Long after dinner and well into the darkness of the night, Hiccup was at his desk revising lesson plans with Astrid for the next day – he was going to have to adjust his teaching for the new dragon-phobic girl if he didn't want to scare her off – when the door slammed open with a crash.
"Are ye out of yer thumping mind, Hiccup?!" Gobber yelped, slamming his fist on the table and fixing Hiccup with a heavy scowl.
Hiccup frowned at the spilled ink on the wooden desk, glaring back at Gobber. "That was my last bottle of ink from Trader Johann, and he won't return for another few months," he snapped. "What in all of Vikingdom is the problem, Gobber?"
"You wasting one of yer few Night Fury eggs on that Olaffson girl is my problem!" Gobber roared. "What in the name of Odin were you thinking?!"
Hiccup sighed and tidied the upset objects, wiping away the inkstains with his sleeve. "Just calm down, Gobber," he said.
Gobber's face went beetroot-red and looked prepared to explode. "I am calm!" he bellowed.
Hiccup smiled, and glanced at Astrid, who'd covered her mouth to hide her grin. "Yeah, I can see that," he said. "Gobber, take a seat, will you?"
Gobber huffed and dragged over a chair, plonking down into it heavily enough to elicit a groan from the wood. He harrumphed and folded his arms over his chest, waiting.
"I didn't waste that egg," Hiccup said. "You know I wouldn't give away any Night Fury eggs to just any kid."
"So why'd ya give it to the Olaffson girl? She can barely stand the Terrible Terrors!"
"Because I think a Night Fury would be good for her. Terrible Terrors are small, but they aren't smart."
Hiccup leaned forward in his chair, staring intently at Gobber. "Night Furies are one of the most intelligent dragons, you know that," he continued. "And importantly, one of the most empathetic next to Gronkles. If she's gonna get over her fear of dragons, she needs a dragon that's both intelligent and empathetic – it's gotta quickly learn to be careful around her and be receptive to her."
"Why not give her a Gronkle then? Gronkles are perfect for shy kids, you know that."
"Because Gronkles aren't as smart as Night Furies, and her dragon needs to be smart too."
"No." Gobber narrowed his eyes. "You want to keep an eye on her as well. Don't you?" The glint in his eyes was accusing.
Hiccup sighed. "Alright, maybe that too," he said. "I want to look out for her and watch how she progresses. I'll have to, if I want her to get over her fear. And yeah, being in the Night Fury class means I can learn about her and understand her fear better."
"And why can't the other trainers do that?" Gobber demanded. He waved his hook in Astrid's direction. "Astrid took the girl out of my class to have a stinkin' girly... talk... tea-party-heart-to-heart in the forest, why couldn't you let her take over? Or Fishlegs, I'm sure he'd love having another wimp to cower behind his dragon with!"
Astrid folded her arms and glared at Gobber. "Yeah, we did have a nice little girly-talk in the forest, thank you very much. And you know what, I still think she's better off with Hiccup."
She gestured towards Hiccup, who looked up at her gratefully. "She's not like the other Vikings!" she continued. "She's.. like Hiccup was. Weird. No offence, Hic."
"None taken."
"Anyway, that's why she needs to be in his class. She's different. That's who gets Night Fury eggs – the different students. Because Night Furies are different to other dragons. They're more solitary, keep to themselves, but bond strongly with humans. You know that. It takes a certain kind of person to bond with a Night Fury, and many Vikings are not that kind of person. But Locust – that's her name, by the way – is that kind of person!"
Hiccup watched a softness grow into Astrid's face as she talked, the same kind of softness that she didn't realise she radiated when she talked about Stormfly or Deadly Nadders.
"And I agree with Hiccup, I think a Night Fury will help her more than any other type of dragon," she said. "For starters, they're not as scary as many of the other dragons, I don't think. They don't have spines or horns, and the retractable teeth are a bonus. They're just pretty big, but she might get used to that. And, like Hiccup said, they're smart and empathetic."
Gobber sighed, shaking his head. "Yer out of yer damned minds, the both of you," he grumbled. "But.. alright. I'll support your decision to give a Night Fury to the girl."
Hiccup sighed with relief, and Astrid thumped his shoulder triumphantly. "Thank you, Gobber!" Hiccup exclaimed. "That's great, thanks."
"Whatever," Gobber harrumphed. "Just don't come crying to me if it doesn't work!"
