A L P H A

If you wish to unfollow this blog and @storm-worthy feel free to do so. I do plan on making an eventual return, but I wish not to take up the spaces of two great muses that someone else might want to play. If they are claimed before I am able to re-app, I’ll pick a new character and forge another story with all of you.

The competition is putting people’s lives in danger. Imagine if it was one of his brothers who got a ball to the head!? Besides, it’s not his tournament so he doesn’t really care. Much. Well, more like he’s suppressing his Responsible Adult side just to act petty. Anyways, he’s ready to play accomplice if this…oni-like creature keeps destroying the balls.

‘Alright, I think you’re ready for the next level.’

Yagen shuffles discreetly to the side and claims an entire cart of unattended volleyballs. He tosses the top one in the stack at his new friend. Three more follow in quick succession.

 Kill it, Toothless 

Oh my gosh look at how many of them there are now! Toothless can barely contain himself as the biggest smile spreads across his lips. Hips wiggle, feet pitter-patter in place on the ground; he’s so ready for this. Sticking his but, and tail, in the air, the Night Fury opens his mouth wide as it begins to glow purple. In a quick three round burst hot plasma utterly decimates the cart and send the surviving volleyballs into the air.

No, no. By all means, continue.

Look, he’s even nudging over more volleyballs for you to pop. Don’t stop. Defeat the evil.

This one’s just as tenacious as she is. Normally when she breaks a part on a monster’s body that’s its cue to flee to at least a nearby area, but not so the case here. She doesn’t like it; she’s getting the sense that the dragon’s gotten firmly established here.

Yoli wonders, briefly, if part of the reason all those other monsters disappeared from the place so suddenly is because an elder dragon moved in. It’d explain things somewhat…

Weighted down by her diminished stamina Yoli awaits the beast’s next move. She’ll rebound off its momentum, she thinks, slide out at the last second in an adept dodge and retaliate.

But her body’s taken a beating, and she can’t slip away fast enough. Plasma from the mouth sends her crashing back down—what’s worse, she’s clipped upside the head the wrong way. Her helm comes loose, sent rolling into the brush behind her. The beast may have hurt itself in the process, but it’s got her right where it wants her.

This couldn’t have gone more poorly. Ugh, she’s been far too messy. The embarrassment is honestly stronger than her fear. Pinned, the hunter can smell the singe from her foe’s throat. If it hits her with a blast when she’s this vulnerable, she’s toast.

Shit. This is bad.

…Shit.

Shit! Of course!

Teeth gritted she wrenches her hand underneath her, into the space under her faulds. She hadn’t been able to prepare much with the materials available here, but there’s one thing this place has in no short supply she’d been able to put together.

Was it gross? Yes. Had people been avoiding her because of the smell following her? Yes. Was it about to save her life? Hopefully. There’s about a 50/50 chance it might just enrage the beast more, and if that happens she’s really in for it.

Yoli yanks a compacted dung bomb out of her pouch and flings it in the dragon’s face with all the strength she can muster. If it works it’ll explode in a foul burst, dispersing a cloud of rank stench and fecal matter dust that might just be strong enough to get the dragon to back off for the sake of its poor nose. With any luck, she may be able to grab her stuff and flee.

When the stench hit, Toothless couldn’t believe what had just happened. His mouth shut quickly, lips still glowing, as he reeled back in surprise. Ew, ew, ew! Why did this person have something so nasty in their pocket!? It did exactly what Yoli had hoped it would do; the Night Fury was sent stumbling backwards shaking his head and pawing at his snout. Absolutely terrible!

Because of his refocused attention and attempts to remove the disgusting mess from his face, it left the dragon wide open. He was shaking his entire body in disgust, throwing blood everywhere from his wing, and even sat upon his hind legs to use both front paws. Running away still hadn’t crossed his mind but that was partly due to how unexpected the Hunter’s in defense was.

Best friend! Big grins!

@flight-lost

Steve recoils just as much as Toothless does, more so from being startled by the scrambling of the dragon.

“Whoa, dude, chill! Chill! It’s my pet snake! The egg I showed you? It hatched! This is my snake!”

[I sense you may be in immediate danger, Steven.]

“Oh and I bought it that pet collar too. So you two can talk! It’s not gunna bite you, you big turd. It doesn’t even breathe fire.”

[I constrict things very hard, but only to protect Steven.]

He still doesn’t like it. Things like that are mean and wrong! They have always frightened Toothless, which is funny considering the legends circulating around about Night Fury dragons. At least he’s stopped flailing around and has settled down into a grumpy looking lump on the floor. 

