Tommy was hated by the gods, there was no other explanation for his misfortune of losing an entire dragon. If he didn't find the dragon soon, it would be back in the air never to be seen again. Tommy wouldn't be able to shoot it down again either, as his bowstring had gotten snagged on a branch and snapped. Even though he had extra string in his pocket, he hadn't had time to restring his bow so he left it behind and brought a knife with him instead.
Tommy looked up at the trees, hoping to maybe see some damage from a crashing dragon. Sighing, Tommy took a step back and suddenly he felt his foot start to slide. Soon, he was crashing backwards down the hill, through foliage, bushes, and fallen green leaves. He hit a large rock, a boulder, feet-first, wincing at the pain as he got up on his sore feet and legs. He was still sore from last night when he fell out of the tree, and now he was even more sore.
He heard the low groan of a dragon from the other side of the rock, and when he looked around the boulder he saw the pitch-black body of a night fury. Or that's what he thought it was at first, until he saw the white spots that completely covered his feet and top wing bone. Tommy was confused at first, until he saw his arrow sticking out of the dragon's tail. He knew it was his, it had the painted "T" on its shaft that Tommy had put on all his arrows so he would know if they were his.
Tommy grinned as his eyes widened. He had really done it, he had really shot a dragon! He grabbed his knife and moved to the other side of the boulder, gripping the handle of the blade tightly in his hands. He approached the dragon slowly, waiting for it to move or attack. He saw the dragon twitch and move, but when it did so its scales pushed the arrows deeper into his tail. Tommy took another step closer and a small twig snapped under his boots, causing the dragon's eyes to shoot open. Its pupils were slit as the dragon looked at Tommy from one side of its head with a big green eye.
Tommy looked into the eye, his grin nowhere to be found as he saw himself reflected with a knife in his hand. He could see, practically feel, the fear in the dragon's eyes, fear he had felt himself before during dragon raids and just last night. The fear of death, of not wanting to die or at least not die just yet. Maybe Tommy was projecting these emotions on the dragon, but either way It made guilt settle harshly in Tommy's stomach and shame at feeling guilty when any other Viking would feel proud.
"I did this... This is all my fault..." Tommy whispered, the knife heavy in his hands. He watched as the dragon closed its eyes, giving another groan as it seemed to accept its death. Tommy looked over at the dragon's tail where his arrow was lodged, and an idea popped into his head. Tommy shoved the knife back into its holder and moved over to the tail and sat on his knees. He grabbed some of the leaves on the ground and off bushes, dusting any dirt or pebbles on them, and grabbed the string he had in his pocket.
Taking a deep breath, Tommy put a hand on the tail to hold it in place as he gripped the arrow's shaft tightly. Looking at the dragon's head once again, he pulled the arrow out as quickly as he could and then started to quickly place the leaves over the wound. Taking the string, he wrapped it around the tail tightly and then tied it as tightly as possible. It wasn't as great as an actual bandage, but the string held the group of leaves in place as they soaked up the dragon's blood from the wound. The pressure from the string also helped with the wound, but Tommy knew the makeshift bandage wouldn't last very long.
Suddenly the dragon sprang up and pushed Tommy's back up against the boulder behind him. Looking at the dragon's face, he could now see that the dragon only had one green eye while the other was a light blue. Tommy pressed himself up against the boulder, tensing up as he waited for the dragon to shoot its blast and take his life. The dragon opened its mouth, but instead of the blast Tommy was expecting, the dragon let out a loud, ear-splitting, roar that moved Tommy's hair and forced him to close his eyes. When he opened them again, he watched as the dragon flew off, weirdly seeming to be angled downwards.
Tommy's bones felt like mashed potatoes as he got up and tried to stand. His entire body shook with his weight and fear, and he only managed to make a few steps before falling down onto the grass below. He let himself lay there as he got his breath and his soul returned to his body. Once he gained the feeling back in his bones, and grabbed onto the boulder to support him as he got up once again. After taking a few slightly shaky breaths, Tommy began to climb up the small hill he had slipped down.
