Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD
Chapter Ten – Life and Death
The entire world was chaos, or so it seemed to Snotlout as he and Hookfang hovered high above the warring vessels, amongst the fighting dragons. There were far fewer of those armoured, maddened dragons trying to kill them now; he and the other riders had led their teams to wrestle the attackers into submission and capture them and the flyers – or, if necessary, kill them.
Already, he'd sliced the throat of one flyer that leapt to grapple with Snotlout and sink his own knife into Hookfang's. He imagined that every drop of of blood he spilled was avenging every drop of his father's. The enemy fleet was being surrounded by their allies ships, strafed with dragonfire, and when Urchin was finally freed they would be destroyed by ice. "Why won't they just give up?!"
*They're stubborn humans!* Hookfang snarled in reply, struggling to keep his body from bursting into flames in anger. He and Snotlout weren't avoiding the fight out of cowardice; he'd run out of shots and they'd made a tactical retreat. It still galled him to see his flock-mates be shot down and killed, as the real cowards hid behind dragon proof shielding. *I'm ready to fight again!*
"Wait!" Snotlout cried, movement catching his eye to the east. "Over there, Hookfang. They're trying to sneak around our flank!" He and his dragon flew over to investigate and confront the vessel coming around from behind the sea stacks. "Don't flame up" he warned. Hookfang grunted in acknowledgement, and swooped down towards the rogue ship. Then Snotlout saw the insignia.
"Hold on – I know that sail!" he exclaimed. There was someone in the crow's nest – Snotlout cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted "Hello, the Tempest!" He recognised it from when these dragon breeders, or whatever they called themselves, had come to Berk and been taken prisoner. The guy on the mast called down to the deck, and someone began climbing up the rigging.
*Should I land?* Hookfang asked his rider, who replied "There's no time; you can't take off from a standstill. Just get me in close." So the Fire-Scale hovered as near to the ship as he could, and Snotlout leaned over his horns to talk to the tall, dark skinned woman he recognised as the ship's captain, Nicole Stormheart. "What are you guys doing? And why are you running away?"
"We're not running, we're sailing!" she replied, balanced precariously on the spar of the mast. "Your chief's in my cabin and we're taking her back to Berk!"
"Astrid's with you?! Is she alright, did they hurt her?! What about the baby?!"
"Well, apart from being in labour she seems fine! Look, we don't have time to chat! Can you get us an escort to Berk? I don't want them firing at us!"
"Yeah! Some of the Berserker ships are going back with wounded, we'll tell 'em you're here so they can take you to Berk!" Snotlout agreed, making to fly away.
"Wait! I'm coming with you! I need to get back to those ships – my dragon is on one of them, and we dragon lovers don't abandon our friends, right?"
Snotlout grinned and patted Hookfang's neck. "No, we don't. Climb on!" He helped her into the saddle, gave her a second to wrap the extra seatbelt (1) – one of Hiccup's inventions – around herself, and then they were off again.
The night was lit by the fires of Muspelheim, and echoed with the screams of the damned, dragon and human alike. It took all of Toothless' self control not to let his Fury's Fire burst forth, at the sight of their flock-mates and subjects dead or dying. Only the awareness that he would make himself and Hiccup a big, glowing target for the hunters arrows prevented him from unleashing it.
They blasted ship after ship, turning mounted crossbows and spear launchers into twisted heaps of scorched metal. Hiccup was horribly aware that Toothless had no proper armour; that the only thing keeping them alive was their speed, agility and camouflage in the dark. Camouflage that was less and less effective with the fires burning everywhere, for even a Night Fury could be spotted then.
Movement out the corner of his eye made Hiccup tense, clicking the tail-fin to spin and dodge. Toothless reacted immediately, and a barbed arrow undoubtedly tipped with concentrated dragon root shot past where they'd been just seconds before. There was no time to feel relief, however, as the barrel roll took them right into the path of a mesh net that quickly engulfed them.
