Chapter 18

Hiccup clicked the button at the top of the hilt, and the dragons standing around him all ooh'd in awe at the weapon made of flame he now held. 

"Whoa," Sharpshot said. "That is awesome." 

"It's beautiful," Stormfly agreed. 

"It's definitely a worthy weapon," Hookfang nodded. 

"I can see why you spent hours working on it," Toothless said. "Your mom's going to love it." 

"Oh, she's definitely going to love it," Hiccup said. "I just hope that she'll be able to teach me how to use it." 

"I have no doubt that you'll become an expert at wielding it," Toothless said reassuringly. 

Hiccup sighed, "Maybe. But if I can't even fight another dragon as a Moon Sweeper, one of the fastest and most powerful dragons known, then I doubt I could learn how to fight as a human." 

"Hiccup, if you keep saying stuff like that, then it's going to be true," Toothless said tensely. 

"You need some confidence, Captain," Stormfly said. 

"Yeah, how about we go blow some stuff up?" Belch offered. 

They all continued to offer him various solutions and guidance, Hiccup getting more and more self conscious by the minute. The only one who didn't try to give him advice was Hookfang, who was staring at him critically. 

Finally, Hookfang spoke up, "Captain, how do you feel about a spar? Just you and me." 

Hiccup gave the Blaze Builder a look of surprise, "What?" 

"I could give you a few pointers," he said casually. 

"Uh," Hiccup said, squinting at Hookfang confusedly. "I suppose that wouldn't be too bad." 

Hookfang gave a quick nod, and motioned for Hiccup to lead the way out of the cave. Hiccup set his sword, which he had named Inferno, aside before he shifted into his dragon form. Giving Toothless a small helpless glance, he started leading Hookfang out of the cave and towards the large clearing in the middle of the island that they had been using for spars. 

"So what are the terms?" Hiccup asked Hookfang as they landed in the clearing. 

"How about a free-for-all?" Hookfang said, "The only rule being that we can't take the fight into the Great Sky." 

"So anything besides flying goes?" Hiccup asked uneasily. 

"Yes," Hookfang said. "And you have to stay a dragon, of course." 

Hiccup nodded slowly, "Sure, we can do that." 

"Do you swear to abide by these terms on the Moon Goddess?" Hookfang asked seriously, and Hiccup felt a wave of unease course through his body. 

"An oath?" Hiccup said.

"Yes." 

Hiccup squared his shoulders, "I'll swear it if you swear it." 

"I swear upon the Sun God that I will not fly at any moment during our spar, and I will accept any harm that you may bring on me," Hookfang swore. 

Hiccup scrutinized the Blaze Builder for only a moment longer before speaking, "I swear upon the Moon Goddess that I will not fly at any moment during our spar, I will stay within my dragon form, and I will accept any harm that you may bring on me." 

Hookfang nodded approvingly, "Are you ready, Captain?" 

"I'm ready," Hiccup agreed. He moved to get into his fighting stance, but before he could react, Hookfang lunged at him, his jaws latching onto his neck. 

Hiccup roared in pain, his paws reaching up and trying to scratch at Hookfang's maw. But his claws did nothing, and Hookfang reared up before swinging his head and launching Hiccup into the air. His body hit a tree with a thud, and Hiccup felt his left front leg crack on impact. A yelp of pain escaped his throat, and before he could even attempt to get up, Hookfang came barreling into him at him. 

Eyes widening, Hiccup tried to roll out of the way, but Hookfang managed to sink his jaws into Hiccup's already broken leg. He let out another roar of pain, helpless as Hookfang rose up and slammed him into the ground. Hiccup's breath escaped him as he collided with the dirt, and Hookfang took advantage of this by winding back his tail and slamming it into Hiccup. He went flying a couple of feet before hitting the ground again, landing on his messed up leg.

Hookfang stalked towards him slowly, his eyes filled with violence as Hiccup's fearful gaze locked with his. 

"Wow, Captain," he snarled, speaking Hiccup's title mockingly, "this is really all you're capable of? You can hold your own when you're hiding inside of clouds, but the second you're on the ground, you're useless." 

The Blaze Builder's words rang through the air, and Hiccup felt something inside him snap. As though a great dam had finally broken. The dam was made up of everything he had been taught growing up as a human, and the ocean that bursted through the cracks was everything he was and forever would be as a dragon.

With a mighty roar, the Dragonborn launched himself at the Blaze Builder. He swiped his claws across the bigger dragon's face, drawing blood. His paws hit the ground for only a second before he nimbly pounced on the Blaze Builder again. Then Moon Sweeper's teeth wrapped around the other dragon's neck, the momentum of his attack sending them sprawling backwards. 

With an angered roar, the Blaze Builder used his feet to kick the black dragon off of him, his large claws ripping across the Moon Sweeper's vulnerable stomach scales. The pain faintly registered in the back of Hiccup's brain, but at that moment, all that mattered was that the Blaze Builder was still breathing. 

Both dragons landed back on their feet, and they faced each other down. This was a real fight, and Hiccup was going to win it. Plasma built up in his throat, and his wings gave a mighty flap as he reared up and shot his fire towards the Blaze Builder. The large dragon tried to duck, but he wasn't quick enough, and the flames slammed into his face, sending him sprawling across the ground. 

