HTTYD - My Rider- Chapter 3

The Night Fury slowly opened his eyes, blinking as the sunlight dazzled him momentarily. He stood, slowly uncurling his tail from his body and stretched, trying to banish the aches from his body that his earlier fall had bestowed upon him. He glanced over at his now useless tail, the left hand side having healed slightly from his cleaning. He looked around him at the canyon and his eyes narrowed challengingly at the walls of his prison. There was no way he was going to be stuck here for the rest of his life. The Night Fury's eyes darted over to the lake as a ripple in the water caught his attention. Escape was good…But he needed food for strength.

Silently, the dragon slipped over to the lake, his eyes fixed on the multiple fish swimming inside. He slid closer to the edge, staring down into the pool and dunked his head under abruptly, eagerly grabbing a single, medium sized fish and ate it in a few short bites.

'Cod!' He thought in delight. 'One of my favorites'

He licked his lips eagerly and snaked over to a different area of the lake, keeping his eyes on the school of fish once more. He dunked his head under, but before he could grab one of the fish, they all escaped his grasp. The Night Fury lifted his head from the water and scowled irritably, shaking his head to remove the droplets of water.

'I guess one is enough for now anyway' The dragon thought warily, then glanced around once more, taking in the walls of the canyon. His eyes narrowed in determination and he crouched down, then began to run forwards, spreading out his wings. He jumped up and tried to fly straight out of the canyon, but hit the wall hard and began to fall down towards the ground. He clawed desperately at the rocks, trying to pull himself back up and out of the canyon, but simply slid down to the ground. He growled in frustration and turned, trying to find a lower ledge to climb up. He gave himself a running start once again, then took off, trying to use both his wings and legs to scramble out of the opposite side of the canyon. He fell to the ground and shook his head in slight disorientation.

The Night Fury glanced up at the rocks and shifted, narrowing his eyes once more. He ran and jumped, shooting up the rocks high, but before he could pull himself successfully out of the cavern, he fell back down, digging his claws fiercely into the rock. He let out an aggravated shriek and fell back, spreading his wings to allow himself to glide over the lake, and crashed into the ground. He shook his head, feeling disorientated once more.

'What did I do to deserve this?' He snarled, standing up. If anything, he was stubborn, for he ran and jumped onto a log, jumping off and flapping his wings, trying to lift himself up into the air. However, the lack of his left tail fin caused his tail to curve inwards towards his body, causing him to topple once more to the ground, luckily landing on all four legs this time. He glared up at the wall closest to him and jumped up, beating his wings as furiously as he was able, trying to force his body upwards. He fell once more to the ground and tried again, falling down once more onto all fours. He growled irritably and shot a solitary sapphire flame at the ground, leaving a scorch mark where the blast had hit.

'Might as well try one more time' he thought bitterly to himself, stretching his wings out. He raced forward and attempted fruitlessly to fly once more, before crashing down beside the lake with a pitiful whine.

'I'm trapped' He said softly, closing his eyes. 'From one prison to another'

A sudden movement in the lake caught his attention and he eyed the water, spotting two delicious Salmon swimming close to the surface. He licked his lips and slowly and silently edged forward, his eyes locked onto his prey. He thrust his head into the water, trying to catch the fish, but they fled from him quickly.  He pulled his head from the water, shaking it in agitation.

'Today is just not my day'

A sudden noise broke through the almost serene silence of the cavern, a sort of clattering, as if something had fallen from a great height. Every muscle in the Night Fury's body tensed at that moment, and he inhaled, catching the familiar scent of the Hatchling he had encountered the day before. He lifted his head and looked up at the Viking, who was perched high on a rock above him, his forest green eyes wide, hand outstretched as if he had tried to grab something, most probably the item which had fallen. Instead of gut-wrenching anger however, the Night Fury felt more exasperated than anything, with a hint of disbelief thrown into his stormy emotions. His eyes narrowed at a thought, could the boy had come to try and kill him again? He eyed the hatchling warily, and noted how the boy merely seemed curious, completely non-threatening. The red-head tilted his head to the side, as if wondering why the dragon didn't attack him. The Night Fury copied the motion, wondering the exact same about the boy.

They stared at each other for what seemed like hours, until the Night Fury finally broke eye contact, rolling his eyes slightly. He glared up at the boy, and then moved around in a small circle, breathing fire at the ground. He curled up, closing his eyes, but his senses remained on edge as the human boy was still within sight. Eventually, after a while, he heard footsteps stumbling away from the canyon and lifted his head, opening his eyes. The boy was gone.

'Good' He snorted. 'And don't come back'

He was startled suddenly as a raindrop hit his muzzle. He blinked and looked up at the sky as the clouds darkened and what appeared to be a storm was gathering. The Night Fury sighed. Trust Freyr and Thor to create a storm now. The gods really had it in for him lately. The Night Fury scowled to himself and moved towards a small cave in the base of the rocks in the cavern and created his small circle of fire on the ground, curling up on top of it. As the rain began to pour down into the cavern, the dragon lifted his head and stared as thunder crashed through the skies, a bright flash illuminating the stormy clouds. The storm was beginning to pick up in intensity now, and the Night Fury felt a small stab of worry for the hatchling.

'I wonder if he made it back to his village safely…' He mused, and then snorted, shaking his head. 'Not that I care. Stupid human.'

Thunder crashed overhead and lightning illuminated the scene once again, and the Night Fury's ears pressed back against his head slightly.

'All the same…This is no night for anyone to be wandering around… dragon or human.'

He snorted again and laid his head down on his paws. Trying to not concentrate on the hunger pains gnawing in his stomach or the young Viking, the black dragon closed his eyes and fell into an uneasy slumber.