Valka stood atop Cloudjumper's back with her staff and shield in hand as he flew through the sky quickly and gracefully. She didn't wear her spiked helmet, instead opting to feel the frigid air grace her reddened cheeks with a content smile. She spread her arms out wide, enjoying the feel of the wind flowing past her.
She sighed contently, watching her breath frost from the moment of escape through her lips. Despite the fact that it was freezing in such high altitude, she never noticed. Whenever Valka was up in the skies with her beloved Stormcutter, all she felt was freedom. Trivialities such as the cold were of no concern to her when such euphoria burned within her veins.
Cloudjumper trilled softly, his tone warm if only slightly agitated. She could understand her old friend's hesitation for what Valka had set in store for the both of them.
She had noticed immediately when Cloudjumper heard that ominous siren call. Her beloved companion had hissed darkly as he felt the looming presence of the Queen press down dominantly against him and his soul, and if not for his stubborn pride and the Call of his own Alpha, a far superior ruler, than the Stormcutter might very well have fallen under her alluring command. Though Cloudjumper himself took peace in knowing that even should he manage to fall into her spell, Valka would break him out of it. The bond they had forged over the course of their lives together was too strong for this mysterious tyrant that plagued his beloved rider's former home to sever.
Cloudjumper began to rapidly descend, spinning into the looming fog that bordered and split the realms of man and dragon. Valka stood with her back hunched slightly and fingers clamped around her staff and shield, yet ever proudly.
She tensed slightly as Cloudjumper hurriedly banked to the left to avoid a Monstrous Nightmare, its pupils the thinnest of slits, that was carrying a hearty sturgeon in its monstrous claws. A Deadly Nadder appeared out of the fog quickly after, a dead doe clutched in its claws. All around them, Valka heard the shrieking cries of a multitude of dragons, sensing their presences surrounding the two of them. The thralls of the Queen, more deeply immersed in her spell the closer they came, took no notice of them, however – that in itself left Valka without the slightest hint of fear. Either that or it was due to Valka's isolation from humankind and her immersion with dragons. Everything from the woman's scent to her mannerisms, perhaps even her very spirit, resembled more of dragons than her own species.
Cloudjumper hissed out a deep warning as a Gronckle flew past them, eyes narrowed in intense protectiveness at the threats to his rider's safety. The Gronckle grunted fearfully, and its tiny little wings quickened as the armored creature swerved out of the Stormcutter's space.
Valka rubbed his scarred crown tenderly, relaxing the proud and protective dragon with calming words and tender caresses. "It's alright, Cloudjumper."
She continued to stare into the swirling void of mists that obscured her view of Toothless' Nest. When Cloudjumper first took her, fifteen years ago, she had never known the truth of dragon hierarchies. She had been ignorant of the fact that Kings or Queens existed, and how it was by their choice that prompted the dragon raids that plagued her former village and comrades, things that her former people didn't know still. She might now be the only human who would see both manners of Alphas and live to remember the tale.
The feeling of curiosity within her did not come without conflict, though. Was this Queen a kind and just ruler as her King was? she found herself asking. She had an inkling that she was wrong in her hopeful assumption, and that whatever kind of dragon that waited in the depths of that concealed natural edifice was something of an entirely different breed of leader. Maybe she was already a bit biased due to having been born and raised on Berk, for it was because of this Queen that Viking and dragon had been fighting for generations.
Suddenly the water below them, dark and frothing with hidden dangers, turned into rocky sands. They had left the ocean behind. Something dark loomed ahead of the two, that much was certain to both as the fog began to clear.
And then there it was.
Valka stared at the Nest for the first time in her life, and she was both awed and unnerved.
A looming mountain erupted from the earth amidst the water formed of dark stone rather than bright ice, as dark as the ashen rock that may have been found in the fiery planes of Muspelhelm. Its intimidating cracked spire pierced the sky, vein-like openings along its impossibly steep slopes like fractures in a broken bone, casting a behemoth-sized shadow over the ocean's surface. It was as though the fearsome giants of realms beyond Midgard had taken their axes and hacked away at the rock, leaving behind gaping wounds that had decayed with time. The thick, pungent smoke barring the two of them billowed from the top, covered the sky with a gloomy, sickly gray cover that dominated the sky.
