There was a helmet full of small gifted goodies next to Roxanna's bed when she woke, as Amara had said. That morning, when they saw each other, Amara smiled. "Happy Snoggletog, Rox!"
"Yeah. ..and to you." She replied in disbelief as bane carried her helmet behind her.
Amara smiled. "You didn't expect it to fill up, huh?" She asked, carrying her own.
"Got to be honest, no I wasn't. I can't remember the last time I was given something that wasn't my school uniform." She said, rubbing her head.
Amara smiled. "I can understand how that might have the effect of doubt." She said softly, sitting down to a breakfast made by her father, as he too wished them a happy Snoggletog.
Roxanna greeted him politely and started eating too. She was trying to focus her mind on what to give everyone but the thought about the troublesome other Vikings kept looming, and with it came the thought of how to get home? She couldn't be sure what day they were on any more either so that raised the question of 'what will happen if I miss school?' She doubted anybody would look for her but she knew she'd be in serious trouble once she got home.
Amara smiled softly, Toothless cooing as well, nudging Rox to wish her a happy Snoggletog in his own way, having done so to the rest of the family by now.
"So, what are you wanting to do today Amara?" Roxanna asked, petting toothless gently.
"I was thinking of hiking out to the cove for a bit. Care to join me? You can stay and figure things out before tonight if you'd rather."
"I think a walk will do me some good." She said, brushing her hair back.
"Alright, sounds good." Amara said. "Dad, we're going down to the cove on foot. If we don't see you before then, we'll meet you at the Great Hall tonight!" Hiccup chuckled, telling the girls to be safe.
Roxanna promised they'd be careful as she followed Amara outside.
Amara smiled softly as they walked down to the cove and the nearby cave. Upon entering, they were almost pinned by Tsunami, her whole body wiggling, and her fish bucket empty by now. Amara giggled. "Guess I underestimated her metabolism." Amara said softly, wetting her hands in the pool before petting the little one to soothe her.
"Perhaps some types grow quicker than others." Roxanna suggested.
"Yeah, maybe." She said softly as Tsunami relaxed, laying her head on Amara's lap, now large enough to not fit her whole body there. "I think she may need to be taught to fish for herself sooner rather than later." She said softly as the young dragon dozed.
"Think you can handle teaching her beau?" Rox asked bane who growled confidently.
Amara got Tsunami looking at her. "Tsunami, it's time for you to learn to fish for yourself. Roxanna's dragon, Beau Bane, is going to be your teacher, so listen to him." Once she was sure the young dragon understood, she turned her over to the Deathsong to teach her.
Bane guided the youngster out towards the water and taught her the same way he'd been taught. "I'm sure they'll do fine." Rox said.
"Yeah, I know. I'll be glad when she reaches the Broad Wing stage... we call different stages of dragon growth by certain names."Amara said, explaining the progression from egg, to Tiny Tooth, to Short Wing, Broad Wing, and finally Titan Wing.
"I see. It makes sense." She replied.
"By the Broad Wing stage, a dragon is strong enough to carry a rider, if they have the size for a human to sit upon them, in flight." She smiled, "In one day... she's reached Short Wing." She said, watching Tsunami diving into the cove to catch food for herself.
"That's pretty impressive then, to grow so quickly." She said, standing beside Amara and listening to the waves and the dragons.
"Yeah, it is at that." Amara said softly.
Once bane was confident that the young dragon had got the hang of it they returned. He'd go out to fish with her a few more times before leaving her it it though.
Amara smiled softly. "I'll be sure to be home in time for the town's Snoggletog dinner in the Great Hall, Rox. I'd like to spend some time on my own with Tsunami, anyway." she said with a soft smile.
"Oh, ok. See you later then." She said with a smile, promptly leaving with bane. Bane cooed as he followed her and nudged her arm with his nose. "I'm fine. We're not to get attached anyway remember? Besides, she just wants alone time. Can't say I blame her." Roxanna told him as she mounted and they took off into the sky.
Amara smiled, gently stroking down Tsunami's back as they watched Rox and Bane fly off. "I hope she likes my Snoggletog gift for her, Tsunami." She said gently to the young Short Wing Thunderdrum.
