Chapter 8: Flight
Part 2: Downstroke

Hiccup awoke with a start. After several failed attempts to get off the ground, he'd forced himself into his hiding space beneath the tree, and had managed to sleep fitfully. Every time he drifted off, his wings would twitch and he'd jerk awake, filled with an aching need to fly.

His hackles rose, and a subconscious growl rumbled in his throat as some primitive instinct buried in the back of his mind told him he wasn't alone. Biting down on his growl he crawled out into the cove and glanced around with a mounting sense of trepidation.

Moments later, his head-frills twitched as an all-too-familiar chattering reached his ears. His gaze was drawn upwards to see a multitude of draconic shadows flitting across the star-studded sky.

Another raid? he thought disbelievingly; this would be the third attack in the space of a week.

Hiccup was rooted to the spot, and could only look on in stunned silence as a shadow detached itself from the flock and descended towards him, resolving into the formidable outline of a blood-red Nightmare before it touched down less than a body-length away.

"We meet again, Night Fury."

His frills twitched again, and with a chill he recognised the otherworldly edge of the Queen's voice. He shrunk backwards, unconsciously baring his teeth. "W-what do you want?" he hissed.

"I wish to apologize," shebegan. "I should not have treated you like an unruly member of the flock in our last meeting; we are, after all, equals."

"Equals?" Hiccup queried before he could stop himself.

The Nightmare sat back on it's haunches and peered down its long snout at him. Hiccup was suddenly reminded that Night Furies were not a particularly large species of dragon.

"Of course," The Queen replied. "We are both Alphas."

"I'm nothing like you!" Hiccup hissed back.

"Oh?"The Queen asked calmly. "And what do you actually know of me?"

"I know that the flock you claim to protect are actually your slaves!"

"Is that so?" The Queen questioned. "Are your former people not known across the world for raiding other tribes and taking whatever - or whomever - they want?"

"I..." Hiccup spluttered.

"The similarities between us as individuals are irrelevant," The Queen replied. "The truth is in your blood, child of Yilbegän; you are an Alpha."

Hiccup cringed instinctively at her growled emphasis, but he forced himself to hold his ground, telling himself that he wasn't defenceless anymore; he had his fire. "What do you want from me?"

"We are in a situation where we can mutually benefit each other," The Queen purred. "You are trapped in this cove, flightless and alone, surrounded by the sworn enemies of our kind, and my flock could benefit greatly from your skills."

"Why bother asking," He snarled, "when you're just going to enslave me however I answer?"

"I realise you have no reason to trust me," She crooned in a gentle tone, "But I give you my word as an Alpha that using my power on you would not be in my best interest. You are much more valuable to me as a willing, independant agent."

A series of memories swam through Hiccup's mind: every time one of his inventions had failed and his peers had sneered at him, calling him "useless"; every time his father had looked at him with a sense of crushing disappointment. Here was someone - a leader, no less - that valued him for who he was.

Hiccup blinked, and found himself staring into the Nightmare's flame-yellow eyes. With a start, he realised the Queen was waiting for him to respond. "No," he growled. "I won't help you destroy my village."

Even if they never appreciated me, he added silently.

"Of course," The Queen replied smoothly - as if she'd expected his reply. "I am willing to spare this settlement from our hunting parties for however long it takes you to adapt to your new life."

Hiccup opened his jaws to refuse her again, but no words came out.

He could buy Berk a reprieve from the raids.

He'd seen Stoick late at night, when no one else was around, and knew how dire the village's situation really was; surely the mere chance that the Queen's offer was sincere - even if it was only temporary - was worth his life?

For once in your life Hiccup, think of yourself, his thoughts whispered.

The long nights of the last week, confined in the cove with only the company of his hunger and loneliness weighed heavily on his mind; it was a miracle he'd survived this long by himself. If he accepted, he'd finally be able to escape this pit, and take his rightful place alongside a people and a leader who respected him.

You know it's what you want.

Unbidden, an image flared before his mental eye: himself and Astrid in the cove two days ago, sharing the experiences of their childhoods for the first time.

He hadn't been alone.

A moment too late, Hiccup realised the voice whispering in his thoughts hadn't been his own; it had been the Queen's.

You are mine now, Hiccup.

No! He tried to open his jaws and use his fire, but his body wouldn't move.

Somehow, he knew that the Nightmare had ignited itself, but all he could see was the glowing yellow eyes of the Nightmare, and through them, the interior of a mountain, lit by a lake of glowing lava - his nest.

