Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: The songs for this chapter are 'The Great Divide' (McClain Sisters) and 'Wake Me Up' (Avicii).

Chapter Six – Twenty Years in the Making

The next morning, when Valka awoke, a brief glance told her that her son, his fiancé and their dragons were all still asleep. She went aside to dress and wash her face; a muffled snort of laughter prompted her to look back from where she was standing by a trickle of meltwater. Astrid hadn't been as asleep as she had thought; the younger woman looked at her, eyes twinkling, and grinned, pressing a finger to her lips. Then she pointed at Hiccup and Toothless.

When she saw them, Valka had to smother a snigger herself. At some point in the night, Toothless had rolled over onto his back (he must have felt very safe there, most dragons slept on their stomachs to keep their vulnerable necks and bellies secure). Hiccup had somehow ended up on top of him, sprawled out on his chest and stomach. Funnily enough, Toothless had folded his forelegs over Hiccup's shoulders, holding him there like a child hugging a rag doll, or an otter clutching their pup.

Judging by the amused gleam in Astrid's eyes, this sort of thing happened a lot. Stormfly and Cloud-Jumper began to wake up, croaking sleepily and shaking themselves and yawning. Toothless yawned and blinked awake as well, found Hiccup on top of him, and grunted in resignation. He rolled over carefully, but as it was Hiccup still got dumped unceremoniously on the ground. Luckily the blanket he'd spread out to lie on stopped him from getting too badly bruised.

Scowling sleepily at this rude awakening, Hiccup looked ready to curl up and go back to sleep again. Toothless gave himself a vigorous shake, then lowered his head and licked Hiccup repeatedly. His rider groaned in protest and pushed his snout away. "Geroff" he muttered grumpily, "….Morning" he added, in answer to Toothless' cheerful *Good morning!*

He yawned and struggled to get to his feet, using Toothless as a crutch. Hiccup rubbed his eyes and looked up at Astrid and his mother, who had been watching his sleepy antics with amused smiles. "What?"

"You could…sleep a bit longer, if you want" Valka said gently, "Both of you".

"Oh, don't worry, we're morning people" Astrid said brightly. Hiccup wanted to retort that she'd not been much of a morning person a couple of days ago, but thought better of it. He hadn't gotten as much sleep as she had; he'd been thinking, and then Toothless had rolled over in his sleep, so he'd climbed on top of him…he wasn't sure why, but it had seemed like a good idea at the time.

*I'm hungry* Toothless said bluntly. Hiccup rolled his eyes and remarked, "Yeah, and besides, the dragons are probably hungry".

Even as he spoke, they heard many dragons roaring in excitement and eagerness, flying past Valka's cave. "What's going on?" Astrid inquired, watching them.

Valka smiled and reassured them, "Oh, don't worry. Come and get some breakfast" she smiled enticingly, "It's feeding time".


She led them out of the Ice Nest on their dragons, Cloud-Jumper hovering over an unprepossessing patch of ocean, facing Toothless and Stormfly. The dragons of the nest milled and circled around them. Confused, Hiccup called to his mother, "Hey, I thought you said we were getting breakfast?" Shouldn't they be closer to the water if they needed to fish?

"Oh, we are!" she beamed, looking down past her dragon's head at the frothing ocean far below. Hiccup and Astrid looked down as well, and saw a pod of Sea-Shockers circling around a bait ball of fish…then the Alpha burst from the ocean, his mighty tusks almost reaching the three of them hovering high above. With a tremendous whoosh, he flung hundreds, if not thousands of fish into the air, much to the delight of the dragons.

Valka burst out laughing at the looks on Hiccup and Astrid's faces. Toothless licked his lips and glanced back at Hiccup, asking *Can I…?*

Hiccup gestured help yourself, and Toothless needed no further encouragement, folding his wings and diving with his mouth open. He snapped up as many fish as he could, smiling and gurgling happily. Hiccup laughed; he could hear Astrid squealing and laughing too, as Stormfly ducked and weaved through the throng, snatching up her own breakfast. It was clear why the King was such a good alpha for this nest – unlike the Red Death, he provided food for those under his care, not the other way around.

