chapter three
003. axe to grind!

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   FREYA WAS up at dawn the next morning. She sat with her mother, alone in their small home without her father, to thank the gods to bless them with a peaceful sunrise. As she prayed, she also asked Freyja to give her strength for the day ahead. For if she was named after the goddess, she sure expected her to give her some much needed attention and favouritism. Her mother always spoke about the omen Freyja gave her the moment she was born. The only child her mother could ever sire▬a miracle that had entered this world on a spring day where the snow had thawed and the flowers had bloomed. Freyja was the goddess of fertility, and so it was only fair to assume she was the reason for such a blessing onto their family.

   Keeping to the promise she made, Freya followed her mother around that early morning with her chin held up high. She plastered a smile on her face as she carried buckets of apples from the farm wagon towards the storehouse. The dragons had taken quite a few of their stock for the upcoming winter, and so they were trying their very best to refill it with whatever they had. Apples, grain, cheese, beans and other vegetables they can easily store and then stew over an open fire.

    She did as she was asked, helping out the farmers carry all they could manage down the slopes. But her mind was wandering. She kept glancing up at the rising sun, her heart in her throat and her breath hitched with excitement as she waited for it to get closer and closer to when her Dragon Training would begin.

    Freya couldn't stop herself from imagining how she will fight every dragon she might come across. All of the amazing moves she will conduct with her axe that will turn heads and make people gasp with awe. She will impress Vikings, and impressing Vikings was a very hard thing to do, indeed.

    She will have to work harder than everyone else, she knew that. She will have to swing harder and run faster. She would have to jump to reach and heave her shield up. But she will do it. She will prove that she was just as much of a Viking as anybody else here was. She may be small, and she may not have much strength▬she may seem dainty and held a little axe in her little palm, but Freya will get what she wanted. She will achieve what she came to do. She refused to be underestimated.

    When it became apparent that her mind was elsewhere, and her excitement was distracting her, Hilda sighed and let her head off with a warm heart. She smiled, watching her daughter race up the slope towards where Toke was sharpening his sword at a tree stump surrounded by the other teens. All of them ready to begin their initiations with grinning faces and courageous breaths.

    Freya took a bite of her apple once she reached them, "Hey!" she called with her mouth full. "Hey▬wait up! I'll come and train with you guys!"

    She passed Toke her second apple she had brought, happily coming to stand beside him with her axe sheathed on her back. She watched the Twins share a confused glance.

    "Uh ..." Ruffnut made a face at her. "Since when?"

    "Yeah," Tuffnut went on slowly. "You never train with us."

    Freya chucked her apple up in the palm of her hand, "Well, I am now!" she said smugly. "Because I am joining Dragon Training!" She set her other hand on her hip, jotting it out with her head held up high and a proud gleam in her eye.

    The Twins sized her up and down before breaking out into snickers. Her grin faltered.

    "That's good, Freya!" said Fishlegs kindly, happy for her. "I think you will do great!" Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston only broke out into more quiet chuckles at his words. Freya chose to ignore them, grinning again and puffing out her chest to make herself look bigger than she actually was.

    "I think it's great that you're coming to train with us," Snotlout said, giving her a sultry look that made her turn up her nose in disgust. "I'll even teach you a few things▬I'll show you how a real Viking fights dragons!" he held up his arms, showing her his muscles. Snotlout grinned at her, as if to ask: well, what do you think? Until Astrid shoved his face to the dirt and he let out a strangled cry.

    "If you want to train with us," Astrid told Freya bossily. She huffed, already annoyed. The Hofferson pointed at the axe on her back, "then you need to get that sharpened, otherwise the most damage that'll do to a dragon? Is clean its teeth."

    Freya went red at the cheeks in her embarrassment. Sitting beside her, Toke stopping eating his apple to send Astrid an estranged glance. "I▬I▬" Freya clenched her hands, back to hearing how the Twins snickered to themselves, "I knew that." She dropped her apple and hefted it off her back. She gripped it tightly, refusing to take notice of how smaller it was to any of the others weapons they had ready. "I▬I'm actually going to the forge to have it sharpened now!"

    Then with that said, Freya Balderofferson stormed down the slope. She marched down the pathway through the centre of the village, keeping her gaze forward to not show how bright red her cheeks were. She knew that if she glanced back, she wouldn't like what she would see. She wouldn't like hearing the soft laughter.

