Hiccup grabbed the ax from where he'd set it the night before. Herby nipped into his satchel and snuggled himself into the cozy space, tucking his tail in nicely. They walked to the arena, Nina trying not to roll her eyes when she realized that it was going to be only the kids who had been nothing but Hiccup's tormentors. What he saw in Astrid, she didn't know.
"Have fun," she said to Hiccup as he walked down into the arena. Gobber brought up both the rear and the front. The gates rose and the students made their way into the large cage with chains on the top and a massive chain which didn't seem possible to have been made by human hand. She could hear a general chatter but decided it'd be best if she waited by the mechanism that raised and lowered the outer gate.
Gobber slipped into the role of teacher quite quickly, if not naturally. Nina and Herby barely caught the word "Gronckle" before he threw a lever and unleashed a caged dragon. She almost turned away, knowing that this beast, this magnificent creature, was terrified, and reacting to a threat. Her hands gripped the bars with white-knuckled intensity, nervous for Hiccup. When a stray blast landed near her, she leapt back, landing on all four, knees just a bit above the ground. She rose and crawled forward, peering over the edge as the dragon targetted Hiccup. Her heart hammered. Why was it targetting Hiccup? He posed no threat to it! She had to hold herself exceptionally still, fighting the urge to leap into action, grabbing its ears and flinging it into the still open stables.
Gobber, though reckless and kind of irresponsible, stuck his hook into the Gronckle's mouth and pulled up, forcing its final shot to land just above a thoroughly frightened Hiccup. After sending the dragon into the stables and locking the doors, Gobber turned to address the class.
"Remember! A dragon will always, always, go for the kill," he said. Nina bit her tongue, knowing it was only true if the dragon was trapped.
Hiccup was lifted off the ground then set back on his feet. He looked at the singed and glowing wall before turning and seeing Nina. He seemed to sigh with relief and grabbed his ax on his way out. Dropping it off at home, he and Nina headed into the forest.
They sat in her bunker as the weather threatened to pelt them with rain, sleet and possibly an early snow.
"I think I should do something," Hiccup said after discussing what had happened in the arena. Every eye in the room turned to him curiously, including a tiny Terror in his lap who Nina introduced as Pipsqueak, or Pip for short.
"What do you mean?" Nina asked, her head unconsciously tilting slightly.
"I want to study the Night Fury. No one's ever seen one up close before," he said. His eyes were a-glow with the fiery desire to discover.
Nina nodded, looking absently around the room for a bit. "Do you want me to send a Terror with you? They'll at the very least buy you some time in case something goes horribly wrong."
"Well if you insist, I can't say no, can I?" he chuckled. She chortled along with him.
"True," she agreed.
"Mind if I take Pip?" he said picking up the Terror in his lap. Pip had laid his head back down on Hiccup's knee, dozing. He blinked sleepily around the room, licking his nose a couple times.
Nina's heart absolutely dissolved. Sleepy Pip with Hiccup was adorable. To cover her actions she said, "He looks so sleepy. I'm sure if you asked him if he wanted to go on an-" She scribbled "ADVENTURE" on a spare piece of paper and showed it to him. "-he'd wake up and be as energetic as a young kid."
Herby coughed a laugh. "Yeah. May want to take Puh-puh-puh-eh-p. Wear him out. Make him sleep good tonight instead of-" he said, cutting himself off to glance at Nina.
"Yeah, instead of keeping us up two-thirds the night," she said with giggle. "Usually he's bouncing off the walls, rocking in his hammock, pestering us all, or pouncing on me, trying to get me to play. Gods, it's a pain!"
Hiccup laughed and tucked Pip under his arm. "Alright, I'll be off then," he said heading for the door.
"Wait!" He paused and looked back at Nina. She grabbed a small satchel and handed it to him. "It'll make carrying him easier, and make keeping him a secret from any villagers wandering around the forest."
He took the strap of the bag and dumped lil Pip inside. "Thanks," he said. He swung the bag over his shoulder and climbed out of the bunker, closing the door behind him.