𖣯 ✹ 🌷(úlfheðnar) ꏍ ！┈─❟
╰───►chapter twelve; yrsa
❝ dragon training, part two! ❞
MORNING came, and Yrsa woke up with a heavy feeling in her chest. How had she ended up in this position? Waking up, about to head to the arena as the finalists for Training. A month ago, this would have been exactly what she would've wanted, but now, it was far from it. It was never her plan to get here. She wanted to be ruled out and left to the sidelines to watch while Astrid got the glory. But then her anger, pride and jealousy got in the way, and here she was; a hypocrite, a liar, and far from the person she wanted to be.
Hiccup and Toothless; they made her want to be better. They made her want to smile, and be kind, and less of a mean, harsh Viking who kept to herself and let people deem her an outsider. And yet, when things didn't go her way, she went straight back to that girl.
If this was the gods' punishment for her mistakes and childish reactions, then it was a pretty horrible, but meaningful punishment. Yrsa wanted to be better than the name her father has gotten for himself, and after learning she didn't need to and could find solace in something that would call her crazy and maybe banish her from the Hooligan Tribe, she pushed it away (like everything else). And now, she would be seen as crazy no matter what; alone.
She sat up in her bed, the furs moving away. Yrsa frowned at her axe with her fathers engravings. She had been ready to slaughter a dragon with his markings to fix his legacy. Now, she was going to continue it in the same way he had.
How full circle it has become.
Yrsa sighed and slipped out of bed. She got ready, thinking over a quick plan for today. They had the chance of facing three of the dragons: the Gronckle, the Deadly Nadder, or the Devilish Dervish. She tried to remember what Gobber had taught about them. A Gronckle was slow, with a blind-spot behind them. Without any rocks, they were without fire, which was a six-shot limit. But they could still crush Vikings with their stubbed tail or overbite jaw-strength. Their scales were tough, but they loved a scratch under the jaw (that was something Yrsa has learnt herself). Hit the right spot just behind the crook of their crown, and they'd fall flat at the feet. They━also like many other dragons━were weak for Dragon Nip. Yrsa has just enough left for today.
The Deadly Nadder: fast, incredibly smart, shot-limit of six with extreme fire power. Blind spot was right in front of the horn at the centre of their snout. Incredibly vain, liked to preen and focus on itself unless in immediate danger. Loyal to its kin, very dangerous with poisonous, flying spikes from their tail. Yrsa could distract the dragon with the reflection of her shield, use the Dragon Nip, or just stay as far away as she could.
And finally, the Devilish Dervish. If they faced this dragon, Yrsa didn't want to get transfixed again. She was scared to go against it purely because it reminded her of herself so much it unsettled her. Firepower: immense. Shot limit: eight. Blind spot was behind the tail, in which could strike her in half. Stubborn, unruly, cunning and very intelligent. Spikes alongside its back were used for deflecting chucked axes and swords, could create a tornado with its speed if aggravated and had enough room. Yrsa━if she managed to get close enough━would have to bring out the Dragon Nip straight away; it would calm the dragon down enough to stop it from attacking and hopefully fall down peacefully. However, all of these dragons were going to be on the offence and aggressive. Yrsa didn't want to use her weapon as self defence, but she was scared she'd have to.
Fixing her hair around her kransen, Yrsa stepped out and smiled a little despite the situation to see the bread and buttermilk her mother had prepared for her. She was fixing her own attire to come and see the finals━showcases for her still important title and legacy as a shield maiden. Yrsa grabbed her bread and ripped of a piece with her teeth.
Seeing her, her mother dropped her hands from her armour and grinned. "Are you excited? You know, my mother always told me━" she would be the big burly lady from the Bog-Burglar Tribe, Yrsa only saw her once before she passed, "━other than 'You can't keep a Bog-Burglar under lock and key' but also, 'A dragon is always smarter'. It's what has kept me alive this long," she walked up to her only child and daughter to cup her cheeks. Her pale skin brushed the bronze of Yrsa's cheeks. "And I know you'll make me and your father proud no matter the outcome."
Yrsa wasn't so sure about that, considering her best outcome was to avoid all contact and not hurt the dragon at all. But she smiled nonetheless.
