Fandom How to Train your Dragon; canon divergence

[ScatheAriiasqDrayceon]

This is Berk.

And every now and then, fire rains down from the sky.​

"Watch those Nadders!" Came the cry in the distance, following a flock of spine-tailed creatures squawking in alarm and taking off. To Arii, they were mere silhouettes, framed by the firelight of raised torches. They were much more focused on dodging the galumphing idiots with sharp objects, and ducking under the hair-raising scorch of a Gronckle's flame.

Footsteps were a constant drum in their skull as Ariiasq ran, cringing against the shuddering pain crawling up from their legs. It burned their neck with embarrassment hotter than any of the fire that singed them, flushing their face red with shame. They were weak. One little gash to the leg was all it took to bring them down, and even after a year of recovery time, they still couldn't run for long.

Arii was tired.

Even still, they needed to get to the arie; it was far past nesting season, and winter will be significantly harder if they didn't have the birds to help hunt. Their job was important.

They stopped for breath by the blacksmith's shop, pushing their hair from their face and tearing a runty Terror off the wood. Weapon—they needed a—

A shadow descended from the sky. Fire glowing in its mouth as it glided on wings longer than most huts were tall. It was aiming right for the aerie.

Arii was off and running faster than their brain could register the exhaustion-ache in their legs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ariiasqthylinh blinked, orange eyes latching onto the hand moving toward their shoulder. They shifted to the side, banishing the blank expression they only then just recognized resting on their face. "Don't. I'm awake."

"I saw that, la."

Arii turned, tilting their head to look at the heavyset man beside them. One of their brows twitched. They must have been sitting there for a while; the sun had moved. They huffed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The beast had shrieked at them, coppery scales glimmering in the light of the torch Arii clutched. Its tail lashed at the grass as Arii kept themself in the center of its vision, hissing and spitting right back at it. Their birds screeched in their hutch, the commotion having startled them even while wearing their hoods.

"Off, ye fat bastard!" Arii snarled, swiping at what they now identified as some sort of Stormcutter with the torch. It snapped at their arm, missing by the breadth of a finger. Those crests of its raised like a puffing bird, and the sharp hiss was the only thing that saved both Arii and the bird hutch as they dove forward, wrist scraping against a small pile of rocks they only vaguely remember placing there.

The rocks—

Magnesium.

Arii shut their eyes and plunged the torch into the rocks, covering their face with their arms.

The beast's scream raised the hair on their arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I'm fine. It's a tiny burn." They raised their arm as if to prove it. It looked tiny, at least. Their skin didn't break out in boils, despite the white bandages engulfing most of their forearm. "I'm fine. It's time to get started, anyway." They could hear the other teens coming across the bridge.

The instructor shrugged, but turned back toward the gate and allowed Arii to slide down the stonework. They wanted to slip in behind the rest quietly. The thick of the others was too loud.

 

[Tapfic]

Edwin shrunk in on herself, posture curled down like a depressed pangolin , one hand clasped tightly and the "arm" hanging to her side- while the other didnt do much of anything.

Infact " shrunk in on herself " was a good way to describe anything and everything the girl did. Talking with a small breathy voice and strugling to gain any sort of volume, taking such small steps- as though her feet were not sure they were allowed to walk on the same soil as others, and tiny nervous ticks; biting her lip and scratching at the scars on her good hand while hoping no one saw.

Why she was here, approaching the training grounds, she didn't quite understand. She would never be any sort of help in a raid- not with what remaind of her body.
If she couldnt aim a smith's hammer, how would a sword be any better?

The girl tripped over a stray rock in the road and stumbled. She caught herself , but still apologized quietly to whoever was nearest in the small gathering making their way to the training grounds.

Edwin's mind still wandered back to the most recent raid.

She had been told to stay in the smith house.
She never disobeyed.
She always listened when her dad said " please, stay put ".
She didn't know what had possessed her to go outside, follow those frantic calls of an injured beast.

Edwin had found the creature, just as it chewed the bloody stump of a front leg from the jaws of a trap.
She thinks they made eye contact for a second (that stretched into more) before it took off; dissapearing into the smoke and fire lit night.

Morbid curiosity had her wondering if it had chewed the thing clean off. Would the claw still be locked in the trap?

A brown boot caught on yet another offending stone, and she stumbled. Bent her knee a bit too quickly catching herself, and winced as the thin metal frame built to support it squeaked in protest.