[Stoick and Gobber fly through a hailstorm]
Stoick: Boar-headed! Just like his mother! She could never stay put either.
Gobber: Ah, he's just twenty. And a Viking. I mean, could there be a worse combination? Ha! When I think of how stubborn and senseless YOU were back in the day... well, not much has changed, actually.
"Good old Gobber, hasn't changed a bit..." Hiccup murmured, chuckling.
Stoick: You know what he's like. He won't give up, Gobber. And if Hiccup finds Drago, before we find him...
Gobber: Bah! Nothing can hurt Hiccup so long as that Night Fury's around. It's a NIGHT FURY!
[Stoick notices Hiccup's helmet floating in the water where Toothless fell. He grabs it.]
"Oh gods, I'm never going to hear the end of this..."
Stoick: Find him, Skullcrusher. Find him.
[Skullcrusher roars]
The gang of teens watch the dragon in awe.
"Is that a tracker? That's so cool!" Fishlegs gaped, mentally noting anything possible about new dragons.
"Yeah, great..." Hiccup agreed, half-heartedly. As amazing as he found the dragon, it was evidently going to find him- and that meant trouble! The young boy's thoughts were distracted however when he heard a noise from the back of the otherwise empty room. Astrid heard as well and scanned the teens' heads, trying to search for anyone in the abandoned area.
Though their eyes were unable to adjust to the darkness, they focused in on approaching footsteps. Finally stepping into the light, a teenaged girl appeared. The teens, too nervous and confused to care, only somewhat registered when the movie stopped itself, almost as if by magic.
Noticing the astonished looks at the sudden appearance, the girl introduced herself, allowing herself to be examined.
"Hey there! Uh, I'm Deiya, the person who brought you here..." It was a bit awkward watching Deiya, pale skin blushing and bringing out both the grey of her eyes as well as the mousy color of her hair. She reminded them all a bit of Hiccup, in a way, though she also gave them a very different vibe.
"So you're the one who put the glory egg thing on Berk?" Tuffnut questioned Deiya, squinting at her outfit. She had pants on similar to those that the Astrid of the future wore, but her shirt was something completely foreign to the teens; it was a pale blue material much cleaner than that which was found on Berk.
The stranger lit up at the chance to explain. "Yeah! I needed you all to see this, and it seemed like the best way of going about things."
Astrid was the next to question Deiya. "Why didn't you stay and explain? We could've used your help..." She made no effort in hiding her annoyance, hoping to set off an intimidating vibe as a first impression. Plus, she wasn't lying when she said they could've used her help!
"Oh...sorry about that! I had to go find some, er, guests. I'll be bringing them in shortly." She added quickly, curbing any unnecessary interruptions. "It took a bit longer than anticipated to find them and convince them that they should visit you. That's why I made sure to leave a note; my first language is a bit different, so it was a tad sloppy. Sorry."
"Alright, that makes sense...but how did you get here? You don't look much like the run-of-the-mill Viking, which is saying something coming from a hiccup..." Hiccup finally spoke up, asking what had been chewing on his mind since the girl first arrived.
"Ooh, Hiccup's asking some tricky questions!" They all gaped at her; sure, she'd brought them there, but they hadn't expected her to know their names! "Basically, I can surf through time at will, under a certain set of codes and restrictions...I come from a time thousands of years in the future, which is why I look so strange. I come from an organization of members known as 'Elitists', so I'm also a dragon rider and even a bit of a sorcerer. The whole kit-and-caboodle!" She laughed through the awkward tension filling the room, before deciding to prove herself. She snapped her fingers and in an instant she was standing right beside Hiccup.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut were impressed for merely a moment before losing interest.
"Can we play the movie again?" Ruff asked, bored out of her skull. Snotlout rolled his eyes, and huffed. Deiya chewed her bottom lip, glancing toward a darkened door at the back of the room.
"Okay...our guests should be here soon enough, and it won't hurt to watch just a bit more of the action without them." In response to her reply, the screen continued moving, and the girl settled next to Hiccup.
Hiccup: Hold on! Wait just a minute!
Valka: This way.
Hiccup: Come back here!
Valka: Come.
Hiccup: You can't just say something like that and run off! You're my MOTHER?! I mean, what the- do- do you grasp how insane it sounds?!
Valka: Come! Quickly!
Hiccup: I have questions! Where have you been all this time?! What've you been doing?! They said you were dead! Everyone thinks you were eaten by...
"Aww, Hiccup!" Astrid couldn't help but pity the boy; the way he interrogated his mother struck a chord in her she wasn't even aware she possessed. She immediately hushed when she saw Deiya glancing knowingly at the two.
[Hiccup goes through an opening, leading to the Dragon's Sanctuary]
[Valka and Cloudjumper hang high]
Hiccup: This is where you've been for twenty years?
[Valka nods]
Hiccup: You've been rescuing them. [Nods again, this time, smiling] Unbelievable.
Valka: You're not upset?
Hiccup: What? No. I don't know. It's a bit much to get my head around, to be frank. It's not every day you find out your mother is some kind of crazy, feral, vigilante dragon lady.
Laughs came from all around at his description, with even Fishlegs chuckling a bit to himself. They couldn't deny its accuracy, either!
Valka: Oh, ha-ha-ha. At least I'm not boring... right?
Hiccup: Well, I suppose there is that... one... specific... thing.
Valka: Do you… do you like it?
Hiccup: I-I… I don't have the words.
[Toothless is seen surrounded by curious dragons; frustrated, he scares them off]
Valka: Can-Can I...?
