New day for a new family
It was so late in the evening that it was in fact now early. Despite the dark navy blue velvet skies above still held a few diamond stars, there was smudge of color easing its way up on the horizon, meaning the dawn was coming at its own slow pace. Nevertheless at the moment all who dwelled on the Isle of Berk were still asleep. As the moon waned from heavens above as the dawn slowly approached both the Vikings and their beloved dragons were still dreaming peacefully away in their warm cozy beds. Seeing how Berk had a reputation for being mostly cold and had very harsh weather at times. Yet every now and then they'd a short spell of good weather, and for now that spell was encompassing the island, which made everyone on it happy.
All the same the island itself was still pretty banged up from the events of two weeks ago. It seemed once the people of Berk had adverted one crises another sprang up almost as quickly. Yet ever since the previous Chief Stoick the Vast's awkward son Hiccup had befriended the rare Night Fury, whom he'd named Toothless, things hadn't been the same. Everything was different now, and Berk and its people as well as the dragons, whom they now called friends, it been the beginning a newer and brighter era of love, peace and compassion. With a lot of adventures thrown into the mix as well. Once thing you could count on when it came to Hiccup and Toothless things never stayed boring for long!
It was true that the whole village was still mourning the death of Hiccup's father Stoick, for he'd been one of their best leaders and one of the greatest Viking warriors ever to live! At the same time though everyone was thrilled to know that Hiccup's mother Valka, whom everyone had assumed was dead, specially eaten by dragons, was alive and well. And devoid of her help, they knew for sure this haunting fact. Even Hiccup had admitted if he hadn't found his mother, and she hadn't told him the words he needed to hear, he wouldn't have had the strength to stop the insane tyrant Drago Bludvist and his evil Bewilder Beast. As a result one and all were overjoyed to see her back home after being gone for 20 years. She was just overjoyed over the fact that her son had fulfilled her dream of peace between humans and dragons.
Although even those feats, with defeating Drago, plus bringing peace between humans and dragons hadn't been Hiccup's greatest accomplishment. What he and a very special little girl, had done two weeks ago was something not a soul on Earth or any of the other Nine Realms, had dreamed was possible. Hiccup and the little girl named Una, whom he'd come to regard as his little sister had worked a miracle together. Without their loving and strong bond then Loki's evil daughter Hel, her two wicked brothers, and her deranged human lover, who was one of Berk's past enemies, named Dagur the Deranged. He'd gotten that title because he was unmistakably mentally unstable plus overly obsessed with bloodshed and violence. Which Hiccup thought was probably the reason Hel and Dagur had fallen for each other. They'd formed a huge conspiracy plot of revenge, and all but succeed in taken over the whole universe, and leaving everything forever out of balance. Not to mention making it impossible for the dead to be at rest in Valhalla among their other crimes.
Nevertheless without some help from Una, whose close Valkyrie friend Kara the Valkyrie of Children giving her the Resurrection Amulet all would've been lost. Using the magical amulet Una had come back from the dead and gotten Hiccup's help and because of their love for one another they'd saved everyone in the universe. Then to everyone surprise who'd been present during The Battle of Valhalla, the Gods and Valkyries did something no-one knew could be done, or had ever been done before. Because of her part in saving the universe Una had been brought back to life! As a result she now was truly part of the Haddock family, and now everyone of the Tribe accept her as a member. Even if all this had taken place two weeks ago almost everyone was still making the adjustments need to this unique situation!
Right now in the large Haddock House (which was the biggest house on the island given the Chief and his family lived there.) both Hiccup and Una were sleeping in Hiccup's bed together. Nearby on his own bed was Toothless and downstairs Valka was sleeping next to her dragon Cloudjumper. All of them seem to be peacefully sound asleep which again hadn't been easy given everything that had happened recently.
