章 11: Our Graduation Ceremony
Weeks had gone by and crowds gathered in seating area's erected in the village as they all were eager for the race that was about to take place. The first thing that stood out was that Hiccup and his crew were not saddled up to fly and were well relaxed in the chief's sitting area.
"Dragon rider's are you ready?!" Hiccup yelled as the crowd began to roar waiting for the riders to come flying out.
"Alright rider's we want a nice clean race, no dirty tackles or any form of cheating" Astrid outlined the rules.
"Let the countdown begin!" He announced.
"Five....four....three....two.....one..." the whole crowd chorused.
"GO!!" they all screamed as the riders came flying out of the stables.
Rune and his class mates were the one's racing this time around and had adorned their racing colors for the event. Rune had two orange and yellow stripes on each side of his cheek and the same for Sandstorm who also had arcs on his wings which spanned around his wing claw. He also took the liberty of painting all the tips of Sandstorm's spikes spanning from his head to his tail orange. Thyra had yellow and green stripes around the legs of her dragon and drew spirals of each color on Rampage's wings with three stripes, two yellow and green in the middle.
Forde had thick black stripes on Spikethorn's face and nasal horn. He painted her thumb claws and wavy lines on her wings in turquoise. Eruptor went with red and yellow colors with streaks on the sides of his face and arcs on his wings and stripes on his legs. Vyra went with green and orange stripes, painting the left eyebrow like horn green and the other orange. She also painted circles on each of Strombreaker's wings using both colors and the thumb claws orange.
The Vikings flew over the much changed Berk in search for their sheep targets. In the past month it had received quite an upgrade with space now a commodity in demand. More and more dragons had been brought back to the island and things began to feel a bit cramped but that wasn't the focus now, it was race time.
"Come on Sandstorm, let's show the crowd what we can do" Rune said to his dragon who roared with excitement.
"You got this girl" Vyra encouraged her dragon.
"Let's give them some chaos" Thyra said.
"Come on Eruptor, we can win this!"
"Let's show them the power of knowledge"
The five of them went flying over Berk looking around for the first sheep to get things underway. Rune had his eyes peeled as they scanned every nook and cranny for those pesky sheep. Rune's eyes finally fell upon one hiding in a cart of hay but left it's tail sticking out. He smiled and pointed to the cart showing Sandstorm the way, his dragon grunted knowing that it was going to be tough on.
"Come on boy, you can do it" Rune assured him.
With one powerful flap they descended towards the cart and with their move, the other's were alerted that a sheep was spotted. Sandstorm flew vertically through a tight gap in between two houses as he spun quickly to level out and grabbed the sheep.
"Good move" Astrid commented seeing Rune claim the first sheep.
"Oh it's on!" Vyra cheered with an excited voice as they saw the sheep in Sandstorm's possession.
"Come on boy, we can do this" Rune said as his dragon grunted.
The two flew fast over the buildings and then weaved in between them as they went for the long turn around Berk. Just when they thought they were in the clear, Sten came flying at them from the left trying to take them by surprise.
"That sheep is mine!" he yelled as he and Eruptor came flying in.
"Woah!" Rune exclaimed and barrel rolled to the side evading the two whilst protecting the sheep.
"If you want to pull of something like that, you need the element of surprise" Thyra said as she shot out from under him and Rampage latched onto the sheep as the two dragons entered a daring upward spiral.
"Hold on Sandstorm" Rune said as they continued to spin and spin and spin.
Eventually the spinning got to Rampage's head as the two let go and flew haphazardly towards the ground being dizzy. The two were approaching the nets which had the symbols changed to suit the riders and their dragons. Rune and Sandstorm flew over in the clear as they dropped the first sheep into the net.
"Yes looks like I'm going to win this bet" Tuffnut cheered.
"What are you guys talking about?" Astrid asked confused.
"Don't get in over your head, the race just started" Ruffnut answered with a nonchalant tone.
"Would someone answer me?" Astrid demanded.
"Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Snotlout placed bets on some of the riders to see who's going to win" Fishlegs explained.
"Don't get to carried away, Sten can still find away back into it" Snotlout said assured that his pick won't let him down.
"And who did Ruffnut bet on?" Hiccup asked.
"I placed my bet on your cousin. Anyone sharing the same blood as you is not known to disappoint on a day like this" she answered confidently.
"Is that so, then I place my bet on Rune just like Tuffnut" Hiccup cut in.
"Well if you're placing bets then I put my money on my cousin" said Astird.
"Now, now, let's not get carried away placing bets" Gobber advised.
"It's okay Gobber, it's not like I'm putting my chieftaincy on the line" Hiccup answered.
"Although that would make it all the more interesting" Snotlout said with a devious smile.
