Found again (HTTYD FF)

★1★

Valka sat on the edge of the small bed. It belonged to her son. He would have been twenty. Fifteen years ago, he disappeared during one of the dragon attacks. Probably taken by dragons, otherwise where could he have gone? He was a young boy, they never found him on the island, and he couldn't have left by boat alone, he wouldn't have thought of it, and even if he had, sooner or later they would have found him on the frozen waters. So there was only one option - dragons.

Valka was heartbroken. She loved her son, and losing him was a wound so deep that even time couldn't heal it. She had tried to protect the dragons before, to justify their behaviour. After what happened, she stopped. She was still on their side, not wanting to kill them, but she couldn't bring herself to see them in the same light as before.

She sighed, wiping a tear from her wet cheek. She'd missed him. She regretted that he had lived so short life. She would have liked another child, only she couldn't. It was hard for her to carry, let alone give birth to Hiccup, and she couldn't handle another child. Gothi had told her before the first child that she might not survive. Neither of them might survive. But she stood her ground and had Hiccup with Stoick, her husband. But another child would have been fatal, so they both abandoned the idea.

Berk had no choice but to appoint Snotlout as his next successor as chief. He was the son of the Jorgensons, arrogant and selfish, and he didn't have much sense either. So the future of Berk was uncertain, more uncertain than ever.

A silent sob escaped Valka's throat as she remembered that night.

She had run among the fighting Vikings, trying not to hurt the dragons. Just like she always did. She hadn't been prepared for what had happened in their home in the meantime. Night Fury had gotten into their house through a hole created by one of his plasma blasts. When Valka saw it, she ran to protect Hiccup. She wasn't fast enough. Before she got halfway there, the dragon flew out and Hiccup's terrified, gradually fading screams echoed through the night.

Valka wanted to scream at the dragon until he let go of her son and returned from whence he came. She stood frozen in place, unable to move with shock. One of the creatures she had defended with all her might had just kidnapped her child. Her beloved son.

The memory hurt too much to hold it for just a moment longer. After a few months, she came to terms with it. It was life. As much as she wished she could see him one more time, touch him one more time, she was glad for him. At least he was at peace, living in peace. He didn't have to grow up in a world of struggle and suffering. She hoped that one day they would meet again in Valhalla.

~~~

Stoick was sitting in the forge on the only available chair. He watched his best friend at work. He was lost in his own thoughts and was grateful that for once Gobber had left him in comfortable silence. He listened to the regular clink of metal on metal.

He admired Valka for her calm head. She had gotten over the death of their son so quickly and smoothly that he couldn't believe it. Hadn't she missed him at all? No, he shouldn't have thought of that. Of course she missed him. She was grieving as much as he was right now. She was just much better at hiding it.

The night he found out what had happened, he was furious. He swore he would single-handedly kill every Night Fury he saw and every creature that even remotely resembled him. No dragon stood a chance against his fury. Not a single one. None would slip through his fingers. Never. Not after he lost him. Since he lost the little happiness in his life.

Just a few years after that, a group of teenagers were training at the Dragon Arena. It went like every year, smooth and fast. But that's just what everyone thought.

Stoick went to watch them train once. He had nothing interesting to do that day, so he went to relieve his burdened mind. What could spoil the joy of watching young Vikings fighting a single dragon? Nothing anyone would expect.

There was a risk of death right from the start. There was always a risk of death. But death was not expected to occur in harmless training. One of the teenagers, Josh, made a careless move. He got too close, without a shield. Moments later, there was a cry of pain. The spike of the Deadly nadder protruded from the boy's torso, which he couldn't avoid in time.

Everyone, including Stoick, rushed to help, but it was too late. He was long dead. There was nothing they could do. Deadly nadder's venom was too strong, too fast. The dragon didn't live to see another day.

The next day, Stoick called a meeting with several important families and Josh's parents. They argued for a long time before finally deciding to change the age of the young Vikings going into dragon training.

From then on, the Vikings trained at a much later age. Most of the village didn't like it. The consequences of this decision were long debated, but eventually everyone accepted it. It was within the safety of the temperamental Vikings. Within the framework of survival.

"Hello!" echoed in his ear.

Stoick looked around in confusion. The blacksmith was looking at him worriedly, one hand on his shoulder. Instead of the other, he had a hooked hook.

"I asked if you wanted to go to the Great Hall for a while. Have a few mugs of mead. You know, clear your head..." repeated the blacksmith.

"Yeah, sure... thanks Gobber," he replied with a smile. Going to clear his head sounded good. His friend always knew how to get him out of his gloomy thoughts.

The sound of dozens of voices floated through the Great Hall. On early evenings like this one, many of the villagers gathered to exchange a few words or even have a drink.

Stoick and Gobber sat down at a vacant table, paying no attention to anything else. They talked gloomily for a while, sipping from their alcoholic drinks. At an unexpected moment, traider Johann joined them. He had been anchored on Berk for a few days and was trading. The next morning he was about to sail away again.

In all that time, Stoick hadn't had the time or inclination to exchange a few words with him, so he hadn't heard any news yet. So he decided to take the opportunity to invite the traider to join them. He didn't need to do that though, Johann had long since invited himself to the table, already seated and looking as serious as ever.

"Ah! Chief Stoick! Pity we didn't have a chance to talk sooner. I suppose you have been busy?" He put the last sentence rather like a question.

"What's the news?" Stoick asked bluntly. He didn't like to beat around the bush. That was one of the reasons he didn't particularly like Johann, even though he carried valuable and quality goods.

"Usually I wouldn't say much, but lately stories have been starting to spread. Far away from here, just outside of this archipelago, a strange creature resembling a human was said to have been spotted. It was supposedly a long time ago, but it only started spreading a few months ago, probably because they saw it again. At the same time, word reached me that Viggo was on the trail of something. They say it's not a dragon, but it can't be human - that wouldn't make sense. So I decided to save you some time, and after much deliberation I concluded that it must be related to the strange creature. Whatever it is, I'd put my hand on my head that it's definitely something dangerous. Maybe even valuable. I can't wait to..."

"Enough, that's all I need to know," Stoick interrupted. He didn't want to hear another story at least three nights long. He cut him off before it could happen.

The news about Viggo was not good. He was a renowned dragon hunter, and if he was looking for something other than a dragon, that was really suspicious. And whatever it was, it wasn't good.