Hiccup may be 20 now and also the Chief now, nevertheless in all fairness he was still a kid in some sense of the word. He was still learning a lot about himself and was also struggling to learn the job he'd inherited from his late father. It wasn't easy for him and it would only get harder in the days to come. Therefore he was extremely elated that Una was now fully in his life for good this time. He loved her very much ever since they'd met in that Spirit Cavern. She was one of the few people in his life, who seemed to love him from the start, and more importantly had accepted him for who he was, and not what others thought he should be. The bond they shared was strong and loving. Although neither knew it was to be tested in ways neither had foreseen. On the other hand that fact was unknown to the pair as they slept together.
At the moment Una was tucked safely under Hiccup's left arm smiling joyfully. Her unique blond and lilac tipped hair blew gently in the morning breeze coming from the window above them. The newly reincarnated five year old seemed to feel happiest when she was close to her brother seeing how she snuggled even closer to him as she dreamed on.
The slight movement, however, woke her brother from his sleep. Very carefully and quietly he lifted his head off his pillow and looked up. Seeing he was up Toothless opened his own eyes and smiled his toothless smile which had given him his name.
"Morning, buddy. Ready for another day of new responsibilities and chiefly duties?" he whispered quietly as he slide out of the bed. Una rolled over and slept on as peacefully as before. He made sure to tuck the blanket around her small body carefully. He smiled affectionately and kissed Una's forehead gently. Then he and Toothless slowly tipped toed out of the bedroom and made their way downstairs. He was still a bit drowsy and yawning softly as he slowly descended the wooden stairs. He almost fell down the stairs when he missed a step with his metal leg. Luckily Toothless caught him before he completely lost his balance.
"Thanks, again, buddy. I mean even now after having this metal leg for five years I still from time to time fumble with it. Still you did save me from perishing in a fiery inferno, so I guess I can't complain. Better to lose a leg then a life, right, bud?"
Toothless glared at his best friend and swept his tail in front of his eyes. It was as if he was saying "Yeah, better to be alive then dead. Even if you did cost me my ability to fly on my own. Though I wouldn't fly without you!" Hiccup seem to have such a strong bond with his dragon it was as if sometimes they could talk to each other. Not with words since no dragon could talk, yet their bond was strong enough that they didn't need them to tell the other how they felt.
"I know, Toothless, we're both even. Like I told Mom. You just had to make it even. It's just strange you lost your left tailfin and I lost my left leg. Just like it's strange that both Una and I are left-handed. Also I'm pretty sure we're the only left-handed people on this whole island!" which made both boy and dragon giggling.
"May I ask what's so funny this early in the morning, son?" spoke a kindhearted voice from the other side of the room. Hiccup and Toothless whirled around and saw Valka and Cloudjumper both waking up. Hiccup was the spitting image of his mom, and he did agree with his late father that his mom was very beautiful.
"Morning, Mom. Morning, Cloudjumper. Sorry if we waked you up. I was trying to be quiet so Una could sleep a bit longer. She's still having some trouble getting to sleep at night."
"No, you didn't wake either of us, son. We woke up on our own a few moments ago. Care to help me get breakfast started? I know Gobber says I'm the worst cook on Berk, and he may be right. But still someone got to do it. Now what would you like for breakfast?" she asked as they made their way to the kitchen.
"Eggs are fine. Did you get them from the barn yesterday? I mean before I'd to go mediate between those two idiots about which chicken was which? I mean for God's Sake! They looked exactly alike and did it really matter which chicken laid which egg? It sometimes ridiculous the things I've got to deal with just because I'm the Chief now! I'm starting to understand why Dad sometimes needed two ice blocks after a hard day's work. Might need one myself if I've got to deal with anymore of this absurd stuff."
Laughing amusingly Valka just shook her head and tossed her long auburn braids over her shoulder. She then plucked a handful of eggs from the woven basket and jerked her neck at another one. Without needing to be told Hiccup went to the other basket and got out food for the dragons. Which was some freshly caught fish and a piece of chicken for each of them. Since his girlfriend Astrid had discovered that dragons who ate chicken were much faster in addition to possessing much better stamina and endurance.
