That night, Caverna made a promise to keep Iris' baby a secret but to also offer the woman her protection, and she even went as far as to swear the warrior promise so that Iris knew that she would do as asked. Together, they walked up to the Great Hall and found the table where Caverna's friends and boyfriend where, before Caverna brought her up to the chief's table to meet her brother and his wife.
"Hiccup, Astrid." Caverna spoke, causing the two to look at her and smile in welcome.
"Caverna, will you and your friend be joining us?" Hiccup asked.
"Yes please, Great Dragon Master." Iris spoke, and she took the seat beside Astrid as Caverna sat on the other side of her brother.
"Hiccup, Astrid, this is Iris, Iris this is my brother Hiccup and his wife Astrid." Caverna introduced before she explained to her brother that Iris was living with her in the Haddock house.
Hiccup was happy with that, and the four started to eat, occasionally joining in with each other's conversations. Iris got on really well with Astrid and Hiccup, and this pleased Caverna, though she kept this quiet, even the smile on her face wasn't easily seen.
"Caverna, had Lightning come home yet?" Astrid asked after a while.
"No, not yet, but I'm not worried, he's a big boy." Caverna told her, she sounded confident, so this put Astrid at rest.
The rest of the night went smoothly, with all four of them eating their fill and making good conversation that was happy and light, before Caverna turned serious towards the end of the night.
"Hiccup, tomorrow night we need to discuss something, it's something important." She told him when they were getting ready to head home.
Hiccup looked at her and nodded. "Aright Caverna, meet me in the Great Hall tomorrow."
Caverna nodded and they bid their farewells, before she and Iris headed back to the house, and when they were away from them, Iris looked at her.
"You made a warrior promise not to tell anyone."
"I made a promise not to tell him your secret and to protect you, I'm still keeping those promises, but my brother needs to be warned against a possible war, don't worry he won't find out anything you don't want him to." Caverna assured her.
Iris nodded, letting the subject go at that point, she knew that Caverna was right, and both stayed quiet as they walked to the house, and Iris went straight to her room as Caverna shut the door and brought her another blanket and a pillow. When she was comfortable, Caverna left her to sleep before she went up to her own room and just lay on her bed, facing the window, waiting for the telltale sign that her boy was back, and for the whole night, she never got one. The next morning, Caverna was up early and she went down to the stables, finding only Snowcap in there and she sighed, waking her dragon as she put a basket of fish beside her.
Whilst her dragon was eating, Caverna went to get her saddle, and when she returned she found that Snowcap was sat in front of her brother's bed, wondering the same question that she was: Where was Lightning?
"I'm sure he's fine." Caverna told her, scratching her ears, before she put the saddle on her back and fastened it.
Snowcap whined softly, before rider and dragon walked out of the stables and found Iris waiting for them.
"I was about to go to the Great Hall to find you...She's beautiful." She told her when she saw Snowcap. "What's her name?"
"Her name is Snowcap." Caverna told her.
"Can I touch her?" She asked.
"You'd have to ask her." Caverna told her.
"May I?" Iris asked the dragon, who simply bowed her head to her and Iris took this as the sign that it was okay to touch, and she rested her hand on top of the dragon's head. "She's amazing."
Caverna smiled. "She is, now come on we need to get to the Great Hall." She told the two and all three of them started walking towards the Great Hall.
When they got there, they were greeted with the sight of Hiccup and Toothless, with Hiccup sitting in the Chief's chair and Toothless sat beside him. At seeing Toothless, Snowcap ran up to him and the both shared a loving nuzzle, before Hiccup and Caverna shared a hug as a greeting.
"What was it you wanted to speak to me about?" Hiccup asked, sitting back in the throne as Iris stood next to Caverna at the bottom of the steps that led up to it.
"We need to speak about a possible war." Caverna told him.
"What do you mean; we are at peace with everybody." Hiccup told her.
