— Seven Years Later —
The cold night air blew across my face, tickling the hair at the back of my head.
"You ready bud?" I shouted to Toothless as we were flying over the sea. No better place to do it here at least. There was an island not too far away with a dock that I could climb up to if I ended up falling into the ocean. And Toothless could pluck me out of the waters but that was a bit dangerous.
"As ready as I'll ever be to watch you hurl to your death." he grumbles. As NightFuries are notoriously protective, he doesn't want me to do this, but he has no choice.
"Clingy lizard." I mutter as I stand up on the saddle, crouching low as my heart pounds in my chest.
"Make your last words a bit more meaningful, will you?" Toothless teases and I laugh a bit.
"At least if I die, I die in the name of fun?" I offer as an uneasy chuckle ripples through him. And that's all I need.
I jump.
A lot of the time when flying, I'd jump off or perform crazy tricks in the air to be caught by another dragon. It came naturally, and none of my family would ever let me fall, catching me on their back or reaching out a claw to catch me if I fell. And even when I'd come back after a long time of being gone and throw myself into the swirling tornado of dragons, jumping from their wings to their backs and falling again to say hi to someone else, I'd never truly ever fallen.
But now that I was, it was the scariest thing I'd ever done. And boy had I done some crazy things in my time.
Taunting vikings, wrestling with dragons, handling white hot iron daily now, I'd even tamed wild dragons for Oden's sake! Yet those were nothing compared to this.
Compared to the feeling of my stomach hitting the back of my spine and the air refusing to enter my lungs. We were up pretty high, so I let myself fall. My brain was short circuiting but I just remembered to slip the small leather rings over my hands and spread my arms.
The reaction was instant.
I immediately stopped falling, instead I glided forwards through the clouds which were a few hundred feet from where I'd fallen. I was unstable, wobbling a bit in the air, but I was flying. I was flying!
I meant to whoop, or holler or scream in joy, but not to roar.
For a second I looked around, expecting a dragon to appear by my side or Toothless to be right behind me, but no such luck. Then, when I realized what had happened a grin split my face so wide and another roar erupted from my throat.
It wasn't as loud as a dragon's, nor as throaty or gravelly. It was lighter, almost like a mountain lion's but not as deep and resonating.
Basically, it was nothing like anything. Like mom's roar. Like my roar.
Another roar rippled the air around me and I looked up to see Toothless, his gummy smile right beside me as he fell back behind me.
A whistling sound and a blast under me bolted me up as I laughed gleefully, riding the bumps that Toothless created with his blasts.
I roared again, as finally being able to.
And then I heard a scream.
Looking down, I saw that we were flying over an island. The island was vaguely familiar, as Toothless, mom, Cloudjumper and I have been everywhere on our trips, but there was something about it right now specifically. Besides the burning houses, of course.
It was almost as if I could smell older smoke, and see the flames from a different angle instead of soaring above it. And then the true shock hit when I felt a warm breeze over me.
"Move Nightfury!" a voice hissed above us.
"Toothless!" I yelled but he already knew what to do.
He dove so that he was now gliding under me as I snapped my arms to my sides, pulling them out from the rings as I fell, landing on Toothless in a crouch that rattled my knees.
I remembered a couple of dragons that mom and I had met a few years ago who were under control of a Queen. We'd encouraged them to go to the King but they'd refused out of fear and instead came after us. Thankfully Toothless and Cloudjumper had flown us away as neither of us wanted to kill a dragon. Not unless they threatened the nest.
But these dragons were attacking the village. I could make out silhouettes of dragons, roaring and fighting, being slaughtered by vikings who roars rivaled their opponents as smoke spiraled into the sky.
"What's going on down there?" I cried to Toothless as we circled around the village, unseen overhead. Told mom the black would pay off.
"Seems the dragons are raiding them for food. Must be a queen controlling them." he concluded, all playfulness and glee that had once filled him had been drained, along with mine.
"We've got to stop them, that's for sure." I said and Toothless nodded.
