chapter six
006. mothers and old bothers!

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    WHEN FREYA was little (well, little▬er), she used to pray to the gods to make her taller, and stronger, and fiercer. She asked them▬no, begged▬that they'd bless her with the strength of a warrior when she grew up. That they'd free her from the expectations that had trapped her so, and she could explore the ends of the earth and live to tell magnificent stories. She asked them to make her just ... well ... better. She was still waiting for the day she'd wake up and all of her dreams would suddenly come true. 

    She trudged home alone after Dragon Training later that day, feeling downtrodden and defeated now that all her frustration had left her. The sun was slowly setting over the cliff faces of Berk, basking the island into a pretty pinks and purples. The colours in the sky were mirrored by the ocean waves that crashed against the two Berkian Warriors guarding the harbour of Freya's home and the sea stacks surrounding it. She stopped in the gentle wind that was gradually getting colder and colder, feeling it kiss her cheeks, brush her hair gently into her eyes and tousle her furs. Freya gazed out towards the horizon with a sense of longing▬for what? She couldn't exactly answer nor explain. But whatever it was, it left her with an indescribable ache in her heart. 

   The colours of the sunset reminded her of the Deadly Nadder in Dragon Training today. She wished it didn't. But Freya couldn't get the dragon out of her mind since▬the way it tilted its head at her, and the inquisitive glint in its enchanting yellow stare was engraved in her mind, and there was no way of getting rid of it. That creature could have killed her then. Freya should have attacked the Nadder when she had the chance. Yet, neither did.

    It felt as though, for a brief moment in that maze, time had frozen, and both Viking and Dragon had mimicked each other▬shared the same breath of curiosity, determination and eagerness; the need to be better and prove its worth that could be defined by something else other than their small stature. 

    Which troubled her. Because dragons don't choose not to hurt Vikings, and Vikings don't choose not to hurt dragons▬and neither one of them could see a reflection in each other's eyes. 

    And so, Freya did her best to stop thinking about it▬to not let it trouble her and ignore the strange sensation and moment. To choose not to believe it would continue to haunt her▬even though she knew very well it would. 

    When she made it back home and stepped through the front door, underneath the wooden head of a Timberjack, Freya was met with the absence of her father like a cold chill down her spine. She stared at his empty chair by the fire that was starting to grow and wished that he was here.

    No ship ever returned when searching for the Dragon's Nest▬but Freya chose to ignore that fact and was determined to believe that her father would, even when everything else was telling her, straight in the face, that she would be proven wrong. 

    She took a deep breath and tiptoed towards her room, hoping to pass by undetected by her mother that was sure to be home. Her boots scuffed gently on the wood of the small home, passing by helmets hung up on metal hooks, tapestries her mother had made herself of Berk landscapes, a shield portrait of their family Bucket the Halfwit had done when Freya was little, and her betrothal gift from Hiccup (well, Stoick) before she could even remember: a ceremonial, decorative shield that hung on her door with intricate designs of long sea dragon necks and waves that interlocked. 

    Freya has seen that shield every time she has walked into her room for the entirety of her life so far▬it had never once left its spot, never once fell down. It was a constant reminder of the future she couldn't escape, and every time she saw it, she got closer to grabbing it and throwing it off the edge of Dragonscale Cliff. But she never did. 

    It told the story of Bork the Bold when he first came across a mighty sea dragon greater in size than the big blue whale. Freya has read the runes that wrapped around its rim a hundred times over. She supposed in a way it represented adventure and prosperity in its own way▬the strength of Berk throughout the entire Archipelago, from land to sea, fighting against every dragon and exploring until they reached the ends of the Earth. A legacy that would be passed down onto Hiccup when he was older, and by association, Freya, too. 

    She had grown up with those expectations weighing her down at the shoulders. Perhaps that was why she was so short▬the expectations stumped her growth in height! 

    Just as she made it to her door and almost pushed it open to escape and hide away in her room, her mother caught her. "Freya?"

     Freya froze and subtly sighed to herself, clenching her eyes shut but turning around anyway. "Yes?"

    Hilda Balderofferson hooked a pot of stew over the growing fire. "I thought you'd be home earlier."

