A Day in Training (OPEN)

[carodacat]

Madhawk curiously looked around the empty arena. He was early. Fury immediately took off and flew around happily, relishing his freedom. Hawk watched him sadly. He had let the dragon follow him home, but after a year it looked like Fury had wanted to leave, Hawk had tried to persuade him to stay. Fury had agreed, but Hawk knew he loved freedom.

Now Fury was soaring beautifully round the arena. He could easily fit through he gaps in the chain. Hawk slumped down bitterly, once again reminded of his puny dragon. Fury was weak even for a Terrible Terror, for he had no horns, and his minuscule teeth didn't deliver much of a bite. His claws were sharp, however, and Hawk knew he would last a few years in the wild.

Hawk looked up at the sky. Rain was pouring down, splashing on the stone floor. Training didn't look too promising. Hawk knew they would still train in rain, but maybe he should go home. He thought of his home, the lack of furniture, the hole in the roof that let in the weather, the thin sheets on his bed. Home didn't look to promising either.

Reluctantly, Hawk waited for the rest of the class to come.

[robinwing]

Alfrun walked in, wearing a short hooded cloak along with her normal outfit to keep the rain off. She was always early to dragon training, that was just how she was, as she often sat off to the side and scribbled notes about people as they came in. She stopped briefly, noticing an anomally of someone being there before her. She thought for a moment, and remembered that the boy's name was Madhawk. She continued walking in, and waved to Madhawk politely. She looked up at where his dragon was, blinked and got out her book to check it's name, Fury. She walked off to a point next to the wall that was slightly covered from the rain, and got her book, quickly checking the classmate's pages, to make sure she would know if someone new came in, or someone was not in. She nodded, and snapped it closed, but left it off the hook in case she needed it.

[carodacat]

Madhawk only looked up when Alfrun waved at him. He jerked his head, but otherwise made no sign he had seen her. The rain was still splashing down, but less now. Madhawk was drawn to the fact her left arm was paralyzed. He hastily looked away, knowing she wouldn't like to be reminded. He wondered whether she was left or right handed. He pulled out his notebook and drew her. There wasn't a lot of room. He rubbed out one of his drawings of Wolf to make room. He flicked his black hair out of his face and flipped through his book, smiling a little as he looked through his drawing of Fury.

Fury was surprised by the new human. He flapped lopsidedly toward her, purring. He loved people. His wings, however, were sodden with raindrops, so he fell on her head. He tried to say he was sorry, before he remembered she didn't know Dragonese. He sniffed around for her dragon. Where was it? He pointed to Alfrun, and then to himself, then to her feet.

Madhawk had no idea what Fury was trying to say. He tared a his weird little dragon for a while, then he got it. She had no dragon. He called sharply to Fury, but he wouldn't come. He wanted to play.

[robinwing]

Alfrun jumped a bit when Fury fell on her head, and her hood fell down. She looked down at him when he started sniffing around her, looking for something obviously. When the small dragon started pointing, she got it. Fury was looking for her dragon. She smiled gently at Fury, and told him, though the feet thing was still a bit strange to her.
"I don't have a dragon." She explained, just before looking up to indicate to Madhawk. "And I think your owner wants to talk to you." She stated, gently pushing the terror in the direction. Alfrun sat back, and reopened her book, turing to the page with basic descriptions of Madhawk and Fury on them, and scribbled down that fury seemed to be quite playful and friendly. She looked back up, and started wondering what part of what Fury was trying to say involved her feet. That was the only part of his actions she didn't get, and it confused her. Maybe because dragons generally follow 'at their owners heels'...?

[banditfly3]

Rain. Days like these were understandably less progressive than dry days. Not much could be taught when the ground and the air was so wet. Most dragons hated weather like this, as they could neither fly nor spit fire. Regardless, what mattered was how many students even showed up on rainy days. Less than the usual, that was for sure. He could guess a few that most likely wouldn't. Milkwort Marshmallow Cyclops, for example, definitely was not going to show. He skipped classes sometimes on regular days as it was, so a rainy day was out of the question. It was probably for the best, as the igniting half of his Hideous Zippleback was probably in a particularly bad mood right now and the hindrance it would cause was not to be desired.

