Viking Heart & Dragon Soul
Author: Nightstar Fury
Rated: M
Pairing: HiccupXAstrid
*Disclaimer: I do not own anything from HTTYD movies, series, or shorts.
Fury Family
Hiccup remained asleep well past lunch time and right up to dinner. Astrid, Hilda, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut were teaching the Heirs to the other Tribes about dragons just as Hiccup had asked them to do so. They were currently being taught the dragon classes, species, and more fun facts. It was weird for them to be the teachers seeing as only months ago, they were the students to Hiccup, and now he trusted them enough to pass along what he taught them. They had taken a break to eat their lunch and Emma went with them for the sake of not upsetting her father while he was sick, now with it being dinner time, Emma didn't want to leave and hoped her father would wake up soon so he could join them.
Hiccup had gotten up a few times to relieve himself and throw up but otherwise stayed in bed. At this point, he was sure he was just overtired with a small stomach bug or something since all he wanted to do was sleep and the sound of food made him want to puke. He didn't care about being sick, at least Emma wasn't. Hiccup didn't like when his little girl was sick, he felt useless to help her but himself being ill, he didn't mind. It gave him a chance to relax in the long run.
"But...what if Daddy needs us?" Emma frowned some.
"I think Daddy can handle himself; it won't take us that long to eat and we'll come right back. I promise," Astrid tried now.
"Will you tuck me in and sing to me of Daddy is still sleeping?" Emma inquired.
"Of course I will," Astrid smiled at her while offering her hand out to Emma who took it and smiled back. "Now, let's go, and Papa can rest," she added. Emma nodded, and they all left the nest to get to the Great Hall, the chieftains and second in commands were leaving first thing in the morning, so it was going to be a good night, or so everyone hoped.
(An Hour Later)
While the Chieftains were packing their things at the inn and their Heir's were gathering their personal items or clothes to bring over to the nest for their stay, the young adults of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe were at the nest with Emma and all sitting around watching the Night Fury egg with Toothless. It was incredible to them, of all dragons to leave behind an egg for safe keeping, it was a Night Fury that Toothless planned on adopting as his own.
Another theory that got thrown around while they were all relaxing was that if the baby dragon turned out to be a girl then maybe after a few years, Toothless could mate her and start repopulating the Night Fury species. Of course, Toothless had lifted his head curiously during the conversation. It was being assumed that maybe it could be something to consider, but it all rode on the gender of the dragon when it hatched.
When the Heirs returned to the nest, Hiccup's door opened, and he walked out while cracking his neck and arms. "Hey, there you are," Astrid smiled at him.
"Here I am. I miss anything?" Hiccup inquired while he hugged Emma, rubbed Toothless's head, then kissed Astrid's cheek.
"Not really, we just got back from dinner," Hilda told him. "How are you feeling bro?
"Eh, little better." Hiccup shrugged while sitting down. "How much dragon information you get through?" he looked to his friends.
"Got through classes and species, haven't done names yet because I've honestly forgotten a bunch of them without the book," Fishlegs admitted softly. Hiccup chuckled a little and went back inside the room and stayed for a good five minutes before returning with the dragon manual in his hands; he handed it to Fishlegs now as the young man just about squealed with delight.
"As reference only. I made that book myself, and it holds everything about every dragon known about," Hiccup stated as Fishlegs nodded to him while cradling the book as if it were a newborn baby. Hiccup rolled his eyes as he sat down now looking at the egg and wondering when it might hatch. Eggs weren't known for their long wait times from what he knew about dragon eggs with other species, but this was a Night Fury egg, and already he saw how different the hatching process was.
"Are you hungry?" Astrid asked softly.
"Yeah, but gonna hold off on eating a while longer. My stomach is still bothering me, and I don't feel like throwing up anymore," Hiccup said as he placed Emma down and she ran off to play.
"Maybe a bath would help? That's what my Mom used to do for me when I had stomachaches," Camicazi offered to him.
"Maybe later. Have you been a good girl today, Emma?" Hiccup asked when he saw Emma return beside him.
"She has been very well behaved today," Astrid told him.
"Really now? Well, then I think that deserves a flight on Stingwhip," Hiccup smiled as Emma's eyes lit up with joy, Hiccup lifted her into his arms and placed her on Stingwhip's back. He buckled her in and rubbed Stingwhip's head, "Nice and easy now, Stingwhip. No dives, twirls, flips, rolls, or upside down, okay?" The Strike-class dragon licked his cheek and lifted off the ground slowly, heading into the main nest and flying around slowly with Windstrike not far behind. "So, any more issues that we talked about last night?" he inquired.
