A World Gives and Takes: Chapter 16

"It had to be her," Jack said in reference to Isemaler as the group sat by a small fire they lit on the beach.

The sun sat half consumed by the horizon. The group of friends continued to talk at length about all that transpire. Astrid and Snotlout heard the stories about the Island Miss, the sinking, and the loss of IceSpike. For the tenth time that day, Snotlout held onto Jack as though his bearing could both comfort and protect the man. Jack did not find it annoying at all, but rather a testament to the deep relationship they forged as business partners, clan brothers, and friends. He did take comfort from Snotlout because the man understood, as did Astrid, what he endured with the death of his dragon. That the man left Heboo behind for fear something might happen to her also spoke of his understanding.

The tales of what happened on the island, especially a once sentence description of Biva's demise, got met with equal parts amazement and horror. Neither Hiccup nor Jack refrained from stating how attached they became to Hasna, and their friends said it abundantly showed how much she cared about them. The survivors of the Island Miss called themselves a family, and Hasna simply filled it out even more. No one disagreed.

On the beach Hasna lay in the protective arms of Toothless with Stormwing sitting guard and Nepta patrolling the shoreline. It took a little doing, but the girl finally followed the lead of the two men who cared for her to introduce the new dragons. They showed her the trust ritual, and each carried it out in front of her several times. Toothless displayed great gentleness and patience. After many aborted and halting attempts, Hasna carried out the trust ritual. She repeated the ritual no less than eleven times after the first success, and Toothless complied each time. Stormwing got bored after the fifth ritual. It surprised everyone when the girl took the night fury and deadly nadder to the beach to meet the sea dragon, Nepta. Only a short while elapsed before the child and three dragons made sport in the water. Hiccup and Jack assured their friends the girl could not be in any better hands or talons. It seemed she wore out three reptiles as well as herself and lounged near the fire when the sun began to set.

"That would make sense," Astrid responded to Jack's statement. "Half the time it looked like someone lead Toothless. We know dragons could see you in you… other… form."

Down the beach the sailors of Chambermaid, captained by trader Lothgir's cousin Garthgor, lounged around another small fire. They gave the friends space and time to reconnect. At full dusk they planned to return to the ship for the night. Knowing a friendly sea dragon occupied the waters gave them a sense of security.

"So it's still in you, huh?" Snotlout asked half-rhetorically. "Don't really like what makes it come out."

"You and me both," Jack darkly quipped.

"But it did save us at least two times," Hiccup countered the tone.

"I don't remember the first time. I just woke up on the ice floe," his husband stated as he did for the last couple of months.

"So what was she like?" Astrid returned to the topic of Isemaler and seemed rather keen on the fact a female wore the mantle.

The Viking woman shed the majority of her heavy Viking clothing. She wore a light slip of a dress to ward off the worst of the heat and humidity. Snotlout took a page form Hiccup and Jack's book and donned a quickly fashioned pair of shorts. His much paler skin all but glowed even in the last rays of the sun.

"I only talked to her for a minute, but… it… she felt… perfect for the job. She looked the part, too. I could feel the mischief rolling off of her," the former Isemaler confided with a gleam in his eye. "Noro knows how to pick 'em."

"Well, Isemaler brought us here… okay, and Toothless," Astrid said and corrected herself. "We knew he was following something, so it had to be her. She didn't always stay with us, though."

"There's a big wide world out there, and winter is coming up. She's probably already visiting children to help them get ready," Jack quietly said remembering the days when he prepared for the onset of winter. Unlike Earth, Isemaler did not need to actually bring the cold and snow since Lord of Winter remained fully in charge of that.

"Still puzzles me why the staff came back to you. I mean, it's not connected to your world anymore," Hiccup mused on a question that niggled at him since the incident.

The dark of night crept further along the western sky. Only a ruddy glow remained on the eastern horizon. Night did not fall as rapidly as it did in the northern climes. The warm sunder under the feet and posteriors reminded all of them how hot the midworld region became. Astrid and Snotlout informed Hiccup and Jack they landed only about sixty leagues from the actual midworld point according to Garthgor. Jack steeled himself because only one real topic remained since they exhausted all other stories.

"Surprised that ice sheet lasted as long as it did," Hiccup against pondered aloud.

"We're lucky it did… and the same goes for the… children," Jack said the words so he could be done with he subject.

