How to Train Your Friend

Chapter 5

A Crimson Shine

"How do you think he held up last night? I mean, I've never seen you sentence anything like that to any other trainer. You haven't even given that kind of punishment to the Twins."

"I know…that's because the Twins won't listen to me. They never have, so I figured something like that would be useless on them. Jorvar however has the decency to listen to me. If he doesn't, then it's official…no one except you and Fishlegs in the Academy pays any attention to what I say."

White snow rained down on the young Vikings as they carried out their fresh conversation on the way to the Berk Dragon Academy. They had taken notice of the frozen water coming down on them. It was not unusual for the young dragon trainers of Berk to have a class, or rather training session, under such conditions. The snow wasn't thick enough to prove a nuisance, but yet, it wasn't dense enough to become slippery upon melting. It was that gentle, powdery mix of soft and coarse that everyone wishes snow would stay as. The two had been flying gracefully on their mighty dragons through the snow, and they were grateful that a dragon wasn't affected by the cold; this was due to their inner fires which fuel their breaths.

"Well let's just hope that the Nadders didn't touch him. I mean, you already told me that he wasn't really trying yesterday, so I'm anxious to see how he held up."

"You and me both Astrid; I have all faith in Jorvar, he's a reluctant Viking, but so were you. There's no reason that he should've had any problems. You know as much as I do that a Nadder is only territorial when it's near its nesting area or home. These are migrating Nadders Astrid, and though I'm not sure what could've caused their leader to receive that wing injury midflight, they know by instinct that they're in no position to act aggressively with all these other dragons around." Hiccup relayed his analysis of the situation to his fellow trainer.

"Well thanks for telling me something I already know. What does this have to do with whether or not Jorvar managed to spend a night with a bunch of Nadders?" Astrid was confused as to why Hiccup would give her information that she already knew.

"It means that if something did happen, we can use it to figure out what we're dealing with. Besides, we didn't close the gate all the way. I made sure it was left open just enough for Jorvar to slip out should something go wrong. You know, enough for him, but not enough for the Nadders to break out and get loose."

Astrid could never understand Hiccup's methods. She could only assume that it was from months of trying to train the Twins and Snotlout. One day he'd be the more lenient mentor in the archipelago, and then the next he would crack down on students like he was trying to split a log with a blunt axe. While she held hope in her heart for the coming session, she, like Hiccup, had a lot of faith in Jorvar. She never truly showed it though, as when it comes to training new recruits for the Berk Dragon Academy, Astrid and Hiccup never quite saw eye to eye. Hiccup believed in the more humane approach, where Astrid was fond of the blunt method, where you'd throw the trainee in a cage with a dragon and see how they did. Hiccup never understood Astrid when she acted this way, but he continuously told himself that it was probably for the best that he never found out.

The falling snow was obscuring their vision, but it wasn't long after their conversation ended that the Academy came into sight, even through all the blinding whiteness. Hiccup made sure to note the area around the arena. There seemed to have been no signs of struggle, and no apparent burn marks. He also heard no rampaging roars of any kind, nor the sounds of clanging metal. But most importantly, he didn't hear the sounds of a screaming Viking running for his life against a cage full of Deadly Nadders.

They approached the Academy steadily. Toothless closed the distance between them and the large dome shaped cage and settled down amidst the bountiful amounts of snow that flickered up when Toothless landed. Stormfly had also kicked up quite the snowstorm, but a Nadder's wings were smaller than a Night Fury's, so the havoc soon subsided. Hiccup hopped off Toothless, his metal leg making contact with the ground first. The clang rung in the air amid the falling snow, as if it was bouncing off each and every snowflake that drifted around them. The four listened to the gentle wisps that drifted by them. There was a sharp wind making its way through the metal bars of the dome, and the metal rang like war drums. Hiccup inhaled. He could sense something was nearby, and not just the Nadders, or Jorvar, it was something entirely different, almost like Dragon Rider's Intuition. He took a step, the snow crunched under him, for it wasn't as thin on the ground as it had been near the village and along the paths that led to the Academy. He walked along the wooden boards and crossed down into the Academy. He noticed that the cage was exactly how he had left it, ajar in case of an emergency and Jorvar needed to escape.

