(Chapter Two)
(With the Gang) (Turdas 26th)
The next morning a group of young adult vikings were hanging out in the Great Hall having breakfast before they went out to do their daily chores "I heard that someone new is on Berk, I over heard it when Gobber and my uncle were talking but I haven't seen him, have any of you?" asks the shortest but toned one named Snotlout.
"Wait, when did you hear that? we were with you yesterday" the male twin name Tuffnut claims.
"You and your idiot sister were fighting over something dumb" Snotlout explains remainding the male twin.
"Ooooh, yea, hehe you're right but we had a good reason" the twins snickers
"The definition of a 'good reason' is different from ours" comments the heavy set named Fishlegs.
"Seeing who could shoot the fur—" "Oook, I don't want to know" Snotlout stops Tuffnut from finishing.
Wanting to change the subject before it gets any more disgusting Astrid answers Snotlouts question that he asked just a couple of minutes ago "I've seen him"
The table goes quiet for only a second before Snotlout speaks up "When was this?"
"Yesterday, he was in the blacksmith with Gobber" replies Astrid.
"So, you didn't talk to him?" Snotlout asks sounding a little relieved.
"Actually I did, for a brief moment, told him that if he wanted to spar he could come find me" she says in a matter-a-fact like tone.
"Come on Astrid, you know I'm the only sparring partner you'll need" this made Astrid glare at Snotlout.
"Says who? I can choose who to spar with whenever I want, and I wouldn't mind sparring with him, he may actually pose a challenge for once" she didn't know what came over her but Snotlout just annoyes her to no ends.
"I highly doubt th—"
"If you don't mind me asking but what makes you think he'll be a challenge?" Fishlegs helping her with tuning Snotlout out.
"He gives off this warrior feel about him, if you can call it that" that wasn't the only feel he gives her. Someone that just shows up out of no where doesn't sit with her and she's curious.
"Then you should feel an overwhelming warrior from me so—"
"Snotlout, for the last time no, you've lost more times then I can count and it's getting boring" he was really annoying Astrid at this point even though she goes through this each time she talks about sparring someone different.
"Just give it up Snotface, she doesn't want to spar with you anymore" Ruffnut adds helping her friend out with this idiot.
Getting mad Snotlout storms off leaving with a quiet "You'll see" and whatever other grunts he can make. Finally out of their hair for hopefully the rest of the day Astrid felt the headache she was getting slowing going away.
"I wonder if he'll ever get it through his thick skull that you're not interested in him" Fishlegs couldn't help but say it aloud since it's so abvious that she doesn't like him and never will, unless something bad happens.
"I blame that rune reading, I should've made sure no one else was around before having it read but it's too late and he won't quit unless he beats me which I won't let happen"
What she was talking about was a reading of her runes that she got before her eighteenth birthday revealing her so called "The One" will be the first male to ever best her in battle and that it was going to be someone not from Berk which Snotlout doesn't seem to understand and trying to change.
Ever since he overheard he's been no stopping trying to best her to make her 'his' and it's really becoming a pain to where Astrid has sometimes hoped that whoever the person is would hurry and show up to stop all this.
"You shouldn't let it get you so frustrated Astrid, it's not good for you" says Fishlegs worried that this will eventully get worse.
"Tell that to the knucklehead of a viking, ugh" she's becoming frustrated again.
Changing the subject Fishlegs decided to talk about the new guy wanting to know a little bit more and what the reason of his visit "Um.. (cough) so Astrid, what was the new guy doing here, on Berk I mean?"
"I don't know, some where in the far east, at least that's where his sword came from so I assume that's where he came from"
"From the east? That should mean he doesn't speak much of our language but you're able to understand him?" she nods.
"That means he's not from the east but from somewhere that speaks our language, hey Astrid, could you introduce me to him? I got some questions"
"I don't know, he's not staying in Berk so I wouldn't know where to find him" Astrid explains.
"If he's not staying in Berk then where?" she shrugs her shoulders.
"Maybe Gobber knows" she just remembered that Gobber was with him longer so he might know something.
"Then let's go talk to Gobber" Fishlegs stood up leaving his seat but Astrid spoke stopping him in his tracks.
"Hold on there Fish, should you really bother him with questions? What happens if he shuts you out and it makes it harder to talk to him?" she asks the heavy boy.
"O-Oh um… you got a point but I think it would probably help him get use to us if we talked to him, at least we got to try" Astrid sometimes wonders about Fishlegs good nature and how he can be so trusting to other.
"When you put it like I can't argue but I still think we should leave him alone until we know more" Both Astrid and Fishlegs leave the hall off to look for the new guy not realizing that they left the twins by themselves.
"They forgot about us didn't they?" Ruffnut asked. Tuffnut nodded.
(Outside)
Walking down the steps of the hall both Astrid and Fishlegs begins making their way to the blacksmith to see if Gobber and possibly the new guy, was there which make it easier on the both of them.
"What does this guy look like?" Fishlegs asks while looking around.
"Well, he had a strange long sword, I think he called it a Katana on his hip, wears a cloak or robe (pauses) whatever it was it was a black with some white, plus some armor, he had a strange silver like color hair that was tied in the back—"
Fishlegs cuts her off "Silver hair? How old is he?"
