Will I get this fic wrapped up in 10 chapters? Only time will tell. If I'd known just how long this fic would get, I might have split it in two... but too late now. ONWARD.
-HTTYD-
Valka reluctantly stopped staring out at the ocean, attention being demanded by Storm and Junior. They'd only been gone one day anyway, and Eret said they might be gone as long as two weeks.
But with Grimmel out there still, she felt entitled to worry.
"Hey."
She looked up from where she was petting the younger Stormcutters and found a blonde woman and a Deadly Nadder, inclining her head to the two.
"Astrid. Stormfly."
"Hey guys!"
Astrid greeted Storm and Junior, who immediately charged over to her for attention, before she looked up at Valka again.
"You worried too, huh?"
"I am. But I believe in them. I just wish we weren't separated when the potential of another war looms just over the horizon."
Her hand automatically went to her stomach, a habit she couldn't suppress as her bump grew bigger. Astrid patted her on the shoulder - they got along alright, but physical contact between she and her future daughter in law was not commonplace.
"Same here. I came to see if you wanted to come down for dinner. Gobber's cooking down at Hiccup's place, but if you wanna be alone he'll bring you something in a little while."
Valka hesitated; being in the Chief's hut was still awkward for her, but perhaps some human contact would be a distraction from her fretting.
"I'll come down. Just let me fetch my tea mix."
Eret had pre-made her batches of it, so she'd have it to hand. He was sweet like that, she smiled to herself.
"You can get a ride with me if you wanna leave Cloudjumper up here with the others."
"Thank you."
Valka patted Cloudjumper and assured him she wouldn't be gone too long, and Astrid helped her dice fish for the smaller dragons to eat before she helped Valka up on to the Deadly Nadder's back.
"Gently now Stormfly, I do not want to get barfed on."
Astrid punctuated her comment with a giggle, turned and gave Valka a reassuring smile before they dipped down from the mountainside to the main level of Berk. Activity still buzzed around them, people talking training and Night Furies as they headed up to the Hall for dinner. Gobber was already in the hut, Grump snoring to one side.
"You go ahead and get yourself some dinner Stormfly, I'll be here."
The Nadder squawked and nuzzled her rider, then gave Valka an affectionate head bump too before she took off for the feeding station. Astrid turned to Valka.
"You and dragons... I can't believe how much Hiccup is like you."
"Because I wasn't here?"
"Sorta. I meant more that Stoick was surprised how he turned out, since he's clearly just like you. Stoick would have known that."
Valka shrugged, unsure how to answer. She'd never stop wishing something could have been different, though she wasn't quite sure how. If Cloudjumper had never taken her, so much might have been different on Berk. But perhaps it would have all been the same, and Drago wouldn't have had any opposition...
"Hey, Valka?"
Astrid was looking at her oddly.
"Sorry. I was lost in my thoughts."
"Yeah. Hiccup does that too. Come on."
Less want to let awkwardness fester, Astrid ushered her in to a seat and took the tea mix Valka had brought down with her, dumping it into a pot over the fire. She warned Gobber that it was there, and the man gave a nod to show he'd heard as he continued to stir the big pot he was cooking in.
"Evening Valka!"
"Good evening Gobber."
"How are ya feeling? Got a lovely soup goin'!"
Valka simply smiled, waiting for her tea to heat. It was still pretty awkward, but Astrid got herself comfortable and crossed her legs in her seat.
"Do you think they've left soon enough to save the Night Furies?"
"I hope so. I expect we'd have heard from the scouts of there were signs of an entire population disrupted by now."
"Yeah, I guess. Just feels kind of dumb to sit here doing nothing."
Valka frowned.
"We aren't doing nothing, don't think that. A lot of the work I did these last twenty years was rehabilitation, caring, learning. The rescues are important, but they're just the bits in between everything else. Never lose sight of what we are fighting for."
After a minute, Astrid smiled.
"Another thing Hiccup does. He always knows what to say."
"Eret's much the same. I do miss them, but it's important. Just as my reason for staying behind is important."
Her hand rested over her bump, hoping they would start kicking soon so she could feel more reassured they were in there.
