prelude two!
002. dawn of the dragon racers
translated for reading

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    A VIKING HAS many pass time activities. Just as any person might. Some of Valkyrie's favourite pass times, these days, consisted of sleeping and making flower crowns. Sometimes, she'd fall asleep while she made those flower crowns. (A mother searched for sleep at any chance she could, because eventually, that scattered sleep must add up by the end of the month to create an average healthy time spent asleep ... right?). Other Viking past times included▬but are not limited to▬fishing, beard-growing, head-bludgeoning, rapid insult-firing, and Bob-sledding (first, of which, one must find a Viking named Bob).

    But every Viking past time usually had one thing in common: it included competition. Vikings loved competitions. They thrived on it. It excited them, feeling as though they were better than other people▬especially each other. Competition broke apart the every day life that often became boring and gave it new motivation and meaning. And if competitions were violent? They loved them even more.

    When Valkyrie was younger, she was an avid competitor in every aspect of life (which, of course, has not changed). But her favourite competition? Dragon racing.

    Because that is the fantastic thing about Berk all those years ago, unlike other places who had sports like sword fighting, wrestling and axe throwing, the Hairy Hooligans had dragons.

    What she loved about Dragon Racing were the rules because▬well, what were the rules? It was sporadic and always changing. A sport which had every Viking for themselves was the best form of entertainment, because if there wasn't a fight breaking out in the air, there was definitely one breaking out in the stands. Anyone could lose and anyone could win▬even if you were losing before. Like the toss of a coin, Dragon Racing may as well be fated to the Gods.

    (Or to the cunning-minded).

    At the end of every week, there was a Dragon Race. Everyone loved it. They painted their faces and hung up decorative flags all over the village. They placed bets and fought over who they betted on▬even though the winner was always going to be Valkyrie.

    (At least, as was her mindset).

    Hours before the race even started, the group of racers would always mingle together in the Dragon Arena. A group of very unlikely friends▬but friends, nonetheless.

    First, there was Fishlegs Ingerman▬a big, pudgy boy with not much chin because it was all neck and a wonderfully eager mind to learn every strategy and trick he could use in racing. Even though he flew on the back of one of the slowest dragons, a Gronckle, Meatlug had a wonderful talent at hovering. Her little wings were fantastic in harsh wind, could handle very high altitudes and when a passing rider least expected▬would drop down from the skies above and scare them away: an easy point grab ... unless, of course, they scare the sheep away as well.

    Next, was perhaps one of the most competitive racers: Snotlout Jorgenson. He was a mean kid▬a very, very mean kid with an equally mean pig-nose and bushy black eyebrows. What he lacked in height, he made up in his obnoxious opinion on everything. But to give credit when credit was due, Snotlout was one of the better racers on the island. His Monstrous Nightmare, Hookfang, gave him many advantages. These creatures were large, slender and had a great wingspan that could create gusts of wind that propelled the two of them forward whenever▬in a dive, mid-flight ... alongside that, the Monstrous Nightmare also had this nasty habit of setting itself on fire (which, when trying to carry groups of sheep back to the baskets, might not always be a good thing).

    Sometimes, Snotlout hoped that one day, his cousin Hiccup will accidentally fall from great heights off the saddle of his dragon during a race▬which would put him next in line for Chief! (Which, of course, was a joke▬obviously, he was always joking...).

    Then, there was the Twins: Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston. Sister and brother. Annoyance One and Annoyance Two. A pair of absolute knuckleheads▬blonde-haired, blue-eyed, narrow-faced, dumb-founded and very dumb-minded. They rode a Hideous Zippleback named Barf and Belch (or 'Barch' when put together). Two heads and two riders gave them four extra ways to grab a sheep ... if they were only smart enough to know how to coordinate them properly.

    Hott Frode may be younger than the rest of them, but that didn't mean he wasn't falling behind (all the time). In fact, his nickname 'Little Frode' only gave him the frustrating motivation to beat them all▬or just his sister. Behind strands of blonde hair and small blue eyes, was the mind of a Viking who loved to make his older sister's life Hel in Dragon Racing. He and his Deadly Nadder, Spikemoth, were equal in wins with Valkyrie▬and that is because whenever he did win, he cheated.

    (Cheating, of course, is very much allowed▬it is encouraged).

    The other Deadly Nadder rider in their group was Astrid Hofferson. Astrid Hofferson. By the Gods, was she one of the toughest young Viking on the isle and if anyone told her otherwise▬well, the story has been told enough times now that anyone would be advised very much against it. Her beauty was as sharp as the blades on her axe, or the spikes her dragon, Stormfly would fling across to snag a sheep right from your grasp before you could even blink. Stormfly was the fastest Deadly Nadder on the island of Berk whenever she had chicken for breakfast (and Astrid sure did feed her a lot of chicken).

    But those chicken's eggs? They were what gave the most competitive eighteen-year-old her winning stroke of luck. She and her beautiful blue, white and yellow patterned Windstriker, Zephyr were very much a force to be reckoned with. She who ruled over a Dragon Racing battleground upon the Windstriker's saddle with malice and determination, her auburn hair raging a fire behind her ... was Valkyrie. She may be obsessed with flowers (a little too much, some would say▬but is there ever too many flowers?), but don't let that ever fool you. Astrid may be aggressive, but then there was Valkyrie aggressive. She might not brandish her weapon much, or knock Vikings off their dragons (unless you really annoy her), but she will make you weep and offer your sheep up to her before she even opened her mouth. She was, of course, not called Valkyrie the Vicious for nothing.

    And last, but not at all least, was Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. There were better names, but at least his was apparently so ugly it scared off the gnomes and trolls he tried to search for as a child. (You know, if their charming Viking demeanour didn't do that already). Though the word ugly was far from what he was. He was tall, he might be scrawny but he had the strength to fly any dragon bareback if he really wanted to▬with dark green eyes and dark auburn hair with so many freckles ... He was courageous, he was very smart, he was the greatest Dragon Racer in the entire Archipelago▬he rode the fastest dragon alive, his Night Fury Toothless, and▬

    "Uh, Val▬?"

    Valkyrie the Vicious jolted out of her staring daze, almost dropping her charcoal pencil onto the Dragon Academy stone ground. She scrambled to fix her grip on it and stood attentive. "Yes?"

    Hiccup tilted his head at her and gestured to the moving basket beside him. Out from the top, two pairs of hooves clopped over the side and a sheep popped its head out, her small Viking helmet going lopsided.

    She realised. "Oh! Oh▬Yeah!" she scribbled down his score. "Yeah▬uh, one out of two. Not bad, babe."

    Hot air huffed her auburn braid into her face and Valkyrie scowled up at Zephyr who watched her with a knowing eye.

    She stepped away from him and walked over, scratching Toothless under his chin. Stripes of red paint crossed his snout, forehead, wings and legs▬matching Hiccup's own face paint: two lines diagonally down either cheek. Valkyrie smiled at the Night Fury who purred and wagged his tail at her touch. "Red is definitely your colour," she told him.

   Hiccup sat up in his saddle. He looked chuffed. "Aw..." he smiled at Valkyrie. "Val, thank you."

    She met it with a mischievous glint. "I was talking to Toothless."

    His smile turned flat. She chuckled and gave Toothless a scratch behind the ears.

    "Hey," they glanced over as Tuffnut and Ruffnut returned to the centre of the Academy. "What do you guys think of my face paint?"

    Valkyrie gasped when she saw it. Hott who had been making finishing touches to Spikemoth's paint screamed and dropped his paintbrush into his bucket. He fell over.

    Embarrassed, he scrambled to his feet and cleared his throat. He crossed his arms and pretended like nothing happened. Astrid rolled her eyes.

    Out of all of their designs, Tuffnut's was ... the most creative. It seemed as though he had just dunked his head into a bucket of yellow and black paint and then spread his hand across it to somehow make the slight resemblance of a skull.

    At their reactions, he frowned. "What? Too subtle?"

    "Yeah ..." Fishlegs decided to say, very slowly. He shared a dubious look with Meatlug as she cleaned out her claws. "Just a bit..."

    Tuffnut scowled. He clenched his hands and grumbled. "Yeah? Well, at least I didn't paint my face to look like a target▬!" he pointed at the orange and green circle that wrapped from Fishlegs's big nose, all the way down past his chin and up to the other side. "A not-subtle target!"

    Fishlegs made a very miffed sound, sniffing indignantly. "Well!" he scoffed. "I will have you know that this is the official Ingerman family crest."

    Valkyrie snorted to herself. "Still looks like a target," she muttered. Fishlegs scowled at her.

    "Wow..." said Tuffnut in sarcastic wonder. "Two circles and a line ..." His sister snickered from beside him. "How creative!" Even Astrid chuckled at this and Fishlegs went so bright at the cheeks, he really did look like the axe target they had propped up against the wall.

    "Yeah, well, at least I my face paint isn't flowers, like Valkyrie▬" Fishlegs desperately tried to pinpoint the teasing onto someone else. "That isn't even her family crest!"

    Valkyrie glanced over, her cheeks painted with two bright yellow flowers. She hadn't been listening after Tuffnut's comment. "Huh?"

    Ruffnut grinned, already knowing what will happen as soon as she said: "He was dissing your flower-paint."

