Forfeit
Chapter 7
Snoggletog. Our annual holiday in Berk. It carries both good and bad memories for me, yet I find myself jumping like a child to see what appears in my helmet each year. It holds magic for the people of Berk to last us through the winter.
I stepped out of my house to see the preparations well underway, The villagers constructed the wooden tree last week...with the held of some not so enjoyable company. As I walked past, a Nadder's spikes flung through the air to pin up some shields.
The mead hall seemed inviting due to the mass amount of villagers decorating outside. As I reached for the handle, it jerked down suddenly and the door burst open with Hiccup tumbling out. He seemed anxious for something as I watched him run up to his father. They conversed for a moment before Stoick called together a town meeting. With that, everyone crammed into the hall and successfully ruined my breakfast.
Hiccup stood in front of the village and began his spiel, "Last year, the dragons all left in order to begin nesting. We must assume that they nest each year. So, until they all return, we are going to ban dragon riding. We can't have people accidentally kidnapped and missing Snogletog."
Most willingly agreed with this. A few children protested, but they soon quieted, and the meeting continued without my attention. I picked at some splinters in the table as I knew the disrespect of leaving. As soon as the final decisions concluded, I was out the door and in my boat.
It had been awhile since I had done any fishing, and despite the frigid cold, more fish dared to swim close to the island than when the dragons dotted the air. The sky remained pleasantly clear as I untied my boat and set off.
I hauled my catch to the handler and left him with my basket before making my way home. My elation over my decent haul was replaced with exhaustion and hunger. After a small dinner, I settled down in bed.
The loud growl rang in my ears even after it dissipated. The Gronkel charged towards my running form. At last, it caught up to me and lunged...
My body shot up, and I frantically looked around. Realization flooded over me as I faded out of my nightmare. I relaxed a bit and aimed an attempt at a few more hours of sleep before a real roar shook the house.
I stared fearfully at the walls and ceiling as I reminded myself to remain calm. The thought of sprinting down to the mead hall immediately crossed my mind. The thought of stepping outside terrified me, though. I figured that someone would surely come and let me know if it was bad enough. So, I grabbed my faded blanket and made a spot for myself under my desk against the wall.
The roars continued for a while yet there was no knock on the door.
I shifted from my place on the floor. I had somehow fallen asleep and, based on the light from the windows, midday closed in . I crawled out and dumped my pelt onto my bed before stepping down the stairs.
Opening my door made things a lot worse. Debris lay strewn everywhere. Empty fishing nets, buckets, tools, anything that wasn't tied down in the village lay anywhere the wind dropped it. Some even flown into trees and onto roofs. I noticed the clean up started already and I moved to being helping. As I reached the docks, something obviously displaced caught my eye. A ship leaned against a house far from its place in the water.
I stared, mouth agape. We wouldn't have too hard of a time getting it situated back where it belongs, but the sight of something so heavy blown completely out of place... It was amazing that only a few houses sported damages. And some displayed signs of repair.
I lifted a few stray objects and discovered their homes. I continued to help as much as possible, and we finished the job before dinner with everyone working together.
Just as people grabbed the last few items from the trees, Hiccup began reminding people of the ban on dragon riding. Most people listened and dismounted at once. Yet there were a couple that remained in the air. Hiccup went to drag them down. The few he spoke to jumped down, but before he reached her, Astrid's Nadder took off.
As soon as it turned, the others followed. Hiccup ran for Toothless only to be held back by several villagers.
"Just wait," they said. "Meeting first."
And with that, we all shuffled off towards the hall.
I stepped out of my house to see the preparations well underway, The villagers constructed the wooden tree last week...with the held of some not so enjoyable company. As I walked past, a Nadder's spikes flung through the air to pin up some shields.
The mead hall seemed inviting due to the mass amount of villagers decorating outside. As I reached for the handle, it jerked down suddenly and the door burst open with Hiccup tumbling out. He seemed anxious for something as I watched him run up to his father. They conversed for a moment before Stoick called together a town meeting. With that, everyone crammed into the hall and successfully ruined my breakfast.
Hiccup stood in front of the village and began his spiel, "Last year, the dragons all left in order to begin nesting. We must assume that they nest each year. So, until they all return, we are going to ban dragon riding. We can't have people accidentally kidnapped and missing Snogletog."
Most willingly agreed with this. A few children protested, but they soon quieted, and the meeting continued without my attention. I picked at some splinters in the table as I knew the disrespect of leaving. As soon as the final decisions concluded, I was out the door and in my boat.
It had been awhile since I had done any fishing, and despite the frigid cold, more fish dared to swim close to the island than when the dragons dotted the air. The sky remained pleasantly clear as I untied my boat and set off.
I hauled my catch to the handler and left him with my basket before making my way home. My elation over my decent haul was replaced with exhaustion and hunger. After a small dinner, I settled down in bed.
The loud growl rang in my ears even after it dissipated. The Gronkel charged towards my running form. At last, it caught up to me and lunged...
My body shot up, and I frantically looked around. Realization flooded over me as I faded out of my nightmare. I relaxed a bit and aimed an attempt at a few more hours of sleep before a real roar shook the house.
I stared fearfully at the walls and ceiling as I reminded myself to remain calm. The thought of sprinting down to the mead hall immediately crossed my mind. The thought of stepping outside terrified me, though. I figured that someone would surely come and let me know if it was bad enough. So, I grabbed my faded blanket and made a spot for myself under my desk against the wall.
The roars continued for a while yet there was no knock on the door.
I shifted from my place on the floor. I had somehow fallen asleep and, based on the light from the windows, midday closed in . I crawled out and dumped my pelt onto my bed before stepping down the stairs.
Opening my door made things a lot worse. Debris lay strewn everywhere. Empty fishing nets, buckets, tools, anything that wasn't tied down in the village lay anywhere the wind dropped it. Some even flown into trees and onto roofs. I noticed the clean up started already and I moved to being helping. As I reached the docks, something obviously displaced caught my eye. A ship leaned against a house far from its place in the water.
I stared, mouth agape. We wouldn't have too hard of a time getting it situated back where it belongs, but the sight of something so heavy blown completely out of place... It was amazing that only a few houses sported damages. And some displayed signs of repair.
I lifted a few stray objects and discovered their homes. I continued to help as much as possible, and we finished the job before dinner with everyone working together.
Just as people grabbed the last few items from the trees, Hiccup began reminding people of the ban on dragon riding. Most people listened and dismounted at once. Yet there were a couple that remained in the air. Hiccup went to drag them down. The few he spoke to jumped down, but before he reached her, Astrid's Nadder took off.
As soon as it turned, the others followed. Hiccup ran for Toothless only to be held back by several villagers.
"Just wait," they said. "Meeting first."
And with that, we all shuffled off towards the hall.