I was hoping to have this posted on Christmas or, at the very latest, before 2021 ended. Now it is officially my first story for 2022. Oh, well! Better late than never. To all who have waited so patiently for this story, thank you so much and I hope you all enjoy!
NOTE: I OWN NOTHING! ALL RIGHTS TO THE HTTYD CHARACTERS GO TO CRESSIDA COWELL AND DREAMWORKS ANIMATION. ALL RIGHTS TO LOKI GO TO MARVEL.
Gifts of the Night Furies with The God of Mischief
Loki woke up with a shiver one morning. Pulling the blanket more tightly around himself, the former god tried to go back to sleep. But the cold was too biting. Grumbling, Loki got up and dressed quickly in his warmest tunic and trousers. Carving one more notch into his bedpost, he stumbled down to get a fire going.
"Looking for an authentic Viking vacation? Visit beautiful Berk, where we boast a balmy, fun-in-the-sun climate that will give you frostbite on your spleen…" he muttered in his best salesman voice as he pushed some more kindling into the hearth. Striking an iron against flint, Loki watched as a spark hit the dry twigs and lit them on fire. Blowing on it to make the flame grow larger, he sat on the worn fur rug in the center of the hut he shared with Berk's elder, Gothi. He noticed a box that was filled with what looked to be decorations and grimaced.
'Right… Snoggletog is almost upon us… Honestly, what possessed the ancient Berkians to pick such a stupid name for their Yule holiday?' thought Loki as he warmed himself up.
For the past week, Hiccup and Zenna had been telling him about Snoggletog and what traditions they had with their families. Hiccup opened presents with his father, Stoick, every Snoggletog morning and he told Loki that the holiday had been one of the few moments – prior to ending the war between Berk and the dragons – he and his Dad didn't act like strangers to one another. Zenna and her parents made cookies and splurged on the hot chocolate, having made sure to get good quality chocolate from traders well in advance and saving them for the holiday.
Loki had listened to their tales of Snoggletogs past with half an ear, not quite feeling in a holiday mood. But then his two best friends had mentioned one tradition that caught his attention.
"Every Snoggletog eve, Hiccup and I head to the docks to exchange letters. Whatever we've thought about each other this past year but didn't get a chance to say and our wishes for the other this Snoggletog, we write them down then read them out loud before we give each other presents," Zenna said during one of their afternoons at the cove.
"We write letters to Elias, too. After we read them out loud, we release them into the sky so they may reach him in Valhalla," Hiccup added then smiled. "You can join us in this tradition if you want."
"You can join us in this tradition if you want."
Sighing, Loki got up and headed to a window and opened it. A blast of cold wind kissed his face and, for a moment, Loki stood and watched the first snowflakes drift down. 'What should I write in my letters to them? And what can I give them? I certainly don't have the gold needed to buy them such exquisite gifts. And Hiccup and Zenna deserve something exquisite after everything they've given me…' he thought.
A shuffling and tapping brought Loki out of his musings as Gothi hobbled out of her bedroom. "Ah, good on you, lad. This cold was beginning to seep into my bones," the old woman greeted him before getting started on breakfast. Cooking up a batch of porridge with juniper berries and honey, Gothi hummed while Loki started on his chores.
"The village's winter stocks are more plentiful this year thanks to raids having stopped. And with the dragons around," Gothi chuckled as she gave her ward a cup of tea. "this year's Snoggletog will be one to remember."
Nodding absentmindedly, Loki ate quickly before his porridge cooled down too much.
"This will be your first time celebrating Snoggletog here. Did Hiccup and Zenna tell you anything about our version of Yule?" Gothi asked him.
"It's not so different from Yule. Although I question the ancient Berkians' sanity and creative process when they decided on something as asinine as Snoggletog," Loki replied.
"Who knows what they were thinking?" Gothi shrugged then looked at him with a searching gaze. "Your mind's somewhere else, Loki. What troubles you?" she asked gently.
"Haven't figured out what to give Hiccup and Zenna, I guess…" Loki admitted. That was a half-truth. Truth be told, finding good gifts for the two young Vikings who had accepted him as their friend and brother in all but blood was half of the battle in Loki's opinion.
"Oh, don't worry too much about that. I'm sure they'll appreciate whatever you'll give them," Gothi said before a loud thud suddenly sounded from the roof.
"Goooooood moooorrrnniiinnggg! I'm here for our first flight of the day!" Embla crooned from outside.
"Right on time as usual." Gothi shook her head in amusement before looking at Loki. "Go on and have your flight. You can finish your chores when you get back," she said, shooing the former god out of his chair and pushing him to the door.
Looking up, he saw his Changewing companion lounging on the roof with her saddle slung around her neck. "How can you be standing in this cold and still be perky?" Loki muttered, waving her over so he could fasten her saddle on.
"Come now, Loki! Where's your holiday spirit? It's Snoggletog!" Embla teased him, wrapping her tendrils around her rider's wrists and lightly tickling his palms.
"Eh, it's not Yule," Loki replied and got on. "C'mon. Let's see if Toothless and Stryka managed to get their riders out of bed."
With a happy roar, Embla took to the skies, spiraling through a cloud. Loki laughed, throwing his head back as they emerged from the cloud and were greeted by the winter sunlight. Flying with Embla was just the distraction he needed from all the thoughts of Snoggletog, finding the perfect presents for Hiccup and Zenna, the crushing realization that he won't be able to celebrate Yule with the people he once called family…
'Pull yourself together, man! Let's not dwell on that. You're happy here on Berk. You have friends, a roof over your head, and… you're not alone anymore…' Loki reminded himself just as he and Embla heard roars. On either side of them, two Night Furies emerged from the sea of clouds below them.
"Morning!" Zenna Fiersome greeted Loki and Embla, her one-eyed Night Fury, Stryka, roaring a hello of her own. Loki noticed that she had her brother's shield strapped onto her back.
"Hey, Loki!" Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III smiled, wearing his special horned helmet (made from half of his mother's breastplate). Toothless crooned and gave Loki and Embla the gummy grin that gave him his name.
"Alright!" Loki clapped his hands, depressing thoughts pushed aside, seeing the sea stacks come into view as they flew closer to the ocean. "Best tricks competition. Score ourselves from between 1 to 10?" he challenged his friends.
"Sounds fair," Toothless remarked, his voice sounding in Erland's mind.
"Zenna and I are going to win this one," Stryka said, wiggling her ear plates.
"We'll see about that, Stryka," Embla purred, making eye contact with her rider.
"Ladies first," Loki smirked at Zenna, who smirked back and patted Stryka's head.
"Let's show the boys what we've been working on, girl." Straightening up, Zenna put her arms out to the sides and gracefully slid off of Stryka's back.
Hiccup swallowed and gripped the edges of Toothless' saddle, ready to have his best dragon bud swoop down in case things went wrong, while Loki calmly watched as Stryka dove after Zenna. Just as Zenna was about ten feet from hitting the water, she held her hands up for Stryka to grab on. Stryka then tossed Zenna up into the air where she did a mid-air somersault before safely landing on the one-eyed dragoness' back.
"Success!" Zenna cheered as the two of them rejoined the boys at a higher altitude. "What's the judges' score?" she asked.
"Hmmm… I'd give it a nine. Could have used a little more panache." Loki shrugged.
Zenna hummed thoughtfully then looked at Hiccup. He and Toothless looked at each other as if they were debating on the decision together, which they were. The one-legged Viking teen and his one tail-finned dragon didn't need to have Loki's ability to be able to understand each other. After a minute, Hiccup and Toothless nodded at each other.
"Nine-and-a-half," Hiccup said, making Stryka swish her tail happily.
"Thank you for such a generous score, judges." Zenna bowed then swept her arms over to the wide expanse of sea stacks and rock formations. "Now, which of you men are going next?"
"Me! Me and Hiccup get to go next!" Toothless yapped excitedly.
"Toothless is raring to go," Loki observed, Embla letting out a soft croon.
'We're the best for last,' Embla's thoughts made him smile.
'As we should be, dear Embla,' Loki replied mentally as Toothless flew in the lead.
"Come on! Let's see what you've got today!" Hiccup encouraged him as they sped towards one of the rock formations that had a thin bridge of rock connecting two sea stacks together.
Zenna sighed. "I know what you're gonna do, Hicc. Just please, please be careful!" she reminded Hiccup, receiving a thumbs-up.
'I haven't regained my power to levitate things yet. Please make sure to catch him,' Loki told Toothless who let out a soft warble, looking a little nervous as he and Hiccup approached the rocks.
"Okay, you ready? Easy…" Hiccup unhooked his prosthetic leg from the stirrup of Toothless' saddle. Standing on his best dragon friend's back, Hiccup sucked in a nervous breath as the cliff neared. Then, with a grunt, he jumped off of Toothless and went over while the latter went under. Toothless let out a soft yelp as his rider landed on his back, a relieved, 'Caught him!' sent to Loki who let out a soft sigh of relief.
"Yes! Finally!" Hiccup whooped then turned to Zenna and Erland. "So, what's the score?"
"Nine-and-a-half." Zenna shrugged, grinning.
"I give it a nine. Landing was a bit shaky," Loki held his palm flat and wiggled his fingers. He felt Embla wiggle beneath him and smirked. "Our turn," he declared as Embla roared and shot up into the sky.
Spinning about in a corkscrew, Embla went full cloak. Her ruby scales turned a pale blue with patches of white to camouflage herself against the winter sky. Standing on Embla's back, Loki balanced himself on what looked to be pure air. When, in fact, he was surfing through the clouds on his invisible dragon's back.
Toothless and Stryka warbled, eyes wide, while Hiccup and Zenna watched in amazement as their friend did a few backflips along the length of Embla's back. "How does he know where to step without falling?" Hiccup murmured, adjusting his helmet as it slipped over his eyes.
"They must be communicating telepathically," Zenna guessed just as Embla became visible again and Loki did one last flip, bowing with a flourish.
"Well, what do the judges think?" Loki grinned.
Hiccup and Zenna looked at Toothless and Stryka, then at each other. Nodding, the two Viking teens looked at Loki and Embla with matching smiles.
"Nine-and-a-half."
Chuckling, Loki patted Embla's head. "I think we scored a ten," he told her, earning a pleased coo from the Changewing. As the morning continued, the three teens and their dragons enjoyed their flight. Hiccup and Zenna started talking about their holiday plans with Loki more than happy to just lean back in the saddle and listen.
"With the war now over, this is definitely going to be the best Snoggletog ever! I can't wait to spend the holidays with Toothless…" Hiccup said, patting his best dragon friend's head.
"Me, too! Mom's been weaving and knitting scarves for all of us. She even made some cute little ear warmers for you, Stryka," Zenna cooed, wrapping her arms around the one-eyed dragoness.
"Are scarves and whatever ear warmers are considered presents in human gift giving customs?" Stryka warbled, her one eye looking at Loki.
"Anything warm is a welcome gift during Winter, Stryka," Loki replied, smiling at the mental image of her, Toothless, and Embla wearing winter scarves. Oh, he was definitely going to have to draw those three after Henna gave them their presents.
"Speaking of gifts, I am so excited to give you boys yours. I'm this close to telling you two what I got," Zenna said, holding her thumb and pointer finger half an inch apart. "but I won't because I want them to be surprises!"
"Knowing you, Zen, I'm sure they'll be amazing," Hiccup told her.
At the mention of gifts, Loki's heart sank. 'If Zenna's so eager to give us these gifts, then they must be good… What am I going to give them?' he wondered.
While the Three Weirdos and their dragons enjoyed their morning flight, the rest of the Berkians were preparing for Snoggletog with gusto. Zenna's parents, Edgar and Henna were hard at work shoveling snow out of the pathways around the village. In the town plaza, a massive Snoggletog tree composed of wooden boards painted green and decorated with shields and a small statue of a grinning Viking stood. With the dragons now peacefully living with them, the Berkians found getting ready for Snoggletog to be a lot easier and warmer.
"Here?" Helga, a woman with long brown hair that she usually wore in two braided buns, had her Gronckle hover by a pillar of one of the newer dragon stables. All the stable needed was a few wreaths and it would be festive enough for this year's Snoggletog.