Toothless-Hiccup tumbled to the deck of one of the ships, tangled in a metallic net that was hard to see through in the dark. The three heavily armed knights charging towards them with raised swords was difficult to miss, though. "Die, spawn of Satan!" one of them bellowed. Yet before either of the pair knew it, all three of the knights were suddenly crushed and groaning underneath…
"Grump!" Hiccup exclaimed, "Gobber!" Despite everything, he grinned at his old mentor and friend. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you!"
"Aye, and we're right chuffed to see you too!" the old blacksmith replied, sliding off Grump's back and trudging forwards to heave the net off of them. "So did you take – OI!" he yelled, bringing his shield up to block the axe of a hunter trying to sneak up on them from behind. "Tryin' ta be clever, huh? Why don't ya come an' fight like a real man!" Gobber taunted, leading the attacker away.
Toothless and Hiccup began to fight harder to escape the net. Large hands fell on it, a sharp horn hooked under; Stoick and Skull Crusher tore it off with ease. "Thanks, dad" Hiccup said gratefully, struggling to his feet. He nearly fell over again when the waves surged underneath the ship, sending it swaying violently.
Gobber lost his footing and staggered forwards; unfortunately, right into the hunter's axe, even as his own hatchet buried itself in flesh as well. "NO!" Hiccup heard the shout: he didn't know if he had made it, or his father. They both ran forwards at the same time, just as Gobber shoved the man's body away.
He looked down at the axe head in his chest and blinked. "Huh…that's not good" Gobber remarked blithely, even as he toppled backwards. Hiccup and Stoick reached him just in time to catch him, although the elder Haddock took most of the old man's weight. They lowered him to the deck and crowded over him as Toothless and Grump watched their backs, tensed for another attack.
"Oh, gods, no – it's alright, y-you're gonna be fine" Hiccup rambled desperately. He reached for the axe handle to pull it out, but Stoick grabbed his wrist.
"Don't, son! Take that out and you'll kill him that much faster. It…it's too late." Stoick wore the same stricken expression that Hiccup had only really seen on him twice; once before he and Toothless battled the Red Death, and once when his mother had been injured and nearly died. Now, it seemed there would not be a 'nearly'. Hiccup could hardly believe that Gobber was just going to die.
A hand on his shoulder made him jump. "Hey…lad…dontcha… worry 'bout me" Gobber wheezed, clearly struggling to breathe. He coughed and blood flecked his chin. "Least…I'm off…ta Valhalla…was worried I'd…miss me chance…"
Hiccup shook his head, hot bitter tears pricking at his eyes. "Gobber, no. You're not meant to…not yet…not like this" he protested, struggling to accept what was happening. People died in battle, yes, but this felt wrong to have it be someone he knew. "What are we gonna do without you?" he asked, feeling helpless, and hating that feeling, hating everything about this pointless fight.
"You'll…manage. Tell Snotlout…" Gobber winced and groaned, in obvious pain. "Tell…him…he did good. You both…did good. An' I'll…be watching…so don't slack off in th' forge, got it? An' take care…of Grump…fer me. He needs…it…"
Swallowing past the hot, spiky lump in his throat with difficulty, Hiccup nodded. "I will, Gobber. I promise. And Gobber? Thank you. F-for everything."
His mentor gave an understanding smile, and slid his gaze with effort towards Stoick. The former chieftain clasped Gobber's hand with his and squeezed it tightly. "It has been my honour, old friend" he said thickly, and Hiccup felt shocked to realise his dad was on the verge of tears. "You have been the greatest ally I could ask for; and we will meet again at the table of kings."
"Aye…" Gobber breathed, his eyes glazing over. "Cos I'm a…Viking through…an'…" The next word never came; the next breath was his last. Even as his father lowered Gobber's hand and reached up to brush his eyes closed, Hiccup felt his own hands clench into fists. It was time to do what he should have done immediately, before anyone else died, and end this battle for good.
