Runa traveled by dragon southeast until she reached the shores near Nagu, Finland. Stepping off the saddle of her dragon. She put her hand on the scales of his head and gave it a small kiss. "Get out of here, boy. It's time for me to be as invisible as possible," she told him and it made a gurgling noise before its wings hit the ground and it took to the air, a black form against the sunset as it flew west and out of sight.
She was grateful that she got here at night. It would be easier to hide, especially in such an uninhabited place.
She pulled a green cloak over her shoulders and put the hood over her head as she headed further inland, finding the road and traveling close enough to it to see where she was going but not so close that she would be seen by someone.
The landscape here was tall grass, dotted with trees here and there, the road a barely traveled trail of two lines from carriages.
It took her about an hour before even seeing anyone else around. It was a couple of horses that were leaving to go to the port, their riders a couple.
Runa kept silent as she stuck to the tree she was near, the trunk wide enough to hide her completely. From there, she studied the man on the horse but noticed he was too young to be her target. So she let them by and moved on.
Seeing lights ahead, she eventually arrived at a small village of four buildings. From there, she knew where she needed to go. She took south, where there was a road hardly traveled nearby.
She followed it all the way to a sawmill at the edge of the woods, a small lantern hung outside the door of the thatched roof stone house.
Since there were a couple of windows in the house, and she wasn't sure if anyone was outside, she kept low to the ground and ran silently towards the huge piles of lumber stacked high around the mill.
Out of sight, she sat there before making a plan. Of course she couldn't help but wonder... why Tempus Mora would want this man killed. What did it have to do with his conquest and how would it help anything? He was so far out here it was clear all he wanted was a quiet life?
But she didn't have all of the facts. So she wouldn't question it. She had a mission, and she would follow that through.
Quieting down, she listened carefully but heard no one around. So she got up and ran swiftly to the wall of the house, sticking close to the back door to listen to whomever was inside.
There was no noise. So she had to scoot to the window to listen more carefully. And here, she could hear the faint sound of a metal tip scratching parchment; a quill.
She had to stay perfectly silent for about fifteen minutes, filtering out the sounds of the forest in order for her to hear better.
Confirming there was no one else in the room—at least no one who was awake—it was time to move in.
Pulling out her dagger from its sheath, she moved upwards to peek through the window of the stone house. But just as she did, she caught sight of her target—a man of about age thirty-seven with greying blond hair and matching beard—just as he was sitting at his desk near the window.
She moved back down quickly, hoping she wasn't spotted. But listening to the sound of his quill on paper still, she realized she was hidden.
Now that she knew where exactly he was, however, she could strike.
She walked in the grass along the wall, turning the corner to kneel beside the back door. Finding it unlocked, she shed her cloak and opened it as slowly as she could, careful as to not make one singular sound.
Inside, she could see and orange glow coming from the fireplace, warming the single room home. There were stacks of books on the shelves, along with some barrels and tools for farming a garden. Evaluating the weaponry available, she saw nothing but a woodcutter's axe and one old sword by the front door. He wouldn't be expecting anyone to try and kill him way out here. She would try to use that to her advantage.
Peeking around the door, she saw nothing that would hide her cover from him other than the table in the center of the open room with chairs around it. She needed to move fast.
As his back was still turned to her, she slipped inside, her steps completely silent like a cat.
But when he suddenly turned at the subtle sound of the back door closing, she ducked behind the table, hoping its round top would hide most of her form. And as she did this, she listened as attentively as she could, hearing no change in the man's demeanor to suggest she'd been found, as he slowly turned back around to continue writing.
Gripping her dagger harder, her head flashed right when she caught another sound. It was someone approaching the house, maybe fifteen steps away from the door.
She moved like lightning, getting up from her place to slide behind the seated man and without a notice from him, she jammed the sharp end of her blade into his throat, causing a choking sound to escape his mouth as his blood ran from the wound down to soak his tunic. She yanked the blade back out as he attempted to stay alive but of course it was folly. And she fled from the scene as fast as she could, this time not leaving anything behind. No one would know it was Tempus Mora who wanted him dead. And no one would know it was her that did it either.
She slung the crimson that coated her blade onto the grass outside and grabbed her cloak, just in time to hear the door open to the sound of a woman's laugh and a child's voice. The child sounded about nine years old. And as her back stuck to the stone wall, chilled by the northern air, she heard the horrible scream from the woman who discovered her husband's newly murdered body.
The sound pierced through Runa's ears and straight to her heart. Never had she heard such devastation in her life... especially not from something she herself had caused. Something inside of her twisted grimly. And there was a shock to her system that caused chills over her body like a ghost had passed through her. Looking down at the blade still in her hand, she continued to listen to the woman's frantic voice as she commanded her son to back away and cried her husband's name.
Runa tried to tune this out from her mind but when the child began to weep in fear and horror at what he was seeing, something inside Runa snapped. She shut her eyes but she couldn't move yet, because the woman and her son fled from the home and towards town with his sword in hand, fearing for their lives now as they shouted for help.
Runa put her cloak over her body again and took off into the woods and out of sight from the family.
As her feet ran over grass and dirt, her breathing became strained and she stumbled over a tree root, nearly falling on her face as she caught herself with her hands. The sounds of that child's crying stung her ears and something about it began to bring back painful memories for her. She slumped against the trunk of a large tree as she caught her breath, shutting her eyes for a moment as she tried to recover mentally from whatever she was feeling.
She had killed nearly fifty people since she was taken in my the Brotherhood three years ago. Why was this one so different?
It wasn't of course. And she had remind herself that, as well as to remain focused. Everything the Conqueror did had a good reason.
Everything.
A small gull flew across the waves, banking around the cliffside in order to land on a small ledge where it peeked inside of a hole just its size, feeding its young that rested in the nest of twigs with tiny mouths wide open. But it suddenly the bird jumped from being startled, when something hit the rocks nearby.
The spear fell into the waves below and was retrieved by Ikatere.
