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chapter twenty-seven
new, new tail

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    EVERYONE SET up camp for the night. Canvas and sheep-skin tents of too many bright colours covered the plain in the centre of the island everyone had started to call New Berk. New Berk, as if Old Berk didn't matter anymore. The land of their ancestors had become nothing more than something in the back of their mind as they slumbered in their shelters on this new land after they had been forced to run away. It didn't settle right in Hott's skin, but he didn't say anything. 

     He was one of the last to set up camp. It was strange, since he started before everyone else. Maybe he was holding onto hope that this wasn't permanent━that maybe they'll find their way back to Berk. But just because it was wishful thinking, didn't make it true. Spikemoth had long gone to sleep, curled up by the fire he had made for the two of them a little way aways from the streets of campsites and tents. It made Hott feel like he was staying out at night on an island back when he was younger, exploring with just him, his dragon, and his friends. It was calming. Made him feel like he was still surrounded by simpler times. Less responsibility, less realisation━he was a teenager with dreams far too big for him to carry, and an ego to match, trying his best to be the best Viking his father could want. Trying to be the best at everything. 

      Hott hadn't even gone inside once he finished setting up. He sat outside, watching the fire die down to embers with a charcoal pencil scratching against parchment as he drew the view of the cliffs in the distance. He could hear the waterfalls even this far away━and it was beautiful, the sound ... it was peaceful with everyone else asleep. 

      He licked his thumb and smudged the mist of the water hitting the pools on the ledges. He wiped the charcoal excess on his pants. 

      He tried to imagine this place with wooden buildings, an arena, cobblestone streets and wooden walkways leading down to the docks. Hott tried to imagine this place just like Berk, and he could never get close. 

      Grass crunched underfoot of a pair of boots. Hott glanced up, a little surprised to see Astrid. She sent him a tired smile━she looked weary, her blonde hair like grey moonlight rather than bright yellow. "Hey," she greeted softly, her voice cracking in the back of her throat, "can't sleep?"

     "You're back early from scouting," he said instead, adding some finishing touches to his drawing. "How did it go?"

      Astrid sat down beside him with a miserable sigh. Stormfly followed not long after, deciding to take rest at a respectful distance to Spikemoth━not too far, but also close enough that neither of their wings would get more dirty in the morning than necessary. Deadly Nadder's were funny like that. "There's nothing left."

       Hott slowly stopped shading the rocks as her words slowly struck him. "Wait ..." his mouth grew dry. "What?"

      Astrid's gaze was hollow. She stared at the grass. "They ... they burnt it to nothing. Our ... our homes, our docks ... they destroyed it and live off it now like ... like scavengers. Their fleets crowd our waters, those Death Grippers poison our crops ... they ... Berk is gone, Hott. He destroyed it."

       He closed his sketch book with his pencil still inside, setting it onto the grass without a care in the world as Astrid took a deep breath through her nose, eyes clenching shut as she did her best not to cry. "It's like ..." she held back a sob. "It's like seeing my house burnt all over again but━but way worse ... I ..."

       Hott didn't know what to say. He couldn't say anything. All he felt was a gaping hole in his chest━he wondered whether Astrid, if she looked up, could see the tears brimming in his eyes, too in the glow of the dying embers. 

       "That's our home of three generations," went on Astrid, looking up. Her cheeks were wet. "And now that's gone━as if none of that even mattered."

       He just shuffled closer to her until their shoulders touched. Hott remembered the days when if he tried to do this, Astrid would have shoved his head straight into the embers. But now, she just relaxed against him, sighing out another long sigh. Hott didn't know when things changed, but they have. Before, he would have gone for it. He would have gone for it at a dive, but now, he hesitated. Now, he waited━and he didn't know how that changed, either. 

     But it has. 

     "You know," he decided to say after a short while, "when we went out to all of these different islands, it ... it didn't feel scary. I loved it because there was always a place to go home to. Always a fire, always a well-cooked meal. Now, we're flying, and we're flying, and we're flying, and I'm terrified."

       "This is it," Astrid understood. "There's no place to go back to, now. Not anymore."

      "Makes me miss the days when Mildew was a problem."

      Her chuckle lightened the night,  just for a moment. But a moment was enough. "Yeah," nodded Astrid, "me too ..."

      "Miss the days when you hated me."

      She made a face, "Okay, In my defence, you were annoying━you were the perfect annoying little brother."

      Little brother, Hott pursed his lips. He hated how it made him clench his jaw, hurt. "Yeah," he muttered bitterly without realising it. "Little brother ... just your annoying little brother."

      Astrid frowned at him, catching the sudden hostility. "What?"

