Come Darkness, Come Light

Chapter 6 - It's The Little Things

A/N: This chapter will be formatted differently than the others. It was the best idea I had for making a time skip without totally leaving you in the dark. The age at the top of each section is how old Hiccup is at that point in time. I hope you enjoy! Also, huge shoutout to those of you who followed, favorited, and reviewed! It gives me an extra bit of motivation to keep writing, so thanks!

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD, but I can dream, right?

11 MONTHS

VALKA'S POV

When Hiccup first began crawling, it was almost impossible to make him pause for even a second. All he wanted to do was explore, which in a normal setting would've been fine. Except, this wasn't a normal setting. We lived in a mountain, with cliffs and dark tunnels and rough terrain. I had to keep a close eye on him every minute of the day, afraid that if I looked away for merely an instant he'd crawl right over the cliff edge.

Now, he'd finally started walking, which just made things even more difficult. The urge to wander was still strong within him, but now he could move even faster. I often found myself chasing after him down one of the tunnels. It was like his sole mission in life was to make me worry. Thank the gods for Toothless. He was at Hiccup's side every step of the way, encouraging him to walk while at the same time corralling him away from anything dangerous.

It wasn't until a month after he learned to walk that I noticed his tendency to crawl—not on his hands and knees like before, but on his hands and feet. It reminded me greatly of the way a dragon walks. Toothless was unaware that once human babies start walking on two legs, they don't stop. The little Night Fury kept nudging Hiccup along, motivating him to move around, and reacting with just as much excitement when he crawled on all fours as when he walked upright on two legs.

I decided to step in, and lifted Hiccup to his feet whenever he tried to crawl, encouraging him to walk normally. Sometimes he'd fuss or throw a bit of a tantrum, but I didn't give up. He would thank me one day.

18 MONTHS

VALKA'S POV

I can't believe it. He bit me. He actually bit me.

I winced as I ran my hand under the steady stream of ice water, washing away the blood that had welled up. My gaze slid over to Toothless, who was still wrapped around Hiccup. My son was fast asleep, the commotion somehow not waking him. Toothless was eyeing me warily, waiting for my next move.

Things had seemed perfectly normal. Our routine had been the same for months: wake up, eat breakfast, then playtime. I'd just woken up a few minutes ago, and went to rouse Hiccup so I could feed him. This time, though, as soon as I'd reached out my hand, Toothless had growled defensively and snapped at me. Not the playful nips I was used to, but a full on bite. He was twice the size he'd been a year ago, his jaws much more powerful, and it hurt.

I grabbed a clean piece of cloth from the table and wrapped my hand, hoping it didn't get infected, then faced the Night Fury with crossed arms. "You wanna tell me what that was about?" I questioned. He ducked his head at my reprimanding tone, curling even tighter around Hiccup. I sighed, walking over to him slowly so he didn't lash out again. "Toothless, I don't get it. He's my son, I would never hurt him. You know that." His expression was appropriately guilty, at least. "We're a family, right?" I continued, holding out my uninjured hand. His eyes flickered up as he flashed me his signature puppy dog look, and he leaned forward to lick my palm. I figured that was his way of apologizing.

This scenario is what I'd been dreading from the start. Toothless was growing, and while I was happy he was still fiercely protective of Hiccup, I didn't want him to think of me as the enemy. It was clear that he had some pretty aggressive instincts, but I was determined to help shape him into the best version of himself.