"Dragon's speaking"
'telepathical speaking'
Thinking
Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk
Author's note: Hiccup rides on Toothless's back while Aniu flies using her wings. And Barf and Belch is one dragon. Nava and the other guardians also fly with their wings and Nava and Aniu don't have dragons but they're still part of the Dragon Riders. This note is here just to avoid confusion.
Right now the Dragon Trainer Group consists of: Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Hookfang, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, BarfBelch, Aniu and Nava.
Please read and Review!
Chapter 12: Thawfest
It was Thawfest time in Berk and every Viking who wanted to participate was practicing and training for the upcoming games. The Arena was decorated with Thawfest decorations and two male Vikings were in the middle of an arm-wrestling contest.
"Every year on Berk, we come together to test our strength, endurance and courage in the Thawfest games."
Astrid did handstands on a raised log while Stormfly watched her. Fishlegs threw an axe at a target. The axe hit just below the bulls-eye and Fishlegs was standing only a meter away.
"For some of us, it's not such a great time of the year."
In the forest, Hiccup was trying to uproot a tree sapling with only his bare hands while Gobber and Aniu watched him. "Come on, Hiccup. Put your back into it. Aah!" Gobber exclaimed in surprise when the tree sapling hit him in the face. "Oops. Sorry, Gobber." Hiccup cringed. "Hey." Gobber grumbled but decided to forgive him. "Oh, look who else is doing some tree murdering." Aniu said.
"Faster, Snotlout. You have to push yourself, son." Spitelout Jorgenson coached his son Snotlout as the Jorgenson boy uprooted another tree and threw it. "Snotlout, Snotlout, oi, oi, oi." Father and son chanted. After that, Hiccup had to train for the Sheep Lug and he was up against Snotlout. He was doing okay until Snotlout ran past him. "See yah, wouldn't wanna be you." He taunted, kicking dirt into his cousin' s coughed and fell to the ground and his sheep ran away.
"In fact, I've lost every single time to that guy."
Snotlout laughed and butted heads with his father then both Jorgensons walked away.
"But this year, all that could change. This year I finally have a chance to win. Because, for the first time ever, this year the Thawfest games will include..."
"...dragons. They are now officially part of Thawfest. There will be three additional events: the fly and shoot. Which will require you to fly straight and shoot straighter." Gobber announced to the dragon riders in the Academy. Barf and Belch suddenly shot a fireball at Gobber's flag. "Hey!" Gobber yelled, ducking.
"Uh, sorry. We were on the wrong head." Tuffnut said, switching his position on Barf's neck with his sister Ruffnut so that Tuffnut was sitting in his rightful place on Belch's saddle and Ruffnut was sitting in her rightful place on Barf's saddle. "I knew something felt weird." Ruffnut remarked. Barf-Belch shot another fireball, this time incinerating Gobber's flag. "Ah, much better." Tuffnut sighed.
"Next is the freestyle, where it's up to you to impress the judges with a trick of your choice." Gobber continued. Stormfly flew overhead with Astrid doing handstands on her back. "A Nadder wing-walk. Impressive, Astrid." Gobber said. "Um, excuse me. Meatlug and I were wondering if there were going to be any intellectual events? A puzzle, perhaps?" Fishlegs spoke up while Meatlug ate some boulders.
"It'll be interesting to see how well Vikings do in the intellectual events." Nava commented. "I'll take that under advisement, you two. Let's not forget the hurdles, where you'll be asked to..." Gobber said before an obnoxious whoop cut through the air. Hookfang landed in the arena and Snotlout dismounted. "You know what I love about the Thaw Festival Games? Winning." He boasted.
