Speed Stinger Part 2

Speed Stinger Part 2

“They don't fly but they're fast. Faster than any dragon I've ever seen, and they hide in the shadows. Scavengers, looking for anything they can find. One drop of their venom can paralyze a human or dragon in an instant. They move in a pack following a leader who directs them like a war chief. [src]” The Speed Stinger is a flightless Sharp Class dragon that first appeared in Dragons: Defenders of Berk.

 “The Velociraptors of the dragon world, Speed Stingers are fast, aggressive, and intelligent.

They use coordinated attacks, moving in packs of dozens at a time, all led by the Lead Speed Stinger. Speed Stingers have wings, but they are small and undeveloped, so this species is essentially flightless. Confined to land, they rely on ice bridges and glaciers to move from place to place in search of food, although some species members have evolved with webbed claws. They are the fastest dragon on land. While other dragons such as Nadders and Night Furies, can outfly them, no one can outrun a Speed Stinger. Stingers are nocturnal dragons and typically seek shelter in caves or tunnels to avoid predators while sleeping. The Lead Speed Stinger is identifiable by its red wings and red stripes along his body (in contrast to the uniform aqua color of a regular Speed Stinger). The regular Speed Stinger will follow the Leader anywhere, without hesitation. A Stinger's main weapon is its poisonous barbed tail. Even a single sting can render any human or dragon completely paralyzed for hours or even days.
Although Speed Stingers are incapable of generating flames, they make up for this deficit with several hidden abilities. Being nocturnal, Speed Stingers are blessed with amazing night vision. Additionally, when running at full velocity, a Speed Stingers dexterous feet allow the dragon to tread up walls and even run upside-down on ceilings and cave-tops for limited periods of time. Finally, these dragons have developed incredibly thick hides to protect them from the heat and friction when they race at top speed. This calloused skin renders Speed Stingers impervious to temperature extremes, as well as traditional weapons like arrows and spears. ”
  — Dragonpedia
“Careful Vikings! Though they can't fly, Speed Stingers are the fastest Dragons on land or water! Their poisonous tails can sting just as quickly, leaving their victims temporarily paralyzed. ”
 Dragons: Rise of Berk

Physical Appearance
Egg

The Speed Stinger's Egg in School of Dragons and Rise of Berk appear to have a swirly pattern that radiates from the middle. It is tan in color and has little stripes on each layer of the swirl. Because of the distinct segments on the swirl, it resembles the pattern of some sea shells. Hatchling to Adult
The Speed Stinger is a swift, flightless dragon which resembles a featherless theropod dinosaur (particularly a Velociraptor). Even though it's flightless, with sail-like appendages on its head, back and legs, the Speed Stinger does have wings, though these are very small and vestigial. Its name is derived from the barbed stinger at the tip of its tail (rather like a stingray's). All of them have red stingers and red eyes. Their small pupils resemble those of Terrible Terrors and they have muscular back legs with two claws in the front, one in the back. Some packs of Speed Stingers have webbed talons which allows them to run across water (island hopping). Average Speed Stingers are aqua colored, while the leader has red stripes, highlights, and is slightly bigger than the rest of the pack.

Titan Wing
Titan Speed Stingers develop a second pair of small wings and their tail becomes much thicker. Their skin turns into a deep shade of fuchsia and their fins, a hue of glossy dark blue. Instead of red, their eyes turn yellow.

Abilities
Despite being flightless and lacking firepower, Speed Stingers are among the most dangerous and aggressive dragons and is said to be the fastest and they've developed some level of intelligence.

Intelligence
Speed Stingers have shown to be very intelligent, as they work in packs and can plan attacks. These attacks are usually planned by their Leader.

Keen Vision
Speed Stingers have excellent and powerful night vision where they can see perfectly at night and even through a minor snowstorm.

Paralyzing Sting and Accuracy
Young Stingers and adults are very accurate with their stingers. Their stings cannot, however, penetrate metal or thick wood.

