The End of the Beginning (Hiccup x OC) [COMPLETED]

Chapter 5

The next morning, I woke up, grabbed my book and charcoal stick, running down the stairs. I jumped over the last step and ran through the door, going into the barn and grabbing an apple. Today Mom was working for Gothi, the village elder, so there would be no breakfast this morning.

Wooly bleated at me to lift him out of the pen, so I let him free before releasing the other sheep through the open gate. The herd walked to the pasture with the colored ribbons around their tails bouncing happily behind them. These allowed me to distinguish which sheep were ours among the many other herds that grazed in the same field.

I closed the barn door and ran off to the arena, eager to hear more about the dragons. As I approached the building, I heard Gobber's voice clearly, "Today is about teamwork. Work together and you might survive." I ran up and stealthily climbed onto the platform to my normal spot, resuming my normal position. I got comfortable, taking a bite out of my apple and the dragon of hunger within my stomach settled.

"Now," Gobber continued, "a wet dragon head can't light its fire. The hideous Zippleback is extra tricky. One head breathes gas, the other head lights it. Your job is to know which is which."

I chewed and swallowed, the situation's excitement growing. The arena was filled with smoke so dense that the Zippleback was fully hidden within the cloud.

The recruits had split into groups of two: Snotlout with Tuffnut, Ruffnut and Astrid, Hiccup and Fishlegs. Each person held a bucket of water to be used on the dragon head that shot sparks. Without the sparks, the gas could not be lit and therefore, there would be no fire.

I watched Snotlout's group wander around blindly through the fog, finding Astrid and Ruffnut but mistake them for the dragon. "Hey!" Astrid exclaimed as Snotlout and Tuffnut doused the two in water.

"It's us, idiots," Ruffnut retorted.

They began to bicker when Astrid seemed to notice the Zippleback hidden nearby in the mist and stopped their squabbling. The dragon's tail whipped out of the fog and knocked them off their feet, their buckets tipped over, emptying whatever water was left in them.

I watched as Hiccup and Fishlegs found the others.

"Oh, I am hurt," Tuffnut complained, dazed after his fall. "I am very much hurt."

"Chances of survival are dwindling into single digits now . . ." Fishlegs stated.

"Look out!" Hiccup shouted as one of the dragon's heads appeared from the fog. Blindly, Fishlegs hurled his water at it, dousing the head completely. The head opened its mouth, breathing out gas.

"Oh. Wrong head," Fishlegs commented dejectedly and panicked, running into the fog.

"Fishlegs!" Gobber shouted.

A clicking sound.

The second head came out of the thick cloud, sparks coming out of its mouth. "Now, Hiccup!" Gobber ordered.

Hiccup flung the water at the head with all his might. The water flew perfectly but was tossed too weakly and the stream dropped short of the dragon, hitting the floor with a devastating splash. "Oh, come on!" Hiccup exclaimed irritatedly.

"Run, Hiccup!" Gobber covered his eyes at the suspense and my heart leaped into my throat. I crawled even closer to the rim to get a better look. "Hiccup!"

The Zippleback stopped, sniffing the air. Both the heads shrieked in panic and began to retreat backward into the cage. Hiccup held out his hands toward the dragon as if forcing it back through his control over it. The other recruits watched in amazement and Gobber peeked through his fingers to see.

"Back!" Hiccup shouted at the dragon. "Back! Back! Now don't make me tell you again!" The dragon went into its cage, hissing in fright. I watched in awe, my jaw dropping and curiosity flooding my thoughts. How in Thor's name is he doing that?

"Yes, that's right. Back into your cage." He opened his vest and discretely dropped something into the cage, but I couldn't see what it was. "Now think about what you've done." He closed the door and pulled the lever that barred it.

The others, currently in shock, stared at Hiccup as he turned around to face them. He shuffled his feet nervously as a moment of awkward silence passed. "Okay! So are we done? Because I've got some things I need to . . ." He made some gestures and ran out of the ring, leaving everyone speechless. "Yep, see you tomorrow."

Astrid mumbled something and left the arena, stomping. The others slowly drifted out and I hopped down from my perch, still pondering the scene.

The day slowly drifted on as I worked, herding the sheep and farming until night. Light still came from the blacksmith stall and muffled sounds of banging metal. Hiccup's at it again. I wonder what he could possibly be creating?