(Chapter Nine)
(Turdas 2nd) (With Hiccup)
It was an early morning for Hiccup. He was on his way to see if Gobber needs any help in the forge before he has to go to meet Draco in the arena for his training. On his way there he could see Gobbers figure standing next to the forge holding what looks to be an axe in the fire of the forge. Hiccup's always thought that Gobber was lucky that he didn't feel any of the pain on his hands while he held it, while Hiccup gets burned by popping charcoal.
Getting closer to the forge he noticed that there was another figure in the forge with Gobber, talking about something that Hiccup couldn't hear from the distance he's at. A couple of feet away from reaching the forge Gobber noticed Hiccup making his way in the direction of the forge. He placed the axe down while it still heated up and went over to the window to greet Hiccup.
"Aye lad, what brings you to the forge today, aren't you supposed to be 'eading to the arena to meet up with Draco?" Hiccup nodded and said "Yes I am but he isnt usually there until an hour from now, I wanted to come by really quick to see if you needed any help before he arrives"
"Lad, you don't need to be working at the forge when you have to be somewhere within an 'our from now, nothing would've gotten done, also you'll need all what strength you got to be able to train like what you've been going through, I've also heard on what kind of training you did the last time and you will need your strength" Gobber placed more emphasize on the 'will' word as if he knows what he'll be trained in today.
Gobber continued "Also, I don't really 'ave much work today, so I don't really need 'elp today, sorry lad" he apologized. Hiccup shook his head "Don't worry about it, um… is anyone else in there with you?" he asked out of curiosity.
"Oh, yea, Astrid's in 'ere, I'm just fixing 'er axe up for the ninth time this week" He looks over to said person that Hiccup can't see since she's off around the corner probably leaning against the wall.
"I already told you that I'm sorry, I can't help it if I train a lot and cheap my axe" Hiccup could her Astrid apologized from within the forge. Hiccup's cheeks turned a little red. He slowly turns around and says "O-Oh ok, well I'll be heading to the arena then, see you later Gobber" he then quickly took off to the arena.
Gobber heads back over to the fire pit where he left her axe and continued on working on it. Astrid was actually sitting in a chair next to a table that had pieces of weapons laid out on it. She picks up one of said pieces which was a handle for a sword and turned it around examining it.
"Why did Draco start training him?" she asked out of the blue. Gobber stopped hammering and looked over to Astrid with a questioning look on his face. She noticed this and looked back at him with the handle piece in her hand.
"What do you mean lass?" Gobber asked. She replied "I mean, did Stoick do something or give him something to get him train Hiccup" Gobber couldn't believe what he was hearing. That lad hasn't been here for two weeks and she's already thinking that he's doing this for something, and to also think so lowly of her chief but it's not like he hasn't thought the same way.
"Lass, you shouldn't think so low of our chief like that, 'e wouldn't be happy 'earing that" Gobber went back to hammering but Astrid wasn't done speaking.
"Do you really think that someone like him would actually train someone so much weaker then him, the only thing I could think of the only way anyone got him to trai…" Gobber interrupted her.
"Lass, I wouldn't go there, we've 'ad this conversation before, from what I recall I over 'eard you saying that you can't stand the guy, so why are you bringing 'im up as if it's bothering you?" Gobber questioned the girl.
"Yes, I may find him annoying, but I also don't think he should be wasting his time training someone that doesn't want to learn"
"How do ya' know that 'iccup doesn't want to learn? Did 'e tell you that or are you just thinking that?"
"How do we not know, you've trained him, Stoick's tried to train him, and anyone else that has tried to train him gave up because he's too weak and doesn't want to learn" Astrid retorted now standing up.
"I gave up on the lad to easily like everyone else, we should've tried 'arder but with 'im being so different, I didn't think it would do any good if we trained 'im like we train others, so, when Draco offered, if you can call it that, to train 'iccup, I thought this might be someone that could really 'elp the lad to learn to be a warrior, it's like fighting fire with fire but with different and different"
"Come on Gobber, he couldn't have just offered to help, he doesn't know how we do things here, how could Hiccup become a warrior if he doesn't learn the same way we do?"
"Lass, I've seen one of their training seasons before, I suspected that Draco knew that I was there but 'e didn't let it show, and the training Draco is putting 'im through I don't think I would be able to do it for as long as he did, even though he probably went easy on the lad" Gobber was talking about one of their sparing sessions he watched.
"Come on Gobber, his training can't be that difficult even if he was going easy on him" he put her axe's head in a barrel of water to cool it down then pulled it out expecting over his work.
"I didn't say it was difficult, I just said I don't think I could do it as long, he was trained under a different group of people from a different land, when I watched their spar for the first time, it was like he knew where to actually hit someone to make them drop their weapon"
"Well, I don't think that would be easy if it was someone else" Gobber shook his head.
