Notice: This is an Unbeta-d version. I am still waiting for my beta reader to send it to me, but hopefully you all still enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 4: Dragon Trainers
Eirwyn stayed as still as possible, trying not to startle the creature practically laying on her chest. Her breath seem to catch in her throat, making it impossible for her to make even a sound. A puff of air hit her face, and Eirwyn could barely contain the gag as the smell of dead fish and who knows what else assaulted her nose. Once the smell had faded she took a deep breath to try and calm her racing heart that seem to want to pound its way out of her chest. She herd the sound of movement come from somewhere beside her, meaning that Astrid had somehow been awaken.
"Oh man," Astrid breathed out in shock, "Eirwyn are you okay?"
"Uh, I think so," Eirwyn muttered, "Just a bit shocked to wake up and find a dragon standing over me is all."
"I'm going to go get Hiccup, just stay as still as possible and I'll be right back," Eirwyn resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the obvious statement. She herd the rustling of the tent as Astrid left, leaving Eirwyn alone with the dragon.
"I guess there's no way to convince you to move is there?" Eirwyn asked earning a snort from the dragon, "Yeah I thought not." The two sat in silence for a moment, before Eirwyn gathered up as much courage as possible and tentatively raised a hand towards the dragon. She flinched when the dragon growled at her hand, staying as still as possible in hopes that the dragon wouldn't bite it off.
"It's okay," Eirwyn whispered, "I'm not gonna hurt you." She was surprised when a scaly muzzle lightly tap her hand, and once again had to stop herself from jumping at the sudden contact. Taking that as an invitation, Eirwyn began to stroke the dragon's nose. She was surprised by the softness of the scales underneath her hand, and wondered if they where really as strong as the myths made them to be. The dragon made a purring sound in the back of it's throat, and Eirwyn smiled in amusement, "You're just like a big cat." The dragon snorted once more in reply, and Eirwyn realized it was the dragon's way of laughing. Suddenly Eirwyn herd the sound of the tent opening and the dragon quickly removed it's muzzle to look at whoever had just entered the tent.
"Hey Eirwyn are you—" Hiccup stopped in the middle of his sentence, "Oh wow!"
"What?" Eirwyn asked wondering if something was wrong.
"It's...another night furry," Hiccup replied, as he moved around the dragon slowly to sit near Eirwyn, "I thought Toothless was the only one." There was a hint of confusion in Hiccups voice. Eirwyn wondered what that meant, but didn't have long to think on it, before her back started protesting at being in one position to long.
"Hiccup not to interrupt or anything, but I am currently stuck under a dragon that could probably swallow me hole," Eirwyn turned her head to where she guessed Hiccup was sitting, "Is there anyway you could get her off of me?"
"Right sorry," Hiccup grabbed Eirwyn's hand and placed it back of the dragon's muzzle, "Just lightly push, and she should get the idea." Eirwyn did as she was told, lightly pressing on the dragon's nose as she moved to get up. The dragon followed her lead, moving backwards until Eirwyn finally had enough room to wiggle out from underneath of her. Once she was kneeling in front of the dragon, she felt a hand on her shoulder opposite of where Hiccup was sitting. There was a hand on her shoulder opposite of where Hiccup was sitting, and Eirwyn turned to who she guessed was Astrid.
"Come on, lets go sit by the fire," Astrid said. Eirwyn nodded her head and allowed the girl to help her outside. The dragon seem to follow her, choosing to stay right by her side, and Eirwyn couldn't help but smile. It would only figure that one of her first friends would be a dragon. For a moment Eirwyn vaguely wondered how the dragon, who stood only a little shorter than her when on four legs, had managed to fit inside the tent; however, her thought where interrupted by Astrid, "You seem pretty calm for someone who just woke up with a dragon in their face." Astrid commented, and Eirwyn could here the grin in her voice.
