Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Hiccup was woken up the next morning by Gobber slamming his hook down on her desk. She looked around blearily before her eyes settled on Gobber. She groaned before she put her head back down on the desk.

"Up and at 'em! We got a busy day ahead of us!"

"Can't I just sleep in for once?"

"You slept through breakfast hours, I call that sleeping in! Now get up and get dressed, we have a busy day ahead at the forge, no breaks today!"

"No breaks?" Hiccup whines.

"If you were up the entire night, that's your problem! Now I expect you at the forge in ten minutes! No excuses!"

"Fine!" Hiccup slowly stood up and stretched and her back and neck made a few popping noises that Gobber cringed at before he left so she could get ready. It didn't take her long to get ready, she made sure that she grabbed her charcoal stick and her journal before she left and when she exited she saw how bright it was outside. At least she got more sleep than she normally did but today was still going to be a long day.

...

It was an especially long day in the forge, they had to finish fixing all of the weapons that were destroyed in the raid and then after they were finished with that they started on the troughs so the fire brigade could stop the fires quicker and less damage occurred. Some of the villagers had already grabbed wood and made sure that the planks would be useable, not all of the pieces were perfect but they would work. It helped that some houses were smaller than others and so the smaller troughs could be used. It also meant that the families with a higher status would get their houses protected before those with less.

Gobber and Hiccup worked until the sky was pitch black and the moon was high in the sky. They only had half of the troughs done and they probably would've kept working if Stoick hadn't come to grab Hiccup. It was nearly midnight and Stoick always liked to make sure that Hiccup got a decent amount of rest but he did claim it was because many villagers were complaining about Gobber's out-of-tune singing. Gobber had a witty comment in reply but Stoick sighed and told Gobber that enough was enough and that there was still no luck on finding the Nightfury so most of the village would be leaving early tomorrow and the day after that dragon training would officially commence.

The walk back to the chief's hut was a silent one and once they were inside Hiccup freshened up with the small wash basin in her room and tossed the water out her window when she was done before she changed into her nightgown once her head hit her pillow she was out.

...

A few hours later and Hiccup was woken by a violent nightmare. She looked out her small window and saw that the moon hadn't shifted a whole bunch from when she last saw it and the sun wasn't even close to rising so she figured it was about two in the morning. Which means she got less than two hours of sleep. It would be okay though as she's run off of less before. She changes into a fresh set of clothes before she sits down at her desk and lights one of her candles so she can see. She then opens up her journal and starts to sketch Dagur. She had missed him after all of these months and she was excited to see him again. She was also excited to be his wife.

Her drawings of Dagur were very detailed, more detailed than what one would expect considering how long it's been since they last saw one another. She really missed Dagur and she knew that he felt the same way. She would see him soon and it would all be worth the wait. She was happy that she was spending the rest of her life with Dagur over anyone else. A small part of her wished that she was older but she was also excited to get off of the island and into a new adventure and away from the people that despised her as well.

It was a few hours later when Hiccup was stirred from her thoughts and drawings by Gobber and her father. Stoick told her that he was leaving and they wished farewells to one another. Gobber told Stoick 'good luck' before he told Hiccup it was time to head to the forge and she gets up and puts her drawings of Dagur away in her lockbox. One of the pages flies away and lands at Gobber's foot.

"Dreaming of loverboy are we?" Hiccup hurriedly scrambles to pick up the page but Gobber gets to it first and holds it out of her reach. "This is surprisingly detailed considering you haven't seen him in eight months unless you know something I don't." Gobber raised his eyebrow at that.

"No, we haven't seen each other since the annual chief's meeting. The peace treaty was canceled this year because it's only four months before the wedding and they didn't need to make a big show of signing a treaty when a marriage is taking place and both tribes are going all out on that." Hiccup awkwardly shifts her weight. "Can I please have my drawing back?"

"Fine, here you go! Now let's get going!"

Hiccup takes back her drawing and puts it away, ensuring the lock clicks on her box before following Gobber. It would be another long day in the forge for the two of them.

...

Hiccup and Goober were in the forge the whole day and into the next morning. When Gobber realized that it was daylight again, he dismissed Hiccup to freshen up and then meet him at the dragon-killing arena. Hiccup heads home and takes a cold bath because the longer she took, the worse trouble she'd be in. When she's done she quickly braids her wet hair and changes into her second-to-last clean change of clothes.

She rushed to the training arena when she was done and all of the teens were already inside along with Gobber. She stayed up top away from everyone and everything but she made sure that Gobber spotted her. He was still in the same change of clothes as Gobber hated wash days. It wasn't until Stoick held him down for one that he'd take one.

"Welcome to dragon training!" Gobber yells to the still slightly groggy teens.

"No turning back now," Astrid and Asmund mutter under their breaths. The arena itself is a bit intimidating and a bit early but the excitement overpowers everything else and the Berkian twins are the first to break the silence.

