8. Storm of Emotions

Once Ignacio was properly healed, again, he gave Hiccup another job to do. He would once more be delivering something. This time a box of nails to Senor Rendon at the barn.

Hiccup knew where the barn was, so thankfully he didn’t need a note that he couldn’t read.

As he made to exit the forge, he was suddenly stopped. He felt something pinning him in place. Looking back, he saw Toothless pulling on his pant leg.

Halfway annoyed and halfway amused, Hiccup tried to wiggle his leg free. “Come on, bud! I’ve got a job to do, let go!” But the dragon wouldn’t relent. The blacksmith laughed heartily at the sight, before commenting.

“He wants to go out, kid! He’s sick of being on lockdown in here!” Upon hearing this, Toothless sat up and glared at Hiccup straight in the eyes. Hiccup could only sigh. “You’re right. It’s not fair to keep you trapped in here, bud. You can come.” The dragon began to croon excitedly, but Hiccup sternly interjected. “BUT! You can’t be seen by anybody! Most of these people still think you’re a monster, and we don’t want to cause a panic. We’re taking the back roads, got it?” The dragon chuffed in agreement, and the two headed for the front entrance.

Poking his head out to make sure no one would see, the boy and his dragon crept around the entrance of the forge all the way to the back. And they began their trek along the forest path as they headed to the farm.

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Taking care to be as discreet as possible, the two finally arrive at the farmland. Idyllic fields lined with crops stretched across the landscape. The picketed grassland being populated by grazing cows, wandering chickens, wallowing pigs, and sheep packed together in big huddles.

The donkeys were noticeably absent.

Seeing sheep sent a nostalgic pang through Hiccup’s heart. He subconsciously wondered how the livestock back on Berk were doing. Probably being nabbed by hungry dragons, as usual.

Because they were in such a large area, Hiccup felt comfortable with letting Toothless explore a bit. As long as he didn’t start any trouble, and stayed out of sight.

The scrawny teen made his way up the hill to the farmhouse, enjoying the pleasant breeze and the nice weather.

Or, was that rainy weather?

Hiccup froze in his tracks, and surveyed at his surroundings. On the hill where he stood, the path leading back to town, and the pastures where the animals roamed, all was sunny and bright. But up where the crops were planted, a light drizzle was pouring down.

Hiccup’s nose crumpled, a physical sign of his confoundment. How could it be sunny in one place, and raining in the other?

Only then did he notice the figure standing amongst the downpour.

A thin woman, clothed in yellow. Pale skin offset by fiery red hair. Adorned with earrings, symbols of the sun. Her back turned to him.

Hiccup felt his pulse rapidly increase. It was the Weather Goddess! The one who hated him for a perceived wrongdoing against her child. If she knew he was here, he was as good as fried.

Hastily, Hiccup trudged up the hill. If he could just get to the farmhouse before she spotted him, he could make his delivery and flee before she found him.

The only problem is the farmhouse, it was dangerously close to where she was stood. If he was to pull this off, stealth would be of the utmost importance. He’d leave the box at the man’s doorstep, and tiptoe his way back down the hill.

It wasn’t the greatest plan, but it would have to do.

Treading ever-so slowly, he arrived at the house. He stepped lightly as to not creak the steps, his eyes not leaving the woman the whole time.

He briefly shifted his sights to deposit the box, placing it quietly at the house’s porch. Mission accomplished, he turned to make his silent escape.

And nearly screamed as she stood right in front of him.

Staring him down with a frightening glint in her twitching eyes, hands balled into fists, and a dark cloud brewing above her head. There stood the weather goddess, looking as if she had a lightning bolt in hand and was ready to strike.

Neither said anything for a time. As the staring contest continued, Hiccup felt himself more and more inclined to drop to the ground in submission. Groveling, sobbing, and begging for mercy.

Sweating profusely at this point, Hiccup opted to break the silence. “N-Nice weather we’re having?”

She was full on scowling now.