"Do you wanna touch one of my medals just to see how it feels to be a winner?" Snotlout asked arrogantly when he noticed Hiccup and Aniu staring at the medals hanging off his neck. "I think I'll pass." Hiccup said. "Me too." Aniu added. "My family has never lost a Thawfest game. Ever." Snotlout bragged. "Here we go." Astrid sighed, crossing her arms. "Dragons or no dragons, I'll do what I do every year: bring glory to the Jorgenson clan. And you'll do what you do: embarrass yours. Let's go, Hookfang." Snotlout mounted his dragon and Hookfang took off like an arrow, causing Snotlout to hang upside-down from his saddle. "I WILL CRUSH YOU ALL!" Snotlout screamed as he and his Monstrous Nightmare flew out of sight.
That night in his room, Hiccup made plans for the upcoming games. Toothless was curled up behind him and Aniu was lying on the ground in her wolf form, humming a little song to herself under her breath. "Okay." Hiccup mumbled, picking up a measuring tape and measuring Toothless's neck with it. "What are you two working on?" Stoick asked, coming up the stairs.
"Just some ideas for Thawfest. " Hiccup said."Right, right, excellent." Stoick said. "So, did you need something, Dad?" Hiccup asked. "Well, with the dragons, you could actually..." Stoick began. "Beat Snotlout, best the Jorgensons?" Hiccup asked hopefully. "Well, when you put it that way, it does have a nice ring to it." Stoick said. An awkward silence ensued until Stoick broke it. "Okay, then. I'll let you get back to whatever it is you're doing." He said, going back downstairs. "I might go home. Goodnight, Hiccup. Goodnight, Toothless." Aniu said, turning into her owl form and perching on the windowsill. "Goodnight, Aniu."/ "See you in the morning." Hiccup and Toothless said. Aniu nodded and flew into her room where she curled up on a fur pelt in her wolf form and went to sleep.
The very next day, the Thawfest games had begun. The adult Vikings had already participated and now it was the teenagers turn. Aniu, Nava, Fengo and Namara decided not to participate. Snotlout, Astrid, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs and Hiccup's faces were painted on a scoreboard. "Let the Thaw Festival Games begin!" Stoick shouted. Everyone watching began cheering. Fengo and Namara opened a crate and released a bunch of colourful Terrible Terrors who flew into the sky. One of them stole a Viking's chicken drumstick. The man wasn't too happy at all.
Spitelout was giving his son a pep talk. "What are we?" He asked loudly. "We're killers." Snotlout exclaimed. "What do we do?" Spitelout asked. "We kill!" Snotlout said enthusiastically. "What do we say?" Spitelout questioned. "Snotlout, Snotlout, oi, oi, oi!" Both Jorgensons chanted. Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Snotlout then lined up for the first event. "The contestants are now lined up for the sheep lug." Mulch announced through a horn. "It's a good day for lugging sheep, Mulch." Bucket said happily.
"Well, Bucket. Every day's a good day for lugging sheep." Mulch said. Gobber put a sheep on each teen's back and left. "On your mark, get set..." Mulch said then clanged his hook-hand against Bucket's bucket. The teens were off, trying to be the first to reach the finish line. Snotlout won and threw his sheep against Hookfang's wing in triumph. The Monstrous Nightmare let it bounce off and checked the sheep to make sure it was okay.
"That's my boy!" Spitelout yelled. Hiccup and Astrid went over the finish line and Hiccup fell to the ground, panting from exhaustion. His sheep ran away and Astrid put her sheep down and helped Hiccup up. Ruffnut and Tuffnut had started fighting before they reached the finish line and Fishlegs had collapsed from exhaustion. "I really need to lose some weight." The Ingerman boy panted.
"The first point of the Thawfest Games goes to Snotlout." Mulch announced. Bucket painted a blue line next to Snotlout's face on the scoreboard. Soon, it was time for the next event. "Next up is our traditional Log Roll event." Mulch announced. The competing teens stood on a raise log which had a rock pit below it. "Enjoy your face-plants." Snotlout sneered, cracking his neck and started rolling the log, forcing the other teens to roll with him. But Snotlout made the log go very fast, rolling the other teens off the log, leaving Snotlout the winner.
