Chapter Text
Dragon Training. Berk had taken all kinds of training far more seriously since that night, dragon training most of all. Astrid and her age mates had been training for months leading up to this, and the time was finally here. Dragon Training.
Astrid glanced around at the others as they followed Gobber into the arena.
Snotlout- blindly confident in his own ego, more interested in himself than her for the moment. Let’s hope that lasts. The self-distraction, not the confidence. It would be great to see him face up to his own weaknesses.
Fishlegs, tiptoeing nervously behind the rest of them. He knew better than Snotlout how hard it would be to survive, having read the Book of Dragons more times than most of them could count. Hopefully he’ll grow a spine and stand up for himself.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut, laughing about their latest prank- do they even know where they’re going? Their particular brand of chaos could be helpful, if they could ever direct at a productive target- like say, the dragons.
And herself, Fearless Astrid Hofferson. She was determined to restore her family honor, and be the best Viking Berk had ever seen. She was thinking, however. Thinking about the future, the present, the past. The chief has no heir, so someone else will have to be chosen to lead her generation. It’s gonna be her. She doesn’t trust any of the others, and she’s determined to prove that she can do it best.
Gobber speaks up then, getting their attention. “Alright you lot, welcome to dragon training. Now, who thinks they're ready to face their first dragon?”
“Me, obviously,” Snotlout boasts. “I mean, I don’t know about these losers,” gesturing at the twins, “but Astrid and I are going to mop the floor with whatever you’ve got! Bring it on!”
Astrid… was not so sure. Yeah, they’d been training nearly their entire lives, but this was their first dragon. If it was easy, the village wouldn’t have lost so many loved ones.
Meanwhile, Fishlegs could be heard muttering behind them: “No, dragons are scary, I don’t want to die! But, in terms of overall skill, I’d say Astrid’s the closest. I mean, it really depends on the dragon. If you mean a terrible terror, sure, even I would stand a decent chance, and the five of us should defeat it handily. But anything bigger than that -even just a Gronkle!- and don’t know how many of us could walk away in one piece. I’m really going to question your teaching methods if you make us fight a dragon on our first day…”
But, the rest of the teens were used to his incessant mumbling, and ignored him out of habit.
“Interesting. So, Snotlout, since you’re the only one speaking up, just what kind of a dragon do ya’ think you're ready to fight?”
“Uhh, is that a trick question?” Ruffnut asks, the twins finally turning towards Gobber.
“Yeah, I mean, he said ‘whatever you’ve got,’ doesn’t that mean, well, anything? I mean, we don’t know what you’ve got! Other than the hook, and the peg leg, I guess we know the smithy is yours- but none of those are dragons!” Tuffnut: master of mixing an excessive pile of nonsense into actually valid observations.
“Yeah! What he said! I don’t see any dragons here, but I’m ready for them! Any of them! Snotlout, Snotlout, Oi, Oi, Oi!” -master of putting his entire leg in his mouth without even tasting his foot.
“I see. Well, as it so happens, I do have some dragons. In the cages behind these walls, we keep training dragons. They are not as strong, nor as fierce, as the dragons that come in the raids, but they are still perfectly capable of killing the lot of ya. Astrid! You’ve been quiet so far: take a guess as to what dragons we might have here today.”
“Well, they’re probably raiding dragons that were injured but not killed in a fight, so they’re likely among the most common species. It stands to reason that they are also likely among the less deadly varieties, both because they’d be easier to capture, and because it makes more sense to start training on less-deadly dragons… let’s see: the cages are all roughly uniform shapes, at least from what I can see, they’re probably not for specific dragons -Berk isn’t that organized,- so just whatever you happened to catch first. Hmm, one of them is almost certainly a terror, then probably at least one each of Gronkle and Nadder, there might be a Zippleback -they’re tougher, but also fairly common,- and the last one… hopefully not a monstrous nightmare, so either a repeat of one of the previous species, or one that is less common, like a stormcutter or a changewing, maybe a thunderdrum…” But, as always, Fishlegs’ intelligent -if unabridged- ramblings went ignored.
“What?” The question caught Astrid off guard. “Guess? Um, a Nadder?”
“Yes, actually. Not bad for being put on the spot, but you need to work on your reaction time. Having good reflexes is great, but it’s having a quick mind that keeps you alive on the battlefield. So! Nadder. Who can tell me the strengths and weaknesses of a Deadly Nadder?”
