The Voyager and the Rogue

Chapter 26

We both received stares from various villagers, me especially. I knew it wasn't malicious, but it was still not a pleasant thing to experience. Especially after having gotten used to New Berk and the New Berkians used to me, I was reliving that anxiety all over again.

Having been lost in my thoughts, I failed to notice a villager approach us, and Eyarr began talking to them. I refocused when I heard him mention Hilda's name. The villager stared at us for a moment, and I knew they were wondering who we were.

"We don't mean any harm." He said. It didn't seem to register with the villager, so I decided to try a different approach.

"I know Hilda's mother, Zyrah?" I attempted, grinning awkwardly. Mentioning Zyrah seemed to have helped, as their expression softened slightly, and they gestured for us to follow them.

We were led to a small house with a roof made of sod, grass sprouting from the top, and smoke emitting from the chimney in the center. The villager opened the door, and I heard them call Hilda's name and then something else in their language. We entered behind them, and I took in the sight of the house.

It reminded me of Ana's, covered with various plants and flowers hanging overhead and baskets filled with other ingredients. Jars and other containers were scattered about, and many talismans and other pieces of silver decorated the walls.

The villager then left us just as a young woman emerged from a back room.

Her black hair tied into a loose ponytail, with strands of hair framing her face. She had warm hazel eyes that leaned more on the brown side. And she bore one beauty mark under her right eye, much like her mother.

"Well, well. About time I finally meet New Berk's famous visitor." She greeted me with a bright smile.

"Considering this is the first time we've met, you seem to know much about me!"

"A girl's gotta stay in contact with her big soon-to-be-chief brother, I get all the happenings from him!" Hilda then came in for a hug, gently squeezing me.

"So what brings you all the way here? And how did you even find this place?"

"Well, to answer your second question first, we were guided here by a man named Éiron. Strange man, but he was actually helpful. Said he knew a lot of Sámi villages." Hilda blinked as she took in my explanation.

"Huh! Well, that does make sense. A lot of the villages take in travelers or traders. They don't cause trouble, so we let them stay as long as they need to."

"That's the impression we got, too." Eyarr agreed.

"Anyway! To answer your first question, Eyarr here has something that belongs to your people."

"Oh?" I gestured for him to show her the drum. And her eyes widened in utter disbelief. She whispered something in Sámi as she delicately took the drum into her hands, grazing her fingers over the surface, tracing the symbols painted on.

"H-how... how did you get this?"

"It's technically not mine. My parents traded for it many years ago. I don't know from whom or from where, but it's been a personal mission of mine to return it." Hilda nodded eagerly, pursing her lips.

"Yes... Yes, thank you, thank you... You did the right thing. I will discuss with the chief on taking action to keep it safe." As she went to go put the drum in a spot for safekeeping, I turned to Eyarr, and I could already tell that this had taken something off his shoulders.

"You look better already," I remarked, placing my hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"You do. Your face seems brighter."

"Well, I do feel better, actually. Doing the right thing."

"I'm glad to hear it." We turned our attention back to Hilda as she returned, and she had a huge grin on her face.

"I cannot thank you both enough for doing that. That being said, Laeli,"

"Hm?"

"How're my brothers doing?" I chuckled.

"I mean, I haven't seen them for the past year, but last I saw, they're both doing well. Knowing how twins are, I can figure Nyr is probably missing you a lot." She quirked a brow.

"Knowing twins?"

"Yeah, my older cousins are twins. Four years older than me. They'll never admit it, but when one of them leaves for a long period of time, you can tell it bothers them."

"Yeah... it is like that. It's hard." She paused, "And how're my parents?"

"About the same, though I think your mother is struggling. Even with her seeing stick, she's trying. I hadn't had a whole lot of time to get to know her too much, though. I'm sorry." Hilda chewed on her lip in thought.

"It was bound to happen. She has been slowly deteriorating, but at least she's got my brothers and the rest of the family."

"She's got you, too. Even if you're a distance away, you're still her daughter." She cracked a smile, a glimmer crossing her hazel eyes.

"No wonder you fit in on New Berk." I wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but I took the compliment nonetheless. As we stood, Hilda stopped us, not ready to let us leave quite yet.

"Oh, Laeli. I just remembered. Your timing is impeccable."

"What?" She grinned, "There's someone here who's been waiting to see you." I raised an eyebrow.

She grabbed my hand and led us outside to the chief's residence before I even had a chance to ask. With Eyarr right behind me, I could make out a silhouette of a towering figure illuminated inside the animal skin tent.

"Come on out! She's here!" Hilda called. Upon my gaze recognizing the individual, my heart dropped out of my chest once I saw that fishhook. I couldn't believe it-

"It... can't be– MAUI!" I cried out, rushing towards the demigod with a tearful embrace. He held his arms out for a hug, just like he'd always done since I was little. As he embraced me, I couldn't stop the tears from falling into his curly hair.

"H-how? How are you here?" I exclaimed with breathless disbelief.

"Thanks to your chief friend and his family, I found my way here." Hiccup.

I was truly at a loss for words. I couldn't even fathom how this happened, but it didn't matter. It was the first time I'd seen Maui... since I started voyaging on my own, "And by the looks of it, you've grown up... a lot." He ruffled my hair with a grin.

The emotions were so real for me at the moment I couldn't stop crying from the relief of seeing a reminder of home.

"Hey, I gotcha, kiddo. I'm here."