Hey everyone, here we go: another chapter to add today. I hope you enjoy today's addition!
Chapter 6: Among the Clouds
It is time, this is the moment we had both waited for: the day we put Hiccup's inventions to the test. And by that I mean for the first time since I was shot down, I will be in the clouds again.
I must say, once we left the cove and the forest all together I felt a feeling of relief overtake me. We are now airborne, and for the first time without the aid of that dumb tree stump. It did help me get used to gliding again, especially with this new artificial tail fin, but now came the challenge of actual flight. Hiccup seems confident in his abilities, and as we climb in altitude without plunging to our deaths, I seemed to agree. Much of his technical gibberish just flew over my head honestly, but seems to know what he's doing.
There's nice weather today, plentiful blue skies and sunshine too. There are clouds though, but they're scattered around: we pass through them as we reach our desired altitude.
I have to say: it feels really good to be among the clouds again. Life just seems a heck of a lot easier to deal with and you can forget about the troubles you have back down on the ground. The cool wind blows against my scales and face as I hear Hiccup behind me say, "okay there bud, we're going to take this nice and slow."
He checks the sheet he made for all the fin positions needed for this flight to run smoothly.
"Where we go," he sighs nervously to himself, "position...three...no! Four!" He presses down on the pedal and the fin immediately changes course, allowing me to fly according to the wind and the path we are taking. I look behind me to see it changing and I silently grumble in response, "it looks flimsy, hopefully it holds out while we do this, or this will be a short exercise."
Anyways, I turn sideways, making a 180 degree maneuver. I chuckle to myself before flapping my bat-like wings, oh how I've missed this! The teen on my back nervously looks at the fin, also hoping that it will remain functional for what we are about to do, "alright-it's go time." With the prosthetic set to position four, we make a steady dive until we're just a few inches above the water.
I hear the boy motivate me as I flap my wings to avoid collision, "Come on buddy, come on buddy" Hiccup says encouragingly.
I look up to see two large rock formations several hundred feet tall, roughly the same height as skyscrapers, before we pass through them in the middle. Hiccup is impressed with the sights, and also relieved that everything is working great so far. The is, until he makes a slight miscalculation and because of it sends me into a wall. I grunt in response just as he apologizes for it, but soon after it happens again. I curse in dragon tongue as I hit this one harder than the last. Right after we pull away I hear him: "that's my fault!"
I narrow my eyes to him, using one of my ears to smack him in the face.
"Yea-yea, I'm working on it" he retorts, "position four...ah...three!"
Once he changes it to three he gets me to start climbing much higher in the sky than before: higher than the rocks, higher than the tallest peak. The fifteen-year old gives a yelp of excitement the higher we go and I can't help but follow along with roars. We're both past the layer of clouds when Hiccup shouts, "oh...this is amazing" and I chuckle to myself. I reflect momentarily on my first time doing this as well...the day I was turned into a Night Fury: and the feeling of freedom and exhilaration that you let out that came from it all. It really is something special. This is obviously his first time in the sky...and for somebody living in a time or world where flying machines, let alone simple hot-air balloons, have yet to be invented or thought up of...this must be blowing his mind right now. I can tell Hiccup is going to love flying, definitely will love it as much as I do. This is his calling, as much as it is for me.
I just think: imagine if he lived in my world, I have no doubt he would have been a pilot...hell...maybe we would have known each other. Maybe we were destined to meet no matter what.
Heh...I'm just surprised he hasn't gotten us both killed so far-
"STOP!"
My ears twitch as I hear the teen shout in a deafening tone. I do as he says just as we reach the boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere. I figured we were stopping before we were too high and it makes sense, but it was far from that: because the next thing I see...is Hiccup in front of me.
Wait...what...
OH CRAP!
My eyes widen as I let out a grunt of surprise. We both begin falling from the sky at high speeds. Without Hiccup operating the pedal for my fin, I can't fly and we're basically headed straight for our doom! I yell in panic, "Oh no! We're so dead! Why did I have to jinx us!? Hiccup!"
It isn't long before I'm spinning out of control!
Hiccup tries to grab a hold of me by grabbing one of my wings, but he ends up missing and spinning crazy just like I am, and my panicked screeches only intensify. Unlike me, the Viking recovers quickly and in haste he calls out to me, "you-you gotta angle yourself!"
I try to, but it's too difficult when the wind is pushing my wings in different directions. I unknowingly hit him with my tail as we approach the ground...we only have a few more seconds until we're two deep craters in the ground!
This can't be how it ends…just when things were getting better...but wait...I survived a fall like this before when I first came to this world...Hiccup...he might not be as fortunate as I. Come on kid, you're going to die unless you do something!
