HTTYD: Brothers Under the Sun

Chapter 9: The Book of Dragons

As he reached the Great Hall, it began to rain. Hurrying inside, he stopped when he noticed all the students were staring at him in silence. Gobber hadn't arrived yet, it seems. All the teens turned away, going back to eating their food.
Finding himself a plate of dinner, he sat at the empty table beside the teens while he awaited Gobber to arrive. The teens had gone back to talking, mostly about the excitement from that day. He eavesdropped for a bit, prodding his food while he listened mindlessly. He stopped when he heard them talking about Hiccup.
"You all saw Hiccup today, right? Man, that screwup can't keep out of trouble for 5 minutes, am I right?" Snotlout chuckled, tearing a leg of chicken apart and eating it. What a pig.
Tuff continued. "Yeah. Would've been better off if that dragon ate him." Snotlout, Ruff and Tuff all chuckled at that. Aster clenched his fist. "And how would you feel if that dragon decided to eat you afterwards, Tuff?" He growled towards the other table. Tuff stared at him for a bit, thinking about his question. "Hmm...good question..."
"Why do you care so much about what happens to that runt anyways?" Snotlout ordered, biting another huge chunk from his chicken. Aster was about to reply, but stopped himself.
Wait, why did he care?
Gobber walked in at that moment, carrying a book as he waddled up to the teens. "Alright class, let's review what happened today and what we could've done better."

About 10 minutes later, Hiccup walked quietly into the hall, drenched from the rain. The teens all covered their spare seats, so as he walked over to Aster's table. As he sat down, Aster glared at him, but said nothing.
"Alright. Where did Astrid go wrong in the ring today?" Gobber asked the teens. "I mistimed my somersault. It was sloppy. It threw off my reverse tumble." Astrid replied. Tuff groaned. "Yeah, we noticed." He said sarcastically. Snotlout shook his head. "No, no, you were great. That was so "Astrid"." He smiled, trying once again to flirt with the blonde. Astrid rolled her eyes.
"She's right, you have to be tough on yourselves. Where did Hiccup go wrong today?" Gobber informed. Ruff snickered. "Uh, he showed up?"
"He didn't get eaten?" Tuff added.
"He's never where he should be." Astrid stated matter-of-factly. Hiccup's shoulders sunk. Ouch.
"Thank you, Astrid. You need to live and breathe this stuff." Gobber reached inside his vest, pulling out the book he had earlier, dropping it on the table. "The Dragon Manual. Everything we know about every dragon we know of."
Thunder roared outside, and Gobber headed towards the doors. "No attacks tonight. Study up." He ordered. Tuff was shocked. "Wait, you mean read?" He asked.
"While we're still alive?"
"Why read words when you can just kill stuff the words tell you stuff about?" Snotlout shouted, banging his fist on the table. Fishlegs jumped up and down in excitement. "Oh! I've read it like, seven times. There's this water dragon that sprays boiling water at your face. And—and there's this other one that buried itself for like a week—" He rambled. All the teens stared at him weirdly. Tuff eventually held out his hand in a shutting motion. "Yeah, that's great. See, there was a chance I was going to read that..."
"...But, now..." Ruff finished, rolling her eyes. Snotlout stood up. "You guys read, I'll go kill stuff." He declared, leaving the Great Hall. The twins followed him, with Fishlegs chasing after them, spewing dragon facts and ranting about different dragons.
Hiccup stood up, moving over to the other table where Astrid was still sitting. "So I guess we'll share?" He asked, to which Astrid responds by pushing the book his way, standing up abruptly. "Read it."
Hiccup stared after her. "Wow, okay. So, I'll see you, uh...tomorrow." The doors slammed shut, leaving Hiccup and Aster alone.

"So...I guess...we'll share?" Hiccup asked timidly to the younger teen. Aster closed his eyes for a moment, giving a blunt "fine" as a reply.

Everyone had left the hall, leaving the two teens alone. Hiccup carried another candle to the table, placing it beside the book as the two boys sat opposite each other. Aster had refused to sit next to him, and Hiccup wasn't surprised.
Opening the book, Hiccup began reading. "Dragon classifications. Strike Class, Fear Class, Mystery Class."
Aster stared at the drawing of each dragon as Hiccup read on.
"Thunderdrum: This reclusive dragon inhabits sea caves and dark tide pools. When startled, the Thunderdrum produces a concussive sound that can kill a man at close range. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight. Timberjack: This gigantic creature has razor sharp wings that can slice through full grown trees. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight. Scauldron: Sprays scalding water at its victim. Extremely dangerous. Changewing: Even newly hatched dragons can spray acid. Kill on sight."
The two boys jumped in fear as thunder boomed outside, resembling a dragons roar. Hiccup began turning the pages even faster. The drawings looked terrifying, and with each description, Aster felt fear rise within him.
"Gronckle, Zippleback, The Skrill, Boneknapper, Whispering Death. Burns its victims, buries its victims, chokes its victims, turns its victims inside-out. Extremely dangerous, extremely dangerous, kill on sight, kill on sight, kill on sight..."
The two boys finally reached the end of the manual. There was only one last dragon left, and it seemed like Hiccup was almost too afraid to read it. Gently taking the book away from Hiccup, Aster turned it around. There was no image of the dragon, only a title and a small description. He began to read.
"Night Fury: Speed, unknown. Size, unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. Never engage this dragon. Your only chance: Hide and pray it does not find you."
The boys went silent, and Hiccup brought his journal out, keeping the contents out of Aster's view. Aster didn't care.
Hiccup stood up. "Okay, I'm gonna go home. Did you want to take the book? Or...?" He asked, gesturing to the book. Aster shrugged. "I guess. Well, see you tomorrow, then."
Hiccup nodded, saying his goodbyes then leaving the hall.
Aster watched him leave, turning his gaze back to the book. Are all dragons really that evil and heartless? Doesn't matter. As soon as I'm off this island, I hopefully won't be bothered by any dragons. They'll all attack here for food.
Picking up the book, he made his way home.

Now that his mother wasn't here, he decided to have a good, long read. Opening the Dragon Manual, he began his session, learning about all the different species of dragons that could potentially attack him when he left Berk for good.