Before the Blaze Builder could recover, the Dragonborn flapped his wings and launched himself onto the other dragon. All four of his paws dug their claws into his opponent's flesh, the front two paws cutting through his wings as the back two dug into his stomach. The Moon Sweeper was effectively pinning the Blaze Builder to the ground, but in order to make sure that the larger dragon wouldn't throw him off, the menacing black dragon summoned gas into his throat, his furious eyes boring into the Blaze Builder's fearful ones as he reared his head up to strike. 

"I yield!" Hookfang yelled out desperately. 

Hiccup froze, the gas slowly receding back into his throat as the words registered in his brain. His claws slowly retracted into his paws, his teeth following suit. It was like waking up from a really long nap, his thoughts slowly coming back to him as his anger melted away. His eyes began to register the clearing they were in, the trees that surrounded him, and the pain that was pounding in his body.

A groan escaped his throat as he stumbled off of Hookfang, his legs shaking as he tried to stay standing. How in the Great Sky above did he manage to pin Hookfang to the ground with a completely mangled leg? Blood was dripping down his legs from his neck and his stomach, and he was sure that he had lost way too much blood. He was about to turn around and ask Hookfang to help him back to the cave, but before he could do so, the world faded to black, and he hit the ground with a thud. 

*** 

Hiccup's eyes slowly blinked open, and he groggily looked around to see where he was. He attempted to lift his head up, but it pounded with so much pain that he gave up and let it fall back to the ground. From what he could see, it looked like he was in the cave. 

"Hello?" he called out weakly, vaguely registering the feeling of bandages wrapped around all of the places Hookfang had injured him. 

His ears caught the sound of someone startling at the sound of his voice, and then the sound of furious flapping of tiny wings before their scent faded away. It must have been Sharpshot. He was the only one who smelled that stinky all the time. 

After a couple minutes of pained silence, he could hear Sharpshot speaking frantically to what smelled like the rest of his Flight at the lake at the bottom of the mountain. The tiny dragon told the group of dragons that Hiccup was awake in a panic, causing the sound of many large and quick wing beats to fill Hiccup's ears as his Flight drew nearer. Each of their smells registered in his brain as they flew through the tunnel towards the cave, but he also recognized the smell of someone who wasn't part of their Flight. If his foggy brain wasn't lying to him, then his mother was on their island. 

The dragons all landed inside the cave, and a blue glow filled the darkness before Hiccup's mother kneeled beside him. 

"Hiccup?" she asked worriedly. 

"Hey, mom," Hiccup said, his voice scratchy. 

"Don't speak," his mother said, grabbing something that lay beside Hiccup. She brought it towards Hiccup's maw, and Hiccup felt the smell of water fill his nose, making him suddenly notice how dry his tongue was. 

"Drink," his mother ordered, and Hiccup quickly complied.

His tongue reached into the bowl and lapped up the water hungrily, drinking the entire bowl within moments. Once the bowl was empty, another one took its place, and Hiccup didn't question the seemingly infinite supply of water bowls as he drank one after another. Finally, after about seven or so bowls, he felt hydrated again, and his thoughts cleared ever so slightly. 

The pounding in his head continued to stay the same, but he lifted his head anyways, wincing as he righted himself. He surveyed his surroundings, all the dragons in his Flight looking at him worriedly. Hookfang lied down a couple feet away from him, bandages covering his neck, stomach, and wings, though he looked alert enough for Hiccup to assume that he had been awake for a while. 

"Hey," Hookfang said to Hiccup. 

"Hi," Hiccup responded, "I'm guessing that you antagonized me on purpose?"

Hookfang nodded, "I did. And might I say, you fought like a true born Moon Sweeper." 

"Thank you," Hiccup said, "I think I needed that." 

"Anytime," the Blaze Builder said, before adding with pride, "Captain." 

"Though, may I suggest that in the future," Hiccup's mother said, bringing his attention back to her, "you attempt to do so with a bit less risk of death." 

"Yes, that sounds like quite a good idea," Hookfang agreed. 

"So how long was I out?" Hiccup asked his mother, "And what happened?" 

"According to your second in command," she said, nodding at Toothless, "after you and this bold Blaze Builder had a very bloody fight, you passed out from blood loss. In a panic, Hookfang called for help before he followed your example. The members of your flight all scrambled to get you to a safe place, doing their best to lick your wounds clean and seal them shut. But of course, the injuries you both sustained to your necks and stomachs were far too serious for them to handle on their own, so Toothless went ahead and retrieved me as fast as he possibly could. By the time I got here, both of you were on the brink of death, but I was somehow able to pull you away from it." 

After a moment of continuing to look at them both disapprovingly-as though it was their fault for almost dying-before her face broke out into a soft smile.

"I was hoping this would happen soon," she said. "I'm glad it did."

Hiccup gave her a confused look, "You're happy that Hookfang and I almost killed each other?" 

 She laughed, "I'm happy that Hookfang finally got your instincts to kick in."

"What?" Hiccup said. 