    Fishlegs's shoulders went slack in terror at the way Valkyrie's soft look turned into a ferocious scowl. "You what?" she seethed. Zephyr jolted up as he recognised the tone to her voice. As she took a step forward to charge Fishlegs, her dragon dipped down and snatched the back of her tunic, hoisting her up into the air. He let her dangle, kicking her legs towards her friend. "My flowers are▬hey▬! Let me▬Let me at him! Get over here, Fishlegs, so I can kick your target face!"

    Hiccup sighed. As always, a few hours before the race began, the Dragon Riders were all a mix of anger, taunting and nearly maiming each other.

    At last, Snotlout returned from the air. He landed Hookfang with a victorious cheer, throwing the second sheep into his basket. It let out a strangled: "BAAAAAAAH▬!" before oomph! it landed.

    "YEAH!" cried Snotlout Jorgenson from his saddle, flexing his muscles for them all to see. "SNOTLOUT!" He made an evil laugh. Then, he pointed to the large, round catapult in the centre of the arena. "I told you my sheep launcher would work."

    "Yeah," nodded Astrid. She had painted blue wings across her cheeks and nose▬mimicking her dragon's own. "It only took▬what?▬Thirty-two tries to get it right."

    Valkyrie thought back to a few weeks ago. Since then, Snotlout has been locking himself in this arena with all of Sven's sheep he could wrangle and launched them out of his newly designed catapult (or Sheep Launcher, as he called it). Valkyrie would find sheep landing in apple wagons, soaring overhead and their heads stuck through walls. Vikings were very stubborn, but their sheep? Well, they seemed to be on another level.

    One sheep interrupted a Viking proposal, and the lucky lady was not too happy to receive a tiny ewe instead of flowers.

    At least Snotlout gave them little helmets. But when one had lodged right through the door of the Great Hall halfway through dinner, Valkyrie quickly learned that the sheep weren't just stubborn▬they were invincible.

    "I think it was actually nearing the seventy-nine mark," pondered Valkyrie, off in thought.

    "Well," Tuffnut picked up the next sheep and sat her gently into the launcher. He fixed her helmet so it sat properly on her head. "It's like they say▬You can't make an omelet without breaking a few legs."

    They all made faces. Hiccup dismounted his saddle and walked up to Valkyrie's side. "Uh ..." Concerned, he wasn't too sure what to say. "That▬that's actually not the saying."

     Ruffnut went wide-eyed with horror. "It isn't?" she turned to her brother who hunched up, a terrible realisation hitting the both of them. "Then we need to send out some apologies."

    "Yeah!" croaked Tuffnut. "We better start with Mum▬!"

    The two of them ran off.

    Snotlout jumped to the ground. "I don't even want to know what they've done," he decided and marched up to the rest of them. They started to group in the centre of the arena▬each of them donning their own face-paint design. Hott was the most ferocious after Tuffnut's monstrosity. The Frode clan symbol was very vicious▬though, while they have come a long way from their angry ancestors, they still kept their bloody red crest that Hott had splattered across his face (with a tad of yellow in honour of his favourite dragon, of course).

    "Clearly," went on Snotlout, "my Sheep Launcher is ready for today's dragon race."

    Hott held his hand up. "Whoa, hold on. Who says you get to decide?"

    "I do. Snotlout invented the sport."

    Valkyrie's brother gaped, mortified. "What? No▬you did not. I invented it▬" he jabbed a thumb proudly at his chest. They frowned at him and at their incredulous, disbelieving faces, Hott's hands dropped down, shocked. "I did!"

    "What?" Valkyrie laughed at him. "You▬you invented Dragon Racing? Please."

    "I did!" said Hott again. "It was my idea!"

     "Ha!" let out Astrid, shaking her head. "I think one of those flying sheep hit you in the head."

     Hott scowled at her. Bright red at the cheeks, he clenched his hands and turned to her. "Yeah, Astrid? Well▬okay▬while that may be true, it doesn't change the fact that I came up with Dragon Racing."

     Hiccup crossed his arms. "That's ... really not how I remember it."

    "Oh▬oh▬!" Hott spun on his feet so suddenly the Chief's son stumbled back. "Oh, really? You remember things now, do you?!"

    Hiccup stared at Valkyrie's younger brother, silent. He glanced at her and she shrugged, not sure how to explain his behaviour. "I ... I don't even know how to answer that."

     "I do," offered Astrid smugly. She propped her hands on her hips. "Let's think back, shall we? It was a few days before the big annual Regatta▬"

     "Uh, we know that▬" grumbled Snotlout.

    "▬Just listen!"

    "Okay! Okay..." Snotlout turned to the rest of them and added under his breath. "Someone didn't get her beauty sleep▬AAAH▬!" he ducked to his feet just in time as a Nadder spine flung so fast over his head, it lodged deep into the stone wall behind. He jumped back to his feet, terrified. "I▬I'm all ears!"

    Astrid huffed, satisfied. She gave Stormfly a cheeky scratch under her chin. "As I was saying, we were getting ready for the big Regatta..."

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    IT STARTED quite like any other day on Berk. Even with the preparations for the annual Regatta, the days passed much like ones previously. Before the Gods would decide on how long they'll pass them winter, the Hairy Hooligans were soaking up their last few moments of sunlight. Sunlight was a rare thing in Berk. Considering they were located twelve days north of Hopeless, and a few degrees south of Freezing to Death, nine months of their year was full of snow and the rest, it was hailing down rain. But to have sunlight▬Valkyrie the Vicious loves the sunlight. When there was sunlight, the most lovely of flowers bloomed, and she made the loveliest flower-crowns. Summer was her favourite time of the year. The weather was bearable, the sun was out, the Summarhildr festival was always in full-swing ...

    The only thing she didn't like was the Regatta. I mean, it's great! Standing there and watching boats sail▬sorry, race▬slowly ... across ... the harbour ...

    There was nothing exciting about it. There was no fighting, no destruction, no fire nor were the Hofferson and Jorgenson clans even close enough to have any sense of murder! Valkyrie couldn't even skip it▬there was always a representative from each clan that had to compete in the race, send the boat off, or be at the main platform with the Chief and the rest of the competitors. Though, the only exciting thing about the Regatta is watching Hiccup try not to fall asleep in his father's chair as Stoick the Vast eagerly participated▬the only Viking so eager.

    None of Valkyrie's close friends were wanting to help set up at all. They had been tasked with attaching the clan banners to the catapults▬instead, they found themselves sitting at their favourite and just hung out, having completed none of their tasks.

    It was okay, because Fishlegs did it all for them. Because he was so desperate to return to whatever he was doing before▬he, too, seemed to be the only one excited about the race.

    "All right," Tuffnut spoke up. "I spy, with my one, big, monstrous eye▬" he cupped his hands around one eye and peered down at their perfect view of the village plaza, "▬something that stinks worse than Snotlout."

    "Hey!"

    "Oh! Oh!" Valkyrie pointed down near the slope that led up towards the Great Hall. "I spy Gobber▬" she scoffed and waved her hand, playing it off with a smug smile. "Obviously. Pick something hard, guys."

    "'Pick something hard, guys...'" mimicked her brother in a high-pitched voice. "You also smell worse than Snotlout."

    Valkyrie reached out her leg and kicked him. He nearly fell off the side of the catapult.

    "This is boring," decided Astrid, her chin resting in the palm of her hand as her legs dangled over the side. She dully watched the butchers direct the Gronckle dragging along his wagon of meat. "We've spied basically everything here!"

    Hott took up the challenge. He leaned forward until he was lying on his stomach and peered through the cylinder he made with his hands. "Okay, okay▬Astrid, try this: I spy, with my one, big, handsome monstrous eye▬"

    Astrid made a face, "What big eye? Your eyes are tiny."

    "▬Shut up▬something that has a wooden peg."

    He grinned at her, very smug at his turn of events. She scoffed. "Oh, come on," Astrid turned to the village below, determined to win this round, "that's easy ..." slowly, her determined scowl faltered, "... wait ... hang on▬wait, that's like everyone▬!"

    Hott nodded, "Yup!" he said, happy with himself. "Good luck!"

    "Could also be anything that has a wooden peg," added Tuffnut. "Not just people."

    "But that's▬"

    "▬Could be a physical wooden peg▬"

    "▬this is so▬"

    "▬Could be a yak with a wooden peg▬"

    "▬This is so unfair!"

    "You said you were bored," Hott held his hands up in surrender.

    She turned to him with a heaving breath of fury and Hott just grinned. Until she smacked him and all that Valkyrie could hear was his shriek.

    That was when Snotlout suddenly started to laugh. "Guys!" he pointed down below. "Look▬runaway sheep!"

    Their attentions were piqued. The whole group of them scrambled to the edge of the catapult to look down and chuckle to themselves at the entire paddock of sheep barrelling through the streets. It seemed as though the fence's of someone's farm had been knocked down, there were so may of them. They darted back and forth, they tripped Viking over their feet, toppled over ladders and sent them spiralling on their toes trying to catch them.

    "THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS!" they heard Valkyrie's father cry out from outside the Sanctuary.

    "Oooh, he's mad," snickered the Twins.