Another line was painted beside Snotlout's face. "Thank you, Toothless." Hiccup sighed when his ever-loyal Night Fury helped him out of the rocks. "The next event is the Axe-Throwing contest where accuracy is supreme." Mulch announced. The teens held their axes at the ready and Snotlout threw his axe first. "Bulls-eye." Mulch said when Snotlout's axe hit the very centre of the target. Fishlegs and Astrid tossed their axes but the two weapons collided with each other.
Ruffnut spun around, let go of her axe and Stoick caught it. Tuffnut's axe nearly accidently chopped a Viking's helmet horn off. Hiccup threw his axe and for a second, it looked like it was going to hit the target but fell short. "Good job, Hiccup." Aniu said. Astrid smiled at him and Hiccup smiled back at her. Snotlout had retrieved Hiccup's axe and stood beside his cousin. "Here's how it's done, dragon boy." Snotlout said, tossing Hiccup's axe at the target, hitting the bulls-eye with his back turned. Snotlout threw two more axes with his back turned, earning the same result. "Show-off." Hiccup and Aniu muttered bitterly. "Why don't you just give us the medal now, Stoick? Save your boy the embarrassment." Spitelout crowed. "Why don't you take a seat, Spitelout?" Stoick asked, glaring at his brother. The crowd 'oohed'. The sibling rivalry between Stoick Haddock and Spitelout Jorgenson was well known on Berk.
"Wait! Can Astrid and Fishlegs throw another axe because they accidently knocked each other's axes out?" Nava yelled. "Well, I suppose they could." Stoick said. Astrid threw Nava a grateful look and tossed her axe at her target, scoring a perfect bulls-eye. Fishlegs threw his axe but didn't hit the bulls-eye. "Don't let him get to you." Gobber told his friend calmly. "He's been getting to me for years. Why should today be any different?" Stoick grumbled. "It's hard to believe you two are brothers." Namara said. "Why do you two have different last names, then?" Fengo asked. "When our father died, Spitelout took his name which was Jorgen and added son onto it as his last name as a sign of respect." Stoick said.
After everyone left, Hiccup and Aniu stared at the scoreboard. Snotlout had three points while the other teens had zero points. "Well, dead last." Hiccup muttered. "Wow, I have all the points and the best looking picture? Unfair." Snotlout bragged, walking over to them. "Have your fun now. Tomorrow, everything changes." Hiccup said confidently. "Right, bud?" Toothless growled in agreement.
"I can't wait cause Hookfang and I, it's like boy and dragon have become one. We're like a 'bragon', or a 'droy' or a 'Snotfang'." Snotlout said, mounting his dragon and Hookfang flew away. "Yeah, well tomorrow, you're going to have to deal with...'Hictooth'." Hiccup said. "'Hictooth', really?" Aniu asked. "Not my snappiest comeback. It's rather lame, actually." Hiccup admitted. Astrid and Nava were nearby and heard the exchange. "Why are you letting yourself get caught up in all of this?" Astrid asked. "Because for the first time ever, I have a chance to beat Snotlout, to quiet him down." Hiccup explained. Snotlout and Hookfang flew over their heads with Snotlout yelling "Snotlout, Snotlout, oi, oi, oi!".
"Snotlout, just shut up and get out of here!" Nava shouted. "I agree, Snotlout does need to be quietened down and taken down a few pegs." Aniu agreed. "Good point, I have to admit, it would be nice to see someone else with a Thawfest medal." Astrid said, mounting Stormfly and flying away. Nava followed them. "You spiked your last sheep, Snotfang. Tomorrow's a new say." Hiccup muttered in determination. Aniu didn't like the look on his face.
The next day, it was time for the dragons to shine. Inside the arena, hurdles were set up. "Welcome to day two of the Thawfest Games. Let the dragon events begin. First up, the hurdles." Mulch announced. "Hurdles, shmurdles. I can make it over those things in my sleep." Snotlout boasted. "Be my guest." Hiccup said. "You don't go over them, Snotlout. You go under them." Astrid said. "Duh, I knew that." Snotlout said even though he didn't. "Uh, sure you did." Toothless muttered.
