Comet Nights (HTTYD Fanfic)

Chapter Three: Bonding

So Hiccup began the process of making Comet trust him. He went about it much like the way he had tamed Toothless, except he was much more likely to get his hair singed off when he visited. For that reason, he always brought Toothless with him. Whenever it looked like Comet would try to hurt him, the other Night Fury always pushed her away. It heartened the Chief to see that his dragon cared about him so much that he would risk Comet's wrath for him.

It was true that the female Night Fury had taken a liking to Toothless, which was always good. The more he left them alone together, it became more and more likely that they would choose to be mates when the time came. Hiccup was glad of that. If what Valka said was true and they were the last living Night Furies, it would be terrible if they weren't a fit match for each other. Also, leaving her with Toothless seemed to make her less angry at Hiccup himself, as if her companion was explaining things to her.

Bit by bit, day by day, Hiccup could see Comet's anger subside, until one morning when he appeared and she did nothing more than gaze at him out of the corner of her eyes. He nearly punched the air right then, but he managed to quell the urge. Comet liked him! Or, at least, she didn't hate him anymore.

Finally, one lazy afternoon, Hiccup was leaning on a rock, half-asleep. It was the height of summer, which meant that for now, it wasn't raining. A pile of fish lay next to him, and every once in a while Hiccup would toss one to the dragons. However, they were just as sleepy as he was, and Toothless was lazing by the pond.

Suddenly, Hiccup felt a cold nose rub his palm. Sluggishly he opened his eyes and looked over.

There, poking at the fish, was Comet, her pupils wide as she begged Hiccup for a snack. He nearly jumped up in surprise. Comet stood back and cocked her head.

"Do you want a fish, girl?" he said softly, holding up a trout. To his amazement, she actually smiled a toothless smile, her pink tongue visible. He smiled back and threw the fish up in the air. Comet reared up and snapped it from its descent, then looked at him, her eyes warm and trusting.

Knowing that he was risking one of his limbs, Hiccup gingerly placed his hand out in front of her and squeezed his eyes shut. He honestly expected Comet to bite his entire arm off.

Nothing. Hiccup began to put his arm back down when...

She nestled her nose in the palm of his hand, staring up at him all the while. Hiccup opened his eyes and grinned.

It had worked.

Comet trusted him.

"Come on, bud! Today's a great day for flying!"

It was one of those extremely windy days that Toothless loved. Together, the dragon and his rider would climb air currents and let the wind carry them wherever it wished, transporting them to new and exciting lands. Hiccup could tell his Night Fury was ecstatic to go, but he hung behind, looking at Comet pleadingly. She ignored him and went on licking one of her talons pointedly.

"She'll come if she wants to. Come on, Toothless! Don't you want to fly?" asked Hiccup. Toothless snorted and turned away from his companion, letting his rider clamber up on his back. Hiccup slotted his peg foot into its holster and heard the reassuring noise of the Night Fury's tail unfolding. They launched up and soared into the clouds, the wind buffeting them and pushing them every which way. It was exhilarating, being up here as free as... Well, as free as a dragon!

Toothless roared and let out a blast of blue fire, swirling with the breeze. Then, all of a sudden, there was an answering fireball!

Hiccup looked behind him to see none other than Comet trailing them, her black wings spread wide and her blue eyes sparkling. She overtook Toothless and hovered in front of them for a moment, beating her leathery wings to keep herself stable.

Comet gave a friendly roar. Toothless grinned and returned the call. The two Night Furies hovered there in the sky, blue eyes meeting green ones, finned tails pumping in the wind.

Then, the wind blew them both away. Hiccup punched the air and gave a cry of happiness as the two dragons wheeled and dipped, punching through clouds and spiraling around each other. Random gusts blew the pair around like autumn leaves in a storm, making Toothless do a loop-de-loop and forcing Comet to somersault about backwards, head over tail.

"Look out, boys!" Another dragon soared up and flew alongside Hiccup. He glanced over to see Stormfly, Astrid on her back. The dragon's rider was staring at Comet, wide-eyed.

"Is that another Night Fury?" exclaimed Astrid.

"Yes! Her name's Comet!" responded Hiccup. The other rider gasped and looked over at him, wonder in her eyes.

"Her?!"

"Yes, it's a female! Isn't it great?!"

"No it's not! It's absolutely wonderful!"

Hiccup laughed, and together the three dragons rode the wind, rulers of the air.