"Look out!"

A blinding flash lit up the arena. Hiccup dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the deadly nadder's spines. The shield almost fell from his sweaty palms as he cowered behind it.

"Hiccup! Yer supposed to attack the dragon, not avoid it! Follow Astrid's lead and get in there!" Gobbler yelled from the side.

Hiccup nodded, grimacing. The deadly nadder was focused on Fishlegs, with Astrid sneaking up behind it. Taking careful steps, he shuffled forwards. The nadder fired, hitting Fishlegs and setting him alight. Screaming, he sprinted for the water trough.

"Out! In the real games, the dragon would finish you off," Gobber stated, clearly disappointed.

Astrid charged, whacking her axe against the nadder's flank. It screeched, shooting spines. She rolled out the way, hiding in its blind spot. Spotting his chance, Hiccup crept closer, raising his shield above his head. Just a little closer-

"Ack!" Hiccup tripped, the shield clanging against the ground. The nadder spun, biting forwards. It prepared a blast and Hiccup panicked.

The nadder yelped, firing to the side. Astrid had lunged and hit the dragon on the head. Squawking, it backed away.

Hiccup tried to catch his breath, rubbing at his grazed palms. That was way too close.

Gobber had a grim expression on his face. "Hiccup, had Astrid not used you as a distraction, you probably wouldn't have made it. You have to stay alert."

Nodding, Hiccup lowered his head slightly. He was awful at this.

"As the Dragon Games are tomorrow, we'll have on final round. Everyone! Back into the training arena. We're releasing two dragons this time."

Snotlout cheered as the twins high fived, all having been bored from the 'easy' rounds. Not that Hiccup found them easy. In fact, he was quite certain he was going to die.

"Um Gobber," he muttered, shuffling towards him, "maybe this isn't a good idea."

"Nonsense!" Gobber bellowed, leaning over the metal fence. "Get back in there and remember what I taught you."

Hiccup sighed, picked up a shield and joining the other trainees. Fishlegs was the only other who looked vaguely nervous, mumbling about how the chances of survival were lower with each combination of dragons.

Gobber placed his hand on the leaver, about to open the dragon cages. "Remember, coordination is key. If these snarky lizards can work together then so can you!"

"Pff yeah right," Snotlout said, gesturing with his axe, "Hiccup here can hardly coordinate himself!"

Scowling, Gobber pulled down the leaver. The metal gears creaked.

I wonder how everyone would react if I managed to die before the Dragon Games even began.

Tightening his grip on the shield, Hiccup bit his lip.

The gates slammed open. A zippleback darted out as a changewing crept around the edges.

Hiccup gasped.

"Are you trying to kill us?!" Tuffnut yelled, rolling out of the way.

Gobber merely rolled his eyes.

Acid landed just beside Hiccup and he sprung into action. He ran to the edge of the arena, heart racing. He strained his eyes to spot the silver outline of the changewing.

Opposite him, the twins and Fishlegs were dodging the zippleback's attacks. Snotlout was blindly swinging his axe where the changewing had last spat acid.

Suddenly, the changewing appeared in front of Hiccup. He raised his shield and ran. Boiling acid ate away at his shield, leaving only the handle.

Hiccup threw it to the side. The changewing snarled and he dove to the side. It fired and he ducked, running forwards. It screeched, backing up and firing downwards. He sprinted to the side, the acid landing on his helmet.

"Hiccup! Lure it over!" Astrid yelled. He turned for her, sprinting. The changewing climbed along the wall and followed, blasting at his feet.

Yelling, Astrid swung her axe and hit the changewing's nozzle. It roared in agony, firing randomly before retreating.

"Argh!" Tuffnut shouted. "I am hurt, I am very much hurt!"

Snotlout charged for the zippleback, throwing his axe and hitting the dragon's flank. Furious, it snarled at him, purcjing forwards.

Astrid darted towards it, grabbing the remains of Hiccup's shield. She threw it at the dragon, hitting one head.

Flaring its wings, the zippleback scratched at her. Astrid rolled out of the way, barreling into Fishlegs and Ruffnut.

Snotlout charged again but missed the dragon.

