Flying with Mother

Meanwhile, as Stoick and Gobber searched for the wayward one-legged Nordic Blonde and Hiccup, the rest of the gang were resting on an iceberg in the middle of the ocean, having opted to wait for the others to return rather than return to Berk. They'd been waiting the entire night but there was still no sign of the Chief and the others. Stormfly was getting restless without her rider and the rest of the gang were also fidgety.

"I don't like it," Snotlout frowned. "The chief and Gobber should've been back with Hofferson and Haddock by now."

"I don't like it either," Ruffnut groaned, only her attentions were on something else entirely. "Eret, Son of Eret was the man of my dreams!" she added wistfully. Tuffnut barfed next to her. "My everything!"

"But, Baby – I grew facial hair for you!" Snotlout protested, distracted from his unease over the missing Vikings for a moment as he rubbed a hand against his chin where a slight stubble was forming. Fishlegs did the same next to Meatlug.

"Me too..." he sighed. Snotlout snapped himself out of it.

"Anyway...what if Drago shot 'em down? We've gotta go find 'em," he decided, swinging onto Hookfang's neck. Fishlegs spluttered.

"Hey! Stoick said..." he began to protest.

"Look, Guppy-Legs, it's not gonna matter what the chief said if they've all been captured, is it?" Snotlout pointed out arrogantly. "We'll track down Drago's camp, see if they're in there and if they are, we'll bust 'em out," he smirked. "Come on!" he instructed, giving a nod to Stormfly who followed closely behind him and Hookfang.

Snotlout decided that he could boast about being a hero to Ruffnut later. Right now, they needed a guide. And Snotlout knew just who to pick.

/\

"Do we go back?" Teeny grumbled miserably as the Drago Trappers slowly made their way through the frozen ocean. Eret glared at him, holding a block of ice to his forehead.

"We've nowhere to go!" he snapped. "And no heads to call our own unless we fill this boat with dragons and fast!" he added angrily when a pair of claws grabbed him from behind. "AHH!" he shrieked as his feet left the deck for the second time in twenty four hours. Snotlout peered over his shoulder as he smirked triumphantly – that'll teach the guy to try and steal his girl.

"I'd be more careful what you wish for!" he shouted over his shoulder, patting Hookfang's shoulder. The Monstrous Nightmare dropped Eret before Stormfly snatched him out of the air, all the while with the Dragon Trapper screaming in terror. A few nets soared past the group as the rest of Eret's crew tried to rescue him but they were already out of range.

"WHAT IS THIS?!" Eret yelled. Snotlout flew over as the man dangled from Stormfly's claws.

"A kidnapping," he snickered. Ruffnut and Tuffnut flew over on Barf-Belch where Ruffnut began tugging eagerly at Eret's arms whilst Tuffnut stared at her incredulously.

"Yay! Can he ride with me? Can he? Can he?" she asked gleefully.

"Uh, Babe – no conversing with the hostage," Snotlout suggested. Ruffnut shot him a disgusted look which gave Tuffnut enough time to lead Barf-Belch away from the kidnapped Dragon Trapper. Snotlout shot another glare at Eret – not going to lie, he did not like him. The fact that Ruffnut seemed infatuated with him was the main reason. "You are going to show us the way to Drago, got it, Trapper-Man?" he snapped.

"And help Dragon Riders sneak into Drago's camp?!" Eret exclaimed, shooting his own glare at Snotlout. "Just kill me now."

"Happy to arrange it," Snotlout smirked as he glanced directly at Stormfly. "Drop him, Stormfly!" he ordered. Stormfly treated it all as a game and instantly let her claws open, dropping Eret and letting him fall towards the icy ocean beneath. Again, the screams. "Hiccup's trained you well, girl!" Snotlout smiled. Stormfly squawked proudly and shook her head as she accepted the praise. "Alright, Stormfly – fetch." On cue, the bright blue Deadly Nadder dived towards the ocean after Eret.

