The last 4 days had been pretty hectic for Hiccup to say the least. He spent two days rounding up the Typhoomerangs, and 1 day rounding up riders and packing things for the long trip back to Berk. Now everything was set and they were leaving at daybreak. Gunnar, Hiccup's brother in law was going to be watching the village in Hiccup's absence. Coming with Hiccup from Fury Isle was Audun in his Nightmare, Flameburst also one of the healers, Alva who would be riding with Audun. Of course Sylvi was coming with Rosethorn and the 3 kids. Thurmond would be mostly in her arms on Rosethorn while the twins were riding with Eret on Skullcrusher since he had a saddle that could hold them plus himself. Then the Typhoomerangs would be carrying the Hooligans and camping gear.
The way Hiccup planned it was to ride most of the day, break for lunch and fly until dark. They would set down for the night and start again after breakfast. It was currently just about sunrise when they'd be leaving to start their return to Berk, Hiccup in all honestly wasn't looking forward to it. He exiled himself 7 years ago, vowing to never return. He never planning on returning even if it was a simple drop off. As he exited his house, he saw Alva, Audun, and Eret ready with their dragons. The Typhoomerangs were sitting on the beach since they were so big and waiting for their passengers. Sylvi came out with the twins and their son, Rosethorn beside them. "Alright, I'm going to go get the Hooligans. Load up and get to the East beach." Hiccup ordered.
"Aye sir." The others whispered as Hiccup got on Toothless and headed to the inn to wake up the Hooligans, he landed a few minutes later and entered the main door knocking on the doors that he knew they were behind. For all intensive purposes it was still dark outside and the sun would be up in 20 minutes just as they would be leaving for Berk. He stepped back as the others slowly came out tiredly.
"So early man..." Snotlout groaned rubbing his eyes.
"You get used it to. Time to go." Hiccup said motioning to the door, they nodded and followed him out.
"So where too?" Gobber asked.
"East beach, the others are waiting." Hiccup informed him walking alongside Toothless towards the East beach. It was quiet, the others still trying to wake up. Stoick was but Hiccup expected that, and so was Valka with Cloud Jumper, Astrid, Spitelout, Gobber, and Fishlegs, Berga, Asmund, Elof, Corey, Neera, and Folke. Tuffnut, Snotlout, and Ruffnut were still pretty asleep. The walk to the beach was slow but they made it after 10 minutes, sure to say that they were all awake seeing the large dragons sitting on the beach.
"Woah..." They younger ones of the group said. A few guards had the area lit with torches so it was clear to see.
"These are Typhoomerangs and what you'll be riding on for the duration of the trip. They are also carrying the camping gear. These are the only dragons known to man that eat eels. So lets get you acquainted with your ride home...Hooligans. Meet Torch and his brother Scorch." Hiccup smiled.
"Hello..." Fishlegs said nervously with a wave.
"Good, now that's settled...Torch is the orange, yellow and white dragon, Scorch is blue, teal, and white. I need to divvy the 14 of you up to even out the weight for them. So...Stoick, Gobber, Corey, Elof, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Astrid ride on Torch. Spitelout, Snotlout, Neera, Fishlegs, Berga, Asmund, and Folke take Scorch." Hiccup said, the group split and headed to the dragon Hiccup assigned. "Syl, Eret you ride up with me. Audun and Alva cover the rear. Mom, you take above and the sides."
"Aye chief." They replied taking up their positions.
"I'll go first...Syl, Eret you follow after me. The Typhoomerangs will come next, then mom, then you Audun and Alva. Clear?" Hiccup stated, they nodded. Hiccup got out 6 pieces of rope, he tied one around Torch then tied two more off that for the passengers to hold on to. He then did the same on Scorch. "Take off can be a bit rough, so hold the rope. Once we're up we will level out flat." Hiccup warned.
"We understand." Astrid replied to him. Hiccup nodded as Eret helped get Selena and Solana in their seats on Skullcrusher's saddle and then Eret sat in front. Hiccup took Thurmond from Sylvi so she could get on Rosethorn, then he handed their son back to her. Audun was ready on Flameburst and Alva ready on her Nadder, Spinewhip. Lastly, Hiccup got on Toothless and tested to make sure the tail was working properly. With everything ready, Hiccup prepared to take off as Gunnar walked to see them.
"Safe travels chief." He said.
"Will do, ain't the first time I've made this trip. Should be back in about a week, send a terror if there is a problem." Hiccup instructed.
"Aye sir." Gunnar nodded.