"Well at this point nothing is more strange than falling into a pit, and ending up in a different worlds, so I am pretty sure nothing can shock me at this point," Astrid laughed, and the two sat down on the logs where they had been sitting last night, "Not only that, but when I first woke up in the pit, there was a strange creature that flew off just before Hiccup showed up," Eirwyn admitted, "I think she is the same dragon."
"I wonder why she flew off," Astrid thought out loud. The dragon lightly poked Eirwyn in the side, and the girl placed her hand on the dragon's head petting her softly.
"I think she likes you," Hiccup comment as she sat down on the other side of the dragon.
"I wonder why," Eirwyn said curiously, "I mean the first time we met, she growled at me then flew off before I could touch her or anything."
"Maybe it's because they look so much alike," Fishlegs said as three more sets of footsteps made their way over to the group, "Maybe she sees you as a kindred soul."
"What do you mean by that?" Eirwyn asked confused.
"He means you both look like ghosts," Tuffnut commented earning a smack from possible his sister, or Astrid. Eirwyn looked over at where the dragon had moved to lay down beside her, purring as Eirwyn continued to pet her head.
"I'm just surprised to see another night Night Furry," Hiccup said.
"Why is that?" Eirwyn asked, "I mean are Night Furry endangered or something?" Hiccup seemed confused by that.
"Well I don't know about being endangered, but so far Toothless is the only Night furry we've been able to find," Hiccup explained, "That must have been why Toothless ran off the other day. Eirwyn herd the sound of claws hitting the earth, and figured that the dragons where coming back to join the group from wherever they had been. The dragon laying beside Eirwyn quickly became defensive, jumping up and growling at the new comers.
"Hey it's okay," Eirwyn whispered as she attempted to calm the dragon down by lightly pressing down on her muzzle until she was once again laying on the ground beside her, though she was still growling at the other dragons.
"Nice work," Astrid commented. Eirwyn shrugged her shoulders.
"I am surprised that worked actually," Eirwyn admitted, "I mean, I know a friend who use to do that whenever her dog would get defensive, so I thought I could at least try it."
"I wonder why she doesn't like Toothless," Fishlegs said, "You would think they would get along with both of them being Night Furies and all."
"Not if what Ruffnut said was right," Eirwyn said, looking down at the dragon thoughtfully, "While I don't know much about how dragons work I do know that most animals will abandon those who are different, especially with a nocturnal species like night furies, an albino would stick out like a sore thumb, so she was probably left by the rest to fend for herself."
"I hadn't thought of that," Hiccup said, and Eirwyn could feel his curious eye on her, "Well since we are all up we might as well head back towards the village."
"Well almost all of us anyway," Astrid said, and Eirwyn could hear the smirk in her voice, "Ruffnut, Tuffnut, you two want to go wake Snotlout up?"
"It'll be our pleasure," Tuffnut said, as they walked away. A few minutes later Eirwyn could hear the sounds of screaming coming from the direction the twins' walked off in, and she couldn't help but smile as she could only imagine what they were doing to the poor boy.
"Alright, Alright I'm up!" Snotlout cried as he raced towards the group, followed by the sounds of the twins laughing. Next to her Astrid sighed, while Hiccup snickered at the other boy's distress, "What do you think you're laughing at?"
"You if I am correct," Eirwyn said sarcastically, causing Astrid and Hiccup to start laughing out right. There was a 'humph', that came from where Snotlout was standing and Eirwyn actually felt bad for having angered the boy.
"Don't worry about it," Astrid said as though reading the girl's thoughts, "You just hurt his ego that's all."
"If you're sure," Eirwyn mumbled.
"Now that Snotlout is up, we should start breaking down camp so that we can head back to the village," the others agreed, and everyone moved to start breaking down the group's camp. Even Eirwyn managed to assist with the help of her new dragon friend. Soon everything was packed up, and Eirwyn began to wonder exactly how they were going to get back to the village.
"Alright, Eirwyn why don't you ride with Astrid," Eirwyn looked at Hiccup in confusion until she realized what he was saying.