"You just wouldn't understand unless you see it, 'ope about after we're done 'ere I can show you what I'm talking about" he began grinding her axe on a sharping stone.
"Maybe next time Gobber, but I have to meet up with my mom in the Great Hall, she said she needed to talk to me about something" Gobber took another look at her axe and said as he was handing her axe to her.
"Ok, but if you do ever get a chance go see one of his sessions and then come back and tell me what you think about it" Astrid took her axe in her and swung it a little to get a feel of the weight.
"It feels just right, and I'll do that when I get some time, again thank you Gobber" he waved her off.
"Just… try not to chip it as bad as you did this time"
"I'll try" she left the forge strapping her axe on her back. Gobber watched as she left shaking his head "She's not going to do it" he said going back to fixing up the other weapons he was ordered to do.
(With Astrid)
After leaving the forge Astrid did what she said she was going to do and meet up with her mom in the Great Hall. She's been wondering what her mom wanted to tell her, but when she asked she just kept saying that she'll tell her later. The last time her mom told her to meet her somewhere and that she had something she had to tell her, it was that Snotlout was asking her parents if he could marry their daughter but luckily, they said no.
It still doesn't mean that her parents would say no to everyone though. Her parents told her that they want her to get marry at some point before they pass but she keeps telling them that until someone actually can beat her in a fair fight then she'll marry but only to the one that bests her.
"Hey Astrid!" a familiar voice was calling out her name. It was Ruffnut along with her brother Tuffnut.
"Hey Ruffnut, Tuffnut, sorry but I don't have a lot of time to talk right now, I'm meeting my mom in the Great Hall, she has something to tell me" she explained.
"I know we saw her as she went to the Great Hall, along with your father" Astrid doesn't remember her mother saying that her father was going to be there too. Hearing this made Astrid start to think of the worst-case scenario, but she had to stay positive.
"Thank you, I'll see you guys later" the twins went on their way and Astrid went hers.
Climbing up the steps of the Great Hall she saw Stoick leaving the hall heading down the steps passing her. she greeted her chief "Hey chief, how are you today?"
"Hello Astrid, I'm doing good, just on my way to see Gobber, I take it you're going to see your mother?" She nodded.
"Do you know anything about what she wants to tell me?" Stoick shook his head and said "Sorry lass, I don't, it's not my business to ask especially if it's something to do with women" Astrid found it funny that women are one of the few things that scares Stoick, but she won't say it out loud.
"Oh, was my father in there to?" Stoick nodded his head "Yea, he's in there, he's sitting with your mother" Astrid nodded her head. This is starting to sound bad.
"Thank you chief, I'll be going now" she walked pass Stoick heading inside the hall. As she walked in she instantly saw her parents at the closes table near the door. She walks over to them putting on a smile.
"Hello mom, dad, you wanted to talk to me about something?" she asked bluntly. Her mother nodded and said "Sit down honey, then we'll get to the point" Astrid really didn't like the sound of that. She sat down hesitantly shifting her eyes between her mom and dad.
"First off, we would like to make it clear that it has nothing with any marriage contracts or anything of that sort" Astrid felt all of the pressure raise off her shoulders.
"Well, not all of it" her father jumped in. All the weight came right back. Her mother glared daggers at her father as if he said something wrong.
Her mother took a deep breath "Like your father said, not all of it but right now we came to talk about how you've been acting, you haven't been yourself as of late and we're wanting to ask you why?" is that really the reason she had brought her.
"I don't know what you mean?" she really didn't know what she meant but at the same time she has a strange feeling that she does know but can't put her finger on it.
"You've been sleeping in longer then usually, you space out, even your throws seem to be off, that's what I mean" now Astrid understood. She's somewhat have noticed the same but didn't really think to much on it until now. Honestly, she doesn't know why.
"I don't know, I didn't really think about it, I've noticed that my throws have been off, but I thought I was just overthinking" she explained to her parents. The only thing that's been bothering her is that Draco guy. He just gets on her nerves, even just see…
It then hit her like she was getting talked by a boar. Her parents seemed to have noticed that something has popped into her head "What is it dear?" her mother asked.
"It's nothing" her mother gave her the 'I know you're lying' look.
"I'm serious, it's nothing it was just a thought, but it's nothing to do with why I'm what you guys are calling 'acting weird'" she snapped. Her parents knew when to quit but that doesn't mean they won't ask again some other time.
"Ok, we'll drop the subject for now so let's get on with the other thing we wanted to talk to you about" Astrid wasn't wanting to talk about this even though she knows her parents will tell her that they refused, probably.
"We got another marriage contract from Snotlout, but he was the only one we got this time" This was making Astrid's stomach turn.
"We turned them down, but we wanted to say that your father and I are worried that no one will be able to beat you so we came to a conclusion, if no one can best you within a year, we'll accept anyone who asks for your hand" This really made Astrid's stomach turn as well it made her angry no wait furious.