"Well, she did call me Mommy during lunch when I got her food for her, and then again when we were playing a game. I just smiled and went along with it but," she paused.
"Still makes you feel a little weird huh?" Hiccup smiled softly, and Astrid nodded to him, "Would you like me to talk to her?"
"I-I don't know, Hiccup. She's only four, will she understand?" Astrid said.
"She will; I'll speak to her tonight when I tuck her into bed. You feel like staying over?" Hiccup asked curiously. Astrid blushed a little and nodded to him.
"I don't mind, I can take care of you since you're still sick," Astrid smiled as Hiccup placed his arm around her waist and kissed her cheek, effectively intensifying the blush on her cheeks.
"I'm not that sick, Astrid," Hiccup retorted to her as she giggled and laid her head on his shoulder.
"So...are we doing anymore learning tonight?" Helka inquired gently as they all looked over at Hiccup.
"Probably not, can't overload or you won't remember it all. Don't worry; you'll learn everything in due time. It's not something you can learn overnight," Hiccup chuckled a little.
"Good thing we aren't on a time limit then," Thuggary said as a few of the others nodded. It was now that Stingwhip returned and Hiccup got Emma off held her in his arms on his side slightly, she yawned loudly and laid her head on his shoulder.
"I think someone might be overtired from trying to take care of her father all morning and needs an early night," Hiccup pointed out as Emma tried to shake her head no to him and he laughed a little nodding yes in response. "Yes, princess, it's time you got some sleep. You were up very early with me at 4 am trying to help. Besides, Daddy needs to talk to you,"
"But, Asty said she would sing and tuck me in tonight..." Emma said quickly looking to Astrid.
"Well, I said I would if your Daddy wasn't awake," Astrid reminded, "Why don't you and your Papa go talk and if you still want me to tuck you in tonight, I will." Emma nodded to her as Hiccup walked towards Emma's room and shut the door behind him.
(Emma's Room)
Hiccup placed her down on the bed and knelt in front of her smiling at his little girl. "Astrid told me that you've called her Mommy a few times, is that true?" Emma seemed to bite her lip a little while looking down before she finally nodded to him. "Can you tell me why?"
"Cause she's nice to me all the time, she treats me like Mama used to and...I miss Mama so much, Papa, I'm sorry...Did I make Asty upset?" Emma asked with worried eyes.
"Well, you made her a little uncomfortable, and she's not sure how she feels about it. In some ways, she likes it because she enjoys how much you like to hang out with her and play, that you trust her that much to call her that. At the same time, she feels like you're trying to make her your Mommy since you miss your Mama a lot." Hiccup explained as easily as he could.
"Oh, so she doesn't want to be a Mommy?" Emma tilted her head to the side.
"I'm sure she does one day, but I think right now she's just afraid she would be taking your Mommy's place. Y'know?" Hiccup smiled some.
"But wouldn't she become my Mommy if you two got married? I do miss Mama, but I know she'd be happy to know that someone is caring for me like she did. That's what you said when you and Asty started dating, that she'd want you to move in and be happy. Would Mama want that from me too?" Emma inquired. Hiccup blinked a little, and it was times like these he honestly forgot how good his daughter's memory was.
"Of course she would. But things like this have to be taken slowly, baby girl. Yes, Astrid would become your adoptive Mom if she and I got married but right now, she and I are just dating, and we aren't ready to get married just yet. Mainly because Daddy isn't ready to be married again right now, there's still a few more things I have to do before all that," Hiccup told her.
"You wanna hurt Drago like he hurt you?" Emma asked as Hiccup looked at her slowly now, how had she known that? "I-I heard what you said last night to the others about giving back to Drago what he gave you..."
Hiccup sighed a little, "Yes. Drago put me through a lot of pain and suffering, but it's not just me, he hurts a lot of people and dragons. I have to be the one to stop him; he took Mom from us and Daddy...can't move on with someone else until I know I have avenged her and taken down her killer. Does that make sense?"
"It does. He won't take you from me, will he?" Emma said sadly.
"No, he won't baby girl. You don't need to worry about all that revenge stuff, okay?" Hiccup replied as Emma nodded to him. "I know you want a Mommy again and I know you see Astrid as one because she and I are lovers, we tuck you in together, she plays games with you. At the same time, Astrid isn't your birth Mommy so you can't just call her Mommy because you want to. If Astrid and I get married, I'm sure she won't mind at all if you call her your mother. For now, though, just call her Astrid or Asty, okay?"
