A/N: Whelp, so sorry for disappearing for a whole month! Life got super busy and I had to take a break from writing for a while. But rest assured, I'll definitely finish the fic, even if it might take longer than I'd like. Hope you guys haven't forgotten this story yet, and are still interested in reading more! Enjoy.

Chapter 24: A Trip into town

Astrid did her best to look inconspicuous as she walked hand in hand with her husband through the winding streets of this foreign and unfamiliar town.

Cranefish town was large enough and with enough boats coming and going to hopefully make them just another two faces in the crowd. The last thing they needed was someone catching wind of where they were from, and that information getting back to Berk.

"I doubt most of these people have even heard of Berk" Hiccup said as they walked down a narrow cobbled road towards the center of the town. "Most of their trading is done with islands along the coast and to the mainland"

"I see" replied Astrid, though she still couldn't help but feel out of place here. The people looked friendly and similar enough to them, but after three months of living with only dragons for company, seeing so many new faces was kind of unsettling.

"I think it's this one" Hiccup said, pushing open a weathered wooden door and entering the seamstress's shop. A middle aged woman with dark hair greeted the couple with a smile.

Hiccup had been here a few times before on his various trips here to get some materials for repairing toothless's saddle and tail fin.

"Ryder! It's nice to see you again after so long!" the woman said, before noting the girl beside him. "And who is this young lady?"

"Oh, this here is my wife… um- Hildy" he finished quickly, although luckily the seamstress didn't seem to notice. He kicked himself internally for not thinking of a fake name for Astrid beforehand.

Astrid extended her hand in greeting, "Yes I am… Hildy" she mumbled, throwing an annoyed look his way, as if saying, 'Hildy? seriously?', "Pleased to meet you"

"Likewise. You can call me Sigrid. What can I do for you today?"

Astrid's cheeks were dusted with a slight flush as she said, "I'm expecting", glancing down towards her belly where the slightest bump was noticeable, if you looked closely. "I needed some fabric to sew new shirts and gowns"

"Oh my darling that's wonderful!" The older woman gushed, stepping around the counter to feel her belly. "A strong child" she muttered, nodding approvingly. "You don't need to sew, I'll get my daughter to take your measurements and I'll sew em' free of charge"

"You don't have to-" Hiccup cut in but was stopped by Sigrid. "No need for formalities boy. Svana!" she called loudly, and a couple of thumps later, a young girl who looked hardly a year or two older than them descended down from the loft. "Take this girl's measurements and show her the new cloth from the back room"

The girl was tall and fair with two pig tails and dark hair like her mother, and she said, "Ryder, correct?" with a smile bigger than was really necessary in Astrid's opinion.

Hiccup nodded, and she noticed Astrid for the first time. "And this is…?"

"This is-"

"I'm Hildy" Astrid interrupted, tightening her hold on Hiccup's hand. "Ryder's wife"

"Oh- it's nice to meet you!" she replied cheerily, but Astrid didn't miss the subtle way her face fell for a moment before composed herself.

"I need to have some maternity clothes made" Astrid explained, and this time, Svana's reaction was much less subtle. As she went about measuring Astrid's dimensions, there was a noticeable slump in the older girl's shoulders.

"I'm gonna be back soon" Hiccup said and Astrid nodded.

He quickly pecked her cheek before going out to head for the small smithy of this town, run by a large muscular man with bushy eyebrows, who hardly ever spoke, preferring to convey communicate via subtle nods and shakes of the head.

Hiccup wasn't complaining though, since it meant he didn't have to explain what the strange contraption was that he was having fixed. Saying that it was a Night fury's prosthetic tail fin probably wouldn't have worked out for anyone.

"Hello Grunar, it's me again" Hiccup said as he entered the shop. The man who was busy hammering away at an anchor, lifted his head to glance at Hiccup once before giving a nod and continuing his work.

Hiccup just went over to the lathe and started making his adjustments to the gear mechanism, referring to the notes he'd made over the last week. He was trying to devise a system for Toothless to be able to control the tail on his own, but Hiccup was having trouble fine tuning the mechanism he'd designed.

He only had access to this workshop once a week when he flew over for supplies, so he tried to get as much work done as he could.

What wouldn't I give to have Gobber look these over and suggest improvements, he thought with a wry smile.

