Left In The Night

Chapter 7

Rurik ran outside as soon as he heard wingbeats approaching from above. Finally, his sister showed up.

Zyrah practically leaped out of the saddle as Rurik grabbed her arm and pulled her inside the house, which had since fallen quiet. Dalla had safely delivered a baby girl after hours of labor, and everyone was waiting for the young aunt to come and meet her.

"There she is!" Olsen softly exclaimed, bringing in his baby sister for a huge bear hug.

"Con...grats... dumbhead..." Zyrah managed to wheeze out, gently elbowing her brother's rib so he'd put her down. Her other brothers had already met their newborn niece, and her parents got to meet their newest grandchild. Alvar's wife, Ingrid, sat next to her sister-in-law, hand on her still pregnant belly.

"Baby sister, meet baby niece," Olsen said, unable to stop teasing Zyrah even after the birth of his second child.

"Aun' Zymah!" Came the little voice of Olsen's son, Lyngar. Even being five now, he still hadn't quite gotten Zyrah's name right, but she loved it. She scooped him up, being led to the bedside by Olsen to see her sister-in-law and newborn niece.

Zyrah couldn't help but let out the little coo upon seeing the tiny little face all wrapped up in soft wool.

"Oh by Frigg, she's precious. What's her name?"

"Well... your brother and I actually thought we'd let you name her." For a split second, Zyrah nearly fell off the bed.

"W-what? Me? But... she's your baby." Zyrah was understandably overwhelmed at the sudden responsibility of choosing her niece's name. She knew one day that she wanted children of her own, but she wanted to save that responsibility for the future.

"It's okay Zyrah, you don't have to," Dalla assured, gently placing a hand on her arm.

"No, no. I'm alright, I was just in shock for a moment," with an awkward laugh, Zyrah brushed most of her discomfort off, "but... I think she looks... like a Frida." She paused, "yeah, Frida." She nodded in affirmation, gently grazing her fingertip on the smooth skin of the baby's cheek.

Olsen and Dalla looked at each other, then at their son. They too contemplated it before nodding in approval.

"Welcome to the family, Frida."

After Olsen officially confirmed Frida as his daughter and part of the family, his father, brothers and sister departed, leaving Eðla, Ingrid, and a midwife to stay behind to care for Gulla postpartum.

Halvar slung his arm around his daughter, beaming and boasting about how proud he was for naming her niece.

"Oh, it was nothing, dad..." Zyrah said, attempting to brush it off.

"It wasn't nothing, that's a big deal."

"Please, don't push it." She grumbled, this time more forcefully. While she appreciated praise like anyone else, this time she really didn't want that kind of attention. She pulled herself out from under her father's beefy arm, scurrying away with Blueheart on her heel.

Instead of walking home, though, she made her way to Konall's house, which wasn't too far of a walk.

She knocked on the door and was greeted by Konall's mother's smile.

"Hello, Zyrah! How did Dalla's labor go?"

"I wasn't there for it, you can ask mom later. But she had a girl!"

"Oh, that's wonderful to hear! Thank Frigg for safe delivery. I'll be sure to stop by later. Konall is up in his room." Given how close Zyrah and Konall were, they'd established a routine with Zyrah coming over, and Konall's mother had basically made the young girl a part of her household.

Zyrah wordlessly made her way up the stairs to the loft where Konall's 'room' was, and plopped herself on his bed. He didn't even glance up from his desk.

"Overwhelming?" He nonchalantly asked, noting her mood.

"You have no idea."

"Did they let you hold the baby?"

"No, they gave me the responsibility of naming the baby!" Zyrah exclaimed, flipping over. Konall turned in surprise.

"Really? Oh wow... what uh... what name did you pick?"

"Frida." The corner of Konall's mouth twitched into a half grin.

"Well good to know you don't suck at naming things!" Zyrah scoffed.

"Ah! I named Blueheart!"

"And there ya go, you don't suck at naming things." He snickered.

"Whatever. It was kinda terrifying to have that responsibility. Naming someone else's baby..."

"Yeah, but hey, it's your niece." He reminded as he got out of his chair, taking a seat next to her on his bed. His comment garnered no response, even as she sat up.

He could almost hear her heartbeat slowing down. He knew any kind of responsibility with that weight often left her a bit jittery and lost in thought. But he knew how to get her to calm down, so he gestured for her to turn around. And he silently began undoing her braid, gently combing it out.

He felt lucky being one of the few that Zyrah had allowed to touch her hair, the only others being her parents. Obviously, as she got older, she was able to care for her hair her way, but now Konall was the only other one currently permitted to help her. She had always been rather sensitive about her hair, and she had a care routine that had remained unbroken for years.

Eventually, Zyrah broke the silence, filling him in on her little hangout with chief Hiccup and his Night Fury.

"Honestly, out of the whole hangout, the one thing I couldn't help but notice was how Hiccup's Night Fury, Toothless, interacted with Blueheart."

"Really? I take it he liked her?"

"Definitely seemed like it. I don't know if she felt the same, though!" Zyrah couldn't help but chuckle at that. Blueheart had always been very picky about friendships with other dragons. In talking about the dragons, it soon turned into a deep conversation wondering about Night Furies.

"I recall Hiccup mentioning that he and his fellow Berkians thought Toothless was the last Night Fury," Zyrah remarked, handing Konall a thin comb to part her hair with.

"Obviously that's not the case." He finished.

"I mean, not the last last, y'know? Last male, perhaps...?"

"Mm, definitely a less extreme guess than just being the last of his kind. With Blueheart and all."

"I dunno why, but I have a really strong feeling that they're most certainly not the last of their kind. I mean, sure, Night Furies are rare, but they couldn't have all been killed off." Konall patted her shoulder.

"Let's not think too deeply about it right now. Lemme finish your hair, then get some sleep. It's been a long day."

"Fair enough."

With the moon having risen halfway above the horizon, Zyrah thanked Konall and said goodnight to him and his mother, following the familiar pathways home.

Blueheart was waiting outside the house when she heard Zyrah approach, giving her an affectionate nudge. And with another bid of goodnight, the girls went to sleep.