Secret of a Dragon (An HTTYD Story)

Chapter Thirteen: Test Drive

Yes, this is also named after a soundtrack. Don't judge. Test Drive is on the side, also one of my favorites! Not So Fireproof also exists, but unfortunately I can't add two songs to the same chapter.

Enjoy!

The crisp air is almost enough to make Hiccup regret deciding to try out Toothless's new tail, and with it follows several questions. What if the tail doesn't work? What if Hiccup can't control it correctly? What if Toothless decides she doesn't like the tail? What if she throws Hiccup off?

It is too late now. They are already in flight. Hiccup takes a deep breath. "Okay, there, girl," he says. "We're gonna take this nice and slow." He looks down at his paper, muttering, "Here we go, oh, here we go. Position... three. No, four," he says quickly.

He adjusts the tail. They both watch it move, and then Toothless fidgets a bit, as if getting used to it. They bank left, and Hiccup stares at the tail as they even out. It flicks up, and then is pushed down, moving the two back a forth a bit. "Alright, it's go time, it's go time," Hiccup murmurs.

They dive straight down toward the ocean. "Come on, girl, come on, girl!" Hiccup shouts. Toothless's left wing brushes the ocean. The two pass under a stone arch, and Hiccup glances up nervously. Seagulls squawk in alarm, retreating from the Night Fury, but the duo makes it through easily.

"Yes, it worked!" Hiccup says, grinning. He looks back at the tail, and then forward. He realizes they were on a crash course, but even though they try to pull back, they slam right into the sea stack. "Sorry!" Hiccup cries hastily. Toothless groans in pain and anger.

They hit another one. "That was my fault!" Hiccup says nervously.

Toothless slaps Hiccup with her ear, glaring daggers back at him. "Ah! Yeah, yeah, I'm on it," he mutters. "Position four. Uh, three."

He adjusts his foot again. Toothless moans in glee as they soar straight up, her tongue poking out of her mouth. "Yeah!" Hiccup cries. "Go, baby! Yes! Oh, this is amazing! The wind in my -- CHEAT SHEET! STOP!!"

The rushing air had pulled at the piece of parchment, tugging it form the clip. Hiccup fumbles to reach it and barely manages to latch onto it. However, at that moment, Toothless pauses in flight, and Hiccup flies up above her. As soon as they realize they are separated, they both cry out. "No!" Hiccup screams. They begin to fall fast.

"Oh, gosh!" Hiccup shrieks. "Oh, gods! Oh, no!"

He falls onto Toothless's wing and begins to flip head over heels. She roars in panic as she watches. He finally steadies himself, only to find Toothless spinning wildly. "Alright, okay, you -- you -- you gotta kinda, angle yourself -- okay, no, no, no, come -- come back down towards me, come back down -- OUCH!"

Toothless accidentally slaps Hiccup's face with her tail, but somehow, this gives him the height he needs. She slows herself down just in time, and Hiccup puts the parchment between his teeth, reaching out for the saddle. He shoves his fingertips under the edge and pulls himself down, pushing his feet into the stirrups. He leans back as quickly as possible, yelling through the parchment. Thankfully, Toothless gets the hint, and spreads her wings. While the two can't slow down fast enough, they do skim at breakneck speed across the top of the trees that line the mountainside.

Toothless suddenly roars in alarm as they get nearer and nearer to a maze of sea stacks. Hiccup grabs the parchment, but the wind whips it around in his hand, making it impossible to read. Finally, he gave up and tossed it behind him. He ducks down against Toothless, resigned to his fate. But as soon as they enter the sea stacks, the communication begins.

It is almost as if the two begin to read each other's minds. Hiccup instictively knows how to position the tail, and Toothless almost knows beforehand what Hiccup will do. Together, they make it through the sharpest turns and some impossibly narrow gaps, even performing barrel rolls past each and every one of the sea stacks. (A/N: It's probably just me but this paragraph seems impossibly cheesy...)

They make it. Hiccup can barely believe it. How did they do it? He sits up, breathing heavily, and throws his hands into the air. "Yeah!" he shouts in pure relief.

Toothless shoots a blast in front of them, where it explodes.

"Come on..." Hiccup groans.

While the test flight was certainly not a failure, I can't say it couldn't have gone better. Hiccup and I now sit on top of a rocky cliff on the edge of the forest. I had caught a plethora of fish a few moments earlier, and then lit a fire for Hiccup to cook his own meal, while obviously I preferred mine raw. Hiccup's hair was singed and blown backward, and the wrists of his shirt was burned completely black. I feel bad now for shooting that plasma blast, but the dragon part of me had temporarily taken over. Speaking of that Night Fury, my vision suddenly goes hazy for a moment, and when it clears, I realize that the dragon has made me regurgitate another fish head for Hiccup. Again?!

"Uh, no, thanks, I'm good," he says with a knowing smile. I can tell he doesn't actually know, though.

A group of Terrible Terrors suddenly comes flying over. To my great annoyance, I see that Twist is one of them. The leader of the group, a murky green one, rushes up and instantly tries to grab one of my fish. Both the Night Fury and myself snarl at it. Twist darts in and grabs the fish head, which he knows I don't want anymore and Hiccup certainly won't touch. A third Terror comes up and tries to steal it as he eats, but he charges up and shoots at it.

"Smooth," I mutter. He grins cheekily.

Suddenly, one of the fish from my pile appears to actually stand up and walk away. I stare at in awe before the lead Terror appears with it in its mouth. My eyes narrow, and I grab it back. In a very brief tug-of-war game, I get the fish back, while the Terror is left with a part of its tail. It stands up and scratches at the ground in fury, eyes shining. Hiccup glances between me and it apprehensively. The Terror opens its mouth to shoot -- and I blow a tiny, weak plasma blast into its throat. I instantly feel bad, but it can't have my fish.

The Terror appears to inflate for a moment, and then drops to the ground facefirst, looking drained and injured as smoke flows from its mouth. It stands and stumbles toward Hiccup. I watch it go. Hiccup chuckles. "Not so fireproof on the inside, are ya? Here you go." He tosses it a small fish. It perks up immediately and gulps it down, and then begins to crawl tentatively toward him as he sits back down. It nudges itself under his arm, and his face registers shock as he begins to absentmindedly rub it. I can't help but be greatly annoyed with the dragon. So it'll try to steal one of my fish, and then make friends with Hiccup? Alright then. But my mind is then filled with what Hiccup says next.

"Everything we know about you guys," he breathed, "is wrong!"

Glad that chapter had both POVs. Those past two chapters, I couldn't think of a way to add in the other's POV. Well, I did it this time.

Did you like? Not?

Bye!