Growling, it scanned the arena. Both heads focused on Hiccup.

Gulping, Hiccup searched for a shield, a weapon, anything. When he found nothing, he pressed his back against the walls of the arena.

The zippleback snarled, stalking forwards. Its claws scraped against the stone. Hiccup's eyes widened and he walked along the edge of the arena.

No sudden movements.

No sudden movements.

No sudden-

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs yelled.

The zippleback dove, landing where Hiccup just was. Screaming, he bolted around the arena.

The dragon screeched and hit the ground. Shocked, Hiccup glanced back. Astrid was standing over it, the curved edge of the axe trapping one head down.

The other trainees cheered, but Hiccup focused on catching his breath.

After forcing the dragons back in their pens, Gobbler applauded. "Good job Astrid! Flawless execution.  Hiccup, not so much. You need to always carry a weapon or shield. That was lesson one."

Biting his lip, Hiccup pushed down his jealousy. Logically, he knew that Astrid was a million times better at this then him. She'd trained since birth, always preparing for the Dragon Games. After all, no Hofferson had ever lost.

A familiar, unimpressed voice spoke to Gobber and Hiccup's heart sank. His father, Stoick the Vast, glanced at him, then sighed.

No Haddock had ever lost either.

Gulping, Hiccup quietly put shield away and left the training arena. The disappointed voices slowly fell out of earshot. Kicking at pebbles on the path, he let out some of his frustration.

The whole Dragon Games are stupid. It only tests physical strength and endurance anyway. No-one deserves to die like this! In some stupid challenge Alvin runs!

By now, it was mid afternoon and the sun was scorching down on him. Hiccup weakly raised a hand up against the sun, squinting. As he walked, he grew more tired, his frustration no longer driving him. After a short while, he reached the cliffs overlooking the coast and collapsed on the edge. He swung his legs over, watching the waves crash and tumble.

Glimmering amongst the waves, the sun's reflection stood out to him. Despite the uneven surface of the water, it was easy to focus on the shimmering sunlight as it contrasted against the deep blue sea. Hiccup breathed slowly, focusing on the beauty of Berk and the character of the island rather than his failure in training today.

Relaxing slightly, Hiccup shut his eyes. A cool breeze ruffled his hair and the smell of salt filled his nostrils. At times like these, Berk was eerily calm.

After all, the crazy Vikings were a mile away. So was all their noise.

With a contented hum, Hiccup laid down on the soft grass. He kept his eyes open as to not fall asleep, watching the clouds drift by.

That one looks like an axe, he mused. That one looks like Snotlout, ugly as ever. That one looks like a terrible terror.

Hiccup sat up, looking closer.

That one is a terrible terror.

Startled, Hiccup jolted up from the edge. The small dragon screeched as it shot downwards, straight towards Hiccup.

Hiccup raised his arms to defend himself. When no impact came, he glanced up. The dragon hovered just above him.

"Um... hi?" he tried, fidgeting nervously. Sure, it was only a small dragon, but he was still unarmed and it could still breathe fire!

The purple terrible terror's beady eyes focused on Hiccup.

He swallowed. "I don't have anything you'd want. So don't look at me like that!"

Undeterred, the dragon crept towards him, sniffing at the air. Hiccup stiffened. The terrible terror seemed to grumble, or the dragon equivalent, before it launched onto him.

"Hey! What are you-"

Hiccup stumbled as the dragon clambered all over him. It sniffed at his hide, paused for a moment before it jumped off. With a disappointed breath of smoke, it took off.

Hiccup tried to calm his heart. "The dragon... didn't attack? It only wanted food?"

Eyes narrowing, Hiccup glanced at the suspicious smoke trail above the village.

Maybe... maybe they're just hungry?

A plan began to form in his mind.

Maybe... maybe there's a chance he'll survive this.

***

Hello wonderful people! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed! I plan on updating daily, at least for the start.

I also wanted to say that if you find any spelling or grammar errors, please let me know! I'd love to know your thoughts or speculations too. 💛

What's Hiccup's plan?

What will happen when the Dragon Games start?

Next chapter soon!! 💕