The female Swift-Wing, Selena, had told Urchin not to blast ice at all of the ships, because the Alphas were in one of them. The other dragons had melted and blasted away the chains holding him to the rocks, and covering his jaws. Urchin rumbled *GRATEFUL* to them all and sank beneath the waves, the cold water easing his dry, lightning-scorched scales. He moaned in abject relief.
There were a lot of Spark-Noses left; they were hard to catch and harder to kill, so quick and deadly like the lightning they made. Urchin's eyes narrowed in anger and he surged forwards, swinging his tusks from side to side to knock the smaller sea dragons about and stun them. The waves bucked the ships above him and sloshed over the sides, putting out fires and sending humans tumbling.
Urchin came up on the other side of the fleet, sacs full of water turned ice. He spat it out in spiky torrents that tore through the hulls of the ships near the edge, trapping them the way they trapped him. Urchin wasn't thinking about the irony of that; he just wanted to keep these bad humans trapped so his flock mates could attack them. He spat more ice to wreck ships on his other side.
Many humans were rushing to jump overboard and get to other ships in the middle of the fleet, away from the destruction Urchin wrought at its edges. He was furious, and terrified, and only the vague awareness that Alpha-Hiccup would be upset if he accidentally crushed dragons or good humans trapped in the bad humans ships kept him from simply covering the whole feet in ice.
*Urchin!* The familiar shriek sounded angry, and the Sea-Giant cringed instinctively. He looked and despite everything, purred. *ALPHA TOOTHLESS-HICCUP SAFE. PLEASED. ALPHAS ANGRY? CURIOUS UPSET* he greeted them, a mixture of thought-speak and emotions projected with all the finesse of a jotunn's war-hammer. *URCHIN GOOD. URCHIN NOT CONTROL DRAGONS!*
*Urchin, you have to take control of them!* Alpha-Hiccup protested, *We have to end this, now. People are dying, Urchin! Our flock-mates are dying! Is that what you want?!* he demanded, his thought-speak tinged with anger.
Urchin flinched. *ALPHAS COMMAND FLOCK. URCHIN NOT COMMAND.*
*We can't!* Alpha-Toothless snarled, *there are dragons here not of the pack! You're the only one here who can command all of them at once, except us!*
Urchin whined. *URCHIN NOT BEAST. BEAST CONTROL. BEAST BAD DRAGON!*
"No, Urchin. This won't make you like Beast again, I promise. Urchin, please!* Alpha-Hiccup begged, desperate. *There's no other way! You have to trust me!*
Trust…Urchin hadn't known what trust was, before Alpha-Hiccup had taught him. If controlling dragons was the only way…. *WHAT URCHIN COMMAND?*
*Wait for our signal, then command them all to pull back and join us* Hiccup instructed. He and Toothless flew up to a vantage point high above the battlefield, and the Night Fury fired a plasma blast straight up into the air. As his Alpha commanded, Urchin summoned his Will and bellowed out *PULL BACK!*
Every dragon still living heard and obeyed the command, even the ones not of the flock. Dragons on the Outcast and Berserker ships tried to take off with broken wings and had to be held down by the Vikings so they didn't hurt themselves. The ones with riders found it easier to ignore the call, but they still obeyed because it was better than to attack and risk their humans fragile lives.
Toothless roared to gather them to him, and the flock-less dragons came because they did not know where else to go, or what else to do. Some fled the battle altogether. The hunters fired more arrows and spears, but the dragons were hovering out of range and blasted the ones shot towards their allied ships.
For the first time, silence descended on the battlefield, but for the flapping of wings and the surging of waves. The humans stopped firing, all eyes turned in terror at the Bewilderbeast looming over them, whose bellow had shaken the world and all but deafened them. One dragon, black as the night that cloaked it, dived to hover above the head of the huge demon, glowing with eldritch light.