     [ No. Don’t want. ]

It’ll take time before he accepts the poor snake as something he doesn’t have to worry about. Unfortunate considering he really liked hanging out with Steve but will have to maintain a reasonable distance to avoid his pet. It was the polite thing to do because there’s no way he’d ask something as rude as leaving the pet at home or something. That wasn’t his choice to make and not a request he’d voice.

Yoli sees the plasma blast coming too late. She hastily brings her weapon down, trying to catch the brunt of the bolt on the flat of the jawblade, but her movement isn’t fast enough. It hits her square in the chest. Blown back, she cries out, clutching the blade’s hilt even as she tumbles over it.

Rolling over with a groan, Yoli shakes her head, trying to pick herself up as fast as she can. She definitely doesn’t have a read on this one’s movements: that came out of nowhere, and it hurt. It’s enough just trying to recover her breath.

Of course she had to come across a fire-breather when she’s wearing the Gore’s skin—a monster that belongs to the cold and dark, as and such unsuited to flame. Just her luck…

She scarcely finishes getting her stance back when the dragon sweeps her feet with the whip of its tail, putting her on her backside again.

“Khh… haha… kahaha!”

She’s being battered around, yet the hunter can’t help but let out a cackle while she’s on the ground. That tail… she’d only got a glimpse, but it was enough. With the evidence of the harness, the picture she pieces together is clear enough: Someone’s already injured this monster, yet it’s still giving her a run for her money!

She can’t help but feel a rush of excitement. Adrenaline’s really pumping now. Briefly, she wishes she’d had a nimbler weapon, something better suited to battle a beast so light on the feet! No, no, but she can’t get caught up in those thoughts. She needs to temper that enthusiasm…

“You are a clever one, ain’t you,” she mutters, panting. “I think I’m starting to like you, whatever you are. Shame you’re not at your best, either…”

As she always does with monsters, the hunter speaks naturally to the dragon, having no expectations to actually be understood. She uses the greatsword to bolster herself, leaning heavily on it as she brings herself to her feet, more sluggish than before. Lack of proper equipment and field medicine sure takes its toll.

“…but if I have to carve it into you, so be it,” she says. Yoli stubbornly lifts the jawblade once more, slowly, really feeling its weight now but standing her ground all the same. “This isn’t your home. Go back to whence you came.”

Toothless takes the opportunity to get some distance between them while the Hunter struggles to get up. She just won’t quit and it’s bringing back memories of how the Vikings used to kill dragons. They were relentless until Hiccup showed them just how beneficial it could be to form bonds with the various breeds that lived in and around Berk. Not all dragons were bad, some even relied on Humans even before the boundaries had been softened.

A whine comes as a response, he can’t go home; doesn’t know how. There were no mountains or oceans, islands and forests. This was an unforgiving concrete jungle with few placed suited for a creature like him. Home is where his friends are now: Snake, Jyuzo, Steve, and a handful of others. He won’t leave them behind, be it because of death or chased away.

Blood dripping from his injured wing, there is definitely no quick escape now. He could have attempted a short flight for speed but with how a large gash tore through the limb and membrane, he’d have to stand his ground too. Narrowing his eyes he begins slowly circling Yoli, the injured wing drooping despite the obvious attempt at keeping it raised. Classic instinctual habit of making oneself look bigger, meaner, and tougher. 

@flight-lost

“Sweet! I wasn’t sure if ya’d let me but I had a hell of a time, so I figured I’d ask again! Plus flyin’ is pretty badass and I don’t have wings. Well, I did once, but…that was different and very very short lived.”

He scrambles back onto the saddle and pats Toothless’s side.

“It’s like riding a big horse. Except a lizard. God, honestly? Can’t even believe dragons are real, where have they been my whole life?”

He places his boot on the pedal, moving it experimentally.

“I should get some custom boots for this if we’re gunna be flying alot. Wait, what if I got you a cool custom patch that you could stick on your saddle? Like a matching patch! Not sayin’ I’d own you or anything, I can’t do that, but like, you know, a partner thing!”

He nods, settling down so Steve can climb aboard easily before standing up again. His wings stretch out wide and fold a few times to work out any tension. Not being able to fly freely and regularly is taking a toll on Toothless; he can’t stay grounded like this all the time. His species just isn’t made for that.

     [ I want to see. Buddy patch! ]

Waiting for his buddy to settle in and hold on, he flaps his wings hard with a leap forward. Taking off is a little sloppy and he struggles, but they’re soaring in no time. He’ll have to stay above the buildings to avoid hitting anything but there’s no need to crest over the clouds.

