72. Stoick finds Beauty

Hiccup had a mission.

A simple mission, really.

But a risky one nonetheless.

Reunite his birth parents.

It was a mission he fully intended to complete.

After spending two weeks in the Encanto, Valka had decided it was finally time to return to the Bewilderbeast’s nest. Though she promised she’d visit frequently.

Hiccup offered to be her ride home.

But what he didn’t tell her, is that the warp dropped them directly onto Berk.

Was it a bit deceitful, withholding information from her like this? Perhaps.

Would he be getting a massive ear-yanking for it? Most likely.

But once she saw a fully dragon-integrated Berk, once she saw how Stoick had changed…

Hiccup knew it would all be worth it.

Though before they set out, Valka had to say her goodbyes.

They stood on Casita’s hill, the grass swaying in the cool breeze, already prepared to depart.

The elder dragon enthusiast approached the younger.

“I-I must say, I’m rather impressed!” Valka spoke, to Antonio. “You managed to master tricks that took me years to learn, in a matter of days!”

The young boy gained a wide grin. “I had a good teacher!”

The warmth in Valka’s heart was immense.

And seeing this little boy look up to her…

She was suddenly very sad that she’d missed Hiccup’s childhood.

She then chuckled. “Yes, well…”

Whatever she was about to say was intercepted, when the fluffy child tackled her midsection in a hug.

“See you later, Aunty Val!”

And she froze, eyes wide as could be.

She still wasn’t quite used to the whole physical affection thing.

Though after a moment, she reached her hands down to return his embrace.

It was an adorable sight.

Though some had their gripes…

“It’s not like he already had an Aunty Val…” Valentina mumbled, crossing her arms and pouting.

Snickering at his wife’s envy, Bruno pat her shoulder. “You’re Tia Val, it’s different!”

He then moved to engage Hiccup’s mom himself.

“You’ve been doing pretty good!” He said. “Y’know, with the whole…reacclimating to society situation.”

“I-I can tell you from experience, it's not easy..." He moved to rub the back of his neck.

I was a mess when I first came outta the walls…I mean-I’m still kind of a mess, but not as much? Maybe like thirty, forty percent less…”

He realized he was rambling, and ended his statement with an awkward grin. Holding up two thumbs in affirmation.

“So uh…y-yeah! Good job!”

His antics made Valka giggle.

Julieta was next, and she regarded the woman with a civil glance.

“Take care of yourself.” She simply said. Though it carried the hidden message of “If you disappear from my son’s life again, there will be Hell to pay.”

Valka met her gaze, and nodded resolutely.

“Thank you…for being a mother to him, when I couldn’t be.”

And the healer actually smiled.

Turning to the woman who would become her daughter-in-law, Valka’s eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to the medallion she wore around her neck. The girl hadn’t taken it off at all, during the week since the engagement.

“I-It was lovely meeting you. And…congratulations, again!”

With a relaxed smile, Mirabel bid her farewell. “See you around, Miss Valka.”

“Oh, please! J-Just Valka!” She insisted. “No need to be so formal!”

Well in that case…

“And you better not stay holed up in that mountain all the time!” Mirabel demanded. “You’ve been making progress, don’t ruin it!”

She spoke in a joking manner, but her eyes betrayed that she absolutely wasn’t joking.

“I’ll try to visit!” Valka replied, cowering just a bit under the girl’s intensity.

After a few more sendoffs, it was time to go.

As her method of transportation, Hiccup led her into the skies on Toothless’ back. While she followed atop Cloudjumper.

She was eager to return to the nest, but…

The Encanto was such a lovely place.

She thought she knew for certain that most people would never see the truth about dragons, but this village was proof of the contrary.

However, this village was also a whole world away from the Barbaric Archipelago. Both physically and in culture.

Even if things were different here, surely no stubborn Vikings would ever change their views.

Either way, Valka found herself anticipating her return to this land of magic.

This was where her son resided, after all.

Upwards, they climbed. Pushing through the clouds.

Hiccup started trying to imagine just what his father’s reaction would be, when they arrived.

He really hoped he wouldn’t take it badly.

And with that thought on his mind…

There was a golden flash of light.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Valka handled her second warp far better than the first.

She didn’t immediately lose consciousness, most importantly.

Though she did still crash land.

The warm sun gave way to a chill, when Hiccup exited the light. Finding himself hovering above Berk’s town square.

And when he saw the village, decorated festively and filled with Vikings wearing their favorite competitor’s colors…

Hiccup realized they completely missed the races.

