So... this was one of the most voted! This could go up before Bonding is even done, or maybe not until Ought To Know Better has started. We'll see!
If you've forgotten, or are new here
- Valka recognises Hiccup at the Dragon Sanctuary, but doesn't tell him. Hiccup does not recognise her.
If you're really new here... Beware the Valcup!
Disclaimer - I own nothing of the HTTYD franchise. I just corrupt the characters.
-HTTYD-
"We have to head back for my dragon!"
Valka watched from her crouch beside her dragons, the strange trapper riding a dragon slowly managing to calm several at once by waving a sword made of flame. Then he went one step further, using Zippleback gas to burn the air, make his scent more friendly to the dragons. Unable to deny her curiosity, Valka crept closer. The stranger turned, wary and asking all sorts of questions.
Clearly, he had never met Drago Bludvist, or else he wouldn't have asked her that.
Even more peculiar... the relationship between he and the dragon she had pulled him from was clear, both openly thrilled to be reunited and when Valka got closer still, the Night Fury curled his tail around the man's legs, an obvious defensive position. Knowing how to pacify a Night Fury was easy, and soon enough she had the black dragon on his back, tongue lolling out and about as much use for self defence as a sleeping baby yak.
The man stepped back but realised there wasn't far to go, resistant as she reached to touch his face, too used to meeting dragons and greeting them that way. He turned his head further, flames catching something on his chin.
A scar.
A scar in the exact same spot that her boy had been accidentally scratched by Cloudjumper right before she was taken. It couldn't be... could it?
Hiccup?
She didn't dare tell him. Didn't want to face the fact she had unwillingly abandoned her son, her husband and her home. But most of all, she didn't want to risk scaring him off when she finally had the chance to see her boy all grown up.
Valka shrank back, sidling along the ground and watching Hiccup's reaction. He stayed close to his dragon, protective instincts evidently two ways and she swelled with a pride he would never know. Wanting to get his attention, to show him what she had achieved as though it could make up for her absence, she straightened up.
"I bet you think you know a lot about dragons. Let me show you some of what you don't know.."
His whole posture changed, a light in his big emerald eyes as though he could want nothing more than to learn about dragons.
"Lead the way."
Smiling beneath her helmet, Valka turned and darted off along the tunnels and twisting valleys within her home amongst the mountain, constantly turning to catch another glimpse of him, surprisingly strong for his lean frame but there was something ungainly about the way he clambered over rocks to keep up with her as she leapt easily from side to side. Twenty years around dragons had changed the way she moved, learning from her reptilian friends daily.
When they finally came out in the brighter, open nest with it's icy roof and thousands of dragons swarming freely, Valka let Cloudjumper lift her so Hiccup could get the full effect without her as a distraction, comfortably safe up on the wall with her Stormcutter.
The dragons obviously noticed the new human and dragon, several swarming to get a good look and sniff of them as they stared around in awe. Valka only had eyes for her boy, seeing the messy hair in the same colour as hers, a dragon-ish emblem on his shoulder pad and... a metal leg?
The Night Fury too wore a prosthetic, the emblem on his tail fin identical to the one on Hiccup's shoulder pad. Along his body she could see a saddle, some sort of system with stirrups that must allow Hiccup to manipulate the dragon's replacement. She wondered how the injury occurred, resolving to ask him when Hiccup was done taking it in.
He jumped slightly in surprise when he saw her up on the wall, curiosity lighting him up as Cloudjumper offered his wing-tip to let her gently rest her staff there, sliding her down the rest of the way upon his wing. They were such beautiful, trusting creatures and Valka loved the bond she shared with them.
"Uh, are you going to take off that helmet? I feel kinda weird talking to your mask."
Taking a deep breath - what if Hiccup had seen drawings, perhaps recognised her? - Valka placed her staff down, lifting her hands to pull away the helmet slowly. There was no flare of recognition, no accusatory words as he looked at her face.
"I'm Hiccup, by the way, and this is Toothless. And this" he gestured broadly at the dragons all around "is amazing. You rescue them?"