"I hope I get some serious burns!" Tuffnut tells them excitedly.

"I'm hoping for some mauling, like on my shoulder or lower back."

"Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it," Delilah agrees.

"Yes, because I absolutely love pain and you all do as well," Hiccup mutters sarcastically. "It's exactly why most of you go to Gothi for something as simple as a splinter." She rolls her eyes at their attitudes. Of course, Gobber just so happened to see her mumbling under her breath and the small flicker of an eye roll.

"Hiccup! Mind telling them what they're working towards?!"

That was when the other teens noticed Hiccup.

"Oh great, who let her in?" Tuffn't bemoans.

"She's not here to report back to Dagur, is she?" Gunhilde asks.

"You shouldn't have much to worry about unless you're that much of a failure at fighting. She tells that boy of hers most everything. Why else do you think they're always disappearing together?"

"Everything?" Speedifist asks.

Hiccup rolls her eyes, "Can we get on with this?"

"Yes! Tell them Hiccup."

Hiccup sighs before she repeats in a monotone voice what the teens will win and hopefully accomplish at the end of training. "The recruit who does the best will win his or her first dragon in front of the entire village. Not only is this a great honor to show your tribe but also the other tribe present how great of a warrior you are."

"It's also best to get all of the embarrassment out now before the other tribes show up and watch you with a scrutinous eye. We don't need embarrassments in either tribe! You're here to become better warriors and prove your worth to not only your families and tribes but to the other tribes! If our young ones are weak then we're showing the other tribes that we are weak and we are anything but weak! Understand?"

The teens all shout an understood in return and Gobber continues. "Good. Now that, that's settled let's get started. Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight! The Deadly Nadder!". Gobber walks around the arena and stops at each dragons cage as he speaks about them.

Fishlegs starts to mumble excitedly under his breath with dragon facts. "Speed: eight; Armor: sixteen." Everyone around him gets annoyed with the exception of Frode who would probably be doing the same thing if he knew his peers wouldn't kill him for being such a dork and weirdo for knowing more facts about the dragons than fighting techniques.

"The Hideous Zippleback!"

"Plus eleven stealth times two."

"The Monstrous Nightmare!"

"Firepower: fifteen."

"The Terrible Terror!"

"Attack: eight; Venom: twelve!"

"WILL YOU STOP THAT?! And... the Gronckle!"

Fishlegs then whispers, "Jaw strength: eight."

Gobber then looks up to Hiccup who is at the lever for the Gronkle cage that holds two of them. Everyone sees the look and just where Hiccup is and they all look nervous, even the older teens.

"Whoa, whoa, wait! Aren't you gonna teach us first?!" Snotlout questions nervously.

"I believe in learning on the job." As Gobber said that Hiccup also said the same thing in a normal speaking voice, copying Gobber exactly. She also pulls the lever as soon as he's done talking. All of the teens scramble away from the two Gronkles.

The Gronkles immediately go towards the rock pile in the arena and eat some hurriedly before they start blasting the teens. That's also when Gobber starts using this as a teaching moment. "Today is about survival. If you get blasted...you're dead!Quick! What's the first thing you're going to need?"

"A doctor?" Hiccup sarcastically asks as she's leaning against the lever. Waiting for when Gobber tells her to use it to close the dragons' pen again.

"Plus five speed!" Fishlegs calls out.

"A shield!" Astrid, Anders, Asmund, Delilah, and Gunhild call out.

"Shields! Go! Your most important piece of equipment is your shield! If you must make a choice between a sword or a shield, take the shield!"

All of the teens go for a shield that's either propped against one of the walls or in the center of the ring. Everyone finds one easily, the Berkian twins however decide to grab the same shield and begin to fight over it. While that's happening, one of the Gronkles is chasing after Fishlegs before it changes targets.

"Getyour hands off my shield!" Tuffnut yells trying to pull the shield away from his sister.

"There's like a million shields!" Ruffnut rebuttals.

"Take that one, it has a flower on it. Girls like flowers." As Tuffnut gestures with his head, Ruffnut gets the upper hand and grabs the shield from him and hits him before offering it up again.

"Oops, now this one has blood on it."

Tuffnut tries to grab the shield from Ruff once more and started fighting again. It's also what attracted the attention of one of the Gronkles and it fired a blast at the twins. Luckily it only hit the shield but it also resulted in them sitting out for the rest of the training for the day as being blasted represented being dead.

"Ruff, Tuff, you're out!"

"What?" The dazed twins ask.

"Those shields are good for another thing: noise! Make lots of it to throw off a dragon's aim!" They all start to band on their shields with their weapon of choice and it disorients both of them. "All dragons have a limited number of shots. How many does a Gronckle have?" Gobber quizzes.

"Five!" Snotlout calls out.

"No, six!" Fishlegs yells waving up his shield arm.

