It Was Always There

A Dragon's Trust

"C'mon Runa! Put your back into it!" Gobber hollered to the wheat-blonde as she struggled to move the small walls around in the dragon arena. The teen paused and looked up at the blacksmith. "It'd be done a lot faster if you helped, Gobber!" She called up to him. The burly man shook his head, "Aye, but you need some kind of training since your not one of the recruits. Now put your back into it!" The wheat-blonde groaned and rolled her eyes, resuming on setting up the arena for the next challenge.

The next dragon the group was going to be up against was the Deadly Nadder. The two-legged dragons were quick and light on their feet. During their training, the group would be able to avoid the Nadder, hiding behind the walls neither the teenagers or the dragon could see over, as long as the beast was on the ground. Nothing would stop it from jumping onto them, though. If that were to happen, the walls would most likely come tumbling down. Nothing was really supporting them to stop them from falling over if such a thing occurred.

After two hours of setting up the maze, she wheeled a cart of weapons and shields into the arena. She placed them on a couple of stands that were off to the side before placing the cart just outside the gated entrance. Wiping her forehead free of sweat, she turned to look up at Gobber as he spoke. "Alright, lass. You're free to go. Remember that at sundown you need to come back and clean up." Runa glared at him but knew arguing over it would do nothing. Her mother wanted her to be trained hard even though she wasn't part of the class. Runa agreed with her mother to make her happy, too. So she simply sighed and headed out. She didn't feel like watching the training. She had something else she wanted to do.

She sopping by Hiccup's place to grab a couple of her things first; a small leather book that was similar to Hiccup's and a small charcoal pencil. She also grabbed a leather flask so she'd have a drink. Usually, the small pouches were meant for wine. However, after thoroughly cleaning the one she found, she used it for water. It came in handy when she used to wake up early for her morning runs. It was empty now, but the pond at the Cove could provide water. As long as she was extra careful with the Night Fury there. She placed the items in a small bag that hung around her waist before heading out. Taking a deep breath with her eyes closed, she mentally prepared herself for what she was about to do. "Okay, let's go." Runa opened her eyes and started to walk to the woods where the Cove was. Her walk soon turned into a run.

Of course, the teen girl got lost on her way to the Cove. Runa cursed herself for not paying close enough attention when she went with Hiccup last time. She knew she would be able to find her way back to her friend's house, but she was too stubborn to give up now. Suddenly she tripped over a large fallen branch and landed on her back trying to catch herself. She slid down a semi steep hill and rolled a bit on her side when she reached the bottom. "Ow, that hurt." Standing up carefully while checking herself over for any injuries, she was glad she hadn't knocked her head against anything to knock her out. Maybe a bruise here and there from the small rocks and branches that smacked her, but nothing serious. "Okay, now where am I?" She looked around, her blue eyes scanning the area to see if anything was familiar. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to be. Though to her left was what looked to be a crash site. This got her hopes up.

Those hopes were crushed the moment she got to the top of a small hill to look over it. She instantly fell to her stomach when she saw a dragon standing in the middle of a small cluster of trees covered in vines. "Definitely not the right spot." Slowly, Runa pulled herself up to peek over, seeing a dragon she'd only seen in the Dragon Manual. The beast stood on two legs, one wing folded close and the other only partially folded. Its short arms held closely to its body as it stood. Feeling curiosity get the best if her, Runa pushed herself up more so she could get a better look.

The dragon was tall, though she doubted she'd be able to get close enough to measure it. Its body was mostly purple, with dark stripes down its back and wings. Runa wasn't quite sure the color from the shade of the trees and the distance, but they looked black. Also, mixed in with the stripes were what looked like round splotches. Once again she couldn't see the exact color, but it was slightly lighter that the stripes and the purple body. The three spikes on its head, as well as the many down the lower portion of its back, looked to be lighter than all of the other colors. "A...Dramillion..."