"Yes, yes, nooo, no, no, that one a wee bit higher!" Gobber, the blacksmith, instructed her.
"Here?" Helga raised the wreath a little bit more and Gobber said, "There! Ah, that's the spot!" signaling her to hang up the wreath.
Stoick the Vast, Chief of Berk, grinned as he walked up to his best friend and clapped him on the shoulder. Looking around, he felt the warmth of the Snoggletog spirit as he saw what he and his ancestors once thought impossible. 'Dragons living amongst us in peace, helping us prepare for Snoggletog… playing with the children!' he thought as he spotted one Viking child run up to Fishlegs Ingerman's Gronckle, sporting a green Gronckle costume. The child roared and Meatlug playfully roared back. Giggling, the boy ran off with Meatlug joining him in a game of tag.
"Attaboy, Meatlug!" Fishlegs said as he balanced on a ladder while decorating his house.
At the Snoggletog tree, Astrid Hofferson had her Deadly Nadder, Stormfly, prepare her spines. "Are you ready, girl?" she asked Stormfly who chittered and raised her spiky tail. Astrid then tossed two decorative shields into the air, which Stormfly nailed to the tree by launching her tail spikes at them. Stormfly trilled, pleased with herself, and earned a few neck scritches from her rider.
'Father, if you could see Berk now… What your grandson and his friends have done,' Stoick thought with pride as he and Gobber surveyed the preparations. "By Odin's beard, Gobber. Vikings spending the winter holiday with dragons. What would our fathers say?" he asked.
"They'd think we'd lost our minds!" Gobber joked, earning a hearty laugh from his chief.
Stoick laughed and looked to his people and the dragons gathered in the town plaza. "Well done. Well done, all of you! I've never thought I'd live to see this day. Peace on the island of Berk. This will surely be the greatest holiday we've ever seen!" he proclaimed to the cheering of the villagers and the roars of the dragons.
But just as things were looking fine and dandy… the skies were suddenly filled with wild dragons.
"What the…?" Stoick muttered as he, Gobber, and the rest of the village saw hundreds, no, thousands of wild dragons flying over Berk. Down below, Berk's dragons looked up and realized what was going on.
"What in Thor's name?" Gobber asked before Hookfang, Snotlout Jorgenson's Monstrous Nightmare, let out a roar that seemed to signal the other dragons to take flight. To the Berkians' confusion and dismay, all of their dragons started leaving!
"Come back! What are you doing?" Snotlout called out to Hookfang as he dangled from the dragon head roof post of his house.
"Meatlug!" A terrified Fishlegs ran over to his Gronckle, afraid that he would lose his dragon.
"What's going on?" Ruffnut Thorston yelped as she ducked to avoid collision with a Terrible Terror as it took flight.
"Barf! Belch! Where are you going?" Tuffnut, her twin, yelped as their Hideous Zippleback left with the other Zipplebacks.
Astrid looked around the sea of confused faces and noticed that three were missing along with their respective dragons.
"Where are Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland?"
Oblivious to the confusion happening back on Berk, Hiccup, Zenna, and Loki were getting ready to have another contest.
"Let's have a race this time. First one to the Cove?" Zenna challenged, earning eager roars from two Night Furies and a Changewing.
Loki was about to say yes when he suddenly clutched his head as a cacophony of voices filled his mind.
"Hurry! Hurry! We need to go!"
"It's time! It's time! It's time!"
"Let's fly! Fly, everyone! Let's go!"
"Loki, what's wrong?!" Embla hissed in alarm only for her rider to mutter, "Too…! Many…! Voices…!" as they all flew through a smoky gray cloud… and were greeted by a swarm of dragons flying towards them.
"Whoa!" Hiccup clicked his left foot into the stirrup, opening Toothless' tail fin fully, and tried to swerve himself and his best dragon friend out of the swarm.
"Holy Shields!" Zenna yelped, hanging onto Stryka's saddle for dear life.
That's when they noticed that Loki hunched over Embla's back, his eyes squeezed shut and gripping his hair. "All the dragons must be talking all at once…" Hiccup realized then had Toothless fly over to Embla. The worried Changewing was doing her best to avoid colliding with wild dragons while letting out soft soothing hisses to Loki as he struggled to block out the mad chorus inside his head.
"Loki, it's okay! It's okay!" Hovering Toothless as close as he could to Embla, Hiccup reached out and placed his hands over Loki's and guided them to his ears. At Hiccup's touch, Loki opened his eyes. "That's it… Stay calm… Focus on my voice…" Hiccup murmured.
As Hiccup kept talking, Loki slowly felt the voices of the wild dragons flying around them fade into the background. Keeping his attention focused solely on Hiccup's face and the sound of his voice, Loki didn't notice Toothless guiding Embla safely to Zenna and Stryka.
"You good?"
At Hiccup's question, Loki blinked. The wild dragons' voices were a lot softer now, like whispers that passed him by, which was a welcome reprieve. His head had felt like someone bashed him with Gobber's hammer arm just minutes ago.
"Yeah… Thanks…" he breathed out, shaking his head.
"We're not quite out of the woods yet," Zenna alerted the boys, reminding them of where they were which was hundreds of feet above the ocean amidst a whole swarm of dragons flying en masse to who knew where.
Embla, Toothless, and Stryka swerved, ducked, dove, and dodged, sometimes screeching at their fellow dragons to get out of the way. Hanging on for dear life, Hiccup, Zenna, and Loki couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Then one Deadly Nadder's clawed toe smacked against Hiccup's helmet, knocking it off of his head and sending it plummeting towards the ocean. At the same time, a Terrible Terror flying at full speed barely missed clipping Zenna's shoulder but collided into Elias' shield and caused it to separate from the straps on Zenna's back.
"Oh, no! My helmet!"
"Eli's shield!"
Two precious family heirlooms fell down, down, down, and Hiccup and Zenna didn't know what to do. Loki wished he still had telekinesis so he could get his two best human friends' possessions. But, alas, he did not.
Stryka and Toothless, however, were not about to just give up. The two Night Furies tucked in their wings and did simultaneous power dives, startling their riders, and plunged towards the falling helmet and shield.
"Whhhoooooaaaa! Toothless!"
"Stryka, waitwaitwaitwait!"
"No, no, no, no! Whoa! Wait! Toothless, stop!" Hiccup shouted, eventually getting the male Night Fury's attention. Spreading his wings, Toothless came out of the power dive at the same time Zenna got Stryka to do the same. "We'll get it later, bud. We need to get back and find out what's going on," he told his dragon.
"We'll get Eli's shield later, girl…" Zenna mumbled, gently rubbing Stryka's side. But her one violet eye betrayed her dread. 'Eli, forgive me. I've lost your shield forever…' she lamented, knowing that it was going to be almost impossible to find the shield now that it had fallen into the ocean.
Embla and Loki swooped down to join the four. "Loki, do you have any idea what's happening?" Zenna asked him as they flew to Berk.
"I don't know. All the dragons, however, look like they're in a hurry to get somewhere…" Loki mumbled, deep in thought.
"it's time! It's time! It's time!"
'A lot of the dragons were saying that… But what did that mean? Time for what?' Loki thought before looking at Embla and noticing that his Changewing was restless. "Embla, do you know where the dragons are going?" he asked quietly.
"I… think I have an idea. But I don't know where exactly they're heading off to," Embla replied, her eyes looking straight ahead.
"Well, do you know why they're going?" Loki asked just as they landed in the town plaza.
"No, no, no! Don't leave, Stormfly! Don't go! Please!"
Hiccup's heart cracked as he saw Astrid plead with Stormfly, the Deadly Nadder not listening and taking to the skies, leaving Astrid looking up at the sky with sad blue eyes. "Astrid!" he called out, getting off of Toothless' back and running towards her, Zenna and Loki right behind him.
'Time to be Erland,' thought Loki as he saw the large group of people, assuming his second identity.
"Hiccup!" Running over to the one-legged Viking who had changed her entire world, Astrid regarded Hiccup with concern. "What's going on? Where are they going?" she asked him. Before Hiccup could answer her, the rest of the Berkians arrived and surrounded him, Zenna, and Erland. All of the villagers asked questions all at once, their voices overlapping against one another.
"Why did they leave?"
"What's happening?"
"What if they never come back?"
"Stop, please!" Hiccup said in an effort to calm down the crowd.
"One question at a time!" Zenna pleaded.
Erland winced, the headache he'd felt when they had encountered the swarm of wild dragons returning.
Finally, to the trio's relief, they heard a familiar authoritative voice boom out.
"Calm down! Give them a chance to speak!"
The Berkians parted to let Stoick through. Standing before the three, Stoick had a sinking feeling that they were just as lost as he was. "Hiccup, Zenna, Erland, where are all our dragons going?" he still asked.
Zenna could only shrug while Hiccup admitted, "Dad… I don't know."
Sighing, Stoick then turned his gaze to Erland. "Did the dragons tell you anything?" he asked. While Erland's ability to communicate with dragons both amazed and unsettled him, Stoick knew that Gothi's ward was their best bet in getting to the bottom of this.
Erland looked back at Embla who let out a few hisses and warbles. Everyone watched with bated breath as he listened. Then Erland's jade eyes widened and he said, "Ohh… so that's why…" before a relieved smile formed on his lips.
"What did she say, Erland?" Hiccup asked, hoping that his friend's smile meant good news.
Still smiling, Erland turned to the crowd. "It's hatching season. The dragons are leaving to lay their eggs," he announced to the astonishment of the crowd.
"Baby dragons?" Zenna gasped, her one violet eye sparkling, as the Berkians let out surprised murmurs. But, luckily, this time around, the mood was no longer one of confusion and fear. Rather, it was now full of excitement and expectation.
"Are you serious?" Hiccup looked at Erland, eyes wide and mouth slightly hanging open.
"That's what Embla told me." Erland shrugged before a Viking child asked, "Does Embla know where they're going?"
The murmurs stopped as Erland looked at the small boy who had stepped forward. The hopeful look on the child's face made Erland swallow nervously. Turning to Embla, he asked in his mind, 'Where are the dragons going?'
Embla's face fell as she answered. 'I'm afraid I don't know where, Erland… Changewings have their own areas where they go to lay their eggs. I don't know where the other dragons go.'
"Embla says that she doesn't know. She knows where her species goes to lay their eggs. The other dragon species… she's not so sure where," Erland translated, feeling bad as the boy's shoulders slumped in disappointment.
Remembering one more important question, Erland turned to Embla before someone else could voice it out.
'Do you have an idea when the other dragons will come back?'
Embla sighed and shook her head. "It could take a while for hatchlings to grow strong enough to fly with their parents. I'm sorry, Loki, but I don't know when they'll return either," she told him.
As Erland translated for her, the hopeful and celebratory mood that had washed over the Berkians at his announcement earlier quickly turned sad all over again. Sighing heavily, Stoick started gathering the villagers to lead them to the Great Hall for a meeting. Meanwhile, Hiccup and Zenna watched Stormfly try to coax Toothless and Stryka into joining her. But both Night Furies didn't seem to want to leave, with Toothless wagging his tail and Stryka sadly shaking her head.
"Toothless can't go with the other dragons…" Hiccup realized with a heavy heart.
"And Stryka doesn't want to leave him…" Zenna added, her one violet eye shining with sympathy.
The duo then noticed Embla preparing to leave with Erland carefully removing her saddle. "…You're going to come back, right?" Erland looked into Embla's catlike eyes, biting his lip as he held her saddle.
Embla crooned and pressed her forehead against Erland's. "You are my friend and my rider, Loki. I shall return as soon as I'm able. In the meantime, start preparing to be an uncle," she told him, the last sentence being said in a teasing manner as she affectionately nudged him.
Erland laughed and patted her head. "Safe travels, Embla. I'll see you soon," he said. With a roar, Embla took to the skies and flew in the direction the other dragons were going. But Erland had a feeling she would break off from the rest of the flock to settle on an island where only Changewings would nest. He watched Embla fly until her ruby silhouette disappeared into the clouds, hugging the sky blue saddle to his chest. 'Don't stay away too long, girl. I'll start missing you too much,' he thought before looking at Hiccup and Zenna. His two best friends smiled a little, giving him a little comfort, and walked with him to the Great Hall.
