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epilogue, i
this is new berk

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    ONCE, ONLY ONCE, every year at a very special time, a very happy chill settled upon the island of New Berk. Where their island, which was located close to the ends of the earth, stood tall above rock fortresses covered in mounds of snow. The beautiful waterfalls were all sheets of ice, the caverns now windy glaciers and the cliffs and cliffs of bountiful woodland now a white winter wonderland. A place where frostbite, at this time of year, was a definite and everyone huddled in their warmest furs by the fire, doing their best to make sure their children stayed on Odin's good list▬and never his naughty. 

     For this was New Berk at Snoggletog, the greatest time of the year (why they chose such a stupid name remains a mystery). They had bright, holiday lights! And▬oh▬such great hunting songs (for you would be surprised how great the Vikings of the Hooligan Tribe were at singing). Everyone loved the holiday shopping▬where their markets had anything for anyone: how about a new festive mace? A club to clobber their neighbour's head with? The axes ... which, were asking a little to much for that quality at that price ... And of course, no one could forget the brave Yaknog shooters who tested how much▬and how long▬they could survive the horrid taste (but, please do not mention to the Chief's wife they use her favourite homemade beverage or face the consequences of her hammer!).

     There was only one thing missing.

     Dragons. 

    It has been ten years since the Vikings and dragons agreed to live apart. But that does not mean they forgot their favourite, flying friends. They were still very much apart of their living memory. 

    And in the Haddock Household, the Snoggletog cheer was very much in the air. 

    As the warm fire crackled and spat in the hearth, set out in a very sweet and comfortable home decorated with seasonal reefs and lit candles (and many, many flowers), Valkyrie Haddock found herself standing a little lost in the centre of the main room. She frowned, glancing around. The Chieftess of Berk was a beautiful woman, that was for sure▬some would say she has not aged a day past twenty with her wonderful, long auburn waves that twisted off her face into two braids littered with lovely flowers. Snoggletog was the only time in the Viking year where Valkyrie of the Haddock Clan was an almost uncontrollable burst of happy energy. Every other day, she was a fierce, but understanding woman▬yet, one you should not mess with. And yes, you should never mess with Valkyrie Haddock during the holidays, but as soon as the Snoggletog preparations began, it would seem as if she had aged herself back in time to a young, bright and bouncy girl who was out of the door of her home, all smiling and laughing and wishing everyone, "Happy Snoggletog!" at the top of her lungs. 

    And, of course, as soon as Snoggletog preparations began, also came Valkyrie Haddock's homemade favourite (disgusting: Yaknog!

    She huffed, a little annoyed and confused as she did another spin around her home. Valkyrie hefted up her shield tray full of freshly made mugs of Yaknog. "Boys?" she called out into the home. "Boys, where'd you go?" she walked across the fur rug, arching a brow at all the crevices and corners she could see. She ducked as low as she could to check under the nearby table and shuffled close to check the lump underneath the leather covers on the seats to make sure it was a pillow and not her youngest (that fell asleep almost everywhere). Valkyrie pulled it up and sighed, exasperated when it was neither, but one of her husband's fur hoods he had just left lying around. She picked it up and placed it on the table, right under his nose to make sure he definitely put it away this time. 

    "Boys?" she called out again, making her way back to the centre of the room. She propped her free hand on her hip as well. "Leiv? Kåre? Come on out▬I've made some fresh Yaknog! Your favourite▬!" she held up the shield with a bright and happy grin. "It smells so good!" 

    When Valkyrie didn't get any answers, she jutted her hip out, rather confused. Where were they? She huffed again, trying to think. "Where are you?" she asked loudly before listening carefully, hoping to hear one of their stifled giggles. Kåre was notorious for them. "Hmm ... let me think ..." she swayed on her feet, walking ridiculously around the hearth. She pursed her lips, getting closer to the seats. "Are you hiding behind here ... ha!" she jumped out around, expecting to find the two of them huddling together behind the back of the largest chair. Valkyrie stood up straight, startled to see that they were not. "Huh ..." she murmured, perplexed. "Okay ... Well ... how about here▬?!"

    She jogged across the room to check behind the Windstriker tapestry that had been bulging. Only to be disappointed as she realised that it was only the wind of the open window. Valkyrie sighed and heaved it down to keep it shut, not wanting the winter wind to snuff out the warm flames inside. 

