The last thing Hiccup saw before losing consciousness was Toothless jumping in after him as he fell. Despite being unconscious he still seemed to have a mild awareness as to what was happening at least for the time being.
He knew Toothless had somehow saved him. He had felt the sensation of being carried more than once. He felt people touching him, taking care of his injuries most likely. He could hear people talking, but couldn't make out what was being said. He placed one of the voices as belonging to Astrid. Judging by her tone, he wasn't doing well as she was right.
He felt cold and weak. Every part of him seemed numb and he couldn't move.
After a while though, his awareness of what was happening, faded and he found himself sitting on the platform of Dragon's Edge, watching the sunset. Surrounding him were people he didn't recognize, but they all seemed to know him. One by one they would sit down next to him and begin chatting. Nothing they said made any sense to him. But he could guess what they meant. The were his ancestors and they were letting him know they were proud of him.
Once he figured out who was with him, he began looking for his mom. She was the only one that mattered to him. The rest were faceless nobodies who died well before he was born. But he couldn't find her. He shouted for her and scoured the entire island, but his mom was nowhere to be found.
Eventually, he gave up looking and sat down, crying. Why wasn't his mom there with the rest of his family? Was she not proud of him? Did she hate what he had become? Had he done something to upset her? Maybe because he left his dad alone to find the King of Dragons? Did making peace with the dragons make her mad? He had so many questions and no one could answer them. Even if they could, he wouldn't be able to understand. He would only get the gist of what they were telling him based on tone and action.
What was the point of Valhalla, if his mom wasn't here?
Astrid watched as Magnus examined Hiccup, seeing if it was safe to put him on a boat and send him home. Hiccup had shown some signs of improvement as his color seemed to return a bit and his body became warmer, thanks to some rare herbs that Dagur knew about due to his time with the Hunters. Who knew nettle leaves and chickweed would help with blood loss. Thankfully, Dagur thought to grab a bunch before leaving and have them planted all over the island.
"Well? Can he travel?" Astrid asked, feeling impatient.
"If we're careful moving him, I think so," Magnus answered. "I don't need his head being jostled around too much."
Hiccup was carefully placed in a bed below deck, in a dark and secure area of the ship. He was out of the way of the ship hands that were helping carry some supplies to Berk in the hopes of equal trade. Astrid sat on the floor next to the bed alongside Toothless, who still seemed to be on edge.
Astrid gave Toothless a pet on the head. "Don't worry, Toothless. We're headed home. Hiccup will be fine. We'll have Gobber take a look at you when we get back."
Toothless didn't need Gobber. He needed to get away from the Alpha. Despite her help, she left him with an uneasy feeling. He could tell she didn't like him because he was Night Fury. Most dragons didn't. They had a hard time accepting him. Thanks to Skull Crusher he had learned why so many dragons despised him. Apparently, Night Furies were notorious for being untrustworthy and cruel to other dragons. That meant he had to work twice as hard as any other dragon to gain their trust and respect. He'd come to accept that as a fact of life and dealt with it.
However, the Alpha stirred up his feelings about it. He resented being left out just because of his species' reputation. Sure he was glad his fellow Berk dragons trusted him, but that took months of proving himself worthy enough to be let into their group. He was sure Hookfang still held a grudge against him from their battle.
The Night Fury was sure the Alpha found it amusing that he needed help. He was sure the only reason she helped was because of how he grovelled, not because dragonkind depended on him and Hiccup. She clearly didn't realize it, but he could sense her thoughts as well. Between his time with the Red Death and her making a connection with him, he'd unlocked a hidden talent; he could sense the thoughts of other dragons. And if he focused he could actually know what they were thinking. Like he knew Meatlug was worried about Hiccup and wanted to reassure Fishlegs that things would be okay. He knew that Barf &Belch were worried but wanted food more than anything. And Hookfang was plotting how to mess with Snotlout once they got back to Berk. He didn't bother with Stormfly. She was too close for him to get away with reading her thoughts. Instead, he just went by what he could sense from her. The Nadder was agitated and worried but was maintaining a calm demeanor for the sake of her rider.
After what felt like forever, Toothless felt the ship moving. As they got further from the island, he found himself able to relax and get some proper rest. He wanted to make sure he had enough energy when he and Hiccup would start flying again.
After three long days of travel, the ship had finally reached Berk. Magnus and Dagur helped carry Hiccup to Gothi's hut where she would continue his care.
