AN: Alright! That took longer then expected! W-Wha-! T-T-That's because I wasn't really expecting anyone to be upset over the length! I mean it fills me with warm tingly feelings to know that you want more of this, but the reason I've been able to type at a decent pace at all was because it was all done, and I didn't have to think about it! *Twitch* Making… excuses… heehee… Anyway! I managed to split the last chapter into two, but if I try for more then that, I'll get writers block and take forever to get back to you. ^_^; *Nervous laugh…*
Thanks for the kick in the pants Anon; I needed it.
Oh, and some of you seem to be under the impression that I'm writing a lemon in this story. Please read the warning on the first chapter. I'll write one for the prequel, when I get to it, but this is only NC-15. Sorry...
The very next day after his arrival, Ragnar announced that he would be staying through the season. He apologized profusely to Hiccup, and said that he wanted to learn about dragons as 'partners' instead. The young Viking was hesitant to believe him, but after a week of good behavior, Hiccup decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
"You have to be more gentle then that." Hiccup instructed as Ragnar desperately tried to get Thor's Claw to turn by yanking the reins as hard as he could. Stoick was allowing him to borrow his dragon, since despite his popularity, no one seemed interested in letting the Dragon Killer ride their trusted companions.
Ragnar huffed, throwing down the ropes in frustration. "This beast will not listen to me!"
Hiccup sighed. The man was almost impossible. They hadn't even gotten off the ground and they had been working on it for days. "Listen. I already told you. Just lean. When you lean too much you throw off their balance and they won't move. Just watch me." He leaned forward and a little to the left.
Battleaxe twitched her large head, immediately trotting to the left. Hiccup leaned a little more to the right side and the Nadder scurried that way. He'd had to borrow Astrid's partner after Ragnar insisted Toothless was only listening because they were Mated.
"The rope in your hands is just to help you feel more secure. You are hooked in and I promise it isn't going to break."
The man glared before finally just letting go. Claw hesitated when she felt the pull, before obediently moving to the side. Ragnar grinned surprised, and clumsily started leading the dragon around the simple obstacle course that had been set up in the old dragon-training arena. Ragnar almost looked like he was enjoying it, until he noticed Hiccup watching and scowled, crossing his arms. "There."
Hiccup smiled and looked over at Toothless. The Night Fury insisted on staying by Hiccups side while he was in the village. At least until Ragnar had gone on his way. The two of them continually glared at each other through out these lessons. And they were clearly never going to get along; but Hiccup thought that the Dragon Killer might be able to change. After all, the other Vikings did.
'I think I'm getting to him.' Hiccup sent mentally.
Toothless snorted, not convinced.
Hiccup rolled his eyes. 'Once he realizes how great you guys are, he'll forget all about wanting to kill you!'
There were so many times that Toothless admired his human's determination.
This was not one of them.
"Good job." Hiccup praised. He was almost glad his father had insisted on him being his teacher.
The man scowled. "When do we go up?" He asked.
Hiccup dismounted, giving Battleaxe a pat to let her know he was done. She squawked at him playfully before heading towards the center of the village. "Well it's almost dinner time, so I think that-"
He was interrupted when Astrid came running up. Battleaxe turning to follow her, clearly not bothered that she just went in a circle. "Hiccup!"
"What's wrong?" He asked when she grabbed his arm and started pulling him.
"It's the dragons." She said, which wasn't really a surprise. If it had been something else, she would have gone to Stoick. "Something's wrong with them; they wont eat."
Hiccup looked at her, then at Toothless. That wasn't something that had happened before. The Night Fury shook his head equally confused. "What do you mean they wont eat?" He asked breaking into a run. Toothless was beside him so he could climb on. Once seated he offered Astrid his hand and she swung up behind him. Battleaxe huffed, but wasn't really offended.
"Just what I said. They wont go anywhere near the food." Toothless lunged ahead until they reached the old torches that were used to hold fish for the dragons. Just like the girl had said, the dragons were nowhere near the makeshift dishes.
Hiccup got off and climbed up one of the ladders. They were all full of fish. Hiccup scratched his head confused until he noticed Toothless growl at the thing and back away. 'Oh!'
Ignoring how gross it was Hiccup started digging the fish to the side. He almost fell in at one point, but he found them. A whole batch of eels. He pulled one out just in time for Ragnar to walk up.
"Eels?" Fishlegs asked, walking to the bottom of the ladder and holding it as he climbed down. "Who would put those in there?"
"I have one idea." Hiccup muttered, mostly to himself. "Someone get these out of there!" Three older Vikings scrambled to obey the order while Hiccup approached Ragnar. "Are you responsible for this?"
The legend looked down at him with uncertainty. "For… the eel?"
Hiccup faltered. Not quite the reaction he was expecting. "Yes. Did you put eel in there?"
He nodded. "Yes. I went fishing with your father, and he told me to throw my catch in there. Why?"
Hiccup looked at him surprised. Could it be that… he really didn't know? "Did you… read the dragon guide?"
"Yes."
"…All of it?"
"I got the basics." Ragnar said with utter conviction, and then wavered. "There were just to many… words."
Hiccup sighed. What was it with Vikings and reading? "Dragons don't like eels." He informed the man, as the last of the eels were removed. The dragons wasted no time rushing the things. "Jeez! How long ago did you put them in?" He got rid of the one he was holding.
The man shook his head. "A few days ago."
"A few-!" He turned to the villagers. "Why did it take until now for someone to come get me?" They looked slightly ashamed.
