Chapter Text
“I don’t know about this, Hiccup,” Astrid said, warily eyeing the wiggling Fury who was eager to get going.
“She’s eight years old now,” he countered. “She can be trusted.”
His wife looked at him askance. “But can you?”
“Like I’d ever let anything happen to her?” he queried, quirking an eyebrow pointedly. “If it makes you feel any better, the twins were flying by nine, and though a year younger, Zeph’s far more responsible than they ever were. Plus, this saddle has more safety features on it than anything we ever had,” he declared, holding up the piece of equipment he had yet to wrangle on the excited Night Light. “She’s not going anywhere with this, but even if something were to go wrong, between me, Toothless, and Dart, we’ve got her covered. If you still feel that’s not enough, though, you’re more than welcome to join us.”
Before Astrid could respond, their youngest toddled out the front door, running right into her mother’s leg. Hiccup couldn’t help but smile as he watched his wife scoop up their two-year-old. For all that little Lilith looked exactly like her mom, she had her father’s curiosity, which had already managed to get her into more trouble than they had thought possible.
“I’ve got my hands full enough here,” Astrid proclaimed, practically reading his mind as she settled their daughter on her hip. “Just promise to take it slow, and no ‘Fury things’,” she demanded, shaking her finger at Dart.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the Night Light claimed, looking up at them innocently.
“Don’t play that game with me, missy,” Astrid warned sternly. “I know who your parents are, and I recall exactly what they termed ‘appropriate’ for a first flight.”
“Dart has already promised to take it easy, milady,” Hiccup assured her, stepping between the two females before things could escalate. “She knows the consequence if she doesn’t,” he added, glancing over his shoulder at the Night Light meaningfully.
Dart bobbed her head solemnly, and he knew he could trust her, even though he was already expecting a rather energetic takeoff.
“I’m ready, Dad,” Zephyr announced, running out of the house with her new flying harness already on.
Hiccup grinned at the sight, thrilled that he got to share this experience with her, even if he was sad to see how fast she was growing up. He quickly set about getting Dart’s saddle on, double-checking all the straps and buckles before helping Zeph mount. Next came securing all the safety measures he had installed, and as he worked he heard their middle child join them.
“It’s not fair,” Nuffink complained petulantly.
“You’ll get your own chance soon enough, bud,” Hiccup called over his shoulder. “Just give it two more years.”
“That’s going to take forever,” the little boy moaned.
Tugging on the last strap to make sure it wasn’t going to give, he then walked over and ruffled his son’s hair. “It’ll fly by, I promise.”
Nuffink rolled his eyes. “That’s not funny, Dad.”
He shook his head fondly as he settled onto his own saddle. Glancing at his daughter, he saw she was beaming back at him. “You ready?”
Zephyr nodded enthusiastically, more than eager to take her first solo flight.
“Okay, then,” he replied. “Now, remember, Dart, take it easy.”
The Night Light warbled in understanding before shooting into the air, Hiccup and Toothless right on her tail, with Astrid’s yells fading behind them. Zephyr had flown at such speeds before, though, and wasn’t even fazed. Instead, she was shrieking in joy, having the time of her life as her bonded angled them into a gentle spiral.
After having reached a sufficient height where there wouldn’t be any obstacles—dragons or otherwise—Toothless and Dart settled into a glide, Hiccup telling his daughter to show him what she knew.
Altogether, she was doing tolerably well. Zeph had flown with either him or Astrid often enough to know the basics, though he did notice she was pulling on the saddle more than needed.
“They know what they’re doing, sweetheart,” he reminded her. “Let them take the lead.”
“But what if I want to go in a certain direction,” she inquired.
“All you need to do is ask,” he answered, “or shift slightly in the saddle.”
Her brow furrowed as she thought over his words. “But how do you signal to go up or down?”
“That is a very good question,” he observed, smiling encouragingly at her. “To dive, you want to lean forward,” he explained, showing her by lying flush against Toothless, though his bonded remained steady so Zeph could see. “Now, that is not to be confused with crouching,” he said, once again demonstrating, “which is a sign to speed up. With that in mind, how do you think you would request to go up?”
“You…lean back,” she guessed.
“Precisely,” he confirmed, “though once Dart starts angling upward, you’ll want to meet her halfway to decrease the wind resistance. It’ll make it much easier for both of you. Should we try it out?”
“Yes, please,” Zephyr chirped, easily slipping into the dragon’s tongue, speaking it as fluently as she did Norse. Of course, it would have been strange if she hadn’t, considering all the dragons she had grown up around. Still, Hiccup was glad that she had inherited that skill from him as Ruff and Tuff’s children seemed to struggle with the dragon’s tongue more, proving that having Berserker blood truly did make a difference.
He watched as his daughter leaned back in her saddle, following his instructions to the letter as Dart began a gentle climb, Toothless following closely behind her.
“The only time you really need to pull on the saddle is when you want to come to a stop or level out,” he called out, “but a simple touch will work just as well.”
Zeph nodded and reached out to touch her bonded’s flank, the Night Light instantly evening out.
“That was good, Little Breeze,” Dart praised her, with Hiccup adding some words of commendation as well.
They continued practicing for another hour or so, and Zephyr was quick to catch on. Of course, she would still need to be supervised while flying for a while yet, but Hiccup was sure that it wouldn’t be long before he allowed her to go off with only a dragon escort. Cloudjumper had already volunteered for the role, and he would be pleased to hear that he would soon be able to step in.