Hello my fans. Let me just say how sorry I am for missing last week and failing to post a new chapter. I was caught up in school. So to make it up to you, I decided to make this chapter twice as long. I hope you enjoy. And since it is going to be long, it makes it twice as hard for me to see mistakes, so please forgive me for the minor errors. If you happen to notice big errors, please let me know. My eyes are starting to hurt from staring at a computer screen for hours! Enjoy
Chris ran at Hiccup at full speed, raising his right arm to strike at Hiccup, with one of his swords at hand. Hiccup anticipated his move and swerved to the right. He quickly put distance between himself.
Chris stood back up, eyeing Hiccup. The latter twirled Inferno in his hand, judging where Chris's next move would be. Hiccup, honestly, was nervous about this. He never was one for fighting; he was more of a talk-it-out type of guy. But still, he was tired of always having Toothless to come to his aid whenever he was in some type of peril. He wanted to at least protect and defend Toothless whenever he could; it was only fair. Plus, he was chief now. He needed to up his fighting skills. He didn't need to be the best at fighting-although he would never measure up to Astrid in terms of fighting- but he at least had to know how to defend himself if he ever was pushed back into a corner.
Chris, on the other hand, was calm and collective. He noticed this was going to be a quick match, considering Hiccup's size. He was actually planning on taking it easy with the chief of Berk. He couldn't just outright humiliate him in front of his subjects, at least not right away. So Chris decided to at least stretch out the spar. He swiftly approached Chris and swiped at him with the sword in his left hand.
Hiccup blocked the attack and ducked, narrowly missing the other sword that came his way. Hiccup failed to see the knee aiming straight for his face, and was too late to react as said body part crashed into him, drawing out an 'oomph' from Hiccup. The chief of Berk was sent backwards but quickly rolled upright and retracted Inferno back into the grip of the blade, and idea forming in his mind. Chris was taken aback by this but before he could gather his thoughts, Hiccup raced towards him. Chris instinctively attacked him and heaved his sword in Hiccup's direction, planning to slam the hilt against him. As Chris did so, he failed to notice Hiccup pushing a button on Inferno, which released some type of greenish gas. Hiccup saw that Chris was about to attack him and dodged to his right to avoid the attack, but Chris quickly swung his right leg back in a 180 degree spin, tripping Hiccup. Hiccup again fell to the ground with an 'oomph'. As he lay there, seemingly defeated, he looked up at Chris, who sighed and shook his head. "Don't make such sloppy moves", Chris commented as he pointed his sword at Hiccup, claiming victory.
Hiccup smiled, "I wouldn't necessarily call Zippleback gas sloppy", and as he finished his statement, Hiccup pressed yet another button on Inferno, which sparked up the green gas.
Chris's eyes went wide as he heard what type of gas it was. He tried to escape it, but was too slow to escape the ignition of the gas. As the sound of a small explosion filled the clearing, Chris was thrown back a good 10 feet. He struggled to stand on his feet. He was shocked, to say the least. He never would have expected that! His train of thought was soon interrupted as he heard the sounds of flames igniting yet again, and looked up to see the sword elongating to its full length and Hiccup charging him. 'He gots guts, I'll give him that, but..', Chris thought as he evaluated his current situation. 'Alright, my swords are out of reach, but I can get to them..just not know. I can't really disarm him, or I will get burned by his sword. Damn, that Hiccup is smart. There has got to be a weakness of sort', Chris surmised. And as Hiccup came even closer, Chris spotted the Achilles' heel. The middle of the blade, or the fuller, was hollow. 'He must've made it that way so it could be lightweight and easier for him to carry', Chris thought. He smirked,'bingo'.
As this happened, Tenor would sneak glances at Windwalker for a certain amount of time before she would turn in his direction. Then he would suddenly act like nothing happened until she turned back. Windwalker just disregarded it, and resumed watching the two humans. Tenor, thought that he would go unnoticed, as everyone else was watching the spar. However, he did not realize that Serenity had been watching him from the side of Aurora.
As Hiccup was about to land a blow on Chris's back, he rolled out of the way and sprang back up on his feet. Hiccup continued his flaming barrage. All Chris could do at that time, was dodge and step precisely back with each swipe and swing of Inferno. Without Hiccup knowing, Chris was leading Hiccup to where his swords lay on the ground. The flames danced with each twirl from Hiccup.