He released a groan, while dragging a hand over his face.

He felt pretty bad, but he also didn’t really blame himself. Or any of the others.

He and the family had been fairly busy, these last few weeks.

While he pondered the situation, another flash from behind him let him know that Valka had caught up.

And she was moving fast.

Toothless quickly jerked out of the way, as Cloudjumper hurtled through the sky. Plummeting to the island below.

It always took at least three teleports, before one got the hang of it.

Hiccup surged down to try and help them, but it seemed the ground would catch them before he could.

Flapping wildly, but not being able to right himself, Cloudjumper instead grabbed the tumbling Valka. Holding her close, and protecting her from the coming impact.

And they crashed.

Again.

Right into the center of the village.

Descending to the surface, Hiccup rushed over to see if they were alright.

“Mom!” He cried, sliding onto his knees to retrieve her from the Stormcutter’s wings.

He helped her up, while she held her pounding head.

“I can’t say I’m a fan of this warping business…” Valka mumbled.

Hiccup nervously chuckled. “Y-You get used to it!”

Around them, crowd of concerned Vikings and dragons was starting to gather.

Both Valka and her dragon were fine. A bit dazed, but otherwise unharmed.

But Cloudjumper was really starting to get sick of crashing…

Her headache starting to dissipate, the seasoned rider realized something about where they were.

It was cold, but not oppressively so.

The ground wasn’t covered in snow and ice.

And most obviously, they were in a village.

This was not the sanctuary.

“W-Where are we?” Valka asked, scrutinizing her surroundings.

There were Vikings, and there were dragons.

An unstable combination.

But strangely, they didn’t seem to mind each other. Some of the reptiles were even being ridden, scratched, and fed by the people.

And this village, it was both familiar and unfamiliar to her at the same time.

The architecture of the huts was unmistakable, but there were new structures as well. All for the comfort of dragons.

From the people’s clothing, to the smells, to that towering mountain. There was only one place she could be.

But that wasn’t possible.

Because there’s no way her home island would ever live side by side with dragons. Such a thing was only possible in the realm of fantasy.

Hiccup proudly gestured to the village around them, and answered her question.

“This is Berk!”

Valka shook her head, while sinking into a crouch. Backing away from the masses that were watching them.

“No, it can’t be.” She rebuked.

The young man gave her an odd look.

“Uh…yeah, it is.” He insisted.

Valka recognized some of the faces, in the mass of Vikings. This only served to make her more uncomfortable.

“It isn’t!” She said, huddling near Cloudjumper. The dragon eyed the crowd warily, ready to take off at the slightest provocation.

With a roll of his eyes, Hiccup gestured to the side of a nearby building.

“Thirty years ago, some guy tripped over a sheep and slammed into that wall. Half his teeth are still stuck in it.”

Valka looked to the wall, and halted.

Because she remembered that day, she was there when it happened.

Somehow…

This truly was Berk.

But it looked nothing like the Berk she remembered.

Valka’s mind was both immobilized, and working in overdrive. Trying to comprehend the reality that was presented to her.

And then, there was a voice.

One both Hiccup and Valka recognized.

“Odin’s Beard!”

Shoving through the crowd, followed by his Hotburple, Grump, was Gobber.

His wide eyes never left Hiccup, or the woman he was standing next to. His jaw was completely slack, his breathing had stilled…

And he looked like he was staring at a ghost.

Hobbling his way forwards, he willed his mouth to speak.

“Could it be?” He gasped. “Because sometimes I hallucinate things, so I can’t really trust my own eyes- “

“She’s real, Gobber!” Hiccup laughed. “Either that, or I’ve spent the last few weeks talking to thin air!”

This revelation only increased the blacksmith’s shock.

“WEEKS!?” Gobber shouted. “Ye’ve known she was alive for weeks, and ye didn’t think to tell anyone?”

Hiccup sputtered for a response. “U-Uh…well, Y’see-uh…”

But Gobber was no longer looking at him. His focus was on his old friend.

The friend he hadn’t seen for twenty years.

The friend he thought had perished.

“Valka?” He asked, his voice filled with disbelief. “Is that really ye?”

The woman stood completely still, eyes quaking with uncertainty.

But when Hiccup placed a hand on her shoulder, she found the strength necessary to release a shaky nod.

Seeing her move only made her all the more real, and Gobber had to take a stunned step backwards.

The crowd had heard him speak her name, and they released gasps of surprise. They all knew her tale, of her supposed demise.

After a moment, though, Gobber’s shock gave way to a wry grin.

