How to Train Your Dragon 1. Snatched

Valka tried to control the trembling in her fingers as she quickly hefted one of Stoick's many axes in her hands, her eyes focused solely on the intruder that had broken into their house, into her son's nursery.

The dragon was unlike any she had seen before, it's dark body towered over the small wooden cradle that held her little Hiccup. Eyes the color of molten gold staring into the green eyes of her son. But what made her pause from swinging the hefty axe into the dragon's backside was the look of innocence and soft curiosity that was in, not only in her infant son's eyes, but also in the _dragon's_.

It was Hiccup's giggling laughter that made the Viking mother lower her weapon, her body locked as though frozen as she saw the deadly dragon that could destroy the room if it but turned around, looking at her small son with curiosity, one of his -for Valka had an idea that the dragon was male- claws in front of the baby's face, but somehow the action was gentle and nonthreatening as Hiccup's meaty little fist grabbed the dragon's claw and held it as though it was a toy.

It was there, in those few short moments, alone save for the massive dragon and her small son, did Valka realize that her suspicions of the dragons being intelligent and capable of emotions other than bloodlust and rage were true. Dragons could be kind and caring, for why else was a believed killer looking at her fragile son with such gentleness and curiousness without even trying to gobble her Hiccup up like the stories often portrayed the winged beasts?

Hiccup's cries of pain alerted her back towards reality, her little boy had shifted in his wooden cradle and in doing so, the claw had accidently cut him at the jut of his chin, just below his lips. The mother within her overtook the warrior within her, Valka dropped the axe, the sharpened blade sinking into the wood with a _shink_, but she paid no attention to something she wouldn't need. Something in her heart and soul told the dark Stormcutter would hurt her, and he didn't.

She rushed to the cradle, grabbing Hiccup from his bundle of wool blankets, and rocked him gently, shushing his cries as Valka continued to rock him, her son's wails turned to sobs, to sniffling and then content silence as he was watched under the care of his loving, protective mother who would never let anything hurt him. Only when his cries lessened and his eyelids started to flutter did Valka look up at the intruder.

The golden eyes of the Stormcutter burned into her, his dark scales practically blending in with the shadows, but it was his eyes that caught her attention as though she had been placed into a trance. His eyes were warm and kind, not cold and cruel like that of a monster. This wasn't a monster like every Viking had been told since they could hold an axe, this was a beautiful creature with a heart and soul that reflected her own.

_Everything we know about dragons… is wrong. _By Odin she had _known_, known that peace was possible between dragons and Vikings, foes since the beginning of time, but what if that time was ending? The end of an era of war and death and war again, Valka could see a new era. An era where her Hiccup was safe without fear of dragon raids, a world without dragon wars. Her son could be _safe_. She saw this, as the dragon's head came closer to her, his molten gold eyes never wavering as their hearts beat at the same tempo, two souls connected to create one. With one arm holding Hiccup, Valka slowly reached out towards the Stormcutter's nose, her palm stretched outwards. The dragon began to lean in, anticipating her touch, she didn't see danger, instead all she saw was safety.

"VALKA!" Stoick's bellow made her jerk her hand away, just in time to see a silver flash as a spinning axe sank into the wooden post, separating the two humans from the dragon. Her husband had appeared from nowhere, his massive, hulking frame outline by the fires that burned from within the village. In his hand was his favorite axe, an axe that had severed life from dragons countless of times, and her beloved Viking husband was staring at the dragon that had broken into his home with eyes that burned like Hel's fires.

Stoick surged forward, fast and nimble for a man his size, the Stormcutter barely managed to dodge the Viking's deadly axe without crashing through the walls. Dread filled her belly as she saw the gentle creature move around in alarm, recognizing the danger of the Viking Chief. Stoick was behind them, by Hiccup's cradle as he glared at the Stormcutter that had dared to attack his family. Fire sprouted from the dragon's mouth in his alarm but also in an act of self-defense, forming a wall of fire right in the middle of the nursery. The fire rose high, and Valka realized that Stoick was trapped behind the wall of fire, whilst the dragon was on the other side with her and Hiccup.

"No, don't!" Tears sprung from her eyes as she realized what had happened, Valka should have known that peace was impossible when people like her husband were in the world. How foolish could she be? Stoick was a _Viking,_ and Vikings killed dragons, she had seen it done so herself. Stoick would never understand the bond that had occurred when she had looked into the dragon's yellow eyes, would never know the love and wonder when looking into the dragon's soul, would never know the care and innocence in the dragon's heart. To Vikings, dragons were monsters, it had been so for six generations; their tradition revolved on the killing of dragons, and tradition was the most important aspect in a Viking's life, aside from dragon slaying.

The Stormcutter looked at her as she cried, his own eyes mournful as he caught sight of her tears. Before she could blink, before Stoick could move, the dragon had leapt, snatching Valka up like a hawk did a trout, and began to take to the sky with Valka and Hiccup in tow.

Valka screamed as her feet left the ground. Hiccup began to wail as he was woken up once again, unaware of the true danger they were in, held in the claws of a dragon several feet off the ground and rising. The little house that had held her little family began to get smaller and smaller, but the massive figure that had rushed towards the destroyed wall was all that mattered to Valka. Because, even though Stoick was a Viking, he was her husband, and she loved him as much as she loved the son they shared. "STOICK!" she cried out as massive dragon carried her and Hiccup away from her husband and Berk.

"VALKA!"

Stoick ran as fast as his legs could carry him, his massive bulk hulking forward as he reached the edge of the small hill-like cliff that their house was nestled on. His eyes never leaving the terrified form of his wife, his steady heart thundering and breaking as he heard the cries of his wife and heir, his little Hiccup. The fire had spread, but Stoick paid it no heed. He just stared in lost horror as his family disappeared into the night. The proud Viking chief of Berk fell to his knees in utter defeat in the ruins of his home, his brown eyes broken and his heart shattered. "Valka… Hiccup_…._" The pitiful whimper that came from him was heartbreaking. "My love… my son…" the tears streamed down his cheeks as he collapsed on the ground, as though all the strength in his massive body had disappeared with his family.

"Hiccup… Valka," he whispered again, his vision blurry by tears as he lay there in the ashes of his life.

The Chief of Berk did not know how long he laid there in the burned ruins of his infant son's nursery, long after the fire had sputtered out when it had meet the stonework of the other rooms. But Stoick the Vast did not care about the conditions of his home, all he cared about was his wife and son, taken from him by a demon of the skies.

"Stoick! Stoick, where are ya?!" The bellow of Gobber barely roused him from his thoughts, he just continued to stare at the sky that had begun to lighten with the arrival of dawn. He heard the clunk of his best friend's peg leg before he saw him, but even that did not stir him.

Gobber was a hulking man like Stoick, though where Stoick's hair was a fiery mane of red, Gobber's hair was as golden as wheat, but other than that they were similar in all ways Viking. One of his hands was missing, torn off during a raid in their youth, but now had an axe attached to the stump. Gobber was like a brother to him, but he didn't need Gobber right now, he needed Valka and Hiccup… but they were gone, snatched before him.

"What _happened?_" Gobber asked gob smacked as he looked at the burnt remains of the room where his leader was lying in.

"Dragon," Stoick whispered, his voice gruff and broken from inhaling too much smoke, though perhaps it was grief that had overtaken him.

The village's smith swears were so vivid and descriptive they would have cowed a sailor. "Where are Hiccup and Valka?" Gobber asked, looking around for the powerful warrior and her little, sweet son that Gobber loved to spoil with little carved toys. He finally looked at Stoick and noticed instantly that something was wrong, his friend's face was as pale as a corpse, his hair singed, but it was his _eyes_ that terrified him. They were empty, shattered like broken glass, devoid of life. It terrified the burly Viking, he had never seen Stoick so defeated, so broken, so lost.

"What happened, Stoick? Where are Hiccup and Valka?" He whispered to his friend fearfully, not wanting to know the answer, but the absence of Valka and Hiccup was painfully apparent to the blacksmith. His heart sank when he saw the tears form in Stoick's eyes, in all of his years of knowing the great Viking warrior Gobber had _never_ seen Stoick cry, not even when they had been wee lads with wooden swords. _By Freyja, no…_

"No… no, no, no…" Gobber mumbled, "No, no, no. Not them, please Stoick, tell me this is some sick joke, not Hiccup and Valka…"

Stoick didn't say anything, but the tears still came, washing away the ash that still coated his cheeks. "It took them," he whispered, his voice hoarse and broken. "It took Valka and Hiccup."

_It took them to their deaths._

By Thor, it _hurt_. Where Stoick's heart had been was nothing, wilted away like a blossom in winter. He felt nothing; life suddenly had no meaning. It was as though he had been made a draugr, devoid of life but still in the land of living, but just barely. He didn't notice the meaty hand clasping his shoulder, too caught up in his numbing pain.

Gobber didn't say anything; his own eyes swarming with unshed tears. He looked around at the ruins of Hiccup's nursery, his eyes suddenly caught on the sight of Hiccup's wooden cradle. He strode over to it, the wool that had warmed the babe had grown grey from the ash, but that small spot of crimson was all he saw. Gobber might not be the smartest man in the world, but even he knew what that little dot of red was. Hiccup's blood.

Hiccup_…_ memories of the babe flashed through his mind. When he had been first born, how tiny he had looked in Stoick's arms, how weightless he had been in Gobber's. He remembered how happy Valka and Stoick were with their little boy. He remembered presenting the heir of Berk his first toy, a little wooden Viking to play with when he was older, though the boy had started to gnaw on it with his toothless gums before Valka had swiftly taken it away when the boy tried to swallow it. That little babe who used to giggle and pull at his da's beard… _gone._ The blood just confirmed it.

Anyone who was snatched during a raid, be they human or livestock, had never returned and while humans were rarely taken, as a Viking would fight off any dragon that tried to snatch them, those who had had yet to be heard from. It was assumed by all that those snatched were taken by to the dragon's nest and eaten.

"They're gone," he heard Stoick sob again, his massive shoulders quivering. "My wife and son are gone."

With a heart as heavy as lead, Gobber walked over to his chief, who looked so utterly defeated and broken it hurt just looking at him. Stoick was the ideal Viking; strong, fierce, protective, proud, and undefeatable… but now Stoick the Vast was a broken man with a shattered heart.

"We need to find the other villagers, make sure they're okay," Gobber told the mourning man, hoping to break him from dark thoughts. He knew that Stoick would need time, but Stoick was chief and Berk needed him. "The raid was a bad one… we're lost others, Stoick… Hiccup and Valka were just two of ten." The dragons had begun to become fiercer lately and more bold as they had started to attack Berk more often than before.

When Gobber touched Stoick's shoulder, the man reared back as though he had been burned. "Don't touch me!" The Chief of Berk got to his feet and stalked out of the ruined home, the house that had been the home of his family for countless generations, but now it was destroyed and empty, as his family now was. He was the last one; his wife and son were dead.

They were dead because he didn't kill that Thor damned Stormcutter, and his wife and son had paid for his weakness. That dragon may have burned down his home, but it had destroyed his life in the process. His family… gone in the blink of an eye.

A rage burned within him so hot it made his vision swarm red, his fist clenched so hard that his dirty nails cut into his palm, causing droplets of blood to form and drip onto the ground. With a roar of rage, hatred, and sorrow, Stoick the Vast punched the burnt wall besides him. The entire thing collapsed upon itself, the burnt timber collapsing on the ground in an ashy heap. Gobber stumbled back nervously, knowing full well to leave Stoick alone at the moment unless he wanted his other arm torn off.

"The dragons did this, Gobber," Stoick's voice was dark and murderous, his eyes as cold as Niflheim itself. "The dragons killed my wife and son. They _will_ pay for this." The Viking clenched his axe in his hand, his knuckles white and bloody. "I will kill them all_." _He declared as he looked onwards towards the dawn, the sunrise was so beautiful that Stoick wanted to laugh in morbid amusement. "As the gods as my witness I, Stoick the Vast, Chief of Berk, son of Hamish the Fourth, swear by my axe, blood, and soul to avenge the death of my wife and son. I swear to kill every dragon I can with no mercy and no hesitation, I vow to kill the dragon that killed Valka and Hiccup with this axe, the axe I should have used to save them. I swear to avenge my family!"

_Stoick…._ Gobber thought somberly. Swearing an oath to the gods was no little thing, to break the oath would result in instant expulsion from the great halls of Valhalla. A place where Stoick belonged when he died, where he could feast with loved ones long since gone. If he did not follow through with his oath, though Gobber knew he would, could result in him being sent to the realm of Helheim.

"Come Gobber," Stoick said as he lumbered towards the village, "We must prepare for the next attack… there will be no mercy. I swore I would gain vengeance upon those demons and I will."

Gobber didn't say anything; he just stared into Stoick's broken, dead eyes. _How could things change so fast?_ He thought to himself. A day before he had witnessed Stoick throwing his son in the air before catching him, the warrior laughing at Hiccup's giggles as he played with Hiccup, his and Valka's pride and joy. Valka had been humming a song that Stoick would sing with her. But that had been yesterday, and now Valka and Hiccup were dead. He knew what would happen now, his best friend and leader was gone, and in his place stood an avenger that would kill every dragon that came close to the island of Berk to avenge his loved ones.

* * *

As the hours dragged by, Valka's fear began to subside. When the Stormcutter had snatched her from Berk, she had spent several minutes yelling at the creature to take her and her son back to Berk. But her cries fell on deaf ears and the great reptile continued to fly across icebergs, sunken ships, and small islands Valka had never seen before.

Valka wasn't afraid for herself, but she was terrified for her son. Hiccup was such a small boy and she didn't know if the freezing winds would hurt him. She could at least thank the dragon for grabbing her in a way that she could somewhat move her arms and nestled Hiccup in her coat. Her precious son had fallen asleep long ago, his small breathing relaxing his mother somewhat as she saw the water rush underneath her.

The Stormcutter gave a throaty grumble, making the mother look upwards. _Odin's eye…_ there before her was a moving mountain of spiked rock and ice, tinged a light greenish blue that looked like crystals from afar. It was monstrous in size, the spikes sticking towards the sky like massive porcupine quills. It took her a second to realize that wherever the Stormcutter had taken them, he was heading towards the rather unsettling mass of ice. She heard cries and roars behind her, glancing backwards she saw dozens of dragon who had raided Berk flying behind the dragon who held them, their forms sometimes hidden by the thick fog. _That's their nest,_ she realized. _A dragon's nest._

There was a small crevice in the ice, which the yellow-eyed dragon swooped through easily. The other dragons followed him, as though he was the leader. It was dark, but somehow a greenish light enveloped the twisting tunnels, revealing oddly shaped stalagmites and stalactites that were rounded and smoothed that was made of dark rock. The dragon continued to fly throughout the tunnels, making Valka wonder just how large this nest was. And then suddenly the Stormcutter gently laid them on the ground, Valka holding onto her infant son as gravity reclaimed them.

Valka's ragged breath was visible from the cold, she feared for her son who couldn't survive such temperature. Clutching him to her chest, she looked at the dragon that had taken him. His golden eyes stared into her, into her heart and soul. She calmed down instantly as she looked on into his eyes, reassured by whatever bond held them. She should be angry at the Stormcutter for taking her and her son away from their home and Stoick, but she just couldn't be. When Valka looked into his beautiful, thoughtful eyes all she saw was herself reflected in them.

"Why did you bring me here?" She asked the dragon, looking into his beautiful yellow eyes.

The Stormcutter blinked, cocking his head to the side slightly like a curious cat. He didn't say anything, not that Valka expected it. With a rumbling purr he turned away from her, his dark scales almost blending in with the shadows, when he turned around his eyes glowed like miniature suns.

_Follow_, his eyes seemed to say.

Clutching her son to her breast, Valka slowly followed the massive four-winged dragon through the icy tunnels. She suddenly stopped and strained her ears, so sure that they were deceiving her. It sounded like rushing water, but they were in what appeared to be a giant ball of ice, and then suddenly a warm, gentle breeze swept through the tunnel. The breeze reminded her of spring, warm and full of life which didn't make sense to her considering her current location. Curiously she hurried her step, still holding her sleeping babe close to her. There was an opening up ahead, a warm light blanketing what lay beyond. The Stormcutter was already there, his massive form clouding him in shadows due to the light, but she still saw his eyes, and that gave her strength.

What awaited her at the top made her heart stop, had she not been holding her son she might have collapsed to her knees in shock. Before her was something that belonged in a dream, something that shouldn't be possible. It was so massive and full of life, it just didn't seem real.

The word cavern didn't do it justice. It was as though she had left Midgard and into a whole new realm. Flora flourished under the bright sunlight, moss clung to rocky spires the size of hills, water ran past her in bubbling creeks and formed into roaring waterfalls. But it was the current occupants that caught her awed attention.

There had to be hundreds of them. Changewings, Deadly Nadders, Rumblehorns, Monstrous Nightmares, Timberjacks, Gronckles, Terrible Terrors, Hideous Zipplebacks, Thunderdrums, Whispering Deaths, and so many more that Valka had never seen before. Dragons of all various shades of colors, shapes and sizes flew around her. The sight of so many dragons took her breath away, never before had she seen the creatures so close and in the daylight. They were majestic creatures, not the monsters the Vikings thought they were.

She heard a soft rumble from behind her, jerking around Valka saw that it was the Stormcutter. Slowly Valka leaned forward, her palm outstretched as it had been in Hiccup's nursery, before Stoick had appeared with an axe in his hand. The gentle creature looked at it curiously, before slowly nuzzling it. He was warm to the touch, and Valka watched in fascination as the dragon leaned into her touch, a rumbling purr of affection coming from him.

A sudden surge of love rushed through her, making her heart lighter than it had been in years. His eyes looked into hers, the same love and affection burning within those yellow orbs was so strong that Valka had to refrain from wrapping her arms around his head, seeing as she was still holding another human being at the moment. She couldn't explain it, but like in the nursery, the bond she felt with this gentle dragon was something she couldn't explain in words, it was not like her maternal love for Hiccup or her love for Stoick. It was something else, a new type of love that she had never experienced before.

With a start Valka realized that she didn't know his name. Did dragon even _have_ names? She couldn't continue to refer to the creature whose soul reflected her own as dragon or Stormcutter; he deserved a proper name. She looked deep into his eyes, struggling to find the perfect name, as she gazed into his intelligent eyes a thought struck her. Valka smiled warmly, rubbing her hand against his muzzle.

"Cloudjumper, I'll call you Cloudjumper."

Cloudjumper seemed to croon at that, butting his massive head against her smaller form. Valka smiled warmly, leaning her head against his own, smiles almost identical despite the different species. Cloudjumper turned his attention to the sleeping babe in Valka's arms, softly and gently he nuzzled the infant with such tenderness that the mother couldn't help but smile.

"You're just a big softie, ain't ya?" She questioned Cloudjumper who merely crooned.

Valka laughed, "What is this place?" she wondered aloud as she spun in a circle, her eyes gazing at the hundreds of dragons flying high above her.

Cloudjumper butted his massive head against her, indicating her to move. She followed his direction until they were at the very edge of the cliff overlooking the nest. She glanced back to Cloudjumper, but the great dragon had moved to the ground in what she assumed was a submissive action, oddly looking like a bow.

Turning around again she saw why. She backed away nervously as she came face to face with eyes the color of ice, but unlike Cloudjumper's they were easily the size of her, and the dragon they belonged to…

The great white behemoth stared down upon her with an inquiring look, how had she not noticed him beforehand? He was the size of a mountain, his tusks the size of the oldest pine trees. She had thought Cloudjumper and Murderous Nightmares to be giants of the dragon race, but their size was downright puny compared to this… this King_._

What else could he be? She had of course heard of Queen dragons, though she had never seen one before. They were massive dragons that guarded the nest of her flock, but this was no Queen. This was the _King._

Even the way he looked upon her was regal and poised, and by the way Cloudjumper bowed it was apparent that he was powerful in his own right besides his massive size. The great behemoth didn't seem alarmed to see a human and her infant in his home, if anything he regarded her with pure curiosity.

She decided to mimic Cloudjumper and quickly bowed to the great King that was staring at her, his ice blue eyes warmed ever so slightly. He exhaled softly, mist erupting from his monstrous maw and enveloped the woman and babe, frost sticking to her and Hiccup's hair like freshly fallen snow.

Cloudjumper crooned again as he muzzled her, knocking the snow from her hair. Though he could not speak her tongue, his eyes said everything: _He likes you two._ Valka leaned into his warm touch, her head resting against his own as she ran one hand across his scaled neck. Hiccup stared at the dragon with big green eyes, a thumb stuck in his mouth and slobbering up a storm, as young babes often did.

"Why do I feel so…" She hesitated, looking for the word as she looked at the home of dragons, after a few paused moments she found it. "_Safe?" _She knew she shouldn't, she was literally in the dragon's den with her small child and no weapons to protect herself and Hiccup, but there was no fear of being maimed or eaten or anything of the sort. She hadn't felt so safe since she had been a wee lass, when her mother and father watched over her and dragon raids were few.

_Because you belong here, _Cloudjumper stared at her with those beautiful yellow eyes.

The former inhabitant of Berk didn't know what to say to that, if Cloudjumper had even said it, because it was true. She looked at these creatures that her people thought were monsters and didn't fear or hate them, she felt as though she belonged with them. Here in this sanctuary, there were no Berk Vikings that stared at her for having a different mindset; there was no ill will towards her for being different from the others. She had never truly belonged there, where such views were despised and mocked, she belonged _here_ with Cloudjumper, with the dragons.

But Hiccup?

She looked down at her precious boy, the boy who had been so small when she had birthed him that she had feared he would perish soon after he had been given life. Stoick had believed differently, that their son was going to grow big and strong and become the greatest Viking to walk through Berk. It was something that Stoick and so many others had dreamed for their children, a goal to be reached by all children, to become big and strong, to become Vikings.

But she didn't want Hiccup to be a Viking. Vikings, especially those from the island of Berk, were cold and cruel to the dragons who could be such gentle creatures if treated right. The thought of her son growing to be like Stoick with an axe in one hand and a shield in the other facing a dragon with the intention to kill was heartbreaking; she didn't want that for her son. Even now, despite him being so young, Valka knew that her son was different. And from her own experience, being different on Berk was the worst thing imaginable to the close-minded Vikings.

She thought back to when Stoick had attacked Cloudjumper in Hiccup's nursery, how she realized that the Vikings couldn't change, that Stoick couldn't change. She loved her husband and tribe, but she loved her son more. She wouldn't allow Hiccup to live the life that had awaited him at Berk, where he would be looked down on and mocked for his difference. She would keep him and raise him right here in this sanctuary. Instead of learning how to kill dragons, Hiccup would help her in understanding them, befriending them instead of hating them.

"This is where we're going to live, Hiccup," she said to the baby who looked at her with wide green eyes, _her_ green eyes. "This is our home now." She looked up again at the different species of dragons that she both recognized and didn't, she looked at Cloudjumper whose soul and heart was her own, she looked at the King who allowed them to remain. "This is our family now."


	2. Early Beginnings

"Hiccup? Hiccup!?" The alarmed cries of Valka echoed throughout the inner sanctuary, the mother herself was running all over the den, her motherly instincts on wide alert as she looked for her five year old son that had wandered off when she hadn't been looking.

The thoughts of Hiccup falling off one of the multiple steep cliffs, drowning in the rivers, or accidently stepped on by an unknowing Hobblegrunt, terrified her more than anything. The mighty beats of Cloudjumper's four wings were easily heard, the woman's greatest companion was searching the large nest for Valka's young hatchling, his nostrils flaring as he tried to find the boy by scent.

It took a few seconds to distinguish Hiccup's scent hiding amongst the scent of his nest-brothers and nest-sisters, but they were dragons, and the one he was looking for was human. It wasn't too hard to find after he had become so adjusted to his and Valka's scent.

Valka looked upwards as she saw Cloudjumper fly above her, one of his sharp claws lowered to her level. With practiced ease Valka used her staff to hook herself onto Cloudjumper's claws and allowed him to pull her into the air. She crawled up his dark wings in the matter of seconds and settled comfortably on her companion's back.

Cloudjumper leaned to the left, his four massive wings moving in unison as they banked across the cliffs, Valka herself leaning against him to reduce the wind resistance –and to avoid being blown off of Cloudjumper, though she knew he would catch her- and scanned through the thicket of ferns and flowers for her son.

And then, there he was. Hiccup had grown so much from that little babe that had appeared here with his mother five years ago, he was still small for his age but what he didn't have in size, Hiccup made it up with his brains and sense of adventure, which had honestly nearly given Valka several heart attacks since he had started to walk, which had quickly turned into _running_.

She wouldn't deny it that she loved how much of her was in Hiccup, he had her auburn hair, her green eyes, and was even growing like her. He was a mischievous, wisp of a child, but he was _her_ child, and she loved him more than anything. And sure enough his mischievous had given him a certain type of play-friends that Valka couldn't help but laugh at the scene.

Hiccup was chasing after a duo of Terrible Terrors, another one was nestled on his head. The two he chased he fondly called Pip and Squeak while the one on his head was Tigg. The three Terrible Terrors were nest-mates, Pip and Squeak both sported the same vibrant green scales they were almost identical except Pip's back spikes were black and Squeak's back spikes were blue. Tigg was the only Terror whose scales was a light red with black back spikes.

The two hovered above Hiccup, who had yet to notice them in his gleeful chase. Pip and Squeak dashed around the small clearing they were in, whenever Hiccup came close to touching one of them, they would bolt in opposite directions which made Hiccup laugh even more as he continued to play with them. Pip and Squeak hissed in what could only be laughter whenever they dodged the young human boy.

The mighty wing beats of Cloudjumper made the young boy pause, nearly falling flat on his face as Pip and Squeak scattered again. The second Cloudjumper was close enough to the ground, Valka vaulted off of the Stormcutter's back and landed feet first on the ground, her hands on her hips and her eyes burning in motherly rage.

Cloudjumper guffawed out a guttural laugh when Hiccup seemed to deflate under the gaze of his mother, Tigg trying to hide his small form in the boy's shaggy, auburn locks while Pip and Squeak sank to the ground like chastised hatchlings, their eyes averted from the furious mother.

"Hiccup, what is the _one_ rule we have here?" Valka demanded to her subdued son, her hands still placed on her hips.

"Don't feed Cloudjumper eel?"

As though to prove how disgusting eels were to dragons, Cloudjumper visibly shuddered at the experience. Valka glared at her son, knowing full well he knew the Rule. "No," she said dryly, though it was a smart idea to leave eel away from the Den as they had discovered a year ago which created what they now called 'The Great Eel Incident'.

Hiccup kicked at the ground with his fur boots, "Don't play on the King's head?" he asked innocently, though the King never seemed to mind when he and the other dragon hatchlings played on him as long as they were careful and didn't fall off.

Valka continued to stare at him, "Hiccup…" she said in a warning tone.

The small boy sighed, his lower lip in a pout. He mumbled something under his breath that wasn't heard by his scary mother.

Valka leaned in closer, still not pleased. "What was that?" She pressed on.

"Never leave your sight." Hiccup mumbled out.

"Never leave my sight," Valka repeated the Rule as she crossed her arms. "I can't always keep an eye on you, my son." It was true, as Valka had deemed it her life goal to find out everything and anything about dragons, from secrets that even they did not know of, to secrets that dragons would only willingly share to the only humans that had befriended them instead of hating them, loving them instead of hurting them. She had found out so many things in the past five years she had been here with Hiccup, some of the things she now knew Hiccup had helped her discover (such as the time he had gone fishing and caught an eel, which had resulted in the Incident) and she knew that when her child was older, he would help her in her goal. Because she was so busy trying to learn so much and Hiccup was so eager to explore his home with his dragon friends, it made watching him even more harder.

"I'm sorry, Mama," Hiccup said with a guilty look on his childish features as he looked down to his feet ashamed of himself, knowing that he had most likely scared his mother when she had realized that her child had wandered off on his own.

Valka's frown turned into a soft smile as she looked at her son with Tigg burrowed in his auburn locks whilst Pip and Squeak were staring at the two humans with big eyes. The way Hiccup interacted with dragons always warmed her heart, to think that if he had stayed in Berk he would have been taught to hate and kill these creatures made her glad that she had been holding him when Cloudjumper had snatched them from Berk.

Hiccup might have the heart of a human, but he had the soul of a dragon.

That thought always made her wonder, if Hiccup was like his mother, would he too find a dragon whose soul and heart reflected his own? The bond shared between her and Cloudjumper couldn't be described in mere words, so strong was the bond that bound them, there was nothing about Cloudjumper that Valka didn't know about, just as there was nothing about Valka that Cloudjumper didn't know about. Their souls, once belonging to two different beings, had been forged into a single soul when they had first made eye contact on that fateful dragon raid on Berk.

Would Hiccup find a dragon companion like she had found Cloudjumper? She had to admit, her boy had a way with dragons that had always made her smile in pride, but his relationships with them, even the three Terrible Terrors he played with, were just friendly. Hiccup was friends with his dragon acquaintances, but he wasn't bonded to one.

Valka had to wonder, if her son did truly take after his mother and find that dragon whose soul reflected his own, when would such a thing would happen, as her meeting with Cloudjumper had been a mere stroke of luck that the two of them could find one another in such a large world, and who would be the one to bond with Hiccup? Valka was confident that Hiccup had met all the dragons in the Sanctuary, two hundred or so (1), than that meant that Hiccup's true dragon companion was still out there in the world and Valka would do everything she could for them to meet. The bond she shared with Cloudjumper was something she wouldn't give up for the world, and Valka wished for her only child to have such a bond as well.

