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━━ chapter twelve
a chief protects his own, ii

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BREATHLESS.

Breathless silence.

That's what Valkyrie could describe it as. Like someone had torn the sound, and voice from her and crushed it right before her eyes; she couldn't speak, she couldn't make a sound━she felt sunken in deep, suffocating waters, unable to move, or do anything other than stare as it all slowly started to dawn on her ... what had happened.

The others faltered in their flight beside her, gaze's dropping; Ruffnut's hands flew to her mouth, eyes already welling up with tears as her brother clung onto his hair━they were waiting for Stoick to move; to do something ... to get up, brush the ice off his shoulders, fix his helmet and declare: it's takes more than a little fire to kill me!

But he didn't.

He was still━still in a way that made Valkyrie's chest hollow.

"No ..." whispered Astrid, cheeks paler than the snow around them.

Stoick's son was thrown a few paces away, dazed and bruised. He pushed himself onto his elbows, trying to gather his bearings━he looked over and saw his father; and Toothless, who's mouth was gaping in heaving smoke, still aglow with blue. He didn't look like the Toothless they knew. He looked ... he looked wild, and dangerous━the Night Fury they were told to fear before they met him.

Hiccup's eyes widened. "N━No," his voice was caught in the back of his throat. He scrambled to his feet, stumbling and tripping towards his father's still body. He pushed the shards of ice off him. He pulled at his arms. He tugged, trying to turn him over. "Dad!" he cried, only to fall back━he couldn't pull the mass weight of Stoick the Vast. "Dad!"

Valkyrie's throat began to ache━begging for breath, but she couldn't give it any. Her gasp was stuck; trapped in this horrible silence━forced to watch Hiccup cling his hands around his father's huge arms and fail to pull him over, getting more and more desperate each time he tried.

Valka skidded to a stop on the ice, and her whole figure dropped like a wilted flower. "Stoick..."

She helped him and they finally got the ice off and pulled the chief to lie on his back. Valkyrie's throat grew so painful it felt like she was trying to swallow a rock whole. Her eyes were blurry with oncoming tears, and yet she waited for an answer━there was still some hope as Hiccup leaned over Stoick, hands shaking when he saw no movement in his face. "D━Dad?" Valka pressed her ear to his chest. Valkyrie's stomach rolled, flipped upside down━come on ... she prayed, please ... even though each and every one of them knew it was hopeless, they still waited; they still waited━

But all of that faded away when Valka turned to her son, gaunt and he froze. He shook his head, lip trembling. He could barely get his voice out, whispering a hoarse, "N━no..."

Hearing the Bewilderbeast growl and turn away, Valkyrie was snapped from her stunned silence. She pushed through her tears and her shakes to swallow a sob and dip Zephyr back down, desperate to reach Hiccup━to hold him, to just━

Toothless shook out of his trance, and tilted his head. His eyes returned to their gorgeous, gentle round gaze, and a warble cracked from his throat as he took in what was before him.

"No, no, no, no," Hiccup shook his father's body, but when he still didn't move, he fell. Shoulders slumping forward, his head hit his father's chest.

Zephyr reached the ground and Valkyrie leapt off. Her ankles jarred at the impact onto the snow, but she sprinted over nonetheless. She fell to her knees at her husband's side, arms around him. His sobs raked through his body and it made her break.

Valkyrie didn't know what to do other than to hold onto him, tight. Her gaze flickered across Stoick's lifeless body ... her father-in-law ... to Valka who was in tears at her son's other side. They shared a silent moment, an understanding of who Valkyrie was before Valka hung her head. Gobber walked up. With trembling fingers, he took off his helmet and his breath caught painfully.

Val did her best to keep her own tears back, for Hiccup's sake. Wrapping her arms tighter around him, she pressed a strong kiss on his head amongst the ice in his hair. He held a hand up, gripping her own with such a tight hold she wondered whether the tips of her fingers had turned blue. She shuffled closer, gazing down at her father-in-law. Choking back a sob, she reached up for the final flower in her braid; the only one left ...

