Lost & Found
There was much activity going on one cloudy afternoon on Dragon Island. The Draconian King and his family were turning the volcano into a summer home. It was under construction with scaffolding and workstations. It was nearly finished. The Vikings and Dragons of Berk were helping in any way they could. Huge supplies were shipped from Draconia. While the volcano was being fixed up the four young hatchlings: Avalon, Apollo, Eider, and Black Widow, spent their time on the Isle of Berk with Chris, his wife Serenity, and their year old daughter Edelweiss. They stayed there so the children wouldn't get hurt being around so many dangerous things.
Avalon and Apollo were the son and daughter of King Re and Queen Aurora. Princess Avalon was teal green with purple horns and lavender eyes. She wore purple armor with a big green maple leaf insignia on her head plate/crown. She was next in line to be Queen, and like her mother she had the gift of magic. Her brother Apollo was blood red with gold horns, spines, and eyes. He wore dark red armor with a gold insignia of a dolphin jumping over a lyre, surrounded by a wreath on his head plate/crown. He was destined to be Prime Minister like his uncle Tenor, and also had the gift of magic.
Eider was an orphaned young Whippfang; with the whiplike tail of a Whippertail and the black poisonous teeth of a Blackfang. He had recently been taken under the wing of Serenity's guardian Ruby. At first Eider didn't like the idea of having anyone take the place of his parents. But Ruby said he and his mate Harmony had no intention of replacing his parents, just to be some one to run to when playtime was over. Eider was vivid purple with black horns and amber eyes. He wore amber armor that had an insignia of a king eider duck on the head plate/ crown. He was good friends with the Princess and was destined to be the new king.
The fourth and youngest dragon of the group was Black Widow. She was the hatchling of Tenor and his mate Windwalker. She, like her father, was half Night Fury and half Blackfang. She had the scales, sonar flaps, wings, fins, eyes, spines, and body of a Night Fury, and the long, wolf-like legs, long neck, narrow head, and black teeth of a Blackfang. She had red eyes and had a red hour glass shape on her forehead. She wore black armor with the same red hourglass insignia on her crown. She was very good friends with Apollo and would one day be Captain of the Guard. She would also one day be the riding dragon of Edelweiss.
The four of them; along with Edelweiss and her parents, hung out under the Golden Apple Tree. Sometimes they went flying and practiced their fishing and hunting. Edelweiss would only go flying with her mother in a special baby seat on the back of Tenor's saddle. She was a year old and already walking without help. She loved playing with the dragons, especially Black Widow. They would roll a ball back and forth in the shade of the apple tree. They were doing just that when Serenity and Chris came back from a night flight. When Edelweiss saw her mother she beamed, squealed, and held her little arms out.
"Hello my little flower," Serenity said happily. She picked her daughter up and held her securely.
"Isn't the new castle done yet?" asked Avalon. "I want to explore Dragon Island."
"Well most of the rooms are finished and they just need furniture," Chris said, getting off Windwalker. "It'll be done in no time." The four young dragons looked disappointed.
"Well at least we have space to play here," said Apollo. "Every cloud has a silver lining." Black Widow roller her eyes at his optimism. Then she turned and lit the fire pit with a red plasma blast.
"Good aim Black Widow," said Tenor. She beamed at him pompously.
"A Night Fury never misses," she boasted.
"Don't let that go to your head though," Windwalker warned. "Don't expect to hit the target every time."
"Yes mama," said Black Widow. Then Edelweiss decided she wanted to get down and Serenity set her next to Black Widow. Serenity and Chris sat in their chairs by the fire.
"You went night flying a lot in the past?" Chris asked.
"I still do," Serenity replied. "It's more interesting out here, with the aurora borealis and all."
"I can see why Lord Draco named Mom after them," Chris said. "They are very pretty."
"It's too bad you can't see them from home," said Serenity. Chris murmured in agreement.
"It does make for a really romantic flight though," he said. Serenity blushed and smiled.
"We should get back to Dragon Island and help with the construction," said Windwalker.
"Please don't go away again," said Black Widow. She jumped onto her mother's back.
"It's not really necessary is it?" Tenor asked. "There's probably not much left to do."
"I suppose," Windwalker said. She laid in the Dragonnip and Tenor laid beside her. Edelweiss went back to playing catch with Black Widow. Avalon turned to her brother and Eider.