The Queen's Nest stood before them dark and somber like a bad omen.
So… this is the Nest… what Stoick wouldn't give to see this, the last small, traitorous thought escaped Valka before she could suppress it. It surprised her that her husband appeared so readily in her mind after fifteen years of successful ignorance. Perhaps her time hidden in the shadows back on Berk had more of an effect on her than she had first realized.
The dragons that surrounded her, loaded down by various prey, began to rapidly ascend before filing into the various openings in the mountain face. From Valka's own experiences with dragon Nests, it could easily be assumed that various tunnels wound through the mountain's core like an intricate maze. It was like a combed bee nest deep inside, fortified by its winding passages.
Cloudjumper followed a pair of Deadly Nadders carrying a dead buck in their claws, blood still seeping through its wounds as its sightless eyes stared back at him and Valka. Though the Stormcutter and others of his breed were massive dragons, even more so than the Vikings' greatest foe, the Monstrous Nightmare, by nature they were quick and nimble. Their secondary wings made it possible for them to fly through practically anything, whether it be storms or narrow tunnels, allowing Cloudjumper to easily catch up to the smaller dragons despite his larger size.
As Cloudjumper navigated the tunnels, Valka noticed something about the rock that surrounded her. The scent of it was odd smelling, neither of earth or anything of the like. It smelled sweet, a sickeningly sweet smell that reminded Valka of decaying flesh. It smelled like death. As though the rock had once been alive, perhaps even teeming with life, but something had robbed it of its vitality leaving it to rot and fester like an old corpse.
The tunnel started to twist and turn suddenly, Cloudjumper was forced to spin in order to dodge stalactites and stalagmites that jutted forth out of nowhere like deadly daggers at every side. Valka kneeled and clung to one of his neck spines, never once falling from his back or losing balance.
Suddenly the tunnel merged with a massive cavern; the stale air and the rotting scents gave way to a sweltering heat as eerie light immersed Valka's vision with vivid, gory crimson. Its color unnerved the woman, who was reminded of the fires that had burned Berk and of spilt blood. The instinctual knowledge dawned upon both of them: they had reached the center of the Nest – a dormant volcano. Valka could hear the sound of lava flowing below her, the source of the harsh red glow that illuminated the inner sanctum of the Nest. She clutched onto Cloudjumper's back spike for comfort, and he, sensing her unease, tittered and warbled in an attempt to comfort her.
If Valka had to say anything about her own Nest, her home of fifteen years, it would be that it was an icy sanctuary, full of life and sound and peace. The safe haven created by their noble Alpha was a tranquil haven upon this bloodstained earth, full of peaceful dragons and playing hatchlings. But this place was more akin to a fiery hell pit, and crystalline light and wisps of graceful air replaced by an overwhelming darkness and heat.
Valka was so caught aback staring transfixed at what was best described as the near total opposite of her own Nest, that it was only when she heard the terrified groans and titters that she truly looked around at her surroundings its occupants.
Dragons.
There were so many!
Hundreds upon hundreds of dragons surrounded her. They clung to the walls of the cavern, heads lowered and bodies pressed tightly against one another. Most hid in small crevices with the sounds of their fearful whines echoing outward, trying their very best to remain out of sight. Those that were flying above her swooped close to the lava, which was concealed under a heavy layer of thick smoke, dropping their uneaten kills into the pit. There were perhaps just as many dragons here as there were back home, and Valka's flock had only begun to gradually grow as she rescued more and more dragons from Drago's trappers and other unaffiliated hunters. And yet, this Nest almost matched them in size. Was it the Queen's luring Call that drove unknowing dragons into her clutches?