Valka would do anything for her son; she would gladly search the seas, skies and lands for the dragon whose soul was bonded to her Hiccup.

Cloudjumper bumped his massive head against her softly, jerking the former resident of Berk from her thoughts as she realized that Hiccup was still staring at her questionably. She shook her head in amusement, before she glanced at her companion who glanced back at the same time. A conversation went between them, unspoken in words, but the two didn't need words to convey their thoughts when their bond was so strong.

"Hiccup," Valka squatted down so she was eye level with her only son, "How would you like to go flying with Cloudjumper and I?" She knew that any offer of flight would be taken instantly, Hiccup loved flying more than anything.

Hiccup's eyes widened in delight, it had been awhile since his mother had allowed him to ride with them, he missed it. He was so happy he practically skipped towards his mother, who gathered him in her arms as Cloudjumper lowered himself and plucked the two humans with one of his claws onto his back. Hiccup immediately sat in front while Valka sat behind him, one arm wrapped around his smaller form instinctively.

As he shifted into a comfortable position, Hiccup turn back to his mother. "So… I'm not in trouble?" Hiccup asked with a small grin.

"Oh, you are." Valka stated immediately as Cloudjumper jumped off of the cliff and flew through the air, his four massive wings beating in unison. "But I can punish you later, we have some flying to do!"

Hiccup looked upset at the fact he would most likely be grounded, which usually meant he couldn't fly with his mother, but the thought of flying now was too grand for him to ignore. He laughed as Cloudjumper suddenly dived, glee etched on his face as he continued to whoop as the Stormcutter dodged multiple monstrous stalactites easily.

Valka laughed as Cloudjumper, egged on by Hiccup's shouts and whoops of glee, became more daring and showed off his superior agility by suddenly diving into a tunnel and barrel rolling through it, miraculously dodging obstacles such as stalactites, stalagmites, and other obstacles with ease. It still amazed her that such a large creature could fly through such small tunnels and dodge everything with the same ease as breathing, Cloudjumper was a magnificent flyer and it showed.

Still laughing, Valka rubbed the side of Cloudjumper's neck, her fingers easily finding the spot where Cloudjumper loved to be scratched, he crooned at her touch as he glanced up at her, amber eyes as warm as the fire that burned within him. Valka shook her head, "Show off." Cloudjumper gave a guttural purr at that, and as though to answer, he beat his mighty wings and ascended high into the air, Hiccup laughing as the Stormcutter did so.

"YEAH!"

* * *

"Sing me a song, Mama… the one you always sing," Hiccup said as he gave a huge yawn, rubbing his eyes with his hand while the other was holding onto his mother's hand as she carried him to their home where they lived with the dragons. The small boy was exhausted from the day he had spent with his mother and Cloudjumper, but the huge smile on his face made Valka know it was worth it.

Valka stroked her son's hair lovingly, enjoying his presence more than anything. She was thankful that she had been given the chance to raise her son instead of never seeing him again and leaving him with Stoick, nothing could compare to a mother's love to her child.

"It's rather late, sweet child." Valka said softly, knowing that if he wished for it she would sing that song to him till Ragnarök, even if the song brought memories of her life from before.

Hiccup looked up at her with those wide green eyes, _her_ green eyes and not Stoick's brown, and a pout on his lips that showed off the thin scar that marred his pale skin caused by Cloudjumper's claw and Valka knew that he wanted to hear the song she had sung to him since he had been a wee babe in her arms.

Valka laid her son on their bed, which was basically a large burnt hole in the rock floor, reminiscent of a dragon's nest, filled with moss and random pelts of fur from hunts to keep them warm, as they couldn't exactly do what dragons did and set it on fire and sleep on it. Though seeing as Cloudjumper was usually curled around the two of them, the pelts and moss were hardly ever used when they had a dragon to keep them warm.

She sat down on their bed, or rather nest, and as she did so Hiccup shifted around until he was lying comfortably on his mother's lap, his head leaning against her chest as she held her small son in her arms. She fiddled with her son's hair, softly combing away at the knots that had formed in his many adventures as he yawned again, eyes threating to close only to be opened with a sudden blink or two.

Valka chortled when she saw Hiccup's vain attempts to stay awake, "If you want to sleep, Hiccup, you can." She said with a teasing smile as Hiccup bristled at the insinuation that he was tired, he was a big kid, he didn't need to go to bed yet!

"I wanna hear the song," Hiccup whined as he looked up at his mother with pleading eyes, lip slightly quivering as he tried to use his cuteness to his full advantage. "Please, Mama."

"I never could say no to you," Valka said warmly as she tightened her hold around her precious child, a small bit wondering what would have happened had Hiccup lived at Berk with his father. _He wouldn't be like this,_ she thought to herself. _He wouldn't be who he truly is, who he is meant to be._

Valka closed her eyes for a moment, before she began to sing the lullaby that had once been something more to her in her old life, before Hiccup, before Cloudjumper, before everything.

"I'll swim and sail on savage seas with ne'er fear of drowning and gladly ride the waves of life… if you will marry me," Valka's voice was soft, almost a mere whisper as she sang."No scorching sun nor freezing cold will stop me on my journey_. _If you will promise me your heart and love me for eternity." A tear formed in one of her eyes as she remembered singing this song with Stoick when they had been young and in love, when Stoick had been himself and Valka so, _so_ naïve of the world she had lived in.

"My dearest one, my darling dear, your mighty words astound me, but I've no need of mighty deeds when I feel your arms around me." Valka crooned as Hiccup slowly hummed along with the familiar tune of the song, like his father had done before him.

"But I would bring you rings of gold; I'd even sing you poetry and I would keep you from all harm if you would stay beside me." Hiccup giggled at the poetry part as Valka continued to sing the song.

"I have no use for rings of gold, I care not for your poetry, I only want your hand to hold. I only want you near me." Hiccup's hand had slowly crept up to hold onto his mother's; his small hand was easily covered by his mother's larger hand. Valka could tell that he was beginning to fall to sleep, if the slowed down humming was anything to go by.

"To love, to kiss, to sweetly hold, for the dancing and the dreaming. Though all life's toils and delights, I'll keep your love beside me. I'll swim and sail on savage seas with ne'er a fear of drowning and gladly ride the waves of life… if you will marry me." When the last part was sung, Valka slowly glanced down at Hiccup, who had fallen asleep to the song, a small smile playing at his lips as he dreamed. With a saddened smile Valka lovingly stroked her son's hair, combing through his rugged auburn locks with tender love, before gently kissing his temple before she gently laid him in their nest and bundled him with odd bits of furred pelts. "Good night, Hiccup." Valka said as she brushed away the bangs that covered his eyes.

She left Hiccup to his dreams, slowly standing to her feet she grabbed the staff she had crafted a year ago, though it had been Hiccup who had tried to help paint it. As she left the small cave where she, Hiccup and Cloudjumper occupied, she couldn't help but ponder on the matters of the world occurring outside the icy walls of her home.

Cloudjumper was waiting for her, patiently waiting from his alcove that overlooked the Den, his amber eyes mesmerizing as he looked down upon her. He held out on of his large claws and Valka hooked the staff to him and felt herself being pulled towards her dragon companion. As she settled on his back Valka couldn't help but look towards the cave where her son rested peacefully, unaware of the dangers of the outside world.

How could Valka tell her son that the dragons were in danger? That those he had befriended were being hunted down? When she had been out flying with Cloudjumper Valka had discovered something that had turned nearly frozen her in shock and fear. They had found a dragon, a Hobblegrunt, snared in a grotesque trap made of metal that stabbed into the dragon's side, but the fact that the trap had blinded the poor creature and left there had torn at her heart. There was only one way this could have happened.

Dragon trappers.

Valka had never heard of such men. The Vikings from Berk had always rejected any ideas of killing dragons that didn't involve a sword, battle axe or mace as they deemed it cowardly, even though such ideas of creating weapons such as large bolas or catapults with nets would have greatly helped them. In some ways their arrogance became ignorance when it came to the killing of dragons. Tradition always overtaking common sense. They were too stuck in their ways for there to be change, Valka knew that first hand when Stoick had attacked Cloudjumper that night nearly six years ago. The traps they had found was too advanced for the Berkians, much too advanced for any of the surrounding Viking villages.

But that only created more questions, if none of the Vikings, both from Berk and the other villages, were trapping dragons, than who was?\

* * *

(1) The populace of dragons living in Valka's Sanctuary is much smaller than in the second movie due to the fact that the story currently is around fifteen years before the movie and Valka hasn't begun to rescue any dragons from Drago's trappers, well at least until now.

**Hello, sorry for the long update but I've been trying to plan this story out, and I have a good idea of where to go from here. I'm still trying to get in tune with the characters and how they act, so if they some a little out of character than I apologize as this is my first How to Train Your Dragon fanfic so I've never used these characters before. This chapter is one of the several that will feature Hiccup's childhood as I have several ideas for him when he is a kid, which will be revealed in the next chapter hopefully.**

**Tell me what you think, if you love it or hate it, reviews are the lifeblood of this story!**


	3. Broken Fleet

If there was one thing Hiccup loved, it was flying. Whenever he was sitting on Cloudjumper's back at his mother's side as they soared through the fluffy white clouds and the brilliant blue sky, with the wind in their faces and the world spread out around them with nothing else in sight, Hiccup felt free.

Flying was amazing. There was nothing else that could be said about it. The freedom of the world was open to them, and it was nothing he could describe in mere words. The freedom that came from flying was incredible, it was no wonder why his mother loved to fly with Cloudjumper whenever she could. She had often told him that when she had first begun to fly with her companion, Hiccup had still been a young babe but that didn't stop her from making a type of carrier to hold him as she didn't want to leave him alone for so long. Valka had always told him how whenever he had cried, if she just took him and flew with Cloudjumper he would stop immediately. Hiccup was born to fly with dragons, she would say.

As he got older, Valka felt no need to carry him on her back as she had deemed it safe enough when he turned three to sit on Cloudjumper's back in front of her without the fear of him falling off as she would hold onto him, knowing that neither of them would fall when it was Cloudjumper who carried them. Three years later and the six year old loved nothing more than to fly with his mother.

Hiccup glanced upwards as Cloudjumper prepared to fly through the fluffy clouds that littered the sky that morning; he raised a hand and brushed it through the white fog, amazed when he felt moisture. His mother had told him that clouds were made of water, though that didn't stop him from touching every cloud he could. Valka's arms were wrapped securely around her son while Hiccup leaned back into his mother's warm embrace; his head nestled in the crook of her neck.

Cloudjumper, who had noticed Hiccup touching the very bottom of the clouds, guffawed in amusement, why Hiccup didn't know until all of a sudden they were rising through the clouds. For several seconds all Hiccup saw was never ending whiteness, before suddenly the whiteness turned into brilliant blue as the sky was revealed and the three were gliding above an ocean of clouds. Valka chortled in amusement as she saw her son fling his arms in a desperate to get rid of the residue water from their ascension, but to no avail.

"If I catch a cold, it's not my fault," Hiccup sniffed out, rubbing away the water from his face.

"And if you do catch a cold, it will be your fault for not bringing your coat with ye'," Valka replied in turn.

Hiccup huffed at that, stubbornly crossing his arms over his chest to show both his displeasure and to hide the shivers that crawled up his spine from the icy cold wind. He started so quickly when he felt something on him he would have fallen off of Cloudjumper had his mother not held him so tightly. Turning around he realized that his mother had taken off her thick furred coat and had draped it over him.

He smiled up at her, instantly warming up from the thick furs as his mother kissed his temple. "Thank you, mother," he mumbled from within the thick coat, which was greatly hid the small child who resembled more of a ball of fur than a human being at the moment.

They flew for what seemed like hours, Cloudjumper steadily flying through the harsh winds with ease.

"Do you think I'll be able to have my own dragon friend, Mama?" Hiccup asked suddenly, his voice almost lost to the wind.

Valka raised a brow at that, "What do you mean, Hiccup? You have many dragon friends. Pip, Squeak and Tigg are your friends. Cloudjumper is your friend," at this Cloudjumper rumbled in agreement. "And I know for sure that Spitfire loves you for all the help you gave her when she was laying hatchlings, not to mention her little Gronckles are your friends as well."

"No, I mean like you and Cloudjumper."

Valka blinked at the wistfulness in Hiccup's soft voice, realizing what he meant, and it both saddened her and made her happy. Sad because her son didn't have a dragon companion, but happy that he yearned for such a bond.

"One day, Hiccup," she tousled his shaggy, auburn locks. "One day we'll find your dragon companion."

He perked at that, "When will that day come, mama?" He asked eagerly like a child on Snoggletog morning –though Hiccup didn't know the holiday- and his eagerness made her smile bigger.

"I don't know, Hiccup," Valka said truthfully, which made him deflate dejectedly. "But I know that when you do, you will find your greatest friend in him. He will be your other half, the other half of your heart and soul."

_Like Cloudjumper is for me._

"I'd like that," Hiccup said softly, looking at her with those wide, innocent eyes that suddenly seemed wiser than his years. "We could play tag and explore the tunnels, we could play with all the other hatchlings, we could fly together-"

"Not until you are older and I'm there," Valka swiftly interjected, not at all comfortable with her Hiccup flying on a dragon without her there to watch.

He scowled at her, but it was a snarky scowl that Valka knew was he silently agreeing with her but being to stubborn to admit it. "And I'll be his best friend, and he'll be my best friend," he stated with a grin, which made his mother smile and hold him closer.

_He's such a sweet boy,_ Valka thought to herself. _He's kind and caring, Stoick would never have approved._ The thought of her husband made her thoughts sour slightly, though she loved him so dearly. _Stoick would only see the smallness of his son, his unViking nature; he wouldn't see him as I see him. The son is nothing like the father, and for that I am glad. Oh Stoick… why must you be so stubbornly set in your ways? _

"Mama, what's that?" Hiccup suddenly asked, pointing at something in the distance. Valka leaned closer and followed her son's view, her eyes narrowing when she saw smoke rising from the sea. "Cloudjumper," she said to her companion who huffed in agreement and quickly beat his multiple wings and ascended from the ocean and headed towards the smoke.

Valka saw something in the horizon where the smoke was coming from, something that most definitely wasn't an iceberg.

"Odin's beard…" Valka whispered in horror, she instantly covered Hiccup's eyes with her hand, trying to conceal the sight from her young and impressionable child. "Hiccup don't look." Cloudjumper gave a warbled cry, his amber eyes widening to epic proportions, his pupils thin slits that showed his alarm, as he took in the scene before him.

Ships, dozens of ships, or at least what was left of them. It was as though some monstrous behemoth had erupted from the ocean floor and crushed the once sturdy oaken ships that were now burnt husks. Broken wood drifted underneath them, claw marks and teeth marks of various sizes littered the ships, which were blackened by flame that had reduced once strong oaken planks into charred logs that looked ready to crumble under its own weight. Some of them had crashed into icebergs, their broken forms reminiscent of broken toys thrown about by a giant.

But it was the smell that sickened them. A sickly burnt smell tickled at Valka's nostrils, the smell so pungent she had to resist the urge to dry heave, for the smell was morbidly familiar to her. Having been born and raised in Berk, where they were occasionally raided by fire breathing reptiles made the former Viking know instantly what that smell was: charred bodies burnt to a crisp.

"What happened here?" She whispered to herself as Cloudjumper slowed his flight until they hovered in the center of the destroyed fleet. She saw charred bodies on the decks, burnt so badly she couldn't even tell what species it was, though she knew they had most likely been humans. "Who could have done this?"

"What's wrong?" Hiccup asked nervously, his eyes still covered by Valka's hand. He tried to pry it off but Valka's strength was like trying to bend forged steel, there was no chance in Hel that she was going to let her six year old son see such horrors that made even her, a former Viking, sick at the sight of such gristly, gruesome deaths. "Mama? What's happening?"

"Hush, Hiccup." Valka urged him, her eyes darting around them, looking for whatever creature was responsible for the destruction of the fleet. "Cloudjumper?" She asked her companion who huffed several times, signifying that whatever had created such destruction was long gone.

_We should search for survivors, _she thought, even though that could put them at risk Valka refused to abandon those who needed help. Her gentle heart wouldn't allow it. "Set us down," she said to the Stormcutter who, not looking entirely pleased, gently landed on the only ship that hadn't been torn in half or reduced to splinters.

"Hiccup… I'm going to move my hand, do _not_ wander off, do not leave our sight, do you understand?" Valka said somberly, having already looked around the deck of the ship to see no bodies that would terrify her son.

Hiccup nodded nervously, terrified of whatever his mother had been trying to hide. His Mama was _scared,_ Mama was never scared, but she was now. Valka hesitantly removed her hand from Hiccup's eyes. Hiccup looked around nervously, gasping at the sight of the destroyed ship that looked ready to cave in on itself. He instantly latched onto his mother's leg, his head burrowed into her timidly. Valka kneeled down until she was eye level with her only child, "Hiccup look at me."

He looked at her, wide terrified green eyes locking into grim, somber eyes that were like his own. "I'm going to go below deck alone, Cloudjumper is going to keep an eye on you," she looked at him pleadingly, "Please Hiccup, don't move… there are things here that a boy should never see."

"Okay, Mama," he whispered timidly.

Valka nodded her head and kissed his forehead tenderly, she locked eyes with Cloudjumper who nodded his massive head, signaling that he would watch over Valka's hatchling. "Thank you, my friend," she whispered to him, rubbing her palm against his snout lovingly, before heading towards the stair that lead underneath, she paused for a second glancing back at her family, still unnerved by the _silence_ that reminded her of a graveyard.

Hiccup was sitting on the deck; looking so lost it made Valka's heart nearly break. Cloudjumper sat by him, one of his smaller wings wrapped around him like a warm leather blanket.

Reassured that Cloudjumper would keep an eye on Hiccup, Valka hurried down into the ship.

What greeted her was nothing but ash and soot. The fleet must have been carrying cargo, but it had been burnt away leaving charred husks where barrels, chests and crates had been.

She huddled down and scooped up a handful of ash and smelled it, her nostrils flared when she caught the pungent sulfuric smell that was very familiar. "Dragon fire," she whispered to herself. Perhaps from a Monstrous Nightmare. Had the ships been attacked by dragons? Certainly none of the dragons' at the Sanctuary were to blame, none of them would kill humans unless in self-defense.

She had to wonder, were these ships in league with the trappers who had been trapping dragons? She saw no traps, though it seemed most of the possessions of the ship had either been destroyed and maybe plundered, but she doubted the later as this attack must have surely happened only a few days prior.

Valka doubted they had been trappers; perhaps just Viking merchants who had been at the wrong place at the wrong time and one of them had idiotically initiated a dragon raid. If they were trappers, she did not mourn for them. Not when they were a danger to Cloudjumper, Hiccup and the other dragons she cared for and loved, nobody, be they a Viking or a trapper, would ever harm her family while she was still breathing.

She searched through the ash and soot, looking for anything useful that they could use back home. Valka had realized in the first couple of months that there were some things she depended on from humans, such as pots to cook food for herself and Hiccup and any type of clothing that would help with her growing son. This hadn't been the first ship she had searched for supplies she couldn't find in the wild, there were many a sunken ship stranded on drifting icebergs with precious cargo, such as when she had found an old, musty wool blanket she had given to Hiccup when he had been a toddler and the cold affected him badly even with Cloudjumper and his mother curled at his side.

Because of this she knew where to look for things most humans wouldn't consider important, but to her it was well needed even though she hated such dependency from humans. If not for Hiccup she probably wouldn't have needed any of it, but she would do anything for her son.

She saw a crate, halfway burnt and the iron rusting away from sprayed acid –most likely from the maw of an angry Changewing- and cautiously opened it. She was disappointed to see that most of the contents had been burned to ash, though she noticed a medium sized box made of iron. It had a lock, but thanks to the acid it was rather easy to break when she banged it on a post. She opened it curiously.

What she saw wasn't something that other humans would see as precious cargo, but to Valka it was treasure.

She trailed a hand over the worn leather cover of what appeared to be a book. When she picked it up carefully she saw that there were two others, each the same size and with thick pages. She skimmed through it, noticing how some of the pages were had things written in it, but she was more interested in the blank pages. The first book was mostly written in, but the other two weren't. Valka silently thanked whoever was watching out for her, she had been searching for these for months.

The books weren't for her; they were for Hiccup.

She had been looking everywhere she could to find empty books after she had seen Hiccup drawing in the dirt with a stick. He loved to draw, but it was hard to do with only a stick and dirt, and Valka wanted her boy to have something to draw in, with actual pages and maybe even some charcoal – which honestly wouldn't be too hard to find when they lived with dragons- to draw with.

Perhaps Hiccup would be able to create a Book of Dragons, like Bork the Bold's from Berk, though instead of it being a guide on how to kill a dragon, it would be everything they knew of them.

Maybe they could be a Snoggletog present, that is of course only if Valka wanted to continue the holiday with her family.

Sighing to herself at that thought Valka returned to the deck where Hiccup and Cloudjumper waited patiently for her. Hiccup was still clutched to Cloudjumper's leg, small green eyes darting around at the ship before focusing on his mother. She quickly put the books in the knapsack she had left with Cloudjumper before gathering Hiccup in her arms and placing him on the Stormcutter's back. If she held him the entire time as though afraid he would be suddenly lost to her, Valka never noticed, she just wanted to be away from this graveyard.

Cloudjumper spread his four wings and quickly flew away from the destroyed fleet of ships, the smell still lingered though. "What happened to those ships?" Hiccup asked his mother.

"Dragons attacked them, Hiccup."

Hiccup swiveled his head around to openly gape at her, showing off his missing tooth that had fallen out several days ago, it would have been cute had the situation not been so dire. "Nah uh," he shook his head stubbornly, "Dragons don't attack randomly, you said so."

Valka tightened her grip around Hiccup as she spoke, "Not the dragons in the sanctuary, Hiccup. Those weren't the Alpha's dragons, they were another's."

Hiccup's eyes widened at that, "Another Alpha?" He asked fearful, the thought of dragons attacking with the intent to destroy was so foreign to him, had he not seen the ships he wouldn't have believed it. "A bad Alpha?"

"Maybe, my son. Maybe…"

_How could this possibly get worse?_ Valka wondered to herself._ Dragons don't attack so viciously unless they are provoked, but there weren't any weapons or traps, which meant they might not have been Vikings or trappers. Merchants, perhaps? Why would they have attacked so violently? Dragons don't truly live to destroy and burn things to the ground, as Stoick and the other Vikings think, but are peaceful creatures if left alone. What did those sailors do to receive such fury? Was it another King's command that made them burn those ships to charred husks, burning those men alive? A Queen's? The more important thing is, how will this affect my family?_ Valka didn't enjoy the idea of the Dragon Sanctuary being attacked by either man or dragon, especially dragons. She loved the creatures, but she knew that there were bad dragons out there, just as there were bad men, like the Vikings of Berk.

Cloudjumper crooned lowly, as though sensing his rider's dark thoughts. She rubbed a palm against the side of his head, scratching the peach scales with an experienced hand as he purred at her touch. Only Cloudjumper or Hiccup could pull her from such thoughts. They were the most important things in her life.

They flew for several minutes in silence, each left to their own thoughts.

"We should go back home, Cloudjumper it's getting la-" Valka broke off suddenly as she leaned forward, her brow furrowed as she looked at something in the ocean. Hiccup leaned forward as well, trying to see what his mother was looking at. He saw something floating below them, maybe some of the wood from those burned, scary ships?

"Cloudjumper, take us down," Valka's voice left no room for argument, she had seen something that unnerved her and she needed to know if she was right.

The makeshift raft was barely holding together, a measly thing it was, nothing more than driftwood strapped together by frayed rope. But it was what was _on_ the raft that caught her attention. Valka saw the body move ever so slightly; if she looked closely she could see the small rise and fall of the body as it breathed. It looked like a human, a human child.

As they got closer Valka realized that there was indeed a child curled on his makeshift raft, obviously unconscious. Cloudjumper hovered above the child, allowing Valka to get a better and closer look.

He was barely older than Hiccup, maybe a few years older or so. Dark hair clung to his head in drenched sops, while beefy arms spread out across the raft. Drenched furs showed that despite the fact the boy was a child, he was much more muscular than her Hiccup, a son Stoick would have been proud to have.

"Mama… Is that a human, like us?"" Hiccup whispered, his eyes locked on the child with barely concealed wonder. This was the first ever human he had ever seen before in his entire life, aside from his mother of course.

"Aye, son. He must have been onboard those ships, the poor thing," Valka answered her young son. She felt the internal conflict within her, two sides battling it out for dominance over the other. Should she bring the boy back to the Sanctuary, where she could help him get better? If she left the boy out here to face the elements and the wrathful ocean she was condemning him to death, something that Valka didn't want to wish on anyone, even a human. But if she did bring him back, what if he was a danger to her son?

Valka didn't trust humans, she knew all too well how violent they could get, not to mention ignorant and stubborn with their faults. But this was a _child_, how could she call herself a mother, the title she took the greatest pride in, if she allowed an innocent boy to die by either hypothermia or drowning?

_Maybe if I bring him back and heal him, he'll go away when he's better,_ Valka thought ponderously.

"Cloudjumper?" She glanced down at her dragon companion, silently asking his opinion. The Stormcutter glanced backwards at his rider, owlish amber eyes blinking slowly as he warbled something which Valka immediately understood in her own way.

"Alright," She sighed as Cloudjumper slowly descended until he hovered over the makeshift raft and gently plucked the unconscious boy from the floating timber, making sure to not poke him with his sharp claws. Crooning lowly, the proud Stormcutter began to ascend to the skies once again, now holding onto three humans.

"Mama, what's going to happen?" Hiccup asked softly to his mother, glancing over his shoulder to look at his mother with big, wide eyes. "Is he one of those scary Vikings you warn me about?" He asked fearfully, remembering all the stories his mother had told him about the other humans, specifically those who held the title of Viking, and how they fought and killed –_killed!-_ dragons and how Hiccup should always stay away from any other humans that weren't his mother.

Valka knew she should feel guilty for twisting the Vikings' image –though true- to make her son fear them, when in another life he would have been one, but Valka couldn't bear the idea of Hiccup flying to Berk, or any other island with humans, and being discovered by his father, who wouldn't take too kindly to his supposedly dead son that was everything a Viking wasn't. She knew that making Hiccup absolutely terrified of Vikings might not be the wisest of choices, but Thor damn it, she didn't want her son, who had too much curiosity for his own good, to make contact with them.

Hiccup knew that his mother had been born on an island that hosted Vikings, though she had never so much as uttered the name Berk, and had seen the error of their ways, but she had been the only one.

She might have added in the fact that Vikings would gladly eat any outsider, especially a mischievous child, if they even stepped foot on their rocky shores, which she hoped would stop Hiccup from trying to make contact with those of her former tribe when he got older. She knew that maybe using fear wasn't the healthiest of choices, but it was effective and that's what mattered to her. The only things in the world she loved and cared about was Cloudjumper, the dragons she lived with, and Hiccup. She was his mother; it was her job to protect her son, even from his own father.

If Stoick ever found out his wife and son were alive… Odin's eye, that would bring them nothing but trouble. She loved her husband dearly, so much that she continued to remain dead with their son than give him grief of knowing that his Viking wife had chosen the side of his lifelong enemies, the dragons. Not to mention the fact that Hiccup was technically the heir to Berk, and if Stoick and the other Berkians discovered his survival they would stop at nothing to rip her child from her arms. They would attack the Sanctuary, slay every dragon that peacefully dwelled there, because slaying dragons was all that they knew.

If she could, Valka would make sure that both she and Hiccup would remain dead in the minds of her former tribe, it was the only way both sides would find their own peace. She could never return to life on Berk, not when she had realized her bond with Cloudjumper, not when she had a lifelong goal to fulfill of discovering all dragon secrets, something that she knew Hiccup would gladly aid when he grew older. She would never let her son become like his father, the thought of such a thing happening was too great a pain to think of.

"He's going to be staying with us for a little while, Hiccup. Just until he can get back on his feet," she told her son, who nodded his head shyly, scared eyes continuously darting down to Cloudjumper's feet where the unconscious boy was. "I don't think he's a Viking, Hiccup."

"So he won't eat me?" Hiccup asked immediately, speaking what was currently going on in his mind.

Valka heard Cloudjumper guffaw at that, which made the former Viking glare at her dragon companion in indignation, "No, he won't eat you. And if he does try to, well," she rubbed the Cloudjumper's side lovingly, "We have a very protective Stormcutter to protect you, and me as well." She added as an afterthought, knowing that even if she had to fight a Bewilderbeast with nothing but her fists, she would gladly do so if it meant saving her son.

Hiccup nodded his head, comforted by the thought of his mother and Cloudjumper by his side. "Does he have a name?" He asked, "Humans have names, right? I have a name and you do too, or are we the only ones?"

_Maybe isolation from humankind hasn't helped him in regards to human culture, but what can you expect?_ Valka thought to herself wryly, "I'm sure he does, son. But he's asleep right now, but when he wakes up I'm sure we'll learn it."

Cloudjumper swiftly began to climb into the sky, his massive forming literally jumping through the clouds, as his name so stated, as the Stormcutter, his rider and her hatchling, and the other odd smelling hatchling headed towards their home.

"Is he going to stay with us forever?" Hiccup had to ask as they glided above the clouds, glancing down at the unconscious boy with eyes full of wonder.

That made Valka freeze, because she honestly didn't know the answer. "Maybe, maybe not. We'll see when he wakes up."


	4. Chapter 4

The boy was stubborn, that was something Valka had learned early on. When Cloudjumper had finally returned them to their home, Valka had rushed the freezing boy into the cave they shared with Cloudjumper.

