selcouth
(adj.) unfamiliar, rare, strange and yet marvelous
"Dad!" Hiccup exclaimed cheerfully when his father came into view. Stoick snapped his had at the mention of his name and his whole face lit up when he saw Hiccup running towards him while you walked a few steps behind. Your lips twitched a grin when Stoick enveloped Hiccup in a tight hug, making him hitch his breath as if he suddenly couldn't get enough air in his lungs.
Family reuniting was always this amazing, though you never experienced it like its normally supposed to be, but it was good seeing the others seeing their parents after a long period of time. You were thankful Fishlegs decided to visit his family because it made the rest do too.
"Can't breathe." Hiccup chocked out sounding almost as a wheeze. As if on cue, Stoick realized and immediately let go of his son just in time you arrived. He smiled warmly when he first noticed you standing next to them, you greeted him with a simple handshake and a grin matching his own.
Stoick then turned to face Hiccup, "You seemed to forget about your old man these days." He burst out in a throaty laughter, though there was a hint of sadness camouflaged somewhere in there. A shower of shame washed over you when you realized that the cause for that was entirely you and all of your problems.
"I'm sorry dad, but we have a lot of things going around on the Edge." Hiccup replied looking full of guilt which was also noticeable in his timid tone. Hiccup gave an apologetic half smile and that earned him a pat on the shoulder from his father.
"I was just messing with you, boy." Though everyone knew it was far from that, but it looks like the chief decided not to dwell on that theme anymore because he clapped his hands together and spoke. "Dinner is almost ready and I expect you both to join me."
Both of you bobbed your head and you replied, "We would be delighted to sir!"
"It's settled then." The chief said with a pleased smile etching on his face. And with that he left attending his duties while you and Hiccup stood in the middle of the village looking like some lost strangers in a vast forest. Scanning the area around, you were hoping to find Crystal but she was nowhere in sight and neither was Toothless, but it didn't worry you a lot and you decided that they were surely chasing each other somewhere.
"Wanna take a walk?" Hiccup offered and with that you began the stroll to the other side of the island. It was a good time filled with deep conversation and occasional giggles, you took a hold of his hands and intertwined your fingers with his, it felt revealing to walk and not fear anyone watching you because after all you were in the forest. The alone time passed quickly and suddenly Hiccup reminded you of the the dinner both of you had to attend and the hike was cut short because of it. Sure you were a bit disappointed that the moment couldn't last longer but you remembered you promised Stoick so if you didn't show up it will be a cruel act coming from you.
And with a single shrug of your shoulders you both made your way back to the village. Upon arriving you saw that it was not as entirely full as earlier, just a couple dozen people idly roamed around. Soon you were nearing Hiccup's house and before you walked in he stopped you.
"Listen, are we going to tell my dad about...us?" He questioned and you bit your lips. Sure the gang already knew, but they were your friends and this is Hiccup's dad you're talking about. If he doesn't like you then that means saying goodbye to the relationship.
"What do you think?" You decided to ask, Hiccup's opinion on this theme was important as well and very crucial, so you internally decided that whatever he says, that will be the final answer to this all.
"I don't know...I want to say no, but-" Hiccup staggered with his words, clearly uncertain but you heard what you wanted.
"That's fine by me! We could still do a little bit pretending." You smirked and looked away as if there was nothing wrong with what you were doing. Hiccup just chuckled and opened the door.
You'd expect the house to be warm and cozy with the food awaiting on the table, but it was just the opposite of that. The fire hasn't been lit up and Stoick was nowhere too be found, even after Hiccup called out, he didn't just randomly appear. It wasn't particularly strange, you could even say it was half-expected because Stoick was the chief after all.
"I'll go look for my dad, you go upstairs and rest, okay?" Hiccup said calmly and placed a kiss on your forehead. You gave a nonchalant nod and Hiccup smiled before walking away, the last thing you heard was the door slam echoing in the house. You gave an exasperated sigh and proceeded to walk upstairs where you occupied yourself by drawing in your journal which was the best solution for everything.