“Ye look pretty good, for a dead lady!”

Caught off guard by his quip, Valka’s trepidation was momentarily forgotten. And she released a soft laugh.

The laugh was shared, by the one-handed man. Hiccup joined in as well.

But once the tittering died down, Gobber still couldn’t get over how surreal this all was.

“Where were ye, all this time?” He questioned. “How’d ye survive being taken by…”

He suddenly realized that the dragon that had apparently killed Valka was standing right behind her. Leering down at him.

And now he felt really uncomfortable.

“What’s Stoick gonna think…?” Gobber sighed.

And then his eyes shot open.

“Uh-Oh…”

Hiccup didn’t like the sound of that.

He began to look around the area, trying to spot any potential problems.

“What? What’s uh-oh?”

Gobber had already gotten to work, dispersing the crowd.

“Go on, get moving! All of ye!” He shouted, before adding a murmur.

“Ye don’t want to be here for this next part…”

Hiccup was really starting to get worried, and the already skittish Valka now looked nearly panicked.

But before Hiccup could ask again…

He heard the stomping.

“Uh-Oh…” He whispered.

He now knew exactly what had Gobber so worried.

The blacksmith hadn’t come alone.

His father was on the way.

And knowing just how brash the man could be…this was really something he needed to be eased into.

Hastily, the young man began running towards the source of the clomping. Hoping to intercept the chief, and prevent any crazy reactions.

Though before he left, he quickly faced his mother.

“Stay…put…there.” He commanded, feeling like the woman was seconds away from just flying off. “You know what I mean!”

Running as quickly as his legs would take him, Hiccup left the plaza. He turned a corner, took a shortcut between a few houses, and found his father stepping down the path.

He ran right up to him, nearly tripping as he skidded to a stop.

“H-Hey, dad!” He greeted, slightly panting.

“Ah, son. Good to see you.” Said Stoick. “I noticed the light in the sky, I’m guessing you caused that commotion?”

“Uh…” Hiccup’s awkwardness intensified. “Not exactly…”

“There’s something in the square. Something that I really think you should see… “

Stoick, of course, immediately assumed this was a bad something.

He furrowed his brow, brandished a blade, and began cautiously walking towards the plaza.

Hiccup nearly had a heart attack.

“W-Wait, wait, dad!” He shouted, while scurrying after him.

“Put the sword down! This isn’t something you wanna stab!”

His protests fell on deaf ears, as the bearded man continued to march onwards. Ready to face any threats to his village.

“Th-This is really more of an earth-shattering surprise, type of thing!” Hiccup stuttered, trying and failing to get in front of his father.

“I hate surprises…” Stoick grumbled, rounding a corner.

“This is one you’ll like, I promise!” Tried the young man. “You just have to handle it…delicately!”

They were nearly there, and Gobber was now leaning against the side of a building. The same one with the teeth in it.

He just watched Stoick go, both anticipating and dreading the coming events.

“Oh boy…” He moaned.

“No, dad, seriously. Put the sword away, please!” Hiccup pleaded. “Before you scare her!”

That caught Stoick’s attention.

Who was her?

He was about to find out.

He took a few more steps, made one more turn, and entered the square.

…

And suddenly, he was dead.

Stoick the Vast had died.

That was the only explanation for it.

Because right in front of him, just as he always imagined she’d be once his time finally came…

Was his wife.

Valka.

Illuminated by the sun, her hair flowing in the breeze. Standing there alone, with a face full of apprehension. Yet it seemed she was trying to keep her composure.

Her grip on her staff was tight, betraying how nervous she truly felt.

Every part of Stoick’s body fell limp. His sword clattered to the ground, entirely forgotten.

His eyes, wide as they could possibly go. His jaw hanging open.

Swiftly, Stoick reached up for his helmet. Removing it in her presence.

A presence he hadn’t been in for twenty years.

A presence he’d dreamed of returning to.

Hiccup, Gobber, and their dragons stood just behind him. Anxious to see how things would go.

There was pure silence, in the village. Uncharacteristic for the island.

It was as if the whole world had stopped, just for this moment.

Valka was the first to speak.

“I know what you’re going to say, Stoick...” She said, a hint of indignation in her tone.

The argument that she’d been imagining for years flowed from her lips, and not his.

“How could I have done this? Stayed away all of these years…and why didn’t I come back to you? To our son?”

Slowly, with staggered steps, Stoick inched closer.

Closer to what he was sure had to be a mirage of some kind.

