Chapter 4

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Thought / Dreams / Event from the past

[Voice from the past]

"Dialogue"

Letter

Emphasis

Dangerous Tone

The second they arrived back at the clearing, Hiccup slid off Toothless's back and lied on the ground, he need to calm his nerves. Toothless crooned softly to him and curled around him, nudging Hiccup's shoulder with his snout. "I'm alright, buddy." Hiccup said after he calmed down, "Just need time to calm down, don't worry." He explained before sitting up to look at his dragon, "That thing, was that your Queen?" He asked seriously.

Toothless growled in anger and shook his head.

Hiccup gulped, "Alright, let me guess what happened." He started, "From what I saw, I guess that thing - let's just call it Red Death for now – invaded your home and forced you to raid Berk? And that thing will eat the dragons if they didn't feed it?".

Toothless nodded and laid his head on the ground with a sad rumble, Hiccup scratched the dragon's head as he thought about the situation at hand. "If I want to stop the war between Vikings and dragons, the best way to start is to kill the Red Death, then show the Vikings that they don't have to kill the dragons." He said thoughtfully before looking at the sky, "Oh man, it's not as easy as I thought . . ." He then looked at Toothless and smiled, "But I know that I can do it with you by my side, buddy".

Toothless nudged his chest and let out a contented rumble, showing Hiccup that he was thinking the same.

XXXXX

Astrid was walking through the woods to read Hiccup's book again when she heard it, a pained whimper of an injured animal. She stopped walking and looked around before she saw it, not far from her was a bluish green Terrible Terror, and one of the tiny dragon's wings was bending in a strange angle.

The Terror saw her and whimpered again, but this time it sounded like the dragon was scared, not to mention that the tiny dragon was staring at her with fear filled eyes. It was then that Astrid know that dragons wasn't brainless creatures, the Terror clearly understood that she was a Viking, and Vikings normally kill dragons. It's clear that dragons can feel emotion too, not heartless like what they believed.

Hiccup is right about dragons being intelligent creatures . . . Astrid thought in realization, Well, let's see if the dragons really won't attack unless feel threatened. She took a step forward and the dragon whimpered again, she then remembered that Hiccup wrote about gaining the dragon's trust. Okay, let's try it. She thought decisively.

Astrid carefully laid her double-edged axe on the ground and raised her hands to the creature, "Calm down." She said in the most soothing voice she could make, it's a bit hard considering that she was raised to be a fierce warrior, "I don't have a weapon, see?" She asked as she slowly walking to the creature, and she was surprised that the dragon didn't whimper again, and the fear was replaced by caution.

She walked slowly to the dragon until she arrived in front of the branch where the dragon stood at, "It's okay." She said again, "I won't hurt you." She promised and raised her hand, the dragon moved it's head back a bit as if avoiding her hand. 'Look at the ground and raise your hand', right. She thought before looking down at the ground and slowly raising her hand to where she thought the dragon's snout would be, she closed her eyes as she wait.

Half a minute passed and Astrid was wondering if what Hiccup wrote about dragons were wrong after all, but then she felt it, something scaly and warm touched her palm. She looked up in surprise to see the tiny dragon touched it's snout on her palm with it's eyes closed, she couldn't help but smile. "That's right." She said softly, "I won't hurt you." She then raised her other hand, "Come here." She coaxed softly, "Let me look at your wound, maybe I can help you".

The tiny dragon opened it's eyes and looked at her for a few seconds before leaning to her hands, Astrid picked it up as gentle as she could then sat on the ground after making sure no one was around. She inspected the wound on the dragon's right wing and found that it's bone was broken, "Hmm." She hummed as she looked around, "Well, little dragon, I can help you with your wing, but I can't do it in here and right now." She said before looking at the dragon, "How about this, I will bring you to a place where you can rest first, I need to go home and get something for your wing then come back to you to treat your broken wing." She told the dragon and waited for some kind of response, she got her answer when the dragon nodded it's head, surprising her since she didn't know that a dragon could nod.

"Alright." She said and stood up, being careful about the dragon in her hands. She walked to her axe and picked it up before heading for the cove where she saw Hiccup with the Night Fury before, she felt like she was intruding Hiccup's privacy by entering the cove, but she thought that the cove would be the perfect place to hide the injured dragon. She looked around for a good place for the dragon before an idea entered her head, she picked up the bucket that was laying there, possibly the one Hiccup used to feed his dragon, and went to behind the rock. "Wait here a moment." She said as she gently placed the dragon on some place away from the rocks, she went back to the rocks.