That night, the Berkians had a meeting to discuss the current situation. But, in the eight original Dragon Riders' opinions', it was more of a session to complain and lament the fact that this year's holiday was going to suck.
"Snoggletog is ruined!" Hoark grumbled as the rest wondered what they were going to do for the holiday now. Everyone had had so many plans to spend Snoggletog with their dragons. Now all those plans were ruined thanks to their departure.
Seeing his people in low spirits, Stoick figured it was time for some good old-fashioned Viking morale. "It's not ruined!" he declared, standing in the center of the council. Once all eyes were on him, he continued. "We're Vikings! We've been perfectly happy celebrating without dragons for generations! And there's no reason we can't do it again! Now we don't know where they've gone off to. But Erland's talk with his dragon has given us the reason for their departure. We have to have faith that our dragons and their young will be back again soon," he reassured his people.
At the mention of their dragons coming back with their hatchlings, most of the villagers perked up. Baby dragons were soon coming to Berk! The children started getting excited, chattering amongst themselves of finding a little dragon they could befriend and play with. Gothi chuckled, enjoying the return of their smiles, before looking across the hall and catching Erland's eye. Her young ward smiled shyly, having not expected Stoick to mention him in his speech, and ran a hand through his raven hair.
Seeing the mood brighten up, Stoick nodded to himself. "In the meantime, let's celebrate Snoggletog the same way we have for seven generations! We can still have a good time this holiday season! Am I right?" he asked the people.
"You're right! We are Vikings! We are tough!" Gobber proclaimed, making everyone look at him. The one-armed and one-legged blacksmith was all decked out in tinsel, red ribbons, baubles, and shiny bells… not exactly the picture of a tough Viking.
"Most of the time…" he mumbled, jingling the bells attached to his prosthetic arm.
The teens looked at each other, trying their hardest not to laugh at Gobber's holiday outfit, and silently decided to just leave the meeting.
"Let's sing some Snoggletog songs!" Gobber suggested, prompting Snotlout to yelp, "Run for it before he sings!"
Knowing how terrible Gobber's singing could be, the eight Dragon Riders of Berk ran like the wind until they were outside the Great Hall. Unsure of what to do, they all walked around and listened to the wind blowing through the trees. By the time they got to the plaza, however, they decided to fill the empty silence with talk.
"That was kind of depressing…" Ruffnut muttered.
"It would have been torturous if we had to stay in the Great Hall with Gobber," Zenna remarked, hoping to lighten the mood but to no avail.
Snotlout looked at Erland, frowning. "Are you sure your dragon was telling you the truth about why the dragons left?" he asked.
"I trust Embla, Snotlout. She would never lie to me." Erland bristled slightly at the Jorgenson's question. "The dragons will return when they're ready… Although, I admit that it is a bit disappointing we won't be spending the holidays with them," he admitted, adjusting the collar of his fur-lined green tunic to try and warm his ears.
"I know! I was looking forward to spending Snoggletog with Stormfly," Astrid said, sheer disappointment written on her face.
Oddly enough, only Fishlegs seemed calm. He was even whistling a cheery tune as they walked!
Zenna glanced at their group's walking dragon facts book, right eyebrow raised. 'Why isn't he bawling his eyes out over Meatlug leaving with the other dragons?' she wondered just as Tuffnut scowled at Fishlegs and asked, "What are you so happy about? Don't you miss Meatlug?"
Startled slightly by Tuffnut's question, Fishlegs stopped whistling. "M-me? Oh! Y-yeah!" he stuttered before he started whimpering. "I miss him so much!" he sobbed.
"He's fake crying," Erland whispered to Hiccup and Zenna, who nodded in agreement.
"Should we tell him about Meatlug being a girl dragon?" Hiccup whispered back.
"Nah, let him figure it out on his own. Much more fun," Erland chuckled softly.
"Well, good night!" Fishlegs said once his fake crying ceased and trotted off into the night while the rest of the group could only stand and wonder what was with the sudden shift in his attitude.
"That was slightly out of character," Zenna observed.
"Oh, he's got to be hiding something. What that something is… I don't know, but I think I want to find out," Erland mused, putting a hand to his chin.
Astrid's face suddenly lit up. "Hey, I've got an idea!" Heading to the front of the group, she grinned. "Let's come up with a bunch of new holiday traditions! You know? To bury the sadness!" she proposed.
While Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Snotlout groaned, The Three Weirdos found Astrid's idea interesting.
"Well… it beats standing around moping all Snoggletog," Erland said, shrugging.
"Astrid might be on to something," Hiccup agreed with his crush.
"Some new traditions ought to give Berk a little holiday cheer," Zenna piped up.
Tuffnut rolled his eyes at them. "Easy for you two to say," he scoffed before looking at Hiccup. "Your dragon can't go anywhere without you. And thanks to that…" he then looked at Zenna with a less critical gaze. "…her dragon can't go anywhere either," he added.
Looking up at the cliffs above the Great Hall, Hiccup and Zenna saw their two Night Furies gazing out at the horizon where their fellow dragons had gone. Toothless crooned to Stryka who warbled and lovingly nuzzled him.
They both looked like they wanted to go too…
"Must be nice…" Ruffnut muttered with jealousy before she and the others left. Astrid gave Hiccup and Zenna a sympathetic glance before heading home. And that left Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland alone in the plaza.
Hiccup's shoulders slumped forward. "Aw, who am I kidding? Tuffnut's right!" he sighed as he took one step, intent on going home and burying himself under a pile of blankets. But his prosthetic leg slipped on a patch of ice. Luckily, Zenna and Erland both caught him before he fell face first into the icy ground.
"Oh, come on! Stupid leg! I should just get rid of this hunk of junk!" Hiccup exclaimed, frustrated, as he regained his balance.
"Relax, Hiccup. Didn't you say that you'd make a couple of tweaks to it?" Zenna soothed him, smoothing down his fur vest.
"I know, Zenna. It's just that… well, Tuff's right. Ever since I shot down Toothless, the only way he can fly is when I'm with him. And Stryka's such a loyal mate that she doesn't want to leave him on his own for that long…" Hiccup admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Well, Toothless knows that you're the one who shot him down. Has he ever shown any signs of anger or resentment towards you for that?" Erland asked him.
"No…" Hiccup shook his head then wrapped his arms around his middle and looked at Erland imploringly. "Has Toothless ever said anything to you?" he asked.
"Not at all. In fact, I asked him once if he resented you for taking away his ability to fly solo. Toothless told me that he's never had any ill thoughts towards you about that incident and considers that moment as the one that helped him and Stryka break free from the Red Death's control," Erland revealed.
Hiccup sucked in a breath, floored by what he'd just heard, and slowly let it out. A part of him had kept wondering, ever since he had bonded Toothless, if the Night Fury secretly hated him for taking away his other tail fin. To hear that Toothless didn't and never resented him for that and even considered it the moment where both he and his mate started to truly be free… that was a huge weight off of Hiccup's shoulders.
"See, Hicc? There's no reason for you to feel bad," Zenna said upon seeing her best human friend perk up. Glancing at Stryka, her cheerful mood diminished slightly. "At least you still have a chance to fix Toothless' tail. If I could have one Snoggletog gift this year… it'd be a new eye for Stryka," she mumbled.
"The healers in Asgard are some of the best. Although I'm not sure if they can restore eyes…" Erland said, an image of Odin's face flashing through his mind, before quickly shaking his head.
Looking at Zenna, Hiccup could see the guilt he'd been feeling earlier in her. "Have you been feeling bad about that this whole time, Zen?" he asked.
Zenna nodded. "I'd give anything to give Stryka her eye back, Hicc. With just one eye, she could have a hard time seeing and even flying. If she becomes blind…" she trailed off, unable to bear the thought of her beautiful dragoness being completely vulnerable without her sight and the dangers she could encounter.
Sensing her distress, Hiccup went up to Zenna to give her a hug. He gave Erland an expectant look. "Alright, give me room there…" Erland sighed and joined his little brother in hugging their sister.
Zenna let out a soft laugh as she was sandwiched between the two boys in their embrace. "Thanks, guys…" she said softly as they let go. She then saw Hiccup's bright emerald eyes light up. "I sense an idea forming in your brain. What have you got?" she asked him.
"Remember those design plans for Toothless' tail fin I split up between you two?" Hiccup asked her and Erland.
"We still have them," Erland replied.
"Take them over to the forge. I'll wait for you guys there," Hiccup said before heading in the direction of the blacksmith's stall.
Both Zenna and Erland headed to their houses. While Zenna quickly got her half of Hiccup's design plans from her room, Erland took a little longer given that he had to operate the lift that carried him back up to Gothi's hut. After getting Gothi's permission to stay overnight at the forge due to Hiccup having plans for a big project, Erland hastened to get his copies of the tail fin designs.
'And I still don't have any idea what to give them for Snoggletog…' Erland thought as he placed the sheets of parchment containing the designs into his sketchbook. "Hmmm… maybe I'll get an idea while I'm down there…" he mumbled to himself, taking a few pencils with him.
By the time Erland made it to the forge, Hiccup was already making annotations on Zenna's portion of the design plans. He saw Erland and waved him over, accepting the latter's copies with a smile before turning to the designs again. "Uh-huh… Yep… Make an adjustment here… and maybe there…" Hiccup muttered, scribbling in the margins.
Zenna kept an eye on the forge while also sewing what looked to be a purple Night Fury emblem on a glossy leather eye patch. Pooled in her lap was a purple woolen scarf long enough to wrap around a Night Fury's neck at least twice.
"Your gifts for Stryka?" Erland asked as he took a turn watching over the forge's flame.
"Yup. My Mom taught me how to knit two months ago and I had slaved away on this scarf for the same amount of time. I really hope Stryka likes it…" Zenna pointed to the red scarf and held up the eye patch. "Gobber helped me out with this two weeks ago. What do you think?" she asked the boys.
"They look beautiful, Zen," Hiccup said, blushing slightly. "I hope this will be a good enough gift for Toothless…" He looked at his finished plans, trepidation rising within him.
"Hiccup, you're returning his ability to fly on his own. I'm sure Toothless will greatly appreciate what you're doing for him," Erland reassured him then glanced at the forge. "Looks like the flame's hot enough. Let's get to building."
Throughout the night, the trio worked together to craft the most intricate prosthetic tail fin ever designed for Toothless. Zenna, luckily, had brought over some bread and fruit as well as water and light ale to keep them going throughout the entire process. In the moments of lull, while waiting for the metal to melt or cool so it could be hammered into gears and screws, Erland settled in a corner to scribble out ideas for gifts.
But the more he thought about gift ideas, the more aware Erland became that he didn't really have enough time or money to get any of them in time for Snoggletog. After wasting two whole pages of his sketchbook in making lists and crossing them out, Erland gave up. 'Nothing I think of is ever going to be enough to show them how much I appreciate them… And, really, they've got simple desires. All they need are Toothless, Stryka, and each other. And I'm sure their parents already have the ideal gifts for them ready…' he thought as he settled for drawing the scene before him. Just a simple sketch of Hiccup and Zenna talking and laughing by the light of the forge…
Erland finished the sketch before he had to get back to work in helping them continue construction. By the time the sun rose, the new tail fin was ready. It was a marvelous contraption with a modified gear mechanism attached to the fin's base. The gears turned and clicked smoothly, automatically opening and closing the fin depending on subtle movements much like a real dragon's tail fin.
"Okay… That should do it…" Hiccup wiped the sweat off of his brow and took a moment to admire the new tail fin with Erland and Zenna.
"I've seen you design and build a great many things, Hiccup. This one's got to be your best one yet," Erland praised, arms folded across his chest.
"I think Toothless will be very happy with his present," Zenna chimed in, grinning.
While Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland were in the forge, Astrid was busy doling out what she hoped would bring her fellow Vikings some happiness despite the gloomy turn of this year's Snoggletog.
"Yaknog! Get your Yaknog! Come on! Get a frothy delicious cup of cheer!"
