Chapter 15:
2 days after Arkyn's first solo flight, he found himself being woken up yet again early in the morning by a knock at the door. He had moved Stinger to the small grassy patch behind his house the previous evening, and the large dragon squawked at the noise, startling the Viking inside. "Coming!" He yelled, impatiently, catching his tone at the last second for fear it was the Chief again. He didn't bother fixing his hair just yet and opened the door to indeed find a Haddock on his front step, but this time it was Hiccup. A very energetic Night Fury rolled around in the street behind him, oblivious to the conversation.
"Hey Arkyn." The auburn haired boy started. "Sorry to wake you so early in the morning, but the rest of us are going to fly out to some sea stacks and mess around if you want to join us. Transportation shouldn't be an issue for you anymore." He laughed.
Arkyn smiled and considered for a moment before answering. "Yeah sure, sounds fun. I'll come along."
"Great! Meet us at the arena in 10 and we'll all go out together." Hiccup told him. The two boys shook hands and Toothless and his rider departed for the arena themselves.
Arkyn watched him go for a bit before shutting the door and turning back inside, quickly getting himself ready and gathering some supplies he might need on his day trip. He filled a flask with water, packed some food for lunch, and even put some fish in a small pouch for his dragon, all of which were secured to the saddle before departure.
"Ready for some action, Stinger?" Arkyn called as he mounted, and after a short warble in response, the two took off in the direction of the arena to meet up with the others. Although secretly worried his skills wouldn't be up to par, Arkyn was prepared to test himself in the name of improvement. Who knows? Anything could happen.
—
"The sea stacks are just up ahead!" Hiccup turned to Arkyn and his Triplestryke and pointed to a group of rocky spires near the horizon. The riders had flown due north about 20 minutes and were now approaching a gaggle of formations of all shapes and sizes, the largest of which was at the center. Arkyn had been briefed before leaving that this would be the initial landing site.
The teens descended on the large rock and dismounted, loosely gathering to one side of the structure. Arkyn leaned in and whispered to Hiccup. "So uh, what usually happens now?"
"Everyone takes turns doing a circuit around the stacks, doing whatever moves they want, and then the next person goes. It's…not a competition, but almost everyone else thinks it is. Just watch and go last, you'll be fine." Hiccup replied.
"So who wants to go first today?" Hiccup now addressed the group.
"I do!" A very determined Snotlout stepped forward before making his way towards Hookfang. "There will be no objections, either."
He took off, and it could be easily observed that his Monstrous Nightmare had his own plans. Snotlout struggled to control his large dragon as he made his way in and out of the various sea stacks surrounding the central platform, bumping into a few of them and undergoing some rapid changes in altitude.
The pair finally stumbled back up to the landing sight and the large Viking nearly fell off his companion, rattled from the experience. The group tried not to laugh as he joined them once more but Astrid couldn't help herself from giggling just a little bit.
"Shut up, Astrid." Snotlout shot in a defeated tone, crossing his arms and looking down at his feet. That had not at all gone the way he planned. "If it's so easy, then why don't you go?" He challenged.
"Maybe I will." She stated in a sarcastic tone, mounting Stormfly for her own flight. It was not difficult for the girl to show Snotlout up, and she and her Nadder effortlessly sailed through the course, weaving in and out of every stack and even flying under one that was in the shape of an arch before returning to the landing site without any contact being made. This only served to put the Jörgensen in an even saltier mood, much to her delight.
The rest of the teens offered their compliments before the twins took their turn, followed by Fishlegs. After they were settled again, everyone stood back as Hiccup took his position upon Toothless' saddle. Arkyn smiled. There was just something so fulfilling about being able to watch the first dragon rider demonstrate his skill. The skill Hiccup now had the job of imparting on the rest of the group. It made Arkyn feel special…like part of a lucky few.
With an indescribable swiftness, the auburn haired Viking locked his prosthetic leg into its stirrup and left the platform, sweeping in and out of the sea stacks along the course. On top of the regular movements required to navigate the path, Hiccup displayed why he was the best dragon rider by throwing in several extra loops and corkscrews, showing off the companionship he shared with Toothless as the two executed them in perfect harmony. It was truly a sight to behold.
"Good gods…" Arkyn whispered to himself as the Berkian came to rest once more atop the central sea stack. He'd never before seen the full extent of what was possible when flying with dragons, but now his eyes were open.
Most of the other teens applauded the small boy as he stepped down from his dragon, but Snotlout continued to fuss. "Aw, come on!" He exclaimed loudly. "Hiccup's always the best. This is getting really boring."
