Dragon Treasure Chapter: 16

Dragon Treasure Chapter: 16

Summary:  Hiccup is just a little seven year old boy running away from his father’s disappointment and meets a new friend hiding in the woods. Stoic is about to learn that one man’s burden is another man’s treasure.

Stoick had been patrolling the village as normal but there had been a change in his routine for the past while that made the residence of Berk very happy. He no longer made his rounds by himself, it seemed like all day long Valka was by his side during his strolls and smiled quietly as she watched the chief work. Although the village kept Stoick as busy as ever he seemed passionate about it again and it reminded the Vikings of when the chief was a young man and taking his father's place. Everyone had recognized the man's long lost wife almost instantly making it very awkward for poor Valka to go anywhere without being stared at. Stoick had made it clear to everyone that neither Valka nor Hiccup were to know anything about the woman's past until he could properly bring it up or have the memories resurface on their own.

'I forgot how beautiful she is Thor how I miss her' Stoick thought as he gazed at the woman adoringly.

"Chief, are you alright?" she asked looking at him concerned.

"Of course why do you ask?" he replied.

"You seemed to be staring off into space and drooling so I was concerned," Valka explained and the Viking chief immediately wiped his face on the back of his sleeve as she giggled at him.

'He's ridiculous and disgusting and yet I feel so natural here in this moment' Valka thought to herself as she shook her head at Stoick.

Gobber watched on from the healer's hut with a smile before a distraction caught his eye….a round curvy distraction in the form of Eira's backside as the healer was gathering her things. Suddenly the viking's smile grew into a happy grin.

"Gobber...I can see you," Eira said over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow.

"I have no ide-"

Gobber was cut off in mid-sentence by the healer pointing to the potion bottles on the shelf that clearly reflected Gobber's form sitting on the bed.

"Can't blame a guy for admiring. It's a compliment," he said with a smirk.

This only seemed to make the healer's glare intensify in his direction before she turned around and continued rummaging. When she completed her task she turned her attention to Gobber's prosthetic hand and began examining it. Since the Viking first lost a limb at the age of eighteen Gobber had been a frequent visitor to Eira's hut to be examined and refitted particularly after battle or bad weather that could rust the metal on his detachable limbs. On some occasions Gobber would just go there after a very long voyage for what he liked to call a bed breaking good time.

"The arm looks good. I see you've been actually cleaning it," she commented in her work tone.

"Ai, damedest thing happened. When I cleaned the stump it stopped gettin' infected," Gobber said proud of his discovery.

"Imagine that," Eira replied in mock surprise.

"No kiddin'," Gobber said completely missing the healer's sarcasm.

"So I think we should celebrate this grand news. My hut or yours?" he asked with a sly grin.

Eira rolled her eyes but before she could say anything, a panic stricken pair of dragons and their human partners ran up to Stoick before transforming into their human form.

"What's going on?" Stoick demanded them.

"Find my mother and father we need to meet in your great room immediately," Tyra explained quickly before turning to the Night Furies and speaking her native tongue while still in her human form.

The humans were beside themselves in surprise at the display of a young human looking girl releasing an animalistic growl to the crowd around them.

"What the hell was that?" Stoick asked Valka as they ran to the last known location of Hàkon and Eldrid.

"She was speaking the language of dragons. Basically she was summoning the Night Furies to the great hall. It must be important for her to suddenly become so authoritative," Valka explained.

"She usually leaves business to her mother then?" Stoick inquired.

"Yes, she's an extremely obedient daughter and will not take command unless her mother tells her to or when Eldrid is not around," she explained.

Valka was silent for a moment before she started giggling to herself and noticed Stoick giving her a look and smiled at him.

"There is actually one other reason a female Night Fury would suddenly become feisty and bossy towards someone," she said.

"Oh do tell," Stoick said suddenly amused.

"When the females find themselves attracted to a male they give off a scent full of pheromones and each distinct to that woman. After the female has the male's attention she will test him by bossing him around and torturing him a bit to ensure he is loyal no matter what," Valka explained before nodding towards Toothless and Tyra.

"Take the children somewhere safe," Tyra demanded.

"What?! No I should be there this concerns me as well," Toothless replied.

"I will send for you now go!" she shouted back to the stubborn dragon.

"No! Who do you think yo-"

"GET THOSE CHILDREN TO SAFETY NOW. IF I HAVE TO REPEAT MYSELF AGAIN I'LL RIP OFF YOUR LEFT TAIL FIN NOW FLY YOU FOOL," Tyra roared at the other Night Fury.

Rather than test the girl's anger Toothless transformed back into a dragon and stopped long enough to let Hiccup and Astrid on his back before taking off in another direction. Satisfied Tyra took off towards the hall. Stoick and Valka ran towards the cliff where they knew the dragon and human were resting. When he knew the dragon girl was out of ear shot Stoick turned to Valka chuckling and shook his head.

"That beastie is doomed," he joked making the other woman laugh.

It didn't take much longer after that for the pair to locate Hàkon and Eldrid. They quickly told them of what happened before they ran to the Great Hall to meet the others. When they got to the great hall Eldrid immediately went to her daughter who was standing in front of everyone. Like the first day of their arrival, all of the Vikings and dragons were gathered together to figure out what was going on.

"Child what has happened?" she asked.

"The one known as Toothless has had rebels spying on the mad queen for quite some time now. Others have been hiding waiting for the next move including the ones the humans have locked away. They have informed him that there will be a raid on the village. We don't know when it will be but we do know that they will hit hard and viciously for something specific," Tyra explained.

"What the hel could they possibly want from us other than food?" Stoick asked furiously.

Tyra hesitated before she admitted, "They come for your child Stoick. When Toothless escaped her, it was because he stood his ground against her tyranny and the mad queen wanted him destroyed for it. She has found out through the food raids that Hiccup is his treasure and means to take what's his."

