The freezing air against our tired faces made me reconsider going on a voyage in the dead of winter.
My sweet little Zephyr is shivering with a blanket wrapped all around her.
"Come here, sweetheart", I say pulling her into my arms. She cuddles close against my chest.
"Are we almost there?", she asks with quivering lips.
"Yes. Just another little bit", I say kissing her head and she closes her eyes.
Astrid is wrapped in her white fur cape and several other layers as well as a sleeping Nuffink. I hope he's breathing okay, he's wrapped up so much. But I am sure is snug and very warm in her arms.
"Snotlout, bear southward slightly. It's just to the right of these sea stacks", my wife instructs. He rolls his eyes... but still does as he's told.
This makes me chuckle to myself and Astrid smirks at me.
"I think I see the treehouse!", Fishlegs points.
"Shhhhhh!!!", Astrid and Ruffnut hiss in unison.
"What?!", he whispers.
"The babies!", they both look at him with such anger.
Oh my Thor... what different times we are in.
As we neared our island that we called home nearly 7 years ago comes into our view.
Dusted with snow, the edge still stood in all of its glory. The sun hazily peeked from behind the over-cast sky and it lit up the faded paint that still looked slightly vibrant.
"Look Zeph...", I say and she gazes up from behind her blanket.
Her eyes are wide with amazement as we near the dock.
"Did you train dragons here?", she asks.
"Oh yes. Some of the toughest ones that existed", I smile.
We tie off the boat and we all step off onto the beach where Astrid and I used to share picnics and the twins would Loki us.
Memories filled my senses as I become overwhelmed with nostalgia once again. Sure Astrid and I felt it when we visited on our honeymoon, but we were... distracted with other things at the time.
This trip is solely for remembering what made us bond as a group and fought alongside one another time and time again with the dragons.
We get to the huts and the groups disperse.
I put a hand on my wife's back and with the other I held the hand of my daughter.
Before I could walk through the door to my hut, I have to pause and think about how Astrid and I went from close friends to boyfriend and girlfriend here, how I brought her back here as my new bride, and now I brought her back as a new mother of two!
Time has absolutely flown by.
We open the door and Zephyr goes running in.
Astrid and I find ourselves looking at the walls more this time around, actually taking in the things we left behind.
There still are papers pinned to the walls with plans of attacks and rescues, the original layout for the Edge, notes on the species of Dragons we found and even Plans for Toothless' different tails...
"Wait a minute...", I say softly.
"What is it babe?", Astrid asks concerned, bouncing the stirring baby.
"These plans for the tails... I think... no way...", I say now running over to my large trunk and shelving across the room.
"Daddy what are you doing?", Zephyr follows.
Nuffink begins to fuss and Astrid shushes him as she's trying to go see what I'm doing.
I rummage through layers of parts and scraps of different projects that were never finished or broken
Then... I find it.
The bright yellow leather material wasn't mistakable as I pulled it from the large wooden trunk and I look at my bride.
"I thought that was lost a long time ago...", Astrid says in awe.
I still had Toothless' red tails and a couple others that I had made, but this was the one I didn't think I'd ever see again.
"Toothless and I retrieved it long ago, but I must have not used it since. His red one was so universal", I say admiring my handiwork at 18-19 years old.
Oh bud... good times...
"Whoa daddy... did... did Toofless use that?", my precious Zephyr asks.
"Come here", I pull her into my lap.
I show her how it opened and closed. I explained to her how the design and dynamics of it helped us to fly closer to the water and go much faster. Then I tell her all about what I did to craft it and make sure it worked properly.
She points out the night fury symbol painted on it as she intently listens.
"That's really cool huh sweetie?", Astrid comes back over with an awake and bouncy Nuffink.
She nods not taking her eyes off of the bright yellow contraption.
I take him into my arms and kiss his cheek, "Hey Nuff".