Some kids who had been sadly curled up on a snow Gronckle raised their heads to see the young Hofferson lady going around the village. Balanced on a wooden shield Astrid was using as a tray were a few tankards and a pitcher filled with… something.
Seeing her friends, Astrid grinned as she approached them. "Hey, you guys! Try this tasty new beverage I made for the holidays," she cajoled them.
Tuffnut took one whiff of the mysterious slimy white substance in the pitcher and gagged. "Ugh! What's that smell? Is that you?" He shoved Ruffnut, earning a smack on the face.
Ignoring the Twins' antics, Astrid poured her concoction into an empty tankard. "It's Yaknog!" she said simply as the drink slopped into the tankard, making Tuffnut gag even more.
"Ugh, if I drink that I'm gonna yak nog all over the place!" he said, shuddering.
"Maybe you'd rather taste a punch in the face?" Astrid asked him rhetorically, still smiling, oblivious to Ruffnut's horrified expression as she also smelled the Yaknog.
Not wanting to miss a chance to win over Astrid, Snotlout swaggered over to her. "Astrid, it sounds delightful. I'd love a mug," he said, grabbing the tankard and taking a large swig. He was immediately filled with regret as he tasted Astrid's holiday beverage and was forced to swallow it. "Yeeessirr, you could really taste the yak!" he croaked as he summoned all his willpower to not yak nog all over the place.
Then Fishlegs came up to them. "Mmm, yum! What is that?" he asked.
While he didn't particularly like Fishlegs, Snotlout knew he didn't deserve food poisoning on Snoggletog. Standing behind Astrid as she talked, he shook his head at Fishlegs, a look of warning on his face. Thankfully, Fishlegs got the hint and quickly said, "Oh… You know… Ehm… I have… suddenly inexplicably changed my mind!"
Astrid shrugged. "Well, you don't know what you're missing. I bet Hiccup will love this," she said and left.
Snotlout could finally heave out a great sigh as he clutched his stomach.
"Are you crying?" Ruffnut asked him, noticing the sheen over his eyes. Snotlout merely ran off to find the nearest empty bucket to throw up in.
"Hiccup?" Astrid called out as she neared the forge.
Perking up at the sound of her voice, Hiccup looked up from the finished tail fin. "Yeah, we're over here, Astrid!" he answered.
Erland and Zenna turned around to greet Astrid but stopped when they saw what she was carrying. Erland sniffed the air and grimaced. "What is that?" he asked, the smell of yak and something curdled hitting his nose.
"My new holiday drink. Yaknog." Astrid poured some into a cup. "Here. Happy holidays, from me to you," she said as she handed Hiccup a cup.
"Thank you, Milady!" Hiccup accepted the cup with thanks.
"You two want some?" Astrid asked Zenna and Erland.
"I'm good," Erland declined politely while Zenna accepted a cup.
"So what have you three been up to?" Astrid asked, noticing that the forge had been recently used.
Hiccup motioned to her to come to the table. "Okay, you're gonna think I'm crazy, but I just couldn't stop thinking about what Tuffnut said last night. Toothless can't come and go like the other dragons and Stryka, being so loyal to him as his mate, won't leave without him, and that's just not fair. So the three of us were up all night and I think we found a way to fix that," he explained, showing her the tail fin's new upgrade.
"Technically, you're the one who designed the whole thing, Hicc. Erland and I just helped with the construction," Zenna pointed out before she and Hiccup both took a sip of the Yaknog… and both realized their mistake.
"Oh, dear…" Erland sighed as he saw his two friends resist the urge to spit out Astrid's horrible holiday drink. 'Probably should have warned them,' he thought while Astrid kept talking and Hiccup could only give "Hmhm!" as a reply to her questions.
Then Astrid asked, "What if he and Stryka never come back?"
"Astrid, don't be silly. Toothless and Stryka are far too loyal to leave Hiccup and Zenna forever," Erland chided her while both Hiccup and Zenna looked at each other, doubt mixing with disgust in their facial expressions.
"Right, what am I saying? Of course they will!" Astrid corrected herself and smiled reassuringly at Hiccup and Zenna. "Well, I'm going to spread some more holiday cheer! You're amazing!" she said and hurried off, calling out, "Yaknog! Come get your Yaknog!"
As soon as Astrid was far enough away, both Hiccup and Zenna spat their Yaknog out.
"Hiccup, something tells me that you'll be doing all the cooking when you and Astrid are married…" Zenna muttered as she found one last apple in their rations.
"I should probably go and ask her if she even tasted her drink before serving it to the masses," Erland said, splitting the apple in half with one of his daggers so Hiccup and Zenna could get rid of the horrid taste of Yaknog out of their mouths. Remembering what Astrid mentioned, he turned to the two of them. "Hey…"
Once Hiccup and Zenna, both holding the apple halves in their mouths, looked at him, he continued. "I'm sure Toothless and Stryka will come back. And, hey, if the dragons really are migrating because it's hatching season… that means baby Night Furies," he reassured them, making both Hiccup and Zenna excited.
Seeing that the two were cheered up, Erland left the forge to catch up with Astrid. "Astrid! Good on you for trying to make something to cheer everyone up during this confusing time of the year. Just out of curiosity," he eyed the pitcher of Yaknog. "what exactly did you put in this Yaknog blend of yours?" he asked.
"Oh, just eggs, yak milk, cabbage… I couldn't remember the fourth ingredient so I just substituted it with kelp," Astrid replied, shrugging.
Erland stared at her for a full minute with a blank look on his face before bluntly asking, "Have you tried your Yaknog?"
Sensing that Erland was insulting her drink, Astrid scowled and poured herself a cup. But, once she took a swig, she promptly spat it out onto the tray, effectively ruining whatever Yaknog she had left. "Oh, mother of Odin above! Why does this taste… bad?!" she yelped.
"It's the cabbage and kelp. I don't think nog's supposed to have those two ingredients," Erland said as he sympathetically rubbed her back.
"There's got to be a way to salvage this…" Astrid muttered before going pale. "Oh, my gods! I gave Hiccup a full cup!"
"I'm sure he decided not to drink the whole thing after his first sip," Erland said before escorting Astrid home where he then assisted her in making a new batch of Yaknog – sans the cabbage and kelp.
Hiccup shook his head fondly at the sight of Toothless jumping on the roof again. The new tail fin was tucked under his arm and he was ready to give his best dragon friend his present. "Toothless! Come on down, bud! I got something for ya!" he hollered.
Toothless warbled and bounded off the roof. Hiccup presented a wrapped bundle and he sniffed at it curiously. Toothless let out a chuff, cocking his head to the side. Hiccup unwrapped the bundle, revealing the new tail fin. "What do you think of that?" he asked as he showed Toothless the fin, his Night Fury playfully turning away as he tried to get it on his tail.
"Would you just settle down! Toothless!" Hiccup laughed at his dragon's antics, finally pinning down Toothless' tail so he could attach the new fin. "You are going to love this… Okay…" he said once the tail fin was attached.
Toothless felt the new tail fin and decided that he didn't like it. Growling, the male Night Fury started thrashing his tail around, soft growls and roars coming out of his mouth. This thing felt wrong! He wanted it off!
"Nonono! To-Toothless! Stop! Please, wait! Toothless, please!" Hiccup shouted and waved his arms around, hoping to placate the currently freaking out Night Fury. Then the tail fin opened and Toothless paused from trying to shake it off. The Night Fury let out a soft croon as the tail fin expanded on its own.
"Ah, here you go…" Hiccup sighed with relief as Toothless checked the tail fin, wiggling his tail and seeing the prosthetic fin move in sync with his natural one. "See? Got it?" he asked Toothless.
Looking at Hiccup, then at his new tail fin, and back to Hiccup, Toothless realized what was going on.
He could fly on his own now.
And he knew what he needed to do.
"Toothless…?" Hiccup reached out to the Night Fury, a little worried, before his best friend suddenly took off.
Meanwhile, at the Fiersome residence, Zenna was giggling as Stryka gave her thank-you licks. The new eyepatch was now over Stryka's scar over where her right eye used to be and the scarf was wrapped snugly around the dragoness' neck. "Y-you're welcome, girl! I'm glad you like them!" Zenna laughed as Stryka pushed her onto her back, nuzzling and licking her face. Stryka cooed and continued to tickle her rider before her mate's roar made her look up.
Catching her breath, Zenna sat up and saw a black speck in the sky. "Holy Shields, it's really working," she remarked before looking at Stryka with a grin.
"Alright, girl, you're free to…"
Before Zenna could even finish her sentence, Stryka shot up into the air, her purple scarf flapping in the wind as she joined Toothless in flying away from Berk.
"…go…" Zenna mumbled as the two Night Furies disappeared into the winter clouds.
When Erland came looking for Hiccup and Zenna after helping Astrid create a better recipe for her Yaknog (after about six failed attempts), he noted the lack of their special dragon "shadows" when he found them sitting outside the steps of the Great Hall. One look at their faces told him all that he needed to know.
"I guess the tail fin worked and they left?"
Two nods.
Erland sighed and sat on the steps between them, slinging his arms around the two. "They'll come back. I'm sure of it," he reassured them before a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes.
"Wanna start a snowball fight with the gang? It'll take your minds off of this."
It didn't take long for all eight of Berk's Original Dragon Riders to assemble and transform the plaza into a battlefield. Even the children and some of the adults joined in making fortifications as the snowballs were thrown in every possible direction.
Erland chuckled as he saw Astrid scoop up a handful of snow and snuck up on Hiccup to stuff it down the back of his vest, the scrawny toothpick of a boy letting out a startled scream. Shaking the snow out, Hiccup turned around and ran after Astrid with two snowballs in his hands. Erland watched them go before a snowball hit his left cheek. Turning his head, Erland grinned as Zenna whistled and looked away, pretending to be all innocent. Packing some snow into a tight ball, Erland aimed and fired, scoring a direct hit on the Fiersome girl's face.
"Oh, it is on!" Zenna proclaimed and prepared more ammo for her to throw.
The snowball war lasted the entire afternoon and ended with all eight of the teens sprawled out in the middle of the snow-covered plaza. Their cheeks rosy and wet from the snow, Hiccup, Zenna, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the Thorston Twins laughed and teased each other, their dragons' absence temporarily forgotten.
But the next three days brought back the melancholy as the dragons showed no signs of returning. Erland, at first, tried to keep his friends busy with offers of games and playing some wintertime pranks. But even he started to miss Embla and started to wonder when she and the rest of Berk's dragons would come home. On top of that, he still hadn't found the perfect gifts for Hiccup and Zenna. Luckily, his two best human friends didn't know about his dilemma and were more concerned with finding their lost family heirlooms.
As they returned from another fruitless search for Hiccup's helmet and Zenna's shield, the Three Weirdos trudged back to their homes in silence. Then Hiccup turned to Erland. "Well… Zen and I at least have our annual letter and gift exchange to look forward to. Erland, are you joining us?" he asked him.
Erland's steps faltered and he bit the inside of his cheek. "If you want me to, I suppose I could…" he said at last.
"We're not forcing you to join. But it would be nice to include you in our holiday tradition. You're our friend after all," Zenna told him with a soft smile before holding her hands up. "But, again, your choice, Erland. Whether or not you decide to join, we'll be okay with whatever you decide."
Nodding, Erland looked up at the sky. 'Still no signs of the dragons returning… Norns, I miss flying…' he thought before, all of a sudden, an idea hit him.
'It might not be the most perfect gift idea, but it's the only one I can really do now with Snoggletog just around the corner…' he thought as the three of them split up to return to their respective abodes. Once he was back at Gothi's, Erland pulled out his sketchbook and the collection of charcoal pencils and paints he'd gotten from Trader Johann last summer.
He thought of Hiccup and Zenna, Toothless and Stryka, all the memories he had of the four of them… and got to work.
On Snoggletog day itself, Hiccup lay awake in his bed just staring up at the ceiling. 'Normally, Toothless would already be up and jumping on the roof to get me to come out so we can fly… Where are you, bud?' he thought, one arm bent behind his head while the other was placed on his stomach.