"We won't," Hiccup said, grinning triumphantly. "Oh believe me, we won't have to."
"Alrighty, then, gang!" Hiccup announced to the small group of teenagers. "Welcome to your first Night Fury 101 class!"
Locust had felt apprehensive all night about her first class at Dragon School, and had tossed and turned most of the night worrying about it. Would it involve actual Night Furies? Would she have to deal with living, breathing dragons? She didn't know, and she was afraid of what she'd find waiting for her outside of the Great Hall.
As it was, the only thing waiting outside the Great Hall when she arrived with her egg in her arms was Hiccup, and a few of the other Night Fury students. After all the students arrived, (Hopper, of course, who scowled at Locust in greeting; the girl with the red braids from the day before; a weedy white-haired boy that Locust had never seen; a quiet girl with long black hair that hung like a curtain over her face; and a hawkeyed pale-haired girl who watched everyone unnervingly – all with their eggs tucked into their satchels) Hiccup led them to a cabin next to the Great Hall filled with desks and seats that faced a large board covered with notes and diagrams and information.
The whole classroom was plastered with scraps of paper covered with notes; it was as if Hiccup wanted them to be surrounded by everything that was Night Fury related.
The students sat at the desks, Hiccup stood in front of the board, and the class began.
"So," Hiccup said, clapping his hands together. "First off, dragon anatomy. Now I've got a bunch of diagrams here to show you the basics, but I figured you'd all learn better from the real thing itself. Toothless!"
The redhead and the blonde girl gasped and cooed in excitement; the boys and the dark-haired girl grinned in anticipation. Locust slid down in her seat. Oh, great.
Hiccup kept a close eye on his students' reactions. As expected, Locust looked thoroughly dismayed.
He figured that some exposure therapy would help the girl best, so he wanted to try to have Toothless in the class as much as possible. However, while he would normally have had the students come over to observe Toothless close up and study his hide patterns and musculature, he felt it would be too much to force Locust to get closer than she was comfortable with.
I won't make her do anything she doesn't want to do, he'd decided the night before. I'll have Toothless around so she gets used to the idea of the presence of dragons, but I won't make her go near Toothless if she doesn't want to. That way, she has some control of the situation. And hopefully knowing that she has that control will help her be less afraid.
Hopefully.
By the look on the girl's face, however, he was beginning to worry that he might have overdone it already by introducing Toothless so early on in the class. He cursed himself for not going over the diagrams first and waiting a bit longer to bring the dragon in.
However, Toothless was already poking his head through the door, so Hiccup brought the dragon into the classroom. "Now, you can come up and take a closer look if you want, but if you'd like, you can stay in your seats if you think you can see alright from there," Hiccup said. Most of the students got up, but Locust and Hopper remained in their seats.
Locust was gripping the edges of her desk, knuckles white, but she didn't seem too distressed. Hiccup hoped that was a good sign.
After fifteen minutes or so of lecturing the class about Toothless's anatomy and structure, Hiccup called Toothless over to the side, directing him to a corner of the classroom where the dragon curled up for a nap. The dragon was still present, but nowhere near Locust, and he hoped that would help.
"Next up, Night Fury behaviour and social patterns!" Hiccup announced. "Now, first off, we still don't know a lot about Night Furies and their lifestyle, since it's not that long ago that we even found more dragons. But here's what we do know.
"We think they're a non-social nomadic species. You know how Deadly Nadders and Terrible Terrors tend to be quite social and live in large family groups? We think Night Furies are the opposite – they live alone, and on the rare occasion where they live in groups, they don't live in groups any bigger than three or four dragons.
"They also don't tend to settle in one spot unless they're bonded with a human, and aren't territorial. They are, however, possessive creatures – they like to collect items, and usually become quite attached to them. This doesn't just extend to inanimate objects, by the way – they can do the same with living things. We've found some Night Furies with pets – sheep, or birds, usually. And I guess when we bond with Night Furies, we become their pets too!"
Giggles rippled through the classroom at this point, and Hiccup smiled. Locust decided she didn't really like the idea of being some dragon's pet.
"We also know that Night Furies bond particularly strongly with their owners," Hiccup continued. "Stronger than most dragon species that we know of. You can read up on the theories as to why this is, and truth be told we don't really know why this happens. But the fact of the matter is, Night Furies become very strongly attached to their owners. And in turn, their owners usually become quite attached as well.