Both Toothless and Cloudjumper looked incredibly ravenous, however one sharp look from Valka as she cracked the eggs, told both dragons they'd have to wait till breakfast for everyone was cooked. It'd have been extremely bad-mannered for them to eat before everyone else was served after all.
Hiccup busied himself with setting the table and also got out a loaf of bread and began to slice it up into pieces. As he did that he did think about that one time on Changewing Island, when the gang had been trying to free Scauldy the Scauldron before the Changewings attacked, that Tuffnut had had one rare good idea. That bread should come already sliced. Though it wasn't the time to think about sandwiches, when they'd needed Ruffnut to keep Scauldy calm, so they could free him. Still it was an interesting concept just the same. As he finished setting the table and pouring the yak milk his mom had gotten the eggs done.
She still looked a bit embarrassed that even after twenty years her cooking skills hadn't improved. Nevertheless as she'd said someone had to do the cooking and Una was too young to do it. Not that either Hiccup or Valka would've let her anywhere near the fire to cook on her own. After all she was still just a five-year-old child.
"Well, I think that's the best I'm gonna be able to do for today, son. You might want to go wake up Una so we can eat. I think Toothless and Cloudjumper are getting a bit antsy waiting for us to get breakfast started."
"Sure thing, Mom," he replied, however as he reached the stairs he seem to hesitate and looked back at them. Sensing something was on his mind that he wished to say she spoke.
"If you've got something you'd like to say before Una wakes up, Hiccup, I'm willing to hear it. So, what's on your mind, son?"
"Well, I've been doing a lot of thinking about Dad lately," Hiccup confessed in a gloomy manner. His eyes shone brightly with the pain and heartache he still had within his soul. Blinking a few times he seemed to pull himself together some and continued on.
"I've to get these feelings off my chest right now or I'm going to go insane. Besides it's better to be honest with myself as the alternative of just keep it boiling inside my soul," he paused again took a deep breath the let loose the feelings that had been eating him up for weeks now.
"While I'm over the moon that we're able to save his soul, and that he's back to resting peacefully in Valhalla. I mean that thought alone makes me feel so much better. More to the point, Mom, like I said I'm starting to understand how hard it was to be Chief for him. But now that you're here, and learning what happened that night when Cloudjumper took you away, I've begun to understand Dad's behavior a lot better."
Valka took a seat on a wooden bench and gestured for him to sit next to her. So he walked over and sat down next to her. She hugged him and kissed his forehead then said, "Care to explain a bit more what happened after that night? I often wondered what life was like back on Berk for you and your father. Even though I willingly stayed away for your protection, doesn't mean I still didn't think of you each day I was away."
Looking into his mom warm and caring eyes he felt he felt more confident and not finding his feelings silly anymore. It was nice to have his mom here at that moment to listen. It felt right and been something he'd wanted to do his whole life. He found his voice and carried on with explaining the past to her.
"Well, I think I now know why Dad got so overprotective of me. He didn't want to lose me after losing you. I mean I took after you in every way possible! From just looking like you, plus just being more your son then his. I finally now comprehend the unsaid reason why I was basically forced to be Gobber's apprentice for so long. He believed I'd be safer that way, and so would the village, given how I was always so clumsy, and wrecked a lot of things because of it. It also explained why he was even more obsessed with finding the Nest. He didn't want anyone else to lose someone they loved because of the dragons. I guess in his eyes when he first found out about me and Toothless he saw it as the ultimate betrayal to your memory. He cried harder then you'll ever know, after he thought I died killing the Red Death. So, yeah, I'm really starting to understand parts of my father that I didn't understand before. All the same, I'm just really glad we're all together for that one moment. Like he said in Valhalla we at least had one moment as a family before he died, and that was enough for him."
For a few moments Valka was silent as she took in everything her son was saying. She also now understood why neither her son nor husband had been angry with her. They're just so overjoyed she was alive. That they'd rather be with her then waste time and energy being angry. Just knowing she was alive was so much better then blaming themselves for her supposed death.
