The Outcast and The Night Fury
Chapter Three
I was helping Mrs. Holt set dishes of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on the table in the dining room when I heard Dad come in. Mrs. Holt's husband, who is our butler, set the silver coffee pot down and went to take Dad's coat.
"Ah, thank you, Cleftjaw. Please tell Martin not to bring the car around until eleven. I'm going to work at home this morning before going downtown," Dad said as he entered the dining room. He smiled at Mrs. Holt. "Thank you, Greta. This looks delicious."
The Holts left and Dad and I sat down, Dad at the head of the table and me beside him. We were dressed similarly, in sweaters, jeans, and hiking boots, but Dad's sweater was dark green. He wears green a lot, maybe because he's got red hair and green eyes so it's a good color for him. My hair is more reddish-brown, but I've got green eyes too. And funnily enough, so does Mom, even though green is supposed to be a rare eye color.
Dad nodded curtly to me. "Good morning, Hiccup."
What does it say about our relationship that he's more comfortable and gracious with our butler and housekeeper than he is with me? But at least he didn't seem angry with me anymore-well, no more than usual.
"Good morning, Dad," I answered quietly.
We helped ourselves to the eggs and salmon and ate in silence for a while. It was not until we were finishing up and Dad reached to pour himself a second cup of coffee that he spoke again.
"I've been talking with your Aunt Hildegard. She tells me that Sly and the other kids your age are going to be volunteering at the Wildlife Center this summer to meet their community service requirement."
I glanced over at Dad warily, pretty sure I wasn't going to like where he was going with this.
"I'll call over there and let Sven and Phlegma know that you'll be joining them." Dad gave me a stern look, warning me not to argue.
I ignored it. "Dad, I already worked on the 'Keep The Oceans Clean' project, and the fundraiser for the new computer lab, and I've helped Gobber at the Regatta the past two summers."
Dad frowned at me. "Hiccup, as the mayor's son, it's important for you to be out there supporting the community. People need to see that our family cares about Berk, about them. It's bad enough that you don't attend the public school. The least you can do is help out with local events."
"I do, plenty of times," I grumbled.
"I've had enough of your selfish, spoiled attitude. You will join your cousin helping at the Wildlife Center, starting tomorrow morning, from nine to noon. If I hear another word from you, I'll find something to keep you busy in the afternoons as well." Dad stood up and started to stalk out of the room, but at the door he paused and snapped, "And don't be late for dinner tonight. The Jorgensons are coming over."
Wonderful. My day was just getting better and better.
After Dad left, I sat at the table for a while. There was still some food on my plate but I had lost my appetite and just played at cutting it into smaller and smaller bites. My anger vanished along with Dad, leaving me feeling miserable and guilty.
I didn't mean to be selfish and spoiled. It's not that I don't care about Berk or the oceans or anything like that. But Dad has been dragging me around for years making me help with all these projects and sometimes it would be nice if he asked and gave me a choice instead of just ordering me around and telling me what I'm going to be doing.
Or if he would actually spend time with me at these events and we could work on things together, but no, he usually pawns me off on Gobber or any other adult around and then he takes off to work somewhere else, away from me. But if I make any kind of mistake, he hears about it and promptly shows up to yell at me.
Dad does genuinely care about Berk and its people, I know that, but it's also true that he cares about our 'image' and that's part of why he insists that I always help out with things—because he's the mayor and I'm his son and it 'looks good' for me to be there.
The fact that I haven't attended public school since I was seven is another sore point that has to do with his image—that it 'looks bad' for the mayor's kid not to go to the schools on Berk like everyone else. Dad often brings it up like it's my fault, like I deliberately arranged the whole situation just to annoy him or something.
I did start out at Berk Primary School in Year One, just like Sly and the other kids, but I was constantly sick and missed class all the time. I caught every cold and stomach bug that went around and several times it developed into something more serious like bronchitis or pneumonia. I never had any trouble making up the work. I might not have any common sense, but I'm very good at academics.
