This is a rewrite of my old story HTTYD with one more person!. I have hopefully fleshed out my OC into more of her own thing, instead of overshadowing the other characters too much. As always, hope you all enjoy.
Living in a world where vikings killed the dragons that attacked them almost every night, Torny Ingerman was no stranger to fear.
The first time real fear had hit her was the first time she saw a dragon up close. It was big and angry, covered in flames and crashing through the roof of her home. She cowered in the corner under parents bed, hardly breathing and praying to the gods that it would all be over soon. The dragons eyes locked on hers and she knew that she was going to die. She felt it in her bones.
Before the monster could strike, the furious scream of her mother broke the trance that Torny was in. She scrambled out from under the bed and bolted as fast as her little legs could take her out of the house. She didn't dare look back until she ran into the legs of her uncle. He scooped her up and she began to cry, all the fear that had built up finally escaping her body through her tears.
Since then, her parents seemed to notice how she would steer clear of the fireplace in their home and avoid the bonfire in the great hall. They noticed how she would not let them out of her sight, insisting that she could join her mother when she went to Gobber's blacksmith to repair weapons or follow her father as he went to see to the sheep. They noticed her fear of the night, when she would burst into tears at every little noise, even when there wasn't a raid.
Maybe that's why it was so shocking to them when she came home one day from her cousin's house with two new faces in tow. "This is Ruff and Tuff," she announced, "and they are my best friends."
Out of all of the young children in the village, the twins were not the ones that her parents thought she would get along with best. But maybe it was their differences that helped them get along so well; they balanced each other out. The twins were loud, always getting in trouble and generally trying to make the villagers' lives more miserable. Torny was quiet, nothing more than their little shadow, tagging alone with wide, wonderstruck eyes.
It took much coaxing from the twins and several years before Torny began to join in on their antics. It started when she came home one night covered in feathers and yak hair, exclaiming with a proud smile that this time it was her idea. Her parents, although they were warned by many well-meaning neighbors that it was a bad idea, didn't really have the heart to tell her to stop. It had been a long time since they saw their daughter smile without any fear. They figured that the twins would be good for her.
One night they got a visit from Gothi, the village Elder. The poor woman was covered in something green and sticky, and she was wildly waving her staff around while gesturing to a sheepish-looking Torny standing in front of them. Once they got her to calm down and properly explain, they found out that Torny and the twins had snuck into her hut and created some kind of concoction from the various strange things that Gothi kept up in her hut. Despite being mad, Gothi explained that she was quite proud of Torny. Several items in her hut, when mixed wrong, would've resulted in either a horrible explosion or a toxic gas. But it was Torny who knew what to combine to get the results she wanted. It was Torny who kept them from something disastrous.
By the end of the visit it was decided. Torny would become Gothi's apprentice and would be taught how to heal the village. It was agreed that she wouldn't start until the summer, when ingredients and herbs were more in abundance to make it easier to learn. Torny was thrilled, if only for the fact that she would now have unrestricted access to the old woman's shop. She couldn't wait to begin.
Until summer came.
Two days before her apprenticeship was to become official there was a raid. Her mother gave her a kiss on her forehead as she grabbed her hammer. Her father told her to get to the back of the house, into the safe room, as he pushed open the door. There was a wall of heat and light. Her mother shoved Torny behind her. Torny couldn't close her eyes.
When her aunt finally found her she had been buried under the rubble of her house for hours unconscious. She was taken to Gothi, who treated her burns and diagnosed her with a mild concussion. Her parents were less fortunate.
The funeral wasn't a large event. Her parents had been rather private people and had kept to themselves. Torny recited the age-old words and lit her arrow, her trembling fingers threatening to release the arrow early. She steeled her heart and released the arrow. It still struck true.
Stoick still allowed Gothi to take her as an apprentice the following day under the condition that her aunt and uncle, who she was living with, agreed to it. They did, and Torny didn't have any complaints. If anything, she was honored to be following the last request of her parents.
The twins didn't seem to know what to do with her. They had attended the funeral, but neither one had approached her there. Instead they had hovered around in her peripherals, looking like they wanted to talk to her but didn't know how to begin. She didn't mind. It's not like she knew what to say either.
It was during this brief time that she met Hiccup. She had known of him, she knew that the others didn't like him, that he caused nothing but trouble for everyone around him, but maybe that's why she kind of felt drawn to him.
