Dimmadreki Chapter 7

The next few days fell into a pattern. Both dragons would sleep in their cove during the day. As the sun went down, they would wake up and eat their breakfast; Myrkrid still had to catch it, but Hiccup no longer had any trouble eating it. She would spend the night teaching him about some aspect of being a dragon – breathing fire, catching fish, or the finer points of flying. He always found an excuse to just fly for a while, no matter what she wanted to teach him. She got used to that, and stopped resisting him. As the sun came up, they'd return to the cove and go to sleep again.

He was a fast learner. He'd always loved learning new things, especially things with practical applications, and nothing could be more practical than keeping himself alive. Add the fact that flying was the most amazingly exciting thing he'd ever done, and the result was a student who couldn't get enough of his lessons. He soon found that he had a natural aptitude for a lot of what she was teaching him. She attributed it to his dragon past, of course, which continued to frustrate him. But her insistence that he'd never been a human had no impact on her teaching, or on his learning.

After a week had passed, he realized he'd grown accustomed to Myrkrid being around. He didn't look at her and think, "scary dragon;" he looked at her and thought, "friend." Of course, her intentions toward him were scary in their own right, but that was still far in the future. Yes, she was a big black reptile, but so was he, and she treated him with more kindness than he'd known in years. He no longer pulled away when she lay down right next to him, and it didn't bother him to wake up and find that she'd wrapped a wing around him while they slept. In fact, he realized that he kind of liked it.

It's my dragon brain, he decided. It's changing the way I think. Can I fight it? Should I fight it? How do you rebel against your own brain? There are moments when I really like the direction it's taking me.

One morning as they settled down for a good day's sleep, he turned to her. "Tonight, I want to do something different. I want to find the Viking who can prove that I used to be human once."

"How do you plan to do that?" she asked indulgently.

"I'll land next to his house tonight and scratch some runes in the dirt," he answered. "I'll give him a challenge that he can't resist, and tell him where to meet me. Tomorrow night, I'll meet with him while you watch and listen from the shadows, and you'll find out that I've been telling you the truth all along."

"How is this Viking going to convince me of anything, seeing how I won't understand a word he's saying?" she wondered.

"I'll give him written instructions to do certain things, like touch me on the nose with his left hand. You and I will agree on those things beforehand. When he does them, you'll know I'm communicating peacefully with him, and that will prove that I used to be just like him."

"You're assuming he's going to be peaceful," she said. "What if he sees you and tries to kill you?"

"I can fly away if he tries anything," he answered readily. "I'm not a prisoner of the ground anymore. And I've got a very strong feeling he wouldn't do that."

"If he does, I'll take him out," she growled.

"I really, really wish you wouldn't do that," he asked her. "This guy is a friend... sort of... or he used to be. It would bother me to see him hurt."

"That's nothing to how I'd feel if I saw you hurt!" she shot back. The intensity of her reply surprised him. "Dimmadreki, you've become more than just a convenient male for me. You're smart, you're brave, you learn fast, you're kind and polite... I like you. I really, really like you. I don't want to lose you. This whole idea of yours sounds dangerous and a waste of time. What's the point? What will it change?"

He was speechless.

"Oh, I know," she went on. "You think you're a human on the inside, and the idea of a dragon liking you that way must be appalling. But I –"

"No, it's not that," he cut in hastily. "It's that... no female ever said that to me before. I don't know how I'm supposed to react."

"Never?" She was quite surprised.

"Where I come from, the girls go for guys who are tall, muscular, heroic, and stupid. I never had a chance. Now a nice lady dragon is telling me all the things I dreamed of hearing from a human lady, and I'm all mixed up inside."

She swung her tail toward him, and he tensed up for the blow. But she didn't hit him. Her tail fins swished along his side in what could only be called a caress. A small part of him wanted to scream and run, but a larger part of him wanted to close his eyes and enjoy it. He honestly wasn't sure which part he should listen to. He quivered.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked softly.

It took him a second to start thinking again. "Yes, there is. You can help me fix it so you aren't mixed up too. Go with me to Berk tomorrow night. See for yourself that I'm not deluded or forgetful. If you understand my past, then maybe you'll understand me a little better."