The aged guardian scanned the cavern, noting each breed with something akin to hunger in her eyes. Unnerving as it was, Valka's natural curiosity and adoration of dragons made her soak in the sights of the various dragon breeds. The common breeds were all there: Deadly Nadders, Monstrous Nightmares, Gronckles, Hideous Zipplebacks and Terrible Terrors. She even caught sight of a few Timberjacks crouched on a jutted outcrop, their wings pressed tightly against their sides. The sound of crumbling rock to her right made Valka aware that there must be some Whispering Deaths lurking within, which was surprising as the breed was notoriously difficult to get along with other dragons. Valka hoped to catch the sight of a dark, black wing or obsidian scales somewhere in the mix, but was disappointed, yet hardly surprised, to see that there were no other Night Furies.
Cloudjumper growled suddenly, wary and disturbed as he landed on a convenient ledge that was bare of any dragons save a few Terrible Terrors that took to the air in a flurry of indignant squawks when the regal beast bared his teeth at them. The Terrors spat a few rebellious shots of flame at the Stormcutter, before flying away. Valka placed a calming hand on Cloudjumper's head, trying to quell the guttural growls erupting from her best friend.
"Cloudjumper, what do you sense?" she asked her dragon companion in equal caution, looking around for any sign of the Queen. She saw no powerful being amongst the mindless dragons that were controlled by her Call, which meant that she was below them.
It made sense as to why the dragons were dropping their food down a hole. It was common among dragon flocks to create a single fresh kill pile that was shared amongst them all, but why were none of them taking some back for themselves? Surely the Queen fed her subjects like Valka's Bewilderbeast did to his subjects; what ruler of dragons would not feed their loyal vassals?
Valka didn't like this. She didn't like this one bit.
A dragon ruler wasn't supposed to rule out of fear like a tyrant; a ruler was meant to protect its flock from danger, to love and nurture those taken under its wing. But this… this Nest… this Queen…
It was all wrong.
Dragons cowered in fear, cowering behind one another like frightened mice or rabbits in their dens avoiding wolves trying to dig them out, forced to pay tribute to their ruler through food taken by various Viking settlements. None roared or made even the slightest hint of noise aside from the occasional terrified warble, too terrified to rebel against this way of life. Valka began to seriously doubt that this hidden Queen provided food for them as the King did with his own subjects when he made the sky rain with fish spouted from his massive maw.
There was no camaraderie amongst the dragons belonging to this flock, nothing to hold them together but the Queen's iron-clad, restricting will and their own fear. It was a perverted world that Valka could not comprehend after years living under the White King, his prowess great but his compassion greater.
Cloudjumper's entire form rumbled as he backed away from the ledge, keeping his back and Valka away from the edge and against the wall of dark stone. His hackles were raised and his neck frills were taut with nervousness. A small shudder rolled down his spine, as though he had been hit by some unseen force. Valka saw the dragons around her similarly back away and cower against the walls that led to the open chasm where the great beast slumbered.
Valka nearly jumped out of her skin as a massive head emerged from the gloom, slowly rising higher and higher with every second. She was not taken aback by the size, but rather by its appearance. Disgust tore at her as she stared at the hideous creature that emerged from the mist, the propagator of the centuries of war between Vikings and dragons and the bloodshed by both.
A mountainous behemoth of stone-like flesh covered in thick armored plating; the scales along her body were meshed and sewn to one another, creating a rough tapestry riddled with scars and wounds that never healed properly. Its head was almost angular, with a sharp, broad jaw and a crown of horns sprouting from its head like hills across a dead valley. Beady black eyes seemed to bulge like growths from the sides of her skull, three in total on each side. Fangs as long as Viking warriors were tall, sharpened to a fine but somewhat blunted point, jutted jaggedly from her pinking gums like a row of spears. Her teeth had once perhaps been white decades ago, but were now stained yellow, green and brown from decay, most with finite cracks splayed across their surfaces, and several splintered and broken partway, and some even missing entirely.