    "Where are you?" she asked her sweet boys, though more to herself than anyone. Valkyrie Haddock pouted slightly, a little upset she couldn't find them and give them big bear hugs. Slowly, she wandered back to the cupboards▬and as she walked past the hallway, she did not see the two boys hunched up, shoulder-to-shoulder, beside the rich, dark wood desk. Leiv, a courageous and energetic seven-year-old, kept his hand over his younger brother's mouth as he peered out the side, checking where their mother had gone. Tuffs of bright red curls poked out amongst intricate etching designs their father had done himself. He carefully set his stuffed Zephyr toy on the top of the desk amongst other decorative things and Snoggletog flowers. They all sat beneath a wall filled with all of their father's dragon's old tails. 

     "Did she see us?" asked little Kåre, no older than five.

     "Shh!" his older brother told him, pressing a finger to his lips. The youngest, a boy who had everything Frode about his hair and everything else of his father in features hunched up, startled. He stayed very still, not even risking a breath. "Or she might hear us."

     "Leiv?" called their mother, glancing around. The seven-year-old boy quickly ducked back in beside his brother. "Kåre? Come on, where are you? You guys will love Yaknog! Your father and I love it▬it's really, really tasty! Come on, have a sip of holiday cheer!" 

     Simultaneously, the brothers spat out a matching shudder of disgust at the very thought. They hated their mum's Yaknog. 

     "Yuck!" let out Kåre as his brother took his hand away. Leiv agreed very much. 

     "Come on," continued Valkyrie, trying her very best to persuade them out. "You better be quick! Or all of it will be gone! You don't want to miss Muma's homemade Yaknog!"

    "Where is she?" whispered Kåre, trying to push himself forward so he could see, too.

    "Hey!" his older brother complained, pushing him back. "Don't! Mum will see▬!"

    "Don't push me▬!"

    "▬I'm not pushing you▬!"

    "▬I'll tell mum▬"

    "▬if you tell mum she will see us, Kåre! Stop being dumb▬"

    "▬then▬then▬" the five-year-old grew flustered as he tried to think of what word he was trying to say. He huffed and he puffed before lightly stamping his foot. When he couldn't figure out what he wanted, he started to jut out his bottom lip. It began to tremble. Leiv's eyes widened. 

    "No, no, no, no▬" the seven-year-old took his brothers shoulders and shook him, very ignorantly thinking that would stop him. "Don't cry. Don't cry▬don't cry!"

    Kåre hiccuped. He sniffled. His eyes began to water. And then, to Leiv's horror, his younger brother hefted a big breath and wailed, "DAAAAAAAAAAAADDDD▬!"

    "NOOO!" Leiv whined, reaching out to smack his shoulder. Kåre screamed at that, smacking his brother back. 

    "DAAAAD▬!" continued to scream Kåre as he and his brother argued back and forth. "DAD! LEIV HURT ME!"

    "I'M DIDN'T! MUUUMMMMM▬KÅRE IS HITTING ME▬!"

     Immediately, the Yaknog forgotten, Valkyrie gasped and set it down. She rushed down the hallway, cursing to the gods silently▬wondering why they made her sons so argumentative. "Hey! Hey!" she let out, making her way to them. "Hey▬cut it out! Stop it, both of you▬!"

     At the same time, feet pounded down the stairs. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third▬Chieftain of the Hooligan Tribe of New Berk, let out a long sigh at the sight of which they have seen many too times. He wasn't too sure where their children got their stubborns and the classic Viking need to argue▬he will say it was from Valkyrie, she will say it was from him. The Chief of New Berk was a man who still wasn't quite as strong, or as broad as most of the Vikings here. He did not have the stout, hefty belly. Nor did he have the gruff, vicious voice▬but he very much did have a Viking beard these days. 

    He reached the bottom floor of the home, skidding along the wood with one fur boot and one metal leg. Hiccup huffed, waving his hands out in wild gestures, "Hey, hey, hey! Boys, boys, boys▬" he was at his wife's side in a manner of moments, reaching in and pulling Kåre up as he kicked his brother's shins. It was Leiv's turn to burst into tears, now, screaming: "MUUUUUUMMMM▬!"

      "Hey!" Hiccup tugged his youngest up into his arms, holding the mostly sweet five-year-old who definitely had a fire behind his green eyes. "Hey. What have I said about kicking your brother?"

     "And what have I said," Valkryie propped her hands on her hips, scowling lightly sound at Leiv who immediately went to hug her leg, "about pushing Kåre around?"

     "Mum," the seven-year-old whined, "my leg hurts!"