Astrid arranged the bucket and the rocks until they formed a small cave with the bucket as the roof, she smirked as she satisfied with her work before she went to the tiny dragon who crooned curiously at her. "I made something for you." She said as she picked the dragon again and brought it to the small cave, "If you stay here, no one aside from me can find you." She explained slowly to make sure the tiny creature would understand perfectly, "I don't know how long it would take for your wing to heal, but this way, you can have a safe place to stay".

She lowered the dragon to the ground and watched as the dragon looked at the small cave before curling up on the ground, the dragon then looked at her from it's spot, as if saying that it would wait there. Astrid smiled in wonder, the dragon was more intelligent then she had first thought, "Alright." She said as she stood up, "Wait here. I will try to get back as soon as I can".

The dragon squawked at her in answer.

Astrid nodded before running out of the cove, she ran out of the forest as fast as she could before slowing down and walking casually to her home. Huh? She blinked when a random thought entered her mind as she entered her room, I guess this must be how Hiccup felt when he befriended his dragon. She mused silently to herself as she finally registered what kind of feeling that she was feeling the whole time she was interacted with the Terrible Terror.

She felt excited and anxious. The knowledge that only her in the whole village - not including Hiccup of course, since he already left - who could get close with a dragon without getting attacked made her excited. She also knew what most people didn't know, again aside from Hiccup, making her felt even more excited. Although, the knowledge that she befriended a dragon make her anxious, if the people knew, they would surely brand her as a traitor.

She bet that Hiccup felt like this too before he ran away, possibly to protect his dragon and avoiding having to kill a dragon. If in the past she would mock Hiccup for that, she now could understand. Even after only a few minutes interacting with her tiny dragon, she had lost her desire to kill a dragon. It's impossible to think about killing a dragon after knowing that they can be a gentle creature with the right handling, just like what she saw in her tiny dragon.

Right, the Terrible Terror would be her dragon, just like how the Night Fury was Hiccup's dragon. She would make sure no one touch her dragon, she would protect her dragon friend. Even so, she couldn't help but wondering if she could befriend a dragon that could help her fly, just like how the Night Fury help Hiccup fly by letting Hiccup onto it's back on a saddle. Alright then, she decided to herself, I will try to get close with one of the dragons in the arena, maybe with the Nadder since it's more beautiful than other type of dragons in the arena.

Astrid quickly went to retrieve a roll of bandage, she then remember that she need to get food for the Terrible Terror, but she didn't know what a dragon like to eat. That's when she remembered Hiccup's book, the manual of how to train a dragon, she opened the book and going right to the chapter for dragon's food, fortunately it's right in chapter two.

Chapter 2

A happy dragon is the best.

You already gained your dragon's trust and could touch them, it would be best not to upset them after all that. If you want to feed your dragon, they like fish, so you can give them fish. If your dragon is big, they need more fish than the smaller dragon. Another food like is boars and so on is also good, but they prefer fish more, even more so if the fish are a fresh catch.

DON'T give them EELS! If you give your dragon an eel, they will back away from it and – or roaring to you until the eel got very far away from them. Better safe than sorry, so don't give them eels.

Dragons like to get scratched. You want for your dragon to be happy, just give them a nice scratch. You need to be careful though, some spots would be their favorite spot for you to scratch them, but one particular spot below their chin might be too good for them that they get knocked out. If you want to find this particular spot, better not do it when your dragon is above you, you will get pinned underneath them then.

A happy dragon is easier to be trained than an upset one, and certainly they would listen to you more if you keep them happy. So in order to not make your dragon upset, don't give them eels and DON'T treat them like a mere PET.

Dragons are prideful creature, to treat them like pets would be an insult for them. Dragons are your COMPANIONS, your PARTNERS, your FRIENDS, so treat them like one and they would be happy with you around them.

Note : Terrible Terrors love attention. Pay attention to them and they would be happy, but too much attention and excitement would make your hands full with a hyper tiny dragon.

Terrible Terrors love attention? That's new. Astrid thought as she closed the book and head out for the kitchen, she took a few fishes her family had and put them into a small bag, it wouldn't do to have people wondering what she was doing with raw fishes in the woods. I wonder what he means about this particular spot. She asked herself before a memory of one event in the Dragon Training was brought to the surface.

