Day 1
Trapped!
I'm stuck, and no matter how hard I try, I can't get out.
Something is wrong with me. I think it's my tail, because it aches horribly and part of it has gone missing. I'm certain I needed it, too. I feel wobbly and unbalanced. Worst of all, I know that the rudder that used to be there will never grow back! I've seen dragons lose limbs before! And they die! But I refuse. I must try to get back, especially when the Great Mother has helped me so much!
The sun has just risen not too long ago, but I am wide awake. I have been since that featherless bird, that Stonespark, that agony-inducing creature that stands on two legs and carries claws outside of its body, cut me up and let me go. He either had terrible aim with his gigantic claw, or he was letting me go, most likely to reproduce as I allow the deer to thrive on occasion.
I shake with anger at the thought of the claw-bearer, the one with pine-green eyes and soft, weak voice, high-pitched like the wind bursting through a cave. That unnatural thing, his species always imitating a dragon's fire with their paws, had put me here on purpose. Was he jealous of my superior abilities? I see those creatures attach horns and hides of dead dragons to their pelts, as if they hope they could turn into one if they tried hard enough. Perhaps he wanted to come back later to finish me off when I was weaker. I've seen my elders do that to enemy nests.
Correction: saw, since I can't get out of here!
I scream in frustration at another failed attempt to fly away. I keep tipping over midair, as if something is coming from below and throwing wind at me. It's awful. I want out, and it's right there, just out of my reach. I switch to climbing. Maybe I could dig my claws into the tree roots and creeping vines that adorn the sides of my prison. Hopefully that works.
I jump up onto a rock and onto the vines. My claws snatch onto them! I yip in satisfaction, but then they peel away! Turning midair, I spring my wings open and go into a short, unstable glide to avoid yet another painful collision with the earth. My legs shake with exertion and I gasp for air, but all I can do is stand still. The flame inside my chest goes thump-thump-thump like it always does when I'm tired or scared. That must mean that I should rest, I figure.
Snorting in agitation, I trot on over to the lake in the middle of this giant hole to take a drink. The waterfall that pours into it is magnificent, but I'm a bit confused by it. Why doesn't the hole fill up? Where does all that water come from? I lay down to think hard about this, folding my wings and paws neatly, as my mother and father do why they address our Great Mother.
Suddenly I feel a great longing for them. Do they know where I am? Mother and father have been injured numerous times, mostly by flying claws, spines, and even tree branches that come from the gaping darkness itself. They believe the two-legged animals fling them at them, but I know Stonesparks can't throw that high with only their paws. But then again, they may be right, I think as I stare at my tail and wonder how the brown, dead snake-object had wrapped itself around me so high in the air. I think hard but I can't come up with anything.
Mother and father would know what to do. They say they always get away, even when they are fallen. The Great Mother praises them for this, since most fallen dragons die at the hands of the Stonesparks. I long for this praise, since I survived, too! But unlike my parents, I got stuck here. Hopefully they will smell me and rescue me.
A chilly wind rises off of the lake and blows through me. Shivering, I rest my head on my paws and whimper. I want to go home. It's warm in our nest since our Great Mother keeps the lava inside it flowing. We are especially gracious for her when the oceans turn to stone-hard ice and there is little food or warmth to go around. Luckily the Stonesparks hold their food for much longer, which makes it easy pickings.
My eyelids feel heavy. The thump-thump-thump has subsided and I can no longer feel it. Where did it go, I wonder? Father would know for sure. I miss him terribly.
I yawn, and wonder offhandedly, does the little Stonespark have a father like mine? Maybe not, if he had gone all the way out into the forest to find me. When he had yelped and murmured at me, he had seemed desperate. What did he want so bad? And if he had needed to kill me for it, why hadn't he? Any other animal of his species would have done it without hesitation.
I fall to sleep thinking of the strange Stonespark. I dream of what he could have done and wake up screaming.
The sun is at its highest point in the sky when I begin to explore my prison for a way out.
I trot along the one of the edges, staring up at the gigantic cliff in awe. The sheer bigness of it, the endless way it rises, how the edge looks so impossibly far away makes me duck my head, shocked. I usually do not see things from this perspective, from below, and now I know that I hate it. Normally, I watch from above, which I completely prefer. Now I realize the density of the land that used to rise below me. I never knew it could get so deep!
