The One Who Ran Away [Open]

[Dusty the Small]

Slicediver rumbled and lightly touched her palm with his claw, so as not to cut her. He rarely did that with anyone besides Dusty, and he knew the humans could only guess it was because he liked the person. It was true, in a sense, but he was really trying to reassure her that dragons weren't that bad.

Dusty was excited that Lana agreed. She jumped around a little. "Great! We can take you, can't we, Slicediver?" The dragon rumbled again in agreement. "And if you like it maybe we can find you a dragon of your own. There are lots of eggs and newborns just-"

"Calm down, Dusty. Hiccup cut in, then turned to Lana. "We'll see if you like flying. And let us know if there's anything we can do to make you more comfortable during your stay. Seems I'm needed elsewhere, so I'll see you around."[/b] He patted Toothless and went on his way. Toothless followed, swishing his tail. He wanted to go for a flight but he guessed it would have to wait.

"I'll fly Toothless later!" Dusty called after them. Hiccup waved his hand to indicate that he'd heard her. Astrid could fly him if she couldn't, but Dusty loved to fly Toothless.

She turned back to Lana. "So, are you alright with flying with Slicediver and me?"

Dusty's Speech	Dusty's Thoughts
Slicediver's Speech	Slicediver's Thoughts
Halvor's Speech	Halvor's Thoughts
Hiccup's Speech	Hiccup's Thoughts
Toothless' Speech	Toothless' Thoughts

[Revan]

Lanayril | Female Wanderer

Lanayril broke out into a smile when Slicediver touched her palm. There was a gentleness to the gesture that she'd never seen in a dragon before. In fact, she didn't see it in many humans either. It once again brought to mind the idea that dragons weren't so different from humans, or at least herself and the Berkians. But then again, Slicediver was Dusty's dragon. She still knew nothing about interacting with wild dragons, though perhaps she'd ask Dusty about that later.

Lana's smile turned slightly nervous when Dusty began talking excitedly. Part of her appreciated the enthusiasm, but part of her was wondering what she had gotten herself into. It seemed she had only just docked at Berk, and already she was soon to be up in the sky on the back of a dragon. Hiccup seemed to understand, and interrupted the very excited Dusty. His offer made her smile once again, and she waved as he left. If the chief and his friend were so nice.. maybe she wouldn't mind sticking around Berk a while longer to learn about dragons.

"Yeah," Lana answered, turning back to face Dusty. She couldn't quite describe it, but she was feeling anxious but excited. She wanted to know what it was like to see the land from the back of a dragon. "We'll start off slow, right?"

"Speech." | 'Thoughts.'

[Midnight[x]Traitor]

Holly clasped her hands together, beaming wildly. I'm so excited to see your reaction to your first flight! It's a beautiful thing! She walked over to Lillydew and climbed onto her back. She remembered her first flight with Lillydew. Since Lillydew was younger than her, she had to teach the dragon to fly on her own first. Once Lillydew became of age to fly, Holly would take her out to windy places in the mountains to get use to her wings. Much like Hiccup did with Toothless, she tethered Lillydew to the ground with a rope so she wouldn't tumble away. The wind would lift her off the ground, and she got use to the adjustments she had to make on her wings to stay up. Holly also brought her to caves, where the air was nearly dead, to practice strengthening her wings. Lillydew would have to use all her wing strength to get up off the ground in the dead air. After awhile, Lillydew became an expert on her own.

The day Holly rode Lillydew, it was a fridged early spring morning. There was a slight breeze, but not anything too harsh. Holly put the saddle on Lillydew, then mounted her. She had Lillydew make a few test flaps to see how much heavier Holly was on her. Since Holly's house is where her own mother lives, they did not need to travel far for high ground. They stood over the edge, staring down below into the ocean. Holly gulped, but she had faith in Lillydew. Fly. She barely whispered the words, but Lillydew took off...and plummeted. They raced towards the sea at great speeds, but at the last minute, Lillydew was able to open her wings correctly to glide forward. Holly's teeth chattered from fear, joy, and the cold air. Her heart raced, and she felt free. She took her hands off Lillydew's spine, then slowly put them out to her sides. Even though she was well into her middle aged adulthood, she had felt like a kid again.

Lillydew shook her body, bringing Holly back from her flashback. Are we ready?

[Dusty the Small]

Dusty nodded. "Yeah, it is! I was scared of heights, but Slicediver fixed that." She patted the dragon.