    Kåre just stuck out his tongue. Hiccup frowned at him, "Hey▬" he lightly squeezed the boys cheeks and he squirmed, pulling away, "▬we don't make faces. You don't want the wind to change and for your face to be stuck like that forever!"

    Leiv stopped crying to stare up at his father. As his mother tried to flatten his hair, he only ruffled it to mess it up more. "That's not real!" he told his father. "That's just an old crone's tale."

    Hiccup gaped at him, "And who told you that?"

    "Everyone," he argued. "That is what you tell kids. I am not a kid anymore. That is just a story and I know it's not real because I'm a big Viking now!"

    "What?" Hiccup ruffled his sons hair, too. Valkyrie smiled. "Who is everyone? Because I know all of my stories are very much real."

     "Your father's right," Valkyrie pinched Leiv's cheeks and he pushed her hands away. "Your Uncle Snotlout's face got changed in the wind, and now he will look like a squished snotpig for the rest of his life!"

    "Ewww!" chorused the boys together. Valkyrie snickered to herself, glancing over at Hiccup to which he saw she was very proud of her insult. 

     "All right, all right," Hiccup fixed his hold of Kåre up higher in his arms. "How about we all come to the fire and I will tell you a story that is definitely true."

    And just like that, the boys forgot about their little fight. Their faces lit up with excitement. Leiv gasped and jumped on his feet, his leg suddenly perfectly healed. "Yes! Yes!" he clapped his hands and started off at a run to the rug by the fire. "Tell a story about Zephyr, Dad! I wanna hear about Zephyr!"

    "No!" said Kåre. "I wanna hear about Toothless!" He still couldn't pronounce all of his syllables well, and so the young boys sentences often became a splutter▬especially whenever he tried to say Toothless and it ended up sounding more like: 'Toof-ess'. "Talk about Toothless! Toothless! Toothless!"

    Hiccup laughed, his chest growing warm without the need of a home fire. "Okay," he relented, squeezing the boy in his arms. "I will tell you stories about both, how does that sound?"

    "Yay!" cheered Kåre and Valkyrie chuckled, walking over to the fire with them. She gently tapped Leiv's shoulder to make him sit down and he did so eagerly, hugging his knees close. Hiccup set their youngest down beside him and the two brothers watched their father with rapt attention. 

    "I remember," Hiccup began slowly and bit back a smile when both boys shuffled closer, anticipating the story with lively hearts. Valkyrie hugged her chest, watching them with such sweet endearing love, "every Snoggletog I would get Toothless a present."

    "Whoa," breathed Kåre. "You got dragon's presents?"

    "Yeah," nodded his father, "and he'd get me one, too."

    "Whoa! Really?"

    Leiv rocked back and forth, excited on the rug, "What present did you get him, Dad?"

    "Well," Hiccup crouched down slightly, "every Snoggletog Eve..."

    "Yeah?" breathed the boys, hanging onto his every word.

    Their father gestured up to the top of the fire, where sat an empty plate sat ready, surrounded by candles and flowers, "I'd make Toothless his favourite meal."

    "What was it?" asked Kåre.

    "Lake trout▬"

    "Yeah..."

    "▬with a side of sea trout▬"

    "▬yeah▬!"

    "▬on a bed of brook trout."

    Leiv grinned, crossing his legs, "We all like trout!"

    "And even though he's gone," Hiccup smiled at them, "I still make it for him. A lot of families do stuff like his. It keeps our loved ones in our hearts, even though they're far away." His eyes found Valkyrie's that stood behind their two boys, and she sent him a sweet, little smile▬and still, no matter how many years passed, she was still as beautiful as she has always been. 

    He turned back to Leiv and Kåre. "So!" he set his hands on his hips. "You boys want to help me catch some fish?"

   "Good on ya!" Leiv leapt to his feet, thrilled by this idea. "We're gonna feed Toothless! I don't need a fishing pole, Dad!" he started to punch the air. His brother watched him with wide-eyes. "I'll just butt the wee fishes with me own head!" 

    With that said, he charged straight to the wooden walls. Hiccup winced a little the moment his head butted the oak. Valkyrie sighed out a happy, proud smile. "Ow," said Leiv. He charged again. Thud! "Ow!"

    He chuckled, shaking his head. Valkyrie and Hiccup shared a glance as he came to stand beside her. She briefly rested her head on his shoulder as they watched Leiv play, the smile never once leaving her lips. 

    Hiccup hugged his wife close, pressing a sweet kiss to her temple before stepping away, "Come on, boys▬" he nudged Kåre back up onto his feet. "Let's get Toothless a snack."

