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━━ chapter seven
the story of drago bludvist

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     "DRAGON RIDERS!"

      "Snotlout, Snotlout━oi, oi, oi━!"

      Valkyrie tumbled, almost tripping on the deck of the trapper boat when razor talons sliced through the canvas sail, sending the entire vessel tipping. Zephyr was there to dip his head under her to hoist her back up and she clung on around his neck, glancing up in complete shock at the sudden turn of events. Waves crashed as the boat rocked; trappers were thrown away from their crossbows and nets, sliding along the deck. It took a few seconds for the boat to settle, and when it did, Toothless was already halfway up the mast onto the top of the bent and broken sail. His growls stopped when he realised just who had snagged his rider up into the sky. 

       "Snotlout!" Valkyrie shouted up at him, annoyed. 

      The rest of their friends had come to join the fray, twisting and swooping to avoid nets and arrows. Hiccup struggled in Hookfang's claws, kicking his legs and shouting profanities up at his cousin who paid no mind, turning over to Ruffnut with a bright grin on his face. 

     "See how well I protect and provide?" he called over the wind. Valkyrie could just sent the gag and eye-roll Ruffnut made in response.

      Zephyr━in recognising them all━squawked with a beaming happiness. He chucked Inferno at Valkyrie who caught it and bounded towards Stormfly. The Deadly Nadder landed on the deck, and while they bobbed their heads in greeting, Astrid━who sat in the blue dragon's saddle━unsheathed her mighty axe to point it at Eret and say, "Stand back."

     The dragon trapper beside Valkyrie held his hands up and took a few steps back. 

     Astrid leapt down onto the wood, spinning her axe. She turned to Valkyrie, who immediately knew that look. "We had a plan," she told her.

     "Oh, and what was that plan?" she arched a brow, axe tilting carelessly in her grip.

     "I don't really know," admitted Valkyrie. "Hiccup came up with it. It was quite interesting to watch, though."

     In following Astrid, swooping under a net, landed Hott and Spikemoth. In seeing Valkyrie, he reached behind him and snagged a familiar weapon. Her face lit up, grateful as her mallet was chucked to her. She grasped the hilt tightly, glad to be reunited. 

     Hott grabbed his mace and the three of them attacked the trappers manning the nets. Swinging her mallet, she knocked one aside. Hott blocked a hit and swept them to the side silly, spinning on their feet until they came into Astrid's reach. She just held up her hilt and let it fall on top of their head, knocking them unconsious. 

     She arched an impressed brow at Hott, "Nice move."

     Despite them being in the middle of a fight, Hott's eyes lit up and he couldn't help but grin. "Really?" he asked, his stance dropping slightly as he took in the fact that the girl he has liked for years actually complimented him. His heart fluttered to see Astrid sweep her braid off her shoulder to add:

     "But your footing needs a bit of work."

     Hott's face went flat. "Right━and your grip might just someday wear out your wrist bone."

     Astrid's eyes widened, a little shocked at his comeback. No one spoke back at her like that. Not usually, anyway. She watched Hott move on to the next trapper, feeling an odd jolt in her chest. 

     Up above, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were still trying to evade the multiple nets with a two-headed dragon. They ducked under the first, spun away from the second━

      "What is with all the nets?!" exclaimed Tuff, tugging Belch's head upwards. 

     His sister heaved Barf to the right and they twisted away from the third. "Hey!" it soared over their heads, missing them by just inches. "Watch it! That was close━" her voice caught in the back of her throat as she laid her gaze upon Eret son of Eret. Valkyrie saw the look upon her friend's face, and she slumped, rather exasperated. Is she serious? Is Ruffnut really serious right now? 

     He pulled back the lever and the crossbow was locked in. Ruffnut gasped, lips up-turning into a grin as she eyed the way his muscles worked━no Viking had muscles like that ... "Oh ... my ... me likey!" she threw her arms out and closed her eyes; the net was let loose. "Take me!"

     It encased her. Tuffnut gaped at her like she had grown another head, but Ruffnut didn't care (when did she ever?). Belch made a guttural laugh at his brother head stuck in the netting, annoyed and tangled. 

      Finishing a final trapper, Hott spun onto his older sister with an incredulous: "Are you crazy? How did you let yourself get captured?!"

     "What━? Don't blame me! It was his plan!" Valkyrie pointed up at her husband who finally managed to escape the claws of Hookfang. Diving down at immense speed, he waited for the right time to hook in his flight suit and throw his arms back up. With a jolt, he hovered for a second in the air before gliding back down. 

     Seeing Eret aim a net up at Hiccup, Valkyrie gasped and pushed past her brother. Running, she screamed, "Hold your fire━!" and tackled him to the ground. The wood striked pain in her side, but she ignored it, wrestling Eret until she managed to get the upper hand. Pushing her arm down against his throat━not too hard to suffocate him, but enough to send him wheezing━she gazed up and letout a breath of relief to see Hiccup tilt away from the net.

