Every year on Berk, we come together to test our strength, endurance, and courage in the annual Thawfest Games. For some of us, it's... not such a great time of year. In fact, I've lost every single time to Snotlout. But this year, all that could change. This year, I could finally have a chance to win, because, for the first time ever, this year will include...

"...dragons! They are now officially a part of Thawfest," Gobber announced. "There will be three additional events: The Fly and Shoot- which will require you to fly straight and shoot straighter- "A blast of fire from Barf and Belch suddenly shot past Gobber's head. "Hey!"

"Sorry, we were on the wrong head," Tuffnut apologized.

"I knew something felt weird." They fired another shot.

"Ah, much better."

" The next event will be the Freestyle, where it's up to you to impress the judges with a trick of your choice." All of us watched as Astrid perfectly balanced on Stormfly while in midair.

"Ah! The Nadder Wing Walk. Impressive, Astrid."

"Um, excuse me?" Fishlegs called attention to himself. "Meatlug and I were wondering if there were going to be any intellectual events. A puzzle perhaps?"

"I'll... take that under advisement, Fishlegs." Gobber turned his attention back to listing the events. "And let's not forget the hurdles, where you will be asked to-"

"Woo-hoo!" We all looked up as Snotlout and Hookfang zoomed in before landing and kicking some dust in my face. I coughed as I breathed it in.

"You know what I love about the Thawfestival Games?" Snotlout hopped off his dragon, all the medals he had won gleaming around his neck. "Winning. You wanna touch one of my medals, just to see how it feels to be a winner?"

"I-I think I'll pass," I stuttered.

"My family has never lost a Thawfest Games, ever."

"Here we go," Reign sighed. Despite never participating herself, she had been there to witness every time Snotlout had won.

"Dragons or no dragons, I'll do what I do every year: bring glory to the Jorgenson clan. And you'll do what you do: embarrass yours." Snotlout laughed at me as he climbed up onto Hookfang. "Let's go, Hookfang." As the Monstrous Nightmare took off, Snotlout's foot got caught on Hookfang's saddle, and he ended up dangling from his neck as they headed back to train more.

"I will crush you all!" Reign shook her head and leaned against the other side of Toothless.

"You're really not participating again?"

"Of course not. I have no one to compete for. There's no point." She smiled. "Besides, I like being here to cheer you on."

"Well, I'm glad there's at least one of you."

"Oh, come on," Reign scoffed, shoving my shoulder. "Everyone else is here to cheer you on, too."

"They're just too busy cheering for Snotlout." She lowered her eyelids at me and rested her hands on her hips.

"You're not changing my mind about any of this. I like it when it's just friendly 'competition' between just you and I, and I want to cheer you on." For a split second, she delicately rested her fingers on mine. "Don't push yourself too hard."

I finished shading the final piece of my design before grabbing my measuring tape and approaching Toothless.

"Oh... kay." I began measuring his wingspan, when my father came into my room.

"What are you two working on?" I flashed a proud smile.

"Just some ideas for Thawfest."

"Right, right. Excellent." He awkwardly stood there, peering over my shoulder for a few solid seconds. Eventually, I sighed in irritation.

"So... did you need something, Dad?"

"Well, with the dragons, you could actually, well..."

"Beat Snotlout? Best the Jorgensons?" I was starting to get excited at the idea.

"Well, when you put it that way, it does have a nice ring." Awkward silence once again filled the space between us. "All right, then. I'll let you get back to, eh, whatever it is you two do." As he backed out of the room, my eyes rested on that drawing Reign had done, bringing a warm smile to my face.

"Let's finish this up, bud."

The people cheering all around the arena (that's what the Dragon Academy was for the day) provided both a rush of adrenaline and a sinking pit in my stomach. This was it, Thawfest was officially beginning.

"Let the Thawfestival Games begin!" my dad declared loudly, releasing a bunch of Terrible Terrors into the air.

"Hey, Hiccup!" I turned around to Reign approaching me and smiling. "I, uh, wanted to wish you good luck. And since I can't be right next to you to do that, I, uh, made you this." She removed something shimmering from the bag on her belt and handed it to me. "Good luck!" She ran out to join the rest of the crowd up at the top, and while I only had a minute before the festivities started, I decided to look down at what she gave me.

On one side, it was a scale that Toothless had shed. The black material caught the light and shone against my palm. When I flipped it over, a purple scale was sewn onto the other side. I smiled to myself, then up where Reign was. I undid the clip and attached it to my belt as the others ran over to the starting positions for the first event. After a moment to psych myself up, I joined them, individual cheers fading into the booming roar of the crowd.