The crowd suddenly went into shocked mumbling wondering what would become of the child and what would become of their home. Before Stoick could respond Mildew stood up and made his way over to Tyra and stopped when he was standing in front of her before facing the crowd.

"Let the beasts have him then, he's been nothing but an annoyance to us. These devils can take him and then this island can go back to the way it was before," Mildew said before turning to Tyra.

"You can lead them. After all you are their disgusting half breed bitch of a queen," he hissed.

Mildew suddenly felt dazed. One minute he was trying to convince the Vikings of his 'common sense' and the next he was being held up against a poll by a half transformed Night Fury. Mildew watched in horror as the dragon's sharp teeth slowly came out of his gums.

"I'm assuming Kelda is with the children," Tyra said trying desperately to sound calm so nobody would hear how much that actually stung.

Toothless was too furious to verbally answer and simply nodded not taking his eyes off the old Viking for anything in the world. Not only had this sad excuse of a creature insulted his future queen and all of the Night Furies collectively, but he also dare demand that they hand over his hatchling to that monster. As far as the dragon was concerned there was not a whole deep enough to bury this thing alive in. Oh how he wanted to rip out his still beating heart in that moment but a scent filled the air that he knew very well that seemed to calm him instantly followed by the owner's gentle touch on his human shaped scaly shoulder.

"Release him. His kind will deal with him appropriately," Tyra whispered comfortingly to him before she reached over and gently pried the black human hand with the ferocious claws off the man's neck.

Toothless continued to glare at the man with rage filled eyes even though he was facing the other Night Fury.

"I suggest you leave old man you will find no friend here," Stoick commanded Mildew with a dark glare. For once he was only happy to obey and quickly left the hall but not without a glare or growl from everyone in the hall.

"Toothless I need you to focus on me right now," Tyra said gently as she put two hands on either side of his face and forced his gaze on her.

"You are in mid transformation this will cause you a lot of pain if you stay this way much longer. Take deep breaths and go completely dragon or human. It doesn't matter which just which ever you are closest to," she explained.

Toothless gazed into the girl's blue eyes before doing as she instructed. He took heavy breaths, focused on where he was in his transformation, and decided he was still more dragon. Slowly he felt his body reverse until he was completely dragon once more. Tyra smiled at him before she laid her forehead on his snout to help him calm down completely.

"You are a natural," she teased as she gave him a quick rub under his chin before turning to the others.

"You better have a plan lass because I will be dammed if I let some beasties take my boy," Stoick said darkly. Suddenly remembering the room full of Night Furies he turned to the group and mumbled an apology before going back to business.

"We do have a plan but you need to trust us. This is going to require all of our reinforcements," Tyra explained.

"Are you seriously suggesting that we release those dragons in the arena. Dunno if you noticed lass but they kinda want our heads," Stoick explained.

"We will speak with them," Eldrid said stepping forward.

"What of us, how are we to protect ourselves?" someone asked.

Both Night Furies were at a loss they didn't know how they were going to protect the humans. How could they have forgotten that these creatures did not have the protection they did? Suddenly an idea came to Eldrid and she hoped that this idea would work.

"I have heard rumors of gronkle medal and its strength but it requires specific nourishment to create it," she explained.

"There is a gronkle in the arena that we've been working with to train the children. It seems to be taken with a lad that sweeps out the cages," Gobber explained.

"She," a tiny voice piped up and everyone turned to look at the shy little boy with chubby cheeks and messy blond hair.

"What are ya saying there Fishlegs? Speak up boy," Gobber demanded.

"The gronkle in the arena...is a she not an it," the boy explained then looked as though he was second guessing saying anything.

"Is that the lad?" Hàakon asked Gobber who only nodded in reply.

"Come here boy," he told the boy who reluctantly approached him.

"Ya like the dragons? Like learning about them?" Hàkon asked Fish legs. The boy nodded and gave a hint of a smile secretly excited to have someone ask him about his secret obsession with dragons.

"Would you like to come with us to ask her for help. You two seem to be friends so it would be easier to approach her to talk if she saw you with us," the man explained and watched in amusement as the boy's lit up like torches.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Stoick said concerned for Fish Legs on behalf of his parents who stood in the crowd scared for their only son.

Hàkon turned to his younger brother with a confident smile and said, "I will personally take responsibility for this boy's safety until he is returned to his parents."

With that the meeting was adjourned and slowly everyone started walking out of the great hall. Tyra turned to leave but was stopped by Toothless gently biting on to her wrist with a toothless hold to keep her in place.

'What is it?' she asked him in their native tongue.

'I know how we can help protect the humans. I've done it before for Hiccup so I know it works' he replied to her.

For a moment Tyra stared at him confused until it suddenly dawned on her what Toothless was talking and she smiled back at him.

'I will speak to mother about this. She can help us gather the others and discuss your plan' the girl replied.

Toothless looked at her nervously before she smiled at him before and said 'Don't worry, I will support you'

Dragon Treasure Chapter: 18

Summary:  Hiccup is just a little seven year old boy running away from his father’s disappointment and meets a new friend hiding in the woods. Stoic is about to learn that one man’s burden is another man’s treasure. 

Tyra ran desperately through the village carrying her mother terrified that she was already dead. She had promised her parents that when the time came for them to leave this world that they would go side by side and Tyra would see to it that she kept that promise. She could sense her father's presence close by but was also disturbed by the strong smell of his blood making her run faster. She found herself in the healer's hut and when her terrified blue eyes found his comforting grey ones staring back at her, she collapsed in a heap on the floor breathing heavily. The Night Furies that had been following behind quickly lifted Eldrid off of Tyra and carried her to her mate's side. Tyra quickly shifted into her human form and stood at the foot of her father's bed observing him caress her mother's paw as she laid beside him.

