━━ chapter two
lesson one: shield

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━━There are a lot of misconceptions when it came to who Valkyrie the Vicious was. Those who knew her didn't really know her. Those who didn't know her didn't know anything about her except the name the twins gave her and it sort of ... well .. caught on around the village. Valkyrie the Vicious. The daughter of Mallory the Dragonbone. She was born to be a warrior; she was named after the warriors of Valhalla. Success was in her blood. Dragon killing was in her blood. Leadership was in her blood. But what was also in Valkyrie's blood? A love for flowers.

Now, it wasn't as if she hid the fact she liked flowers. No, not at all. One could casually walk through Berk and see Valkyrie sitting by herself with her mallet to the side and drawing a flower she saw hanging from one of the trees. The thing was, however, was that while she didn't hide it, and was proud of her mother's influence, Vikings preferred Vikings and the mystery Valkyrie held no matter what. A Viking was stubborn, they all had their stubbornness issues, which came with narrow mindedness and a love for the traditional Viking way; which also meant, they saw only what they wished to see. Snotlout saw that Astrid loved him, even though it was the complete opposite. Ruffnut and Tuffnut saw only destruction and that love for destruction, which wasn't too bad unless it was your house they were throwing fire rocks at. And Valkyrie wouldn't lie, she too was victim to this way of life━way of mind. All though, it might take her just a little while longer to figure it out for herself.

Fingers calloused and rough from holding a weapon for most of her days, were gentle in handling the petals of a beautiful purple flower before picking it away and adding it to her collection in her basket.

She had come to the woods, just by the edge where she knew where some of her favourite flowers grew to escape her home. Having four younger brothers, a loud father and a mother constantly rushing after her brothers was enough as it was. But when knowing her father would be away for a week at the very least with many of the other warriors in search for the Dragon's Nest ... again ... Usually, Valkyrie wouldn't be worried, but everyone knew those boats rarely ever come back. As a Viking, she shouldn't worry. No, she shouldn't be scared. Her father told her that even if she was, she shouldn't show it, because that showed your enemy you were weak. People can sniff out fear just as much as dragons could━and that was why she came out here to hide away, to sniff and pick at her favourite flowers and tell herself that her father will make it out okay; he always does.

Valkyrie wouldn't admit it, but she spent this day after the dragon raid in search of the Night Fury Hiccup so-called shot down near Raven Point. She didn't believe him, of course, because Hiccup the Horrendous could never shoot down a Night Fury. He couldn't even hold that contraption of his straight let alone aim it with enough accuracy to send down a dragon no one has seen because it was so fast. But, still, she spent most of her morning to early afternoon in search of this stupid dragon to kill it. Because if she killed a Night Fury, she will be the best Viking warrior of Berk, and no one will question that title. It was what she wanted more than anything: to live up to the name her parents gave her.

But her mood only got worse because she didn't find it, and realised that Hiccup must have done what he always did━lied. She cursed herself for not trusting her instincts and for a second thinking that what if he didn't lie ... it was a weakness on her part, obviously. Because now she didn't get to kill a Night Fury, so ...

Picking up her mallet and basket, Valkyrie stepped further around the left flank of the forest, finding some nice dark wood leaves to go amongst her many flowers. Her mother knew of a very good way of preserving them; drying them up so Valkyrie could attach them to some long string and wrap it around the handle of her mallet. She planned on doing that for tomorrow for her first day of Dragon Training. Tuffnut was sure to make fun of her, even though they all knew just because she had flowers on her weapon didn't mean she didn't know how to use it.

As she walked, she played with the tip of one of the Monstrous Nightmare teeth on the end of her mallet, and prayed to any god who would listen to keep her father safe. She allowed herself━alone in this forest━to feel her emotion, and to let it flow out before masking it again like any good Viking when she returned.

Perhaps that added to her aura of mystery, and to be honest, Valkyrie personally liked it that way. Being mysterious was good. It gave her power, an advantage, a fear-factor. It made her noticeable above those who tried to showcase their power. She hoped it would give her a stand above in Dragon Training to reach the final fight ... it might be one of the few things she hoped would work against Astrid.

Before Valkyrie returned, she found some small flowers that she sat down with and weaved into the coils and beads of her hair. Winter was getting closer, and some of her favourite flowers bloomed in winter. Ruffnut said it was because they matched her cold personality. Valkyrie objectified to herself, in the woods, that that was why they worked well with her warm hair, a nice contrast. (She liked contrasts if that wasn't already obvious).