With nimble fingers, Valkyrie took it and set it into the red tuffs of hair at Stoick's ear. The flower petals didn't break; they drooped against his cheek, but they stayed together. A flower for bravery; a flower for strength; an Astrantia that still held his beauty, even in death.

Valkyrie closed her eyes, leaning against Hiccup's head as she rubbed his back, finally letting her own tear fall.

Stoick the Vast was supposed to be the bravest of them all. The strongest Viking. Chief of the tribe━he was supposed to be invincible. He survived dragon raids, fires, the Red Death by foot. He held no fear, no regret. He was strong, and he was kind, and he was ... how was something like this even possible?

But that was the truth; no one was invincible, not even Stoick the Vast. And it was a shock to his son the most out of all of them. It was more than a shock; it was a blade pierced into his heart and twisted right down to his gut. It was more than that. He didn't lose just a chief; he lost his father. His only family for twenty years. His father.

Toothless cowered, whimpering towards the fallen chief; he finally understood what he had done. He sniffed at his limp hand, and nudged his snout━desperate. He begged for him to wake up, for everything to be okay ... but it wasn't. Hiccup saw, and his face grew livid. He shoved out of Valkyrie's hold to plant his hands on his dragons' head and push him away with all his might.

"NO!" he cried. "Get away from him!"

Toothless jumped back, startled. He hunched down, eyes wide like a scolded child ... but this was different, and he could tell. Valkyrie didn't know what she felt━or what to think. Toothless had killed Stoick; but was it his fault? She couldn't even begin to imagine what went through Hiccup's mind right now: betrayal, greif━his whole world crashing down around him like the ice of the mountain.

The Night Fury whined━a question, maybe an apology towards his best friend, but Hiccup grinding his teeth and sobbed, "Go on! Get out of here!" Toothless stepped forward again. Hiccup wouldn't let him. He grabbed a piece of ice and chucked it; hard. Toothless helped and scurried back. "GET AWAY!"

With a cry, Toothless ran back to the others. He hid behind Zephyr, who met his rider's eyes━they seemed to be welled up in tears. The rest of their team, the Dragon Riders, all stood in a sombre line, achingly silent. They watched on, mouths dry, gazes tearful. Stoick had been a friend to all of them; a mentor, a guide, a hero. Astrid sniffled, quickly wiping her tears away before anyone could notice. Fishlegs hugged his stomach, suddenly very small. Snotlout held his helmet in his hands, gaze dropping to the ground. Hott was still in silent shock, his mouth agape slightly at Astrid's side.

"It's not his fault," murmured Valka and Hiccup fell back onto his knees, hanging his head. "You know that."

He said nothing. Valkyrie didn't think he could manage to speak anymore. He just leant back to her, setting his head into the crook of her neck and she lifted her fingers to his hair, desperate to comfort him any way she could. She felt his tears hot through her coat, soaking, but she didn't mind━that was the last thing she worried about.

She stared at Stoick's face; already paling ... turning grey and lifeless. It wasn't right. It wasn't right...

Valkyrie remembered all the times they shared━the laughter, the jokes. She remembered the day he welcomed her into their home, the day she became a part of his family even before she was married. She remembered him at her wedding, she remembered his kind words; all of his help, his advice; a friend. Her family.

She took a deep breath, trying to keep her composure. She had to stay strong; she needed to keep her jaw set and her arms tight around Hiccup. He needed that right now; he needed her.

Her gaze drifted across to their dragons, where Skullcrusher stood, attentive. He was strong, like his rider; a body of armour. But his head was titled; his eyes set on Stoick's figure ... he was still waiting for him to move. Still holding onto hope.

Drago's Bewilderbeast suddenly roared━Valkyrie had forgotten he was even there. Around them, the dragons took to the sky with him ... even their own.