Valka caught some fish in a basket, and led the two of them away from the rest of the pack to a nearby island. The nest itself wasn't such a good place for sitting down and cooking a meal; dragons could perch on the ice spears, with their claws and long tails, but it was easier for the humans to land on some rocks blown clear of snow by the wind, and start a fire sheltered by their dragons wings, and cook the fish to eat.

For a little while they ate in silence, but gradually, Valka's curiosity got the better of her. She'd missed so much of her son's life, and she was determined to make up for her foolish, selfish mistake now. The question was where to begin… "So" she began tentatively, "I suppose we have a lot to talk about".

"I guess so" Hiccup agreed, feeling a bit awkward – not because he was still upset with her, but because he didn't know where to begin either. "Um…what do you want to know?"

"Everything" she answered at once; then blushed. Astrid looked between them, smirked and remarked, "Well, that might take a while".

They chuckled, the metaphorical ice broken. Valka gave Astrid a grateful smile; she'd taken quite a liking to the young woman, and felt Astrid was a fine match for her son. The two of them certainly seemed close; not in an overly mushy sort of way, they were just very comfortable around each other. Hiccup was even more comfortable around Toothless, sitting back against his dragon's chest; Toothless didn't seem bothered in the slightest by this, as if they shared the same bubble of personal space.

"I suppose if we have to start somewhere…how did…?" Valka trailed off, biting her lip, and glanced down at Hiccup's foot…or rather, the lack of one. He'd implied that Toothless had something to do with its loss, but Valka found it hard to believe that the dragon that hugged him, comforted him and played with him, could have harmed him in such a way. Then again, she found it hard to believe that her son, who obviously doted on the dragon he'd called his brother, was the same person who shot Toothless out of the sky…

Hiccup looked down at his own prosthetic and sighed. "I guess that's as good a place to start as any...but you should know, it's not exactly the nicest story sometimes" he confessed. Toothless crooned reassurance, and he felt the vibration run through him, strengthening his resolve to tell the tale.

His mother had hardly expected the loss of part of her son's limb to be a 'nice story', but all she did was nod and say "I understand".

So Hiccup took a deep breath, and began to explain. He described how he'd been desperate, growing up, to prove himself to his father and the other villagers, trying to slay a dragon like they all did and show them he could be their sort of Viking. He revealed how, when he was fourteen, during an early morning dragon raid he'd sneaked off with his latest invention, a bolas launcher, and against all odds, brought down the most elusive dragon of them all, the Night Fury.

Hesitating, because he never liked thinking about this part, Hiccup confessed how he'd searched the forest for the dragon he'd captured, and how when he did find the Night Fury, he intended to kill it. Valka looked a little dismayed, and he couldn't bear to see the disappointment in her eyes, so he hurriedly pointed out that he obviously hadn't gone through with the terrible deed. He'd seen himself reflected in the trapped, frightened creature resigned to his fate, and freed the dragon...and to his considerable relief, was spared in return.

He told her how he'd found Toothless trapped in a cove, unable to fly away because of his missing tail-fin. She smiled to hear how he'd patiently earned the dragon's trust, naming him 'Toothless' after his peculiar retractable teeth. He and Astrid both explained how Stoick, before going off on yet another search for the dragon's nest, had placed Hiccup in dragon training – and how Hiccup, using what he learned from Toothless, went from being the worst in class to the best in just a few weeks.

Valka learned that Astrid once didn't appreciate Hiccup so much, and indeed was incredibly jealous of him when he 'earned the honour' of killing a Monstrous Nightmare. Her discovery of Toothless led to her being taken on a first terrifying, then exhilarating flight that changed her perception of dragons, and Hiccup, considerably. Especially when he'd refused to betray his first real friend even to give the Vikings an advantage in finding the nest, she'd gained a newfound respect for him.