"The contestants are lining up for the Sheep Lug," Mulch announced to everyone.

"It's a good day for lugging sheep, Mulch." Bucket's voice was barely audible over the crowd.

"Well, Bucket, every day's a good day for lugging sheep." Gobber slapped a sheep around my shoulders, causing me to dip under the sudden force and weight. I made a noise of disgust as I looked over to see Snotlout spit in his hands and rub it all over his face. "On your mark... get set..." Mulch struck Bucket's bucket and everyone started dashing toward the finish line. I pushed myself, and managed to cross the line third before I collapsed. "The first point of the Thawfest Games goes to Snotlout!"

"Right where you belong," Snotlout scoffed. "Down at my feet." He extended a hand down to help me up, but as soon as I reached out to take it, he yanked it away. "Oops! Too slow. As usual." I sighed and managed to get myself up from the ground. Snotlout demeaned me every year, and even though we were good friends now, there was still a large sting to it. I brushed the scale pinned to my belt, then prepared for the next event. As soon as things were set up, we were all helped up onto the large log.

"Next up is our traditional Log Roll event."

"Enjoy your face plant," Snotlout laughed, taunting me. As soon as he was finished stretching out, Snotlout began to run, starting the event. Despite having never done this with a metal leg before, I managed to be one of the last standing, to the point where it was down to Snotlout and I. However, the sudden momentum Tuffnut spinning around on the log created threw me off, and I fell to the ground.

"Another point goes to Snotlout!"

"That's my boy!" I felt something yank on me and pull me out from the pile of bags I had been thrust into.

"Ow." I looked over to see my dragon giving me curious eyes. "Thank you, Toothless."

The final event of the day had been set up- by far the most dangerous and meticulous. Once I managed to get the axe off the ground, I gripped the handle between my hands as though my life depended on it.

"The next event is the Axe Throwing contest, where accuracy is supreme!" Snotlout went first, tossing the axe as though it were nothing and hit it right in the dead-center of the target.

"Bulls-eye!" Astrid and Fishlegs' axes clashed together, sending them tumbling down right in front of the pair. "And they go- ooh..." The twins spun in circles, launching their axes somewhere into the crowd, hopefully not hurting anyone. "Watch out, there!"

It was my turn. I stared at the target and took a deep breath, steadying myself before launching the weapon. It was on a promising path, heading straight for the center, when it began to descend down and fell just short of hitting it. After laughing at me, Snotlout marched over and picked up my axe.

"Here's how it's done, Dragon Boy." Snotlout tossed every single axe straight into the target.

"Showoff," I scoffed. Around me, people began to clean up for the day and everyone made their way out of the arena, except for myself, Snotlout, and Reign, who came down to meet me. "Well, dead last."

"Wow, I have all the points and the best-looking picture? Unfair!" I could feel my frustration mounting.

"Oh, have your fun now. Tomorrow, everything changes. Right, bud?" Toothless purred.

"I can't wait, because Hookfang and I? It's like boy and dragon have become one. We're like a Bragon, or a Droy." He jumped onto Hookfang, who roared suddenly and took off. "Or a Snotfang!"

"Yeah? Well, tomorrow, you'll have to deal with... Hictooth!"

"'Hictooth?'" I turned to look at Reign, who was crossing her arms at me.

"Yeah, it's not my snappiest comeback."

"Why are you letting yourself get caught up in this?" That wasn't quite the direction I was expecting her to take the conversation in.

"Because, for the first time ever, I have a chance to beat Snotlout. To quiet him down."

"Snotlout, Snotlout! Oy! Oy! Oy!" he cheered as he soared over us.

"Good point." She walked over to her affectionate Thunderdrum. "I have to admit, it would be nice to see someone else with a Thawfest medal." She patted Shriek's side, and the two of them took off, heading back home, I would assume.

"You've spiked your last sheep, Snotfang. Tomorrow's a new day."

"Welcome to Day Two of the Thawfest Games! Let the dragon events begin!"

"It's a good day for lugging sheep, Mulch." He stared at Bucket in confusion for a few seconds before moving on.

"First up, the Hurdles!"

Any nerves that I had yesterday had melted away. I was confident when it came to dragons, and I knew I couldn't lose to the likes of Snotlout, no matter how hard he trained.

"Hurdles, Schmurdles. I could make it over those things in my sleep," Snotlout announced confidently. He really didn't understand what was going on here.

