Long after I had finished this story, I realised that what was missing, was Sigrid finding Buttercup. All fixed now :-)
19 Going Home
As Toothless watched closely, Stoick and Olvor carried Hiccup out of the cave and over toward Stormfly. Astrid hugged the worried Night Fury and comforted him as best she could when the boy wrapped in yak skin went by.
"Don't worry Toothless; I'll take good care of him."
She lifted his huge head in her hands and looked straight into his big green eyes.
"You know that I will... and you'll see him in a few days anyway" she wished she was really was confident as she pretended to be.
"Come on Astrid" Olvor called "you first."
Stormfly sniffed at the bundle being taken passed her and was pleased to recognise the unmistakable aroma of the fish boy; and he was still alive. After Astrid had climbed up and taken her seat, Hiccup was lifted into position in front of her and two ropes were wrapped around his chest and leg to hold him in place. Toothless cried out as they flew away and Astrid had to struggle a little to keep Stormfly from flying back to the forlorn Night Fury, but it still saddened her that they had to leave him behind.
Olvor knew that she could not take her time in getting accustomed to flying on the back of a dragon, as she had to keep one eye on Hiccup and the other on Tuffnut and Ruffnut; not to mention doing her best to keep Snotlout in line. Doing all this at the same time would not be simple.
"Come on you guys" Tuffnut shouted "last one back to Berk has to wash Gobbers underwear for a month."
"YEAH!" shouted Ruffnut as they raced away.
"Oh no; not so soon" Olvor sighed "Get me close to Astrid please."
"You got it. COME ON DRAGON; UP" Snotlout cried and they rose much faster than Olvor would have liked for a first flight.
"Just keep flying smooth and steady Astrid" Olvor called as they drew near "let us worry about the twins."
"Okay; and good luck with that" Astrid replied and kept climbing slowly.
"We can catch them if you want" Snotlout hinted. Although he knew his job was to keep Olvor close to Astrid and Hiccup, he was itching to show off his skill, and his dragons speed.
"You've got two minutes to try, and then we have to get back here."
"Right" and he patted the Nightmare's neck "GO DRAGON."
As they picked up speed and altitude, Olvor began wish that she had never eaten that last piece of fish at lunchtime, but the Nightmare was indeed a fast dragon and they were soon flying just behind the twins on their Zippleback and about twenty feet higher.
"Just bring me in close enough for them to hear me Snotlout"
"Not... a... problem" he said with confidence as he guided the dragon in toward the twins. As the distance between the two began to close Olvor was not shy in showing her annoyance.
"CAN YOU TWO FOOLS REMEMBER WHY WE ARE UP HERE?"
"Yeah we're racing to Berk" Ruff was clearly too excited to think.
"NO WE ARE NOT! SO STOP THAT DRAGON; NOW!"
Ruff and Tuff sat up and looked at each other with puzzlement on their faces before they looked to see precisely who it was that sounded so angry with them; the looks on their faces changed glacially slow as they stared at Olvor and began to remember the one legged boy on the dragon behind them.
"Oh... yeah...err sorry" Tuffnuts apology actually sounded genuine as he and his sister turned their dragon back toward Astrid far behind.
Stoick and Gobber stood staring at the sky after the twins had raced away and collectively shook their heads.
"I know it was me who said they should go along to help, but I'll still tear their heads off if they cause any trouble for Astrid and Hiccup."
"Don't worry Stoick, remember it was those two who got Snotlout off the giant beasties head yesterday, so they must know what they're doin' even if they are a pair of mutton heads."
"You fill me with such confidence sometimes; this just isn't one of them."
"Come on now Chief, you know you made the right decision; even if the ship was ready to go now, a quick flight home is much better than a long sea voyage, and we both know the lengths that Astrid will go to for Hiccup. She loves him and she proved to us last night that she is prepared to die for him."
"But she shouldn't have to Gobber, that's for me to do; after all I am his father."
"And maybe someday he will need you too; but today it is Astrid, her love and her skill as a dragon rider that he needs, and she will get him home."