"I'll go in. Wait up here for the white flare." I said and he began to protest but knew it was useless.
"Okay, but if I see that you're in any danger at all I'm coming down there and slaughtering everything in sight." he growled as I patted his back.
"If it's the dragons, yes. If it's the vikings, don't. You'll be overpowered. The village is huge, and we know that NightFuries are a prize. Just fly back and go get mom and Cloudjumper." I told him and felt him tense but he nodded his head again.
Expanding his wings, he dove down, a familiar screeching echoing around us. We ended up getting so close to the ground that the fires almost licked his paws.
Villagers screamed and roared when they saw him, some flinging traps towards us but Toothless easily dodged.
Passing over a house that wasn't on fire, I quickly crouched and launched myself, landing on the slanted roof as Toothless continued on, climbing high not the sky until he disappeared. Not that I was watching. No one had noticed the small figure that had jumped off of the NightFury so I quickly slid off of the roof.
It was a long jump, but I braced myself in the air to land on my knees. I'd taken some large dragon scales and use them now as pointed knee and shoulder pads. My feet hit the ground first, but I quickly skid to a stop on my knees, rolling to the side so that I popped up in the chaos.
Vikings were running everywhere, battling everything from dragons to fires as I saw two blond vikings run by, buckets in hand as they argued and bickered back and forth.
My attention instantly flicked over to where a little girl was running from a Terrible Terror that was chasing her. Anger and grief flickered through me like the fires surrounding me but I silently skipped forwards.
I brandished my sword, one that I'd forged myself with swirling designs flicking up it as I clicked a button and it caught fire. I sprinted silently towards the Nightmare in the chaos, stepping in front of the girl and locking sword on horn with the dragon.
It was extremely surprised before it snarled, opening it's jaws and flipping me up. Unknown to it, I was used to this as I flipped around so that I landed on top of it's skull where I then pressed at the base of it's horns, making it -begrudgingly- yelp in pain as I then jumped off of it, staring into it's yellow eye with my own.
After years of living with dragons, fighting and wrestling with them, I'd mastered the gaze that said 'You think you're tough? Give me a shot.' The dragon took off immediately as I moved on to the next beast.
A viking.
She was stocky, a brown fur vest and oily black hair that was messed up under one of the vikings signature -and weird- hats. She yelled, raising her axe to a Gronkle who was retreating but about to be killed.
Whirling around, I blocked the attack as she yelled in surprised but was thrown off and backwards. Pulling the small bead from the pouch at my boot, the bead was thrown and exploded near her head, forcing her to pass out.
Luckily I didn't have to deal with her as an older viking -looking a lot like her- rushed towards her, concern etched on his face.
"Snoutlout!" I vaguely heard him yell but I was already searching for my next target.
I jumped off again, this time defending a viking as a Nadder was just about to kill him. Jumping up I moved towards them at the blind spot in the side of their vision before kicking them upside the jaw, sending him whimpering away.
The man stood there staring at me as I moved on again. Near the end of the raid I couldn't count how many people I'd defended and how many dragons I'd sent whimpering away or how many vikings I'd knocked out but by the end adrenaline was still humming through my veins and I was smiling. I hadn't worked this hard in years.
It was still pitch black, the fires were being put out across the village. I darted towards a Zippleback. Flicking the container out of my sword hilt, I opened the container and watched as the Zipplebacks' own mist gurgled out before I then swung my sword through it, forcing it to explode as I ducked behind one of it's wings and avoiding the brunt of the explosion.
The two headed dragon turned around towards me, eyes wide and shocked as I gazed aggressively at it. It was traditional after you'd beaten your opponent -if it wasn't a death match- to then roar at them so they had to submit. I'd avoided roaring until now, but I would need to get going soon as the fighting was almost done.
So I roared. It echoed more then I thought it would, but the Zippleback whimpered and took off immediately.
I let myself pause for a second, taking a breather as I calmed my breaths which were huffing out of my chest. Snapping my mask shut and pulling the hood of my cloak over, I reached to my pack where I had my flares when I heard a blood curdling scream.