Roxanna had bane drop her off in a pleasant field. She let him go where he wanted as she just lay back and tried to relax.
Back at the Haddock household, the others in the house, both dragon and human, were working on last minute touches to their gifts for their guests, as well.
When evening came around, Roxanna and bane flew back to the village to see if Amara had arrived back yet.
Amara was in front of the Great Hall with the rest of the village, arms loaded with wrapped gifts. She had 3 gifts ready: One for her mother, one joint for her father and Toothless, and one for Roxanna, shown clearly by the runes she'd put on them. Inside the great hall, each clan, or extended family, within the village had a small tree for gifts to be placed under.
"Not late am I?" She asked as they landed and walked over to Amara.
"No, we gather around the clan trees to exchange gifts before the feast, we're just filing in. Since you've been staying with the Haddocks, that's the tree you'll get your gifts at, alright?" She asked with a bright smile.
"Fair enough, lead the way. Oh, but we'll have to be outside for your gifts." She said as bane chuckled.
"We'll let Dad know about that. The rest of the village won't mind us stepping out, as if for air." She said with a smile. When they were all gathered around, everyone Amara and others got each other was given. Hiccup got a new armour pauldron from Astrid and the joint gift of the new saddle and fin for him and Toothless. Astrid got a new saddle for Stormfly from Hiccup and a new axe from Amara. Roxanna got the Berkian clothes for winter from Amara, a flight helmet from Astrid, and a Gronckle Iron shield from Hiccup.
Roxanna was grateful and quite humble though she wondered to herself, in what instance, would she be expected to use the shield and helmet? Once everyone else had given their gifts, she cleared her throat and tried to get everyone's attention. "Excuse me? Excuse me? Yes... erm... well... you see... since you've all been so kind... I have a little surprise for you all outside. Its nothing exceptional but I hope it's enough of a 'thank you'. So, without further ado, if you'd all please oblige and head outside the hall, I'd be very grateful." She announced nervously.
Everyone smiled, and the village filed outside as Roxanna had asked. Amara explained about the shield and the helmet: the flight helmet would protect her from the biting wind when flying, and the shield could block any arrows or such, and even folded out into a crossbow. "It's a design dad came up with before he and Mum were more than just... dating, I guess?"
Roxanna nodded as she followed everyone outside, a little away from the building. She stood at the back, listening to them mutter about the dark, how they couldn't see the surprise. Then, suddenly, something bright but tiny shot into the sky with a whiz. It popped and sizzled, showering glitter like twinkling flecks. 'Is that it?' A lot of people questioned out loud. Hiccup was the only one to look back at Roxanna who discreetly flicked a finger twice, amazingly, as another two flew up. As they sizzled to nothing, everyone was hooked on watching the sky. Hiccup decided to ask later as he stared at the sky as it was now being lit up by the strange fireworks. Only they weren't the typical ones. These burst into incredible shapes. Flowers, stars, fish, trees, all in beautiful colours. The climax came when a large one burst from the ground as a huge dragon that had plagued berk longer than hiccup had lived until he defeated it. It flew at them with a ferocious roar. Everyone ducked but hiccup raised his hand and touched it's tail. It didn't burn. It didn't hurt. It tickled a little and left dancing sparkles lingering on his fingers for a moment. Another roar behind them came as a tiny silvery dragon exploded from the hall, followed by four others. They chased the huge dragon back past the villagers until it crashed into the ground in the middle of the ground... where a statue of amber was now erect. The five dragons with their tiny riders circled the statue of the haddock family... all five of them... and a familiar dragon too. Hearing the crowd, Roxy wished her charms teacher was there. She'd have aced her charms exam with this.
Upon seeing this whole display, as the rest of the village was watching, their eyes fell on the statue, and as a whole, tears wet the eyes of the Haddock family. Hiccup walked up and hugged Roxanna. "I don't know how you found out what my Dad looked like... or about Thornado... but thank you. The Fireworks... and the statue... this is the best Snoggletog we've had in 16 years... Amara was born one year after we lost my father, Stoick the Vast. Thank you so much."
Roxanna didn't return the hug but stood there quite rigid without any emotions until he let go. "It's nothing honest. Bane asked the dragons what they looked like..."