The most wondrous mirage he’d ever seen.

“W-Well…what sign did I have that you could change, Stoick?” Valka asked, her cool visage cracking with each word. “That anyone on Berk could?”

Cloudjumper watched the proceedings from atop the hut she was standing in front of, as well as a few wandering dragons. Sensing she was one of them.

Valka’s fists clenched, around her staff. Frustration overtaking her.

With him…with the island…

With herself…

“I pleaded so many times to stop the fighting, to find another answer…but did any of you listen?”

Gobber nudged Hiccup’s side with an elbow.

“This is why I never married.” He said, with a sheepish expression. “This and…one other reason…”

With each step Stoick took, Valka found herself fearing what he’d say even more. Lurching backwards in time with his advances.

She clutched her staff protectively in front of her, looking very insecure.

“I-I know that I left you to raise Hiccup alone…” She uttered, filled with regret. “But I thought he’d be better off without me!”

“And I was wrong, I see that now. But…”

Stoick was close.

Closer than he’d been in forever.

And the most frightening part for Valka was that she had no idea what he was thinking.

There was no hint as to any emotion on his face, or in his body language.

Just wide eyes, and a dropped jaw.

He was supposed to be yelling at her. Cursing her for abandoning him and their only child, the child they worked so hard for.

He was supposed to be telling her to leave, and to never return. That he never wanted to even think of her, ever again.

And yet, he didn’t

And it was freaking her out.

Now backed into a wall, Valka felt a sense of panic overwhelming her.

“Stop being so stoic, Stoick! Go on and shout, scream! SAY SOMETHING!”

And he did.

He very gently caressed her face with his hand. She flinched back, surprised by the touch.

He spoke with a quivering, shaky whisper.

Twenty years of grief, dripping through his voce.

“You’re as beautiful as the day I lost you…”

And just like that…

Stoick broke her heart, and put it back together. All at once.

Through teary eyes and shuddering sighs, they shared their first kiss in twenty years.

And Hiccup considered his mission a success.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lunch was awkward.

They’d all gone to the Haddock House, to talk.

But not a lot of talking was getting done.

Just two people, sitting at opposing ends of the table. Gawking at each other.

Hiccup sat in the middle of the table, between his two parents. Trying to ease the tension.

But with tension this thick, it was quite the task.

“So...” Hiccup tugged at his collar. “H-How’d the races go?”

His attempt to bring up a lighter subject was effective, as Stoick perked up for a brief instant.

“Oh! Uh…good! R-Really exciting stuff!”

“Cool!” The young man replied, before an expression of regret crossed his features. “Sorry we missed them, we kinda got…distracted.”

The obvious allusion to herself made Valka sink in her chair a bit.

“Actually, you didn’t miss all of them…” Stoick said, while stroking his red beard. “There’s still the final race.”

“Wasn’t the final race last week?” Hiccup asked.

His father’s face became one of annoyance.

“Aye, it was supposed to be. We had to put it on hold, when everyone on the island came down with the flu.”

“Apparently Ruffnut caught it, and gave it to Fishlegs…” The man released a gruff sigh. “And then she shuffled him around the village, punching him in the stomach so he’d wheeze on everybody.”

The knowledge of Ruffnut being a bioterrorist was disconcerting enough, but Fishlegs’ continued ill-treatment was unfortunate to hear.

“And why hasn’t he broken up with her yet?” Hiccup asked, offended on his friend’s behalf. “She’s awful for him!”

“If only I knew, son…” Sighed Stoick, dreading the day the two ever wed. Or even worse, procreated.

Valka raised an eyebrow.

“F-Fishlegs? Ruffnut?” She wondered, the names being unfamiliar to her.

“The Ingerman boy, and one of the Thorston twins.” Stoick answered, earning an understanding nod from the woman.

She remembered now. Both their mothers were pregnant around the time she was…

…

And now she was sad again.

The mood immediately returned to dreariness. But instead of sitting in more silence, Stoick asked a question.

“Please, Val. Just…where were you? For all these years?”

After a moment’s hesitation, she replied.

“I-In a sanctuary, for dragons. Guarded by a great king…”

“She’s been rescuing them!” Hiccup cheerily added, trying to back her up.

This made some sense, to Stoick. Valka had always been more sympathetic to the creatures.

“And how exactly did you manage to survive?” Asked the chief.

Valka’s bad mood instantly vanished, replaced with a wide grin and sparkling eyes.