    Toke watched his best friend storm down towards the blacksmith's forge, his shoulders slumping. He scowled at the Twins and kicked some dirt in their faces, "You guys are muttonheads, you know that?" he then pointed his apple core at Astrid. "And can't you just help in a nice way for once?"

    Astrid Hofferson gaped at Toke. "Help in a nice way?" she echoed, scoffing. "What do you want me to do, sugar-coat things for her? Like you do?" she gestured down at where Freya's figure was getting further and further away. "She's going to get herself hurt. I seem to be the only one who cares enough to try and stop her before that happens!"

    The blonde stood up as well, shoving past him and storming the opposite way▬heading off to train by herself.

    Freya grumbled to herself as she made her way down to the forge. "Clean a dragon's teeth," she mimicked Astrid's voice under her breath. "Oh, look at me," she flung up her hands, "I'm Astrid and I can throw my axe thirty-something yards and hit a small beetle!"

    She kicked the grass under her feet, hating how a lump formed in her throat. Tears stung at her eyes in her embarrassment and she blinked them away, furious. "Stop it," she scolded herself. Freya couldn't wait for the moment when she will have all of that glory. When she will stand over the dead body of the Monstrous Nightmare▬she won't be some sappy, crying girl after that. She was going to be more than just Freya. She wanted that more than anything.

    Freya didn't realise she had reached the forge until her boots scuffed stone instead of grass. She jumped. Glancing upwards, she found herself freezing for a moment. Now that she was here, Freya forgot what she actually came for▬or what she was going to say.

    For a very awkward moment, she stared, dumfounded into the blacksmith's shop. She smelt the smoke from the forge fire; ash itched at her throat and heat flushed her cheeks. She heard the clang! clang! of a hammer hitting iron to the left, and she leaned forward to try and see▬soon, she realised she would have to step inside to be able to see anything.

    She clenched her jaw, a part of her wanting to just turn on her heel and rush away. Freya hasn't made direct, in-the-same-room, speaking contact with Hiccup Haddock since she was ten and he was forced to give her something for her birthday. She remembered staring, dubious, at the little paperweight Gobber must have helped him make and got upset, because it wasn't something she could hit people with. Freya told herself she would throw it away, though she never did. It still sat in her room, somewhere.

    The point is, she avoided Hiccup Haddock like the plague if she could help it. She had hoped that if she showed how much she disliked him, her parents would break their agreement with Stoick. However, they never did, and here she stood, heart racing and thinking on when she was taught how to speak▬because she doesn't remember.

    She didn't speak to him. She never purposefully went out of her way to greet him if they passed each other during the day. Freya never let herself get close to Hiccup Haddock because deep down, she knew they had a lot in common ... she knew she would end up wanting to be his friend. And as soon as that happened, that was it! She would lose.

    Freya clenched her hands and grumbled at her pride, pushing it down to call out, "Uh▬hello?"

     The clanging! stopped. She jumped again, startled when after a short second, two heads poked out of the side of the forge.

     Gobber the Belch was many things. Sanitary, well-groomed and with all his limbs attached was not one of those things. He looked worse than a boar in a muddy boar pit. He was short and stout▬so wide in the shoulders that he often had to step inside a door sideways to fit. His blonde braided beard was uneven and nearly black with ash. Often, it would be smoking after he had to douse it in water because it caught fire in his forge. His jaw hung forward▬thick and stronger than a Gronckle's hide. He only had one, bushy blonde brow that furrowed low over his eyes. Both his left foot and his left hand were eaten by dragons (they have all heard the story way too many times) a long time ago. These days, he still used his left hand▬for everything. He just twisted in a mace if he wanted a good bludgeon, a hammer if he wanted to smack some iron, or a brush if he felt like sweeping the dust off his floor (or tugging the knots out of his matted beard).

    Hiccup had to peer right around his large arm. As soon as he saw Freya, his brows disappeared up underneath his hanging auburn hair. He looked shocked to see her, and she did not blame him. For a moment, he gaped at her. Then, he blurted out, "Freya! Uh▬um, hey, Freya ...?"

    She hugged her axe to her chest as she made her way towards them. They watched her, confused as she took a step inside the shop. She stepped underneath the low support beams easily while other Vikings often had to bend over to avoid knocking themselves out in the forehead.

    "Um, hello," she said again. Freya glanced down at her axe. She flushed. "Oh! Um▬yeah▬can I have this sharpened?"

