Author's Note – This is set between chapters 76 and 77. This is also the final planned bonus post. I might add future scenes if inspiration strikes.
Soft Wind
Hiccup furiously paced before the midwives' house. Adney had been in there for a long time, and he wanted to be in there to help comfort her... or something.
But that was not the custom in Rohan. Men were not allowed in there for that until everything was done.
"Do not fear. She is strong," Toothless hummed.
"I know, but still... something can go wrong... and it has been so long."
"Fearing will not help."
"Can't help it."
Toothless snorted, so he turned away from him, walked far enough away that he couldn't hear anything, and stared into the west.
The soft and warm wind blew across the golden plain that flowed like an ocean.
Toothless eventually stepped over to him and headbutted his shoulder.
"You will dig a hole just by walking there."
"Yeah, I'm afraid."
"Having fear did not help me with Morning-Star."
He locked his hands behind his head.
"True, but I still feel... ugh... I am so not ready for this."
Toothless laughed.
"Far-Flight told me that he thought the same about me and Breath-Of-Sky. No sire is truly ready to be a sire. What is the saying that you told me? It was something... wise."
"Me say something wise?"
"Good point," Toothless rolled his eyes.
"Thanks for nothing. The saying is that there are some parts of life that can only be learned on the job."
"Very true. This is one of them."
They remained standing there until they saw motion over at the midwives' house. It was Ylenna, one of the midwives attending to Adney within.
"Master Haddock," she evenly greeted him.
He took a very deep breath. The news that she carried would change his life forever.
"Ylenna, what is the news?"
"Your wife and daughter are both well," Ylenna smiled.
He almost collapsed in place. It was too good to think about. Too wonderful. Life was so good now.
He had to wipe a tear of joy from his cheek.
"Breathe," Toothless purred, poking his back with a paw.
"Right, yeah, true, sorry. Can I... see them?" he eagerly asked.
"Certainly. You may enter. Follow me," Ylenna answered.
Ylenna let him inside past several other midwives to a bed in which a very weary Adney lay propped up against pillows. Her hair was disheveled, and she held a bundle in her arms.
The other midwives had already cleaned up, or maybe everything happened somewhere else within the house. Regardless, that was unimportant.
"Adney?" he whispered and knelt at her bedside.
"Good to... see you... that was hard..." she sighed.
"I can only imagine. How are you?" he whispered, gently holding her shoulder.
"Don't worry... about me. I just... need rest. You should... meet her."
She held up the bundle for him to take, so he did. He saw her, completely wrapped up in swaddling cloths and deep asleep.
His daughter, so small, wrinkly, sleeping, and healthy. Thought failed him.
"She has your eyes," Adney whispered.
"Good."
"She made... a fuss too."
"Did she? Well, she does not get that from me," he teased, gently rocking his daughter.
Adney rolled her eyes and leaned back in bed.
"I should... duel you for that... later."
"Fine by me. Anything you want."
He turned all his attention back to his newborn daughter in his arms. His planned words and songs he wanted to sing for her failed him. She was asleep, and he didn't want to accidentally wake her up. A sleeping baby was a good baby.
"Are you going to sleep now?" he asked Adney.
"I should."
"Fair enough. I'll let you get your rest. Still agree on her name?"
Despite how weary she must be, she grinned.
"Yes, it's much... better than your name."
"That's not saying very much," he chuckled.
"True, but still..."
He smiled at their daughter and kissed her brow.
"Hello, Zephyr."
"Can I see her now?" Toothless asked, his eyes very wide and round.
"Just where is this coming from?" Hiccup protested.
"From your brother who wants to see his brother's cub who will be my cub's friend! You saw my cub already."
"That was rather hard to miss considering what I was helping with!"
Toothless's eyes went even wider.
"Alright, fine, I guess. Cool your tail!" Hiccup groaned.
"You cool your tail."
"Whatever. Let's go."
Toothless smirked and chuckled.
Yes, it worked! Big eyes make humans do what we want them to do! Maybe we have power in our eyes after all!
"What are you laughing about?" Hiccup asked.