"Now I see why you wanted to tell me here" she looked around the room trying to hold her tongue and keep her anger under control.
"Yes, and we're sorry we had to tell you like this, but this was the only way to tell you without you bursting out" her father commented. Astrid was really wanting to say something, but she knew that her parents were right as well, it doesn't still make her angry though. She stood up and took her leave not saying a thing.
Leaving the hall, she could hear her mother calling for her, but she ignored them and took the chances of being scolded when she gets home that night. She had to go let out some of this anger.
(With The Twins)
The twins were hiding behind a building waiting for Draco to come by, so they put their prank into action. What they did was they tied a couple of fishing wire to the shed where they keep the captured boars so when he walks by it opens the door which also opens the pen that held the boars causing the boar to charge out, knock over the barrels in front spilling some fish which in the process knocking him down into the fish leaving him smell like fish and getting trampled by boars.
They watched him for a couple of days since the first prank failed and they've noticed that he took the same path everyday whenever he comes into town. The path he takes is down between two rows of homes that lead into the village's plaza so placing the wire wasn't going to be difficult, what was difficult was making sure that no one else would set it off ruining the prank. Even though it would've been funny whoever did it, but he was the main target.
They had this trap ready a couple of hours earlier knowing that he wouldn't come into town until this time but so far, they haven't seen him yet.
"Where do you think he's at?" Tuffnut whispered.
"I don't know but he should've been here already"
"Did he decided to stay in the woods?"
"No, at least I don't think so"
"What are you two doing?" a familiar voice startled the twins. When they turned around they saw that it was Draco with an unamused look. They quickly got up on their feet putting on some innocent smiles.
"Um… We um… we were just…"
"We were on our way to go see to see Johann off" Ruffnut quickly came up with an excuse. Draco's expression didn't change since he knows what they were up too from the start. The twin found this to be the time to leave so they took off running in the direction of their prank that they forgot about and triggered it.
The doors flew up, boars came running out knocking over the barrels of fish around the twins and the boars knocking them down in the fish. Draco couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing watching their prank turn on them, but he couldn't waste any more time and continued his way to the docks to go see Johann off before he leaves today.
The twins on the other hand were hurting all over from being trampled by the boars as well the smell of fish wasn't any better.
"Ugh… this fish stinks" Ruffnut complained throwing some fish off her hitting Tuffnut in the face knocking his helmet off.
"What are you two doing?" the twins looked up and saw Snotlout standing over them.
"What does it look like?"
"It looks like you're taking a fish bath" Snotlout laughs. Ruffnut looks over at her brother and smiled evilly knowing what she's thinking. They both grabbed him and pulled him down into the fish.
"Oh, come on! Now I'm going to smell like fish for a week" Snotlout complained.
"Stop your complaining, you're not the only one going to smell like fish for a week"
"That doesn't make me feel any better, besides how did you guys end up like this anyways?" Snotlout asked getting up on his feet. The twins were able to get onto their feet after they finished throwing fish at one another.
"We tried to pull a prank on that Draco guy, but it backfired and yea… you can see how that turned out" Tuffnut explained.
"I guess I don't mind helping you with pranking this guy" he made it sound like he was annoyed but he actually wanted to, so he could humiliate that guy. Ever since he's been here that's all who everyone talks about. Snotlout believes that he should be the talk of the town, but it seems like that guy keeps getting in the way of his glory.
The twins busted out laughing "Sorry Snotlout but we don't think we'll need the help of an amateur you would just ruin the prank" Snotlout grabs Tuffnut by the collar.
"You want to say that again?" he threatened. Tuffnut raises his hands in defense.
"Ok, if you want to help then come up with a plan that would work on this guy" Ruffnut challenged Snotlout knowing that he'll take it but Ruffnut knows that he'll think of something that they would've thought of back then, it'll be to childish.
Snotlout lets go of her brother "I'll come up with the greatest prank that Berk will ever see" Snotlout started thinking of ideas that they could use on Draco. The twins rolled their eyes but let him continue spitting out his ideas he was coming up with on the spot. None of them were good though, at least in the twin's mind.
"Well, I'm going to go hang out with Astrid so why don't you (pushing her brother closer to Snotlout) go help Snotlout think up some pranks" the two guys looked at each other.
"Hel yea, together we'll come up with the best prank ever" Tuffnut says with enthusiasm. Snotlout does the same "Oh Yea, lets go to the Great Hall and start writing down our ideas, I got some many of the right now" the guys took off leaving Ruffnut to go look for Astrid and see what she's up to.
(With Fishlegs)
Fishlegs was sitting in the Great Hall reading one of his new books that he bought from Johann yesterday and ever since he's been reading it none stop. He's almost done with the book with only a couple of pages left. The books about some adventurer in the west that sailed over the whole world learning all he could about them. The writer even added some of the things this 'adventurer' learned over the time he sailed.
