Broken Prophecy: How to Train Your Dragon

THE BROKEN PROPHECY Chapter 6

This is a fanfic and I make no money from this. Original copyrights belong to Dreamworks and Cresedia Cowell

Chapter 6

The morning after the storm, started as many did. A thin blade of early morning light pierced the darkness of the cave. The solid warmth pressed against his side, tucked under his extended wing was new. Memories of singing and telling stories before falling asleep brings a grin to his face. The young male slowly stirs, green eyes blinking sleep away, before slowly retracting his wing. His companion stirs only a moment, then settles back down into her dreams once more. A new scent fills his senses, and with an effort he silently leaves the cave. A frown chases his smile away, 'Her scent is changing... If she has spent her whole life, thinking of herself as male as she has told me, then she won't thank me for what happens next'.  

Tannlaus clears his thoughts, and gently bangs his tail against a smooth grey stone, glancing over his back he checks to make sure Kari is still asleep.  Satisfied he lets the clay cast break and fall away.  Giving himself a moment to let circulation flow back into the injured limb, he stretches his tailfin out. The scar tissue forms a subtle spiderweb through the soft membrane. 'Healing nicely, another week and there will barely any signs of the injury', he thinks to himself. Extending his wings, he leaps letting his wings beat against the air, lifting silently into the sky.

Tannlaus had been quiet the last few days about their food supply, that neither dragon had been eating enough. He knew the small cove was protected from the worst of the stormy season, but the pond at its heart would soon be fished out. His tail, now free of its cast, finally allows him a chance to soar again. Looking back into the cove, he sees his companion still sleeping soundly. With a powerful flap, he launches himself through the skies. Banking hard, he turns out toward the sea and to an awaiting school of fish. Grinning, he soars through the clear blue sky, seeking his chances to fish before his Kari wakes. 'Maybe she was joking about courtship last night, by why not try to show her how well I can provide'...

Kari slowly stretches, the brisk morning air pushing past her cocoon of warmth. Lifting her head she looks around, and for the first time in a week, finds herself alone. Stepping out of the cave, her belly rumbles as she looks into the lake shallows. A single fish shines like silver just out of reach. Looking into the clear blue sky, all traces of the night's storm is long past. Bright, fluffy clouds dot the pale blue expanse, painted silver and gold in the early light. A pang of longing and loneliness, an uncomfortably familiar feeling, once more creeps in and takes hold. Hiccup looks between the empty sky, the empty cove and the empty cave, and feels almost crushed by the sudden weight of it. Unbidden the thought that Tannlaus has left, never to return, enters the young dragon's mind. 'No, he'll be back... Maybe. Or not... I mean now he has a chance to be free again, and not be burdened by me... No, no, of course he'll be back. He's my friend... My only... friend, he wouldn't really abandon me, would he?'

An unexpected shadow passes overhead, making the young dragon look up. For the briefest moment, the sun is blotted out by the other dragon's dark wings. Watching Tannlaus graceful approach, Hiccup feels a stirring deep inside, not quite sure what to call the overwhelming feeling, he files it away for later.

"Good morning, Kari!" He calls out. "I brought breakfast!" The larger dragon's toothless grin stretches from ear to ear. Without preamble, he rolls his eyes back and bobs his head. With a 'hurk hurk' he brings up a sizable pile of fish from his craw. Sitting back on his haunches, he gives her a satisfied grin.

A look of disgust briefly crosses her face. It had taken a couple of days for the former Viking to get used to eating fish raw, but the pile of partially digested fish is almost too much. Tannlaus looks hopefully at the pile, smacking his lips together, then back to his smaller friend. Hiccup can see the eager expectation in his eyes. Despite the idea of previously swallowed food, the scent of fresh fish wafts into Hiccups nose, setting his stomach to grumbling and angrily complaining. Closing his eyes, he eats, letting his hunger win out over his disgust, and before he realizes it, he has finished off every last fish.

Looking up, Hiccup watches as Tannlaus continues grinning. Almost by reflex, he mirrors his companions earlier action and brings a single fish back up, a sea trout by the looks of it. Hiccup didn't think his friends smile could get any bigger, but bigger it did get, just before he scoops the fish up and swallows it whole.

"Did you sleep well?" Tannlaus asks, slipping back onto all fours.

"I did." Hiccup rubs against a nearby pile of grey stones, desperately trying to reach an itch he can't quite reach. One moment it feels like his arm needs a good scratch, then his back, but nowhere could he get any satisfaction from this aggressive itching. With a frustrated growl, Hiccup rolls onto his back trying to find some relief to the 'wandering itch'. "How long were you gone?" Hiccup asks as he continues to writhe in the gravel.

Tannlaus watches as Kari rolls and wriggles on the ground before him. Her scent, a slightly spicy odor mixed with something sweet, akin to honey, fills his senses. In her thrashing, she keeps exposing herself to his gaze. Every instinct demands he claim the female, take her, fill her and give her a clutch of eggs. Tannlaus growls to himself as he turns away from her, not answering her question. "I think we need to start teaching you to fly today..."

That makes the new Night Fury pause. "I thought we were going to wait until I mastered my fire?"

"NO! We need to get started NOW!" Tannlaus flinches, almost as much as Kari, at the harsh tone he didn't mean to make. "I'm sorry, I'm not feeling quite myself. Let's get you started by climbing to the top of this boulder. You can jump off, and glide to the far side of the lake." Tannlaus moves to sit beside the smooth grey stone. "If you don't make it, landing in the water will be less painful than crashing into trees or the ground."

It takes several tries before Kari manages to awkwardly claw her way to the top of the rock.  Under his instruction, she stretches her wings as far as they can go.  Tannlaus watches appreciatively as she shows off the sleek angles of her form before fearlessly leaping into the air. And for three glorious seconds she feels the wind fill her wings and hold her aloft.  Looking back to crow her pleasure, she feels her left wing dip oddly.

Tannlaus watches with a sense of pride as his pupil manages to catch the wind on her first try. His pride is cut short, however, as she spirals out of control and crashes into the center of the lake with a huge splash. Watching her sputter and spit a stream of water, the larger dragon can't help but laugh. His deep throaty warble is contagious as Kari joins in. She gets a mischievous glint in her eye before filling her mouth and sending another stream of water in his direction, spraying him right in the face. The sudden fountain of water makes him stop laughing and shoots her a dirty look, before diving into the pool. 

She loses sight of him for only a moment before he silently surfaces behind her and pushes her under. They play and wrestle like that for some time, before once more climbing out and up onto the large rock, to resume flight training. The impromptu bath had an unforeseen benefit, as it washed the strongest of her scent away, letting Tannlaus once more focus on his lessons, and less on her lithe form.

"Alright," he calls out, "You had a good start, but you need to be aware of your head's position, and how your tail is lined up.  It looked like you had a good start, but when you moved your head, the rest...  just kind of followed."  He tries to explain, before showing her what he means.

Kari chuckles from atop her launching pad, "So begins another exhausting day of excercises."

"If you'd rather, I could shoot fireballs at you...  You know, to keep you motivated."  He teases back, fully aware of how tired she had been the previous day, but the brief look of elation as she first glided was something he couldn't wait to see again.