It's ridiculously warm and it's making me super tired but Valkret is calling to me.
Also I know that chapters have been very focused on Valkret and not so much the rest of the world, but it's a delicate balancing act not rushing through time and still being interesting.
-HTTYD-
Body shaking, Valka bit her lip and felt sweat bead on her skin. She wasn't entirely sure where Eret had learned what he was doing - it certainly hadn't come up in those distant memories of 'wife training' conversations! - but gods, she didn't care by the time his lips and tongue were busy against long-neglected spots. Sex had been something she'd barely thought of for the better part of twenty years, but entering a relationship with a virile, energetic man fifteen years her junior was changing that rather rapidly. Already he seemed to be teaching her things Valka had scarcely known were possible...
Eret came up for air with a lewd smirk on his face, observing Valka as she panted, chest heaving and skin flushed. Valka felt as though it should feel indecent, beyond what she was taught was right as a girl, but then she'd forsaken what was right by those teachings a long time ago. Eret didn't care for her shyness, took her in like he could barely believe his own eyes and touched her like she was a wonderous gift to be appreciated. It was almost unnerving and utterly addictive.
"Not something I thought I'd say, but quiet down or the dragons will think I'm hurting you. Cloudjumper's already looking for a reason to barbecue me."
Was she loud? Valka hadn't really noticed. Eret was rather distracting. His fingers moved and made her jolt, gasping moan leaving her mouth as he continued with those smug, prideful smiles. She bit her lip harder when his tongue resumed wringing exquisite pleasure from her, toes curling and legs twitching as she spasmed around his fingers, clutching his hair and pressing shamelessly against his face until Eret finally let her fall back to the bed, breathless with a rush reminiscent of flying still coursing through her.
Eret moved to wipe his face with the wash bucket kept in their room, then he was crawling back on the bed, knees reddened from where he'd been knelt on the floor to do... whatever it was he'd just done to her. Whatever it was, she liked. A lot.
It left her hypersensitive, every inch of Eret enough to make her shiver as he pulled her onto his lap and lowered her slowly. Feeling almost impossibly close to him like that, her hands on his shoulders and legs wrapped around his hips, his hands cradling her back as they kissed. His body heat at her front contrasted with the faint chill in the air at her back, but it wasn't enough to cool her down.
When Valka first found the unconscious trapper hanging from a dragons claw, she had never expected anything like this. But then, she hadn't thought she could really change anyones mind, and Eret had surprised her there first. Then he'd surprised her again, and again, and again...
His hips rolled up in a long, deep thrust, her fingers tightening on his back as amber eyes took in her every response. He had light freckles on his cheeks, likely from all his years out at sea in the sun, and they were only visible quite so close. She ran a finger over his cheeks, crease forming between his eyebrows.
"What are you doing?"
"Drawing shapes in your freckles."
He probably thought her mad, but Eret merely chuckled and let her carry on. Instinct began to override inexperience, Valka's body moving with his guiding hands until it found the right rhythm all on its own, Eret rocking up into her in a way that made her moan and shake, so sensitive to each and every thrust, to his hands and mouth on her skin. Work-roughened fingers dragged down her spine, making her shiver all over.
Eret's love of touching her didn't abate when they were done; he stroked her sweaty body gently, soft smile on his face. Her own fingers slid down his chest, tracing the lines of his scar. She saw the effort it took him not to recoil from that touch, them both acknowledging his past as his past, forging a new future together. When he pulled her close Valka went, humming as he kissed her before reluctantly pulling away.
"We should go take a bath before the dragons come demanding we go flying."
He nodded, chuckling.
"I really wouldn't put it past Tripfire to try and drag me out flying while starkers."
"Nor would I."
They pulled minimal layers on to make the trip down to where they bathed, rather than feel the chill on bare bodies for even the fairly short walk. Their shared bathtime had become quite regular, and truthfully Valka adored it for the simple intimacy. Clean and dressed, they ate a couple of apples before the dragons would be denied their flying no longer. Eret watched as Valka skipped and jumped from dragon to dragon, laughing fromhis saddle while Tripfire had her tongue lolling out in the updrafts.
"So, we still going raiding tomorrow?"
"Unless you're not up to it?"
Eret shook his head, then grinned.
"You know me, give me a sword and point me at the enemy."
They spent the evening preparing and got a good nights sleep, and then they were preparing for a big haul - she was reticent, but Valka knew that taking the Alpha gave them a huge advantage in a firefight, and she also couldn't really stop him if he wanted to come. He only listened to Valka up to a point; she did not control him in any way. They just trusted each other and worked together. Still, she was so very wary of letting him leave when they knew Drago had his own Bewilderbeast just waiting...
Bubbles popping on the surface of the ocean below were all the indication they got of the beast below, but despite his size the Alpha was more than capable of keeping pace from below the water.
It was hard not to look for Eret, to worry if he was in over his head despite knowing he was perfectly capable, because she cared so very much for him now and that made it all the harder to just let him dive in to such a fray. He wasn't yet used to battling alongside the Bewilderbeast either, and Valka heard a scream that said there was a narrow miss with the jets of icy breath but when she turned, Eret was climbing up onto Tripfire and completely unharmed, though probably a little shaken. She turned back just in time to knock a hunter to the ground.
Holding her breath as she slipped around a corner to look for more dragons - the base they were on was just covered in cages - Valka heard a group of hunters talking, preparing.