"Wait we're going to ride the dragons, as in…flying?"
"Duh, how else did you think we were going to get back to Berk?" Ruffnut asked. Eirwyn was quiet for a moment, before she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry it'll be fine, Stormfly's and me are really good fliers," Astrid said comfortingly.
"If you say so," Eirwyn muttered as she allowed Astrid to guide her over to where Stormfly was standing waiting for her. Astrid helped Eirwyn onto the dragons back, and hopped on in front of her.
The first thing Eirwyn felt as they took off was the feeling of her stomach dropping out, and possibly being left somewhere on the ground behind her. She held on to Astrid tightly, only worried for a second that she could possibly be hurting the other girl. Astrid didn't say anything; however as she was discussing something with Hiccup who was flying off to their left. After a while her stomach began to settle down, and she realized that the wind in her hair was almost relaxing. She could feel the dragons muscles tense, that relax underneath her as it flapped it's wings to stay in flight, and for a moment she could almost imagine being the dragon herself, flying through the air, without a care in the world. The thought brought a smile to Eirwyn's face as she closed her eyes, and let herself dream trusting Astrid and Stormfly to keep her safe.
They finally touched ground again all to soon, and Astrid helped Eirwyn down off Stormfly's back. Already Eirwyn could hear the whispers of what she assumed to be the villagers of Berk, barely making out the occasional comment about 'demon eyes', and 'ghosts'. She felt a nudge next to her, and gave a small smile to the dragon that apparently looked so much like her. Eirwyn placed her hand on the dragon's back and could feel how tense her muscles where. She realized that she wasn't the only one the villagers where most likely looking at. Eirwyn allowed herself to be guided forward by the dragon, and she sensed someone walking up beside her.
"Don't mind them," Hiccup whispered to her as they continued to wherever they were heading, "They're just weary of newcomers."
"That makes me feel so much better," Eirwyn muttered pushing herself closer up against the dragon's side. The dragon next to Eirwyn stopped, and Eirwyn followed her lead as she heard the sounds of a large door opening.
"This is the great hall," Astrid explained somewhere in front of her, "If anything this is where the chief is most likely to be." They walked inside, and the first thing Eirwyn noticed was the change in temperature. It was much warmer in the room, so Eirwyn guessed that there must have been a fire lit somewhere. She could hear a few people talking and laughing around her, but not nearly as many as there had been back outside. This made the area around her feel large and empty, which she thought to herself, it probably was.
"Oh Hiccup, you're sure back early," This voice belonged to an older man with a strong Scottish accent. . Whoever it was began walking towards the group and Eirwyn herd the mismatched steps. There was a normal footstep followed by what sounded like a stick hitting against the ground, "And it looks like you brought someone back with you."
"This is Eirwyn, we found her in the woods and decided to bring her back to the village," Hiccup replied before turning, "Eirwyn this is Gobber."
"Nice to meet you," Eirwyn said shyly.
"Is my dad here?" Hiccup asked before Gobber could reply.
"Sadly no, your father is out dealing with some issues in a nearby tribe, he should be back some time tomorrow though." Hiccup sighed, "Is that a…white night furry?"
"It's a long story," Hiccup said, before turning back to Eirwyn and the gang "Well I guess we will just have to talk to him tomorrow then."
"Great what do we do now?" Ruffnut asked.
"Why don't we show Eirwyn around the village," Astrid suggested.
"Uh, you mean other than she can't see?" Tuffnut asked, and Eirwyn giggled as he heard something hitting against his head.
"Actually I wouldn't mind getting to meet some of the different dragons," Eirwyn said looking down at the dragon standing next to her, "What do you think?" The dragon purred in the back of her throat.
"Alright, let's go then!" Astrid said as she was lead back outside.
