New Life Ahead [HTTYD]

Chapter 19: Reptile Reunion

After the new dragons had finished receiving greetings and salutations, the Night Fury family loomed towards them. The teenage Fury spoke first. 

"You must be the newcomers my friend told me about," Hiccup stated, counting the arrivals in his head. One Nightmare, two Zipplebacks, a Gronkle, a Skrill and a Nadder. "Yep, you're all accounted for."

The Nadder acknowledged first. "Judging by your quirky tone, you seem like a recent arrival yourself." 

"You're the Night Fury they told us about?" asked the Skrill, sensing a hinge of familiarity. 

"Yep, that's me." Hiccup replied. "Former viking. More importantly, former human."

The Gronkle slightly cocked his head in curiosity. "Mind if I... ask you a question?" He nervously asked the Fury. 

"Sure, go ahead."

"Do we know you? You sound familiar..."

"Oh, uhh..." Hiccup scratched the back of neck, minuscule drops of sweat rolling down his raven scales, unsure of how to answer that. Well, there was no easier way to say it, so he spilled it out. 

"I'm, or rather, was from Berk," Hiccup lamented. "I wasn't anyone important, so you could say I wasn't really missed..."

Hiccup then turn his attention to the cavern floor. It took all of four-and-a-half seconds for the new reptiles to realize it. 

The Nadder broke the silence. "Hiccup...?"

The Night Fury looked up, a melancholic smile forming across the lower part of his head as his ear flaps drooped down. "Hey Astrid..."

Now it was Dagur's turn to ask questions. "You?!" The shocking reveal would've made a normal Viking have a heart attack, but a Skrill could still take it in and still have the instinct to question it. "But... When... Why... HOW?!"

"Same way you guys got here," Hiccup replied. "Assuming they haven't wiped your memories."

"No, they didn't," one of the Zipplebacks, presumably Tuffnut, assented. "If they did, I wouldn't have the patience to stand next to this identical snake-bone." 

What followed were the two Zipplebacks hissing at each other while the other dragons continued their conversation with their long-lost friend. 

"Your dad's never been the same," Snotlout inquired. "The same goes for Gobber." 

"I can see that. Gobber always felt like a second parent. What else has happened beside the town mourning me?"

"The five of us went through dragon training," Fishlegs responded. "Though now those nine weeks of near-death experiences have been rendered useless." 

"Figures. So, who got the highest in training?"

"Astrid. Who else?"

"No surprise there. So Astrid, who did you get to... you know?"

"It was a Timberjack," Astrid replied. "I kind of feel sorry for him now."

"It wasn't your fault," Hiccup reassured her. "They made you do it."

The baby Night Fury popped up from behind Hiccup's head, smiling at the newcomers with a warm reception. Hiccup saw him out of the corner of his eye, deciding to pick him up with his mouth and place his "little brother" in front of him. 

"I guess now's the best time to introduce you all to my surrogate little brother," Hiccup announced to his friends. "He belongs to the Night Fury that brought me here."

The toddler Fury spoke up. "Hello. It's nice to finally meet you."

Astrid lowered her head to the toddler's eye level, smiling with genuine content. "You sure are pretty cute, for a dragon."

"Better than most human kids, that's for s-s-s-sure" Snotlout slurred as his eyes were focused on a female Nightmare that flew towards an upper outcropping of the cavern. 

"She's free you know," One of Tuffnut's heads leaned in, breaking Snotlout's concentration. 

"What?! How did you-?" 

"One of her hatchlings explained to us that their mom was single," Tuffnut's other head interrupted as he loomed over Snotlout's shoulder. 

"Well... I could use the company" Snotlout admitted. 

"Go on then," Tuffnut urged. "I've got my sights on a lovely Zippleback just below her nest."

As the two lovesick dragons headed the in direction of wherever their hearts lead, Dagur exchanged a few words with who he once thought of as a childhood adversary. 

"Guess we both get to share this somewhat punishment for our fathers' century-long war against reptiles, huh?"

"You get used to it." Hiccup responded. "I've never seen you that happy as when those hatchlings crowded around you." 

"Well I never did admit it, but I do have a soft spot for kids." Dagur conceded. "Now you've got a little brother of your own. Time surely does fly..."

Hiccup's forest eyes widen at the Skrill's words. "That reminds me. I've got something I need to explain to you guys, but I can only say it to one person at a time."

"What is it?" Astrid asked. 

"It's confidential, so I'll talk to you first..." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's been 84 years...

More like 84 weeks. Yes, I'm not dead. I'm in purgatory awaiting trial. Guilty or innocent of keeping my readers in suspension while school, work, and schoolwork keep my life busy. With writing, I can either be E. L. James (churning out terrible material at a fast rate) or I can be George R. R. Martin (taking my time to make sure it's quality). 

That being said, I will be continuing the story with one condition: you have to read, vote, and comment on my latest chapter in my one-shot collection:

Go to SpeedStern One-Shots, the chapter is titled From the Ashes...

Failure to compel will result in an even longer hiatus. Please be considerate...

-RLS