"Correct, six! That's one for almost each of you!" The other Gronkle blasts Fishleg's still raised arm. It causes him to clutch his arm due to the force of it being shot and the fact that the blast had singed his arm a bit. "Fishlegs, out!"

On the other side of the arena, Snotlout was flirting with Astrid, Delilah, and Gunhild. "So, anyway I'm moving into my parents' basement. You should come by sometime to work out. You look like you work out!"

The girls all roll their eyes at him and Gunhild also lets out a frustrated grunt as well. It was also when one of the dragons focused on their little group. The girls were quick enough to get out of the way but Snotlout's shield got blasted.

"Snotlout, you're out!"

The male Berserker twins are the next two out due to tripping over the other. The female twins are the next ones out as they were standing next to one another and one blast clipped both of their shields. Gunhild takes her chances of trying to face one of the Gronkles but forgets about the other one causing her to be out. Clueless, Speedifist, Wartihog, Dogsbreath, and Frode are the next to get out. The remaining four decide to rush the last two Gronkles but lost track of which one still had the final shot and blasted Delilah.

With that, the two Hoffersons and Anders were the winners. Gobber shoves both dragons back into their pen and Hiccup closes the doors to them. Gobber ushered for Hiccup to come down and check all of the teens for injuries and as she enters Gobber tells the other teens to gather.

"Alright, for your first day of training, you didn't do horrible. You could've done better but we'll work on your skills. One thing you must always remember is that a dragon will always, always go for the kill. It's why we must always be prepared and why you should only be improving! The winners of today will win bragging rights until tomorrow's session. Tonight we'll be meeting in the Great Hall for dinner to go over how each one of you did and where you could improve."

Hiccup was finally upon the group and as she saw everything from a higher vantage point she knew who was more injured than not. The first person she looked at was Fishlegs who happened to have second-degree burns on his arm. His wrist wasn't sprained or broken from the impact of the shield either. Hiccup had some gauze and salve packed away in her satchel that she remembered to grab.

As she was looking over Fishlegs the other teens noticed her. "What's she doing?" Tuffnut asks.

"She'll be checking over all of you and bandaging you up if necessary. She's had training with Gothi as that's whose care she goes to when her father or I aren't around to keep an eye on her. She's a girl of many trades."

"A hiccup can do that?" Frode asks Asmund quietly and a bit awestruck.

"If she's the chief's daughter she can get away with whatever she wants," he mutters back.

"She also has ears, as do the rest of us," Gobber tells the two. Frode starts to scramble for an answer but is silenced with a glare from Gobber. "Finish up here and then go about your usual routines. Hiccup I expect you to get some rest and join us later in the Great Hall." Hiccup nods in response and finishes up wrapping Fishlegs' arm.

Most of the teens leave the arena with Gobber but Frode, Wartihog, Clueless, and the male twins stick around as well. Wartihog and Clueless have a few bruises and the male twins have a few scratches along with a few small burns. Hiccup takes care of all of them and when they leave, it's just her and Frode in the arena.

Before Hiccup can say anything Frode blurts out, "YouknowIdidn'tmeantooffendyouinanyway,right?"

"What was that Frode?"

"Wait, you know my name?"

"I know everyone's names, Dagur has pointed you all out before, plus the other teens tend to use your names when addressing you. What did you say earlier though?"

"I didn't mean to be offensive earlier."

"I know you weren't. You were just amazed that someone named after a Hiccup can know many different trades."

"You knew I wasn't being rude?"

"No, I know how to read people pretty well, besides your tone of voice gave most of it away. Gobber doesn't know how to read people well unless they have a clear emotion on their face."

"Oh, okay."

"Is that all you wanted to say?"

Frode just nods before he walks off. Hiccup is a bit shocked but packs up her things before she decides to head into the forest. Gobber may have wanted her to rest but what he didn't know wouldn't kill him.

...

Hiccup unintentionally went back to the spot that she had freed the dragon. The ropes and arrow had already been picked up as they had tried using the dogs to figure out where the dragon went but they had no luck. Gobber or her father had kept her from the forest so she hadn't been able to go check on the dragon. She was exhausted but she knew she had to keep pushing through because she may not get this freedom to explore for another few days or so and she had already put it off long enough.

She didn't know why she was so curious about this dragon but it was like something was pushing her back towards the woods, urging her to explore. She decided to walk towards the area that she had seen the dragon fly off to. She also saw the footprints of the Vikings and the hounds but as she went deeper into the woods they slowly disappeared until she saw that the prints eventually turned around. Hiccup however kept pushing farther into the woods, like something was pulling her to not give up.

That also happened be when she stumbled upon a cove or as she called it, the cove. It was the only thing remotely like it on the island and she loved the serenity of it. She had only been there a handful of times but she still knew where it was. She had almost taken Dagur to it once but they were caught before they even came close to it as it was a two-hour hike if you knew where to go, it took longer with all of the brush and bramble as there was no clear path. There were a few deer trails that could be followed out but they were still at least half an hour away from this location.