But in Year Two, I spent most of the winter in the hospital with a nagging case of pneumonia that just wouldn't clear up. After that, Dr. Gothburg told Dad that I needed to be taught at home for a few years until I grew stronger. So I had a tutor for a while and then I started taking correspondence classes on the computer.
When I was ten, Dad decided I should try going back to real school, but it didn't work out. After several years of working at my own pace, I was so far ahead academically that the school couldn't decide what to do with me. Everyone agreed that putting shrimpy little me in high school with kids twice my size was a bad idea. But keeping me with my own age group was a curriculum nightmare for the teachers. So in the end, I just kept on taking online classes at home.
Some people might think that sounds sad. I'm not sure how I feel about it. Sometimes I wonder if I might have friends if I could have stayed in school with the other kids when we were all little. From what I've seen and read, school does seem like it could be fun if you have friends. But I have been around the other kids from time to time, just from living on Berk, and none of them like me. So school might have been really awful, too. It wouldn't be fun at all to have to spend so much time every day with kids who either ignore me or pick on me.
Which is the real reason that I'm upset about having to spend time at the Wildlife Center. I don't think I would mind if I could go over there alone. It would probably be pretty interesting. I like animals, and since I met Toothless, I might even learn to like dragons in general. There are other animals there besides dragons anyway.
But I won't be working there alone.
Sly and his friends will be in high school come fall and Berk High School has a community service requirement as part of its civics class. There are several options, but students have to complete a certain number of hours volunteering at some charitable or civic activity. So it sounds like they're all going to get it out of the way this summer working at the Wildlife Rehab Center.
And I'll be spending every morning there with them.
Thanks, Dad. Way to ruin my summer.
I considered asking if I could go in the afternoons, but had to discard that idea. If I asked Dad, then he would want to know why—for some reason, he refuses to believe that Sly and I can't put aside our differences and get along. Then he would tell me that I'm being ridiculous and that it was high time I made friends with kids my age—once again ignoring the fact that the kids my age are not exactly eager to be friends with me. If Dad's really on a roll, I'll be treated to a glorious recount of his own school days, when he was captain of both the hockey and rugby teams, class president, and everyone-students and teachers alike-adored him.
He'll finish by gazing at me with this frustrated, puzzled expression, like he's wondering whether the stork brought him the right kid after all or if there might be a younger Stoick-clone out there somewhere.
I couldn't just arrange to go in the afternoons without Dad's permission either. Sly would be sure to discover that I was supposed to be there in the mornings with everyone else-Aunt Hildegard may have already told him—and he would be sure to say something in front of Dad, at a family dinner or at church on Sunday. Then Dad and I would be having that exact same conversation, only in front of witnesses.
So I was stuck. I helped the Holts clear the table and then I stomped upstairs to brood for a while before I headed to the Wildlife Center to get Toothless' medicine.
The sky was gray and overcast when I rode my bike to the Center later that morning. I was not in the best of moods, but when I arrived Phlegma was throwing pails of fish to some dragons in a big enclosure. She waved me over with a smile and her brisk, cheery attitude didn't leave me much time to feel sorry for myself.
"Hey, Hiccup, can you give me a hand here? We just got back from checking on the Night Fury a little while ago and we're behind on feeding everyone." She laughed and gestured towards the dragons. "These guys get a little grumpy when they're hungry."
I went over to toss fish to a Deadly Nadder. "How is he, the Night Fury?" I asked eagerly. Toothless had seemed to be doing well earlier, but that was several hours ago and I wanted to hear the vets' opinions.
"As well as can be expected," Phlegma answered. "The wound was deep and he lost a lot of blood, but there's no fever and he's eating. Those are good signs."
"I noticed he was kind of warm last-yesterday," I amended swiftly. "I was afraid he might have a fever."