"Nothing important."
Hiccup grumbled and put his paws in his furs.
They arrived at the door to the humans' birthing-den, and Hiccup went inside. Two days had passed since Zephyr's birth, and he still had not seen the cub!
His tail swayed wildly in anticipation. She was sure to be almost as precious to him as was Morning-Star.
Hiccup walked out while carrying a pile of furs in his arms.
He leaned closer and stared with a burning soul-fire at the tiny human hidden in the furs. She was very small, and her scent was indeed close to Hiccup's scent. But the most warming thing about her was that her eyes were the same color as Hiccup's eyes.
She also did not seem to like the sunlight since she blinked a lot, yawned, and did not look happy. He did not want her unhappy with him.
"Take her back inside," he hummed.
Hiccup did so and then returned to him, grinning widely.
"So, what do you think?"
"You have a good young one. She and Morning-Star will be good friends, I hope."
"Somehow, I don't think that will be a problem," Hiccup chuckled.
"And her name, Zephyr, is for the soft wind that blows across the plains?"
"Yep. We didn't want to follow my old tribe's naming conventions. Zephyr isn't really a Rohirric name, but she won't be a normal Rohirrim woman either. Oh, Adney and I still want you and Moonbeam to watch her sometimes, just as we do for Morning-Star. We won't need you to do that for several months though."
"That is fine. I and Moonbeam would like to do that," he purred.
Oddly, Hiccup laughed.
"I can see it now. Babysitter Toothless. Just remember that if she starts smelling bad, you have to come get either me or Adney."
Toothless whined softly, completely unsure what to do. Zephyr was crying, making a lot of noise for no clear reason.
Hiccup and Adney had left Zephyr, now one and a half winters old, with him and Moonbeam while they went out on a horseback ride. Hiccup and Adney wanted some time together with no cub-distractions.
But that left him with the problem of a crying Zephyr rolling in the straw of his barn-den.
"Zephyr, stop," he purred.
She kept crying. Nothing he could do stopped the crying. Licking her face or flicking his teeth in and out had not helped. Offering her a tail to gnaw on had never worked as it did with Morning-Star. Humans could not be put to sleep by a careful stroking under the chin. He had learned that after trying and failing with her.
This was very soul-fire chilling.
Great skies, what am I doing wrong?
The door to his den opened as Moonbeam and Morning-Star bounded inside. She had taken their daughter to the waste-pits before sleep. Hiccup and Adney had changed Zephyr's waste-furs before leaving her with them, so that was not a problem either.
Moonbeam lay down before Zephyr and purred to her.
"Little one, you can stop crying."
Zephyr sniffled and blinked rapidly at her, tears still falling down her cheeks. Morning-Star peeked around Moonbeam's side, leaped before him, and sat down.
"Sire, why cub sad crying?" Morning-Star chirped.
He nuzzled her forehead.
"I do not know. Maybe she wants her sire and dam."
"Or she might be hungry," Moonbeam grumbled.
That was a problem he could not help with. Nor could Moonbeam. Only Adney could help with that.
Morning-Star dashed to Zephyr. The effect was immediate.
Zephyr's crying stopped as she sat upright and stared at his cub. Morning-Star stared back at her, her ears lifted high. Both cubs yawned at almost the same time.
"Looks like you both need sleep!" he chuckled.
"No!" Zephyr barked.
"Sleep?" Morning-Star barked.
"Yes, sleep," Moonbeam purred as she lay down beside them and covered them both with a wing.
That appeared to help.
Toothless rested beside her, watching as the cubs leaned against Moonbeam's side and settled down together for their sleep. The warmth of shelter under a wing could always help a cub, human or dragon, fall asleep.
Zephyr and Morning-Star, while very young, were already fond of being around each other. They had a pawful of incidents in which Zephyr tugged too hard on one of Morning-Star's ears or Morning-Star toothlessly nipped at one of Zephyr's paws, but those were young-cub mistakes made in play-bonding.
He had no doubt that they would grow up to be friends. Dragons and humans as friends forever was all they knew or would know.