    "Oh, yeah," Freya quickly tried to lie off the top of her head. "I was just▬um▬you know, helping out Phlegma with her garden," she smiled, hoping it would be convincing enough. Her mother noticed the dirt scuffed at her knees that slightly ripped her leggings and the twigs in her hair. She arched a dubious brow. Freya slumped. "Fine, I was out practicing my axe throwing in the woods."

    After the disaster that was dragon training, Freya had needed to let off some steam. And since she couldn't fight Astrid because she'd totally lose that fight, and would find it unfair to attack Hiccup because he might just curl up into a ball and take it, she decided to throw her axe at a lot of tree trunks (she missed most of them).

    She continued rambling as her mother walked over and picked the leaves and twigs out of her thick hair. "My axe throwing's getting a lot better, actually. Hiccup fixed the weight of my axe▬said it was too light before. Imagine something being too light for me, right?" Freya chuckled awkwardly, hoping she'd get out of a lecture. "But if I can get better at my axe throwing, maybe I'll be able to get a hit at the next dragon I face in training and get through to the next round..."

    She heard Hilda sigh and Freya purse her lips, her confidence wavering. Her mother cupped her cheeks, tender but Freya felt know admiration. She felt like a disappointment. She watched her mother pick a bit more at her hair before deciding to have Freya sit down so she could just redo her braids all together. "I know you think I can't fight dragons, Mum," Freya tried to persuade her mother as she forced her thick, unruly hair back into braids. "But▬but I was the last one standing when we went against the Gronckle the other day, and if▬if I just get more training in, I could stand a chance at making it to the final, and then I can kill a Monstrous Nightmare and▬"

    "Freya," her mother sighed and she fell silent again. Despite Freya's hair being thick and annoying on a good day, Hilda still managed to brush out all the knots in her hair with her whale bone comb, and intertwine them together without tugging too harshly on Freya's scalp once. "I agreed to let you do this, but my dear ... I don't want you to come out of it disappointed."

    Hearing those words was like receiving a dagger to the heart, and it twisted. Freya's throat closed up. "You don't think I'm good enough," the broken words left her lips before she could stop them.

    Her mother froze. She watched her only child look down at her fingers, so broken and so defeated, and it tore at her heart, too. Hilda Badlerofferson only wanted the best for Freya. She had been given an opportunity not many Viking girls get to have, and Hilda could see potential behind those soft, sad eyes of a girl who would grow into a woman able to help lead a tribe such as theirs▬in a way so different to leaders before her. She could offer a different insight, a fresh perspective▬a light and kind heart many Vikings did their very best to hide or let it get frozen by the cold weather. But her dearest Freya, she was different to the rest of them, but that was a good thing. Her mother just didn't know how to make her realise that. She hoped that perhaps letting her join Dragon Training would finally be what it took to allow her dearest girl realise she didn't need to change; that she didn't need to be like everyone else to grow into someone great. 

    It broke her to see her daughter so lost within herself. 

    Hilda sighed and tucked Freya's bangs out of her eyes to see where her kransen, that used to be her mothers, and Hilda's mothers before her, sat. "Do not put words in my mouth, Freya," she chided, but at the look on her daughter's face, she faltered. She pursed her lips and grabbed her ladle out of the pot, stewing over the fire. "Here, try some of this."

    Freya glumly took the spoon and sipped some of her mother's amazing chicken stew. But not even food brought her comfort right now. As she did, her mother continued to braid her hair. "I watched you in Dragon Training today, dear, and I saw a young girl trying hard to be something she's not." Freya's glum look turned flat into an exasperated scowl. "The only person you should work hard to become, is you, no one else."

    This set Freya off. "Easy for you to say that," she spun around to face her mother, annoyed and upset. "You were a great Viking warrior! You were a shieldmaiden! You were exactly what a Viking is supposed to be. Me?" she gestured at herself, her voice breaking. "I▬I'm useless. I can't fight, I can't lift anything heavier than a toddler's hammer, I▬" she scoffed and shook her head. Freya closed her eyes and sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I don't want to be who you and dad a▬and Stoick decided I should be! I just want to be like everyone else. I want to fit in..."

    Before her mother could stop her or say anything else, Freya leapt up and dropped her spoon back into the stew pot. Then, not even with her hair finished, she grabbed her axe again and darted out of the home. "Freya!" she heard her mother call but she didn't look back.

