Freedom in its Richest Form

Facing the Future (7)

We shoot into the sky like fireworks, onyx scales painted with the bright, warm colors of the vibrant spring sunset. I hover there for a moment until the sun slips beneath the horizon, casting shadows upon me.

With a smile turned upwards, I fly higher, chasing the light that left me. I fly until I reach the clouds, bathed in the rich light of the dying day. Out of pure elation, I reach the apogee of my flight before diving down through the surprisingly moist clouds and back into the shadows with a joyous cry, feeling the rushing wind flow seamlessly through every scale.

A moment later, I am rushing over the tall forest by Toothless, tree tops bowing in the force of my wake.

Finally, the village fades into view, and Toothless and I dive into the green canopy to escape detection, soon touching down just beyond the tree line. I only stumble a few steps forward, making myself slightly in achievement.

"Alright," I say, "This is where I say goodbye. Wouldn't do to have the village freaking out and killing you."

"Yeah, I kinda like my head where it is, thank you very much," he responds. "You still have a lot to learn about this whole thing. Same place tomorrow?"

"The cove? Sure. I'll try to be there by mid-afternoon at the latest." I can't wait for tomorrow. Today has already been so exciting!

I turn to stroll towards my house, but Toothless stops me with an exaggerated cough. Turning back, he gestures pointedly to me and says, "Forgetting something?"

Following his gaze, I'm reminded of my unusual form. "Oh, right! Thanks, bud." If anyone sees me like this, I'll lose my head! With a thought and a flash of fire, I'm concealed within my human disguise, no matter how uncomfortable it may be.

With a satisfied nod, my new draconian friend turns and flies back the way we came, shouting a "G'night!" over his shoulder. An incredulous huff escapes me. My life has just gotten infinitely stranger.

* * * * * * *

I open the front door as quietly as I can, trying to reach my room without alerting my dad. Peering in, I see him by the fire, back facing me.

The door closes with a virtually inaudible click, and I quickly and carefully crawl up the wooden stairs.

"Son."

Darn it...

"We need to talk," he says, getting up.

"Ahh, I need to talk to you, too, Dad." There is NO WAY I'm telling him about what happened, but maybe I can get out of the dragon violence stuff that I had been begging for not too long ago. I just hope he doesn't start asking questions.

"I think it's time you learned to fight dragons."

"I've decided I don't want to fight dragons."

"What?" we ask in unison. "You first, son."

"No no, y-you go," I stutter. I never have been very good at speaking with Dad.

"Alright," he says, looking slightly uncomfortable. "You get your wish. Dragon training. You start in the morning."

"Ahh, wow, I really should have gone first, 'cause, I was thinking, you know, we-we have a surplus of dragon-fighting Vikings, uh...b-but do we have any..." c'mon, think! "bread-making Vikings? O-or small home-repair Vikings?" Oh, gosh, there is no way he'll buy into that.

"You'll need this," he cuts me off, dropping a double-edged axe into my arms, which can barely support the mass of metal and wood.

"I don't wanna fight dragons," I say bluntly, awaiting his reaction.

He laughs instead, like my great concerns are some sort of joke. "Yes, you do."

"No, actually, I'm very sure that I don't," I say, slightly annoyed now. It just doesn't feel right killing an intelligent, misunderstood creature, one that we know so little about, especially when their blood runs through my veins as well.

"Son, this is serious," he says sternly, leaving no room for argument. When you carry this axe, you carry all of us, which means you walk like us, you talk like us, and you think like us. No more of...this."

I drop the axe and roll my eyes at his demeaning motion. "You just gestured to all of me."

"Do we have a deal?"

"This conversation is feeling very one-sided-"

"Deal?"

"...Deal," I say. There is no winning here.

"Good. I'll be back...probably," he says, grabbing his helmet and a bag of supplies before leaving the house. He must be leaving for another hunt for the nest.

I turn up the stairs once again, saying to myself more than him, "And I'll be here...maybe." Honestly, with everything that went wrong, I'm kinda glad the classic Viking stubbornness held out and that he didn't question anything.

Or notice my teeth.

* * * * * * *

I toss and I turn for what feels like hours before finally sitting up in bed with a frustrated growl. Yes, growl. I just can't sleep in this unnatural guise!

It is the dead of night, the only light in my room that of the waning crescent moon and the dazzling stars peering through my window. Standing up, I pace the length of my room several times, mumbling to myself. It's a high risk transforming into my other form, but with Dad gone, no one would really have a reason to come into my room. And if I don't, I am not getting any sleep.

With a terse, compliant sigh, my scales and appendages return in a brief burst of plasma. Ahh, sweet relief. Hmm... Black pants... Nearly black tunic... That's new. Oh well, I'll figure it out later. I'm too tired right now. As I sit down at the edge of my bed, a new problem arises.

How am I supposed to go to sleep with wings? The tail's fine, but-

Gone. Okay, my wings just disappeared into my back.

...Useful.

Shrugging, I lay down once again under the secluded comfort of my covers. I'll figure out a warning mechanism when Dad comes back. Until then...I'll just sink into the blissful oblivion of sleep.

Hiyoo, sorry I took so long, but new chapter! Votes and reviews are always appreciated.

~Dj Z3nyth