Me: IT LIIIIIIIIIIVES! Yes, I am actually CONTINUING! I've decided not to finish my other stories first, but to work on this one as well. And boy, have I got some great ideas! I hope to be updating more often, and promise to get off my rear and actually WRITE during the summer! Soooo…enjoy!

Disclaimer: The How to Train Your Dragon movie and it's characters belong to DreamWorks or whoever.

The dragon snarled and growled and roared as he tried for the hundredth time to fly out of the pit. As the sun rose in the sky, he flapped his massive, powerful wings heavily, jumping into the air and soaring forward. He lost his balance, crashing back down into the ground. No! Not again! Getting back to his feet, he tried another time. And another. And another.

And every time, he crashed. Every time, freedom was just out of his reach. Every time, he got no more than ten feet in the air. Every crash seemed to pound the painful reality into his skull, but the dragon refused to listen, to acknowledge it. He just got back up and kept trying. He just had to be able to fly!

However, he was soon forced to see the horrible truth. No matter how much he tried to deny it, it was still there. It mocked him with every painful crash. It taunted him every time he curled up to rest.

One of his tailfins was gone.

His steering was off.

He could never fly again.

For a moment, as the reality of his situation began to sink in, the dragon slowly lowered himself to the ground, curling up into a tight ball. He would never feel the wind rushing against him again. He would never soar above the clouds, never see the mystical lights that danced across the sky.

He could no longer defend his brothers. The dragon moaned in agony as he watched the pieces of his life slowly come undone. He was going to die. Without his flight, the humans would have no trouble picking him off, adding him to the list of those they'd slain. This was it. It was over. He was useless. Purposeless. Helpless. Defenseless.

No.

Somewhere inside of him, a tiny flame flickered. It was a will. The will to survive. He was not defenseless. He was still strong and fast, even on the ground. And he could still breath fire. He could still do a whole lot of damage to the humans. He knew he would die, if he attacked them again. But he would die helping his brothers. He would die, so that they could live. He had no other purpose now. Nothing was keeping him on this world.

…Nothing but the pit. He could not fly out of the pit.

But he could climb.

Not yet, though, he decided. He was still weak from his injuries, and the crashes hadn't helped. He was also exhausted from the day's events. So, he curled up to recuperate, his green eyes resting on his missing tailfin. This was his downfall. This destroyed his life. This killed him.

But he wasn't dead yet.

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The dragon awoke, blinking the sleep out of his eyes as the sun began to set. He'd fallen asleep. Immediately, he sprang to his feet, his eyes darting in all directions, half-expecting a giant silverclaw to come flying at him. The area was silent. Huh.

Shaking his head, he walked the stiffness out of his limbs, every now and then glancing over his shoulder, into the darkening corners of the pit. He absentmindedly wondered why the humans hadn't found him yet. Surely the boy had told them by now? No matter. He'd learned not to question the small blessings his life had to offer.

This meant he had more time to get out. Good. Wasting no time, the dragon sprung at the rocky cliff face, digging his claws into the near vertical wall. He lost his grip almost instantly, falling with a cry of frustration, landing on all fours. Twice more he rushed at the wall and attempted to climb, clutching at the loose, gravely side and falling.

Then, he looked up as at his greatest obstacle, panting heavily. Right. He'd have to be smart with this. He couldn't just rush at any random spot and climb his way out. He had to find the sturdy, slanted parts, the ones with plenty of roots he could wrap his claws around. He scanned the rock for awhile, searching for spots he could get at. After finding a few, he again attempted to climb, getting much higher than his previous attempts before falling.

Then, he rested for a moment, his brow furrowed in thought. He may no longer be able to fly, but his wings were still powerful and could take him pretty high before he required the use of his missing tailfin. So, he crouched low, then leapt, flapping his wings to gain his height before landing on the rock wall. From there, he managed to climb several feet before falling again, catching himself with his wings and gliding across the small lake and back onto the ground.

Once again, he leapt, his powerful wings beating the air as he pushed himself upward before latching onto the rock wall. His claw snagged a root, and for a moment, he continued his accent. Then, the root snapped and his claws scraped across the rock with nothing to support them. He fell, spreading his wings to slow his decent.

Again, he leapt, flapped, fell.

Ascend. Crash to the ground.

Scramble upward. Be dragged downward.

The stars began to appear, piercing the black fabric of the sky, and still he climbed. The world began to quiet, falling into a peaceful slumber, yet the dragon struggled on. His efforts were tireless, undaunted. He learned from his mistakes, calculated his best approach, and continued to climb. No attempt was wasted, no pathway unexplored. He was barely aware that the sun had started to rise.