    Freya was going to kill that dragon. She was going to prove herself the best upcoming Viking of her generation. She was going to prove everyone else▬including her mother wrong. She was going to show the entire village that Freya Balderofferson wasn't useless, she was a Viking▬a warrior with greater potential than even perfect Astrid Hofferson. She knew it. 

    She made her way towards one of the catapults on the far edge of the village, hopping over the wooden planks of the draw bridge to the lonely sea stack it sat on. It shadowed the training arena to the left, and it often got incredibly windy from the draughts that passed through the sea stack maze a few metres to its right. A few of the planks were broken, and so Freya had to leap for her life and pray to the gods her foot didn't slip and she fell right through the gaps and to the rocky sea shores below. 

    The other teens in Dragon Training were meeting up with Gobber for dinner instead of spending it inside the Great Hall. Freya wished she had managed to snatch her fleece as well before she stormed out of her house to fight of the chill that was getting colder now that evening turned into night. 

    She caught sight of the makeshift fire pit Gobber had built for the night underneath the arm of the catapult▬the only source of light this far away from the centre of the village. Freya almost slipped halfway across the bridge, and was glad none of the other teens saw her because that would have been very embarrassing. 

    She was one of the last teens to arrive. She climbed up onto the platform of the catapult, timid and sheepish at all the expectant looks that were watching her. Astrid frowned over the sharp edges of her axe, turning it around aimlessly as she waited for her chicken to cook over the fire. 

    Freya glanced around the circle of teens and Gobber, and was a little stumped to see that Toke wasn't amongst them. "Where's Toke?" she asked, not sure who she was supposed to sit next to now. 

    "Somewhere not as cool as here," said Snotlout with a mouth full of chicken. He smirked and patted the spot next to him. "But it's okay, Freya, I saved you a seat."

    At the way Freya turned up her nose, Ruffnut snorted a laugh. "I think she'd rather throw herself off the side of the catapult, Snotlout."

    "Yeah, besides," added Tuffnut, snickering and nudging his twin sister. "Little Freya has a spot next to her boyfriend, the Useless."

    She flushed at the cheeks and clenched her hands, glowering at Tuffnut and wishing she could just throw herself off the side of the catapult. Hiccup wasn't paying any attention▬too busy watching his small fish turn around the fire, off in his own world. Fishlegs noticed and kicked his shin lightly, making the Chief's son jolt. "Huh?" seeing Freya, he blinked. He had no idea what was going on. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, sure," he mumbled, not exactly sure what he was answering to before going back to staring off into the distance.

    The Twins and Snotlout sniggered. Astrid scoffed and rolled her eyes while Gobber pointed his hook at the lot of them. "Now, now, leave Freya and Hiccup be!"

    Freya shot her gaze to the heavens and the stars▬Gobber's words weren't helping her situation. 

    She wished Toke was here. That way, she'd have the perfect excuse not to sit beside Hiccup, but now she was expected to. With a sigh, she trudged over to the other end of the circle and awkwardly took a seat next to him. Freya tried to keep as large a gap between the two of them as she could, ignoring the soft chuckles the Twins made at her expense. 

    Freya frowned down back towards the village in the direction of Toke's house, wondering where he was and what he was doing. She pursed her lips and took the chicken leg Fishlegs offered her with a small, "Thanks."

    She glanced subtly next to her at Hiccup only to see that he was already watching her. The Chief's son quickly looked away and Freya blushed, darting her gaze down at her chicken. 

    She swung her feet slightly▬the soles of her fur boots only just brushing against the wood of the platform. Freya took a bite from her chicken leg. She felt a pair of eyes on her and looked up, meeting the intense blue stare across the fire. Astrid pursed her lips and simply reached over to pick her chicken out of the flames, pretending as if she hadn't been staring Freya down the entire time. 

    Freya silently ate away at her dinner as Gobber decided to once again tell them the story of how he lost his hand and foot. She barely listened, mulling over the conversation she had with her mother and Toke's whereabouts. 

    "And with one twist," Gobber was saying, "he took my hand and swallowed it whole!" he shook his full chicken he stuck on his hook menacingly at them. Most of the teens were rapt with attention. Fishlegs was on the edge of his seat. Freya glanced at Hiccup again who simply stared at his fish that was slowly overcooking. 