"It's the best gift you could have given us Roxanna. Thank you." He said again, the happiness and gratitude for such a perfect gift clear in his voice. "Happy Snoggletog, Roxanna." He said softly.
"Yeah, and to you." She replied. "Now can we go back inside? I'm freezing."
"Yeah, let's go in and eat." He said, and everyone returned to the Great Hall, where the clans each gathered around tables, ate a wonderful meal, and had a general good time.
Roxanna was silent throughout the meal. She still wasn't sure exactly how to take the hugs she'd received. The person to last hug her before she'd arrived at Berk had died that night. Needless to say it had left a bitter taste, especially as she'd been blamed.
Hiccup lead the way home afterwards, urging Roxanna to head upstairs and change into Amara's present so they could see how she looked in it.
It took Roxy a while as she wasn't used to wearing it but soon came down dressed in the new clothes. "How does it look?" She asked, a little bit shyly.
Amara and all of the others turned, smiling. "You look beautiful! Just like a native Berkian!" Astrid said, beaming. Amara nodded. "Yeah, and that should keep you much warmer when you're outside around here, too."
"That's great! I was starting to worry I might get frostbite and lose some fingers." She said. Bane chuckled but was happy that they were all happy. He wasn't, however, happy about her little display for the family. He'd talked with her all day, trying to persuade her not to do it for fear of being caught, but she'd done it anyway.
Amara was tired from her long day. "I'm off to bed..." she said, bidding goodnight individually to everyone in the house, human and dragon. After she went to bed, Toothless explained to Bane why Roxanna's gift had meant so much to the family. "Even if she showed that she is gifted... to Hiccup, Astrid, and the rest of the family... that gift she gave us means more... and more than earns her a full quota of respect... as well as a place in the community for good if she wants it." Toothless said, following Hiccup up to bed when he went as well.
Bane watched his precious one as she too went to bed. Toothless didn't know. He spoke of the cruelty from the other Vikings but he didn't know cruelty. True cruelty that caused his precious one to be so untrusting. It came in the form of those who are closest to her. Those who should love her most. Those who should provide for and care for her. Those were the worst. It had been bane who'd cared for her when she was sick. Bane who'd kept her warm when they had locked her, as a tiny child, in the freezing dark and damp cellar under the house or banished her to the leaking, cold shed at the end of the garden. Bane who'd pulled her from the burning house when they had fled. No. His precious one would never show them out of free choice because she knew the pain of going against her family's rules. She wouldn't allow herself to be part of their family because of it.
Toothless was agitated, something Hiccup thought was because of having to use the automated tail again, but was for a different reason. Still, everyone slept through the night, and Toothless let Amara ride him bareback to the cove before following Roxanna to the mud flats afterwards, as they had agreed would happen the day after Snoggletog.
Roxanna made sure he was covered and comfortable before leaving him to bathe. Afterwards she went back to check on Amara and tsunami. "Toothless is settled down. How's things going here?" She asked.
"She's kept herself fed... she hasn't grown as much as yesterday, but..." Amara nodded to the boulder, guiding Roxanna to the gravel that remained. "In the night... she honed her voice. She can use her roar as a Sonic Blast now."
"Oh, nice one. That, in itself, is a pretty impressive sign of maturity." She said.
"Yeah... according to the Book, Thunderdrums get the ability to focus their roar into a Sonic Blast about 3 weeks before they mature to Broad Wing stage."
"So in about 3 weeks time you'll be soaring through the skies, Tsunami." Roxanna said softly.
"Once she reaches Broad Wing... that's when I plan to take her to the village... to meet Mum and Dad, as well as to get a saddle." She said softly.
"That's probably your safest bet. I'm sure they'll love her." Rox said.
"I hope so." Amara said, laughing as Tsunami rubbed against them before going to swim in the cove.
"I don't see how they couldn't. She's such a dear sweet thing." She said softly. "Anyway, change of subject. How do you guys normally deal with those dragon hunting Viking people?" She asked curiously.
"Dad, Snotlout, and Fishlegs usually use their dragons to sink them." Amara answered. "Their arrows are coated with concentrated Dragon Root essence... Gronckles are immune to Dragon Root... and Dad and Snotlout's dragons have the only sets of full-body dragon armour."
