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Jarin and the Riders of Berk

Chapter 3 – How To Feed Your Nightmare

The Riders of Berk and many volunteers worked long into the night in a grueling process of cleaning the wounds on the Monstrous Nightmare that had washed up on the shore of one of Berk's out-islands early the previous afternoon. Nobody, not even the battle-hardened warriors who offered their help could believe the amount of cruelty this creature had suffered. On further examination, it had been chained up and was so thin that there was no telling how long it had been since it had last eaten. These conditions would make training it very difficult. Extreme care would have to be taken.

Jarin scrubbed his hands for the third time. There seemed to be no getting rid of the putrid stench that came from the infected wounds where someone had literally scraped the scales off the dragon's body. "Why would anyone do such a thing?" he asked.

"There's only one reason that makes sense," said Fishlegs as he also scrubbed his hands. "Dragon scale armor."

Jarin nodded. "I thought of that. But to do something like that to a dragon while it is alive is more monstrous than any Dragon we ever fought. Aside from the Red Death, of course."

"They didn't feed him!" Snotlout growled. "They kept him chained. I even thought I saw whip-marks on the exposed hide! They WHIPPED him after they ripped his scales off!" It wasn't often that he got this worked up over things. But he felt justified. "If I catch the troll that did this, I'll break him in half with... with... with my FACE!"

Jarin raised an eyebrow and looked at Snotlout. "How do you break someone in half with your face?"

Snotlout fixed Jarin with a stare that was sharper than hookfang's teeth. "Don't cross me, New Guy, or I may just show you."

"Will you knock it off?!" Astrid shouted as she approached, slugging Snotlout in the arm. "We've gotten the dragon clean, but he's not improving. He needs food."

Jarin scratched his head. "How do we feed an unconscious Nightmare?"

Hiccup entered at that point and chimed in to answer. "We force feed it. After I got done talking with my Dad, I started puzzling out the problem. Gobber's working on what I came up with. It'll be tricky, but it should work."

He laid out several pages of detailed drawings of a machine that had a long tube attached to it and what looked like a bellows used at a forge.

"We grind up a whole lot of fish, mix it with water, and put it in this. We shove the tube down the dragon's throat and into his stomach. We work the bellows which will pump the goop down the tube."

"That sounds disgusting," said Tuffnut

"Yeah... just like him" said Ruffnut, pointing at Tuff.

Tuff nodded in agreement and realized what she just said. "Hey!" he groaned, and then kicked his siter in the knee.

The others went back and forth while the others ignored them. It wasn't like they were contributing to the matter at hand anyway. Hiccup explained the operation of the machine's valve. It had to be turned one way when pulling air into the bellows, and turned the other way when pushing it into the tank.

Fishlegs raised his hand and when Hiccup nodded to him, he offered his input. "We want to pump some of the fish out the end of the tube before we shove it down his throat. If we blow air into his stomach, he may get sick and puke it up. You know... the way babies get sick when they nurse too quickly and swallow air?"

Hiccup nodded. "Good suggestion." He'd been puked on by babies he had held right after they finished nursing. He could only imagine what would happen if something as large as a Monstrous Nightmare were to lose its lunch. In this case, not only would it be totally disgusting, but it would defeat the whole purpose of the effort they were going through. The dragon needed nourishment if it was going to survive.

About an hour later, Gobber came rolling the contraption into the academy, and everyone got ready to do their part. The Nightmare had undergone a series of convulsions causing it to now require repositioning so the tube could be shoved down its throat. Thank goodness that it was unconscious and too weak to voluntarily move. That was about the only thing that made this easier.

They managed to get the Nightmare's neck stretched out as long and straight as they could. Hiccup handled the tube.

"Alright... Pump slowly to fill the tube."

Jarin turned turned the valve to the right and squeezed the bellows, then turned it to the left and pulled the handles apart to draw in more air. This was repeated about five times, and stinky slimy fish-meat sltudge squirted out the end of the tube. He held position.

Gobber and Snotlout forced the Nightmare's mouth open and a piece of iron with padded notches was wedged in there to keep it open.

Hiccup approached with the tube and took a deep breath. "Okay... We're going in." He began forcing the tube down the dragon's throat.

The Monstrous Nightmare shuddered and produced a pittiful whine, like a dog, but much lower pitched.

"Sorry, buddy," Hiccup said as he continued to work the tubed down the Nightmare's throat. Then he met resistance and after looking at how much tube was left he determined that it had reached the stomach... Time to feed the beastie. He looked over at Jarin and nodded.

Jarrin began the pumping process again, and kept it up until the tank was empty, the final squeeze coming very easy indicating that there was no resistance from fish goop in the tube. He stopped.

"What now?" Astrid asked.

Fishlegs responded. "That's about all we can do. We need to let him rest and hope that he begins regaining his strength. First thing in the morning, we need to cover the cage roof. He's just this side of death as it is. If he is left in full exposure of the sunlight, he'll be pushed over to the other side,"

So that was that... After receiving much gratitude from the Academy regulars, volunteers from the village returned to their homes for much needed rest. Then the academy regulars began straightening everything up and even they began wandering off to bed. First thing in the morning would come all too soon.

Jarin stood facing the Nightmare with a serious expression. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm here for you buddy. I'll help you however I can."

The dragon took a deep breath and sighed.

Astrid approached Jarin. "You going home?"

Jarin shook his head. "He needs me. I'm staying."

She smiled at him. "I figured you would say that. So I brought you some blankets to bundle up in. Try to get some rest."

Jarin looked over at her and smiled back. "Thanks. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome," she said, mounting up on Stormfly. With a light tap to the Nadder's side with her booted feet, they took to the air.

Jarin stretched out on one blanket and covered himself with another. Things were going to be touch and go for a while. And then they were going to turn rough. He needed to do this. He genuinely felt that this dragon needed him... and that he needed it.