Fly On Your Own

Chapter 17

        "This is New Berk at Snoggletog, the greatest time of the year. The lights, the hunting songs, the holiday shopping, the yak nog shooters. The only thing missing was dragons. It's been ten years since Vikings and dragons agreed to live apart, but that doesn't mean we've forgotten our flying friends. And the best part of it all, Kjartan, was on Snoggletog Eve."

I removed a knife from the sheath on my side and stabbed it into the garland I was hanging up, in order to keep it in place. Our son, Kjartan, stared up at his father with wide eyes, completely mystified by the story of the Vikings and dragons.

"I'd make Toothless his favorite meal."

"What was it?" he asked, some of his bright red hair flopping in his eyes.

"Lake trout with a side of sea trout, on a bed of brook trout."

"We all like trout!" Kjartan exclaimed.

"And even though he's gone, I still make it for him. A lot of families do stuff like this. It keeps our loved ones in our hearts, even though they're far away." Hiccup glanced over at me, and I offered a smile. That youthful light never left his eyes, even all these years later. "So, wanna help me catch some fish?" Kjartan jumped up excitedly.

"Good on you! We're gonna feed Toothless! I don't need a fishing pole, Dad. I'll just butt the wee fishes on their own wee head." I chuckled and made my way over to my husband, resting a hand on his shoulder.

Suddenly, Kjartan charged forward, ramming his head right into the wood that surrounded our lit fireplace. I jumped in surprise, suddenly retracting my hand and rushing over to my son. He shook his head, as though trying to just get rid of the hurt, while I crouched down and inspected the top of his head. Thankfully, there wasn't any bump, so he probably didn't hit his head hard enough to hurt him. I warily looked back at Hiccup, who made a concerned face before trying to distract Kjartan.

"Come on. Let's get Toothless a snack." Hiccup grabbed his fishing pole, then leaned over and kissed my cheek before heading toward the door. Him leaving, on the bright side, would give me time to finish up his Snoggletog present. I was working on a drawing of him and Toothless from not long before he left, since Hiccup already had one from when we were younger.

But then, the moment he opened the door, he went flying out to the side. I quickly rushed over to the door, trying to figure out what happened. In front of the door dangled a large log, suspended by a string, functioning almost as a battering ram. I pushed my way past and knelt down, offering Hiccup my hand to help him stand up.

"Yes! It worked." I looked over to see Kerrigan pop out of the snow, wearing some of the white powder on the top of her head.

"Kerrigan, what are you doing?" I rushed over to stop the battering ram's motion, propelled by Kjartan swinging it back and forth.

"Testing my dragon defense system." I watched her wind a crank to pull the battering ram back again. I looked up Hiccup, who seemed shocked his daughter was building things to protect us from dragons. "You and all the grown-ups in New Berk are leaving them snacks. What if one shows up?"

"What-- that would be great! We love dragons," Hiccup explained.

"Why? They're monsters." I helped usher her inside. Alith, thankfully, still sat on the couch, unmoving since I had suddenly sprinted outside. Immediately, Kerrigan sat down next to her twin, removing a book from her hands and flipping through the pages. I peered over her shoulder and gasped. She had found the old Book of Dragons, before Hiccup, Fishlegs, and I had made all the revisions about the true natures of dragons.