“Oh, it wasn’t so bad!” She said. “It’s beautiful, out there! And there are so many dragons! Oh, and every day, the Bewilderbeast takes the flock out for feeding! And then- “

On and on, she talked about her paradise in the middle of the frozen tundra. Gesturing vividly with an almost geeky excitement.

And it was one of the most beautiful things Stoick had seen in years.

This was his Valka.

The seasoned rider’s ramble fizzled out, when she saw the adoration that was overflowing from Stoick’s eyes.

It was just how he used to look at her.

It was how he’d look at her in her dreams.

“Val, I…” Stoick’s voice was soft, and quaking. “I was so lost, without you…”

“And for a while there…” He spared an eternally remorseful glance to Hiccup. “I-I lost my way…”

The thought of Hiccup’s mistreatment made Valka huff, briefly filled with anger.

But then she realized that she’d left him, to deal with all that alone.

One parent neglected him, one abandoned him.

They’d both failed him.

Toothless, Cloudjumper, and Skullcrusher looked up from their bowls of fish. Placing silent bets on what would happen next.

Hiccup saw the turmoil, on both their faces. And tried to channel his inner Mirabel.

“Look, we all screwed up. In various ways…” He grew a sly grin. “Maybe I could’ve made less life-endangering inventions!”

The chuckles he was expecting didn’t come, but he kept moving on.

“Th-The point is, we learn from our mistakes. And try to do better.”

“Maybe we didn’t exactly get…being a family right, the first time…” He reached over, to both ends of the small table.

He grabbed his father’s hand, and his mother’s hand, and put them together. Before placing his own hand on top of them.

“But what’s stopping us from giving it another shot?”

He looked to both of them, a steadfast expression on his face.

He was determined to make this work.

And…

They couldn’t deny that it sounded awfully nice.

“Well, I…” Valka found herself torn, between flitting her gaze about, and keeping it locked on Stoick’s.

“I’d have to find the fastest route, between here and the sanctuary…and some of the dragons would probably follow me here, so we’d have to find accommodations for them, and…”

Every stipulation she raised was eagerly accepted by Stoick, who in turn replied simply with.

“For you, my dear, anything…”

Together, they stood. Hands still clasped together. And Stoick dropped down to one knee.

Hiccup backed away, to let them have their moment.

“Will you come home, Val?” He pleaded. “Will you be my wife, once again?”

Valka’s face was running the gamut. Morphing rapidly through elation, uncertainty, and a slew of other emotions.

Toothless, the ultimate Wingman, just so happened to be walking by. And he nudged her into the chief.

She fell over, and Stoick caught her. They both shared a shocked glance…

And then they burst with laughter.

Laughter they’d only imagined sharing with each other again. Something they thought was never to be.

Hiccup walked closer, as they both stood from their tumble. Wearing a wide smile.

Stoick grabbed his son, and pulled both he and Valka close.

“We can be a family!” He grinned. “What do you say?”

Toothless shuffled closer, and gave Valka his biggest, most adorable eyes. Betraying his true nature as a scaly puppy.

Between her husband, her son, and this dragon…

There was no way she could say no.

“Yes!” She laughed, filled with joy.

And in that moment, they were whole again.

A tearful embrace was had, between the three of them. The pure delight in the room was insurmountable.

It was the first time they’d ever been all together like this.

When the hug split apart, Stoick kept a large hand on his son’s shoulder.

“Thank you, for bringing us back together.”

Hiccup grew a beaming smile.

“N-No problem, dad!” He replied.

Stoick then turned to his wife, still in his arms.

“Our boy is really something special!” He said, overflowing with pride.

Valka wholeheartedly agreed.

While he really wanted to just bask in this moment, Hiccup had other obligations.

“Hey, so I got a few bonding ceremonies to take care of…” He said, while moving towards the door.

“I’ll definitely try and get everyone here tomorrow, though! I know they’d love the race!”

“Tomorrow, then.” Stoick nodded, still gently smiling.

With that, Hiccup beckoned for Toothless.

They flew up into the sky, flashing back to the Encanto.

Giving his parents some long overdue alone time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Deep beneath the ground, where even the faintest traces of light could never hope to reach, there were holes.

Tunnels.

A twisting, winding collection of caves and caverns. All underneath Berk.

They weren’t here before.

Something made them.

Some things.

In the center of these tunnels, lied a small hollow.

Littered with eggshells, and marked with mounds of dirt. Evidence of burrowing creatures, already making their way through the island’s interior.

The Whispering Deaths had hatched.

And it was only a matter of time before they rose to the surface.

…

Including the white one.