    "We should probably go down and help," muttered Astrid as they continued to watch an entire wagon of apples spill out onto the grass.

    "Probably," agreed Valkyrie.

    None of them moved.

    They continued to sit there and watch the entire plaza go to disarray right before them. Valkyrie pointed out Gobber race after one of the sheep until he cornered her just by the stone steps up to the Great Hall. He tried to cage it in, but the ewe just ran between his legs. Gobber ran after it▬wham! They all reared back, horrified to see his head crash right through the side of the fish trough roof.

    "Who's sheep are they?" Hott asked a very good question.

    It was soon answered by a horrific, ear-piercing yell from the village. "AAAARRRRRGHHHH! YOU UNGRATEFUL SACK OF FUR! COME BACK▬!"

    Valkyrie winced and cupped her hands over her ears. She eyed Silent-Not-So-Silent Sven as he sprinted past them. "I ... I think they don't like the sound of his new voice..." she murmured.

     Snotlout pulled his hands away from his ears. "Yeah, I don't blame them!"

     "Oh, look," Ruffnut noticed someone flying towards them. "The Fun Police has arrived."

     Valkyrie sat up when the figure of a Night Fury grew closer. Hiccup pulled Toothless up to hover nearby them, an immediate frown itching itself onto thick brows as he took in their lazed state. Ruffnut was correct when she called him the Fun Police, but it was cute. "What are you guys doing?" he asked them. Below, they heard Gobber wail as he tried to pull his head out of the wooden roof.

     "What do you think we're doing?" Ruffnut crossed her arms, leaning back against the centre wooden post.

    Hiccup arched a brow. He gestured down to the havoc below. "You guys do see that we have a problem?"

    "Yes," they said.

    "And ... you didn't think to take your dragons and help?"

    "Yeah," Tuffnut spoke for the rest of them. He shrugged. "We just didn't want to."

     Hiccup sighed. He face-palmed and shook his head. Toothless huffed, as if he was disappointed in them, too. "Also," he said. "Where is Fishlegs?"

    Snotlout made a face, incredulous. "Why do I care where he is?"

    "Because we need him?"

    "He wanted to do his own thing," said Hott. "After he put up all those banners."

    "You ... the banners you all were meant to put up?"

    "Yeah, Fishlegs did it."

    "You made Fishlegs do it all by himself?"

    "He wanted to," said Ruffnut, chuckling lowly to her brother. "And who are we to deny the request of a dear friend?"

    Hiccup threw his gaze to the heavens, "Oh, Gods ... All right, I'll find Fishlegs, the rest of you get out there and rally those sheep back up into Sven's farm? Okay?" When they didn't answer he frowned and asked again: "Okay?"

    "Okay▬!" they exclaimed and got to their feet.

    Valkyrie dusted off her skirt and whistled for Zephyr to make his way over. He had been chewing on a tree branch he had lodged off all the way from the forest▬now, he was growling and protecting it from Spikemoth who hunched up and peered one eye down in curiosity, trying to snatch it away from him.

    As she did, Hiccup lowered Toothless slightly to meet her gaze. "Seriously?" he added to her quietly, nodding to the others▬a comment on how she hadn't done anything either.

    Valkyrie just smiled. "Fun Police," she teased him, casually stepping off the side of the catapult and landing perfectly in Zephyr's saddle.

    Hiccup frowned. "I▬I am not▬I can be fun!" he gestured to himself and her smile widened, receiving the reaction she wanted. "I am fun!"

     The Dragon Riders decided they probably should help out▬purely to keep Hiccup off their backsides. Wrangling sheep wasn't that exciting; they did it nearly every other day. Peace was a great thing, and not having to fight Outcasts or Beserkers or some other ferocious monster of a dragon was great▬but sometimes, chasing after sheep day after day almost makes Valkyrie miss it all. She'd much rather chase Dagur the Deranged across Berk and laugh when he runs straight into the trunk of a tree instead wince and wonder how she will explain the sheep's dazed state to Sven.

    The way they always made things interesting, she supposed, was by turning it into a competition. Almost as soon as they were up in the air, Hott called out and declared: "The one who gets the least amount of sheep has to lie in Mildew's old cabbage patch▬!" and that was the end of that▬the competition had been announced. No one wanted to lie in that stinky, grubby old place.

    Zephyr was a fantastic dive-bomber. Windstrikers could reach up to outstanding speeds, for they loved to drop down from the clouds and snatch up fish from the depths of the ocean. This meant that Valkyrie was great at swooping down and grabbing things she wanted off others.

     The entire group of them spread out across the entire island, searching for any sheep that might be apart of Sven's flock (or not, you know, they weren't picky▬as long as they ended up with the most out of everyone else).

    Valkyrie targeted the docks. She found one sheep hanging out on the cliff's edge, chewing away at the tuffs of grass. It didn't see Zephyr coming. She tapped a quick pattern on his scales and pointed downwards, as soon as he saw what she meant he folded his wings and propelled forward. The sheep made as strangled cry when it was jolted upwards into the air, though still found the time to finish chewing the grass left in its mouth.

    "Good boy!" praised Val, hugging her dragon around his neck. "Now, let's find some more!"

     Across the village and in the outskirts of the forests near the outer farms, Fishlegs had joined their little game late▬but he wasn't going to let that stop him. He found one sheep darting through the trees and Meatlug poked her tongue out in concentration. They hovered down low, and she buzzed her little wings as fast as they could possibly go.

    "Come on, girl!" he egged her one. "You got it! You got it▬whoa▬!"

    However, out of nowhere, a volley of blue Nadder spines shot inches from Fishlegs's nose. He gasped and pulled Meatlug to a sudden halt. He scowled at Astrid as she swooped in to take the sheep Stormfly had trapped to the trunk of a tree.

    "Hey!" he called after her. "That little guy was mine!"

    Astrid held the sheep up above her head as she readied Stormfly into flight again. "And now, he's mine▬"

    "Think twice about that▬!" Hott's laughter made both of them jump. Seconds later, a yellow Nadder tail swiped in between Astrid's arms. The ewe shrieked as she was propelled upwards into the air. Spikemoth spun and Hott caught her upside down and the two of them sped off. "YOU SNOOZE YOU LOSE!"

    Astrid gritted her teeth after him. "HOTT▬!" she screeched and urged Stormfly into the air to follow.

    Meatlug grumbled at the both of them. Fishlegs sighed. "I know, girl▬" he patted his hand comfortingly on the side of her head. "They're always so competitive."

     Eventually, the Dragon Riders returned to Sven's farm with all the sheep they could physically carry. And with no more sheep in sight, they decided they had done very well. Valkyrie arrived at the same time as Snotlout, holding one lamb in her arms as Zephyr gently touched down the two he had in his talons. She hung down off her saddle sideways to let the little sheep join the other tow.

    As she did, Snotlout leapt off his saddle▬basically dropping the two he had under his arms. "How many did you get?"

    Valkyrie slipped off her saddle to the ground and pointed them out. Smug and victorious, she announced: "Three."

    Snotlout scowled at her. As one of Sven's few sheep that hadn't escaped wandered across, he quickly reached his foot out and kicked it into line with the two he collected. "Huh? Yeah▬Me, too."

    Valkyrie rolled her eyes. "I totally won."

    "I wouldn't be too sure about that."

    Hott landed next. He hand his hands on his hips, smirking down at them▬very proud of himself. At the gesture of two fingers sweeping outwards, Spikemoth unfolded her wings and revealed the three sheep she had been cuddling to her chest. She squawked happily. "I got three, too."

    Astrid dropped down not long after. She leapt off her saddle and pointed a finger up at him furiously. "One of those was mine!"

    "Technically, you stole it from Fishlegs."

    "Not the point!"

    While they argued, Stormfly nudged another three sheep into line. Valkyrie huffed, exasperated to see that Astrid had gotten the same amount, too. At this stage, no one was winning▬least of all her. They were all gonna be lying in Mildew's cabbage patch.

    When Valkyrie saw Hiccup making his way down, she sighed. She realised, if any of them were going to win this competition, it would be him▬and he wouldn't even know it was a competition. She loved him, but Gods he sometimes just got everything▬even if he was super modest about it.

    He landed down and Zephyr happily greeted Toothless. Valkyrie, Snotlout, Astrid and Hott all eyed him▬intense as they tried to count the amount of sheep he had.

    Valkyrie's hands flew to her head. "You only have three, too!"

    Hiccup placed down the last of his sheep, giving her a confused frown. "Wait, what?"

    Before he could get his question answered, a pair of strangled yells made them all spin around. Tuffnut and Ruffnut were running for their lives to the entrance of the paddock. Behind them, they had three sheep chasing after them in a small stampede.

    "AAAAAHHHHHH▬!" screamed Tuffnut, flailing his arms in terror.

    Ruffnut kicked open the first gate and they sprinted through. It swung closed behind them. Reaching the second paddock, they leapt and dived over the fence, trapping the trio of ewes inside.

    Almost immediately, they were met with the putrid smell.

    Astrid gagged into her mouth. "Urgh! What is that disgusting smell?!"

    Tuffnut pushed himself onto his feet. He heaved a long breath. "Trust me▬!" he clutched a stitch at his side. "You don't want to know."