"Okay, Papa. I won't call her Mommy anymore. Are you gonna marry Asty after you beat Drago?" Emma inquired curiously.
"I'm not sure what's going to happen after that princess, but I promise you that you will be the first to know, okay?" Hiccup told her, Emma nodded to him and then he hugged her.
"Can Asty still sing and tuck me in tonight?" Emma questioned hopefully.
"I don't see why not," Hiccup picked her up and they moved outside the room and stood before Astrid.
"I'm sorry for calling you Mommy and making you uncomfortable, Asty. I won't do it anymore unless you and Daddy get married, then he said I could," the four-year-old beamed as Astrid's eyes widened and Hiccup facepalmed hard. "Can you still sing and tuck me in?"
Astrid recovered from the shock of what Hiccup's daughter had said about her and Hiccup getting married and then Emma could call her Mommy, is that what Hiccup had told her? It was interesting and cute at the same time. "It's alright, Emma. And I don't mind singing to you and tucking you in. Why don't you go get ready for bed, and I'll meet you in there?" Astrid offered.
"Okay!" Emma exclaimed as she wriggled from Hiccup's arms and went to the washroom.
"I only told her what I told her because she brought it up herself, asking that if we got married would you become her mother," Hiccup said to Astrid hoping she wouldn't be mad.
"That's fine, Hiccup. As long as she understands the situation as it is right now," Astrid hugged him, and he returned it.
"She does, I broke it down for her simpler." Hiccup released from the hug as Emma returned to the main area and lifted her arms for Astrid to pick her up, of course, Astrid did, and Emma hugged her.
"I don't know if I know the songs your Daddy does, but I know one that my Mom used to sing to me when I was your age. Is that okay?" Astrid asked her, and she nodded her head happily. Hiccup went to sit down by Toothless to watch this; he'd never seen Astrid sing before and was genuinely curious. "People always say I have a laugh like my mother does. Guess that makes sense. She taught me how to smile when things get rough. I've got her spirit. She's always got my back. When I look at her I think, I want to be just like that!"
"When I love I give it all I've got! Like my mother does. When I'm scared, I bow my head and pray. Like my mother does. When I feel weak and unpretty, I know I'm beautiful and strong. Because I see myself like my mother does. Like my mother does." Well, Hiccup was officially impressed and so was anyone else in the room. Astrid was a great singer!
"I never met a stranger; I can talk to anyone. Like my mother does. I let my temper fly, and she can walk away when she's had enough. She sees everybody for who they really are. I'm so thankful for her guidance. She helped me get this far!" Astrid took a breath as a few others entered and it just happened to be Stoick, Valka, and Astrid's parents. Her mother, Alva Hofferson just smiled wide with a hand over her heart listening to her daughter sing the song to Emma that she used to sing to her.
"When I love I give it all I've got! Like my mother does. When I'm scared, I bow my head and pray. Like my mother does. When I feel weak and unpretty, I know I'm beautiful and strong. Because I see myself like my mother does. Like my mother does." Astrid took a deep breath as Emma looked up at her smiling. "She's a rock. She is grace. She's an angel. She's my heart and soul. She does it all!" she held the note a few seconds before smiling and looking down at Emma who now laid her head on Astrid's shoulder and closed her eyes contently.
"When I love I give it all I've got, like my mother does. When I'm scared, I bow my head and pray, like my mother does. When I'm weak and unpretty, I know I'm beautiful and strong. Because I see myself like my mother does. Like my mother does!" she leaned her head on Emma's while swaying her a bit, "I hear people sayin', I'm starting to look like my mother does." Astrid finished as Emma hugged her tightly, then Astrid kissed her forehead.
"You and Papa tuck me in now?" Emma asked with a big yawn.
"Of course," Astrid replied as she looked to Hiccup who got up and began moving towards them. In the silence, cracking could be heard, and they all froze.
"Toothless, was that sound what I think it was?" Hiccup asked slowly as he turned to look at Toothless.
"Its hatching!" Toothless told him quickly as he was already on his feet and watching the egg that had started to smoke and crack. The fireworm dragons moved on to the ground, and everyone took a few steps back having no idea what was about to happen. "Take cover; they still explode when they hatch!"
"Toothless, Cloudjumper! Wing block!" Hiccup called to them. Toothless hurried over to Astrid, Emma, and Hiccup then put up his wings to shield them. Cloudjumper did the same to the rest of the group that was sitting in the nest as the egg exploded. Toothless put down his wings and looked over at the fire pit to see a baby Night Fury sitting on the coal bed yawning loudly and then looking around at everything.