His mother was a great audience; smiling at the happy parts, gasping at the exciting and scary parts. Hiccup started getting into the story, gesturing wildly as he described his and Toothless' near-disastrous first proper flight with the prosthetic tail-fin, and the stunts Toothless had pulled to trick Astrid into apologising, and the horror of the cannibalistic Red Death sending the dragons to raid them lest they be devoured themselves. Valka watched him with a small smile never quite leaving her face, drinking in his words and his features and mannerisms.

Hiccup explained how he'd tried to tame the Nightmare, and show the people of Berk that dragons weren't the mindless beasts they all assumed – only for Stoick to inadvertently spook the stressed creature, who lashed out at Hiccup. Toothless had rushed to the rescue, only to be captured by Stoick and the other Vikings. Needless to say, Valka was not happy when Hiccup confessed that his father had temporarily disowned him…but she refrained from saying anything, knowing that she was hardly in a position to talk.

Astrid explained how she'd helped Hiccup get over his self-pity party and actually do something to fix his mistake; namely, taming the Nightmare and the rest of the training dragons, pairing them up with the other teens, and flying out to Dragon Island to rescue Toothless and everyone else from the monstrous Queen of the nest. Hiccup described how his father had saved first him, and then Toothless from drowning, taking back everything he'd said.

At last they came to the climax; Hiccup and Toothless' solo battle against the Red Death. Hiccup described how they'd been chased through sea stacks, and flown up into the clouds to blast the Queen from all sides. How the tail-fin had caught fire, so they'd dived straight down, and Toothless had sent a plasma blast right into the Red Death's throat to ignite the gases in her mouth, because dragons weren't fire-proof on the inside. How they'd tried to outfly the crashing behemoth, only for him to be knocked out of the saddle by the club tail and fall unconscious towards the flames.

Then Astrid took over, describing how Stoick had ran into the smoke and soot, and found Toothless lying exhausted on the ground with Hiccup nowhere in sight. Neither of them knew what Stoick had said to the dragon, but Toothless had unfolded his wings, revealing Hiccup, battered and with a grievous wound on his left leg, but alive. Toothless had been forced to bite his foot and inadvertently damaged it trying to flip Hiccup into his grasp so as to protect him from the inevitable impact.

They'd gotten Hiccup back home on dragon-back, amputated his leg from halfway down the shin, and left him to rest. Gobber made a prosthetic, which Hiccup had tweaked since then, that would work seamlessly with the new, improved tail-fin for the Night Fury that refused to leave his rider's side. Hiccup had woken to a near unrecognisable Berk, having earned the approval and respect of the entire village; just not in the way he'd expected.

"Oh…goodness, you…you certainly have been through a lot" Valka remarked hesitantly, feeling a strange mixture of pride and the horror only a parent can feel when their child gets into danger. That was certainly one heck of a story…

"Heh…you have no idea" Hiccup agreed, smiling…it slowly dropped from his face, replaced with a more thoughtful expression. "I…I want to apologise, for being so…accusatory last night. I kept thinking and I realised…if you had come back, or never left, I might not have met Toothless at all…and despite what we went through, I wouldn't trade our friendship for anything" he said decisively, smiling as Toothless gave him an affectionate nuzzle.

*Are you going to tell her about the you-know-what?* Toothless asked, at the same time as Valka assured him, "Oh, I think you two would have found your way to each other somehow; and there's no need to apologise, dear. I deserved it".

Hiccup managed to reply in thought-speak to Toothless. *I am* he answered, taking a deep breath and sitting down again, having stood up in the midst of getting into their story. "There's…there's something I have to tell you" he began slowly, "It isn't going to be easy to hear, but…you need to know". Toothless nuzzled him, Stormfly chirped encouragingly, and Astrid sidled closer, reaching out to hold his hand.

He smiled gratefully at all of them before turning to his mother, who looked confused, curious and a little worried. I have to tell her he said to himself firmly, Better now than never.