My prayers are almost immediately answered: the boy is still conscious and finds another opportunity, which is his last, to grab on to me. Finally, he manages to reach me and I feel him get on the saddle.
Oh thank goodness, I think to myself, come on buddy...I'm counting on you!
Thankfully we are stable once more by the time we approach the ground, and the boy pulls back on the harness: prompting me to open my wings very wide. I yell and curse in dragonese at the same time, widening my green eyes as the world passes by us at break-neck speed. Hiccup pulls out his cheat sheet (which is what he lost and what led to this whole mess in the first place,) but, as we near some narrow rock formations he decides to finally get rid of that silly thing. I look above towards him as my heart races faster than before, "Hiccup!?"
All of a sudden, he moves the pedal and we spring into action. We navigate through the rocks almost effortlessly, Hiccup changes the pedals quickly and correctly now like it's second nature to him.
We're not out of this yet, at least we're not falling anymore, but now we gotta clear these obstacles. My senses allow me to focus on moving through this area without much trouble, but it's also with Hiccup's help that we get through this: we're working in sync with each other after all.
At one point I do a cocky barrel-roll before going through the last of the obstacles. At last, we end up in a clearing at sea, having successfully survived our ordeal, unscathed to say the least, and we're stronger for it. I flap my dragon wings before gliding idly along the wind, and the human behind me yells in delight. I too am overcome with the same emotion. I gotta admit: my heart was racing the entire time...and I thought we were dead for sure, but that was quite exhilarating to say the least.
I guess I went too far but when I roared with excitement, I accidentally released a fire bolt to accompany his cheering and now it became a wall of fire that came right toward us. Hiccup sees it coming and he mutters softly in response, "oh, come on!"
The wall of fire hits us, but because I'm a dragon I'm virtually unaffected, but the human sitting behind me is not as fire-proof. Thankfully, though, he comes out unharmed...well...mostly unharmed. All I could say to him at the time was a low guilty yelp to him.
...
Sunset steadily approaches and we landed near a secluded, and uninhabited, island filled with columns of structures made of basalt that reach various heights all around us. We managed to catch quite a few fish along the way here. Sitting next to me is my rider: Hiccup, (gosh I can't believe I actually said that) who is cooking a piece by the fire I had made for him. I quietly think to myself with a barely noticeable smug look on my face: I regurgitate food that I just ate as an offering to him and I look up to see his reaction.
"Ah...no thanks...I'm good" he tells me, brandishing his food which is on a stick. Oh well, it was worth a try...heh.
Suddenly, my sensitive ears pick up the sound of growls and snarls up in the air. My nose also catches familiar scents that I have not sensed for days now: heading towards us is a couple of small dragons, namely Terrible Terrors. The smell of the fish must have attracted them! There's four of them that land close to us, heading for our food!
Hiccup is quite anxious, knowing just how dangerous, and not to mention mischievous, these little devils can be. Terrors honestly just take without contributing anything...I start growling at all of them, warning them to back off.
"This is ours, we found it first" I snarl at them before holding one fish closer to me. A red terror makes a very bold decision to go for one as I bark at them and they immediately stop. The fish I threw up for the boy is dragged away quickly by another dragon. As they try to eat it, another tries to steal the corpse, but the former unleashes a stream of fire that sends the other running. While I watch the two lizards fight each other, I notice a fish starting to move next to me. I pull back in confusion, but it soon becomes clear to me what is happening. I lunge at the food at lightning-speed, grabbing hold of one end with my jaws while the smaller creature tries to hold on the other end. It becomes a brief tug of war until I, who's obviously bigger and stronger, win back my meal. I devour the fish before laughing at the terror, "that's what you get for stealing!"
The other reptile, in foolish retaliation, challenges me: narrowing its eyes in anger, "you'll regret that" it says while growling. I am surprised to see such a small creature try to go face to face against me: supposedly one of the most lethal dragons out there, that's me by the way.
That's when I remember though that these small reptilian monsters can be quite dangerous themselves despite their outside demeanor...as the saying goes: don't judge a book by its cover. Despite this, I am confident in my abilities despite only being a dragon for a year now. I make a cocky grin while Hiccup nervously backs away a bit, "you're really going to try and do this, tiny" I tease confidently.
They respond in a high-pitch roar, "you're going to be so sorry!"
He breathes in while standing up, gathering the necessary amount of gas to ignite his attack. As the dragon inhales, I find his opened mouth to be a good target, figuring I would stop him before he even manages to release the blast. And so, barely moving an inch: I spit out a small quantity of plasma into the other beast's mouth, which causes it to collapse on the ground in defeat. I smile triumphantly as the terror crawls away, dazed from my attack.
