Lost and Found - A Snotlout Love Story (HTTYD/RTTE)

6. Finding Family

"Oh..my...Thor," Snotlout spoke with wide eyes.

Melanie looked back at him and asked in a bit of a panic, "what?"

A weak smile spread on Dagur's face, "I have another sister.."

Turning back to look at him, Melanie asked louder, "what?" Her gaze then fell to the ground in disbelief as she muttered, "she never told me..why wouldn't she have told me?"

It was a question everyone was wondering, and Dagur was the only one with any possible answer. "She left when I was eight," he explained, "no wonder Oswald went chasing after her years later." His smile grew and a laugh escaped his lips, "how crazy is this? I have another sister!"

Melanie wasn't sure how to react when the man wrapped her into a hug. She felt her heart become heavy and butterflies soar through her stomach. When he let her go, she grinned wildly and tackled him back into another embrace.

Dagur laughed loudly. All of the other riders, though still in shock, couldn't help but feel happy for them. "Well, the two of you sure have a lot of catching up to do," Hiccup pointed out with a crooked grin.

"That we do, Hiccup," Dagur agreed with a smile, "but sadly, I have business to attend to first. I promise I'll find you when I'm finished, Melanie." He gave her another long look, as if to make sure this was real, the was off with Hiccup and Astrid.

"Huh, who would'a known," Fishlegs remarked and grinned sideways.

"Actually, it was kinda obvious," Tuffnut countered blandly. When silence followed, he explained, "I mean they're both crazy, and they look exactly the same."

Snotlout wanted to say something smart back, but Tuff was right. Now thinking about it, it made perfect sense that Melanie and Dagur were siblings. He shot her a smile; the look of pure joy in her eyes made the whole world light up a bit brighter.

• • •

After a few hours, Dagur left the great hall and was greeted immediately by Melanie. The two went for a long walk around Berk to talk.

"But why did she leave you?" Melanie questioned, "you're her son, and Heather.."

Dagur frowned as he started to explain, "our mom..wasn't the most reasonable. I'm sure you know that, much better than I do. She brought a lot of danger to Berserker Island, and had to be banished. Of course, Oswald didn't want to do it, but the people had all come together and demanded of it. And when he saw that I was taking after her, he knew it had to be done....he isn't want me to get sick, like her."

"Sick.." Melanie repeated, finally understanding what her mother meant years ago. She felt a rare feeling of pain in her chest. She clutched it and furrowed her brows, asking, "why does this hurt?"

Giving her a hesitant look, Dagur told her, "because you care."

"But, I didn't care yesterday," Melanie argued.

"Well, you didn't know yesterday," Dagur reminded her. He squinted his eyes a bit and looked down at her by his side. "Growing up with mom your whole life; it seems like you took after her, too."

Melanie cocked her head and wondered a bit defensively, "why do you say that like it's a bad thing?" She paused to smiled big at the sky, "she was amazing!"

Dagur smiled as well and agreed, "she was. But she was also a danger to those around her; she didn't know right from wrong." He turned away for a moment and added, "and for a while, neither did I."

However, Melanie remained positive and she insisted, "oh, don't worry about that; I know right from wrong. Bones helps me with that."

"..Bones?" Dagur questioned in confusion. He watched Melanie pull a small, hollow, finger sized bone out of her belt pouch. Lifting it to her lips, she blew air through it. No noise came out, and Dagur was about to ask about it. But a roar inturupted him and soon, he was face to face with a boneknapper. "Wo-hoah," he admired with an open grin.

"Bones, this is Dagur," Melanie introduced proudly, "my brother."

Bones snorted and immediately began to sniff at Dagur. Finally, the dragon decided to trust him, nuzzling up against his arm. "Wait, so you mean to tell me," Dagur began with a grin, "that this dragon makes your decisions for you?"

"Kind of," Melanie went on to tell him, "he's more like a teacher, or a better conscience." She paused to hug the dragon's head, "he's taught me more about myself than my mother ever could."

"That's incredible," Dagur admired. He then let out a big laugh, "oh, I can't wait to tell Heather! She'll be so excited to meet you when you come home."

Home. The word held meaning for Melanie that most people took for granted. The thought of having a home and a family would've seemed unthinkable just days ago. But then she woke up on Berk, surrounded by friendly faces, people who she knew would never banish her. Not to mention the connections she'd made with her new friends. Could Melanie really just leave all of that?