Smoke.
Thick black clouds of it rise into the sky, a beacon of destruction far off in the distance. With a small gesture, Cloudjumper stops to hover in the air, allowing Valka a moment of contemplation. They don't pass through this area often; it brings back difficult memories for both of them. But Valka had gotten wind of some information and passing through this area was the fastest way to deal with it. Even though it's been a long time, it only takes her a moment to determine the source of the smoke – the nest that's claimed the nearby islands as raiding territory. Approaching the nest is not something she would normally be willing to do – the Queen who resides there is dangerous and Cloudjumper was under her control for far too long to be comfortable getting close. But smoke in volumes like that? It's more than can be explained by the presence of dragons on the island. Something bad has happened, and there could be injured dragons in need of help.
"Come on Cloudjumper, let's take a look." At her decision, he heads in that direction without hesitation.
As they get closer, they have to lose some altitude to avoid the smoke. Valka coughs, choking on the ash in the air and the awful smell. The mountain is fractured, with piles of rubble all over the rocky beach. Small fires dot the island, and it takes Valka a moment to realize it's not rocks that are burning, but flesh. The pieces are large enough to be the size of a dragon, but the lack of distinguishable features indicate that they are just pieces of a much larger whole.
Turning to round the mountain reveals the source of the carnage. An enormous dragon carcass takes up the majority of the beach and much of the shallows. The sheer size of it combined with the destruction of the mountain leaves just one possibility – the Queen. And by the states of things, this was no simple death. The scattered chunks of burning remains speak of some kind of explosion. Any dragons nearby likely couldn't have survived, or would be in very poor condition.
"Take us in lower," Valka says, training her eyes to seek out characteristics that would indicate a dragon, rather than rock or flesh.
She hears him before she sees him. A long, low moan – more of a cry really. There's pain in it, but the sound is more like the lament of a dragon who has lost one of its kin. It is heartbreaking. Seeing him is more challenging, and she might not have without the sound to guide her attention. The length of his tail manages to catch her eye, but the darkness of his scales camouflages him well against the dark rocks of the beach and the ash that coats everything. While there are numerous dragons that have black scales, the details she can see as they get closer distinguish it as a quite rare dragon – a Night Fury.
Cloudjumper touches down nearby and Valka dismounts, creeping forward slowly and cautiously to avoid spooking the Night Fury. The rocks shift underneath her feet as she steps closer. Instantly, the dragon's vibrant green eyes fly open and lock onto her. A low growl rumbles up his throat – it's weak, but the warning message is clear. Pausing, Valka crouches lower, proceeding nearly on all fours while making her movements as fluid and dragon-like as possible. But rather than relaxing at the change, the Night Fury's growling intensifies. It is unusual for dragons to respond worse to her dragon-like mannerisms than her human ones. It's not entirely unheard of though, usually in dragons that are unfamiliar with humans but used to territorial disputes with other dragons.
Willing to adapt, Valka rises back to her full height and removes her horned mask. The Night Fury relaxes marginally at the sight of her human features and when she resumes her approach, he watches warily but silently. She counts the absence of growling as a victory. The progress is slow, but she doesn't want to push the fragile trust she is currently work with.
Once she is close enough, Valka raises her hand slowly with her palm facing the ground. Tentatively, the Night Fury inhales enough to catch her scent. Even though she has lived with dragons for nearly fifteen years now, she still isn't entirely sure what dragons are able to figure out from scent, but she knows it is important to them. Whatever the Night Fury smells on her calms him, and he allows her to take the final step closer.
He doesn't appear to be bleeding from anywhere. The base of his left wing looks like it might be a bit swollen, but it is difficult to tell with how he has his wings cocooned around himself. The positioning has her wondering if he is protecting some kind of wound on his torso. Valka reaches out and lightly caresses his wing, using the gentle touch to ask permission to take a closer look. The Night Fury hesitates before slowly unfurling his wing. Fully expecting to see a gruesome wound, the sight of a human boy tucked up against his chest steals the breath from her lungs.
The realization hits her. "This is who you were crying for." It surprises her, but not entirely. After all, since she was able to bond so closely with Cloudjumper, it isn't out of the realm of possibility that someone else could bond with a dragon in a similar way. And based off the way the Night Fury was crying out, these two are very close.
The boy is filthy. Soot and ash cover him almost entirely. A closer look has her noticing the blood running down the left side of his face. It appears to be just a small head wound near his hairline, but with him being unconscious there is no way of telling the severity. He could be concussed, or worse. Moving her gaze downwards, she doesn't notice any blood leaking through his tunic and his arms don't appear bent in any way that would indicate fractures. But then she sees what's left of his foot, and has to swallow back bile. Just below his left knee is a mangled mess that used to be the boy's foot. His boot has come off, showing the discolored skin and clearly broken bones. No, not broken – crushed. It's been a long time since she's been exposed to human injuries, but before she left her village, she'd helped the healer a time or two, and an injury like this? There is no salvaging the foot. Amputation is the only way to help him.
The Night Fury must see the stony look that has crossed her face, because he lets out another pleading whine.
"I know boy," Valka says. "I won't lie to you. He's badly hurt, and I can't heal him. But we can get him help. May I?" She reaches out, and the Night Fury lets her take the boy. Her touch is gentle, trying not to cause him any additional pain. No longer cradling him, the Night Fury rises to his feet, only to immediately come to sit beside her. Slowly and carefully, he begins to lick at the boy's face, cleaning it of soot and blood. The boy doesn't even flinch, still completely unconscious. Though she's glad he's not feeling any pain at the moment, his unconsciousness may be his body's way of shutting down in the face of the damage it has taken. He needs a healer and soon. The closest one is in Berk.