'I'm here my love' Eldrid cooed to her mate as she slowly moved closer to him and nuzzled his face.

"Leave us," Tyra said to the others in the room who quickly obeyed her leaving only the family of three.

The young dragon stared with an unreadable expression at the weakened state of her parents but on the inside she was lost in her emotions.

'This is it. I'm really going to lose them' she thought wanting nothing more than to scream in rage and go destroy the queen and her minions herself.

Hàkon smiled fondly at his mate before turning his gaze to his hatchling. The girl had her hair covering her eyes and her body was tense while she clenched her fists.

"Tyra look at me," the man demanded.

Slowly Tyra obeyed her father and looked up at him with tears streaming down her face. Suddenly it wasn't a future queen he was seeing but his little girl that ran to him for every nightmare, hurt feeling, and monster under her cot.

"Come to me my little wild child," he whispered in a hoarse voice with a chuckle.

The teen quickly went to her father and curled up beside him in his bed as tears continued to fall from her eyes. Hàkon held his daughter as tight as he could before kissing her hair gently and humming to her as he did when she was just a newly hatched dragon. Eldrid took the last of her energy and changed into her human form. With great effort she snuggled deeper into her mate's embrace on his other side and wrapped her arm around both her mate and her hatchling.

"Will you leave me this night?" Tyra asked her parents.

"No little one not this night but I am weakened and I fear our time with you grows shorter," he explained feeling guilty as he felt his daughter cling on tighter to them.

"I am afraid," she admitted.

"You have nothing to fear child, you were a force to be reckoned with this night. Tonight I fought at the side of a true queen strong, proud, and fierce protecting her people," Eldrid said to her hatchling.

The dragon queen then tilted Tyra's face to look at her with her paw and said, "Know this and never doubt it. We are always with you whether we are here in flesh or in spirit and we will always be proud of you true dragon queen."

The small family stayed in each other's embrace for quite some time before there was a knock at the door and in walked the healer smiling warmly at the trio.

"You have guests," Eira said to them when they turned their attention on her.

The healer stepped aside and in walked Stoick and Spitelout before taking her leave to give them privacy. Neither Stoick nor Spitelout had moved from outside the hut since they brought their older brother there after the battle. Still adorned in Night Fury armor and the blood of both humans and dragons they nodded to Eira as they walked further into the room to stand by their brother's bed.

"It lives!" Spitelout teased.

"And it's looking better then you grungy pair on your best day," Hàkon chuckled back.

"Quiet you lot. We come on business although it is good to see you breathing old man," Stoick said before turning to Tyra.

"I've got a mob of dragons standing around outside trying to figure out what to do. Can you help me out here lass?" Stoick pleaded.

The girl chuckled before she gracefully rose from the bed and bowed respectfully to everyone in the room. After she took her leave the two brothers sat down and looked seriously at the couple.

"I don't like that expression," the oldest brother said looking at Stoick.

"I have good news and bad news brother. Which do you want first?" the chief said.

"Bad news. Get it over with," Hàkon replied.

"Alright, well during the battle there were two dragons unaccounted for. The one that stabbed you and got away from us as well as another that took off with the others back to the queen. Nobody seemed to realize the second was a spy and the Night Furies fear that it will expose our plans," the chief explained.

Eldrid and Hàkon looked shocked by the news. They had been so certain that they had gotten all of the traitors in the raid.

"We must hope for the best. Hope that the others going back to the queen have covered their tracks enough to protect themselves from the threat. Perhaps with a true spy returning it will seem less suspicious about the attack and will buy us more time," Eldrid said finally seeming hopeful.

"One can only hope my love," Hàkon said before turning to his brothers.

"So, tell me then. What is the good news?" he asked them.

"A few people say the injured spy maybe hiding in the forest. I distinctly remember stabbing the thing in its wing after it attacked you. We can send out a few people to retrieve the beast and destroy it once and for all," Spitelout said proudly.

"Agreed, the dragon must be found but I want him brought to me alive. I wish to bestow my own justice on him for daring to harm my mate," Eldrid said in a dark tone that mildly terrified the other Vikings.

"You're so lovely when you're vengeful my love," Hàkon joked making his mate's expression suddenly change from malicious to amused.

Stoick smiled as he watched the couple interact and couldn't help but feel like he was watching himself and Valka before her disappearance. They truly were a perfect match for one another and willing to fight for each other to the ends of the Earth. The only thing Stoick found regrettable about them was that his father could not see what he and Spitelout saw.

"Brother I have more news for you."

…

Hiccup sat with the terrible terror that seemed to be adamant about having Hiccup's attention. The other children of the village seemed to like the little dragon as well and began taking turns holding the little terror and petting it under its chin, much to the little creature's delight.

Valka watched from her side of the shelter where she held many small children in her lap throughout the night. Her attention continually seemed to focus on the little boy with messy hair and twinkling green eyes. After the battle was over the child seemed to be sitting alone waiting for someone as the other children left with their parents. She took the opportunity to walk over to the child and sat beside him as she smiled gently at him.

"Hello," he said smiling back at her.

"Hello to you to young man. Are you waiting for someone?" she asked kindly.

"I'm waiting for my friend Toothless. He promised he'd come take me home since daddy will be busy with the battle," he explained.

"Ah yes, you are the chief's son if I'm not mistaken. Hiccup is it?" Valka replied surprised by how friendly the child was.

"That's me! I'm sorry I don't know who you are," Hiccup said.

"My name is Valka. I've lived with the dragons for a very long time," the woman explained studying the child's face.

'He must look like his mother. I see very little of Stoick's features in him other than that shy smile' Valka thought affectionately.

"You like my daddy don't you?" Hiccup suddenly asked her as if he were reading her thoughts and catching the woman off guard.

