Come Darkness, Come Light

Chapter 13 - Wishful Thinking

A/N: Hello, how is everyone's day? :)) Lovely to see you, darlings.

Disclaimer: If only...

VALKA'S POV

Cloudjumper stayed in a hover high above the beach to give Hiccup and Toothless space while they washed all the blood off. Hiccup had taken off his shirt and thrown it to the side since there was no way he was getting the blood stains out, and now was knee deep in the water scrubbing at his arms. Toothless was rolling around in the wet sand, using the grainy texture to rid himself of the blood lodged between his scales.

*We shouldn't tell Alpha about this.* Cloud muttered quietly. *He's always been wary of having a Night-wing in his nest.* He told me.

My eyebrows furrowed and I leaned over so I could see his face. "What do you mean? He likes Toothless," I insisted. Sure, there had been a few moments of tension over the years, but Alpha had never shown animosity towards the Night Fury.

Cloudjumper glanced back at me. *Alpha is kinder than most. He took in the female Night-wing because he felt sympathy for a dying species, but he isn't stupid. He knows Night-wings are capable of challenging him. If he thinks Toothless is a danger to his nest and his rule, he'll force him out.* He explained.

I shook my head slowly, glancing down at the dragon in question. He had finished cleaning himself and was waiting patiently for Hiccup to come out of the water, his tail curled over his paws. "Okay...We won't tell Alpha. What about Shimmer?" I asked. She would get back to the nest long before we did.

*She won't say anything.* Cloudjumper replied confidently. *She knows as well as I do how Alpha would react, and she likes Toothless.* As much as I hated the idea of hiding anything from Alpha, I cared more about protecting Toothless. I'd do what was necessary.

Hiccup finally trudged out of the water and made his way over to Toothless, scratching his dragon on the snout. I couldn't hear what either of them said from this distance, but Hiccup pointed to his ruined shirt and an instant later Toothless shot a small blast of fire, incinerating it into ash. Hiccup then got into the saddle and pressed himself against his dragon to stay warm. Toothless spread his wings, looking up at me and Cloudjumper nervously. I sent him what I hoped was a comforting smile, but he looked away and took off at Hiccup's command, flying right past us towards home. I sighed deeply, patting Cloud's neck in a signal to follow them.

Toothless could've left us in the dust with minimal effort, but he remained within eyesight for the duration of the flight. I had a feeling Hiccup had something to do with that. Every now and then, my son would peek over his shoulder, making sure I was still behind them.

By the time we made it home, the last rays of sunlight were disappearing over the horizon. The rest of the flock was returning from feeding time, so we fell in with the group on the way into the nest. Some of them chirped out greetings, which I returned half-heartedly. Hiccup seemed to cheer up slightly now that he was back among other dragons, though. A Zippleback flew up next to them, and Hiccup reached over to give it a brief pet on each head.

As soon as we made it through the tunnel, Toothless broke off from the flock and dove towards the cavern entrance. Alpha was already back in his resting place in the center of the lake, but was too distracted with a few rowdy hatchlings to notice the Night Fury's arrival. Hopefully he wouldn't sense anything was amiss tomorrow.

When we landed, Hiccup slid out of the saddle, wrapping his arms around himself for warmth. Toothless immediately skirted away into the tunnels, sparing me the briefest of glances as he went. Looks like I had my work cut out for me with him. I hopped off of Cloudjumper, scratching his cheek. "I'll let you know how it goes," I murmured quietly, nodding in Hiccup's direction. Cloud purred in encouragement, then departed to go to his own part of the nest. Hiccup was staring down at his shoes when I approached, and I placed a hand on his back to guide him into the tunnels.