Adult
The sharp stinger on the end of its barbed tail contains a powerful venom that can paralyze a victim entirely in just one sting. The sting eventually wears off, some in hours, others in days, depending on the amount of venom injected.

Adolescent
An adolescent Speed Stinger's venom is not fully developed as it can't paralyze an entire victim on one sting. Instead, the venom only works around the area of the sting, leaving the rest of the body movable and operational.

Endurance and Stamina
Due to the high energy of their running, Speed Stingers have highly calloused skin that can protect them from fire and make them impervious to arrows and spears. Their speed produces plenty of friction, and heat, thus they have thick hides. Speed Stingers have high stamina, as they are able to run very long distances and hunt down their prey without any sign of fatigue.

Speed and Agility
Speed Stingers lack any flame usage. This is because all the internal flame energy goes to its powerful legs, which give it its speed, agility, and the capacity to jump high. With high speed on their side, they are the fastest land runner of all dragons. As they fast enough to be almost invisible traveling at high speed. As one of the agilest dragons, their speed allows them to gain enough velocity to run up walls and even run upside-down on ceilings for a short period of time. They can even keep up with some Strike Class dragons while doing ground battles.

Hunting and Scavenging
As pack hunters, these dragons are great planners, capable of easily communicating and executing attacks. They follow the Lead Stinger hardly without question. If he/she is hurt or missing the pack might become confused and scattered.

Stealth
Speed Stingers are very stealthy as they are able to use their speed to get around Vikings or dragons easily without being noticed until they attack.

Lead Speed Stinger Abilities
The Lead Speed Stinger is the largest Speed Stinger. It has been known to be the most aggressive, agile, strongest, and intelligent, and his dominance over the rest of the pack. A Lead Stinger has been seen to go against a Night Fury, which shows its aggression. It is able to dodge a Night Fury's attacks with its speed and agility. They are also shown to have lots of stamina, able to fall from large heights and still get back up with ease.

Evolution Speed Stingers

Water Running

It is said by Fishlegs in Race to the Edge that the Speed Stingers living on an island near to Dragon's Edge had.

Speed Stinger webbing.

developed webbed feet. This implies that the trait was either undiscovered before now or is only intrinsic to that group of Speed Stingers, as Hiccup later says it's proof of dragon evolution by adapting to their environment being very wetted and surrounded of the ocean, implying that the Speed Stingers in Defenders of Berk did not have this trait. This makes sense, as they only found Berk through use of an ice bridge, while the Speed Stingers in Race to the Edge had managed to track the Riders all the way back to Dragon's Edge. Furthermore, the readiness of the Speed Stingers to cross the ice bridge implies that they knew there would be food upon crossing, meaning they could have known of Berk's existence for quite some time but had no access to it. 

Behavior and Personality

The Speed Stinger is described as the Velociraptor of the Dragon World, being extremely intelligent and cunning. These dragons are ravenous scavengers, that will often steal from other dragons and Vikings but they probably also hunt. They live in packs, led by a Lead Stinger, and have a hive-like mindset. They hide under the shadows of the sun. The Lead Stinger decides everything, and the pack follows wherever he goes; without him or her, the pack becomes useless. When attacking, they leap in the air and use their stinger to paralyze their victims. Any member of a Speed Stinger pack would be very loyal to their pack, and protect them at all costs, even from its own kind, or previous pack.

As nocturnal dragons, these creatures sleep in dark, remote caves through the day, and wake up the moment the sun sets. These pack dragons sleep in large numbers, mainly for defense. Like the Stormcutter and Night Fury, Speed Stingers are able to hang themselves or sleep upside down like a bat. Due to their high metabolism, they sleep throughout the entire day to conserve energy as they expend close to all of it when they hunt.

These dragons are incredibly aggressive, seemingly untrainable. They are resistant to the technique of approaching them slowly and then placing a palm against their snout. These dragons, due to their speedy reflexes and hostile nature, are very unpredictable. It is nearly impossible to tell when they will strike.

