(yeah I was meant to wait but this story has taken me over)

A couple I always intended to write and never quite got to (I mean there's Dragon Lady but that's a threesome)...

Valka x Eret! It's a sort of... pre HTTYD2 divergence. Like... two or three years before HTTYD2.

-HTTYD-

She slipped from Cloudjumpers back with barely a sound, landing on some grass near the patch of ground where the cages were kept. It was a stop-over island, where those who captured dragons waited to meet those who bought them. An excellent spot to break the chain of supply to demand. And, as Valka knew, it was a night when the buyers wouldn't be coming, and so the only guards were the sailors themselves - largely drunk or unconscious at that hour.

Cloudjumper landed next to her, padding along ready to help pick locks with the wonderfully dextrous hooks on his wings. Several dragons were still sedated, but a few were waking up and Valka had to try to settle them before they raised the alarm.

"Hush... it's alright. You're safe. Come on Cloudjumper."

Valka scuttled along to the next cage, picking the lock herself with a thin piece of metal she'd found worked on most, The juvenile Typhoomerang grumbled in thanks before taking flight immediately. She would have gone after it, but they didn't have time and Valka knew they would probably catch up on the flight home. At least his deep green colouring meant he wasn't too distinctive against the night sky, unlike the bright orange Windgnasher she was freeing.

"Shh, we'll take you somewhere safe. Don't worry my dear."

The dragon pushed against her outstretched hand, still trembling with fear but he was freed, and so she must have seemed safer to him than his captors.

"Hey! That dragons out of its cage!"

Odin, they must have spotted Cloudjumper. Valka rattled her staff, instructing Cloudjumper to finish retrieving the rescues. As she headed to see if the approaching humans were armed, she spotted a dragon by itself, curled up rather sadly and her heart ached for the poor creature. If they hadn't bothered caging it, they obviously had no hopes it would survive but left it dying where the other dragons could only watch, helpless.

Swelling with rage, Valka raised her staff - it was designed to be safe for dragons, but not people. Three trappers rushed closer and Valka surged forward, knocking the one closest down before he'd had chance to draw his sword. The other two both swung, her staff blocking bloth blades before she backed up, swiped, sent both staggering.

"Cloudjumper!"

Her dragon roared, the metallic creak of another cage drowned out by an angry roar as her new Windgnasher friend leapt in, spitting icy blasts at the trappers and trying to put himself between them and Valka.

How did anyone ever misunderstand these wonderful, beautiful creatures?

She rattled her staff in signal to the dragon on guard - Incognito, a Changewing chosen specially for raids as he could hide. Incognito got the message, appearing from nowhere and telling the dragons to follow him, he'd lead them back to the sanctuary. Cloudjumper finished opening the final cage, freeing a Zippleback who took off after the others quickly while her Stormcutter approached Valka, rearing up and flaring his fins with an angry roar.

If that dragon was dying, Valka would not let it die in such a gods-forsaken place. And there might have been something she could do for it. Creeping closer while Cloudjumper watched the trappers, Valka identified the spine crown that said Nadder, spines almost flat to their head saying this dragon was quite sick. She worried they would not survive the trip back, but Valka knew she had to try. Cloudjumper nodded to her silent look, scooping her onto his head and using his tail to scatter the trappers before spreading his wings, carefully lifting the Nadder with his legs. Valka knew they could hold tight if needed; she'd been carried by them herself that first night.

"Hey! Get back here!"

"Go Cloudjumper!"

They took off at speed, a bumpy rise but they were soon in the air, flying away from that awful place. Incognito had done an aerial swoop, and the island was only being used by that crew tonight. Several parts of the ocean were frozen, slowing the sailors down. It certainly made Valka's task easier for the moment.