"OKAY! OKAY! I'LL TAKE YOU TO DRAGO...AH!" Eret yelped as he was snatched out of the sky again. Snotlout laughed to himself a few times from Hookfang's back before cracking his knuckles.

"And that's for trying to steal my girl."

/\

Meanwhile, the sunshine had broken over the ice again, reflecting off the white surface like millions upon millions of diamonds glittering in the light. Astrid and Hiccup (now flying on a borrowed Deadly Nadder, a dark purple and gold one) followed Valka and Cloudjumper through walls of towering ice, half following her to wherever they were going for breakfast and half racing her through the skies above the ocean. Astrid observed how the woman flew her Stormcutter – Valka didn't sit atop her dragon but rather balanced on Cloudjumper's back, shifting her weight and stance to match his flight.

The Vikings watched in amazement as Cloudjumper rolled around an iceberg and Valka, instead of gripping to his neck to stay on his back, ran around his body, staying on top of the roll the entire time. Astrid was amazed with the woman's skill but then again she wasn't surprised – Valka had, after all, had fifteen years of practise as opposed to the Berk Riders' five.

"Not bad, Valka!" Astrid called from Toothless' back. Valka glanced over her shoulder and laughed in thanks. Astrid shot a glance at Hiccup who smirked back. Without hesitation, he swung his legs up and pushed himself upwards so that he was on his feet – Astrid noticed how similar he looked to his mother. Hiccup spotted a wall of ice and led the Nadder toward it – upon noticing a potential collision, the dragon squawked and dove towards a crevice but Hiccup instead leapt upwards so that he was on top of the iceberg before sliding down the other side. There was a small ramp at the bottom of the slope of ice and Valka's mouth dropped open.

"Hiccup!" she exclaimed worriedly but Hiccup was already in the air. Smirking smugly, he let out a howl – Astrid grinned as she recognised the call of a Deadly Nadder, one of many calls the team had perfected over their years of training dragons. Within moments, the purple Nadder had snatched Hiccup out of his free-fall and Valka was admittedly impressed whilst Hiccup looked rather pleased with himself. "Show off," Valka teased.

"Look who's talking," Hiccup snickered jokingly in replied. Astrid smiled – beneath the unwillingness to forgive his mother too quickly for her fifteen-year absence, Hiccup still had it in him to joke and play around with the woman, just like he'd done as a child. The trio made their way out of the maze of icebergs and out onto the open ocean and it was at that point that Astrid noticed that they weren't alone in the skies – pretty much the entirety of the Ice Cave dragons were following them. Uh...what happened to breakfast?

"Hey, uh, Valka!" Astrid shouted. "I thought we were going to eat!" Hiccup glanced over his shoulder and frowned in equal confusion. Valka turned Cloudjumper around and the dragon tread air as the woman faced the two Vikings.

"Oh, we are!" she smiled playfully, holding her hand out. Astrid brought Toothless to a halt and Hiccup stopped his borrowed Nadder in mid-flight as they waited for something to happen. Astrid glanced around her and saw no sign of hunting grounds of any kind. Valka's smile never left her face as she nodded towards the ocean. Curious, Astrid leaned over Toothless' shoulder and narrowed her eyes as she spotted the waters churning beneath her, a group of dragons (Thunderdrums and a species she later discovered were called Ocean Shockers) circling a ring of bubbles.

Astrid barely had time to think about what could be going on when the Bewilderbeast burst from the waves, tusks first and rising almost its entire length out of the water. He seemed to hang suspended for a moment before he closes his mouth...and sprayed what looked like an entire shoal of fish into the air which the dragons around them began happily diving towards, grabbing mouthfuls for fish from the air.

"WHOA!" Hiccup yelped as his borrowed dragon shot after its meal, forgetting it had a human on its back. Astrid coughed up a snort of laughter but Valka was chuckling so hard she was clutching her sides, both at the sight of her son as he clung to the Nadder for dear life and at her future daughter-in-law's face. Toothless was panting happily, eager to start feeding so Astrid smiled at him and gestured with her hand for him to help himself...