     Knowing he was now safe, Valkyrie stepped off Eret with a rather nasty shove; he coughed, holding his throat. He went to stand up after her, but Hott had her back. He signalled Spikemoth and she happily sat down onto Eret with a squawk, ruffling her wings. Eret's grumblings were muffled by the wood. 

     Val rushed up to Hiccup, spinning her mallet. She asked him a silent question of, are you okay? He nodded, swinging his arms a little before beginning to fold up his flight suit. She hated that thing, but he was right━it was useful, sometimes. He brushed past her, unbelieving at the group of Dragon Riders. "Um, what are you guys doing here?!"

     Toothless joined them on the deck with a thud. Zephyr was busy sniffing at Eret under Spikemoth's claws. Valkyrie glowered at her dragon, a bit jealous despite it all.

     "We're here to rescue you!" Gobber flopped down onto the deck━literally━with Grump nodding right back to sleep as soon as he touched surface. Trappers gasped and ran out of the way before they could be crushed, right into the arms of the others landing with the blacksmith. Snotlout gave a menacing punch to his palm. Hookfang snarled. 

      "I don't need to be rescued!" Hiccup cried in response, frustrated.  

      "Enough!"

     Hiccup jumped, eyes wide and shoulders hunched in hearing his father's voice and the roar of Skullcrusher. Valkyrie herself winced, knowing that she was going to get into trouble, as well. The two of them flew off despite his orders, and while she may not be his daughter, she was married into the family━which basically meant the same thing. 

     Skullcrusher was a mighty creature. A Tracker Class dragon, the Rumblehorn could be considered the bloodhound of all dragons. With its mighty three-horned head and thick armoured scales, he could send even the bravest dragons running for the treets━and with Stoick the Vast riding him, they were a great force to be reckoned with. But that didn't mean Stoick forgot about Thornado, his old Thunderdrum that had to leave in order to look after three younglings. In fact, it was the opposite. Thornado's saddle was still hung up in the house, polished and gleaming━a reminder that he was still around, even if he couldn't be here in the flesh. 

     The chief of Berk jumped from the saddle, landing on the boat with a great big thud!

     From underneath Spikemoth, Eret son of Eret desperately tried to escape, mustering his most intimidating voice to say, "Well, didn't you just pick the wrong ship, eh? I am Eret, son of━"

     Hott put his boot against his mouth, stifling the last of his words. Leaning down, he said, "And I am Hott, son of shut up!"

    Zephyr was still sniffing curiously at Eret. It stunned Valkyrie. Usually, her dragon took a good while to gain a liking to somebody, and here he was, already obsessed with a dragon trapper who had tried to net him up just because he accidentally started a game of fetch. The Windstriker tilted his head at Spikemoth, before deciding to join in. Eret made a strangled sound under Hott's boot as Zephyr set his head agianst his back, too. 

     Stoick stormed up to Hiccup and Valkyrie, fixing his belt with a disapproving scowl. "The both of you saddle up. We're going home."

     "No," said Hiccup.

     Valkyrie couldn't help but wince again. She glanced over at the others. Astrid pursed her lips, crossing her arms. Fishlegs tugged nervously at his ear.

     Stoick's brewing anger snapped, "Of all the irresponsible━"

     "I'm trying to protect our dragons and stop a war!" argued Hiccup, hands moving viciously with gestures that Toothless and Valkyrie had to shuffle away from. "How is that irresponsible?!"

     "Because war is what he wants, son!"

     Hiccup set his jaw and shot his gaze angrily to the floor. Valkyrie fiddled with a flower in her hair, shuffling her feet awkwardly as she listened to them. She always felt such whenever the two fought, because while she was apart of the family now, it was never her place to say something. Even if she thought Hiccup or Stoick were right. She just didn't want to get stuck in between it. 

     The chief sighed. His figure slumped a little━immediately, the anger between Hiccup and Stoick disappeared. Valkyrie's brows lifted in surprise to see Stoick suddenly so ... defeated. In the silence that followed, she felt her heart twist because what settled in the air, it wasn't tension so suffocating it made her want to hide; it was grief.

     "Years ago," began the chief again, his voice low and crackled, "there was a great gathering of chieftains to discuss the dragon scourge we all faced. Into our midst came a strager from a strange land, covered in scars and draped in a cloak of dragon skin..."

     Valkyrie knew this tale wouldn't have a happy ending. She shuffled closer to Hiccup, tongue rather dry, and stomach empty with a ghastly echo in the anticipated dread. Her fingers reached back for the warmth of Toothless's scales. 

     "He carried no weapon and spoke softly," Stoick's voice could barely be heard over the shifting boat, but he didn't need to speak loudly━they clung onto every word he said, eyes wide and hearts thundering with nerves, "saying that he, Drago Bludvist, was a man of the people, devoted to freeing mankind from the tyranny of dragons. He claimed that he alone could control the dragons, and that he alone could keep us safe, if we chose to bow down and follow him."

     The rest of the Dragon Riders let out hollers of laughter. Valkyrie stayed silent, finding herself uncapable of a laugh at the sight of her father-in-law's face. Hott also kept his mouth into a severe thin line, meeting her gaze across the boat. The siblings shared a uneasy glance. 