For hours he continued, his efforts fueled by a desperate determination. He refused to be trapped like this when the humans came to ambush him. He would not be helpless again! The boy was sure to return any moment now; he had to escape!

Despite his determination, despite his best efforts, the dragon seemed to be getting nowhere. He was beginning to discover that the highest he could climb was a tree-length from the top. He never went higher than that, no matter how hard he tried.

As the sun rose high, the dragon felt despair begin to drift toward him, swirling around him and attempting to settle inside him. He shook it off, but it was relentless, stubbornly refusing to release him from it's taloned clutches. The dragon attacked the cliff wall again, scrambling upward, his attempts fueled by desperation.

Panic began to set in, dulling his common sense, and he leapt into the air, attempting to fly strait up the cliff. A second time he did this and a third, crying out in frustration as he fell to the ground again and again. In his anger, he shot a burst of flame with jutted across the ground in front of him before disappearing.

He stood there for a moment, staring at his charred handiwork and breathing heavily. Then he peered up into the sky, beyond the cliff wall. It seemed to tantalizingly close, as though if he just reached up and spread his wings…he could…

Automatically, he spread his wings once more, taking off. For a few precious seconds, he soared through the air, the wind flowing across his back and underneath his wings. Then, his tail was suddenly swiped underneath him, turning him nearly upside-down. He landed on his shoulder with a sickening crash, sliding for a moment. He closed his eyes and groaned.

This was where he was to spend his last days. He couldn't fly out of here, couldn't climb. His struggle was pointless; he could see that now. All he could do was to exist the rest of his days here, in this pit. Soon, the humans would come; surely the boy had long ago called them. He was trapped, grounded, useless…

And hungry. Very, very hungry. This last comment went through his mind as he watched two fish swim lazily in front of him. He hadn't eaten in three days. He was weak. If he was going to fight to the death, he wanted to have the strength to take a few of the humans with him.

Quietly, he crouched at the edge of the pond, his eyes trained on the two silver fish. Right…this should be easy. He snapped at first one fish, then the other, but they darted out of his hungry grasp.

Huh. He now realized that fishing was a lot easier in flight, when he flew across the waters at their speed. He was going to have to work a bit harder for his meal…Snorting, he settled down and waited for them to return.

The ebony dragon lazily raised his head at the sound of something small skittering down the rocks. Immediately, his adrenalin spiked, and he narrowed his eyes, crouching low in preparation.

The boy had returned. It was sitting on part of the cliff across the pond, just out of his reach. The dragon peered behind it, expecting to see a hoard of angry humans brandishing rocks and silver claws. The boy was alone.

Huh. O-kay…..The dragon returned his now-questioning gaze to the boy. It was staring at him, seemingly transfixed, mouth parted slightly. The dragon cocked his head in confusion, and was surprised when the boy did the same, almost in sync with him.

If the boy didn't bring the others to slay him, than what did it want with him? It seemed content to just stare at him. It seemed…curious. It was as though it had never seen a dragon before. Well, this was certainly an odd hatchling. He supposed, it seemed harmless enough.

How long had it been sitting there? Had it…seen the dragon's panicked attempts at freedom? He felt oddly embarrassed at that thought. He puffed himself up to his full height and growled in what he hoped was a threatening manner. The boy just sat there, blinking at him. Drat.

For the hour or so, the boy sat back and watched him. It was getting rather irritating, so the dragon tried not to do anything of interest. However, even when he did nothing but lay there, the boy was transfixed. It seemed content to just sit there and stare at him, even as the sun began to disappear behind the horizon.

The silence that filled the area held a strange comfort. Before the boy arrived, he'd been roaring and panting, fighting despair and depression. Now, he had his attention not on his circumstance, but on the intentions of the pathetic human hatchling, who was unlike any human he had ever laid eyes upon. Now, the dragon felt oddly content.

Suddenly, the boy glanced up at the setting sun, and let out a strange little squeak, looking alarmed. He immediately rose and, after one last look at the dragon, bolted from his spot, seeming to disappear into the rock itself.

Soon it was once again silent. However, the silence seemed to hold a feeling of restlessness, and the despair once again loomed in the shadows, waiting to pounce. The dragon could feel the boy's absence, and it made the pit feel empty.

The dragon grunted as he settled down for the night, burning a circle in the grass to keep warm. Though he'd never admit it, the boy had given him a silent companionship, a comfort he hadn't felt since the last orphaned hatchling had been returned to the nest. As sleep began to dull his senses, he found himself wishing the boy would return.

Me: So, what did you think? Comments? Critiques? Do you want me to continue? If so, press the inspiration button.

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