Rider on the run

Family Reunion

Valka gets closer to him, hunching down.

"Can-Can I?" Vlaka glances at Hiccup. At Hiccup's approval she crouches and lets down her staff. "Oh, he's beautiful." she says as she lifts a hand for him to sniff then traces the small spines on his head. Toothless laughs along with her and nuzzles her cheek. "Oh, incredible."

Hiccup watches them get along and smiles. Valka stands on her knees and keeps the Nightfury's head in her hands.

"He might very well be the last of his kind."

Toothless walks around her and puts his head underneath her arm for more attention. He rolls on his back in her lap as she scratches him.

"And look, he's your age!"

"Wow!" Hiccup couldn't help but be amazed by his mother's knowledge in Dragon anatomy.

"No wonder you get along so well!" She says.

Toothless was in much better spirits. The female human was very nice and entertaining. It was quite obvious she would be, since she was the mother of his brother in arms.

They stand in front of each other again, Valka tipping her head up and down like Toothless and mimicking his yelps. She laughs and Toothless, having classified her as no threat retracts his teeth.

"Retractable teeth?" Valka gasps and sticks her head in Toothless' mouth and slowly pets his tongue. "How did you manage...?"

Hiccup's smile dropped as he was reminded of the circumstances under which he met Toothless. "I found him in the woods. He was shot down and...wounded."

Valka frowns as she stands while Hiccup sheepishly fidgets on the spot. She walks to a light and brown Snafflefang and runs her hand down its jaw.

"This Snafflefang lost his leg to an iron trap." She says. She then stands down to grab her staff and goes to another Dragon. "This Rain Cutter got his wing sliced by razor netting." She moves over to a Hobblegrunt "And this...oh, poor Hobblegrunt was blinded by a tree snare... She carefully pets the pink-violet dragon and it leans into her touch, turning yellow-green "And then left to die alone and scared."

Hiccup nods along with her when she points to Toothless' prosthetic fin.

"And what of this? Did trappers do this too?" Her voice turns cold and hard as she grips the leather and examines it.

"Ooohh...hehe, yeah... Huh, well crazy thing is..." Hiccup nervously said. He swings his arms awkwardly as he walks closer to his dragon "I... am actually the one who shot him down." He goes on more cheerfully at Valka's confused look "It's-It's okay though... he got me back, right bud?" Toothless shakes his head happily in Hiccup's arms as he keeps running his hands over his scales. "You couldn't save all of me, could you? You just had to make it even. So..." He throws an arm around the dragon's neck and lifts his left foot, freeing it from the boot and showing off his prosthetic "Peg leg!"

Toothless shakes him off and dives down between his legs, throwing the Viking on his back as he laughs nervously. Valka, just as uncomfortable, gets on her knees to touch Toothless again.

"What did your father think of your Nightfury friend?"

"Uh...he-he didn't take it all that well." Hiccup admitted. "I actually ran away from Berk when he found out about this."

Valka gasped as she heard this. She had come across her son's vigilante form sometimes in the past, but back then she didn't know who the person behind that mask was. And now that she knew that her son was the 'Night rider', she was saddened by his circumstances.