Stoick was not only the Chief of Berk, but also the mightiest Viking for several generations and he was not accustomed to depending on others so absolutely; it was something he would have to get used to in the future.
Astrid sighed as she watched Snotlout and Olvor race off after Ruffnut and Tuffnut, but at least Hiccup was still safe and would be back home on Berk long before nightfall. As Stormfly slowly gained altitude, Astrid noticed that the air temperature was dropping rapidly, so she removed her right glove and placed her hand under the hood to check on Hiccup and sure enough, his face felt far too cold for Astrids liking. She attempted to warm him up by holding him close with her right hand while she held onto the rope tightly with her left; she also directed Stormfly to glide back down. Soon they were flying straight and level about twenty feet above the surface of the sea, where the air was not nearly as cold.
Astrid began to wonder how Snotlout and Olvor were progressing with their task to retrieve the twins, but she was glad that she and Hiccup could enjoy some time alone together, it was such a pity though that they could not chat. Astrid had noticed that back on Berk, all the engaged and married women she knew had given their men cute little names that only they would use; names like Sugar Plumb and Lovey Pie. She began to wonder if she too should come up with a similar pet name for Hiccup now that Stoick, Olvor and particularly Gobber, knew about her feelings for him; even if they were not yet officially a couple.
As she considered this, the trio flew on to Berk totally oblivious to the dark shape lurking behind them just below the surface of the water. Looking up at the sky, Astrid figured the sun would touch the horizon in less than two hours, and by then they would be about three quarters of the way to back Berk so, barring any delays they would arrive about fifteen minutes before dark and she could live with that.
"How are you feeling Sweetie, nice and warm?" 'Oh no, that sounds horrible' Astrid thought.
She was glad that no one could hear her trying out these pet names, not even Hiccup. As a warrior, even such a young one, it all felt very uncomfortable and alien too her.
"Sorry Hiccup, but I could not live with myself if I had to call you Sweetie; how about Hunnybun? Urrgh, no that one's even worse" maybe pet names where simply not her style.
Two small dots appeared in the distance ahead of her and as they grew larger, Astrid knew that she and Hiccup would no longer be alone for the rest of the long journey.
"Is it my imagination Babe, or is Snotlout coming in way too fast?"
There was no doubt about it; Snotlout was defiantly coming in much faster that he should have been; and on top of that, he was diving straight at Stormfly.
"What does that idiot think he's doing?" she asked herself.
Her peaceful flight with Hiccup was now totally ruined by the shock of seeing a crazed Monstrous Nightmare closing in on her and about to let go with its fire burst attack.
"What the..."
Astrid leaned over to protect Hiccup as the huge streak of yellow flame passed inches over her head followed closely by the Nightmare that sent it. The two dragons passed by so closely, that a sudden gust of wind hit Stormfly making her falter a little. Astrid turned her head back to see what dangerous and moronic thing Snotlout was going to do next, and saw the flame of the fire burst slam hard into the head of a wild Scauldron only a few feet from the tip of Stormflys tail. Roaring in pain, the massive green dragon plunged back into the sea and disappeared. Snotlout and Olvor turned back in a large sweeping arc and pulled up alongside of Stormfly.
"You're welcome gorgeous" Snotlout was very pleased with himself as he stuck out his chest in a heroic pose.
"YOU IDIOT!"
Astrid knew she should be grateful that the Scauldron had been fought off before it could take down Stormfly and her two passengers, but the close pass and the fire burst had her more than just a little rattled.
"You could have blown my head off you moron."
"Come on my darling, you know I would never hurt you; you're my lady" his smile turned her stomach.
"She's right you show-off" Olvor hit him on the side of his helmet with a loud clang. "be more careful next time."
"And I am NOT you lady" Astrid was adamant.
"But you will be" and that stomach churning smile returned once more.
"Astrid; why are you flying so low?" Olvor called out.
"It was colder up there and I'm trying to keep Hiccup as warm as I can."
Olvor agreed with her about the importance of not letting Hiccup's temperature drop, but the Scauldron had spooked her so she decided on a compromise.
"Okay but let's go up a little bit higher please"
So as the twins and their Zippleback fell back into formation, the three dragons rose up another twenty feet and continued eastward towards the Isle of Berk.
