On Love's Wings ~ A Snotlout Jorgenson Fanfiction

Chapter 8 ~ Jealousy

The rest of the evening had been filled with more music and dancing, parents downing Mead like water while dragons played outside the Great Hall as we celebrated. Snotlout and I enjoyed our time together, speaking with whomever was in the mood to converse, and dancing when a decent song was filtering through the air. Yet, after a few jubilant hours, the excitement began to die down. The silver moon seemed to glow brighter than usual, lighting up the village with an ethereal beauty. We were all exhausted, and rightfully so, but it was the good kind of tired. The sated sleepiness of a fulfilling day of adventure and fun that engulfs your body with a warm buzz and leaves you rubbing your eyes to keep from dozing.

Officially recognized as adults, my friends and I felt on top of the world. We could do anything, be anyone we wanted to be. Snotlout was kind enough to walk me home from the festivities, bidding me a soft goodnight and pulling me close for one final hug. My heart swelled as I hugged him back, relishing in the feeling of his strong arms holding me tightly. When we broke apart, he bowed one last time and started to walk away, leaving a smile on both of our faces.

During the week following the ceremony, Snotlout and I found ourselves meeting each other coming and going. With Duskwing, Stormfang, and Flameshadow all growing at an alarmingly fast rate, we both realized that they no longer needed our care nearly as much. Nightwing and Hookfang were doing remarkable as parents and mates, almost constantly at each other's sides and watching over their babies proactively. Thankfully, both mother and father had successfully been able to teach the younger dragons how to fly, using the rocky edges of Berk as perfect practice spots.

I'll never forget the near heart attack I had experienced the first time I had seen the trio leap off the edge of the lower level of Berk. I had been examining a strange bump on Bucket's arm when the sound of a baby dragon screeching tore through the air. My head whipped around toward Nightwing and the babies. Hookfang had just left with Snotlout to go retrieve some of Sven's sheep once again. Noticing that one of the trio was missing, I ran over and looked down worriedly. I could feel the adrenaline pumping in my veins as my eyes scanned the sea below in search of the darker colored dragon. "Screeee!" Stormfang's eyes appeared in front of my own, making me fall back in surprise. It was then that I realized he was flapping his wings, hovering in the air directly off the edge of the cliff. I clutched my chest in an effort to calm my racing heartbeat.

I looked over at Nightwing, her violet eyes holding a hint of humor. "Next time, tell me they know how to fly!" I glared at her. She rolled her eyes and smacked my arm with her tail. "Hey! Since when did you start acting like Hookfang!" I exclaimed, rubbing the red mark appearing on my pale skin. She snorted and turned her attention back on Stormfang, nodding to encourage him to return to the land. I got back to my feet, shaking my head as I went back over to Bucket to finish my exam.

Unfortunately, as with all baby dragons, the most dangerous part of training them is their fire. Thankfully, the small flames were easily extinguished with the water stations set up around the island. However, Gothi and I soon found ourselves dealing with many more burn victims than before, since we had an influx of baby of dragons growing up in our midst. Even though none of them were too serious, they would still need to be treated with salves to heal the damaged skin, which meant I found myself running on more supply runs that usual, fetching the herbs needed to treat such injuries.

Upon returning on those days, I was usually cleaning up around Gothi's hut, rearranging different ingredients on the shelves and organizing her medical books. At this point that had become a daily ritual for me, since leaving the supplies in piles would only create a large mess. On one particular afternoon, I had just come home from searching for mint and juniper berries, tying the sprigs of mint together with a string and jarring the berries to maintain their freshness. My back was toward the stairs, and Nightwing had flown off to busy herself with Hookfang and the fledglings, while Gothi was on the land below taking care of an injury of Gobber's, so I was utterly alone. Because of this, the sound of someone clearing their throat caught me off guard. I nearly dropped the container full of aloe plants that I was moving to put the berries beside, barely managing to catch it and replace it on the shelf as I turned toward my visitor. Instantly, I recognized the young viking teen leaning on the wooden railing behind me. His lanky form, dark hair, and chocolate eyes were unmistakable. I fought the urge to roll my eyes in disdain. "Hello Gustav, is there anything I can help you with today?" As much as I adored Snotlout, Gustav Larson was like a miniature version of him, and I could hardly deal with one Jorgenson. A personality doppelganger was far harder to put up with, especially when he was two years younger than us, yet he was the leader of the auxiliary team of riders.