However, they do have a softer side. They are incredibly protective of their leader, young and other pack members. Often displayed when the pack goes great lengths to save a downed leader, and the latter likewise. They even go in search of their missing young across several islands. But these dragons have been shown to respect their pack's opinions. If a member chooses to side with an opponent, or leave the pack, the leader and the rest of the pack will come to a unanimous decision to let him be.

Training

Speed Stingers were said to be too aggressive to be trained. However, in School of Dragons, it is revealed they can be trained, though only at a young age.

During an Icestorm Island quest, the Headmaster decides to train a Speed Stinger since they can't fly. He is unable to do so, even though the player does earn the trust of the pack from a previous quest. Another Icestorm Island quest reveals that Speed Stingers will not be aggressive if one earns their trust, such as returning a lost juvenile of their kind. In "The Next Big Sting", Hiccup trained an adolescent Speed Stinger, Speedy for a short while before he returned to his pack.

If trained, Speed Stingers will stay to protect its trainer, even if it means leaving their old pack. Any friend of its trainer would be considered a pack member, and even when a trained Speed Stinger does not like an individual, for example Speedy to Snotlout, the Speed Stinger would remain to protect the individual if he/she is considered as a pack member.

It is also quite possible that, if they are found as an egg, the Speed Stinger can be trained like any other hatchling dragon, as they will believe you are their parent or their alpha.

Appearances

How To Train Your Dragon

The Speed Stinger is found in the Dragon Manual when Hiccup was searching for information on Night Furies.

Dragons: Defenders of Berk

The Speed Stinger made it first physical appearance in "Frozen", when an extreme blizzard that froze the ocean. While Hiccup and Toothless were searching for Trader Johann, they could see a pack of these dragons running beneath them, on the frozen sea. It later turned out the Pack had taken over Berk, and paralyzed most of its citizens, including Stoick, Snotlout, and Meatlug. Ultimately, Toothless and Hiccup managed to lure the Stingers away from Berk, by capturing their leader, the Lead Stinger, luring it back along the path and forcing the other Speed Stingers to follow until Hookfang- ridden by Snotlout with Gustav Larson acting as his arms due to his paralysis- was able to melt the path and leave them trapped.

Dragons: Race to the Edge

Season 1

In "The Next Big Sting", the gang found an injured adolescent Speed Stinger. After much consideration, the gang decided to bring it back to Dragon's Edge. After Fishlegs nursed it back to health and trained it, the Speed Stinger grew close to the gang, except for Snotlout and Ruffnut. The Riders named the Speed Stinger 'Speedy'. Fishlegs then learnt that Speed Stingers evolved webbed feet to travel from island to island. Meanwhile, Speedy's pack hopped from island to island in search of him. Ruffnut and Snotlout, enraged by Speedy's aggressive behavior towards them and stinging their dragons, decide to kidnap and abandon him. Fortunately, the rest of the gang caught up, only to see that Speedy's pack had arrived. After defeating them, Speedy grew closer to the entire gang. He reluctantly left the Riders and joined his pack after some persuasion.

Season 3

In "Stryke Out", a Fighter Speed Stinger was seen captured in a cave, along several other wild dragons. It was later seen been knocked out by a Triple Stryke in the fighting arena.

In "Last Auction Heroes", the Dragon Hunters also captured several Speed Stingers for their Dragon Auction on their Island. All of them were freed when Hiccup and the gang arrived.

In "Defenders of the Wing, Part 1", Mala told Hiccup that she would only trust the dragon's judgement of him. Throk then pushed him into a nest of Speed Stingers. He attempted to train them by reaching his hand out, but the Speed Stingers attempted to strike him and cornered him. However, Toothless swooped in and blasted at the Speed Stingers, sending them scuttling away.

Season 6

In "A Gruff Separation", Ruffnut and Tuffnut take the Thorston Induction Trials that were "administered" by Gruffnut. Their first task is to collect Speed Stinger venom. The Twins successfully find a few lonely Speed Stingers and obtain the venom at the same time.