"No, dragons are always warm to the touch because of their inner fire cavity," Phlegma explained. "That's why they can stay active year-round even in cold climates like the Archipelago. They're cold-blooded like most reptiles, you know, so without their fire cavity to keep their body temperature regulated, they would have to hibernate for the winter."
She paused and gave me a sharp look. "The Night Fury was badly injured yesterday and so he was weakened, but you know you can't touch wild dragons, right, Hiccup? That's very, very dangerous."
I nodded. Every child on Berk grows up learning how to be safe around the dragons, the same way we learn the alphabet and our address.
But Phlegma didn't seem convinced. "Promise that you will not touch any wild dragons."
I promised easily, because Toothless wasn't any wild dragon. He was my friend. Besides, it was a little late for that promise. I'd already petted him and sat with his head in my lap for most of the night.
But Toothless wasn't dangerous, not to me. And it wasn't like I was planning to jump on his back and take off flying anyway.
We watched the dragons in the enclosure for a few minutes. A green and red Zippleback reached for the pile of haddock with one of its heads, but the Nadder snapped at it and it withdrew, giving the Nadder a look that almost seemed hurt.
"Honestly, it wouldn't hurt you to share, would it?" Phlegma asked the Nadder, who ignored her and continued to gobble her meal in solitary splendor.
"Normally they get along well, but that Nadder does like her food," Phlegma told me as she threw another pail of fish towards the Zippleback.
A Gronckle came running over to the fence, squealing. I stepped back but Phlegma laughed. "All right, you big meatlug, we'll give you a second helping too. Hiccup, grab that bucket by the wall and throw it to her, will you?"
I went to get the yellow plastic bucket and was surprised to see it filled with rocks instead of fish. "Is this the right one?" I asked uncertainly.
"Yes, Gronckles prefer to eat rocks, of all things."
So I tossed the rocks into the pen and the Gronckle dove right in. After a few bites, she looked up at me and barked happily, just a dog—a very big dog.
I laughed. "She seems pretty tame."
Phlegma nodded. "Well, Gronckles are considered more docile than some of the other types, and this one has been here a while so she's used to people, but she can still be dangerous. She's not a pet."
A loud angry snarl cut off my response. The enclosure was even larger than I had realized at first, the fence stretching out of sight beyond a grove of fir trees on the horizon. Suddenly a large red dragon, a Monstrous Nightmare, charged from the shadows of the firs and chased the Gronckle and the Zippleback away from their food.
Phlegma pushed me back from the fence, stepping back herself and keeping a sharp eye on him. "Stay away from this one. He's definitely not docile."
The Nightmare sniffed disdainfully at the Gronckle's rocks and swallowed the remains of the Zippleback's fish in one gulp. He started towards the Nadder, who hadn't even blinked at his antics until then, but she hissed and flapped her wings and after a moment the Nightmare slunk away, grumbling.
"I'm surprised Dad's willing to have me work around dragons," I remarked. "He's always been dead set against it before."
"Well, actually, he did say that you're to work in the aviary with the birds and for us to keep you away from the dragons," Phlegma frowned. "I guess I shouldn't have let you help feed them. Thanks for volunteering, by the way. You kids will be a big help around here."
"You're welcome," I answered. She didn't need to know that I wasn't thrilled about it. Though actually, it wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't have to work with the other kids, too.
I gestured at the enclosure. "You have a lot of dragons now. The other times I've been here there were only one or two, or none at all."
Phlegma grimaced. "Yes, it's unusual to have four large ones at once. To be honest, Sven and I are concerned. There's been an upswing in dragon poaching over the past couple months. Every one of these guys was injured by a poacher. Well, we're pretty sure, at least. Their wounds weren't consistent with the natural injuries we usually see."
Dragons are endangered animals. There are several preserves, like the one Mom works at, where people are working to save them. The Archipelago isn't a preserve, but it is still illegal to hunt dragons.