"Let's go to the village," she said. "I heard it's a great place for hide n' hunt."
"Okay," said Apollo. "Are you coming Black Widow?"
"I'll join you later if I don't fall asleep," said Black Widow, rolling the ball back to Edelweiss. Avalon, Apollo, and Eider flew down to the plaza where the vikings and dragons were doing their chores. The three young dragons looked around the place.
"One, two, three, not it!" Avalon exclaimed.
"Not it," said Eider. They both looked at Apollo.
"About time I went first," said Apollo. He flew to the top of the blacksmith shop and began counting to ten with his wings over his eyes. When he reached the number ten he opened his eyes as looked around. He couldn't see Avalon or Eider. He glided to the ground and began sniffing around for them. He looked all over the plaza, and into the forge. Gobber the Belch was working of door handles for the Dragon Island Castle and Chief Hiccup was making updates to dragon saddles. They paid no attention to Apollo as he looked for his sister and friend. He could smell Avalon's sent in the forge and figured that she was in there. He looked behind every machine and under every table. Then he spotted Grump near the furnace doing the exciting task of sleeping. Apollo approached him and silently leapt onto his back. This allowed him to look in the higher places of the forge. Suddenly Gobber waddled up to them.
"Grump! the fire's dying," he barked. "You're supposed to keep it from doing that." Grump woke with a start. He was about to haul himself around to relight the fire. Then Apollo shot his red fire into the furnace and it blazed brighter.
"Ah thanks Apollo," said Gobber. "But it's not nice to take over someone else's job you know." The Dragon Prince narrowed his eyes. Then he spotted something twitching out of the corner of his eye. He turned and saw a thin tail tip right behind the furnace.
"That's okay Mr. Gobber, I found what I was looking for," he said. He jumped to the ground and scurried over the twitching tail.
"Found you!" he cried. Avalon ran out of her hiding spot and out of the forge. Apollo ran after her. They ran through the plaza; dogging dragons, vikings, farm animals, and buildings. They ran really fast. Suddenly they rammed into Cloudjumper. He spun around when he felt something hit him in the leg.
"What are you two doing?" he asked.
"Playing Hide and Hunt," said Apollo, tagging Avalon.
"Where are your parents?" Cloudjumper asked.
"Dragon Island," said Avalon sadly. "We haven't seen them since yesterday. At least Black Widow and Edelweiss have their parents here." At that moment Apollo spotted something hiding behind the feeding station. He went over and poked it. It turned out to be Eider.
"I found you!" Apollo cried. Eider came out of his hiding place and joined Avalon.
"Perhaps you could do something else for a while," said Cloudjumper. Apollo slumped to the ground.
"Grown ups are always saying that," he said frustrated. "What's wrong with playing our favorite game?"
"You might get trampled or kicked by accident," said Cloudjumper. "How about you go down to the beach? There's plenty of places to hide there. It's not that I don't want you to play, it's a wonderful thing, I just want to be sure you are safe while doing it."
"Oh okay," said Avalon. "Come on guys lets go look for hermit crabs." The three dragons spread their wings and took off. They flew to Thor's Beach and landed on the sand.
"I'm it this time," said Eider. "Since I was found last." He went into a playful crouch, swishing his tail back and forth. Avalon and Apollo ran off and Eider chases them. They ran laughing along the coastline. The beach was plenty big enough that Eider could get a decent chase. He gained on Avalon and was about to pounce on her when she stopped dead and he ran into her.
"What'd you stop for?" Eider asked.
"Look," said Avalon. She pointed to a large, smashed boat laying on the sand.
"Whoa where did that come from?" Eider asked.
"The sea," said Apollo.
"That's not what I meant," said Eider.
"Well, only one way to find out," said Avalon. She approached the ship and the other two followed her. She crept under the overturned bow and looked through the dark. She saw something lying unconscious on the sand. She went closer and saw that it was a man. His clothes were torn, wet, and salty. He had black hair that went past his ears. Avalon nudged him, then jumped back when the man grunted. She quickly went back to Apollo and Eider.
"There's a human man in there," she said. "And he's still alive."
"I wonder if there are any other humans," said Apollo. He jumped onto the ship and looked all around it. He quickly spotted a human woman laying aways from the ship. She had blond hair that went past her shoulder blades. She was face down on the sand.