"The children," Astrid quietly said the last word.

"Their boat floated close to use, so we paddled the ice sheet out to get it. We thought it was empty," the Guardian began the tale.

Once started, it flowed out of him like a river from a mountain. Hiccup added details, but he mostly let Jack tell the story. Tears gradually began to seep out of two sets of eyes as they recounted their fear they would die in the boat until Nepta arrived. The telling focused on the Hasna and Biva. Jack describe Biva in exquisite if painful detail. He used Hasna as an example. The girl lay entwined with the dragons and stared at the fire. She heard her name, and sometimes all the adults could hear the girl mumbling words. Hasna said her brother's name several times. They story reached it's conclusion, the point where Jack decimated the part of the jungle, and a grim silence settled over the friends.

"I know this might sound… morbid… wrong, but he didn't really suffer much," Astrid said in fierce tone.

"No, but those last few moments…" Hiccup spoke for himself and Jack.

"I've seen children die before. Too often. It can't be helped because of what I do back on Earth, but this… it waited. It hunted. Not evil, but… I don't know. I just couldn't stop it," Jack said in a whisper as the firelight played twinkled in the wetness on his face.

"Jack, when we were young, the dragons would come… and they took our food, and we fought them," the lone woman among them intoned. "I saw men, woman… my friends get burned alive, or clawed or wing-swept. There was nothing we could do 'cept fight back… 'til Hiccup did something no other Viking ever did."

"Sometimes… sometimes in the middle of the night I remember those fights. They're old nightmares I can't get rid of. It's gets real tempting to find a way to forget… and not a good way," Snotlout added in a somber voice as his skin shown like a ghost and the silver in his hair captured the light.

"It's mortal life," Jack said and sighed afterward. "Sometimes I forgot how powerless we are in this flesh."

"You don't regret…" Astrid began to say, much to Hiccup's relief.

"What? No!" The Guardian interjected before she could finish. "No, and, maybe… maybe this is part of what The Man in the Moon wanted me to experience… learn. I guess the kind of power buried in me can't solve all problems. Maybe I'm supposed to learn I can't rely on it for everything."

"Damn piss-poor way to teach it," Snotlout commiserated with his friend.

"But I won't ever forgot," Jack quipped.

The quartet sat in silence and listened to night blanket their part of the world. The surf hissed as it slid back and forth over the sand. Some birds and insect stilled their voices while others took up the chorus. Far in the distance the sound of fronds and leaves rubbing together generated a gentle counterpoint to the ocean waves. It seemed so very pleasant, yet two people in particular knew it hid dangers they never encountered. Deadly dangers.

"So… ah, will you be ready to head out tomorrow? Garthgor said he'd like to sail on the morning tide," Astrid broke the silence and broached a topic that needed to arise.

"We don't have much 'sides ourselves and Hasna," Hiccup spoke first.

"Unless we want to pack the house and take it with us," Jack suggested and tried to lighten the moments. "We did just finish building after all."

Hiccup grinned while Astrid and Snotlout chuckled. Jack looked around the island. Without Hiccup and Hasna, nothing would remain for him except a bitter memory of a boy the world would never know. He sighed and stared out at the ocean. Hiccup studied his husband and saw a complex set of emotions glide across his features. The Viking desperately wanted to return home, yet he knew something of both he and Jack would never find its way back to Berk. The past several months changed them, and he could feel it: a deep, permanent alteration from the two men who first boarded the Island Miss.

"What about the sea dragon?" Snotlout inquired and raised yet another sensitive subject.

"Hasna loves him," Jack said with real warmth in his tone. "Leaving Nepta behind is going to break her heart."

"What do you mean leave Nepta behind? That's impossible. He's a water dragon. He'll just follow along," Hiccup refuted the notion of leaving the beast.

"But the boat won't stop. He can't swim twenty-four hours a day," the Guardian remarked.

"Why not build him a raft he can lay on that gets pulled behind the ship?" Snotlout suggested.

Hiccup stared at Jack. Jack stared at Hiccup. The both turned their heads and stared at Snotlout. Astrid began shaking her head and snickered.

"You guys get sun-baked or something?" The burly salt-and-pepper haired man inquired.

"Maybe a little," The sun-browned Hallan conceded as he chuckled as well. "That is an excellent idea. Jack, think we can knock one together before morning?"