"Astrid…!" He called behind him. "Can you get the door?" Hiccup saw her nod, and along with Stormfly, they moved towards the handle at the front of the pathway that led down into the Academy. Hiccup heard the clank of the lever, and before him the metal door of the arena cranked open with a clang. The snow was still drifting into the cage through the openings in the sides of the metal bars, and Hiccup walked into the Academy steadily. Toothless walked up behind Hiccup and made a cooing noise, an indication for concern. "Easy bud, we'll be fine. But I do feel like something weird is in here. I hope Jorvar is okay; I mean, I wasn't too harsh on him. The Nadders shouldn't have had a reason to attack him. I'd honestly be shocked if they did." Hiccup paused, and then shook his head. "Ah what am I saying bud, he's fine. I'm sure of it." Toothless gurgled his tongue and made a soft groaning sound. He was content with the way Hiccup had handled the situation.

As they proceeded further into the Academy, Hiccup looked around the rims of the arena and saw the Nadders, each one sleeping soundly. There seemed to be no apparent issues, and even the Alpha Nadder, as large as he was, seemed to be resting peacefully amid the falling snow. The Alpha Nadder, as mentioned, was a bit larger than the other Nadders that made up the herd. It was to be expected though, as he was male, and skimpy dragons do not become the leaders of their herds. He was a few feet taller than Stormfly, and even for a female, Stormfly was rather tall. His scales were a mix of blue, green, and turquoise, with his wings exhibiting shades of yellow in designated patches and scattered placement of brown and orange. All in all, there was nothing out of the ordinary about him, aside from his damaged wing.

Hiccup turned away from the Alpha and spun around looking for Jorvar. At first he didn't see him, but then he noticed that one of the cages, the area where the dragons had previously been kept, had its door open a bit. It was highly possible that Jorvar could crack it open a bit and slip through, without the Nadders ever knowing about it. "Wait here bud…" Hiccup ordered his dragon. Toothless' pupils narrowed, for he didn't enjoy when Hiccup made him wait behind. But even Toothless, the powerful Night Fury that he was, acknowledged that there was no danger present. As such, he also wondered what the strange feeling that he and his rider shared. They'd felt it as soon as they walked into the Academy, and it made Toothless' wings shake a bit, as if they were being bitten by frost coated jaws. Toothless planted his bump on the stone floor of the arena and folded his wings against his side. He was prepared to wait for Hiccup.

With every step towards the open door, Hiccup could hear the Nadders around him beginning to stir. He assumed that their footsteps, coupled with the sound the door made upon being cranked open had begun to pulled them back towards the world, and out of unconsciousness. Their wings and tailed twitched, and some of them even started to flick their eyes open. Hiccup wasn't concerned, for he had already gained the trust of all the dragons by the time the herd had been shipped to the Academy for the night. Hiccup approached the crack, and he maneuvered inside. It was one of the few times in his life he was glad he wasn't muscular or heavily built, for if he had been, he'd have to use the switch to open the door and cause more noise. Dragons, much like Vikings, are cranky when they are woken up before they want to, but then again, the Vikings of Berk were always cranky, regardless of why.

Once inside, Hiccup saw exactly what he thought he would, but with a twist. He saw Jorvar, as expected, but there was something else in the small enclosure. Jorvar was still asleep, but wrapped around him was a Nadder, a very young Nadder by the look of it. It appeared to be female, Hiccup could tell because its horns were still growing straight, and female Nadders tend to have more spines on their tails. What struck Hiccup the most about this Nadder was that instead of the usual shades of blue, green, and occasionally violet or purple that were commonly found on Nadders, this young Nadder was a startling crimson red, almost copper-brownish in color around her forehead, rear, and wings. Her tail and wings were coated in a layer of light brown scales, but her body, legs, neck, and head were all said reddish color. Hiccup was not only surprised, but also confused, as he'd never read anything about red Nadders in the Book of Dragons. He'd make sure to catalogue this as soon as he could.

Hiccup broke away from the Nadder and turned around to look out the door into the arena, as to see the activity of the other dragons. He saw that most of them had already woken up, and several of the younger ones were even interacting with Toothless, though by his slit pupils, he was anything but amused. Even the Alpha was awake, and Astrid had long since entered the dome area and started tending to the dragons. Hiccup, satisfied with the scene, turned around and began to walk towards Jorvar and the crimson Nadder.