She sighed resignedly. "You're really determined to walk into a village full of humans who want to kill you on sight, just so you can reclaim a piece of a past that made you miserable? Dimmadreki, because I like you, I'll do this for you. Once. I'm doing it only to keep you safe, not because I expect to learn anything. If it doesn't work the way you think it will, then neither of us is going back there ever again. Deal?"

"Deal," he nodded. They closed their eyes. After a few seconds, he quietly asked, "Myrkrid, could you sing your little song for me again?" She smiled and began to croon. The sound completely relaxed him and filled him with peace, even though he knew it wasn't a lullaby anymore. For her, it had become a love song.

o

Two nights later, two darker-than-dark shapes flew in a broad circle over Berk. "Explain to me again why we're walking into this trap," she asked him.

"The runes I left in his front yard were very clear. I said, WANT TO KNOW THE STATS ON NIGHT FURIES? COME TO THE RING TOMORROW, MIDNIGHT, ALONE. That will entice his curiosity like nothing else on earth, and it said nothing that would make him want to bring anyone else along. He'll be here, and he'll be here by himself."

"I hope you're right," she said doubtfully. "Where's the ring?"

"It's that big circular pit to our left," he explained. "We'll meet him outside of it – I won't risk getting trapped inside, no matter how much I trust my friend. We'll land next to that raised stone platform next to it. You'll stay out of sight, and watch and listen. If something does go wrong, you'll be close enough to do something about it."

They landed and took their positions, and waited.

About fifteen minutes later, they saw a tiny light approaching. Myrkrid stared into the darkness. "He looks big," she said nervously.

"He's very big, but he has a good heart," Hiccup replied. "He's just about the only one who was never cruel to me."

"That's setting the bar pretty low for what 'good' means, but I'll go along with you for now," she nodded. She stopped talking as the young man with the lamp got closer.

"Hello?" he called in a high, squeaky voice. "Night Fury expert? I did what you said; I'm here alone. Where are you?"

Hiccup coughed quietly. He hadn't realized how hard he was to see in the dark. He should have known – every Viking had tried to see the Night Furies during the dragon raids, including him, and all had failed – but it was still a novelty to stand twenty feet away from a boy with a lamp and remain unseen.

Fishlegs jumped at the sound of his cough. He stared in the direction the sound came from. "Uhh, hello?" he called. Hiccup opened his narrowed eyes wide and took a step toward him.

The big young man froze, terrified. Hiccup quietly walked to within ten feet of him, then stopped and began scratching runes on the rocks with his claw. He wrote them upside-down so Fishlegs could read them right-side-up; it took him a while.

YOU WANTED A NIGHT
FURY EXPERT? HERE I AM

Fishlegs stared at the runes. He stared at the dragon. He stared at the runes again. He stared at the dragon again. He finally found his voice. "Am I a dead man?"

Hiccup chuckled and shook his head "no."

"Okay," Fishlegs quavered. "I almost got killed by a Deadly Nadder in dragon training this morning, a Gronckle blew my shield away this afternoon, and now I'm standing here having a friendly conversation with what might be a Night Fury. I seem to be having tremendous difficulty with my lifestyle."

Hiccup chuckled again and wrote.

NIGHT FURY STATS:
SPEED = MAXIMUM
FIREPOWER = 10+
DIET = FISH

As an afterthought, he added,

INTELLIGENCE = HICCUP

That got Fishlegs' full attention. "How do you know about Hiccup?" he stage-whispered.

MAGIC IS AT WORK HERE.
I AM HICCUP

Fishlegs slowly shook his head. "Umm… no. Hiccup is a skinny guy with 18 intelligence and a Luck factor of 3. You're a big black dragon. One of these things is not like the other."

MY FATHER IS STOICK, THE CHIEF.
I DISAPPEARED THE NIGHT OF THE
LAST DRAGON RAID.
HOW ELSE CAN I CONVINCE YOU?

"Let me think… uhh… okay. Name our other three friends."

YOU MEAN FOUR FRIENDS, RIGHT?

"Uh-huh. I was trying to trick you." He suddenly looked panic-stricken. "What am I doing? I'm trying to trick a dragon! That never ends well in the stories."