"Not with the Berserker tribe." Caverna told him.
"Why would Dagur cause war with us?" Hiccup asked.
Caverna gestured to Iris. "He tried to kill her, he failed, who's to say that he won't try again?"
"Why does he want to kill you anyway Iris?" Hiccup asked.
Iris just looked at Caverna in fear, before Caverna simply nodded to her. "He's the chief, he won't judge."
Iris nodded, before she told Hiccup what she had told Caverna and she watched his expression change to that of disbelief and then amazement and then horror at the thought that even someone as deranged as Dagur could do that to someone.
"Don't worry Iris, he won't hurt you again." Hiccup promised.
"There's one thing though, I know that I might not look it, but I'm really nearly full term, I just tie my bands tighter and tighter each time and don't eat." She told them. "Just so he didn't find out, but my mother told him before he killed her." She started to cry.
"Everything is going to be alright." Caverna promised, looking over at her brother. "Right Hiccup?"
Hiccup nodded. "Of course." He looked at the door as it opened and Astrid walked in with Gothi and Astrid was beaming.
Astrid saw the look on Iris' face and the determination on both Hiccup and Caverna's faces and her smile turned from pure happiness to uncertainty.
"What's going on?" Astrid asked.
"We'll have to tell you later." Caverna told her. "Lightning still isn't home, so Snowcap and I were going out to look for him and Iris could come if she wanted."
"Oh, um, could you wait a few minutes, there's something that I've got to tell you." Astrid told them.
"What is it m'lady?" Hiccup asked, getting up.
"I visited Gothi this morning and she's confirmed it, Hiccup you're going to be a dad again." Astrid told him, her beaming smile coming back and replacing all uncertainty that she was feeling.
Hiccup stood there for a few seconds, before h suddenly swooped Astrid up into his arms. "That's brilliant news m'lady." He smiled, before he put her down. "I'm going to be a dad...I'm going to be a dad..." He whispered before he suddenly fainted with a thud and it caused Astrid and Caverna to burst out laughing.
"Um..Is he okay?" Iris asked.
"Yeah he's fine." Caverna laughed. "My poor older brother has a weak hart for news like this." She pulled a vial from her pouch that was attached to the belt that held her swords and she popped the cork putting it under her brother's nose and watched him jolt awake again and whilst Astrid went to get him a drink, she hoisted him up into the Chief's chair.
"You really need to stop fainting." She told him, watching Astrid hand him a mug of mead.
"I know...I was just...shocked..." He told them as he drank his mead, gaining some courage to stand up properly.
When Caverna had stopped laughing at her brother, and Hiccup was able to be, well, Hiccup, Caverna got ready to fly out.
"Um, chief, would it be okay if I stayed here with you?" Iris asked. "I'm not fond of flying."
"Yeah, that's fine Iris." Hiccup nodded.
Iris smiled as she watched Caverna climb onto Snowcap's back after she had finished nuzzling Toothless and Hiccup kiss Astrid before she climbed onto her dragon's back, before both flew out of the Great Hall, after Astrid promised to be careful, and Caverna promised to keep an eye on her. When they were outside of the Great Hall, Caverna and Astrid had their dragons hover in the air, as Caverna pulled out her horn and she blew it, signalling for the dragon riders to join them. Eret was the first to join them, since he had been up for a while, and he jumped onto Skullcrusher's back as soon as he had gotten outside. The next to join them was Snotlout, who had been woken up by the horn and hurriedly gotten dressed and onto Hookfang, shield and war hammer at the ready. Then came Fishlegs, who had also woken up to the sound of the horn, and finally came the twins, who were arguing as they got to them.
"What's up Caverna?" Eret asked.
"Lightning didn't come home last night, so we are splitting into teams to find him, Fishlegs, I'm sorry love but you'll have to be on your own the South this time, the twins will search North or Berk, Snotlout and Eret, the East and Astrid and I will take the West. If we find him or any trace of him, we send word through our Tiny Terrors." Caverna told them. "Is that clear to everyone?"