     "That's what I am," he said, reaching for his book. "That's what I'll always be. The annoying little brother."

      She realised. Hott saw Astrid's eyes widened. Her lips parted━as if she didn't know what to say. Eventually, she stammered, "H━Hott..."

     He shook his head. She acted as if she didn't know━hadn't known this whole time. Hadn't turned him down, and yet he kept on waiting and following like a lost puppy. It made him angry. "Whatever," said Hott. "I should go get some sleep."

      Astrid watched him kick dirt onto the coals. "Wait, Hott━"

      He ignored her. "Goodnight, Astrid," he said before disappearing inside his tent.

     Astrid was left outside, lips pursed and hugging her stomach. She felt the sudden need to go in after him━to say something, to explain ... but instead, she sighed and walked over to Stormfly, spending the night with her dragon under the comfort of a blanket instead of a canvas roof. But she didn't get any sleep. None at all. 

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     THE NEXT MORNING there was construction. They needed a base for the meantime while Hiccup continued to search for the Hidden World with Toothless. Even as Valkyrie woke up, she was amazed to glance out of the camp to see wooden posts for homes, logs rolling down the slopes for walkways down to ports and lagoons for morning fishing. Those who had already been out to the water depths brought back bountiful amounts of salmon in nets, dropped down from their dragon's claws. 

     Valkyrie yawned, rubbing her eyes and staring, incredulous as Snotlout argued with Hookfang about knocking over his messily-built stone foundation. She saw Hoark get his house destroyed (again) by the Twins, who laughed and shouted at him: "LOKI'D!" and noticed Eret being teased by the local kids as he tried to help them move barrels out of the ships still filled to the brim with supplies. 

      She saw Fishlegs fight to keep Fishmeat in his pouch as he drew out the scopes for a rock garden, Astrid order around the Berk Guard to set up defensive perimeters and her two younger brothers help their mother tend to wounded dragons in little makeshift pens in a makeshift sanctuary. 

      Valkyrie could see them all working, laughing, arriving back from morning flights or about to start one. Bucket was talking loudly to Mulch right before they were going to go for a second fishing haul. Spitelout was standing toe-to-toe with Astrid's father, arguing about how this was the Jorgenson's spot, and not the Hofferson's spot. Valkyrie's own father looked up and waved at her. She waved, a little startled, back━because, for a shocking moment, she felt like she was back on Old Berk, the real Berk. 

     "Chieftess! Chieftess!" 

     Valkyrie jumped. Zephyr, who was still trying to wake up, lazily held up his head to hover over her shoulder, the both of them staring, wide-eyed, as Starkard hurried his way up the slope towards the camp she and Hiccup had set up. 

      "Bright morning!" he greeted her loudly, and she reared back, tired. She didn't get a good sleep last night. She was sure Hiccup woke up halfway through the night━he had fallen asleep against Toothless, and either way, when Valkyrie woke up, the both of them were no longer there. "And you! Always looking bright! How's the little one, eh?"

      "Uh ..." Valkyrie continued to rub at her eyes, taking the parchment being passed to her, "... she's ... she's still sleeping, she━" she let out a loud yawn. "Um, what's going on, Starkard?"

      "Well," began Starkard, "I've got Malcom, Sven and our best Timberjacks out collecting wood for the village of New Berk! We have some fine spruce up for grabs━rich, strong, perfect for the Chief's house! Where do you want us to start building? What design have you got in mind, eh?"

      Not completely understanding, Valkyrie said through another yawn, "Well ... you know, I always wanted a balcony on a hill━great to look down at everything and the privacy, you know ... just away from Snotlout and the Twins really━wait━" she blinked, starting to wake up. "A house? This━Starkard, we're not staying here. This is a base for the meantime. Hiccup's still on the search for the Hidden World."

      Starkard pursed his lips. He was wide-eyed for a second, then, quickly, said, "Yes! Yes! Quite right, quite right. Hidden World. So, for the base in the mean time ...?"

      Valkyrie had a cold feeling in her chest. She glanced back down at all the construction━everyone moving around, as if they couldn't care less about losing their home. It made her jolt to reality like she just stepped through an ice cold waterfall. "This━this isn't even our home," she didn't mean to snap. "I━I've just woken up, Starkard. I need to━How can you all just go about like nothing happened?" 

     Zephyr veered his head and neck away from her flying gestures and hands. He squawked at her, unsure. 

     "But ..." said Starkard, confused, "... the spruce━?"

     "You have the spruce!" went on Val. "I don't want the spruce! I just want to wake up without someone jabbering in my ear!" Realising she shouted, and at the look on Starkard's face, Valkyrie winced. She hunched up, and in a softer, apologetic voice, she added, "Sorry Starkard ... um ... you can just ... I'll have a chat with Hiccup. Thank you."

