In a vast, clear, crisp, and boundless sky, from it, a black speck rockets across the horizon.
The image of unbridled freedom.
Tucked into the riding position, a rider appears to be part of the dragon.
They dip, roll and dive, over a sea teeming with Thunderdrums, pulling off daring maneuvers with honed refinement, making them seem effortless.
"Yeah!"
Yelled the rider.
They jackknife, heading skyward, rolling and tumbling through the ethereal cloud-scapes, and joining high-flying Timberjacks as they soar in formation.
The rider is bound head-to-toe in a snug, aerodynamic flight suit– an asymmetrical, functional design of leather and articulated plates.
It has an air of Viking bike leather.
"What do you think, bud? Wanna give this another shot?"
Asked the rider to his dragon.
"Oh, come on."
The dragon grumbles in protest.
"Toothless! It'll be fine."
He replied.
With a click of a lever, he locks the pedals in the flared tail position.
The rider then unhooks himself from the saddle.
"Ready?"
Asked the rider.
"When you are."
The dragon known as Toothless snorts unenthusiastically.
Suddenly, the rider slides off of Toothless, peeling away from him like a skydiver from a plane, yelling as he plummets.
Toothless dives after him.
They spiral through the air, face-to-face.
The dragon is having fun, despite himself.
When he sees the ocean, the rider slips his forearms through a pair of tucked leather flaps and yanks, unfurling sheets of leather as he extends his arms.
They catch the wind, snapping like wings, and sending him gliding.
Toothless unfolds his wings, too, catching up with his rider.
The freedom is palpable.
The rider and the dragon are, for the moment, the same.
Feeling the same rush of adrenaline.
Independently together.
They plunge past cloud formations, splitting apart and then crossing paths again.
"This is amazing!"
The rider said before flying back onto the Toothless' back to control the tail once more.
A cloud layer washes past, exposing a towering rock formation, dead ahead.
The rider turns the mechanism of the tail to fly past the formation before heading back into the ocean.
"That was close!"
Said the rider before Toothless hits him with his ear.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it."
He said to the dragon.
Soon enough, they decided to head home for work.
~~~~~
Both the dragon and the rider came back into the sanctuary as they landed on one of the giant ice spikes before the rider pulled off his helmet revealing to be a 15-year-old boy with Auburn hair, green eyes, a freckled nose, and a white scar on his chin.
He soon headed towards his 'room' before changing from his flight suit into his ordinary green sweatshirt and loose pants with some furry boots.
He heads down to his workshop where he greets a Gronkle having a good nap.
"Hello, Meatlug."
He said scratching the dragon's chin.
"Good morning, Hiccup. Another metal to make?"
The Gronkle, known as Meatlug, spoke.
"You bet."
Hiccup replied as he pulled out a bucket full of rocks.
Toothless decided to rest by the furnace due to the cold wind during the flight.
As time went on, Hiccup finished the recent project that he didn't realize was lunchtime until someone walked in.
Someone as big as a vast.
"Working hard, I see, son?"
Hiccup turned before smiling as he saw his father in his fur coat outside the workshop.
"I am."
Hiccup answered sheepishly.
"Well, you come with me. Your mum is making fish stew."
Stoick said before leaving.
"Lunchtime already?"
Hiccup asked.
"Aye! She just finished feeding time."
Stoick replied as his dragon, Skullcrusher, follows him behind.
After he cleans up and bids the Gronkle later, he and Toothless follow him.
Valka is pouring water into a jug when both her husband and son walk in.
"Hi, Mum."
Hiccup said.
"Hello, son, Stoick."
Valka said.
The three sat by the fire as they shared the soup while their dragons went to the corner with three baskets of fish.
"So, how are you stunts this morning?"
The mother asked her son.
"It was great, and we are so close that we almost crashed into the rock formation by the coral mist."
Hiccup's reply made Stoick frown knowing that doing things like that could be dangerous by accident.
Once they finish lunch, Hiccup goes to help Valka clean the dishes while Stoick cleans the baskets.
Just then, a Terrible Terror flew into the cave and landed on Hiccup's shoulder.
"Hey, Sharpshot. What's up?"
Hiccup asked.
"There's a Viking at our island washed ashore!"
The little dragon's reply alerts the Haddock family.
"Take us there."
He said.
~~~~~
On the back of the dragons, Hiccup, Valka, and Stoick follow Sharpshot to the said shore where they spotted a shipwreck over the body of water.
"This is where I found them."
Said Sharpshot as the family land and dismount their dragons.
They saw the Viking Sharpshot referred to.
It was a girl, around Hiccup's age, with blonde hair.
Valka goes to check her pulse.
"She's okay. But, she's blind, permanently."
She said when examining the young maiden.
"We should take her back in."
Stoick said.
"I think it's a good idea."
Valka replied.
Meanwhile, Hiccup looks at the young maiden.
He'd never seen anyone around his age be exact, so he has so much to learn.