"Just this summer…something happened to me and Toothless. Err, d'you remember Trader Johann?" he asked, and Valka nodded. Granted, she didn't remember much about the man other than that he was loquacious and perhaps a little cowardly, but she knew who Hiccup was talking about.

"The last time he came to Berk, he told us about a ship that had been attacked off the coast of Myrkr, by…what the only survivor claimed were Night Furies. I couldn't pass up the chance to find more of them, but I…I was stupid, and I went alone. I told myself it was to keep my friends out of danger, but I was really just running away from my problems. We arrived on Myrkr's shores at the dusk of the second day, and…we were trying to save some captured dragons, but it was a trap. We were ambushed and captured by dragon hunters.

"The leader, Hauke...he tried to make me train the dragons they'd captured for battle, and when I refused he…ordered his men to...beat me up, and then he decided I'd be too much trouble…so he stabbed me" Hiccup admitted, looking down at his boot, unable to meet his mother's eyes.

She gasped, horrified, and exclaimed "He what?!"

Cloud-Jumper hissed, eyes narrowing in anger – not at Hiccup himself, of course, but at the other human's cruelty. Valka was angry too; a strong maternal urge overcame her, to find these wretched people and make sure they could never hurt her baby boy again…she'd been to Myrkr before, she could probably track them down –

"I know – I don't like to think about it" Hiccup confessed, "But if it helps…Hauke is dead. Toothless…Toothless killed him".

He wasn't sure how she'd react to that…but she simply looked Toothless in the eyes and told him, "Well done".

Of course, then she couldn't help but realise, "But if he…then how are you alive?"

"I was dying" Hiccup admitted; Astrid gave his hand a supportive squeeze as he continued, "I would have, if Toothless hadn't heart bound with me…" He explained how the heart bind was formed, and what it meant for them. "I'm ageing like a dragon now. I'll outlive everyone on Berk by…two centuries, at the least. Maybe more…" He swallowed nervously, looking at his mother…for approval, or comfort? Both, perhaps…he wasn't entirely sure.

Valka honestly didn't know what to say, or think, or even feel. Part of her was fascinated by the heart-bind and the dragon's thought-speak – she'd long suspected that dragons had a way of communicating that went beyond what she could see or hear from them, and it was good to have that confirmed. On top of that, she couldn't help but feel sympathy and pity for her sons, after everything they'd been through. Yes, 'they' – if Hiccup considered Toothless to be his brother, then the least she could do was treat them the same.

When she didn't say anything for a few moments, Hiccup fidgeted uncomfortably and opened his mouth to speak. Astrid pressed a finger over his lips and shook her head gently; he just had to give his mother some time. It was a lot to take in, after all. Astrid ran her fingers through his hair and began to braid the strands…Hiccup sighed, resigned to it, and glanced up at Cloud-Jumper. He wondered what the Stormcutter thought about it all; the larger dragon didn't say much.

*I've seen a lot of strange things in my time* Cloud-Jumper remarked, noticing the young human's curious glance. *I have to admit, a dragon and human heart binding is unusual*.

*So we've been told* Toothless deadpanned. Still, for some reason he couldn't help but want the older dragon's approval. *Does it bother you?* he asked, whistling curious and trying not to be defensive.

Cloud-Jumper tilted his head and purred quietly. *I don't think it should…does it bother you?*

Toothless hesitated, and glanced at his rider, unsure what to say. It bothered him a little, because he could tell it would sometimes be hard for Hiccup…but it was a chance for more adventures and it had saved Hiccup's life…

Hiccup started to smile at him, and then a slender hand rested upon his shoulder. Surprised, he looked at his mother, who had moved noiselessly over to kneel in front of him. She didn't say a word; she didn't need to. She simply gave him a reassuring, understanding smile…he couldn't help but return it. Toothless purred, happy to see him happy, and finally answered Cloud-Jumper's question. *A little…but we don't regret it*.

