"Hiccup! Hiccup, it's time to come in, dear!" The woman sighed as she looked towards her four winged dragon. "He's hiding out there again. Cloudjumper, you mind?"
Of course not! The dragon cooed before taking off to scour the rocky beach for mischievous boy. Valka could only smile as the Stormcutter landed a quarter mile down the shore. Hiccup burst out of his hiding place and laughed as Cloudjumper pursued him. It was one of Hiccup's favorite games, after all. As the dragon launched himself into the air, the boy safely on his back, Valka could help remember how they arrived at this island those seven years ago.
She remembered the dread, the absolute horror she felt as a dragon broke into her home. How she was almost sick when she found the dragon poised over her only child's crib, yet could not hear the terrified cries she expected. Then a child's giggle released her fears. She lowered her weapon when she realized the dragon meant neither of them harm. Valka always knew that there was more to dragons, but now she could finally see the love and care in the gleam of those intelligent eyes. It was a shame he husband could not see that. He burst into the room, throwing his axe and the dragon moved to defend itself. She made a last second grab for her son as her home went up in flames, only to be grabbed herself by the retreating dragon. The rest was history.
She was broken free of her thoughts of the past as the very same dragon touched down nearby. While Valka could not say she was not afraid when she first encountered the Stormcutter, she now knew the dragon would never harm her of her son.
"Aw, Cloudjumper, you're no fun." Spoke Hiccup, who was trying his best to look upset.
You just need to learn how to listen. Cloudjumper huffed.
"Come on, Hiccup." Valka said to her son as she climbed onto her dragon's back, sitting behind her son. "You see any other dragons out here? They're smart and know to take shelter when a storm comes."
As if to prove her point, a strong gust tore across the beach as the day became noticeable darker. Thunder rumbled in the distance and the first drops of icy rain fell. Hiccup just sighed, knowing the 'I told you so' look he was positive his mother was giving him.
With a beat of his double set of wings, Cloudjumper rose into the sky and darted into the nearest opening of the ice structure that served as the nest for the multitude of dragons who resided on the island. Hiccup, being Hiccup, was off on his next adventure as soon as the Stormcutter landed. Valka could only hope he was not getting himself into too much trouble.
As mother and son returned to the nest, miles away father was far from home. Three ships, each filled with heavily armed Viking warriors had left Berk on yet another nest hunt. A heavy drop of rain landed on the nose of one of the men. He took a second to wipe the offending drop off before turning his attention upwards, to the swirling black clouds above. With the sunlight filtering in from behind, the sky was cast in a sickly green hue.
"Sir," The man addressed the captain of the ship, "this don't look like a normal storm." The captain, too, gazed up to the sky.
"If the chief hasn't given order to turn back yet, he must think we'll be able to ride this out." The conversation ended there. In truth, Stoick was preoccupied with going over the events of previous explorations. He knew his men and their equipment were ready, but something was off. Something that became disastrously apparent five minutes later.
"Bring down the sails!" A soaked Stoick shouted over the howling wind. "Bring the ships together, someone tie the supplies down!" I the middle of his commands, a loud SNAP! made itself heard, even over the storm. The ties securing the sail on Stoick's own ship had chosen that particular moment to fail; without them the wind caught the loose fabric and tore the lone ship away from the rest of the fleet.
"Stoick, what should we do?" Gobber asked to his lifelong friend, trying not to sound as desperate as he felt.
"Cut the sail off, and pray that Thor has mercy on us." Stoick replied grimly.
"Chief!" Came a shout from one of the shrinking ships, dipping into and out of view in the distance. Crew rushed to cut free the sail, but they were already at the mercy of the storm. Where they found themselves after the storm was over was anyone's guess.
Somewhere above the black rainclouds, mournful coo was choked out by the winds. The last light of day was the only way the small black dragon, still a fledgling, could be seen. The storm had caught the inexperienced Nightfury off guard when he strayed from his parents. Now he was far from home, with no idea how he could return.
Mom, dad, help me! He whimpered. But no help came. His wing muscles burned. Just a little longer, he told himself. Mom will appear behind me and everything will be fine. He telling himself that until the very moment his wings gave up on him. He fell, more like a rock than the proud master of the air he had been raised to be. Far below him, an island appeared through the fog and mist of the storm. With one last burst of strength, he spread his wings to slow him just enough that he would survive the impact.
On the ground, he pulled himself close to a large rock in hopes that it would at least provide the smallest amount of shelter. He did not have the energy to do any more, and did not even notice as he slid into a dreamless sleep.