stormfly

Stormfly is a very beautiful and bird-like bipedal dragon with winged-forelimbs that are about the same size as a medium-sized theropod dinosaur and small, yellow (yet keen) eyes with black pupils. Stormfly's body is a combination of blue, gold, red, purple, and tan with a light beige underbelly. Her main body color is blue; a bright and tropical turquoise. Her wings are mottled with darker shades of blue spots circled by gold, purple and red spots closer to her reddish shoulders. Her underwings are a duller mixture of gold and tan. Her tail is blue and gold, as are the many iconic poisonous spines adorning it. She has small black hooks at the end of her wing joints. In front of her eyes is a curved nasal horn. Her lower jaw is shorter and wider than the upper, which gives her an overbite. Ringing Stormfly's skull is a set of spikes and coating the tail is a series of spines that can be used as projectiles. When relaxed, her head spikes and venomous tail spines lay flat: especially when she is being preened or stroked, and when alarmed, they flare out to intimidate her foe. As she grew, her spikes had darker shades at the bottom. She has small black feathering on the back of her legs and four black claws on her feet. Her statistics on the book say she is 30 ft (9.14 m) tall, 42ft (12.8 m) wingspan, and weighs over 2,628 lbs. (1,192 kg).

Stormfly is a loyal and loving dragon towards her rider, Astrid Hofferson. The two are an inseparable and deadly pair who care for one another deeply. Stormfly also seems to be fond of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III; possible as Astrid cares for him too, and dragon and rider both seem to share affections for those the other chooses to trust. However, while she is loyal to Astrid, this doesn't mean she can't be convinced to help someone else if she feels that they are a friend and deserve to be helped, as is demonstrated with Heather when she needs her to save her family from Alvin the Treacherous's wrath, and Eret, Son of Eret when he was in danger by Drago Bludvist's men. Like all Deadly Nadders, Stormfly is a very beautiful dragon, and she knows it. She has a generous dose of vanity which is typical for her species and spends much of her time preening herself and cleaning her scales. Astrid mentions that she loves bath time as well. She is normally docile but can turn aggressive when she needs to. She also has a very playful nature, loving to play fetch and chasing after anything that is thrown to bring it back again. Stormfly is shown to have a strong bond with her rider, and is caring and protective of Astrid, though sometimes she's willing to connect with others whom she trusts, like Heather and Eret, and let them ride her. In this sense, Stormfly displays the main character trait of a Deadly Nadder: loyalty. Stormfly has shown to be loyal to save her rider in time from a fallen anchor from Johann's ship, and to obey her commands without question.

Stormfly seems to be quite intelligent as Astrid manages to teach her several hand signals, which Stormfly follows adeptly. Stormfly also manages to come to Astrid's aid when called, and Astrid can tell her what to do often with just a word. Just like Astrid and Hiccup, Stormfly and Toothless have a friendly rivalry, striving to beat one another in races and competitions. As Hiccup tends not to enjoy competitions, Astrid and Stormfly win most of the time. Stormfly has shown to be extremely playfu, usually playing with her rider or another dragon at least once in most episodes. She is said to love the water in "A Grim Retreat," evidenced in how she was playing in a shallow stream in "Snuffnut."

Stormfly's abilities are better than the average Deadly Nadder because Astrid Hofferson (Stormfly's rider) is shown to be more of a soldier than most of the other teens. ("Dragon Flower") Astrid trains Stormfly excessively, helping her to reach her full potential.

Stormfly has been trained to understand Astrid's hand gestures for commands like "Spine Shot" and "Battle Ready". ("Twinsanity") She has also learned to recognize her dragon rider's dragon call that acts as a beacon in case she and Astrid get separated. ("We Are Family, Part 1") She has proven to have good judgment as well. She knew Astrid's decision was wrong and did what she thought was right. ("The Terrible Twos") In How to Train Your Dragon 2, she is shown to have been taught by Astrid to release and fetch, using this with Eret, Son of Eret and Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III's Dragon Blade. She has also been demonstrated to enjoy this activity, even thinking it as a game and playing in a way not dissimilar to a dog with a stick.