"I don't know Fishlegs, maybe our age at least he seems like it" the more she thinks the more strange he becomes to her.
"Hmm, well so far I don't see anyone like that"
"See 'ho?" asks the blacksmith.
The two weren't aware that they were this close to the blacksmith but since they're here they should do what they came here to do and that was to ask where the new guy was.
"Hey Gobber, Astrid told me about the new guy that was here I was wondering if you knew where he was" Fishlegs asks Gobber and he could only look at Astrid who just shrugged her shoulders.
'This might work' Gobber thought thinking that due to Fishleg's good nature maybe he could get Draco to open up.
"I 'aven't seen 'im lad, but I would bet that 'e would show up at some point" and just as if he was able to see the future they see a strange but familiar person enter the village.
"Speak of the devil, there 'e is" he pointed.
"Thank you Gobber" Both Fishlegs and Astrid leave the blacksmith and make their way over to where Draco was.
(Couple of minutes Earlier)
"Aanwo rund zey usliik dahsul" those words rang through his head all night and still do 'I wonder who it was and if that person told the village already' he wondered beginning to think that he'll need to be a lot more careful then he has been just in case.
Trying to think of who it might be his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a familiar feminine voice. Looking for where the voice came from he eventually noticed the blonde maiden but this time she was with a heavy set boy.
"Hey" he greeted tiredly. He looked next to her looking over the heavier lad and wondered what was going on "How may I help you?" he asks.
"Fishlegs here wanted to ask you a few questions" Draco eyed the man but notice that he's a little nervous but tried to hide it "What kind of questions?"
She shrugged but Fishlegs was the one to answer "I heard that you're from the far east or at least that weapon (geastures to Kami) but you speak like us" Draco looks at the young maiden but sees that she's eyeing his katana.
This might be harmless but just to be safe "I guess I could answer a few of those questions but I'll only answer the ones that I want, and I want to go get something to eat"
"We can go to the hall to get you something to eat" Fishlegs suggested.
"Ok, I assume the hall is where the massive doors lead?" he asks geasturing to the massive doors in the side of the mountain.
"Yes" Fishlegs quickly answers.
"Cool, well lets get going then I'm starving" though just leaving the hall the duo along with Draco began making their way back to the hall to get him some food.
As the trio walked Fishlegs noticed the braces around his wrists "Those don't look like any normal braces"
Draco looks over his shoulder "Very perceptive, they're not they actually have blades built into them" to demonstrate Draco raises his arm and with a flick of his wrist followed by a clicking sound a blade revels itself shocking the two.
"Amazing, how does it work?" Fishlegs was amazed by the strange weapon.
"It's hard to explain but I can show you the blueprint when we get to the hall" Draco says while having to retract the blade.
"It doesn't seem all that useful to me" Astrid comments.
"It's only useful for close quarter combat and sneak attacks" he didn't want to say assassination due to how the blacksmith reacted and he didn't know how these two would react to him saying that.
"Well, then I guess it's useful if used like that" this was somewhat concerning to Astrid.
The remainder of the walk was quiet up until they were in the plaza and that's when people started to stare and talk about them. This made Fishlegs feel uneasy but he kind of expected this when walking with a stranger that no one knows about but that doesn't make it any better.
Once up the steps the trio enters the hall just to have it go completely silent upon their entering. Though quiet they could hear people whisper about them and the new guy they were with.
"Where do I go to grab the food?" asks Draco.
"I'll go get it for you" Fishlegs qucikly scurried off to go grab his food so he could get out of the spotlight for a bit.
'He's a weird one' Draco thought as he went over to an empty table taking a seat which Astird followed suit. The two sat in silence for a bit until Fishlegs came back with a plate with bread, chicken and a cup of mead. Draco eyed the food then dug in eating the chicken first.
He swallowed the piece of chicken then spoke "So, what do you want to know?"
"Well first I would like to know where you're from? if you don't mind me asking" Draco thought about it for a bit before speaking.
"I'm from a place called Skyrim a couple of days north-west from here"
"Was there a reason for coming here?"
Draco shook his head "No, well not in the sense I was caught in a storm and shipwreaked on the south side of the island"
"Then you were heading somewhere?"
"Not anywhere in particular, Skyrim was in constant war along with dragons attacks I thought it was time to leave before it reached me" not a full lie.
"Wait, you have dragons?"
Draco took a bite of his bread then grabbed a small journal from underneath his robe placing it on the table sliding it over to Fishlegs "There are a couple of comman dragons from where I come from"
Draco flipped through the pages until he landed on a drawing of a dragon flying in the clouds. On the sides of the drawing was stats. Size, what ability it has, strength, habitat etc. Fishlegs looked over the stats with excitement.
"The size on this thing is… it's huge, bigger than any dragon we've encounter so far, e-even the wingspan… it's big enough to cover up to five… no wait, six people" he stuttered.
Draco just watched the man look at his book while he ate his food 'Raven could get along with this guy' he smiled hoping that one day he could see them again. The man that sat in front of him was looking at him "Is 'Blood Dragon' the name of this species?" Draco nods
"They're common from where I come from but they're annoying to deal with"
"You've killed one before?"
"I've killed up to seven of them, like I said they're common but I didn't do it without help"
"How many of them have you killed, by yourself I mean?"