    "I saw the look on his face," continued the blacksmith. "I was delicious. He must have passed the word, because it wasn't a month before another one of them took my leg▬" he showed them all his wooden stump and Fishlegs gasped. 

    "Wow..." he let out, absolutely mesmerised by Gobber's tale. Astrid rolled her eyes. "Isn't it weird to think your hand was inside a dragon?" Fishlegs then mused wistfully, waving his two chicken legs around. "Like if your mind was still in control of it?" Astrid had to lean back to avoid getting pieces of chicken in her face. She scowled. "You could have killed the dragon from inside by crushing its heart or something!" 

    There was an incredulous silence around the fire. Ruffnut and Tuffnut shared dubious looks of judgement. 

    Meanwhile, Snotlout gripped the legs of his chicken like it had done something personal to him. "I swear, I'm so angry!" he cried with his mouth full. "I'll▬I'll avenge your beautiful hand and your beautiful foot," he told Gobber before taking another mighty bite out of his dinner. After he swallowed, he declared: "I'll chop off the legs of every dragon I fight▬" he pointed at himself, "▬with my face!"

    But Gobber shook his head. "No, no, it's the wings and tails you really want▬" he tore of the wing of his large roasted chicken and held it out to them pointedly. "If it can't fly, it can't get away. A downed dragon is a dead dragon."

    The teens all murmured, taking in this advice and grinning at each other. Freya frowned to herself, considering it to heart. She stared at her chicken leg. If she knew where to aim her blow if she fought a dragon, maybe she didn't have to worry about strength and brawn. She didn't have to whack her axe across its face like Astrid or attempt to throw her bludgeon like Snotlout. Freya could easily sneak up into a dragon's blindspot, distract them and bring her axe down onto its tail ... that was how she was going to kill the Monstrous Nightmare. 

    Gobber suddenly yawned and stretched his arms. "All right. I'm off to bed▬" he gestured his chicken at the teens as he stood up. "You should be, too. Tomorrow we get to the big boys," Fishlegs and the Twins let out eager gasps, "slowly but surely making our way up to the Monstrous Nightmare. But who'll win the honour of killing it?"

    Freya couldn't help but join in with their eager determination. She might have faltered in today's training, but there was tomorrow. And tomorrow, she was going to do better▬she knew it. She glanced at Hiccup again, curious to see his reaction, only to blink in surprise.

    The seat beside her was empty. She frowned, glancing around her to see where he had gone, but it was as if he had vanished. Freya stood up amongst the chatter▬and no one paid her any mind as she shuffled down the steps of the catapult to try and see where the Chief's son had gone.

    "It's gonna be me," she heard Tuffnut say behind her, though she paid little mind. "It's my destiny. See?"

    Fishlegs gasped. "Your mum let you get a tattoo?"

    "It's not a tattoo, it's a birthmark."

    "Okay, I've been stuck with you since birth, and that was never there before."

    "Yes it was! You've just never seen me from the left side until now."

    Freya ducked around the side of the catapult at the many little thuds against wood and caught sight of the blur of Hiccup's fur jacket disappearing at the base of the catapult, heading towards the bridge back to the village. 

    Some curious part of her wanted to follow him▬to figure out where he was going and what was so important that he had to run off so suddenly and so secretly.

    But Freya didn't. 

    She simply pursed her lips and climbed back up the stairs to sit back down by the fire, surrounded by discussion and laughter that she never truly felt like she was a part of. Alone, even when surrounded by others. 

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

THE TIMBERJACK▬This Sharp Class beast is truly a unique creature of its kind. One of the largest of the dragon species on Berk and surrounds (That is, of course, aside from the the Great Legendary Dragons like the mythical Foreverwing), this fierce monster can spread its wings to over three hundred feet, stands eleven feet tall and from head to tail, extends a mighty one-hundred-and-one feet and six inches. The Timberjack has razor-sharp wings that can slice through full grown trees.
Extremely dangerous.
Kill on sight.
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STATISTICS
colours: woody-brown with a lighter brown underbelly
armed with: razor-sharp wings, extremely flammable oil-based fire
attack: .........10
speed: .........12

armour: ........8
firepower: ........10
shot limit: .........8
venom: ........0
jaw strength: ........3
stealth: ........13

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   ONE WAY, or perhaps the best way, to describe a Hideous Zippleback was: Two heads, double the trouble. 