"And nobody has considered making any more considering they seem to be such a threat?" She asked.
"Oh, we have... but the problem is after making two full sets of armour from Gronckle Iron, we started to run low... we still had to replace armour and weapons from a destroyed armoury for when others attack us normally... there are some Viking Villages that pillage others, because the islands they settled weren't as fertile as Berk is... nor have they been able to stop fighting dragons." She said softly as Tsunami glided down, nuzzling Amara, sensing this topic made her sad. "We still have plenty of Limestone and Sandstone... but our own mine of iron ran dry... the next nearest vein is on Armourwing Island, and the Armourwing needs that. The recipe for Gronckle Iron is one part Sandstone, one part Limestone, one part Iron Ore, and one part Gronckle Lava. Basically, you feed a Gronckle a rock that's of those 3 different types, then tickle it with a feather to encourage it to turn them into a lava shot, and when it cools, you have pure Gronckle Iron."
"So you just need more iron. Doesn't seem to difficult if you used a metal detector... maybe even a magnet would help or, if you could train the armourwing to help you find it. Failing that I'm certain there's plenty of sunken ships around here too." She suggested.
"I've heard of magnets, but not of the first thing you mentioned...but taming and training the Armourwing could be a great help. Thanks, Rox." Amara said softly.
"If I knew more about them then I would tell you. But all I know is its like a machine that beeps when it detects metal close by. Like divination." She said.
"A machine... that helps find metal... like a dowsing rod does water?" She asked for clarification.
"Yeah. Something like that." She nodded.
Amara nodded in turn. "Well, The Armourwing or maybe Ruffnut's Scaldron friend, Scaldy, would be our best bets... though most of our ships are mostly wood, with metal accents."
"Some metal would be better than none. And I dare say it'd keep a few troublemakers out of mischief." She said.
Amara giggled. "Yeah, and Ruffnut and her twin brother, Tuffnut, are the biggest troublemakers in the village, more so than even the others my age... they dedicated their lives to Loki, so..."
"...Loki?" Roxanna asked looking confused, having never heard of him before.
"The god of pranks and tricksters." She explained. "Brother to Thor, god of Lightning, and son of Odin, King of our Gods. Also Father to Fenrir, the evil wolf who could kill other gods when Ragnarök comes."
Roxanna smirked, "Sounds like someone I'd like." She chuckled. "I have a certain... way... if you like, with members of the canine family." She added.
"That sounds interesting, to say the least." Amara said with a grin.
"Reptiles, canines, they all seem to like me." She grinned.
"That's really cool... though we more have a... porcine problem in the woods here on Berk than canine." She said softly. "We have an over-population of boars... they've gotten so vicious they drove off or killed the wolves, and not many of the common dragons like pork."
"Seriously? I've never heard of that before, especially considering that the wolf is a natural predator to the boar." She said.
"Yeah, seriously. The wolves swam off between ice packs a few days before you washed up on shore."
"Well... how would everyone feel about them coming back?" She asked.
"Strangely, a lot better. The wolves actually had a positive effect... when the wolf population fell, the boars boomed more, and... well, let's just say that the forest isn't the haven for those without friends in the village that it used to be." Amara said honestly. "But if we can't get the boars down to a level where the wolves can retake their territory, I doubt they'd stay."
"Well... maybe Loki'll grant your wish for mischief and the table will turn." She smiled, shrugging slightly. She obviously didn't get their beliefs 100% but she was trying and was keen so it was probably best to not correct her. If she wanted to believe they thought that the gods granted wishes like muggles believe fairies do then why not?
Amara giggled. "Who knows? Well... we should get home... without Toothless, Dad will be lonely, too." Amara said softly. As they headed home, she frowned. "I wonder why Thor gets so angry at metal?"
"...Excuse me?" Roxanna asked a little lost.
"Just a story Dad tells. Apparently, they made metal dragon perches one summer, and a metal statue of Thor to try to appease his anger. Thor got angry at the metal, and we had lightning storms, the manifestation of Thor's Anger, over Berk for weeks, until Dad realized it was the metal and not Toothless Thor was angry at." Amara explained. "We never figured out why Thor gets so angry at metal, though."
