Hey ya'll, I'm back with another update this week! If it isn't obvious, this story went from being updated bi-weekly to being a weekly upload. The reason being is because I had most chapters of the first movie already written down a few weeks before I had started posting the first chapter. Now I'm in the process of writing chapters for post-httyd1 which means I have less time to write two consecutive chapters in a week. In addition, yes there is more, I'm currently writing my Pokémon fanfic 50,000 Volts, so that's also another reason. Despite this, I have no reason to worry that I'll stop updating regularly, if I do, I will let you all know, but as of now it's business as usual.
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the next chapter, which focuses on the first episode of Riders of Berk! Take care!
…
Brothers
Chapter 10: Riders of Berk
There once was a time when I was a human and I wasn't stuck in a world of dragons, but now everything's different and now I am a part of this strange world.
It wasn't too long ago that I was thrown into this realm with no reason, only to find A REASON to exist here: Toothless.
We met under strange, yet dire, circumstances. It seemed as though we were destined to die in the cove, but in those dreadful days, when it was just the two of us…we met Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and became a trio. The boy helped us and together we ended the conflict between dragons and Vikings.
Haddock showed everyone that now…instead of fighting the beasts, they can live with them and ride them instead: his words, not mine.
A few days since Hiccup woke up from the battle in Dragon Island, the dragon riders and I ended up outside Berk for test flights.
The duo, HiccTooth, began by showing us maneuvers they already learned and used from their time in the cove and in battle. Once they had cleared several rocky obstacles, they sped up to ridiculous speeds…of the likes I've never seen up to now! They passed by our group on top of an isolated island where they managed to break the sound barrier like a jet!
Impossible, I thought to myself…
The humans next to me cheer on, amazed by the impressive feat. For me, my eyes shine…my dragon side clearly pleased by this maneuver from Hiccup and Toothless. Deep inside I felt like that could be me someday…but I shouldn't stray far from where I am now! Baby steps first…lots of work to be done.
Soon enough Hiccup and Toothless land between us in the middle: the latter sent us a wide, smug, grin upon folding his bat-like wings.
"Best trick competition, who's first?" Hiccup rang out.
To fuel his ego, Snotlout rose his hand as if he were in a classroom. Fishlegs tries to go first instead, but Snot is adamant, and the bickering soon annoys the idle Astrid who's across from them.
"For the love of-Go!"
"I will, watch this: Hookfang and I will blow the sky-" he doesn't finish. We all jump a bit when we see his Monstrous Nightmare dive down to the watery depths below.
"Well…that escalated a bit…" I whisper softly, looking down from the edge as the other Fury peeks his head too. Toothless can't help but giggle in response at what just happened. Snot, still inexperienced in dragon riding, yells for his life as the reddish dragon takes him through the course violently. As we watch them it becomes apparent to me that Hookfang is a lot faster than he looks! Dang…he might be almost as fast as Toothless, but I won't say that out loud to the black dragon…because I know his ego will inflate…probably more than Snots…
Anyway, it's not even a minute before they come back to our group, the young buff teen yells in relief. Hook just snorts at us with a wide toothy smirk in return.
Fishlegs and his dragon go next, and well…they don't go very far…let's just skip ahead.
The twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, have a go and well: they're not much better since throughout most of their test flight they bicker as always. Soon enough their Zippleback gets frustrated and knocks both off the two heads to scare them straight. At least they lasted longer than…you know what forget it.
"We almost died…" Ruff muttered.
"I know, I'm down for round two!" Her brother exclaimed excitedly.
"No, it's MY turn, back in line you two." Astrid turns toward Hiccup, "I hope you brought your little notebook with you" she grinned, "I'd write down notes if I were you."
Unlike the others, her and Stormfly, her Nadder, soon both make maneuvers that rival Hiccup and Toothless. They're actually working like a team…have they been training or something behind our backs? Astrid cheers just before perfectly landing back in her spot as if to earn extra points. Next to her is Snotlout, who can't help himself, I know a remark from him is coming already.
