AN: Uuuh, heh-sorry? *hides*
omgplzdontkillmeipromiseillexplainattheend!
[translation - "omg plz dont kill me i promise ill explain at the end!"]
Major props to my beta --> (◕ ˬ ◕✿) fuzzyellie
She's the best! Wouldn't have been able to do this without her, thanks for the Pokémon watch party dude! Here's to many more!
[ps. what do you guys think of this chapter? lots of feels...]
The others arrived quickly, within minutes, all of them recognising Astra's flames dancing with Toothless' blast, blazing in a vivid explosion of emerald and amethyst. Once each had poked and prodded Aurora, questioning and assuring themselves of her well state when they received snarky comments as answers, they began to discuss what to do next.
Valka side-eyed Alvin cautiously, until the man noticed and informed her that he trusted and followed her son fully. After all, the boy had saved the Outcasts from what they had dubbed a 'Screaming Death' – which really was their fault in the first place, but Hiccup had pointed out that nobody could have predicted it – therefore it only made sense that they followed his advice on all things dragon. Naturally, Valka was somewhat suspicious of Alvin's motives all the same, but the genuine admiration and trust with which Alvin spoke about her son eased her discomfort a great deal.
With the awkwardness between the Outcast and Ex-Berkian diffused somewhat, the group began to plan. Utilising Valka's unexpected wealth of knowledge, they debated strategies and tactics.
Eventually the discussion ceased, and many of those present departed, Aurora heading off with Camicazi and their dragons. As the Heir, Heather had to be present with her brother for some meetings with the Berserker Captains, so couldn't join them. In the end, Mala and Valka departed for some fishing, leaving Hiccup and Alvin alone in the Cove (aside from a few dragons).
"Are you going to say it or do I gotta drag it outta you?" Alvin questioned once they were alone.
"Oh, you know me, I love a good skull-bashing as much as the next guy. But I don't think Toothless would like that."
"Oi, I could take 'im." Alvin replied.
Toothless snorted, "Even if that were true, as if I'm only one against the skull-bashing."
"That's true, you'd have to get through Aurora and Astra too." Hiccup teased, smirking at the way Alvin visibly tensed when they were mentioned.
"Oh, Gods no, those two e'r crazi'r than a Nadder on dragon root. I'll live, thank you very much." His gravelly tone softened, words accented strongly now he was speaking to Hiccup instead of the council members, "You still need to say it, boy. I can see in yur eyes you ain't as right as yur actin', yur worryin' 'bout 'er more 'n usu'l."
"I'm fine, Alvin."
"Tha' righ' there is a lie an' you an' I both know it. Let it ou' boy, you don' 'ave to be so yak-like all th' time."
Hiccup glanced at the man, a man who he'd been taught to hate as a child. He was not the untrustworthy menace he'd been painted as to the younglings of Berk, no. He was a man who had been cast out, and yet still had the decency to be merciful to children. He recalled his first meeting with the man, he'd been shot from the sky, of course, yet once Alvin had discovered who he was, he had been released at once. He had been questioned, but it was more like actual concern than an interrogation. Alvin quickly became a pseudo-uncle to him, offering a guiding hand in many aspects of Hiccup's life, including some training in fighting.
Alvin stared back, recalling the bruised and battered figure of the boy when he had been shot from the sky. He remembered his shock at the discovery that the Dragon Master was Stoick's son, and that the boy had left, thought dead.
His brow creased in concern as he watched Hiccup stare blankly at him.
At him, not up at him, when had that happened?
Hiccup's façade finally cracked, forehead scrunching as his eyes watered. The boy broke, crumbling before him. Alvin grasped his shoulders firmly, pulling him into a bear hug. Hiccups arms wound up and around the man's broad shoulders, clenching his tunic in tight fists. His face pressed into Alvin's shoulder. Toothless wound his tail around them, sheltering them with his wings and nuzzling his Rider, crooning sympathetically. Hot tears rolled down Hiccup's cheeks in silence for a moment, before he began to shake and weep. True to his name – great hiccupping sobs wracked his body, he clenched his teeth and throat, trying to keep the sounds from escaping, but giving up when Alvin began rubbing his back.
They stayed like that for a while, not content, but comfortable in the embrace.
"I'm tired, Alvin." Hiccup croaked into Alvin's chest, "So, so tired."
Alvin said nothing, merely nodding.
"I'm tired of my family being in danger and being hurt." He choked, a pained imitation of a chuckle, "I almost killed Mildew and Spitelout today. If we'd been alone and I hadn't been so worried about the others, I think I would have."