      "Also give him that," said Starkard, backing up away from her, anxious. "That has all of━the━uh━morning fish catch we've got━um━yeah, good morning!" and like that, he dashed away.

     Valkyrie watched him go with a sigh. She turned to Zephyr, who tilted his head after his running figure. He met her gaze, giving her a guttural comment. 

      She frowned at it, "Oh, don't give me that," she smacked him lightly with the parchment. "I'm not crazy━yet. Now, morning flowers. How about ... uh ... azaleas? This place should have some azaleas."

      Zephyr sneezed. Valkyrie nodded, agreeing. "Yeah, I'm not in the mood for azaleas, either."

      As the morning sun continued to rise, Valkyrie took Zephyr and Linnea for a morning flight around the new island━she briefly explored the waterfalls, soared overtop of the mountains and bountiful woodland. She picked flowers with her daughter by a lagoon as Zephyr lapped at the water, braiding them into Linnea's hair. She checked Astrid's defences, feeling a breath of dread at the sight of catapults and barriers already in the making. She gathered some metal from Gobber that he had reconfigured from the scraps they took from Berk to pass over to Hott to then give to Astrid. Linnea played with Mrs. Ack's youngest as Valkyrie passed off herbs to Gothi she found. She made an entire round before she found Hiccup. She was already exhausted when she saw him in his leather apron, eyeing a design he drew up on a wall of wood constructed early━early morning: the beginning of Gobber's forge. 

      Valkyrie hated the sight of each structure. It reminded her of how permanent all of this was. And in a way, she was relieved in seeing how Hiccup sighed at the sight of it, too━that despite for different reasons, they both held displeasure at everyone else treating this place as if it was a new home.  

      She landed Zephyr close, slipping off his saddle with aid from his wing. Valkyrie grabbed Linnea from his neck next, lifting her up and as soon as Zephyr was sure she was safely off the saddle, he bounded towards Toothless rolling around in the grass not far away. He surprise attacked him, and the two dragons went tumbling past, barrelling straight into Hoark's fifth attempt at a foundation. Valkyrie hissed a quiet apology. 

      Walking over to the makeshift forge, Valkyrie watched, curious, as Hiccup examined a complex drawing. She recognised it━she could see a new tail for Toothless any day, but this one struck her with a memory from at least six years ago. It was by far more detailed and improved, but Valkyrie remembered that system at the tail's base. She remembered the dials and the cogs. She remembered how it would pull back and forth on its own━without the click of a stirrup. 

      She frowned, taken aback. "Uh ...?"

     Hiccup glanced over at the sound. "Oh, hey," he stepped back and dusted his hands off on his apron. They were already smudged, "had a good flight?" Valkyrie was still frowning as he kissed her cheek in passing and tapped Linnea's flower crown, making her giggle. 

     "Yeah," she said slowly, propping Linnea down on a nearby clear bench. She passed her Zephyr toy over, and her daughter took it with eager fingers and bright eyes. "I got some flowers and bark for Gothi..." Valkyrie arched a brow as he hunched over the opposite table where a second tail for Toothless lied stretched out. What he had drawn on parchment applied completely to the real thing, and Hiccup peered at it through his hover-glass. It was like a spy-glass, making him able to see the smaller details as if they were magically bigger. 

     His fingers fiddled with the lever, retracting the tail back and forth. 

     "So, you didn't sleep?" Valkyrie guessed, walking up to the designs to have a better look. She read his messy writing with a squint of her eyes. 

     "Nope," he said without a glance.

     "Does this have anything to do with where you and Toothless went last night?" she peered at him over her shoulder, hands on her hips. Linnea grizzled, smacking her toy Zephyr against the table. The real Zephyr and Toothless both stopped bobbing their heads at each other to stare at her, equally as wary. 

     "Actually, yeah," Hiccup gestured Valkyrie over. She complied, walking up to then jump onto the table like she used to when she was younger. Her legs dangled as she watched him work beside her, curiously picking at the leather of the tail with her fingers until Hiccup wordlessly pulled them away. "Toothless managed to impress his date," he sent her a side-glance, playful, "but, that Light Fury won't let me within a mile of her. And neither of us will be getting any sleep or finding the Hidden World until Toothless takes over."

     Hearing his name, Toothless pushed his way into the conversation. He nudged his head under Hiccup's arm, slobbering all over his new tail. Hiccup broke out into chuckles, "Hey!" he chided the dragon, stumbling to the side. Valkyrie smiled warmly as he made a face, scolding Toothless who peered through the glass very much like Hiccup would. 

