Boy from Berk

10 • Meet the Gang

We had gotten back to Berk safely around and hour ago, and we were waiting for Astrid in the cove.

She had told me she wanted to show me something. Well, four somethings.

I was sitting with Toothless, finishing my page on Speed Stingers in my journal. Ever since I was a kid, I had been observing and writing about all sorts of different dragons, starting with Toothless.

"Hiccup!" I heard Astrid's voice, along with four others.

She could've told me they were people! I thought, still sitting beside Toothless.

He must've been thinking the same thing, cause he perked his head up with a low growl.

"It's alright bud." I said. He stopped growling and walked away.

Suddenly there were five people standing in front of me, four of them staring in awe.

I shut my book and and set it down before standing up.

"So this is the chief's son." The girl twin said. "A lot scrawnier than I thought."

Astrid rolled her eyes and walked over to me.

"These guys weren't at The Great Hall when Stoick announced you were here." She explained.

I nodded and she stepped back.

"Hiccup, this is Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut." She pointed to each of them when she said their names.

"And Chicken!" Tuffnut announced proudly, holding up an actual chicken.

"Guys, this is Hiccup. You've heard the name." She said, glaring at Tuffnut.

Tuffnut and Ruffnut were next to me in seconds.

Tuffnut looked me up and down with a "hm," and Ruffnut was trying to figure out how to get my sword.

"I see a real sarcastic, funny, prank-pulling master!" Tuffnut said. I nodded and laughed.

"Your boot's untied." I smirked when he looked down with a gasp.

"Wait a second... I don't have laces!" He looked up at me, smiling with tears I his eyes.

"True beauty!" He said.

"He may join us while we worship Loki!" Ruffnut agreed, still trying to take my sword.

Astrid rolled her eyes and grabbed the twins by the backs of their shirts, dragging them away from me.

Ruffnut had managed to get a hold of my sword, but she was still trying to figure out how to unsheathe it.

When she finally did, everyone but me jumped back in surprise.

"How'd you get it to do that?" Fishlegs pointed to the sword.

I opened my mouth to say something but was interrupted quickly by Snotlout.

He snorted and said, "That's so lame."

Just then, Ruffnut had figured out to to light it and nearly dropped it when it caught fire.

"Woahhh!" The group all gasped in unison.

I sat back, trying not to laugh the whole time.

Astrid stood beside me, watching in awe. I don't think she had ever seen my sword in action.

"Give me that!" Tuffnut took the sword and started messing with it.

"Oh, careful," I warned as he accidentally released the Zippleback gas, "You wouldn't want to-" I was interrupted by the small explosion.

"Light it." I finished with a smile.

Within seconds most of the group had their hands on the sword, each trying to take it for themselves. I was leaning against the stone wall, fairly entertained.

Astrid scoffed and rolled her eyes, walking over to the group.

She easily snatched the sword and tossed it my way. I caught it and sheathed it, putting it away.

"Party pooper." Ruffnut said, crossing her arms.

Toothless had been sitting out of the group's line of sight, but he slowly walked up and sat beside me. He growled something.

"Yeah I know, bud." I agreed it was strange that no one here had even said a word about the Night Fury.

"They probably haven't even noticed." I whispered.

As if she read my mind, Astrid said, "Alright gang, you can't go around telling everyone about this."

"Everyone already knows he's here." Snotlout pointed out.

"Oh yeah, great observation Snotlout." Astrid said sarcastically. Obviously he didn't hear the sarcasm, cause he had a look of accomplishment on his face.

"What they don't know is that he has a dragon." She explained, gesturing to Toothless. The whole group looked over at him.

"Is that a Night Fury?!" Fishlegs squealed.

I smiled and nodded.

"I thought those were all gone." Snotlout chimed in, reaching for his dagger. Thankfully, Astrid took it and threw it into the lake.

"So did I." Tuffnut said, his sister nodding in agreement.

"He might as well be the last of his kind." I sighed, petting him on the top of his head.

"Right, which is why we can't go around telling everyone." Astrid continued. "Besides us six, Stoick and Gobber are the only ones who really know."

After a minute I had stopped paying attention to what they were talking about. I was thinking about something else.

Their personalities matched certain dragons almost perfectly.

Astrid, a Deadly Nadder. Fierce, strong, and loyal to the end.

Fishlegs, Gronckle. Kind, cautious, and caring, but tough when they need to be.

Snotlout would definitely have a Monstrous Nightmare. Over-confident, self absorbed, and very sassy.

Ruff and Tuff, Hideous Zippleback. Two heads, chaotic, and wild.

"Would you, Hiccup?" Astrid's voice slowly brought me back to reality. She turned towards me. "Hiccup?"

I looked up to see everyone staring at me. "Uhh... Say that again?" I smiled nervously.

She walked over and punched me in the arm.

"Ouch!" I yelped, alarming Toothless.

The twins laughed and I could tell the others were trying not to. I rubbed my arm where she had punched me.

"I asked if you wanted to see the Book of Dragons I was telling you about earlier." Astrid explained. "Fishlegs brought it along in case."

"Oh. I guess." I said. Fishlegs walked over to me and placed a big book in my hands.

I sat down and placed it in the grass. Toothless laid his head down next to me and the group sat in a circle around the book.

"It's like we're summoning a demon!" Tuffnut said excitedly.

I rolled my eyes with a smile and opened the book to start reading.

1031 Words
Wow, way over my usual word count! (730+)