Dimmadreki's Quest Chapter 10

A/N
You, the readers, continue to amaze me. This story just cleared the 4000-hit mark. Also, when Chapter 9 was posted, the story got 400 hits that day. I'll keep the chapters coming; you keep those hits coming!

o

They hadn't slept for more than a few hours when Næturvon nudged them all awake. "If you want to take part in the feeding, we need to get up and into the air now!" she exclaimed.

"What feeding?" her father yawned.

"Who are we feeding to whom?" her mother wondered.

"Sounds good! I'm hungry," Mánarskuggi decided.

"You're always hungry," Dimmadreki grunted as he stretched his wings. "Now, what's going on?"

"It's something the Alpha does for all his dragons, to help them feel like we're all one nest instead of a bunch of different species," their daughter explained. "It's an amazing time! You don't want to miss it, believe me." They shook off their drowsiness and joined the streams of dragons who were pouring into the entrance caves.

They burst out into the clear, cold air outside the nest. Dragons were everywhere! "I've never seen such a big flock," Dimmadreki exclaimed.

"I've been in some big nests, but this one is the biggest by far," Myrkrid commented. "So… where's this feeding?"

Næturvon glanced downward and smiled. "Here he comes!" A moment later, the Bewilderbeast exploded out of the water, sending spray everywhere. Then he blew, and hundreds and hundreds of fish went flying high into the air. All the dragons dove, filling their mouths with as many fish as they could eat. The Night Furies didn't hesitate to join them. Næturvon was completely uninhibited; she did spins, rolls, and any other moves she could think of, as long as they brought her closer to a fish. Her brother tried to copy her, but he wasn't nearly as skillful in the air, and he had to restrict himself to fish that were small enough for him to swallow. At one point, he reflexively grabbed one that was far too big for him; after a moment, he tossed his head and flipped the fish to a Hobblegrunt who wasn't catching many of his own. Dimmadreki and Myrkrid didn't cut loose or show off, but made a series of well-timed swoops that filled their bellies to their own satisfaction.

Once the fish had all been caught, the dragons didn't return to the nest immediately, but spent some time flying for the fun of it. Myrkrid tolerantly watched from the periphery of the flock as her mate and her children threw themselves into the aerial celebration. There were no mid-air collisions, but there were plenty of near-misses. No one got angry about those; they seemed to be part of the game that everyone was playing. Næturvon made sure her little brother didn't overtake her, but she didn't let him fall too far behind, either.

Dimmadreki wound up flying next to Cloudjumper. The Stormcutter had his human rider back, and she was wearing her mask again. She saw the Night Fury edging toward her. "Are you still claiming that you used to be a human, and that you're my son?" she demanded. He nodded. "Then I still think you're cruel, not to mention a liar! My husband was the worst dragon-hater who ever lived! If you were claiming to be his son, he would have hunted you down and killed you." She looked away for a moment, then faced him again. "You don't know what my son's memory means to me! When I was carried off, his was the last human face I ever… I ever..." Her voice trailed off. She was staring intently at him through the eye-holes of her mask. "Please… please land," she stammered, and made a downward-pointing gesture to the Stormcutter.

Dimmadreki spiraled down and landed on an ice-covered island, unsure what she had in mind. Cloudjumper landed right next to him. She bounded off his back, tore off her mask and dropped it on the ground, and ran over to the Night Fury. She got down on one knee and, with a trembling hand, she reached out and traced the outline of an old scar on his chin, visible as a mark across his scales. "Where did you get this?" she whispered.

I'VE HAD IT SINCE I WAS A BABY.
DAD WOULDN'T TELL ME HOW I
GOT IT. I THINK IT MADE HIM SAD

"This is impossible," she gasped. "You're a dragon! How did this happen to you?"

I DON'T KNOW, BUT I THINK
IT WAS SOME KIND OF MAGIC

She looked away for a moment. She was fighting back tears. Then, in a rush, she flung her arms around Dimmadreki's neck, sobbing hysterically. "My son… my son," she cried over and over. The other Night Furies landed nearby, but kept a respectful silence.

At last she let him go. "I didn't see your scar in the dim light of the nest," she explained hoarsely. "It wasn't until I saw you in the daylight that I noticed it. You got that scar on the night I was carried away. Cloudjumper gave it to you by accident. You and your father almost died that night. It's a scene I'll never forget." She took a deep breath to steady herself. "It's really you. My son is a dragon. Stoick's son is a dragon! What did your father think of your Night Fury change?"

DAD WOULDN'T KILL ME.
MY RUNES CONVINCED HIM
THAT IT WAS REALLY ME.

"He actually changed his mind about dragons? I never thought I'd see that day! Is he… how is he doing?"