"That was okay, but can you do that WITHOUT the dr-" he doesn't finish, for she punches him on the arm to silence him. Haddock chuckles lightly at the sight before he turns to me, soon they ALL turn to me.
I back away, confused as my docile, and square, pupils slightly narrow.
"Your turn, bud" Toothless smiled.
"Come on, little bud, show us what you got!" Hiccup added.
"B-but I don't have a rider?" I retorted in retaliation and the older Fury shrugs to deflect my response, "so? We're just doing this for fun, come on. You've been pretty good so far since I trained you." That last part was a compliment from the native Night Fury, but I had none of it…I would only be wasting my time, surely?
Astrid noticed my demeanor and decided to step in for my sake, "maybe we shouldn't if he doesn't want to."
The Monstrous Nightmare can't help but rub it in my face with that devilish grin of his. That act alone made me reconsider my stance for some reason.
And so, I go on the offensive: I spread my wings quickly and give a high-pitch warble in response. I launch off the ground, beating my wings hard despite my small size. I give it everything: I do spins in the air, somersaults, even race through the dangerous rock obstacles where they all can see me. After I'm done with my show, I return to the roost. Unfortunately, there's one small problem that's about to become an even bigger problem: I still don't know how to land very good. Their eyes, dragon and human, widen as they all notice me coming in too fast!
Hiccup acts quickly as the others scramble.
"H-help!" I exclaimed as water came out of my eyes from the insane speeds. Toothless rears back like a horse, opening his arms to catch me. Sure enough, the dragon grabs me successfully, sending us back: off the cliff, unfortunately! Before the three of us can fall, Tooth recovers fast, hovering midair with me in his arms and Hiccup behind controlling the mechanisms that move the dragon's red tailfin.
"We got to work on your landings." Thanks, Toothless…for stating the obvious!
We land before breaking apart. I pant exhaustingly before Hookfang raises a scaly brow to me, "what kind of Night Fury are you?" I grumbled softly; eyebrows narrowed to him before looking away.
Toothless goes on the defensive for my sake, "he's learning, give him a break" he showed teeth to Hookfang who scoffs silently.
Hiccup laughs at what just happened as everyone else gathers around again, "well that was exhilarating, I guess it's our turn again…no hard feelings" he says to Astrid next to him.
Right after, he and the more experienced Night Fury give it another go…displaying the same skills they had shown prior. Only this time, Hiccup jumped off his dragon and ran across the surface of a small island while his dragon flew underneath a gap. I got to say: the kid already has the hang of his prosthetic leg, almost like it's always been there. I can't help but smile at that, he's quick to adapt that's for sure...I think he does better at helping Toothless maneuver with it than he did before the battle!
Haddock jumps off the edge in a bold splendor, reuniting with his scaly friend shortly before climbing high in the sky. I look up in amazement as the teens and dragons watch behind me, captivated by the show. The duo blasts several shots into the sky, and they blow up like fireworks! Okay…now they're just showing off for sure…I chuckle quietly.
"Can YOU do that, little guy?" Fishlegs asked genuinely as I shrug back.
"Not like that anyway" I respond in dragon tongue.
Maybe one day, it does kind of feel weird not to have a rider myself…but how can I…even if I could I'm small still and I don't think I would want to be ridden like a tamed animal anytime soon. Let's just say I like to stay in control of my maneuvers and tricks.
I can't imagine I would EVER have a rider…but the thought didn't leave me right away as I hoped it would…maybe it's just my dragon side…who knows? I noticed my dragon side was beginning to show up more often than not…though I shrugged it off initially…feeling it's what helped me survived thus far.
…
Ah…Berk…what can I say about Berk…besides the fact that it's cold, smells bad, and dragons now roam the streets. Yea, dragons and Vikings are learning to get along, emphasis on 'learning' because some people are struggling to adapt, dragons too.