That first flight. She and Hiccup had worked together making a saddle to fit him. He was reluctant to let anyone near him, except for Dusty, of course. After they'd fitted the saddle on him, Dusty clambered up onto his back to see if the saddle was suitable for her as well as the dragon. Hiccup turned his back, Dusty adjusted some straps, and out of nowhere Slicediver took off. She screamed and held on to him as tightly as she could. But for all her screaming, Slicediver banked to one side, then the other, he rose high, and dove down,slowing down just enough to land lightly. That was how he got his name, and that was how Dusty got over her fear of heights. And shyness, for that matter. And Hiccup laughed for ten minutes straight at how her hands were shaking when she got down.

"Slicediver, down." He stretched his wings a bit and crouched low to the ground. Dusty turned to Lana. "I'll help you up. He usually gives me his claw if I can't get up on my own."

Dusty's Speech	Dusty's Thoughts
Slicediver's Speech	Slicediver's Thoughts
Halvor's Speech	Halvor's Thoughts
Hiccup's Speech	Hiccup's Thoughts
Toothless' Speech	Toothless' Thoughts

[Revan]

Lanayril | Female Wanderer

Lanayril once again smiled nervously. She, too, was interested in what her reaction might be. A simple thing like watching Holly climb onto the back of her dragon helped to calm her nerves. It showed just how experienced she was, and Dusty was likely the same. Her first flight.. she paused a moment to take it in. Briefly, she wondered what he father and sister would think if they ever saw her flying on a dragon, but she quickly brought her mind away from the thought. Perhaps.. once day, she would return.

Seeing Slicediver lower himself to the ground made her heart beat faster. Suddenly she was worried about a great number of things. 'What if I can't hold on? What if I fall off?' Lana took a deep breath to banish her worries, reminding herself that she was confident Slicediver wouldn't go too fast or make and quick movements that might make her fall off. Dusty seemed confident that he wouldn't, anyway, and that was enough for her.

Lana nodded to both Dusty and Holly, once again glancing back to Slicediver. This time, she looked at his saddle. Even with the dragon couched low to the ground, it was high up. "Okay, I'm ready."

"Speech." | 'Thoughts.'

[Midnight[x]Traitor]

Lillydew let out an excited squawk, then flapped her wings testily. Let's take to the air then! Holly squeezed Lillydew's side slightly with her legs, telling her to take off. The Nadder took off at a sprint, racing towards the edge of the dock. Her wings slowly unfolded. She loved flying, just as the fish love to swim. It was a dragon's natural instinct to fly, and a part of who they were. She had yet to meet a dragon who did not love the feeling of the wind under their wings, or the view from far above. Sometimes when both Holly and Kiira were sleeping, she would take a night flight on her own. The air was chillier at night, but the world looks completely different at night.

When Lilly reached the end of the dock, she pushed off with her muscular legs. It took a lot less effort to fly with a running start than just flying straight up from a standing point. Holly's heart skipped a beat as her beautiful Nadder flew close to the ocean. Lillydew glided along the water, then decided to fly higher. She thrusted her wings down, using the most powerful muscles in her wings to lift them both higher. Eventually, Holly asked Lillydew to level off with a rapid squeeze of her legs, then asked her to curve to the left with the squeeze of her left leg. The healer glanced back to see if Dusty and Lana were following. She would let them take the lead from here on out since she did not know what Lana was comfortable with.

[Dusty the Small]

Dusty helped Lana into the saddle, then clambered up behind her. "Here, I'll help you strap in. I have a harness but you can just strap your legs in. I'm right here behind you." Once the outsider was fully secured, Dusty put one hand on her shoulder and patted Slicediver with the other. He had watched intently as Lillydew flew away, and he was very eager to follow. "Let's go, then. But take it easy, big guy." He made an understanding prrrr and opened all four of his wings. For a few seconds he balanced on his hind legs. "The takeoff is bumpy but it'll be alright." Dusty managed to tell Lana right before he took off.

Since they were starting from the ground and not from a height, the dragon had to push off with his legs and flap his wings violently. They rose rather quickly, with Dusty holding on to Lana's shoulder with one hand and gripping the saddle with the other. When Slicediver felt he was high enough above the ground, he leveled out and flew smoothly, sort of gliding, right under the clouds. Lillydew was a few winglengths from him, and he let out a roar of excitement. It was great to stretch his wings.

