to the saddle and his riding suit. He had added a hook to his belt and a matching one to the saddle, between which was threaded a cord that granted Hiccup an effective safety line. This way, he wouldn't fall off of Sightless while he got used to working the splint.

This time, he managed to steer Sightless out of the cove, and they took a flight over the Berk woods proper. He was getting used to controlling the splint with rope, knowing how much strength was needed to pull it open and shut to steer. Thanks to his improving skill, their flight lasted much longer than last time – but, inevitably, their path took them on a course in which Hiccup's reaction time wasn't enough. He missed a turn, Sightless smacked into a tree, and they tumbled out of the sky.

Hiccup emerged from a field of tall grass, brushing stray blades from his clothes and breathing through his mouth. Although he was grateful for the soft landing, the sweet scent of the grass filled his nose up like mead into a tankard, threatening to cause a sneezing fit. He pushed through the long stalks toward where Sightless had fallen…

…only to find the Gore Magala lying on his back in a clearing of flattened grass. There was no black mist in sight, only a writhing, snuffling, playful monster that rolled and frolicked on a green mattress. He looked the very picture of bliss.

Unable to do anything but gaze at Sightless in wonder (and some amusement), Hiccup plucked a clinging blade from his sleeve and stared at it in interest. He was reminded significantly of the eel, if only because of Sightless' unexpected reaction to that, too.

Monster training was supposed to begin shortly, Hiccup reflected. Maybe it was time for another experiment…

Arena

Today, Gobber's idea of torture was to arm the trainees with steel shields and let loose a freaking Diablos. He claimed that this lesson was for them to learn how to read a monster's movements, dodge, and counterattack; Hiccup was more convinced that his master got a kick out of watching them scream and run.

Just like with the Qurupeco, Hiccup felt an odd confidence despite the possibility that he might very well die. Rather than an eel, he clutched a stalk of grass in his other hand – dragon nip, he had realized upon seeing a flock of Gronckles arrive at the field and lay down for a nap. He hoped that this secret weapon would prove as effective as the last.

Ahead of him, the Diablos rushed Fishlegs, its horns slamming against his shield and throwing him across the arena. Even as the Ingerman boy hit the wall, the Diablos' dark gaze moved to Hiccup, and it aimed its two horns at him with a furious roar.

Despite his every muscle screaming at him to run, Hiccup stood firm, his last victory like an anchor keeping fear from sweeping him away. The dragon nip in his hand, he thrust it forward just as the Diablos reached him. It skidded to a halt when the plant's scent hit it, its horns almost touching Hiccup. In the manner of someone who hadn't just escaped death by inches, he strode right up to the flying wyvern and brought the dragon nip to its snout.

The heavy-armored, two-horned, sledgehammer-tailed, dinosaur-headed Diablos flopped to the ground with a delighted groan, its wings and tail thrashing as though it were nothing but a wolf pup. Hiccup saw the anger leave its eyes, dissolving like mud into pools of bliss.

When Gobber dismissed the class, Hiccup found himself being swarmed. Long gone were the former expressions of disdain and mockery from his peers – no, now the faces that crowded him were alight with incredulity and admiration. The one face that was absent was Astrid's.

"That was incredible!" Fishlegs gushed.

"You were up in its face and didn't even get scared!" Ruffnut exclaimed.

"I've never seen a Diablos do that!" Snotlout beamed.

Uncomfortable with all the attention, Hiccup shrugged them off and started to walk back in the direction of the arena. "I-I, uh, left m-my shield back in… um, back in the ring," he fibbed. "Y-You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up with you."

He dashed off, noticing that Batwings and Snaketail wore looks of concern, but quickly forgot in his haste to disappear.

Hidden Grotto

Another day, another failed practice flight. Hiccup had gotten distracted by a plume of smoke on the horizon and ended up unable to react fast enough when Sightless clipped a tree. After that embarrassment, it was back to the grotto, where Sightless napped and Hiccup sketched out possible improvements for the splint and saddle.

Upon finding himself fresh out of ideas, Hiccup ambled over to Sightless and patted his muzzle affectionately. The Gore Magala leaned into his touch, producing a rumble that reminded the Haddock boy of an overgrown cat's purr. He petted with more and more vigor until he was scratching feverishly at Sightless' neck, carried away by his own enthusiasm and Sightless' encouraging rumbles.

Then, his fingers reached under the chin, and Sightless dropped like a stone. At Hiccup's feet, a forty-foot Gore Magala lay limp and content, made helpless by nothing more than an undersized Viking's own two hands.

Arena, Next Morning

"Meet the Remobra!" Gobber announced, and the cage burst open to release a winged monster with a whip-like tail and serpentine head. None of the trainees moved as the Remobra, smaller than even the Qurupeco, spread its wings and let out a threatening hiss.