Crowfoot walked into the arena through the tunnel and blinked once as the rain splashed onto his face. Two students were already here. One was a usual early bird: Alfrun Godwindottir. It was strange, for her to be so eager to learn without a dragon of her own. Only a few of their activities could she actively participate in, though she seemed to study constantly. If she had a dragon, he was sure she would be at the top of the class.

The other was Madhawk, a reserved boy--though a lot of his students were, curiously. He was rather pessimistic and didn't seem to always have a lot of confidence in his dragon; but nor did Crowfoot, as Terrible Terrors made terrible battle dragons. He would never be able to fly Fury and the dragon's skills were easily limited compared to the bigger dragons. That wasn't saying he still didn't put up one hell of a fight when challenged.

Crowfoot's own Terrible Terror, Rock, hovered off his shoulder the moment she spotted Fury. Unable to remain airborne for more than a few seconds, she scampered over on foot and tackle the other Terror with a happy squeal. Crowfoot watched with an indifferent frown. His large beard felt heavy in the rain and his fur kilt was soaking up the water like a sponge. He was uncomfortable, but that was good. He hoped his students were uncomfortable, too. This was a perfect chance to teach them a different aspect of being a Viking.

"We will wait a moment more for slackers. Don't bother trying to stay dry as you'll only be getting wet again." His booming voice easily overpowered the spattering of rain. With that, he turned to check on the dragons inside the chambers surrounding the dome. They were no longer prisoners and it made a good shelter. They would probably be in a bad mood today, though.

[robinwing]

Alfrun looked up when Mr. Dogwood came into the training arena, and waved. She was used to being there before him, and therefore greeting him when he got there. She knew how odd it was for her to be as eager as she was without a dragon, but she disregarded it, as she hoped to have a dragon one day. She heard him state that they may as well not be trying to stay dry, but she realised how little of the class she could actually partake in physically, so did not move. She opened her book again, to note that heavy rain apparently didn't bother Mr. Dogwood, as he seemed to be completely immune to it as he walked in. She looked over at the dragons in the shelters, understanding their adversity to leaving their little homes, as dragons couldn't fly or breathe fire in this sort of weather. She looked back at the tunnel, wondering if anyone else would be coming in this atrocious weather. She figured someone else would, they were all vikings, after all. A little rain never hurt anyone, and the cold and wet wasn't going to stop vikings.

[carodacat]

Madhawk nearly had a heart attack when Mr. Dogwood walked in. He madly hoped that the lesson would be called off, but no such luck. "Ok, just let us get wet, Mr. Dog-brains," he muttered. He liked inventing names for his teacher.

Fury squeaked as Rock ran into him. He snarled at her playfully. He loved making new friends- especially other small dragons like him. He wriggled behind and jumped, squealing.

Madhawk looked from side to side. Nobody was looking at him. At least, he hoped they weren't. He couldn't see them through the rain, so he hoped they couldn't see him. He pulled out his dragon glider. He loved it. It was his most prized possession. He called to Fury. As Madhawk attached Fury, the rain slackened and he stared at Alfrun. See! Even though my dragon is tiny I can still fly. Madhawk sat in the chair and tied the belt that secured him. He pulled a rope and the wings spread out, protecting him from the rain. It wasn't an incredibly good invention, with its chances of crashing more than 50-50, but it meant Madhawk could fly, something he loved doing.

((Um, just to avoid confusion, should we go Mr. Dogwood, thn Alfrun, then Madhawk?))

[banditfly3]

((That's how it turned out, so yes))

Crowfoot was tossing a fish into the irritable Monstrous Nightmare's chamber before slamming the door closed and facing his students. He hadn't taken a single dragon out. Today's lesson would have very little to do with dragons. He frowned when he spotted Madhawk's contraption. Such devices that were beyond usual protocol were always looked down on by Crowfoot. He was strict with his regulations and frowned upon anyone who strayed out of its path.

"You'll not be needing toys like that in this lesson, Madhawk," he spoke. He wanted very much to discourage the boy and make him forget such silly ideas that he was sure would fall in flames. "Play time's over until class ends." He turned away and stomped over to another, smaller chamber where all the weapons were stored. He pulled out the cart to the center of the arena. The hammers and axes and knives sparkled with wetness under the rain. "Take your pick. Take a big weapon and a small one. We're going hiking." Crowfoot enjoyed being vague and making his students wonder what he had in store for them. It pleased him more than it should to see a twinge of fear and anticipation in their eyes.