He had been apprenticing with Gobber about a year before she had begun her apprenticeship with Gothi. Gobber and Gothi seemed to be on fairly decent grounds with each other, and about once a week he would bring Hiccup and his yak-noodle soup with him for a chat. He did most of the talking though.
Hiccup also seemed unsure of what to say to her, but unlike the twins he at least made an attempt. A few weeks into these meetings Torny knew that somehow she had gained a new friend.
The twins eventually came back to her in the most Ruff and Tuff way possible. All it took was a well-timed fish to the face and the three of them were back to their old shenanigans.
The next few years continued in very much the same way. Torny would spend her days wreaking havoc with the twins and taking her lessons with Gothi, making sure to stop by the blacksmith's to say hi to Hiccup. The days were peaceful. The nights were spent either listening to Fishlegs rattle of all his random dragon facts, or in Gothi's hut, smothering the fear in her chest and hoping that no one would be seriously hurt in this raid.
What she hadn't been expecting was what Gothi had asked her that morning.
"Dragon Training…" Torny trailed off. Her eyebrows shot up and she eyed her mentor skeptically. "I think you must've smudged something, could you repeat that?"
The old woman had glared and shook her head, meaning that she had indeed read that right. "Gothi, I don't think that's a good idea," Torny began. "I'm your apprentice, not one of the other vikings. I don't need to know-"
A sharp smack of Gothi's staff made her shut her mouth. The Elder proceeded to explain that even though she didn't look it she was a great dragon slayer thank you very much and that all young vikings should go through the training to gain important skills, but Torny had stopped listening. She spent the rest of her day in a daze, trying to process all of the conflicting emotions that were raging in her. Anger, sorrow, bitterness, excitement, hope. Fear.
It was late that night that she made her decision, staring out the window of her room. It was the most essential piece of their culture and her parents would've been disappointed if she refused to participate in this. She would do it, she would face her fears and face her parent's killer. She could do it this time.
Determination sparkling in her eyes, Torny turned to head to bed when she felt goosebumps cover her entire body. Eyes wide, she dropped to the floor, and as she did a blast of fire from a Gronkle exploded where she had been standing.
Swallowing her fear, Torny crawled out of her room and bolted for the door, Fishlegs close behind her. Everywhere she looked something was burning. Her breathing was picking up, and her limbs felt like they had been turned to metal.
"Come on, Torny!" Fishlegs called, snapping her out of whatever moment she had been trapped in. The two of them ran for the plaza, dodging random vikings and flying weapons as they went. Torny stumbled over a forgotten ax and was about to go after Fishlegs again when something ran into her and knocked her to the ground. Well, more like someone.
"Torny, why did you stop running!?" The boy on top of her yelled, scrambling to his feet and yanking her to hers as well.
"I didn't!" Torny protested as Tuffnut dragged her along. "I tripped! You should watch where you're going!"
"I was watching!" he shouted back. "You were the one who decided to get in the way!"
Knowing it was useless to argue, Torny settled for rolling her eyes and letting the scrawny teen drag her by the arm all the way to the plaza. Once he released her she started across to the other side, waving as she went. "Tell Ruffnut we should meet up later!"
It didn't take long for the sight and sound of the fighting to quiet around her. The raid must not be a big one this time, she thought, slowing her pace and trying to slow her racing heart.
Gothi met her at the bottom of her hut with a basket filled with medical supplies. Torny took it from her with a nod and turned back to return to the fighting.
She let out a squeak as Gothi hooked her shirt on her staff and looked at her expectantly. Torny was confused for a moment; in the dark it was hard to read her facial expressions and know what she was saying.
Another light whack to the head reminded her of Gothi's statement that morning. "Yes," she nodded frantically as the assault continued. "Yes, I will join Dragon Training!"
Torny could make out a smile on the old woman's face as she tapped her gently on her head this time. Tears began to well in her eyes when she realized what Gothi was saying.
"I won't let you down," she croaked, swiping an arm across her eyes. Gothi nodded again and gave Torny a light shove toward the fighting. With a teary nod, Torny took off running.
The first injured viking she came across had a pretty nasty cut up his arm, but it wasn't fatal. A quick application of Gothi's healing poultice and a sturdy wrap of bandage was all it took for the man to get back on his feet.
"Thank you, Torny," he grinned, ruffling her hair. "Now keep out of trouble, you hear?"
Torny nodded and watched him pick up his ax again and join the fight. Heading off again but keeping to the outskirts of the fighting, Torny stopped to help all those that she found. She was grateful that none of the injuries were bad. The worst one that she had to fix was a broken hand.
