Chapter Twenty-One: Celebration
So, Charm Caster 1127, have you been reading Shadowdragon1317's rants about the pears, do you hate them yourself, or is it a combination of the two?
Warning: Mildly sexual content to follow
While the Vikings were heading over to the Great Hall, Hiccup caught sight of the Thunder Queen. She looked upset, but Hiccup couldn't blame her, Dagur had meant something to her for a while, and now he was gone. Granted, she knew what a horrible Alpha he was, but to have to go through all of that bloodshed at the cost of her wings and tail, it was easy for a dragon to get emotional. So, with Toothless at his side he approached the Black Typhoon.
"Hey, Thunder Queen, you look like you could use some compassion." Hiccup told her. The massive Strike class dragon looked up at him and snarled.
"What do you want?"
"Hey there's no need to get aggressive here, I just want to help. I can heal your wings and tail for you."
"Why would you want to do that?"
"I know you're a good dragon, you were just tamed by a bad person. So, I hope to help you feel better, and I figured that they best way to go with that is to help heal you. Now, can I be your friend and heal your wings and tail?" Hiccup said.
The Thunder Queen looked over to Toothless and asked him: "How long have you put your trust in this human, Shadeghost?"
"He's been my best friend and rider for over six years. He is a friend to every dragon who lived on this island before Dagur came along. If you can't trust him, then no human is trustworthy." Toothless replied.
The Thunder Queen looked over to Hiccup again and noticed his eyes and asked him: "How did you get those eyes?"
"I think that they were an endowment from Loki." He replied. The Thunder Queen smiled with her eyes and extended a wing for him to fix. Hiccup simply brushed his hand over the tears, and they were mended.
"Thank you." The Thunder Queen told him as she tested her wings by stretching them.
"You're welcome, and I must say that you really are a magnificent dragon." Hiccup replied. Toothless crooned in agreement.
"You fascinate me, human, I've never met a Viking who had such a true love for dragons… Or a human with the eyes of a dragon."
"Ha, Hiccup is anything but a traditional Viking. He was the first one to befriend a dragon, and as long as you don't actively try to destroy his home or attack his people, he will welcome you with open arms." Toothless explained.
"I don't have much of an explanation for the eyes, but I do think that they were a gift from Loki." Hiccup stated.
"How fascinating, and it is good to see how you turned out Shadeghost. Now, from what I've heard through other dragons, you are the Alpha of this island; so I ask you: What are we supposed to do now?" The Thunder Queen said.
"You told me that your original home was destroyed due to a volcanic eruption. This was back when you crawled into a cave during a thunderstorm and you spoke to me while I was a Night Fury. Now, I want you and Too-Shadeghost to remain peaceful, and we can find another island that may be more to your liking; but until we are able to show you off the island, I'll allow you to stay here as long as you and your nest acknowledges that Shadeghost is the Alpha of Berk." Hiccup replied.
"We can handle that." The Thunder Queen replied.
"Good to hear, now we better be going now. The tribes are waiting for us to join the celebration." Hiccup told her. She closed her eyes and bowed her head to him. He smiled as he turned away and headed for the Great hall with Toothless following after him.
The second Hiccup stepped inside, mugs were raised, and he was surrounded by the sound of booming cheers for him. Who wouldn't have? The Dragon Chief was back, their enemy thoroughly destroyed, and good food and drinks were going around.
Once Hiccup had reached the center of the hall, he was promptly mobbed by Astrid and their friends be being embraced by the group.
"I take it that I was missed." Hiccup stated.
"That's the understatement of the year! Your mother lost her voice for a little bit after we left for Outcast Island, Toothless' heart was actually broken, and the whole village was in tears, your father included." Astrid told him.
"Stoick the Vast actually cried…? Nope, sorry, I can't picture it. How about you guys, how did you fare?" He replied.
"Well, that first day after we fled was mostly a day to mourn, but we eventually got into a routine, the dragons pushed Toothless to move on, and soon enough we came back to Berk." Astrid replied. By now the group had given Hiccup some space, and once he started making his way to the head table where he was greeted by Alvin and Goosefoot.
"It's good to have you back, Chief Hiccup." Alvin stated. The one-eyed Chief clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"Aye, it is a relief that we didn't lose you in the war after all; and on be hath of the Berserker tribe, we apologize for taking a part in this war and not trying to fight Dagur off before this fight started." Goosefoot stated.
"Hey, I understand why you didn't fight; resistance would've been futile in that situation. However, I'll admit that I actually had the time to watch you and your round robin train dragons in order turn against Dagur. Now, had you been caught, Dagur would no doubt have killed you and the round robin for your treasonous acts. For that, I thank you for your help; you what, how about we form an alliance and a peace treaty between our three tribes?" Hiccup suggested. Goosefoot's eyes went wide and sparkled with delight. Forming alliances was one of the things he wanted to do for the Berserkers, but there were few tribes willing to ally themselves with the Berserker tribe after Dagur became Chief.