Then, as if to answer his question, a rhythmic banging came from the roof. Letting out a soft gasp, Hiccup got out of bed and hurriedly dressed before running outside. "Toothless! I knew you'd come back…!" he exclaimed as he ran out the back to welcome his dragon home. Suddenly, his prosthetic leg slipped on a patch of ice. Hiccup grunted as he ended up flat on his back. That's when he noticed that it wasn't Toothless banging on the roof. Rather, it was his father, Stoick.
"Morning, son!" Stoick greeted his boy as he hammered the last of the Snoggletog decorations.
"Oh, hey, Dad…" Hiccup mumbled, happy mood deflating in an instant.
"Glad you're up! I was looking for your helmet." Stoick started climbing down the ladder.
"M-my helmet?" Hiccup asked, dread forming in the pit of his stomach.
"Odin needs a place to put your goodies," Stoick said. While he knew that Hiccup had already outgrown getting excited over Odin delivering presents to all good Berkian children, Stoick always loved the look of pure joy on his son's face every Snoggletog morning when he came down to find presents waiting for him.
"Yeah, right… I-I'll get on that. Great…" Hiccup muttered, picking himself up and turning around.
Seeing the slump in his son's shoulders, Stoick's fatherly instincts activated. "Hold on! Hold on." He stopped his son and turned him around so they could see eye-to-eye. "Alright. What's on your mind? Out with it," he said, his voice stern but also worried.
Back then, when he and his father acted like strangers towards each other, Hiccup would always dodge this kind of question. Now that their relationship was mending, he found it almost impossible to not tell his father anything. "Oh, it's been three days, Dad. I just thought Toothless would be back by now," he admitted.
"I'm sure he is with the other dragons," Stoick reassured him.
"Yeah? I wish I can be that sure," Hiccup mumbled.
Stoick's face softened. "Ah, listen… I know what it's like to miss someone you love this time of year. But what do we do, when they can't be here for the holiday?" he asked his son, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. At Hiccup's shrug, he smiled. "We celebrate them. And I imagine that is exactly what Toothless would want you to do. Right?"
As his father's words sunk in, Hiccup felt his mood brighten a little. "You're right," he said, earning a good-natured laugh and a pat on the head from his Dad.
"Good! Then go get that helmet! We've had enough disappointment around here," said Stoick before he left to go on his daily patrol around the village.
At the mention of his helmet, Hiccup's mood dropped again. 'I really hope I find it this time…' he thought as he began his trek towards the docks.
Meanwhile, Zenna was also having a hard time keeping her spirits up as she had breakfast with her parents. "I just miss Stryka a lot. With the war finally over, I was really looking forward to spending Snoggletog with her. I was gonna show her how we make our special Snoggletog cookies, let her try hot chocolate, maybe go sledding… lots of fun stuff. I wanted her first holiday with us to be memorable. But since she's off with Toothless…" she sighed and took a long sip of hot chocolate that warmed her right down to her toes but did little to soothe the ache that could only come from missing a dear friend.
"Well, love, that's how life is sometimes. Sometimes, a family can't all be together for the holidays." Edgar looked at the empty chair where Elias used to sit and met his wife's eyes. Smiling wistfully, Henna reached out to gently tuck a stray lock of hair behind his ear. "But that doesn't mean we can't be happy. We can still have our fun and celebrate them during this time of year," he told Zenna.
"Your father's right, dear. Remember when we had our first Snoggletog without Elias? Even though our hearts were still hurting from losing him, we carried on and celebrated Snoggletog the best we could because…?" Henna looked at her daughter, letting the last part of the sentence dangle in the air before Zenna came up with a reply.
"Elias would have wanted us to still be happy and keep the spirit of the holiday alive," Zenna finished.
"Exactly. I'm sure Elias would want you to do that again this year. And so would Stryka, love, you hear?" Edgar encouraged her.
Zenna nodded and quickly finished her breakfast. The annual Snoggletog feast was happening tonight and she, Hiccup, and Erland had been preparing a little something for the party. There was no time to waste! Just as she was about to leave the house, her mother asked, "By the way, Zen, your father and I haven't seen your shield lately. Where is it?" making Zenna stop in her tracks.
"Uh… I took it to Gobber's for a fresh coat of paint! Yeah, um, the color was starting to fade in some places, but it should be okay now. I'm gonna go and get it!" she fibbed and quickly left before her parents could ask more questions.
"Finally done…" Erland sighed as he put on the finishing touches to his gifts for Hiccup and Zenna. Wiping off the charcoal and paint smudges on his hands, he left Gothi's hut and met up with the two Night Fury riders.
"It's our last chance to find your helmet and Zen's shield. Let's pray to the Norns we get lucky this time," Erland remarked as he took one of the oars Hiccup was carrying before the three of them bumped into Fishlegs. The trio looked at the large basket of fish the chubby blond was holding then glanced at each other. Ever since the dragons left, Fishlegs had been acting quite odd. Compared to everyone else, he didn't seem affected by the dragons leaving at all.
"Oh, Fishlegs, you hungry? There's enough fish there to feed a dragon!" Hiccup commented while Erland narrowed his eyes.
Fishlegs laughed, sweat beading on his forehead. "Hahaha… Oh, a dragon? That's…" he paused mid-sentence then just ran off towards one of the barns.
"Something's up with Fishlegs… and I intend to find out," Erland muttered and started following him.
"Erland, what about our stuff?" Hiccup questioned him.
"We have plenty of time! Come on!" Erland put down the oar and ran on ahead. Looking at each other, Hiccup and Zenna shrugged and put down the extra oar and their fishing nets and followed Erland. The three of them quickly, but quietly, followed Fishlegs to the barn and made sure to hide as the Ingerman boy went inside with his basket of fish. A few seconds later, Fishlegs came out, looked to his left then to his right, before leaving.
"Right… Let's see what Fishlegs is hiding now, shall we?" Erland flung the barn doors wide open.
What the three of them saw in there was something they weren't expecting to see.
A chained-up Gronckle who looked a lot like…
"Whoa!" Erland jumped back as the Gronckle broke free from its chains and flew out of the barn, unintentionally colliding with Hiccup and Zenna and taking them with it!
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Screaming, the two got a better look at the Gronckle and recognized it. "Meatlug?!" Hiccup and Zenna exclaimed before hearing Astrid and Erland's hollers down below as Meatlug flew off with them.
"Where are you going?!"
"We have no ideaaaaaa!" Hiccup and Zenna hollered back as Meatlug carried them away to who knows where.
Watching Meatlug fly away with both Hiccup and Zenna hanging on for dear life, Erland and Astrid could only think of the choice words they were going to say to Fishlegs.
"Meatlug? What about presents? Hey!"
Fishlegs whimpered as his dragon's bulky form disappeared into the horizon. So much for giving Meatlug his Snoggletog gift…
"Ahem!"
Swallowing, Fishlegs turned around to see both Erland and Astrid glaring at him while Snotlout and the Twins approached. He allowed Astrid to haul him into the barn where both she and Erland proceeded to scold him.
"And here I thought you were the sensible one, Fishlegs. You do realize that there was no way you could keep Meatlug grounded forever when instinct calls!" Erland reprimanded him, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"But he loves it here on Berk! I can't believe him," Fishlegs protested.
"You can't believe him?! You kidnapped your dragon!" Astrid reminded him.
"Well, that makes it sound so mean," Fishlegs said defensively.
"He flew away the second he was unleashed!" Astrid exclaimed, ignoring the Twins as they busied themselves looking through the haystack Meatlug had been using as a bed. Erland decided to inspect the haystack with Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and what he saw made him go, "Ah… well, this complicates matters…"
"GUYS!" Tuffnut shouted, interrupting Astrid and Fishlegs, motioning them and Snotlout to come and look. Hidden amongst the hay were a bunch of bumpy, blue, spherical…
"Whoa… Meatlug barfed up a pile of rocks," Fishlegs murmured.
"You're such an idiot! Those aren't rocks. Your dragon laid eggs!" Ruffnut told him.
"But, boy dragons don't lay eggs…" Fishlegs' brow furrowed as he stared at the eggs nestled in the hay.
"Yeah, your boy dragon is a girl dragon," Ruffnut pointed out.
Fishlegs blushed. "Okay, that actually explains a few things," he admitted, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.
"Took you long enough to finally figure that out." Erland rolled his eyes before picking up one of the eggs. "Ooh, heavy… No doubt a healthy baby Gronckle's going to hatch out of this," he remarked as he cradled the egg in his arms.
"Hey! Everyone's missing their dragons, right?" Astrid's eyes lit up, making everyone look at her warily.
"Oh, here it comes…" Snotlout muttered, already bracing himself for the worst. Astrid's Yaknog had improved (thanks to Erland's intervention), but he could still remember the awful taste of her first idea for a new Snoggletog tradition. He could only imagine how much more of a disaster this next idea would be.
"I've got an idea!" Taking the Gronckle egg from Erland, Astrid found a ribbon in an old toolbox and tied it around the egg. "Let's place Meatlug's eggs in some of the houses for the kids to find. It'll be another new Snoggletog tradition!" she suggested.
"Astrid, not to rain on your holiday parade but perhaps we should think this through? Also, I'm fairly certain this is a rip-off of another religion's holiday tradition…" Erland tried to reason with Astrid but she was already heading out of the barn with the others.
"Oh, if there were any Christians living here, they'd be so confused why Easter is being celebrated early…" Erland sighed as he went along with Astrid's plan to hide Meatlug's eggs in some of the houses in the villages.
'I just hope Hiccup and Zenna are okay…' Erland thought as he placed one egg in a Viking child's helmet and snuck out through the window.
Meanwhile…
"I can't believe Fishlegs chained her up so she couldn't go with the other dragons! Why, when I get my hands on him, I'll… yipes!" Zenna yelped, pausing mid-rant, as Meatlug suddenly took a sharp turn to avoid a sea stack as they flew through the fog.
"Well, you know what I mean," Zenna mumbled to Hiccup who was seated in front of her on Meatlug's back. Looking around, the one-eyed Fiersome girl wondered where they were. As far as she knew, the area they were flying through wasn't on any known maps in Berk…
"Meatlug, where are you taking us?" Hiccup asked Fishlegs' Gronckle who only let out a soft growl as she kept flying. 'I wish Loki were here with us now…' he thought before he and Zenna screamed as Meatlug narrowly hit the dragon figurehead of an old abandoned rotting longship.
After a few more minutes, the fog around the ocean receded and revealed a sprawling island filled with hot springs. And hundreds of dragons were resting on the island, including the dragons from Berk! Once Meatlug landed, Hiccup and Zenna were greeted by the nesting dragons and their hatchlings.
"So this is where the dragons come to have their babies…" Hiccup said, awestruck, before grinning as a few of the baby dragons came toddling over to them.
"Really cute babies!" Zenna squealed as a pair of baby Nadders toddled over to nip at the fur of her boots. "Aww! Aren't you cutie pies so precious?" she cooed and sat down on the ground, letting them crawl over her, chittering happily.
"Oh, who's a good baby dragon? You are! Yes, you are!" Zenna giggled, putty in the babies' talons.
Hiccup chuckled and gently patted her on the back. "Are you okay staying here and playing nursemaid or do you wanna help me look for Toothless, Stryka, and, possibly, their babies?" he asked.
Zenna grinned and gently coaxed the baby Nadders off her lap. "Let's get going then," she said and stood up.
The two of them explored the island, making sure to keep a respectful distance between them and the mother dragons and their babies. While searching for Toothless and Stryka, they got to see the different dragon species' eggs. Gronckle eggs were big enough to be held in someone's hands and had pearly white and blue bumps on the shell. Deadly Nadder eggs, much like the dragon itself, had sharp spikes. Monstrous Nightmare eggs were laid with flames wreathing them. Finally, Terrible Terror eggs were dark green and about the size of adult chickens, which was surprising considering how small Terrors were.
"Huh, that's interesting…" Zenna remarked upon seeing a mother Gronckle push her eggs into a hot spring. A few minutes later, baby Gronckles swam out of the spring and waddled over to the mother Gronckle who cooed and nuzzled them.
