How to train your vessel - Book one

Lifeblood hearts

"EXPLAIN YOURSELF NIGHT FURY!"

*HHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSS*

Toothless looked into the dragoness's eyes, they were mad, slit pupils glowed bright blue like the shining bloodshot veins surrounding them. The muscle, as he could see from the mouth, was a pale cyan instead of the normal pink/red. A more gentle glow came from the pouring saliva from the mad-dragons maw, much like the glow coming from the veins crackling across its wings and the pulsing in its chest.

Having seen enough, Toothless grabbed the savage's head and crushed it on his knee. Dazed, he hit the sides of her head with each paw and kicked her onto the deck of a ship. He then span around looking for his rider.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hiccup's forearm held back the Exile's upper-arms, his right leg kicking away another scythe, and left pinned against the warriors chest while its fourth scythe pulled him closer to snapping jaws. When given a chance, he kneed the lower jaw, quickly withdrawing his arm to grab and strike with his knife in the mantis's cheek. Now free falling after kicking it in the chest, he unfurled his flight suit and started gliding on his back.

Looking back let him see the mantis's buzzing wings, four scythed arms were outstretched to cut him to shreds. A bright white ball burned off the wings and sent the mantis soaring through the air to the ground far below. 

Platinum grabbed Hiccup by the chest piece and helped him onto her back.

"LOOK OUT!"

Platinum looked to her right, a Night Fury charged a light blue shot while the mantis pointed a sword and spear forward. Hiccup quickly drew his Gronkle-iron shield as Platinum shot the plasma ball let loose by the attacker. The mantis's sword and spear collided with the shield the same way as the two dragons.

Sent into free fall without his shield, again, an annoyed Hiccup activated his flight suit, again. The cracked shield wearing scythe arm latched onto the mechanism of Hiccups leg. A hasty maneuver let him dodge a spear strike and plant his dagger in the hunters fore head. Unfazed, the mantis used the dagger as a horn and headbutted Hiccup's helmet.

Protected by Night Fury scales, Hiccup looked again at where he was flying. A field of dust and dead bugs was what he saw, many spears and weapons stuck out from the ground, clearly this was quite an ancient graveyard. Another spin and twist forced the mantis off his leg and into the handle of one of the many spears.

A crash landing softened by the drag from his wings left Hiccup laying next to the corpse of a large beetle while echos of running came from either side of him. Getting up and drawing Inferno, he met eyes with the shield wielding devil, something hit his back and launched off him. Bright red blurs clashed at the mantis's arm and weapons, a kick to the chest sent the savage stumbling and the red mantle stood just in front of Hiccup.

A bug with a body decorated with unfamiliar markings and a unique weapon looked back at him. A spear thrown by the mantis was caught and sent back at it, bouncing off the shield while it shifted both the arms on its right side to two-hand wield the sword. More sparks flew as the duo of far more qualified fighters met weapons and shield, the red bug jumped over a sword strike and made a vertical strike to crack the opponents shield.

Taking the chance, Hiccup flanked it and thrust inferno into one of the mantis's arms, it did little to harm it but distracted the exile long enough for Hiccup's backup to cut off its hands. A scythed arm tried to decapitate the red soldier but a spinning dodge and slash brought it to its knees. She raised her needle to slice off the mantis's skull in turn.

"No! We can interrogate him!"

"You don't know the mantis's."

A small cackle bounced off the walls of the cliffs and bodies as the mantis crushed a small vial of glowing blue liquid in his scythe.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The raiding Night Fury and Platinum shot a plasma blast at one another, she dove through the resulting smoke to tackle it but came out with empty claws. She heard a yell and turned to see Astrid and Stormfly falling and chased by a different mantis on his glowing cyan Night Fury, who she immediately body checked to catch her allies. 

Once she regained her balance, Stormfly shot a large needle into the five-armed mantis's side as it retreated from the battle.

"That'll be the end of him, my smaller spikes have killed men his size."

"Exactly, you've killed MEN, even if it penetrated the exoskeleton mantis's have poison, disease, and fire resistance."

"Of course they do."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hornet glanced around the sky and locked eyes with the exiles draconic companion, before the human could look she kicked off of him into the air and slashed through the blue plasma ball the Night Fury shot. It quickly clawed at her chest but she managed to sting its tail fins on the way down, the sound of the Night Fury crashing to the ground followed the brief thud of her impact with the gravel colored sand. 

Both of them were quick to their feet, a charge by the enslaved dragon was narrowly dodged, instead the dragon bit and tore off the mantis's scythe. It whipped around and shot a blast at Hornet, who followed with an often used deflection. The no-armed mantis took to using the bases of his wrists to punch at the armored human that countered with an impressive burning sword into its jaw.

Hornet dashed under the Night Fury and shot some silk onto the mantis's left arm, wrapped it around the Exiles neck, and turned around in time to punch the Night Fury in the snout. With the dragons next attack cancelled and the mantis having punched itself in the face, Hornet ducked under the slaves next claw attack while attaching the silk string to her pure needle, slashing at the lifeblood dragons leg and pulling the slavers arm into his face once more.

A swift back-step away from the third claw strike followed by jabbing the mutants face with the hilt of her needle meant the fighter was on the ground and dragon pushing its advance. Cutting the string on the mantis, Hornet dashed forward and stabbed the Night Fury in the jaw, and was sent to the sand by a small plasma shot to her clavicle. She brought her needle up in time to wedge in in the dragons jaws before it clamped down on her neck.

The insane eyes filled with lifeblood were all but intimidating to her, by twisting her needle Hornet made the dragon bite down on the sharp blade. It backed off and Hornet got to her feet when a massive roar shook the Howling Cliffs.