Valka nodded, trying to stop herself from imitating her dragons who were sniffing the Night Fury, but personal space wasn't exactly a common concept when one only lived with massive scaly reptiles.
"So... who are you?"
"Val... Valhallarama."
She only just caught herself before she slipped.
"Oh wow, and I thought my parents went overboard."
I did try to tell your father, but you know Stoick... better than I by now, I expect.
"You can call me Val if it's easier for you?"
That earned a flicker, some darkness taking over his eyes for a moment.
"What is it?"
"I sort of knew someone... never mind. So... Val, teach me about dragons."
Valka could die happy now, she thought, hearing those words on her boys mouth. She spent several minutes half-expecting him to suddenly recognise her, perhaps a memory of her voice from his infancy. But he showed no recognition, only eagerness and interest in everything she had to say about dragons. Gesturing at his Night Fury, she asked - it was courtesy.
"May I?"
"Uh, sure. Go ahead."
Valka crouched, held her hand out to Toothless to offer him her scent. He responded quickly, smiling and cooing and rubbing his jaw along hers to show affection.
"Oh, he's beautiful!"
He even scrambled around to place his head in her lap, chest up and no hint of a sense of vulnerability. She rubbed the soft patch around his jaw, counting the fins that stuck out there.
"How old are you Hiccup?"
"Twenty. Why?"
"No wonder you two get along so well. He's your age!"
"Wow. How can you tell that?"
She explained the fins, laughing when Toothless bumped his riders leg gently and bounced about happily.
"He might well be the last of his kind. How did you ever manage to-"
"I uh, found him in the woods on our island. He was shot down, wounded."
Hiccup vaguely indicated the tail fin, looking up as Valka stepped over to her dragons.
"This snafflefang lost his leg to one of Drago Bludvist's iron traps" she stroked his jaw, soothing the otherwise robust, proud dragon "and this Raincutter had her wing sliced by razor netting."
She lifted the damaged wing tenderly with her staff, knowing that Thump wasn't a huge fan of having hands on her injured wing since it healed. Then there was Gruff, the most sweet and friendly Hobblegrunt Valka had ever met.
"This poor Hobblegrunt was blinded by a tree snare" she held a hand out, let him taste the scent and his colour changed to 'happy' as she cupped and rubbed his jaw "and was left to die, alone and scared."
Hiccup looked genuinely upset, troubled by such things and she felt proud again. Lifting her staff, she indicated Toothless' prosthetic tailfin.
"And what of this? Did Drago or his trappers do this too?"
Hiccup sighed, rubbing the back of his head nervously.
"Funny story. Uhh, I'm actually the one who shot him down. Hey, it's okay though" Valka almost scolded him, forcing herself to let him finish but perhaps scowling a little "he got me back! You couldn't save all of me huh bud? Just had to make us even!"
Toothless grumbled and warbled happily, nudging his head to move Hiccup up into his saddle and tilting his head up to let Hiccup scratch beneath his chin. That perhaps explained the metal leg... well, a little.
"So what changed? If you shot him down, and now you ride him?"
Hiccup slid down, surprisingly graceful when it came to his dragon despite the non-organic limb. He sat down, so she followed, dragons sniffing around at the newcomers as Hiccup reached up to pet his own.
"Our village was getting raided by dragons constantly, and they were stealing all our food and animals. I was never much good at it... let's just say I lived up to my name."
He looked so defeated for a second, shadows of an old sadness washing through his handsome features and Valka ached to reach out, to touch.
"So I made this... I guess it was a bola launcher, and I ran outside with it and there were no dragons. Then the Night Fury noise came out of the sky, and I just shot. I hit it, and then I nearly got eaten by a Monstrous Nightmare. My dad yelled at me, didn't believe I hit a dragon, and then I snuck out to look for it."
Hiccup sighed, his dragon instinctively knowing he needed the reassurance and nuzzling his riders face, big pink tongue peeking out until Hiccup laughed. It was a free, beautiful sound.
