Hiccup's Point of View
Astrid shifted slightly on my lap, trying to get comfortable.
She didn't need to try that hard.
If I was being honest with myself—dangerously honest—her ass?
Might be better than Luna's.
Not by much. But enough that I noticed.
I smirked.
"Here," I murmured, wrapping an arm around her waist and turning her slightly so her back pressed against my chest, her thighs pulled snug over mine. "You should enjoy the show. It's one of Berk's finest comedic performances."
She blinked at me, confused—until she looked up and saw the mess unfolding below.
The teens were trying. I'd give them that. But watching them attempt to coordinate was like watching baby eels try to dance with swords.
Snotlout was screaming orders no one listened to. Fishlegs was hiding behind his shield again. Ruff and Tuff were using a net on each other more than the dragon. Even Astrid's old self would've buried her face in her hands watching this.
I couldn't help it.
I laughed. Loudly.
Astrid choked on her own amusement beside me before bursting into giggles.
"This is pathetic," she said between gasps.
"I know," I said, pressing my chin to her shoulder. "It's almost nostalgic, really. Only slightly less life-threatening."
She leaned back into me, relaxed now, and I let my hands rest comfortably on her hips—palming them with clear, silent appreciation. She tensed for a moment... but didn't stop me.
Progress.
In front of us, the Gronckle—stocky, thick-scaled, and visibly annoyed—was letting out deep rumbles and tail swipes. But something was off.
She was furious.
When she roared again, it wasn't just sound. It was pain. Fury. Hate.
And then...
She spoke.
"I'll take my anger out on all of you," she growled, her voice guttural, thick with rage and exhaustion. "If I kill you, I won't care. The one with the iron limbs hurt me. Didn't feed me. Bound me. "
Listening to her voice and anger my mood went down hard and my eye's turned cold.
Only a handful of us understood it. Freya, from her place in the stands, sat up straighter. Luna's claws twitched. Her eyes sharpened.
Everyone else?
They just heard a louder growl. They thought the dragon was "getting wild."
Fools.
But I knew better.
That wasn't wild.
That was vengeance.
My gaze slowly turned my head up to the stands, scanning the crowd until it landed on the one person I needed to see.
Gobber.
He was at the ledge, pulling on a winch and shouting encouragements—clueless.
Clueless... or guilty.
Meatlug—who would soon truly be Meatlug—wasn't putting on a show. She wasn't acting. She was remembering.
And the man responsible?
Was right there.
My hands flexed tighter around Astrid's waist, jaw clenching as the flames in my blood stirred.
Because if Gobber dared hurt that dragon ounce more.....
He wouldn't have limbs left to forge with.
However while looking at him I noticed something else.
The moment Meatlug's voice echoed across the arena, a silence dropped like a hammer.
Not one word.
Not one breath.
Even the crowd—usually an endless stream of murmurs and gasps—shut their mouths as a ripple of dread passed through them.
The teens didn't notice at first. Not until the Gronckle's body tensed, her stubby wings flared out like jagged sails, and her belly began to glow an ominous molten orange.
I felt it instantly.
Dragon fire.
Not stage fire.
Not a warning burst.
No. This was the real thing.
And then—
She fired.
A molten boulder of explosive rock shot from her maw and slammed into Fishlegs' shield.
It didn't bend. It didn't crack.
It exploded.
Shrapnel flew in every direction as Fishlegs screamed and flung himself to the side, rolling like a boulder down a hill.
The crowd gasped.
The teens froze.
And Meatlug roared.
She didn't wait.
Didn't pace.
Didn't give them time to breathe.
She charged.
Her wings barely lifted her off the ground, but her mass alone shook the arena as she bulldozed straight for Fishlegs.
He scrambled to his feet just in time to dodge, diving behind a boulder.
Meatlug didn't follow him.
No, she turned.
Eyes locked on the twins.
"Your laughter made it worse," she snarled in dragon-tongue, her body vibrating with fury. "You mocked my pain. Let's see you laugh now."
Only Luna, Freya, and I understood her words.
Astrid tensed in my lap.
The twins, oblivious, just blinked as Meatlug barreled toward them.
"Wait, why's she coming at us?" Tuffnut asked.
"She's supposed to go after Fishlegs!" Ruffnut yelled.
"She's supposed to be dumb!"
"She isn't!" I muttered under my breath.
Too late.
Meatlug launched another fireball, this one striking right at their feet.
They screamed, flying in opposite directions, singed and rolling.
Tuffnut's hair smoked. Ruffnut's fur collar was on fire. She beat at it with a helmet.
Meatlug didn't even pause.
She spun around and fixed her gaze on the last one.
Snotlout.
"Oh this is going to be fun." Astrid muttered.
I chuckled. "Oh yes."
Snotlout raised his axe and puffed out his chest. "Whoa—whoa— dragon! Remember me? The handsome one? The future chief?"
She growled.
"Let's talk about this like—GAH!"
She tackled him.
Not with her head.
With her entire body.
One second he was standing there, talking, and the next he was buried beneath two tons of dragon, dust exploding from the impact.
She stood up, spit out what remained of his helmet, and snorted.
"Cowards," she growled. "You didn't earn this. You aren't warriors. You are children playing games with death."
Snotlout groaned from under a pile of rocks.
And still, the crowd was silent.
Shocked.
Terrified.
They didn't understand what she was saying, but they felt the anger in her tone. They could tell this wasn't staged.
This wasn't a show.
This was a reckoning.
I sat there with Astrid still in my lap, arms crossed, watching the chaos unfold with increasing disinterest.
The fight had lost its appeal.
Sure, it was amusing at first—but there's only so long you can watch morons get trampled before it becomes repetitive.
Astrid turned slightly, looking up at me. "You bored already?"
I sighed. "As much as I'm enjoying the view—" I gave her hip a playful squeeze, making her blush, "—I think I've had my fill of incompetence for the day."
She chuckled. "So what now?"
I stood, slowly, dragging her gently up with me before setting her beside me.
"Well..."
I rolled my shoulders, cracked my neck, and let my claws peek from beneath my sleeves.
"It might be time I stretch my legs a bit."
She raised an eyebrow.
Luna, from the stands, immediately turned her head. Our bond sparked—she felt it. Felt my boredom shifting into something else.
A desire for fun.
For a statement.
The warriors lining the arena edge stirred. Some reached for their weapons.
But Stoick's hand shot up.
"Stand down," he barked.
Gobber flinched. "But Stoick—!"
"They need to learn."
His eyes were locked on me.
He knew.
Knew I was about to move.
Knew something was coming.
But even he had no idea what.
Astrid stepped to my side, brushing some dust from her shoulder. "You going to show off?"
I smiled.
"Oh, I'm going to do more than that."