"You mean take the house apart?" The Earthling parried.

"It's just going to fall apart anyway. Might as well put it too some good use."

Jack craned his head around and studied the house. They put a lot of material in the structure, and all of it would float. He started to plan. An idea came together as he survey their latest accomplishment.

"Tell Garthgor we're not leaving until the day after tomorrow. I know he wants to get back to Berk and gone before the early winter gales, but we've got something to build. Snotlout, you're helping," Jack explained in rapid order.

"I came here to relax," Snotlout complained, and received a swat across his arm from Astrid.

"We're both helping," she told him.

"Uh, duh! I was only joking," he replied while rubbing his alabaster-skinned arm. "Besides how does anyone even know that dragon wants to go north?"

"He'll follow Hasna," Hiccup and Jack said in unison.

"And he'll get used to the cold water 'cause he's already used to it," Jack informed them. "It gets really cold at the lower depths, and I know he fishes there."

Hiccup nodded in agreement. Both men thought of what the sea dragon meant to the girl they claimed as their own. Hasna all but claimed Nepta as her own. Since Biva's death, the beast became even more important. In the meanwhile, Jack began sketching in the sand. The configuration looked very familiar to the Viking.

"Still going with that idea, huh?" The Hallan man asked his husband.

"It'll work even better for this. We'll make three pontoons to hold Nepta's weight. Ever really look at him? He's pretty big," the man from Earth stated and ignored the rolling eyes of his husband.

"Well, if you've got a plan, then let's go with it. I'll go let Garthgor know… and maybe he'll have an idea as well," Astrid said and stood. She turned and spied the girl watching them from the protective embrace of Toothless and the watchful eyes of Stormwing. "We're not leaving any of you here."

The two survivors of the Island Miss both choked up. Astrid rarely said the word promise. She usually simply stated what she intended to do, and sometimes to the great regret of the recipient of her vow. With that she sped lightly through the sand. Becoming a mother hardly slowed the woman. After each pregnancy she returned to the ranks of the dragon riders within weeks. Hundfus, her husband, showed remarkable ability to maintain the house, the children, and work in the stone quarry while his wife defended the island. Most people fully respected Astrid.

"So, what's the plan then?" Snotlout asked and walked over to where Jack sketched in the sand.

Hiccup stepped back and enjoyed the Jack and Snotlout show. For over two years they worked together and formed both a solid business partnership and an extremely close friendship. Neither would admit it, but the differences between them in personality actually became complimentary. While they settled down to debate how best to assembled the raft for the sea dragon, Hiccup went to Toothless and the girl he immediately accepted. The Viking sat in the sand and began to scratch the dragon in all his favorite places. Stormwing quietly went in search of her mistress.

"Hasna, do you like Toothless?" He asked and indicated the beast.

"Toothleth," she dutifully said the name since it still sounded new to her. "Dagon."

"Drah… drah… dragon," Hiccup sounded out the word. "Nept is a dragon. Toothless is a dragon. Stormwing is a dragon."

"Dw-w… agon," Hasna stuttered out the word.

"Good enough."

The man reached out and ruffled her hair, and then received the customary annoyed glance from her. In the background the two woodsmiths debated the proper approach to constructing the pontoons and the type of platform they would need to support a large sea dragon. Hiccup already began to feel at home in some respects, and he sighed with relief as he leaned against his best winged friend. Ten seconds later Hasna crawled into his lap and watched her other personal Guardian wrangle ideas with the man's clan brother.

At the crack of dawn two of the sailors from The Chambermaid arrived at the house. They said Garthgor put them on loan to make sure the task got completed by the end of the day. That the captain agreed to haul a raft behind his ship still amazed a couple of the Berkians, but the presence of Toothless and Stormwing taught the man the value of dragons to their riders, even if the rider happened to be a two and half-year old girl and the beast sea dragon. Hiccup and Jack both thanked the sailors: an older and tough looking woman, and a younger man roughly the same age as the Berkians.

"Okay, first things first, we pull apart the top floor – don't break anything – then the upper floor, and then the main story of the house. Got it?" Jack commandeered the lead role in the project.

The bobbing of heads met his directive.

"Only use knives to cut the bindings once you're sure nothing is going to come falling down on you. Carefully put the freed up pieces over by where Snotlout is standing next to the work stands. Once we get enough materials, I want Kasri to start helping Snotlout."