Let's just say Berk is currently in a transitional phase, and dragons are still seen as 'pests' by some Vikings. And the smell, well for a human…that came with the showers at around three o'clock and let's just say it wasn't rain at all that came down from the skies.
The constant intrusion of dragons in the village only served to make some humans stressed…to the point they began to complain. One such man that vented his frustrations out toward Berk is an old man known soon enough to be: Mildew, you know…like the fungus! Gosh, these Vikings have such the weirdest names I swear!
Speaking of fungus, Mildew is just as unpleasant, foul and intrusive as his name suggests. Sure enough, he started spreading bad things to the other villagers who already had enough of the dragons. Time passes by and Stoick the Vast now had to deal with the problem personally.
I didn't exactly have my own place yet…for the time being I had to stay in the Haddock residence where I could hear the Chieftain and Gobber discuss the growing concern at hand. Hiccup approached them as I eavesdropped from up the stairs, leaning over to the point where I almost fall and make my presence known to them!
Not long after, I sense Toothless just above looking down, "you're still up, Flint?" He asked quietly.
"I can't sleep with all this racket" I whispered, yawning soon after.
"Guess you got a point; they HAVE been going at it for a while now."
"This is getting ugly" I murmured softly to myself, "what if things escalate?" I asked the dragon above.
"I'm sure Hiccup will reason with the tribe, he's the smartest out of the bunch" Tooth complimented his human as I bounce my eyebrows at that…yea, there's some Vikings that don't use logic like he does…
"You think the walking fishbone will convince them though?" I added.
"I do know Vikings are stubborn" the teen Fury responded back.
"No kidding."
"But we did convince them to end the fighting, so who knows Flint…"
"Yea…maybe it'll all be solved by tomorrow" I smiled hopefully.
Spoiler alert: it wasn't solved the next day…
The next day comes, and Hiccup tried his hand at solving the case, but it proved much harder for him than anticipated. The scene for him is chaotic: the whole town is being swarmed by unruly reptiles.
I happened to be there when everything went down. Remember how I have the body of a baby dragon…not to mention the fact that coexisting in my mind was a baby dragon as well. Remember how sometimes that side of me would worm its way in my head and take over? Well…sheep were running all over the place and my dragon side began taking over…
See, dragons and sheep actually were familiar to me, even in the world I came from. How might you ask since no dragons existed where I lived? The answer: Spyro the Dragon!
Much like the titular character I used to play as when I was Toothless's age, I just couldn't help myself…I had to do it, and my baby dragon mind easily persuaded me.
I found a lone sheep from the herd, and I let out a devilish, toothy, grin…scraping my paw against the dirt in preparation like a bull ready to charge at a taunting fool. Smoke escapes my small nostrils as the small creature eyes me directly, realizing my intention. I charge at it, giving chase as the sheep runs for dear life downhill. I start using short blasts to send them jumping in the air! Hiccup just so happened to catch me in the act! The sheep ran past him, making the boy drop the bucket of water he was holding…all the while falling to the ground. Once he recovers, he is quick to scold me hard, "WildWing!? No, bad Night Fury! Bad baby dragon!"
My ears and side frills folded as I look down in shame, realizing how immature I was in the moment, "sorry…" I warbled in my language. I really couldn't help myself there…honestly!
"Please don't bother the sheep, little guy" his mood had softened before he is forced to stop another problem being made, or should I say he TRIED to stop the problem.
Sure enough…three o'clock came and with it the dragon showers…Berk would end up smelling worse than the dirtiest dumpster in New York City by this point.
…
The next day we were at the arena…this was my first time here, but for Hiccup and Toothless: the last time they were in this dome is when the former was supposed to kill the Night Fury, in front of an audience no less. Now they were here again, and while Hiccup gathered himself…his dragon explained everything to me regarding what happened here the last time they were here.
"Wow…you did all that for me…"
Toothless nodded, "even though that was a really stupid idea?" I retorted.
"In hindsight, yeah…it was. I thought I could make it to you alone at the time…without Hiccup."
