How to Save a Dragon Rider

Chief

The sun burst over the clouds beneath him setting the dusty sky on fire in every color. The freezing wind kissed his skin even through a thick fur cloak and mask. Underneath him the night fury rumbled and then flapped his jet black wings, before taking a nose dive breaking into the white foam. A clear view of the vast ocean shattered into view as well as the sharp cliffs of Berk. To Hiccup never was there a more pure form of freedom than being on the back of a dragon.

"Come on bud, lets see what you've got this morning." He urged. With a beat from his powerful wings the dragon pushed his limits to go faster, tumbling through the air, sweeping the sky and flirting with the salt water tide. Hiccup let go with one hand as they plummeted towards the ocean. "YEAHHHH! Whohooo!!!" Toothless came to an abrupt stop right before they hit the water. The dragon then scaled a nearby cliff so close, his belly nearly touched it before breaking even with the ground. He landed and shook his vast body as Hiccup dismounted and stretched.

"Not a bad way to start the day don't you think bud?" He said scratching under his chin. Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes and turned to the rising sun feeling its warmth on his face. This was the only quiet of the day he would get, he'd better enjoy it.

"I hope I've run things around here as well as you did." He spoke out loud, wondering if his words could actually reach his dad. "So far so good. I only wish you could be here." Toothless started chasing after a squirrel trying to pounce on the nimble creature. A year and a half it had been since the death of Stoick the Vast, however it had felt far shorter. "You would love to see how much its grown, tripled in size. People all over the archipelago," he waved his hand far in front of him. "have come to learn to ride dragons." A sad smile crept on his lips. "You- really, would have loved it."

What if? Was the question that haunted his mind the most these days. It was a cruel one, because it never could satisfy an answer. He often ran over his father's death in his brain, a tedious and painful exercise, trying to imagine if he could've done something different to prevent it.

Yet today was to beautiful to waste on thoughts like that. So for the first time in a while he refused to think about it.

In the distance an explosion followed by a billow of smoke was seen. 

"And that's our cue." He sighed. "Come on bud." He mounted toothless and sprang from the ground. 

Landing on a rooftop, overlooking the village, Hiccup could see the source of the explosion. A hideous zippleback and monterous nightmare circling each other, scorch marks were everywhere and small fires were being set to the houses. If they kept this up soon everything would be burned down. Villagers quickly removed themselves from the scene, getting in the way of battling dragons was never a smart idea. However they had to be stopped.

Hiccup landed toothless and cautiously dismounted. He assessed that neither dragon was trained, he would need to tread extra careful. Slowly he entered the circle drawing attention to himself. they both stopped and analyzed him as a third party to the fight.  

"Hey there guys." he said cautiously. He continued to moved in between them until he was right in the middle. The intensity had increased between the two like wood fed to a flame. What he was about to try, he had only succeeded in doing once. A method used by his mother, who was more skilled than he.

With two hands he began making the shape of a figure eight, moving them slowly together in unison. He stared straight into the eyes of the monstrous nightmare trying to ignore the zipplback behind him. The beast lit his body on fire, the two were in combat but not of the physical kind, the kind between dragon and rider. Between master and servant. Hiccup only continued to move his hands inching closer to the nightmare, feeling the flames radiate off of its massive body. Never losing eye contact, he pushed his limits even further until he was close enough to touch it. The dragon began edging backwards. He was winning. Then with one swift movement he passed his hand right in front of the dragons view. His eyes followed the movement and then snap! He was out. His fire distinguished and he collapsed to the ground. Hiccup up let out a long breath of relief. It had worked.