The rider who missed was Astrid, sticking close to Stormfly as she pulled out another spear from her saddle and grit her teeth. They banked around a corner with swiftness and she threw again but missed the small hoop once more as her spearhead hit stone, causing her to curse.
"You'd have better success if you perfected your technique, oh perfect one!" Gobber shouted to her from where he was on the cliffside, leaning against his large lazy beast.
[GEM]
She glared his direction and just took out another spear, focusing on the dragon games and race course that was converted into a training course.
Tuffnut blocked the strike from his opponent with his sword, their blades locked together before the Viking named Green Toe twisted his weapon and attempted to swipe the man's stomach, Tuffnut dodging by bending his torso in and taking a hop backwards.
But the blond was hardly able to keep up when Green Toe struck him again from the left side and he blocked it barely. He fell to the ground when the man tried to swipe his neck, panicking to dodge the Viking's next attack that got a little too close to an area he absolutely did not want to be injured. "Hey—!" he complained as he blocked with his shield and leapt to his feet. "Take it easy, it's training!" he said before getting punched in the face and he fell on his arse.
[GEM]
"Your focus is laughable," Bjorn told him with his usual plain scowl. "The next time you ask someone to take it easy on you, I'll punch you myself. Now get up."
"I think you'll like what I've got for you here," Gobber said as he brought out an orange Grapple Grounder into view that seemed to look curiously at the crew before her.
Faelan and Gregor looked at Arne who seemed confused by their gazes until his expression slowly began to turn into realization. "Oh no, no, no, no, no dragons are not... for me, thank you. I find anything that can burn my face off by sneezing to be wholly repugnant."
"Oh no not your face," Gobber corrected. "Your eyebrows, maybe."
He looked horrified.
"I bet you twelve coins he doesn't last two minutes on the saddle," Faelan told Gregor.
"Twenty," he replied.
"You know I can hear you both, right? Like I'm standing right here? Yes?" Arne interrupted with irritation.
[GEM]
Gobber rolled his eyes and grabbed Arne like he was a barrel of mead, tossing him onto the dragon's saddle as she seemed excited to have a rider again. But Arne was merely protesting loudly until he was on the orange beast and then he panicked. "Oh God, what if I die?" he asked.
"I'll sing a song at your funeral," Faelan said with a grin.
Gobber then kicked the side of the dragon and she dashed forward suddenly, Arne holding onto the saddle as if falling would kill him.
His two friends watched him cling to the dragon that skipped off through the woods, her long snake-like body bounding over the ferns with Arne's screaming echoing through the trees.
Faelan played an invisible lute and sang, "O' brave Arne son of Bjar! What a man was he! He cried in terror of the dragon's fire breath! But his end was met when he shite himself to death!"
Gregor bursted into loud laughter.
Hiccup and Ulric collided swords on the padded training grounds as the sun shone down upon Berk, giving them a break from the bitter cold with a little warmth.
[GEM]
The son of the chief was focused as he blocked another move from his opponent, carefully swinging off his blade in order to strike towards Ulric's legs. But the man's sword met his and slid against his blade as he brought their connected swords up against Hiccup's face, nearly catching him as he used his strength to overcome the lad. But Hiccup leg go of his sword with a swift drop, dodging the inevitable swing that would have hit his ear.
He grabbed his weapon quickly but held it upside down with the blade against his forearm when he blocked Ulric's next blow that swung downwards upon him. He shoved his blade aside just in time to get his leg kicked out from under him, landing on his back. But before Ulric could deliver a "final blow", Hiccup rolled to the left and kicked his ankle hard so that he would have to catch himself to keep from toppling over. And when the two were standing once more, Hiccup let Ulric be the first to attack again while he flipped his sword back around so that he was holding it correctly once more.
[GEM]
Ulric stepped forward with a horizontal strike from left to right, Hiccup blocking it with his sword held vertical, the blades bouncing off before Ulric changed his angle and went for his legs instead, the move almost too fast for Hiccup to block with his sword pointed downwards. Remembering a move he was taught, he circled and swiped the blade off to push it aside so that he could stab Ulric in the stomach but the movement wasn't as swift as he hoped and Ulric was able to see it coming. He dodged and swiped for Hiccup's throat, the young man ducking to avoid it.
Ulric spun his blade to hold it backwards as he blocked Hiccup's next uppercut, hitting his blade away before he tried again to aim for his shoulders. But Hiccup ducked under the strike again and tried to do a wide swing to hit his backside.
[GEM]
His blade, however, came up swiftly to block Hiccup's, the sword pointed upwards and against his back. He shoved Hiccup's sword off his own and whirled his blade around before the lad could strike again, this time locking their weapons in an ex formation. Hiccup tried another move as he locked his sword's crossguard to Ulric's and twisted to try and disarm him but failed as his sword swung out and Ulric touched his blade to the man's throat in defeat. "Too much reliance on technique. Not enough on instincts," he corrected him.
An arrow flew from a tightly wound shortbow and stuck into a target somewhat close to the center. Uriah eyed it and considered he was getting better, though archery was never his thing, ironically. He wasn't sure why he was so skilled with throwing axes and yet not with something far simpler.
[GEM]
Looking to his left, he saw Moira instruct a young woman with snow blonde hair as she focused on her technique. He watched as the girl let her arrow fly and hit the target with a satisfying thud. She smiled at the result and this made Uriah somewhat mirror the expression. That being said, he looked away before Moira caught him looking at her and went back to what he was doing.
Aug 16, 2023, 2:47 PM
[MELODY]
Moira had taken it onto herself to help the Berkians improve their archery skills. Not that she was arrogant about it and thought she was better but she just wanted to help with something she knew best.
Meanwhile she had been trying to help her brother as well.
The red head gave the girl a small smile. "..your aim has improved a lot. If you hit someone at that spot it would have gone into his stomach. So it's a bit low to kill someone immediately. Try to aim for the heart or the head." She said to her calmly.