Alvin nodded again.
"Does it make me a bad person? That I almost regret that I didn't kill them? That I only held myself back out of concern my family might be afraid of me if I had?"
"No," Alvin responded softly, "You ain't a bad person for wantin' to protect yur own."
Hiccup sat back from where they had ended up kneeling, leaning enough to still be enclosed in Alvin's arms but now be able to see his face. The boy's eyes were red, cheeks streaked with channels tears had made. He sniffed, opening his mouth to speak, to disagree, when Alvin cut him off.
"You ain't a bad person for protectin' em," He repeated, pride shining in his eyes as he regarded the boy, he swept his hand toward him, pointing, "All that makes you is a Chief."
"Wha- I-," the Chief tried.
"Don' you try to deny it, boy. Why'd you think we all listen to ya? It ain't cause yur voice is pretty!" Alvin smirked.
Hiccup's eyes widened, fear and panic evident.
Alvin's tone became softer, gentler, "The thing 'bout bein' a Chief, Hiccup, is tha' it ain't like what yur thinkin'. The thing they don' tell you, is tha' you choose 'ow you lead yur people, and you choose who those people are. You already do the work of four Chiefs, maybe you don' officially lead the Berserkers, Boggies, an' mi own Outcasts all the time, but they all respect you as if you was always leadin' 'em, and Gods know you work 'ard enough it could be true. 'Sides, yur always suggestin' this an' tha' to help 'em work bett'r and be strong'r."
"I'm not a Chief, I can't be! I don't have a tribe for starters and—"
"You don' 'ave the most conventional tribe, no, but you sure as all Hel 'ave a big one."
"What?"
"Are you tellin' me tha' you don' think tha' dragon nest you live in counts as a tribe? An' you know we're yur family, by extension, tha' makes our tribes a part of yur tribe too. An' there ain't a damn soul on any of our islands tha' disagree neith'r."
Tears prickled at Hiccup's eyes again, "But why? I-I ran away, who's to say I wouldn't do it again! I don't deserve your faith in me, a-and I don't even know how to be a Chief anyway!"
"You ran because it was the right choice, and Gods know you deserve all the faith in the Nine Realms for teachin' us 'ow to live peacefully with dragons." He smiled, then chuckled, "An' you do know 'ow to do Chiefin', you've bin doin' it for s'long as I've known you, whether you knew it or no'."
"What if I mess up?"
"Then we'd fix it. Ev'ry Chief make mistakes, Hiccup, tha's why they always got a Council, a group of people they trust to 'elp 'em make the right choices and fix things when they go wrong."
Hiccup seemed unconvinced.
"Hiccup," Toothless called, "As far as the other dragons are concerned, you are already their Chief, and you're doing your best for them. They have never expected you to be perfect, they have only ever hoped for you to try to lead them to the best of your ability."
"But, I'm not strong like you, Toothless, I can't fight like Aurora."
"We had a Queen, years ago, do you remember her?"
"The Red Death? Yeah, how could I forget."
"She was strong, won most every battle. Do you know why she fell?"
"Because we destroyed her."
"And how did we destroy her?"
"Together," Hiccup realised, "We destroyed her together."
"Strength alone does not dictate one's right to lead. You are smart, compassionate, willing to work with others and stronger than you think. But your greatest strength comes from your willingness to care, your dedication to your family, to your tribe. Family is more than blood, a tribe is more than a single island, and a Chief is more than a leader – they must be a protector, and someone who is willing to do the right thing, even if it is the more difficult choice."
"Yur dragon is right, boy. You ain't a Chief because you were born into it, yur a Chief because you choose to protect yur tribe above all else, and tha' there is exactly what you do. Hel, you got stuck 'ere because you refused to let 'em hurt part of yur tribe, if that ain't Chiefin', I don' know what is."
And if they all shared another long bear hug after that, well, nobody asked, and they didn't tell.
Admittedly, it had already been a very long day for Astra and Aurora. It felt like months had passed since they had entered the Great Hall that morning and hidden in the rafters, only dropping from them to threaten a few people. In a perfect world they wouldn't have had to be involved in the boring negotiations at all.
Truthfully, after such a long day, neither wanted much more than to eat and then sleep, but Cami wanted to practice some knife throwing, and Heather couldn't join, and they didn't want Cami to have to miss out. Besides, they both found knife-throwing rather entertaining for various reasons (some more legal than others).
