The Dragon Girl 6

After the boy had recovered from Striker’s lightning, everyone introduced themselves and their dragons.
The boy I shot was named Hiccup and his Nightfury was Toothless.
Astrid I knew already and her Nadder was named Stormfly.
Hellbore’s rider was named Snotlout.
I was still refusing to call my Nightmare brother by such a stupid name.
Meatlug the Gronckle was ridden by Fishlegs.
And the Zippleback named Barf and Belch was owned by Ruffnut and Tuffnut.
Hiccup also explained how he found and befriended Toothless and ended the war between dragons and Vikings almost two years ago now.
“Really? You defeated a Red Death?” I asked as I stared at the skinny boy in amazement, standing next to Striker. “No dragon has ever gone against a gigantic dragon like a Red Death and lived.”
“Yeah well……I didn’t make it out completely.” He said as he gestured to his prosthetic. “But losing a leg is better than…..well my life.”
“Very true.” I nodded. “And I think it’s wonderful that you helped Toothless to fly as he is missing half a tail fin. I’ve seen many a dragon die due to injuries to the tail or wing.” I said as I looked at the Nightfury’s miss matched tail. “How did that happen anyway?”
“I don’t honestly know.” Hiccup admitted. “I just found him like this. I never really noticed until I first found him in the cove, trying and failing to fly out of it.”
Toothless warbled a bit before he looked at me. “Can you….Can you really understand me? Understand us?”
I nodded to him. “As clearly as I understand your rider.”
The Nightfury nodded before shifting a bit. “I know how I lost my fin. It happened after Hiccup shot me with the bola. I came crashing down in the forest and upon impacting a tree, my tail caught on the broken wood. As I kept falling, the fin was ripped off. I didn’t know until I was trapped in the cove that it was gone.”
I nodded as Toothless explained. “It must have been terrifying for you. Being grounded, trapped in a cove and no dragon to save you.”
“More than I ever was in my life.” Toothless shuddered. “And it takes a lot to make me feel scared. And now that only happens when Hiccup is threatened. If something happens to him, I’m grounded again.”
“No Hiccup. No flight.”
“Exactly.” The Nightfury nodded.
“Okay seriously!” Snotlout then interrupted. “What in the name of Thor are you two talking about?!”
“Whether or not to toss you off a cliff.” I said as I rolled my eyes at him.
“Been there.” Ruffnut then said as he flopped over Belch’s head. “Done that.”
“At least over a hundred times.” Tuffnut said as she picked dirt out from under her nails as she sat on Barf’s saddled neck. “Kinda lost its amusement after that.”
I eyed the two curiously as they mentioned actually doing such an act.
Astrid then groaned. “They like getting into trouble and pulling pranks.”
“Ah. I see.” I nodded. “That does make sense.”
The blonde nodded before Fishlegs spoke up, his eyes wide with his unquenchable curiosity about my ability and my past.
“Do you remember anything about the island you were from?” He asked excitedly.
I shook my head. “No I don’t. I was only a baby. Mother told me that she did recall taking me from a snow covered island with tall peaks and that one such peak had a house on it, overlooking a village below.” I then sighed. “She hasn’t seen it again since. She tried to return me to the island once but could never find the island again. Course with mother being a Nadder, she gets easily distracted by either cleaning her scales or other shiny things.”
“That sounds a lot like Berk.” Astrid said then. “Our village elder lives on this really tall peak over the village.”
I looked at her in shock. “Village elder? I’ve heard those can be very wise and know many things others do not. Is this elder the same?”
“Well….she did figure out that early snow storm.” Hiccup said as he scratched his chin. “And that dragons are sickly allergic to Blue Oleander….”
Striker then shuddered. “Don’t remind me of that pesky flower. I stupidly keep eating them.”
I just smirked a bit at him as Hiccup continued.
“And what we needed to find to cure Eel Pox that was going around the island.” He also added with a bit of a smile.
“Oh!” Fishlegs blurted as he started looking excited again. “Maybe Gothi will know where you were from and who your parents are?!”
But I shook my head to that. “No thanks. I’m happy as I am with having dragons as family. I’d rather not know the idiot that stupidly thought leaving me in a barrel of fish was a smart idea to think of while dragons raided the village for food.”
“Seriously?! You’re parents left you in a fish barrel?” Astrid asked with shocked eyes.
“That’s how mom said she found me.” I nodded. “She said that after she snatched the fish barrel and returned to the nest, she’d smashed it open and I rolled out. She still believes I was no more than two when she took me under her wing.”
“How would she know that?” She asked as she then tilted her head a bit.
I shrugged. “Guessed I suppose. Course the village I saved Striker from was down below the nest. So she could have spent years watching the children there grow from infants and into the dragon slayers they would later become.”
Astrid nodded as she then reached out and stroked Stormfly’s scales. “Is Stormfly a relative to you as well?”
I shook my head. “Not that I know of. I knew everyone in the nest before it was raided by the village.”
Stormfly then purred at me. “I am not of your nest. I was born on the island where the Red Death held us all under her rule. And if Astrid wants to know, my hatch name was Rainclaw. But I don’t mind being called by the name she gave me.”
I nodded and recited everything to her rider.
“Rainclaw huh? Nice name.” Astrid smiled as she scratched under the Nadder’s chin.