    Gobber wasn't lying when he promised their next few days would be focused on the bigger dragons▬and the Hideous Zippleback was certainly big. It was a sly, mischievous creature with a habit for stealing fish and sheep right out of storehouses before blowing them to splinters. The ambitious Viking teens had been placed into pairs before being sent off to their own devices within an arena shrouded in smoke and green Zippleback gas that stank worse than old yak milk. 

    "Today is about teamwork," Gobber's voice echoed somewhere from Freya's right. She hitched her breath when she heard a guttural growl in the opposite direction, stumbling as she spun around in her fur boots. She clutched her bucket of water to her chest, her axe sheathed in the straps on her back. Today, she had tried to be extra dragon prepared with a set of fur-adorned pauldrons she took from her mother's chest (that were slightly too big on her), and leather wrist braces instead of furs on her arms. 

    Toke's shoulders pressed back against hers, looking just as frightful in the maze of smoke and shadows. His knees quivered a little, even though he stood more taller and more mighty than the rest of them. 

    "Now," continued Gobber, his voice echoing like distant wind, "a wet dragon head can't light its fire. The Hideous Zippleback is extra tricky. One head breathes gas, the other head lights it. Your job is to know which is which."

    Freya could barely see where the others were▬and if the shadows that flickered through the smoke were her friends or the two dragon heads. She glanced up anxiously at Toke behind her and frowned. She knew it wasn't the time, but her curious nature filtered through, and she couldn't help but ask, "Where were you last night?"

    Toke jolted out of his hitched breath of fear. "W▬What?"

    "Last night," they shuffled around in a circle, trying to see through the grey-greenish fog. "You weren't at dinner."

    Her best friend stammered, unable to think of an explanation and focus on the whereabouts of this dragon at the same time. Multitasking was never Toke's best skill. "I▬uh▬I mean▬well▬" he jumped when there was a growl to their right and both teens gasped, swivelling on their feet in that direction. "I was with Gothi," said Toke quickly. "Brought her some dinner, decided to stay. It's▬uh▬it's a long trek down all those stairs, you know," he chuckled nervously. 

    Together, they shuffled sideways away from the growls▬they passed two hunched figures in the smoke, and a whimpering voice belonging to Fishlegs: "Razor-sharp serrated teeth that inject venom for pre-digestion. Prefers ambush attack, crushing its victims▬"

    The smaller shadow of Hiccup swamped by Fishleg's wide, broad shoulders darted around and snapped a harsh, "Would you please stop that?!"

    Freya took a few deep breaths, trying to be brave. But it was hard to be brave when a Viking couldn't see where they were, or where their attacker might be. But she was determined. She would not let the Hideous Zippleback step out on top▬she will find a way to win this round. 

    "You were with Gothi?" she whispered under her breath to Toke as they stood back-to-back. Even though his explanation might make sense, Freya didn't found it very convincing. 

    She remembered how frozen up he had been in the maze against the Deadly Nadder. He looked very similar now▬and being swamped in noxious gas and trapped like an animal in the corner of a cage, he seemed ready to dart and run away at the slightest shadow or growl in the smoke. 

    Freya had never seen her best friend like this before. Toke was always the bravest Viking she knew other than Astrid. He helped her train, and taught her how to swing an axe for the first time. He always believed in her from the start, and always pushed her to achieve her dreams. When everyone else tried to lock her away and keep her swaddled in furs, protected, Toke was there urging her to fight her very first dragon, and kill it▬so the rest of the village would be able to see her as something more than the useless runt she was now.

    How could that Toke, and this Toke she saw now, be the same person?

    She narrowed her eyes up at him, forgetting about the Zippleback for a second. "I don't believe you," she decided. "Where were you?"

    Toke never used to keep secrets from her, either. 

    Her best friend was distracted from the dragon, too, for a moment when he loked down to meet her gaze▬and she saw his brows furrow, and his eyes split with a torn expression; shattered like glass, unable to decide whether it was better to tell her, or to simply leave her wondering. 

