*Moriarty's voice* Did you miss me? *Dagur's voice* BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Alright, I'm done for now. XD Shout-outs:

IonitaMircea32: I am Queen Cliffie for certain. XD Thanks for reviewing! :D

HiccupHaddockIII: I do like cliffhangers. :) HICCSTRID FOR THE WIN! :D

silverwolvesarecool: Who knows what it is. You never know with me. :)

LOTS MORE MOTHER/SON BONDING IN THIS CHAPTER! YAY! :D Enjoy chapter 16! :D

Hiccup was standing in the middle of the village plaza, surrounded by fire. He wasn't sure what was going on, but it didn't take a genius to realize that it wasn't good. There wasn't any screaming, like one would expect to hear when an entire village is being engulfed in flames.

"Astrid!?" Hiccup called, coughing violently when he inhaled some of the smoke. When he got no reply, he started searching desperately for a way to escape the flames, but no such luck. They were surrounding him from all directions, and they seemed to be moving slowly towards him.

He felt alone. "Mom?" he called. "Astrid!?" He got silence both times. "Anybody!?" he yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth and screaming at the top of his lungs. Still no reply. Maybe they evacuated? But that wasn't possible. He would have known. Someone would have told him.

Suddenly, from within the flames, growls met Hiccup's ears; loud, long, harsh, menacing growls that would have melted the skin off your bones. Hiccup turned in the direction from whence they came, but then it changed, and they came from behind him. No matter where he looked, the growls always came from the opposite direction. He tried looking over the fire, but the flames were too high. So, all he could do was wait and hope for the best.

Then, the wolves showed themselves. They seemed to materialize straight out of the fire, barking growls tearing from their throats. They went from orange to grey in a matter of seconds, parts of their skin burned and matted in places. Their eyes were cold, and lifeless, as if the creature didn't even have a conscience. Blood dripped from their fangs and painted their front paws red; it was enough to make someone sick.

It was at that moment that Hiccup realized he was unarmed. He reached for Inferno, and then found that he didn't have it. He then looked for his dagger on his belt, but he didn't have that, either. He tried shouting for Toothless, but when one of the wolves snapped at him, he gave up.

They were approaching him from all directions, the fire growing stronger behind them. Hiccup knew that even if he managed to escape the wolves, there was no escaping the flames that were building up from behind them.

Then, all at once, the wolves pounced. They bit him, scratched him, growled and barked in his face. Hiccup screamed, shouting every name of every single villager he could think of in a desperate attempt to get help.

"There's no one to help you," voices whispered, although Hiccup didn't know where they were coming from. "You're alone. No one is here. Give up. Give up, Hiccup." The fire grew larger, until it engulfed Hiccup and the wolves.

Hiccup shot upright with a breathy shriek. The first thing he noticed was that he was freezing. His body was shaking, and his breath came in huge gasps as if he were struggling to get air into his lungs. It felt like there was something blocking his dry, raw throat, and no amount of swallowing would make it disappear.

It didn't take him long to learn that Valka was sitting next to him, rubbing his back soothingly as Hiccup gasped for breath. The nightmare still remained fresh in his mind, and every time he blinked or closed his eyes, all he saw were the wolves and the fire.

"Hiccup," Valka said. "It's alright." When Hiccup didn't respond, Valka hugged him, his head against her shoulder. Hiccup hugged her back, trying to keep his tears at bay although they fell anyway. The nightmare felt too real. All his friends were gone, or dead, at least. Thinking about it made him sob harder, and that made Valka hug him tighter.

"It's alright, it's alright, shhhh," Valka said, rocking herself and her son back and forth. "You're alright, Hiccup." She had come upstairs a few minutes prior to find Hiccup tossing and turning. A minute later, he woke up like he was now; shaking and sobbing in his mother's arms.

Valka put her hand on the back of Hiccup's head and ran her fingers through his sweaty hair. He had another fever, and it was high. Reaching over, she grabbed the cloth soaked in the bucket of water and put it on the top of Hiccup's head. His face was still buried in her shoulder, and she didn't want to make him pull away so she could put the cloth on his forehead. He was shuddering, and it made Valka filled with sorrow towards her sick little boy.

"Do you need anything?" Valka asked. Hiccup didn't respond. Instead, he held her tighter. In an instant, Valka knew what he needed, and reacted accordingly, holding him against her, running her fingers through his hair in a soothing manner, and shushing his almost constant sobs.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Valka asked, simply because she knew that talking about it could help.

"W-wolves…" Hiccup choked. "W-wolv-ves a-and fire…t-the village…b-burni-ing…I-I was al-l-lone…" He dissolved into more sobs, and Valka held him even tighter.

"You're not alone anymore, Hiccup," she promised.

"T-they at-atack-ked me…" Hiccup whimpered. "T-they t-tried to…k-kill…" His voice trailed off, and he sobbed once again.

"It's alright," Valka said. "It was a dream. It wasn't real."

"Felt s-so r-real…" Hiccup whispered.

"Oh sweetheart…" Valka said. "It wasn't real. The wolves are gone. They won't hurt you."

"Sure?" Hiccup asked.

"I would like to see them try," Valka said. In honesty, between her, Astrid, and Toothless, Valka didn't think that any wolf stood a chance.

Hiccup nodded against her shoulder, his stiff body finally relaxing. He was almost limp, exhausted from crying and having to deal with so many nightmares on his own. His sobs didn't lessen, and his tears soaked Valka's shoulder, not that she cared about that. She was focused on her son, and her son only.

"I've got you," Valka said reassuringly, her voice a soft whisper. "I've got you. The wolves won't hurt you. I'm here. I'll always be here."

It didn't take long for Hiccup to fall asleep after that, and once he did, Valka laid him back down, pulling the blankets over his body. He rolled over on his side and curled into himself, but other than that did nothing. He was shivering violently, his body wracked with chills, and Valka wished so desperately that there was something else she could do.

Maybe there was something else she could do.

She hated watching him shiver, trying to find heat beneath the blankets. She hated seeing him in so much pain, to the point where he would sob and cry freely in her arms, utterly broken. She hated seeing Hiccup – who defeated Drago Bludvist and took on the role of Chief in the same day; the same Hiccup who was usually so strong – in such a vulnerable state. Not only that, though, but he was her son. No true mother could stand to watch their child in pain.

So, Valka laid beside him, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him to her chest, trying to warm up his freezing body. His forehead burned, but the rest of him felt almost like ice against Valka's skin, and her heart broke just a little bit more.

She held him close, and stayed there for a long time.