As soon as Chris was close enough, he deflected Hiccup's next attack, and pushed him backwards. He then picked one of his swords up with his foot, tossed it into the air, and caught it with his right hand. Hiccup was stunned for a brief moment, until he realized Chris's plan all along. Chris grinned and started his counter-assault on the chief of Berk.
Hiccup swatted Chris with Inferno, trying to create distance between them. Chris spun and ducked out of the way of Hiccup's attack. Then, Hiccup brought his sword down upon Chris. The latter, although, wanted Hiccup to do that. When the blade came down at the right angle, Chris precisely speared Inferno right in the middle, and hastily drew back his own sword, effectively whipping Inferno out of Hiccup's hand, disarming him.
Chris spun around and pointed his sword at Hiccup, ending the spar once and for all. "I will say that blade of yours is a nice piece of work, but it has one flaw. The fuller is missing, but you made up for it with fire and Zippleback gas. Still, if I can disarm you, then they can disarm you. But overall, not bad…. for a chief", Hiccup commented. Hiccup nodded his head and went to retrieve his sword.
Chris turned to face the group. "Thank you all, well most of you, for showing me how you fight. Although you would easily be killed by one of the Song soldiers, there is still hope for you! I can whip you up into shape based on my personal assessments of you!", Chris announced.
The riders on the other hand wore scowls on their faces.
"Anyways, what know?", Valka inquired.
Chris turned to regard her, "Now, we wait. I have an inside man who gives me information about what the Song is up to."
Eret huffed, "An inside man? How did you get a man to betray his own nation?"
"Well, he didn't betray his nation. He was never apart of it. He just so happened to be a farmer north of here. He told me all he had was his farm and his family: a wife and daughter. He lived a happy, modest life….until the Song dominated that region. They destroyed his village, burned all his crops, and killed his family before his eyes. Then, they made him a slave. But, as time progressed, he learned how to defend himself and became a rebellious slave. Some guards wanted to kill him, but one commanding officer liked his enthusiasm, and made him a foot soldier. When I confronted him in a raid years ago, he didn't attack me and actually begged me to kill him. I thought it would be better to have a spy on the enemy's team so I can get intel on how to stop the Song once and for all, stop all the bloodshed, and win the dragon-Song war", Chris replied.
"Well, that is a really smart move to make", Eret agreed.
"Wow, I must say, you have exceeded all my expectations I had of you and you make me proud to call you my son", Aurora smiled.
Chris blushed. Even though he was separated from his family and had to grow up on his own, his family still had the ability to make him feel flustered. "Th-thanks", Chris grinned. "I used a mixture of the fighting skills you, dad, and uncle Tenor taught me, along with some techniques I have learned over the years. I'm practically unstoppable", Chris boasted.
"Really, unstoppable now?", Tenor scoffed.
"Well, I haven't met one person who could stop me", Chris added
"How about dragon?", Re interjected.
"Come on dad. When you first met me hours ago, you saw me spar with 3 dragons. Powerful ones at that."
"Well, they weren't your dad and I", Tenor smirked.
Chris wasn't that far behind and it clicked in his head. "Come on guys, I don't wanna hurt you", Chris warned, putting his hands up.
"What do you say son? Care to spar with your dad and uncle?", Re challenged.
"I don't want you guys to be injured, especially at a time like-", Chris started.
"Ha, like you will even get a blow on me", Tenor bragged.
"Fine, have it your way. Just note that I will not go easy on you!", Chris heeded.
"What is it with males and them trying to prove they are the best at everything?", Windwalker asked as she padded up to the queen.
Aurora just shook her head and yawned, " I have no idea. And I most certainly don't want to be involved".
Windwalker just shrugged and walked back to her original spot. She then lay down waiting for the battle to be over.
Tenor lined up with Re on one side, shifting into a battle stance. Re, underestimating his son, smiled at him. Chris on the other hand had a somber look etched onto his features. "Since I am facing you two, I will not take it easily on you. Don't size me up too quickly, dad and uncle. What you witnessed earlier today wasn't me at my fullest. I suggest that you give it your all when sparring with me", Chris warned raising his swords into a battle position.
