57. Meeting the mysterious rider again

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The foliage encompassing the Selardalr forests was something of a higher grade of nature than what the old seafarer had seen in years past. Leaves and vines of the same shade and translucence as the finest emeralds he'd ever spied on the market. Blades of grass with their dripping dew and the overgrowth of moss on the scattered stones were too like collections of green crystal. In the nerve-wracking time Johann had stayed here so far, he supposed he had little time or paid little effort to notice such vibrant greenery basking in adoration of every creature that lived here enjoying their over-tipped allowance of good fortune.

And based on his current string of failures so far in convincing the self-exiled former heir of Berk, he would have even less time to do so. He could only thank the Gods that Hiccup had found something else to pursue.

Their expeditionary troop consisting of himself, Hiccup, Toothless, and Syn had made fair distance into the woods chasing the long vanished glimpse of the mystery dragon and its rider. Johann, who'd long since lost any coordination he claimed to have was stumbling over every stray twig and bush on the path. Syn, who was just keeping up with his pace due to still reeling from the birth of her new child, was the only one offering to help him back on his feet. As for Hiccup and his chortling dragon, they sprinted forth surging with adrenaline, calling upon their long refined mental maps and navigating with ease.

"The big guy was pretty close to touching down when it passed by!" Hiccup called out. "If we hurry, we can probably catch it before it takes off again!"

"For a dragon as big as a house, it sure moves fast!" Syn whined.

"Indeed. Dragons face no contest in terms of size!" Johann called back trying to lighten the mood. "Why, this one possesses the magnitude of a sea serpent I encountered sailing the shores of-"

"DON'T!" Both Hiccup and Syn desperately cried out.

"Please! I'm not going out by way of boredom!" Toothless barked.

"Toothless and I can safely speak from experience: size doesn't always matter." Hiccup said running ahead. "Whatever this guy decides to pull, we'll be ready this time!"

"Yes, right then, onward to conquest!" Johann shouted with all the ferocity of a Viking going into battle with a fist in the air and ran ahead.

Hiccup gave a hard stare at Johaan's near retreating figure with red faintly tinting his eyesight's edge. Though concentrated on the task at hand, the issue of the merchant's intentions hadn't faded from his thoughts. Fate had apparently given him a lucky bone when he had spotted the rider but Hiccup could tell from his own practice of the art when someone was avoiding confrontation. The ever-present pounding strain given by his prosthetic leg wasn't enough of a handicap for the vigorous young man to allow Johann to escape, but he made quick to soften his features so as not to make the old man wary.

"You know; I'm surprised you're doing this."

"Yeh, well... doubt my inner fortitude, do you?" Johann asked nervously. "Tis always been said I possess the soul of a warrior beneath this shabby garb of mine!"

"Never said I doubted your 'warrior's soul.' But I'm thinking... I don't know, maybe I did get a little quick to judge. I mean, here you are with us, helping us to find an unknown breed of dragon on an island in the middle of nowhere. Considering how dragons aren't really your thing, well, I'm impressed."

What was once Midgard-trembling nerves quickly turned to overwhelming guilt to Johann when he saw what almost appeared to be a joyful smile on Hiccup's face. Where he stood on that line of trust remained uncertain, but to witness something as foreign and almost out-of-place on the Haddock boy's face as a smile for all the wrong reasons made more than his bones ache.

Men his age knew of regret, clear and ambiguous all at once in nature, how it honed the spirit and forewarned of possible new mistakes. If old Johann could have claimed one thing for certain, men his age should know enough of that drive of character to by now have become something near perfect. To err and harm another was something so common to human nature, a moral passed in many of his eccentric tales. Lessons should be fractionally understood before they are to be imparted on another, a golden rule among mentors and storytellers he and Gobber agreed.

Men such as him, and by extension Stoick, should not have been spending their time finding more to regret.

"Ah..." Johann smacked his lips and cleared his throat when he felt Hiccup and Toothless' stares burning holes in him. "Well, the key is an open mind, as you would attest, Master Hiccup."

Sound advice, if Hiccup could attest when he looked back upon this point in his life.

All four paused their pursuit at a small verdant clearing along the path, with a large opening in the surrounding wall of trees that exposed the overlooking mountain nearby. Remnants of sunrise that shone from behind the top sleuthed out a well-needed clue, a trail of clawed and human footprints embedded in the wider volume of firm ground where the two landed. With a leap Toothless approached the prints and gauged the strength of the scent as far as the boundary of surrounding trees and the shaded path ahead. His eager bark attested they were fresh.

Hiccup gazed out for a few moments with an old itch coming into him through his twitching fingers. "So what do you guys think?"

"About what? The prints going into the forest? How it has "ambush" written all over it?" Syn asked.

"Something like that." Toothless growled reaffirming the collective sense of wariness felt by all.

"Well, take it from an old man with more than his fair share of expertise in tracking," Johann declared with a newfound sense of boldness. "Staring and skepticism won't bring your prize to you. Best bring yourself to the prize."

"Never pegged you as the hunting type."

"There are a great many things I have kept hidden from you, Master Hiccup."