"Three" he bluntly replied taking a sip of his mead "The first one was the hardest since it was my first time fighting one, the second one was already injured, it's wings were torn so it couldn't fly, and the third was attacking a town I was visiting, it killed a few people I knew but I was able to help the rest"
"Did they come from a nest?" Fishlegs asked. Draco shook his head "No, it would be complicated to explain"
Fishlegs could tell that he doesn't want to talk about it so his going to drop it… for now, until he feels ready "Um…" he mentally facepalmed himself, he doesn't even know this guy's name, so stupid "Draco, my name is Draco Ryder" he could tell that this guy was trying to think of his name but remembered that he never told him or anyone else for that matter… well except for Gobber, now he feels stupid "Oh… um, Draco, um… did you perhaps write down any of the other dragon species that you've run into?"
He takes the book from Fishleg's hands but keeps the pictures in in view of Fishlegs and now Astrid who seemed to be involved with the conversation, flipped through the pages showing off each type of dragon that he's runned into so far but one picture caught Fishleg's attention "What is that one?"
Looking at the picture Draco's eyes became narrow "That dragon is different from others, most dragons go by the name of their species but this one goes by a name, like you and me. He goes by the name Alduin aka 'The World Eater' that's what his known"
"It was told that he was meant to bring the end of days to Midgard but a group of warriors chased him all the way up to the tallest mountain that's been named 'The Throat of the World' they fought the dragon with all they had but to their dislike he escaped. It took them days to find him again and when they did they had to fight their way through a horde of dragons. It took them about an hour or so before they reached him but this time he wasn't getting away. They made sure of it" Draco didn't notice that while he was telling his story people started to gather around.
He continued "They decided to trap Alduin. It took a couple of tries but eventually they did it, they trapped him. When he was trapped they surrounded him and attacked him with everything they had. Swing after swing, slash after slash they were cutting through his hide until one of them was able to slash his neck causing his blood to spill. He let out a painfilled roar before thrashing at them trying to shake them off but failed when his wing was cut straight off"
The crowd around him was so immersed with his story they didn't realize that the chief walked in "Alduin let out one more roar, shaking the ground under their feet before he fell going still. The life from his eyes faded and the warriors let out a victory cry knowing that Alduin's rein has ended" he finished taking one more gulp of his mead but froze when he noticed that a few of the other villagers were hovering above the three.
"Um… how may I help you?"
"Was that all true?" asked a viking with a bucket on his head.
Draco scanned the crowed seeing that they're all waiting for him to answer, 'I guess it can't hurt to tell a little truth' "Yes it's true because my friends and I were those warriors"
"Wait… so you fought that… demon?" Draco nodded looking down at the picture "We almost lost our lives fighting that thing" he closed the journal and places it back in his robe "Where are you going?"
"I need to do what I came here to do" he eyes landed on Stoick "I came here to see if there was any way for me to get a message out"
"Johann will be arriving within a weeks' time. If ya' could wait till then, then ya' could give it to 'im" Johann is one of Berks common traders that came by every so often with info, long stories of his adventures and usually had some interesting goods from distant lands.
"I can wait" Draco says as he leaves the hall. The hall was silent as they watched him leave but when the doors closed behind him murmurs started to spread like wild fire.
"Who is that guy?" "What is that weapon that he carries?" "Where is he from?" the questions kept building. Outside of the hall Draco was standing in front of the doors of the hall listening in on all of the commotion 'I guess I should've held back on my story a little bit' he shook his head. He looked over the village from the top of the stone stairs 'I can't get to attached to this place' he thought thinking of his old home.
"Hey you!" again his thoughts were interrupted but this time by an annoying voice.
"You the new guy, right?" Draco only nods.
"Good" the man standing in front of him gave him some bad vibes "My name is Snotlout, the heir of Stoick the Vast and soon to be chief of Berk, I'm here to say hello and it's good to have you on Berk"
Draco could tell that this Snotlout guy was just being an asshole but didn't comment on it and just let the guy keep talking "Also, I'm here to give you a slight warning"
Snotlout then leaned forward and spoke in a whispered tone "Astrid, she's my girl. We're kind of a thing so don't think that you could come here and take her from me" and there it is.
"Never planned to" he pushed past Snotlout without another word leaving him with a victorious smile 'That guy's an idiot' Draco thought letting a sigh escape.
He decided to head to the forge to see if Gobber would know of any locations where he could find some moonstone or ebony ore. On his way to the forge he could hear the blacksmith talking to someone but no one was outside so who is he talking to?
"Hey Gobber" the big man turned with a smile "What ya' doing in town today? Did ya' need to finish up your projects?" he shook his head "No, I finished them last night"
"They work?"
"Yes" He held up his wrist flicking it. The blade quickly came out of its hiding place startling the blacksmith. His eyes widened in amazement "That's amazing, 'ow does it work?"
"It's quite simple, it uses a couple of springs and a small crank" showing him the underside of the brace revealing the underside and the small symbol that works as the crank that pulls the weapon back "See" he spun the small symbol as the blade was slowly retracting into the brace. A couple of seconds later the blade was completely hidden "That's… quite impressive lad?"
"Thank you, but if someone hits them in the right spot they can snap the blade off of the hinge which can be a problem"
"Still impressive but if ya' done then why ya' here?"