He remembered there being pain last time; he thought that he could almost feel it, but it was distant. Anyway, why was he straining to feel pain? It was so much easier to drift away...

Stormfly beat her wings desperately, the tops of the trees speeding past mere inches beneath her claws. She could feel the human female's forlegs clenched tightly around her neck, and just make out her small whimpers of fear over the rushing of the wind in her ears.

She felt a pang of sorrow, but she didn't slow her wings, instead she willed them to beat even faster. She prayed that the human would understand that she was too important to be risked fighting the Queen's flock.

Another formation of dragons flew out of the darkness and she stilled her wings - dropping even closer to the trees - as they passed overhead.

Stormfly knew that she was risking everything on this headlong flight. If she was spotted she'd be under the Queen's control again before she could react; she was counting on the darkness and the sheer numbers of the flock to keep her from the Queen's notice.

Regardless, if what she'd understood of the human's words was true - that the last Night Fury had created another of her kind - then it was worth any cost; even her life and that of the first human in generations to sympathise with her kind.

A bright orange light suddenly flared in the forest below her. Fear lanced through Stormfly's chest and she willed her burning muscles to carrier towards it even faster.

What if i'm too late? She knew the light was mere wing-beats away, but it never seemed to get any closer. If only she hadn't been caught, and her flight muscles were in proper condition...

An eternity passed in the space of a single heartbeat before she got her first glimpse of the cove. Sinister shadows flickered on the walls, thrown by the skin of a burning Nightmare. Cowering before the blazing dragon was an ancient, unmistakeable silhouette.

Even over the rapidly-decreasing distance, she could see that the Night Fury was trembling; his head-frills jerking back and forth as he fought the Queen's will.

Hold on, Stormfly thought, Just a moment more...

Stormfly cracked open her jaws, drawing in a lungfull of the rushing air, then let it out in a furious screech.

Her roar had no words. It was a cry of defiance and righteous anger; a promise to all those who had died to keep the old ways alight, that their sacrifice would not be in vain.

With a grunt of effort, Stormfly turned her nose to the sky. As her wings stalled, she whipped her tail downwards, releasing a deadly flurry of spines.

As the Nightmare roared in agony Stormfly folded her wings, and dropped to the ground in front of the Night Fury.

"Pathetic gnat!" The Queen hissed. "Do you think this changes anything? I am an Alpha! I-" The Nightmare faltered, it's flames flickering as the venom carried by her spines began to work.

"Alpha?" Stormfly spat. "You are a tyrant, nothing more." She raised her head defiantly. "Yilbegän's judgement is coming for you, spawn of Koyash. An Alpha protects them all."

The Queen drew herself up to respond, but at that moment her body gave out, and the Nightmare crashed to the ground, his flames extinguished.

Stormfly stood there for a moment, panting in shock and exertion. She could hardly believe she'd just stood up to the Queen; her dam had taught her that keeping the knowledge of the old ways alive was more important than any act of rebellion. Although all those stories had done nothing when the Queen had forced them away from their hunting grounds, and her dam had starved to death.

Stormfly tossed her head lightly, as if she could simply shake away the old memories. She felt the human female slide off her back and rush towards the Night Fury. However, at that moment the Nightmare's eyes widened and his sides heaved as he took his first - and last - gasp of free air.

Stormfly stepped forwards and bowed her head, touching her nose to his muzzle. "Fly swiftly brother," she whispered. "And may Yilbegän's path stand open for you."

The Nightmare's eyes blearily focused on her, before his eyelids began to droop and he drifted off into his final sleep.

Stormfly sighed softly - she hoped that her words had brought the dragon some small measure of comfort in his final moments.

At the sound of a groan from behind her, Stormfly turned around. The Night Fury was lying sprawled on his side; the human female knelt beside his head, a gentle paw resting on the crown of his skull.

The Night Fury's eyes flickered open briefly and another wordless sound escaped his jaws.

"Hiccup!" the female gasped. Stormfly did a double-take; she'd forgotten that was the name the human had given for the Night Fury. "He's going to be okay, isn't he?" the female asked, looking up at her.

Stormfly dropped her head to be level with the human's. "He'll be fine," she crooned reassuringly; she knew the human couldn't understand her words, but hoped her tone would convey the message.