Valka: Oh, he's beautiful! Oh, ha. Oh, incredible! And he might very well be the last of his kind. And look, he's your age! Ha, no wonder you get along so well. And retractable teeth! Ah! How did you manage to-
"Wait, he's my age? That is so aweso- hold up, she wants to know about how we met. Oh gods, if one parent doesn't kill me, the other will."
"Ha! Not too good with first impressions, are you? I almost feel bad for you, your luck is simply terrible!" Snotlout jeered, aggravating Hiccup and Astrid. Deiya threw him a look that read strongly of unamusement, before giggling.
"Would you say it's even...horrendous?" The Elitist girl bust out laughing, the heir looking to his side in utter disbelief.
"That's...actually a first." He couldn't help but snicker.
Hiccup: I found him in the woods. He was shot down and wounded.
Valka: This Snafflefang lost his leg to one of Drago Bludvist's iron traps. This Raincutter had her wing sliced by razor netting. And this poor Hobblegrunt was blinded by a tree snare... then left to die alone and scared. And what of this? Did Drago or his trappers do this, too?
Hiccup: [Awkward laugh] Heh. Well, crazy thing is... I'm actually the one who shot him down. Hey, it's… it's okay though, he got me back. Right, bud? You couldn't save all of me, could you? You just had to make it even. So… peg leg!
Fishlegs took account of how comfortable he was with his missing appendage. "For someone who hates scars so much, you seem to have adjusted nicely to yours..."
"Fish, I would honestly rather have my leg than...this," he gestured at his leg, lacking a better way to explain. "However, it helps ease my conscience about removing Toothless' freedom so..."
Valka: What did your father think of your Night Fury friend?
Hiccup: Ah, he didn't take it all that well. But then... he changed. They all did. Pretty soon everyone back home had dragons of their own.
Valka: If only it were possible.
"Ooh, someone sounds bitter." Tuffnut spoke up after having spent the last few minutes picking at a scab.
Hiccup: No, really, I-
Valka: Believe me, I tried, as well. But people are not capable of change, Hiccup. Some of us... were just born different.
[Flashback starts]
Valka: Berk was a land of kill or be killed, but I believed peace was possible.
"Stop! You'll only make it worse!" It was a very unpopular opinion.
[A dragon breaks into their home]
"Hiccup!" Then, one night, a dragon broke into our house, finding you in the cradle. I rushed to protect you, but what I saw... was proof of everything I believed. This wasn't a vicious beast, but an intelligent, gentle creature, whose soul reflected my own.
"Dramatic backstory aside, you were a really cute baby!" Astrid squealed despite herself. Deiya nodded ferociously in agreement, accompanied by a more subtle nod from Fish.
"This is so weird..." Ruff whispered, perplexed. "It's a past, present, and future Hiccup all in one room." The others shifted nervously, uncomfortable at the sudden revelation. It was just a bit strange.
Something else in Hiccup seemed to click as well. "So that explains how I got the scar, then."
[Stoick throws an axe between Cloudjumper and Valka]
"Stoick: Valka, run!"
[Cloudjumper fires at Stoick and Valka tugs on him]
"No! Don't!"
"Stoick: Hold on!"
"Valka: No! Ah, Stoick!"
[Valka gets carried away]
"Stoick: Valka!"
"Valka: Stoick!"
"Stoick: [Whispers] Valka…"
[Flashback ends]
Valka: You and your father nearly died that night, all because I couldn't kill a dragon.
Hiccup: Yeah, it runs in the family.
Valka: It broke my heart to stay away, but I believed you'd be safer if I did.
Hiccup: How did you survive?
Hiccup's ears were once again drawn towards the back of the room. Had he imagined that weird thunking noise, or had it been there the whole time? The metallic ring to it seemed a bit familiar, so he decided on the latter.
Valka: Oh, Cloudjumper never meant to harm me. He must've thought I belonged here. In the home of the great Bewilderbeast! The alpha species. One of the very few that still exist. Every nest has its queen but this is the king of all dragons.
Valka: With his icy breath, this graceful giant built our nest. A safe haven for dragons everywhere.
Hiccup: Wait, that's the ice spitter? He's responsible for all that destruction?
Valka: He protects us. We all live under his care. And his command. All but the babies, of course... who listen to no one!
"Just like us!" The twins head butted. Deiya shivered at how similar the were to their future counterparts, knowing already how the movie would play out.
Valka: I've lived among them for twenty years, Hiccup, learning their ways, discovering their secrets.
[Valka's Bewilderbeast blows ice gently onto Hiccup]
Valka: Ha-ha, he likes you.
Hiccup: Wow.
All of the teens repeated words of amazement at the gentle giant's appearance. Once the murmuring had stopped, Hiccup once again heard the metallic thud in the back of the room. He could now hear yet another familiar sound, 4 thumps pounding in a row, and two muffled and whiter thuds. This definitely wasn't here before; perhaps these were the guests arriving? That would mean he most likely knew them; but who were they?
Valka: You must be hungry,
Hiccup: Uh, yeah. I could eat.
"Only you could be so nonchalant about that babe." Astrid clamped her hand over her mouth, realizing her slip up. Apparently she had acquired a habit from herself...? Hiccup blushed violently, as cat calls erupted from around them.
Valka: Good. It's feeding time.
"Feeding time? That sounds...interesting?" Hiccup narrowed his eyes, and Deiya giggled. He was going to love this!
In their confusion by the weird phrase, no one noticed as the back door opened and in walked a tall figure sporting a metal leg, accompanied by a blonde shieldmaiden and a black dragon.
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Sorry for the short-ish and extremely awkward chapter, I just wanted to get it out of the way a bit. I'm going to start another right now, and hopefully it makes up for it! (Yes I'm aware I said that last time, but whatever, I tried...)