Valka moved back out of Hiccup's personal space, but stayed sitting – well, crouching – closer to them than before. Hiccup brushed his hair out of his eyes and remarked, "Y'know, I'm probably making it sound worse than it actually was. In fact, we…" He paused, and looked around as if checking for eavesdroppers, feeling like a giddy little kid again as he asked, "Can you keep a secret?"

Eyes shining and lips tugging in fond amusement, Valka pointed out "I've kept this place secret for twenty years. Yours are safe with me".

"Oh, right...okay, so you know how I said I'd gone to Myrkr to find Night Furies? We did find them – a whole pack…" He told her what had really happened to the night furies, why they had disappeared, and a bit about the friends they'd made. In truth, Valka had already known there were Night Furies living in Myrkr. She'd seen a few from a distance once, but Cloud-Jumper hadn't taken her nearer. At the time, she'd thought perhaps the Night Furies had a reputation, even amongst dragons, for being particularly hostile.

Her doubts were raised considerably by Toothless, who was sweet and playful and clearly adored her son; she found it hard to picture him as 'the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself', although she imagined that if Hiccup were in danger he would be terrifying. The idea that the Night Furies had driven humans from their lands in an attempt to keep hidden didn't strike her as odd at all; the dragons of the King's pack did much the same thing, albeit without killing any human who came near the nest.

What surprised and touched her the most, was when Hiccup informed her that she reminded Cloud-Jumper of a sister he'd lost long ago. Valka blinked at him, and looked at her dragon, and saw him looking anywhere but at her, the scales of his neck ruffled up and flustered. She chuckled fondly, petted his great wing and told him she was happy for him to consider her a sibling. A thought occurred to her; she bit her lip and hesitantly asked, "In fact…since you're going to be around longer than I am…when I'm gone, you'll look after my boys, won't you?"

Cloud-Jumper purred, and lowered his head and nudged her. *Yes, of course* he replied.

"He says 'yes, of course'" Hiccup translated. Valka smiled and pet Cloud-Jumper in gratitude. Seemingly out of nowhere, Hiccup looked at Toothless and said "I'm not telling her that".

"Is something wrong?" asked Valka.

"No, no…Toothless told me to tell you that he doesn't need a babysitter, he can take care of himself and me just - wait a minute. Are you saying I need a babysitter?" he demanded indignantly of his dragon, who bluntly replied, *Pretty much*, and nodded so Astrid and Valka would get the joke too.

"Why you-!" exclaimed Hiccup, scooping up a handful of nearby snow and splattering it over his friend's head. Of course Toothless retaliated, and the two of them chucked snow at each other. Then Valka and Astrid started throwing snowballs at them, pitting women against man and his dragon; then Cloud-Jumper rolled his eyes and leapt into the air, and Stormfly followed him, and they came back with their claws full of snow to dump on the human's heads.

Their play kicked up the snow and extinguished their fire, but it broke the ice, no pun intended, and Hiccup felt less awkward around his mother. He pulled his map out to show her all the islands they'd been to, smoothing it out on a flat patch of ice. "….And from Dragon Island, I found this archipelago…" he trailed off when he looked up, and saw Valka sketching a map out into the snow with her staff. He recognised Nott's Gate and Myrkr, but she had drawn the whole coastline – and other landmasses to the east. "Wow…" he smiled, amazed at how much she must have seen and done.

Astrid snorted suddenly, and mirthfully asked, "Hey, Toothless, what're you drawing?"

They looked over and saw him with a snapped off icicle in his mouth, reared up on his hind legs and dragging it through the snow. *I don't know!* he replied cheerfully, dragging the icicle around Cloud-Jumper – who turned his head all the way around to follow the smaller dragon.

"He says he doesn't know".

