(A/N: Oh, my… is this chapter fifteen? If I'm not mistaken, it is! This is amazing and I have my readers to thank for it. If this story never got any favorites, follows, reviews, etc. none of this would be happening.
I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but this is the second to last chapter where the poll will be up. I'm sorry, but it's going to get taken down very soon, it can't be up forever. I'm honestly excited for the results, but I'm not hoping for any particular candidate, I'm trying to be indifferent towards it, although I do check it constantly just to see where it's going.)
*Y*-0-U-O-U-0-*Y*
The morning after the Skrill incident was taken care of, Astrid arrived at the Academy on Stormfly. Neither Helene nor Smog was with her, which Hiccup took notice of.
"Hey, Astrid, where are Helene and Smog? Are they at home?" he asked.
She nodded and answered, "Yeah, they are, and there was something a little…" she paused for a moment, "...off about her."
"Off?" he repeated. "How?"
"Well, for starters, she was bleary-eyed and kind of jumpy," she explained.
"Rough night?" he guessed with a shrug. "She had to go through a lot these past couple of days, not mention that quite a bit of that time was with Dagur. I mean, I'd be the same way if I was in her shoes."
"Yeah, I get that, but it's still not like her at all," she noted.
"Not like who?" Fishlegs asked as he and Meatlug arrived.
"Helene. She was acting kind of strange," she responded.
"Strange? How so?" he inquired as he got down from Meatlug.
"She was kind of bleary-eyed and a bit jumpy when I tried asking her how she was doing," she replied.
"Did you touch her or something?" he questioned.
"Uh… yeah, I placed my hand on her shoulder, but nothing else," she answered, reaching her arm across her chest to put her hand on her own shoulder.
"Well, she did have to go through a lot and I'm sure she's pretty shaken up about it," he pointed out.
"Yeah, but that's still not like her, I wish I knew what's going with her," she uttered.
"Why don't we go check up on her?" Hiccup suggested. "Just to see if she's alright."
She shrugged, "I guess it's worth a shot."
They got onto their dragons and were about to take off when Fishlegs asked, "Hey, shouldn't we wait for Snotlout and the twins?"
"Nope," they answered in unison.
They flew to the Hofferson house and landed just outside the front door. Meatlug and Stormfly stayed outside while Toothless went inside with them.
She knocked on her door, "Are you in there, Hele?"
Some shuffling could be heard before they got any type of response, "Yes, I'm here."
"I have Hiccup and Fishlegs with me, can we come in?" she questioned.
This time, the response they got was immediate, "No! No, no. Don't come in!"
Toothless started to sniff and lick the floor, which Hiccup took notice of, "Hey, what'd you find, bud?"
He backed away and they could see a dry, green stain on the floor. It wasn't just that either but also dried and shriveled peas and bits of mutton.
"What is that stuff?" Fishlegs asked.
"It looks like the soup my Mom made last night," she assessed. "I left a bowl out for Helene in case she came home."
"You were holding out hope that she was alright and coming home," Hiccup smiled.
Fishlegs sniffed the air, "Hey," he inhaled again, "do you guys smell that?"
They did the same thing and they were able to smell something too. It smelt like something charred or burned and also slightly earthy.
"Yeah, it smells like…" he started.
"Burnt wood," she finished.
A minute later, they could smell smoke, but there was something strange about it. It didn't smell like the typical smoke coming from a Smothering Smokebreath, but it also didn't smell like there was something on fire or burning either.
Astrid grew concerned and gripped the handle of her door, "I'm coming in!"
"Astrid, no!" Helene shrieked, but she came inside anyway.
She was immediately hit with smoke, but it was much lighter than what Smog would produce, in spite of that she was nevertheless unable to see Helene. She coughed and waved it out of her face to see into her room.
"Hele," she coughed again, "are you alright?" She coughed a couple more times, continuing to wave away the smoke.
"Yes! Get out!" she demanded, practically shrieking.