Thinking of Gobber made him think of his dad, think of Berk, and his smile faltered slightly.

He didn't regret his decision to leave even now, he knew that his first duty was towards his wife- and his unborn child, he thought giddily, and he still believed he'd made the right call to ensure their safety.

He wanted peace between dragons and Vikings yes, he wanted that deeply, but his own family still came first. Astrid and Toothless and Stormfly and… perhaps Valka too.

His bitterness and resentment had eroded over these months bit by bit, and as his mother continued to support them every way she could, he was eventually able to move past his anger. It didn't mean he had forgiven her, but at least he didn't think about that troubled past every time he talked to her anymore.

It was as Astrid had said. Meet her halfway.

As much as he'd enjoyed this breath of fresh air here at the sanctuary though, he did wonder what had happened that day, after they'd left Berk amongst all the smoke and chaos in front of the whole village. In front of his father.

Hiccup wasn't even sure if he'd been a good enough son to either one of his parents all this time. His ideology differed from both of them enough that their paths in life had diverged years ago, but a small yet stubborn part of him still wished to see the three lives come together in the future, to settle their differences and see eye to eye.

To have that whole family that once was.

Astrid wandered around town for a while and did some light shopping, though she didn't really need anything much at the moment. It was kind of strange that even though Hiccup wasn't getting a salary from Gobber anymore, they still had more than enough money to spend.

Trading a handful of rare dragon scales was an almost comically easy way to trade for a few gold pieces, and collecting them from around the sanctuary was a simple enough task.

Astrid visited Hiccup at the smithy and he told her he still had some more work left to do, so she decided to saunter back to that seamstress shop in lieu of having nothing better to do.

They'd left toothless on a sandy beach a couple of miles walk from the town, and the reptile was more than stealthy enough to remain hidden for as long as they needed.

The bright afternoon sun reflected off the colorful windows as she opened the door and sat down at a stool. The girl- Svana- was diligently working, and her mother was probably elsewhere.

Astrid was slightly apprehensive about the awkward silence, but the other girl made no attempt to offer conversation. Astrid knew the reason for her quiet, surmising that the girl had probably seen Hiccup before and perhaps even developed a crush on the boy, unbeknownst to him.

A part of her had felt instantly jealous and defensive when she'd first noticed, but as Astrid had walked around town and thought about it with a clear head, she found it hard to blame the girl.

Hiccup was clearly growing into a handsome and strong young man as the months went by, and it was harder and harder to imagine him being the scrawny boy with stick arms as he'd been earlier. Astrid knew he was attractive by any measure, not just because she loved him to bits, but because of his kind smile and considerate nature too.

He didn't know how nice he was, and that just made him all the more desirable.

After making this connection in her mind, she'd decided that she should be flattered that she had such a sought after husband, rather than being annoyed about him turning female heads.

There was another reason for her to be sitting here though. Possibly some part of her had begun to miss her friends after all this time. The twins' pranks, Fishlegs' fountain of facts, even Snotlout's obnoxiousness to a small extent.

She missed her parents too. She'd never even gone a week without seeing them all her life, let alone months. Besides, she had been blessed with this wonderful news of her being with child, but she had no way of sharing it with them.

In quiet moments though, she sometimes did wonder if her child would ever get to see Berk. To see where she grew up, the streets she played in as a kid, where she met Hiccup. She dearly hoped that day would come, one day.

"Can you try that on once and let me know if it's alright?" Svana asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Y-Yeah, sure one second"

Moving behind a wooden screen for privacy, she tried on one of the newly made shirts and found it did fit perfectly, much to her delight.

"I've left extra folds around the stomach" Svana called from the other side. "It should fit right up until your little one arrives"

Astrid blushed even though no one could see her. Someone else talking about her baby made it seem more real somehow, and her knees felt week with giddiness.

"That's perfect, thank you" Astrid replied after managing to stifle her goofy grin.

She came back out after redressing, and helped the young woman fold the clothes so they were easier to carry later.

"How much do I owe you?" she asked, fishing out her pouch from her bag.

"It was around twenty coins worth of material, that's all" Svana replied, and Astrid noted how she'd omitted any extra labor charges.

"But what about the-"

"My mother instructed me very specifically not to charge any profit from the nice young man who visits every so often"

Astrid couldn't help but feel gratified, even though her mind did wander towards an unlikely thought. Could her mother, unaware of Hiccup's married status, be trying to gauge him as a potential match for her daughter?