After a few minutes you closed the book and looked around the room. Being alone wasn't really your liking because you would always have at least Crystal by your side but she has gone off somewhere. Come to think of it, you hadn't seen a glimpse since you landed here and now the worry began to slip inside you. You stood up determined to find your dragon and run down the stairs to the door, though when you opened it, you stood perplexed while Crystal walked towards the house.
When she entered inside she immediately flopped down on the floor and only now did you see how tired-looking she was, breathing heavily. You sat down next to Crystal and stroked her head gently, admiring her scaly feathers.
"Next time don't tire yourself this much." You joked and earned yourself a growl. Suddenly the door opened and both you and Crystal jerked your heads to see who had entered, you were surprised to find Stoick standing there alone, rather than with Hiccup.
"Hello!" You beamed and got up on your feet, dusting your clothes. Stoick greeted you back and from that point on the conversation began to roll, you talked about different themes from the village situation to life in general. And you were marveled by yourself because the last time it didn't felt this easy to talk to an elder, or anyone else for that matter.
"So where is Hiccup?" Stoick asked and you eyed him confusedly, had he not met up with Hiccup?
"He went looking for you, sir." You replied.
"Well he certainly didn't find me." Stoick laughed and you joined in. Though there was anxiety flowing through your mind and you couldn't stop wondering where Hiccup had gone to, did someone took him? Or perhaps he went to see another woman secretly. The anxiety grew even more at the second assumption but you shook your head slightly to get that thought out of your head.
Hiccup would never do that.
"You alright lass?" Stoick asked, looking slightly concerned. You gave him the best smile you can and got up from the chair you were sitting.
"Yes, I'll go look for Hiccup now." You let out a sheepish chuckle and left with Crystal before the chief could replay anything else. The sun was nearly gone and there was barely even five people outside, the lights from the inside of the houses lit up the village just enough to look where you were going. You set a plan to search from the sky, thinking that the chance of spotting Hiccup from there was bigger.
But even after scanning the island a few times there was no sign of Hiccup nor Toothless, you managed to keep your cool for this long so you could search a little bit more. Even if it was inapt to knock on people's doors at this hour you still went up to the gang's houses anticipating that Hiccup might be there. To your dismay he wasn't, and now you have a worried gang in your hand.
They all decided to help you by searching the island one more time, but you knew it would be hopeless.
Hiccup was definitely not here.
"Where could Hiccup be?" Frustrated, Fishlegs questioned aloud, more to himself rather than anyone else. Upon inspecting your friends you saw that they were extremely worried and tired, you didn't want to tire them anymore, you wanted them to enjoy this day with their family because that's why all of you were on Berk in the first place.
So you came up with a lie and hoped that it was believable enough so they fall for it.
"Oh my Thor! How could I forget!" You threw your arms in air and slapped yourself on the forehead, though you didn't control the power and now it hurt a bit but thankfully it made a loud smacking noise so that everyone can look at you. "Earlier Hiccup mentioned that he was going back to the Edge!"
"Why?" Tuffnut asked, sounding very perplexed.
You shrugged you shoulders, "I don't know, he need one of Toothless' tails or something." Your hands felt sweaty so you wiped them off your shirt as you watched the others eye you uncertain. Out of nowhere, Ruffnut yawned loudly and everyone turned to face her.
"Gods, (Y/N), you could've told us sooner." She muttered under her breath but it was not quiet enough and you caught what she said. You bit your lips suddenly feeling guilty about them having to go to all this trouble and in the end you repay them with this.
"Sorry guys." You sighed, "You can go home now."
Everybody nodded and you bid your goodbyes with them. When you were certain everyone went away you continued to scout with Crystal, but even after the hundredth time searching for Hiccup, you found nothing.
Suddenly something clicked in your mind.
"How could I forget?!" You blurted out, Crystal crooned while you jumped on top. "The cove Crystal! The cove! They have to be there!" You chirped and pointed at the forest, Crystal immediately flew to that direction and in a minute the Cove came into view. Your smile stretched in a grin and you leaped from your saddle before Crystal can even land.
