Moxie struggled with the air as she flapped and thrusted herself up and forward. She was desperately trying not to cry. She had turned into a scaly dragon only minutes ago (it seemed) and now Hiccup didn't know who she was and she couldn't explain anything and she was feeling quite terrible about running away. She was now high above the ocean and flying quite awkwardly and getting very tired. She flew farther, off in a random direction. She seemed to be drawn towards something, but right now, why the heck would she care what it was? She'd run away from her father! She really didn't know how long she could keep this up. Her wings were so tired. 

She kept going, not caring about her wings. She lost track of time and suddenly she found herself in a thick fog. She sensed a presence, but couldn't see it. "You fly like a hatchling." Came a voice. She yelped in surprise and looked around. A large black creature came close, gliding expertly on huge, leathery wings. It looked at her with strikingly bright green eyes, like the purest emeralds she'd ever seen. "Oh, hello." It said. It was most definitely a male. Moxie tried not to look  too shocked, even though hearing this black dragon talk was a bit shocking. She used her logic and decided that since she herself was now a dragon, she could communicate with dragons. 

"Who are you?" She asked, as if this were someone intruding her house. The dragon smoothly glided level with her as she continued to flap. "My name is Xayli." He replied. "And seriously, you fly like a hatchling. Surprising, I thought Lightfury mothers taught their young to fly at a very early age, like us Nightfuries. Guess there's an exception for everything." Moxie glared at him. Was he judging her? And what in Valhalla was a Lightfury? Or a Nightfury? "Don't you judge my flying! I just went through a very dramatic change and ran away from the only family I have and you insulting me is not going to improve my mood!" She snapped. Xayli raised a brow. "Major...change?" He asked skeptically. 

Moxie didn't want to explain everything right now. She just wanted to land and catch her breath. "Well, you certainly need some instruction. We're close to the entrance right now, and I can see you've fatigued yourself, so why not go on down and take a rest?" Sighed Xayli. Moxie very much wanted a rest. But what in the world was Xayli talking about by 'entrance'? Then she saw it. A big, gaping hole in the middle of the sea, as if the water had been manipulated like ground and been dug out. Xayli tucked in his wings and dive down it. Moxie simply stopped flapping and plummeted. She saw pillars of crystals whizz past as she fell. She was about to hit a rock platform when something grabbed her. She looked up and saw it was Xayli. "You dive like a hatchling." He said as he gently set her down, then landed himself. 

He was so judging her. 

Moxie turned away from him so he wouldn't see her highly offended expression, and found herself staring at a very reflective crystal. She saw her whole self. She realized she looked rather nice, being perfectly sleek and way sparkly. Xayli appeared next to her. He looked similar to her, except his scales were black as midnight and he had spikes on his back, head, and forelegs. He was flexing his tailwings. "So, what is your name?" He asked. Moxie decided to tell him, for he had told her his name and not introducing herself would be rude. "My name is Moxie." She said. Xayli blinked. "That sounds like a human name." He remarked. "It is," Said Moxie. "I was a normal human girl yesterday, then this morning my friend gave me a drink that made me feel awful and then I woke up and I was...this." Xayli was silent for a second. "What?" He finally asked. "It's true! That's why I can't fly, can't dive, and can't land. I ran away because I was afraid my father wouldn't recognize me and be scared of me. And now I feel guilty about it." Moxie blurted. She was still greatly distressed. 

"I'm finding that hard to believe." Said Xayli. Moxie was really ready to cry, now. She whimpered. Her pupils expanded to a ridiculous size. Xayli sighed. "Moxie, I can tell that you really know deep within you that what you described actually happened. And you have the basic skills of survival that a hatchling has. I'm a good person, so I'll help you." He said. Moxie felt a wash of relief.

~

Moxie's father paced the deck of the ship. Moxie had disappeared without a trace, and Hiccup claimed to have seen a dragon on the docks. And Moxie had been ill. This was a nightmare. Hiccup and Astrid watched him as Valka, Hiccup's mother, tried to calm him. "Listen, we will find her, my friend. Us Berkians never give up on anyone." She said. Astrid glanced out at the sea. She knew what she'd done, felt a little a guilty about it, and was excellent at hiding it. Still, she had to divert her eyes from Moxie's heartbroken father. Hiccup didn't have a clue as to what had happened, and was just worrying about when he'd get a search party organized. And, to top it off, he'd seen a dragon. A Lightfury dragon, like Toothless's mate. And the look in that dragon's eyes was creepily familiar...

"She's ill, Valka, she's very sick! She could hardly move! If she's missing, someone probably took her! A search party is not going to help!" Moxie's father cried, starting to panic. Valka backed up a step, for he was waving his arms around a bit dangerously. Hiccup stood up and offered the man a drink. Astrid found herself dealing with an unfamiliar feeling: the inability to live with herself. What did she do? Moxie didn't believe in dragons, so she'd given the girl that potion, that poison. Now Moxie had most likely ran away, as a dragon, and her father was panicking. She stood up. "I'm going to see if the search party is ready to go." She said. Hiccup nodded, and she left. As soon as she was far enough away, she turned and slammed herself into a wall. She stood there for a full minute, hating herself. She knew what she had to do.

"I have to make this right."