Fishlegs stopped his tears to frown at Meatlug. He tugged at her, whimpering her name as her eyes slitted and she left him without a second thought. Stormfly squawked and Astrid stumbled away from her wings as they beated roughly in their take off. The Twins called to their dragons' heads, but Barf and Belch couldn't hear them, slipping off towards the distance. Snotlout breathed a, "Hooky━?" that was soon stuck down into the pit of his throat in the wind of his launch to the clouds. Hott tugged at Spikemoth's saddle, only to fall; Grump jolted to attention, his tail dragging in his flight; Skullcrusher turned away from his fallen friend, as if none of it mattered anymore to follow his master. And Zephyr━

It took everything in Valkyrie not to leave Hiccup's side; not to chase after her dragon as he left with no acknolwedgement. It took real strength to not cry his name, begging for him to stay. But he left her. He left her there, eyes slitted much like every other dragon━like she was nothing.

All she could do was just sit there ... and watch her best friend leave. And with him, he took all her hope, all her fight, all her determination and her courage ... she was bare, alone, holding onto Hiccup with a tremble to her grip; like she was suddenly frail with illness. The illness of loss.

Valka spoke through her tears, wincing in seeing Cloudjumper take off. She kept her gaze fixed on her weeping son, pushing to stay strong. "Good dragons under the control of bad people do bad things ..."

A curse, finished Valkyrie to herself. They were under a curse; their fate was to serve, and there was no way to cheat the hand of fate; a dragon's curse.

Toothless screeched. He was desperate to follow his master, but he couldn't━his tail kept him grounded. Hiccup looked up, cheeks red and swollen. His eyes widened to see Drago hook his best friend down, rough to the earth. He stepped over and onto the saddle, and despite it all━despite what Toothless had done, Hiccup's immediate response kicked in; a sheer instinct to jump to his feet and launch himself towards his dragon with a cry of, "TOOTHLESS━!"

The men all cheered in their short journey to the boats. Valka pulled her son back, "No, don't━!"

Valkyrie reached for Hiccup, too, holding his arm to keep him rooted as they were left.

Drago had won. Stoick was dead. Their dragons were gone ... and they were stranded as a whole dragon army sailed to Berk.

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IT WASN'T RIGHT.

It wasn't right to wrap Stoick's body up in ripped sails with Drago's crest on the canvas, to lay him on a leftover dragon trapper ship, to set him off to a sea far away from home. But what choice did they have?

The air was cool; but it was more than just ice that made Valkyrie shiver in her boots. Her fingers wrapped around the bow in her hands; gazed fixed on Hiccup who stood by the shore, watching his father leave with a sag of his shoulders. The sky was a fog, spitting gentle tears of rain as if the gods themselves were mourning the death of the one of the bravest Vikings there has ever been.

Hiccup spun the arrow in his fingers, etching it against the fabric of the bow with a sniffle that got carried away in the wind.

"May the Valkyries welcome you," Gobber's voice was raw; dragging against stone as if it hurt to talk. He stood in a line with the others and their bows, waiting for Hiccup to start the ceremony. All of them shed tears for a man that had become more than a chief to them, but also a good friend, a mentor, a father, "and lead you through Odin's great battlefield. May they sing your name with love and fury, so that we might hear it rise from the depths of Valhalla, and know that you've taken your rightful place at the table of kings." He wiped away a fat tear from his cheeks. Stoick was more than a friend to Gobber ... more than his partner in war. "For a great man has fallen. A warrior. A chieftan. A father. A ... a friend."

Hiccup stared at his bow, tears hitting his fingers━warm against chill skin. He took a deep breath and set the tip of the arrow against the embers. It lit up, flickering in the foggy bank. Valkyrie felt her heart rise to her throat, creating another lump that was hard to swallow down.

Stoick's son pulled the arrow back until the feather was under his left ear. Aiming it high, he let it loose. It flew in an arch, hitting straight into the wooden pile━it sparked, and a figure of smoke started to arise. Valkyrie met Gobber's gaze, and he nodded. She pursed her lips, and set alight her own arrow; the others followed her, pulling back the arrows till they could feel them tickling their tear-stained cheeks, and let go.