In truth the hunters and even the knights had been horrified by this battle. Only the slaying of Satan's brood had kept their fighting spirit up in the face of hellfire from the beasts maws, or in the Bewilderbeast's case, crushing ice. Now their prey were no longer in range, and the fearsome warrior they had come to defeat, the Dragon Master, was being defended by the largest demon of all.
This sorcerer, this ruler of demons, summoned a stream of fire from his hand; and all of his devilish minions followed suit, until the sky was ringed in flames. A few desperate people shot at the Dragon Master; the black demon he rode dodged their projectiles and blasted the rest. More dragons joined them, some with riders, some without. They flew up and dived down to the flagship.
Dragons landed on the ballistas, on the bulwarks, on the deck. The hunters tried to shoot them, but the armour they wore turned away the arrows. A few well aimed throws from their riders sent men crumpling to the deck, axes or knives in bodies. The Night Fury perched on the forecastle and its rider, wielding a sword wreathed in fire, stood up on its back. He glared at them, utterly furious.
"This war is over!" Hiccup yelled out, pitching his voice to carry over the assembled ships. "Do you fools not see what you've done?! You threatened my tribe, my family, unprovoked, and created the very enemy you sought to destroy. I have every right and reason to wipe all of you out! I am giving you one more chance. Surrender, lay down your weapons, or this fleet gets crushed!"
His throat felt hoarse from shouting, and to his dismay, it didn't seem as if these guys were listening. They weren't aiming their weapons, but they weren't lowering them either. Then he heard a half-familiar snarl, not that of a dragon, and footsteps running on wood. Hiccup and Toothless looked down just as Adulfr emerged from a door beneath them in the forecastle, wolf at his heels.
Immediately, every dragon present gathered their inner fire and prepared to blast Adulfr to ashes, in full view of his men. "Hold your fire!" Hiccup yelled, startling them into obedience. Adulfr skidded to a halt and spun around, glaring up at him in rage. "It's over" Hiccup insisted, "Surrender, and no-one gets hurt."
A bitter, humourless laugh emerged from Adulfr's mouth. It set Hiccup's teeth on edge. "No-one gets hurt? Oh, that's rich, coming from you, after you did this!" he yelled, brandishing the stump of his left arm. Hiccup felt sickened. He hadn't meant to sever the man's hand, it was an accident – his own stump gave a painful twinge as if in sympathy. "And it's not over. Not till I get what I want!"
"You never will! You're doing this for the respect of a dead man."
Scowling, Adulfr turned and yelled at the hunters on deck. "What are you wretches waiting for?! Kill them! Slay the demon dragons and their masters!"
Nobody moved, convinced that if even one arrow was loosed, the Dragon Master would unleash ice and fire upon them all. Adulfr looked incredulous and enraged all at the same time. "Did you convert? To Christianity?" Hiccup asked.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Just answer the question."
"You don't get to make demands of me, dragon lover. But if you must know, yes. I worship the God whose enemy is Satan and these firebreathing fiends."
Hiccup's eyes narrowed. "No, you don't. You challenged me to einvigi, and only someone who follows the old ways would see that duel as valid" he challenged. There were murmurs all around, from both the riders and the hunters.
"You think that matters? Old ways or not, you challenged me first. If you're not too much of a coward, Haddock, come down here and let's finish our duel."
"No" Hiccup refused. "Call me a dishonourable coward all you wish, but I am not going to kill you, and I am not going to give you the opportunity to kill me."
Adulfr smirked evilly, and called to his men, "You see? He admits it! The great and mighty Dragon Master cares nothing for honour, and is a coward to boot!"
The murmurs grew louder, but then a scoffing laugh cut across them all. "You call him dishonourable?" Nicole asked incredulously, pointing one of her swords at Hiccup and the other at Adulfr. "That's rich, coming from someone who turned on my crew and I and imprisoned us all aboard our own ship."
"Don't try to twist this on me, woman. You were planning to betray me!"
"Perhaps" Nicole shrugged, "but I'd rather side with the winning team."