"First up is Fishlegs." Mulch called out. Meatlug took off but she and her rider got stuck under the first hurdle because of their combined size. "Um, guys? A little help over here? It's okay girl. This just isn't our event." Fishlegs asked then reassured his Gronckle. Once Fishlegs and Meatlug were helped out, it was Astrid and Stormfly's turn but one of Stormfly's occipital horns clipped a hurdle. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf and Belch were up next but the Zippleback got his necks caught on a hurdle, throwing his riders off.
"Where's your book, Hiccup? You might wanna take notes." Snotlout sneered as Hookfang took off but Snotlout forgot to duck and kept accidently hitting his head on nearly every hurdle. "Let's show them how it's done." Hiccup grinned. Toothless growled in agreement and flew to the hurdles, flipped upside-down and made it through without hitting or touching anything. "And Hiccup makes a perfect run!" Mulch exclaimed as a point was drawn up beside Hiccup's face on the scoreboard.
"Great job, Hiccup!" Aniu hollered but it appeared that getting his first point ever in the Thawfest Games had gone to Hiccup's head. "Did you hear what he just said? 'Perfect'. I-I believe those are my first Thawfest points ever. I just realized something: I like beating Snotlout. I feel taller. Do I look taller? Never mind, don't answer that." Hiccup laughed.
"Is he gloating?" Fishlegs asked Astrid in shock. "I'm not sure. I never actually seen Hiccup gloat." Astrid replied. "Don't get too excited. You know what this is. (he held up a finger) The number of wins I need to get to win this thing. And you what this is? (he held up two fingers). The number of chances I have." Snotlout hissed, landing beside them on Hookfang. "Oh, you know what this is? (he held up his hand with his thumb and index finger in a small circle) The size of your brain." Hiccup snarked. "Like you ever seen my brain. Come on, Hookfang." Snotlout said, flying away on his Monstrous Nightmare.
"What? He started it. When we were five." Hiccup defended himself when Astrid threw him a look. The riders and dragons got ready for the next event. "Next, we have the freestyle event. The contestants and their dragons will show off their styles and abilities." Mulch announced. First up: Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf and Belch. "Check this out." Ruffnut said. She was standing on her brother's shoulders while Tuffnut stood on Barf and Belch's necks. Tuffnut was about to say what they were about to do when he lost his balance, sending him and Ruffnut falling to the ground. The judges gave them zero marks.
"We like to call this next feat of daring the 'Extreme Butterfly'." Fishlegs said as Meatlug flew in circles. But Meatlug got dizzy and crash-landed. The judges gave them one mark each. "It's okay, girl. This isn't our event, either." Fishlegs consoled his dragon. Astrid did some gymnastic-like dance moves on Stormfly's back. "How does she make it look so easy?" Fishlegs asked. "Astrid's always the type to incorporate battle moves into dance moves." Nava said. "How come you can't do that? I mean, I could." Tuffnut asked his sister before getting slapped to the ground by her.
Astrid and Stormfly got two marks from two judges and three from the other judge. Hiccup and Toothless performed a complex series of aerial acrobatics and manoeuvres. "I hear Snotlout is going to try a trick called the 'Rings of Deadly Fire'. No one's ever tried it before" Tuffnut said. "Yeah, because it's too dangerous." Ruffnut said. "No, because he made it up." Tuffnut corrected. Three big wooden rings were set up in the arena.
"I'm probably gonna wing just for coming up with this." Snotlout said arrogantly. Hookfang flew into the sky, back into the arena and set the rings on fire. But as he and his rider got closer, Hookfang panicked and threw Snotlout off. Snotlout crashed into the hoops and jumped into a water trough because his backside was on fire. Spitelout wasn't happy and the judges held up zero points each. "I get the rings and the fire part, but where's the death? I feel so cheated." Tuffnut said. On the scoreboard, Snotlout had three points while Hiccup had two.