...and had to cling to the saddle for all she was worth as Toothless nose-dived out of the skies before pulling himself upwards again, this time with his mouth overflowing with fish. Astrid laughed at the sight – she'd never seen Toothless this happy over feeding.

/\

After the dragons and the humans had eaten their fill (Astrid and Hiccup had set up a small fire to cook their fish although Valka didn't seem to have much of a problem with the raw stuff), the two Vikings settled on a snowy bank to catch up with Valka. She told them how after Cloudjumper had brought her to the Ice Cave, she'd began dedicating her life to protecting dragons the way she hadn't been able to on Berk. It wasn't long before the fifty-year-old woman was asking the Vikings about their lives.

"So...you two," she shrugged. "You never elaborated – what happened?"

"Toothless happened," Hiccup repeated, finishing off his cod and tossing the remains to the Nadder.

"I know, I know – 'long story short'," Valka sighed. "I've got time – what's the full version?" she quizzed, her eyes shifting to Astrid who was leaning against Toothless' side as he wrapped his tail around her. She bit her lip and gulped – this could be awkward but might also be the chance she had to convince Valka that things had indeed changed on Berk.

"Uh...Toothless and I picked Hiccup out of the top of a tree," she replied. Well, it wasn't a complete lie.

"Took me for a flight – she showed me what dragons were really like," Hiccup added, putting emphasis on 'really' in hopes that his mother could see that he had changed his attitude towards dragons. Valka caught it.

"What do you mean, Son?" she frowned. Hiccup huffed and tucked his legs under his arms, half-scowling at the woman.

"I was just like any other Viking on Berk, Mom," he explained. "Astrid was the one who found Toothless – she was the one who learned firsthand about what dragons were like. Not me," he continued bitterly. Valka opened her mouth in protest but Astrid cut across.

"I learnt so much from Toothless – it got to the point where I was beating Hiccup in Dragon Training," she explained nervously. "Needless to say, he got suspicious...I ended up winning...planned to leave," she admitted quietly.

"You were planning to...?" Valka murmured.

"I couldn't stay and kill a dragon!" Astrid pointed out. "Not after what I'd learnt about them." Astrid found herself thinking about what might have happened if Hiccup hadn't found her in the Cove that evening...if she had left Berk, never to return. Would she have become like Valka? A crazy, feral, vigilante dragon lady? Astrid shivered slightly at the thought - she wasn't sure if that was the life she ever would have wanted to lead.

"Anyway, I followed her to where she was hiding Toothless," Hiccup continued, snapping Astrid out of her thoughts. "And...that's when things changed," he added softly. "I changed," he finished almost bitterly. Valka listened in silence.

"Look, it's true that Stoick didn't take too well to finding out about me training a dragon," Astrid admitted with a shrug. "But the entire village was there when we battled the Red Death. That's when we showed them...after that...they all changed," she sighed. Valka broke eye contact with an expression that still showed disbelief but there was doubt there as well. Maybe they'd gotten through to her.

"So...uh…how, exactly, did Hiccup end up at the top of a tree?" she asked awkwardly, breaking the tension of the silence that had followed. Astrid laughed nervously, grateful for the return to the original topic.

"Oh! Heh-heh...yeah...about that..." she mumbled.

"Yeah – they're the ones who put me there," Hiccup smirked. Valka blinked in surprise. "In their defence, I was about to snitch so...I'll let you off," he shrugged, poking his tongue out at Astrid who rubbed her shoulder.

"You punched me in the shoulder once we got back!" she protested with a squeak. "I hardly call that 'letting me off'!" she added, kicking out at her fiancé with her good leg. Toothless contributed by whacking Hiccup on the head with his tail – Hiccup retaliated by throwing a snowball into Astrid's face. Valka giggled warmly – it made her so happy to see the two children she'd once seen constantly at odds finally getting along as much as a Viking couple would.