The boy had a mild case of hypothermia, had he been left out on that raft for any longer he might have gotten severe frostbite, but luckily for the mysterious child he had been found by them. It hadn't been too hard to get the boy warm when she had Cloudjumper spit a couple of fireballs on the ground near the boy to keep him warm. Though the boy seemed to be fighting off his sickness with surprising speed.

Valka had immediately rushed towards the small cache of herbs she had gathered before hand, in the off chance she or Hiccup had been injured or got a fever. When she had been a Viking back on Berk, she spent most of her time exploring the thick forests that surrounded the tiny wooden village and Gothi, the village elder, would tell her which herbs would heal a fever, fight off infections, or kill you. Luckily she remembered what the wise elderly woman had taught her over the years, though she had never been a healer she did have a knack for remembering which herb would fight off the common cold (which on Berk was likely to kill you before you could so much as sneeze), what could be used for burn ointments (another necessity on Berk where they were subject to dragon raids), and to fight off infections.

Cloudjumper was curled at the boy's side, one of his smaller secondary wings wrapped around the boy's body like a warm, leather blanket. Color was slowly retuning to the boy, but Valka knew that the boy would most likely have a fever when he would wake up.

"Hiccup, could you grab me those herbs over there, the ones with the rounded leaves? Oh, and grab me some dragon nip from outside," Valka asked her son as she warmed up a pot of water.

Valka's son hurried over and grabbed the right leaves before scurrying off to the cliffs where dragon nip grew in abundance. When he returned Valka had already mashed up the herbs and soon quickly mashed up the dragon nip before brewing it in the warm water. Grabbing a bowl carved from stone, Valka quickly poured the medical tea and rushed over to the unconscious and freezing child.

She had noticed one interesting thing about the boy they had rescued, and that was the tattoos on his chin. They were dark blue and looked tribal, though it looked nothing like a tattoo from a Viking culture, perhaps he really was a merchant, or rather a merchant's son. Valka remembered that merchants often had their children with them when they went on voyages, such as Trader Erik and his young son Johan when they had traded with Berk.

She tilted his chin upwards and slowly poured the medical tea in his mouth, helping him swallow so he wouldn't choke. She had put the dragon nip into the tea to help the boy sleep restfully, to help him get through most of his fever without him having to be unconscious. It wouldn't do good for the boy to wake up when Valka or Hiccup were asleep and wandered the tunnels, either getting lost or running into a sleeping dragon. Of course none of their dragons would hurt him, but the boy obviously wouldn't know that.

Hiccup was crouched by the boy who was sleeping where Hiccup himself usually slept with his mother, he was frowning at the boy though anyone could see the fascination as he looked at the first human being besides his mother at a closer distance. "When will he wake up?" he asked her curiously as he looked at his mother.

Valka looked at the sleeping boy with a light frown, "I don't know, Hiccup. I gave him some dragon nip to help him sleep, but he will wake up when he's ready to wake up. Just be patient."

Hiccup scowled at that, crossing his arms with an agitated huff. Hiccup _hated_ waiting because it took _forever._

"I'm hungry," he declared as he felt his tummy rumble. "Can I go get something to eat, Mama?"

Valka looked up from where she was mashing up more herbs for more tea, "Only if Cloudjumper goes with you. I don't want you wandering off in the tunnels, it's almost time for bed." She said as Cloudjumper perked his head up at the mentioning of his name.

Hiccup looked up at her with pleading eyes, "But I wanna _explore_!" He stressed the last word with a pleading tone, eyes widened with tears as he tried to use his adorableness to sway his mother to let her make an exception this one time.

The only problem was that whenever Hiccup wanted something, he always tried to use his six year old charm on his mother and while it worked most of the time, this wasn't one of those times. She crossed her arms which Hiccup mimicked, "Hiccup…" she started threateningly, staring at her son with eyes that promised motherly punishment. "Need I remind you that you're still in trouble for wandering off a week ago to explore with Pip, Squeak and Tigg? Do you want to add onto your grounding?"

Hiccup deflated at her words, realizing that he had lost. "Fine," he huffed out before he brightened considerably when he caught Cloudjumper's gaze. "Come on Cloudjumper, let's go eat!" He quickly crawled up on the Stormcutter's scaled shoulder as Valka's dragon companion got to his feet with a warm purr. Valka couldn't help but smile as she watched the two leave their cave to get dinner.

_My boys,_ she thought contently as she watched Cloudjumper's tail recede into the tunnel that outwards towards the main area of the Sanctuary.

Valka sat down on a small rounded pillar of rock, a natural chair, and grabbed her staff. She traced a finger against the curved wood, grinning warmly when she looked at the splashes of bright blue and yellow paint that had been smeared by Hiccup in his attempt to make his mother's staff look even cooler than it already was. She tapped one of the curved ends against the stone floor, listening to the rattles with a concentrated look in her eye. She had begun to realize how she could convey messages to dragons without a word if she used the rattles in a certain way.

She did not know how long she sat there inspecting her staff, it could have been hours for all she knew. Cloudjumper and Hiccup were most likely fishing at the moment, trying to bring back food for supper for her to cook. Valka had surprisingly gotten better at cooking over the past six years. Before she couldn't even cook meatballs without nearly killing someone, but after having to take care and feed Hiccup as well as herself she had slowly gotten better and thus she wouldn't accidently kill her own offspring with her cooking.

Valka heard movement, the sound of blankets being tossed and turned. She turned around to see the boy she had been nursing back to health slowly opening his eyes. She rushed forward with another bowl of herbal tea, without the dragon nip, and approached the conscious boy.

Valka knelt down by the boy's side, watching him looking around at his surroundings in a feverish haze. She noticed that his eyes, while slightly glazed and unfocused, were a light brown, almost amber in appearance. His sickly pale skin clashed terribly with his tattoos, making him look even sicker.

"W-Where…" The sickly boy began to hack and Valka immediately handed him some more of her herbal tea, which the boy gratefully drank. "Where am I?" The boy asked her again, his voice hoarse from fever but Valka could hear the fear in his voice.

It made sense. The boy must have been on those ships when the dragons attacked, his father or mother most likely having died during the attack, maybe even sacrificing themselves so their son could escape on that raft. It was something she herself would have done for Hiccup. A parent would do anything for their child.

"You're in my home," she whispered softly, keeping her voice light to keep him calm.

Something about her must have made the boy relax, for he slowly laid back down, though he still looked around the cave with confusion. "You live in a cave?" He asked curiously.

"Aye, I do." Valka didn't really wish to reveal the small bit of information that she, and now he for a short time, lived in a dragon Nest filled with dragons and an Alpha. She knew that if the boy were to know that, he wouldn't trust her and would probably die of fright. She would tell him later, only after easing him into trusting her.

"My son and I found you on a raft, we found a destroyed fleet rather close to where we found you, were you on one of those ships?" She asked him.

The boy's eyes widened in alarm, as though only now just remembering. "M-My father!" He tried to shout out, but his voice cracked halfway through and he returned to hacking terribly.

She placed a hand on his shoulder, steadying him. He looked up at her, those amber eyes filled with tears threatening to spill like floodwater. "Where's my father?" He whispered to her, begging her, he looked so small and pitiful as he huddled there with those watery eyes it made Valka want to weep alongside him, for she knew what had happened to this boy's father.

"I'm so sorry," Valka said mournfully, as the boy started to weep uncontrollably, his built form shuddering and quivering.

"N-No… my Da can't be gone, he c-cant!" the boy wept, his amber eyes broken in grief.

Valka remained silent, her tongue stuck as she watched the boy mourn his father. It was odd, speaking to another human being that wasn't her own son, and never before had she been in such a dire and sorrowful situation such as this, so she stayed silent and let the son mourn for his father.

She waited patiently until the tears had run their course, and his shuddering and quivering had slowed down. When she felt the time was right, Valka softly asked him, "What is your name, little one?"

He looked at her, rubbing his hand against his dripping nose and managed to croak out, "I'm Eret, s-son of Eret."

"Hello Eret, my name is Valka." She said kindly, not wishing to aggravate the mourning child any further. She wiped away the tears that still trailed down his cheek. Her voice was soft and quiet as she asked him what she desperately wanted to know, but couldn't until he had calmed down enough for her to inquire, "Eret… what happened to those ships?"

He gulped back tears and cries and stared at her instead, his eyes still watery and now tinged with redness from his grief and sorrow. He looked at her with wide eyes filled with absolute terror and fear as he remembered, "D-Dragons…"

Valka felt her heart sinking at those words, though she had already known. "Do you know why they attacked you?" Most likely one of the sailors had done something incredibly stupid to cause such an attack.

Eret shook his head, "No… they… they just came out of, of _nowhere_… there were so many," he whispered, his voice filled with absolute terror. "They were scary and they burned everything and they took stuff…"

"They _took_ stuff?" Valka inquired sharply, "Like livestock?"

"No. They took our cargo. They took our barrels of cloth, they took our crates of weapons, they took our furs, they took everything!" Eret exclaimed, his glazed from both fever and memory.

_Dragons took their cargo? It would explain why there was nothing left on the ships save those books… but a dragon cares not for furs and cloth or weapons. If they had carried sheep or yak, I would not be surprised, but that sort of cargo? No dragon would need such things… but then why did they take it?_ Valka thought to herself in bewilderment.

She couldn't think of any answers and that unnerved the woman greatly.

"Is my Da dead?" Eret asked hoarsely.

"I'm afraid so, little one… I'm afraid so," Valka said just as hoarse, for she truly did feel terrible for the boy. He was only a little bit older than Hiccup and lost a father. This was a child mourning the loss of a parent, and though however cold she might be to humans, she was still human herself with a beating heart and not even she could feel nothing for the boy who had lost everything.

Valka grabbed another bowl of steaming tea, without the dragon nip, and handed it to the boy who drank it gratefully.

"You're safe here Eret," She assured the child wrapped in furs. "You won't be hurt anymore, you're safe."

Eret looked up at her with mournful eyes, "D-Did you find any survivors in the fleet? Even if my Da is…" he trailed off as he choked on his own words, but somehow found the strength to continue, "You know… Did anyone else survive the attack?"

Valka stayed silent, not knowing how to respond to the already grief-stricken boy. Nobody had survived the dragon attack, she had seen the burnt corpses herself.

Eret noticed her silence and realized that his question had been answered, tears silently streamed down his cheeks and dripped off of his tattooed chin. He latched onto her, sobbing against her leather armor as he held her as though she were a lifeline. Valka stiffened at the touch, unfamiliar with the touch of another human being outside of her own son, but the way he held onto her, it was just like when Hiccup had nightmares of scary Vikings trying to eat him and he would latch onto his mother as though she were his lifeline until she managed to coerce him back to sleep with promises that she would never have anything or anyone ever hurt him. She slowly wrapped her arms around his burly shoulders, hugging him back as he snuggled closer, she could feel the tears seeping through her furs but she didn't mind it.

"You're safe, Eret," she whispered to him again as she stroked his ebony locks, like she did when she held a scared Hiccup. "You're safe…"

Eret looked up at her, eyes reddened by tears and his nose ran but he held himself in a desperate attempt to appear calm. "I'm-" Eret paused, the words chocking him as he looked at something behind Valka. Brown eyes as light as amber widened to epic proportions, Valka saw the boy go pale as he began to quiver in what could only be pure terror. Eret screamed, the sound echoing off of the cave's walls.

Valka turned around swiftly when she heard Eret scream, instantly rising into a crouch to attack whatever intruder had dared to enter her home. She relaxed instantly when she saw that it was just Cloudjumper, Hiccup on his back, with a mouth full of fish. She paled when she realized that _Cloudjumper_ was here, where Eret could see him. She hadn't told him that he was currently residing in a dragon Nest, where hundreds of dragons lived.

"Eret!" She called out to him, but the son of Eret only screamed again, a scream full of complete and utter terror as he gazed at the confused Stormcutter, not seeing the gentle creature that Valka and Hiccup saw, but one of the monsters who had destroyed his fleet and killed his father. Eret fled, racing away from the massive dragon as fast as his feet could carry him, but stopped when he realized that he was in a cave with only one entrance, which Cloudjumper was currently blocking.

Eret pinned himself against the wall, desperately trying to hide himself from the burning amber eye of the demon staring at him, the eyes burned into him like miniature suns. All Eret could think of was the dragon attack, where his father was killed protecting him, where all the sailors were burned to crisps and Eret was the only survivor because his father had placed him on a raft, sacrificing himself to save his son. That demon was a dragon, dragons killed people! Why was there a dragon in the nice lady's home? Why wasn't she screaming in terror or screaming for an axe? Why was there a boy nestled on the demon's back? He thought these questions rapidly, trying to make sense through his petrifying terror.

"Eret," Valka slowly approached him as though he were a wild animal, "Eret, calm down." She said softly, hoping that her own relaxation would make the child calm down, if only enough so she could explain.

"D-Dragon," Eret whispered, pointing a shaking finger at Cloudjumper with absolute terror.

"Aye, that's a dragon." Valka agreed as she slowly edged closer, "His name is Cloudjumper. He won't hurt you, I promise."

Eret shot her a look of bewilderment mixed with fear, his amber eyes kept darting between her and the prideful Stormcutter. "It has a name?" He said it as though repulsed which made Valka internally scowl at the usage of the word 'it' as though Cloudjumper was just some mindless beast.

"He," she stressed the word, "Won't hurt you. He's my friend. He's nice." Eret stared at her with wide eyes, sweat beading down his forehead from the terror pulsing within him, but now he was both terrified and confused. What did she mean that the dragon was her friend? Dragons were evil; everyone knew that. Dragons had killed his father. Dragons weren't _nice;_ they were evil creatures that killed anything they saw, that's what everyone said.

Valka wished that her beloved dragon hadn't appeared just yet, though she couldn't blame Cloudjumper for entering his own home without knowing that his presence wouldn't be very well received. "Eret… there's something you should know." She glanced backwards at Cloudjumper, staring into his warm amber eyes and slowly motioned him to come forward.

Cloudjumper began to shuffle forward towards the two humans slowly, as though he knew that he was scaring the younger hatchling. He was so caring and kind, he might look to be mean on the outside with his sharp teeth and claws, but on the inside Cloudjumper was sweet and gentle, but yet people never saw the inside, only the outside that made them think dragons mere savage beasts. She had been the only one to see what a dragon could be, a gentle and intelligent creature. She knew she shouldn't be angry at Eret for acting the way he did, she knew that the child was most likely terrified of dragons from that attack, it made sense for the boy to react that way when he saw a Stormcutter hobble into what he had thought to be a safe haven.

Eret tensed like a cornered animal while Valka remained as relaxed as one could be. Cloudjumper approached her, purring contently when she stroked his blue-tinted jaw tenderly. Eret watched on as he saw the woman who had saved him petting a dragon, a demon of the skies, as though it were some tame housecat. And the dragon wasn't even trying to eat her! Why wasn't he eating her like all dragons did?

"Eret, you're not just in a cave." Valka said as she leaned against Cloudjumper's scaled shoulder, finding comfort in his presence. "You're in a Nest. A dragon Nest."

If Eret had been terrified before, now he was actually paralyzed. He had heard of Nests from his father; great fiery infernos where dragons dwelled as though it were their own version of Helheim. Dragons were living here. Dragons had killed his father and all the sailors. He was in a _Nest_. He was most likely going to die, but somehow some of the terror ebbed away ever so slightly when he saw Valka leaning against the scary dragon, looking completely calm as she stroked the dragon's snout as though it were a _pet_.

He kept expecting for the dragon to rear back it's massive head and gobble the woman whole; it was certainly big enough to do so. He couldn't stop staring at the dragon's knife-like teeth that poked out of his lower jaw, easily imaging being eaten by the dragon without much difficulty. The dragon had a face that looked slightly squashed with several nose plates that made the dragon always look perpetually angry.

He shivered despite the furs that covered him; the dragon was terrifying. He backed further away into the wall as the woman stepped forward again; the way she walked was more of a slight hobble, as though she was burdened by some great weight though she walked with a nimble grace. "This is Cloudjumper," Valka said slowly as she slowly crept towards him, going as slow as possible as to not startle him, she had seen a fair share of terrified dragons over the years and knew how to approach them, hopefully it would work with Eret though he was a human.

Eret flinched when he heard the deep rumbles that erupted from the Stormcutter with the strength of an avalanche; he glanced back towards the dragon and spotted a young boy perched on the dragon's back. The dragon's crowned and spiked head had hid the boy from Eret's view until now. The boy was staring at him with wide unblinking green eyes, his head cocked slightly as he gazed at Eret with shy wonder. Eret saw that he looked a lot like Valka. _He must be her son,_ he realized as he remembered Valka telling him how she and her son had found him on the raft. When the boy saw that Eret was staring at him, he shyly ducked his head behind the dragon's wide and scarred crown.

"Cloudjumper won't hurt you," Valka said to him as she stopped approaching him, if she wanted to she could reach out and touch him, but she stayed away from him at a comfortable distance. "He's my friend. He doesn't hurt humans." Judging by the way Eret was looking at her as though she had spouted two heads, he didn't believe her in the slightest. She slowly reached her hand out, palm facing him with her slender fingers splayed. Eret stared at it, unsure of what she was doing, he blinked when he saw the hand getting closer. Fingers lightly caressed his forehead, the tips just barely touching him. There was something calming about the action that made Eret relax if only so slightly, he watched as the fingers left his face to hold his hand. He stumbled when he felt himself being gentle guided by the woman, eyes wide in terror when he realized she was gently herding him towards the awaiting dragon.

He wanted to bolt from her grasp, but the woman had a grip like iron and refused to let go of his arm. Realizing that there was no way out of this terrible situation, Eret reluctantly allowed her drag him to his awaiting death by dragon. He stiffened when he saw the Stormcutter hobble towards them, but Valka looked down at him with a warm smile that made him relax if only slightly. "Do you trust me, Eret?"

Eret did, he really did. She had saved his life when she had taken him from the makeshift raft that his father had pushed him on before their whole ship went up in flames. She took him to her home and nursed him back to health. She had saved his life. He nodded shyly, still staring into the amber eyes of the dragon before him. "Than let me show you what you've been missing when it comes to dragons." Valka slowly extended his arm towards Cloudjumper's snout, making him spread his fingers and expose his palm as she did so. Eret flinched when he saw the massive head of the beast getting closer, so close that he could almost touch him.

Slowly, so as to not startle the boy, Cloudjumper softly leaned against Eret's outspread hand, his forehead meeting the boy's small palm lightly. Eret hadn't known what to expect, but he was surprised to feel how warm the dragon was, how sleek his scales were. Without knowing it, Eret was slowly stroking Cloudjumper's snout, amazed at the touch. The fear was gone, instead now all the boy felt was wonder.

Valka watched on, sharp eyes watching Eret's fingers lightly stroking Cloudjumper's snout, watched as they were slowly raised to stroke the lowest of his nose plates, she smiled when she saw Cloudjumper's toothy grin directed towards the son of Eret, eyes as warm as the sun itself. Hiccup was watching from his higher vantage point, clutching onto Cloudjumper's neck spikes as he peeked over the Stormcutter's shoulder. She shifted on her feet slightly, her feet scuffing the ground.

At the sound Eret jerked back his hand and clutched it to his chest as though he had been burned, the wonder was gone as fear retook him. Why had he touched the dragon? Dragons killed people, they ate people, they killed his Da. He didn't care if the dragon hadn't eaten him, it's kind had killed his father and people.

Valka sighed wearily, shoulders slumped as she realized that even though Eret seemed to know that Cloudjumper wouldn't hurt him, he was still terrified of dragons in general. She couldn't blame him, she knew that he had lost his entire life to the creatures, though it hurt to see such fear in a boy's eyes when he looked at her greatest companion. She had to prove him wrong. She had to show him that not all dragons were bad. She had to show him the truth. That dragons were beautiful, gentle creatures.

"Hiccup, why don't you go show our guest your friends?" Valka encouraged her son, who was still hiding behind Cloudjumper's massive form, latched on his back as he shyly peeked over the Stormcutter's shoulder. "It's feeding time for the hatchlings, anyway."

She watched as her young son slowly slid off of Cloudjumper's back, torn between the chance to play with his friends and feed the dragons but having to be with the strange human boy while doing so.

"Okay," Hiccup said as he shuffled his feet, he turned his attention to the dark-haired boy, eager for to playing the hatchlings, which was one of Hiccup's favorite things to do, second only to flying and feeding time. Though he wished the weird human boy didn't have to be with him, but his mother had told him to include Eret, so he would even if he didn't like it.

"Why don't you go feed the Gronckles? Spitfire would really love that," Valka suggested, knowing that Spitfire had recently had hatchlings and would no doubt appreciate it if they gave the green bulbous dragon her favorite type of rocks and maybe some dragon root. It was also the best idea to warm Eret up to the idea of dragons not being murdering monsters, but gentle creatures if treated right. Hatchlings might not listen to anybody, not even the Alpha, but they were rather adorable and wouldn't hurt Eret as they weren't old enough to spew lava from their maws. It would be the best opportunity to have him get over his fear of dragons. "I'll meet you in her den, why don't you go grab a bit of dragon root for her?"

Hiccup grinned up at her, "Okay, mother!" He yelled exuberantly as he hurried out the cave, completely forgetting about Eret in his excitement.

"Go on," Valka jerked her head in the direction her son had run off to, "Before you lose him."

Eret quietly followed, still terrified that a dragon was going to appear from the shadows and swallow him whole. He hurried throughout the tunnel, follow the path until suddenly he was in a small cavern with multiple tunnels leading in different directions.

Surprisingly the boy was waiting for him, the boy was hopping from one foot to the other in his impatience but once he saw Eret emerge from the tunnel that led to where he lived, Hiccup hurried towards one of the tunnels on Eret's left. The boy's lean form disappearing into the shadows.

Eret ran after him, not wanting to be left alone in a dragon's Nest without someone else.

He struggled to move past the stalactites and stalagmites that erupted from the tunnel at random intervals, the tunnel itself was getting narrower and narrower as he slowly progressed through it, sometimes even having to squeeze his way to continue on.

He could see Valka's child ahead of him, sometimes peering back at him with unblinking green eyes, before he crawled through the tunnel like a spider.

Eret watched in fascination as the auburn-haired boy crawled throughout the cramped tunnel on all fours, climbing protruding rock spikes with experienced ease. It unnerved the son of Eret, to see a human walk as though they were a dragon, and for the odd boy he moved as gracefully on all fours as easily as walking on his feet. "W-Wait up!" He called back, his voice echoing off of the stonework as he tried to follow the nimble boy, but while it took all but a few seconds for Hiccup to clamber over the oddly shaped rocks, it took the older boy much longer to scramble upwards, and even when he did he only managed to catch the sight of the dragon boy's foot as he turned a corner, vaulted over a rock, or one time actually climbing several feet when the tunnel suddenly gained slope and the only way through was to climb _straight_ up.

"Wait!" He cried out, his muscles aching and his heart thumping loudly, but the dragon boy the lady had called 'Hiccup' was always several steps ahead of him.

Hiccup stopped at that, crouched on all fours he looked at the boy crawling after him, he shifted impatiently as he turned around and continued onwards, only yelling back "Come! Quickly!" as he scurried away further into the winding tunnel.

Eret spent another minute or so attempting to climb over rocks, his head throbbing whenever he hit his head, before he finally entered another cave, the only light coming from the ceiling which was made entirely of ice, making the room glow a bluish green.

Hiccup was waiting for him patiently, his back turned to him as he began to dig furiously in the ground, which was surprisingly just dirt. He hadn't seen any dirt since he had gotten here, most of the place was either solid rock or ice. Rough patches surrounded the boy, almost as though there was something halfway buried under the rounded lumps.

"Y-You…" Eret fell to his knees, gasping for breath. "M-Made me run and climb on all those stupid rocks in those stupid tunnels _and_ get hit in the head, just so you could dig in the dirt?" he asked in complete disbelief.

Hiccup made a face at him, as though wondering just how stupid the exhausted boy really was. "No, Mama said that we need to feed Spitfire and her hatchlings. Spitfire is a Gronckle." He said that part slowly, as though talking to a hatchling that couldn't fully understand him.

"I know what a Gronckle is!" Eret said defensively, crossing his arms across his chest. "My Da fought them all tha' time, they burned his cargo once… before the attack."

Hiccup titled his head in confusion, "Da?" He asked curiously, not recognizing the word, before looking horrified, "he _fought_ them with those shiny sharp curvy things -what did Ma call 'em- axes_?_"

"My Da, father? Don't you have a father?" Eret asked curiously, realizing that besides Hiccup the only other human being he had seen was his mother, the nice lady who got rid of his fever.

Hiccup shook his head, looking at him as though baffled, "No." He suddenly perked up, "But I have Cloudjumper! He's always helped take care of me when my mother can't."

"That dragon bat thing?"

Hiccup scowled, "He's a Stormcutter."

"Whatever." Eret huffed.

Hiccup was staring at him, his eyes fixated on the boy's chin. Suddenly Hiccup was right in front of him and grabbed the sides of his face, making the merchant's son yelp as he tried to rip his face out of his hands, but the kid was surprisingly strong for a six year old runt. "What _are_ those?" Hiccup asked in wonder, not at all aware that he was invading Eret's personal bubble, he poked at the boy's chin, his head titled in confusion. "Are they scales? Cloudjumper has blue scales on his chin too."

The son of Eret realized that Hiccup was talking about his tattoos, which infuriated that this dragon boy thought he had scales, what did he think Eret was, some type of dragon boy too? "_These,"_ he jabbed a thumb at his chin while his other hand shoved the boy out of his personal space, "Are tribal tattoos."

Hiccup cocked his head at that, not recognizing the word. "Taaatu," he tried to wrap his tongue around the odd, foreign word.

"Tattoo."

"Tattuo?"

"Tattoo!"

"Tato?"

"Tattoo!"

Tattaou?"

"Odin's axe, I will strangle you! Tattoo!" Eret exclaimed as he grabbed at his raven locks, ready to pull the hairs from his scalp in pure frustration.

"Tootuu." Hiccup drawled out.

"_Tattoo!"_

"Tattoo?"

"No! Tattoo!"

Eret quieted as he realized that after many failed attempts, the dragon boy actually managed to say the word. "Hmph," Hiccup said with a snide smirk, his chin tilted up in smug pride. "I think I said it right."

If there were ever a time where Eret had wished to punch a child in the face, it would most definitely be this moment. "You annoy me," Eret said with a deadpan, completely without emotion as he looked at the annoying dragon boy.

Hiccup sneered at him, which only infuriated the older boy more.

"Help me dig," Hiccup gestured towards the rough patch that he had begun to dig in.

Eret grumbled as he joined the weird boy and helped him dig through the rocky soil, after a couple of seconds he suddenly felt his fingers scrape against something that wasn't a rock, but instead was smooth to the touch. He glanced up at Hiccup, only to fall on his back and scramble away when he saw the knife in his hand.

Squinting, Eret realized that the knife wasn't made of iron but rather it was from the tooth of some giant dragon. Hiccup was looking at him as though he was crazy, "Weirdo," the six year old mumbled to himself, to the fury of Eret, son of Eret.

"Who are you calling a weirdo? _You're_ the weirdo," Eret exclaimed childishly, never minding the fact he was goading someone who was easily five years younger than him.

The six year old rolled his eyes, "Are all humans as dumb as you?" He had never met another human being before, but if they were as slow, clumsy and dumb as Eret, than he was glad that he lived with dragons.

Eret's tanned face turned a nasty vermillion, the red clashing against the blue tattoos on his chin. He fumed and turned his attention to the thing in the ground, eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out what it was. The plant, he assumed it was a plant, was a light green with bulbous stumps protruding from the base, white thin stalks poked out of the stumps that reminded Eret of hair.

"This is dragon root," Hiccup explained as he cut off a stump with his dragon tooth. "My mother and I grow it up here, where the dragons can't get it and eat it."

"Why?" Eret asked with curiosity, trying to ignore the fact that anything with the name 'dragon' on it usually ended badly.

"It's like dragon nip only much more…" Hiccup struggled to find a proper word to describe the odd effect it had on all dragons aside from Gronckles, he might be extremely intelligent but he was still six, he couldn't even read though his mother had promised to teach him soon. "Stronger."

It still confused Hiccup and Valka on how even the most peaceful of dragons would go absolutely berserk if they all but caught the scent of the root. Even _Cloudjumper_ had gone berserk when they had stumbled upon it, though Valka had managed to calm him down enough to get him away from the dragon root. After they realized that all of the dragons save the rock-eating Gronckles would go crazy aggressive with one another, the two humans had immediately set out to find any stray roots growing in the Sanctuary, which hadn't been too many but still enough for them to bring into this small enclosed cave where nobody but Terrible Terror could reach (though Valka always had the entrance to the tunnel blocked off in case the mischievous dragons got any ideas) and she and Hiccup could reach. The only other dragon that hadn't reacted so badly towards the root was the Alpha, their king.

They grew it up here for the Gronckle, as dragon root was one of their favorite foods despite the terrible influence it had on the other dragons. Luckily Valka had figured out the answer to that little problem some time ago.

Hiccup grabbed something from his roughly hewn tunic, which Eret realized was a small cloth smudged with what appeared to be dirt. He leaned closer to see it better and immediately wished he hadn't.

"Ugh, what is that smell?" Eret asked as he pinched his nose in a vain attempt to block out the disgusting smell. It reminded him of rotting yak milk and dung.

"Dragon dung," Hiccup said with a shrug as he waved the cloth in front of Eret's face, who smacked it away with a heated glare.

"Do you even _know_ what personal space is?" Eret, son of Eret demanded, "And why do you have a dung smelling cloth on your person?"

