"Thunder-Wing" (HTTYD Fanfiction, Modern Day)

Chapter One: Egg

When Lucy was six years old, her mother and father had taken her and her little three-year old brother, Liam on a walk in the woods. Lucy remembered it well - it was the day her mother had disappeared. "I'll catch up with you later!" she'd called. Mum had been a naturalist, so they'd all assumed she'd seen a rare species of toadstool or something.That was the last Lucy had heard from her.

It was also the day she found 'the Egg'. And, like her mother's sudden unexplained vanish, it had changed her life so dramatically, that she knew it was something she'd remember for as long as she lived.

Lucy was in the stream near the waterfall, looking for newts among the rocks, while Dad splashed Liam, the young boy shrieking in excitement, jumping up and down in his wellies. She'd levered a large oval rock out of the way, before seeing the surface of it. A part of it shone like silver, and not just because of the water. It was covered in waterweed like the other stones, but when Lucy carefully tugged a piece off and wiped away the mud, she saw a swirl of beautiful night-sky blue and cyan. Lucy started cleaning the mysterious rock further, and then heard her father call: "Lucy! Mum's going to meet us back at home! C'mon!"

Lucy looked at the rock, bit her lip, and then studied the size in her backpack.

When she'd got home, she'd completely cleaned the beautiful rock. It really was incredible. It was a dark coal black, the size of a football, with shining, almost glass-like patterns dancing and swirling across its surface. Later, she'd put it in a box with a towel because it reminded her of her mother too much. It stayed there for three years, forgotten by Lucy.

Inside the 'rock', something was waiting.

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Now nine years old, Lucy lay reading in bed, listening to the sound of the thunderstorm outside.

Inside the Egg, the something could now hear. It heard the thunder, and the patter of the falling rain became a rhythm that sunk into it and said: "It is time." It felt the electricity flowing amongst the clouds, striking out for the ground. It was ready! 

Unfortunately for the Egg, there was no loving mother chirping encouragement as the child made its way into the world, no proud father standing guard to protect his hatchlings at pain of death. No brothers and sisters to squeak and bounce with, to chew and gnaw. The Egg was all alone, bashing furiously at the inside of it's prison.

Lucy looked up from her book. It sounded like Fiddlesticks, the cat was playing around again. Lucy put a page marker in, and then went and looked under her desk. "Ruffle-snuff-growl..." That wasn't Fiddlesticks. Lucy located the source of the noise. She put the cardboard shoebox on her lap, sitting on the edge of her bed. She couldn't remember what was inside it. It felt too heavy to be old shoes, though. The lid was removed, and her eyes widened in shock.

Inside the box, lying amongst translucent pieces of eggshell, was a...Cat? Lizard? She didn't know what to call it. It was black and scaly, and covered in goop. Baby animals do not look very sweet when they first arrive in the world. They usually look like scrawny, soggy, half-drowned things. This 'thing' fitted that description perfectly. Lucy looked closer and decided this was not your regular cat.

It's tail ended in a sort of delicate fin, a little like a dolphin, perhaps, but longer, with struts, like a fish. It's paws had pink pads on them, with sharp little claws - it had rounded little ears, and extra little ones, a bit like an axolotl. Lucy lifted a flap of skin with a pencil, and then stretched out a membrane between finger and thumb. Wings! This weird creature-thing had wings!?

If Lucy had been well-versed in Berkian Dragon Lore from the Viking times, she would have said that this was a baby Fury dragon. But she didn't, so she just sat and stared at the creature resting from it's escape from its egg. It yawned, showing a pink mouth filled with wickedly sharp teeth that no baby should have at this point. It blinked awake, and it's blue eyes locked on her, taking her in, memorising what it thought was it's mother's face. Then it squeaked, and put it's paws over the edge of the box. Lucy yelped in surprise, and the box tumbled off her lap. The hatchling crept out from under it.