    Hiccup's eyes widened. He stared at her axe, too. He had ash from the fire smudged on his cheeks, completely hiding his freckles. When he tried to wipe it off, the gloves he wore only smudged it more over the end of his nose. "Axe sharpened...?" his initial shock wavered away. "Oh! Axe sharpened! U▬uh, yeah! Yeah. We do that! We▬we're a blacksmiths', of course, we do that, uh ..."

    Neither teen noticed the way Gobber sighed and face-palmed into his remaining hand, very disappointed. Then, he subtly pushed Hiccup forward, "No worries! My▬uh▬my manly apprentice here will service all of your needs!"

    Hiccup scowled over his shoulder as he stumbled closer to Freya. She watched, bewildered.

    Gobber shuffled backwards out of the workshop. "I have to ... go ..." he gestured behind him, clearing his throat. Freya made a face. "Go get some▬uh▬I'm just▬I'm just gonna go outside."

    He rushed off and the chief's son dead-panned, annoyed. Then, he puffed his cheeks, awkwardly letting out a long, deflating sigh. He glanced at Freya out of the corner of his eye. She held her breath, still hugging her axe tightly.

    Hiccup shrugged, chuckling nervously, "Gobber▬" he nodded to his mentor, as if that was all the explanation that was needed. He held out his hand. She frowned at it, wondering what he was doing▬until she realised.

    She glanced down at her axe, "O▬oh. Right."

    Freya passed it over. She burned with even more embarrassment to see how even Hiccup could hold her weapon with ease. He didn't even struggle to grasp the hilt one-handed. She scowled, frustrated with herself.

    "Wow!" Hiccup said as he did, turning the axe in his hands. "This is super light..." he trailed off at the look on her face. "Uh▬I mean▬" he flung himself forward, as if suddenly he carried the weight of a large mallet. "Agh!"

    She sighed, shaking her head, "Don't even try, please."

    He pursed his lips. Then picked it back up without any effort. Freya pushed past him, stepping further inside. He stumbled out of her way, "O▬okay. Well, uh▬razor-sharp axe, coming right up!"

    Freya paid him no mind, gazing upwards at the weapons on display. Her fingers reached up, feeling the leather grip of some of the swords. She imagined herself being able to hold them up, though she knew she couldn't. Instead of picking one off the wall, she found a dagger and grabbed that one, testing the weight in her hand. She spun it in her palm, glum as she watched it glint in the sunlight that glared through into the workshop.

    "So ..." Hiccup spoke up in the silence that followed. He set her axe by the grinder and heaved the handle to get the wheel turning. It took him a few goes. "You▬uh▬I didn't see you on fire patrol the other night?"

    Freya set the dagger back up onto the wall. "Yeah, I was doing other things."

    "Oh, oh, okay," he set her weapon onto the wheel▬it scathed across the tip, sparking as he sharpened an axe that was extremely blunt. Hiccup didn't tell her this, though. "That sounds fun. I▬I wasn't on fire patrol either." She glanced back at him and watched his shoulders bounce as he talked; Freya wondered whether he knew he even did it. "I was too busy. You know, out downing a Night Fury, so..." he spoke as if this was something he did every day.

    She eyed him for a moment longer, not sure whether she believed him. Freya continued her journey across the side wall of the workshop, gazing up at weapons she only wished she could wield. "Really? Well, where▬?"

    "Oh▬n▬no▬" Hiccup stammered out quickly, "It▬uh▬it got away, um ... But it won't be back anytime soon, believe you me." He breathed another anxious chuckle. "Y▬yeah, you know, this whole apprentice thing is just my, sort of, on the side▬uh▬I'm mostly here to bulk up. Lift some iron and stuff ... Become one with the steel ..."

    Freya wasn't really listening. When there was a rather loud clang and then a thud, she didn't turn to look. She just wandered further to the back, blissfully ignorant to the way Hiccup slid her broken axe blade under the table, hunched and terrified. He rushed to find another, growing a frantic sweat on his brow.

    As he did, her brows knitted together, noticing an ajar door hidden right in the back corner. Freya headed straight for it, curious. Her fingers reached out and she pushed it open.

    Hiccup stumbled, "Oh▬uh▬no▬you're not actually supposed to..." he tried to stop her, but it was too late. Freya faltered, taken aback as she stepped into a small, narrow room. It was dimly lit by a dying candle, but the light from outside cascaded onto four walls filled to the brim with parchment. Some were charcoal drawings of Berk: Dragonscale Cliff, the Viking Warriors set out in the ocean, a Terrible Terror resting on a rooftop. Others were intricate schematics of inventions she couldn't begin to understand. She blinked, utterly muddled by the sight.