"At first I came by to ask Stoick if there was anyone who could get a message out for me. He told me that a trader will be coming soon and told me to wait and now I'm here to ask you if there were any locations where I could mine ebony or moonstone?" he groomed his mustache with his good hand thinking. The materials are rare and are not really found in places like this but it didn't hurt to ask.
"I've never 'eard of such materials, could ya' describe them for me?"
"Ebony is a rough blackish looking ore while moonstone is a smooth white ore" it was quite difficult to describe to someone who's never seen them before. He closed his eyes shaking his head "Sorry lad, I've never seen those kinds of materials but maybe Johann 'as, ask 'im when 'e comes in"
"Ok, thanks Gobber… oh before I go I was wondering to whom you were talking to before I got here?"
"I was talking to my apprentice, 'iccup! Come 'ere lad!" from the corner of his eye he could the cloth that covered the backroom start to shift revealing a thin man around his size but an inch shorter, auburn hair and emerald green eyes that carried so much life in them as well… sorrow? "'iccup this is Draco, 'is new 'ere" Draco looked over the man then remembered what Galaxy told him last night "It was a young man with bright emerald green eyes, with reddish hair as well had a small scar on his chin"
So, it was him that found Galaxy. Draco held out a hand which Hiccup slowly took "N-Nice to meet you" his voice was shaky, filled with worry. Probably because he might have put two and two together as well saw the saddle on Galaxies back. He mentally slapped himself "I've heard you make some strange inventions, is that true?" Hiccup only nodded not really sure what to say.
"Cool, maybe someday you could show me some, I make small projects every now and again but only if they're necessary" he gestured to his brace showing him the underside of it "This is one of my few projects that I worked on yesterday, it's a hidden blade" Hiccup was examining the strange weapon slowly reaching out to touch it but stopped in mid reach when he remembered who he was talking to "H-How did you get that to work?"
"With a few small parts and…" the annoying voice from earlier cut him short "Hey useless, how's it hanging?" Snotlout… he is seriously getting annoying.
"O-Oh hey, S-Snotlout, what do you want?"
"I came to see my wonderful cousin, is that so wrong?" Draco watched the two carefully having a weird feeling that something is going to happen in the next couple of minutes "N-No I guess not but…" Snotlout placed an arm his neck putting him in a head lock "Come on useless, let's go have fun like we used to" the young man tensed up "You mean beating me to a pulp, yea that sounds fun" sarcasm dripped from his tongue.
"Ah good times" Snotlout was thinking back at all the times he has beaten Hiccup. Hiccup rolled his eyes pushing himself out of Snotlout's headlock "I've got work to do Snotlout so I can't 'play' with you today"
He let out a sigh "Well I guess that can't be helped, I'll see you later useless" that guys an asshole "Why do you let him treat you like that?" Draco asked staring at the young man "It's not like I do that on purpose or that I like that it's… it's because I can't fight, I'm not strong enough to make him back off"
"That's not an excuse, look at me I'm not that much bigger then you and I've taken people twice my size down, all you need is some training" Hiccup's eyes widened "W-What do you mean training, are you saying you're going t-to train me?" did it sound like that? Draco didn't think he made it sound like that, maybe he did.
"No, it's just a suggestion" he shook his head turning his back on Hiccup "No one's going to teach me" he mumbled in a low tone looking at his feet. Draco sighed turning feeling that he might regret this and turn back around to face Hiccup "Meet me in the arena tomorrow morning and don't be late" Hiccup smiled quickly nodded. Gobber was smiling during that whole display "Which way is the arena?"
"Through there and over the bridge" so that's where the dirt path leads.
"Thanks, Gobber" he faced the direction of the arena 'This is not going as plan' he thought with a shake of his head. He didn't plan on staying long, only long enough so Galaxy could heal up but he couldn't stand seeing someone get picked on for being weak or small 'I can't get attached to this place' he reminded himself. He didn't hate the place but he needed to leave and find his friends.
(Time Skip)
Upon his arrival at the arena he could make out the faint sound of voices coming from within. It sounded like kids along with a woman 'I wonder what kind of training they hold here' he thought approaching the metal railings.
He looked over the arena and saw a couple of adults looking down into the arena watching as the kids and their teach… it was that blonde girl from earlier "Ok kids, line up!" the kids did as they were told and quickly lined up trying to avoid knocking each other over.
"Today's lesson is all about teamwork. You'll be paired up in teams of two" the kids faced each other then faced her one of the kids, a young girl rose her hand "Yes?"
"Um… didn't we do this just yesterday?"
"Yes, but this time you'll be up against a dragon" the kid's eyes widen not with fear but with excitement "Really!? Do you mean it?!" the children were cheering and giving each other high fives "Yes, yes now calm down, I've watched you grow into the young warriors you are and I think it's about time to put you to the test"
"Now then, each one of you will have a bucket filled with water" she gestured to the buckets of water that were sitting near the edge of the arena "Why do we need buckets to fight a dragon?" a young boy asked, "The dragon you'll be facing is a Zippleback, you'll be using those buckets to soak the head that sparks the gas enabling it ignite"
'A two-headed dragon?' his never seen one before so this will quite an interesting site. One of the kids seemed to have noticed his presents but didn't do or say anything just kept taking glances every now and again. Draco ignored the glances and continued to watch the blonde girl teach her class "Now everyone pairs up, grab a bucket and get into positions" they scrambled to grab a bucket.
