The seasons have a habit of changing as they please on the Ilse of Berk. But one thing is for certain, snow always falls during Snoggletog.
Edge adores the holiday, and she, along with the rest of the Hairy Hooligans, are more excited for this year's celebrations than ever before. This time around, they have dragons to keep them company, an addition that surely would make this Snoggletog one to remember.
Like the rest of the Hooligans, Edge is preparing for the festivities, along with her siblings, mother and father, whom she's been spending more time with than ever, now that the dragons' nest is empty.
As her mother braids a green ribbon into Edge's hair, the twins chase each other around the house, and eventually disappear out the door to take care of their Hideous Zippleback, named Barf and Belch.
As her parents leave the house, Edge rummages around under her bed for some decorations, and ends up finding her leather chestplate. She hadn't worn it for several months. Pulling her treasured dagger from it's sheath, she carves a picture of a little dragon into the waist, and puts it on proudly.
She brings a wreath with her out the door, and treks to the Chieftain's house, hoping to locate her best friend.
Not long before she reaches the home of Hiccup and Stoick, Edge spots Hiccup and Toothless taking to the sky, meaning she has just missed them. Nevertheless, she continues, and enters the house, not finding Stoick, who is probably out guiding the Hooligans as they all decorate the plaza.
Leaving the wreath on Hiccup's bed upstairs, she hurries back to the rest of the vikings in the plaza. She locates Astrid and Stormfly, and hugs the former tightly. Astrid smiles and nods her head in the direction of the massive wooden structure that resembles a giant pine tree.
"What do you say- want to help out?" Astrid asks, trying to flip her choppy bangs out of her face, to no avail.
"You bet!" Edge bumps her hip against Astrid's and they get to work. Stoick is right where Edge assumed him to be, his thunderous shouts echoing around the Hooligans that are also decorating the large Snoggletog tree.
Suddenly, a big group of dragons fly over Berk, and for some reason, the Berk village dragons are urged to follow along.
In a trance like state, the dragons all turn their heads and fly upward, joining the retreating dragons in the air. Viking yell for their dragons to stay, Astrid pleading with Stormfly to stay with her, but with no luck. Just like the rest of the Berk dragons, Stormfly leaves. Edge looks at her great friend, and her heart aches a little at the look on Astrid's face.
Hiccup and Toothless land back in the village in the middle of the madness, Hiccup making a beeline for his two female friends.
"Edge! Astrid!" He exclaims.
"Hiccup!" They both greet in a panic, Edge grabbing Hiccup's elbow lightly, taking the familiar place beside him.
"What's going on?!" Astrid asks, completely beside herself.
"Where are they going?" Edge continues for Astrid, very aware that the rest of Berk village are running towards them, and will probably demand answers, just like herself and Astrid. They are soon swarmed by the Hooligans, Hiccup being yanked from Edge's grip.
"Why did they leave?" Asks a male Hooligan, eyes wide.
"What's happening?!" Shrieks a female Hooligan, brows furrowed in confusion and worry.
"What if they never come back?!" Yells a second man, the tips of his pointy beard frozen in tiny icicles.
"Stop! Wait!" Hiccup tries to calm down the masses, though it's not until his father's voice booms loudly that the voices quiet down.
"Calm down! Give him a chance to speak!" Stoick the Vast approaches his son, as does Edge, to show Hiccup that she has his back.
"Hiccup, where are all our dragons going?" The Chieftain asks, more calm, as to not stress out the entire village that has gathered around them.
"Dad," Hiccup pauses, at a loss for words. He looks as Edge beside his father, and back at the latter again.
"I don't know."
Many mutters of disappointment and frustration echo from the Hooligans, who scatter slowly and with their heads hung low. Stoick calls for a gathering later that evening, the entire village meeting up in Meade Hall to hear from their Chief. It seems people are there to complain, rather than chat with Stoick.
"Snoggletog is ruined!" Exclaims a saddened viking, shaking his head slightly.
"It's not ruined!" Booms Stoick's voice over the complaints. The chief makes his way onto the large structure resembling a table in the middle of Meade Hall.
"We're vikings! We've been perfectly happy celebrating without dragons for generations. And there's no reason we cant do it again!" The chieftain starts a speech.
"Now we don't know where they've gone off to, but we have to have faith that they will be back again soon. Am I right?!" He finishes off as several mutters of agreement start sounding out from the Hooligans.
"You're right! We are vikings. We're tough!" Yells Gobber, positioned near a wall, covered in bells and holding glowing firefly baubles.
