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last-flights · 10 months

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A Snippet. {CANON}

Written from HTTYD 2.

A boundless sky. Vast. Crisp. Clear.

A dragon rider on the back of his dragon. The feeling of unbridled freedom.

Wind whipped at his face as he held the handles of his dragon’s saddle. He pressed his chest against their back, tucked comfortably in this riding position. If anyone were to see the two from a distance, it might have appeared like he was part of his dragon; one in the same. They rocketed across the horizon, skimming over the ocean closely.

The two dipped, rolled, and dove over the sea, which teemed with breaching Thunderdrums. Ocean mist brushed the riders face as they pulled off daring manuvers with ease and refinement, making the feat seem effortless.

The dragon let out a soft warble, smacking it’s lips as it dipped under a Thunderdrum’s wing, which almost narrowly smacked the rider in the face.

“Oh hush, you weren’t paying much attention either.” A grin tugged at Rider’s lips as he patted the dragon’s side lightly.

Suddenly, they jackknife, heading skyward as the two tumbled gracefully through the cloudscape. As Rider glanced up, he gazed at the high-flying Timberjacks, which flew in a migrational formation.

“Beautiful…” He muttered faintly, eyes wide with adoration, an expression he wouldn’t let anyone catch on his face. At least, not in this way.

Sitting up, he adjusted the straps on the wrist of his gloves. The rider was snuggly clad head-to-toe in a flight suit. This model more aerodynamic than the last, with an asymmetrical design of Viking bike leather and articulated plates made of Nightfury scales. He flipped the visor on his helmet over his face, adjusting more parts of the suit to be tighter or looser.

“What do you think? Wanna give this another go?” Rider couldn’t help the smile crossing his face.

Ghost, his dragon, grumbled in protest as he flapped his wings to keep the two aloft.

“Come on! It’ll be fine!” The rider laughed softly.

With a click of a lever, he locked Ghost’s tail prothetic in the flared tail position so he could continue to fly solo. He then unhooked himself from his dragon’s saddle.

“Ready?”

Ghost snorted untheusastically as Rider let himself fall, peeling away from the dragon like a skydiver from a plane, yelling as he plummeted. Ghost hovered in the air momentarily before diving after the dragon rider. As the two dove, they spiraled through the air, face-to-face, parallel in their descent. The dragon cracked the other what could be described as a toothless smile, tongue lolling out like a dog as it seemed, despite himself, he was having fun.

As the clouds thinned and the ocean became clearly visible to the two, Rider slipped his wrists and forearms through a pair of tucked leather flaps on the waist of his flight suit. In a moment, he yanks the flaps out, unfurling sheets of leather as he extends his arms out, The leather caught the wind, snapping taught which sent him gliding. His dragon unfolded his own wings, catching up with the other with ease.

The freedom the two felt was unmistakeable, Rider and Ghost are, for the moment, one in the same. Feeling the same adrenaline rush, independantly together.

They plunged past cloud formations , splitting apart and then coming back together again. Ghost shot a non-lethal plasma blast under the other, the warm air causing a small updraft that boosted him just slightly. Rider laughed and in a way of mimicking him, the dragon let out warbles, wings flapping.

“This is amazing!” He continued to laugh before the clouds washed past, exposing a towering rock formation dead ahead.

“This is no longer amazing! Ghost!” He tried to steer himself away to no avail.

Ghost poured on the speed, trying to catch up to the other who was hurtling towards a dangerous collision. His locked tail made maneuvering extremely difficult, and he was unable to pull up at such a steep angle.

“Oh no-!”

At the last second, the dragon blasted the jagged rocks just ahead before wrapping his wings around Rider just as they fly through it. The demolished rock peaks rained down on the two as they hurtled into the trees of a neighboring peak. The two tumbled down the uneven, grassy terrain before coming to rest on a small upland.

They laid like that for a lingering moment, the two of them panting heavily as the adrenaline began to wear off. Ghost raised one wing, as he was on his side, and his rider emerged from the cocoon of his wings.

Rider gingerly stood up, switching his prosthetic riding foot to his walking foot, dusting himself off as he stowed his leather wings.

He let out a sigh of relief. “That really came out of nowhere, huh?” He glanced over at the sea stack as it cracked and fell into the water.

Ghost grumbled and rolled his eyes.

“We gotta work on your solo flying there, bud. That locked-up tail makes for some pretty crappy rescue maneuvers, huh?”

Rider removed his flight helmet, tentacles falling to the sides of his face as he set it down on the ground before tying up his hair in a ponytail. He walked over to the edge of the cliff, taking in the new land upon them.

“Oh, looks like we found another one.”

With a claw, Ghost flicked a small pebble at the back of his head, annoyed. He turned around with a slight grin, his hands on his hips.