"There is usually a high level of co-dependence within Night Fury and human relationships, we don't know why this happens either. But we do know that while Night Furies are perfectly independent in the wild, once they attach to a human, they become quite dependent on them. They start to rely on their human for all their needs, and refuse to be independent.
"When Toothless and I first bonded, I thought he relied on me just because of his injury – as you all probably know, he can't fly without me. But you know, I've designed plenty of tail prosthetics that allow him to fly independently, and he won't use them. He's smashed up every single one I've made, and for a long time I didn't know why – I thought he didn't like the feeling of them, or something.
"But after we started training more Night Furies, we found that they did the same thing – they stopped flying independently, preferring to fly with their owners. That's when we realised that they become very dependent on us after bonding."
"What happens if the owner dies?" the redhead girl asked.
Hiccup shrugged. "We don't know yet, Helga," he said. "And to be honest, I'm not sure I want to find out. I'd like to think Night Furies move on and become independent again, but part of me is afraid that the dependency is permanent, even after the owner dies."
"So you're saying a Night Fury could die if its owner dies," Helga suggested.
Hiccup shrugged. "Possibly," he said cautiously. "Honestly, I don't know. That's something we'll find out in the future. Hopefully the far future."
Hiccup clapped his hands. "Anyway, moving away from that dreary note! Another thing about Night Furies, they're very empathetic towards their owners, as you'll find out. They're very in tune with their owner's mental and physical state, and can detect disease or injury in their owner even before they do. This also means they can tell how you're feeling even if you're not openly showing it, which can be pretty useful."
Locust saw his eyes flick over to her for a moment, meeting her own eyes.
They can tell how you're feeling, huh? Wonder how this dragon will handle knowing I'm scared of it the whole time.
"So if Night Furies bond the best with their owners and are most in tune with us, how come not everyone gets a Night Fury?" the white-haired boy asked. "Wouldn't you just give Night Fury eggs to all the students?"
"Excellent question, Mullet, I'm glad you asked! You'd think that if Night Furies bond best with their owners, they'd be the best species for humans. However, the reason Night Furies are not given to every student, is because Night Furies are very particular with the type of person they bond with. You can't just choose a Night Fury – you have to have a certain aspect of character to even be attractive to one. And that character trait isn't common among Vikings. That's why the personality test is so important – you give a Night Fury to the wrong person, they won't bond. And just like Night Furies only fit a certain type of person, most people are only suited to a certain species of dragon. They just won't bond with a dragon that isn't the right species, or they won't work well together. So it works both ways as well."
"What kind of character trait do you have to have to bond with a Night Fury?" Mullet asked.
Hiccup smiled. "One thing you all have in common," he said. "Unlike the average Viking, you're all pretty good strategists. Aren't you?"
He watched each child's eyes widen, their heads turning to look at each other. The group all appeared very different, but he knew what they all shared – they were all strategically clever people, able to calculate their way around problems and come up with exactly the right solution for.. well, anything.
Well, he wasn't a hundred percent sure about Hopper, but the way the boy had easily climbed aboard Toothless for the ride to the school had convinced him. Same with the Helga, who initially appeared to him to be more suited to a Monstrous Nightmare. But beyond the strategic abilities each child shared, there was something about all the children, something he saw in them that he couldn't quite grasp or name, made him very sure that each child were meant to be Night Fury owners. It was something he could never place, but recognised immediately, and he saw it in each of the children in front of him.
Even Locust, the one afraid of dragons.
Toothless lifted his head and rumbled in his throat, looking at Hiccup. Hiccup looked back, and glanced outside. "Alright!" he said, turning back to the students. "It's midday now, so time for you guys to get some food and move on to your next class. You'll be meeting Gobber in the forest to learn some more about survival and self-sustainment in an hour, so don't be late! I'll see you tomorrow, kids!"
The group left the building to head to the Great Hall, where lunch was held. Locust hung back at first, but the redhead – Helga – looked back at her and grinned widely, motioning for her to join the group.
"Isn't that cool?" she gushed. "We got picked because we're actually different from everyone else! From your average Viking!"
"Yeah, especially since you don't exactly look different to your average Viking," Mullet said, and Helga threw back her head to guffaw loudly. "Yeah, not gonna lie – I was pretty surprised to get a Night Fury myself!" she said, grinning. "I guess it goes to show you never really know, can you?"
"I'm so excited for my egg to hatch," the hawkeyed blonde said, opening her satchel to check her egg. "Have you guys thought of names yet?"
