Goblin

Chapter 17

He couldn't sleep all night.

Goblin paced in front of the small barn, where Hiccup and Heather were trying to get the arrow out of Quinarth's chest, with Gothi's help. He flinched wherever he heard Quinarth's cries and growls of pain, and he couldn't be there with her to comfort her. He had to comfort his children, now cuddled next to him, whimpering when they heard her growling in pain.

"Is mommy going to be okay?" Pearl whimpered.

"She will, don't worry." Goblin replied gently, though he failed to conceal his own worry. Syrilth had not said a word ever since they returned, he didn't know if he had gone back to his wordless self or if he was just worried about his mother.

"What if mommy dies?" Kyra sobbed, snuggling against her father.

"Don't say that! You'll give us bad luck!" Kyroc snapped, though rather than annoyance, it rather came out of worry and anguish.

"Why did Mom get hurt, Dad?" Nibblertooth sobbed, looking up at his father with teary eyes.

Goblin didn't know what to say. Heck, how could he comfort his own hatchlings when he himself couldn't calm down? No, he had to be positive; everything would turn out all right. Quinarth was a strong dragoness, she would make it. Minutes passed, it didn't pass long before his hatchlings fell asleep. Quinarth's growls of pain diminished in volume, he could now hear deep breathings and a few growls, but thankfully they sounded less agonizing, brewing up a bit of hope inside his chest. Goblin felt nuzzling against his scales, and looked down to find Syrilth looking up at him with round pupils that seemed to glisten.

"Daddy, is mommy going to be alright?" he whispered almost inaudibly.

Goblin was not used to his son speaking just yet, so he shivered a bit when he heard his little voice. "She is going to be alright, son. Don't be afraid."

"Why did that man hurt mommy?"

"Well..." he didn't know what to say to that. "There are wicked people in the world that don't care ho they hurt as long they get what they want."

"Why?"

"That's how it works, it's a balance. When there are bad people on the world, good people come into it to balance it out."

"Like Heather?"

"Yes. Like Heather, and Hiccup, and the other humans here in Berk, there are also very good people who help those in need."

Finally, the doors of the barn opened and Hiccup, Heather and Gothi came out with great relief and exhaustion, it seemed it had been very hard, but they made it. Goblin snorted in relief. Gothi started scribbling something in the ground (the Skrill couldn't understand why she did that instead of speaking like normal people, but he guessed he would never know), and Hiccup translated it.

"She says that she will be fine." He said. "It was hard, but she managed to take the arrow out of her without damaging any vital parts of her body. She will still need some rest and won't be able to move much for some time, but other than that she will be okay."

Heather approached Goblin and patted his head gently. "Don't worry, Gob, everything will be alright. She's a strong dragon, she can make it."

Gothi continued to scribble on the ground, but this time it seemed that it was directed at Heather. Hiccup translated it once more. "Heather, Gothi says that you did a good job. You remained cool even though you had to do more than you're used to, you have potential for being a great healer, for both dragons and humans. With the proper instruction you could be of great help to Berk."

She looked at Gothi, and found a small smile on the old woman's face. Realization dawned on her face brightly. "Do you mean...? When she got a positive nod, she squealed in delight. Goblin glanced at her amusingly, he had no idea what they meant, though he had a hunch to it. He wanted to see his mate. For the moment, he ignored the humans as they continued talking and walked into the barn, followed by his hatchlings. There she was, Quinarth lay resting on top of her nest, curled up carefully with bandages wrapped around her chest. She looked so tired, but yet she was hanging to her life with all her might, she had much things to life for. When she saw her hatchlings and her mate coming in, she managed to smile at them. "Hey..."

"Mama!" the hatchlings immediately rushed towards their mother, and nuzzled against her, licking her face.

"Children." Goblin mildly scolded them. "Be careful, she is still hurt and needs rest."

The hatchlings did as their father told them and were more careful in how they greeted their mother. Goblin glanced at his mate. "How are you feeling, my love?" he inquired, approaching her and nuzzling his nose against hers.

"I'm okay, Goblin, don't worry..."

"I'm sorry about what happened..."

"You have nothing to apologize for-"

"I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't made it..."

Quinarth had an idea to why he felt like this, but she knew now was not the moment to remind him of that. She simply smiled back at him and nuzzled against him. "You didn't think I would have left you alone, did you?"

Despite his worry, he gave his mate a reassuring smile, watching fondly as their hatchlings tried to find a place to sleep next to their mother.

Much later at night, when everyone as asleep, Goblin was the only one awake. He could not sleep, he was thinking over what had happened the past days. Reluctantly, Goblin silently rose from the nest and walked out of the barn, careful not to awaken his mate nor children. When he was outside, he flapped his wings and took off, heading towards the hill near the village. Once he saw the particular spot he was looking for, he dove down and landed in front of the patch of brown dirt, still intact. The place where he had buried the remains of his previous family.

He sat down in front of the 'grave', staring down at it with a heavy heart. How long had it been ever since he was last here? It had been months ever since he came, and he felt ashamed that he had forgotten about them. His thoughts pondered on Quinarth; he had nearly lost her just like he lost Firefly, he was glad it wasn't the case. He didn't know what he would have done if he had lost her.

"Hey there."

Goblin didn't turn around, though he did reply. "Hey, Toothless."

Toothless sat down next to his friend, and glanced down at the grave. "You still miss them, don't you?"

"How wouldn't I? They were all I had, before I was frozen in that iceberg. When Dagur nearly killed Quinarth, I was afraid I would lose her too..."

"At least everything turned out alright. What matters is that everyone is safe and sound."

"And Syrilth... He spoke. He finally talked, I don't understand how come he talked until now. We tried for weeks and he never uttered a single word, but when we were in the island he called out for me..."

"Well, perhaps when he saw you were in danger he wanted to help you."

"Maybe...."

"Say, Goblin..." Toothless turned to look at him. "What do you think will happen in the future? I mean, Dagur doesn't know those night fury 'eggs' are nothing more than rocks'."

Goblin chuckled. "Hopefully he won't figure it out for some time."

"But if he does, he is certainly coming back for revenge."

"If he ever comes back we'll fight him together. I'm not letting him, nor anyone, bring any harm on my family, nor my friends, especially not on Heather."

"Are you the same Skrill who said 'I'm not letting a human on my back'?" Toothless couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well, things change."

The two dragons just stayed there for a while, without saying anything, glancing down at the grave solemnly. Just then, the Skrill noticed a small tiny sprout emerging from the ground. He saw this as a signal from his beloved Firefly, and their offspring, from the afterlife, that they were happy for him now that he had a new life, urging him to move on. A few minutes later, the sun started to rise, the dark sky tinting with red and yellow. Goblin smiled.

This was the beginning of a new day.