"Now," her mother turned to the table. "Eat and drink up, you want to be strong for this fight." She then began to tell stories her mother had told her, but Yrsa was barely listening. She's already heard the story of how her grandmother escaped the holds of the Romans, and Outcast pirates, Berserkian rogues and whatever tribe she could come up with.
But finally, Yrsa had to leave. Her nerves were high in her throat, which was new. She fiddled with the twine on her axe and the straps wrapped up and down her arms and wrists. As she arrived, Astrid was there to catch up to her.
"Hey!" she greeted, giving her a swift punch. "I say, whatever happens, we're still friends, even if I'm doing anything to win this thing."
Yrsa smiled, apprehensive. "You and me both, Astrid."
"Good," her best friend grinned. "Working together, you and I can be sure Hiccup won't take this from us. You won't be called crazy anymore, and I'll show everyone Hofferson's aren't scared of anything again━we all get what we want."
She nudged her, smirking under her bangs. Yrsa remembered when she felt fluttery at that smirk, but now, it was a distant memory. She was her best friend now, and deep down, Yrsa is sort of glad that never changed.
They took the rest of the trek to the arena together. Already, even as early as they were, the whole surroundings of the arena were nearly filled to the brim with onlookers━most of them cheering for the chief's son. Hiccup stood there awkwardly with a helmet far too big for him and the right horn loose, twisting out inside of in. Yrsa wanted to try and sneak in an apology, but couldn't risk it, not with Astrid right beside her, and so she ignored him and focused in on the cages at the far end of the arena.
Beside her, Astrid held her axe tight in her hands, glaring at the cage door. "Come on," she muttered to herself, sounding very confident, but Yrsa could tell she was just as nervous as her in the way she swivelled her boots on the stone, upturning loose rocks. "Come on, come on, come on..."
Scattered around the arena was a small maze of barriers for cover. Yrsa tried to memorise the layout as quickly as possible, so she could dart here and there away from the dragon. She could see Gobber standing by the Gronckle cage, and Yrsa let out a small breath of relief. At least it wasn't the Devilish Dervish.
Up above, Yrsa's mother arrived, shoving Vikings to the side roughly so she could reach the front. When she saw her daughter, she gave her a bright thumbs up. Yrsa felt sick.
It'll work out, she told herself. I'll make it work out.
She took a deep breath.
"Uh..." beside her, Hiccup started to ramble as Gobber began to open up the cage door, "... good luck, I guess━?" The door opened, the Gronckle burst forth, and Yrsa was off on her feet, leaving Hiccup behind her. "Oh ... okay, that's ... that's cool. Yeah, thanks for the good luck, too━whoa!" He narrowly missed the Gronckle that barged straight at him, running out of the way. Up above, Stoick the Vast frowned at his son, watching with his fingers under his chin, thumb pressed against his lip.
Yrsa ducked down behind a barrier, scavenging for her bag of Dragon Nip at the pouch at her skirt. She opened it and fiddled her fingers inside ... her heart stopped. Where was her Dragon Nip? Hadn't she━
Oh, for the love of Thor━
She forgot!
Like an idiot, she had forgotten!
Her head fell back against the wood of the barrier. "That's it," she mumbled to herself. "I'm going to be banished. This is it. Wonderful."
She glanced back over, watching the Gronckle hover over the barriers, searching for the teens. Yrsa blew her bangs out of her eyes, keeping her breath even as she tried to think of a new plan. She fixed her grip on her axe hilt.
Keeping behind the dragon in its blind spot, she rolled across the ash-covered stone floor to the next barrier, keeping hidden. She glanced up, and saw the frown on her mother's face. She was probably wondering what Yrsa was doing. Her tactic would have been gone straight for the head and don't look back, screaming the Hairy Hooligan battle cry. Not duck, roll and cover.
You married dad, Yrsa thought bitterly up at her mother, blame him.
Across the arena, she saw Astrid roll down against the same barrier Hiccup crouched behind. Realising he was there, she gritted her teeth and slammed his shield down.
"Stay out of my way!" she sneered in close to his face menacingly. "I'm winning this thing."
She ran off before the Gronckle could see her.
