Disclaimer: Don't own anything but the slightly changed plotline.
The events in this chapter are mostly canon. Like I said in the author's note, I am going to be sticking to the plot of the movie, as well as use some scenes from canon, so...
This chapter is also meant to be a bit of a comic relief compared to the seriousness of the previous chapters, so... enjoy. :)
When Astrid finally made it back home, it was already dark out. Actually, it was dark when she woke up, meaning that she had been unconscious for a while; it was kind of embarrassing, actually, fainting like that.
She sighed as she opened her front door, quietly walking inside and closing it, not wanting to disturb her parents, who were most likely packing for the voyage to the Nest.
She had been doing some thinking as she trekked back home through the forest. That Deadly Nadder had been terrified of her, despite the fact that she was just a small girl with an even smaller dagger. Sure, it had been entangled, but with its spikes it could have easily freed itself. Maybe it was rattled or hurt from the fall; she didn't really know. She was just concerned about why the dragon had been scared. Of her.
She wasn't sure if she could kill something that looked so scared. She wasn't sure if she could participate in the Raids; she would just keep seeing those bright yellow eyes staring up at her with pure fear.
She couldn't kill a dragon.
"Astrid."
Astrid let out a startled sound, jumping a bit. She had just been standing in the middle of the main room, staring at the wall in her thoughts. She hadn't realized her parents had come in.
She looked at her mother, the one who had called her name. "Yes?"
"Astrid," Her mother repeated, an odd look in her eyes, "We've placed you in Dragon Training with the others."
Astrid's breath hitched, her eyes widening a little. Oh, now they decide to indulge in her wishes? Right after she changed her mind? "Really?" She stuttered, "Because I was thinking that I could keep working in the healer's hut with you, Mom, so..."
"And you can," Thora answered patiently, "But you still need to learn to defend yourself."
"Well, Mom, I..." Could she really tell them? They were much more understanding than the other Vikings. "I don't want to kill dragons."
"You don't have to kill dragons," Cnut said indulgently, though his brows her furrowed in confusion as he gave Thora a brief glance, "But you still need to learn to protect yourself. We're not always going to be there to save you, Astrid."
"So... just defending myself, then?" Astrid asked hesitantly, "No killing...?"
"No killing," Thora answered, and she and Cnut shared another glance.
Okay, she could do that. She didn't have to hurt the dragons if she was just defending herself.
"Okay," Astrid gave a hesitant smile, "Okay, I can do that. Um... good luck on your trip. I'll... see you when you get back."
Astrid immediately sprinted up the stairs, not catching the third glance that Cnut and Thora shared before they shook their heads in confusion, throwing their traveling sacks over their shoulders and heading for the front door.
Hiccup stared at the small scale in his hand as he walked up the hill toward his house, and, when he reached it, he quietly opened his door, hesitantly looking inside. His father was sitting next to the hearth, poking at it, embers flying around his beard. Hiccup had stayed in the forest until it was dark out, watching the dragons, curious about the Night Fury that had spared him; he had stayed out well past the curfew his father had instated the day he earned the large scar on his palm, and he really didn't feel like fighting at the moment.
He glanced at his left wrist; the Night Fury's claws had nicked him, and now there was a large spot of blood on his sleeve. He wouldn't know how to explain such a thing to his father without causing trouble, so he quickly shuffled past him, hiding the scale in his vest, using his hands and feet to crawl up the stairs in an attempt to avoid any creaks.
"Hiccup."
"Dad!" Hiccup exclaimed, startled, nearly banging his head against the stairs he was crawling on. He quickly stood, covering the blood spot with the hand that was still hanging onto his axe. "Um... yeah, Dad? What is it?" He really hoped it wasn't the curfew thing; that Night Fury had rattled him beyond belief, and he was tired and really just wanted to go to bed.
"I think it's time you learned to fight dragons," Stoick said, and Hiccup started a little.
"Um... what?" Was his father actually allowing him to do what he wanted without a fight? He had been begging to join Dragon Training for months now.
"You got your wish," Stoick looked at him as if the boy had defeated him, "Dragon Training. You start in the morning."
"Really?"
"Yes," Stoick grumbled, obviously annoyed at having to validate himself. He grabbed Hiccup's hands, forcing him to hold his axe up properly. "This is serious, Hiccup. When you carry that axe, you carry all of us. Which means you walk like us, you talk like us, you think like us. No more of," he gestured to Hiccup, "This. Deal?"
"But you just pointed to all of me," Hiccup said indignantly. Was he always going to be the defenseless hiccup in his father's eyes?
"Deal?"
