Home-Bound: Broken Ties

10 - Bonding Ceremonies

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Hiccup took off on Toothless and was off to the arena as soon as he realized just what the Elites were hinting at.

Allen and Jeysannia shared a look before climbing on top of their dragons. Elise took off first, tossing on her helmet and letting Lavender glide above the buildings.

"Look! Barely anything burning!" She called out excitedly behind her, pointing down to the small fires that were being quickly taken care of by the villagers.

The larger Vikings had picked up troughs of water formerly for the animals and were tossing them onto the flames. Others formed a bucket brigade that carried water from wells or even the ocean. They would all soon be put out and repaired. No major rebuilding. It was a small victory—one everyone was thankful for in the end.

The dragons quickly arrived at the arena and the Elites jumped off at the stands next to Hiccup. Luneah was in the center of the arena, surrounded by the Berk dragons and Hiccup's Isunderian dragon riders, who had arrived from the closest outpost.

Berk's new generation was also there. Hiccup sucked in a breath when he realized just what Luneah was attempting to do. But he didn't dare call out and try to stop her. Bonding with a dragon was an extremely fragile moment that should be handled delicately. Crying out would shatter the moment and cause the dragon to go rabid.

Hiccup wouldn't risk that when Luneah and their twins were at stake.

Luneah had already bonded the twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut to the Zippleback Barf and Belch. Fishlegs was petting Meatlug, another Gronkle that Hiccup had freed from Berk's cages. Right now, Luneah was attempting to bond Snotlout to Hookfang, the Monstrous Nightmare, but both were being incredibly stubborn.

Finally, a bond formed and Luneah moved onto Astrid and Stormfly, the Nadder that Hiccup and Luneah had also freed from Berk. Hiccup had to admit, those two were a pretty compatible pair. Astrid and Stormfly were both fast, strong, vain, and stubborn. How perfect!

Surprisingly, Astrid didn't struggle at all. She just reached forward with a shaking hand and let the bond form.

Heather and Cami, the only girls on Hiccup's dragon riding team, clapped excitedly when all the bonds finished, just as if it were a true bonding ceremony on Isunder. Heather was atop Windshear, her Razorwhip, and Cami was lying against her Timberjack, Slice. How they had managed to get Slice's giant wings through the tiny cage door, Hiccup didn't know. But that was pretty impressive.

Eret—also a member of Isunder's dragon riding team—was not in the arena but his dragon, Skullcrusher, was lying against the back wall, asleep. If he were here, he would watch the scene with blatant boredom, obviously unimpressed (Eret was a downer like that, according to Jeysannia). At Isunder, formally binding yourself to a dragon was much like a marriage ceremony or a graduation: there was a feast and fireworks and flowers and a giant celebration.

Luneah looked around at the Berkians who had just bonded with the dragons. She sighed, grateful that everything had gone smoothly. A small thud behind her caught her attention.

Hiccup had slipped underneath the bars of the cage and down to the concrete of the arena. Pulling down the hood of his cape, he pulled off the leather riding gloves and dusted off his hands. His helmet was still on, but Luneah could feel the glare burning into her.

"So... what's going on here?" He asked, voice low and controlled. But nobody was fooled, not even the Berkians. The Chief was obviously furious. Astrid came to stand behind the Chieftess. Hayden was... kind of scary.

"Oh, you know... just bonding my dear friends to some dragons..."

"You know how dangerous bonding ceremonies are. If a single thing had gone wrong—"