He was mostly intrigued in the part about how he went to a place called Rome. A city that's more advance then most of the world and army's lager then all the tribes combined. Reading about them kind of scared Fishlegs since he's heard that it's still standing strong from the last trader that came to Berk.
While he was reading he didn't noticed that Stoick was walking in his direction. The only time he noticed was when Stoick was standing behind him casting a light shadow. Fishlegs startled by the shadow he turns around in a quick motion. He calmed down when he saw that it was just the chief.
"H-Hey chief, I didn't see you there" Fishlegs stuttered turning all of his attention to his chief.
"It's alright Fishlegs my boy, I just came to see how you were doing and from the looks of it you seem to be busy reading a book, you buy that from Johann?" Fishlegs nods his head.
"Is it as good as the others?" He nods his head again. He's confused at what's going on right now. Stoick isnt usually like this even on his good days.
"Um… Sir, not to sound mean but why are you here?"
"Is it a bad thing to come by and see how my people are doing?" he questioned Fishlegs with a raised eyebrow. Fishlegs shook his head.
"No sir, it's just strange to see you asking questions like that"
"I guess you're right, I actually did come here to ask if you could help me out to spread the news that we'll be having a meeting in the hall later today around sundown, I would've asked the twins and Snotlout, but you know how they are" Fishlegs couldn't agree more. he wouldn't trust them with, well with anything actually.
"I guess I could do that, but may I ask what this meeting's going to be about?"
"I'll explain it all during the meeting and thank you for doing this, I can't do it since I have to be at silent Finns farm in a couple of minutes, supposable something happened during the night and now his yaks are out of their pens" Stoick explains.
"O-Oh ok, well I won't let you down sir" Stoick pats Fishlegs on the back taking his leave. After Stoick left the hall Fishlegs grabbed his book and placed it in his bag leaving his seat to head to the doors to leave the hall but he stopped when he heard Snotlout and Tuffnut's voices getting closer. He quickly slammed himself against the wall hiding himself behind the door when it opens.
"Dude that could actually work, once we get down the list of things we'll need we'll go show Ruffnut…" their voices began fading as they went in farther into the hall. He slides out of the hall door closing behind him without being seen.
Fishlegs begins walking down the stone steps and everyone that passed him as he walked down he would tell them about the upcoming meeting later that day. He passed about six people before reaching the ends of the steps and now being in the plaza he saw a lot of people roaming around. He was still a shy lad but Stoick asked him to do this and he's going to go through with it even if it scares him.
The first place he goes is the market stands since its around the time they would be ready for people and it would also mean that there'll be a lot of people there which is going to make it a little easier on him. Reaching the stands the woman working at said stand noticed Fishlegs and greeted him.
"Hello Fishlegs, what brings you here today?"
"Hello, I'm here with news that there'll be a meeting in the Great Hall later today around sundown and he told me to spread the news" Fishlegs explained to the women.
"I bet you that it's about attacking the dragons nest again, with all of the rising raids we barely have enough time to rebuild, now he wants us to leave to head to the nest knowing that we might not come back (sigh) but he's our chief so, we'll be there" everyone near the stand and that overheard her ranting, murmured that they'll be there as well.
"Thank you, see you all at the meeting" he took off to find some more people.
(Time Skip)
(2 hours later)
Two hours have passed since Fishlegs went out telling everyone about the meeting. So far, he thinks he's gotten everyone, he even went to go tell Dogsbreath and Lugnut about it, but it didn't end well. The only person he can think of is Draco and Hiccup that he hasn't told but he doesn't know if he should bother Draco with something like this. Fishlegs sees Draco as the kind of guy that wouldn't want to get involved with their affairs.
Fishlegs was now on his way to the arena to go tell Hiccup and maybe ask Draco if he would like to be there. He can't hear anything like sword fighting and neither can he hear anyone talking 'Are they still there?' he wondered.
Reaching the end of the bridge he could see that there wasn't anyone in the stands, but he was now beginning to hear something that sounds like swinging. He quietly walks up to the cage above the arena not wanting to disturb them while they were training. Quietly looking down into the arena he could only see Hiccup standing in the middle of it swinging his sword repeatedly, but he couldn't see Draco.
He sticks his head through one of the openings of the cage and looked below him to see if he was there, but he didn't see him there 'Where is Draco?' he wondered pulling his head out. He turns around coming face to face with Draco standing in front of him scaring the daylights out of him. He felt like his heart was going to jump out of his chest.
"Don't (gasp) do (gasp) that" he had his hand over his heart making sure that it won't jump out.
"What are you doing here Fishlegs?" Draco asked sitting down on one of the stone slabs.
