Battle For The Thundering Twister

Training-Part 2

Chapter 19:Training-Part 2

I was sprawled out on the cold stone floor,I heard a dragon gallop over and nuzzle my face.It must have been Castaway.I raised my hand and groped out blindly for a support.Immediately,something positioned its head under my arm.With great difficulty,I staggered to my feet.I coughed as the smoke around me slowly cleared out."Yannied!Nevaeh!You guys okay?"someone shouted.I looked at the support.It was Castaway after all.He guided me out of the thick smoke and to fresh air.I gasped and took it in."Yannied!You're okay?Where's Nevaeh?And the twins?"a blurry figure in front of me asked.It sounded like Hiccup.My vision refused to correct itself."We got Nevaeh!She's coughing like anything!The twins are fine,just a little singed,"Astrid yelled.Hiccup helped me over to where Astrid was.I patted Castaway gently,silently thanking him for saving me.My vision became clear again after a few seconds.I looked around in a daze.Nevaeh was choking and coughing.Her face was sooty with smoke."What...happened?"I questioned."I don't know.It sounded like a massive explosion and then this happened,"Fishlegs reported."I was trying to get a Zippleback head to emit gas,and when it did,I was preoccupied with getting the other head to light it.The gas kept on coming out and I didn't notice.Then,when the spark came,this...happened,"Nevaeh explained in between coughs."Looks like we'll have to split the Zipplebacks.One half will be locked up in the Academy and the other half will be trained first.Nevaeh,you'd better go home-,""No way!I'm staying to help Yannied!"she protested before Hiccup could finish."But-,""I'm staying!"Nevaeh crossed her arms with a determined look on her face."Don't try to persuade her.Once she makes up her mind,she sticks to it.Try to change it and the consequences will be quite severe,"Oliver put in."Alright,but will you agree to be aware of your surroundings in the future?"Hiccup asked in a I'll-let-you-have-your-way-but-listen-to-me-first tone.Nevaeh's face lit up under the soot."Okay,now Yannied.You're okay,right?"he inquired.I nodded weakly,wiping the huge amount of soot off my face and checking if my injured arm was still safe."Okay,if everyone's alright,let's get back to work.If Dagur attacks,we won't stand a chance against him,"Hiccup ordered.I led away half the Zipplebacks and locked them in the cage in the Academy.I headed back and began training again.This time,I took it easy on the gas.Nevaeh and I worked on fire attacks for a bit,then switched over to evasive maneuvers."We have to teach them this so they know how to avoid nets,arrows and such,"I explained.Nevaeh seemed to cough quite a lot,but she worked as hard as she coughed nonetheless.We mounted our dragons."You get the arrow-shooter.I'll get the net-shooter,"I instructed.I whistled to the Zipplebacks.They looked at us,then got behind us in a line.I directed Castaway to the net-shooter and had him pick it up with his legs.Nevaeh got Death and Skull to pick up the arrow-shooter.We flew outside to a wide open area."Okay.Set up the shooters,"I told Nevaeh.She nodded and set to work.Meanwhile,I talked to the dragons."Okay,guys.Now,we're going to learn how to avoid traps.There's the four main things:nets,chains,arrows and catapulted rocks.You will learn how to dodge each trap.Let me demonstrate,"I finished,getting on Castaway.I looked over at Nevaeh.She gave me the thumbs-up sign.I tugged at the saddle.Castaway rose into the air.Nevaeh pulled the trigger.A net came flying towards us.I pulled the saddle to the left.Castaway veered right,avoiding the net.A few arrows came towards us.I pushed down.We dived and hovered.I saw a net approaching."Castaway,barrel roll!"We rolled to the side in the air,then straightened up.An arrow came slicing through the air straight at Castaway's head.Instinctively,he fired at it,annihilating the whole arrow to nothing.We flew back down."Okay,your turn!"I pointed to a random Zippleback.It seemed hesitant.I made my way towards it and extended my hand.Both heads touched my palm.I climbed upon its back and perched myself there."Okay,let's go,"I patted the Zippleback.I gave a thumbs-up sign to Nevaeh.I flew upwards.The Zippleback cooperated and let me control it.Nevaeh shot the first net.The Zippleback narrowly avoided it,darting to the right.Straight after that came a row of arrows.I jerked the Zippleback's body at a downward angle,making it do a barrel roll.Another net came."Gas!Spark!"I yelled.The Zippleback blasted the net to pieces.We touched back down and landed.Now,let me tell you this right now:Training 34 Zipplebacks was absolutely no joke!Firstly,Zipplebacks are cheeky,mischievous dragons.One trampled over the crops in Sven's farm before Nevaeh or I noticed.Another almost crushed the net shooter while I was tending to the other Zipplebacks.To sum it all up,it was a back-breaking,stressful but altogether quite successful day.Nevaeh and I managed to train all the Zipplebacks.Tomorrow,we had to train them to respond to hand signals.

After feeding and locking the Zipplebacks up safely,I said good-bye to Nevaeh and mounted Castaway.Yawning,Castaway and I flew home.I was bone-tired and couldn't even think.We reached our house in a matter of minutes.Castaway obediently settled into his warm shed.I trudged up the stairs of my house to my bedroom.I fell on my bed and drifted off to a dreamless sleep...

BOOM!