━━ chapter three
meatlug's snoggletog surprise?
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━━Surprisingly, Valkyrie's homemade Yaknog didn't work. No one seemed to like it; at all. Which didn't make sense. She made it with holiday cheer and everything. But as the day passed over, Val's confusion over how no one liked her drink disappeared as soon as knowledge of Toothless leaving hit her window. Hiccup gave him the tail, and he had left with barely any acknowledgement to his rider whatsoever. And now, Hiccup was with the rest of them, lying in his bed and waiting for his dragon to return━perhaps that was why when Valkyrie slipped into his chamber through the back window of his house, he had acted slightly disappointed.
Hiccup sat up and frowned at her as she continued to heave her legs over the wood and hang down as she sat on the window sill. "Val? W━What are you doing here?"
Giving him a small smile, she leapt off the sill and onto the wooden floor. It creaked under her boots. "Considering how much separation anxiety you and Toothless have, I assumed you would be miserable."
"Wow ... thanks."
She rolled her eyes and shoved him over on his bed so she could sit down next to him. "Which means I came so you wouldn't be miserable alone, dumbass."
Hiccup's eyes widened, and he went a little red, "Oh ... uh ... thanks. That's nice ... seems━uh━unlike you, to be nice."
Valkyrie gaped at the insult. She scoffed and shoved him again; she managed to get a small chuckle out of Hiccup that made her heart leap. "What? I can be nice! I'm here, aren't I?"
He placed a hand on her shoulder, and told her in a very serious tone, "Okay."
She narrowed her eyes. Grabbing his hand, Hiccup knew what was coming and as she twisted it over, he let out a cry and slammed his other hand against the bed, "Okay! Okay! Okay━you win!" she laughed and let go, triumphant. "Odin's ghost, Val."
But he was smiling, which made her smile, hoping that she may have made him feel━even the slightest━bit better over Toothless. Valkyrie nudged him gently, now, and said softly, "Hey, look, I bet Toothless will come back. He has just as much separation anxiety you do; he can't leave you forever. He'll come back, just like Zephyr will, as will the rest of the dragons, I'm sure of it."
He sighed, and hung his head. "I hope you're right ... I don't think I know what I'd do without Toothless..."
Valkyrie tilted her head sadly, and squeezed his shoulder. "You trust him right? Now, you gotta trust that he'll come back."
She let him think on that. Swinging her legs back over, she said goodbye and climbed right back out of his window. She had chores to do, errands to make, and hopefully some better Snoggletog traditions to create in hopes of making the rest of the village feel better.
Walking around Berk, Valkyrie realised she had forgotten how long it was to trek down from the plaza to the fishing ship yards without a dragon to just hope on and ride down. It made her miss Zephyr with a sudden heavy heart, wanting nothing more than to have him beside her, and to shoot up into the sky to race Astrid and Stormfly around Berk.
I have to trust him that he'll come back, she told herself what she told Hiccup.
She just really wished it was before Snoggletog; because then she'd be able to give him the gift she had ever so looked forward to. Picking up a few flowers for her mother, she gently placed them into her basket. In her errands, she grabbed some fish-guts (which smell gross!), last minute presents for her brothers, some ribbon from the bootmaster to put around their helmets for Odin to give them his presents, more neccesitites for her mother, pick up her father's polished brooch ...
Keeping her spirits up, Valkyrie tried to hum Snoggletog songs to herself, walking with the beat in her head━that was when it hit her.
Whack!
She nearly fell over on her feet, but spun around and frowned up at the━is that Meatlug?!━who dashed past her with a familiar fish-bone Viking clinging to his snout. Valkyrie was glad she had a tight grip on her basket, otherwise she would have dropped it. "Hiccup?!" the dragon and the Viking flew up into the air towards the ocean horizon, and Valkyrie's mouth was agape. "Where are you going?!"
His voice was almost lost in the wind, but she caught a distant, "I HAVE NO IDEA!"
