prelude one!
001. the legend of the boneknapper
translated for reading

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

     A LONG time ago there was an island called Berk.

    (Well, not that long ago, give or take ten years).

    There, on that wet heap of rock, lived the toughest of the toughest. For only a certain type of people could survive on an island location precisely twelve days North of Hopeless and a few degrees South of Freezing to Death. Not many could handle the freezing land that was planted solidly on the Meridian of Misery, where frostbite to one's spleen and a few lost limbs was quite the fashion statement.

     But despite it's dry food, it's freezing-cold waters and it's dangerous cliffs, the island of Berk was more than beautiful. Valkyrie remembers how the morning sun would shine down upon pastures of green, filled with Dragon Nip and bright flowers in the Summer and Spring. She remembered the tranquil lakes and lagoons, the private sanctuaries hidden between fissures of rocks and the birds nested in the arches of sea stacks just off the Berkian shore.

     When she was sixteen-years-old, she lived the most adventurous life▬exploring the oceans waters, the deepest and darkest caves, finding treasure amongst sunken pastures and discovering dragons dwelling in the highest cliff faces.

     For that was what made Berk far different than any island in the world. While most islands had sheep, maybe some yaks and by the off chance a boar or two, over ten years ago, the island of Berk had:

     Dragons.

     And with dragons, came lots and lots of▬

     "FIRE!"

     The darkest hour before the dawn reigned heavy down upon the Vikings of Berk. But it was lit up in the flames of a fellow favourite's home, twisting up his wooden posts and cracking away at the dragon figurehead over his front door. Vikings ran aloft on foot and in the air, doing their best to dampen the flames before this man's house would be lost forever.

     "I GOT IT!" shouted a boy of merely fourteen-years-old. He lugged a bucket filled to the brim with water against his chest, struggling to cart it all the way from the trough to the house. Strands of blonde hair fell over small blue eyes underneath a helmet that sat slightly askew in all of the commotion. "I GOT IT!"

     He weaved in and out of sprinting Vikings, heaving heavily from his chest as he tried to see over tall shoulders. He set his jaw, determined as he grew closer and closer to Gobber's house. "I GOT IT▬!" His boot struck a stone, and Hott Frode started to tumble forward, "▬I DON'T GOT IT▬WHOA!"

     In the nick of time, the beak-snout of a bright yellow Deadly Nadder snagged the back of his fleece vest. Careful, the intelligent dragon (though, some might argue it was more bird than dragon) sat back on her two legs, trying very hard not to spill the water her rider had almost overfilled in his bucket. She let out a guttural squawk, chiding her young companion in his little thinking.

     "Oh," sighed out Hott, relieved, "thanks, Spikey, I almost lost it all, there." Despite the shouts and the dragons racing above to douse troughs of water down onto Gobber's home, Hott made a face and slumped in his dragon's hold. "Do you think Astrid saw that? That would have not been cool if she did."

     Spikemoth the Deadly Nadder set Hott back down onto his two feet and he almost spilt the water again, but managed to keep a good grip of the bucket against his chest. She huffed at him, and he knew exactly what she had said. He shot her scowl, "Hey! That's not fair!"

     She just nudged him towards the house and Hott remembered why he had the water in the first place. "Oh! Oh, yeah! Right! I'm coming▬I got it!"

     Running the short space left to Gobber's house, Hott threw the bucket of water and watched it douse down onto the foundations of his home. He grinned when the fire spluttered, only for it to falter when the flames just shot back up again. "Well, that didn't work..." he muttered.

      "THE WIND IS SHIFTING!" boomed the voice of Stoick the Vast, chieftain of the tribe. He was a man that stood seven-feet-tall with big arms and a red beard even bigger! There was a story that he once broke the jaw of a Monstrous Nightmare by kicking it (does Valkyrie believe that? Yes, she very much does). "Fire brigade, move in!"

      And diving down, one after the other, were some of the bravest young Vikings Berk had to offer. First, came in Fishlegs on his Gronckle he named Meatlug. Fishlegs was a big, pudgy boy with not much chin because it was all neck and an eager mind to remember anything about dragons he could. He gave Meatlug a beloved scratch behind her ear as she dumped down two buckets of water onto the burning home. Next, in stark contrast, was Snotlout. Snotlout Jorgenson was a mean kid with a very mean pig-face and flushed cheeks. He rode an equally mean Monstrous Nightmare by the name of Hookfang, leading him down by the back of the house and showering the growing firewall with an entire trough of water. Sometimes, Snotlout hoped that one day, his cousin Hiccup will accidentally be shot by a wayward dragon and he'd be given the chance to become next in line for Chief! (Of course, he was joking▬Valkyrie made sure he was joking!)

     After Snotlout came a pair of knuckleheads on a dragon with the same amount of heads that were▬for once▬not causing absolute destruction. The Twins: Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Sister and brother. Annoyance One and Annoyance two. Blonde-haired, blue-eyed, narrow-faced (and by the gods very narrow minded!), they rode a Hideous Zippleback named Barf and Belch (respectfully, of course). They had many names, many troubling qualities and probably not even half of a brain between the four of them. They didn't even drop any water onto Gobber's house, they just passed on by, laughing at everyone's frantic work.

     Leading a pack of wild Deadly Nadders dived in Astrid Hofferson. From below, Hott watched her go with his mouth agape, absolutely enamoured. Now, she was one of the toughest young maidens on the isle, and if you told her otherwise, she will most certainly dunk you in Old Björn's Well! Her beauty was as sharp as the blades of her axe, or the glares she shot from her eyes, or the spikes on her armour, or the insults laced with dragon venom on her tongue. She spun around on a dragon just as stunning: a blue and burgundy scaled Deadly Nadder she called Stormfly. In her following, the entire group of Nadders dropped a waterfall onto the roof, practically dousing the fire before the last two of the group could even get their input.

     That didn't stop the eager sixteen-year-old girl and her blue, white and yellow patterned Windstriker, Zephyr. Upon that Windstriker's saddle with her brows furrowed in concentration, her auburn hair flying back in a flower-filled braid and diving through the night sky like it was her own personal kingdom ... was Valkyrie. She may be quite the lover of flowers, but don't let that fool you. There was Astrid aggressive, and then there was Valkyrie aggressive. She may not brandish her weapon much, or threaten to throw Vikings into wells (unless you really annoy her), but she was the kind of scary that made you beg for your life before she even opened her mouth. They didn't call her Valkyrie the Vicious for nothing.

    (But▬of course▬Valkyrie was never one to toot her own Terrible Terror).

    Her Windstriker, Zephyr, dropped the last needed burst of water onto Gobber's house, and the flames dwindled to nothing. She looked over her shoulder, shooting a thumbs up to the Viking that swooped in beside her.

    Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. Not the best name, he will say▬but that was what Vikings often did: give their children terrible names to scare off the likes of gnomes and trolls. (But if they were to be honest, their charming Viking demeanour did that already). He was a short, scrawny boy with dark auburn hair and forrest green eyes. But while he might not seem like much, the dragon he rode was something every smart Viking feared: The Night Fury. The Offspring of Lightning and Death itself (and the lover of a good flower crown). Toothless the Night Fury could barely be seen, even in the light of the dying fire, for his scales were as black as the night above.

    They veered around the back of the house beside Valkyrie and Zephyr, coming to a landing beside Stoick the Vast. Hiccup disconnected his metal leg from Toothless's saddle and leapt off onto the stone to stand in beside his father (because, yes, he was the chief's son). They might not look at all similar, but in Valkyrie's experience, it wasn't the looks or the height that made them related, it was their shared extreme stubbornness.

     "Good work!" praised the chief. "Just a few hot spots left."

    "Got it!" shouted Starkard and he led the rest of the Vikings on foot to take care of what was left of the fire.

      Hott made it back to the rest of his team, finally taking time to fix his helmet. Astrid landed Stormfly, shooting him a disapproving scowl. "Why weren't you in the air? We could've used Spikemoth with the rest of the Nadders!"

      Hearing her speak to him, Hott immediately squared his young teen chest up. "I was on the ground!" he told her in a ridiculously manly voice. "Dousing the fire like a real Frode Viking."

     Astrid rolled her eyes. "Ugh, you can stop right there."

    Hott pursed his lips, muttering a quick and weak comeback of, "You stop right there."

     "Where's Gobber?" meanwhile asked Hiccup, staring up at his father, a little flushed from the heat. "Is he still inside?"

     "No," said Stoick the Vast. "Can't find him."

     Slipping off her saddle to stand beside Hiccup, Valkyrie propped her hands on her hips. "Where could he be?"

     Her answer came in the form of a great clatter of scrap metal and weapons. She glanced over as the rest of her friends came to join the small group, dismounting their dragons and scratching their heads at Gobber who emerged from the depths of his forge. He was their friendly meathead with attitude and interchangeable hands, but he didn't look friendly now. Gobber the Belch was a mess of a Viking, everyone knew that. He had no left hand, or foot, replaced with stumps. He was short, but meaty, with scarred limbs and face. His fair hair was always dirty with ash, and so were his cheeks, and gods did Gobber smell worse than a yak in a boar pit▬every week it was a scuffle to get him to at least sit in a bath for ten seconds.

     "I'm right here!" he shook his hook up in the air. He grabbed an axe from his forge, brandishing it up into the night with a furious: "That beast will pay for this!" before throwing it into his wagon full of weapons: swords, maces, axes and mallets. He pushed it up the hill of the plaza, more livid than Valkyrie has ever seen him.

     "Gobber!" exclaimed Stoick with relief. "What happened?"

    "What's it look like?!" roared Gobber the Belch. "A dragon set my home on fire!"

     At these words, the young Dragon Riders all shared a horrified, confused glance. "What?" they breathed, unable to believe that one of their many beloved dragons▬that they had long ago made peace with by now▬would do such a thing. Valkyrie turned to Hiccup for some form of an answer, he just shrugged.

     Gobber set down his wagon of weapons in front of them all. He glowered up at the early morning sun that had just started to rise over the edges of Berk's cliffs. "You pushed me too far this time, you ugly bag of bones!"

     Immediately, Stoick the Vast sighed. He slumped, his fingers coming up to pinch the bridge of his fat nose. Hiccup frowned at the recognition. He shared a quick glance with Valkyrie before saying, "Dad, what's he talking about? Our dragons don't do that anymore."

     "Agh!" sighed Stoick again, shaking his head with an exasperated gesture towards his good friend. "He doesn't mean one of yours. Gobber▬" he spoke up and the blacksmith turned to him, "▬for the last time, there is no such thing as a▬"

     "Boneknapper?" Gobber arched a thick, singed brow.

     At the word, the entire village let out long, frustrated sighs. Valkyrie's brows shot up high, surprised at the instant response. Astrid made a face▬none of them have heard of anything called a Boneknapper. But everyone else seemed to have. Even Valkyrie and Hott's father, Mallory Frode▬a tall, buff man with blonde hair and a hooked nose▬let out a loud, "Oh, for the love of Thor, Gobber!" as he grabbed the backs of two young boys tunics: his two youngest sons, Mak and Erik before they ran straight to the burnt home, eager to start some trouble.

     Tuffnut chuckled lowly, bewildered. He nudged his sister, but she just scoffed in disgust at the mere touch, "Ho▬ho ... what▬knapper?"

     Gobber set a steely eye on him and Tuff jumped, startled. "A disgusting, foul beast," he answered, "wearing a coat of stolen bones▬" he approached the young Dragon Riders. Simultaneously, they all hunched up, a little terrified by his stories. Fishlegs whimpered, "▬like a giant, flying skeleton!"

     "Ahh!" squeaked Snotlout, clutching onto Valkyrie's arm. She rolled her eyes and shoved him off. "Why is it a flying skeleton?!"

     "Why is it stealing bones?" asked Hott with the same fearful squeak. "That's▬that's freaky..."

     Tuffnut leered in close to him, waggling his fingers, "Maybe it's come to steal your bones?"

     Hott hunched up, yelping and pushing him away, "Don't say that!"

     Fishlegs stopped whimpering as he finally recognised the name. He gasped, all fear gone and replaced with a thrilling bounce of his toes, "Oooh! Oooh!" He gasped as he remembered. "The Book of Dragons says that the Boneknapper will stop at nothing to find the perfect bone to build its coat of armour. It's awesome!"

     "Hear that Hott?" snickered Ruffnut.

     "Shut up!"

    "Oh, come on!" scoffed the chief. "It's a myth!" He laughed a boisterous laugh. "It doesn't even exist!" the rest of the village followed him.

     Gobber pointed his hook as his best friend, "I'm telling you, it's real!" he told him. "I've been running from him my whole life! He's the one who started this fire."

     "Stoick," Starkard had returned from the house. On a long branch, his nose turned up and his eyes watering at the very foul stench of what he showed, he said, "we found Gobber's underpants hanging by the stove. They must've started the fire."

     The village erupted into another bout of laughter. Valkyrie made a face at the very sight of the blacksmith's charred britches. She gagged into her hand. "Nope▬I'm gonna have nightmares." Hiccup just rubbed her back.

     Chortling, Stoick the Vast showed them to his friend, "You still think it's the Boneknapper?" he asked Gobber. "Or just your underpants?"

     "I don't think!" said Gobber furiously. He snatched his burnt underpants. "I know! Somehow, he's found me again! This dragon is pure evil."

     "Gobber," sighed the chief, unamused, "it's late and we're too tired for your stories. Now, get some rest."