Astrid had a strange look on her face as she watched. And though she'd had years away from humans, it was still a look she recognised.
She couldn't ask, though. Not in front of Gobber when Astrid and Hiccup were not yet wedded.
When her tea was done, Valka hesitated, glancing over at Gobber to ensure his attention was elsewhere before she offered a mugful to Astrid. Her wide-eyed reaction said everything, and her accepting it the final confirmation. Luckily, Gobber was oblivious as he focused on his seasoning.
When he was noisily rooting around in a trunk for bowls, Valka dropped her voice.
"Does Hiccup know?"
"No. Didn't want to send him off with added worry."
Valka placed a hand on her arm and offered a reassuring smile. It only made it ever more imperative her son and her husband returned safe and sound.
A little after they left the Stormcutters, they had to take a brief stop so Hiccup could eat, as Eret had rightfully predicted the colder weather would make him hungry. They set up camp briefly soon after to catch a little sleep when it became clear the dragons were exhausted. Seeing Hiccup was clearly still chilly even with his dragon companion, Eret tossed one of his bed furs over.
"Won't you get cold?"
"Used to it. Plus these two like getting into my bed anyway, so I have two little heat sources."
He gestured to the Night Fury young, who had just finished eating some regurgitated fish from their mother. As soon as she'd licked their messy faces clean, they turned and made a beeline for Eret.
"See?"
Hiccup let out a short chuckle and took the cover.
"Well, thanks."
"No problem. Get some sleep."
Tripfire had found a comfortable perch and Toothless had snuggled up with Hiccup. Eret had the two babies burrowed in his bedding, so their mother opted to lie between them and the dying embers of the fire. Slightly strange, but once the little ones had stopped wriggling about, Eret still managed to settle, Valka on his mind as he drifted off to sleep.
They were up a few hours later, a little cold but mostly refreshed. After a quick breakfast and time spent letting Hiccup warm up by the fire, they got back in the air.
"Are we close now?"
Eret asked Tripfire, who relayed his question to their black-scaled tour guide. She gave an affirming grunt in response.
"Well?"
Hiccup asked, not as skilled in speaking Tripfire-speak.
"Yeah, almost there. Ready Toothless?"
The Alpha Night Fury made a little happy warble, obviously in the height of excited anticipation. Hiccup gave his dragon an affectionate head scratch, gripping the handles on his saddle to turn a little as they followed the leader of the group.
The two young Furies made it clear they were almost home - baby dragons recognised where they hatched, after all.
"I know you guys are bored, but not long now, okay?"
It was increasingly difficult to keep the little Furies in place, juveniles not really keen on spending pretty much an entire day in one place with no time for playing.
Hiccup was still feeling the cold, Eret could tell by the way he kept snacking despite the heightened emotions around them.
Their lead Fury landed quite suddenly, and they followed her down.
"What is it? Call of nature?"
She shook her head, then padded over to a little gap in the rocky wall nearby. Eret followed her over, a little confused until she turned and dropped something in his lap. It was dark, rough and bumpy on the one side and smooth on the other. The cracks were very familiar though.
"Ohhhh. Hiccup, check this out!"
Hiccup joined him, eyes widening in surprise.
"Eggshells? Night Fury eggshells?"
"Yeah. Your mom said they were smooth, but these guys probably aren't the same as any she'd have met."
Hiccup turned the shells over in his hands, looking quite awestruck.
"So we must be close?"
"Yeah, some dragons travel a bit for nesting sites but up here its all pretty much the same terrain. I can't see them going far."
When Eret turned around, he noticed that the female Fury was heading back to where her offspring were playing, rolling around in the snow.
"Ah. That's why. This is her saying she isn't taking us any further."
Hiccup turned to look, lips in a tight frown that reminded Eret strongly of Valka.
"Guess we should say goodbye. And thank you."
Eret stood first, helping Hiccup to stand before they headed back over. He placed a gentle hand on her head.
"I understand. And thanks for bringing us this far. You can always come back and find us on Berk if you want to, or if you need us. Take care of yourselves, alright?"