"As would I" Ragnar agreed, giving Adulfr an unimpressed glare. "Do you even remember me? You came to my town to turn me against this man, this Dragon Master, when he had done nothing to threaten me or mine before. And when we joined you against them, these riders sent back their prisoners to us, and reached out with overtures of peace, not threats of conquest!" he declared.
Isak, glaring at Adulfr, declared "My brother was killed in the war you started. I blamed Haddock, and his dragons; I almost enthralled him. He argued for leniency and helped me realise that my brother died in battle against warriors, not mere beasts. You told us Haddock was a liar, a manipulator and in league with evil. Instead I found him honest, merciful and yes, honourable."
He glanced over at Hiccup, who gave him a grateful nod in acknowledgment.
Snotlout spoke up next. "What do you mean, he's doing this for a dead man's respect? How in Hel's name does that even work?" he asked dubiously.
"That's none of your-!"
"He's doing this because Toothless killing Hauke cost him his chance to earn his father's respect, so now he's trying to take it from everyone else."
The muttering grew louder. "Are you kidding me?!" Snotlout exclaimed. "That is the shittiest excuse for war I've ever heard! Respect has to earned, over and over, not just one freaking time! And not like this, with a freaking armada!"
"No!" Adulfr yelled at him, not knowing who this other rider was, nor caring. "This is the only way to get respect – through fear and might! I will purge the world of dragons, and build an Empire of Myrkr (2) from the ruins left behind!"
Everyone stared at him, even the hunters. Adulfr didn't sound heroic or inspiring – he sounded delusional. "Snotlout is right" Hiccup declared, "You have to keep earning respect, and for some people it's never enough. If Hauke had lived, he wouldn't have been satisfied with whatever you did. He would have expected more, demanded more, kept making you feel worthless – the only reason you'd be so insistent that you're not is if you believed that you are."
"I am not worthless!" Adulfr screamed at him. "I am feared! I am powerful! I command armies!" The denial and petulance in his voice was palpable. Heather whispered to her brother, "He's like an overgrown toddler throwing a tantrum!"
Adulfr whirled around to confront whoever had spoken, when Hiccup questioned, "What about your pet?", gesturing with his flaming sword.
Adulfr moved to stand between Skadi and the Night Fury, holding his sword awkwardly in his right hand. "What about her?" he demanded suspiciously.
"Whilst you're busy 'building an empire', what will happen to her?"
"What – Nothing! I won't let anything happen to Skadi! She will stay at my side, for I will be as Odin!" cried Adulfr. He only realised his mistake when…
A knight stepped forwards, helmet removed. "Odin? That's the pagan king of gods. You told us you converted to the path of the One True God" he said suspiciously. More whispering ensued; most of it, and the frowns, were directed at Adulfr himself. "I freed that black dragon from its bonds so it could fight, and it did not attack me as you said it would. What else did you lie to us about?"
"I didn't lie about him! He has an army of dragons; he threatened to destroy us all if we don't give into his demands. Just as I warned you that he would!"
"You're right" Hiccup agreed, ignoring the protests from the other riders. "I did threaten them, but only because I had to. I don't want anyone else to die tonight. Not even them, all these people whom you led into a pointless war." He extinguished Inferno and hopped off Toothless' back to stand beside him. "Do you think Skadi will be happy, stuck in some palace or fortress with you?"
"Why do you care?" Adulfr demanded, "Of course she'd be happy with me!"
"Because she cares. When we fought, Skadi risked her life to defend you. She did for you what Toothless would have done for me. Not because you ordered her to, or because she's afraid of you…but because she cares about you."
"Well, of course she cares! I'm her best friend!"
"Exactly. She cares. You care about her. Adulfr…you don't have to take over the world to be worth something. You're already worth everything, to her." He gestured to Skadi. "And if that's not enough for you, then what will ever be?"
Adulfr stared at him, and then looked down at Skadi as if seeing her for the first time. What will ever be? The words rang in his head, as much as he wanted to ignore them. What, or even when, would be enough? "Your death" he replied.
