When opening his eyes the next morning, Brooklyn had his goal set for him I after telling Hiccup he was just going out for his own walk for the day, taking some fish with him in a small pouch for food and for in case he ever encountered a Skrill along with a spear for self defense.
In the back of his mind though Brooklyn wondered what he was thinking trying to tame a lightning dragon when usually he was afraid of that type of element. He recalled the many times he and his clan had been zapped by that stuff whenever getting caged or by the Quarrymen's hammers.
Taking a breath after leaving the village, Brooklyn took a steady foot forward into the woods, knowing the Skrill probably doesn't like living so close to humans. He hoped the dragon would be able to trust him since he technically wasn't one.
While trekking through the forest, Brooklyn wondered if his clan was missing him at all back in Manhattan, wishing he had his wings again to gain higher ground in searching for a Skrill. Eventually Brooklyn decided to sit down by a tree, pulling out a fish for him to eat until he heard rustling in the underbrush.
Tensing, Brooklyn looked around in both excitement and nerves, hoping it was the dragon he wanted. But then he heard a familiar raspy snarl, and his heart sank when seeing the large head of a Monstrous Nightmare.
"Oh, great. Not exactly what I wanted to see…" Brooklyn gulped, standing up, holding his spear since it was more than just one Nightmare with it.
The pack charged out, the leader lighting up its skin with its own flame, roaring and blasting Brooklyn's spear to splinters. Brooklyn chuckled nervously, throwing down the burnt weapon and tried to make a break for it, only for the second Nightmare to swing its tail, smacking him hard in the side and onto the dirt.
Feeling dizzy, Brooklyn hardly had time to look up when the leader pinned him down, baring its teeth. Brooklyn gave a little whimper, shielding himself for teeth to bite into its flesh.
That was when a storm began to brew, thunder sounding everywhere and startling the Nightmare pack who looked about in worry. The leader though was still bent on eating the human below it until Brooklyn heard a different roar, that sounded like a banshee shriek, lightning sounds coming and a shard of lightning suddenly striking at the Nightmare about to eat Brooklyn.
Brooklyn felt the back of his hair stand up from that lightning, seeing the Nightmare fall back in pain, roaring at its attacker until the Skrill made itself known, flapping its wings, lightning dancing off of them. It shrieked again, standing in between Brooklyn and the Nightmares. Brooklyn stared in awe at the mighty Strike Class dragon as it fired warning shots at the Nightmares again, sending them all flying away.
Shaking all over from his near death experience, Brooklyn watched in nerves as the Skrill turned its head, baring its teeth at him now. Its body was magnificent, having two hind legs but none in the front which had it use its wings to walk like the Nightmare did. The Skrill's scales were a pretty purple and grey with a light underbelly, lightning sometimes showing in between its fangs.
The Skrill slowly stalked closer to Brooklyn who scuttled back, doing his best not to be afraid but it was hard with all the lightning. He wondered though why this dragon had saved him despite him being the one who wanted to find the Skrill first.
"H-Hi. J-just want to say thanks for saving me. B-but why?" Brooklyn asked shakily, not sure if the Skrill could understand. Tilting its head from how stuttery the fleshling sounded, the Skrill gave a soft rumble, eyes turned to the bag with the last fish in it.
Brooklyn noted that, taking the bag slowly and pulling it out. "Y-You want it boy? Or are you a girl?" He questioned curiously, holding it out carefully. The Skrill huffed when Brooklyn said girl, shaking its head. "Ok. A boy. Guess you're hungry?"
Rumbling lowly again, the Skrill sniffs the fish, then he snatched it up with his fangs, startling the former Gargoyle and watched the lightning dragon swallow it whole like Toothless did. Brooklyn couldn't help the chuckle when watching the Skrill chomp it down, wiping his hands. "Wow, you were hungry." Eventually Brooklyn decided to try doing what Hiccup did, holding out his hand to touch the Skrill's snout.
The Skrill tensed up at the sight of the hand coming closer to him, hissing threateningly before deciding to prank Brooklyn by nudging his hand, shocking it.
"Ow! Hey!" Brooklyn gasped out from the shock, pulling his hand back, feeling his hair which was all sticking out now, reminding him of his old bushy white hair. Brooklyn rubbed his hand, pouting at the Skrill who sounded like he was laughing. "Not funny. You know I have a phobia of lightning, right?" Grumbled Brooklyn sourly, looking away, wondering if this dragon was even worth the effort if he was only going to be shocked.