"Hiccup!" You yelled loud enough that even the villagers might hear. You scoured in every angle of the cove, checking every bush and not leaving any stone unturned. Nonetheless, Hiccup was nowhere to be found and the grin that was stretched on your face now fell in a deep frown as the sadness scattered around the place.
"Where are you..." You whispered.
-----
You walked back to the house feeling utterly defeated and hopeless. Even after searching the whole island multiple times Hiccup was nowhere to be found. The anxiety grew stronger as you ruminated about various different scenarios of what might have happened to him and each was worse than the previous one.
The grinding worry came to halt when you spotted the chief descending from the sky with his magnificent dragon, you jogged further and arrived next to them just in time they set foot on the ground.
"Sir, I can't find Hiccup anywhere!" You admitted, panic pouring out of your words. "Its like the ground magically opened and swallowed him. I don't know what to do!" You threw your arms in air and spun around, pushing a strand of hair behind your ear.
"We will find him." Stoick spoke calmly and his voice only gave you that he didn't really care. And his words sounded empty in your ears because for now, finding Hiccup and Toothless seemed impossible.
"But how?" You implored and spun to face the chief, but he was busy fixing Skullcrusher's saddle. When he turned around, he looked unfazed which was completely opposite of you because you were keeping your tears at bay and trying your best not to break down and make a fool of yourself.
"Do you know what class Skullcrusher is?" You narrowed your eyes at the man standing in front of you. He ignored the question and decided to ask one of his own, and as much as you wanted to talk about dragons all day, time was running out.
"Does it really matter now?! Your son is missing and we have no idea if he's okay or not!" You snapped almost like spitting venom, but then you stopped and realized what you have done and that made your eyes wide in fear. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled." You quickly murmured an apology and crossed your arms, not meeting Stoick's eyes.
"Skullcrusher is a tracker class dragon." You looked up when he spoke, not because of what he said but because he ignored your outburst again and it made you wonder if he really didn't care or he was just pretending.
"Meaning that he can track anyone's scent." You couldn't help but rise a brow. If this was correct then there might be a chance of finding Hiccup after all. You closed your eyes and bit your lip, internally praying to every god that your wish comes true and you will see Hiccup once again.
Stoick suddenly bolted towards the house and left you standing there with the dragons, he couldn't have just randomly decided to go home and sleep so a few assumptions crossed your mind while you waited. Once Stoick walked out you noticed he was holding some green material in his hands that he did not had earlier, upon close inspection you found out it was actually a clothing or such.
"Saddle up." Stoick called out, you bobbed your head in agreement and proceeded to climb on your saddle. While doing so, not once did you ever look away from what the chief was doing. He placed the cloth in front of Skullcrusher's snout and the dragon began sniffing it.
"Let's hope the shirt hadn't lost Hiccup's scent." Stoick said more to himself rather to you, and for once you noticed something in his tone.
Stress.
Earlier all you though was that Stoick didn't really care about the situation but when you looked closer, you noticed how darker and lost his eyes are. Of course he is worried about his son, he might be fretting even more than you, but in the end he's the chief and trained not to show any concern whatsoever. He was keeping his calm all this time but now the true colours were showing.
Suddenly Skullcrusher straightened up and roared. A good signal that the task was complete and positive.
A wide smile stretched on the chief's smile and he patted his dragon, "Good boy."
And in a minute both of you were up in the air on a quest to find Hiccup.
-----
Time passed very slowly but no matter how exhausted you were, there was no falling asleep, there was no resting until you find Hiccup.
What was slightly worrying was the fact that Crystal was lagging behind Skullcrusher and you couldn't quite get if the other dragon was unbelievably fast or your own was sluggish. It had to be the second one because Crystal came back tired-looking, you had never forced her to fly when she was worn out, but now its totally different.
"Please girl, hold on a little more until we find them, then we'll rest as much as you want." You whispered reassuringly, though not so certain if the journey will be a 'little' longer or perhaps last a lot more.