/\

As the morning shifted into noon, the topic had changed to Astrid's recent explorations and she unfolded her map excitedly to show her foster-mother all of the places she'd visited.

"...and then, just past Dragon Island, I found this archipelago..." Astrid explained only to pause as she saw Valka almost dancing around her and Hiccup. The Vikings frowned in confusion before they noticed that Valka was extending the map on the snow to show the places she'd explored. Astrid marvelled at how much she had left to see...so much to explore. The awe of the moment was cut short as Toothless began prancing around the area with a large icicle in his mouth.

Astrid giggled lightly as memories of the night when her friendship with the dragon had first started came flooding back to her. The Night Fury was behaving in exactly the same way now as he had then. Valka smirked in confusion at Astrid who shrugged with a smile whilst Hiccup laughed softly, crossing his arms and shaking his head in amusement. Toothless eventually came to a stop next to Cloudjumper and opened his mouth to drop the icicle, only for his eyes to widen in shock as the blue-white spike stuck to his tongue and wouldn't drop off.

The Stormcutter merely watched in mild amusement at the Night Fury's struggles.

/\

Further into the afternoon, once the Bewilderbeast had provided lunch for the entire flock...herd...whatever you called it...Astrid had been showing Valka Inferno and explaining how it helped her with the testier dragons she'd met. Hiccup had noted dryly about his worry when it came to his girlfriend and weapons but Valka was eager to see Inferno in greater detail. After showing off its usual functions, Astrid glanced at Cloudjumper and thought of something – what if she coated the blade with a different kind of saliva? She had a spare vial after all – it was worth a go.

After asking Valka permission, Astrid scooped some of Cloudjumper's saliva off his tongue and slotted the vial into Inferno in place of the usual Monstrous Nightmare spit. Grinning in anticipation, Astrid activated the blade...

...only to be sent stumbling backwards in panic as she literally set off an inferno at the end of the blade. Hiccup yelped and dived for cover whilst Cloudjumper shielded Valka with his wings. After a few panic inducing moments, Astrid was able to stick the blade into the snow, extinguishing it and she panted heavily whilst Toothless chased some stray embers. Wincing, she looked at a very singed Cloudjumper who raised his head to look at her in shock whilst Valka poked her head out from behind his wings and laughed. Hiccup uncovered himself from the snow and glared at Astrid who giggled nervously.

Note to self: stick with Monstrous Nightmare saliva.

/\

The afternoon drifted into evening once again as the sun began to dip down towards the horizon. Having had dinner, Valka had led Astrid and Hiccup to a warm vent close to the shore, one that reminded Astrid a lot of the Rookery where the dragons migrated every Snoggletog if they were having babies. One by one, dragons leapt off the nearby cliff and hovered playfully on the warm gust of air rising from beneath them, wings spread to catch the warm air and growling in the way that always made Astrid think they were laughing.

As Toothless hovered with his tongue poking out, Astrid was holding onto his saddle and hovering slightly above his back because of the updraught whilst Hiccup was balancing on his borrowed Nadder's back, just like his mother. Valka was beaming happily, just the way Astrid and Hiccup remembered her, as she began leaping from dragon to dragon, using her staff to balance herself and hook onto wings and horns as she clambered around in the air as if she was on a large climbing frame like the one Gobber had made for the children back on Berk. As she passed Hiccup on his borrowed dragon, she ruffled his hair playfully before she landed on Toothless' wing. She stepped lightly over to Astrid whose face also showed a shining beam. Hopping over Astrid, Valka placed a caring hand on her foster-daughter's shoulder before slipping gracefully off Toothless' other wing, landing seamlessly onto Cloudjumper's back.

The dragons began to disperse as the sun began setting over the horizon once again, leaving the trio the last ones in the skies. Valka knelt on Cloudjumper's back, her braid flying out behind her in the wind.