"He has become a friend to me. My first human one that I can remember in fact," Valka explained quickly to the boy.

"I'm glad you are his friend. He's lonely without mommy, he smiles a lot around you. It's nice seeing him happy," Hiccup explained before getting up and wrapping his arms around her.

"Thank you," he mumbled as he held onto her and slowly she returned the embrace holding him tightly as if she had longed to for a very long time.

"May we also be friends?" Valka asked the child in her arms that was quickly wiggling his way into her heart.

"I'd like that," he replied.

A grumbling caught Hiccup's attention and he turned to see Toothless coming into the arena, looking around while sniffing the air. The human child's eyes lit up at the sight of his friend and he quickly pulled himself away from Valka.

"I'm sorry I gotta go Toothless is here," he explained quickly before smiling at her and ran towards the dragon.

Valka smiled as she watched him go when suddenly her head felt like it was splitting in two and voices played in her head.

'Sleep little one sleep; what shall you fear when I am here? Sleep little one sleep'

'What is this? These words mean something….memories come to me' Valka thought as she leaned against the wall and held her head in her hands.

…

"Toothless!"

The Night Fury heard his name called and barely had time to turn his head before a speeding bundle of Hiccup ran into him and clung tightly onto his neck. The dragon was knocked over by the unsuspecting force but he quickly recovered and wrapped his paws around the tiny child. He chuckled as he nuzzled the top of Hiccup's head consuming his senses with the boy's scent and relaxed in his presence. Toothless looked over Hiccup's shoulder to see the terrible terror nodding his head at him and returned the nod grateful to the tiny dragon for staying with his human until he had come for him.

"I missed you," Hiccup said bluntly into the dragon's neck making Toothless smile.

'I missed you as well little one. You are safe now' the dragon replied pulling the boy closer to his chest as he sat up.

As Toothless sat on his haunches Hiccup had a perfect view of the deep scratches on his friend's back and immediately became concerned.

"You're bleeding," Hiccup said pulling away from the dragon so that they were face to face.

'I am alright that weak traitor could not do any real damage to me. I would not allow anything to stop me from keeping my promise' he cooed to the child as he rested his forehead on Hiccup's.

"Those are deep and should be tended to," a voice behind them said and the pair turned around to see Tyra still looking visibly upset.

'They will heal' he argued.

"They will heal better with ointment now get to the healer. I cannot be worrying about you also," she demanded gently.

Not wanting to make the girl more upset then she was with her parents wounded and several dragons to worry about, he put down Hiccup and dropped to all fours. The little boy quickly climbed onto the dragon's neck and Toothless led them out of the arena grumbling which made Tyra smirk and Hiccup giggle.

"You will need the rest Toothless. After all you still owe me from the training," she said with a smirk that made the other Night Fury squirm.

"That's right I owe Astrid my dessert...So what do you have to give her?" Hiccup asked innocently.

'That's a good damn question' Toothless thought suddenly terrified of what his fate would be in the hands of the girl.

"Oh you'll see," she smiled mischievously.

Dragon Treasure Chapter:1

Summary:  Hiccup is just a little seven year old boy running away from his father's disappointment and meets a new friend hiding in the woods. Stoick is about to learn that one man's burden is another man's treasure.

...

Berk was once again in the middle of a torrential downpour and all its inhabitants were huddled inside their homes trying to stay dry and warm. One particular hut in the village however was having a harsher storm brew within it that easily rivaled the one happening outside.

Stoick the vast slammed his enormous fists onto the arm rest of his chair making the seven year old boy in front of him flinch as he scrunched his eyes shut. The village chief had a vein throbbing on his forehead indicating his rage but seemed to be desperately trying to keep it at bay.

"This is the absolutely stupidest thing you could have done Hiccup," he growled at his son.

"I didn't mean to, it was an accident," the shaggy haired boy mumbled as he stared at his feet.

"Well your accident cost us the catch," Stoick said harshly before he rubbed his hand over his face and shook his head in frustration at his child as he thought back to what happened.

That very afternoon when the sky was clear the chief had decided it was high time his son learned how to hunt for dragons that plagued their village. As the group of Vikings moved silently through the forest they could hear the growls of a nightmare and slowly approached it. Just as they were about to go in for the kill, Hiccup tripped over a root that had stuck out of the ground. Unable to catch the boy Stoick watched his son tumble into the clearing and into the sights of the dragon. Not much else could be done other than save the boy and watch as their prey flew off into the distance.

The walk home was a silent and angry one. When they got back to their home Stoick began his rant on everything that went wrong that day.

"Go to bed Hiccup, I can't even look at ya right now," the chief said furious.

"Dad I-"

"GO TO BED," Stoick roared at the small boy.

Hiccup tried desperately not to cry as he ran up the stairs but tears could easily be seen ready to fall from his big green eyes. Stoick watched the boy as he went and guilt consumed him seeing his son upset. His face didn't show it but inside he was conflicted on whether or not he should go and talk to his son but alas pride won the battle again.

"That was a bit harsh," Gobber said as he continued to sharpen his ax.

"That was humiliating what happened today," the chief snapped back at his old friend.

"He's different Gobber, I don't know how much of a Viking that boy will be. He can't lift a weapon, he says the strangest things to me and always drawing and dreaming up impossible things. Ya know the other day he said to me 'Papa someday I'm gonna touch a cloud and see if its made of sheep's wool' I mean who says that?" Stoick ranted and Gobber only chuckled.

"Valka used to make up strange stories, clumsy to but ye loved her anyhow," Gobber replied.

Stoick could only sigh at the mention of his beloved wife, stolen from him and their infant son. He would never know what kind of dragon it was that carried her off that fateful night while protecting their child. Hiccup was all he had left of her now but as the years passed he soon looked at his son as more of a burden then a blessing from his wife.

