"So...why didn't you?" I asked myself as I dropped the bola and pressed on in the direction the dragon had flown off. I had thought about what Gobber had said, and it got me thinking about the dragon that could have taken my life just a few days ago, emphasis on 'could have'. The dragon, for whatever reason, chose to spare me, like I had spared him, and I was now back in the woods, searching for answers.
I dropped into a rocky crevice and followed it to an... isolated cove, complete with a pristine spring pool. He scans the high stone walls... then notices a single black scale on the ground. He crouches and picks it up, studying it.
"Well this was stupid." I admitted, before the night fury suddenly blasts past me, knocking me to the ground from the intense wind.
I recoiled quickly, watching the massive beast struggle to climb the walls. It flaps violently, then peels away to a rough landing. The dragon was obviously trapped. I grinned, excited to see it again, and slipped closer. I watched as the dragon, exhausted and frustrated, leapt into the air, beating its wings furiously. Again and again, it rolls uncontrolled and crashes heavily.suddenly remembering part of the reason I came, I pulled out a leather-bound book and flipped past drawings of weapons to a blank page. I sketched the dragon quickly, desperate to record the image. The Fury claws at the steep rock walls, trying to climb out of the cove. It slips again, and falls hard, crushing several saplings. The Fury rolls back to his feet and slowly crawls to the water's edge. He spots fish in the shallow water and snaps at them... but comes up empty. He lowers his head, looking weakened.
"Why don't you just...fly away?" I asked, more to myself. Squinting, my gaze fell on the problem. I adjusted my drawing, carefully erasing one half of the dragon's tail. Then, because of my sheer luck, I accidentally dropped the charcoal stick. I reached out for it, as It rolled off of the rock outcropping that hides him from view and bounces into the cove.
TINK. TINK. TINK.
The Night Fury raises his head, spotting me. I stared, unblinking, and he did the same.
************************************************************************
Later that night, just as I made it back to the village, a storm had begun brewing outside. The great hall doors rattle on their hinges as I walked in, soaked from the pouring down rain.
"Alright. Where did Astrid go wrong in the ring today?" The recruits are seated at a table, eating dinner by the glow of the fire pit.
"I mistimed my somersault dive. It was sloppy. It threw off my reverse tumble." Most of the group rolled their eyes.
"Yeah. We noticed." said Ruffnut sarcastically
grabbing Astrid's hand, Snotlout shook his head, "No, no, you were great. That was so 'Astrid'." Astrid pushed his hand away in disgust.
"She's right, you have to be tough on yourselves," said Gobber. Suddenly all eyes turned to me, entering the hall, despite trying to avoid detection, though I didn't miss Gobber's glare. "Where did Hiccup go wrong?" I tried to take a seat at the table, ignoring Gobbers complaint. Being blocked from sitting by anyone, I decided to take a seat by myself at an empty table
"Uh, He showed up?" Ruff suggested
"He didn't get eaten." Tuffnut said in triumph
"He's never where he should be." Astrd declared, sending a glare towards hiccup herself
"Thank you, Astrid." Gobber stands, and walks over to the table Hiccup was sitting at, and picked up a heavy looking, leather bound book. "You need to live and breathe this stuff." Gobber lays the giant book in the center of the table. "The dragon manual. Everything we know about every dragon we know of." if he was changing the subject to get a move on with the lesson, or to spare Hiccup from any more embarrassment, he didn't know. But he was glad for the change anyway. A rumble of thunder shakes the hall. Rain pours down outside. "No attacks tonight,'' said Gobber "Study up." Gobber exists into the storm, leaving the teens staring at the book.
"Wait, you mean read?" Tuffnut said, sounding shocked
"While we're still alive?" Ruff finished for him, just as shocked.
"Why read words when you can just kill the stuff the words tell you stuff about?" Snotlout complained
"Oh! I've read it like, seven times.There's this water dragon that sprays boiling water at your face. And there's this other one that buries itself for like a week-" Fishlegs was suddenly cut off from his ramble by Tuff
"Yeah, that sounds great. There was a chance I was going to read that... '
"...but now..." Ruff said in a bored tone
Snotlout gets up to go. "You guys read, I'll go kill stuff." The others follow, with Fishlegs in tow, explaining more of what he read. Astrid is the last to leave.
Hiccup approached her "So I guess we'll share–"
"Read it." she said, and pushed it toward him before leaving.
Hiccup opened the massive book just as he heard the great hall door slam shut behind Astrid. Thunder booms outside, the hall is vacant and dark, but for the few candles he's pulled together. He turned the page to the introduction.
"Dragon classifications. Strike class. Fear class. Mystery class." Hiccup turns the page. "Thunderdrum. This reclusive dragon inhabits sea caves and dark tide pools. When startled, the Thunderdrum produces a concussive sound that can kill a man at close range. Extremely dangerous. Kill on sight." Hiccup's eyes drift to a lurid illustration of decapitated Vikings. Another page, another dragon.
"Timberjack. This gigantic creature has razor sharp wings that can slice through full grown trees...extremely dangerous. Kill on sight." The illustrations seem to take on a life of their own, shifting and squirming in the candlelight. "Scauldron. Sprays scalding water at its victim. Extremely dangerous." The storm outside rages against the shuttered windows causing Hiccup to startle, but presses on.
"Changewing. Even newly hatched dragons can spray acid. Kill on sight." He begins flipping through the pages. A blur of dragons... "Gronckle. Zippleback. The Skrill." Hiccup paused, running his fingers over the picture. It was identical to the dragon the night-rider rode. "Bone Knapper. Whispering Death." he then switched to how. "Burns its victims. Buries its victims. Chokes its victims. Turns its victims inside-out. Extremely dangerous. Extremely dangerous. Kill on sight. Kill on sight. Kill on sight..." Hiccup finally lands upon the page he's been looking for.
"Night Fury." The page was completely blank-- no image, save for a few, sparse details including the name written on the top. "Speed unknown. Size unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. Never engage this dragon. Your only chance, hide and pray it does not find you." Hiccup pulls his sketchbook out of his vest and opens it to his drawing of Toothless. He lays it over the book's blank page and a determined look crossed his features.
YOU ARE READING
How to train your Dragon Rider
FanfictionHiccup has been an outsider his whole life. Never being one of those big and strong boys you'd normally see around the Viking village of Berk, you would have never guessed that he was the son of the chief. Jenny has always been a loner. Never having...