She winced inwardly; when she'd been knocked free of the Queen's influence it had taken her a whole day before she could think coherently again. I hope it doesn't take him that long, she thought with a nervous glance at the sky.

A few minutes later Hiccup's eyes blinked open again, and his groan resolved into words. "Astrid...?" he slurred, "W-what happened?"

Astrid? Was that the human's name? She'd heard it being shouted when the humans fought outside her prison, but hadn't realised the significance.

"I don't know, Hiccup," Astrid told him, "Stormfly..." she trailed off.

"I-" the Nadder began, but before she could get more than a single word out, Hiccup cried out in fear and tried to scramble backwards. However, in his disoriented state, he tripped over himself and sprawled on his stomach.

"Hiccup, it's okay!" Astrid cried, "She's a friend! Hiccup, this is Stormfly - The Nadder from the ring." She gestured between the two dragons, "Stormfly, Hiccup."

Hiccup, shakily clambered to his feet and inclined his head towards her. "Thank you. You saved my life... I think. It's all kind of fuzzy..."

Stormfly opened her maw to respond then closed it again, remembering a lesson her dam had taught her. Taking a deep breath, she bowed her head and mantled her wings in an ancient draconic gesture of submission and respect. "You are welcome, my Alpha," She purred, holding the pose for a moment. "The disorientation should pass in a few minutes."

"Why did you do that?"

Stormfly blinked. "What?"

"You bowed to me and called me 'Alpha'" he explained. "The Queen called me an Alpha as well."

"It is what you are," she replied simply. With an apprehensive upwards glance she added "I'll explain later. Right now, you should get back in the air; you're vulnerable as long as you're on the ground."

"Don't I know it," he muttered to himself. Speaking up, he addressed her; "I can't. Fly ,I mean, I... I used to-"

"You used to be human, I know." she finished for him. "But you're a dragon now; so fly."

"Believe me, I've tried," he shot back morosely. "I assure you: I fly about as well as a rock."

Stormfly didn't respond immediately, instead she paced slowly around him, examining him from every angle. From her dam she knew more about Yilbegän's children and their powers than any other dragon alive - save for the Night Fury herself. Still, this was so far beyond what she knew to be possible, she felt like a hatchling faced with an elder's riddle.

Eventually, she finished circling and stood before him again. As far as she could tell, he was a full-blooded Night Fury - Of course, she thought, he probably knows what that looks like better than I; after all, he's had first-hand experience.

"The Night Furies were the fastest and most agile fliers of all dragonkind," she told him, repeating one of her Dam's oldest lectures. "As soon as they could stand, a Night Fury hatchling could take to the air, and by the time they reached adulthood, no dragon could hope to match them; not even the wandering Timberjacks who lived and died on the wing." She met his gaze. "Your body was made to fly, Hiccup."

Hiccup looked away. "Telling me what I should be capable of doesn't change what I am," he murmured.

An idea suddenly struck Stormfly. "What you are isn't the problem..." she breathed. "Go run over to those cliffs and back," she told him, tossing her head in the direction of the cove wall.

He blinked at her. "What?"

"I think I know how to you into the air," she told him. "Just do it."

Hiccup hesitated for a moment, then span and bounded towards the cliffs. His gait was almost flawless; if she didn't know better she would have sworn he'd been born a dragon. A small boulder blocked his path as he began to turn, and without breaking stride he lept over it and galloped back towards her, his muscles rippling in sinuous, powerful waves.

"Do Humans often run around on four legs?" she asked him as he skidded to a stop before her.

"What?" he replied. "Of course not!"

"Then explain to me why you just ran like you'd been a dragon all your life," she put to him.

"I- I don't know," he stammered, "It just felt right..."

"You didn't have to think about it," she explained, "because your legs know to run. Just like your wings; they already know how to fly, you just have to let them."

"How do I do that?" he queried.

Stormfly cast her gaze around the cove, it landed on a large boulder beside a narrow crack in the cliffs. She gestured towards the stone with her muzzle. "Go climb up there and face me," she instructed.

Hiccup sighed dejectedly, his head-frills drooping. "I already tried that," he murmured, "It won't work."

Stormfly opened her mouth to respond, but before she could utter a sound, a rising whistle of death cut through the night.

Hiccup's heart stuttered in his chest and his gaze shot skywards, expecting to see the black silhouette that haunted his dreams diving towards them.

Instead he saw nothing.

A moment later, a flash of blue from the direction of Berk lit up the clouds, and a sound like the rumble of thunder reached them.

