Chapter One: Shot From The Sky

Have you ever been right in the middle of the Best Dream Ever, only to wake up and have cold reality shoved in your face? In my dream, I was the hero, all the male dragons were tearing each other apart for the honor of courting me, and absolutely NO ONE called me the Ultimate Freak or any other insulting name. I was in heaven. The Queen was just giving me the title Dragon Princess, when the other dragons began to roar applause. I growled with pleasure. But then their roaring began to sound an awful lot like a chant, and before I knew it, they were no longer roaring applause, but repeatedly chanting, "Raid! Raid! Raid! Kill, Burn, Destroy! Raid! Raid! Raid!"

Huh? My eyes shot open. The Queen was ordering the dragons to go out and raid the worthless Viking pests, and the other dragons were doing the traditional raid battle-cry chant. I felt a tremor run through my body upon hearing the familiar chant and I sprang to my feet quickly. This might be it! I might finally prove myself to the Nest! Kill a Viking, and my life gets infinitely better. Killing a Kid might get me noticed a little, but I seriously doubt it. To slay a Teenager would certainly get me noticed, and I might be able to show my face in public without getting spat upon. Young Adults are tough; killing one of those would definitely get me a boy friend. Mature Adults are deadly, and honestly I don't know if I'm brave enough to fight one. Then there's the Experienced Slayers, only the best dragons go after those. But the biggest prize is the Chieftain. No one's ever come close to defeating him, and if I succeed, I might actually become the Dragon Princess.

But then cold reality comes slamming down hard. Killing a Viking is my number one dream, but right now it's just a distant fantasy that has no hope of ever coming true. Every dragon plays some role in the raids. The best dragons lead the raid, and give orders. The next-best dragons fight on the front lines, and are usually the first to attack and last to leave. The third-best dragons serve as often-needed backup, who basically circle above the village and watch the battle below. If a backup dragon sees a front-line dragon in trouble, they swoop in to the rescue, and help fight off the surprised Viking. Then if the front-line dragon isn't too badly injured, the backup dragon flies back up into the sky and begins circling again in search of other dragons in trouble. If the front-lines dragon is badly injured, the backup dragon guards the injured dragon's back and helps get it to safety before taking the front-lines dragon's place in the fighting. After the raid, the dragon that was saved will speak up and tell the Nest how the backup dragon rescued them. If the other dragons are impressed enough by the backup dragon, the backup dragon might find itself promoted to the front-line rank.

I would be happy and content as a backup dragon, thrilled if I was promoted to the front-lines, and probably burst with joy if I become a commanding dragon. But no, I get stuck with the smallest of the small roles, stealing. While the other dragons are out in the firelight, fighting for promotions, and slaying Vikings, I and a few other low-rankers steal the food on the outskirts of the village. We use the shadows as cover, strike fast, and get out of there with whatever catches we make. We then fly to a nearby hiding place where we dump the food, before going back for more. We go back and forth collecting as much as we can before time runs out and we have to retreat back to the Nest. That's basically what I do non-stop all through a raid, while all the other higher ranking dragons keep the Vikings so busy that they never even see us as we snatch up their sheep one by one.

When enough chaos and destruction has been caused, and the commanding dragons have decided that we've fought long enough, each dragon will grab the most food they can carry and fly away quickly. The food that they grab while retreating is the food we usually give to the Queen, while the food that I and the other low-rankers collect during the raid is divided and shared among the Nest.

Am I never going to get out of the shadows? Always just steal food? What do I have to do to get moved up a rank? I already know the answer. To move up the ranks, I need to not be me. I'm the freak no one wants to see, the outcast. I think the Viking term is "loser". If a Viking were to see me, they wouldn't have a clue what species I am. That's because I'm a hybrid. My father was a great Night Fury, and my mother was a beautiful Deadly Nadder. Isn't it funny how two of the greatest dragon species ever, combined makes the clumsiest and most awkward hybrid ever? The Nest doesn't have anything in particular against hybrids; it's just the awkward, clumsy, weird-looking ones like me they don't like.

My head, body, and legs are just like a full-blood Deadly Nadder's, but my wings and tail are that of a Night Fury's. My scales can are sky blue, so I obviously can't blend into the night like my Night Fury father. To make up for it I have to stay deep in the shadows and move quietly in order to remain unseen. My fire is my biggest secret, because it is one of my greatest advantages. You see, I have inherited both the Night Fury's exploding fire bolts, and the Deadly Nadder's metal-melting scorching flame. Every dragon's flame is a different slightly different color. Mine is a golden-yellow color. My aunt says it's pretty, but I say it still doesn't make up for my clumsiness. I keep the fact that I can breathe both forms of fire a secret because it is my only strength against any enemies I might fight. I never flame in front of other dragons, and I think they wonder if I can even breathe fire.

I think you get the picture. I'm a loser, freaky-looking, an outcast, and I basically only have one strength which I keep secret so as to surprise any enemies I might fight. I am a clumsy flier because I've never had a Night Fury teach me how to use my wings and tailfins. All I've ever had is a Deadly Nadder aunt who does her best, but honestly she doesn't have a clue how a Night Fury flies and neither do I. Fortunately though, between her help and my instincts I've been able to figure out enough to get airborne.

