A New World, Complicated

Chapter 5: In Dragons We Trust (Reign)

 As you fly through life, it's important to know who you can trust, and who you can't. I know I can always count on Toothless. And it's important for him to know that no matter what, he can count on Hiccup and I.

I tried to keep myself from screaming as I watched Hiccup fall faster and faster toward the ground. He looked completely relaxed, but as usual, I was still on edge. Sometimes his tricks went a little too far, and while this was an exercise for the other Dragon Riders as well, it was still pretty insane. I had already taken my turn as Hiccup watched from the sidelines, and we had both declared neither of us should be on Toothless when he has to catch the other, as he should be completely reliant on his instincts. We made sure his tail fin couldn't collapse, then were each sent on our way as the other watched nervously from the shore.

Thankfully, the Night Fury swooped in and caught Hiccup, then looped around to get me.

"Nice catch, bud!" Hiccup congratulated. "A little close."

"No kidding..." I muttered. "Granted, that's not Toothless' fault." Hiccup glared back at me as I wrapped my arms around his waist. "Just saying."

"Oh, quiet, you." We made our way back to the others, who all looked equally as terrified. "It's your turn," Hiccup instructed Fishlegs. "Jump."

"I don't wanna jump! I-"

"You have to believe she's gonna catch you. It's a trust exercise."

"I like to do my trusting on the ground, thank you very much."

"Same here."

"Like this, chicken legs." Snotlout let go of Hookfang's horns and allowed himself to fall toward the ocean. I'm sure he expected Hookfang to catch him, but the Monstrous Nightmare wouldn't budge.

"So, should we mention something to Hookfang?" Tuffnut tentatively asked.

"Let him sleep on it." Astrid, on the other hand, decided to take action. She maneuvered Stormfly closer to the large dragon.

"Hookfang! Get him!" The Nightmare looked at Hiccup and I for a moment, almost confused, and Toothless roared at him. His gaze suddenly flashed down to his Rider, who was tumbling closer and closer to the ocean at an alarming pace.

"Not feeling the trust!" Hookfang dove and managed to catch Snotlout, but they ended up crashing through a building and onto the ground.

And that building just happened to be Mildew's house. Just our luck.

"Oh Thor, we're dead..." I sighed. Just as fast as they had fallen in, Snotlout and Hookfang shot back out of the old man's house and sprinted back to all of us.

"Oh, something tells me we're gonna hear about this..." Hiccup looked around at all the others, and I took action.

"Lesson's over for the day, everyone. Just- just go home." Everyone landed, and Hiccup, Toothless, and I started back toward his home. "Reign, I think you should go back home for this."

"No, no. I want to be there to stand up for the dragons." Toothless happily purred and I scratched his head as we walked. We entered his house to absolute peace and quiet, and we thought we had almost gotten away with this.

"Hiccup!"

Or not...

Hiccup took a seat at the table, while I rested my hands on the top of the chair and Toothless curled around both of us. Chief Stoick stormed in and slammed a piece of wood down on the table, causing Hiccup to nervously laugh.