Dusty's Speech	Dusty's Thoughts
Slicediver's Speech	Slicediver's Thoughts
Halvor's Speech	Halvor's Thoughts
Hiccup's Speech	Hiccup's Thoughts
Toothless' Speech	Toothless' Thoughts

[Revan]

Lanayril | Female Wanderer

"O-okay.." Lana replied nervously, already clutching tightly to the saddle. Her eyes were drawn to Holly and Lillydew as they took off, and she wondered if they were going to run first as they did. The takeoff looked rather bumpy, and it only made her more anxious. She made the mistake of looking at the ground before they had even started to move, and the image of it being far away flashed through her mind. Lana took a deep breath and held it for a moment before exhaling to calm her nerves. It didn't help much.

Lanayril barely had time to nod in response to Dusty before Slicediver pushed himself into the air. The girl let out a yelp, and leaned forward a bit while closing her eyes. Her hold on the saddle had practically tightened into a deathgrip, and she wondered why she had agreed to try something as crazy as this. At least Dusty's hand on her shoulder was somewhat comforting.

But finally, when the dragon leveled out, Lana started to become less tense. She hadn't opened her eyes yet, but she felt the cold breeze. The roar of the dragon spooked her, as evident by her flinching, but slowly she began to open her eyes and sit up straight. At first she looked at the landscape through a narrow gaze, but then her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. It was so stunning, she didn't have the words. Lana was far too scared to lean far enough to see under them, but she saw plenty from her position. Berk looked amazing from such a height, and so did the water and the rocks jutting out from the sea. It was all almost too much to take in all at once.

"Speech." | 'Thoughts.'

[Midnight[x]Traitor]

Just by using small movements, Holly could control Lillydew. She leaned back and placed one hand on the scales in front of her. Lillydew adjusted her wings so that she slowed down enough to fly next to Slicediver. She flew close enough that their wings almost touched, although his had a much larger wingspan. Holly glanced over at Lana, amused by the look on her face. Holly could tell she was completely awed by the sight. It was a beautiful time of day to fly as well. The sun was sinking lower into the ocean, and would soon paint the sky with brilliant colors of pink and orange. The contrast between the vibrant warm colors and the cool hues of the ocean was breathtaking. She wondered if Lana would be able to handle going higher, and flying through the few clouds above.

Holly decided she would let Lana make that decision on her own and leaned far forward in her saddle, while also giving a couple squeezes with her legs. Lillydew took the signal and beat her wings harder. The nadder let out an excited dragon-bark as she thrusted straight up. They flew higher and higher, disappearing into a cloud above. She didn't stop there though. They flew higher still, until they were above the few puffy clouds, and the air was colder. They leveled off, gliding back and forth, enjoying the view of the world below. So much smaller... All their problems were so much smaller...

[Dusty the Small]

Dusty couldn't help but giggle at Lana's reaction to the takeoff. It wasn't her favorite part, sure, but she was used to it. It was sort of funny that Lana wasn't. She felt her jump when Slicediver roared. "He's just excited. We fly every day but we didn't get to until just now." She fell quiet and let Lana admire the scenery. On the surface, Berk wasn't a remarkable place, but from the back of a dragon, it was the most beautiful place in the world.

As she spoke and they started gliding, he put his secondary wings back together with the primary ones, making one pair of good, strong wings. It made him less maneuverable, but he didn't need to do anything fancy. There was another girl on his back and he knew she hadn't flown before. Even though he had spiraled and dove and flipped in the air on Dusty's first flight, he sensed this girl wouldn't care much for that. He wasn't much for travelling from island to island, but flying around Berk was the best, as far as he was concerned.

He and Dusty heard Lillydew's happy bark and looked to see what she an Holly were up to, just in time to see the nadder's legs and tail disappear into the clouds. Dusty tapped Lana's shoulder. "Do you want to go up there, too?"

Dusty's Speech	Dusty's Thoughts
Slicediver's Speech	Slicediver's Thoughts
Halvor's Speech	Halvor's Thoughts
Hiccup's Speech	Hiccup's Thoughts
Toothless' Speech	Toothless' Thoughts

[Revan]

Lanayril | Female Wanderer

Lana held on more tightly as Slicediver started gliding, and she was glad the ride felt much more smooth. She was focused mainly on Berk and how small it looked from such a height, but she looked up to see Holly and Lillydew disappear into the clouds. It looked like something out of a dream. Lana only glanced away from the sky when Dusty tapped her on the shoulder. She glanced back at her as carefully as she could.