"Yes, sir," Kasri the somewhat swarthy woman said. Physically she resembled Snotlout.

"Hasna? Hasna?" The Guardian called out.

"She's already with the dragons," Hiccup said. "Grabbed a fistful of food and ran out to see Nepta. She'll keep them occupied for the morning."

"And you're not afrai… never mind. She's better protected than any of us," Astrid stated and corrected herself.

The work began in earnest. Taking apart the house proved tricky since Hiccup and Jack built it to last and to withstand typhoons as much as possible. However, they did build it and knew how to dismantle the structure. With five people on deconstruction the task proceeded at a rapid pace. Kasri got dispatched to Snotlout who spent the time sorting through the pieces as they arrived and laying them out in the rough shape of pontoons. When Kasri joined him, they began to join the pieces. Jack selected her to work with his clan brother for very good reasons: Kasri could manhandle the springy amboo poles with ease.

The Viking man and Viking woman on deconstruction detail followed the orders of the Earthling to a tee. The sailor, Lim, also followed instructions as presented. They found out he worked as a shipwright in several ports when not actively sailing. Garthgor knew his sailors and sent the right ones for the job. Once comfortable with the process and the expectations, the four up carefully started to dismantle the house only days from final construction. Kasri served as the delivery person and could carry impressive amounts of lumber to Snotlout. Tacked to a tree flew the rough plans he made with Jack the night before and refined at breakfast. Thus, the work ensued at a very healthy clip and people spoke very little.

Well before noon the second floor got reduced to its constituent components. Like Hiccup, Jack, and Snotlout, Lim shed his shirt and rolled up his pant legs. Kasri stripped off her shirt and tied it around her chest to keep her breasts from swinging about. Snotlout started the day bare-chested, and his pink skin told the only true natives of the island their friend would spend several days in pain. Lastly, Astrid excused herself to one of the standing rooms, and emerged cinched in the same manner as sailor woman. The heat of the topics demanded such adjustments.

Just before the noontime arrived, another sailor arrived with drink and food. Two bands of crew went into the jungle to forage and find a more vibrant source of drinkable water. The groups got warned about the dragon-sized, limbed, snake-like creature who hid in trees and launched ambush attacks. The men and women paid heed and heavily armed themselves before heading inland. They returned with one haul, some of which they brought to builders who ate and worked at the same time.

In the shallows Nepta could reach, the water dragon played with Hasna, Toothless, and Stormwing. From a distance is sounded like an animal fight between the dragons roaring and the girl shrieking with delight. Even Astrid stood and grinned at the foursome. Stormwing carried a much different temperament than Stormfly as befitting what Astrid endured. To see the deadly nadder simply let loose and enjoy herself got entirely welcomed by everyone.

"Wow, that's a lot of amboo," Jack said after a fast break that included a lot of water and as much fruit as a person could eat in ten minutes. He and Snotlout eyed the pile of materials. "Good, good. Alright, Kasri is with Snotlout and me. Hiccup, you know as much about the construction of the house as me, so keep dismantling it. Save as much of the binding as you can."

"You're the boss on this one," Hiccup cheerfully said as he mopped his brow with a naked arm, and it did little to remove the sweat.

Jack grinned at his mate.

"Snotlout, Kasri, get ready to use every muscle you've got 'cause we're going to start bundling and bending this stuff. Here's the shape we're going after."

The trio went to the tree to study the drawings. Hiccup led his party back to the last floor of the house. All six people resumed their tasks. At first the Viking thought his mate got the easier of the tasks until he, Astrid and Lim stopped to watch them for a few moments. The three on the ground groaned, grunted, and sweated their way through assembling a ten-foot long pontoon shell. It did not look like easy work. The three in the house glanced at one another.

"You know we're going to end up doing that as well?" Hiccup said to his temporary teammates.

"Dun know 'boot that," Lim said in an accent similar to the one Gobber adopted in his youth from a seafaring clan and a man they all suspected he deeply loved. "Kasri be a-tough one there."

"No kidding," Astrid mumbled with a bit of awe.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow at her, elicited a scowl, and then a shove on the shoulder. They resumed carefully taking down the house he and Jack built. It some regard it felt like an insult to their industry, but what took shape nearby for a good cause alleviated that feeling. As Astrid said: no one they cared about got left behind, human or otherwise.