"I think we both understand things better now that I'm back here, Hiccup. Furthermore, son, I know we still have a lot to learn about each other as well as being a family. Though I should forewarn you about something I don't think you're thinking about yourself right now."
"What am I not thinking of?"
"Well, Hiccup, it's true you and I have a lot of time to catch up, and learn about being a family. Yet you still have much to learn about being Chief. But more importantly how to be a big brother. Therefore I'm warning you right now don't think it's always gonna be happy, loving and easy. You and Una have a lot to learn about each other, and how the challenges ahead will affect you. Just giving you a fair warning. Now go wake up your sister so we can all eat, okay?"
It looked like Hiccup didn't understand what his mother meant about his and Una's relationship. They've had a great loving relationship since when their souls met in that Spirit Cavern, and he'd set her free so she could move on to the afterlife. Therefore how hard could it be to learn all the tricks of the trade of being a big brother?
He marched up the stairs and looked at Una who was still asleep. He got on his knees and gently shook her. "Una? Come on, time to wake up, sis. Breakfast is ready. Wake up."
Una little by little opened her bright blue eyes than grinned widely as she woke up. "Hiccup! Did you sleep okay? I'd a great dream! Wanna hear about it? Or do you think I ought to wait till we're with Valka-mommy, too?" she inquired hesitantly as she wiped the last of the sleep from her eyes. Yawning once she shook her hair out and smiled.
Laughing he threw her on his shoulders and said, "We'll talk about it over breakfast, kay, sis? Let's hurry though, the dragons want to eat so badly I think they're about ready to eat the house if it would fill them up!"
She giggled madly as they came back into the kitchen where everyone was waiting as patiently as possible for them. Hiccup helped her off his shoulders before placing her in her seat. It had a pillow on it that Valka had made in view of the fact, that she was still a bit too short even sitting in the chair to see over the table.
"Okay, bud you two can eat your breakfast now, but mind your manners, please? Don't need to see you upchuck first thing in the morning, okay, Toothless?" Hiccup said as kindly as possible.
The ebony colored dragon nodded appreciatively at his best friend. With one final look then he and the four winged dragon began to gobble up their breakfast as quick as they could. The Haddocks all giggled delightedly at that. Then they turned to their own breakfast and they began to eat.
The newest member of the family never once said anything ill about her new mommy's cooking. Una had said it before to Gobber's face her thoughts on the matter. She'd said in her new mommy's defense that, even if Valka-mommy wasn't a great cook, she at least put her heart into it. Thus that should make the food good enough for everyone. As a result she ate her eggs without complaining one bit.
"So," she began as she finished her first egg off, turning to face Hiccup, "do you think Boden and Stoick-daddy are enjoying themselves right now, big brother? I mean all the adult souls drink Odin's fine wine every day. Stoick-daddy always had a big goblet every day before we'd go see the new arrivals. Then after the new arrivals came we'd go have a bit of fun before he'd start telling us such marvelous stories."
Hiccup looked happy and sad at hearing that, but he hid that well, "I'm glad to know Dad took such good care of both of you. Just so you know, Una. I'm gonna keep my promise to them and Kara and make sure I give you the best life possible. I'm positive that Dad and Boden are doing just great and are watching us right now. Probably smiling happily at us. I wouldn't worry too much about them, sis. Now you want to tell us about your dream?"
She fidgeted a bit in her chair and glanced at the dragons who were finishing their pieces of chicken now. She was eyeing them with envy and longing. Sighing heavily she turned back to her family and spoke about her dream.
"Well, Hiccup, it's like this. I'd another dream about finding my own dragon. I've seen countless dragons ever since being reborn. Up till now though, out of all of them I've seen, none seem to be the one from my dreams. I want that dragon from my dreams, I want to find him! I just feel it so strongly, in my heart and soul that this dragon, that's haunted my dreams every night since I was brought back to life is real! I know it! I just know it! I've seen him in my dream as if he was standing right next to me as you are right now. I see a dragon as colorful as a shining rainbow and he's singing more beautifully then all of the Valkyries of Valhalla! I must find him, I must! And you promised to help me find a dragon of my own to train! You and Valka-mommy promise to teach me how train and fly on my own! When are you gonna keep that promise?"