"When I'm up here..." she murmured as Hiccup and Astrid flew up to join her. "I don't even feel the cold!" she exclaimed happily. "I just feel..." she trailed off but Astrid finished the sentence for her.

"Free," she agreed. She knew the feeling. From that first flight with Toothless she'd felt a freedom beyond what any sailing expedition could have ever given her. She was alive in an infinite space, able to travel wherever she pleased. Touch the sky if she wanted. Skim the waves if she so desired. To fly was to be free. Astrid knew this, as did Valka. The woman smiled at the two Vikings before flinging her arms outward as if they were wings.

"This is what it is to be a dragon, kids," she smiled. Hiccup's smile faded slightly...so his mother believed herself to be more dragon than human? Luckily Astrid spotted her fiancé's glum face and knew exactly how to cheer everyone up. A playful grin crossed her face as she unhooked herself from Toothless' saddle.

"It's all well and good to call yourself a dragon, Valka," Astrid smirked, swinging her legs up so that she was perched to spring on Toothless' back. Hiccup's eyes widened with worry – uh oh... "But can you fly?!" Astrid hooted as she somersaulted off her dragon's back and into empty space.

"ASTRID!" Hiccup yelped whilst Valka stared after the twenty-year old in stunned silence. Astrid remained in free-fall for a few seconds before snapping her flight suit open, laughing joyfully. Valka gasped in amazement, casting a glance at her son.

"Did she...? Is she always like this?" she asked with a large grin on her face.

"Reckless? Threatening to scare the boots off me at least three times a day?" Hiccup noted dryly. "You have no idea." Meanwhile, Cloudjumper had shot a shocked and irritable look at Toothless who stared back with a smug grin on his face for a moment before his eyes widened as if he'd just remembered that his rider didn't have brakes. Beating his wings as hard as he could, Toothless did his best to catch up with Astrid but she already had too much of a head start – the Night Fury just had to hope that they didn't have another incident like the one three days ago.

Astrid laughed and turned over onto her back, grinning as she did in Hiccup and Valka's direction. For a moment, she hung in the air, confused when she didn't see them until Valka showed up a short distance away and Hiccup appeared next to her, both crouched on their respective dragons' backs with the same impressed smile on their face. Astrid's own smile widened at the sight – mother and son were reunited after too long apart. Laughing in delight, Astrid flipped over again until…

"ASTRID! LOOK OUT!" Hiccup yelped. Astrid screeched as she spotted an oncoming pillar of snow and ice.

"Oh, no! TOOTHLESS!" Astrid yelled in terror. Hiccup and Valka had to fly out of the way to avoid crashing themselves as Toothless once again only just caught his rider in time to wrap his wings protectively around her, barely missing the rock pilled under the snow before tumbling down a slope, white powder flying everywhere before the black dragon finally came to a halt.

Hiccup landed nearby and leapt off the Deadly Nadder with a worried look on his face as he jogged over. Toothless shook himself out of a daze and unfurled his wings to check on his rider…only to start flailing around in horror when he saw she wasn't there.

Human? Where are you? Oh, gods? Where did you go? Not again…

"WOO-HOO!" a Nordic Blonde girl cheered as she suddenly popped out of the snow next to Toothless. Hiccup sagged in exasperation – no concern for the fact she almost died again! Astrid pulled herself out of the snow, laughing in exhilaration as she brushed herself down. "Alright! Almost!" she crowed. Hiccup and Toothless shared cynical glances with each other as Toothless sneezed a patch of snow off his nose. "We just about had it that time," Astrid laughed breathlessly as she began tucking away her flight suit.

Toothless glared at his rider, having had just about enough of her antics. Getting his own back, he swept his tail under Astrid's feet, sending her flying backwards into the snow with a yelp as she was half buried in the cold white stuff. The sight was so funny that Hiccup couldn't help but burst out laughing. Astrid quickly sat upright, covered in snow.

