Dragon Rider: A How to Train Your Dragon Story (HTTYD)

The day started off early for Rune as he and Sandstorm headed into the forest to finally get some tests done for his new shield. Rune wasn't the earliest riser so he asked his best bud to wake him up. Sandstorm rose from his bed before doing a series of stretches for his legs and wings before smacking his lips as he looked at Rune. He walked up to his bed cautiously so as to blow away any of his upcoming plans on his table, he had already began drawing up his wingsuit and leather armor.

Sandstorm nudged Rune on the head so that he could wake up but he was still fast asleep. He used his right paw to shake him hoping to snap him out of his slumber but that didn't work. He huffed as he began to think of another way to wake him up, he then used his paw and tapped him repeatedly but Rune told him to go away. Sandstorm frowned and knew he had to go to desperate measures, he got in position and gave a short powerful roar right at his head and that seemed to do it.

"I'm up! I'm up!" Rune said sitting up quickly after almost getting a heart attack from the roar.

Sandstorm looked at him cheekily knowing that he had fulfilled his task.

"I asked you to wake me up and not scare me to death" Rune said annoyed.

Sandstorm rolled his eyes sarcastically and walked away, using his tail to hit Rune on the head.

"Very funny" Rune said getting out of bed.

They headed into the woods with Rune getting some targets and arrows out of the training dome and set them up in the woods in a circular pattern surrounding him. Sandstorm sat on his tail and watched Rune.

"Time to test this baby out" he said taking aim with the shield at a target.

He then fired a bolas at one then rolled to the side as he launched a net at another. He did a forward roll and turned around sharply engaging the catapult and launched a rock at another target. He then turned right and rolled left in one quick motion changing to crossbow mode and hit another target in the gut. He got to his feet ready for the grand finale, he performed a back flip and got the last target right in the head mid-air before landing. His performance earned him a soft congratulatory roar from his friend.

Rune smiled and took a bow. "Thank you, thank you" he said before standing straight.

Sandstorm got on all fours and was ready to head home to catch up on some sleep as he waited for Rune to join him. When he saw Rune not following him, he tilted his head and cooed wondering what was wrong.

"Well, I was thinking maybe we could put in some combat practice before we head back to the others" Rune said scratching the back of his head.

Sandstorm looked disinterested and grumbled showing his displeasure.

"Tell you what, we'll play your favorite game of tag and if you win, I'll make you a big bowl of crab and trout. How abut that?"

Sandstorm's eyes glowed as that was his type of bargain. He turned to him and nodded.

"Great to see we're on the same page"

"So, let's train" he said but Sandstorm had others taking a stance that showed that he was ready to pounce. He swung his tail from side to side with a little smile on his face.

"Wait a minute. We were going to train first... we were going to train first..." Rune said slowly walking back.

His dragon gave a playful roar and then gave chase to him.

"This wasn't the plan Sandstorm!!" Rune yelled as his dragon began chasing him.

Day had come with the sun shining brightly above Dragon's Edge. The riders were hard at work at the training arena as Vyra and Thyra sparred in the arena while Sten practiced maneuvers in the sky. Forde and Virgil stood outside the arena watching the two spar as they waited for Rune to show up. As they stood there in silence, Forde couldn't help but notice Virgil's uncomfortable expression and how tightly he clung to the bow Forde gave him.

"Hey, is everything okay?" he asked with a gentle tone.

"Yes" Virgil answered swiftly.

"You could say that but the way you look and how hard you're holding that bow, says otherwise"

Virgil sighed.

"Okay, you got me. Truth is, I'm a bit scared of all this. The last time I was out in the field, My dragon got killed and I don't want to be a danger to any of you" he said.

"You wouldn't be a danger to any of us, trust me. I know the loss of your dragon must have been painful but trust me it's alright. I know you must be blaming yourself but the truth is that it could have happened to any one"

"I might know exactly how you feel but I do know that if that happened to my dragon, I wouldn't rest until those responsible are brought to justice and I'm pretty sure your beloved dragon would feel the same. Plus you already have a good dragon to help you avenge him" Forde said looking at the Dramillion socializing with Stormbreaker, Rampage and Spikethorn.

Virgil also looked back at him before replying. "I'm not sure you could say he is mine. We were both locked up in the cage and full of fear so it was a situational relationship"

"Situational? If it was really by circumstance then he wouldn't be here. Once that cage opened up he would have spread his wings and taken to the skies but he's here with you"

"Are you trying to say we bonded or something?"