[GEM]
"Actually, you'd have a far better chance at hitting your target if you aim for the torso only. What matters is the arrow hitting somewhere, rather than a clean blow through the brain. Even the strongest man can be downed by an arrow in the gut," Uriah said to her, interrupting her teaching with a snide comment.
[MELODY]
"..let's aim for the heart and head for now." Moira said to the girl ignoring Uriah's comment although he was right before she walked over to him. "..if ye want to hit the center ye need to have a different stance.." she said before she helped him by moving his hands, arms and legs until they were in the right position. "Try again." So close to him he could see the dark bags under her eyes.
[GEM]
He smirked to himself when she ignored him and went back to aiming with a new arrow nocked into his bowstring. When she came over to correct him, he let her, of course, keeping a subtle smile on his lips as she did so.
He made a playful frown as he said, "No, I know what the problem is. My muscles keep getting in the way. They're just too large and masculine."
[MELODY]
Moira rolled her eyes at that as she smirked before checking his arm muscles. "Really? Those twigs?" She asked at a playful tone raising her eyebrow. Moira did check his stance again then before nodding. "Try to shot again." She told him calmly.
[GEM]
He raised his brows. "Twigs? Aye... I might not be Stoick's size but I'd say my arm are about four times the circumference of yours. You hurt me deep, lass. Deep," he jested as though sincere. Then he pulled back and fired the way she told him to, his arrow burying into the outside of the center ring. "Ah, see, I would have hit that dead center if not for you distracting me," he joked, smirking at her.
[MELODY]
Moira rolled her eyes at that "you could have hit it if ye weren't distracting yerself..try again." She said before she went to lean against one of the trees that were standing behind them. She let out a soft sigh as her body just felt so heavy, as did her head. But she couldn't..didn't want to give into it. She had no time for this, she just had to focus on what was important right now.
Aug 16, 2023, 3:54 PM
[GEM]
"Ah I see. Well in that case, I'll try to pretend you're not here and see how well I do." He repositioned himself to shoot again. This time, it got in the center spot. "Hm. Well that's conclusive." He turned his head to look at her. "It was indeed your fault."
[MELODY]
Moira showed him a playful smirk before she went to stand up straight again. "..maybe I like distracting ye." She stuck her tongue out to him in a childish but playful way.
[GEM]
He mirrored her expression and twirled an arrow in his fingers. "Really? And why would that be?" he asked with his eyes narrowed as he took a step to face her.
[MELODY]
Moira smirked when he reacted like that to her teasing. "..ye wanna know that badly huh?" She said before acting like she was thinking about it deeply. "Mhm..nope I am not telling ye..spoils the fun.."
Aug 16, 2023, 8:44 PM
[GEM]
He let out a brief laugh. "Ah, what a pity. I suppose there could be a chance your reason would be mutually shared but, alas," he shrugged with attitude. "I suppose we'll never know."
Aug 17, 2023, 2:03 AM
[MELODY]
"Aye I guess you are just that type of person." Moira said to him with a shrug as she smirked at him again. She liked teasing him to be honest. Of course she did it with others as well but with him it was different.
Aug 17, 2023, 3:12 PM
[GEM]
Judging by the look on his face, he clearly also enjoyed this kind of banter. And his eyes lingered on her for a moment as his smile faded and he lifted a brow. "You look awful. Have you even slept since training started?" he asked with a little amusement that hid genuine concern.
[MELODY]
"I have slept..I am fine really." Moira said as her smirk faded into a small smile. She looked away from him then. "It's not nice ye know telling a lady she looks awful." She said teasingly trying to hide the fact she had almost not slept since the news of her family's death as she was plagued by nightmares and her overfull mind. But she tried her best to hide her exhaustion as she didn't want it to stand in the way of training and being there for her brother.
[GEM]
He let a smile stretch on his lips, showing off his teeth as a hint of a chuckle escaped his mouth. But then he made a forced frown of regret. "Oh my sincerest apologies of course. The thing is... if I told you how I really believe you look you'd think me rather forward," he added with a hint of subtle admiration in his eyes.
[MELODY]
Moira looked back up at him then raising an eyebrow as she crossed her arms. "How do I look then?" She asked giving him a small smile. "I won't slap ye if ye say I look half dead..believe me I know.." she said with a small chuckle as she then tried to fix her messy bun.
Aug 17, 2023, 3:49 PM
[GEM]
He almost snickered but not quite. "Hm... no it would take the route of a compliment rather than an insult. But to what degree? Shall I tell you how you look in my eyes?" He pretended to think about it for a moment and then said, "Nope. I'm not telling you. Spoils the fun," quoting her from before as he sent her a wink and smirked to himself, turning to go back to his archery.
[MELODY]
A smirk appeared on her face once again when he quoted her. "..Alright fine..I guess we are both not telling then." She said as she gave up fixing her hair as her hands were trembling now. She hoped he hadn't seen that as she walked to some others trying to do archery.
Aug 18, 2023, 7:18 AM
[GEM]
He kept a small smile on his face but as she walked away he noticed she seemed to have a weakness in her hands and his expression turned to one of concern as he watched her go back to training...
Ruffnut held onto Barf and Belch's saddle as the dragon wove between the cliffs. She wasn't used to flying without her brother but this course was so easy she could do it in her sleep.
Unsheathing her sword, she prepared for the first obstacle as her dragon flew through a tight space and she had to duck for them to fit through it. Her hair blew back from her face as she gripped her weapon and spotted the first sack of red berries hanging as her first target. Flying just underneath she—well...
[GEM]
Alright her swipe missed the sack but she would get the next one, no problem.
Banking around to the left and dodging a wooden flag post, she kept her eyes vigilant for the next red painted sack. Winding around a rock formation she spotted it and quickly sliced her sword through the air—ugh! What? Come on!
She growled as she suddenly had to turn, pulling on her dragons' reins before hitting the cliffside and turning right. Her beasts had to dip low to avoid the bridge and—
Oh, this one snuck up on her and she missed.
She would definitely get the next—
Ahem...