Hiccup then noticed that one egg hadn't been rolled into the hot spring. "Hey, look over here, you missed one…" he called out and approached the egg, intending to carry it to the hot spring so it could hatch. What he didn't notice was the spider web of red cracks appearing on the egg's shell.
"Uh… Hicc…?" Zenna noticed the cracks and tried to stop her friend from getting any closer to the egg.
But, suddenly, the egg exploded with a loud boom!
"WHOA!" Hiccup landed flat on his back as a baby Gronckle landed nearby, looking a little dazed.
"Holy shields, are you okay?!" Zenna helped him up, her ears ringing slightly from the explosion.
"Man, it's a good thing those don't hatch on Berk!" Hiccup muttered, brushing bits of eggshell off his vest.
Zenna's one violet eye widened. "Hey, Hiccup… you don't think Meatlug laid her eggs in the barn where we found her, do you?" she asked. Hiccup pondered her question before his face paled.
Back on Berk…
'Why do I have a feeling something chaotic is going to happen?' Erland asked himself as he and the other riders hid the last of the eggs.
"Wasn't this a great idea?" Astrid asked the gang, bouncing on her toes.
"Uh-huh! Everyone's gonna be so surprised!" Fishlegs agreed with her before an explosion suddenly came from one of the houses. Seconds after the explosion, something small came rocketing out of the house and hit Fishlegs right on the head.
"Surprise!" Snotlout said, snickering.
The thing that hit Fishlegs unrolled, revealing itself to be a baby Gronckle. The little dragon yawned and blinked its big yellow eyes at Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut who cooed.
"Oh, no…" Erland stared at the scene before him, realizing what he and the others have done.
"The eggs… explode?" Astrid managed to say before, almost all at once, all the houses where she and the gang had hidden Meatlug's eggs in blew up.
"THE EGGS EXPLODE!"
All around Astrid, chaos erupted as Meatlug's eggs hatched with resounding booms and baby Gronckles went flying into the air. Houses went up in flames as a result of the eggs hatching, sending the villagers into a panic.
"I'm sorry! Sorry!" Astrid squeaked as one Viking ran past her, screaming.
Flames from the nearby houses licked at the Snoggletog tree standing in the center of the town plaza, setting it ablaze. While Ruffnut and Tuffnut were thrilled at the sight of all the destruction, Fishlegs was more concerned with herding the baby Gronckles away from the fires.
"This is your best idea yet!" Snotlout told Astrid with a mischievous grin. For once, Astrid made a mistake! He was never going to forget this moment!
"Look on the bright side, Astrid." Erland patted the shield-maiden on the back, noting the horrified look on her face. "At least now you know how Hiccup feels whenever one of his plans goes sideways," he said just as Stoick arrived on the scene.
Stoick could feel a dragon-sized headache coming on as he saw the chaos unfolding before him. "What in Thor's name is going on?!" he demanded, glaring at the teens.
"Um… new Snoggletog tradition, Chief," Erland mumbled, spreading his arms out like a showman. "Tada!"
"The eggs explode," Astrid said, smiling nervously as another house exploded in the background.
Stoick merely glared at the two of them.
"Here, cute little baby Night Furies!" Zenna called out with her hands cupped around her mouth. When no Night Fury roars responded, she sighed and kept an eye out as she and Hiccup wandered around the island. They must have spent hours scouring the island by now, judging by how the sun was beginning to set, but they had yet to find Toothless and Stryka.
"Toothless! Toothless? Ah, Toothless, where are you?" Hiccup looked around, half-expecting two black blurs to come barreling towards him and his sister not by blood but by bond.
"Stryka! Are you here, girl?!" Zenna shouted only to get a few disgruntled snorts from some of the other dragons.
"I don't think they're here, Zen…" Hiccup sighed.
"Yeah… Hey, maybe they're like Embla and went to another island?" Zenna guessed, hopping over a small stream. Following it, she found a cliff overlooking the ocean… along with some familiar faces.
"Hey, Hicc! Look who I found!" she shouted to Hiccup with a grin.
Joining Zenna, Hiccup let out a soft laugh as he spotted…
"Hookfang! Stormfly!"
The two dragons looked up from tending to their babies and let out soft roars as Hiccup and Zenna came to greet them. "Oh, you have no idea how happy were are to see you guys!" Hiccup said, patting Hookfang.
"And you two have quite a brood of little ones here," Zenna complimented, picking up one of Hookfang's hatchlings and cradled it in her arms. The baby Monstrous Nightmare cooed at her and nuzzled into the crook of her arm.
Hiccup giggled as Stormfly's babies hopped over to him and he gently pet them. "Oh, look at you guys. All happy together…" he murmured as one of the baby Nadders licked at his hand and received a gentle scratch under the neck.
"Who knew you were leaving to celebrate your own holiday…" Hiccup said thoughtfully, Zenna humming in agreement as she put down the baby Monstrous Nightmare and watched it join its siblings.
Turning to his sister, Hiccup smiled softly. "We should get back to our own holiday, Zen," he told her.
"Yeah. Erland said that they'll come back once all their hatchlings are strong enough to fly on their own. We just got to be patient." Zenna nodded.
"What do you say there, Hookfang? Think you could give us a ride home?" Hiccup approached Snotlout's dragon. Hookfang chuffed and nodded.
"Take care, everyone!" Zenna said to the dragons as she and Hiccup got on the Monstrous Nightmare's back.
"We'll see you all back on Berk when you're good and ready. Okay, gang?" Hiccup said before urging Hookfang to take off.
As soon as they were airborne, however, Hiccup and Zenna noticed that all the dragons were preparing to take off! "Oh… Nono… nonono… I think we just started the return migration," Hiccup muttered.
"Whoops," Zenna chuckled and looked at the adult dragons taking off. The hatchlings weren't far behind. "Come on, little ones! You can do it!" she cheered as they prepared to join their parents in the skies.
"Come on! Come on!" Hiccup watched as the first few babies jumped off the cliff, flapping their tiny wings… only to get blown back onto the cliff.
"They're not ready to fly on their own, Hicc…" Zenna looked at Hiccup, wondering what to do now.
"Ah, this isn't going to work…" Hiccup muttered. But it didn't take long for his brilliant, Hiccup-y brain to come up with an idea.
"Oh, hold on! I've got just the thing!" With those words, Hiccup urged Hookfang to fly away from the island with the adult dragons following them.
"Hiccup, what are you up to? We can't just leave the baby dragons on their own," Zenna said, confused, before seeing the ship she and Hiccup had passed by earlier. "Oh, I see what you're seeing!"
"Let's hurry and get to work!" Hiccup declared and started giving the adult dragons instructions to grab the ship by the ropes. Once the ship was carried back to the island, Zenna took charge in leading the babies inside.
"Right this way, everyone. Now, now! No pushing, shoving, clawing, scratching, and fire breathing, got it?" Zenna told the babies. She did a final sweep of the island after the hatchlings boarded just to be safe. Once every dragon was accounted for, she joined Hiccup on Hookfang's back.
"All hatchlings present and accounted for, Hiccup!" Zenna chirped.
"Then let's go home," Hiccup said and patted Hookfang on the horns, urging the Monstrous Nightmare to take flight.
Stoick grimaced as he assisted some of the men in clearing away the debris. He looked up at one of the houses being rebuilt and glared at both Astrid and Erland, who sheepishly looked away and went back to hammering boards into place. He was going to have a stern talk with Astrid later, especially after finding out that it had been the Hofferson lass's idea to plant exploding dragon eggs around the village.
"Ah, Gobber, this is a disaster," Stoick grumbled as he and his best friend surveyed more of the damage.
"Ah, it's not so bad," Gobber reassured his chief before glancing up at the sky, eyes going wide.
"Oh, not that bad?" Stoick remained oblivious to the sudden change in the people's mood as they all looked up at the sky, deciding to continue listing down the holiday's mishaps. "This village is destroyed. The dragons have gone and left us. Let's face it – this holiday is a complete—What are these people looking at?" he muttered, finally looking up as well.
Erland put down his tools and craned his neck up, spotting a ship in the sky. At first, his gut clenched and he feared it was one of Asgard's ships coming in to take him. Then the ship came out of the clouds and he laughed. "Those two never cease to amaze me…" he murmured at the same time Stoick and Astrid realized that Hiccup and Zenna had returned with all of the dragons.
Before the Berkians' eyes, the longship was gently lowered by the hundreds of dragons carrying it until it touched the ground. Then, to everyone's surprise and delight, hundreds of little baby dragons emerged from the ship's cracks. The children squealed and rushed to greet them, some of the babies immediately bonding with them.
"MEATLUG!" Fishlegs tackled his Gronckle in a hug while Hookfang reunited with Snotlout, the stubborn Jorgenson cheering at his equally stubborn dragon's return.
"Stormfly! You're back!" Astrid exclaimed as she hugged her dragon then gasped at the sight of her hatchlings. "Oh! And there are babies!" she gushed, baby Nadders nuzzling her.
Suddenly, roars sounded in the distance and everyone saw red shapes flying in the sky.
"Look! Those are Changewings!" Fishlegs pointed at the sky.
Erland scrambled down the roof and was greeted by one particular Changewing that had broken off from the flock to land near him. "Embla, you're back!" he said and threw his arms around his dragon.
Embla let out a hissing laugh. "Hey, I promised you I'd be back as soon as I could," she told him before sitting on her haunches. Erland grinned as he saw that his Changewing was cradling three littler Changewings in her arms. The babies chirruped and blinked their bright yellow eyes at the former god.
"Look, little ones. Meet your Uncle Loki AKA your Uncle Erland." Embla gently placed her babies down and allowed them to flap their little wings over to Erland.
Erland laughed as Embla's babies latched onto him, little growls of "Hi, Uncle Loki!" and "Hello, Uncle Erland!" coming from the trio's mouths. "It's nice to meet all three of you, too," he greeted them as their tiny vine-like appendages tickled his face.
Hiccup and Zenna smiled fondly as Erland played with Embla's hatchlings before yelping as they both got bear-hugged by their parents.
"You two brought the dragons back in time for Snoggletog!" Edgar chuckled, ruffling his daughter's raven hair.
"You and Hiccup are full of surprises, love," Henna said, kissing Zenna on the forehead.
"We certainly had quite an adventure in finding them…" Zenna said once she was out of her parents' tight embrace. Hiccup, on the other hand, was still getting bear-hugged by Stoick. "Hahaha! Well done, son!" Stoick boomed.
"Thanks, Dad…!" Hiccup gasped out as soon as he was freed. But even a lack of air couldn't keep him from feeling glad that he made his father happy.
"Everyone! Grab your dragons! To the Great Hall! We finally have something to celebrate!" Stoick proclaimed. Everyone cheered and, with their dragons and their babies, hustled to the Great Hall. There, the ale and wine flowed. Lights were lit with dragon fire and the sounds of feasting, drinking, and merrymaking filled the air. At long last, Berk's Snoggletog festivities were finally being celebrated in true Viking and dragon style!
Hiccup and Zenna walked around, taking in all the happy faces of both humans and dragons.
"This is the best holiday ever!" Fishlegs cooed as Meatlug's babies played with him.
Snotlout was surprised when one of Hookfang's little ones burped, letting out a small fireball.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut goofed around with Barf and Belch's kids, getting them to chase little wooden balls to blow up.
Astrid was happily assisting Stormfly with grooming her hatchlings.
And Erland was sitting on a bench, drawing Embla and her little brood of baby Changewings.
Then Zenna's parents came up to them, a little male maroon-colored Hideous Zippleback hatchling with purple spots dotting its necks and wings cradled in Henna's arms. "Who's your new little friend?" Zenna asked, stroking the hatchling's two heads.
Henna's face was sad. "Your father and I found this little one wandering around all by himself. We took him to every Zippleback but they didn't seem to accept him. Poor dear must have been abandoned by his parents…" she told Zenna and Hiccup, who looked distraught at the news.
"Well, those Zipplebacks clearly made a mistake forsaking this one. He's got a strong will, I'm sure of that," Edgar declared, the Zippleback hatchling perking up at his words and warbling happily.
Zenna took one look at her parents' faces and knew what was on their minds. "Well… you two are the adults here. What are you thinking?" she asked with a coy smile.
