Test Flight

I'm back! And the proud owner of Dragon on Blue-ray. Let's get started and I hope to update every two days or so since so many people like this story. Thank you all so much for your patience and support.

Let's begin!

All the months had led up to this. Hiccup sat in her saddle, cheat sheet clipped firmly in front of her. She was finally taking the two of them off of that mountain and out over the ocean. This would either be the first test flight or the last. Hopefully she had worked out all the kinks.

She consulted the sheet as the sun shined down. "Okay, position three… no, four. Position four," she said shakily, clearly nervous about how high they were… and the jagged rocks all around them. Even with all the practice she wanted to make sure everything was perfect. They had to be totally in sync for this thing to work out.

Toothless, however, merely gave a nod of understanding. He seemed to be enjoying himself as he squinted into the sunlight, smiling to himself.

"Okay, it's go time," she muttered, glancing behind her at months of toil and work. She flattened herself against his back as they had practiced so many times. "It's go time."

At first it all seemed to go perfectly. They dived towards the water, getting closer than Hiccup personally would have enjoyed. But even she had to look in awe as they flew through a huge stone arch just like the birds above them. She was flying! This was something no Viking had ever done before!

Then they hit the rocky ridge, which snapped Hiccup back to reality. "Sorry, my fault." She tried to right them, but was so busy consulting her cheat sheet that Toothless again crashed into another arch. "Sorry," she said again, quickly righting them. He swatted her with his ear. And he did have a point. He was the one taking the heat for her mistakes. "Yeah, yeah, I'm on it!"

They resumed their tentative flight, but Toothless decided this should be something for them to remember. He angled his wings so that they were on a steep incline, and Hiccup reluctantly adjusted the tailfin to the same. Up and up they climbed, excitement building with each thrust of the wings.

"Yeah! GO TOOTHLESS!" She couldn't help but enjoy herself as Berk became a mere dot below them. She felt freedom for the first time in her life. They were higher than Hiccup had ever let them go before and she was letting Toothless have his way this time. "This is amazing! The wind in my-"Suddenly, the cheat sheet broke free of its clip and floated above her. "CHEAT SHEET! STOOOOOOP!"

The sudden change in her tone, from pure excitement and joy to panic, snapped Toothless out of his own. He stopped beating his wings, slowing their very high ascent drastically. Oh why had Hiccup let him go so high? They were still working out the bugs. As she still reached for the seat even after Toothless had stopped rising, she realized she had not.

She was off the saddle. And the clip was dangling right next to her, no longer keeping her attached to her dragon. He looked up into her eyes and realized what was happening. Then they both started plummeting on their uncontrolled return to Earth.

Hiccup knew they were at LEAST a thousand feet in the air. There was no way they would make it if they hit the ground. Toothless was panicking, so she had to step up and be the strong one. "Oh Gods! Oh no! Oh no, no, no, this is not good. Ah, Toothless, come here. You've gotta try to angle yourself- gah!" She received a tail to her face that sent her reeling.

Toothless was spinning, crying loudly as she put the sheet in her mouth to free her hands. They had reached the peak of the tallest mountains now, which meant they were quickly running out of time. Eventually, Toothless managed to get himself into a diving position and Hiccup by the God's intervention got a grip on the saddle.

She hurriedly strapped herself in again, trying to keep that from ever happening again. They were just above the tops of the trees as Hiccup pulled back on the pedals and Toothless flung his wings open. They managed to catch enough air to glide over them, slowing their momentum. But they were quickly making a bee-line for a group of large stone pillars.

She looked up and tried to read the sheet again to make this all go back to being just as perfect as it was before. But the sheet was whipping in the wind, making it un-readable. They were running out of time again. She looked at Toothless and suddenly knew what she had to do. And it terrified her worse than the rocks ahead.

Hiccup threw the cheat sheet over her shoulder and brought herself down low. What happened next… there are no words to describe. The dragon felt the rider, and not just in the saddle. It wasn't through words, she was just… there. And the two who had in that moment become one swerved and dodged through the pillars moving flawlessly as Hiccup instinctually worked the pedals. The rider had become part of the dragon… or maybe was it the other way around?

The rocks faded into the background and the two flew into the open air above the water. They had made it perfectly, which would have been no small feat for the Night Fury even before his injury. Hiccup had never been so relieved in her life. Maybe it hadn't been perfect, but that freedom and exhilaration in her chest could never be found anywhere else than where they were now.

"YESSSS!" She threw her hand in the air. And Toothless must have felt the same, letting out a small burst of fire that burst a short ways in front of the duo. "Oh, come on," Hiccup could only reply as they headed into the flames. Toothless had forgotten humans weren't as fireproof as dragons.

Hiccup shot Toothless a look when they had settled a distance away. Part of her hair had been singed. Good luck explaining this one! He had felt bad enough to start a campfire for the two as she leaned against him and roasted a small fish.

He started to hiccup again, spitting out the back and of a fish next to her. "You might as well forget it. I'm still mad at you. You got us into that whole mess back there. Sure, it worked out… but what's going to happen next time we encounter a plummet like that? One of us could lose a limb!" He merely turned back to his pile of fish, swallowing another one whole. "Oh, and how about the fire? How am I going to get this one past Anstred? He's getting really suspicious."

Before she could say anymore, a small flock of Terrible Terrors descended on them. They all went for the fish, two even shooting blasts at one another over them. This merely made Toothless and Hiccup giggle until one took a fish from Toothless. The two started a fierce tug of war that quickly ended with Toothless obviously being the victor, swallowing the fish quickly.

The Terrible Terror didn't take kindly to this, squaring off and opening his mouth to show Toothless who was the tiny boss. Toothless beat him to the punch, blowing the fire into its mouth and causing it to balloon and plop to the ground, disorientated.

Hiccup laughed, but couldn't help but feel bad for the little guy. "Here you go," she said kindly, handing it her small fish. He scooped it up and then snuggled cozily under her arm, quite content as she stroked him.

It was in that moment that the Book flew back into her mind. And then suddenly the realization that she had made these past few months, the entirety of it all hit her like axe to the skull. She looked at the Terror and back at Toothless, who without a doubt had become her best friend and companion. The two of them were more than a team… they had some deep profound bond or connection that she could never put into words if she tried. "Everything we know about you guys… is wrong."