Rock was making curious chatters at the device attached to Fury, wondering suddenly if it was a part of his body. She made circles, examining every angle, before suddenly losing interest and crawling over to Alfrun. She stopped at the girl's feet and stared up at her book hopefully, trying to see if there was any food on the other side. She balanced herself carefully on her hind legs and cocked her head in a beg.

[robinwing]

((Well, I wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to reply to say I agreed to it.))

Alfrun blinked down at the terrible terror, Rock if she remembered correctly. She smiled gently, and lifted her book by the spine and shook it.
"Sorry, I don't have any food." She smiled. She then got up, hooked her book back to her belt and went over to the weapons, and took up a medium-sized axe, which she slipped onto her belt so that she could pick up a small knife as well. Alfrun walked over to Madhawk, walked around his glider having a good look, then looked back at him.
"A good design, but it looks kind of... Unstable. Does it crash alot?" She asked, moving to take a closer look at the underside of the wings.

[carodacat]

Madhawk nodded vaguely at Alfrun. He was too busy glaring at Mr. Dogwood. "Toy?" he yelled. He picked Fury and and scratched his ears. Fury purred and, knowing his master well, took off and grabbed hold of the chains on the ceiling. Madhawk leaned forward in his chair and started grabbing the walls, dragging his invention up.

Even though Fury was small we was quite strong. Eventually Madhawk was upside-down, hanging from the ceiling. He signaled to Fury and the dragon let go.

The machine looked like a Night Fury, wings, fins and tail, made of leather similar to the replacement of the great Toothless. As Fury let go, Hawk pulled a rope and one wings flew inward, causing it to right itself. Then Hawk gently pulled another rope, this time on the top of his chair, and one of the tail fins moved in, causing the machine to soar gracefully in circles, spiraling gently down to the floor. At the last moment, he let go of the rope and it landed with a bump, but intact.

Madhawk undid his seatbelt and jumped down, taking his battle-axe out. "Not really a toy, is it?"

[banditfly3]

Rock grumbled with disappointment and returned to her master's side, climbing up his wide back and perching onto his thick shoulder. She watched with interest as the boy and his Terrible Terror started doing something, emitting curious clicks and turning her head every which way, cheerful again.

Crowfoot didn't look at Madhawk immediately, selecting his own arsenal--a morning star and a crooked dagger. When he did look, the boy was already in the air. His heavy eyebrows never twitched, neither lifting or furrowing anymore than they were originally. His frowned deepened only slightly. This boy had a lot of nerve trying to prove him otherwise. He always seemed a tad rebellious, even if he did follow through with the lessons. His refusal to get a better dragon said that by itself.

When Madhawk landed, Crowfoot's expression hadn't changed a ounce since he woke up that morning. "Yes, that was very cute," he said, neither impressed or indignant. "But we're not flying today." Normally Crowfoot would begin a long lecture on how stupid and impractical any new devices were and, as incorrigible as he was, would never once heed any argument against his claims. But today it was raining and cold and he would surely make Madhawk regret trying to oppose him during the lesson of the day.

Crowfoot turned away and stomped toward the entrance of the arena. Once there, he turned to face his students. "Today we're going to the forest. Bring your dragons. I'll expect you at the landing site in one hour," he instructed, before turning and exiting the tunnel. The "landing site" was a well known landmark in Toothless' Forest, as it had been the spot where Toothless landed just after Hiccup shot him down. It was easy to find, as a trail of broken trees and disturbed dirt remained still in the forest and lead to the small clearing.

((I'll make a new thread when you guys are done posting))

[robinwing]

Alfrun watched the glider, taking note of how it seemed to work. She tried to look calm when Mr. Dogwood had spoken and told them, exceedingly vaguely, what they were doing this lesson. She put a hand to her chin, recalling where the landing site was quickly.
"Somewhere around Raven Point... Ah, yes, now I remember!" She murmured, flipping her hood bck up and starting on her way there. She stopped and turned back to Madhawk as she was reaching the tunnel.
"I think part of the steering in your glider is a bit loose for what it is, that may be why it crashes alot." She suggested, before continuing on her way. She assumed that Madhawk probably knew the way to the landing site as well, as it was such a famous place, so she didn't ask to make sure.