Just the thought of going home fills her with a mixture of longing, regret, and fear. Over the last fifteen years, she has done a lot of traveling with Cloudjumper, but they've always given Berk a wide berth. With the raids and her past, she just felt it was too dangerous, but if she needs to go back to save this boy, she will do so without hesitation. All she has to do is drop the boy off at the door to the healer's hut. She wonders briefly if it's still Gothi taking care of the sick and injured on Berk. She'll help him, and when he's healthy again, the people can help him find his family, wherever they may be. Valka can be gone without anyone knowing she'd ever been there.
The only issue is the Night Fury. From what she's seen, he won't want to leave the boy. But Berk is much too dangerous for him. One look at a dragon as rare as him, and the entire island would hunt him down, eager to claim some piece of him as a trophy. Maybe she can convince him to return to the sanctuary with her and Cloudjumper, at least until the boy is better.
"I know somewhere we can take him," Valka says to the Night Fury. "You can come with us, then we can find somewhere safe for you. Can you fly with your wing like that?" She nods to the swollen base of his wing.
Rather than respond to her question, the Night Fury brings his tail around to rest in front of him. One of the tailfins is missing, torn completely off and in its place is not an open wound, but rough scar. It makes no sense. He wouldn't have been able to fly like this. So how had the boy gotten here? She hadn't seen a ship anywhere. Maybe he'd been brought in from a raid? She shakes her head. That's something to think about later, after the boy has been taken care of.
"Cloudjumper can carry you." She tells the Night Fury, and he hums, pleased that she didn't suggest he stay behind.
Valka stands, keeping the boy secure in her arms, and walks him over to Cloudjumper. Though tall, the Stormcutter lowers himself down and Valka is able to lay the boy on his back as carefully as possible. A pained grimace settles onto his features as the movement jostles his foot. Shushing him, she gently caresses the side of his face. As her fingertips come to rest on his chin, her brow furrows because there's a scar there – one she's dreamed about countless times over the last fifteen years.
She can still see it when she closes her eyes. The house starting to burn, the smoke stinging her eyes, the adrenaline the flooded her veins when she realized her son was in danger, the way she froze when Cloudjumper reached out for him. It was the last time she ever saw him, and it would be forever etched into her memory.
"Hiccup?" She breathes out, questioning. Even though she knows it's practically impossible, the thought has crossed her mind and escaped her lips before she could stop it. But when the Night Fury perks up at the sound of her son's name and bounds back over to look intently at the boy, she realizes it's not as impossible as she thought. Her knees nearly buckle beneath her.
"Oh gods," her hand flies up to cover her mouth. "Hiccup is it really you?" But now that she knows, his features come together like a puzzle under her new perspective. She sees herself, and she sees the husband she once knew.
At the sound of her distress, the Night Fury whines with concern. Despite the whole situation, a wet laugh escapes her. If the scar or his features had left her with any doubt, his bond with the Night Fury is clearly something he inherited from her.
The knowledge that the injured boy before her is her son has only increased her sense of urgency. They need to leave for Berk now. Valka situates Hiccup on Cloudjumper's back and climbs on behind him. Taking to the air, Cloudjumper secures the Night Fury in his claws before flying in Berk's direction. It's a heavy load, carrying all three of them, but Cloudjumper is strong and Berk isn't far. They can find somewhere for him to rest after Hiccup has gotten help. The thought of simply dropping him off and leaving has completely left her mind.
The sun is high and bright in the sky by the time Berk comes into view. Knowing better than to fly directly into the village, Valka directs Cloudjumper around to the back side of the island and has him land in the woods. They must walk a ways to reach the village, but it's worth it to keep people from noticing their arrival. Inciting a panic from the villagers would likely get Hiccup more injured in the process, and she couldn't bear if something happened to either of the dragons. Despite the fact that she hasn't been on Berk in nearly fifteen years, her feet fall back into old habits easily. It's not long before they're concealed at the edge of the woods, looking out at the back of the Chief's hut – her old home.
Gently, she brings Hiccup down off Cloudjumper's back and into her arms. "Wait here," she tells the dragons.
With grace and stealth, she carries her son down the path to the back door of the house. Laying him on the back step, she pauses a moment to press a kiss to his forehead, before knocking on the door and retreating swiftly to the cover of the woods. Mere seconds after she is out of sight, the door flies open and there stands her husband. He looks nearly the same as when she last saw him – still tall, still wearing his beard the same way. But his face is more lined than before, and his eyes lack the light she knows they're capable of possessing.
When Stoick pulls the door open, he looks around for a moment, before noticing his son at his feet. His eyes go wide and his face falls when he realizes the state Hiccup is in. In an instant, he has the boy gathered in his arms and brought into the house. The door closes behind him, and Valka squeezes her eyes shut. She has reunited father and son, but she's watching from the trees, closer than she's been in years but just as separate as ever. But going to them isn't an option. Stoick needs to focus on their son, not on her. This distance and the heartache she feels is a price she is willing to pay. A tear escapes, rolling down her cheek as she whispers a prayer to the gods that her son recovers. The Night Fury noses her shoulder and lets out a sad whine, and she knows he feels the same.