"Wow, Snotlout. You're Dad looks really mad right now." Aniu said. Snotlout glanced at his father and saw Spitelout giving him a death glare. "What do you know? He always looks like that." Snotlout spat. Then Hiccup walked up to them. "Do you really think you have a shot at beating me?" Snotlout asked him. "As a matter of fact, I do have a shot at beating you." Hiccup said.
"Do not."
"Do too."
"Do not."
"Do too. Think about it. Toothless is a Night Fury and I'm his rider. How can I lose?" Hiccup asked. "Cause that's what you do. I win, you lose." Snotlout snapped. "Yeah, well. Check the scoreboard, Snotlout. Not anymore." Hiccup snapped. Snotlout looked at the scoreboard and walked away, muttering angrily. "Hiccup, I think you're taking it a bit too far." Aniu said. "Me? How could I take it too far when he's been treating me like he always does nearly all my life?" Hiccup asked her angrily. Aniu sighed. "Whatever. I'm going for a run in my wolf form. I'll come back before the last event starts. And when I do, you better have thought about your attitude." Aniu said, turning into her wolf form and running out of the academy.
"What was that all about?" Astrid asked, walking up and standing beside her boyfriend. She had heard Hiccup and Snotlout's conversation and what Hiccup and Aniu said to each other. "Just rattling cages." Hiccup said nonchalantly. "Since when do you rattle cages?" Astrid questioned. Hiccup shrugged and walked away from her. Nava flew in and said. "Hiccup, if you continue with your current behaviour, you risk alienating and losing your friends."
True to her word, Aniu came back just before the final event started. "The contestants are lined up for the fly and shoot where they must shoot down their foes and spare their friends." Mulch announced as targets in the shape of Outcasts and Berkians popped up in a makeshift village. Hiccup and Toothless went first, on the lookout for any Outcast target. Hiccup alerted his dragon when one popped up and Toothless shot it.
After shooting a few more Outcasts, Hiccup and Toothless were nearly finished when another Outcast target popped up. Hiccup didn't notice it but Toothless did and shot it with a plasma blast. "Thanks, bud. I didn't see that one." Hiccup said as he and Toothless crossed the finish line. "Hiccup and Toothless come through with a perfect score!" Mulch hollered. "Okay, Hookfang. A clean run here and we're the champions." Snotlout told his dragon after everyone else had their turn. Hookfang flew up and searched through the fake village for any Outcast targets. One popped up and Hookfang shot it but got flour on his face, disorienting him.
The Monstrous Nightmare accidently shot Berkian targets. Snotlout tried to get his dragon under control but failed. "Snotlout! Get that dragon under control!" Spitelout yelled. "This does not look good for the reining Thaw Festival Champion." Mulch commented. "Snotlout, Snotlout, oi, oi, oi!" Ruffnut and Tuffnut cheered, enjoying the destruction. Another point was painted beside Hiccup's face, leaving Hiccup and Snotlout tied with three points each on the scoreboard.
"And for the first time in Thawfest history, we have a tie. Tomorrow, these two young Vikings will go head to head in an event to decide the Thawfest Champion." Mulch announced. Snotlout and Hiccup stood side by side on the stage. "I can't believe how lucky you are. You don't even belong on the stage with me." Snotlout whispered.
"That's it. Keep talking, Snotlout as your family's winning streak goes up in smoke just like your 'Rings of Deadly Fire'." Hiccup taunted as they stepped off the stage. Snotlout muttered something in fury and stormed away in anger, kicking a bucket as he went. "Hey, what's the matter? Yak got your tongue?" Hiccup asked mockingly as Snotlout left.
Astrid and Aniu watched this exchange beside the stage. "Hiccup." Both girls scolded. "Oh, he's just crumbling under the pressure. I can feel it." Hiccup waved it off. Astrid and Aniu gave him disappointed and upset looks. "You know what I always liked about you, Hiccup? You were always a gracious loser. Who knew you'd be such a lousy winner?" Astrid asked softly. "What happened to the Hiccup we know and love?" Aniu asked, walking away with Astrid.