"Which one do we go for? The runaway or the vigilante?"
"Drago wants the runaway alive!"
"But he said he'd pay more for the vigilantes head!"
She had to bite back a laugh; Drago was getting desperate if he'd gone to the trouble of putting a bounty on the head of someone nobody knew the face of save Eret, who was unlikely to betray such a secret now he was firmly on her side.
"So we'll get 'em both! Alive or dead, he won't mind much."
Given how badly Drago wanted to murder Eret himself as an example to anyone else who thought about switching sides, Valka doubted that entirely but wasn't about to stop mid-battle to correct them. Gesturing to Cloudjumper behind her, her dragons fire made short work of the group, who scattered nursing nasty burns seconds later. It freed the way to find more cages, free more dragons. Cloudjumper picked up the wounded Nadder they found and deposited it on one of their carrier dragons, then swooped back down to help Valka break open more cages. Eret was nowhere to be seen, but she caught Tripfire hovering near a gap in the ground and assumed he'd gone down below to check for hidden cells. Sure enough, the stone around the hole cracked and gave way to freed dragons.
The Bewilderbeast finished destroying the fort, ensuring those who had survived the raid couldn't continue living there unless they wanted to pick apart the stubborn shards and rebuild the entire thing from scratch. Climbing up on Cloudjumper's back, he circled, looking for Tripfire. She was still without Eret, and Valka was growing concerned. Glancing around, she was high enough not to be easily seen so she lifted her helmet and whistled loudly, hoping Eret would answer.
There was an answering noise that Tripfire dove toward, roaring in distress before rising with Eret clutched in her talons, limp and holding his hands to his side. They took off from the island before Tripfire dropped Eret on Cloudjumper's back, pale under his helmet and she could smell the blood on him. Thankful for having the room to look him over on Cloudjumper's back, she pushed his helmet off and threw it to Tripfire, who caught it in her mouth and tried to decide between looking where she was flying and staring at Eret.
"Take them back, we'll catch up."
Valka signalled to a few of her nest, before looking for somewhere to land where she could tend to Eret. He was coming to a little by the time they hit ground, and when she pulled away his armour she found a jagged wound at his side, someone's lucky shot in the narrow gap between chest and shoulder armour.
"Eret?"
"Valka? What's... wow, I am in pain."
"You will be. How are you otherwise?"
"Kinda groggy. Where's Tripfire? Is she ok? Did we finish the island?"
"We did, and Tripfire is fine, she's right here."
He only carried basics in his saddlebag, but Valka managed to clean and bandage his side up enough to get him back to the nest, though she watched him on his saddle pretty much the entire flight back, concerned he might lose consciousness and slip off. They made it back with no more incident, and Eret stubbornly insisted she check on the dragons before she worried for him.
"There's a lot of them, I promise not to move. Go."
Valka wondered if it would be unfair to try and smack sense into someone wounded. He got himself into so many scrapes, and honestly Valka was certain he had gotten injured far more often than she had in her first year or so. He could be very logical and thoughtful when he wanted, and other times he was just an oversized idiot she adored.
He hadn't deteriorated in the moments she'd been with the dragons, instead leaning against Tripfire's belly for warmth as he seemed to be cold - not uncommon for someone who had lost blood in a battle. Valka built up the fire, washed dragon blood off her hands and pulled the crate of healing supplies over with her. Tripfire watched on as Valka peeled off his torn, bloodied tunic and the makeshift bandage, Eret hissing and wincing but managing to stay still as he laid on his side.
"I don't think you need stitches, which is good because you are better at them than me. You'll have to get up for me to dress your wound properly though."
Groaning, Eret let Valka help lift him up, balancing on his knees and raising his arms with a grimace enough for her to wrap the bandage tight around his middle. He mixed his own herbs for healing as he sat by the fire, but then he was reaching for her and beckoning her to his uninjured side. Valka went, letting her heart calm slightly now she'd seen to his wound as best she could.
His face was a little clammy with sweat from the fight and flight and fire, but Valka minded it little when he pressed his lips to her hair, squeezed her gently.
"For what it's worth, I don't care how many times I get hurt. I won't regret choosing you and the dragons."
Nodding, Valka turned her head so she could kiss him softly, ignoring the bitter taste of brewed herbs on his lips.
"Try not to get hurt. I'm already going grey."
Eret actually laughed, though it obviously pained him slightly but the smile returned.
"I'd say it's more like silver, and I like it."
They sat and smiled at each other for a while by the fire, bouyed by the successful raid and being together. Eret tired rather early after an easy dinner - stew that he mixed but let Valka dice and stir - but that was to be expected, and they pushed a few furs and pillows up against the wall at the side of the bed, so he'd not roll on to his back in his sleep. Valka laid at his front to keep him safe that way, relieved to feel the warmth of his body heat, the steady thrum of his heart beneath her hand. He fell asleep in minutes, watched over by a wary Tripfire until she seemed content he was alright and she calmed enough to hop up and hang herself for the night.
Eret's steady breathing slowly drew Valka toward slumber, much as she wanted to watch over him all night to ensure he was alright. Closing her eyes, Valka turned slightly more into Eret's warmth and pulled the blanket over herself a little higher before she accepted the weight of sleep.
-HTTYD-
Next chapter will have new characters!