"Night Fury..." Astrid whispered, then swore viciously. Hiccup would have been surprised, had he not known she grew up around sailors.

Stormfly fixed him with a piercing golden stare. "We don't have time for this," she growled. "I think I can unlock your flying instincts, Hiccup, but I need you trust me."

"What's going on, Hiccup?" Astrid asked urgently. "What's she saying?"

Hiccup turned to face her and quickly scribbled in the dirt.

'SHE THINKS SHE CAN TEACH ME TO FLY'

"What, now?" Her gaze darted between him and the Nadder, then to the orange glow in the sky. "You're not safe here anymore. If she really can get you out of here, you need to listen to her."

"Okay, I'll trust you," he told Stormfly. "What do I need to do?"

"You've already experimented with flight," she began, "So I want you to start just by jumping off that rock and trying to fly."

Hiccup nodded and span away in the direction of his boulder. Despite the circumstances, he felt a tingle of nervous excitement at the prospect of finally getting into the air. Taking a deep breath, he crouched atop the boulder, spread his wings, and leapt. As before, he drove his wings downwards at the apex of his jump, and he jerked upwards. However his course was erratic, and as he raised his wings for a second stroke, he span out of control and crashed into the ground before he could recover.

"See?" Hiccup said, shaking off the clods of mud that clung to his scales. "I told you I can't fly."

"Obviously," Stormfly replied. "However, I also saw that you're not using your tailfins."

My what...? Hiccup swung his tail into view. A mirrored pair of black fins unfurled from the tip. He'd almost forgotten they were there; since his first day as a dragon, he hadn't given much thought to the details of his new form.

"The tailfins are a Night Fury's most important flight surfaces," Stormfly explained, standing beside him. "While the wings provide lift, the tailfins give the Fury control. If one is lost or damaged... well, you just demonstrated what happens if you try to fly without two working tailfins. Guard your tailfins with your life; without them you can't fly. and if you can't fly you're as good as dead." She gently nosed the fins at the base of his tail. "Finally, there are your secondary tailfins, or sub-wings; they provide fine control and stabilise your flight when flapping."

Hiccup blinked, trying to remember everything she'd said. Before he could open his mouth to ask how she knew all that, she stepped away and gestured towards the boulder again. "Climb up there again and face me, but don't jump off until I tell you to."

Hiccup shrugged his wings and scrambled back onto his rock.

"Okay," Stormfly instructed. "Now, I want you to hold your wings out flat, and open your fins as far as you can."

He spread his wings, then closed his eyes and focused on moving his fins, after a few moments he was able to do as she said.

"Good, now angle your tailfins upwards slightly and pick a point directly in front of you. Focus on that point, and jump - don't flap, just glide and concentrate on keeping your fins level."

Hiccup took a slow breath in, and held it, tensing his body. He opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on a tiny crack in the cliff wall oppose him. Almost in slow-motion he launched himself forwards.

He tucked his legs tightly against his body as he left the rock behind, his wing membranes tingling as the air flowed over them. A gust of wind rustled through the forest, causing him to wobble. Without even thinking about it, his tail twitched, correcting his course. A fierce surge of joy flared in his chest; yes he was only gliding, but he was doing it - he was flying!

Then the ground came up to meet him, and he forgot everything Stormfly had said. In a panic, he threw out his legs to break his fall and at the same time, tried to flare his wings to slow his descent. Which resulted in him flipping out of control and landing in an ungainly tangle of limbs.

Still, he didn't care - he'd flown!

He flipped back onto his paws with an exultant whoop. "Did you see that!?" He called to Astrid and Stormfly "I- I did it!"

"Yes, you managed to glide a few body-lengths and then crash-land, truly an achievement worthy of being immortalised in song." The Nadder's tone was dry, but he could see the happiness shining in her eyes. "When you've recovered," she continued, "Come back over here and we'll try flapping."

Hiccup took a few moments to revel in his success, then crossed the cove and climbed back up to his starting point.

"Aside from the landing, I didn't see anything wrong with your gliding, so just do what you did before, but this time flap your wings - don't worry about power; focus on keeping your flaps even."

Hiccup shuffled his paws impatiently as she spoke - he was done waiting, he wanted to fly!

As soon as she finished he crouched and spread his wings in one motion, then launched himself skywards.

His first flap was uneven, and he wobbled in the air. However, he kept his fins level and he recovered. His second was better. On his third flap, everything clicked - his wings, his tail, the very shape of his body, it all suddenly made sense!