Fighting was still going on and dragons were still roaring as vikings charged so I was pretty sure no one else heard it.
Jumping up, I grabbed onto the ledge of a triangular house, scampering up it as my eyes searched the burning village for the source of the scream.
I immediately found it's source and my brain slapped itself for the boy… Man.
The details of him were hazy, though he was most definitely taller than I was, though he was much leaner and faster than a usual viking. He was backed up against one of the cliffs that then dropped for over two hundred feet before it hit the roaring waves below. And, of course, it was cornered by at least four or five different Nightmares, all aflame and all angry, if the roaring and cussing spewing from them was anything to go for.
My brain took a rain check, my body instantly jumping from roof to roof which was a bit hard as some of them were on fire. Seeing a Nadder flying over the space, I catapulted myself up, grabbing one of her claws.
"What is this?! Human get off of me!" she and tried to shake me off. Too bad for her I was pretty good at holding on. After a second or two she began flapping furiously, gaining altitude as we soared over the burning buildings and into the night.
So, my body made the only logical choice it could think of. I jumped.
Unlike the first time I'd jumped, I let myself catapult down. My adrenaline only increased as I continued to fall, nearing the ground.
And just as I'd decided to jump, my arms hooked around the rings before pulling outwards so that the wings were extended.
The man was losing ground and fast as he dodged the Nightmares and swung at them. He was clutching his side, only using his axe with one arm as he unsuccessfully tried to hack at the dragons.
Tilting down, I slowly forced myself to lose altitude as I neared the point on the cliff. After what seemed like forever, I was only twenty feet from the ground. That's enough.
Pulling in my wings, I plummeted towards the earth. The wind whipped even fiercer and the smell of smoke filled my nose.
If I kept falling I would land right on top of one of the Nightmares, which, thankfully, wasn't on fire. My feet hit the top of it's skull with enough force to throw it's head to the ground, cracking the dry dirt underneath.
I knew it was okay, dragons could take even worse of a beating than that, and quickly jumped off. My sword came up just in time to smack away one of the Nightmare's muzzles which only made it angrier.
"What in Odin's beard!" the viking exclaimed, but was quickly cut short as he took a swipe at one of the Nightmare's which lunged at him.
My body worked of it's own accord, only aware of the beat of my heart, the adrenaline pumping through my body, and the others around me.
A dragon swiped at me, trying to trap me under it's cage like claws. Instead I ducked under it, sliding on the dirt so I was under it's belly, just near the middle of it's ribcage. Jabbing a fist upwards, I hit the weak spot and it yowled, jumping up so I could roll out from under it.
Hearing a screech from above, I tackled the man who was snarling at one of the dragons. He went down with a yell as I pressed him to the ground. I was just in time too as the blue bolt of fire hit one of the Nightmares square in the back as it reared up. It roared even louder.
Man, this kid really pissed them off. I thought before jumping up again, stepping in front of the guy, flaming sword out.
Yet, there were still four Nightmares left. While I was fast, they had strength in numbers and brute force on their side, plus they were willing to spill blood. I was not.
A hand went to my last resort, the small ball placed in a pouch in my belt.
Yanking out the tab, I threw the small container in the center of the crowd. I had ten seconds left.
Turning my head skywards, I saw a flicker of black heading straight towards us. Perfect.
Nine.
I grabbed the man who was struggling to get up. He yelled and tried to yank his hand away but I could smell the metallic scent of blood and the slickness on his hand.
Eight."Toothless!" I roared in urgency, dragging the man to the edge of the cliff.
Seven.
Seeing the flicker of black gaining speed. A dragon lunged towards us and I parried it, batting it on the snout with the hilt of my sword before kicking under it's jaw.
Six. I kicked another dragon's horn, making it's sense of smell go out of whack.
Five. Hearing the screeching sound from Toothless, I backed up a bit, still protecting the man out of instinct.
Four. A flash of white hot blue light hit one of the dragons and I pushed myself over the ledge along with the man.