Around this area was a great way to collect herbs and such as well. She had only been able to discover this area because of Gothi. Gothi showed her the area and when she knew the terrain enough she was able to be let out for longer periods of times if and only if she were collecting Gothi's herbs. The cove was also a gorgeous place and always helped her clear her mind, it also helped her come up with new ideas when she was allowed out this far.

She was staring lost in her thoughts at the beauty of it when she looked down and saw black dragon scales like she had a few nights prior. As she bent to pick them up, the drain came out of nowhere screeching, trying to get out. His claws had scratched the rock a foot away from where she was standing as he fell again. She also saw as he glided his way across the lake in the cove.

Hiccup watched the dragon for a bit fascinated. She watched as he continued trying to escape and even safely moved down a few more of the rocks so she could get a closer look. The dragon tried to escape a few more times before he rested for a bit and Hiccup was able to see that the splint she had made, had fallen off and that his tail looked infected. That was why he couldn't fly out of the cove, he was probably in pain and not only that, his center of gravity was probably thrown off with his busted tailfin. Hiccup drew an eagle-eyed view of the dragon but instead of drawing his mangled tailfin, she decided to skip it.

After less than a minute the dragon flew closer to the lake, facing Hiccup but not seeing her yet. He dipped his head into the lake trying to catch a fish or something but he came up empty. As Hiccup was staring at him, she dropped her charcoal, this action just happened to catch the dragon's attention and he stared up at her. They had a bit of a staring contest before the dragon before the dragon eventually looked away. Hiccup then slowly started to make her way down the rocks. She looked towards the dragon a few different times but he hadn't moved from his spot.

She found her charcoal with no problem and picked it up and put it back into her vest next to her sketchbook. She looked back up at the dragon and he had seemed to be slowly walking towards her. She slowly began to do the same thing. Eventually the two met midway, the dragon stared at her with slightly distrusting eyes as he had heard the Vikings yelling, trying to find him.

"Hi, I know you may not trust me but can I look at your tail? It looks worse than it did a few days ago."

The dragon looked behind it quickly and slowly brought his tail out from behind him. Hiccup let out a little gasp as it looked way worse closer up than it did from farther away. Hiccup reached to touch it but was stopped by a growl. She stopped moving towards him and as a result he flew away from her. That was when she knew that he'd need a little more incentive before he'll let her touch him again and so she decided to make a plan to come back in a day or two or just whenever she could break free.

That was when she realized that the sun was getting lower in the sky which meant that Gobber would be coming by sooner, rather than later. She looked back at the dragon one more time before she looked to exit. She went towards the low opening that she had used before when collecting herbs for Gothi and made her exit.

...

Hiccup entered through the back entrance of the chief's hut and started to grab her dirty clothes along with whatever dirty clothes her father had left. Dinner in the Great Hall would only be two hours away and it wasn't worth trying to get to bed just to be woken up once she had actually fallen asleep into a decent sleep.

That was how Gobber had found her, she had washed all of the clothes and they had already been hung up. She also cleaned the house in her time as well. She was sweeping when Gobber walked in.

"You didn't get any sleep, did you?" Hiccup looks a bit sheepish towards Gobber before shaking her head. "Alright, let's get going then." Hiccup quickly finishes what she was doing before her and Gobber exit for the Great Hall.

Hiccup sits down at one of the many tables and Gobber sits across from her with his meal, along with the Book of Dragons. The two eat in relative silence until the other teens start to arrive. When they see Hiccup they sit over at the table next to her, even the Berserker teens. Those more serious about dragon training arrive first but those slightly less serious are the last people to enter.

When everyone arrives Gobber starts to speak to all of them. He had finished his meal not long before the last two had arrived. Hiccup was also practically done with her meal as well so she took both of their plates to where the dirty dishes needed to go. When Hiccup returned they were talking about where everyone went wrong in the ring. Gobber starts with the winners because despite winning their time in the ring wasn't perfect.

"Alright, where did Astrid go wrong in the ring?"

Everyone is quiet before Astrid sighs and says what she messed up on, "I mistimed my somersault dive. It was sloppy. It threw off my reverse tumble."

Delilah scoffs, "Yeah, we noticed."

"At least I remembered what dragon had the final blast."

" No, no, you were both so great," Snotlout tells them which makes the situation worse and both girls glare at him.

Gobber shakes his head at all of them before he continues. "She's right, you have to be tough on yourselves."

"If that's the case why don't you ask where Hiccup went wrong?" Tuffnut asks with a grin.

"Oh wait, she's not old enough to compete, is she? Yet she gets to watch us and figure out all the dragon training secrets!" Snotlout tells him.

"She's also to be married in less than two months. By the time dragon training comes around next year, she'll either have a babe or at least one on the way." Hiccup looks down and blushes a bit. "Her honor will be better than having killed a dragon in front of the entire tribe. She'll be uniting both tribes permanently with the birth of an heir." The teens get silent before it's ruined.

