Come Darkness, Come Light

Chapter 4 - Unlikely Friends

A/N: I know it doesn't seem like it right now, but I promise Valka is not the main character in this story. I love her, but this story is centered around our favorite cinematic pairing of all time—Hiccup and Toothless. I just believe in a very thorough backstory :) P.S.— Thanks to everyone who takes time out of their day to read Come Darkness, Come Light! You are very much appreciated!

Disclaimer: I hereby announce HTTYD...still not mine. Darn.

VALKA'S POV

I spent the next fews days glued to Cloudjumper's side, and barely got any sleep when I was separated from him. The cavern seemed darker, and there were moments where I thought I could see a flash of movement in the shadows. I chalked it up to me being paranoid. The black dragon had gotten under my skin, that's all.

I sometimes spotted her in the distance, always with the little yellow-eyed hatchling. She was actually quite tender towards the little dragon. It was a side of her that was never shown towards the other dragons. If one flew too close, she would immediately go on the attack, snapping and shrieking defiantly to scare them off. She had an obvious restlessness to her that I didn't understand, like she needed to be somewhere else. But if this place was a refuge for dragons, why would she want to leave?

Perhaps it was just in her nature to be solitary, like a Skrill. It would explain why she didn't get along with any of the dragons here. Even the Alpha looked upon her with wariness when she was nearby. Yet he let her stay...Why?

One day, while I was leaning casually against Cloudjumper and bouncing Hiccup playfully on my knees, the black dragon—whom I'd named Jade for the color of her eyes—got into a nastier fight than usual. A Monstrous Nightmare had flown too close, drawn in by the smell of fish that she'd recently hunted. The mother lashed out at the much larger dragon, always making sure that her hatchling was behind her and safe from harm. The cranky Nightmare didn't take kindly to her attitude, and blew out a stream of fire at her. She dodged with a flexibility I didn't know a dragon could have, and her hatchling scurried away to hide behind a rock. The Monstrous Nightmare grew more and more enraged as she weaved around it, nipping and swiping at its legs. It let out a roar, and managed to bite the tip of her tail before she could create enough distance. She snarled in pain, yanking her tail out of its grasp, then jumped into the air, igniting a frantic chase. The Monstrous Nightmare was no match for her maneuverability, and snapped his teeth in frustration as he struggled to keep up. She twisted and dived and rolled to confuse it until it was left hovering in place, wondering where she'd gone. It flamed up challengingly, daring her to fight.

My gaze snapped up to the top of the dome when I heard a loud whistling that pierced my eardrums. The black dragon had been cruising at the top, but now fell into a steep dive, tucking in her wings to build up speed. Her mouth began to glow bright purple, and before the Nightmare even realized she was approaching, she unleashed a fireball that hit it directly between the wings. The blast was so powerful that some of the ice on the roof broke off in splinters and fell into the lake below. The Nightmare was knocked out instantly, and plummeted limply towards the ground, crashing into the water with a huge splash. It didn't resurface.

I rushed to my feet, setting Hiccup securely under Cloudjumper's protective wing, and ran to the cliff edge. My expression was frozen in disbelief. The black dragon glided down to meet her hatchling, licking between its eyes as if nothing had happened. Her actions had stirred a memory that I'd completely forgotten until now.

I was just a child at the time, and I'd snuck into the kitchen to get a midnight snack. My parents had been talking quietly in their room, which I would normally ignore, except my dad happened to be telling a particularly interesting story he'd heard that day from one of the traders. It was a story about a mysterious dragon that had attacked the trader and his crew during their trip across the seas. The trader had described the dragon as the offspring of lightning and death, with pitch black scales that blended into the night, and a whistling shriek that ripped through the air right before there was an earth-shattering explosion of fire. He'd called it a Night Fury.