Tenor and Re simply nodded. A dead silence fell upon the group as they waited to see which side would make the first move. The party didn't have to wait too long though, as Chris swiftly besieged the duo royal dragons. Tenor moved first and charged at Chris, keeping his body low to the ground in an attempt to decrease wind resistance. Chris sidestepped, dodging Tenor's claws, and sliding under Tenor's right wing. While doing so, he extended the sword in his right hand, grazing Tenor's armor. Tenor immediately halted and looked behind his back. His armor now loosely hung off of his back spikes. Tenor realized that Chris sliced through the leather holding his armor together at the side. Now his protection simply made any movement difficult for him.
Chris smirked in victory, but soon he frowned as he heard movement behind him. He forgot about his dad! Chris quickly dropped to the floor and held his swords out in front of him, as a makeshift shield. Sparks flew as claws met steel. Re quickly flew low over him and went to Tenor's side, helping him remove the armor. Chris realized that he needed to catch them off guard, if he ever had a chance of successfully defeating his uncle and dad. He got off his feet and rushed his family members.
No sooner had Re removed the last of Tenor's armor, had they seen a glint of steel out of the corner of their eyes. They quickly broke away as Chris came between them. Chris then started swinging his swords around in a mad blitz, trying to find the leather that connect his dad's armor. Re, on the other hand, realized his son wasn't messing around and now took this spar seriously. He jumped, spat fire, and clawed at Chris in an attempt to subdue him. Chris on the other hand expected such from a dragon. But doing so, resulted in having his back turned to Tenor, who took full advantage of that, and swiped his tail at an unsuspecting Chris.
Chris yipped in surprise at the unexpected attack and was launched a good 15 feet away. However, he quickly rolled back up and charged the duo yet again. Tenor saw this and fired several plasma blasts at Chris, who easily outmaneuvered them. Tenor figured Chris would do this and jumped Chris, pinning him to the floor. Chris, though, was not going to be taking down so easily. He briskly threw his swords to the ground and punched certain spots on the forepaw Tenor had pinned him with. Tenor suddenly felt no feeling in his left forepaw and fell to the side, unaccustomed to the unbalance in his forepaws.
Chris rapidly rolled out of the way and punched Tenor in specific areas on his left hind leg, immobilizing him. Again, Tenor felt his leg go limp after Chris' attack. He soon started to panic, not knowing what was going on.
Chris hastily retrieved his swords and rushed Re. The Draconian King flew to his left and shot fire at Chris. He avoided the fire and put distance between them. "What did you do to Tenor? He can't move", Re asked as he observed his defeated friend.
Chris smiled, "I'm surprised that you don't know, considering the Draconian books you have back at home in the library, specifically the anatomy books. You dragons have a lot of pressure points". Chris then did something unexpected. He connected his swords at the pommels, and they interlocked with a click. "It's time to move this along. I told you to not underestimate me, and look where that got Tenor. Don't worry, Tenor will regain feeling in about 35 minutes", Chris concluded.
Re then became aware of how his son surpassed him, and that couldn't have made him happier. Re grinned and crouched low, "Your mom couldn't have said it better. I am joyful that you surpassed any bars that I have ever dreamed of setting for you. I am proud to be your father". And with that said, Re flew towards him, beginning another attack.
Meanwhile, Toothless looked on anxiously at the sparring match. He really didn't want his Draconian friends coming out of this hurt. Sure, his opponent was the son of the king and queen of the dragons' homeland. Sure, he would fight in the name of dragons. Sure, he would protect his fellow winged reptiles, but he had just met this human. Even though Chris accepted them with open arms, Toothless did not trust him. At least not completely. He just barely met the guy, not 8 hours ago! This, however, did not go unnoticed by Windwalker.
"What's got your tail in a bunch? They are just sparring. Nothing bad is going to happen", Windwalker scoffed.
Toothless gave her an annoyed look and huffed. "Don't worry about me, okay? Unlike you, I actually worry about what happens to my friends", Toothless shot back.
Windwalker narrowed her eyes into slits at that comment. "I'm sorry, what was that?", Windwalker asked again in anger.