As he stammered and stumbled over his words, trying to find a way to weasel himself out of this uncomfortable situation, she finally spoke. “Do you know what my husband said to me? He said ‘He’s not so bad!’.” Before Hiccup could comment, she kept going. Her frantic tone increasing with each word. “Do you know what my sobrina said to me? ‘He’s not so bad!’.” She was advancing, and he was too scared to back away. Her thundering cloud grew in time with her heavy breathing. “Do you know what my sister, her husband, and my son said to me?” The teen finished her question for her with a panicked grin. “He’s not so bad?”

She threw her arms up in exasperation. “Exactly! What’s the matter with them? It’s like they forgot what you did to Antonio!” Hiccup was about to object to that, he hadn’t done anything to her child, but she kept speaking. “How could an invading psychopath with a child kidnapping dragon be not so bad!?” She was thundering now. Hiccup watched her rant, heart pounding in his chest. After taking a moment to breathe, muttering something about clear skies, her anger cooled. “But then…you made those drawings for Antonio. And you spent days trying to help Augustin with his bee problem…” She was noticeably calmer now, dark cloud dissipating into vapor.

“Those don’t seem like things a psychopath would do…I’m not sure what to feel about you anymore…” Hiccup sighed, relieved that she seemed to be calming down. He readied himself to repeat his explanation of that day’s events. “Look, miss. It was all a big misunder- “

A small shout in the distance cut him off.

“TOOTHLESS!”

It was a voice they both recognized, and they both spoke his name in shock at the same time.

Not wasting a second, Pepa raced down the hill. Gripping her dress to move it out of the way, her new white cloud leaving a path of terrified snow in her wake. Hiccup followed. If his dragon was involved, he needed to ensure things didn’t get too messy.

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Toothless was enjoying a peaceful walk in the fields. It was nice to be out and about on such a nice day, especially after being cooped up in that stuffy forge for far too long. He had roamed the pasture, observing the livestock from the other side of the fence. He kept his distance, as he knew getting too close would probably cause a stampede.

He took a deep breath, savoring the clear air, before he spotted it.

The perfect spot.

Under a nice, big tree. Large enough for him to be pleasantly covered by the shade, and positioned where the sun would hit him just right.

In essence, the ideal place for a nap.

With an eager rumble, he trotted up to the tree. After spurting a small flame to heat up the ground beneath him, the cat-like dragon laid down to take a catnap.

It wasn’t a full ten minutes before his nap was disturbed.

His eyes may have been closed, but he could still hear. His ear-flaps raised, fully alert, as he detected the rustling of grass and the pitter-patter of small feet.

Those pitter-patters got a little too close for comfort, and he quickly jumped up and assumed a threatening stance. No one snuck up on a Night Fury!

He was shocked to find not a would-be attacker or an opportunistic predator, but a little boy. A familiar little boy.

It was his friend from a few days ago!

Suspicion replaced with excitement, the dragon warbled joyously as he went to nuzzle the boy. Antonio giggled as he pet the Night Fury, happy to see him again as well. “I missed you too, Toothless!” The child knowing his name made the dragon even happier.

Toothless nudged the boy’s belly with his nose. And again, and again.  He nudged and nudged until he successfully hefted the boy onto his back. He looked back to give the child a gummy smile, and he bounded through the fields. Antonio cheering and laughing the whole time, urging him to go faster.

How he wished he could give the child a proper flight, instead of a simple piggyback ride.

The two raced through the grasslands, jumping over obstacles and weaving through trees. Until Toothless, not watching where he was running, ran right over the peak of a hill.

The two rolled down the mound, before falling into a laughing heap at the bottom. Toothless not crushing his human friend, this time. Antonio’s laughter only intensified once the dragon started licking his face. “Toothless STOP! It took forever to get this stuff out last time!” The dragon didn’t end his onslaught, and the child could only squirm and squeal “TOOTHLESS!”

Finally, the Night Fury ceased his slobbery attack. Crooning with laughter as he stepped back from the boy’s wet face.