There was nothing regal about her, nothing that bespoke of her right to rule aside from her monstrous size. The hunger in her eyes unnerved Valka; they reminded her of dark, bottomless pits that gluttonously longed for more and more, never once sated nor satisfied. Valka saw her survey the volcanic cavern, those six eyes roaming across the scores of trembling, terrified dragons that bowed their heads low to her in ultimate submission. Valka saw something akin to a smug pleasure bloom in those dark eyes gazing into the terrified ones of her subjects.
She's enjoying it, Valka thought, horrified. She sees their fear, she recognizes their cowering submission, and she enjoys it all.
This massive dragon was neither her King nor anything that deserved the title of Queen. This was not a dragon, this was nothing like the creatures Valka adored and protected. This Queen… this thing… was a monster. A monster of the hell pits, a brutal tyrant that ruled through fear and submission.
It might have been bias, but Valka stared at the Queen, into those beady eyes, and hated it with all her might and with her entire being. With all the passionate rage she felt towards Vikings, she loathed in equal value this false ruler.
Before she had entered this volcano, Valka had wondered why a ruler of a Nest would willing endanger their subjects to the swords and axes of the vengeful Vikings for countless generations of bloody raids. Now she knew why. This Tyrant cared no more for the lives of her subjects so much as she cared for the mists she rose from or the rock walls surrounding her engorged, gluttonous form. They were nothing more than trivial objects to toy with, meaningless tools that were only useful for an easy meal.
The Tyrant suddenly paused in her musing, large nostrils widening as she inhaled sharply. A growl shook the entire mountain as her fury became apparent; her beady eyes narrowed dangerously, and her pupils turned to mere slits. The dragon guardian found herself unable to breathe as those six eyes began to roam around the cavern suspiciously. She can smell us, Valka thought, she can smell outsiders. Their scents were not the Tyrant's own – she could tell there were others not of her flock within her inner sanctuary. Those terrible dark eyes continued to roam slowly, but her nostrils continued to flare at a constant rate. Valka's experience with dragons led her to an accurate assumption of her behavior.
She cannot see well, she relies on scent. Her eyes are weak, easy to fool, but her nose is sharp. Valka saw the dragon's massive head begin to swivel in their direction, slowly but surely as the armored dragon continued to search for them. Valka did not like their odds, not against a dragon so large. Cloudjumper's fire, regardless of how the Stormcutter's fire was amongst the highest temperatures in known dragon kind, second only to perhaps a Deadly Nadder, would do nothing against those scales. Only another Queen or King could hope to take on the Tyrant one-on-one and achieve victory.
It was time to leave.
Now.
Cloudjumper didn't need any coaxing or instruction. He had already sensed something was wrong – long before she had – and he immediately leapt off the outcrop just as the Tyrant seemed to locate them. She roared in outrage, the reverberations shaking the entire mountain, and a massive clawed paw tore apart the ledge they had been previously perched on, slicing into the volcanic rock like a knife through warm butter.
"Cloudjumper!" Valka yelled in warning as the Tyrant stared at them, eyes alight and burning with such vitriol it was as though lava flowed through those greedy orbs. Cloudjumper spun in the air, utilizing all four wings for added agility with Valka clinging on as he narrowly dodged another swat of the Tyrant's claws. Valka could feel the rush of air smack into her, like a violent gale of wind, almost strong enough to knock her off of Cloudjumper's back, but she held on tightly.
Hundreds of dragons raced into the air, panicked howls erupting from their maws due to their ruler's anger and attacks. They swarmed around the two like a hive of locusts, and Valka found it difficult to see through the mass of flying bodies of various colors and species. She could only hope that her dragon companion had better luck in navigating them to safety. She crouched low, keeping her head down, so that a rogue tail or incoming body wouldn't knock her off.
Another paw came crashing down at them, but Cloudjumper dodged by rolling to the side and quickly rose higher. They were now eyelevel with the Tyrant, and Valka winced at the burning hatred in those terrible eyes. Cloudjumper shrieked out a challenge, spitting out massive balls of fire at her face. As predicted, though, the fire that she had seen it melt flesh from the bones and account for the miserable deaths of dragon trappers held no effect on the Tyrant. Such attacks, no matter how strong the flames, were little more than annoyances to her.