Hiccup carefully placed the green stump from the dragon root in the center of the cloth before wrapping it up. "My mother thought of it. The smell masks the scent of the root, so other dragons won't smell anything but dung. This way we can carry some around to feed the Gronckles without the other dragons having to smell it."

"That is… actually smart." Eret realized, though he didn't really understand the purpose of dragon root, but if what Hiccup had told him was true, than he would take the smell of dragon dung over murderous dragons any day.

Hiccup grinned at him, which unnerved the son of Eret greatly. The way the boy smiled… it just wasn't human. He showed his entire set of teeth, even the back ones, the lips were pulled back too far, and the smile looked far too dragon-like for Eret to be comfortable with.

"Are you and your mother the only humans here?" Eret asked, remembering the conversation with Hiccup about his father, which Hiccup didn't seem to even know what the word meant.

Hiccup blinked at that, before shyly nodding.

"You two just, just live here. With dragons? Fire breathing lizards who kill humans?"

Hiccup glared at him, his green eyes suddenly alight in an inferno of fury. "Dragons don't kill humans, humans kill dragons. Humans can't be trusted, _you_ can't be trusted," Hiccup poked the boy in the chest to emphasize his point. "My mother told me so!" He said smugly, head held high, remembering all the scary stories about Vikings from his mother.

"You're human too." Eret sneered.

Hiccup looked down at that, suddenly looking mournful. Eret immediately felt terrible, the boy might have been extremely annoying, far too snarky for his own good, had no clue on how to have a civil conversation with someone, and seemed to love dragons, _dragons_ of all creatures_,_ but when Eret saw those wide, green eyes he felt something akin to pity burn within him.

Eret thought back on Hiccup's mother, the nice lady who helped him get better, the only other human he had seen besides Hiccup. "Am I… the first human you've seen or talked too, besides your mother?" He asked softly, thinking back on how shy the boy had been in the cave with that scary Stormcutter, Skyjumper or something like that, and how the boy didn't seem to know how to act when he invaded Eret's personal space.

Hiccup nodded shyly, all anger and sorrow gone, now he just looked confused.

Eret opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't think of anything. How exactly was he supposed to talk about this with a boy who had never had any human contact outside of his mother? "I-I," he began, stalling for time.

"We should go," Hiccup said shortly as he stood up and began to head towards the opening of the tunnel, his gait more of a hobble than a walk., reminiscent of how Valka had slowly approached him. "Mother is waiting."

Eret wordlessly followed him.

* * *

Valka was waiting for them patiently as she rubbed the side of a large Gronckle whose scales were light green with tints of purple on her back, the Gronckle was moving her foot back in forth as Valka rubbed her belly, tongue lolling out like a dog. Suddenly there was a sudden stampede of baby Gronckles that vaulted over their mother and immediately swarmed Valka's son, who laughed as he valiantly tried to keep the stump of dragon root out of their mouths. "This is for _your_ mama," he told the hatchlings, five in total. Eret hunkered back, nervously looking at the dragons with barely concealed fear, remembering the dragons that had burned his father's ships.

"I brought it, mother!" Hiccup held the cloth that held the root up high, proudly showing it to his mother and also to keep it away from the hatchlings. He suddenly fell belly when a multitude of Gronckle hatchlings jumped on his back, their combined weight making the boy fall onto his belly with a loud "Oof!"

Hiccup shrieked out in glee as the hatchlings crawled around his back, one of them contently gnawing on his ear, though luckily their teeth hadn't grown in yet, while the others sniffed at the cloth curiously.

Eret watched from a safe distance as Valka was tossed the root by her son and gently feed the Gronckle mother it with her palms spread outwards, as though she was feeding a Yak a carrot.

Hiccup was currently playing with the Gronckles, shrieking in glee as he was crawled on by the heavy-set hatchlings, who found chewing his hair to be a great enjoyment.

Eret turned his attention back to Hiccup's mother. Valka was warmly smiling at her boy, Eret noticed that her smile seemed much more human than her son's. She was watching her son play with the dragons as though it was one of the greatest sights to behold. The son of Eret watched as the mother sat back down, leaning against the belly of Spitfire as both mothers watched their child/hatchlings play with one another. Eret instinctively compared them to normal mothers watching their children roughhouse back at his own village.

He watched as Valka picked up a rock the size of Eret's head and feed it to the mother, who licked it into her mouth with a content groan. Valka turned towards him, as though she knew he was watching her, and smiled kindly. "Would you like to feed one of them?"

Eret really didn't want to. He really, really didn't want to. But the woman had been so nice to him! She had rescued him from the ocean, had helped him get rid of his fever, and had even feed him. He couldn't refuse her.

Eret slowly picked up a rock the size of his fist. Slowly, as though unsure, Eret tossed it at one of the baby dragons, who started at the sudden rock that almost, accidently, hit him and gave a sharp wail before fleeing to his mother.

Eret winced as though he had been struck and shrunk away, refusing to make eye contact with Hiccup's mother, scared that she was mad at him.

He started when Valka placed a hand on Eret's shoulder, making the boy peek up shyly at her, his cheeks tinged red in embarrassment. "I didn't mean to hurt him," he said, terrified that he would be thrown out back into the ocean.

"It's alright Eret," Valka gently told the son of Eret, "You didn't know. Gronckle hatchlings can't quite eat rocks just yet, their digestive systems are still too weak to process solid rock. You didn't hurt him, they have strong, thick armor like skin, you merely startled him." She grabbed another rock and lightly tossed it to Spitfire, who merely opened her massive mouth and contently chewed on the rock.

Eret watched in fascination as the Gronckle mother suddenly started to shudder and quiver, her eyes bulging out ever so slightly. He heard what he thought sounded like choking, and immediately wondered if she actually _was_ choking but before he could tell the nice lady that, the Gronckle spat out a spew of lava onto the ground.

The hatchlings pounced on the molten rock, slurping it up like water. "Gronckle mothers have to digest the rocks until it becomes lava, they then regurgitate for their hatchlings to eat. It's rather similar to young humans when they are toddlers, they have to have to have mashed vegetables and fruits."

"I never thought of it like that," Eret said in amazement. He wasn't scared of the Gronckle anymore, though he was still terrified of dragons in general, but rather he felt more curious about them than he was scared of them. He had to admit, there was something about the baby Gronckles that was, well, cute. He glanced up at the dragon lady and her son, "Why don't the dragons eat you?"

Valka smiled at that, bemused. "Why would they?" She asked him as they watched the hatchlings finish their molten meal, their eyes blinking slowly as sleep threatened to overtake them. As one, the swarm of hatchlings slowly stumbled towards their mother, who nuzzled them warmly with gentle tenderness. They piled on one another in a giant pile; Spitfire curled around them protectively.

Eret swallowed as he thought of that. His whole life, dragons had been monsters. Dragons killed his father, though they didn't seem to be these dragons that Valka and Hiccup lived with. Dragons had always been scary to him, but he wasn't scared here.

"We're not so different from them, Eret." Valka glanced down at the human boy, green eyes filled with fire staring into amber eyes. "If anything, we're actually similar. We both love and care. Dragons and humans might be enemies, but not all of them must be." She thought of Berk and their never ending war with the dragons and of herself and Hiccup, who lived under their care. While humans in general hated and feared dragons, not all of them did, such as herself and Hiccup. _And maybe Eret too,_ she realized suddenly, _If I can convince him that dragons aren't to be feared or hated, but to be loved and cherished…_ "Dragons aren't monsters." She suddenly looked hesitant, as though wondering on what to say next. "I know that dragons killed your father, Eret. Yes there are some bad dragons out there, just like there are bad men too. But I promise you, no dragon in this Sanctuary will harm you."

Eret glanced down at his feet, suddenly at lost for words. "You promise?" he asked, suddenly looking like the child he was, instead of the adult he tried to be.

Valka smiled at him as she knelt down to his eye level, her hand cupping his cheek so that he would look her in the eyes. "I promise."

Eret looked at the former Viking, he still looked so confused and lost, as though unsure of what his place in the world was now. "Do you have any family left, Eret? Your mother perhaps?" Valka wouldn't force the boy to leave live with herself and Hiccup if he didn't wish too, if he wished to leave than she would allow him. She didn't fear him telling everyone that a lady who rode atop a Stormcutter rescued him and lived in an icy utopia with hundreds of dragons with her young son, no one would believe him.

"My mother died of dragon pox when I was six," Eret mumbled out.

"I'm sorry."

"It was a long time ago," Eret whispered softly, grief still tinged in his tone. He was an orphan now, his parents were gone and he was all alone.

Valka felt her heart twinge for the human, he looked so lost and hopeless, his broad shoulders hunched with the weight of his father's death burdened upon him. He was so young, too young to look so old and weary. _Odin help me, pray that I am not making a serious mistake,_ Valka prayed silently as she pondered the possibilities.

She didn't trust humans in the slightest, her encounters with the Vikings of Berk –she refused to think of them as they had once been to her, friends and comrades- had soured any reform that Vikings could change for the better. Vikings couldn't change. But could Eret?

He wasn't a Viking, he wasn't a Hooligan from Berk, he wasn't from the Meathead tribe, he wasn't an Outcast, he was just a little orphan boy who she had found in the ocean, close to death. Eret wasn't a Viking, but he was still human.

_You're human too, you and Hiccup,_ that little voice in the back of her head reminded her softly, which she tried to ignore. Aye, she was a human but she and her son weren't like other humans, they weren't Vikings, they were something else.

Though she didn't know it, Valka held the boy's life in her hands as well as his future. If she let him stay in the Sanctuary, she could change his entire view of dragons, what path she chose would mold the son of Eret, though she didn't know it.

_If he stays, he can learn. Even if he doesn't wish to live here, and I won't force him to, he will leave knowing that everything the humans know about dragons, is wrong. He won't kill them so eagerly, if at all, knowing that on the inside they are gentle creatures, not horrific monsters. _Valka thought to herself.

"Eret… would you like to stay here, with us?" Valka tentatively asked the son of Eret, ignoring the completely gob smacked expression that was on her son's face, she was focused solely on Eret.

He stared up at her, those amber eyes still tinged with redness from his grief. "You'll… You'll let me stay?" He asked, trying to not sound so hopeful, he hadn't expected to hear such an offer, Valka and her son seemed to enjoy their isolation from the rest of humankind, so it surprised him greatly that she would offer him sanctuary.

"Only if you wish to," Valka assured him, wanting to let him know that he didn't have to stay with them. "Only for as long as you wish."

Eret thought of his options. He had nowhere else to go, no family to go back to, nothing of his life remained but ashes, what did he have to lose? He could always leave if he wanted; this place wasn't a prison but a sanctuary. Sure he would have to deal with Valka's son who annoyed the Hel out of him, but maybe they could be friends. Eret had never had a friend before, his whole life was on the seas with his Da, he didn't have time for friends. But could he find that here, in this Nest? His whole life had changed so abruptly in the past week, his father was dead and he was currently in the middle of a dragon Nest where hundreds of dragons lived with two humans and treated them as their own. What did he have to lose?

"O-Okay, I'll stay." Eret said.

Valka smiled at him, "Welcome to the home of the great Bewilderbeast, Eret, son of Eret." She said with gentle smile, knowing that sooner or later she would have to show Eret to her Alpha. She couldn't wait to see his reaction when he saw the gentle giant that protected them from harm.

_Thor's hammer, this might actually work._ Valka thought to herself, _This boy needs a home and someone to guide him along life's perils and joys. He can learn from my teachings just as Hiccup is learning. There can be another in this world who views dragons the same as we do. This poor boy can have a home._

Hiccup finally spoke up, having overcome his shock as he slowly stepped forward. Valka's son glanced at Eret, then back to his mother, before glancing at Eret once again. Suddenly he spoke, "Mama, can I have a tattoo?"

Valka blinked at that, "What did you say, son?" She asked him, wondering if she had heard him wrong. She swore she had heard her six year old son ask if he could get a tattoo. Surely she had heard wrong?

Hiccup nodded in affirmation. "A tattoo, can I get one? I want it on my face," Hiccup rubbed his hands all over his face to prove his point, unknowingly covering his face in mud from the dirt on his hands, which helped emphasis his statement. "All over it!" He declared with childish glee.

_Sweet Freyja, this child will be the death of me._

* * *

**I'm glad to see many of my reviewers were correct that our favorite son of Eret was the one on the raft, and now he's living with Hiccup and Valka! I personally loved Eret's character in the movie and he will play an important role in the story as it goes further on in time. For those not liking the idea of him clashing with Valka and Hiccup who are living in isolation from the rest of humankind, Eret is the only one who will be living with them and the only outside human interaction with them aside from Valka fighting dragon trappers. So even though Eret is with them, there will still be chapters where it is just the mother and son. I love writing Valka and Hiccup mother/son feels so those will still be there despite Eret living with them. And for those wondering about Eret's role in the future… the only thing I can say is that he will most definitely run into Ruffnut (I cannot wait to write those interactions) and the awkwardness will intensify! **

**I only have one question, this story doesn't have a main character as it is shared between Valka and Hiccup, but what do you guys think of the idea of different point of views? Most of the chapters I have planned are either in Valka or Hiccup's point of views, as I love both of the characters and there aren't too many fanfictions with the two in it together and Valka isn't really explored too much so I want to include her as much as possible, she is officially one of my favorite characters after Stoick, Hiccup and Toothless. Do you guys want to see other point of views? I have plans for Berk as time passes, but I would like to hear your opinions as you guys read the story and I want both sides to be happy with it.**

**I personally loved writing the interactions between Hiccup and Eret, right now they're not exactly close as Eret doesn't know how to react around Hiccup who has never had any other human contact outside of his mother, which will slow down their friendship as both parties have no idea how to form one and Eret tries to deal with Hiccup, who can be quite annoying to him. Hiccup is really more dragon than human at the moment, I tried to show that with both Valka and her son by using Eret's point of view as a way to show how isolation has treated them to an outside view. Their relationship will get better in future chapters, though they will be off to a shaky start.**

**The next chapter should be updated sooner than this one, it's a Stoick POV so we see what's going on with Berk.**


	5. Valka's Ship

The ships slowly bobbed and weaved against the furious waves. Eleven ships in total coasted his shores, twelve people who had lost their lives to the dragons.

Stoick stared at one ship in particular, the ship was like the others in size but that ship would forever be imprinted in his memory, as well as the other small ship nestled within it. Hiccup's cradle had been fashioned to resemble a Viking ship, only now it was his funeral ship. Stoick had made it himself with the help of Gobber when Valka had first told him the joyous news that she was with child.

It had been the third happiest day of his life. The first was the day he married Valka. The second had been when Hiccup had been born.

He had come so early into the world, as quick and sudden as a hiccup, hence the name they gave him, and he had been so tiny in Stoick's muscular arms. Valka had been so worried about their son, scared that he wouldn't make it till morning. He remembered laughing, still holding onto his son, Valka's son, _their_ son and declared that Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third would be the strongest Viking to ever roam Midgard.

He would never know if he was right, for his son had been killed before he had even reached his fourth month.

He didn't have any happy days anymore. All he felt where was once was love was now reduced to burning anger and a stronger desire for vengeance.

They hadn't found any remnants of his wife or infant son after the raid. The majority of Berk assumed that the Stormcutter had taken his family back to their Nest, their bodies feasted upon by the very devil. Stoick's massive hands clenched into tight fists, his strong hands nearly breaking the bow in two had he not stopped.

He was chief. Everyone was watching him, waiting for the signal.

Slowly, Stoick plucked an arrow from a quiver and set it in the torch, waiting for it to catch fire.

It was Gobber who spoke the words, for Stoick didn't believe himself strong enough to speak them. His people had understood, sometimes even a chief must be able to mourn for his loss, and Stoick the Vast had lost everything.

"May the Valkyries welcome you and lead you through Odin's great battlefield. May they sing your names with love and fury, so that we might hear it rise from the depths of Valhalla. We know that you've taken your rightful places at the table of warriors. For great men and women have fallen. Warriors. Brothers. Sisters. Sons. Daughters. Friends. Fathers. Mothers. And a life so young and pure, the life of a child." At that last word, Gobber chocked slightly, grief overcoming him as he and the villagers stared at the floating ships slowly sailing onwards towards the horizon.

Stoick felt tears drip down his cheeks, his eyes as broken as ever. He couldn't fight back the small, chocking sob that erupted from him as he stared at Valka's ship.

There was nothing left to say. For Vikings didn't truly believe in long speeches, they were simple people with blunt, to the point traditions.

Stoick raised his bow, flaming arrow knocked in the drawstring. His broken brown eyes gazing at the ship with tears still streaming down his cheeks in thick rivulets. His eyebrows were still singed from the fire of the Stormcutter's fiery breath, as was his bushy beard, but Stoick didn't care enough to take care of it. What mattered of himself when his family was gone?

Against his very being that begged him to not release that arrow, Stoick let loose the drawstring and could only watch as the arrow arced towards Valka's ship. It hit its mark, embedded on Valka's empty funeral pyre with a small wooden cradle placed atop it. All they had to burn was Hiccup's cradle and some of Valka's clothing, for they hadn't found their bodies and most likely never would.

Hundreds of arrows alighted with fire were released by the other Vikings from their own bows, silently arcing in the sky. They began to descend and it looked as though the sky was raining fiery tears, each arrow meeting their marks of the other ships of their loved ones. But Stoick didn't notice them, for all he could see was _her_ ship, now alight; silently sail away from the shores of Berk. He could already envision Hiccup's hand carved and brightly painted cradle engulfed in fire, just like Hiccup's nursery had burned the night before.

_Valka… Hiccup… I'm sorry…_ Stoick thought to himself, his inner voice heavy with raw grief. _I'm so sorry… I failed you… I failed you both… my love… my son… I'm so sorry…_

Gothi stood by his left hand side, Gobber at his right. The village elder looked far older, grief tinged across her wrinkled cheeks. She was one of the few Vikings that had been truly kind towards his wife, perhaps the only one aside from Stoick and Gobber that Valka had viewed as a dear friend.

The small elder shook her head as she looked onwards at the burning armada, feeling far older than she herself was. She was the oldest of them all, and had been through so many Viking funerals she had honestly lost count. But this one would haunt her until it too was her time to depart from Midgard to ascend to the halls of Odin.

"They feast in the great halls of Valhalla now, Stoick," Gothi said, her voice scratchy from both age and grief.

Stoick looked at the woman who barely came up to his elbow, a sudden rage erupting from him. "They shouldn't even be there," he whispered hoarsely. "They should still be here with me."

"The world is never kind, Chieftain." Gothi said, "It never will be."

Stoick didn't seem to register her words, his gaze still locked on Valka's burning ship. Gothi looked at her leader, not recognizing him at all despite the familiar features. Stoick was colder now, a bitter man with nothing left, a man who had lost everything.

"I will kill them all, Gothi," Stoick whispered hoarsely, anger swirling within him like a maelstrom. "Every dragon I see… they will fall under my axe and sword until no more of those demons fly in the sky. I will kill them all."

Gothi closed her eyes at that, knowing that Stoick would keep to his word. She didn't approve of it, the vengeance that burned within her leader was all consuming, sooner or later when there was nothing left to fuel it, it would destroy Stoick. She had seen many Vikings lose their loved ones and embark on a journey of vengeance; it always resulted in a bitter life until they were killed fighting the beasts they had sworn to destroy. Stoick had only just begun that journey.

"Stoick… As a father and husband, it is your right to do this, but you were not just a father and husband, you are Berk's chief… A chief's duty is to his people, not his family. A chief cannot be distracted by oaths of vengeance when he has a village full of lives to protect."

Stoick bristled at that, "Are you sayin' that I should just _let this go_," he all but snarled at her, eyes full of fury that burned into the elder with the power of a vengeful god. "That I should forget what 'as happened to me family!?" he turned around to glare at her, practically leaning downwards to stare her straight in the eyes. "You do not know of my pain, elder." He said with a voice as cold as death. "For all your years and experiences, you know nothing of the pain that dwells within me!"

"You're not the only one who has lost someone, Stoick." Gothi's voice was sharp. With her small, knobby cane she gestured towards the other ships that were burning besides Valka's.

The chief continued to glare at her, murderous thoughts burning within him. Gobber looked at the scene with uncertainty, actually terrified that Stoick might throw the elder off the cliff, he certainly looked ready to do it. Stoick wouldn't do it though, right? Stoick would never do such a thing.

Gobber suddenly realized that the Stoick he had known from growing up together, as close as brothers, the Stoick he saw become chief, the Stoick who had nearly cried on his wedding day, the Stoick he saw become a father… was not the Stoick he saw now.

His friend and brother was all but dead. His body still there but his spirit gone, it was as though some vengeful shade had possessed his friend's body and now controlled. Stoick wasn't Stoick anymore.

"Stoick… please, not here. Not now…" Gobber whispered to him, all too aware of the gazes from the other villagers staring at the trio. "Don't do this at the funeral… Valka wouldn't have wanted-"

"_You don't know what she would have wanted, Gobber!"_ Stoick roared at him, his face as red as his beard and eyes wild. "You don't know, Val's dead, you don't know what she would have wanted…" Stoick said out the words as though they chocked him, tears streaming down his cheeks and into his beard in thick rivulets.

Gobber tried to find some way of calming his chief down, but couldn't think of anything. How could he help his friend when he had lost his entire family in a single night by a dragon? Valka was dead. Hiccup was dead. Stoick had nothing left of his family, nothing left of life, nothing left but vengeance.

"You're not the only one who misses her, Stoick…" Gothi murmured as she looked out towards Valka's ship, tears threatening to spill from her own aged eyes. "She was like a daughter to me." She said softly. "I cannot tell you how many times she was in my hut when she was a child, learning about which herb did this, or what flower did what. Sometimes I think she only came to me because she had nowhere else to go, nobody else to turn to. She had nobody to talk to, for everyone ostracized her. She was so alone before you came, Stoick. She had very unpopular opinions."

Stoick would have laughed at that if he were still able to do so, instead he scoffed darkly. "An opinion that was false." The dragons had killed his wife, those devils had killed the only person who sympathized them, and perhaps they had taken joy in breaking Valka's worldly views before eating her and their son. The thought hurt him with the sharpness of a battle axe.

"Aye, that is true," Gothi muttered, "But you most stay strong for the village. You are chief and already what happened with Mildew has spread like wildfire."

Stoick looked ready to growl at her like an angry bear, "If you think that I'm changing my mind about sending him away from the village, need I remind you that I was all in favor of killing him?"

"Yes, I am aware. The villagers are all aware of what happened. A chief cannot attack his own Stoick. Even if they deserve it," Gothi said, trying to conceal the anger that had slowly bubbled within her frail form, remembering what had happened right after the raid.

_Mildew. That man is lucky to even be alive at the moment,_ Gobber thought to himself sourly. When the raid had ended and everyone had collected their dead, Stoick had told his people what had happened to his wife and heir. Everyone was sympathetic to his plight, even if some of them hadn't liked Valka and her unpopular opinions, everyone that is, except for Mildew.

The man had openly stated that he was glad that the dragon lover was dead, finding it amusing that she was killed by the very things she was trying to save. Gobber, Spitelout and over a dozen Vikings had to hold back their chief who screamed bloody murder and tried to rush at him, yelling that he would rip the bitter man apart with his bare hands.

Mildew, the complete idiot that he was, had sneered at Stoick's attempt to kill him –not admitting to himself that the chieftain terrified him- and had even suggested that they don't burn Valka's items –seeing as they didn't have her body- which in itself was one of the greatest of disrespects one could give.

A Viking funeral was sacred, all Vikings must be bathed in fire in order to ascend to the great halls of Valhalla, but Mildew had claimed that Stoick's wife didn't deserve the funeral, stating that she had never been a Viking to begin with as she had never gone through their holy rite of passage, which was to slay a dragon. He stated that as she had never spilt a dragon's blood, but rather tried to _protect _them, meant that Odin and the other gods would not recognize her as one of their own and banish her to Helheim, where, in Mildew's exact words, was where she belonged, with the demons she loved. He had even gone as far as to inform the raging chief, who by then was practically pulling the entire village to get his hands on Mildew, that Stoick's son shouldn't be burned either, as he was the spawn of a dragon lover.

Stoick had ripped through the grasps of his people holding him back, mostly because most of them had released him in their shock of Mildew's harsh, though some thought it true, words. Stoick had then attacked him with the ferocity of a beast. He had been more animal than man at that moment, and by Freyja it terrified Gobber greatly just remembering that wild look in Stoick's eyes, as though the man had been replaced by a savage beast.

The only reason Mildew was even still breathing was because Gobber had hit Stoick on the head with his mace, even then it had taken three hefty swings to knock the grieving husband out. The only reason Stoick hadn't killed him when he had awoken was because Gothi had told him that too much blood has been spilt that day, there need be no more.

Gobber was certainty glad that he wouldn't be seeing much of Mildew anymore, because once Stoick had realized he couldn't kill the aging Viking, he had all but banished him from the village, forcing him to live far away from the others in a rotten hut at the base of the nearest mountain. Nobody had disagreed with their chief, everyone secretly glad to have Mildew out of their village.

"People will expect you to take a new wife," Gothi informed him softly.

Stoick jerked at her words as though burned. He rounded on her again, face furious and lips set in a savage grimace. "I would never do that, I would never betray Val in such a way! I loved her Gothi; by the gods I still love her. There will never be another, there will be nobody else, nobody except Valka." He snarled at her, looking more beast than man at the mere thought of replacing his wife when he was at her and their son's funeral. He could never love another woman again, for he had given it all to Valka, and now she was dead and she had taken his love with her.

"You might have lost a wife, Stoick, but you also lost your heir." Gothi said mournfully, remembering Valka and Stoick's small and frail son, now nothing but bones. "A chief needs an heir."

Stoick eyes looked so broken to Gobber when the village elder said that. "I know that Gothi…" Stoick whispered to the village elder, all anger gone as sorrow burdened him as he remembered the son he had failed to protect. "But I will never have another child, not after I failed my son."

Gobber looked down at his chief's statement, knowing how greatly Hiccup's premature death had burdened Stoick.

_Odin, Thor, Freyja… why have you cursed him so? He's lost everything… _The village blacksmith thought mournfully.

"Can we please discuss the matters the succession of chiefdom after this?" Gobber asked, "It's not right… talking about Hiccup's birthright as we burn 'im and his mother."

Stoick nodded his head at that, "I know Gobber… I know…" He looked at the burning ship, the ship that burned as his house had burned the previous night. His family was gone; he would never sing with Valka again, he would never hold his son in his arms. He would never see Hiccup grow into a man, would never see him kill his first dragon during training. He would never hold Valka in his arms, never sing their song again, never would he be able to tell her that he loved her with all his heart and soul. His family was gone, snatched by the dragons.

Stoick would kill them all. He would avenge his family.

Stoick the Vast turned his back on the burning armada of ships, unable to stand the sight anymore and slowly walked away, never once looking back at the ship, Valka's ship. There was nothing left for him, not even the village and her people could pull him from his vengeful path. He loved his people, as a proper chieftain does, but, despite his duty to his people, right now his duty was vengeance upon the winged devils that had taken everything from him.

And Stoick the Vast was never a man to ignore duty.


	6. Boys of Different Worlds

"You only just have to be gentle, Eret." Valka was telling the son of Eret who was watching her with wide eyes as the former Viking woman tenderly stroked the spiked tail of a Deadly Nadder, who was purring at the touch as the Nadder nuzzled his spiked head against Valka's chest like a content cat waiting to be scratched.

Eret had noticed right away of how comfortable Valka was in the presence of dragons. He had noticed how comfortable the dragons, even the hot-tempered Monstrous Nightmares, had purred at her touch. She was one of them.

The young orphan had been living with Valka and Hiccup for several weeks or so and had spent the majority of his time with Hiccup's mother as she showed him around the massive Sanctuary. The first time he had seen the inside where the Alpha dwelled, he had been awestruck at the natural beauty of the place, how ice melded into stone. The dragons flying around had scared him, because even though he didn't see Spitfire and her hatchlings as dangerous, that didn't mean he still didn't fear them.

Valka hoped that she would correct that fear of dragons and turn that fear into love.

Eret hadn't seen much of Hiccup during his time here, the boy had begun to slip away into the far corners of the massive Nest when he awoke –only pausing to speak with his mother in low grumbles- and even when he wasn't in some secluded space with his dragon friends, he was exploring the numerous tunnels that wrapped around their home. Never once did Hiccup invite the son of Eret to join him.

That seemed to worry Valka, though Eret didn't know why. The dragon boy unnerved him greatly, what with his dragonish grin and his odd ways. Eret liked the boy's mother much better, at least she understood how to have a conversation that didn't end with endless questions and personal spaces being invaded.

Eret had learned though that Hiccup and his mother were touchy people when compared to others. They were always touching one another -Hiccup more than Valka in that regard- when they were together. Valka often greeted her son when they awoke in the morning with a palm against the boy's forehead, slender fingers stroking the boy's shaggy bangs out of his bright green eyes.

Hiccup was just the same.

Hiccup was his mother's silent shadow, clutching to her whenever they were alone with Eret without Cloudjumper or another dragon around. He was so used to seeing the boy at his mother's side, clutching her hand as though it were a lifeline, that it was surprising to suddenly find the boy gone from his mother's side after Eret had been staying with them for over a week.

Valka seemed to be disturbed by that. He could tell that her son's absence was all too jarring for her.

Eret didn't really mind though. Hiccup was _weird_.

"Now you try."

Eret looked up at the mother with wide eyes, suddenly scared again as he eyed the sharp spikes that lined the Nadder's head and tail. Valka knelt down by him, "You won't be hurt, I promise. Nadders might look scary on the outside, but on the inside they're very kind and loyal to those who befriend them." She told him with a warm smile that made the fear go away.