Up above on the cliffwalk, near the trademasters houses and stables, Valkyrie's frown deepened to hear Fishlegs cry out after them, "Meatlug!" her frown turned into a scowl as she spun on her feet to glare up at the pudgy boy who waved his arms in desperation for his dragon to return. "What about presents?! Hey!"
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━━This was a problem the rest of the team needed to be present for. Valkyrie rounded up the whole lot of them; the twins, Snotlout and Astrid who all stood there, arms crossed, in Meatlug's stable to stare down Fishlegs with disappointed and angry frowns upon their faces. He shuffled his feet, glancing back at the hay nest his dragon liked to sleep in and the chains he used to keep him there, whimpering out a sad, "I can't believe him!"
Astrid spun on him, livid, "You can't believe him?!" she smacked him across the shoulder, and Fishlegs cried out in pain. "You kidnapped your dragon! What is wrong with you?!"
Valkyrie crossed her arms, glancing back out into the horizon where Hiccup had been taken off by Meatlug. Worry bubbled in her stomach. None of them knew where he had been taken, whether he would be safe where this was, if he could make it back ...
As Astrid and Fishlegs argued, the Twins approached the pile of straw and hay with curious gazes. Pushing past one another━shoving the horns of their helmets━they crouched down near the pile, spotting something blue amongst the fodder.
"W━Well that makes it sound so mean..." Fishlegs mumbled.
"That's because it is!"
"Uh ..." Tuffnut's eyes widened, pushing away the hay and seeing what exactly the blue something had been. "Hey, guys...?"
"He flew away the second he was unleashed!" went on Astrid, right in Fishlegs's face with her own red with her fury.
Fishlegs twiddled his thumbs, "O━okay━well, I'm seventy-two per cent sure he wanted to stay."
"Oh, you're seventy-two per cent sure, are you?! Well, I'm━"
Tuffnut raised his voice, snapping over his shoulder, "Guys!" and the argument fell away.
The rest of the teens froze as they caught glimpse of the blue in the straw. Carefully, Valkyrie, Astrid, Snotlout and Fishlegs all shuffled in closer to where the twins crouched over the fodder; Ruff gasped, her hands reaching out to touch the rocky blue surface of the objects. Valkyrie breathed out a sigh of awe, coming in to crouch next to her and pick up one herself. She turned it around, and realised that these were eggs. Dragon eggs. Meatlug's eggs.
"Whoa━ho━ho!" let out Fishlegs, peering over Astrid's shoulder. "Meatlug barfed up a pile of rocks!"
Ruff rolled her eyes, scoffing, "You're such an idiot. Those aren't rocks━" she stood up to face him, "━your dragon laid eggs!" Fishlegs frowned, tyring to put two-and-two together as the rest of the team already figured out the obvious; Meatlug had never been a boy, he was infact a she, and she had laid eggs ... which meant that the other dragons ...
Astrid managed a smile━a gentle one that was rare for a Hofferson such as her. "Oh━I bet you that's why the dragons left!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands out in her deduction. "To lay their eggs!"
Fishlegs was still behind, "But ... boy dragons don't lay eggs ..."
Ruffnut's eyes shot up to the ceiling in her exasperation. "Yeah, your boy dragon━" she spelled it out for him slowly, "━is a girl dragon."
His eyes widened as it finally hit him, "Okay!" he exclaimed, taking everything in. "That━that actually explains a few things ..."
Snotlout frowned at him, "How didn't you know Meatlug was a girl," he laughed. "What kind of halfwit are you?"
"Hey!" Fishlegs pointed a finger at him. "You were the one who thought Ruff was the boy and Tuff was the girl, so shut up!"
Ruffnut stared at Snotlout, "Excuse me?"
Snotlout chuckled anxiously.
A new idea struck Valkyrie━and it was her best idea yet. Still holding the egg securely in her hands, she jumped to her feet with a bright grin and declared, "Oh, my gods! I have the best idea!"