As you flied you noticed the weather growing colder with each passed mile, it came to the point where you were rubbing your hands together in order to keep them warm. It was weird because winter passed and it wasn't supposed to be this freezing.
You straightened up just in time when Stoick turned around. Even after smiling warmly at him, he did not move his static face, your eyebrows crunched up in confusion as to why and you found out the reason after Stoick nodded his head forward.
You were stunned for a moment, not really believing what was in front of you. Still you couldn't quite process fully the sight even after half a minute, it shouldn't have been that shocking but it was still odd.
The sealine was covered in ice and after flying closer you noticed the water after it was frozen as well. At first there were just bits and pieces of it, but as the dragons passed it, the water became a solid frozen ground. This didn't make any sense, how could there be ice this late of the month? All of your thoughts were cut off when a soft snowflake landed on your face, it evaporated instantly and turned liquid, your hand moved to your nose out of instinct and you wiped it off, still unable to comprehend this weird weather.
"Did you know about this, sir?" You questioned loudly enough for the chief to hear it. He didn't turn around tho, only shook his head and that was seemingly his answer but he turned around and you noticed his expression was equally perplexed as yours.
"We never travel north." He replied coldly and spun around into his previous posture. It went back to the semi-awkward silence after that, nobody dared to utter a sound for a whole nother hour. The snow increased rapidly, now it was a full on blizzard and you barely saw the chief in front of you, Crystal on the other hand was swaying left and right, unable to regain flying in a straight line.
Another strong wind caused you to slide to the left because you weren't holding onto your saddle tough enough, you managed to climb up again but after that you were more cautious and gripped the saddle tightly. Because the snow died down a bit, the landscape was slowly becoming less visible and it was easier for you to see what was in front. The water was covered by a lot of big frozen blocks instead of being fully iced and all around were enormous ice glaciers. The scenery would've been magnificent but in this occasion it only seemed like an obstacle.
"Oh my gods..." You whispered at the sight before you. It was like a drawing from a children's book yet multiplied by a couple of billion times, it was like a bird nest but made by blue splinters of ice. You stared at it in awe. "What could've made this thing?"
"There!" Stoick suddenly yelled, "An opening!"
Skullcrusher instantly flew in, but underneath you, Crystal was panting loudly. She barely made it to the edge of the opening before plummeting on the ground causing you to slide away in the opposite direction. You didn't care though, instead you bolted to the satchel attached around Crystal and grabbed the water bottle from inside.
"C'moon Crystal you need to drink some water." You rushed to her face and poured all the water in her mouth. Your dragon was still breathing heavily but her breathing slowed down a little bit, it relaxed you knowing she was getting better so you decided to stay on the ground as well. You then scanned the place, eyes darting from one corner to the other in amazement and other than the spectacular view the sounds of dragon screeching echoed around since the moment you arrived.
But you heard once specific roar that made you look to the direction where the chief went and when you turned around at Crystal, she was already on her feet. She snatched your collar and threw you up in air, sure you were shocked at first but it all went away when you landed on the saddle. She bolted away to the small tunnel and you sat there smiling like an idiot.
Toothless was the one that roared. They were here. You finally found them.
Whilst flying to Thor knows where all the time you heard the sounds of people cheerfully singing, it was distant to decipher what they were saying but it was definitely a man and a woman intoning a song.
Then you found yourself in a clearing, it was still made up from ice and the ground was rocky. All around there were different species of dragon that you've never seen before. And even that wasn't important, the most important thing in the moment was the two people in the center. The moment you arrived, the talking died and all the attention was at the chief.
"Will you come home Val? Will you be my wife once again?" Stoick asked in the sweetest tone possible coming from him, it was filled with hope but his face was full of uncertainty meaning that he was expecting rejection as well. Only when the woman replied with a loud and excited yes did you process what the chief had said, you were now doubting yourself thinking that your brain imagined the words Stoick said.