     [ Want fixed tail fin. Must fly more... It hurts. ]

There are few things that Toothless is afraid of: Eels and creatures very similar to them. At first he was interested in what Steve had to show up until the snake appeared; after that it was a mess of limbs flailing and wild screeching. His big ole body went scrambling for cover as if his life depended on it.

Oh, he’s a fierce one, all right. Posture and vocalizations suggest she’s succeeded in making the beast feel threatened. Which… actually puts her in a bit of a pickle. She knows nothing about it, she’s got no backup and the location is as disadvantageous as it comes.

The dragon pulls itself up, letting out a roar that she does her best not to flinch at. An impressive wingspan. Clearly built for flight. Begs the question why it doesn’t just fly away now…

It’s then that the hunter notices the bits of material hanging off the torso, the neck. Straps… of some sort? Something looking a bit like a harness clung to the body. Had someone seriously tried to catch the beast? Given the proximity to people she could understand why, but what a fool’s errand… there’s no capturing an elder dragon. It simply can’t be done.

Seeing its full height has her deciding in that moment–yes, that must be what this is. But why is it here?

She stands her ground, keeping the greatsword raised. It’s obvious that it wants her to back off. And she’d love to, but this creature needs to return to its natural environment ASAP. This strange metropolis is no habitat for an elder dragon. It’s no place for any large monster, now that it’s… renewed, for lack of a better word.

Apparently no human survivors have ever returned from that fog that borders town, but that’s probably nothing to an elder that in all likelihood comes from beyond it. Right?

This place is bustling with people. If this elder dragon’s staked its territory here, that’s bad news. Any reasonable hunter would recognize the potential for tragedy. How soon until it runs out of small game to eat, gets bold and goes for the plentiful human prey milling about the place? Just because the Guild isn’t here to tell her “go for it” doesn’t mean she should do nothing.

So Yoli shouts back a roar of her own, a wordless scream as she charges, bringing the jawblade swinging around her body, slashing at the head in a wide arc. If she can injure the dragon, hopefully that’ll be enough to drive it off…

He anticipates an attack right out of the gate as it mirrors so many other breeds of dragon that skip the formalities of sniff for questions first strike out later. Toothless’ wide body leaps to the side but with how large his wings are, the right one is cleaved through instead of their head. A Strike class dragon isn’t built for this kind of combat, he’s not made for an assault like this. Crying out, the beast shot a burst of hot plasma at Yoli, one of three that he can preform before he’s useless.

After he became the Alpha of Berk, there wasn’t really a worry about that as he’d gained his flocks trust and the massive hoard of wings and scales relied on one another. This was a new ballpark entirely. Now, Toothless can be quick in some aspects, but overall this match might not work in his favor as getting closer with that kind of weapon in play made making a move difficult to asses. 

He might just have to run away.

It has eyes?

Under her helm Yoli squints. The darkness makes it hard to tell, but when the dragon turns, the head looks all… wrong. It’s too wide, and Gore Magala certainly weren’t supposed to have eyes—not until they molted, and even then its mature form wouldn’t have them that large…

Now that she was a little closer, she could see there was no fur coating on this one’s wings, either. This has got to be a case of mistaken identity. Now that she’s got a better look at it, there’s no way this critter is a Gore.

That in mind, then… what in the world is this? She can’t think of any other monsters that fit the bill. The unknown dragon growls, clearly already aware of her presence. Though not as huge as a full-fledged Shagaru, per se, it absolutely qualifies as a large monster. And it certainly has the speed to pose a potential threat in a location like this, along with who knows what other abilities…

Briefly, Yoli admonishes herself for rushing in so foolishly, no information, no plan. This place has got her off her game, acting sloppy. But she’s here now, and the animal is already on the defensive. Might as well test the waters.

Emerging from the brush, the hunter draws her jawblade in a sharp motion, hefting the greatsword ahead of her in a clear challenge. What little light there is casts a dull gleam on the scales of her armor. Whether the beast opts to attack or flee in response remains to be seen.

No one has brandished a blade against Toothless in years. After Hiccup had changed the mindset of the Vikings to accepting and caring for dragons, he’s not felt threatened by them. It was Drago that brought back those frightening memories and the innate instinct to defend himself until forced to run. There’d be no backing out of this one, he wasn’t all that fast on the ground and couldn’t fly. How was Toothless supposed to escape effectively?

Lurching forward with a step, he roared defiantly at the armored hunter with a direct threat. Back down or fight, that’s what his posture and vocalizations suggested. Why didn’t they see his name tag and think he was friendly? Surely it still hung at his neck... No, no it didn’t. His gear hardly resembled what it used to. If anything, it could be a sign that someone tried to catch the Night Fury instead of helping him fly again.