Three. The dragon's furious roars echoed around but I could still hear my heart pounding in my ears. Toothless dove underneath us, his large green eyes turned back to me as I maneuvered through the air. I landed on him with a thud and scrambled to pull the man onto the saddle with me. Gods he was heavy.
Two. "We need to get going! I threw an Ice Breath." I shouted at Toothless as he caught the wind on his wings, pushing down with a beat that stirred the water that we almost crashed into.
"What? Are you crazy?" he yelled at me.
One. "Uh, maybe?"
Zero.
The sounds of cracking was loud enough that we could hear them, even from at least two hundred yards away.
Turning around in the saddle, I checked out my work. Extremely sharp, blue icicles jutted out from every surface within a fifty foot radius. The dragons themselves were no where to be seen, probably having flown off.
Smirking to myself, I then turned my attention towards the man as Toothless continued to fly higher and higher. He really was very different from most vikings. He had on a red shirt with metal shoulder pads that had two or three spikes jutting outwards. His white fur vest was stained with a dark liquid that was a bit hard to see in the darkness but I already knew what it was. Blood.
"Either you're finally gaining weight or we have a second passenger." Toothless commented with a hint of a question in it.
I didn't respond.
Instead, I unwrapped one of the leather cords from my boots. Unlike most viking's boots, mine weren't lined with furs or anything but instead were sleek, the top being wrapped with several cords.
Taking the string, I carefully leaned him back and wiped the blond hair out of his face which his hairband was neglecting to hold back. He had a strong jaw and his eyes were closed and since he hadn't screamed from being on a dragon yet so I assumed he was passed out. That or he could fall asleep in a near death situation.
Tying the cord around his waist and tethering it to the saddle, I leaned him back onto the bundle of supplies.
"Next island we see, we need to stop." I commented as I turned back around.
"Why did you bring the viking?" Toothless questioned. For a while, I didn't respond. Instead the cold night air whipped around us, cooling me down from the fighting. I was more exhausted than I had been in a long time and it felt really nice. Though my shoulder would hurt from having to drag the man up onto Toothless.
"He was gonna die. I'd rather not have that happen." I say and shrug.
"If he tries to kill us, I'm just gonna sit there and laugh." Toothless comments and I allow myself to chuckle.
"Lizard." I say and bring up a hand as to block Toothless's hit.
We continue to soar for a while, probably an hour or so, and I let a wave of calm descend over me. Flying always does that.
And then I ask myself the more pressing question. What do I do with him? I can't really dump him on an island. One, he's injured. Two, he'd probably die, by starvation or other vikings most likely.
Sighing, I realized I'd just earned myself another companion. Wonderful job I did there.
A small island jutted out from the waves, covered in large pines and trees. Rocks dotted the cliffs which the waves crashed against. "That look good?"
"Yeah." I reply.
Soon, we've landed in a large clearing. Jumping off, I turn around and begin untying the man.
"This one is heavy." I complain as I shoulder him before setting him down in a patch of grass.
"Not my problem." he replies, standing behind me as I straighten out the man before standing up.
"Shall we set up camp?" I tease and begin to untie the pack from Toothless's saddle.
"Yeah, yeah. Come over when you're tired." he says before slumping away. I don't blame him, we'd been on a trip and were supposed to be home in a few days time.
Normally we'd ride through the night but we'd done that for a while now and we were both tired.
Sighing, I looked down at the man again. He actually looked around my age, around twenty, and somehow familiar.
Bending down, I grabbed the bandages and salve, made from an herb that only grew back at the nest and sea water.
The white vest was easy and thankfully wasn't stained with blood as his shirt was. The shoulder pads were made of metal, connecting with a ring in the middle of his chest and were kind of hard to get off, but I managed. His belt was next, a small grey skull residing in the corner and next was his red shirt. When he was finally bare chested an unfamiliar squirming feeling settled in my stomach.