Out of nowhere Crystal dashed towards Toothless and tackled him on the ground, they were now rolling on the ground and gently hitting each other. You found it quite adorable and couldn't help but snort quietly, though while watching the dragons you didn't notice the other people watching you laugh to yourself.
The dragons passed a auburn-haired figure and your eyes lingered on him instead. Seeing Hiccup for the first time after all this time of searching was really something unexplainable with words. Even he wasn't gone for long, the twisted speculations of what might have happened never left your mind and it was taunting to await if they were correct or not, but now after seeing that Hiccup was all in tact and not harmed in any way, the thoughts were finally terminated.
"Hiccup..." You managed to choke out, your eyes widening and a wide grin stretching on your lips. Your legs acted upon themselves and you found yourself walking to the boy in front of you, before Hiccup could even take two steps further you were already next to him, hugging the soul out of him. Instantly you felt his arms wrap around you and it was like all the worry in the world was replaced with eternal bliss. Inhaling, you closed your eyes and murmured, "You're okay."
The embrace could've lasted for an eternity if someone hadn't cleared their throat to get attention and only then did you realize that Hiccup and you weren't the only people in the room, in fact there were two other watching eyes. You parted away from Hiccup so fast, it would almost seem like you had pried away from hugging a burning hot metal.
You stumbled on your feet and barely caught yourself before slipping backwards and embarrassing yourself even more. Internally your mind was screaming but on the outside, the only facial change was your curving in a sheepish smile when you met the elder's gaze.
"Hello dear." The woman spoke, her voice was sweet and gentle like silk, though she still had the viking accent. Her striking green eyes made your breath hitch because of how beautiful they are, you lost yourself into them but then remembered she had greeted you and you hadn't said anything, only stared like a madman. In the end you let out a quiet, timid 'hi' and the woman grinned, her white, pearly teeth shining brightly.
Before things escalated in a awkward silence, Hiccup came into your view and pointed a hand at the woman. "(Y/N), this is my mom, Valka." He said cheerfully, but when he uttered the word 'mom', it seemed so foreign because he wasn't used to speaking in on daily basis, his second long confusion disappeared in an instant and he introduced you next. While he was doing that you watched Valka with googly eyes, mouth gaping open.
"Its- Its nice to meet you, ma'am." You bubbled, meeting Hiccup's mom was like meeting Thor himself, it was incredulous. Though Hiccup didn't look that surprised, probably because he had met her previously. Valka parted her lips to reply but then her eyes landed on a specific dragon behind you, in a second you saw the excitement flash in her eyes and she moved forward, passing you and Hiccup.
"My my, I haven't seen one of these beauties in ages." Valka was now in front of Crystal, goofing around while inspecting her. "Because of their feathery scales they were hunted almost to extinct. But I guess this one survived."
Her words hurt you deeply, all this time you've been telling yourself and Crystal that you will find another dragon like her, but time passed and there was no progress in any way so maybe...maybe she really is the last of her kind. You shook your head to clear those thoughts away.
"I won't rest until I've searched every single place on this planet. If Crystal survived then there's bound to be at least one other dragon like her hidden somewhere and waiting to be found." You avowed, determination raging in your body. Even if you were speaking aloud, there was no denying that the utterance was edging more to yourself rather to whoever was listening.
A big grin spread on Valka's face, "Now I see why Hiccup and you get along. You both have the same goal!" You looked at Hiccup shyly and smiled.
-----
The next hours passed in endless talking and catching up, Hiccup explained how he was flying around the island and caught a sight of something in the air and that it turned out to be a random dragon that took a hold of Toothless and him. It lead them to this very spot and that's how he met his mother for the first time after all those years. To this point nobody knows why the dragon decided to capture Toothless but as bad is it sounds, everyone was secretly glad it did.
As you sat, you examined everyone, how cheerful they all seemed. You had never seen the chief this carefree before, he looked so careless like he left all the worry away, Stoick deserved to be like this everyday and now that's finally possible because he saw the love of his life once again. Your eyes landed on Hiccup who was watching contently as his mother laughed at Stoick's joke, it didn't take a genius to figure out how glad he is to see his family back together. Even if he combined all of the joyous days in his life, it could never match the happiness in his face when Valka send's him even the slightest smiles.