     "Toothless!" called Kåre and followed after him at a run. His older brother wasn't far behind. Hiccup grabbed the fishing pole off the wall and started to make his way to the front door. 

    He was excited▬very excited about making a traditional dragon feast with his children. And it was then, with that on his mind, that it hit him▬

    THWAM!

    Hiccup let out a strangled cry as he was thrown sideways into the snow. He groaned, clutching his side as he struggled to sit up, not expecting such a sudden attack. His family reached the open door, and Valkyrie frowned, incredulous at the swinging log of wood attached to a rope that hung down from the balcony overhead. At the sight of it, Leiv grinned and immediately jumped onto the top of it. He held on, laughing as it swung back and forth. 

     Kåre hugged his mother's leg, gazing around with a confused, little frown. "Dad?" he called, wondering why he was sitting in the snow. 

    (It hit him that perhaps not everyone was on board).

    "Haha!" a figure popped out from the snow. "Yes! Take that, Dad!"

    The eldest child of the Haddock family crawled out of the hiding place in the snow she had made herself. Dusting off her skirt and tunic, Linnea Haddock rushed forward with a bright, proud grin on her face. The twelve-year-old kicked some snow as she celebrated, marvelling in her contraption she made herself. Hiccup stared, a little shocked. 

     Valkyrie reached out a hand to stop the log from swinging anymore. "Nea?" she called, unsure. "Honey, what are you doing?"

     Linnea jumped down onto the stone pathway right outside their house. She propped her hands on her hips, gazing at the contraption with a gaze very much like her fathers. The eldest Haddock was a perfect mix with pretty auburn waves and sweet, intelligent green eyes. She was small▬petite, for her age; a little Hiccup. "I am testing my dragon defence system!" she told them proudly. "You and all the adults in New Berk are leaving them snacks. What if one shows up?"

    Hiccup frowned at her. He pushed himself out of the snow and walked up to her. He set his hand on her head and she glanced up, "But that would be great, Linnea," he said. "We love dragons."

    She made a face as he started to pick snow out of her hair. "But why?" she asked. Valkyrie blinked, started by the question. "They're monsters."

    Their parents shared a troubled glance▬both of them were very surprised. A quiet exchange passed between the two of them. Did you do this? Valkyrie seemed to ask him to which Hiccup blanched and quickly shook his head. What? No! Why would I do this? 

    Valkyrie slowly turned back to her daughter, "Who ... who told you that, honey?"

   "I found a book," said Linnea Haddock, starting off at a march back inside. "And it shows the truth about all of the dragons. I'll show you!"

    Hiccup and Valkyrie shared another troubled glance before they followed their children into the house. Linnea took them all the way up the stairs into her bedroom, a determined stride in her smaller steps. They passed old drawings, hanged saddles, artworks made from old shedded dragon scales▬there was nothing in this house that could ever possibly show any of their kids that dragons could ever be monsters, Valkyrie and Hiccup were both concerned how their eldest, Linnea, who their dragons both adored, could ever come to such a conclusion. And they were very sure that no one else here, on New Berk▬none of her cousins, her grandparents, her uncles nor her aunts, ever breathed a bad word about their old scaly friends. 

    Until Linnea reached under her bed and dragged out an old, thick-bound leather book. She slammed it down on her fur covers and looked her parents with a steely eye. Her brothers peered around the threshold of the door. Leiv clutched his father's fishing pole to his chest. Valkyrie's gaped a little to recognise the etchings on the front of the manuscript▬their daughter had found the Book of Dragons. 

    "Look!" she opened it up and flicked through it page by page. And it showed plenty of ferocious descriptions▬dragons eating Vikings, dragons baring rows and rows of rotating teeth, Skrills that pulsed with lighting, Monstrous Nightmares that could light their entire bodies on fire, sly Speed Stingers, gory Grim Gnashers, dreadful Death Grippers, Fearsome Flightmares▬every dragon that they had ever found and trained, but never once did they think that someone would take their many written notes and take them with a breath of terror.

    Once Linnea was finished, she slammed the book closed and both her parents hunched up, letting out long, awkward chuckles. 

    "I found this in the attic," she told them. "It was Grandpa's▬but it has your names in it. How come you never told us the truth about dragons?"

     Valkyrie stammered. She turned to her husband, hoping he'd come up with some explanation to change Linnea's misguided discovery. Hiccup chuckled again. He scratched at his beard, "I▬uh▬but we did!" he said, not too sure how to take the accusing scowl their eldest was sending them right now. "Dragons are wonderful. They're our friends."

