Merida was having the time of her life. She and Hiccup had made it on time to training, though they had received a less-than-warm reception, and been given the run-down of what the training sessions would include. She had barely been able to stand still as she listened to Gobber. She had been disappointed to learn that she would not be allowed to use her bow and arrow every time (they wanted her to have a basic understanding of all weapons). But with her shield over one arm and a sword in the other, she was flying. She dodged the dragon's attacks, she dealt blows, and she managed to catch a glimpse of Hiccup as he struggled to not die. But her streak ended when Snoutlout began (eew) Hitting on her and Astrid. He managed to distract her for just long enough that the Gronckle managed to shoot the two down, Astrid had managed to cartwheel off before the blast. She sighed as she watched from the sidelines. She had given Snoutlout a glare that had set even the toughest Scotsmen on edge, and he had backed off. She focused her attention on Hiccup. He was hopeless, but in a cute way. He couldn't hold a shield, he could barely stand under the weight of his axe, and that suited him. It made him more human.
Merida was so lost in thought, that she hadn't realized what was happening before it was too late. Astrid had left Hiccup in a corner and the Gronckle had gone nuts. He had shot at Hiccup. Then Hiccup, in all his stupidity, had rushed after the shield. The Gronckle was drawn to the movement, and in a flash had pinned Hiccup down. Merida watched in horror as the beast was about to launch a fireball at Hiccup. But at the last minute Gobber used his hooked arm to pull the dragon off Hiccup and send it back to its cave.
"Remember... a dragon will always, always, go for the kill." Merida rushed to Hiccup's side as Gobber pulled him up to his feet. Merida threw her arms around Hiccup, and squeezed him tight.
"Don't you go off and scare me like that!" Merida said as she shot a dirty look to Astrid. Astrid just shrugged it off, making Merida seethe. Merida grabbed Hiccup's axe from the ring floor and handed it to him. "Lets go home." Merida said with one final glance at the ring.
On the walk home Hiccup seemed distracted. She dismissed it with the thought of 'he was almost eaten by a dragon' but still it bothered her. She suppressed the urge to pry it out of him, deciding that would be insensitive. She let out an exasperated sigh that caused her hair in front of her face to billow out. Hiccup seemed to snap out of his pensive thoughts for a moment as he smiled at her. Well that was a start…
Authors note: This isn't good. Sorry but I had no idea how to write this. I needed the transition scene for training because next chapter is the big Hiccup/Toothless bonding scene but I didn't want this to be to long so it's not really a chapter, it's more transition thought~y. sorry I just couldn't get this to be any longer without it seeming pointless and a waist of time and rambling~y