Time performed the oddest, most wonderful miracles on living creatures. The harsh snow that froze the unforgiving land could reflect white beauty for all to see, with constant sunlight illuminating winter grandeur. The most fearsome beasts, raging with teeth and spines, softened at their most vulnerable.
At the Dragon Egg Islands, as the Berkians called them, miracles happened year after year, in the dead of winter. The dragons would migrate to these warm spots in the cold ocean and have their babies, pushing the eggs into pools of boiling water. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Dragon Trainer and Whisperer, would often accompany them on his dragon Toothless, and help all the babies return.
He had his reasons for limiting the number of riders who came. In addition to the careless friends who would tromp over nesting grounds without a worry, several crafty Vikings would want to steal the babies and train them. Others, Romans entranced by the exotic, implied that dragon eggs made great omelets. Hiccup had met a handful of these Vikings during his lifetime, and he had no desire to help them.
One Viking, however, was allowed to join him every year. In fact, he insisted on her company. She was too willing to agree.
Berk hosted a holiday called Snoggletog in the winter, to celebrate the rebirth of life in the snow. Astrid Hofferson, Hiccup's girlfriend, had earned a Snoggletog reputation for destroying the village with her holiday cheer, and few on Berk would leave her alone when the shields went up on Berk's large tree. To keep her from punching out the taunters and insensitive, Hiccup invited her to come with the dragons, and they spent Snoggletog away from the laughter, and from his father's disapproving eye.
This year, they had built a small hut for themselves on one of the smaller islands. They kept it simple: one room, four walls, and a few shields as Snoggletog wreaths. Then Hiccup had switched the setting on Toothless's tailfin to automatic, so that the dragon could fly around on his own. Toothless had been loathe to leave, but Hiccup indicated the reason why. Only then did the dragon leave with Astrid's mount, a blue Nadder named Stormfly.
"They really like to look out for us," Astrid said dreamily, as Hiccup started a small fire. Not that it was necessary, with the steam from the hot springs outside.
"You know Toothless," he said over his shoulder. "He seems to think I'll run into trouble without him, that Meatlug will snatch me up."
"He's probably right."
"Hey, talk like that and you won't get your present," he teased her.
"Then you won't get yours," she teased back, "and I worked so hard on it."
For Hiccup, Astrid being here was a present enough. Away from Berk's public eye, away from all the expectations, and away from the villagers with their questions about dragons. But he didn't say so, for she would feel insulted that he wouldn't appreciate her gift. He hoped it wasn't a food basket, because Astrid made sure to leave Berk with barrels of Yaknog before leaving, and he could never keep it down. As an apology to the village, he had replaced the barrels with a better mixture, so that it was creamy and sweet on the tongue. Snotlout and Fishlegs had approved of Hiccup's improved Yaknog and kept the recipe to themselves.
"So, do you want to open them now, or wait till the evening?" he asked.
"Oh, let's open them now. It will be a good start to the morning," she said.
She went to her pack, rummaged through it. Hiccup stood up from the fire and wiped ashes off his clothes. She had wrapped the gift well, with a bright red ribbon and green parchment. He cupped the bundle, smiling at how well she wrapped.
"I don't want to open it. It's too beautiful."
She punched him in the arm. It was a light punch.
"Go on, Amazing. Or I will clobber you."
Carefully, he untied the ribbon; Snotlout would have simply bitten through it with his teeth. It came undone
"Oh wow," he breathed, looking at the present.
Several ceramic bottles of ink, in different colors. He uncapped one grey bottle and eyed the blue ink within. In addition, three notebooks with embroidered covers: blue, golden, and red. The parchment within was smooth and supple to the touch, and he rubbed his finger across them.
"Trader Johann, he's always low on ink," Astrid said. "I noticed how you trade your best inventions to get even one measly bottle, and he never wrestles that squid often enough to justify the expense. So, in the summer I asked in advance for him to find OTHER bottles of ink, in exchange for some of my axes, as well as notebooks. You always seem to run out of them at the worst possible moments."
Hiccup gave a low gasp. Astrid NEVER parted with her weapons, even when training dragons. A "thank you" didn't seem like enough for such a gift.
"It was worth it," Astrid said, misinterpreting Hiccup's expression. "You are worth it."
He put down the bundle and wrapped his arms around her middle. He spun her around several times, hearing her squeal with surprise and joy. Then he kissed each of her eyebrows.
"So are you," he said. "Let me get my present."
He wasn't sure if he could top hers, though he had tried to hide the bundle from her view. Toothless hadn't liked the extra weight, or the present inside, but he knew how much Astrid meant to Hiccup and thus had only grumbled. Hiccup quickly got it from where his pack leaned against the wall, sheepish at how he had only wrapped it in soft leather. Wrapping was not one of his specialties. Then he picked it up, staggered, and handed it to her. She raised an eyebrow as she pulled away the leather.
"Hiccup, I hope you didn't go overboard. This is almost as large as you are-"
This time she gasped. A new axe lay on the soft leather, gleaming from the fire. It was as long as her arm, and had a silver tinge she couldn't recognize. So did more bottles, a brush, and a cleaning cloth, inside a large chest.
"One can never have too many axes," Hiccup said, trying to sound flippant. "This one is special because it's made of Gronckle iron, thanks to Gobber, so it's lightweight. The chest isn't. It comes with a cleaning and polishing kit. But there's more."
He bent over and pressed a button on the axe handle. A secret compartment shot out, with another small ceramic bottle.
"THIS is a special fluid, one that can fool dragons. Dragons hate weapons, but it's mainly the metal they can smell. This herb mixture, dragon nip and rue, disguises the smell, so that a dragon will trust you. It's also a useful spread to give to dragons, if they ever get out of control-"
She stood up, grabbed his face and kissed him, hard. They almost fell into the firepit, but she leaned him against a wall hut instead. His eyes widened as she broke away.
"No WONDER Gobber was working you day and night in the smithy, when you weren't at the Academy," she said, exhilarated and furious. "You must have spent MONTHS working on this! And you told me it was a secret project!"
He smiled, sheepishly. Her teeth marks were on his lips.
"Guilty as charged. We were working on the source of Gronckle iron, and I asked for permission to make this. Gobber said I had to work off the debt."
She kissed him again, more gently. He kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her. They stood for a while, enjoying each other's company and forgetting Berk.
After a while, Astrid broke away.
"I know a better place for this," she said. "The hot spring nearby. No dragon eggs there."
He gave a wicked grin.
"You read my mind, milady. Race you there."
Astrid loved races. She took off immediately. Hiccup moved to catch up, but she had the head start.
The presents lay on the floor of the hut, peaceful and gleaming. Although the fire died down, leaving darkness, warmth filled the hut. The warmth would remain when Hiccup and Astrid returned for a midday meal, both sweating and laughing.
Time performed such wondrous miracles. The hottest islands could exist in the harshest winters, and the smallest gifts thawed the most frozen creatures. That is why Vikings celebrated Snoggletog, to enjoy the warmth that only exists within the mortal heart, and to herald the warmth that came with spring.