Heading back, Valkyrie stopped at the cliff-walk━at the parts Hiccup hadn't destroyed━to gaze out at the horizon and to the water, where the ships slowly sailed away, towards the mystery fog, and towards danger. Valkyrie wondered whether the reason why they never found the Dragon's Nest was because it was at the end of the world, and no one ever seemed to reach the end of the world before dropping right off the edge of it.

Once again, Valkyrie prayed to whoever was listening, before continuing the trek back home. Or maybe to the fish docks━she always liked to check in hopes of seeing Astrid push Snotlout off ... it was usually a weekly occurrence. (Like she said, only see what they want to see).

In passing, one of the fishermen's daughters watched Valkyrie with wide, fearful eyes. She arched a brow at her, and fought the amused smirk as the girl quickly hid away behind the fish crates. Valkyrie chuckled to herself, and without a word, or a smile, or anything, she picked up a flower and settled it next to the girl as a present before continuing on her way. She told you, there were a lot of misconceptions about Valkyrie, and she never hid any one of them, people just didn't choose to get to know her past Valkyrie the Vicious, and she was fine with that.

She liked the mystery it brought.

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━━"Welcome to Dragon Training!"

Valkyrie's mallet hung at her side, decorated with the flowers she picked yesterday. Not many understood the meaning of the flowers she picked, but she did, and that was what mattered to her. She took some of her mother's medical flowers: Allium, and wrapped the stalk around the base of her mallet for the flower itself was far too big. It would bring her good fortune, her mother would always tell her, as it is a healing flower━it cleans wounds, and so it shall clean the way for Valkyrie to result in good fortune. Next were some tied in strands of basil, a simple statement towards her success. And finally, she added wings of ferns: confidence, magic ... her first day will be victory, she was sure of it.

The Dragon Training arena hasn't changed much over the generations. It's foundations were made of stone, and were built to last all those generations; generations of fighting, dragon killing━some of the best warriors in Berk myth. Valkyrie was determined to be the next. It was a large circular pit, looking up at the sky above and surrounded by wooden catwalks for observors. It was situated on the outskirts of the village, near the fishing district. Accessable to all, but away from the community incase of break outs ... they've happened before.

At the far end of the round arena, were six gates━made of metal, and bolted with brutal strength. They were made to keep the dragons locked away, but Valkyrie could hear them━their footsteps, the sounds of their growls at the commotion outside. Valkyrie took a deep breath. Show no fear, her father reminded her in the back of her head.

Following Gobber the Belch inside, Valkyrie gave her mallet a swing to test her wrist; see whether she had warmed it up enough. Beside her, Astrid muttered, "No turning back."

Tuffnut sniffed and wiped some dirt from his nose. "I hope I get some serious burns," he said, and his sister scoffed.

"I'm hoping for some mauling," she one-upped him, and Valkyrie met Astrid's annoyed glance, "like on my shoulder or lower back."

"Yeah," murmured Valkyrie, tightening one of the stems around her handle with an air of carelessness and mystery (of course), "it's only fun if you get a scar out of it."

From the back, a voice piped up━one no one expected. It made them jump and glance back, and Valkyrie stared, shocked for a moment at Hiccup the Horrendous, who lugged his battle axe into the arena. "Yeah, no kidding, right?" he mumbled. "Pain. Love it."

Her shock turned to annoyance, and Valkyrie quickly scowled at him. Great, she thought. The one Viking who doesn't take any of this seriously. Hiccup was a name given to the runt of the litter, and he was exactly that. Small, scrawny, with no muscle, no trace of anything to say he was the cheif's son except his last name. Valkyrie swapped hands with her mallet, still glaring when his gaze flickered over to her and quickly looked away. He won't last a day, she reminded herself. Don't worry about him.

"Oh, great," let out Tuffnut. "Who let him in?"

"The rats?" muttered Astrid to Vakyrie, and she gave her a slight shove with the end of her mallet handle to tell her, no, don't make me laugh. I am a strong Viking today.

With everyone here, Gobber took a deep breath and announced, "Let's get started!" he hobbled up to them, and everyone migrated into a single line in front of him, listening. Valkyrie and Astrid were perhaps the most eager, hanging onto every word he said. "The recruit who does best will win the honour of killing their first dragon."

Snotlout chucked up his mace and caught it with a slight stumble in his best to impress Astrid. She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Hiccup already killed a Night Fury, so," he said, "does that disqualify him, or...?" Ruffnut and Tuffnut snickered.

"Can I transfer to the class with the cool Vikings?" then said Tuffnut, and Valkyrie's eyes shot up to the sky, wondering why she decided to hang out with these delinquints. Out of the corner of her gaze, she saw Hiccup mock Tuffnut to himself.