"Alright, wings up riders!" Hiccup called out. Toothless launched first, followed by Sylvi and Eret, then they stopped as Hiccup faced Torch and Scorch who looked at him for orders. "Torch, Scorch. Sky." Hiccup gave a motion with his hands upward. The two dragons nodded and took to the sky as the Hooligans held on tightly. After them it was Valka, finally Audun and Alva. With all of them up in the air now. "Berk is a 4 day flight to the West from here...Lets move." Hiccup stated.
"That means you've been East of us the whole time..." Stoick blinked.
"Wait...Only 4 days?" Ruffnut asked. Hiccup nodded.
"Yep. I've never been far." Hiccup replied keeping his eyes forward on the path ahead of them, he looked to Sylvi. "How's Thurmond?" Hiccup asked.
"Fast asleep." Sylvi smiled, Hiccup now looks at Eret to check on the twins seeing them content and relaxing he sighed. So began the return to Berk. Hiccup couldn't wait for this to be over, he just wanted to drop them off and get back to Fury Isle. Sure their islands would have an alliance now, but that didn't mean Hiccup was happy to have his past in his present or future. He sighed heavily looking forward again, the sun was beginning to rise behind them. Left right on time as he planned.
"Hiccup...Are we stopping for breakfast?" Snotlout asked.
"No, we'll lose too much time. Fall back between Torch and Scorch bud..." Hiccup rubbed Toothless's head, Toothless slowed and hovered between the two Typhoomerangs, gliding on the breeze. Hiccup reached over to the left side and pulled a lever on Toothless's saddle rig, then he took his foot out of the stirrup that controlled the tail to stay open. The Hooligans noticed that Toothless's tail stayed open on its out, they blinked confused. Hiccup grabbed two bags and crossed them over his chest as he slowly stood up on Toothless's back and balanced there. "Keep it steady bud..." Hiccup told Toothless who gave a nod. Hiccup looked to Torch now and waited for his moment, when Torch lowered his wings, Hiccup jumped off Toothless and onto Torch's back.
"That is so dangerous..." Valka sighed.
"You've been riding dragons longer than I have and you've never jumped from one dragon to another?" Hiccup glanced at his mother.
"No. What if you slip and fall?" Valka asked.
"Then Toothless will dive down and catch me." Hiccup shrugged handing the bag to Gobber. "Apples and bread in there." Hiccup told him.
"I thought you said Toothless couldn't fly without you?" Stoick asked.
"He can't fly without me. He's riding the wind and flying straight. I designed the tail to lock open but he can't adjust or change direction without me." Hiccup replied as he prepared to get over to Scorch now.
"But if he can't fly then how would he catch you?" Snotlout asked curiously.
"Its hard to explain..." Hiccup mumbled.
"Just show them babe." Sylvi offered. Hiccup blinked, why hadn't he thought of that before. Hiccup walked along Torch's wing slowly and let himself slip off when Torch beat his wings. Hiccup began falling towards the water.
"Toothless!" Hiccup called out, Toothless growled as he tucked his wings and dove down after Hiccup. Toothless sped past him while Hiccup grabbed the saddle and pulled himself on it, flipped the lever forward as he opened Toothless's tail and the two pulled up and hovered again. Hiccup looked back at the Hooligan's with a shrug and smile.
"Show off." Sylvi giggled.
"You're just jealous because you can't do it too." Hiccup stuck his tongue out at her, she did it back as Toothless moved beside Scorch and Hiccup tossed Snotlout the bag with the food in it. "That should hold you over until lunch in a few hours." Hiccup told them as he had Toothless return to front of the group.
"I could do it..." Sylvi tried to protest now looking for an excuse, "I'm just holding our son right now..."
"Let me see him, show me your skills oh great nadder rider." Hiccup challenged. Sylvi froze a moment but rose to the challenge, she motioned for her dad to fly beside her as she handed Thurmond to him.
"Be careful sweetheart..." Audun said to his daughter, Sylvi nodded to him as she slowly got up and let herself fall off Rosethorn's back towards the water. Rosethorn didn't go after her right away.
"Rosethorn!" Sylvi yelled, Rosethorn didn't hear her which was odd. As Sylvi was nearing the water, she screamed out in fear.
"SYL!" Hiccup called out as he locked Toothless's tail and jumped off his back after Sylvi. "Toothless dive!" Hiccup called to his dragon, Toothless began his dive as Hiccup grabbed Sylvi's hand as he pulled her around and onto his back. "Hold on!" Hiccup said to her as he bent himself and hooked his arms on the loops near his ankles and pulled them as a pair of triangular wings formed from his legs across his arms and against his body. The wind caught them as they floated there on the breeze, Toothless got under them as Hiccup closed the wings and safely landed in the water. Toothless dove in as Hiccup got on him and he curved up back into the sky, Sylvi behind Hiccup holding on to him tightly clearly still scared about what happened. "Are you alright?" Hiccup asked her.