     "Aye," Stoick's voice was like gravel, "we laughed, too ... until he wrapped himself in his cloak and cried out: 'Then see how well you do without me!'"

      Like fire sizzling to nothing at the end of a rope, the laughter from the others died to a suffocating, gaping silence. Snotlout flushed in his shame, finding it hard to watch his uncle's pained face. "The rooftop suddenly burst into flames, and from it, armoured dragons descended, burning the hall to the ground. I ..." he pursed his lips, taking a deep breath through his nose as he fought back tears. Valkyrie clung onto Toothless tighter, "... was the only one to escape."

      Valkyrie's breath hitched, finding herself harbouring little tears of her own to see one of the strongest men she knew so broken. In the sombre stillness that followed, most of her friends shared hooded glances filled with guilt for laughing. Tuffnut's grip on Belch's horns slipped down to his tunic, clenching the fabric. Hott's boot was away from Eret's face, shuffling with his other with a ache in his throat. Astrid played with the furs around her arms. 

      Stoick's gaze became harsh once more, squaring his shoulders as he pushed the silence behind him. He set the stern glare onto his son, "Men who kill without reason cannot be reasoned with."

     "Maybe ..." murmured Hiccup, already having made up his mind. He reached for Inferno out of Valkyrie's hand and turned to Toothless.

     "Hiccup━"

     "I'm still going to try," Valkyrie watched him mount his saddle, jaw set and eyes matching his father's glower to the exact. She hesitated, not sure whether she should stop him or follow; but she knew when he held that look, there was no reasoning with him. Sometimes, Valkryie wondered whether it was something more than stubborness; a mild arrogance after so many wins and so many minds changed. Or perhaps━even━it could be ignorance: seeing the good in everyone, believing that dragons are the ones who can change the world. Valkyrie knew that this was one of his greatest attributes, something she loved dearly, but also a deadly flaw. "This is what I'm good at, and━and if I could change your mind, I can change his, too. Come on ..." he rubbed Toothless behind the head and with a click of his tail into place, they launched up towards the clouds.

     Valkyrie took a quick breath and with a jolt of her heart, quickly rushed to Zephyr before Hiccup would get too far away. "Zephyr!" he pulled his head off of Eret's back, turning to her with wide, expectant eyes. Seeing her stance, he held out his wing for her to hold━

    "NO!"

     Val skidded to a stop, shocked at hearing her father in law raise his voice. She turned on her heels, facing him. Stoick clenched his fists, "Lead the others back to Berk."

     Zephyr walked up timidly to her side, lowering his wing. Valkyrie's hand brushed against his neck and near the saddle, "But━" she tried to argue, but the chief was not having it.

     "Valkyrie," he said, his voice turning from a concerned father and friend to chief. "Lead the others back━I've had enough mutiny for one day."

     Stoick stormed angrily back to his dragon. Valkyrie gazed up at the sky after her husband. He was going out there to face Drago Bludvist on his own ... she knew he could handle himself; she knew he had Toothless. But after Stoick's story, she realised that this was nothing like anything else they've dealt with before━and Hiccup was flying straight into the fire with no plan other than to talk his way through. Valkyrie itched to ignore his father and fly after him, but in seeing how he grumbled to himself as he mounted Skullcrusher's saddle, she stopped herself.

    Annoyed, she pulled herself up onto her dragon's strong neck and turned back to the others. A plan was forming in her mind, setting her gaze at each of her friends in turn━finally landing on Ruffnut who hadn't even been listening after the story's finish. She was too busy squeezing and tapping Eret's biceps with a love-struck grin. "Oooh ..." she muttered, "I like that ..."

     Eret pulled his arm away, face contorted in disgust.

    "Ruffnut!" Stoick snapped at the girl, and she threw her head back to whine━

     "Ugh! Okay!" kissing her fingers, she wiggled them in Eret's face, manoeuvering around his protests to smack them on his lips before standing up and sauntering away. 

      "Gobber," the chief turned to his friend, "You're with me━let's grab him and bring him back," he growled to himself. "Even if I have to lug him along the whole way by his ear!"

     With that said, they took off. Valkyrie narrowed her eyes after them. Then, she glanced back down at Eret. She had a plan, and if Stoick and Gobber don't come back quick enough, she knew exactly what she was going to do.

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     a/n: 

      snotlout in the movies and tv shows: iconic and loveable bully with some character growth and hidden trauma.

     snotlout in the books: a literal blond, pig-faced tween villain wanting hiccup's death with a huge redemption arc. 

     me: shamefully loves both because they're fricken funny. 

     also, this is where valkyrie and yrsa's stories split off completely in the second movie. we won't reach estrid's for a while, so i hope i can come up with some fresh content after a break from writing this movie hehehe. (and it'll be in first person, which you don't realise how much that pov changes and makes things different until you read and write it). 

     (and btw, not astrid feeling something after hott completely sassed her like---oop).