"Oh boy…" I roll my eyes to him, "and all that mess happened after, right?"
"Pretty much, he flicked his ear in response, "after we escaped this arena, Hiccup thought about grabbing you and leaving the island forever."
"That would not have been good. I like how things worked out." I shook my head; I can't believe the BOTH of them thought of doing that…where would they go anyway? I doubt they could have gone far at all without turning back for Berk.
Toothless agrees, "I do as well, all things considered."
Haddock begins his session with the riders right after Toothless finishes. We both turn around to witness the first of many 'classes' to be done by Hiccup.
"Everyone here knows that the dragons are out of control, but we want them to co-exist with us, but we don't want them destroying our homes neither. We've got to help them."
"Destroy things, sounds cool" Ruffnut interrupts the leader.
Her brother got all excited too, "We can help with that!"
"No, that's not what I meant…" Haddock crosses his arms.
"We can get the dragons all riled up and then-" Tuffnut never finishes his sentence, for he is interrupted by a now frustrated Hiccup, "no, stop. Listen, Mildew wants all our dragons locked away in cages! I don't want that, and I hope you guys don't either."
"You're right…" the brother apologizes, "her idea was dumb anyways." Ruffnut gave him the hardest death stare I've seen from her so far.
Hiccup shakes his head, turning his attention to a basket of food next to Toothless and I, "the dragons are eating our food, pretty much anything they see" he pulled out a piece of warm bread and Tooth seems pretty bent on taking it. I raise an eyebrow to him in retaliation, "dude, he's trying to make a point..."
"Well, I might as well take advantage of this moment, I'm STARVING!" The teenage dragon claps back as I groan quietly, to think we both were actually starving in a pit not too long ago…this dragon is already spoiled, heh.
"Now, when a dragon grabs something its not supposed to have, you can get them to drop it by giving them a 'littttllllleee' scratch."
He proceeds to pet the larger dragon by the neck. Snotlout intervenes, trying to show his way and in response…Hookfang bites into him, picking the Viking up in the air and proceeds to shake him like a chew toy. Everyone, including me, cringes and looks away in response. At least he got the dragon to drop what Snot ordered him to drop…
"Shouldn't we be helping him?" Tuff asked, slightly worried, before Astrid grinned mischievously, "yea…in a minute."
Haddock gets everyone's attention again, "alright, lots of work to be done today, so let's start training, everyone!"
A short while after our training with the teenagers, I left for a secluded spot just outside of Berk to think about things. I thought I would be alone at such a place, but sure enough I sensed a presence behind me, a tall shadow loomed over me. My thoughts are interrupted as I slowly turn around. I am met with an old, decrepit, face: it's a Viking with a long gray beard, probably one of the longest I've seen so far. Their teeth are yellow and few in between, rotting I dare say. In their hand they're wielding a stick with horns…or is it bones? In the other hand they carry a, even grayer, sheep. Both look down at me in disgust and distrust. My dragon side can't help but go on the defensive, "what are you two looking at?" I asked harshly in dragon tongue, baring teeth.
The stranger knew it wasn't anything nice, but they grumbled a few inaudible words before slithering away in silence. I look back toward them, wondering what all that was about.
About thirty minutes later my ears perk up as I pick up a sound coming from the village. My draconic ears can recognize the voices immediately, followed by an explosion rocking Berk!
"Oh no…not good!"
I stand up, deciding to investigate the commotion coming from town!
I swoop down toward the square, landing quite badly as to be expected. I crash into the ground, creating a line in the dirt. I lift my head groggily before shaking myself. Once I stand up again to investigate, it seems as though the other dragons, tamed and untamed, are descending upon the Viking's food storage! Stormfly and Hookfang are among the culprits!
I look to my right and see my fellow Night Fury: Toothless, eating fish from a basket. I run up to him in response, a fish tail hangs from his mouth, "Toothless, we need them to LIKE us, remember!?"