Each of them grabbed a bucket of water then went off to form into groups of two. She approaches a switch next to one of the doors that were holding the dragons "Um… miss, are you sure we're ready?"
"Yes, I'm sure and I'll be right here just in case" she gave the little girl a reassuring smile before pulling the switch. The doors flew open and green smoke flooded the arena "Remember, the head that sparks not the one that spews the gas" you could hear the blonde maiden from within the gas. The kids were still visible… barely.
"Zu'u los GOING Wah Krii Hi!"
"Zu'u los GOING Wah Krii Hi!"
The dragon can speak? Interesting… who knew other dragons could speak like the ones back home. The dragon wasn't showing itself but could be heard slithering around on the floor making gurgle noises. The other bystanders stood on their toes watching the kids with slight fear in their eyes.
It didn't feel right to teach kids this way… putting them in danger especially up against a dragon 'I was eighteen when I fought my first dragon but these… these are only kids, this isn't right' he kept his eyes on the kids just in case he must jump in and save them. The pairs were cautiously looking around trying to catch site of the dragon.
The pair that was the closes to the doors were the one that were panicking the most and was constantly spinning around 'The dragon is playing with them' he thought catching some movement from within the cloud of gas.
"Zu'u los GOING Wah Krii Hi!"
"Zu'u los GOING Wah Krii Hi!"
It repeated the same thing 'Something doesn't seem right about this dragon' he noticed that the dragon seemed to be more… brain dead or unable to think for itself unlike the dragons he knew and seen. One of the kids panicked when they heard it moving around them and threw the water into the air hitting… the air.
"Sorry…" he lowered the bucket but kept a look out for the dragon. Right now, the blonde viking has moved towards the main entrance of the arena just in case of needing to quickly get the kids out.
The silence carried on for about fifteen minutes before something happen. The dragon used its tail to swipe under their feet knocking over two of the kids making them vulnerable "Run this way!" the kids were trying to get up on their feet but one of them was grabbed by one of their legs then dragged into the gas letting out a scream before running out of the gas toward the women near the gate.
All the kids started to panic and ran, dropping their buckets in the process. The kids hid behind their teacher while she held her axe up ready to defend the kids with her life 'Should I jump in?' he was contemplating but decided to hold off just a little bit longer. The dragon slithered out of the gas showing its two heads 'That's a weird dragon but I've seen weirder things in the past' the dragon was slowly closing in on the kids and the blonde maiden.
She was pushing the kids back towards the entrance standing between the dragon and the kids. She hates to admit it but she was scared… scared for the safety of her kids and herself. For years she's been trained to fight dragons and she thought training the younger generations would be a piece of cake and at first it was until she thought they were ready to take on a dragon.
'What should I do' she wouldn't be so hesitant about charging for it but that would mean the kids would be left unsafe and if the dragon decided to… no don't think like that the kids will be fine I must stay calm and…
The dragon lunges forward with incredible speed. The blonde woman jumped a little weapon ready to defend 'Well I guess it's time for me to jump in' he thought slipping through the bars of the cage landing in between her and the dragon.
The dragon was startled by his sudden appearance but before it could attack again Draco lunged at the dragon unsheathing his sword at such an unhuman speed no one could see it. All they saw was the dragon lost one of its heads letting out a loud pained screech. Draco lunges forward again giving the dragon a finishing blow taking off its other head.
The dragons body stood for a couple of seconds before dropping to the stone floor going limp. blood flowed out of its two dismembered heads 'I guess I over did it huh' he thought not wanting to turn to the people in the stands plus the blonde maiden and the kids.
Everyone that was in/around the arena was silent, it was so silent that you could hear a coin drop from within the stands.
He finally turned away from the dead dragon corpse and turning his attention towards the kids and the blonde maiden "Are you ok?" he asked.
They stared at him for a couple of seconds before nodding their heads "That's good, I'm sorry I had to jump in but I couldn't stand up there and watch" she shook her head "No, it's fine, it was my fault, I panicked and froze"
"You were just keeping the kid's safe" his face fell at the word 'safe' and she noticed that but didn't say anything. He looked at the kids and said "You did well but you let your guard down Remember you're not alone, you got your brothers and sisters to aid you" they looked among each other before looking back up at him. He said nothing more and decided to walk leaving the arena.
Everyone watched Draco with curious eyes and heads full of questions, Astrid being one of them. She decided to end class early to let the kids rest and calm down while she went off after Draco.
Draco was on his way back to the village deep in thought 'That dragon seemed off. Its eyes were slits and the way it spoke was also off… like it was corrupted, could there be…' his thoughts were ruined when someone yelled.
"Hey!" it was the blonde maiden "Hey, you need something?" he asked.
"I just wanted to say thank you… I thought I had it under control but I guess I was wrong"
"Everyone has their days every now and again but don't let that get you down and continue with their training, but I am curious about something. Why are they being trained so early?"
"We can't keep up with the raids and we're loosing so many people during these raids so we train them as early as we can"
"You don't think that's a little wrong?" Draco asks.
"Yes but with the raidsgetting worse it's leaving us with no other choices" she explains. The more he hears about these raids the more curious he is about it but for now he needs to focus on his own problems.