Hiccup and Valka glanced nervously at each other as did their dragons. All four of them seemed uncomfortable as well as apprehensive about this. They'd seen countless different species of dragons from the Archipelago and beyond that even. Nevertheless neither had seen nor read about such a dragon as the one Una had described seeing in her dreams. Despite the fact, they could've probably found her a different dragon, they both knew you just know in your heart which one is the right one for you.
After a few more moments of awkward silence Hiccup looked up and said as gently as he could, "Una, I don't know if we'll ever find your dream dragon. I recognize this fact. That fact is a person just knows the right dragon for them. Seeing how Dad knew he wanted Thornado, and how he also found a kindred spirit in his second dragon Skullcrusher. Toothless and I had a special bond from the moment we met."
"I also saw just looking into Cloudjumper's eyes his soul reflected my own. So, we do understand, Una, your desired to find this dream dragon of yours. Just don't get your hopes up too high, if we never find him, alright, sweetheart?"
Una looked like she wanted to cry instead she nodded and changed the subject. "So what are we all going to do today? Are we gonna have time for my lessons? Or anything fun? What's going on today that is gonna be fun for us all?"
"Well, I'm sorry to say this, sis, but you're gonna be on your own all morning. I've got a lot of Chiefing to do today. I've got to get it all done by noon, because at two we've got a Dragon Race scheduled, and I'm participating in this one. So you and Mom can sit in the seat of honor to watch me and Toothless."
"That's great! It's gonna be my first Dragon Race!" she exclaimed excitedly as she clapped and squealed very loudly. Grinning a mile wide with great anticipation and enthusiasm. Looking enthusiastically at her family she started to talk a mile a minute. Not even pausing to breath it seemed!
"You haven't had any since I've been here. Though, I understand that's more because we've been super busy with rebuilding and recovering from back-to-back attacks. I just hope this Race is more fun to watch then the last one Stoick-daddy saw before he came to Valhalla. He told me and Boden all about it. How Snotlout and Fishlegs kept giving Ruffnut all the sheep in a lame attempt to impress her. Boden and I agreed that the only reason either was chasing after her was simply because they're not any other girls left on the island their age who aren't taken. Seeing how you ended up with the hottest and best warrior girl on the island!" she giggled madly as Hiccup blushed intensely.
Valka sniggered humorously at this too which only made her son blush even more intensely. Even the dragons seemed to be chuckling in a hilarious way at what Una had just said. Valka actually chocked a second on her yak milk before she managed to stop her giggle attack. Wiping the spilled milk from her lips she took a deep breath then said "Una, you may very well be speaking the truth. However, I don't think that exactly the right thing to say. Or at least the way you phrased it isn't the exactly how it should be said."
Una glared annoyingly and said in a huff, "Is it just because of my age? That I can't speak other than how a little girl is supposed to talk? Is there a rule saying I can only speak like a baby?"
"No, there isn't a rule on how one should talk for their age. There is though a rule on being polite about it. Good manners and all that. All I'm saying, honey, is just try not say everything exactly how it spoken inside your head, okay? We don't need to say everything the minute it comes to our mind, alright?"
Sighing she nodded for a second time, "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you, Hiccup. So, can you tell me more about Dragon Racing? Stoick-daddy told me and Boden a lot about it, though not everything. He did at least say he want to 'do it right' which is why you and the dragons got to wear war paint."
"Well, the game was conceived after Silent Sven broke his silence and scared the sheep. We're rounding them up and the game developed from that point on. Though, surprisingly I wasn't the one to invent the Black Sheep Launcher. That was Snotlout's doing, interestingly enough. Though it took him over 30 tries to get it right. Still good job for him."
