Haley and the Dragon Riders

The Backstory

"Well, why haven't we heard about this mysterious Casanova until now?" Tuffnut asked.

"Because it's none of your business who I'm seeing? Because it's my private life? Because I have the right to see whoever I want? Or maybe because we haven't been a thing until recently. Pick your favorite." I gave him an annoyed smile.

"Hey! If you're dating a bad guy all of a sudden, we're gonna have a problem, you and me." Snotlout pointed at me judgingly. I rolled my eyes in response

"I promise he's a good guy. He's made a few mistakes in his life and questionable choices, but overall, he's a good guy. He even saved my life once."

How?" Astrid joined in, and they all sat next to me as I began explaining me and Viggo's tale.

"Well, we met a long time ago. Way before I even knew any of you guys." I looked at the others and gathered my thoughts, coming up with a narrative that sounded believable.
"So, here's what happened..."

And so, I began weaving together a tale of my upbringing, trying to make it believable where possible.

I was living alone with River, who at this point was quite young. Too young to join me on hunts. I was 10 when I arrived at the island, and River was still in her egg. I had hitched a ride with some random vikings, who didn't take too kindly to having me as a stowaway. I wanted to join them in their quest for new lands, hoping to find a place to live at the end of their trip, but they found me while we were still days away from their destination.

In order to stay alive, I did some manual labor on the ship, mainly swabbing the deck. Until we finally reached the island, they would drop me off at. They called it the Crimson Island, and over the course of the next few days, I'd quickly learn why.

They kept quite the distance to the island, barely entering it's reef. I was placed in a small rowboat and sailed out there by one lonely viking. He seemed tense the entire time, which made me quite uneasy.

As soon as I got out of the boat, he returned to their main ship as fast as possible, leaving me stranded.

I had River's egg in my satchel as I went about exploring the island. There were beautiful forests, gorgeous beaches and challenging mountains. My wings weren't large enough to help me fly, but they did have enough power to get me slightly off the ground, basically acting as a higher jump. It made it slightly easier to navigate the island and get to a high vantage point.

While I was exploring, I ran into a group of Gronckles down on the beach. I didn't know much about dragons at the time, but I wanted to pose as little as a threat as possible.

When they first saw me, they started growling. A few in the back of the pack seemed to be eating, so I had probably just arrived at a bad time. However, that wasn't going to stop me. I saw them eating rocks and smaller pebbles.

With three dragons in front of the group watching me at all times, I slowly walked around the area, collecting small stones and pebbles. Once I felt I had enough, I sat down in the sand and laid the rocks out in front of me.

It took a bit of time, but eventually, one of the guard Gronckles decided to try and come closer. It slowly made its way towards me and quickly grabbed one of the stones furthest away from me. I sat completely still and observed it as it ate. Little by little, the Gronckle got closer and closer until I was eventually able to touch it.

I placed my hand on its snout and felt a connection as it leaned into it. The other Gronckles soon followed suit, and before I knew it, I was being overrun by them. They were all over me, tickling me by licking my entire body while simultaneously almost crushing me for wanting pets.