"Most of the time." The blacksmith concludes after a brief moment of thought, sporting an embarrassed grin. In the corner of Meade Hall, where Edge, Hiccup, Astrid and their friends are all sulking, Snotlout sighs deeply, both in irritation and longing. He smacks Tuffnut's arm as he moves to exit the hall. Gobber's voice sounds once again from the other side of the mass of Hooligans.
"Let's sing some Snoggletog songs!"
The teens all move from their positions, either leaned against the wall, or in Tuffnut's case, sat hunched over the backrest of a chair. They walk along the paths in the snow-covered Berk village, still sulking. Edge glances at her siblings and friends, seeing Fishlegs do an odd hop, as if he was skipping along. She shakes her head at the odd behavior, and looks Hiccup in the eyes as he catches her line of sight.
"That was depressing." Ruffnut comments on the situation in Meade Hall, earning a nod from Snotlout.
"I know! I was looking forward to spending the holiday with Stormfly." Astrid agrees too, eyes turned downward. Edge frowns at this, sad to see her great friend so distraught.
Seemingly unaware of the mood, Fishlegs suddenly begins to whistle a happy tune, earning looks from the other teens.
"What are you so happy about? Don't you miss Meatlug?" Tuff questions in suspicion, making Fishlegs jump.
"Me? Oh, yeah!" The latter teen coughs slightly, confusingly starting to sob.
"I miss him so much! Well, goodnight." Fishlegs hurries forward disappearing into the darkness on his way home. Edge, and her friends all stare after him, baffled at the unusual behavior. Astrid gasps loudly, gaining the attention of the group, turning her body to face her friends.
"I've got an idea! Let's come up with a bunch of new holiday traditions! You know, to bury the sadness!" She excitedly gushes, earning sighs from the twins and Snotlout. She looks to Edge and Hiccup, making Edge smile and grab her hand.
"I think that's a wonderful idea." Edge comments, looking at Astrid, who smiles back in appreciation.
"Actually, Astrid might be on to something." Hiccup also chimes in, making Snotlout huff.
"Easy for you two to say, your dragon can't go anywhere without you, and Edge doesn't even have a dragon." Tuffnut scolds, making Edge's heart ache a little, as her siblings know perfectly well how much she cares for Barf and Belch.
"Must be nice." Ruff jabs at Hiccup, and Edge sucks in a quiet breath. Astrid squeezes her hand in comfort, knowing how much the hostility hurt her friend. The twins and Snotlout walk away, leaving Edge, Astrid and Hiccup, all looking at Toothless on the cliff, gazing into the night sky.
The next morning, Edge and Hiccup are working in the blacksmith stall when they hear Astrid's voice call out for them. They invite her to enter, and meet her halfway into the stall. She is carrying a shield, using it as a tray for a jug and a few mugs.
"Here! Happy holidays, from me, to you guys." She offers them a drink, and the two best friends grab a mug each.
"Thanks, Astrid." Edge smiles a grateful smile, feeling better with her two friends by her side, still shocked over the previous day's events. She sips the drink, and immediately feels an overwhelming urge to throw up. Not wanting to upset Astrid, she hops off the table where Hiccup is building a new tail for Toothless, and dashes outside to spit the drink back out.
By the time Astrid leaves the blacksmith stall, Edge has gathered herself just enough to share a kiss on the cheek with her great friend and wave goodbye to her. Herself and Hiccup then head to the Chieftain's home, hoping to install Toothless' new tail.
As they get it on the dragon, Toothless is slightly frightened and tries to remove the tail. But when he realises that the tail is controlled solely by him, without the need for Hiccup, he turns to the two vikings, his eyes unreadable.
"Toothless-" Hiccup steps closer to his dragon friend, but as his metal leg hits the snowy ground, Toothless takes off, leaving Edge and Hiccup to shield themselves from the flying snow, barely being able to see their dragon friend as they look upwards again, watching him fade into the sky.
Edge sleeps by the fireplace in Hiccup and Stoick's house the following nights, knowing her best friend needs her there in the absence of Toothless. On the third morning at her best friend's home, Edge is awoken by Hiccup storming by her position, and out the door. Barely being ready to wake up, she stumbles to find one of Hiccup's yak fur vests, and pulls on her boots in a hurry.
"-been three days, dad. I just thought Toothless would be back by now." Hiccup's saddened voice explains as she opens the door and nears her Chief and best friend. She stands beside Hiccup, and squeezes his hand in comfort.
"I'm sure he is with the other dragons." Stoick tries to console his son.
"Yeah? I wish I could be that sure." Hiccup seems skeptical.
"Ah, listen. I know what it's like to miss someone you love this time of year. But what do we do, when they can't be here for the holiday? We celebrate them! And I imagine that is exactly what Toothless would want you to do. Right?"
