Gravity
The screaming in their ear's did not help things whatsoever, especially with her pulling Hiccup backwards off of the saddle with her. "Astrid, calm down!" he said loudly. He didn't shout, because he wasn't angry or worried; he only wanted to prove to her that he knew what he was doing, and that Toothless was harmless. Even if he wasn't helping their situation currently.
"Toothless, what are you doing?" he said reprimandingly, as if speaking to a child who had stolen the last cookie.
He snorted, flying yet higher into the air. His strong wings pumped the wind, brushing it aside as if it were no more than a mild bother.
"Thanks for nothing, you useless reptile," Hiccup groaned as they spun around yet again midair.
Higher and higher they rose, until Toothless leveled off...momentarily.
"See, there we go. Now Tooth-" The rest of Hiccup's sentence was cut off as the Night Fury stooped into an extremely deep dive, flying faster than they had ever flown before. He angled himself towards the ocean, the waves coming closer and closer until...
Splash! The three of them dropped beneath the frigid waves, but only momentarily. Quickly after Toothless shot up and out, only to dip back in. Once, twice, thrice more he did this, before his ears picked up the stumbling of words.
"Okay, okay! I get it! I won't tell! Just...make it stop!" Astrid gasped out, holding tightly to Hiccup's middle, her eyes clenched shut and her skin a pale shade of green.
Then suddenly it was if all was right with the world...at least, right side up that is. Toothless leveled off at a height several hundred feet above the ocean, the sunset glinting off of his polished ebony scales. He glided in the warm air currents, occasionally beating his wings to keep straight on his course.
Slowly the air returned to Hiccup's lungs as Astrid released him, finally opening her eyes. He heard her take in a small gasp of surprise as she looked around her.
"We're...we're flying?" she whispered hoarsely into his ear, as if speaking any louder would break the spell the silence of the air had woven around them.
Hiccup rolled his eyes. "How do you think we got up here?" he asked back sarcastically.
She hit him gently on the shoulder. "Not funny loser," she said crossly, but for once her voice lacked any of the angry bite it usually had.
As the world they knew fell away into an endless white scape of clouds, the tension that had always been between the two of them - the incessant put-down's, the nasty attitudes, the feelings of worthlessness and self pity - they fell away with the gravity that had always held them down.
Toothless angled himself, drawing alongside a steep mountain of clouds. Astrid, curious, unclenched one of her hands from Hiccup's shirt and reached up to touch what had been previously impossible for any human. It felt cool, but as soon as she touched it the clouds parted - like ripples in the water. Laughing, she brought both arms above her head and wiggled her fingers in the insubstantial substance.
Hiccup smiled, hearing her laugh. The harsh, condescending chortles he had always heard from her didn't compare in the least to the soft ringing of bells he heard now. He liked it; hearing her laugh, that is.
Feeling his face grown hot, he shook his head, and kneed Toothless to go higher.
The Night Fury complied, and the three of them looped high into the sky, through the clouds, and left the last runs of sun behind them. Breaking through the dense fog, they emerged into a bright moonlit and starlit night high above the earth. It was absolutely silent, beyond the soft wind in their ears. There were no other humans, no other dragons, no fighting, no killing. This pure, perfect world had never been touched by the impure.
Sighing softly, Astrid smiled and wrapped her arms around Hiccup, resting her chin on his shoulder armor. Hiccup smiled, casting only his eyes towards her. It was as if there had never been any animosity between them, no rivalry, no anger. Just...them. As they were meant to be.
The clouds parted, and Berk came rushing into view. They flew high over the stone faces, mouths filled with flame, that were a supposed deterrant to raiders and dragons alike. They were also the beacons that the villagers used to find their way back home in the dense Atlantic fog.
"This is amazing..." Astrid breathed out softly, her blonde locks waving in the wind. "He's amazing," she quickly added, patting Toothless on his foreleg.
"But...why?" she asked him suddenly. "Why all this?"
Hiccup was quiet for a moment, pondering her question. "Do you mean -" he was cut off suddenly by the sudden tension in Toothless's body. His ear plates went rigid, listening this way and that, as the sudden sound of shrieking dragons filled the air.
"Oh no..." Dozens, if not hundreds, of dragons soared through the dark sky all around them. Hiccup and Astrid leaned close to Toothless, as if the other dragons would not see them if they did. "Toothless, we have to get out of here," Hiccup hissed in his ear.
Toothless whipped his head back and forth, ignoring Hiccup's plea.
The pull was too strong.
She...she was calling them back.