"He's useless Gobber. He's my son so I love him but gods I fear what the future holds for a child like Hiccup," Stoick said sadly.

Unknown to both men Hiccup had heard everything the pair had been talking about since he had been told to go to bed. It was not a big house and Vikings did not have the term 'indoor voice' in their vocabulary so every hurtful words rang out loud and clear.

Hiccup could no longer stand his father's harsh words and decided he get out of the house even if it was just for a few hours to clear his head. He opened his window and to his relief it had stopped raining for the time being so he grabbed his bag and carefully climbed out the window and slowly made his way down to the ground. He took one last look at the house before running off into the forest.

…

'This will have to do for now' the dragon thought to as he made a temporary home for himself inside a small cave in a cove.

He had no idea how long it had been since he escaped that wretched queen and the control she had over his mind. It was difficult leaving behind the others to do it but now freedom was his for the taking and he basked in the glory of being in control of his own life.

Perhaps now he could go on to find more of his kind, he knew they existed but they dispersed when the queen went mad and all that were left behind of the race known as Night Furies were the hatchlings that could not be taken along. The night suddenly felt quite lonely as the skies opened up and dropped heavy rain onto the ground below making everything difficult to see through the curtain of rain.

Deciding to call it a night the dragon laid his head onto his paws before wrapping his wings around himself and began to drift off to sleep.

THUMP

'What now?' the irritated dragon thought as his slumber was disturbed by something dropping into the cove.

The sound of movement and the smell of human put the dragon into a defensive position and the black creature stepped out of his 'home' to growl at the intruder.

'No human will defeat me today' he thought as he growled louder to the offending presence.

When the Night Fury finally found the source of the movement he was not expecting to find a baby human in his presence. He definitely was not expecting it to press itself against the wall of the cove and begin crying in distress when he roared at it.

The dragon was in shock. How had he become in this predicament where he was standing out in the middle of the rain with a terrified human hatchling barely out of infancy?

'This is ridiculous' the dragon thought and was about to turn and leave when a scent reached his nostrils.

'That smell, where is it coming from?' it wondered and took another sniff only to have the scent lead to the pathetic looking creature before him.

The little one before him smelt lost, sad, and very much lonely. The dragon growled at himself for what he was about to do but he knew that he didn't have the heart to put the sad little creature out of its misery.

'Just until morning, then I'll send the hatchling on its way and be on mine.'

Dragon Treasure Chapter: 11

Summary:  Hiccup is just a little seven year old boy running away from his father’s disappointment and meets a new friend hiding in the woods. Stoick is about to learn that one man’s burden is another man’s treasure. 

Stoick and Hàkon chased their brother through the village until Spitelout finally stopped at the edge of the forest and turned to face the two men.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why was I not supposed to know that I had another brother?" he demanded.

"It happened before you were born. I certainly thought we'd never see him again," Stoick explained.

"Ouch," Hàkon mumbled as he stood with his arms crossed.

Stoick turned a glare at his older brother before turning his attention back to Spitelout and walked closer to him.

"Look, I was only five at the time when he was exiled. I barely remember the guy, and father didn't want his memory to be remembered. So, he made it law that no one even utter the name Hàkon after the betrayal he felt," the chief explained.

"Stoick replaced me and they made you to replace Stoick. Father was never without a backup plan," Hàkon said bitterly.

The three brothers stood in awkward silence before Spitelout finally asked, "How do we know we can trust you? This could be some trick for revenge against Berk."

"Little brother, I am in company with a Night Fury pack. Don't you think I would've attacked a long time ago if this was about revenge?" the older man replied.

"Then why are you here?" Spitelout demanded not liking the casual use of little brother that up until now was only reserved for Stoick.

"Home, this is about being home with my family. I received word that my brother needed help and thought perhaps Stoick was not the same man our father was and wanted us a family again, fighting as one for the same cause," Hàkon explained sounding once again disappointed.

"My child also needs a home. The only one she has known has been on that boat. To human to be a dragon, but to dragon to be a human," he added hopefully.

Stoick and Spitelout looked at each other silently considering Hàkon's words before turning back to their brother's gaze. Hàkon felt like this was telling his father about his mate and child all over again and couldn't help feeling anxious.

"Why now? You must have heard of father's death years ago. So why not come back then if this was so important to you?" Stoick asked.

"I did not know the kind of man that little boy would grow into under father's influence. However, it seems it was the influence of your own son that would be stronger," Hàkon said with an affectionate smile as he remembered the little boy shying away from him between his parent and his protector.

"There is something else as well," he added suddenly looking quite solemn and in the moment both men saw that although their older brother looked no older than them he was not the healthy man Stoick remembered.

…

It was shortly after the three brothers ran from the great hall and no one knew what to do next. It was Hiccup that finally felt brave enough to make the first move. Before Toothless could stop him the little boy casually walked up to the naked girl and poked her thigh. When he had her attention, he motioned for her to kneel down. The girl smiled before gracefully falling to her knees to meet the child's eye level.

"Hello," he said casually to her with a kind smile.

"You must be Hiccup," Tyra said for the first time making the little boy excited.

"How did you know my name? Can dragons read minds?" he asked.

"No little one just observant. I heard the villagers refer to you by that name," she explained kindly as she ruffled his hair affectionately.

Tyra enjoyed this little human boy that she learned was her cousin. He was very special indeed and she could already feel herself falling in love with him and his pure scent. She could smell the other dragon's scent on him as well warning her of the dangers that came with even a thought to harm this hatchling.

"Neat, are you gonna stay? Wanna sleep over at my house? What's your favorite game? Does it hurt to breath fire? Can dragons swim?"

Both female Night Furies were in awe by the child's ability to ask that many questions in a single breath until finally Tyra had to stop him.