"Guys over here," he said. He jumped off and ran to the woman, the other two followed him. They surrounded the woman and Avalon nudged her. The woman didn't move but she was breathing. Avalon and Apollo rolled the woman onto her back. She looked around forty or fifty years old. She wore a grey wool shirt and brown leather pants.
"Wow she's old," said Apollo.
"She's not that old," said Avalon. "Mis. Valka is this old. We should tell Hiccup about this." They left the shipwreck and flew back towards the plaza.
When they got there they landed and began looking for Hiccup. He was no where to be found. The looked in the forge but Grump said Hiccup had left. The three dragons returned to the plaza.
"Maybe he's in his house," said Eider. They ran up the hill to the big house where Hiccup lived with his mother and his dragon. The ran up the steps and Avalon scratched at the door.
"Hiccup! You in there!?" she called.
"Right here, what is it?" said a voice behind them. They turned to see Hiccup getting off Toothless.
"We found a boat, with humans around it," said Apollo. "On the beach over there." He pointed in the direction of Thor's Beach. Hiccup became alert.
"How many?" he asked.
"Two, man and woman," said Avalon. "Unconscious."
"Show me," said Hiccup getting back on his dragon. Avalon, Apollo, and Eider took off and lead the chief to the shipwreck. They landed around it and Hiccup dismounted. He went over to the ship and looked under the bow at the man. Avalon ran over to the woman and nudged her.
"Don't do that Avalon, she could have broken ribs," said Toothless.
"Yes sir," said Avalon. She stepped aside and let Hiccup look at the woman.
"Thanks for telling about this," he told the young dragons.
"You are welcome sir," said Avalon politely.
"You guys wait here while I get the other riders," said Hiccup. He got back on his dragon and took off. The three young dragons stayed where they were. They didn't go near the humans, since they were strangers. They went back to chasing each other while the waited.
They weren't playing for long. In no time the group of riders landed near the ship, Chris and Windwalker were among them. They got off their dragons and approached both humans.
"Hey you guys found people you get first dibs," said Snotlout.
"First dibs?" said Avalon confused.
"Yeah, you get to pick which one you keep," said Snotlout.
"But there humans, not conch shells," said Apollo.
"Don't pay any attention to him kids," said Hookfang. "He's all mouth and no brain." The young dragons laughed.
"Did you just open that dirty fire hole of yours!?" Snotlout snapped, jabbing a finger in Hookfang's face. The Nightmare growled and clamped his jaws around Snotlout and lifted him off the ground. The three young dragons nearly died laughing.
"We need to get these guys to Gothi," said Astrid. The group got the man on Skullcrusher and the woman on Stormfly. They took off and headed for Gothi's hut. Avalon, Apollo, and Eider followed Chris and Windwalker back to the apple tree. They found Serenity and Edelweiss taking a nap with their dragons. Edelweiss and Black Widow were curled up in the Dragonnip and Tenor was curled around Serenity in her chair with his head in her lap. Chris and Windwalker landed near the house and Chris dismounted. Windwalker laid down next to Black Widow and Edelweiss. Chris went over to Serenity and gently kissed her cheek. She smiled in her sleep. Chris sat in his chair and took her hand in his. Avalon, Eider, and Apollo began grazing on the apples. At that moment Re and Aurora landed on the lawn.
"Hello," Re said, in a very good mood.
"Is the castle almost done?" Chris asked.
"We just took the scaffolding down," Re said. Avalon and Apollo ran to their parents.
"You sure it's safe building a castle out of a volcano?" asked Windwalker. "It could erupt."
"I've thought of that," Re said. "And I have thought of that. And all the rooms are well clear of the center of the volcano, where the fire and ash come out. All the rooms will be accessible only from the outside or by the Whispering Death tunnels, never from the crater."
"I can foresee the volcano erupting very soon," said Aurora. "It will only shoot ash and lava bombs, no runny lava."
"Hey Mama guess what?" said Avalon.
"What?" asked Aurora.
"We found a boat with humans in it," said Avalon.
"Really?" said Aurora, she sounded officially interested. "How many humans?"
"Two," said Apollo. "Man and woman."
"Where are they now?" Re asked.
"In Gothi's hut," Chris said. "I suspect they'll be up and about soon."
"Can we see the castle now?" asked Apollo.