"Oh just give it a rest, Snotlout." Fishlegs spat. "If you wanted it to be less boring, you could have practiced some more. Just saying."
This frustrated Snotlout. "Yeah whatever Fishface. It's not like you made it any less boring, either."
"Would you two knock it off?" Hiccup interjected, sounding exasperated. "Arkyn still has to take his first turn."
This snapped the boy out of his thoughts, and he quickly smiled before approaching Stinger and hoisting himself into the saddle for his first run through the course. Everyone was watching him intently, and it made Arkyn nervous. Taking a deep breath, he gingerly coaxed his dragon into the air, and off they went.
Arkyn successfully navigated himself around the first few sea stacks, but as he progressed their spacing tightened, forcing tighter turns and a quicker reaction time he was not prepared for. Try as he might to steer Stinger through the difficult geography, Arkyn just couldn't manage, and the two ended up bumping into several rocky formations. Arkyn silently thanked Thor for his dragon's armor plating while he verbally apologized to the Triplestryke himself as they went on.
The pair rounded one final blind corner only to be surprised by the final obstacle dead ahead in their path: the arch. They were on a trajectory to fly straight into the top of it. "Stinger?! Down! Down!" Arkyn desperately shouted while leaning hard on the reins, and his dragon immediately dove for the sea, ducking under the small bridge and narrowly avoiding a nasty accident. The boy took a moment to catch his breath and return his heart rate to a normal speed before pitching for the landing sight, winded from his experience. Setting himself down, Arkyn climbed off of Stinger and faced the group, dreading what they might say after the lackluster performance.
Tuff was the first to speak up. "Well all things considered, he was no worse than Snotface." The large Viking grumbled at the jab, but said nothing because he knew it was true. "Agreed, brother." Ruffnut chimed in. "Fishlegs didn't even make it back on his first run. We had to go fishing for him about halfway through." The girl snickered.
Fishlegs looked hurt. "You guys said you wouldn't bring that up again…"
Although there was a laugh at Fishlegs' expense, this knowledge did make Arkyn feel slightly better, and the frown on his face turned into a more neutral expression.
Hiccup turned to him. "It really wasn't bad for your first time." He encouraged. "You'll get another chance."
"And it will be better." Astrid added.
This finally made Arkyn smile, and he began to formulate a better plan of attack for his second flight, hoping to figure out a flight path better suited for success.
—
Hiccup and Toothless swooped back onto the platform after their second and final run of the day. The most recent cycle of flights had gone largely like the first with fairly solid efforts from most of the riders, but a typically show stopping performance from team Haddock. Arkyn had watched their every move ahead of his next turn, taking mental notes of every turn and pitch they executed, hoping to find a pattern he could copy.
He now stood at the edge of the rocky cliff, Stinger at his side, prepared to take a leap of faith once more. The boy had a plan…but it would be high risk. Extremely high risk. Something he'd never practiced before. But if it worked, Arkyn decided he could die a happy man.
Hiccup called out as he mounted his Triplestryke. "If you want any last minute advice, think less. Fly more."
Arkyn smiled as he committed the words to memory. "Thanks, Hiccup. See you on the other side." With a final nod, the pair took off, accelerating downwards to the start of the course. The group of remaining teens crowded the edge of the platform for a better view, eager to watch the newcomer's second ride.
Arkyn carried more speed through the first half of the sea stacks, gripping the straps of the saddle tighter and leaning further into curves. He noticed an immediate improvement in his dragon's maneuverability, which confirmed that the problem was in no way Stinger, but Arkyn himself. Towers of stone flew by one after another as the dragon and its rider zipped through the course with a shallow harmony. They were learning to trust each other more and more as the flight dragged on, but Arkyn knew he would soon have to prepare for much more than just a slalom, and when he knew the time was right, the boy tugged hard on the straps and swung Stinger out wide and to the right of the final 3 sea stacks leading up to the arch, requiring ample room to set up for his final trick.
Snotlout pointed and laughed from his vantage point. "Ha! That idiot didn't even go through those last ones."
"I think that might have been on purpose." Fishlegs corrected him, noticing Arkyn's movements from afar. He was angling himself on a flight path up and over the arch.
Suddenly, the teens witnessed the boy clearly undo the tether that held his suit to the saddle. Precisely the same one Hiccup had previously told him to always have secured. Astrid scrunched up her face at the scene. "What is he doing?"
"I'm not sure, but it doesn't look good. Toothless?!" Hiccup yelled, preparing to hop on his dragon at a moment's notice if anything went wrong.