"Behind these doors," continued Gobber, gesturing to the iron-bolted gates, "are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight!" he pointed to the first, "The Deadly Nadder!"

Along the line, Fishlegs muttered under his breath, "Speed eight, armour sixteen."

"The Hideous Zippleback!"

"Plus eleven stealth. Times two."

"The Windstriker!"

"Speed ten, attack five."

"The Monstrous Nightmare!"

"Firepower fifteen."

Valkyrie glanced at him, incredulous. Can he stop?

"The Terrible Terror."

Fishlegs held his weapon to his chest, "Attack eight, venom twelve━"

Gobber was just as annoyed as the rest of them, "Can you stop that?!"

Fishlegs went bright red. Gobber nodded, happy, and went on to the final door. "And," he said, reaching for the lever beside the door. Valkyrie's stomach twisted as she realised what he was doing, "the Gronckle."

Fishlegs couldn't keep in it. He leaned closer to Hiccup and whispered, "Jaw strength eight."

Valkyrie took a deep breath to calm herself. Focus, she chided. As she did, twisting her grip with her fingers around her mallet to make it tighter, Snotlout stepped forward with a gaping, "Whoa! Whoa!" at Gobber who━with a grunt━pulled the first lever down. "Wait, aren't you gonna teach us first?!"

Gobber just grinned at him, showing his metal tooth. "I believe━" he reached for the second lever, "━in learning on the job."

He pulled it down, and the doors burst open.

Out through the cage, buzzed the small wings of an orange Gronckle. It may have a small wing-span, and a short speed pattern, but it wasn't to be underestimated. A bite from a Gronckle could snap a spine in half. It could take a boulder and spit it back out flaming hot. It's skin was tougher than the rock of this arena. No, Valkyrie will most definitely not underestimate it.

While the others freaked out and ran in opposite directions, Valkyrie spun on her feet and headed straight for the shield rack. As chaos ensured, Gobber watched from a distance, mirth dancing in his gaze. "Today is about survival," he shouted over the loud noise of teenagers screaming and a Gronckle growling. "If you get blasted, you're dead."

The Gronckle reminded Valkyrie of the yaks━they charge, but they can only charge one way at full speed. They cannot switch avenues. They pick a direction, and speed in that direction till there is no more direction. It gave Valkyrie, as a human━and an agile one at that━the chance to dart out of the dragon's way like a fly near a fruit bowl.

She found the shield she wanted━one filled with flowers (obviously). Snatching it up and securing it around her arm, she glanced at the Gronckle gobbling up a pile of rocks, and she knew that its firepower was now coming.

"Quick!" Gobber called out. "What's the first thing you're going need?!"

Already on it, Valkyrie thought to herself, smug.

"A doctor?!" shouted Hiccup, his axe scraping the ground in his attempt to lift it properly.

"Plus five speed?!" whimpered Fishlegs.

"A shield!" Astrid corrected, and Gobber snapped his fingers at her.

"Shields!" he said. "Go! Good job Valkyrie━already on it!"

As the rest of the teenagers scrambled for a shield, Valkyrie tested the stamina and echo of hers with a hit to the front from the side of her mallet. Good.

"Your most important piece of equipment is your shield!" shouted Gobber. He spotted Hiccup having trouble with his, and Valkyrie rolled her eyes. Yeah, no need to worry about him. He'll get himself killed by the end of the day. "If you must choose between a sword or a shield━" Gobber grabbed the end of the shield and shoved it into Hiccup's chest, "━take the shield!"

The only recruits without a shield were the twins. Ruffnut and Tuffnut fought over the same flame-skull shield for over a minute━tugging back and forth with screeches of, "Let go of my shield━!", "━There are a million shields━!", "━Take that one. It has a flower━girls like like flowers━ah!" Ruffnut tugged the shield away and slammed it down on her brother's head. "Oops," she said, "now this one has blood on it."

So focused on their own fighting━as per the usual━neither noticed the Gronckle heading straight for them. With a blast, the shield was blown to splinters, and the twins were knocked off their feet.

"Tuffnut, Ruffnut!" called Gobber. "You're out!"

The two of them staggered to their feet, confused, "What...?"

"Shields are good for another thing!" continued the blacksmith. "Noise! Make lots of it to throw off a dragon's aim!"

The remaining recruits banged their weapons against the metal centre of their shields. Valkyrie kept her grip strong as the wood vibrated against her arm painfully, but it was working. The Gronckle stopped, hovering above them. It blinked and shook it's head, as if trying to get something out of it's eye.

