How to train your Dragon Rider

~Chapter seven: Meeting the Night Rider~ (Hiccup)

    "Today is about teamwork. Work together and you might survive."

Gas seeps through the cracks of a double wide door, and suddenly, It blasts open. A cloud of smoke engulfs the ring, swirling around the paired-up teens. Astrid with Ruffnut. Snotlout with Tuffnut. Fishlegs with me. Each carried buckets of water, poised to throw them at the dragon.

This was probably the worst time to be in the ring- at least for me, anyway. It had been exactly nine hours and forty-five minutes since I had seen the Night Rider, and my mind was clouded with nothing but thoughts of her. I had yet to tell anyone. I wanted to know her first. Ever since the first time I saw her soaring through the clouds on her Skrill, I had been interested in who she was, and what made her the way that she was.

So, as I stood back to back against Fishlegs, I found that this was indeed, the worst time to be in the ring...like...ever.

"Now, a wet dragon head can't light its fire." Gobber explained. "The Hideous Zippleback is extra tricky. One head breathes gas, the other head, lights it. Your job is to know which is which."

The smoke encircled us, cutting us off from each other. Biting my lip, I did my best to listen and watch for any sign of the dragon.

"Razor sharp, serrated teeth that inject venom for pre-digestion. Prefers ambush attack, crushing its victims in it's-"

I clenched my fist around the handle of my bucket and glared at Fishlegs "Will you please stop that!?"

Moving nervously through the fog, Snotlout sung to himself to calm his nerves. "If that dragon shows either of his faces, I'm gonna-" spotting an approaching shape, his eyes went wide. "-There!"

Snotlout and Tuffnut flung their water into the fog.

"Hey!" Astrid wiped her now wet clothes off and glared at Tuffnut and Snotlout as she and Ruffnut emerged from the fog.

"It's us, idiots." Ruff rolled her eyes.

"Wow, Your butts are getting bigger." Tuff shrugged, and Snotlout smirked. "We thought you were a dragon."

Snotlout licked his lips and eyed Astrid up and down. "Not that there's anything wrong with a dragon-esque figure." In response, she elbowed Snotlout in the face, while Ruffnut dropped Tuffnut with a punch to the throat.

"Wait..." They froze. A tail swooped out of the fog, taking them down. Their buckets spilled out and hit the feet of Hiccup and Fishlegs. They stared down at the puddles of spilled water and swallowed.

"Oh, I'm hurt. I am very much hurt!"

Nervously Fishlegs glanced around as the fog cornered them. "Chances of survival are dwindling into single digits now..."

"Look out!" I suddenly said as the Zippleback's head- heads emerged out of the smoke. Fishlegs hurls his water at it, completely dousing the head. It leers and opens its mouth, spewing gas into the area.

"Oh..." his eyes widened. "Wrong head." Fishlegs fleed in a panic, screaming and dropping his water bucket, leaving me behind. Great I thought as I rolled my eyes. The dragon focused its eyes on me, and I backed up a bit, trying to remember which head Fishlegs had thrown his water at.

"Now, Hiccup!" Gobber yelled.

I hurled my water with all my might. It arcs and drops short of the dragon's sparking mouth. "Oh come on..." I dropped my shoulder as the dragon grinned, savoring the kill.

"Hiccup!" Gobber's voice rang in my ears as I reached into my tunic. The Zippleback hesitates, sniffs, then retreated. The teens get to their feet, watching transfixed as Gobber peeks through his fingers to see... The Zippleback backing away from me. I stood and held my hands out, as if controlling it.