Rellie, this one's for you. XD
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was scared of a lot of things: blizzards (no fun when you're cooped up with a stubborn Night Fury), diseased animals (you can get bitten by a dragon, and then you can get bitten by a rabid dragon), and his father's cooking (of all the things Stoic the Vast could do, preparing meals just wasn't one of them).
However, he wasn't sure he had ever been this terrified before in his life.
"Faster, faster, faster…" Hiccup hissed, clutching Astrid in his arms. With her swollen belly it wasn't like she could ride behind him anymore. And, though house chores had kept them filed down, the woman had claws for fingernails.
Toothless growled in consent and narrowed his body, making himself even more streamlined. Never before had he flown this fast, and in any other situation he would have relished in it, but Astrid was in trouble and all he wanted to do was get the screaming woman off of his back.
"IF YOU DON'T SET ME DOWN RIGHT NOW, I'LL—"
Hiccup silenced her with a kiss and tightened his grip around her waist. The boundaries of the village were coming into view; if only they hadn't decided to visit the south side of the island this morning…
"SO HELP ME GODS, I WILL CHOP OF YOUR—"
"Astrid!"
"—AND SELL IT TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER!"
If Toothless hadn't been so busy with trying to get both of them to the village safely, he would have stopped to laugh. Who needs younger siblings when you can have a pregnant Astrid?
By now a small crowd of townspeople had gathered around the square looking for the source of Astrid's cries. Of course, no one had been able to spot them yet—they were riding a Night Fury in pitch black after all.
Only seconds later Toothless touched down on the cobblestones. Hiccup was already on the ground running by the time the dragon turned to follow along with most of the village population. It wasn't everyday that the child of the Dragon Tamer was born—if this went wrong it could mean doom for the entire family.
"Gertrude!" Hiccup cried as he pounded on the doorframe of the resident healer. The door swung open to reveal a wrinkly, heavyset woman with grey hair and a long dress. She quickly moved aside to let them in.
"HICCUP, IF YOU HOPE TO HAVE ANY MORE CHILDREN IN THE NEAR FUTURE YOU BETTER PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW OR—"
With an exasperated sigh, Hiccup opened his arms and dropped his wife onto the waiting mattress. Astrid yelped but was in so much pain she chose to make several rude gestures instead of cursing him out of the house. "Anything for you, dear," he mumbled, her kissing her fingers. He hoped this would be over soon. Who knew being a caring husband would be so much work?
As Gertrude prepared Astrid for birthing, there was a loud crash and several screams. Hiccup looked up just as a big scaly head shoved its way through the window. The dragon was close enough he could nose his friend and did so, almost knocking him off of his stool. Hiccup just laughed and transferred Astrid's hand to Toothless' head, which they both appreciated. Toothless hummed and the room started to vibrate, which of course managed to shake several plates onto the ground with a CLASH.
Several minutes later, the baby was ready.
"Hiccup," Astrid panted, her voice hoarse from screaming, "Hiccup, Hiccup get OVER HERE!"
Hiccup ran to his wife and knelt next to her, joining Toothless' humming with soft crooning words. Outside, the people fell silent, everyone—including their dragons—holding their breath. This was it, this was it, this was it…
"Congratulations," Gertrude exclaimed, holding up a screaming bundle of cloth, "on your new baby girl!"
There was a unanimous sigh of relief from the entire village, then a great uproar engulfed the house. Astrid, exhausted, gratefully accepted the water skin passed to her. Then, without further ado, snatched up her daughter and loudly refused to let her go.
"But we still have to name her!" Hiccup protested. He had been waiting for this moment for nine months—he wasn't going to let Astrid have all of the glory.
The Viking woman thought for a moment before stating, "Aludrnari. That's her name." Hiccup nodded slowly, liking it. Unique and slightly outlandish, just like the little girl.
"Nari for short, of course, except on formal occasions," Astrid continued, "Though it might be a little hard to fit it onto a dragonball jersey."
The baby, calmed by her mother's voice, cooed softly. Both parents looked first at their child and then at each other. For a long moment, they just stared. Then they were smashing their lips together and Toothless, who had stayed silent for Astrid, grumbled loudly. Hiccup, much to Astrid's hormonal disappointment, looked up and smiled.
"Sorry big guy," he said, scratching a big black ear, "We forgot you've yet to meet the newest member of our family."
Now dragons weren't stupid creatures; the relationship between them and the Vikings was proof of that. Of course Toothless had picked up on Astrid's changing moods and smelled the different hormones. Hiccup had treated her like glass for the past nine months, much to her frustration, so he knew something important was happening.
But when Hiccup shoved a small fleshy bundle under his nose, he didn't know what to think.
"See?" Hiccup said, willing the dragon to understand, "Aludrnari. That means fire—wait, Toothless!"
The dragon ignored Hiccup's protests and, with the gentlest of movements, puffed a small blue spark right onto the nose of the baby girl. Instead of fading out, it stayed there, glowing warmly. Astrid and Hiccup could only look on in amazement.
The baby stared back at the dragon with big eyes. They were still blue but you could see little green waves around the iris. Then, Nari Haddock, daughter of Hiccup the Strong and Astrid the Bright, placed a curled fist on the dragon's nose.
Toothless stared at the girl. It was shocking how similar this was to the time he had first met her father. How incredible that he could experience the thrill of friendship again with the next generation.
Hiccup smiled and cradled his daughter closer to his chest. Toothless placed a giant head on his shoulder to stare at her and Astrid, who was still watching the dragon closely. Here they were, the strange collection of dragon and Viking and rider. And now there was a new member in the midst.
"Welcome to the family."
Drabbly, but I liked it. Hope you did too. And Rellie, if you're out there, you know exactly what I'm talking about :D
Yours,
`ww