A New World, Complicated

Chapter 12: Thawfest (Hiccup)

"What are you two working on?" I flashed a proud smile.

"Just some ideas for Thawfest."

"Right, right. Excellent." He awkwardly stood there, peering over my shoulder for a few solid seconds. Eventually, I sighed in irritation.

"So... did you need something, Dad?"

"Well, with the dragons, you could actually, well..."

"Beat Snotlout? Best the Jorgensons?" I was starting to get excited at the idea.

"Well, when you put it that way, it does have a nice ring." Awkward silence once again filled the space between us. "All right, then. I'll let you get back to, eh, whatever it is you two do." As he backed out of the room, my eyes rested on that drawing Reign had done, bringing a warm smile to my face.

"Let's finish this up, bud."

The people cheering all around the arena (that's what the Dragon Academy was for the day) provided both a rush of adrenaline and a sinking pit in my stomach. This was it, Thawfest was officially beginning.

"Let the Thawfestival Games begin!" my dad declared loudly, releasing a bunch of Terrible Terrors into the air.

"Hey, Hiccup!" I turned around to Reign approaching me and smiling. "I, uh, wanted to wish you good luck. And since I can't be right next to you to do that, I, uh, made you this." She removed something shimmering from the bag on her belt and handed it to me. "Good luck!" She ran out to join the rest of the crowd up at the top, and while I only had a minute before the festivities started, I decided to look down at what she gave me.

On one side, it was a scale that Toothless had shed. The black material caught the light and shone against my palm. When I flipped it over, a purple scale was sewn onto the other side. I smiled to myself, then up where Reign was. I undid the clip and attached it to my belt as the others ran over to the starting positions for the first event. After a moment to psych myself up, I joined them, individual cheers fading into the booming roar of the crowd.

"The contestants are lining up for the Sheep Lug," Mulch announced to everyone.

"It's a good day for lugging sheep, Mulch." Bucket's voice was barely audible over the crowd.

"Well, Bucket, every day's a good day for lugging sheep." Gobber slapped a sheep around my shoulders, causing me to dip under the sudden force and weight. I made a noise of disgust as I looked over to see Snotlout spit in his hands and rub it all over his face. "On your mark... get set..." Mulch struck Bucket's bucket and everyone started dashing toward the finish line. I pushed myself, and managed to cross the line third before I collapsed. "The first point of the Thawfest Games goes to Snotlout!"

"Right where you belong," Snotlout scoffed. "Down at my feet." He extended a hand down to help me up, but as soon as I reached out to take it, he yanked it away. "Oops! Too slow. As usual." I sighed and managed to get myself up from the ground. Snotlout demeaned me every year, and even though we were good friends now, there was still a large sting to it. I brushed the scale pinned to my belt, then prepared for the next event. As soon as things were set up, we were all helped up onto the large log.

"Next up is our traditional Log Roll event."

"Enjoy your face plant," Snotlout laughed, taunting me. As soon as he was finished stretching out, Snotlout began to run, starting the event. Despite having never done this with a metal leg before, I managed to be one of the last standing, to the point where it was down to Snotlout and I. However, the sudden momentum Tuffnut spinning around on the log created threw me off, and I fell to the ground.