"We didn't notice." Astrid said. "No one really climbs up so we didn't realize that they weren't eating."
Hiccup sighed. It was a good thing it was so cold, or the fish would have spoiled. Dragons could go days without eating, but it took a lot of energy to fly and shoot fire. Hiccup realized they had probably been acting different, but no one had noticed. Toothless usually caught his own dinner when they went flying, so it wasn't really surprising he hadn't realized something was wrong.
Once all of the dragons had eaten their fill, Hiccup allowed Astrid to pull him to the dinning hall. "Well that was exciting wasn't it?" She said as they sat down. "And everything is all better now."
Hiccup nodded, accepting the plate she grabbed for him.
"Hiccup!" Stoick boomed, appearing almost out of nowhere and thumping him on the back with a mighty hand. "I hear you solved the dragons problem today!" News still traveled fast in such a small village.
Hiccup looked up with a smile. "It was nothing Dad."
Stoick laughed again. His son was so strange! A modest Viking! He sat down across from him. "And how are those eggs coming along? They ready to hatch yet?" Everyone in the room looked over curiously. They all knew about it by now, and he barely made it a day without someone telling him how much they were looking forward to the little Night Furys.
It was amusing. Four years prier the idea of little Night Furys would have sent the island into a full-blown panic. "Not yet." He answered. "Toothless says we should wait another week or two before we start looking for them."
Ragnar grumbled over his meal, while everyone else murmured excitedly. "I wonder how many will hatch." Astrid said out loud. "And knowing you Hiccup, they'll all choose to stay."
Hiccup shook his head. "No, that won't happen. Dragons are too wild; we've never had an entire hatch stay with us." He felt a little sad at the thought, but he didn't want to fool himself.
"There's a first for everything." She teased, bumping him with her shoulder. "Isn't there Dragon Rider?"
He laughed.
…..
"Steady!" Hiccup called, looking down.
"I am steady!" Ragnar yelled, gripping the reins on the dragon's saddle like lifelines. The powerful Nightmare had no problem lifting a man of Ragnar's mass. Just as long as he didn't flail around, that is. Her wings lifted them higher and higher with each beat. "I'm just fine! As long as it doesn't try to kill me!"
Hiccup leaned over Toothless's shoulder. "Well he's definitely not graceful, is he?" He'd refused to use another dragon for the flight lesson. There were multiple reasons. One was that, without Hiccup, Toothless couldn't fly. He wasn't going to risk Hiccups safety, being alone with any danger in a place he couldn't reach. Another was that Hiccup was used to flying with Toothless alone. Too teach flying on a dragon that he wasn't familiar with would be inconvenient.
Lastly, except in dire emergencies, neither of them wanted Hiccup to ride another dragon. Flying was special. To the both of them.
'No human matches your grace.' Toothless told him. They seemed to be hanging in one place, waiting for the Viking legend.
Hiccup blushed, flattered, until an image of him stumbling around on the ground flashed through his head.
'While you're on my back anyway.'
"Figures that I'm only graceful in your element." Hiccup grumbled, although he was more embarrassed then annoyed. Even back when he'd had both feet, he had been a bit of a klutz. Toothless laughed amused.
"Hey!" Ragnar yelled when he was close enough. "No silent conversations! I hate that!"
Toothless growled.
Where did that human get off telling them they couldn't communicate!
"Easy Toothless…" Hiccup reminded. 'We only have to put up with him for a while longer. Then, hopefully, he'll be out of our hair for good.' If wishes were fish, he'd never have to hunt again.
"Ok! I'm up here!" Ragnar shouted, although they were only a few feet away, and could hear him easily. "Now what? Are you going to show me where to find that dragon grass?"
Metal clicked as Hiccup shifted his foot. Toothless took an immediate nosedive, skimming over the top of the frozen water, before coming up around him. "Maybe when you come a little closer to being able to match us." Hiccup said with a grin.
Ragnar glared. "And how am I supposed to be able to do that?"
Hiccup scratched his Mates neck, earning a pleased growl. "By trusting your dragon. Or, my Fathers dragon in this case." He leaned back as they made lazy circles around the dragon killer. "And practice. But to be honest, riding a dragon isn't difficult. The way they move complement the way we move, and vise-versa. Feel the way she moves underneath you. Guild her the same way you do on the ground."
Ragnar huffed stubbornly, but leaned forward. Thor's Claw seemed overjoyed at being back in the air, and took forward too fast. "Raghhhhh!"
Toothless laughed out loud, and Hiccup just managed to hold his own back. "Just trust her!" He yelled. "Come on Toothless, let's keep up."
The evening went by smoothly. Ragnar only fell off twice, and Thor's Claw caught him both times. By the end, he seemed to have gotten the hang of it.
"You can see everything from up here." The Dragon Killer said as they flew low over the island.
Toothless growled as they flew close to their grotto. Hiccup could feel his concern and they flew to his other side, steering him away. Ragnar looked at them.
"What are you doing? Is something over there?"
Hiccup shook his head. "No. I just thought that you might want to see one of our favorite fishing spots before nightfall. Tomorrow we'll fish." He laughed nervously.
Ragnar looked at him then nodded. "Alright… tomorrow…"
Hiccup shiver slightly as the cold wind blew over them. Suddenly, he had a bad feeling.
I know its short! Sorry! Honestly! I have no idea how to expand this! Real last chapter coming up. It… might take a bit… c-cause I gotta make it a decent length. Comment! Please! I'm weak against peer pressure!
HtTYD © Not me.