"Thank you, Chief Hiccup. I promise that you'll know the gratitude of the Berserker tribe once we establish this alliance and peace treaty!" Goosefoot exclaimed. He couldn't hold it in anymore, he pulled Hiccup in for a hug, and once Alvin agreed to take part in this treaty and alliance, Goosefoot hugged him too.
"Wow, quite the emotional fellow that one." Alvin spoke once Goosefoot started going around to tell his tribe the wonderful news.
"There's nothing wrong with that." Hiccup replied.
"That's true… So, what are they going to do about their dragons? Would you prefer them to go with their queen, or will the Berserkers take the bonded ones with them?" Alvin asked.
"It's a good question. Dagur probably did some damage to their economy, and it would be hard for them to mend that when they also have to take care of dragons too. They'll want saddles for them eventually, and to build accommodations for them, and they cost money and resources. Then again they can also use them for hunting purposes, and I can show them how we use dragons to pillage. What would you do, Alvin?"
"I'd allow them to have one dragon, and keep their remaining tamed beasts until they're ready to have them."
"That's a pretty good idea. I'll have to tell Goosefoot that." Hiccup stated.
The Dragon Chief continued making his way around the hall to receive the 'I'm so glad that you're alive' and 'Welcome back's' from his tribe; and at one point Hiccup caught sight of Vengeance making a few moves towards Whoshadow while Claudette were chatting. Now that Whoshadow had exacted her revenge on Dagur, she had mellowed out significantly. Instead of a glimmer of insanity, the light in her eyes showed happiness and interest in the male Skrill. Vengeance was smaller than Whoshadow, but he was still powerful, muscular, and Goosefoot told Claudette that he is an intelligent dragon.
"Well, from the way they're looking at each other, he may have to stick around for a while. The mating season isn't that long of a wait from now." Claudette told him.
"Skrill hatchlings, I'll bet they'll be cute." He replied.
They'll be a handful for the village too. Hiccup thought. He picked up a few snacks while he was going around the hall and had a mug of rum to wash it down. All in all, it was a great party.
At the end of the day, Goosefoot escorted Hiccup and Astrid back to their home with their dragons at their sides; Toothless was so happy to have Hiccup back, he kept leaning into Hiccup's side just to be close to him.
"I made sure that Dagur didn't get a hold of this place while you were gone. I figured that he would've brought disgrace to this place if he did. I kept up with the housekeeping and founded our round robin in here."
"Thanks, Chief Goosefoot." Astrid stated as she gave Vengeance a scratch on his neck.
"You're welcome, Astrid. So, Chief Hiccup, what are you going to do about Dagur's big dragon, and the dragons we've bonded with?"
"She'll stay here for a little while, but we'll eventually relocate her and her nest to another island. As for the dragons your round robin bonded with and trained, Alvin and I agreed that it would be good for your tribe to keep the beasts, but first you must stabilize your economy and set up accommodations for the dragons. We'll keep them here, but we'll have you pick one dragon to help you out. Dragons are good for making distractions when you go pillaging, makes it quick, easy, and the people you pillage from will never know what hit them. We also use the dragons for fishing and hunting too."
"You've been so kind to us, and I can't thank you enough. I'll look forward to signing this peace treaty with you and Alvin." Goosefoot replied. He tipped his head to the Haddocks and took his leave with Vengeance. As they were leaving, Stormfly started up a fire and curled up by it, while Toothless and his family decided to go out for a family flight.
Now, Hiccup and Astrid were upstairs in their bedroom. Their daughter would be brought home with the other children the next day so they wouldn't have to worry about caring for her in the middle of the night.
"So, what should we do now?" Hiccup asked in a suave tone. Astrid giggled giddily, approached him, and after a moment of kissing they began to undress each other; but as Astrid removed Hiccup's top, her eyes fell on something she never saw on Hiccup before. At first look it appeared to be a blue-black tattoo of a dragon silhouette on his left pectoral; but upon closer look, the truth was clear, the silhouette was made of tiny Night Fury scales.
At first, Hiccup thought Astrid was being romantic by caressing his lean torso with her eyes, but when Astrid brushed her fingers over the scales he looked down and saw the mark, his pupils narrowing into slits. His shock over having another draconic feature started to make him breathe heavily.
"Hiccup, it's okay. As weird as it may sound: human or dragon, I will still love you." Astrid told him, and then she planted a kiss on his lips. Such a tender and loving gesture took the shock away, and Hiccup returned the favor. However, at the back of his mind, he knew that if he checked his shoulder armor, he would not find a Dragonstone hidden behind a secret panel. Now, the Dragonstone's power lived inside him. It was his gift from Loki, and it was a part of the blessing he put on the stone. Knowing this still left a bit of a shock for Hiccup, but as he removed his prosthetic, and flopped onto the bed in Astrid's embrace, he refused to dwell on it. Tonight was a night of celebration and passion.
Ahh, sweet resolutions, but I promise at least one more chapter.
Special Thanks to: Rogue Deity Master, who suggested that I put the Dragonstone 'inside' Hiccup.