Hiccup fixed the tilt of his helmet, "Good!" he called after her running figure. "Please, by all means!" Glancing up at the stands at his father, the chief gave him a proud shake of his fist. Hiccup replied with a weak grimace.
Astrid rolled into next to Yrsa, frowning as if just realising she and moved. "What are you doing?!" she whispered. "You can't just stay here! Get out there and fight!"
"I'm observing," Yrsa argued. "I'm coming up with a plan."
"Well, whatever it is, come up with it quick," said Astrid. "I'm not going to take that Gronckle down until after you showed the village how good you are, but I'm also not going to wait all day. I'm not giving Hiccup the chance to win, all right?"
She gave her a little, eager shove as she continued on, motioning for Yrsa to get out and make her mark.
She stared at the Gronckle, turning towards the sound. For a second, Yrsa wondered, what if she did put on a little show? At least it would give her something she worked for before she threw it all away. Then she could pretend she was struck down after proving she was a warrior through and through.
Yrsa nodded to herself. That was the plan. This was it.
The Gronckle passed her, and with a deep breath, she raised her axe and leapt over the barrier. With her best war cry, she ran for the dragon, axe raised.
Only to skid to a stop.
It was already on the floor, out like a snuffed flame with its tongue hanging out. It sighed, happy.
And there, beside it, crouched Hiccup. He had beaten them━again. Yrsa's axe fell back down her shoulder, and she huffed, startled. Around them, the crowd cheering, jumping on their feet for Hiccup. Yrsa thought she'd be angry, but instead, all she felt was disappointment. She guessed the gods won this time.
Behind her, Astrid was livid. While the crowd continued to cheer, and Snotlout, Fishlegs and the Twins were beside themselves with applause for Hiccup, Astrid was furious.
"NO!" She screamed, slamming her axe down onto the stone; it sparked as the blade scratched. "No━you son of a half-troll, rat-eating, munge-bucket━" Hiccup winced at her, shoulders hunched up and quite fearful for his life.
Stoick interrupted Astrid's angry session of slamming her axe wherever she could with a hand up, silencing the crowd. "Wait! Wait!" beside him, Gothi shuffled closer to the ring, leaning on her staff and gazing down at the three teens with a frown on her face.
Hiccup grimaced; still hunched. He quickly tried to get away, "So, later━" Gobber hoisted him back over with the tip of his hook under the scruff of his fur vest.
"O━oh! Not so fast," the blacksmith set him down near the girls. He shuffled away from Astrid, still trying to get away.
"I━I'm kind of late for━"
Astrid swung her axe towards him, propping the blade under his chin, "What?" She asked. Yrsa stiffened, wondering whether she should do anything. She knew her friend, she wouldn't hurt Hiccup, but with the fury on her face, she wasn't so sure. "Late for what, exactly?!"
"Okay! Okay━quiet down!" announced the chief, and Astrid let go of Hiccup to look up at Stoick and Gothi, her chest rising with hope. Yrsa forced her gaze away, too. She knew what the outcome would be for her, but she was worried what it might be for Hiccup.
He did this to himself, the still angry side of her argued. The part of her that wanted to be petty and furious, but she pushed it aside, which was new for her.
"The Elder has decided."
Gobber stood behind the three teens━all of which in a line facing the Elder who held the future of their dragon-killing careers in her knobbly fingers. Gobber held up his hook and pointed down at Yrsa; the Elder shook her head. Astrid glanced at her, sorry for Yrsa's outcome, but her gaze was fixed on her mothers. She nodded, but seemed okay with it. There was relief in Yrsa's stomach.
Next, Gobber gestured to Astrid. The blonde held her head and tried to make herself look taller. She flicked her bangs off her face.
When Gothi shook her head, there was a murmur of response from the crowd. Even Gobber looked shocked, glancing down at Astrid who's chest began to heave with fury as she slowly set her deadly gaze on the chief's son beside her. His shoulders fell, realising what was about to happen.
He was going to have to kill the dragon.
𖣯 ✹ 🌷(úlfheðnar) ꏍ ！┈─❟
a/n:
my rational mind: don't do it, don't do it ...
me: *mouse hovering over publish button* i was only thinking about it, i'm not gonna do it.
me:
me: *clicks publish literally a day after publishing previous chapter* i did it