"Sounds like it be very thrilling to watch today. I wish you good luck in the race, Hiccup. It should make for a very interesting afternoon. The whole island needs something to take its mind off all the troubles we've had recently," Valka remarked thoughtfully as she finished her bread up.
"What are you gonna do today then, Valka-mommy? And if you're busy when do I get my lessons? I mean I really want to learn to read and write better. I also really want to draw as well as you two. So, if you're both busy whose gonna teach me? We didn't exactly carry on with them when I got to Valhalla," Una confessed unhappily as she drank some milk and continued on. "Boden didn't feel the need to teach me further as he reasoned why do the dead need to know such things? That and he knew he wasn't exactly a good teacher at any rate. So, Valka-mommy, what are you doing before the race?"
Valka smiled sweetly at her foster daughter as her light green eyes twinkled brightly. "Well, ever since I came back to Berk, I've been very busy getting all that awful armor off those poor abused dragons Drago enslaved. Now that we've got the last of it off, we're going to recycle it. Cloudjumper and I are going to help Gobber and Grump melt it down and make it into something a lot nicer. This is gonna take up most of the morning. Don't worry. We'll all meet for lunch in the Great Hall. Then we'll go watch Hiccup in his Race. I'm sure this one he'll win. You've proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, son, that you're truly the best rider on the island."
"Thanks, Mom. Toothless and I cannot wait to race. He's been itching to get back into it. I just hope the others remember not everything a competition. I mean that one time we all had a day to train a Terrible Terror and ended up having to save Meatlug from Alvin? I'd hoped that would've taught them not everything is about winning or proving you're the best. Some things are just for fun!" he expressed in an exasperated tone which Toothless seemed to mimic. He shook his head to clear it for a moment and sighed. "Well, time to get my day started. Just have some blocks of ice ready for when I get home. I get the feeling I'll need them."
'Sure thing, brother, still what am I supposed to do by myself today? Are we gonna get in any quality time today at all?" Una inquired unsurely as she helped put the dishes away. Even if she couldn't cook she could at least wash them no problem.
"I'm sure you can find something to do on your own. And don't worry, I promise tonight we'll all go for a moonlight flight. Just the three of us. Well the five of us given Toothless and Cloudjumper count too. Why don't you try and make some friends with the other kids? You've been sticking awfully close to this house since coming here," he pointed out as he got a heavy bucket of cold water.
He poured the water into a large basin and she threw in the soap and began to wash the dishes. Like any other kid she'd been given chores to do around the house. She didn't mind as it took her mind off scarier thoughts. For looking into her bright blue eyes, they did looked truly frighten at the idea of meeting more of the village. It was obvious she was still highly shy and uncomfortable about the whole idea. Though it'd look like she was accepting the idea was inevitable. She couldn't live on Berk and only hang around Hiccup and Valka. She was comfortable around Astrid, yes, however, she hadn't really mingled with the rest of the Tribe since she was accepted into it.
"Una? Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" Hiccup asked nervously after the dishes had been put away. Right now all of them were heading out the door to greet the day. The little girl took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll be fine, Hiccup. See you guys later for lunch. Love you both!"
Pausing for a moment both Hiccup and Valka hugged and kissed her before they took off on their dragons for their days work. Taking another deep breath she steadied her heartbeat and toyed with her lilac tipped hair for a moment. Then she started off on her own to village square looking for something to do. Though the minute she got there she was so scared she just ran away till she reached the Dragon Nursery.
The Nursery had been built so the dragons wouldn't have to disappear every Snoggletog to lay their eggs. The Nursery was a perfect replica of the island they'd gone too. Though it also was very busy with record keeping. All births were now put into a logbook. Every species, which dragon had laid which egg, how many, genders, names, basically the whole shebang. The way both Hiccup and Stoick had figured, it helped keep better track of all the dragons on the island, and just made it not so hard on the brain to remember it all, with it all in books now.
