Chapter 3
Academy Opening Day
Here on the isle of Berk we have many sayings one such saying is during the night of a full moon the dead will rise to consol their loved ones or to watch over them as the village sleeps. Travelers to our shores ask if this is true we always say what do you think? - Journal Entry of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III
Torkkar kept Balmier ready as the women approached he studied her as best he could in the bright moonlight her hair was so white it looked to be pale blue in the moon light in contrast her skin looked to be way darker but he noted her size she looked to be about five feet tall half his size. He noted as she walked up the hair and skin match up but her height was his big issue Aldra had always been bigger than him so he thought 'she should be bigger than me now'
As she Approached Torkkar she noted the size first off 'why is he so big? It's the same stance he's holding and it's his style to protect but why is he so big?' the thought ran threw her head over and over she then noticed Astrid and that sealed the identity of the Giant she saved she knew instantly that this was Torkkar her childhood friend.
Astrid noticed her brother's reaction and defensive posture "what is it Brother?" she yelled but got no reply Torkkar seemed to be stunned and strangely transfixed on the women steadily approaching them to Astrid the women looked to be about her age and size but was carrying herself oddly she walked with assured confidence and experience seemed to ooze from her. Astrid quickly guessed as to who this might be and her brother stunned as he was liable to kill anything that startled him or got too close with the adrenalin from the fight still pumping threw him.
Riding on Stormfly astride approached the women out of her attack brothers range Astrid dismounted "Aldra?" she asked taking the women off guard "how did you know?" she asked shock was written across her face and barely noticeable in the pale details of moonlight shadow "my Brother spoke of you today in a story of his long journey and quite often he'd mention fondly a girl who he lost years ago when we talked" Astrid said smiling "your Brother is Torkkar?" she asked Astrid was sure of it now this was defiantly her brothers lost love.
"TORKKAR!" she yelled from down the beach he picked up on it the voice sounded much like her so with a deep breath "ALDRA!" he bellowed as he sheathed his weapon and began moving forward. Astrid's eye began tearing up as she watch the two run toward one another on the beach in the moonlight. As she rapidly approached her target the small women jumped at Torkkar who caught her pulling her into a cradled hug spinning round with the light impact. The two now able to see each other faces Aldra knew this was Torkkar 'Aldra when I grow up I'm going to grow a great black beard' she remembered him boating as a child and giggled at the memory, Torkkar healed the small women up close to his face he looked as he might be trying to kiss her.
Aldra wetted her lips slightly and pursed them in preparation for her first kiss but was shocked to hear sniffing. She opened her eyes to see Torkkar's eyes shut and he was sniffing her face then he moved to her shoulder before opening his eyes locking on to hers with his deep blue gaze "Aldra it is you" he said with a deep hushed exhale that reeked of garlic and onions, and despite this putrid odor She maintained her slightly pursed lips her eyes screaming why are you smelling me, without warning Torkkar lunged forwarded assaulting her lips with his own in a forceful, brutish yet pleasurable and tender kiss, at first Aldra resisted moaning and screaming into his mouth to stop then she relaxed and let herself melt into his show of love.
Astrid faked a cough to hopefully brake the two off before they went further it worked as they both flashed their eyes open and separated blushing profusely both with huge grins. Astrid approached now "well don't get me wrong I'm happy you two found each other but we should get out of here soon incase that bear wasn't alone" Astrid said as she watched the tide take the corpse out "agreed" Torkkar replied as he set Aldra down and the three headed for the village and Torkkar's home in particular.
Back in the village a familiar pair weave and duck threw the shadows "heh, heh this is going to be good sis" Tuffnut chuckled as he painted yellow spots on Meatlug "hey don't forget about this!" Ruffnut was carrying a bucket of fish roe and a small sack of flour with a pot of water she laughed as she began mixing the three ingredients into a smelly orange paste then began blobbing them on Meatlug "man this is going to be SO funny Fishlegs in going to think Meatlug's gotten something horrible" Tuffnut exclaimed as they surveyed their work "ok so the usual hiding of evidence then?" Ruffnut asked "of course to the arena!" Tuffnut said exaggerating his movements as he and his sister made way to Barf n' Belch to hide the buckets and brush.