Sure enough, Hiccup, alongside his father, spots us both in the immediate aftermath and the boy gives the most disappointed sigh so far. Needless to say, this isn't looking good for us…
I realized what all this meant, "Toothless," I pulled the Fury away, "you guys just ate ALL their provisions…isn't winter going to be here soon!? I was told winter here lasts for months, nine to be exact!"
Toothless puts two and two together and understands the grim situation that he and his friends put the Vikings under. I may not be an expert in anything…but you don't have to be an expert to know the Vikings probably wouldn't survive without their provisions. Vikings didn't have the luxuries we have in modern times. Winters here in Berk are probably very brutal and having just ate EVERYTHING put these people in a dire situation.
"I swear…I should be the one taking care of you" I growled softly. Toothless, now knowing his mistake, can't help but agree a bit, especially when Stoick snapped at Hiccup for his wrongdoings.
"I'm sorry Hiccup, but the dragons have done enough damage. We need them caged, all of them, by tonight. Tomorrow, you will lead them away from Berk."
My eyes widened upon hearing this from the Chief…I couldn't help but run up as the teen Fury follows.
No…no…it can't end this way! We were just starting to move things in the right direction! Toothless felt the same way, I know that…his head lowered in shame as Hiccup silently comforted him. Not thinking straight, I ran up to Stoick in a vain attempt to change his mind. I pawed at him, standing on two legs momentarily to do so, "Stoick, please…give us another chance!" So stupid of me to assume he could somehow understand me at this very moment…
Unfortunately, he ended up swatting the air at me like a bug as I jump away in fright, "I have no time for your antics, away!" My ears droop as my wings do too, I back away from the group…letting it all sink in…
Everything is going to heck, what are we to do to fix this mess!? Please, give me a sign! I hang my head above toward the clouds, giving a pitiful whine in frustration and utter desperation. The question my human mind wondered was: why was I so bummed about it? I barely know this place and its people…the answer is simply because Berk is the closest thing I have to civilization other than my own town back home. I am NOT going back to sleeping on a rock out in the cold again, that's for sure!
Night comes around and I find myself alongside the teens in the Great Hall. The entire place is dimly lit by torches, but I can see the fear and uncertainty on all their faces. I rest on the table, curled like a cat…tail around my feet, as Ruffnut calmly strokes my black hide. I can't help but purr in response. If this is our last night with the humans, I might as well enjoy this…right?
Sure enough, the others vacate the area in sadness over the prospect of losing their new dragon friends, but Hiccup remains.
"I'm not giving up on them" Hiccup petted the teen Fury, who is sulking from his earlier deeds. I look down from the table behind them. I got to hand it to Haddock, he never gives up, no matter what…even when life tells him to otherwise. I can totally see him leading Berk someday…
My thoughts are disturbed when the same old man I saw in the outskirts of Berk walks up to us, "oh…poor, poor dragons…I'm going to miss 'ya, Toothless." Their tone didn't have a hint of subtlety, he's being completely sarcastic and the dragon across from me knows it. Toothless growls back to the man, irritated by his remarks.
It's Mildew again…
"I admire your stubbornness, but you were wrong to assume dragons could be tamed." He then looked over to me, remembering my face from earlier today, "dragons are dragons…being destructive and wild is in their blood and nature…the lesson here is that nature ALWAYS wins." He sneered at us before walking away, seemingly victorious. Mildew exits, purposely leaving the doors open, enough that cold air blasts in and extinguishes the fire pit behind us. Toothless instinctively turns behind and uses his blast to reignite it. A Viking woman approaches us and thanks the Night Fury for his help. That's when an idea forms in Hiccup's mind, upon seeing this scene play out…
…
Hiccup took Toothless to stop the dragon riders from putting their friends away in the arena, having thought up of a plan to win over the adult Vikings in Berk.
The next day, Horrendous instructed Snotlout and Hookfang to help catch fish outside the docks. Thanks to their efforts, some Viking ships return with a readily supply of fish for the winter.