Yea...being a Night Fury DOES have its perks...just imagine if one of them existed in my world...oh man...it would be insane!
"Not so fire proof on the inside are you" I hear Hiccup murmur before he offers a small piece to the lizard, "here ya go."
I shake my head, Hiccup! I just did all that, so they would buzz off!
I decide to let it go, however...focusing instead on my dinner and making sure nothing more is taken. Then, the terror makes its way to the human beside me, having earned enough trust to lie next to him. The Viking thinks to himself as he pets the purring reptile as if it were a dog. Hiccup suddenly realizes the truth about everything (something I wouldn't consider until later.)
"Everything we know about you guys...is wrong..."
...
Later that night, we head back to the cove: the boy muttered something earlier about returning to the forge and finish updating the designs for my tail fin. He only told me that it will be red in color and it has a symbol on it, so I'm kind of interested in how it will turn out.
Anyways, as we're flying I hear the teen pat me on the back, "what a day that was, right buddy?"
I look towards him with a wide looking grin along with a nod of agreement to the Viking in response.
You bet-
Suddenly, I seem to hear a voice ringing in my ears: this voice...it sounds an awful lot like...Friea? I turn my body towards the direction of the sound, and once the clouds below clear away momentarily I spot something quite odd in sight. From what I can tell it's a wooden dreadnought…and it looks so...familiar…
"Hiccup, look-" I bark, turning back to alert my rider, but my eyes quickly widen as soon as I find that he's gone!?
"Hiccup!?" I look around frantically for the boy but it seems as though any trace that he was around are gone.
Then, I hear the same voice calling out to me: it's Friea again...but this time she sounds like she's in pain!? Is she in trouble again?
"Hold on Friea" I exclaim worryingly, momentarily forgetting about my human friend. I'll find you buddy, just hold on, Friea is in trouble!
I fly closer to the abandoned ship where I hastily land on. My wings still spread out I look around frantically and aggressively for any sign for the RazorWhip. The landscape is foggy and eerie...quiet...so quiet that the only thing I can hear around me are my heavy footsteps.
Why is this...so familiar to me?
"Toothless!"
I make a sharp turn and find a shocking scene in front of me. I give a confused and unsettling expression.
It's Hiccup and he's trapped: restrained by thick rope it seems…and it suddenly dawns upon me what's happening here: it's the same rope Friea was in the day she…
I waste no more time, I rush for the boy as I give a troubled grunt, "I'm coming!" Once I get to him I try to break the restraints holding him.
No...this can't happen again, I won't let this happen to him too!
I unsheathe a black claw to try and free the Viking and it seems like it's not working for whatever reason! Come on, come on!
Then, with no warning, I begin to fall even though I was on solid ground just now. Out of nowhere, Hiccup, who is no longer ensnared by the rope, and I are now falling from the sky where it is suddenly daytime again. Though everything is moving fast, I realize that we're both in the same spot we were just a few hours ago! This is the place where we did our test flight and now we're re-living the same events again!
I start yelling again, my panic soaring to dangerous levels as Hiccup tries to get to me like he did before.
"You got to angle yourself-"
It only gets worse after he says that, for I start to see him falling faster than I am. I reach out a paw towards him in desperation, but it's too late, "Hiccup! No!"
Before he touches the ground beneath him, a bright flash of light blinds and stuns me…
I now find myself inside of a...plane...and it looks like it's falling out of the sky at high speeds too! It's stormy outside with snow covering all sides
My eyes widen once I see who's on board: inside I see Sam...piloting while my parents are in a state of panic. I try reaching out to them...but I can't...I can't save them...just like I couldn't save Friea…
The ground approaches as mom and dad embrace one last time and I give a sharp cry of pain for them. Once we hit the ground I shield my eyes, and I feel darkness overcome me...I'm alone...I'm alone again…
I wake up with a jolt as tears run down my black scales. I look around, panting heavily. It was a dream...no a nightmare…
I'm back at the cove and it's still nighttime. I remember that Hiccup left just after sunset to return to the forge to work on the tail fin (just as he told me in the dream.)
That all felt too real...but it was real...most of it was...that was really how Sam and my parents died...how Friea died...and just how close Hiccup and I were to certain death…
I wipe the tears off my eyes with one of my paws. No more crying, I need to make an oath, here and now...this is it.
Hiccup...I won't let anyone hurt you...I promise you...I'll stay by your side...no matter what, because you're more than just a friend to me now: you're family...and I can't afford to lose you like everyone else…
...
Alright, that sums up this recent chapter! I hope you all enjoyed reading, more to come later! Have a great rest of your day!