Goblin's Bath.

If there's something Goblin hates more than Dagur, it's baths.


Most dragons thought baths were more for furry animals like yaks, dogs and other things, not for scaly creatures like them who didn't get dirty at all. Dragons keep themselves clean most of the time, they disliked dirt and often avoided it, but it turns out that there were certain parasites that could stick to them while flying or when having their 'dust-covering', so the humans started to give them baths and brush their scales every few weeks.

Every dragon species was different in certain things; favorite food, mating habits, offspring raising, some liked being scratched under the belly, others hated it for finding it too ticklish, some liked the smelly taste of fish, others preferred the juicy and soft meat of yak. The same applied to the human-made application of baths. Most dragon species tolerated them and sat or stood idly as their humans poured buckets of water over them and brushed the parts they couldn't reach.. A few species, mostly Tidal Class dragons, Zipplebacks or even Gronckles (as Fishlegs discovered) loved baths, and would always drag their humans to the newly-installed dragon bathing stations impatiently, often trying to get as wet as possible, and their riders had to drag them out of the water.

Then there were those, of course, that despised baths. Monstrous Nightmares, Terrible Terrors and Stoker-class dragons hated water that made them feel cold and tremble. They fought all the way to the bath station, and tried to get out of the water, splashing and flapping their wings violently.

Unfortunately for Heather, Goblin was of the latter type.

In fact, he was the worst.

This was natural for his species, Skrills couldn't use their lighting when in water, so this was more of an instinctive defense mechanism, but it was mixed with natural dislike of water. Everytime he heard word 'bath', he was off, usually all day and waited until Heather bribed him back down with mutton and lots of chin scratches. Being a Strike class dragon, he was very intelligent, and very few times did Heather manage to trick him and pin his wings so he couldn't fly away, while the Skrill fought as hard as he could to get away from the dreaded water. And if Heather actually managed to get him in the bathing station and into the water, Goblin didn't give up; he splashed and roared, becoming a missile, slamming into the walls of the room and trying to find a way out.

No matter how much Heather tried to get Goblin to understand that he needed these baths, Goblin stubbornly thought that Heather was punishing him for something. Everytime he suspected he was getting a bath, he would act extra angelic to try and avert any feelings Heather may have of the terrible, horrible, torturous process known as bath.

Heather had to enlist Hiccup, Astrid and the other riders' help to bring him to the bathroom. Astrid and Fishlegs distracted while Hiccup pinned his wings, but Snotlout and the twins' attempts to 'help' ended up in Goblin catching on quickly and fleeing. And they had to look for him all day, or wait till he returned when he thought Heather had forgotten about the whole bath thing. Well, this time they were prepared for this.

Goblin had turned out to be very protective and quite possessive of Heather when it came to their relationship as dragon and rider. Sometimes she thought he acted a bit like her father, which made her actual father become a bit jealous at times, yet she appreciated his concern for her. If there was another thing Goblin hated, it was Heather being on top of another dragon even for a few seconds. This was an actual part of the plan to give Goblin a bath.

After making sure Goblin was out with Quinarth and their hatchlings for the time being, Hiccup and the others were gathered at the bathing house for dragons to revise their plan.

"Okay, guys, let's recall." Hiccup pointed at the parchment of paper on the table. "Fishlegs, you and Meatlug will be a few houses away, and Heather, you will 'casually' to greet them'."

"Got it." Heather nodded.

"Meatlug and I will be ready!" Fishlegs chirped in excitement.

"Then Heather will ask Meatlug if she wants a bath, and we know how she is going to react." Hiccup glanced at Astrid and Snotlout. "You will wait at the bath house for when Meatlug, Heather and Goblin come in…"

"And we close the doors, leaving him no means of escape." Astrid finished.

"Piece of cake!" Snotlout snickered.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Just don't forget to close the windows, again."

"Anyway, Ruffnut and Tuffnut will block the door from the outside and lock us in-"

"I still don't understand why we have to stay inside a room full of water with a Skrill! You do remember he can electrocute us, can you?!"