While he was lean, yet obviously strong, muscles lining every inch of him. It kind of made me wonder about myself. I never really took off my gear besides to bathe, and even that was done in my wrappings. And I never really valued appearances anyways. The only thing I cared about was my hair which I kept short enough so that it was just above my brow and usually just at my chin so that it wouldn't snag. But I never looked at my features, much less my body. Though, it was obvious that this boy was attractive.
The skin was split just above his last rib, a large puncture probably from being head butted by one of the dragons. The skin around it was purple and bruised.
After I grabbed a canteen and rinsed the wound before spreading the salve on it. He winced once it touched the skin and I could sympathize. Once I'd gotten several nasty cuts on my side when trying to tame a Black Slinger and I'd been bed bound for a couple of weeks.
After gingerly spreading the salve over it I wrapped it up in the bandages before searching him.
He'd probably dropped his axe when we'd fallen but he still had two knives at his belt and one in his boot. After folding his red shirt and vest, I placed them next to his head before covering him up with one of my blankets.
Finally, I sat down and took my helmet off. My hair was sticky with sweat which the cold night air froze as I ruffled it.
Taking a sip of water I laid back against the grass while munching on some dried fish. The stars were winking above me, sparkling against the night's utter blackness.
Knowing I couldn't fall asleep there I closed the pack and stumbled tiredly over to where Toothless was already snoring a few feet away. After poking him with my toe he sleepily opened his wings were I curled up against him. He was warm and his leathery skin was soft and his heart beat drummed through my ears and quickly lulled me to sleep.
—
Sunlight streamed in and of course it had to hit me exactly in the face. Grumbling, I elbowed Toothless's stomach who then twitched in response before rolling over and letting me clamber out of his embrace while he stood up.
The clearing was even prettier in the daylight, the pines and trees lit by the sunlight as birds chirped in the surrounding trees. The grass was soft and the place was beautiful which was rare as often times the landscape was harsh and unforgiving.
The man was still swaddled under the blanket, his face scrunched in a pained expression.
"Morning." Toothless grinned a gummy smile as I groaned.
"Go get some fish or something." I say and make a shooing motion with my hand as he lifts his wings and flies off.
I plop myself down next to the… prisoner? No, more like captive. Maybe? Names aren't important right now.
I take a quick inventory and am a bit annoyed to find that I'd used a lot of my inventions the night before. Placing all of the things back I took the viking's temperature. He seemed to be at a normal temperature so I stood up and began to gather kindle and small stones to make a fire.
By the time Toothless landed, two fish in his mouth, I'd started a small fire.
"How's the little murderer doing?" he asked and dropped the fish into my hands.
"He's on his way to a full recovery." I said with fake enthusiasm before setting up a stand to place the fish over the fire.
"So basically we're stuck here until he recovers?" Toothless asked to which I nodded. The fish finished cooking and I devoured my own, saving the other one for later.
"I'm gonna go take a bath." I say. "So stay here. And watch him." I flick him as he grumble but agrees.
"If he wakes up just yell and make sure he doesn't kill you!" I yell back as I begin to hunt through the woods.
On the way in I remembered I'd seen a stream somewhere. After a while I heard the gurgling of water and smile. The creek was clear and a couple of feet deep with stinging cold water and pebbled banks.
First off was my set of wings, which was a pack that attached to my ankles and had the wings extend from the sides. Next was my armor, shoes and the brown corset-like-thing that was cut like dragon scales plus black pants. I took those off too and soon I was only in my wrappings.
The water was nice and I was quick, dunking under to wash the sweat out of my hair before scrubbing at my skin to get the stickiness off.
I washed my clothes before setting them out to dry. In the mean time, I cleaned the armor. It was easy work, though it took time and by the time I was done cleaning everything the sun was high in the sky and my clothes were dry.
Quickly dressing, I made my way back to the campsite where Toothless was dozing off.
I approached quietly and low to the ground.
"Rar!" I yelled before grabbing his maw as he jumped up at the sudden sound. He swung his head around, used to me sneaking up on him while he was sleeping. I hung on, smiling as I swung my arms around his neck.