Dagur did his best to not look down at Hiccup. Seeing him in such a state angered him. He could feel the Berserker rage boiling inside him. He wanted revenge, but revenge had already been had. Johann had been frozen alive and near as anyone could tell Krogan had returned to his employer empty-handed.
The young chief was glad that Hiccup had been brought home. He was also glad that his brother was also doing better. The process was slow, but promising.
After a good long hike through the mostly empty village and up the many stairs that led to Gothi's hut, the two men were able to set the younger man down. Right behind them were Astrid and Toothless. They all stood nearby watching as she examined him, waiting for what she had to say. Magnus looked like he wanted to help, but knew better than to interrupt another Healer, especially one as old and wise as Gothi.
As they watched in silence, a shout broke through the air. "THE CHIEF IS AWAKE!"
Everyone on the platform turned toward the shout and watched as the Berkian Chief limped out of his home and looked toward the crowd that was beginning to gather around. Dagur looked over at the docks and saw people drop what they were doing and run back to the village.
Once a sufficient crowd had gathered around the Haddock home, everyone waited with bated breath, waiting for the chief to speak. It took a moment for the injured man to speak. As he gathered the strength he seemed to survey the crowd, looking for someone. "Where is my son? Where's Hiccup?"
No one spoke, a few turned their heads to Gothi's hut, indicating where Hiccup was. Despite the distance, Dagur could tell that Stoick had a look of fear and worry covering his face. Not caring that he was injured, he ran toward Gothi's and full speed. People quickly moved out of the way, letting the chief pass.
Gothi tapped on Dagur and Magnus shoulder's getting their attention before pointing at Hiccup and then at her hut. The two men nodded in understanding. They carefully picked Hiccup back up and took him inside, placing him on the extra bed she kept around for patients. Astrid was right behind them, while Gothi stayed behind to greet Stoick.
Stoick bounded up the many steps, taking three or four at a time, not caring about the pain that it was causing him. He could deal with that later. Right now, he had to see his son. In no time he reached the platform of Gothi's hut. There to greet him was Gothi herself, her expression was neutral and not very reassuring to him.
"Where is he?" Stoick asked. "Is he alive?"
Gothi gave a small nod and gestured to the inside of her hut. Stoick walked past her to go inside. As he moved, time seemed to slow down. A million thoughts ran through his mind. What happened? How did this happen? Was it Johann? An accident? How bad were his injuries? Would he survive? What could he do to help his only child?
As he entered the hut, he found Dagur, Astrid and an unknown man standing over Hiccup. He pushed past them, taking in the site of his batter son. His boy's head and shoulder were wrapped in bandages; his face and chest were covered in bruises of varying degrees. The parts of him that weren't bruised looked pale in comparison to his normal complexion.
"What-" Stoick's voice cracked. "What happened?"
"Johann," Astrid answered. "Five days ago, he nearly killed Hiccup for an egg laid by the King of Dragons. We don't know how it happened, but Johann was frozen alive. Toothless found us and brought us to Hiccup. He'd already lost a lot of blood by the time we got to him. The main concerns are his head injury and shoulder. We won't know how bad his head is until he wakes up."
Dagur placed a hand on Stoick's shoulder. "He'll be okay. He's made it this far. He's in good hands with Gothi."
Stoick just gave a small nod as he stood. "Aye. We-we should let her work."
The four made their way out of the hut, allowing Gothi to enter so that she could finish her assessment of Hiccup's injuries. While she worked Dagur and Magnus said their goodbyes, wishing they could stay longer, but they were needed back home.
"Send me a Terror Mail," Dagur told Astrid. "I want updates on how he's doing."
"You got it," Astrid promised. "Safe travels."
Once the two men were gone, Astrid stood next to Stoick as they waited for Gothi to finish. Together they stood in silence. Neither having the words to comfort one another.
After what felt like forever, Gothi came out of the hut and gestured for them to gather around her sand pile. The two did as asked. As she wrote in the sand, Astrid did her best to translate. "She says. 'He appears to be recovering well. The Healer who treated him did a good job. She's changed out the bandages and applied poultices to the bruises. We just have to wait for him to wake up.'"
"Can I take him home?" Stoick asked in a quiet voice.
Astrid looked back down at Gothi's writing. "'He can go home now, but be careful with his head.'"
The chief said nothing else as he walked past the two women. Together they watched as the leader of their tribe, slowly picked up his son and carried him out. Despite his own pain and injuries, he was more concerned for his son. He was going to take his son home, on his own and no one was going to stop him.