    Toke had been like a role model to Freya for so long▬her ideal Viking hero. How would she react to learn that he was the complete opposite? Could Toke handle the disappointment on her face once she found out?

    There was a rather loud growl behind them. Both Freya and Toke gasped and hunched up again, clutching their buckets tightly in their arms. They turned around and quickly shuffled away. 

    They bumped into a pair of bodies and Freya almost let out a not-so-Viking like squeal. Freya slumped when she realised it was Astrid and Ruffnut. 

    Astrid herself let out a startled squeak, stumbling and almost dropping her bucket. She flushed pink at the cheeks and scrambled to regain her composure, thankful no one noticed. Even she was on edge and▬only a little▬scared of the Hideous Zippleback unknown whereabouts.

    "Hey!" let out Ruff, annoyed as she only just saved her water from spilling. "Watch where you're going, losers."

    "Watch where you're going," mumbled Toke, a little offended. 

    Freya then was on high alert. "Wait, I think I hear something▬" she frowned and all four teens went silent, hitching their breaths and gripping their buckets tightly as they tried to hear what Freya meant.

    A few paces away, Snotlout and Tuffnut were shrouded from view. Snotlout Jorgenson prided himself on his courage, but even he couldn't hide the slight whimper and tremble of his bottom lip. Tuffnut was enjoying this so much, grinning and jeering▬he hoped the dragon would attack them! Snotlout was close to dunking his bucket of water on his head.

    Disguising his cowardly fear with a puff of his chest and an angry grit of his teeth, he announced to Tuffnut: "If that dragon shows either of its faces, I'm gonna▬" he caught sight of a pair of horns through the smoke and pointed. "There!"

    He and Tuffnut chucked their buckets of water at the figures.

    Instead of dragon growls, were the exclaims of a group of very annoyed teens. Toke spluttered when water hit his face. Ruffnut got an entire face of it, her blonde braids drenched. Astrid held up her bucket to shield herself while Freya squealed, not able to react in time. Tuffnut's water arched over and splashed her head to toe. 

    "Hey!" grumbled Ruffnut as the smoke dispersed around them. "It's us, idiots!"

    "Oh," let out Toke when he realised who the sounds they heard belonged to. "It's just you guys."

    Snotlout hunched up at the murderous look on Astrid's face. Tuffnut shrugged. "Oh," he didn't care whatsoever. He gestured at his sister and Freya. "Your butts are getting bigger. We thought you were a dragon," he snickered.

    Snotlout quickly tried to save both their asses from the girls' furious stares. He held out his hands towards Freya. "N▬Not that there's anything wrong with a dragonesque figure▬OW!"

    Before Freya could have a go at Snotlout, Astrid was already there, punching him right across the face. He yelped as he collapsed onto the ground. Tuffnut pointed and laughed at him. Until Ruffnut's bucket hit his nose. Water splashed everywhere. "AGH▬!" he cried out and hit the ground. 

    Then, out of the smoke, something snagged the back of Tuffnut's tunic and dragged him into the thick of it. All they could hear was his startled cry. Ruffnut's laughter hitched in the back of her throat. 

    She launched herself forward, ready to go after her Twin who's shouts startled them all on high alert, but Freya pulled her back. "Wait!" she gasped softly, stepping in front of the group of them and gripping her bucket once more. She heard gurgled growls and hisses amongst Tuffnut's strangled yells. 

    Astrid was at her side in seconds, brows furrowed and eyes narrowed with determination. Freya glanced at her and gritted her teeth. She couldn't let Astrid win this. If Astrid won this round against the Hideous Zippleback, Freya will never be able to regain her footing in Dragon Training. She wasn't usually violent▬in fact, random acts of violence wasn't particularly a phrase others nor Freya used to describe her, unlike many other Vikings of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe. But if there was one thing Freya shared with the rest of the tribe, and most especially these Viking teens, was her very competitive streak.

    And so, she jutted her hip out and shoved Astrid out of the way. Usually, it wouldn't work, but the shock factor of her actions was enough to make the Hofferson stumble, spinning around with her eyes wide in surprise at Freya. It soon turned into anger. "Hey! What is wrong with you▬?"

