Phew! Got this out.

xXXx

"Kernel, I'll be fine! You don't have to come with me", Hiccup tried one last time to convince his sister who packed medical supplies and some of her knives. She was still a pretty sharp shot even if her kunai throwing days were over. This body had no muscle memory for that either.

"And I said that where you go, I go. We're a team, Hiccup, like it or not!", she stated and flung their own design backpack over her shoulders before picking up her smaller battle axe, "Now let's go. The ring awaits"

Her brother deflated and conceded the point before picking his and following. They looked like they were marching to their doom.

xXXx

"I hope I get covered with burns", said Tuffnut.

Ruffnut commented something about getting mauled and Astrid added that it was no fun without getting battle scars. Kernel just thought they were masochists. Her brother was on the same wavelength.

"No kidding", the words dripped sarcasm, "Pain. Love it"

The other teens weren't that happy to see them. Or at least Hiccup.

"Oh, great. How did he get in?"

There's a gate right there, Kernel thought but didn't say. It wouldn't be appreciated. And Hiccup would take the burn as the 'Screw-Up'. She was an apprentice healer and a boon on the battlefield if people got hurt. No one else saw the intellect her brother had. It was annoying how glory was tied in battle here. To get acknowledged you had to be of use in one.

"Let's get started now. The recruit who excels in training will get the honor of killing his or her first dragon in front of the entire village", Gobber's voice said from behind them.

The Haddock twins exchanged glances and knew both of their answers were the same.

I pass.

Killing for entertainment had always rubbed Kernel the wrong way. She had no doubt her brother thought the same.

"Hiccup already killed a Night Fury so is he disqualified?", Snotlout mocked making Kernel's eye twitch.

Gobber just ignored the laughter and went on to start the lesson. But not without giving some unhelpful encouragement to the scrawny twins. Then they were subjected to Gobber's unique teachings of 'learn on the job'. A Gronckle was released on them and all the teens ran for cover.

"Quick! What's the most important thing you're going to need when dealing with a dragon?", their teacher asked his students.

"A doctor?", Hiccup looked to his sister meaningfully. She wanted to roll her eyes.

"Plus five speed?", Fishlegs guessed.

"A shield!", Astrid shouted the right answer.

Everyone ran for one. Hiccup had trouble picking his up with the axe so Kernel helped and then tried to get her own. Only to get it blasted from her hands. Hiccup was in front of her the next second. He was banging the shield on the instructions of Gobber to make the dragon confused. It was working. The duo ran some steps to get some breathing space from the dangerous creature. It started targeting the shields.

Why shields? Aren't we a better option for it?, thought Kernel as Snotlout's got blasted off.

Hiccup was trying to stay between his sister and the Gronckle at all times. Unfortunately it blasted his shield out of his hands and straight to Kernel who soon got herself cornered by the dragon. Hiccup yelled her name in worry. She gripped her weapon and gulped before diving right and avoiding the molten blast, past reflexes leaving her in a defensive posture as Gobber got the beast and put it in its cage.

"Remember. Dragons will always go for the kill", he said as the last piece of advice.

Hiccup and Kernel looked at each other. No. They don't. That very lesson demonstrated that they don't. She decided to voice it.

"But then…", she started, getting everyone's attention as her brow furrowed in false confusion, "Why did it keep aiming at the shields?"

Gobber was quick to say that it had blasted at her. But her question got everyone thinking. It was all she wanted really.

xXXx

It wasn't by chance the Haddock twins found themselves where the Night Fury had fallen. It might have had something to do with that day's lesson. Or that Kernel remembered the slightly bigger dragon being hurt. But they were there and looking for the two.

Only, dragons have wings. Or so they remembered when they reached an empty cove.

"Well, this was dumb", Hiccup commented blandly.

Just then the Night Fury jumped up and clearly tried to climb its way out. The Wind Chaser flew right beside him and trilled encouragingly. It didn't get all the way up. Kernel opened her mouth but got silenced by Hiccup's glare. She wisely dropped the forming comment. Instead the twins observed how the dragon glided to the ground and the younger and smaller one fussed over the other. She could tell her brother was feeling guilty now that he saw what he had done. She just nudged his arm and mouthed 'you couldn't have known'. His eyes clearly said 'that's no excuse'. Her brother was nice like that. Sometimes too nice.

Kernel smiled and whispered, "Wanna go meet them?"

He stared at her like he thought her insane. They went the next day after dragon training.

xXXx

Wait wait, slow down. Before next day they got drenched as they headed to eat at the Great Hall. The dragon training group was there too, as luck would have it. Gobber was teaching them by making them think where they went wrong that day. Astrid apparently messed up the timing to her somersault dive, which threw off her reverse tumble. Kernel understood. Kind of. She knew that in a ninja career at least you had to be no less than perfect. It was still a bit surreal to hear her criticize a point like that in her own performance.

"Where did Hiccup go wrong?", Gobber asked then as they walked by.

Kernel was tempted to jump on the table to kick him. That was like asking to get taunted. Tuffnut didn't disappoint.

"Uhh, he showed up?"

"He didn't get burned or eaten?", Snotlout was smiling.

Kernel glared at him. While taking a knife out to bang his helmet. With a sharp throw and a clang said helmet was on the ground and the black haired boy looking wide eyed at the miffed girl. Satisfied, she went to pick her knife up as Astrid gave some real criticism. 'Never where he should be' was better than the others gave even if it wasn't always true. To viking standards it was. But to a normal civilian the survival strategy was hide and hope it doesn't get you.

"Alright. What about Kernel?", Gobber asked next as she walked to sit at her brother's table.

"She didn't do anything. Only hid behind her brother", Ruffnut said, picking at her food absently. She looked disgusted at the mere thought of hiding behind a brother. There were some murmurs of agreement. Kernel just winced. She didn't really want to fight dragons. She was a healer. And only in the ring because where one twin went, the other followed. Hiccup bumped her shoulder for comfort and she was forced to smile a little. He was a nice brother.

Then they were given the task of reading up on dragons. The Haddock twins glanced at each other and knew they would look up Night Furies and one unknown species.

Unknown species wasn't anywhere and Night Fury page basically said 'If you hear of one, hide and hope it doesn't find you'. Seems like vikings did know civilian strategies.

Hiccup was the first person to have a drawing of the black dragon.

xXXx

Hopefully someone liked it. I'll publish another chapter tomorrow if I remember.