"You are a Night Fury, you heard what I said perfectly", Toothless countered.
"You need to calm down. Not even a day here and you are already making assumptions about me. You don't even know me!". At that moment Re fell to the ground in defeat with Chris standing on top of him, with his interlocked swords raised like a spear, claiming victory. Windwalker turned her head back to Toothless, "Look, the battle is over, and no one is hurt. The only one you should worry about is your rider, Hiccup. Always so paranoid that your precious Hiccup will get into danger. Then again, if I had such a weak, living thing on my back, I'd be worried, too", Windwalker chuckled.
That got the rest of the dragons' attention, including Serenity and Chris, who can understand the dragons. Hearing growls, the Vikings' turned to see what the commotion was about. Chris got off of his dad, who quickly rolled right-side up, and both looked at the bickering Nightfuries. Toothless stood up and growled. Windwalker remained laying down and just smirked at him. "Don't even start with me, Night Fury. I have other important things to focus on than some petty quarrel", Windwalker dismissed as she laid her head down.
Toothless roared in outrage and pounced at Windwalker. Windwalker quickly rolled on her back and pushed her hind paws up as Toothless landed on her, deflecting Toothless' attack and sending him into a nearby tree. Toothless hit the tree with a thud and landed on his back. As soon as the stars stopped swimming in his vision, he charged up a plasma blast, but was too late as Windwalker pinned him against the tree and wrapped her claws around his throat, a slight movement away from ending the male dragon's life.
Opening his eyes, Toothless faced the cold, golden stare of Windwalker. "I told you once, and now I have to tell you again: do not start something you cannot finish. Less of course, you want to die in front of your friends".
Hiccup immediately approached the two, raising his hands in front of Windwalker to show he is of no threat. "Get back, Hiccup. She's dangerous", Toothless warned, although Hiccup perceived it as a series of short, loud roars.
"Have you forgotten we are of the same species you ignorant hypocrite. You are just as dangerous as I am", Windwalker seethed.
Chris approached them on the other side. "Windwalker, let this go. There is no need for unwanted bloodshed", he said calmly.
"I wouldn't say unwanted. He provoked me!", Windwalker exclaimed.
"You called my rider weak!"
"You indirectly called me heartless based on prejudice first. And I told you to stop worrying so much. What did I do wrong?!"
"I don't care whoever started it. Let my friend go, Windwalker. Or else we will leave this place, and you will be declared an enemy of Berk and Draconia, and you will have to worry about 2 wars instead of one", Re asserted.
Windwalker glared at Toothless for a bit longer, then released his throat. "As much as I want to put you in your place, this war is my top priority. I need reinforcements... including you. Be grateful that your friend saved you", Windwalker growled. With that, she took wing and sped off to an unknown area.
Toothless got up and approached Re. "Thank you, my king, for saving me", Toothless bowed.
Re gave Toothless a hard look. "Is it true you called her heartless?", the king inquired.
"No, my king, I did not say that… I said that I care about my friends, unlike her", Toothless replied, getting back up.
"And on what grounds do you have the right to say that?"
"Well, I...I-", Toothless stuttered.
"As I expected, you have no proof that she is anything of the sort. I understand where you are coming from. You do not trust her, and I don't blame you. But don't act on such paranoia. You are an alpha. A wise one at that. A judgmental leader is never a good leader. You know what you have to do to set things right. And I expect that you do it right away, once she gets back", Re stated.
Toothless sighed in defeat, knowing the King was right.
"Anyways, uh, how about we all go inside and cool off", Chris suggested, trying to ease the awkwardness of the ambiance.
"Well, what about Tenor? We can't just leave him there", Aurora said.
"Don't worry, I will keep him company until he can walk again", Serenity replied.
"Are you sure?", Chris anxiously questioned.
"Yeah, I am fine. No need to worry. It's only gonna be for 35 minutes, like you said, right? I mean, I healed your dragons. I currently have nothing else to do, so I might as well keep Tenor company", Serenity reassured.
"Okay, be safe", Chris noted, giving Serenity a quick smile before heading to Re.
"Do you mind if you can give me a lift back inside the nest?"