Tilting its head, the Skrill stopped its laugh, eyes growing gentle when hearing that word phobia, cooing softly, walking closer to Brooklyn who tensed, holding his hand tight, not wanting to be shocked again. But surprisingly, he felt no lightning surging from the Skrill who was now so very close, feeling his breath. Brooklyn gulped, shutting his eyes.
From that movement, the Skrill cooed again, beginning to nuzzle the strange human carefully so not to shock him. Brooklyn gasped, peeking his eyes open, staring in awe from the cuddling the Skrill was giving him. A small smile appeared on his mouth, not having expecting this at all. Reaching out shakily with his hand, hoping the Skrill wouldn't prank him again, and touching the scales lightly on top of the Skrill's narrow head.
The scales felt warm and soft, Brooklyn's body relaxing a little while petting the Skrill who gave little purrs of content. A strange feeling surged through his skin, feeling that same connection feeling Hiccup did with Toothless. Brook felt rather accomplished, being able to tame the second most dangerous dragon in Strike Class, the Skrill sitting down next to him now.
"Well, looks like we're best friends now. I never had a dragon for a friend before." Brooklyn said, laughing softly, seeing the Skrill now wag its tail like a dog at him. "If you want to know something interesting about me, I'm a gargoyle, not a human."
The Skrill made a questioning sound, staring up inquisitively at Brooklyn who nods. "Yeah. I had wings, a tail, and a beak. And my hair is usually whiter than this." He said, touching his brown hair. "I got sent here from my world and time by a dragon book. But hey. Maybe with us now being buds, perhaps you can help me figure out how to get home?"
The lightning dragon rumbled, as if it understood Brooklyn, nuzzling Brooklyn's stomach now which felt rather nice. Brooklyn stood up then. "I gotta get back to Hiccup at the cove and tell him about you. Y-You think you can take me there?"
To Brooklyn's surprise, the Skrill made a face that almost looked like a smile, bowing its head, Brooklyn tensing at the idea of riding a lightning dragon. But if he could bond with the Skrill, riding should be easy enough. Straddling a leg over, Brooklyn managed to get at least onto the one spot on its back with no spines, holding his horns.
"Ok… let's see what you Skrills got!" Brooklyn said with a grin, eager now for a challenge. The Skrill growled, raising its wings, then took off sharply into the sky, roaring. Brooklyn's eyes popped, holding on with all his might, not having expected such a speedy take off!
"Agh! Easy! Easy!" He screamed, not having been flying in so long, feeling the wind in his face as the Skrill halted in mid air, rumbling in its laughter, making Brooklyn frown, eyes casting over the whole view of Berk then guiding the dragon past Raven's Point. He kept holding on with all of his strength, the Skrill's wings flapping strongly, his heart beating in exhilaration. He was probably the first gargoyle ever to ride a dragon!
His head looked about in amazement at the clouds until he spotted the cove along with Hiccup holding a big bag of fish "Go there bud!" Brooklyn said, pointing. The Skrill nods, divebombing down but not as fast, landing at the cove entrance since Brooklyn wanted to surprise Hiccup with his new friend.
They both landed just outside the cove, Brooklyn jumping off and feeling a little wobbly at first before ensuring his Skrill remained quiet as he followed Hiccup in.
"Hey, Hiccup!" Called out Brooklyn with a wave, making Hiccup nearly jump in surprise. "Where were you? I was about to give Toothless his lunch. And also we meet with Gobber tonight about Dragon Training."
Brooklyn flushed. "I know, I'm sorry. But… uh, I kinda found a dragon of my own." He said, kicking a rock.
Hiccup looked surprised, but pleased that his friend also managed to train a dragon. "Wow, that's, amazing. What kind?"
The former gargoyle felt nervous again. "Its… well… uh…" He gestured with his hand to the cove entrance, Toothless having smelled the new dragon and growling.
The Skrill came from his hiding spot, hissing when seeing its foe, the Night Fury. Hiccup jumped in shock. "Whoa, what? A Skrill?!" He gaped, not having expected Brooklyn to train a Skrill of all dragons.
