"Tuff...? Hey, Tuff," He blinked, shaking his head and looking away from the stonewall of the arena he had been staring at. Looking to his side with only half interested eyes, he watched Ruffnut resituate her shield on her arm, her own eyes concerned as they looked into his. Her right eye was still swollen pretty badly, and probably should've been bandaged, but she wouldn't have that. Ruffnut had always liked people to see her wounds. She had always liked answering the questions they inspired, and weaving the recounts that followed after those questions. She enjoyed wearing her wounds like a badge of honor.
"You going to be okay to do this? You look kinda like you did yesterday..." Now that she knew something was wrong with her brother she knew to look for the signs she had missed the other day before their fight. He gave a curt nod, tightening his white knuckled grip around the handle of the broad sword he was holding at his side. His gray eyes were once again hardened and glowering across the ring, now focused on the heavy wooden door that rattled before them.
"I need this." He grumbled to her, hefting his own shield up and sliding the leather belts over the thick of his arm. She continued to study him for a moment, continued to wonder if she needed to actually say something to someone this time.
"I don't think you do, Tuff. This lo-" Gobber hobbling over to the giant door caught her attention, dragging it away from her absolutely sociopathic looking twin, and stopping her words short.
"A'right, all of yah get in yer positions. This thing's been in here all damned mornin'." The kids gathered round, their gazes all locked on the door that was violently trembling in its locks. "Remember, yer just trainin'." With that the hook handed man jerked at a link of chains as wide as his good hand. The wooden bars lifted from the doors and they burst open, a blast of fire singeing their clothing as they all jumped out of the way.
The Monstrous Nightmare clawed its way out of the containment room, growling as it looked from left to right for potential threats. Its spiked tail drug across the stones with hissing whispers, the heat radiating off its irritated body almost too much to bear when it was too close. For a moment, the creature was the only thing moving, and the tension blanketing all of them had everyone holding their breath.
Astrid moved forward with a war cry, dropping an axe into the stones near one of the beast's taloned feet, causing it to roar in outrage. She jerked the giant blade out of the worn rock, glancing between it and the snarling dragon with hurried eyes. She stumbled back a few steps as the dragon whipped around, spitting fire at her with an easy grace. Hiccup jumped in front of her, holding up his shield to catch the blaze, saving them both. Snotlout attacked the animal's tail, turning its attentions away from the young couple as Hiccup hastily helped Astrid to her feet.
Ruffnut looked at her stock still twin, watching him stare in rage as the little brunette boy jumped to save his girlfriend. The crinkling of leather made her look down at Tuffnut's sword, her eyes easily focusing in on the calloused knobs of his white knuckles. "Tuff...I really think you should sit this one out..." She reached for his arm, her preferred weapon, a war hammer as tall as her and almost four times as heavy, resting against her bird thin legs.
She didn't remember much of last night, she would admit, but she did remember that Tuffnut had told her he had imagined she was someone else when he was hitting her. And she remembered the way he was brooding and scowling before their sibling's tiff had become an all out death match. She had never seen her brother like this though. He never had let something bother him to this extent before. It looked almost like he was going mad over something. But, even as she tried to follow his eyes around the arena, she couldn't figure out what.
The dragon looped around the stone training area, now clawing straight for them, jaws open, body ablaze. Ruffnut grabbed her hammer and hoisted it into her grasp, looking between her stone still brother and the oncoming Nightmare. "I said I need this." He snarled, gripping his sword and running straight for the animal. Ruffnut's eyes widened in surprise as she watched him take off.
"Tuff, wait! What are you DOING?" She screeched, jerking after him in an attempt to save the boy from himself.
"Thorston! You'll kill yourself!" Gobber lurched forward too, watching the tall blonde lope up to the raging beast, sword held high above his head. The dragons and the vikings had worked out an agreement recently. The vikings thought it was still necessary for their offspring to be able to fight a dragon, even if they didn't have to. If you could fight a dragon, you could fight anything. In future times of war it would come in handy. Why fear another viking if you don't even fear a giant, fire breathing lizard? But, it was just that, an agreement.
The arrangement was an untamed dragon would be brought into the arena for the training. Usually that got the beast use to humans and trained it in a very basic way, setting it up to be trained further by Hiccup or another, to become a pet of someone. The only rules were, the humans couldn't hurt the dragon.
Subdue, yes, hurt, no. If the creature hurt them it was another story, it was the teen's own fault and no repercussions were held against the offending animal. They had yet to figure out what would happen if they hurt one of the dragons, but Gobber suddenly got the feeling they were going to find out.
Tuffnut struck for the animal's open maw, gashing its nostril and sending the beast rearing back in pain. Its long neck curled back and upwards, twisting as it shook its bleeding head and extinguished the fire engulfing its body. It shrieked, still attempting to back up from the unexpected attacker, its bloody yellow eyes closed in pain.
The blonde twin leered, twisting the blade in his grasp before dancing back beneath the creature's feet, dropping the blade onto the animal's taloned feet; like Astrid had feigned doing. It roared again, opening its eyes to snarl down at the smirking twin. Opening its fanged maw and dropping its head with surprising speed, it intended to snap the whip-thin boy in half. Ruffnut tackled him out of the way instead.
"Get off me! Dammit, what are you DOING?" He threw his sister off of himself, snatching his sword off the ground as the Nightmare snapped at Fishlegs, who was banging on his shield with his sword to draw its attentions away. He hated how they all were watching out for each other now. He missed the man on dragon, every man for himself, matches they use to have.
"I should be asking you the same thing! Odin's beard, Tuff! You can't HURT the dragon! Let alone provoke it into eating you!" Ruffnut threw her hand towards the Nightmare as she stared at him with stunned eyes. She had already scrambled off the ground and looked like she was about ready to pin him again.
He got up with a snort, "Yeah, I know. All that subdue the dragon shit." He grumbled, looking away and happening to catch Hiccup in his line of vision. The skittish brunette was dancing under the dragon's heated gaze, the pure epitome of nervousness as the snarling creature regarded him with unamused eyes. Blood still dripped from its torn nostril, and it was still leaving bitter reminders of foot-printed blood all over the stone flooring. Suddenly, it dropped its head again, snapping for Hiccup's waist, just like it had Tuffnut's.
The blonde flinched forward, but stopped when Hiccup moved out of the way fast enough. He relaxed a little as the boy managed to find the spot on the dragon's warm neck, scritching at it the right way to lull the creature into a sleep-like state, stilling the match. "He always was only good for dodging." Tuffnut grumbled, dropping his shield and turning to skulk off. Ruffnut watched after him with a glare.
"You can't go anywhere! You need to stop right here, right now, and tell me what's WRONG with you!" Her bark rang out across the now quiet arena, causing the others to cast curious glances their way, and freezing him in his tracks. He knew when the right buttons had been pushed on his sister; even if he hadn't meant to push them.