"Um, sure, I guess so," Lana answered, tightening her grip in preparation. She knew it'd be a bit bumpy getting up above the clouds, so at the same time she wasn't quite certain why she agreed. Still, she wanted to know what it would look like. At this point, her curiosity and the good feelings from seeing such amazing sights was winning over her slight aversion to heights.

"Speech." | 'Thoughts.'

[Midnight[x]Traitor]

Holly and Lillydew continued to fly above the clouds, using the air currents to guide them. Far in the distance, Holly made out one of the various island around Berk. A tiny light flickered on it, and she wondered who was camped out on that island. A flock of birds suddenly appeared beside them, obviously ignoring the dragon and rider. They were yellow and black birds, with a dash of red on their tail feathers and chest. Holly was always jealous of birds and their ability to fly whenever they wanted to. It was a childish thing to think, but she had always loved birds growing up. Even when they were still at war with the dragons, Holly remembered she mostly hated them not because they stole her family's sheep, but because they could fly. It was certainly better than the cold, harsh sea.

The birds turned suddenly, then vanished into the distance.

[Dusty the Small]

Slicediver had been listening to them talk, waiting to see whether or not he was allowed to rise up above the cold clouds. Even if he wasn't, he probably would have anyway. He used his secondary wings again to rise up slowly until they were above the clouds. The cold air didn't bother him so much; he was built for it. He knew that the humans on Berk had gotten used to it, but they had to bundle up for it. He purred happily that he was a dragon, and that they were drifting high above the ground.

"See, this isn't so bad." Dusty said when they leveled out. She looked over at Holly and Lillydew and giggled at the fearless flock of birds. It always lifted her spirits to see little creatures so unafraid of the dragons. Well, little creatures in general lifted her spirits. Maybe she'd adopt a terrible terror. Then again, Slicediver would probably get jealous. She patted him absentmindedly and finally turned to take in the scenery.

The sinking sun lit up the clouds just below them, turning them pink and orange and even yellow. It reflected off the ocean and turned the distant islands into dotted silhouettes. Dusty counted herself lucky to share a dragon's perspective.

Dusty's Speech	Dusty's Thoughts
Slicediver's Speech	Slicediver's Thoughts
Halvor's Speech	Halvor's Thoughts
Hiccup's Speech	Hiccup's Thoughts
Toothless' Speech	Toothless' Thoughts

[Revan]

Lanayril | Female Wanderer

Lana tensed a bit when Slicediver rose above the clouds, but it wasn't long before she relaxed again. Now the clouds blocked her view of most of the land and sea below, but it was still a breathtaking sight. Her attention was more focused on the flock of birds soaring by, and she wondered why they weren't terrified of the dragons. Then again, Lana never remembered seeing a dragon eat a bird. Just fish and livestock. Maybe that was why.

She managed a nod in response to Dusty, though she wasn't quite sure if the other girl had noticed the movement. Lana didn't think to check, because soon she became entranced by the sunset. She'd seen it plenty of times from rooftops and cliff sides, but never from such a height as this. It almost made the cold worth it, since she certainly hadn't dressed for this flight. That was one thing she hadn't anticipated.

"I kind of like this," she admitted, though it may have been drowned out buy the sound of the wind and flapping wings.

"Speech." | 'Thoughts.'

[Midnight[x]Traitor]

Holly looked over and smiled when she saw the cloudjumper and riders appear. Lana seemed scared at first, but then adjusted to the new height. Holly reached out with her hand and let her hands run through the clouds. They seemed so tangible from far away, but slipped through your fingers when you tried to reach out for it. It's both sad and beautiful, thought Holly.

As the flew above the clouds, none were aware of the threat below... because no one cloud see them. A flock of changewings flew directly below them, maneuvering themselves into an attack formation, much like a pack of wolves. Two of them flew above them, in case they tried to escape up. It wasn't until they were within a certain distance that Lillydew smelled their presence. Every dragon how their own scent, and this one was just as distinct. Slicediver! Changwings! Of course, she didn't say changewings. She said the dragon-tongue name for the changewings, which could not be translated into human english. The second she said their name, a couple of the changewings from below attacked. They shot up from underneath the clouds and rammed Lillydew in the side, and tried to ram Slicediver as well. Holly was nearly dismounted from Lillydew, but managed to hang on by a mere spike. She scrambled back onto Lillydew, who revealed her tail spikes. The remaining changewings all revealed themselves: two (now four) above, one in front, and two behind them. They were being hunted! But what for?