"'Lousy winner'. I'll be a great winner." Hiccup muttered to himself as he hammered out a connecting rod in the forge that night. Toothless woke up from his nap and warbled at his rider. "You see this, bud? Lighter, thinner. This will help us fly faster and turn quicker." Hiccup told him, attaching the connecting rod to his Night Fury's saddle. "I also stripped down your saddle. Light as a feather. But this (he held up Toothless's prosthetic tailfin) is what is going to make the most difference. A tailfin as thin as paper and even stronger than before. We're going to be able to turn better than we ever have. Snotlout and Hookfang won't have a chance."
After checking the saddle and prosthetic tailfin, Hiccup and Toothless left the forge and heard a sudden scream of pain. "Aniu!"/ "Aniu!" Hiccup and Toothless exclaimed, recognizing the voice that had screamed. Hiccup hopped onto Toothless's back and flew down to where the scream had come from. "Aniu, everything's gonna be okay." Nava told his girlfriend. "You're going to have to stay calm and relax. I know it hurts but you must do it." Namara tried to calm her daughter. A bunch of Vikings were yelling out apologies as Fengo, Stoick, Gobber, Thornado and Sonica struggled to lift a fallen pole Aniu was pinned under.
"It hurts so much!" Aniu cried out as her father, the two Vikings and two Thunderdrums managed to lift the pole off her wing. This all started when Aniu was taking a stroll around the village. A bunch of Vikings were having an axe-throwing contest when a stray axe had cut down the pole. Aniu heard the people's shouts and saw the pole but it was too late. The pole had fallen straight onto Aniu's wing, pinning her down on the ground, unable to get up. Aniu heard a loud crack and felt agony blaze through her flight appendage, causing her to scream in pain.
Hiccup and Toothless pushed through the surrounding crowd and knelt down by Aniu's side. "Ni, are you okay?" Hiccup asked desperately. "Say something." Toothless begged. "What does it look like? I'm in agony thanks to that pole!" Aniu yelled. She felt sorry for yelling at her best friends but the pain made it hard to stop herself. Namara performed a diagnostic spell on her daughter's wing and saw the results. "Aniu, your wing's broken. You won't be able to fly again for a couple of weeks, even with healing spells. When you broke your other wing during the Battle of the Red Death, it was only a minor break. This break is more major." Namara said.
"We have to take her home now! We'll accept your apologies later!" Fengo said, directing his last sentence at the Vikings. Namara turned into her golden Night Fury form and Fengo placed Aniu carefully on her back. Both guardians flew to their home and put Aniu on her bed. Nava, Hiccup and Toothless followed them. Hiccup and Toothless quickly visited Aniu before she got her wing reset and apologized for what had happened. Aniu told them they had nothing to apologize for and gently told them to go home and get some rest for the next day.
Once Hiccup and Toothless left, Nava waited until Aniu's wing was reset before going inside her room to talk to her. "Hey, Ni. How are you feeling?" He asked gently, sitting beside Aniu on her bed. Aniu gave him a tired smile. "I'm okay. You're not mad at Hiccup, are you?" She said. "No. I think the reason why Hiccup is acting how he is right now is because he's won three Thawfest events when he's never won at a Thawfest event before and it's getting to his head because he doesn't know how to handle it and he's not used to it. His desire to win the Thawfest Games and break the Jorgenson family's winning streak is blinding him to how his friends feel about his new behaviour. I'm not saying that Hiccup winning the Thawfest Games is a bad thing because Snotlout and his father do need to be knocked down a few pegs or so and it is about time someone else other than a Jorgenson wins Thawfest because the Jorgensons have been winning it for so long that it's time for someone else to win." Nava said.