"So I found this dragon. All tied up, practically waiting for me to do it. I even said I was going to kill him, thinking of how I would finally be accepted as a Viking. And then he looked at me. And I felt like... like he was looking right through me, yanno? I looked at him, and I saw myself. So I cut his ropes, freed him. He jumped up, roared in my face and flew off."
She noticed how he went from "it" to "he" as the story grew more personal, watching this man her baby boy had become, so open and honest with her though to him, Valka was basically a stranger. His story was so, so close to hers, when Cloudjumper had looked right into her soul, reflecting herself back in his eyes.
He took after her, and she hadn't been there..
"I spent days trawling Ravens Point, that's this big forest spot there" Valka couldn't say she knew it, Hiccup would get suspicious "and thought I would never find him again. Then I found a couple of black scales, followed the trail and found this little cove. I watched him fly around, but he couldn't get in the air properly. I didn't realise at first, but I had obviously torn his tailfin off when I hit him... I'm so sorry about that bud."
His apology was so sincere, the pain in his face so genuine that Valka couldn't find it in her heart to be angry with him. He went on, detailing how painstaking it had been to earn the dragons trust with games and fish, learning to fly and all the accidents that went with it. The system he crafted to use stirrups to manipulate the tailfin...
And the struggle every day to pretend he was just another dragon-killing Viking, going to dragon killing class with the others his age. It started with him being the butt of their jokes, until people started to notice - Hiccup knew his dragons.
He got very animated, gesturing with his hands and visibly getting excited as he detailed their first successful flight.
"And then... Astrid found us and Toothless was prepared to eat her to protect me. So naturally, Astrid freaked, tried to run. Toothless kidnapped her, traumatised her" Toothless looked away defiantly, eyes twitching to the side to see if Hiccup was still scolding him "until she apologised, and then he took us on this amazing flight. We saw the Aarvandil's fire from above the clouds, and it was so magical."
"And Astrid is?"
Hiccup blinked, then smiled.
"Oh. She's now my fiancee."
Valka didn't know what the feeling settling oddly in her chest was. Was it... disappointment? Shaking her head to clear it, she realised Hiccup was still talking.
"Of course, before I introduced her to dragons she thought I was a dork like everyone else, wouldn't even look at me if she could avoid it. Guess I have you to thank for getting a girlfriend too, huh bud?"
Toothless huffed, then dropped down next to Hiccup and warbled softly, leaning up into the hand that ran over his scales. Then Hiccup moved on to the next part, which obviously hurt him to talk about as he started on the 'final exam'.
"He couldn't get out of that cove for himself, but he did it for me. Ran all the way, and it's a long way when he couldn't fly, jumped in and saved my life. Of course, if my dad hadn't slammed his hammer on to the cage that dragon would never have gotten mad. Still... he saved me. And for his trouble, they chained him up and used him to find Dragon Island."
As Hiccup went on to talk about the Red Death, the way he defeated her and how he used what he had learnt to do so, saving everyone's life in the process, Valka considered heading to Berk just to throttle her husband. Disowning him for realising dragons were loyal, wonderful creatures... damnit Stoick.
"So, how do you feel about Titanic dragons now?"
"I don't have a bias against any dragon as a whole. Each one is different, just like people. Why?"
Valka stood, holding her hand out without even realising it. Hiccup took it, looking confused as she led him down. Unsure why, she didn't want to let go and Hiccup didn't actually say anything, just followed.
"Careful, it's steep."
He took that as explanation, eyes widening almost comically when he first laid eyes on the Alpha.
"Every dragon nest has it's Queen, but this is the King of all dragons. Hiccup, meet the Bewilderbeast. The Alpha species."
"Whoa. He's... I don't have the words."
"With his icy breath, this graceful giant built our nest. A safe haven for dragons everywhere."
As Valka indicated the icy roof, Hiccup's eyebrows raised.
"That's the ice spitter? He's responsible for all that destruction?"
"He protects us. We all live under his care, and his command."
Hiccup stared right at him as Valka and the dragons bowed. Well...
"All but the babies of course, who listen to no-one."
Her beautiful, dragon-loving son joined her in laughing, not even flinching when the giant dragon blew a smattering of frost across his hair and face.