Hiccup gave an annoyed sigh, looking up at his father with defiant eyes. What irked him even more was the fact that his father hasn't even noticed the large blood spot on his sleeve.
"Deal."
Stoick threw his traveling sack over his shoulder, and Hiccup remembered that the voyage was meant to live tonight rather than tomorrow. "Good," He said, walking towards the front door, "Train hard."
The door slammed shut.
Hiccup glanced around the docks, watching the men load up the boats, holding his axe in a white-knuckled grip. He looked at the other children, all hugging their parents goodbye, and he scowled as his father approached from the side, dropping the head of his axe on the docks while still holding onto its handle. Stoick turned away as well, staring out at the ocean.
"I'll be back," He said, "Probably."
"And I'll be here," Hiccup muttered, "Maybe."
Gobber watched the interaction from one of the ships he was helping load up, and he rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Oh, for Odin's sake," He muttered, tossing a sack of cargo towards an awaiting Viking, the force sending the poor man straight into the water. Gobber paid him no mind, walking straight towards Stoick and Hiccup.
He stopped behind them, slightly centered, and rolled his eyes again, letting a hand drop over his eyes in frustration. He removed his hand, turning his attention to Stoick. "Eh, Hiccup would like to say that he'll miss you and that he wishes you'll find that Thor-forsaken dragon nest so you can stop takin' your frustrations out on everyone, namely poor Gobber."
Neither of them reacted, still staring ahead with identical scowls on their faces, and Gobber sighed. "Stoick would like to say that he'll be thinkin' of you the whole time, so train hard, don't throw a house party, and he'll do his best not to get eaten by a dragon or a sea serpent. But, ya know, if that does happen, well, that's that."
"We're Vikings; it's an occupational hazard," Stoick said calmly, not looking at his son or Gobber.
"We're Vikings; it's an occupational hazard," Gobber clarified.
"I said that part," Stoick grumbled, moving past Gobber and Hiccup and hopping onto the boat.
"Oh, well excuse me for helpin'," Gobber grumbled back, and Stoick rolled his eyes, turning his attention to the two.
"I want him back with all limbs intact," Stoick said seriously before turning his attention to the rest of the ships, "SET SAIL!"
Hiccup watched as his father left, once again going off on a fool's errand, leaving him behind.
"Welcome to Dragon Training!" Gobber exclaimed, pushing open the wooden gate that closed off the arena. It wasn't all that impressive; just a simple enclosed, stone area with a few shields and weapons lying around, as well as a few gates locked up on the inside. The roof wasn't really a roof; it was just a bunch of chains linked together.
The group that followed him in included Hiccup, carrying his personal axe, Snotlout, carrying a mace, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, carrying personalized spears, and Fishlegs, carrying a stone hammer. Astrid, struggling to carry a plain looking axe, followed behind them slowly, an expression of doom on her face. Luckily, though, nobody has noticed her yet.
The group looked around, twisting their heads and their bodies to take in their new surroundings.
"This is great," Tuffnut grinned, "I'm hoping to get some serious burns."
"I'm hoping for some mauling," Ruffnut added, "Like, on my shoulder, or my lower back."
"Yep," Hiccup said, his tone somehow both bored and sarcastic at once, "Pain. Love it."
"Yeah, I know, right?" The kids turned to the owner of the grumbling voice, finding Astrid a little ways behind them, her expression a bit annoyed. "It's no fun unless you get a scar out of it."
"Aw, great, who let her in?" Tuffnut complained quite loudly. "OW!" He shouted, clutching his aching arm when Ruffnut suddenly gave him a rather hard punch. He turned to glare at her, and she simply returned the look, the two growling in each other's faces.
See? Ruffnut could be considered her fried.
Gobber approached them, either not hearing or just pretending to not hear Tuffnut's complaint. "Let's get started!" He bellowed, "The recruit who does best will get the honor of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village!"
Astrid gave him a startled look. She thought they were just training, not actually killing. She released a quiet sigh through her nose, attempting to calm her nerves. It should be okay; he said it would be the recruit who does the best, and she knew that wouldn't be her, thank the gods. For once, she was actually grateful she sucked at fieldwork.
"Um, Astrid already killed a dragon," Snotlout mocked, "Does that disqualify her or...? OW!" Snotlout cut himself off with a cry when Hiccup and Ruffnut simultaneously gave him a hard punch on each arm, and he clutched the aching spots with his hands, looking as if he was cold and trying to warm himself up.
He glared at Hiccup and Ruffnut, who merely shot him irritated looks while Tuffnut burst out laughing at the scene. Snotlout opened his mouth to say something - "OW!" - and Hiccup cut him off with another punch.