"Not going to happen" Astrid said stopping any plans Lout was conjuring up in his mind.
Strombreaker picked up the next sheep and was coming under threat from all angles. Sandstorm and Rune were coming in hot from behind as they planned to snatch it out from her talons with a quick spin but Vyra read their move and pulled Stormbreaker back forcing her to spread her wings slowing her down as the speeding duo flew by as fast as they came.
"You'd have to do better than that" she taunted.
"Oh yeah" Sten said as he bumped into Strombreaker while her focus was off and the sheep fell out of her talons.
The sheep cried for mercy as it plummeted to the ground only to be caught by two riders this time around. Forde caught hold of it's front legs and Thyra got hold of it's hind legs. The two flew on diagonally as they held on to the sheep.
"Let go Thyra, I caught it first" Forde said as he pulled the sheep to himself.
"No it's mine" Thyra said pulling back.
As the two struggled over the sheep, Rune and Sandstorm came flying in subtly from underneath and snatched it from both their hands with Rune taking hold of it this time around.
"Oh yeah, we're on fire!" Rune cheered as the other two grunted in anger as the prize slipped through their fingers.
"Not today pretty boy" Sten said as he ran into Sandstorm from the side causing Rune to drop the sheep.
The two dove down after the sheep with the Strike class dragon edging closer to it and then Vyra caught it before they could get close to it. She made her way to the nets and safely dropped her catch in her net.
"Go on Vyra!" Astrid cheered.
"You know it isn't too late to back out now" Astrid said.
"I'm not known to give up that easily" Hiccup answered.
The race went on with twists and turns like Forde intercepting Thyra's drop and putting the sheep in his own net instead of hers. She decided to drop it from high up and Forde read it like a book flying in from the side and catching it as his dragon spun and dropped it in his own net adding to her frustration. If only it could be animated.
Forde, Thyra and Rune had two sheep each in their nets while Vyra and Sten were tied with three.
"Are you sure you want to go through with this? Your rider is looking pretty slim on sheep" Astrid taunted again but Hiccup kept his cool.
"Don't worry, there's still one more sheep to go" Hiccup replied calmly.
"Come on Sten, you got this!" Snoutlout cheered.
"Gobber, it's time"
"Last lap!" Gobber yelled as he signaled the Viking on the horn with the waving of his hand to blow it.
The Viking blew the horn and alerted the riders that it was time for the black sheep.
"Black sheep time, let's go!" Sten cried.
"This is it girl" Forde said.
"It's now or never" Rune said to his dragon.
The dragons circled round Berk one last time as Gobber loaded the sheep into the catapult. Nerves were tensed and the pressure was high, this sheep was worth way more than the others and it was the only thing that could win this race for any of the riders. With the push of a lever, the sheep was launched high into the air and gave off a loud bleat.
"Come on girl, we got this" Vyra said closing on the sheep.
Just as her dragon's talons were about to get hold of the sheep, a brown blur claimed it from them leaving Stormbreaker with claws full of wool.
"Darn it!" she said angrily as she banged her fist on her saddle.
"WOHOO!!" Rune yelled as he and Sandstorm ascended.
The sweet taste of victory, they could almost taste it now that the black sheep was in his hands, or was it. Rune was well above the nets and was about to go into a dive to get it when Sten laid hold to the sheep from above.
"That black sheep is mine" he said with a determined voice as Sandstorm and Eruptor were thrust into an uncomfortable spin.
"Not today Sten" Rune said pulling on the sheep.
Out of nowhere, Forde flew in and held onto the sheep as well turn it into a three way affair.
"This is not good, not good" Snotlout panicked seeing how things were going.
Then Thyra swooped in from below, using Rampage to ram through the boys and took the sheep for herself as the crowd roared in excitement.
"Come on boy, as long as she hasn't put the sheep in her net, it isn't over yet" Rune said as Sandstorm grunted and huffed as he dawned a serious expression.
"Nothing can stop me now!" he cheered.
"Think again" Vyra said as Stormbreaker pulled along side her and hit Rampage with her back side causing Thyra to lose hold of the sheep as it fell into Vyra's hands.
"Yes!" she cheered with victory at her finger tips.
"Yes" cheered Ruffnut as she could already taste the money she was going to win.
"Looks like we have a winner" Astrid said.
"I'm not so sure about that" Hiccup said as he spotted a new development.
"Come on Sandstorm, give it all you got" Rune pushed his dragon.
Vyra raised her arms as she took aim to throw the sheep into her net but couldn't predict what was about to happen. Sandstorm flew in from her side in a dive as Rune pulled the sheep out of her hand leaving everyone except for Hiccup and Tuffnut shocked. The two spun towards the water before Sandstorm opened up and they went on a long loop from the back of the net stand to drop the sheep into his own net winning the race by twelve.