     Gobber set his jaw. He huffed and snagged the handles of his wagon of weapons. "You rest," he grumbled. "I'm putting an end to this." He limped away, pushing the wheels of his cart away from the plaza and towards the wooden walks that led down to the docks. At the edge, a lonesome sheep waited for him, chewing away at the tuffs of growing grass. As he passed him, Gobber said, "Come on, Phil, let's go! I don't need their help, anyway."

     The sheep bleated, giving them all a blank look before following his master down the wooden ramps.

     Stoick sighed in watching his friend go, but let him be, marching off to the groups of Vikings to start handing out orders for the early morning. Valkyrie pursed her lips, wondering whether she could get some last minute shut-eye before an early morning flight with Zephyr. But before she could trudge off back home, she noticed Hiccup brush past her, thoughtfully wandering forward as he continued to eye Gobber slowly making his way down the cliffside.

     She knew that look. Valkyrie approached him, "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

      He met her gaze and sighed, "Val," he chided her, "I can't just let him go by himself."

      She crossed her arms▬the last thing she wanted was to go on a wild yak chase for some mythical dragon. "Sure, you can! You can just ... you know ... let him go by himself!"

      Hiccup just gave her a blank stare. It didn't take much to win her over. With a sigh, Valkyrie threw her head back and muttered a reluctant, "Fine! But you owe me." She pointed a finger at her boyfriend. "And I mean it. I get to braid all of your hair."

     His shoulders slumped, annoyed, "Really?"

     "Yes, really."

     Hiccup set his jaw, but in the end, rolled his eyes and muttered, "Fine▬" before he spun back to the rest of the Dragon Riders, watching and awaiting his answer. They all had a feeling where this was going. "All right, Vikings, grab your shields."

     Astrid, the Twins, Fishlegs and Hott all lit up with excitement, throwing their hands up and butting their helmets together with joyful cries of, "Yeah!" It's been a while since they've had an adventure after the Berserker War, and each and every single one of them were begging for something new to come up.

     All except Snotlout. He blanched, outraged by this decision. "What?" he let out. He shook his hands and his head, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, there is no way I'm getting on a boat to go after a fake dragon!"

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

     ABOUT NOT even halfway through the boat trip, Astrid nearly drowned Snotlout. Before that, she nearly drowned Hott, and the poor boy screamed as he avoided her flying oar after he insulted her vicious rowing. Valkyrie threw her gaze up to the foggy morning sky, slumping in her current work as she prayed to the gods to help her not murder everyone on the boat with her right now. The sea stretched out for endless waves on either end. Valkyrie could no longer see the island of her home, shrouded in fog, making it hard to notice upcoming sea stacks and jagged rocks until it was almost too late, and the group of teens all screamed as they did their best to avoid a shipwreck in the middle of the ocean.

     "Why couldn't we take our dragons?" complained Hott, massaging the bruise he was gathering on his shoulder after Astrid hit him. "Why do we have to row all the way to wherever we're going?"

     "It's very important for a Viking to learn how to man a boat!" Gobber told him, sitting at the very front of the ship. He ate away at a chicken leg, not at all helping the tired, aching and complaining group of teenagers whatsoever. "Oh, come on!" he added at their struggles. "Put your backs into it, you lazy dogs! Stroke! You're not even trying! Stroke!"

    "How fun is this, right?" grinned Hiccup to Valkyrie who sat on the wooden chest beside him, heaving back her oar with all the strength she had (and still barely managing to master the stroke). She sent him a glower mid-pull. He didn't care, shoulders bouncing up and down as he continued, "We've got the team back together, another adventure ... this is pretty cool, huh?"

     Behind him, Snotlout slouched forward as he stopped rowing, looking as if he was planning the best way to throw his cousin overboard. "Yeah," he said sarcastically, "nothing cooler than rowing until your hands bleed!"

     "I think I've lost all feeling in my upper limbs," said Ruffnut.

     Tuffnut shot her a wide-eyed look, "Whoa, cool! I can't wait until that happens to me!"

     "I just want you kids to know," then said Gobber, suddenly emotional, "that it touches my heart, you helping me slay the Boneknapper▬" he stifled a sob, eyes going red with oncoming tears. Valkyrie rolled her eyes, grunting as she pulled and pulled, "▬True Vikings, you are."

     "We're not slaying the Boneknapper, Gobber," said Hiccup. "We're going to train it."

     "Ha!" Snotlout snorted. "Good luck training an imaginary dragon, Hiccup!"

     He shot his cousin a glare over his shoulder.

    They kept at it for another good thirty minutes▬rowing and rowing until their arms were aching and their hands were blistered. Valkyrie was growing a sweat on her forehead, barely even comprehending Hott's and Snotlout's complaints anymore as she continued to struggle with the oar. She used to think she was a thick, strong Viking, but maybe she needed to rethink that part of her.

     After a while, Ruffnut threw her head back and wailed, "Gobber ... are we there yet?"

     "Oh, you'll know we're close when your ears explode from the piercing screams!" Fishlegs told Ruff and she glanced at him, incredulous. "Legend says this dragon's roar is so fierce, it can melt the flesh right off your bones!"

     "Not so, Fishlegs," corrected Gobber from the front, picking at his teeth. Valkyrie huffed in annoyance at him. "The Boneknapper has no roar at all! That's why he's so terrifying. He's a silent killer!"

     "I know of someone else who's a silent killer," spoke up Hott, giving Valkyrie a side glance.

     She stopped rowing to gape at him, furious, "Excuse me?!" He just shrugged to tell her, I say it how it is. Valkyrie gritted her teeth. "Oh, you are going to get it you little▬" she would have smacked him over the head with her own oar when Ruffnut's next words made her freeze.

     "Wait ... so ... if we don't hear anything, we're dead?"

     Valkyrie hunched up, breath hitching with sudden fear. The entire boat went silent, their hairs on end as they realised just how quiet the ocean was right now. Tuffnut whispered, "I don't hear anything ..."

     The sudden bleat from behind them made them all scream, jumping right off their seats. Valkyrie let out a long, relieved sigh to realise it was only Phil, Gobber's sheep. The blacksmith laughed, "Ahah!" he pointed at their terrified faces. "Good one, Phil!"

     His chuckles faded away, and a distant look washed across Gobber's face, turning him as gray as the low hanging clouds around them. In a haunting voice, he murmured, "Did I ever tell you about the first time I met the dreaded Boneknapper?"

    "Oh, great," grumbled Astrid, knowing exactly what came next.

    Gobber didn't wait for any answer. He delved into his story, and Hott slumped forward, his head falling down to his knees in his dread. "I was a young, wee lad," began the blacksmith, "about your age, on a summer vacation with my family, when I heard the call of nature!" Knowing what he meant, all of the teens let out groans of disgust. "So my dad pulled the boat over and I jumped out, racing against time into this vast icy cavern▬I only just made it! That's when I saw it ... an army of Vikings frozen in battle! Clutched in the fingers of one of the Vikings was a small treasure chest." He grinned at them each in turn. "I had to have it!"