Astrid's shoulders fell, "Oh, no..."
"No! No! This one's good this time, okay!" Valkyrie turned to her, bouncing on her toes in her excitement as her plan grew while she spoke. "Everyone's missing their dragons, right?"
Snotlout was on Astrid's side, throwing his head back and letting out a groan, "Oh, here it comes..."
Valkyrie ignored him and rushed for Fishlegs father's storage shelf in the back of the stables. She's been around here far too many times with the others as a kid she knew it like the back of her hand. Pulling out a ribbon, she tied it around the egg and held it out to the others, "Look━a new Snoggletog tradition! Baby dragons for presents!"
Astrid's frown fell away, "Wait ... that's ... actually not such a bad idea."
Val grinned.
And so, as afternoon closed to evening, the teens spent the rest of their time sneaking in little Gronckle eggs into the homes of Viking families. All wrapped up with a pretty ribbon, they sat perfectly in the helms of kids helmets, just waiting to surprise them all. Valkyrie could just imagine the cheers, the love and giggles. She made sure to save one for Mak and Erik, for two━while one older than the other━were as close as twins, and shared nearly everything together. She sat the egg in between their helmets by the small Snoggletog tree, giggling to herself.
This was her best idea yet. She was a genius━an absolute genius. Valkyrie has saved Snoggletog! And for the first time since their dragons left, the others were sharing laughter and smiles as they hid their eggs as well. For once, the Snoggletog spirit had returned to their hearts, and that made Valkyrie happy the most.
Once she was Valkyrie the Vicious, and that had always changed during Snoggletog, but now, Val didn't create her whole self around her viciousness. She didn't want to, or didn't feel the need to. She liked being happy, she liked making others happy; the kids of Berk happy. Maybe it came with being an older sister, or maybe━just maybe━she always wanted this, and now with everything that has changed. The peace with dragons, her friendship with Hiccup, and the comfort she receieved around them that allowed herself to be free, perhaps showed fresh truth to who Valkyrie really was.
(And she liked it).
Placing the final egg amongst the big boots of a toddler's gifts for Snoggletog morning, Valkyrie bounded out of the door and to the others with a giddy grin. "Oh, this is so great!" she grabbed Astrid's hands and jumped, swinging her around. "This is such a great idea! Isn't it?!"
"Okay, okay, okay," Astrid chuckled, pulling them to a stop. "Pipe down Val," but even she had to admit; this was one of the best ideas Valkyrie has come up with to date.
Snotlout gave her a celebrative pat on the back, and she━for once━was actually nice to him and sent a few light punches to his chest. Fishlegs bounced on his feet, "Oh!" he clapped his hands together happily. "Everyone's gonna be so surprised!"
Tuff nodded, "Yeah━gotta admit; this Cheerful Valkyrie idea might just be what we all needed." His sister agreed with him, and Valkyrie stared at them in shock.
"Did you just give me a compliment?" she asked the Twins. "Like━a nice one?"
Ruff scoffed, waving her hand dismissively, "Don't expect it to happen again━"
BOOM!
The teens all froze as charred wood landed around them. Valkyrie felt her heart drop before she even came to realise what had happened, looking over her shoulder at the house she had just been into's door burst in flames. Out of it, shot a rock, hitting Fishlegs right in the face and sending him to his back. That was, until the rock moved, and uncurled it's spine, and there━on his chest━yawned a tiny, baby orange Gronckle.
Snotlout laughed, "Surprise!"
Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout and Astrid all cooed at the baby dragon, but Valkyrie was absolutely frozen in her horror at what just happened; at what this meant; at what she had just done.
Through her dry throat, she managed to croak, "The eggs explode?"
The baby dragon peered up at her with bright, wide and inquisitive eyes. Valkyrie's stomach dropped further, down to her feet as she nearly dropped down with it. Oh, no ... she thought. Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, no, no, no, no━!