*Let me try!* Stormfly demanded, snatching at the ice. Toothless mock-growled at her – it sounded more like an annoyed gurgle – and tugged it away. *Get off! This is my icicle!*

*I want it!*

Watching the two dragons bicker like children over the stick of ice was hilarious, and watching them panic when it stuck to their tongues until it occurred to them to burn it away was funnier still. Valka gestured to the unfamiliar landmasses and explained, "That's Svalbard…and this is Norway, the ancestral home of all Vikings. Oh, and there's so much world beyond those lands…sometimes I wish I could just ride out and explore forever".

"I know what you mean" Hiccup smiled, "Can you tell me about where you've been? Toothless and I are going to be out there someday, exploring; it'd be great to have some pointers".

"Oh, of course, I'd be happy to".

"Great!" he beamed…then his smile became more forced and awkward, and he went a bit pink, sidling away towards some convenient rocks. "Uh, heh, I'm just…gonna…um, yeah…I'll be right back!"

Valka and Astrid at least waited until he was out of sight before they broke into smothered giggles, and moved away to give him a bit more privacy. Valka seized the opportunity to say, "Oh, Astrid, I hope you don't mind me asking, but…I was wondering how you felt, about Hiccup being heart bound to Toothless?"

Astrid blew her hair out of her eyes and sighed. "I'm…not sure, really. I mean, I know it saved his life, and that there was no other way…so in a way I'm grateful for it, but at the same time...I never felt jealous about what Hiccup and Toothless have - and I still don't" she said hastily, "But part of me can't help but worry…what if this comes between us? It's not just the ageing – or lack of it – but from what he's told me, heart bound pairs are like soulmates; so I'm worried he won't have time for me" she confessed.

Valka gave her a sympathetic smile, and remarked "Well, it might be hard sometimes, but if you're both willing to work through it…"

"That's why I said yes when he proposed" Astrid admitted shyly, "Because, despite everything, I don't want to give up on him. I want to try and make this work, for as long as I can. Maybe things won't work out, but…I think I'd rather enjoy it while it lasts, instead of never letting it happen in the first place".

"I understand…and I just want to say, if you ever need to talk about it…I'd be happy to listen" Valka said reassuringly. Astrid gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks…huh, Hiccup's sure taking his time…"

Stormfly padded over and squawked at her. "What is it, girl?" asked Astrid. The dragon chirruped and tipped her head upwards. Astrid and Valka followed suit, and to their mild surprise saw Toothless and Hiccup flying above them, doing loop de loops. Hiccup waved to them from his perch on Toothless' shoulders. He'd already guessed that they would want to talk about the heart bind without him being there…so he'd generously given them some privacy.


Valka showed them a special place where the rocks and a few geothermal vents funnelled warm air in a consistent upwards current, powerful enough to let a dragon hover without beating their wings at all. Toothless loved it, splaying his limbs and letting his tongue flop out of his mouth, a gummy smile on his face. Hiccup and Astrid laughed as they held onto their saddles, and were lifted up by the force of the wind.

Then Hiccup's mother smiled at them, and walked across Cloud-Jumper's outstretched wing, stepping down onto Stormfly's wing and deftly vaulting over Astrid, holding onto Stormfly's head-spikes. Then she swung herself down onto the back of a green and reddish brown dragon with a prominent chin and nose bump, practically dancing across their back. She hooked her staff onto the hide of the same kind of dragon, an orange and brown one, and braced herself against his flank.

The dragon carried her past Toothless; she dropped down onto his wing, but the wind made her light and she tip-toed across the black membrane, playfully mussing Hiccup's hair as she pirouetted over him, slipped off Toothless' other wing and landed safely back on Cloud-Jumper's back. If her son and his fiancé hadn't been holding on, they would have applauded.

Cloud-Jumper beat his wings, rising higher into the sky; Toothless and Stormfly followed him. Valka sighed happily. "Oh, when I'm up here...I don't even feel the cold, I just feel…"

"Free" Hiccup finished for her, and the two of them smiled at one another. Astrid smiled as well; it was sweet, to see them bonding, making up for lost time.

Valka spread her arms out triumphantly and declared, "This is what it is to be a dragon!"