Astrid snorted a little, trying not to laugh along with Tuffnut at the scene. Fishlegs, it seemed, was simply ignoring them.
"Astrid." Astrid jumped, letting out a tiny, surprised squeak before turning to face Gobber. How does a huge man with a peg-leg walk that quietly? He placed his remaining hand on her shoulders, leading her toward the other recruits. "Don't worry. You're small and you're weak." Astrid shot him a look, which he promptly ignored. "It gives you an advantage! They'll see you as sick or insane, and go after the more Viking-like teens. Heh, heh." He laughed at his own joke, shoving her in line next to Fishlegs and Ruffnut, who pulled Astrid a bit closer.
He walked in front of them, reminding Hiccup of the way his father walked when addressing his men for battle. "Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight. The Deadly Nadder-"
Astrid immediately perked up, curious about the one she set free. She wondered how much she would actually learn about the Nadder, rather than just learning how to fight against it. Beside her, Fishlegs perked up as well, interrupted Gobber's speech.
"Speed 8, armor 16," He said.
"The Hideous Zippleback-"
"Plus 11 stealth, times two."
"The Monstrous Nightmare-"
"Firepower 15."
"The Terrible Terror-"
"Attack 8, venom 12."
"WILL YOU STOP THAT!" Gobber shouted before taking a deep breath, rolling his eyes a little. He suddenly grinned, placing his hand on the release lever of the cage he was next to, "And the Gronkle."
"Jaw strength 8," Fishlegs whispered, glancing at Astrid for a brief moment. She simply gave him an odd look before turning her attention back to Gobber. Hiccup, however, leaned over a little, whispering, "How is that useful right now?"
Fishlegs whispered back, quite bluntly, "It's not." Hiccup gave a small nod, an 'oh, I see' sort of look on his face, obviously amused by the answer.
Snotlout suddenly stepped forward, looking a bit panicked, "Whoa, whoa, wait! Aren't you gonna teach us first?"
"I believe in learning on the job," Gobber said flippantly. Hiccup held back a snort; he had learned that the hard way when he first began working at the smithy.
And then he unbarred the door.
Not even a second later, an earth colored Gronkle flew through the doors, slamming them into the walls in the process. It snorted and growled as it flew around, its wings reminding Astrid very much of a bee's. Everyone immediately scrambled, running out of the way as it flew by them. Unable to stop its momentum in time, the Gronkle slammed into the wall, going down for a brief moment before it scrambled back up, swallowing some rocks it had dislodged from the wall.
"Today is about survival!" Gobber shouted, "Quick, what's the first thing you're going to need?"
"A doctor," Hiccup said, his tone sarcastic despite his crouched, ready posture, his eyes never leaving the Gronkle's form.
"Plus 5 speed!" Fishlegs shouted, his voice panicked. Actually, that would be a nice thing to have when fighting a dragon.
"Um," Astrid stuttered, her eyes speedily glancing around the arena in a nervous fashion. She was at a disadvantage due to her lack of skills, and she really didn't want to get fried by a dragon because of it. "A shield...?"
"Shield! Go!"
Everyone immediately followed his orders, scrambling toward the shields. Hiccup grabbed a red one, with white designs painted through it. Snotlout grabbed one that looked very similar, only the red was white and the white was a dark brown. Astrid found a rather colorful shield, but she struggled to figure out how to put it on.
"The most important piece of equipment is your shield!" Gobber approached Astrid, irritantly grabbing her shield and forcing it on her arm. "If you must make a choice between a sword or a shield, take the shield!" He shoved her forward, making her release a noise of surprise.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut grabbed a shield with skulls and orange flames, starting a tug-of-war between the two.
"Get your hands off my shield!" Tuffnut shouted.
"There's, like, a million shields!" Ruffnut shouted back.
"Take that one, it has a flower on it," Tuffnut said flippantly, "Girls like flowers." Ruffnut, annoyed, snatched the shield from him, only smash it directly into his face.
"Oops," She said irritantly, holding the shield out toward him, "Now this one has blood on it."
They were so busy arguing that they didn't notice the approaching Gronkle until it shot a blast at them, shattering the shield in question, sending them both to the ground in a daze.
"Tuffnut, Ruffnut, you're out!"
"What?" The twins replied dazedly at once, slowly sitting up in confusion.
"Those shields are good for another thing; noise!" Gobber ordered, "Make lots of it to throw off a dragon's aim!"
Everyone immediately began banging their weapons against the metal center of their shields, creating a loud clanking noise, and the Gronkle began shaking its head in confusion, its eyes blinking rapidly.