Encouraged by her words, Eret slowly approached the Nadder who was looking at him with beady eyes the color of molten gold. The dragon itself had scales the darkest of blue, like the ocean, with small specks and spots of crimson along the wingspan.

This was his first day of learning about dragons -actually learning about them instead of how to kill them. The feral dragon rider had apparently decided that the Deadly Nadder was the best dragon to start with, and so had shown Eret how to subdue a wild Nadder by stroking its tail gently, combing away the bristled spikes. She had shown him the Nadder's blind spot, because if he were to run into a wild Nadder that didn't belong in Valka's Nest than it would be best to hide until he could gain the Nadder's trust. She had been adamant that he never should use the blind spot to attack, or to attack any dragon no matter how wild. She looked stricken at the very thought and Eret had quietly mumbled his promises that he wouldn't use her teachings against dragons. He intended to keep that promise.

"H-Hi, dragon," Eret mumbled, slowly approaching the spiked dragon cautiously, all too aware of those sharp spikes that could be thrown at him without hesitation. The Nadder cocked his head to the side as though curious of the new human in the Nest. The dragon's pupils were wide and dilated, showing that he didn't find the young son of Eret to be aggressive or hostile, but there was still a certain tension in the air that felt heavy and uncomfortable.

Eret raised a shaky hand, fingers outstretched, towards the Nadder's beak-like snout. The Nadder watched curiously, well used to the simple, yet symbolic, gesture used by Valka and Hiccup. The dragon was confused, if only slightly, as he had never seen nor smelled Eret before, and despite him living in the Nest for several weeks not all of the dragons had gotten the chance to see the newest addition.

Eret, mindful to not venture into the Nadder's blind spot, slowly moved around the dragon, carefully walking towards the spiked tail that swung restlessly behind the Nadder, the tail reminded Eret of a spiked club.

The Nadder was curious, but wary. He knew how violent humans could be, with the sole exception being Valka and her hatchling, and thus wanted to see how this new human boy was like in terms of acceptance towards dragons. Would he be like the kind human lady who stroked his tail and cleaned his spikes? Would he be like the woman's energetic hatchling who played with all the hatchlings? Or would he be like the rest of humankind: cruel, violent and despising?

Eret held his breath as he slowly moved around the Nadder's head, lightly stepping around the _very_ sharp and long talons that could slice through him like warm butter, and placed his palm against the dragon's side.

The Nadder tensed at the touch, head swerving to stare into the terrified eyes of Eret, son of Eret.

Eret gulped as he gazed into the eyes of the Nadder, all too aware of the intelligence behind those piercing amber eyes. He remembered faintly that the Deadly Nadder had some of the hottest firepower in all known dragon kind, a flock of them had burned Harld's, a friend of his father's, ship within minutes during a terrible storm. Not even Thor's rains could quench out a Nadder's flame easily.

Valka was watching the interaction between dragon and man with interest, finding it oddly refreshing to see another human being other than herself and Hiccup touching a dragon without the intent to kill it. She knew that she had made the right choice in letting Eret, son of Eret live in her Nest. She had changed the boy's entire perspective on dragons -oh sure he was still terrified by a great deal of the creatures but that was to be expected due to the circumstances. Valka was confident that she could turn that fear and change it into love.

Eret slowly trailed his hand towards the back of the Nadder, awed by how smooth and warm the scales were, before his fingers suddenly felt the shift of scales change into small spikes that turned into bigger, sharper spikes. Carefully, so not to accidently impale himself, Eret stroked the Nadder's tail like he had seen Valka do it.

He was surprised at the smoothness of the spikes, fingers slowly trailing down the spikes a bit faster than before. Eret grinned as he heard the low purrs erupt from the Nadder, a deep rumbling sound, "You're not so scary," he admitted to the scaled creature, who grinned a toothy grin at the newest addition of the flock.

Valka was watching him proudly, watching from afar with a warm smile.

Eret grinned back at her, still stroking the spikes of the Nadder. His grin slipped slightly when he saw something move behind Valka.

There, perched in the shadows, was Hiccup. The young son of Valka was looking from atop the boulder at Eret with narrowed eyes that seemed to gleam in the darkness. The boy was crouched on all fours, fingers digging into the rock as he squatted on the boulder with perfect balance like a living gargoyle.

Hiccup looked positively furious.

Eret opened his mouth to tell Valka that her son was behind her, but before he could do so, Hiccup slipped back into the shadows of the tunnel.

Valka, seeing Eret's smile fade, turned around with a cocked brow. She saw nothing. She turned back to Eret in confusion, but he just silently shrugged his shoulders, still thinking of the fury in the boy's eyes.

Eret didn't like Hiccup that much. He thought the boy was odd and weird. He wasn't even a boy really, but more like a dragon with a human form. He was too different for Eret to like him.

Valka gave one last pat to the Deadly Nadder, smiling softly at the blue dragon, before leading Eret by the shoulder into the tunnels her son had disappeared into. The tunnels confused Eret greatly. They often twisted suddenly and often times connected with spacious caverns or another tunnel, creating a twisting labyrinth of tunnels. It amazed Eret of how easily Valka could navigate through it so easily. He had never seen the woman get lost before, despite everything looking the same.

He followed the woman as the tunnels twisted and turned randomly, sometimes inclining or declining in slope. He slipped on the slick, moss-covered rocks multiple times whilst Valka walked across the flat rocks without so much as a stumble.

After several minutes of silence as they went through the tunnels, Eret and Valka found themselves in the cavern that they called home.

Hiccup was sitting besides the Stormcutter, Cloudjumper. Hiccup had a small leather book sitting on his lap, while a stick of charcoal was clutched in his hands. He was drawing something, though Eret couldn't tell what it was because of the distance, but he could see Cloudjumper looking over the boy's shoulder, watching every line drawn. The dragon reminded Eret of a father, watching over his child like a silent guardian. Hiccup had said that he didn't have a father, but he mentioned Cloudjumper. He wondered what had happened to Valka's husband; he had never asked her. It was most likely a sensitive topic for the woman.

_He's most likely dead_, he thought to himself.

Hiccup and Cloudjumper looked up at the same time, both smiling similar toothy grins as they looked up at Valka.

"Hi, mama," Hiccup said cheerfully, none of his bitterness showing. He held up the book, proudly showing it off to his mother. He had been drawing Cloudjumper, and while it was nowhere near the best of sketches it was rather impressive for someone so young. Not that Eret would admit it, of course.

Smiling warmly, Valka squatted before her son, her hand placed atop of his head, as she looked at the picture. She ruffled her son's hair with a chuckle, praising the boy who beamed up at her with a huge smile. Hiccup nuzzled her arm, smiling so widely it showed off his missing baby teeth.

Cloudjumper crooned lowly, butting his head against Valka's form softly. With a hearty, warm laugh Valka stroked the dragon's chin, humming softly alongside Cloudjumper's rumbling purrs.

Eret stood at the edge of the cavern, unsure and uncomfortable. He looked upon the two humans and the lone Stormcutter –a _family-_ and felt out of place. He looked at the three who had taken him in, even if Hiccup didn't like him, and wondered wistfully if he would ever be accepted in such a tight-knit family.

For a couple of minute, the dark-haired boy watched Valka and Hiccup interact. Hiccup was eagerly regaling his mother about his adventures exploring a certain section of the tunnels with Pip, Squeak and Tigg (apparently a trio of Terrible Terrors) and Valka was smiling at him as she gently combed away the knots in her son's auburn hair. Cloudjumper was curled around them, watching the two humans with warm, amber eyes and a toothy grin.

_They're a family._ Eret thought to himself wistfully. He had lost his family. His father was gone… Eret had sacrificed himself so that his namesake could live on. His mother was gone as well; Eret couldn't even remember his mother and she had died when he was so young. His family was gone… the full weight of that fact became known in his heart, dragging it down as though it were hooked.

"I guess I should begin to make dinner, you have the appetite of a Gronckle." Valka said with a laugh as she ruffled Hiccup's hair once more before heading towards the fire to make food. Hiccup laughed, a bright and cheery laugh that echoed throughout the cave.

Valka beckoned Eret over with a jerk of her head, "Why don't you go sit down with Hiccup and Cloudjumper, eh?" She asked, suddenly ruffling Eret's own hair as she had with Hiccup's. There was something motherly about the action, and Eret was a bit taken aback by it.

It seemed that he wasn't the only one taken aback by Valka's warm, motherly gesture.

Hiccup was watching his mother's back with wide eyes, mouth slightly open as though shocked at something.

The shock suddenly twisted into anger. Eret could see the boy's entire body freeze, tensing like a wild animal cornered, as the son of Valka looked from his mother to Eret with narrowed eyes, shrewdly glaring at Eret with distaste.

With an indignant huff, Hiccup turned his back to Eret and resumed his sketching, but Eret still saw his hand and charcoal pencil shake.

* * *

"Dinner." Valka called to out, standing before a small fire with a pot of stew boiling atop of it. The smell was appetizing and mouthwatering. Eret could smell the salivating scent of cooked meat and all but flew to grab a bowl. Valka was already ladling up her own bowl as the two boys headed towards the pot with growling stomachs.

Hiccup beat him to the bowls and, rather rudely, took his time ladling up his stew, well aware of Eret's rumbling stomach. When the little boy walked towards the lounging Cloudjumper, Eret was positive he had seen a smirk.

Eret realized why the dragon boy had been so smug. He had taken nearly all of the meat! There were only a few small bits left floating in the stew; Eret scooped up the rest of it with a scowl, still aware of Hiccup's smug smirk burning into his back.

Eret ate his stew grumpily, and although the broth was delicious his stomach still gurgled when he finished. Hiccup was happily eating his stew, laden with meat, looking at Eret from the corner of his eyes with a smug smile.

Valka didn't seem to notice the tensions between Eret and Hiccup, though she did notice Eret's sullen look at his empty bowl. She held out her own bowl and pushed some of her own meat into Eret's bowl. The boy looked up at her gratefully, eating with greater gusto as Valka laughed lightly at Eret's ravenous eating habit.

Hiccup's grin slipped off his face in a second, the warm smile immediately replaced with a furious scowl. The boy growled lowly, eyes narrowed, as he glared at Eret as Valka watched on with confusion.

"Hiccup, what has gotten into you?" Valka admonished her son sternly, not at all understanding why her sweet little Hiccup was acting this way.

Hiccup's head snapped towards her, indignation set in his youthful features. _"Me?"_ He asked with fury, a little finger pointing at her accusingly, "what has gotten into _you?_"

Valka's brows were lowering dangerously; she didn't seem to appreciate Hiccup's tone. From what Eret had seen of the mother and son, Hiccup rarely complained, but it seemed that was forgotten. "Son," she began, tone low and full of warning.

"He's not one of us, Mama!" He declared, glowering at Eret, son of Eret with complete and utter loathing. "He's not your son!" Thick tears suddenly sprung from the boy's eyes as he spoke.

Valka blinked at those words, concern flooding through her the moment she saw those tears. "H-Hiccup?" she asked, not understanding.

The boy blinked away the tears and wiped the droplets from his freckled cheeks, though his eyes were still watery. Hiccup's lower lip trembled, and with a keen wail the boy turned his back to his mother and fled into the shadows of a tunnel, his lithe form disappearing around a bend.

"Hiccup!" Valka raced after him, hand outstretched as though to grab the elusive boy. Her lean form disappeared into the shadows of the tunnel, leaving Eret alone.

Eret looked over at Cloudjumper, whose bright amber eyes were wide in alarm. The dragon crawled after the mother, disappearing into the darkness.

With a scowl, Eret followed them. The only problem, however, was that the tunnel split into several others, leaving Eret standing in the middle trying to figure out which tunnel Valka and Cloudjumper had gone into. He chose one at random and walked forward, cursing when he stubbed his toe against a protruding rock.

"Hiccup!?" Eret called out into a new tunnel, eyes searching for any sign of Valka's son. "Dragon boy?" His voice echoed in the tunnel. _"Dragon… dragon… dragon…"_ the tunnel seemed to call back. _"Boy.. boy… boy…"_

There was a sudden roar of animalistic fury, and then all of a sudden something heavy smashed into him, making the orphan sprawl onto the ground in a tangle of limbs as something thrashed atop of him.

"Leave!" Hiccup's voice screamed into Eret's ear. "You're not welcome here!" Eret yelped as he felt fingernails claw at him frantically, scratching his cheek.

"Gerrof!" The son of Eret yelled, heaving the lighter and smaller boy off of him. Hiccup rolled across the cave floor, Eret heaved himself to his feet, rage burning within him.

He wanted to take Hiccup's stupid face and hit it; the little savage had attacked him!

But, despite the terrible anger burning within himself, Eret couldn't help but notice the tears steadily streaming down Hiccup's cheeks in thick rivulets.

Hiccup was glaring at him, eyes red and puffy but still full of terrible anger and hatred. The boy might have been extremely small for a child his age, but the way he was stooped over ever so slightly in a dragonesque way made him seem a lot more intimidating.

"I hate you!" Hiccup screamed at him, his small chest heaving and little hands clenched into tiny fists. The boy was glaring at him, green eyes darkened by loathing and hatred. "I want you gone!"

Eret could still feel the stinging on his face from Hiccup's scratches, his tongue tasted blood pooling in his mouth from a split lip. "What is wrong with you?" Eret yelled back, striding up to the boy and grabbing him by the front of his jerkin and not so gently slamming him into the smoothed rocks. It was laughable at how easily it was to pick the boy up, like lifting a newborn ewe.

Hiccup glowered at him, somehow managing to stare the older boy down despite his disadvantage. "Mama is _my_ mama, not yours!" He spitted out, his little baby teeth bared out in a snarl.

Eret glowed back at him with just as much fury, "I know that, dummy!"

"I'm not a dummy!" Hiccup yelled at him, before suddenly scrunching his freckled nose in confusion. "What's a dummy?"

The anger turned into frustration at the question. "Sweet Odin, what is _wrong_ with you? I've done nothing to upset you, Hel, I haven't even talked or interacted with you since I first got here because you've been off on little adventures with your dragon buddies and ignoring myself and your mother!"

Hiccup scowled at him, "I haven't been ignoring you, I've been _avoiding_ you!" He said, suddenly looking childish in his anger. "What's wrong with me? What's wrong with _you?_ You come in here, with your stupid tattoo and your stupid face, and now Mama won't play with me because she's too busy teaching you about our flock," Hiccup's hateful and angry tone slowly turned into a pitiful, sorrowful whine as he spoke. Eret felt his grip on the front of Hiccup's jerkin loosen, allowing the boy to slide back onto the ground.

"She's my mama, not yours!" Hiccup said, eyes watery as he wrapped his arms around his knobby knees. He looked ready to burst into tears, if his small sniffles were anything to go by.

"Dragon boy –I mean-, Hiccup," Eret began to say, looking positively alarmed to see the tears. He reached out to touch the boy, to comfort him, but then he yelped when he felt something bite into his arm, making him jerk his hand away from the boy who had begun to crawl away. "You _bit_ me!" Eret yelled furiously, holding his throbbing hand.

"You won't take my mama away!" Hiccup yelled at him furiously, his little hands clenched into tiny fists. "You're not her son, _I _am!" He looked so furious, but Eret could see fear in those bright green orbs as well.

Hiccup was scared.

"I'm not taking her away, brat!" Eret yelled back, still clutching his throbbing hand.

Hiccup didn't seem to believe him, if anything he looked even madder than ever.

Hiccup crawled forward, eyes full of fury, as Eret leapt forward. The two boys fell against one another in a tumble of flailing limbs. Hiccup squirmed as Eret grabbed his shoulders, slipping out of the elder boy's grip but couldn't escape when Eret sat on him, the additional weight pinning him down.

The two boys struggled against one another, Hiccup straining against Eret's strength and Eret straining to hold the squirmy boy down.

Suddenly, something dark, warm and leathery had suddenly blocked Eret's vision, and it pushed the two boys away from each other with unyielding strength. A quick glance revealed it to be Cloudjumper's wings, serving as walls to separate the two boys from coming to blows. Valka stood beside him, looking furious, bewildered and concerned at the same time.

"Cloudjumper," Valka said softly. Cloudjumper slowly raised his wings, removing the buffer between Hiccup and Eret. Hiccup was looking at his mother nervously, suddenly shy.

"How'd you find us?" Eret asked, still holding his bitten hand as he looked at the woman with confusion.

Valka raised a slender brow, an amused smirk playing at her lips, before saying rather simply, "We just followed the shouting."

The smirk vanished instantly and was replaced with a small frown as the woman looked at her son, who had suddenly taken great interest of the floor, eyes downcast.

"Hiccup, explain yourself." Valka's tone left no room for whining or arguing.

The little boy's lips quivered rather violently, his small hand desperately trying to wipe his runny nose. "You don't like me anymore," he said softly, voice whisper faint but heard by all.

Valka's frown was replaced with an expression of horror. She stepped forward timidly, as though afraid Hiccup would try and run away from her touch, and wrapped her arms around him, cradling his head close to her chest.

"Oh, sweetie…" Valka whispered, holding her little boy close to her. "How could you ever think that?"

"Because…" Hiccup started to sniffle again, looking up at his mother with watery eyes. His voice was so soft when he spoke, barely audible. "You won't play with me anymore. You don't want to do anything with me anymore. All you want to do is be with _him,_" Hiccup shot Eret a look full of deepest loathing, but Valka could see the jealousy in her son's eyes, mixed in with the tears. "I-I thought you didn't love me anymore." He admitted softly.

"Hiccup…" Valka said softly, looking at her son with the utmost of seriousness. Hiccup looked up at her, his eyes mirror images of her own. "I will always love you. love you more than anything in the world." She clutched him closer to her chest, wrapping her arms around his frail little form. "I love you, Hiccup. Mama will always love you, do you understand?" By the end, Valka was crying as well.

Eret looked away, feeling unwelcome as he watched mother and son interact. They were such a close-knit family. Eret had never had a mother before, as his mother had perished to a deadly illness long ago and Eret could scarcely remembered her, but it was obvious of how much Valka loved her son. He didn't understand why Hiccup had felt so threatened of Eret. Hiccup had been jealous of Eret for reasons unknown, jealous enough to think that he was losing his mother's love. It certainly explained his hostility towards Eret. Hiccup must of thought that Eret was his replacement.

"I'm sorry," Hiccup whispered to Valka, voice somewhat muffled against his mother's shoulder.

Valka pulled back slightly to cup her son's face, brushing away the tears with a calloused thumb. "Hiccup, I'm so sorry for making you feel unloved." She swallowed nervously, looking unsure. "I-I should have expected something like this."

Valka should have realized that something would have happened eventually between Eret and Hiccup. Not because of herself, but because of who they were as people.

They were boys from different words. One from the world of men and another from the world of dragons. Valka should have realized that they, like the worlds they symbolized, would have crashed together sooner or later. Eret didn't understand Hiccup, her sweet little boy who was more dragon than human. Hiccup didn't understand Eret either, the odd boy whose only flaw was being human.

Valka had been born and raised by humans, so Eret had latched onto her instead of her feral son because he had recognized the familiarity within her. She had been the most normal of the two, despite being so different from who she had been as a person years ago when she had been Valka Haddock of Berk. She had pitied Eret, recognizing a lost soul in need of guidance. She had only wanted to help the orphan find his place in her strange world, but while doing so she had unknowingly pushed Hiccup aside.

Hiccup, who had never once needed to fight for his mother's attention, had found himself overlooked by his mother because Eret had needed her more at the time. He had been threatened by Eret's presence, of that Valka had no doubt of. Hiccup had always had her and Valka had always given him her full attention, but now with an extra human in their Nest, some of the attention had been given to Eret, leaving Hiccup feeling ignored and even unloved.

It was something that Valka was somewhat familiar with, having been raised in a human village. This occurred naturally in human homes: sibling rivalry.

The only thing different was that Eret wasn't Hiccup's brother, but he had taken some of Valka's attention away from Hiccup. Her boy, no matter how smart he was, was just that, a little boy prone to tantrums and fits of jealousy when he wasn't given enough attention. Hiccup had been jealous because Eret had taken his mother's attention. It was similar to how an older sibling felt when their parents paid more attention to the younger sibling who needed more guidance.

The two boys had to get along. Valka just didn't know how to ensure they did.

They were from entirely separate worlds, two different realms of reality. Eret hailing from human civilization and Hiccup from a life amongst dragons.

Eret had been around humans his entire life, but Hiccup's only contact with humans had been his mother.

The boys were as different as the worlds they hailed from. Could they overcome their differences, or would they continue to fight one another? Valka didn't know the answer to that. The different worlds they lived in were in constant combat with one another, perhaps it was just the way it was meant to be.

If Eret had been a Viking child, Valka would have been skeptical that he could ever change his ways, but he wasn't a Viking. He was just a normal human child, and all humans had their flaws. Perhaps Eret's flaw was not grasping what she and Hiccup had already grasped, that their world was entirely different from Eret's own.

"Are you mad at me?" Hiccup asked timidly.

Valka shook her head, smiling softly at her son. "No, sweetie, I can never be mad at you."

Hiccup looked over at Eret, a little frown on his delicate facial features. "I'm sorry for biting you." He said, looking sincere and a bit bashful.

Eret knew that was the closest to an apology he would get from the kid. He took it graciously, no longer wanting to fight the child. "I'm sorry for calling you a dummy." He muttered, suddenly shy.

Valka watched on silently besides Cloudjumper, recognizing the truce between the two boys with a silent sigh of relief.

She knew that the two would come to blows again, and fighting one another would be common, but didn't all brothers fight? Eret was Hiccup's brother now; he had become part of their secluded family when he had chosen their lifestyle. Hiccup might not view Eret as a brother yet, but hopefully someday he would. They weren't brothers by blood, but brothers still.

She could only hope as both grew older and more mature, their childish fights would cease as their rivalry towards one another faded over time. They could not afford such heated fights in the Nest, not when doing so could break apart bonds.

The worlds the boys came from were already locked in eternal combat; Valka would ensure that the boys would rise above the hatred man shared with dragon. She would make sure her son and Eret would not fall under the prejudice and idiocy of man.

"Come now," Valka said as she stood, grabbing ahold of Hiccup's hand. "It's almost time for bed, it's been a long day." Hiccup stood up without protest, his sniffles having stopped and his tears dry.

Valka placed a hand on Eret's shoulder, grasping it lightly. Somehow that made her action to Eret just as motherly and caring as holding Hiccup's hand.

The two boys allowed the woman to lead them back home, Cloudjumper trailing behind them. The two boys looked at one another, neither of them angry with one another but simply curious. Hiccup was looking at Eret with intrigue, and Eret was looking at the dragon boy –_Hiccup, not dragon boy- _with similar curiosity.

"Would you like to explore the caves with Pip, Squeak, Tigg and I? We found a cool cave today; it's full of these cool crystals that glow if you set them on fire… But only if you want to." Hiccup told him as Valka lead them through the rounded tunnel. His bright green eyes were looking at Eret with no traces of jealousy or anger, but there was a bit of shyness about him that made Eret realize that Hiccup was expecting him to reject his offer.

"I'd like that." Eret said with a small grin.

Hiccup smiled at that, and for the first time Eret saw something human in the boy by the way he smiled. Hiccup was weird, there was no denying that. But now Eret realized that didn't make Hiccup a bad person. Hiccup was different, but so was Eret; it had taken a brawl between the two for both of them to realize that.

They were from entirely different worlds, and that had caused tension between them, resulting in fighting. But now the tension was gone, the need to fight was gone as well.

_They might be from different worlds, but that doesn't define them as the people they can become. I think they realized that now, _Valka mused to herself as she led the two towards home. _Perhaps now they can put aside their differences. It'll certainly save me some headaches in the future if they stop fighting one another. _

"Come, you two. Let's go home."

Eret and Hiccup nodded their heads at that, following Valka back home.

* * *

**It's alive! So sorry for how long it took for me to update this story. This chapter was rather hard for me to write as I wanted to make sure that it was exactly how I wanted it to turn out. I wanted to try and be a bit realistic of how I think Hiccup would react to Eret -not kindly- and I felt like the idea of a sibling rivalry developing between the two would be the most likely. Next chapter is a big one, we jump ahead in time and meet a certain Night Fury! Please review and tell me what you think of this chapter and story, they are my motivation to continue writing!**


	7. Downed Dragons

_Years later…_

Valka smiled as she inspected the charcoal drawing her son had drawn. Written at the top in her son's shaky chicken scratch handwriting was the word _Family._ She smiled tenderly at the little figures her son had etched with his charcoal, recognizing herself flying atop of Cloudjumper with Hiccup in her arms, and though it wasn't a masterpiece and Valka wouldn't have been able to tell herself apart from Hiccup if not for the names above each figure, her son showed great promise as an artist. Yet another thing that would have set him apart from those who dwelled on Berk, as well as the fact that Hiccup favored to use his left hand rather than his right.

Valka suddenly frowned when she saw something amiss in the child's drawing: in the corner, far away from the others, Eret was sitting alone and something looked wrong with his face… _really_ wrong.

"Hiccup… what's wrong with Eret's face?" She asked her eight-year-old son curiously, noticing that Eret's face was the only one without eyes, mouth or a nose but rather a crescent placed directly in the center.

Hiccup leaned over her shoulder, looking at his picture with a bitten lip, as though looking for any imperfections that his mother had caught. He seemed not to realize what his mother had found odd before he suddenly realized what she meant and beamed up at her with the innocent beam of a child. "I drew a butt on it," he said happily.

Valka blinked at that. "… And _why_ did you draw a butt on Eret's face?" She demanded to know,

"Because he's a buttface."

Valka couldn't help but burrow her face into her hands when she heard Hiccup's rather casual statement; why had Odin cursed her with this predicament?

"Hiccup… You can't call Eret a buttface," she reprimanded her son. Where in Helheim had he even _learned_ the word buttface? She certainly hadn't taught him that.

Hiccup looked ready to pout, "Why not?" He asked in a snarky whine as he crossed his arms in childish indignation. The child didn't really seem to know why his mother was so angry all of a sudden, Eret _was_ a buttface and she knew it!

"Because it's rude," she chastised him. Valka had honestly hoped that Hiccup's jealousy over the older boy had started to fade as the seasons passed on and Eret no longer needed her full attention, which had been the reason why her son had been so jealous of the shipwrecked orphan. Hiccup had never had anyone to compete with for his mother's love and attention, but when Eret had appeared half dead Valka had done all she could to save the poor child's life, and in doing so Hiccup found himself being pushed aside for a little while, which the young child did not like in the slightest.

Their relationship had improved slowly as time went on, but often trouble arouse between the two, though it seemed to be nothing more than two brothers messing with one another.

_Raising dragons is easier than raising sons,_ Valka thought to herself wryly.

* * *

Cloudjumper settled onto the ground, his warm breath apparent in the cool cavern. Valka jumped from her perch, groaning as her knees buckled beneath her. She stumbled and would have fallen had Cloudjumper not propped her up against his wing.

"Thank you, my friend." Valka said warmly, shivering from the cold.

Cloudjumper rumbled beneath her hand, his head butting her in the side gently. She grabbed ahold of one of his spikes and allowed him to guide her through the tunnel, wincing as the wounds began to ache. She would have to bandage some, though luckily none were dire for stiches. The trappers were rather slow and rarely managed to hurt her, especially since she was so small and agile, but occasionally they managed to scratch her.

She herself was fine, but her heart was troubled.

Valka and Cloudjumper had been away from the Nest for a day or so tracking a trapping ship from afar. They had followed the trappers to one of the sites where they laid traps for wandering dragons, but both parties had discovered that, whilst the traps had succeeded in trapping dragons, the trappers had left the traps out too long and their prey had died.

Some of them had bled to death from where their limbs were clamped shut by iron traps, whilst some lost their limbs altogether and died besides the trap. One dragon's wings had been severed so several by the thick iron cords that it had perished without access to the sky. The other dragons had starved to death, still trapped by the iron traps that Valka loathed so much.

The sight of the dead dragons and their horrible demises had broken something within her. She could easily imagine Cloudjumper trapped and dying alone in the snow, or even Hiccup and Eret if they stumbled upon a camouflaged trap. There had been times when unknowing humans, usually occupants of nearby villages, had unknowingly stepped into the deadly traps and had died as a result. The trappers always hastily buried their bodies to hide their crimes.

Valka doubted that she could hate anything else in the world as much as she hated the dragon trappers. The very thought of them seem to immerse her heart, soul and mind in an uncontrollable inferno of rage and hatred. It was a burning hatred that lingered in her, always alight, cooled down to small embers when left alone but could burn as greatly as any funeral pyre when provoked.

The rage had cooled down since she and Cloudjumper had fled from the wild lands that surrounded them, with a few dragons following them that were missing limbs or sported bleeding scratches from the trappers. But the rage was still present, burning within her softly, ready to be awakened when she set off onto another rescue mission. The rage had burned within her for as long as Valka could remember.

It had once been a silent, simmering rage directed towards Stoick and the villagers of Berk about their murderous intentions against the dragons that raided them. It had been a rage that she had kept to herself, nursed by brutality and bloodshed, but kept within save for a few violent outbursts when her temper had flared and her views spouted from her mouth in a whirlwind of accusations that had left many Vikings resentful and Stoick ashamed.

Now that rage had grown without anyone, whether it was Stoick or a pig-headed Viking, to trim. It had grown as she had learned that everything she had believed, everything that Berk had believed to be utter hogwash, was true. It had swelled in size as time went on and the threat of dragon trapping had become more prominent in her life. The rage had grown so large since she had been snatched by Cloudjumper that fateful night so many years ago, and had threatened to consume her– to make her a vengeful vigilante that knew nothing but violence and bloodshed with no hope for peace or reprise.

