Come Darkness, Come Light

Chapter 3 - Mysterious Discoveries

A/N: I'll admit, writing this story is becoming a bit of an obsession. It's such a relief to get my thoughts down on paper...or, you know, virtual paper. Anyways, I know it's annoying to read really short chapters, but that's just the way it has to be right now. I only have so much time on my hands. I hope you all are having a fantastic day!

Disclaimer: I'm afraid I still don't own HTTYD.

VALKA'S POV

The next few days were tedious, to say the least. I spent nearly all my time trying to make a comfortable living space in the cavern. Cloudjumper had been a huge help. He gathered supplies: food for me and Hiccup (he even cooked some fish with his fire for me), wood that had broken off of many types of trees, softer materials like leaves and large clumps of moss. I'd managed to make a pretty cozy bed that I shared with Hiccup, and I even built a fire pit on the stoney end of the cavern. All in all, things had been going well.

Still, a certain thought kept nagging me incessantly. I need more than this island can provide. Specifically, I needed tools. If I wanted to be able to rely on myself instead of Cloudjumper, I needed weapons to hunt the local wildlife. I needed knives so I could skin them and make clothes.

The only place to get tools was from other humans. I couldn't go back to Berk, but there were markets in the far north that I was almost positive couldn't be more than half a day's flight away. Cloudjumper had flown directly north from Berk, which meant the markets were somewhere east of the nest. I didn't have anything to trade, so I'd have to use...other means to get what I needed.

Which leads me to where I am now: on the edges of the Northern Markets with my baby in a homemade sling against my chest. Thankfully, this was one of his quiet days. My half assed plan would have no hope if he was crying and drawing everyone's attention. Cloudjumper was hidden away in the forest, waiting for my return.

I took a deep breath, attempting to calm my nerves, and walked slowly along a worn down path that led to one of the weapons tents. There were many people here that would kill me without a second thought just for fun, so I kept a wary eye on my surroundings. The closer I got to my destination, the louder the voices from inside became. I paused right outside, pretending to attend to Hiccup. When I was absolutely sure no one was looking, I took out a sharp rock I'd brought from the nest, chose my target, and chucked it as hard as I could. The muscular, intimidating man that I had hit directly on the head whipped around with eyes of fury, searching for the culprit. I had turned around as soon as I threw it, still acting as if Hiccup needed my attention. No one suspects the mother and her baby. The scary man strode up to the guy closest to him, and threw a solid punch right to his jaw. A few curse words and fists of fury later, and half the people in the market were in a full on brawl. I smirked. So predictable. As I'd hoped, the men guarding the weapons tent ran out to see what all the commotion was about, allowing me to slip inside. I shifted the sling around so Hiccup rested against my back, then grabbed all the weapons I could carry, placing them in a pouch of fur from my clothes. When the weight started to become too much, I ducked out the back, sprinting as fast as I could into the forest. I could still hear the angry shouts and even some cheers behind me as I left.

It wasn't long before I made it back to Cloudjumper, who crooned in curiosity as he sniffed at my stash. I pushed his head aside, climbing onto his back. "Come on, we need to get out of here before they notice their stuff is missing!" I urged, looking over my shoulder with extreme paranoia. He didn't need to be told twice, and took to the air, heading straight for the cover of the clouds so he wouldn't be spotted.

Now that we were out of the danger zone, I allowed myself to relax, and even laugh a bit. "That was crazy!" I shout, my words disappearing in the wind. Cloudjumper roared triumphantly, and even Hiccup clapped in excitement.