"C'mon dad! I wanna go, let's go!"

Neptune couldn't help but smile as her little hatchling ran circles around his father. When he came around again, she stuck out her paw to stop him before he could continue. "Now now, Megatronus. Remember what I told you."

Megatronus huffed, his tiny wings drooping down by his sides. "Patience is a virtue. I know, mom." He rolled his eyes and pushed her paw away from him. "What does virtue even mean?"

"It's a good thing. That's all you need to know." Atlas rumbled at the tiny hatchling. He glanced at his mate and smiled reassuringly. He knew she was worried. Taking their hatchling out beyond the safety of the camp had always been something they were cautious about. "Relax, my lotus blossom. I'll take good care of him."

Neptune sighed softly. She bent her head to nuzzle his neck. "I know you will. Just... be careful, alright? And make sure he doesn't hurt himself. I love you both." She said, pulling back and watching him with her scarlet red eyes.

Atlas purred gently and gave her an affectionate lick on the cheek. "And we love you. We'll be back by sunhigh." The large black and grey male then turned to face his son, who was growing increasingly impatient. "Ready?"

Megatronus sprang up on his paws, his tail whipping excitedly. "Yeah! Let's go!"

Atlas chuckled at his hatchling's excitement. He scooped Megatronus into his paw and let him hop onto his back. Once the little one was settled, he crouched to the ground and rolled his shoulders. "My name is Atlas and I'll be your captain today. We will be preparing for takeoff momentarily, but first we have our weather forecast!"

Megatronus giggled and pawed at his father's spines. Despite how badly he wanted to be heading off already, he couldn't resist a fun little game. His father always did things like this whenever they were going for a flight.

"Daaaad! Come on!" He playfully whined.

"Right now, it's nice and warm, with a slight breeze blowing northwest. Perfect for flying!" A soft rumble soon came from Atlas's chest that gradually got louder. "Hold on tight, it'll be a bumpy ride! Are we ready for takeoff?"

Megatronus couldn't contain his giggles. He wrapped his front legs around one of the spines to anchor himself, his wings flattening against his back so they wouldn't accidentally catch any wind beneath them.

"Ready!" He chirped.

"Alright," Atlas unfurled his wings. His wingspan was bigger than Neptune and Megatronus combined. "here we go!"

In one swift movement, the energy stored in his legs was released, propelling him off the ground as if he'd been fired out of a giant slingshot. He soared up towards the blue sky, the breeze helping him climb higher and higher.

Megatronus felt his eyes beginning to water from the amount of wind in his face, but he couldn't bring himself to close them. The view up there was far too magnificent to miss. (*Test Flight from HTTYD intensifies* lol)

•
•
•

Atlas touched down in a small clearing, the wind from his wings flattening the grass underneath him. Once he was steady on all four paws, he bent down to let Megatronus off.

Megatronus shook himself off, adrenaline still rushing through his veins. He took a quick look around, his eyes narrowing.

"Hey... there's no rocks here!" He glanced up at his father. "What am I supposed to jump off if there's no rocks?"

Atlas chuckled and flicked him with his tail. "You don't see me jumping off rocks to fly, do you?"

"Well, no.. but that's because you're a grown up!" Megatronus huffed, flaring his tiny wings. "I'm tiny! I need something to give me a boost!"

"Nonsense. You don't need a boost to get you going. Watch me." Atlas began padding towards the center of the clearing.

Megatronus squinted in confusion. What was he doing?

Gradually, Atlas picked up the pace until he was practically in a full-on sprint. He unfurled his wings once more and, with one big flap, launched himself from the ground and into the air. He circled back around to land in front of his hatchling, a small grin on his face.

"See? It's that easy." He purred. "No rocks or anything. Now you try it."

Megatronus pouted, but was determined to do exactly what his father had done. He didn't need some stupid rock! He could do it by himself!

The grey hatchling pushed off his hind legs and began to run as fast as his little legs could carry him. Once he thought he was going fast enough, he unfurled his tiny wings and tried to do that big flap that Atlas had demonstrated. While he was successful in lifting himself off the ground, it only lasted for a few seconds before he came crashing back down to earth.