    Snotlout shrugged. "Can't argue with that, I guess."

    "I smashed a hole in the ice with my trusty axe!" Gobber motioned a swing with his hook. "Then, I reached in and pulled out the chest▬it was the most beautiful thing I ever saw! But then▬!" He spun wildly towards them. The teens jumped in surprise, "▬the frozen Viking▬he was alive! He grabbed my arm out of the ice and he started punching me in the face! That's how I lost my tooth!" Gobber pointed to the rock replacement he had in his mouth.

    Valkyrie and Astrid shared an incredulous glance.

    "But he was pointing at something," continued Gobber dramatically. "He was warning me of something behind me in the white out. I turned around▬and there it was! I never even heard it coming! The Boneknapper!" Fishlegs let out a strangled gasp from the back. Tuffnut snickered at him. "The beast dived. I ducked. It crashed into the glacier causing an avalanche of frozen Vikings! I ran as fast as I could, jumping over ice-cubes of frozen Vikings, dodging the swipes of the Boneknappers deadly talons!

    "And then!" Gobber acted out losing something over the edge of the boat. Ruffnut was on the edge of her seat. He glanced back at them, horrified. "I dropped it▬the treasure! So, I reached into the freezing cold water ... only to find the frozen Viking punching me in the face! Again!"

     Valkyrie rolled her eyes, setting her chin on the palm of her hand. They had all given up rowing, taking this time listening to Gobber's ridiculous story to have a well-needed rest.

    "The Boneknapper landed on the ice! It snapped▬I was thrown up into the air! But I kept ahold of that treasure chest. The Boneknapper tried to grab it▬he wanted that treasure! But I wanted it more! And then I saw it! A gap in the ice. I kicked the Boneknapper and he let me go. In just enough time, I tucked myself into a small ball and shot through the gap in the ice! I slid down my butt, faster than even a Night Fury! Then back over into the air, screaming and flailing until I landed back down on my father's boat!" Gobber sat back, nodding. He was very proud of his story. "I had the treasure and the Boneknapper was gone ... for now."

     He broke out into laughter. There was a mixture of response from the teens. Most of them stared blankly back at the blacksmith, finding his story stupid. While others (Fishlegs) were hunched in absolute terror, having hung onto every single word he said.

     After a short pause, Snotlout scowled, "You expect us to believe that a frozen Viking punched you in the face?"

     "Yeah! Twice!"

     Valkyrie slumped, "Seriously?"

   "Hey...!" said Hiccup slowly at all of their disgruntled faces. He shrugged, "I mean ... it could happen ..." he didn't sound so sure. Astrid, Hott, Snotlout and Val all rolled their eyes.

    Gobber frowned at the chief's son, "What do you mean, 'it could happen?' It did! But I outsmarted the silent beast."

     "Uh ... but Gobber?" Fishlegs held up a hesitant hand. "I hate to be a stickler for details, but ... Boneknappers are not silent."

     Gobber pinched the bridge of nose. "Fishlegs!" He said, annoyed. "I know what I didn't hear! But I could feel it..."

     Hott frowned. He glanced over the edge of the boat, seeing something through the fog. As Gobber continued his story, he held up a hesitant finger, "Uh ... guys?" he spoke up, noticing the jagged rocks that started to show themselves out from the grey depths. No one paid him any attention.

     "▬I had a sixth sense for danger▬"

     "▬Guys, I really think we should▬"

     "▬I can smell anything▬"

     "▬I really think we're gonna hit these▬"

    "▬taste the oncoming doom▬"

     "▬ROOOOOCKSSSS!"

     WHAM!

    Valkyrie screamed in shock as the entire boat lurched upwards, skidding across the sharp edges of black rocks. She almost fell forwards, grabbing onto the edge of the boat to steady her as it turned sideways and sideways until, slowly, they became perched on top of the many sharp formations around Helheim's Gate.

     Once everything settled, did they all take a breath. Tuffnut peered over the edge, and he grinned, thrilled, "Whoa!" he chuckled.

     Astrid stood up, crossing her arms as she glowered at their situation, "Uh ... I'm tasting rocks." She shot Gobber an annoyed glance.

     Hiccup huffed, sprawled out on the boat deck. He glanced at his side and watched as water slowly started to seep through the side, "Oh ... great ..."

     Gobber didn't care. He scowled towards the island in the distance, its shore a sandy, barren desert amongst tall, black cliffs. "Ah ..." he sniffed the air, "We're here."

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

     VALKYRIE GLOWERED at their ship that was soon submerged in the dark waters at the islands shore, ripped to destruction by the rocks they had driven themselves into. She crossed her arms, sending that glower back to Hiccup who hunched up, chuckling nervously.

      "You got us into this," she crossed her arms.

      He waved his arms, continuing to chuckle, anxious at her scowl, "What? H▬hey, we'll be fine!"

     "How?" demanded Ruffnut, stepping off the rocks she had perched herself on to watch the ship sink further and further beneath the ocean surface, "we're stuck in the middle of nowhere and no one even knows where we are!"

     "And," added Hott, grumbling, "we don't have any dragons to get us out of here!" Phil the sheep bleated at him and he stared at the ram at his side, incredulous. Rolling his eyes, he surged forward and pointed a finger at Hiccup, "See?! This is what you all get for not listening to me!"

     Astrid massaged her temples, taking deep breaths to control her anger, "For the love of▬Hott, gods, just shut up."

     "No! You shut up!"

      "We're gonna die," stated Tuffnut. He soon grinned. "Cool!"

     "I think you're all ignoring the fact▬" Valkyrie spoke up, throwing her hands up in the air, "▬that we are stranded and no one knows where we are!"

     "Hey!" Ruffnut stamped her foot, pointing at her angrily, "I said that first!"

     "Um▬" Fishlegs held up his hand and all the teens groaned in an equal annoyed, exasperation. He picked up one of the many discarded animal bones on the sandy shore, "▬except the Boneknapper. Legend says it's roar▬"

     "Hey!" Snotlout cut him off, looking as if ready to strangle their pudgy friend, "You know what legend also says? Stop talking!"

     Fishlegs threw the bone down, "Okay, just hold on one darn second▬!"

     "We are stranded on an island!" cried Valkyrie, waving her arms in desperation. "Can we please focus on that?!"

     "Were going to die!"

     "I told you we should've brought the dragons▬"

     "▬We need to send some distress signal▬"

      "▬I say legend says that you have the brain the size of a pea, Snotlout▬"

     "▬Oh, really? REALLY▬?!"