But we still have trouble with poachers from time to time, for various reasons. Dragon saliva has healing properties, if it comes from a living dragon. I know about this because Mom has told me about it when we skype. Dracologists and medical researchers are doing lots of experiments to figure out how to use dragon saliva in medicines. Also, dragon scales are fire-proof and some people like to wear them as jewelry, though that's fallen out of fashion these days. Dragons shed scales, but slowly, so to collect a serious amount of them, you either need to be patient or have access to a lot of dragons.
Or you would have to kill the dragon.
I've also heard that dragon meat is considered a delicacy, and in some parts of the world they believe that dragon hearts have magical powers.
I realized that Phlegma was still talking, "—still had the tranq dart lodged in his shoulder."
Tranq dart…I thought of the large silver shot-thing I had found in the woods last night. Could Toothless have been shot with a tranq dart? I didn't have it with me, but maybe I'd bring it tomorrow and ask Phlegma or Sven if I could get them alone.
"That's terrible," I said.
"Yes, well, the Archipelago Guards are keeping a close watch, but these poachers have been very careful so far. No one's been able to catch sight of them." Phlegma sighed. "Well, let's go get that medicine for the Night Fury."
We went inside one of the buildings, a low one-story structure made of gray stone. The front area was set up like a teaching area, with several benches in a semi-circle around a table, a gift shop over towards the other side of the room, and an information desk with brochures in one corner. Phlegma led the way through a door to the back room.
It was more like a veterinarian's office, with an examining table, a cabinet, and cages along one wall, several of which contained sick or hurt animals—a rabbit with a bandaged leg, a puffin with a splinted wing, and several Terrible Terrors. I couldn't tell what was wrong with them.
The room also contained a black-haired boy about nine or ten, who was standing next to cage with a Terror. He was talking to it, and I'm sure he was sticking his fingers through the bars though he jumped away as soon as we came in.
"I wasn't petting it, Aunt Phlegma."
"Gustav!" She pointed to a chair by another wall. "Go sit there and don't move. You know if you get hurt, your mother won't let you come by here anymore."
"Gadget wouldn't hurt me. She's very friendly," Gustav protested, but he went to sit in the chair.
"Gustav, you can't try to tame the Terrors. We've told you a hundred times you could get hurt, and even if you don't, most of these animals are going to be released back into the wild. It's bad for them too, if you get them accustomed to humans."
"Gadget doesn't want to be released back into the wild. She wants to stay with me."
Phlegma sighed. "I thought you were going with Uncle Sven while he made calls."
Gustav shook his head. "I wanted to stay here with you."
"You mean you wanted to stay here and try to make pets out of the Terrors." Phlegma suddenly seemed to remember that I was there. She hurried to get a bag from the cabinet and handed it to me. "All right, Hiccup. Here you go. I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning."
"Okay." I nodded. "Well, bye then."
But she followed as I left.
"We really shouldn't let you do this. I don't think your father would approve at all."
Then let's make sure he doesn't find out. I thought but I only said, "It's fine. I'm careful."
"Well, just stand at the top of the cove and throw the fish down to him. Don't go down there with the dragon, Hiccup. Promise?"
I hated to lie, but that was one thing I couldn't promise.
Fortunately for me, just then Gustav called from the back room. "Aunt Phlegma, can a Terror eat a rabbit?"
"Gustav!" Phlegma spun and ran to the back room before I had to lie to her. I hesitated, wondering if I should go back there too, in case they needed help. But a moment later I heard a cage door slam shut and then Phlegma scolding Gustav, so I guess she had things under control.
I hurried outside to my bike and sped off. I couldn't wait to see Toothless again.
Author's Notes: Please review and thank you to all who have! I really appreciate it!
Also, I know next week will be very busy for me and I will not have much time to write, if any. So I may not get to work on the next chapter for "Stepping Forward" until next weekend. I just wanted you to know why it might be a little longer than usual for an update. But I will work on it next weekend.