Five ropes were spread out from the top of the new mast and held by five mighty Vikings to guide it and keep it steady as Fishlegs and his Gronckle lifted this second to last piece of ship into place, while four more Vikings held the base of the pole firmly to keep it from slipping off the cut stump of the old mast. As it rose upright, Fishlegs released the lifting rope giving full control of its position to Stoick and the other holders of the five guy ropes. Gobber positioned two semi circular metal plates around the base of the mast and wrapped another two ropes around the top and bottom of the tube to temporarily hold them firm while he fitted the rivets down the edges and drove home the metal rods through the centre. Stoick looked very satisfied as he admired the newly repaired Longship; it now only required a yardarm, a sail and to be loaded with supplies to make her fully seaworthy again. He and Gobber were giving one final check to the former hole in the starboard side when the unmistakable sound of dragon wings drew near.
"Oh no" Stoick's blood turned cold as a Monstrous Nightmare flew up the beach toward them.
"It's Snotlout; something must have gone wrong on their journey home" he jumped to the wrong conclusion.
"Now don't go getting your knickers in a twist till you're sure" Gobber advised as he climbed down from the deck "he may have come back with... wait a cotton pickin' minute... that's not Snotlout... THAT'S SIGRID!"
"YYEEEEEEHAAAAAA" yelled Sigrid the Strong with great delight as she and her dragon flew past the two stunned Vikings with a loud Whoosh.
"Look at the size of that dragon" Gobber declared "it's huge!"
There could be no doubt that this dragon was much bigger than Snotlouts; even though Sigrid was only a slightly bigger Viking, she still looked very small riding on this mighty beast. Dragon and rider flew up the left side of the smouldering volcano and down the right and back toward Stoick causing the ship to wobble slightly as they zoomed by; after one more turn around the sea stacks, Sigrid brought the Nightmare into land halfway up the beach where she jumped off onto the pebbles and pulled a fish out of her bag.
"Whoa that was fun" she gasped and held up the reward "I think you deserve this."
The mighty head dropped down to take the offered food; he tossed it high up before snapping it out of the air and swallowing it in one gulp. Sitting back down, the dragon brought its head down level with Sigrid who grabbed its neck in a big bear hug.
"Who's a good dragon then?" she cooed as she rubbed its chin "you are, you're a very good dragon."
"What the..." Stoick was at a loss for words "How did you... Where?"
Sigrid laughed "Impressive isn't he? Gentlemen; meet Buttercup. I found him inside the volcano."
"Inside?" Gobber and Stoick repeated simultaneously ignoring the dragon's name.
"What possessed you to go in there ya daft crazy nutter?" Gobber was his usual pleasant and understanding self.
"HA... I wanted to see if there was anything different inside there and... well" she gestured to her new best friend.
"Okay, so now we know where... but how?" Stoick asked again.
"Well... Astrid, Fishlegs and Agnar kept tellin' us over and over to go slow and be patient so that's what I did; I went inside that big hole we knocked into the side of the volcano with a torch and bag of fish to have a look around. Some other dragons scurried away in the dark, but eventually this guy comes roaring straight at me; I really thought I was dead because I knew that I could never outrun him so I just... well... sat down."
"You sat down?" Stoick gasped.
"I think that must have confused him for he just stopped, sniffed me a bit and then roared again so I opened up me bag and tried the fish trick... but it didn't work. I tossed one to him and he burnt it to a crisp; and so with nothing else to do... I just sat there for about half an hour talking to him."
"I'm amazed you've still got ya head on" Gobber noted.
"Well it did the trick because after a while, some of the other dragons started sniffing around; I think it was the fish. The next thing I know, Buttercup is roaring and nipping at them; driving them off and then he comes back and sits down opposite me so I just kept on talking to him."
"What on earth did you say to him?" Stoick asked stunned.
"Oh anything and everything; who I was, where I was from, I told him about Hiccup and how I wanted to take him back to Berk. He just sat there all that time with absolutely no expression that I could see until eventually me torch started to go out. And so I decided it was time to leave, but only after one last try to approach him. I stood up and he started to growl again but when I took a few steps closer, he let out another one of his mighty roars so I figured it was time to cut my losses and go but then as I backed off, he roared again; it was almost as if he was angry that I was leaving."