"I'm calling mine Loki!" Mullet said. "Wouldn't that be a cool name for a Night Fury?"
"But what if your Night Fury's a girl?" the dark-haired girl said in a monotone voice.
Mullet shrugged. "Hey, Loki disguised himself as a woman once," he said. "Hel, he gave birth to Sleipnir while transformed as a mare!"
The dark haired girl grimaced, and Helga giggled – the Loki legends were always the weirder ones. Locust mentally reminded herself to remember the fact that Mullet was a legend nerd.
"So I think the name works for both a male or female dragon," Mullet concluded. "What were you gonna name yours, Vine?"
The dark-haired girl shrugged. "I'm naming mine Wisp."
"That's not nearly as exciting as Loki!"
"Not to you, maybe. But in time, legends will be written and the name 'Wisp' will come to be synonymous with fear and glory." Vine smiled.
"Oh yeah? Well I'm naming mine Blizzard!" the hawkeyed blonde announced. "Far more exciting than either Loki or Wisp."
"You wish, Kite," Hopper said. It was the first time Locust had seen the boy smile. "Mine's gonna be Hammer."
"How is Hammer cooler than Blizzard?" Kite snorted. "All a hammer does is bang things. Blizzards, now, they cause real death and destruction!"
"Are you forgetting that the most powerful weapon in all the realms is Mjolnir?" Hopper argued. "A hammer? Thor's own hammer? He creates thunder and lightning with it! Forget a blizzard, it's the storms Thor creates with his hammer that's really powerful!"
"What are you naming yours, Locust?" Mullet asked.
Everyone turned to look at her now. Locust felt distinctly awkward as the centre of attention, especially since she had no idea what answer to give. She hadn't even considered that her dragon might need a name. "Um," she said. "I.. I don't know. I haven't really.."
"Good idea!" Helga burst in. "Waiting until your dragon hatches to name it. I think I'll do the same. That way, you can pick a name that fits your dragon perfectly!" Helga winked. "Great minds think alike, eh?"
Befuddled, Locust nodded. Helga laughed and clapped a heavy hand on her shoulder. "I like this one!" the burly girl declared.
The group sat together on a table to eat, and Locust was thankful that the others didn't try to include her in the conversation. Helga asked her the occasional question, but for the most part she was able to sit and eat quietly.
As they finished eating and headed to the forest for Gobber's class, Helga hung back with Locust.
"So you haven't figured out a name either, huh?" Helga asked. Locust shrugged.
"Oh good. Because honestly, I have no idea either. I just made that thing up before, about waiting to see what the dragon hatches like before naming it, because I really haven't got a clue. But I still think it's a good idea anyway!"
Locust shrugged again. "I'm not too bothered about names. I don't know. How long do dragon eggs take to hatch?"
"Hiccup said around a week from now, they'll be ready to hatch. Why?"
Locust chewed her lip. "I was hoping it'd be longer, more like a month."
"Oh yeah, you don't plan to stick around for long, do you?" Helga's smile had faded, her faint eyebrows furrowed together. "You remember what Hiccup said about Night Furies forming strong bonds with their owners. What about your dragon? What will you do when your dragon bonds with you, and you leave?"
Locust felt an uncomfortable prickle forming between her shoulderblades. "I don't know," she confessed. "I hadn't known about the bonding thing before."
"Separating a bonded dragon from its owner is really bad for it, you know. I can't imagine what it'd do to a Night Fury... especially a baby Night Fury."
Helga's green eyes burned into Locust. "You might want to think carefully about your plan to leave after a month, Locust. I know you don't like dragons, but do you really want to hurt a baby dragon like that?"
Locust didn't answer. She couldn't, she felt frozen. The prickling sensation on the back of her neck intensified.
The woods cleared, revealing a large pond and Gobber's hulking frame, waiting expectantly for them.
Gobber's eyebrows lifted as the girls came into view. "Well, if it isn't the invisible girl!" he crowed loudly. "Ain't that the oddest thing, yesterday ye were nowhere to be seen. Pure magic! You'll have to teach me that trick."
Locust rubbed her arm uncomfortably. "I was with Astrid. She said it was okay if I missed your class if I was with her."
Gobber rolled his eyes. "Well, I wouldn't want to argue with Astrid, now, would I. You're just lucky yesterday was mostly talk and discussion. You'll still have to catch up on that, luckily for you a lot of what we discussed is in your Dragon Journal, so you'll have to read up on the survival chapters."