"I came her to tell Hiccup that we'll be having a meeting in the Great Hall later today around sundown" Fishlegs explained. Draco sat there for a second then spoke when he had something come to mind.
"What would this meeting be about?"
"Probably about Stoick taking another trip to the dragon's nest but most of the ships never come back" this could be something he could get behind. He's been wondering about this nest for a while now and now that a chance to go is opening up he's going to take it.
"I'll go to this meeting to" Fishlegs looked surprised.
"Are you sure? I didn't think you would be interested in something like that" Draco got up from sitting and began to walk back to the entrance of the arena.
"Usually I wouldn't, but these raids are causing me some issues as well so if there's a way to get to their nest I'm going to take that chance" did Fishlegs hear that right 'Did he just say if there's a way to get to their nest he'll take that chance?' he replayed his words in his head before clicking.
"So, you plan to go on that death voyage?" Fishlegs questioned.
"Yes, is that a problem?" Fishlegs shook his head and said "Not at all, at least I don't think it is, I guess I can tell you when the meeting starts" Draco nodded.
"Thank you Fishlegs, I'll relay it to Hiccup, so you can get back to do what you were doing, and we'll see you later" he thanked Fishlegs entering the arena.
After Fishlegs couldn't see Draco anymore he let go of the breath that he didn't know he was holding in the whole time they were talking. Even though Draco's been here for almost two weeks now but Fishlegs is still feel a little uneasy with him.
He turns away from the arena and heads back to the village, so he can get him something to eat at the Hall as well tell Stoick that he's done with telling everyone, if he's still there that is. Walking over the bridge he could see Astrid and Ruffnut walking through the plaza and from the looks of it Astrid seems to be mad about something.
(With Ruffnut and Astrid)
Ruffnut found Astrid an hour ago out in the forest killing trees which she only does when she's mad which is most of the time now these days. Being the good friend Ruffnut is she asked Astrid what was wrong and now she's beginning to regret asking. Astrid's been ranting about her parents bringing up marriage and how they would take any takers by a certain time if she doesn't find anyone within that time frame.
"I still can't believe that my parents would do that to me, I told them that I wanted to grow up and be a war maiden and they told me that I could, so all my life so far I've trained and trained ever since I got my first axe but now all of that could be ruined by some stupid time frame that my parents put on me, which means if Snotlout would ask them at that time they would say yes, it makes me sick just thinking about it (gagging noise) why couldn't I have been born a Bob Burgler" she sighed.
The whole time she was ranting Ruffnut spaced out for most of it but heard a good portion of it, at least the beginning she heard and the ending bit. She places a hand on her friends' shoulder and said "Sister, you got to think about it like this, you have a whole year before that happens and anything could happen within a year, so don't get your underwear in a bunch"
Astrid shoots daggers at her friend "You wouldn't understand since your parents aren't planning to sell you off within a year"
"That may be true but at least you'll be married, I doubt I'm going to ever get married"
"I would consider that being lucky, at least you wouldn't be sold off so easily"
This isnt getting them anywhere now Ruffnut is going to have to find something to talk about or do something to get this off her mind and also so she doesn't annoy Ruffnut any longer. She looks around and instantly saw Fishlegs thanking the gods that he showed up.
"Hey look, it's Fishlegs" Ruffnut calls out. Fishlegs heard his name and looked over to where he heard it seeing Ruffnut and Astrid coming his way.
"Hey Ruffnut, Astrid, what are you two doing?"
"We're just having a girl talk, well 'were' having a girl talk, but what about you, why were you coming from the arena?" Ruffnut asked trying to make conversation so that Astrid could get on a different topic.
"I just came back from telling Draco about the meeting later on today" Fishlegs explained.
"Why would you tell him that? He doesn't need to be getting involved with our problems" Astrid really didn't want to have to see him.
"Actually, he said that the raids we're having are causing him some issues, he also pretty much said that he'll go with them on the attack on the nest if that's what the meetings actually about"
"What kind of issues are these raids causing him to the point for him to go to attack the nest?" Astrid questioned. Ruffnut didn't think this was the best topic to be on but it's better than hearing her rant.
"I don't know, I didn't ask since it's none of my business"
"And this isn't any of his business" she snapped at Fishlegs.
"Why are you against him going?"
"I'm not against him going, it's just that it's our problem not his" Astrid honestly didn't know why this was getting under her skin or even know why she's getting angered by knowing that he'll be at the meeting. Probably because he'll take all the glory for himself? Maybe because she doesn't want to be yelled at again?
No, it is because he got mad and yelled at her for not protecting one of the children during that raid a couple of days ago. He doesn't understand the kind of life they live, she's had to watch families get ruined and homes burned because of these raids.
Then she remembers what Ruffnut said about if she were in his shoes. He may just be doing this for benefited purposes, but he could at least show some heart. That's why he angers her, but at the same time she shouldn't be angry at him for just doing what she thinks anyone would do in his shoes.