And then, as if on cue, the voice in the back of your head began to whisper.
You don't belong here. Why are you still standing? Why are you ruining their bonding moment?
It was only a matter of time till you remembered your own family, how they're disgusted even by the mild mention of your name, how their faces will never look at you in a loving way if you ever saw your parents again, how you could never relive an experience like this one. It was sad really and because of that you hadn't noticed how your eyes had teared up to the point where a tear slid down your cheek.
"(Y/N)?" Hiccup questioned, but every alarm in your head was ringing. Nobody was supposed to see your tears, you weren't supposed to ruin their happiness.
"I-" You choked out, "Excuse me."
Without meeting anyone's eyes you stood up and went away where nobody could see you. All the time you were walking, you were blaming yourself for being such a cry baby and not able to keep the tears at bay. Now Hiccup was probably going to come after you and ask what's wrong and you will have to bother him with all your problems, even though he should be enjoying his time with his family instead of you.
A loud growl emitted from you lips and you hit the back of your head onto he wall. Your mind twisted the pain as if it was what you deserve for the slight mistake, so with that thought you pounded your head on the wall multiple times. A few tears poured down before you concentrated on calming down yourself. Thankfully, for your sake, Hiccup didn't show up at all.
With a wide smile you made your way back to the place the rest were, but stopped dead in your tracks when you saw Hiccup and his parents in a group hug. They all looked so happy and you were glad they were because its what everyone deserves after being apart all this time. Out of nowhere you were pushed forward and stumbled near the Haddock family.
"(Y/N)! Come!" The chief exclaimed and spread his arms outward, you glanced at Hiccup and Valka looking for a look of disapproval but there was no sign of it, they had a genuine inviting face. A sheepish laugh escaped your lips and you awkwardly joined the hug, for a moment you actually felt a part of all of this, a part of a real family. And then you realized that you've cried over nothing, your actual parents are not your family and the ones you're currently with, they are the real ones.
When the hug was over you and Hiccup went to your dragons while Valka and Stoick were on the other side chopping some fish, somehow the theme was about his parents and you listen to him rant about how happy he is for finding his mother. Hiccup's smile was wider, his eyes lighter, his movements lively, it was pleasant to watch and you cherished it, not knowing when and if he will ever be like this again.
"I still can't believe it, (Y/N). I feel like this is a dream and I'm going to wake up soon." Hiccup sighed. You pinched his cheek hard enough for him to wince and swat away your hand, giggles spilled past your lips.
"Yep, this is very much real." You commented and Hiccup playfully rolled his eyes at you. Then you heard the chief's voice calling you both for dinner. Feeling ravenous, you instantly got up and was the first one to arrive, but hid the disappointment from showing because of the food in front of you. It was raw fish cut in small part.
It made you recall the first time you were on your island, you used to hunt fishes with Crystal and eat them just like that, Crystal didn't seemed to mind their natural taste but you were disgusted by it. It took you about a week until you remembered that you could roast them on a fire instead.
You survived through eating one single piece of the food and set aside the wooden place. Before you could sit down, Valka suddenly spoke up asking if you'd like her to show you around the place. You were taken back by her offer, completely not expecting it, but in the end you didn't want to let her down so you agreed with a lopsided smile.
Both of you walked between thick path of rocks, none of them were straight and for some you had to climb to get to the other side. The travel seemed endless but once you arrived to your destination everything paid off.
The view was simply breathtaking, from the icy roofs with splinters of rocks coming out of them to the green lichen covering the rocks around and the ferns clinging to the plateaus of the ground, the cliffs and everything around. Other aspects that are worth mentioning were the many caves and waterfalls surrounding the nest. You stopped dead in your tracks, feeling a smile form on your lips while astonishment was drawing on you.
"Woah..." You murmured softly.