"Ah, he likes ya. Are you hungry?"
"Uh, yeah. I could eat."
She took his hand again, brain and limbs not consulting, and Hiccup didn't stop her.
"Good. Come, it's feeding time."
She got to see him fly properly on his dragon for the first time, that intrinsic bond that was almost like reading each other's minds... it was visible to her with a startling clarity as they soared through the air, following her until she and Cloudjumper stopped. His eyes occasionally wondered the length of her body, but Valka put that down to curiosity for the way she flew - standing up, holding on to nothing.
"Hey, I thought we were going to eat?"
"Oh, we are!"
Hiccup watched in confusion, eventually looking down where she indicated and letting out a sound of surprise as the Alpha broke free of the oceans surface, then launched the shower of fish through the air. She couldn't help herself, laughing aloud as Hiccup and Toothless looked around the downpour of fish all around them. The Night Fury turned for permission, tongue lolling out joyfully until Hiccup agreed, laughing as they flew through the raining food.
The two humans cooked a few over a fire, talking between bites and Hiccup detailed his mapping trips, pulled out the map he had made of all his journeys.
"Let me show you the world."
Hiccup watched, awestruck, as she sketched out the world map in the thin layer of snow over ice they sat upon.
"There we go."
"Whoa. That's what I want to see."
"Why don't you?"
"Because I-"
Hiccup was cut off by Toothless, who had a massive chunk of ice in his mouth and was drawing lines and loops over her drawing... Toothless' work of art didn't seem all that defined and she watched, bemused.
"Remember I said he did that game with a tree branch so I could earn the right to finally touch him?"
Valka nodded, watching as Hiccup stood and told Toothless to do what he had done then.
"Minus the fish, please."
Hiccup placed his metal foot on one of the lines and Toothless snarled, baring his teeth. The second he raised it, Toothless purred happily. He shook his head, trying to dislodge the ice stuck to his tongue now. Cloudjumper watched it all rather silently, flexing his head fins as he observed them but she could see he was relaxed - just keeping an eye on things to ensure she was safe with this human - most, nearly all even, of the humans they had seen over the years were Dragon trappers, bad people.
Hiccup was... amazing. Her boy was all grown up, a man with the soul of a dragon.
"Come, let me show you something."
When they got to the updrafts, where several dragons were already jumping off, Valka couldn't help smiling as Hiccup and Toothless practically floated indepently, smiling widely. She did that, she made Hiccup smile. Feeling a rather churlish impulse both to show off and to get close to him again, Valka slid from her dragons back, stepping gently and carefully across each dragons wings, some letting her use her staff to hang off their sturdy head spines. Each one received a thank you, whether it was a smile, a word or affectionate stroke along their face until she made it to the Night Fury.
Toothless let her walk along his wings, and Hiccup laughed as she placed a hand on his shoulder to jump over her. The air offered a taste of his scent, leather and woodsmoke and dragon fire, sending a strange shiver through her as she slid off Toothless' wing. They both looked over in panic, but saw her land safely on her dragon.
"Up here, I don't even feel the cold, I just feel..."
"Free."
They shared a smile, bonding over their similar thoughts, feelings. Swallowing lungfuls of air to try and clear him out of her, Valka spread her hands and let the air run through them.
"This is what it is to be a dragon, Hiccup!"
"It's all well and good calling yourself a dragon" he seemed to be doing something with his stirrup system, then crouching on his feet upon the saddle "but can you fly?"
She gasped, panicked as Hiccup launched himself from the saddle and free-fell, but then he spread his arms and legs, wings filling the space as he flew. His noises of sheer joy filled her ears, and he turned around in the air to look for her. Cloudjumper flew them alongside him, but then there was a mountain formation in front of them and Hiccup was crying out for his dragon to catch him.
Valka watched and was about to intervene when she saw - Hiccup had locked the tail, so Toothless could still fly - if limited. They slammed into the snow as she landed more easily, boots sinking inches into the powder as Valka tried to make her way to Hiccup, who was just standing up. Forgetting herself again, she began to investigate his wings with no permission, murmuring praise to herself at the ingenious invention.
