This has been sitting in my google docs for far too long. So I finally upped and finished it, and here ya'll go!

...

I don't think I should ever say ya'll again.

Dragon Boy

Stoick eyed the boy warily, hand near his blade in case there were any sudden movements. But he doubted it was necessary. The boy was obviously terrified, eyes widened as he was backed against the wall of the cavern. What Stoick was more worried about was the large horde of dragons they spotted while exploring. It didn't help that Cloudjumper and Skullcrusher still weren't back. They had absolutely no backup if this boy decided to cry out for help.

Beside Stoick, Valka tilted her head to the side and looked at the boy oddly. She noted the way he stayed crouched with his hands in front of him, curled up into claws, teeth bared despite the fear in his eyes. His clothes were ragged and thrown together, his hair choppy and uneven as if he had cut it himself. He looked like he couldn't be older than seventeen or eighteen, but his face was shadowed in the dark cavern, and hard to tell for sure.

"He's a dragon," Valka whispered as she finally saw why the boy's pose looked so familiar. He was a dragon backed up in a corner.

"What?" Stoick looked at her with a creased brow, before quickly looking back to the boy. He hadn't moved from his spot, teeth still bared and nails curled.

"Well, he's not actually a dragon," Valka explained. "But he acts as one." The boy chose that moment to growl at them, almost a pitiful squeak from the quiver in his voice. Had he ever seen another human before?

Stoick nodded as he realized what she meant. "What now then?"

Valka took a step closer, pausing when she received another growl. "Hand me the torch," she said softly. "If he's a dragon, then he has to be approached like a dragon." Taking the torch from her husband, she mentally went over the three basic steps to gaining a dragon's trust.

1) Establish that you're one of them.

Valka slowly crept forward, keeping her knees bent. When the boy snarled, she paused and slowly drew the flame around her. The boy watched with rapt attention, eyes following the light with a sense of familiarity that only dragons expressed. However, when Valka took another step forward, his eyes narrowed again and he was looking as threatening as possible.

2) Offer it food.

A critical step in nearly every case of training a dragon. Valka theorized that sharing food was more than simply being nice when it came to dragon culture. It was a symbol of peace. An offering of friendship.

Reaching into the pocket of her skirt, she pulled out a bit of wrapped bread she had kept there in case they were gone longer than expected. Valka then held it out to the boy, waiting for him to grab it for himself.

The boy eyed it warily before quickly snatching it from her fingers and then scampering away, where he sniffed the foreign substance and bit it carefully. He made an odd face as he chewed - he had probably never tasted bread before - but soon the entire thing was gone, and he was inching towards Valka with wide, curious eyes.

3) Give it your trust.

Slowly, Valka extended her hand, palm up, and the boy paused. His teeth made an appearance once more, but it was a gentle growl. Cautiously, Valka turned away, aware that Stoick was watching closely, in case the boy made any sudden movements.

A moment later, Valka felt the callused hand of the boy's palm in her own, and she smiled. "There now," she hummed, turning towards the boy with a grin. He had a bemused little smirk firmly planted on his lips, eyes holding questions but no longer threatening.

"Val," Stoick said lowly, and for the first time the boy seemed to remember he was there. He tensed a bit, glancing at Valka who nodded encouragingly. Deeming this response acceptable, the boy grinned widely and scurried around the surprised chief, looking him up and down and fingering his bearskin cape with untamed wonder. And then he let out a laugh, so young and innocent and familiar. Stoick froze.

The boy made a sound in his throat and grabbed Stoick's hand, pulling him towards one of the tunnels that lead to Odin-knew-where. "Grsk," the boy said, smiling up at him. "Grsk. Pfkng flwo. Grsk ee!"

"Hold up," Valka stopped him, turning him towards her. "We lost our dragons. We need to find them."

The boy tilted his head to the side, smiling bemusedly. "Dr-gon?" he asked. "Pfkng ee Dr-gon?"

Valka blinked. "Do you know Norse?"

"Dr-gon!" the boy declared cheerfully, darting off to the edge of the cavern they were in. He came upon one of the tunnels, and turned back at them expectantly, waiting with unmasked impatience.

"I think he wants us to follow him," Valka murmured.

"Is that wise?" Stoick countered, still wary.

In response, Valka walked steadily towards the boy, her intent to follow him clear. Stoick gave a frustrated huff but stepped after her, the pair picking their way through the darkened cavern towards the waiting boy.

Upon seeing them following him, the boy jumped and hurried down the tunnel, forcing Valka and Stoick to quicken their steps in order not to lose him. Very soon, there was light ahead of them, where the tunnel let out, and suddenly the two Vikings were blinking in the afternoon sun, the sight before them enough to make their jaws drop.

It was magnificent, the wide collection of ice and rock and plant-life, all mixed together in a confusing array of white and grey and green. But even grander, the hundreds of dragons that flew about, all different shapes and sizes, with colors so bright and vibrant that would put Astrid's prideful Nadder to shame.

"Incredible," Valka breathed. And then she noticed the great white beast that laid along the bottome. It must've been the size of a mountain, with two tusks on either side of its jaw. It laid there peacefully, its watchful gaze keeping over all the dragons that flew about it."Stoick," Valka breathed, but he had seen it too. His eyes were widened to twice their normal size.

"Ssk ca-ng," the boy spoke, reminding both Vikings that he was still there. Valka and Stoick turned to look at him, and immediately their breath was stolen straight from their lips.

The boy, now no longer cloaked in shadow, stood proudly before them, a curious little smile on his lips. Lips that belonged to Valka. And his nose...and hair. A strong jaw, like the one hidden beneath Stoick's massive beard, a light stubble slowly growing on it. And his eyes...as green as emeralds, as deep as the forest. Wide, round, full of inquiry and imagination and wonder. Eyes they could recognize anywhere.

"Val…" Stoick whispered.

The boy cocked his head at their behavior. A move he had seen Valka do so many times in the past.

"I know," his wife whispered back. "But...it cannot be…"

A roar interrupted their shock. Both whirled around, spotting several dragons fly their way. Two of them were very familiar.

"Skullcrusher!" Stoick cried when the Rumblehorn landed beside him, nuzzling his head against his rider.

"Cloudjumper!" Valka similarly called when her beloved Timberjack also landed, lowering its long neck to croon against her.

Several other dragons landed as well, gazing at the pair curiously, but making no move of aggression towards them. And then...it landed.

They would recognize the beast anywhere. Its brown-hued scales and wide face, those horns coming from either side. It looked at them, and seemed to remember, for its head tilted sharply, something akin to recognition in its eyes.

"Msk-tkrr!" the boy shouted, racing towards the large dragon excitedly, pointing back at the intruding humans. "Tsgrk vss olk!"

"It really is him," Valka murmured. It had to be. It was simply too coincidental to be otherwise.

"Hiccup," Stoick whispered.

The boy spoke rapidly to the beast that had taken him so long ago, nearly eighteen years ago. And then he turned back to the two Vikings, speaking in his strange tongue, before clampering up on the dragon's neck. Dragons getting ready to take off around them alerted Stoick and Valka to something happening. At the nudges of their own beastly companions, they quickly mounted and took off with the rest. They had no idea where they were going, or what was going on. All they knew was that they were following their son. And nothing could keep them from him now.

So, yes, Valka's dragon is a Timberjack. It has the same name, however, because I expect that if this were to really happen (some kind of AU where Hiccup was taken instead of Valka), then she would still name her dragon Cloudjumper.