For now, Valka was content with her duty. Even though her entire body ached and burned from the numerous bruises and bleeding cuts that layered upon her pale skin like ugly blemishes, there was a certain feeling of content that came with the ache. A soothing pain that offered relief that seemed to numb her wounds.

"Mama!" Hiccup's shout of joy brought the woman out of her musings.

Her boy raced across the cavern and latched himself unto her, grinning from ear to ear. Eret came forward as well, grinning just as brightly as Hiccup. Valka wrapped an arm around the older boy and brought him closer, holding both of her sons in her arms as she held them tightly. "My sweet boys," she sighed happily, their presence invigorating her and making the exhaustion fade away.

Eret noticed the cuts and bruises first, if the widening of his eyes were anything to go by. Hiccup didn't seem to notice, he was too busy hugging his mother at the waist, smiling as she ran her fingers through his shaggy locks.

"I'll get the bandages," Eret said, eyeing a spot where her armor was splotched with red. Their bandages were nothing more than spare cloth that Valka had found whilst traveling, usually taken from trapper camps or shipwrecked ships. Valka couldn't use the same cloth that Gothi had used for her bandages due to lack of supplies, and had simply ripped old shirts and tunics into strips. It was crude, but it worked.

"Perhaps it is best if I wrap them, if you would kindly fetch them." She tussled Hiccup's hair, "The last time we let this one try and bandage up your arm when you cut it on a rock he nearly strangled himself with them." She and Eret both laughed at that, both remembering how the energetic Hiccup had somehow wrapped the bandages around himself like a cocoon instead of on Eret's bleeding arm.

Eret nodded his head and disappeared into a small crevice that was connected with a smaller network of tunnels than the main tunnels, and would eventually led him to the small cavern where Valka kept her dried herbs and bandages. Luckily they were close at hand, and at Eret's pace he would be back in no time.

A small tugging at her armor-plated that was lined with spikes brought Valka's attention downwards, where she locked eyes with Hiccup.

Hiccup looked at the numerous scraps, cuts and bruises that layered Valka's fair skin with wide eyes, as though the sight of the dried blood and throbbing red cuts had struck him down. He saw the still bleeding spot on her armor that Eret had seen and had fetched a bandage to patch. He touch the spot with trembling fingers, inhaling sharply through his nose when he pulled back and saw the tips of his fingers smeared a crimson red.

Her son looked up at her with those wide green eyes, mirror images of her own, and Valka saw fear in them as clear as daylight. It was a look that was familiar for her, who had seen it on the faces of many children back in her past life: the look of a child realizing that their parent was not indestructible, not immortal but very much human with the same shortcomings as others. It was realization that his mother was mortal, that she could be struck down and hurt like any other. The realization that his mother could be taken from him by death.

"Are you hurt?" He asked her.

She couldn't lie to him, not when the answer was so obvious. "A little, but you and Eret here already make me feel better." She grasped onto his tiny shoulders, one hand rising to cusp his cheek. He looked up at her with bright green eyes that mirrored her own. His eyebrows were furrowed as her son thought deeply, but then he brightened as he removed himself from her grasp and grab onto her arm, looking at one of the cuts.

Hiccup's lips pressed against a still stinging cut; his touch as light a butterfly's wings.

Hiccup grinned when Valka rose a brow at him, confused by his actions. Her boy, always eager to speak his mind, happily explained.

"Whenever I'm hurt and I have a cut, you would always kiss it to make it better, and it always helped." Hiccup said brightly. "So if I kiss your cuts, you'll get better faster, right?"

Valka ruffled her son's shaggy auburn locks before she enveloped him in a tight embrace, clutching her beloved child closer to her. His scent calmed her; he smelled of smoke, dragon and of home; Hiccup's scent was almost euphoric to Valka. He smelled of safety and security, he was her son and Valka loved him more than anything in the world, he was one of the reasons she fought so brutally against the dragon trappers, Hiccup had to be protected as much as any other dragon.

Eret returned with the bandages and all three of them hurried back into their home.

Eret began to boil some water as Hiccup hurried to grab nettles for tea. Judging from the scraps of meat and bones that littered the rocky outcrop that served as their table, Valka's sons had been well fed. Valka had learned long ago that Eret was a proficient enough cook, but Hiccup was only capable of burning water. Whenever Valka had to leave the Nest for long durations of time, Eret was the one who would look after Hiccup and ensure that he was well feed and didn't get into too much trouble. Eret had been trying to teach his younger brother how to successfully cook something and ensuring that it was edible, but it seemed that Hiccup had inherited Valka's horrible cooking.

Soon enough all three of them sat at the flat rock that had been their table for countless years.

There was a camaraderie between Eret and Hiccup that Valka always seemed to notice when all three of them were together. It had been years since Eret had joined them, and Hiccup and Eret had become much closer. No longer did Hiccup feel jealousy towards Eret when Valka aided the older boy with his duties, and no longer did Eret belittle him and avoid his company.

Years together had forged a bond between them, just as Valka had hoped. They had become brothers, despite the different worlds they had hailed from.

The boys still fought all the time, as all brothers did. But now there was a love between the two sons of Valka, and no longer a hatred.

And so Valka couldn't help but smile as Hiccup energetically informed his mother on what he and Eret had been doing while she was gone. They had explored the caves with a few of their dragon friends, and had helped build nests for young hatchlings and had even gotten to climb up the spikes of the Alpha's back- with the Alpha's permission of course.

Eret laughed alongside the grinning Hiccup as the younger continued to tell their mother of their adventures, and how Hiccup got extremely annoyed when Eret tussled the boy's hair. Eret just laughed at the face Hiccup made, and Valka couldn't help but laugh at the annoyance on her youngest son's face as well. Valka ran a hand down the belly of Cloudjumper, who was curled up besides her and her sons, though he had already begun to eat into his own dinner of fish.

They were a family, all four of them, and Valka wouldn't trade that for anything in the world.

* * *

_Two years later_

Eret peered over Cloudjumper's side nervously, his brown eyes wide with anxiety as he stared at the clouds that floated far below them. The cold wind chilled his bones despite the thick fur parka Valka had made for him, but there was something about how his teeth chattered and his cheeks smartened from the frosty air that made him feel alive. He stared at the vast expanse of white clouds spread out before him, never-ending stretches of fog and the brilliant blue sky seemed to gleam as Cloudjumper soared freely through the sky.

Valka sat proudly on Cloudjumper's back, Hiccup sitting in front of the woman whilst Eret sat behind her.

Eret looked downwards and saw nothing but the dark ocean, mixed with various icebergs and patches of seafoam. He felt a bit nauseous from looking down from so high above, though Hiccup and Valka seemed not to mind the height at all.

Eret's brother turned in his seat to stare up at their mother with those bright green eyes that seemed to widen as he silently begged Valka for permission, though Eret did not know what.

Valka's lips blossomed into a wry smile, and she merely nodded her head and looked onwards, one hand gently tapping on Cloudjumper's scales. The silent conversation between mother and son over.

Hiccup crowed gleefully as he leapt to his feet to stand atop of Cloudjumper's broad shoulders to face the sun, arms widespread and his skinny knees bent as though he was about to take flight. Hiccup _jumped._ Eret leaned forward with horror, the fear of falling towards imminent doom making him cry out for the feral child whom Eret now saw as a brother. "Hiccup!"

But the boy hadn't fallen.

Instead he was crouched on the thick membranes of Cloudjumper's massive wings. The Stormcutter glanced at the child with amusement, allowing himself to glide so the boy wouldn't slip off. Hiccup, with an impressive amount of balance, began to roam the vast expanse of Cloudjumper's bronze wings, stretched out like sheets of taut leather. The boy was laughing gleefully, not at all afraid of the distance below him. In the air, Hiccup was an entirely different person.

Eret had noticed the same with Valka as well.

When they left the ground and flew through the sky, the worry in Valka's eyes ebbed away, the small frown that often plagued her from too many worries of dragon trappers and Vikings replaced with a brighter, cheerier smile. Her laughter was more common, and seemed to come straight from the heart and made her shoulders shake as she laughed without restriction. Even Hiccup seemed to change before Eret's eyes as they ascended into the clouds. He became calmer, but ever more eager. His smiles seemed even brighter, his eyes wide with curiosity and enthusiasm as he looked at the horizon, eager to explore and discover.

On the ground, they were different. Valka was more serious and often worrisome of oncoming dangers, and Hiccup just wasn't the same. It was as though the earth that they walked upon had placed shackles upon them, chaining them to the ground. It was as though flying broke the shackles, shattered the chains and rose them above the constricting tether that had held them down.

In the sky, they were _free._

Eret loved that about his mother and brother, he loved to see them carefree and without any worries. He loved to see them happy, and he had never seen them happier than when they were in the air.

Eret couldn't really claim the same. He loved flying, of that there was no doubt, but there was still a deep seated fear that had refused to be uprooted by Eret's new lifestyle, despite two years of living it. Eret still held fear in his heart, and Valka

"You must overcome your fear, Eret." Valka said plainly, Hiccup peering over her shoulder. "You do not fear the fall, Eret, you fear that Cloudjumper will not catch you."

"This cannot do, child. There is still a small piece of you, a piece of your heart darkened by the bitterness and hatred of man, that remains."

Eret couldn't deny it, although he wished he could. Despite now living with dragons and seeing them for what they truly were –beautiful creatures and not monsters- a small part of his heart remembered the warnings given to him by his father and those who had lived in the village he had been born in. Dragons were evil, dragons destroyed all forms of life no matter how small, and they would mean certain death if you did not take precautions. It was a simple 'kill or be killed' mindset that the villagers and his father had instilled within him and the other children, and it had been, and still was, hard to shake off what had been engrained within him since birth. There were times he awoke from nightmares of dragon fire and the attack that had taken his father's ship and the sailor down to a watery grave. Eret feared dragon fire greatly, the memory of the attack always fresh in his mind.

Eret looked up at Valka sadly, ashamed of his cowardly ways. _I'm a coward,_ Eret thought to himself vehemently, hating himself for it. _Despite all that they've done for me, taking me in and sharing their lives with me and giving me a purpose, I am not worthy of it. I still fear the very creatures that they love so dearly, and I hate myself for it._

He hated himself for awaking in the dead of night, screaming himself hoarse as he felt the phantom flickers of fire burn him, blinding him with its intense flames. He hated himself for sobbing when Valka tried to stop his screams by holding him close to her, shushing him with soft whispers and soft promises that he was safe here. He hated himself for flinching whenever he saw a dragon breathe fire, remembering how that fire that was used to make nests and give warmth to dormant eggs was capable of melting a man's armor and burning even the most sturdiest of ships into cinder.

He who had spent over two years living amongst dragons, who saw dragons as beautiful misunderstood creatures, who saw them as kindred companions, who wanted to spend his life alongside his brother and mother but was terrified of dragon fire.

Eret hated himself for that.

Hiccup had slowly scampered up the wings of Cloudjumper, pausing for a moment to wrap his arms around the Stormcutter's massive head in a massive hug, laughing when Cloudjumper purred and snorted a thick cloud of smoke from his nostrils, enveloping the boy in smoke.

Valka placed a gentle hand on Eret, though she kept her eyes on Hiccup as he laughed, and choked, alongside the purring Cloudjumper. There was a certain tenderness in her eyes as she saw her youngest son and greatest companion interact, it made her seem younger and much more carefree. Eret doubted that there was no greater joy to Valka than her children and dragon, not even flying could compare to the love that Valka held for them all. And that said something that burrowed its way into Eret's fearful heart and calmed it with a beautiful warmth.

"It's time for you to face the fears ingrained within you by humans, and it is time that you shed the burden placed upon you by others. Though I see that you might need help in this regard, luckily for us we both know someone more than happy to demonstrate." She nodded her head that was currently standing on Cloudjumper's head with his hands outstretched as though he had sprouted wings.

"Hiccup?" Valka asked aloud, looking down upon her son with amusement.

Valka's son visibly brightened at his mother's amused glance, the auburn-haired feral child grinning madly that made Eret wary. He knew that smile. It was always the harbinger of Hiccup causing chaos and trouble for the son of Eret. He didn't trust that smile. The boy rubbed his hand against Cloudjumper's scales, two fingers tapping lightly in some secret message that made Cloudjumper cock his head.

The boy scurried across Cloudjumper's broad shoulders and leapt up in the air as Cloudjumper suddenly lowered himself at the exact moment Hiccup's feet, and Eret watched with wide eyes as Hiccup hovered above them, falling slowly over Valka and Eret. He landed behind Eret, steadying himself with a graceful flailing of his arms and sat down behind Eret, grinning madly.

"Have fun!" Hiccup yelled jovially. "Try not to flail too much, it slows you down and makes you spin really fast and gives you a belly ache!"

…

"Wait, _what?_" Eret asked with confusion. Eret suddenly felt Hiccup's hand smack him on his back, sending him tumbling off of Cloudjumper's side and plummeting towards the earth.

"Aggh!" Eret screamed as he fell through the air, flailing wildly and flapping his arms like a featherless bird. _"HICCUUUUUUUUUUUP!"_

Hiccup, without any regret for pushing Eret off of a flying dragon hundreds of feet above the ground, looked up at his mother with eager, wide eyes that became adorably pleading. "Can I jump too?" He asked, looking unperturbed at the rapidly descending dot that was Eret flailing in the air, still screaming his lungs out.

Valka rolled her eyes at the antics of her son. "Only if you catch up to Eret and remind him to keep his mouth closed as he falls, otherwise he'll catch a mouthful of bugs on the way down."

With a joyful whoop of utter glee, Hiccup gave his mother one last beam before he leapt off the safety of Cloudjumper's back and began to plummet, gleefully screaming as he fell.

Rubbing her palm against the smooth scales of Cloudjumper, Valka leaned over towards the dragon's ear. "Well, my friend, shall we catch them?"

Cloudjumper rumbled out an amused laugh, turning around to stare at Valka with those warm amber eyes that filled Valka with a sense of security and love. She laughed as well, her tittering laughter mixing with the grumbling roar of Cloudjumper's laughter.

The two dove downwards, racing to catch up with their falling children.

* * *

There were a large amount of trappers, at least an entire dozen or so of them. They were gruff men and women, garbed in worn leathers and mangy furs, but their weapons were steel and they had shields. Valka noticed something that chilled her blood.

They were wearing horned helmets.

_Viking_ helmets.

She struggled to see the sigils on their arms, terrified to see Berk's symbol, but she couldn't tell due to distance. She was reassured, however, when she saw no one familiar to her. They weren't Berkians.

But they were still Vikings… and to see Vikings trapping dragons instead of killing them, as they always did, was worrisome.

Valka watched them from the trees, hidden from sight. Her sons were by her side, Eret on her right and Hiccup on her left. The trappers had yet to notice them, they were too busy chaining a Monstrous Nightmare, some even stabbing the trapper creature to keep it down. Valka's fingers tightened around her staff, knuckles white.

She and her sons had flown further south, far from the Nest, alongside Cloudjumper and several dragons that had wished to accompany the three humans. Valka had heard rumors of dragon trappers migrating further south, in an attempt to avoid clashing with Valka and her dragon flock. Hiccup and Eret went with her, as Valka had believed them old enough to go with her.

Hiccup was eleven, and still smaller than a normal boy his age but Hiccup had gone with his mother on rescue raids a few times prior to this one and Valka knew that despite his small size, her son was rather good at surviving.

Eret was sixteen, and had grown up to become muscular and broad. Eret was a proficient warrior, having been trained by Valka for years. He favored a sword rather than an axe, favoring speed and quick attacks than brute strength.

Neither of her sons had yet to find their bonded dragons, so they had ridden on the other dragons accompanying them.

"I count at least twenty," Hiccup whispered, dark green eyes looking at the trappers chaining the Nightmare with wide eyes.

"That's more than usual." Eret whispered back, fingers curled around the hilt of his sword.

"They outnumber us, even with Cloudjumper and the other dragons here. We thought that there would only be five or ten trappers like up north, but they don't look like normal trappers. Look at the size of them!" Hiccup looked at several of the trappers, who seemed to be more bear than man. They were massive.

"Those aren't normal trappers," Valka said grimly, aware that her sons were looking at her in confusion. "Those are Vikings."

Her sons' eyes widened at that, they both looked at the trappers with renewed interest. Hiccup looked confused, "Mother, you said that Vikings killed dragons, not trap them." He watched them force the Monstrous Nightmare into an iron cage, many of its scales had been torn off and blood seeped through many wounds, he felt nauseous as he watched.

"They do, or at least they did." Valka looked as confused as her son, as though unable to comprehend the thought of Vikings not taking the chance to slay a dragon, but to capture it. It was considered cowardly to not kill a dragon if given the chance. The only reason Berk held dragons in the Killing Ring was to ensure the next generation had the chance to slay a dragon, and even then the dragons forced in there were the ones who were shot down during raids.

Valka quickly surveyed the situation. Twenty Vikings, all armed. Several cages: one with the Monstrous Nightmare, another with a Hideous Zippleback, and two Deadly Nadders. There was another cage, but unlike the others there were no bars that allowed her to see the occupant, instead it was one of the metal traps that reminded Valka of jaws, made of solid iron, that trapped the dragon within like a giant upside down bowl.

"We do this as quickly as possible. Hiccup, you'll be atop of Brightscales," Valka told her youngest son. Hiccup was still too young to join his mother and brother on the ground, but he was a talented flyer and had great aim with the Deadly Nadder, whose spikes would be just as useful as any axe or sword. "If any of the Vikings flee, which is doubtful as they're too damn proud to retreat, make sure you kill them. We can't let them return to Drago and let him know that we're aware of his trappers down south."

Hiccup nodded his head at his mother, looking determined. Valka turned her attention to Eret.

"Eret, you'll cover me as Cloudjumper makes the distraction. Once they all turn their sights upon him, you will leap from the trees and attack anyone who gets in your way. Keep an eye on your brother, if there are any archers with bows, slings or javelins, I want you to get rid of them as possible. We can't let them hurt Hiccup or the dragons in the air." She knew Eret would watch over Hiccup when she could not, she trusted the boy who had become her second son and loved him as much as she loved Hiccup.

Eret nodded his head, glancing over at his brother who nodded back. They all looked out for one another. They were a family.

Valka put on her mask, while her sons put on their own masks. They each wore identical masks, which had been fashioned in their King's likeliness, save for the paint color. Valka had opted for a soft blue, the color of the sky. Eret had chosen a darker blue, nearly identical to the hue of his tattoo. Hiccup had chosen white, wanting to make it further resemble their Alpha's stark white scales.

Valka looked at her sons with approval; they looked truly fearsome when their faces were hidden behind masks of what many would think monsters.

"Stay safe, watch out for one another." Valka said, imparting her last message to her children. She ignored the small flutter of nervousness of what was to come; not death, for she did not fear the end, but she the fear losing her sons or of her sons losing her. Valka placed a gloved hand one each of the shoulders, gripping them tightly as though to convey the love she held for them in that simple moment. They knew the gesture and –despite the mask's that hid their features- they placed their own hands atop of hers, all three of them conveying their love for one another silently.

It was Hiccup who left first, slipping down the tree trunk like a nimble squirrel, his tanned leather armor blended with the dry dirt of the ground. Valka watched her youngest son race through the underbrush silently, heading to where he knew Brightscales was awaiting him.

Eret left next, heading towards the opposite side of the clearing to cut off any Vikings from moving in that direction.

She waited for several minutes, simply sitting besides Cloudjumper and a score of dragons, simply waiting. Slender fingers traced the grooves of her staff, one finger idly following a splash of blue paint left by a young Hiccup's overeager hands. She closed her eyes softly, listening to the rhythmic breathing of Cloudjumper and the soft twittering of various birds flittering through the woods on swift wings. Valka opened her eyes suddenly, before turning towards the warm amber eyes that were staring at her.

"Are you ready, my friend?" She placed her forehead against his snout, nimble fingers lightly trailing the scales of his cheek, she looked up into those warm amber eyes that held her soul in captivation. Cloudjumper rumbled softly, his whole form shaking slightly, affirming that he was ready.

"They're Vikings," she whispered, all too aware of how the Stormcutter's shoulders tensed and how his tail coiled around her body protectively. "Be careful, will you?" She laughed a little at her worry, well aware that she was mother henning Cloudjumper. "Of course you will, no Viking could ever survive a fight against you."

Cloudjumper flashed her a toothy grin, eyes full of love and compassion that made Valka's heart swell even as the memory of a hulking red-haired Viking came to mind. She shoved the thought, and the feelings, of that Viking away, focusing on what mattered now, the present.

This was her duty. This was her life. Saving those who could not defend themselves against the tyranny of man. She would lay down her life for Cloudjumper just as readily as she would lay down her life for Hiccup or Eret. She would give her life for their King, their great Alpha. She protected dragons against her own kind: humans. She protected them because no one else would, save her sons, because other humans only saw dragons as terrible monsters rather than beautiful misunderstood creatures. Humans were the monsters in that regard, because never once did they ever stop to wonder if the beasts they so readily killed were indeed mere beasts, never once did they regret end the lives of such beautiful creatures, but rather celebrate and glorify such needless killings.

The reminder of Berk killing so many of the creatures that Valka now viewed as her family, her people, filled her with anger. It burned within her, nestling itself within her heart when she reflected on what she had abandoned eleven years ago. The years had begun to pass by as time continued onwards, and Valka had begun to find it exceedingly difficult to remember fond moments of her life prior to Cloudjumper snatching her away from that life with Hiccup in her arms. Her memory of familiar faces seemed to fade away with each passing year, and the faces that she had once dearly loved had begun to grow murky when she thought of those she had left behind. Gothi, Gobber and… and Stoick were the only ones she had loved dearly during her lifetime spent on the isle of Berk. But even still… she couldn't clearly remember Gothi's voice, or Gobber's bellowing laughter, and even Stoick's face had begun to fade away from her memory.

_Do they still remember me when they think of me?_ Valka wondered as she and Cloudjumper treaded through the thick underbrush, the warm breath of her beloved dragon seeping into her back. She cleared away the musing with a vehement shake of the head; it did not matter anymore what anyone who called Berk thought. _If they saw me now, if they knew what became of me and what I had become… I would simply be a stranger wearing a familiar face to them all. They all believe I died that night, and maybe in a way I did._

The thought made her weary, though Valka did not know why.

Cloudjumper's low croon brought the woman out of her thoughts, and distracted her from the heavy weight in her heart. She shook her head to clear out the troublesome thoughts and stalked through the underbrush silently, her footsteps muffled by the soft, powdery snow.

The Vikings camped before her made the woman pause behind the underbrush that concealed herself and Cloudjumper from their eyes. She stared at them for several moments, soaking in the familiar fur tunics, axes and horned helmets. They were gathered around the caged dragons and merrily chatting with one another with their thunderous voices, beating their fists against another's back as they congratulated one another for the fine catch. They were loud, obnoxious and brash. They were Vikings, of that Valka held no doubt.

The anger that had burned within her for so many years continued to rise in its intensity. Valka allowed the anger to course through her, using it as a weapon against her most bitter enemy: the Vikings.

By the gods did Valka hate them. She loathed them with all her heart and soul, because she knew how cruel Vikings were, and how ignorant they were of things they chose to not understand. She hadn't seen any Vikings for over a decade, and yet here they were, sprouting back into her life like pestering weeds.

She had thrown away everything when Cloudjumper had snatched her. She had given up everything that had belonged to Valka Haddock: her friends, her home, her possessions, her companions, her people, her village, her life, _Stoick._

She didn't regret any of it.

The only thing that she had not given up had been her only child, Hiccup. But Valka did not believe her son had ever been a part of her life as Valka Haddock, but rather had become a fixture in her life as Valka, just Valka, who wanted to save dragons.

Valka did not regret any of the choices she had made.

Even though the thought of a red-haired Viking still sent pangs through her heart, a painful reminder of loss, Valka regretted nothing.

"Come Cloudjumper," Valka said softly, walking silently across the freshly fallen snow without nary a sound; Cloudjumper and the other dragons following her closely, their warm breath tickling her back.

"_Now!"_ Valka cried out as she burst into the clearing, whirling her staff high in the air as Cloudjumper and a number of dragons streamed out behind her, snarling and sputtering flames of various heat and size. On the other side Eret appeared with his own flock of dragons, and across from them Hiccup came swooping out of the trees atop of Brightscales, a protective Deadly Nadder.

The Vikings didn't even pause in their surprise, already they had grabbed ahold of their weapons and charged towards the three vigilantes with great enthusiasm. War cries erupted from their lips, shouting various phrases about honor and glory to Vikingkind that made Valka want to roll her eyes at. She rushed at the closest one, and smacked him in the face with her shield, before quickly swinging her staff at his head.

Cloudjumper leapt into the fray, barreling into two Vikings with his massive horned head. He stayed near Valka protectively, using his spiked tail to wham into any Viking that came too close to himself and his rider.

The clearing broke into utter chaos as dragons emerged from the sky and woods, surrounding the Viking trappers on all sides. The Vikings, always armed to the teeth, roared war cries that held almost the same magnitude as a dragon's roar, and charged at the beasts they so greatly loathed.

"Kill the demon lovers!" One of the Vikings howled, holding up his axe high. "Kill 'em all!"

Valka attacked him immediately, spinning out of the axe's way easily. She swung her staff and it hit the back of his head with a satisfying _crunch._ The Viking fell to his knees, swearing like a sailor, his huge hand rubbing his neck. It was a bit annoying -really it was- of how thick-headed Vikings were. A trapper up north, those who had no Viking blood in them, would have died immediately upon such an attack, but the Viking acted as though he had been swatted in the side, though he looked to be in pain.

"You dragon whore!" The red-haired Viking stood up on shaky feet, looking positively furious. But then he fell back onto his knees as a Nadder spike impaled itself in his shoulder, right below the armor piece where it sunk into unprotected flesh. Valka glanced up to see the attacker and was pleased to see Hiccup atop of Brightscales, a female Deadly Nadder, with a vindictive look on his young features.

"Don't call my mother that, you overgrown hog!" Her son yelled down from before flying off atop of Brightscales to assist Eret, who was tussling with a young Viking lad that was easily a head taller than Valka's eldest.

Valka, Hiccup and Eret fought valiantly against the trappers; all of them with a specific duty in their hearts: saving the trapped dragons and removing trappers from their lands.

Hiccup flew above them atop a Deadly Nadder, surveying the chaos and ensuring that none of the trappers escaped to warn Drago Bludvist of the vigilantes. Whenever a man escaped, the young boy and his Nadder companion would shoot them before they reached the thicket, but Hiccup and the Nadder found themselves dodging thrown spears and rocks by angry Vikings, as few had fled when the ambush had begun. They were too prideful to run away from a fight, even when so severely outnumbered and outmatched; Vikings fought till the death, only when the Valkyries took them to the Halls of Valhalla did a true Viking stop his fight.

Valka lost sight of Hiccup as more Vikings leapt at her, swarming her like devouring locusts. All she saw was axes and swords and shields and bloodthirsty snarls and deadly eyes that reminded Valka of Berk and its occupants.

The woman dodged a swing of a sword and whisked her staff around to smack the attacker in the face with her staff, before shoving her shield into his gut that forced him to his knees. Behind her, Cloudjumper released a torrent of bright flame at several Vikings that had been charging at Valka's unprotected back.

A smile found its place of Valka's lips, though it was hidden behind her mask. _This _was her duty. This is what she had been born to do, and what she had prepared her sons for. Defending and saving dragons was their life goal, and attacking those who dared harm the creatures was a boon in Valka's heart. She enjoyed seeing the men and women who so callously trapped dragons with such brutish traps in pain, as it was nothing more than what they deserved.

"You no good vigilantes," a Viking woman snarled as she threw her axe at Valka, who dodged it by rolling. "May Thor damn you and send you and your companions to Hel!"

Valka said nothing as she attacked, swiping at the woman's head with her staff and hearing the staff crack against the Viking's head. Vikings might be a sturdy people, but were rather slow. Hel, Valka was almost certain that Vikings were so slow because they _wanted_ to be hit, if not to ensure that no one could call them cowards than to get a wicked battle scar to show off during feasts in the Great Hall. Yet another reason the dragon vigilante was glad she had raised her sons to be better.

"You will pay for what you have done here, Viking." Valka declared as she continued to attack. She took a moment to glance around and found Cloudjumper flinging trappers with his tail, before setting a tent on fire with his breath. "You _all_ will…"

* * *

Hiccup dodged brawling Vikings and dragons with a nimble grace. The small boy jumped away from flashing swords and spinning axes, dodging danger with a cocky grin. He saw Eret on the other side of the clearing by his mother, locked in combat with a trapper covered in dirty furs.

He saw the lone cage that had yet to be opened and raced towards it-

"_Ack!"_ Hiccup chocked out as he felt pressure around his neck.

A hand suddenly grabbed him by the back of his jerkin and tugged him into the air. Hiccup twisted violently to escape, but the hand held onto his jerkin with unyielding strength.

A large, brutish man clad in iron armor and thick furs was leering up at him as the Viking held him in the air like a newborn kitten. Hiccup coughed as he felt his collar press against him, chocking him.

"Dragon spawn!" The Viking spat in his face, spittle and blood flying from his mouth that revealed several missing teeth. "What type of man fights alongside devils? Have you been hoodwinked by their demonic gaze?"

Hiccup struggled against the grip, trying to free himself, but the Viking held on with a terrifying amount of strength. The young child glared at the attacker, though his frown was hidden by his mask.