"So what did you do then?" asked Freya.
Stoick jumped at the new voice behind him and was surprised to find that all work had stopped on the ship as everyone had gathered round to listen to the tale.
"And just what do you all think that you are doing" Stoick demanded "GET BACK TO WORK!"
"Oh calm down" Gobber pushed his luck again "we can't go back to work till we find out if she made it out of the cave alive."
"Errrrr?" Sigrid had no idea how to answer that.
"Gobber; she's standing right here" Stoick explained nicely "OF COURSE SHE MADE IT OUT ALIVE."
Buttercup gave a mighty roar and everyone backed up a little; he didn't like it when someone else was louder than he was.
"It's okay Buttercup" Sigrid comforted her dragon "the nasty man wasn't shouting at you."
"Watch what you saying" Stoick remarked sternly "I'm still chief you know; now make this long story shorter or we won't get the Sharktooth relaunched before Snoggletog."
"Right... sorry Chief; well if he still didn't want me to come closer, but wouldn't let me leave, I was stuck so I just stood there for a while and kept talking to him until the torch finally flickered out."
The crowd gave a collective "Oooooo" as they hung on every word.
"I couldn't see the hand in front of my face but there was a tiny point of light coming from the entrance so I told Buttercup that I had to go and started to leave, but I didn't get very far."
"Did the dragon stop you again? Hoark asked urgently.
"No... I fell over" everyone laughed "HEY... it was dark in there and I couldn't see a thing."
"Sorry Sigrid" Ack smirked "please... go on."
"That was when something amazing happened; on my way in I had to climb over a lot of rocks, big ones, and what I'd done was fallen down between two of them" she held up her hands and turned her head "As you can see here, I grazed myself pretty bad and hurt my left knee; got a bit of a knock on the head as well. I started to think about how it was gonna be a long trip back when suddenly the cave lit up; Buttercup had set himself alight and I could see again. I tried to pick me self up again, but I was still feeling a little bit dizzy from the fall when all of a sudden, Buttercup picks me up in his mouth and puts me on his back; he was on fire all over... except where he put me."
"Oooooo" the Vikings repeated.
"I didn't feel too bad, but he knew I was hurt and I think that he felt a little guilty. When we reached the mouth of the cave, he could see all the other dragons were happily working or playing with you all; he even saw three dragons with riders fly off over the ocean and he decided to follow them."
"You followed Astrid and Hiccup" Stoicks interest peaked "how were they?"
"It looks like Hiccup is in good hands Stoick; Astrid's dragon was being chased by a Scauldron, but before I could do anything about it, Snotlout saw it off with a shot to the head and they all flew on safe and sound. We watched them for a while to make sure they were okay, but I thought that you'd probably want me here so I had a go at turning Buttercup around just by leaning to one side like I'd seen the others do and sure enough, he banks around and starts back for the island. I tried a few more manoeuvres on the way; it's surprising just how smart and intuitive these dragons really are. They're... well... amazing, and when all this is over and everyone is back home and safe again, we are going to fly off and see the world together."
"If only we'd known before" Agnar sighed.
"If only I'd listened to Hiccup" Stoick shook his head.
"Don't beat yourself up Chief; I didn't believe him either until I saw it with me own eyes" Gobber confessed as everyone mumbled in agreement.
"Well when he wakes up, he's getting a big sloppy kiss from me" Sigrid grinned.
"If you try that, you'll probably get Astrids axe flying at your head" Gobber noted as everyone laughed.
WARNING: HTTYD 2 SPOILER ALERT. I originally wrote the bit where Stoick says to Gobber that it is his job to die for Hiccup and not Astrids, months before the second movie came out so it was a bit freaky when it happened. As I said in chapter 16, I am not psychic! Most of what I write never happens in life or fiction, but I do predict that you are going to love all my future stories and write glowing reviews (it's moments like these that I wish I had a Theremin playing in the background).