Okay, here's the next update. Then, I'm gonna take some time to go over the basic plot thecoreofjustice and I have worked out, 'cause I need a refresher.
I don't own HTTYD
Call of the Dragons
Chapter 9
Written by Nightshade248
Co-written by thecoreofjustice
Valka watched from a distance as her young son went to sleep. His breathing proving to calm her nerves as she stirred some tea for herself.
She had tried to stay calm while chatting with her son and, while she managed to some extend, it certainly wasn't easy. Hiccup probably didn't notice, but her hands were shaking a bit when she gave him the tea.
She felt ready to break down in tears, happiness and worry welling up inside of the warrior woman.
Happiness because Valka had been reunited with her only son. After fourteen years, she was finally able t see how her baby had turned out.
Worry for a number of reasons.
Her son's current condition, for one. Valka had been lead to an odd boat by a pack of very kind Scaldrons, eventually finding a strange boy in an ice cavern.
Big emerald green eyes stared at her, unfocused. Valka knew those eyes. She'd recognize them no matter how much time would pass.
But what really stuck the axe in the wood was the very small, barely visible scar on the boy's chin, right below his mouth. The small scar that one particular dragon had given him years before was direct proof that this boy was her son.
But he wasn't so doing good. Not so good at all, to the point he nearly scared Valka half to death. Hiccup was deathly pale. He was wet from sea water and wasn't at all properly dressed for the current weather conditions. All he had on was a thin, green tunic, thin brown pants, boots, and a sorry excuse for a blanket. Not to mention that Hiccup was painfully thin.
When he passed out right in front of Valka, she was afraid he would never wake up again.
Valka rushed him back to her own small cave home, getting Hiccup into dry clothes, warm blankets, and a fire. Valka had been in some pretty bad situations over the years, but nothing was as terrifying was her own child's near death experience.
At least Hiccup was now resting comfortably, still very much alive. The tea she mixed herbs into must have helped a lot.
But she still had more questions. What in the name of Thor was Hiccup doing in Wilderbeast Island? Why wasn't he on Berk, safe and sound with his father? Hiccup nearly died out there! Was Stoick even aware that their son was gone?!
'I knew I shouldn't have left Stoick in charge of Hiccup,' Valka thought as she watched Hiccup sleep. 'I love him, but he never was trust worthy when Hiccup was small. Why didn't I realize that sooner?' Guilt tugged at her heart, causing Valka to question her decisions to leaving Hiccup with his father.
As Valka looked at her son, she took notice of another scar. On her son's left eye and the immediate area around it. It looked suspiciously like a fist had make contact with his eye.
Valka could feel rage building up inside of her. Whoever hurt her baby would pay dearly.
XxXxXxXxXxXx
(Meanwhile on Berk)
"Ya okay there, Stoick?" Gobber asked his old friend when he wondered aimlessly into the forge, sat down in a chair and slammed his head down on the empty table right in front of him. All without a word.
Stoick let out a grunt and Gobber couldn't tell if it was an annoyed grunt, a tired grunt, or any other kind of grunt.
But one thing Gobber could tell was that worry was welling up inside Stoick. It was weighing him down.
This was honestly the most disturbing thing Gobber had ever seen in his entire life. And he had had both his hand and leg taken off by a wild dragon. And he had seen dragons slaughter hundreds of people.
Maybe it was because seeing Stoick in a depressed wasn't normal. Well, when you've been living where dragons that repeatedly tried to kill people was a common occurrence, you kind of get used to it (Not entirely, but you still expect it).
But Stoick the Vast looking so hopeless? That was not a common occurrence.
"Ya wanna talk 'bout it, Stoick?" Gobber questioned, setting down a grappling bet he was working on.
Stoick grunted again, only this time, Gobber knew he was trying to signal to Gobber that he was calling him an idiot. Vikings didn't talk about their problems. Granted, Gobber knew that, but he used to talk to have Hiccup talk about his problems all the time. Asking was a practiced habit now.
Though, it was kind of irritating. Stoick clearly needed to talk, but he was far to stubborn and, well... Vikingly to admit that. It was aggravating Gobber.
Gobber didn't care if they were Vikings, this was stupid.
"Stoick," Gobber said his friend's name firmly.
"What?" Stoick said rather harshly.
"Stoick," Gobber said again, just as harshly. "Stoick, look at me. Now."
Slowly, Stoick raised his head.
"Stoick, listen and listen well," Gobber said like a stern parent. "I don' care of yer tha chief of tha village. I don' care if yer a Viking. Stop bottlin' everythin' up."
"'M not bottlin' anythin' up, Gobber," Stoick said.