Gobber watched her miss them all he shouted, "So sure of yerself are ye?!"
[GEM]
"Shut up!" she shouted back angrily.
"I think this is a mistake. Aren't we supposed to have... weapons?" Gregor asked as he held onto a round Viking shield.
"Aye but sometimes when weapons can't be found, defense is all ye've got. Besides, I wouldn't want ye to harm one of my best beasts would I?" Gobber said before nodding to the Changewing that stood before the two in the arena. The dragon growled and charged for them, causing Gregor and Faelan to dart in either direction to miss the jaws of the monster.
"He's been instructed not to use his acid breath on ye two, but as you know... dragons don't really like to follow rules," he said as if that was just funny.
[GEM]
The dragon was fast and cunning, chasing after Faelan who ducked to avoid the wing of the beast. "Hey! Go after Gregor! He's got more meat on his bones and has a diet rich with fats and oils!" he told the dragon while trying to dodge its attacks.
The Changewing changed his tactic when Gregor tried to sneak up on him and he charged for him instead.
"Oh wow, can't believe that worked," Faelan remarked.
Gregor fell to the ground to avoid the tail of the beast but was promptly stepped on when the dragon pinned him down with its paw, the man letting out a strained huff as he struggled to get free.
Gobber put a hand to his face.
"Aha!" Faelan said when he threw the shield and it missed the dragon's head entirely and made a heavy clanking sound as it hit the stone ground. "Oh oops."
"Didn't anyone tell you?! You're supposed to hit the dragon!" Gregor yelled when the Changewing let him go and darted after Faelan.
[GEM]
"Oh no! See that space over there?! That's what I was aiming for!" he said with sarcasm as he ran between the beast's legs to evade it like it was a clumsy giant. But he was then whipped by the tail and his body tumbled against the stone until coming to a stop. "Oof."
"Yargh!" Gregor leapt from his place and latched onto the spikes on the dragon's back but when the beast ran for it, he screamed and held on as best as he could.
Faelan looked at him and then burst into laughter. "Hey who replaced my partner with Arne?!"
Gobber rolled his eyes.
Moira spun her dirk around in her hand with skill and slashed the cloth dummy before her, practicing techniques that would come in handy in fights as she sliced back and forth with precision and jammed the blade into the gut of the sack cloth, spilling grains from the wheat stuffed inside.
"You're certainly getting better," Ulric told her as he stood with his arms crossed a few steps back.
Aug 18, 2023, 12:26 PM
[MELODY]
A small smile appeared on Moira's face as she looked up at Ulric. "Thank ye..it's beside the bow and arrows a weapon I am used to." She said as she pulled it out. The moment she did that she lost her balance as she stumbled back slightly but she managed to keep standing on her feet. She was suddenly overcome by dizziness.
Aug 18, 2023, 4:05 PM
[GEM]
"Hm great..." He walked up to her and put an axe to her chest. "Now try this," he said plainly, indicating she needed to practice with something she was unfamiliar with.
He left her to instruct someone else down the line.
Aug 18, 2023, 4:27 PM
[MELODY]
"Woah..! okay.." Moira almost dropped the axe when he handed it to her. She put her dirk in it's holder on her hip then tried holding the axe the right. She then looked at the target as she lifted the axe up before attempting to swing at it. It wasn't bad it just was clear she wasn't use to using one in combat. She sighed softly before trying again. It was a lot heavier then she was used to which also was something she needed to get used to.
[GEM]
"Come on, Astrid. You got this," she told herself as the shieldmaiden kept low to her saddle and prepared for the turn around the corner. She gripped the spear in hand, the wood still wet from the cold salt water below her, as her eyes focused on her approaching target with more vigilance and less aggression. She needed to do what Hiccup did; master technique instead of just relying on reflexes first.
She remembered her spear throwing training and utilized it to chuck the wooden shaft forward as Stormfly curved to miss the cliff, the tip of the spear hitting the dirt and slowly breaking out to fall into the water, the mark nearly an inch from the ring.
She made sure not to become frustrated, telling herself she would get it next time.
So she pulled out another spear and focused again, but the failure of the first throw began to plague her thoughts as her overthinking got the better of her and this distracted her from throwing correctly as it missed again, falling under the metal ring and into the water for Ikatere to collect, the dragon thinking it was a game now.
"Astrid the best warrior uses both instinct and technique! Don't sacrifice one for another!" Gobber told her as she flew by.
Tuffnut faced Snotlout as the two sparred together, the blond using his halberd and the brutish simpleton using a one sided axe, both of them holding shields.
"You're going to taste the floor you fishbone!" Snotlout said to him.
"It's called the ground when it's outside, Snotlout—"
"That's enough trash talk," Hadvar interrupted with a bored tone. "Get to it before I grow old and die, you two."
[GEM]
"Look, what's that?" Snotlout said with a point.
"That's not going to work on me—"
"Aah!" he pretend to be scared of whatever it was and Tuffnut flinched and turned to look at nothing, giving Snotlout the opportunity to kick his shield out of his hands and try to attack with his axe, swiping horizontally for his throat.
The blond bent back when he realized what was happening and avoided the weapon, whirling his weapon around so that the pole could block the strike down of Snotlout's axe on him, the handle of it meeting the shaft of the spear-like weapon before Tuffnut swung and shoved the axe off, twisting the weapon from his hand. He whirled his halberd around and tried to stab Snotlout with it, being met by his shield instead as the tip dug into the wood and Snotlout pushed his halberd aside with the shield in order to leap forward and retrieve his sword.
[GEM]
Tuffnut gripped his weapon again and swung it to smack Snotlout in the face but was met with the man's sword, the clanking of metal ringing in their ears before he shoved the halberd away and tried to slice his chest but Tuffnut ducked and came back up to catch his forward jab in the crook of his blade, hitting it aside to once again disarm him. "Ha! Wow you're bad at this—Ah!" he exclaimed with Snotlout dashed forward and tackled him to the ground with a growl of anger.
