How the fuck is it March already?
-HTTYD-
Sleeping without Eret was still tough for her, though eclipsed slightly by her worry for Hiccup. Valka rose not feeling particularly well rested on their fifth day apart. She'd never realised she could become so reliant and used to another person after so long alone, but her heart ached so much as she missed her son and her husband, fearing for their mission. It was an incredibly important mission, and Valka had faith that they could find and win the trust of the Night Furies, but there was still the threat of Grimmel and the other hunters. Not to mention it was a difficult environment they were in, though she definitely trusted Eret to keep Hiccup safe, and to know the terrain they were in.
She put her tea on to brew and went to relieve herself, rubbing her stomach as she yawned. Once her tea was done, Valka put her boots on and headed out to the dragons. Cloudjumper and the others were equally bereft without Tripfire, and she expected the dragons also felt the lack of the Alpha. Especially Cloudjumper, who'd lived in the nest, been close to the Bewilderbeast and had the affections of a trusting, friendly Toothless right from the start.
"Figured you'd be up. Can't sleep much either, huh?"
Astrid and Stormfly landed soon enough, just as she had the previous morning. Valka suspected that it wasn't just worry, that she felt a little less fearful of saying anything about her pregnancy when nobody else knew she was with child out of wedlock.
"No. There's some tea left in there for you."
"Thanks."
Astrid headed in to the hut, returning a moment later with a mug of tea and sitting down next to Valka while Stormfly greeted the other dragons, cheering the young Stormcutters as she squawked and jumped around with them. A little loud for the early hour, but they weren't going to disturb anyone else up there.
"How much have you been ignoring the urge to jump on your dragon and try to track them down?"
"Oh, a lot. Last night I was considering how best to try and convince you to come with me, but managed to restrain myself. I trust them, and Eret asked for more time. I just want them back here, safe. But I want the Night Furies to be safe too, and I know how much that matters to Hiccup."
Valka nodded, swallowing some tea before the brisk morning air made it cold.
"As do I. And you have something quite important to tell Hiccup when he comes back."
Astrid's hand moved to her stomach, a rather nervous tell she probably needed to work on, at least until Hiccup was back and they could talk about tying the knot. Berk was used to sweeping 'early' births under the rug, a quiet acknowledgement that some betrothed couples got a little carried away but ultimately made the responsible choice.
"I suppose the fact they're not back yet should be encouraging, means they more than likely found what they were looking for. They'd be back by now if there was nothing to be found, right?"
"Yes, Eret was confident the journey itself would only take a day or so. But if the Furies had suffered attacks from humans, then they would be naturally suspicious. They have Toothless, and Tripfire, and both Hiccup and Eret are good with dragons. So long as they beat Grimmel there, we have little to worry about."
Valka wasn't sure who she was trying to convince, herself or Astrid. Nor was she particularly sure if it was working on either of them, and the two sat in relative silence to finish their drinks. Astrid excused herself a little later - she was helping to keep Berk running, and Valka had dragons still settling down on Berk to work with. Not to mention continuing preparations for the battle they were all sure would come knocking eventually; if Grimmel found out about Toothless, he'd eventually come for Berk to finish what he started, his pride in the complete destruction of a species utterly abhorrent.
Their next three days passed in a similar fashion, and she could tell by how twitchy Astrid was, and how frequently she looked toward the sky in the direction they'd last seen Eret and Hiccup fly off, that the blonde was increasingly tempted to just go after them. Valka was little better; sometimes only her concern that she'd get dizzy and fall off her dragon's back kept her on Berk. It was still a difficult choice, essentially choosing to keep the child she was pregnant with safe rather than check on her adult son. But Hiccup wasn't alone, and she trusted Eret to care for and protect him as much as possible.
When Valka woke on their ninth day apart, her first awareness was some little flickers of movement in her belly. Her hands curled over her little bump, the small motions heartening, a reminder that the baby was in there growing bigger and stronger each passing week. When she headed out, she found Astrid there too, and could tell the blonde was quite on edge despite the early hour.
"It's been too long. I'm worried."
"I know. I am too."
Astrid sighed, slumping down next to Valka and staring up at the sky.
"What if they've been captured? What if something's happened and we're just sat here waiting?"
The same thoughts had crossed Valka's mind, but she knew she needed to comfort and pacify Astrid.
"Then Tripfire would have escaped and come back here to have all of Berk help her rescue Eret."
That brought a smile to Astrid's face, and she gave a small nod as she let out a chuckle.
"That's a good point. Eret told me she once ripped up a boat to find him."
"Oh, she did!"
The story seemed to distract Astrid for a few minutes, but Valka knew it was going to be increasingly difficult to keep her from flying off to find the absent Berkians. Even more so when Valka herself wanted to go find them too, and they still had five days left before they were meant to worry.
"Huh. That stormcloud is moving in awfully fast."
Astrid commented, and Valka looked up, following her line of sight. The limited morning light made it tough to tell right away, but once her eyes adjusted more Valka frowned.