Valkyrie prayed to the gods for safe passage, letting her arms drop as she watched Stoick's body slowly light. The smoke grew, and for a second, she thought she saw him━a figure battling a mighty dragon in the fog, his helmet tight on his brow and his axe high over his shoulders. He flung it down, and the smoke dispersed━now nothing but ashes sifting into the air.

Hiccup tried to stay strong, standing with his shoulders back and his chin held up. In the glow of the ship, he looked far braver than he must feel; standing like the chief he had just become━but Valkyrie believed in him. She always will.

"I'm sorry, Dad," he murmured.

Valkyrie breathed a small, sad smile at his words, muddled with her tears that blurred the fire into a burnt orange light━like a beacon to Valhalla. A place where only the best went after they passed.

Among the line of Riders, there were silent tears. Astrid finally let hers free, standing beside Hott who sniffled, wiping his away that came down in streams. The Twins stood shoulder-to-shoulder, finding comfort within each other. Fishlegs dropped his bow, no even hiding his grief. Snotlout even had a tear to shed, brushing it away with his thumb for his uncle. Valka glanced briefly at Val, eyes glistening, glowing with the fire and behind, they could all hear Gobber's muffled sobs, and it only made Valkyrie's worse.

She took a sharp breath through her nose, fixing her gaze on Hiccup who looked to the water cruising up and away from the shore.

"I'm not the chief that ..." his voice broke, "... that you wanted me to be. A━and I'm not the peacekeeper I thought I was. I ..." he looked to the fire, hoping that maybe━somehow━his father would stare back at him, " ... don't know ..." he sighed.

Valka frowned. Gently, she stepped forth from the line and to her son. Walking up to stand behind him, she went to place her hand on his shoulder, before deciding to run her fingers through his hair with a mother's touch that startled him.

"You came early into this world," she told him softly and Hiccup glanced at her. "You were such a wee thing. Oh, so frail, so fragile ..." she moved to stand in front of him, and he met her gaze. "I feared you wouldn't make it. But your father━he never doubted," she placed both hands on his shoulders. "He always said you'd become the strongest of them all. And he was right," she cupped his cheek and smiled sadly. "You have the heart of a chief━" she tapped his chest, "━and the soul of a dragon. Only you can bring our worlds together. That ..." Valka brushed his hair out of his eyes, "... is who you are, son."

Those words sent a glint into Hiccup's gaze. He set his jaw and stepped forward towards the boat lit in flames in the distance, his father burning along with it towards a new life in Valhalla. "I, uh ..." he swallowed harshly, "I was so afraid of becoming my dad. Mostly ... mostly because I thought I never could. How━how do you become someone that great, that ... brave, that ... that selfless?" Valkyrie felt her heart ache━a tug to tell him you are that brave, that selfless, you just don't see it ... but she couldn't. Not now. "I guess," he nodded to himself, "you can only try."

He turned back to the others, and Valkyrie smiled━tearful━in seeing the clench of his jaw and the fire in his eyes. Stoick the Vast may not be alive anymore, but he lived on; he will live on in his son; his legacy reflected in those green hues━the stubborness, the bravery, the selflessness he passed down to his only heir. His pride, his joy; his son.

"A chief protects his own," said Hiccup, and Val's proud smile grew. "We're going back," he told them and Astrid breathed a gasp, her eyes lighting up with new hope.

"Uh ..." Tuffnut sniffled back his tears and frowned, "... with what?"

"Uh, he took all the dragons ..." added Ruff, and Hiccup sent them a weak grin.

"Not all of them."

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a/n: i don't ever expect to recreate the chills i feel whenever i watch the scene of stoick's funeral, but i tried my best.

(val giving stoick her last flower ...)

anyway, i'm a sobbing mess. but i wanted to post this tonight cos i have a lot of work to do tomorrow; a busy two weeks ahead. but i don't expect that to stop me from procrastinating and publishing books when i'm supposed to be doing art ahaha.

we're getting closer to the end of httyd ii and i'm not ready to write httyd iii.

let's have a chain in respect of the fallen chief: 🏹🔥