Chapter Text
Seasonal Shift
Stoick had cast off the anchor in search of the nest just weeks before the start of summer’s storm season, and Berk had enjoyed the bulk of its fair weather in that intervening time. Many used it to exercise, train, craft in the light of the sun, and farm their fields and herds into the best health and productivity that could be achieved.
Hiccup used the bulk of it to befriend a dragon, and then squandered the rest on recovery after the loss of a limb.
When he wakes from his convalescence he finds storm clouds huddled at the edge of the horizon and a chill riding the edge of the wind. Fall is just a few weeks off, and the long winter will be close behind. Especially with his injuries and the sudden upheaval of traditions his village has undergone without his being there to follow and understand it, it would be best to hunker down for the season and focus on adjusting.
But Hiccup’s best friend is a dragon who needs to exercise his wings, and Hiccup himself is an amputee who’s only respectable viking skill is dragon riding. So Hiccup takes to the skies.
“Stoick said to be back before dark,” Astrid calls as Stormfly glides down from an updraft. Hiccup rolls his eyes and hunkers down a little lower on Toothless’ back. It’s partially about showing her he doesn’t much care for the input but also in search of a more aerodynamic shape. Toothless has fully recovered from their battle at the nest but they’re still not back up to the speed Hiccup craves. Not if Stormfly can catch up to them in the open sky over the ocean. “And remember Gothi is going to check your leg tomorrow, so don’t irritate it too much. It’s already gonna get poked and prodded-”
“Alright!” Hiccup calls, “I get it, I won’t overdo it.”
Astrid comes out with him, most days, and the other riders join often. Hiccup… enjoys the company. He’s not sure he can call any of them friends yet (except Astrid but that doesn’t feel real yet. His old crush was so much a fantasy that friendly interactions feel like he must be imagining them.) He’s used to the sky being an empty place, populated only by boats on the water below and the gulls that Toothless likes to swoop through and scatter.
But Hiccup has lots of lonely places. The smithy in the late hours, his house when his dad is consumed by clan business, the cove which he still escapes to when he’s tired of prying eyes.
The sky is such a fantastic thing. Flying is amazing! He doesn’t mind sharing.
“The wind is terrible today!” Snotlout shouts as Hookfang drifts up from below. “I can’t feel my ears!”
“Do you think windburn leaves scars?” Ruffnut asks excitedly.
“Maybe if we go faster, yeah!” Tuffnut says and together they urge Barf and Belch upward in pursuit of a steep dive.
He doesn’t mind sharing. Mostly. But they sure are picky.
It’s true that the weather has shifted. Some days they wake up to frost on the grass and Hiccup is a little more grateful each day to have a dragon heating his room. He’s lived on Berk his whole life and is no stranger to the cold that comes with living just a few degrees South of freezing to death. He considers it a feature of his home, actually. The cold that nips at his ears and streaks across his cheeks when he and Toothless fly is not worth worrying about compared to the still bitter chills that fall over the island in winter. At best, it is a small price to pay for the view and the rush. At worst it is only going to get colder so he might as well appreciate what he’s got.
None of the other riders had to spend weeks learning the aerodynamics of dragon tails, how not to get their hand bitten off while approaching an injured wild animal, and hiding their favorite part of their day from everyone they knew to get up into the open cloud plain. Maybe they just can’t appreciate how impossible it is to be up here at all. At least not like he can.
“Maybe we should all find some equipment that can better protect us from the wind,” he suggests anyway. He thinks on the potential designs- a mask maybe that encircles the head. But he likes the wind in his hair too much to think about it seriously. At least for now.
“Bucket says it’ll be storming soon,” Fishlegs pipes up from behind. “Might want to aim to be back on Berk before dark. Don’t want to get caught in the rain. In this weather, it might be sleet or even hail.”
“Don’t worry so much Fishlegs,” Hiccup calls back, “The dragons are fast and we can find shelter if we need to. Let’s just get the dragons their exercise and excitement for the day. Right, bud?”
Beneath him, Toothless warbles and the sound reverberates in his ribcage, vibrating against Hiccup’s knees. He never gets tired of riding Toothless, and has actually taken to doing it around town more than he ever intended to. If forced to choose between feeling the phantom pains of walking on a nonexistent leg and the gentle filling of his best friend’s lungs pulsing beneath his hands, he’ll gladly take the latter. But Toothless isn’t a pack yak, he’s smart and excitable and therefore boreable.
Toothless looks at the sky like Hiccup does- like there is nowhere else he’d rather be.