Valka made a humming voice as she was walking in front and you followed behind, from there you could see she was nearing the edge of the ground. You furrowed your eyebrows unable to comprehend why she was going that way, but didn't ask why. When you arrived next to her though, you couldn't help but let out a terrified scream.
Underneath there was an enormous white dragon, it had two big tusks protruding form the sides of its head and spikes on the front side of its body. It sat in a large pool of seawater in the center and was staring at the dragons playing around it, though your shriek caused it to look at you and soon he was getting up, fairly slowly considering its size.
"What...what is this?" You let out out a startled breath, feeling like your thrumming heart will leap out from your chest any time soon. On the other hand, Valka simply laughed.
"This, my dear, is Bewilderbeast! The alpha of all dragons!" Valka exclaimed cheerfully, swinging her hands on each side to accentuate her words as she pointed at the dragon in front of her. Valka bowed down, but you stayed frozen in your spot while the magnificent dragon rose to eye level and now it was watching directly at you, it felt as if your soul left your body when the it fired a gust of snowy substance onto your head.
"He likes you!" Valka beamed. You wriggled your hair dusting off the snow from it, at the same time kept the eye-contact with the white dragon in front of you.
"I've lived among them for twenty years, discovering all their secrets..." The woman next to you trailed off, she walked back to Crystal and scratched her under her chin, the exact place you do it. And that only proved her the point of her words.
"Do you know anything about Crystal's species?" You asked, curiosity getting the better of you.
"Ah, yes." Valka sighed, "They rarely attacked and were never seen, just like Nightfuries. The vikings that traveled north never came back, though one ship miraculously survived and the crew lived to tell the story. What happened was all of the other ships were destroyed by one specific group of dragons, when they were asked to describe it, it matched the looks of your dragon. And after that Stoick banned ships to go north."
A warm feeling erupted into your body, this was big news. You couldn't help but crack a grin. "So what you're saying is, dragons like Crystal live in the north?!"
A frown etched on Valka's lips before she spoke up and after what she said, most of the excitement left you. "They lived there. As I said, they were hunted down by some northern tribe. And as I've heard, it was till extinction."
You let your arms fall down to your sides and you cast your eyes on the ground, "Well you heard wrong." You growled.
Your eyes widened when your realized how harsh your tone was, "I'm so sorry." You wanted to slap yourself for being so stupid and now that this blunder may make her hate you.
"Don't worry, dear. If anything, it only proves how much you care." Valka gave an apologetic smile. And you returned the same one.
"So uh, Hiccup is so happy he finally found yo." You said, hoping to end the awkward conversation as soon as possible. The woman next to you didn't turn around, she only stared ahead but you saw her lips curve into a smile.
"And you have no idea how I feel to see my son after all these years." Valka replied with a shake of her head, as if she still couldn't believe her own words. A couple of dragons surrounded her and she stroked them all one after another, while doing so you joined in and stared at the amazing creatures that weren't afraid of you, even if its a first time seeing them.
"How did you know it was Hiccup though? He told me he didn't tell you his name." You questioned, curiosity noticeable in your tone. Valka explained how she noticed the scar on his chin and told you the story of how Hiccup got it in the first place.
"I've always wondered where he got it from." You grinned and earned yourself a lighthearted chuckle. It seemed like you got on the right foot with Hiccup's mom, you couldn't imagine how it would be if she hated you from the start.
"Hm, how do you feel about going to Berk again?" You asked once again.
"Is it true what they said? Has it really changed?" Valka asked back, she sounded almost fearful or perhaps she could quite believe it because it seemed like it was literally impossible that to happen.
"You have no idea." You flashed her a grin. And then proceeded to explain the new lifestyle in Berk, how people care about dragons now instead of fighting with them, how in return the dragons make their work easier by helping. You told her about the new adjustments into the villages as well and all along you couldn't ignore that sparkle of excitement flashing in her vibrant green eyes. She looked like a child listening to his parents telling breathtaking stories and it was simply splendid.
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I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, vote and comment if you did! ❤️