Familial Ties

I have a very strong urge to make a Max Steel or Transformers Prime fanfiction...

But other than that, here's your latest chapter! Get ready for a roller coaster of emotion in the next chapters coming up.

And by the way, I've taken the liberty of stocking up on a few chapters. Thanks to a certain reader (looking at you alt_nightsky) pointing it out to me.

Enough yapping! Enjoy the chapter!

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That flight was one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had. Now, I was sitting by a fire next to Toothless on some small rock island. We spent some time there, so I had gathered a bunch of fish we could eat in the meantime.

As I was cooking one, a few Terrible Terrors showed up. Toothless quickly began guarding the fish near him, as if it were the last thing he'd ever eat.

"Really, Toothless?" I sighed, watching him growl at the smaller dragons.

The Terrible Terrors started fighting over the fish, trying to take some from Toothless. One of them eventually succeeded, but Toothless snatched the fish back, swallowing it whole before laughing at the poor thing.

The smaller dragon glared at him before trying to breathe fire, only for Toothless to fire a small plasma blast as soon as it opened its mouth, causing it to inflate like a balloon for a moment. I watched as it whined in pain, struggling to walk for a few moments before sighing.

I tossed one of the fish I had over to the small dragon. It stopped to stare at it, looking up at me before quickly swallowing it. Then, to my surprise, it came over next to me and cuddled up next to me.

"Hmm, guess we're not so different after all."

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A few hours later, I returned to the village after taking Toothless back to the cove. Sitting in my workshop, I stared at the ceiling, trying to think of something to do.

Unfortunately, I was drawing a blank. I wasn't really in the mood for anything else. Then I heard someone enter the room.

"Helga? You in here?"

"Yeah, what's up, Dad?" I said, shifting into a more comfortable position.

"How's Gobbers training?"

"Boring." I sighed, leaning against the table next to me.

"Boring? I thought this was what you asked for. Didn't you say you wanted to kill your first dragon?" He asked, confused at my sudden attitude.

"That was before. Now… I'm not so sure."

"Is this about Kaarik?"

I didn't answer.

"Helga, I told you, we don't have enough people to search for him right now. We barely have enough to protect the village anymore." He said sternly.

"How do you know the nest you're looking for even exists? You've spent so many years searching, and yet each time you come back with fewer people than before." I said, turning away.

"Watch what you say, Helga. Those were good Vikings I lost. I'm doing this for us. For the village." He said firmly.

I scoffed and went back to staring at some blueprints on the table. Sighing, he sat up and pulled something from his waist.

I glanced toward him, seeing him run his hand over a helmet, looking at it fondly as if remembering something from the past.

"This… this was your mother's. She would have wanted you to have it."

That made me turn around. I looked at the helmet, my mind racing, before slowly reaching out to grab it. Seeing this, my father placed it in my hands and watched as I studied it.

"You look just like her. The way you carry yourself, your face, your eyes. Everything about you reminds me of her, and I couldn't be any prouder to have you as my daughter."

"What was she like?" I said softly, my eyes never leaving the helmet.

"She was the bravest person I ever knew. The day I lost her was… more than I could handle." He started slowly.

The atmosphere around us grew more somber.

"There was an attack on the village, dragons everywhere. I heard a scream from the house, so I rushed there as fast as I could. What I saw scared me to death." He took a deep breath before continuing the story.

"What did you see?" I asked, looking up at him.

"I saw a dragon hovering above your crib, and your mother pinned near a wall. I tried to save you both, but the dragon spat flames at me, setting fire to the whole place. I knew I had to get to you, so I rushed to your crib to grab you, and by the time I looked back, the dragon was in the air, with your mother in its grasp."

There was a long pause as he finished the story. The memories of that moment showed on his face. I could see them all, the rage, the sadness, the regret.

"The dragons took your mother from us, Helga. If I don't find and destroy the nest, you could be next. That's why I decided to let Gobber train you. So you can protect yourself against the dragons."

"What if… what if we're wrong about the dragons?"

"We're not." His response to what I said was immediate.

I stared at him for a moment before turning back to the table.

"Well, I'd better get to bed. I have a long, tiring day tomorrow." I yawned.

"Right, you do that." He said, heading out of the forge.

"Oh, and Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks… for the gift, I mean. It's nice to have something to remember Mom by." I said, looking back at the helmet.

"It's nothing. Matching sets. It keeps her close, ya know? G'night, Helga."

"G'night, Dad."