The crowd went wild not expecting such a nerve racking, edge of your seat race, not by a long shot.
"No!" Astrid and Ruffnut exclaimed angrily while Snotlout sighed in disappointment.
"Oh yeah! In your face Ruffnut" Tuff said rubbing his victory in his sisters face.
"What were you saying about there being a winner?" Hiccup said pushing Astid's buttons.
"Okay, okay, you've made your point" she said relinquishing her claim.
Rune cheered relishing his victory as he was praised by the crowd.
"Looks like we've got someone as talented as you on our hands" Valka said to Hiccup.
"He reminds me so much of you in the way he flies it's almost like I'm looking at a mirror" Gobber added.
"Well what can I say, I did mentor him" Hiccup said with a smile as he looked at his student doing a victory lap around Berk.
"It's with great honor that I congratulate you all on completing your training to become dragon riders. I know it has been tricky over these past few months but it was worth while and I do say that your race was quite entertaining" Valka addressed them.
They were all gathered in the dragon arena for what would be their last time being addressed as a class together.
"Through the ups and downs you've shown great character and stuck together. I am so glad to now call you all fellow dragon riders. Congrats" Hiccup said.
They all clapped and cheered happy that it was now all over.
"And now to the feast at the great hall" Tuffnut yelled as he led them out.
The hall was filled to the brim with Vikings and dragons alike as the feast began, merry hearts sang drunk with wine and beer while the gluttons indulged themselves in all manner of food.
"There's my boy" Wout said as he approached Rune and his friend's table alongside Diana who was hiding something behind her.
"Mom, Dad" Rune said standing up to receive him.
"We're so proud of you son. Watching you win that race was the greatest spectacle we ever saw" his father added.
"Thank you dad, it means a lot coming from you"
"Now that you've graduated, your father and I have something for you" Diana said as she unveiled what she had been hiding.
She handed a leather vest to him with a diamond weave, made specially for him with his name written on the collar. It had shoulder pads and a black belt with places to hold things and a place to hold his axe on the back.
"Mom, dad, you shouldn't have" he said accepting the gift.
"It's the least we could do to help you start this new journey" Wout said.
"I'll cherish it forever" he said embracing his parents.
"You can return to your table, we'll meet you back at home" Diana said as they departed.
"Cool vest" Sten commented seeing it in his hand.
"Thanks"
After rescuing Sten from the cave a month ago, he decided to drop his prideful acts and turned over a new leaf and made up with Rune. That brought around a friendship between the boys that was nearly unbreakable as they began spending more and more time together and discovered that they had a lot of things in common. Though he still tried to upstage him every now and then.
"I never thought this day would come" Forde said letting out a sigh.
"I, it's like a dream" Thyra agreed.
"I guess we're officially dragon riders now" Vyra added.
"And I can't wait to go on adventures, fight some trappers and discover new islands along the way" Rune said.
"Don't you think that's a bit too much to begin with?" asked Vyra.
"Nope. What do you guys think?" Rune asked the opinion of the others.
"I don't see a problem with it. I don't want to get tied down to just doing things around Berk" Sten said.
"Same" Thyra said as she raised a chicken thigh to her mouth and took a bite out of it.
"Well while we discuss our plans for the future, I just thought we could do it over a bottle of wine" Forde said bringing out a bottle of red wine.
"Bro, where did you get it from?" Rune asked.
"Have you started stealing?" added Vyra.
"Now way, I'm no thief" he defended.
"So where did you get it from?" Sten asked with his eyes glued to the bottle before him.
"My family owns vineyard and we make wine so I decided that taking a bottle won't hurt anyone" he explained.
"Awesome, let's get straight to it" Sten cheered.
"Cheers!" they chorused as they drank the wine down with one quick go.
"Another!" Sten said loudly.
They refilled their cups and chugged it down as quickly as it came.
"Another!" Rune demanded slamming his cup on the table.
"You guys can go on. I'm good" Vyra said.
"I'm stuffed as well. Guess I had too much to eat" Thyra added.
"That's more for us" Forde said as he refilled his cup.
The boys had one more round and they began to feel tipsy.
"I think you guys have had enough wine for today" Vyra said.
"Nooooo, were just getting started" Forde said brining out another bottle with more alcoholic contents.
"Ha ha. I knew you weren't going to hold out on us" Sten said as the boys began to chuckle.
"Now, now, where's the bottle" Rune said trying to collect the bottle from Forde but was holding thin air and thought he had a grip on the bottle.
"We can't let them have another round" Thyra said.