"Be my guest."

"You don't go over them, Snotlout," Astrid informed him, "you go under them."

"Duh. I knew that."

"And first up is Fishlegs!" Mulch struck the bucket, and Fishlegs and Meatlug slowly started toward the row of hurdles. Unfortunately, they couldn't even make it through one.

"Uh, guys? A little help over here! It's okay, girl. This just isn't our event."

People came over to help Meatlug and Fishlegs out from beneath the hurdles, allowing Astrid and Stormfly to take their turn. The pair navigated their way through gracefully at first, until Astrid smacked her head against one of the hurdles, taking them out of the event. Next were the twins, who couldn't determine which way to steer Barf and Belch, causing them to get stuck.

"Where's your book, Hiccup?" Snotlout taunted. "You might want to take notes." Snotlout was overconfident, and ended up hitting his head against every single one of the hurdles. Technically, he'd finished the task, but it didn't count because he technically didn't clear them.

This was our time to shine.

"Let's show 'em how it's done, bud." Toothless and I zipped underneath the hurdles like a flash of lightning.

"And Hiccup makes a perfect run!" My spirits suddenly brightened.

"Did you hear what he said? Perfect! I-I believe those are my first Thawfest points ever! I just realized something: I like beating Snotlout. I-I feel taller. Am I taller? Never mind, don't answer that." Snotlout landed beside me with determination, clearly frustrated at the results.

"Don't get too excited," he snapped, holding up a single finger. "You know what this is? Still the number of wins I need to end this thing. And you know what this is?" He held up a second finger. "The number of chances I have."

"Oh, yeah? Well you know what this is?" I formed my hand into an 'o' shape. "The size of your brain. No, wait." I made the circle even smaller. "That's much better."

"Like you've ever seen my brain. Come on, Hookfang." I looked back to see Astrid glaring at me.

"What? He started it... when we were five." We flew down to get ready for the next part of the contest.

"Next, we have the Freestyle Event! Contestants and their dragons show off their style and abilities!"

The twins were up first, demonstrating what they called 'The Iron Split." However, Tuffnut ended up falling into an actual split and was unable to get back up, losing him and his sister almost all of the points they could have gotten. Fishlegs and Meatlug stuck with simple circles, yet somehow, Fishlegs still got launched off of his dragon. Astrid's performance was impressive as she used Stormfly as a sort of balance beam to do flips and acrobatic feats.

Now, it was our turn. I flew Toothless over to a sea stack not too far from Berk, so that the judges could see that we were still there, then quickly zoomed toward another one. At the last second, I pulled on Toothless, shooting us up and causing us to do a few flips over the stack.

"Woo-hoo! Yeah, baby!" We landed back near the arena just in time for Snotlout's turn.

"I hear Snotlout's gonna try a trick called 'The Rings of Deadly Fire,'" Tuffnut ogled. "No one's ever tried it before."

"Yeah, because it's too dangerous."

"No, it's because he just made it up," Tuff corrected.

"I'm probably gonna win just for coming up with this." Snotlout launched Hookfang into the air and shot him toward the wooden rings that had been set up for his trick. The Nightmare lit the rings on fire, but as soon as he started to get closer to them, he panicked and threw Snotlout off of him, straight into the rings.

"I get the rings and the fire part, but where's the death? I feel cheated." Another point was added next to my head.

"Wow, Snotlout, your dad looks really mad right now." We both looked up at Spitelout, who was glaring down at his son.

"What do you know? He always looks like that. Do you really think you have any shot at beating me?"

"As a matter of fact, I do have a shot at beating you."

"Do not."

"Do, too."

"Do not."

"Do, too! Think about it: Toothless is a Night Fury, and I'm the best rider. How can I possibly lose?"

"Because that's what you do! I win, you lose!"

"Check the scoreboard, Snotlout. Not anymore." Snotlout turned around before angrily stuttering and stomping away.

"What was that about?" My heart jumped, not having heard Reign approach me.

"Just rattling cages." I started to walk away from her.

"Since when do you rattle cages?" she asked, her voice taking on a disapproving lilt. I wouldn't answer her, unsure of what she wanted to hear. Snotlout had been doing the same thing to me for years-- it seemed well-deserved that I could brag a bit when I finally had a leg up on him.

Things were finally set up for the finally event of the day, and I could feel the power of the adrenaline rushing over me.

