The following day, Gobber had me, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins gather outside the dragon training area. The arena was a large hole in the ground opposite the village, separated by acres of land, a thin wooden bridge, and a deep chasm below.
They had to separate it because dragons thrashed behind the wooden gates. There was a Gronckle, a Monstrous Nightmare, a Terrible Terror, a Deadly Nadder, and a Hideous Zippleback. Above the arena was an upturned metal fruit bowl—Sorry. I mean, a delicately crafted metal cage. The only way in and out of the arena was by unlocking the large metal gates, and as far as I was aware, Gobber had the only key.
I felt a tapping on my shoulder and turned around.
"Did you fall into a bucket of paint or something, El?" Tuff asked, smirking fiendishly. Ruff swiftly elbowed his side, causing him to buckle over and clutch it.
"Nope," I replied simply.
"Well, I'm loving the new look, babe!" Snotlout's grating voice said. He moved closer and took one of my braids, peering closely at the amber that encased it.
"Thanks...I wanted to try a different style," I said, lying through my teeth. I tugged my hair out of Snotlout's grasp and walked closer to the front where Astrid was.
Astrid looked me up and down, her blue eyes lingering over the ends of my braids. She frowned. "It does look...interesting," she said slowly. "How'd you get it to look so shiny?"
"Oh, I just tinkered with different water to tree sap concentrations in the forest!" I said with an awkward smile.
My response was believable enough for Astrid, and with a slight raise of her eyebrow, she returned to looking straight forward. I glanced back at the others and started to hum. Snotlout was busy messing around with Ruff and Tuff while Fishlegs flicked through some cards with dragon stats. Fishlegs and I locked eyes, and he took it as a sign to hurry over to me.
"El, take a look!" he said excitedly.
I peered at the card at the top of the pile. On it was a sketch of a Monstrous Nightmare and a little Viking holding a giant shield. The Viking had two braids, wore a horned helmet, and looked suspiciously like me when I looked closer. There was writing, too. The card said that the best way to deal with a Monstrous Nightmare was to waste its shots on a shield and then use fist power.
"I thought you might want to keep that after what happened yesterday," Fishlegs smiled. He handed me the card, and I took it with a smile.
"Thank you, Fishlegs!" I said, "I'll make sure to remember that. It might even help me out today."
Fishlegs flashed another bright smile then, falling back slightly, returned to flicking through the actual statistical cards. I should be doing something similar. I had zero combat experience except for running, and as I explained to my mum yesterday, too many dragons have great stamina.
When the seven of us reached the arena gates, Gobber stepped forward and opened the outside gates. We all moved slower as we walked on the sloping floor. Everything grew darker, and I realised just how real this was.
"Welcome to dragon training," Gobber said as he pulled open the inner gates.
They creaked open, slowly exposing us to where we'd spend much of our time. Some of the thuds and grunts behind the different doors inside reached me. It was incredibly unsettling. I looked at the others, but they all seemed quite determined and ready to be proper Vikings. Maybe I wasn't cut out for this?
"There's no turning back," Astrid whispered.
The six of us took the first few steps into blinding daylight. The fresh morning air whipped across my cheeks and bristled my hair. I took my dagger out of my belt, twisting it as I walked around. The arena may have looked big outside, but it felt so much bigger when you stood inside.
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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐎𝐍'𝐒 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆 - httyd
Fanfiction❝Who knew a song could be so dangerous?❞ Elspeth Rydenmere, daughter of the village's songstress, was moved to Berk when she was three and has been living there since. With her own musical capabilities and knack for sneaking away from her mum, she g...