"Kill me and my dragons will destroy you" Hiccup replied calmly. "You'd get to enjoy your revenge for, oh, a minute at least." How dare he act so casually?
"Then I'll kill your father" Adulfr threatened, choosing to ignore the fact that said man was twice his size and had every reason to hold a grudge.
"Same thing. And it won't bring your father back. Nothing will. And you're wrong; I know exactly what it's like to feel unworthy."
Frustrated, Adulfr yelled, "I'll conquer the world! That will be enough!"
"The world won't stay conquered. And if Skadi gets killed in the attempt?"
"Shut up! You don't know me, you don't know anything about us!" Adulfr shouted at him. He hated that Haddock was getting under his skin, digging into his weak point. Then Skadi whined, and his gaze was pulled inexorably towards her. Against his will, he imagined her getting killed…never seeing her pack again…never getting to run with her or stroke her fur or hear her howl again.
If that's not enough for you, then what will ever be? Adulfr realised…he didn't know. If killing Haddock would be his death, and given he was surrounded by dragons Adulfr could believe that…if he couldn't conquer dragons and thus the world…then what was enough? His army was shattered, his trained dragons captured, his men turned against him. Adulfr hated Haddock for all of it, but…
I know exactly what it's like to feel unworthy. If this was true, if Haddock really understood…and he couldn't have known Hauke was Adulfr's father…His grip on the sword in his hands loosened, until a thought occurred to him. "If I surrender, you'll just have me executed" he said accusingly, tightening his hold again.
"No. Surrender, and you'll be put on trial. I'll do my best to make sure you're not put to death" Hiccup replied. "And for what it's worth, I'm sorry for cutting your hand off. I really do know what that feels like" he said ruefully.
Adulfr's lost appendage seemed to mock him in its absence. Skadi whined and licked at the stump, and the strange blue film covering it. He wanted to pet her, but his only hand was holding the sword…Adulfr took a deep breath, and looked up at his enemy. "Do I have your word that I won't be executed?" he asked.
"I swear to Baldr himself that I won't let that happen" Hiccup answered solemnly, ignoring the mutters of protest coming from his fellow Berkians.
Adulfr sighed, and laid the sword down on the deck. He ran his hand over Skadi's coarse fur. "Then…I surrender" he declared, kneeling beside his friend.
Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to his father and the other riders. "Take them prisoner and search the ships for anyone else trapped on board."
"Aye, son."
Looking over everyone, he suddenly realised something. Dagur and Heather were there, Mogadon, Ramshorn, Brunhilda – all of the hostages were alive and accounted for except… "Where's Astrid?!" he demanded, stricken with fear.
"It's alright!" Nicole exclaimed, "She's fine. My crew took her and the little one back to Berk. They got a tow from that Scauldron friend of yours" she grinned. There was a screech and a green blur shot towards her, circling her. "Gonzales!" she cried in delight, "There you are, my beautiful dangerous boy!"
Astrid was safe. Oh, thank the Moon. And Frigga. Toothless nudged him urgently. *Hiccup, let's go.* Stoick overheard the dragon, and nodded. "We can handle this. Go to her" he insisted. Hiccup didn't need to be told twice. He and Toothless took off, followed by Stormfly and Selena, heading for Berk.
The dragons landed in the village square, and everyone gathered round. Hiccup dismounted and Agatha hurried up to him, looking relieved. "Hiccup! What happened out there? Is the army defeated?" she asked urgently. There were questioning murmurs from the assembled villagers and dragons watching.
Hiccup swallowed. "Adulfr has surrendered, and we're taking the survivors prisoner" he announced, before adding "But I'm afraid we lost people…including Gobber." There were gasps all around at that. He turned to Agatha. "Nicole said her crew had brought Astrid back here, is she…?"
