Berries, Boars, and a Boy *How To Train Your Dragon Fanfiction* (Snotlout X OC)

Chapter 10: Aftermath at Berk

Snotlout anxiously wiped the driving rain from his eyes as he peered down through the storm, searching the darkness and willing Berk to appear out of the night. A blinding flash of light to the right made him jump as lightning forked to the ground, illuminating the crashing waves below. That was too close. The thunder rolled over him, vibrating his chest and he clapped his hands to his ears. Normally, he would have done anything to avoid such a storm, but Berk was at the center of this one and he couldn't afford to wait. Gobber's note kept playing in his mind. Berk was under attack.

Hookfang adjusted course slightly and they continued through the gail, blindly seeking their way home. Just as Snotlout was sure they had lost their way the dim glow of houses appeared below. They had made it. The sun had yet to come over the horizon but they had closed the distance to Berk in record time. Hookfang began to spiral down toward the familiar shape of his family's house as it appeared out of the soggy gloom. They splashed down, splattering mud.

Snotlout slid from the saddle, his legs trembling slightly as his muscles adjusted to his weight after such a long ride. He looked around trying to take in his surroundings. There were certainly more people about at this early hour than would normally be, whether it was in their houses or bundled against the rain and making their way to unknown destinations. There was the smell of wet ash and smoke in the air. A fire? Several by the strength of the smell. Hookfang shook himself, stomping about in the mud, the dragon narrowly avoiding stepping on a stray chicken which squawked frantically and scuttled after the others of its flock on the far side of the street. Odd. Normally the chickens were kept locked up at night.

Snotlout shivered, the last of Hookfang's warmth leaching away through his sodden clothes. The last hour of flying had been through the storm and by the look of things it was not about to let up anytime soon. He turned to his house, relieved to see it in one piece and seemingly unchanged. Behind him, Hookfang sank to the ground, steam rising from his scales. Snoltout watched him, biting his lip. Had he pushed Hookfang too hard too soon after his ordeal with the titan wing? He pushed the thought aside for the moment and climbed the three steps to his front door. He pushed it open and was greeted with a wave of warmth and the welcoming smell of freshly baked bread. He'd only just closed the door when he was engulfed in a tight but soft hug. The familiar smell of his mother eased over him.

"Mom!" he said, pulling back slightly with a gasp.

"Oh Snotlout," she exclaimed, peppering his face with kisses. "Thank Thor you're here. I've been so worried."

"Berk's the one who was attacked," he said as she released him long enough to survey him with a critical eye.

"You're soaked through and through," she said, steering him toward the chair by the fire which was usually reserved for his father. Before he could protest, she had him sitting and had handed him half of a loaf of steaming bread slathered with fresh butter. The heat burned his fingertips but he bit into it, suddenly grateful to eat again. His mother sat in her own chair across from him, watching him.

"Where's Dad?" he asked around his fifth mouthful.

"Off helping Stoick and Gobber no doubt." There were smears of soot and flour on his mother's face and her hair was escaping her usually neat braid. She sank back into her chair exhausted.

"Geoffrey and Adele?"

"Asleep, thank the Norns. It seemed they would never be still with all that's been going on."

"Mom, what happened here?" he asked, sucking the last of the butter from his thumb. "I was on my way back for a supply run when I intercepted Gobber's T-mail."

"Ah, that explains how you got here so soon," she said, running a hand over her face. "We weren't expecting the riders back for another day or two."

"Who attacked us?"