As he got closer, the beast began to fidget about, much as the others had, and before long, her yellow eyes crept open, like rays of sunlight on the cliffside as the sun sets. It wasn't long before she started moving around her wings, and soon she stood completely up. Jorvar didn't move, for he was still asleep, and the Nadder unraveled her tail from around him. It was then that Hiccup noticed that the Nadder's tail was exceptionally long. That'd be very useful for maneuverability in cramped areas. The spines on her tail were still developing, and it was clear she'd never shot spines from them before. Her head looked like it would come up to Stormfly's thigh, so she still had quite a ways to grow. She stretched her wings, and then started towards the door. Hiccup stepped out of her way and watched her push the door open with her snout. Not only was this dragoness rare in coloration, but she also seemed exceptionally intelligent. The crimson Nadder exited the room, and Hiccup finished the trek towards Jorvar's body on the floor. He knelt down and rubbed his friend's shoulder.

"Hey Jorvar…get up…time to start your training…again…" He tried to sound as gentle as possible. Jorvar stirred, and Hiccup heard him breathe outwards, an indication that he had been awakened. Jorvar reached up to his head with his hand and rubbed his hair. The headband he was wearing didn't budge, it must've been strapped on tightly.

"Hiccup…?" He mumbled out. And he rolled himself over and saw Hiccup standing there with his hand on his shoulder. "Ah…morning already?"

"How was the night with the Nadders?"

"Fine…they hardly even looked at me."

"How'd you get into this caged area?" Hiccup inquired. Jorvar chuckled softly to himself as he started shaking the weariness out of his system and got on one knee, for he was about to stand up.

"One of the Nadders stepped on the lever that opens the containment area of this place. They were so startled that they immediately ran away from it, but the door got stuck while trying to close. I figured it was safer to sleep in here than it was out there." Hiccup nodded, it seemed logical to him.

"Alright, then; now, Jor…you made me a promise to give it your all today. Make sure that you actually try, or do you want to spend another night in the Academy with the dragons?" Hiccup crossed his arms as he spoke, and Jorvar rubbed the back of his head and giggled as they walked out the door and into the open area of the arena with all the dragons.

"Yeah…quite a homecoming; my second night on Berk and I get to spend it on the floor, in a cage, surrounding by wild dragons. That's a life, right there." They laughed in unison.

Hiccup noticed how Jorvar hadn't said a word about the crimson Nadder, so he assumed that the Nadder had found its way into the cage with Jorvar after he'd fallen asleep. Why a young Nadder would take the initiative to care for a wayward Viking such as Jorvar, Hiccup didn't know. His only guess was that for one reason or another, the Nadder had taken a liking to Jorvar. He started wondering how he could possibly use this to teach Jorvar about dragons, because if one of them had already taken a shine to him without him even trying, it was possible that Jorvar could become a natural at befriending and training dragons.

Hiccup also didn't remember seeing a crimson Nadder when they had initially moved the herd to the Academy. Once again, he was forced to assume that the creature had been hiding, and followed its herd into the Academy after it saw that it was safe. Astrid had told him that the Alpha was doing well, and with that Hiccup made Jorvar do trust exercises with the Nadders for the majority of the morning. This included them sniffing him, brushing up against him, and Hiccup giving him a knife that the Nadders could purposefully watch him throw away. It worked for Hiccup while trying to befriend Toothless, so why not for a Deadly Nadder?

They broke for lunch at noon, and the other members of the Berk Dragon Academy had been given the day off, as Hiccup didn't feel he could focus on training Jorvar, while also keeping the Twins and Snotlout under control. Immediately after their meal, Hiccup instructed Jorvar to begin feeding the dragons, and with Astrid's help, he passed out the chicken and fish that the Nadders enjoyed, much to their appeasement. However, Hiccup saw that the crimson Nadder had disappeared. It wasn't anywhere in the ring, and after looking a second time, he saw that Jorvar wasn't either. He had a thought.