    Ruffnut snickered and pointed to the sheep trying to shove their heads through the fence to grab at Tuffnut's leather vest. "Yeah. They like it. That's all that matters."

    One snagged the bottom of his tunic and Tuffnut smacked their head away. "Hey, sheep!" he scolded them. "No means no!"

    "So..." Hott glanced around at them each. He crossed his arms. "Looks like we all got three."

    "Ha!" Snotlout cackled and pointed to the last of their group to arrive. "Not all of us. Get a load of Fishlug."

    Fishlegs landed Meatlug onto the short grass. Snotlout laughed at the sight, for it seemed that the pair of them had not found even a single sheep. "Ha!" Snotlout doubled over, finding this hilarious. "Big fat yak egg."

    But Fishlegs wasn't easily deterred this time. He arched a brow. "Oh, yeah?" he rebutted. He scratched his dragon at her ears. "Show 'em, girl."

    At that, Meatlug began to make a sound at the back of her throat. She heaved and she gagged▬and when she opened her jaw down low, two sheep toppled out. Valkyrie made a face, grossed out.

    But Fishlegs wasn't finished. He gave her a stern look at tapped her jaw. Meatlug huffed but heaved once more. Her eyes went cross-eyed and then, at last, a final and third ewe dropped out of her mouth, unharmed.

    Fishlegs chuckled, smug in a very coy way.

    Valkyrie clenched her hands. She was not happy with this. "Seriously?" she let out, moodily stamping her foot. "How can you all have gotten three sheep?!"

    Astrid shrugged, smirking. "Well, I guess it's a tie."

    "Uh, no, it's not," Valkyrie shook her head. She pointed at the lot of them. "I got here first, with three sheep▬so, I should win. And Snotlout technically only got two. Hott stole one and Meatlug ate hers!"

    Hiccup frowned at her again. Slowly, he realised. "Uh ... What did you supposedly win?"

    "The sheep-catching competition," Hott explained with a roll of his eye. "Duh. And you totally did not win, Val!"

    "Did, too!"

    Hiccup threw his hands up, suddenly frustrated. "Oh, for the love of▬Does it always have to be a competition?!"

    "Yes!" they all answered.

    He made a grumbling sound of stifled fury. Only to throw his hands again, realising there was no point.

    But perhaps Valkyrie's chance to win has finally come around when she needed it the most. Silent-Not-So-Silent Sven had returned to his farm to see how they had gone▬he counted each and every one of his sheep with a precise eye, only to notice one very important sheep was missing. He gasped loudly. "Oh no!" he cried. "Where is he?! Where is he?! Where is my prized black sheep?!" He gasped once again, a horrible thought hitting him. "Oh no! He's still out there! I hope he didn't fall down the well again!"

    "We'll check the well first, Sven," Hiccup quickly reassured him.

    Hott started to grin. He turned to Valkyrie. "You know what this means, don't you?"

    Val cracked her knuckles and climbed back onto her saddle. "Tie-breaker," she answered, very determined.

    Hiccup shook his hands at them. "Not a competition▬!" but he was too late, they had already taken off to the clouds.

    "YEAH▬!"

    "▬All right▬!"

    "▬This is awesome▬!"

    "▬I WILL CRUSH YOU ALL!"

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    SNOTLOUT DID IN fact: 'Crush them all' and Valkyrie was not happy about it. Out of all people to win the competition, she last person she wanted was it to be him▬because he bragged and bragged and bragged about it. Non-stop, all the time. Especially to her. So, she decided to demand a rematch. He, the Twins, Astrid nor Hott objected to the idea. It turned out, they all quite liked racing each other and catching sheep as a competition▬especially when they had a tie-breaker like they did. So, the Twins took it upon themselves to set out some rules. The next morning, they gathered the small group of Dragon Riders that were eager to play and explained. Inside the Dragon Academy, the Twins had written out their rules on the stone board▬the first time stye had put such effort into anything before.

    "Okay, okay▬!" Tuffnut was saying, pointing his white chalk at them each in turn. Valkyrie and Snotlout shared a dirty glance. "The sheep are hidden everywhere, which means you can't see them."

    Astrid rolled her eyes. "Hence, the hidden part?" she muttered, dry-toned.

    Tuffnut fixed the chalk back on her. "Oh," he mocked her matter-of-fact comment, "somebody's been paying attention. All right▬Wait, where was I?"

    "The sheep?" prompted Hott, incredulous.

    Tuff pointed at him. "Yes! Of course, I was, Little Frode." Valkyrie's younger brother puffed up in anger at the nickname. "Now, the sheep are hidden, but we are not."

    "Not what?" asked Snotlout.

    "Not hidden! Ugh!" sighed Tuffnut in his disappointment. "Someone has not been paying attention. Anyway! Grab as many sheep as you can. If two riders get to one sheep at the same time, you can tear it in half! Half a sheep, equals half a point."

    "Uh ..." Hiccup decided to show up at the wrong moment in time, having only just heard the end of Tuffnut's sentence. At the sight of him, Ruffnut gasped and quickly went to hide behind the stone board, crying out: The Fun Police! Hiccup sighed at her, not amused. "Look, uh, gang▬" he walked up to them, "▬I hate to be that guy, but, uh, no, there isn't going to be any sheep tearing in the near future."

    "Why not?" rebutted Snotlout.

    "Because there isn't going to be any dragon-sheep racing!"

    "Hey!" his cousin crossed his arms. "Who made you Chief?"

    "Stoick," said Valkyrie pointedly. "Hiccup's now Acting Chief while he's away."

    "So? Who made Stoick Chief?"

     "Your grandfather."

    "Well, then, who made him Chief?"

    Valkyrie and Hiccup shared matching dead-panned glances. Snotlout shrugged, defensive. "What?" he said. "I'm just wondering..."

    Hiccup sighed and held up his hands in surrender. "Look, guys, I've been given strict instructions to prepare for the Regatta."

    They all let out disapproving grumbles and sighs▬disappointed and not all happy to be forced into preparing for the most boring boat race of all time. Hiccup stared at Valkyrie's upset slump of her shoulders. "Hey," he let out, almost pleading her to be on his side. "Come on▬can't you at least back me up on this?"

    At first, she did not relent. Stubborn and annoyed, she eyed him out of the corner of her eye. But when he gave her the best pleading look he could give▬she realised how he felt when she did the same: She couldn't say no.

    "Ugh!" at last she decided. "Fine." With no enthusiasm whatsoever, she turned to her friends. "All right, guys, you heard the Acting Chief. No dragon racing."

    He threw his head into his hands.

    When he didn't see, Valkyrie winked to the others. They all grinned.

    Later that day, Hiccup had no idea what they planned to do. As soon as he had disappeared off towards the forge, spending time in the workshop to draw and work on a new tail for Toothless▬Valkyrie, Astrid, Snotlout, Hott and the Twins started their little (not so little) game.

     Soon, the early afternoon was filled with cheers and laughter as the Dragon Riders raced across the island of Berk. They chased after sheep (and each other), testing out the Twins new rules with delightful grins on their face and a desperate need to each be the one to reign victorious. Surprisingly, the Vikings of Berk started to get along with their dangerous games▬they watched them speed over head, cheering out their names and waving their hands. They jumped up and down and yelled each time one of the riders managed to grab a sheep▬starting to root for a favourite. When Valkyrie spun Zephyr as close as she dared to the streets, grabbing a sheep upside down off her saddle, some kids leapt up off their feet and cried out her name in delight. She laughed and shot them a thumbs-up as Zephyr turned up right and they shot past.

    Hiccup frowned when he heard the commotion from inside the forge. He stepped out to see what was happening, a little worried▬until he stumbled back, surprised at the gust of wind as a Monstrous Nightmare darted past dangerously. His frown deepened at the cheer: "YEAH! SNOTLOUT, SNOTLOUT, OI, OI, OI!"

    Immediately, he realised what was happening. Toothless pushed Hiccup back up onto his feet and he sighed, frustrated: "Oh, you gotta be kidding..."

    "Yeah!" Tuffnut's shouts came from above. Hiccup glanced up and watched, not impressed as he and his sister dived down to a lonely sheep grazing on a small slope nearby the stone steps that went further out towards the merchant huts. But someone swooped in faster.

    Astrid snatched the sheep in the nick of time, spinning Stormfly away before either of them could crash. "Haha!" she laughed. "Thank you very much!"

    "HEY!" Tuffnut yelled after her. "HALF OF THAT SHEEP IS MINE!"

    "YEAH!" Ruffnut leaned forwards, pointing at Astrid as she flew away. "AND HALF OF THAT HALF IS MINE!"

    "SORRY!" she waved then off without any sympathy in the world.

    Hiccup face-palmed, though he wasn't surprised that Astrid was caught up in this as well. Though when he heard a familiar, angry shout, his hands dropped to his sides in complete exasperation. "HEY! HOTT! THAT'S CHEATING▬!"

    The Chief's son watched Valkyrie chase her brother on his Deadly Nadder as he stole her sheep from her. He laughed at her vicious threats she made.