Hiccup approached gently, showing his instinct for dragons when he held his hand out but didn't touch her right away. Letting her come to him. After a little hesitation, she pressed her snout into his hand.
"Thank you. I wish we had met in better circumstances, but you brought so much hope to my best friend. So thanks. We're gonna do our best to keep them all safe, and stop the evil people who did this to you."
"Don't go that way" Eret pointed "my old tribe live that way and I can't guarantee that none of them will hurt you."
Tripfire helpfully translated for them, and the Night Fury nodded. Eret picked up her juveniles and placed them on her back, giving each a little affectionate scratch.
"Stay safe you three. Hope we see you again some time."
She gave a short bow to Toothless, then spread her wings and took off. Eret was sad to see her go, but understood the choice.
"How's your leg feeling?"
"A little stiff, cold and aching. Why?"
"Can you walk? I figure we should avoid flying in and surprising them. If we go on foot we shouldn't seem such a threat."
Hiccup took a few test steps, then nodded.
"Yeah, I'm good. Which way?"
Eret looked around, working out which way they'd come from.
"Well that way was the Stormcutters. That way is humans. That's... the ocean and Berk that way. So... thatta way."
They headed on by foot, which had the downside of slowing them down massively compared to flying but the upside of not risking being shot out of the sky by frightened Night Furies. It did leave a lot more room for awkward silences though. Eret kept wanting to initiate conversation, but wasn't quite sure what to say. He wasn't really sure how Hiccup saw him, other than as the man who married his long lost mother. Eret had no intention of trying to be a... father to Hiccup, especially when he was only five years older than the young Chief. But he didn't want to forever be a source of friction between Valka and her son.
"Guys, stand still a minute."
Hiccup hissed, and they all fell still and silent. Eret strained his hearing to see what Hiccup might have noticed, and sure enough, there were some quite familiar sounds in the air. Quiet, but definitely Night Fury. Toothless started to wiggle excitedly, and it took a lot of effort from Hiccup to convince him not to just rush in.
"We need to be careful. These guys have probably encountered hunters, we don't want to scare them."
"And yanno, having the Alpha with us will probably help in terms of them not trying to kill us?"
Hiccup nodded, and they continued on slower, shuffling closer to the sounds of Night Furies. Eret looked up, but the sky was darkening rapidly and there was little chance of spotting the perfectly-disguised dragons if they didn't want to be seen.
As it turned out, they were spotted first. It made sense, he supposed, for them to have look-outs, and the plasma blast was obviously one as a warning - it went wide enough to be sure nobody was hurt, but Eret still saw the purple-ish flash of light wash over all of them. Eret laid a hand on Tripfire's side, reassuring her she shouldn't fight back.
"Hey uh, Toothless, wanna let them know we're here as friends?"
Toothless huffed, nodded and leant up, looking for whoever had shot at them before he roared out. Another roar came back, before Toothless turned and gestured with his head to say follow me. Eret moved to walk in step with Hiccup so Tripfire could fit behind them, the path they'd walked narrowing between icy formations. It only needed to be wide enough for a Night Fury, after all.
"Wow. I know we were looking for them, but wow."
As they were almost entirely silent, the sheer number of Furies they saw all around them was a shock. Eret counted two dozen, at least, and they were all fully grown adults if he used the female they'd met as a standard. Which meant there would be juveniles and adolescents around too, not to mention elders and those not on the front line of defence. Though they were all mostly just as jet black as Toothless, there was a myriad of different colours in their eyes.
"Yeah."
One particularly hefty dragon, easily twice the size of Toothless and with eyes such a deep shade of blue they almost looked black, stepped forward. Toothless' tail was twitching, but he seemed to remember he was the Alpha and let out a low growl. The bigger Fury withdrew a few steps before he continued forward, sniffing at Toothless before he dipped his head.
"Ok, that's one question answered. They recognise you as the Alpha. Guess you should introduce yourself then bud."
Hiccup encouraged, and Toothless pattered his paws a little before he headed over, exchanging warbles of greeting with the others. Tripfire shuffled a little closer to Eret protectively, which he smiled about.
"Relax girl. I think we're alright for now."
-HTTYD-
THEY FOUND THEMMMM!