"Of course." Fishlegs nodded. "Be careful." He told her before he flew off, and Astrid and Caverna waited until everyone had flown off in their own directions, before they went out in theirs.
They flew for a while, both girls placing comforting hands on their dragons every few minutes, they searched many islands, all of them coming up empty, as the landed on one island to rest, Stormfly and Snowcap both seemed pretty glum.
"Hey, don't worry girl, we'll find him, he can't have gone far in one night." Astrid told her Nadder, gently stroking her scales.
"Is it true Snowcap, will he be alright?" Stormfly asked her dragon companion.
"I have to believe that he will be." Snowcap told her. "My egg brother is strong, even with an injury he will fight to come home to us, the fact that he hasn't come home yet, is worrying enough."
"Sorry for being vain and shallow in our hour of worry, but what if he's found another Nadder, one is much more beautiful than I?" She fretted and Snowcap walked over and nudged her.
"Hey, don't think like that, Lightning is a male but he isn't that shallow, he loves you Stormfly, and nothing is going to keep him from you." Snowcap promised.
"I suppose you're right." She looked over at their riders who were sharing a drink from a canteen that Caverna had brought. "They worry as well, right?"
Snowcap simply nodded, looking at her human mother in worry, she worried for her small family, and what trouble was to befall on them now if they couldn't find her egg brother.
"Are you alright?" Caverna asked Astrid as they sat against a rock.
"Yeah, I'm just worried for Lightning; the girls look worried and scared." Astrid told her, looking at the two female dragons opposite them.
"Yeah, me too." Caverna sighed, watching as Snowcap walked over to the lake that they were nearby and she sniffed the water before taking a drink.
Meanwhile, Snotlout and Eret were flying around some islands and they hadn't found anyone either, until Hookfang suddenly dived for the ground.
"Whoa, Hookfang, what the hell?" Snotlout shouted.
"Snotlout, what's up?" Eret asked, following him and both of them landed and Hookfang sniffed from footprints. "Hey, Deadly Nadders have three toes right?"
"Yeah, at least Lightning and Stormfly do." Snotlout told him. "And look, one of them has blood in, and it looks like the same foot that Lightning had his cut on." He looked back at Skullcrusher. "Can you track him?"
Skullcrusher looked up at the boy before he nodded and when Eret had climbed onto his saddle, Skullcrusher went off, following the footprints until he flew into the air. They didn't fly for long, before they got to the edge of the island and below them, they saw a ship.
"That's not one of ours is it?" Eret asked, pointing down to the boat.
"No...That's one of Dagurs!" Snotlout told him. "And look!" He pointed to the boat where they were a show of purple, and the calls of a Deadly Nadder that rang familiar to both of them. "Dagur's got Lightning!"
"We need to get back and get Caverna, and Hiccup." Eret told him.
"This means war, and neither of them are going to let Dagur live after this, especially not Caverna if Lightning is harmed." Snotlout told them as they had their dragons fly back as fast as they could.
However, Dagur was on the ship and he held an evil smirk as he watched the two men fly away, before he heard a thud followed by the calls of a Nadder and he turned to face Lightning. "Oh will you shut up!" He shouted at the dragon. "She isn't coming, your precious mother doesn't care about you or they would have saved you!"
Lightning looked at him with eyes full of hatred, but he didn't stop trying to get free from his chains. "I'm going to kill you, you pathetic little human, slowly and painfully I will end you."
"Set sail for Berk, his poor mother will be missing her child; we must return him to her." Dagur smirked. "And get back my prize."
"But Sir, what happens if they don't give up the girl for the dragon?" One of his sailors asked.
"Then we kill the dragon, that stupid Iris and her unborn brat, as well as those dragon riders, and we burn Berk to the ground!" He told him. "But we will leave Caverna alive to witness everything."