"Oh, you think that's funny, do ya?" she glowered sarcastically. Hiccup was nearly bent double with laughter.

"You should see your face…" he stammered through his chuckling. Her sarcastic glare never leaving her face, Astrid gathered up some snow in her fists.

"Oh, yeah? Let's see you laugh at this!" she grunted with a smirk as she flung the snowball at her fiancé. Hiccup looked up for less than a second only for the snowball to hit him smack in the forehead, sending him flying backwards. Astrid laughed playfully and scrambled to her feet in order to run for cover, narrowly dodging a snowball from Hiccup as he retaliated.

Valka landed Cloudjumper next to Toothless and laughed for a moment, watching the snowball war between the two Vikings. The two of them were laughing like children, shoving snow down the others backs and landing snowball hits square on target before giving up and resorting to tackling each other. In the end, Astrid tackled Hiccup from behind and they rolled a short distance before collapsing in a fit of giggles in each other's arms. Valka jogged over to help them up but it was a moment she wished could be captured forever. To see the children she'd know to barely speak to each other before to be so close now…it warmed her heart.

Valka eventually managed to help both Hiccup and Astrid to their feet, brushing the snow off them before examining Astrid's flight suit.

"Incredible!" she remarked in amazement. Astrid shrugged.

"Not bad yourself," she pointed out. Valka fumbled about for a while before one hand rested on Astrid's shoulder and another on Hiccup's cheek. The woman paused before a warm smile crossed her face as her aquamarine eyes flickered between the two Vikings – Astrid smiled back and placed a gentle hand on Valka's and Hiccup, all and any lingering confliction over his feelings gone, leant his cheek into his mother's hand. Valka's eyes lit up with a happy realisation.

"All this time...you've grown so much," she whispered to Hiccup. "Just like your father said...you really did grow up to be one of the strongest of them all." Hiccup's face lit up with a surprised pride, as did Astrid's before Valka turned to face her. "And Astrid...this whole time and you were just like me..." Valka's face suddenly turned into a regretful frown. "And...where was I through it all?" She withdrew her hands from the Vikings in front of her and turned away in regret. Valka paused for a moment before looking back at the two she'd called her children. "I'm so sorry, kids," she murmured. "Can...can we start over?" she asked. "Will you give me another chance?"

Astrid smiled warmly in reply and Hiccup nodded gently as he carefully took his mother's hand, squeezing it in comfort. The forgiveness wasn't necessary. Hiccup had thought about the situation throughout the day and had come to realise why his mother hadn't returned or sent word that she was alive: there were so few resources out here for building a boat of any nor did Valka have the access to the tools to make one if there were. She couldn't have taken a dragon back – it would have been killed on sight at the time, and she would have been either killed or exiled, regardless of her connection to the chief, and by the time Astrid had learned how to train dragons, it was too late. Fifteen years of rescuing dragons and living among them and no doubt all thoughts of going home would have left Valka's mind. Now, there was a chance that she might come home...

"Do you reckon you could give Berk another chance if we did?" Astrid offered tentatively. Valka frowned and turned away again. "Please, Valka...we're not lying when we say everything's changed."

"We can help protect your dragons!" Hiccup suggested. "We've worked so hard to protect our own – Dad won't have any issue with protecting yours." At the mention of her husband, a small tear leaked from Valka's eye. "He's missed you so much, Mom," Hiccup added, almost with a pleading tone to his voice.

"He'd be so angry if I were to return..." Valka murmured.

"He's changed, Valka," Astrid reassured her. "If you'd just give him a chance..." Valka stood still and said nothing so Astrid tried a new angle. "Even if he was angry, we'd welcome you gladly to our Dragon Academy," she offered with a playful grin. That caught Valka's attention.

"You have a Dragon Academy?" she blinked in surprise.

