Title: Cold
Summary: AU. When Zephyr and Nuffink get lost one winter – it's up to their new friend and her dragon to get them home to Hiccup and Astrid.
Second Summary: For the past 15 years dragons and the Vikings of Berk have lived harmoniously. Everyone loves their dragons and it's all peaceful. Until Zephyr and Nuffink are lost during a snowstorm one long winter and can't find their way home. Lost and cold they are found by a young woman and her Swiftwing dragon. Rowan takes them to her home with her dragon until she can deliver them to New Berk on the opposite side on the island.
Disclaimer: I only own Rowan "Row" and Dawnstrike.
Drayware Island. Not strictly part of the Archipelago where Old Berk used to belong to, but it was still considered one of the Islands that did trade with and helped out when Berk had needed it. And it had been easier to trade with all the Islands they did trade with, ever since the Dragons had become commonplace. Even if trade had dropped off, now that they were on New Berk, they still traded with Drayware. In fact, now on New Berk, they were closer to Drayware. On clear day, you could just make out the huts of Drayware on the top of their tallest summit. Their Dragons had made it easier, allowing the Berkians to fly to the islands and make their trades. Mutton for materials, or tools and weapons for herbs and medicinal ingredients. They had just ended their trading season as Winter was fast approaching. The days were getting colder and colder and the first rains had started last week.
30-year-old Hiccup Haddock III watched from where he stood now as Chief of Berk as his villagers went through their day. He could see Gobber at the forge making saddles and all manner of things that Dragons or their riders needed. Butchers, bakers, candlestick makers, the whole lot all of them working hard before the big frost. It was due to arrive in just 2 weeks and the whole of New Berk was bracing for the worst yet. And for Hiccup and Astrid it was going to get a whole lot worse.
"A-are you sure about this, Zephyr?" Nuffink Haddock whimpered holding tight to his sister's hand. He didn't want to get separated from her now, not when they were the farthest, they had ever been from their home in New Berk. Zephyr was fearless and Nuffink trusted his sister with his life, just like he trusted his father when he told them stories of the early days with their dragons. He really loved the stories of Hiccup and Toothless the best, but he also liked the ones about Astrid and Stormfly. He laughed whenever his dad told stories of Mister Snotlout, Mister Fishlegs and Mister Tuff, and Miss Ruff.
"Of course, I'm sure, Nuffink! We'll be fine and home before dark! It's going to be the best adventure we have had yet!" She said. Zephyr was always the confident one, the one who would want to go out and venture further each time. Push boundaries, go beyond each and every time. Usually that meant Zephyr and Nuffink went places all over the island to explore and find new hiding places.
"I'm not so sure…shouldn't we have asked if Toothless or Stormfly could've come too?" Nuffink didn't want to sound ungrateful, his sister always let him go with her on her adventures, but he thinks he may have felt a little safer if they had one of their parents' dragons with them.
"It'll be fine. I won't let anything happen to you, Nuff. I promise." Zephyr said, "you do trust me, don't you?"
"Yeah, I do." Nuffink nodded. He had no reason to not trust that Zephyr would look after him, because he had heard his mother and father tell Zephyr that since she was a big sister, it was up to her to look after him. And Nuffink knew that Zephyr took her job very seriously.
Rowan loved being in the forest. Ever since her parents died the forest had been her place. That was where she met Dawnstrike. Her very own Dragon. She'd heard all about the Dragons here on New Berk and had wanted one of her own. So, when she found herself face-to-face with a tiny Swiftwing, too big to be a hatchling but small enough to not yet be fully grown, she was instantly enamored. She'd brought some fish with her and they bonded fairly quickly. It took a few weeks before she was able to ride the dragon. She called her dragon Dawnstrike. There was no real meaning behind it, but she thought it was fitting. And the dragon seemed to like it well enough.
Dawnstrike was a strike type dragon with blue scales with a creamy underbelly. Rowan couldn't have asked for better dragon. Dawnstrike, for her part, had a streamlined body, two small spines on her tail, and two horns on the extremities of her head. She was a fast flyer, faster then most dragons. Her fire proof scales were a definite plus. She was a good size, just big enough to be ridden and small enough to not cause too much trouble. She didn't shoot fire as such – she shoots hot purple-blue energy. And Rowan couldn't be happier to have Dawnstrike as her companion now that she had only herself.