He increased the tempo of his wingbeats, gaining speed. As the cliff wall loomed before him he twisted his tail and banked his wings, turning to follow the edge of the cove.

"Yes Hiccup!" Astrid shouted from below. "That's it!"

He let out a triumphant bugle as he passed over her head. Oh, this was so much better than his dream. The sense of speed and power was already intoxicating, and he could feel the strength in his wing muscles; he knew he was capable of so much more.

"Shut up and get down here before you draw her attention!"

Oh, right. Chargrined, Hiccup increased the angle of his turn and swooped down towards Astrid and Stormfly.

"Don't come in too steep!" The Nadder advised him. "And land on your hind legs first!"

He snorted. Of course he was going to land on his hind legs first; it all made sense now. At the last moment of his approach, he backwinged and pulled up sharply, stretching out his legs. However, he misjudged his velocity and his back paws hit the ground harder than he'd expected, causing him to stagger as he dropped heavily onto his front legs.

"So?" Stormfly asked as he folded his wings. "Still convinced you can't fly?"

"I..." Words failed him for a moment. "That was... indescribable. My wings... the air, I understand now!" He bowed his head to the Nadder. "Thank you again."

"Don't thank me yet," she replied, "Wait until your wings save your life." She craned her neck back to gaze at the sky. "Fly as high as you can and glide whenever possible, that should keep you safe from any dragon beside Yilbegän's daughter."

It took Hiccup a moment to remember the Queen had called him 'Yilbegän's child,' he wondered who - or what - the name referred to, but now wasn't the time to ask. "Aren't you coming with me?" he queried instead.

"You're safer without me," she replied. "I would only slow you down in the air, and if the Queen noticed me... I wouldn't be able to resist her. I will try to conceal myself among the trees instead." She took a step backwards. "Go now, Hiccup."

Hiccup nodded to her and spread his wings. He hesitated - he felt like he should say something in parting. "Good luck," he wished her after a moment's thought.

Stormfly acknowledged his words with a bob of her head. "Fly safe, my Alpha, and may Ülgen's light guide you."

With that, Hiccup took a deep breath, turned his gaze to the stars, and leapt towards them.

Author's Notes:

Friendly greetings!

At long, long last our draconic protagonist has finally gotten into the air. If you, dear reader, think it's been a long time coming, I assure you, I've been waiting to write this scene even longer! If any of you noticed, yes, I borrowed the basic structure of the 'learning to fly' sequence from Cke1st's various transformation stories, albeit sped up considerably due to Hiccup's latent draconic instincts.

Some of you have been speculating in the reviews as to the meaning behind Hiccup's "dreams" and to where I'm going with this tale in the future. Obviously, i'm not going to give anything away, but a few have been pretty close, and others completely off the ball, but either way, I love reading your theories!

Just to add fuel to the fire, you may have noticed I haven't explained who or what Yilbegän, Koyash, and Ülgen are. Well, their names are borrowed from Turkish and Siberian mythology, but you'll have to wait a chapter or two before you find out who they are in the context of this story. Remember way back in the prologue when I alluded to 'Toothless'' and the Night Fury's history? Well there's more where that came from; at time of writing I have about 4 pages of lore and background info for this story written up.

My fanfic recommendation for you this time is Special Gifts by Tibki. The elevator-pitch for this one is: 'HTTYD, but Hiccup is a demigod and has super-speed'. While that sounds pretty crazy, what you get is a very well-done tale of Hiccup and Toothless befriending each-other over their shared mythological heritage ('Offspring of Lightning and Death itself' is interpreted somewhat literally), with a unique take on the idea of a 'bond' between Hiccup and Toothless, and a somewhat dark turn at the end.

As always, thank you for reading, and please leave your thoughts on the chapter in a review!

~Superbun

Next time: Those of you who kept asking when 'Toothless' is going to show up again should be careful what you wish for. :P

Review responses:

Noctus Fury - You're correct; my statement of Surtr as the Norse god of fire was an oversimplification born of my limited knowledge of Norse myth. According to Wikipedia, "Logi is a fire giant, god and personification of fire", while Surtr is a fire giant who wields a flaming sword and either rules or guards the frontier to Muspelheim, depending on the source. Based on the few articles I could find, Surtr is also associated with Viking beliefs about volcanoes, hence why I used him when describing the nest.