NO HARD FEELINGS. OUR FRIENDS
ARE SNOTLOUT, RUFFNUT, TUFFNUT,
AND (SIGH) ASTRID

Fishlegs' eyes went as wide as saucers. Very hesitantly, he took a step toward Hiccup, then another. "Is that really you?" he whispered. He reached out a shaking hand.

Hiccup pulled back a few inches and wrote quickly.

USE YOUR LEFT HAND

"Uhh… I know you're left-handed, Hiccup, but… is this some weird dragon bonding ritual?"

JUST PAT MY NOSE WITH
YOUR LEFT HAND

"You won't bite me?"

NOT EVEN A LITTLE

"Is this going to turn me into a Night Fury too?"

I'M 97% SURE IT WON'T

"It really is you. Oh, my gosh… I'm going to touch a dragon and live! Even Astrid never did that!" He switched hands and reached out with his left hand until his palm rested on Hiccup's nose. The dragon blinked and made eye contact. Fishlegs looked almost ecstatic. "This is amazing! Nobody ever even saw a Night Fury before!" Then he looked sober. "What happened to you?"

I DON'T KNOW, AND I WASN'T
EXPECTING IT, BUT THIS IS
WHAT I AM NOW.
TELL MY DAD I'LL BE OKAY

"I really don't think he'll call it 'okay' if I tell him you turned into a dragon."

Hiccup paused. There was a question he had to ask, even though he feared he might not like the answer.

IS MY DAD WORRIED ABOUT ME?

"He's getting nervous, yeah. He doesn't have any people to spare, but whenever he can, he sends out search parties. He asked for volunteers, but…" He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't have to. Hiccup could guess the rest.

"Do I really have to tell him about you?" Fishlegs went on. "Anything I say will make things worse, and he'll want to know where I got my facts, and… that could get really uncomfortable." Hiccup had to admit he was right; he knew how intense his father could be when he wanted to know something. He hated to think his dad would worry about him, but what could he possibly say that would ease his mind?

He was distracted by a snort from the shadows. Fishlegs heard it, too, and jumped away. "What was that?" he asked fearfully.

THAT'S MYRKRID.
SHE'S

…and he stopped. What should he call her? Teacher? Girl friend? Future mate?

SHE'S MY FRIEND.
CAN YOU DO ONE MORE THING?
HOP ON ONE LEG THREE TIMES

That was the other sign that he and Myrkrid had agreed on to show that he could communicate with a Viking. Fishlegs gave him a very puzzled look.

"Hiccup, you were always a little different, but… what?"

PLEASE

"I'm not so good at hopping. Could we play Twenty Questions or something instead?"

THIS IS IMPORTANT.
YOU'RE BEING WATCHED.
PLEASE DO THIS

"Okay," Fishlegs said doubtfully. He hopped three times, and fell over on the last hop. Hiccup lunged, caught him on his nose, and lifted him back onto his feet.

"Thanks, Hiccup," he said, a bit shaken. "Can I ask you something? I never saw a Night Fury before, and I don't know if I'll ever see one again. Could I kind of, you know, see what you look like?"

Hiccup turned sideways, spread his wings for a few seconds, and fanned his tail fins as Fishlegs stared rapturously. Hiccup suddenly realized that, for the first time in his life, he was showing off for an appreciative audience. No more talking fishbone! He had become something beautiful.

"Wow! You're awesome!" Fishlegs blurted out. "After what I've seen tonight, I'm going to be walking around smiling for a week! Uhh… am I going to see you again?"

I DON'T KNOW.
IF I CONTACT YOU AGAIN, I MAY
USE MY NEW NAME, DIMMADREKI

"Shadow Dragon? How did you get so cool, Hiccup? Actually, I had one more question. If the dragons come again… I don't want to hurt your feelings, but, uhh…"

IF A NIGHT FURY RAIDS BERK,
IT WON'T BE ME

"Thanks. I'm kind of glad to know that." He suddenly realized it was getting very dark. "My lamp is almost out of oil. I guess I need to go. I don't know what all this was about, but… thank you, Hiccup. I mean Dimmadreki."

YOU'RE WELCOME, AND THANK YOU

Hiccup watched him go. There goes my last contact with humanity, probably, he thought. At least he didn't try to kill me. It'll give me something positive to remember the human race by.