Okay. Back into the swing of things. I've had a good long break, I finished my algebra homework that involved trigonometry (blech) and I'm ready to roll. Been playing some School of Dragons and seen some clips of the movie. Ready and refreshed. Here we go!

Now We're Getting Somewhere

"Second time on the Deadly Nadder!" Gobber called to us. It was me, Snotlout and Ashter who were left. The twins and Fishlegs were disqualified for the chance to kill the Monstrous Nightmare. Just the thought of me having to do it made my stomach churn. Snotlout, in another attempt to have Ashter notice her, threw her hammer at the Nadder. The dragon only laughed at Snotlout's futile attempt to hurt it. Snotlout stared for a moment then ran as the Nadder shot a column of fire at her.

"Snotlout, out!" Gobber shouted. Snotlout ran out of the arena. Ashter rolled left. The Nadder made a run for me and I dropped my shield in surprise. The dragon sniffed me before stopping and turning to Ashter who had his axe ready to strike and was letting out a battle cry. I looked between the dragon and Ashter and did something crazy. I remembered a soft spot in the neck from watching the dragon fighters before.

They would bring their fists up and punch the dragon in a certain spot on the dragon's neck. But instead of punching the dragon, I simply scratched the spot in the neck. The dragon slumped down on the ground. Ashter stopped running and stared at me. I smiled sheepishly at him.

"Uh... class dismissed," Gobber said. Ashter, along with the other teens, walked out of the arena. Gobber came into the arena and dragged the Nadder back into its pen. It purred contentedly as Gobber shut the doors to its pen.

Maybe that was a soft spot for the dragons, I thought. Gobber looked at me and gave me a 'go ahead' sign. I nodded appreciatively at him and dashed out of the arena. The saddle and harness were still in the forge so I had to grab those before anyone noticed. There were some villagers that gave me strange looks and I almost tripped over a few people.

===Author's POV===

Gobber walked to the docks, Stoick due to arrive any second. He didn't want to tell Hali just yet that her father was coming back from the dragon hunt already. Especially not now since she has a destiny with defeating a mountain-sized dragon that could mean the end of her. Gobber shuddered at the thought. The way he would handle it would be awful but for Stoick...

An extremely battered ship pulled into the docks just as Gobber walked up. There were many beaten-up men, covered in ash, bruises and blood. I'm sure they had fun, he thought dryly. They looked like their butts had been kicked. Badly.

Gobber walked through the crowed to find a glowering Stoick, the last of the men to pull themselves off the abused ship, his pride obliterated. "Where are the other ships?" a Viking asked.

"You don't want to know," came Spitelout's bitter reply.

Stoick limped past Gobber. "Well, I trust you found the nest at least?" Gobber asked.

"Not even close," Stoick muttered back.

"Ah. Excellent." As they walked up the ramp, Gobber took the heavy basket from his friend's hands with his hook, sharing the burden.

"I hope you had a little more success than me."

Gobber winced slightly which went unnoticed by the chief. "If by success, you mean that your parenting troubles are over with, then... yes." Stoick stopped dead in his tracks. What did Gobber mean? He couldn't possibly be implying...

A group of happy villagers rushed past them, saying things that worsened his suspicions. "Congratulations, Stoick! Everyone is so relieved!" one Viking said with a grin.

"Out with the old and in with the new, right?!" came another.

"No one will miss that old nuisance!" came the third. This didn't exactly help Stoick.

"The village is throwing a party to celebrate!" the last one said. Stoick stares ahead, stunned and overwhelmed by the insensitivity. He turned to Gobber, his features showing all too well what he was thinking.

"She's... gone?" he whispered.

Gobber shrugged as they continued walking. "Yeah... most afternoons," he told him. "But who can blame her? I mean the life of a celebrity is very rough. She can barely walk through the village without being swarmed by her new fans." By now, Stoick has his confusion doubled.

"Hali?"

Gobber beamed. "Who would've thought, eh? She just has this... way with the beasts." He decided to stop there. He didn't want to tell him about the destiny.

===Hali's POV===

I did manage to make it to the forge in one piece. Once I was in, I grabbed the saddle, the fin and my journal, peeked outside, and made a mad dash for the supply stock. I almost dropped my things in surprise when I got in the storage building. There were more that three times the fish inside. Gobber must've been busy. I slung a full basket on my shoulder, gathered the stuff back in my arms and ran into the woods.

The things slowed me down alright. Normally I would leave the saddle and fin with Toothless but I had to make adjustments because I wanted to do a real flight. Nervous, yes. Worried? Not one bit. I knew Toothless and I could fly successfully. I saw the Cove come into view and I picked up my pace. I could hear Toothless' excited purring grow louder as I stopped at the edge.

"Hey Toothless!" I shouted, a smile coming to my face. I clambered do the rocks and managed to put the things down before I was tackled to the ground. I grunted as my back hit the ground. As usual, Toothless started licking me happily.

"You're excited about something," Toothless observed. He looked at the saddle and tail fin behind me. "And the things look different. Almost like you modified them."

"Yep, I did. Glad you noticed. First, I think you may want to eat, then we'll go flying, got it?" I gestured as best I could to the basket behind me. His eyes lit up and he leaped over me and tipped the basket over. Piles of cod and salmon spilled out onto the ground. I rolled over to my stomach as I watched Toothless gobble up the fish. He smiled at me when he was done.

"Ready to try this out?" I asked. He gave me a look and I sighed with a smile on my face. "Yes, I ate today." He relaxed. I pushed myself off the ground and went over to the sprawled out things. I grabbed the tail and saddle first. I signaled for Toothless to come next to me. He obliged happily.

This better not fail on me, I thought. I tied the fin to the end of his tail. There were a lot of metal workings on this one so I had to take a little longer. I unraveled the metal cords and started wrapping them on the side of his tail. Then I attached the saddle to his back, connecting the cords together. I did something similar the time we tested the tail fin out but this was much more complex.

"How long did this take you?" Toothless asked me. He nudged my shoulder as I tied the saddle to him.

I tapped my chin. "Um... I have no exact idea." I tightened the tail fin cord to the stirrup. I made sure the saddle wasn't too tight on his neck. I then brushed myself off.

Toothless looked at my handiwork. "So we're flying?" I gave him a look.

"Well, of course! And I think this is the actual test." I smiled as I grabbed my journal. I then put my harness on, making sure all the cords were there. After that, I mounted the saddle, hooking myself to it and clipping my journal down with the tail fin positions page open. I wanted to be absolutely sure that nothing would go wrong. I was strapped onto the saddle, my journal clipped firmly.

I put my feet in the stirrups. Toothless seemed more than ready to get back up in the air considering his feet kept shifting. I chuckled lightly as I moved the tail fin into the first position. "Ready for this, love?" I asked, patting him on the side. I could see something twinkle in his eyes as he nodded.

"More than ever," he replied, looking up at the sky.

I took a deep breath, readying myself. "Let's do this." With a smirk, Toothless took off.