"Sure, we learn all kinds of stuff together," Astrid nodded excitedly. "We founded it not long after the dragons moved in."

"We learn how to train them and teach them live with us and at the same time we learn how to live with them," Hiccup piped in, catching on with what his fiancée was thinking. "It'd be great to have you as a teacher." Valka started in surprise.

"Me? A teacher?" she spluttered.

"Sure!" Astrid nodded. "There must be so much you know! The kids would love you!" she added. A smile returned to Valka's face.

"If dragons can live alongside Vikings...I could teach them how to..." she mumbled in excitement to herself. Valka's face brightened up significantly as the prospect of passing on her knowledge hit her in all of its magnificence. "I could teach you all that I've learnt these past fifteen years!" she exclaimed in excitement as she walked over to Toothless. Astrid cocked her head curiously as she watched, as did Hiccup.

"That's the idea," Hiccup chuckled.

"Oh, you know when you crashed earlier, Astrid?" Valka grinned, stroking Toothless' head. Astrid flushed and seeing as the summer sun was still up even though it was early evening, it showed. "Watch," Valka continued, pressing down into a small area at the base of Toothless' neck. The Night Fury shuddered for a moment happily but the pressure point was clearly more than somewhere the dragon liked being scratched. Along his back, where there was a line of dorsal-fin-like spines, the spines suddenly split open into V-shapes, a far more aerodynamic shape and better for tight manoeuvres.

"Wow!" Astrid breathed in amazement as Toothless bounded over happily, his eyes wide with glee.

"Now you can make those tight turns, young lady," Valka smiled. Toothless jumped happily over to his rider as Astrid patted his head.

"Did you know about this?" she asked with a small chuckle. The clapping motion Toothless made with his spines indicated that no – he hadn't known about this. Hiccup laughed at the sight of the dragon acting so much like a kitten it was unbelievable. Toothless proceeded to dive around through the snow in his joy, trying to play with Cloudjumper but the Stormcutter was, rather hilariously, not having any of it.

"Every dragon has its secrets," Valka grinned with a wink. "And I'll show them all to you!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around the shoulders of the two Vikings as they watched Toothless jump out of the snow, spraying a pile of it onto Cloudjumper's head – the Stormcutter proceeded to re-dump the snow onto Toothless' head. "This Dragon Academy of yours...we'll solve every mystery! Discover every last species!" Astrid and Hiccup shared an excitedly glance – Valka was actually considering coming home! "And we'll head the exploration together! As mother, son and daughter!" Valka continued, turning the Vikings around so that they were facing her. "I don't know the full story about how you've managed to change Berk when I failed after trying for so long," she smiled, almost sadly. "But you both have a gift...we all do," she added. "It may be different in our own way, but it has the same grounding – a desire for peace." Astrid felt her heart flutter at those words – that was exactly what she wanted...peace. "These gifts, no matter what they may be...they bond us."

Valka gazed at both of the Vikings in the eye, now standing up straight at her full, proud, six-foot-three height. Each one of the trio had a beaming smile lighting up their faces. These hopes for the future...they would bring them together again...allow them to catch up on the past they had lost together. Valka could see these two fly together...talking...spending time...them starting a family of their own...she could see them live as she'd always hoped they would. As friends...the closest there could ever be.

"Hiccup..." Valka murmured, shifting her gaze to her son. "I imagine you're nearly at the point where you are to become chief, correct?" Hiccup's smile faded slightly – he'd almost forgotten about that over the events of the past few days.

"Soon as possible, if Dad has anything to say about it," he mumbled. Valka placed a comforting hand on his cheek again – even after so long away from her family, she was still a mother at heart.

"You've always had such a strong desire to keep those around you safe," she pointed out. "If I remember anything...it's that you know who you are. You're a Haddock – a proud and brave young man," she smiled. Hiccup smiled back before his mother shifted her gaze to Astrid. "Astrid...wow...I never thought we'd be so alike!"