"Forgive me that is a lot of questions in such a short period of time. Perhaps you could show me your home and we can get to know each other better," Tyra suggested.

Ever the eager child Hiccup closed the short gap between them and wrapped his tiny arms around his cousin's neck. Tyra was caught off guard by the child's actions. Up until this moment, no one other than her parents dared to approach her never mind hug her without a hint of fear and soon found herself smiling.

"I'll take that as a yes," she chuckled hugging the boy back.

In the corner of her eye the dragoness saw another person approach and turned her head to see it was another child. This one looked very much like the man that had just left with her father and uncle. He seemed reluctant to approach her but determined so she tried to make him more comfortable by smiling at him.

"Hello there," she greeted him.

Hiccup lifted his head and turned to see who had joined them. He smiled when he saw who it was and said, "That's Snotlout, he's our cousin to."

Eldrid watched with pride as her daughter held out her free hand to the other little boy and quickly pulled him into a hug with Hiccup. Although she could not see her child's face, she knew that Tyra was smiling, feeling accepted for the first time in her life holding on for dear life to the hatchlings.

The humans and dragons watched on in fascination at the interaction between the children. Both parties feeling humbled to witness such a site before Kelda finally rose from her seat and stood before the crowd.

"I think before any exploring takes place, the people of Berk should lend a hand of hospitality to our guests," she announced to them all.

"Yes, we shall prepare a feast," one man hollered.

"Get out more mead," cried another.

"Those are all fine ideas, but I was thinking perhaps we could donate some clothes," Kelda suggested to the crowd.

The Vikings looked around them at all the naked Night Furies and all suddenly nodded in agreement, mumbling to one another about spare things they may have. It wasn't long before the villagers all left to find clothing for the newcomers and all that remained were the dragons, the two human boys, and Kelda.

"So, you really are a dragon?" Snotlout asked finally feeling brave enough to ask as she still held onto him and Hiccup.

Tyra nodded and smiled before the boys suddenly felt the bones and muscle under the skin of the girl's back start to crack and rumble. Before they knew it two large black wings sprouted from her back and curled around all three of them.

"Woh," the boys said at the same time and Tyra and Eldrid giggled in response.

"No offense Hiccup but she is officially my favorite relative," Snotlout said in awe.

"Likewise," Hiccup replied.

Toothless had been silently watching the girl up until this point consuming his senses with everything about her. Her smell was hypnotic to him leaving him constantly needing more of her scent, the sound of her voice sent shivers through his scales. Her smile was contagious, and her wings were breathtaking and he longed to see those blue eyes glow against onyx black scales. He wondered if she'd look this beautiful holding her own hatchlings as she did holding these two human ones…but he didn't have a crush on her, absolutely not.

"I'm really glad you're a Night Fury," Toothless heard Hiccup say to the girl.

"Why is that?" she asked.

"Cause my friend Toothless over there has a big crush on you," he replied casually.

'You did not just do that' Toothless thought horrified by his little human.

Perhaps this was his idea of revenge for not knowing that he was a treasure. Or perhaps this was just a child doing what children did best, which was embarrass people to death.

"Oh really," he heard Tyra say as her amused blue eyes met his anxious green ones.

He watched in anticipation as the female Night Fury leaned into to Hiccup's ear and whisper something in it for a few minutes while he stood there and tapped his claws on the ground in anticipation. When she was finished whispering she gazed at him once more but this time with an unreadable smile before she nodded and let the boys go.

"Wait here Tyra. I think I have something of mama's you can have," Hiccup said before he started walking out of the great hall.

"Me to," Snotlout said beside him with Toothless following behind them.

As they were about to leave, the black haired boy stopped before he turned to look at Hiccup rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Hey uh…about what I said…ya know about him…,"the child mumbled having a hard time finding the words.

"It’s ok," Hiccup said with a smile knowing his cousin was never very good with words let alone apologizing.

Snotlout smiled before running off to tell his mama everything that had happened since she had to stay home with his baby brother. As they started walking back towards Hiccup's house the Night Fury's curiosity got the better of him.

'Soo…did she say anything about me?' he growled at the boy forgetting that the child didn't speak dragon.

Hiccup looked at his friend confused but quickly understood what he was growling about by the way he wouldn't look him in the eye. Hiccup tried to hide his smile as he pretended not to notice the dragon talking to him.

'I must know! What did she say?' Toothless growled as he continued bumping the boy's arm again making Hiccup giggle which only irritated the Night Fury more.

'What.'

'Did'

'She'

'Say?'

Toothless growled again emphasizing each word by bumping Hiccup's arm.

The boy turned around and glared at the dragon for a few minutes before a devious grin spread on the child's face. Toothless did not like that look.

"It's a secret," he said simply and continued his way home.

Toothless stood there in shock. He couldn't believe his sweet little human was deliberately hiding something from him. Quickly, he caught up to Hiccup and glared at his back as they walked towards their home.

"Ya know if you want to know so badly…you could always ask her," Hiccup suggested with a smirk.

'Oh, I see now. My hatchling is trying to be a matchmaker, is he? Well two can play that game little one' Toothless thought reminding himself to remember this moment later down the road when his human had a crush.

Not that he had a crush of course but still he would use this moment against him somehow.

"Well here we are. Home sweet home," Hiccup announced as he opened the door to a tall hut.

They walked into a wide-open space with a large fire place, and strange things that looked like the humans used them for sitting by the shape of it. Hiccup walked over to a large thing Toothless had seen once or twice before, the humans called it a trunk if he wasn't mistaken. With a deep sigh Hiccup opened the chest which the dragon discovered was full of clothes and human hunting tools and one drawing on the lid of the trunk of a woman and a man with a small child.

"That's daddy and that's me when I was a little baby," Hiccup explained as he pointed to each person in the photo.