“What about Meatlug?” Fishlegs then asked excitedly.
I then wondered if he was ever not excited about something.
The Gronckle roared to me the answer her rider wanted to know. As did the Zippleback a second later.
I chuckled a bit at how the dragons now had a means of communication to their riders. One of the joys of being me.
“Meatlug’s real name was Granite and the Zippleback’s was Sparkgas.” I said as I pointed at the mentioned dragons.
“And what about Toothless?” Hiccup asked as he placed a hand on the Nightfury’s head.
Said dragon roared his answer and I frowned a bit.
“He says he didn’t have a name before he met you.” I explained to him. “He was raised by the dragons in the Red Death’s nest and was only known as his breed name. Doesn’t even remember how he even got there. But he holds the name you gave him dearly and is glad that you snagged him with the bola that morning.”
Hiccup seemed to accept the answer and smiled at Toothless. “Me too bud.”
I smiled at the two before I heard a soft meep coming from Striker.
Turning I saw Tiana was on the saddle and stretching out her body and wings. She then shook herself off and smiled at me.
“Mammy!” she chirped happily as she then jumped off Striker, gliding to the ground and then landed.
She then was about to run over to me but immediately froze when she saw that we weren’t alone.
“Is…..is that?” Astrid asked breathlessly behind me.
Thinking fast, I quickly came up and grabbed Tiana before instinct told her to run and hide.
“Is that a baby Nightfury?” Hiccup then asked next.
Holding her close to me, I looked over my shoulder to see them all looking stunned and in shock.
“Yes.” I said with an edge in my voice. “She’s my daughter.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~Back on Berk~
“Uh…..Stoick?”
Turning around from directing fellow Vikings on rebuilding the catapult, the chief turned to see Gobber was behind him.
And standing next to him was the village elder, Gothi.
“Gobber? Gothi? What brings you two here?” Stoick asked as he looked between the two.
“Gothi’s got sumtin’ ta show ya.” The blacksmith said as he looked back the chief in shock.
Curious, Stoick then watched as the elder started drawing things in the dirt under them with her staff.
The first figure was Gothi’s well known symbol for a baby. But then she drew a taller figure next to the baby, the symbol of the Berserkers, and a tiny Strike class symbol.
Stoick looked over these symbols and as always, didn’t have a clue what was being written.
At seeing this, Gobber shifted nervously. “She says dat ya first born will return on de back of a Skrill and wit a tiny Nightfury.” He then looked at his friend in concerned. “Ah taught ‘iccup was ya first born?”
Stoick felt numb as he heard what the symbols translated to. He was so shaken that he had to fight hard to not collapse to his knees before his people. “No….no he isn’t.” he said softly as he stared at the taller figure. “He’s my second born. My first…..Thora…..my little girl….i thought her dead all these years…..” he then slowly looked up at Gothi. “Is my Thora really coming back? She’s been alive all this time?”
Gothi nodded with a soft smile and started scribbling more things in the dirt.
Gobber leaned over and translated. “She says dat little Thora has indeed been alive all dis time. She goes by a different name now and, in her visions, she’ll be returning to Berk…..” He then slowly looked up at his friend. “Today.”
“To….to-today?” Now Stoick really felt numb. “Thora is returning today? Of all days it’s today?!”
Gobber and Gothi nodded.
“Dat’s what she’s sayin’ Stoick.” The blacksmith said as he looked at the chief. “But what makes today sa special.”
“Today is Thora’s birthday Gobber!” Stoick said he then smiled. “Of all days, Odin is making it so my little girl returns home on her birthday!”
Gobber blinked before crossing his arms. “How old was de lass? I dun recall ya ‘aving a baby girl?”
“We weren’t friends back then Gobber.” Stoick said as he just couldn’t stop smiling. “You were still bitter against me for winning Valka as a wife. Thora was only two when she was taken from me by dragons. My fault really. I stupidly left her in a fish barrel, thinking she’d be safe during a dragon raid. Valka never let me live that down even after we had Hiccup and before I lost her.”
“Oh yeah. Ah remember da screamin’ matches ya two ‘ad now.” Gobber said as he scratched his chin. “She even made ya sleep outside wit da sheep a few times.”
“Aye. I remember.” Stoick nodded.
Gothi just smirked, recalling those rough two years before Hiccup was born.
“So what are ya gonna do when she returns?” The blacksmith then asked of the chief.
Stoick’s joy at hearing his daughter was coming home then blew up in his face.
Thora was only two years old when that green Nadder took the barrel he foolishly left her in. If anything, he knew that she wouldn’t even know who he was.
What sort of life did she have after being taking from him? Did someone else find and care for her? And this Skrill? Did she too become like Hiccup and tamed the impossible? And what of this baby Nightfury that was with the figure meant to be Thora?
There were so many questions going through the chief’s head that it was making him dizzy.
Shaking off the wonderings of his daughter, Stoick then sighed.
“I’ll approach her slowly.” He then said. “Get to know her and what’s become of her.” Sighing, he then adjusted his helmet. “And pray to the gods that she has some sort of memory of me as her father.”
Gothi nodded but hid a disappointed frown.
What she wasn’t telling Stoick was that it was going to be an incredibly trying time for him to get anywhere near his long lost daughter. One to where a future of father and daughter being together again was hanging on a very fragile thread.