The Dragon Master

Part 3~Kaito

Ryker paced back and forth, unable to sit still.

'Calm yourself, brother. Stressing won't wake him up any faster.' Viggo leaned over his maces and talons board, a concentrated expression on his face. He took a second to glance at the unconscious boy lying on the bench. The poor boy had too many scars- it was worrying. He couldn't be much older than fifteen and was clearly underfed. He was missing half his leg and had a scar spreading across his chest like an infestation. Though, of course, none of that was why Ryker wanted him to wake up. They had found the boy unconscious, washed up on their shore with a night fury, and Ryker wanted to know how this small boy got one.

'I will not calm myself until he wakes!'

Viggo sighed, standing up and walking over. 'Maybe you should head out. Get this off your mind. Why don't you try fishing?'

Ryker growled, reaching back to grab his axe.

Groaning stopped them. Viggo's eyes widened as he ran toward the boy. 'Ah, you're awake. We were getting worried.'

The boy rubbed his head in confusion, wincing. 'What's going on? Who are you?'

'I am Viggo Grimborn, this is my brother Ryker. But our question is, who are you?'

The boy blinked, a fearful expression crossing his face. 'I... I don't remember. Who am I?' The boy shot up, stumbling up but falling over the second he did. He gasped, running his fingers down to the missing limb. 'What happened?! I don't understand!' Tears pooled in the corners of the boy's eyes, causing Ryker to scoff.

'Stop whining and tell us about the night fury!'

The boy flinched, cowering away.

'Now, now, brother, a more tactical approach might be required.' Viggo approached the boy. He was too overwhelmed. 'Hello there, I apologise for my brother. This all must be very overwhelming. How about we start slow? If you cannot recall your name, why don't we pick one for you? We can then get you a prosthetic leg.' Viggo offered out a hand, pulling the boy off the ground. He stumbled against Viggo's side as he supported him. 'Let's go.' Viggo brought the boy to the on-deck forge. He let the blacksmith measure up the boy's leg.

The second the blacksmith brought the leg forward, the boy started kicking. He started saying how it was ineloquent, and he would not have a leg like that. Viggo leaned forward. 'Tell me, what kind of leg would you like?' Viggo offered out a piece of paper and charcoal.

The boy's eyes widened. He hesitated before taking the items. 'You want my opinion? My ideas?'

Viggo chuckled lowly. 'Of course. It's your leg.'

A wide grin spread across his face as he started sketching. Only ten minutes later, the boy held up a detailed drawing. Viggo couldn't help but be impressed. This was like nothing he had seen before. He showed it to the blacksmith, who nodded, wandering back in.

The boy had started sketching on the remaining paper. Viggo leaned over, seeing the dragons the boy drew. One was definitely the night fury they had found him with, the second being a mysterious Deadly Nadder.

'You like dragons?'

The boy nodded excitedly, perching up. 'They're so fascinating. Don't you think so? The Deadly Nadder has so many weak spots, and if you scratch under their chin, it causes them to collapse.'

'You ever met a Nadder before?'

The boy opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He furrowed his brows in confusion. 'I... I can't remember.'

Viggo hummed. 'It seems your general knowledge and your motor skills are intact, but your personal memories have been blocked.' The boy lowered his head.

'Do you think I'll get my memories back?'

'I can not say for sure, but I'm willing to take you under my wing until you have.' Viggo offered a smile, lifting up the boy's trouser leg. He strapped the new prosthetic to the boy's leg, watching as the boy jumped up and down with a wide grin.

'Thank you.'

'You're very welcome, Kaito.'

'Kaito?'

'Well, you needed a name, didn't you? It's a star in the Aries constellation. I thought it would suit you.'

'I like it. Thank you.'

'Stop saying thank you. You deserve to be happy, young Kaito.' Viggo ruffled Kaito's hair causing him to giggle.

'Okay! I'll stop!' Kaito yawned, leaning against Viggo's side.

'Rest, Kaito, you are still healing.'

Kaito nodded, not needing a lot of prompting to fall asleep. Viggo took a second to ensure Kaito was asleep before picking him up and carrying him back to the bed.

'Why are you coddling him?! This is wasting our time!'

Viggo sighed, glancing at his brother. 'He doesn't have his memories. Even if he did know about the night fury, he wouldn't remember.' Viggo pushed back Kaito's hair, his eyes drifting down to the burn. 'I wonder... Ryker, bring me Brandan.'

Ryker was about to object when Viggo glared at him. Ryker sulked, storming down. Barely down minutes later, Ryker pushed the dragon hunter into the room. Bandan cowered in fear as Viggo stood up.

'Oh, calm down. I'm not going to kill you just yet. I need your arm.' Viggo reached out, forcing it forward. He cautiously rolled off the bandages that had been wrapped, comparing them to the ones covering Kaito's chest.

Ryker's eyes grew in size. 'They match.'

'Clearly. I think we've found our connection.'

~~~

Viggo strolled down the corridor, approaching the large cage. The dragon growled, glaring at Viggo. 'Hello, there beast. I just had an interesting conversation with your little friend.' Viggo couldn't help but smirk as the dragon did his best to fight against the restraints. 'I'm surprised you even care. After all, you had hurt him.'

The dragon hit the cage, doing everything to get the muzzle off.

'Be careful. We wouldn't want you hurt. You'll fetch a substantial price in the eastern market. I look forward to selling you.' Viggo ran his fingers down the dragon's face, a deep smirk on his face.

'Viggo? What's going on?'