    "What ..." she breathed, some part of her lost in amazement. "Whose are these...?" she stepped further inside, intrigued by the littered desk pressed up against the wall. More drawings and open notebooks were scattered about with charcoal pencils and looking-glass mirrors.

    "Uh▬" Hiccup pursed his lips behind her, "▬it's▬it's all mine. It's▬they're nothing. Just some stuff I'm working on. It's just ... confidential, upper-level development."

    Freya picked up a piece of parchment just lying around on Hiccup's desk. She frowned at the wooden contraption drawn out, trying to read his writing. Behind her, the chief's son hefted a new axe blade back towards her old one. "What's 'The Mutilator'?"

    "Yes, yes..." she heard him mutter off-handedly. Hiccup started to twist the new blade onto her axe hilt. "Basically it uses twin-weighted counter-levers to launch crisscrossing blades in four different directions."

    Freya didn't understand any of what he just said. She continued to frown at the drawing. "Okay..." she murmured. "But ... but how do you▬you know▬hold it?"

     Hiccup tightened the blade and hilt. He frowned, taken aback by the question. "Uh ... well, you don't. You▬you shoot it."

    "Oh," she let out dumbly. "That ..." she set it aside, "... I guess that makes sense." Freya pursed her lips, swinging her arms a little. "W▬well," she tried to make herself look better, "I'm just▬I'm more of an old-fashioned▬" she made a few gestures, as if thrusting a sword forwards, "▬take it down with an axe and then lop its head off kind of girl! Because ... because I▬I'm actually way stronger than I look, so..."

    She made her way back out of the room. "I'm so strong that they actually let me go into Dragon Training early, so ..." Freya frowned to herself, not sure why she was trying to make herself seem more impressive to Hiccup, but she was.

    Not that he was listening. "Uh▬huh..." he murmured absent-mindedly, still sharpening her axe.

    "I can't wait," she swung her legs a little, balancing around the workshop as she waited for Hiccup to finish with her axe. "I'm gonna kill that dragon and show everyone what I can do. Are you▬are you going?"

    He pulled the axe away, turning to frown at her. "Going to what?"

    Freya watched him, confused, "Uh▬Dragon Training, what else?"

    "Uh ..." Hiccup shrugged at her. Then, he held out her blade.

    She stared at him for a little longer. When he didn't answer her question, she reached forward to take it. Freya had to grip her axe tighter, stumbling a little when the extra weight hit her.

    Freya heaved the axe up with a little more effort than she usually did. She frowned, perplexed. She turned that frown onto Hiccup. "This feels different," she told him.

    "Yeah," Hiccup replied in the same tone. "That's because it's actually the right balance for you."

    She blinked. She held the axe out in front of her, slowly turning the hilt to get used to it. Freya shuffled on her feet, feeling something soft rise up inside her. She shyly met Hiccup's gaze over the blade's edge. "Oh, um▬well, thank you."

   She turned to leave. Freya glanced at Hiccup once more, sheepish, over her shoulder before taking off at a run back up the slope to the others.

【 VIKING DRAGONS AND THEIR EGGS 】
an excerpt from: The Book of Dragons
originally written by: Bork the Bold

THE TERRIBLE TERROR▬The Terrible Terror. The smallest of the dragons, but no less ferocious. You know its about to breathe fire when you hear a small, vicious hissing sound. These dragons may seem harmless with their toothless jaws, but one shattering bite from the Terrible Terror could see you with a broken bone ... if you're lucky.
Extremely dangerous.
Kill on sight.

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STATISTICS
colours: green, brown, browny yellow, bright yellow and purple.
armed with: strong jaws and a temper
attack: ............8
speed: .........10
amour: .........6
firepower: .......12
shot limit: .......10
venom: ......12
jaw strength: .....8
stealth: .....12

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    THE DRAGON Training arena was built on the far side of the village. It took a few winding pathways, skidding down the side of a cliff and a long, dangling bridge to reach. It had been set out on a large, thick sea stack; built up from its centre with cobblestone foundations that had blackened with ash over the years. It wrapped, round and sloping until it broke off from stone and cobble to wired iron that twisted and climbed to a single point, caging who▬or whatever▬would be inside. The entrance was a locked, iron gate; it looked more like a dungeon than an arena, but not only was it to train young Vikings into dragon killers, it was meant to keep the dragons locked inside from escaping. It was their dungeon, and this was the Vikings' playground.