His mother smiled again, "Dragonborn who are not born of eggs are not born with their draconic instincts, nor are they given them when they gain their magic. The only way to trigger your instincts, allowing you to act and live exactly as a dragon would, is to be put in a situation that would make any normal dragon incredibly angry or fearful because either their life is in danger, or their position of power is on the line."

"For you, it was your position of power," Hookfang said. "I remembered when we fought for the first time, you only started to fight when I taunted you about being a coward. I figured that in order for you to learn how to fight on the ground and gain a bit of confidence, I just needed to get you going a little bit." 

Hiccup snorted, "Well, thank the Moon Goddess it worked." 

"Yes, I remember that stage between gaining my Dragonborn magic and getting my instincts to finally get themselves into my brain quite clearly," Hiccup's mother said. 

"Why didn't you tell me that my instincts just needed to be triggered?" Hiccup asked. 

"Because there would have been no way for your instincts to be triggered had I told you," she responded. "You would have looked for ways to let your instincts in at every turn, and it would have taken far more than a Blaze Builder scratching you up to finally get them to show themselves." 

"Uhh, I think he did a bit more than just scratch me up." 

"Regardless, it would have taken a lot for your instincts to kick in if I had told you that they needed to be triggered," she said with finality. "Now, you need to rest and recover. The wounds on your stomach and neck will heal fairly quickly, along with the couple of ribs you broke, but your leg was thoroughly injured. There were breaks in multiple places along with more than a fair amount of blood loss, and I'm fairly certain at least one of your bones was shattered. You should not walk on it for at least a week, and you certainly should not be exerting it for at least a month. We don't want you to lose a leg, now do we?" 

"How long until I can fly?" Hiccup asked

"As long as you're not putting any pressure on your injured leg, then you can fly once all of your other injuries are healed," his mother said. 

"Okay," Hiccup said. "Thanks, mom." 

"Of course, son," she said, shifting into her dragon form. "Now, I must be off. I've already been here for four days, and I don't know how much longer Cloudjumper will be able to go until he comes looking for me." 

"Wait, I've been out for four days?!" Hiccup exclaimed.

"You have," she said. "Bye, now." 

His mother took off into the air, flying down the exit tunnel and out of sight. 

The cave was silent for a moment, before Hiccup turned to Toothless, "So how bad did I look? Did it scare the death out of you?" 

Toothless glared at Hiccup, and then Hookfang, "Yes, it was more terrifying than anything I hope to experience again ever in my life. So if either of you pull a stunt like that again, I'll kill you both." 

"If we pulled a stunt like that again, we'd probably die," Hookfang said. 

"Yeah, you'd want to kill us so much that you wouldn't be able to get to my mom in time," Hiccup snickered. 

Toothless rolled his eyes, "I'm going to go for a fly, because unlike you, I can." 

Hiccup and Hookfang laughed together as Toothless stalked out of the cave, though Hiccup knew that his brother was relieved they were okay. 

"The rest of you can leave if you want," Hiccup said to his Flight. "You don't need to look after us." 

"Oh, good," Sharpshot said, relieved, "I'm starving." 

"Ooh, I could eat," Barf agreed.

"Yeah, let's get some fish!" Belch exclaimed. 

"I could go for some rocks," Meatlug said, considering.

"You sure you'll be alright here, Captain?" Stormfly said worriedly. 

"We'll be fine, Stormfly," Hiccup said reassuringly. "Go get some food." 

"And bring us back some," Hookfang added. 

The Sear Spine nodded, and they all took off down the cave. Hiccup and Hookfang stared at each other for a moment, before Hiccup spoke up. 

"Did you really have to go for my neck first?" Hiccup asked annoyedly. 

"Your guard was wide open, where else was I supposed to bite you?" Hookfang said.

"I don't know, maybe somewhere a little bit less fatal."

"You went for my neck!" 

"Yeah, but that was because I was in a rage, not because I wanted to." 

"Yeah, not gonna lie, Captain, you're terrifying when you're angry," Hookfang said.

"Really?" Hiccup asked, surprised. 

"I swear, it was like you became possessed," Hookfang confirmed. "Your pupils became as small as blades of grass, and you were so fast I could barely keep up with you."

"I don't think I was even in control of my body," Hiccup said. "It was like I was moving without thinking, my mind replaying the way that you taunted me over and over again." 

"Well of course you were," he said matter of factly. "I insulted you as a Leader. Any born dragon would probably kill me for saying what I did." 

"But it was like I was being possessed," Hiccup said. "I wasn't even thinking straight until you snapped me out of it by yielding." 

The Blaze Builder shrugged, "Your instincts must have recognized that what I said could be seen as a challenge, that I was threatening your position as our Captain. All duels that are challenges almost always end with a dragon dying, the victor staying the Leader or becoming the new one. Honestly, when you started raging, I thought for sure I was going to die." 

"It was still strange," Hiccup said. 

"Of course it was, you've never acted on instinct before," Hookfang said. "But if I could give you a piece of advice, Captain? Always listen to your instincts. For dragons, they're always right." 

Hiccup nodded, "I will. And thank you, Hookfang, truly. I think I'm finally going to start getting the hang of being a dragon now."