     "▬that way we could find a way home▬"

     "▬Well, we don't have the dragons, Hott, so just leave it▬"

     "▬Hey! I'll leave it when I say I'll leave it▬!"

      "▬The ocean washed away the fish-oil in my hair!"

     "Would everyone just calm down?" Hiccup offered, holding out placating hands only to jump when each teen spun on him and snapped:

    "You calm down!"

     Hiccup slumped, annoyed to see them all return back to their many, disgruntled and disorientated arguments. He face-palmed, "Oh, gods..."

      Surprisingly, Gobber managed to get them all to shut up. The teens turned to face him as he said, "No need to panic, kids!" With a pleasant, calm sigh, he sat down on one of the rocks scattered out around the volcanic island, resting his peg leg on the sand and dusting off his tunic. "I've been shipwrecked many times!"

    "Oh! Well!" Hiccup gestured to him, trying to find something positive, only to falter as he realised that it was Gobber ... and ... "That's ... comforting."

     Gobber let out another, long, pleasant sigh. He gazed off into the distance, wistfully. Valkyrie rolled her eyes, sharing a quick grumble with Astrid as the blacksmith said: "You never forget your first shipwreck▬"

     And he delved into another story:

     "I was stranded on an island! With only my broom▬" he held up his clawed hand, eyes wide at their unimpressed faces, "▬It was a very small island. It's no wonder the Boneknapper found me again! He never forgave me for taking that treasure. He swooped me! I barely ducked▬he cut the only tree on the island right in half! I searched the clouds, and there I saw it▬Another island! My only escape ..." he held a dramatic pause, then he flung out his hands. Fishlegs jumped, gasping with terrified horror, "But I was surrounded by bloodthirsty hammerhead sharks!"

     "Ahh!" let out Hott, hunching up. "I hate sharks."

     Astrid smirked at him and held out a taunting hand. She snapped her fingers together, "Chop, chop." He glowered at her.

      Gobber continued his tale, "I only had one chance," he told them in a riveting voice. "So, I ran across the shark-infested waters!"

     "Oh, my gods," Valkyrie threw her gaze to the heavens.

     "I jumped across their fins! Punched them in the face! One leapt up to eat my face off▬but I brushed his teeth with my broom! But the Boneknapper was getting close ... I didn't think I was gonna make it. But then, from the depths of the ocean, leapt forth▬

     "A giant hammerhead whale!"

     There was a pregnant pause.

     Valkyrie slumped, annoyed, "Really, Gobber? A hammerhead whale?"

    Hiccup met her gaze, sheepish, "Well ... I mean ... they could exist."

     "If they do exist," suggested Tuffnut. He pointed his thumb at his sister beside him, "I volunteer we feed Ruffnut to it▬" she glared at him as he laughed, catching him off-guard with a sharp punch to his jaw. Tuffnut hit the sand, dazed, only to then cheer.

     Fishlegs was on the tips of his toes, eager to hear the rest of the story. "Gobber!" he gasped, breathless in anticipation. "Did the hammerhead whale eat the Boneknapper?!"

     "Almost!" Gobber pointed his hook at the teens. "But he got away!"

     Astrid crossed her arms, "What a surprise," she said dryly.

     Valkryie frowned at Hiccup again, wanting him to step him and take charge of the scenario. The Boneknapper obviously didn't exist, and they needed to figure a way out of here. He stammered, about to say something, but before he could, Gobber continued, admittedly excited to tell his tales:

     "Years later," he leaned forward, setting his elbows onto his grubby knees, "the dragon hunted me down again and chased me into the jungle!" Valkyrie face-palmed, sighing out a long, annoyed sigh. "All I had was my trusty egg beater▬I carved through that thick brush as fast as a jungle cat! Still, the Boneknapper was right behind!" He motioned sprinting through the jungle with his hook swiping in front of his face. "I ran up the side of a volcano and courageously leapt across the fiery crater! Then, deep within the burning volcano, burst forth▬

     "A giant hammerhead yak!"

     Valkyrie stared at Gobber. She felt her eye twitch.

     She must've looked murderous, for she felt Hiccup inch his fingers around hers, as if scared she might hit him as well. He squeezed her fingers, which stopped her from slamming her fist across Gobber's helmet, but didn't stop her from taking a sharp, livid breath through her nose.

     Tuffnut frowned▬even he was incredulous (and if anyone here reading these memoirs knows Tuffnut even slightly, would know that this is so far fetched, Valkyrie didn't quite believe it at first). "Okay ..." he spoke up, slow and dubious, "wait a minute. Now you're saying a giant hammerhead yak leapt out of a fiery volcano and ate the Boneknapper?"

     "Ha!" cackled Gobber, getting back up onto his feet. "You would've thought so, wouldn't you? But the dragon got away again!"

     "Oh, for Thor's sake ..." muttered Snotlout, slumping down to a seat on the rocks. He set his chin on his hand, eyes hooded as he watched Gobber, either exasperated, annoyed or exhausted (or all three!).

     Gobber started to get animated with his storytelling, pacing the sandy shores of the island, "I knew that boney scoundrel would keep coming after me. So, I set up a gauntlet of traps and waited for the beast! I had only my trusty guitar▬" he sent them a smug grin, "▬and oh did I play a good tune. And when he was ready ... he charged!" He twisted on his peg leg, motioning a frozen charade of a running man, "And then I ran like the wind! But the traps failed!" He turned to them, face mock with shock. "He chased me and chased me to the very edge of the tallest cliff! Then, captured under his mighty bone-scaling talons, I did what any brave Viking would do ... I cried out: 'HELP'!"

     "So brave," grumbled Snotlout.

     "The gods must have heard my prayer!" said Gobber. Fishlegs gasped, hands over his mouth. Even Hiccup had completely given up on truth now. He matched Valkyrie's disapproving scowl. "There was thunder! Lightning▬I looked up, the clouds dispersed ... and there He was! It was Thor!"

     Fishlegs hands fell from his mouth where his jaw slacked, shocked. Hott leant forward, brows risen past his hairline.

      "He tossed a mighty thunderbolt! But he missed! But then he told me▬" Gobber put on a very deep and godly voice, "▬'Wait for it...' ... and so I did. Then ... from the centre of the earth, blasted forth ...

    "The hammerhead yak riding the hammerhead whale!"

     Hott stood back up, face contorted, "Wait, what? That doesn't make sense."

     "Aye▬!" Gobber waved a finger at him, "▬just you wait! The hammerhead yak was deployed up into the air with a great shot of hot air from the tips of the hammerhead whale's back! He landed in front of the Boneknapper and with a cry, brought his fist right across the boney dragon's jaw! He kicked him, he punched him, he took out the Boneknapper with his awesome hammerhead yak warrior moves! Then▬from above▬dived down the hammerhead whale. He opened his big, fat mouth and swallowed the Boneknapper whole! He and the hammerhead yak descended back down into the centre of the earth. But not without one, final expression from their hearts." Gobber clutched his own, sniffling. "They saluted me ... and I ... saluted them back."