He started to walk home, not entirely sure what to do now. He knew he couldn't kill a dragon now, he just didn't have it in him like the rest of his family, and the rest of his village, seemed to. His entire life had been about killing dragons, so now he had to find something else to do. Maybe he could build weapons in the armory with Schlatt, since he was already pretty good at that. Schlatt didn't seem to mind him as much as other people did, and he remembered hearing the man complain to his father about orders piling up all the time.
"Hey Tommy." A voice said in front of him. Tommy looked up to see Dream with a strange expression on his face standing in front of him at the edge of the forest. "Techno told me about how you shot down a night fury when we were sparring, and I'm guessing you were looking for it.. Any luck finding it?" Dream asked, his tone sounding slightly odd. Tommy couldn't tell why Dream's face and tone were so odd, but Tommy was too nervous that he would accidentally spill that he helped a dragon to focus on it that much.
"Oh uh, no. I uh, didn't see any sign of it. It must've flown off already." Tommy said, cursing at how nervous he sounded as he scratched the back of his head. "Guess I got real unlucky, huh? Or maybe my arrows just weren't sharp enough to do anything but stun it for a little while or something like that." Tommy continued, yelling at himself internally as Dream just nodded slowly with that odd look on his face. "Welp, I better get back home, bye!" Tommy said quickly, before walking as fast as he could towards his house while trying not to be too obvious.
Once Tommy was home, he opened the door slowly in hopes he wouldn't make any noise and get caught by his father or brother. He tip-toed towards the stairs and started to climb up them as he saw his father examining something. He quietly hissed when he stepped on the first stair and it freaked, causing his father to turn around. He gave a nervous smile at his dad, who also looked slightly nervous. Had put down what he had been looking at, and Tommy couldn't see what it was behind him.
Well, Tommy figured now was as good a time as any to tell his father that he didn't want to kill dragons. "I have something I want to tell you." Both Tommy and Phil said at the same time. His father gave a light humorless chuckle which Tommy returned while looking away. "Um, you go first dad" Tommy said, nervously fidgeting with his hands.
"I was thinking, and I decided it's finally time I put you in dragon killing training with the other kids. The first day is tomorrow, you start in the morning." Philza said, causing Tommy's eyes to widen as he almost instantly realized he should've gone first. The gods must really hate him, or this was some kind of cruel joke the world was playing on him, or maybe it was both.
"Oh no, I should have gone first. I uh, dad I- I can't kill a dragon." Tommy said, and his father gave a confused look in response. Philza then made a sound and nodded in understanding. Tommy felt a small sense of relief when Phil put a hand on his shoulder, happy that he wasn't going to have to kill a dragon. He felt guilty and ashamed that he was so happy about it, but he pushed those feelings aside.
"It's alright Tommy, everyone doubts themselves before their first kill, even your brothers and I." Philza said, and Tommy's relief disappeared once he realized his father had taken his words the wrong way. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll do fine. Actually, I have something for you to help you." Philza turned around to grab the item he wanted to give Tommy.
"Dad, I really can't kill a dragon. I was thinking instead I could maybe help Schlatt- you're not even listening to me, are you?" Tommy tried to say, feeling annoyed that his dad wasn't listening to him even if that's usually what happened. When Philza turned around, Tommy suddenly felt sick when he saw what his father was holding. "Is... is that...?" He was unable to speak, looking at the item with dread.
"It's Wilbur's old ax. I have a feeling he'd want you to have it." Phil said, placing the ax in Tommy's arms. Tommy forced himself not to shake, his mouth going dry as he looked at his brother's ax. "When you carry that ax, you carry your brother's memory. I trust you'll do him and us proud." Philza said, and Tommy bit his tongue to stop himself from throwing up from the dread and guilt in his stomach. He gave his dad a smile, before going up the stairs to his room as fast as he could. Tomorrow was not going to be a good day.
YOU ARE READING
On the Backs of Beast
FanfictionTommy wasn't weak, no matter what other people thought. He was strong, and like the rest of his family he would kill a dragon. His village had been fighting dragons since before he was even born, and although most people would move if dragons attack...