"Pretty much. Something must have happened between you two on that ship that made you bond but you were too blinded by grief to realize it"

He immediately had flash backs of how the Dramillion comforted him as he cried over the loss of his former dragon and how they had been watching over one another ever since.

"I see" Virgil said with a nod.

"I know he can never replace for former dragon but that doesn't mean you should push him away"

Before anymore could be said a howl from Sandstorm was heard as he came in to land.

"Look who finally decided to show up" Vyra said as she and Thyra lowered their weapons.

"Sorry I'm late. This baby just needed some crabs" he said unmounting Sandstorm.

Sandstorm didn't like the term baby and decided to make it clear. He bumped Rune in the rear. Rune wasn't ready for that as he stumbled forward but managed to regain his balance just before hitting the ground. This made Sandstorm laugh.

"Haha, very funny" he said sarcastically.

"So, what should we do first? Sparring or target practice?" Rune asked as they all gathered together with Sten done with his session.

"Thyra and I have gotten our own sparring session down so it's left to you boys" Vyra answered.

"I pick target practice. Eruptor and I are eager to show off some of our skills. Ain't that right boy!"

Eruptor roared showing his own enthusiasm.

"That's a mark for enthusiasm, I'll give you that. What about the rest of you?"

"Target practice is fine with me" Forde said. "Plus someone has to get used to their new dragon" he whispered into Rune's ear.

"Target practice it is. If you're okay with it Virgil"

Virgil nodded and they got ready to each take a round. As they got ready for Sten to take the first set, Vyra noticed Rune looking a bit tired as he sat down on a rock.

"Hey, what's up?" she said approaching him.

"Nothing" he answered.

"Are you sure? you look a bit tired"

"Oh that. Just had an early training session and then had to make Sandstorm an extra special meal" he said grumbling when he mentioned the last part.

"You don't seem to happy about that"

"Yes, it was a little deal between both of us and he CHEATED!" he yelled at his dragon.

Sandstorm looked back at him and raised his eyebrows cheekily with a little smirk.

"I'll get you back for this" he mumbled.

Vyra looked at the situation and laughed.

"What's funny?" he wondered.

"The chemistry between you two is just something else"

Rune pouted annoyed.

"Don't worry, I'll come by your hut later and make you a very special meal and then may be we could do something to ease you of your stress" she said biting the edge of her lip.

"Oh, I'll be looking forward to that" Rune answered already imagining all the possibilities.

"Will you two lovebirds quit making out and come take Eruptor's time?!" Sten yelled angrily.

"Right. Sorry Sten" Rune apologized.

"Ready?! 3...2...1...GO!!!!" Rune yelled as the two set off.

"Come on boy, let's show them what we can do!" Sten said with his dragon roaring in agreement.

Eruptor banked sharply as he flew close to the tree line searching for the first target setup in the forest.

"There!" Sten said pointing to one placed between some bushes. His dragon fired with pinpoint accuracy as he hit the target dead center.

"Alright boy, keep your eyes peeled"

The two soon spotted another covering a tree hollow and Eruptor didn't hold back there as he blasted both the target and tree to splinters.

"Those two aren't holding back" Vyra said.

"At least they're making good use of their aggression"

Eruptor made a fast turn around a hill, spotting another target and hitting it as they moved on with the course. They dove down the side of a hill hitting their top speed whilst hitting another target before circling back to the dome in record time.

"So, how did we do?" Sten asked as Eruptor landed.

"You were five seconds faster than your previous time. You keep it up and your time could get even better" Rune said.

"Just five seconds?!" Sten exclaimed. "There must be a problem of some sort. It felt like twenty!" he added as he unmounted his dragon.

"No problem at all" Forde answered.

"Damn it!" Sten said lumbering off to sit on a rock angry.

Eruptor huffed at them also showing his displeasure as he went to offer some comfort to his rider.

Vyra, Thyra and Forde then had a go and then it was Virgil's turn and he was so nervous, he didn't even want to climb the Dramillion.

"Come on V, we can do this" he said preparing himself to climb the Dramillion.

"Is something the problem?" Rune asked seeing that he hadn't climbed his dragon yet.

"No" he answered with a shaky voice.

"It's now or never" he said under his voice as he climbed the dragon who was eager to get going.

Rune counted them down and they were off, Virgil held on to the saddle tightly and was on edge all through. They soon zoomed past a target due to Virgil's ambiguity and noticing it, he decided to turn back.