     Freya was silent as she crossed the bridge▬huddled with the others who followed closely behind Gobber the Belch. They were all bursting with excitement, snickering and giving each other eager shoves. Freya thought she would be similar, but all she felt inside her chest was a drowning flood of nerves. For so long she had begged to stand here, and now that she was, her grip on her axe handle was shaking, her heart was pounding▬she thought of everything that will go wrong instead of everything that could go right.

    The ocean raged beneath her; wind stung at her cheeks. She could smell the salt of the sea and heard the waves crash! against the cliffside. The bridge swung a little dangerously and she held her breath, desperate to hide her sudden terror.

    Once her feet touched solid ground again, she clutched her new axe tighter. Now that she had started to get used to it, the rebalanced blade gave her this sudden weight▬a feel of strength extended from her arm. It didn't feel too light, or too heavy; it was just right, and it gave her a comforting breath: it made her feel capable.

     Gobber hooked his iron claw underneath the cage door and heaved it open. It hit the roof of the narrow, twisting tunnel with a mighty clang! "Welcome to Dragon Training!"

     Freya took another deep breath. She watched the others surge onwards, giddy and eager. Toke passed her, descending low into the depths of the arena. Right before he stepped underneath the iron gate, he stopped and glanced back at her.

     "You coming?" he called to Freya who hadn't moved an inch.

     She stared out in front of her▬she glanced behind. Freya realised that if she left now, her life would be so much different to what it will be if she marched forwards. And it was almost bewildering.

     Her fingers twisted around the handle. Another deep breath. Freya closed her eyes for a moment. She clenched her jaw. Then she took a brave step onwards, slipping into the shadows of the stone tunnel, "This is it. No turning back," she muttered to herself.

     Freya took the final step▬her small figure emerging into a vast colosseum. She hitched her breath, spinning around with wide eyes. The stone at her feet was damp from the weather. The walls were grey with ash and some places stained with what she hoped wasn't blood. At the far end, right in front of her, were seven heavy-bolted cages. They trembled at the sound of their footsteps; Freya could hear the growls of the different dragons behind▬she felt them vibrating deep within her chest. She eyed the claw marks scraped down the sides, the bite marks on some of the locks. It wasn't grand▬it was exactly what she expected, and yet it was so amazing; she couldn't believe she was standing here, right now, about to fight a dragon.

     It seemed so unreal▬so disbelieving. For what small girl such as her could ever belong in such a place as rough and deadly as this?

     Her friends around her all spread out, each gripping their own weapons with tight hands.

     "I hope I get some serious burns," grinned Tuffnut. He rolled his neck and then his shoulders, as if imagining how it would feel▬and loved the thought with a crazed gleam in his eye.

    His sister poked the tip of her spear into his back. He stumbled forward and shot her a scowl. "I'm hoping for some mauling," Ruffnut did her best to one-up her brother. She nodded, very smug about her wish: "like on my shoulder or▬or lower back..."

    Astrid scoffed, not impressed. She rolled her eyes at them, picking something off the edge of her vicious double-bladed battle axe. "Yeah..." she drawled slowly, leading their pack into the arena centre. With a puff of air, she watched her weapon fall▬relaxed in her grip. She caught the handle right before she would have dropped it. "It's only fun if you get a scar out of it."

    Freya ground her teeth, a flicker of annoyance replacing her nerves. Astrid had walked into this arena with one thought on her mind: winning, and the Hofferson did not expect anyone to take that away from her. There was no ending set in Astrid's mind where she was going to lose▬and she wore it with a lazy smirk and a sway in her step, more confident in her abilities than Freya could ever be.

    She narrowed her eyes, and that determination filled up within her again. Courage grew from spite and from envy▬from desperation. Astrid will lose, Freya told herself. Astrid Hofferson will not get to kill the dragon, instead, she was going to watch Freya Balderofferson become what she had always wanted to be. What she was determined to be: better▬the best, even. So good that no Viking (even herself) will look down upon her and chuckle with incredulous pity. Instead, they will hold her up on their shoulders in victory. They will call her Freya the Ferocious, the greatest dragon killer of all time.

    Freya was about to announce this when another voice echoed from behind. A low, sarcastic drawl that grumbled from under his breath: "Yeah, no kidding, right...?"

     They all spun around in surprise. Toke gaped, stunned to see Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third slouch into the arena. The others shared an incredulous glance between each other; there were a few chuckles. Freya frowned, watching the chief's son continue to shuffle forwards, his auburn hair an absolute mess over his eyes. Some of it stuck up at the back of his head; just as wayward and out of place as he.