I notice a crevice low in rocks and jump for it. There! It leads all the way out! I roar in ecstasy and scramble towards it. All I have to do is squeeze my way through—
Squeeze my way—
Arrrgh! I yell when I can't fit through the hole and the stones under it collapse! That's not fair! It was just small enough for me to not fit through! I shoot a fireball at the opening in frustration, which makes boulders fall and fill in the gap. Tail and head high, I walk away with dignity; I didn't need that hole, anyways.
A small part of me feels frightened at just blowing away a possible escape, though. I push it aside, but as I continue my search for more crevices like the one before, my flame begins to dim. I go around one more time. And then another. And then another. On the last round I begin to panic. Out of all the cracks in the cliffs, I can only see two: one at the very bottom that even a full-grown Stonespark can't possibly fit through, and the one that I just blew away! Eyes wide, I sit down to absorb this.
Scary thoughts fill my head, that I'll die down here alone and lost, that no dragon will ever know what happened to me, that a Stonespark will come down and finish me off. Snarling, I crouch down and narrow my eyes, tail whipping back and forth. No! I say, I am not going to die! Screeching, I rip into the air, flapping my wings harder than I ever had in my entire life!
My flight lasted far shorter than I thought it would. Hardly a few seconds passed before I suddenly felt unbalanced and began to plummet! Thinking fast, I widen my wings and tail rudder to their full extent and swoop up! My body holds still for just a second in the air and I see the sky partially closed off by the trees. Before I know it I'm on the ground again, still unable to fly.
Hunching over, I breathe heavily and try to get my bearings straight. My flame is nearly bursting out of my chest.
Maybe I should rest for a little while.
I still can't get out.
The sun is setting and I still haven't escaped yet. Soon the predatory animals will come out and the prey will disappear into the forest. But I'll still be here. I miss my mother and father.
Will the Stonespark come back, too? If he does, I'll kill him! It's his fault that I'm stuck down here! I glare at the top of one of the gut-droppingly huge cliffs. My anger wavers when I remember that it wasn't the cliff that did any harm to me and that the Stonespark wasn't even around here—I'd hear him if he was.
The hole in the ground is completely dark now; the sun sets fast when you live on land, apparently. Maybe, if I fall asleep tonight instead of staying up, I'll be able to get out of the hole tomorrow. It would clear my head, wouldn't it? I haven't slept since before we began to hunt the Stonesparks last night.
Sniffing the earth, I circle and breathe fire onto the grass to make an outer fire. Laying down on them feels good. It makes my gut and legs warm. I close my eyes, and for just one moment, I feel like I'm home again. This lulls me to sleep in no time at all.
Pain.
I yelp as a sharp stinging in my foreleg jolts me awake. Upon opening my eyes I immediately see the fires in the sky and the moon, smell the crisp air of the night, and hear the buzzing of lunar insects and the soft pulse of the ocean. Although pretty, I don't want to pay attention to that. My attention automatically goes down to my leg to observe it and see why it was hurting.
I nearly jump out of my scales, I leap up so fast!
I let loose a howl. SNAKE! The vermin had snuck up on me in my sleep! It stares coldly at me, its tiny tongue flicking in and out. Before it can strike me again I shoot a blast of fire at it. When the smoke clears there is nothing left but a scorch mark. Suitable end for such a terrible animal.
Whimpering, I sit down and lick at the two tiny holes it left behind. Was it a deadly snake? If it was, will I die now? I'd seen smaller dragons be killed by those awful creatures, nearly as awful as those Stonesparks, but would I be too? I didn't want to die!
If there was one snake, I realize, then there must be more!
The thought makes me bolt to the nearest tree I see and scramble up it! Snakes can't climb trees (they don't have legs), so I should be safe. The branches feel gross and crunchy under my paws, though, so I decide to mimic the big red dragons and hang from the branch by my tail. Everything goes topsy-turvy and I nearly fall to the ground in fright! My body merely sways and I regain my composure.
My foreleg still stings. I moan and lick it again. I'm scared.
I just want to go home to my mother and father. I hope they find me soon.
Alright, just to make things clear, this isn't a retelling of the movie. Sorry for the confusion!
Toothless' parts are in present-tense because the stream-of-consciousness style they're in are going to be very important later on. It's really hard to write in this style and make him sound only a little intelligent, haha. I still need to get the hang of it for sure.
Not much else to say except that DANG this is a much shorter chapter than I'm used to.
Hope you all liked it, and stay tuned! Check in on the tumblr every now and then if you'd like to see pictures/leave a question.
Have a great day!
~ Rift-Raft