*No-one needs to tell you that* Toothless remarked teasingly; but it gave Hiccup an idea. "It's all well and good to call yourself a dragon" he said casually, locking Toothless' tail and unhooking himself from the saddle, "But can you fly?" he asked as he hopped up on Toothless' back, and then dived off.

His mother gasped, leaning out over her dragon to see her son plummeting – but seconds later he spread his wings. Astrid giggled at the look on her face. "Yeah, he does that" she sighed, rolling her eyes in mock exasperation. Cloud-Jumper looked at Toothless and remarked, *Your rider is quite adventurous, isn't he?*

*You have no idea* Toothless deadpanned, before suddenly remembering that Hiccup might need his help, and diving to catch up. Hiccup, meanwhile, was having a blast. "Ha, ha! Whoo-hoo!" he yelled, flipping himself over onto his back. He lifted his head and grinned at Astrid flying on his left, who laughed and gave him a thumbs-up. Then Cloud-Jumper and his mother appeared on his right, and Toothless was gliding behind him – or was it in front of him, if he was on his back…?

Suddenly Astrid gasped. "Look out!" she cried, and he flipped himself back over to see a rather prominent rock formation approaching him at a most unreasonable speed. *Hold on!* Toothless cried out, beating his wings harder and splitting his back fins apart. Hiccup didn't panic…much…he pulled his arms in and back the way a two-legged dragon would move their wings, slowing himself enough for Toothless to catch up. This time, when he dropped down he managed to land on Toothless' saddle.

There wasn't time for them to veer away or try to fly over the rock – but the formation had an open cleft running through it. The gap was narrower than it looked, and they just barely made it through when they barrel rolled…but they did it!

Toothless came in for a landing in the snow on the other side; Hiccup hopped off his back, grinning from ear to ear. "Ha! Whoo!" he cheered, punching the air, "Hey, mum, did you see that?! I didn't think we were gonna make it! We were so close to pulling that trick off, bud!"

*Hooray for us* Toothless deadpanned, swiping his tail to knock Hiccup over into the snow for the fun of it. He scrambled to his feet, and his mother came over to get a better look at his flight-suit. "Oh, incredible…" she murmured, and he smiled at the praise.

"Heh, well, Toothless helped" he said jokingly. Toothless purred happily and arched his back, showing off his split-fins. Then he bounded off and burrowed through the snow, popping out beside Cloud-Jumper and throwing snow onto the older dragon's head. Cloud tilted his head and let the snow slide off onto Toothless again, who gave him a gummy smile and shook himself vigorously.

Valka laughed at the sight, and then sighed and looked at her human son with fondness. "All this time, you took after me" she smiled, before it faded a little… "And, where was I? I'm so sorry, Hiccup" she apologised, cupping his cheek in her hand; he didn't pull away, but leaned into her touch. "Can…can we start over? Will you give me another chance?"

"Yeah" he nodded, "I…I'd like that".

His mother beamed at him, and pulled him into a tight hug. He was a little taken aback at first, but soon warmed to it and returned it. Toothless and Astrid were both happy to see him happy…but suddenly Astrid realised something. "Oh, my gosh!" she gasped, breaking the tender moment, "Sorry, it's just- the others, I ought to go find them. Thor knows what sort of trouble they're getting into". Disturbing, if mildly humorous visions of Ruffnut returning to Eret's boat and making a clumsy seduction attempt on the poor man danced through her mind, and she stifled a shudder – or maybe a giggle.

Hiccup had almost forgotten about the others, in all the…excitement, for lack of a better word, at finding his mother and the Sanctuary. "We'll go with you" he agreed, walking over to Toothless; but then Astrid quickly added "No, it's okay. I can look for them, you should…you should spend some more time with your mum".

He faltered, and frowned slightly, walking over to Astrid instead. Valka's brow creased worriedly as well, and she said "You don't have to go on your own, dear".