Their clumsy bodies rolled onto the ground as they tried to beat each other to death, Snotlout grappling Tuffnut in a chokehold as the man was swatting at him.
Hadvar stared at this with a deadpan look.
"Alright, little lad let's try this again, aye?" Uriah said to his scaly friend as he fitted a much better saddle to him and leather straps that acted as guiding tethers. His hand was on the creature's side. "This time without the frostbite?" he added with his brows raised.
Aug 20, 2023, 1:49 PM
[MELODY]
Ikatere seemed very uncomfortable with the saddle on. He was shaking his back trying to get it off before trying to scratch it. He glanced up at Uriah when he laid his hand on his side letting out a rumble that sounded more like a question tilting his head slightly.
Aug 21, 2023, 2:01 AM
[GEM]
"What? You don't want to fly now that you have a saddle that fits?" he asked with a teasing attitude.
Aug 21, 2023, 3:30 AM
[MELODY]
Ikatere whimpered then looking kind of like a grumpy little boy who didn't get it the way he wanted. He did want to fly but not with this tight itchy thing on his back.
Aug 21, 2023, 4:18 AM
[GEM]
"Hmm... alright fine. Then I guess we just won't be flying at all today," he said as he pretended to walk away.
[MELODY]
Ikatere looked surprised at that before going after him whimpering in a apologetic way as he grabbed him by his shirt with his teeth
Aug 21, 2023, 5:21 AM
[GEM]
He let out a chuckle. "Oh now you want to go? Well I guess I can find the time," he said with a sigh.
[MELODY]
Ikatere let him go then leaving a wet mark on his shirt as he showed him half what looked like a smile. He then looked at him playfully as he crouched down and wiggled his tall in a very dog like way.
Aug 21, 2023, 1:24 PM
[GEM]
He smiled widely and mounted the dragon. "Alright, alright. Come on! Third time's the charm?" he suggested as he held on.
[MELODY]
Ikatere stood up right again then as he was panting excitedly before he spread his wings. This time learning from last time when he got yelled at he pushed off the ground slower as he made his way into the air.
Aug 21, 2023, 3:13 PM
[GEM]
Uriah half expected the dragon the lurch into the air like last time but gripped the straps as he ducked down and enjoyed the adrenaline of flight. It had been far too long since he'd done this and he missed it. It was so much more... freeing than sailing.
[MELODY]
Ikatere started to glide once they were above the clouds. It looked like he listened to what they learned him although he was easily distracted still. His ears shot up when he heard seagulls below them as he looked down having a playful look in his eyes.
[GEM]
Uriah felt the wind on his face that pulled at his hair and clothes. He smiled as they got higher and when they were at a steady spot high above the sea, he enjoyed the flight all the more and the freezing cold air that hit his face didn't even bother him as he enjoyed the sunlight that shone down on them and the view of the ocean, along with the adrenaline rush of flight.
"Well... so far so—" he stopped and noticed the way Ikatere was looking at those birds. "Don't even think about it."
[MELODY]
Ikatere let out a low rumble that sounded a bit annoyed and with attitude as he felt like he was already behaving his best. He just wanted to chase the birds. But he didn't as he noticed how much good this did for Uriah. He just looked straight forward then being a bit grumpy now.
[GEM]
He chuckled a little and then his eyes noticed the rock formations down by the island. "There's where Hiccup and Toothless's first ride was. What do you say, lad? You want to give it a go?"
[MELODY]
Ikatere glanced up at him a bit confused before looking down at the rock formations and seemed to understand what he meant as he suddenly dove down towards them.
Aug 22, 2023, 2:20 PM
[GEM]
Uriah held on tightly, stifling any urge to release a startled noise as they flew faster towards the water and he got ready to steer Ikatere through the formations.
[MELODY]
Ikatere made so much speed right now that it would be really difficult to pull a break on it. He watched the rock formations getting closer as he got ready to maneuver through them not paying attention that Uriah was the one that had to do that for them both.
Aug 22, 2023, 2:56 PM
[GEM]
"We got this!" his rider said to him and then they sped through the first stone archway, a large stone in their way then that Uriah pulled on the reins to miss as he tugged on the leathers traps that were attached to the top of Ikatere's head to guide him upwards.
[MELODY]
Ikatere reacted barely in time making them almost crash into the stone. Ikatere let out a surprised growl when he pulled at it like that clearly not liking this at all.
[GEM]
"Aye! Slow down you grumpy—" He was interrupted when there was another pillar of stone that came from the water ahead that they had to dodge, left this time. Uriah pulled on the straps again and leaned as well.
[MELODY]
Ikatere this time didn't react in time since his stubborn ass wanting to go to other way but this made them crash into the side of the pillar as he fell down into the water taking Uriah with him.
[GEM]
They submerged into the thick waves in a hilariously clumsy way as Uriah, again, felt the rush of freezing cold salt water in his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears. And when the water settled again they both popped out as Uriah clung to the rock beside him. "Alright... maybe we're not ready," he decided as if that even needed to be said.
[MELODY]
Ikatere gave him this very annoyed glare before he grabbed him and got them both out of the water back to Berk.
[GEM]
Moira held her shield straps tight in her hand as Bjorn's axe came down upon it and she blocked the strike, the pressure causing the metal edge to hit her head and she fell to one knee. The axe was blunted so it didn't wedge into her shield but instead he pulled back and swung again. She was able to move to the left to dodge the blow and got back to her feet.
She had no weapon but was practicing blocking, sweat and blood on her face as she looked at Bjorn from under her brow. But he didn't give her a window to prepare herself before he struck her again, this time from the right.
She was able to block just in time and tried not to stagger when receiving the blow. She ducked when the axe swung over her head and smacked the shield against his weapon to knock it back away from them. But she was weak and when she ran to his other side, the blade of the axe hit her shield at the metal outer ring, shoving her arm aside and he kicked her hard in the ribs. She fell to her back, her world spinning as she tried to recover from the fall.
