In Lieu Of A Tail

34. Hiccup Clears His Head, With Death-Defying Stunts

By the time Aurora came to, Hiccup had left for a flight with Toothless to 'clear his head', whatever that meant. She was pretty sure it meant he freaked pretty bad, but she was assured that he had informed them that he would be back by the end of the day. His Mother - as she apparently was - had been asking Cami, Heather and Gothi an endless stream of questions, which they had answered as best as they could. The woman was quieter now, only posing a question every-so-often, which was quickly answered, then she would enter into an uncomfortable silence that Aurora felt the urge to fill - but didn't.

Eventually she couldn't take it anymore, and expressed as much to Astra. "Gods, this is so awkward. I can't decide if the random questions or the silence is worse."

Hiccup's Mother seemed to notice the fact that she was communicating in growls and clicks, and her eyes softened when they alighted upon her. Her gaze was warm, and so different to how she had ever been looked at. Hiccup always seemed to have a similar look in his eyes when he looked at her - as did Dagur, Mala, Heather, Camicazi and Alvin. Their gazes always had a measure of care, of protectiveness. It was a foreign concept until about three years ago, when she was freed.

Her childhood was rough, no doubt about it. She thought she had some vague memories of two parents, and siblings who doted on her when she was very young, but sometimes she thought she had just imagined what her life would've been like if she had met Hiccup and the rest of their family earlier, and thought it was a memory. She recalled pieces of her existence in one of the lairs of dragon trappers, but none were all that pleasant. She didn't know whether she had been taken, or given, or sold - she didn't know which option was worse.

She shook herself from those thoughts when Astra nudged her, and realised the woman had addressed the next question to her.

"Huh?" She muttered to Astra.

"She wants to know why you speak like that and not Norse." Came the begrudging reply.

Aurora was a little put out for a moment, it wasn't really anybody's business, but people kept asking.

"Valka, was it?" Saved by the bell, or rather, Camicazi. "Aurora doesn't really like to talk about it."

"Oh, I'm sorry, lass, I meant no offence." Valka hurriedly apologised.

Aurora smiled weakly, feeling a little guilty and almost wanting to tell her, but she didn't have enough words, she didn't know where she'd even start.

How do you tell someone that you were held captive by cruel Vikings who killed dragons? How do you explain that you couldn't remember much about your life aside from the last three years, that everything else comes and goes as cracked fragments? How can you communicate that speaking in Norse makes you uneasy, that it used to make you physically sick, that it was only recently it didn't? How can you possibly drop that burden on someone else? How can you make them understand all this when your ability to speak in Norse is shattered?

The woman had begun to speak again, it brought Aurora away from her whirling thoughts, tethering her to the moment and forcing her to listen.

"I've always thought Aurora was a pretty name," she started, looking warmly at the girl in question, "I think if I'd had a daughter I would've called her that, but I've never regretted having Hiccup, even though I'm sure you're all thinking that's why I left Berk."

"Why did you leave Berk?" Heather asked slowly.

Hiccup's Mother sighed deeply, "I didn't belong there anymore. The night I left, Cloudjumper had broken into our house, but he was so gentle with little Hiccup, I knew that dragons couldn't be the heartless killing machines we all thought they were. Not that Stoick noticed, he barged in and startled the poor thing when he threatened him, Cloudjumper scratched Hiccup - an accident - and I distracted him so he didn't attack Stoick. We connected in that moment, I suppose, he picked me up and took me far away to the Sanctuary, the domain of the King of the dragons, the Great Bewilderbeast. Just like that, I'd found my home." She looked around at the enraptured faces, practically glowing with awe, and offered a small smile.