OK PEOPLE THIS IS CHAPTER THREE. I KNOW ITS SHORT, BUT HONESTLY IT'S JUST ABOUT HIS FLIGHT. YOU STILL HAV TO READ IT THOUGHT BECAUSE I KNOW YOU DON'T SKIP HAPTERS IN STORY BOOKS ;D….-.- YOU BETTER NOT KIP THIS CHAPTER.
PLEASE REVIEW, AND FOR THOUSE OF YOU WHO READ MY HPOV STORY, NO WORRIES. MORE CHAPTERS ON THE WAY SOON. X-X NO TIME FOR FILM ANILIZATION IN THE LAST LIKE…TWO DAYS AND I GREW TIRED OF WATCHING FRAME BY FRAME ON MY LAPTOP. SO STICK WITH ME I'LL WRITE MORE.
The ocean stretched out for miles in all directions, as the island of Berk faded from view. It was just before sunrise, and both Toothless and Hiccup were headed to the distant island of Uzuri. The object of their search: Madam Kroll.
Getting to the island was a journey that would take little over a day to complete, and trailing behind them, attached to a rope, was a wooden dingy. This was the only way a dragon, such as Toothless, could fly for an entire day without landing in the water. It was a place for both rest and sleep, as long as the two of them were at sea.
"You ok down there bud?" With a groggy look in his eyes, Hiccup gave his companion a few light pats on the neck before yawning. He wasn't surprised to hear a few unhappy roars echo from below his place on the saddle. "Yes, I understand it's early for you." There came a few more roars, followed by a muffled inner bellow. At this, Hiccup merely rolled his eyes before checking the map and compass he had fastened in a newer, sturdier clip.
Getting up and leaving for such a long trip so early in the morning, peeved Toothless to no end. After all, he was a dragon, and preferred to sleep through most of the morning hours. It also didn't help that the entire trip there and back, would take place over the open ocean. If it was one thing he hated nearly just as much as an early morning, it was the open ocean. What bothered him wasn't so much the water, but the things that lived in it. Many of a dragons natural enemies dwelled in the water. Among the most deadly were the dreaded eels and the monstrous sea serpent. Both of these creatures were as dragons were, but with no wings or legs, and this is what supposedly made them so undesirable.
"Ok bud, just hang in there for a little while." The cool breeze that now carried them long, also helped to further awaken Hiccup's senses. Once awake, he began to sing an old Viking traveling song in an attempt at Humor. To a degree it worked, but after nearly three hours he noticed Toothless beginning to strain.
"Bud, if you need to land then land." Seeing that he too needed a break from his own chanting, Hiccup decided to stop wasting his energy on a song, and start putting it to more practical use.
Finding that a chance to rest was an appealing offer, Toothless dropped the dinghy's rope down into the water, before lightly descending on the small boat. After making sure that Hiccup was safely sitting on the bench at the end of the boat, he spread his wings one last time before entering into a deep sleep.
"That's it bud, you just rest up." Bending down, Hiccup searched a small bin under the bench where he now sat. Seeming to have finally found what he needed, he pulled out two small oars. This is where his energy would now be concentrated. What little distance he could manage to get them while Toothless slept, would make all the difference to his winged companion in the long run. "And One and two, and three and four…" Getting the oars in the water, Hiccup slowly but surely made progress.
~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~
Soon three more hours had crept by, and at this point there was no sign of life for miles. Still he continued to row. "Toothless~ Wake up~" In response to Hiccup's request, there came a few muffled croons. "I said wake up." Still more croons came forth as if to tease him. "Hey~" A wild grin crossed Hiccup's face as he stood up. "I know you're awake!" Oar in hand, he quickly began to splash Toothless with the cold sea water.
Still refusing to open his eyes, Toothless grinned with what sounded to be a low chuckle. The cool water against his sun baked skin felt quite a bit nicer than Hiccup had probably intended, which only added to his lazy nature.
"C'mon bud, we have to get flying again. I've gotten us at least fifteen more miles further along." The number sounded small as Hiccup thought about it, but taking into account the amount of weight on the boat, and that fact that he was…well…Hiccup, he came to the conclusion that it was an acceptable distance. "C'mon." Stepping forward, he extended a hand to nudge the lump of a Night Fury in front of him, but stopped short when Toothless opened his eyes showing narrow cat like slits. Seeing this normally meant that there was some kind of threat lingering about. The only problem was...what was it?
"Toothless, Bud, what's wro-" At that moment, something struck the boat from below, sending Hiccup falling face first into the water. As he entered, something immediately caught his attention. It was black as pitch, and almost appeared to be a long valley extending along the ocean floor. However, there was no sand, no dirt…nothing to claim as the sea floor. Only a vast valley of darkness amid the blue watery depths of the ocean beneath him. ("What in Oden's name…is that…?")
