How to Be a Dragon Star 1

Chapter Twenty-Eight - Ripple

 Estrella felt like she was floating. She was a human, and on the ground, but in her mind, she was floating. The girl didn't join the crowd of vikings commencing below. She stayed away from them and watched. A couple eyes flicked to her and away, but no one came up to talk to her.

Estrella regrouped with Astrid, feeling so light and ecstatic she didn't need to talk to share her feelings. They just oozed out of her.

The two girls shared a smile. Astrid was just opening his mouth to speak when another voice interrupted the moment.

"Estrella." The voice was pained, and horribly embarrassed. Estrella turned and saw Mrs. Larson standing there, her face a deep shade of scarlet.

Estrella swallowed. How would this conversation go down? "Yes?" she asked hesitantly.

"I, er, owe you an apology," the woman forced out, fidgeting her fingers. She cleared her throat. "For what happened on the way here."

The other teens besides Astrid looked quizzically at the girls.

"It's, well... thank you," Estrella said. "You didn't know."

"I know, but I should have thought," Mrs. Larson said. "And I didn't. Can we start over?"

Estrella was taken aback. She didn't know what to say. "Um, ok," she said awkwardly. How should a human handle a conversation like this? How would Astrid handle it? "I— Yes, that sounds like a good idea." She glanced at Astrid for help.

Mrs. Larson pretended not to notice. "My sons would like to talk to you," she said. "I'll go get them." She left.

Estrella turned to Astrid. "Gosh, I am so bad at this," she grunted.

Astrid fought the amusement in her eyes. "Almost like you only spend half your time as a human."

"No, no," Estrella laughed. "Well, what would you have said?"

"I'm glad it was you and not me," Astrid informed her.

Gustav and his brother tentatively approached. Before anyone else could begin, Mr. Superstrong burst out, "So are you a human or a dragon?" His dark green eyes shone with excitement.

"I was born a human," Estrella answered. "But I can somehow morph back and forth as I please."

"So can you fly and everything?" Gustav asked.

"Yeah," Estrella responded proudly. "I can do all that other dragons can. I can talk to them, and understand humans at the same time, too. That's how I understood you on the boat. I can't talk to humans while I'm a dragon, or dragons in human form, but I can release a purple fireball that makes me basically turn invisible. That's one thing that other dragon's can't do. Unless you count Changewings, but that's different."

"I wanna see," Mr. Superstrong pleaded.

Estrella smiled and complied. As she put on a show for the boys, she felt a wild, soaring feeling in her chest and she realized that she was proud of being able to do this. Of being the only human alive who could fly and turn invisible and release fire.

By the time she came down, the vikings were loading onto the ships. The Larsons invited Estrella on their ship, but she rode with Stoick, Astrid, and the other teens. The dragons went back and forth between hitching a ride on the ship and soaring ahead, playing with each other in the skies. Estrella didn't join in; self-consciousness won out. And, of course, Toothless couldn't fly, and Estrella wanted to give him some company. She chose human form for the trip, though.

The trip was peaceful at first. The teens chatted. They were discussing what to name their dragons.

"She's a little lumpy," Fishlegs said affectionately, looking at the Gronckle. "I think a good, meaty name is in order. She's strong, too."