His eyes started to look sad as he pointed to the last person in the photo which was a woman and said, "and that's my mama."

Toothless could already see the signs of Hiccup getting upset and quickly wrapped himself around the distraught child.

Dragon Treasure Chapter: 20

Summary:  Hiccup is just a little seven year old boy running away from his father’s disappointment and meets a new friend hiding in the woods. Stoic is about to learn that one man’s burden is another man’s treasure. 

Kelda walked through the village enjoying the rare warmth that had come with the morning and couldn't help but smile as she made her way to the great hall. She remembered before the dragons came, her job was to help school the young girls of the village on how to be a proper wife. It seemed funny now that she should be teaching such things when she had bashed her own husband over the head with a mace little over a month ago and had him exiled. According to the village her actions to save her child from her husband gave them all the more reason to respect her teachings not only as a Viking but as a mother. After her husband was exiled Kelda had changed her teachings a bit with the approval of Stoick the Vast since it was something near and dear to his heart as well. Her class now not only taught both boys and girls of the village how to be proper partners to each other and how to take care of babies but also taught the children how to run a home as a single parent.

'Would you be proud Valka?' Kelda wondered as she continued her walk.

The Viking new very well that her friend was alive and well but her presence almost seemed like torture since she remembered nothing of them. She was the one that had encouraged Kelda to become a teacher in the first place and was her rock after she found out about her arranged marriage. It still ate at her that she could not save her friend during the dragon attack since she was pregnant with Astrid at the time but Valka would have been furious with her if she tried.

Humming distracted her from her thoughts. She looked down smiling at her daughter as the little girl continued to hum and focus on kicking the rock on the ground like a ball. She could not get over how much she loved this child. The only reason she had stayed with her husband was that she was under the impression it somehow was in her daughter's benefit. Thankfully those dark days were behind them and now brighter ones laid ahead for the pair. For the first time in their home there was laughter, warmth, and safety for the little girl that always felt so afraid of her father.

Neither of them noticed the rock Astrid was kicking had rolled into the heel of someone's foot until the person turned around to pick up the round stone.

"Excuse me," the voice of the person called.

Both Kelda and Astrid turned around to see Valka holding the rock out with a smile on her face. When she had their attention, she walked over to return the rock to its owner.

"I believe this is yours, child," she said gently as she knelt in front of Astrid a place the rock in her hand.

"Thank you," Astrid replied smiling back.

The little girl felt strangely comfortable around this stranger and immediately took a liking to the new woman. Kelda watched the interaction and felt her heart ache in that moment for her friend that had been very much like a sister to her.

"You are quite welcome. You seemed very determined to kick that rock all over the island," Valka said the little girl with a chuckle.

"Not the whole island," Astrid said giggling at the idea of someone kicking a rock around the entire island of Berk.

"Just to the great hall. Mama has a class," the little girl explained proudly.

"My, that is impressive," Valka said.

"Would you like to walk with us?" Kelda asked suddenly surprising herself.

Valka seemed just as surprised by the question but it quickly disappeared and her expression suddenly turned into a happy smile.

"I would love to," she replied and the trio began walking towards the great hall.

The two women walked in a comfortable silence as Astrid continued to contently kick her rock just a little ways up ahead.

"You have a beautiful daughter," Valka said suddenly.

"Thank you, Valka is it?" Kelda replied hoping she still went by her name before she was taken.

"Yes, and my apologies I didn't catch your name," the other woman said smiling.

"Kelda, and this is my daughter Astrid," she explained.

Valka seemed lost in her thoughts for a moment as the name seemed to ring a bell somewhere in her memories. Her heart seemed to leap at the sight of this woman and felt a bit guilty knowing that this woman had clearly meant something to her a long time ago but she had forgotten her.

…

Stoick stood in front of the doors of the great hall waiting for Kelda to arrive for her class. The students already inside having their breakfast with the other Vikings. Everyone in the village knew that they had to be out of the hall by the time Kelda got there to teach the class or they had to stay to participate. Needless to say, most of the men were finishing up their breakfast quickly before they had to start learning how to sew clothes. A lot of the women and some men stayed for the class however interested in her class on running a home as a single parent. It was a realization a lot of them were ready to face being Vikings.

The chief tried to encourage more of the older Vikings to attend and even took them himself feeling it would benefit the tribe to know how to care for themselves and their children should they lose their partner.

A smile crept onto Stoick's face when he saw Astrid run up ahead smiling at him before she picked up her rock and walked over to him.

"Morning Chief," she greeted politely.

"Morning Astrid, where is your mother?" he asked the little girl.

"Oh Mama made a new friend this morning and she walked with us to see her class," Astrid explained before she looked over her shoulder to see the two women approaching.

In the short walk the pair had suddenly started to act as if they had never left each other's side. The pair had their arms loosely intertwined as they laughed and smiled about whatever they were talking about. Stoick thought that for a moment he had travelled to the past to when they were much younger when this was a constant sight that warmed his heart.

"Oh, good morning Stoick. We were just talking about you," Kelda said wiping a tear from her eye.

"Two she-devils laughing away, tell me that they are talking about me. Oh, that's comforting," he joked at pair.

"Oh, come now Stoick. It was only the story of how you and Gobber lost some kind of bet…"

'Oh Thor not that story' he thought.

"…and you and Gobber had to dress like a couple of maidens…"

'Please stop talking.'

"…then Kelda's brother truly thought in his drunken stupor that you pair were the pretest Vikings he'd ever seen," Valka explained laughing hysterically.

Stoick glared at her before turning his sights on Kelda who was looking quite proud of herself at the moment before she excused herself, taking Astrid inside with her.

"So glad my misery brings you such delight," he joked with the hint of a smile on his face which he tried to cover up with a glare.