    She arched a challenging brow. "Really?" she set the book aside. "Well, are they giant?"

    Hiccup frowned, "Well ... yeah."

   "Do they have razor-sharp teeth?"

    "Uh▬"

    "They breathe fire, don't they?"

    Valkyrie winced, "Well ... I suppose so, but▬"

    "And they have claws▬"

   "▬That'd be a yes▬"

    "▬What happened to your leg▬?"

    "▬Oh!" Hiccup stressed. He didn't know how to explain that one. "Oh▬uh▬well..."

     Linnea scoffed. She pushed herself back off her bed, satisfied with their answers. "Exactly," she said. "That's what I thought. Maybe we shouldn't leave fish snacks around to attract them. Because you know who doesn't want to be some dragon's dessert? Me!"

    She stormed past and back to her brothers watching by the door, "Leiv, Kåre, do you guys want to be dessert for a dragon?"

    The boys shared dumfounded looks. Then, Leiv pursed his lips▬soon, he decided. "Uh ... I think I don't." He dropped the fishing pole before cheering: "Let's kill the dragons!"

    "Kill dragons!" echoed Kåre and the two boys ran off after their sister. 

    Valkyrie and Hiccup watched them go, too stunned to move. 

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    THAT EVENING, the excitement to prepare for Snoggletog Eve had disappeared. Valkyrie had to watch her children laugh and play as they tried their best to make sure their house was dragon-proof▬they ran after each other, they fought with wooden sticks and tackled, pretending they were defeating the dragons that threatened New Berk. She was so taken aback, all she could do was let them, not even sure how to explain to them that it was the complete opposite. 

    Hiccup was beside himself. He sat by the fire on the deck outside, watching Leiv roar defiantly and attack his sister who was still small enough to be completely barrelled over into the snow (and she was furious because of it). He sighed, unable to believe how it had come to this. The one thing he never wanted was their children to forget about the dragons▬to never know how important and wonderful they were. And they tried. They talked about them, told them stories, celebrated the dragons in their everyday life▬in the home and throughout the village. But to hear Linnea hold such fear for the dragons that had loved her just as much as she loved them, it hurt him. 

    Valkyrie sighed and took the seat beside him, shivering a little before she held her hands out to the open fire. She arched a brow, dubious at Leiv who was now head butting Linnea in the arm. Kåre joined in, and she snapped at them, annoyed. 

    Pursing her lips, the Chieftess rubbed her husbands arm, seeing the furrow of his brows. 

    "How did this happen?" he then asked her. She sighed, shaking her head. 

    "I don't know," muttered Valkyrie. She started to search through his hair to make a new braid. "It wasn't like▬I mean, we never wrote anything bad about the dragons in that book, right? We wanted to make sure something like this didn't happen." 

     "I know I didn't," Hiccup flung his hands up and Valkyrie had to lean back to avoid being smacked. She huffed, though she was very much used to it by now. "Who knows what Snotlout added▬or the Twins."

    Valkyrie snorted. "They never opened that book up once."

     "Val," sighed her husband as she began to braid the hair at the nape of his neck. "Our ancestors were terrified of dragons because they didn't know them. We cannot let our kids go down that road. I mean▬Nea's almost the age we were when we first started to train the dragons▬"

    "Oh, don't say that," Valkyrie shook her head, closing her eyes. She was horrified at the thought of her little girl growing up. "Don't▬please don't say that. It makes me feel old. Just yesterday she was five and was still small enough to sit on my shoulders▬oh, remember when she got her first axe? It was so tiny▬she used to be so tiny▬"

    "Val," Hiccup stopped her before she went on a long tangent and end up very emotional. 

    "Sorry," she mumbled. She finished his braid and sighed, trying to think. The two of them watched Kåre run towards them with a bunch of sticks in his arms. Hiccup quickly reached out to snag the one that he was about to light on fire, telling him: "No." 

     "Dad!" he whined but his attention quickly switched when Leiv called his name. He dropped the sticks and ran towards him. 

    And then, just like that, Valkyrie had an amazing idea. Her breath hitched, finding herself quite the genius, "I know!" she exclaimed, standing up. Hiccup watched her, intrigued. "Remember when we were kids back in Old Berk▬how we used to put on a pageant at Snoggletog?"

     Behind her, Kåre and Leiv returned. Together, they were heaving out one of their mother's axes by the hilt. It dragged on the wood. Hiccup sighed, not even wanting to know what they were going to use it for. 

