Heart of a Chief, Soul of a Dragon

Chapter 1

           This is Berk. The best kept secret this side of, well, anywhere. Granted, it may not look like much, but this wet heap of rock holds more than a few surprises. Life here is amazing, just not for the faint of heart. See, where most folks enjoy hobbies like whittling or needlepoint, we Berkians prefer a little something we like to call... Dragon Racing!

The dizzying sensation of the wind stinging my face and threatening to break open my skin was the most exhilarating feeling in the world. Zipping around tight corners nearly threw me off of my Thunderdrum, but I didn't care. It was all in pursuit of the most points, to take home the glory once again. Astrid and I were tied for number of wins, and with my last Dragon Race for quite a while coming to a close, I was determined to jump ahead. My competitive spirit had grown over the years, and though I wasn't really one for competition when I was younger, once we'd come up with Dragon Racing, I'd changed.

I crouched down further onto Shriek, my feet firmly planted on her back, as Fishlegs and Snotlout whizzed by me, and the latter snatched a sheep from the claws of the former's dragon.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Fishlegs! Did you want that?" Snotlout taunted.

"Snotlout! That's mine!"

I watched as Snotlout passed the sheep off to Ruffnut, attempting to work in time with her twin to steer their Zippleback.

"Here ya go, babe." Ruff caught the sheep, grumbling and sneering at Snotlout. "Did I tell you that you look amazing today? 'Cuz you do."

I shook my head. For some reason, Fishlegs and Snotlout had just decided that they were going to compete for Ruffnut's affections. I think it had started at my brother's wedding, but what exactly had inspired them was beyond me.

"Come on, Barf. It's starting to stink around here." Ruffnut steered Barf to peel off, gas spilling from his mouth. That allowed Tuffnut to pull up aside from Snotlout, shooting him a mocking grin.

"Nope," he laughed. "Still hates you. Let's blow this place, Belch!"

Tuffnut had Belch spark the gas, causing an explosion that could temporarily blind Snotlout. Thinking quickly, I pulled Shriek up and went above the cloud of smoke, in pursuit of that sheep. I needed every advantage I could get if I wanted to win this, especially considering that Astrid was a formidable racer as well. And with Fishlegs and Snotlout on the twins' side, the odds weren't in my favor.

I let out a sigh as Ruffnut dropped the sheep into her and her brother's basket, nearly filling it to the point of the ropes nearly breaking. But I didn't have time to mope, I had to get right back into it. I still had a chance, there were still more sheep, not to mention the big showstopper that would seriously pull me ahead to a win if I could catch it.

I pushed Shriek forward to make her go faster, then signaled her to send out a boom that caused Snotlout to jump, catching his attention.

"What are you doing, Snotlout?" I shouted as Astrid pulled up beside me. "They're going to win now!"

"She's my princess," he protested. "Whatever she wants, she gets."

"Ruffnut?" Astrid interjected. 'Didn't she try to bury you alive?"

"Only for a few hours!"

With another roll of my eyes, I peeled away from the others, in an attempt to take a route that would build up more speed. With another sheep still pending, I had time to regroup and prepare to go in for the kill.

Dragons used to be a bit of a problem around here, but that was five years ago. Now they've all moved in. And, really, why wouldn't they?