"Hiccup can you watch them for a little while? I want to go look at my hut too", Astrid smiles and I nod warmly.
"Thank you my love", she bends down to kiss my lips before she goes out the front door.
Zephyr continues to play around with the tail and closely examines the parts and makes it open and lean left and right.
I stand little Nuffink on his feet on my lap and I look into those green eyes of mine.
He's smiling at me with such innocence and pure joy. I love this little man and I always will. I don't know why I become so fearful at times when it comes to raising a son. When I look at him and he gives me same stare he is right now, I feel like I can do almost anything.
I stand to my feet and walk him around the room to keep his little mind busy to prevent him getting fussy. I point out the drawings on the walls and tell him about the different dragons and how is mommy saved so many of them with me.
He has no idea what I'm saying but I am content.
"Hey, look what I found!", Astrid reruns with an old leather journal in her hands.
"Oh my gods... is that a diary?", I ask jokingly.
"Yes...", she replies slightly embarrassed.
I am shocked, "Astrid Hofferson... had a DIARY?!"
She's blushing now, but smiles as she opens the crinkled pages.
Little entries about how her and I took moonlit flights and how she saved my life a few times over.
"Wait... there's an entry on Heather...", she furrows her eyebrows. Sadness crawls across her face.
"Astrid, love, we don't have to...", I try to take it from her but she yanks it backwards.
Her glare goes from hurt to realization as she reads on.
"What is it Astrid?", I ask watching these silent, multiple changes of emotion.
"I totally forgot... Heather and I flew to this campsite on some island one time when we were out on a mission. She used to live there on her own with Windshear while Dagur was Deranged and her father was gone...", she states as she reads on in her diary.
"I vaguely remember that day... but I know for a fact she had built a hut there...", she looks up at me.
Clues.
Clues to where Heather could be hiding all her information and even where her followers could be.
"I can't believe this!", I say excitedly jumping.
"It's just so sad... such wonderful memories here... it's awful she walked away from all of this", she pouty lip appears and I go over to her.
"But... you and I have made something so much more out of these wonderful things. Including these two little ones here...", I rub the soft short hair of our little infant.
Her glowing smile returns and she kisses Nuffink's head, "I know"
Mimicking my tone for the first time in a while.
"But once we get home we need scouts to study this and see what we can find", the tactical Astrid appears.
"Yes I agree!"
Zephyr has now pulled out various parts of leather strips and metal rods and is crafting her own tail by this point.
"Whoa. Hiccup we may have to up her toy supply at home", Astrid says in shock of the mini-me.
We both laugh in agreement.
__
I still carried Nuffink around in my arms as I walked across the deck that linked all of our huts.
"What do you think of my new "S", Chief?!", Snotlout calls from his roof. He has made a new "S" for the front of his hut and is placing it where he removed the old one.
"Snotlout... why do you need an "S" for only three days?", I ask regretting it immediately.
"It is a wonderful show of my craftsmanship and it's an Ode to me!", he goes on and on.
I roll my eyes and continue on to the Twin's Hut. I see Eret has taken a spot on the floor and Tuffnut gets the giant bed to himself.
I'm assuming Ruff and Fishlegs are in his hut with Lillian.
I walk over to what used to be the dragon stables.
My heart skips a beat as I adjust Nuffink's position in my arms. I slide the old metal doors and it makes a terrible noise that makes my poor son cry.
"It's okay buddy. I'm sorry... shhh", I pop the tooth on his necklace in his mouth and he calms down.
Hmm. A pacifying device?
I shake my tinkering brain away and look inside the dusty, giant building that smelt of rotting fish.
"Egh, never trust Snotlout to clean something before moving away from an island"
Some of the ropes and saddle straps still remained in various places around the stables.
I turn back around and look out on the ocean.
A view that would never get old as Toothless and I would leap from this deck and soar into the sunset.
Ah, such simpler times they were...
Or... were they more complicated?
It's hard to tell.