I'M ALIIIIIIIVE! It's been a stupid long time, I know, but there's been a guest at my house for the past few weeks and I haven't had time to post anything... I'm still writing (and writing A LOT) so I hope to speed up the last twentyish chapters of this story and then start posting everything I've been writing simultaneously. We've got some more dragons, some Zelda, and maybe even my first dabble into anime coming after I finish this one :D (now let's just hope going back to school soon isn't going to ruin that haha).

Anyway, this entry serves as an origin for Hiccup and Toothless' daredevil adrenaline junkie flights :)

Entry 106

I've learned something new about myself… and I'm not so sure that's a good thing. Let me rephrase that. I'm totally fine with it; I just don't know what my dad would think.

I swear, it started as an accident.

Toothless and I were flying by the sea stacks outside Berk, when a rogue Gronckle came out of nowhere and slammed into us. I was dumb and hadn't hooked our tether, and before I knew it, I was falling, and so was Toothless.

Just like that first successful flight we took with his tailfin, I was scared. I yelled for him while he sounded his own shrieks, and after a terrifying freefall, I found his saddle and reset his tail. But then, once it was all over and we were flying safely again… I realized something. While I was definitely terrified during that fall, now that it was over, I also kind of… liked it. It made me wonder: if a fall happened on purpose, would it lose the fear factor, and just become… fun?

I brought this up to Toothless when we set down for a water break on a sea stack. And his response was to look at me like I'd grown a second head.

"It would be safe, Toothless! Without the panic, we could get back into position no problem."

Toothless narrowed his eyes, skeptical.

"Come on, you know you'll love it."

His eyes didn't move.

"How do you know if we don't try?"

Toothless huffed out his nose, lowering himself to let me on the saddle, but never letting up his glare. Sometimes, I question how I get him to agree to these things, especially when his displeasure is that clear. Yet, once we were flying steadily, he didn't make any more objection to my idea.

"Okay, I think if we nose dive, that'll be the easiest way to stay under control. Then you won't be thrown into a spin and we can get back into position whenever." Toothless snorted in acknowledgement. Taking that as his signal, I switched his tail to diving, and as soon as we reached a near vertical position, I let myself slip off the saddle.

Just as I'd hoped, facing downward kept Toothless from being thrown off balance, and his fall kept perfect pace with mine. And also just as I'd hoped (or maybe feared), I felt no panic in this instance. Just the wind in my hair, the light feeling in my gut, and the roar of air in my ears. I grinned at Toothless, who, after rolling his eyes, let his mouth split into a gummy smile.

"Woo hoo hoo!" I glanced back toward the approaching ocean, deciding that now was a good time to get back on Toothless. And, with surprisingly little difficulty, we got back together. Toothless leveled out, just skimming the surface of the waves, before looking back at me.

"Admit it," I teased him, "you liked that." He grumbled mockingly in response, whacking my face with his ear. Yet when I asked if he wanted to try again, he immediately began climbing into the sky, before I could even react.

I think we just might have become daredevils. And am I mad about it? Not really.

Until next time…

-H