The Villagers took turns taking care of the Nursery and its babies. Although this early in the morning Una found herself alone. She got a small wooden stool and went over to a nearby shelve and took a big leather-bound book off it. It was the journal for this month's records. She then propped it open on a rock and tried to read it. If no-one was gonna help her improve her skills today, she'd do it herself.
She struggled for several moments to just read the name of the dragon species due to have babies this week. She did know that many were the species Valka-mommy had brought to Berk from the destroyed Dragon's Den. As a result they'd soon have new dragon babies on the island. A big bubble burst from a nearby hot spring pool. Looking up at it she left the book open then dashed over and waited to see a new baby born. It wasn't long till the first egg burst open and the first new baby came crawling out. It wasn't a species she knew the name of, yet it was still a delight to play with the new babies. Their mommies were sleeping nearby very contently. New babies were always hungry when born. Not that that was a problem even with their mommies asleep. The Nursery came fully stocked with the best food for babies. Una swiftly jetted over to the barrel and got some food for the babies. She was almost immediately giggling like mad and having a fun time, so much fun in fact that she didn't hear someone come into the Nursery for their shift.
"Hello, there! Are you alright?" asked an affectionate young voice from behind her. Una gasped in a frighten tone and stumbled to the ground. She felt someone help her to her feet and looked into the strangest eyes she'd ever seen. One was blue the other green. The unique eyes belonged to a young golden haired Viking woman, a little older then Hiccup, though not by much. On the other hand at least she looked friendly. Her strange eyes were very warm as was her smile, like a mother or big sister type of way. Either way it was apparent that this young lady wasn't super scary in any way.
"Umm… so sorry… I didn't… I mean…" she tripped over her tongue in a panic tone. The young Viking woman gazed at her with a calming look in her eyes. Kneeling down she stroked Una's unique hair and spoke softly and in a serenely tone.
"I'm so sorry, child. I didn't mean to frighten you. You're not doing anything wrong. No reason to be sorry at all. It's always nice for someone to be here when the babies are born. It gets them use to human company better. Also someone has to feed them if their mothers are napping. You can help me finish feeding them and we can record everything together, okay?"
"I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Ma' me. I'll just go now and I'm sorry…"
"I'm not gonna bite, Una. My name is Skullette the Firetamer by the way. If you want to help me out for a little bit I'd enjoy the company very much." Skullette reassured her in a soothing tone. She held out her hand to her and again smiled at her in a motherly way.
This put Una's nerves to rest. Taking the woman's hand she got completely off the ground. Feeling a bit calmer she helped the two eyed Viking do the reports. Though she did have to confess she wasn't very skilled yet in reading or writing.
"That's no problem, child. I've got a list of names that some of the children came up with for the new babies. We can just try a few out till the dragons find the one that's perfect for them. If you need a little help I'll be glad to help you out. Let's get started, shall we, Una?" Skullette proposed in a way that sounded like this be a lot of fun.
"Alright, Skullette! Let's get too it! I've got nothing else to do till lunch anyway. So let's get started! This is gonna be a whole lot of fun!" clapping happily as they began. For the next three hours Una was happy playing and learning as Skullette and her worked with the babies. It wasn't even scary when the moms finally woke up and they watched them bond. Though after three hours all that could be done was done. Leaving Una without anything to do and lunch was still a couple hours away.
Taking one final look around the Nursery she turned to Skullette and said, "Thank you for such a great time this morning. I hope we can do this again sometime. You're a very nice young lady. So thank you."
The long haired blond smiled tenderly, "I'd a great time too, Una. You're a very nice and charming young lady yourself. I see why your brother is so fond of you. Well, I suggest you go and play till lunch. I'll finish up here so I can watch the Dragon Race this afternoon. So see you later, sweetie."
"Alright, thanks again! Have a nice day and let's hope my brother wins today!" as she ran quickly up the winding stone steps back into the light. It was about maybe ten now and the village was even more bustling then before she went to the Nursery. Looking around she tried to find something else to do, for a moment she didn't see anything to do. Then she spotted a little ways up a nearby hill were a group of children playing some game with a ball. Plucking up her courage she slowly approached them.