"Well... maybe it's unintentional? I mean, Metal naturally attracts electricity. So... I don't know... maybe he's aiming at something else? Or maybe its a warning? I mean, there's a great saying we have back home; Its always darkest before the dawn. So perhaps its a reminder that while its all nice and peaceful, you shouldn't forget the difficulties you've served in the past?" she suggested. "Or maybe there was a goddess of metal... or a blacksmith's daughter he fell in love with but couldn't have... goodness knows, they are gods after all."
"True, it could be any number of things...I guess the only ones who know are the great warriors like grandfather, who earn their way into Valhalla."
"Well if I ever meet them, I'll be sure to ask... and kick his ass if it turns out it was over a woman. Like, seriously, grow up, so many people have it worse." she chuckled, joking.
Amara giggled, able to get her mind off that old story at last.
When they arrived back home Hiccup was looking fed up and pretty much bored. He was keeping himself busy but didn't really talk much, even when he noticed they were back.
Amara got a look of sympathy in her eyes at seeing her dad like that. "Dad?" She said, opening her arms to give him some comfort. "Do you want to cook dinner with me, like we used to? I know you're probably remembering how it was with Toothless that first Snoggletog together, the last time he used that tail."
"Yeah... that'll be nice..." he said, his voice hoarse as though he was choking up again. God help him if the Night Fury died first, was all that Roxanna could think as she went to sit down, out of the way.
"He's tough, Dad. He's a fighter, the Blue Alpha. He'll come back, leading that pod to the stables, I know it." She reassured her father, helping him in making one of his favourite meals.
Roxanna listened to them but stayed silent. All Hiccup could do was nod in agreement.
"Toothless became the Blue Alpha to protect you, you and Gran always told me that, Dad... he wouldn't abandon you." she told him softly. "You're more than a best friend to Toothless, Dad... I can tell he sees you as a brother."
"I know... I just miss him." he uttered sadly. "Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it... White shores, and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise. For it is the unknown we fear when we face death and darkness, nothing more. " Roxanna recited calmly. Hiccup glanced over at her in slight annoyance. "Didn't you know? Besides. He's not dead. Just recuperating... or visiting that horrid mother in law we all hate." she added making hiccup smile a little. "I guess." he agreed.
Amara smiled, nodding. "He'll come home, Dad. He always comes home. We're his family." She said softly as they served her father's favourite dish.
"But what if he decides to stay with them instead?" hiccup asked. "What if they don't accept him? Trust me. Either way, he'll be coming home. Night Furies always return to the home of their parents... that's why they travel so much." Roxanna explained.
Amara smiled, hugging her dad. "It'll be ok, Dad. Rox is right." She said, smiling. "Let's have dinner, ok?"
Hiccup nodded and they were soon sat down eating dinner. It was a sombre affair but everyone knew the reasoning so said nothing of the matter. Roxanna helped clean up afterwards as Hiccup and Astrid went up to bed first.
Amara sighed, wishing there was a way to help her dad to feel better. But the time passed much the same. Amara still took care of Tsunami as she grew over the following weeks, also doing what she could to help her father cope and even staying up late to work on the cloth for the outfit she'd promised Roxanna.
During this time, though nobody seemed to notice, the boar population had dwindled to a minimum and the wolves had returned. Nobody noticed until Amara noticed the sudden and random increase in pork being cured and kept in the store. When asked, Roxanna just shrugged and suggested that Loki was to do with it and that Amara must have wished hard... after all, Loki had a wolf for a son so must be able to empower the wolves themselves right?... there was little use fighting this logic and so the weeks passed peacefully.
On the day that Tsunami finally shed her skin the last time, and matured to Broad Wing, there was a distant Night Fury call heard, and many answering ones. Amara prayed in her heart all would go well as she prepared to introduce Tsunami to her parents.
Naturally the two were gob smacked. They'd had no idea that Amara was raising a dragon and were worried about where she'd got it. Roxanna soon cleared it up though, explaining what had happened and telling them that she'd insisted that Amara do it. She was also quick to point out what a great job Amara had done and how proud they must be as her parents. Hiccup nodded, smiling at his daughter.