Aniu smiled, sat up and kissed him. Nava kissed her back and they parted after a few seconds. "I hope your wing gets better soon." Nava whispered, leaning his forehead against hers and staring into Aniu's emerald green eyes. "I will." Aniu promised, staring into Nava's sapphire blue eyes. Nava leaned back, nodded, turned into his owl form and flew out the window. Aniu watched him go and fell asleep.
The next day, everyone was preparing for the tiebreaker event. Stoick approached Hiccup and Toothless. "Remember son, no pressure." He said. Stoick could see that Hiccup was a bit shaken up by what happened to Aniu. He had barely gotten any sleep due to worrying about Aniu. Hiccup slowly nodded and Stoick left.
Spitelout marched over to his son as Snotlout did stretches and warm-ups. "Snotlout!" He called. The Jorgenson boy spun around in surprise and saw his father standing there. "Oh, hey, Dad. I'm just getting ready." Snotlout said. "Did you ever hear the story of when I almost lost the Thawfest Games?" Spitelout asked. "No. I never did." Snotlout answered. "That's right. Because it never happened." Spitelout barked. "No Jorgenson has ever come close to losing the Thawfest Games. So, don't you be the first." He walked away. Hookfang gave his rider a reassuring nuzzle but Snotlout pushed him away.
Aniu had come to say good luck to Hiccup when she overheard what Spitelout said to his son."Wow, looks like Snotlout's under a lot of pressure." She remarked. "Are you okay, Aniu?" Hiccup asked her gently. "I'm okay. My wing still hurts but I'm fine. And Hiccup, if you believe that winning the tiebreaker is the right thing to do, then do it. But if you believe that letting Snotlout win this year's Thawfest Games is the right thing to do, then do it." Aniu said. "Okay. I'm glad you're okay." Hiccup said, giving Aniu a hug. "I'll be watching you so see you later." Aniu said, walking away and sitting between her parents in the stands.
"Welcome to the final deciding event of this year's Thawfest Games: The Obstacle Course Race. Take it away, Gobber." Mulch announced. "The race will start here in the stadium. Where, after the log dodge and the cliff climb, Hiccup and Snotlout will get on their dragons and loop around the flagship anchored off the coast, slalom through the sea stack maze then head back here. The first one to pass that finish line is the winner." Gobber said.
"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" Hiccup asked Snotlout. "No." Snotlout said simply. "Okay. I just wanted to say have a good race and may the best Viking win." Hiccup said anyway. "Oh, we will. Don't you worry your scrawny little self about that. See you at the finish line, Hiccup. Or maybe, I won't."Snotlout said. "Alright, I tried. If that's how you want it." Hiccup said. "That's exactly how I want it." Snotlout snapped, walking away.
"Vikings and dragons, take your positions." Mulch announced. Hookfang and Toothless positioned themselves on the cliff their riders had to climb. "May the best dragon and rider pair win." Toothless said courteously to Hookfang. The Monstrous Nightmare nodded in agreement and reply. At least, Hookfang was more humble and less arrogant than his rider.
"On your mark, get set, GO!" Mulch hit Bucket's bucket with his hook-hand and the race started. "Out of my way." Snotlout hissed, shoving Hiccup aside. He was so desperate to win he resorted to cheating and he didn't notice Aniu, Astrid and Nava glaring at him. Snotlout skillfully dodged all the logs while Hiccup had more trouble. By the time Hiccup reached the cliff, Snotlout was already half-way up. To make the cliff climb more difficult, Vikings dropped down rocks and one hit Snotlout in the face but he just kept climbing.
"Ooh, a rock to the face. I love a good rock to the face." Tuffnut said enthusiastically. Ruffnut picked up a rock and hit her brother in the face with it. "Yeah, that's was I'm talking about." Tuffnut mumbled woozily. Hiccup was half way up the cliff when he saw Snotlout fly away on Hookfang. A rock hit him, causing Hiccup to lose his grip and slide down the cliff. "He's falling!" Gobber and Fengo shouted. "Hiccup!" Astrid and Aniu screamed. "I can't watch." Fishlegs whimpered, closing his eyes and covering Meatlug's eyes with his arm.