"But won't she take down everyone she comes up against?"
"When we kill her dragon, she'll lose all cause to fight." Dagur promised them. "Now set sail for Berk!" He ordered.
Lightning heard it all, and he looked up at the sky for any signs of his mate, his egg sister or his human mother, he found none, but he knew that none of them would let him die; he had faith in the small family of his, and he knew that that was something that Dagur could never understand.
By the time Snotlout and Eret had returned to Berk, everyone was gathered with Hiccup, telling him what they had seen, but nothing compared to what Snotlout and Eret had seen, the only problem was that the one person that they needed wasn't there.
"Where's Caverna?" Snotlout asked the minute that he dismounted from Hookfang's saddle.
"Caverna and Astrid are on their way back, why what's up Snotlout, you look like you've seen a ghost." Ruffnut told him, walking over.
"Sort of...Hiccup, Dagur has Lightning." Snotlout told him.
Hiccup had almost frozen, he knew that this now meant war, but it also meant that Caverna was going to hit the roof when she found out.
"And we think he's coming here." Eret told him.
"When Caverna gets here, send both her and Astrid up to the Great Hall, the rest of you gather the other warriors, and meet me in the Great Hall." Hiccup told them, before he climbed onto Toothless' saddle and the pair flew off towards the Great Hall.
"I'll stay and wait for the girls; you guys should go and get the warriors." Fishlegs told them.
"Sounds fair, I mean Meatlug is the slowest, so we can gather the dragons faster." Tuffnut told them.
"See?" Fishlegs asked.
Everyone nodded, flying off, before Fishlegs climbed up onto his saddle and waited. He wasn't waiting for long before he saw two dots in the distance, flying closer and suddenly Stormfly and Snowcap were landing on the ground.
"Fishlegs, any news?" Caverna asked.
"Yeah...Hiccup wants us all to get to the Great Hall, right away." Fishlegs told her.
With a nod, they all flew off into the Great Hall, dismounting as they got to the stairs and they all ran up them, the dragons staying outside with the others.
"What's happening?" Stormfly squawked as she found the other dragons, she sounded anxious and nervous about what she was possibly about to hear.
"My rider and Skullcrusher and the other boy found Lightning." Hookfang told her.
"Is he alright, did you bring him home?"
"Stormfly, relax." Meatlug told her, nudging her.
"How can I relax when my mate could possibly be wounded or worse?" She screeched.
"Stormfly!" Snowcap suddenly shouted over the noise the Deadly Nadder was making. "Let Hookfang finish." She looked at Hookfang. "Go on Hookfang."
"Dagur has him." Hookfang told them. "We don't know what he plans to do with him, but knowing that strange little human, this isn't going to be good."
"Then why are we standing around, we have to go and find him!" Stormfly insisted.
"No, we need to wait for our riders and Toothless, they will know what to do." Snowcap told her.
Stormfly looked at them before she sighed. "Fine." She then moved to sit down in the ground, and she put her head under her wing, hiding from view as she started to almost cry.
Meanwhile, in the Great Hall, Caverna had just been told the news of where her dragon was and she seemed to be taking it rather well.
"So, what do we do?" She asked her brother who was stood at the head of the table opposite her.
"This will mean that we go to war." Hiccup sighed. "But it can't be avoided this time, Dagur has taken one of our dragons, which goes against our treaty, this means that we go to war."
"But he's going to offer you a settlement first." Iris spoke up. "He will want to trade your dragon for me...Why don't you take the trade?"
"Because, even if we did surrender you to him, he could still try and destroy us." Fishlegs told her.
"So that settles it, we fight him." Snotlout told them, putting his war hammer on the table.
"Cousin, your thoughts on suicide are inspiring, but I have a better idea." Caverna told him.
"What is it Caverna?" Astrid asked.
Caverna just smiled, before she started to tell them all her plan, and it was very easy to do with a high chance of success, so naturally, they went for it.