Keeping her thoughts to herself, Astrid paid twenty five instead of the twenty asked, shaking her head at Svana's protests. "Well, if you're not gonna take the money back, let me offer you lunch. It's the least I can do" she said.

Astrid considered this before nodding. It had been a long day and some food didn't sound too bad, plus it might give her an opportunity to talk more with the girl.

They exchanged some small talk over lunch, but Astrid kept getting the feeling that something was still in the air between them, and Svana's mood seemed visibly dismal. She had a good guess as to what the reason was.

Astrid finally decided to throw caution to the wind and sate her curiosity. "Why are you… did I say something wrong?"

Svana lifted her head to look at her in surprise. "W-What? why do you think that?"

Astrid gave her a small smile. Unlike that idiot husband of mine, I can actually figure out if something's up. And something's clearly bothering you since you first saw me."

Svana opened her mouth to protest more but then closed it, sighing deeply and averting her gaze. "It's nothing… it's… pretty stupid actually"

"Humor me"

"I'm two months betrothed to a boy from a neighboring town" she said, showing her a slim golden ring on her finger that Astrid hadn't noticed before. Astrid wasn't expecting this at all.

"The thing is, I hardly know the boy! It was all arranged by my parents years ago. I've hardly met him two or three times! I don't even know more than a handful of things about him"

Astrid took this in. "Oh"

"And when I first saw Ryder around the town shortly after my engagement, well, I… pleasedontbemad"- she added hastily-"I couldn't help but wish to have been betrothed to someone like him, all cool and mysterious and confident"

Astrid blinked, seemingly lost for words.

"And then today he was with you, and now I feel stupid for even thinking I had a chance with him, of course a guy like him would already have a beautiful wife, and seeing the closeness between you two, it's obvious you two must have been in love since you were little, right? You didn't marry a total stranger like I'm gonna have to"

Astrid bit her cheek but failed to suppress a laugh. "That… that couldn't be further from the truth actually"

Svana tilted her head in confusion, and Astrid continued, "Believe me when I say this, I definitely didn't want to marry him. I'd never even given him a second look all my life, and he was way more shy and awkward than how he is now. I was pretty much forced into it, and I never ever even remotely considered that I could ever love him even in a million years"

"What changed?"

"Well… nothing changed really, Hic- I mean, Ryder, stayed as he was, simple, caring, and loving towards me. He was neither overbearing nor distant, and was just such a good friend, companion, and husband to me that even I couldn't help it…I…" Astrid blushed. "Let's just say that I couldn't manage to deny my feelings for longer than a week or two. It's simply impossible"

"And you're saying you didn't know him well at the time of your wedding?"

Astrid shook her head. "We'd lived in the same village all our lives, yet we were practically strangers. Or at least he was to me… I think he did have a crush on me for a few years beforehand" Astrid added cheekily.

Svana giggled. "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't heard it from your own mouth… but do you think that can happen for me too?"

Astrid considered this. "I don't see why not. This guy of yours, how is he?"

"As I said, I've only had a couple of meetings to judge him, but he was… nice. Simple and easy to talk to. He seemed quite alright to hear me ramble about my sewing at least"

Astrid laughed. "I don't think you have anything to worry about then"

Svana stood up and smiled gratefully. "I feel much better now. I… I can't thank you enough, Hildy"

Astrid made a mental note to beat Hiccup up later for the fake name he'd given for her, and returned the girl's pleasant smile. "You're most welcome"

"No peeking!" Hiccup said as he kept his hands over Astrid's eyes while she fumbled blindly forward through the Sanctuary's narrow tunnels.

"Hiccup, you better not make me run into a wall on my birthday" Astrid threatened, earning a nervous laugh from her husband.

"Just keep going. And turn left here. Stop."

Hiccup finally uncovered her eyes and she opened them to see… a blank piece of parchment and quill?

"Umm…" Astrid tilted her head, wondering what she was looking at. This was the 'special surprise' Hiccup had been hinting at for days?

