Friends and Family

"Come on, please?" I almost whined. Hiccup and Stoic were giving me a look that told me how pointless my pleading was but I persisted. I wanted to train!

"You've only just healed enough to walk and I know you can't take a hit in that side now. We don't know how much exercise you can handle just yet." Stoic reasoned. I opened and shut my mouth a few times but sighed, knowing this was a loosing argument.

"Fine." I huffed in reluctant agreement, sitting heavily on the couch-like chair by the fire pit. Somewhere in my mind I was happy they let me up at all so soon so I went with it. Hiccup looked like he was really considering something and I couldn't help wondering what strange thoughts he had half-baked in his head.

"Ah, don't look at me like that, just give it another day or two." Stoic gave my shoulder a fatherly pat. "Stay out of trouble, I'll be back around lunch." He smiled at me in promise and I couldn't stay irritated at him.

"Okay, okay. Have fun chief-ing." I teased which pulled a deep rolling chuckle from him as he made his way out. As the door closed I noticed how empty the room was with just Hiccup and myself. "Hey, where's Toothless? Isn't he usually in here? Star too." I mused out loud.

"Oh they get a bit worked up sometimes and we didn't want them jumping all over you. It's not that we don't trust 'em, they just get carried away sometimes, especially a younger dragon. That's not sayin' Toothless isn't kinda hyper though..." He trailed off as a little black nose sniffed through the open window.

"Can we let them back in?" I asked hopefully.

"I thought you'd never asked," He admitted, "but if they get too rambunctious we have to put them back outside." He agreed and my face lit up. I really missed Star, she was the best lap-pet slash cuddle-buddy ever and at her size she was better than a blanket.

"Awesome!" I cheered over Hiccup's laughter.

"Come on in, whoa, easy bud. You too girl, easy." He led them in and Star licked me half to death. "Heh, looks like they missed us." He commented.

"I missed you too girl! Who's a good dragon!?" I scratched her belly and she rolled happily on the floor. I opened my arms which meant 'hug?' and she set her head in my lap. Patting the couch next to me got her curled up around me and I leaned into her, petting her head which rested in my lap. She even scooched her tail under me so it was like sitting on a couch. She covered me with her wing and between my body heat and her insulation it became the perfect temperature for a nap. "She's such a sweetie." I said fondly. Hiccup nodded from his spot on the floor leaning against Toothless.

"They're amazing companions, aren't they?"

"You know it." I closed my eyes for a moment and when I opened them Star was looking up at me with her big round eyes and the sight was too cute to handle. "Yeah, you're a cutie." I cooed, she sniffed and the plates on her head perked up happily.

We sat there for a moment before I yawned, the warmth doing wonders for my achy muscles.

"Still tired?" He asked.

"I didn't think so until my own personal best friend and blanket came in." I admitted.

"Yeah, I was thinking that might help." He grinned mischievously.

"Ugh, no. I've been sleeping too much, no more sleep." I protested as I yawned again, shaking my head and rubbing my eyes in a vain attempt to focus.

"Aw, go on. The more you nap the sooner you'll get better and the sooner dad and I will get off your case." He teased.

"Alright alright." I almost mumbled. As it turned out I was napped out, but lying there with my eyes shut all cuddled up to Star felt amazing and I didn't budge an inch until a knock on the door 'woke me up'.

"Hmm?" I picked my head up and blinked to put the world of swirling colors back in order.

"I'll get it." Hiccup said already halfway to the door. I listened intently and caught an interesting and heartwarming exchange.

"Hey." A female voice greeted.

"Hi Astrid, what's up?" I knew it had been a familiar voice.

"Oh, we were just wondering how Allia was, we heard what happened and you guys haven't been to training in a while." She sounded worried.

"Actually she's doin' great. Wanna come in?" He asked.

"Oh, I don't want to bother her, she's gotta be down for the count, you know, after that." She offered warily.

"Don't worry, she's up and goin', or she would be if dad and I hadn't stared her down. She's doin' better than we thought she could."

"Oh, alright." I heard them coming my way and tried to sit up but Star curled around me more.

"Okay, easy girl, I get it." I giggled.

"Allia?" Astrid asked in surprise as she came in.

"Hey Astrid!" I greeted. She had become somewhat of a friend and I really did enjoy her company but I had just realized how much I missed her and the other's company.

"You look a whole lot better." She complimented, "We were worried for a moment there." She teased, perching beside her boyfriend.

"Oh, well...uh..." My hand found the back of my head on instinct and I could feel my face warming up. "It was nothin', good to see ya." I grinned sheepishly.

"I wasn't nothing, I saw it." She insisted, "From what Hiccup tells me you're itchin' to get back to training though." She said through a smile.

"Oh yeah, too much downtime for my taste." I agreed.

"Hm, looks like Star cured that itch." She observed where I was laying all curled up inside the crook of her tail obviously asleep. I chuckled.

"Yeah, I wasn't so sure I was tired until she did this." I admitted with a shrug. I tried not to but I couldn't avoid another yawn. "Dangit." I shook my head as the two of them snickered with a limited enthusiasm that seemed to be marred, like they were seeing something I wasn't and I figured I looked a whole lot worse than I felt.

"Go back to sleep." Astrid and Hiccup urged lightly, in unison. I just blinked at them for a moment and snickered for a while. Even the dragons were laughing, or at least that's what it sounded like. I stretched and was very proud of myself for not letting on that the motion was like fire in my side. Admittedly a whole lot better, but still not exactly a massage.

"But I already did. Several times." I protested, sounding much younger than I was.