     Hiccup threw his hands up at her. "Val?!" he called up, incredulous. "Seriously?! Were's the love for the Acting Chief, huh?!" He threw his leg over Toothless's saddle and took to the air to chase after them, wanting to end this before it got worse (and before Hoark's house was in danger▬as it always seemed to be). "Hott!" he shouted after her brother. "Unhand the▬uh▬well, drop that sheep! Gently!"

    "No way!" Hott called back over his shoulder. "I earned this point!"

    "You stole it! That should be cheating! You're breaking the rules!" Valkyrie grumbled.

    "Rules are meant to be broken!"

    Hiccup sighed and urged Toothless faster, wanting to stop the two of them before they end up hurting each other (and he'll have to explain to Mr and Mrs. Frode why...).

    Though, as he chased the siblings over the roofs of the village, he only heard them cheer louder. Someone cried out: "This is better than the Regatta▬!" and Hiccup glanced down, those words making him frown in thought.

    When he finally managed to get them all to stop and return the sheep they all stole from Sven's farm (again!), the entire village gathered into the Great Hall by the fire for a meeting about preparation for the Regatta. Hiccup wasn't too happy about their improvised racing tournament, because it sent the entire village of Hairy Hooligans into an excited uproar▬and he could barely get a word in. Valkyrie sat nearby him, slumped forward with her chin on her palm, listening to Vikings shout with a bored daze about her. Vikings were very sturgeon, which meant they did not listen▬at all. If they wanted to be heard, they had a tendency to shout over the other, which only ever made things worse▬and often ended up in many insult competitions and fights.

    "All right, all right!" Hiccup tried to calm them all down, but it was hard at their growing shouts of Dragon Race! Dragon Race! Dragon Race! "All right! let's all just take a seat..." At their growing shouts, he gritted his teeth and glanced at his dragon. "Can you help me, bud?"

    Toothless tilted his head up, and he seemed almost happy to shoot a low aimed blast over the Viking's heads. They all gasped and ducked down, growing silent immediately. The Night Fury huffed, proud of himself before sitting back down.

    "Okay," said Hiccup now that he could finally speak. "I▬I know you all had a lot of fun today with the Dragon Academy doing exactly what they promised they would not do▬" he shot a steel eye onto Valkyrie who only just replied with a sheepish smile.

    Tuffnut shrugged, a few seats down. "I didn't make any promises," he said. "Did you?" he asked his sister.

    She shook her head. "Not a one," she grinned.

    "All right▬" Hiccup flung his hands up, not giving the Twins another glance, knowing better than to indulge their words. "I▬I know you all want to blow off steam," he said to the village, "but, hey, what could be better than a spirited Regatta?" he tried to say this with an enthusiastic grin, but it wavered dry and dull.

    The villagers did not look pleased. Hiccup's grin fell and he gulped, nervous. "Oh ..."

    Tuffnut decided to scoff. "I'll tell you what's better. Anything not named 'Regatta'." He grinned at the Vikings listening. "And how about a Dragon Race?"

    They all cheered and Hiccup made a frustrated sound as the silence Toothless gathered immediately became undone. They chanted the word again: "Dragon race! Dragon race!" led by the Twins and Hiccup wanted to slam his head down against the table.

    Snotlout snickered at his reaction. "What's wrong, Hiccup?" he taunted him along the table. "You afraid you and Toothless are no match for five thousand pounds▬" he tugged Hookfang's jaw close and the Monstrous Nightmare matched his sneer, "▬of muscle?"

    Astrid's eyes raised, and she did something Hiccup never would have thought she'd do. She played along with it. "Wow..." she taunted him, too, crossing her arms. "Sounds like Snotlout's calling someone out."

    Valkyrie chuckled, too, glancing at Hiccup with that mischievous look in her eyes that told him she agreed. He sighed. "You're supposed to be on my side, Val..."

     She stood up and stood at his side. "I am!" She told him sweetly and he managed a little smile. But then, she nudged him coyly. "But ... all we're saying is ... Stoick isn't going to be back for a few days and ... well ..." she nudged him again, smirking, "... don't you think this is a great way to blow off steam, too?"

    Valkyrie then lifted her brows, pleading with her best innocent look▬just like Hiccup had done to her. (Except she always got away with it). At the way he sighed, exasperated but endearing, she knew she had won.

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

    "THE SHEEP START at Silent Not-So-Silent Sven's farm. The racers will be at the Academy. On the start, the sheep are released. Once caught, we drop them in the baskets. Any other suggestions?"

    The Dragon Riders gathered at the Academy all glanced at each other. Valkyrie and Astrid shared a quick smug, but excited smile as Hiccup relented into their games▬they both secretly knew he enjoyed this far over any stupid Regatta.

    Then Snotlout spoke up. "Yeah," he crossed his arms. "Teams."

    Hiccup frowned. "What do you mean, teams?"

    "We should have teams," said Snotlout.

    "Really? And how do you propose we pick these teams?"

    "Oh▬" Snotlout grinned, "▬we already did. Me, the Twins and Hott against you, Val, Astrid and Fishface."

    "Yeah," nodded Tuffnut eagerly. "We even have a team name."

    Ruffnut crossed her arms, proud. "The Snothottnuts."

    Valkyrie let out a very loud snort into Zephyr's saddle, her eyes watering as she tried her very best not to burst out into hysteric laughter. Her brother watched her, not impressed. "Wow!" she praised sarcastically. "How did I not think of that first?"

    Tuffnut did not hear her sarcasm. "I think that's pretty obvious. I mean ... we're sort of the more creative element of the group."

    "She's making fun of us, dumbass," Hott shoved his sister in retaliation. She kicked his shin and he cried out▬the siblings' scuffle went ignored by the others.

    Astrid propped her hands on her hips. She chuckled, teasing. "Oh, this is gonna be too easy..."

    (Perhaps, she had spoken too soon).

    Because while the rest of them were eager to destroy the other team, Fishlegs was not. Valkyrie, Hiccup and Astrid found him hanging around at the docks. They saw Meatlug and followed the sound of her excited clattering until they found a stitched canvas thrown over something▬completely concealing what was inside. They were confused▬albeit very curious▬, before Valkyrie nudged Hiccup forward to check what was under it. He shot her an exasperated look over his shoulder but approached it anyway. But just before he could open it, he yelped and almost fell back when all of the sudden, Fishlegs burst forth from inside.

    "Whoa!" He exclaimed. "Fishlegs! What are you doing?!"

    "It's a secret, Hiccup," said Fishlegs Ingerman before stepping out onto the docks. He closed the canvas behind them before Valkyrie could get a glimpse of what was inside. "What's happening? What brings you guys here?"

    The three of them quickly explained what they planned to do. But immediately, as soon as they finished, Fishlegs shook his head. "Nope. Sorry, Hiccup. Can't do it."

    They slumped in disappointment. "What?"

    "I can't afford to take one moment away from my preparations. And frankly, I am surprised that you would shirk your responsibilities as Acting Chief and give over to the whims of the masses▬" Fishlegs gestured over to Valkyrie at this and she gaped, shocked.

    Hiccup stammered, "I▬uh▬What?" He laughed nervously, glancing at Valkyrie. "I'm not▬I wouldn't▬I'm not giving over to anything."

    Astrid's eyes went wide momentarily, startled by Hiccup's defensive tone. She quickly stepped in. "Oh, come on, Fishlegs..." she tried to persuade their friend. "Wouldn't you love to take out Snotlout, Hott and the Twins? Or should I say Snothottnuts?"

    Fishlegs chuckled, incredulous at this. "Snothottnuts? Heh! How long did it take them to come up with that?" Then, he sighed. "Look, as tempting as it is, Meatlug and I have one thing on our minds and one thing only. We are going sailing. Now, if you'll excuse me▬" he slipped back inside the canvas and gave them one last glance, "▬my first mate and I have some last-minute preparations to do."

    Valkyrie sighed, frustrated as he closed the canvas flap. She glanced at Hiccup with a look that said: Boring... With one final chance to try and pressure Fishlegs in joining them, Valkyrie made another dramatic sigh and said loudly: "Wow! Guess we'll just have to beat Snotlout, Hott and the Twins by ourselves then ..." she waited, eyeing the canvas. When there was no reaction, she grumbled and the three of them returned to the Academy.

    They would have to win this race without him. (Which, Valkyrie was sure was going to be very easy... They were sure to beat any team that came up with 'Snothottnuts' as their name).

    Even outnumbered, Valkyrie was confident. Going against the Twins in any competition was bound to be disastrous on their end▬and whoever decided it would be a great idea to have them on their team.

    The turn out for the race was amazing. The entire village had come to watch, crowding around the Dragon Academy as the riders inside all prepared for the race. They cheered and egged them on, waving makeshift flags and slapping each other with salmon if they went for opposing teams. Valkyrie waved briefly at her family▬her parents and her other three brothers. Mak and Erik made stupid faces through the bars and sent her and Hott both thumbs-down encouragements. Hott threw his hands up at their two younger brothers, exasperated.

    Gothi had even come to be the start runner of the race, hobbling out into the centre of the Academy with her stick and a small purple flag. She shook her staff for silence and held the makeshift flag up▬even she was excited for the race.

    Valkyrie leaned forward in her saddle. Zephyr huffed in determination.