The next day, everyone was hard at work on making and sharpening weapons, making and fixing armour and getting ready for battle. The dragon riders were each taking it in turns for century duty and keeping an eye on the sea for any signs of Dagur. On this day, it was Caverna's turn and she was sat on the cliff edge with Snowcap and Iris.
"The ocean is beautiful, isn't it?" Iris asked.
"Yeah, it is." Caverna smiled.
"I once dreamt of sailing to the ends of the Earth, just to see what was out there." She smiled. "Have you ever been out past the archipelago?"
"A few times, my brother, sister-in-law and I would see how far out we could get and find new islands and new dragons, but then he became chief and I haven't had the time to go out there." Caverna sighed. "Sometimes I wish I'd travelled a lot more, but then I probably wouldn't have found my real family."
"Caverna...I have something to ask of you." Iris asked her.
Caverna looked at her. "What is it?"
"Well, I know that we've only known each other for a couple of days...But I know that you honour your word and that you're loyal and protective..."
"Iris, where is this going?" Caverna asked her.
"I wanted to know, whether if something happens to me which means that I won't see my baby grow up...Then...Will you...Will you be my child's mother?" She asked, hiding her face from the warrior who sat beside her.
Caverna was silent for a while, before she looked at her. "Speaking if this is a big if, but yes I will act as mother to your child if the need arises, because I take it as an honour to raise a child whose mother had strength of heart to rival that of my own."
Iris looked at her and she smiled seeing that she had a look of seriousness in her eyes and she suddenly threw her arms around her in a hug. "Thank you Caverna, thank you."
"You're very welcome." Caverna smiled, hugging her back.
However, their moment was broken by a growl and a snarl from Snowcap, and both women pulled away and Caverna got to her feet, looking out at the ocean and she saw Dagur's ship.
"Iris, get the horn from my saddlebag." Caverna told her. "Today has just got a bit more interesting."
Iris nodded and done as she told, watching as Caverna took the horn that was handed to her and she blew it, the sound carrying over Berk.
"Stay here." Caverna told her as she climbed onto Snowcap's back and flew off towards the ship.
Meanwhile, in the Great Hall, Hiccup was discussing battle strategies with his best warriors and reluctantly for him this involved Astrid.
"Do you think Caverna's plan is going to work?" Snotlout asked from where he stood next to his cousin, looking over the idea of the plan.
"I hope so." Hiccup told him, before they all looked up as they heard horn. "Warriors get ready that was the warning." He pulled on his armour as Astrid got onto Stormfly's back, putting her battle axe in place, Snotlout climbed onto Hookfang, brandishing his hammer and shield, and Fishlegs waited by the doors, . When he was ready, he walked over to Astrid.
"Be careful out there, I don't want either of you hurt." Hiccup told her.
"We'll be fine, you and Toothless be careful too."
Hiccup smiled, scratching Stormfly's chin. "Look after them Stormfly."
Stormfly nodded her head as a promise, before both rider and dragon watched Hiccup climb onto Toothless' back. Astrid looked down at her still fairly flat stomach and she gently rested a hand on it.
"I'll be careful with you; I won't lose you this time." She told herself in her head, before she threw herself back into the mind of battle. Then they all waited, ready for battle, and ready for the signal.
However, Caverna wasn't thinking of bringing her family and friends into it right now, she'd come up against the Skrill and she had been dropped into the water as planned by Snowcap, and she was now swimming below the boat, where she saw the next stage of her plan – the Scauldron. Pulling out the horn, she blew it underwater and the Scauldron swam over, where Caverna rested a hand on its head and she pointed up at the boat, then with a nod, it was gone. However, Caverna put her head out of the water, just in time to see the Scauldron rise out of the water and shoot hot water blasts at any soldiers it could, then whilst they were occupied, she climbed onto the boat, as silent and as invisible as possible. She saw her dragon tied up in chains, and this enraged her, but she kept the fire at bay, only letting it show in her eyes before she slid over to him, but managed to keep his quiet.