"She's fine. She's in your bedroom…with your daughter and your son. Congratulations" Astrid's mother smiled at him, as Hiccup tried to wrap his head around what she was saying. "You should probably go and see them" she prompted, sounding amused. Hiccup nodded slowly and forced his legs to move forwards, walking up towards his house. The dragons followed after him.
Feeling as if he was dreaming, Hiccup walked through the kitchen and into their bedroom. Astrid was lying on the bed, looking tired, with a thickly swaddled bundle lying on her chest. Her arms were around the baby and Helena, whilst Ebony was curled up at the foot of the bed. Heart bursting, he stepped over and sat down on the edge of the bed, wrapping his arms around his family.
Selena and Toothless crept into the room behind him, whilst Stormfly peeked in through the door. Helena stirred. "Mmm…daddy? You're back" she grinned, before prodding her mother. "Mummy, they came back. Look!" she insisted.
Astrid blinked once, twice… "Hello, love" she smiled softly at Hiccup, who kissed her. "Our son got impatient" Astrid giggled, looking down at the infant in her arms. Hiccup did the same, and felt his heart skip a beat. The baby was so tiny, almost buried in the blanket, and looked so fragile, but this was their son. "I'm glad you're all okay. You are okay, aren't you?" Astrid asked him, worriedly.
Hiccup nodded. "I am now; and I'm so glad you're okay. If anything had happened to you, I don't know what I would have done." That was a lie – he knew exactly what he would have done, he just didn't like to think about it. Changing the subject, he smiled at his daughter and remarked "You're a big sister now, sweetheart. Do you like your baby brother?"
She peered at the baby and wrinkled her nose up. "He's kinda ugly" was her childish verdict, "and he screamed a lot. But I guess he's alright."
Hiccup chuckled. He thought his son was perfect; but then, he might have been somewhat biased. "I know he's early born, and it's tradition and all…but I'm begging you, we're not naming him Hiccup Haddock the Fourth." Astrid giggled at that. The jostling disturbed their baby, who grizzled, but settled down again after Astrid gave him milk. Helena pulled a face and went to play with Ebony.
*Have you given him a name?* Selena asked curiously. Astrid smiled at her husband, her son, and at her friend. "His name is Finnick Hamish Haddockson" she answered, "Finn for short. He's named for one of my uncles."
"Except hopefully he won't get frozen by a Flightmare" Hiccup joked, before sobering. Adulfr's flyers had used the Flightmare in their attack on Berk, but he didn't know what had happened to the dragon afterwards…
Astrid elbowed him, before asking, "So, what happened? I mean, I'm assuming we won…"
Hiccup nodded. "I talked Adulfr down, and he surrendered…yeah, I'm just as surprised as you are" he quipped when she raised an eyebrow. "We've taken the survivors prisoner…but we lost Gobber, and I don't know who else…dad and I were there when, when he…" Hiccup trailed off, pressed his lips together. Toothless nuzzled him and Astrid gave him a sympathetic kiss on the cheek.
"Oh, babe, I'm so sorry. At least he had someone with him" she tried to reassure her husband. Astrid could tell he was on the verge of blaming himself in his grief. "It isn't your fault, Hiccup. Gobber knew the risks. They all did."
He shook his head. "I should have stopped it from the beginning, before anyone got killed. I should have thought of a better plan, a way to fight them without having to get in close. I should've known they'd be better prepared this time; I should've been better prepared!" Hiccup castigated himself, scowling. Toothless started to growl, but caught himself and purred instead, nuzzling his other half.
*Astrid is right; it isn't your fault. Gobber wouldn't blame you* the dragon insisted. *You ended the battle just with talking. You never cease to amaze me* he crooned. Hiccup smiled, touched, and stroked his head. *Nor you me, bud.*
His wife could tell from the way Hiccup was smiling and gazing into Toothless' eyes that they were doing that private thought-speak thing again. She and Selena rolled their eyes at each other, and she beamed down at the babe in her arms. It almost seemed as if little Finn was a gift from the Norns; they had weaved a new thread of life even as they had cut another.