She flipped over onto her hands and knees to pull herself up but it was harder than she expected.
Bjorn kicked her one last time in the stomach and she fell onto her back in pain again, gritting her teeth as she tried to breathe.
"The man who killed your family is still out there and he won't give you more mercy than me," he told her harshly. "Get up."
She spit a little blood and glared at him before returning to her feet again but this time with more ferocity.
Ruffnut gripped the straps of her dragon's saddle in one hand as she narrowed her eyes to her targets, holding her sword tight in the other. She preferred to use a longer weapon but she didn't focus on that now, putting all of her attention on this course.
She took Gobber's advice as she rounded around the next corner, passing a stone arch as the wind from the Zippleback's wings splashed water across the ocean's surface. She gripped her weapon harder and eyed the sack of berries, swiping her blade and letting the red juice squirt from the opened gash.
With the berry juice all over her sword, she swerved right and struck the bag above her head, spilling the red across the spine of her beast.
Taking a dive, she drove the Zippleback under the bridge for one last target, cleaving the sack in sheer half with a satisfying slice.
The remnants of the sack fell to the water and Ruffnut raised her weapon into the air. "Woohoo!" she cheered but as her dragon was headed straight for a cliff she cut herself off to say, "Oh shite—!" and pulled to steer them out of the way.
"Left! Left! Left! Dodge!" Faelan shouted to Gregor.
"What?" the man replied cluelessly and was then whipped by one of the dragon's tails at the ankles, making him land on his back with an "oof".
Gobber grit his teeth in frustration and hit the metal railing with his sword, causing the dragon to shake his head suddenly and appear dizzy, not fighting them any longer.
Greenhood glanced at the dragon and tilted his head curiously at this effect.
"You both are giving me a headache!" Gobber shouted at them "You need to start taking this war seriously or your arse will be as crisp as a fresh apple pie!" he told Faelan. "And you," he looked at Gregor. "If you can't move fast, find another way to get the upper hand in a fight!"
The two exchanged a look but as they did, the dragon was back to normal as it chased them again, clawing the stone ground as it charged for Greenhood. He tumbled to his left and got up on one knee, ducking fromthe dragon's wing that nearly smashed against his head. He then used what cleverness he had in him to put in some effort in this fight.
"Alright, I can do this," he muttered to himself when the beast pursued Gregor instead.
He got up and ran to grab two swords from the rack.
"I can do this," Gregor said to himself as well, thinking as the dragon was headed for him. He picked up his shield with his large hand and instead of running, he planted his feet and glared the beast in the eye. Moving at just the right time, he smacked the dragon's skull with his shield as hard as he could, knocking the Changewing's head aside as the monster stumbled in pain, a headache making him see double all of a sudden.
Faelan smirked at this but that's when the Changewing pulled a one-eighty and turned to growl at the lovable Irish rogue instead.
Greenhood gripped the swords in hand as the dragon leapt from its place towards him but he smacked the swords together at just the right angle, causing a ringing sound of metal on metal to echo through the arena and cause the dragon to go off course and tumble to the left, his headache worse.
Gobber leaned forward with interest to watch this.
Every time the beast shook his head and tried to fight again, Faelan would hit the swords together. And this gave Gregor the opportunity to charge and leap onto the dragon's head, holding by the horns and forcing it to the ground with his weight.
Faelan ran forward with speed as the monster began to flap its wings to get free but was struggling. And Faelan leapt onto the dragon's neck with his swords crossed over it, indicating he had the Changewing in a compromised position in victory.
Gobber was surprised at this turnaround but he smiled at their triumph.
Moira carefully placed the pitcher of water beside the small cup atop the wooden table that rested beside her bed. Her brother was asleep on it, passed out from a day of training like the others.
She grabbed a one sided axe and walked from the house, being as quiet as she could to not wake him or Astrid. Outside, she used the training dummy that was in Astrid's backyard and practiced the techniques she was taught, erasing the tiredness in her body as determination took over, anger from the murder of her family reminding her to feel nothing except the push for justice.
Slashing left and right, she used every muscle in her body to master the weapon, pretending the dummy was the bastard responsible for all of this.
She grit her teeth as she hit it over and over, breaking the sack cloth and spilling flecks of straw with each slash.
'Come on, Hiccup, you got this,' Hiccup thought to himself as he took in a breath, reminding himself to do what Astrid always did; trust her instincts more instead of mastering technique only.
As Ulric struck his blade again, Hiccup swung it out of the way and took a step back as his opponent took one forward and blew down again but this time from underneath, causing Hiccup to move to the left to dodge it, striking towards Ulric's neck. But their blades collided when Ulric pulled his weapon up so that it was along his arm, holding it backwards. He kicked Hiccup in the gut and caused him to fall onto his back rather suddenly.
But when he tried to finish him, Hiccup put his sword up horizontally and blocked Ulric's blow, looping his leg around his ankle and yanking so that he was knocked off his feet.
Hiccup leapt up and tried to strike him down but Ulric blocked him, already back on one knee before he got to his feet and shoved his blade aside in order to advance.
Hiccup blocked his strike, moving back to block the next one with lightning speed, then the next, and the next. He ducked when Ulric made a swing at his head and he swung around his side to smack his sword away and make him vulnerable to a back jab but Ulric spun his blade to his backside to block the slice that was attempted there. He whirled his sword back to the front of him when he turned to face Hiccup again and block the lad's next move, knocking Hiccup's blade upwards but Hiccup moved aside to dodge the stab he attempted after that.
Hiccup then swung down on his blade with a quick motion, making a clanking sound before he hit the hilt of his sword against Ulric's nose, making him stagger back. But he swung back at Haddock with strength before his injury could be taken advantage of, bearing down on him as their swords were crossed perpendicular over Hiccup's face. The man was hardly a match for his brute force so instead he trusted a move that came to him and let his body fall to the ground under the pressure, catching Ulric off guard as he used his momentum against him, kicking his body over his head with both feet against the man's chest, letting his own body roll backwards and he stood up in a crouched position with Ulric's body hitting the ground behind him. He turned and just as Ulric strained and reached for his sword again, Hiccup stepped on it and put his own blade to the man's throat in victory.
