Chapter Text
In the woods, a young Viking wanders about, looking at her notebook. Taking her charcoal pencil, she scratched out another part of the area she had finished surveying. It was unusual to see a young Viking alone in the woods. What could have brought her to such circumstances.
Well, no one believed her when she claimed to have shot down a Light Fury.
Astrid Hofferson was the daughter of a prominent Viking maiden, one of the most ferocious Viking slayers of Berk, Berta the Brave. Berta was a fierce warrior that wanted her daughter to do two things; kill dragons and marry a dragon killer. Particularly, Berta has her eyes on a potential suitor for her daughter. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. Slender but strong, Hiccup was very popular for his wit, strategy, and skill. He lead fire control and as soon as he earned his mark from Dragon Training, everyone was sure he’d be slaying dragons left and right.
What she wouldn’t give to have everything he had? Where Hiccup was a handsome, natural born dragon killer with the respect of the community, Astrid was a thin, short girl waiting for her chance to prove herself to everyone. She had the brains and spent day after day training to be strong.
Finally her hard training had paid off. Using a slingshot mechanism she made, she stood on a cliff side. A low trill filled the air, softly echoing. It was nearby. Light Furies were incredibly rare. The Light Fury was one of the fastest dragons out there. No one would ever see more that the end of its wings and tail before an explosion of fire would go off and either kill the spectator or the smoke would obscure the creature. A flash of white and a blast of fire and the unholy offspring of light and death would disappear.
Astrid had seen the telltale flash of white and a blast of fire and smoke. That’s when she fired and the creature yowled, disappearing over the treetops of Raven’s point. She had done it! She caught the Light Fury!
And no one believed her.
No sooner had she won, she was attacked by a hulking Monstrous Nightmare. The beastie jumped her and attempted to eat her whole. Thank Odin, her mother came along and scared it off with a battle cry and punch right in Its scaly snout. Of course, damages were done in the chase as the Nightmare’s lava spit destroyed a pillar and caused a chain reaction Bork the Very Very Unfortunate would cringe at.
When she tried to tell her mom about the Light Fury, she was silenced. Her mother, in front of everyone, scolded her for lying.
“No one saw and there is no way you caught a Light Fury!” she boomed. “It cannot be done! Now off with you! I have your mess to clean up.”
All the other kids, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and even Hiccup watched her pass. Hiccup looked so disappointed, just shaking his head and telling the others to get to cleaning.
That infuriated her beyond belief.
So here she was, out to prove to everyone that she wasn’t lying. Of course, Odin seemed to hate her guts. Everyone else lost socks or tools, yet she managed to lose a whole downed dragon in one evening! She swatted a branch furiously as she passed by. Of course, in swatting she didn’t see the sudden dip in the ground. She yelled as her foot slipped as she flopped over and landed hard on her side with a loud thump.
Rubbing her hip with a low growl, she stood up and her eyes fell on the path. It dipped unnaturally, like the earth had been split by a massive force. Trees had fallen to the side, splintered trunks and scattered branches. Astrid followed the newly laid path and upon going over a massive pile of stones, reeled back in terror at a massive white form that lay on the other side. She dropped to her knees, trying to catch the breath the fear forced out of her. Shaking as she peeked over the edge, she took in the sight of the beast.
It’s was white, longer than a nadder with a wingspan thrice that of a gronkle. As she climbed down, she pulled her ax from its holster. Her hands shook as she surveyed the white beast.
Upon closer inspection, the dragon’s scales were glassy, shimmering in the light pike tiny, flat pearls. They were pressed together so fine, the creature looked smooth; a far cry from the scaly, bumpy dragons she had typically seen. She was reminded of the scales on some dragons from the Tidal Class and beluga whales.
It’s wings looked more like fins, lipped in blue and marked with a very faint, light blue ripple pattern that glittered. This creature probably spent a great deal of time in the water. Unlike many dragons, this creature had no underbite or horns. Instead, it had four little nubs, probably used for echolocation. With a short snout and cute pointed nose, Astrid is reminded of the snow leopards she had seen a couple islands over while fishing with her mother.
The Light Fury lay absolutely still on it’s side, not moving an inch.