    Hiccup glanced at his friends and noticed they were all looking very menacing. He wasn't sure how far this was going to go ... maybe this was going to be a bad idea ... "All▬all right, gang," he tried to calm them down. "When Gothi drops that flag, we race."

    Snotlout barked out a laugh. "Hey, losers▬"

    "What?" The Twins and Hott both glanced at him. They then glanced at each other, confused at their simultaneous response.

    Snotlout frowned at the three of them, annoyed.

    Hott realised. "Oh..." he flushed in embarrassment. "You weren't talking to any of us, were you?"

    He gripped Hookfang's horns angrily. "No! I was talking to the other team▬!" he pointed at Valkyrie, Astrid and Hiccup. "You guys aren't the losers. You're part of me. I'm a winner."

    "Oh..." the three of them chorused.

     Astrid leaned forward on her saddle, taunting over at Hott who was on the other end of the line. "Don't worry, Snotlout, Hott's just used to being called a loser."

    Valkyrie's younger brother went bright red in his saddle and shot up, rigid and straight. He retorted: "Yeah? Well you are used to being called a ..." he faltered, trying to think of something to say. "A ... a▬well, you're going to be called the loser this time, Astrid!"

    She chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Wow ... Hott, if you race as well as you trash talk, you're in big trouble."

    "Hey, well, jokes on you because I trash talk better than I race▬wait, no▬hang on▬I should've said that the other way around ... Wait, no ... that wouldn't work either..."

    Valkyrie and Hiccup shared a small incredulous glance. She shrugged, not sure how to ever explain her brother.

    When there was a glimpse of movement out of the corner of her eye, Valkyrie hitched her breath and readied herself once again. She gripped onto her saddle tight, eyeing Gothi's wavering had that held the flag. She drummed a pattern on Zephyr's scales▬he reared his wings, ready to take off.

    Gothi held the flag higher ...

    And then flung it down.

    Zephyr leapt up, folded his wings▬and Valkyrie was off through the exit first before anyone else, cheering out in delight as they took off into the sky. They spun around to gain speed and as he settled back into a straight line over the shore, she glanced over her shoulder to grin▬mischievous▬at Hiccup who was just inches behind; taunting that she beat him and Toothless off the starting line. He narrowed his eyes with a small smile, shaking his head at her antics with a warm heart.

    They Dragon Racers all cheered and cried out their calls for victory the moment they heard the horn down below▬the sheep had been let out.

    Valkyrie waved good luck to Astrid and Hiccup before tilting Zephyr backwards and they shot back down to the sea. She grinned, her heart pacing with an ecstatic thrill before she pulled up last minute, darting across the ocean surface back towards Berk with a delightful squeal.

    They spun up along the side of the cliffs and sped underneath overhanging walkways, on the hunt for anything that looked anything remotely like a moving cloud of white wool. When she pulled Zephyr up over the roofs of the village and aimed a pathway straight for the slopes near Sven's farm, she glanced back over and found that Hott and Spikemoth were following her at her tail. Valkyrie narrowed her eyes at her brother and urged Zephyr to fold his wings, and they shot forward in speed with a gust of wind.

    But Hott knew what she was doing. He just did the same, swing a wide arch around Mrs. Ack's home and was closing back in▬Deadly Nadder's were great at keeping their speed, even when they had to do tricky manoeuvres because they were so agile.

    Valkyrie gritted her teeth and pulled Zephyr upwards and back over her brother, completely changing directions and darting to the left▬he just pulled Spikemoth back and in a split second, was following her again.

    The siblings darted in and out of buildings as they chased for the farm slopes in search of sheep. Their evasive manoeuvre trainings came back in good use as Valkyrie desperately tried to shake her brother off her tail, and he desperately tried to stay on it.

    They were nearing the outskirts of the forests when Valkyrie saw her first sheep. She gasped and immediately pushed Zephyr down for a dive-bomb. Hott gritted his teeth and urged Spikemoth to do the same. Narrowing her eyes at him as he wrapped around to the other side as they shot to the ground, she knew any sane Dragon Rider would pull out. But Valkyrie just gripped the handlebars of her saddle tighter and leaned further forward.

    "We got this, boy," she reassured Zephyr as they dived for the sheep when Hott refused to relent, either.

    The siblings each started to get dangerously close to the ground. One of them was going to have to pull up▬or they would be in serious trouble.

    Hott started to realise. He took a nervous breath. "I'm not turning!" he told his sister loudly. "I'm not turning!"

    Valkyrie narrowed her eyes at the sheep grazing on the field below. "Neither am I!" she shouted back.

    She expected Hott to chicken out at the last moment, pulling Spikemoth upwards in an abrupt fashion with a short yell▬Valkyrie laughed as she swooped low on the ground and snatched the sheep right off the grass. "YOU'RE TOO PREDICTABLE, HOTT!" she called back over her shoulder at her brother as she sped away.

    She returned Zephyr to the Academy and he dropped their sheep into their basket. She noticed the other Riders all seemed to manage to at least get one sheep each for their team. Which meant:

    Black Sheep. The tie-breaker.

    It was a ruthless chase for the Black Sheep. The Riders all swept in and out▬chasing each other in one desperate race to find Sven's prized ewe. Valkyrie was more determined than ever, managing to keep a steady pace just behind Hiccup in the line they all made for the forest.

    They found the black sheep a little deeper in the thick▬it was running for its life as it noticed six dragons all folding their wings in pursuit of it. The riders and their dragons swept through the tree branches, gained speed over the tops of their leaves and each desperately tried to find a way in to steal it from the others. It seemed that not even teams were on their mind, now, they each wanted the Black Sheep for themselves. Soon, some of them had to pull back as the woods became denser. Hiccup had to take Toothless the long way around, but Valkyrie already had a plan in mind. She refused to be so risky as to take Zephyr deep in there, like the Twins with his large (and beautiful) wings. So she sped across the tips of the trees, looking for a clearing she knew was right in the sheep's path, and was prepared to cut it off.

    She heard a not-so-good thud and crash! down below which told her the Twins most definitely ran head first into a couple of trees.

    When Valkyrie heard a Nadder's squawk she glanced back. She gritted her teeth, frustrated to see her brother following her▬again!

    "You're little trick is getting old, Hott!" she told him before dipping Zephyr downwards as they neared the clearing. Her brother copied her, brows furrowed and jaw set in determination.

    And there, they both saw, the black sheep rushing out of the forest towards them▬just as Valkyrie knew it would. She tilted Zephyr down into a real dive, this time.

    "Hey!" her brother shouted as Spikemoth folded her wings back to gain speed. "You're not getting away so easily, Val!"

    Soon, they were neck and neck in their ferocious dive.

    The siblings locked stares▬equally as stubborn as the other.

    "I'm not backing off!" Hott warned her.

     She laughed at him. "Please! That's what you always say▬right before you back off▬!"

    But, unlike last time, there was a new stubborn determination to Hott▬a desperation to prove himself. He was not going to back off! He was not a loser▬Valkyrie underestimated just how much her brother had a need to be considered better that who he thought he was.

    And he was not going to pull away.

    Valkyrie was smug▬not realising; she kept Zephyr at a high-speed dive down into the clearing, thinking that her brother will do the same as he always did▬

    Neither one of them put the sheep stopping and dropping to the ground▬fainting with fear in either of their plans.

    Hott's eyes widened. "Oh, no▬"

    Without the sheep moving, their momentum didn't have anywhere to go. They had to pull up. Valkyrie cried out as she tugged Zephyr upwards at a desperate angle▬but he was going too fast. He couldn't manoeuvre as well in such a sudden change, and with his large body and wings, Spikemoth▬well, neither of them stood any chance.

    Valkyrie and Hott crashed into one another, and they both spiralled to the ground. They landed painfully, tumbling and rolling away. Zephyr did his best to fold Valkyrie close to his underbelly as they skidded along the forest ground▬and it was a rough few seconds of tumbling and stumbling; of dirt and painful jolts. Until with a final, painful jolt, they stopped and Valkyrie screamed when she was propelled forward away from her dragon. He could do nothing to catch her and she had no time to think▬she threw out her arm and landed, horribly, on her elbow.

    "Valkyrie!" Hiccup shouted and dived Toothless down towards her.

    Across the field, Hott groaned as he pushed himself up. "Oh, yeah, sure▬don't worry about me, I'm fine!" He slumped back against Spikemoth who squawked, shaking the her head in a slight daze. "Dammit, Val▬seriously?!"

    She lied there for a moment on the grass, just holding her sprained arm with a vicious look at her brother. "You always pull out!"

    "Oh, so now it's my fault, is it?! You didn't stop either!"

    Toothless landed and Hiccup leapt off his saddle, running over to help Valkyrie sit up. "Are you okay?"

    "I'm fine!" she said angrily until the pain in her arm hit again and she gritted her teeth. "Hott!" she shouted at her brother. "My arm▬look what you did to my arm!"

    Hott climbed back up onto his saddle, rubbing at his side where he landed. "You did that to yourself!"

    She gritted her teeth and went to try and have a go at him. Hiccup quickly reached over to pull her back by her good shoulder. "Yeah, nope▬no, nope... Take a breath ... Hott, if you can fly, go get Gothi, okay?"