    Suddenly, out of the blue, a long green tail swept out from the smoke and struck their ankles. Astrid and Freya cried out in alarm. Their buckets went flying and soon Freya was groaning in a mess of limbs and Astrid's elbows. The second swipe of the Zippleback tail struck Toke and Ruffnut at their ankles, and they, too, were swept right off there feet, landing painfully on the stone ground. 

    Toke tried to get back up, but then came Tuffnut. He screamed as he ran for his life out of the smoke, crashing back into Toke and stumbling over him for the exit. "OH! I AM HURT! I AM VERY MUCH HURT!"

    Toke coughed and groaned, winded after Tuffnut accidentally kicked him in the stomach. "Why me...?" he wheezed a whine to the gods as he curled up, very much in pain. 

    The only two left standing were▬to everyone's surprise▬Fishlegs and Hiccup. They both watched the scuffle and scramble in the centre of the arena from the sidelines. Hiccup arched a very incredulous brow after Tuffnut's fleeing figure.

    Fishlegs whimpered. He held his bucket with trembling hands, making the water ripple. "Chances of survival are dwindling into single digits now..."

    There were a series of low, guttural gurgles in the smoke. Freya hitched her breath and froze. Her and Astrid stared into the green haze as a head slowly slithered out into view. Attached to a long, winding neck, the Hideous Zippleback had a rather small head in comparison to other dragon species, and bright yellow eyes that way too big. Its jaw was wide, filled with razor-sharp teeth and a narrow horn at the tip of its snout. 

    Astrid gasped and shuffled backward, pulling Freya with her. Both Vikings managed to scramble to their feet and while Astrid ran for Toke to pull him up, Freya found Snotlout's bucket still with some water left over inside it and snatched it into her arms. 

    She ran to the side away from the head and▬once again▬collided her nose with Hiccup's. There was a smack and some winces from the teens at the sidelines. Freya cried out, clutching her nose with her hand. Hiccup stumbled, and when he realised, he hunched up. "Ah▬oh, no▬Gods, ouch ... sorry ... Freya ..."

    Freya furiously blinked tears out of her eyes. Her nose burned with pain and she wanted to smack her bucket at Hiccup with an uncharacteristic amount of aggression when Fishlegs' squeal made both of them jump. 

    The Zippleback head had followed her, and Fishlegs was a whimpering, quivering mess at the sight of it. "Oh, no! Oh, no!" he squealed and shuffled away from its narrowed, yellow eyes. It swept its head sideways, catching him before he could run off to the right and then again to the left▬trapping him in and giving him no choice but to clench his eyes shut and throw his bucket of water.

    Freya and Hiccup hitched their breaths, waiting.

    The Zippleback threw its head, annoyed at the sudden splash of water. It coughed out a breath of noxious green gas. Fishlegs slumped. "Oh," he let out▬far too nonchalant for the situation. "Heh ... wrong head."

    The head reared back and bared its teeth. With a vicious growl, a column of gas shot out of its maw, and Fishlegs screamed, dropping his bucket and running away with his arms in the air. "FISHLEGS!" shouted Gobber in alarm. 

    Freya gasped when the head's glowing yellow eye fixed onto her. It recognised her, and she hitched her breath, watching as it slithered towards her. Out of the smoke, its brother head joined him. Both dragon heads reared back as Freya's feet were surrounded in green smoke. The right head growled, and from its tongue, sparks flew. 

    "NOW, FREYA!" she heard Gobber somewhere behind her.

    She gasped and jolted into action. Hiding her face, she threw up her water to the right head and held it there. A few seconds later, she felt water splash back down onto her face, and she opened her eyes. 

    Confused, she glanced at her empty bucket and then back at the Hideous Zippleback. 

    Freya realised what had happened. She missed. Her throw was too short▬she was too short. (Just her luck).

    "Oh," she mumbled as the heads bent their necks to leer down at her, curious. Freya chuckled nervously, shuffling back when they sniffed at her. "Uh, h▬hey dragons ..."

    The right head seemed to snicker at her▬and it reminded her so much of the sound the Deadly Nadder made in yesterday's training that Freya was momentarily struck with surprise▬so much so she made no move to run away.