He gazed around at the rest of the class.
"For now, however, our class is going to be having a lesson on how to start fires with damp wood. I'm sure most of you know how to light a fire in a fireplace, with dry wood. But in the wilderness, starting a fire is much more difficult. As you know, we live in a notoriously wet climate, so it's quite rare to find dry wood just lying around when you're stuck in the woods.
"So today we're going to learn about what to do when you're stuck in the rain, with wet wood, and a need for a fire. Obviously once your dragons hatch, lighting fires will become vastly easier, but lighting a fire from scratch is still a handy skill to have in case your dragon is elsewhere, or otherwise unable to produce a flame."
He clapped his hands together. "First of all, we need to find some wood! There's wood lying around all over the place, so your first task is to collect enough wood for one fire for yourself. So off ye go – git!"
The students immediately scattered, and Locust found herself running through the trees, frantically picking up armfuls of wood in the hope that it would serve as suitable kindling.
The lesson turned out to be quite interesting. Locust wasn't as strong or fast as her fellow classmates, so her wood pile was significantly smaller. But Gobber seemed satisfied. "It won't last a night, but it'll do in a pinch," he concluded.
The lesson plodded along quite well; Locust felt for the most part completely out of her depth, with no idea what she was doing or if she was doing it right. But she still somehow completed all of her tasks to Gobber's satisfaction, and felt relieved that at least she wasn't already failing.
By the time the lesson ended, the sun had slipped behind the great craggy ridge surrounding the island, and the wilderness was plunged into shadow.
"Alright! Well done, kids, yer all off to a good start. Even you, Invisible Girl," Gobber announced. "Now, off to the dorms with ye – I believe you all have dragon eggs to tend to. And dinner in the Great Hall at sundown, of course!"
The Night Fury class headed into the woods to make their way back to the dorms, and Helga once again hung back with Locust.
"Do you wanna go over the Survival chapter in the Dragon Journal with me before dinner?" she asked. "Since Gobber said you needed to catch up and all. I want to go over it too, since there were a couple of things he talked about that I didn't quite get."
Locust shrugged. She couldn't really say no; she did need to go over the notes. "I guess so," she said.
Helga beamed. "Great!" she said. "I'll let you tend your egg, then come meet me at my dorm when you're done and we can go over the chapter. My room is in the middle of the longhouse, it shouldn't be too hard to find. I'll see you then!"
Once they reached the longhouse that made up the girls' dorm, Helga left Locust in front of her room. "I'll see you soon, Locust!" Helga said, walking away with a wave.
Locust entered her own room and checked the fire. It was still smouldering, barely. She stoked it up to a lively crackling blaze, flames licking the bottom of the metal slab.
She gently tapped the egg with the poker. The poker made an oddly metallic clanging sound against the egg, as if it was made of bronze.
With the fire blazing merrily, Locust fished out her Dragon Journal and left her room, making her way to Helga's room.
It was easy to find Helga's room; her name was written on the front of her door, as was the name of every Viking student on their doors. She knocked softly, afraid to rap her knuckles too hard on the wooden surface.
The door immediately swung wide open, revealing Helga and her grin. "Hey, Locust!" she cried. "Come in!"
She ushered Locust in through the door, grabbing her own copy of the Dragon Journal off her desk, and sat down on a rug spread over the floor.
Helga's room was vastly different to Locust's own room, which was quite bare save for her quilt and few small belongings. Other than the floor rug, which provided a warm surface for the girls to sit on, the bed was piled high with quilts and pillows and small stuffed creatures, mostly dragons. The door of the fireplace was open, allowing the heat and light of the roaring fire to warm the room. She had a big painting on the wall above her bed of Snotlout Jorgenson in dragon racing warpaint astride Hookfang; the girl was clearly a big fan of dragon racing. Several charcoal drawings of other dragon racers surrounded the painting, as well as racing memorabilia and accessories.
The desk was covered in paper and charcoal sticks, paints, inks, and paintbrushes. Half-finished drawings lay scattered around its surface.
"Nice painting," Locust noted, sitting on the rug beside Helga.
The redhead's face lit up. "You think so?" she exclaimed.
"Yeah, it looks just like Snotlout. Where did you get it? It must have cost a fortune."
Helga grinned widely. "I painted it myself!" she announced.
Locust couldn't help but be impressed; her jaw dropped open. "You painted it?" she said. "Really?"