HE NEVER REMARRIED. HE JUST
TOOK AN AXE IN HIS RIBS TO
PROTECT ME FROM SPITELOUT

"Oh, no! Is he going to be all right?"

GOTHI SAYS HE'LL RECOVER,
BUT HE MAY NOT BE THE SAME

"And he took an axe… to save a dragon? Really?"

HE CAME TO MEET HIS NEW
GRANDSON, BUT SPITELOUT
CRASHED THE PARTY AND
ACTED LIKE A TYPICAL
VIKING WHEN HE SAW ME

She shook her head bitterly. "That sounds like the Spitelout I remember. You're telling the truth. It really is you!" Her knee wobbled; she sat down on the ice. He lay down in front of her so he wouldn't tower over her.

"Hiccup, how am I supposed to take this? I know how to relate to dragons as companions, but as a son? I'm feeling totally lost."

I KNOW THE FEELING.
CAN YOU CALL ME BY MY
NEW NAME, DIMMADREKI?

"Even your name has changed," she sighed. "I suppose 'Hiccup' wasn't dragonish enough?"

MYRKRID INSISTED THAT
I CHANGE IT. SHE'S MY MATE

He gestured with his chin at Myrkrid. Valka looked at her, then back at Dimmadreki.

"My dragon daughter-in-law," she observed glumly. "Usually, they call the mother-in-law 'the old dragon'." She suddenly leaned forward and held his face with both hands. "Hiccup… I mean Dimmadreki… are you happy this way?"

BEING A DRAGON HAS IT UPS AND
DOWNS, BUT I'M A MUCH BETTER
DRAGON THAN I WAS A VIKING

"I had these dreams for you," she sighed. "You'd grow up big and powerful, and take your father's place as chief someday. You'd also be smart and clever, and you'd find a way to end the war against the dragons." She rested her chin in her hands. "I guess I was totally wrong. Well, almost totally. I got the 'big and powerful' part right, didn't I?"

I STOPPED THE WAR AGAINST
THE DRAGONS, TOO

"You... you what? How did you do that?"

I KILLED THE MONSTER WHO
ENSLAVED THE DRAGONS.
NOW THEY HAVE NO REASON
TO RAID THE VIKINGS,
SO THE WAR IS OVER

"Do the Vikings know that?"

DAD KNOWS. THE OTHERS
WON'T BELIEVE IT

She shook her head. "Is there any part of Berk that hasn't radically changed since I left? Stoick is different, the dragons are different, you're very different..." She sighed again. "I could never go back there. I'd never fit in. Too much has changed."

DAD REALLY MISSES YOU

"I'm sure he's the only one."

MOM, I MISSED YOU EVERY
DAY OF MY HUMAN LIFE

She turned to face him. "I believe you. I wish I could have been there for you... but me being there might have made things even worse." Then her eyes lit up. "Hic... I mean Dimmadreki, can you stay here? In this nest with me? It's a wonderful place, with all the fish a dragon family could ever eat, and we're under the protection of the Bewilderbeast! You and your growing family could make a home here... and we could start getting to know each other again. I know you don't need a mother so much anymore, but can you stay?"

IT WILL BE YEARS BEFORE I
CAN STAY ANYWHERE.
I'M ON A QUEST TO RID THE
WORLD OF MONSTERS AND
FREE ALL THE DRAGONS

"That's the second time you've mentioned monsters. What kind of monsters are we talking about here?"

THE BIG-DRAGON KIND. THE
ONES WHO ENSLAVE OTHER
DRAGONS, FORCE THEM TO
BRING FOOD, AND EAT THE
ONES WHO FAIL

"You mean, the queens of the nest? Dimmadreki, those things are huge! How can a dragon like you take down a creature that big?"

SMARTS, STRATEGY, AND
NIGHT FURY FIREPOWER.
MYRKRID HELPS ME, BUT
IT'S MY QUEST BECAUSE
I CAN'T BE ENSLAVED

"Some Night Furies are immune to an Alpha's mind power?"

NO, JUST ME, BECAUSE OF
MY HUMAN MIND

"Your human mind... oh, Hiccup..." She hid her face in her hands. "After all these years, I finally got my son back, but at the same time, I can never see him again!"

He didn't try to write. He just nuzzled her hair with his nose and made his most comforting croon. After a moment, she looked up at him, then threw her arms around his thick black neck again.

"You didn't grow up the way I planned, but you're still my son. Whether you can stay or not... even if I never see you again... just knowing that you're alive, healthy and happy will make such a difference to me!" Then she had another thought.

"If you can't stay here, then when you go, can you take me with you?"

I can just guess what Myrkrid will think of that idea, he thought.