"That's not a stormcloud. Look around the edges."
Astrid squinted, eyes widening just as the dragons around them began to get quite animated. Cloudjumper was the most excitable about it, it seemed, and Valka had barely gotten to her feet when she spotted the distinct colouring of her dragon's mate. Her stomach flipped uncomfortably when she couldn't see anything, or rather anyone on Tripfire's back. Only a brief glimpse of red amongst the black offered any sort of comfort before the cloud got closer, and she spotted familiar colours of armour on the back of the only Night Fury wearing a prosthetic tail fin.
Toothless landed quite heavily, and the flock that had followed them began landing all around. There were too many to fit on the land outside their hut, and soon there were a couple dozen Night Furies occupying the rocky mountain above them. And that wasn't the only surprise, but Valka's attention was quickly diverted to the two on Toothless' back.
"Hiccup! What happened to him?"
Eret had bruises on his face, fresh scuffs and burn marks on his armour and there was blood splattered across him. But he was conscious, which was more than could be said for Hiccup, who appeared to have spent at least part of their flight out cold in Eret's hold. Eret managed to stagger off of Toothless' saddle, his awkward gait suggesting a long, hard flight as he laid Hiccup on the ground.
"Grimmel. Astrid, go get Gothi for me? I'll explain everything, but the sooner we treat Hiccup the better."
Panicked and pale, Astrid nodded before she climbed on Stormfly's back and shot off, leaving Valka to kneel next to her son, looking up at her wounded husband.
"What happened?"
"We were getting through to them, they were letting us spend time with the youngest and we even helped treat a couple of wing sprains on the elders. And then Grimmel found us. Hiccup was hit by one of his darts. Speaking from personal experience? Not fun. And Hiccup's lighter than me, the same dose probably hit him harder. But I remember what we used on the dragons who Grimmel brought to Drago, and it should work on Hiccup. Either way, he should come round eventually."
He'd barely managed to finish explaining briefly when Astrid landed nearby, barely finding space amongst the flock of Furies. Toothless and Eret both looked exhausted, and Tripfire was eyeing the packs they'd brought back warily. As Valka looked around again, information filtered through her haze of worry.
"Are those Stormcutters? Where did you find those?"
"Living up north too. Not far from the Furies, in dragon terms. The Furies had definitely seen them before, they weren't surprised by Tripfire. You can understand me just fine, right?"
Eret's last words were aimed at Gothi, who gave a short nod and patted her big basket, staff rattling as she surveyed the Chief.
"Good, cus I can't feel my hands so you'll have to mix up the remedy. Hiccup's gonna be pretty sick for a day or so after, so you can fuss over him at home."
Valka and Astrid could only watch on as Eret talked Gothi through the various medicinal plants needed, and it took them a while to rouse Hiccup enough to swallow. Even then, he was out again seconds later, but there was great relief to see he was in fact alive.
"I'll get Hiccup back to the Chief's hut, Gobber will be able to help take care of him. I'm guessing you'll need help dealing with all... this?"
Astrid gestured to their new company, and Eret nodded with a sigh.
"Yeah. We need space for injured and babies, and you have to tell Berk not to come rushing up here. These guys just about started to trust us, and they trusted Toothless as the Alpha to get them to safety, but they were just attacked and they are all scared and displaced from their home."
Astrid gave a nod, then looked down at Gothi as she packed away her things.
"Will he need another dose of that?"
"Only if he doesn't come round properly by tomorrow. Just keep him warm and have fresh water and clean covers ready, cus he's gonna sweat and probably throw up later."
Valka hated to watch Hiccup disappear, but Eret looked like he could barely stand and there were a lot of dragons that needed tending to. Including Toothless, who hadn't moved since they landed.
"Was Toothless hurt?"
"No. Hiccup took the shot for him, and the Furies helped fight Grimmel off but we figured he'd have back up on the way just in case, and it was a long ride home. Get him some water while I talk to the leaders?"
Eret stumbled but managed to move, and Valka saw two Night Furies even bigger than the rest of the larger Northern flock. He pointed over to her, and she suspected he was explaining that in dragon terms, she was his mate. With a moment to breathe as she filled a bowl for Toothless, Valka had time to marvel over what they had discovered. Even with the threat looming over them, her heart soared to see the undisputable proof of the survival of a species, and more than one at that. She'd always worried for how few Stormcutters they saw, knew Cloudjumper and Tripfire were lucky to have ever found each other.
Toothless warbled before he lapped at the bowl gratefully, bumping his head against Valka's leg before he flopped back down on the ground. She petted him in thanks, murmuring her gratitude for him getting Hiccup and Eret home.
"You have more than earned a rest."