"Well, well, I was wondering when the mother hen would return."
The maniacal voice came from Dagur, who stood behind her and after a few minutes, Caverna turned around.
"Give me back my dragon Dagur and this doesn't have to get any worse." Caverna told him.
"Well, actually, it does, because I want that whore dead, and you want your dragon, so unless I get what I want, I will kill your dragon, that whore, that thing she carries and you and your family, friends etc." He told her with a wave of his hand.
"And I will rip you limb from limb." She told him, pulling her horn from her pocket. "But I'm not doing it alone."
However, before she could get it to her lips, one of Dagur's men grabbed her from behind and pinned her hands to her side, but it caused her to drop the horn.
"Not looking so good now, are you Leather Warrior." Dagur told her, holding the blade of his sword to her neck.
"You should know by now, I always have a plan B." She told him, before she suddenly kicked one of the metal balls that held down Lightning's chains and ignoring the crack that came with it of the bone in her foot breaking, she watched as Lightning was released. He shook off the chains and straightened out, suddenly giving a Deadly Nadder call before he hit the man who had hold of Caverna, with his tail, having just enough force for him to release her, and he soon advanced on Dagur, spines bristling. As Lightning kept Dagur at bay, Caverna threw herself for her horn, and she put it to her lips just as some soldiers came from her, and she blew it as hard as she could.
Back in the Great Hall, everyone was getting restless, wondering what was keeping Caverna so long from asking for their help, and some of the Vikings even speculated that she had been captured, but Hiccup and Valka tried to ignore them.
"She's alright, right?" Hiccup asked his mother as she came up on Cloudjumper beside him.
"She's alright." Valka nodded. "She has to be, she has her father's spirit."
Hiccup smiled at that, but it fell when he heard Eret's voice. "Maybe he's captured her, and he's torturing her, hoping to bring us out."
"Eret, shut up!" Hiccup suddenly snapped, causing everyone to jump.
"Wait!" Astrid suddenly cried before the two men started to argue. "Listen!"
As everyone listened, they heard the faint sound of the horn, and they all had a small smile of relief on their faces.
"It's Caverna!" Snotlout shouted, spurring Hiccup into action.
"Dragon Rider's, Warriors and Defenders of Berk, lets save our battle sister and stop Dagur once and for all!" Hiccup told them and they all let out a battle cry as they readied their weapons, and Hiccup pulled down his mask, before the doors of the Great Hall opened and everyone flew out to the cheers of the rest of the village. As they raced towards Dagur's ship, they found Snowcap and the Skrill, and Snowcap was already bleeding from her wounds.
"Snotlout, Eret, Astrid, get rid of the Skrill, and then help us." Hiccup told them.
"On it!" They all shouted, before they flew off to help Snowcap.
When they got to Dagur's ship, they found Caverna fighting off two soldiers as Lightning was still advancing on Dagur and both dragon and human were in a fight, Lightning trying to hit him with a spine, or missing on purpose in hopes of scaring him, either way, he never hit him.
"Caverna!" Hiccup shouted, but this wasn't his smartest move as it distracted Caverna who looked up, but as she looked up, she was pushed overboard. "No!"
At hearing the splash of Caverna being thrown into the water, Lightning stopped and he looked around for her, before he realised what had happened and he suddenly dived into the water after her. Watching the water, everyone saw the bubbles slowly die until they were no more and the Berkians all sat in their saddles watching in amazement, before they all heard Dagur's deranged laugh.
"At least the 'Leather Warrior' has been dealt with!" He crowed, his men all applauding him, whilst the Berkians held their heads in mourning, but soon they wondered why. After a few seconds, something shot out of the water with a battle cry and they saw Caverna being launched out of the water screaming a battle cry as she tackled Dagur to the floor of the boat and Lightning flew above her, ready to fire at any warriors who came by.