As soon as Hiccup mentions his name, Toothless takes the cue and shifts beneath him. He flares his wings just slightly wider and Hiccup reads his plan and shifts the tail wide as well. They climb upward for a bit until Toothless starts pumping his wings, the great sheets thwacking against the air to make booming smack sounds. Hiccup grins as the winds buffet around them and clings to the horn of the saddle. They climb higher and higher, until Hiccup’s head goes light with the thin air, and Toothless stalls at the top, drifting for just a moment as he turns back downward to enter a dive the twins could never keep up with.
Toothless roars and Hiccup yells along with him. Both cries are ripped away by the wind as they barrel downward. The ocean is fast approaching, but Hiccup ignores it in favor of the far-off smudges of Berk and other islands and the array of clouds rolling in. He can never get over how big and beautiful his world has become.
Toothless snaps his wings out and Hiccup follows suit with the tail position. They pull out of the dive and arrow straight back up as Toothless does a quick double loop de loop to work off the momentum. Hiccup’s stomach flips and he laughs as gravity pulls at his limbs but centrifugal force keeps him cemented in place.
Beneath him, Toothless warbles again, this time with curiosity, and Hiccup scoots forward an inch to try and catch his dragon’s eye. Toothless’ pupils are huge and he’s staring at the ocean… Hiccup yelps as Toothless jackknifes and this time does not pull out of the movement but smacks straight into the sea.
The other riders probably call after him, but he doesn’t hear it. It’s only his own cut-off shout as the water rises up and swallows them whole. It’s a clean dive for Toothless, but Hiccup is unprepared and the iciness shoots straight underneath his skin as he faceplants into it and continues deeper, salt and sea filling his mouth while he yells until he realizes himself enough to close his mouth and hunker down on Toothless’ back.
The sea is dark and freezing, but even more so with his eyes closed. It presses around him with a terrible total pressure and the temperature sinks deep beneath his skin to gnaw on his bones. With a shaking hand he reaches forward and scrapes his numb fingertips against Toothless’ scales. He’s not sure if Toothless will notice his feeble attempt but all he can do is stay still and squeeze the dragon with his legs. They’re already too deep and Hiccup is far too cold (and wearing a metal limb) to get to the surface on his own.
Luckily, Toothless seems to remember him then, and that humans aren’t as waterproof as reptiles, and Hiccup feels the currents around him shift mightily as Toothless works his wings. It feels like hours but it is probably only a few seconds before they breach the surface again and Hiccup breathes in deep and ragged before devolving into a coughing fit.
“Hiccup!” One or more of the riders call from some distance off as Hiccup leans over in the saddle and empties his lungs off to one side. The wind that had been sharp before is slicing now and where Hiccup had been numb with cold he is now stinging. His stump, however, burns.
“I can’t believe-” He manages when he can breathe again, but quickly is overtaken by another coughing fit. “You terrible lizard!” Hiccup hacks as Toothless straightens out of his upward shot and begins to coast. Water spills off of his smooth scales in steady rivulets, but Hiccup’s clothes cling damp and stiff to his chest and his hair drips steadily down his neck and face. “Axes, Toothless never do that again, oh gods…”
“Are you alright?” Astrid asks as Stormfly comes astride.
“I didn’t know you could do that trick!” Ruffnut calls, sounding affronted. “Teach us!”
“It’s not that hard,” Snotlout boasts. “I can crash Hookfang into the sea no problem! Watch!”
Hiccup ignores them all and leans forward to catch Toothless’ eye. His dragon is clearly excited, his pupils still wide and his mouth… full of wriggling fish. Well. No surprise then. When Toothless notices Hiccup’s glare he has the decency to look chagrined but is far from apologetic.
“You’d th-think I d-don’t f-feed-d you.” Hiccup complains.
“Gods, Hiccup you must be freezing,” Astrid says.
“You should get back to Berk right away!” Fishlegs agrees. “That can’t be good for your leg and this is a bad time of year to get sick.”
“Alright, alright!” Hiccup calls and straightens in the saddle. Almost immediately he curls forward again, the extra exposure to wind letting the cold curl more obtrusively into his clothes. “Come on B-bud. I hope you’ve learned your lesson- if you f-freeze your rider then f-flight time ends early!”
They wing back towards Berk with Snotlout complaining about the cold and Hiccup shivering violently. The twins banter back and forth while Fishlegs lists some meteorological facts he’d picked up from a book Trader Johan had brought around last season. Astrid coasts alongside Toothless, who shoots two flame bursts ahead of them to fly through. Hiccup sighs, and covers his face as they fly through them, but he can’t deny being grateful for the heat.
It’d been easy to ignore through the exhilaration of midsummer, but the sky is a cold place. Humans aren’t meant to be up here. Maybe it’s time he starts thinking seriously about how to solve that problem.