"Goblin would never do that if he knows I'm around, or if he gets wet." Heather stated.

"Hehe, we're going to make a thunderstorm indoors!" Tuffnut snickered, rubbing his hands together.

"Goblin's going to get the bath of his life!" Ruffnut added, chuckling.

Heather sighed in dismay. She had the feeling this would be harder than they thought.


The plan was carried out the next day, when Goblin would have no suspicion of what they were up to. He was napping on the roof of Heather's house when she walked out, and Fishlegs and Meatlug were 'casually' outside.

"Good morning, Heather!" Fishlegs took a small glance at the Skrill on the roof, and then back at Heather. "Wow, it's certainly very hot today, don't you think?"

"Indeed it is, Fishlegs!" Heather replied in a suspiciously loud voice. "Looks like Meatlug is very hot today." She glanced back at Goblin subtly, then at Meatlug, who was panting heavily. She whispered to her. "Do you want to take a bath?"

Instantly, both she and Goblin reacted. Meatlug dragged both Heather and Fishlegs unto her back and flew towards the bathhouse. Goblin let out an angry roar an flew after Meatlug, but he was much faster and catching up to the Gronckle, trying to catch Heather by the shoulders.

"Whoa, he is certainly jealous!" Fishlegs cried out in dismay. "I should take note of this later!"

"Now's really not the time for this, Fishlegs!" Heather managed to avoid Goblin's claws once again. "Goblin, settle down, boy!"

Soon the bathhouse came into view, much to their relief. However, as soon as they flew inside, Goblin stopped in mid-air when he spotted a bathtub filled with water. Heather noticed. "Oh, no, he's catching up!"

Goblin was about to fly away when suddenly he was pushed into the bathhouse by something. "Plan B!" The twins cried out simultaneously as Barf and Belch pushed the Skrill into the bathhouse, and slammed the doors shut. "You're going to get bathskrilled in there!" Ruffnut laughed.

Realizing what was going on, Goblin shrieked and flew around the bathhouse trying to find a way out, but Astrid and Snotlout had already blocked all of the potential escape routes, leaving him no way out of the place, and he let out roars of frustration. Still, he was not foolish enough to use his store lighting in a place filled with water.

"Goblin, knock it off!" Heather got off Meatlug and climbed up some stairs to get to the upper level, and jumped unto Goblin's back, managing to grab some dragon nip and rub it on his head; Goblin struggled to keep moving, but his muscles started to relax and he lost height and strength.

"Now!" Hiccup and the other riders ran towards the Skrill, taking advantage to push him into a bathub with warm, soapy water, but Goblin was using the last of his strength to get out. "Goblin, for the hundredth time, it's just water!"

Realizing it was futile, Goblin seemingly gave up, growling gently in loathing as Heather started to brush his scales gently, feeling the horrible, wet water moistening his scales and preventing him from using his natural defenses. "There, there…" she hushed, and the others stepped back from him warily to see his reaction. Goblin was too relaxed to be mad at the little trap. In fact, he had unwillingly started to purr, showing he was actually enjoying it this time, making the humans relax. As they went to give their own dragons a good bath (though on Snotlout's case, all he got was a good fight on Hookfang's part), Heather continued to brush Goblin's scales, taking advantage that he was relaxed to brush the parts he usually didn't allow to be touched, like his head. However, when Heather was about to brush his head, suddenly he grabbed her sleeve and pulled her into the bathtub with him.

If he was going to 'sink', she was coming down with him.

"Goblin!" Heather cried out, trying to get out of the bathtub, but he continued to pull her back, though he never went as far as to sink her beneath the water. Heather soon was splashing water at him, and he retorted with some splashing with his wings. Soon they were both soaking wet, and Goblin forgot all about how mad he for falling for such a trick.

Though the next day, the one thing both had in common was the cold they got for stepping out into the cold air without drying themselves first afterwards.