Fly On Your Own

Epilogue

There were dragons when I was a girl. Ah, there were great, grim sky dragons that nested on the clifftops like giant, scary birds. Little, brown, scuttly dragons that hunted down the mice and rats in well-organized packs. Preposterously huge sea dragons that were 20 times as big as the blue whale. Some say they crawled back into the sea, leaving not a bone nor a fang for men to remember them by. Others say they were nothing but folktales to begin with. I don't know, I'm okay with that.

I yanked on the rope directing our sail one last time, getting it to turn in the right direction so our ship wouldn't blow over. Kerrigan watched me in awe, while Alith stood by her sister's side, fascinated by the feel of the sea breeze. Hiccup shifted Kjartan against his hip, trying to keep him from falling off as he squirmed. The two of them dropped the anchor, solidifying our choice to come here and find them.

Once I made my way over to Hiccup, I took Kjartan from his arms and rested him against my side. I watched him warily, hoping that Toothless would, in fact remember him, and their visit on Snoggletog hadn't been some coincidence. The mist began to clear as Hiccup approached the front of the boat, revealing five dragons resting on the rocks. Toothless got up from his relaxed position, crouched low as he approached the edges of the rocks before lunging forward and landing on the bow of the boat. The entire thing rocked as he eyed Hiccup, lids narrowed. I set Kjartan down and crouched, ushering my daughters behind me as my son buried his face in my knee.

"Hey," Hiccup whispered, extending his hand out. "Hey there, bud. Remember me?" Kjartan whimpered the closer Toothless got.

"It's okay," I reassured him, rubbing his back lightly.

Hiccup closed his eyes and turned his head away, waiting for Toothless to do whatever he would. Toothless got up on his back legs and sniffed at Hiccup, and for a moment, my heart jumped as I considered the possibility he wouldn't remember.

Then, suddenly, his pupils widened, and he completely tackled his best friend. I let out breath I didn't realize I had been holding in, allowing a bit of a laugh to escape as well.

"Hey, I am glad to see you too, bud." Toothless pranced around the boat, doing circles around Hiccup.

"He's not gonna eat your father." I almost sounded like I was attempting to convince myself of that, more than the kids.

"Hey! How's the tail holding up? Probably could use some oil and a little fine-tuning." I reached out and grabbed Alith and Kerrigan's arms, bringing them in front of me.

"Look, it's okay. They're friends."

Once Toothless finished oogling over his friend, he looked over in my direction, cocking his head at the three children. He seemed to recognize the twins, but Kjartan was completely new to him. Hiccup reached his hand out toward his children, urging them to come closer.

"Come on. Here."

I helped guide Alith over to her father, allowing him to take her hand and extend it out. Kerrigan and Kjartan did the same, but they covered their eyes and looked at Toothless nervously, while Alith faced him head on. Hiccup directed her head away so that Toothless wouldn't feel intimidated.

"He won't hurt you. Hold your hands out, like this. That's it." I watched with baited breath. Toothless had never really met the children before, and I didn't really know how he would react. Hiccup caught my eyes for a moment and nodded, trying to put me at ease. I knew he would get up and hold me if he didn't want to stay by his children, just to make sure nothing happened.

Thankfully, Toothless nuzzled their palms, purring lightly. Slowly, Alith, Kerrigan, and Kjartan all turned their heads toward the dragon, smiling and staring at him. He purred at them again, then pushed back, smiling at me. I moved forward and wrapped my arms around the Night Fury's head, hugging him. He nuzzled into my chest until I pushed away, finding my place next to Hiccup.

"Do you want to ride on him?" Hiccup asked, leaning down to his son and daughters. All their faces lit up and they nodded, and Hiccup secured the saddle before grabbing Kjartan's hand and helping him up, securing him in front of him.

Toothless let out a loud roar, and from the depths of the Hidden World, a purple Thunderdrum shot up and onto our boat. I smiled and stepped forward, waiting for my dragon to recognize me. She jumped and bounced, clearly excited I was back. I found my own saddle and secured it around Shriek, keeping a tight grip on Alith and Kerrigan as we took off.

Hiccup took Kjartan on a bumpy joyride, all the while making sure to hold onto him tight, while the twins and I made Shriek go as fast as she could. We went right past Toothless, leaving them far behind, before slowing so we could be with everyone else. The Light Fury flew close by, keeping an eye on her three babies, whom Hiccup and I decided to name Night Lights. One of them sneezed, activating their cloaking abilities for a moment before they appeared again.

"Quick, cover your ears." My girls did as told, and I tapped Shriek before moving my hands back to my ears. She let out a mighty roar, practically shaking the cloud cover before taking her place in front of Hiccup, Kjartan, and Toothless again. I looked back at them and nodded forward, indicating for him to speed up. I watched him smirk, then they came in above us. Toothless turned upside down and Hiccup dropped Kjartan on my back, while I passed Alith and Kerrigan off to thier father. He secured his arms tightly around his blind daughter's waist as she clung to him. She always would look to him for protection, just as Hiccup would with Toothless at times. I smiled at the two families, all flying together-- something I thought would never happen again.

Legend says that when the ground quakes or lava spews from the earth, it's the dragons letting us know they're still here. Waiting for us to figure out how to get along. Yes, the world believes the dragons are gone, if they ever existed at all. But we Berkians, we know otherwise. And we'll guard this secret until the time comes when the dragons can return in peace.