Freedom in its Richest Form

Dragon Training(9)

Snotlout looks positively affronted by my mere presence. "What are you doing here- what is he doing here?"

"Probably here to watch the real Vikings work," Tuffnut responds.

"Oh yeah, burn!" shouts his twin sister, Ruffnut.

I just ignore them and walk to the end of the line next to Fishlegs.

"Welcome to dragon trainin'," Gobber introduces, distracting the others before they can say anymore. "Today, we're learnin' the basics. Behind these doors are just a few of the many dragons you will learn to fight. We have the deadly nadder."

"Armor: 16, attack: 10," I hear Fishlegs interject.

"The terrible terror,"

"Speed: 10, venom: 12."

"The monstrous nightmare,"

"Firepower: 15."

"The hideous zippleback,"

"Stealth: eleven, times two."

"Would you stop that!?" Gobber shouts, exasperated with Fishlegs' overeager behavior. "And the... gronkle," he says, placing a hand on the lever.

"Jaw strength: 8," Fishlegs whispers to me before being cut off by Snotlout.

"Woah, woah, wait. Aren't you gonna teach us first?" He asks, looking quite nervous, as I'm sure we all are.

"I believe in learning on the job," Gobber says, smirking as he pulls down the lever.

Instantly, an enraged gronkle comes flying out of the doors, eyes crazed by its time in the cage. There is no talking this dragon down.

"Quick, what's the first thing you need?" Our 'teacher' asks.

"A doctor?" I ask.

"Plus five speed?" Fishlegs squeaks.

"A shield," Astrid shouts out.

"Right! A shield," Gobber responds. "A shield is your most important tool. If ya have a choice between a sword and a shield, take the shield," he says, helping me take up a shield I was struggling with and shoving me into the fray.

Hey, just because I'm half dragon doesn't mean I have magically become an expert in Viking weaponry and combat.

"Shields are good for another thing," Gobber says. "Noise. Make lots of it. It throws off a dragon's aim."

We begin circling the angered dragon, pounding on our shields. However, a mild bout of vertigo takes hold of me as well as the dragon.

I stumble to the side, grabbing the adjacent weapons rack to stabilize myself. Luckily, the rest of the trainees are too busy with the dragon to notice, but Gobber subtly looks at me in concern.

"How many shots does a gronkle have?" he shouts suddenly, drawing the others' focus from the noise they are making. Thank you, Gobber, I think to myself.

"Five?" Snotlout guesses.

"No, six!" Fishlegs shouts, raising his shield before having it blasted out of his hand, Gobber calling him out.

After that was the twins, followed by Snotlout, then Astrid. Then, it was only me.

The dragon turns to me with crazed, vengeful eyes, growling in its approach. Suddenly, it bolts towards me, and all I can really do is run. Luckily, years of running from dragons and bullies alike has made me rather fast.

Something in me wants to get out, I can feel it, and I try to reach for it, but then the gronkle fires its second to last shot at me, searing my shirt and startling me to trip and back into the wall, cornered. I don't know what will happen to me with a direct hit, but I really don't want to find out.

"Hiccup!" I vaguely hear Gobber shout before I feel an incinerating heat just beside my head. I open my eyes and see Gobber throwing the beyond enraged dragon back into its cage by the jaw before turning back to the others. "Alright, that's enough trainin' for today. Now shoo. Go do whatever it is ya do when you're not here."

Then he turns back to me, hefting me to my feet. "Alright, lad, take me to this dragon o yours. We need to have a talk." I look at him incredulously, still shaking a bit. "But first, can ya do somethin' 'bout your eyes?"

"My eyes? W-oh. Thor, I hope nobody saw that." I quickly blink them back to 'normal', and Gobber nods in satisfaction.

"Good. Now, lead the way."

It doesn't take long to reach the edge of the forest, where we pause. "What're ya doin'?"

"I'm checking to see if anyone's following us," I say before nodding in satisfaction. "We're good." I let the flash transform me into my usual form, followed by a startled yelp.

"Oy, lad! Warn a fellow 'fore ya do that. It's bright!" Gobber says, good hand covering his eyes.

I laugh a little and sigh, stretching my limbs. "Feels good to stretch, though," I say, moving through the forest with practiced ease, jumping up to the trees and jumping across the branches.

A smile stretches across my face as I flow through the trees like I'm flying, even though my wings have sometime during this retracted.

My clawed hands reach out before me and grasp whatever branches approach, my feet pushing me off fluidly as my tail whips around, keeping me balanced and helping me change direction at a moment's notice.

The world around me becomes razor sharp, and I'm lost in the green abyss of the forest until a voice snaps me out of it.

"Come on, Hiccup! Ya know I can't go that fast," Gobber says, huffing to catch up, but by this time, we're already at the edge of the cove.

"Heh...sorry, Gobber," I rub the back of my neck, hopping down from my current branch before continuing towards cove.

"What was that, anyways? You're so fluid with those trees, yet ya freeze up in the arena?" He asks, following me.

I give him a deadpan look. "Well I think it might be a bit different with a dragon about to blast my head off."

"Oh, ya don't know that. After all, ya weren't burned at all when it grazed your arm," he gestures to the seared part of my tunic.

"Maybe not, but I would rather not be hit point blank," I respond, but I'm answered by a wide-eyed Gobber and a growl behind me.

Hey, sorry I haven't updated in a while. Ended up traveling to the other side of the country, so... yeah. I'll try to update soon, but no promises for a little while.

~Dj Z3nyth