He went still and stood up on two legs and began walking around.
"Am I getting a piggy back from the great and feared NightFury?" I smiled and dropped to the ground as he did the same.
"Maybe." he smiled. No matter how sarcastic NightFuries could get, they were extremely sweet.
"Thanks." I smiled and patted the top of his head before making my way over to the boy.
"Let's see." I tutted and bent down, pulling the blanket back.
He moaned at the cold and his hands searched for a bit to find the blanket before grasping it and pulling it back over him. I could barely contain my laugh.
I tried again and this time he let me yank the blanket away. The bandages were fine and the wound was healing nicely as far as I could tell.
"We should be able to get going in a few days." I tell Toothless as I sit down and lean against his middle in between his paws.
For a while we play a game we'd made up where he blew smoke rings and I tried to throw pebbles through them. Soon night fell and I chanced a glance over at the boy. He was still sleeping, though his face was relaxed and now he really looked my age.
After restarting the fire and finishing the other fish, I curled up against Toothless.
"Think he's gonna wake up tomorrow?" he hummed.
"I hope, I'm getting pretty bored." I barely said before slipping into unconsciousness.
— Two Days Later —
I woke up to a rumbling. Honestly, it's what I usually woke up to as I always slept in Toothless's embrace.
"Someone hungry?" I asked and wiggled out of the embrace and into the sunlight again. I guessed it was around noon as the sun was a bit too high in the sky for my liking. My muscles were a bit sore from everything as they usually were.
"Yes. Can I go fishing?" he asked excitedly and I just smiled and nodded and he was off. The man was still sleeping, his breaths coming out even and peaceful. Sighing, I poked the ashes of the campfire with the tip of my boot so that they stirred and the grey smudged my boot which I wiped off.
Moving over towards the man, I pulled the blanket off of him again, making sure that it was well out of the way so that he couldn't reach out and grab it.
The bandages were a bit dirty from laying in the grass but otherwise fine as I rolled him over -with a grunt of dismay from him- and unwrapped the gauzes around his side. The puncture was still purple and the skin around it tender, but it was healing better than it could be. After lathering another layer of cream on it, I rewrapped the wound and recovered him in the blanket to which he happily snuggled in.
It was funny that a murderer as fierce as him could look so relaxed and comfortable. It almost was against nature.
My helmet was laying on the pack so I slipped it on, buckling the mask over my mouth. It smelled of smoke and herbs, the smells refusing to wash out after so many years of wearing it.
And then someone grunted.
Immediately I crouched low to the ground, slipping back out of instinct into the shadows. The man's brow was furrowed and in a second his eyes fluttered awake. For a second his expression remained calm as he surveyed his surroundings and then he tried to bolt up but yelped when he pulled the skin over his side taut.
"Where in Hel's gates am I?" he muttered to himself. Interesting.
Slowly, I crept out of the shadows. I regarded him as if he were a dragon egg, ready to explode at a moment's notice. A hand groped at his waist for something and he growled and clenched his fist after a while. It didn't sound like any sound I'd ever heard before. It was more human than anything I'd ever made with my own voice and he gritted his teeth before trying to sit up.
When he finally managed to do his stomach growled.
"Oh great." he muttered and I cocked my head. His movements were a bit jerky, as to be expected with his kind of injury, but he was more unbalanced in most of his movements anyways. They weren't smooth like mine or mom's and I could understand why. Didn't grace come easy to most?
Instead of making my way over to him, I crouched down further behind the tree. I'm not sure how long I sat there, watching him try to stand up but when he finally did he stumbled to the ground and fell to his knees. He made the strange growl sound again before trying to push himself back up again.
And then finally when he got standing again, I saw the small black dot in the sky and before I could say anything, Toothless had landed silently at the edge of the camp.
"Now you've done it."
Hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for reading! I just had to update because I was so excited about this but anyways, I'll get back to my schedule after this.
: I don't mean to be rude but if you don't like it, don't read it.
Guest: ... tehehehehehehe :D