Ruffnut and Fishlegs could see that she was deep in thought so Ruffnut placed her hands on her shoulders and began to shake her pulling her out of her head "Astrid! Are you there?" Ruffnut calls out as if she was far away.
Astrid pushes her away and snaps "Yes I'm here, I was just thinking of what we should do for the time being until the meeting" Fishlegs and Ruffnut exchanged looks then back to her. Astrid looked at the two with a raised eyebrow.
"What?"
"That was a quick change of subject" Ruffnut pointed out.
"Yea, so, this conversation is pissing me off, so of course I'm going to change it" Astrid said with a matter of a fact tone.
"Um… Ok, well what did you come up with?"
"Up with what?"
"You said you were thinking of something to do to past the time"
"Oh, right, well I thought that we could…. Um…" she actually didn't think of anything for them to do. Ruffnut knows what she really was thinking about, but she won't call her out.
"We could go… um…"
"How about this, we could go hang out at the old watch tower like old times, Fishlegs, go get dumb and dumber and bring them to the watch tower, they're in the Great Hall I think" Fishlegs was going to protest but Ruffnut and Astrid were already walking away heading to the watch tower.
"What are we going to do at the watch tower that we can't do anywhere else?" Astrid questioned.
"Like I just said, we're going to go there and hang out like old times" Astrid gave a confused, questioning look but knew if she were to ask again she would probably just say the same thing again which wouldn't give her a real answer.
(At the Old Watch Tower)
After Fishlegs found Tuffnut and Snotlout they made their way to the old watch tower that Fishlegs mentioned when he told them about how they're all going to meet up there like old time.
It didn't take long before they reached the watch tower and not even a minute longer when they reached the top. Ruffnut and Astrid were already there waiting with the fire lit and some sticks with chicken legs on them. This was like old times, it reminded them of the day where Gobber told them about how he lost his arm and leg by a dragon called the BoneNapper.
The BoneNapper is just a legend though since no one has really seen one in person. The three guys took their seats across from the girls grabbing the legs and hung them over the fire to heat them up to their liking.
They sat there for a little bit in silence until Snotlout was the first to say something "So why are we here again? Fishface told us that it's just to hang out like old times but is that all we're going to do?"
"Yes, is that a problem?"
"No, it's just that this won't really make time go by faster that's all"
"Well, there's not a lot to do on this island if you haven't noticed, it's not like we can just leave Berk to go on an adventure" Ruffnut commented making a good point. There isnt really much of anything to do on this island. Ever since the raids have increased they haven't been able to have fun like they did back then but they had dragon training to pass the time back then.
"That's because we don't have the time to think of anything fun to do, if those demons would just die off then we could probably get on with our lives without any worries of dragons attacking" everyone couldn't help but agree with Snotlout.
"That may be true but how long do you think it would take for that day to come? It's not like it'll happen overnight"
"Actually, if anyone else has noticed that we hadn't had any dragon raid ever since the last one with the titan wing" Fishlegs reminded everyone of that day and they still can't believe that a dragon like that exists, they've read it in the book of dragons but never thought that they would see one since it say's it's very rare for one to be born.
"Now that you mention it, they haven't come by and raid us for a couple of days, I wonder if we scared them off or something"
"I think it was when Draco killed that titan winged dragon that's why the dragons haven't raided us yet, that was probably the leader and since it's dead they flew off, they didn't stay after it fell" Fishlegs explained.
"I still don't believe that he killed it, like did you see him take it's head off or rip it's heart out, no so it had to die from something else" Everyone looked at Snotlout like he grew two heads.
"Snotlout you were there like the rest of us and you saw what he did to that dragon, he may have not done it the way most vikings would do it, but he killed it from the inside, breaking it's bones, which punched some organs or its heart killing it"
"No, it was still breathing when he left so he couldn't have killed it and besides that dragon couldn't have been killed by someone as small as him" Ruffnut looks over to Fishlegs and said "Just stop trying"
"You have to admit that it was cool to watch though" Tuffnut jumps in the conversation.
"Yea, it was cool, but it would've been cooler if I had fought the dragon" The others are beginning to regret bringing him along. Astrid on the other hand doesn't want to hear anything about the guy.
"Can we talk about something else?"
"Yea, talking about this guy is getting boring" Snotlout adds
"Would you shut up?" Ruffnut snapped, already getting tired of his annoying comments.
"What?!"
"Your comments are getting on my nerves"
Snotlout didn't understand why she's getting annoyed with facts "What, I'm just stating the facts"
"No, you're just being annoying" Ruffnut argues.
"I'm just agreeing with Astrid, she's getting tired of hearing about it, you can see that"
"Yea, that's why you're getting annoying" Snotlout didn't understand her reasoning but before he could say something else Astrid jumps in and said "Just shut up Snotlout" he went quiet but still mumbled something that they couldn't understand.