Valka walked by and shook her head at her son. "Oh for goodness sake, just stop confusing the poor girl and say something"

Hiccup gently hugged Astrid from behind and laughed against her hair. "Sorry milady, I just couldn't resist seeing your baffled face"

Astrid pouted and crossed her arms. This was her birthday, and she was being poked fun at?! this was totally unaccepta-

"It's a letter" Hiccup interrupted. "Uh- I mean, you're going to write a letter"

Astrid turned around in his grasp to face him. "A letter? to whom?"

Hiccup grinned toothily. "To your parents"

Astrid's eyes widened, but before she could respond, he continued, "I know that you've missed them a lot, especially your mum. I know we can't go back to Berk out of necessity, but it doesn't mean we can't contact them in some way"

"Hiccup… how..?" she gaped, feeling unexpected wetness in her eyes.

"It was my mom's idea really. She told me how she's used terrible terrors to send messages to certain 'allies' in the past, and I asked if it could be possible to send a letter to your parents the same way. I'd let the dragon sniff at your belongings, and the scent should in theory lead it into your house where your mum would hopefully receive the letter without getting too startled, and then hopefully… send one back"

Astrid stayed silent for a long moment as she absorbed this. She'd already given up any hopes of getting to talk to her mother for at least a few more months, and this was way way better than anything she'd ever expected as a birthday gift.

Mistaking her silence for disappointment, Hiccup hastily said, "I'm sorry, I know it's hardly a 'gift', you would probably have been expecting something-"

That's all he managed to get out before receiving an armful of Astrid that nearly knocked him off his feet.

"That's the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me" she murmured against his shoulder. "Thank you Hiccup… I love you so much"

Hiccup grinned against her hair and squeezed her closer. Nothing in the world made him happier than seeing his wife happy. "I love you more"

A couple of days later, a startled Ingrid Hofferson blinked at the roll of paper dropped onto the floor by a flapping terror that had crashed through their window. The dragon stayed perched on the window sill, eying her warily with unblinking, almost intelligent eyes.

Remembering how her daughter had said that dragons weren't what Vikings thought all this time, she steeled herself and picked up the paper, resisting the innate urge to call for help. Even if the dragon wasn't threatening her, it was still a dragon.

Unrolling it with slightly trembling fingers, not daring to hope but still hoping that…

Dearest mum, it began.

Tears brimmed in her eyes as the words sunk in, because after what seemed like an eternity, the Hofferson house bloomed with vibrant color once again.

"You wouldn't believe how excited she is!" Astrid told her husband as she narrated the letter she'd received from her mother. "My dad too! She also asks me to take care of you and make sure you're not over-working"

Hiccup chuckled. "Shouldn't it be me taking care of you?"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "She also says that she hates how she can't brag to anyone else about this news, since this correspondence has to be a secret and all. But she says that's a small price to pay for being able to talk to us, and she insists I write to her as often as I can"

Hiccup nodded. "As long as you keep that terror well fed, I don't think he'd be complaining about making the journey, even if it's multiple times a month."

Astrid's smile faltered a bit at this next thing, but she knew she had to say it anyway.

"The news with your father isn't exactly good or anything. He has doubled his efforts to find the nest over the summer, and now he's even set a reward to find us and toothless too"

Hiccup sighed. "I kinda assumed that already… I guess I'll just have to find it first" he said, managing a feeble smile.

Astrid walked over to him and without saying anything, just wrapped her arms around him and held him. He returned the embrace, and they just stood there for a while, breathing each other in and finding solace in the fact that the other was there, their little family was together, strong, happy, and healthy. No matter what the future held, this moment was theirs, and nothing could take it away from them.

"I can't believe it's been a year" Astrid said, playing with the silver ring on her finger, seeing the sunset hues reflecting in the crystal. They'd spent their first anniversary exploring new islands with toothless, and had ended up sitting on the highest point of the ice mountain as they gazed at the sea.

"I know" Hiccup replied with a wry smile. "It seems like only yesterday that I was trying not to become the victim of your fury in those nervous first days of our matrimony-ouch! that one actually hurt!"

He rubbed where Astrid had elbowed him in the ribs before she settled back against his side. "I was dealing with some stuff, okay?" she protested, the red on her cheeks matching the sky. "I still can't believe I didn't see you though. All those years you were right there, and I looked right past you"

"I would probably have looked past myself as well" he replied, earning himself another elbow in the ribs, though this one didn't really hurt.