The Stormcutter rose higher and higher, facing the Tyrant and keeping Valka well shielded with his own body at all times, before both spotted an opening in the slanted walls, a large crevice that was big enough for Cloudjumper to slip through, and the Tyrant would not be able to reach them. Secondary wings snapping shut against his side, Cloudjumper barely managed to dive into the crevice as another paw came slamming down against the wall, barely missing his spiked tail as they fled further into the volcano, safe now from the monstrous dragon.
The Tyrant let loose a howl of pure fury that her prey had escaped her, and the entire mountain shook and shuddered as though it were about to collapse. Valka could feel as much as hear the Tyrant clawing into the walls, butting her head against the rock that threatened to crumble, as Cloudjumper continued to zoom through the tunnel, diving, rising and turning at every sharp turn or obstructing obstacle. She could hear herself urging him to go faster, to get as far as possible from this terrible mountain and its terrible occupant.
And then, suddenly, the two escaped from the rocky confines of the volcano into the welcoming cool air of the outside. As the monster inside continued to roar her fearsome fury, and the dragons still trapped within cowered before such might, Valka and Cloudjumper vanished into the horizon. There was silence as they raced through the mists, the only sound was the shrieking of the wind as they tore through the air at great speeds. The warmth of the volcanic cavern had already left her, and the thick mists clung against her form like a wet blanket.
For the first time in so long Valka felt the cold.
Collapsing to her knees, Valka clung onto Cloudjumper's neck spike. Her staff and shield were miraculously still clutched in her aching fingers. "What do we do?" She asked aloud, tears already threating to form. "What can we do?"
She couldn't save those dragons, even with Cloudjumper there to help her. The thought tore at her, cutting into her heart like a blade. Her eyes burned, and a great weight formed in her heart, weighing her down.
The realization that there were dragons, hundreds and hundreds of them, that were just as trapped as the dragons she had rescued from Drago's clutches and knowing she couldn't do anything about it was utter misery. How many dragons had she and Cloudjumper saved through the years? Dozens? Hundreds? She had lost count. But she had helped them, she was able to help them because humans were vulnerable creatures by nature, and she had never feared of failure when she had Cloudjumper by her side.
But this? This was entirely different and yet the complete same all in one. Dragons were suffering at the hands of the cruel, that was nothing new to Valka, but she couldn't do anything about it; something like that was so foreign an idea to her that it was utter agony to realize and accept it. She was weak in the face of such awesome power that the Tyrant possessed, that pure strength and force that allowed her to rule with an iron-fist.
Valka yearned to return home. Not to Berk, but to her own Nest. She wanted to forget all about that terrible monster that slumbered within that somber mountain and its terrible, never-ending hunger. She wanted to see her King, to lie down on his stark white scales and let his compassion and love wash away all her doubts and fears. She wanted to forget it all, but she knew that she would never forget those eyes – those terrible, burning eyes that threatened to consume her and all she had ever loved.
Because she knew that sooner or later, the Tyrant would turn her attention from the Viking villages that were steadily growing to be too much work for too little food. She would turn her attention, and her raiding flock, to the north, where the ocean provided such bountiful resources. Sooner or later, whether in a few years or a few decades, Valka's own home would be threatened. She had seen that future when she stared into those six eyes, and saw nothing but destruction.
The urge to prevent such a terrible thing burned within her, and Valka wondered if it was possible to avoid the inevitable by taking the initiative. She and Cloudjumper alone could not take on Tyrant, this Red Death, but their Alpha was more than capable to do so. Valka's Bewilderbeast was the only other being that could battle the Tyrant and win.
But can I ask him to go to war? Trappers and their settlements are one thing, but another Nest and another ruler is another thing altogether. Valka thought to herself somberly, sliding her fingers against Cloudjumper's amber scales for comfort. How can I ask the Alpha to go to war against another Nest? Our enemies have always been humans, never dragons. Humans were easy to kill, and Valka never regretted her actions when it came to defending dragons. But humans weren't the enemies in this situation. Dragons were her enemies in this situation, and the simple realization of such made her feel ill.