"Ha!" Tuffnut laughed, lowering his Rathalos Lance. "It doesn't look so –"

The Remobra pounced forward with a shriek. The trainees scattered, but Tuff was too slow to stop it from grabbing him in its talons and flying him toward the ceiling. Astrid acted at once, throwing one of her Dual Blades to clip its wing. With a hiss of pain, the Remobra dropped Tuffnut ("Oh, I am hurt! I am very much hurt!") and went after Astrid instead. She avoided its grasping claws, but rather than turn to pursue her, it swooped toward the next victim in its line of sight.

Hiccup saw the Remobra heading for him and struggled to keep calm. He dropped his weapon and kept his hands close to his body, and hoped he looked as nonthreatening as possible. It worked – instead of grabbing and mauling him, the Remobra landed on all fours and cocked its head, confused as to why he wasn't fleeing.

A shout turned both the boy's and wyvern's heads in Astrid's direction. The Hofferson girl was coming at them with her second Dual Blade. Knowing that the Remobra would retaliate in a heartbeat, Hiccup made his move. Ducking into its blind spot, he scratched its neck scales in the way he knew Sightless liked. He felt it relax, its body shivering with pleasure, and went for its chin as soon as its guard was down.

The Remobra collapsed on the floor, bringing Hiccup and Astrid face-to-face. Astrid lowered her weapon, shock written all over her face. Hiccup felt satisfied with his victory for about two seconds, after which Astrid's unblinking stare made him feel incredibly awkward. He muttered an apology and shuffled away to retrieve his weapon, fighting down a grin at how Astrid had been looking at him.

Meade Hall, Evening

Astrid sat amongst her gossiping friends, glaring into her drink as though it had insulted her family. She'd been stewing in a boiling pit of anger since morning training. Not even several hours of practice with her Midnight Blackwings had taken the edge off. After that, Tuffnut had made a snide remark about her performance against the Remobra and ended up with a black eye. Now she couldn't even muster an appetite, leaving her dinner to go cold.

The Meade Hall doors opened, and the source of all Astrid's current problems walked past. She looked up at the sight of the familiar brown hair and felt her inner cauldron start to bubble over. Astrid didn't let it spill, though – she was too disciplined for that. Her full fury was to be saved for her enemies on the battlefield. She would not waste it on one of her peers, however much the scrawny little embarrassment deserved it.

However, not all the discipline in the world could stop Astrid's glare from turning into a heated laser when everyone left her table to sit with Hiccup. They scrambled over and shoved one another to be the first to toady up to Mr. Perfect. She saw Fishlegs' mouth moving a mile a minute, his watery eyes gleaming with more excitement than they ever had when he hung out with her. She saw Snaketail grab Hiccup around the shoulders and give him an affectionate noogie, like a proud older sister. She saw Ruffnut lean away from the Siren to cozy up to the Haddock boy, and she didn't know whether to retch in disgust or snort in amusement.

You are a Hofferson, she scolded herself. You are a feared warrior of Berk. You will bring glory to your family and your tribe by slaying monsters. You will not bring shame to both by acting on your jealousy.

She was… jealous? Of Hiccup Haddock? The thought made Astrid slam her mug on the table with a twisted scowl.

Berk Woods, Next Morning

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

Astrid practiced as she never had before, hurling her Dual Blades into tree trunks, tearing them free, and immediately turning around to aim at the next target. She mixed somersault dives in between, turning her body into a whirling dervish of pure Viking fury, without once stopping to breathe.

Rage and determination fueled every movement, eliminating the need for rest. She would rest when she was back at the top of the class, her foot planted atop her first monster corpse in front of the cheering village. All her life she had worked to become the best warrior on the island, and she wasn't about to be upstaged by Hiccup and his miraculous talent.

She yanked her Dual Blade out of her last target, used the momentum to perform a flawless roll, and sprang to her feet. Her next target already selected, she reared her arm back and…

…a pair of wide eyes stared back at her.

Only now did Astrid stop, her racing mind coming to a halt to process this new information. Hiccup was standing in front of her, holding some kind of package. His face was pale and his eyes were those of a deer in arrow range, and Astrid realized with a chill just how close she'd come to nailing him in the forehead.

Before she could say anything, or even blink, the Haddock boy was scurrying off into the undergrowth.

A sudden bout of curiosity overtook her, and she ran after him. This was an opportunity to see what he was up to, where he always went, why he had a sudden knack for upstaging her. She skidded around a corner, jumped to the top of a boulder, and looked down.

She saw nothing but a carpet of ferns stretching out through the forest. Hiccup had vanished.

At last, he'd done it. After several long nights of thinking and sketching and throwing away wads of parchment, Hiccup had come up with a way to control Sightless' splint with maximum efficiency. While the Gore Magala cleaned out another fish basket, Hiccup strapped on the newest addition to their flight ensemble and stepped back to admire his handiwork.

The device was a series of steel connecting rods that attached to the splint's hinge, wrapped around Sightless' wingarm, and led to a modified stirrup that encircled his left front leg. With Hiccup's foot in the stirrup, he could switch between a series of preset positions, thus creating a chain of movement along the connecting rods and adjusting the hinge accordingly. It was a mechanism he could not wait to try out.