Astrid was getting ready to hit a Deadly Nadder with the side of her axe when a hand scratched below the chin of the Nadder, the Nadder fell to the ground and Hiccup come to her view. Hiccup shot her with a sheepish yet nervous smile while shrugging.

Astrid blinked at the memory, I guess, it's what Hiccup mean in his book by feeling too good until getting knocked out. She mused as she walked to the woods, Now that I think about it, Hiccup never tried to hurt the dragons in the arena, he only got them into their cages without having to hurt them.

Astrid was already deep in the woods when she remembered something important, she need some board to help the little dragon with it's broken wing. She looked around and saw a fallen tree nearby, but then she was surprised when she saw that this part of the woods was damaged, and a few black scales caught her attention.

[Okay, but I hit a Night Fury]

That was what Hiccup said the night before he joined Dragon Training. If what Hiccup said was true that night, then the black scales lying around nearby would be that of the Night Fury's. Astrid thought as she looked at the scales, He also mentioned Raven's point, and this area is Raven's point, she looked around at the many of .broken or fallen trees. Wow, Hiccup really did hit a Night Fury that night.

She shook her head to clear her mind and focus on the matter at hand, she went to one of the fallen trees and broke them apart with her axe, she then work on them until she got two boards with the same size and thickness. These will do, she decided before began running to the cove, she went into the cove and ran to the rock right away, she slowed to a walk when she near the rock before stopping in front of her hand made cave. "Hello, little guy." She greeted her dragon, but was surprised when the dragon squawked indignantly at her, she blinked, "Um, are you a girl then?" She asked, the dragon nodded in answer.

"Alright then, little girl." She said as she pulled out the bag with fishes and put it on the ground, "I brought you some fish, but you can only eat them after I finish fixing your wing." She told the dragon, who whined in protest, "Think about it as a reward for hard work, because in order for me to help your wing to heal, I need to get it into the right position, and it would hurt when I move your wing. If you can wait patiently and endure the pain when I work on your broken wing, you can have the fish as your reward, and I will get you more fish tomorrow." She bargained, "How about it?".

Her dragon let out a breath that was similar to a sigh, making her smile in amusement, who knew that a dragon could sigh? Okay, Hiccup might know about it since he seemed to know more about dragons than the rest of Berk, judging by what he wrote in his book.

Astrid smiled at her dragon before began working, she get the broken wing into it's right position and pinned it with the two boards before securing them by wrapping them with bandages, all the while ignoring the whimpers and whines from her little dragon. "There, it would be best not to move your broken wing too much, it will heal faster that way." She said happily, satisfied with her work.

Her dragon looked at her wing before shot Astrid with pleading look, Astrid chuckled, "Alright." She said as she let the fish out of the bag in front of her dragon, "They are for you, I will bring a more fresher fish tomorrow." She promised, "Now, you need a name . . ." She looked thoughtfully at the Terror who was looking at her with curiosity. She smiled, "Rivera." She said softly, "Your name is Rivera, your scale's color shining like the flow of a river, the 'a' in the end to make it sound more feminine".

Rivera crooned happily at her in response, happy to have her own name.

Astrid chuckled, "You are so cute, Rivera." She said happily as she gently scratched the dragon's head, earning a content purr in response.

Astrid was grateful that she never killed a dragon before, or she might really regret it heavily now.

XXXXX

"Stoick, are you in there?" Gobber asked as he knocked the door to the Chief's home.

The door opened not long after to reveal a depressed Stoick, "Come in, Gobber." He said as he opened the door more to let his friend in.

"Ah, no, I'm not coming in, not now." Gobber answered with a grin, "Come with me, my friend, I'm sure you will feel better after this".

Stoick shot Gobber a look that saying 'I don't think so', "The only thing that could make me feel better is if my son came home." He answered gloomily, but coming out of the house nonetheless, he walked side by side with Gobber to wherever Gobber wanted him to go.

"Ah, but I do think that you will feel better." Gobber insisted as he led the way to the forge, "I had just found out something interesting in Hiccup's workspace." He explained as he opened the door to the room where Hiccup would work on his personal projects, "Look at them." He said as he gestured one of the wall with his hand.

Stoick looked at the wall and his eyes widened when he saw the drawing of a beautiful woman with brown hair and hazel eyes, "Valka . . ." He murmured as he gazed at the drawing that captured the brightest smile of his wife in perfection.

"Ah, yes, there's many drawing of her and your family as a whole." Gobber said with a soft smile, "But that's not why I showed you this room, look at the ones in the right side of the wall." He instructed patiently.