"You still didn't give up, did you?" Astrid asked, feeling glad beyond words of Hiccup's stubbornness and persistence. Her life would have been so different had Hiccup given up on her, during all those years she'd refused to return his affections.

"That didn't even cross my mind, no matter how long it took" Hiccup smiled, gazing at the pink sky that was turning deep blue as the minutes ticked on. "I loved you, and that was pretty much the entirety of my reasoning"

Astrid blushed even redder. "How did you live and act normally though, even though we were apart?"

To Astrid, being away from the one she loved dearly, not being able to hold and hug and kiss him everyday seemed nearly unthinkable now. And Hiccup had apparently spent a large portion of his life like that, unable to be with the one he loved, ever since they were little kids.

"I wasn't that delusional, I knew you weren't just gonna wake up one day and love me back. Even me shooting toothless down was an attempt to make something of myself, so that you'd notice me. It didn't work of course, but by then I'd already gotten used to this way of life. I was happy, because just seeing you everyday, whether at lunch, dinner, at training, or anywhere else, it made my day, and I cherished that memory for the times you weren't around. Cause you were always in my heart, and even the slightest hope that one day you'd be my wife- that was enough for me. Enough to keep going"

Astrid's heart felt warm with feeling. She knew she meant everything to Hiccup now, but to think that he felt so strongly about her even before their marriage made her tear up for some strange reason, even though all she was feeling was happiness.

She didn't know how to explain why she was crying, but thankfully, Hiccup didn't ask, he just held her tighter against him, kissed her head and told her "I love you" for the umpteenth time that evening, and Astrid decided that she didn't need to explain anything to him, because he already knew.

As the days turned into weeks, their lives fell into a strangely unfamiliar, yet much needed peaceful rhythm.

Astrid helped Valka around the place, there was no shortage of chores to be done and dragons to be tended to. Helping an injured dragon and nursing it to health over time was such a beautiful and rewarding experience, that it was no wonder to Astrid that Valka had settled into this solitary life for so long.

There was a patch of earth on the island's southern side that had once been a small kitchen garden Valka had started years back, and had long been neglected. With Astrid's help, they brought it back to life and started growing a variety of vegetables at home itself as the sun shone throughout the long summer days.

It was quite a domestic lifestyle, nothing like the action packed shieldmaiden life she'd longed to live all this time, and yet it was the most fulfilling and peaceful thing Astrid had ever experienced, and she knew that no matter where they might end up living in the future, she'd always remember this time of her life fondly.

Anytime Hiccup wasn't out exploring with toothless and piecing together clues to locate the nest, he was beside her insisting on doing anything and everything to make her feel more comfortable.

Astrid wasn't a stranger to her husband doting on her, as he'd been his ever caring self right from day one of their marriage, but ever since they'd found out she was with child, it had brought out an even more caring and protective side of Hiccup.

His reasoning was that since Astrid was doing all this 'work' of nourishing this child inside her, it was his job to keep her the safest and healthiest he could. And that included everything from flying hours just to find her the freshest fruits to eat, to carrying her bridal style up and down stone steps around the sanctuary, even though she insisted she could do it on her own just fine. She definitely didn't let him know how much she secretly enjoyed it.

Every morning he kissed her first thing after waking, before kneeling down to check on her belly, murmuring sweet nothings and goofy remarks to their child within that always made Astrid laugh.

One late night when Astrid was just about to drift off, she'd jumped in Hiccup's arms, nudging him awake. His drowsy question was met by a wide eyed gasp and three words that made Hiccup wake up real fast, and he threw a fist into the air with a delighted 'whoop!': "the baby… kicked"

Hiccup immediately pressed his palms to her stomach and said, "Ask the baby to do it again"

Astrid giggled while simultaneously rolling her eyes. "I don't think that's gonna work babe"

Hiccup fell asleep like that, spooning her, still waiting to feel that kick for himself.

Astrid felt more kicks over the next few days, and much to Hiccup's annoyance, their baby didn't feel like doing it whenever Hiccup was nearby. It was nearly a couple of weeks later when Hiccup finally felt it for himself, one evening as he was napping with his head in Astrid's lap by the waterfall.

Astrid quiet gasp woke him up, and her excited "Did you feel that? did you?!" was met by his wide smile as he hugged her in delight before leaning down to kiss her belly.