There was a sudden upward jerk, and he was pulled out of the water. Having only been under for a mere moment, there was no clear sigh of what it was he had just seen. The only thing he knew is that Toothless was now going absolutely stir crazy, causing the boat to thrash and tip in the water. "T-Toothless! Calm down bud, what is it?"
It was around the boat somewhere, and with that knowledge, Toothless snarled a raspy angered snarl. It was as if he had bitten into a basket of eel. Feeling a need to protect his rider, Toothless quickly hunkered down to allow for Hiccup to climb on. There wasn't a moment to loose, as he felt the danger growing closer.
Seeing the urgency in his manor, Hiccup quickly and willfully took his place back on the saddle. He hadn't had the rings clipped for more than a second before the two of them were shooting into the air at top speed. Due to the sudden rush of wind filling his ears, he didn't hear what followed the leap from the boat. The cracking and splintering of wood, the splash of something large leaving the water…and the ear splitting screech that leapt from the throat of the beast behind them.
Upon reaching a safe distance from the water, Hiccup turned for a glimpse back at the boat as Toothless flew on. It was gone, and the only thing that remained were a few pieces among the waters choppy surface, whatever had helped it meet its end…was gone. "Good job Toothless, I owe you big."
From then on there would be no stopping until they had reached their destination. It wasn't going to be an easy task for Toothless to merely fly over the open ocean for hours on end without a break. However, the only alternative would be to land in the water from time to time to "rest", which in any case could leave them susceptible to being attacked or downed. As far as either of them were concerned, it was better to be tired and strained than eaten or drowned.
~~~O~~~O~~~O~~~O~~~O~~~O~~~
It was now approaching midnight, and with the island in sight both Hiccup and Toothless rejoiced. It had been twelve hours since either of them had gotten to rest, and to make matters worse, Toothless was near stalling out.
"Bud, we're almost there." Trying to keep the exhaustion at bay, Hiccup tensed up all over. Compared to Toothless, he knew he had it easy. Flying so far with no rest was most likely as close to torture as it could get for a dragon, which pulled at Hiccups guilty conscience. He was beginning to see how truly fatigued his friend had become, as every fluid bet of the once strong wings beneath him began to become uneven. ("I'm sorry we were so unprepared for this…")
He could sense that something was off, but knew he had to keep going. If his wings stopped moving for even a second, there would be no re-starting them. Every muscle from the tip of his snout, to the end of his tail ached for rest. The island was close now, he could nearly smell the aroma of wild flowers drifting through the air. It was an amazing comfort to feel the end of their journey become so close…perhaps he was a bit too comfortable.
"Toothless! Don't stop!" Seeing Toothless become distracted, Hiccup watched as the wings that had begun to beat unevenly around him moments before, halted completely. "Toothless!"
They were going down, with the island only a few hundred feet from where they would hit. Toothless, being in the condition that he was in, couldn't pull up. His wings rejected the attempts he made to open them, and the water approached quickly.
A moment…that's all it took. A split second to hit the water, another to enter into its freezing darkness, and another to slip away from the only thing keeping him alive. The leather straps? Broken of course. That was usually how it went with such hard impacts. He was in the water, with no sign of his companion in sight. Hiccup knew he was done. Facts were facts, with one heavy prosthetic metal leg and only a bit of energy left at his disposal, there would be no swimming to the surface. Cold water squeezed the air from his lungs as he began to sink further into the darkness. His only thoughts were of Toothless. Where had he gone? Darkness had finally consumed him.
~~O~~O~~O~~
On shore, a vary disoriented Night Fury opened his eye ever so slightly. Nothing quite made sense to him at the moment. The aching was gone, and he was warm. Not only that, but the sun appeared to be out. In fact it was, and to his surprise it appeared to be mid-day. Had he truly be asleep hat long?
Standing to stretch, he extended his wings as far as they would go. It felt good being able to operate his wings on his own again. Looking around he found that he had been resting in the sand a few feet from the water's edge. An odd place to take up camp in his opinion. In that thought the memories of the night prior returned to him.
Where was Hiccup? It was frightening to think that he had washed ashore without his rider…his closest friend. A loud shriek echoed down the beach and through the trees, as he looked around in frantic dismay for his companion. It was true, he couldn't see Hiccup either way down the beach. For a moment his heart sank and his entire world seemed to crumble. That is until a few indentations in the sand caught his attention.
Something had been dragged through the sand nearly forty feet from where Toothless stood. It didn't appear to be too heavy, and whatever it was had dropped something. In the sand lay a ring of metal attached to half a strap of leather. It was his.
Seeing the small ring lifted his spirits. At least for a little while he could breath. Taking the strap of leather carefully in his mouth, Toothless ran off in the direction that whatever it was…hopefully Hiccup, had been dragged.