Fire and Ice | HTTYD Fanfiction [Book One]

Chapter One ~ Saving Skrills

ADIRA

      A terrible terror chirped and made little noises, waking me from my sleep. I rolled over, shaking off the leg of a Deadly Nadder that slept nearby. It abruptly got up and flew away, leaving me to wonder why. Moments later, the Terrible Terror got the message of danger and took off as well.

      "Makes me feel so loved," I grumbled to myself sarcastically. The brief second of humor vanished when I heard a loud crunch and spotted two gigantic red-orange wings. It was a Typhoomerang.

      It came out of the forest with a thunderous roar. I shook in terror and dashed in the opposite direction. I sprinted until I came to a cliff, stopping a heartbeat before I went hurtling off of the edge. Loud footsteps sounded behind me and I nervously turned around. 

      "Hey, buddy," I said sheepishly, backing as far away from the huge creature as I could. It brought its neck down, its head positioned directly in front of mine. The was silence, and the whole world held its breath before it abruptly roared in my face. I took a startled step back, causing me to go cascading down the 250-foot cliff.

      I awaited my most certain death but was caught in midair. The Typhoomerang appeared to have a change of heart for it caught me on its head fifteen feet into my plummet. It gracefully placed me on a nearby tree branch as I gazed in bewilderment. Ever so slowly, I extended my left arm and looked away. Moments passed and I almost thought it had flown off when it pressed its large white head towards my palm. A bright grin spread across my face.

     "Can I ride you to the next island?" I asked softly. 

     It nodded, lowering its head as an invitation to climb on. I smiled again, "thank you..." I paused trying to think of a name, "Citrine." 

      Citrine was an orange gemstone, the same color of this dragon's wings. For a reason I never fully understood, I enjoyed naming dragons after gemstones. Maybe it was because I thought because gemstones were just as precious and dragons.

      As we soared through the air, I pointed in the direction of an island that appeared deserted. "Could you drop me off there?" I asked. 

      In response, Citrine angled his large wings downward, toward the island. Once we landed, I patted his head one more time and started trekking through the trees. I heard a stomping sound behind me, causing me to turn and see Citrine following me curiously. I made no move to stop him; I simply nodded and kept walking.

      Within the first fifteen minutes or so, I heard the distressed screech of a dragon. I quickened my pace to a power walk, then a jog, and finally to a sprint. I raced toward the noise, stopping short when I reached the edge of a clearing. The scene presented in front of me surprised me momentarily, but I managed to regain my pose quickly.

      Up ahead, I saw a Skrill in ropes surrounded by Vikings with long horned helmets. Dagur, I thought, he seriously got that Skrill again?!'

      I gave Citrine a glance that told him exactly what to do. Raising his head, he let out an ear-piercing roar. Before Dagur and his men could react, more than thirty other Typhoomerangs appeared. When they caught sight of the issue, the dragons swooped toward the men who were fleeing in alarm. I couldn't help but laugh at the panicked faces of the Berserkers. 

      Less than three minutes later, all of the men had abandoned the island and were rapidly sailing away, leaving the Skrill behind.

      I tentatively approached it and it growled threateningly, squinting at me with penetrating eyes. "It's okay!" I said, "I'm not going to hurt you." 

      Citrine marched to my side as if on cue, trying to prove that I was a friend. The Skrill seemed to relax, but when I pulled out my dagger it growled again. "It's just to cut the ropes," I reassured it, "I won't hurt you."

      I picked up the most insecure of the ropes and cut it easily, causing the other ropes to loosen as well. Three more cuts and the dragon was on its feet. I put my dagger safely out of sight as the Skrill crept up slowly. I extended a hand for it to sniff.

      It smelled it gingerly and walked a little closer, nuzzling my hand with its head. I chuckled lightly, "follow me."

      We made our way to a river that ran through the middle of the island. I took out a slim arrow and crouched by the side, waiting for movement. A silver fish tumbled by and I stabbed it in a flash. Pulling the fish off the arrow, I flung it toward the Skrill who ate it in one bite. It looked eager for more, as did Citrine.

      It took two hours for us to each enough to fill our stomachs. The Skrill laid down for an afternoon nap and Citrine followed suit. I realized suddenly that we seemed like an odd little family. That was when the craziest of ideas popped into my head.

      What if we created a dragon pack? One with an unlimited species of dragon. We could go around as a group and protect and feed each other like a family would.

      I sighed in exasperation; the idea seemed absurd. As I glanced around, I decided that I should name the island. After briefly pondering over different names, I settled with Arboribus. Arboribus meant trees, and the island was certainly full of them.

      I started to think about possible names for the Skrill. I went through a list of gemstones in my head and remembered a black-purple one, melanite. The name seemed to suit the dark creature.

      After about ten more minutes I drifted into a sleep, my head rested on Melanite and my arm draped across Citrine's wing.

A/N: Sorry that this is kind of short. I promise that future chapters will be longer, at least 1,000 words.