"I wasn't expecting it either, I'll admit that," Astrid smirked.

"You have the gift to see in others what many were blind to," Valka beamed gently. "This is who you are, lass. Who we all are," she added. This time, it was Astrid's turn to have her smile fade – even after all of that...after finding out who she seemed to take after, despite the woman not even being her flesh and blood...she was still confused and hesitant to say she knew who she was. True, she was a peacekeeper. True, she did, as Valka put it, see in others what many didn't. But at the same time she was a Hofferson. The blood of a warrior was supposed to run in her veins and yet she was by far the weakest fighter when she was without a dragon. Only in her Berserker-Mode did she ever show such fearsome strength and in those moments she was unpredictable. Who was she really?

"So...you'll come home?" Hiccup asked hopefully. "And help us learn more?" Valka still looked hesitant at the thought of home.

"Maybe not Berk...but I will never be far," she promised. Hiccup's face fell. That wasn't what he'd been hoping to hear. "Rebuilding a nest would take time and...well, with Drago out there..." she trailed off. "I don't want to leave the dragons without someone who can help free them in a fix..." Astrid was suddenly struck by her motives for venturing into the far northern waters to begin with.

"How about we all go talk to Drago together?" she suggested. "There has to be some way I can change his mind. I managed to..."

"What?" Valka spluttered in confusion. "Astrid, I'm not one to judge about Berk – if you and Hiccup both say it's changed, I'm willing to believe that if slightly." Hiccup's sad expression turned into a frustrated scowl. Still?! "But there's no talking to Drago."

"Oh, come on!" Astrid huffed. "If someone would just let me...help me...I could..."

"No. We must protect our own, Astrid," Valka cut across. Hiccup and Astrid shared a scowl – again with that mantra. Valka hopped up onto Cloudjumper's back, preparing to head back to the nest. "Come on – we should be getting back. We've a lot to talk about."

She flew off into the skies before Astrid or Hiccup had a chance to call back to her. Both Vikings shared another glance at each other.

"Is that some family motto I didn't know about till now?" Astrid huffed. Hiccup folded his arms and glanced around, only to sag slightly when he saw that his borrowed Nadder had flown off.

"If it is, I also didn't know. Mind giving me a lift back?" he asked. Astrid nodded.

"I can't stick around here, Hiccup," she sighed. "Remember what Eret said about Drago?" Hiccup asked which part. "He said that he's found the ice-spitter's cave. The whole nest is in danger...if I don't do something soon..."

"I know," Hiccup comforted, placing a hand on Astrid's shoulder. "And I'm sticking with you the whole way through, okay?" he reassured. Astrid nodded only to suddenly come to a stop when she spotted Toothless still grinning...well, toothlessly...like an idiot as he clapped his split dorsal fins together.

Some unholy offspring of lightning and death.

Long chapter is long but couldn't find anywhere to end it. See what I mean about the chapters in this thing becoming longer?

OH, MY ODIN! The Hiccstrid interactions in this thing...I'm loving writing them. It's difficult working the dialogue and the story around the fact that it's the pair of them and Valka rather than just Hiccup but I think it's coming out well. Tell me what you guys think in the reviews. Just realised we're just under halfway through this thing already... By the way, I am SO sorry for missing the Friday update!

Side note - in the development for HTTYD 2 there was actually a couple of moments in the Flying With Mother segments that were removed from the final film, these being Hiccup and Valka flying through columns of ice and we're given a closer look at Valka's flying skills with Cloudjumper; and the other being Hiccup testing out Cloudjumper's saliva with Inferno. Couldn't resist including these scenes in here so there you go!

Another side note, I've done a drawing of my designs for Astrid throughout the series in this role-reversal AU, which can be found on my deviantART account. Go check it out if you wish - I'm thinking of doing another one for Hiccup, what do you guys think?

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a very nerve-wracking day tomorrow so I've got to prepare for that. See you guys on Wednesday with the next chapter!