Around them, the roofs and doors of the houses of Berk exploded like catapults in the evening air. They lit up the sky, followed by the startled screams of villagers as their houses exploded around them. Valkyrie felt sick, her knees trembling. Hands coming up to her hair in distress, she tugged at it, oh, gods━ "THE EGGS EXPLODE!"
Chaos ensured. Valkyrie watched with tearful eyes at the destruction she had caused━the running Vikings with helmets lit on fire, the burning houses, the screams and shouts of, "WHAT IN ODIN'S NAME?!" Baby Gronckles were flying in every direction, and her weak apologies went unheard as Berk soon turned into a flaming spectacle that the gods must be laughing at in their seats at Valhalla━laughing at her.
The Snoggletog tree in the middle of the village caught fire━BOOM! BANG! KABOOM!━went the houses of Berk, and Valkyrie stood amongst it all. The Twins stared up at the now burnt orange sky, "Awesome..." murmured Ruffnut, grinning. "WOW!" exclaimed Tuff, laughing. Fishlegs cradled the baby Gronckle in his arms, watching the destruction happen around them with wide and fearful eyes. Astrid stood there, frozen in shock, "Oh, gods..." she managed. Snotlout crossed his arms smugly next to Valkyrie, nodding. "This is your best idea yet!" he repeated her words sarcastically, and Valkyrie whimpered.
Stoick came running out, still fixing his helmet on his head at the chaos and flames. He spun around on his large feet, baffled. Staring up at the burning Snoggletog tree, Valkyrie saw the tense of his shoulders; he was angry. Very angry.
He spun on them, and at the glare on his face, all the other teens stepped back away from Valkyrie, pointing at her. His eyes━as fiery as Berk around them━landed on her, and she shrunk back. I feel like Hiccup after a morning raid, she thought to herself in the back of her mind.
"What in Thor's name is going on?!"
Valkyrie winced. In a soft voice, she mumbled, "The eggs explode ..."
Another house exploded in the distance behind them.
She gave Stoick her best apologetic smile.
Oh, I'm so dead.
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a/n: the eggs explode ... thE EGGS exPLODEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i'm not coming up with an excuse as to why i gave valkyrie the spotlight in this instead of astrid, because there isn't one aside from the fact that: i wanted to write valkyrie in absolute horror over the destruction she caused because it's so dam funny! i'm sorry, come at me, i'll accept it. but won't stop me from laying back and enjoying this choice hehehehehehehe. valkyrie done fücked up.
anyway, i'm planning on having snoggletog interlude thing here be updated and finished rather quickly, but that might be the end of the quick updates, since with the episode's i'll do an episode per chapter like i usually do. this means, longer updates, longer waits, and longer chapters. but it'll be worth it, i promise.
i want to know who actually hasn't watched the tv shows. because if you haven't, and you really want me to, i could co-write riders of berk and defenders of berk alongside httyd2 so those who don't know what's happening in the next two parts have something else to read. i'm just really worried about there being continuity errors, and confusion since there is a big time gap, and a few things happen (at least in this book) that will most likely be mentioned and peeps will get confused.
so maybe you won't watch the show for the first time but instead read it with valkyrie ahahah. but if you do want to watch the show and you haven't, you can buy some of the episodes off youtube, itunes etc; i know some of the defenders of berk episodes are still on abc ivew if you're in australia; i don't know whether some of you are lucky enough to have the two seasons on netflix, because i don't. i got most of them from dailymotion, which isn't ... the ... uh ... best thing to do legally, but oh well. what sucks is that some of the episodes aren't there (obviously cos they were probably taken down cos, you know, copyright), so ... i'm going to have a lovely time trying to write those ones.
the things i do for fanfics, and for you guys; cos i love you all so gods dam much. im 18 now, so maybe that means i can actually use my card to buy the ones i don't have. perhaps rent them if i can so i don't just have random episodes on my youtube account. who knows. i guess we'll see.
anyway, hope you're enjoying this little, fun and cringy interlude. because i am hehehehehe.