Stormfly has always been a very fast dragon indeed, as was demonstrated several times during races, trick contests, and battling the Red Death. However, her speed has been increased greatly as Astrid discovered a hidden ability of the Deadly Nadder: their speed is increased greatly when they are fed chicken. ("Heather Report, Part 1") However, Stormfly is still not quite as fast as Toothless and the effects are only temporary.

Stormfly is exceptionally strong for a Nadder, as she can carry two humans on her back without signs of a struggle or discomfort. She can also use her talons to carry a dragon-proof cage that contains a Snow Wraith ("Snow Way Out") as well as the larger Hookfang with minimal effort. ("Guardians of Vanaheim") Not only this, but Stormfly is demonstrated to be capable of carrying large boulders in her talons, with control and minimal struggle, flying as usual for a distance, then dropping them from a great height to block Whispering Death holes.

Like all Deadly Nadders, Stormfly's flame is composed of burning magnesium, which causes it to flow in torrents of orange sparkles. Her flames are hot enough to melt a sea stack in seconds. ("A Tale of Two Dragons") Stormfly can carry a low, burning flame in her mouth that can be used to illuminate dark places, or to light the Dragon Eye. Stormfly has been shown to also have the ability to produce a more intense, concentrated magnesium blast that is bluish white, but can be sustained for a lesser time. ("No Dragon Left Behind") It is stated by Fishlegs that the Deadly Nadder bears the hottest flame of any dragon, like the Fireworm, but it is unknown whether this is correct, as it has not been mentioned anywhere else in the franchise to be any hotter than that of other dragons, and the plasma blast of a Night Fury is proven to be hotter. However, Stormfly, like other Deadly Nadders, prefers using her spines over her fire in a confrontation.

Stormfly's spine shot is the most common attack to be used against enemies as she has shown to be using this skill to trap animals like sheep so they won't escape. Stormfly is also able to accurately shoot one spine by being tapped on the back of her head. ("How to Pick Your Dragon") It is so accurate that she can shoot right through a previously shot spine. She was also able to use these spines as a rescue skill, to create a ladder for Astrid in a practice exercise in case they would have to rescue Vikings from a place where dragons can't go. ("Worst in Show")

While being briefly ridden by Snotlout Jorgenson, he tapped the back of Stormfly's head which had her release a single spine shot. She can also perform this ability when verbally instructed to do so by her rider, Astrid.

While in flight, Stormfly whips her tail behind her and protrudes her spines. Then, she ascends while twirling and releasing her spines in multiple directions. This is a very useful ability when surrounded by enemies from all sides. ("King of Dragons, Part 1") It also demonstrates uniquely Stormfly's graceful personality.

Stormfly and Astrid share a very similar bond to that between Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and Toothless. As Hiccup is Toothless' best and closest friend, Astrid is Stormfly's. At first, Astrid had no affection for Stormfly, seeing her merely as one of the dragons she was intent on killing to prove her worth; during their first encounter, nothing even close to the tender bonding moment between Hiccup and Toothless- instead, Astrid hits Stormfly in the face with an axe stuck in a shield, and generally regards her as a beast to be exterminated. However, when they decide to train the dragons, Stormfly still allows Astrid to ride her and soon the two start to grow very close. They both care about each other's feelings and don't push each other's limits. They watch out for each other, as when Stormfly alerts Hiccup of Astrid's illness when she begins to show symptoms of the Scourge of Odin. At that time, Stormfly seems greatly distressed about Astrid's state of health: afterward, once Astrid is better, Stormfly is the first friend she goes to. Also, both dragon and trainer have similar personalities as they both have a short temper, a courageous personality as well as a beautiful appearance. When Stormfly appears to have been poisoned by Slitherwings, it is the first time in the franchise's history that Astrid has been shown to cry.

Stormfly is very loyal to Astrid and is shown to be very protective of her. Stormfly also seems not to like it when other trainers ride her and prefer Astrid. She also trusts her Rider enough to let her touch her babies and is overjoyed to see Astrid when they are reunited after she is separated from her. Both Astrid and Stormfly have a very close loyal protective bond, as they both love each other very much. In How to Train Your Dragon 2, Astrid and Stormfly seem to have a much closer bond than ever before, performing dangerous aerial stunts with absolute faith in each other.