Valka had never killed a dragon before. She had refused to undertake the traditional Dragon Training that Berk demanded its youth partake in, and even as she grew older and the raids got fiercer and more frequent, she never raised a blade against them. Raising a blade against a dragon was the same as aiming a weapon at her son: impossible. She could never kill a dragon. She would never kill a dragon.
Could she truly wage war against that Nest knowing that innocent dragons, from her own home and those who were just unfortunate enough to be under the Tyrant's will, would die?
The King listened to her and would follow her lead if she asked him. She had gained his respect and loyalty long ago, and he had aided her in countless attacks on Drago's trappers when the need arose. But never before had either of them waged war against dragonkind, against their own kith and kin. Could Valka ask her benevolent ruler to wage war, to risk his subjects with a frontal assault, against a tyrannical Queen? To attack the Nest meant that there would be deaths, much more deaths than an attack against a trapper settlement. To attack meant endangering her flock. She would be condemning members of her flock to death by taking the initiative.
If the Tyrant was killed by her Alpha, then the enslaved dragons would be freed of her control and either join Valka's own flock or leave on their own accord, the gentle Bewilderbeast did not force those gained through violent means to remain under his rule, but gave them the chance to choose for themselves. It was one of the many aspects of the Alpha that Valka admired.
But if she did nothing, and she let the Tyrant continue to rule and control all that comprised of the Barbaric Archipelago, then the dragons under its control were as good as dead. There was no freedom, no happiness, nothing worth living. There was nothing but servitude and fear, which Valka viewed as worse than death, because at least in death one could be free. Not to mention that those enslaved dragons would have to continue to battle against the various Viking villages for their food resources.
The idea of saving the Vikings from constant raids and attacks never crossed Valka's mind. Or, maybe, it was just that Valka didn't care about what would happen to them. It sounded cruel and callous, but Valka truly did not care what happened to the Vikings. Not when she knew their true natures, not when she had lived under their prejudice and ignorance. The only Vikings she cared for was Hiccup –who was as much a Viking as Valka herself- and Stoick.
Human lives did not matter, not to Valka. Only two made the exception, but one could never know and the other…. Hiccup…
The thought of her son, the mere idea of endangering him made Valka hesitate with her decision.
No matter what she chose, there would be repercussions. And Hiccup would be affected, no matter what. If she went away to the Nest to devise either a defensive or offensive plan, it would affect him because it decided if the Vikings' war against dragon would either end or continue. If the Tyrant lived on it would still affect his new life-his life as a dragon rider. Toothless was a Night Fury, an important minion and weapon to the Tyrant. If Valka fled to the safety of her own home and tried to ignore the southern threat, the Tyrant would try to find Toothless and take him back by force, and Hiccup was with Toothless…
Gods, if the Tyrant found Hiccup… Valka could still feel those hungering eyes burning into her soul, and the mere thought of those eyes aimed at her son made the mother want to scream.
Rushing a decision was too risky, not when Valka's dragons and her son would be affected.
Taking a step back from the situation is probably be the best course of action, Valka relented. If she acted now, after what she had just experienced, she would act rashly. Acting rashly would ensure the deaths of her beloved dragons and maybe even her only child.
It was a terrible situation with hard choices and terrible consequences.
Valka clenched her eyes shut, trying to ignore the burning of the half-formed tears and the terrible pain in her heart. Hard choices were nothing new to her; hadn't she been the one to decide to stay away from Stoick and Hiccup in order to protect them? She had chosen to alienate herself from her old life, her old friends, and her family because it had been the right decision –even if she was technically defying her old decision by coming back to see Hiccup.
"Cloudjumper…" she whispered out, voice faint and exhausted. Her beloved dragon crooned at the sound, and she could sense his own discomfort that he tried to hide in an attempt to console her. She smiled a little, comforted by the knowledge of Cloudjumper's love, and suddenly the entire situation didn't seem so bleak. "Let's head back." A part of her was tempted to say 'home' but she didn't voice it. "Let's get back to Berk." That wasn't her home, had never truly been her home, but it was where Hiccup was, and Valka needed to see him; she needed to make sure that he was safe.