     "Pain!" exclaimed Hiccup dryly. He carried an axe in his arms, too▬holding it like a log of wood. "Love it..."

     Astrid's axe did drop to the ground this time. Freya saw a dust pink cross her cheeks in sudden embarrassment as she rushed to pick it up, gaze darting around to check if anybody saw.

     A short silence followed. Then, Tuffnut's nose turned up, "Great!" he grumbled. "Who let him in?"

    Ruffnut poked her spear tip at Freya this time, sniggering with cruel mirth. She shuffled away from it, startled. "Hey, Freya, look▬it's your boyfriend."

    "Yeah▬" Tuffnut smacked his spear shaft against his sister's arm, grinning. "Go and hang out with your boyfriend."

    Freya burned bright red. She flung up her axe threateningly. "You go hang out in a pile of yak dung."

    Gobber spoke up before a fight could break out. Though, Freya didn't know what she could do in a fight, she just liked to think that her axe would have made a pretty could dent in Tuffnut's helmet. "All right!" He clapped Hiccup so hard on the shoulder, he almost fell face-flat on the stone. "Let's get started! The recruit who does best will win the honour of killing their first dragon in front of the entire village."

    Snotlout spun his mace in his hand, "Hiccup already killed a Night Fury, so ... does that disqualify him, or...?" a smirk tugged at his lips when the Twins laughed at his joke.

    "Can I transfer to the class with the cool Vikings?"

     Freya rolled her eyes and turned away. She held a quick exchange with Toke. He took a deep breath, as if to tell her to let it all out▬that it will be okay. Then he motioned a courageous thrust with his sword. Amongst the mutters and chuckles of their friends, Toke pointed to Freya as if that was supposed to be her killing the Monstrous Nightmare.

     "Then I will go▬" he went on and swung his blade in a wide arc. "And everything will go▬" there was another charade of exploding blood and dragon guts. "It will be awesome."

      "Shut up," said Astrid who stood in line beside them. "Pay attention."

      Toke went to argue. He lifted his finger as if to point out something very factual when Hiccup stumbled into line and Gobber began once more:

     "Behind these doors▬" said Gobber the Belch loudly. He marched back and forth in front of the line of teen Vikings▬each held their breath and puffed out their chests, watching the way the cage doors rattled right in front of them with deadly beasts bursting to come out, "▬are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight!"

     He gestured to each door. He passed the first two right in front of Freya, "The Deadly Nadder."

     Down the row, Fishlegs squeaked: "Speed eight, armour sixteen."

    "The Thunderdrum," Gobber pointed his hook to the next.

    "Attack twelve."

    "The Hideous Zippleback."

     "Plus eleven stealth▬times two."

     "The Monstrous Nightmare..."

     "Firepower fifteen."

     "The Terrible Terror."

    "Attack eight, venom twelve▬"

     "▬Can you stop that?!"

     Fishlegs's lips sealed shut. He hunched up, scared.

     Gobber watched him for a moment longer, as if waiting to see whether he would crack before stopping at the final and seventh cage. "And..." Freya's brows furrowed at the slight smirk amongst his charred braid. Gobber the Belch's hand hovered over the cage lever, "... the Gronckle."

     Fishlegs looked ready to burst. He shuffled on his small feet before he couldn't stop himself. He exhaled out a rushed whisper to Hiccup beside him: "Jaw strength eight."

     Only then, did the group of teens realise what Gobber planned to do. Collectively, their faces dropped. Snotlout flung out his arms, frantic: "Whoa▬whoa▬!" he cried for Gobber to stop. Freya's heart rate sped, watching the way the blacksmith's fat fingers drummed excitedly on the iron lock. "Wait! Aren't▬aren't you gonna teach us first?!"

     Toke jumped at the sudden, aggressive shudder of the iron door. Freya clenched her axe handle so tight, her knuckles had gone ghostly white.

     "We're going to die," she realised in horror.

     "I believe," Gobber's fingers latched back around the handle, "in learning on the job."

     And with a swift push of the lever, the cage door of the Gronckle flung open.

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   a/n: if the forge scene feels a bit familiar to the one in yrsa's book that's because they're both based of a httyd deleted scene cos I love writing extra things. I just like writing extra little scenes because they just add to my characters and the canon characters aside from the films/tv series.

also gets me more chapter content for films lol.

toke, you would have loved marvel comics. and taylor swift.

freya is such a secret softy it's so cute >>>

any headcannons comment here <3 :