Under Pressure

Chapter Four: Fearless Flying

Chapter Four: Fearless Flying

Stoick thought that Hiccup and Astrid were excellent parents. The way they dealt with each crisis was phenomenal and they always seemed to surprise him with how well they held it together. But if there was one thing he didn't like about their parenting, it was that they tended to play it safe a little too often. And when they expressly told him not to allow either Finn or Adrianna on a dragon, Stoick merely rolled his eyes and obliged.

At least until the twins' fifth birthday was rapidly approaching. Stoick thought that five years old was perfectly old enough to ride a dragon. Hiccup emphatically disagreed. But he should have thought of this when he dropped off Finn at the chief's house while he spent most of the day at a long meeting and Astrid and Adrianna spent it watching Inga so that Snotlout and Heather could have some time alone. Finn was thrilled to have some time with his Poppy and Stoick wanted him to remember this day for years.

"All right, Finn." he said once Hiccup was out of sight. "What do you know about dragons?"

"Daddy's is a Night Fury and mommy's is a Deadly Nadder." Finn replied. "And I know a bunch of hand signals."

"Well that's very impressive." Stoick got down on his knees. He found that he didn't like towering over these little people as much as he might have when Hiccup was that age. "But do you know anything else about them?"

Finn wasn't sure how to respond to this question. He furrowed his brow and allowed his brain to work overtime trying to answer it. Stoick waited patiently and after a few seconds, the boy brightened up.

"Thornado is a Thunderdrum." Finn said, looking impressed with himself for remembering this fact. "And his voice is really, really loud."

"That's right. But do you know how to ride a dragon?" Stoick continued.

"Umm... daddy says I shouldn't." Finn shook his head.

"Well your daddy is being silly. You're not old enough to ride by yourself but you can certainly go for a ride, long as you're careful!" Stoick picked up the small boy quite suddenly, making him giggle, and led him outside where Thornado was sunbathing.

The Thunderdrum eyed its human's young's young as it cautiously stepped forward. A tiny hand extended toward his snout. Thornado slowly pressed his snout against it, allowing the young to proceed. He heard his human's booming laugh of approval.

"You seem to have gotten the hang of it!" Stoick chuckled, hoisting the boy up and placing him on Thornado's back. "Now just stay close to me and you won't fall off." he mounted the dragon behind his grandson.

Thornado waited for his human and the young to be settled in before taking off into the sky. Finn's mouth opened in excitement as the wind blew in his face and the ground fell away. Soon he was hundreds of feet above Berk, looking down on it and feeling like he was looking at a model his daddy sometimes liked to build. The people were tinier than Fireworms! Even the biggest dragons looked like Terrible Terrors from this height!

"Wow!" Finn exclaimed when his voice returned. "This is so cool!"

"Like it?" Stoick asked, gently nudging the boy.

"Yeah! Can I have my own dragon?"

Stoick laughed and the sound echoed around them. "Not quite yet. Dragons are big creatures and you need to be strong enough to handle them!"

"I have to wait until I get bigger?" Finn scowled for a few seconds and then brightened up. "Can I keep flying with you?"

"What do you think we're doing now, laundry?" Stoick directed the dragon to fly even higher.