She would have to decide soon on what to do. But for now, Valka would wait. And right now, there was nothing that she wanted to do more than to get as far away as possible from that Nest and return to the cove.
Her son was waiting for her.
I just wanted to clarify something about Valka's regard for humans, in which she doesn't appear to care. In truth, I personally believe that Valka didn't care about human lives in the movies, especially since she had waged war against them. I didn't see the war she had be against those who hated and wanted to control dragons vs. Valka and dragons, but rather humans vs. dragons. Valka chose dragons because she knew how cruel humans were to dragons and even other humans, specifically Valka herself.
I don't know if its canon but, at least in my stories, Valka went through the same thing Hiccup went through in the first movie, but worse. Because unlike Hiccup, her torment didn't end with a happy ending and acceptance from her peers, but continued on until Cloudjumper took her away from it. Also, Hiccup never vocally advocated for peace with the dragons in the movies until he and Toothless were caught, while Valka had done so for years. Hiccup was ridiculed because he was different, Valka was ridiculed because she was different and she believed in peace with dragons – the Vikings' mortal enemies. I think Valka's experience with Vikings and Berk was nothing but torment and ridicule, and that she was ostracized for it because her people were Vikings and she was the odd one out. Stoick was the silver lining in Valka's Berkian life before she gave birth to Hiccup, but even he disagreed with her views despite loving her. Valka's a victim in this regard: she had tried so hard to barter for peace but was constantly rejected and scorned, and it was only through dragons that she truly became herself without being torn down by those around her and found happiness and acceptance.
Does Valka care for certain humans? Yes. She cares for Stoick and Hiccup, and maybe even a few others in Berk who had treated her with kindness like Gobber, but everyone else does not matter to her. Valka doesn't have a reason to care, not when the majority of her experiences with her own species were full of torment and ridicule.
Does this mean that Valka is going out of her way to hurt the Vikings or other humans? No. Valka is fighting for her dragons, the ones whom Valka found safety and acceptance in. Valka is not fighting in some misguided attempt for revenge. Valka is fighting to protect her dragons, not to get back at those who hurt her. In a way, she is fighting hatred with love.
She dislikes the downfall of human nature, in which people are cruel to things they don't understand and shun what they deem different. Valka isn't a monster for not caring about their lives, she is simply ignoring them as they would her.
Valka could easily destroy any Viking villages with her Bewilderbeast. No Viking weapons could hope to bring down the King of Dragons, and Valka knows that the Alpha could destroy any human threat, but she hasn't even thought of that. She hasn't thought of revenge, she hasn't thought of anything that would warrant an attack on Berk or another village. Valka doesn't want anything to do with the Vikings, the only reason she is back in the Archipelago is because of Hiccup, and it's not like she's shown any desire to burn down the village as some form of vengeance for her previous life. Valka doesn't care, but that doesn't mean that she wants humans dead. It's really only their mindset that Valka hates. She only attacks humans that attempt to harm dragons; she isn't the instigator, but the reactor. Valka is a peaceful person by nature, just like Hiccup, but her world is full of strife and warfare and she has to make difficult choices to ensure the safety of herself, Cloudjumper and their flock.
For those of you who don't like this in Valka's character, I'm sorry but I won't change it. If you really don't like it, just send me a PM or review explaining why and I'll try and explain my reasoning again with more details. If you agree with this, tell me in a review as I'm interested in knowing other opinions.
Valka's views on human lives will not affect this story in any way. The course I and the movies have set are not going to suddenly flip because of Valka's opinions. So don't worry about any radical changes.
Now that my rant/argument is made… we can move on!
Happy Thanksgiving! I just wanted to take the time to say thank you for all the support and reviews. We're almost at 400 favorites and 500 follows! Please don't forget to leave a review; they're the lifeblood of this story and I love reading them!
Special thanks to ChaosX97 for his help on this chapter.