The Dragon Whisperer

Two weeks later

Hiccup wiped his brow as he sat down. He looked up as the frame to the Haddock hut was completed. It had taken weeks, but they had finished that at least. He and his family were still sleeping up in the Great Hall with everyone else until the first set of huts were finished. Vikings didn't get along very well in close quarters and spending three weeks sleeping in the same place was trying everyone's patience. Fortunately, his hut wasn't the only one they were working on. Several others were being built simultaneously, the dragons aiding however they could, either by lifting the wood or the Vikings, or carrying large trees and cutting them up.

Astrid walked up with a tray of food. It was noon, so everyone was taking a break for lunch. He took the offered bread as she sat next to him. They were a lot steadier on their legs now, so Hiccup had offered to help build his hut, Astrid doing much the same. She was also learning more about smithery as Gobber rambled to the two of them, saying that if she was going to be helping around the forge for the foreseeable future, she might as well learn everything she could.

"So, how much longer will this take before we have our own roof over our head?" she asked.

"A couple more weeks," Hiccup answered. "We'll have the upstairs floor to ourselves while mom and dad will have the ground floor."

"It'll be nice to not have to sleep with everyone else. A room to ourselves, and this time, we won't ever have to split apart because our parents are coming back," Astrid said. "And it'll be nice to have a room so we can sleep in private."

"It would be nice," Hiccup agreed.

"But don't get any ideas, Mister Skinny. I'd prefer to wait until after we're wed," Astrid said sternly.

Hiccup laughed at that. "Wasn't thinking anything like that."

Toothless nudged his Rider, who scratched behind his earflaps. "Stormfly and I will be sleeping in your room as well?"

"Yes, and Cloudjumper will sleep with mom and dad," Hiccup answered. It was still weird to speak of his parents as a unit. It had been two weeks, and he was still getting used to it.

Gobber soon came hobbling up, carrying something under his arm. "The two-limb is coming," Stormfly said. Her wing had healed up enough that she no longer needed the splint and was able to fly again.

"Wonder what Gobber's doing?" Hiccup wondered.

The blacksmith came up and stopped before them. "Thought I'd find you two here," he said.

"What is it, Gobber?" Hiccup asked.

The blacksmith held out what he had been holding, and Hiccup realized it was a new saddle and tailfin. "I finished it just this morning," he said.

Hiccup gratefully took the prosthetic from Gobber, looking it over. Unlike the previous fin, which had been plain leather, this one was red with a white skull with horns painted on it. "Wow. Thanks!" he said. "Well, bud, shall we try this on?" he asked the Night Fury.

"You bet! I've been grounded for weeks!" Toothless said, bounding up and down.

"Want to test it out with a race?" Astrid asked, Stormfly standing next to her.

"Sure thing," Hiccup agreed. After strapping the new saddle and fin, he sat on the dragon's back, his prosthetic fitting into a special stirrup made for it which he could control the fin with. Astrid leapt onto Stormfly's back, sitting on her upgraded saddle which also had a custom stirrup for hers. "You ready?" Hiccup asked the Night Fury, who nodded his head. They took off, zooming as fast as they could. As they raced around, Hiccup took the chance to look over the village. Huts were going up, just the frames, and the forge was halfway completed. The farms were back in working order already, as they had been outside the village. The various other structures had their foundations laid, the docks were halfway finished, most of the ships repaired.

They flew over the sea, Fishlegs on Meatlug joining them, along with Snotlout on Hookfang. Underneath them, the Bewilderbeast was resting, watching the dragons work and also observing the teens flying by. Hiccup could see his mother riding on Cloudjumper, going between the various parts of the village to help out with various dragon things.

The twins soon joined them on their Zippleback, and this group of Dragon Riders raced around the village, enjoying a moment of levity after weeks of hard work. The Red Death had done a number on their village, but they were recovering, and Hiccup knew that somehow, they would survive this, as they always did. He looked over to Astrid, who he was now engaged to, which felt like a dream come true, and though he would have preferred it work our differently, he was content with it. He had an open relationship with his girlfriend, friends who fought by his side, a best friend who had helped him find himself, parents who talked to him, and a place in the village that had previously despised him. And while Berk's future was uncertain, it was looking bright.

End

A/N

And thus concludes this book. Thanks for reading.

Originally, I had an idea for a sequel, but motivation to continuing this story is kinda low. One day though, I might pick it back up if I get invested. Until then, thanks for all the faves, follows and reviews I've gotten over the last several months. It was a pleasure to write this. See you next time.