Eret needed a rest himself, but Valka knew how stubborn her husband was and that he wouldn't stop until they were sure the dragons were safe for the moment. She still wasn't even sure how badly hurt he was, the saddle-soreness and exhaustion making it hard to determine if he was more seriously injured than he was letting on. He beckoned her over, and Valka went so she could be introduced to the pack leaders. With her own offspring crowded around her, Tripfire was translating for the dragons that obviously didn't understand Norse, but the Night Furies gave Valka a little head bob, and she saw no real fear or worry of aggression from them.
"Incredible."
"I know. The Stormcutters must have known something was up, because we didn't go get them, they just showed up and helped us fight off the Deathgrippers, then escorted the flock and helped carry the wounded. They think we're very strange, but they wanted to help, and I think seeing Tripfire and now Cloudjumper was good for them, cus they thought they were alone up there too."
Valka watched him struggle, and reached out to help unfasten his armour.
"Don't fuss."
Eret muttered as Valka peeled it off, saw burns and blood beneath. She could smell the sickly scent layered over the expected one of his burnt clothes.
"Deathgripper acid?"
"Yeah. My armour took the brunt of it, but it dripped through the gaps and ate through some of my clothes. I'll be alright. Help me settle the dragons and then you can go fuss over Hiccup? I'd tell you to go now, but I can't handle them alone right now."
"What happened to Grimmel?"
"Pretty sure he survived, he jumped on one of the Deathgrippers and got out of there. He had twelve, four flying his weird... thing, and more as bodyguards, I guess? Not a fair fight when we don't want to kill them. I think three of them were killed though, and his flying contraption was smashed up. It'll slow him down I guess, but he's still got at least eight of them and the Deathgripper venom shots."
Valka managed to peel off his ruined top layers, saw the angry red and dark purple of burns and bruises on his bare torso.
"How did you get so bruised up?"
"Oh. Falling rocks, I saw Hiccup go down and Grimmel tried to use the nearby mountains to bury him. I wasn't leaving without him, so I got hit with rocks."
If she wasn't scared she'd hurt him more, Valka would have kissed him for those words. Eret's energy was already low, his voice tired and his power to stay standing clearly fading. Valka made him sit down so she could at least dress his wounds, since they were waiting for notice that there was somewhere to put the massive amount of dragons all around them. She wiped off dirt and dried blood, then covered his burns and scrapes in balm and bandaged him up as best she could. Eret winced as he pulled a fresh tunic on to hide most of his bandages, then rolled his eyes at her.
"See? All fixed up."
"Eret."
He sighed.
"Alright, alright. I know it looks bad, but you also know I've had worse. Ok. The dragons live mostly on the coldest of cold water fish, and even though the Stormcutters are bigger, they eat about the same weight. The Stormcutters like ice, the Furies like water and climbing. Stormcutters don't like the saddles, but the Furies flat out aren't keen on humans. I don't want anyone getting hurt."
After she made sure he drank some water, Valka sat with her husband for a minute, just absorbing that he was home and alive and at least as safe as any of them were. Fishlegs Ingerman and a handful of others Valka knew spent most of their time caring for dragons rather than fight-training soon landed up there, most of the Night Furies backing up warily. Fishlegs' eyes were wide with awe as he looked around.
"Oh my gods!"
"I know, I know. Look, we've got a lot of very tired, very scared dragons. We need somewhere to put the elders and babies to rest, with room for the adults to keep watch. And somewhere for those injured to be treated where they won't be bothered too much. When Hiccup wakes up, you guys can be excited about Night Furies. Right now, I need you to be calm and focused, cus these guys need to feel safe, not crowded."
Eret's words seemed to get through to the others, who all sobered up and the Ingerman boy gave a solemn nod, tapping his fingers together as he hummed in thought.
"Hmm. Ravens Point should be big enough for them if they all sleep together. Lots of tree cover, some water, and the cove for the ones they want to keep watch over. And there's a spot we were clearing to extend the stables where we can keep the injured separate from the other dragons for now."
"Is it big enough for the Stormcutters? You're gonna need Tripfire to translate anyway. These guys don't speak Norse."
Fishlegs gave another nod.
"It should be."
With a sigh, Eret nodded and began trying to get to his feet. Valka stood and helped haul him up, steadying him when he stumbled.
"I'm gonna settle the dragons in, and then I'm going to sleep. Go be with Hiccup."
Valka tried to argue, but Eret was insistent that he'd only be dead to the world soon anyway, and Valka couldn't deny yearning to go and check on Hiccup. Her life had been simple when it was all dragons. Now she had so many more things tugging at her heart - her son, her husband and her pregnancy as well as all the dragons. Alva agreeably allowed Eret on her back so he wouldn't have to walk, and Cloudjumper obliged to carry Toothless as the Alpha couldn't fly without a rider. Seamus offered Valka a ride down to the square as her own dragon was busy, and so reluctantly parted ways with her husband for the moment, seeing the bulk of the Fury flock taking off after him.
Valka knew that their work was just beginning... but at least her boys were home again.
-HTTYD-
So much writers block with this chapter! I started it a week ago, wrote 700 words and then just stared at it for the best part of a week before anything else came out.