"The contestants are lined up for the Fly and Shoot, where contestants shoot down their foes and spare their friends." Little, fake people popped up in front of a miniature model of the village. Toothless and I took off at the strike of the bucket, ready to shoot down the targets as they appeared.

"Outcast, bud!" I cried as one of the fake people came up from behind a 'rock.' Toothless shot a purple plasma blast that exploded the figure, then another one popped up. "No, Toothless! She's a friend!" We landed and snuck our way around a formation. Suddenly, Toothless shot back up into the air and blasted at an Outcast I hadn't seen. "Thanks, bud. I didn't see that one."

"Hiccup and Toothless come through with a perfect score!"

Snotlout and Hookfang took their turn, and although things seemed to be going well at first, some ash from a blast got in Hookfang's face, and he ended up setting some children figurines on fire. He then swooped down and started lighting the fake houses on fire.

"This does not look good for the reigning Thawfestival champion."

"Snotlout, Snotlout! Oy! Oy! Oy!" the twins cheered. Once Snotlout was able to land, we were escorted to the platform where the winners usually stood. A third point was added next to my head, and I stared in disbelief for a moment. I couldn't believe I'd managed to pull into a tie.

"And for the first time in Thawfest history, we have a tie! Tomorrow, these two young Vikings will go head-to-head in an event to decide the Thawfest champion." We both waved at the crowd of people.

"Hi... I can't believe how lucky you are. You don't even belong on this stage with me." Snotlout stormed away as he kept a face for the crowd.

"That's it. Keep talking, Snotlout, as your family's winning streak goes up in flames... just like your Rings of Deadly Fire." I stood face to face with Reign, who looked pretty irritated, for whatever reason. Snotlout whipped around to glare at me, stuttering before kicking out his foot and marching away even faster. "Hey, what's the matter? Yak got your tongue?"

"Hiccup."

"Oh, he's crumbling under the pressure, I can feel it!" I slowly turned to face her again, to be greeted by her sour expression darkening. "What?" She quickly crumbled into a sad defeat.

"You know what I always liked about you, Hiccup? You were always a gracious loser. Who knew you'd be such a lousy winner?" Her words stung as she turned on her heel to leave me alone.

"'Lousy winner...'" I muttered as I hammered away on a new rod for Toothless' tail. "I'll be a great winner!" Toothless growled inquisitively as I dipped the rod into cold water. "You see this, bud? Lighter, thinner. Oh, this'll help us fly faster and turn quicker." I attached the rod and stood. "I also stripped down your saddle. Light as a feather." I reached over and snatched a new tail fin I had made. "But this! This is what's gonna make the most difference. A tail as thin as paper and even stronger than before." For whatever reason, Toothless started growling at me. "We're gonna be able to cut and turn better than we ever have. Snotlout won't stand a chance."

The time had finally come. The sun was rising in the distance, and I was ready to best Snotlout in a race.

"Remember, son. No pressure." Despite what my dad said, I knew there was a lot of pressure behind whether I won or not. This could be the first time the Haddocks won the Thawfest Games, and I didn't want to screw it up.

"Snotlout!" I turned around to see Spitelout confronting his son as he prepared for the race.

"Hey, Dad," Snotlout greeted enthusiastically. "Just stretching out my hammies, you know?"

"Did you ever hear the story of the time I almost lost the Thawfest Games?" Spitelout's arms rested firmly against his hips, creating a threatening complement to the glare in his eyes.

"No, I never did."

"That's right... because it never happened!" Spitelout's harsh words caused his son to flinch. "No Jorgenson has ever come close to losing the Thawfest Games. Don't you be the first." We both watched in a terrified stupor as he stalked away.

My hand accidentally brushed the scales Reign had given me before, and her words started to come back to me. "Lousy winner... lousy winner..." It was playing in my head over and over again as I watched Snotlout get ready to race.

She was right... and I knew what I needed to do, now.

People started to gather around as the sun got higher over our heads, and soon, the tie-breaker games were in full swing.

"Welcome to the final deciding event of this year's Thawfest Games: The Obstacle Course Race! Take it away, Gobber!"

"The race will start here in the stadium, where, after the Log Dodge and the Cliff Climb, Hiccup and Snotlout will get on their dragons, loop around the flagship anchored around the coast, slam through the sea stack maze, and head back here. The first one to cross that finish line will be the winner!" Carefully, I approached Snotlout as he was stretching himself out.

"Hey, uh, can I talk to you for a second?"

"No," he snapped.