A hand that was bigger than Hiccup's head grabbed the spiked mask off of his face and tossed it aside. The man stared up at the face of a scowling child, for a moment looking surprised by Hiccup's age. The surprise faded away, leaving only a weariness that was etched within the wrinkles near his eyes and freckled forehead.

"A child… You're nothing more than a child…"

The man seemed saddened by this fact, as though it weighed heavily in his heart like an iron weight.

"Let me go!" Hiccup screamed, thrashing about wildly in the man's iron-tight grasp. All Hiccup could think of was of a fish flopping on the ground, away from the safety of the sea, slowly dying despite its best effort, completely weak and useless.

Bright blue eyes suddenly widened even more. "You _speak…?"_ The warrior said this wonder, as though taken off guard by Hiccup's ability to speak a civilized tongue. "And here we thought you damned dragon servants capable of only growls and snarls."

Hiccup found it harder and harder to breathe; dark spots flickered in his vision.

"Why are you doing this?" Hiccup gasped out, the pressure against his neck suffocating him. "Why are you hurting dragons?"

"Because we must." The Viking stated without hesitation. "I would not expect you to understand, for you are nothing more than dragon spawn, a mere pawn controlled by vile creatures that plague our skies and homeland.

Hiccup thought of Cloudjumper and the feeling of safety and love whenever he was near; he thought of his friends that he had always played with, games of tag and hide and seek that were full of laughter and joy; he thought of the benevolent Alpha that guarded them all from harm and kept them safe and happy. What did this man know of dragons?

"You don't know anything about dragons!" Hiccup said without hesitation, just as the man had been when he had answered Hiccup's question. He wanted to explain to this Viking of the love that dragons shared, of the kinship, of companionship, and so much more!

But it wasn't to come, because at that very moment the Viking grabbed a sword from his hilt, and held it up close to Hiccup's vulnerable flesh, cutting into the dyed leathers.

Dread set within him, panic boiling his blood as Hiccup began to struggle again.

Suddenly the massive man smiled sadly, looking remorseful, as he held up his sword so Hiccup could see it. "I should have expected this from someone the likes of your kind, and the kind you serve. But I never imagined that your loyalty would be so unwavering, so strong that it is obvious that it cannot be broken. The spell that has entranced you is too strong to be broken by reasoning and logic. I…" he looked so sad as he paused, as though struggling to find the correct words to say, "… see that you cannot be saved…"

The Viking held up his sword and placed it against the tender, vulnerable flesh of Hiccup's stomach.

"I'm sorry, young one…." The Viking did indeed look mournful, even though his eyes were cold with determination to fulfill the deed he had set before him.

Hiccup tried to scream for someone to help him, for his mother to strike down this awful person, for Eret to tackle him to the ground, for Cloudjumper to engulf the Viking in flame, but it was caught in his throat and came out as a strangled yelp. "D-Don't," he whispered.

"Rest now, child. I shall free you from their control," he swore solemnly.

Hiccup screamed as he thrashed wildly in his grip, "Let me go!" but the Viking held on.

The Viking shook his head somberly, as he sadly stated, in a tone of utmost grief, "Poor child. You poor, deceived child. Are you even a human, or have you lost all sense of humanity by being alongside these dragons? They have warped you, converting you to their side with illusions and tricks."

Hiccup bit back the retort that threatened to come from him. How dare this man, this _Viking,_ say such things on matters he did not understand?

Hiccup remembered his mother's warning of humans and of Vikings. Valka had always cautioned her son to beware of any human that called themselves a Viking, to never trust them and to never underestimate them. _A Viking_, she had always told him with a face like stone, _wouldn't understand what their lives were. Vikings were dangerous,_ that was what his mother had always told him. Vikings were bad people, they would kill him if Hiccup trusted them, just as readily as they would kill dragons without first wondering why.

Hiccup had always wondered of his mother's grim warnings, a small part of him protesting that maybe she was wrong and that maybe she had misunderstood. But the man holding him down with a sword in his hand, a sad smile but cold eyes that forewarned of what dark intentions lingered within those dark orbs, made Hiccup realize that his mother had been right. Hiccup didn't see a fellow human being in the Viking, he didn't see anything that reminded him of the only humans he knew: his mother and brother. All Hiccup saw was death.

Terror overcame him, swarming his body with pure, undiluted fear. But with that fear came an instinct held by all humans: flight or fight. And Hiccup choose the obvious.

Hiccup bit down hard on the man's hand. He felt blood pool into his mouth, warm and salty as he heard the Viking yell out. The grip on his jerkin vanished as the man instinctively clutched his bleeding hand; Hiccup fell to the snowy ground and quickly began to crawl away from the howling man.

"You beast!" The Viking stormed forward, face set in a deep scowl as he held his sword tightly as blood dripped from his hand. "You wretched little _monster._" He spat out, towering over Hiccup like a goliath. Hiccup felt so little before the Viking, like a Terrible Terror before the Alpha, he felt weak and helpless. And Hiccup hated it. He hated this feeling of weakness; he hated how helpless he was. He hated it. He _hated_ it!

Hiccup proudly -though most would call it foolishly- glared up at the blond-haired Viking with what he hoped was an awe-inspiring glare akin to his mother whenever she faced a trapper. _Be strong like mother,_ Hiccup thought as he glared at the Viking with such odium it made the Viking pause for a moment, momentarily taken aback by the pure rage in the young child's eyes. But then the Viking scoffed at the thought of the eleven year old being threatening and drew closer, his monstrous weapon held in his hand.

Hiccup stood tall, unwavering in his furious defiance. He wouldn't let this Viking hurt anymore dragons; Hiccup wouldn't let him anyone or anything ever again. He swore it as he glared at the approaching Viking.

"I won't let you hurt anymore dragons ever again!" Hiccup declared.

Around the two, the sounds of battle raged on. Hiccup could see his mother dodging a sword and smacking a trapped atop the head with her shield, making him fall lifeless upon the crunched snow. Eret was further away, pressed against the edge of the forest with a Nadder by his side as they both fought nail and claw against the trappers. The sight of his brother and mother brought a fierce pride within Hiccup; a burning feeling that filled his entire being with conviction that what they were doing was the right and just thing.

_They just don't understand,_ Hiccup realized. _But is it because of their stubbornness or is mother right when she says that Vikings cannot change?_

"Die!"

Hiccup saw the axe raise, he saw the deadly look in the Viking's eye, and prepared to move.

But then suddenly all Hiccup saw was a sudden flash of bronze scales as the Viking was suddenly thrown aside like a limp doll. The man rolled onto the snowy ground, his armor smashing the fresh powder into stamped sleet, and Hiccup became aware of the towering form that stood between him and the Viking protectively, massive wings raised menacingly as a somber face with smashed nose-plating looking over at him with luminous amber eyes alight with great concern.

Hiccup beamed up at his savior, and hailed him with great relief, "Cloudjumper!" He had never been happier to see the dragon in all his life.

The proud Stormcutter looked down at him with worry, slit-like pupils darting from his face to the rest of him to assure himself that Hiccup was fine, before a dark fire seemed to catch alight behind his eyes as the Stormcutter turned his massive head towards the Vikings that had slowly regained his senses and had been trying to stand. Cloudjumper bared his monstrously massive fangs at the Viking before roaring so loudly it took all of Hiccup's self-restraint to refrain from clamping his hands against his throbbing ears.

The Viking slowly stood up on shaky legs, swaying precariously despite the sturdy ground. Hiccup had to give Vikings a bit of credit; they might be close-minded and rather blunt, but they had great durability. "I see…" those dark blue eyes flicked from a grinning Hiccup to the snarling Cloudjumper. "A beast protecting its pet."

_No, _Hiccup thought to himself, _a friend protecting another._

Cloudjumper roared again; a roar that echoed throughout the entire clearing and seemed to overcome all sounds of battle that raged on around them. Hiccup saw his back become taut as Cloudjumper hunched over to rest on his forelimbs. He was about to pounce. The gentle Stormcutter turned slightly, one eye gazing into Hiccup, and the young boy understood what his mother's greatest companion wanted from him. Cloudjumper wanted him to flee into the chaos of the battle, away from the Viking that had tried to hard to kill him. Cloudjumper wanted him to free the rest of the dragons.

"Be safe," Hiccup whispered to Cloudjumper, a lump growing in his throat as he thought of the strength in the Viking's hands and how wickedly sharp his axe was.

There was a tiny curl of Cloudjumper's lips, revealing sharp, serrated teeth that looked like a furious, animalistic snarl to the Viking, but for Hiccup it was a well familiar smile that brought comfort and a sense of safety.

The young boy turned his back to Cloudjumper and the unknown Viking and raced away, ducking back into the fray of battle, dodging the fighting Vikings and dragons, avoiding axes and swords, ducking under shields and swung maces. Hiccup flittered through the battlefield like a leaf in the wind, untouched but guided by nothing but instinct. Brightscales, the Deadly Nadder who he had flown on previously, spotted him with a squawk and rushed to his side, aggressively flinging spikes at anyone who even tried to get close.

Most of the traps had already been taken care of by either his mother, brother or a dragon. Some of them had been opened by a human as evident by the moved levers, while some traps had been burnt to cinder or reduced to splinters by a dragon's teeth and claws. There was only one cage left. The one made entirely of metal, hiding the dragon that was trapped within.

Hiccup saw the lone occupied cage and raced towards it, Brightscales rammed into any Viking that tried to get close to Valka's son. The Deadly Nadder found herself facing against another Viking and she launched herself at the human with an indignant squawk. Hiccup, recognizing Brightscales' movement as a sign for him to continue, raced towards the lone trap.

He faintly saw Eret ducking as a massive axe came swinging by a howling Viking, he faintly saw his mother disarming another as Cloudjumper unleashed a torrent of fiery flame against another trapper that had been trying to sneak up behind the woman.

Hiccup arrived at the iron trap, its occupant hidden underneath cold layers of iron, and quickly began to search for a way to open it. His mother had taught Eret and himself everything there was to know about the traps set by the humans, including how to reset them into opening. He climbed up the iron half-sphere, his nimble fingers digging into small scratches in the iron created by dragon claws. He cursed silently to himself when he reached the top, seeing the trap shut tightly. The two halves of the trap that were shut together were serrated to meld into the other when closed; it reminded Hiccup of sharp teeth clenched together.

He faintly saw Eret tackle an archer to the ground when the man had been aiming at a dragon flying above them.

_Aha!_ Hiccup crowed to himself triumphantly as he spotted a lever hidden between two sockets. He slid down the trap as though it were an icy ridge, his boots landing firmly in the dry snow. He grabbed ahold of the lever, which was nearly as tall as he was, but found difficulty in moving it.

His hands were slick from perspiration and water from the snow, making it quite difficult to grasp a firm hold on the lever. He wiped them on his pants hurriedly, all too aware of the battle that raged on around him. He tried to grab the lever again and struggled vainly to budge it. The stupid lever was stuck!

_For the love of Thor…._ Hiccup thought as he pushed his entire body weight against the lever, his feet slowly and steadily moving backwards that created a small trail in the snow.

It took a while, but soon there was a resounding _click_ followed by a low groaning of moving metal that told Hiccup that he had managed to open it. He scrambled up the metal plate, his leather soles slick on the cold metal, and stood on top where there was an opening in the trap.

Hiccup peered into the darkness of the half-opened trapped, wondering what dragon had been trapped within. He saw nothing but darkness, nothing but shadows; he saw nothing. No sign of any dragon. Disappointment filled him to his core.

He nearly fell backwards when a pair of green eyes suddenly opened in the trap.

Hiccup stared down, hands clenched against the ridge of the jaws of the iron trap, as serpentine eyes gleamed in the darkness like green fire. They stared up at him, unblinking, and Hiccup couldn't help but stare back.

For a single moment the cacophony of savage war cries of humans and harsh shrieks of dragons faded away, the sound of battle ebbing away into nothing. For a lone moment, all Hiccup was aware of was those luminous green orbs that looked up at him.

He reached down towards those eyes, fingers outstretched, though he did not seem to realize what he was doing; he was too entranced by those serpentine eyes… and those eyes were just as entranced… Hiccup saw the eyes get bigger as the dragon got closer to his outstretched fingers. He reached out as far as he could, still staring down with wonder.

The touch of warm, smooth scales pressed against Hiccup's pam, and Hiccup smiled. A thrill of warmth enveloped him as though he had been bathed in fire that didn't burn him, but rather wrapped him up in a blanket of warmth,

Something impacted against his back with the force of a rampaging Rumblehorn. Hiccup shrieked in pain as he was flung backwards, his gaze ripped away from the gleaming eyes, and began to roll violently down the half-opened trap, only to land on the snowy ground with a dull _thud._ Hiccup saw stars flash in his eyes as pain blossomed around the small of his back. Harsh, sharp pain throbbed with every second passing, and Hiccup had to fight back the tears that pooled as he shuddered with each breath, the wind had been knocked out of him when he had fallen and the pain made breathing near impossible. He clenched his eyes shut. Every small movement was utter pain, every second it felt as though something was crushing down on his chest, threatening to break him in two. Hiccup tried to will the pain away, but the pressure on his chest refused to lessen, if anything it only gained strength.

Hiccup opened his eyes, and immediately wished he hadn't.

The oppressive pressure that threatened to crush his ribcage belonged to a dirty boot that was stepping right on his chest. One of the Vikings, possibly the largest of them all, was stepping on him with a deadly sneer. The man's once vibrant blond hair had been seared away from dragon fire, leaving only singed fringes remaining and a blistering burn on his neck. But despite this, the Viking still smiled as he forced his foot down harder, grinning widely as Hiccup screamed.

Hiccup heard a snarl, low and guttural roughened by an animalistic fury, and saw a black blur descend upon the Viking that had tried to kill him by crushing him. Hiccup tried to sit up, but cried out in pain.

Green eyes flickered towards him, wide with concern. But then the pupils grew thin as they dilated into small slits as the dragon stared down at the Viking trapped beneath its paws like dead prey.

Hiccup saw a blue light emit from the dragon's mouth, and he heard the beginning of what sounded like a ghostly shriek. He turned away.

* * *

A shriek resonated within the bloody clearing. Long and eerie, it hung in the air, echoing throughout the woods like a ghostly wail. The Vikings paused, Eret froze, Valka hesitated and Hiccup was nowhere to be seen.

Valka felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise, sensing that something was wrong. She felt it in the frigid air, silent but full of anticipation.

There was a black blur in the air, a mere flash of dark color against the bright blue sky. For a moment, Valka wondered if she had imagined the sight, but then a cage exploded in a flash of bright purple light and splinters.

Another flash of a dark wing, another cage exploded just as violently and suddenly as the last. The flash was gone, leaving the sky open with no intruder in sight.

The shriek returned. It was a truly haunting sound, like an eerie whistle that resonated throughout the now silent clearing. Even the dragons froze as they heard the ghostly wail keen in the distance. The sound became louder, _closer._ And the vigilantes and the Vikings understood that it was about to strike again.

One of the Vikings figured it out first. His face paled and his mustache began to quiver as he recognized the disturbing wail from the stories of old- a forewarning of attack, and the herald of a fearsome beast that all Vikings feared. The one dragon that had never been slain by a Viking. The one unbeatable foe that had thrived on the fringes of myth and legend. The Offspring of Death and Lighting Itself. A-

"_Night Fury!"_ The axe-wielding warrior screamed out, his voice breaking.

The ground under the Vikings' feet exploded in a shower of snow, rubble and bodies. Blood fell downwards like warm rain, splattering across the trampled snow.

The remaining trappers that had not fallen to the vigilantes and their dragons screamed as shots of explosive fire rained down upon them, uprooting trees and enveloping them in flame. The Vikings, stubborn and pig-headed to the bone, who knew not the understanding of retreat immediately began to scatter like headless chickens, fleeing into the underbrush with their tails tucked behind their legs and the horrifying sound of the Night Fury echoing in their heads.

The unseen dragon did not let them escape so easily. Most of them were killed as they ran, reduced to nothing as explosions erupted from the silent blasts of light.

Only a few Vikings managed to escape its blasts. Maybe only two or three out of the several dozen that had been trapping, the rest were torn asunder as they were shot by the blasts.

"Eret!" Valka called out to her eldest son, a hand outstretched towards him. The son of Eret raced over to her, wide eyed and terrified. "Where's Hiccup?" She asked sharply, grabbing her son by the shoulders as they both looked at the battlefield that was strewn with bodies.

Eret looked positively terrified, "I-I don't know." He scanned the battlefield for his brother, but could find no trace. "Mother…" he began, voice shaking. "I can't find Hiccup."

A heavy weight seemed to sink Valka's heart as thick fingers of fear wrapped itself around her throat, making it nearly impossible to breathe.

But then the harsh whistle returned, Cloudjumper raced towards her side, and suddenly there was an explosion in the snow as a dragon crashed to the ground.

Valka, for the first time in her life, saw a Night Fury. She was speechless, heart caught in her throat, and unable to move due to simple shock.

The dragon was beautiful.

Sleek black scales melded into darkened flesh, its wide wings spread outwards, the dragon bared its rounded fangs at those who remained, its luminous green eyes burning into the gaze of Valka and Eret. The wings slowly tucked themselves at his side.

Curled up by its paws was Hiccup.

Valka made a move towards her son, a lone hand outstretched as though to grab him and bring him to the safety of her arms, but the Night Fury snarled menacingly, its black wings unfurling from its back and wrapped around the boy's form.

Valka paused immediately, as though struck by sudden realization as she stared at the snarling dragon that crouched besides Hiccup, his inky-dark wings covering the boy in a familiar gesture. It reminded her of Cloudjumper and how he would cover her with his wings whenever he felt threatened, instantly resorting to shielding her with his own body.

The Night Fury was _protecting_ Hiccup.

The Night Fury's serpentine eyes gleamed darkly, full of a fearless wile that showed that this dragon was wild, but yet the dragon made no move to blast Valka and Eret with its blasts. Did it smell Hiccup's scent on them? Was that why it wasn't attacking? Or was it just the Vikings the Night Fury was after?

Hiccup began to stir, slowly uncurling his small form. His armor made of dried leather had several scuffs on it, but he looked to be in good health. The Night Fury immediately tore its eyes from Valka's and gazed down upon the young vigilante as Hiccup looked up to meet its gaze silently.

Hiccup seemed to freeze as he stared into the dragon's eyes, enchanted by something that Valka and Eret did not spy in those bright green orbs. The Night Fury stared back, just as enchanted as the boy.

_They're…_ Valka thought numbly, staring at the sight of boy and dragon, enraptured with one another. She could see it in their eyes, she could feel it in their hearts, just as she had felt it so many years ago when she had first stared into the eyes of Cloudjumper. She watched as the boy and dragon, two separate creatures, formed an unbreakable bond, their two souls transforming, uniting into a harmonious _one._

_They're bonded, _Valka thought, a broad smile gracing her face as she watched the two, just as entranced as the two.

Valka was entranced at the sight, Eret moved closer to her, not understanding the awe in her smile and the wonder in her eyes.

"Mother, what….?" Eret trailed off when Valka raised her hand, silencing him.

"Look…." Was all she said.

Eret looked.

And he saw.

And Eret understood.

Hiccup stared into those wide eyes, captured by the beauty and spirit of the dragon before him. He felt something thrum in his heart, making it flutter and become lighter. Unknown to him, Hiccup slowly began to raise his arm, his palm outwards to face the dragon.

The Night Fury cocked its head to the side, looking at Hiccup's small palm curiously. It sniffed his palm, inhaling the scents of dragon and human. The boy smelled funny, neither dragon nor human but a mix of both.

The Night Fury pressed his snout against the palm, purring at the touch as their hearts seemed to sing out and beat at the same tempo. Two hearts: joined. Two souls: united. They were no longer two, but _One_.

Hiccup trailed his fingers down the Night Fury's snout, tracing the warm scales with awe.

"Hi…"

The Night Fury cocked head head to the side curiously, leaning forward to sniff the boy. A purr came from the dragon, and Hiccup couldn't help but grin up at the dragon, somehow comforted by the sound. It was as though it was Cloudjumper, rather than a random dragon. But it _wasn't_ a random dragon, and it wasn't the same as it was with Cloudjumper. It was something else in its entirety.

It was something _more._

Hiccup smiled brightly up at the dragon.

"Do you wanna be best friends?"

The Night Fury's maw opened to reveal a toothless mouth, and the corners of the dragon's lips began to curl into a gummy smile that matched Hiccup's.

The boy latched himself onto the dragon's neck, hugging him tightly as he laughed in delight and joy. The Night Fury warbled in a way that could only be described as laughter, mixing in with the human boy's laughter.

"I'll take that as a yes!" Hiccup declared happily, laughing as he felt a massive tongue lick him in the face. "We're going to be the best of friends!"

And judging by the toothless smile on the Night Fury, and his warbling laughter of joy, the dragon seemed to have the same idea.

"Best friends…" Hiccup sighed into the dragon's neck, warmed at the contact and his heart thrumming with glee. "The very best…"

* * *

**Well 11,837 words and 27 pages later and we have finally met Toothless, though he has yet to have gained that name. This chapter was a toughie, but I'm rather pleased with it, though I might change a thing here and there if I don't like the look of it. Finally all three of them are vigilantes! Even though Hiccup is on the bench for most of the fights, he **_**still**_** manages to get into trouble. Now the only one who has yet to find their bonded dragon is Eret, but he **_**will**_** find that dragon sooner or later, though I won't say who will become bonded with him. You can guess it if you want, but I can confirm that the dragon has appeared in one of the films, so it is an officially known dragon. Some scenes seemed a bit rushed too me, but I really wanted to update this chapter before I left on vacation with my family. I really hope you guys liked this chapter, especially after I spent so much trying to perfect it.**

**So please, please **_**please**_** leave me a review telling me what you loved, liked or hated about this chapter, though I do prefer positive reviews. They are the lifeblood of this story and serve as my main motivation to continue writing this story.**

**Until next time!**


	8. Trader Johann

**Sorry about the long wait you guys! I've just been so busy writing my other stories and surviving school that I haven't been able to pay proper attention to Snatched. Hopefully this chapter makes up for the long wait! Also I have a little side-note/shameless self-advertisement, I've written a new story that focuses on the newest Star Wars movie, so if anyone is a fan of the series I recommend reading it. **

**Huge thanks to ChaosX97 for helping me with this chapter!**

* * *

Cloves of garland and garlic hung from wooden rafters while dried herbs and flowers were layered upon one another carefully in half-open chests. Their sweet and sharp smells were thick in the air, mixing oddly with the strong scent of the ocean. Random pieces of various goods were strewn about the hold, a confusing hodgepodge of various items of different cultures all mixed together. Entire tables were dedicated to displaying the exotic articles; from ceramics of foreign design, masterfully woven baskets, iron weapons and oaken shields, fabrics of fine silk brought from the exotic southern lands mixed with the wool jerkins of the Barbarian Archipelago and the seal fur jackets of the Icelands.

According to the trader, his ship apparently had anything the two would ever need, for a fair price of course. He boasted about his wide collection of goods scavenged from all four corners of the world. From the northern Icelands and the Barbaric Archipelago all the way to what remained of the Roman Empire and beyond.

It was cold, and Eret could see his breath frost over in the air with each exhale. Besides him, Hiccup seemed to shrink in his sealskin jacket. The only source of light was a brazier of fire, carefully fed and controlled by the merchant.

Above the doorway, the skull of a Monstrous Nightmare watched them through sunken sockets. The flickering of the flames made the polished skull weave in and out of constant shadow, its menacing teeth gleaming menacingly while its eye sockets seemed to follow their every move. From the corner of his eye, Eret could see Hiccup staring at the bare skull that almost seemed to grin back, his eyes wide and a quiver in his lips. Eret felt himself grow a little sick and forced himself to look away, pulling Hiccup with him.

"Anything you boys are looking for?" The oddly accented voice of the trader piped in.

The trader was a pale dark-haired man garbed in rather odd, foreign clothes of red and blue, the material seeming neither to be hide nor wool. Cloth bands and leather belts wrapped around his somewhat slender form, with pockets aplenty along with odd rings upon his fingers and a coin pouch close to his hip. Underneath a worn wool cap was dark brown hair, darker than Hiccup and Valka's but lighter than Eret's, lightly streaked with gray to match the knot-tied beard underneath his chin.

The trader had introduced himself as Johann, and had proudly shown them around his ship and its cargo hold. He allowed them to search around, hanging back in the corner while keeping a close eye on his goods.

Eret tried to keep an eye on Hiccup, especially when the younger brother, whose social skills with other humans was terrible in the bluntest of terms, tried to stuff random things into his pocket. He had to smack the boy's hand away before he got them kicked off the boat, though luckily the vendor hadn't been none the wiser.

Hiccup stared at the odd man with wide, unblinking eyes.

"Erhmm… something I can help you with perchance?" Trader Johann asked, looking rather uncomfortable at Hiccup's piercing, unblinking stare.

A flush of heat rose to Eret's cheeks as he realized why Hiccup was so interested in Johann. It wasn't the accent, the odd garb, the unfamiliar features, or enticing stories. Nope. Not in the slightest.

It was Johann's _beard._

Eret remembered a year or so prior when he had reached the age of sixteen, the age of manhood almost upon him, and how his body had become taller and broader with each coming day, and when the first few bristles of hair began to poke its way onto his face Hiccup's reaction had been less than enthused.

The wild boy's face had paled, before screaming so loudly it made Eret's ears ring before Hiccup suddenly disappearing into the labyrinth of tunnels with Toothless hot on his trail, leaving a confused Eret behind. He had had to enlist the aid of a concerned Valka and Cloudjumper, who managed to track the younger son to a remote cavern that had once been a nesting ground for Deadly Nadders but had long since been abandoned.

They had found him curled up in an old nest, bits of broken shell scattered around him from where newborn hatchlings had burst out in typical explosive fashion. Curled up beside him was Toothless, who was trying to nudge the boy out of his shocked state, mewling pitifully when Hiccup ignored him. It had taken Valka a while to coax her son out, even with Toothless helping her. When they finally managed to get Hiccup to look at them, both humans had been surprised when Hiccup tearfully asked if Eret was going to leave them for the other humans.

Eret had to concede that for Hiccup, whose only positive interaction with someone of the same species was with his mother and brother, it _did_ make a little bit of sense for him to be oblivious to certain information that Eret himself had always taken for granted, having been brought up in a human society. Facial hair had never been something Hiccup had ever encountered before, save with hostile trappers and Vikings and thus didn't know that all males always sported facial hair as it provided some protection from the cold.

It was understandable, in some odd way, for a boy who had never truly understood what it meant to be human to separate himself and his family from those that wished them harm. Trivial things like facial hair just served to help distinguish friend and foe; such simple things that Hiccup just didn't understand. Which did lead to an interesting question:

Did Hiccup even consider the trappers and Vikings as belonging to his own species?

Granted, Eret's younger brother was odd and eccentric enough to classify as his own subset of humankind, but it was still an interesting look into Hiccup's mindset.

What _were_ humans to Hiccup, a boy who had grown up with only dragons?

"Can we goooo?" Hiccup asked him in a low tone that sounded suspiciously like a whine, pulling Eret away from his thoughts.

Eret smirked slightly when he saw Hiccup's freckled cheeks colored a rather faint gray, a sign that the boy was nauseous from the constant rocking of the boat against the ocean's currents. Hiccup, who had spent his whole life leaping from dragon backs while in flight and loved doing aerial displays with Toothless, had a severe case of seasickness – it amused him to no end.

He pushed the boy lightly on the shoulder, grinning wildly when Hiccup stumbled awkwardly with flailing arms to catch his balance. "Not yet. We've still got some things to grab."

"I should have stayed behind with mother…"

Rolling his eyes at his brother's reluctance, the older boy gently pushed the dragon rider forward.

Valka certainly didn't enjoy the thought of her sons being in the company of humans, even if it was a wandering trader. She was paranoid of Drago's spies hiding in plain sight, and not to mention that she believed that any human would try and cause them harm if they knew that they were selling and buying with wanted criminals. The three dragon vigilantes were well known throughout the Icelands, and had been declared criminals throughout every known civilization within the region.

The trader hadn't seemed too entirely put off by their attire. The boys still wore their armor, but had hidden it behind layers of thick furs to hide the distinct markings, and neither had brought their helmets that marked them as the dragon vigilantes. They could have easily blended in with a crowd, though Hiccup might have trouble if he forgot the social customs that Eret had tried to teach him.

They had introduced themselves to the merchant as the sons of a hunter, and the man had seemingly believed them by looking at their wild assortment of fur and leather. Johann decided to ignore the oddity of the two boys, perhaps because, as he so proudly boasted, he was a _professional,_ and these two ruffians weren't the oddest bunch that had been on his ship.

Valka had given the boy a list of herbs and plants that was needed for Thor-knows-what concoction. Despite Valka's rather impressive herb garden, not all plants could be grown within the Nest, which meant they had to find certain plants within civilized areas. She needed stalks of yarrow for when fevers or infection struck, tansy, elderflower, marigold and thyme, not to mention hornwort, honeysuckle, crow's eye, buckthorn, and longrube. There was also a long list of poisonous plants that Valka desired to use against their enemies.

"Hmm…" Johann stroked his beard thoughtfully, "I have the plants you're looking for amongst the veritable garden I seem to possess but, eh… your mother _is_ aware that quite a few among that list are poisonous?" He added that on suddenly, looking at the boys with a critical eye.

_Wonder what he'd think if he knew that mother had even more poisonous herbs stored away,_ Eret thought humorously as he calmly said, "We've got a bit of a problem over here with predators of sorts that are always coming onto our territory and tryin' to kill our own. We've found a simple solution in regards to that violence isn't a problem when there's no one on your doorstep lookin' for a fight."

