So, if you can't tell, this chapter took quite a while to write, and that was because of a plague of writer's block. It came eventually though, hopefully it's readable.

Hingejaw laughed, "This is fun."

Stormfly growled down at him, his jaw around her ankle as she beat her wings furiously, aiming herself at a hole in the canopy of pine bushels. Then he gave a snarl and yanked her to the ground, sending her tumbling into a grove of wildflowers that grew through the snow.

She scrambled to her feet, watching the larger Nadder warily. He puffed out a cloud of smoke that made the snow above melt into little droplets that cling onto the pine needles. He was stronger than her, faster than her. She should've known from the start, this wasn't her versus him. This was him playing with his food.

She snarled, "I'll rip your throat out if you-"

He gave a growl and gave a lunge, making her jump back and colliding with the wall of trees. Hingejaw smiled at her fear, "Come on, I love a struggle."

I can't win, Stormfly thought to herself with a sinking feeling in her chest. Though she hated the thought, she knew that at this point it was her only chance. I need to run.

Even still there was another voice in her that snarled and snapped. She was a predator, she was a hunter. And if he thought that she would roll over and show her belly, he was greatly mistaken.

The entrance to the Glade was behind Hingejaw, and he kept it that way. The hole in the canopy would be easy to claw through if she had a few seconds to spare. But time wasn't a luxury he allowed her.

Let's have another go at this.

Toothless yelped as his sail clinked shut, sending him into a spiralling free fall downwards as he flapped his wings frantically. Branches and snowy bushels slammed into him as he fell, before he face planted in a pile of snow.

He scrambled away, spitting out a mouthful of snow and dead leaves in disgust. He looked up at the hole he'd torn in the rooftop of laced branches, he'd left about five of those holes in the forest roof on his way here. It had been nearly half an hour since he'd left the rest without telling them a thing in his haste.

Stupid, stupid.

He was useless, he couldn't fly, he couldn't find her. What use was a Dragon if he couldn't fly?

Should I go back for Hiccup? Without him I can't-

Too late. He knew that if he went back he might be too late.

Hookfang had not said where Hingejaw would take Stormfly to in the Forest, just that he would for his 'surprise'. He didn't know where to start and at his pace he might take hour, but if he could fly it would take him mere minutes to cover the entire island.

Toothless looked back at his tail sail, freely bouncing open and shut. The red sail seemed to taunt him as it smiled a crimson grin at him, the metal hinge gleaming in the Winter Sun. What use is a Dragon who can't fly?

He looked back up at the gap in the canopy, snow was lightly drifting down through the gap now and he could see the sky framed by branches. Up there, in the Sun's brilliant light, that was where he belonged, that was where he needed to be right now.

The Nightfury glanced down at the sail attached to his tail, the rope that connected it to the mechanism that Hiccup used to operate it. As he did, he felt a pang in his chest at the idea he held. This was a part of him. This was his tie to Hiccup, it might as well have been a tether between two souls rather than two creatures missing a foot and a sail.

But he looked up to the sky. His sail was a part of him, but so was she.

With a snarl he twisted his jaws down and around to the side of his saddle where Hiccup would put his metal foot to control his metal sail, biting down lightly and pulling the sail taut, before crunching the metal between his teeth so it was bent shut and jammed together, forcing the sail to remain open.

Toothless shook his tail a few times, the sail barely jiggled. It was stuck in this one position and he wouldn't be able to do any crazy stunts, but he could fly.

The Nightfury's gaze floated up to the canopy, he leaned back on his hind legs and spread his wings. With a single pump he threw up a great cloud of snow and leaves that floated around and clung to him as he tucked his wings in and shot through the hole he'd already tunnelled through once into the air, spreading his wings again as he flew. He was unstable and uncertain at first, but soon all the familiar movements came back to him. This was in his blood, in his muscles, in his skin and in his bones. This, shooting through the air, heart racing and eyes stinging from the wind. This was him.

His eyes scanned the endless Forest of the island and he opened his mouth, roaring, "Stormfly!"

She heard it, a faint, far away and whinny cry that barely registered.

Stormfly looked up quizzically at the thinning in the canopy, almost in amazement. Another voice, especially a familiar one, wasn't something she expected to hear this far out. "How did he-"

Hingejaw growled aloud, snarling, "That snitching little lizard. Your friends are loyal, I'll give you that."

For all his grumbling, she was hardly listening, instead she opened her mouth to roar. "Too-"

In an instant, Hingejaw had lunged across the gap between them and slammed into her, pinning her neck down with one hind leg, forcing her into the snow and making her gasp for air. "You really want to do that?"

He twisted his foot and forced her to look up at him, his shadow enveloping her and his eyes, fiery and golden like burning bronze, the only stars of light she saw. He growled, "Go on then, call him. I'll kill him, and then we're back to square one."

She sneered at him, trying to force out another snarling retort but the pressure on her throat increased a bit. Hingejaw bared his teeth, leaning in and quietly, mockingly whispering, "What's the matter? Go on then, roar, cry, scream for help. Struggle."

His breath, hot and bated against the scales of her neck.

"I love it when they struggle."

Stormfly's eyes narrowed. She growled, slowly and with much difficulty, her eyes locked onto his. "Burn."

She puffed up her chest and her smoke began to smoulder from the edges of her jaws. Her legs kicked up and left deep scars on Hingejaw's belly as her claws slammed into his belly and her jaws opened and let loose a bolt of fire, hot, condensed flames of blinding white. It clipped the edge of his crown, blackening a few of his spikes and scorching a patch of scales.

Hingejaw slammed down his weight upon her, painfully, trapping her completely under him as he snarled, "You know, you're a very cute lass, but not a good shot."

Her eyes glanced past his head, at the hole in the canopy her fire had torn, the branches and needles still burning and the snow melting and dripping down like rain. The bolt was high above now, a brilliant bolt of radiance against the blue sky with a tail of crimson flames, impossible to miss. Wasn't aiming for you, asshole.

Well then, that's chapter ten, dieci, dixième, zehn, leave a review on what you thought and have a very beautiful day.