A/N: I don't own HTTYD or any of the character's save for O/C's. Hope you enjoy the chapter, please R&R and let me know what you think.

Chapter 4: The Explanation?

Brenna shivered slightly at Eret's fingers still absently tracing the line of her jaw. Opening her eyes that she hadn't realized were closed as she felt his hand cup her face. Looking at his eyes she found the brown depths swirling with every emotion she seem to be feeling herself. Wonder, sadness, shock, joy, and so many others at just finding him and realizing that the rumors she'd heard were true.
He was alive. Feeling a little light headed as she was gently being pulled closer to him by his hand on her face. Realizing that the pile of wood at her back was no longer there she grabbed the fur vest he wore. His lips touched hers tentatively seeming almost as afraid as she was that this wasn't real.

"Eret…" Brenna breathed his name into his mouth the sound barely reached his ears and he growled against her lips, the vibrations it caused rippled through her. Pressing herself closer to him as the kiss began to intensify her back hit the wood pile again. A knee pushed open her legs, feeling the taught muscles of his thigh pressed intimately into her inciting a moan. She slide a hand along the opening of his shirt and felt the rumbled contentment through her hand. Encouraged she began to feel under the just under the shirt. As her finger tips brushed against the hard edges of a scar a hand grabbed her wrist and the kiss was broken.

Eret pulled his hand back almost as soon as it closed around Brenna's wrist having cut his hand on the edge of her Timberjack wing cloak. They stared breathless and panting at each other for a moment before Brenna realized what happened. Grabbing his hand she turned it over to inspect the palm. Breathing a sigh of relief that is was a shallow cut, she clucked her tongue and the Timberjack that had been quiet made it's way over to her. Wiggling out from between Eret and the log pile she made her way to her dragon, grabbed a pack from it's back and pulled out a wineskin and some bandages before returning.

"Eret? What just happened? Eret…," Hiccup's voice finally registered and Eret turned to see the young chief standing a couple of feet away. Before Eret could answer he felt liquid being poured over the open wound on his hand, hissing from the pain it caused. He looked down to Brenna examining the cut again before setting a small bundle over the cut and wrapping over the bundle and around his hand with bandages.

Brenna looked up at Eret from where she was crouched after finishing and saw a look in his eyes that she couldn't quite read. Then he began to speak his voice distant as if he was reliving something painful. His words were directed at the group of people off to the side. There were three people there with four dragons. One of the two women still off to the side seemed familiar.

"When I was 9 years of age almost 10. My family was close to that to the village Chief's. So close that if anything were to have happened to the entire family my father was to continue as chief after. The chief's daughter and I were closer still," a sad smile spread across his lips. "So close in fact that they were talking about a marriage arrangement." Brenna blushed remembering the closeness that they had shared.

He continued. "Chief with family in tow had gone to a chief's meeting to discuss alliances and treaties. They were returning on the sea and my da and I were going to out to meet them with some other men from the village," Eret took a heavy breath and released it. "We were in sight of their ship and a squall hit. There was so much wind and rain we had all we could do to keep the ship from toppling over," he was now staring off into the distance. Eyes unfocused as he spoke and relived the memories.
"We had managed to get our ship close to the other ship. So close that I could see the flames through the rain and hear the screams over the storm raging around us," Brenna was now standing and leaning once again against the pile of logs with her arms wrapped about herself, remembering that night very vividly. "As the storm finally started to calm down we tried looking for survivors or anything else that might lead us to them."

"The other ship still in flames finally sank beneath the waves, most of the screams lost in the water. We searched the rest of the night and the next day. All we found were a couple of crewmen and your father the chief," Eret said finally looking at Brenna. Her head snapped up and her eyes asked the question that she was unable to vocalize. "He didn't live long after we found him, just long enough to name my da Chief, and to tell me to look after you," Brenna's eyes welled with tears and shortly after spilled over and trailing down her dirt smudged face at the reality of what Eret had just said.

"Wait, wait, wait…How come I don't remember hearing about this?" Hiccup asked as he watched Eret look like we wanted to comfort Brenna before he pulled away and started pacing.

"That was about 16 years ago Hiccup. We were barely 5 years old. Though… I do remember my dad mentioning something about a chief almost drowning in a shipwreck. Eret if what you are saying is true why did we hear that he still lived?" Astrid asked speaking up for the first time in conversation.

"Because da and the other elders thought it would be better to pretend that the old chief was still alive. There was a treaty that had just been put in place and no one wanted to deal with the power struggle that would have come had they found out," Eret said as he paced, his hand clenching and unclenching as he did. Stopping he looked back at Brenna and saw that she was still crying. Letting out a frustrated growl he balled a fist and punched a near by tree trunk. Everyone's gaze sharply turned to look at Eret.

"I wasn't able to protect you. I…I wasn't able to save you,"