      He finished his wild, crazy and completely fake story as if expected a great applause from a crowd. But all he got was silence, and more ... incredulous silence.

     The teens all shared an exchange of very similar looks.

     All but Fishlegs who's breath hitched at the end of Gobber's infamous tale, "Whoa!" he clapped his hands. "The whale saluted you?"

     Gobber laughed at their reactions, shaking his claw, "Aye! But can you believe it? The Boneknapper got away again! He found me on..."

     Snotlout had had enough. He stamped his foot, turning to the Twins with a furious, "Are you kidding me?" as Gobber spoke. "I don't believe any of this!"

     "Yeah!" agreed Tuffnut, just as annoyed. He gestured to the blacksmith, "You totally made everything up!"

     "Come on, Gobber▬!"

     "▬It's time to get out of here▬!"

     "▬We need to get home!"

     Tuffnut surged forward, still pointing a mean finger, "You don't even have any proof that that thing exists!"

     "Of course, I have proof!" argued Gobber. "I still have the treasure▬this stunning belt buckle!" He pulled up the edges of his tunic to show them a gleaming bone the size of a small finger tied with twine around his dirty pants. Fishlegs pointed at it to say, he was proof! Valkyrie rolled her eyes at him. "It was in the Viking's treasure chest. It's kept my pants up for years!"

      At their glowers, Fishlegs muttered, "It is stunning..."

      Valkyrie glanced at Hiccup. He was still unsure, shrugging without an answer to her growing fury. They shared a silent conversation: you tell him, she said while he replied, I don't want to hurt him! To which she threw her hands up slightly and added, He's your crazy friend, not mine!

     In the end▬when their conversation got nowhere, Valkyrie just pushed Hiccup forward and he sighed, sending her a short scowl over his shoulder to which she just ushered him along with a quick gesture of her fingers.

     His gaze went dead-panned, but he spun back on his metal foot and trudged up to the blacksmith, "Uh ... Listen, Gobber?" He hummed, sitting down to sharpen his hook with a wayward rock. "Instead of chasing down an imaginary dragon, maybe we should figure out ... you know ... how to get home."

    Gobber nodded. He pointed his hook at Hiccup's nose, "Say no more! I hear you loud and clear▬" a relieved sigh settled through the group of teenagers. "I've got a plan." He grunted as he pushed himself back up onto his feet. "All right! Who'd like to be dragon bait?"

    It wasn't a question▬Gobber's finger landed straight onto Hott standing in the centre of them group. The blacksmith grinned. Valkyrie's younger brother hunched up, letting out a high-pitched squeal of terror in the back of his throat. Slowly ... very slowly ... the rest of them shuffled away from him. Even Phil the sheep scurried off, leaving Hott the only, singular choice under Gobber's stare.

    Noticing how they all left him to fend for himself, Hott's shoulders fell and his face went flat. "Oh, wow," he muttered sarcastically. "What great friends I have▬ah!" He stumbled forwards as Gobber dragged him across.

    Valkyrie was amazed at how quickly Gobber organised a meticulous trap. She watched over the edge of the rocks as her brother was placed right under the shadow of the huge ribcage of an old dragon; one of which was suspended by a long end of rope salvaged from their ship wreck connected to a thigh-bone lever. Hott stared up at it, unsure in a helmet made out of baby dragon horns, a beard wrapped around his jaw made from the remains of the rope, and a wing bone for a claw grasped in his left hand.

    "Uh ... Gobber?" he called out to the blacksmith. He pointed up to the ribcage hovering over him. "A▬are you sure this is safe?"

    "Ah..." Gobber the Belch judged the height with the length of his thumb from a distance. Then he scoffed and waved it off, "safety's overrated."

    Hott hunched up, "What?"

    Gobber turned back to the teens grouped together at the rocks. "Okay!" he ushered them closer. "Here's the plan. The Boneknapper wants me, right? He comes down that trail▬" he pointed to the gap in the boulders to their left, "▬sees Hott, thinks it's me▬"

    "▬I look nothing like you▬!" Hott's desperate cries for help were lost in the back of their minds.

    "▬rushes Hott▬"

    "▬What▬?!"

   "▬causing Phil to trip that rope▬" Gobber's hook gestured up to where his ram bleated, bored, at the trigger's side.

    "▬I really don't like this plan▬"

    "▬dropping that ribcage▬"

    "▬I'm telling my mum about this Gobber▬!"

    "▬and then we rush in and finish him off, once and for all!"

    "I want my mum," Hott whimpered to himself under the shadow of the cage.

    Meanwhile, the rest of the Dragon Riders all stared at Gobber like he had just grown an extra head. Snotlout leaned in close to the Twins, Fishlegs and Astrid, whispering: "It's sad when they get old..."

    Hiccup sighed. He threw his hands up and Valkyrie had to lean away to avoid being hit by his excessive gestures. "Gobber, you're taking this way too far, okay?! You need to face it." Val quickly crossed her arms and nodded at his side, adding her support. "There is no such thing as the Boneknapper!"

    "Wormsquat!" They all flung their gazes upwards to the heavens at Gobber's stubborn reply. "Now! Get into position." He turned back to Hott quivering beneath the ribcage. "Way to go, Hott! You're doing fine!"

    "I DON'T FEEL FINE!"

    Valkyrie was grumbling as they were all forced to crouch down behind the rocks. She huffed, annoyed in between Hiccup and Fishlegs, "This is stupid!" she let out as the others all joined her.

    "Yeah!" agreed Hiccup, flying out a hand towards Gobber that was only inches from hitting her nose. She scowled at him for it. "No wonder the entire village thinks you're crazy▬!"

    None of them noticed the terrified squeal Hott made as he caught sight of ... something land on the beach behind them. None of them heard the sound of crunching bones, the drag of a mighty, clubbed tail▬or the great thud of a horrific beast's bony talons touching the black pebbled shore.

    "Hello?!" Snotlout rolled his eyes meanwhile. "I thought that was obvious, Hiccup▬he sees dead Vikings━!"

    "▬Yeah!" agreed Tuffnut, "▬especially that thing about those ghost twins at Dreadfall▬"

    "▬Uhh, guys?!" Hott tried to grab their attention, pointing a trembling finger over their shoulders. The Boneknapper crept, menacingly, up behind them.

    "▬This is a complete waste of time!" Astrid snapped, slamming a hand on the rocks in her anger. "We could be figuring out a way to get home right now▬!"

    "▬I'm hungry▬" mumbled Ruffnut.

   "▬I miss Meatlug▬" also mumbled Fishlegs.

    "▬Uh▬Guys▬?!"

    "▬You owe me so much for this▬!" whispered Valkyrie to Hiccup harshly.