As they flew, Valka smiled to see the Windgnasher flying close by her. There was always one that seemed extra thankful to her, one that stuck close by on the fly home. The flight would have been almost pleasant, if not for the worry over the Nadder Cloudjumper carried, and the sight of a ship that clearly sought to pose threat to dragons. She spotted two in ropes already, asking Cloudjumper to drop her down but keep the Nadder safe. The crew were recognisable, or at least, their tattoos were. She'd definitely dealt with this trapper tribe before.

"It's the Dragon Rider!"

Cloudjumper was an excellent shot; his torus of flame didn't so much as graze Valka, but it scattered the trappers. She used the dagger strapped to her thigh to cut the ropes on the dragons, the Windgnasher bravely ducking down to retrieve her. Valka turned to check the dragons - a Snafflefang and a Nightmare - were taking off, before they all headed on to get them back safely.

The Windgnasher jolted, but Valka thought little of it - some dragons found having a human on their back odd, and she'd only need to stay there until it was safe to move back to Cloudjumper. They put a good few miles between them and the trappers before daring to slow down, though in dragon terms that was not much time at all. Valka leapt over to Cloudjumper, rubbing his horn affectionately.

"Let's go!"

Valka didn't notice, not until they were almost back. And by then it was too late. He'd lost consciousness, but given the speed and altitude they'd flown, that wasn't surprising. She was used to the thin air, but most would not be. Hanging from the Windgnashers claws was one of the trappers, hidden from her and Cloudjumpers views as they flew higher up. If she dropped him, he'd likely die from exposure, and that would make her no better than those who left the Nadder out to die, alone in the cold. If she took him back to his fellow trappers, that risked the dragon she flew back on.

And she didn't have time. That Nadder needed her.

There was nothing else for it. She would have to take him with her, and deal with him later. Valka disarmed him quickly, tossed his swords out of the way and turned to grab her box of herbs and salves before she headed to the sick dragon.

"Watch him, would you?"

Cloudjumper nodded, keeping watch as Valka dropped to her knees, searching for and treating a few injuries. She sent a few dragons to fetch water and fish, then called over several more Nadders to come closer. Dragons liked warmth from their kin best, and the sickly Nadder needed warmth. Barely any energy went into swallowing the fish, and Valka practically had to pour water and a few herbs down the Nadders throat, but the pack around her got the message quickly and surrounded their fellow dragon, a couple even extending their wings to aid the warmth.

It was touch and go, but gods the dragon had a better chance there than back on the island.

Sighing, Valka got back up and went over to the human, still not entirely sure what to do with him. If she took him back now, unconscious, he wouldn't know where they were to be able to lead anyone back. Just as she decided to ask Cloudjumper if he was up to it, the man began to stir. His eyes opened slow, sluggish, then wide and surprised as he found dragon and rider very close to him, unfamiliar ground beneath him.

"W-where am I?"

"Safe."

His skin was an unhealthy shade of pale, and Valka remembered he'd passed out from cold and thin air. A pointed nod to Cloudjumper had him fetching the nearest pelt of fur, which he flung toward the human as rudely as possible short of setting it on fire. It landed near, and he must have been cold as the trapper snatched it up and wrapped it around himself, clumsily, with one hand.

"T-take me b-back!"

"No. For starters, I doubt you would survive the flight. And secondly, I can't have you leading someone back here. Just... stay there while I think."

Without really thinking, Valka took off her helmet to rub her face, not used to wearing it in the nest.

"Wow. R-really is a w-woman u-under there."

His trembling wasn't abating, Valka noticed, even as she kicked herself for revealing her face to someone who hunted dragons. She was careful not to be seen, so if she visited a traders island nobody would recognise her.

"What's wrong with you?"

"N-nothing."

He hunched in on himself, wincing.

"Are you hurt?"

Valka may disapprove entirely of what he did, and if one got injured fighting to recapture dragons she was rescuing? That was their own stupid fault; dragons were allowed to defend themselves. But she had some basic compassion for a wounded human, and by the state of him Valka almost wondered if she'd missed that he was bleeding. It seemed unlikely - he'd been prone on the ground, and his tunic was light at the sides.

