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Chapter 10 - Beast Amidst The Storm: Final

I was trying to get to 2k words, but my mind blanked on what else to write. Fight scenes are not my strong suit. Also, would you guys rather I stock up on chapters to get them out sooner?

Or continue to do what I've been doing? Let me know in the comments. Anyway, enjoy the chapter, and be sure to check out my other fics!

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Kaarik's POV

My body is screaming at me to stop. But I can't, not now. It feels like every bone in my body is broken, and they probably are.

It's a miracle in itself that I'm standing already. I can feel the effects of whatever those voices did to me. I felt faster and stronger, but I could feel there was more.

I can feel my injuries healing. They may be healing extremely slowly, but they are healing nonetheless. The only downside of this ability is that I can feel everything.

Every organ and every bone. It hurts… a lot. And the pain is pissing me off. How long would it take for me to be fully healed? Hours?

Days? It doesn't matter. All that matters right now is beating the pride out of this dragon until I make it submit.

"You don't mind if I vent my anger on you, right?" I growl as I move toward the Skrill.

Enraged, the dragon roared as it burst forward. Jumping to the side, I rolled out of the dragon's way, groaning in pain as I gripped my side.

'I don't have a lot of time.' I couldn't beat the Skrill with only my fists. I may have gotten stronger, but I was still human.

It wouldn't be too long before I passed out again. Spotting my sword, I lunged toward it. Right as I reached my sword, I turned only to be met with a blast of lightning in my chest.

The blast sent me flying. As I landed, I felt a slight stinging sensation where I was hit. I was extremely confused. That attack should have killed me. Instead, I began feeling more energetic than before.

Unfortunately, I had no time to question it further because the Skrill was immediately back on me. Pushing myself off the ground, I evade a grab from its claw.

With a burst of speed, I rush forward, sword in hand, as I aim toward its legs. Using my newfound strength, I swung my sword. Finding its mark, I managed to leave a decently sized gash.

Roaring in pain, the Skrill swung around and, once again, used its tail as a bludgeon to swing at me. This time, I was ready for it, jumping onto its tail, holding on as it tried to shake me off.

"I'm… ugh… not letting you go!" I shouted.

The dragon didn't seem to like hearing this. It tried slamming its tail on the ground to crush me. Right when I raised its tail, I let go of it, causing me to be sent directly into the air, only to end up on its neck.

"This is suspiciously convenient." I said, right before I heard what sounded like deep beastial laughter.

Looking down, I saw the Skrill's wings opening.

"Shit." Immediately, the Skrill lifted off the ground and soared into the clouds.

The speed was insane. It began zigzagging and diving, making all kinds of turns in the sky as it tried to shake me off.

I knew I wouldn't be able to hold on, especially since the size of this thing made it difficult to grip around its neck properly. So I did the only thing I could think of. Sheathing my sword I raised my fist.

"Down. We. GO!" Grinning, I smashed my fist into its skull as we began to enter free fall.

My hand was already pretty messed up from the first punch to its face, but now it just feels numb as both I and the Skrill fell toward the sea.

By the time the Skrill was unstunned, it was too late. Before it could use its wings, I dive-bombed it, extending my legs like an arrow and kicking it in the face as we crashed into the sea.

It wasn't practical. Hell, I didn't even think it'd work, but here we are, surrounded by the Skrill's main weakness. Water. Unfortunately for me, just because it couldn't use its lightning anymore didn't mean it was out of the fight.

I could hear the dragon roaring, and the warbling sound almost ruptured my eardrums. Unsheathing my sword, I stabbed the Skrill in any place I could reach, causing more roaring.

I was fumbling around in the darkness of the water, trying to attack the Skrill. The stinging sensation of salt water burned as we fought each other.

I wouldn't let it escape. Not now. Not ever.

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"Ugh, I'm not dead? Where am I?" Coughing up water, I tried to recall the last thing that happened to me.

I was Skrill fighting in the ocean, and from the looks of it, I passed out somewhere along those lines. I was lucky I wasn't dead. As I get up, I look around to find myself on the island's beach.

Another thing I spotted was the body of the Skrill, which wasn't too far away from me. Dragging myself toward its body, I see my sword sticking out of its back.

I didn't know if it was dead, and honestly, it probably wasn't. Pulling my sword out, I hear it screech in pain before waking.

"Tough bastard." I sneered as I warily raised my sword once again. "Good, it'd be a waste if you died so easily."

The dragon rose to its feet, looking as tired as I was. We were both out of energy from fighting for hours, and then almost drowning.

As I thought about it, I realized this could be the moment to tame this beast. Lowering my sword, I glared at the Skrill.

"Listen, dragon. We're both tired from fighting for hours on end. Now we could go back to tearing each other's throats out. Or we can help each other out, and leave without life-threatening injuries."

The dragon growled at me, but didn't move.

"I could have taken out your wings… then you'd never be able to leave this island." I said, sheathing my sword.

The Skrill continued glaring at me as if it were weighing its options. On one hand, it could easily continue fighting me. Skrills are prideful creatures, and they never forget a face. They could easily hunt you down for revenge if they chose to.

On the other hand, like I said before, the dragon was prideful. I'd like to think I bested it in battle, but as far as I could tell, it was a draw.

Maybe I'm delusional, but I know it could kill me so easily before. We stared at each other for a while, the wind, rain, and thunder still heavy, but slowly waning.

And then it nodded, accepting my terms. We were both bloodied and bruised, and we didn't need to keep going, not if we both wanted to get off this island alive. Smiling, I carefully approached the dragon.

"It still amazes me how big you are… Do you mind?" I asked, gesturing to its back.

Snorting the dragon lowers its wing, allowing me to walk onto its back before I sit down.

"Alright then, dragon, since we've come to an understanding, how about we head back to my cave? I've got food waiting that needs to be eaten."

The dragon snorts at me before begrudgingly following my directions through the forest as I lead it toward my cave.

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"Hmm." The storm had finally passed, and both the Skrill and I ate the rest of the boar's legs, which I was sure weren't exactly filling for such a huge dragon.

Now I'm staring at the hulking beast as it lies outside my cave. Sighing, I leave the cave and walk up toward the Skrill.

"Oi, are you able to fly with your injuries?" I questioned the Skrill.

My arm was healing, but the rate was too slow for me to be comfortable with, and it was so damn painful. I'd rather be healing in a nice wool bed back on Berk with Gothi and her medicine to numb the pain.

The dragon nodded slightly in response to my question, though it could barely lift its wings. We were both too exhausted to do much. Sighing, I walked over to the dragon's back.

"As much as I don't want to, let's wait a few days so we can heal. After that, we can leave once we gather the necessary supplies." All we really needed was food, so that was the first thing we'd get, and then we were off.

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It was now a few days later, and my arm was halfway healed. It still surprises me that my body is now somewhat superhuman, but it also has me worried.

My birthmarks look like they're progressing just a tad bit faster now. I haven't had a nightmare in a while, so I don't know why they began to progress again. It was something I'd have to worry about later.

For now, it seems the Skrill has regained enough strength to fly just fine. Walking over to the Skrill's side, it lowered its wing so I could climb onto its back.

It took a while to find the food we needed since the animals could see and hear us coming, but once the Skrill and I were full, we were up in the skies and on our way back to Berk.

"Huh, now that I think about it, you need a name. I can't keep calling you 'dragon' or 'Skrill'." I said as I rubbed my chin with my one good, still aching hand.

The dragon groaned in response as we flew in silence for a good while.

"I got it. How about… Indra?" I asked as I patted its back.

To my surprise, the dragon growled in acceptance.

"Alright then, Indra, let's get along."

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