The Eternal Valkyrie

Chapter 14

Toothless winced at the sheer volume in the room. "Must they be so loud?" He mentally asked Hiccup. The twins being curious as ever bent down to be at eye level with the small dragon.

"How is this chubby little fellow going to fly you to Norway?" Ruffnut asked perplexed as Toothless looked askance at her.

"Chubbyyy!!" Toothless shrieked and quickly looked at Hiccup who was holding his hand in front of his mouth hiding his laugh. Toothless then stood on his hind legs and flexed his claws. "I'll show you who's chubby!" He growled and advanced on Ruffnut, completely forgetting that he was still....... plush sized.

Ruffnut, and the rest with the exception of Astrid, could not understand the tiny dragon yet and thought that he was just being cute. Ruffnut picked Toothless up and crushed him to her chest in a hug. "So cute!!" She squealed.

"Why me!" Toothless whined as the air was being squeezed out of him.

"Eh... Hiccup, I was just wondering" Fishlegs interrupted as Tuffnut started poking Toothless' belly. "What exactly is Astrid's plan to get us to Norway?"

"Well she agreed to give all, with the exception of mom and dad, dragons. They'll be able to carry us."

"Why not us?" Valka now questioned not looking pleased at all. "We know the location of the tomb. We should be going as well."

"I never said you weren't going." Hiccup deadpanned. "You'll ride with one of us. Astrid just doesn't trust you enough to give you dragons."

"Of all the nerve!" Valka exclaimed. "How can she not trust us?!"

"Well, maybe because you were part of the organization that tried to exploit her." Fishlegs butted in.

"Honestly Val, I wouldn't trust us either." Stoick said as Valka now glared at him before storming back upstairs.

"What's wrong with mom?" Hiccup tentatively asked. He had never seen her act so out of sorts.

"She's.... Eh... just going through some stuff." Stoick supplied looking at the stairs. "If you'll excuse me. I'll go check up on her." He told the others.

"Hiccup could you please tell them that they need to lie down or sit somewhere." Astrid suggested not missing his worried look. Astrid used her ring once everyone, save Gobber, was seated again causing them all to drift off into their subconscious. She then turned to Hiccup. "Go check up on your mother. I know you want to." She told them and Hiccup left with a nod after picking up a grumbling Toothless who decided to sit on his head.

"Must you do that?" Hiccup asked as Toothless' tail swished back and forth along his neck.

"Yes" Toothless mumbled as they ascended the stairs. "You'll be sitting on my back soon enough so I might as well enjoy the roll reversal."

They reached the top of the stairs and approached the door where Hiccup heard voices coming from.

"Oh Stoick, I don't know what to do with that boy!" Was said causing Hiccup to freeze. Both he and Toothless stayed near the door and listened.

"Honey it's been over two decades." His father said. "Wrapping Hiccup in bubble wrap isn't going to bring Stephen back."

'Who's Stephen?' Hiccup wondered as he pursed his lips. 'Just what were his parents hiding?'

"What am I supposed to do then?!" His mother desperately asked. "Hiccup's ready to go galavanting halfway around the world!"

"Well maybe we should let him." Stoick suggested. "He is an adult after all and you can't just control whatever he does. He'll just start to resent us."