"Perhaps Stryka wouldn't mind having a little roommate to keep her company?" Edgar suggested but tried his best to hide his eagerness.
"And we think there's room for one more dragon stable at our house," Henna chimed in, looking eager as well.
Zenna smiled and looked at the baby Zippleback who looked back at her. "Have you both decided on a name?" she asked as she and Hiccup petted the little guy.
"How about Serpent?" Edgar patted the left head. "And Serpentine?" Henna added, brushing her knuckles against the right head's cheek.
"Serpent and Serpentine… It suits them," Zenna said with a nod.
Erland looked up from drawing to see Edgar and Henna leaving with a baby Zippleback. Getting up and giving Embla and her hatchlings a few pats, he joined Hiccup and Zenna.
"My parents just got their own dragon," Zenna announced, grinning.
"I was wondering when they'd find the right one," Erland chuckled before noticing how Hiccup and Zenna's gazes kept drifting towards the Great Hall's doors. 'Everyone's dragons are back except for theirs…' he thought with sympathy.
Astrid then approached, a sad smile on her face. "Hiccup, Zenna, I know this must be really hard for you two seeing everyone with their dragons. But you both did a really wonderful thing. Thank you," she said, giving Zenna a side hug before giving Hiccup his second kiss on the lips followed by a hug.
"Told you he'd be kissed at the party," Erland whispered and held up his right hand, smirking when Zenna rolled her eye at him and placed one silver piece in his palm.
Unaware of the bet his brother and sister wagered on, Hiccup rested his chin on Astrid's shoulder. "Astrid, where did Toothless go?" he murmured.
"I wish Stryka were here…" Zenna sighed, looking down at her boots, her one violet eye filled with sadness.
Astrid and Erland were about to try and comfort the two Night Fury riders when they saw the Great Hall's doors open slightly. And, creeping in, weaving their way through all the other dragons and Vikings… were Toothless and Stryka!
Glancing at each other, Astrid and Erland decided to have a little fun.
"Wow… Man, Erland and I wouldn't wanna be you two right now!" Astrid said, making sure both Hiccup and Zenna kept their backs turned away from the approaching Night Furies.
"It's quite a sad irony. I mean you two brought back everyone's dragon except yours," Erland teased them. He felt a little bad upon seeing the annoyance on Hiccup and Zenna's faces, but bided his and Astrid's time.
Hiccup frowned. "Yeah… You know, this is not helping us at all," he said.
"Way to rub salt into the wounds, you two," Zenna muttered, scowling.
Astrid and Erland merely smiled and turned them around just in time to see Toothless and Stryka bounding towards them.
"TOOTHLESS! Hey, bud!"
"STRYKA! Hi, girl!"
Hiccup and Zenna ran over to the two Night Furies, meeting them halfway. After taking a second to just look at them, both teens went forward and hugged their best dragon friends. Three days had felt like three lifetimes without them. Now that Toothless and Stryka were back, Hiccup and Zenna were finally happy.
Once they finished hugging their dragons, the two of them pretended to scold Toothless and Stryka.
"Bad dragon! Very bad dragon! You scared me to death. Don't ever stay away that long again…"
"Stryka, you had me worried sick! Next time you want to leave, at least give me a proper goodbye…"
"…and what is in your mouth?" Hiccup and Zenna looked at their dragons, confused.
Right after their riders concluded their pretend scolding, Toothless and Stryka both opened their mouths. Toothless put on Hiccup's head a spittle-covered horned helmet while Stryka pushed a dripping wet shield into Zenna's hand.
Astrid and the others reacted in disgust while Hiccup and Zenna tried to wipe sticky dragon spit off of the items.
"Eli's shield…?" Zenna gasped as the black lightning bolt – her family's crest – became visible as she wiped off dragon saliva from the shield. "Oh, my gods, Stryka! You found his shield!" she exclaimed in awe.
"Yeah, y-you found my helmet…" Hiccup shook his hair, drops of Toothless' spit splashing onto the floor. His eyes widened in realization as he reached up to feel the metal. "What-hey! Y-You found my helmet!" he said. "That's where you've been?" he asked Toothless, who warbled and nuzzled him.
"You two passed up on a chance of starting a family to get our stuff back…" Zenna murmured, Stryka smiling at her.
"Buddy, thank you! You are amazing…"
"Thank you, Stryka. You're the best…"
Erland smiled fondly as his two honorary siblings embraced their dragons while everyone cheered. "Happy Snoggletog!" Astrid called out.
Once Toothless and Stryka were settled and already playing with their friends' dragons, Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland took the opportunity to leave the party for a short while. On their way to the docks, Erland told them something astonishing.
"Wait, really?" Hiccup's eyes went wide as he listened to Erland. "Toothless and Stryka aren't old enough to have babies yet?" he asked.
"That's what they told me a few moons back when I decided to ask them for more information about their kind. Night Furies reach full maturity when they're about 21 years of age. But that doesn't mean they're immune to the call to migration. Apparently, Night Furies migrate at roughly the same time as all other dragon species," Erland explained.
"Okay, so they're not yet capable of, well… reproducing. How many years do they have left before they reach full maturity?" Zenna asked him.
"About six years. Here's the fun part: Toothless and Stryka are about the same age as you two are." Erland chuckled upon seeing the duo's reactions. Hiccup and Zenna looked at each other, their shocked expressions mirroring one another's.
To think that they and their dragons were the same age… That made them feel even closer to Toothless and Stryka now.
Passing by the burnt Snoggletog tree, Hiccup decided to ask what happened while he and Zenna were gone. Erland laughed. "Oh, you'll have to ask Astrid for the full details. It was her idea, not mine!" he chuckled.
They split up for a brief moment to stop by their respective houses before meeting at the docks. The docks were empty that night since everyone was partying in the Great Hall. Standing in a triangle, the trio began their little exchanges of letters and gifts.
"Here you go. Hiccup, why don't you go first and then Loki?" Zenna suggested as she handed the two boys their letters.
"If it's alright… I'd like to give you two your presents after you've both done your exchanges," Loki piped up, rubbing his chest. Hidden beneath his vest were his letter to Hiccup and Zenna… as well as their presents. Luckily for him, Hiccup and Zenna agreed.
Loki listened intently as Hiccup read Zenna's letter, which was filled with heartfelt thanks for his friendship with the one-eyed Fiersome as well as for all the support Hiccup had given Zenna during her darkest days. Not to his surprise, Zenna also included a pledge of allegiance to Hiccup as her future Chief, which was quite touching. After Hiccup finished reading the letter, Zenna handed him a large leather-bound journal and a set of fine charcoal pencils.
"Wow… Zen, this is wonderful…" Hiccup murmured, his mind already thinking of the drawings and plans he was going to include in his new journal's pages. Then he looked at Loki, who fidgeted. "If you'd rather not read it out loud, it's okay. Zen and I understand," he reassured him.
Nodding, Loki silently read Zenna's letter.
Dear Loki,
I hope you don't mind if I address you by your real name in this letter. I'm sure you'll keep this letter a secret anyway. Which is well and good, since this is for your eyes only.
At first, I wasn't sure what to think of you when we first met. Back when you decided to hide your true identity away from us. You were a little arrogant, maybe a bit snobbish… but I had to admit that I thought you were pretty cool. And quite handsome, I'll admit.
That doesn't mean I have a crush on you, by the way.
"Yeah, yeah, keep going," Zenna urged him, rolling her eye, upon seeing the smug look on the former god's face.
But as Hiccup and I got to know you more, we were able to see the kindness within you – kindness you yourself didn't believe you possessed. I hope that, after all this time, you've come to think more kindly of yourself.
You're a good person, Loki. And a great friend. I don't know what the people of Asgard are like, being a mere mortal and all… but, honestly, I think they're all a bunch of idiots who failed to see the good in you. Hiccup and I see it. We see the good in you in spite of all the painful scars you use to try and hide.
You don't have to hide your scars and your pain from us, Loki. Know that we'll always have your back and we will always care about you.
I'm sure my brother would say the exact same thing. And he would have been thrilled to meet you. Eli was one of your most fervent worshippers. I can still remember him painting the streets of Berk green and gold in your honor. I can only imagine the mischief and mayhem you two would have caused together if he was still here. You would have loved him.
Thanks for always watching out for Hiccup and me. Thanks for making sure we don't do anything too crazy. Thanks for just being there and for listening to us whenever we need to voice out our troubles and for not judging us.
And… thanks for being another big brother I can always turn to whenever I feel scared or alone. I promise I'll do my best to make sure that you never feel alone again.
Happy Snoggletog, Loki.
Your one-eyed little sister,
Zenna
"You really do see me as a brother now, huh?" Loki asked, smiling fondly at Zenna, who nodded before presenting him with a wooden box. Upon opening it, Loki's jaw dropped. Inside the box was a violin made of wood so dark brown it almost seemed black in the light of their lanterns. With great care, Loki took it out of the box and ran his fingers against its strings.
"Whoa… okay, how…?" he mumbled before looking at Zenna.
"That's actually a joint-effort project Hiccup and I worked on last month. During Trader Johann's last visit, I traded a whole chest of my healing salves to get that violin. It had a little wear and tear to it so I asked Hiccup to help me restore it," Zenna mumbled, cheeks turning red with shyness.
Loki plucked the strings before using the bow, a clear note ringing out into the quiet air. "It's perfect…" he whispered before smiling warmly at the one-eyed Fiersome girl… his little sister. "Thank you."
Zenna smiled, hiding her blush. It was her turn next to receive a gift and a letter from Hiccup. While Zenna read Hiccup's letter to her, Loki decided to read Hiccup's letter to him.
Dear Loki,
I am sure that my words aren't as great as the poets who have written sagas about you. Really, I have no idea how to formally address a god. So I guess I'll just address you as a friend.
I used to think that the gods hated me. That's why I was born a runt, a mere hiccup, a failure in my tribe's eyes. For a while, I thought that I was nothing more than a mere nobody the gods could mess with for their own amusement. And that might have made me not revere the gods as others would have wanted me to.
Then I met Zenna and Elias, who became the first real friends I ever had. Meeting them made me think, "Hey, maybe the gods care for me a little."
And then Elias was taken away from us. For once, I became angry at the gods, wondering why they decided to hurt Zenna this time along with me. After Elias died, I decided to put my faith more in logic and reasoning… which made me even more of an outcast.
Up until a few months ago, when Zen and I rescued this stranger from the high tide, I didn't really believe in magic as well…
And then you came and started speaking with dragons and saved us from getting roasted by Hookfang with a glowing magic shield. And that was before you told us who you really were!
But then you told us your story and I realized that the gods could be cruel even to one of their own…
What happened to you back then… you didn't deserve that, Loki. You didn't deserve to be lied to or forced to stay in your brother's shadow. And I'm sorry that Odin treated you in a way that mirrors my Dad's treatment of me before we ended the war between Berk and the dragons.
I feel guilty for not respecting the gods. No, wait, let me rephrase that… I feel guilty for not respecting the kind gods. Like your adoptive mother, Frigga… and you.
When we first met, I immediately respected you. There was this confidence around you that made me feel slightly in awe. You didn't care what anybody thought of you nor did you bat an eye when Snotlout made fun of your intelligence. And the fact that you thought I was brilliant for my age… made me respect you even more.
You're the third person who's ever fully believed in me… I don't know what I can do to ever repay you for that…
But I guess the best I can do is to tell you this: No matter how alone you may feel at times, when you feel like you don't belong anywhere, just remember that you will always have a home with me, Zenna, Toothless, Stryka, and Embla.
We're all a bunch of weirdos living on this lonely island in the middle of nowhere. I guess that's what makes our family pretty unique.
Two misfit Vikings. One has a metal leg while the other's missing an eye.
Two Night Furies who both share the same handicaps as their riders.
One Changewing.
One exiled God of Mischief.
It's a pretty small and a pretty weird family… but it's our family. And that's already something pretty awesome in itself. The number one rule in this family of ours is simple: No one left behind. Zen and I will always be here for you, Loki. We may not have magic like you, but we've got the determination to protect you and our dragons with everything we have.
