Welcome Aboard, ShipMistress!
-HTTYD-
Tripfire was ecstatic to see her other three offspring, and even Vali couldn't hide his concern for his wounded sister. Alva grumbled, trying to insist she was fine despite the dressings that covered Hiccup's neat, skillful stitches. She did perk up at the sight of her baby brothers though, and the six Stormcutters together looked absolutely overjoyed to be re-united. Valka's eyes found Eret, seeing the strain and tiredness beginning to wear thin on him already. He met her eyes for just a second, pulling off the bag he had around his shoulder.
"I figured you'd want these."
Valka took the bag, flipping open the top to look inside. She recognised the pile of parchment and paper immediately, colours different through age, some worn at the corners where she'd flipped through them some years. When she looked up to thank him, eyes wet with tears, Eret was gone. She barely caught sight of him walking alongside his cousin, their clothes standing out against Berk before they vanished behind ice and broken buildings.
"What's that you have there mom?"
Hiccup asked, smiling at the little family of dragons reunited next to them before his eyes turned back to her. He looked tired too.
"Oh... they... I... here."
She pushed the bag into his hands, struggling to find the words. He peered inside curiously, obviously spotting his name along the top.
"What are these?"
"Letters. I... you might think it silly, but I used to write to you. On your birthday."
Hiccup blinked several times, mouth opening and closing a couple more times before he managed to respond.
"Oh. Wow. Uh... so there's one for every year?"
"Yes. I... I never forgot you, son. Ever. I just didn't think I could do any good in your life. I had no idea you were so much like me."
His voice was thick when he answered her, hugging the bag to his chest.
"You had no way of knowing. I... is it ok if I keep these to read later?"
"Of course. They're yours."
Nodding, Hiccup turned on the spot, then looked back to her.
"Are you staying here on Berk?"
"If you want me to. I will have to make trips though, there are still dragons that need care back at the mountain."
"I do. Coming?"
Valka nodded, telling Cloudjumper first that she wasn't going far, and giving Alva a much-earned chin scratch before she went to follow her son. The silence was a little awkward, but Valka expected that. They were still mostly strangers to one another.
"I guess this was your old room. You can stay here, but I get if it's too weird for you. Won't be a minute."
Hiccup turned and headed up the stairs with his bag of letters, Toothless padding around behind her as Valka took in the room. The bed was definitely not the same one she'd shared with Stoick - that one had been smaller, and the carvings on the headboard different.
"Uh. I have another question."
Hiccup's voice cut in to her thoughts as Valka stared around a little blankly, unsure what to do or say.
"What is it son?"
"Is Eret staying here on Berk too?"
"I haven't asked him. But he'll go where Tripfire goes, and she wouldn't leave her mate or children. Cloudjumper wouldn't leave me. And I wouldn't leave you."
If she stayed in the same hut as Hiccup, he'd never be able to miss anything going on between she and Eret. If there even was anything anymore...
"Well, not sure how Berk is gonna feel about ex trappers shacking up here, but given that nobody on this island has a clean record on dragons anyway... if he wants to stay, he can. He'll have to wait for somewhere to sleep though, we'll be re-building for a while."
"He's good with his hands" Valka realised how awful that sounded when Hiccup's eyes widened slightly, and hastened to add "he built a lot of things. Tables, chairs. Beds for the dragon babes when they hatched. He also built a chicken coop."
"Did he do anything else while he was there?"
Valka laughed lightly.
"When he first invaded my life, he complained a lot about what I didn't have. So I told him to do something about it... I think he took that to heart."
"How did that happen? His 'invading' your life, I mean?"
Obviously hoping to delay returning outside where so much responsibility awaited, Hiccup made them both tea over the fire as Valka sat down, still taking in the hut she'd spent a couple of years in while wed to Stoick.
"I was out rescuing dragons, and I'd tackled ships with their sails before. There was a scuffle as we raided the ship, and I didn't notice until we were almost back at the nest, but he'd tried to stop us leaving by jumping up and grabbing hold of a dragon. Said dragon had held him all the way back, which saved his life. Eret wasn't used to the thin, cold air, so he passed out. I had to bring him back, or I'd have just been leaving him to die. He was very annoying when he woke up, and I did wish more than once I hadn't bothered."
Hiccup snorted, chuckling into his cup.
"Yeah, I can relate. Sometimes I contemplate leaving Snotlout somewhere when he's bugging me. Or the twins when they break stuff."