"Okay. Uh... I just wanted to say have a good race, and may the best Viking win." I outstretched my hand for him to shake, but of course, he didn't take it.

"Oh, he will. Don't your worry your scrawny little self about that. See you at the finish line, Hiccup, or maybe I won't."

"All right, I tried. If that's how you want it..."

"That's exactly how I want it." I shook my head and made my way to the starting line, suddenly deciding that I wanted to win. Forget everything I had decided, I had the chance to make my dad proud.

"Vikings and dragons, take your positions!" I took one last deep breath. "On your mark..." Snotlout and I crouched down. "Get set... And... Go!" We both started to run, and almost immediately, Snotlout struck me to get me out of the way.

"Out of my way!" While I attempted to compose myself again, Snotlout rushed up the Log Dodge with almost no problem. I was significantly, but with Toothless' modifications, I could catch up in the race.

As I climbed the cliff, Snotlout waved down at me and took off, momentarily distracting me from the rocks that were being tossed in my direction. Terror struck me as I lost my grip and started to slide down the side of the cliff. Desperately, I struggled to find a hand-hold, but when I couldn't find one, my leg caught in the rock and I was able to stabilize myself. The crowd cheering spurred me up the side to Toothless.

"Okay, bud. We've got a lot of ground to make up." I climbed onto the back of my Night Fury. "Let's go!" As soon as Toothless took off, the wind stung my face with how fast we were moving. In no time, we caught up to Snotlout and Hookfang, who decided it would be a good idea to zip over our heads.

"Hey! How's that feel? Ha, ha, ha!" I shook my head and got ready to win this race.

"Okay. Let's see what this new tail can really do." I shifted my metal foot back to fan out the tail, causing us to shoot forward, right behind Snotlout. I maneuvered to try and pass him, but as soon as I tried, he cut in front of me. "Move over!"

"Yeah, okay!" he scoffed. As I tried to come up the side, we collided and slammed up against the rocks that were boxing us in. At the last second, the two of us had to pull away and caused me to veer off course. Although it was a longer route, Toothless' modifications allowed me to catch up quickly, and I could practically taste victory.

"Okay, bud. Let's finish this." Quickly, we dashed past Snotlout, and although at first, I had a smile on my face, it was quickly wiped away by Snotlout's terrified expression.

"No, I can't lose... I can't lose... Aah, I can't lose!"

Those few words were enough to snap me back to myself. Snotlout losing would be of far greater consequence than my loss.

"What am I doing?" I made up my mind. "I'm sorry, Dad." I flicked my foot to close Toothless' tail, and as soon as we lost control and landed among a small forest, Snotlout zoomed up above and crossed the finish line.

"And Snotlout is the winner of the Thawfest Games!" I pulled Toothless up and we made our way back to the arena.

"Nice flying, Snotlout," I complimented as we made our way up onto the platform.

"Yeah." He stuck his hand out for me to shake. "You put up a good fight..." As soon as I reached out to take it, he snatched it away. "But not good enough!" We both stood before my dad, the games officially coming to a close.

"It's been a spectacular Thawfest Games. Perhaps the best ever. These two young men have put on quite a show. But alas, there can be only one champion." A slow drum roll began to crescendo. "The Thawfest dynasty continues. The winner, and still champion- Snotlout!" The crowd erupted into cheers as my dad placed a medal around Snotlout's neck. "You did your family proud." He cast his glance over to me and smiled with that glimmer in his eyes.

"Snotlout, Snotlout! Oy! Oy! Oy!" Snotlout rushed to his Monstrous Nightmare and started to run around the arena. I was in such a daze that I didn't notice Reign had made her way down until she punched me to get my attention.

"Ow! What?" I demanded.

"I know what you did," she teased.

"Yeah, I lost. As usual." I glanced up at her to see if she bought it, but her expression said otherwise.

"No. You threw the race."

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about, Reign." She smirked at me and her eyes gleamed. "Snotlout was just the better Viking today."

"No, Hiccup. No one was a better Viking than you today."

I was caught off guard as she reached out and grabbed onto my shoulder, pulling me flush against her before kissing me. I was too paralyzed to act at first, but as soon as I could, I reached out and gently touched her cheek before she pulled away, cheeks bright red.

"You, uh... think anyone saw that?" I shrugged and grabbed her hand.

"Oh well if they did." She flashed a bright smile at me and leaned her head against my shoulder.

Yep, second again. Some things never change. But I guess some things are more important than winning. Like being a good friend. Even if the friend is... that guy.