"Yep, I felt that alright"

One late evening a few weeks later, Astrid stood with baited breath at the entrance of the mountain, her forehead creased in worry. The raging storm outside sprayed freezing water on her, but she hardly flinched from the cold. It had gotten dark over an hour ago and Hiccup was still not back.

He'd never done this before, as Astrid had made him promise to be home by sundown from his nest hunting expeditions, no matter what happened. Clearly something serious must have happened for him to have broken such a promise, and even contemplating any theories made her shudder in terror.

"I'm going to look for him" Astrid announced, turning around to face Valka. "It's been long enough. Stormfly should be able to track toothless and-"

"Nonsense girl. You're in no shape to fly, let alone in this weather" her mother-in-law said, gesturing to her six months along belly. "Cloudjumper can handle the winds just fine. He might've taken shelter on some nearby island to escape the storm. I'll go out and get him"

"B-But-" Astrid tried, but she had to admit Valka had a point. Going out all by herself in this weather would be more reckless than brave, especially given that it wasn't just her own life on the line.

Valka had already put on her dragon-esque armor and climbed upon her four winged dragon, just as a flash of lightning briefly lit up the night outside, followed by the earth shaking CRACK.

"I'll be back" was all Valka said before she launched through the hole and appeared to vanish into the torrential downpour.

Stormfly seemed to sense her rider's fragile state and nuzzled into her side, earning a weak smile from Astrid. It'll be okay, it'll be okay, she whispered to herself in a chant. Hiccup will make it, he always does, no matter what.

After what felt like hours but was actually just ten minutes, Cloudjumper burst in, flying a wide circle around the large cavern before landing behind her.

Not one moment later, another dragon materialized out of the rain, an extremely familiar night fury and his rider, the sight of which lifted the burden of the whole world from Astrid's shoulders as she collapsed to the ground, sobbing with relief into her hands.

Toothless skidded to a hard landing on the gravel floor, and Astrid looked up to see smoke rising from its singed and damaged prosthetic tail.

A shaken but otherwise alright Hiccup tumbled out of the saddle and got to his feet, shrugging off his helmet, his flight suit dripping rainwater everywhere.

His eyes scanned the room for half a second before landing squarely on his wife, still sobbing on the floor, and he collapsed beside her and pulled her into his arms.

Her cheek felt ice cold against his, and it was the most wonderful feeling he'd ever felt in his life.

"Don't you dare pull something like this again, did you have any idea how worried I was?" Astrid whispered, once she'd finally taken a breath.

"Never again" Hiccup promised, and the sincerity in his tone surprised her enough to pull back to look into his eyes. From what she knew of her husband, the only way he'd stop his pursuit of his goal was if…

"I found it" he said quietly, simply, the small words not nearly grand enough to compare with the enormous implications of that statement.

Astrid leaned forward until their foreheads touched, closing her eyes. "That's good" she said absently, not having the strength to absorb the news right now. To be honest, she didn't even care about the nest, about the Queen, about any of it in this moment. The only thing that mattered was that Hiccup was back and he was safe in her arms and Oh gods he was safe.

Hiccup used his thumbs to wipe the tears from her face, the gentle touches making her giggle despite of the situation.

She turned to see Toothless and Cloudjumper being tended to by Valka, along with three other dragons that appeared to have just arrived from outside too, soaking and shivering but still undeniably familiar enough to make her eyes widen.

A Gronkle, a Zippleback, and… a Monstrous nightmare, the same one that Hiccup had dueled, that she had dueled, the one that had changed the trajectory of her life forever.

She turned back to her husband for an explanation, and he gave her a tired, yet hopeful smile. "Me and Toothless, we found the nest." He stated again.

"We found the queen inside too, and we…"

"We what?" Astrid pressed, eyes wide.

Hiccup's jaw was set in determination as he continued, his eyes twinkling with optimism.

"We also found the way we're going to beat her"

And here is a new chapter all done finally! Hope you liked this one. We are nearing the beginning of the end, but there is still a lot to look forward to.

I loved writing all the Hiccstrid in this chapter, and some interesting plot developments towards the end too.

I'm super interested to hear your thoughts! Please review if you enjoyed! and do have a nice day! :)

See you soon,

Gravitybeam

p.s. Virtual high five to anyone who got the reference of the Cranefish town's name :p