Minutes later, that was what Hiccup found himself doing, at the edge of a cliff where a strong sea breeze lofted Sightless into the air. The Gore Magala drifted lazily in place, attached by a cord to a nearby tree stump to prevent any accidents. On his back, Hiccup cycled through the stirrup's different positions: memorizing them, practicing with them, testing how they changed Sightless' angle and direction relative to the wind.

He clicked the stirrup into the "rest" position, and with impressive smoothness, the splint swung shut. Sightless landed with nary a sound and swung his head around to meet Hiccup, who felt a certain warmth swell within him. Sightless really did trust him, even liked him, and Hiccup felt the same way. They were no longer boy and monster, no longer enemies, no longer acquaintances.

They were companions. Friends.

Encouraged by Sightless' toothy grin, Hiccup clicked the stirrup once more, and Sightless' wings fanned open. The breeze turned into a powerful headwind, as if in greeting – but it was too much for the rope to take, and it cut them loose. Unprepared for freedom, Hiccup and Sightless were swept backwards to crash amidst a copse of evergreens.

Hiccup stood up with a groan of pain, relieved that nothing was broken. He heard Sightless getting to his feet next to him – and then, with a surprised shout, he found himself being lifted into the air by his waist. It didn't take long to find the problem: a hook on the saddle had been twisted upon impact, trapping the safety cord in place.

Which meant Hiccup was now stuck.

"Oh, that's great," he groused. He knew what had to be done – and boy, he wasn't looking forward to it.

Gobber's Smithy, Midnight

Hiccup's heart was racing a mile a minute as he led Sightless into the empty forge. He looked over his shoulder every time he struck the damaged hook with a hammer, half expecting to see someone coming over to investigate the noise. He'd already escaped several close calls with Vikings making the nightly rounds, and didn't want to push his luck any further. If he could just get the hook to unbend a little…

"Hiccup? Are you in there?"

His worst fear coming true, Hiccup dropped everything and rushed to the window. Someone was right outside, and if they came in and saw Sightless… no, there wasn't any time to think of that. He flung the shutters open and shut them again as quick as he could, and only then did he recognize the person waiting for him.

"Snaketail?" he asked, incredulous. "O-Oh, uh, h-hi! H-Hi, Snaketail, hi Snaketail. What, um, brings you…?"

"I heard hammering in the forge and came to see if it was you," the brunette explained. Then, with a grin, she continued, "I haven't talked to you in forever, Hiccup! You've been impossible to track down lately. You avoiding me or something?"

Unsure how to answer that, Hiccup mumbled and stammered out the beginnings of a reply, but was saved from actually answering by Snaketail's laugh. "Relax, I was kidding!" she smirked. "Batwings, Arachne, and I were hoping to meet up with you again. But we haven't had the chance to hang out with you since the Qurupeco. You're awesome out there now!"

"O-Oh, a-am I?" Hiccup asked, turning his head at the sound of muffled thumping. Was that Sightless? Could Snaketail hear? "I-I, I can't really say what I… L-Look, now's really not the best time…"

He trailed off pitifully, unable to finish his half-baked excuse. It was hard to see in the dark, but he thought he saw annoyance flash in Snaketail's eyes before it was replaced by concern.

"Hiccup, we're kinda worried about you," she confessed, her expression somber. "You've been disappearing all the time. I get you need peace from all the hero worship and stuff, but… we're friends, right? Me and the other guys want to help with what's bothering you. Is that okay?"

Boy, did that make Hiccup feel awkward. The last few days had kept him so busy, he'd forgotten about Snaketail, Batwings, and Arachne. But they were fine, right? Snaketail was doing well in training and Batwings had his fishing job. He felt a strong pull on the cord, bumping him into the window and spreading panic anew through his body. No, they didn't need to worry about him. The less time they spent thinking about him, the better it would be… for everyone.

"H-Hey, uh… it's getting late," he stammered. "I-I've got some work I'd like to… and we've got training, so… s-see you tomorrow, I guess?"

This time, he definitely saw rage manifest on the temperamental Grundenson girl's face. But whatever she was about to say, Hiccup never got to hear it; the tugging on the cord grew stronger, and then he was lifted off the ground and yanked back into the forge.

With all haste, he mounted Sightless and fled the village, casting a guilty glance back at the lone figure he had left in the dark.

Qurupeco, Diablos, and Remobra all get their appearances in this chapter! That means two monsters left to go.

I let Snaketail take Astrid's place in the forge scene here. We already know Astrid is suspicious of Hiccup at this point, and… well, Hiccup's got a lot on his plate, and really doesn't want anyone to get tangled up in his mess. Even if that means accidentally insulting people who want to be friends.

Unfortunately, next chapter, we'll see that those people are going to find themselves involved anyway. In the meantime, please send reviews!