"Yeah, some better than others..." The young chief muttered.

"Well, Mr. Big Game Hunter has a point here." Syn spoke. "It's either stand around and wait for the eventual sneak attack or go in and catch the guy before he even gets the chance. Personally I'm up for the option where we don't get randomly barbecued. How about you, Hiccup?"

Just as the matriarch of Selardalr turned around, her husband was already set upon his dragon. His foot clicked as it attached to the stirrup and the reigns were already gripped tight. Hiccup's features never seemed to change beyond that look of determination, a kind opposed to the bold and matured variety he wore nowadays. Drawn from memory was an invigorated gaze straight out of his youth; she was right, in her opinion, to worry.

"Whoa, I didn't mean go by yourself. Let me get Storm or signal the other riders and-"

"No time." Hiccup interrupted. "I'm not letting this guy get away again. Toothless is the fastest dragon we got; if we move now, we can catch him before he even gets the chance to run."

"You sure about that?" Syn asked exasperatedly. "Toothless is fast, but he's up against a dragon squared! Twice as big and with four wings!"

"Yeah, well, Toothless is a Night Fury. We win." And Hiccup and Toothless launched into the sky without a second's delay. Syn felt her jaw drop at the man's rush of impulsiveness before it quickly shifted to a stern frown.

"Yep, I sure know how to pick 'em."

.....

If Hiccup was forced to explain his squirming fingers and reckless attitude, it might have been that sense of childhood curiosity and wonder returning to him. He was born with the spirit of an explorer: swift and free as wind, greeting the day with spyglass and compass in hand, every step of progress hauntingly pushed what lied at the next. That aspect of Hiccup's character was appreciated by all; just as air itself could not be quelled, it was what made him the Hiccup they all respected, and what made the isle of Selardalr the utopia of peace and freedom the Viking Archipelago had long awaited. It was as natural as the power of flight that propelled him and his dragon into the pure blue sky.

Life had become stagnant now with all his wildest dreams come true and weights of adulthood set upon him, the days dragging on in a long, endless blur. Commodities and visitors from distant lands brought with them a break from the mundane and predictable, true enough even in times of warfare turned dreary. An undiscovered breed of dragon and his rider provided such an opportunity now, more than enough to stir the silent winds within him. It was enough even to make him forget about darkened thoughts brought about by stress, such as potential threats or petty revenge.

For the first time in a long while, there was that feeling of discovery awaiting. The daredevil pair of dragon and rider were children once more, with answers to unasked questions awaiting them. Hiccup enjoyed that almost eons-lost sense of fullness that came from inhaling the open air like it was his last breath.

Toothless' eagle eye kept locked onto the trail even as it faded into the untamed growth. The time they spent swerving through towers of green didn't last as long as they would have liked, leading them. Stealth was paramount as Toothless zoomed in past the obscuring branches above another patch in the woods, landing as gracefully as a swaying leaf without a single pine needle in tandem. It was effective as the amazing sight before Hiccup remained picturesquely still.

"There you are..."

By a small stream of water flowing from the mountain's base draped in subtle golden light stood a dragon almost three times Toothless's size, to Syn's inaccuracy. Its stature and position of its wings gave it strong resemblance to a Nadder, yet its muscular build lent an air of dignity far beyond something any animal possessed. Its owl-like face was smashed in with spines and frills, with sparse scrapes no doubt from battles past abundant on its body. A wise warrior of a beast, regal and powerful, if his dragon knowledge could give it apt description.

Though no dragon could ever match his Night Fury in his eyes, Hiccup could not hide his intrigue towards this magnificent creature. Toothless himself gurgled with generous awe at the dragon, trying to get his attention. Whether it noticed or not was unsure as it sniffed the stream for a fish to eat.

"Alright, let's try this another way."

Hiccup reached for his leg and pulled out the hilt for one of his key inventions, Inferno. With a click the kerosene-coated steel lit as instantly as its inspiration and with ribbon-like arcs of trailing flame his human form was lost in an illusory dance of dragon fire. It caught the beast's attention slowly but surely. It stared at him with small intrigue of its own yet it retained alertness on par with a veteran. Hiccup almost felt like the animal himself when confronted with the dragon's unblinking gaze.

Hiccup gulped. "Okay, big guy. Let's take this nice and slow." He carefully inched towards the dragon, noting a higher level of caution. "That's right, we're all friends here. I'm not gonna hurt you."

Still the dragon remained perfectly still, not even flinching in response to Hiccup's approaching figure. Perhaps because of its unrevealed asset.

The figure appeared in an instant, almost born of the forest itself, matching the silent grace of Toothless moments earlier. Without the dusk to conceal him, Hiccup had a better look at his features. The armor and helmet stitched messily together, coated with dust and cracks, painted upon with dulled colors. The cape soiled and tattered from what seemed like years of use. Upon the more stable ground that wasn't the back of an airborne dragon they kept low to the earth with a staff kept as firmly gripped as a dragon's claws would be lodged in its sockets. Everything from their appearance to their stance suggested this being seemed more dragon than human.

