Left In The Night

Chapter 59

Slowly but surely, this story is coming to a close!

With the help of Eðla and Konall's mother along with Astrid and Hiccup, the young parents gradually adjusted to their new routine. Zyrah of course, had to learn the delicate art of breastfeeding, something that she understood was vital to her son's growth, but she could not stand it. It was uncomfortable and she struggled to adapt to it.

Though, eventually she made her peace with it, and responded well to her nurturing instincts, which she had always joked were 'late bloomers'.

Zyrah's cryptic pregnancy was still whispered about even well past Tanner's first birthday, with some women gossiping that it was a trick of Loki. And frankly, Zyrah wondered that herself, as it did align with the tales told of Loki's escapades.

But as was the usual case, life continued as normal as it could be. However, a little after both Zephyr and Tannr turned one, although months apart, a horrific fire erupted at a small house somewhere within the outskirts of the village, taking the lives of the young parents that resided there, orphaning the baby boy inside. A little boy with gray eyes and black hair by the name of Dustin. And Ana, out of the goodness of her heart, adopted the toddler, taking him in as her son.

And so, because of Ana's close relationship with Hiccup and Astrid, she began raising her new son alongside little Zephyr. Eventually, Tannr began socializing with them, and the three toddlers became close. All their parents were utterly delighted at this development, seeing their children creating deep bonds with each other.

More time passed, and New Berk's village expanded even further, and more of Hiccup's generation started having children of their own. With Ruffnut and Fishlegs, they had two sons about two-ish years apart, Daftnut and Oafnut. With Minden and Snotlout, they had a little girl named Nora. Hiccup remarked that since having a child, Snotlout had mellowed out, and it became clear that Nora was destined to be a daddy's girl.

It didn't take long for Hiccup and Astrid to have a second child on the way, predicted to be born sometime after Zephyr's third birthday. However, the second pregnancy wound up being rather challenging for poor Astrid. She had been constantly sick, and any of Ana or Gothi's remedies did little to aid the chieftess. On top of that, she had a miscarriage scare about halfway through. Throughout the entire ordeal, Valka remained by her daughter-in-law's side, recalling her challenging pregnancy with Hiccup.

As was anticipated with Astrid's personality, she persevered through all the challenges of this pregnancy, not allowing it to keep her grounded. And although the birth was just as difficult as the pregnancy itself, she wound up delivering a healthy baby boy who was adorably named Nuffink by Zephyr.

Nuffink ended up being the last baby Gothi helped deliver, as she would finally pass away a week later. And Gobber was a total emotional wreck at her funeral, reminiscing on their mutual respect for one another, especially during Stoick's time as chief, despite their frequent 'bickering'.

Elsewhere, miles away, the dragons were still adjusting to their lives in the hidden world.

Adaptation proved to be challenging for certain dragons, primarily the new Night Fury colony, as they were so far removed from other species, that getting used to being near others had provoked attacks between the Night Furies themselves and other dragons that got too close.

While Toothless had been aiding Berk's flock to adapting to the Hidden World's landscape and native wild dragons to the best of his ability, Blueheart had been doing her best with helping her birth colony to slowly adapt to the wild dragons. It had proved quite challenging, as many of the Night Fury mothers were incredibly protective of their hatchlings and did not appreciate random dragons getting too close at any point.

Blueheart had designated a specific area within the Hidden World for the colony to reside in. It was a bit more remote and less traveled compared to the rest of the realm, and the deep volcanic rock was familiar enough. But it was not easy, even with Blueheart and her mother doing what they could.

"This is the biggest change we've faced as a species in ages... I believe it will take longer than initially expected for everyone to fully adapt and accept their new environment." Her mother remarked, and Blueheart agreed.

"I know. I didn't expect them to be content with it for a while, but I do worry about them. How long they will take to accept this." Her ending statement was rhetorical, but still presented as a question. A question her mother did not know how to answer.

Blueheart frequently turned to Elin for advice, who had suggested that they bring the two Fury species together in an attempt to reconcile any differences and teach them about the shared history the two species shared.

Overall, in the time the dragons left Berk for the Hidden World, the change had been difficult to swallow; while Blueheart and Toothless and Nightfire had for the most part accepted their new life together, they still worried about their shared communities that they led as the Alpha pair. Coming together as a family at the end of the day was relieving in many ways, as the pair vented to each other about the fights and disputes they had to break up.

But in the end, they counted on each other for comfort, and still took care of their daughter, not allowing the challenges of their roles interfering.

And one particular evening, while surveying together atop the giant central crystal, Blueheart thought of her girl, wondering how Zyrah was doing.

"I've been thinking about them recently," she began. Toothless perked up his ears.

"Yeah?" She nodded.

"I have. Just... wondering how they're all doing, you know? I hope they're all safe."

"Me too. My hope is that Hiccup and Astrid finally got married," Blueheart chuckled, agreeing with him.

"As do I. Perhaps Zyrah and Konall have married as well. I imagine they all have settled down to some extent."

"That'd be nice. I do know that some of our dragons have expressed desire to travel back and check on their humans," Blueheart raised a brow, sensing where this was going.

"But-..."

"But I worry that even with the remoteness of the caldera in general, that the world isn't quite safe enough for us to venture far. I can only allow the tidal class to leave when necessary to hunt-"

"I know I know. You have valid reasons, no need to justify them to me. I do think, though. That in time, we can start planning a return, a short visit. Just to check on them, see how they've grown." Toothless did smile at this. It was a nice idea, and he would certainly consider it.

"Myrai, you have a wonderful mind," he complimented, nuzzling her cheek.

"Don't you know it."