"Incredible."
"You're not so bad yourself."
They both fell to the ground, having been swiped at the ankles by Toothless in retaliation for the close call, she surmised. For someone who had a fiancee, Hiccup was making no efforts to remove the woman laying on top of him.
Of course, he could just be patiently waiting for her to find her bearings. Valka shook herself, reminding herself he was her son and even so Hiccup wouldn't want someone old enough to be his mother.
Where were these thoughts coming from? Loneliness or sickness? Madness? All of the above?
"We almost had it that time Toothless! Just those turns we gotta practice."
Brain finally working, Valka managed to get herself up off of him, brushing snow off of her as she did so.
"I can help with that... would you mind Toothless?"
He cocked his head, blinking at Valka before padding over through the snow to her and waiting. Hiccup watched, still laying in the several feet of powdery snow to see her run her fingers down the Night Fury's head, searching for just the right spot. Applying the pressure just so, Toothless' back spikes changed, splitting in two and increasing his air maneuverability.
"Now he can make those tight turns!"
Toothless turned his head, clicking them together and bounding around happily. Hiccup finally made it to his feet, admiring the new spikes.
"Did you know about this?"
"Ah, every dragon has it's secrets. I can show them all to you."
"So you've seen alot of Night Furies before?"
"Years ago. Unfortunately, they've been hunted... I hadn't seen one for near a decade when you turned up."
Hiccup's eyes flicked down, saddened but somehow still hopeful.
"Huh. Guess we just have to hope they are out there somewhere, waiting. Hiding. Toothless shouldn't be alone forever."
Valka found herself reaching out to him, but stopped before she made purchase and stopped her hand, hoping Hiccup hadn't noticed.
"He's not alone. He has you."
"I guess he does."
The shiver was almost imperceptible, but she saw his fingers were pink and taut - he had caught some chill while she hadn't gotten off him in the snow.
"Cold?"
"A little. T-t-think my c-clothes are damp."
"We should get back, you can dry off there."
The fly back would do him no favours, but there was nothing to be done - there was nowhere to make a fire out there and his clothes wouldn't dry in the chilled air. Sure enough, his teeth were chattering by the time they made it back, and his fingers were stiff as he tried to unfasten his flight gear.
"Do you need help?"
"N-no, I g-got it."
Her own fingertips tingling at the thought of touching him, Valka left him struggling while she found something dry to wear. Cloudjumper knew how to light the firepit for her, and she banked on her boys own dragon to ensure he didn't freeze to death at least. He had her build, wasn't much shorter... her things would have to do.
Hiccup had barely even removed the arm-bands of his gear when she returned, and he was shivering more violently.
"I always d-d-did get sick m-more than everyone else" Hiccup sighed, then turned to her and her heart almost stopped "can you h-help? This-is getting more d-d-difficult."
"Relax Hiccup. I live with dragons, they aren't exactly a modest bunch."
Hoping her face didn't betray the guilty pleasure of it, Valka worked the straps of his gear loose until he was left only in the sodden tunic and leggings beneath it. They clung to him, highlighting a lean frame covered in wiry muscles. Feeling forgotten warmth tighten in her stomach, Valka turned back to the fresh things.
"Perhaps not your colour, but at least they are dry.
Apparently over his modesty, Hiccup tugged his damp tunic off and let it drop to the ground, stammering a thanks as he pulled on the dry one. While his face was obscured, she eyed his lean torso stretching, wanting to map the plain with curious fingers until she reached the autumn-brown hair along his navel.
Stop it! He's your son!
"Would you uh, turn around? I'm kind of not wearing anything under these."
Trying to ignore the spike of disappointment, Valka turned away and listened for the sound of damp cloth hitting the ground, hearing his metal leg clink against stone as he pulled on the leggings, making a sound that gave Valka a simmering heat in her gut.
"Oh Thor that's better. You can turn back now."
Valka did, watching him bend to roll the cloth up over his metal leg to avoid tripping on the material, then stumbling over to warm by the fire. His damp hair clung to his neck and the sides of his jaw, making Valka itch to map the stubble, the angular bone. She wondered if his lips would feel cold and windchapped, or soft and warm.