"Alright, lad... best two out of three," Ulric commented with some sass.
Hiccup smirked and moved his blade away from him.
Astrid chucked the spear ahead of her, letting it soar right through the ring with a satisfying feeling making her grin with excitement. But she didn't slow down. Remembering Gobber's advice, she continued on, gripping her next spear as she rounded the cliffside and threw it at exactly the right time, the long weapon flying through the inside of the target just barely.
Without breaking from her focus, she took the last spear and flew over the bridge, chucking it hard and getting the inside of her final ring with precision.
"Yes! That's how it's done!" she cheered, her competitiveness coming out again as she grinned from ear to ear.
[GEM]
"Well done lass!" Gobber shouted when she passed by.
Bjorn hit Tuffnut in the chest with the back end of his halberd and knocked him down. "You've tried my patience for the last time, you brainless pin-cushion," he spat. "If you want to survive a war, you need to pay more damned attention. Otherwise I'll do worse to yuh than Tempus Mora."
Tuffnut just glared at him from where he sat on the ground.
"And you spineless little weasel..." Bjorn turned to Snotlout. "You make me sick. Your confidence is a pathetic tool to cover cowardice and if you don't realize where you really stand in this fight and what you could lose, I'll pierce you like a pig and feed your body to the dragons which would be better use for you unless you get off that platform and join the human race." He shoved the man's shield back into his chest while looking into his eyes and got out of the way for them once more.
[GEM]
Tuffnut was angry now and he gripped his halberd with determination, getting back to his feet.
Snotlout held his axe tight and prepared for his strike that came swiftly towards his abdomen. He stepped aside and missed it by a hair, hooking his weapon with his axe blade and yanking it from Tuffnut's grasp. He then tried to smash his head in with his shield but Tuff ducked and tumbled forward on the ground, grabbing his weapon and standing again to attempt to swing for Snotlout's neck. But the Viking ducked to miss it and charged to get the man in a close range, swinging his axe down on his head but Tuffnut blocked it with his shield, the blade sticking into the wood and the blond yanked it from Snotlout's grasp, hitting him in the chin with the back end of his halberd and causing him to stumble back. This gave Tuffnut enough range to try and and stab Snotlout in the shoulder. But this was caught by Snotlout's shield and he took another step back before having to dodge again when Tuff swung his weapon, this time getting a slit in Snotlout's leather tunic, breaking skin and causing a surge of pain in his chest. But he didn't stop. He took his shield and chucked it hard, this attack catching Tuffnut off guard as it hit him in the collarbone and knocked him off his feet, his back hitting the ground hard.
[GEM]
Snotlout ran forward to pin him down. But Tuffnut spun to his side and then got up only to be kicked again by the dark haired Viking, his shield remaining where it was, allowing for Snotlout to grab his axe that was stuck in it and face his opponent again with his weapon.
But Tuffnut was fast and he ran by the man to grab his halberd, sliding on one knee to miss the axe strike that would have hit his chest. He grabbed the pole of his weapon and spun it around, getting Snotlout in the jaw with the backside and making him stumble again. But Snotlout ducked once more to avoid another whirl of the halberd, before he used all of his power to slash his opponent. Tuffnut blocked with his weapon but the axe blade cut the pole of his halberd in half, splinters scattering. He then jammed the butt of his axe against Tuffnut's nose and forced him down again. This time, he was able to overcome him with his strength and pin him to the ground with his axe to his throat.
Both of them bloody and in pain, they caught their breath and glanced up at Bjorn.
[GEM]
"Good. Now do it again," he told them plainly.
"Alright, lad, let's do this again," Uriah told Ikatere with a smirk as they flew across the ocean's surface, nearing the boneyards where they had been racing. "Maybe we try starting out slower. But sixth time's the charm, right?" he suggested.
Sep 11, 2023, 4:52 AM
[MELODY]
Ikatere let out yet another grumpy rumble as he had had it with this. But he seemed to listen a little bit better now that they had been doing this for a while. He did slow down when Uriah asked him to so they both could concentrate better on what they were doing. He had the habit to be too enthusiastic and eager which caused him to have not much of concentration.
Sep 11, 2023, 7:45 PM
[GEM]
"How about we approach this differently," he added, leaning closer to the beast so he could hear him better. "We both trust our instincts and don't worry about knocking the other off course. I trust you," he told him with sincerity. "Do you trust me?"
Sep 12, 2023, 1:37 AM
[MELODY]
Ikatere seemed surprised by him saying that before glancing up at him and let out another rumble like agreeing to him saying that. He then looked back in front of them ready to do it one more time.
Sep 13, 2023, 3:00 AM
[GEM]
Uriah clutched the straps and narrowed his eyes as the rocks came closer, preparing himself mentally as the sea spray gently tickled his face.
Trusting his instincts, he let Ikatere guide him when the first turn came upon them, the dragon curving out of the way of the stone as he began swerving between the formations with precision. Both of them acted in unison, Uriah tugging on the straps as fast as the stones appeared and Ikatere trusting his own reflexes.
The less they overthought it, the better they were together.
[MELODY]
Now Uriah trusted Ikatere more to lead their way it was going better then before. It gave Ikatere some calmth he didn't have before as he did want to fully trust on his own instincts and reflexes. It was something that he had developed while being hunted. A past that still effected him greatly.
Sep 13, 2023, 4:01 AM
[GEM]
Each obstacle averted made Uriah hyped but he tried to keep his focus regardless, not wanting to break it now. The whole time that they wove between stacks of rock, he was hardly able to take in what was happening as things were moving so fast, one twist and turn after another. Ikatere's wings folded in as he banked left and right then ducked under an arch, followed by a C shape as he curved around a larger stone.