"Tomorrow you can," said Aurora.
"Okay," said Avalon. She and the other two went back to eating apples. Re and Aurora laid down in the Dragonnip. Chris looked over at Serenity who was still asleep with Tenor's head still in her lap.
"She looks tired," said Re.
"It comes with riding a nocturnal dragon," said Chris. Then Toothless came up the hill.
"How are the castaways?" asked Windwalker.
"They are coming around," Toothless said. "Valka says she recognizes the woman, very strange."
"Recognize her how?" asked Aurora. Toothless shrugged.
"We'll know later," he said. At that moment Edelweiss and Black Widow woke up. Edelweiss yawned and sat up, Black Widow just lifted her head.
"Mama," said Edelweiss, pointing towards Serenity. Chris looked at his wife again.
"Serenity, you daughter wants you," he said. Serenity woke up as Edelweiss got to her feet. She walked over and Serenity lifted her onto her lap, sitting her down on Tenor's head behind his sonar flaps. Re and Aurora couldn't help but be amused. Edelweiss gently petted Tenor's head with her tiny hand. Tenor didn't budge, just flicked a bug of his ear.
"Yum yum," Edelweiss said, which translated into 'I'm hungry.' Chris got up and went into the house to look for the homemade applesauce his mother had made before they came to Dragon Island. He came back out with some in a bowel with a spoon. He handed it to Serenity.
"Thank you," she said. She put the bowl on Tenor's forehead and began spooning the applesauce into Edelweiss's open mouth.
"I'm surprised Tenor can sleep through all that," said Windwalker with a chuckle.
"A volcano could go off and he wouldn't even shift his weight," Re laughed. Black Widow went over to her friends and joined them in eating apples. They had flown up into the tree to reach the bigger ones. Toothless went back to the plaza.
He found Hiccup heading for the forge to clean up. The dragon went to the entrance and sat on his haunches to weight. Hiccup came out a few minuets later looking very happy.
"Well Toothless I think you and I are overdue for a flight," he said. "What do you say we go out?" Toothless beamed and pranced on the spot, wagging his tail.
"Okay okay," Hiccup laughed. "Hold still." Toothless obeyed and Hiccup mounted him. They took off and flew over the ocean. They did acrobats and practiced falling and catching. Then they headed back to the village. Hiccup slid off the saddle again and opened his leather wings. He and Toothless glided side by side as they went in for landing. Hiccup had not tried this yet. Toothless was able to land just fine. Hiccup glided towards one of the posts that held up the torches in the plaza, snagged it, and slid down to the ground. He landed on his back, knocking the wind out of him. Toothless ran over and began fussing over him.
"I'm okay Toothless," Hiccup wheezed. "Just got the breath knocked out of me. Can you help he up?" Toothless went behind him, grabbed him my the scruff of his neck, and pulled him into a sitting position.
"Thanks bud," Hiccup said. At that moment the man and woman from the shipwreck came running into the plaza looking like scattered sheep.
"I demand to speak to whoever's in charge," said the man.
"Ah, down here," said Hiccup waving his hand. The man and woman looked at him, a bit surprised.
"Where are we?" the woman asked.
"This is Berk," said Hiccup, getting to his feet. "We found your ship smashed on one of our beaches."
"And who are you?" asked the man.
"I'm Hiccup, I'm the chief here," Hiccup said. Both the man and woman looked doubtful that that was his real name. Then the woman adorned a deep-in-thought look.
"Wait a minuet, Hiccup?" she said. "Son of Stoic the Vast Hiccup?"
"Yeah," said Hiccup confused. "You knew my dad?"
"Briefly," said the woman. "When you were a day old." Suddenly Toothless came up beside Hiccup, curious. The man and woman backed up scared.
"Dragon!" the woman cried. "Keep it away from me."
"It's okay he's friendly," said Hiccup. Toothless gave their guests a gummy smile.
"I'm not buying it," said the man. "Dragons have been nothing but trouble, it was a dragon's fault we crash our ship."
"Yeah and it was a dragon that carried away my sister," said the woman.
"I don't get it, how do you my dad?" Hiccup asked.
"Oh, sorry I was going to tell you when that thing showed up," said the woman, pointing at Toothless. "I'm your mom's older sister. My name's Valkyrie." Hiccup's eyes popped at this news.
