Haley and the Dragon Riders

The Calm Before the Storm

"Uhh.. not that I want to interfere in your love life, Odin knows I'm in favor of love, but seriously? He tried to kill your dragon, and you still want to be with him?" Fishlegs questioned.

"That's a fair point, but as I said, he'd made some questionable choices in life. That doesn't mean he's not a good man. And he did save me from that Whispering Death." I countered.

"You mentioned it had been attacked by Hunters. Have they really been around for that long? Astrid, I don't want to think about all the poor dragon's they've hurt before we got here." Hiccup said.

"Don't beat yourself up over it. You couldn't have known. Besides, Viggo, or whoever led the Hunters back then, will never get away with it." Astrid comforted him.

"Astrid's right. We need to focus on what's important today." Ruffnut said.

"Exactly! We can't change the past, but we can decide how we let it impact our future." Tuffnut continued.

"One day, you guys will have to tell me if you're idiots or geniuses cause I honestly am not sure anymore." I looked at them with confusion all over my face.

"I would say you get used to it, but the rest of us are just as taken aback when it happens." Fishlegs stated casually.
"Now, about this guy in your life. What's his name?"

"Uh, his name?" His question caught me off guard. The other story, I could make up with relative wase since most of it did happen to me, well except for him coming in to save me from the other dragon, but using the encounter where I saved him and altering a few facts and no one would be any wiser.

"Yeah, what's the idiot's name? I need to know so I can think of better insults when I see him." Snotlout mumbled.

"You don't need to know his name for that." Tuffnut started and leaned in closer to Snotlout.

"That's right, Tuff and I are the best at name-calling others even without knowing their actual names or anything about them." Ruffnut added and leaned in on Snotlout's other side.

"Oh Thor, please help." Snotlout begged as the twins dragged him away somewhere to discuss nicknames for my 'imaginary' boyfriend.

"His name is..." I thought for a moment. It had to be a name that sounds similar to what they use in this area so that he's not a complete stranger, but not so similar they can tell I'm faking it.
"Brok."

"Brok? Alright, I can't wait to meet him." Hiccup smiled.

"Me too. I'm sure we can change his view on dragons. Does he ever talk about visiting?" Fishlegs asked.

"Fishlegs, that's a personal thing to ask. Besides, do we really want him here at our base with all of our dragons when we've just heard of what he can do? He obviously has some dragon knowledge already, and he tried to kill her dragon just after it hatched. He sounds like nothing but trouble!" Astrid shot in.

"You've all got some valid points, but the truth is, even if he wanted to come here, he can't. He lives so far away no boats ever sail near him and the only dragon he tolerates is the Terrible Terror and River, so we can communicate, so getting him out here or visiting him would be near impossible." I didn't expect Astrid to be the one to save me this time, but I'm glad she did.

"You guys are right. Alright, gang. It's getting late. I'm gonna get some rest, and you guys should do the same." Hiccup said before him and Toothless walked away. The rest of us followed his example and got back to our own huts.

In the following months, we didn't do much. A couple of adventures here and there to explore new islands. Routine stuff. I told the gang more stories of my adventures with River, and they taught me all about the dragon's I've met. I thought it would be tough since I didn't know their names, but Fishlegs really is a master when it comes to dragon descriptions.

"It lives in water, uses electrical attacks, and has two heads."

"That's a Seashocker. They only think about hunting, so if you encounter one, be careful. They never travel alone, and once you see one of them, the rest of its school will be on the attack." Fishlegs explained.

"Okay, what about this one; relatively small compared to most dragons I've seen, gray in colour and creates smoke clouds?"

"Oh, that's easy, Smothering Smokebreath. Another pack dragon. They aren't aggressive compared to many other dragons, but they do get very territorial and will defend their territory with everything they've got."

"Okay, okay, last one, and then I gotta get back to work. This one's big, like, ridiculously big. It's got a long neck and silver colours."

"Hmm.. give me something more. Firepower, fire type, diet, anything at all." I smirked as I could see Fishlegs struggling with this one.

"Alright, it has blue flames that explode upon impact, and I saw it glow blue once, almost like a ghost."

"I'm not sure I've ever encountered a dragon like that. Hiccup, this is exciting! A new dragon species we don't know about!" Although Fishlegs didn't know the dragon I was talking about, he seemed super hyped about it anyway.

"A new dragon? Awesome. We can go and check it out in a couple of days. First, there's something else we have to do." Hiccup responded.

"What's that?" Tuffnut asked.

"It's Haley's birthday." Hiccup announced, and they all looked at me.

"He's right." I smiled.

"How did we miss your last birthday then? You've been here for more than a year. What gives?" Snotlout asked.

"I don't really celebrate my birthday, which is why I never told you. Hiccup just kept pestering me about it, though, so eventually I told him."

"Come on, gang, we've got work to do." Hiccup ordered, and everybody got on their dragons and flew off to Thor knows where.

Since they all seemed busy with planning for tomorrow, I decided to go for a flight myself and see an old friend. I got the harness on River, and we set off towards the open sea.

We landed on the island at the dead of night and slowly made our way to his camp. He was sure to be fast asleep at this hour, so we had to be quiet. I knew River would be too excited once she saw him to be quiet, so I sent her out in the forest to forage for food. Once I was happy with her distance to the camp, I made my move.

I snuck into his tent and found him sleeping like a rock. I tiptoed my way to his bedside and gently placed a kiss on his forehead. In that instant, he grabbed me with his left hand and used his right hand to hold a dagger to my throat.

"Viggo! Viggo, it's me! It's me, Haley!" I looked him in the eyes, and calmness washed over him as he relaxed his body and let go of me.

"You shouldn't sneak up on me!" He scolded as he sat up in his bed.

"You shouldn't be so easy to sneak up on. I thought you had guards outside your tent at night?"

"I did. It seems they were too incompetent to do even that. But tell me, why are you here? Aren't you afraid Hiccup will find out if you keep sneaking away in the middle of the night?"

"Nah, he and his gang are busy these days. They're setting up for my birthday tomorrow so they don't pay any attention to me as long as I don't spoil the surprise."

"Your birthday? Seems like a small thing to celebrate during this time of war, manipulation and adventure, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah, I would, but Hiccup insisted, so here we are."

"But then, why are you here and not with the others?" He asked, and a wave of sadness rolled over me.

"I don't like to celebrate my birthday.. I know when it is, but I never do anything. For me, it's a normal day like all the others. It's been that way ever since my parents abandoned me.."

"My dear Haley, it hurts to see you this sad. Let me help you ease the pain a bit." His expression softened, and he patted the side of his bed.
"When do they expect you back?"

"They don't even know I'm gone, so I'll have to return at first light." I said as I got into bed with him. I laid against his bare chest and listened to his heartbeat.

"Listen to it. It beats only for you." He whispered and placed a gentle kiss on the top of my head as I fell asleep.