Rowan was about to head back to her house to get out of the storm, when she heard a shout. A shout of a name, she hadn't heard in many, many years.
Astrid hurried from room to room and looked everywhere she could think of that her children would go and still couldn't find them.
"Hiccup! I can't find them!" She called to her husband.
"What do you mean you can't find them?" He asked.
"Zephyr and Nuffink are gone! I can't find them anywhere! They aren't in any of the usual places!" She cried, distressed.
"They have to be somewhere. What were they doing today?" Hiccup asked.
"I think they were going into the…forest. Oh, Gods Hiccup what if they're lost in the storm?! What if they are scared and cold…what if we never see them again!" Astrid sobbed.
"Astrid, you have to keep calm. OK? Zephyr would never let anything happen to Nuffink that she could prevent. Right? So, I'm sure that Zephyr is keeping Nuffink safe and they will be fine. She knows those woods as well as we do. You'll see they'll be back by morning." Hiccup told her. He was sounding more confident than he felt and he wanted to go out and look for his children, he also knew that it was madness for him to go out now and look for them. The only hope he had to hold onto was that Zephyr and Nuffink had found shelter somewhere and they would stay together and not get separated. He really wished they hadn't wandered off.
"They'll be ok, right Toothless?" He said to his Dragon after Astrid was out of earshot. The Dragon murmured softly and rested his head on Hiccup's knee, "yeah, me too."
Rowan followed the calls of 'Mum' and 'Dad' until she spotted the two young children. Barely 5 and 3 she knew they had gotten lost. Trying to find their way home they had been going to wrong way.
"Zephyr! We're never going to go home, are we?" The young boy moaned to the girl. Rowan supposed they were brother and sister.
"Nuffink, we are going to go home. Mum and Dad will find us soon. I'm sure. We might even make it to the village before they realize we're missing." Zephyr said. Nuffink spotted Rowan and suddenly grabbed his sister's arm. When Zephyr saw Rowan, she froze.
"Don't be scared. But I can tell you that your parents aren't going to find you in this storm. And if you're looking for your village, you're heading the wrong way. Look, I live just a few minutes, that's way," she jerked her thumb over her shoulder, "why don't you rest there, warm fire, plenty of yak or chicken and I can get you home tomorrow morning?" she said.
"Zephyr?" Nuffink had started to shiver hours ago, but it had stopped only a moment ago.
"What's your dragon's name?" Zephyr asked Rowan.
"Dawnstrike. She's a Swiftwing." Rowan said, motioned for her dragon to follow her to the children, "your brother, he isn't shivering. Aren't you cold?" Rowan asked.
"I don't know…I don't feel cold. I was before." Nuffink said honestly.
"That's not good. You have to warm up and soon or he could get sick." Rowan said, "come on. You don't really have a choice right now." Rowan said scooping up Nuffink and putting him up on Dawnstrike's back and doing the same to Zephyr a moment later.
"All right, girl. Let's go home." Rowan said, and the pair with their two young charges made the short trek home. Where immediately, Rowan had Dawnstrike light the fire for them, she had to get the children warm.
Zephyr sat with Rowan at the table while Nuffink slept rested against Dawnstrike in front of the fire.
"Is he going to be all right? Mum and Dad won't like it if he's sick. It'll be my fault! I'm supposed to look after him!" Zephyr moaned.
"You have looked after him, Zephyr. He was with you every step of your adventure, right? He never left your side?" Rowan asked.
"Well, that's true I guess." Zephyr sighed.
"So, you've done your job. If you'd lost him and he was still out there then I'd say you're in for tanned hide, but since he's here and warming up, he should be fine." Rowan promised.
"And you'll take us home in the morning?" Zephyr asked.
"Yeah. Back to your village. Which I'd say you've had a fair walk. It's on the opposite side of the island from me." Rowan said, "come on. I've got a couple of spare beds for you both." Rowan retrieved all the blankets she could find and when she put Nuffink down on the bed she layered him and his sister in her bed with as many blankets as she could to keep them warm.
"If you feel cold at any stage, bring your brother and you into my room and curl up with Dawnstrike, she'll keep you warm." Rowan said.