    "▬Hey! I wasn't planning on it getting out of hand like this▬!"

    Hott waved his arms frantically. He shouted at the top of his lungs as the Boneknapper hovered right over his friends' shoulders. "Turn around! Guys! GUYS▬!"

    "▬WHAT?!"

     Simultaneously, all of their faces dropped in horror as they finally heard the scrape of something large ... and something very bony, behind them. Valkyrie's breath hitched as she noticed the shadow looming over them for the first time.

     Hiccup's shoulders slouched. Dead-panned and exhausted, he muttered, "It's right behind us, isn't it?"

     Slowly, with hitched, terrified breaths, they all turned around▬their eyes wandered upwards. Valkyrie grew paler and paler each inch, each bone, each ghostly scale she passed until her eyes finally settled on the Boneknapper's pointed maw. A very brave whimper escaped her lips to see it extend out humongous, leathered wings and rear back to open a jaw filled with razor-sharp, taloned teeth▬

     The towering creature went to roar...

     And only a pitiful, breathy squeak left its throat.

     Fishlegs blinked, "Huh," he let out, "well, what do you know? No roar."

     Gobber scrambled to his feet, "RUUUUUNNN▬!"

    None of them needed to be told twice.

    The teenagers all screamed as they ran for the lives out of the way of billowing fire that sent the ends of their hair smoking. They dashed over the rocks, their heads ducked under their arms▬Valkyrie could feel the heat of the Boneknapper's fire like she had been locked in the centre of a hearth. She pushed her legs to run faster. 

    "Okay!" she yelled as she did, risking a glance over her shoulder. The dragon was terribly fast for a creature so big with so much extra weight. "Okay, Gobber! We believe you!"

    With its mighty tail, the Boneknapper knocked an entire pile of bones forwards▬the momentum threw them all off their feet. Valkyrie waved her arms, screaming every curse to Odin she knew as she tumbled forwards straight into her brother. The both of them hit the mountain of bones. 

    She groaned, trying to get back up only for seven other bodies to come crashing down right on top of them. Valkyrie puffed out all of her air, feeling as if she had just been flattened like a Thunderdrum.

    "Ow..." she managed. 

    Phil kicked the trigger. Crack! Thud▬the ribcage struck down, locking them in. 

    Gobber gaped, "PHIL!" he screamed.

    Everyone groaned and shook the daze from their heads. Hott pushed Astrid right off of him and she rolled off the pile of bones, shooting him a withering glare. She went to shout at him, but the pounding of heavy claws struck her words from her▬they all stared, terrified, as the Boneknapper charged in for the kill. 

    "Oh, we're gonna die," whimpered Snotlout. 

   "Everyone up!" shouted Valkyrie. "Up! Up! UP▬!"

    They clambered to their feet, hitting their backs against the curved bones as flames burst forth▬Valkyrie clenched her eyes shut, hiding her face into her shoulder as heat so strong it left her skin feeling like sand pulsed through the cracks. 

    "HICCUP, THIS IS YOUR FAULT▬!" Astrid was screaming. 

   "YEAH, I GOT THAT!" he shouted back.

    Snotlout hugged his helmet to his chest, eyes shut tight, "Find a happy place. Find a happy place..."

    The ribcage trembled as the dragon rammed its head up the sides. Valkyrie squealed in terror, shoving her brother forward before the two of them would be knocked by the Boneknapper's saber-toothed overbite. It shoved its side up against them. It clubbed its tail. Snotlout screamed for mercy when it jumped up on top of them and he and Valkyrie clung onto each other, sobbing prayers to Odin to forgive them for every curse they ever put on his name. Fishlegs was petrified. He stood there, staring up with a gaping mouth and wide-eyes as the terrifying dragon laid wreak on their bony cage. The Twins stood behind him, though in a very different predicament. "Yeah!" Tuffnut was cheering it on. "YEAH! DAMAGE! I LOVE DAMAGE!"

    "You can't get us!" cried his sister stupidly. "HA! Dumb dragon!"

    Hott clutched the bone helmet he had on his head, hiding behind Astrid, "No, no, no▬PLEASE!" he pushed her forward a little. "He wants my head!"

   "He wants all of our heads!" she yelled furiously back at him. 

   "He wants mine the most!"

   Hiccup glanced around at them all. He breathed heavily, trying to think of a way to get them out of here▬a way to train this untrainable dragon. There had to be something. There was no dragon out there that couldn't be trained. He frowned up at the creature thrashing at their enclosed protection ... until he noticed something strange about the dragon's breastbone. He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head▬the entire underbelly of the Boneknapper was an interlocking piece of armour made of many different bones▬spines, ribs, even teeth ... but there was a gap; a piece that seemed to be missing right in the centre of its chest. And the size and shape▬it looked awfully familiar...

    Slowly, his gaze found Gobber slamming his hook against the bones of their cage, "Bring it on!" he shouted at the dragon. "You wait 'till I get out there..." his eyes landed on the pristine white belt buckle at the blacksmith's waist.

    "Wait..." Hiccup breathed. He stared back up at the dragon again▬the missing piece, it was the exact same shape as Gobber's belt buckle! "It▬it searches for the perfect bone to built its coat of armour▬" he gasped as it all came together. "The treasure!" he spun to his mentor. "Gobber! Take off your pants!"

    His friends all turned to him in shock and horror. "NO!" 

    "No, no, no▬wait▬!" Hiccup rushed towards them all, "▬listen to me. I think Fishlegs was right. The Boneknapper is supposed to have a roar. But maybe he can't because the bone he needs▬" he pointed at Gobber, "▬is your belt buckle!"

    Valkyrie understood. She winced to herself. "Oh, my gods, I'm going to regret this..." but she rushed to Hiccup's side and grasped her hands into a pleading prayer. "Gobber, please, for all that is sacred to Thor you have to give it back. Take your pants off!"

    Snotlout made a disgusted face, "Ew!"

   Gobber stumbled away from the two teens, "No way!" he argued stubbornly, holding the bone protectively. "It's mine▬" his face dropped the moment a pair of jaws clamped tight around his wooden leg. Valkyrie hunched up, startled. "Uh▬oh▬AAAAAAAAAAAAH▬!"

    The teens all ran to the gaps in the ribcage, watching with gaping mouths as Gobber was flung around▬side to side, up and down, diagonal and in circles. But still, he would not give up his treasure. 

     Despite it all, Snotlout snickered a mean: "Heh▬look at him go."

    "GOBBER!" shouted Hiccup as the Boneknapper flung their friendly blacksmith up and down. "GIVE HIM BACK HIS BONE!"

     Gobber blurred past them, "▬NOOOOOOOOOO▬!"

     Valkyrie stamped her foot, "GIVE HIM BACK HIS BONE, RIGHT NOW!"