"N-no. J-just... t-take me b-back."

The colour drained out of his face, and from his hunched sitting position, the man still keeled over. Valka rolled her eyes - clearly, he was hurt - and moved over, watching closely in case it was a feint but as soon as she pulled away the pelt, she saw his own fur wrap had slumped along with him, exposing a dark bloodstain on the fabric over his chest. Since he appeared unconscious, Valka peeled the material away, wincing herself when she saw his chest.

Branded.

She knew Drago was cruel and vile, but she hadn't realised he went as far as branding his workforce as well as his dragons. Though, she supposed to him, they were all the same. Disposable.

"Keep watch, I need more things to treat him."

After a minute, Valka changed tack and had a very wary Cloudjumper carry him along, dropping him next to the firepit in Valka's own quarters. His chills wouldn't help, and she needed the water to clean him up. Wiping the blood away, she saw the angry lines beneath and knew it was fairly fresh, healing delayed by how hard it was not to pull on the skin as it tried to knit back together. He must have leapt up to try and drag the Windgnasher down - that was what she felt - and by the time Valka realised, he'd long succumbed to injury or exposure or both.

Valka coated a piece of cloth in honey, moving to press it to his chest when he woke up, immediately shuffling away from her only to yelp and try to move away from Cloudjumper at his other side.

"Relax. He won't hurt you. I'm just treating your wound."

"I-I don't n-need your help!"

"Then put this on yourself, but it's going on."

He took it from her outstretched hand as though it might burn him, and it probably cost him more pain to apply it himself than was worth the pride of denying Valka's assistance, but he managed to press it down over the mark there with a hiss of pain.

"Satisfied?"

"Not really. Stay there and warm up. I can't take you back if you freeze to death."

Valka brewed up tea, just for something to do, and handed it to his uninjured side insistently before settling back with her own cup full. He frowned at the taste, but didn't stop drinking. All the more unsure what to do now, Valka sighed. She hadn't taken him to the deeper cave, where the Bewilderbeast sat, but he had still seen a lot, and would see more if he was conscious for the trip back. Valka had a few herbs that would knock him out, but might be risky while he was so weak.

Gods, why hadn't she just dropped him?

"If you know whats good for you, you will stay there and warm up. I won't be long. Keep guard Cloudjumper."

She headed out to check on the Nadder, pleased to see their breathing had improved slightly. There was a chance after all. Valka smiled, cheered by the sight of the dragon pile. She dispensed strokes and nuzzles to a few dragons, then went back to her 'guest'. He hadn't moved, though with an enormous Stormcutter looming over him, Valka wasn't surprised.

"You should rest. I'll figure out what to do with you later. There's water in that jug, and a mess bucket just through there. Dragons might come in, but despite what you think, I'd wager you are safer here than with Drago."

He frowned, shaking his head.

"Safe. Dragons. Right."

Valka shrugged, undoing her armour and setting it to the side, stretching her shoulders out and feeling eyes on her.

"What?"

"What's your name?"

"Why do you ask?"

He shrugged, then regretted it if the pain on his face was anything to go by.

"Cus calling you 'angry dragon lady' in my head is really long."

What good would a name do him? Valka had been off the grid for over fifteen years now.

"Valka."

He nodded, mouthing it to himself and grabbing the pelt next to him. Valka doubted he'd want to sleep, but exhaustion would set in - thanks to the tea she gave him, a brew she used when she couldn't sleep herself. She wasn't too keen on sleeping herself, but Cloudjumper was nearby, and Valka never felt safer than with her dragon.

She'd almost dozed off when his voice broke the silence again.

"Eret. My name is Eret."

-HTTYD-

Yeah, I know, Gobber/Eret and whatever but I have been meaning to write these two for ages and this idea just sort of... solidified with a little help tonight. So here we go.