As Eirwyn was led around the village by Hiccup and the other, she began to realize just how many different kinds of dragons there where. When she was properly introduced to the group's dragons, she realized that each dragon had taken on a version of its rider's personality. Meatlug was a softhearted dragon, who cared for her quite and sometimes shy rider. Barf and Belch had definitely taken from the twin, though Eirwyn honestly had to admit that she felt a little sorry for the two headed dragon. Hookfang was different, he was almost the opposite of his rider. Instead of being egotistic, the dragon almost seem lost in its own head most of the time, though it did share Snotlout's strange sense of humor, as he knocked his rider off mid flight. Stormfly was just as competitive as her rider, always wanting to prove she was the best.
Then finally there was Toothless, who Eirwyn didn't get to meet as well because every time he came near, the albino night furry who had glued herself to Eirwyn's side, would growl and get defensive. Eirwyn could tell however that Toothless was kind if not a little sassy at times, and he was very protective of Hiccup. This made Eirwyn smile at the friendship between the two.
The day seem to fly by for Eirwyn, and before she knew it the sun was setting below the horizan. Hiccup and Eirwyn said goodbye to the group, before heading back to Hiccup's home, with the dragons right behind them. Eirwyn was surprised as they made their way threw the village that the female Night Furry wasn't growling at Toothless for once, but merely took it as a sign that the dragons where hopefully starting to get along.
When they finally arrived back at the house Hiccup sat Eirwyn down at the table while he moved to start on making them some food. Everything was quiet inside the little hut, and Eirwyn began to think back to the rare nights her mother would actually be home for dinner. The two would sit at the table long after they had finished their meals simply talking about their day and what their plans where for the next day. Eirwyn lightly shook her head, as she began to feel wetness pricking at the back of her eyes, willing the depressing thoughts away until she could get alone.
"Hey Eirwyn, are you alright?" Hiccup asked as he walked over to the girl sitting at the table.
"Huh?...Oh Yeah, I'm fine," Eirwyn replied shooting the boy a smile. She could tell Hiccup didn't believe her, as he stayed where he was. Eirwyn sighed and looked over to where Hiccup was standing.
"I was just thinking about my mom," Eirwyn explained.
"Yeah, I bet you miss your parents don't you?" Eirwyn thought about it for a minute.
"I don't really know," Eirwyn admitted, "My dad left my mom and I when I was a baby, and only came back into my life recently so I don't know if I can really say I miss him."
"What about you mom?" Hiccup asked sitting in the chair next to Eirwyn. Eirwyn winced at the mention of her mother.
"I miss my mom every day, but going back to my world isn't going to change anything," Eirwyn closed her eyes as she felt a prickling sensation behind her eyes. Hiccup seem to understand what Eirwyn was saying as he remained quiet.
"I know how you feel," Hiccup said silently after a moment, "My mom died when I was really little, and I've spent most of my life proving to my dad that I can be a good Viking." Eirwyn looked up at Hiccup, and smiled.
"Well if it means anything I think you're a pretty good Viking," Eirwyn said, "I mean, how many other people do you know that have not only trained dragons, but is able to ride them?" Hiccup laughed.
"Yeah I guess," There was a suddenly roar from outside, and Eirwyn herd hiccup stand up and walk over to where she guessed a window was located, "Oh wow!"
"What is it?" Eirwyn asked, wishing more than anything she could see for once.
"It's Toothless, and the other dragon," Hiccup explained. He was silent for a moment, as if he was watching something, and Eirwyn squirmed trying to figure out what was going on.
"What are they doing?" Eirwyn finally asked.
"Well really they're just flying around, but I just noticed something," Hiccup explained, "The way the moonlight hits off the female nightfury's scales, it kind of makes her look like a light." Eirwyn thought about that for a moment, before smiling. She stood up and slowly made her way over to where Hiccup was standing. Placing a hand on the window sill, and looked up to where she could hear the dragons talking to each other, almost as if they where having a conversation.
"I think I just thought of a name for her," Eirwyn said, "Nightlight."