"What's so special about a baby anyway?" Tuffnut asks and everyone looks at him.

"Their firstborn will have Hooligan and Berserker blood running through its veins. That baby will be an heir for both the Berserker and Hooligan tribes!"

"Great, so we all get to train to be warriors and she gets the easy way out with giving birth to a baby," Ruffnut says coming to her brother's aid.

"More women die in childbirth than men and women do in battle. You can prepare for battle for years but you can always figure out a way to win. With childbirth, you can also be prepared for years but you also have to expect the unexpected. We are getting off-topic! This is supposed to help you better yourselves for training, this is not a time to bully Hiccup. I'd also be careful with what you say as well, Dagur will be here in about a month and a half and I'm sure you can all imagine how he'll feel about his betrothed being mistreated."

It's silent for a minute before they all utter words of agreement to Gobber.

"Good, now that that's settled.You need to live and breathe this stuff. The Dragon Manual. Everything we know about every dragon we know of." Gobber moves their plates and cups out of the way before he tosses the book in front of the teens. When he was done speaking there was a loud clap of thunder outside. "No attacks tonight. Study up. We'll reconvene in the morning for training." Gobber then started to make his exit.

"Wait, you mean, read?"Haldor asks.

"While we're still alive?" Gunnar asks.

"Read? You guys know how to do that?" Tuffnut asks.

"Why read words when you can just kill the stuff the words tell you stuff about?" Snotlout cuts in.

"Oh! I've read it like, seven times. There's this water dragon that sprays boiling water at your face. And--And there's this other one that buries itself for like a week--" Fishlegs starts to tell them but they all look horrified with the information he tells them, even the Berserker teens look a bit horrified.

"Yeah, that sounds great. See, there was a chance I was going to read that..." Turid starts.

"...But, now..." Tove finishes.

"You guys read, I'll go kill stuff," Anders tells them cockily before getting up. The rest of the Berserkers also get up. Most of the Berkians follow suit and Ruffnut and Tuffnut push and shove each other as they do so.

Fishlegs then starts to talk about the book to those who remain. Frode was the only berserker who remained but with Fishleg's facts he was no longer interested. "Oh, and there's this other one that has these spines that look like trees..." Frode gets up once that's out of his mouth.

Astrid and Delilah glare at each other before they push the book towards the other stating that they've already read it. Asmund stands up when his sister does and they walk out together. Fishlegs then realizes that he's by himself and walks out as well. Hiccup just stares after all of them before she sighs at the mess that they left. Hiccup picks up the mess and is thanked by the ladies who were scheduled for dishes that night. As Hiccup passes the table she feels as though the book was calling her, much like how continuing on in the forest was calling her.

She looks around and sees that no one, other than the women who were meant to clean up tonight is in the Great Hall. She picks up a candle and lights it quickly before she sits at the table that the teens had previously been sitting at. She then opens the book and starts to read. Each dragon had a photo and even something different about them compared to a different type. It also goes into a bit of detail on why the dragon is classified in the class it is. However, what they all mention is that the dragon is extremely dangerous and to kill on site.

"Thunderdrum: This reclusive dragon inhabits sea caves and dark tide pools. When startled, the Thunderdrum produces a concussive sound that can kill a man at close range. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight. Timberjack: This gigantic creature has razor sharp wings that can slice through full grown trees. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight. Scauldron: Sprays scalding water at its victim. Extremely dangerous. Changewing: Even newly hatched dragons can spray acid. Kill on sight. Gronckle, Zippleback, The Skrill, Boneknapper, Whispering Death. Burns its victims, buries its victims, chokes its victims, turns its victims inside-out. Extremely dangerous, extremely dangerous, kill on sight, kill on sight, kill on sight..." Hiccup then gets tired of the different pages practically saying the same thing before she turns to the Nightfury page. "Night Fury: Speed, unknown. Size, unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. Never engage this dragon. Your only chance: Hide and pray it does not find you." Hiccup then places the drawing that she did earlier on the page.

With her curiosity settled, she places the book back where Gobber had gotten it from and makes the journey home. She had stayed a few hours in the Great Hall and everyone was gone by the time she left. The big fire pit in the middle was practically just embers and all of the torches were put out as well. The storm outside was still raging on, which meant that she'd have to be extra careful with all of the stairs.

...

Hiccup was woken the next morning by Gobber pounding up the stairs.

"Rise and shine! We have to change the arena!"

"Change the arena?"

"Today they'll be facing a Deadly Nadder and to give the singular Nadder a bit of an advantage for the teens we need to put up walls."

"You are aware that you're asking the scrawniest Vikings to help you move big heavy walls, right?"

"Oh, relax. You won't be moving the walls, you'll just be drawing where we need to place them and whether the walls are straight or not."