    "I'm hurt, too▬!"

    "Hott..."

    "Fine!" Hott pulled Spikemoth back up into the air. They went to leave until he noticed the Black Sheep hadn't moved. Bitter and angry, he made his way over. "But first, let me drop this off▬!" He didn't see the low hanging tree branch that whacked him in the face. He yelped as he was flung backwards off his saddle and onto the ground, dazed next to the sheep.

    Hiccup sighed. After a moment he decided. "All right ... I guess I'll go get Gothi, then..."

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    HOTT AND VAL were put in 'Time-Out' by their parents (and Hiccup)▬like they were ten and seven all over again. But that didn't stop them scowling at each other as they sat, separated, while Gothi checked them over. While Valkyrie had to have her arm put in a sling, not able to move it at all until her sprain healed itself, Hott had to deal with scratches on his cheeks and forehead from being hit by the tree branch. He was going to have a small scar on his cheek when they healed▬which only made Valkyrie in a worse mood, because getting a scar is cool.

    This meant that both of them were banned from Dragon Racing in the near future▬and competing in the Regatta (which, honestly, neither of them cared about). Which, of course, didn't help either of their stubborn dislike for each other that would most likely last for the next week until they reluctantly came to a truce over how much Erik annoyed them.

    They were separated, too, when Hiccup called a new meeting in the Great Hall the next day. Seated on either ends of the table, Hiccup had strategically placed Astrid next to Hott, and Valkyrie beside him▬knowing that Valkyrie wouldn't hurt Hiccup and Hott, despite his need to push Astrid's buttons, would never actually try and get in a fight with her, because he knew he would lose.

    (Hiccup had a lot of practice in separating the two of them▬he knew what worked best).

    However, when he had an unhappy girlfriend, her unhappy brother and an entire unhappy village, Hiccup started to run out of ideas. After the success (well, he wouldn't exactly call it a success) of the first real race, everyone wanted to see another one. They screamed and cheered for it, overpowering Hiccup's voice as soon as he mentioned anything remotely close to the Regatta.

    He held his hands up, growing flustered at all the nose. "No, no▬guys!" he tried to yell over the villagers. "The deal was one Dragon Race, and then back to the Regatta!" Hiccup put on his best cheerful grin▬he winced the moment the entire crowd booed. He slumped when he saw Valkyrie's father lead the booing, thinking that at least his girlfriend's dad would be on his side ... apparently not.

    "Okay, okay▬Hey, hey▬EVERYONE!" they fell silent, surprised to hear Snotlout speak up. Hiccup's cousin walked over to his side, holding up his hands to the crowd and they listened. Hiccup dreaded the worst▬Oh, here we go... He thought to himself. "Everyone. Okay, okay. Hiccup is right."

    All the teens frowned, startled. They turned to Snotlout, shocked.

    Hiccup gaped. "What?"

    Snotlout smirked. "Let's all start getting ready for the awesome boat race." He then crossed his arms and stared Hiccup down. "I mean, it's not like he could beat Team Snothottnuts anyway."

    "Uh, just 'Snotnutts'▬" stated Tuffnut matter-of-factly, sniggering at Hott's scowl. "Little Frode is banned from Dragon Racing, aren't you▬?" he cooed and Valkyrie's brother went bright red with embarrassment.

    "I'm fifteen!"

    When the crowd murmured, growing interested at the brewing feud between Hiccup and Snotlout, the Chief's son clenched his hands and refused to show how much he suddenly wanted to get on Toothless's back and show Snotlout up.

    Noticing, Valkyrie slumped, giving him her best pleading look. "Come on, Hiccup..."

    "Val, no▬" he told her and she huffed, annoyed. "If Hott's banned, so are you▬and there is no way you can race like that▬" he gestured to her arm and she clenched her jaw▬but she sat back in her chair, knowing he was right.

    Snotlout laughed. "Sorry, folks," he said in mock sympathy to the crowd. "We can't have a rematch anyway. Hiccup has to babysit."

    "Seriously?!" Valkyrie lit up with fiery anger at the comment. She stood up and would have stormed over and punched Snotlout, even with her sprained arm if Zephyr didn't step in and help Hiccup, gently taking hold of the back of her armour straps to keep her from charging the Jorgenson. "You seriously think saying that is okay?! Hiccup could beat your ass, Snotlout▬can't you Hiccup? You can beat his sorry ass! Get him, babe! You got him!"

    Her encouragement didn't help the growing restlessness of the crowd. He turned to her, lifting his hands in slight exasperation▬but appreciating her support all the same.

    "He so could," Astrid suddenly stood up, too. She pointed at Snotlout daringly. "You forget, Hiccup still has me as his teammate▬and you are so going down, Snotface Snotlout!"

    "Doesn't change the fact that you guys are still outnumbered," Snotlout jeered. "Even without Hott on our team. Face it, Useless▬you can't win."

     Hiccup's chest puffed out▬and at last, his stubborn pride (perhaps the only thing he inherited from his father) exploded. He stormed up to his cousin. "Oh, yeah?" he threatened, sticking his finger under the shadow of his fat nose. "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

     Realising what he meant, Astrid's ferocious support fell away and was replaced with a blank stare. "You're not seriously thinking about...?"

    (Oh, he was).

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    TURNS OUT, Meatlug was seasick.

    (Which worked out great in Hiccup and Astrid's favour).

    Once again, the entire village found themselves at the Dragon Academy. Instead of Regatta banners and flags, they had started to make racing totems▬they showcased banners for each of their dragons, hung their flags and cheered out their team names. This would be the final showdown between▬and Hiccup wasn't going to let Snotlout think he could get away with thinking he would ever beat Hiccup at racing. Fishlegs joined him and Astrid as they made their way into the arena, hovering their dragons to land in line with Snotlout and the Twins. As soon as his cousin saw Fishlegs, he burst out into laughter.

    "Your new teammate is Fishlegs?" he wheezed.

    "They're so slow," whispered Tuffnut to his sister, "we won't even have to use your super-secret plan▬" the two of them chuckled amongst each other.

    "Exactly."

    "Wait ... what was the plan again?"

    This time, Mulch had joined Gothi at the starting line. As she held up her flag, he called out: "Racers ready!" They all leaned forward in their saddles. "And..."

    "HICCUP!"

    There was a collective gasp among the entire crowd as the mighty voice of Stoick the Vast echoed out into the arena. Hiccup hunched in his saddle, his eyes going wide. "Uh-oh..."

    The Chief of Berk stormed into the arena, and he did not look happy. His cheeks were was red as his fiery beard, he was so angry.

    Hiccup forced a cheerful chuckle from his lips. "Dad▬!" he exclaimed. He stepped off his saddle and anxiously made his way over, holding his arms out as if he wasn't just about to set off on a race. "Wel▬Welcome back! ... Early ..."

    Under his intense, steel glower, Hiccup grew sheepish. "I▬uh▬look▬" he chuckled once again as he gestured at the arena around them, "▬I▬I can explain▬"

    "I hope so," grumbled his father with his hands on his hips. "Because these▬" he pointed up at the new racing totems, "▬don't look like Regatta decorations to me."

    Hiccup gulped. "I▬uh▬So, Dad ... uh ... you▬you know▬?" he stumbled over his words as he tried to sneak his way out of this, but he knew he was in trouble▬big trouble. "Being▬uh▬being Acting Chief means that sometimes I▬uh▬have to make hard choices for the uh▬the good of the people..." His father was not amused. Hiccup scratched the back of his neck. "So▬I▬uh▬had to make one of said▬uh▬really hard choices ... and I chose to ..." with a final sigh, he decided to let it all out at once: "Replace the Regatta with Dragon Racing."

    He said this in one, quick breath.

    Hiccup peered one eye open up at his towering father. Stoick set his jaw and stared down at him. He arched one, bushy red brow. "Oh, really? And you did this all by yourself?"

    "Uh ..." Hiccup glanced behind him at his friends. All at once, each and every one of them turned away, whistling nonchalantly into the wind. Hiccup sighed. Slowly, he turned back to his father. "Yes..." he took the entire blame reluctantly. "Yep. Yep ... Just me."

    "Totally contradicting my orders?" His father bent down to meet his gaze, and even though Hiccup has grown quite a lot in the past year, his father was still over an entire foot taller.

    Hiccup pursed his lips. "Uh▬yep ... yep. Again, that would be yes, again..." Like a dragon, his father's angry breath blew Hiccup's growing hair off his face.

    "Well, well, well..." grumbled Stoick the Vast. "I suppose there's only one thing left for me to do."

    Hiccup sighed. "Oh, Thor..."

    "Run the Dragon Race!"

    The crowd jumped to their feet in a loud applause. Hiccup's shoulders dropped, utterly shocked. "Wait▬what?!"

    His father's anger lifted like a summer storm▬unpredictable and all over the place. He laughed boisterously, slapping a hand on his son's back. Hiccup nearly tripped over. "You heard me! But▬if we're gonna do it, we're gonna do it right. Now, get everyone together! I have some ideas..."