"I don't...know what happened...Rosethorn...didn't hear me when I called for her...or immediately dive..." Sylvi said trying to calm down. Rosethorn squawked sadly now moving closer to Toothless and looking at Sylvi. "Its okay girl...I'm alright." Sylvi said with a soft smile.
"You alright to fly on her again?" Hiccup asked cautiously. Sylvi nodded as Rosethorn moved under Toothless and Hiccup held Sylvi's hand lowering her safely onto Rosethorn's back. "When we land I'll look over her..." Hiccup said, something wasn't right. Rosethorn was like Toothless when it came to her rider being in trouble. Meaning to say that whenever Sylvi was in trouble, Rosethorn would always save her like Toothless did with Hiccup. Rosethorn didn't dive right away when Sylvi fell off her and apparently Rosethorn didn't hear when Sylvi called for her. Maybe Rosethorn was just tired or got distracted? Sylvi hadn't been able to fly her when she was past 3 months pregnant. Hiccup gave a soft smile, Rosethorn was fine but Hiccup was still going to check over her just to make sure. For now he just wanted no more problems before they reached the first stop for night.
(3 Days Later)
Since that little accident with Rosethorn things were alright but Hiccup was still concerned for his wife's dragon. He had checked her over and saw she was fine, he thought maybe she was just out of practice but to be falling behind, dipping out of the sky, not hearing commands. He was convinced something was wrong but Sylvi was stubborn and refused to believe it. They had one more day of flying to get through and they'd reach Berk, right now it was sunset and Hiccup already found the island they'd be setting down on. They still had another 30 minutes of flying though before they reached it. Hiccup looked around at everyone. The Hooligans were sitting quietly on the Typhoomerangs. Alva and Audun were talking. The kids were bothering Eret but he was being a good sport about it, his mother was talking to Stoick and Sylvi was holding Thurmond.
Over the last 3 days after he saved Sylvi, the Hooligans were asking all about his wings which he explained was his flight suit and he made it when he was 17 or so for times when he and Toothless got separated in the sky. They thought it was cool he had his own wings that actually worked. The trip had been alright thus far, they did exactly as Hiccup planned. Left at sunrise, flew until lunch which they rested for an hour, then it was wings up again until sunset where they would land and make camp for the night. Which is right now what they were about to be doing. When they landed, Hiccup would have Audun, Eret, Alva, and some of the Hooligans help set up bedrolls, pillows, and tents. Some would make the fire, collect wood, and Hiccup would handle food gathering. 'Just one more day to go...' Hiccup sighed thinking to himself as they continued to fly.
30 minutes later, Hiccup saw the island they'd be on for the night coming into sight. He gave the signal for the dragons to land on the beach area. "Alright, you know the drill. Meet back here in an hour." Hiccup stated, the others nodded and headed off to do their jobs which was wood gathering, or setting up sleeping areas, and the fire of course. Hiccup took care of fishing and gathering food. After it was dark and the fire was going, people were eating and sitting around the fire. The Typhoomerangs were laying near the forest edge while Hiccup, Sylvi, Audun, Alva, Eret, and Valka sat with their dragons beside or behind them. The Hooligans were just sitting with one another. It was mostly quiet right now, everyone tired and ready for the trip to be over.
"Come on, Rosethorn..." Sylvi said softly, Hiccup looked over now. Sylvi was trying to get Rosethorn to eat something but she was refusing. Hiccup knew something was wrong but honestly he was afraid to find out what was wrong, he had a sickening feeling it was bad and didn't want to know because it would change a lot of things. "You have to eat." Hiccup had been holding Thurmond the last 20 minutes or so, he could hear Sylvi's voice becoming steadily more upset with Rosethorn's behavior but not upset as in mad, more of worry. Hiccup got up and walked to Gobber, offering for him to hold the child.
"You want...me to hold him?" Gobber arched a brow.
"Why not? When's the last time you held a baby? When it was me?" Hiccup smiled, Gobber smiled wide as he held Thurmond now. Hiccup stepped back at the sight of Gobber nearly tearing up holding his son. It had been true, Gobber hadn't held a baby since himself which was now about 20 years ago. Hiccup sat back down with his drawing pad out, he quickly sketched out Gobber holding Thurmond then added more detail. It only took him a good 20 minutes to finish before he closed the book and placed it back in Toothless's saddle back. Hiccup looked back to Sylvi and Rosethorn, the nadder was just staring off to the sea, not responding to Sylvi's pleas to eat. Hiccup moved over to her now and stood in front of Rosethorn waving his hand a little to get her attention.