But Gobber wasn't having it. It wasn't healthy to keep everything in. Hiccup had proved that to him on numerous occasions.
"Just knock it off, Stoick," Gobber said. "Ya clearly want ta talk. So talk."
"There's nothin' ta discuss, Gobber!" Stoick shouted. "Nothin' we don' already know! I know 'm a horrible father! I hurt ma son! I am the one that drove him away! There's nothin' left ta say!"
Stoick's face quickly turned bright red, his eyes watering up. Gobber knew the chief would never cry, but this was closest Gobber was going to get. But this was good, too. Stoick needed to let it out.
Gobber put a hand on his friend's shoulder (knowing he'd get hurt if he hugged him), in a comforting way. Stoick may have been a terrible father, but Gobber could clearly see he wanted to change. The poor man had been through enough. His wife died years ago, now his son is gone too.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
(Hours later with Hiccup and Valka)
When Hiccup woke up again, the first thing he noticed was the pain in his stomach. Hunger pains, to be precise. This didn't surprise Hiccup in the least. He had gone a few day at a time without food on Berk, so he was used to it.
Still, Hiccup knew he wouldn't get far if he starved to death. And the last thing he wanted was for his 'mother' to notice. Slowly, Hiccup looked around for his bag. But it was nowhere in sight, thus confusing Hiccup.
"What's wrong, Hiccup?" Valka asked, entering Hiccup's line of sight.
"Um... Where's my bag?" Hiccup asked her awkwardly.
"Oh! It's right here!" From behind a few large rocks, Valka pulled out Hiccup's escape bag.
"Oh. Thanks," he said as Valka gave him his bag.
"Hiccup, are you hungry?" Valka asked. "I can make you something. You haven't eaten in a while, have you?"
'Shoot,' Hiccup thought. She must have noticed how thin Hiccup was.
"Not... recently..." Hiccup muttered. "Um... That's why I wanted my bag."
Hiccup reached into his bag and pulled out one of his rolls. He tore off a piece and shoved it in his mouth. His mother watched him while he chewed. Valka's expression was hard to read.
"So, um... Mom..." Hiccup said in between chewing.
"Yes, Hiccup?" Valka said.
"Um..." Hiccup swallowed before he continued. "If you don't mind me asking... What exactly happened when you were taken by that dragon?"
Valka looked down at Hiccup's question. Hiccup was afraid she'd start to cry.
(A/N- This part had some spoilers to Valka's speech in the second movie. Then again, so will other parts of this movie. It's not exact, but I'm gonna put a warning here anyway)
"Well Hiccup, you see... I was not like everyone else on Berk," Valka started. "There was something about killing dragons that upset me greatly. No one else would listen to me, but I believed that peace was possible.
"It was a very unpopular opinion."
Hiccup listened carefully to his mother, taking another piece of bread into his mouth. She sounded so hurt.
"One night, during a raid, when you were a baby, a dragon broke into our house.
"I had to put my personal feelings aside and I rushed to protect you.
"What I saw was shocking. The dragon was crouched over you, playing with you. Making you laugh."
Hiccup didn't believe this. He didn't remember that at all.
"This wasn't a dangerous killer," Valka continued. "But a gentle creature, whose spirit matched my own.
"Sadly, Stoick didn't realize this. He burst into the room, and chaos broke out. The dragon, thinking I was being threatened, took me with him when he flew away."
Hiccup tried to wrap his mind around this. The was Valka explained this was in a very straight-forward way. But it sounded crazy.
"But... If you managed to escape... Then how come you didn't come home?"
Valka signed, guilt written all over her face. "You and your father nearly died that night... And all because I couldn't kill a dragon... It broke my heart to stay away... But I believed you'd both be safer if I did."
"And I never escaped Hiccup... There was never any reason to escape."
"W-What?!" Hiccup didn't understand at all. Until he remembered something. Back in the ice cave, there was a dragon behind his mother. If his mother was t a hallucination, than that dragon probably wasn't either.
"Mom," Hiccup said slowly. "Where did that dragon go afterward?"
Valka looked up at him. "You'll see, soon enough."
Hiccup is going to tell Stoick off much later in the story, but I still want Stoick to be a likable character in this. Yes, he hit Hiccup, but I still want Stoick to be likable, first by showing us that he is regretful.
You guys know what? For the next chapter, I'm gonna try to fit more of the plot into one chapter. I'm almost ten chapters into this and not only are we barely into the main plot, but my procrastination is wearing my patience real thin real fast. So, next chapter, I'm gonna try to dive further into the plot than I usually would as well as try to not use so much filler. That's probably a good thing.