“Oh, what? Do you want an apology? Is that why you're pouting, big baby boo? Well... try this on!” He wrapped his arms around his neck, making an attempt to wrestle with him. “You feeling it yet? Huh? Picking up on all of my heartfelt remorse?”

The dragon stood up on his hindlegs, waddling over to the edge of the cliff and dangling him over it playfully.

Rider groaned. “Oh, come on. You wouldn't hurt a one legged--” He cut himself off, looking down and letting out a yell, which Ghost laughed at in response. “You're right! You're right! You win! You win!”

And with that, Ghost fell backwards away from the cliff edge, rolling onto the other.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!-” He laughed as the dragon pawed at him. “He's down! And it's ugly! Dragons and Vikings, enemies again, locked in combat to the bitter--” Ghost pinned him as he flopped down on him and he groaned.

Rider began to be playfully licked all over by his dragon as he groaned, trying to shield his face. “Gaaahh-- You know that doesn’t wash out.”

Ghost pulled away, getting off of him with what could only be described as a laugh as the other splashed some of his own spit on his face. The dragon rider began to look around at the newly discovered island as he sat on his knees in the grass, pulling out a map of his own,

“So, what should we name it?” He asked, glancing back at the dragon.

Ghost licked and chewed at his armpit, itching at it.

“‘Itchy Armpit’ it is.” Rider gave a slight nod as he wrote the name down on a loose sheet of the map. "Whaddya reckon, bud? Think we might find a few Timberjacks in those woods? The odd Whispering Death or two in the rocks? Who knows…” He paused, hesitating. “,maybe we'll finally track down another Night Fury. Wouldn't that be something? So, whaddya say? Just keep going?”

His dragon gave him a look before shaking his head with a huff and before he could respond, a dragon screech caught the two’s attention. He shifted on his knees to comfortably look behind himself.

A pink, yellow and teal-blue Nadder landed on the plateau, it’s rider’s tentacles matching.

Cloudstrike and Aloha, what a nice sight to see, huh?

“Afternoon, my kind sir. Where have you been?”

Aloha sat beside Rider with a smile. “Well, winning races. What else? The real question is where have YOU been?” He fired back lightheartedly.

“Avoiding my dad.” The other responded with a sigh.

“Oh no, what happened now?”

“Oh, you’re gonna love this.” Rider stood up, dusting himself off. “ I wake up. The sun's shining. Terrible Terrors are singing on the rooftop.” He threw his hands in the air lightly, adding emphasis to his words.

“I saunter down to breakfast, thinking all is right with the world and I get,” He mimicked his dad, strutting around Aloha. “‘Son, we need to talk.’”

The other rider couldn’t help but laugh before doing a god awful imitation of Rider. ‘"Not now, Dad. I've got a whole day of goofing off to get started.’”

Rider shot Aloha an odd look, pointing at him loosely. “Okay, first of all, I don't sound like that. What is this character? And second... what is that thing you're going with my shoulders?” Sigh. And continuing. “A truly flattering impersonation. Anyway he goes, ‘You're the pride of Berk, son, and I couldn't be prouder…’-”

Aloha imitates him again, moving his hands the same way the other did when he talks. “‘Aw, thanks, Dad. I'm pretty impressed with myself, too.’”

Rider couldn’t help but laugh. “ WHEN have I ever done that with my hands?”

“You just did!”

“Okay... just... hold still. It's very serious.” He gently, yet firmly grabbed the other’s hands, placing them in his lap as he continued on. “‘You're all grown up, and since no chief could ask for a better successor, I've decided--’”

Aloha cut him off in excitement, a grin spreading across his features. “TO MAKE YOU CHIEF! Oh, my cods! Rider, that's amazing!” He punched Rider hard in the chest, causing his flight suit fin on his back to pop out.

Rider grunted as Aloha laughed. He wound the fin back up into the suit as he hissed softly. “You're gonna wear out the spring coil. The calibration is very sensitive--”

Cloudstrike and Ghost came running past, playing with eachother but knocking over the two riders in the process.

Rider winced and he rubbed his chest. “Yeah, so... this is what I'm dealing with.”

Aloha gave him a slight concerned frown. “What did you tell him?”

“I didn't. By the time he turned around, I was gone.”

“ Well, it's a lot of responsibility. The map will have to wait for sure, and I'll need to fly Toothless, since you'll be too busy... “

Rider shook his head. “ It's not me, Astrid. All those speeches, and planning, and running the village... that's his thing.”

“ I think you're missing the point. I mean, chief. What an honor. I'd be pretty excited.” Aloha placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to cheer him up.

“I'm not like you. You know exactly who you are. You always have. But... I'm still looking. I know that I'm not my father... and I never met my mother.... so, what does that make me?” He gazed into space as the other sat behind him, braiding the tentacles on the back of his head together.