Smiling at her son, Valka carried on.
"It became clear quite early on he was unwell, and I realised he was wounded. By Drago, who'd branded him for failing to have dragons to sell for him. Indirectly, I was responsible for that, and despite blaming him at the time for choosing dragon trapping anyway, I couldn't just leave him to die of that injury. I treated his wounds and waited until he was well enough to go. He did his absolute best to get on my nerves constantly... and I grew increasingly frustrated with him for refusing to see the evidence right in front of him, how no dragon sought to hurt him, how sweet and loving they are."
"Yeah. Been there. Sorry, carry on."
Valka offered him a reassuring smile, reaching to touch his arm.
"You don't have to say sorry."
"Habit."
He shrugged tightly.
"I understand. Well, by the time Eret was fit to leave, I think we were both ready to kill each other. I put him on the back of a very gentle flyer, and I showed him the world from a dragons back. I suppose I felt like I had to try once more to get through to him, though I don't know where the hope came from. I'd never seen a human willing to change their mind before, after all. I saw it affect him, but he still insisted on leaving. So I dropped him off on an island that trappers used to wait for his crew, and the dragons and I headed off to do what we did best. The next thing we knew, there were flares of dragons flame coming from near where I'd left Eret, and when we got there, he was fighting off hunters. Defending a dragon. And Tripfire has been glued to his side ever since."
Hiccup laughed.
"Yeah. I've noticed she's quite... something."
"Oh yes. For a while, she trusted nobody but Eret. You wouldn't know to look at them now, but it was a long time before she came around to Cloudjumper, who was smitten with her immediately. She used to growl at him until he went away, and burned the things he brought her as gifts. She didn't like me much either, for a while. But she came around, and she brought Eret around with her. I taught him to fly, and he's been helping me save dragons and fight Drago ever since. As an ex trapper, he had a lot of insider information, and he taught Tripfire how to spring traps without getting caught."
And Valka loved him with a fierce, painful intensity. Longed to go and explain herself to Eret, but not before she had the chance to explain it to Hiccup. And she dared not put that weight on him when he looked so strained already.
"You said you blamed him 'at the time' for choosing dragon trapping. Did that change?"
Valka nodded.
"I don't agree with his choice, but I understand how he ended up there. Drago singled out his tribe, and Eret was still only a teenager when Drago killed his father right in front of him. Eret chose that path to protect his people, and choosing my path meant turning his back on that choice. It wasn't easy for him to do the right thing."
Hiccup absorbed her words in silence, and before he could answer, there was a knock at the door followed by it creaking open, revealing Astrid.
"There you are. People are looking for you, but if you need another minute, I'll cover for you?"
Downing the last of his drink, Hiccup stood, shaking his head.
"No, I better get to it. You can stay here if you want mom."
Valka declined and followed him out, though they seperated as Hiccup left to tend to his new Chief duties while Valka went to look for her dragon and his family. They'd been moved from just a random spot on the island to an impromptu injury bay, Tripfire curled up sleeping next to Alva while Cloudjumper stood watch over them, Vali entertaining his little brothers so mama could rest.
She also found Eret and Teeny there, Teeny helping haul barrels of fish around while Eret helped treat the wounded.
"Looking for somethin' to do lass?"
"Gobber! How are you?"
"Been better, but most o' us made it through, so could be worse. Could do with a hand if you're not busy."
"Just let me check on Cloudjumper, and then lead the way."
"Aye."
Cloudjumper reassured Valka he was fine (quietly), letting out a soft coo in the direction of his sleeping mate and child. Content for the moment they were ok, Valka followed Gobber down toward the forge. She understood why he'd asked her specifically - the dragons rescued from Drago's army were jumpy, and so he'd wanted 'expert help'. Valka did her best to soothe them, promised to remove the heavy, brutish armour that weighed them down and eventually, most lined up to wait their turn for such help.
The armour itself was proof of skilled work - they were sized to each dragon very well, some even staying on with no straps or ties at all. What a waste of talent, to use it in such an awful way. Valka felt no guilt about passing each piece over to Gobber, who enthused about the large supply of scrap metal they would have to melt down at the end of it all.
She hugely appreciated that Gobber didn't seek deeper conversation. He was more intuitive than many gave him credit for, and Valka suspected he knew more than he was letting on about a lot of things going on... but he didn't say it.
"Some of the feeding stations further up survived, you guys can go and help yerselves. No fighting."