       Linnea looked over to watch, casually chewing on toy Zephyr's head. Real Zephyr huffed at her, slumping down by the table, as if offended by her (vicious) actions. 

      "So," said Hiccup to Toothless, "what do you think of that?" 

      Toothless warbled, wagging his tail in excitement. Valkyrie managed a small bout of laughter as Hiccup shoved his best friend out of his way. She passed him the dragon paint; freshly mounded together from Toothless's own pristine black scales. As Hiccup took it, she said, "You tried this once before. He didn't want it."

      Hiccup sighed, shrugging, "Yeah, well ... until now, he didn't have a reason to. Right, bud?" He stepped over Zephyr's neck to pick up some more scales from beside Linnea. He let her drop a few in. "Thank you, young lady," he told her and Valkyrie bit back more smiles. 

     "You're ... okay with that, are you?" Valkyrie asked him, careful with her words. She didn't think Hiccup understood where she was going at as he held out the bowel of paint for Toothless who spat a whole cup of slobber into. She turned up her nose. 

      "Yeah," said Hiccup absent-mindedly. He picked up the pestle and started to pound the scales into the paint. "Why wouldn't I be?"

      Surprised, Valkyrie's brows jumped. She wasn't expecting that answer from him. It made her heart start to leap━it was a pleasant surprise; a very pleasant surprise. She glanced over at Linnea who was trying to show Toothless her toy, her hair as auburn as her father's. Subtle, Valkyrie shuffled in closer, leaning forward to peer over Hiccup's shoulder like they were still only fifteen, holding a smile on her face as she watched him work. 

     She was proud. Valkyrie didn't think Hiccup would be so lenient towards this idea━that Toothless might be moving on: growing up, finding another dragon, finally finding something else in his life other than Hiccup. After all of Hiccup's murmurs and promises that he and Toothless would never be separated, here he was, accepting the possibility that this might be it━this might be the start of a goodbye. 

      It struck her as odd. It didn't completely settle well in Valkyrie's stomach. She knew what was happening━how all dragons, especially species that mate for life, tend to act ... but Hiccup accepting it so easily? Maybe she really hadn't been giving him enough credit the past few months. 

      Valkyrie pursed her lips and tucked some of his hair out of his eyes as he worked. It made him chuckle a breathy, "What?" at her, amused. 

     She shrugged, still smirking to herself, "No, nothing, I'm━I'm just, you know, impressed." He sent her a quizzical look, replacing his pestle with a brush. "I mean, look at you." She helped keep the tail still as he painted over the remaining leather. "Embracing change. I am proud of you."

     "Well," said Hiccup as he lathered the paint across the tail, "he's my best bud. I want him to be happy. And, besides, it's just until he brings her back."

      Valkyrie's smile dropped. So did her stomach. She didn't move as he kissed her temple, taking the freshly-painted tail with him as he rushed out of the workshop. Valkyrie watched him go with a sigh and a slump of her shoulders━she felt stupid to think he'd understand this so easily. She knew Hiccup, she knew the bond he had with Toothless ... she knew none of this was easy for him to realise. 

      Her eyes wandered back to Linnea. Noticing she was looking at her, she held out her arms to be picked up, and Valkyrie slipped off the table. Holding her back on her hip, she welcomed the way her daughter set her forehead against hers, closing her eyes for a moment to sigh again. 

      Maybe, deep down, Valkyrie didn't know. She didn't know what the right thing to do was. She didn't know whether there will be a Hidden World, she didn't know what Grimmel's threat meant. She didn't know whether Hiccup needed to let go of Toothless or whether this was their future now, here, on this island. Valkyrie for once didn't know how things was going to turn out, and it was easy to act confident on something. To act confident in the gods, or just in herself━but she felt none of it. Not right now. 

     Valkyrie the Vicious was scared.

     "All right!" Hiccup set up the tail by Gobber, grinning as he tested the lever. He tugged the fin right out in front of Toothless. "Fire when ready!"

     Gobber yelped, jumping to a stand, "Oh━wait━!"

     He hunched up, cowering behind his arms at the blast that coughed off the prosthetic. Valkyrie and Hiccup both made a face━almost identical as they carefully waited for Gobber to reveal himself behind the tail. 

      The blacksmith grumpily snuffed the fire out on his beard. He coughed, his cheeks covered with ash. But, he was fine. "Well," he grumbled, "I guess you know the tail is fireproof!"

     Hiccup hunched up as he marched past, apologetic. 