The six people worked until lunch, worked while eating lunch, and did not pause. Not long after the other three joined the ones building the craft. One pontoon lay completed, and Hiccup finally saw what Jack meant: it looked like a narrow and solid longboat hull, except solid. The construction crew almost completed the second one. While Kasri and Snoutlout curved and bound the front of the next float, Jack explained to the other three how to make the pontoons. Astrid grasped the idea immediately, and Hiccup began wondering if he could improve the design. Lim, they knew, would follow whatever orders got handed to him. Thus, they began work on the third pontoon.

In the guttering flame of the torches retrieved from the ship, the final touches on the floating platform got added while it bobbed and danced on the surface of the water. They six spent a good deal of time balancing the raft while the other members of The Chambermaid stood on the shore and gave them unneeded advice. Hasna watched as well form where she sat on the beach flanked by two dragons. The third paddled and swam within range of those in the water finishing and testing the craft. A ten-foot by twelve and a half-foot low raft drifted on the incoming waves. It got anchored to the beach. Then six builders climbed about. The raft barely dipped in the water. Others of the crew climbed aboard one by one until eleven people stood on the stable platform.

"This'll hold," Jack announced.

"When we's gets to the Berk," Garthgor rumbled form his place in the middle, "thinkin' maybes we's can have this?"

"Consider it payment for rescuing us," Hiccup said and Jack frowned but nodded.

"Oh, that'd be done settled 'fore we left the Berk. This be a top of more and we'll make barter for it on the wave."

As Astrid and Snotlout told them on their first night on the island, Garthgor spent his entire life on the seas since he reached seven years of age. He spoke numerous languages and long since gave up separating one from the other. Talking with the man sometimes proved a chore for those unaccustomed to conversing with him. The crew never showed any confusion when it came to his often garbled and strange orders. Astrid paid the man a huge compliment by stating she could sail with him since he ran a very tight ship.

"Okay, everyone off. It's time to train Nepta how to use this. We need a few of you to help hold it in place out in the water so he can get to it." Jack ordered as if he expected to be obeyed, and his expectation got met.

People jumped into the water. Some, including the captain, positioned themselves on the corners of the raft. As a group they walked it further into the water. Nepta swam up to the contraption and eyed it while bobbing on the waves. Jack walked to the edge of the raft. He held out his hand, palm facing outward, and closed his eyes. Nepta immediately swam to him and pressed his snout into the hand. Jack then slid it along the damp, smooth scales. Nepta burbled. The Guardian faced the beast.

"Okay, I'm going to show you something, and I want you to follow me," he said even though the dragon could not understand words. "If you want to stay with Hasna, you need to figure this out."

Jack jumped into the warm ocean water. It never seemed to grow cold. Nepta ducked under the water and then came up next to the man. It glanced around, and Jack realized it looked for a coconut. The Earthling shook his head. He slowly started to swim back to the raft. After a couple of feet, he paused. Jack then motioned to the dragon. Nepta swam forward. The two repeated the process until he floated at one end of the raft. Hiccup remained on-board and waited for his husband to lead the creature.

Jack held up his hand, and Nepta rubbed his – or her – snout against it. The long, possibly poisonous fangs never came near his hand. How or why the dragon liked people so much remained a prime mystery. Hiccup suggestion it got raised by a person and got lost or abandoned seemed as plausible an explanation as any. With the dragon focusing on him, Jack began the next phase.

"Keep following me," he told Nepta.

The Guardian turned his body. Then he placed his hands on the edge of the raft. Once stable, Jack twisted his head to face the dragon.

"Come on, Nepta. Come here," Jack asked the beast.

Nepta swam up to him. Its long neck bumped against the raft. Then Nepta stared down at him. Jack gradually pushed on his arms to make his torso rise out of the water. Once his navel became exposed, he flopped forward. Using his arms like fins, the man wiggled and pushed himself into the raft. The dragon stared at him.

"She's not getting it," Hiccup loudly mumbled. "How does she know what you want her to do? It doesn't make sense for her to climb up."

"Then how to we… Fish! We need some fish!" Jack started to responded and then shouted.

"Fish!" Hasna yelled from the shore. "Hic-ah, fish!"

"Not now, Hasna. Nepta is learning," Hiccup replied over several adults who began to chuckle.