Fishlegs spoke "Ok, how about we talk about how your trainees are going Astrid?" he suggested.
"They're doing fine but they're still not being able to work together, at least in a group, in pairs they're fine but all together not so much"
"It takes time Astrid just look at how long it took us, everyone has different preferences of weapon and fighting style and not all of them work together but if they tried a couple of strategies they might be able to work around that" Fishlegs explains.
"Yea, remember, we had to find a way to work with Snotlout and look how it turned out" Snotlout was offended "Hey!"
Ruffnut continues "and we were able to pull it off, somehow"
"I guess I could try that with them tomorrow" Tuffnut jumps in and adds.
"If we're still alive till then" Everyone was now looking at him with looks that said 'Really?'
Minutes becomes hours and this conversation of theirs lasted longer then they thought it would to where by the time they realized it the sun has began to dip down behind the ocean. Fishlegs was the first to realize this and pointed it out to the rest reminding them where they have to be in a couple of minutes.
They left the watch tower in a hurry, so they make it to the meeting before it starts. On their way there, in the distance they saw that everyone was already entering the Great Hall which will very crowded when they get there "Dang, we'll be stuck in the back" Ruffnut complains.
"You and Tuffnut don't usually pay attention in these meetings so why does it matter if we're in the back or not?" Fishlegs questioned.
"We may not pay attention during these meetings, but it doesn't mean we like being the only ones left out of anything if it means that there might be a chance that we could get involved" that didn't make any sense but Fishlegs or anyone wasn't going to say anything.
Walking up the steps they ran into the other girls that Ruffnut and Astrid hand out with every no and again. The girls noticed them "Hey Ruffnut, Astrid, boys, how are you guys up too?" A girl named Rivia greeted.
"Hello Rivia, Ally, Maria, Philia, you guys going to the meeting too?" the four girls nodded.
"Fishlegs told us a while ago, at first we were thinking about not going but then we saw someone go in there a few seconds ago, that changed our minds" Philia gained a couple of questioning looks from the other group.
"Who was it that you saw that made you change your minds?" Astrid asked. The answer she got wasn't one that she wanted to hear.
"It was the new guy, names Draco right, yea it was, we saw him go in followed by useless, so we thought this might be actually fun" Rivia explained with the other three girls agreeing.
"Seriously, useless is going to be there too, ah man, this is going to end in disaster" Snotlout commented.
"That may happen but with Draco watching him and all I doubt he'll let him do something stupid" Maria chipped in.
"That would be cool to see, remember that time that he actually threw the kid over his shoulder during their so-called training" Rivia was talking about the time they saw Draco in the arena with Hiccup seeing if Hiccup could hit Draco which didn't end too well because when Draco noticed them he told them to leave but not with words. The way he looked at them told them to leave which they did.
"I wish we could've stayed longer to watch and see if useless got thrown around some more but with him staring at us like that, I don't think I could've handled that any longer" Ally added.
"What do you mean?" Ruffnut asked. While they were talking they didn't realize that they were entering the hall. It was until they heard everyone chatting.
"That'll have to wait" Astrid jumped in stopping the conversation.
Stoick was at the front of the large stone table in the middle of the hall waiting for everyone to get inside. After a minute of the doors not opening anymore he be to speak, well more like yelled.
"Quiet!" everyone in the hall goes quiet. Stoick continues.
"All of you may already know why I called of you here" most of the people in the room nodded their heads. Those that already could guess what this was about weren't going to take the risk to go on this suicide run.
"Then you all may know that due to these raids we're losing a lot of our resources constantly repairing our homes and shops" everyone nodded again. This is how most of the meetings start when he's about to talk about going after the nest.
"Then you all know that we must act and go after the nest and end this war once and for all" groans could be heard throughout the hall. One person spoke up saying everything that everyone is thinking.
"Those ships never come back from your suicide missions, we'll just be using more of our resources if we go about this" it was Fishleg's mother that spoke up. Everyone agreed with her.
"If we don't act we'll be wiped out" he argues but it didn't waver anyone's mind.
"And what if we get attacked, we would be pretty much near undefended and won't be able to survive the attack and when you come back if that actually happens you'll come back to a ruined village" she was making a lot of good points and it is possible that the village could be wiped out if the dragons attacked while they're gone but there is something that they could do or at least try before going on this suicide run.
This thought has bothered Draco for a while now and it's the fact they he hasn't heard any weaknesses of any of these dragons only that they're 'extremely dangerous' and 'kill on sight' everything has a weakness even he has one, the dragons he's fought had weaknesses, so these ones have to have weaknesses.
The room went into an uproar while Draco was in his thoughts and now seemed to be the time to say something. He looks back at Hiccup and asked, "Do you know if these dragons have any weaknesses that may not be written down?" he needed to make sure that he didn't miss something.