    Until the beast growled and snarled. It inched forwards, and Freya gasped. She dropped her bucket and fell back. The Hideous Zippleback roared and flared its wings, vicious and ready to attack. Freya's heart pounded as she frantically tried to scramble away▬but there was no escape. "FREYA!" she heard her friends and Gobber shout.

    It could have sparked her then. Freya could have been erupted in flames and smoke with just one more snarl▬and that would be it, she'd be dead. The Zippleback could drag her closer with its talons, maul her with its sharp teeth. She was ripe for its taking, and Freya covered her head in her hands, preparing herself for the worst.

    But it never came. 

    In seeing her cower, the beast stopped. Freya's breath hitched and she slowly glanced up over her shoulder, eyes wide at the way the Zippleback reared back and tilted its heads▬as if confused as to why she wasn't fighting back. 

    It could finish her off right now if it wanted to. It had every chance this whole time it was let loose in this arena▬but for some reason, it chose not to. Was it toying with her? Playing with its food before it chose to eat it? Was that all she was to this beast? Why did Freya feel like there was something else▬though she didn't know what it might be. But she had a feeling▬the same feeling she felt when she stared at that Nadder and saw something else than some vicious beast, but a pair of curious, inquisitive eyes ... a glint of intelligence and mischief. 

    The moment was broken when the next time Freya blinked, suddenly, someone was standing in front of her. 

    "HICCUP!" cried Gobber. He rushed forward, stumbling a little on his wooden peg, but skidded to a stop. His mouth fell agape and he couldn't help but stare in stunned silence as Hiccup threw out his arms to the Zippleback▬and to everyone's shock, the dragon reared back.

    Freya's breath was caught in the back of her throat. She was unable to look away as Hiccup shouted, "Back!" and the Hideous Zippleback skittered back on its hind legs▬screeching as if it had been burned. Hiccup took a few brave steps forward, gesturing his arms like he was warding off birds from his food. "Back!"

    The Hideous Zippleback threw its heads and shrieked with terror, the dark slit of its eyes narrowing. It continued to scramble away from Hiccup▬even though he barely stood half its height, it seemed absolutely terrified of him. 

     Freya slowly pushed herself to sit up. Something in her chest fluttered▬a warm sensation of awe and amazement as Hiccup faced the mighty dragon and forced it back into its cage with no shield on his arm and no weapon drawn. The other teens came to stand behind her, staring with mouths agape and their eyes wide▬unable to believe what they were seeing.  

    "Now, don't make me tell you again!" Hiccup waggled a scolding finger as the Zippleback cowered into the corner of its cage. "Yes, that's right! Back into your cage. Now ... think about what you've done."

    Freya Balderofferson's brows knitted together, catching glimpse of something long and slimy in Hiccup's hand for no more than a mere second before he threw it into the cage, and the dragon screeched▬it flung itself back as flat as it could against the cage wall, and Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, a teenage boy many often nicknamed 'The Useless' behind his back tugged the lever and slammed the cage door closed with not even a scratch on him. 

    With a huff, the fishbone son of Stoick the Vast dusted off his hands and nodded to himself. He propped his hands on his hips and turned around. He froze to see all of their gobsmacked faces.

    Astrid dropped her axe. She didn't pick it up this time. 

    Hiccup chuckled anxiously. He wiped his hands on his fur vest. "O▬Okay! So, are▬are we done? 'Cause I've got some things I need to, uh ..." he broke off into a run out of the arena. "Yep, I'll see you tomorrow!"

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    a/n: we're returning with all of our httyd fics at this stage. only two left to update hehe. i did say i'd have a toke design last chapter (a year ago ... i'm sorry guys), i'm still working on a new one, and i'll do a new freya one that's updated etc. i'm half finished with toke's.

    i hope whoever is still reading this enjoyed this chapter, i promise you won't have to wait so long until the next chapter <3. sorry if it's a bit meh.

    still figuring out how much of the tv series i wanna do with freya. ideally i'd want to do it all, including the comics, but i only have like one of the comics and the riders of berk/defenders of berk episodes are hard to locate. i'll also theoretically have like at least 3 maybe 4 rtte stories with oc's, which is a lot especially for like at least 3+ seasons of writing, so we'll see. 

   ily all and thanks so much for being patient with this story <3

   (minimal editing)