"Agreed" said Vyra. "Hey guys don't you think you've had enough for today?" she said trying to collect the bottle from Forde.
"No way" he said shielding the bottle from her. "We want more!"
They quickly poured themselves another cup and poured it down their stomachs. The girls tried to stop them from having more but the boys were resilient and chugged down another bottle and now they were drunk. They would continued their escapades as they feasted into the night.
"Food fight!!" Tuffnut announced as he threw a plate of ham at his sister.
"Bring it on!" Thyra yelled throwing a plate of potatoes at the Tuffnut.
And in the blink of an eye the whole hall went into a food fight frenzy. The drunk boys stood on top of their table holding their cutlery to their mouths and began to sing as the fight went on.
"This is a mess" Vyra said holding her head down and shaking it then a plate of fish hit her on the back of her head.
"Who did that?!" she demanded.
"I did" Astrid said from two tables away. "You're going down cuz"
"Not today" Vyra said throwing a pie at her which ultimately missed and hit Snolout in the face.
"I can't see! I can't see!" he cried as he wondered around temporarily blind.
The feast went into the wee hours of the morning with most dragons already sound asleep in their homes except Toothless and Sandstorm who were with their riders. The drunk Vikings who were to dizzy to move, ended up sleeping on the benches and tables but Rune, Forde, Sten and Tuffnut had themselves sitting on a table and cracking jokes.
"Do you know the worst part about being related to Ruffnut?" Tuffnut said with his speech coming out in-cohesively.
"What?" Forde asked.
"It's the fact that she has the face of a goat" Tuffnut said as they all laughed.
Vyra rolled her eyes when she heard their joke. She had to get them back home somehow.
"Alright guys enough, we have to go" Vyra said.
"Just the person I wanted to see" Rune said with his eyes partially closed and swayed his head from side to side. "Can I tell you all a secret?"
"Looks like your friends have way to much to drink" Hiccup said from behind her as he stood with Fishlegs, Thyra and Astrid.
"You think?"
"I love Vyra HOFFERSON!!!!!" he yelled at the top of his voice.
It was so loud that a Viking that had passed out on a table raised up his head and hand and yelled, "Alright!"
Then the four of them began to laugh. On the other hand, Vyra was amazed at his proclamation and she couldn't help but blush at his words.
"Seems like someone has an admirer" Astrid teased.
"Not now cuz" Vyra said trying to brush over what Rune had said.
"And you want to know the best part?" Rune said as the other listened closely to what he was about to say.
"Someone should stop him before he reveals too much" Fishlegs said worried.
"I want to marry her and have seven ki-" Vyra placed her hand over his mouth stopping him from finishing his sentence.
"I think you've said enough"
"No" he said with his words muffled up. He then removed her hand from his mouth. "Are you embarrassed?"
"No"
"She's lying. She's totally embarrassed" Sten said as the other two began to laugh.
"Vyra's embarrassed" Forde teased.
"I think it's time we get them home" Thyra said.
Hiccup and Astrid held Tuffnut up and helped him home because he was too drunk to take two steps without falling. Fishlegs accompanied Forde home as he held his liquor better than the others, maybe because he dealt with wine for a living. Thyra carried Sten on her shoulder and took him home. Vyra was able to get Rune on his feet with the help of Sandstorm as they began to long walk to his home.
"Thank you Sandstorm" she said as his help was in valuable to her right now.
Rune staggered and almost fell quite a number of times despite them holding him up, he continued to sing as Vyra controlled herself from knocking him out. They finally made it to the Yakkerson's home with Diana opening the door for them as they helped him up the stairs.
"You sleep well Rune" Vyra said tucking him in for the night.
"Wait" Rune said holding her hand as he stopped her from leaving.
"What is it?"
"You stay here...with me tonight"
"What? No way, you're too drunk" Vyra said as she tried to get out of his grip.
"If you go I scream..... like baby..." he threatened.
"You're joking" she said not believing his threat.
With all seriousness Rune took in a deep breath and prepared to scream and Vyra had to give in to his request before he makes a scene.
"Okay, okay I'll join you"
Rune wore a wide smile on his drunk face.
"You do look kind of cute when you're drunk" Vyra muttered only to her hearing.
Vyra carefully got into his bed and slept on one side and used a pillow to create a boundary for their spaces. Rune didn't care, he threw away the pillow and held her from behind as he immediately dozed off.
"Boy if you don't-"
Vyra was about to kick him out of the bed but stopped when she heard him snoring, what could she do, he was drunk. She tried to remove his hands carefully not to wake him up but every time she tried, his grip got tighter and tighter and she knew there was no fighting it and decided to sleep. It wouldn't hurt anyone right.
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