    But as soon as his back was turned, Hiccup spun to Toothless, holding up the tail with a grin. "Okay, Toothless!" The Night Fury bounded towards him, happy. "Okay, okay━!" Hiccup laughed as his dragon ran around him, making him dizzy trying to catch up, "━okay! Yes, yes, I know! I know!"

     Linnea clung onto Valkyrie's neck, "What's Dad doing?" she asked.

     Val glanced at her as Hiccup pressed his knees on either side of Toothless's long tail, strong to try and keep him from shifting around. "Dad's helping Toothless fly again."

       Linnea frowned thoughtfully. Hiccup fixed the prosthetic around the flesh, still laughing at Toothless's excitement. "Please," he said to his dragon, chuckling, "this is not helping."

      "But Dad flies," went on Linnea, very confused. 

      "Yes, he does, buba," Valkyrie hoisted her up, "just like Muma flies. But he's helping Toothless fly by himself."

      "Well, well, well," Eret arrived around the corner of the brush, dropping down a few logs of freshly cut wood. He grinned at Toothless's quaking body that sat, anticipating Hiccup to be finished. "Someone's excited."

     Hiccup laughed at that, "Yeah," he tightened the straps. "He's fresh off his first date. Now he's love crazed."

     "Only we're the ones going crazy," said Gobber, switching a hammer onto his own prosthetic. He set his hook on the anvil and hammered the curve that was starting to jar out of place. "The sooner he brings back that Light Fury, the better."

      "Yeah, but to do that, he'll need to fly without me." Hiccup finished and sat back with a sigh, admiring his work. "So, time to give this new and improved baby a shot."

     He stood up and Toothless was on his feet in seconds. He swung around his tail to check out the new prosthetic, eyes wide and ears quivering. He sniffed at it, purring. As it flickered in and out, his entire face lit up. Valkyrie beamed. 

     "Attaboy!" grinned Hiccup, checking it out as it moved. "Looking sharp, Toothless! So," he crossed his arms, watching Toothless continue to move the fin in and out with his own, "what do you think, bud?"

      He danced on his feet happily, waving his tail around and around. Hiccup pranced out of its way, amused, "Now, bring her home," he told his dragon as if he was a rebellious son. He even propped on his best gruff Stoick accent: "'By sundown, at the latest'."

     Toothless peered back at him with wide eyes. Then, he licked him straight across the face. Hiccup recoiled, "Argh!" he cried out, and everyone around them laughed. Valkyrie squeezed Linnea at the sound of hers, unable to stop the beam on her face. "No━no!" Hiccup managed to hoist up his dragon as he threw himself in for a hug before the both of them would go tumbling down. "Save it for your girlfriend! Go on! Get out of here."

      With a final prance around his rider, Toothless ran off towards the shrub━a pathway between the trees out towards the beauty of this new island, lit up by streams of light washing down slopes of grass and trees. 

     Then, he stopped.

     Valkyrie frowned. She watched him falter━hesitate. Toothless warbled, glancing back over his shoulder. His eyes met Hiccup's across the plains, and he smiled. Gentle, he gave his best friend a nod, "It's okay," he told him. 

      Toothless's gums lifted up into a grin. He turned away and jumped onto the uproot of a tree━

     And like that, for the first time in six years, Toothless flew on his own. 

     Valkyrie's breath hitched. She stared up at the sky, seeing the figure of sleek black spin in through the day━a little unsure at first, a little staggering ... but he cried out with such happiness she felt a tear form in her eye. Toothless beat his wings, he tilted his tail━he twisted his body through the branches and around the leaves until he came to a glorious soar up amongst the clouds ...

      And there was something beautiful about it━something purely amazing. 

      But ... Valkyrie started to realise, something also tremendously sad. 

     "Muma?" asked Linnea. She turned to her and saw a deep frown on her young face. 

     "Yeah, hon?"

     "Is Toothless coming back?"

      Hiccup heard her say it. Even if she could barely get Toothless's name right out of her lips, he heard it, and he glanced back, the smile on his face faltering as Linnea's question struck him. 

     Valkyrie felt torn. She didn't know. 

     Because despite everything she's said, and she's thought━not just for Linnea's future, but recently, for what Toothless wanted ... 

    Valkyrie didn't really want Toothless to go; at all. 

    So, she pushed through a smile and said━not just for Linnea, but for Hiccup, too, "Of course, he will."

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     a/n: valkyrie starting to realise, and not just think, that the light fury might mean toothless leaving hurts my soul. because thinking it, and focusing it onto something else is one thing, but actually understanding to the reality of it is another ... because she doesn't want toothless to go. she doesn't want hiccup to be hurt like that. 

     she's going thru a lot of emotions right now and it hurts.