Hiccup managed to stop his fall with his prosthetic foot and climbed back up. "That's my boy." Stoick said proudly. "Okay, bud. We've got a lot of ground to make up for." Hiccup once he reached Toothless and mounted him. The Night Fury flew across the sky at furious speeds. "Look at them go!" Mulch yelled into his horn. "He's closing in on Snotlout!" Gobber exclaimed. "I can see that, Gobber." Stoick said, though inside his heart was beating with pride. Hiccup and Toothless caught up with Snotlout and Hookfang and looped around the flagship then headed back to Berk.
Toothless was just behind Hookfang as the two dragons navigated their way through the sea stacks. Then a sea stack appeared right in front of them, forcing the two dragons to fly in opposite directions. "Hiccup has to go the long way around." Astrid gasped. But thanks to the improved tailfin, Hiccup and Toothless made it back to the course. Snotlout and Hookfang were ahead of them but not for long.
Hiccup and Toothless shot past them and Hiccup looked at Snotlout with a smirk but Snotlout was whispering "No, I can't lose. Dad would be so angry at me." With a terrified look on his face. 'What am I doing?" Hiccup asked himself. "I'm sorry, Dad." He adjusted the tailfin, causing Toothless to falter in flight. "Something's wrong." Fishlegs said. Snotlout and Hookfang flew into the arena and crossed the finish line, setting it on fire in celebration. "And Snotlout is the winner of the Thawfest Games!" Mulch announced.
"Now that's a Jorgenson!" Spitelout whooped. "We did it. We did it. We did it!" Snotlout cheered. Hiccup and Toothless flew into the academy. "Nice flying, Snotlout." Hiccup said kindly. "Yeah, you put up a good fight but not good enough." Snotlout said. Both boys stepped up onto the stage where Stoick was waiting for them. "It's been a spectacular Thawfest Games. Perhaps the best ever. These two young men have put on quite a show but alas, there can be only one champion. The Thawfest dynasty continues. The winner and still champion is: Snotlout." Stoick said.
"We did it!" Snotlout cheered at his dragon as he did a little victory dance. Stoick placed the Thawfest medal around Snotlout's neck and he grinned up at his uncle. "You did your family proud." Stoick told his nephew and nodded at his son. Hiccup smiled at his father happily. "Snotlout, Snotlout, oi, oi, oi!" Snotlout chanted, running around Hookfang. Spitelout chanted along with his son.
Hiccup smiled at this and didn't notice Astrid, Aniu and Nava walk over to him until Astrid punched him on the shoulder. "Ow! What?" Hiccup yelped. "I know what you did." Astrid said. "Yeah, I lost as usual." Hiccup said. "No, you threw the race." Astrid replied. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Astrid. Snotlout was just the better Viking today." Hiccup said. "No, Hiccup. No one was a better Viking than you today." Astrid said then kissed Hiccup on the lips. When they parted, Hiccup was blushing and Aniu and Nava gently punched him on the shoulders before smiling at him.
"Yep, second again. Some things never change. But I guess certain things are more important than winning. Like being a good friend..."
Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless, Aniu, Nava and Stormfly watched Snotlout celebrate with his father and dragon with smiles on their faces.
"...even if the friend is that guy. Oh, well, there's always next Thawfest."
As for Stoick and Spitelout being brothers and having different last names, I came up with my own theory.
I wanted to get this chapter over and done with so I could write the next chapter. That's why it only took six days to write it. Next chapter is When Lightning Strikes. That's when the action and the plot picks up.
Christmas is coming Very Soon, it's only two weeks away. And the next thirteen episodes of Dragons: Race to the Edge are coming to Netflix on the 8thof January 2016. Whoo-hoo! Depends on what happens in the episodes, the more I can write on my stories.
This chapter was ten pages long on Microsoft Office.
Updated: 11.12.2015 Australian Time