"Fine, I'll meet you down there. I have to change first."

...

When the teens arrived at the arena they were slightly shocked to see that there were now walls in the arena.

"When did this happen?" Snotlout asks.

"While you were all sleeping in this morning. Didn't want to interrupt your beauty rest!"

"Some of us were actually training," Astridindignantly tells him.

"With this ground still being as wet as it is, you weren't out in the woods and considering we never heard anyone sparring in the center of town, I think it's safe to say you were all relishing your beauty rest."

"Well what time were you up this morning Gobber?" Asmund asks him.

"I was up before the sun was, as was Hiccup. We had work to do."

"You're saying that she helped you move these walls?" Snotlout asks him.

"No, she helped us figure the best places to place them. The men that are still in the village were the ones to help me move them. Now get inside so we can start today's lesson."

Once the teens entered the arena Gobber closed the gate behind them and released the Nadder on them. The Nadder was a bit curious once she was out of her pen but she had also spotted the teens without any problems as they were still in a clump at the entrance.

"Today is all about ATTACK! Nadders are quick and light on their feet! Your job is to be quicker and lighter!"

The Nadder had spotted Fishlegs first once the group dispersed and she shot her spines at him. Luckily he blocked them with his shield. "AAAAAH! I'm really beginning to question your teaching methods!" Fishlegs continues to run away from the dragon as he does so.

"Look for its blind spot. Every dragon has one. Find it, hide in it, and strike!"

When Gobber was finished speaking the dragon had come across the Berkian twins. The twins were running side by side until the dragon had blocked their path. They swayed a bit with the dragon almost testing whether or not it could see them. That was also when Ruffnut happened to get a whiff of her brother. "Ugh, do you ever bathe?"

"If you don't like it, then just get your own blind spot!" The two start to push and shove one another before they start to butt heads.

"How about I give you one?!"

The dragon let out a little screech of its own before it made its move to attack. Luckily the twins had been smart enough to move out of the way. However they weren't quite quick enough as they did get a bit burned.

"Blind spot, yes. Deaf spot? Not so much," Gobber tells them chuckling a bit.

Gobber refocused on the dragon and who she was closest to. Asmund, Anders, Astrid, Delilah, Gunhild, and Snotlout were all crouched down and watching the dragon as it tried to sniff them out. As the dragon looked slightly away they started to roll with their shields to avoid the dragon. they were mostly successful and when they were Snotlout ruined it by flirting with the girls. It also caused him to be hit with Asmund's shield and sent flying backwards. The dragon then prepared to blast but luckily Snotlout was able to move out of the way. Unluckily however was the fact that he had ran right into both sets of Berserker twins.

Snotlout tried flirting with the girls but the other set of twins became slightly protective over them. The dragon had refocused its attention on their group and Snotlout threw his bludgeon but missed. Which caused him to be glared at by the other four. "The sun was in my eyes! What do you want me to do, block out the sun? I could do that, but I don't have time right now!"

The group then started to run away from the dragon and had run into Snotlout's and Ander's lackeys before the slightly bigger group ran into the better warriors. As the big group started to run away and turn sharp corners the dragon started to knock down all of the walls until none of the walls were left standing. The group was standing in the middle of the wreckage before Gunhild, Asmund, and Anders decided to attack. The dragon was easily able to bat them all aside before Gobber had stepped in and smacked the dragon's nose before he ushered it back to it's pen.

As the teens looked abashed Gobber had glared at all of them before he started to yell. "Today was somehow worse than yesterday and there was one dragon, ONE! No one is leaving till this mess is cleaned up!" Gobber then looked back up towards Hiccup who had made her way over to Gothi. Gothi shook her head a bit towards Gobber and had handed a list to Hiccup. Hiccup looked it over quickly before she looked towards Gobber. "Yes, you may leave Hiccup."

"Why does she get to leave?" Snotlout whines.

"Yeah, Ruff and I got burned!" Tuffnut states showing his tattered clothing.

"Hiccup!"

"Coming Gobber!"

Hiccup quickly made her way down and looked over the teens and anyone else who had gotten injured. Luckily Tuffnut and Ruffnut weren't too badly burned. Hiccup looked over Fishleg's arm again and reapplied salve and rebandaged it. The wound definitely looked better than it had the previous day. When Hiccup was done she left and Gobber continued to yell at all of them.

...

Hiccup had taken her time getting to the woods and had made sure that she brought two fish for the dragon. With Gothi's list, she would have no set time to be back, except for when they met for dinner later, which Gobber said he'd come to get her from the hut.

Hiccup easily made her way into the woods and towards the cove. She had also made sure that she had cloth for the dragon's tail so she could hopefully help him with the pain. It may need to be amputated but it would be better than him dying of an infection. It would be less painful as well.