The sun rose the next morning and the Hofferson house awoke to a sweet savory smell Astrid knew this scent well but it was new to Aldra. Astrid soon sprang up from her bed with a wide stretch and a yawn she looked over to Aldra's bed to see she was still sound asleep, she then looked at Aldra's clothes seeing the obvious wear and tear of them not to mention the tattered remnants of her under garments told Astrid that this women spent a really long time in the woods maybe even years. With a shrug Astrid got up and shirked off her woolen night shirt and shivered when the cool morning air hit her naked body.
"why does he always air out the house before dawn" she muttered to herself as she went over to her clothes pile to find them gone 'crap he must have taken them for cleaning' she thought then noticed the Roman Armoire style Dresser Carved with the Hofferson crest across the doors and ornate carvings of stylized dragons decorated it in a strange blend of Roman form and Viking art. Astrid opened the doors and saw a fresh pair of silk panties and a silk chest band both sitting under a card with Astrid written on it she then noticed a Hanging Hauberk made from small scaled leather and lined with rabbit fur with a pair of leather pants similar to Torkkar's but much smaller and with a light blue loincloth trimmed with silver silk and a silk mini skirt, she then noticed a belt and cross strapped bandolier with two dagger sheaths set low on the belts and over the left shoulder a silver plated Steel Pauldron carved with the Hofferson crest with a folded red poncho cloak and a gold clasp set on top of it. After dressing with all this highly decorated ornate clothing she opened the boot drawer to find a pair of leather boots with Iron toe and heel caps just like Torkkar's.
Torkkar was in his kitchen cooking up a storm in a cauldron over the fire place he boiled sausages with onions and garlic, in his clay oven he baked balls of thin pastry dough wrapped around various types of jam fillings, and in a pan on top of his oven he was frying a huge amount of bacon, potatoes, onions, and garlic. Astrid stood at the door to the kitchen and watched as her gargantuan brother practically danced his way round the kitchen somehow tracking everything at once as he finished the cooking everything was placed on the small table in the room.
Torkkar took a step back and admired how it all looked then he looked over to the door to see his sister wearing the armor clothing he made for her "looks good, everything fitting well?" Torkkar asked with his usual gruff tone, "yes very well. But how did you know my sizes?" Astrid was curious about this "it's simple since I left I had to become an Armorer and a Blacksmith to maintain my own clothing, armor, and weapons judging your size was easy" Torkkar said this casually as if it was an offhand fact but Astrid couldn't help but feel a bit awkward about wearing underwear made for her by her own brother.
A loud yawn at the door drew the siblings attention both quickly look to the door to see Aldra standing there with her woolen night shirt still on. Aldra walked over to the third chair at the table and flopped down still quite Groggy and grabbed a couple jam buns and started nibbling on one. Torkkar watched her with a smile "so… did you sleep well Aldra?" Astrid was first to speak as Torkkar had his mouth full "yes it was the first soft bed I've had in years, what with living in the forest trying to avoid Mildew" Aldra said that name as if it was cursed the siblings could tell she still harbored great distain for old Mildew. Torkkar looked just as hateful as Aldra "don't worry my love… Mildew won't dare make an advance toward you as long as I'm around" Torkkar said as he chewed on a fork full of the bacon hash. With a smile Aldra gazed at Torkkar as they continued to eat in silence.
With the mid morning light Fishlegs woke up to the familiar sensation of Meatlug licking his feet "good morning girl sleep well" he said with a yawn as he sat up and opened his eyes. He blinked a few more times than normal then he Screamed loud enough that Hiccup jumped in surprise at his desk on the other end of the village, while Ruffnut and Tuffnut laughed to their hearts content in their beds. "what happened girl, oh man I hope its not another allergic reaction, or a disease, CRAP! I hope it's not scale rot" Fishlegs was hyper ventilating with his mutterings as he rushed down stairs Meatlug following behind him both headed for Gobber's shop Fishlegs still in his underwear.
