Heart of a Berserker: Trust (School of Dragons)

Chapter 19

"I want to hide the truth
I want to shelter you
But with the beast inside
There's nowhere we can hide

No matter what we breed
We still are made of greed
This is my kingdom come
This is my kingdom come" 

- "Demons" by Imagine Dragons

Chapter 19

I spent the morning going over my conversation with Harald in my head while I wandered around the island. Had I actually confessed that I loved him? I had not meant for it to come out. It was not something I had even admitted to myself. But I did not regret it. He needed to know the truth. I just wished I knew what was going on in his head.

I returned to the base just in time to greet Hiccup as he landed after his patrol. Bolt bounded over to us to say hello to Toothless.

"Hey Brennda," Hiccup said. "I just say Skulder, and he asked me to tell you to stop by Mudraker Island. I'm not sure what it's about, but he said that only you would be able to help him."

"Oh, I have an idea," I said.

"I hope you aren't secretly training cool dragons without me!" He laughed.

I smirked. "We've been up to something alright." I turned to Bolt. "I better be off."

"Good luck!" Hiccup called as I took to the air.

In no time at all, I landed at Skulder's camp. This time, he did seem in better spirits, and there was little mess. I noticed The Mudraker was out of the water, sniffing curiously at the archaeologist's belongings.

"Hello Skulder," I said. "How are you going?"

"Fine, fine," Skulder said. "Thank you for stopping by."

"How's Muddie?"

Skulder glanced at the Mudraker. "He's is still being playful. He hasn't calmed down at all, even though I've been throwing sticks for him. His latest 'fun' stunt is to grab my shoes and toss them in the mud. I've lost quite a few tools to these deep muddy swamps." He shook his head in dismay.

I gave him a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry about that. These things can take time."

"I know, but I wonder if the dragon just has too much energy and is falling into mischief because he has no one else to play with. To appropriate an old phrase, idle 'claws' are Loki's playthings." He sighed. "I don't know. Perhaps this is the price of having the Mudraker as a friend."

"If he really is all alone, perhaps he's overly eager now that he has you. Though, that doesn't help you solve the problem."

Skulder nodded. "I'm too embarrassed to bother Hiccup or Astrid with this. Would you go to the School and ask Heather for her advice? She generally has some good ideas."

"Sure. Wait right here!"

I had not been back to the School for awhile, and it was good to see my friend again. Heather listened attentively as I explained the situation.

"What an interesting dilemma!" she said. "Some dragons are more mischievous than others. Perhaps Skulder made a cheeky friend. That said, it's worth testing his hypothesis to see if having a friend will make the Mudraker calm down!"

"It couldn't hurt," I said. "What kind of dragon do you think would make a good friend for him?"

Heather appeared thoughtful. "Thunderdrums are Tidal Class dragons that also rely on sonic-based fireballs. Most dragons generate kinetic energy in the form of heat, but both the Mudraker and the Thunderdrum generate energy in the form of sound waves. Maybe the two dragons would be good friends because they're similar dragons!"