A Saga Of Ice And Fire

Chapter Thirty-Seven - Test Flight

The sun had risen the next morning with a glorious conflagration of pink and yellow. The air was thick, brisk, and very cold; so cold that the tip of your nose would feel numb like it would freeze and break off at any moment and you wouldn't even feel it until the seasons changed. Ice edged the streams, and the smaller pools had begun to form thin sheets of ice that would disappear at daybreak, only to reappear at dusk. Winter was coming and it barely looked to be less than a month away, from the looks of it.

Fishlegs winced as ice wrapped in cloth was gingery pressed to his bruises after the morning class and Tuffnut laughed at him until it was his turn. Red cuts littered Fishlegs right arm and Tuffnut's nose had swollen purplish and bulbous, both of them having been mauled by a terrible terror that Hiccup had sent back into it's pen using the reflection of light from the iron head of his shield to distract it like one would a house cat. They'd all gone back to Madman's Gully, the strip of land between the cliffs that the bleak, pebbled beach they'd visited last time was located on and this time, Astrid had gone into the dank tunnel Hiccup had gone into before, returning victorious with two writhing terrors secured in her rucksack.

"OW!" Fishlegs squeaked as Agatha pressed the ice pack to his cuts. She was helping Gobber for the day due to the injuries. Treating injuries weren't exactly Gobber's speciality.

Unlike the bigger dragons, including the nadder that was supposed to be fast and light on their feet, the tiny terrible terrors proved to be a lot harder to duck and weave under. The only other time any of them had gotten injured was when the talon of the nadder had grazed Snotlout's shoulder the previous week. For most people, having so few injuries was a boon but for Viking teenagers, apart from maybe Hiccup and Fishlegs, surviving a class in the ring with a dragon unblemished meant a disappointing class.

Agatha wrapped a cloth over Fishlegs' wound, securing it in place. He winced as she tightened it.

"Now et should be good en about two teh three days, dearie. " Agatha remarked as she moved over to check Ruffnut's nose. He dramatically howled in pain as she laid a finger on the tiny terror teeth marks.

"OW! I am hurt! I am very much still hurt !" he wailed in a manner that was befitting a manly Viking, in his opinion, at least.

"Oh shush!" Agatha waved him over. She held up a bottle.

"What's that ?" Ruffnut inquired as she stood leaning against the wall next to Hiccup's bed where he sat.

"Alcohol. " replied Agatha. " Brace yerself, lad. It's got a nasty bite. "

" Hah! I've faced worse, woman!" Tuffnut huffed as Agatha pressed the top of the open bottle to the cloth, soaking it.

"Ah'm sure yeu have. " Agatha remarked dismissively before dabbing the cloth to his nose and he immediately began howling in pain.

"Gods! " Ruffnut groaned as he watched the scene. "We coulda been doing something more important instead if you idiots hadn't gotten yourselves like this with just a dumb terror!"

" Wait. Where's Astrid ?" Snotlout suddenly asked, putting down the mug of water he'd been drinking.

" She went hunting in the westwoods. " Hiccup remarked. They looked at him, brows raised.

He quickly clarified. "Uh . . . . Sh-she came by the stall in the morning to pick up her axe."

Everyone looked away at the clarification. Everyone but Snotlout.

"What?" Hiccup blinked at him, feeling a little self-conscious.

" How the hel did you do it ?"

"Do. . . . What?" Hiccup asked uncertainly. "Sharpen an axe ?"