Maybe, one day, you'll get all of your powers back. And maybe you'll get to go back to Asgard and live with the other gods again. Someday…
But until then, always remember that you have a family with us and a home here on Berk, both of which will always be there waiting for you.
Happy Snoggletog, Loki.
Your one-legged little brother,
Hiccup'
"Okay, did you two copy each other's closing remarks?" Loki joked, earning a laugh from Hiccup who was currently being hugged by Zenna. She now had a new eye patch with the emblem of the Strike Class stitched onto the glossy black leather.
"Eh, just to make sure our letters to you were good enough," Hiccup admitted, handing Loki a cloth-wrapped bundle. Loki's eyes shone as he held up a fine dagger. Runes associated with him were etched into the blade while the hilt was made of bronze with designs of serpents wrought in fine gold.
"Maybe you can test them out tomorrow. If there's anything off with the balance, I'll fix them up right away," Hiccup told Loki as he held the matching blade in both hands.
"No need. These feel perfect." Twirling the daggers and sheathing them, Loki felt his face warm. Two letters that made him feel so many things and such fine presents from the two misfit Viking teenagers who had accepted him wholly for who he was…
The shame he had once felt for hiding his true identity from Hiccup and Zenna came back, but Loki took a deep breath and slowly let it out.
"Alright. I guess it's my turn…" he mumbled as he took out his letter. Willing his hands to not tremble, Loki took a deep breath and began to read.
"To Hiccup and Zenna,
It's a known fact the gods can be quite prideful. We like to believe that were are indomitable, untouchable, above all mortals…
Yet, strangely enough, after just a few short months of living in this realm, I've realized that the strongest god is the one who is willing to set aside his pride… and express his heartfelt gratitude to those who have given him a chance.
I am an outcast in every sense of the word. I was cast out of the Jotuns for being a runt. I was an outcast in Asgard for choosing magic over brute strength. And I was cast out of Asgard altogether due to my mistakes which were made because I let anger cloud my judgment and my reasoning.
In all honesty, I thought I deserved to die. When the Norns decided to just strip me of my magic and make me mortal, I thought it was their way of prolonging my already cursed existence for their amusement. It took me some time to realize that they were giving me a chance to learn a few much-needed lessons in both humility and kindness.
And I am blessed to have you both as my teachers.
I have learned so much from you two these past few months. Hiccup, I've learned the value of loyalty from you. Zenna, from you, I have learned how to be proud of who I am regardless of what anyone else thinks. From both of you, I've learned how to be kind, humble… and how to forgive myself.
When you two fell alongside Toothless and Stryka after defeating the Red Death, I felt a part of myself die in the flames. It had been the selfish part – the part of me that still believed I didn't need anyone – that had festered inside of me for years and years. I realized at that moment that I needed you two more than anything. Almost losing you both made me realize my one greatest fear: being alone.
And for those lonely months waiting for you two to awaken… I really did feel all alone. Sure, I had Embla, Toothless, and Stryka… but you two weren't there. When you two woke up, I vowed that I would do my best to protect you. Magic or no magic, I will never let such grievous harm befall on you two ever again.
Now, here we are. Still learning and growing day by day. And I thank the Norns for that. I may have lived more years than the two of you combined, but I can honestly say that I have never truly lived my life until I met you two. Both of you have changed me and, for that, I am eternally grateful. You two are extraordinary and I'm certain that you'll both continue to amaze me and everyone else on Berk as the years go by. There's a saying humanity likes to say in the future: "The sky's the limit!"
With you two on the backs of your dragons, the sky's no longer a limit. Rather, it's your gateway to the great unknown. I'm sure the call of adventure will eventually push you both to leave Berk in search of more dragons, more lands, and more people… Just to be safe, I want to tag along. Make sure you two don't do anything too reckless.
I don't know what the future holds for us, but I have hope that it will be a bright one full of adventures, discoveries, laughter, and maybe just a bit of mischief courtesy of yours truly.
I've been thinking about a what if… What if I am allowed to become a god again and return to Asgard? What would I do?
I thought about it these past three days while we waited for our dragons to return… and I think I know the answer now.
I'll say, "Thanks, but no thanks."
If they ask me why, I'll just simply gesture to you two, Gothi, everyone on Berk, and our three dragons, then say, "I'm happy here. This is my home."
Hiccup, Zenna, thank you. You two are my most trusted friends… and it's a nice change being the older brother for once.
I swear to always keep you two safe, even if it means I may have to be a little stern or knock some sense into you.
I swear to always support you and to have your backs when the rest of the world doesn't.
I swear to help keep things light by playing pranks on anyone who dares make either of you think that you aren't smart enough or brave enough or worthy enough.
And, most of all, I swear to be there for you two the same way you two have been there for me.
You two are my brother and sister, and I love you both dearly.
PS: To Elias: I wish I could have gotten to meet you. Zenna's told me many tales of your exploits and, let me say that I am proud and honored to have had such a brilliant follower. I hope you are enjoying the feasts in Valhalla. Just don't make friends with the idiot barbarians and never lose sight of yourself. And don't worry about Zenna. I'll keep an eye on your sister and make sure she and Hiccup don't get into too much trouble.
Happy Yule (sorry, but I really can't use that weird holiday name. Seriously, what were the ancient Berkians thinking when they came up with 'Snoggletog'?)
From,
Loki AKA Erland"
A moment of silence passed between the Three Weirdos after Loki read his letter. Swallowing, he decided to present Hiccup and Zenna with his gifts for them. "I-It's not really much and I do apologize for that. I should have planned my holiday shopping better. I'll do better next year!" he said quickly.
Hiccup and Zenna said nothing as they unfolded the drawings. They both got five sheets of paper, undoubtedly torn from Loki's own sketchbook, that were filled with beautiful sketches of themselves and their dragons. Gently tracing the lines, Hiccup and Zenna saw the care Loki put into every detail. From the texture of Hiccup's fur vest being blown back by the wind in one drawing of him flying with Toothless to the movement of Zenna's hair in a sketch of her dancing in the plaza with Stryka, it's as if Loki's hand had captured every memory he had of them in perfect detail and clarity.
"Hiccup? Zenna?"
Looking up at Loki, as he waited for their reactions with barely-concealed anxiety, Hiccup and Zenna felt tears come to their eyes. Once they made sure their drawings were safely tucked away, they went over to Loki and hugged him tightly, hoping that all their love and gratitude could be conveyed to him through their touch. Loki sighed, letting his eyes close, as he hugged them back.
"We love you too, Loki," Hiccup mumbled.
"We love you so much," Zenna reaffirmed.
Loki chuckled and ruffled their hair. "Alright, enough tears now. You two still need to give Elias his letters, don't you?" he reminded them.
Hiccup and Zenna's letters to Elias were read. Loki could feel the immense love and longing the two had for the deceased Fiersome. "May you find peace in Valhalla, brave Elias Fiersome…" he whispered to the wind that carried off Hiccup and Zenna's letters when they released them to fly up to the sky.
Once their little Snoggletog tradition was over, Zenna smiled. "Well? What do you say we put that new violin of yours to good use?" she asked Loki, who grinned.
They ran back to the Great Hall and got ready. Toothless, Stryka, and Embla looked confused as they and the other dragons gathered in the very center of the Great Hall along with all the Berkians.
"And, now, for the evening entertainment! Their comeback after a two-year hiatus! Ladies, gentlemen, and dragons… give it up for The Three Weirdos!" Gobber clapped, as Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland stepped into the light with their instruments.
"Three… two… one…" Hiccup murmured before he started drumming out the beat. Zenna followed with her lute and, finally, Erland started playing his violin.
SONG TO PLAY: Some Kids by Loch Lomond
The trio's voices blended in perfect harmony as they sang their hearts out to the delight of the audience. In the crowd, Stoick, Edgar, and Henna looked on with joy and pride at seeing their children finally making music again after two long years.
Serpent and Serpentine warbled and danced to the beat as he stayed huddled under Stryka's wings. The other baby dragons chirped, flapping their wings and swaying as Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland sang.
Gothi smiled as Erland took center stage for a violin solo. Seeing her young ward happy and content as he smiled at Hiccup and Zenna, she knew that Loki had finally found a reason to be happy this Snoggletog. 'I pray you'll have more happy years on Berk with the family you've found here, Loki…' she wished as The Three Weirdos sang the final chorus. At this point, Toothless, Stryka, and Embla joined them on the stage, bopping their heads to the beautiful music their riders were making.
When the song finished, The Three Weirdos all bowed and yelled out, "HAPPY SNOGGLETOG!"
It would be a Snoggletog all Berkians would remember for years to come.
The next morning, Zenna and Erland met up at Hiccup's house with their dragons to go flying.
"Hiccup, if you don't get out of bed, Toothless is gonna tear a hole through the roof!" Zenna hollered before Toothless suddenly jumped off the roof. Landing on all fours, the Night Fury pawed at a corner of the house then dragged his old saddle and tail fin.
Zenna raised an eyebrow then glanced at Erland, who shrugged. When Hiccup came out of the house, he too was confused by the old flight gear's appearance. "Toothless, what'd you pull this out for? You don't need this anymore," he said, pushing the saddle away with his foot, before approaching his best dragon friend. "Come on, let's get going."
But Toothless moved away, nudging the saddle and non-automatic tail fin towards Hiccup every now and then.
'I see what he wants now…' Stryka realized.
'He'll have to thrash that fancy new tail fin of his to send Hiccup a clearer message though,' Embla agreed with a knowing smile.
"Would you quit fooling around? You have your new tail now." Hiccup looked to Erland and Zenna, who merely shrugged. Although, judging by the way Erland was looking back and forth between him and the other two dragons present, Hiccup had a feeling he knew what was going on. "Toothless?" He decided to focus back on his dragon who lifted his tail, showing off the new tail fin he had made in hopes of giving him his freedom to fly solo again.
Then, in a matter of seconds, that new tail fin was thrashed.
"Toothless! Stop! What are you doing?" Hiccup could only watch as Toothless flung off the destroyed tail fin out of sight.
"I think the answer's pretty obvious," Erland piped up, arms folded across his chest, grinning.
"Hiccup…" Zenna approached the one-legged inventor, placing her hand on his shoulder. "I think Toothless would rather fly with you," she said, smiling.
Looking at Toothless, who looked at him with his sweet big green eyes and pushed the old saddle and tail fin to him. This was the gear that required his help so Toothless could fly… and Toothless truly wanted that…
Seeing that Hiccup was understanding what Toothless wanted, Erland climbed onto Embla's saddle. "Well, are we going to fly or not?" he asked.
Letting out a soft laugh, Hiccup got Toothless' old flying gear on. Once he and Zenna were on their dragons' back, they took to the skies with Erland and Embla right behind them.
'Winter in Berk lasts most of the years. It hangs on with both hands and won't let go…' Loki thought as the dragons took them on a journey through the clouds. Looking to his right, he could see Hiccup and Zenna having a grand time and warmth blossomed in his chest.
'And the only comforts against the cold are those you keep close to your heart…' He placed a hand over his chest where, hidden in a secret pocket of his coat, Hiccup and Zenna's letters to him remained.
"Okay, bud? You ready?" Hiccup asked Toothless, earning a happy warble.
"Wanna try this, Stryka?" Zenna rubbed her dragoness' head, Stryka bouncing gamely in mid-air.
"What do you say, Embla?" Loki caught his dragon's eye.
"Whenever you're ready, Loki," Embla crooned.
At the same time, The Three Weirdos somersaulted off of their dragons and went into freefall. As they spun through the air with their dragons by their sides, Hiccup, Zenna, and Loki enjoyed the rush of the wind and looked at each other with unbridled joy.
In later years, the three of them would come together to talk about this one particular Snoggletog from their pasts. Turns out, that had been the best Snoggletog ever. For Loki, he gave his friends some pretty great gifts…
But Hiccup and Zenna both gave him a better one, one that he would cherish forever.
I hope you all enjoyed this very belated Christmas gift as we all enter the New Year! Let's make 2022 better than last year to the best of our abilities! Fly high and keep dreaming and soaring, guys!
-GuardianDragon98