"And this is my husband Rufus," Valkyrie continued. Rufus went up to Hiccup and held his hand out.
"Nice to meet you nephew," he said. Hiccup shook his hand, still running the news through his head.
"Wow you look as old as our son would have been," said Valkyrie.
"You had a son?" Hiccup asked, the last thing he wanted was another Snotlout. At that moment Valka and Cloudjumper landed in the plaza. Valka dismounted and Cloudjumper headed for the feeding station.
"Valka!" said Valkyrie. Valka looked quite surprised. "I thought you were killed by a dragon."
"So did everyone else," said Valka. "But I was just carried off by one. But I thought you were taken prisoner by hostile vikings."
"We were but we escaped," said Valkyrie. "We've found a village to call home not to far from here. Rufus is now a shipbuilder. We were trying out his newest boat when that sea dragon capsized us." She sounded frustrated.
"We can rebuild you ship and send you on your way home," Hiccup offered.
"Thank you," said Rufus.
"Can we have a tour of your village?" Valkyrie asked her sister. "While we wait?"
"Sure," said Valka. "I can introduce you to all the dragons we have here."
"How many dragons are on this island?" asked Rufus.
"Hundreds," said Hiccup. "Toothless is the alpha, they're all out fishing at the moment."
"Oh," Valkyrie groaned. "That's a lot of dragons. We aren't big fans of dragons. They keep ruining our village and steeling our livestock."
"Well how about I show you around before the dragons come in for the night," said Valka. "The only dragons here right now is Toothless and a few up that hill." She pointed to the trail that lead up to the Dragon Hospital.
"What's up there?" asked Rufus.
"Come I'll show you, but please be quiet there's a baby sleeping up there," said Valka.
"Okay," said Valkyrie. They followed Valka towards the trail, Toothless walked faithfully next to Hiccup.
"Um, does that thing have to follow us?" asked Rufus. Toothless looked hurt.
"I'll meet you at home bud," Hiccup said to him. "I know you love the apple tree but we want to make our guests comfortable while they stay here." Toothless sighed and reluctantly obeyed.
"Good boy Toothless," Hiccup said, trying to make the dragon feel better. "Giant basket of cod for you when I get back." Toothless smiled gratefully and walked towards the big house. Hiccup and his mother led their guests up to the apple tree where the Draconians were either grazing on apples or dozing off. Edelweiss had had her fill of applesauce and was now playing with Black Widow. Edelweiss would roll the ball away and Black Widow would retrieve it.
"Hey friends," said Valka. The Draconians all stopped what they were doing and looked at her.
"Wow that's a lovely tree," said Valkyrie.
"Thanks, I grew it myself," said Serenity. "I'm rather fond of it."
"Is it a good idea to have so many dangerous animals close to that baby?" asked Valkyrie.
"She's okay," said Serenity. "I would be more concerned if she was playing too close to the edge."
"Anyway," said Hiccup. "This is Valkyrie and her husband Rufus."
"Valkyrie is my older sister," said Valka.
"Really?" said Chris. "That must be one big stroke of fate."
"I'll say," said Hiccup. "This is Chris, his wife Serenity, and their daughter Edelweiss."
"Great names," said Rufus. Serenity very carefully put Tenor's head on the ground and stood up, Chris stood next to her. Valkyrie was looking very closely at Chris.
"Ah she's very pretty Chris," said Rufus, looking at Serenity. "You are very fortunate to have her." Serenity blushed.
"This might seem like an odd question Chris," said Valkyrie. "But do you know who your parents are?" Chris looked confused.
"Yeah, they're right over there," he pointed at Re and Aurora. Rufus and Valkyrie both flinched.
"But they clearly aren't your biological parents," said Valkyrie. "They're dragons."
"They are the ones who raised me," said Chris. "I've known no other family."
"How did those dragons find you?" asked Valkyrie.
"We found him in a burnt down house," said Re. "The whole village was in ruins." Valkyrie seemed reluctant to talk to a dragon and refused to look at him.
"Did you find him in the cold fireplace in a basket?" asked Rufus. Re and Aurora looked at each other then nodded. Valkyrie looked so relieved to hear this.
"Why is this important anyway?" asked Serenity.
"You're probably not going to believe us when we say this," said Valkyrie. "But you're our son, and we're your real parents."