"All dragons have a limited number of shots!" Valkyrie continued to make noise as she shuffled to the left with Astrid. They circled the Gronckle as Gobber instructed. "How many does a Gronckle have?"

Snotlout ducked the dragon's clubbed tail and sprinted across the circle. "Five?!"

"No, seven!" Fishlegs held up his shield arm, grinning.

"Correct, seven! That's one for each of you━!"

Woosh! Fishleg's shield flew from his hand, hitting the stone wall smoking. He screamed and ran away from the dragon. Gobber sighed, "Fishlegs, out!" He spotted Hiccup cowering behind one of the wooden barriers. "Hiccup!" he shouted. "Get in there!" He tried, but at another blast, he yelped and was back to hiding.

Valkyrie made the mistake to shake her head at him, annoyed, for a foot caught around her ankle and swept her up. She yelped as she hit the ground, and saw Astrid running away from the Gronckle. She gaped at her, "Hey!" she shouted and before she could get too far, she reached out and grabbed her ankle, pulling her to the ground. Astrid shrieked in anger, and went to hit Valkyrie in the face with her shield. In retaliation, she jabbed the butt of her mallet into Astrid's stomach, pushing her off and to the side.

(They're best friends, she promised. They're just ... competitive best friends ...)

The two girls narrowly missed a shot from the Gronckle, rolling against the floor in their attempt to get the advantage over the other. Gobber pinched the bridge of his nose, frustrated. "Astrid! Valkyrie! You're supposed to fight the dragon! Not each other!"

"She tripped me over!" Astrid argued, using her shield to try and push Valkyrie away.

"You tripped me over first!" replied Valkyrie

"Hey, ladies!" Snotlout decided to throw himself into the situation. "There's no need to fight! I've just moved into my parents basement━there's plenty of room for all of us! We can all work out together! You two look like you work out━"

Looking up, the girls saw the Gronckle get closer and in seconds, Astrid pushed Valkyrie off her and rolled out of the way. Val was quick to follow, using her shield as a base for the roll. Snotlout was left behind, and the blast got him right in the shield, too, "━AAH!" he stumbled away.

"Snotlout!" cried Gobber. "You're done!"

Valkyrie and Astrid landed on their feet by Hiccup, eyeing the dragon. The cheif's son grinned awkwardly at Valkyrie━she was standing so close to him! And she didn't hit him this time! "Oh, so, I guess it's just us, now, huh?"

"Nope," said Valkyrie, "just you━" the two girls split up, one going right and the other going left. Hiccup, left in the middle, let out a shout as the Gronckle aimed for his shield. It flew off his arm, and he desperately ran after it as it rolled across the arena.

"One shot left!"

The Gronckle followed Hiccup as he ran. He glanced back, eyes widening in alarm. "Oh, Odin━" he let out and pushed his legs to go faster. It wasn't until it was too late, did he realise he had cornered himself at the wall.

"Hiccup!" shouted Gobber.

Falling to his knees, Hiccup scrambled back as far as he could. The Gronckle was so close, he could smell it's terrible breath and feel the heat from it's open mouth. This is it! He thought. I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die━Goodbye, world, thank you for nothing━

The shot never came. Gobber snagged his hook into the beast's mouth and pulled it upwards. The blast seared the stone wall, and Hiccup ducked, hiding his head in his arms ... but he was fine. He was alive. He was alive!

Now out of fire, Gobber dragged the Gronckle all the way back to it's cage. "And that's seven━" the dragon tried to chew his hand, except, it wasn't a hand, it was a hook, so Gobber didn't even pay much attention to it. In fact, it seemed to do nothing except annoy him. "Oh, go back to bed, you overgrown sausage!"

He threw the beast back into it's cage and slammed the metal door on it's face. Pushing up the lever, he locked it. "You'll get another chance," he growled at it through the iron, "don't you worry."

Huffing, Gobber turned back to the scattered teens, all either supporting bruises, burns or stitches to their sides from all the running. Except for Hiccup, who hadn't moved an inch, staring at the closed iron door━pale as a ghost.

"Remember," Gobber told them all, "a dragon will always, always━" his eyes settled on Hiccup, who met his gaze, "━go for the kill." He lugged him up, and Hiccup stumbled slightly on his weak legs. He faced the burn mark on the wall, still glowing with heat. Valkyrie paid him little mind, following the others out of the arena. Lesson one, over. Lesson one, successful?

Well, she sure hoped so.

*

a/n: me? publishing another chapter in the same day because I'm overly excited about this book? ppppppht don't know what you're talking about.