And, despite the hostility directed toward us, Hiccup decided to show compassion toward Mildew. By the afternoon, the old man spotted the dragon riders near his hut just outside Berk. In only a few minutes, Stormfly, the gronckle Meatlug, and Toothless help the hermit fertilize his crops.
After assisting the village with other errands caused by the chaos the other day, the riders disembark in town.
"How did you know all that would work?" Astrid asked, fascinated by Hiccup's methods.
Haddock can't help but give a long grin to her, "dragons will do what dragons do best, we just need to work with them and not against them."
It was only a matter of time until Stoick caught on, however…
Despite our efforts: Toothless, the other dragons and I are thrown in the cage inside the arena. The teen Vikings are reprimanded by the Chieftain.
From the darkness of the cage, I look up toward the bigger Fury, a long sad face is running down his muzzle, "what happens now?" I asked worryingly. All he can do in return is give a soft long sigh before wrapping a wing around me for protection. We all hear what Stoick the Vast has to say regarding Hiccup's antics.
Mildew and his sheep, Fungus, watch from above the dome beside some other villagers, figuring the worst-case scenario was about to happen and the hermit was enjoying it.
Stoick paces back and forth across from the kids, listing off everything they had done.
"You took over this place without asking. You released the dragons against my wishes. Things are going to change around here…" he stopped eyeing them all, prepared to carry his sentencing as Toothless and I readied ourselves for the worst.
"That's…why…"
Gobber suddenly jumped in, "we're getting a dragon training academy!" The man said happily and excitedly.
"What!?" Toothless and I gasped, surprised in response to this unexpected revelation.
Stoick steps in, almost immediately annoyed by the interruption, "Gobber, I wanted to tell them!"
The kids, especially Hiccup and Astrid, smile toward one another upon hearing the news.
"I'm sorry, you're right, go ahead."
Stoick grumbled a bit in a comedic fashion, "well, you told most of it…"
"You can tell 'em the part about how PROUD you are of 'em!"
Vast groans, growling back at his best friend for spoiling the surprise, but soon enough he composes himself. He steps away to approach the children once again, "Hiccup…well…what he said; you all made me proud. This arena…this dome…this Dragon Training Academy is for you" he walked over to the gate switch and subsequently releases us from captivity!
Everyone reunites with their respected dragons, including Hiccup and Toothless. I get out and stretch…gee…even being the smallest of the bunch I felt so constricted in there! I'm so glad to be out…let me tell you, it's not fun being locked away like that…now I know how zoo animals feel back home…
Haddock's father looks down on his son, smiling proudly, "now all you have to do is train them."
Hiccup smiles back, nodding with renewed determination, "not a problem, dad" he turns to his Night Fury, "after all I got him" he scratches Tooth's chin before turning to me, "and him." Finally, he waves to the rest of the riders and dragons beside them, "and them."
Sure enough, the dust settled…and we once again came out victorious. The next day, a symbol is hung outside the arena with help from our fellow dragons. It was the start of what would be known to us as: Berk Dragon Academy. I got to hand it to Astrid: I like the sound of that name. Only time will tell if we can make this new school work out for everyone…I'm sure it will.
I'm confident it will.
Well...ninety-nine percent confident anyway...
…
Alright! That's the end of the first episode of Riders of Berk! Something of note: I doubt I will do every SINGLE episode of the series. If anything, I will glance over them and summarize their events, but I felt as though the first episode was necessary because it helped set up future events. Berk is in a period of recovery and this chapter shows how everyone is getting used to the dragons. Now I'm trying to figure everything out chronologically, but I feel like 'The Legend of the BoneKnapper' takes place just before Episode 2 of Riders of Berk. Even if it doesn't, I feel like it would tie greatly into Gobber's arc, since the second episode focuses mainly on him and his struggles adapting to the new version of Berk. Let me know what you folks think about that, otherwise I'll see you all in the next update, peace!