When Hiccup got to the cove she entered from the lower entrance with both fish held away from her. As she entered she was looking for the dragon but since he was perched up higher, he saw her before she saw him. It wasn't until he moved that she saw him in her peripherals. The dragon then slowly starts to approach her. As he does so, he sees the glint of her dagger and backs away. Hiccup moves one of the fish to under her arm before she slowly starts to move the dagger and causes the dragon to growl more.

When she moves it away from her the dragon happily sits back on his haunches before he starts to approach her again. She then holds the fish out to him once again as well. That was also when she notices that he doesn't seem to have any teeth.

"Huh, toothless. I could've sworn you had... "

That happened to be the moment that his teeth popped out and he grabbed one of the fish. He then started to stare at the other one and she slightly tossed this one to him which he caught and gulped down just the same. When that was gone he started to stare her down and approach. She tried to tell him that she didn't have anymore and when she did finally get the words out he regurgitated half of the fish. He then urged her to eat it which she reluctantly did and about threw up a few times while trying to swallow. She then smiled at him after she was done and he slowly did the same. After that, she tried to touch him but he immediately backed away.

As he flew across the way to get away from her she just simply followed trying to get a good look at his tail. As she did that he noticed her and grumbled a bit before he still continued with his nap time routine. He knew that she wouldn't be able to do him any harm. As she moved to touch his tailfin he caught her and moved away. She kept her distance for a bit before trying to re-engage.

Eventually, the dragon was a bit interested in the fact that she hadn't left yet and stood next to her. She was drawing in the dirt at the time and started to talk to him a bit nervous. "I don't want to hurt you. I want to look at your tail, it looks like it's infected and I know that humans and the animals we keep can die of infection if they leave a wound unchecked. It's why I want to see what I can do to try an help you. The tailfin may have to come off all together but it'd be better than slowly dying while being in pain."

The dragon huffs before he moves his tailfin in front of her. She gives him her thanks before she looks at the tailfin as close as she did the other day but longer this time. She slowly starts to take out a numbing salve and rubs that on the tailfin and where the open cuts are located. "I'm sorry to have to say this but it's going to have to come off. If you keep the damaged tailfin on it'll eventually kill you. I need to go get my dagger. I promise I'm not going to harm you in any way other than removing the tailfin. I'll even bandage you up and we could even come up with a way to get you to fly again."

The dragon lets out a huff again and rolls his eyes before he goes to fetch the dagger she had cast aside earlier. He then sits like he had been earlier and she begins to remove his tailfin as gently as possible. He lets out a few whines and it's a bloody mess. She wets a bit of the cloth and starts to dab the new wound and is as gentle as possible. When the bleeding eventually stops, she places a salve on the open wound and wraps it up tightly. "You'll have to be careful with this, we don't want the bandaging coming off and for the wound to reopen. I don't know how often I'll be able to come by but I'll do my best. I know you may not trust me yet, but I do hope I can gain it someday." The dragon looks at her before he does something expected, he licks her face and nuzzles it a bit but then backs up just as quickly and he's gone.

When Hiccup came out of her shock she saw that it was late afternoon and she'd have to finish gathering Gothi's herbs and take them to her before Gobber came to collect her for dinner. She bid the dragon goodbye before she left the cove. The herbs didn't take long to gather after that but she did take her time heading back into the village.

...

It was dark when they all gathered for dinner. This time instead of the Great Hall Gobber had chosen one of the older watch towers for them to convene. When everyone had gathered Gobber told each of them what they had done wrong in the arena before he started to tell the his dragon fighting stories.

"...And with one twist, he took my hand, and swallowed it whole. And I saw the look on his face: I was delicious. He must have passed the word, because it wasn't a month before another one of them took my leg," Gobber tells them.

"Isn't it weird to think that your hand was inside a dragon? Like if your mind was still in control of it, you could have killed the dragon from the inside by... crushing his heart, or something," Fishlegs voices.

"I swear, I'm so angry right now! I'll avenge your beautiful hand and your beautiful foot. I'll chop off the legs of every dragon I fight. With my face!" Snotlout declares.

"Un-unh. It's the wings and the tails you really want. If it can't fly, it can't get away. A downed dragon is a dead dragon." Gobber yawns. "Alright. I'm off to bed. You should be, too. Tomorrow we get to the big boys. Slowly but surely making our way up to the Monstrous Nightmare. But who'll win the honor of killing it?"

"It's gonna be me. It's my destiny. See?" Tuffnut starts.

" Your Mom let you get a tattoo?" Frode asks him.

"It's not a tattoo. It's a birthmark."

"Okay, I've been stuck with you since birth, and that was never there before."

"Yes, it was. You've just never seen me from the left side until now."

"I've been stuck with my twin since birth and we know everything about each other," Gunnar states.

"Besides on Talon we know all about tattoos, have you seen Dagur's?" Tove asks.

"Of course we have, Dagur does nothing but show off his tattoos because he's such a great warrior?" Asmund scoffs.

"He's a better warrior than you'll ever be," Anders tells him.