Toothless made his way over, nuzzling at Hiccup and sniffing the unfamiliar clothes. She has this terrifying notion that the dragon could somehow tell they were blood by scent, and that he would work out Valka was wrestling with some truly twisted desires...
It had to be the shock. Valka had never expected to see her boy again, had not been this close to a human that wasn't after her head in years. Busying herself with the bottle of honeyed beer, Valka cast a glance over at Hiccup again.
Oh, he had grown up so handsome...
Stop it.
"Here, this should help you warm up."
"Oh, thanks."
Hw sniffed it before taking a sip, mmm-ing low in his throat as the warming sensation worked it's way down his body. Valka poured herself some, needing something to focus on besides her shaking hands, racing thoughts and a slowly budding arousal she hadn't felt in years - such feelings long faded with no human contact. His clothes went on the line near the fire, dripping snow-water onto the ground.
"While I defrost... will you tell me more about dragons Val?"
Sitting as close as she dared, feeling heat radiate from him despite his still chilled-pink skin, Valka nodded and took a sip of the warming beer.
"Of course. I'd teach you everything I know if we had the time."
Hiccup didn't specify a leaving time, and neither did she. As he listened to her talk about dragons, eyes full of fascination and rabid interest, Valka couldn't believe she had missed twenty years of nurturing the dragon loving heart inside him. Perhaps then she wouldn't be watching the muscles roll in his throat as he swallowed, wouldn't feel tingles in her spine listening to his deep voice as it washed over her skin.
They talked for hours about dragons, daft things they remembered their own doing - Hiccup described the first time he had seen Toothless rolling around in dragon nip, and Valka talked about Cloudjumper trying ro hang upside down from a rather unsteady rock, yowling in annoyance when it crumbled as he fell asleep. They slowly gravitated closer until his body heat was soaking into her side, her coat discarded long ago as the fire warmed them both.
Hiccup yawned slightly, muffling it in his hand and Valka looked around to see Cloudjumper and Toothless had gone to sleep out with the other dragons, leaving the two humans alone in her 'room'.
"Wow, we really got into talking. Hel, the fires almost out."
There was an awkward silence - Valka only needed one bed, being the only non-reptile in her entire sanctuary usually. But now...
"I better go find Toothless, get some sleep."
"You could... stay. We're both adults."
Hiccup's breath hitched slightly, eyes firmly set away from her.
"I uh... I don't think that would be a good idea."
Valka raised an eyebrow, watching him shuffle awkwardly.
"Are you worried I'll try something?"
Hiccup shook his head, voice suddenly low, small.
"No. I'm worried I will."
Trying to disguise her unforgivable joy at the notion he wanted her too, Valka tried not to throw herself at him.
"I thought you had a fiancee."
"I do. And I love Astrid, I do."
"But?"
Hiccup took the most hesitant, tentative step forward, testing her reaction and even in the limited firelight left, Valka could see his pupils were dilated, and a gentle flush was rising along his cheeks.
"But I've never met anyone like you. You know dragons, Hel, you live dragons. When I look at you... I see myself."
Oh... Valka should tell him now. She should stop him. She shouldn't be reaching her hand out, leading him to her bed and letting him lay on top of her. When his mouth touched hers, Valka couldn't help whimpering as she felt him, solid and firm against her stomach. His lips were hot, slightly chapped and he drew in a shuddering breath, pressing closer into her.
"One night."
"One night."
Their agreement was whispered between kisses, nervous hands beginning to find their way beneath fabric to touch flushed skin. He went for bare skin first, pushing her linen top up and Valka felt the last of rational thought fade as his hands brushed her bare chest.
One night... one brief moment in her boys arms. Then he would move on, and never would he know who Valka really was. Naked and entwined, Valka wasn't sure what was more unforgivable as Hiccup and she shared their bodies.
That she knew they were blood...
Or how that fact only made it better.
-HTTYD-
haha I did more Valcup now I ought to sail for Helheim immediately
Of course... Now I'm probably going to go write more Valcup.