"Of course! It took me ages, it was super difficult. But it was worth it!"
Locust gaped at the painting. Now that she realised it was the teenager sitting next to her who'd painted it, rather than some far-off faceless artists from somewhere in the south, she stared at the painting with new appreciation. It was really well done; every detail was included, from the stubble covering Snotlout's chin to the scales in Hookfang's hide.
"That's amazing," Locust said. "You're a great artist."
"Thanks," Helga said, still beaming and going pink under her freckles. "Now how about we tackle this Survival chapter before sundown?"
Helga may have looked more brawn than brain, but it didn't take long for Locust to realise that the big girl was extremely bright as well as strong. It wasn't long before the two had finished the chapter, and started writing notes. Helga had mentioned not understanding a couple of points in the chapter, but she seemed to have no trouble understanding everything that evening. Maybe it made more sense going over it a second time. Maybe Helga hadn't been entirely truthful. Locust didn't think she'd find out.
Eventually, the sky beyond the window began to fade into rust-coloured stripes against purple, and the two girls finished writing their notes.
Helga checked her egg, throwing another log into the fire to keep it going. "Well, I for one think I've gotten the gist of the chapter now," she said. "And I don't know about you, but I am starving. Wanna check on your egg, then head to the Great Hall?"
Locust nodded, and the two girls returned to her room. Locust checked her egg.
There was a large crack running through it.
An icy finger burned down her spine, and prickles erupted along the back of her neck.
"Helga?" Her voice came out high and reedy, faint as if her hearing was muffled. Her blood roared in her ears.
Her neck burned.
"Everything alright?" Helga peered into the fire. Her eyes widened at the crack.
"We need to see Hiccup. Now."
The dash to Hiccup's cabin felt dreamlike; Locust's legs felt heavy as lead, unable to carry her quickly enough. Helga tugged on her arms and implored her to run faster several times. But the cracked egg weighed heavy in her arms, and every step felt like it shook the earth as it had never before, every footfall like to shake the egg in her arms to further oblivion. Outside, the crack was barely visible in the dull indigo gloom, but Locust could almost feel it. Her panicked mind imagined that every step caused the crack to spread further.
Her heart was split in two different directions – one half desperately feared for the egg's survival. Was her egg going to die? Would the hatchling be okay? Had she not kept the fire hot enough, had her dislike for the concept of owning a dragon caused her to legitimately neglect her egg and in the process kill it? Guilt tore heavy at her chest where the egg sat.
The other half she didn't want to dwell on.
This was the half that feared the egg was hatching.
She wasn't ready. She was still too scared. She couldn't do it. She couldn't handle a hatchling, not yet. Not yet, not yet, why was this happening now...?
They finally reached the cabin. Helga thumped on the wooden door, rattled the doorknob. It swung open almost immediately.
Hiccup stared out at them, with the wide-eyed glare of someone who'd had a period of intense focus interrupted. "What is going on?" he demanded.
Locust stumbled forward with the egg, mouthing words her voice failed to give life.
"Her egg, it's cracked," Helga spoke for her.
The annoyance left Hiccup's face, and he ushered the girls in. "Alright, let me take a look," he said, gently taking the egg from Locust's shaking hands.
He stood close by the fire and inspected the egg carefully. He tapped on it, the bronze clang ringing loud.
He raised an eyebrow. Locust didn't know if this was a good sign or not.
"Well, it's not damaged," he said quietly. "Your egg will be fine."
Helga breathed a sigh of relief.
Locust held hers.
"We must have given you a slightly older egg," Hiccup said, almost apologetically. "Normally, eggs hatch about a week after we give them to students."
Locust's heart rate increased again.
"But..."
I'm not ready. I'm not ready.
"Locust, your egg is hatching now."
Would I have ever been ready?
Hiccup looked up at her from the egg, eyes solemn. "We need to go to the Hatchery," he said.
The walk to the Hatchery seemed to take longer than the mad run to the Night Fury cabin. Before they left, Hiccup had to summon Gobber and Astrid, as well as some other teachers that Locust didn't know so well. She was glad Astrid was coming. She was glad Helga stayed, too. The girl seemed to have forgotten her hunger in the excitement, and seemed determined to stay by Locust's side. She supposed she would need it.
They reached the Hatchery, meeting the other teachers, and went inside. They made their way past the dragons – Helga put a hand on Locust's shoulder as she shrank from the big creatures.