Toothless started flapping his wings, fanning the smoke out of the room. It eventually cleared up and they were finally able to see Helene, but not all of her because Smog was blocking her with his wings spread wide, as if protecting or hiding her. And they were hiding something.
Not only did they see her, they also saw a black mark on the floor, it was a burn mark and it was shaped like a puddle. It was the cause of the burnt wood smell, but what caused it was the real question.
She smiled nervously and moved her arm over something, "H-hi, guys! What are you doing here?"
"We just wanted to check up on you," Astrid replied, "you were kind of jumpy earlier."
"I- I was just tired," her voice was slightly shaky. "I had a- a nightmare last night and couldn't sleep a-after that."
Even from behind Smog, Hiccup could still see the position of her arms, but only the sides of her upper arms. "Are you holding something?"
"Just- just Twirl," she answered, still nervous.
Twirl secretly crawled up her leg out of view and managed to make her way to her arm, carefully laying over it to support her claim. She was able to do it without being seen because both Helene and Smog were slightly blocking her and a little smoke was coming out of his mouth, which partially shielded Helene's legs and a bit of her upper body.
"Uh, she- she's not feeling well," she claimed.
To help and collaborate her claim, Twirl groaned rather loudly in a sickly manner. She looked down at her as if to make it appear as if she was trying to soothe her, when in reality she was actually smiling.
"Okay. What happened to the floor?" Fishlegs asked, pointing at the blackened wood.
She tried to come up with a quick excuse to explain it, but she couldn't. How could one rationally explain how and why their floor got burned? It's next to impossible.
"Jus- just get out!" she yelled.
Smog blew smoke in the room, obscuring their view and causing them to cough. Toothless used his wings to fan away the smoke again and went over to her, sniffing whatever was in her arms under Twirl.
Twirl got him to back away by shooting a fireball at him. When she did, she stood up on Helene's forearm and growled at him.
This caught all of them by surprise, she wasn't sick at all! Why would Helene lie to them?
Astrid was in shock at this revelation, "Hey, she's not sick."
"Why did you lie to us?" Fishlegs questioned.
Hiccup looked to his side and saw that Smog's and Twirl's egg wasn't in the nest. "Helene, where's the egg? Why isn't it in the nest?"
She looked down at her arms and frowned, she closed her eyes and let out a sigh before looking up at them. "I should have told you, but I didn't know how to explain it."
"Explain what, Hele?" Hiccup inquired.
"This." She removed her arms and revealed what she was hiding. They all gasped at what they saw in her arms, it was a baby dragon!
The baby dragon looked like a hatchling Terrible Terror, the large eyes were indistinguishable, but it was gray like Smog. The face was much like the face of a Smothering Smokebreath with the distinctive skull-like shape, as was the tail, including the unique smoke-shaped barbs.
"Oh, my Thor!" Fishlegs held his cheeks in his hands to contain most of his excitement. "The egg hatched! Hiccup! Astrid! It hatched! It hatched!"
Hiccup tried to calm him down, "Yes, yes, we see that, Fishlegs."
"That's incredible, Hele," Astrid smiled.
She smiled back, "Thanks, Astrid. I'm happy, too."
She then frowned, "I'm sorry about bursting in the way I did."
"It's fine," she reassured. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the egg hatching. It was just hard for me to process, if that makes any sense."
"I get it, I get it," she replied. "I know when I found out Stormfly had eggs during Snoggletog, it was a real shocker for me, too."
"Hey, I just had a thought, why don't we take the baby dragon with us to the dragon academy, so we can see what he can do?" Fishlegs suggested.
Helene was hesitant, "Uh, I'm not too sure, Fishlegs, he just hatched a few hours ago."
"Oh, c'mon! Please?" He was practically pouting like a baby. "Just for an hour?"
She sighed, "Fine, but only one hour."
They left the Hofferson house and went to the Academy together on foot. They would have taken to the air and it definitely would have been quicker, but Smog and Twirl wouldn't allow it, at least not while their offspring was unable to fly.