Running low on supplies, she turned back towards Gothi's hut when the sound of wooden wheels surprised her. Even more surprising to her was the source of the sound. "Hiccup?"
"Torny!" he exclaimed as he came to an abrupt halt. "What- uh, what are you doing out here?"
"Going back to Gothi's," she replied, eyeing him suspiciously. "What are you doing out here?"
His eyes brightened. "I think I've finally come up with something to help me kill a dragon!"
"Will it actually work this time?"
"I know it will!" he nodded enthusiastically. "I adjusted a few of the releases that hold the bola so that they keep it taut until the moment it releases. This should help it fly farther and once it hits the dragon there will be no escape for it!"
"That's great, Hiccup, but are you sure it's going to work this time?" Torny asked, furrowing her eyebrows. "You remember what happened last time."
"I'll prove it!" he insisted. "Come on, I'll show you!" And off he went.
Torny hesitated for a moment before taking off after him. By the time she caught up, Hiccup had set up his bola contraption and was eagerly watching the dark skies.
"C'mon, gimme something to shoot at, gimme something to shoot at," he whispered.
Something shrieked in the darkness and Torny jumped, shrinking closer to Hiccup. "Hiccup, we shouldn't be out here," she hissed. "We should go!"
He didn't respond and continued to watch the sky. She was about to leave on her own when the scream of the Nightfury pierced the air. Torny cowered behind Hiccup as the beast shot at the tower in front of them and Hiccup took his shot.
The force from the bola sent him flying back into Torny and knocked them both to the ground. Hiccup scrambled to his feet again to see if he could find the dragon while Torny laid there in a daze.
As Hiccup began celebrating his success, a pair of eyes started to creep toward them in the dark. Chills rushed down Torny's spine and she felt frozen in place. "H-Hiccup…" she whispered.
The boy turned just as a Monstrous Nightmare crushed the bola launcher. They made eye contact for only a few seconds before the dragon reared back to attack the two young vikings.
"Torny, RUN!" Hiccup shouted, dragging her to her feet and running as fast as he could go.
Torny felt like her heart was going to explode out her chest. Her limbs were shaking and she thought that she could barely move out of the way in time when the horrible dragon tried to catch them in its jaws. It shot fire at them a few times and Hiccup dragged her out of the way with a shout. Shoving her behind a torch pole, Hiccup scrambled to hide there with her just as the pole burst into flames.
The heat grazed her skin and Torny couldn't breath. All she could see was her mother's back as she was pushed behind her when the dragon burst into their home. Tears welled in her eyes as she scrunched them shut, waiting for the end to come.
The shout of another viking charging into the fight caught her attention. She opened her eyes to see what was going on and saw Hiccup, who had backed off of the pole and was now looking at her with concern. "Torny? Torny, are you ok?"
She shook her head slightly and took a shaky step towards the boy. He offered his hand to help her up, which she took gratefully. "Where…" she croaked. "What… what happened?"
"My dad showed up," Hiccup grimaced. As he spoke the pole that the two had been hiding behind collapsed, revealing a very angry Stoick the Vast. Hiccup watched the torch crashing through the village while Torny kept her eyes of her feet.
"Sorry, Dad."
"Sorry Stoick."
The bleating of sheep and the beating of dragon's wings were the only sounds that filled the rather awkward silence that followed until Hiccup spoke again. "Okay, but I hit a Nightfury."
As soon as he said that, Stoick grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dragged him off, Hiccup trying to defend himself the whole time. Torny shuffled her feet anxiously and wondered if she should follow them.
A sharp thwack echoed around the area as Gothi appeared on the scene. Torny turned, rubbing her head and her eyes wide and shiny. The old woman flailed about as she yelled at Torny about how reckless she was, how she should learn to think before she acts, how she knows better than this, until Torny managed to speak. "It was a Nightmare."
Gothi stopped and looked at the girl. She was trying really hard not to cry, but there were still tears dripping down her face. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides and her entire body was trembling. "It was a Nightmare."
Gothi grabbed the girl's hands and tried to console her, but to her surprise Torny didn't break down sobbing like she normally would. Instead there was an angry fire that was now burning in her eyes.
"I'm going to do it, Gothi," she mumbled. "I'm going to go to Dragon Training, and I am never going to be afraid of them again!"
I hope you all enjoyed this new and improved chapter. Until next time!