He dodged when the boy lunged at him from the side. The game of tag was now initiated, and the two chased each other in wide circles. At this point it didn’t even matter who was it, they were just having fun.

They were so enthralled in their game, they didn’t notice the two figures standing not too far from them. Watching them frolic.

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When he was trailing her, she looked damn near petrified. But now that they both had stopped, the teen breathing heavily from the effort of the thirty second run, he noticed her expression had changed in an odd way.

She had the adoring look of a mother watching her child enjoy themselves. But also, the fear of a mother terrified for said child’s life. The disparity was strange, to say the least.

Looking away from her, he watched his companion and his new little friend tussle in the grass. He couldn’t stop the smile from growing on his face even if he wanted to. Watching the boy and the dragon, they were just so…

“Adorable…” Pepa had taken the words right out of his mouth. She spoke again, quietly. “He really is just a big, scaly puppy...” Hiccup nodded with an awkward laugh. “Yeah, he tries to act tough but he’s really a big softie.” She actually giggled at his comment, and for the first time since encountering her Hiccup didn’t feel like she was going to kill him.

The dragon abruptly noticed his two observers, digging his paws into the dirt and skidding to a stop. Antonio, still running, plowed straight into the dragon’s back with a muffled OOMPH.

Shaking the grass out of his hair, the child sat up. Seeing his mother standing over him, poorly attempting to hide her laughter.

His mother. In the same place as Toothless. “That’s not good…” He thought.

Antonio jolted up, and tried to defend his new friend. “Mama! We were just playing! He wasn’t gonna eat me or anything! Honest!” He stopped his rapid-fire defense as he felt his mother’s hand gently ruffling his curly hair. “It’s alright, Tonito. I believe you.” The boy, the teen, and the dragon gawked at her.

“Really?” asked a wide-eyed Antonio, the Night Fury next to him equally as wide-eyed. “Yes, really!” She looked to the dragon, who seemed more silly than anything, looking at her with an expression that could put the cutest of puppy dogs to shame. “I guess…I guess I just had to see it to believe it.” The playmates looked at each other, energy rising, and looked back to the child’s mother. “So…we can play?” Asked her son, a hopeful smile emerging.

She sighed, and nodded with a slight smile. “Yes, you can play.” Antonio squealed and the dragon crooned in excitement, until her motherly instincts took over and she sternly interjected. “BUT! You have to play carefully! I don’t want to see any bruised ankles or broken noses, got it?” The child nodded obediently, and surprisingly the dragon did too.

Invigorated by his mother’s approval, Antonio began scratching the dragon. Hiccup stepped forward with a grin, and crouched down to the boy’s level. “He especially likes it behind the ears…” The child followed Hiccup’s demonstration, scratching behind the dragon’s raised nubs with delight. The Night Fury’s tail waggling a sign of his enjoyment. Hiccup stepped back to let the two have their fun. After a few more good scratches, they rushed off to run aimlessly. Not really caring what they did, as long as they did it together.

Pepa watched her son as he went, wearing the tired but affectionate smile of a loving mother. She turned her gaze to the boy next to her, who was also watching with a pleased expression. “You know, you’re not so bad.” Her smile grew a teasing edge. “…For an invader.”

He returned her smile with a lopsided grin. And it was then she noticed he was covered in snow.

Her eyes widened in shock. “I’m so sorry! I guess I’m still a little scared…” She frenetically brushed the flurry off his hair with her hand, while uttering her clear skies mantra in an attempt to dissipate her snow cloud. Hiccup however, was unbothered. “Nah, don’t worry about it. I’ve spent most of my life in snowstorms, this is nothing.” She ceased her brushing while ogling the boy, stunned. “You…don’t mind?” Hiccup shrugged in response. “Like I said, I’ve had worse.”

Pepa didn’t give much of a reaction, but internally she was very pleasantly surprised. Happy she could just feel whatever she was feeling, at least for a little while.

Hiccup and Pepa sat beneath the perfectly shady tree and watched as her child played with his dragon.

He didn’t think of her as the Weather Goddess anymore, just Pepa.