It took a little while because Helene had to walk at a certain pace for the baby dragon, so as to not upset him. But they eventually made it to the Academy, where they found Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut waiting for them.
Snotlout was checking his fingernails by the time he saw them come in, "It's 'bout time you guys showed up."
"We got a little sidetracked," Hiccup replied sheepishly.
"What? Did you discover a new dragon?" Tuffnut remarked.
"Um, sort of," he answered.
"I was just kidding," he uttered.
He turned to Helene, "You want to show them?"
She nodded and held up her two dragons' spawn for all to see. He puffed out a little ball of smoke before he started chattering to himself.
Fishlegs gasped, "He can breathe out smoke!"
"He's half Smothering Smokebreath," Astrid pointed out. "Of course he can breathe out smoke."
"I say we name him Smokey," Helene scratched him under his chin.
Snotlout went up to her and put a finger on Smokey's head, he growled in annoyance and bit his wrist. Despite not having teeth yet his bite seems to be quite painful, Snotlout shouted in pain and tried to shake him off.
He eventually did and flung him away, Twirl caught him and gave him back to Helene. Afterwards, both she and Smog attacked Snotlout for almost hurting their child, he was just barely standing when they were finished, Hookfang had to help him stand with his snout keeping him in place.
"What the hell?!" he eventually shrieked.
"That's what happens when you mess with a baby, Snotlout," Astrid shrugged casually with a smirk. "You get your ass kicked."
"No kidding," Tuffnut whispered to his twin as they snickered to each other.
Hiccup hummed, "He can breathe smoke like a Smothering Smokebreath, but has the aggression of a Terrible Terror."
An idea then hit Fishlegs, "That's it! That's what we should call his species! We should call him a Smoke Terror!"
Smog squawked and Twirl chirped in approval. Helene smiled and laughed, "Looks like we have the parents' approval."
"I like it. Nice job, Fishlegs," Hiccup complimented.
"Let's see what else he can do," Tuffnut snickered mischievously with Ruffnut.
Fishlegs looked at Helene with a pleading face, she sighed, "Fine. I guess there's no harm in a quick observation."
Tuffnut pumped his fist, "Yes, alright!"
He tried to take Smokey from her, but she wouldn't let him, "No! Nobody gets to touch this little guy but me."
Hiccup interjected before things could continue, "Whoa, whoa, hey! Tuff, why don't you and Ruff set up some test obstacles and Helene can hold the baby dragon in the meantime?"
"Can we set up what we want?" Ruffnut asked.
"Sure," he answered, "just nothing too hard, alright? He's just a little guy."
Fortunately, the twins weren't very creative when it came to their ideas for obstacles for dragons. All they had come up with were three cases sitting on a table.
By the time they eventually set it up, Smokey was sitting on Helene's shoulder. He started to writhe in her arms, so she put him on her shoulder in order to have more freedom.
She scratched him under his chin with only one finger and used it to guide him to the vases. He saw them and instinct told him to fire at them, which was what he did. He shot three fireballs at them with pinpoint accuracy and they shattered at the point of contact.
The fireballs he fired were the standard fireballs one would see from a Terrible Terror, but there something added to them. They had smoke surrounding them, almost as if it was cloaking them, just as Smothering Smokebreaths use it to hide themselves.
She scratched his chin again, "Good boy." Both of her dragons hovered near her shoulder and nudged their child proudly.
"Did you see that?!" Fishlegs excitedly shrieked.
"Yes, Fishlegs, we saw it," Hiccup replied.
"That was amazing, Hele," Astrid smiled.
"Thanks, but I can't take all the credit," she smiled as she looked at Smog and Twirl.
They both gave their own versions of smiles and flanked her. They nuzzled her while purring happily and gratefully. She was more than just a trainer and a carrier for their spawn, she was someone they both loved and trusted, she was just as much a part of their family as anyone else.
She looked up at the sky, the sun was almost overhead, the hour was over. "Sorry, guys, it's time for us to go. The hour's up."