“I did it...” Astrid whispered softly, walking over to the downed beast. “I did it!”
She throws her head back and laughs triumphantly.
“Yes, I have brought down this mighty beast!” she shouted out as if anyone was listening, setting her foot on the arm of the dead creature.
The creature’s arm suddenly surged upwards and knocked Astrid back onto her rump. She landed hard and scrambled back to her feet. Holding her ax to her chest, her gaze traveled up the body one to the face of the creature. The dragon watched her with bright, glowing blue eyes. It’s pupils were narrowed slits and its chest heaved with labored breaths.
Well, it wasn’t dead.
Astrid’s knees buckled slightly and her clammy hands shook around the handle of her weapon. She tried to steel herself but staring into the eyes of one of the most lethal, elusive dragon to scourge Berk took her breath away with both awe and terror.
Remember what you came her for, she reminded herself. Despite her shaking hands, she held her weapon fast.
“I’m going to kill you, dragon,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I-I’m going to cut off your head and give it to my mother. I am a Viking!”
The dragon groaned lowly, watching her with terrified eyes. Astrid raised her ax above her head and shut her eyes tight as she prepared to swing it down. In just a second, she’d have everything she dreamed of, the respect of her people, the recognition of her mother, every boy in the island falling over themselves just to get her to look their way, and proof of her status as a Viking warrior!
She set her jaw and tightened her grip on the ax. “I am a viking!” she shouted, eyes screwed shut in her concentration.
A soft whimper from the Light Fury at her feet made her peek at her. The pitiful thing had weakly lift it’s head to look up at her. She could see her reflection in those blue pools and for a second, Astrid couldn’t tell whether the fear within was hers or the Light Fury’s. Astrid screwed her eyes closed tightly and raised the ax back higher, trying to gather her strength.
There was a soft thump that made her peek through her eyelashes. The Light Fury has laid its head down and closed its eyes with a soft whine as if to say, “Go on. Get it over with.”
There was a soft thud as Astrid’s grip on her ax loosened and her arms dropped to her sides, the ax hitting the floor lightly. The Light Fury did not move, just breathing slow and severely, like it was waiting for that breath to be cut short.
Astrid, looked at the series of ropes around the creature and she felt guilt bubble up in her chest. “I did this,” she mumbled, stepping back.
She thought she ought to turn and go back. She’d leave the creature and run home. She pretend this never happened and just wait for things to die out. She’d slay a gronkle or something. Despite every reasonable part of her brain telling her to run, she couldn’t just leave the dragon as it was. Tied up and hurt, it wouldn’t stand a chance. A downed dragon is a dead dragon.
Astrid sighed and raised her ax. Loki himself must have messed with her mind if she was really going to go through with this. She swung her ax and sliced through one of the biggest tangles in the ropes.
The Light Fury flinched and opened its eyes in surprise as the ropes began to fall loose. Astrid set the ax down and began to pull the ropes across the blade, sawing through them.
As soon as the ropes began to spring free, the dragon suddenly didn’t seem so hurt. It surged up, twisted around, and pounced. Astrid screamed and tried to scramble back, inadvertently pressing against a wall. The dragon’s small but heavy foot pinned her chest against the rock, holding her in place.
If Astrid screamed, no one would hear her. She doubted the dragon above her would care. Blood pounds in her ears and she feels faint with unabashed terror. She doesn’t even bother to hide it, completely against her mother’s lessons. It’s not like the Lightfury would care. It stares down without blinking, it’s pupils thin slits in the pools of icy blue. It pulls its lips back- so many teeth- and begins to hiss out telltale sound of a blast being prepared. Astrid looks away and squeezes her eyes shut.
Just get it over with.
The gurgling hiss became a whining screech before the Light Fury slammed down and screamed loudly into her face. Immediately, the dragon turned and leaped off into the woods, the faint silhouette of the creature flitting in the shadows before there was a burst of fire and it was seen no more.
Astrid’s knees felt weak and she was wonderfully overwhelmed with dizzying relief.
I’m alive. I’m alive!
Somewhere in her adrenaline high mind, she decided that was more than enough dragon hunting forever and ever. She stood on quaking legs and made for home. Well she tried. She fainted before she could get two steps in.