"Wait, we have to turn back" Virgil said and pulled the saddle quickly.

This threw the Dramillion off as he ran into a tree.

"Sorry, sorry" Virgil apologized.

The Dramillion growled showing his displeasure.

"Come on V, you got this. Just remember how it was with Blaze" he said taking a deep breath and closing his eyes.

He began to remember all the good times he had with hos old friend but were soon marred with pictures of his death.

"No, no, no. I can't do this"

"What am I saying. I can do this. Not just flying for my pleasure but for my dragon's legacy. Why am I holding myself back. Let's show em what you can do. We got this!" he reprimanded himself.

His opened up with a new fire ignited in his soul. The dragon felt it and snorted showing his eagerness to show him what he could do.

"I fell you boy" he said pating the neck of his dragon. "Let's go" he said.

The Dramillion roared loudly accelerating faster now. They came across more targets and the Dramillion unleashed magnesium blasts at them under Virgil's guidance as they hit them dead center.

"Wow" Thyra said.

"They're pretty good" Vyra remarked.

"And it's just their first time together" Rune added.

Forde watched them with a smile on his face like a proud mother watching her children accomplish something great.

Virgil and his dragon weaved effortlessly through the trees firing at more targets now with better accuracy. With every flap, with every blast, with every move and turn, they could feel themselves coming together, both rider and dragon, moving as one. The Dramillion spiraled downward by the side of a hill hitting two more targets on the way down whilst spinning as they lined up for the final stretch.

"Come on boy. We can do this" he spurred his companion on. "Do you trust me?"

He grunted with steam emanating from his mouth as the grew closer to his top speed putting his faith in him. They had one final target left and Virgil wanted to make his mark with that one. He pulled on the saddle causing his dragon to fly upside down as they approached the final mark.

"What is he doing?" Sten said in shock.

Forde stuck out his hand with a grin on his face as if to say 'let him cook'

 The Dramillion knew what needed to be done as they approached the final target trusting his rider. Once within range, the dragon fired a plasma blast destroying the target as they spiraled upward in victory.

"Yeah!!!" Virgil yelled finally breaking free from the chains that held him back.

His dragon also joined him as he roared loudly as they began their decent to the ground. As soon as they landed, they were surrounded by the others full of praise.

"That was awesome" Rune said.

"Where did you learn how to ride like that?" Thyra asked.

"He's going to be a great addition to the team" Sten added.

Virgil looked at the back seeing Forde looking at him with a smile on his face. He nodded his head showing his appreciation and he reciprocated.

"Alright Rune, it's your turn now" Vyra said with the crowd now dispersed.

"Right" Rune said as he mounted Sandstorm who was ready to go.

"3, 2, 1, GO!" she said with the Sand Wraith taking off quickly with one powerful flap.

The two flew straight to the forest ready to take on the task at hand head on. The first target they saw was placed in-between two branches and covered with some branches.

"I'm going to take a leak" Virgil said.

"I do too" Forde added with the two heading off to the bushes nearby. Thyra also left to use the bathroom leaving just Sten and Vyra.

"Fire" Rune said with Sandstorm's powerful blast hitting it dead on.

"That was a nice hit" Rune praised his dragon. "Just a bit more to go now"

The two pushed on hitting a couple more targets on their way. The two pushed on towards the training dome then Sandstorm felt that something was off as he dropped in speed and began scanning which got Rune a bit alarmed.

"What is it boy? Is something wrong?" he said seeing his dragon's behavior.

Sandstorm grunted and continued his search.

"Why are they slowing down?" Vyra said wondering what was going on.

Out of nowhere, a fire ball flew at them from behind heading straight for the flying duo. Sandstorm spotted it quickly and rolled to the left dodging the hit.

"What was that?!" Rune said now even more confused as his dragon growled.

The two took a second look behind and they saw a red haired man with a thick beard on the back of a Triple Stryke right behind them.

"What in Odin's beard?" Rune said utterly confused.

"Hey! What are you doing here?! Another one of Dane's men huh. We'll blast you out of the sky!" he yelled.

"What the-" Before he could conjure up a response, another fireball flew at them.

"Rune and Sandstorm are under attack!" Vyra said with concern.

"We have to help them" Sten said as he got up to mount Eruptor.

Before they could move, a three blasts came from behind throwing the two away from their dragons. As they got back up to their feet, they saw a woman all dressed up in silver dragon scales and a hood. A Razorwhip stood by her side growling at them.

"You're not going anywhere" she said.