"I'll be fine" Astrid promised, "Stormfly and I will track them down, whilst you guys convince some of these dragons to come and help us. Do you want us to head back to Berk, or do you want us to come back here?" she asked Hiccup.

"Come back here – wait, no. Why go on your own? You don't have to" he insisted, "If you don't let me go anywhere on my own, you shouldn't go anywhere on your own either. It's not fair otherwise".

"I know, I'm sorry – but I promise I'll be careful. It'll be quicker this way, and they're probably looking for us too. I won't be long. Besides…" she lowered her voice, and whispered to him, "Don't get me wrong, your mum is lovely, but…I kind of feel like a third wheel. I'll take care of rounding up the mob, and you do what you do best – make friends with dragons. I can handle this, trust me".

"I do trust you, I just..." Hiccup cast about, knowing he probably couldn't convince her to let him and his mother come; she was a Viking, after all, they were as stubborn as it got. He looked up and spotted a Nadder flying nearby. "Hey, bud, you think you can get their attention?" he asked, pointing to the dragon. Toothless roared to them, and when they flew down to investigate, he told them *My rider wants to talk to you*.

Hiccup walked towards the dragon nice and slowly, taking care not to make any sudden movements. The turquoise and purple Spike-tail saw him approach and looked down at him and sniffed at his outstretched palm curiously, resting their muzzle against it. *You're the heart bound human, aren't you?* he asked, chirring curiously.

"Yeah, that's me, Hiccup. What's your name?"

*Sky Fire* the dragon replied. He was named for the beautiful rippling, flickering waves of light that hung in the sky at night in the dark winter, because the colours matched his scales.

"Nice to meet you" Hiccup smiled at him, scratching his jaw amicably, before saying "Listen, I know it's a lot to ask, but could you do me a favour?"

*What is it?*

Hiccup beckoned to Astrid, and placed her hand on the dragon's snout with his. "This is my fiancé, Astrid; Astrid, this is Sky Fire".

"Hello".

"She's going to go find our friends whilst I spend time with my mum…do you think you could go with her and Stormfly, and come back to find me if she needs my help?" Hiccup asked Sky Fire.

Sky tipped his head to the side, considering, and decided *I don't see why not…when are we going?*

"Um, right now, I guess" replied Hiccup. He looked at Astrid and asked earnestly, "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Don't worry; I'll just find them and come right back here. Besides, they're probably looking for us too – well, Fishlegs maybe...the point is, I'd rather find them sooner than later. Less chance of them getting into trouble".

Her fiancé raised an eyebrow and asked, "You do know who we're talking about, right?" Then he sighed, and gave her a kiss, and added "Good luck".

"Don't need it" she winked at him, before heading back to Stormfly and swinging herself into the saddle. The two Spike-tails took off, and Hiccup watched them go, his heart twisting with uncertainty. Should he have let her go?

For the first time, he really understood why his father had been so reluctant to let him leave Berk…but Astrid was a capable warrior, he told himself, and she had Stormfly and Sky Fire watching her back – Sky Fire seemed trustworthy enough – so he shouldn't have too much to worry about. He'd give her a few hours, and then follow her, and he was sure his mother would come too.

*She'll be okay, she's tough* Toothless tried to reassure him, *She's Astrid*.

"Yeah, I know" he sighed, hugging Toothless' head as the black dragon nuzzled against him. Valka sighed; she too hoped Astrid would be okay, and these friends of theirs she was going to find…but she was out of touch with people, and dragons had no problems with letting each other wander far and wide, so she hadn't protested. She pet Cloud-Jumper's cheek, returned his affectionate slow blink, and walked over to join her sons.


A/N: I know it isn't the best course of action for them to split up, but the thing is, the other version of this story has less conflict. Everything would have just sort of fallen into place, and it got wrapped up too easily. I know how I want to write this story, and it's my story, so I think I can be forgiven for pulling strings and steering the plot the way I want it to go. It was either have a story where everyone is sensible but there's not enough emotional conflict, or have a story where the plot demands they do daft things, but there is emotional conflict.