"If that's the case where do you rank because it's certainly below me on that scale."

"Says the two who only lasted as long as they did that first day because they didn't take the chance and rush one or even both of the dragons until only one of them had one shot left," Gunhild comments.

"Are you trying to say that you're a better warrior than us because you rushed the dragon like a mad woman?" Delilah asks.

"You're the one who didn't pay attention to what dragon had the final shot and got blasted I saw my chance and grabbed it!"

The teens then all start to argue about who the better warrior is or even if they were better than Dagur. Hiccup just sighs and rolls her eyes before she starts to make her exit.

"Where do you think you're going runt?" Gunhild asks angrily.

"Home."

"Why's that?"

"Today has been longer than I care to admit, so might as well." Hiccup gets down a few steps before she turns her head back towards the other teens and boldy states. "Dagur is a better than all of you. He cares about his people while he's fighting a common enemy. His tattoos are for his wins not because of his status as an heir. Besides, he's beaten all of you in a fight and that's when the odds are stacked more against him than they are you. Dagur is a fair guy and only punishes those that deserve it. If I were you, I'd be more careful with how you speak of him as well, he has a temper and I can't promise your safety when he arrives if you speak like that. You should also avoid speaking badly about Dagur with the other heirs as they all talk and Dagur will find out who started what rumor and we don't need any wars being started with the other tribes."

"Shut up runt, no one even asked you!" Anders tells her.

"That's fine if you didn't ask me, but I'm telling you that your actions have consequences. You all saw that Dagur had the honor of killing four Monstrous Nightmares for his final test. If any of you get that same honor or get to kill five, let me know. None of the other heirs have even come close to the amount that Dagur got for his final test."

"At least Dagur and the other heirs went through dragon training instead of being married off and being allowed to skip it!" Delilah tells her.

"I didn't get to choose to be married off when I came of age and when your parents eventually decide it's time for you to marry, they'll marry you off before you can even protest it. You probably all have matches out there just waiting for when your parents give them permission. If any of you fail dragon training or even come in second your parents may choose that moment to get the preparations ready for your wedding and you'll be married within a month."

"You don't know any of this!" Astrid tells her.

"No, I don't but all of your parents were arranged marriages or even marriages of convenience. Many others are the same exact way. Dagur and I were at least lucky enough to find love in our match are you going to be as lucky?" With that final question Hiccup leaves them all pondering.

"Love, huh? I don't think little Hiccy has mentioned that before?"

"I don't believe so either brother."

"Stoick would love to hear this tidbit of information."

"Why wait that long when we have Gobber to report to?"

With that, the Berkian teens start laughing a bit evilly.

"Do you actually think our parents have matches picked out for us?" Clueless asks.

"Who knows?" Asmund utters.

"To be fair, her father's closest group of men are our parents and they've probably mentioned something before," Fishlegs tells them.

"Yes and Dagur has a way of getting information as well, Oswald is friendly with most everyone," Frode speaks up.

"Relax, we can just ask our parents when they get back," Astrid tells them.

"You think that they're going to tell us the truth? If anything they'll wait till the last possible minute. Hiccup was at least bred to become a wife and not a warrior," Delilah yells.

"If you guys are worried about being married off then that also means you're worried about losing. Which you should be as if anyone is going to win this it'd going to be me," Anders tells them.

"Don't be so sure that you're going to be the one to win. You act cocky now but if I recall I heard a very girly squeak come from your direction when all of those walls were falling," Gunhild yells at him.

The teens continue to argue and Hiccup can hear them, even when she's at the bottom of the tower. She had work to do and she wasn't going to let any of them put a damper on it.

...

When Hiccup got home she opened up her sketchbook and drew how Toothless' tailfin worked and how she would be able to come up with something artificial to replace the way the old one worked. She started by drawing the tailfin and then she started to go over the schematics and drew a few different ideas on how she could get it to work and where she'd need certain supports. A simple rope could work to start but a rope can only handle so much strain before it snaps. As of right now, she also had no idea how he was going to be able to fly on his own unless he had a rider which would be another task in itself.

Eventually, Hiccup had come up with the design for the tailfin and she decided she'd come up with a gear system once she took the necessary measurements. She would be able to start constructing the tail soon enough but she wouldn't be able to do anything until his tail was completely healed. She could also get the materials for a saddle and the cloth for a tailfin. The saddle would be easy enough to construct without the measurements but the rest of it wouldn't because the tailfin she built couldn't be too small or too big without ruining everything else.

That was how Hiccup fell asleep, her mind was spinning with endless possibilities but everything was there and she had a decent idea down pat. It wasn't the most comfortable sleep she had ever had but she had fallen asleep at her desk more often than she had fallen asleep on her bed at this point and she always seemed to get more hours of sleep on her desk than in her bed. Her father and Gobber may not be the happiest about where she got her sleep but to her it was better than nothing.

...

TBC...