     "Yeah," he shrugged, watching Valkyrie continue to warm her fingers over the fire. "Those were fun."

     "What if we brought the pageant back?" suggested his wife. "We show the children of New Berk how Vikings and dragons became friends?"

     Hiccup leapt to his feet. Hope filled his chest and he grinned. "That's brilliant!" he told her and she smiled, shrugging a shoulder as if to say, yeah, I know. 

    "No!" Linnea ordered somewhere in the snow to her brothers. "We need a bigger axe!"

     The Chief then sighed, some problems coming to mind. "But we've only got four days until Snoggletog," he said, crossing his arms thoughtfully. "Three if you don't count Black Plague Friday."

     Valkyrie sighed in agreement. "You're right," she murmured. "Nothing gets done. Everyone's either coughing or shopping. Or both."

    "More spikes!" 

     "I got a lot of spikes!"

     "We need more spikes, Leiv!"

     "Fine!"

     Hiccup continued to consider her idea. Soon, he smiled at her and held her arms gently. He gave them a rub, "I think we can do this," he said and she smiled, too. "Let's talk to Gobber."

     "It's going to be great," she assured him. "They're going to love it."

    Her husband's gaze was gentle. Valkyrie closed her eyes, happy when he kissed her forehead, grateful. 

    The sudden childish roar made her glance over. Valkyrie beamed, delighted despite it all to see Leiv with a dragon head he and his siblings must have made all together. He charged to the door where another log of wood struck out. Leiv hit the pillow tied to it head on and went flying back into the snow. Linnea and Kåre appeared out from behind, giggling. 

     Leiv threw his hands up from where he lied in the snow, laughing, "You got me!"      

      Valkyrie hugged her stomach, smiling so wide her cheeks hurt. She nodded to Hiccup, "Kid can take a hit, can't he?"

      But when she realised he was no longer there to chuckle with her, the smile on her face dropped. Valkyrie's brows lifted when she found him standing at the deck edge. He sighed to himself, setting his arms on the fence post▬he slumped forward as he gazed outwards to the night sky, and she knew exactly who he was thinking about. A sadness weighed down in her chest, too, knowing that if she looked up right now, Zephyr would not be there, either. 

     She sighed. Gently, she walked up to him, "Hey," she murmured once she reached his shoulder. Hiccup glanced at her and breathed a sweet smile when she settled right against him. "You okay?"

     "Yeah, yeah," he told her. "It's just ... you know, all this talk of dragons just ... kind of makes me miss him."

      Valkyrie pursed her lips and slipped her arms around his, resting her cheek tenderly on his shoulder. She missed them, too. She missed Zephyr▬even now, ten years later. Even though she was going to spend most of her life without him, she knew that in those five years, he had become a very important part of it. And sometimes, still, he expected to see his face push through the window of her bedroom, waking her up for a morning flight. Or to remind herself not to gather extra eggs because he wasn't there for her to give them to him. She missed him in the small things▬going through her day and remembering how she used to have someone else with her that would do these things, too. She missed the companionship that Zephyr gave. She always will.

    "I know," she murmured sadly, looking up to the stars with him. She felt Hiccup rest his head against hers. "I miss them, too."

     His hand reached out to cover hers around his arm. He brushed her knuckles. "I wonder if Toothless ever misses me..."

     "He does," whispered Valkyrie, and the tone was bittersweet. "And I know Zeph misses me. It's what family does, wherever we are. We never stop loving each other."

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    a/n: their children are so. god dam. chaotic bahahah!

    they're grown up. they're so grown up. THEY'RE SO GROWN UP DON'T EVEN-

    it's gonna feel so weird writing this and then jumping back in time when they were younger again I-

    also leiv is definitely suffering from middle child craziness. linnea is all big sister mode and kåre is just shy youngest who can also can go crazy. 

    here's a quick drawing of them but like omg hiccup and val have three kids no I can't handle it. 

    LINNEA AND KÅRE LITERALLY HAVE THE SAME STARE THAT WASN'T EVEN PLANNED-

    Leiv looks so bad I'm sorry Leiv I didn't mean that you are so cute.

    linnea looks so much like val when she was younger don't even *sobs*

    Leiv is such a perfect mix tho. he's got so much valkyrie in him but as he grows up he starts to look so much like hiccup, too. (he's got stoick's hair-)

    i can't get over how linnea is so hiccup but just looks so much like val. I promise you, I didn't even plan it. I just know these characters and their features so much that putting them together in kids just came so natural... *sobs*