Stoick dragged his eyes away from the drawing of his wife, reluctantly of course, to the direction mentioned by his friend, his eyes widened even more when he saw many drawings of a black colored dragon. On one of them, it showed the dragon looking up at him with curiosity in it's eyes, it's left tail fin wasn't there. "This dragon is . . . ." He trailed off as he lost of words.

"The Night Fury." Gobber answered him, "The one your son called as Toothless in his letter, considering this one has one of it's tail fins ripped apart".

Stoick looked at the drawing in awe, he didn't know that his son had such a talent with his hands, "So this dragon is Night Fury . . ." He breathed in awe, he then looked at the one showing the playful side of the dragon, "For the most feared by Vikings, it doesn't look that fearsome." He commented, "In this one, the dragon even looks like it is smiling".

"I agree, I didn't know that a dragon can smile like that." Gobber said with a chuckle, "From the look of it, the Night Fury also smaller than a Monstrous Nightmare, just look at the one with Hiccup sitting beside the dragon".

Stoick searched for the one Gobber told him and raised an eyebrow, "It's even smaller than a Nadder!" He exclaimed in shock, "Is this the dragon that got all Vikings to get down whenever it's screech being heard? How small . . .".

"Small but vicious when it want to be." Gobber agreed, "Kind of like your son, eh?".

Stoick frowned, "I don't think Hiccup can be vicious." He said in confusion.

"Oh, you certainly didn't know about Hiccup's reaction whenever he heard Valka's name being mocked by the kids in the past." Gobber said with a chuckle, "Even though he was small, he managed to get some hit into count, all of those kids were having black eyes after the fight".

"He really hit them?" Stoick asked in surprise.

"Yes." Gobber nodded in confirmation, "I believe that it happened when you went out to search for the Nest. I think that with enough training and the right method of teaching, Hiccup can be a fierce fighter that can rival Astrid".

"He would make a good Chief." Stoick said sadly, "But he went and self-exiled himself".

" '. . . so I decided to self-exile myself until the time when we can meet face to face once again. If that time comes, you can decide by yourself whether I can live in Berk once again or leave for good.' " Gobber quoted, gaining the Chief's attention to him, "By telling you that, he places his hope in you." He said softly as he look at his friend, "He's hoping that once he stopped the war between Vikings and dragons, he will come back here and meet you again. He hopes to have a talk with you, so you can decide whether he can live in Berk with his dragon or not".

Stoick's face fell, "But the others wouldn't let him stay here, they will call him traitor and banish him from the village." He said gloomily.

"You forget the part of 'once he stopped the war'." Gobber reminded him, "If the war had stopped, there's no reason for the people to not let him stay if his dragon wouldn't harm them." He explained before grinning wildly, "Some of the people might ask his help to get themselves a dragon pet as well, I know that I will ask him that".

Stoick's eyebrows shot up as his eyes widened in surprise, "You will?" He asked in disbelief.

Gobber nodded, "Yes." He said confidently, "I mean, wouldn't it be a great thing if we can fly on dragon's back? And the dragons can aid us in times of war as well, fighting alongside us instead of against us".

Stoick ran his hand along his beard as he thought about that possibility, "If you put it that way . . ." He nodded his head in agreement, "Yes, having dragons on our side would be a great help." He looked at Gobber with a small smile, "I bet that if the war did stop, and Hiccup showed up on a dragon's back, those teenagers would want for him to get them a dragon for themselves as well".

Gobber's wild grin grew bigger if that's possible, "You might want a dragon yourself, Stoick." He said with a chuckle, "Wouldn't want to lose to the kids, would you?".

Stoick chuckled, "Let's just see when the time comes." He said as he looked at the drawings of the Night Fury once again, "If the most feared Night Fury can be playful when it isn't threatened, the rest of the dragons might be not as dangerous as we think they are".

"That's the spirit!" Gobber said cheerfully, "Now, rather than doing nothing, why don't we try and find out where Hiccup ran off to?" He suggested, "We might be able to help him with stopping this war and get him return to us sooner!".

Stoick's face brightened, "That's a good idea, Gobber!" He said in high spirit, "Let's talk in my house, we can discuss where to search for him first!".

"Yeah, let's!" Gobber said in the same high spirit before they went to Stoick's house together.

Stoick vowed that he would do his best to find his son again, and help him in stopping the war instead of stubbornly searching for the Nest, as Hiccup put it.

XXXXX

To be continued . . .

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