Torkkar and Astrid wait at the main door anxiously for Aldra to finish dressing, when she finally came down the stairs she was in her old fur gear a bikini cut hauberk top with a pair of leather shorts and double furred boots with thick souls to reduce noise, furred fingerless leather gauntlets covered her arms on her back she wore a quiver filled with arrows and a strung hunting recurve bow made from layered bits of horn, bow, and oak wood, completing her look was the skin of a whole bear tanned into a cloak with a hole cut in it to let the bow and quiver poke through.
Torkkar looked at her with amassment and a bit of disappointment he'd left her a pair of Astrid's new cloths but she put her old clothes back on. Despite the old clothes he could tell in better detail her hair was absolutely white as driven snow, yet her skin was a deep tan in contrast, and her irises were green as the greenest grasses of the plains of Berk. With only smiles exchanged at the door they all ran off down the vacant late morning path all three headed for the arena.
The Dragon Training Arena was bathed in the golden light of the rising sun in the pit stood Hiccup to his left Snotlout and Fishlegs to his right the twins all wondering where Astrid could be. Despite the early morning hours all of Berk seemed to be filling the stands and the Master Trainers could hear the giggles and awes coming from the children that now formed a line atop the Arena ramp. Stoick watched on from his stone throne with expectation as his son held up his hands to begin, Suddenly there was a roar and all looked up to an amazing sight Astrid and Stormfly coming in with another women riding tandem and Torkkar Holding onto the Dragons Ankles like a Para-1sailor they circled the arena twice before coming down for a landing. Torkkar Dropped off ten feet from the ground and rolled into a standing position in front of Hiccup while Astrid and Stormfly landed behind them.
"Finally where were you guys?" Hiccup asked with a mix of relief and anxiety "Breakfast and new clothes" Torkkar replied solemnly watching as his sister approached Hiccup standing to his right. Everyone took their positions Torkkar and Aldra stood next to each other facing the trainers Hiccup raised his hand "Now Approach Children who wish to learn Dragon Training!" Hiccup bellowed as he'd done with Torkkar the day before only less anger and more Confidence. All eyes were on the children as they approached many were girls to the surprise of the trainers 'good to see more possible matches for the youth of this village given a few years' Torkkar thought with a smug grin as the children took up positions forming two lines going left to right starting in line with Fishlegs and ending in line with Tuffnut.
All the Young eyes were set upon Hiccup who was about to speak when a little girl standing next to Torkkar shot up her hand eagerly with a question. Hiccup looked at the child "you have a question yes?" Hiccup inquired the child put her hand down "when do we get to train dragons?" she asked quietly "soon they just need to hatch" Hiccup replied as Gobber Wheeled out a cart of eggs and two Reinforced cauldrons of water. Hiccup took a breath to calm himself "These eggs are from various dragons who laid outside the season here on Berk, a dangerous problem for us as all you locals know from last Snoggletog Dragon eggs Explode when they hatch, so these eggs would have caused some serious damage in the village if we left them alone" Hiccup paused and signaled for the doors to open as Barf n' Belch, Hookfang, Meatlug, and Toothless walked out and stood with Stormfly.
Hiccup smiled when he saw the children light up as they watched the Dragons standing in line watching them back "now comes time for the new trainers to pick their Dragons, We have eggs from the Deadly Nadder, Monstrous Nightmare, Gronckle, and Terrible Terror, unfortunate no Hideous Zippleback egg's but then it's also a good thing because it takes two riders in perfect sync to train a Zippleback" Hiccup explained to the crowd as well as the class. One by one the children approached the cart and took an egg from the dragon they wanted to raise when it came to Torkkar het took an egg "are ya sure ya want that one?" Gobber asked him with great surprise "yes I am sure all these Dragons can't support m rider anyway" Torkkar stated calmly, finally Aldra went up and took her egg then stood with the others. Hiccup looked at the cart to see there were a few eggs left 'guess the rest will be wild Dragons' he thought.