At this point as Una got nearer to the children she didn't noticed at all that Valka and Cloudjumper were nearby carrying heavy buckets. Putting them down for a moment to rest, Valka saw Una. She watched from a distant as she saw her new daughter approached the children. She didn't want to intrude, yet she felt she at least wanted to see how this was gonna play out. Therefore she quietly snuck over till she was behind a shed near enough to see what was going on. While she could see what was going on, she couldn't hear anything. Not that was a problem she was skilled in reading lips just fine.
Una was incredibly nervous as she got nearer to the other kids. She hadn't had much contact with other children. Her limited memories of her first life didn't hold any memories of any other kids, other than her blood brother Boden. None whatsoever! Also Valhalla held more adult souls, then children, even though Kara was there for those younglings who'd passed on. So in all honesty Una really didn't know how to act with people her own age.
At that moment the other kids stopped playing with their scarlet painted leather ball. They looked up and saw Una staring at them. The little girl who'd been holding the ball dropped it, and Una scooped it up, and held it out. The kids all gave her a strange look. One which she didn't understand at all, it was unreadable to her.
"Um…here's your ball back," she said timidly to them. They still stared at her. Finally one boy who looked maybe nine came forward and snatched the ball from her hands. He'd a very unfriendly look on his face. Still she smiled hopefully at them all. "Um… I was wondering if I could join your game? It looks like fun and I'd love to learn how to play. So, may I join you guys?"
All of the children quickly glanced at her, the boy in front and amongst themselves. While the other children seemed to want to say yes it was the boy in front of them who spoke. "No, you can't play with us! Get lost freak! Go somewhere else you ain't playing with us! Get going, you ain't welcome here, freak!"
Una was shocked and taken aback by the unkind words. She stood her ground for a moment and said, "Why? Why can't I join in?"
Again it looked like a few of the other kids wanted to speak, yet the boy who seemed to be the leader of this group, shot back at her in a very nasty tone, "You're a freak! I don't care if you're the Chief suppose little sister, you ain't playing with us, weirdo! Now get lost! And don't bother us again, you little ghost girl! C'mon guys lets' go finish the game away from this dead girl."
The little girl who'd dropped the ball turned to face the boy and started to speak, "That's not fair or nice to say, Brimstone! I don't see why she can't play with us! She's got as much right as any of us to play if she'd like too!"
The boy named Brimstone got an even nastier look on his pale face and his stormy gray eyes narrowed into slits. He looked at the little dark blond haired girl and then yanked her pigtails hard forcing her to the ground. The other children all huddled together in fear as he looked at them. "Now anyone else want to disagree with me and play with the freak? Or do you all want to end up like Bloodfire here?"
All of them shook their heads obediently and followed the bully away from Una. Brimstone gave one last nasty look at Una and said harshly. "Don't come back, you hear, me dead girl? We don't want you around us! Now get! And Bloodfire? Get up and come or you'll get something worse then this ghostly ghoul. Now let's go!" and the kids went far away leaving Una standing alone. For a moment she didn't do anything. Then she broke into tears and took off running, sobbing the whole way. She didn't even noticed Valka who was standing shell-shocked as she just ran past.
For a moment Valka did nothing herself. Still she clutched her first and then looked angrily at the departing children. Deciding she'd deal with this later and talk to Hiccup about it later. Though she wanted to help Una she couldn't tell where she went. She felt it might be best to deal with this during the moonlight flight this evening. Hopefully the Dragon Race would cheer her up. But she'd make sure to tell Hiccup about this ASAP. For now she went back to her job but nevertheless this wasn't going to go on long. She just hoped when lunch came she'd be able to comfort Una and hope that again the Race and promised flight would make her feel better. Till then they'd just have to wait. For there was much of the new day to go and no-one knew how it would end. So one could only hope it would end happier than this moment! Till then all they could do was hope.