"Its okay, dad'll be home soon and believe me there's no sleeping through him thundering around here." Hiccup assured right before Astrid elbowed him in the ribs. "Hey."

"Be nice."

"I wasn't being mean, it's true and you know it." He defended, she just gave him a dry look that told him to stop talking immediately. He raised his hands in surrender.

I fell asleep again, much to my own disappointment I might add, and woke up to exactly what Hiccup had said I would; Stoic the Vast, Viking chief of Birke, stumbling over Toothess and apologizing to the poor guy who's tail had to be hurting. Hiccup seemed to be out, so it was me and Stoic, which was surprising because Toothless would normal be with him but I figured he didn't want to leave Star. He was attached to her something awful.

"Fearsome dragon catch you on your way in?" I muttered half-awake. He laughed hard enough that he had to catch his breath when he was finished.

"Oh yes, downright scary isn't he?" He asked while scratching the nightfury's belly. Said fearsome dragon's back foot was beating in time to the scratching while his tongue hung out of his mouth and his tail swung happily. It was adorable.

"Oh yeah, have you ever been whacked in the face by a baby nightfuty's tail? Let me tell you, it hurts." I said quite seriously while attempting to right myself. He just chuckled at me and when I finally woke the rest of the way up I discovered why.

Star was hugging me like a stuffed animal, curled around me but with her front feet around my waist and her head on my lap still. Her wings had both unfurled and were laying about lazily, one being my blanket and her tail was over my legs somehow. It was funny to look at. I just shook my head and gave the sleepy 'little' girl's head a pat.

"She's not a baby anymore though." he commented.

"Nope, she's a big girl now." I scratched her behind the ear and she proceeded to slime me. "Eeeww, dragon kisses." I teased. Stoic shook his head.

"I hear this was Hiccup's sneaky little plan to get you to stay put." He mused. "He told me it was your idea but that you had actually asked about it a moment before he was going to suggest it." He grinned mischievously.

"Oh did he now." I was suspicious now. "Well, whoever thought of it, the intended purpose was achieved. I don't know why I'm so sleepy though." I crossed my arms. The huge viking looked a bit...at a loss. He sat beside where Star and I sat heavily and with a sigh.

"You gave us a scare, you know that?" He started quietly. "You should have gone down, you shouldn't even be alive. You were nearly dead when Gobber fixed you up and I didn't expect you to wake back up when you passed out on the way here. Its amazing you're healed as well as you are." Suddenly I understood the gravity of the situation.

"So...I was..." I floundered, he nodded.

"You were, almost. Scared us somethin' awful but we're glad you're better. Just give it some time. Now that we know you aren't going to die on us we can all relax, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you jump in a practice ring and get yourself hurt." The way he was looking at me made me feel like he was practically begging my cooperation with him. He looked scared, and that hit me like a ton of bricks.

"Okay, okay." I conceded. He visibly relaxed.

"Thank you." He grinned.

"For not dying or not arguing?" I chuckled. He sobered a bit.

"Both." He locked eyes with me and something it absolutely threw me off balance. Something Astrid said when we were looking for Hiccup popped into my mind just then. Something about him gaining a daughter when I got here. I must have looked a little stunned because he raised an eyebrow at me. "What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing." I shook my head.

"Come on, don't give me that." he nudged my shoulder with a grin.

"Ah, well...it's just that, this...this is just so...odd." I managed to stumble through a vague explanation that just caused more questions.

"What is?"

"This." I motioned to the room around us, encompassing everything and him. "I just, I don't know..." I didn't quite know how to say it.

"It's not home." it wasn't a question, but I shook my head.

"No, that's just it, it's better." I corrected and he just looked at me like I'd grown wings.

"Better?"

"Yeah, I didn't really...uh, well..." Suddenly my hands were fascinating, funny how that worked.

"Allia?" He caught my attention, I let out that huge breath you take and hold without ever realizing it and looked up, meeting his eye with a strained half-smile and a shrug. "What was your family like?" He asked, hitting the proverbial nail on the head.

"They, well...they were nice but, they never really...we didn't talk much. They were always gone and I didn't...I kind of raised myself. It's not like they were bad people, and we were on good terms, they just...weren't there." I explained carefully.

"You miss them?" he guessed.

"The thing is..." I felt horrible for it, but there was no way around it so I might as well say it, "I know it sounds horrible but...not really. I mean I did, until the very next day and then to be honest, I...pretty much forgot about them." I felt myself cringing at the words and I didn't remember looking back down but a hand on my shoulder brought my eyes back up.

"That's not horrible. They weren't there, that's not your fault." He assured, seeming to understand my actions a bit more. "Just relax, alright? You don't have to worry about it, we've got your back." He smiled. I noticed a few things I hadn't before, because they had gone away.

My chest had been ever so slightly tight, my stomach had a knot in it, my shoulders were a bit too straight, my thoughts scattered and my defenses on high. I felt all of this melt off me and the result was a relaxation I couldn't ever remember feeling before in my life.

"You know, you're so much like Hiccup, you could easily be his sister." He commented thoughtfully. When I just looked at him he chuckled under his breath. "Come on, don't tell me you haven't seen it. The only thing keeping you out of the family is blood, and frankly I'm not bothered and I know he isn't." I still couldn't process what he was talking about and he laughed. He gave my shoulder another pat and stood to make something to eat, before he left he said one more thing I'm almost certain I was too asleep to hear but somehow I did; "Welcome to the family, get some sleep."

So, I keep forgetting to do this, but thank you everyone who's followed/Favorited! You're awesome!