    And Stoick the Vast was nothing if not a Viking who was a fan of dramatic flair. He had their trained Terrible Terrors be brought in, the arena roof lifted up and asked all Riders competing to make their stance at the starting line on the wooden deck right at the arena's edge. The spectating crowds at a perfect view of their teams and of the baskets that were placed in the Academy centre▬two for each team, and colour-coordinated so they knew who team was getting each point. And those colours were brought to the racers themselves: red and green▬where they would be organised into either team with painting the colour on their faces however they wished.

    Valkyrie had rejoined them from the crowd, grinning as she got the chance to apply the red face-paint onto Hiccup's cheeks herself. He held the bowl as she drew two lines across his face under each eye. She was smiling to herself as she did it.

    "What?" Hiccup had chuckled at her, curious to know what she was thinking.

    "Nothing," she wiped the paint off on her skirt and then made sure to fix the braid she had done at the nape of his neck the other day. He had not taken it out since. "Just..." Val smiled at him again, "red suits you." She nodded, proud at the look she had done. "You look like a warrior, now."

    He chuckled at her teasing tone. A blush dusted across his freckles. He matched her tone and replied: "Well, thank you, Milady."

    She blushed, too▬and any vicious anger she was harbouring was gone the moment she gave him that shy, sweet smile.

    Though their little moment was ruined when they saw Tuffnut throw his face into the bowl of paint not far from them.

    Valkyrie chuckled and then she turned back to him. She stepped in to give him a chaste kiss, wishing Hiccup good luck. Immediately, Snotlout pretended to throw up in his saddle.

    She then sent him a final, cheerful wink before rushing over to stand to the side next to Gothi. Once she did, the Chief cleared his throat▬and everyone's attention was grabbed.

    He threw his arms out. "Welcome to the first annual Berk Dragon Race!"

    There was a stampede of applause from the stands. Stoick flung open the wooden chest beside him and out burst the Terrible Terrors, shooting up into the sky in an abundance of bright colours.

    "We have two teams," continued the Chief. "The green team▬" he gestured to Snotlout and the Twins. "Team Snotnuts!" The crowd cheered. "And the red team! Team ..." he faltered, dubious as he said, "... Hiccstridlegs?"

    Both Astrid and Hiccup turned, incredulous and annoyed as Fishlegs cheered the loudest. He then told them with a giddy, proud chuckle: "I thought of that."

    "All right! Each sheep is worth one point. Except for the Black Sheep, which is worth ten! I have appointed a referee▬" just as he said this, they all stared, surprised when Hott touched to the ground on Spikemoth. He crossed his arms, staring at them each with a steel eye and a thirst for revenge▬against all of them for their teasing jokes, and they knew this very well, "▬to make sure there's no funny business." Hott gestured to his eyes and then pointed them, purposefully, onto Astrid.

   She narrowed her eyes back at him, taking on the challenge.

     Meanwhile, the Twins shared a glance as Stoick scowled at them for a moment. Tuffnut turned to his sister. "Why does he always look directly at us when he says that?"

    "The winner of today's race will have their portrait hung in the Great Hall and a feast thrown in their honour!"

    "Haha!" Snotlout loved this idea. "Yeah▬!" he pointed at the Team Hiccstridlegs. "Might as well call it the Feast of Snot▬" he backtracked. "Uh... Snot Feast! A Feast of Snot!"

    "Are we ready?!" Boomed Stoick the Vast.

    The cheers were deafening now. Gothi raised her flag.

    The horn blew.

    Gothi flung the flag down.

    "LET THE RACE BEGIN!"

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    "WE TOTALLY won that race," Snotlout scoffed after Astrid finished her story, arms crossed and scowling at her with a moody breath.

    Valkyrie made a face, "Uh▬No, you didn't. You guys lost. You guys got your ass beaten▬" she pointed at him viciously. "Hiccup totally beat your sorry ass, Snotlout. The Twins even tried to cheat and it didn't work!"

    Snotlout grumbled and turned away, muttering a soft: "Shut up, Val..."

    Hiccup blinked as he slowly tried to comprehend all that Astrid recounted. In the end, he let out a long sigh. "Huh!" he exclaimed. "So ... I guess ... technically, it was Tuffnut who invented this sport."

    Hott slumped down onto the Sheep Launcher at this, heartily disappointed. He frowned, miserable at the stone floor. Hiccup watched him and murmured: "Which ... is disturbing."

    "Yeah," Tuffnut realised, his fingers lifting to his chin in dramatic thought. He and his sister had returned to the arena halfway through the story after giving out many apologies for broken legs. "Tech-nick-ack-ally, it was!"

    Valkyrie face-palmed at the pronunciation. She turned to Hiccup and pursed her lips. Soft, she admitted, "I ... that feels a little embarrassing, actually..."

    "Yeah," he scoffed, sharing a warm smile with her. "Tell me about it..."

    "Well, I mean," she then offered to him as he scratched the back of his neck, "at least you came up with most of the rules..."

    "Embarrassing for you," grumbled Hott as he sulked under the shadow of the catapult, "depressing for me. I didn't even come up with this stupid Sheep Launcher."

    "Hey!" Snotlout let out.

    Hiccup smiled and sat down next to his friend, offering a kind hand on his shoulder. "Look, we all played a part in it."

    Hott glumly glanced at him. "Really?" he said flatly. "What did I do?"

    Hiccup tried to think on his toes. "Uh ... well ..." his eyes lit up as something came to mind, "... you put the spirit of cheating into everyone's head! That was all you."

    Slowly, Hott's gaze seemed to lift. A grin tugged at his lips. "Yeah ... Yeah!" he decided, nodding▬he was satisfied with this decision. "Yeah! I did do that! I was the one who originally cheated▬no one can take that away from me!" 

    "Well, I mean, actually," Tuffnut spoke up again, picking wax out of his ear. He flicked it away and they all turned up their noses. "I think we all have a natural sense of competitiveness about us ... so I think we've all cheated, at least once ... No one's ever given us that idea..."

    And Hott slumped again, upset.

    "Okay!" Hiccup scowled at him as he pulled Hott back to stand on his feet. "How about we all invented Dragon Racing? Can we just say that?"

    "Oh, sure! But it wouldn't be accurate," said Tuffnut, shrugging, "'cause Hott did nothing. No thing. Zippo. Goose egg. Yeah, I said it. It was like he wasn't even there▬OW▬!" He yelped when Astrid punched him across the face. Ruffnut laughed when he hit the ground.

    She propped her hands on her hips and turned back to Hott, offering him a rare smile. "He was, however, the first ever Dragon Race Referee."

    Hott smiled back at her.

    When the distant sound of the horn echoed across the island, excited grins slowly returned to all of their faces. Toothless nudged Hiccup forward and he laughed. "Yeah!" he turned to his dragon, giving him a scratch under the chin. "That's right, bud. Race time."

    Valkyrie chuckled and rushed over to Zephyr who sat down beside Toothless, waiting for her. As she did, she stopped to meet up with Hiccup in between them. "You're going down, Haddock," she told him.

    He only grinned, delighted. "You keep wishing, Milady."

    She pointed a taunting finger at his smirk. "You're acting all extra confident with that colour red, but you know I will▬"

    Hiccup just pulled her closer by her wrist and kissed her.

     And Snotlout's constant gagging in the background did not matter one bit.

    After a short while, Hiccup pulled away and smiled down at Valkyrie who gazed up at him, a little stunned. Soon, she smiled, too▬and it brightened up her entire face. "Red was always your colour," she decided to tell him, and he chuckled.

    "I knew you thought so," he teased.

    "URGH!" the rest of the Dragon Riders all chorused. They were all on their saddles, ready for the race to begin.

    "Come on!" Hott beckoned them to hurry up. "You can be gross and kiss once it's all over!"

    Valkyrie and Hiccup glanced at each other.

    And they just laughed.

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    a/n: I just wrote a full ass author's note and wattpad was like nope, screw you and deleted it all as soon as I uploaded my drawing. 

    I'M SORRY FOR InSUlTING YOU, oKAY? bUT yOU'RE ALWAYS GLITCHY <3 I'LL NEVER DITCH YOU AND WRITE ON AO3 YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT BY NOW WATTPAD!

    anyway, summary: this was 13000 words, I wasn't gonna write 14000 and so I skipped the last race but you get the gist of the whole story and how they all contributed to dragon racing. 

    as always, here's val's outfit and design for this prelude <3. this was one of the drawings I was gonna have in the book of dragons that I just can't complete with everything I'm doing atm with uni, work, etc. so I wanted to use this design for her to compensate <3

    val's gonna have a few designs for rtte cos I just imagine her being a fashion icon in this universe and it's fun to come up with all these designs, and you know, just cos they're animated doesn't mean imma make them wear the same clothes every day, that's just cruel <3.

    val's going thru her mini-skirt era. her designs are so reflective of what her character means. she is girly and she is 'vicious' and she is whatever she wants to be. you'll find that her designs in rtte are very 'girly' because I'm sick of people forcing what feminism should be and how girls should dress and how feminism should be shown - she can be a girl and a warrior and a wife and a mother and be whoever she wants to be and still be empowering. 

    imma stop now before I start ranting about feminism and fashion and character's and how a woman can be beautiful and wear girly clothes and be heroic and not be just a sex object and against feminism. let's make that feminism instead of just being women degrading other women.