𝐊𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐄𝐒𝐈 ━ how to train your dragon²

7│FAVORITE OF THE CHIEF

Her dragon even seemed proud of his accomplishment and shot a burst of flame into the air, which he immediately careened to the side to avoid. Dany remained upside-down in her dragon's grasp as their surroundings grew colder and the clouds returned. As they drew back to her parents' height, the girl swung herself upwards to grab onto Drogon's leg. He let go of her ankle as she clung to his sturdy limb, her only support being her hands gripping his scales. Her bare feet found purchase in the grooves and she began to climb up his leg as if it were the trunk of a tree.

There were several times she had to pause as his wings beat close to her head, but she slowly began to make her way up to his side. Drogon fell into a glide, stilling his wings so that she could heave herself onto them at the joint. From there it was only a quick jump and a swing of her leg to get onto his back again. She'd been practicing this move since Hiccup had introduced it to them a few weeks ago. 

Then, she hadn't been able to make it onto Drogon's back, but she'd realized that put her in a vulnerable position. After trying it several times on the ground, they'd taken the exercise to the air as a fallback plan in case Drogon couldn't drop her onto Toothless or another dragon. Since her dragon's scales were much rougher and more deeply grooved than other species', they made the perfect climbing notches.

Once she'd retaken her seat, her mother came up beside her wearing a deep frown. Dany sighed, feeling the excitement of the freefall fade as she anticipated the scolding that she was about to receive. She really should have known better than to do that in front of her mother. Ingrid drew in a deep breath to begin: "Daenerys—"

But, before she could continue, her father broke into a loud roar of laughter. "Brilliant! Absolutely amazing! Where did you learn to do that?"

The older woman's features drew into an even more severe expression. "Randolf," she added sternly. "You shouldn't condone such unsafe behavior. What if Drogon hadn't caught her in time? Honestly, Daenerys, I don't know where you get your penchant for stunts like that— although your father would be my guess." She pinned her husband with an annoyed look with her violet eyes. "Just because you're invulnerable to dragon fire doesn't mean you're indestructible. What—"

"Mom," Dany groaned. "It's fine. Drogon and I have practiced this dozens of—"

Ingrid's eyes narrowed as she repeated dangerously, "dozens?"

The girl winced, not having thought her words through. "Um. . . I meant. . . once or twice?"

Her mother wasn't fooled, and her expression tightened as her lips pressed into a thin line. "Turn around. We're going home so we can talk about this."

She wheeled Rhaegal around to make her way back to the cottage. As her father did the same, Daenerys caught his gaze as he passed her. "Dad, please. . ."

He gave her a sympathetic look as Viserion held their position for a second, before he nodded. She felt relief swamp her as she watched her parents disappear into the clouds. Her mother's anger would carry her all the way home without looking back, so she'd only notice her daughter's absence once they were miles apart. Then, Ingrid would stew in her irritation for several hours before it petered out to motherly concern. Dany just needed to buy enough time to wait for that to happen, so she decided to go visit Astrid until the evening.

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Drogon touched down in front of the Hofferson's house not long after. Their arrival caused several people to scramble out of the way and a few chickens to cluck in fright. She heard a few muttered curses of "Targaryen," but chose to ignore them. Although her family was more accepted than they had been since the Battle of the Red Death, not everyone was welcoming. Drogon trailed close behind her as his orange eyes kept a wary watch on the other villagers. If any of them got too close, all he needed to do was bare his teeth to keep them away.