Horses were rare on Berk, being a smallish island, there wasn't much need for their speed. But a small wild herd did roam through the forests. It took and agile dragon, and a clever rider to slalom through the trees chasing them.
With Stormfly's squat body, she was quite well suited for the tight turns and limited space between the trees. Astrid clung low to Stormfly's neck, the wind whipping through her hair, and down her back. She guided her dragon with the subtlest of hand and foot signals.
Her attention locked solely on the only stallion, the alpha to a pack of mares. The heirarchy intriguing Astrid, she'd observed them each battling for the favour of the leader.
Gliding silently above her, an unseen dragon dipped beneath the cloud layer, he observed the behaviour of the dragon and her rider. His paired wings, gently, effortlessly keeping it level. Tucking those wings back he descended.
Astrid was still oblivious until she heard the rush of flames just a few feet behind her. The jerk of her head, or her startled jerk were enough to distract Stormfly. Her wings started clipping the branches sending her tumbling down to crash and roll into the ground.
A tree trunk stopped Astrid, her head cracking on impact gave her double vision. As the mysterious dragon approached, almost feline in its' delight, and grace.
This time she was engulfed in flame. Awash with blue-green flames, she screamed, the noise lost in the blast of flames. Her shrill cry continuing even as the flames licked over her body. Licked over it, but left it unconsumed. It turned her clothes to cinders, and those cinders to breeze-blown nothing.
Once her body was revealed, she clutched her hands to hide her nakedness. But, now her body was rippling, and shifting. The arm across her bust was changing, her hand already curled into a fist, turned into a solid lump, incapable of opening. She felt a pain in her joints, as if they were bending in ways that were unnatural.
Astrid squirmed in her seat, a root was making the ground painfully uncomfortable. As she rose to her knees, she discovered it wasn't a root. A wandering hand discovered a tail, long flowing hair spouted from the base of her spine.
She barely noticed the flames continuing to flood around her, as she felt her rump get wider and fuller. Holding out her arm, she recognised it as a horse's foreleg, and hoof! Even as the confusion washed over her, she was driven onto all fours. Standing as best she could, Astrid found it impossible to straighten beyond that.
Even the idea of standing on two legs, on her hind legs felt wrong. She wasn't surprised to see hooves at the end of her legs too. A soft downy coat of fur now covered her from head to toe. Gritting her teeth against the pain she clenched her eyes shut, as the pain in her neck mounted higher and higher. The cracking bones impossible to miss. Her ears flicked, flinched at the sound.
Once the pain faded, Astrid risked opening her eyes. She took in her new body, she was a horse from nose to tail. Her sense of smell heightened, her vision duller. But one thing was certain, she could scent a dragon nearby. The safety of a herd was further away. Instinct gripped her, and in a flurry of hoof beats, she raced towards safety.
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