"Stormfly, can you let me past, please?" a new voice cut into their reveries.
*Oh, sorry!* the Spike-Tail croaked apologetically. *I'll see you soon, Astrid* she added, before backing out of the house. Then Agnes stepped into the room.
"Sorry to disturb you, Chief" she said to Astrid, "and congrats on the baby. Are you or Hiccup injured?" Agnes inquired of Toothless, whilst Hiccup spluttered.
*Hiccup was bitten by a wolf and his stump is throbbing* the dragon replied.
"Way to sell me out, bud" his human grumbled. "Agnes, I'm fine. Look, see, uh…Pipsqueak?" he called, and the tiny dragon peeped out of his pocket. "Oh, good, there you are. Look, Pipsqueak breathed his mist…over…it." Hiccup trailed off in the face of the young healer's disapproving stare and slowly shaking head.
"If I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times; those little guys aren't a substitute for proper healing" Agnes insisted. Pipsqueak made no protest; he was too young to do more than act on instinct, hence why he'd breathed his icy film over both Hiccup's and Adulfr's wounds. Agnes pulled out a stoppered flask and handed it to Hiccup, who eyed it as if it might explode on him. "Drink up."
Hesitantly, he pulled out the stopper…everyone except Agnes recoiled at the smell. "Eurgh! What is this stuff?" he asked, holding it at arms length away from himself and Astrid. Toothless shifted to get upwind of the horrible reek.
"A potion to stop infections; you probably don't want to know what's in it" Agnes replied blithely. "You don't get bitten and expect to not get sick. Drink it."
Hiccup pulled a face, and looked to Astrid or Toothless for help. The dragons were too busy trying not to smell it, and his wife was looking green. "She's right." Astrid coughed. "Remember when Tuffnut got bitten by a wolf, and the fever made him hallucinate? Just drink it, Hiccup, before we both puke."
So he pinched his nose and took the biggest gulp he could bear, shuddering as he fought to keep the vile smelling and tasting liquid down. He jammed the bung in as quickly as he could and handed it back to Agnes. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were pranking me" he complained. She smiled sweetly.
"Better to be sick with the cure than dying from the illness. Infections can kill. Speaking of which, let me have a look at that leg" the healer insisted. Despite being younger than him, she managed to pull off that air of matronly wisdom that made all healers, võlva's and wise women seem more mature than their years. Or perhaps she was channeling Gothi's spirit. Hiccup couldn't tell.
His stump was swollen and blistered from all the running and fighting. Agnes covered it with salve, bandaged it and his bitten arm, and told him to keep off the leg for a day or so. At his insistence she checked over Toothless; but his fireproof scales had protected him from the worst of the Singetail fire, and the puncture wounds from the Triple Stryke tails had already scarred over.
"Just get some rest. Let us take care of things around here for a change."
With that, Agnes took her leave. Finn stopped feeding, and she passed him over to Hiccup as he lay on the bed beside her. "Hello, Finn" he whispered. "Welcome to Berk. This is our home. It's twelve days north of 'hopeless' and a few degrees south of freezing-to-death." Astrid snickered next to him.
Hiccup grinned. "Apart from having the sort of weather that'll freeze your toes off, not that we'll let that happen, Berk also has farming, fishing, and a very charming view of the sunsets. But you'll get a much better view from the sky, because, son, we have something very special here. We…have…dragons."
(1) This is just what it sounds like – a belt attached to the saddle with belaying lines that wraps over the passengers legs and around their waist.
(2) Empire of Myrkr. Empire of Darkness. See what I did there?
Okay, so about Gobber's death. Now before you come after me with torches and pitchforks… (sees angry mob forming) - uh oh. Just let me explain! I didn't want to have to kill him off, I swear, but I'm phasing out the older generation. He would have wanted to die in battle, defending his tribe, like a proper Viking. Do you think Gobber would have wanted to die from a heart attack or too much drink or, Thor forbid, old age? He lived to 65, which is actually old for Vikings.