[HTTYD] Hybrid: Innocence (theme 8)

Hybrid: Innocence (theme 8) [rough draft], a DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon fanfic series by Raberba girl

List of themes by AngieChild, Variation 1 for the 100ThemesChallenge group on DeviantArt

A/N:  This is the first vignette so far that I'm posting out of chronological order.  It takes place soon after Valka and Hiccup meet Toothless and his family, however long it would have taken until Ice Hunt had to repel a threat during one of his shifts as a flock guardian.

Aaaarrrgghhh, too many Fan Character names to come up with.... *deletes all the stuff I typed about Ice Hunt*  And "Prickle" ("person who doesn't trust easily and puts up a prickly hedge of self-protection") is what Hiccup calls Tooth's mother in dragon language (unless I can think of something better); I don't know her most common name yet.  Gosh, I really don't like having to create FCs.... *frustrated*

o.o.o

The first time Valka awakened in the dark to the horrifying sound of a Night Fury's whistling shriek, she panicked.  Especially when she started up and instinctively reached out for her child and found him gone.

"HICCUP!" she screamed, floundering out of the cave.  "HICCUP!  HICC--!"  She stopped short, almost unable to make sense of the sight of three black hatchlings and one human child all lined up in a row, watching the nightmare dragon's fire exploding across the night sky as if nothing alarming was happening.  Then the way they all looked over their shoulders at her in confusion, as if they had no idea why she was making such a fuss....

"Hiccup, come here!" she cried, snatching him up and rushing back into the cave.  She was vaguely aware of flapping wings and confused chirps and barks, as Cloudjumper and the other nearby dragons were roused by the noise she was making.  "Get inside, get inside, get inside--!"

"MAMA!" Hiccup yelled, not for the first time, thoroughly annoyed.  "No danger!  Protect, safe, sleep!"

"Hiccup, ssshh, stay inside, it's a Night Fury, darling, there's a Night Fury out there, they're very dangerous, we must hide until it's safe--!"

"[Ice Hunt] tell [foreign hostile] dragons stay away.  Safe."

"Sssshhhh!"

Toothless was sniffing at her, trying to figure out why she was upset.  One of his brothers knocked over the broom, startling all four children.  Hiccup and Toothless turned away in disinterest a moment later; Reckless and Stubborn dashed into hiding.  After a pause, the two bigger hatchlings cautiously crept back out, stalked the broom, investigated it until they decided it wasn't a threat, then happily started trying to pull it apart.

There was a thump from outside.  Valka stiffened in alarm, then relaxed a little when she recognized the annoyed, commanding bark of Toothless's mother.  Reckless and Stubborn immediately rushed back outside.  Toothless started after them, then paused and looked back, making a questioning little croak as if he didn't understand why Hiccup wasn't coming with him.

Hiccup squirmed.  "Mama, put me down!  [Prickle] feed us."

"Hiccup, don't tell me you've been eating raw fish?!  Regurgitated raw fish?!?!"

"Feed us food fish want hungry!"

"Hiccup!  And of course you can't go outside anyway, there's a Night Fury--!"

There was another thump, from Ice Hunt coming to a landing.  He poked his head into the cave and barked.  Toothless immediately ran to him, purring and pressing up against his forelegs like a cat; Ice Hunt nuzzled him back.

"Mama let go let go let gooooo!"

"Hiccup, what has gotten into you?!"

Ice Hunt, after cocking his head in confusion, finally went to greet the human boy when he saw that Hiccup wasn't being allowed to come to him.

Hiccup purred and nuzzled back.  "Good [Ice Hunt, protect us keep us safe], chase away bad dragons."  Then, to Valka's shock, he made a near-perfect imitation of the Night Fury's whistling warning.

Realization sapped the strength from Valka's legs, and she had to sit down rather quickly, keeping a tight hold on her child.  'D...Did Icefisher drive off the Fury, or...?!  I don't hear it anymore...it was him?!  This whole time, they've been...?!'

The dragon, the Night Fury, her fellow parent whom she had come to befriend and trust, licked Hiccup affectionately and crooned his love for the two children and his pride in keeping them and the flock safe.  He looked at Valka again with those familiar big beautiful eyes, so friendly and full of innocence.

Valka finally set Hiccup down behind her and, trembling a little, took Ice Hunt's face in her hands.  He licked her cheek and crooned at her, slightly concerned.  "The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself," she whispered.  "I suppose, with everything else they misunderstood, I shouldn't be surprised that they got this wrong, too...."  The dragon briefly pressed his face to her heart, which was still beating too quickly, and made a questioning chirring sound.  "I'm all right...I'll be all right....  Ohhhh, this will take some getting used to...."

o.o.o

Author's Notes:  One of the things I enjoyed reading in Nightfall was Valka not realizing that Toothless is a Night Fury until after she'd come to love him as a son. XD  I wanted to play with that idea a bit, especially in a less urgent situation where she doesn't have more important things to worry about.

I know I said that the next vignette will have a new character, but then I figured I might squeeze in an extra one where Valka's adjusting to the idea that their new best friends have turned out to be a family of Night Furies. XD

Also, someone has said that they'd like to see stuff from different perspectives other than Valka's, such as Tooth's.  I'm sure I'll eventually get around to doing some alternate perspectives, but right now I'm more focused on trying to hammer out the main plot.  I'm just letting the vignettes choose their own perspectives in the meantime, and so far it's usually been Valka, but I'm sure eventually Hiccup and the dragons will get turns.

Again, guys, don't expect me to continue being this good about updating for very long, okay?  I'm shocked that my muse is still as interested in this story as it is; I anticipate that any day now, I'm going to lose interest again and jump to a different project.  I always finish what I promised, but sometimes it takes me a REALLY LONG TIME.  I've got stories I started posting seven years ago that I still haven't properly finished. *sweatdrop*

Complete:  5/100