It was like a maze of stones but passing by the last formation, they made out the other side and Uriah was able to process what happened at last. Slowly a smile crept on his lips and he began to laugh with surprise.
[MELODY]
Ikatere started to realise she made it once he saw Uriah's reaction. He let out several happy purrs as he made a spin happily that they finally made it. He glanced up at him mimicking his smile then.
[GEM]
He combed his hair back with his hand as he took in their victory. "Haha!" he said with a smile then let out a whoop. "Oh you wonderful bastard! Well done! So well done!" he praised Ikatere before chuckling more with happiness. "I knew we could do it."
[MELODY]
Ikatere purred happily liking that he was praised for what he just did as he looked back at the parcour now like he wanted to go again before glancing up at Berk. The dragon then looked back up at his rider like to ask what he wanted since they were doing this for a whole day now.
[GEM]
"Alright, alright. Now that we accomplished what we set out to do, we can land for now. Come on, lad. Let's get you home for a break, yeah? You deserve it," he told him, still getting through that adrenaline rush with a smile on his face.
[MELODY]
Ikatere rumbled slightly but made his way back to the village. There were some people still training but most were done for the day and preparing for the evening and night.
[GEM]
Landing back where the dragon riders were training, Uriah spotted Arne falling off his dragon with his hair more messy than ever. "You stupid, brainless, wreckless, cruel, clumsy beast! You almost killed me!" he began raging. "Gorm! Get me out of here! I never want to touch a dragon again—I knew they were trouble! I just knew it! You told me otherwise and I should have trusted my own gut!
"Ye? Maybe you should stop being such a fetching coward and you'd learn to do what these teenagers are doing better at, aye?!" the Viking he was shouting at said back from where he was attaching another saddle on yet another dragon.
"Oh come here!" he said through his teeth and chased after him.
But Uriah, who had dismounted, ran over to Arne and grabbed him around the waist.
"Don't you hold me back! That arse sniffer deserves a flogging I tell you!" Arne protested as he tried to get free.
"Oh please, I'd bash your skull in before you touched me, you shite-head—"
[GEM]
"Yeah? You're just lucky my friend is holding me back or you'd be eating those words—"
"Enough!" Uriah said with a powerful voice as he shoved Arne back and let him go.
The man known as Sea Dog straightened his tunic and looked offended.
"You know you might not like to hear it but I agree with him," he told Arne.
"Oh so you think I'm a coward?" he asked, throwing his arms up in defense.
"For as long as I've known you. And if you want to survive this war, you best start doing things that make you terrified, otherwise you'll have something worse to fear than death. And that means trusting a dragon and letting it trust you. Enough is enough, Arne. Get it together here and now, or lose everything."
[GEM]
For the first time in a long while, Sea Dog was seemingly speechless, not knowing right then what to say. He kept a stubborn look but Uriah knew his words soaked in so he left it at that and turned to walk with Ikatere to the tree line.
Moira whacked the side of the Viking's head with whom she was sparring, using the blunt end of her halberd to do so and causing the large man to stumble back before engaging again with his axe.
She dodged his blow and tried to hit him again, her head getting dizzy when she moved too quickly.
He caught her strike and she tried to resist his shove with sheer strength, gritting her teeth as his weapon was bearing down on her own. But he twisted his axe and she was forced to the side, staggering before he kicked her side and she hit the ground. Frustration overcame her as she refused to give in to what her body wanted from her, exhaustion clawing at her like a hungry bear. She probably looked half dead right now with bruises and scrapes, messy hair and dark circles under her eyes...
[GEM]
Hadvar was overseeing some of the sparring and she didn't see him watching her. "Moira you've been at this for a good two hours now. You can take a breather. Have something to eat with the others," he suggested, her opponent standing by during this conversation.
Sep 13, 2023, 5:25 AM
[MELODY]
"C-Canna do that.." Moira said keeping her eyes on her opponent clearly beyond her limits as she struggled to get up. Once onto her feet again she grabbed her halberd so tightly that her knuckles turned white. "W-Well don't just stand there..get on with it!" She shot at her opponent her frustration and determination clear in her voice. She couldn't give up and stop, she had to do this.
Sep 14, 2023, 12:45 AM
[GEM]
"Moira," Hadvar tried to say, realizing she was acting almost feral.
Sep 14, 2023, 5:19 AM
[MELODY]
"W-What? What now?!" Moira asked angrily and turned around to face him. But she saw the world in front of her eyes spinning. She shook her head to get rid of it as she closed her eyes before opening them again. Moira turned around and faced her opponent again. She then just started the fight herself again by attacking him.
[GEM]
The Viking blocked her advantages as they became sloppy and full of unfiltered rage as if trying to get some kind out outcome from this.
Hadvar's eyes widened as he watched this.
"You've done well today, lad. I think you've earned yourself some fish, yeah?" Uriah told Ikatere when they returned to the training grounds, pulling off his saddle and bridle straps to let him relax for the afternoon.
[MELODY]
Ikatere showed him a goofy smile like expression as he shook his body once the saddle was off and jumped around Uriah happily as that thing was off his back finally. He felt very proud of himself.
Sep 14, 2023, 6:08 AM
[GEM]
Uriah chuckled and put his hand on the beast but overhearing some shouting, he looked to the source of the noise and saw Moira hitting her halberd over and over against her opponent's shield in a fury.
His brows pulled together intensely.
[MELODY]
Moira just kept going and going like some kind of maniac but it made her frustration only grow even more as she didn't get it how she wanted it to go. She just kept swinging her weapon at the Viking. Her body was just beyond exhausted at this point being desperate for her to listen to the signs it gave her but she didn't listen anyway. She lost her balance again herself as she hit the ground. Once she did she felt this overwhelming feeling of exhaustion mixed with pain and hunger. Her body clearly was done protesting but she tried to get up anyway leaning on her arms when she started to cough. When she held her hand in front of her mouth and looked at it afterwards it was red. Blood.
She was too dizzy to even react to it as more blood came when she threw up. It made her pass out as her body finally shut down.