Young Dragonblood

Epilogue

You left the island soon after the hunter's departure. The boy still wouldn't tell you what his name was, and he wouldn't tell you anything useful, either. In the end you simply flew away and didn't look back, heading back to Berk.

Weeks went by. You thought a lot of both the hunter and the boy for a few days, but they slowly faded from your mind as the usual Berkian chores piled up. You were roped in to help move stuff, fish and repair burned roofs, among other small tasks. Life steadied into a rhythm you liked, yet found boring in some ways.

It wasn't until reports of a lone stranger with a long coat and a crossbow came up from the port that you remembered the hunter. You flew down with haste and searched around until you found the person that had been described and, true to what you had expected, it was her.

You landed beside her and Shifted to human form. Jeger turned to gaze at you, her expression neutral, as if she were idly watching a stranger. 'Knew you'd be here,' she said.

'Course you did, Berk is the home of dragons and Vikings,' you replied.

The hunter looked away, staring at a sheep as it trotted past. 'I've been thinking,' she said slowly. 'And... Watching. I've seen that other Dragonbloods are not afraid of their dragon side, I've seen that they can control it. I thought that, if I could get mine under control, I could be like them...'

You waited for her to carry on, but she stayed silent and continued to stare unblinkingly at the sheep. 'And?' You prompted.

'And I can control it, kind of. When I'm alone it is as if it is truly me, but when there are other people around it just wants to attack them.'

'So, you're trying to change for the better,' you said. You noticed the sheep was getting fidgety and trying not to look at the hunter. 'Why tell me?'

'I...' Jeger paused. She scuffed the ground with her shoe, then turned her stare on you. 'I... Want you to help me.'

You stared at her in turn. Help her? She did not seem like the kind of person who'd want help even if she was dying. 'You attacked me, injured me. Do you really think I want to help you?' You turned away and changed to hybrid, spreading your wings to fly. 'What makes you think I would help you?'

When she didn't answer, you stepped into the air and took flight, flapping slowly up.

'You came,' Jeger said from the ground. 'That's why.'

You halted midair, wings working to keep you aloft. She sounded sincere, and why else would she come to Berk? Dragon and Dragonblood central? It was not a place a hunter would come to conduct business, really. 'Fine' you conceded, too intrigued by this mystery to let It go. 'Meet at Raven Point at sundown. This is NOT me helping you, I just want to know why.' And you were gone into the sky, flying high up to catch the air currents.

Sure enough, she was there at Raven Point when you arrived. You had walked there for a change, realising that you were using your wings too much and your legs were weakening, so it took longer than any other time you had gone.

Jeger was sitting with her legs crossed in the grass, the cliff edge to her back. A small gale whipped her loose hair into her eyes and she scraped it out the way. 'Greetings, Y/N,' she called.

'Greetings, Jeger,' you called back. You stood beside her and held out a hand to pull her to her feet.

'Touching terms now?' The hunter asked, accepting the proffered hand. 'You wanted me here. What for?'

'Shift. I want to see what you are like as a dragon, and to see if you really have changed.'

Jeger hesitated, reluctant, then sighed and morphed to her dragon form. It's quite something watching another Dragonblood Shift. You don't realise how painful it looks until you see the whole physique of the person twisting into an entirely new shape. There's a shimmer that covers their body like a film of water, distorting vision as if it is its plaything. Scales formed across Jeger's skin, horns and spikes grew, wings developed and spread. It's a magical thing to see, yet horrifying in some ways.

A dark Nadder stared back at you from where the human Jeger had been. Her eyes had the same intensity as her human form, so there could be no mistaking who she was even if you hadn't seen her change.

She growled something, but you were in human form so couldn't understand a thing. You Shifted to hybrid and motioned for her to repeat what she had just said.

'I said,' she growled. 'Now what are you going to do?'

You smiled at her. 'I'm going to train you,' you said.

The look on her dragon face was priceless.

Dragonblood training. It was similar to dragon training, with the small difference that you could both be dragons.

Weeks passed by, then months. You began to enjoy the daily training sessions with the hunter, and you were sure she did, too.

You saw what she had meant by her wild dragon side. A couple of times her instincts took over and she lashed out, but it was nothing more than a quick swipe at something before she was back in control. You observed this calmly, seeing that aggression she'd described was just frustration. Frustration of being locked away and unable to fly free, scared to become what she longed for. That was all. You told her this and at first she laughed it off. However, as time went on, you could see she was taking it seriously. She was in control now, Shifting at will, dragon instincts melded with her human ones. This was what she had needed.

One day, you were both gliding above the clouds as it rained below. This was pretty much the only way to escape the weather; fly above it. Jeger had become a master flyer and she often dipped and dove in the clouds. Today, she emerged from the clouds wet and with drips of water trailing from her claws. As usual she swooped around and flew beside you, enjoying the cold sunshine on her scales.

'If I asked you to travel with me, just like this, would you come?' She asked out of the blue.

'I... Think I would,' you said. You gave her a look, knowing what question was coming next.

Jeger returned the look. 'Well, want to come with me to see the world? I like it here, but I want to travel, I've never stayed in the same place for so long in my life, and I just want to wander again... You don't have to come if you don't want to. I know you have a home here, friends and suchlike...'

'Shut up,' you said with a grin. 'I'm coming and I'm not going to be stopped.'

'...and there's no, oh.' She said.

'Yup,' you said. 'Hiccup's not going like it, but who cares.'