The other dragons are taking off now. With a sigh, I follow. As we rise into the night sky, all my depressed thoughts vanish. The crisp, cool air and the great anticipation of adventure flowing through our ranks causes even the most down dragons to go into high spirits. We fly high into the sky, so high I feel like I could touch the stars, even though that's quite impossible. Banking gently, we let the flowing air fill our wings and carry us over the water. The smell of the sea fills my nostrils, and my sharpened senses tell me many fish swim below. The soft glow of the moon make the clouds gleam like silver. The gentle sounds of the wind blowing, the waves splashing, and our wings flapping fill me with happiness and peace.

But as we near the village the spell is broken. The fires in the village make it glow with an evil-looking light, and as the Vikings roar battle cries up at us and clamor to gather their shields and weapons, I can't help but shudder inwardly a little. I shake my head and clear my mind of all fear. I'm a dragon, and dragons don't shudder in fear of anything. Breaking off from the main group of dragons before the Vikings have a chance to see me, I dive towards the outskirts and the shadows of the village, just like I always do.

I swoop down near a sheep and snatch it up in the blink of an eye. Another sheep (the dumb creatures) immediately walks up to the spot where the old sheep had been and continues grazing as if nothing had happened. I guess this is sort of normal for them on a typical night. Shows just how often we have to raid this place in order to get food for both ourselves and the Queen. I flap my wings once, and rather clumsily attempt to turn. I lose my balance and topple to the side, falling dangerously close to the ground. I resist the temptation to shriek, it would draw unwanted attention. I flap my wings franticly and manage to regain my balance before flying back up into the night sky. I'm glad no other dragons were there to see that mistake.

On an average night, I would continue on with my task and nothing overly exciting would happen. But this night is no average night. I hear a whoosh sound and out of the corner of my eye I see something hurtling through the blackness of night straight towards me. My dragon instincts, which are normally buried deep inside of me, rise up and take over. I dive downwards and narrowly dodge whatever it was. I feel the breeze it causes as it flies over my head, and I go into a series of evasive maneuvers, which normally I wouldn't have been able to accomplish if all of the Nest were watching. Once again, I suppose it is the dragon instincts that enable me to stay in the air. Just when I slow down a bit, thinking that I'd escaped whatever it was, I hear another whoosh sound, and before I have a chance to react a long, snake-like, something wraps itself around me. This time I don't even try to stifle the scream. My wings are pinned to my sides, and all my limbs are bound. I struggle uselessly as the ground comes up to meet me. "Hello, ground. It's been awhile, have you missed me?" I think stupidly as I make contact.

I blink. My mind swims, and I feel absolutely winded. That landing should have knocked me unconscious. Perhaps I'm tougher than I thought. Any case, I'm on the ground, and bound by some sort of rope-net thingy. I struggle with all my might. My spikes, which are as long and sharp as a Deadly Nadder's, rub against the ropes. I get an idea, and begin to rub vigorously against the restraining ropes. It takes a lot of effort, but my spikes eventually work like knives and cut enough rope for me to pull the rest off. I spring to my feet triumphantly and look around. The first thing I lay eyes on is a small, scrawny male Teenager. He doesn't look anything like the other Teenagers, and something tells me he'll be an easy kill. I notice that he's pushing some sort of wooden contraption. I piece together the clues and realize he was the one who shot me down. He had apparently just arrived at my crash-landing site in time to witness me stand up.

Thoughts of all sorts bounce around in my head, but I only act on one. "This is my chance!" I spring forward with my most intimidating roar, which to a dragon sounded pitiful, but to this Viking it sounded terrifying. His eyes widen with terror, and he seems frozen on the spot. When I blast the area with fire, he just barely dodges in time. With a yelp, he runs for his life towards the center of the village. Without thinking, I follow, snapping at his heels the whole time. He screams for help, and dodges everywhere he can. When he hides behind a pole of some sort, I blast the back of it with fire. When it fails to kill him, I slowly approach the pole, and while he looks around the pole to the right, I come around on the left. I pounce and pin him to the ground with a speed that surprises even me. Finally, it's time for my first kill. I rear back, and gather the gas in my mouth needed to breathe the fire that would burn him to a crisp in an instant. As I do so, our eyes meet.

His are a deep forest green. They are striking, but they are not what grab the most of my attention. What cause me to freeze are the intense emotions swimming in them. Fear. Sadness. Loneliness. The gas is gathered, all I have to do is ignite it and release. When I do so, my dreams will come true. I'll move up the ranks, fight along with the others, and most importantly, I'll be accepted by the Nest. But suddenly, I can't bring myself to do it. "No! I have to! This is what I wanted!" I think sternly to myself. I shake my head, and gather myself once more for the kill. But as I prepare to kill him, our eyes meet again for a brief instant. First they show terror, then grief, and finally acceptance. He sighs and goes limp, perfectly prepared to die. That's when I realize that I can't do it. I should kill him, I wanted to kill him, but I can't bring myself to. I'm a dragon. Dragons kill their enemies. He's a Viking. My enemy. It's as simple as that. So why can't I finish him? I don't know why now, but I know that if I do, I'll never be able to forget those forest green eyes.

With a moan, I release him.

A/N: So, people, what do you think? I think that I'm insane to try and write this story. I will greatly appreciate reviews, and I could use any advice or corrections you can give me, and ideas for future chapters would be nice to. You see, reviews = motivation = faster updates. If you want to flame me, I guess there's not much I can do to stop you, but I will probably just ignore them. Let's see, what am I forgetting? Oh yah, the all-important disclaimer.

Disclaimer: As I think you've figured out by now, I don't own anything about How to Train Your Dragon except some broken action figures, and they are actually my brother's.

Well, that's it for now. So please review, and I hope you have a nice day or night, depending on the time.