A great many of Drago's dragons were Thunderclaws, and that hurt to see. Thunderclaws couldn't fly when they were afraid, which made them easy targets for trappers, and gods only knew what Drago had put them through to push them past their fears. There was a chance they wouldn't be able to stay amongst the more docile Berkian dragons, but Valka wouldn't just turn away from them if they needed her help, whether that was in feeling safe or being relocated.
Her cause hadn't changed just because her home had.
"I thought they'd be more colourful."
Fishlegs Ingerman, who was the spitting image of his mother, commented as he approached them carefully, scratching notes down in a book while his Gronckle stood nearby.
"They are, but Thunderclaws are mostly ground-dwelling pack dragons who bathe often and groom each other. This dark, greyish colouring is a sign they've not been cared for. They will brighten up in time."
He scribbled down more, nodding along to everything Valka said.
"What else? We didn't see a lot of Thunderclaws around these parts so the Book is pretty thin on them."
"Oh. Well... they are usually quite docile, but stampede as a pack when particularly spooked. They track with their tongues" Eret taught her that, Valka noted to herself "and are one of the best tracker dragons I have ever seen."
"Amazing. I bet you know a lot of dragon secrets!"
Gobber managed to chivvy the Ingerman boy away when he saw Valka look a little overwhelmed - she'd be happy to teach everyone things she'd learned over all the years she'd spent away, but getting used to so many humans was going to take time, and Valka was already feeling drained by the reunions, the lies, the fight, the loss, the time...
"Whoa! Easy there Valka."
Gobber actually had to catch her, Valka stumbling as she came over flushed and dizzy.
"I apologise. I was getting over a bout of sickness right before Hiccup found me. Perhaps I wasn't as recovered as I thought."
"Well, when she's got a minute, maybe you should see Gothi. She's still our best Healer."
"Perhaps."
She let him make her sit down and drink some water, but after that Valka got back to work, gravitating toward Hiccup again and again, and he seemed to appreciate it, asking her advice on which species would be best for clearing the shards of ice that covered half of Berk.
"I'd recommend Zippleback to help break everything up, and then Gronckles and Monstrous Nightmares to melt the thick bottoms enough to get at. That's how I did it. Cloudjumper's unique flames can do larger chunks, but he's only one dragon and Berk is quite large for him to do alone."
"Right. Maybe we'll keep the Stormcutters on reserve. Tripfire definitely needs a break after killing Drago."
The rest of the day seemed to flit on by in a constant stream of starting to unearth Berk beneath the rubble and ice of battle, before Eret found her.
"I uh... I'm taking off."'
"What?"
He shrugged.
"Teeny wants to go home. I'm not taking Tripfire, Alva needs her. Just... letting you know."
Valka cursed herself for not having words ready, Eret already turning away.
"Wait!"
He turned back, frown creasing his face.
"What?"
"It... what you heard... it wasn't what you think."
Eret faced her properly, crossing his arms and looking so defensive and unsettled she barely recognised him.
"So you told your son about me?"
Valka winced. Eret noticed.
"That's what I thought. I have to go."
"Are you coming back?"
She asked, voice small and pathetic even to her own ears. Eret sighed, shoulders tensing even as he turned away again.
"Probably."
Valka was relieved to find Hiccup too exhausted by the day to seek more conversation that evening, because she wasn't sure she had it in her. Trying to sleep in Stoick's old bed lasted less than an hour before Valka gave up, went in search of Cloudjumper and curled up against his warm belly, the only familiarity to be found for her on Berk. She felt some of the tears escape, but managed to keep from actually crying.
Sleep came in fits and starts before Valka was woken by a wave of nausea while the sky was still dark, probably only not physically sick because she couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten. Seeing the flicker of light coming from the little hut that teetered high up, Valka reluctantly hauled herself up to see the Healer, if only for something to settle her stomach. Gothi was awake and ushered her in, poking and prodding invasively at Valka, her glare at any protest oddly reminscent of the way Mala got when Valka failed to take good care of herself.
When Gothi pushed the tray of seeds at her, Valka baulked and pushed them away, laughing. The Healer was insistent, glaring even harder and rattling the tray at her.
"You can't possibly think..."
Gothi nodded sharply, and Valka held the tray in numb hands for several minutes. She couldn't be... but the seeds sprouted.
Valka was pregnant.
-HTTYD-
Well, this is awkward.