"Nepta fish!" She rejoined.

The Viking in the raft smiled and shook his head.

"You know we both got that started," Jack told his husband.

"And we'll probably pay for it for years."

They grinned at one another. It meant they planned to keep the girl and raise her. They made a family, and now they wanted to keep the fourth member with them. They just needed to show Nepta what he, or she, needed to do to stay with them. The more both men thought about it, the more complicated the training process seemed complicated.

Minutes later one of the sailors arrived with half a bucket of fish. He waded out to the raft and handed it to Hiccup. Hiccup stood and gazed at the dragon. Then he looked at Jack, and back at the dragon. A wicked smile crossed his bearded face, and it made the Earthling uneasy about the Hallan.

"Jack, repeat what you did, but this time I want you to crawl all the way onto the raft. Then I'm going to feed you a fish," Hiccup told him.

"I'm not eating that!" Jack complained.

"You're as thick as a hot burple sometimes. I don't want you to eat it: I want Nepta to see he'll get a reward if he does what you do, but he needs to see you do it first."

"I'm still not eating it."

The people on the shore laughed out loud at the exchange.

"Why can't you have Toothless or Stormwing do this? Wouldn't it be better for one dragon to see another dragon doing what needs to be done?" Jack continued to complain.

"And how do propose I get them to not fly? Stormwing can leap here from the shore," Hiccup countered.

"She sure can!" Astrid called out and got a rousing endorsement from those around her.

Jack shook his head. He could feel this turning into the strange form of unintentional public theater the Berkians loved. After a few seconds he deeply inhaled and slid back into the the water. The torches on the shore barely cast enough light, but Nepta remained easy to spot under the half moon and stars. He swam up to the dragon, repeated the greeting, and again swam back to the raft. Nepta followed. Jack placed his hands in a flipper-like manner on the edge of the raft. Then Hiccup when to work.

"Look, Nepta. Fish. Nice… kind of fresh fish!" The Viking said while waving it around. "Watch Jack. He's gonna get a fish."

Hiccup walked stood halfway between the far end of the raft and Jack. He tossed the fish onto the platform. Jack tried his best to feign excitement, wiggled his body, and then shimmed his way onto and toward the fish. The sea dragon bumped the edge of the raft and leaned its long neck forward. Seconds later the dragon slurped up the fish. Those on the beach erupted into riotous laughter. Even Hiccup and Jack started to laugh. Dragons, as a general, rule did not make easy targets to fool.

"I hope we got enough fish for this," Jack commented as he eased into the water and swam backward.

It took nearly two hours to get the dragon to carry out the action they wanted more than once. Nepta seemed wholly confused by the entire process. Most of the people lost interest an hour into the training session. Hasna slept curled next to Toothless. Astrid, Snotlout, Kasri, and Garthgor remained to witness the proceedings. When at last Nepta did as they wanted, they whooped with joy. Hasna woke, cracked open an eye, and the rolled over to return to her slumber. The dragon riders continued to train Nepta. Whether the dragon would understand the purpose of the raft when they set sail remained to be seen. However, during the training, Hiccup and Jack agreed they would take turns prompting the dragon to climb on the raft when at sea.

Fortunately a tired Hasna meant a compliant Hasna. She hardly made a peep when Hiccup gathered her up and carried her to the waiting launch. Astrid and Snotlout occupied the rear seat with the captain while Hiccup holding Hasna sat with Jack in the front. Kasri womanned the oars and the middle bench. She rowed the group out to The Chambermaid, a ship easily as large as the lost Island Miss. Toothless and Stormwing flew to the ship. Nepta followed the rowboat and the raft tied to the aft plate. Without being asked, Snotlout jumped into the water when they neared the Chambermaid. He untied the raft and took the lead line to the keel of the ship. He then securely tied it to one of the cleats mounted on the hull often used for similar purposes.

"Hey, bud, can you come here," Hiccup called out to Toothless.

The night fury leaped from the gunwale and soared in a circle around them. Hiccup stood unsteadily in the rowboat and held aloft a now awake and visibly cranky little girl. She wailed a bit when Toothless backwinged and descended toward them. Toothless took hold of the girl and Hiccup released her. In the strong, sure talons of his best winged friend, the man trusted the dragon with the precious cargo. As Toothless ascended upward and disappeared over the deck, a set of arms encircled him. Jack hugged him with fierce intent. Hiccup returned it.