*Fishlegs cites the Book of Dragons from memory, with his own notes and observations*
“Ooh! I know this one!”
“Yes, Tuffnut?”
“Yeah, they have fire, they can fly, they’re dragons, so that’s something, um, oh- and they have spiky tails that give them a second ranged attack- they’re glorious!”
“Er, sure kid. Those are some of their traits, and one particular strength, but what sets them apart from other dragons? What kind of fire do they use? What’s their blind spot, their shot limit, their favorite foods and strategy? Are they fast, maneuverable, or sturdy? Do any of ye actually know a single thing about the beasts we’re fighting other than ‘they’re dragons?’”
*more muttering from Fishlegs- really just a continuation as he hasn’t actually stopped yet*
“Sharp Class is the second fastest, and they generally have good mobility. I’m still not sure ‘Sharp’ is a very accurate category- or if dragon species ever fit entirely into one Class, but that assessment does stand true for Nadders…”
Astrid and the others looked at each other, then looked around as if the blank stone walls might yield some insight, before gazing down at their respective feet in embarrassment.
“Great. Just great. Well, let’s get started! Nadders are in the ‘Sharp’ class of dragons, which means… they look sharp, or spiky. That shouldn’t be too hard to remember, eh?”
Somehow, Astrid got the feeling he was making fun of them (or that the author was taking out his pain from delinquent classmates on them), but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it…
“Next, Nadders breath a stream of superheated magnesium particles-” Gobber cut himself off at the blank looks he was getting. “Ach, they blow a lot of sparks at your face, got it?”
Again, the feeling that there was something going on in the way Gobber said the simple explanation that made the teens feel… targeted. (I’m not sorry)
“As for the ‘blind spot,’ as we call it, the nadder does actually have one. All dragons have a weakness, some way to sneak up on them. Knowing what the different blind spots of different dragons can save your life- or your friend’s. Nadders have surprisingly poor eyesight (which makes no sense, but it’s canon, so we’ll see if I change it.), especially right in front of them. Their hearing, however, is just fine, so don’t be making a lot of noise if you want to sneak around them (this, again, despite the fact the Vikings in general are loud, not much given to stealth, and the fact that noise ‘throws off a dragon’s aim’).”
“Wait, why are you telling us this stuff?” …Snotlout was confused.
“Yeah,” Tuffnut added, “it’s not like you expect us to remember or anythi-” he cut himself off as he realized, from the look on Gobber’s face he did expect them to remember.
“Uh, how are we supposed to remember?” Ruffnut’s question was unfortunately warranted, as the twins still struggled counting past twenty -together- or ten by themselves.
“Hah! You guys go listen up, imma go kill stuff.” Snotlout bragged shamelessly.
“You’ll all listen up, or ye’ll go learn how ta’ make bread. I’m not lettin’ anyone near a dragon unless I think you stand a chance o’ walkin’ out a’ here in mostly one piece! And no, I don’t think any a’ you lot are there yet. So, listen up, and listen well, or ye’ll be baking the rest of your lives.”
Cue the simultaneous gulps from the teens.
“I don’t expect you to all have everything memorized- we’re Vikings after all! But you do need to be familiar with this information. A Nadder’s shot limit is generally around five, though that can vary. They like sheep (no they don’t), they’re quick, and light on their feet.
“Now, I just said it, so who remembers what kind of fire a nadder has?”
“What? You didn’t just say that!” Snotlout, ever oblivious.
“Yeah, you said ‘they like sheep, their quick, and light on their feet” Tuffnut, not quite wrong but solidly not right.
“And before that you said they’re shot limit is around five, and something about being sneaky- which is what we’re best at!” Ruffnut and Tuffnut may not be clones, but they are twins.
“Yeah, see!” …cue the twins being ‘sneaky,’ and everyone else just staring at them. I mean, what else can you do? Astrid shook her head, trying to remember what Gobber had said about Nadder fire. He didn’t make any sense at first, but then he said… aha!
“Nadders blow hot metal sparks at your face!”
“Well done Astrid! Nice to see someone was paying attention…”
The other teens looked at each other and gulped. Gobber was not known for being patient with people who were wasting his time, and he was stuck with them until he could beat Berk’s dragon-killing knowledge into their heads- maybe literally!