"It is so cute," Heather giggled as Toothless moved closer to the baby dragon and sniffed it a few times then licked the baby's forehead as it crooned and nuzzled under Toothless's chin. The baby Night Fury was black with dark gray patches and light purple eyes.
"It's a girl," Toothless told Hiccup glancing back at him now.
"Seems likes she's taking a shine to you bud. What are you going to name her since you just became her adoptive father?" Hiccup inquired.
"Nightstar, the scale pattern on her forehead makes a star..." Toothless replied as he used his tail to pull over a small bucket of fish and dump it out before the baby dragon he had now named Nightstar. Toothless ate a few of the fish, and then he regurgitated them back up before Nightstar who gave a gummy smile and began to suck them back.
"Her teeth won't come in for a while huh?" Emma asked curiously.
"No little one, they won't. Two months for them to come in," Toothless told her.
"Oh! Are you her Daddy now?" Emma looked at Toothless; the dragon nodded to her once.
"Time for bed little one, you can play with Nightstar tomorrow." Hiccup picked Emma up again taking her to her room.
"Night Papa!" Emma hugged him as he kissed her cheek then left the room after shutting her door when Stingwhip and Windstrike had entered and curled up around her bed. Hiccup returned to the main area to see Nightstar snuggling against Toothless comfortably and sleeping.
"You staying out here tonight bud?" Hiccup asked him.
"Yeah, she seems pretty content close to the fire." Toothless replied calmly. "I get the distinct feeling we're being watched," he growled a bit as Hiccup looked around trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. Toothless finally got up as Nightstar cooed for him to return. "Stay here," he instructed her as she laid back down and Toothless launched into the air and out of the nest.
"Where is he going?" Valka questioned quickly.
"He said he felt like we were being watched, I assume he is going to search for the source of the feeling," Hiccup replied. After twenty minutes of waiting and admiring Nightstar, Toothless came back, and he wasn't alone. There was another Night Fury with him, an older one and it was a female with purple/pink eyes.
"Hiccup, this is Nightstar's mother. Her mate and other offspring were killed by Drago, she took her only remaining egg and flew to safety. She left it here and led Drago away from the island and has now returned to make sure her baby is alright. I told her she could stay here for safety under Icefire, and she has agreed." Toothless explained to him as the female dragon was hiding behind Toothless a little, clearly nervous.
"I see the resemblance, she doesn't trust us, does she?" Hiccup replied now, and Toothless shook his head. Hiccup turned his attention to the female Night Fury now and inched closer. "Hey, it's alright. You don't need to fear us, we're friends of the dragons." the female dragon eyed him carefully as Hiccup put his palm out to her and she sniffed it while stepping forward. "You can trust us. That man who took your mate and other eggs is my enemy; he took my mate from me too," Hearing this, the female Night Fury pressed her snout to Hiccup's palm as he smiled a little.
"Thank you for understanding our kind." the female told him.
"You're welcome. Do you have a name?" Hiccup asked her.
"I was always called Nightskye," she replied.
"Then that is what we'll continue to call you. Welcome to your new home, Nightskye, a paradise for all dragons." Hiccup said to her.
"It's beautiful. And thank you, Toothless for helping take care of my baby. She attached to you rather quickly," Nightskye informed with a smile.
"I know what it's like to lose everything and have no family and our kind is limited as it is," Toothless responded to her.
"So this Night Fury is going to be living here?" Stoick asked.
"Yes, this is Nightskye. She is Nightstar's mother, and her mate and other babies were slain by Drago. She led him away from the island and then came back to make sure her baby was alright and now she has chosen to reside here," Hiccup explained.
"It's cute. We have our own little Night Fury family here now." Astrid linked her hand to Hiccup's with a smile.
"We certainly do, one family under the son. Peace will be restored when Drago is gone, and others understand the truth," Hiccup nodded in agreement. For the next few hours it was Nightskye and Toothless relaxing and keeping Nightstar content and everyone else just sitting around and watching or talking about things regarding dragons. Nightskye was able to offer more information on Night Furies that Hiccup added to the dragon manual. As it got later, everyone began to leave except for Astrid and the Heir's to the other chieftains since they were staying in the nest tonight. The Heirs got comfortable on their sleeping pads, covered up and lying down while Hiccup led Astrid to his room where they cuddled up against Stormfly since Toothless was saying in the main area with Nightskye and Nightstar. All in all, it was a good day and night. Now everyone could just sleep in peace.