Every bit of air in Hiccup's lungs almost petrified, his body as still as a statue. He did not even dare to make a move for fear he might frighten the animalistic being. It moved closer, judging its surroundings, creeping on almost all fours. His voice hammered from inside his chest in an attempt to speak, to regain ground.

"Who are you?" He asked. "Are you human?"

The figure froze with a clawed hand poised, seeming startled.

"Where do you come from? This dragon, it's... yours, right?"

Its start was only temporary as the figure went low and continue to stalk forward. Hiccup nearly spied a gleam inside the slits of what he assumed was a mask: of curious or ill intent, he wasn't too sure. Toothless leapt forward and smashed the ground with his claws to bar the stranger's path.

"Make one more move and you won't like what I'll-" Toothless was cut off by a strange yet familiar scent. "Why do you smell like... my boy?"

The smell of the forest, of dragon musk and aged earth emanated from this mysterious being. It almost relaxed his nostrils smelling the sweet and comforting scent of his beloved rider and made him lose his guard. Yet his eyes kept trailed on the stranger, until...

A hypnotic wave of hand and fingers, and the mighty Toothless fell limp.

Hiccup had to double-take wondering if his own senses were tricking him, how without even a touch, his vigilant and overprotective Night Fury was reduced to a boneless puddle on the ground. Movement from his chest indicated his friend was still alive at the very least, fallen victim to a variation of his nerve pinch and writhing in ecstasy. The stranger stepped past Toothless' almost nonexistent body towards him.

"Getting kinda nervous here." His words reflected his mood seeing the figure raise its hand towards him. "C-Can you, uh..."

Neck hairs on high with chilling waves rushing down his body, he felt the stranger's rough gloved hand brush across his skin. It was rough with layers of dirt and leather running down towards his chin, reflecting still hostile intent and focused analysis. But by the time it reached his chin, right where a small scar from infancy was located, the way it brushed against his skin and then pulled away was gentler than a wisp of summer wind.

"...Hiccup?" Came the rider's muffled female's voice.

The figure soon removed her mask, and with it any doubt as to her nature to a surprised Hiccup. Her braided auburn hair many shades lighter than his own with streaks of white fell down behind her. Aged but still as beautiful as any Valkyrie with lines running down her features, she seemed to stare at him with nostalgic rapture, her eyes becoming glossy with soon to be fallen tears.

"After all this time..." she whispered. "It's you..."

"I-I'm... sorry. Have we... met before..?"

She looked away almost shamefully. "... Long ago, when you were too young, too small, too weak... too much for a mother to lose."

Hiccup stared, his mind blank. Did this woman... just claim? "Ah, I-I-I, uh, I d-don't. I-I'm sorry, ma'am but..." As much as he tried to speak or even shape thoughts or words to speak with, everything just rolled back to the back or the forefront or anywhere else. Not even coherent words could now pass his lips, instead coming out as mere stutters.

"My Hiccup... here, now." The woman muttered. She came close, arms extended wide as if all that encompassed the world now was her and her son.

Her son.

His mother.

This was... his mother.

The same mother who was last seen vanishing in the starless black sky above a vicious dragon raid twenty three years ago; carried away by the very dragon behind her, no doubt. Storm clouds of her fleet silhouette hung over Berk as a stigma, darkening days and festering as the years passed in one way or another. And yet, despite hurtful tales drawn from the ash by gossiping wives and merciless bullies, he still craved to know of the woman whose shadow lingered behind him. But with respect more for the grieving living than the actual dead, walls of silence were held and any honest truth might as well have vanished with her. And now, not as a missing piece in a puzzle of memory, but as honest flesh and blood, was that very woman, seeking the tender embrace of the child she left behind.

She sought warmth, but all he could give was... cold.

Just as she came within hair's length of him was when Syn and Johann crashed in through the cracking bushes, panting and wide-eyed. Their eyes only went wider at the sight of the stranger now unmasked and ready to capture Hiccup in a grip of whatever intent she may have had. Yet Johann, no stranger to Berk history, spoke out to clear any confusion.

"Lady Valka?"

Valka broke away and stared back. "Johann. W-What are you doing here?"

"I dare say I could ask the same. When all of Berk had assumed you'd have been feasting at Odin's table after ferocious dragons had made a feast of you!"

"Highly exaggerated, Johann." She chuckled.

"Well then, how-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA!" Syn shouted trudging from the bushes and cleaning her dress. "Slow down and go back about a dragon flight or ten. You're Valka?" She asked the bashfully smiling woman, then turned to a barely-alive looking Hiccup. "This is that Valka? This is... your mother!?"

Hiccup didn't even look up, only walked to his dragon and knelt beside him to rub him into the waking world. Whether it was the answer he gave or the empty tone he gave it with, it disarmed everyone present. And as for Valka herself, neither one could have hurt more.

"No."

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~~TO BE CONTINUED~~

I am sorry if this is not the reunion you guys wanted but I just wanted to change the scenario from the original scene in the movie. In the future chapters you guys will understand why I did it .

Fun Ft: I got the idea of this chapter from an art of someone from the pinterest. That comic made me want to do it ...