Days went by and I mostly stayed cooped up in the house-armory, I didn't really like interacting with other kids, I wasn't sure why, I just didn't. The thought of being around others made my scar burn up, though Gobber never pushed me to socialize. Right now we were eating smoked fish, it was a little salty in my opinon but I wasn't going to complain, when suddenly-
BWOARRR
A horn pierced through the peaceful evening air, its deep resonance making my bones shake.
Gobber immediately stood up, his chair scraping against the wooden floor as he rushed to the armory section of the house. My curiosity got the better of me, and I followed behind him in silence, my bare feet barely making a sound on the worn floorboards. He went over to an axe, deftly changing his prosthetic limb with practiced movements. He then turned to look at me, his eyes showing concern.
"Stay here, okay? Don't move just hide under this table?" he said hitting a sturdy oak table in the armory with his normal hand. The sound echoed through the now eerily quiet room.
He turned around and was about to go out of the backdoor, when he stopped and looked back once more, as if something was gnawing at his conscience.
He lifted his arm. "Stay. Put. There. You know what I mean... aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!"
He yelled his battle cry before charging out, axe raised high, closing the door behind him. But in that brief moment when the door was open, I saw it - fire painting the sky in angry oranges and reds.
Immediately I cradled myself under the table, drawing my knees to my chest. Breathing in and breathing out. Trying to keep myself calm, my eyes squeezed shut but I could hear everything outside - battle cries mixing with inhuman roars, the sounds of wings whipping through the air, the crackling of flames devouring wood.
I was scared, terrified.
My legs were shaking more and more, I cradled them even closer trying as much as I could to keep them from moving, but like a virus the shaking spread from my legs to my fingers, then to my hands, my arms, my back. Every single part of me was trembling like a leaf in a storm.
It was just like when I first got here and Gobber picked me up from the beach.
I hated it. Hated feeling so weak, so helpless.
Still the only thing I could do was breathe in and out, in and out, over and over. Slowly I got into control, tuning out the noise of destruction outside, but just as quickly as I had found that momentary peace-
CRASH
My eyes snapped open instantly, and from underneath the table I was able to see a bit of the roof, or at least where the roof was supposed to be. It was now just broken splinters, with wood clattering around me like deadly rain. Something stood in front of me, something big, something scaly... a dragon.
I could see its legs, powerful limbs covered in scales of different shades of green and blue. It was standing up on two legs, it's talons digging into the floor, its posture almost regal, and its tail - my breath caught in my throat as I recognized the deadly spikes adorning it.
A Deadly Nadder, just like the ones Gobber had read about to me in the dragon manual. The book had said they were prideful creatures, known for their vanity and their lethal accuracy with tail spikes and fire. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight.
Just as I thought things couldn't get any worse, they did.
"Raawh."
Its head bent downward and I could see its reptilian eyes, nostrils flaring as it sniffed the air. Suddenly its pupils expanded, and its head began to turn slowly, methodically. My body shook more and more, my torso began to feel like it was burning up, the old burn mark screaming in pain.
When finally it happened - it turned fully, staring at me, those big yellow eyes meeting my blue ones. Time seemed to freeze for a moment, predator and prey locked in a deadly stare.
"RAAWHH!"
It roared, the sound deafening in the confined space, before charging at me. Even though I was shaking, my entire body seemed to move on its own as I ran under the table, ducking and rolling.
The Nadder, enraged at missing its prey, placed its head below the table before raising it with tremendous force, throwing the heavy piece of furniture across the room where it shattered against the wall. I however was already running towards the door, my heart threatening to burst from my chest.
"Rawwh!"
It appeared in front of me with frightening speed, blocking my escape. My burn mark began to burn even more intensely, the pain almost blinding.
Why?! WHY?! WHY?! Why was this happening? I didn't deserve this.
Slowly it stepped towards me, its two legs slamming against the floor with each step, making the whole house shake. Its tail raised, and suddenly-
WHOOSH! THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!
Multiple spikes embedded themselves in the wall behind me as I dove to the side, rolling behind a weapons rack. The dragon's tail spikes had missed me by inches, but I couldn't stay still. It opened its mouth, and I saw the telltale glow of fire building in its throat.
I scrambled away just as a stream of white-hot fire turned the weapons rack into molten metal and ash. The heat was incredible, making my skin feel tight and painful. As I moved, I saw it - a small short sword clattering on the ground, probably having fallen from its place when the dragon had crashed through the roof.
The Nadder's head snapped toward me, and it ran forward again, its claws leaving deep gouges in the wooden floor. I immediately dived out of the way of another blast of fire and rolled toward where the short sword lay. The dragon smashed into another weapons rack, sending axes and maces flying through the air and into the wall, crumbling it down.
The dragon recovered quickly, shaking its head and fixing those terrible yellow eyes on me once more. It launched another volley of tail spikes, forcing me to dodge and weave, each spike missing me by mere inches as they thudded into walls and floor. I was so close to the sword now, but the dragon was already charging.
The Nadder however was already on me, its jaws opening wide, ready to eat me whole.
I was so close, 5 inches, 4, 3, 2, 1.
I grabbed the sword by the handle, trying to raise it up, but it weighed so much more than I expected. The dragon's hot breath washed over me, smelling of smoke and death.
"AAHHH!!" I raised out a guttural scream finally lifting the sword and turning around, my muscles straining with effort, when-
BAM
Gobber POV
I used my shirt to take off the blood from my axe. The dragons had already begun to leave, they hadn't stolen much today, still they were a big nuisance. I was walking around Berk, back to the armory when I saw it - the wall had been torn down, so had the ceiling, and in the middle of it all was a deadly nadder.
"Thorfinn, boy!" I immediately rushed towards the house, my heart in my throat, but as I turned the corner, I saw it - the deadly nadder lay still, and below it, with a short sword driven through the roof of its mouth and out the top of its head, was the boy. He was drenched in blood, some his own from small cuts and scrapes, but mostly the dragon's.
He was shaking violently.
Breathing heavily, each breath seeming to take tremendous effort.
Tears streaked down his face, cutting clean lines through the blood and soot.
Without hesitation, I moved closer to the boy and gave him a hug, the short sword still buried in the beast even when he stopped holding it. The dragon's blood was still warm, soaking into both our clothes.
"It's alright now lad, it's alright, you're okay."
I expected some crying, relief, maybe even hysterics, after all even though he was a viking, he was just a kid. But all I got was ragged breathing and silence.
Eerie silence.