He sat up with a loud huff and spat dirt from his mouth. "Come on, I almost had it! Dumb wings.." He muttered, looking up as his father approached. "See? That's why I need a rock! I'm too heavy for my stupid baby wings."

Atlas only sighed. He used his snout to nudge his hatchling back onto his paws and gave him a reassuring lick. "You're in that awkward stage where your body starts growing faster than your wings. Don't worry, they'll catch up soon enough." He sat back on his haunches with a soft grunt. "You can't always rely on the help of other things, Megatronus. One day, when you're older and on your own, you'll have to figure things out by yourself. And then maybe other young dragons will come to you for advice. Wisen up. Information is king."

"But I thought being the biggest, baddest dragon was the best thing to be!" Megatronus exclaimed, tilting his head. "That's what you said!"

"Being a brute has its uses, but you don't want that to be your entire personality. If you aren't smart as well, you'll perish faster than a dragon who is smart. Brute strength can only get you so far. You have to be cunning. Learn from your enemies, then use that information to your advantage."

Megatronus nodded slowly, absorbing everything his father said. Although he was young and didn't quite understand how the world worked, he already had an image of who he wanted to be in his mind.

Atlas noticed that Megatronus seemed to be deep in thought. Hopefully he hadn't overloaded his young mind with too much information.

"Shall we continue?" He spoke up after a moment silence, already rising to his paws.

Megatronus blinked and snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh, yeah!" He chirped happily, leaping up from the ground and bouncing in place. "Can you show me that cool battle move you told me about yesterday? I wanna learn how to do it!"

"Maybe. I want you to practice flying first. Reflect on what I said and try again." Atlas replied.

Then, he suddenly lifted his head, his pupils shrinking down to pinpricks as he frantically scanned the area.

Megatronus had been preparing to try again, but then he noticed his father's strange behavior and stopped. He tilted his head, his cheerful expression slowly fading.

"Dad?" He said, but got no response. He frowned and pawed at the larger dragon's leg. "Dad, what's wrong?"

A roar thundered through the clearing, scaring birds from their perches in the nearby trees. The noise made Megatronus's chest vibrate. His heart filled with fear and he pressed himself against his father's leg.

"W-What was that...?" He whimpered, looking up at Atlas for an answer. Just something to calm his nerves. He had never seen his father so scared in his life. It absolutely terrified him.

"We need to leave. Now." Atlas urged.

He snatched Megatronus from the ground, holding him by the back of his neck in his jaws as he turned to run. But just as he left the ground to fly, a force slammed into his side and sent him crashing to the ground.

A shriek of terror escaped Megatronus as he was flung from his father's jaws. He rolled and tumbled through the grass, eventually coming to a stop near the treeline. The hatchling pushed himself to his paws just in time to see his father fighting a dragon he didn't recognize. Their colors were much brighter, unlike the dark colors of Atlas. Everyone he knew had dark scales, why did this dragon have bright scales? More importantly, who were they and what were they doing here?

"Dad!" Megatronus called, bounding a few paces forward. Though, the sounds of snarling and gnashing teeth were enough to make him keep his distance. He bared his own fangs and flared his wings. "Hey! Leave my dad alone!" He growled as fiercely as he could.

Atlas snarled, using his hind legs to kick off his attacker. He scrambled to his paws and immediately set his gaze upon his hatchling. "Megatronus, you need to run! Run back home!"

"But-" Megatronus was torn. His heart pounded a million miles a minute in his chest. "I don't wanna leave you!"

"I'll be fine!" Atlas dodged a swipe from the other dragon and reared up on his hind legs to slash at them with his claws. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted another dragon rushing towards the scene. And they were headed straight for Megatronus. "Go! Get out of here!"

Fear eventually won over the young dragon's mind. Megatronus spun around and took off into the forest, listening as the sounds of battle grew further and further away.

Little did he know, he was being hunted.