"That's… rather dark," Johann said, looking a tad uncomfortable as he fiddled with his jerkin.

Eret shrugged, "but not uncommon." And it wasn't. Death was common to those who lived in the Icelands, whether from the cold, wild animals, dragons, or even humans themselves.

Johann hummed in agreement at that, but still looked a bit uncomfortable, so Eret grabbed one of his coins and forced it into the man's palm, reminding the trader that there were far better things to have than a guilty conscience. Immediately Johann's hesitance went away, and he was already beckoning Eret to come forward with an energetic wave of his hand.

"I've got some Blue Oleander up in storage. Beautiful flower, soft as a little lamb's wool as well. Interesting story of how I came to get it." Suddenly the oddly garbed trader spread his arms out dramatically. "There I was, surrounded by masked enemies while dangling precariously off a cliff-face with only three fingers, I swung and-eh? What's wrong?" Johann stopped his tale, looking concerned.

Hiccup started at the mention of the flower, whilst Eret felt his face pale.

What most people didn't realize was that Blue Oleander, while beautiful to the eye, was perhaps the most toxic flower when it came to dragons. It was incredibly deadly, and the boys had seen dragons die after unknowingly eating the flower. It usually occurred when the more carnivorous dragons, such as the Monstrous Nightmare and Deadly Nadder, would often fly to wooded areas where the flower grew and hunted deer that often ate the blue flower as a part of their diet –as it was only poisonous to reptiles- and thus accidently ingested the flower from their kills.

"We don't want that." Hiccup said, his voice sharp. Both boys were adamant that the beautifully dangerous flower be nowhere near their home. Johann stared at them oddly, dark eyes flickering uneasily at Hiccup, whose face was twisted into an animalist snarl.

Placing a gentle hand on the feral boy's shoulder in an effort to calm him, Eret stepped forward with a small scrap of parchment scrawled with their mother's spiky handwriting. "We've got a list of what we need. N-no Oleander for us."

Johann accepted the slip of paper, although a bit warily.

Not wanting to ruin the chance to trade, Eret quickly added: "We've also got goods to sell as well. I think you'll be interested."

The wariness faded away, a more open curiosity replacing it.

"Come on, _Leif_," Eret encouraged his brother, using a different name to avoid any difficulties with identity. "Show the man what you want to sell."

Hiccup looked up at him balefully, though he remained silent. Hiccup had never truly enjoyed the company of humans, and was often quiet when Eret took him into a settlement for supplies that they could not procure in the wilds. Valka had wanted Hiccup to remain behind whenever they ventured out, but had relented when Eret had argued that the experience would be good for him. If only so that Hiccup would be able to blend in if trouble arose and he couldn't get home. Before Hiccup wouldn't have lasted a minute in a human village, but now Eret hoped that the boy would know enough to remain undetected until help arrived.

Hiccup reached into the pockets of his coat, and began to pull out a large assortment of various dragon scales, teeth and claws from the folds. The vendor looked at the rather large piles with a wide grin, looking very much pleased. Eret knew that many humans believed that parts of a dragon held some odd mystic power, and were incredibly useful for medicines. They weren't commonly used, however, as they are hard to find, as one had to kill a dragon to claim them, and were thus valuable.

"Oh, quite an assortment of rarities you've got. As a man of business I must say I'm curious as to how you procured these?" The dark-haired vendor stretched out his fingers to rake them through the glinting scales.

"Found 'em…" Hiccup's reply was a muffled mumble, barely audible. He was speaking the truth; it was rather easy to find such items when one lived in a dragon Nest. Scales loosened by age or wear were often found littering the Nest, often near certain rock structures that many dragons used as scratching posts. The teeth and claws were rarer, but it was easy to find some in old nests from where growing hatchlings had grown out of them.

"Mmmhhmmm," Johann hummed, though it looked as though he hadn't been paying the boy the slightest of attention; his dark eyes fixated instead on Hiccup's collection. They were precious commodities, valuable in all corners of the known world. He began muttering to himself, "I'm acquiesced with a number of traders down south who've been itching for dragon scales and teeth. Bit of a challenge in obtaining them, you see. Perhaps that nobleman in Al-Andalus would be willing to trade in those prized ceramics of his for a few Monstrous Nightmare claws…."

Hiccup perked up at the mentioning of the south, where he was forbidden to venture. "You been to a bunch of places, Trader?" he asked excitedly, his normally reserved and slightly uncomfortable nature in the presence of other human beings momentarily forgotten.

"Oh, I've been all over." Trader Johann boasted, gesturing at all of his cherished trinkets and wares with a broad sweep of his arms. "I've made port and met folks at some of the most far-flung backwater reaches of the world: from Svarheim and Farthern Dûr here in the Icelands you boys call home to the distant ends of the Barbaric Archipelago. I've been to Outcast Island, Healer's Island, the Meathead Islands, the Puffin Isles, the Isle of Berk, Breakneck Bog, Bloodspilt Bay, the Isles of Doom, and so many more."

Hiccup wrinkled his nose at the man's words, "Those last ones all sound like terrible places."

Trader Johann let loose a bark of laughter, his chest heaving. "Well o'course they do. They're home to the Vikings. Miserable lot, but one has to admire their resolve and survival skills."

Hiccup looked up sharply at Johann's words, his mother's warnings ringing in the back of his mind of deadly warriors who held no mercy to someone like him and who would gladly kill his beloved dragons without hesitation or mercy. His mother's bedtime stories, though Valka had treated them as warnings for the future, had engrained the notion that Vikings were not to be trifled with, and to never try to reason, or even talk, with.

"Vikings?"

"Mmph," Johann nodded his head, stroking his long beard sagely. "The epitome of stubbornness, I dare say. Refuse to move from their homelands despite the constant dragon raids. The seas will consume those islands before any Viking even thinks to leave." Suddenly he gestured towards the doorway, where the Monstrous Nightmare skull peered down at them, "Got that beauty as a gift not too long ago. You should have seen the _size_ of its body! Killed by a Viking who sports the moniker 'the Slayer'. Appropriate title too, chopped its neck though with a single swipe! He gave it to me as a gift after I gave them some much-needed herbs for burn and infection medicines."

Both boys felt rather ill at the tale. All the stories told to them by their mother about the brutality of Viking kind continuing to establish itself within their mindsets.

"Ah, I'll admit I do prefer the Archipelago at times. Brutish folk there, yes, but simple folk just the same. The Icelands, pah! People here're as rigid an' as frosty as glaciers and will point their weapons at you just for looking at them funny. No manners whatsoever, and this is from the mouth of a man who's consorted with _Vikings._ Not to mention," Johann sniffed disdainfully, "that it's plagued with ambitious, blood-thirsty vigilantes who ride _dragons._ Dragons, of all creatures!"

Both of the boys wisely looked away during the man's small tirade. "So, what'll you give for these pieces?" Eret asked, wanting to change the subject. _If only he knew that two of the three 'blood-thirsty vigilantes' are right in front of him,_ Eret thought to himself wryly. _He might change his tune rather quickly._

Johann shrugged his shoulders. "Well, hard to put a price on these, especially when they're in such nice quality. Eh, why not let your brother have his pick of my wares, and I'll decide if it's a fair trade, how's that?"

Immediately, without so much as a moment of hesitation, Hiccup silently pointed over towards the side of the cargo hold. "Eh?" Johann looked at where the boy had silently pointed, which happened to be a small area near the corner by the doorway. Beside a small, sturdy bookcase full of rolled parchment, plastered on the wall, was a sea chart with numerous charted islands dotting it.

"You want maps?" He asked incredulously, not understanding why the boy would willingly give away valuable items for a few old, musty maps. "Interesting. What would a hunter's boy have need of such large maps for, if you don't mind my nosiness?" he asked. People in the Icelands didn't travel much, unless they were either sailors, fishermen or pirates. It was a given that hunters didn't leave their land.

_Thor damnit, _Eret thought, thinking fast. "Leif's a bit of a wanderer at heart. Doesn't enjoy how… constricting our little island can be at times. He'd rather prefer to wander and see the world. One small rock in the middle of the ocean isn't enough for our little nomad here."

And Eret was telling the truth. Hiccup's restless spirit wasn't content to staying within the borders of their lands, but rather turned his eyes towards the horizon and what lay beyond. Both he and Toothless wanted to be free to fly until they reached the end of the world, and then go further beyond. Though their love for the unknown could not match the love they held for their family, human and dragon alike. They would rather remain in the Nest to protect those they loved, though a piece of them would always remain wistful.

Valka had seemed to understand Hiccup's desire to explore, and had even allowed both of her sons to fly further and further from the safety of the Nest, so long as they returned within a set amount of days to ease her ever-worrying heart. Valka had only enforced one rule to their freedom: they were forbidden to fly anywhere near the borders of the Barbaric Archipelago, the home of the Viking tribes.

The brothers didn't understand why their mother avoided the homelands of the Vikings so greatly. And when asked, the woman's face had tightened and a look came into her eyes, a sad forlorn look mixed with bitter anger, and neither had the heart to prod further. Valka obviously had no desire to share her reasons, and her sons abided to her wishes. Hiccup, despite his insatiable curiosity, stayed away from the Archipelago and regions too dangerous to fly in. Since he could not physically go to those regions, he instead turned his attention to charted landmasses. A map of all the places he wished to see _was_ the next best thing, after all.

"Why don't you go look at the maps?" Eret offered, nodding his head at his younger sibling.

Immediately, as though pulled by a rope, Hiccup wandered over to several barrels and a bookshelf stuffed with rolled parchment. He ran a finger across the faded parchments, a hint of longing in his eyes.

Eret knew that his brother loved maps, though he could barely read them despite Valka's teachings. Both he and Valka had been amused when Hiccup began to hang all of the maps he had chartered himself, some accurate and others not, within one of the smaller tunnels that led to a dead end on mixtures of pitch and dragon saliva. "How much for a map?" Eret asked the trader.

"Mmm…" Johann stroked his beard, dark eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Depends on what the lad wants. I've sea charts, constellation maps, trade charts, routes and major trails on certain islands, and a few random ones I've gathered over the course my travels. One of those maps on top of everything else you're buying… hmm… I'd reckon that pile of dragon scales would do well for one."

Eret knew that the man was ripping them off, he _was_ a proficient haggler, and it wasn't as though the scales were hard to find. "Deal." He decided, shrugging his massive shoulders casually. "But Leif chooses which, out of the lot of them." He said, leveling the smaller man with a fearsome scowl.

Johann blinked before giving a wry smile that showed his amusement at Eret's turning the tide by removing the price barrier, taking advantage of his vague words. In all honesty the old merchant didn't care in the slightest if they took one of his more pricey maps; Johann had memorized every sea and trade route scribbled onto those pieces of parchment. And he found the two brothers to be rather interesting company, though not the most eccentric people he had ever met. "If the young master wants a map, he'll have a map." Johann said, raising his hands in mock surrender.

Pleased, Eret turned his back to the foreign man and headed back towards his younger brother, who was already nose deep in a barrel of rolled parchment, carefully examining each piece. Hiccup suddenly tensed as he looked at another random map, its contents hidden to Eret due to the younger's back. He craned his head over the boy's shoulder to get a better look.

Eret felt a hiss of breath escape his clenched teeth as he stared at the map Hiccup apparently desperately desired. It showed various islands, both small and large, with twisted shapes in various locations scattered across the parchment. It was written in Norse, the language the boys both spoke and read, and Eret felt his eyes drawn to the large font on the top: _Barbaric Archipelago._

"Hiccup…" Eret hissed under his breath, keeping his voice low so Johann couldn't hear. "Not that one. Grab a map of the Icelands, we'll have more use of it and you can fix your own maps."

"I don't want a map of the Icelands." Hiccup mumbled, his mouth turned into a stubborn grimace that Eret knew instantly solidified the younger rider's opinion. "Aside from the few 'cities,' and those spots where Drago's men are hanging out, Toothless and I have seen about as much as there is to see around here." He tapped a finger against the musty parchment, "We haven't seen this."

"Mother forbade us." Eret reminded him. He rubbed his fingers against his temples in a vain attempt to stave off the pain that came with dealing with his idiotically stubborn younger brother. He wondered if knocking the boy out would resolve the argument, but the thought of the fiercely protective Toothless' displeasure of his beloved rider of about a year knocked into unconsciousness by his tough love stopped him.

"She said we can't _fly_ there. She never said anything about not having a _map_ of the Barbaric Archipelago." Hiccup reasoned triumphantly, looking rather pleased with himself for devising a plan to not directly disobey his mother's orders. Eret knew that Hiccup was too loyal to his mother to ever go against her orders. Even if he wanted nothing more than ignore her cautious warnings and stern orders and drift with no resemblance of rules. "Please, big brother?" Hiccup begged the seventeen year old, green eyes wide and pleading.

Feeling his resolve crumbling at his sibling's pleads; Eret closed his eyes and exhaled loudly. For a few moments he didn't speak a word, and Hiccup was left to wonder at his decision…

"Fine," Eret relented. Hiccup visibly perked and a smile grew on his youthful face. "But don't expect any help from me when mother finds out you bought a Viking map behind her back. You're on your own," he jabbed Hiccup with his index finger playfully, "And I get all your stuff when mother feeds you to the eels."

"Deal!" Hiccup crowed, not at all concerned with the possible outcome.

He placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder, looking grim and solemn as though he was preparing Hiccup's last rites, "I shall gladly take your meal portions, and fly Toothless." He swore solemnly.

"Toothless won't let you eat my meals, he'd take it for himself." Hiccup pointed out smugly, still gleeful.

"Outeaten by a Night Fury…." Eret shook his head in disbelief as Hiccup grinned up at him. "Well go on, let's have a look at it." He got closer as his younger brother spread out the map, allowing both to see it clearly.

Eret scanned the parchment, soaking in the odd landmasses and islands that composed an entire region banned to them by their mother. He would admit that he had always been curious about the Archipelago, but he had never gone against his mother's wishes in order to sate his curiosity. At least with this map, he could learn more without betraying his mother.

"All these places sound terrible…" Hiccup murmured, tracing a finger over a small pinprick that was labeled _Brokeneck Hill._ "A hill can't have a broken neck."

Eret turned his attention to the middle of the map. There were several islands, two large, and smaller broken off pieces of land near the south. "Meathead Islands…" he looked over towards the island towards the west, much larger than its neighbor in which it was not split off into smaller islands, and peered at the name. "The Isle of Berk…"

"Must be two different tribes." Hiccup mused, "Look there." He tapped the map. "Even their seas sound terrible. The Sullen Sea… The Wrath of Thor… The Sea-Known-as-Woden's-Bathtub…" Hiccup shook his head in amazement, "Who's Woden? And why is his bathtub so important? How'd Woden get a whole ocean named after his bathtub?" There was a moment of pause, "What's a bathtub, Eret?"

Eret had mostly shrugged at his brother's questions but blinked at the last one. He didn't reply, as it could be rather exhausting trying to explain what a bathtub was to someone who bathed in springs. "They're Viking lands. 'Course they're named weirdly. I hear dinner's a time of inspiration for them." He shot Hiccup a reproachful look, "And as though _you're_ one to talk. Your naming skills're just as terrible."

Hiccup looked rather offended. "What do you mean?"

Eret stared at him blankly. "Itchy Armpit sound familiar?"

A dark blush rose to Hiccup's cheeks. "It seemed fitting at the time," Hiccup mumbled, his ears beet-red.

"When is there _ever_ a time where a name like that would be fitting?"

His younger brother bristled at the words, his reddened face bright against the fur of his coat. "It sounded good then." Hiccup repeated himself, refusing to look his grinning brother in the eye.

"Maybe you have some Viking blood in you," Eret joked with a smirk.

Hiccup scoffed at that. "Now you're just talking crazy." He declared as he gently rolled the map up and placed it back in its wrap of sealskin before standing up, swaying ever so slightly due to the constant rocking of the ship. "I _hate_ boats…" Hiccup groaned under his breath.

Johann watched them silently as the two brothers gathered their things; Eret packing away the requested herbs and other precious commodities while Hiccup clutched his map, which was cradled protectively in his arms.

Eret slung the large bag of supplies over his shoulders, easily carrying its cumbersome weight. "Thank you for the supplies, Trader Johann." He nodded his head in respect towards the eccentric merchant. "Perhaps we'll meet again someday."

"Thank you, Young Masters Eret and Leif!" Johann said exuberantly, his pockets practically bursting with dragon scales and claws. "A pleasure doing business with you!"

"Stay clear of pirates and sea creatures while on the waters." Eret called out as Hiccup gleefully bolted up the ladder towards the freedom of the deck. The elder brother paused at the ladder. "And be on the lookout for those vigilantes. Don't wanna get mixed up with them."

Johann nodded his head severely, though his smile remained bright and cheery. "Fair warning to you as well, Young Master Eret. Be on the lookout for those loathsome dragons; the woods are full of them. Why one time I came face to face with a Gronkle and had to wrestle it with my bare hands in order to-" the rest of Johann's story faded away as Eret climbed atop the deck.

Hiccup was waiting for him atop the deck. The younger brother shot Eret a look of mild annoyance, "Be on the lookout for those vigilantes?" He mimicked Eret's voice mockingly.

"Ah, dearest brother." He ruffled the boy's hair, and dodged Hiccup's attempts to smack him away. "You might know everything there is to dragons, but I know humans just as well enough. I meant nothing but caution, we mean the trader no harm so long as he doesn't involve himself in our war." Eret looked out across the deck, where the ocean broiled underneath dark waves and crescents of frothing foam. "The world is dangerous, Hiccup. Remember that."

He remembered his own world burning around him. His old life had been consumed by flames, leaving behind nothing but a broken boy clutching at its ashes. He had sworn long ago when Valka and Hiccup had welcomed him into their family to protect his newfound mother and brother with his dying breath, to ensure their dreams became reality and to care and love them as they had done for him.

"I will, Eret." Hiccup said, looking up at him with somber eyes. They warmed ever so slightly, a small grin forming on his lips; "Now let's go home!"

The boy bounded off of the deck, running down the plank that connected the ship to the dock and raced towards the outskirts of the small fishing village heading in the direction of where they had left Toothless and a Monstrous Nightmare that had given Eret a ride.

Eret followed his brother, lagging behind slightly due to the weight of the bag. He was smiling, however, as he watched his brother all but skip towards the location of Toothless. _Some things never change,_ he thought to himself with a hint of nostalgia. Hiccup had always been the excitable one. Valka had always been the serious one, but her smiles could light the room. They were his family, and this was his life.

And he wouldn't give up that life for anything.


	9. Raid on Berk: Astrid

**This chapter takes place around the same time as chapter 7, meaning that both Hiccup and Astrid are around the age of eleven.**

**Special thanks to ChaosX97 for betaing!**

* * *

The raid ended when the morning sunlight began to creep upon the horizon. The dragons paused their assault immediately, as though the blossoming rays were some unspoken signal of retreat. Together, with an alarming and uncanny uniformity, they all rose away from the burning houses and bloody streets, their scaled bodies laden with their bounty of bawling sheep and barrels of cod. As the flock of dragons began their long journey back towards their Nest in the nether regions of the sea, far out of any weapon's range, below them the Vikings of Berk gathered, tired but counting the departure as a small victory.

The Vikings were all covered in soot and blood, whether it was theirs or another's, and many of them were breathing heavily, some leaning against their comrades while others helped keep some from collapsing to the ground. Comrades clapped one another on the back, congratulating each other on their kills or wincing sympathetically at their wounds.

Amongst them, little Astrid Hofferson rushed about with her bucket of water, dousing any remaining flickers of flame. Her beloved axe, still a bit too big for a girl so young, was strapped to her back, ready for use but clean of any blood.

The grim atmosphere around her was palpable, even to someone as young as Astrid. There was a constant weariness in the faces of her people, men and women alike with worn eyes and dour frowns. Yet each held their own with the same stubborn pride that made their people infamous. Astrid could not help but compare her people to the massive stone statues that served as watchful guardians across the bay, strong and solemn-faced in their duties. So faithful and stubborn she was that Astrid would sooner die than doubt Berk's strength.

She was too young to realize that such a strong fortitude could be slowly chipped and worn away over time, until the entire foundation threatened to crumble.

But though Astrid might have been young, still considered a greenhorn by the majority and pushed back to water brigade duty, she was not innocent in the ways of war. Simply inexperienced.

She knew of death. She had seen it happen to Vikings who fell in battle, who never rose back to their feet but remained cold and still with their weapon still clenched in their fist. Dead meant they would be granted passage to Valhalla, where her parents said the great warriors would feast in Odin's Hall. Dead was like Uncle Finn, who wasn't cold and still but as good as in the merciless eyes of Berk.

"Take the rest into the Arena. We'll put them to use."

Stoick's voice, as loud and grand as a thunderclap, shook Astrid from her thoughts. Jerking her eyes away from her empty bucket, Astrid snapped her attention to her chieftain, who was lumbering through the wreckage of a broken home smashed to pieces by several Gronkles. The chieftain paused in his wandering, back straight and shoulders taut, as he became aware of eyes watching him and turned around. Immediately, Astrid looked away to avoid his gaze.

"Astrid."

Stoick's voice brought her gaze back to him, cheeks flushed with embarrassment of having been caught staring. Straightening her spine, squaring her shoulders and bowing her head ever so slightly in respect –just like her parents taught her- Astrid focused on her leader.

"Yes, chief?" She asked, no tremble in her voice despite her nervousness of having the chieftain's, whom she admired greatly, direct attention.

There was something in Stoick's eyes, some rare unknown flash of emotion that Astrid couldn't quite place, as the chieftain looked over at the young little girl. "Are you hurt?" His voice softened ever so slightly, changing from cold iron to unrelenting stone.

"Fine, sir."

Grunting gruffly, the man gave her a simple nod. "Good." He turned his attention away from the young girl, surveying the destruction around them without so much as a scowl, just a worn look in his eyes. "You should get home, Astrid. Come, I'll walk you."

Taking the hint, even if it did make her feel like a child, Astrid gave the man one last respectful bow of her head as Stoick began to walk away, his heavy gait reminiscent of a massive bear. She followed him dutifully, her head raised high by Stoick's side. He was limping slightly, and Astrid could see blood thickly trickling down his leg where it seeped into his scorched boots. Astrid knew that the wound was deep, possibly from the claws of a Deadly Nadder, and by no means pleasant. A common man would have passed out from the pain, wailing like a bawling babe, but not Chief Stoick: he hid his pain well.

Astrid had often wondered in her childhood if her leader even _felt_ pain. She could remember being a small child and seeing Stoick lop the heads off of a Hideous Zippleback with ease, as though the deadly dragon was nothing more than a squirming eel. He was the first to leap into the fiery fray against their mortal enemies, the dragons, and was the last to leave the battlefield long after it had been scorched on a weekly basis.

Chieftain Stoick was perhaps the sole person who held Astrid's complete and utter respect. He was blunt and brutal, and was always quick to the point. After the debacle with her Uncle Finn, Stoick had begun to replace the fading memory of her warrior uncle in regards to people she respected and idolized. Stoick, to her, was the ultimate ideal and image of a warrior personified into a mortal being. He was the epitome of honor, of bravery, of power, and so much more that Astrid could go on for hours about the great qualities of the chieftain. He was the perfect Viking.

He was, _is_, the greatest man she had ever known.

Stoick escorted her to her house silently; he had never been one for talking and Astrid was content to simply go home. They passed by the villagers who were still running the remaining damage checks, but nobody seemed in dire need of the chieftain's guidance. Stoick dropped her off at her doorstep, and then, without a word, turned away and walked down the blood and soot-stained cobblestone path towards his own house.

Astrid watched with curiosity as Stoick paused at the doorway of his home, a massive hand palmed tentatively against the aged wood, as though Stoick didn't want to enter. But then, with a roll of his massive shoulders that almost looked like a shake, the chieftain opened the door and slammed it shut behind him.

The house was a constant puzzle to Astrid, one that she simply couldn't wrap her head around. It was big and massive, towering over the other houses, and it reminded Astrid of its sole inhabitant in that regards. But there was something eerie about the house that made the hairs on the back of her neck raise.

The house, despite its imposing stature, was in a permanent state of disrepair.

An entire section of the house was burnt to the ground, one of its sides charred a gristly black. The ground nearby was empty of vegetation, a few black wooden poles randomly poked their way out of the dirt like blooming flowers, while other charred boards were strewn about like bones against the broken skeleton of the frame. The doorway that had once led into that part of the house had been hastily boarded up, a few cracks and holes remained from the quick job that were sure to bring in the biting chill come winter.

The early morning light allowed Astrid to gaze upon the house warily, her instincts warning her against getting any closer. She tried to shoulder them aside, finding it annoying that she, a future shield maiden, could stand before a Monstrous Nightmare without blinking but was unable to stare at a _house_ without feeling twinges of paranoia.

It was _scary. _

Not that she would admit it, of course. But it was unnerving in how it remained in its constant state of decay despite Berk having proficient workers to repair the damage.

The house simply stood there, broken and blackened in all its ghastly glory. Like an old scar that never faded away, Stoick's house remained the same as it had the night of that fateful raid, serving as a constant reminder to any casual observer of the horror that transpired in its halls when a Stormcutter managed to snatch away the chieftain's wife and infant heir.

Snotlout, the next in line with Hiccup dead and Stoick a stubbornly unmarried widower, had once asked Gobber why his uncle hadn't fixed up his house. Astrid had been in the smithy with the twins at the time, not initially paying that much attention as she had been trying to prevent Ruffnut from attempting to set Tuffnut on fire while also trying to stop Tuffnut from trying to stab Ruffnut with a smoldering poker. And yet, even with the twins' screaming and Fishlegs' shrieking, she could still remember hearing Gobber speak. The old smith's answer had disturbed them all, if only because of the solemn look in the smith's eyes and the scratchy sound of grief in his voice.

_He doesn't want it fixed, Snotlout. Never has and never will._

Astrid could still remember the sheer amount pain in Gobber's eyes and in his voice. Despite their pestering, none of the children pressed to make Gobber say more; the crippled smith had seemingly sewn his mouth shut and refused to answer. All he did was stare off into the horizon with a wistful look, lost in memory. She had wondered what he was looking for, but hadn't dared ask.

If she had to, Astrid would guess that Gobber had been thinking about Stoick's wife and child, Valka and Hiccup.

She knew that the chieftain had lost his wife and newborn son years ago during a dragon raid. The other villagers didn't discuss them openly, but Astrid had heard brief snippets of conversation from drunk Vikings that mused on Stoick's sudden change and how the catalyst for becoming who he was today was because of the loss of his family.

_Oh poor Valka and little Hiccup, eaten by dragons._ People would say to one another in pitiful tones, the sorrow never reaching their eyes.

That was another thing that Astrid didn't understand: the lack of empathy directed towards Stoick's family. What they said seemed to be nothing more than repetition to console Stoick, even if he rarely heard them speak of his family, and was spoken with the same casualty as the weather or crops. There was no true sadness, only a fake shadow of pity.

She had never known Valka or Hiccup, she had only heard of them from others. She couldn't feel sad about it, even if they had once been a part of her tribe and thus _family._ Because she had never known them, and they were already gone so what was the point of being sad? Of course she doubted Stoick felt the same way. He had known Valka and Hiccup, had loved and cherished them. And then they were taken – gone forever in an instant.

Astrid tried to imagine Stoick as a loving husband and father. She tried to imagine the chieftain tenderly holding the hand of a wife and proudly tussling his child's hair, just like Astrid's father did. But she couldn't see it.

Oh, she knew that Stoick cared for Berk's people, in his own way. It was different from her own father, who cared for her by protecting her and showering her with all the love and adoration a father could hold for one of his own. Stoick cared, of that no one held no doubt, it was just… a different kind of caring. Colder, yes, maybe even more distant, but just as strong and fierce. Astrid didn't mind; really, she didn't. Their chieftain loved his people fiercely, even if the man himself was rarely roused into any emotional reaction.

Chief Stoick just wasn't the type of man to be emotional; at least not when all Astrid had ever seen that resembled any emotion had been the extreme protectiveness towards his people and his infamous hatred for dragons.

And Astrid certainly, in her entire lifetime, had never _ever_ seen Stoick smile.

There had been a few ghostly smiles that looked terribly forced, as though the very thought of a smile was too much to bear, much less the act of even trying it. Even then, those smiles were a few and far between.

And sometimes Stoick did become emotional, though it was even rarer than the fake smiles. There had been times when Stoick would grow quiet around the anniversary of the dragon raid that had killed his wife and infant son. He always looked lost and confused and angry during that small span of time; his massive frame would seem to deplete to nothing more than a hunched shell while his attention became unfocused, and his eyes became dull and glassy, as though someone had replaced his always angry eyes with dull stone. It was the only time Astrid had ever seen anything akin to weakness in her chieftain. During those fleeting days of remembrance and reflection, Stoick looked vulnerable.

The villagers understood Stoick's sorrow and respected his wishes to be left alone during the small period in which Stoick shed his armor of a powerful, emotionless chief and mourned for the family he had lost. Stoick had always been a pillar of strength to the other Vikings, the only constant that remained unbent and unbroken under the life of persistent dragon raids. Whilst others crumbled under the strain, Stoick remained strong. It was understandable to everyone, especially the ever concerned Gobber, that Stoick deserved a few days where he could be a man who had lost his family in the blink of an eye, rather than their brave chief who could bare the weight of the world upon his competent shoulders.

She had never seen Stoick in pain before, but the reminder of those days made Astrid wonder if Chief Stoick was even capable of feeling anything anymore.


End file.