"Well… um" he didn't even know her name.
"Name's Astrid, Astrid Hofferson"
"Divine beauty? That's a nice name" he saw a small blush form on her cheeks. He could only smile back "Well… I guess I'll see you later Astrid" she noticed the quick change of expressions as he left.
"Oh… ok, see you around" she watched him walk away leaving her alone in the plaza.
Not having anything to do for the rest of the day until he decides to go back to camp he decided to go back to the Great Hall and sit there until he can think of something to do for the time being.
'For such an active village there's not a lot to do here, unless I want to work in the forge every now and again, I also could go adventuring around the island' he began thinking of things to do since he was going to be stuck here for a while.
A sigh escaped his mouth "I guess I'll think of something later" he thought as he entered the Great Hall to see no one else was there, only the sound of the fire flickering could be heard 'I guess everyone is busy with repairs and whatever else' he walks over to an empty table that was the closet to the fire.
Out of habit he takes out his journal placing it on the table right in front of him and let his mind wonder "I guess I should look at the letter from Geralt" he said aloud taking out said letter that was hidden within his journal.
Draco worked with Geralt for about a year or two helping him out with his contracts and what not. Fought some monsters, played some Gwent, had some drinks, went on many adventures and met some wonderful people… made some new friends. A small sad smile formed on his lips as he thought of all the good times he had back then.
He took a seat placing both hands on the table, unfolded the letter then started to read to himself.
"Hey. Was just… reminiscing, and realized – Damn, been two years since we last saw each other. You know me. Got a hard time staying put, though… Regis says I'm getting old – pff. Drops in with herbs for Triss sometimes… strange species I've ever seen."
"They grab Yennefer, lock themselves in her lab. Spend all day brewing. Wouldn't dare interrupt 'em… Not that I'm complaining. Gives me time to help the guys with their contracts, although… Can't shake the feeling they mainly take jobs nearby… as I said, find it hard to sit still, 'cept…"
"Things are good here, you know? I'm good. Everyone misses you and your band of friends, been told it's not the same without you guys around. Vasemir hopes that one day you'll come back and help swipe grapes from Anarietta's vineyard. Heh."
"Even though it was two years, been hell and high water, you and me. Fact is, you know me better'n anyone else does. Wouldn't still be alive if you didn't show up those two years ago. Thanks for everything… and know we all miss you… Hope to hear from you soon"
He finished reading the letter with a smile and chuckles softly 'This was almost a year ago when I received this' a sigh could be heard from him "Maybe one day" he whispered folding the letter back up and placing it back into the envelope. He places the letter back into his journal.
After placing the letter back into the journal, he put the journal back under his robe. He looked around the hall and saw that it was still empty… well until just a second ago. Someone came into the hall, it was the blacksmith followed by the chief "There 'e is" they were looking for him?
"Stoick, Gobber, what brings you here?" they didn't look mad or anything so why were they looking for him "Draco, I was told that you saved the Hofferson lass as well her students by killing the dragon the were up against, is that true?"
"Yes, I did, is that a problem?" the chief shook his head "No, just wanting to make sure it was true since… um" he was gesturing to all of him. He rolled his eyes.
"I don't know her that well but from the way it looked she wasn't going to take the chance to leave the kids open so I jumped in and saved them killing the dragon in the process, I was just doing what I thought was right"
"And ya' did do a good job, thank ya" he continued "Also, I was wanting to find out if it's true that you'll be training my son to fight, is that true?"
"Yes, it's true but if you have something against it…" he was cut by the chief "No, no I'm kind of glad that someone is willing to train 'im, it's just that…" he looked away for a second "That his different, right?"
"Right… ever since 'e was little 'e was just… different, always doing things different, making weird contraptions, looking for-for trolls" Gobber jumps in "Trolls exists, they steal ye' socks, but only the left ones, what's with that?"
'That doesn't sound like anything troll I heard of unless it's just someone trolling him' he thought.
Stoick coughs regaining Draco's attention "Anyways! (lowers tone) there's one more thin' I came 'ere for and that's to 'ave you 'elp out with the 'unting"
Stoick did say that if he's going to be staying for a while he's going to have to earn it and hunting sounds like a good past time for now "Ok"
"Gobber, take 'im to get a bow and some arrows, Draco, you'll be meeting up with my brother at the west side of the village" he pointed to the side that was opposite of Galaxy 'Thank the gods' he thought as he followed Gobber outside.
Possibly a good time to get him to talk a little Gobber speaks "Sorry if I'm prying but why were you in there all by yourself?"
"I was clearing my head"
"Was something on ya' mind?"
"Not anything in particular" something was telling Draco that he's needing to be caustious.
"Hmm… well if ya' need anyone to talk to I'll be willing to listen" Draco could see that Gobber meant what he said but still something felt off.
"Thank you Gobber"
"No problem lad" the two stopped standing in front of the whats might be the armory "We're 'ere" Gobber hobbles over to the door to open it for Draco since they keep it locked so no one can come in and take anything they want.
"Close the armory up when you're done, I'll see you later" Gobber says as he hobbled away leaving Draco to himself.
Entering the armory Draco scanning the room looking for the bows which were lying up against the wall just left of him along with some arrows hanging on some hooks right above them. He quickly grabs a bow and some arrows then leaves the armory closing it right behind him before making his way to the west side of the village to meet up with the hunting party.