At seeing her and Dagur start fighting, the Berkians all cheered her on, before they too returned to fighting. Meanwhile, Dagur and Caverna were locked in the heat of battle, each of them aiming to kill the other.
"She told me everything." Caverna told him as they circled each other.
"Oh really?" Dagur asked a horrible grin on his face.
"Yes, she told me how you wished it was me, and how you'd make me relive what happened to me over and over again." She seethed, and the more she spoke about what Iris had told her, the angrier she got, and the better she got with her swords, and suddenly she had Dagur on the floor, cowering, his weapons miles away from him, and around them everyone had stopped to take in the scene. Caverna stood above Dagur a sword drawn and held above her head, ready to plunge into his body for the final strike, but she paused.
"Please...Caverna...Please don't do this." Dagur begged.
"Caverna, you don't have to kill him." Valka called to her.
"Kill him Caverna, the bastard deserves it." Eret shouted, some other Vikings joining in with him in agreement.
"Caverna, think this through." Astrid told her as she walked over. "Don't be a murderer like him, be you, be the Leather Warrior, and be Caverna Haddock."
Caverna looked at her, before she brought the sword down and sheathed it. "Leave these waters Dagur, or next time you come here, I will kill you."
She promised, before she and Astrid went back to their dragons, however as they were about to climb onto their dragons, someone shouted for them to look out and they turned to find Dagur running at them holding a dagger. At seeing the danger, Caverna used herself as a shield for Astrid, but before the blade could fall, there was a splash and they all looked to find Lightning stood in front of the girls and Dagur floating in the sea. With that, Caverna jumped up onto her dragons back as Snowcap flew above them and they soon flew alongside each other, as everyone headed home.
Later that night, Caverna had patched up Snowcap and she was now settled with Toothless in his stable, whilst Lightning was eating his way through his second basket of fish, but no one blamed him, they doubted that Dagur had even thought to feed him whilst he had been his captive. And Stormfly certainly didn't mind, she was too busy sitting in their nest of hay watching him, but she noticed that something wasn't right about him, he was more scared.
"What did that deranged human do to you?" She asked him once he had joined her in their nest.
"Nothing I couldn't handle." He told her.
"Lightning, no jokes, no bravado, and tell me what he did to you."
"He weighed me down with metal balls and chains, I should have been able to break free and not have to have you or my egg sister and human mother coming to rescue me." He sighed. "He could have killed you all, and if he didn't then his Skrill certainly could have."
"Lightning, my love, it's alright nothing was ever going to happen to us." Stormfly told him, nuzzling him, and just then she saw it, the fragile Lightning. The bit of himself that he'd kept hidden since his first attack when he was a baby, the side that he hid with all of his bravado and anger. And if she was honest, she liked this side just as much as his regular ones.
"Everything is going to be okay now my love." She promised him, watching him settle and soon fall asleep beside her. "It's my turn to keep you safe, and believe me, I will."
Meanwhile, in the Haddock house, Caverna was getting ready for bed, when she heard a knock on her bedroom door.
"Come in." She called and she watched Iris push the door open. "Hey Iris, what's up?"
"I was just coming to thank you for everything that you did today, for not handing me and my child over to Dagur, and for keeping your promise." She smiled.
"You're very welcome." Caverna nodded, taking off her flight jacket and putting it on the edge of her bed.
"I also wanted to thank you for saying that you would look after my child if anything was to happen to me, but I wanted to know, does that still count for after today?" She asked.
"Like if you died of an illness or something once the child is born?" Caverna asked and when Iris nodded, she thought about it. "Yeah I guess so." Caverna smiled. "Like I told you, it would be an honour to look after your child Iris." She smiled.
Iris smiled and that was where the two left the conversation that night, with Iris heading to her room to sleep and Caverna climbing under her bear skin blanket before blowing out the candle and falling asleep easily.