"I'm so sorry but it was funny," Valka replied wiping the last of her tears away from laughing so hard at the image of Stoick in a dress.

"Uh huh," Stoick said.

Valka smiled as she walked over and tapped the man on his face. Her expression suddenly changed which did not go unnoticed by the Viking chief.

"You look like you have something to say," he said encouraging to say what was on her mind.

"Can you keep a secret?" she asked and smiled when he nodded.

"I actually, remember her. Kelda I mean," she explained surprising the chief.

"It was from a long time ago, we must have been children then but we were walking through the forest and found some boys swimming. We stole their clothes and we ran away with them back to the village," Valka thought fondly with a chuckle.

"That was you chuckleheads," Stoick said not realizing he had used the nickname he had given the pair from when they were children.

"Sorry," she replied with a smile.

Stoick couldn't stay angry, how could he? His beloved was slowly having her memories return to her and soon she might remember him as well and how much he adored her.

"I asked her about the baby," she said suddenly.

"What did she say?" Stoick replied slightly scared of the answer.

"What you said, to give it time before I crossed that bridge," she explained slightly frustrated that perhaps the one person who could lead her to her child wouldn't tell her.

Stoick nodded his head as a plan began to form in his head that he hoped would give him an opportunity to tell both her and Hiccup of what happened that night.

"She did tell me one thing though," Valka said sounding hopeful.

"Kelda told me the child lives in the village and is one of the most beautiful, kind hearted and smartest children she had ever laid eyes on," she explained feeling proud of this child she had yet to meet.

She stared at Stoick with a smile looking determined to learn as much as she could about herself so she could meet her child. She wanted to hold it close and never let go again. Even in the time she had spent among the dragons Valka had always felt she had left something very important behind the day she was taken.

"Kelda speaks truth to you. It will happen in time," Stoick said trying to sound supportive.

"Come let us go see this class. Perhaps afterwards you would do me the honor of having lunch with my son and I," Stoick said leading them inside the great hall.

"I would like that," Valka said feeling her heart flutter at the invitation.

…

It was later in the afternoon that Valka had come into the healer's hut to check on Eldrid and Hàkon to make sure they were comfortable. The dragon immediately noticed the smile on the woman's face and the way she hummed to herself as she busied herself with the tray of food.

"You seem happy here Valka," Eldrid said quietly surprising the other woman.

"M'lady you are awake, how wonderful. Shall I fetch your daughter?" Valka replied excited to see the dragon with her eyes open.

"In a while, I wish to speak with you a bit. Come sit," the dragon queen said inviting the woman to sit in the chair by her bed.

"Tell me what brings you such joy. This happiness in your eyes pleases me," the dragon said genuinely happy to see Valka happy.

"M'lady, I believe some of my memory is returning to me. My heart is remembering a woman that was dear to me as a sister. I also believe there may be a child that is mine in this village, St-the chief has been kind and wants to help me," Valka explained happily.

Eldrid smiled fondly catching the way she almost referred to the human by his first name and said, "You very much like human ruler, don't you?"

The dragon queen already knew of Valka's connection to these people from her mate. As she gazed at the human woman she had come to love she could see the affection Valka held for the one known as Stoick, even if she couldn't remember why.

"He is a good man-"

"With a handsome face and a soft spot for you lass," Eldrid said interrupting her.

"His heart is with his wife m'lady and their child. Any affection he could have for me is platonic," Valka explained glaring at the dragon.

"Yet something he's done is exciting you I can feel it," the dragon said.

Valka was quite for a few minutes as a small smile grew on her face and she said, "He has invited me to have lunch with him and his son."

Eldrid's smile grew back at the woman as she reached over and squeezed the human's hand affectionately. She still remembered the young woman her dragons had brought to her ship injured and frightened. It had taken no time to earn her trust which the dragon queen found remarkable but it was something she cherished dearly for she had also quickly found herself caring for this woman as a member of her clan. She rewarded that trust by offering her own to the human by entrusting her with the care of her only hatchling. Valka would come to her for hours about anything and everything that was on her mind. Knowing that her dear friend had finally found home in this place and possibly even the human family she yearned for made her feel like she wasn't abandoning the human after she passed away.

"Tell me child. Are you happy in this place with that human?" Eldrid asked needing to know for sure.

"Yes m'lady," she replied.

"Then I leave you in their care my precious friend. Embrace the opportunities that have come before you and find peace in them," Eldrid explained with a smile.

The dragon queen's face suddenly became scared and her hand went to her chest when she felt she could no longer breathe. Eldrid quickly turned to her mate and realized he begun to make chocking sounds and suddenly sat up coughing up blood.

Eldrid turned back toa  frightened Valka with her own blood running down her mouth and wheezed, "Find my daughter and please make haste."

"I will m'lady. Please both of you stay strong for her," Valka begged.

With that the woman bolted and ran out of the hut yelling to the Vikings to fetch the healer before she quickly ran to find Tyra, Stoick, and Spitelout.

I am a long time user of fanfiction.net and love it to bits. I was just interested in posting on tumblr. Thank you so much for the advice though, appreciate the reply. 😊

I want to post my httyd fanfic but I'm not sure how to get it out there. Any suggestions?

Welp, if you mean, post a fanfic on this blog, as in submit, I’m sorry, but we dont’ do submissions. Only if you have a suggestion, drop an ask as to which one it is. :) 

And if you mean “How to post a fanfic of my own out there so people can read it”, you can always just pop it onto tumblr, and see what type of feedback you get. People in the fandom are nice, and will give you feedback, or constructive criticism. You could also put it on fanfiction.net, which is not a hard site to use. It’s quite simple, I was able to figure it out first time around without ever being on there before. (Figured it out first hour I signed up actually. xD) 

Hope this was helpful, my friend.