"Thanks, Rowan. For all this." Zephyr said quietly.
"Don't worry about it, Zephyr. I'd hope someone would do the same for me." She whispered.
When Rowan woke the next morning, it was to find both Zephyr and her brother curled in Dawnstrike's wings, keeping them warm.
Astrid looked sadly at Hiccup the next morning, he had gone out early and searched the woods but had found no trace of his two children. He shook her his head slowly. Astrid tried valiantly to hold back her tears back knew she couldn't.
"Mum! Dad!" A voice sounded from outside but they ignored it due to the fact that it was more than likely another child calling for their parents.
"Chief Hiccup! Astrid! It's your little ones! They're back!" Snotlout had pushed open the doors to the great hall where Astrid and Hiccup were to let the two children run inside, well, Zephyr ran, Nuffink was being carried by a woman.
"Nuffink! What happened?" Astrid asked, taking her son from the other woman.
"He got a little cold, but he's warmer now and he should be just fine." She replied.
"And you are?" Hiccup asked.
"I'm Rowan. I live on the opposite side of the island with my Swiftwing, Dawnstrike." Rowan said with an indication to where Toothless and investigating the blue dragon.
"You have a Dragon?" Hiccup frowned.
"Yeah, she helped keep these two warm last night. I'll tell you, Chief, they are very lucky I found them. If I hadn't, I don't your little boy would have survived the night." Rowan said, "they are two very lucky little children." Hiccup smiled in reply and went over to his daughter picking her up and holding her close joining his wide with their son.
One Year Later
Zephyr was just ahead of her parents astride her newly acquired dragon, Pouncer, and her brother beside her on his dragon, Dart. Both Pouncer and Dart were pups and big enough for the children. Hiccup was aboard Toothless, as usual and Astrid astride Stormfly.
"Are we close?" Hiccup called to his children.
"Just up here, Dad!" Zephyr replied. In the year since their rescue by Rowan, Zephyr and Nuffink had made a point of every season to go visit her and Dawnstrike to say hello and check in make sure they were all right.
"I see it! I see it!" Nuffink cried, pointing wildly at the blue dragon that sat just outside a small cottage at the edge of the wood. The dragon looked up a little perplexed at the arrivals but mewled to her human and Rowan stepped out just as Zephyr and Nuffink dismounted their dragons.
"We're here for our seasonal visit!" Zephyr exclaimed.
"Yes, I see that. Chief, Ma'am." Rowan said with a smile.
"We've told you before, it's Hiccup and Astrid." Hiccup sighed.
"I know. I just always like to be respectful." Rowan shrugged.
"We have dragons now!" Nuffink cried, he didn't like being ignored.
"I see. What are their names?" Rowan asked.
"Mine's Pouncer and Nuffink's is Dart." Zephyr explained.
"They don't looked like Night Furies like their father." She said, casting a glance at Hiccup.
"How did you know Toothless is their father?" He asked.
"There is enough Night Fury in them to know. And he is the only one left." She said.
"They are his with a Light Fury. She's as white as he is black. We call them a Night Light." Hiccup explained.
"Wow…so basically you've created a breed of dragon." Rowan smiled.
The family spent the day with Rowan promising to come back after the last snowfall of the season. But as the children got older the visits were less frequent and when they went back late one winter, they found Dawnstrike but no Rowan. As it was soon discovered Rowan had fallen through some ice and being unable to get back to the surface had drowned. Dawnstrike was offered the chance to live in the Village's stables, where she would be well looked after. She accepted their offer and was adopted soon by another young woman, who reminded her a lot of Rowan. Much like Hiccup's father's dragon Skullcrusher, Dawnstrike accepted a new rider and found that the trust and love of a new human, doesn't make you forget, but it makes the loss of your first, hurt just a little less then before.
A/n: Swiftwing dragons are from Dragons: Rescue Riders, I saw on the HTTYD wiki. I wanted to given Rowan a dragon that was cute and fun loving much like Toothless. However, I didn't want to give Rowan a huge dragon like Stormfly or Hookfang nor give her a dragon that is best given to first-time fliers like Meatlug. Without seeing Rescue Riders, I chose a Swiftwing. And yes, Pouncer and Dart are two of the pups that Toothless and the Light fury (Luna?) had.