"Wait! Can I at least get a picture of him before you leave?" Fishlegs questioned, holding up the book of dragons.
She shrugged, "I guess I'm okay with that."
She set him on a stool and made sure to keep a hand on him to keep him calm. Fishlegs quickly drew a picture of him for the book, he didn't want to keep them too long and risk ending up like Snotlout if he annoys or upsets him or his parents.
He showed Helene the finished drawing, "How does it look?"
She scanned it, looking over every detail, and nodded, "I like it, good job."
"Thanks." He went on to continue writing about Smokey's firepower and other details in the book.
She picked up Smokey from the stool, "I better get him back home."
"Need a ride?" Astrid asked, pointed her thumb at Stormfly.
"No," she declined, "I'll just walk again. I don't know how Smokey will react in the air since he can't fly."
"Well, you won't have to wait very long before he's flying," Fishlegs commented.
"Why's that?" she inquired.
"Terrible Terrors usually grow up quicker than most dragons," he answered.
"Yeah, but he's also half Smothering Smokebreath," she pointed out. "It took Smog six months to grow from adolescence to an adult."
"Oh, gods, please don't take six months!" Snotlout complained.
Smokey growled at them, but Helene made sure her grip around him was firm so that he couldn't get away. "I really should get going."
"I'll meet you at home in an hour or two," Astrid told her.
"Sounds good," she replied. She walked out of the Academy with her dragons, waving goodbye to everyone once she stood in the entrance, "Bye, guys. I'll see you later."
She and her three dragons went straight back home after leaving the dragon academy. It wasn't until then, during the walk, that she realized just how exhausted she was from everything that happened that day and the day previous. She nearly fell asleep on her own two feet a couple of times while on the way home, her dragons kept her awake though.
Once home, all went to their room and she gave Smokey back to his parents. She practically collapsed onto her bed, she was already nearly asleep by the time her head came into contact with her pillow. Her dragons respected this by going to their nest for a rest themselves.
Smog and Twirl were just as tired as she was, neither one had been able to sleep while she was captured and especially not after their egg hatched. Fortunately for them, baby dragons need to rest constantly, just as human infants, and Smokey was already curled up in a ball in the nest, he was ready for a nap, as were the rest of them.
Twirl stretched her wing over Smokey and closed her eyes. Smog was about to join them, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to. He did care for his mate and offspring, but he also cared for his trainer. Although he knew she didn't think this, it was his fault for her tiredness, he was the one who got Twirl pregnant in the first place.
No, no. He shouldn't allow himself to feel guilty about anything, she didn't blame him or Twirl or Smokey for this, so he shouldn't either. That's why she was such a good friend to him and his new family and everyone else.
There was something he could do for her though as a quick thanks. He left their room and went into the dining area, he got a cup and put it into a bucket of water, filling it before taking it out. He picked up a small biscuit from the table and took it and the cup back to the bedroom.
He set the biscuit and cup next to her bed, right where his nest used to be before he expanded. He looked at her and at his family's nest before he finally decided to stay with her and laid down on her bed, next to her legs. He decided to stay on the bed for the time being, but would probably go to the nest later on. For now, rest was something all four of them needed.
When Helene eventually woke up from her rest, she saw the biscuit and cup where Smog left them for her. She looked at her dragon, who was still on the bed with her, and smiled.
'Thanks,' she thought, 'and you're welcome.'
*Y*-0-U-O-U-0-*Y*
(A/N: I know this was a shorter chapter and that was intentional, I didn't want to spend so much time on this. Nevertheless, I still really enjoyed writing this, it was really one to be remembered, and I hope everyone enjoyed reading it.
Get ready for the next chapter because it takes place in the episode "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", the second episode in "Riders/Defenders" to feature Smothering Smokebreaths. Unfortunately, something very emotional will be happening in it, hence the reason why I put up a poll in advance. I did plan this out, so don't think I came up with a last minute decision.)