"You're right." Edge's best friend's spirits seems to be lifted from his dad's comforting words, and so Stoick slaps him lovingly on the shoulder, though with his force, it's more of a shove, sending Hiccup tumbling into Edge. The Chieftain says something about finding Hiccup's helmet, and leaves the best friends to untangle themselves from each other's limbs on the ground.
Later in the day, they help the Hooligans in Berk village, who are all trying to adjust to life without their dragons. Edge sees Fishlegs scurrying past her, and she is nudged by Hiccup to follow him. The two best friends hide from Fishlegs as he tries to sneakily enter a barn, and when he leaves they peek inside, only to be swept off their feet by Meatlug, who has broken his chains and is now flying away from the Ilse of Berk at full speed.
Edge grips into both Hiccup and Meatlug with all her might, laughing as Astrid yells after them.
"Where are you guys going?!"
"We have no idea!" Hiccup yells back, as Berk slowly gets tinier in the distance.
Having long since climbed onto Meatlug's back, the Edge and Hiccup let the dragon take them wherever he's going. They fly hours, past the empty dragons' nest, and above the clouds, before an island with a huge rockpool in the middle comes into view. They land a bit rough, but safely, and Hiccup immediately starts looking around the island, which is full of dragons they know from home.
They both realise that the island is for hatching the dragons' eggs, and soon spot a large Gronckle pushing her eggs into a tidepool. The baby Gronckles soon emerge, hatched and a little slimy. Edge spots another egg, laying just off a different tidepool.
"Hey sweet girl, look over here, you missed one." She says as she walks closer with Hiccup by her side, before being thrown back by an explosion from the egg, shouting in surprise as she hits the back for her head.
"Man, it's a good thing those don't hatch on Berk!" Hiccup exclaims as Edge laughs.
"Imagine!" She bumps her shoulder against her best friend's, rubbing her sore head.
The sun sets slowly over the island, as Hiccup and Edge search for Toothless. They discover Hookfang, Stormfly and Barf and Belch, Edge running to her siblings' two headed dragon to hug each head tightly.
"So what do you say there, Hookfang? Think you could give us a ride back home?" Hiccup says to the dragon as she walks back to him. They take a seat on Hookfang's long neck, accidentally prompting the other dragons to take to the sky with them.
"I think we just started the return migration." Hiccup says, embarrassed as he looks back at Edge.
"Well, if they insist." She smiles at him, watching as the babies try to fly with them, but only for the strong winds to push them back to the cliff they hopped off.
"This isn't going to work Hiccup." Edge frowns slightly in concern.
"Wait! I know just what to do!" Hiccup guides Hookfang and the other adult dragons back to the empty dragons' nest, where they hoist an old crashed ship into the sky by rope, and pick up the baby dragons at the breeding island.
The sky is dark and cloudy when they return to the Isle of Berk, but they are greeted by cheers and shouts of joy as the Hooligans realise that their dragons have come back home. Meatlug flies off to a bunch of Gronckle hatchlings, and Edge realises that the dragon must be a female rather than a male, which Fishlegs had presumed at first.
Stoick gives the two best friends a massive hug, before ushering the village to Meade Hall to celebrate.
Edge sits with her siblings as everyone hugs and cuddles their dragons upon their return, and spots Astrid approaching Hiccup, immediately getting up to help her great friend console her heartbroken best friend.
"Hiccup, I know this must be really hard for you seeing everyone with their dragons. But you really did a wonderful thing. Thank you." Astrid embraces Hiccup tightly, and Hiccup smiles into the hug. The weird feeling Edge felt the evening that Astrid discovered Toothless returns to her stomach, until she spots Toothless creeping into Meade Hall, carrying something in his mouth.
"Wow, man, I wouldn't wanna be you right now! I mean, you brought back everyone's dragon except yours!" Astrid jabs after breaking the hug, Edge lets a rare giggle escape her throat and pushes an annoyed and confused Hiccup to face his dragon.
"TOOTHLESS! Hey, bud!" Hiccup sprints to hug Toothless.
"Bad dragon! Very bad dragon! You scared me to death. Don't ever stay away that long again- and what is in your mouth?" Hiccup scolds jokingly. Edge steps a little closer to the pair as Toothless places Hiccup's lost helmet on Hiccup's head.
"Yeah, you found my helmet. Wha- hey! You found my helmet! That's where you've been? Buddy, thank you. You are amazing." Hiccup praises his dragon, turning to Edge and Astrid as they yell.
"Happy Snoggletog!"
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im a mess, sorry for taking a thousand years to get this done.
please leave feedback for me, i dont really enjoy this chapter all that much, but you guys always cheer me up with your kind words.
all the love,
CecilieHassing