“ What you're searching for... isn't out there, Rider.” Aloha put his hand on his friends chest. “It's in here. Maybe you just don't see it yet.”

He kissed the other’s cheek but pulled back, Ghost’s spit on his face now. Disgusted, he wiped it off.

“Maybe. But, y'know... there is something out there.” Rider said.

“Rider…”

The dragon rider grabbed Aloha by the chin, pointing his gaze straight ahead of them. A large black cloud of smoke billowed in the distance. The two then looked at eachother before mounting their dragons and flying towards the smoke to investigate it. They flew through the burnt forest until they reached the ocean. What they saw was imposing.

A large, piercing structure of ice with protruding icicles sat in the ocean, a fearsome monument.

“Stay close,” Rider ordered Aloha.

The two flew around the ice, taking a look at all the ruined things caught in it; it was ships, boats, and the splintered remains of a wooden fort.

“What happened here…?”

Ghost spotted a pair of enormous footprints in the mud and let out a stressed sound.

“Easy bud..” Rider soothed the dragon, or at least, made an attempt to.

“Rider!”

They heard someone yell out orders to fire.

“Aloha, move!” Rider yelled, pulling Ghost up out of the way of a net.

The net missed the two, but unfortunately caught Cloudstrike.

The pink tentacled rider yelled out for the other as he slipped from his mount’s back, falling towards the ground. Ghost caught him in his front claws, warbling.

The dragons hunters attempted to trap the caught Deadly Nadder, but she escaped, launching tail spikes at them.

“Watch the tail! Tie those legs up!”

Ghost flew past one of the trappers.

“Is that what I think it is?...”

Rider yelled. “STOP!”

“CLOUDSTRIKE!” Aloha cried out.

The black dragon landed on the opposite end of the boat, rocking it faintly.

“What are you doing?!” The pink haired rider exclaimed as he grabbed a stick.

Rider pulled out a flaming sword, fueled by Hideous Zippleback gas.

“Back again? My cod… that is a Nightfury.” A dark skinned, purple tentacled octoling proclaimed, eyes widening faintly. “Thought they were all gone for good. Looks like our luck's had a turn for the better, lads! Don't think Drago has one of those in his dragon army.” He motioned to the ship’s crew.

“Dragon…army?” Aloha frowned.

“Look, we don't want any trouble.” Rider tried to soothe.

“Ha! You should've thought of that before you stole all of our dragons and blasted our fort to bits!” The octoling scoffed bitterly.

“Yeah, look at it!” One of the crewmates chimed in before the octoling shot them a cold look.

“Wait…” Rider gave them a confused look.

“What are you talking about?” Aloha filled in.

“You think we did this?”

“ Dragon trapping is hard enough work as it is, without do-gooder dragon riders sneaking in to rescue them.” The trapper snapped.

“What do-gooder-- there are other dragon riders?” The green haired inkling looked almost amazed, bewildered even.

“You mean, other than your thieving friend from last night? You tell me. You may have an ice-spitting dragon on your side, but we still have a quota to fill. How do you suppose we explain this mess to Drago Bludvist?”

“Drago what-fist? Does anything you say make sense?”

“He's expecting a new shipment of dragons for his army by tomorrow.” One crewmate added.

“And Drago don't take well to excuses.” Another shuddered.

The octoling bared their fangs. “This is what he gave me last time I showed up empty-handed.” They revealed a nasty scar on their shoulder. “He promised to be far less understanding in the future.”

“Look, we don't know anything about a dragon thief, or an ice-spitting dragon,” Rider promised.

The octoling tilted their head up a bit before giving a subtle nod to the rest of the crew hidden behind the dragon riders.

“Or your lunatic boss and his dragon army, okay? Just give us back our dragon and we'll go, Strange-Hostile-Person-Whom-We've-Never-Met.” Rider continued.

“Oh, where are my manners?” The octoling opened their arms with a grin. “I'm Ocho. Son of Ocho. Finest dragon trapper alive. After all, it's not just anyone who can capture a Night Fury.”

Ghost bared his teeth before roaring.

“And this is Toothless. He says we're going. Now.” Rider narrowed his eyes.

Ocho sneered. “They all say that. RUSH 'EM, LADS!”

The hidden trappers attacked but the Nightfury fired at a large icicle, causing it to fall on the trappers, keeping them back. Rider, using his sword, cut Cloudstrike out of the net as Aloha called for her.

Dragons and riders took off, Cloudstrike and Aloha barely managing to escape as the other two followed.

“YOU WILL NEVER HOLD ON TO THOSE DRAGONS, YOU HEAR ME?! DRAGO IS COMING FOR THEM ALL!”

#last flights #last flights au #coroika #coroika au #how to train you dragon: the hidden world #how to train your dragon 2 #how to train your dragon #httyd au #httyd #coroika art #writing #writers on tumblr

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