"All dragons have a limited number of shots! How many does a Gronkle have?"
"Five...?" Snotlout shouted.
"No, six!" Fishlegs added.
"Correct, six! That's one for each of you!"
Fishlegs smiled proudly, the hand holding his shield raised. "I really like-" He was cut off by a blast from the Gronkle, knocking his shield straight from his arms.
"Fishlegs, out!"
It didn't seem Fishlegs cared very much; the second the blast took away his shield, he ran off screaming, his arms raised in the air in a panic, dropping his hammer in the process.
"Astrid!" Gobber bellowed when he saw her shield, the girl hiding behind a wooden stand. "Get in the there!" She hesitantly waddled out, but let out a surprised shout, immediately going back into her hiding place when the Gronkle let out a blast near her.
The Gronkle immediately turned its attention to Hiccup and Snotlout. Hiccup was in a crouch, ready to spring away at any second, while Snotlout stood behind him casually, not paying attention to the chaos going on around him.
"So, cous, I wondering if you wanted to come over sometime for some family catch up." Snotlout said. The cousins had a rather odd, yet amusing relationship. Some days, they got along just fine. Some days, Snotlout tried to impress his more skilled cousin, although that one didn't start until after Hiccup had actually obtained those skills and scared Snotlout into being at least a little bit respectful. Some days, they were even worse than the twins. It would appear it was one of the 'let's impress Hiccup' days. Hiccup, however, was paying no attention to him, his eyes fixed on the Gronkle.
"You could come by, and we could have a family work out or something," Snotlout continued, and Hiccup gave him an odd look before he cartwheeled away, his axe making a clanking noise when his hands hit the ground. Snotlout, still not paying attention, called after him, "I mean, you know, you look like you work out!"
The second the words left his mouth, the Gronkle fired, the blast, luckily catching his shield, knocking him back a few feet.
"Snotlout, you're done!"
Hiccup ended up near Astrid, who attempted to act casual. If she as going to get fried by a lava spewing dragon, she might as well be Viking-ish about it, right?
"So, I guess it's just you and me, huh?" She said, not noticing the way Hiccup's eyebrows lifted or how his eyes widened for a brief, nearly unnoticeable second before he straightened up.
"Nope, just you," He said quite casually, quickly jumping out of the way as the Gronkle let out another blast, catching Astrid's shield. It threw it off her arm, and she immediately tried to catch it as it rolled away.
"One shot left!"
Running after her shield, though, turned the Gronkle's attention on her, and it immediately flew after her.
"Astrid!" Hiccup shouted, his tone both worried and annoyed. Worried that she would get hurt; annoyed that she would be stupid enough to draw the Gronkles attention towards her. Ruffnut stood a little straighter as well, her expression concerned.
The Gronkle cut her off, backing her into a wall. Astrid released panicked breaths, the Gronkle right in her face. She squeezed her eyes shut when the glow of a flame at the back of the Gronkle's throat began glowing brighter and brighter. Gobber and Hiccup suddenly appeared, though, and the man used his hook hand to grab the Gronkle's mouth, yanking it away just as it released its shot, and Hiccup shoved Astrid down, and she covered her head with her hands as he covered her, the blast exploding a few feet above their heads.
"And that's six," Gobber said, his voice slightly strained as he struggled with the Gronkle, "Go back to bed, ya overgrown sausage!"
Gobber re-barred the cage once the Gronkle was back inside, "You'll get another chance, don't you worry." He turned his attention to the class. "Remember, a dragon will always," He turned his attention to Astrid and Hiccup, "Always go for the kill."
Gobber lifted Astrid upright by her arm before leading the class away. Ruffnut glanced back at her, her eyes a bit worried, before Tuffnut grabbed her arm, dragging her away to follow Gobber and Snotlout.
Astrid glanced at the smoldering wall behind her, her mind drawn back to the Nadder. She glanced over at Hiccup for a brief moment, catching sight of his thoughtful face, and she wondered what he was thinking of, and he suddenly glanced up at her, making her start a little in surprise.
"You okay?"
"Oh, um… yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."
Why were they spared?
Okay, so like I said, this chapter's mostly canon and doesn't really delve too deeply into their thoughts, but I am following the plot of the movie, so, as I said before, canon scenes will be used.
Also, that second Deadly Nadder is going to play a part in the story, though it's going to be small, so please don't expect any huge surprises from him.
And please don't complain to me about how Astrid isn't competitive enough; I am keeping her competitive, but this is a competition she wants absolutely no part in, so she's not really going to get too competitive about it.
Okay, there's chapter three; I hope you enjoyed it :)