Dragon tales
Story 3 - Flying as One- part 2

"LET ME GO! I MEAN IT!.." He roared. The wind was already starting to picking into large howling gusts; distant rumblings of thunder starting to gather as they flew straight under the shadow of the looming, monstrous storm clouds that made up the fringes of the storm. The giant beasts only miniscule compared to what was to come. The mother of all storms... And they were heading straight into the open jaws- flying openly into the belly of the beast.

"I WILL KILL YOU IF YOU DONT LET ME GO- RIGHT NOW!" He screamed, fear somehow working its way to the overwhelming ball of emotion ramming about in his skull.

He didn't expect him to actually do it.

The dragon released him. He was weightless. He was falling. No, he wasn't wearing his flight suit- and, yes, that was the ocean he was falling towards, waiting to swallow him up.

"JAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCKKKK..." His cry spiralled off into oblivion as he fell, partially blinded by the fog and partially deafened by the wind, down towards his doom. It was like the clouds had come down to meet the ocean- a huge smokescreen too thick to be called fog surrounding him in all directions. An endless racket of thunder and wind assaulting his ears.

He'd all but accepted his imminent demise, when a sudden blur of white swept beneath him, and he landed heavily on the shoulders of the Sky Dragon that had gotten him into this mess.
'Quit shouting.' He heard the reprimanding thought. 'I was only giving you a better seat.' He was told... And then he realised: he was now sat on the Sky Dragon's shoulders- not relevant. His flying was flawlessly and impossibly smooth- also not relevant. He was actually riding on the Sky Dragon- that was the most irrelevant part! He was furious!

"TAKE ME BACK! STOP! TURN AROUND!" He carried on yelling, borderline hysteria creeping into his voice by now, but the Sky Dragon seemed to turn hard of hearing all of a sudden. Hiccup stared in dread as a rippling curtain of rain slowly drew closer and closer- the already thick, black clouds thickening around him even more. His anger suddenly faltered, and fear took the chance to take a firm grasp of his heart. A terrfying aura hung about the storm- and found himself staring, dazed in awe and horror, at the unstoppable force of nature ahead. He stumbled to find his voice again.
"Jack.. TAKE! ME!-" That was all he could manage before the rain hit.

Millions of ice cold needles driving into him- soaking his clothes in a second. No sooner had the rain hit than he was dripping with it- completely drenched. The shock of the cold took his breath away for a moment. Then he found his voice.
"JACK!" He screamed, trying to fling his sodden fringe out of his eyes. He opened his mouth to shout again, only to have water attempt to choke down his throat. He hurriedly closed his mouth again, wiping his eyes with his soaking hands but it made little or no difference. He could barely see anything! Nothing but clouds and rain ... And a flash of light. Lightning. His blood chilled even further.
"JA-" He attempted to yell, but the storm choked him again. He tried yet again only for the storm to deafen him with an earth shattering crunch of thunder.

He couldn't even see the dragon's neck in front of him. He was wiping his eyes and shaking his sodden hair off his face almost continuously and yet he still couldn't see anything. But it's fine! He reassured himself. I- its okay. He's a seasoned dragon rider- a future chief of Berk! It took more than a storm to scare him! Jack's done this thing hundreds of times! He reminded himself, desperately. He might have actually started to reassure himself if he hadn't remembered: actually, Jack's only flown this storm three times- and never with a rider. Shut up brain! He thought, trying to salvage what courage he could muster into a barrier against his growing fear

... And then the winds hit.

The first one slammed into them like Thor's hammer itself, slapping the Sky Dragon up into the sky like a helpless leaf. Hiccup was thrown down onto white dragon's neck, his jaw smashing against the tough, hard scales. His head spun with the impact- and he suddenly realised... Jack was wearing no saddle... He was riding bareback. His already smooth scales were slick with water- making his back almost as slippery as ice! He was riding without a saddle in the worst weather conditions imaginable... Thor's mighty hammer- this storm might actually take him.

He locked his arms in a death grip around Jack's neck, squeezing his legs into the Sky Dragon's sides so hard it was painful for them both. He was going to fall! He was going to slip! He was going to get knocked clean off the dragon's back by the punching gales of wind that hurled themselves at them. The puny boy and dragon- mere insects to the immense force of nature before them. It would be all too easy for him to loose his place on the dragon's back. Normally, he wasn't afraid of falling, but, no matter how much of a fancy flyer the Sky Dragon was, the wind and visibility was so terrible it would be almost impossible to him to find him before the ocean swallowed him. Forget scared- he was way past that now. He was absolutely terrified. Soaked and freezing- it was all he could do to hold onto the Sky Dragon's neck for dear life.

As suddenly as the wind had thrown them up, it smacked them over to one side- then just as easily tossed them into a backflip. Then it abandoned them completely and they helplessly fell towards the ocean- only to be suddenly caught in furious current that hit them from behind like a bowstring, catapulting them forwards. A lesser wind clipped his wing and sent him into a wild, uncontrollable spiral as they were slapped backwards- still spinning in a deadly kill spiral.

Hiccup clung to the Sky Dragon's back with all his might- a cry of effort forcing its way through gritted teeth as he fought not to slide up the Sky Dragon's sodden scales. Pure terror racing through him- a series of cross winds tossing them back and forth like a cruel game of catch. Hiccup reached the end of his tether.

Purely terrified, he reached for his last chance at keeping hold of his sanity. His only lifeline in the raging storm. He threw himself, desperately, through the trust bond, into the Sky Dragon's mind... and was stunned by what he found.

Not fear- not panic- not even thrill. The only thing that ruled Jack's mind right now... was an innate sense of calm.

Somehow, the state of calm only sent him spiralling into more madness and confusion. A sudden gale threw them to the right.
"How are you so calm?!" He screamed, hysterically. They were going to die!

He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a pure white head look back at him through the veil of clouds with a mysterious smile.
'Let me show you the storm through a dragon's eyes...' He muttered, gently reaching into Hiccup's mind and drawing him into his own- deepening their bond until they were practically the same being. The strength of mind that the affirmation of trust always gave him almost instantly dispelled Hiccup's fear. It was a reassurance beyond any and all words. He needn't be afraid- Jack was there. He could entrust his life to the Sky Dragon- and he did so, wholeheartedly.

They joined together- souls becoming one. It was the first time they had done so- and Hiccup soon discovered he was sharing more than the Sky Dragon's mind... He was sharing his eyes as well. He was seeing the storm through the eyes of a dragon... and when the dragon's vision slipped over his, it brought an entirely different world to light... and his terror was swept away like the storm had stolen it in its tempestuous winds.