"We're going home," the Viking told the Guardian.

"I'm always home with you," Jack mumbled and kissed the side of the man's neck.

Around them Astrid, Snotlout, and Garthgor ascended the ladder dangling from the side of the ship. Kasri busied herself with tying the lift lines to the rowboat. Hiccup and then Jack took their turns climbing aboard The Chambermaid. On deck activity commenced around them. Hasna ran to the men and they both gathered round her. Although not entirely afraid, Hasna cast a wary eye. Hiccup noted her rather fearless demeanor. Jack, however, picked her up and headed toward the wide stairs leading to the pilot deck. Once there he carefully leaned over with her. Below they could just see Nepta bobbing in the water next to the raft.

"If he wants, Nepta can come with us," Jack told the girl.

"Nepta!" Hasna called out and waved while Hiccup held onto her waist.

Nepta warbled at the sound of her voice. When Jack and Hasna turned, the deck seemed alive with the eight crew members, three Berkians, and two dragons. Toothless and Stormwing got provisioned with traditional nests, and Jack felt a warm sense of relief. It meant neither would suffer what happened to IceSpike if the worst of situations should occur. An arm slithered around his shoulder, and his husband drew him into a hug. The moment began to feel overwhelming to both of them.

"Odd, isn't it after it being just us for these last few months?" Jack quietly asked the man holding him.

"Yeah, I… just a lot to take in over the past day. It's all… different now," the Viking replied. "Is this what it was like for you before you got to be a Guardian?"

"No, not really. I could see and hear people, watch them grow and change, but they couldn't see, hear, or feel me. It wasn't 'til the other Guardians started interacting with that I felt all that aloneness."

Beneath them the deck pitched ever so gently. Hiccup glanced down. Hasna stood in front of them taking in the entire scene. Her silence and almost motionless stance indicated the impact on the girl. He turned to look at Jack, but found Jack scrutinizing him. The the Earthling in Hallan skin smiled.

"What's that all about?" Hiccup inquired.

"I just like seeing how you look after Hasna…" Jack began to say.

"Ja," Hasna said his name as ritual dictated. Then she looked up while they looked down. "Hic-ah."

"Scrunchy face," Hiccup rejoined.

She made a face him. Jack laughed. She likely did not understand the words, but she clearly knew Hiccup teased her. Hiccup bent over at the waist and planted a sloppy, wet kiss on her forehead.

"Hic-ah!" She grunted in disgust while jerking her arms free to wipe away the offending spittle.

"Hasna!"

"If you get her going, you get to stay up all night with her," Jack warned. "And I really want to get some sleep. It's been a long day."

"Yeah, it has. Bed, Hasna?" Her truly Hallan guardian inquired.

"Toothleth?" Hasna countered.

"Um, no. He sleeps on charred wood, and you know way too much about that. I don't want to wake up and find out you decorated him," Hiccup fruitlessly explained.

However, Hasna caught the word 'no' and scowled a bit.

"Come on, sweet girl. Drink, food, and sleep," Jack said while picking her up.

The girl made her dragon face at Hiccup, and he returned it. The practice started with the arrival of the other dragons, especially after Hasna got a good look Stormwing. She would bare her teeth and make a crude growling sound. The moment both Hiccup and Jack snickered the first time she made a face, Hasna proceeded to used it on all the adults and the dragons. The reception she received cemented it in place as a new game. Thus, Jack carried a growling girl while a growling husband followed behind.

One of the crew met them at the bottom of the stairs and took them inside the rudder house and down to the lower decks. There they got shown to a set of private quarters much like the ones assigned to them on the Island Miss. A large hammock and a smaller bed awaited them. Food and drink waited for them on a small table. Hasna made for it as soon as Jack set her down. The men recognized local fruit, and so did the girl. The three sat in their cabin, an area defined by heavy blankets hung from the joists, and quietly ate. After eating Hiccup and Jack climbed into the wide hammock once they made sure Hasna got tucked into her bed. She did not quail and demand to sleep in their bed, and the men thought the change of environment as the reason. The warm close air of the ship mixed with full stomachs and sore muscles did not leave the Hallan and the Earthling awake very long. Neither man budged in their sleep when another small body joined them.