They approached the incubation pit, and Hiccup placed the egg within the molten fire, close to the edge.
The cracks grew.
The egg was visibly moving now, wobbling gently. Locust's heart pounded – she had never been so aware that there had been a living creature inside the stone-like object; her flesh crawled.
She could hear sounds, now; a faint croaking, squawking.
"Locust, you need to help out," Hiccup said. He crouched near the edge of the pit, motioning for her to do the same. He held out a long metal poker with a curved tip.
"You need to remove some of the bigger pieces of shell, so the hatchling can escape more easily. Here, like this." He demonstrated, using the hooklike curved end to maneuver bits of shell off the egg. He passed the poker to Locust.
Her hands were unsteady, and the poker knocked against the shell. She gasped, and the creature squawked.
"It's alright! The hatchling will be fine. The egg's still pretty tough, it's well protected. Makes it difficult to get out, though."
She tried again, and successfully knocked a few bits of shell off. The egg wobbled more insistently, knocking against the poker, and Locust nearly dropped it.
A black head topped with a large spike burst from the shell. Locust shrieked and dropped the poker.
"It's alright, it's alright!" Hiccup was smiling. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "That's just your new baby Night Fury. Congratulations, Locust! You've done really well."
Locust stared at the creature struggling to clamber out of the shell. "The-the spike... on it's head.."
"That's the egg-tooth. We were gonna cover hatchlings next class, it's a shame yours hatched this early. I guess your lesson will be a little more hands-on."
Hands-on? Locust didn't want to put her hands anywhere near the thing.
The creature croaked loudly, shaking its head from side-to-side. The egg tooth flew off, rattling into the pit. It blinked confusedly, and turned to stare at the group.
"This is the really important part, Locust. You need to show the hatchling you're essentially its mother, make a bond with it."
The hatchling croaked again, finally freeing itself of the remains of the egg, and ambled lizardlike up to the edge of the pit. Locust scooted back as it crawled over the edge, but Hiccup pushed her forward.
The creature stared up at her with huge reddish-gold eyes. It made an odd rrrrurrrr sound, like a metallic purr. It shuffled closer.
"Now," Hiccup said. Locust reached out a trembling hand.
The hatchling stretched towards her, head lifted.
Her fingers brushed the warm, rough surface of its head.
The hatchling leant into her palm, cooing softly.
"Well done," Hiccup said. "That's right, you're doing perfect."
And then the Night Fury bit her finger.
Locust's world went up in a torrent of fear. She screamed and threw herself away from the creature, scrambling away.
It bit me.
She was dimly aware of someone holding her down, arms tight around her. She screamed and screamed. Images of fiery deluges enveloped her mind, everything she saw was heat, golden orange heat and blinding fear.
"It's okay, it's okay!" Locust, listen to me."
A face emerged from the flames. Hiccup.
"Locust, can you hear me? You need to listen."
She struggled out of the inferno, sobs tearing her chest.
"Locust, look at me, look at me. It's okay, it'll be alright. Just look at me."
She nodded slowly, but it was hard, Hiccup's face was distorted by hot tears in her eyes.
Someone was holding her in a bear hug, pinning her arms by her sides. She could move her lower arms; she awkwardly reached up to her face to wipe her eyes.
"Look at me, Locust. Focus on me. I'm right here, you'll be alright."
She sucked in a hiccuping sob.
Hiccup half smiled. "There you go. Good to have you back. How are you feeling? You freaked out a little there."
Locust looked around. The teachers were all standing around her. Gobber looked thunderous; Astrid's forehead was wrinkled with concern. She realised Helga was the one who gripped her in the bear hug. Her grip loosened, and Locust could move again.
"Alright, now listen to me, Locust. You're okay, your dragon just nipped your finger. See?"
He took her hand, flipped it over. She could see it, a small red mark on her index finger. The tiny teeth had barely scratched her skin.
"Believe it or not, that's a sign of affection. Your dragon likes you. But, after your reaction, I don't think she's gonna try that again."
Sign of affection? Great. Of course her greatest fear would show affecting by biting. Perfect. And – she?
"Are you calmed down now, Locust?"
She nodded.
Hiccup chewed his lip. "Do you want to see your dragon now?"
She didn't want to. She didn't want anything to do with the tiny black menace. She wanted to go home.
She nodded, sucking in a deep breath.
Hiccup reached behind him, and slowly lifted the baby dragon into his lap. The black creature whined and stared intently at her.