"Now we wait" Hiccup said "when the eggs start to heat up drop it in the cauldron then wait for your Hatchling" Fishlegs instructed as the keeper of the Book of Dragons he figured he should say something helpful. One by one the eggs began to heat up in the hands of their trainers then were unceremoniously dropped into the cauldrons, with a hiss and a puff the eggs hit the bottom exploded and the babies quickly surfaced and flopped out with a yawn then scooped up by their trainers then run back to the line. Aldra approached the Cauldron with her egg and dropped it in and picked up her Hatchling spinning round with it Hiccup's face went white with surprise Aldra's hatchling was an oddity a baby Night Furry but pure white with pale green eyes. Hiccup made a note to himself as Aldra sat down to take toothless and search for evidence of other Night Furry's around Berk and to find out where that egg came from. Torkkar was last to hatch his egg he walked over to the cauldron dropped his egg in then scooped out his Blue Terrible Terror Hatchling he turned round and took his place back in the line.
Hiccup cleared his throat again "Now everyone line up with the trainer of whom your Hatchlings Dragon class is represented" hiccup ordered them and with much confusion the children organized themselves unsurprisingly Torkkar and Aldra were in their lines first. It was almost noon when the children got organized "Torkkar your in the wrong line" Hiccup stated as Torkkar moved back in front of Hiccup "I've a feeling Snotlout will have his hands full with the three he's got" Hiccup smirked as they all looked at the three husky kids all holding their Nightmare hatchlings stared at Snotlout who shuffled uncomfortably under the gaze.
After one last look Hiccup decided it was time to start "all right everyone pair off with your Trainers and head out to learn your first lesson Trust with your hatchlings" Hiccup announced as he was left with Torkkar, Aldra, and one small girl another hiccup he guessed as she was the smallest of the group of Trainee children. "Hey what's the big idea Hiccup?!" Tuffnut yelled in disappointment "We don't have ANYONE! To train?" Ruffnut chimed in "well what can I do none of the kids chose a Zippleback egg. {sigh} but if you guys want you can help Gobber hatch and release the rest of the eggs" Hiccup offered the twins an option they'd probably like "Fine…" the twins said with a depressed tone as they and their dragon shuffled over to Gobber and the cart.
Hiccup lead the way through the village to the cove where Toothless and he first met, Toothless on the other hand was busy checking out the young night Furry in Aldra's hands. It was a long quiet walk "so Torkkar you going to introduce this new member of the village" Hiccup asked "Aldra" she said grimly her hatchling looked up at her and grunted "What?" Hiccup replied "My name is Aldra" she repeated. Hiccup only nodded "so hiccup how long till the training starts" it was the smallest one of their group the young girl who asked. The three adults stopped and looked down at her as she clutched a baby Nadder in her arms, Hiccup remembered that five kids chose Nadder's and four was the limit for anyone to train so Astrid was out numbered thus Hiccup picked up any slack.
"well first we need to reach our training grounds, then we need to start working on trust" Hiccup replied doing his best to look knowledgeable. Hiccup looked up to Torkkar and noticed his Terror had made itself at home on the Night Furry skull on his shoulder. "looks like you already gained the trust of your Dragon" Hiccup stated looking at the small Dragon no bigger than his own hand. Torkkar eyed the small child in their group "who are you kid" he asked bluntly she looked up at him "Morgan Hofferson but you can call me Little Orphan Morgan everyone does" she finished her sentence with a smile as she walked along with the three other Trainers. Torkkar looked shocked at the child's name "Hofferson? Who was your mother?" Torkkar asked hoping for an answer other than Hilda and Cadman is my dad "we don't say my mom's name she was cursed and had to sail to the ends of the earth… she still sailing." The kid looked at the ground as if she was about to cry "and your father?" Hiccup asked "my dad died last winter he froze to death in the woods during a storm" Morgan started to sob softly her hatchling nuzzled her trying to comfort her, suddenly Morgan felt nothing beneath her feat and opened her eyes to find herself held up by Torkkar the top of her head brushing his beard "it's ok Morgan" he said "your family here I'm a Hofferson too and if you've no place to call home you do now" Torkkar finished his little speech with a bright smile. Morgan's eyes lit up like stars "Really?!" she said with enthusiasm "Yes Really little cousin" everyone laughed with the bright felling and before long they arrived at the cove ready for a long day of training.