Symphony of Shadows HTTYD Hiccstrid

70. Remedy

A/N: Everyone, I'm beyond sorry for the extended break in writing this story. Studying for classes and writing proved to be difficult and I lost motivation to write for a while. Life gets in the way sometimes and that's okay. But I couldn't let this story go unfinished. The next chapter will be out next Wednesday at 9pm American Eastern Standard Time:) Thank you for your patience and I'm sorry again for the long wait.

Astrid didn't know what was worse, managing Berk's reconstruction or waiting for Hiccup to wake up. It was hard to believe that a few weeks had passed since Viggo's assault on Berk yet the tribe was in full swing. Busy Vikings milled about, careful not to trip over stray dragon tails. It was incredibly odd how the two worlds of dragon and Vikings began to blend into daily life. Some still protested about the dragons, but Stoick managed to reason with them when he wasn't sulking after Valka.

No one knew what to make of the rogue woman who only seemed to relax when she was around her dragon. The village walked on eggshells around Valka, scared to find out what years away from human civilization would do to her if she truly snapped. She spent all of her hours by Hiccup's side. Finally, her maternal instincts were kicking in. Astrid chastised herself for being so judgmental, but it was hard to forget that Valka had abandoned her newly born son and husband.

It dawned on her that Hiccup had unknowingly followed in his mother's footsteps when he faked his own death to escape with Toothless. Still, his situation was far mor understandable. He didn't leave behind a child and a spouse.

Since Stoick seemed to be unfocused on anything except for Valka and his unconscious son, Astrid was the one overseeing most of the rebuilding. Spitelout had given her a skeptical look when she volunteered, but he was subdued by the reminder that she was the only one who knew how to blend both of their worlds together. The tribe had (almost except for Mildew) unanimously voted to not harm the dragons that stayed at Berk.

Subconsciously, it irritated her that the same people who wanted her head on a spike not too long ago were the same ones relying on her to rebuild. Astrid wanted to help rebuild Berk, but her heart still bore the scars of their rejection. No one had apologized or taken back their harsh accusations. They went on with their days like nothing had ever happened. A thick tension filled the air whenever Hiccup was brought up, though. It was as if the tribe wanted to remember that he was a traitor but couldn't ignore the fact that if it wasn't for him and Astrid, they'd all be gone. Astrid felt the pity in their stares that once used to hold respect, then hatred. But she chose to say nothing and kept her chin up. Her tribe had taken a lot away from her, but they couldn't steal her hard-earned valor.

But it was a curious sight watching the Vikings she'd seen despise the creatures slowly warm up to them. Gothi practically had a swarm of Terrible Terrors at her side 24/7. It seemed like the elder had a particular affection for the little dragons. Astrid recognized a couple of the dragons from Hiccup's flock around Berk and wondered if they'd followed Toothless' scent trail back. The only weird thing was that they seemed to want very little with the Night Fury. Any dragon that landed immediately flew in the direction of Valka's snowy beast. Fishlegs had managed to squeeze out the fact from Valka that it was a Bewilderbeast, a Titan wing dragon who protected an entire flock back at her sanctuary.

Toothless didn't seem to care that his own flock was dwindling down as he too was glued to Hiccup's bedside at the Haddock house. Valka would softly stroke his scales absentmindedly as she stared and stared at her son. Astrid often wondered if all the years Hiccup  grew up without her into the man he was today flickered in her mind like a haunting reminder of what could've been. Valka's pale face seemed gaunt in the face of her new reality. Her eyes were often glazed over, her thoughts far away.

It was incredibly depressing to watch so Astrid tried to keep herself busy as best she could. During the day she barked out orders and ensured everyone was up to task. It was a lot of work drafting plans for rebuilding the village and distributing roles. Tuffnut had already filed a dozen complaints about being in the same construction crew as Ruffnut. Good thing he didn't know that Ruff complained twice as much to Astrid.