Learning To Fly Away

Chapter 9

"Astrid, what are you doing here?" Hiccup asked.

"I want to know what's going on. Nobody just gets as good as you two, especially you Hiccup. Start talking! Are you training with someone?" She asked.

"No, we're not." Eira said honestly.

"Then what is it?" Astrid asked, not as harshly as she had asked Hiccup.

Just then, there was a rustle from the bushes. Astrid dives and topples Hiccup.

"Yeah, you got us, we train each other here, everyday, so, you can just go." Hiccup says quickly.

"No." Eira says firmly, holding her ground. "I trust her, she should know the truth. But Astrid, I swear to Thor, if you blab about this secret, I will personally kill you." She continued.

As she finished, Brighteyes jumped out, protective of her owner, with Toothless following her. Toothless goes in for an attack, but Eira holds him back.

"Toothless! You do not. And I repeat, do not, attack our friend." She snapped.

Toothless sheepishly retreated.

"Y-you... Dragons! Eira how have they not killed you?" Astrid asked.

I gave them respect, I got theirs in return." Eira said plainly.

"She really is amazing." Hiccup said, proud of standing up to her friend.

Astrid slowly starts backing up.

"I'm sorry, I can't let this go." She says before running off.

"We're dead." Hiccup says plainly.

"Not if I can help it. C'mon girl." She says hoping on the dragon, Hiccup following.

They fly over the forest until they find the girl. Brighteyes dives down and grabs Astrid, lifting her up.

"Oh great Odin's ghost, this is it." She cried.

Brighteyes eventually leaves her on top of a very tall tree. Hiccup and Toothless land on the tree, while Brighteyes and Eira hover beside it.

"Eira ! Get me down!" Astrid yelled.

"Just give us a chance to explain." Eira pleaded.

"I'm not listening." She cried.

"Then let me show you." Hiccup said, extending a hand. "Please."

Contemplating for a moment, Astrid swats away Hiccup's hand and climbs on Toothless.

"Now, get. Me. Down." Astrid demands.

"Toothless, down, gently." Hiccup instructs.

"He's not going to listen, is he." Eira whispered to Brighteyes. Brighteyes let out a small cry.

Just as predicted, Toothless began to hover before going crazy.

"Ugh, let's go girl." Eira said before taking off.

Toothless flies very fast and recklessly around the island. Eira could hear his yells from where she was.

"Toothless? What are you doing? We need her to like us." He cried.

Then Toothless began to spin.

"And now the spinning. Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile." Hiccup complained.

Brighteyes let out a warning shot to give out to Hiccup.

"Sorry!" He yelled.

"Okay! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Just get me down!" Astrid cried.

As if on que, Toothless calms and goes into a gentle glide. Brighteyes and Eira fly alongside them. They fly up towards the clouds and Eira watched as Astrid reached up and touched the clouds. A smile replaces her frown.

"Pretty amazing huh?" Eira said to her.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry for ever questioning you. I really think what you can do is amazing." Astrid said.

"Thanks. Maybe I could teach you one day. I mean, I taught Hiccup everything he knows." Eira said.

"No you didn't." Hiccup yelled.

"I did." Eira whispered to Astrid.

"Eira , I can still hear you." Hiccup whined.

The two girls laughed as the dragons ascended up above the clouds. Eira held back a bit, admiring the night sky. She saw Astrid hug Hiccup.

"Hiccstrid." She muttered to herself.

She caught up to Toothless and the over teens.

"Eira , what are you going to do? Your final exam is tomorrow. You're going to have to kill a dragon." She whispered the last part.

"I don't know." She said honestly.

Just then, the two dragons head down to cloud cover.

"Where are we going girl?" Eira asked. Brighteyes barked at her to be quiet.

They flew into dense cloud. Eira kept her head down. A Monstrous Nightmare flew past them before they were surrounded by thousands of dragons.

"Keep your head down guys." She heard Hiccup say softly.

"Girl, we have to leave." Eira said, but Brighteyes ignored her.

"It looks like they're hauling in the kill." Eira thought herself.

They eventually flew into a mountain. All the dragons started dropping all the food into it.

"The dragon's nest." Eira whispered. "What Dad would give to find this.

Brighteyes and Toothless landed on a ledge, and watched as fish and sheep landed into the red mist below.

"It's good to know that none of our food is being eaten." Hiccup said.

The three watch as a Gronkle lazily hovered over the whole, regurgitating a small fish. A roar lets out and he tries to flee, but he was too late. A massive dragon jumps up and swallows the Gronkle. Eira looks on horrified along with the other teens.

"What is that?" Astrid whisper-yelled.

The dragon sniffs the ledge that the teens were on.

"C'mon girl, let's go." Eira said hoping on Brighteyes as Hiccup got on Toothless.

"I'm riding with you." Astrid said hoping on Brighteyes.

The two dragons flew out along with hundreds of others. After traveling a bit, they land in the cove. The teens get off the dragons.

"It all makes sense!" Astrid said.

"She is the queen and all the other dragons are her workers!" Eira continued.

"Let's find your dad!" Astrid said, beginning to run off.

"No." Hiccup and Eira said sternly.

"Astrid, they'll kill our dragons. We need to think about this carefully." Eira explained.

"Eira , we've just discovered the dragons nest! The thing we've been after since Vikings arrived, and you want to keep it a secret?" Astrid cried.

"Yes." Eira said, holding her ground.

"Okay." Astrid said. "Then what do we do?"

"Just give us until tomorrow. We'll figure something out. Two heads are better than one." Eira said.

"Okay." Astrid said, before moving over to Hiccup and punching him in the arm.

"Ahh!" He cried.

"That's for kidnapping me." Astrid said before grabbing him. She then kisses him. "That's for everything else." She said before running off.

"Ohh someone's got a crush!" Eira teased as Brighteyes made a noise as if she were teasing him as well.

"Oh shut up." He muttered.

Eira turned to Brighteyes.

"I'll figure something out, I promise. Just keep your brother from doing something reckless." She said before heading home.