úlfheðnar, httyd

xii. Dragon Training II

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.