How to Train Your Dragon: An Epilogue

An Epilogue

It's been a few days since the big battle with the Red Death, and now that us vikings and the dragons are living together in peace, things couldn't be better.

"Hiccup!" My dad shouted, his voice bellowing through the general chaos of the village. "Get this bloody dragon outta the sheep pastures before I do it myself the hard way!"

Ok, maybe things weren't perfect, but you couldn't blame me. I knew every trick out of the book on keeping dragons calm. It was the villagers who were making the dragons go nuts, and I needed a way to calm them down permanently, or my dad was going to make them all go back to the hole they came from. Literally.

"Hey, Toothless!" I called, and immediately Toothless, the only Night Fury I've discovered so far, came swooping down beside me, his midnight black scales glistening with sea water. The stench of Icelandic Cod filled my nose, which could only mean one thing - "Toothless, for the last time, stop raiding the ocean for snacks! You already eat enough food as it is."

I couldn't stay mad, though. Who could, with those adorable yellow eyes with huge pupils that just begged you to stop and scratch him in his favorite spot: the crease between his neck and his chin. I sighed, and said, "Alright alright, you got me. Just finish whatever you're chewing on and let's go to the sheep pastures. Dad's mad again," to which Toothless swallowed and crouched down, allowing me to climb onto the saddle on his back. One click from my foothold signaling his tail to open, and we were off.

The minute I got there, I realized the issue. The sheep pastures, which I had never visited until now, were on top of the special grass that makes all the dragons go nuts for it. About half the dragons that live here in Berk were rolling around in the pastures, hissing at anyone or anything that came near them.

It was taking all of Toothless' willpower not to go in the pastures, and when my dad saw us, I hopped off and told Toothless to go eat more fish, just so he wouldn't go nuts in front of my dad.

"Hiccup! What in the name of the Red Death is happening?" Dad shouted, his voice echoing throughout the valley, making several dragons look up lazily before going back to their bliss.

"Dad, it's the grass: it makes them go crazy. They love it. I might be able to lure them away with fish, but if not, then we have to relocate the sheep," I say, trying not to laugh at all these powerful dragons rendered powerless because of some grass.

"Hiccup, something needs to change. The people need to know how to solve their own dragon problems. You can teach them? Great," Dad says, already turning to go.

"Dad -," I try to say, but my voice gets lost in the wind. And as if my luck couldn't get any worse, it started pouring, a crack of thunder snapping the dragons from their grass-induced stupor and making them fly back to their nests. Toothless comes swooping out of the inky black sky and whisks me away, but before he can get too far, I tell him, "Stop by Astrid's first buddy, ok?"

He grunts, and takes me there. Upon arriving at Astrid's house, Toothless takes off, leaving me alone. "Thanks buddy. Really appreciate it," I say as I knock. Astrid answers, and before she can even say hi, I say, "Hey Astrid what's up ok cool listen my dad just ordered to teach everyone in the town practically everything I know about dragons can you help me teach them you will ok thanks a bunch meet you tomorrow in the middle of town bye."

Before I can turn and walk away, she grabs my shoulder and says disbelievingly, "Woah woah wait. You have to teach everyone in the town how to train their dragons?"

"Hehe... yeah, pretty much. You'll help me, right?" I ask, because if she won't, I might as well go find another island to live on.

Astrid sighs and glares at me, her blonde hair falling into her icy blue eyes. "I guess I don't really have a choice, now do I Hiccup? Yes, I'll help you. See you tomorrow."

"Great! Thanks. Ok, see you tomorrow. Oh, and bring Stormfly!" I say, but I'm not sure if she heard me because she slammed the door in my face. Oh well, I think as Toothless flies me home. She'll come.

The next morning Astrid and I are circling the middle of town on our dragons with practically the whole town beneath us. We glance at each other, and she mouths to me, "You ready?"

I nod and yell, "Ok everyone, listen up. Astrid and I are gonna split you into two groups. Astrid will take the north half of town, and I'll take the south half. We'll both be teaching the same things, so don't worry. Any questions? No? Ok then, let's go. My group goes to the forest, Astrid's group goes to the sheep pasture. Let's do this!"

Everyone follows us on their various dragons, and we teach them about the grass, and how to distract them from it. By the end of the day, my ears are ringing from the sounds of makeshift thunder and my nostrils can only smell cod. But everyone learned what I taught, and that's all that really matters. I meet up with Astrid before going home, and she says, "Hiccup, today sucked. But I think it's gonna be worth it," to which I nod and ride off, thinking of what to teach for tomorrow.

The next day, we teach everyone about what dragons like and dislike in terms of food, and by the end of the day there is a surplus of eels and barely any cod left. Our clothes reek of fish, and our dragons can barely move they're so full. Astrid and I high-five before heading home, and all I can think is, Just about a week and this madness ends.

As the week progresses, teaching everyone becomes easier and easier and the lessons become less and less complex. By the beginning of the next week, I'm pretty confident that everyone can hold their own against the dragons. On the last day, I gather everyone in the middle of town and say, "Alright everyone, great job all around. I'm pretty sure that you can hold your own against most dragons around the village. You're free to go."

Everyone stampedes out and back to their normal lives, but Astrid and I linger. I open my mouth to thank her, but before I can, she punches me on my arm. Hard.

"That's for roping me into this craziness," she says, a smug look on her face. Before I can protest her punching me, she pulls me onto her dragon and kisses me. My eyes widen, then close. I'm surprised to find that I actually enjoy kissing Astrid, and probably would have done it for longer if it weren't for my dad flying up and interrupting us. Astrid and I jump apart, blushing. But instead of scolding me or saying something really embarrassing, Dad smiles, shakes his head, and says, "I guess you really are more of a grown up viking than I thought."

As soon as he flies away, Astrid pushes me back onto Toothless and says, "I'll see you around."

I wave as Astrid lands by Ruffnut, but she ignores me, adamantly whispering to Ruffnut. I take it as my cue to leave, so I click my foothold, and Toothless whisks me away into the sky.