"I promise you, she's not going to bite you again. She got the message, don't worry. Even babies learn fast."
Locust was too tired to try touching it again. She just stared at it. It seemed a bit more harmless now, sitting in Hiccup's lap. It cooed and curled its stubby tail around its body.
The baby dragon was about the size of a watermelon, and nearly as round. Its head was nearly a quarter of its total length, its arms and tail all stubby protusions. Its little wings were wrinkled and curled tight against its body. Its eyes were huge, large golden almonds taking up most of its face.
It sneezed, the action causing its whole body to jump. Helga giggled behind Locust.
"See, she's not so scary now, is she?" Hiccup smiled at her. Locust mustered the energy to half-smile back.
"Do you want to try touching her again?"
Locust thought about it. The thought of hot scales under her hand made her shudder. Hiccup nodded understandingly, though he looked disappointed.
"Alright. Well, dinner is well and truly over, but there should still be some leftovers. Come on, you and your dragon both need to eat. You too, Helga."
The group of teachers around them stood back so the trio could stand; Locust's legs felt like jelly, and Helga had to help her up. Hiccup tucked the baby dragon into the crook of his arm, and the group headed to the Great Hall.
The Great Hall was mercifully empty. Sure enough, there were a few scraps of food left behind.
A large brunette woman stood beside the leftovers. "Ah, finally!" she exclaimed as the group approached. "You have no idea what a challenge it is to fight off greedy young Vikings who want seconds. You're lucky I was able to keep this much. How was the hatching?"
Hiccup grimaced. "It was... interesting," he said. "Thanks for taking care of the leftovers, Phlegma."
Phlegma eyed the two girls. "So which one of you is the lucky new dragon owner?" she asked.
Helga nudged Locust, who weakly held up her hand. Phlegma raised an eyebrow, glancing at Hiccup who was still holding the hatchling. "Interesting," she said. "Well, congratulations, Locust! Now, get some food into you, girl. Both of you!"
Dinner was short and quick, and Hiccup and Astrid accompanied the girls back to the dorms. Inside Locust's room, Hiccup showed her how the egg's nest became a bed for the baby dragon, and instructed her on where the fish stores were kept so she could keep the hatchling fed.
"She'll need to be fed before you go to sleep, then fed again in the morning. Three times a day, and usually eight or ten fish per meal depending on her appetite." Astrid held up a basket of fish. She tipped it over near the door, and the hatchling dove into the pile with a delighted squeal.
Locust felt ill watching the hatchling devour the fish, tiny needle teeth ripping into the flesh. The dragon finished off basket, burping sleepily. Hiccup lifted it into the nest.
"It's best to keep the door of the fireplace open, now – so she doesn't get trapped. She shouldn't make any mischief, don't worry. Be sure to keep the fire fed, she's only a baby and still needs to keep warm. And you shouldn't leave her on her own – you should take her everywhere with you. She needs supervision, and she needs to be with her mom, which is still you. You can't neglect her, Locust."
Hiccup said this last part firmly, with an intense look in his eyes. Astrid took his arm. "Alright, Locust will want to get some rest now," she said quietly. "Time to go."
She looked up at Locust. "If you need anything, anything at all, feel free to come find us. Alright?"
Locust nodded. "Alright."
"Good girl. We'll see you in the morning, then. Goodnight, Locust!"
Astrid lead Hiccup and Helga out of the room, the door closing heavily behind her. Locust was alone.
She glanced at the dragon, heart pounding. It was curled up in the nest fast asleep, belly rising and falling as it breathed.
Guess I'd better get some sleep too.
She slid under her quilt, trying to settle down. But her arms felt too rigid – her legs had gone from lead, to jelly, now to hard steel. She couldn't relax. The firelight flickered even through her shut eyelids. Which she couldn't keep shut for long; she had to keep looking up to make sure the baby dragon was still asleep.
She felt trapped. She was terrified.
Sleep came eventually, unsettled and fitful. She tossed and turned, whimpering and kicking her quilt away, clawing at the back of her neck.
Her dreams were filled with fire.
A/N
OH HELLO
Sorry for the long wait! It's been busy. But I'm glad everyone's liked the first chapter so far! I hope the second chapter is equally enjoyable.
I was going to leave the hatching for a bit longer, but then it just happened? So I've decided to roll with it. Let me know what you think!
Thanks for the kind reviews, and hope everybody enjoys this chapter!