"Sure", Re responded as he lowered his back, allowing his son to climb up on the saddle. Soon, it was only Serenity and Tenor all alone in the clearing.
"So, anything on your mind Serenity?", Tenor asked.
"Nothing important really", Serenity stated.
"Are you sure? Anything at all?"
"No". Serenity then sat down and leaned against Tenor's side.
"Okay", Tenor sighed as he enjoyed the view. One way or another, he was gonna find a way to get that specific answer out of her.
A few minutes went by before a light bulb lit up in his head. "Man, I am so happy that Chris came back into our lives again. I thought he was gone for good, but I am glad I was proven wrong. What do you think Serenity?", Tenor questioned.
Serenity, in response, sighed and smiled. "Yeah, I am overjoyed that he is back in my life again. And now that he's back, I will never let him go, even if it means going to war. Although I wish there wasn't a war to begin with!", Serenity cried out
Tenor's smile softened, "I know you don't like wars, but this is something we have to do. Not just for Chris' sake, but for the rest of the world's sake as well".
"I know. It's just, Chris means so much to me. He was my first human friend on Draconia. We always had each other's back. Then, when he was lost at sea, my heart completely shattered. I never really knew loss, until that day. But I had to pick up the pieces. I had to gather strength, when I believed there wasn't any. I had to be happy, for Chris' sake. He wouldn't want me to be sulking all the time. So I made a promise that I would save as many dragons as I can. Because I don't want anybody to feel the pain of loss, that I felt for the past 10 years of my life".
"You care that much about him?"
"Well yeah. He was basically my partner-in-crime. We knew everything about each other; our likes and dislikes, looked out for each other. He always seemed to know what my next move was gonna be, and vice versa. We have a special bond and I am happy that after 10 years of being separated, the bond is still intact. Honestly, he is just amazing. Like, whenever I am around him, I can't describe it, but I feel...well, I feel...different. At first, that feeling was small. But now, the feeling is stronger. The bond is stronger as well, because of it, I think", Serenity sighed, looking off into the distance.
"I think I know what that feeling is"
Serenity tilted her head in confusion.
"...It's love"
Serenity tensed up at the mention of the word. "L-love?"
"Yes. You love him, don't you?"
"Well, I… I haven't felt that kind of love before. How do I know it's real? What am I suppose to do?"
"This is where it can get complicated. Confess it to him"
"WHAT?! Confess? No, I won't do that. How do I know he feels the same way? What if he rejects me?"
"Trust me, he won't. I can tell by the way he looks at you that he feels the same way. And truthfully, how else will you know? Even if he were to reject you- which I am sure he won't- it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all".
"Thanks, Tenor. I...I will try. But I am holding you to your words!", Serenity called out.
"What do you mean?", Tenor asked, not liking where this was going.
"You know what I mean. Don't act like I didn't see you eyeing Windwalker during the sparring matches", Serenity smirked.
Although Tenor didn't show it, he blushed under his black scales. "I-I don't know what you are talking about", Tenor dismissed.
"Oh, come on. There is no need to hide it, Tenor. I mean, if you can figure out my love life, it is only fair that I figure out yours", Serenity beamed.
"Fine, alright. I may or may not like Windwalker, okay? I'm not certain it's love, as I have just met her, but I… cannot deny I feel...something towards her. I swear by the god Draco himself, if you so much as tell anyone else about this, I'll-", Tenor threatened.
"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. But let's make each other a promise. We will both attempt to find out if our respective crushes feeling something towards us, deal?"
Tenor exhaled heavily, "Deal".
The rest of the 35 minutes was spent with the two playing small games or chatting about the surrounding nature. Once Tenor regained his feeling in his forepaw and hind leg, he took Serenity back into the mountain nest again. He dropped her off where the injured dragons were.
"Go check on your patients. Make sure they are doing well. I will be back".
"And where exactly are you going?", Serenity simpered, half-knowing what he was about to say.
"I am going to find and talk to her. I want her to at least get to know me before she hates me", Tenor chuckled.
"How can anybody resist a handsome fellow like yourself?", Serenity replied.
"I guess we'll find out". With nothing else to be said, Tenor took flight and headed out of the mountain nest, determined to find and converse with Windwalker in the immense forest.