Even as the lights of Berk began to appear in the distance, Aska refused to let her body relax. She kept glancing nervously behind her expecting to see a fleet of ships chasing after them; a broad shouldered man with chin tattoos and a playful gleam in his eyes leading the charge. The brunette blinked in surprise, shaking her head violently to rid her mind of him. He was annoying! He was infuriating! He was dangerous! He was a dragon trapper and he wanted her beloved Oakheart! Sighing, she reached forward to wrap her arms around the Bronze Wing's thick throat. He chittered, confused at his rider's sudden affection yet welcoming it at the same time.
"I promise, love," she said, speaking so only he could hear her, "he won't take you away from me."
Oakheart gave a snort as if to say "well of course he won't", causing her to smile as the trio of dragons touched down and their riders slid out of their saddles.
"Haha there he is," Stoick bellowed as he rushed past her straight to Hiccup, "the pride of Berk!"
Hiccup's eyes sunk as he turned to watch his sister lead her dragon towards the stables with a heavy heart. He remembered when Stoick had called her the pride of Berk; how he would always glance right past his son to spend time with his beloved daughter. He knew his father didn't mean to act that way and that he loved him and his sister with all of his being, but it still burned him to the core to think that the great Stoick the Vast could only see one of his two children as the "pride of Berk". His sister had always done everything she could to impress their father, and from what he could tell she had always succeeded. The fact that Stoick had decided to name Hiccup his heir instead of her, and the fact that he didn't discuss it with either of them beforehand, shocked him. What surprised him more was that Aska had not put up a fight; she just accepted it and sat up in the lookout nest from dawn to dusk. But he knew his sister was hurting. He knew she was trying to find her place in the village. He knew and he had no idea how to make things easier for her.
Oh Aska, he thought as he headed towards Gobber's forge, I'm so sorry.
Down in the underground stables, Aska had pulled the last of Oakheart's tack off and had begun to wash him thoroughly. The large lizard purred, rolling onto his back so as to let her wash his warm stomach.
"Some deadly dragon you are," she teased, scrubbing the area at the base of his throat, "you're nothing but an overgrown kitten."
Closing his eyes, Oakheart gave a flick of his tail, snapping the tip of it against his rider's rear. She yelped, more out of surprise than pain, before turning to glare at the long appendage.
"I swear, you're worse than that dragon trapper."
She paused. There he was again, sneaking into her mind with those bulging biceps and that arrogant smirk. Giving a groan, Aska threw the brush into the water bucket before knocking the entire thing over with a fierce kick. Oakheart scrambled to his feet, giving a small roar. Taking a deep breath, Aska turned to scratch the special area beneath his jaw. Almost at once, her dragon was purring again as it slid to the ground and curled up into a tight ball on the stone floor. Aska chuckled, knowing full well Oakheart wasn't asleep.
"GROUND ALL DRAGONS"
Both dragon and rider lifted their heads in shock to see Stoick all but running down the stairs barking orders to anyone nearby who would listen (which was basically everyone). Behind him was a confused Hiccup, Toothless, Gobber, and Astrid. Leaving Oakheart in his stable, Aska hurried to catch up to the group.
"No dragon or viking sets foot off this island," Stoick continued to bellow, "until I say."
"Dad," Aska reached out to grasp his elbow, "what's going on?"