Hiccup walked back towards the crack in the cage where he'd found Jorvar and the Nadder sleeping earlier that morning, and once he peered inside, he was surprised at what he saw. Jorvar was standing in front of the crimson Nadder with a basket of fish, and he was hand feeding each individual fish to her, placing them directly in her mouth. Once placed into her maw, the Nadder garbled it up like it chum, and then batted its eyes like a puppy, as if begging for another piece. He heard Jorvar giggle. Hiccup was astounded, as even he didn't start hand feeding any dragon that quickly, especially Toothless. Soon though, the basket was empty, and Hiccup saw Jorvar turn around to exit the room, the Nadder began to follow. Hiccup hid behind the door, and as they walked out, he crossed his arms and smiled.

"How's the dragon Jor?" The words flew out of Hiccup's mouth like the lightning a Skrill channels through its wings and stomach. Jorvar turned around in a haste; he was clearly surprised by Hiccup's presence. He started chuckling nervously.

"You uh, saw that huh?" And Hiccup nodded at Jorvar. "Well, what can I say? She likes me. Enough not to torch me, that is…" Hiccup tittered softly.

"We should head home." He suggested, and Jorvar nodded.

"Yeah, good idea…"

They started to head back, and they chit-chatted a bit as they went. It wasn't long before both of them noticed that they had a stalker. The crimson Nadder trailed up behind them, stomping on the wooden planks of the walkway like a group of hungry Vikings being served their first serving of lamb after a long winter. It was a moment before both Hiccup and Jorvar realized that they had forgotten to close the gate to the Academy. In their bewilderment, Astrid flew by on Stormfly, and as she passed them, they saw her pleasantly waving. Hiccup read her look from afar, and it was clear that while they'd forgotten to close the gate, she had not. Thankfully, the crimson Nadder seemed to be the only one that followed them, and was subsequently the only one outside the Academy. However, by the look of things, the Nadder would be following Jorvar home like a stray dog. They could handle a single Nadder; it'd be near effortless.

Jorvar and Hiccup arrived at their house soon after, and Jorvar stopped in front of the steps that led up to the door. He paused before he spoke, and when he looked at Hiccup, the young Viking could see the admiration and gratitude in his face. "I wanted to say thanks…for today. I learned a lot; I'm still a bit weary of these dragons and all, but I guess no one gets used to such a thing in only one day. Maybe this is more like a stepping stone for me than anything else."

"I suppose that's one way to look at it." Hiccup replied. He was grinning at Jorvar. The amount of difference displayed by his old companion between trying and not trying back to back was astounding. The one day, the dragons wouldn't so much as sniff him, and now he had a dragon trailing him all the way home. To Hiccup, it was the sign of something wondrous, momentous even. The crimson Nadder crept over Hiccup's shoulder and approached Jorvar. The dragoness was clearly not a shy one, and got right up in Jorvar's face. She got so close that Jorvar sprang his hands up to meet her nose, and was forced to push her back a bit. Hiccup found this humorous. "Looks to me like you didn't have to pick your dragon Jor, but rather that your dragon's picked you. Sort of reminds me of Toothless." Jorvar was still trying to stop the Nadder's oddly friendly displays of affection, but he managed to laugh.

"Toothless didn't really choose you; you kind of just got stuck together." Hiccup rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Also true…but it all worked out didn't it?" Hiccup watched as the crimson Nadder tried to give Jorvar a love nibble, but thankfully, she missed, and they continued their mini wrestle.

Jorvar was smiling the entire time, despite the amount of effort he had to put into keeping the young dragon from entirely knocking him over. He assumed that that fact that a dragon had bonded to Jorvar really hadn't hit him yet, but it would, and when did, it was hard. Jorvar's face immediately went from cheery to solemn, and he gazed at the Nadder between his hands in front of him. Before he realized it, Hiccup saw that Jorvar had actually pushed the dragon away, not metaphorically, physically. He stood with his hands at his side, and the dragon was looking at him curiously.

"A dragon is a like a giant dog huh? You give it your love and trust…and it'll give you theirs…right?" Jorvar wasn't touching the Nadder anymore, and his head was down. Hiccup wasn't sure what had caused the sudden change in attitude, but he figured it best to comply.

"Yeah, that's the idea."

"I can't let this Nadder become attached to me Hiccup. It's too young, and she needs to stay with her herd, her family." With that, Jorvar turned the other cheek, walked up the stairs into the house and entered, slamming the door behind him. The Nadder must've understood what had just happened, for she sulked away, her long, graceful tail scrapping the ground like rusty hoes.