From the shouts, both Strike Class dragons roared, charging each other on and tackling one another. Hiccup and Brooklyn both leapt back, knowing they had to break it up.
"Skrill, stop!" Shouted Brooklyn, feeling foolish for calling his new dragon by its species name, which it wouldn't respond to, biting Toothless' tail who snarled dangerously, readying its plasma blast.
Hiccup pulled Toothless away, trying to tempt him with a fish. "Easy Toothless, that dragon isn't our enemy!"
Eventually, Brooklyn thought of the perfect name. "Voltwing, stand down, now!" He ordered, stepping in front of the two dragons, holding his arms out. The newly named Voltwing jerked back from the gesture, its feelings of anger instantly gone. He didn't want to hurt his new friend. Cooing in apology, Voltwing tilted his head, allowing Brooklyn to pet him.
Hiccup's jaw was still open, a head on Toothless' after giving him a fish. "Huh, Voltwing. A fierce name you picked."
Brook shrugged. "The first thing I could think of just now." He said, scratching Voltwing lightly under the Skrill's chin which made him purr. Hiccup tossed a fish his way, Brooklyn grabbing it and feeding it to Voltwing.
"Good thing they didn't tear each other apart. It may take some time for them to be friends." Hiccup said, eyeing the two dragons who still watched one another. "But, how did you find him?"
Looking at Voltwing, Brooklyn told his story. "Well, he actually saved me. I was about to be a Nightmare pack's lunch when Voltwing showed up, scaring them off." He said in appreciation, Voltwing suddenly licking him in the face. It made Brooklyn laugh in both humor and disgust. "Ew, fish breath Voltwing!"
Hiccup felt himself smile. "Sounds like you two have quite the new bond like me and Toothless. I suppose, they could hang out here together since you can't bring Voltwing into the village."
Brooklyn couldn't help but shudder at the thought of the Vikings thrusting their swords into his new friend, hugging him. "No. They would kill him. If, you won't mind Toothless."
The Night Fury huffed, turning to eat more of his lunch that Hiccup brought after he separated the pile for both. "I think that means yes. But it's getting dark, we should be getting back."
Nodding, Brooklyn pets Voltwing one more time. "Now, you behave. I'll be back soon alright boy?" He asked, the Skrill purring again, wagging its tail, understanding. Soon the two boys left, hoping to make it back on time for dinner. Just from watching the dragons eating their meal made Brooklyn hungry.
….
Soon they were lucky to return to the village by sunset, getting together with the other teens and Gobber by a fire to have dinner together and discuss the final lesson in the Dragon Training. Hiccup had a roasted fish while Brooklyn took a chicken leg.
Gobber to start told his story about how he lost his leg and arm, which made Brooklyn a little queasy, Fishlegs commenting on it. "Isn't it weird to think that your hand is inside a dragon, and if your mind is still in control of it? You could've killed the dragon from the inside by crushing its heart or something."
Brooklyn raised his brow at Fishlegs, wondering what had been going through the boy's mind to say that. Snotlout growled. "I swear, I'm so angry right now! I'll avenge your beautiful hand and your beautiful foot. I'll chop off the legs of every dragon I fight… with my face!"
It caused the blacksmith to shake his head. "No, It's the wings and the tails you really want. If it can't fly, it can't get away. A downed dragon is a dead dragon." Gobber stated.
Hearing that caused Hiccup's face to grow pale, and Brooklyn didn't blame him. He had basically grounded and killed Toothless by ripping off his tail fin. And they had to do something about that. Gobber yawned. "Alright, I'm off to bed. You should be too. Tomorrow we get to the big boys. Slowly but surely we'll be making our way up to the Monstrous Nightmare. But who'll win the honor of killing it?"
Brooklyn swallowed, not wanting to be stuck in an arena with one after being nearly killed by a pack. Tuffnut placed down his dinner. "It's gonna be me. It's my destiny, see?" He lifted his shirt, right as Hiccup began walking off, Brooklyn's eyes casting over to the others quickly before following, Astrid staring after them in suspicion.
The two of them went into the blacksmith, Brooklyn looking towards Hiccup. "What do you have in mind to help Toothless?"
Hiccup grinned, drawing out a plan before beginning to build. "A new tail fin of course. If you want to help." Brooklyn nods, as well as looking forward to seeing his best dragon friend Voltwing again too.