Arkyn dropped the tether from his hands and leaned forward in the saddle. "Get ready to catch me, ok buddy?" The boy commanded his dragon as he rose to the perfect height just above the arch. Well, here goes nothing. The boy thought as he remembered Hiccup's parting words. Think less. Fly more.Taking them to heart, the Viking quickly slowed Stinger's speed and removed his feet from the stirrups, placing them atop the saddle in a crouched position. All he had to do now was judge the perfect time to jump.
And there it was.
"DIVE!" He screamed, and he felt Stinger drop out from under him. Time slowed as Arkyn realized he was simply now a body, floating through space, about to slam back into the earth atop a sea stack in the shape of an arch.
The teens watched in awe as Stinger dipped below the arch while Arkyn continued to soar above it. "Time to go!" Hiccup yelled at Toothless and the two prepared to take off, but Astrid grabbed his arm in protest, not daring to take her eyes off of the show before her. "Just wait." She pleaded. Hiccup could do nothing but sigh and rejoin the line of his friends on the edge of the cliff.
Arkyn snapped back to reality and hurriedly braced his legs for impact as they met the rocky surface of the arch. Using his momentum, the boy immediately broke out into a run. The arch was barely 20 feet across and the edge approached faster than Arkyn would have liked. With too much already at stake, the Viking could do nothing but close his eyes- and jump. Air rushed all around him, filling his ears and blowing his hair in all sorts of directions. There was no more control. There was only the feeling of falling.
Terrified this plan might not work after all, a petrified Arkyn wrenched his eyes open to find Stinger right below him, angling towards the sea beneath them to match the boy's speed. It was almost too easy. Once he was close enough, Arkyn grabbed hold of Stinger's straps again and pivoted himself back into a seat upon the saddle. Quickly attaching the tether once more and placing his boots firmly in the stirrups, he pulled up and turned towards the central platform, elated with the results of his efforts.
All the while the group of teens stood white faced in the audience. It was so silent you could've heard a pebble fall.
Astrid was the first to say anything. "Holy. Shit." Were the only words that could escape her hung open jaw, too stunned to speak after what she had just witnessed. Everybody else simply nodded in agreement, words failing their awe stricken minds.
Arkyn returned to rest on the platform to a resounding display of applause. His friends swarmed him as he dismounted, clapping him on the back and expressing showers of compliments.
"That was totally wicked." The twins remarked excitedly.
"Still bored, Snotlout?" Astrid asked the Jörgensen, elbowing him in the ribs.
"Shut up, Astrid." The boy shot for the second time that day.
Arkyn found Hiccup in the mess of Vikings and made extra sure he got a handshake in, wanting to thank his mentor for all the help. "Killer advice, Haddock." He said with a wink, owing much of his newfound confidence to the green eyed boy's 4 earlier words.
Hiccup smiled. "Killer moves, Stryerson." He replied. Arkyn was overjoyed at the compliment.
After several more rounds of congratulations the teens decided to call it a day and fly home, having shared more than enough action for one day. Once they'd landed back in the arena, Hiccup called the riders into a meeting around him. As they settled he produced a rolled up piece of paper from a pouch on Toothless' saddle and unfolded it for them to see. Fishlegs moved to stand at the boy's side.
"First of all, I'm glad everyone had fun today. That was a great time, but as you know we can't just fly off and mess around with each other every day. We also have a duty to the dragons. Fishlegs and I have been talking, and we think it's time we try and learn more about the dragons in the archipelago. As you can see on this map," Hiccup referred to the piece of paper in his hands, which was a hand drawn map of an island chain off of the eastern coast of Berk. "there is a chain of 10 islands that stretches east, each with a considerable number of dragons inhabiting them. We want to know exactly how many, and what species they are. That's where you come in." He gestured to those standing across from him. "Fishlegs, wanna take it from here?"
"Sure! Thanks, Hiccup. In 2 days we will all be going on a survey of this island chain, visiting each one and counting the dragons that live there so we can track it in the future. It will probably take most of the day, so use tomorrow to rest up and get supplies ready. This will also be a good opportunity for some extended casual flight. We'll go in order from closest to furthest and then make a no stops trip home." Fishlegs added.
"Question?" Snotlout piped up sarcastically. "Do we have to?"
"Yes!" Both Fishlegs and Hiccup answered together.
Hiccup shot a glare at his cousin before softening his face and addressing everyone else. "See you all in 2 days." And with that, the riders shortly after said their goodbyes and returned home, exhausted from the high intensity flying of the previous hours.
If they'd known then what awaited them just 48 hours later, the goodbyes might have been drawn out quite a bit more, but nothing could prepare them for what was coming.
Nothing.
It simply had to happen.
