HTLANF: Race to the Edge

Chapter 23 ~ Love Once Lost

The following morning we set out to find Night Fury Isles. Kala and I were leading the way to the island we took Nanna back to as a good retracing point for her.

After a few minutes of flying I looked over at Nanna and Stormfly. Nanna was rigid, clinging tightly to the saddle and keeping her gaze fixed behind Stormfly's spikes. I tapped Kala's head and signaled to the nervous girl once I had her attention and she crooned in concern when she took notice.

I steered Kala closer to Stormfly and smiled softly at Nanna. "Nervous?" I asked to break the silence.

"Very..." She squeaked out. "T-this is the first time I've ridden a dragon by myself...being on Kala's back was easy since you were in control...but controlling a dragon myself is a completely different story..."

I chuckled and nodded with a smile. "Yeah, that's pretty normal. There's no need to be scared, though. Stormfly is a good dragon. She won't let anything happen to you. If you want, I could help you get more comfortable with controlling her?" I offered.

Nanna nodded. "Yes please..."

I steered Kala a bit closer so I could reach Nanna better. "Alright, so you see how your knuckles are white from the grip you have on the saddle?" Nanna nodded as she took notice of it. "You need to loosen that grip. You just need to be holding onto it, not clamping on like you will fall off if you let go."

Nanna slowly loosened her grip, but as she did the rest of her body got more rigid and Stormfly squawked in surprise.

"Okay, did you see how Stormfly reacted to the change in pressure when your body stiffened up more?" I asked and Nanna nodded again.

"Mhm..."

"That was her way of telling you to loosen your body up because it's hurting her a bit. If you're not comfortable, she's not comfortable." I explained.

Nanna looked at the back of Stormfly's head with a sad frown. "I didn't know I was hurting her..."

I smiled sympathetically. "That's alright. Nothing we can't fix. Now, I need you to relax your body. The more relaxed your body is, the easier it is for the dragon to be calm as you are controlling them. You have to show them that you trust them to not let you fall."

"B-but what if-,"

"Stormfly won't let you fall, I promise." I interrupted calmly. "She's got over three years of experience with having a rider. Not to mention the rest of us will catch you if you do end up falling. We won't let anything bad happen to you."

Nanna nodded and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. As she did, her body relaxed to the point where she was just resting atop Stormfly's back. I noticed that Stormfly's flying became less stiff as the pressure on her lessened.

"There you go. You see how Stormfly is flying smoother now?"

Nanna's eyes widened as she took notice of the difference then she looked towards me. "It's so much better now."

I smiled with a nod. "That's because you're finally comfortable, which in turn made Stormfly comfortable. Okay, last thing is steering. If you need Stormfly to change course just give her a light nudge to indicate which way you want her to go. So nudging her left side would tell her to go right and nudging her right side would tell her to go left, or you could push your saddle in the direction you are wanting to go if you're not comfortable with nudging her."

Nanna nodded in understanding. "Okay. I-is there anything else?"

I shook my head, the smile still upon my lips. "Nope. It's pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Way easier than me flying Kala honestly."