As he was making his way through the village he noticed that one of the kids that was at the arena was approaching him "Sir?" Draco looked at the kid noticing that she was clearly nervous
"Hey little one, how may I help you?" he asks in a calm tone.
"I-I wanted to say t-thank you for earlier, we would've died if you didn't show up"
"Even if I wasn't there you would've been ok, your teacher wouldn't let anything like that happen to you or any of your classmates" the little girl smiled.
"She's an amazing teacher but I don't think we're ready to fight dragons just yet" she lowered her head. He places a hand on her head and said "Don't worry, you'll do just fine as long you practice and do as you're told during class"
She lifts up her head with a smile "Thank you sir, that means a lot and I will continue to practice hard" she said taking off in the opposite direction. He just smiles 'I guess I should hurry up before someone stops me again'
What Draco didn't know was that a certain blonde girl was hiding behind a nearby building overhearing his conversation with the little girl.
Once he finally arrived at the west side of the village he could see a couple of men with bows and arrows. One of them noticed Draco approach them and spoke out to him.
"Well I take it you're Draco, my brother was telling me that you're willing to help us with hunting but are you sure that you'll be able to use that?" so this is Spitelout 'here we go again' he thought "You don't have to believe me, I'm just here to help" Spitelout shrugged his shoulders "Suit ye'self" he turned away from Draco.
"Alright! Now that everyone's 'ear let's go hunting" everyone excluding Draco let out a loud 'Yea!' everyone rushed off into the forest and split off to go there own ways.
Back home Draco was a good hunter amongst his comrades but Sal and Raven were the best which is hard to believe. Right now, Draco is listening carefully for any sign of movements. Occasionally he would hear birds, the rustling of the trees and bushes along with the footsteps of the other hunters.
It was about three hours of searching before Draco heard footsteps that weren't one of the other hunters. He crouched down hiding behind some bushes. A couple of boar could be seen in an open field grazing 'These boars look kind of mean' he thought but wasn't going to back away for a chance like this. He took up his bow, grabbed an arrow from the quiver, took a deep breath to steady himself then let the arrow fly. The arrow the hit one of the boars that were the closes right above its left eye dropping the boar. The other boar saw this and took off running but Draco already had another arrow ready and flying for the next one hitting it in its right front leg, making it trip over itself.
Draco quickly left his hiding spot and walked over to the down, hurt boar. The boar tried to get up but the arrow did more than just hit its leg. Draco closed in on the down boar with his dagger in hand. He stood over the boar watching as it breaths its last breaths before dying before him.
He looks around the field to see if there were more boars around, but they were already gone 'I guess these two will do' he thought tying the boars together with a rope that he grabbed from the armory. He carried the boars on his back making his way back to towards the village to drop these two off. The trip back to the village was quiet, upon arriving back at the village was less so. He could see the other hunters walking through the plaza looking kind of down.
"We'll go back out there in an about an 'our and we won't come back until we've caught something" the others nodded their heads "Has anyone seen the lad that was 'elping us?" they shook their heads, but one noticed and pointed right at him. The others turned around to see but were surprised to see him carrying two boars on his back.
"'ow in Thor's name did… ya know?" he gestured to all of him. Draco didn't take notice to what he was trying to say, "Where do you want me to put these?" Spitelout points towards a shad next to the forge. He walks past them heading for the shed.
The sheds door was already open, he stepped in hanging the two boars from a raft above him. He left the shed closing the door behind him. He turns to see Gobber walking with Hiccup "Draco, 'ow did the hunt go?"
"I killed two boars, but the others didn't seem to have caught anything"
"That's not a surprise, animals are becoming scarce due to the constant dragon raids we're 'aving"
"Have they always been this constant?" he shook his head.
"No, they weren't always like this, they became more constant last year, almost like their nest is growing" it wasn't an impossibility but it's very unlikely "How close have you gotten to the nest?"
"Only as close as entering the fogbank"
"Hmm…" this caught Draco's attention 'I knew dragons had nests, but this doesn't sound like any ordinary nest' he thought "Something on ya' mind?" Gobber asked. He shook his head "No just a thought"
"Ok, well, what do you plan to do now? Are you going back out?" he shook his head "No, I think I'll just head back to my camp for today but first I'll need to grab a few things before I head out, I'll be back in tomorrow" he takes his leave making his way towards the market area. He heads over to a small stand with an older man standing there looking over his product.
He saw Draco approaching him "Hey, you're Draco, right?" Draco nods.
"You saved my son from that dragon in the arena, thank you" he gave Draco a huge smile as he thanked him.
"You're welcome" he returned a smile of his own.
"Now what can I do for you?" Draco looked around.
"I came by to see what you have in store, nothing more" the man's smile slightly fell "Well, if ya find something you want don't hesitate to ask" the man walked away from his stand, entering the house next to it.
'There's not much here but I guess that's what happens when you got dragons always attacking you' he thought looking over the small amount of produce sitting on the counter. He scanned the items one more time over then stops on a strange looking object. It was a light blue crystal with what looks like a brace wrapping around it.
"Is anyone here?" the man comes out of his house.
"Yes, did you find something?" he nods pointing at the small gem "How much for this gem?" he asks holding up said gem.