     The horns of his helmet sparked the black pebbled shore as he was dragged back, "▬NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO▬!" He bellowed out as the dragon let go, and Gobber spun midair towards the sky, "▬NOOOOOOOOO ..." as he got further and further away, he gave up, "... Oh, all right▬"

     Grasping the tiny bone from his waistline, Gobber the Belch chucked a mighty throw. The bone spun, it twirled, it zipped through the air like an arrow until it landed, perfectly, in the empty spot of the Boneknapper's armour. 

     The dragon froze. It reared its head back with an ungodly choke. Its eyes went wide and its wings folded in, like it almost couldn't believe what had just happened. Valkyrie held her breath as Gobber fell to the ground at the creature's feet. The others around her all gasped▬none of them could move as Gobber the Belch peered up under the shadow of his greatest enemy, and his greatest enemy peered back down at him. 

     The Boneknapper shook his wings. He narrowed his eyes. He leaned back▬

     The teens all ducked, clutching their ears as the dragon let loose a roar so loud, the entire island shook to the bottomless depths of the ocean.

     Valkyrie peeked over her shoulder, her heart in her throat as the dragon leered in close to Gobber who stood at its mercy. And instead of fighting it, instead of charging it with a Viking battle cry, he took a deep breath and nodded. Gobber closed his eyes and stood there, brave and honourable, "All right," he said, "you've got me. Make it fast."

     He held his breath and hung his head, anticipating a moment Valkyrie couldn't bear to watch. She gasped and turned away, hiding her face in her hands. 

     But what followed was not a ferocious roar; nor a blaze of white-hot flames. Instead, the Boneknapper dipped its head low, gazed at Gobber with such wide, sweet eyes, and purred. 

     Tuffnut's shoulders dropped. Disappointed, he let out: "What?"

     Valkyrie looked through the gap of her fingers. Her hands fell in surprise. Gobber stood up with a start, incredulous as the dragon that has been his arch nemesis for so many years nudged in close to him for a tender hug.

     It would have been a sweet moment, if Gobber's pants hadn't fallen down▬

    "Oh, my gods▬!" exclaimed Valkyrie and hid her eyes again. 

    The rest of the teens gagged and turned away in disgust. Hiccup shivered, "That's gonna give me nightmares."

     Astrid sighed, "Well," she said once she forced the bile back down her throat, "at least we have a ride home."    

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃    

    "WOOOOO▬HOOOO▬!"

    Valkyrie laughed as the wind billowed against her tunic and skirt▬as it flung back her hair and lifted her heart until she had wings, and she flew through the bright, blue skies like she was a dragon herself. She held out her arms and cheered alongside the Boneknapper's mighty roar. The ocean was limitless▬its depths constantly undiscovered; but right now, she could see right to the end of the world where it dropped off the side, and it was exhilarating. 

    There was nothing more exhilarating than flying on the back of a dragon. 

    Behind her, her friends all clung on tight to whatever bones they could hold▬right from the creature's neck all the way down to its tail. They all held on tight, cheering to Valhalla with every breath of happiness in the world. 

    (There was no better entrance than returning home on a mythical, imaginary dragon).

    Valkyrie giggled and leant forward, wrapping her arms tight around Hiccup's chest and hugging him from behind. She settled her chin on his shoulder, missing the way he completely lit up at her touch. 

    "You know?" Snotlout told the others that held on tight down the dragon's tail. "I never doubted him." Astrid rolled her eyes. "I was always like: 'He's right'."

     "ARGH!" Tuffnut exclaimed from the very back. "This tailbone is hurting my tailbone!"

     "This is AMAZING!" cheered Hott, throwing his fists into the air and the rest of them all copied, matching his cheer▬and it echoed all across the endless sea. "I LOVE THIS DRAGON!" he leaned forward to hug around its tail. "I was never once scared of you," he told the Boneknapper tenderly. "Not for one second."

     "Yeah," scoffed Astrid, socking him on the shoulder with an amused grin. He yelped in pain, holding it with a frown. "Sure▬whatever you say, Frode."

    Hiccup laughed as the dragon happily roared into the clouds. "He sure seems happy to have that bone back," he said to Gobber who sat at the front. 

    "Well," spoke up Fishlegs, "legend says the Boneknapper's roar is its mating call."

     Gobber threw a hand down, "Oh!" he scoffed. "That's just a myth!"

     They all glanced back, startled at the high-pitched calls in the distant.

     Valkyrie breathed a chuckle of disbelief when she noticed the glint of a thigh-bone through the blanket of clouds, "Yeah..." she met Hiccup's gaze mischievously, "... a myth..."

     "Ha!" Gobber shrugged, turning back around to face the front. In the distance, their home of Berk▬a wet-heap of rock located practically in the middle of nowhere, started to show itself through the fog. A place where it snowed nine months a year and rained the other three; where the sun shined down on breathtaking cliffs and sturdy homes ... Valkyrie smiled. Home, she thought with a warm heart. 

     "Well!" went on Gobber. "I think Stoick will definitely believe me now, eh?"

     They all laughed. 

ᛏᚺᛖ  ᛖᚾᛞ
the end.

a note from the author:

    And thus concludes the first entry of my memoirs. Believe me, these first few are quite choppy on my memory! There's so much to think about these days▬kids, Snoggletog pageants, whatever Tuffnut thinks he can get away with ... But there is something fitting about the tale of something legendary becoming true ... because what if our beloved dragons, of which you believe are very much a figment of the imagination these days ... were something more than a myth or a fable? I am not old yet, I still have many years before I reach that point of greying hairs and aching backs, but I believe I do have enough wisdom in my years to tell you: what ever is wrong about believing in the mythical? In the impossible? In the imaginary ... because who knows! One day, those dreams might just become real. 

          •*⁀➷ Valkyrie Haddock.
                      translated from old norse by braekerofchains.

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃ 

    a/n: oh, what did you do today, gemma? did you do your uni coursework? did you do up your agenda in your diary for the next few days? did you finish cleaning your room? no. you fell back into your httyd obsession and spam wrote, didn't you.

    haha anyway first one is here because y'all know me by now: no. fukin. impulse. control. I have one more chapter left of the Valhalla epilogue and then that's finished so you know what my mind thought? lets publish this early cos why the hell not?

    what is the world gonna do with me y'all? what are you lot gonna do with me? are u tired of me yet? I think I'm tired of my random hyperfixations.

     we all know how we get through this. we just get it allllll out and settle back into my regular not-so-chaotic flow. 

    fukin hell I missed how chaotic they were like omg how dumb - I love them so much. 

    I have an updated design for valkyrie during this era (one of her best eras lets be honest):

    lol I just made one of my new journals a drawing book cos I'm out of drawing books and I need a new one. 

    I have no idea how to do the book of dragons like the 2nd person in the short is throwing me off rn-