It was another training day with the Viking and Highland teens. Though perhaps saying that there were many highlander teens present was a lie, most of them had high-tailed it home after the first dragon raid. Merida sighed as she realized that she was the only one from the Highlands to have even bothered to show up at that day's practice. She was even more irritated to notice that Hiccup wasn't paying any attention to his surroundings. He kept trying to get information about the Night Furies from Gobber, who was more concerned with making sure Hiccup didn't let the dragon fry him.
"FOCUS Hiccup! You're not even trying." Gobber chastised. "Today... is all about attack. Nadders are quick and light on their feet. Your job is to be quicker and lighter." Gobber shouted at the group of teen's moving in. Merida drew her bow and notched an arrow and she snuck closer. Just then the dragon's head snapped towards Fishlegs and went for the attach.
"I'm really beginning to question your teaching methods." Fishlegs shouted in a panicked voice.
"Look for its blind spot. Every dragon has one. Find it, hide it it, and strike."
Merida let loose and arrow before dogging behind a wall. Thankfully for her the dragon became to preoccupied with Ruffnut and Tuffnut's constant bickering to follow her. She ran past Hiccup right in time to hear him ask about the Night Fury again.
"Hey, so how would one sneak up on a Night Fury?" Hiccup asked Gobber, blatantly ignoring the Dragon and the immediate death it would bring to him if it found him.
"None one's ever met one and lived to tell the tale. Now get in there." Gobber said with a half-hearted gesture.
"I know, I know, but hypothetically..." Hiccup pressed.
"Hiccup!" Astrid whispered urgently in a way that made Merida's blood seethe. Hiccup crouched down and tried to follow her and Snotlout out of the dragons reach, but to no avail. The dragon noticed Hiccup and attached. Merida let loose a flood of arrows, but they didn't seem to distract the dragon. Then of course Snotlout tried to flirt with Astrid at that moment.
"Watch out babe. I'll take care of this." Oh god he gave Merida the creeps. She stifled a laugh as his axe mist the dragon by a good meter. "The sun was in my eyes, Astrid. What do you want me to do, block out the sun? I could do that, but I don't have time right now!" The chaos of the battle roared on, and Merida realized to late that Hiccup was completely oblivious to what was going on…again.
"They probably take the daytime off. You know, like a cat. Has anyone ever seen one napping?"
"Hiccup!" Both Gobber and Astrid yelled. Astrid Tumbled onto Hiccup and Merida had the strangest urge to punch her really hard. Or maybe shoot her with an arrow through the heart because for some reason that's the feeling Merida was getting right then.
"Oooh! Love on the battlefield!"
"She could do better." These word filled Merida with a very strong emotion in the pit of her stomach that she wasn't quite able to name. She stormed off and out of the range before anyone could notice. As she left the piercing rage of Astrid's voice, that she knew would be directed at Hiccup, floated around her as she made her way back towards her shared home.