Emma: The Glow Within (Book 2, HTTYD Fanfic)

35: Nova

Her black wings at of the sky with power strokes, her scales glistening like midnight dust with a purple sheen to them that matched my hair. I clung to her back with ease, mostly holding on with my legs as I trailed my fingers above me in a silver cloud. It had been a couple hours since I flew away on this dragon's back to get away from the lunatic who wanted to sell my egg and convince me time is frozen here. At first the night fury was reluctant to have me on her back, shifting uncomfortably and watching me carefully. But we had met several times before, the last time being when I saved her life, and she grew to accept me. We already shared a special bond I couldn't explain.

She made me the way I am... I thought to myself. I had never really heard the whole story on that; I know I was hit with the seventh blast of this night fury... I didn't know why. I knew she also killed my parents... I shifted awkwardly on her back, and her eyes flicked up at me sensing the change in my mood.

Her eyes were an endless sea of a dark violet, deep with experience. She could hold the whole universe in those eyes: it felt like she could stop wars with her gaze, calm storms or start a cyclone, tame the waves or make them roar. And those were my eyes too...we had the same eyes. Is that what people saw when the looked into my eyes?

I patted the dragon on the head and she did a flip in the air, making me squeal and grasp around her neck to hold on, since I didn't have a saddle to hold onto. I giggled and rubbed her head. I hadn't been around her quite long enough to be able to tell what she was saying, but I didn't need to. It showed in her eyes.

"I told Hiccup I would meet him right about now... We should go. But stay in the shadows; the last thing I need is another entitled villager trying to steal you. Or the egg. Or the crown. Yeah, there are a lot of reasons to stay stealthy right now..." I rambled, the dragon growling softly when I mentioned the egg getting stolen.

I folded my arms across my chest in an angry huff. People were trying to steal from me. That wasn't something that normally happened. No one would dare.

But I also knew why they did it... The boy wanted the crown money to restore the village--that wasn't a bad thing. That other guy was a lunatic psycho, so I wasn't even going to defend him. This place was in ruins, and that kid just wanted to fix it...

The crown isn't mine to give, I reminded myself. I absently tugged my hair into a braid. My dragon dove down into a shadowy patch of trees, her eyes glowing like stars in the darkness.

My dragon... my mind repeated. It just came naturally, like simply 'the night fury' didn't fit anymore. She was my dragon. She needed a name...

"How do you feel about...Star as a name?" The dragon raised an eyebrow. "You're right, you're right... hmm... Nightskies?" She shook her head.

Her eyes... They burned like an exploding star, glowing magically.

Exploding star...

"Nova?" The dragon looked up at me as if Nova were already her name. She flashed a gummy smile. "You like that name, huh? Nova. It's perfect." I slid off of her back and sat down on a rock in the snow. The cold seeped into me, but I ignored it.

I pulled the egg out of my satchel, and Nova happily bounded over to me. She carefully blew purple flames onto the ground, clearing the snow and making a small fire. She then stomped on it, extinguishing the flames. I put the egg on the warmed patch of ground and Nova sat down next to it. She licked the egg with her velvety pink tongue, much like Toothless had done when he first saw it.

"I'll go find my friends, you stay here and protect your egg. If you see anyone from Berk, don't attack them. They'll probably have a symbol like this somewhere on them," I lifted up a picture of the Berk crest I had stuffed in my bag, "And most have helmets shaped like this." I pointed to another drawing on the same page.