"I don't know...what's wrong with her..." Sylvi whimpered.
"I don't either..." Hiccup sighed. "You and the girls go lay against Toothless...I want to test something." Hiccup told Sylvi, she nodded and moved the girls over against Toothless along with herself as Hiccup got Inferno and lit up the blade to make it act like a torch so he could see better. He stood in front of her again, waving his hand. She didn't respond to it. "Rosethorn." Hiccup said softly, she didn't respond to that either. "Rosethorn!" Hiccup said louder now, the dragon flinched a little and looked around for him. 'She can't see that I'm right in front of her?' Hiccup thought curiously. Hiccup put his hand out to her snout and she purred against it, nuzzling. Hiccup got a good look at her now, the eyes looked tired and the once black iris's were faded slightly. That couldn't of been good.
"Any ideas on what's wrong with her?" Sylvi asked softly.
Hiccup didn't answer her, he kept walking along the length of her body with his hand out touching her scales which were falling pretty steadily by touch alone. Rosethorn's body wasn't as warm as it used to be. Moving back to her snout, he grabbed a fish from the bucket and held it out to her, she turned her head from it. "When's the last time she ate, Syl?" Hiccup asked.
"Breakfast..." Sylvi replied. Hiccup doused the flame blade and put it back on hip as he pulled his shield and stood near the treeline with it up.
"Make her shoot her single spineshot at me." Hiccup said. The others looked at him curiously, was he crazy. Sylvi didn't question him, she got on Rosethorn's back and got her in the air then faced Hiccup.
"Are you sure? I don't need to remind you that a nadder's spines can slice through flesh and are poisoness." Sylvi stated.
"I'm aware...Just do it...I need to see something." Hiccup told her. Sylvi nodded as she patted the back of Rosethorn's neck once and Rosethorn shot a spine towards Hiccup, it missed him and hit the tree 10 inches from him.
"That's...Hiccup, Nadder's never miss...That should of hit you." Sylvi said worried now.
"I know..." Hiccup replied as Rosethorn landed now and Sylvi got off her as Hiccup put his shield back on his back and noticed with the light of the fire that Rosethorn's colors were slightly faced too. Hiccup got on her back now and took her into the air. He flew her around a good 15 minutes with a series of aerial moves and commands, finally they landed again as Hiccup climbed off her slow and stepped back as Valka came beside him. "I don't know what it is mom...Any insight?" Hiccup asked her.
"Tell me everything you've found so far." Valka said now.
"Faded iris's and scales, can't make her target, slow response times and flying, she won't eat, she can't hear unless I yell, and she couldn't see me until I touched her snout..." Hiccup stated. Valka looked over Rosethorn now and stood beside Hiccup with a sigh. "You know something...Don't you?" Hiccup asked, Valka pulled him aside out of the other's hearing range.
"You may want to prepare Sylvi...To say goodbye to Rosethorn..." Valka told him sadly, Hiccup's eyes widened.
"What...do you mean mom..." Valka was silent now looking away. "No...No...don't tell me that..." Hiccup backed uo once.
"Its her time, Hiccup...She can't see anymore, or hear...She's flying slower, her scales are fading in color...Rosethorn, I estimate isn't going to live another few days. I don't even think she's going to make it to Berk...Its time to let her go..." Valka put her hands on Hiccup's shoulders now. "I'm sorry son...I know it hurts to hear but nothing...is exempt from the cycle of life. And sooner or later...All life comes to an end, and new life is given..." Valka said trying to keep her voice from choking up.
"What...should I do...?" Hiccup asked.
"Let Sylvi say her goodbyes, then tell Rosethorn its okay and she can let go when she's ready. Some dragons fly away, them wanting to die on their own. Rosethorn might be holding on for Sylvi's sake, you have to tell Rosethorn its okay. So she will know Sylvi will be okay when she goes..." Valka told him. Hiccup lowered his head and nodded, this was going to kill Sylvi. They walked back to the group now, Sylvi noticed Hiccup's mood changed right away.
"Hiccup...What's...going on?" Sylvi asked quickly now on her feet.
"Syl..." Hiccup said softly.
"You're scaring me...What is...wrong with Rosethorn? I know you know...Tell me please." Sylvi asked. She saw his eyes, full of pain.
"Sylvi...Its time to say goodbye to Rosethorn." Hiccup said, Sylvi instantly froze as tears formed.