"I 'ad it for six gold but since you 'elped my kid I'll give it to you for three gold" Draco took out a couple of gold coin handing it over to the man.
"By the way, where did you get this?" Draco asked putting the gem away in a pouch hanging from his side "I got it from Johann a month ago, but I didn't ask 'im where 'e got it, I thought it would be easy to sell but it seems like I was wrong"
"Gems like these are hard to find use for, but if you find the right people you would've made some good profit on them" the man stared at Draco "Do you have a use for it?" he asked out of curiosity.
"Not right now I don't but I'll hold on to it till I do, thank you for your time"
"Come again" the man smiled watching Draco walk away from his stand.
(With Astrid)
Astrid was leaving the arena after finishing up her training for the day and now was heading into town to have Gobber repair fro the second time this week "I should hold back on my throws" she said examining her chipped axe. She looked up and notice Ruffnut and Tuffnut standing behind a building holding a bucket filled with who knows what.
"What are you two doing?" she asked the twins.
The twins turned around and say "We're going to try to prank the new guy" they turned back around to look at there target in question. She came up and stood behind Ruffnut.
"Should I ask why?" she asked even though she already knew the answer "Nope" she let out a sigh.
She walks away from the two turning her back towards them and within a couple of seconds of walking she heard Ruffnut yell out "Now!" then the sounds of something getting wet could be heard from behind her but when she turned around the twins were standing up soaked in whatever was in that bucket and Draco holding the once said bucket in his hand.
Draco did not look amused by their stunt but neither did he look angry for them trying "Do you guys always do this to outsiders?" he asked in a clam manner "Sometimes but most of the time we do it to ourselves and the other villagers"
"Well, I would like it if you two would stop" he tossed the bucket to the ground in front of them then walked away. They watched him walk away heading towards the woods "You know, you two are going to get hurt one day if you keep pranking everyone that you see"
"That's what so fun about it" she shook her head deciding it was time to go to the Great Hall to get something to eat then she'll go to the forge to get her axe repaired.
(With Draco)
Instead of going back to camp as planned he decided to go explore the forest around his camp. Maybe he'll find some interesting locations for mining, building or probably even a hot spring if they have one here that is. He went off the route that he usually takes to get to camp and started to explore. Not much looked different except for the fact the ground started to become steep since he was getting closer to the mountain that's right in the middle of the island.
As he followed around the mountain he saw a couple of cave entrances that could be possible locations to start a mine and get some decent material "This would be number four" he counted out loud remembering the locations of the caves. He continued to follow the side of the mountain for about another hour before he decided that it was time to go back to camp.
He turned back around to go back the way he came but stopped when he noticed some mist coming from within the woods right of him "What's this" he said walking into the mist. He walked through the mist until it started to get thicker and warmer "This almost feels like…" he didn't finish since he came upon the source of where the steam was coming from.
"It's a hot spring" he didn't think that Berk would have any around. The hot springs had three layers, one layer at the very top which was somewhat small but not too small, a middle layer a little larger then the top but then the bottom layer that was big enough to have a dragon lay in it. He decided to take the time and take a dip since no one is around to disturb him.
He took off his clothing and armor pieces placing them on the ground along with the hidden blades and Kami lying on top. Once everything was off and placed in a safe location he climbed up to the top layer of the springs since it shouldn't be to hot for him.
He slowly lowered himself in taking a deep breath as the heat covered his body relieving any stress he had from these past several months "Now this is what I'm talking about" he whispered taking another deep breath. This is the first time in a while since he's been this relaxed and wishes that it could last forever. His eyes began to close until they fell shut falling asleep.
(Time Skip)
Eight hours past since Draco fell asleep in the springs and now he was slowly waking up. He slowly opened his eyes and tried to remember what happened "Oh yea, the hot springs, I fell asleep in the hot springs" he looked up at the sky noticing that it was dark "I guess it's time to get out and get back to camp" he tried to get up but instantly felt a sting of pain all over his lower half "Ouch!" he looked down and realized that he was burnt from the waist below .
"Damnit…" he whispered as he slowly got out of the springs. The pain wasn't that bad, but it still hurt to walk due to that everything below his waist was burned from being in the springs to long. After for what felt like hours he slowly got down the from the top layer, put his clothes back on as slow as possible and reattached his weapons and other things back to where they should be even though through all of that there was pain surging through him.
"This is so not cool…" this wasn't going to be an easy trip back to camp.
Most of the walk back was painful but he couldn't let that stop him and as he got closer to his camp the pain slowly went away but it was still there every now and again. He could see the cove in the distance "Finally" he whispered.
He was now standing over the cove looking down to see Galaxy was sleeping next to his tent like usual. He began to make his way down into the cove slowly, so he wouldn't bother Galaxy even though he knew Galaxy was already awake "I know you're awake" Galaxy popped his head up to look at Draco "Kolost hi kosaan?" he asked examining his brother.
"I found a hot springs nearby, I took a dip in it then fell asleep for which seems to be about a couple of hours" Galaxy only laughed "Zu'u nis korah hi mah enlaag ko frin vah" Draco ignored Galaxy, crawling into his tent "Yea, yea laugh it up you overgrown lizard" he said laying down on his back with his arms behind his head "I'll see you in the morning" he closed his eyes once again falling into another but slightly painful sleep.