"N-Not that I know of, we haven't been able to find any except for their shot limits, why?" Draco didn't say anything instead he pushes his way through to the front while Hiccup stayed where he is.
"Stoick" Draco called out not loud but it was loud enough to quiet the people around him and the others followed when they noticed people going quiet. Stoick heard Draco's voice but didn't see him through the crowd of people.
"May I say something?" he asked politely. He knows that he should wait till they settle this on their own but this isnt getting no where since everyone is beginning to go against the idea of going to this nest. He usually wouldn't mind going but since Galaxy is not capable of flying he doesn't trust going on his own leaving his brother with a whole village of vikings.
Stoick looked around and noticed that Draco was pushing his way to the front "You got something to add?" he questioned.
Finally reaching the front Draco began to speak "Actually, it's more of a question and if I get the answer I'm hoping for then I might have something to add" Stoick couldn't help but think that since this guy is from a different world then he might know something that could help them but whatever the question is he doesn't know if he'll know the answer too.
"Ask away" Draco nodded stepping up closer to the stone table.
"It's a question for everyone actually, I want to know one thing" the people waited for his questioned.
He continues "Has there ever been any kind of sign that these dragons have some sort of weaknesses of some kind, the dragons I grew up fighting had weaknesses that only so few people knew about, and if I'm also correct these dragons might have a weakness as well besides slicing at them" everyone began to look at one another thinking if they have heard, seen, or found any sign of weakness but no one answered which didn't help Draco.
One person spoke up and it was Snotlout's dad "Why does it matter if they have weaknesses, they're killable and it's not like it'll change anything if they did" Draco was really hoping that not all of them thought like that.
"Actually, it does matter because if they have weakness then it will be easier to deal with them and might be able to rid them" which isnt actually possible but they don't know that since they believe going and destroying the nest would do anything.
"Well we haven't found any weaknesses if we did we wouldn't be constantly raided by the demons"
"Then you guys haven't been paying attention then" Stoick stared at Draco.
"What are you saying lad?" Draco looks over to Stoick and begins to explain what he's learned "I've only been here for about two weeks, been in three raids and I've learned more in that time then you have any generations, if you were to pay attention then you would've noticed that the dragons eyes are clouded, but the big one that came with the latest raid, it's eyes wasn't, now why would that be?" no one knew how to answer that and stayed quiet.
Draco sighed hoping at least one person or a couple of people knew what that meant 'I guess I'm going to have to explain' he thought.
"That means something is controlling them"
"What are you talking about, these things are not being controlled because if they were they would've wiped us out a long time ago" Spitelout argued. No one believed that they were being controlled either and Draco could see that.
"Then tell me this, why haven't people been able to find the nest, but dragons are able to get back to it with no problem, explain that to me" Draco seemed to have made his point.= since everyone began to quiet down again.
"What are ya getting at?" this time it was Gobber that spoke.
"What I'm getting at is maybe the reason why no one can find a weakness its because whatever is controlling them is forcing them to ignore their weaknesses which could hurt or even kill them" some people began to think about it and it doesn't sound impossible but there's not a lot to prove it.
Draco can see that he'll have to say more "Ok, how about this, when the big dragon fell why did all of the other dragons flee" he questioned.
That's actually been on some peoples minds ever since that day, but they didn't really know what to think of it or why they fled but hearing Draco explain his theory it started to make a little bit of sense. Even Stoick began to think about it and he remembers at one time when the feeders came back from feeding the caged dragons a couple of months ago they came back to report that they fed them but every so often they would just find eels left inside.
"I think I have something that we could try but it'll have to wait till morning, but it might be some use to us" Stoick brought to Draco's attention.
"Ok, then I would suggested that before you decided to go out and head for the nest, wait until we know more because like what that women said it would be leaving you defenseless and you would more likely come back to a burned down village" he looks over the people in front of him seeing that they have nothing to say about this. He continues "It may be none of my business to get involved with your war against the dragons but they're already causing me trouble so I'm being forced to get involved in this war of yours"
'Is he saying that…' he finished his thought by asking "Are you saying that you'll help us fight against the dragons?" Draco nods and says "Yes" even though he's only doing this for his own gain. He'll get to save his only source of supplies and also gets to see this queen that Galaxy talked about.
The rest of the meeting ended with them deciding to wait till tomorrow to see what Stoick has to show then decided on the next step they should take. Everyone left to go to their homes for the night. Stoick and Gobber stayed in the Hall after to get a couple of drinks before heading home. They tried to get Draco and a couple of other to stay and drink with them, but they said they had things to do in the morning and Draco wanted to just go back to his camp.
Tomorrow is going to be a busy day for everyone, and even a busier day for a specific someone so it would be best that everyone headed to bed, so they be ready for tomorrow's surprises.