It also had the added benefit of giving their brothers some space. They both knew Hiccup and Toothless were stressed out, more so than usual, and had either of them remained, Hiccup and Toothless wouldn't have said a word about the things running rampant in their heads, for fear of upsetting them – though they could handle it very well thank you.
At least Alvin was probably talking a little about the idea everyone had been talking about – mostly when Hiccup and Toothless went to bed after one of their 36 hour doing things stunts, which happened more frequently than anyone liked. They wanted to make their coalition more official, and they wanted Hiccup to lead it.
We just have to convince him he's good enough.
Valka and Mala went fishing with Cloudjumper, the Stormcutter was more than up to the task, and honestly glad to be flying again. While he focused on flying, Mala decided to engage the other woman in some conversation.
"So, you are Hiccup's long-lost Mother?"
"Yes, I am."
There was an uncomfortable silence before Cloudjumper grumbled, "Just ask your question, get it over with."
Mala chuckled, having enough of a grip on the draconic tongue to get the gist, and the tone, "Am I that obvious?"
Cloudjumper grunted as a response. Valka waited patiently for Mala's question, only to find her unusually quiet.
"Mala?" She questioned, "Are you alright?"
"I-," She started, haltingly, "How did you know you could be a mother?"
"What do you mean?"
"How did you know that you could handle it?"
"Mala, are you—"
"I-I don't know! For sure that is." She hastened to cut the older woman off, and sighed, "I have reason to think I might be."
"That's simply wonderful, Lass."
"Is it?" Mala asked sharply, "Is it wonderful that we might be down a fighter in the battle against this monster? Is it wonderful that I will have to protect someone so small, who will not be able to defend themselves? How can you say it is wonderful, after you ran from it?!"
Mala panted; face flushed somewhat from the rant. Her sharp eyes softened as she covered her mouth, regretting her words.
"Valka I—" She hesitated, "That was not my place, I am sorry."
Valka's shocked expression turned mournful.
"No," She stated, "Perhaps not, but you did not lie. I did run from it, but not because I wished to be selfish, I ran because I truly believed it was the only choice I could make."
They descended to alight on a small island, not far from Berk. Mala began to cry, and Valka turned towards her, resting a hand on her shoulder and gently pushing her chin up to look into her eyes.
"I was terrified when I found out I was going to have a child. I questioned everything, sure that I couldn't possibly keep them safe, I had the entire house babyproofed within a week of telling Stoick, insisted on it, in fact." Valka shook herself from the memory of Stoick's amusement at her antics.
She'd panicked so much at a mere three months along. She remembered how he'd taken her hands, kissed their backs, and spoken so softly – far more than one would think possible for the Chief – reassuring her that she would be a great mother, that he would be with her, help her every step of the way however he could.
(She chose not to think about how she had echoed the sentiment, sworn to be by his side every step of the way).
"I was so afraid that when my baby arrived, I wouldn't be ready. Despite that, he still showed up early, wee thing he was, and I was terrified." Valka recalled, smiling softly, "But then I held him in my arms, this little one who needed me so desperately, and everything fell into place. Gods above, I was still afraid for him, he was so small. But at the same time, when I held him, I knew that I would do anything for him, that I'd do everything I could to keep him safe and happy. Suddenly I wasn't so afraid anymore."
Valka considered the woman before her; Mala's eyes were still puffy and red. But they gleamed with something distinctly hopeful now.
"Come here, Lass," Valka opened her arms, and Mala burrowed into them immediately, sobs wracking her frame, "Now, now, it's alright. Let it out."
Sometime later they had dismounted from Cloudjumper, still embracing, and he had excused himself to fish with the promise of keeping the conversation had on his back to himself. Though he did offer a small, "Congratulations", to Mala before he departed, who mustered a small smile in return.
"I think," Valka started gently, prompting Mala to glance up at the woman, "That you perhaps ought to talk to your Dagur about all this."
Mala looked away, "Perhaps you're right," she sniffed, "I'm just worried how he'll react."
Her chin was nudged up and brought to point toward the older woman, "You don't have to do it on your own, I can be there with you." A mischievous grin appeared on her face, "Or you can speak with him privately and it might turn into something that has you expecting twins."
Mala's face flushed violently, even as her own smile formed there, followed by a light giggle. She chose not to grace such indecent insinuations with a response.
AN:
: D I'm at University now
: ( I had horrendous writer's block
: D I'm doing Creative Writing
: ( I was very stressed because of deadlines
: ( And numerous trips to the emergency room with my new flatmates
: D But I am back now and hopefully better than ever wooo!
I live for the VOTES and COMMENTS they SPARK JOY!!!